《You Are My Unforgettable Love》 Chapter 1 - Him and Her

Chapter 1: Him and Her

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Late night. In avishly decorated bedroom, the dim yellow lights contrasted the silence and the mysterious atmosphere of the night. Qiao Lian sat on arge ssical-style bed, uneasily clutching onto her sensual nightgown. She had always been a fearless person. However, upon thinking of what was about to happen, she was filled with anxiety. Qiao Lian bit her lower lip and her deep, dark eyes floated subtly towards the direction of the bathroom. The sound of the running water stopped, and the bathroom door opened. When the tall Shen Liangchuan walked out of the bathroom, he made the spacious bedroom look cramp. He exuded an inherent, distinguished aura. Qiao Lian¡¯s heart jolted, and she quickly stood up. This man was her newlywedded husband, yet this was the first time they were meeting. He donned a white bathrobe, his hair still dripping wet. His facial features, including a sharp nose and thin lips, were more distinct and handsome than what they looked like on television. His long, almond-shaped eyes also felt sharp, but cold. ¡°Mr. Shen, this is the first time we¡¯re meeting. It¡¯s my pleasure,¡± Qiao Lian forced a sweet smile and tried her best to use a light, rxed tone to greet him. Just as she finished speaking, his gaze darkened. There was a sense of danger that shed within his eyes. ¡°Our first meeting?¡± His voice was deep, and the coldness in it left a chill in her heart! There was a certain sense of sarcasm in the way he spoke. Before Qiao Lian could figure out what he meant, he suddenly turned around and switched off the lights. ¡°Piak!¡± The sudden darkness startled Qiao Lian. The next moment, she felt someone grab her waist tightly. The room spun around her and she fell onto the bed, pinned by a bulky stature emanating a strong masculine scent. His actions were extremely rough, entering her without any forey. What followed felt like a tempestuous ravage across her body. Every push he made felt like he was using his utmost strength. Until the end, she could not feel any tinge of pleasure from the sex. It felt like she was going through a cruel punishment. When the deed was done, Qiao Lianid on the bed weakly, feeling pain in every part of her body. Her nasal tip was filled with the aggressive, masculine scent. Before she was even able to catch her breath, he clutched at her chin and forced her to look him in the eyes. In the dark, she could not see theplex emotions churning in his eyes. All she could hear was his deep and cold voice warn her, ¡°Ms. Qiao, I do not want news of our marriage to be leaked to the public, so as to prevent unnecessary problems from urring during our divorce in the future.¡± Qiao Lian was dumbfounded. They had just finished with such an intimate act and were both still unclothed, but he was already going to turn against her? She clenched her fists and suppressed the humiliating feeling in her heart. Right. This marriage itself was just a deal after all. She needed money, and he needed a child. It was only right and proper for him to ask for a hidden marriage. ¡°Mr. Shen, you don¡¯t have to worry about it,¡± Qiao Lian took a deep breath, then lowered her eyes and replied obediently. He stood up and walked towards the bathroom without a trace of care. After he took a shower, he changed and left. It wasn¡¯t until Qiao Lian heard the car engine start that she realized he had left. He had actually left her alone in their room on their wedding night? Qiao Lian was momentarily dazed. After regaining her senses, she rolled over in bed and fell asleep while hugging the nket. In the middle of the night, her phone on the nightstand buzzed several times. The lock screen showed a preview of Weibo¡¯s most popr headlines: [HOT! ording to inside sources, Best Actor Shen Liangchuan was registered married today!] The Weibo post exploded across the inte like an atomic bomb. Chapter 2 - Caught on the spot

Chapter 2: Caught on the spot

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Early morning, Qiao Lian¡¯s rm rang loudly. Qiao Lian woke up with a start. Throwing back the covers, she jumped off the bed with her eyes closed. However, both her legs were aching and limp, causing her to plop down onto the floor on her butt. She opened her eyes half-consciously and the first thing she saw was an expensive Persian carpet. She was confused for a moment when realization suddenly hit her: She had married her Prince Charming. After sitting on the floor and taking some time to digest the fact, she picked up her cell phone to turn off her rm. Subconsciously, she opened Weibo and took a nce at the trending searches. She would have never expected that the four impactful words ¡°Actor Shen¡¯s Secret Marriage¡± would meet her eyes! Qiao Lian¡¯s irises swelled in shock and was immediately wide awake. After she saw the contents of the Weibo post clearly, her hand trembled, and she almost dropped her phone. It was onlyst night that Shen Liangchuan had warned her to keep their marriage a secret, but why was there a great uproar now?! Would he mistakenly believe that it was her who had leaked the news out? Shen Liangchuan... Anyone who had interacted with him would know that he was a scary man. If you offended him, the consequences were dire. ¡°Knock, knock.¡± Knocking sounds came from the door, closely followed by the female caretaker¡¯s emotionless voice saying, ¡°Madam, Sir¡¯s call.¡± The voice made her heart leap up fiercely. It was indeed true that whatever you were afraid of always came true. She bit her delicate red lips and could care less about the aching pain all over her body. She quickly put on her clothes and walked down to pick up the house phone. Taking a deep breath, she then used a soft and gentle voice to greet the caller. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s ice-cold voice floated over the phone. ¡°I originally thought you were an obedient person.¡± Sure enough, he did not trust her. She slightly tightened her grip on the phone. Her heart felt as if it was being pricked by a needle as a sharp pain shed by. To him, she was merely a child-bearing tool. Thus, when trouble struck, the first person he doubted was her. ¡°It wasn¡¯t me. Mr. Shen, please think about it. The money you have given me, you can also take away at anytime as you please. Why would I do something so stupid as to sabotage myself? You can go ahead and investigate. If the results show this has anything to do with me, I will ept any consequences!¡± Qiao Lian paused for a moment to sort out her feelings and replied in a calm voice. Although she spoke with confidence, she still felt unsure about herself after she ended justifying herself. The person on the other end of the phone remained silent, and it made her uneasiness increase by the second. She was not sure if Shen Liangchuan would trust her. After a while, Shen Liangchuan finally replied, ¡°I will check. However, if the reporters manage to capture and identify you as Mrs. Shen...¡± The threatening tone he used triggered Qiao Lian, causing her to immediately respond without any tinge of hesitation, ¡°If that happens, I will pack up and leave on my own ord!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t wish toe across any trouble caused by you in the future.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I-¡± The simple words and menacingly cold tone urged Qiao Lian to express her thoughts. But before she was able to finish her sentence, he mmed the phone and hung up. Qiao Lian¡¯s words hung in midair as she stared at her phone in shock. This man... was so ungentlemanly! It just did not conform to his image as the Prince Charming of many! After hanging up the phone, Qiao Lian mindlessly drank the milk the caretaker had brought in and rested for a while. After a while, she put on a cap and went off to work. As the news broke out, her intuition told her that there would be reporters camping outside. Choosing to be safe rather than sorry, she thus decided to leave through the back door. She only walked out of it after observing the area and ensuring that everything was normal. However, when she just stepped out of the door, a few reporters suddenly appeared out of nowhere and surrounded her. They were repeatedly eximing, ¡°Mrs. Shen!¡± This bunch of reporters had really appeared out of nowhere, catching Qiao Lian off guard! Chapter 3 - Who is Mrs. Shen?

Chapter 3: Who is Mrs. Shen?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Just as the reporter raised her camera, Qiao Lian quickly raised her hands to cover her face. She wanted to go back into the vi, but someone grabbed her arm tightly. ¡°Mrs. Shen, what is your real identity?¡± ¡°When are you going to hold your wedding?¡± ¡°How did you and Best Actor Mr. Shen get to know each other?¡± The reporters moved forward and surrounded her. The way they bombarded her with questions felt as though they would not be satisfied until they find out everything about her. Qiao Lian kept her head down. She realized that even if the butler and security officer managed to escort her back into the vi, the reporters had already taken pictures of her covering her face. And if those pictures appeared alongside Shen Liangchuan on the hot searches... Remembering his warning earlier, she was sure she didn¡¯t want to take any chances. She couldn¡¯t fluster, she definitely needed to keep her ground. Suddenly, she had an idea. Before the caretaker spoke, Qiao Lian stood up straight and lowered her arms slowly, showing her face to the crowd. The reporters immediately started clicking their cameras furiously. However, Qiao Lian gave a pitiful expression and clung onto the caretaker, ¡°I was wrong, I have realized my mistake. I promise to never trespass your house again. I shouldn¡¯t have climbed into your house. Please forgive me and give me a chance! I was desperate to get first hand news as I have to support my family. I have really realized my mistake, just forgive me this once.¡± She had her heart in her mouth as she spoke while observing the people behind her. The reporters watched the scene unfolding in front of them in confusion. They gradually stopped taking pictures. The caretaker was also stunned, unsure about what exactly was happening. Suddenly, one of the reporters shouted with uncertainty, ¡°Qiao Lian, is that you?¡± Someone asked, ¡°Who¡¯s Qiao Lian?¡± ¡°That famous reporter from Gossip Entertainment News!¡± ¡°Holy sh*t! She worked so hard just for first-hand news? I admit defeat!¡± After hearing these words, the caretaker lowered her head and saw Qiao Lian continuously blink her eyes at her with her back facing the crowd. The caretaker suddenly realized what Qiao Lian was trying to convey to her and said, ¡°Please leave, but we will reserve the rights to pursue the case of your illegal entry into private property!¡± with a straight face. After finishing her sentence, she turned around and mmed the main door. Qiao Lian stood outside the door, staring at the cold metal door, and she couldn¡¯t help but be impressed. Even the caretaker of Best Actor Shen had amazing acting skills! Seeing that she had finally gotten herself off the hook, Qiao Lian took a cab to the news agency. On the way, she picked up her cell phone and dialed Dr. Li¡¯s number, ¡°Doctor Li, I¡¯m Qiao Yi¡¯s sister, could you please prepare his surgery as fast as possible? The money is ready.¡± After hanging up the phone, she looked dazedly out of the car window. The rxed expression on her face faded away and was reced with a grave look. Her brother was her only kin left in the world, so he had to stay alive and well. As for the other things, she could settle them herself. For now, at least, everything seemed to be on track and progressing well. With that in mind, she sat up straight and braced herself for work. She would not admit defeat. But once she arrived at the news agency, her chief editor who usually did not interact with her, walked to her with a big smile on his face! Her intuition had been right, he was up to something. He said, ¡°Qiao Lian, aren¡¯t you famous for being the most hardworking employee in thepany? Let me give you a chance to dig up a big piece of news then. No matter what method you use, you must find out who Mrs. Shen is, or else... You can start preparing your resignation letter!¡± Those words hit her like a bolt from the blue. What?! Chapter 4 - Their Second Meeting!

Chapter 4: Their Second Meeting!

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Outside the set of First Love , Qiao Lian stood together with the reporters of various magazines. She was listening to their active discussion on the rumors about Best Actor Shen. ¡°In the middle of the night yesterday, someone captured Best Actor Shen leaving his house, leaving his bride at home on their wedding night! From what I see, she must be unimportant to him.¡± ¡°You sure? I originally thought that Best Actor Shen chose to hide his marriage as he loved her too much and wanted to protect her from the eyes of the public.¡± Hearing this, Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help but roll her eyes. Protect her? It was more like he wasn¡¯t interested in her. As she recalled the events of the night before, she felt that Shen Liangchuan¡¯s attitude towards her was kind of weird. Why had he picked her when he wasn¡¯t interested in her? Someone hit her arm as she was lost in her thoughts. Turning her head, she saw her colleague Su Meimei who was spoking fiercely and smugly to her, ¡°Qiao Lian, do you regret offending Chief Editor? I told you so, but it¡¯s toote now!¡± On the surface, Su Meimei always obediently followed the chief editor¡¯s lead but actually, she was just trying to suck up to her. Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t be bothered to entertain her. Su Meimei continued arrogantly, ¡°Some people think that they are superior and impressive just because they reported some big piece of news. But, in this industry, who doesn¡¯t know that Best Actor Shen¡¯s gossip is the hardest to attain? This time, you can just prepare to submit your resignation letter!¡± Why is there no ending to this! Qiao Lian¡¯s blinked her ck eyes and replied, ¡°Su Meimei, has no one ever told you that your voice has the same effect as a frog? It is just as noisy and annoying.¡± ¡°You!¡± Su Meimei was so furious her face turned thoroughly red. Qiao Lian grinned and incisively replied, ¡°The result can only be determined at the end. We won¡¯t know who will emerge as the winner until then.¡± She had to continue her job as a reporter, so she wasn¡¯t going to admit defeat so easily. Su Meimei sneered, ¡°Wow, you sound like you know who Mrs. Shen is. Okay then, if you have the ability, try finding out her identity.¡± Qiao Lian originally wanted to retort, but she was interrupted when someone suddenly eximed, ¡°Best Actor Shen is here!¡± The voice worked as if it were a predetermined signal, and the crowd suddenly exploded with excitement, running forward with raised cameras. When Qiao Lian turned her head, she saw a ck nanny van driving slowly in her direction. The filming crew banned reporters from entering the set. Thus, all the reporters had waited outside to try their luck and capture Best Actor Shen on camera. However, as he entered and left the filming set by car, they usually weren¡¯t able to capture him on camera at all. As she watched the car slowly move in her direction, staggering away from the reporters, Qiao Lian heaved a sigh of relief. Shen Liangchuan wouldn¡¯t have seen her, right? However, she had felt relieved too soon. At that moment, someone behind her gave her a sudden hard shove, and she flew towards the car uncontrobly. ¡°Screeeeeech!¡± The car immediately screeched to a halt. Qiao Lian was mmed onto the car, and she felt as if all of her bones were about to shatter. At the instant the car stopped, her face was smacked right on the rear window of the car. The extreme pain came from her arm, but her first instinct was to stand up straight and leave as fast as she could. Unluckily, things never went her way, and the window of the car was rolled down. Behind the window was pent-up coldness. As Qiao Lian noticed him, her irises contracted. Behind the window was Shen Liangchuan¡¯s, although expressionless, divinely crafted face. Amongst the crowd, Su Meimei lowered her hand, and a smug smile shed on her face. Everyone in the industry knew that Best Actor Shen hated being hounded by the paparazzi. Other artists might leave some face for the reporters, but Best Actor Shen had never shown leniency. Once, when someone had followed Best Actor Shen and was caught by him, the person was beaten up by Best Actor Shen with the excuse of self-defense. When the matter was brought to court, it ended without any conclusion. Therefore, this time, Qiao Lian was definitely dead meat. Chapter 5 - Shes My Wife!

Chapter 5: She¡¯s My Wife!

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian¡¯s shiny ck eyes resonated her fear. Shen Liangchuan was dressed in a well-tailored dark gray suit and as he sat in the car quietly, his superiority was emphasized. His expression was grave and still as anger emitted from him. Everyone around him could sense his fury, and they all held their breaths in fear. ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m so sorry...¡± she stammered. Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t feel any pain throughout her body. Instead, she gripped her fingers in anxiety and hurriedly moved backward. However, before she was able to proceed far, her shoulder was grabbed by a big icy cold hand. She froze on the spot and as she turned around, her eyes met Shen Liangchuan¡¯s. They were shining with danger. His grave stare made Qiao Lian feel as if she was being held by her throat, so she was having difficulty breathing smoothly. ¡°Is this to provoke me?¡± Shen Liangchuan remarked coldly. Huh? Qiao Lian was stunned. What does he mean? He thought that she appeared there to threaten him with revealing her identity as Mrs. Shen? To negotiate terms with him? ¡°No, I don¡¯t mean that. I¡¯m not¡ª¡± him mistaking Qiao Lian¡¯s situation caused her to feel very anxious, and she wanted to exin herself. Midway through her sentence, she suddenly realized that many reporters were eyeing them, as if they were eyeing their prey. They would be exposed if she misspoke so much as one word. ¡°Mr. Shen, you are mistaking my intentions. I have absolutely no intentions of provoking you. My chief editor ordered me to interview you, so I was forced and had no choice at all. Mr. Shen, could you tell us who exactly is Mrs. Shen?¡± Qiao Lian suddenly had an idea, and her expression became one that was fawning and gossipy. When she finished her sentence, she looked at Shen Liangchuan anxiously. He didn¡¯t move, and his pair of eyes looked as calm as the ocean. They had such depth that no one would be able to guess what was going through his mind. Qiao Lian swallowed nervously, internally wishing for him to ask her to scram off. As they were in a stalemate, a coquettish voice sounded from the inside of the car, ¡°Teacher Shen, see how shocked the pitiful reporter is! Everyone else here is also having a difficult time waiting here, why don¡¯t you tell them who Mrs. Shen is?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s irises contracted when she realized a woman was sitting in the rear seat of the car. She was Yang Lingsi, the female lead of the drama. She couldn¡¯t help but nce at Yang Lingsi and Shen Liangchuan back and forth. Why would they be together in the same car? Yesterday, Shen Liangchuan had left in the middle of the night. Could it be that he had gone to... However, at that instant, as she was immersed in her thoughts, the reporters behind her burst in excitement. As Best Actor Shen was well-known to be aloof, the reporters hade with the mentality that they might not manage to capture anything. Little did they know that there was a surprise in store! ¡°Kacha!¡± there were continuous sounds of photos being taken. Everyone also started questioning Yang Lingsi¡¯s appearance in his car. ¡°Mr. Shen, may I know why you are entering the set with Ms. Yang?¡± ¡°It¡¯s only the second day of your marriage and you specially came to act in this set. Are you here to show support for Ms. Yang Lingsi?¡± ¡°Mr. Shen, may I know who is your wife? Is she someone in the industry?¡± The questions were thrown continuously to Shen Liangchuan. His gaze turned cold as his lips moved and out flowed a mellifluous voice, ¡°Since all of you are so curious, let me tell you...¡± As Qiao Lian watched the uncontrolled scene, she suddenly had a bad hunch. Unluckily, her hunch came true. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s finger suddenly pointed to her and said, ¡°My wife is¡ª her!¡± Chapter 6 - Is He Showing Concern For Her?

Chapter 6: Is He Showing Concern For Her?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The ce fell into dead silence. It was eerily silent. Qiao Lian was totally stunned as she looked at Shen Liangchuan dazedly. Did he feel like disclosing their rtionship? ¡°Pfft,¡±ughter broke the deadlock. Yang Lingsi continued, ¡°Teacher Shen, your joke isn¡¯t funny at all! Look at the reporter, you¡¯ve frightened her. Could you forgive her as a favor to me? She doesn¡¯t look like she did it on purpose.¡± With Yang Lingsi¡¯s words, everyone suddenly understood the situation. Best Actor Shen¡¯s words were to ridicule her. Yang Lingsi¡¯s words had saved Qiao Lian from the awkward situation. Qiao Lian heaved a sigh of relief and felt her heart, which had previously stopped beating, recover to its original speed. She forced an awkward smile. When she saw Shen Liangchuan¡¯s unchanging expressionless face, she hurriedly moved backwards and tried to blend in the crowd and hide. However, the delicate voice inside the car spoke once again, ¡°Ah, look, her arm is scratched! Teacher Shen, there is a first aid kit in the production set. Why don¡¯t we bring her inside to take care of her wound?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s instinctive reaction was to look towards Shen Liangchuan. His head was still turned as he looked out, his indifferent gaze wasn¡¯t focused on anything. It seemed like nothing in the world had the ability to enter his eyes, which resonated arrogance. As Yang Lingsi finished speaking, there was finally a slight change in his expression, and he seemed to have taken a glimpse at her arm. Qiao Lian was shocked as she immediately rejected her, ¡°It¡¯s alright, it¡¯s alright. It¡¯s just a minor wound, it¡¯s ok. Thank you, Ms. Yang and Mr. Shen.¡± What a joke! By saying that, Yang Lingsi was obviously trying to portray herself as a saint in front of the reporters. If she dared to ept her offer and followed them into the filming set, it would mean she had lost her mind. When she turned to look at Shen Liangchuan, his vision had already turned away to look straight ahead, making it really obvious that he wanted nothing to do with her. ¡°Ok then, please do take care of your safety next time. And also, to all reporters, good job, all of you had a long day.¡± Yang Lingsi waved to the crowd, and as the car windows closed, the car drove away and reached the filming set in no time. When the car disappeared into the filming set, the reporters once again burst into excited discussions. ¡°Is Best Actor Shen really dating Yang Lingsi?¡± ¡°They were together sincest night? Does Mrs. Shen know about it?¡± Qiao Lian turned a deaf ear to all the active discussions around her but as she lowered her head, she saw that her arm had a big patch of skin that had been scratched off. The wound was bleeding, and she frowned as she felt a burning pain. Beside her, a senior reporter advised, ¡°Youngdy, even if you are desperate to get big news, you shouldn¡¯t be so impulsive. It¡¯s your lucky day, Best Actor Shen was only being sarcastic to you. It isn¡¯t every day that he has such a good temper!¡± Qiao Lian smiled at the person and replied politely. Thereafter, she turned her head and her face darkened, staring sharply at Su Meimei. When Qiao Lian started walking, intending to confront Su Meimei, a youngdy ran out from the filming set. As she saw Qiao Lian, she quickly grabbed her saying, ¡°Ah, your wound is so serious! Come, follow me into the set to treat your wound.¡± Before Qiao Lian could reject her, she lowered her voice to one that could only be heard by both of them and said, ¡°These are Best Actor Shen¡¯s instructions.¡± Qiao Lian widened her eyes in surprise and stared at the youngdy in disbelief. She felt warmth bubble up in her heart, and it was as if her wound wasn¡¯t that painful anymore. He was showing concern towards her? He was actually not as cold andcking in affection as she had thought in the end. Chapter 7 - Filming Crew

Chapter 7: Filming Crew

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios On the filming set, Qiao Lian didn¡¯t dare to look around freely, and she obediently followed the youngdy. After only taking a few steps, she heard Yang Lingsi¡¯s voice saying, ¡°You came.¡± She was standing not far away, with a smile on her face as she spoke, ¡°Although your wound isn¡¯t severe, it will leave a scar if you don¡¯t treat it in time. So, I requested for you to be allowed into the set in order to treat your wound.¡± Sure enough, the supposed change of that cold-faced man to a meticulous gentleman had purely been her imagination! It turned out that she had only been called in since Yang Lingsi had pleaded for her. ¡°Thank you, Ms Yang!¡± Qiao Lian sorted her thoughts out quickly and smiled at Yang Lingsi as she thanked her. ¡°No worries, it¡¯s just what a friend should do. You should quickly go to the break room; there¡¯s a first-aid kit in there.¡± Even after Qiao Lian had walked far away, Yang Lingsi remained standing rooted in the same spot. She recalled the moment where Shen Liangchuan had instructed the worker to bring Qiao Lian in to tend to her wound, and her deep thoughts could be seen as they shed through her eyes. Best Actor Shen has always been aloof and disinterested. Since when does he have so much concern for just a mere reporter? ¡ª¡ª Qiao Lian was brought into a remote break room. Xiao Zhang had urgent matters at thest minute; thus, she took her leave first. Qiao Lian took out medicine and gauze as she bore the pain and bandaged her wound. After she finished treating her wound, she stood at the window and watched the filming set out of boredom, only to she coincidentally see Shen Liangchuan. He was walking in her direction escorted by his manager and a few bodyguards. The scene seemed to replicate the splendid scene of stars surrounding the moon. As he walked, he asionally tilted his head to hear what his manager was saying. His lips were pursed, and his profile was also handsome. He was literally morous and good-looking from every angle! Qiao Lian momentarily fell into a trance. She only jolted to her senses momentster and suddenly realized that he was going to the break room when he was less than two meters away from it. She was instantly worried. If her entry to the set to treat her wound had been Yang Lingsi¡¯s idea and if he saw her in the break room, would he think that she was following him everywhere? She rushed into the washroom to avoid him. Just as she closed the washroom door, the door of the break room was pushed open and followed by sedate footsteps. From the footsteps, she could hear that he was alone. What did Shen Liangchuane to the break room for? Could it be to... visit her? As the idea appeared in her mind, she heard the door of the break room be pushed open once again. This time, it was the clicking of high heels, followed by the sound of the door being locked. The sound of the door locking? Shen Liangchuan and a woman behind closed doors in a room at the set where they didn¡¯t have to worry about gossip? Was something R-rated going to take ce? Qiao Lian pricked up her ears and heard Yang Lingsi¡¯s coquettish voice, ¡°Teacher Shen, I finally got the chance to be alone with you. There are some things that I have always wanted to tell you. And today, I can¡¯t bear to keep it to myself anymore. Teacher Shen, I have always really liked you!¡± Qiao Lian was confused after hearing her words. So, these two people were putting in so much effort to sneak in there and it was just for... a confession? Wasn¡¯t it more like they were already having an illicit affair? Instinctively, Qiao Lian took a step forward and opened a gap of the door as she peeked out. Yang Lingsi was standing in the room while Shen Liangchuan was casually sitting on the sofa. As usual, his face was expressionless. However, his icy cold eyes were about to meet Qiao Lian¡¯s. Qiao Lian panicked instantly as her hands trembled and, ¡°Bam!¡± She shut the door and shortly after, she heard Yang Lingsi¡¯s rmed voice, ¡°Who is it?¡± Qiao Lian wished she could chop off her own hands. Why had her itchy hands chosen to open the door for the sake of seeing Shen Liangchuan¡¯s reaction? However, from the look in his eyes, he seemed to have known that there was someone in the washroom all along. Chapter 8 - Untitled

Chapter 8: Untitled

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Who¡¯s in the washroom? Come out now!¡± Just as Yang Lingsi ended her sentence, Qiao Lian opened the door slowly and inched out, wishing that she could be as negligible as air. She awkwardly spoke, ¡°Ms. Yang, Mr. Shen, I-I will leave now, both of you can continue¡ª Heh, you can continue.¡± ¡°Stop there!¡± Yang Lingsi stopped her from leaving. ¡°How much did you hear?¡± Qiao Lian replied understandingly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Ms. Yang. I didn¡¯t hear anything!¡± Unexpectedly, Yang Lingsi started questioning her aggressively, ¡°But I¡¯m still worried. What should I do now?¡± Qiao Lian looked at her in confusion. What could they even do? As she was processing what Yang Lingsi meant, Yang Lingsimanded her, ¡°Open your bag! I want to check if you have any recording devices.¡± Check her bag? She was going kind of overboard! Qiao Lian furrowed her brows. Seeing that Qiao Lian was not agreeing to her request, Yang Lingsi crossed her arms and remarked, ¡°Open it quickly! Even if you are not scared of me, aren¡¯t you afraid of Teacher Shen?¡± When Yang Lingsi ended her sentence, Qiao Lian subconsciously looked at Shen Liangchuan. Considering our rtionship, he will definitely help me, right? However, she was far from being right. He sat there staring into space, his nce emotionless, acting as if he didn¡¯t hear their conversation. Assh*le, it wouldn¡¯t hurt for you to say something! She wanted to express her disapproval, but after thinking it through, she decided to bear with it. Qiao Lian opened her bag and poured everything onto the table saying, ¡°Ms. Yang, is this enough to prove my innocence?¡± Yang Lingsi checked the things on the table and did not find anything suspicious. ¡°Can I leave now?¡± Qiao Lian messily stuffed everything into her bag. Yang Lingsi looked at Shen Liangchuan. Although he didn¡¯t have much of an expression, he didn¡¯t look as if he was unhappy. She knew it. He had always hated reporters, and this reporter had run into his car outside the filming set. Yet, he had requested for her to enter the filming set to have her wound treated. It was impossible for him to be so kind, so might it have actually been to humiliate her? As her thoughts drifted, she curved her lips and smiled, ¡°I¡¯ve heard that the pinhole cameras of reporters can even be attached to their clothes. So... I want you to immediately remove your clothes to prove that you are innocent!¡± Qiao Lian lifted her head in surprise. Check... her body? She replied incisively, ¡°Ms. Yang, what you are doing is illegal!¡± ¡°Illegal? You can go ahead and sue me when you leave this ce.¡± What a b*tch! She¡¯s so arrogant! As her temper slowly rose, Qiao Lian looked at Shen Liangchuan once again. The matter has escted to this extent, he should be doing something to stop it, right? Yet, Shen Liangchuan still didn¡¯t move. He did finally lift his gaze, however. Just when Qiao Lian thought that he was going to help her out, his attractive deep voice sounded, ¡°I agree that there¡¯s a need for her to check. Unless you have something to hide?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s rationality was drowned by indignation and anger at that instant. Although she was just a tool, how could he treat her like that? She tightened her fists in anger, and her eyes turned reddish due to her intense emotions. But, could she retaliate? Once she thought of her hospitalized brother, she disappointedly looked away and spoke while expressing both her feelings of oppression and ridicule, ¡°Okay! Check me then.¡± Once she finished speaking, she acted as if she was going to remove her clothes. It shocked Yang Lingsi, whomented, ¡°What are you doing?¡± Qiao Lian let out a coldugh. ¡°Didn¡¯t you ask me to remove my clothes?¡± Yang Lingsi anxiously peeked at Shen Liangchuan and spoke, ¡°How daring of you to be so shameless in front of Teacher Shen!¡± ¡°What is there to be shameful about?¡± Qiao Lian looked at Shen Liangchuan and suddenly gave a beautiful smile. ¡°After all, your Teacher Shen has already seen everything before, hasn¡¯t he?¡± Her words were full of provocation. Yang Lingsi was utterly shocked, ¡°What do you mean?¡± Chapter 9 - Are You Dissatisfied With Me?

Chapter 9: Are You Dissatisfied With Me?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I mean it literally.¡± After Qiao Lian said this, she removed her coat deftly and threw it roughly on the floor, ¡°Go ahead and inspect!¡± Thereafter, she took off her smock and threw it down as well, ¡°Go ahead and inspect!¡± After removing these two pieces of clothing, she was only left with a tank top on her upper body. If this piece of clothing was removed as well, she would only be left in her bra. At this moment, she was in a pair of skinny jeans that unted her exquisite body lines and delicate corbone. With the addition of her cool and beautiful face, Yang Lingsi couldn¡¯t help but stare at her. Qiao Lian was livid. The shame she felt was causing her body to tremble slightly. With her two hands holding onto the tank top, Qiao Lian looked at Shen Liangchuan angrily and asked, ¡°Have you seen enough?¡± Enough? It is far from enough! This bit of shame is nothingpared to what happened eight years ago. Outrage, hatred, pity and otherplex emotions shed across Shen Liangchuan¡¯s dark pupils as he sat on the chair. In the end, thebination of all these emotions resulted in a dark aura surrounding him. He should be hating her and watching her suffer. Yet, when he saw the shame and resentment in her eyes, he did not feel any joy from his sessful revenge. Instead, he was filled with frustration. His hands reached out as he loosened his tie. Just when he saw that Qiao Lian was going to remove her top, he suddenly eximed, ¡°Scram!¡± Qiao Lian stopped her actions after he spoke. She clenched her teeth and stayed on the spot, staring at Shen Liangchuan. Yang Lingsi let out a massive sigh of relief. The acrimonious atmosphere in the room had given her the illusion that she was only an extra. It felt as if Best Actor Shen and the reporter were filming an individual scene together and she was unneeded. That illusion caused her to be filled with anxiety. She quickly remarked, ¡°It¡¯s your lucky day today, we will not pursue it further. Get lost!¡± However, after she spoke to Qiao Lian, Best Actor Shen turned to her and barked, ¡°I said, scram!¡± Yang Lingsi was utterly shocked. Before she was able to say anything, Shen Liangchuan sent her an icy cold re which frightened her mouth shut. She red at Qiao Lian viciously, stomped her feet, turned and left. The room instantly became silent. Shen Liangchuan looked at Qiao Lian. She stubbornly stood there with her posture straight. Her wavy ck hair was st on her body, her skin was fair. The color contrast between her ck hair and white skin was impactful to the eye. As the wind blew in from the window, she shivered in cold. A part of Shen Liangchuan¡¯s heart softened. But when he felt the change within him, he instantly felt that he was unable to oppress his irritation any longer. He frustratedly looked away and stood up. With his well-built and robust stature, he was one head taller than Qiao Lian. It gave her a strong feeling of constriction, making her feel as if she was shrouded in his shadow. Qiao Lian tensed up and suddenly asked, ¡°Mr. Shen, are you dissatisfied with me?¡± Since yesterday night, Qiao Lian felt that he had unknown malice towards her. She had originally intended to disregard it. However, after he had intentionally shamed her, she couldn¡¯t help but ask him. Yet after her question, he swiftly gave off a sense of incisiveness. His eyes were grave as his lips slowly formed a shallow and dangerous smile, ¡°Dissatisfied?¡± Their rtionship wasn¡¯t just as simple as dissatisfaction. He took steps towards the door with the intention to leave, but he suddenly turned back, walked to the window and dragged the curtains to close them at once. The whole room darkened and Qiao Lian suddenly opened her eyes widely. She was met with the sight of him walking closer and closer to her. She felt a sudden coldness on her back and her lips trembled as she asked, ¡°W-What are you doing?¡± ¡°If I don¡¯t try it, how do I know whether I am satisfied?¡± Shen Liangchuan said evilly. Chapter 10 - Shen Liangchuan!

Chapter 10: Shen Liangchuan!

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The coldness in the air permeated her skin, making her feel the chill from inside her bones. She was seriously going crazy. It couldn¡¯t be that Shen Liangchuan wanted to¡ª This was the filming set! She quickly squatted down and frantically picked up her T-shirt. However, before she was able to put on her clothes, arge hand extended over and held her wrist tightly. Thereafter, her body was thrown onto the sofa with a strong force. All of a sudden, a strong masculine scent came close to her. ¡°Shen Liangchuan, no¡ª¡± A sudden surge of pain drowned her pleading! Qiao Lian clenched her fist. This was the first time that she felt time pass so slowly. When it finally ended, sheid on the sofa as he stood in front of her and looked down at her. His voice had a hint of venom to it, and it sounded as if it came from hell, ¡°Now I can tell you that I am very satisfied with you. But this satisfaction is only applicable to... your body.¡± That one sentence gave Qiao Lian an even stronger sense of humiliation. Bear with it. She constantly told herself. Getting bitten by a dog didn¡¯t mean you had to retaliate. However, when she saw how pathetic she looked while he was still immactely dressed, she had enough of it. He hadn¡¯t even bothered removing his clothes just now! Why was he so proud? He was simply known as Best Actor. She sat up straight. While watching him walk into the washroom, she couldn¡¯t help but sarcastically remark, ¡°But, I¡¯m not satisfied with you.¡± Shen Liangchuan stopped in his tracks. Qiao Lian stared at him, ¡°You have so many bosom friends, haven¡¯t they told you that you should be gentle and show tenderness to women?¡± The provocative tone in her voice made Shen Liangchuan turn his head as anger rose up in his eyes, ¡°As a woman who sells her body for money, are you sure you are worthy?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s face turned as pale as paper at that instant. So that was what he thought of her. Was this the reason why he looked down on her and humiliated her? If her circumstances hadn¡¯t forced her, she would have never agreed to such a deal. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s face showed ridicule as he turned and made his way into the washroom. Qiao Lian heard the sound of running water and thereafter, she saw hime out of the bathroom. His face had recovered to his previous coldness. He didn¡¯t even bother to take a nce at her and just walked towards the door. When he reached the door, he suddenly stopped. He was standing in the dim lights, and Qiao Lian was unable to see his expression, as he didn¡¯t turn around. She could only hear him say in a soft voice, ¡°Women like you should be sent to hell.¡± After he finished his sentence, he turned around and decisively left the room. ¡°Bang!¡± The door closed. Qiao Lian was muddled. Women like her? What was wrong with her? What kind of outrageous thing had she done to deserve death? She angrily clenched her fists. Just because he was rich, Shen Liangchuan thought that he could trample on the dignity of others as he pleased? She was angry and embarrassed. She felt as if she was going insane. But, it wasn¡¯t the time to re up. She had to leave the ce as fast as possible. She jumped off the sofa and put on her clothes quickly. After sorting out her feelings, she opened the door and left. Just as she stepped out of the door, she came face to face with Shen Liangchuan¡¯s manager, who offered, ¡°Let me send you out of the filming set.¡± Qiao Lian, ¡°...¡± She lowered her head and followed closely behind the manager, peeking at him while walking. Had he been standing outside the door the whole time? If that was the case, he would have heard everything that had happened in the room earlier! As she was immersed in her thoughts, the manager turned to her and asked, ¡°Ms. Qiao, do you have any idea why Mr. Shen decided to marry you?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s attention was immediately shifted, as she instantaneously looked up at him and questioned, ¡°Why?¡± ¡ª¡ª Chapter 11 - Stay Away from Best Actor Shen!

Chapter 11: Stay Away from Best Actor Shen!

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Do you not know?¡± the manager inquired. Qiao Lian shook her head, saying, ¡°I don¡¯t know, can you tell me the reason?¡± When shecked money in the past, and had nowhere left to go, it was Shen Liangchuan¡¯s manager who had taken the initiative to find her. That was how this marriage document had even been agreed to in the first ce. His manager said, ¡°Impossible.¡± Qiao Lian froze in surprise. She heard him continue, ¡°Because I have no idea either! Initially, when Mr. Shen suddenly ordered me to prepare the agreement and find you, I thought that you knew each other.¡± How could this be true? If she had known Shen Liangchuan, she would have been a renowned figure in the reporter world already. Everybody knew that Shen Liangchuan¡¯s every move, regardless of how minute it was, would be trending in an instant. As he was thinking, the manager suddenly stopped dead in his tracks and said, ¡°We¡¯re here, Miss Qiao. Do you require me to arrange a car to send you home?¡± Qiao Lian hurriedly waved her hands and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need, thank you.¡± By the time Qiao Lian walked out of the set, the reporters that had been waiting outside had already left. Having obtained the huge scoop about Shen Liangchuan and Yang Lingsi being in the same car together, these reporters had hurried back to prepare their articles about it. Qiao Lian walked over to the side of the road and prepared to take a cab back to the news agency. Suddenly, a red Audi honked and stopped right in front of her. The car door opened and Yang Lingsi stepped out of the car angrily. Qiao Lian did not know what she wanted. She opened her mouth to speak... ¡°Piak!¡± A whopping pnded on Qiao Lian¡¯s face! ¡°I¡¯m telling you right now, Best Actor Shen is mine! Don¡¯t think you can seduce him just because you are somewhat good-looking!¡± The p was so quick and sudden that she had no time to react. Her head swung to the side as a foul taste appeared in her mouth. Her cheek burned with fiery pain, so much so that she couldn¡¯t feel anything across half of her face. Dang, thisdy was strong! She touched her cheek gingerly. Finding no problems with her teeth, she was relieved and then raised her head sharply. In the entertainment industry, regardless of how much conflict there was between stars and reporters, no star dared to physically strike a reporter. As such, she hadn¡¯t had her guard up just now. But looking at it now... Thisdy, Yang Lingsi, was clearly out of her mind. She looked at Yang Lingsi tauntingly, saying, ¡°If I remember correctly, Best Actor Shen was just married yesterday, was it you he married? Are you actually Mrs. Shen? Yang Lingsi yelled in exasperation, ¡°It¡¯s not important whether it was me or not. At any rate, it will never be you, you puny reporter!¡± Qiao Lian smiled, and said, ¡°I may indeed be a nobody, but Ms. Yang, you should be cautious as well. If not, you may be universally hated.¡± There was nobody around. Yang Lingsi contorted her face hideously and replied yelling, ¡°So what even if you were married to him? I am happy to be his mistress! I¡¯ll warn you again, leave Best Actor Shen alone!¡± Qiao Lian raised her eyebrows and said, ¡°Mistress?¡± She tilted her head as her pitch-ck eyes betrayed a certain cunningness. She said, ¡°But if I remember correctly, you just confessed your love to him, and yet... He seems to have rejected you. Even then, you want to be his mistress? Has Best Actor Shen agreed to this?¡± Yang Lingsi was so provoked by her words that she almost started hopping out of anger. She said, ¡°So what? I¡¯m telling you, the person who will hit the headlines with Best Actor Shen is me! I¡¯ll take advantage of the buzz surrounding his wedding.¡± Yang Lingsi only realized what she had just said after finishing her tirade. She ferociously warned Qiao Lian, ¡°I¡¯m telling you to shut your mouth! This p is my warning to you. It won¡¯t end at just a single p next time!¡± Having said that, she turned her head, got into her car, and left. Qiao Lian watched the car leave in a cloud of dust and then took out her phone. The voice-recording function had already been activated for some time. Chapter 12 - Madam Seems to Be Somewhat Unwell

Chapter 12: Madam Seems to Be Somewhat Unwell

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian immediately checked whether the conversation that had just happened had been recordedpletely, without missing a single word. Only confirming it did she throw her phone into her bag. She then rummaged through it and took out a mirror. She tilted her head and saw that the imprint of the p was still visible on her cheek. As she examined her cheek, it started to swell. She reached out her hand to touch it, and she could not help but wince in pain. How painful. Qiao Lian¡¯s gaze suddenly became dark and gloomy. Since young, Qiao Lian could stomach anything except injustice. When Shen Liangchuan bullied her, she could do nothing but bear with it. However, Yang Lingsi was a different matter altogether! A gentleman can wait over ten years to exact his revenge. However, she was no gentleman. As such, her revenge had to be exacted tomorrow. Just you wait and see, Yang Lingsi! Given that her face was hurting, Qiao Lian did not go to the news agency. Instead, she took a cab back to the Shen family¡¯s mansion. She lowered her head and used her hand to cover her face. She then casually greeted the mansion¡¯s caretaker and went upstairs to the master bedroom. She wrapped some ice cubes in a towel and ced the towel on her own face, after which she tiredlyid down on the sofa. As she looked at the unfamiliar ceiling, the words that the manager had told her shed across her mind, ¡°... Initially, when Mr. Shen suddenly ordered me to prepare the agreement and find you, I thought that you knew each other!¡± She racked her brain desperately, trying to find some memory that would confirm or disprove that she had seen him before. He clearly already disliked her immensely the first time they met. But then, why had he chosen her to bear his child? Surely... It couldn¡¯t be because of her wless beauty and exceptional genes, right? Qiao Lian entertained herself in this fashion. If the minds of giants can¡¯t be fathomed, then she might as well not think anymore. Anyway, once she gave birth, she would divorce Shen Liangchuan. At that point, she would be free of all ties and attachments and her life would be better. ¡°Knock knock!¡± the sound of someone knocking on her door sounded. Qiao Lian jumped up in shock as she hurriedly sat up and asked, ¡°Who is it?¡± ¡°Madam, it¡¯s me,¡± the caretaker said. ¡°Sir has ordered me to send some milk up for you.¡± Send some milk? Qiao Lian did not want anyone to notice the bruises on her face. Thus, she coughed mildly and said, ¡°Ah, there¡¯s no need. I¡¯m not hungry at all today!¡± Unfortunately, as she finished speaking, her stomach growled a couple of times. Qiao Lian: ... She had only drunk a ss of milk in the morning. In the afternoon, she had been waiting outside the filming site and had not had time to eat lunch. Hence, could she really be not hungry? Yeah, right! Qiao Lian swallowed a mouthful of saliva. She thought for a moment before tilting her face so that the bruised half would face the inside of the room. Only then did she say, ¡°Please enter!¡± The caretaker pushed open the door and entered. She looked straight ahead and walked until she stood in front of Qiao Lian. She then passed the milk over to her. Qiao Lian epted the milk and drank a mouthful. Her eyebrows immediately cramped up. As she had been in a hurry that morning, she hadn¡¯t noticed it, but she now realized that this milk tasted weird for some unknown reason. However, since the milk had been delivered to her by the caretaker on Shen Liangchuan¡¯s orders, she decided to pay her concerns no mind and drank the milk anyway. Under the supervision of the caretaker, she pinched her nose and gulped the entire ss of milk in one mouthful. She then said insincerely, ¡°Thank you.¡± The caretaker took the ss from her and turned away to leave. As she closed the door, she nced inside the room and saw that the Madam had resumedying on the sofa. For a brief moment, she looked like she was in deep contemtion. Was that a palm imprint on Madam¡¯s face? She went downstairs and thought for a while. Then, she picked up the telephone and ced a call. When the call went through, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s voice could be heard from the phone receiver saying, ¡°Has she drunk it?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± she replied. Just as Shen Liangchuan was about to hang up the phone, she suddenly said, ¡°Sir, will you being home tonight? Madam... seems somewhat unwell.¡± Shen Liangchuan hung up the phone, and his eyes dimmed. Somewhat unwell? He stood up and walked outside. His manager asked, ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°Home.¡± To see exactly how unwell she really is! Chapter 13 - Who Hit Your Face?!

Chapter 13: Who Hit Your Face?!

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In the darkened room, the person lying on the sofa was tossing and turning. Atst, Qiao Lian hopped down the sofa. She opened the door to the room. Afterwards, she carefully went downstairs and confirmed that the living room was empty. Only then did Qiao Lian breathe a sigh of relief and quickly dart into the kitchen. Opening the freezer, she took a piece of bread and ate two bites of it with gusto. Suddenly, she heard the sound of a care from outside the mansion. She froze. Her entire body tensed up in an instant. Shen Liangchuan was back? When she thought about the incident that had happened at the set that day, she suddenly felt nervous. She hurriedly closed the freezer door, and she was about to dash up to her bedroom when a huge batch of people entered the living room. It would seem extremely suspicious if Qiao Lian were to run up now. Hence, she chose to just stand at the kitchen entrance and look outside. The front door opened and Shen Liangchuan strode in, bringing with him an air of coolness. The caretaker immediately went up to him and said, ¡°Sir, you are back?¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded his head. He took off his coat and passed it to a servant. He slightly raised his head and said, ¡°What happened to her?¡± ¡°Today, the Madam¡ª¡± Her words were cut off by Shen Liangchuan, who said coolly, ¡°Do not address her as Madam.¡± One short sentence and suddenly the entire living room fell into absolute silence. Qiao Lian¡¯s mouth twitched. Do not address me as Madam? This tone of dislike triggered her to walk out of the kitchen, unable to restrain herself. She said, ¡°Caretaker, you can call me Qiao Lian.¡± Immediately, the atmosphere in the room became even more awkward. The caretaker coughed out, ¡°Miss Qiao did not eat dinner today.¡± The caretaker found herself unable to continue speaking. She said this because Shen Liangchuan¡¯s gaze had fallen on the slice of bread in Qiao Lian¡¯s hands and the breadcrumbs on the sides of her mouth. He had initially thought that after today¡¯s incident, she would be finished for good and get overwhelmed by sorrow. But now... Why did she not really look that down? Shen Liangchuan¡¯splexion, already indifferent, became even more pale and cold. A state of furiousness began to spread in him. Her ruddyplexion was an eyesore to him. He was just about to speak when he suddenly realized something. All of a sudden, he strode directly towards Qiao Lian. Hisrge hands mped down on her chin before Qiao Lian even had time to react. Immediately, he coldly said, ¡°Who hit your face?!¡± Who hit my face? Of course it¡¯s the person you¡¯re having an affair with! But nothing would happen even if she told him. He might even take revenge on her behalf! As she hesitated for several seconds, his gaze began to change. He suddenly let go of her chin and mockingly said, ¡°Are you going to tell me that it was Yang Lingsi who hit you?¡± This tone of his... Tch. He was overflowing with immense dissatisfaction! She knew that he was the most impatient when she created problems for him. Thus, she thought for a while and then chose a neutral way of speaking, ¡°Ah, you don¡¯t have to concern yourself with such a small issue¡ª¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have to concern myself? So, are you trying to attain your goals by making a concession? Do you want me to take revenge on your behalf?¡± Shen Liangchuan said with an expression of ridicule. Qiao Lian: ... Shen Liangchuan turned towards the caretaker and said in a stern voice, ¡°Sister Li, you are already so advanced in age, and your eyesight is also failing. Do be careful and do not let others manipte you again.¡± Manipte? This person... Is he referring to me? Qiao Lian frowned and said, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, I don¡¯t need your help¡ª¡± ¡°Miss Qiao, I¡¯m telling you now, women¡¯s tricks do not work on me!¡± Once he finished speaking, he immediately turned around, went upstairs and mmed the door. ¡°Bang!¡± Qiao Lian thought, ¡°So he won¡¯t even let people talk to him at all? Even in a nice and calm tone?¡± Qiao Lian angrily bit off a mouthful of bread. Suddenly, she grew aware of a problem. Was this considered an argument? If so, where would she sleep tonight? Chapter 14 - The Wilfulness Within the Filming Crew

Chapter 14: The Wilfulness Within the Filming Crew

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian spent the night sleeping in the living room. The next morning, after waking up and doing her usual morning routine, she looked in the mirror. She realized that even though her face had be less swollen, it still had some faint redness to it. She couldn¡¯t help but feel slightly infuriated. This p cannot have been suffered for no reason! She dressed herself and went downstairs. The caretaker yelled after her, ¡°Mada¡ª I mean, Ms. Qiao, eat some breakfast before you go.¡± Qiao Lian was really hungry. She left her cell phone on the living room sofa and walked over. Just as she was about to start eating, she saw Shen Liangchuan walking towards her from outside the mansion. Most likely, he had just finished working out and at this point, he was using a towel to wipe his sweat away. Even though he was just wearing a sports outfit and white trainers, he still exuded an air of coolness and arrogance as he walked. His face was expressionless, and he went upstairs without even looking at her. Qiao Lian gazed at his receding figure and couldn¡¯t help but marvel at his arrogance and coldness. Her lips curled. Her mood only became significantly better after she ate and drank her fill. She carried her bag and was about to head outside when she suddenly remembered something. She turned her head, scooped up a cell phone lying on the coffee table and ced it inside her bag. Only then did she rush out of the mansion to go to work. Just as she left, a servant walked over to sweep and clean the ce. She saw a cell phone lying on the sofa and ced it on the coffee table. After a while, Shen Liangchuan came downstairs, having just finished changing his clothes. As he passed by the coffee table, he picked up the cell phone lying on top of it. He stuffed it into his pocket and left the mansion. His manager and assistant were already waiting in the nanny van. After he entered the van, his assistant said cautiously, ¡°Brother Shen, I have already talked to the security officer. From now on, there will be no more incidents of reporters standing in front of your door!¡± Shen Liangchuan grunted his affirmation in an indifferent manner. He picked up his script and the interior of the van fell into absolute silence. Even though he was only appearing in First Love as a cameo and he was only acting in a few scenes, as always, he was still taking his role seriously. In this drama, Shen Liangchuan was ying the role of the CEO of arge enterprise. The drama¡¯s male protagonist was in the early stages of starting a business and he wanted to work for hispany. However, Shen Liangchuan would not provide him with such an opportunity. Having run out of other options, the female protagonist Yang Lingsi boldly stepped forward to assist the male protagonist out of love. She risked her life to stop traffic in the middle of the road and by doing so, she changed the male protagonist¡¯s fate for the better. The scene they were filming today was exactly this scene. At the film set. The director was exining a scene to Shen Liangchuan. He said, ¡°Teacher Shen,ter, when you are driving the car, step on the brakes at this spot. You don¡¯t have to drive too quickly. For the zoomed out shots, we will use a stunt double when reshooting.¡± ¡°Scene 56, take 4. Action!¡± Shen Liangchuan drove a ck Lamborghini. He raised his head to estimate the approximate distance, but he then saw Yang Lingsi, who was standing in the distance. Suddenly, an image of a petite, porcin white face with the imprint of a p shed across his brain. His features grew cold and at the designated spot, he harshly stepped on the elerator instead of stepping on the brakes. The car abruptly sped up and headed straight towards Yang Lingsi! The film set instantly became a scene of absolute chaos. ¡°Brake! Stop the car, quick!¡± ¡°Get out of the way! Jump aside!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Skiiiiid!¡± The sharp noise of a car braking made everybody on set look towards the car with their mouths agape. Shocked, they tried to take in everything that they were seeing. The Lamborghini had stopped. There was only a 0.01 meter distance between the car and Yang Lingsi! The entire set fell into absolute silence. After five seconds, Yang Lingsi felt her legs give way, and she clumsily fell onto the floor. Her entire body was shaking in shock, and her face was pale. Her entire figure looked extremely sorry indeed. Shen Liangchuan stepped out of the car. His gaze swept over everybody on the set indifferently and only after a long while did he softly mumble out, ¡°Apologies, I mixed up the brakes and the elerator.¡± Everyone else on set: ¡°...¡± The director looked at him. He wanted to scold him, but he didn¡¯t dare do so. Atst, he could only squeeze out a reluctant smile and said, ¡°Quick, check on Yang Lingsi!¡± Chapter 15 - Whose Phone... Is This?!

Chapter 15: Whose Phone... Is This?!

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Yang Lingsi¡¯s two assistants hurriedly rushed to her side and exerted effort to help her stand up. One of them said uncertainly, ¡°Why do I smell some sort of odor in the air?¡± The gazes of every member in the filming crewnded on the ground beneath Yang Lingsi¡¯s feet. They saw that little droplets of liquid were dripping from her pants. It was evident that she had urinated in her fright. Everybody lowered their heads simultaneously and shrugged their shoulders. Yang Lingsi began to regain her consciousness. After looking at the reactions of the people around her, she began to wail loudly, ¡°Wahhh!¡± This was so embarrassing! As a female star, this incident would be a dark blemish on her acting career forever. As Yang Lingsi was badly shaken from the incident, everybody decided to temporarily take a rest. Shen Liangchuan was sitting under the shade of an umbre when his manager walked over and said to him, ¡°Brother Shen, you are a car racing enthusiast. How could you have mixed up the brakes and the elerator? Did you do that intentionally? And if so, how did Yang Lingsi offend you?¡± Shen Liangchuan shot a cold nce at him. Immediately, his manager raised his hands and said, ¡°OK, I won¡¯t ask again!¡± ¡ª¡ª Qiao Lian, who had already written a draft in the taxi, rushed into the office. After only half an hour, she had already edited andpiled a vivid article. The contents of the article included how a female star with the surname Yang took advantage of a certain award-winning actor¡¯s online buzz. Not only that, this female star had done so with a nonchnt and repulsive face. The article was extremely riveting, and used sharp, incisive words and phrases. The mocking tone of the article was clear for all to see. By the time she finished typing thest word, Qiao Lian¡¯s right hand was already tired. Satisfied, she stretched her backzily. If a person dared to hit her, they better be prepared to suffer the revenge from her pen! She shifted her gaze away from the monitor and saw Su Meimei standing behind it. Su Meimei raised her head and said mockingly, ¡°Hmph, no matter how serious your performance is, you will still have to leave today.¡± The voice was slightly loud, resulting in the people inside the office looking over in her direction at the same time. Qiao Lian raised her eyebrow and supported her chin with her hand. She sighed intively and said, ¡°Su Meimei, I am indeed quite attractive. However, you do not need to pay attention to me at every single moment. I¡¯m not that beautiful!¡± Su Meimei turned livid with rage at her words and said, ¡°Qiao Lian, don¡¯t you dare act glib in front of me! I¡¯m telling you, the chief editor has already said that if you are unable to identify who Madam Shen is, she will fire you! Do you know how to write a resignation letter? Or do you need me to help you with it?¡± Qiao Lian smiled and said, ¡°Ah, even though you have more experience in this area than me, I currently don¡¯t need your help.¡± Everybody presentughed uproariously at her words. Su Meimei was almost dying of rage. She turned away and saw the chief editor walk out from her office with a dark expression, showing her anger. Su Meimei immediately opened her mouth and said, ¡°Chief, Qiao Lian is here!¡± The chief editor heard her words, stared angrily at Qiao Lian, and walked over. Her hands were holding a cell phone, ¡°Qiao Lian, do you still wish to work here!? I¡¯ve called you so many times! How dare you not answer my calls?¡± Confused, Qiao Lian took her cell phone from her bag and said, ¡°My cell phone did not ring!¡± The chief editor lowered her head and flipped her cell phone open. The sounds ¡°Du... du...¡± were clearlying from her cell phone. ¡°The status on my phone is clearly that of a ced call with nobody picking up on the other end. How could your cell phone not ring? Did you think that if you did not ept my call, you would not have to provide me with results today? I¡¯m asking you again, who is Madam Shen? Have you found out? If not, leave this office immediately!¡± Qiao Lian checked her phone, but what she saw was an unfamiliar screensaver. At that instant, she desperately tried to recall what happened. She had thrown her own phone on the sofa but when she had been about to leave for work, she had picked up a cell phone from the coffee table. So the phone that she was presently clutching in her hands... Whose phone was it? Only one thought scurried to her mind. As if to confirm her hypothesis, the chief editor¡¯s call suddenly went through. At the other end of the call, an impatient Shen Liangchuan answered it with a simple, ¡°Hello¡±. Chapter 16 - Best Actor Shen is My Husband

Chapter 16: Best Actor Shen is My Husband

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan¡¯s voice was very recognizable, as it was really unique. Thus, although he had only said a word, the whole office had quietened down. Qiao Lian was muddled. The chief editor was also dumbfounded. She stared at her cell phone in disbelief, ¡°I... I called the wrong person?¡± The next moment, Qiao Lian hurriedly snatched the cell phone from the hands of the chief editor as she shrieked, ¡°Darling! We have identally exchanged our phones!¡± After she finished her sentence, she looked at the people around her, smiled, and quickly continued, ¡°I¡¯m busy right now, I¡¯ll hang up first. Call you backter!¡± Before Best Actor Shen could reply, she had hung up. The whole room was still in silence. After a while, someone questioned, ¡°Qiao Lian, you are dating?¡± Qiao Lian nodded her head. ¡°Why does the voice of your boyfriend sound so simr to Best Actor Shen¡¯s?¡± Qiao Lian looked up and answered with seriousness, ¡°Let me tell you all, Best Actor Shen is my husband!¡± ¡°Tsk. We all know that you are a fan of Best Actor Shen. However, since you already have a boyfriend, you should stop vying with us for Best Actor Shen!¡± Ironically, no one believed her when she said that. They turned their heads and continued with their work. When Qiao Lian heard their words, she suddenly fell into a trance. Before she married Shen Liangchuan, she had indeed been his fan. However... Now she was considering if she should switch and be a hater! Thereafter, she heard the chief editor¡¯s voice, ¡°So, have you actually found out who Mrs. Shen is yet?¡± Qiao Lian immediately felt stressed, ¡°No, but you have only given me a day for such a huge piece of news, aren¡¯t you making life difficult for me? If you want, we can look for the managing editor to talk it out.¡± She had found big news previously and had been praised by the managing editor, resulting in the chief editor¡¯s dislike for her. The news agency had had a recent outstanding-employee evaluation prize, so the managing editor had wanted to give it to her. However, the chief editor only wanted her niece, Su Meimei, to have it. Thus, the chief editor was trying to suppress Qiao Lian. The chief editor obviously had qualms with the idea and said, ¡°Tsk, then I will give you three more days!¡± Qiao Lian gave her a bright smile, ¡°No problem! Thank you, Chief Editor.¡± The chief editor made a displeased sound and left after saying, ¡°Qiao Lian, if you are still unable to fulfill your task after three days, don¡¯t me me for being harsh and not caring for your sensibility.¡± Qiao Lian sat down after sticking her tongue out at the back view of the chief editor. Then, one of her colleagues came up to her, ¡°Qiao Lian, your boyfriend¡¯s voice is so mesmerizing, can you call him again and let him speak?¡± Qiao Lian was speechless as she thought, ¡°Do you think Shen Liangchuan is a dog? That if you ask him to bark, he will bark?¡± She quickly found an excuse to reject her. However, right when she was about to send out the voice recording alongside the article she had written, to her dismay, she realized with a frown on her face that... The voice recording was on her phone, which was still in the hands of Shen Liangchuan! Qiao Lian looked for a spot with no one around and called her own cell phone. It was only picked up after a few rings as Shen Liangchuan spoke, ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°It¡¯s me!¡± Qiao Lian looked around carefully, she felt like she was acting like a thief, ¡°I think I took the wrong phone.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not ¡®you think¡¯, it is you have.¡± Even though they were speaking through the cell phone, Qiao Lian could feel that cold tone of his. Qiao Lian immediately replied, ¡°I did not do it on purpose. How about you let me go to the filming set and exchange it with you?¡± After she notified the chief editor, Qiao Lian left the news agency. After half an hour, she stood outside the filming set and met with thedy who had previously guided her in to medicate her wound. ¡°Ms. Qiao, Teacher Shen is currently filming. He asked to allow you into the filming set with the identity of a visiting reporter.¡± Qiao Lian took the working pass and entered the filming location with her. Standing not far away was Shen Liangchuan, who was rehearsing. When he lifted his head, his sight was met with a familiar figure. Chapter 17 - Where is my Cell Phone?

Chapter 17: Where is my Cell Phone?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan sat in the car watching Qiao Lian, who was in front of him. She seemed rather meek and clearly didn¡¯t know where she was standing, but she was identally standing on the spot Yang Lingsi had been standing at. Shen Liangchuan recalled his manager¡¯s voice, ¡°Did you do it on purpose? But what exactly did Yang Lingsi do to anger you?¡± Yang Lingsi hadn¡¯t offended him, it had been someone else she had hurt. However, why had he had the urge to avenge her at that moment? He should hate her and be delighted whenever someone bullied her! Recalling Yang Lingsi¡¯s pathetic look, a sudden coldness shed across his eyes. His nce stopped on the small woman in front of him, and he suddenly started the car, speeding up continuously! ¡°Screech!¡± The car stopped one meter away from her. He realized that, in the end, he had still stopped the car earlier than before as he felt flustered. This incident happened too suddenly and quickly. From the moment he started the car until he stopped it, barely ten seconds had passed. Shen Liangchuan had both his hands on the steering wheel, and he could clearly see terror sh through Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes. He could see her face turn pale as she swallowed her saliva from shock and saw how both her legs were trembling. What should happen next is her falling on her butt and bursting into tears, right? However, when that thought came into his mind, he saw the woman in front of him put one hand on her waist and use the other to point at the car, while shouting furiously, ¡°F*ck! You must be crazy! Do you know how to drive? Are you trying to kill someone?¡± Shen Liangchuan: ... As she spoke, she rolled up her sleeves and walked to the side of the car. Her face showed obstinacy, and she looked fierce as she knocked on the window. However, she looked beautiful at the same time and thus her actions didn¡¯t seem boorish. Instead, they gave out forthrightness. ¡°You get out of the car! You almost hit someone, how can you act as if nothing happened?¡± The voice that entered his ear made Shen Liangchuan¡¯s face turn cold. For the first time, he felt powerless, as if he had used utmost strength to punch but itnded on soft cotton, making no impact. He rubbed his forehead irritatedly and lowered his car window. ¡°You better pray that I¡¯m alright¡ª¡± Her words stopped abruptly as she said with astonishment, ¡°Shen, Best Actor Shen?¡± Qiao Lian was furious. She had merelye to collect her cell phone, but she had almost gotten into an ident! The startling moment just now caused her fear just recalling it. If something had happened to her, who would take care of Qiao Yi? Could someone tell her why the driver was Shen Liangchuan? Qiao Lian opened her eyes wide in shock. She then saw Shen Liangchuan slowlye out from the driver¡¯s seat, with his usual expressionless face. Qiao Lian stammered, ¡°Why are you here?¡± She turned her head to observe her surroundings and realized that the cameras were still around. However, since the crew was still taking their break, no one had noticed what had taken ce here. She suddenly understood the situation, ¡°You are rehearsing? Oh, am I interrupting you?¡± Shen Liangchuan: ... Shen Liangchuan¡¯s steps didn¡¯t stop as he walked in the opposite direction. Qiao Lian moved her legs, which were jelly due to the shock she had received, and ran after Shen Liangchuan, ¡°Mr. Shen, may I know where my phone is?¡± She could only publish the article after she got hold of the voice recording! After finishing her sentence, she heard Shen Liangchuan say, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± He doesn¡¯t know? Qiao Lian panicked, ¡°I urgently need my cell phone, how could you not know where it is?¡± Shen Liangchuan suddenly stopped in his tracks. Qiao Lian failed to notice and bumped against his back. As she lifted her head, she was met with Shen Liangchuan¡¯s nce, which was filled with ridicule. Chapter 18 - Quit Immediately!

Chapter 18: Quit Immediately!

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°You need it urgently? Is it because you have secretly taken photos and invaded someone else¡¯s privacy again?¡± His tone made Qiao Lian extremely ufortable. Paparazzi are the natural enemies of artists, but he shouldn¡¯t lump together all reporters like that. Qiao Lian¡¯s voice was stiff, ¡°Not yours.¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s eyes became colder as he walked forward, not even sparing a nce at her. He spoke condescendingly, ¡°Quit immediately!¡± Qiao Lian panicked, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want my child¡¯s mother to be a scum who invades the privacy of others.¡± The words mmed hard onto Qiao Lian¡¯s heart as if it was a hammer. She was stunned on the spot and watched Shen Liangchuan walk into the lounge as she clenched her fists tightly. Her thin body was trembling slightly as her lips suddenly curved into a bitter smile. If she had had the choice, she wouldn¡¯t have be a paparazzi. She had her own dreams, but she also hadpelling reasons that deterred her from chasing them. Qiao Lian took a deep breath and started walking. When she reached the door of the lounge, she heard the conversation inside. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s manager, Song Cheng, spoke with a tinge of urgency, ¡°Brother Shen, your poprity is currently booming, you shouldn¡¯t be involved in the sensitive topic of having a hidden marriage. Now, we are totally unable to respond. You see, if we confess to your marriage¡ª¡± ¡°No,¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s words sounded determined. He wasn¡¯t afraid of publicizing his marriage, but he didn¡¯t want it to be with her, since it would constantly remind him of how ridiculous he had been eight years ago. Song Cheng agreed, nodding his head, ¡°Yes, we can¡¯t confess to it. If you did, there would be too many people who would quit being your fans. However, we can¡¯t deny it either, as that would be lying! Now, we can only wait for the news to die down. Yet due to how influential you are, I can tell from previous experience that this will take some time! Aish, Brother Shen, what should we do?¡± Shen Liangchuan replied inly, ¡°You are my manager, you should be the one worrying about it.¡± Song Cheng: ... Qiao Lian, who was standing outside the door, looked in. She saw Song Cheng, who was filled with anxiety, next to Shen Liangchuan who was rxedly sitting on the sofa and reading his script. He looked very serious. A ray of sunlight came in through the window and shone on him. He emitted an indescribable, attractive aura. Qiao Lian¡¯s heart rate slowed down. The news was furiously bubbling online, but he was standing his ground steadily and seemed unaffected. It felt like he had a sense of undisturbable peace. That calmness seemed infectious. It made Song Cheng calm down from his anxiety, and he walked rxedly out of the lounge. Qiao Lian took a look at Shen Liangchuan and, as she was standing outside with Song Cheng, she closed the door. Qiao Lian looked down at her toes and suddenly spoke, ¡°Hand the problem of the rumors over to me, I will settle it.¡± Song Cheng stared at her with confusion, ¡°Ms. Qiao?¡± Qiao Lian was smiling, ¡°Let me find a way to settle down the news.¡± All of a sudden, Song Chengughed, ¡°Why does Ms. Qiao want to help Mr. Shen?¡± Why did she want to help him? Qiao Lian gave it a thought and found an excuse, ¡°It is in order to have an excuse to ask Mr. Shen for help in the near future.¡± After helping him, it should be easier to negotiate with him, to allow her to continue her job as a reporter. She must have thought of helping him because of that! Song Cheng thought so before he left to continue his job and Qiao Lian, who had nothing to do, loitered around the lounge. All of a sudden, her cell phone rang. She subconsciously picked it up, only to realize that it was Shen Liangchuan¡¯s cell phone! Chapter 19 - Shen Liangchuan Loves me Deeply

Chapter 19: Shen Liangchuan Loves me Deeply

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian felt like hanging up the phone, but she heard the voice of the caller, ¡°Teacher Shen, it¡¯s Yang Lingsi.¡± Qiao Lian stopped her action as she raised her eyebrows. Was yesterday¡¯s confession insufficient? She still wants to continue today? She looked at the lounge and decided to return the cell phone to Shen Liangchuan. However, Yang Lingsi¡¯s coquettish voice came from the other side of the call, ¡°Teacher Shen, I¡¯m really sorry about yesterday. I made a fool of myself. I-I was terrified and thusmitted such a mistake. Could you not be angry with me anymore? I have learned from my mistake.¡± Qiao Lian: ... Her throat suddenly felt itchy, and she couldn¡¯t help but cough. The voice on the phone suddenly stopped. After a while, Yang Lingsi questioned with caution, ¡°Are-are you... Mrs. Shen?¡± Qiao Lian: ... Yang Lingsi quickly continued, ¡°Mrs. Shen, it¡¯s you, right? Please don¡¯t misunderstand, there¡¯s nothing between me and Teacher Shen. We are purely friends.¡± Qiao Lian was speechless. The hell? Purely friends? Did this woman think that she was brainless? She couldn¡¯t take it anymore andughed to the speaker, ¡°Ms. Yang, I didn¡¯t misunderstand you. Your Teacher Shen even told me about you yesterday!¡± Yang Lingsi was filled with excitement immediately, ¡°What did Teacher Shen say about me?¡± ¡°He said that your eyes have gone through too much surgery, which makes them look scarily huge.¡± Yang Lingsi was stunned. Qiao Lian spoke with a surprised tone, ¡°Ah! Did I say something wrong? Please don¡¯t misunderstand, I didn¡¯t mean anything by it.¡± Qiao Lian could picture Yang Lingsi¡¯s anger, and she secretly felt delighted. She originally thought that Yang Lingsi would hang up, but she spoke again, ¡°Mrs. Shen, actually, there is something I want to tell you. Yesterday, Mr. Shen spent a long time alone in the lounge with a reporter from the Gossip News Agency.¡± Woah, so is she trying to sow discord? Qiao Lian thought for a while, picked up the phone, and said, ¡°Oh, I know about it. He told me that the reporter was interviewing him.¡± ¡°Mrs. Shen, you trust Mr. Shen so much?¡± Qiao Lian replied, ¡°Yes, of course. You don¡¯t know how much he loves me.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Aish! He has liked me for many years. I only agreed to marry him because he was really persistent, from the moment he got a crush on me to the moment of his confession. Thus, if I realize that he betrayed my trust, I will divorce him immediately!¡± Qiao Lian was enjoying herself telling the story, even as it spiraled, and she secretly vented all the anger she had bottled up in her. Just when she was about to continue her story, her body suddenly froze. It was because when she turned her head... Shen Liangchuan was standing at the door of the lounge and staring at her with his calm ck eyes! Qiao Lian was so shocked that she had to take in a deep breath, while her hands were shaking. At that moment of fluster, the phone almost fell to the ground, causing her to identally turn on the speaker. Thus, Yang Lingsi¡¯s voice floated over, ¡°Oh, Teacher Shen actually has such deep love for you! That means there¡¯s really nothing between him and that reporter? Mrs. Shen, you are so blessed!¡± The word ¡°blessed¡± made Qiao Lian feel like dying at that moment. Why does this man move around so silently! He had randomly appeared behind her, almost scaring her to her death! She swallowed her saliva and gave an awkwardugh, ¡°It¡¯s just normal. I¡¯m kind of busy right now, bye!¡± She only looked at Shen Liangchuan after she hung up the phone. She was dead meat! Could someone tell her how much he had heard from their conversation?! Qiao Lian wished the ground could swallow her whole to save her from her current situation. Chapter 20 - Did you Learn your Acting Skills from a Pig

Chapter 20: Did you Learn your Acting Skills from a Pig

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She lowered her head and from the corner of her eyes, she could see him walk towards her. Qiao Lian took a step back in shock. Best Actor Shen wouldn¡¯t be so angry as to hit her, right? As the thought shed through her head, he suddenly looked up and walked past her towards the filming set, as if he hadn¡¯t seen her. She heaved a sigh of relief and quickly followed behind him. The filming set was chaotic. Shen Liangchuan once again sat in the car and prepared for filming. Qiao Lian could only wait on the side. Yang Lingsi was standing on the side too. When she thought of what had happened a while earlier, she still felt ashamed. Although every one of the crew was busy with work, she still felt like she was aughing stock. Yang Lingsi took a deep breath, but she suddenly saw Qiao Lian standing in the crowd. She furrowed her brows and said, ¡°Why is she here again?¡± Her assistant took a nce at her and spoke softly, ¡°She should be a visiting reporter, I saw a worker¡¯s permit on her neck.¡± Yang Lingsi creased her brows, and evil bubbled in her heart. She seemed to have found someone to vent her anger on. She curved her lips into a smile and gave some instructions to her assistant. Just as Qiao Lian noticed that the filming was about to begin, the stage supervisor of the filming crew came up to her, ¡°Qiao Lian, I am very close to the chief editor of the Gossip News Agency. Our cameraman isn¡¯t feeling well today and this scene is kind of troublesome, so we require a lot of assistance, could you lend us a hand?¡± Close to their chief editor? She wouldn¡¯t dare reject. If not, the stage supervisor would probably call her toin! Qiao Lian could only follow the stage supervisor to the crew, where someone handed her a heavy video camera. ¡°Everyone stand by! We can start now!¡± The filming started. Qiao Lian adhered to the cameraman¡¯s instructions as she lifted the video camera with some trouble and focused it on Yang Lingsi. Just as this scene was about to pass, Yang Lingsi suddenly stopped and said, ¡°Sorry director, I feel that something¡¯s wrong.¡± Qiao Lian was immediately rmed. Her arm had just been injured yesterday, and she was already having difficulty pulling through that scene. If they had to do it again... She suddenly understood. The filming crew had so many cameramen, why would they need her? At that moment, she recalled seeing Yang Lingsi¡¯s assistant go look for the stage supervisor, and then he hade to her... So Yang Lingsi is targeting me! Dang it! But, she couldn¡¯t reject the task. Her chief editor was already hoping for nothing but to catch the chink in her armor. Qiao Lian clenched her teeth and persisted. On the second take, ¡°Ah, director, is my eye makeup unsuitable?¡± The third take, ¡°Sorry, everyone~¡± ¡°...¡± The shot failed time and time again, and they retook the scene again and again. The strength she ced on her arm and the actions she repeatedly had to perform were causing her arm to tremble slightly. She could feel that her injury from yesterday was splitting apart. Shen Liangchuan, who was seated in the car, stared forward, thinking deeply. He watched her getting yed around with as if she were a clown, and blood was permeating from her arm through her shirt. When he saw the blood stain on her shirt, he suddenly pushed the car door open with his hand. After another failed shot, Qiao Lian could no longer take it. Assh*le, there is no end to this! Just as she was about to do something, she suddenly heard the m of a car door from nearby. Shen Liangchuan stood beside the car, and his freezing cold stature emitted superiority. His aura pressured everyone so much that nobody dared to move. Thereafter, he looked at Yang Lingsi and spoke with a dripping-cold voice. Although it seemed emotionless, every word that came out of his mouth felt as if it was a p to Yang Lingsi¡¯s face. ¡°Yang Lingsi, did you learn your acting skills from a pig?¡± Chapter 21 - Best Actor Shen is Acting Arrogant!

Chapter 21: Best Actor Shen is Acting Arrogant!

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Yang Lingsi¡¯s face immediately turned pale. His one sentence shamed her much more than the incident where she had peed herself due to shock. If the news of her identally peeing due to shock were spread out, it would at most earn her the title of a coward. On the other hand however, it would also show her professionalism by not using a stand-in. But now, with this insult from Best Actor Shen about her acting, her name in the industry would be thoroughly destroyed. The future that awaited her was a scene of ckness. No one spoke at the scene. The director came out to mediate the dispute, ¡°Heh, Xiao Yang don¡¯t be such a perfectionist. That-¡± Before he could finish, Shen Liangchuan moved. He was originally standing beside the car, however now, he was making his way to the director domineeringly. He mmed the script hard before the director and remarked, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I have limited time.¡± He looked down at his watch and said, ¡°I have somewhere to be, I¡¯ll take my leave first.¡± As he finished speaking, he turned around and walked away, taking long strides. This move of his stunned everyone for a few seconds. The director panicked. He didn¡¯t dare to chase after Shen Liangchuan and thus, he held onto Song Cheng who was about to leave and said, ¡°Little Brother Song, will Best Actor Shen... be back tomorrow?¡± Song Cheng was torn betweenughing and crying. He knew Shen Liangchuan¡¯s character too well. He replied to the director softly, ¡°He has other appointments scheduled tomorrow. This show... Brother Shen won¡¯t be taking part in it anymore! We will send the cancetion fees overter.¡± The director was about to cry, ¡°But we have already advertised the appearance of Best Actor Shen!¡± Song Cheng nced at Yang Lingsi and shifted his nce to Qiao Lian, who was standing beside him. He patted the back of the director, ¡°Do you think Best Actor Shen¡¯s guest performance is a bigger stunt than the stunt of Best Actor Shen exploding in anger due to the female lead?¡± The director was stunned for a moment, ¡°You mean...¡± Song Chengughed, ¡°There happens to be a visiting reporter today on set. Brother Shen is waiting for me, so I shall take my leave!¡± As the director watched Song Cheng leave, he thought his suggestion through. Indeed, like he said, if the incident were to be exposed, it would attract even more attention! However, if they did that, Yang Lingsi¡¯s name would be thoroughly ruined. But this was his first drama. He had to make use of any stunt that could attract a bit of attention, even if it was negative! As he affirmed his thoughts, he suddenly raised his head and asked, ¡°I heard that there¡¯s a visiting reporter today. Where is she?¡± The reported had to put the filming crew in a good light and focus the negative parts on Yang Lingsi. Thus, what he had to do now was to coax the reporter. The stage supervisor was stunned for a moment and then pointed at Qiao Lian, ¡°It¡¯s her.¡± When the director saw Qiao Lian and recalled the actions of Yang Lingsi, he immediately understood the situation. He smacked the stage supervisor¡¯s head angrily, ¡°Do you not have brains? Actors making a hard time for reporters? Are you looking for death? Quick, invite Reporter Qiao over!¡± Qiao Lian carried the heavy video camera as her vision froze at Shen Liangchuan¡¯s leaving figure. His sudden outburst, had it been... because of her? She felt extremely touched, and her lips couldn¡¯t help but curve into a smile . So, he wasn¡¯t as bad as he seemed! As she was immersed in her thoughts, she saw the stage supervisor walk over. The intentions of buttering up to her were printed clearly on his face, ¡°Reporter Qiao, this is too heavy. Please, put it down.¡± After the director and the stage supervisor coaxed her and she received some first-hand news, Qiao Lian felt as if her whole body was floating as she left. Moreover, once she stepped out of the filming set, she saw a ck car parked not far away. Song Cheng was beside the car, and he waved to her excitedly. Chapter 22 - Thank You, Mr. Shen

Chapter 22: Thank You, Mr. Shen

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Song Cheng stood beside the car with a pleasant smile. He spoke to Shen Liangchuan who was in the driver¡¯s seat through the half-opened car window, ¡°Brother Shen, I have only realized now that the hate you have for reporters also depends on the person!¡± Shen Liangchuan stared at him coldly and said, ¡°You are overthinking.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t deny it, didn¡¯t you give Ms. Qiao a very big piece of news today?¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s nce focused. He was a person who usually didn¡¯t bother exining things to others. However, he did so this time, not knowing if he was exining to Song Cheng or himself, ¡°I didn¡¯t give it much thought.¡± Song Cheng replied, ¡°Tsk. There are so many ways to bully Yang Lingsi, but you just left. Isn¡¯t it because of¡ª¡± A freezing cold nce hit him, so Song Cheng immediately raised his hand, saying, ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll shut up.¡± As Song Cheng raised his head, he excitedly waved when he saw the person walking out of the filming crew. Shen Liangchuan turned his head and through the window ss, he could see Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes light up when she saw Song Cheng. She excitedly waved to Song Cheng, and the bright smile on her face made his heart feel congested. The road across the filming set had no traffic lights. She briefly looked left and right and ran straight across the road without caution. Shen Liangchuan subconsciously furrowed his brows as he watched a car fly past her side. Qiao Lian ran towards the ck BMW and patted the car, eximing, ¡°Mr. Song, I didn¡¯t expect your car to look as dashing as you!¡± Song Cheng immediately bragged bashfully. He spoke while touching his hair, ¡°I know I¡¯m really handsome. It¡¯s such a waste to stand next to Best Actor Shen. I am unable to shine like that!¡± Qiao Lian immediatelyforted him, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Best Actor Shen is too cold. For a boyfriend, you are the best type.¡± Song Cheng peeked at Shen Liangchuan out of the corner of his eyes and was met with a ghastly pale Shen Liangchuan. He walked over with a mischievous smile, opened the door of the passenger seat and invited her, ¡°Ms. Qiao, get in the car.¡± Qiao Lian looked at him as she sat in the car and spoke sweetly, ¡°You are totally different from Best Actor Shen, you are so gentlemanly¡ª¡± Before she could finish her sentence, she suddenly felt coldness from behind her. As she turned her head, she realized Shen Liangchuan was actually seated in the car! Qiao Lian immediately froze, and she felt a strong urge to run away. Turning around again, she saw an evil smile on Song Cheng¡¯s face as he mmed the door shut. Qiao Lian was startled. After Song Cheng closed the door, he walked back and intended to open the door of the back seat, but the car suddenly started and sped off. Song Cheng eximed, ¡°Oi! I haven¡¯t gotten onto the car yet!¡± However, no one was able to hear him, as the car had already disappeared at the junction ahead. Song Cheng thought, ¡°Why is Best Actor Shen still so petty!¡± ¡ª¡ª Qiao Lian sat in the car and felt guilty, like a child who had been caught stealing bread. She peeked from the corner of her eyes and realized that Shen Liangchuan was expressionless. The coldness he emitted was so strong she was about to freeze! The silence in the car was agitating. She swallowed her saliva and carefully spoke, ¡°Mr. Shen, ermm, I didn¡¯t mean that Mr. Song is more attractive than you, it¡¯s just that sunshine guys are more popr now.¡± The atmosphere in the car became even colder. Qiao Lian shut her mouth up as she realized she had said things she shouldn¡¯t have. Once again, she peeked at him. When she recalled the things that had urred previously, she spoke, ¡°Thank you for today, Mr. Shen.¡± When she ended her sentence, the car suddenly jerked to a stop, and a figure suddenly came on top of her! Chapter 23 - I Didnt Do It on Purpose

Chapter 23: I Didn¡¯t Do It on Purpose

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios That familiar strong scent suddenly neared Qiao Lian. She was so shocked that she momentarily stopped breathing. As she looked at his face, which was less than five centimeters away, she was so shocked she couldn¡¯t speak clearly, ¡°Mr., Mr. Shen?¡± He squinted his eyes, and slight diposure shed across his eyes. It made Qiao Lian feel that the current him was weird. Then she heard him say, ¡°Indeed, you have to thank me.¡± Qiao Lian widened her eyes as he continued, ¡°You put in so much effort just to secretly exchange our phones. Wasn¡¯t it just to enter the filming set and force me to teach her a lesson?¡± Qiao Lian was stunned. So, that was what he thought of her. She didn¡¯t want to be misunderstood by him, ¡°I didn¡¯t take the wrong phone on purpose, I-¡± ¡°Where¡¯s the evidence?¡± Those three words prevented Qiao Lian from continuing her next sentence. Why would there be evidence of her identally taking the wrong phone?! She had no means to prove that she hadn¡¯t done it on purpose. Qiao Lian clenched her fist, ¡°I didn¡¯t ask for your help.¡± Shen Liangchuan made a ¡°tsk¡± sound and said, ¡°If I hadn¡¯t helped you today and you were to be exposed as Mrs. Shen in the future, it would be a stain in my career.¡± So that was the reason he had helped her? Qiao Lian was stunned. Suddenly, a horn sounded. Through the rear mirror, they could see that the car behind them was impatiently switching its headlights on and off. Shen Liangchuan then returned to his seat and started the car. His expression returned to normal as he looked forward. However, his heart couldn¡¯t calm down. She had thanked him, but ironically enough he could only hear a strong sense of sarcasm in her words. She had mistreated him badly eight years ago, yet he was helping her now... A sense of irritation emerged once again. He opened a slit in the window, and the cold wind blew in. His anger was then eased. He looked at her from the corner of his eye and realized she had kept quiet and been looking down after she finished her previous sentence. At that moment, the wind was blowing her hair, and she was subconsciously hugging herself. Her body was trembling from the cold. The little anger left in him suddenly disappeared upon witnessing that scene. He calmly and quietly closed the window while looking forward. After a while, they returned to the Shen Vi. As the car stopped, Shen Liangchuan left the car and entered the living room, without waiting for Qiao Lian. Qiao Lian heaved a sigh of relief. She felt that it was easier to breathe than before. She then got out of the car and entered the room. The living room no longer had any trace of Shen Liangchuan. The caretaker walked over and said, ¡°Ms. Qiao, Mr. is in the room upstairs.¡± When Qiao Lian heard that, she acknowledged and entered the guest room upstairs. Shen Liangchuan definitely wouldn¡¯t want to see her now. Why would she want to appear in front of him and annoy him? After a while, the caretaker knocked on the door and entered the room, ¡°Ms. Qiao, Mr. said that your arm¡¯s injured, and he sent me to treat it for you.¡± He still remembered the wound on her arm? As that thought emerged, she quickly shook her head and patted it. Qiao Lian told herself, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t overthink!¡± ¡ª¡ª After her wound was treated, the caretaker came back and brought her a light dinner. After Qiao Lian finished her meal, sheid on the bed, holding Shen Liangchuan¡¯s phone while looking at it. Should she go over now and exchange the phone with him? Qiao Lian left the bed, tiptoed out of the door and walked towards the master bedroom. As she stealthily opened the door, she could hear the sound of running water from the bathroom. Excitement filled her suddenly. However, as she was about to rush in to look for her phone, the bathroom door suddenly opened. It was followed by Shen Liangchuan walking out dressed in a bathrobe. Chapter 24 - It was Different from the Previous Times

Chapter 24: It was Different from the Previous Times

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan wasn¡¯t facing the light, and Qiao Lian could only see his strong stature vaguely. When he noticed her, he was surprised. Qiao Lian tensed her body in shock and stammered, ¡°Mr., Mr. Shen...¡± She pointed to the phone in her hands and said, ¡°I-I¡¯vee to give you your phone!¡± He remained silent. She put the phone on the bedside table as her nce swept across the bed. She wanted to ask where her phone was, but she wasn¡¯t daring enough. She then spoke, ¡°Erm, thank you for asking the caretaker to apply medicine for me.¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s gaze darkened as his ncended on her arm. ¡°No problem.¡± Qiao Lian could only walk out. ¡°Then, I will¡ª¡± Before she could finish, he suddenly asked, ¡°Does your arm still hurt?¡± Qiao Lian hurriedly replied, ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt anymore, don¡¯t worry!¡± ¡°That¡¯s great. Then it won¡¯t affect us fulfilling our official duties.¡± After he finished his sentence, he walked towards Qiao Lian. Immediately, Qiao Lian was filled with anxiety. ¡°What, what official duties?¡± ¡°If I remember correctly, you¡¯re currently ovting.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± ¡°So, don¡¯t waste any time.¡± As he ended his sentence, he casually removed his bathrobe and threw it on the sofa beside him. He then walked straight to the side of the bed andy on her. Qiao Lian closed her eyes and clenched her fist. Sadness emerged from the bottom of her heart as she realized what he meant. Of course. He had just asked the caretaker to treat her wound so that he would be able to continue this with her tonight. She had thought it was going to be a hard night, but unexpectedly, his actions weren¡¯t as violent as they had been the previous times. He even gently held onto her arm. Although there was still no forey, she felt something else other than pain this time. The second morning, when Qiao Lian woke up, her side was empty, but there was a silver-colored phone on the pillow. She picked it up and after realizing that it was her phone, she immediately got excited. It was the newest phone of a certain brand. It was her reward from the news agency when she uncovered arge piece of news in the past. If not for that, she wouldn¡¯t have been able to afford it with her meager pay. Qiao Lian left the bed and proceeded to wash up. When she proceeded downstairs, she saw the caretaker holding a cup of milk and waiting for her. She didn¡¯t speak throughout the process as she drank the weird-tasting milk. She left to the news agency hurriedly after consuming two pieces of bread. There had been two pieces of exclusive news about Yang Lingsi yesterday. To Yang Lingsi, that must have been a double impact! Once she arrived at the news agency, she heard her colleague shout at her, ¡°Qiao Lian, Qiao Lian!¡± Qiao Lian walked over as her colleague pointed to an online article saying, ¡°What¡¯s up with this?¡± It was a news report about Best Actor Shen and Yang Lingsi entering the filming set together. Qiao Lian nced through the article and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Her colleagues immediately felt she was being treated unjustly. ¡°Look at the author section. Only Su Meimei¡¯s name is here! And you almost exchanged your life for this scoop!¡± Their news agency had an unspoken rule. If two people went to an interview, the article had to include both of their names. However, Su Meimei hadpletely left Qiao Lian out! A few of her colleagues felt wronged in her ce. The discussion soon came to Su Meimei¡¯s knowledge, who stood up immediately and said with sarcasm, ¡°Why must I give her half of the credit?¡± Qiao Lian kept silent, but someone else couldn¡¯t help but speak, ¡°Su Meimei, if it hadn¡¯t been for Qiao Lian, Best Actor Shen¡¯s car wouldn¡¯t have stopped. She risked her life for the news, you are too much!¡± Su Meimei raised her eyebrows. ¡°Too much? The photos were taken by me, the article was written by me, the copyright belongs to me!¡± Chapter 25 - Shot Himself In the Foot!

Chapter 25: Shot Himself In the Foot!

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°How dare you do this?¡± ¡°Exactly, how are we going to work together for duo interviews in the future, if everyone is going to fight for credit?¡± ¡°Such actions are seriously immoral!¡± The amount of criticism caused Su Meimei¡¯s face to turn grim, ¡°Heh, if all of you have so manyints, go ahead andin to the chief editor then!¡± At that moment, the chief editor walked out, ¡°What are all of you arguing about? Isn¡¯t it chaotic enough?¡± Someone voiced their opinion, ¡°Chief Editor, why is the article like this? Why did Qiao Lian not get any credit for it?¡± The chief editor eyed the person and let out a coldugh, ¡°Why must it include her name?¡± ¡°She went for the interview together with Su Meimei!¡± ¡°Exactly, Chief Editor, ording to the rules, Qiao Lian should be credited too.¡± The chief editor made a disapproving sound, ¡°ording to the rules? Which rule in our news agency states that she must be credited?¡± No one expected the chief editor to be so unreasonable. They were at a loss for words. Qiao Lian looked at her colleague, who had first told her about it. As the colleague was about to continue speaking up for her, she hurriedly stuck out her hand and stopped her. Then, she curved her lips into a smile and said, ¡°Chief Editor, ording to what you¡¯ve said, does it mean that I don¡¯t need to give her credit for my articles either?¡± Su Meimei mocked her, ¡°Why? Have you gotten your hands on another piece of first-hand news? Let¡¯s see what you are capable of then!¡± She narrowed her eyes as she ended her sentence. They all knew that for an article to be popr, it must contain new information. Although Qiao Lian had sessfully entered the filming set that day, if she had gotten a hot piece of news, she would have jumped at the chance to send it out yesterday already. The chief editor also gave out augh and replied, ¡°Yes, if you had gotten your hands on any first-hand news that day, you could have also omitted Su Meimei¡¯s name.¡± The chief editor didn¡¯t believe that Qiao Lian would have been so lucky as to uncover something. However, they didn¡¯t expect that after the chief editor and Su Meimei said that, Qiao Lian would immediately reply smiling, ¡°Ok then, sure! Chief Editor, I will sort out the information and send it to youter.¡± She then sat down happily. Originally, she didn¡¯t want to share the hard-earned piece of news she had gotten about Yang Lingsi which she had even exchanged a p for anyway. So Su Meimei¡¯s separation from her was just as she wished. It was a godsend! Qiao Lian was astute, so she quickly sent the article together with the edited voice recording. Then, she sorted out the information on what she had seen on the filming set and added it to the email. Su Meimei was standing in the chief editor¡¯s office and looking at Qiao Lian through the window. Seeing Qiao Lian busily working, she couldn¡¯t help but frown, ¡°Auntie, could it be that she has really uncovered a hot piece of news? If she has, allow me to add her name to the article, then I can have mine on hers too.¡± The chief editorughed coldly, ¡°This woman is really cunning, don¡¯t panic. I think Qiao Lian is just trying to scare you with a facade. Furthermore, if Best Actor Shen¡¯s news were so easy to obtain, it would mean we have been wasting our time in this industry.¡± Su Meimei felt that what the chief editor said made sense, but she couldn¡¯t help but feel uneasy. After a while, they heard the notification sound of the chief editor¡¯s email. She quickly rushed over and as both of them looked at the screen, they read the title of the article that had just arrived, ¡°Actress Yang Confesses Willingness to be Mistress for sake of Headlines!¡± The explosive title made Su Meimei¡¯s irises narrow in shock. Shemented with slight sarcasm in her voice, ¡°Confess? She actually dares to use such a word! Even if Yang Lingsi did admit to something like that, she wouldn¡¯t have been so stupid as to leave evidence.¡± Chapter 26 - The Female Caster Forget Chuan

Chapter 26: The Female Caster ¡®Forget Chuan¡¯

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°... So what? I¡¯m telling you, the person who will hit the headlines with Best Actor Shen is me! I¡¯ll take advantage of the buzz surrounding his wedding!¡± As the audio recording finished ying, both Su Meimei and the chief editor werepletely dumbfounded. They looked at each other with ghastly expressions. That day, all the reporters who had gone to the filming site had seen Yang Lingsi and Best Actor Shen sitting in a car together. All of them had gone back to disseminate the news, which resulted in ¡°Best Actor Shen and Yang Lingsi¡± being the search term that trended the most yesterday. Su Meimei¡¯s draft seemed extremely normalpared to such overwhelming articles. At this moment, if they released this bombshell of a draft that was also fully substantiated, anyone could tell how much buzz the article would generate. Su Meimei¡¯s eyes were red, ¡°It¡¯s all your fault, Auntie!¡± She had been with the news agency for such a long time, and yet she still hadn¡¯t had the opportunity to discover such a huge scandal! And this time, her small-mindedness had let such a huge opportunity slip away from her. The chief editor wanted to say something that wouldfort her, but just then, ¡°Ding!¡± Another email arrived. She opened it and realized that it was another email from Qiao Lian. The headline was, ¡°Best Actor Shen Refuses Cameo¡ªsuspects that a certain female star¡¯s acting skills were ¡®taught by a pig.¡¯¡± At this point, Su Meimei¡¯s frustration rendered her speechless. Tears began to roll down her face, ¡°Auntie! This was supposed to be mine!¡± The chief editor wrinkled her eyebrows, and the phone on her desk began to ring. When she picked up the receiver, she heard the voice of the managing editor, ¡°Regarding the news that Qiao Lian has dug up, you should publish the first wave now. In two hours, publish the second wave.¡± The chief editor¡¯s face darkened. It was only at this moment that she realized that when Qiao Lian sent her the email, she also¡¯d the managing editor. At this rate, she wouldn¡¯t be able to kick Qiao Lian down anymore! ¡ª¡ª As Qiao Lian¡¯s news article was published, the reaction to her findings was extremely enthusiastic. Every major media tform linked her article and in no time at all, the number of people who clicked on her article rose rapidly! A colleague lowered her voice and said, ¡°Qiao Lian, you should be careful, the chief editor will never forgive you for this.¡± Before she could finish speaking, her office door swung open. The chief editor was standing there, staring daggers at her, ¡°Qiao Lian! Just because you¡¯ve unearthed two pieces of unimportant news doesn¡¯t mean you can avoid the main point! I¡¯m asking you, have you figured out who Mrs. Shen is? If not, you must still leave this office tomorrow!¡± Qiao Lian immediately stood up straight and said, ¡°Understood, chief editor!¡± The chief editor wrinkled her eyebrows, nced at her and turned away to leave. Her colleague sighed in relief and said, ¡°Qiao Lian, have you really figured out who Mrs. Shen is?¡± Qiao Lian looked at her and said, ¡°What do you think?¡± Her colleague said, ¡°Everybody knows that in our industry, it is the most difficult to unearth scandals involving two specific people. One is Best Actor Shen. Until now, nobody knows anything about his family background. The other is that eSports female caster ¡®Forget Chuan¡¯. Tell me, why must she be so mysterious if she¡¯s only a female caster? Another colleague came over to join in the conversation saying, ¡°Yeah, I agree. All female casters typically earn a living based on their appearance, but this ¡®Forget Chuan¡¯ doesn¡¯t even show her face when she¡¯s casting eSports. There are no photographs of her, not even now! On the contrary, her poprity is through the roof precisely because of such mysteriousness.¡± ¡°I¡¯m guessing that ¡®Forget Chuan¡¯ is definitely a dinosaur!¡± As she listened to her colleagues¡¯ conversation, Qiao Lian¡¯s face had a weird expression. Suddenly, her cell phone began to ring. She excused herself and went outside. After finding a deserted corner, she took the call. A pleasant male voice emanated from the other end of the receiver, ¡°Forget Chuan, don¡¯t forget about the livestream happening tomorrow at three in the afternoon.¡± Chapter 27 - Here comes Best Actor Shen!

Chapter 27: Herees Best Actor Shen!

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios That¡¯s right. The female caster ¡®Forget Chuan¡¯ that her colleagues were talking about just now was actually her all along. Initially, she had only livestreamed in eSports tournaments with her friends out of interest. However, she hadn¡¯t realized that the reactions she would receive would be so positive. Afterwards, she started live streaming a match from time to time. Perhaps because she was being so mysterious about it, in this digital age, the mysteriousness actually increased the interest people had in her. The person who called her was her live streaming partner, Gao Youming. Qiao Lian smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t forget it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve just sent you the invitation for tonight¡¯s celebration party for the cast and crew of the show ¡®Qing Gong¡¯. Do you want to go?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes immediately brightened. ¡°Yes, yes, yes, I must go!¡± She had just been wondering about how to attend the party tonight. To think that a solution would present itself right when she was anxiously worrying about this problem! As she hung up, Qiao Lian¡¯s lips curled into a smile. She calmly paced back to her office. As she entered, she saw that everybody was still noisily discussing amongst themselves. ¡°Tonight¡¯s celebration party for the cast and crew of ¡®Qing Gong¡¯ will be held at the Royal Family Hotel. The managing editor just came to find the chief editor and told her that she had managed to, after great difficulty, find an opening for a waiting staff. She wants Qiao Lian to fill this opening and uncover a huge scoop in the process!¡± ¡°Why did she not directly ask for an invitation letter?¡± ¡°What do you know! Tonight¡¯s celebration party will be absolutely star-studded. For public order and security purposes, the number of invitations sent out has been limited. Even finding a waiting staff opening must have cost the managing editor Herculean effort.¡± ¡°Ah, this is clearly a free opportunity for Qiao Lian to obtain a huge scoop. She¡¯s so lucky!¡± Qiao Lian walked over and sighed, saying, ¡°Do all of you think that the chief editor will give me such a great opportunity?¡± As her voice died away, everybody present saw Su Meimei delightedly walk out of the chief editor¡¯s office. She was holding her chin, and her smile was overflowing with absolute joy! She walked in front of Qiao Lian and deliberately said, ¡°Dear Qiao Lian, the managing editor wanted to let you go tonight. However, the chief editor considered that you still had to uncover Mrs. Shen¡¯s identity. As such, she let me take over this task on your behalf.¡± She was clearly not going to admit that she had just received a benefit. Qiao Lian never let anyone push her around. As such, she directly retorted, ¡°Oh? Then I should really thank you. However, because you are helping me finish this task, if you uncover any news, the credit should go to me right?¡± Su Meimei choked after hearing this sentence. Only then was Qiao Lian satisfied. She slowly walked past her and left the news agency, using her need to find a scoop as an excuse to leave. At noon, she randomly picked a ce to eat her lunch. Then in the afternoon she went to rent a dress. After putting on some light makeup, she hailed a cab to the Royal Family Hotel at 6 pm. At the entrance of the hotel, she took out her invitation and surreptitiously nced inside. She entered the banquet hall only after finding no signs of Shen Liangchuan inside. Shen Liangchuan had just warned her yesterday that she could not be a reporter. Hence, if he saw her here, she would be a dead man walking! However the cool, domineering, and assertive Best Actor Shen had never cared about such events. He almost never attended any celebration party, so he wouldn¡¯t show up to this party either, right? Qiao Lian casually picked up a ss of champagne. She was about to take a sip and try to catch her person of interest of the evening when suddenly there was amotion at the entrance of the banquet hall. She looked over and immediately narrowed her eyes, because Shen Liangchuan was striding into the hall, surrounded by his manager and assistant! He was wearing a ck tuxedo, and his every move exuded an inherent elegance. He had an air of arrogance and dismissiveness about him, which ensured that he would be the centre of attention even amongst a sea of handsome men and beautiful women. At that moment, he was walking forward. However, he seemed to perceive something and suddenly halted in his tracks. Then, he looked in the direction of Qiao Lian! Chapter 28 - Left Home Without Looking at the Almanac

Chapter 28: Left Home Without Looking at the Almanac

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At the exact moment he looked over, Qiao Lian desperately hid behind a champagne tower to avoid his line of sight. After tapping her frantically beating heart, she anxiously looked back. Why had Shen Liangchuane? When he had looked over just then... Was it because he had noticed her? As she was thinking about this, she saw Shen Liangchuan change direction and walk to where she was. Instantly, Qiao Lian panicked. She looked left and right and realized that there were no objects in her vicinity she could hide behind. Atst, she gritted her teeth and quickly slid under the table! The table on which the champagne tower was ced had an enormous red tablecloth covering it. The tablecloth was justrge enough to cover herpletely. The moment she slid under the table, she heard the sound of the director exchanging greetings from right outside the tablecloth, ¡°Best Actor Shen, it is our honour to have youe in support of our celebration party!¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s unique voice was so pleasant to hear that it could naturally make the listener feel fuzzy, ¡°If it¡¯s to celebrate Director Jia¡¯s movie, I muste.¡± When Qiao Lian heard this, she wanted to p herself in the face! How could she forget that during Shen Liangchuan¡¯s initial foray into the entertainment industry, his first movie had been a coboration with Director Jia? He had always shown respect towards Director Jia because of this! Now what should she do? Herrge eyes rolled around wildly as she looked at the other end of the long table. This long table not only had a champagne tower, but a wide variety of cakes as well. As such, the table was easily at least 10 meters long. If she crawled to the other side of the table and quietly slipped out of it, Best Actor Shen would likely not be able to see her, right? Qiao Lianid on the floor and used both her hands and feet as she started to crawl. However, when she had only crawled a few steps, she felt her dress get hooked onto something. She turned her head and as she looked back, she realized! She had worn an elegant and long red dress today. When she crawled under the table just now, the hem of her dress had identally stayed outside of the table and had blended in with the tablecloth. At this moment, it just so happened that Shen Liangchuan¡¯s leather shoes were stepping on it! Qiao Lian froze in fright before trying to tug her dress back. However, she was afraid of utilizing too much force, as Shen Liangchuan might notice something peculiar. Thus, she only tried tugging it twice and then didn¡¯t dare to touch it again. Boo hoo hoo hoo! When she had left the mansion today, she clearly had not looked at the almanac. Outside, Director Jia was still talking, ¡°Is your schedule already filled up for the next two years? Can¡¯t you just ept one more movie? Isn¡¯t one movie per year too little for you?¡± Shen Liangchuan answered passively, ¡°Ultimately, I need to leave some time for myself.¡± Director Jia sighed, ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Qiao Lian wondered, ¡°Are they not finished yet?¡± They had already been talking for half an hour. She had been hiding under the table that entire time, and her legs were already starting to numb. ¡°God, please, someone save me!¡± she begged internally. Perhaps someone actually heard her inner plea, because someone soon walked over and said, ¡°Best Actor Shen, I cannot believe that I would see you here!¡± When Shen Liangchuan turned around, he finally lifted his leg. Qiao Lian¡¯s heart leapt for joy. She sessfully tugged the hem of her dress back inside and then hurriedly crawled forward, all the while thinking that in her entire life, she had never been so agile. She was virtually more stealthy than a cat and more nimble than a dog! Atst, she crawled to the other end of the table. Lifting up the tablecloth, she nced around. Seeing that nobody was paying attention in her direction, she slowly stood up. ncing at Shen Liangchuan, she saw that he was turning his back on her. She had just breathed a sigh of relief when she suddenly heard an astonished voiceing from the side, saying, ¡°Qiao Lian?!¡± She looked back and saw Su Meimei wearing a waitress outfit. She was currently holding a tray of desserts and looking at her in astonishment! Without waiting for a reply, Su Meimei grabbed her arm and loudly asked, ¡°Why are you here?¡± Her voice was too loud and caused everybody in the vicinity to look in her direction. Qiao Lian¡¯s heart thumped once. She could feel a cold gazend on her back without even having to turn her head! Shen Liangchuan... had seen her! Chapter 29 - There Is Still a Reporter Here!

Chapter 29: There Is Still a Reporter Here!

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At this moment, Qiao Lian wished that she could rip apart Su Meimei! Could this person be any more stupid? The reason why she was making such a racket now must be because she thought that Qiao Lian was there to snatch her credit. But there were so many stars there! Why couldn¡¯t they just each mind their own business? Qiao Lian bit her lip. She already knew how furious Shen Liangchuan¡¯s gaze was at that moment, even without looking around. He hated paparazzi the most, especially the pestering ones that would use unscrupulous means to uncover a scoop. At this moment, he must be extremely disappointed in me, right? Oh no, that¡¯s wrong. It¡¯s not like he ever ced any sort of hope in me before, but he likely hates me even more now! However, regardless of all that had happened, she had to first resolve the issue right in front of her. She raised her head, reached out her arm around Su Meimei¡¯s shoulder and smiled. She greeted her, saying, ¡°Ah, Su Meimei, we haven¡¯t seen each other in such a long time! How coincidental, are you a waitress in this hotel?¡± Su Meimei frowned. While she was still thinking of what to say in response, Qiao Lian lowered her voice so that only the two of them could hear what she said next, ¡°If you still dare to speak loudly, I will tell everybody that you are a reporter!¡± Su Meimei bit her lip in anger. Qiao Lian continued to smile and said, ¡°It¡¯s no big deal if I get kicked out. After all, nobody knows that I am here today. However, if you leave without obtaining any scoop at all, tell me, what will you tell our colleagues at the news agency when you see them tomorrow?¡± Su Meimei was rendered speechless by hate. Qiao Lian patted her shoulders, smiled, and said, ¡°Old friend, let¡¯s meet up again once this party has ended.¡± Then, she waved at Su Meimei and turned to leave. As she turned around, she could not stop herself from shooting a nce at Shen Liangchuan. He was still standing quietly at the same spot. The light from the sparkling sses located on his side reflected on his back, making him look especially ethereal. However, this also served to make the darkness in his eyes look even more scary. As she met his gaze, Qiao Lian¡¯s heart sank. She shifted her gaze and hurriedly walked towards a crowd of people. She stood in the middle of the crowd, dazed. Time seemed to slow down. Best Actor Shen¡¯s gaze seemed to follow her, and she would asionally look over at him. He seemed to be issuing a warning to her¡ª get out of here now! Qiao Lian pretended to not understand his intent and smiled awkwardly at him. After another half an hour, she noticed amotion happening nearby. Someone had grabbed Su Meimei and restrained her arms. He was holding her cell phone and asked her cautiously, ¡°What are you taking pictures of?¡± Simultaneously, everyone in the banquet hall looked over in their direction. Su Meimei was so shocked that her entire body was trembling. She said, ¡°N-nothing at all.¡± ¡°Nothing at all? Then what is this video? And what is this photo? Security! Where is security? There is something wrong with this waitress!¡± Su Meimei, on the verge of tears, said, ¡°I-I was just snapping some pictures randomly.¡± ¡°Are you taking me for a fool? Paparazzi nowadays seize every opportunity for a scoop!¡± Security rushed over and confiscated Su Meimei¡¯s cell phone. Then, they marched her towards the exit. Su Meimei¡¯s eyes were already red from crying, and she didn¡¯t dare to resist. However, she suddenly thought of an idea, and started to struggle fiercely! ¡°There¡¯s another reporter here! It¡¯s the person that was just talking with me! Qiao Lian! Come out!¡± At this moment, Qiao Lian wished she could disappear into thin air, even though she was already hidden in the crowd. She really wanted to kill Su Meimei! She wants to drag me down with her just because she couldn¡¯t get a scoop? Qiao Lian lowered her head and tried to be as inconspicuous as possible. She hoped that the people surrounding her would not recognize her before security could drag Su Meimei away. However, her wrist was suddenly grabbed by someone, ¡°Here she is!¡± Qiao Lian felt like snapping her head off when she realized that the person grabbing her wrist was none other than Yang Lingsi! Chapter 30 - Is This Person Really a Reporter?

Chapter 30: Is This Person Really a Reporter?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Yang Lingsi¡¯s eyes were shining with malice. The scandal surrounding her had broken out only that afternoon, and she could guess Qiao Lian had recorded her without even thinking twice. At that point, a deep hatred for Qiao Lian had seeped into her bones. To think that an opportunity for revenge would arrive so soon! If she didn¡¯t take advantage of this opportunity, she would not be able to live with herself. After Yang Lingsi¡¯s exmation, the security officer who was bringing Su Meimei to the exit stopped dead in his tracks. Su Meimei¡¯s eyes shone once she saw Qiao Lian, ¡°It¡¯s her, she¡¯s a reporter from our news agency! Security, chase her out as well! At this moment, Qiao Lian felt as though her head was about to explode! She was so unlucky! She could not leave without obtaining her scoop. As everybody stared at her, Qiao Lian suddenly opened her mouth and sighed, ¡°Su Meimei, even though we have had our disagreements, you should not nder me like this, right?¡± Su Meimei immediately opened her mouth in denial, ¡°I¡¯m not ndering you!¡± Qiao Lian spread her hands widely and added, ¡°Then provide the evidence that proves that I am a reporter!¡± Su Meimei was stunned, ¡°You are my colleague! What other proof do you need?¡± Qiao Lian shook her head, saying, ¡°If I am indeed your colleague, isn¡¯t this entire incident rather strange? Why would you expose me after you have been caught?¡± The people surrounding her all thought that her rebuttal made perfect sense. Even though this party had strictly controlled the invitations that were sent, many invited people had brought a plus one. Hence, other than a few well-known stars, there were also a few rich second-generation heirs. Qiao Lian had a great temperament, and anybody could see that she had enjoyed a good upbringing. As such, nobody was willing to offend her without sufficient evidence. Su Meimei was so choked up that she was speechless with rage. On the contrary, it was Yang Lingsi who coldlyughed and said, ¡°Since you im that you are not a reporter, can you take out your invitation letter?¡± Su Meimei jolted at her words and immediately said, ¡°That¡¯s right, I just saw her crawl out from underneath the table. She definitely snuck in here. Our news agency was not able to obtain an invitation letter!¡± After she finished speaking, she red at Qiao Lian fiercely. Since her cover had been blown today and she had not managed to uncover a scoop, she had to prevent Qiao Lian from uncovering one as well. She was certain that Qiao Lian had no invitation letter after all. But then... Qiao Lian heard her words, sighed, and said, ¡°How could I have entered without an invitation?¡± She lowered her head and rummaged through her bag. Then, she pulled out the invitation letter and waved it in front of the gathered crowd, ¡°Do you see this?¡± Her true name was written on the invitation letter. Hence, even if others saw it, her secret identity as Forget Chuan would not be exposed. Su Meimei¡¯s eyes widened in shock, and she looked at Qiao Lian incredulously, ¡°Th-That¡¯s impossible! How could you have obtained an invitation?¡± Yang Lingsi also frowned, saying, ¡°Even if you have an invitation letter, you are still a reporter. I have seen you before when you visited the filming site of First Love . You were also the one who caused the scandals surrounding me!¡± Her words caused quite a stir among those present. Qiao Lian coldly humphed and said, ¡°Don¡¯t spout nonsense. If you have evidence, show it right now!¡± ¡°Evidence?¡± Yang Lingsi bit her lip and looked at Shen Liangchuan sharply, ¡°When you went to the filming location, Best Actor Shen was also there! Best Actor Shen also knows you! Everybody gathered here may not believe me, but surely they will believe Best Actor Shen¡¯s words, right?¡± As she finished speaking, the crowd looked at Shen Liangchuan simultaneously. Director Jia was slightly taken aback and asked questioningly, ¡°Best Actor Shen, is this person really a visiting reporter?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s heart sank in an instant! She looked over as her eyes connected with those dark eyes of his. Earlier, he had already used his gaze to warn her to leave. Now, how would he respond to this situation? Chapter 31 - This Is Your Final Chance!

Chapter 31: This Is Your Final Chance!

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian clenched her fists as she looked at him. He was casually standing there, holding a ss of wine. When he heard Director Jia¡¯s words, he slightly lowered his eyes. His indifferent eyes fell on the champagne he was holding in his hand. That air of detachment meant that nobody could anticipate how he would respond. Yang Lingsi could not help herself from speaking, ¡°Best Actor Shen, surely you must recognize her?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s heart leapt slightly. Then, she saw Shen Liangchuan raise his eyes and look at her coolly. His demeanor caused Qiao Lian to feel a wave of despair. Yes, initially, when Yang Lingsi had made things difficult for her at the filming location, he hadn¡¯t helped her. Instead, he had added insult to injury. Why would he help her now? Qiao Lian smiled bitterly as she turned downtrodden. She opened her mouth, only to say, ¡°I¡ª¡± ¡°I do not remember clearly.¡± A deep, resonant voice floated in the air. Stunned, Qiao Lian raised her head. She looked incredulously at the person who had just spoken. She felt a curious sensation spread through her entire body. Shen Liangchuan remained standing at his original spot. After he spoke, he frowned and impatiently set down the champagne he was holding on the table. He turned to leave. Yang Lingsi was immensely shocked, ¡°Best Actor Shen, how could you not remember clearly?¡± Shen Liangchuan did not answer, so Qiao Lian hastily blurted out, ¡°Ms. Yang, since Best Actor Shen has never seen me, he obviously does not remember me. If you have no proof and still insist on spreading unsubstantiated statements in an attempt to create panic, I believe everybody here will be extremely unhappy with you. You were photographed because of your carelessness, wasn¡¯t that entire incident a false rm?¡± Her sharp and blunt remarks hit Yang Lingsi directly, causing her face to turn deeply red. Director Jia nced at Shen Liangchuan and hastily said, ¡°Hurry up and send the uninvited people out the door! This entire incident is a misunderstanding. Everyone, please continue enjoying the party!¡± Su Meimei was asked to leave the celebration party. As for Yang Lingsi, she still wanted to pester her, but her manager forcefully grabbed her arm, ¡°Yang Lingsi, don¡¯t forget why you are here today! If you still insist on pursuing such pointless matters, I will stop helping you!¡± Yang Lingsi was so angry she clenched her teeth. In the past, her manager would never have been able to talk to her with this tone. He was only saying this now because she was in an abject state. She swallowed her pride, looked at her manager and asked, ¡°Has the matter been settled?¡± Her manager nodded and said, ¡°This is yourst chance!¡± Yang Lingsi bit her lip. As she looked in the direction of Shen Liangchuan, her gaze shifted constantly. Themotion quickly ended, and the party resumed its original liveliness. Shen Liangchuan was sitting on a sofa in the resting zone. Due to his immense aura, nobody dared to walk up and greet him except Director Jia. He silently sat there, admiring the pleasant scene in front of him. Even though he was casually chatting with Director Jia, his gaze kept sweeping towards a certain petite silhouette located within the crowd. At this moment, Qiao Lian, either by design or chance, faded out of the crowd¡¯s line of sight and found a corner for herself. She looked like she was concentrating on eating a cake, but from the corner of her eye, she kept staring at a male star standing not far from her. He was the extremely popr young and attractive actor Wang Wenhao. Wang Wenhao smirked and said something inaudible. He then raised his head, and his eyes connected with the eyes of female star Li Mengqi, who was standing not far from him. Li Mengqi excused herself and started to walk out. Qiao Lian immediately put down her cake and followed her! It was evident that she was familiar with this type of activity. If one did not know her identity, one would definitely not think that she was actually following Li Mengqi. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s gaze darkened, and he suddenly stood up. He said to Director Jia, ¡°I am leaving for a while, as I have something to attend to.¡± Chapter 32 - A Pair of Despicable Cheaters

Chapter 32: A Pair of Despicable Cheaters

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian followed Li Mengqi closely. As she left the banquet hall, she saw Li Mengqi standing at a nondescript balcony, anxiously waiting for someone. Qiao Lian tiptoed carefully, pressing herself against the wall, and quickly hid behind a full-length curtain! Then, she held her breath and took her cell phone out of her pocket. She aimed it at Li Mengqi and then switched on the audio recording function. She did not have to wait long before she saw Wang Wenhao rush towards Li Mengqi. The two of them embraced each other, and Li Mengqi asked, ¡°Wang Wenhao, when will you divorce that old hag Yao Manwen? ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll do it soon!¡± Wang Wenhao said. He continued, ¡°I must first preserve my public image as there are a bunch of people insulting her over the Inte. At a time like this, I must stay by her side constantly, so that she will be touched by my gesture and initiate the divorce proceedings as a result. After we divorce, it will be perfectly justifiable for me to be with you.¡± Li Mengqi sighed and clutched his arm, ¡°We have already wasted five years on her, and I cannot wait any longer. Do you know that I am thinking about you all the time?¡± As she finished speaking, Li Mengqi stood on her toes and kissed Wang Wenhao deeply. They kissed passionately, making sounds of sucking and swallowing. In that quiet, dusky and narrow space, their kissing was so intense that it would cause anybody¡¯s face to turn crimson with embarrassment. Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes as she watched them. Although her phone was capturing a passionate scene, her chest felt as though it was being blocked by a lump of cotton. Yao Manwen was one of her favorite female stars. Five years ago, when her career was at its peak, the 37-year-old woman married the 23-year-old Wang Wenhao. Then, she decided to step out of the limelight to be a mother. Wang Wenhao had slowly be more popr, thanks to Yao Manwen. However, in these five years, Yao Manwen had suffered miscarriage after miscarriage. She hadn¡¯t been able to handle the mental trauma and began to abuse alcohol, smoke, and wear thick makeup. Not too long ago, a story was published about how she kept drinking outside. When Wang Wenhao went to take her home, due to her excessive drinking, she began to punch and kick Wang Wenhao. While crying, she screamed that she regretted taking so many birth control pills when she was young, as they may be the cause for the frequent miscarriages that she was experiencing now. Nevertheless, Wang Wenhao hugged her and promised to never leave her. The video of this scene instantly went viral, and Wang Wenhao became the year¡¯s hottest personality. However, who could have thought that the guybelled by the onlinemunity as an infatuated prince was already in a rtionship with another woman then? Qiao Lian clenched her fists tightly. She realized that their kisses were bing more intimate and passionate, as Wang Wenhao¡¯s hands were touching her underneath the dress. Li Mengqi wanted to unzip Wang Wenhao¡¯s pants with her hands, but Wang Wenhao suddenly stopped her, ¡°Cut it out, it¡¯s not safe here. Do you not know that a reporter was already chased out of today¡¯s party?¡± Li Mengqi humphed and said, ¡°We have not met in such a long time! When will you sever your rtionship with Yao Manwen?¡± Wang Wenhao tapped her shoulders, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I am secretly transferring our assets.¡± Li Mengqi clenched her teeth and said, ¡°You aren¡¯t giving her enough birth control pills. Once she has another miscarriage, you should just remove her uterus directly. Then, most likely, she will be so angry that she willmit suicide, and there will be no more petty squabbles over your assets. How wonderful!¡± As she stood behind the curtain, when Qiao Lian heard this, her eyes suddenly narrowed! So the reason for Yao Manwen¡¯s miscarriages was not because of her ingesting too many birth control pills when she was young, but because of... She clenched her fists in anger. This pair of despicable cheaters! At this moment, a strong gust of wind blew in from the window. Qiao Lian¡¯s figure was suddenly exposed due to the shifting curtain! Wang Wenhao snapped his head in her direction, and his features turned malicious, ¡°Who are you?!¡± Chapter 33 - Untitled

Chapter 33: Untitled

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian jumped in fright. She was not afraid of her own safety, but rather that her audio recording would be deleted once she got caught. She took a deep breath, took off her high heels and held them in her hands. Then, she frantically took off running! ¡°Stand still!¡± Wang Wenhao broke out in a cold sweat. If the conversation that had just taken ce had actually been recorded... His entire acting career would bepletely ruined! Li Mengqi also widened her eyes in shock. She screamed shrilly, ¡°You there, stop running! I can give you money! I can give you as much as you ask for!¡± Qiao Lian ignored her wordspletely and focused her mind solely on running forward. Today, the entire Royal Family Hotel had been reserved for the celebration party. As such, the alleyway behind it waspletely empty. As she ran, she rapidly undid the hooks on the front of her dress. She was actually wearing a white tube dress inside! Given that it was rather dark just now, Wang Wenhao had definitely not seen her clearly. If she could just get out of this alley, she would be able to hide within the crowd attending the party. That way, he would not be able to find her! However, it just so happened that security had been updated on the incident, and they were now running for her from the opposite direction. If Qiao Lian was to rush over right now, it would be like trying tomit suicide. She saw that there was a passage to her side. Without thinking, she beelined for the passageway and entered it! Run! The footsteps behind her sounded closer and closer. She desperately lowered her head and checked on the progress of her video file upload. Another 30 percent and the file would finish uploading. She clenched her teeth. Looking back, she estimated the distance between her pursuers and her. She did not have enough time. Her heart thumped in desperation while she was frantically thinking of ways to gain some time. As she turned another corner, she saw that a man was standing at the intersection in front of her. He was wearing a ck tuxedo. He was standing tall and straight, like an oak tree, and he exuded an air of confidence and elegance. Even under such dark lighting, she could identify him with just one nce¡ªthe man was none other than Shen Liangchuan! Shen Liangchuan remained silent and unmoving. A crafty expression shed across Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes, and she hurriedly took off her red dress. The dress lightly made an elegant arc through the air before she stuffed it into her bag. Then, she rushed to stand in front of Shen Liangchuan and stopped, breathing heavily. She could see that his gaze was cold and his thick eyebrows were frowning. But before he could open his mouth to speak, she suddenly stood on her toes, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him on the lips! The cold sensation coupled with his soft lips caused Qiao Lian¡¯s entire body to freeze. She could feel his entire body tense up instantly, as though he was making up his mind to push her away. Qiao Lian immediately tightened her arms and deepened her kiss. At this moment, the sound of footsteps grew steadily nearer, and they stopped behind their backs. Someone asked, ¡°Excuse me, did any of you see a woman wearing a long red dress?¡± Qiao Lian could feel that Shen Liangchuan wanted to speak. She was afraid that he would spill the beans, so she immediately opened her mouth. She stuck her tongue out and forcefully used it to seal his lips! Her nimble tongue hooked onto his. Then, his chilly breath began to spread across her entire mouth. Qiao Lian fought to keep herself clear-headed. Then, she used the hand that was clutching his back to point forward. She only let go of Shen Liangchuan after her chasers had left and she could not hear any of their footsteps. The sky was dark, and she was unable to see Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression. However, she could feelyers of anger emanating from his body. Even though they had been together for three days, just now was the first time they had ever kissed. Chapter 34 - Best Actor Shen Is Jealous!

Chapter 34: Best Actor Shen Is Jealous!

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Rewind time to half an hour earlier. Shen Liangchuan wanted to chase after Qiao Lian. After exiting the party, he could not find any trace of Qiao Lian. He was just about to go look for her when he suddenly smelled a weird scent emanating from a deserted corner. It was a type of sleeping gas and its effect seemed potent. It would probably kick in after a short amount of time. Shocked, Shen Liangchuan realized that someone was plotting against him! Without dy, he threw a punch and beat the waiter that was trying to drug him senseless. He then hid in the corner, dragging the waiter along with him. After a while, he saw Yang Lingsi and her manager briskly walk in his direction. Yang Lingsi asked anxiously, ¡°I clearly saw someone walk this way, where is he?¡± As she spoke, she gradually walked away from her manager. Only then did Shen Liangchuan walk out. He felt a fiery sensation bubble up from within him. As a man, he obviously understood what was going on. Yang Lingsi had reached the end of her rope, and her only remaining lifeline was to attach herself to him. Being in the entertainment industry, he had been surrounded by friends who had been engaged in affairs with countless D-list celebrities. However, he had never shown any interest in other women. He turned around and intended to go to the hospital when he suddenly heard a security officer whistle. This was the firstyer of defence at the party, and the sound meant that a reporter had managed to sneak into the party. Qiao Lian had been exposed. He had no time to think. Relying on his familiarity with the ce, he immediately rushed to the spot they were currently at. He did not know himself whether he was there to obstruct her or to save her, but the instant he saw her run in his direction, he breathed a sigh of relief. After that, he saw with his own eyes how she took off the red, full-length dress that she was wearing. His vision was stunned by the elegance of that moment. However, what happened next? To his surprise, she ran over to him without even looking at him and immediately kissed him! He had to admit that at the moment when her soft and gentle lips made contact with his, he was leftpletely stunned. This was especially the case when her velvet tongue entered his mouth. He was on the verge of losing his mind. That sensation was so intense that when she left him, he felt somewhat empty inside. He even made up his mind to grab her waist with his outstretched arms. Soon after, his eyes connected with her hopeful gaze. The fiery sensation in his body was slowly increasing. However, his heart had suddenly be cold. As he thought about how proficient her actions were just now, he wondered whether... In the past, when she was gathering news, had she used such a trick more than once? The moment this idea popped into his head, it steadily grew in his mind until he was driven almost crazy. It made him feel like there was a rapidly expanding force within his body that could not be expelled. Suddenly, he could not help but grip her jaw and jerk her head downwards. Qiao Lian was overflowing with anxiety, her heart thumping erratically. As she thought about the lingering kiss that had just happened, her cheeks red up. As his face inched closer and closer to her, she finally decided to close her eyes. However... The kiss that she imagined would happen never materialized. Instead, she felt as though her hands werecking something. Qiao Lian jerked her eyes open and realized that her cell phone had fallen into his hands. Shen Liangchuan frowned as she stared at the screen. It was indicating that the video file had been sessfully uploaded. She was willing to sacrifice her life for this?! Did she know how many reporters in his world died every year, buried in such filth and sciousness? The anger within his entire body caused his body¡¯s fierceness to be even more obvious, until it was on the verge of copse. At that moment, he did not want to restrain himself anymore. He was going to just let the drug in his body run amok. Finally, he forcefully grabbed Qiao Lian¡¯s arm while the essence of mes rose within the pupils of his eyes. Chapter 35 - He Misunderstood Her!

Chapter 35: He Misunderstood Her!

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He suddenly turned around and forcefully smashed the annoying phone against the wall! ¡°Bam!¡± The cell phone split into numerous tiny pieces. He turned back and askedmandingly, ¡°Do you like to invade the privacy of others that much?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s mouth opened as she tried to exin the situation. However, without waiting for her to speak, he suddenly pulled her forcefully towards him with the hand that was grabbing her waist, which made her fall firmly into his arms. Then she heard him say, ¡°I warned you the other day to resign from your position. Your current disobedience... Is it because you think that I have not punished you enough?¡± His words left Qiao Lian feelingpletely stunned. However, the next second, she was being forcibly dragged by him into the neighboring storeroom! Before she could react, his hands were already tearing off her clothes aggressively. Shen Liangchuan could not control the heat he felt anymore. It was as though a strong ze of wicked fire was burning within his body, destroying all shreds of reason in him! At this moment, Qiao Lian finally realized what his intentions were. She frowned and protested fiercely, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, this is a banquet! Don¡¯t do this¡ª¡± But her pleas fell on deaf ears. Instead, her begs for mercy only served to further aggravate him. He ignored her and continued taking advantage of her. Qiao Lian wanted to resist, but she was no match for him. After struggling for a while, both of her hands were forcibly restrained by him and raised above her head. Soon after, her powerless body was forced to endure his torrent of assault. Qiao Lian clenched her teeth. She was on the verge of tears. Shen Liangchuan could not remember the exact sequence of events after that. He only remembered that he kept trying to control himself. However, the effects of the drug in him were too potent, so by the time he regained any semnce of reason, many hours had already passed. The heat within his body only dissipated after he took his anger out on her countless times. The storeroom swirled with a lull air. He saw that she was shivering, with both her hands hugging her chest. Her exposed skin waspletely bruised. Despite that, she stayed silent, obstinately looking at the shredded white dress in front of her, as though she could see a flower blooming from the dress. Shen Liangchuan rubbed his forehead and suppressed the ache he felt in his heart. Then he took out the red dress that was in her bag and draped it over her body. He thought that at this point the banquet should have already ended. She looked as though she had just suffered a massive injustice, causing Shen Liangchuan to feel agitated every time he looked at her. He could only use strength and rudeness to cover up the feeling of rm that he felt, thus, hemandingly said, ¡°Resign immediately!¡± As he finished speaking, he walked out of the storeroom and started smoking a cigarette at a window in the corner. As he smoked, he saw his manager ecstatically rush towards him. ¡°Best Actor Shen, I have finally found you! Let me tell you a piece of good news! The buzz surrounding you has finally gone down!¡± Shen Liangchuan ignored him and looked as though he hadn¡¯t even heard his words. Song Cheng continued, ¡°Ah, Ms. Qiao¡¯s method was simply too effective! I received the video and immediately uploaded a draft as per her instructions. Scandals are always more popr than affairs! Now, everybody is focused on the scandal between Wang Wenhao and Li Siqi. Who will still care about your secret marriage? I could not have imagined that her desperate efforts today would actually uncover such a huge scandal. Let me tell you, when she said that she would help you lower the buzz surrounding you, I thought she was joking.¡± Before he finished speaking, he spied a gloominesse from in front of him. Song Cheng raised his head and saw Shen Liangchuan¡¯s incredulous expression. He tremblingly asked, ¡°What did you say?¡± She had uncovered a scandal for the purpose of... helping him?! Suddenly, a feeling of regret filled his heart. Without thinking, he immediately turned around and walked back to the storeroom! Chapter 36 - She Should Not Be So Close to Him

Chapter 36: She Should Not Be So Close to Him

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan was always quite nonchnt, but at this moment, an intense feeling bubbled within his heart¡ªone that he could not describe. He quickly walked to the storeroom and opened the door. However, the room waspletely empty, with nobody in sight. If not for the tattered white dress lying on the floor and the gentle sensation swirling in the air, even he would have thought that everything that had happened just now had just been a dream. Qiao Lian was staggered along a road. The beautiful red dress she was wearing served as a foil for her face, which was bing increasingly pale due to the torment Shen Liangchuan had just caused her. The makeup on her face had gotten slightly smudged, but even that could not hide her beautiful face. She herself did not know where she should go now. The sky had be dark, and the neon lights had been switched on. The entire city was filled with a sense of mysteriousness. She could hear the sounds of cars honking and the asional sounds ofughtering from passersby. She felt her heart turnpletely cold for the first time. She could still hear his words reverberate in her ear. ¡°Do you like to invade the privacy of others that much?¡± At that moment, his voice had been filled with detest and anger, which had hurt her a lot. She stared forward nkly. After a while, her phone suddenly rang. She epted the call and her partner Gao Youming¡¯s anxious voice emanated from the other end: ¡°Forget Chuan, where are you now?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s mouth twitched to speak, but she realized that her lips were extremely dry. As such, she did not say anything. Gao Youming¡¯s voice radiated from the other end again. ¡°Forget Chuan, you were too reckless today! I know yourpany is forcing you to uncover the identity of Mrs. Shen and you must obtain a huge scoop in order to resolve this issue. However, there were so many celebrity big shots at this entire party that any piece of sensational news would have satisfied your news agency! You¡ª¡± He suddenly sounded like he had justprehended something. ¡°You... Were you helping Best Actor Shen lower the buzz surrounding him? Forget Chuan, even though you are a fan of Best Actor Shen, you have no connection to him at all! How could you be so foolish! I have never seen a fan who has done so much for her idol!¡± When she heard this, Qiao Lian bit her lip and looked forward again. Gao Youming¡¯s words made her suddenly startughing at herself in self-derision. She had always told herself to chase stars reasonably. As such, everybody had always thought that she was just a member of Shen Liangchuan¡¯s fan club. However, nobody knew how much he meant to her. Eight years ago, during an especially difficult time, Shen Liangchuan had practically been the only light in her life. He did not know her then. However, she had watched him climb up the ranks slowly. She had also seen how he had started to shine with radiance, bit by bit. Shen Liangchuan thought that the reason why she was willing to ept his deal was because she was willing to sell her body for money. However... If it had been any other person who wanted to make this transaction with her, she did not know if she would have been able to answer so readily. The more she liked him, the more his disgust for her felt like a knife that could hurt her, inflicting a dull pain on her heart. Perhaps she should not have gotten so close to him. ¡ª¡ª When Shen Liangchuan returned home, it was already 11 pm. He stopped his car outside the mansion and looked at the bedroom on the second floor. She should have already returned by this time, right? At the thought of this, he lowered his eyes and grabbed a small gift box from the front passenger seat. He then stepped out of the car and entered the mansion. Caretaker Li hurriedly came to greet him. As Shen Liangchuan took off his jacket, he casually asked, ¡°Is Ms. Qiao already asleep?¡± Caretaker Li opened his mouth and said, ¡°Ms. Qiao has not returned!¡± Shen Liangchuan, who was still undressing, immediately froze. Chapter 37 - An Inexplicable Sense of Frustration

Chapter 37: An Inexplicable Sense of Frustration

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She was not back yet? Could it be that... Wang Wenhao had discovered her identity and she was now in some sort of danger now? Once the idea popped into his mind, a sense of confusion shed across the bottom of his heart. He frowned and hurriedly put his half-removed jacket back on. Then, he immediately stepped outside. He had only taken two steps when he heard his caretaker say, ¡°Sir, where are you going?¡± He puckered his lips. Since he did not wish for anyone else to guess his intentions, he said, ¡°I have something to do now.¡± Caretaker Li nodded and continued saying, ¡°Oh, Sir, there is something I need to report to you first. Ms. Qiao ced a call to the mansion, saying¡ª¡± As Caretaker Li paused for a while, he saw Shen Liangchuan¡¯s harried steps immediately stop. In an unprecedented move, Shen Liangchuan asked the caretaker of his own ord, ¡°What did she say?¡± Caretaker Li organised his thoughts and then said, ¡°Ms. Qiao said that her menstrual cycle ended today. So, during this period, she will temporarily stay outside. If she is not pregnant by next month, she will move back here during her ovtion period, just in case...¡± Caretaker Li raised his head and snuck a peek at Shen Liangchuan. He then lowered his head again and coughed once. Shen Liangchuan frowned and said, ¡°Speak up.¡± Only then did Caretaker Li feel assured enough to say, ¡°Just in case you found looking at her vexing.¡± Shen Liangchuan coldly swept his eyes across Caretaker Li and said, ¡°Tell me what she said word for word.¡± Caretaker Li braced himself and coughed, before saying, ¡°Just in case Mr. Shen would feel like I¡¯m constantly invading his privacy. Given that I am a degenerate that should belong in hell, I will not bother him anymore.¡± Caretaker Li mimicked her vividly and imitated the cynical tone underlying her words almost to perfection. Shen Liangchuan didn¡¯tment. He had originally thought that she would take things too hard. However, she was clearly well enough to call back and mock him at this moment. Shen Liangchuan was unable to restrain himself from stroking his forehead. That¡¯s right, with her stubborn personality, how could she get depressed just because of his words? Shen Liangchuan took off his jacket and casually passed it to Caretaker Li. Then, he turned around and began walking upstairs again. Caretaker Li asked with uncertainty, ¡°You are no longer going out, Sir?¡± Shen Liangchuan softly harrumphed affirmingly and went upstairs. After he entered the master bedroom, he looked at the tiny gift box in his hand. He threw the gift box into the dressing table¡¯s cab only after looking at it for a while. After he showered, he casually took out a script from his bag and intended to look at it seriously for a bit. However, for some baffling reason, his head was filled with images of her obstinately lowering her head today and staring at the tattered white dress... Shen Liangchuan ced his script down and was about to loosen his tie subconsciously, when he realized that he was only wearing a bathing towel after raising his fingers to his neck. He was clearly not wearing any clothes, yet what could be the cause of this constricted feeling he had? He slowly looked back at his king-sized bed. She had only stayed in this room for a couple of days, but at this moment in time, he could actually feel her scent fill the entire room. The delicate fragrance that could only belong to a young woman floated into his nostrils and made him suddenly realize that his heart was feeling even more stifled. He turned and entered the bathroom, onlying out of it after taking a cold shower. He had been affected by sleeping gas today. Shen Liangchuan told himself that the reason why he was unable to rx had to be that the effects of the drug hadn¡¯t subsided yet. Shen Liangchuan walked over to his bed andid down. The room became quiet. However, after a while, he rolled around and pulled out a long strand of hair, which was sitting on top of the bed. It was hers. Shen Liangchuan suddenly got up, took his cell phone, and ced a call. Chapter 38 - Why Are You Resigning so Suddenly?

Chapter 38: Why Are You Resigning so Suddenly?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios That night, Qiao Lian returned to the small room she had rented in the past and used to live in before. After only four days of being unupied, the room was covered in dust. This made her feel that her initial decision to not return to the apartment had been a wise decision indeed. She quickly took a shower before climbing into her bed and sleeping. The next morning, she was rudely awakened by her phone. As she picked up the call, a voice emanated from the other side, ¡°Ms. Qiao, I have already scheduled your brother¡¯s surgery for two weeks from now. In the meantime, he is adjusting his body in the hospital. His condition is pretty good, so you have no need to worry.¡± After hearing the person on the other end, Qiao Lian abruptly sat up straight. All the drowsiness she felt a moment before disappeared, and she immediately said excitedly, ¡°Really? Thank you Dr. Li! You must use the best medicine you have to help my brotherpletely recover.¡± After hanging up the phone, Qiao Lian becamepletely energized. This was practically the best piece of news she had heard in eight years! She hurriedly got out of bed and rushed into her narrow toilet. She absent-mindedly looked at herself in the mirror. The past four days felt like a dream to her. But now, she was awake. She pped herself on the cheek. In reality, there was nothing to make a fuss about! Shen Liangchuan and her were two parallel lines that would never intersect. As long as she always remembered her obligations and stopped imagining things, she would be fine. She got dressed, went downstairs, and took a bus to the news agency. At the news agency, she wrote an electronic resignation report and sent it to the chief editor and the managing editor. Then, she pretended that she was beginning to pack her things. A colleague beside her sighed and said, ¡°Qiao Lian, you... You should find the chief editor and beg her. Don¡¯t go.¡± Before Qiao Lian could speak, Su Meimei mockingly said, ¡°Our news agency has its own rules. If anybody could just open their mouths and beg, then everybody would just sit here and get paid for doing nothing! There would be no point in desperately trying to uncover scoops.¡± Qiao Lian turned her head and looked at her, saying, ¡°Eh, that¡¯s weird. Even you know that eating a free lunch without working is something that should be abhorred?¡± Su Meimei choked, ¡°You!¡± Qiao Lian immediately smiled and turned her gaze away from her. She continued packing her things. Su Meimei clenched her teeth in anger, ¡°Qiao Lian, let me give you a piece of advice. Don¡¯t be so glib, otherwise even if you find a new job in the future, you will always be a measly reporter!¡± Qiao Lian looked at the time. Ten minutes had already passed. Mmmmm, the time hase. As the thought popped into her head, she saw the managing editor hurriedly walking towards her. After seeing her, the distressed managing editor immediately said, ¡°Aye, Qiao Lian, why are you packing your things? Did you face some difficulties with your work? Why are you suddenly resigning?¡± As the managing editor had already rushed over, the chief editor definitely could not coop herself in her office any longer. Thus, she also began to hurriedly walk over. Qiao Lian saw the chief editor and then sighed. She used an extremely guilty tone to say, ¡°Managing editor, I have failed to live up to the chief editor¡¯s expectations for me. As such, I really cannot shamelessly stay at this news agency. The chief editor said that I only had three days to uncover Mrs. Shen¡¯s identity, but look, it has already been three days.¡± The managing editor immediately barked, ¡°Nonsense! Are scandals rted to Best Actor Shen that easy to investigate? Three days... Even finding her identity in thirty days would be an amazing feat!¡± The chief editor¡¯s face turned red, and she said, ¡°Managing editor, I¡ª¡± ¡°Alright. There is a one-week conference for reporters taking ce in Hainan. Pack your things now and go attend that conference.¡± When she heard these words, the chief editor¡¯s face immediately turned pale with rage. As she turned her head, she saw Qiao Lian suddenly smirk at her delightedly. Chapter 39 - Best Actor Shens Scandals

Chapter 39: Best Actor Shen¡¯s Scandals

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian knew that if not for the scoop she had uncovered regarding Wang Wenhao, the managing editor would not want to embarrass the chief editor over a mere reporter like her. But now, she had achieved a total victory in this workce battle. Qiao Lian hid the smile on her lips and said, ¡°Managing editor, please don¡¯t. If the chief editor goes, won¡¯t our department be in a state of total disunity?¡± The managing editor immediately said, ¡°Then why don¡¯t you act as the team leader for your department? For this next week, you will be the one that is responsible for your team¡¯s performance.¡± As he finished speaking, the managing editor smiled again, ¡°Actually, I have been considering creating another team in the Entertainment News Department. Motivation only arises frompetition¡ªQiao Lian, do your best!¡± As she heard his words, Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes immediately lit up! When the managing editor and the chief editor left, Qiao Lian turned her head and looked at Su Meimei, whose face had already turned pale. Qiao Lian still had a huge grievance between her and Su Meimei to settle! Back when they went to the filming site to intercept Shen Liangchuan, Su Meimei had purposely pushed her and caused her to bang into his car. At the party, Su Meimei had purposely told everybody that she was a reporter. She looked at Su Meimei and suddenly smiled strangely, ¡°Su Meimei, if I remember correctly, the drama The Song of the Large Desert wascking a reporter to specifically cover them. You should go and serve that role.¡± The Song of the Large Desert was shot entirely in the desert. One could imagine how terrible the shooting environment would be. Su Meimei became frantic all at once, ¡°Qiao Lian, you¡ª¡± Before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted by Qiao Lian, who said harshly, ¡°Su Meimei, whether you go is up to you. However, if you choose not to go, then scram now!¡± Su Meimei¡¯s eyes turned red . Scram? She could never do that! ¡°OK, I¡¯ll go!¡± ¡ª¡ª One week passed in a blink of an eye. During this period of time, Qiao Lian adjusted herself and was now leading an extremely fulfilling life. Only when she asionally thought about the life she had led during those four days, did she ce both her hands on her small belly involuntarily. Had she gotten pregnant during that time? ¡°Big news, big news!¡± As she stared nkly, a colleague ran over and said, ¡°Xiao Lu snapped a photo of Best Actor Shen and Liu Mei stepping out of a hotel together!¡± When Qiao Lian heard this, she raised her head in astonishment. ¡°I can¡¯t believe it! Best Actor Shen has just rified his rtionship with Yang Lingsi. Why did another person appear? Is this all just preparations for his new movie?¡± ¡°Every year, there are so many rumors and plenty of gossip about Best Actor Shen. One more is nothing.¡± ¡°What do you know! All the previous gossip surrounding him was groundless usations. However, this time the rtionship seems to be real! Many reporters have taken photos of this. Tell me, do all of you think that Liu Mei is Mrs. Shen?¡± Qiao Lian drooped her head. It felt as though a ball of cotton was blocking up her heart. Darn it, can¡¯t this Shen Liangchuan just be silent and not cause trouble for one second? ¡°OK, what¡¯s the point of saying all this?¡± Someone looked towards Qiao Lian and said, ¡°Qiao Lian, should we publish this piece of news?¡± Qiao Lian raised her head and said, ¡°Do it!¡± Why should she not publish it? Many reporters had snapped pictures of it, so they were probably preparing reports for their news agencies right now. That afternoon, Qiao Lian was writing an article when the managing editor called over and said excitedly, ¡°Qiao Lian! The filming crew of Ambition has epted our interview! Tonight, I have specifically booked the VIPpartment for Ambition . This is a great honor for our news agency. I do not trust anyone else to attend this event, so you should go there yourself!¡± Qiao Lian was stupefied. Wasn¡¯t the leading actor for Ambition Shen Liangchuan? However, Shen Liangchuan had never cared about doing publicity events. As such, the person they were interviewing tonight couldn¡¯t be him. However that night, when Qiao Lian pushed open the door to thepartment, what she saw left her dumbfounded! Could someone tell her why Best Actor Shen was actually sitting inside thepartment?! Chapter 40 - Proud Best Actor Shen

Chapter 40: Proud Best Actor Shen

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan was dressed in a dark grey suit and sitting on a sofa in the private room. In his hands, there was his script, which he was reading deeply concentrated. The chandelier emitted a golden yellow light and when it shone on him, it made him look exceptionally good. However, Qiao Lian looked as if she had seen a ghost. In shock, she took a step backward and looked at the door number of the private room to make sure that she hadn¡¯t entered the wrong room. That meant... She immediately asked, ¡°Mr. Song, you... Did you enter the wrong room?¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s manager, Song Cheng, was sitting in front of the table and casually enjoying his tea. As he turned his head, he was slightly surprised to see Qiao Lian, but he continued with a smile, ¡°Ms. Qiao, you really enjoy making jokes, isn¡¯t this the interview session for Ambition ? Best Actor Shen is the main lead of this show, so¡ª¡± Before Song Cheng could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by Shen Liangchuan¡¯s cold tone, ¡°Both the writer and the director weren¡¯t free today.¡± He then looked at the time impatiently, ¡°You have ten minutes.¡± Song Cheng was bewildered. When they met the director and the writer just now, they were saying that they were bored. Why wouldn¡¯t they be free? Also! He had intentionally rescheduled his appointments this afternoon in order to attend this interview. Why was he acting as if he was really busy? Song Cheng looked towards Qiao Lian once again. He finally understood why Best Actor Shen had been acting weirdtely. Song Cheng coughed, ¡°You can start your interview, I¡¯ll go and ask the waiters to send a fruit tter over.¡± Song Cheng left as fast as lightning and Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan were the only people left in the room. Qiao Lian felt awkward. She wanted to speak, but Shen Liangchuan went back to reading his script. Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help but cough when she saw how nonchnt Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression was. But he had said that he was only giving her ten minutes, so she had to cherish her time. She interrupted him, ¡°Mr. Shen¡ª¡± Before she could finish her sentence, she heard him say, ¡°You haven¡¯t resigned?¡± Resigned? Dang, did he want to start a fight every time they met? Qiao Lian was fuming deep down, but she didn¡¯t dare show it. She looked obedient and careful but as she spoke, her words were still meant to prick him, ¡°Mr. Shen, in our agreement there is not a line to be seen that states that I am not allowed to be a reporter, or any line that says I have to be a stay-at-home mom and prepare for pregnancy.¡± Thus, it was none of his concern whether or not she wanted to be a reporter! Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression became grim as he lifted his head. The atmosphere in the room immediately got really cold. Although Qiao Lian¡¯s posture showed confidence, she couldn¡¯t help but feel fear as her heart bubbled. His nce was like an icicle, and the freezing cold made it hard for her to breathe. Her willpower was broken down in an instant. After sustaining eye contact for quite a while still, Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t take it anymore and admitted defeat, ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t mean that, I mean... Right, don¡¯t you want to hide the marriage? Everyone is trying to find out who your wife is, so, no one would expect it to be me like this, right? Hehe, what do you think?¡± He seemed to only be satisfied after seeing this attitude from her, and he briefly made a sound of agreement. Did that mean that... He wasn¡¯t going to force her to quit anymore? Qiao Lian cheered as she spoke, ¡°Mr. Shen, next we¡ª¡± Before she could finish, Shen Liangchuan stood up, ¡°Time¡¯s up.¡± Qiao Lian panicked, ¡°But¡ª¡± ¡°Ms. Qiao, I have limited time.¡± ¡°When will you be free?¡± Shen Liangchuan spoke inly, ¡°I will be home tonight.¡± Qiao Lian was dazed. What did that mean? Did he want her to interview him in the vi? Chapter 41 - Auntie Li, Youre Really Bad at Observing

Chapter 41: Auntie Li, You¡¯re Really Bad at Observing

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Watching Shen Liangchuan¡¯s leaving figure, Qiao Lian was so annoyed that she felt like vomiting blood. Would it hurt to say a few more words? If she went to the vi tonight, she wondered what crazy things this man would do! So... should she go? ¡ª¡ª Shen Liangchuan walked out of the private room and met Song Cheng, who was walking over carrying the fruit tter in his hands. When he saw Shen Liangchuan, he was stunned. ¡°Wow, why did the interview end so fast?¡± Shen Liangchuan kept silent and continued walking with the script in his hands. Song Cheng tookrger steps to catch up, and both of them entered another room beside them. Shen Liangchuan started reading his script while Song Chen idled. After a while Song Cheng couldn¡¯t resist his boredom and said, ¡°Brother Shen, since you have nothing to do now, can we go home?¡± Shen Liangchuan nced at his watch saying, ¡°There¡¯s no rush.¡± He had just told her that he was really busy. If he returned home now and she happened to be there, wouldn¡¯t he be exposed? Song Cheng: ... Song Cheng sighed as he carefully observed Shen Liangchuan. Although Shen Liangchuan was expressionless, Song Cheng could tell that he was rxed. Knowing that he was currently in a good mood, Song Cheng couldn¡¯t help but ask the question he had been keeping in for the whole day, ¡°Brother Shen, what were you doing in the hotel with Liu Mei? Besides, you are such a careful person, you shouldn¡¯t have been caught!¡± After hearing his words, Shen Liangchuan rxed his brow and without even looking up, he said, ¡°I was careless.¡± Song Cheng continued, ¡°There are times where you are careless? Brother Shen, don¡¯t lie! I know you did it on purpose, but what for?¡± Why? Shen Liangchuan subconsciously furrowed his brow. To be honest, he didn¡¯t know why himself. When both Liu Mei and him were exiting the hotel, the director stayed in, and he knew there were reporters outside, but it didn¡¯t ur to him to take precautions. As he picked up his phone and entered the website of G8ssip , the first thing that met his eyes was the report of Liu Mei and him. It was such a big one, she must have known about it, but from the publishing of the article until the time they had met, why had Qiao Lian not reacted? Shen Liangchuan furrowed his brows, threw his phone onto the table and continued reading his script. The do-not-disturb look he carried made Song Cheng shut his mouth. Two hourster, Shen Liangchuan finally stood up. Song Cheng hurriedly asked, ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°Home.¡± Just as the car drove into the vi, Shen Liangchuan looked up at the second floor. The lights were not turned on. He furrowed his brow and walked into the living room, where Caretaker Li immediately weed him. As Shen Liangchuan removed his clothes, he silently looked for traces of Qiao Lian. He didn¡¯t proceed upstairs and instead, walked to the sofa and sat down with his script. After a while, the phone of the house suddenly rang. He then heard Caretaker Li¡¯s voice, ¡°Ms. Qiao?¡± Shen Liangchuan immediately perked his ears, although he maintained his expressionless face. ¡°Ah, Mr. is home, he¡¯s currently reading his script.¡± ¡°Is he busy?¡± Caretaker Li turned his head to look at Shen Liangchuan. Shen Liangchuan had ced his script on the table and made it look as if he was enjoying his leisure time and free. Caretaker Li replied, ¡°Not really, I think he¡¯s tired from reading the script.¡± Shen Liangchuan: ... Which eye of yours observed that I¡¯m tired? ¡°His mood... As usual, I can¡¯t tell whether Sir¡¯s mood is good or not.¡± Shen Liangchuan thought, ¡°Auntie Li, you are really bad at observing!¡± ¡°Ah? Ok, I understand.¡± After she hung up the phone, Shen Liangchuan sat up straight and continued reading his script. A whileter, Caretaker Li cautiously moved over and served him a cup of tea. ¡°Sir, if you are tired, you should go and rest.¡± Chapter 42 - Im Only Free at Night

Chapter 42: I¡¯m Only Free at Night

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°I¡¯m not tired, I want to continue reading my script.¡± Caretaker Li hesitated for a while, but she couldn¡¯t help but remind him, ¡°Sir, y- your script is upside down.¡± Shen Liangchuan: ... Shen Liangchuan threw his script on the coffee table and looked at the time. It had been one hour since Qiao Lian had called, however, he didn¡¯t want to show that he cared and thus asked the caretaker casually, ¡°When is Ms. Qiaoing back?¡± Caretaker Li was stunned. ¡°Ms. Qiao... She didn¡¯t say she wasing!¡± Shen Liangchuan stood up and narrowed his eyes. ¡°Then, what did she say when she called just now?¡± Caretaker Li replied, ¡°She asked a few questions and said ¡®Oh, I know.¡¯¡± Shen Liangchuan was thoroughly speechless. So, was sheing or not? He then loosened his tie and went upstairs. After he bathed, heid on the bed and listened to the movements outside. However, not even when the sun slowly rose, she was home. Shen Liangchuan didn¡¯t sleep throughout the night. When he got up for the day, he couldn¡¯t help but wonder how she was going to write her draft. Just as he was confused, Song Cheng sent him a message through WeChat. There was a link attached to it. He opened the link and saw the article by G8ssip . It was from Qiao Lian¡¯s pseudonym and the article said that he was very dedicated to his job, as he was constantly reading his script. It also said that the new movie Ambition would be really good and it talked about the story of Cao Cao, which would be yed by Shen Liangchuan. Shen Liangchuan: ... ¡ª¡ª Qiao Lian heaved a big sigh of relief after she sent out the interview article. Just when she was intending give herself a half-day break, she suddenly received a call from Dr. Li, ¡°Ms. Qiao, the money you gave usst time has been used up, we need you to hand in more.¡± Qiao Lian replied, ¡°No problem, I will transfer it to you.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± After she hung up, she intended to transfer it to Dr. Li using the card Shen Liangchuan had given her. However, just when she was about to do so, she suddenly realized... her card had been frozen? Qiao Lian examined it carefully and after staring at it for quite some time, she confirmed that the two million dors had indeed been frozen! She quickly picked up her phone and dialed Song Cheng¡¯s number. Song Cheng replied, ¡°Huh? It¡¯s frozen? That isn¡¯t really possible. Why don¡¯t you ask Best Actor Shen yourself. It¡¯s his personal card, I don¡¯t know much.¡± Ask Best Actor Shen? Qiao Lian wanted to continue, but Song Cheng had already hung up. Qiao Lian thought, ¡°Wasn¡¯t he supposed to be a sunshine guy?¡± She was at her ends, thus she held her phone as she hesitated. Even so, she still called Shen Liangchuan. The phone was only picked up after it rang a few times. From the other side of the phone came Shen Liangchuan¡¯s unique voice, ¡°Hello.¡± Qiao Lian hurriedly spoke, ¡°It¡¯s me, ermm-¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± She replied, ¡°Qiao Lian.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°The card you gave me-¡± ¡°I¡¯m very busy, if there¡¯s anything, we¡¯ll talk tonight.¡± Du, du, du. Qiao Lian: ... She looked down at her phone and confirmed that she had been hung up on. How busy was he? He didn¡¯t even have time to hear a sentence from her?! Qiao Lian clenched her teeth and harshly ced her phone down. This time, she had no choice but to go back, right? But, if she returned, would he make things difficult for her? Was it that hard to distance herself from him? This was the first time she felt that one day could fly by so rapidly. Before she knew it, it was time for her to get off work. Without any other option, Qiao Lian made a firm resolution to hail a cab to the vi. Chapter 43 - Long Time No See, Villa

Chapter 43: Long Time No See, Vi

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As the cab stopped at the vi, Qiao Lian could not help butment herself. Upon entering the living room, she realized that Shen Liangchuan was not home. She felt as if she was a guest as she sat waiting on the sofa for him to arrive. After about half an hour, she finally heard the car whistle. She stood up quickly and looked at the door, flustered. Shen Liangchuan took long strides in. He was wearing a casual sweater, with both of his hands in the pockets of his pants. His face was expressionless and he looked as alienated and cold as usual. When he entered, he seemed to have seen her, but his steps stopped for a second before he continued looking forward. Qiao Lian bit her lips and hesitated for a moment before saying, ¡°Mr. Shen-¡± Before she could finish her words, he walked up the stairs. Qiao Lian was left stunned on the spot, but as she recalled about her hospitalized younger brother, she stomped her feet and followed after him. The door of the master bedroom wasn¡¯t closed and as she walked in, she realized that it was empty. Then, she heard the sound of running water from the bathroom. Although she had only stayed with Shen Liangchuan for four days, she had long realized that he was obsessive when it came to cleanliness. The first thing he did when he got home was to bathe. But now, was she supposed to stay there and wait for him to be done? Or should she go outside to wait for him? After debating with herself for awhile, she ended up sitting on the sofa in the master bedroom. Since they were already in that kind of rtionship, what was there to hide? After awhile, the sound of running water finally stopped. Shen Liangchuan exited the bathroom with a towel around him. He was holding another towel, with which he dried his hair. The aura he gave made Qiao Lian feel uneasy, as she was seated. She then stood up and spoke formally, ¡°Mr. Shen-¡± It was after she spoke then that Shen Liangchuan seemed to realize her existence and lightly looked up at her. Qiao Lian continued, ¡°Mr. Shen, may I know why is the card you¡¯ve given me frozen?¡± Shen Liangchuan raised his brows, ¡°Frozen?¡± Qiao Lian nodded her head, ¡°Yes, could I trouble you to help me check on what had happened? I need this sum of money urgently.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± He replied emotionlessly and continued drying his hair. Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help but urge him, ¡°Mr. Shen?¡± Shen Liangchuan looked over and said, ¡°You want me to check for you when I¡¯m in this state?¡± Qiao Lian: ... Qiao Lian had no choice but to wait for him while he slowly dried his hair. She followed behind him, ¡°Mr. Shen?¡± ¡°Let me put on my clothes first.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± After he was done wearing his clothes, he said, ¡°Let¡¯s eat first.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± In the dining hall, Qiao Lian sat with Shen Liangchuan and enthusiastically served him with food and soup. When he ate, he ate gracefully but slow. When he finally finished eating, before Qiao Lian could speak, his phone rang. Shen Liangchuan spoke, ¡°Allow me to pick up a call first.¡± Then, he held his phone and went up to the study room on the second floor. Qiao Lian finished her meal and anxiously waited for him downstairs. He woulde back down after he finished his call, right? But... One hour had passed and Shen Liangchuan had yet to return downstairs. Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t resist waiting anymore. Thus, she quietly went upstairs and stood outside the study room. She saw Shen Liangchuan holding onto his phone while seating behind the study table and saying, ¡°Yes, ok, you can continue.¡± Qiao Lian quietly moved backwards. Shen Liangchuan only looked up and put his phone down after she went back downstairs. On his screen there wasplete darkness. There wasn¡¯t any caller id at all. In the middle of the night, when Shen Liangchuan finally walked out of the study room, he searched around the vi and found that she had already fallen asleep on the sofa in the master bedroom. Chapter 44 - The Shen Liangchuan Who is Hard to Reject

Chapter 44: The Shen Liangchuan Who is Hard to Reject

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan slowly walked in front of her and looked down at her. She must have been really tired to be sleeping so deeply. Her brow was tightly furrowed, it looked as if she had unsolvable problems even in her sleep. When her silky ck hair was spread on the sofa, it made her fair porcin face look even fairer. Her cherry red lips were half opened and her breathing was even. She looked... really cute. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s gaze slowly became gentle. He saw her hug herself with her arms, so he subconsciously walked to the side and grabbed a nket. After he covered her with it, she rxed her creased browfortably. He couldn¡¯t resist her peaceful look and stuck his hand out to caress her face. He was suddenly struck by a thought¡ªif time was able to stop at that moment, how good would that be? Or rather, if time had stopped at that moment eight years ago, how good would that have been? Qiao Lian opened her eyes drowsily. She took some time to get used to the dim lighting in the room and realize where she was. And when she did, her drowsiness immediately disappeared and she hurriedly stood up. As she did so, she was stunned at the sight of the nket on her, which had fallen onto the floor. Who had ced the nket on her? She turned her head and observed her surroundings. She realized that there was light from the balcony. As she slowly made her way over, she was met with the sight of Shen Liangchuan sitting on a chair at the balcony. His expression was cold and in front of him sat a ss of red wine. At that moment, she suddenly had the illusion that Best Actor Shen seemed to look very lonely. Upon hearing her movement, he slowly turned around and looked at her expressionlessly. Qiao Lian quickly spoke, ¡°Mr. Shen, you¡¯ve finished your phone call? Then, could you help me check why the card was frozen?¡± Shen Liangchuan stood up. His masculine stature was so pressurizing, no one dared to exchange eye contact with him. She then heard him say, ¡°Ms. Qiao, allow me to remind you. Do you think anyone will still be at work at such an hour?¡± Apanying his voice, there was a gust of the smell of alcohol. Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t resist looking at the table, where a few wine bottle were strewn on it. It looked like he had drank a lot tonight. As she was thinking this, she saw him take a step forward, but he tripped with the chair and fell on the ground. Qiao Lian¡¯s heart jumped and she subconsciously reached over to grab him! However, Qiao Lian¡¯s small body didn¡¯t have the ability to steady his strong and huge body. It made both of them fall on the floor, with him above Qiao Lian. The surface of the balcony was covered by ayer of thick rug. Qiao Lianid on the rug with Shen Liangchuan¡¯s heavy body pressing on top of her. The familiar masculine scent was mixed with a scent of alcohol, causing Qiao Lian to feel momentarily drowsy. His gaze stopped on her face, but he pushed his body up with both his hands beside her body. The moonlight was shining and it made the night even hazier. Qiao Lian could only feel that her breathing was getting heavier and her heart was pumping faster at that moment. Then, she saw mistiness in his eyes. He slowly lowered his head and suddenly kissed her. Qiao Lian widened her eyes in shock. Staring at that face in close proximity to hers, her brain was nk. The cooling feeling on her lips made her feel as if she could no longer breathe smoothly. Thereafter, she felt that he prised her lips apart and stuck his satiny tongue in gently. The kiss was filled with attachment, it felt as if was hard to break apart. A drunk Shen Liangchuan was so gentle that she couldn¡¯t bear reject him. It was only until Qiao Lian felt a cold breeze on her body that she suddenly awoke from the daze and realized what was going to take ce. Chapter 45 - What Is Added to the Milk?!

Chapter 45: What Is Added to the Milk?!

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She wanted to resist, but he didn¡¯t give her any chance to do so. He kissed her deeply and one of his hand quickly unbuttoned her clothes. His actions were swift and urate, causing Qiao Lian to suspect whether he was actually drunk. That was the first time Qiao Lian felt that sex was so harmonized and enjoyable. She felt as if she was a canoe, guided by him to float into the vast oceans. She was brought onto the high waves time and time again, followed by a ruthless fall. Until the end, she was drowning in immense pleasure. She didn¡¯t know how much time had past, but she fell into a deep sleep when her body was no longer able to take it. After she fell asleep, Shen Liangchuan opened his clear eyes. There wasn¡¯t any tinge of drunkenness in them. The next day, Qiao Lian only managed to open her eyes after the day had turned bright. She then realized she wasying on the bed alone. Memories of the craziness from the night before surged into her brain, and she felt as if her body was about to burn. She hugged the nket, but when she remembered the bank card, she swallowed the embarrassment she felt, got off the bed and put on her clothes. Thereafter, she left the master bedroom. Just as she stepped out of the room, she met face to face with Shen Liangchuan, who hade out of the study room. Qiao Lian¡¯s face immediately blushed. It felt as if awkwardness filled the atmosphere. They were supposedly on a cold war, butst night they- Qiao Lian didn¡¯t dare to look at him in the eyes, so her gaze just floated around. Just as she was about to speak, Shen Liangchuan had already began, ¡°The bank card can now be used.¡± Qiao Lian hurriedly nodded her head and thanked him, ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°No problem,¡± Shen Liangchuan replied as he walked down the stairs. Then, he continued, ¡°Move back in here.¡± Qiao Lian stopped in her tracks and bitterness surged into her heart. He was still expressionless¡ªit felt as if he had just said it casually and it wasn¡¯t anything important. It was because ofst night... She bowed her head and said after giving it a thought, ¡°It¡¯s ok, I-¡± Before she could finish what she wanted to say, his voice sounded, ¡°Ms. Qiao, my child might already be in your stomach now. If you continue staying outside, what if something happens to you? Move back and allow the caretaker to cook nutritious food for you so the child will be able to grow healthily.¡± So, his intentions of asking her to move back in were solely for the sake of the child? Qiao Lian was momentarily stunned. ¡°The agreement did not state that you must resign, but it said that you have to be staying at home. I don¡¯t think you¡¯d want to breach the agreement, right?¡± His coercion didn¡¯t leave her a choice, she could only nod in agreement. ¡°Ok.¡± After Shen Liangchuan heard this, he nodded and moved downstairs quickly, leaving the house before eating breakfast. Qiao Lian sat in the dining room dazedly. After a while, she let out a bitter smile. She stood up and walked into the kitchen, intending to pour a cup of milk for herself. However, when she stepped into the kitchen, she witnessed the servant mixing something into the milk. As she recalled the weird-tasting milk, Qiao Lian curiously asked, ¡°What are you adding to the milk?¡± Although she had asked casually, the servant was shocked. Her body trembled and she recovered from her shock as she stammered, ¡°Ms.- Ms. Qiao?¡± The servant¡¯s guilty look made Qiao Lian narrow her eyes in suspicion. She took one step forward and watched the servant put the thing in her hands behind her in fear. Qiao Lian immediately spoke incisively, ¡°What¡¯s that? Show me!¡± Qiao Lian was very nimble and as she spoke, she snatched the thing. Chapter 46 - A Scream For Standing Up Against Injustice

Chapter 46: A Scream For Standing Up Against Injustice

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios It was a small bottle that contained small ck pills. When she opened it, a strong pungent smell of chinese traditional medicine seeped out. It was exactly like the weird taste in the milk. She furrowed her brow and asked, ¡°What kind of medicine is this?¡± The servant was flustered, she didn¡¯t know what to answer. At that moment, Caretaker Li¡¯s voice was heard, ¡°What happened?¡± Qiao Lian turned her head and saw Caretaker Li walk in. Her face was solemn, with no trace of a smile. Holding onto the bottle of medicine, Qiao Lian asked her, ¡°Is this added to the milk I drink every day? What type of medicine is this?¡± Caretaker Li gave it a nce and replied, ¡°This is a medicine used to aid pregnancy. Sir specially requested a chinese traditional doctor to conconct it.¡± After finishing her sentence, she ced the bottle of medicine in Qiao Lian¡¯s hands, saying: ¡°If you don¡¯t want it in your milk, then you can take a pill a day from now on.¡± Thereafter, she furrowed her brow, looked towards the young servant and scolded her sternly, ¡°You were flustered because you were secretly drinking the milk again, right?¡± The young servant immediately lowered her head, ¡°Aunt Li, I won¡¯t do it again.¡± Qiao Lian looked over and saw that the servant indeed had milk remnants on the side of her lips. It had made her believe that that was poison! She returned the pills to Caretaker Li saying, ¡°I think I will leave it to you to remember it for me. I¡¯m very busy with work and might forget.¡± She finished speaking, walked over and finished the cup of milk in a gulp. After which, she left for work. This was a vi district and it was really huge. There was no public transport¡ªbuses or trains¡ªin a few kilometers radius. Thus, Qiao Lian had been taking cabs to and from the vi. But after the bank card had been frozen yesterday, this had scared her immensely and she decided to walk to the bus stop today. She would save as much as she could! From the vi to the bus stop, she had to walk through a park. As Qiao Lian walked on, she suddenly heard a bustlingughter. The sharpness of a reporter caused her to look up and find the source of theughter. There was a spacious pavilion at the front of the park and a bunch of elderly in their sixties were seated in the pavilion. However, these people were not chatting today, they were gathered behind a person. It was a woman who donned a very beautiful long red dress. She looked elegant and, although you could tell that she was already of a certain age, as she had maintained her looks well, she looked younger than the rest of the elderly. In her hands there was a tablet and she looked as if she was ying a game. The people gathered around her, constantly giving out sounds of amazement. When Qiao Lian walked past by, she heard the music of the game ¡°Temple Run¡±. She smiled and shook her head. Just at that moment, the game gave out a howl in pain and the crowd exploded in sighs. The woman kept her tablet and sighed, ¡°Today is the day I ran the furthest! But this game gets too fast at the end and I can¡¯t keep up, only my son is able toplete that level.¡± As she finished her sentence, her face bloomed with pride. However, after she said so, a young man in the crowd spoke with ridicule, ¡°Meh, ask your son toe and y then!¡± When he started speaking, everyone turned to look at him. The graceful woman furrowed her brow and turned to look at the man who spoke, ¡°My son thinks that this game is too easy for him. The only reason why he passed all of the levels thest time was because I forced him to y.¡± ¡°This game of yours is the enhanced edition, it is not possible that someone is able to finish all the levels. Aren¡¯t you worried of biting your tongue when lying? I think you should stop lying!¡± His words were so infuriating that Qiao Lian stopped in her tracks and looked over. Chapter 47 - Your Mom is Back!

Chapter 47: Your Mom is Back!

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The man who spoke was in his twenties and he looked sleazy and arrogant. That woman stood up with irritation, ¡°How can you say that?¡± ¡°I speak however I want, why? Is it illegal?¡± The woman gave a coldugh. ¡°It isn¡¯t illegal. Never mind, I won¡¯t bother with ignorant people!¡± ¡°Dang! Who did you call ignorant? Ah!¡± The young man rolled up his sleeves and took a step forward, staring at the woman. He looked menacing. Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t stand watching it anymore. She quickly stood in front of the middle-aged woman and the young man saying, ¡°Why? You want to hit her when you can¡¯t win the argument?¡± The man was stunned for a moment. ¡°Who are you?¡± Qiao Lianughed coldly. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter who I am. I¡¯m not here to fight you, but I came to prove to you that it isn¡¯t hard to pass all of the levels in this game!¡± After she finished speaking, she turned around and asked the middle-aged woman, ¡°Auntie, please lend me your tablet for a moment.¡± She exchanged eye contact with the woman and she immediately understood Qiao Lian¡¯s intentions. The middle-aged woman opened the game and passed it to Qiao Lian. Qiao Lian exercised her fingers, picked up the tablet and started ying. Everyone in the area gathered around and surrounded her. Qiao Lian hadn¡¯t yed games for a long time, but she got addicted just after ying for a few minutes. Her expression slowly became grim and serious. She didn¡¯t look like she was ying a game, but instead she looked as if she was facing something sacred. She yed the game with skill and speed, not leaving any coins or props behind. The speed of the game increased, but she continued ying on steadily. The elderly in the vicinity eximed as they watched Qiao Lian y, while the face of the young man who was looking for trouble became paler. After half an hour had passed, the speed had increased to one that was blurry to watch. However, Qiao Lian continued the game steadily. Everyone who was watching her had their hearts hung on a string and every time Qiao Lian made a turn or jumped, it was soul-stirring. Despite so, Qiao Lian¡¯s control increased as she knew the game better and at the end, she sessfullypleted all levels! The whole park was in silence and after awhile, the middle-aged woman eximed, ¡°Good!¡± Thereafter, she started pping loudly. Qiao Lian bowed her head and looked at her trembling right hand. She clenched it with force and smiled queerly. Then, she casually stuck her hand into her pocket and looked up at the young man with gaiety. ¡°Don¡¯t look down on people when you can¡¯t do it yourself. This is one of the easiest games. There¡¯s something this auntie said urately: ignorant people are scary.¡± She was vicious . The young man was so angry his face turned pale. He stuck his finger out, pointed at her and turned away to leave. It was then that Qiao Lian heaved a sigh a relief. She looked at the time and realized that she had spent an hour ying! She was going to bete for work! When Qiao Lian was about to turn around and run off, her arm was held by someone. When she turned around, she saw the middle-aged woman question, ¡°Aiyo, youngdy, what¡¯s your name? How old are you? Do you have a boyfriend?¡± Qiao Lian smiled and said, ¡°Auntie, I¡¯m in a rush for work! Let¡¯s talk another time if we have the chance to meet again!¡± As her voice trailed off, she turned and started running. After Qiao Lian ran out of the park, the middle-aged woman was still stretching her neck and watching, wondering why the children of others were so obedient. She picked up her phone and dialed a number. When it got through, she coldly spoke, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, your mom is back! Quick,e and fetch me! What are you waiting for?¡± Chapter 48 - I Dont Like That Woman

Chapter 48: I Don¡¯t Like That Woman

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Half an hourter, a ck nanny van stopped at the entrance of the park. Song Cheng got off the car and respectfully invited the Empress Dowager into the car. Once the Empress Dowager entered the car, she immediately stuck her hand out and pulled the sunsses off Shen Liangchuan¡¯s face. ¡°What are you trying to hide wearing your shades in front of me? I can recognize you even if you are burnt into ashes!¡± Shen Liangchuan: ... Song Cheng stifled hisughter as he sat on the passenger seat. In his heart, he sighed, ¡°Ah, the Empress Dowager is finally back, there is someone to control Best Actor Shen now!¡± Shen Liangchuan sat there helplessly as he looked at the prettydy before him. ¡°Mom, when did youe back? Why did you not return home?¡± You¡¯re right, this beautifuldy was Shen Liangchuan¡¯s mother, Xia Yehua. Upon hearing his words, Xia Yehua coldly snorted, ¡°Return home? I don¡¯t want to! You grew up! Previously, when I kept asking you to get married and have kids, all you had in mind was the girl from eight years ago. If you had sessfully found her, I would have not objected to it. But now, I went for a holiday for just half a month, and you just casually married a woman?¡± When Shen Liangchuan heard the words ¡°eight years ago¡±, his face turned cold and he replied with the same coldness, ¡°To fulfill your wish of having grandchildren.¡± ¡°Indeed, I want grandchildren, but you can¡¯t just casually bring a woman home. I strongly reject a daughter-inw who chose to sell off her womb for money.¡± Shen Liangchuan paused for a moment, and with a deep gaze he said, ¡°After she gives birth, I will divorce her.¡± Xia Yehua crossed her arms and looked elsewhere coldly. ¡°Anyway, I will not be in the house if she¡¯s around! Before she leaves, I will not return. Xiao Song, drive to Vi 18!¡± Shen Liangchuan had bought two houses in this vi district. The one they were currently staying in was number 8. Hearing Xia Yehua¡¯s words, Shen Liangchuan furrowed his brow. ¡°Mom, that vi has not been tidied up, you-¡± ¡°You what? Unless you drive that materialistic woman away, I¡¯m not going there. Otherwise, I¡¯m worried that I would be fighting with her every day! If you have really let go of the girl from eight years ago and started looking for someone to get married with and give birth to children, why did you not look for Yuanxi? Yuanxi¡¯s such a good girl.¡± ¡°Mom, I treat her as my younger sister.¡± ¡°Look for somebody else then. This world has so many gooddies! Let me tell you, I met a girl in the park just now, she¡¯s really pretty and righteous, and the most important thing is she¡¯s really good at gaming. It was just our first meeting, but I already like her! Go divorce that woman in your house, I¡¯ll find you someone better!¡± Shen Liangchuan kept quiet and Song Cheng took the chance to speak, ¡°Auntie, she¡¯s so good? What¡¯s her name? Can you introduce her to me? I¡¯m still single!¡± Xia Yehua was stunned. ¡°Aish, I don¡¯t know her name. But, I really like this girl!¡± The car stopped at vi 18. Xia Yehua got off the car in a pique and entered the vi. Shen Liangchuan gave a call to Caretaker Li. ¡°Auntie Li, please bring some people over to vi 18.¡± After he hung up, he met with Song Cheng¡¯s confused nce. ¡°Brother Shen, I have only now realized that Ms. Qiao is your true love!¡± Song Cheng pointed at the vi, saying, ¡°For the sake of Ms. Qiao, you really left Empress Dowager here!¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s cold nce shot Song Cheng, so he immediately zipped his mouth up. He emotionlessly looked outside the window. How was it possible that he ditched Empress Dowager for her? The main thing was that he feared that Xia Yehua would be angry when she saw Qiao Lian. That¡¯s all. Chapter 49 - Xiao Qiao, I Really Like You

Chapter 49: Xiao Qiao, I Really Like You

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios One day flew by extremely quickly and before she knew it, it was time for her to end work. Qiao Lian dilly-dallied in her office, she was unwilling to return home. When she recalled the awkward situation with Shen Liangchuan, she couldn¡¯t help but sigh. To be honest, what was she scared of? It was her safe period now. Based on the hate Shen Liangchuan harbored against her, he wouldn¡¯t touch her when he was sober. Qiao Lian packed up her things, took a bus and returned home. After she alighted, she leisurely strolled around the area. It was already 7 pm, so the number of people in the park was dwindling. While walking forward, she kicked a stone out of boredom and suddenly heard shouts behind her, ¡°Hey, youngdy!¡± Qiao Lian turned around with uncertainty and was met with a beautiful middle-aged woman walking towards her excitedly. She immediately recalled that it was the woman she had met in the morning at the park, ying the game. She stopped in her tracks and politely addressed the woman, ¡°Hi, Auntie.¡± ¡°Aiyo, hello! You¡¯re finally back, I¡¯ve been waiting for you here for three hours.¡± Qiao Lian was confused. ¡°Why are you waiting for me?¡± Xia Yehua smiled. ¡°I¡¯m waiting for you to y with me! You were really awesome when you yed this morning, please teach me.¡± Qiao Lian: ... Xia Yehua saw her surprised expression, so she was worried that she had been overly enthusiastic and had scared her off. She then sighed and said, ¡°Ugh, actually I¡¯m just really bored and lonely. Are you very busy? If you are, then it¡¯s alright.¡± Coincidentally, Qiao Lian didn¡¯t feel like returning home. Thus, she immediately replied, ¡°I¡¯m not busy, let¡¯s go over and take a seat.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± Both of them sat on the long bench and Xia Yehua took out her tablet saying, ¡°Quick! You probably don¡¯t realize, but I think watching you y is a form of rxation.¡± Qiao Lian replied cheerfully, ¡°Auntie, actually there are tactics for ying games. Let me tell you, this type of game is meant to test the reaction and speed of the yer, but...¡± After exining all the tactics of the game to Xia Yehua, Xia Yehua had made great improvement. She excitedly eximed, ¡°Ai, daughters are still better! My son is very good at games, but he doesn¡¯t have the patience to y with me. He even despises it and thinks that I¡¯m stupid.¡± Qiao Lian immediately replied, ¡°A mother never looks ugly to her son, why would he think that you are stupid? And from what I see, Auntie, you ain¡¯t stupid at all! Look, you have significantly improved from my brief exnation.¡± Xia Yehua was excited. ¡°Youngdy, you have such a sweet tongue! I really like you! What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°My surname is Qiao.¡± ¡°Then I shall address you as Xiao Qiao!¡± Xia Yehua amiably held onto her hand and continued, ¡°Xiao Qiao, I feel as if I have seen you in my previous life, you feel familiar!¡± Qiao Lian: ... Xia Yehua eyes reddened. ¡°You don¡¯t know how tough my life is! My son is not obedient at all. When I went to Europe for a holiday, he took the chance to get married. When I returned, I nagged at him and he sent me out to stay alone, just because he is worried that his wife would be upset!¡± Qiao Lian frowned. ¡°That¡¯s too much of him!¡± Xia Yehua nodded. ¡°He always gives me the ck face and is really arrogant. Sometimes, I have a strong urge to send him back into my womb and reform him!¡± As Xia Yehua spoke, the angrier Qiao Lian got. She truly wished she had the chance to be filial to her parents, but she would never have the chance to. Thus, she strongly disliked it when children were unfilial to their parents. She grabbed Xia Yehua and asked, ¡°Auntie, where does he live? Let¡¯s go over and seek justice for you! I¡¯m a reporter, he would definitely be afraid of me.¡± Chapter 50 - Its Alright, You Can Continue Eating

Chapter 50: It¡¯s Alright, You Can Continue Eating

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian felt indignant for Xia Yehua, but the woman held her wrist. Xia Yehua sighed, ¡°Forget it, as parents, don¡¯t we all want the best for our children? I¡¯m just lonely and I will be fine if someone can spend time talking to me. Youngdy, if you don¡¯t mind, can we build a friendship that crosses generations?¡± Qiao Lian immediately agreed, ¡°Of course I don¡¯t mind! I¡¯m really happy to have met you, Aunt Xia!¡± Xia Yehua smiled. ¡°Every morning and evening, I will be here. If you are free, you cane and y some games with me. It¡¯s alright if you¡¯re busy too, I won¡¯t burden you!¡± Qiao Lian smiled and yed another round with Xia Yehua. When two women started ying, it became kind of crazy. They only parted unwillingly at 9pm. When Xia Yehua returned to the vi, Caretaker Li came up to her and asked, ¡°Where did you go?¡± Caretaker Li smiled. ¡°I just called to check on vi 8, both Mister and Madam ain¡¯t home. You sure you don¡¯t want to return to take a look?¡± Xia Yehua coldly remarked, ¡°No, I won¡¯t go! Give Shen Liangchuan a call and ask him toe over to apany me for dinner, so he doesn¡¯t forget me after getting a wife. If he has no conscience, my young friend will go after him, hmpf!¡± ¡ª¡ª When Qiao Lian returned home, she realized Shen Liangchuan wasn¡¯t back yet. The house felt as if it had lesser people, the gigantic vi felt very empty. She looked around with uncertainty and heard voices from the kitchen. She took two steps forward and stood at the entrance of the kitchen. She was then met with the sight of four servants gathered and having dinner. ¡°Eat quickly, she¡¯ll be back soon!¡± one of the servants spoke. ¡°Sister Zhang, is this... not right? After all, Ms. Qiao is Mr. Shen¡¯s wife, we-¡± Qiao Lian then realized that the small group servants was talking about her. She turned around and intended to go upstairs, as it would be really awkward if they saw her. But the moment she turned around, she heard one of voices behind her. ¡°Boo!¡± The servant named Zhang Hong gave a coldugh. ¡°Have you seen such a madam before? Mr. Shen left on their wedding night and both of them do not get along well. For a period of time previously, didn¡¯t she leave? From what I see, it must have been Mr. Shen who shooed her out. After such a long time, she then slipped back shamelessly, neglecting Mr. Shen. Didn¡¯t you realize that although Old Madam is back, she was so angry that she refused to return to the vi due to her dislike for Madam?¡± Old Madam? Refuse to return to the vi? ¡°Yes, Caretaker Li and a few others have gone over to take care of Old Madam. They have only left us to clean such a big house. But Sister Zhang, although Mr. Shen isn¡¯t returning home for dinner, is it fine for us to not leave anything for her?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Eat!¡± Qiao Lian clenched her fist. She had always been the kind of person that was open to persuasion, but not to coercion. She originally had decided to go upstairs, but after hearing these words, she was so angry sheughed. This was servants bullying their boss, right? She stood there andughed. Then, she suddenly spoke, ¡°All of you seem to be enjoying your meal!¡± With simply one sentence, all four of the people in the room were greatly shocked. One by one, they stood up and stared at her with disbelief. Qiao Lian continuedughing. ¡°It¡¯s alright, continue eating, don¡¯t bother about me.¡± As her voice settled, the sound of a car could be heard from the outside of the door and in no time, Shen Liangchuan strode in. Chapter 51 - Have You Not Eaten Dinner?

Chapter 51: Have You Not Eaten Dinner?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan walked inside indifferently. Even though he saw Qiao Lian standing at the kitchen entrance, he did not slow down his footsteps but instead went upstairs straightaway. Qiao Lian looked back and saw Zhang Hong telling everybody to scoop food into their bowls without dy. All the food was gone within a matter of seconds and there was none left for her. A couple of women hurriedly washed their tes and cutlery and started to walk outside. Zhang Hong looked at Qiao Lian provokingly, lowered her voice and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, unfortunately there is no food left. Given that you arrived at home sote, you must have eaten already, Ms. Qiao?¡± She deliberately emphasized the words ¡°Ms. Qiao¡± and she spoke in an extremely sarcastic manner. Qiao Lian red at her but suppressed the anger that she was feeling in her heart. Shen Liangchuan was home, which meant that if she started making a fuss, he would hate her even more. As such, she should quietly think of an idea instead. She waited for Zhang Hong to leave before entering the kitchen. She hoped to find a bit of bread and opened the refrigerator. However, she could scarcely believe that the fridge waspletely devoid of cooked food. Qiao Lian frowned. If she cooked now, Shen Liangchuan would notice themotion in the kitchen. Whatever. She would just skip a meal and treat it as something that would help her lose weight! She went upstairs but did not know where to go. To the master bedroom? Or to the guest room? As she was thinking, the door to the master bedroom suddenly opened. Shen Liangchuan had just finished showering and had changed into his pyjamas. The two of them bumped into each other and Qiao Lian immediately jumped backwards. She turned around and started walking to the guest room. However, she had only taken a couple of steps before she heard Shen Liangchuan¡¯s voice say coldly, ¡°Ms. Qiao, the door is here.¡± Qiao Lian froze in her tracks, looked back and suddenly realized something, so she said, ¡°Ah, oh¡±. Then, she entered the master bedroom. Her body was stiff. Shen Liangchuan was in this room, so she felt that whatever she did now would make her feel extremely awkward. As such, she took her pyjamas, took a quick shower and thenid down on the bed. Because her back was facing Shen Liangchuan, she could not tell what he was doing. Qiao Lian thought for a while and then took out her rudimentary cell phone, switched on the front camera and slowly raised it. Shen Liangchuan had smashed her previous cell phone. Thus, she had started using the old phone that she used in the past. As she was used to using a high definition camera, she found it hard to suddenly adapt to using this camera that is of a worse quality. The grainy image made the person shown on screen appear slightly blurry. Then, she saw Shen Liangchuan stand at the side of the bed. Her cell phone continued sliding upwards, until it directly met with Shen Liangchuan¡¯s gaze! Qiao Lian was so shocked that her hand loosened. ¡°Bang!¡± She dropped the cell phone, which immediately smashed her face. ¡°Ah!¡± She screamed and sat up suddenly. Then, she saw blood flowing out of her nose! She pinched her nose with her hands and tilted her head backwards. As she saw Shen Liangchuan walking over, she hurriedly jumped up and ran to the bathroom, saying, ¡°Hurry up and check whether my phone is fine!¡± This was the only cell phone she had left. As a reporter, it would be absolutely tragic if she had no cell phone. Shen Liangchuan: ... Qiao Lian washed her nose thoroughly. After her nosebleed had finally dried up, she simply stood in the middle of the bathroom. She was in such a predicament that she wanted to kill herself. If she had known that Shen Liangchuan would be standing by the side of the bed, she would definitely not have peeped. Qiao Lian lowered her head, covered her face and hesitantly walked out of the bathroom. She hurriedly climbed up on the bed and covered herself with a nket. The bedsidemp was switched on inside the room, but the light it emitted was still quite gloomy. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s fiery silhouette was lying by her side. Qiao Lian suddenly noticed that this was actually the first time that both of them were lying on the same bed, while beingpletely sober. She turned around. The night was quiet and suddenly, her stomach started growling, shattering the silence. She hastily covered her belly, but then heard Shen Liangchuan ask inquiringly, ¡°Have you not eaten dinner?¡± Chapter 52 - The Noodles That Were Eight Years Late

Chapter 52: The Noodles That Were Eight Years Late

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan¡¯s voice sounded exceptionally maic in the night. Qiao Lian¡¯s body froze; she didn¡¯t dare to move. She thought for a while and then said, ¡°Oh, I¡¯m trying to lose some weight.¡± Even if she told him that the servant had purposely not left any food for her, this guy would still not care about her. Besides, she could deal with a mere servant. Except... ¡°Grumble, grumble.¡± Qiao Lian wished she could cover Shen Liangchuan¡¯s ears. The fact that her stomach was growling like this was absolutely embarrassing for her! She turned around and slept on her belly ¡ª only then did her belly quieten down. However, she was so hungry! Qiao Lian pressed her hands on her belly, which was slightly warm. As a reporter, she frequently had irregr meals due to her need to chase scoops. Hence, within the past half a year, she had contracted mild gastrointestinal problems. Her belly was hurting slightly, now that she was in a state of extreme hunger. However, if she got up and found something to eat, would Shen Liangchuan find her irritating? As Qiao Lian hesitated, she suddenly felt the man beside her move. She turned her head over and saw that Shen Liangchuan had already got up. He was wearing pyjamas and standing there. Hisplexion was colder than the night. ¡°Go and cook some food.¡± Qiao Lian hurriedly waved her hands and said, ¡°I¡¯m- I¡¯m not hungry-¡± As she moved, her stomach growled again. Qiao Lian: ... Shen Liangchuan shot a quick nce at her and said, ¡°I¡¯ll eat.¡± Qiao Lian went downstairs, jubted. The moment she hopped out of bed, she was moved to near tears. Atst, she could eat some food! In the kitchen, she opened the refrigerator, turned her head and asked Shen Liangchuan, who had followed her downstairs, ¡°Mr. Shen, what do you want to eat?¡± ¡°Seafood fried rice.¡± Qiao Lian froze and said, ¡°... I don¡¯t know how to make that.¡± ¡°Shredded chicken noodles.¡± ¡°... I don¡¯t know how to make that either.¡± ¡°Then, what can you make?¡± Qiao Lian awkwardly smiled and said, ¡°Noodles with vegetables and shredded meat.¡± Shen Liangchuan stared at her with a look of clear disdain and said, ¡°So, do I have any other options?¡± Qiao Lian: ... Qiao Lian hurriedly smiled and said, ¡°Please wait, my vegetable and shredded meat noodles are well-received in my family! I promise that you will remember these noodles. After only the first bite, my dad-¡± As she said this, she abruptly stopped. She then smiled at Shen Liangchuan, gathered some meat and vegetables and started cooking. Even though Shen Liangchuan sat in the dining room, he could see her petite silhouette working in the kitchen through the door. An almost imperceptible gentleness shed across his eyes. A young voice from eight years ago rang in his ears, saying, ¡°Today, I learnt how to cook vegetable and shredded meat noodles!¡± He coldly replied, ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s edible?¡± ¡°Hey, how could you say this? I¡¯m telling you, the dish I made is absolutely exquisite! My dad could not stop heaping praises on it ¡ª he even ate an entire pot by himself!¡± ¡°In that case, Uncle will likely not be able to sleep tonight.¡± ¡°Why?¡± He said bitingly, ¡°Food poisoning! He will probably spend the entire night in the toilet.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± She flew into a shameful rage, ¡°What can you expect from a hog but a grunt! Hmph, I will take this as just sour grapes; my noodles are extremely delicious. If given the chance, I will make some for you to taste.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t, my stomach is weak and cannot stand your resplendence.¡± ¡°How can you have such a poisonous tongue!¡± ... Actually, she was right. He had really been jealous then and wanted to taste the food she made for himself. However, there had been no opportunity to do so then. After eight years, the bowl of hot, steaming noodles was finally brought in front of him. He raised his eyes. Within the dense steam, he saw that her face had be absent-minded, as though in that moment she had turned back into her young, immature self from eight years ago. Chapter 53 - Who Ate My Noodles?

Chapter 53: Who Ate My Noodles?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Two bowls of steaming noodles were ced on the table. Qiao Lian passed a pair of chopsticks to Shen Liangchuan and then, her eyes shining, picked up her own pair. Her hunger was finally satiated once she swallowed the hot noodles. Only then did she realize that Shen Liangchuan had not even touched his chopsticks. Instead, he was just staring at the noodles. She swallowed a mouthful of noodles and said vaguely, ¡°Mr. Shen, please eat. My younger brother used to dislike my noodles, but after a while he found them to be extremely delicious.¡± As she said this, she dropped her head and smiled humbly. ¡°Even though I personally feel that their taste is nothing spectacr, you should still try them.¡± She picked up Shen Liangchuan¡¯s pair of chopsticks and passed it to him hopefully. Her expression looked like that of a pet which had just performed a good deed and was waiting to be praised. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s eyes rxed. He took the chopsticks, used them to pick up some noodles and ced them into his mouth. The taste was extremely normal. The meat tasted somewhat expired, the noodles were sort of mushy, and even the vegetables were overcooked. Shen Liangchuan swallowed a mouthful of noodles and raised his eyes only to see her eager expression. ¡°Mr. Shen, is it delicious?¡± Her ck eyes shone brightly and her teeth gleamed. At this moment, she looked so beautiful that his heart almost skipped a beat. However, such a reaction suddenly put Shen Liangchuan in a difficult position. He immediately stood up and smashed the chopsticks on the table. He then coldly said, ¡°These noodles are difficult to swallow.¡± As he finished speaking, he turned around and instantly went upstairs. Qiao Lian stared open-mouthed at him! She only regained her senses after Shen Liangchuan¡¯s silhouette disappeared at the stairwaynding. She lowered her head and ate a mouthful of noodles. As she swallowed, she carefully savored the taste of the noodles. Even though they were indeed not as delicious as what her dad and younger brother used to say, but they were not... so terrible that he could lose his temper while eating, right? Was this because he was hot-tempered, or had her noodles really sparked a frenzy within him? Qiao Lian shook her head. Forget it, Best Actor Shen¡¯s tongue was made of gold and she had only cooked to provide her belly with sustenance. After finishing an entire bowl of noodles, Qiao Lian patted her belly, satisfied. Then, she looked at Shen Liangchuan¡¯s bowl of noodles. The other servants, including Zhang Hong, looked down on her. Thus, she was uncertain whether they would actually prepare breakfast for her tomorrow morning, so... she should leave this bowl of noodles for tomorrow morning to eat herself. She washed the empty bowl before heading upstairs. After entering the master bedroom, she realized that Shen Liangchuan was not in the room. She did not think much of it, climbed up to the bed and slept. After half an hour, Shen Liangchuan walked out of the study. As he stood at the hallway of the second floor, he could see the dining table in the dining room. His half-eaten bowl of noodles was still ced there on the table. The noodles clearly had an ordinary taste, and some would even consider the taste terrible. However, the noodles made him agitated, as though opium had been added to them. As though at the behest of supernatural powers, he slowly went downstairs. He then stood in front of the dining table, picked up a pair of chopsticks and ate another mouthful of the noodles. They werepletely cold andpletely tasteless. However, he picked up the chopsticks again, as though he was under a spell. Before he could register what happened, he realized that he had eaten all of the noodles in the bowl. He stared nkly at the empty bowl and his expression suddenly looked full of loneliness. A sh of what seemed like struggling shed across his cold face. ¡ª¡ª The next day, when Qiao Lian opened his eyes, she did not find anybody sleeping next to her. This meant that Shen Liangchuan probably had not returned to this room yesterday. A sense of disappointment shed across her heart. However, she quickly adjusted her mood, showered, rinsed her mouth and went downstairs. The servants had woken up and were currently sweeping and cleaning. Breakfast was not ready yet. Qiao Lian walked to the front of the dining table but with a single nce, saw that there was only soup left in the bowl of noodles. Her eyes instantly widened and she unconsciously yelled, ¡°Who secretly ate my noodles?!¡± Chapter 54 - Woof, Woof, Woof

Chapter 54: Woof, Woof, Woof

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian was so angry that her chest started heaving and she ced both hands on her waist! It would have been one thing if the person who secretly ate her noodles had finished the entire bowl, but the person who had eaten her noodles had also left some soup behind! What was the meaning of this? Was the person taunting her? Zhang Hong, who was currently wiping the table, responded with a sneer, ¡°You are so ignorant. Who would secretly eat your noodles? However, Ms. Qiao, can you please wash the bowl after you have used it in the middle of the night to secretly eat?¡± Qiao Lian frowned and said, ¡°I cooked two bowls of noodles yesterday and intended to eat the remaining bowl this morning. If nobody touched it, why is there nothing left now?¡± Zhang Hong pursed her lips and said, ¡°Who knows?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know? Then could it be that a rat or a stray dog secretly ate my noodles?¡± As she finished speaking, she heard a coughing sounding from the second floor. She turned her head and saw Shen Liangchuan standing at the stairway. Qiao Lian had originally wanted to continue speaking, but the words got instantly stuck in her throat. Had he heard what she had said just now? Ahhh, could he have thought that her quarreling with the servants over a bowl of noodles was shameful behavior? In addition, were her mentions of rats and stray dogs too boorish in nature? As she mulled over this, Shen Liangchuan finally walked downstairs. Zhang Hong went to stand in front of Shen Liangchuan, attempting to kiss up to him. ¡°Mr. Shen, Caretaker Li just ced a call. The Madam is asking for your presence in the old manor so that you can eat breakfast with her.¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded and took his jacket from a servant¡¯s outstretched hands. After wearing it, he calmly walked to the front door. When she saw his indifferent expression, Qiao Lian breathed a sigh of relief. He probably hadn¡¯t heard what she had said then? However, after he put on his shoes, he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks and turned his head. His low voice emerged and said, ¡°Ms. Qiao.¡± Qiao Lian hurriedly said, ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°What is the surname of the director of Ambition ?¡± Qiao Lian said bewildered, ¡°It¡¯s Wang!¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Wang.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t hear you clearly.¡± Qiao Lian yelled, ¡°It¡¯s Wang, Wang, Wang!¡± Shen Liangchuan was only satisfied after he heard that. He softly said ¡°oh¡± affirmingly, and then walked out the door. Qiao Lian said, ¡°... So, what is the meaning of this? As the lead actor of Ambition, surely he knows what the director¡¯s surname is?¡± Also, why did she have the feeling that she had just mimicked the sound of a dog barking? Qiao Lian cleared this strange thought from her mind. She made sure that Shen Liangchuan had left the mansion and then turned around to look at Zhang Hong. Zhang Hong stood up and looked at her impatiently. ¡°Ms. Qiao, you are screaming and shouting over a bowl of noodles. Have you no shame? You have all your limbs intact, so if you wanted to eat, couldn¡¯t you prepare the food yourself?¡± Her haughty expression caused Qiao Lian to smile grimly and there was a sh of coldness in her eyes. ¡°Zhang Hong, are you sure you want to give me a hard time?¡± Zhang Hong smiled coldly, lowered her head and continued wiping the table, saying, ¡°Ms. Qiao, I do not understand your words. What do you mean by giving you a hard time?¡± She looked at another servant and said, ¡°Oh my goodness, some people are just oblivious. They clearly enjoy undeserved fame but still act all high and mighty, hah!¡± Qiao Lian had to breathe in deeply after hearing her words. Without saying any more, she immediately walked into the kitchen, took out a bottle of milk and walked in front of Zhang Hong. She suddenly smiled and tilted her wrist. In an instant, all the milk in the bottle gushed out and was spilt across the entire carpet! The living room¡¯s carpet had a decorative pattern consisting of alternating red and white colors. Cleaning up all the milk from the carpet would be no easy feat. Zhang Hong¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°You-¡± Qiao Lian gave an insincere smile and said, ¡°Oops, I¡¯m so sorry that I did not hold onto the bottle firmly. Please excuse me. All of you should clean this up today before Mr. Shen returns tonight. If he sees this mess, tell me, who will he me?¡± Chapter 55 - Do You Like Shen Liangchuan?

Chapter 55: Do You Like Shen Liangchuan?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As she finished her arrogant tirade, Qiao Lian lifted her bag and headed towards the front door. As she put on her shoes, she turned her head around and said with a smile, ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. You must leave me some dinner tonight, or else I might identally spill a bucket of oil on the carpet if I have to cook dinner myself.¡± As the words left her lips, the four servants started chattering amongst themselves. Satisfied, Qiao Lian walked out of the mansion. She had always had a personality that would cause her to retaliate when taken advantage of. Since she had been made to starve yesterday, she had to cause a bit of trouble for these people today, to let them know that she was not to be trifled with! She walked to the park, humming a little tune. As she saw Mrs. Xia ying her game at the usual spot, Qiao Lian went forward to greet her. ¡°Aunty Xia!¡± When Xia Yehua saw Qiao Lian, she enthusiastically waved her hands saying, ¡°Little Qiao, quicklye over and look! I ran another five thousand meters!¡± Qiao Lian moved closer to her and said a few encouraging words. Xia Yehua suddenly asked, ¡°Why are you so early today? Have you had breakfast?¡± Qiao Lian shook her head and said, ¡°What about you?¡± Xia Yehua sighed and said, ¡°I am waiting for my son to eat with me. Xiao Qiao, since you haven¡¯t eaten yet, you shoulde with me to eat. The breakfast at our house is certainly sumptuous!¡± Qiao Lian hurriedly waved her hand and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need, Aunty Xia!¡± Xia Yehua saw her resolute attitude and did notpel her any further. The two of them continued conversing for a while and yed a few games. Then, they heard some passersby beside them start talking. An olddy said, ¡°My granddaughter keeps talking about Shen Liangchuan in front of me every day. Yesterday, I saw a photo of him and found out that he was actually a handsome little chap! He stars in those television dramas ¡ª such a handsome guy!¡± ¡°I have heard of him before as well. I¡¯ve heard that he¡¯s been especially popr these few years!¡± Xia Yehua heard the praises of the people around them and twitched her mouth. She tilted her head and asked, ¡°Xiao Qiao, do you like Shen Liangchuan?¡± As she thought of Shen Liangchuan¡¯s behavior at home, Qiao Lian said, ¡°Actually, everybody is only exposed to the character behind the screen, and the person they like is also that character. What if he was actually a cold, heartless bastard in real life?¡± Xia Yehua immediately became agitated and grabbed Qiao Lian¡¯s hands, as though she had found a friend who understood her. ¡°That¡¯s right! I¡¯m telling you, based on my knowledge, he has a bad temper and is a smelly and cold person, like a stone in thetrine!¡± Qiao Lian did not doubt her. Shen Liangchuan lived in this neighborhood full of mansions. It was usible that Xia Yehua happened to know him. Thus, she continued speaking, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m a reporter, am I not? Everybody within our reporter circle knows that Best Actor Shen likes to throw his weight around. He is also hot-tempered and has a cold, indifferent face day in and day out. He is so cocky!¡± Xia Yehua could not help butugh when she heard the word ¡°cocky¡±. At this moment, a middle-aged man standing beside them joined their conversation, saying, ¡°That¡¯s right. So what if he looks more beautiful than a woman? He might even be one!¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s face sank and she cast the first stone, saying, ¡°You are the effeminate one!¡± Xia Yehua also became agitated and added, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with him being more beautiful than any woman? I think you are jealous of him!¡± Qiao Lian said, ¡°I say, Grandpa, you look elderly, so I bet that you have terrible eyesight! From the tip of Shen Liangchuan¡¯s hair down to the soles of his feet, tell me exactly which part shows that he is effeminate?!¡± Xia Yehua said, ¡°Hmph, it¡¯s not only his eyesight that has issues. I think his brain is rusty as well!¡± The two women nced at each other and then said in unison: ¡°Aunty, let¡¯s not bother ourselves arguing with feeble-minded people like him!¡± ¡°Xiao Qiao, let¡¯s not bother ourselves arguing with stupid people like him!¡± The middle-aged man was speechless. He had just expressed an opinion that was along the lines of what they had said. Why were these two people suddenly mad at him? Chapter 56 - She Is Mrs. Shen?

Chapter 56: She Is Mrs. Shen?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Theyined about Shen Liangchuan¡¯s nasty temper together, but also scolded the man who insulted Shen Liangchuan together. Qiao Lian suddenly thought that this Aunty Xia was really quite adorable. A kindness simr to that of a mother¡¯s emanated from her body and caused Qiao Lian to feel irresistibly close to her. The two of them walked to the side and looked at each other. After a moment, they startedughing together. ¡°Aunty, you also turned out to be Shen Liangchuan¡¯s fan after all!¡± Xia Yehua froze for a while, but she did not deny the usation. ¡°This means that you are a fan of his as well?¡± Qiao Lian nodded and then, looking at the time, said, ¡°Aunty, I have to go to work now. I can continue ying games with you after work.¡± Xia Yehua nodded and said, ¡°Sure. How about youe over to my house for dinner tonight.¡± Qiao Lian hesitated for a while and said, ¡°I-¡± Xia Yehua cut her off and said, ¡°My son will also being over. Did you not say that you would help me to persuade him?¡± The moment she said this, Qiao Lian immediately nodded. Aunty Xia was so adorable and open-minded. How could her son and daughter-inw abandon this kind of mother-inw? The two of them exchanged their mobile numbers, after which Qiao Lian rushed to grab a taxicab while hopping and skipping. Xia Yehua walked to the mansion. The moment she reached home, she saw Shen Liangchuan already sitting in the dining room. Xia Yehua instantly rushed to stand in front of Shen Liangchuan, saying excitedly, ¡°Son, do you remember the person I was talking about yesterday, thedy I met at the park? She is actually a fan of yours! I am liking her more and more now. How great would it have been if you weren¡¯t married! If you had married her, she could have yed games with me every day.¡± Shen Liangchuan nced at her resignedly. He stood up and said, ¡°I¡¯m full, Mom.¡± Xia Yehua immediately said, ¡°Tonight at 7pm, you must remember toe back for dinner!¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded and then walked out. Xia Yehua excitedly pped her hands. If her Xiao Qiao came to the mansion tonight and saw Shen Liangchuan sitting in her home, would her eyeballs fall off in shock? As she thought about this, she grinned from ear to ear. ¡ª¡ª As Qiao Lian entered the news agency, her colleague Xiao Yeyi grabbed her wrists and said, ¡°Ms. Qiao, please help!¡± Qiao Lian ced her bag on her desk and asked while switching on herputer, ¡°What is it?¡± Poor Xiao Ye¡¯s face looked troubled. She said, ¡°That Huang Jingjing is not being cooperative in the film studio!¡± Qiao Lian frowned and followed Little Ye to the film studio, saying, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Xiao Ye was on the verge of tears as she said, ¡°When our news agency arranged this magazine cover shoot with her two months ago, her attitude then was fine and she wasn¡¯t nearly as angry as she is now! However,st month, the film that she shot with Best Actor Shen was shown in theatres, right? Her social status rose and now she looks down on our magazine. She is especially picky today and refuses to cooperate for the shoot!¡± Qiao Lian coldly smiled and said, ¡°Why should we still work with this kind of person? Immediately cancel the contract. If she is uncooperative, then make her pay the penalty for the breach of contract. After that, just change the person and it¡¯ll be fine, right?¡± Xiao Ye looked around before scooting closer to Qiao Lian and saying in a low voice, ¡°Ms. Qiao, did you not hear about that rumor?¡± Qiao Lian curiously asked, ¡°What rumor?¡± ¡°Everybody is saying that this Huang Jingjing might be Mrs. Shen!¡± Her words left Qiao Lian stunned. ¡°Think about it, how many female stars are there who became popr after only one movie? Why is this Huang Jingjing so arrogant? Also, there is almost no news about her recently since she was spotted in Beijing... the rumor might just be true! Thus, none of us are brave enough to give her the cold shoulder.¡± Chapter 57 - What Is the Relationship Between You and Best Actor Shen?

Chapter 57: What Is the Rtionship Between You and Best Actor Shen?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios While Xiao Ye was speaking, the both of them had already arrived at the film studio. Huang Jingjing folded her arms and sat on the sofa in the resting area. She was wearing sunsses and her face was pale. She was currently throwing a fit, asking, ¡°What kind of rundown ce is this? Where¡¯s the person who was supposed to help me brew a cup of coffee?¡± Xiao Ye hurriedly offered Huang Jingjing a cup of coffee. Huang Jingjing frowned and haughtily took the cup from her. She took a sip. ¡°Ptui!¡± She spat out the mouthful of coffee and angrily looked at Xiao Ye. ¡°Do you want to burn me to death? Know that if you burn my mouth, Best Actor Shen will get extremely angry!¡± Xiao Ye mumbled affirmingly but dared not say any more in case she misinterpreted her words. Qiao Lian walked up to them, grabbed Xiao Ye¡¯s arm and looked at Huang Jingjing saying, ¡°Ms. Huang, it is time for the shoot. Please cooperate with our news agency.¡± Huang Jingjingughed coldly, lowered her head and looked at her own fingers. ¡°My makeup hasn¡¯t even been done yet. How do you expect to shoot me in this state?¡± Qiao Lian said to the stylist, ¡°Hurry up and put on Ms. Huang¡¯s makeup.¡± Huang Jingjing took off her sunsses, tilted her head andughed tauntingly. The expressions of the few people inside the room instantly showedplete astonishment. Qiao Lian also frowned. Huang Jingjing clearly hadn¡¯t slept much yesterday. The dark circles around her eyes were way too obvious. They could not bepletely hidden, even with foundation. Furthermore, her entire body was swollen ¡ª so much so that her face had changed its shape. Every celebrity knew that if they needed to film a scene or participate in a photoshoot the next day, they should be especially careful about the food they ingested the day before. However, it was clear from Huang Jingjing¡¯s current condition that she had paid no mind to the photoshoot today. The stylist was stunned andpletely did not know how to begin. Looking at Qiao Lian, the stylist said, ¡°Ms. Qiao, this-¡± Qiao Lian calmly said, ¡°Just apply the makeup normally.¡± Xiao Ye walked forward and said, ¡°But taking photos in this state will be-¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Given that Photoshop technology has be so advanced, we can always ask someone to properly airbrush the photo in the post.¡± This was all they could do for now. Xiao Ye nodded. However, Huang Jingjing unexpectedly refused to participate in the shoot any further. She immediately stood up in an imposing manner. ¡°Airbrush the photo? How could you say that, you puny reporter? I postponed so many scheduled events toe to this photoshoot. You cannot airbrush today¡¯s photos! Or are you implying that the photographer and the stylist of your little news agency are both frence workers?¡± Her words caused the faces of both the photographer and the stylist to turn ck. Xiao Ye hurriedly exined, ¡°Ms. Huang, the photographers and stylists that we hire are the most renowned in the industry-¡± ¡°Heh, the most renowned in the industry? If they are truly the best, why is there still a need to airbrush the published photos? All of you are clearly doubting my attractiveness!¡± The entire studio fell into absolute silence. Meeting such a person had left everybodypletely speechless! Bam! Qiao Lian handsomely threw the contract in front of her. ¡°Ms. Huang, when you first signed the contract, it was clearly stated in the terms that you must cooperate with us. So, are you trying to breach the contract now? Fine, pay the penalty, it¡¯s up to you.¡± Huang Jingjing instantly became furious. ¡°Who are you? Do you not know my rtionship with Best Actor Shen? How dare you talk to me like that!¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s lips twitched. She walked forward and said, ¡°So, what is the rtionship between you and Best Actor Shen?¡± Huang Jingjing¡¯s eyes narrowed and said, ¡°I-¡± Before she could finish, she saw Qiao Lian raise her cell phone and switch on the audio recording function. ¡°Ms. Huang, I am a reporter, so you¡¯d better be careful when you are speaking to me. Please tell me exactly what is the rtionship between you and Best Actor Shen?¡± Chapter 58 - Having Dinner with Best Actor Shen

Chapter 58: Having Dinner with Best Actor Shen

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Back at the office, Xiao Ye praised Qiao Lian so much that she knelt on all fours. ¡°Ah, Qiao Lian, you were so cool just now! However, how did you know that she was not Mrs. Shen?¡± Qiao Lian coughed and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t know.¡± Xiao Ye froze and said, ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I was just lying to her. Who knew that she would be so gullible and reveal her weakness after some mild threatening?¡± Xiao Ye suddenly understood her intentions. Suddenly, the managing editor walked over at this moment and pped her hands to attract everybody¡¯s attention. She said, ¡°Today, I would like to announce to everybody a piece of good news! I am going to be promoted because our news agency¡¯s performance has been pretty goodtely. I will be reporting to our headquarters starting from next month!¡± As she finished speaking, the office immediately reverberated with a sound of apuse. However, Qiao Lian¡¯s expression sank when she heard the news. The chief editor could not stand her and the reason why she had not gotten into trouble yet was because the managing editor had been protecting her. If a new leader was being appointed now... Before she could gather her thoughts, her colleagues had already started to make a fuss, asking the managing editor to treat them to a meal. In the afternoon, a bunch of people from the news agency walked towards the seafood restaurant formidably. Qiao Lian walked at the very back. As she entered, an excited Xiao Ye suddenly grabbed her arm. ¡°Ms. Qiao! Quicklye and look! It¡¯s Best Actor Shen!¡± Her words caused Qiao Lian to raise her head. Indeed, she saw Shen Liangchuan and Song Cheng sitting in a corner. Why were they here? Her eyes suddenly widened and she froze on the spot. The managing editor smiled and went up to them to greet them. Shen Liangchuan acted as though he did not see her and fiddled around with his phone. Only Song Cheng bothered to politely respond to her greeting. Atst, the managing editor politely said, ¡°Mr. Shen, Mr. Song, I see that neither of you have ordered any dishes yet. It just so happens that I am treating my colleagues to lunch. Do you want to eat together?¡± As he heard her words, Song Cheng immediately declined her offer and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need-¡± But as his gaze followed the managing editor¡¯s pointed finger, he turned his head around and saw Qiao Lian. He froze momentarily and the words that came to his mouth immediately changed to, ¡°... Sure!¡± The managing editor instinctively said, ¡°Oh, then have a pleasant lunch- Oh? Wee, wee!¡± She was absolutely frozen in shock! Best Actor Shen had actually agreed to have a meal with them? Shen Liangchuan clearly had not expected Song Cheng to agree as well. He raised his head, looking at Song Cheng with displeasure. However, Song Cheng gave him a look. Shen Liangchuan followed his pointing finger and saw a small figure, who wished she could hide behind someone else¡¯s silhouette. The admonishment stopped abruptly. In a sh, Song Cheng had already stood up and said, ¡°Then, we will just help ourselves!¡± As she saw herpany¡¯s employees gradually enter thepartment, Xiao Ye excitedly grabbed Qiao Lian and said longingly, ¡°Ah ah ah, Miss Qiao! I¡¯m so happy I could faint! We can actually have lunch with Best Actor Shen, ah ah ah! Can I ask him for an autographter?¡± Infatuated, she went into thepartment. Qiao Lian stood at the entranceway and hesitated, not daring to go inside. Only after taking a deep breath did she gather enough courage to push open the room¡¯s door. She then realized that the entire table had been filled to capacity. The only avable seat was by Shen Liangchuan¡¯s side. Qiao Lian: ... How could she forget that, given Shen Liangchuan¡¯s status, nobody would dare to sit next to him? Thus, why had she hesitated just now and not dared toe in? Qiao Lian awkwardly looked to the side and saw a chair sitting in a corner of thepartment. She approached it and was about to shift it over and squeeze among her colleagues when she saw Xiao Ye waving her hands at her, ¡°Ms. Qiao, there¡¯s a space here!¡± Qiao Lian: ...! She wanted to refuse but Shen Liangchuan had suddenly raised his head and his eyes were looking directly at her! Chapter 59 - Their Wedding Photo

Chapter 59: Their Wedding Photo

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian opened her mouth to speak but after noticing his cold gaze, she did not dare to continue. She could only walk over obediently and sit beside Shen Liangchuan. After all the dishes were ordered, during the period of time while they were all waiting for the dishes to be served, nobody dared to speak. An awkward atmosphere permeated the entire room. Xiao Ye kept fidgeting and quietly tugged at Qiao Lian¡¯s arm. ¡°Ms. Qiao, why do I feel a bit cold?¡± Qiao Lian: ... How could she not be cold? There was a portable air-conditioner right next to her and his entire body emanated an aura of coldness! Qiao Lian stared daggers at Song Cheng. This person does not do things reliably! Given that there were so many reporters here with extremely high perception levels, if they were not careful, they could give the game away. In the middle of the silence, Song Cheng opened his mouth to speak, breaking the stalemate. ¡°Everybody, don¡¯t be ill at ease. After all, we are all friends.¡± The managing editor added, ¡°Yes, indeed. Reporters and celebrities are natural friends. Our meeting here is fortuitous indeed!¡± Song Cheng smiled and said, ¡°Yes. All of you should pretend as though Best Actor Shen and I are not present. Do as you please.¡± Everybody else present thought, ¡°How could we pretend as though the both of you aren¡¯t here!¡± Still, nobody dared to speak. Thus, sitting at apletely silent dining table, the managing editor tried to find a conversational topic. ¡°Haha, actually there are many employees in our news agency who are also fans of Best Actor Shen!¡± Song Cheng arched his eyebrows, looked towards Qiao Lian and said, ¡°Oh? Who are they?¡± Xiao Ye opened her mouth to speak first, ¡°We all are! However, if you are talking about a diehard fan, then it¡¯s definitely Ms. Qiao!¡± Qiao Lian: ...!! She jerked her head up and her first reaction was to look at Shen Liangchuan, only to see him slightly raise his eyes and look over at her direction after hearing Xiao Ye¡¯s words. Qiao Lian hurriedly waved her hands and said, ¡°No, no, I-¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to be shy, Ms. Qiao!¡± Xiao Ye said excitedly, ¡°On her first day at the news agency, Ms. Qiao told us that she was a fan of Best Actor Shen! Photos of Best Actor Shen were scattered across herputer¡¯s desktop ¡ª she had even photoshopped a photo of Best Actor Shen and her standing together.¡± Qiao Lian wanted to stuff objects into Xiao Ye¡¯s mouth until it waspletely swollen! Song Chengughed heartily. As though he had just thought of something, he said, ¡°I can¡¯t believe that... Ms. Qiao and Best Actor Shen had such a history together!¡± Qiao Lian did not dare to look at Shen Liangchuan¡¯s reaction. She hurriedly said, ¡°I haven¡¯t done those things. Don¡¯t spout nonsense, Xiao Ye!¡± ¡°I am not spouting nonsense. The photos are still stored in my cell phone.¡± As she finished speaking, she searched for the photograph on her cell phone and passed it to Song Cheng. Song Cheng took the cell phone. Qiao Lian yelled and threw herself at him, saying, ¡°Ah, don¡¯t look!¡± Qiao Lian skirted around Shen Liangchuan, determined to snatch the phone over. It would be simply outrageous if that photograph was seen by anyone! At this moment, a bony hand suddenly reached out and directly grabbed the cell phone. Qiao Lian immediately recognized the hand as Shen Liangchuan¡¯s hand. She was brave enough to try and snatch the phone from Song Cheng. However, how could she find the courage to snatch it from Shen Liangchuan?! At this moment, she fervently wished that a hole would open up and swallow her whole! Shen Liangchuan lowered his head and looked at the photograph on the cell phone. It was a wedding photograph. A girl, wearing an elegant white wedding dress, was standing on the beach. Her face was unmistakably Qiao Lian¡¯s. Meanwhile, the face of the man standing beside her was definitely his. She smiled happily and a couple of dimples formed on her face. Her head was slightly tilted and she was lying on his shoulder. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s gaze deepened and then he slowly raised his head. He suddenly had a strange feeling, as though there was something flourishing in his heart. Even though Qiao Lian avoided him, she could feel him gazing at her. She felt nervous and uneasy. If even a bowl of noodles could get on his nerves, then wouldn¡¯t he be angry over this photograph? Chapter 60 - Them, Eight Years Ago

Chapter 60: Them, Eight Years Ago

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian braced herself and said, ¡°I- I just photoshopped anyway-¡± As she finished speaking, the dispassionate man who had not spoken from start to finish, suddenly said, ¡°It¡¯s not a bad photoshop.¡± Qiao Lian: ... She looked at Shen Liangchuan in astonishment. Had Best Actor Shen justplimented her? Her mind instantly went nk and she could only reply with a simple, ¡°Thank you¡±. Xiao Ye took the opportunity to say, ¡°Best Actor Shen, since Ms. Qiao likes you so much, could she... be in a photo with you?¡± Qiao Lian thought, ¡°When had she wanted to be in a photo with him?!¡± She instinctively shook her head and said, ¡°Xiao Ye, don¡¯t fool around-¡± ¡°Yes.¡± His simple one-word response caused Qiao Lian to react in stunned shock. Xiao Ye stood up, grabbed the feeble-minded Qiao Lian and made her stand behind Shen Liangchuan. Then, she picked up her cell phone and took a photo of the both of them. ¡°Click!¡± Freeze frame. As the dishes gradually arrived, Qiao Lian¡¯s cell phone vibrated. She picked it up and realized that the photo that Xiao Ye had just taken had already been posted in thepany¡¯s WeChat group. In the photograph, she had a foolish smile on her face, while Shen Liangchuan, as usual, had an indifferent expression on his. Everybody at the dining table started to discuss heatedly. ¡°Qiao Lian usually looks so untidy, but she¡¯s actually quite beautiful when being photographed!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Best Actor Shen is so attractive that many female actresses look like any old passerby when they are in the same shot as him. However, when Qiao Lian stands beside him, she actually looks quite decent!¡± ¡°I¡¯m only realizing now for the first time that a great beauty is actually hiding in our news agency!¡± As everybody joined in the lively conversation, one of them raised their head to look at Qiao Lian and then asked, ¡°Qiao Lian, since you are so beautiful, you must have had many suitors chasing you from a young age?¡± Qiao Lian burst intoughter, but she did not answer the query. Then, she stole a sheepish nce at Shen Liangchuan without knowing exactly why. Another person continued asking, ¡°Give us the scoop Qiao Lian, who was your first love?¡± First love? Qiao Lian instantly froze. The incidents that had happened eight years ago and the people involved in them flooded her mind. She widened her eyes and her lips twitched. Finally, she gave a pained smile and said, ¡°I have no first love.¡± ¡°No way!¡± ¡°You are so beautiful, how could you not have a first love!¡± ¡°...¡± As everybody started chattering amongst themselves, Xiao Ye could not help but ask, ¡°Ms. Qiao, surely you jest!¡± Qiao Lian squeezed out a smile and said, ¡°Really, I didn¡¯t have one.¡± As she finished speaking, bam! The entire room suddenly reverberated with a loud sound. Everybody jumped in shock, especially Qiao Lian, who trembled with fright. She turned her head and joined everybody else in looking at Shen Liangchuan simultaneously. He sat there with a chilly expression. However, a roaring me of anger was brewing behind his eyes. What had she just said? She had no first love? Then... what did she call the rtionship that they had had eight years ago? The chopsticks he was holding in his hand had already been mercilessly thrown on the table. His other hand was tightly gripping onto a wine ss ¡ª the ss had already cracked. As he was still gripping tightly onto the ss, red wine mixed with his blood was slowly dripping down from the ss. His wound came into contact with alcohol, resulting in scorching hot pain. However, he did not seem to notice the searing pain emanating from his hand. He turned his head and looked at Qiao Lian. A rich andplicated feeling seemed to apany his cold gaze, causing Qiao Lian¡¯s entire body to freeze. She swallowed a mouthful of saliva and said, ¡°Mr.- Mr. Shen, your hand-¡± She instinctively reached out her hand, wanting to hold his arm, but he abruptly stood up. Without a word, he pushed his chair away and strode out. Bang! The room door was violently closed and he disappeared behind it. The mood had shifted so quickly that Song Cheng only regained consciousness at this point in time. He hurriedly stood up and chased after him. Chapter 61 - What Happened to Him?

Chapter 61: What Happened to Him?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The room was inplete silence. No one understood why Best Actor Shen had suddenly gotten furious when he had been fine a while ago. After some time, Xiao Ye weakly asked, ¡°What... happened? Wasn¡¯t he alright at the beginning? Did we say something wrong to piss him off?¡± Then, someone shook his head. ¡°But we didn¡¯t say much either!¡± Everyone looked at one another speechlessly. Qiao Lian¡¯s phone rang and when she picked it up, she realized that it was Song Cheng. ¡°Ms. Qiao, can I trouble you to bring Mr. Shen¡¯s phone to the underground car park?¡± Qiao Lian turned her head and realized that Shen Liangchuan¡¯s phone was lying on the dining table. After hanging up, she secretly picked up the phone and left the room with the excuse of going to the washroom. When she arrived at the underground car park, she saw a car shing its headlights and she ran over. The window of the driver¡¯s seat rolled down and Song Cheng¡¯s face was behind it. She quickly passed the phone to him and looked at the person in the back seat through the open window. Blood was still dripping from his hand, but he was still expressionless. He nced out of the window, it felt as if he was in a pique. She asked, ¡°Mr. Shen, your hand-¡± ¡°Drive.¡± The cold voice cut her question off. Song Cheng waved his hand at Qiao Lian and started the car. Qiao Lian stood on the spot and watched the car slowly drive away. Shen Liangchuan and her missed each other with a window between them. ¡ª¡ª For the whole afternoon, Qiao Lian was distracted. Even while writing her article, all that came to her mind was his bleeding hand. Had Song Cheng taken him to the hospital? Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t resist it and sent a message to Shen Liangchuan. [Is your hand ok?] But the message seemed to have disappeared into thin air, she didn¡¯t receive any response. She then sent a message to Song Cheng and his reply was efficient. [It was treated, it¡¯s alright now.] It was after seeing Song Cheng¡¯s message that she felt relieved. Qiao Lian held onto her phone and couldn¡¯t help but send another message asking. [Did something bad happen today?] Song Cheng: [No, everything went well today.] ¡°Everything went well¡±, but why did he get so unhappy suddenly? Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t figure out why, but she then decided to put her curiosity to the back of her mind. The chief editor had returned from the meeting and the managing editor was preparing to report to the headquarters. Thus, I was rather peaceful in the news agency. The afternoon passed by really quickly and when she got off work, Qiao Lian took the bus back home. When she passed by the park, she was stopped by Xia Yehua, who called for her, ¡°Xiao Qiao!¡± Qiao Lian then realized that in the morning, she had agreed to apany Xia Yehua for dinner. But... Song Cheng said that he had returned home and she really felt like returning home to check on him. After debating with herself for a moment, she decided, ¡°I¡¯m very sorry, Auntie. I have something going on tonight and I hope to return home first. Can I eat dinner with you tomorrow instead?¡± Xia Yehua was disappointed but she still replied, ¡°Ok, don¡¯t forget our dinner tomorrow!¡± Qiao Lian nodded. She walked through the park and back to the vi. After she left, Xia Yehua called back home. ¡°Ai, my young friend doesn¡¯t want to have dinner with me anymore, is that unfilial son home yet?¡± Caretaker Li replied, ¡°Old Madam, I have just called vi 8 and they said that Sir is home, but his hand is injured!¡± ¡°What?¡± Xia Yehua immediately started panicking, ¡°I will go over and take a look now!¡± After she hung up, she hurriedly walked towards vi 8. Chapter 62 - The Girl from Eight Years Ago

Chapter 62: The Girl from Eight Years Ago

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As Qiao Lian walked home, all that was going through her mind was the scene where Shen Liangchuan had crushed the wine ss with his bare hands. There had been so many broken shards of ss, has his wound been thoroughly cleaned? As her thoughts shifted there, she turned a corner and bought some gauze and iodine. She ced them in her bag before walking back to the vi once again. As she walked past vi 5, her phone suddenly rang. Picking up, she heard the voice of Caretaker Li, ¡°Ms. Qiao, are you home?¡± She looked up at the vi in front of her and asked, ¡°Caretaker Li, what happened?¡± Caretaker Li sighed and said, ¡°Old Madam has just returned. She- she seemed-¡± Qiao Lian stopped in her tracks and in her brain shed the conversation between the servants the day before. Old Madam¡ªShe was probably referring to Shen Liangchuan¡¯s mother. His mother didn¡¯t like her. She immediately understood why Caretaker Li had called her. To not embarrass herself, she cut Caretaker Li and said, ¡°Ah, I suddenly remembered that I¡¯ve left something important at the office, I¡¯ll go back to get it now!¡± Caretaker Li heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°Mmhm, I will call you when Old Madam returns home.¡± After hanging up, Qiao Lian loitered in the streets with boredom. She looked at her phone. It read 18:30. She then decided to walk to the park beside the vi. She took out her phone and browsed Weibo to pass time. The sky slowly darkened. Qiao Lian looked at the sky and realized it was dark and gloomy. It wasn¡¯t until therge drops of rain fell that she recalled that there was going to be a thunderstorm that night! She grabbed her bag, looked around and saw a pavilion nearby. She dashed towards it, but by then, she was already thoroughly wet. Under such circumstances, the best for her would be to rush home and take a hot bath. With her strong immunity system and body, she wouldn¡¯t fall sick. However... if she returned and came face to face with Shen Liangchuan¡¯s mother, Shen Liangchuan would feel terribly awful if she fought with his mother. Qiao Lian bit her lips and stretched her head out of the pavilion. The cold wind gushed and she was freezing like an icicle. Standing there, she kept sneezing. After two long hours, the rain finally stopped. In the vi. Xia Yehua looked at the man huddled in the sofa and sighed, ¡°What exactly is wrong? You have been so reserved since young, can¡¯t you just share it with your mom?¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s cold gaze was on the coffee table as he replied, ¡°Nothing much.¡± Xia Yehua frowned. ¡°Is it because of the girl from eight years ago?¡± As her words faded, Shen Liangchuan looked up. ¡°After so many years, every time you act weirdly is always because of her. It¡¯s been such a long time, it¡¯s already been eight years. That girl might have already forgotten about you, what¡¯s the point of you vexing over it here?¡± Her words stabbed right into Shen Liangchuan¡¯s heart. He stood up immediately saying, ¡°I¡¯m going upstairs, you should return home.¡± Looking at his retreating figure, Xia Yehua sighed, stood up and left. As the car left the vi and drove towards vi 18, Xia Yehua turned and looked outside, sighing in her heart. When would he be relieved from the torture of this knot in his heart? As she was reveling in her sadness, she suddenly saw a small figure and ordered immediately, ¡°Stop the car!¡± The driver stopped the car and Xia Yehua alighted from it. She was met with Qiao Lian¡¯s astonishment. Xia Yehua was surprised to see Qiao Lian in such a state. ¡°Xiao Qiao? Why are you so wet?¡± Chapter 63 - Do You Have a First Love?

Chapter 63: Do You Have a First Love?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian looked at Xia Yehua in surprise, ¡°Aunt Xia?¡± She looked around the area and asked, ¡°Do you live in this neighbourhood too?¡± Xia Yehua panicked. ¡°Not me, it¡¯s my son! Why did you not return home?¡± Qiao Lian smiled. ¡°Ah, I forgot to bring my keys! So-¡± ¡°What a foolish child! You will fall sick easily in this state. Quick, get into the car ande to my house to take a hot bath!¡± Qiao Lian rubbed her nose and waved her hand in rejection. ¡°It¡¯s ok, achoo!¡± Xia Yehua couldn¡¯t help but shake her head. ¡°Hurry up, get on the car with me.¡± Right after she offered, Qiao Lian¡¯s phone rang. She picked up and Caretaker Li¡¯s voice traveled from the other side of the phone, ¡°Ms. Qiao, they called from the vi and said that Old Madam has left.¡± Qiao Lian was delighted. ¡°Auntie, my family is back! I¡¯ll return home now.¡± Seeing her delight, Xia Yehua nodded. ¡°If anything ever happens, next time remember to give me a call. You really don¡¯t know how to take care of yourself.¡± Qiao Lianughed and replied, ¡°Ok! I¡¯ll return home first. Let¡¯s y together tomorrow.¡± After she finished, she quickly ran back to the vi. After returning to the vi, she looked around and realized that there was no trace of Shen Liangchuan on the first level. She assumed that he was in the master bedroom. Qiao Lian quickly went up and took a hot bath in the guest room. She only felt much morefortable after changing into clean and dry clothes. She was gued by continuous sneezing, but she paid no attention to it and simply rubbed her nose. She only padded to the master bedroom after drying her hair. The room door wasn¡¯t closed. She stuck her head in, nced around the room and found him on the balcony. He was standing on the balcony with his injured hand on his side. The other hand of his was holding a cigarette, the me on the butt was glowing and dimming. His profile, together with the smoke in the dark, seemed very lonely. What was wrong with him? Qiao Lian carefully walked over and the overwhelming smell of cigarettes rushed into nostrils. She turned to look at the ashtray and realized that it was filled with cigarette butts. This man... How much had he smoked? She bit her lips. Deep in her heart, she knew that she should avoid him to protect herself, but her legs were rooted to the ground, they refused to move. She recalled the scene in the private room earlier today. He saw the wedding photo she had photoshopped and even jokingly said that it was well done. Then, he showed that he was forgiving and doting. It made her feel that he didn¡¯t seem to hate her that much. She recalled that ever since she had married him, although he looked fierce on the surface, he had helped her on many asions. Thus, she should coax him, since he was so upset. She took a step forward and wanted to speak. However, her glib tongue wasn¡¯t put into use this time. He was like an ice statue. She felt as if he was miles away and nobody could walk into his heart. Qiao Lian stood there in a daze, wondering how she could break the silence. At that moment, a gust of cold wind blew across. ¡°Achoo!¡± The sound she made caused Shen Liangchuan to realize her presence and he turned around. Qiao Lian hurriedly formed a big smile on her face and blinked while asking, ¡°Mr. Shen, is your hand ok?¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression looked even worser. He was feeling sad for her, but the bright smile on her face was offending. In the dark, he suddenly spoke, ¡°Do you have a first love?¡± Chapter 64 - Let Me Tell You a Joke

Chapter 64: Let Me Tell You a Joke

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios His voice was deep and it contained a feebleness that was rarely seen in him. It shocked Qiao Lian. Her first love... She lowered her head and bitterly smiled. ¡°Mr. Shen, do you have a first love?¡± He had suddenly raised the topic of their first loves, so could it be that his first love was the one who had made him upset? She avoided his question, which caused Shen Liangchuan¡¯s gaze to darken as he replied, feeling vexed, ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± This tone... it was so fake. Qiao Lian spoke, ¡°Are you... in a bad mood? If not, let me tell you a joke!¡± Shen Liangchuan kept silent and watched her. She treated his silence as consent and started speaking happily, ¡°A long long time ago, there were two people who loved to eat chicken butt...¡± Shen Liangchuan was in a trance. His ears heard the young voice of a teenage girl from many years ago. ¡°Hey, you don¡¯t seem happy today. Are you upset? Let me tell you a joke.¡± Reality and memories were mixed together. Her clear and melodious voice, together with the soft voice from his memorybined, ¡°A long long time ago, there were two people who loved to eat chicken butt. One time, they went to someone¡¯s house as guests. Just as the chicken was served, both of them fought for the chicken butt. One of them was slower and he panicked, asking, ¡®Where¡¯s the butt? Where¡¯s the butt?¡¯ and the other person proudly pointed to his mouth and said, ¡®The butt is here, the butt is here!¡¯ Hahahahaha!¡± Before the listener startedughing, the person who told the joke was already staggering back and forthughing loudly. His nce became increasingly darker. They used to be so close. But, did these beautiful memories only appeared in his thoughts? She said that she didn¡¯t have a first love. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s eyes gave out a dangerous me. Yes, the him from a few years ago had just been a passer-by, an unimportant small role! He had been so insignificant that he could be yed by her easily. Herughter weakened when she realized Shen Liangchuan seemed to have gotten angrier. He was the second person that did not burst outughing after hearing this joke. The first had been that person... Her expression turned deste. She still remembered the time when she kindly told him a joke. She hadughed until her stomach hurt, however, he calmly and vilelymented, ¡°Why do you find everything so funny?¡± She was so furious then. ¡°I¡¯m not going to tell you any jokes in the future!¡± ¡°Why are you so unreasonable?¡± ¡°Hmpf, your girlfriend told you a joke out of goodwill, but you had absolutely no reaction. How am I unreasonable?¡± ¡°What kind of reaction do you want?¡± ¡°Laugh.¡± ¡°Heh.¡± ¡°It¡¯s so fake!¡± ¡°Hehe...¡± ¡°...¡± Those memories caused her to clench her fist, as she recovered her senses from her sentimentality. She had already forgotten him long ago, why was she thinking of him again? She took a deep breath and looked up at Shen Liangchuan¡¯s cold expression. His back was facing the moonlight and his face was glum. She couldn¡¯t urately tell his emotions. However, it may have been due to the night being too silent, or the fact that it was the first time they were able to have a conversation so calmly, but after so so many years, it was the first time she had the urge to confide in someone. She bit her lip, suddenly turned to look outside and rashly spoke, ¡°Actually, I had a first love...¡± Chapter 65 - Do You Remember It Now?

Chapter 65: Do You Remember It Now?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan¡¯s irises swelled when he heard that sentence, as he stared at her closely. She looked like she was far away, as if she was deeply immersed in her thoughts. He silently waited, he feeling weirdly anxious. But, she never continued speaking. After her sudden urge, she suddenly realized, why was she talking about these things to Shen Liangchuan? She turned her head, suddenly noticed something and her irises swelled. Shen Liangchuan irritatedly pulled his cor open and finally heard her speak, ¡°Mr. Shen, your wound has torn open.¡± He lowered his head and saw that the bandage on his hand had been colored red by the blood. He frowned and when he was about to speak, she suddenly held onto his arm and said, ¡°Let me bandage it for you again.¡± Her hand was extremely soft, and the icy cold touch made him feel as if he had touched electricity. He somehow followed her into the bedroom and sat on the sofa. As he watched her turning her head to grab the first-aid kit, he suddenly grabbed her wrist and instructed, ¡°Continue.¡± He didn¡¯t want to bother with his hand, he only wanted to know what she had to say. Qiao Lian was muddled. Continue? It took her a while to realize that Shen Liangchuan wanted her to continue sharing about her first love. Ah, Best Actor Shen was also gossipy? But... she had decided to forget the past long ago, she wasn¡¯t willing to tear open her wound then. Thus, she replied, ¡°I forgot.¡± She forgot. These two words cruelly stabbed Shen Liangchuan¡¯s heart, as if they were a sharp sword. He grabbed her wrist and suddenly put in a lot of strength. Suddenly, his gaze gave out extreme anger and sentimentality. She forgot? Then, she had yed him. He had remembered her for eight years and he wasn¡¯t able to forget her, but what he got in return was a casual ¡°I forgot¡±? At that moment, anger and fury, together with unwillingness and diposure, pushed him to the edge of explosion. Qiao Lian was terrified, his nce was terrifying. It was to the point that even with her wrist in extreme pain, she didn¡¯t dare to speak. She then saw him stand up slowly. Hisrge body¡¯s shadow covered her. The whole room was filled with nervousness from the premonition of an approaching storm. She swallowed her saliva, unaware of why he was suddenly so mad. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, his cold and mocking voice resounded through the darkness, ¡°You¡¯ve forgotten?¡± This question was fused withplex emotions and Qiao Lian could actually sense sorrow in it. But that feeling of hers disappeared as fast as lightning, since in no time he grabbed her with arge amount of strength and threw her onto to sofa harshly. She was in great shock. However, just as she was about to resist, he had alreadyid down on her. His violent actions made Qiao Lian feel very shocked, as she struggled forcefully. ¡°Mr. Shen, it¡¯s not my ovtion period today!¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s actions suddenly paused as she watched him with hope. However, she was only met with his coldugh, ¡°Why? How much money do you want? You can quote.¡± Qiao Lian instantly froze. He thought... that she just wanted to get money from him? Before she could retort, he had forcefully tore open her clothes! Afterwards, he lowered his head and sealed her lips. This kiss brought along his primitive desires, the nibbling and sucking. It was so violent she felt pain. Thereafter, she felt as if her body was being thoroughly prated by him. The jolts that came like waves resulted in her having no strength to resist. All she was able to do was to clench her fist and bear with his fury-filled punishment. Her consciousness slowly decreased as the pain on her body turned numb. However, she vaguely heard him speak in her ear, ¡°Do you remember it now?¡± Chapter 66 - Do Not Treat Her Like My Wife!

Chapter 66: Do Not Treat Her Like My Wife!

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She was in a daze. After an indeterminate amount of time, the punishment finally concluded. She hazily heard the banging sound of a door being closed. That should mean that Shen Liangchuan had already left. She rxed both physically and mentally, and fell into a deep sleep almost immediately. Whilst sleeping, she apparently returned to the past in her dreams. She returned back to that happy family of four ¡ª to a time when her parents were still around. She twitched her lips andughed. However, arge fire suddenly rose into the sky. She felt an intense, fiery sensation, causing her entire body to feel as though it was being grilled on top of the fire. In her home, her dad and mom were trapped by the ze. She wanted to rush in and save them, but was pushed away by her younger brother, who was only 15 years old. Then, he rushed into the zing fire! ¡°No, no!¡± She screamed loudly until her voice became hoarse. The sound caused her to jerk awake, ending the nightmare. Qiao Lian opened her eyes. However, she was so dazed that she could not identify where she was. She had a severe headache and her limbs were weak and powerless. She did not even have the strength to move her arms. The heat emanating from her body made her realize that she had most likely contracted a fever. She wanted to get out of bed. However, she could not produce even an ounce of strength. At this moment, the door to the room was pushed open and Zhang Hong walked in. Qiao Lian said with a hoarse voice, ¡°Please help me pour a ss of water.¡± However, as she finished her sentence, Zhang Hong sneered at her and said, ¡°Ms. Qiao, do you not have hands and legs? Can¡¯t you pour a ss of water by yourself?¡± She walked forward and saw the tattered clothes on the floor, along with a few balls of tissue paper. She immediately frowned, looked at Qiao Lian and scolded her maliciously. ¡°Have you no shame, you vixen!¡± She swept the objects off the floor until it was clean and then instantly turned to leave. Qiao Lian said, ¡°I¡¯m sick. Please cook a bowl of noodles for me.¡± ¡°If you want to eat, then cook the food yourself! We are not your servants! People like you, who sell their bodies to tempt their husbands, are absolutely disgusting. Or did you think that just because you slept with your husband, you have the authority to order us around?¡± Zhang Hong scolded her savagely, turned around and left. As Qiao Lian heard her speak, she frowned. However, she had absolutely no strength in her body and could not get up. The only thing she could do was to keep her eyes closed. If she slept for a while more, she should be fine, right? She did not go to work for the entire day. Her cell phone rang numerous times and the calls were all being ced from the news agency. However, she was not aware of that. She slept all the way to the evening. During the entire day, she did not drink a single drop of water and did not eat a single grain of rice. She violently coughed a couple of times and felt some stomach acid rising. She immediately vomited on the carpet, unable to resist. The door was once again pushed open and Zhang Hong walked in. As she registered a sour smell, she immediately frowned and walked around the bed. When she saw the stain on the carpet, her face immediately became twisted. ¡°You are absolutely disgusting! This is simply too dirty. Go wash this carpet!¡± Qiao Lian could not even muster up the energy to speak. Thus, she closed her eyes. She could hear the sound of Zhang Hong spreading the carpet and throwing it into the bathroom. Then, Zhang Hong angrily walked back. Qiao Lian opened her eyes and saw Zhang Hong forcefully grabbing her arm and dragging her down from the bed. She immediately threw her onto the cold floor of the bathroom and said, ¡°You better wash this! Wash the carpet clean or I will not feed you!¡± After Qiao Lian saw that she possessed no fear whatsoever, she uttered a single sentence with great difficulty. ¡°Where is Shen Liangchuan?¡± ¡°Hmph, do you think that your husband wille and save you? I¡¯m telling you now, your husband is not around for these few days. He also said before he left that we should not treat you like his wife!¡± At this moment, a ck sedan was parked outside the mansion. Shen Liangchuan sat in the driver¡¯s seat. His eyes were staring at the mansion. Chapter 67 - Beg Me!

Chapter 67: Beg Me!

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The car waited quietly on the side of the street. Dim rays of light shone on the car, making it seem bleak and deste. Shen Liangchuan did not know why he had driven to this ce. The car¡¯s window was open. His gaze passed through the window andnded on the master bedroom on the second floor. The lights were still switched on there. This meant that Qiao Lian had probably finished working for the day. What was she doing now? It was already sote and yet, he had not returned home. He had not even provided an exnation for his tardiness. Why had she not called him to check up on him? But this made sense as well. She had always been a cold-blooded person. Why would she care about him? This was just like what happened eight years ago. He had thought that they had already been deeply in love. However, when asked about her first love, she uttered a simple ¡°I forgot¡± to lightly evade the issue. As he thought about this, his heart started to ache intensely again, like it was being eaten away by acid¡ªa subtle but continuous pain. His eyes darkened. Under the streemp, his handsome features were obscured. He puckered his lips and opened the car door. He wanted to walk into the house, but his cell phone suddenly rang. He picked up the phone and answered it. Song Cheng¡¯s voiced emanated from the other end. ¡°Brother Shen, where are you? There are only two more hours before the flight to Shanghai departs. Don¡¯t forget that you have to be on that flight.¡± ¡°I know.¡± As he hung up his phone, Shen Liangchuan once again looked at the upper floor of the house. He suddenly dropped his gaze, got into the car and drove away. Qiao Lian and Zhang Hong, who were both inside the mansion, did not know about the incident that had just happened downstairs. At this moment, they were still in the bathroom and still locked in a stalemate. Qiao Lian was so unsteady that she could hardly stand. She was sitting on the floor, using all of her strength to support herself. She was suffering from a headache and double vision. Her eyelids were so heavy that she could not possibly open her eyes. As she sat in a daze, Zhang Hong suddenly switched on the showerhead. Water sshed onto the carpet, but some water also sttered onto her body. Qiao Lian was already shivering from the cold, but at this point she felt even colder. Her vision suddenly went ck and she immediately fainted. When she next woke up, it was already the next day. She wasying on the carpet in the bedroom. There was nothing covering her body, so she was trembling from the cold. Her limbs were still weak and powerless and she was so hungry that she was no longer conscious of that fact. Her eyelids were heavy but she still tried to lift her head, wanting to check her own temperature. However, the temperatures of both her hands and her forehead were practically identical, making it impossible to check. She felt as though a fire was burning inside her throat. With great effort, she supported her body and stood up, walking towards the bedside table. She then picked up a ss of water sitting on top of it and finally drank a couple mouthfuls of cold water. Waves of pain were convulsing through her belly. However, her throat and consciousness had finally both be somewhat clearer. She climbed onto the bed, breathing heavily. She then began to rummage for her cell phone. However, the ce where she normally ced her cell phone waspletely empty. She froze. The door to the room was opened once again and Zhang Hong entered the room. She stood there arrogantly, asking, ¡°Oh, you¡¯re awake?¡± Qiao Lian said feebly, ¡°Where is my cell phone?¡± ¡°Cell phone?¡± Zhang Hong tilted her head and took out a cell phone from her pocket. ¡°Here it is!¡± Qiao Lian frowned and said, ¡°Give it to me.¡± ¡°I refuse to give it to you. What can you do about it?¡± Zhang Hong smiled coldly and continued, ¡°Are you hungry? Are you cold? Is itfortable? How about this¡ªif you apologize to me, beg me to stop and obediently follow mymands in this house from now on, I will not only give your cell phone back to you, but I will also cook some food for you. How about it?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s face was deathly pale. However, she turned her head backwards with disdain and refused to look at her. Chapter 68 - My Stomach Hurts…

Chapter 68: My Stomach Hurts...

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Her attitude angered Zhang Hong. She flew into a rage saying, ¡°Ms. Qiao! Do you not realize what position you¡¯re currently in?!¡± As she finished speaking, Zhang Hong turned around swiftly and said, ¡°Since you are so stubborn, you can jolly well continue to starve!¡± Bang! The door closed. Qiao Lianid on the bed and heard the voices of the other servants emanating from behind the door. ¡°Sister Zhang, there¡¯s something wrong about this, right?¡± Zhang Hong replied, ¡°What¡¯s wrong about this? Did you already forget about how she haughtily spilled milk on the carpet the other day? If we do not take care of her now, how can we survive the uing days while we are still servants in this house?¡± ¡°... But- but ultimately, she is still Sir¡¯swfully wedded wife.¡± Zhang Hong coldly smiled and said, ¡°How could she be considered as his wife? Did Sir acknowledge her as his wife? How about his mother? I¡¯m telling you, she¡¯s nothing, nothing at all!¡± ¡°Sister Zhang, her life might be in peril if we keep doing this. She has not eaten for the past two nights.¡± Zhang Hong said, ¡°Are you not aware that humans can only die after they stop eating and drinking for three days? What¡¯s the rush? Even if she starves for another day, no problem will arise.¡± The sound of their conversation gradually grew softer and softer. It was clear that they had gone downstairs. Qiao Lianid on the bed and clenched her fists tightly. She knew that her best option at this point was to think of the long term and temporarilypromise. However, she was unable to bow her head to Zhang Hong due to the pride within her bones. She looked at the familiar overhead ceiling and gazed at the crystal chandelier hanging from it. She could not help butugh at herself mockingly. Shen Liangchuan must have ordered Zhang Hong to look down on her, right? She bit her lip. The words that Shen Liangchuan had spoken to her that night shed across her mind. ¡°What? How much money do you want? State your price.¡± In his heart, did he consider her as a woman who would actually do anything just for money? This bastard! To think that she used to like him so much. Who could have thought that this man was, in reality, so haughty and arrogant! She cursed him in her heat, until she once again felt a searing pain across her belly. Only then did Qiao Lian¡¯s dazed mind gradually begin to awaken again. At this moment, her feelings of sadness were redundant. What she needed to do now was to go to the hospital. She clenched her teeth and exerted a lot of effort in order to stand up. Her entire body was powerless and she felt giddy. However, despite all that, she walked step by step towards the doorway and opened the door. Zhang Hong and the rest of the servants were busying themselves in the kitchen downstairs, working andughing at the same time. She stubbornly walked downstairs, one step at a time. None of the people in the kitchen realized that she had slowly walked out of the mansion¡¯s front door. She was unable to open her eyes at all because of the harsh sunlight shining outside, and felt as though there were a bunch of stars shining brightly near her forehead. She staggered forward and walked quite a distance. Finally, she saw the shadow of a person dart in front of her. Her vision went ck and she fainted. ¡ª¡ª When Qiao Lian regained consciousness again, it was already afternoon. She was awoken by pain. Her stomach felt as though it had been sewn up by pain. It was so painful that she could not lie still. She nted her body to the side and bent her waist. The stinging smell of disinfectant made her realize that she was in the hospital. She called the nurse over. Panicked, the nurse immediately pushed her into the examination room. She hugged her belly. Even though she was all sweaty due to the pain she had felt while lying on the hospital bed, her heart was ice cold. It was hurting so much... could she be pregnant? And now, could she be suffering a miscarriage? As she thought of this, she clenched her fists tightly, her face deathly pale. If she suffered a miscarriage with Shen Liangchuan¡¯s baby, would he break their contract? Chapter 69 - How Could You Forget Me?

Chapter 69: How Could You Forget Me?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The results of the examination were released rtively quickly. Right as the pain Qiao Lian was feeling had sapped all of her strength, the nurse held theboratory sheet and said, ¡°You are not pregnant¡±. She breathed a sigh of relief. Then she heard the nurse say, ¡°You have a serious case of appendicitis and must undergo surgery immediately.¡± She froze slightly. The nurse immediately said, ¡°Excuse me, but where are your next of kin? We need someone to sign the relevant papers before we can begin the surgery.¡± Qiao Lian frowned. Next of kin... How could she have any next of kin! She bit her lip and said, ¡°Can I sign them?¡± The nurse shook her head and said, ¡°No.¡± Qiao Lian straightened her body and suppressed the pain that she was feeling. ¡°Then, can I choose to not undergo the surgery?¡± ¡°Given your condition, it is best for you to immediately undergo surgery.¡± Qiao Lian had no other options left. She could only say, ¡°Then please let me use your cell phone for a while.¡± She held the other party¡¯s cell phone and dialed a phone number. During her time in this world, there was only one person who had the authority to sign his name on the papers for her surgical operation. She dialed that person¡¯s number. ¡ª¡ª Shen Liangchuan was attending an important wine reception in Shanghai. Many directors, famous screenwriters and investors were in attendance. Even a person like him, who typically did not engage in social activities in the past, was at this moment holding a ss of red wine, and milling about in the crowd. When his cell phone rang, he picked it up and looked at it. When he realized that it was a foreign number, he ignored the call and did not pick it up. However, this number kept calling incessantly. Only then did he frown and walk to a corner of the room. After picking up the call, he heard an unfamiliar female voice emanating from the other side. ¡°Excuse me, are you one of Qiao Lian¡¯s family members?¡± Shen Liangchuan froze and said, ¡°And you are?¡± ¡°Hello, I am calling from Beijing¡¯s Number Two Hospital. Here¡¯s the situation...¡± After hearing the nurse¡¯s words, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s eyebrows twisted into the shape of the Mandarin character ¡®Chuan¡¯. He hung up the phone and instantly went to find Song Cheng. ¡°Book the next flight to Beijing for me, I¡¯m going back.¡± A stunned Song Cheng said, ¡°Brother Shen, you-¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s voice immediately became louder. ¡°Now, immediately, without dy!¡± Song Cheng had never seen this worried and frustrated side of him before. Something big must have happened in Beijing. Otherwise, based on Brother Shen¡¯s personality, he would have not made a fuss in such a ce. Consequently, Song Cheng immediately said without dy, ¡°Yes.¡± The ne flew across the sky. When Shen Liangchuan reached the hospital, six hours had already passed. The surgery had already beenpleted. He had found someone to make an exception for him, wherein the surgery could begin before he had even signed the papers. He was wearing sunsses and a gauze mask. While he stood at the entrance of the hospital ward, Qiao Lian remained in a deep state of slumber. Only then did he lightly push open the door to the room and quietly walk in to stand beside her bed. The petite body of a woman was lying on the hospital bed, her face as pale as paper. Her face was so transparent that it seemed as though it was about to coalesce with the surrounding air. Even while dreaming, she still frowned and was subconsciously hugging her shoulders in a defensive posture. Who was she defending herself against? Shen Liangchuan clenched his fists and thought about how he had lost control that night. Suddenly, his face showed an expression of regret and remorse. He thought about the words that she had said to him eight years ago. ¡°I¡¯m most afraid of pain. Even a few drops of blood on my finger can make me cry for ages! So if we argue, you can only try to reason with me. No fighting!¡± The tone of that delicatedy was both rude and overbearing. But how much pain was she in now? He suddenly touched her face and the ward reverberated with his low voice. With a voice full of bitterness and resentment, he said, ¡°Xiao Qiao, how could you have forgotten me?¡± Chapter 70 - She Had Not Eaten for Two Days!

Chapter 70: She Had Not Eaten for Two Days!

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan waited in the hospital ward for almost two hours before walking out of it. Song Cheng was already waiting outside and said, ¡°I have dealt with all of the signatures and paperwork. You do not have to worry about that anymore.¡± He looked inside the ward via the ss window set in the door. ¡°You were in such a hurry toe back that I thought something big had happened. If I had known that something like this had happened, I would have just settled it with a phone call. You have so many assistants, after all! You-¡± Shen Liangchuan instantly cut him off saying, ¡°Which office is the chief doctor¡¯s?¡± Song Cheng began to speak but then hesitated, opting instead to sigh deeply. ¡°I will bring you over to him.¡± When they entered the doctor¡¯s office, Song Cheng asked him about Qiao Lian¡¯s condition. The chief doctor looked questioningly at the man wearing sunsses and a gauze mask that was currently standing in front of him. He then said incessantly, ¡°Are you her lover? How do you take care of a sick person? She had a severe cold and a 40oC fever, and yet nobody was looking after her? Furthermore, she had not eaten for two continuous days. Were you nning to starve her to death? If the patient had not run away by herself and spotted by a helpful passerby who then called for the ambnce, were you intending for her to die from sickness?¡± His continuous interrogation caused Shen Liangchuan to widen his eyes. He stood up with a whoosh and stared at the chief doctor unbelievingly. ¡°What did you say?¡± The chief doctor was momentarily stunned the moment he heard his voice. He stared nkly at Shen Liangchuan saying, ¡°Why do I find your voice so familiar?¡± Of course it was familiar! The movie that Shen Liangchuan had filmedst year was currently being shown in cinemas everywhere. He had been a popr personality for the past two months. Song Cheng quietly chastised him from the side. He then coughed and said, ¡°Doctor, in that case, has Ms. Qiao been sick for two days?¡± The doctor¡¯s attention was diverted and said, ¡°Yes. ording to my calctions, she must have been drenched by the thunderstorm that happened two days ago.¡± Song Cheng felt slightly puzzled and asked, ¡°But if Ms. Qiao was sick, why did nobody present in the house ce a call? She even had to run out in order to be discovered by somebody. Where were the servants in the house?¡± Where were the servants in the house? Shen Liangchuan wanted to know as well! There was currently a fire raging within his heart that could not be quenched. Two days ago... This meant that she began to suffer from the high fever after he had forced himself on her. It had been two days since then, so how had she tortured herself into this state?¡± Shen Liangchuan stood up with a whoosh and returned to the hospital ward. He then sat in front of her bed and quietly gazed at her. Qiao Lian¡¯s fever was quickly receding. The moment he noticed that she was about to awaken, he suddenly felt slightly panicky and did not know how he should face her. Shen Liangchuan told Song Cheng to stay and look after her. Then, he drove back home by himself. After cutting off the car¡¯s engine, he opened the vi¡¯s front door and walked inside. Several people were still chatting in the living room. He walked so lightly that nobody noticed his presence. He had originally nned to go upstairs, but their conversation started drilling into his ear, causing him to momentarily stop walking. ¡°Sister Zhang, Ms. Qiao is missing. Should we tell Sir about this matter?¡± Zhang Hong humphed coldly, ¡°What are you saying? She must clearly be in the hospital now! Just wait and see. Once her fever subsides and her illness is treated, she wille back here, crestfallen.¡± ¡°But Sister Zhang, will she get even with us?¡± Zhang Hong retorted, ¡°Get even? How would she even do that? What manner of living thing is she that she can force me to pour water for her? On what grounds does she have to force me to cook for her! The water is in her room, so whether she drinks or not is up to her! We have already prepared a meal for her. What, does she still need me to bring the food to her mouth?¡± Chapter 71 - Who Did You Accuse Of Not Observing Rules?

Chapter 71: Who Did You use Of Not Observing Rules?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan stood there and he stared coldly at the four women in the room. His anger suddenly emerged out of nowhere. Is this how she had been treated on the days he hadn¡¯t been around? He suddenly recalled a night when she had tossed and turned in bed. She had obviously been starving, yet she hadn¡¯t dared to admit it and had even imed that she was on a diet. She was already so thin, why would she need to be on a diet? As he thought about it now, it must have been these people who had slighted her and never left any food for her! They had been working for the Shen Family for so many years, how dare they?! The conversation of the few women in the living room was still on-going. ¡°Sister Zhang, are you sure it is appropriate for us to treat her in this manner? I have a feeling that Sir wouldn¡¯t be pleased.¡± Zhang Hong replied nonchntly, ¡°Have you forgotten the times that Sir showed his dislike for her so outrightly? That day, Sir didn¡¯t even allow us to address her as Madam. Tell me, how important is she in this house? And also, Old Madam refused to move back because she¡¯s around. Both Sir and Old Madam dislike her so much, so don¡¯t worry, even if Sir finds out, he wouldn¡¯t me us.¡± Her sentence shocked Shen Liangchuan, as he stood rooted to the spot. Before he heard Zhang Hong¡¯s words, he was still puzzled about why she had kept the servant¡¯s mistreatment to herself and not shared it with him, who was stubborn, quick-witted and a person that couldn¡¯t take anger. But after hearing Zhang Hong¡¯s words, he suddenly realized that he was the reason why the servants had disrespected her. He tightly clenched his fists and for the first time, he felt the feeling remorse and regret. If he hadn¡¯t insulted and shamed her using his words, these people wouldn¡¯t have dared to slight her. They wouldn¡¯t have dared to treat her like this... She hadn¡¯t eaten for two days and she had had a high fever, but no one had noticed it... What else had these people done? His anger rose and it emitted from his body. This made the temperature of the room drop by a few degrees. ¡°Why does it feel so cold suddenly?¡± Someone spoke and looked around. When she noticed Shen Liangchuan, she was stunned and stammered, ¡°S- Sir?¡± Her call made the rest of the servants turn to look at Shen Liangchuan. Zhang Hong jumped in shock as she looked at Shen Liangchuan. Why was Sir back? Wasn¡¯t he supposed to be back in two days? She widened her eyes. Having served the Shen Family for five years, she thought that she understood Shen Liangchuan rtively well. In these five years, no matter whatever he faced, he usually didn¡¯t disy his emotions. However, at that point in time, his eyes were burning with anger. And the anger was so strong that he looked as if he was a devil from hell! His features were so delicate, but they were giving out a bone-chilling coldness. Zhang Hong swallowed her saliva and tried her best to offer him a smile. ¡°Sir, you¡¯re back?¡± Shen Liangchuan squinted his eyes and walked forward asking, ¡°Where¡¯s Madam?¡± Madam? Did that mean that Mr. Shen was so furious because of Qiao Lian? Recalling the times where Sir had humiliated Qiao Lian, Zhang Hong was relieved and answered, ¡°We don¡¯t know.¡± An idea struck her, so she curled her lips and said, ¡°Sir, you don¡¯t know how hard it is to serve Ms. Qiao. One moment, she wants water and the next she wants us to clean the rag. She is really arrogant at home. Now, she refuses to stay home to rest when she¡¯s sick. And when we weren¡¯t paying attention, she suddenly disappeared! She really is inappropriate! This type of woman, no wonder, for money she¡¯d-¡± Before she could finish what she had to say, Shen Liangchuan forcefully kicked her. ¡°Who did you call inappropriate?!¡± Chapter 72 - His Fury

Chapter 72: His Fury

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Bang!¡± Zhang Hong was kicked on the stomach and shended painfully on the floor. She was in such pain, she felt as if her intestines had been jumbled together. She curved her body like a prawn andid on the ground, while the pain was engulfing her senses. Shen Liangchuan had kicked her in the moment of anger, so it frightened all the other servants. They took a step backwards and looked at him in fear. Although Mr. Shen looked cold on the surface, he had always treated them politely. This was the first time they had witness him so angry. Shen Liangchuan stared at Zhang Hong on the floor. He knew he shouldn¡¯t have used forced, but when he had heard her insulting Qiao Lian with such contempt, he had immediately lost all his rationality. He suppressed his anger and called Caretaker Li, ¡°Aunt Li, pleasee back.¡± Then, he went up the stairs and entered the study room. The four servants in the living room were petrified and didn¡¯t dare to move. Twenty minutester, Aunt Li had made her way over. Seeing the situation in the living room, she was slightly shocked. She ordered someone to help Zhang Hong up and brought a few others upstairs. In the study upstairs, Shen Liangchuan was staring at theputer screen. His face was so grim, it felt as if he would be able to freeze water! Zhang Hong¡¯s eyes had turned red from crying, as she put both her hands on her stomach saying, ¡°Mr. Shen, although I¡¯m just a servant, I¡¯m not your coolie! I have never been hit by anyone in my whole life. Wuwuwu...¡± Aunt Li immediately assured her, ¡°Ok, ok, we all often have disagreements in our daily lives. Sir was too angry today. How about, representing Sir, I let you take a leave? A paid leave. I¡¯ll also get some supplements for you and get someone to bring you for a check-up at the hospital.¡± Shen Liangchuan was a public figure. If the news of him beating up his servant spread, it would be a scandal. Aunt Li wanted to smooth things out and calm Zhang Hong down. But just as she had finished assuring her, Shen Liangchuan lifted his head up ruthlessly and said, ¡°Aunt Li, call the police!¡± He had just checked the surveince cameras. Little did he expect that the servants would treat Qiao Lian so terribly when wasn¡¯t around. He had to make these people pay dearly for this! Aunt Li was stunned. ¡°Huh?¡± Had she heard him wrongly? Logically, if Zhang Hong got beaten and they called the police, wouldn¡¯t the issue be blown up? But Shen Liangchuan¡¯s nce hit her and Aunt Li jumped in shock. ¡°Ok, what¡¯s the reason for calling the police?¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s cold gaze was fixated on Zhang Hong as he replied, ¡°Theft.¡± Zhang Hong immediately shouted, ¡°Sir, what did I steal?!¡± Shen Liangchuan squinted his eyes and changed the video on theputer screen. Aunt Li took a nce at the video and immediately understood Shen Liangchuan¡¯s thoughts. She couldn¡¯t help but sigh in her heart. So, Sir had already made ns on how to deal with her! Her face dimmed. She turned around and scolded Zhang Hong, ¡°As servants, all of you secretly ate your boss¡¯ birds nest, abalone and even the white truffle! Do all of you not know how much these are worth? Even ten years of your sry aren¡¯t enough to pay for all these!¡± These things had all been air-shipped and brought by Shen Liangchuan, so as it should be, the servants in the house had no right to consume them. However, they shared Qiao Lian¡¯s portion! After hearing Aunt Li¡¯s words, all four of them turned pale. When the police arrived, Aunt Li asserted that Zhang Hong hadmitted theft and she was arrested. Although Zhang Hong made a fuss over Shen Liangchuan hitting her, she couldn¡¯t show any evidence. In the end, Zhang Hong was given the punishment of three years in jail. Chapter 73 - The Servant In Best Actor Shens House Was Arrested!

Chapter 73: The Servant In Best Actor Shen¡¯s House Was Arrested!

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Qiao Lian woke up, it was already the morning of the second day. The caretaker stood with a smile in front of her bed. ¡°You are awake. Since you¡¯ve woken up, do eat some liquid food. You have justpleted your operation and you need to take note of your diet for this whole week.¡± Qiao Lian looked at her in confusion and the caretaker exined, ¡°Oh, I was hired by your boyfriend to take care of you. Hehe, your boyfriend is so nice to you, he stayed here throughout the night yesterday.¡± Her words made Qiao Lian widen her eyes, stunned. Her boyfriend... was she referring to Shen Liangchuan? Had he really rushed back after the nurse called him? She suddenly clenched her fists but after a moment, she let out a sigh. So, what if he was back? She then questioned, ¡°Where is he?¡± ¡°He went to buy you porridge.¡± Qiao Lian nodded and at that moment, the door opened. When she turned her head and saw Song Cheng walking in with a bento box, her eyes shone as she looked behind him. Song Cheng spoke with a smile. ¡°You¡¯re awake? Have some porridge then. The doctor said that you haven¡¯t eaten anything for two days, how can you torture your body..¡± Behind him, it was empty and no one was in sight. Qiao Lian felt a wave of disappointment and she lowered her head. Honestly, what was she looking forward to? Even if the nurse had called him, he wouldn¡¯t have appeared in such a public ce due to his identity. She looked at Song Cheng as she fought with herself whether she should ask the question. However, the question failed to leave her lips in the end. ¡°You had a high fever for two days and even had a small surgery. The doctor says that you must rest well for a few days. Mr. Shen said that you should stay in the hospital for a week and only be discharged after you have fully recovered,¡± Song Cheng nagged. Qiao Lian put her spoon down and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need. Removing the appendix is just a small surgery and my fever has gone down. After resting for another day tomorrow, I will be able to report to work the day after.¡± The news agency must have gone crazy since she had reported to work for so many days. Thinking about this, Qiao Lian panicked and as she was about to speak, Song Cheng said, ¡°I have already called the news agency on your behalf and took a leave for a week. So, you should just rest well.¡± Since he had done so, Qiao Lian had no choice but to rest. Furthermore, she would be able to perform better at work after getting sufficient rest, right? Sheforted herself as she finished her porridge andid down to sleep. However, Song Cheng walked out of the room and called Shen Liangchuan, ¡°Brother Shen, Ms. Qiao is alright. When do you think we should return to Shanghai to look for Director Li? It¡¯s not the time to be willful now.¡± Shen Liangchuan kept silent for a moment and replied, ¡°You stay in Beijing and I¡¯ll go to Shanghai.¡± Song Cheng wondered to himself, ¡°... What am I staying in Beijing for? To buy porridge for Ms. Qiao?!¡± Qiao Lian felt bored at the hospital and requested Song Cheng to bring her phone to her. When Song Cheng brought her phone over from the vi, he started picking on her phone, ¡°What a useless phone you have. Why didn¡¯t Brother Shen give you a new one!¡± Qiao Lian didn¡¯t answer. With her phone by her side, her hospitalization days were no longer as dreadful, since she started surfing Weibo and chatting with her colleagues. The managing editor had been relocated to the headquarters and a new managing editor hadnded in the news agency. ¡°The new managing editor looks ok, and he is also handsome but... I don¡¯t know how to describe it,¡± Xiao Ye was telling Qiao Lian over the phone. ¡°Anyway, you¡¯ll know when you¡¯re back!¡± Qiao Lianughed. ¡°Is the chief editor back?¡± ¡°Yes, she¡¯s back! Ay, let¡¯s not talk about them anymore, it¡¯s so meaningless. Let me tell you the hot news. The servant of Best Actor Shen has been arrested due to theft!¡± Chapter 74 - Dropping By Mother-In-Laws House

Chapter 74: Dropping By Mother-In-Law¡¯s House

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Best Actor Shen¡¯s servant...mitted theft? Qiao Lian was kind of shocked. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Hah, of course it¡¯s real! I have been following this piece of news. I¡¯ve heard that the Shen Family wasn¡¯t willing to let the matter rest and insisted on getting her jailed. The court will decide her sentence in a few days.¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s heart suddenly jumped and an unknown nervousness rose in her. ¡°What¡¯s the servant¡¯s name?¡± ¡°She¡¯s named Zhang Hong, but when I went to interview her, this Zhang Hong imed that Best Actor Shen had kicked her. Tsk, why would Best Actor Shen hit her? No one will believe her words!¡± Qiao Lian believed her! Qiao Lian had been lying on her bed while talking to Xiao Ye on the phone. However, after hearing her words, she suddenly sat up straight and identally pulled her wound, causing pain on herself. She used one hand to press on her wound as her eyes widened. The feeling of loss she had had in the past few days suddenly vanished into thin air. He had punished Zhang Hong! Was it because of her? He had not only kicked Zhang Hong, but even sent her to court. Qiao Lian felt that her dying heart had signs of revival. She hurriedly suppressed the restlessness in her heart. She couldn¡¯t help but take a deep breath and asked Xiao Ye, ¡°Do you have news of Best Actor Shen?¡± ¡°Yes, Best Actor Shen has been in Shanghai recently. He will be taking the ten o¡¯clock flight back to Beijing tonight.¡± Tonight? Today was coincidentally the day she was getting discharged. She had originally been filled with boredom, but at this instance, she was looking forward to returning home. At twelve noon, Song Cheng came to fetch Qiao Lian and take her home after shepleted her discharge procedures. When she was back at the vi, she realized that Zhang Hong and the few other servants were indeed gone. Caretaker Li walked out with arger smile on her face. ¡°Madam, you¡¯re home.¡± Madam? Qiao Lian widened her big ck eyes and when she was about to correct her, Caretaker Li spoke and apologized to her, ¡°... I didn¡¯t expect Zhang Hong to be such an awful person. Madam, you must have gone through a lot grievance.¡± Qiao Lian waved her hand with nonchnce. ¡°I¡¯m fine, don¡¯t worry.¡± If she hadn¡¯t been so sick and had been able to stand up by herself, why would she have been so terribly bullied by Zhang Hong? When she was healthy and conscious, she definitely had the upper hand. Even if Shen Liangchuan hadn¡¯t dealt with Zhang Hong, after she were to be discharged, she would have also wanted to deal with her. After she spoke to Caretaker Li, she made her way upstairs to rest. However, the moment sheid down, her phone rang. When she picked up, Xia Yehua¡¯s voice came from the other side, ¡°Xiao Qiao!¡± Qiao Lian was confused, ¡°Aunt Xia?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me! Why did you disappear for the past few days? I¡¯ve been waiting for you in the park daily and it¡¯s already been a week. I thought you had moved, so I called you. Did I disturb you?¡± Qiao Lian hurriedly replied, ¡°No, Aunt Xia, where are you? Did anything happen?¡± ¡°No, everything is fine, I just miss you! I¡¯m home now. When are you free? Come over and visit me.¡± Qiao Lian looked at the time and replied, ¡°I¡¯m free now.¡± All she had done in the hospital for the past few days was eat, sleep and repeat. She felt as if she was going to rot. Anyway, she only had to report to work the next day, she still could rx that afternoon. ¡°Really? Come to my house then, I¡¯m in vi 18.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± The neighbourhood was really huge. Thus, vi 8 was quite a distance away from vi 18. She only reached vi 18 after walking for more than 20 minutes. She pressed the doorbell and Xia Yehua came to open the door for her personally. She then followed Xia Yehua into the vi. Qiao Lian was stunned when she saw the arrangements on the coffee table. It was actually... ¡°Auntie, why does your room have pictures of Shen Liangchuan?!¡± Chapter 75 - Him Back In Those Days

Chapter 75: Him Back In Those Days

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian took the pictures out and casually asked Xia Yehua. She then stared at the photos, stunned. The Shen Liangchuan on the photos looked young. They seemed to be from six to seven years ago. He was pressing his lips and one could tell from the picture that he didn¡¯t like to talk. He was wearing a white sweater and its color made his face even more handsome. The boy was in his early twenties, he was in his rebellious phase. His hair was kind of long and in his arms there was a guitar. His eyes were cold, but determined. His look reminded Qiao Lian of the first time she saw him eight years ago. Then, she had just ended her rtionship, her family was in crisis and both of her parents had passed away. Even her brother, who had broken his legs when a pir in the house fell during the fire. She felt as if the whole world had copsed on her. She waspletely lost and she didn¡¯t know where to go. One day, she was in a daze in the living room and she casually turned on the television. Her gaze was fixated on the television, but her feelings had long flown away. Then, she heard a voice from the television, which said, ¡°I don¡¯t know how to sing.¡± His voice was simr to someone in her memory. She immediately raised her head and stared at the television. What met her eyes was Shen Liangchuan. It was a talent show. He donned a white button-up shirt and stood there casually with a clean look. His face, together with his outstanding temperament, was the focus of the stage. All of the other contestants were trying their best, showing all their abilities and tricks to attract the attention of the judges. However, he was just standing there quietly. After he said so, the host confusedly asked, ¡°Why did you join the talent show?¡± Shen Liangchuan replied with a question, ¡°Are you choosing an actor or a singer?¡± The host was at a loss for words. The judge then asked him, ¡°Do you have any talents? Can you act?¡± Shen Liangchuan pursed his lips and looked up, ¡°I can¡¯t act either.¡± Everyone at the scene was stunned. But he still calmly looked at the camera. His determined gaze felt as if it was going through the screen and was exchanging eye contact with Qiao Lian. His thin lips moved as he said, ¡°I don¡¯t know anything, but I can learn. No one in the world is born with the knowledge of everything.¡± His tone was firm. He knew what he was doing and what he wanted to do. The attitude of Shen Liangchuan waked Qiao Lian up. Yes. She didn¡¯t know how to do anything. She didn¡¯t know how to clean the house, how to cook or how to take care of her younger brother, but she could learn. From that day onwards, she experienced a change in her attitude towards life. She also started following this talent show. Shen Liangchuan and the other contestants had to undergo training and Shen Liangchuan¡¯s acting skills had a huge improvement every newpetition. At the end, when he finally became the champion for the season, all the judges were saying, ¡°He wasn¡¯t the one with the best acting skills, but he was the one that improved the fastest. I believe that he will be the most eye-catching star.¡± And thereafter, she would always follow every television drama and movie of his. She could clearly tell how his acting skills improved through every one of his productions. And now, he was an actor with tiptop acting skills. Qiao Lian looked at the pictures and felt as if she being taken back to her younger days. She had never chased after idols or gone crazy over them. Before she became a fan of Shen Liangchuan, she used to be still a pretty rational one. Only now did she realize that she deeply remembered every character he had portrayed in his productions. But these pictures... they didn¡¯t look like published photographs. She turned to look at Xia Yehua in confusion. ¡°Aunt Xia, why do you have photos of Shen Liangchuan¡¯s daily life!¡± Chapter 76 - If Only We Were In-Laws!

Chapter 76: If Only We Were In-Laws!

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Xia Yehua heard these words, she looked at the photo frame in Qiao Lian¡¯s hands. She could not resist but to arch her eyebrows and say, ¡°You¡¯ve finally recognized him!¡± Qiao Lian nodded her head and said, ¡°These must have been taken the year he debuted in the entertainment industry, right?¡± ¡°Yes, it was then! Woah, I can¡¯t believe that you, Xiao Qiao, are so knowledgeable about him.¡± Qiao Lian answered, ¡°He wore this sweater before during that year.¡± ¡°Hahaha! Looks like you are indeed a loyal fan of Shen Liangchuan.¡± Xia Yehua walked over and sat down, pulling Qiao Lian down with her. She then took the photograph and a sly expression shed across her nce. If she invited Xiao Qiao to her house someday, Xiao Qiao would be absolutely bbergasted once she saw Shen Liangchuan in person! As she thought about Xiao Qiao¡¯s expression, she immediately smiled and said, ¡°I am also a loyal fan of his. I saw him grow up.¡± As she finished speaking, she ced the photo of him to the side. She then picked up herptopputer and said, ¡°Hurry up, Xiao Qiao,e and look at this for me. How do I clear this stage?¡± Due to her insistence in changing the topic, Shen Liangchuan was never a topic of conversation after that. When it was time to eat, Xia Yehua ced the food, which had already gone cold, into the microwave to heat it up. Unable to resist, she said angrily, ¡°I¡¯ve already told you about how someone forgets their own mother after they are married! You don¡¯t know this yet, but the servants in my house were sent to the other house because there was ack of servants. This must be a demonstration of power by my daughter-inw, meant to make me understand her status in my son¡¯s heart.¡± Qiao Lian furiously said, ¡°How could this happen? I¡¯ve seen many mothers-inw nitpick over their daughters-inw, but I¡¯ve never seen a daughter-inw nitpick over their mother-inw before!¡± Xia Yehua immediately grabbed Qiao Lian¡¯s hand and said, ¡°You¡¯re right! If only my daughter-inw was even half as sensible as you.¡± Qiao Lian also eximed, unable to resist, ¡°If only my mother-inw was half as good as you, then that¡¯d be great!¡± Xia Yehua jumped in shock and said, ¡°You have a mother-inw?¡± Qiao Lian nodded and said, ¡°My mother-inw doesn¡¯t like me. If she visits our house, I must wait outside for her to leave before I can re-enter the house.¡± Xia Yehua suddenly realized something and said, ¡°Ah, when you were outside hiding from the rainst time, that was because you were avoiding her?¡± Qiao Lian nodded. Xia Yehua angrily said, ¡°That¡¯s absolutely outrageous! I¡¯ve never seen such a mother-inw in all my life!¡± Qiao Lian nodded savagely and indicated her approval, saying, ¡°If she wasn¡¯t my senior, I would have-¡± ¡°You would have what?¡± After thinking for a while, Qiao Lian hatefully said, ¡°Drawn a circle and cursed her!¡± ¡°Xiao Qiao, if only we were inws. There would be nary a conflict between us!¡± The entire night¡¯s conversation revolved around the topic of inws. Both the host and the guest thoroughly enjoyed themselves. ¡ª¡ª When Qiao Lian returned home, it was already 10pm at night. Everything in the mansion had been tidily arranged, but ultimately, the male owner of the house was not here. Thus, the empty house felt lifeless. Caretaker Li walked out and said, ¡°Madam, it¡¯s good that you¡¯re home. I will take my leave and head over to sleep with your mother-inw as she is currently alone. Is it fine if I leave only two servants with you?¡± Her attitude was devoted and respectful. Qiao Lian nodded. After Caretaker Li left, she headed upstairs to the master bedroom. After she finished washing up, sheid on the bed, checking her cell phone from time to time. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s flight was at 10pm. This meant that it would be midnight before he reached Beijing and it would take at least another hour before he would return home from the airport. Since that day, they had not met each other again. When he returned hometer, how would she face him? As she worried, her eyelids slowly closed. At one in the morning, a ck sedan drove towards the outside of the vi. The car¡¯s windows rolled down and Shen Liangchuan gazed at the second floor of the vi. Chapter 77 - Has He Returned?

Chapter 77: Has He Returned?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan silently sat in his car, looking at the second floor. The light was switched off. Did this mean that she was asleep? After a long while, he finally said, ¡°To number 18.¡± Song Cheng asked uncertainly, ¡°Brother Shen, Ms. Qiao has just been discharged from the hospital today. Aren¡¯t you going to see her at all?¡± Shen Liangchuan gave him a stare, and he instantly shut his mouth, revved the car and drove to Vi 18. However, as he drove he continued nagging. ¡°Since we are going to Vi 18, why didn¡¯t you say that when we passed by it? It¡¯s so troublesome to make a detour like this. Could it be that you wanted to look at Ms. Qiao for a while?¡± Qiao Lian awoke at the sound of the car driving outside. She quietly walked to the balcony. Unfortunately, the streemps were too dim and she was not able to see at the license te clearly. She only saw a car drive past the mansion¡¯s entrance. It then disappeared past the corner crossing ahead. She sighed disappointedly. She turned around and continued to lie down, but she could not sleep, regardless of how hard she tried. Was Shen Liangchuan back already? She knocked herself on the head. She felt as though she was an aggrieved woman who had been confined at home. It had undoubtedly been him that had taken out his temper on her that day. However, why did it seem as though it was her who had done something wrong? Qiao Lian covered herself with a nket and decided to have a good night¡¯s sleep. The next day, when she woke up, the entire mansion was stillpletely silent. Everything in her room still seemed to be the same. There were no signs of Shen Liangchuan having returned before. She showered, got dressed and went downstairs. While she was eating breakfast, she casually asked the servant, ¡°Did Sir not say when he wasing back?¡± The servant immediately replied with a smile, ¡°He came back yesterday, but he has left to go to your mother-inw¡¯s house.¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s eating motion momentarily stopped and her face fell. She suddenly felt as though the food in her mouth had lost all vor. After finishing breakfast, she stood up, picked up her handbag and dashed outside. After entering the news agency, Xiao Ye immediately rushed over excitedly to greet her, saying, ¡°Qiao Lian, you are finally back! How are you? Is your stomach better?¡± Qiao Lian tossed her head back, pped her belly once and said, ¡°Of course I¡¯m fine! Everything I eat now tastes absolutely delicious!¡± Before Xiao Ye could continue speaking, Su Meimei walked over. Her eyes were shining with a strong sense of hatred. ¡°Qiao Lian, the chief editor is calling for you!¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes narrowed. Xiao Ye said softly, ¡°The very day that the chief editor returned, she called her and allowed her toe back.¡± Then, she looked at Su Meimei¡¯s back and said softly, ¡°Also, let me tell you, yesterday someone saw Su Meimei and the managing editor eating together. The two of them were holding hands and looked intimate.¡± Qiao Lian immediately tensed up. If the managing editor has romantic feelings for Su Meimei, then her status in the news agency is perilous indeed! She went to the chief editor¡¯s office. Little did she know that the moment she opened the door to the room, she would see a male stranger standing inside the office. He looked like he was in his thirties and his chin had a mole on it. He had a scrutinizing gaze, which made people feel as though they were cabbages in a market, waiting to be selected by customers. When he saw Qiao Lian, he smiled and said, ¡°This person is one of the most capable journalists in our news agency?¡± The chief editor smiled and said, ¡°Oh yes, Qiao Lian, let me introduce you to our new managing editor, Liu Zhixing.¡± Qiao Lian broke out in all smiles and walked forward. As she did so, she heard him say, ¡°You are Qiao Lian? I heard that you were chasing the scoop involving Mrs. Shen¡¯s identity. Listen to me, you should first let go of every other task that you are currentlypleting and go investigate who Mrs. Shen actually is! You must uncover her identity! This is currently the entertainment industry¡¯s biggest scoop. Go now! Hurry up, go!¡± Qiao Lian: ...! Chapter 78 - Follow Shen Liangchuan!

Chapter 78: Follow Shen Liangchuan!

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios During lunch hour, Beijing¡¯s roads were filled with cars going to and fro. A nanny van with a muted ck color rushed through the road. Shen Liangchuan was sitting in the back and reading a script, when he suddenly heard Song Cheng¡¯s voice asking, ¡°Oh, did any of you also notice the silver Volkswagen that seems to be following us? Have we encountered the paparazzi?¡± Shen Liangchuan stayed silent. His assistant immediately asked, ¡°Then, what should we do? Should we try to lose them, or ignore them?¡± Song Cheng smiled and said, ¡°We are going to a fitting for the tailored clothes today and we aren¡¯t doing anything disreputable. Forget it, let¡¯s just give the driver a chance to lose them. However, if he does not seed, then we¡¯ll just ignore them.¡± ¡°Sure!¡± the driver said, and he pressed the elerator. Inside the silver Volkswagen... Xiao Ye sat in the passenger seat and looked straight ahead. ¡°Ms. Qiao, hurry up! They are speeding up! We must quickly chase up to them!¡± Qiao Lian turned the steering wheel, her face bitter. It had been perfectly fine when they asked her to uncover the scoop originally. She could justze around outside and think of a n in the meantime. However, the managing editor had suddenly said that this piece of news was too difficult to uncover alone, so he had asked Xiao Ye to be her partner. That¡¯s just great! She had to actually take this assignment seriously. However, how the heck could she conjure up a Mrs. Shen from thin air? At this moment, she saw the other car suddenly increase its speed. Her ck eyes moved non-stop. She purposely drove the car to one side of the road. In a matter of minutes, the nanny van that was in front could no longer be seen. Xiao Ye yelled anxiously, ¡°Ah ah ah! How could we have lost them?¡± Qiao Lian breathed a sigh of relief, continued to drive forward and turned at a random intersection. ¡°That¡¯s enough. Both Best Actor Shen¡¯s bodyguard and his driver are cautious people. We have been following them for two hours and they must have discovered us! If they wanted to lose us, it would only take a matter of minutes for them to do so.¡± She was about to suggest that they should return to their respective homes, when she suddenly heard Xiao Ye¡¯s voice saying, ¡°Ms. Qiao! Haha, you are indeed superb! Look quickly, we have almost caught up!¡± Qiao Lian looked straight ahead and realized that the nanny van with Shen Liangchuan was just in front of them. Xiao Ye was extremely excited. ¡°How did you know that they would turn here? You are practically godlike!¡± Qiao Lian thought, ¡°...! Only heaven knows why she had caught up to them after she had just randomly taken a turn.¡± In the nanny van up ahead, the driver saw the car behind them through the rear-view mirror. He said, ¡°Damn, how did they also know about such a remote road? The driver driving the car behind us is very good indeed.¡± Hispetitiveness surged and he smiled at Song Cheng, saying, ¡°Brother Shen, can I have some fun with them?¡± Shen Liangchuan said apathetically, ¡°Whatever.¡± The driver slowed down the speed of the car. Sitting in the rear car, Xiao Ye immediately got nervous. ¡°Why have they slowed down? What are they nning to do? Have they discovered us? Ms. Qiao, what should we do now?¡± What should they do? Qiao Lian fought to stay calm and said, ¡°We will just pretend that we didn¡¯t notice and overtake them. Have we not handled simr situations in the past using this method as well?¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right, overtake them!¡± Qiao Lian earnestly drove the car past the side of the nanny van. That way, they could no longer continue following them today, right? Moreover, she now had a reason that would satisfy Xiao Ye. As Qiao Lian was thinking of this, she felt the car shake violently! She jumped in shock momentarily. She saw through the rear-view mirror that the nanny van had followed her car and bumped into its rear. Both cars stopped at the side of the road. Song Cheng got out of the car and walked over, smiling. He stood beside her car seductively, knocked on the car¡¯s window and said, ¡°Excuse me, we identally bumped into the rear of your car. The fault lies entirely with us!¡± Qiao Lian: ...! Chapter 79 - In Hot Pursuit

Chapter 79: In Hot Pursuit

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xiao Ye was so nervous that she said, ¡°Qiao- Ms. Qiao, we¡¯re dead meat now!¡± Dead meat? Qiao Lian wanted to swear as well. She was determined not to let them discover that it was her who had been following them. Making up her mind, Qiao Lian refused to roll up the car¡¯s windows. Instead, she said in a low voice, ¡°It¡¯s nothing!¡± Song Cheng froze. He had personallye to knock on this car¡¯s windows. Did the person inside not understand rules? Did she really think that he was here to discuss the tailgating issue? Song Cheng frowned and was about to speak, when he realized that the car had rushed forward with a whoosh. All traces of the car quickly disappeared. Song Cheng: ... When he returned to the car, Song Cheng touched his nose and said, ¡°The paparazzi nowadays are so cowardly. How will they ever catch a scoop with such an attitude?!¡± As he finished speaking, he smiled at Shen Liangchuan. Attempting to curry favor with him, he said, ¡°Brother Shen, these people aren¡¯t like Ms. Qiao at all.¡± When he heard this, Shen Liangchuan slightly raised his eyes. The words ¡°Ms. Qiao¡± had sessfully diverted his attention from the script. Song Cheng was nagging in his ear. ¡°If Ms. Qiao was here, she would have definitely exited the car and start to berate me loudly, asking me to pay for her car. I have never seen a girl who is as brave as her¡ªsomeone who wants to go to work the day after a major surgery.¡± If this had been any other time, Shen Liangchuan would have definitely found him noisy. However, he was strangely quiet today. As the people in the car continued talking, the driver suddenly eximed in confusion, ¡°That silver Volkswagen is in front of us! How did she know that we would turn in this direction?¡± When Song Cheng heard his words, he anxiously looked over and then shouted profusely, ¡°Damn it! The news about us going to the shopping mall today must have leaked. Whichpany are these paparazzi from and why are they sopetent?¡± Inside the silver Volkswagen currently in front... Xiao Ye widened her eyes and looked behind her. ¡°Ms. Qiao, how did they chase up to us so quickly? Are they not letting us go? We clearly did not uncover any scoops. Look, the distance between us and them is only a few meters wide!¡± Qiao Lian was also going crazy. Could it be that Shen Liangchuan was really this petty? No, she could not be caught. At the next traffic light crossing, she turned to the left. The car behind hers also turned to the left. She drove further and then took a left turn. The car behind hers also did the same. Xiao Ye got even more afraid. ¡°Qiao- Ms. Qiao, are they nning to kill us?¡± Qiao Lian desperately wanted to sew Xiao Ye¡¯s mouth shut. At a straightaway, she suddenly increased the speed of the car. She continuously overtook four to five vehicles before she was able to lose the nanny van following behind her. Xiao Ye excitedly grabbed her arm and said, ¡°Ms. Qiao, you are so brave!¡± Qiao Lian also sighed intensely in relief. She delightedly lifted her chin and said, ¡°I had to be brave!¡± Xiao Ye said regretfully, ¡°However, we won¡¯t be able to follow Best Actor Shen today.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, there will be plenty of chances in the future¡±, Qiao Lian consoled her without thinking. Xiao Ye immediately said excitedly, ¡°Ms. Qiao, do you see the shopping mall in front? Let me tell you, everybody inside is a high-profile person. All the famous celebrities go there to buy clothes. I know that beside this mall there is an outlet store. There is a ce selling m hotpot in the building, so we should go there to eat!¡± Qiao Lian was also hungry. She said, ¡°Are you treating?¡± ¡°Fine.¡± Qiao Lian found a roadside to park her car. Then, she followed Xiao Ye out of the car and was about to walk away, when she realized that Xiao Ye¡¯s body was suddenly frozen. Qiao Lian asked, ¡°What is it?¡± Xiao Ye was on the verge of tears. ¡°Qiao- Ms. Qiao, How did they catch up to us?¡± She turned her head, following Xiao Ye¡¯s gaze, and saw Shen Liangchuan¡¯s nanny van parked a short distance away. Chapter 80 - An Unavoidable Confrontation

Chapter 80: An Unavoidable Confrontation

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian grabbed Xiao Ye¡¯s arm and swiftly rushed to the luxury shopping mall nearby. Her heart was beating wildly, so she pressed her hand onto her chest. She could not help but pray that that group of people had not seen her just now, given how quick her reaction had been. In the nearby nanny van, Song Cheng¡¯s mouth twisted into an ¡®O¡¯ shape. He could not believe what he had just seen. So, Ms. Qiao had actually been inside the silver Volkswagen after all? ¡°No wonder they were so incredible¡±, Song Cheng eximed. ¡°Ms. Qiao is one of the world¡¯s most outstanding paparazzi.¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s gaze had stayed apathetic from start to end. However, it finally wavered when he saw the lithe body in front of him. He watched as she agilely rushed inside the shopping mall. He suddenly realized that this forced wardrobe-fitting trip might not be so boring after all. ¡ª Qiao Lian grabbed Xiao Ye and rushed into the shopping mall. Xiao Ye clutched her chest and eximed, ¡°No wonder there are so many people, they must have uncovered the news about Best Actor Shen. I feel that even his nanny van is more intimidating than other people¡¯s.¡± Qiao Lian said, ¡°... We could sneak from the back door to the front in just a moment and then drive our car and leave.¡± However, Xiao Ye immediately grabbed her and said, ¡°Ms. Qiao, it¡¯s rare that we have some free time today. How about we do some shopping in this mall, eh?¡± Qiao Lian thought carefully. If they spend some time here, Shen Liangchuan and his posse would definitely leave before them. She nodded in agreement. The two of them casually sauntered around therge shopping mall. The bustle and noise that one usually finds in normal shopping malls were not present at all in this one. They could only see a couple of well-dresseddies wandering around inside. The salespeople were extremely polite and made them feel refreshed and rxed. There were even bodyguards standing guard at the entrances of branded good shops. Qiao Lian was slightly absent-minded. Before her parents passed away, she would not have hesitated to shop at this type of shopping malls. However, at this moment, she did not know whether her entire year¡¯s sry was enough for her to buy even a single dress that was sold here. Qiao Lian breathed in deeply and felt that they had spent enough time shopping. She was just about to suggest leaving when she suddenly heard Song Cheng¡¯s voice emanating from in front of her saying, ¡°Brother Shen, it¡¯s just ahead!¡± Her entire body froze. She violently jerked her head upwards and looked over. She saw Shen Liangchuan wearing sunsses and a gauze mask, and he was heading towards her, apanied by a group of people. Qiao Lian immediately got anxious and looked around in all directions. She then grabbed Xiao Ye and rushed into the interior of a nearby shop. Xiao Ye eximed, ¡°Ms. Qiao, they will certainly not be able to recognized us! We do not have to be so worried.¡± But the moment she started speaking, Qiao Lian saw that the group of people in front of her was actually rushing directly towards the shop that she was in. At this rate, they would definitely meet up face to face! Qiao Lian looked around, but she could not find a suitable hiding ce. She anxiously pointed at a piece of clothing randomly and asked, ¡°Can I try this on?¡± The salesperson was slightly stunned and asked, ¡°Miss, are you sure you want to try this on?¡± Qiao Lian pointed at the piece of clothing with one hand, but her eyes were staring at Shen Liangchuan instead. He seemed to have noticed something, as his face slightly tilted upwards and turned in her direction. An anxious Qiao Lian said, ¡°Yes, this piece of clothing! I want to try it!¡± The salesperson hesitated momentarily, but said respectfully, ¡°Of course, Miss. Pleasee with me to the fitting room.¡± Qiao Lian picked up the clothes and squirmed into the fitting room. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief. However, when she saw the clothes in her hand, her entire body almost jumped up in shock. The piece of clothing she had chosen was typically worn for sexual purposes! Chapter 81 - You Can Wear This Tonight

Chapter 81: You Can Wear This Tonight

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She practically wanted to chop off her own hand then and there. If Shen Liangchuan identally saw her like this, would she have any dignity left? She grabbed her hair regretfully and only walked out when she was sure that Shen Liangchuan and his group had left. Then, she saw that a shop employee was looking at her with a conflicted expression. Furthermore, Xiao Ye had disappeared. Qiao Lian lowered her head and used a hand to cover her face shamefully. At the same time, she handed the clothes back to the salesperson, saying, ¡°Th- This, I-¡± Before she could finish speaking, she heard the salesperson say, ¡°Miss, someone has already helped you to pay for this.¡± Qiao Lian: ...! Qiao Lian jerked her head upwards and looked at the salesperson incredulously. ¡°Who?¡± The salesperson coughed and said, ¡°The person who swiped... Mr. Shen¡¯s card.¡± Shen Liangchuan?! Qiao Lian was stunned. She was absolutely dumbfounded. The salesperson coughed again and said softly, ¡°Mr. Shen said that you can wear it tonight.¡± The salesperson quickly packed the clothes and handed them to her. Staring at these clothes, Qiao Lian felt ufortable taking them, but she also felt ufortable not taking them as well. As she agonized over her decision, Xiao Ye ran over panting. ¡°You scared me, Sister Qiao! Just now, Best Actor Shen and a group of people rushed over to this shop, so I hurriedly ran to the adjoining shop! ... Oh? You actually bought a set of clothes? What did you buy? Let me see.¡± Qiao Lian immediately snatched the clothes from the salesperson¡¯s hands without saying anything. ¡°It¡¯s nothing!¡± If Xiao Ye saw this set of clothes, she wouldugh at her! After seizing the clothes from the salesperson, she grabbed Xiao Ye and walked outside. Xiao Ye said mysteriously, ¡°Sister Qiao, I just heard Best Actor Shen and his group talk about how they nned to eat at the restaurant ¡®Pin Chuan Ge¡¯. Should we follow them there as well?¡± ¡°... You are no longer afraid of Best Actor Shen?¡± ¡°I¡¯m still afraid¡±, Xiao Ye eximed, ¡°But there¡¯s no other choice. Since you offended the chief editor, if we do not uncover this scoop, I really think that you will not have a future at the news agency anymore. You¡¯ve been tolerating the chief editor for over half a year just so that you could get a reporter pass once you finish working for one year and be a fully fledged reporter, right?¡± Qiao Lian immediately choked. Xiao Ye pped her shoulders and said, ¡°We should follow them now and catch them off guard. We might even be able to uncover Mrs. Shen¡¯s identity tonight!¡± Xiao Ye was saying this for her own good, so she found herself unable to reject her. The two of them walked out of the shopping mall and got into the car. After waiting for a while, they saw the nanny van with Shen Liangchuan inside driving out. Qiao Lian silently started her car and followed them again. It seemed as though Xiao Ye was correct. The people in front were driving steadily and did not seem to have discovered them at all. Relieved, she followed their every turn. Finally, she realized that they were not going to Pin Chuan Ge. Instead, they arrived at a restaurant that served Guangdong cuisine. As they went in to eat, Qiao Lian and Xiao Ye parked their car in a parking space located along the roadside and silently stared at the entrance of the restaurant. Xiao Ye excitedly said, ¡°We¡¯ll wait for them to finish their dinner. Then, Best Actor Shen will probably go home, or maybe even go and meet Mrs. Shen!¡± Qiao Lian was about to reply when someone knocked on the car¡¯s window. She turned her head and saw Song Cheng standing outside the car and smiling profusely! Her heart leapt and she instinctively started the car. However, she only realized at this moment that the parking spot that her car was currently upying was located at a dead end and thus, she would not be able to drive away. Her entire body tensed. She then saw Song Cheng gesturing at her to roll down the car¡¯s window. Chapter 82 - A Huge Oops!

Chapter 82: A Huge Oops!

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In any case, they had already discovered her when buying clothes. Qiao Lian felt as though she had nothing to lose at this point in time. She took a deep breath and rolled down the car¡¯s windows, only to see Song Cheng standing outside and smiling profusely. He lifted two takeaway boxes and said, ¡°Ladies, you must be tired after following us for an entire day. These meals arepliments of Brother Shen.¡± After he finished speaking, he gave the boxes to them. Qiao Lian epted them apathetically. Song Cheng whistled and turned to leave. After he left, Qiao Lian and Xiao Ye looked at each other, opened the takeaway boxes and found that the meal inside was extremely sumptuous. A shocked and terrified Xiao Ye said, ¡°Miss- Miss Qiao, What did Best Actor Shen mean by this?¡± As she thought about the methods Shen Liangchuan had used against the paparazzi, she eximed, ¡°Could there be poison in these meals?¡± Qiao Lian: ... When Song Cheng finished delivering the meals, he casually strolled into one of the hotel¡¯spartments. The moment he entered, he rushed to Shen Liangchuan¡¯s side and said obsequiously, ¡°Ms. Qiao has just finished her surgery, so I had the kitchen make some food that was suitable for her. I even gave her a bowl of herbal soup. Ms. Qiao was so touched that she couldn¡¯t stop weeping!¡± Shen Liangchuan shot a nce at him impassively and blurted out, ¡°Meddlesome.¡± Song Cheng immediately said something that cut through his pretense. ¡°Tch! We agreed to eat Szechuan cuisine, but someone asked to change the location at thest minute. That¡¯s not all. As someone that clearly hates the taste of herbal soup, the moment you walked in, you asked the waiter whether there was any herbal soup. Brother Shen, could you stop acting so depressed?¡± Everyone else: ¡°...¡± ¡°Did I also give you permission to pay for that set of clothes?¡± Song Cheng waved his hands and said, ¡°Ms. Qiao is your wife, so it¡¯s natural that you pay for clothes that she set her eyes on. You don¡¯t expect me to pay for those, right?¡± Shen Liangchuan: ... Song Cheng had discovered that as long as he teased him by mentioning Ms. Qiao, Best Actor Shen would be extraordinarily generous. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s apathetic eyes were looking through the window. He noticed that the car below had sneakily driven away after a while. He suddenly wanted to return home to see her reaction. It seemed that the disagreeable nature that he had exhibited earlier had disappeared with the day¡¯s passing. When Qiao Lian returned to the mansion, it was already approximately 8pm. Because she had been following Best Actor Shen, she had driven for the whole day. As a result, her limbs were fatigued. She took a shower and climbed onto the huge bed, sighingfortably. As she stared at the ceiling, she could not help but think. Had Shen Liangchuan asked for the meal she had received tonight to be sent to her, or had Song Cheng delivered it of his own ord? As she thought of this, she stood up abruptly and took out the clothes that were bought today. These clothes... were the first set of clothes that Shen Liangchuan had bought for her. She smiled and opened her mouth in delight. Fine! Given that Best Actor Shen was such a cold person, it was already difficult enough for him to do such a thing. Thus, she should forgive him for what had transpired the other night. As she stared at that set of clothes that would make anyone feel shy, Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes shifted around. She moved closer to the doorway and looked outside. The two servants downstairs were in their respective rooms. She closed the door to the room and snuck in front of the mirror. She took off the towel wrapping her body and wore the set of clothes. It was a bunny costume. The two little bunny ears ced on top of her head were extremely cute. In addition, there was even a little tail located near her derri¨¨re . Very little fabric was covering her body, which made the outfit extremely sexual. Qiao Lian looked in the mirror, admired her figure and then shook her derriere. The tail was way too funny! Suddenly, she noticed something in the mirror and her body instantly froze. The moment she turned her head, she saw Shen Liangchuan silently standing at the doorway! Chapter 83 - What Were You Doing Just Now?

Chapter 83: What Were You Doing Just Now?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Shen Liangchuan finished dining with Song Cheng and the others and was about to head home, he did not have ns to visit Vi 8. However, when the car reached the vi, he received a call from Song Cheng saying that he needed to drive back to him to pick up a document that he had forgotten to take. Thus, he made a u-turn and drove to the exterior of the vi. Because he still had to leave, he parked his car outside the front door and walked in. Downstairs, both of the servants were in their respective rooms. Upstairs, the light was switched on in the bedroom. He went upstairs, intending to go to the study. However, when he passed by the master bedroom, he felt an inexplicable urge to stop. He suddenly felt like finding out how she would react if she saw him. Thus, he lightly pushed open the door to the room. However, who could exin to him exactly what he had just seen? Qiao Lian was, at this moment, casually twisting her hair. The pink fur on the bunny earsplemented her translucentplexion and her fair skin. She was wearing sexy and furry lingerie that made her hips seem extremely skinny. She was also wearing a pair of hot pants with a rabbit tail sticking out of the back of the pants. She was standing in front of the mirror. First, she did a few sexy poses, pping her waist while smiling. Next, she shook her derriere at the mirror. Then, she stretched out her hands and pped the bunny tail. She was humming a song as well, ¡°You are so beautiful, you are so attractive! Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful... You are like Xi Shi muddling the springwater...¡± Her sexy appearance caused him to stand frozen on the spot and he instantly felt a rush of blood spreading throughout his entire body. However, the girl suddenly saw him through the mirror and immediately froze too, turning her head around at once. The blood in her entire body seemed to instantly rush to her face as she blushed profusely, her mouth forming the letter ¡®O¡¯. Then, like a startled rabbit, she quickly jumped onto the bed and tried to cover herself with the nket. However, because she was standing on top of the nket, when she forcefully pulled it, she rolled onto the ground. ¡°Ouch¡±, she said as she rubbed herderri¨¨re , before hurriedly getting onto the bed again, using the nket to cover her entire body. Shen Liangchuan: ... He knew Qiao Lian was shy even without saying it aloud. He finally could not hold himself back, as the corners of his lips curled up into a smile. At this moment, Qiao Lian desperately wished that she could dig a hole to hide herself in. She hid under the nket and felt that she was utterly shameful. Ahhhhh! Who would have thought that right when she was turning lemons into lemonade and enjoying herself for a while, she would coincidentally get caught by Shen Liangchuan? Why was he back?! Ooh... She was too ashamed to face anybody. She held onto the nket with one hand and covered her face with the other, thinking that Best Actor Shen would hurriedly leave at this point in time so that she could change her clothes. However, within the silence, she heard his footsteps approaching nearer and nearer, until they stopped beside the bed. Qiao Lian¡¯s heart instantly leapt. She waited for a long time, but she did not hear any movementing from him. Therefore, she quietly pulled the nket off of her. Her eyes slowly emerged and then she looked into his eyes. She froze. Then, with great effort, she squeezed out a smile, looked at him and awkwardly greeted him. ¡°Mr- Mr. Shen, you are back already?¡± Shen Liangchuan softly humphed affirmingly, but the expression on his face remained impassive. No one could possibly guess what his true feelings were right now. Just when Qiao Lian thought that he was going to the bathroom, she heard him suddenly say, ¡°What were you doing just now?¡± Qiao Lian: ...! Chapter 84 - These Clothes Suit You Very Well

Chapter 84: These Clothes Suit You Very Well

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian was dumbfounded¡ªshe was absolutely stunned. Any other man would have turned around and pretended that nothing had ever happened after finding himself in an awkward situation with another person. So, why was Shen Liangchuan asking this now? Her gaze was fixed on his face. If not for the fact that he looked apathetic and serious at this moment, she would have thought that this guy was purposely doing this! Meeting his light gaze, she could only cough and say, ¡°Today- The clothes you bought for me today, I was trying them out to see if they fit me.¡± Shen Liangchuan said affirmatively, ¡°Oh.¡± He then turned around, casually picked up hisptop and turned to sit on the sofa. Just as Qiao Lian was breathing a sigh of relief, she heard him say, ¡°They fit you.¡± Qiao Lian: ... So, was she being praised? However, doesn¡¯t Best Actor Shen typically go to the bathroom to wash up immediately after he returned home? Why was he sitting here, unmoving? Qiao Lian was close to crying. Wrapped in the nket, she did not know what she should do. After a long while, the ringtoneing from a cell phone shattered the silence in the room. She perked her ears up, hugged the nket and sat up. Herrge eyes looked around the room a couple of times beforending on the sofa upon which Shen Liangchuan was currently sitting on. Only then did she realize that while she had been trying out the clothes, she had thrown her towel and cell phone on top of the sofa. Qiao Lian bit her lip and pretended that she was dead, hoping that nobody had heard the phone ringing. However, as sheid down, she heard Shen Liangchuan¡¯s voice saying, ¡°Your phone¡¯s ringing.¡± Qiao Lian: ... She obviously knew that her phone was ringing. He should be helping her by bringing the phone over! However, it was futile to hope for Best Actor Shen to assist her. Qiao Lian clenched her teeth and said, ¡°It¡¯s no problem, it is probably a scam call.¡± ¡°Who is Xiao Ye?¡± ¡°My colleague.¡± ¡°Then, it¡¯s your colleague who is cing this call.¡± Qiao Lian said, ¡°So, what about it?¡± ¡°Do you want me to answer it for you?¡± His one sentence caused Qiao Lian to uncover the nket from her with a whoosh. She jumped off the bed and hurriedly rushed to his side, grabbing the phone from him and saying, ¡°There¡¯s no need¡±. What a joke! If she lets him answer the call, wouldn¡¯t her identity as Mrs. Shen be exposed? She snatched the cell phone from him and answered it, uttering a quick ¡°hello¡±. She then quickly turned around and attempted to walk to the bed. It was then that she realized that Shen Liangchuan had strode to the side of the bed. It would be rather inappropriate if she ran over and jumped onto the bed at this moment. However, the clothes on her body... At this moment, Xiao Ye¡¯s voice emanated from the phone, saying, ¡°Ahhh! Ms. Qiao, guess what I just saw?¡± Without waiting for Qiao Lian to speak, she continued, ¡°I saw Best Actor Shen¡¯s car! It¡¯s just parked outside the entranceway to the mansion. This means that Best Actor Shen is home tonight. It also means that Mrs. Shen is inside the mansion! Qiao Lian,e quick! I will send you the address on WeChat in a second.¡± Qiao Lian: ...! She quickly ran to the window and looked outside. She saw that a car had indeed parked outside the mansion. In addition, a familiar silhouette was sauntering around the car, excitedly holding a cell phone while jumping and smiling. Qiao Lian: ... How could she go over now? ¡°Xiao Ye, why are you here? Eh, oops, I mean, why are you there? Aren¡¯t you afraid of him?¡± As she spoke, she sneakily looked behind her and realized that Shen Liangchuan was currently looking at her. She immediately coughed and grabbed her cell phone, thinking that he had heard her conversation with Xiao Ye. She hadpletely forgotten that she was currently wearing a sexy outfit. She also did not notice the fiery stare that Shen Liangchuan was levelling at her. Chapter 85 - I Had Already Noticed You Eight Years Ago!

Chapter 85: I Had Already Noticed You Eight Years Ago!

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xiao Ye replied, ¡°Ms. Qiao, I kept thinking about how even though we followed Best Actor Shen the whole day today, he did not fly into a temper. This means that those rumors about Best Actor Shen disliking the paparazzi are false! Thus, I became emboldened with courage. If you do not uncover who Mrs. Shen is, the chief editor will keep hounding you. As such, I must naturally help you with all of my ability. Hehe, are you so touched that you are about to cry?¡± She was indeed about to cry, but not because she was touched... Qiao Lian twitched the edges of her mouth and said, ¡°You should hasten back home...¡± ¡°Go back home for what? The bodyguards are quite alert, but I managed with great difficulty to sneak in today. Don¡¯t worry, Ms. Qiao, the lights on the second floor bedroom are switched on, which means that Mrs. Shen is definitely here. I will wait for her for the entire night. I refuse to believe that Mrs. Shen will not leave her house tomorrow!¡± She definitely needed to go to work tomorrow, or else the chief editor would definitely use her of beingzy. ¡°Ms. Qiao, I¡¯ll hang up now because I need to find a ce to hide. Well, I will send the address to you. If you cane, thene. If not, it¡¯s no big deal.¡± Could she not go? Because of her, Xiao Ye was probably going to wait outside for the whole night. It would definitely be inappropriate of her to sleep soundly in her house tonight. She hung up the phone andmented for a while. She intended to change her clothes and go out, but she suddenly felt a boiling hot body quietly approach her from behind. Qiao Lian¡¯s body immediately froze. She did not even have a chance to look behind her before she felt a warm breath on the back of her neck. A familiar aura of manliness was surrounding her back. She swallowed a mouthful of saliva and turned her head. Her gaze met with Shen Liangchuan¡¯s dark one. His exquisite appearance seemed gentler under the light¡ªmore warm and less cold, making Qiao Lian¡¯s heart start to beat erratically. Her mouth was dry as she asked, ¡°Mr- Mr. Shen, what are you nning to do?¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s thin lips said delicately, ¡°What are you nning to do, dressed like this?¡± Dressed like this? She lowered her head and anxiously clutched her chest area with both of her hands, saying, ¡°I- I-¡± Before she could finish speaking, she felt Shen Liangchuan¡¯srge hands surround her waist. His palms were hot. A feeling of roughness and dryness emanated from her sensitive waist region, causing Qiao Lian to feel as though her entire body was heating up. Then, she heard him say, ¡°Did you specifically buy this outfit to make mee home and stay?¡± Qiao Lian was on the verge of tears. She had no such intentions! However, at this moment, she could hardly tell him this. She fell into his arms, their breaths synchronized. Her heart was beating wildly. Her shy expression also caused Shen Liangchuan¡¯s mood to intensify. Their entire history disappeared in an instant. At this moment, he chose not to think about the sadness in his memories. He only wanted to hug the girl in his arms and stay like this for eternity. He lowered his head and moved closer to her, speaking slowly, ¡°I have never slept with a female fan of mine.¡± His words caused Qiao Lian¡¯s face to blush a bright red. She was bewildered, and did not know what to do. Shen Liangchuan was intending to do something, but he suddenly saw the girl he was hugging and violently jerked his head upwards. She bit her pink lips, the light shining in her eyes brightly like stars in the sky. Then, she gathered her courage and said, ¡°Shen- Mr. Shen, actually, ever since your audition eight years ago, I had already begun to notice you. I- I-¡± However, when he heard what she said, her rambling speech seemed to have transformed into a bowl of cold water which instantly sshed all over him. Eight years ago... Chapter 86 - Leave This to Me!

Chapter 86: Leave This to Me!

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan¡¯s enormous hands, which were holding onto her waist, slightly tensed up. At this moment, her confession was like arge p to his face. Eight years ago, their rtionship had just shattered. However, had she already fallen in love with him as a celebrity? No, to phrase this in another way, it meant that their initial rtionship, which he had kept in his memory, was nothing to her. All his heart palpitations disappeared along with Qiao Lian¡¯s words. The only feelings left were mockery and awkwardness. Shen Liangchuan narrowed his eyes. He could clearly feel the temper within his body slowly awakeniing, making him wish that he could tear her apart. Hisrge hands forcefully lifted her and threw her onto the bed. He then pressed his body on her. Just when he was about to punish her, he suddenly saw her eyes, which were overwhelmed with fear. She shouted at him, ¡°Mr. Shen?!¡± He violently jerked upwards upon hearing her words. He suddenly thought of her acute appendicitis. He tightly clenched his fists. Afraid that he would hurt her again, he immediately got up and turned to leave! Bang! Only when the door of the room violently closed, did Qiao Lian, who was lying on the bed, regain her consciousness. She widened her eyes. She did not understand why the obviously flirtatious atmosphere had swiftly changed in the blink of an eye. He had been fooling around with her, which was why she had been brave enough to say those words. However, why had he suddenly raged violently? She waspletely baffled. His temper was truly unpredictable! Qiao Lian sat on the bed for a while and calmed herself down. Her cell phone rang again. When she picked the call up, she heard Xiao Ye¡¯s intentionally soft voice saying, ¡°Sister Qiao, I just saw Best Actor Shen angrily leave. The only person who could make him re up like that is definitely Mrs. Shen.¡± Only then did Qiao Lian remember that Xiao Ye was still waiting for her downstairs. She immediately said, ¡°I will go and find you now.¡± She hung up the phone and changed her clothes. From the back door, she walked outside and then quietly snuck to the front door. After meeting up with Xiao Ye, the both of them stayed awake the entire night, hiding behind a nearby rock. Xiao Ye excitedly said, ¡°Mrs. Shen is definitely inside. We are definitely going to uncover a huge scoop!¡± As she finished speaking, her mouth twitched. ¡°But we have it tough as reporters. Look at people like Mrs. Shen, who can sleep on theirfortable beds. However, we are toughing it out by hiding outside!¡± She sighed. Qiao Lian thought, ¡°I also want to hide inside and sleep. If I had known this would happen, I would have carried both my bed and my nket downstairs.¡± The both of them slowly endured the entire night by talking with each other. The next day, even at eight in the morning, only two servants left the mansion to buy vegetables. They did not see anybody even remotely resembling Mrs. Shen. Xiao Ye hung her head, looking like a shrivelled tomato. She followed Qiao Lian outside. Qiao Lian yawned as she walked. She pped Xiao Ye¡¯s shoulders encouragingly and said, ¡°When there¡¯s a will, there¡¯s a way. Don¡¯t look so down.¡± Xiao Ye nodded. The both of them walked out of the mansion¡¯s neighborhood and entered the garden. Just when they were intending to continue walking, they suddenly heard Xia Yehua¡¯s voice. ¡°Xiao Qiao!¡± She walked over and looked at Qiao Lian, saying, ¡°Look at you! Why do you look like you haven¡¯t slept for an entire night?¡± Xiao Ye blurted out, ¡°Of course we didn¡¯t sleep. As reporters, it¡¯s normal for us to stay awake for the whole night. The only unfortunate thing is that even after staying awake for an entire night, we still did not uncover any of Best Actor Shen¡¯s scandals!¡± ¡°Best Actor Shen?¡± Xia Yehua arched her eyebrows and instantlyughed. ¡°You are trying to uncover Shen Liangchuan¡¯s scandals?¡± As she looked at Qiao Lian¡¯s fatigued expression, Xia Yehua only felt conflicted between Xiao Qiao and her son for a fraction of a second. Her heart aching, she immediately said, ¡°Leave this to me!¡± Chapter 87 - Mother Shens Explosive Revelation

Chapter 87: Mother Shen¡¯s Explosive Revtion

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As she finished speaking, Qiao Lian looked at her, astonished. She watched Xia Yehua say delightedly, ¡°I know a lot about him!¡± An unconvinced Xiao Ye asked, ¡°Why?¡± Xia Yehua blinked and said, ¡°Because... I¡¯m close friends with his mother!¡± Aunt Xia was close friends with her mother-inw? Since they all lived in the same neighborhood... this was definitely possible. Qiao Lian momentarily cupped a hand over her mouth. Oh. dear, if Aunt Xia told Shen Liangchuan¡¯s mother about the insults she had thrown at her, wouldn¡¯t she be in big trouble? As she was specting wildly, Xiao Ye was already excitedly grabbing her arm and saying, ¡°Auntie, you must save our Ms. Qiao!¡± A shocked Xia Yehua immediately asked, ¡°What happened to Xiao Qiao?¡± A crying Xiao Ye said affectionately, with snot and tears running down her face, ¡°You probably don¡¯t know this, but ever since she joined our news agency, our Ms. Qiao had conscientiously tried to uncover scoops with all of her ability. She¡¯s doing a great job-¡± The edges of Qiao Lian¡¯s mouth twitched. She grabbed Xiao Ye and said, ¡°Enough, speak properly!¡± Xiao Ye immediately regained herposure and said, ¡°I¡¯m just telling Aunt Xia about the immense difficulty you¡¯re currently facing, to prevent her from giving us too little information.¡± Qiao Lian: ... Xia Yehua had already anxiously grabbed Xiao Ye and said, ¡°And then what?¡± ¡°Actually, our chief editor has a niece called Su Meimei. She ns topete with Ms. Qiao for the annual Best Employee award, so she has been pressuring our Ms. Qiao, saying that if she can¡¯t discover Best Actor Shen¡¯s scandals, she will be fired from the agency!¡± Xia Yehua immediately got angry and said, ¡°What kind of person is this? Who doesn¡¯t know that Shen Liangchuan¡¯s surroundings are tightly guarded, so much so that even a fly can¡¯t fly inside? If he didn¡¯t want me to know something, I could never hope to figure it out, let alone the both of you. She¡¯s purposely making things difficult for you! My dear Xiao Qiao, why are you so pitiful? Don¡¯t worry, I will definitely give you a huge scoop.¡± Xiao Ye immediately got excited, and then heard Xia Yehua say, ¡°What type of scoop would be considered a huge one?¡± Xiao Ye: ... ¡°When he was young, because he was so beautiful, I- I mean, his mother asked him to wear a beautiful dress. Does this count?¡± Qiao Lian: ...! She thought about a young Best Actor Shen wearing a dress, a cold expression on his face. ¡°Pfff!¡±, Qiao Lian and Xiao Yeughed irresistibly. However, they could not possibly write such a scoop as it would ruin his reputation too much. Qiao Lian hurriedly shook her head and said, ¡°That doesn¡¯t count.¡± ¡°Then... When he went to school, his parents used to get called to the school every day. Does this count?¡± A surprised Xiao Ye asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t Best Actor Shen quite proficient at studying? Someone uncovered his report card before.¡± Xia Yehua immediately waved her hand and said, ¡°None of you know this, but even though he was good at studying, he yed truant almost every day.¡± ¡°Where did he go?¡± Xia Yehua immediatelyughed loudly, saying, ¡°To y!¡± Qiao Lian also got curious and asked, ¡°Then how did he still have the best scores in the exams?¡± Xia Yehua proudly said, ¡°Because he was smart!¡± Qiao Lian said, ¡°Auntie, why do you have an expression of pride on your face?¡± Xiao Ye stood to the side, shaking her head and said, ¡°This one doesn¡¯t count, because such a small scoop would only improve the brilliant image of Prince Charming. We need a huge scoop, such as... Mrs. Shen¡¯s identity!¡± Xia Yehua immediately hesitated. A conflicted Xia Yehua said, ¡°Mrs. Shen... I- I am also not sure as to who she actually is.¡± Of course she didn¡¯t know who she was, she had never met her! Xiao Ye¡¯s expression turned awkward. Xia Yehua looked at Qiao Lian and thought about how Xiao Qiao was being bullied by the chief editor at her news agency. She suddenly said without hesitation, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will tell you who Mrs. Shen is by the end of tomorrow!¡± Chapter 88 - Stay Away from Best Actor Shen!

Chapter 88: Stay Away from Best Actor Shen!

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After hearing Xia Yehua¡¯s promise, Qiao Lian and Xiao Ye walked out of the park. As they walked out, Xiao Ye grabbed Qiao Lian and pointed at the silver Volkswagen parked nearby. ¡°Let¡¯s go, we¡¯ll drive around and look for Best Actor Shen!¡± Qiao Lian was about to reject her suggestion when she suddenly saw Song Cheng¡¯s sedan driving out of a nearby neighborhood. Xiao Ye¡¯s eyes shone and she said, ¡°Quick! We should follow Song Cheng!¡± Qiao Lian did not even have the chance to protest before she was pulled into the car by Xiao Ye. Then, the both of them started tailing Song Cheng. However, they were too obvious in their movements and Song Cheng had discovered them for quite some time. Regardless, he ignored them and continued driving at his own pace. Eventually, he arrived at Shen Liangchuan¡¯s office in Beijing. Not long ago, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s contract with the filmpany had expired and he had not renewed the contract. Instead, he had set up his own filmpany. Shen Liangchuan was the major shareholder and thus went to Shanghai in order to secure potential investment in hispany. Qiao Lian saw Song Cheng enter the office. After a while, Shen Liangchuan exited, wearing sunsses and a gauze mask. After he entered the nanny van, the van drove away. Shen Liangchuan sat in the back seat. His dark grey suit stood in stark contrast to his pale, indifferent face. He closed his eyes to rest and a chilly atmosphere emanated from his body. Even though he did not speak, everybody in the car knew that he was not in a good mood today. His assistant poked Song Cheng¡¯s arm and Song Cheng coughed, saying, ¡°Woah, the silver Volkswagen has caught up to us today as well. Brother Shen, did you leave Ms. Qiao alone in her roomst night again?¡± As he finished speaking, Shen Liangchuan jerked open his eyes. He saw the car tailing them through the rearview mirror and furrowed his brow. What she said yesterday rushed into his mind again, leading to waves after waves of irritation. He picked up his cell phone, called a number and said, ¡°Take care of the car behind us.¡± Song Cheng immediately approached him and said, ¡°I say, Brother Shen, can you not treat Ms. Qiao so viciously? What if they get into a car ident?¡± He snatched the cell phone over and said, ¡°Look out for their safety!¡± After he hung up the phone, Shen Liangchuan looked coldly at him. Only then did he awkwardly smile and pass the cell phone back to him. His assistant could not help but say timidly, ¡°Brother Song, aren¡¯t you being a bit too brave?¡± Song Cheng red at him and said, ¡°What do you know? Do you think that I would have been able to snatch the phone if Brother Shen had not let me snatch it away from him?¡± In the tailing Volkswagen, Qiao Lian had absolutely no idea as to what had just happened in the van in front of her. As she followed the nanny van, the memory of what had happened yesterday night shed across her mind. What was wrong with him? Originally, the atmosphere had been so good. However, he had suddenly flown into a rage. Could it be... that he had encountered too much stress at work? As she thought about it, she suddenly heard Xiao Ye yell out, ¡°Sister Qiao! Be careful!¡± She instantly recovered from her rumination. Only then did she realize that a ck nanny van was driving towards them from the side of the road. The car skidded past a stone pir at the side of the road, emitting screeching sounds along the way due to the friction. Qiao Lian hurriedly stepped on the brakes. Both cars skidded to a stop. By now, Xiao Ye and Qiao Lian had been rendered speechless due to shock. That was too dangerous! They could even feel the boiling temperature inside the car. It felt as though if she had not stepped on the brakes in time, the car would have burst into mes the next second. Through the ss window, she could see that the hood of the car had been squashed. The car had been disfigured beyond all recognition. Just as both of them were breathing deeply, they heard someone knocking on the car window. Qiao Lian rolled down the window and saw a bodyguard wearing a ck suit standing outside. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to die, stay away from Best Actor Shen!¡± In the nearby nanny van, Shen Liangchuan only closed his eyes after seeing that the car behind him was fine. Chapter 89 - Shen Lingchuan, You Bastard!

Chapter 89: Shen Lingchuan, You Bastard!

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian and Xiao Ye stood at the side of the road and looked on as the towingpany towed away their car. They both stood there in stock, still suffering from residual fear. Xiao Ye¡¯s legs were still trembling and her voice was wavering. ¡°Ms- Ms. Qiao, Best Actor Shen is indeed terrifying.¡± Too terrifying... Qiao Lian clenched her fists tightly. As she thought about the car ident that had just happened and how she had been on the verge of death, her eyes reddened. She bit her lip and patted Xiao Ye¡¯s shoulder. She sent Xiao Ye to the rented car. After Xiao Ye had left, she stood on the roadside, picked up her cell phone and dialed Shen Liangchuan¡¯s cell phone number. The phone rang for a while, but nobody picked it up. She then dialed Song Cheng¡¯s cell phone number. Song Cheng quickly picked up the call and asked, ¡°Ms. Qiao?¡± ¡°Turn on the loudspeaker.¡± Song Cheng pressed a button and said, ¡°It¡¯s on.¡± Qiao Lian breathed in deeply and then shouted loudly, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, you bastard! Do you know that you could have killed somebody? If you purposely make things difficult for me when you return home just because you faced some troubles at work, then you are no hero. I¡¯m warning you, if you scare me one more time, I will forever treat you with hostility!¡± After she screamed these words at him, she hurriedly hung up the phone. Her heart was beating wildly and her hands were still shaking. In reality, she had realized that based on the force by which the car had banged against them, it would have been extremely unlikely for something serious to happen to them. One could even say that that was merely a warning from Shen Liangchuan and not necessarily an intent of harm from him. She was no longer afraid. She only felt a strong emotion of rage stuck in her chest that would continue making her ufortable unless she expelled it out somehow. But now that she had exhausted all her rage and had temporarily felt better as a result, what should she do next? Inside the nanny van, the entirepartment reverberated with the voice that had just emanated from Song Cheng¡¯s cell phone. Both assistants lowered their head, not daring to even breathe loudly. Even the driver wished desperately that he could disappear into thin air. Song Cheng felt like he was dying inside. Since he became Shen Liangchuan¡¯s manager, he was aware that he could never boss Shen Liangchuan around. Other artistes treated their managers with deference. However, in his case, he was the one that deferred to Shen Liangchuan. All these years, he had never dared to say a single harsh word. However, what had happened just now... did he somehow be possessed? Why did he choose to listen to Ms. Qiao¡¯s instructions? Why did he turn on the loudspeaker? As he thought about Ms. Qiao¡¯s indignant yell, he practically wanted to throw his cell phone out of the window. The entire group of people lifted their trembling heads and looked at Shen Liangchuan. At first, they thought that Shen Liangchuan would fly into an unstoppable rage and they would have to bear the brunt of it. However... Song Cheng rubbed his eyes. He could not believe what he was seeing! Somehow, Best Actor Shen had not raged at them. Instead, the corners of his lips curled up and he was smiling! In fact, his smile grew bigger and bigger, until even his chest area was vibrating. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s loud peals ofughter suddenly echoed throughout the entirepartment. Song Cheng¡¯s eyes widened. Was he looking at a ghost? Shen Liangchuan wasughing uncontrobly. This was due to the fact that the cursing sounds he had heard just now had suddenly made him remember about an event that had happened eight years ago. He had also made her extremely angry back then. She had called him, but he had not picked up the call. She had kept on calling him incessantly. Atst, when he finally picked up the call, the first thing he heard was, ¡°You bastard! Why didn¡¯t you pick up my call?¡± Shen Liangchuan said apathetically, ¡°You are in a fit of anger. We both need to calm down for a while.¡± ¡°Calm down, my ass! Do you know how bad I¡¯ll feel if I can¡¯t expel my rage? Just now, my entire body almost exploded! From here on out, when we argue, you must immediately answer any calls I ce, got it?¡± Thus, even though he did not see it himself, he could now imagine the crazy expression on Qiao Lian¡¯s face as she stood by the roadside. Chapter 90 - Why Are You Here?

Chapter 90: Why Are You Here?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian obviously could not see Best Actor Shen¡¯s reaction at that moment in time. After she had scolded him, she became cowardly again. She did not dare to go home because she was afraid that he would seek revenge on her. Thus, she slunk back to the small house that she had rented and stayed in before. As for the news agency, she pretended that she was off uncovering some scoop and thus was not able to show up for work. After staying in her small house for two days, her cell phone suddenly rang. She answered the call and Xia Yehua¡¯s voice emanated from the phone, saying, ¡°Xiao Qiao, Auntie has done you wrong!¡± A stunned Qiao Lian said, ¡°Auntie, what happened?¡± ¡°I was waiting outside Shen Liangchuan¡¯s mansion for two whole nights, but I did not see Mrs. Shen at all. Boo hoo hoo...¡± Qiao Lian immediately exined, ¡°Auntie, it¡¯s probably because nobody is at home. Don¡¯t cry.¡± ¡°Achoo!¡± Xia Yehua sneezed and said, ¡°Xiao Qiao, I have a cold. I¡¯m alone in the house and extremely bored, soe and find me, please.¡± Qiao Lian snappily replied, ¡°Sure.¡± One hourter... Qiao Lian was standing in Xia Yehua¡¯s bedroom. Xia Yehuaid on the bed. Her nose was red and she had a cooling strip pasted on her forehead. She looked extremely weak. Qiao Lian noticed that the mansion was empty and asked inquiringly, ¡°Where are the servants in your home?¡± ¡°They went to buy vegetables! I had them cook up a storm to wee you.¡± After she finished speaking, Xia Yehua sobbed for a while and said, ¡°Boo hoo hoo... Xiao Qiao, you must take care of me! You don¡¯t know how unfilial my son is. I¡¯m so sick and yet he forbids his wife froming to see me! Is he scared that I¡¯m going to chew her up?¡± The truth of the matter was that she wanted to know who Mrs. Shen was, but nobody at home would tell her. Hence, she had no other idea but to pull this scheme. Qiao Lian reached out and touched her head. ¡°Auntie, your forehead is not hot at all!¡± Xia Yehua immediately said, ¡°I just took my medicine, which is why my fever subsided temporarily. It¡¯ll return after a while.¡± Qiao Lian said, ¡°Then we should go to the hospital.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going! I¡¯m going to wait for my unfilial son to bring his wife to see me.¡± As she looked at the state Xia Yehua was in, a warm feeling spread across Qiao Lian¡¯s heart. She furrowed her brow and said, ¡°Auntie, your son is too unfilial! How about I go and talk to your son on your behalf?¡± ¡°Boo hoo hoo... Xiao Qiao, I should have known that in this entire world, only you would treat me the best. Go and talk to him for me!¡± Xia Yehua quickly jumped off the bed, reached out her hand and grabbed a feather duster. She gave it to her and then weakly climbed up the bed and continued lying on it. ¡°Help me teach him a lesson. Once hees, beat him with this!¡± Qiao Lian: ... Auntie Xia had probably umted a lot of anger inside of her for quite some time now. As such, Qiao Lian should symbolically hit her son a few timester so that Auntie Xia would feel sorry for him and quickly forgive him. After settling on this course of action, Qiao Lian heard the sound of a car driving. It came from outside the vi. ¡°He¡¯s here! Hide behind the door and whack him once he enters,¡± Xia Yehua excitedly said, sounding like she was there just to watch the unfolding drama. Once Xiao Qiao realizes that the person she was hitting was actually her idol, the look that she would give... this was definitely going to be fun! Qiao Lian followed her orders and stood behind the door. The door of the room was pushed open and anky figure walked inside. ¡°Hit him!¡± Xia Yehua yelledmandingly and Qiao Lian picked up the feather duster and started hitting! However, before she could hit anybody, her wrists were wrenched behind her. Before she could see who it is, someone had pressed her hands behind her back. Qiao Lian loudly shouted, ¡°Hands off me! Do you know who I am? I am a reporter! You unfilial son, you¡¯d better be careful! Once I write an article about this, your life will be over! Apologize to Auntie Xia right now...¡± Before she could finish speaking, she heard a familiar cold voice say, ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Chapter 91 - They are In-Laws?! (1)

Chapter 91: They are In-Laws?! (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian¡¯s body immediately froze. She turned her head unbelievably and saw Shen Liangchuan¡¯s strongplexion standing in front of her. On his face there was surprise. His eyes gazed at her, deep in thought, but they were also filled with rm. Qiao Lian asked with surprise, ¡°Why are you here?¡± As her sentence ended, she recalled the words Aunt Xia had just told her.... A thought suddenly popped up in her brain. Aunt Xia had said her son had arrived. Aunt Xia said that she wasn¡¯t staying with her son. On that rainy night, she hadn¡¯t been able to return home, but she had seen Aunt Xia being driven out in a car and the next moment, Caretaker Li had called her... Everything seemed to show that her guess was right. Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes widened and her face was filled with unbelievability and amazement. Aunt Xia was actually her mother-inw!! This realization made her feel as if her brain was short of oxygen, as she wasn¡¯t able to ept the fact. Hadn¡¯t Aunt Xia said that her son treated his wife really well and even forgot about her? When had Shen Liangchuan treated her well? If it hadn¡¯t been for these words, Qiao Lian¡¯s reporter¡¯s instinct would have noticed that something was wrong with all these coincidences. While she was still in shock, she once again heard Shen Liangchuan¡¯s rmed voice, ¡°Speak, why are you here?¡± His cold-as-ice question violently dragged Qiao Lian back into reality. She looked up and was met with his freezing cold gaze. Qiao Lian shivered, and in the midst of things she suddenly realized what Shen Liangchuan meant. He had thought... that because she hadn¡¯t managed to get news about him, she changed her target to Aunt Xia. This thought caused her heart to swell with pain suddenly. It felt as if she was being pricked by a needle and she felt a piercing pain. Before she was able to exin herself, Xia Yehua had already shouted, ¡°Unfilial son, let go of Xiao Qiao!¡± Xiao Qiao? Shen Liangchuan¡¯s gaze sunk. As this familiar yet unfamiliar nickname was called out by Xia Yehua, he was left momentarily in a trance. Taking this chance, Qiao Lian finally escaped his grab, which had loosened. She moved her arm, which felt sore due to his tight grab, and looked at Xia Yehua once again. Xia Yehua continued, ¡°Xiao Qiao, didn¡¯t you want to interview Shen Liangchuan? Quick! With me around today, I won¡¯t let him bully you!¡± After she finished her words, she then looked fiercely at Shen Liangchuan. ¡°This is the young friend I told you about. Shen Liangchuan, if you dare to bully Xiao Qiao, don¡¯t me me for being harsh!¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s heart, that had just been hurt by Shen Liangchuan, felt as if there was a sudden warmth that went past it. She was a reporter, thus, every time Shen Liangchuan saw her, he was going to think that she had something up her sleeves. However, Aunt Xia knew very well that she was a reporter and digging for the news of Shen Liangchuan, and still she had chosen to give her her trust. Aunt Xia had even allowed her to enter her house to meet Shen Liangchuan in person. One filled with suspicion and the other filled with trust. At that moment, their attitudes towards her formed a great contrast. If Aunt Xia knew about her identity, would she still trust her so much? Qiao Lian clenched her fist, her heart was a jumbled mess. ¡°Auntie... It¡¯s alright, I¡¯ll take my leave.¡± She picked up her bag and hurriedly ran towards the door. She didn¡¯t want to lose a friend that she had finally made. However, just as she reached the door, it was pushed open by Caretaker Li from the outside. Seeing Qiao Lian, Caretaker Li asked in surprise, ¡°Madam, why are you here?¡± Chapter 92 - They are In-Laws?! (2)

Chapter 92: They are In-Laws?! (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Madam? Xia Yehua, who was lying on the bed, was surprised. However, she spokeughing, ¡°Old Li, I¡¯ve became Old Madam, why are you still addressing me as Madam- Ah!¡± As she eximed in surprise, her gazended on Qiao Lian! Madam... Her irises swelled as she suddenly sat up and stared at Qiao Lian in disbelief. ¡°Xiao Qiao, you- you¡ª¡± Caretaker Li had no idea what was happening. She walked forward with the food and said, ¡°Madam, have you came to visit Old Madam with Sir? I¡¯ve bought a lot of ingredients today. I¡¯ll cook good food for both of you in the afternoon, stay for lunch, ok?¡± After she finished her words, she then realized the weird atmosphere in the room. She looked at Qiao Lian, looked at Xia Yehua and then looked at Shen Liangchuan. She then shut her mouth with understanding and hid in the kitchen. Qiao Lian¡¯s body had froze as she stood rooted to the ground, not daring to move. Behind her was the concentrated gazes of both Shen Liangchuan and Xia Yehua. Their gazes, one hot and one cold, were respectively on Qiao Lian, making her feel as if her body was immersed in both warmth and cold. Was Aunt Xia angry? Aunt Xia had a strong dislike for her daughter-inw, so she didn¡¯t like her now, right? After spending such a long time with her, Qiao Lian had found the mother¡¯s warmth on her and she yearned for it. However, now... She slowly turned her body and lowered her head. She didn¡¯t dare to look at Aunt Xia¡¯s expression as she apologized, ¡°A- Aunt Xia, I- I didn¡¯t know you were- I- I¡¯m sorry¡ª¡± She gave a deep bow and when she was about to turn to leave, she suddenly heard Xia Yehua¡¯s stern voice, ¡°Xiao Qiao,e back!¡± Qiao Lian stopped in her tracks. Her eyes were filled with tears. In her whole life, she had never been afraid of people making life difficult for her or questioning her. Yet, she couldn¡¯t bear to hearing those mean words, if it were toe out from Aunt Xia. She bit her lips and then heard Xia Yehua¡¯s voice, ¡°You¡¯re my daughter-inw?¡± Qiao Lian nodded her head. Just as Xia Yehua wanted to continue, Shen Liangchuan quickly took a step forward and said, ¡°Mom, if you are feeling alright, then we¡¯ll take out leave first.¡± When he finished, he reached out his hand and grabbed Qiao Lian¡¯s arm, dragging her to the exit. Qiao Lian looked at Shen Liangchuan in confusion and surprise. This man... He had been suspicious of her just a while ago and now he wanted to take her away quickly. Did he want to protect her from being picked on by Aunt Xia? Her eyes suddenly blurred. However, Qiao Lian suddenly stopped and reached her hand to hold Shen Liangchuan¡¯s big hands, saying, ¡°Wait a moment.¡± Her palm was warm and soft. It sent a shock to Shen Liangchuan¡¯s body, as he unconsciously looked down at their holding hands. Qiao Lian turned around and walked in front of Xia Yehua. She lifted her head up and exchanged eye contact with her. ¡°Aunt Xia, can I still address you as an ¡®Aunt¡¯? Can I still y games with you in the park?¡± She gathered her courage and asked, as she didn¡¯t want to lose this kinship. She felt perturbed as she waited for her reply, but she then heard Xia Yehua¡¯s cold answer, ¡°No.¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s heart swelled in pain and sadness. She bit her lips and spoke sadly, ¡°Ok, I understand.¡± She turned around and just as she was about to leave, she heard Xia Yehua¡¯s strict voice, ¡°Why are you addressing me as ¡®Auntie¡¯ instead of ¡®Mom¡¯ when I¡¯m your mother-inw?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s body was stunned as she turned her head in disbelief. Xia Yehua then continued fiercely, ¡°And let¡¯s not go to the park anymore! Don¡¯t you know that it¡¯s getting cold? If you want to y,e home instead and y.¡± Chapter 93 - They are In-Laws?! (3)

Chapter 93: They are In-Laws?! (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Although Xia Yehua was still stern, the meaning behind her words really touched Qiao Lian and allowed Shen Liangchuan to heave a sigh of relief. Tears rolled down from Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes as she plopped down by the side of Xia Yehua¡¯s bed. ¡°Aunty Xia...¡± ¡°Aunty Xia? Call me mom instead!¡± Without any reservations, Qiao Lian immediately called, ¡°Mom!¡± As long as her rtionship with Aunty Xia could remain the same, she would even be willing to address her as ¡®Dad¡¯. Xia Yehua coldly humphed and said, ¡°That¡¯s better! But, I do have something to say.¡± Her words caused Qiao Lian to widen her eyes, as her heart felt as if it was hanging by a string again. When Xia Yehua saw Qiao Lian¡¯s expression, she startedughing so badly in her heart. Yet, she kept her emotions in and spoke solemnly. ¡°I just remembered that you said you have a weird mother-inw?¡± Qiao Lian immediately waved her hand in disagreement. ¡°That is because I had failed to recognize a great person! I¡¯ve been blind! Today, after I¡¯ve seen my mother-inw, I have realized that not only she is beautiful, her heart is also kind and she¡¯s a super duper great person!¡± Although Xia Yehua enjoyed receiving the praises, she tried to stop her lips from curving into a smile and said, ¡°Humph! You must y temple run with me for ten times.¡± Qiao Lian wiped her tears away from her reddish eyes as she spoke with a smile, ¡°No problem, we can even y a hundred times.¡± Xia Yehua patted her head and said, ¡°Look at how muddled I am, we can actually y together for the rest of our lives.¡± Qiao Lian was stupefied. The rest of their lives... But she was going to divorce him after she gave birth to his child. How could they y for the rest of their lives? However, she did not want to dampen Xia Yehua¡¯s excitement at the moment, thus she smiled at her while nodding her head in agreement. Even if she divorced Shen Liangchuan, she could still be friends with Aunt Xia. Xia Yehua bossily pointed at the kitchen and ordered, ¡°Go, pour me a cup a tea. I want my daughter-inw to serve me tea.¡± Qiao Lian immediately ran to the kitchen obediently. Watching the view of her back, Xia Yehua wasughing. Shen Liangchuan furrowed his brow and took a step forward. He couldn¡¯t figure out why he felt jealous when he saw the two women hugging each other and forgetting about his presence. Although he was the one who linked them together, they seemed to have forgotten about his presence. He coughed. ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t like her?¡± ¡°Who said so? Let me tell you, there were so many people in the park, but she was the only person who caught my eye. This is the kind of affinity we have!¡± said Xia Yehua. ¡°You once said she was a materialistic woman who married me for money.¡± ¡°Hmpf, if your wife is Xiao Qiao, she must have her reasons. Let me tell you, you are not allowed to ask Xiao Qiao what reason made her to do so. If one person betrays her body for money, it means that the reason behind it must be very important. You are not allowed to bring it up and hurt her!¡± Shen Liangchuan: ... ¡°Aiyo, can you please leave, I get annoyed seeing you! Isn¡¯t thepany still busy now? Hurry up and go go go!¡± Shen Liangchuan thought, ¡°... So, I¡¯m getting shooed out?¡± At that moment, Shen Liangchuan was getting slightly angry. Qiao Lian rushed out of the kitchen, started talking to Xia Yehua and didn¡¯t spare him a nce. As he was feeling unweed, he then left gloomily. A whole day past. After he got off from work, it was one of those rare times when Shen Liangchuan returned home. However, the bedroom upstairs was still dark. He stopped in his tracks and confusedly asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Madam?¡± The servant replied, ¡°Madam is in vi 18.¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s face immediately became gloomy. Chapter 94 - They are In-Laws?! (4)

Chapter 94: They are In-Laws?! (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan went upstairs and entered the study room. He read the script to kill time. but he couldn¡¯t digest it and kept staring at his watch. It was nine o¡¯clock at night. Ten o¡¯clock. Eleven o¡¯clock. But she still hadn¡¯t returned. Shen Liangchuan frowned impatiently and proceeded downstairs. The servants on the first storey were already sleeping and the whole house was empty. He could vaguely hear the sounds of car horns from the distance. He suddenly walked out, started the car and left the vi. When he reached vi 18, as his car pulled over at the door, he heard a bright and clearughter. The bustle here was a stark contrast to the coldness in his house. Shen Liangchuan frowned. He had used to enjoy peace when Xia Yehua wasn¡¯t around. But now, he had suddenly realized that such bustle was what he loved the most. He parked his car and entered the house. In the living room, Caretaker Li was brewing tea and smiled when she saw him. Shen Liangchuan furrowed his brow and looked up at the bedroom. He walked upstairs and saw that the door of the master bedroom was open. Xia Yehua and Qiao Lian sat cross-legged opposite each other. Both of them had finished bathing and were donned in pajamas with the same design. They looked as if they were twin sisters. They both held onto a tablet each and were battling fiercely. ¡°Ai, Mom, that¡¯s wrong! Turn to the left, turn to the right... Aish, Mom, why are you so stupid.¡± ¡°You are the stupid one! When you asked me to turn left, I had already passed the turn. It is all because of the fast speed mode, there¡¯s no way I can pass it. Xiao Qiao, you have to teach me.¡± ¡°No problem! Just follow me.¡± While Shen Liangchuan was watching them, Caretaker Li appeared upstairs with tea in her hands. ¡°Sir, could you make way please.¡± He turned his body sideways to allow Caretaker Li to bring the tea into the room. Both Qiao Lian and Xia Yehua looked up and took a nce at him. Xia Yehua spoke, ¡°Oh, you¡¯re back!¡± Qiao Lian didn¡¯t say anything and just shouted, ¡°Mom! Quick!¡± ¡°Ai, is this right?¡± Shen Liangchuan: ... He was once againpletely ignored and his face turned really ck. He coughed and tried to make himself noticeable. However, both of the women in the room ignored him. Caretaker Li was the only one who reacted. She turned to look at him and asked, ¡°Sir, do you want some tea?¡± Shen Liangchuan frowned and looked into the room. He casually walked in and sat on the sofa. He picked up a cup of tea and asked, ¡°What are both of you ying?¡± ¡°Temple run!¡± Xia Yehua replied. After sticking out his hand and loosening his tie, he suddenly stood up and walked beside the bed. Then, he took the tablet from Xia Yehua¡¯s hands and opened the game. He casually looked at it and started ying. Qiao Lian¡¯s attention was immediately focused on him. She and Xia Yehua both moved each to one of his sides and watched himplete all the levels casually. The time he used toplete the levels was ten minutes less than Qiao Lian! After Shen Liangchuan hadpleted all the levels, he threw the tablet on the bed. After which, he grabbed Qiao Lian¡¯s arm and said, ¡°Mom, you can go to sleep. I have something to say to her.¡± After he finished, he didn¡¯t bother whether they had objections and just dragged Qiao Lian into the room beside the master bedroom. ¡°Bang!¡± The moment the door closed, Qiao Lian came out of the game world. Seeing his temperamental emotions, she suddenly recalled scolding Shen Liangchuan and calling him a bast*rd. So now... was he going to settle scores with her?! Chapter 95 - They are In-Laws?! (5)

Chapter 95: They are In-Laws?! (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian hurriedly took a step backwards to distance herself from Shen Liangchuan. She widened her spiritual eyes and stared at him, alert. ¡°Mr- Mr. Shen, what do you want to tell me?¡± What do I want to tell her? Shen Liangchuan was vaguely stunned. How could he know what he wanted to tell her? If he hadn¡¯te up with a reason, they would still be gaming. But he didn¡¯t show it on his face. All he did was casually sit on the sofa and ask, ¡°Why are you still here?¡± Qiao Lian suddenly understood. He currently hated her, thus he didn¡¯t want to return home. Most likely, he was going to stay here, but today she was also staying over. Qiao Lian exined, ¡°It¡¯s Mom who insisted I stay.¡± ¡°You¡¯re addressing her so dearly!¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s cold tone made Qiao Lian stand up straight immediately. ¡°M- Madam Xia.¡± He still seemed dissatisfied, as he coldly made a sound of disagreement. At this moment, Qiao Lian waspletely unable to guess what he was thinking and could only continue, ¡°Then... I will go back home now? Vi 8 isn¡¯t really far from vi 18 anyway.¡± After she finished speaking, she looked at him cautiously. Shen Liangchuan looked up and spoke with an unfriendly tone, ¡°You want toin about us not getting along?¡± Qiao Lian immediately waved her hands, denying his assumption. ¡°No! I really didn¡¯t!¡± ¡°You better not.¡± He stood up immediately. ¡°Ms. Qiao, please don¡¯t forget your duties.¡± Don¡¯t try to get close to Xia Yehua all the time! All he knew was that he didn¡¯t want to allow the two women to constantly stick together. After Qiao Lian heard his words, she lowered her head. She really liked Xia Yehua, but after hearing Shen Liangchuan¡¯s words... He seemed like he didn¡¯t want her to be too close to Xia Yehua. Was it because he was worried that Xia Yehua would be hurt when they divorced? She lowered her head sadly, as her spirits had thoroughly lowered. Shen Liangchuan stared at her, suddenly feeling unhappy. When she yed together with Xia Yehua, she had been so excited and in great spirits. Yet now, when she was with him, she was so sad? Looking at her unhappy face, he thought that she looked like the cat he had had when he was young. She looked obedient and cute, and he couldn¡¯t bear hurt her. He furrowed his brow and said, ¡°She is getting old and cannot stay upte. She must sleep before eleven at night.¡± Qiao Lian immediately lifted her head up and her eyes suddenly shone. Did he mean that as long as she guaranteed that Xia Yehua went to bed by eleven, she would be able to y with her? A smile immediately appeared on her face. ¡°Ok, Mr. Shen!¡± Seeing her expression, Shen Liangchuan didn¡¯t speak and went into the washroom to bathe. When he was back, he realized that... Qiao Lian had heartlessly fallen asleep on the bed. Shen Liangchuan: ...!! The night was peaceful and quiet as he stared at her sleeping face. Her beautiful face was glowing. Her young voice suddenly sounded in his brain. ¡°It would¡¯ve been so good if we could sleep on the same bed.¡± Now, they were lying on the same bed. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s lips curved into a smile. The next day, when Qiao Lian had woken up, Shen Liangchuan had already left. When she went down, she saw Xia Yehua waving at her from the dining room. ¡°Xiao Qiao,e and have breakfast!¡± Qiao Lian walked over and sat down. They started to chat while eating. Xia Yehua said, ¡°Xiao Qiao, Liangchuan has only had one rtionship, where he got ditched. Thus, his character is cold and aloof, you¡¯ll have to pardon him.¡± Her words made Qiao Lian lift her head up in surprise. ¡°Mr. Shen is so outstanding, why would his girlfriend ditch him?¡± Chapter 96 - Their First Love (1)

Chapter 96: Their First Love (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan was so good looking and arrogant. From Qiao Lian¡¯s opinion, he should be the one who jilted girls. Hearing Qiao Lian¡¯s words, Xia Yehua immediately burst outughing. ¡°Xiao Qiao, why are you so cute!? You are not allowed to ditch him in the future, ok!?¡± Qiao Lian lowered her head and became silent. Why would she ditch him...? It was Shen Liangchuan who wouldn¡¯t want her after she had given birth. Qiao Lian took a deep breath and once again looked up. ¡°Mom, what kind of person was Mr. Shen¡¯s first love?¡± ¡°I never met her either.¡± Xia Yehua sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t even know when he started dating her. I only know that for a period of time, he was extremely depressed and I thought he might have been jilted. However, when I asked him, he refused to say anything.¡± He refused to share. It was probably because he really loved her. Qiao Lian ate really slowly, as she distractedly used her spoon to scoop the porridge and ce it into her mouth, but she didn¡¯t swallow it for quite a while. Shen Liangchuan was the type who looked aloof, but once he chose a person, he would be faithful for his whole life. No wonder, all of the gossips about him in the entertainment industry were just the reporters¡¯ conjecture. From what she could gather, she believed that Shen Liangchuan had never dated anyone. He had been single for so many years... Was it because he hadn¡¯t gotten over his first love? Qiao Lian was hit with a sudden wave of realization. His heart was too small. It was filled by his first love and thus, he had no other capacity to fit her inside. Thus, there was the contract which stated that they would divorce after she gave birth. It was not true. What was she imagining? From the moment she had married Shen Liangchuan, she had clearly made sure to remember her identity. Furthermore, her feelings for Shen Liangchuan were adoration as a fan, and not love! That was all. After allowing her imagination to run wild, she tightly frowned as she stirred her porridge with no appetite. Xia Yehua realized her abnormal actions and hurriedly spoke, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about his first love anymore. Xiao Qiao, now that you¡¯re together, both of you must live happily and quickly give birth to a grandchild for me.¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s face immediately turned red, ¡°Yes, Mom, I can guarantee that I¡¯llplete the mission!¡± She stood up and said, ¡°I¡¯m done eating. I¡¯ll be leaving for work.¡± Just when she was about to leave, Xia Yehua grabbed her again. ¡°Xiao Qiao, I was too agitated yesterday and I almost forgot about it. How are you going to settle the problem of you finding a scoop?¡± Qiao Lian smiledfortingly. ¡°It¡¯s alright, I will cross the bridge when Ie there. Don¡¯t worry, Mom!¡± After she carried her bag and left the house, Caretaker Li walked out of the kitchen and stood before Xia Yehua. ¡°Old Madam, why did you suddenly talk to Madam about Sir¡¯s first love? You see, Madam is sad now.¡± Xia Yehua shared her thoughts, ¡°Shen Liangchuan has been unable to walk out of his sorrow and I realized that the only person who can help him out is Xiao Qiao. Furthermore, even if I didn¡¯t tell her about it, there will eventually be someone who shares it with her. Why not let her be mentally prepared instead?¡± Caretaker Li suddenly understood Xia Yehua¡¯s intentions. Xia Yehua smiled once again. ¡°I really like Xiao Qiao from the bottom of my heart. Shen Liangchuan is so protective of her, so he must have some feelings for her. So, Old Li, you can start waiting for grandchildren together with me.¡± As her voice trailed off, Caretaker Li opened her mouth, wanting to speak. However, when she saw how happy Xia Yehua was, she swallowed the words she was about to say. Xia Yehua had started talking to herself, ¡°Is Yuanxi¡¯s flight tonight?¡± Chapter 97 - Their First Love (2)

Chapter 97: Their First Love (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan had been jilted by his first love. If this piece of news were to be reported, it would definitely hit the headlines. As Qiao Lian entertained herself with these thoughts, she was filled with inexpressible dejection, as she sat on her seat in the office and stared at theputer screen. When Xiao Ye heard her sigh again, she patted her shoulder and said, ¡°Sister Qiao, don¡¯t be sad. I have already exined the situation about that day to the chief editor and the managing editor. Best Actor Shen is so scary, who would be daring enough to dig for his news? The managing editor will empathize with you.¡± Will he? Just as Qiao Lian was deep in thought, the office phone rang. When she picked up, it was the managing editor, Liu Zhixing¡¯s. ¡°Qiao Lian, pleasee to my office.¡± Was he going to confront her? Qiao Lian stood up with a bitter expression on her face. She walked to the office of the managing editor and knocked on the door. Just as the door opened, Liu Zhixing was standing near it, filled with smiles. His huge mole moved together with hisughter, making him look ludicrous. He enthusiastically spoke, ¡°Qiao Lian, you¡¯re here. Pleasee in!¡± After he finished speaking, he reached out his hand and grabbed Qiao Lian¡¯s wrist, pulling her into the room. Qiao Lian raised her eyebrows, but she was not bothered by it. ¡°Take a seat!¡± Liu Zhixing pointed at the sofa and then walked beside her. ¡°Do you want tea or water?¡± Qiao Lian hurriedly waved her hands in rejection. ¡°Managing Editor, it¡¯s alright.¡± It would be crazy if she daredmand the managing editor. Liu Zhixing did not insist, so he walked over and sat right beside Qiao Lian. ¡°I¡¯ve heard from Xiao Ye about your situation. Indeed, Best Actor Shen is famous for being private and it¡¯s really hard to find about his gossip. He even used the car to scare you, you must have been so shocked.¡± Qiao Lianughed and replied, ¡°It¡¯s alright, I¡¯m iron-hearted, I¡¯m not scared.¡± ¡°Xiao Lian, you are so humorous.¡± Errr... Xiao Lian?? Qiao Lian got goosebumps on her back when she heard his nickname for her. She awkwardlyughed and tested him, ¡°Mr. Liu, then, about finding the identity of Mrs. Shen-¡± ¡°There¡¯s no rush. Xiao Lian, look, this is a chocte that my friend has brought me from overseas. You can have it, ¡± Liu Zhixing took out a box of choctes from his drawer and handed it to Qiao Lian. Qiao Lian immediately winced and pushed the chocte back to him. ¡°It¡¯s ok, Managing Editor.¡± She felt like the managing editor was acting weird today, but she couldn¡¯t pinpoint what exactly was wrong. He was acting unountably solicitous with evil intentions behind. She perked herself up and stared at him. With a smile, Liu Zhixing ced the chocte on the coffee table and stuck his hand out to hold Qiao Lian¡¯s hand. ¡°Xiao Lian, you are the core of our news agency. You must continue doing well, ok?¡± After he finished his words, he moved even closer to Qiao Lian. A stinking breath was sent into her face, which disgusted Qiao Lian. She hurriedly moved backwards, wanting to pull her hand out of his grasp. However, before she was able to move, Liu Zhixing was already holding her shoulder. ¡°Xiao Lian, actually, I asked you toe over because I have something to tell you.¡± He slowly moved nearer to her. ¡°I know your chief editor is against you. As long as I back you up, you will be safe in the news agency. Do you agree?¡± He exhaled his breath on her face, causing Qiao Lian to squint her eyes. Thereafter, he once again moved closer and just as he was about to kiss her face, Qiao Lian violently pushed him away and stood up. She casually spoke, ¡°Managing Editor, I have a boyfriend.¡± Liu Zhixing¡¯s face immediately became gloomy. ¡°Boyfriend? Can your boyfriend help you find out who Mrs. Shen is?¡± Chapter 98 - Their First Love (3)

Chapter 98: Their First Love (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Boyfriend?¡± Liu Zhixing sneered, ¡°Your boyfriend can find out who Mrs. Shen is for you?¡± Of course he can! Her boyfriend was Best Actor Shen himself! Qiao Lian cursed him in her heart, but she still looked solemn as she said, ¡°I¡¯m deeply in love with my boyfriend. Managing Editor, if there isn¡¯t anything else, I¡¯ll take my leave.¡± After she finished speaking, she walked towards the door. After she took two steps, she heard Liu Zhixing¡¯s furious voice, ¡°Qiao Lian, you will continue investigating Mrs. Shen identity! Go and do so now! And you must constantly send me your location through WeChat, so I can make sure you aren¡¯t goofing off!¡± Qiao Lian stopped in her tracks and scolded him in her heart. Dang it! Sure, she would do it! When he watched her leave the room, Liu Zhixing narrowed his eyes. From the day he had seen her, he had been mesmerized. Thus, for the past few days, his brain had been filled with Qiao Lian. Yet, she wasn¡¯t tactful, so he would force her to be. Best Actor Shen had plenty of means to deal with her. He would patiently wait for the time she got scared and voluntarily run into his arms. By then, he would definitelyy on top of this wild cat! ¡ª¡ª When Qiao Lian walked out of Liu Zhixing¡¯z office, she still found it unbelievable. Were these hidden rules? She twitched her mouth and frowned tightly. Just as she was intending to walk out, she was blocked by someone. As she raised her head, she saw Su Meimei standing in front of her and staring at her, alerted. ¡°What did you tell Liu Zhixing?¡± Qiao Lian ignored this retard and coldly snorted, ¡°I don¡¯t have the responsibility to report to you what I talked about with the managing editor, right?¡± Su Meimei immediately pointed at her and scolded her, ¡°Qiao Lian, let me warn you. Don¡¯t try to hook up with the managing editor up simply because you¡¯re pretty. Liu Zhixing is my boyfriend! You better keep a distance from him!¡± Qiao Lian coldly replied, ¡°I think it would be more appropriate if you told him these words.¡± She directly pushed Su Meimei away and tookrge strides out. Shen Liangchuan should be in hispany at this time, thus she hailed a cab. After she had gotten off the cab and entered the office building, she intended to seat in a random cafe. Anyway, she just had to send her location to the managing editor and let him know that she was in the area. But before she could manage to find the cafe, she suddenly saw a ck nanny van at the door. After which, a man wearing sunsses and a mask together with a baseball cap took long strides in. His clothing... was exactly like a star¡¯s. She wasn¡¯t able to see his face, but when she saw the manager behind him, Qiao Lian suddenly realized that the man was... Wang Wenhao! He was the man whose love and conspiracy with Li Mengqi she had exposed, during the banquet some time ago. And he had been terribly scolded byizens. Her irises contracted as she quickly turned around to avoid him. Then, she saw Wang Wenhao enter the elevator and go up to the 28th level. Level 28... Wasn¡¯t that Shen Liangchuan¡¯spany? Why had Wang Wenhaoe to look for Shen Liangchuan? Could it be... Qiao Lian became silent as she frowned, clenched her teeth and went upstairs. She first went to level 27 and then slowly took the stairs to level 28. However, before she could walk out of the staircase, she saw Wang Wenhao and Shen Liangchuan standing in front of the elevator. It looked like Shen Liangchuan was intending to take the elevator down, but he had coincidentally bumped into Wang Wenhao. She bit her lip and heard Wang Wenhao ask, ¡°Teacher Shen, I came especially today to ask you a question. Remember that woman you kissed that day? Was she the female reporter who secretly caught us?¡± Chapter 99 - Their First Love (4)

Chapter 99: Their First Love (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Time had passed extremely slowly for Wang Wenhaotely. Online, he was getting scolded everywhere. This matter involves his fundamentals¡ªhis roots, his character. It would never be eased. Furthermore, his wife, Yao Manwen, had gone to court to sue him, saying that he had plotted to murder her by poisoning her. He was in a terrible fix. All the shows with him as the lead had been banned from being released. All the brands he used to ambassador had disappeared. He had been shrouded by gloom daily. And the person who had destroyed all he used to have was that reporter! He wasn¡¯t stupid, or else he wouldn¡¯t have sessfully deceived Yao Manwen for five years. Therefore, in no time, he understood the situation and found his way here. He was a popr celebrity and at the peak of his fame. However, Shen Liangchuan was a Best Actor, it wasn¡¯t something he could reach. Yet, since his career had been thoroughly destroyed, he had nothing left and he wasn¡¯t scared of anyone now. Wang Wenhao stared at Shen Liangchuan, as if he wanted to tell the answer from his expression. Qiao Lian hid behind the door of the staircase, she stared inside nervously through the window. Although she had nned it well, she had missed out something. That Wang Wenhao would actuallye knocking on Shen Liangchuan¡¯s door. And now... what should Shen Liangchuan do? She nervously stared at the people before her and heard Shen Liangchuan speak, ¡°What if it is? And so what if it¡¯s not?¡± Wang Wenhao¡¯s face immediately showed a ferocious expression. ¡°Shen Liangchuan! We have never crossed paths, why did you have to do this to me?¡± Shen Liangchuan stood there expressionlessly. His nce at Wang Wenhao looked as if he was looking down to a mere ant. Qiao Lian was so anxious that she didn¡¯t even dare to breath. Swallowing her saliva, she wondered how Shen Liangchuan would answer his question. However, his low and sexy voice went through ss and into her ears, ¡°It was because I needed someone to take me off the spotlight. Wang Wenhao, the only thing you can me on me is that only scandals like yours could help me.¡± After he finished speaking, he looked at him challengingly. ¡°Furthermore, I¡¯m friends with Yao Manwen.¡± He bypassed Wang Wenhao and walked directly into the elevator. Wang Wenhao was mad. He shouted at Shen Liangchuan with reddened eyes, ¡°Shen Liangchuan! I¡¯m not done with you!¡± After shouting that, he turned his head and his fist flew towards Shen Liangchuan. Qiao Lian¡¯s heart jumped, but she saw that Shen Liangchuan avoided Wang Wenhao¡¯s attack smoothly, as if he had eyes behind his back. Shen Liangchuan grabbed his wrist and pushed him forcefully, causing Wang Wenhao to stumble a few steps backwards. Shen Liangchuan nced at him coldly, patted his hands and entered the elevator. When the doors of the elevator closed, Wang Wenhao hit the floor in anger. ¡ª¡ª When Qiao Lian made her way out of Shen Liangchuan¡¯spany, she was still in a trace. She was standing in a corner of the first floor as she suddenly lowered her head and covered her smiling face. In the depth of her heart, she felt strong palpitations and she was very touched. Shen Liangchuan had nothing to do with it. Thus, when Wang Wenhao had asked him, he should have rified that it didn¡¯t have anything to do with him. But he had admitted to it. And his admission had been so arrogant. It wasn¡¯t his usual style. Then... he he had done all of these for her. So that he could attract Wang Wenhao¡¯s anger to him and prevent Wang Wenhao from seeking trouble with her. Qiao Lian¡¯s heart bubbled with warmth. His attitude towards her was vile on the surface, but underneath he was always protecting her. She suddenly felt that such an attitude from Shen Liangchuan was oddly familiar. Eight years ago, there had also been someone who insulted her and bossed her around. However, with outsiders he was always very protective of her, making her fall for him. Chapter 100 - Their First Love (5)

Chapter 100: Their First Love (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian was a stubborn person. She thought that she would go through an unforgettable first love and get married to him. However, little did she expect that in the end, it was just her imagination. Shen Liangchuan wasn¡¯t nice to her, but at least she was able to feel him and see him. But that person, she totally didn¡¯t know who he really was, his real name or where he lived. She wanted to find him, but the capital, Beijing, had millions of people. How would she be able to find him in that vast sea of people? As she thought so, Qiao Lian lowered her head. Desperation and sadness suddenly overwhelmed her heart. He was just a swindler. Although that unreal rtionship had already passed eight years ago, every time she was reminded of it, she felt sad and embarrassed. Qiao Lian took a deep breath, disallowing herself to get immersed in her memories, as she stood up straight. Then, she saw Shen Liangchuan¡¯s nanny van driving out of the car park. She hurriedly halted a cab and got in it. ¡°Driver, please follow the car in front.¡± As the car drove, she sat at the backseat feeling unhappy. She took her phone and searched for ¡®lot¡¯ in the application store. Immediately, it showed many application suggestions. However, after she hesitated for a long time, she didn¡¯t do anything and locked her phone. ¡®Lot¡¯ was a ssic game that had been around for more than ten years. It used to be her favorite, but it had witnessed the biggest joke of her life. Qiao Lian smiled queerly and threw her phone into her bag. Her right hand slightly trembled, showing the agitation in her heart. In the cab, she took a few deep breaths, burying the memories back into the depths of her heart. She looked at the nanny van in front of the cab. The car finally stopped at a hotel It was one that many artists liked patronizing, as it provided better privacy. When Qiao Lian got off the car, she could feel that there was arge number of reporters in the surroundings. She didn¡¯t bother, as there were usually many people who liked to watch the area. She found a discrete corner and sent her location to the managing editor. The fact that Shen Liangchuan wasing here to dine meant that he was probably meeting with someone to discuss certain matters. As she was deeply absorbed in her thoughts, she leaned on the wall and silently looked into the distance. Only when she suddenly felt a pinch of hunger, she realized that she hadn¡¯t eaten lunch. She lowered her head and patted her stomach. In her thoughts, an image suddenly shed through. It was from eight years ago, the time when she was the most addicted to ¡®lot¡¯. She always neglected her meals when gaming. She made sure that her profile picture was dark and not offline. Thus, in ¡®lot¡¯, a youngdy dressed in a yellow dress with a high ponytail was killing many monsters skillfully. At that moment, a shadow suddenly appeared behind her. The dark figure that appeared out of nowhere gave her a huge shock. After this, a few words appeared on her screen, ¡°Why are you so stupid! You took so long to kill just a few low-leveled monsters?¡± She twitched her lips and said. ¡°I¡¯m not as well-equipped as you are!¡± He didn¡¯t answer and joined the fight. The fight that was supposed tost twenty minutes ended in five after he joined in. He then fiercelymented, ¡°That was totally a waste of time, might as well spend the time having lunch!¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s lips curved up. That was him. He was mean on the surface, but his words were full of care. He was actually concerned about her not eating on time, but he had to show his malicious facade. Qiao Lian was lost in thought when the police siren rang. She turned her head and suddenly saw a few police cars stopping outside the hotel door. Her heart leapt. What happened? Chapter 101 - Why Are You so Good to Me?

Chapter 101: Why Are You so Good to Me?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian widened her eyes and stared forward. Then, she saw the surrounding passersby, who were actually reporters in disguise, rush forward into the hotel along with the police. Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes narrowed. Under the guise of collecting news, she rushed in as well. She did not know exactly what had happened. She only knew that she must enter, find Shen Liangchuan and ensure that nothing had happened to him. The security guards inside the hotel had already lost control of the situation. The leader of the police squad showed his identification card to the lobby manager, who was hurrying over to him. ¡°We are from the Chaoyang District anti-narcotics bureau and we suspect that there are people taking drugs in these premises.¡± Then, at a wave of the squad leader¡¯s hand, the other policemen rushed to the various hotel rooms in an orderly fashion. Qiao Lian¡¯s heart dropped when she heard those words. Taking drugs! If there were celebrities taking drugs here, then every single celebrity present in this hotel today would be carted off by the police to undergo drug tests. She swallowed a mouthful of saliva and clenched her fists tightly. She was extremely certain that Shen Liangchuan did not do drugs. However, even if this was true, his reputation would certainly be tarnished once he got carted off by the police. Once she thought of this, she tailed the policemen and dashed among the differentpartments as well. A group of people were being brought out by the police, their heads clearly in the clouds. Expressions of enjoyment and rxation were on all of their faces, but these expressions just made their appearance look both wretched and disgusting. This room was not Shen Liangchuan¡¯s. She walked to the next room. As she was walking, she suddenly heard a familiar voice saying, ¡°I wasn¡¯t taking drugs! We were only socializing.¡± This was... Wang Wenhao¡¯s voice! Qiao Lian turned her head and saw that Wang Wenhao was being escorted by the police outside. The policemen were clearly ignoring his exnations and continued taking him outside. Right when they reached the entranceway, Wang Wenhao suddenly shouted, ¡°Shen Liangchuan is also here! He¡¯s also taking drugs.¡± His words caused the squad¡¯s leader to frown and immediately say to two policemen, ¡°Both of you, go back and search again!¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Qiao Lian was panicking. It wasn¡¯t wrong of the police to be doing what they were currently doing, but it was wrong for them to be paying undue attention to these public figures. If a celebrity was arrested, even if it waster confirmed that they did not take drugs, such a scandal would get posted on Weibo. By then, who would believe in their innocence?! As such, Shen Liangchuan must not be caught no matter what. As Qiao Lian began to walk faster, she took out her cell phone and called Shen Liangchuan. However, nobody was picking up her call. Thus, Qiao Lian had no other option but to call Song Cheng again. Her call was quickly picked up. As she was currently running rapidly, she said in a heaving voice, ¡°Which room are all of you in?¡± ¡°Room 888. Why are you asking?¡± His rxed tone almost caused Qiao Lian to spew out a mouthful of blood. How could have they not have heard the hugemotion downstairs? Their room was indeed soundproof, and at this moment, that wasn¡¯t a good thing at all! She desperately said, ¡°The police are downstairs apprehending suspected drug smugglers. Wang Wenhao just confirmed to them that Shen Liangchuan is in the hotel. You must find a way to escape, quickly!¡± As she finished her promation, Song Cheng¡¯s tone became serious. ¡°Fine¡±, he said. Qiao Lian stood on the spot and took a couple of deep breaths. She then saw that the police had already found Shen Liangchuan¡¯s room number and were about to go upstairs. Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes narrowed. Noticing that the elevator was still not descending, she clenched her teeth and ran to the nearby stairway. She hurriedly climbed up the stairs, stopping to observe the elevator on every floor. As she arrived at the eighth floor, the elevator also opened with a ding. Two policemen walked out of the elevator. However, at this exact moment, Song Cheng had opened the door to room 888 and was walking out of the room. They were in deep trouble! Chapter 102 - Why Are You so Good to Me? (2)

Chapter 102: Why Are You so Good to Me? (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At that moment, a single thought shed across her mind. Song Cheng and his group of people were simply too slow, which had resulted in them bumping into the policemen. No, they absolutely could not be seen by these two policemen. As this thought shed across her mind, Qiao Lian threw herself at the two policemen without thinking. She grabbed the policemen and forced them back into the elevator shouting, ¡°You can¡¯t go out!¡± When she finished speaking, the two policemen stood in stunned silence and looked at her dumbfoundedly. Qiao Lian: ... Qiao Lian¡¯s mind was moving a mile a minute, trying to think of a reason or an excuse. She was close to breaking out in tears. Both policemen were already holding her wrist in caution. As one of them looked outwards, the other asked, ¡°Why are you not allowing us to exit?¡± His hand was hovering around his waist. That was a... gun! Qiao Lian was so scared that her legs started trembling. She stammered out, ¡°Si- Sir, that- you can¡¯t go out- I- I need to go downstairs.¡± ¡°Why are you blocking our way from getting out just because you need to go downstairs?¡± ¡°Ah yes, yes, why am I not letting you out?¡± Qiao Lian stammered. After a while, she wrenched her mouth open and said, ¡°Ah, yes, I¡¯ve remembered!¡± She widened her eyes and swallowed a mouthful of saliva in shock. ¡°Sir, are you not aware of this? There are... ghosts in this elevator!¡± Policemen: ...! Qiao Lian blocked the stairway by gesturing wildly, thereby preventing the both of them from exiting. ¡°I want to go downstairs but don¡¯t dare to do so, because I¡¯m afraid of ghosts. My mom said that if I run into any issue, I should approach the police. Thus, can the both of you escort me downstairs?¡± She blinked, her heart beating wildly. She could not think of any other excuse in such a critical moment. However, this excuse would only have worked if she had been a little girl of around seven or eight years old. Qiao Lian was twenty years old, so her expression... just made her seem as though she was intellectually disabled. Ah... Intellectually disabled! Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes brightened and she immediately smiled sweetly again. ¡°Sir, I¡¯m afraid! Ooh, I need to find my mother! Can youe with me to search for my mom?¡± She was willing to do anything for Shen Liangchuan. Thus, she was going to pretend that she was crazy for a while today. The two policemen looked at each other. One of them said, ¡°This... Is she intellectually disabled or did she be stupid due to the drugs?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s heart thumped once. She was in trouble. People usually spout nonsense after taking drugs. Could these people actually think that she had taken drugs? Could it be that she would need to go to the police station as well today? As she thought about this, she heard another person say, ¡°Thisdy¡¯s eyes are clear. She does not look like she has taken drugs.¡± Qiao Lian immediately blinked, trying hard to make her gaze even clearer. Song Cheng walked over in the middle of the confrontation and said, ¡°Xiao Lian, what are you doing here?¡± Qiao Lian turned her head and saw Song Cheng. However, because Shen Liangchuan was not there as well, she could tell that Song Cheng had approached them to try to diffuse the situation. She immediately became overjoyed and shouted loudly, ¡°Dad!¡± Song Cheng immediately thought, ¡°You idiot! I can be the father of an eight-year-old daughter, but not the father of a twenty-year-old daughter!¡± When she nced at Song Cheng¡¯s expression, Qiao Lian reacted as well. Darn it, she had been too immersed in her acting and had unexpectedly yelled the wrong thing. The two policemen looked at Song Cheng with expressions of dumbfoundedness. Song Cheng was not in the public eye that often. As such, they did not recognize him. One of the policemen had already noticed something fishy and pushed Qiao Lian away with a shove before running directly to room 888. The other policeman gripped Qiao Lian¡¯s hand tightly to stop her from leaving. Chapter 103 - Why Are You so Good to Me? (3)

Chapter 103: Why Are You so Good to Me? (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When she saw that one of the policemen had rushed to room 888, Qiao Lian began to worry. However, she breathed a sigh of relief after noticing that Song Cheng was as calm as a cucumber. Indeed, when the policeman walked over, he realized that room 888 waspletely empty. However, because of this, the suspicion surrounding the two of them grew bigger. Both policemen stared at them. Song Cheng coughed once and angrily berated Qiao Lian saying, ¡°Why are you calling me ¡®dad¡¯ again? You should be calling me ¡®brother¡¯!¡± Qiao Lian said with a face full of grievance, ¡°Brother, I miss our father.¡± The words she spoke seemed to have reopened a wound in her heart. She instantly started crying buckets of tears without even pretending. She missed her dad¡ªshe really missed her dad. Her tears showed no signs of stopping and the sobbing was even causing her to choke up at the end. Song Cheng hurriedly patted her shoulders and sighed, saying, ¡°Our father passed away when she was eight years old. That year, she had also banged her head identally. Hence, her mental age has remained at an eight-year-old level ever since.¡± As he spoke, he tapped Qiao Lian¡¯s shoulders and said, ¡°Xiao Lian,e, stop crying and tell Uncle Policeman how old you are?¡± As Song Cheng looked at her anxiously, Qiao Lian immediately stretched out her finger and said, ¡°I¡¯m eight.¡± Song Cheng: ... Policemen: ... Having noticed nothing out of the ordinary, both policemen went downstairs to report their findings. As Qiao Lian and Song Cheng watched them leave, they both breathed a sigh of relief. Then, Qiao Lian turned her head and grabbed Song Cheng¡¯s arm, saying, ¡°Mr. Song... Brother Song?¡± The smile on her face would have terrified anybody who saw it. Song Cheng anxiously said, ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°Can you not tell Best Actor Shen... about everything that has happened today?¡± Qiao Lian smiled obsequiously. She thought about how shameful it would have been if Shen Liangchuan had seen what had happened just now. As Song Cheng listened to her, he thought about her performance just now. He hid a smile and said, ¡°Well, about that-¡± ¡°Brother Song... Uncle Song? If you dare to tell Best Actor Shen about this, I- I will...¡± ¡°You will what?¡± Song Cheng asked curiously. Qiao Lian¡¯s huge eyes looked back and forth. She suddenly smiled cunningly and said, ¡°I¡¯ll write an article that will expose your homosexuality. It¡¯ll be about how you are actually in love with Best Actor Shen!¡± Song Cheng: ...! Song Cheng gave her a thumbs up and said, ¡°You got me!¡± Qiao Lian was extremely pleased and said, ¡°Well, then, you¡¯ve already promised me...¡± Song Cheng nodded and said, ¡°I won¡¯t say anything.¡± Qiao Lian momentarily breathed a sigh of relief. However, just as she did that, she heard Song Cheng say, ¡°Well, I don¡¯t need to say anything anyway.¡± Qiao Lian froze and said, ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Best Actor Shen has already seen everything for himself.¡± As Song Cheng said these words, he looked behind her. Qiao Lian¡¯s entire body froze momentarily before she swung her head around, only to see that Shen Liangchuan and a few of his assistants were standing at the entrance to room 833. They were currently all looking in her direction. His two assistants¡¯ heads were lowered, their shoulders trembling violently. It was clear that they had saw the events that had just transpired! Furthermore, even though Shen Liangchuan, like usual, was standing there indifferently, his lips were slightly curled upwards. Qiao Lian: ...! She immediately understood the situation. No wonder she felt that Song Cheng¡¯s actions were sluggish. In reality, Shen Liangchuan had already switched to a different room and Song Cheng was just staying behind in his old room to pack up his things. As she was unaware of this development, she had self-righteously ran over to help him block the police. However, what she ultimately did was totally unnecessary! And now... as she looked at Shen Liangchuan, Qiao Lian hastily lowered her head. Boo hoo hoo, she could no longer face anyone out of shame! Then, she saw Shen Liangchuan stride towards her. As he passed by her, he stopped and casually said, ¡°Your performance just now... Not bad.¡± Chapter 104 - Why Are You so Good to Me? (4)

Chapter 104: Why Are You so Good to Me? (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Her performance? Qiao Lian froze for a while and then jerked her head up, staring unbelievingly at Shen Liangchuan. Best Actor Shen had always treated her coldly. However, he was actually capable of teasing her after all? She immediately smiled simple-mindedly and said to him, ¡°Thanks for thepliment.¡± After saying this, she desperately wished that she could p herself. Darn it! He was clearly teasing her about her decision to act as though she was intellectually disabled. Why was she thanking him? Indeed, while she had been blessed with beauty, she clearly hadn¡¯t been blessed with much intelligence. She sneakily lifted her head and saw that the people surrounding her were all smiling at her. She desperately wished she could dig a hole and crawl inside it. However, a certain Ms. Qiao had always been able to recover smoothly. As such, she quickly made them change the topic by saying, ¡°Then, how are all of you going to leave the building? The police must have already surrounded the parking lot, the first floor and all the other exits.¡± Once Qiao Lian said this, Song Cheng eyed Shen Liangchuan and ask him calmly, ¡°What bright ideas do you have?¡± Bright ideas? Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes shone and she said, ¡°I¡¯ve got it! Give me a moment.¡± She turned to head downstairs. Five minutester, she hurriedly ran upstairs, her face a bright shade of red. Her forehead was dripping with sweat. She immediately pushed Song Cheng and the assistants out of the room, leaving only Shen Liangchuan and her inside. Qiao Lian took out some clothes from her bag and threw them on the table. ¡°Mr. Shen, change into these, quickly!¡± Shen Liangchuan frowned and picked up the clothes on the table. He saw a in-looking men¡¯s smock and a set of loose, expansive clothing. Were they for pregnant women? Even ignoring the fact that the set of clothes was for pregnantdies, that red stain at the bottom... Why did it look like blood? He touched it and it felt damp. He smelled it... and it smelled exactly like blood! The palm of his hand was stained with some of it. Even though he tried to rub it away, the stain stubbornly stuck to his palm. In the midst of his confusion, he heard Qiao Lian saying, ¡°That¡¯s chicken blood. There was only chicken blood left in the kitchen.¡± The edges of Shen Liangchuan¡¯s mouth twitched. He threw the garments on the ground and watched Qiao Lian pick up the clothing for pregnant women. She quickly wore it. Then, she stuffed arge bolster into them and supported her own waist. She had turned into a realistic version of a pregnant woman. Then, she mussed up her hair. Even without using water, her hair immediately stuck together due to the sweat generated from running up and down the stairs. Shen Liangchuan: ... ¡°Hurry up and change your clothes! Why are you staring into space nkly?¡± Qiao Lian yelled at Shen Liangchuan and anxiously turned her head. She began searching throughout the entire room again, before finally finding her own makeup kit. As a reporter, she had trained herself to be able to do her own makeup anytime and anywhere. She picked up her makeup kit, looked back and saw that Shen Liangchuan had changed into the smock. She walked over and stood on her tiptoes, wanting to help him put some makeup on his face. However, standing on tiptoes, coupled with herrge belly, meant that she immediately bumped into Shen Liangchuan¡¯s belly. Qiao Lian bounced back and staggered backwards. Shen Liangchuan: ... He had no choice but to sit down. Qiao Lian rapidly put on so much makeup on his face that she could no longer recognize Shen Liangchuan¡¯s original appearance. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief. ¡°All right, let¡¯s go!¡± The policemen on the first floor were currently investigating, when suddenly the elevator dinged open and a man walked out of it with much difficulty. He was supporting a pregnant woman. The pregnant woman said while she walked, ¡°Ah, ah, I feel like dying. It¡¯s so painful...¡± That voice... sounded extremely distressed. The leader of the police squad said, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Song Cheng anxiously said, ¡°Our wife is about to give birth! Quickly, let us go to the hospital!¡± The squad leader waved his hands and said, ¡°Hurry up, scram!¡± Shen Liangchuan lifted Qiao Lian up in one swift motion. As they were about to dash out of the premises, the two policemen they had met upstairs walked over and said, ¡°Why does this pregnantdy¡¯s voice sound so familiar?¡± Chapter 105 - Why Are You so Good to Me? (5)

Chapter 105: Why Are You so Good to Me? (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios His words caused Song Cheng and Qiao Lian to freeze instantaneously. The squad leader looked at them suspiciously. Just as the two policemen were about to walk towards them, Qiao Lian hugged Shen Liangchuan and yelled shrilly, ¡°Chuan! I can¡¯t hold it in anymore! I¡¯m about to give birth! Ah, ah, ah!¡± Her shrill yells caused everybody to look over in her direction. Shen Liangchuan took the opportunity to walk forward and said, ¡°Quick, bring the car here!¡± The squad leader and the two policemen did not dare to stop them anymore. They could only stare wide-eyed as the group of people rushed outside and got into the nanny van that the assistants had just driven over. Not long after, they were gone. Due to the urgency of getting into the car, Shen Liangchuan had sat down while still hugging her. Even though the driver had sped away from the scene rapidly, Qiao Lian stayed in his arms from start to finish. She widened her eyes, about to tell him that he could let go of her already. However, when she raised her head, she saw Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression. He had a dazed look. She immediately swallowed her words and did not dare to speak. Shen Liangchuan was indeed dazed. The way that Qiao Lian had addressed him just now in the midst of all that chaos had made him suddenly remember the events that had happened many years ago... Even though this happened eight years ago, the girl¡¯s voice still sounded rather simr to her voice today ¡ª It was still clear and pleasant to the ear. They had met each other due to a video game ¡ª in fact, they were in the same raid party and fighting the same boss monster. While they yed, they usually switched on the in-game voice chat and talked with each other. He liked the way she fussed around when she was impatient. Her expression then was simr to the look of craftiness she had on her face when she was threatening Song Cheng just now. Sometimes, he would purposely tease her. In desperation, she would loudly yell out his name. ¡°Chuan! Why are you acting so despicably!¡± Chuan: ... His in-game username was ¡®Chuan¡¯. Her in-game username was ¡®Xiao Qiao¡¯. Just now, when she had desperately yelled out ¡®Chuan¡¯, was it because she had remembered their shared past? As he thought about this, he lowered his head and saw that Qiao Lian¡¯s heartless, blinking eyes were looking straight at him. Shen Liangchuan momentarily felt a wave of stuffiness. He frowned and pushed her. Bang! Qiao Lian fell onto her derriere. Even though the car¡¯s floor was covered with a thick carpet and she did not feel any pain, her current posture was not graceful at all! Qiao Lian opened her mouth to scold him, but when she saw Shen Liangchuan¡¯s gaze, she could not help but swallow her words. She patted her skin and tried to stand up. However, the car¡¯spartment was extremely squeezy. Furthermore, she was bearing arge belly. Thus, before she could stand up fully, her belly had already banged into the car seat and she fell on the floor again. Qiao Lian could not help but purse her lips and re at Shen Liangchuan. Like a superhero, she had just saved the both of them. Yet, this person was turning his back on her! Qiao Lian slowly stood up and took off the pregnancy clothes. After throwing them in the car, she found a seat and sat down. During the rest of the ride, she did not speak with Shen Liangchuan at all. The both of them reached the vi rather quickly. Qiao Lian¡¯s body was stained with chicken blood. She hopped off the car without a word and went upstairs to shower. Shen Liangchuan stopped in his tracks. He had wanted to shower as well. He frowned and looked at the girl¡¯s fading silhouette. Then, in low spirits, he walked to the living room to shower. Once the both of them had finished showering, changed into clean clothes and walked downstairs, they saw Song Cheng standing in front of them. He said with a serious expression, ¡°The word got out after all.¡± He passed the cell phone to Shen Liangchuan. Qiao Lian hurriedly leaned close to him to look at the screen. She saw the top headline on Weibo: ¡°Drug sting conducted at Hua Mao Hotel. Many celebrities arrested. Wang Wenhao ims Best Actor Shen was also in the hotel! Currently his im has not been confirmed. However, reporters have tried to contact Best Actor Shen¡¯s manager to no avail.¡± Song Cheng¡¯s other cell phone suddenly started ringing. He rejected the call irritatedly and cursed. ¡°This Wang Wenhao is practically crazy!¡± Chapter 106 - Why Are You Treating Me So Well? (6)

Chapter 106: Why Are You Treating Me So Well? (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Wang Wenhao insisted that Shen Liangchuan took drugs, which had made the issue blow up online. And at the moment, it wasn¡¯t the right time for Song Cheng, Shen Liangchuan and their team to take actions. After being ndered, if Shen Liangchuan rushed to the hospital for a blood test to prove his innocence, it would show that he had a low status and that he was easily wavered by others. However, if he failed to react, online ghostwriters would flood the. Yet still, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s Weibo did not enable thement function. Song Cheng felt that it was really annoying, it was as if there was a patch stuck onto him, which felt sort of disgusting. The management team reached the vi in no time, as everyone started discussing on the ways to deal with the matter. Qiao Lian was also invited to listen to their discussion. She sat on the sofa and listened to Song Cheng exining the current situation to them. As she was listening, her phone suddenly rang. She lowered her head a realized that someone had tagged her in a WeChat group. When she clicked the notification, she found calls for her in the Liangfans group. Liangfans was the name for Shen Liangchuan¡¯s fans. They had a fanclub and Qiao Lian was the doyenne, while Chuanliu Buxi is the president of the club. Both of them conversed on WeChat often, thus, they were more familiar with each other. [Chuanliu Buxi: Hurry up and check your Weibo, there¡¯s a cat-fighting war @Qiao Lian] Qiao Lian picked up her phone and entered Weibo. On her phone, her Weibo username was Qiaolian Liangchuan. Seeing this name, she immediately lifted her head up and looked at the few people present guiltily. Realizing that no one was paying attention to her, she was then relieved. She then entered the topic of #Shen Liangchuan taking drugs#, intending to understand more about the situation. But as she looked through the topic... Anger immediately rose in her! There was an ongoing fight in Weibo: [Big big big tongue: I have disliked that Shen Liangchuan for a long time, and recently the inte has been filled with bad news about him: him putting on airs, bullying the juniors, creating gossip even after marriage, and now he even took drugs... Did his nature get exposed after being chosen the Best Actor?] [Chuanliu Buxi: What about his nature! Don¡¯t speak nonsense when you don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on. You might just bite your tongue!] [Big big big tongue: I¡¯m not worried about biting my tongue, I¡¯m just worried that everyone will be deceived by his face and unable to tell his real nature. Another brainless fan.] [Chuanliu Buxi: I think that you¡¯re just jealous of my husband¡¯s handsome face. In times like this, is it a sin to be handsome?] [Big big big tongue: What apletely brainless fan. I was just stating a guess, do you know that you are putting yourself in a very bad light? Or is it that he took you along when he was taking drugs and that¡¯s the reason why you are speaking up for him?] [Chuanliu Buxi: You are not guessing, you are ndering him! My husband has the right to take you to court.] [Big big big tongue: Sue me then, I¡¯m not afraid! Shen Liangchuan is just a sly and cunning lowly person. You haven¡¯t seen his ugly side in his private life! Do you know why he rarely participates in variety shows and barely epts interviews? That¡¯s because he¡¯s uneducated and his manager is worried that he will show his idiotic side on the shows! Other than a pretty face, what else does he even have?] Her words were a strong personal attack, which resulted in the retaliation of many of Shen Liangchuan¡¯s fans. However, arge number of people had been wavered by the ¡®Big big big tongue¡¯. Even some of them had started to be suspicious of Shen Liangchuan. Qiao Lian¡¯s anger was rising rapidly, but she retained her rationality. She picked up her phone, tapped on the screen and started writing a reply: Chapter 107 - Why Are You Treating Me So Well? (7)

Chapter 107: Why Are You Treating Me So Well? (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios [Qiaolian Liangchuan: Some people really go overboard. I believe that the person involved knows the truth best and that he is innocent. After his marriage was exposed, you im that he was an attention-seeker, yet because he does not join variety shows, you im that he is uneducated. So why don¡¯t you teach everyone how to be a public figure? I advise some people to umte virtue verbally.] Her reply was rational and sharp, causing the rest to cheer her in the WeChat group. But ¡®Big big big tongue¡¯ shot back in no time. [Big big big tongue: Hehe, another brainless fan. He knows best if he¡¯s innocent? Does he have the ability to be innocent? If he is innocent, why hasn¡¯t he made any announcements to rify himself? Furthermore, Wang Wenhao has nothing against him, why would he want to wreck Shen Liangchuan¡¯s reputation?] [Qiaolian Liangchuan: May I ask, why are we brainless? If we are called brainless fans when we speak up for Shen Liangchuan, then since you are full of criticism for him, are you a brainless hater? In addition, if he had made a public announcement just on such small matters, would you have criticized that he was making a mountain out of a molehill? As for the rtionship between Wang Wenhao and Best Actor Shen, how do you know that there is no grudge or hate between them?] Right after she published herment, she heard one of Shen Liangchuan¡¯s assistant shout, ¡°This Qiaolian Liangchuan¡¯s words are really incisive!¡± Qiao Lian was shocked. Her finger trembled and she almost dropped her phone on the floor. She immediately lifted her head up and realized that everyone was glued to their phones, watching this word battle. And at that moment, everyone lifted their heads to look at Qiao Lian. Qiao Lian immediately panicked as her mouth turned dry and she unconsciously ced her phone into her pocket. Song Cheng jokingly said, ¡°Could it be that this Weibo ount in Ms. Qiao¡¯s?¡± Qiao Lian immediately shook her head strongly, firmly denying it, ¡°How could it be mine!¡± ¡°Haha, the username is made up of your name and Brother Shen¡¯s name.¡± Qiao Lian exined hurriedly, ¡°Hehe, it¡¯s probably a youngdy named Qiao who likes Mr. Shen...¡± Song Cheng nodded his head. ¡°I¡¯m just teasing you, this fan is already a veteran in the fanclub.¡± Qiao Lian felt extremely awkward and she didn¡¯t dare to speak. Dang it . If it was exposed that she was Qiaolian Liangchuan, it would be so embarrassing! She didn¡¯t dare to look at the expression on Shen Liangchuan¡¯s face, so she coughed and stood up. ¡°Erm, I¡¯m not of much help sitting here. I will make my way upstairs first.¡± When she reached the master bedroom, she picked up her phone again and realized that the user named ¡®Big big big tongue¡¯ didn¡¯t dare to continuementing. The WeChat group had already started celebrating. [Chuanliu Buxi: Qiao Lian, well done, no wonder you¡¯re a journalist!] In the WeChat moments, almost everyone showed their personal information. When Qiao Lian had just begun her profession as a reporter, she had identally divulged her profession and it was thus known by the members of the group. [Qiao Lian: Smiling face] [Chuanliu Buxi: But now what should we do with this messy situation? The way of us scolding one another isn¡¯t going to solve the problem.] Another veteran fan spoke: [Cute cute cat: Buxi, have you contacted Mr. Song?] [Chuanliu Buxi: Not yet, I can¡¯t get through his phone.] Some very loyal fans had close rtionships with the artists. An example of this was Chuanliu Buxi, who had managed to even attain Shen Liangchuan¡¯s schedule. [Cute cute cat: Actually, I have a solution. Wang Wenhao had a feud with Best Actor Shen for many years and he often hints about it on his Weibo. There are even traces of it on some shows. We can make a video with all these hintsplied and let everyone know that because Wang Wenhao¡¯s luck has run out, he is making use of Best Actor Shen to cushion his fall!] Chapter 108 - Why Are You Treating Me So Well? (8)

Chapter 108: Why Are You Treating Me So Well? (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios [Chuanliu Buxi: This works! Qiao Lian, we¡¯ll trouble you to make the video!] [Qiao Lian: No problem!] As a reporter, she had to do these things regrly, thus she was really skilled at it. The fanclub had many people and it was powerful. So, in no time, they were able to find a wholeption of videos and Weibo screenshots that proved the feud between both of them. Qiao Lian turned on herptop and started working. The sky slowly darkened and before she knew it, it was already 10 pm. Song Cheng and the team had carried out a meeting that hadsted a few hours and thereafter, they had dismissed it and left. When Shen Liangchuan pushed open the door of the bedroom, Qiao Lian jumped in shock. She hurriedly turned off herptop, stood up with it in her hands and looked at him. He still looked calm and he seemed to be in a good mood, unaffected by those rumors. His calm demeanor influenced her, as she felt her heartpose itself. However, when she recalled the embarrassing incident in the hotel earlier today, she immediately felt uneasy. The room was really silent. He had casually put on a sleeping robe and was looking at his phone in his hands. He walked to the sofa and sat down, as if he didn¡¯t see her. At that point in time, no one spoke. The trees outside the window rustled as they were blown by the wind, and the curtains also moved with the wind. The golden light was cast on him, making him looked exceptionally mysterious. Qiao Lian stood there and finally broke the silence. ¡°Mr. Shen, erm- I have to go tidy up some of my work documents and I might stay upte. I will go to the guest room, you... can rest first.¡± After she finished speaking, she ran out of the room. But when she reached the door, she suddenly heard his voice, ¡°Ms. Qiao.¡± She stopped in her tracks and looked back at him. He lifted his head and locked his cold and expressionless nce on her. ¡°Only when you rest well and build a strong body can you give birth to a healthy baby. Do you understand?¡± Qiao Lian: ... She understood. He had started it again. He was clearly concerned about her, but he had to show it in such a unpleasant way. She should have listened appropriately, but when she remembered the people waiting in the WeChat group, she lowered her head and spoke as if she didn¡¯t understand the hidden meaning behind his words, ¡°Mr. Shen, when I had appendicitis, the doctor checked and this month... I didn¡¯t get pregnant. Once I¡¯m pregnant, I will definitely stick to a stick routine. I¡¯ll leave then.¡± She held herptop, left the master bedroom and after she reached the guest room, sheid on the bed. In the quiet room, she busied herself until 3 am. When she finally finished setting up the videos and the evidence, she sent them to Chuanliu Buxi. The document wasrge and it would take some time before it would get sent. As she was waiting for the document to get sent, she picked up her phone and entered Weibo. The drug consumption incident had started to worsen as Shen Liangchuan had not given any response. It was progressing to a tense state. She wondered how Song Cheng and the team were intending to manage this crisis. Qiao Lian nted her head sideways and turned off the application, not wanting to read the viciousments. As she was bored, she suddenly remembered something and opened the application store in her phone. The ¡®lot¡¯ she had searched earlier in the day was still shown on top. Her nce was focused on the familiar picture of the game. She hasn¡¯te into contact with the game in a long time. She had been trying her best to forget Zi Chuan, she had almostpletely forgotten him. But recently, she had been flooded with the memories she had buried deep in her heart. Especially today, after she was touched by Shen Liangchuan¡¯s protection, her soul had suddenly be fragile and she couldn¡¯t suppress the memories anymore. Chapter 109 - Why Are You Treating Me So Well? (9)

Chapter 109: Why Are You Treating Me So Well? (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She subconsciously downloaded the game. Although the game had evolved significantly, the scenery was just like what it used to be before. She logged into her ount, explored the familiar ces, and visited the Cliff of Forlorn Love in the game. On the pale white stone wall, there were no nts and it looked grand and majestic. Xiao Qiao was wearing a green war suit on the Cliff of Forlorn Love, while she viewed the whole game world. As the wind blew, her red hair fluttered with it. Qiao Lian stared at her phone. She felt as if she had been transported back to the times when she was able to do anything as she pleased, without any restraints. When she got addicted to the game, she was only in Senior One. It was the age where she had no worries, and the first game she had started ying was ¡®lot¡¯. When she began, she didn¡¯t like practicing with the bots. Thus, she directly entered the actualbat. She had never yed such games before and as expected, she had lost terribly. In a 5 VS 5 battle, she would die over ten times in a match. Her friends all advised her not to use Xiao Qiao as her character, as Xiao Qiao was weak in attack. In addition, Qiao Lian liked to y the forward characters, but she was really stubborn. Even after unlocking many functions and after ying for a long time, Qiao Lian still insisted in using Xiao Qiao as her character. When she met Zi Chuan, it was her second day ying the game. After their teams were randomly assigned, Qiao Lian saw a elegant person with a profile picture of a Chinese brush painting enter the opposing team. Her teammates immediately broke intoments. Her screen was spammed: [¡°Dang! Zi Chuan¡¯s here, what¡¯s the point of us ying?¡±] [¡°Can I quit the match now?¡±] [¡°Dang it! Zi Chuan, please don¡¯t mess around with us and go y with your team!] Qiao Lian asked in confusion, [¡°Who is Zi Chuan?¡±] Her teammates quietened down for a few seconds after her question. After a while, someone questioned weakly, ¡°Youngdy, you¡¯re a noob right?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t even know who Zi Chuan is? He¡¯s the best yer on the server!¡± ¡°Zi Chuan normally ys with his teammates, have you seen the server¡¯s rankings before?¡± After hearing them, her eyes immediately shone. After practicing for a day, she felt that she was well-versed with the controls. Thus... if she could kill this Zi Chuan, did it mean that she was incredible? The youth¡¯s unwillingness to submit coupled with her eagerness to excel, she was determined. She exercised her wrist and started the game. When the game started, she stared at the mini map, only to realize... Eh? Why wasn¡¯t Zi Chuan moving? Both teams were having a intense fight, while Zi Chuan stayed at his spot without moving. Qiao Lian also stayed at her position and stared at Zi Chuan. After five minutes, Zi Chuan then started action and moved towards the center of the map. Qiao Lian was immediately filled with excitement. Her in-game character was running after Zi Chuan. She didn¡¯t like team fights, so she secretly closed in on Zi Chuan, immediately stood up and attacked! After her first hit and just when she was excitedly going n her second, she realized... the screen had dered her death. What the hell! Qiao Lian was unwilling to admit defeat. After waiting for a few seconds, she revived. And once again, she rushed forward and hit! This time, Zi Chuan was surrounded by everyone. She hit him twice, but when she was about to hit again, an explosion urred and before she knew it, the screen had announced her death again. Qiao Lian: ... She looked at the rey and realized that in the short two seconds, Zi Chuan had continuously used his skills, activating an ultimate attack on every yer in Qiao Lian¡¯s team. The speed at which he attacked... it was literally unattainable by human hands! Chapter 110 - Why Are You Treating Me So Well? (10)

Chapter 110: Why Are You Treating Me So Well? (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian wasn¡¯t going to admit defeat and thus, she tried again! And this time, before she could even go near Zi Chuan, she was killed by him. And she tried again! But when she revived, she was once again killed. The cyclested until the end of the game. Qiao Lian did not kill any monsters and never got any coins. She had been seeking for death for the whole match. When she counted, she had actually died nine times! Qiao Lian tapped her head and started a new match. The teams were once again randomly assigned. After entering the group, while she was quietly waiting for the yers to enter, she suddenly realized that Zi Chuan had entered the same group. Furthermore, he was in the same team as her! Qiao Lian immediately greeted him in the group chat: [Xiao Qiao: Hi, Zi Chuan, you yed really well in the previous match!] Little did she expect he would quit the group right after she said so. Qiao Lian: ... She searched for his ount and sent him a friend request. However, even after a long time he did not ept it. Qiao Lian then sent him a message: [Xiao Qiao: Zi Chuan, why did you leave?] She only received a reply from him after a whole 5 minutes. Zi Chuan¡¯s answer was straight to the point: [Zi Chuan: I don¡¯t want to be in the same team as an idiot.] Qiao Lian: ...!! ¡ª¡ª Qiao Lian stared at her phone and burst intoughter. That was their first conversation. His words angered the energetic and outstanding girl. When she recalled the crazy actions she had taken then, Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help but cover her face in embarrassment. Now that she thought about it, she had been really retarded then. She flipped her body over and stared at themp hanging from the ceiling. It pulled her back to reality and the smile on her face slowly disappeared. The sweeter her memories were, the sadder the present seemed to be. She hadn¡¯t had affinity with Zi Chuan on their first encounter, which showed that this first love of hers was not meant to be. Her eyelids dropped as she shook her head, stopping herself from thinking further. She was afraid of falling back into the loneliness she had been in eight years ago. She took a deep breath and looked at herputer, realizing that the video had been already sent to Chuanliu Buxi. On WeChat, Chuanliu Buxi sent her a message: [Chuanliu Buxi: This actually isn¡¯t enough to show Wang Wenhao¡¯s hatred for Best Actor Shen. I wished we had more direct ways to show it.] When Qiao Lian saw her message, her eyes dimmed. She obviously had a more direct video, but it wasn¡¯t the time for it to meet the public yet. She threw her phone to her side and feel asleep with her body sttered on the bed. In the neighboring master bedroom. Shen Liangchuan had not gone to sleep. While he was holding his phone and surfing Weibo, he suddenly saw a video published by Chuanliu Buxi. He opened the video and his lips curved into a smile after he finished watching it. Lying on his arm, heid onto the bed, but he wasn¡¯t able to fall asleep. He then decided to leave the bed and check out the other room. As he carefully opened the room door, he realized that the woman had fallen asleep. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s gaze darkened when he saw that she hadn¡¯t covered herself. It had been so many years, but she still hadn¡¯t learnt to take care of herself. He walked over, picked up the nket and covered her with it. When he was about to move herptop aside, he was stunned the moment he saw what was on the screen. He turned his head and stared at the girl on the bed. His eyes were full of emotions. She had said that she had work to do... So, she had been busily working on this video? Suddenly, warmth and impulse rushed into his heart. He got onto the bed andid on top of her. Just as she dazedly opened her eyes, he suddenly asked, ¡°Xiao Qiao, why are you treating me so well?¡± Chapter 111 - His Dark Eyes Wavered (1)

Chapter 111: His Dark Eyes Wavered (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In a daze, Qiao Lian felt as though her chest was pinned under arge piece of warm rock. A familiar masculine scent wafted into her nostrils, causing her to try and open her eyes, in an attempt to see exactly what was happening. However, since she had stayed awakete into the night, she was currently extremely tired. As she waged a war with her eyelids, she heard a soft voice. It was as though the voice was emanating from the deepest parts of her memories, and it was loud enough for her to think that it was being spoken right beside her ear. The voice said, ¡°Xiao Qiao, why are you so good to me?¡± Xiao Qiao: ... The familiar greeting, in addition to the unique way the word ¡®Qiao¡¯ was spoken, caused her to reminiscence events from the past, even if they had happened so many years ago. She abruptly opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was Shen Liangchuan¡¯s bottomless gaze. She stared at him nkly. The familiar person that she saw was starting to make her want to cry. However, before she could regain herposure, her mouth got overwhelmed by his tongue. It was gentle, like nothing else she had ever experienced, and it was slowly sucking out all the air in her mouth. Twisting and turning, it would make any person rapidly surrender to its persistence. Qiao Lian unconsciously hugged his waist and reciprocated the kiss. On this night, he was uncharacteristically gentle, as though he was teasing her. In a sh, Qiao Lian was overwhelmed... The next day, Qiao Lian awoke and found herself on therge bed inside the master bedroom. The soreness spreading across her body reminded her ofst night¡¯s wonderful dream. Immediately, her face turned bright red. Sheid for a while on the bed before getting up to bathe. Once she had finished, she went downstairs. But when she spotted a figure in the kitchen in the corner of her eye, she abruptly stopped. She looked over in disbelief and saw Shen Liangchuan sitting in the dining room. He was eating. This guy hadn¡¯t left the mansion yet? She seemed to recall that Song Cheng had reminded her yesterday that he had to go to an event today. Could it be that... yesterday¡¯s events had affected him after all? As she thought of this, she frowned deeply. It looked like she had to deal with things at a faster pace. After she finished thinking,st night¡¯s crazy events flooded into her mind again. Qiao Lian¡¯s face immediately turned bright red. As she thought about how she had to eat with him face-to-face... she felt her heart almost burst out of her chest. Fine, she wasn¡¯t going to eat! She lowered her head and silently tiptoed, trying to sneak out of the mansion. At this moment, a servant walked out of the kitchen, saw her and said, ¡°Madam! It¡¯s time for breakfast!¡± Qiao Lian: ...! When Shen Liangchuan heard the servant¡¯s voice, he slowly turned his head to look in its direction and saw Qiao Lian standing on tiptoes. He raised his eyebrows when he noticed that she had instantly stood stock-still, with her gaze directed at the ceiling. She stretched her arms and said, ¡°Ah, I¡¯m stretching my muscles.¡± That look... was she embarrassed? Shen Liangchuan¡¯s cold expression turned a few degrees warmer as he continued eating his porridge. After some time, she walked in, dragging her feet the entire way, and sat beside him. Then, like an extremely hungry ghost, she picked up the bowl and started guzzling the porridge in big gulps by tilting the entire bowl, as though she was determined to finish her breakfast in a matter of seconds and then head to work. Shen Liangchuan put down his chopsticks and stared at her. Feeling his gaze staring at her, she slowly turned her head. As he saw her wary expression, Shen Liangchuan suddenly felt like teasing her, ¡°Ms. Qiao, did you sleep wellst night?¡± Chapter 112 - His Dark Eyes Were Wavering (2)

Chapter 112: His Dark Eyes Were Wavering (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes widened until they were perfectly spherical. She felt as though a roaring fire had suddenly burst into mes, heating up her entire body. A mouthful of porridge was still inside her mouth. She had forgotten to swallow it. This man... how could he ask such a shameless question! However, his expression was entirely serious, as though he would keep asking until he heard a satisfactory answer. Could it be that... he wanted her toment on his stamina? This thought caused Qiao Lian to choke a little. She stretched her neck and forced the porridge down her throat. She looked to him again and realized that Shen Liangchuan was still looking at her nonchntly. Qiao Lian was close to tears. How could he expect her to answer such a question! She lowered her head and said with apletely red face, ¡°I- That- Mr. Shen, you were great.¡± He should be satisfied with such an answer, right? Any man would want to hear this type ofpliment. However, she immediately heard him say, ¡°What was great, exactly?¡± Qiao Lian: ...! Give someone an inch and they will take a mile! She raised her head, puffed out her cheeks and stared at him, saying, ¡°Well, well... obviously, it¡¯s that!¡± ¡°Which one?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s gaze instantly fell in between his thighs. A poker-faced Shen Liangchuan raised his eyebrows and scolded her, saying, ¡°What were you thinking about? I asked you whether you had slept well.¡± Qiao Lian: ...! She had thought too much! She immediately cupped her face. Boo hoo hoo... She wanted to die so badly. She lowered her head so much that her petite face was on the verge of sinking into the bowl of porridge. She grabbed the spoon and ate the porridge spoonful by spoonful, not daring to raise her head for the entire time. An hour had passed before she finally finished her breakfast in excruciating fashion. Qiao Lian realized that this was definitely the longest breakfast that she had ever eaten in her entire life. She put down her chopsticks and said, with her head still lowered, ¡°I¡¯ve finished eating, so I¡¯m going to work first.¡± She stood up and grabbed her bag. As she stood in the hallway to change her shoes, she suddenly saw Shen Liangchuan following her. She immediately changed her shoes and made way for him. However, just as she pushed open the door and attempted to run away, she heard amanding voice behind her say, ¡°Wait a second.¡± Qiao Lian stopped in her tracks. The way Shen Liangchuan changed his shoes was always particrly nice to watch and graceful to boot. He then walked out, started the ignition of the car, drove it to her side and said, ¡°Get in.¡± ¡°Where are we going?¡± she asked subconsciously while she took a step back. Her expression made Shen Liangchuan narrow his eyes and say, ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell me where we should be going?¡± Qiao Lian looked at the front door and stammered out, ¡°I- I- I-¡± ¡°Are you not getting in?¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s voice had a tinge of irritation. Qiao Lian was so scared that she immediately walked to the backseat of the car. Right when she was about to enter, she suddenly heard him say, ¡°Ms. Qiao.¡± Qiao Lian stopped in her tracks and looked back at him. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s eyebrows were tightly knit and his face was cold. He said, ¡°I am not your driver.¡± His baffling words stunned her for a full minute before she finally understood what he meant. If she sat in the back while he was driving, anyone who knew nothing of the situation would definitely think that he was her personal chauffeur. Qiao Lian hurriedly walked to the other side of the car, opened the door and sat inside. Only then did Shen Liangchuan start the car¡¯s ignition. She sat on pins and needles, looking at him through the corner of her eyes. This guy... In the past, he had always driven off by himself. What had gotten into him today? Could it be that becausest night had been so harmonious, he was finally willing to send her to work out of empathy for her?¡± As she thought about this, Qiao Lian¡¯s heart momentarily burst with joy. Looked like Best Actor Shen had apassionate heart after all! However! What if they were spotted by her colleagues because he had sent her to work? Qiao Lian blinked, thought for a while and then turned her head to look at Shen Liangchuan. Chapter 113 - His Dark Eyes Wavered (3)

Chapter 113: His Dark Eyes Wavered (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian agonized for a long time before blurting out, ¡°Mr. Shen, you can drop me at the next bus stop.¡± Shen Liangchuan looked over coldly and said, ¡°Are you treating me like your personal chauffeur?¡± Qiao Lian did not understand what he meant. Shen Liangchuan coldly humphed and looked in front, saying, ¡°I received a phone call from my mother this morning; she asked us to head over.¡± Qiao Lian momentarily tensed up and said, ¡°Mom... What happened to Auntie Xia?¡± Was she feeling unwell? After noticing her anxious expression, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s gaze softened and he said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Yuanxi has returned, so we¡¯re just going to greet her.¡± Yuanxi? Qiao Lian felt that the atmosphere had gotten overwhelmingly odd the moment Shen Liangchuan brought up this name. Shen Liangchuan was a proud man, and nobody could make him bow his head. Anyone who observed the rtionship between his manager and him would also realize that he was not a man who liked to be controlled by others. Even after being married to him for about six months, she had never seen him amodate anyone. However, at this present moment, when someone had returned to the vi... Why did he want to go over and take a look for himself? Who was this ¡®Yuanxi¡¯? She bit her lip and did not know whether to ask him or not. Her lips quivered, but she remained silent. She did not notice that when he mentioned Yuanxi, Shen Liangchuan seemed to have recalled something and his gaze had darkened. He suddenly said, ¡°Yuanxi is young and immature, so I treat her like my younger sister. You should be tolerant of her.¡± His words caused a sudden feeling of distress to spark within her heart. She had thought that Shen Liangchuan had always been a cold-hearted person. However, it turns out that he had asional moments of gentleness. Except, those gentle moments were not directed at her. This discovery instantly damped down her mood. After another five minutes, the car arrived at vi 18. As they entered, Qiao Lian saw someone push open the door to the living room. Then, a petite figure appeared in the room. She was wearing an army green sweater, whichplemented her porcin white face. She looked like an easily embarrassed younger sister. This was... Yuanxi? As Qiao Lian thought about it, the car stopped. Shen Liangchuan opened the door nearest to the driver seat, walked out of the car and went to the girl¡¯s side. Qiao Lian took some time to get off, thus she did not hear their conversation clearly. She could only see the girl tilt her head and smile inwardly. Shen Liangchuan tousled her hair affectionately. She slowly approached them and saw the girl lower her head and say in a quiet voice, ¡°Brother Liangchuan, you¡¯re teasing me again. I¡¯m going to ignore you.¡± Shen Liangchuan said in a low voice, ¡°All right, hurry up and enter the house.¡± He looked as though he hadn¡¯t even noticed Qiao Lian¡¯s presence and did not seem as though he was going to introduce them. The girl looked at Qiao Lian with her mouth agape. She wanted to greet her, but seemed like she did not dare to do so. After looking at Shen Liangchuan, she only managed to smilepassionately at Qiao Lian before following him inside. Xia Yehua had already stood up and said, ¡°I had already told you many times that Yuanxi¡¯s flight wouldnd yesterday evening. Why did you note over then?¡± Shen Liangchuan walked over and sat on the sofa without exining himself. A flustered Xia Yehua wanted to speak further, but Qiao Lian immediately went up to her and said, ¡°Mom, he had something going onst night. Yesterday, he was in a meeting with Song Cheng untilte in the night. It was simply toote to meet anyone.¡± Xia Yehua¡¯s expression softened, but she still humphed at Shen Liangchuan before smiling at Qiao Lian. Holding her hand, she first introduced her to Yuanxi saying, ¡°Yuanxi, this is your sister-inw, Qiao Lian!¡± She then said to Qiao Lian, ¡°Qiao Lian, this is Song Yuanxi, my stepdaughter!¡± Chapter 114 - His Dark Eyes Wavered (4)

Chapter 114: His Dark Eyes Wavered (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Stepdaughter? Xia Yehua seemed to have noticed the confused look on Qiao Lian¡¯s face and exined, ¡°Yuanxi was brought here by Shen Liangchuan eight years ago. You might not know this, but he told me then that he had fallen in love, and not long after he brought back this petite little girl. Yuanxi was only fourteen at that point in time and I originally thought that she was his girlfriend. I was so furious, until I finally learned the truthter-¡± Before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted by Shen Liangchuan, who said, ¡°Mom, have the both of you eaten breakfast yet?¡± Xia Yehua answered, ¡°We¡¯ve eaten.¡± Turning her head back, she froze and said, ¡°Where was I?¡± Shen Liangchuan pointed at the sofa and said, ¡°Sit down before you continue talking.¡± The three of them sat down. Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help but look at Song Yuanxi. Xia Yehua¡¯s intent behind what she had said earlier was clear¡ªYuanxi was not Shen Liangchuan¡¯s first love and... Shen Liangchuan had never looked at Song Yuanxi in that way. They had known each other for eight years. If he were in love with Song Yuanxi, they would have been together by now. However... Qiao Lian nced at Shen Liangchuan. Why did she feel like Xia Yehua was about to reveal some important news before she had been interrupted by Shen Liangchuan? She looked at Song Yuanxi again. What kind of feelings did she harbor for Shen Liangchuan? Even if she hadn¡¯t understood love when she was young, now that she had grown up, it would be difficult for her to not be smitten with Shen Liangchuan, right? Song Yuanxi obediently sat at Xia Yehua¡¯s side and kept her head down. She was rubbing Xia Yehua¡¯s shoulders with a soft and gentle voice. She seemed quite shy. Perhaps she had felt Qiao Lian looking at her, because she raised her head and nced at Qiao Lian. When their eyes met, Yuanxi¡¯s face immediately became bright red. She shyly smiled and lowered her head again, as though she did not dare to look at her. She was as timid as a rabbit. As Qiao Lian thought of this, Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°Now that you¡¯ve graduated, what are you going to do next? Embark on further studies or start working?¡± A doe-eyed Song Yuanxi met Shen Liangchuan¡¯s gaze and immediately retreated in fear. Her mouth was agape and she looked as though she wanted to say something. However, what she actually said was, ¡°Brother, I¡¯ll listen to you.¡± Shen Liangchuan imperceptibly frowned as he noticed Song Yuanxi¡¯s scared expression. He said in a low and gentle voice, ¡°Yuanxi.¡± When he said her name, it sounded extraordinarily pleasing. Grievance shed across Qiao Lian¡¯s heart. Then, Qiao Lian heard his advice for Yuanxi. He said, ¡°Yuanxi, this is your life after all. I can¡¯t make every decision for you. Can¡¯t you tell me what you wish to do?¡± Song Yuanxi looked at Xia Yehua. Xia Yehua smiled and said, ¡°Child, how many times have I told you that you shouldn¡¯t treat yourself as an outsider? You¡¯re my stepdaughter, so do what you want! You can say anything.¡± Song Yuanxi bit her lower lip and only answered timidly after a few minutes. ¡°I- I wish to pursue acting.¡± ¡°No¡±, Shen Liangchuan rejected her suggestion without hesitation. Song Yuanxi became so fearful that her entire body shrank and she immediately lowered her head. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s anger was about to explode out of him, but it got suddenly stuck in his chest, unable to be released. At this moment, his cell phone rang. He nced at Song Yuanxi before walking to the balcony to take the call. The atmosphere in the living room instantly lightened up. Xia Yehua sighed and said, ¡°Yuanxi, I¡¯ve always thought that you were a timid child, but you...¡± She turned and looked at Qiao Lian saying, ¡°Xiao Qiao, help me persuade her please. She¡¯s addicted to the Inte! Most of the things that you find on the Inte are fake, so can they really be reliable?¡± Chapter 115 - His Dark Eyes Wavered (5)

Chapter 115: His Dark Eyes Wavered (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Song Yuanxi¡¯s face turned beet red and she grabbed Xia Yehua¡¯s arm, saying anxiously, ¡°Auntie, did we not agree not to talk about this matter with others? Why are you talking about it now!¡± Xia Yehua poked Yuanxi¡¯s nose and said, ¡°If I hadn¡¯t seen the foolish expression you had on your face when you were chatting on your phone, I would not have even known that you were in love. Do you really see me as your stepmother? If so, why wouldn¡¯t you tell me about such a huge thing. I¡¯m telling you, online romance ispletely unreliable!¡± Song Yuanxi wanted to say something, but she did not dare to say it out loud. Instead, she said softly, ¡°Auntie, this is something that us teenagers do quite often, so you-¡± ¡°Teenagers... Well, how about you ask your sister-inw whether true love can be found over the Inte?¡± As she finished speaking, both of them stared at Qiao Lian simultaneously. Qiao Lian froze; her entire body was stunned. Could true love really be found on the Inte? She once thought that the answer was ¡®Yes¡¯. She had even argued with her mom over this issue; she had stood her ground then. She had even travelled a great distance to Beijing to find him. But ultimately... Qiao Lian lowered her head and said softly, ¡°Everything you find on the Inte is simted and you shouldn¡¯t take them seriously.¡± As she finished speaking, the atmosphere in the room suddenly shifted. A cold breeze was blowing directly at her, causing everybody present to subconsciously close their mouths. They had seen Shen Liangchuan walking from the balcony, and his entire body waspletely frigid. He was still holding a cell phone in his hands. Clearly, he had just finished answering a call. However, his gaze was coldly directed at Qiao Lian¡¯s body. She had just said that... everything on the Inte was simted and couldn¡¯t be taken seriously. Heh. Why was this sentence so ironic? That¡¯s because not only had he treated an online rtionship seriously, but he had also never forgotten it for eight long years. Eight years... How many eight-year groups could a person live through in his entire lifetime? He swiftly clenched his fists tightly. He found everything he was currently seeing intensely ironic, like the world was mocking him for imagining that his romantic feelings would be reciprocated. All these months, her kind actions towards him had made his heart gradually soften and almost forget the events from the past. Eight years ago, she had brought him so much despair! Yes! Eight years ago, she had teased him and mocked him... but even now? Shen Liangchuan¡¯s rage could not be dampened as he slowly walked into the living room, one step at a time. His fierce gaze caused the three women currently in the room to jump in fright. Song Yuanxi trembled uncontrobly and she mumbled, ¡°Brother Liangchuan?¡± Qiao Lian widened her eyes and could not understand what was happening. She wanted to stand up, but his gaze petrified her so much that she did not dare to open her mouth and speak, let alone move from her current spot. The eerie silence and the frigid atmosphere in the room was finally broken by Xia Yehua, who frowned and said, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, what happened? Did another huge scandal break out? Why is your expression so stern?¡± Her words seemed to pull him back to reality. He frowned andughed coldly. He suddenly turned around, picked up his coat and strode outside! After a while, everyone in the room heard the sound of the car¡¯s ignition. He had already left. All three women in the living room were positively terrified. They looked at each other and did not understand what had just happened. Qiao Lian suddenly thought of something and hurriedly picked up her cell phone. She opened Weibo and discovered that G8ssip Magazine had published an article that had caused the hashtag #ShenLiangchuanTakesDrugs to trend online. ¡°A reporter from our news agency, surnamed Qiao, has confirmed that Best Actor Shen was present at Hua Mao Hotel yesterday!¡± Did Shen Liangchuan think that this piece of news had been published by her? Chapter 116 - His Dark Eyes Wavered (6)

Chapter 116: His Dark Eyes Wavered (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian stood up and said, ¡°Mum, I still have something to do, I¡¯ll take my leave first!¡± However, by the time she reached the door, his car had disappeared. Qiao Lian decided to call him to exin herself, but he refused to pick up the phone. He must be furious. That meant that he absolutely wouldn¡¯t want to hear her exnation. Qiao Lian bit her lips and tears surged in her eyes. She stood outside the vi and only started making her way to the news agency after taking a few deep breaths. _ Shen Liangchuan was driving the car aimlessly down the streets. The irritation and anger in him, coupled with the sorrow he wasn¡¯t willing to admit,pletely enveloped him. He curved his lips, feeling like he was reallyughable. Song Cheng had called him and asked if the article online had been posted by Qiao Lian. He vowed that it couldn¡¯t be her and imed that there must have been a misunderstanding. But when he turned around, he heard those heart-aching words. So, she had never loved him, right? He suddenly heard the voice of the young girl in the game, conversing with him: ¡°Zi Chuan, will our love die when it meets the light?¡± ¡°If I look really ugly, will you still love me?¡± ¡°Zi Chuan, don¡¯t tell me your name, I want you to tell me your real name in person.¡± ¡°Zi Chuan, I¡¯m going to meet you in Beijing! Are you excited?¡± She didn¡¯t wait for his response and continued, ¡°What should I do? I¡¯m so excited! I¡¯m going to buy a pretty dress, do you like red or yellow more? Oh, yes, you like the color green, right? Hahaha! Shall I buy a green hat for you? Haha.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Screech!¡± The car suddenly stopped by the roadside and Shen Liangchuan calmly looked in front of him. Thereafter, she hade to Beijing and allowed him to witness how heartless and ironic their love was. His fist ruthlessly hit the steering wheel, but despite its force, he was unable to release any pain from his heart. _ Qiao Lian reached the news agency and angrily rushed to Su Meimei. She threw her bag onto Su Meimei¡¯s table, ¡°Su Meimei! What do you mean by doing this?!¡± The article¡¯s writer was stated as Su Meiren, her pseudonym. When Su Meimei heard her words, she calmly spoke, ¡°What? Are youining that I had snatched your credits? It¡¯s not my fault that you didn¡¯t publish the article as soon as you could. Heh, I saw your location in the hotel from Liu Zhixing¡¯s phone and I realized that Best Actor Shen must have been in Hua Mao Hotel.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know anything! That was due to Wang Wenhao¡¯s setup to frame him.¡± If she hadn¡¯t been in the news agency, Qiao Lian would have hit her. Last night, when the short clip she had made was posted online, it got ruthlessly countered by the article. She had just checked and realized that thements that had been in Shen Liangchuan¡¯s favor had once again changed their stand. Su Meimei twitched her mouth. ¡°Qiao Lian, don¡¯t make unfounded remarks. If you can, you should take out concrete evidence and report it! Hehe, you¡¯re just useless, that¡¯s the reason why I got to snatch your piece of news. If you can, go ahead and suppress my article with yours!¡± After Qiao Lian heard her words, she squinted her eyes and said, ¡°You think that I would make suchments without any evidence?¡± Su Meimei¡¯s irises swelled and she started panicking, ¡°You better not lie!¡± Qiao Lian gave her a cold nced and turned to herputer. She immediately wrote and published an article about the grudges between Wang Wenhao and Shen Liangchuan. Together with the article, there was a video that showed Wang Wenhao looking for trouble with Shen Liangchuan at Shen Liangchuan¡¯s office. As a reporter, when she had witnessed their argument, she had subconsciously recorded it. When the article was published online, it immediately caused a huge stir! Chapter 117 - His Dark Eyes Wavered (7)

Chapter 117: His Dark Eyes Wavered (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios #Best Actor Shen taking drugs# had been causing a lot of excitement online. At first, everyone was in disbelieve. Yet, as Wang Wenhao insisted that Shen Liangchuan had been taking drugs, the public opinion took Wang Wenhao¡¯s side. Thereafter, Chuanliu Buxi had posted a video online, which made people take the middle way and slowly put their trust in Best Actor Shen. However, on the second day, there was a news agency¡¯s reporter who imed that she had seen Shen Liangchuan in Hua Mao Hotel, resulting in the change of people¡¯s stand once again. However, just when everyone believed that Shen Liangchuan really took drugs, the same news agency published an article and video about the grudges between Wang Wenhao and Shen Liangchuan. This article immediately sted away online, as if one poured a drip of water onto hot oil. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s fans begun to crusade against Wang Wenhao online. The haters and inte ghostwriters hired by Wang Wenhao had all lost their argument against Shen Liangchuan¡¯s fans. At that moment, the situation wasrgely in Shen Liangchuan¡¯s favor! _ After Qiao Lian published that article, she watched Su Meimei crash against the table in fury. Her previous article had served as preheating for Qiao Lian. Su Meimei¡¯s actions of working overtime to publish the article the previous night had be a joke to everyone at that moment. Su Meimei felt as if she was a clown that had gotten tricked. Qiao Lian must have done it on purpose! Su Meimei stared at Qiao Lian with hatred, as evil shone in her eyes. She didn¡¯t say anything, she only gave a coldugh and walked into the office of the chief editor. ¡°Sister Qiao, I think that Su Meimei is acting out of the norm. You should be on your guard!¡± Xiao Ye reminded her out of concern. Qiao Lian nodded, but she had no idea what would Su Meimei do to her. She would only be able to find ways to defend herself when her attacks came. She took a deep breath and secretly peeked at the people in the news agency. She then told Xiao Ye, ¡°If the chief editor asks where I have gone to, just tell her that I have left to track down more news.¡± After this, she stood up and left. On the street, she turned around to look at the office building where the news agency was. The working environment here was getting more and more stressful for her. The managing editor used to be able to control the chief editor, and thus, the chief editor didn¡¯t dare to be too obvious when trying to counter her. But now... Qiao Lian mocked herself. If she had a choice, she wouldn¡¯t stay and work here. The ce was making her feel increasingly disgusted. She took a deep breath and walked to the roadside, where she hailed a cab. After she got on the cab, she sat at the backseat for a while before speaking. ¡°Sir, please take me to Hospital One.¡± At that moment, there was no traffic jam and she reached the hospital in half an hour. She walked to the side and bought some chestnuts. Since she was familiar with the ce, she quickly found the VIP room, but when she looked in, there wasn¡¯t anyone on the hospital bed. She put the chestnuts down and looked for the caretaker asking, ¡°Where¡¯s Qiao Yi?¡± ¡°Oh, he¡¯s doing his exercises in the recovery room! As the family of the patient, please persuade him. He has justpleted his surgery and he shouldn¡¯t be doing such taxing recovery exercises. However, not matter what we said, he refuses to listen.¡± Qiao Lian nodded and found her way to the recovery room. In the recovery room, there were a few people with Alzheimer¡¯s disease. They were trying to practice with the help of the caretakers. In the crowd of people, she immediately spotted the young Qiao Yi. He looked exactly like her, but with a ttop haircut. As his body was not suited for movement, he rarely exercised and he had kept his skin fair and fresh. Just simply staring at it could make one jealous. But at that moment, he was struggling to walk forward with the support of a walking stick. His forehead and hair were both soaked by his perspiration, but the resilient youth was biting his lips in concentration and seriousness, not making a sound. Chapter 118 - His Dark Eyes Wavered (8)

Chapter 118: His Dark Eyes Wavered (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian stood at the door and her heart hurt as she watched him. That was her brother. He broke both of his legs when a pir fell on him in that huge fire eight years ago. He had never stood up again after that ident. Both of her parents had died and her only brother ended up in such a state. Her house had been thoroughly burnt, thepany had closed down and she was left with no money. Even thepensation for her parents¡¯ demise got rejected by the bank and they ruled it as suicide. How did she survive those dark days with her brother? She quit school, but as she was yet to be of legal age, she could only barely support the both of them by taking up three jobs a day. Her brother¡¯s legs had also missed the best time for treating them because of that. Her life then had been truly very hard and bitter. She used to cry out of tiredness every night, when she returned home. Then, she met Shen Liangchuan. In the toughest times, every word of his was like a light, brightening up her unknown future. Thus, no need to ask why she treated Shen Liangchuan so well. Other than the defense feeling she had as a fan for her idol, she was filled with gratitude for him. Just when Qiao Lian was lost in thoughts, Qiao Yi looked at her. And when he saw her, his eyes shone as he gave a bright smile. Qiao Lian walked forward and held him. That was when she realized that he seemed to have grown taller. How long had she not visited? In her trance, she helped Qiao Yi get on his wheelchair to rest. Qiao Yi smiled at her and asked, ¡°Sister, why did youe?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s felt a pang of sadness when she heard his words. The stress in her daily life had caused her to be terribly busy working. Hence, she had few chances of taking care of her brother personally. It seemed like this was her second time visiting him this month. Thest time she had visited him was on the day of his surgery. She stuck out his hand to pat his hair, but Qiao Yi immediately shunned her. ¡°Sister, don¡¯t touch my head, I¡¯m sweating.¡± Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t contain herughter when she saw how ufortable her brother was. ¡°Ok, I¡¯ve bought your favorite chestnuts. Let¡¯s go and have some.¡± Qiao Yi looked at the practice beam behind him, wanting to say something, but when he looked at Qiao Lian, he didn¡¯t speak and followed her back into his room like a good boy. Qiao Lian picked up a chestnut, intending to peel it for him, but she wasn¡¯t able to despite many tries. Thus, she had not choice but use the most primal way, her teeth. At that moment, Qiao Yi suddenly reached out his hand and pinched the chestnut with his two fingers. The chestnut was immediately split open. He then took out the inside of the chestnut and put it in front of Qiao Lian¡¯s mouth saying, ¡°Sister, eat.¡± Qiao Lian smiled, ate it and picked another one up. She had originally thought that Qiao Yi would eat it himself, but he once again offered it to her. Qiao Lian was stunned. ¡°Xiao Yi, you can have it.¡± ¡°Sister, I remember that you like eating chestnuts too.¡± Qiao Lian was dazed for a moment, as she smiled and said, ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve forgotten about it.¡± She had a very simr food taste to Qiao Yi¡¯s, they both had always liked eating chestnuts since young. However, due to being financially tight, sometimes she was only able to buy a few. She couldn¡¯t bear to eat them and would leave everything for Qiao Yi. She would have never expected that he could still remember what she liked. Qiao Lian smiled and heard Qiao Yi say, ¡°Sister, I¡¯m a man and I¡¯ve grown up. It will be my turn to take care of you in the future.¡± Qiao Lian was stunned for a moment and rose her head to look at him. Qiao Yi was smiling really gently as he reached out his long hand and patted her shoulder. ¡°Sister, if you¡¯re unhappy at your job, just quit it. You have been working very hard for the past eight years, I will take over the remaining things for you.¡± Her eyes were suddenly filled to the brim with tears. Chapter 119 - His Dark Eyes Wavered (9)

Chapter 119: His Dark Eyes Wavered (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In front of her brother, she always tried her best to appear happy. But she would have never expected that he would still be the first one to tell her feelings, despite them barely seeing each other. Sheughed while crying and turned her head to the side. After wiping her tears away, she looked back at him and said, ¡°I¡¯m not unhappy.¡± ¡°You¡¯re crying.¡± ¡°I¡¯m crying because our Xiao Yi has grown up and I¡¯m really touched! Now, your main task is to recover well, don¡¯t seek for immediate results. I¡¯ve just talked to your doctor-in-charge and he said that if you push your rehabilitation practice, your legs may justpletely be useless! In the future, you must stringently follow what your doctor had scheduled for you, ok?¡± Qiao Yi furrowed his brow. ¡°Sister, where did the money for my medical expensee from?¡± Qiao Lian was silent for a moment and spoke, ¡°You know that I¡¯m a eSports caster, and the pay for female casters is really high now. Xiao Yi, quickly recover your legs and go back to school!¡± Qiao Yi looked at her, full of emotions, andughed. ¡°Quit your reporter job then. I know that you don¡¯t enjoy being in the industry.¡± Qiao Lian immediately spoke, ¡°I used to dislike it, but now, I really love it! Do you know? The news agency has arranged for me to follow a new artist and it is Shen Liangchuan! He¡¯s my idol and now I can closely interact with him on a daily basis.¡± Qiao Yi, ¡°Sister, can you not be so obsessed with good-looking men? You look like your interaction with him has be one with a negative distance!¡± Qiao Lian immediately blushed. ¡°Dang! Why are your words so frivolous?¡± Qiao Yi continuedughing for a while and then looked at her seriously. ¡°Sister, you should really quit your job. I will check the reason behind... our parents death, ok?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes reddened again. She reached out her hand out and patted his head, ignoring his protest. ¡°My Xiao Yi, our parents¡¯ biggest wish was that we could both study hard and well. You have already dyed it for so long and once your legs have recovered, you should return to school! I have already worked in the news agency for eight months and if I continue for four more months, umting a whole year, I can get my reporter¡¯s certificate.¡± After she attained her reporter¡¯s certificate, she would be able to investigate the reason for her parents death from eight years ago. Knowing that she wouldn¡¯t heed his advice, Qiao Yi changed the topic. ¡°Sister, can I discuss something with you?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Can you change my caretaker to a male one?¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s because I have grown up!¡± ¡°... Hahahahahaha! Xiao Yi, why are you so cute!¡± _ When Qiao Lian walked out of the hospital, she looked like she had revived and was gushed with energy. What could her chief editor even do to her? As long as she survived these four months and sessfully got her reporter¡¯s certificate, she wouldn¡¯t bother to continue working for them. At 6 pm, Qiao Lian alighted from the bus. When she intended to walk to vi 8, she received a call from Xia Yehua. ¡°Xiao Qiao,e to vi 18 for dinner tonight. Let¡¯s have dinner together.¡± When Qiao Lian reached vi 18, she realized that the car Shen Liangchuan had driven today was parked there. Did that mean that Shen Liangchuan was back? Had he realized that the article hadn¡¯t been her doing and returned back to apologize? As the thoughts were running through her mind, she lifted her head up and walked into the living room. The three of them sat on the sofa in the living room and they were happily conversing before she entered. But after she had entered the room, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression immediately turned cold. Chapter 120 - His Dark Eyes Wavered (10)

Chapter 120: His Dark Eyes Wavered (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The atmosphere in the room immediately froze. Shen Liangchuan didn¡¯t speak, he was emotionless. Song Yuanxi looked at Shen Liangchuan uneasily and then turned towards the door. She looked as if she wanted to say something, but she didn¡¯t dare to. Xia Yehuaughed and broke the awkwardness. ¡°Xiao Qiao, you¡¯re back! Quick, have a seat! Let¡¯s have dinner togetherter!¡± As she ended her sentence, Shen Liangchuan immediately stood up and went upstairs without a word. Qiao Lian¡¯s expression immediately became awkward, as she stood rooted to the ground, lost. ¡°Bang!¡± They heard the sound of the door m. The three people downstairs looked at one another. Xia Yehua was furious. ¡°Xiao Qiao, don¡¯t be angry. Since he dares to treat you like this, I will go upstairs and scold him now! When a couple fights, why should the man wait for the wife to appease him? Does this guy even know how rtionships work?!¡± After she finished speaking, she rolled up her sleeves and prepared to go upstairs. Qiao Lian immediately held her back. Whenever she realized how good Xia Yehua was to her, her heart would feel increasingly guilty. Shen Liangchuan and her had a contract-bound marriage, their status wasn¡¯t equal. Sheughed and said, ¡°Mom, I¡¯ll go up and see what¡¯s up.¡± After she spoke, she lowered her head and went upstairs. Qiao Lian stuck her head into one of the bedrooms on the second floor, but she didn¡¯t see any traces of him. She then slowly moved towards the study. She knocked on the room door and slowly pushed it a bit. This vi seemed to have been inhabited before Xia Yehua moved in, thus the arrangement of the room was really simple. There weren¡¯t many documents in the study room. He sat solemnly behind the empty table, while his tall stature made him look as if he was a king with a strong air. Qiao Lian walked in with fear, as she lowered her head down and said, ¡°Mr. Shen, the article published on Weibo today wasn¡¯t by me.¡± He looked over coldly, but his eyes were filled withplicated emotions. His nce was too confusing, and Qiao Lian could not capture his exact emotions. ¡°I know.¡± These two words were heavy. They sounded nice, but they carried a slight unhappiness with them. He was unhappy? Why? Qiao Lian was stunned for a moment, but she suddenly understood the situation. Although he was usually unaffected by everything around him, no matter how aloof someone could be, in the face of inte ghostwriters, he would definitely get unhappy. She didn¡¯t want him to stay unhappy, thus she made up a speech in her heart. Then, she began, ¡°Mr. Shen, you don¡¯t have to worry about thosements online. The fans who support you will always continue doing so. And those who hate you are using the ounts of others to criticize you on purpose! Inte violence is so terrible nowadays and honestly I really dislike the inte. Through the inte, the real feelings between people are disappearing...¡± She continued nagging, but his expression kept turning colder. Qiao Lian finally realized that she seemed to have said something wrong. But before she could figure out what had gone wrong, he made an annoyed sound. Shen Liangchuan was really angry. She was speaking about how she looked down on the inte and how it reminded her of their online rtionship. She had never believed in their rtionship in the first ce, right? Then, if she hadn¡¯t seen a future with it, why had she attracted him to delve deeper into it? He stood up, went around the table and walked towards her. He turned his back on the light and stood in front of her. A shady atmosphere immediately enveloped her. She couldn¡¯t help but take some steps backwards. But everytime she did so, he would take a step forward. It continued until she suddenly felt coldness behind her, when she realized she was against the wall. He stretched out his arm and ced it on the wall. This position... Could it be that he wanted to kabedon [1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabedon] her? The next second, she heard his question, ¡°So, you can y with others as you please?!¡± Chapter 121 - A Slap to the Face (1)

Chapter 121: A p to the Face (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian widened her eyes and looked at him confusedly. Her wronged expression only irritated him even more! He narrowed his eyes and stared deeply into hers. All the shame and hate that he had experienced eight years ago had sparked a notion within him¡ªhe wanted nothing more than to strangle her. That way, he could settle things once and for all. However, as he looked at her elongated neck, he could not bear to take action. He thought of the time when she was being mistreated by the servants. Only then did he realize that he could not bear to watch her get hurt. Only he knew of the depth of his love for her. However, this deep love he had was not worth a single penny in her eyes. To her, it was part of the artificiality of the Inte. He was such a proud man. Yet, he had given away his love to someone who would trample all over it. As he thought about this, the irritation within his body began to slowly intensify again. He wanted nothing more than to take advantage of her entire body! He immediately lowered his head and grabbed her chin with hisrge hands. However, he stopped his movements after observing that the girl¡¯s eyshes were trembling nervously. He suddenly felt pity for himself andughed. He took a step back and wiped his hands with a tissue, as though they had been stained by a dirty object. Then, he turned away and walked downstairs. Qiao Lian leaned against the wall and looked at the wide open door to the study. She then heard him walking downstairs and heading outside. Everything that he had done had felt like a p to her face. She bit her lip, hurriedly calmed herself down and ran downstairs as well. Noticing Xia Yehua¡¯s anxious gaze, Qiao Lian squeezed out a smile and said, ¡°Mom, it¡¯s all right. I¡¯ve already hashed things out with him, so we¡¯ll be heading home first. Hahaha...¡± Once she finished speaking, she chased after him and headed outside. However, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s car had already driven away. She turned back and saw Xia Yehua and Song Yuanxi¡¯s expressions. With an awkward smile, she pointed outside and said, ¡°Well, I¡¯m trying to lose some weight by walking back...¡± After she said that, she immediately ran into the darkness. She walked back to Vi 8 despondently, but then realized that Shen Liangchuan had not returned after all. Dejected, she went upstairs,id on the bed and hit herself on the head. She had always been quite witty and intelligent, so why could she not figure out the reason why Shen Liangchuan was unhappy? She fell asleep in a daze. For the next few days, Shen Liangchuan did not return home. Qiao Lian wanted to follow him, but she realized that she had no way of tracking him down. Then, one morning, she was rudely awoken by a call from the chief editor. In a daze, she held the cell phone to her ear and heard the stern,manding voice of the chief editor. ¡°Qiao Lian,e to the news agency immediately!¡± She hurriedly bathed and changed her clothes. When she rushed to the news agency, she realized that every employee in the agency was on edge. Judging by their expressions... was some important person visiting the agency? In a daze, she heard Su Meimei say, ¡°Mr. Wang, it¡¯s her! She was the one who exposed the scandal between Li Siqi and you. She was also the one who wrote about your conflict with Best Actor Shen!¡± As she finished speaking, Qiao Lian instantly turned her head around and saw a furious Wang Wenhao rushing at her with two bodyguards in tow. Without another word, she turned around and ran! However, before she could take more than a couple of steps, the bodyguards had forcefully grabbed her arm and pulled her to Wang Wenhao. Qiao Lian struggled mightily, but her strength was no match for the group of bodyguards. Her arms were quickly wrenched behind her back and she was subdued. She was unable to move her body at all. She worriedly raised her head to look at Wang Wenhao. Before she could speak, she saw the other party suddenly raise his arm. Piak! A tight pnded on her face! Chapter 122 - A Slap to the Face (2)

Chapter 122: A p to the Face (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios During her entire lifetime to date, Qiao Lian had only endured two ps to her face. One was the p that she received from Yang Lingsist time. The other, was the one that was just inflicted to her face by Wang Wenhao. Men generally had greater strength than women, and Wang Wenhao had just pped her in a furious rage. Hence, Qiao Lian¡¯s head reeled from the p. She waspletely dizzy and started seeing stars in her vision. There was a metallic taste in her mouth and she felt some of her teeth loosen. Her arms were tightly restricted by the two bodyguards, leaving her unable to move. Her face was slightly tilted and the intense pain made her realize that her face must have been bruised by the p. Each and every movement that she made was apanied by an intense, swelling pain. Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes and violently turned her head back. She clenched her teeth and looked at Wang Wenhao, only to see Wang Wenhao walk forward and grip her chin in one swift motion. Shen Liangchuan had frequently gripped her chin and she had felt pain every single time he did so. However, she only realized at this moment that Shen Liangchuan was extraordinarily careful when gripping her chin, since the way Wang Wenhao was doing the same action right now felt much more painful than when Shen Liangchuan did it. At this moment, she felt as though her jaw was about to be shattered. Red res appeared in her eyes because of the pain, but she stubbornly refused to tear up. Wang Wenhao¡¯s face inched closer towards hers and he said, ¡°Xiao Qiao? Heh, this pseudonym suits you well! Your face is indeed quite delicate.¡± He used his other hand to p her already-swollen cheeks, intensifying the pain. ¡°Ah, there¡¯s a handprint on one cheek, but no handprint on the other. That¡¯s certainly not bnced at all, so should I rectify the situation for you?¡± Qiao Lian clenched her teeth, the corners of her mouth stained with fresh blood. She stared intensely at Wang Wenhao before suddenly spitting at him! Ptui! She had always been the type of person that responded better to reason rather than coercion. If this Wang Wenhao intended to use violence to make her beg for mercy, he could banish the notion right now. She spat a mouthful of blood on Wang Wenhao¡¯s face. He didn¡¯t managed to avoid it, even after turning his head around. When he turned his head back, the expression on his face had be even more gruesome. He let go of Qiao Lian¡¯s chin and walked backwards to pick up a tissue and wipe his face. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re feisty! I love... to y with these sorts of people.¡± Right when he had finished speaking, he swiftly pped Qiao Lian¡¯s left cheek again! Qiao Lian¡¯s head shook violently. The violent action had caused her hair to fall across her face, covering it. Then Wang Wenhao leaned closer and gripped her chin again. ¡°Let me see, is your face bnced yet? It seems that the mark on the left side of your face is lighter, so I should p it again, right?¡± As he finished speaking, he saw Qiao Lian suddenly crack a smile. Wang Wenhao narrowed his eyes. Qiao Lian opened her mouth and said, ¡°Mr. Wang, if I were you, I would choose to immediately flee the scene after pping someone.¡± Wang Wenhao looked at her, stunned. Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes looked toward one of her pants¡¯ pockets. Wang Wenhao reached into the pocket she was looking at and took out her cell phone... Only to find out that she had already called 911! As a reporter, she was frequently in the line of danger, so the speed dial number on her phone was 110. When she entered the news agency and saw Wang Wenhao, she immediately ced a call that instant! Wang Wenhao¡¯s expression was indeed ugly. He raised his finger and pointed at her. As he looked at her current state¡ªwith countless bruises all over her body, a pitiful state indeed¡ªthe anger in his heart slightly lessened. He waved a hand and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± The bodyguards released Qiao Lian. She was unsteady on her feet, so her hands gripped tightly onto a nearby desk for support. She fixed her gaze at Su Meimei, who had walked over after seeing themotion, the chief editor and even the managing editor, Liu Zhixing. When Wang Wenhao found his way to the news agency, the chief editor should have called her to inform her that the correct choice for her was not tpe to the agency building. However, these three people... had instead schemed against her! Fine! It was all fine! If she does not take revenge against them, then her surname would no longer be ¡®Qiao¡¯! Chapter 123 - A Slap to the Face (3)

Chapter 123: A p to the Face (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The three of them, including Su Meimei, were terrified after looking at the stare that Qiao Lian was levelling at them. Su Meimei could only say hashly, ¡°What are you looking at? It¡¯s due to your inattentiveness that he was able to enter the news agency. Why are you ring at us as though it was our fault that this happened?¡± Qiao Lian smiled coldly. The corners of her lips were twitching so much that her cheeks had started to hurt. She opened her mouth and was about to speak, but the managing editor Liu Zhixing walked up to her and said, ¡°That¡¯s enough. Qiao Lian getting hurt also involves our agency, so quickly go to the hospital and get your injuries checked out. Thepany will reimburse your treatment fee.¡± As he said this, he stared at Qiao Lian in an oddly cavalier fashion. His expression clearlymunicated to Qiao Lian that this entire incident would not have happened if she had not offended him. These people... were really shameless! Qiao Lian bit her lip, feeling both anger and hatred within her. She looked at her stunned colleagues standing inside the news agency and said, ¡°Managing Editor, if such an incident happens a second time, I think that nobody here will ever dare to uncover scandals anymore! Heh, we work so hard to expose someone else¡¯s privacy, but then get scolded and beaten when they angrily approach the news agency. G8ssip Magazine really does care about its employees¡¯ welfare, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Her words ridiculed the managing editor so much that his face was alternating between the shades of white and red. Qiao Lian looked at the furious expressions on the faces of the surrounding employees and lowered her eyes. She took a deep breath, turned around and left. The most important thing that she should do now is to take care of her bruises. Qiao Lian did not notice that Su Meimei, who had been standing behind her, had kept her cell phone after Qiao Lian left the news agency. The managing editor turned around and looked at everybody present. Then, he waved his hand and said, ¡°All right, get back to work!¡± Everybody left returned to their own positions, but Su Meimei took the opportunity to enter the chief editor¡¯s office. The chief editor smiled at her and said, ¡°Well? Did you film the incident?¡± Su Meimei raised her cell phone delightedly and said, ¡°Of course! Auntie, I¡¯m telling you right now that the article I am publishing this time will be bigger than hers. ¡®Wang Wenhao beat up the reporter surnamed Qiao.¡¯ Heh, heh, such a huge scoop will definitely make the headlines!¡± Qiao Lian left the news agency. Right when she left, she noticed people staring over at her. She cupped her face, hailed a cab and went to the nearest hospital. The diagnosis showed that a couple of her teeth had loosened after all, and thus she needed to recuperate for a period of time. The gash on her face had been caused by the ring on Wang Wenhao¡¯s hand. After applying some anti-inmmatory medicine, the doctor said, ¡°With regards to the gash on your face, the scar will only fade after one to two months.¡± Qiao Lian nodded and looked at her swollen face in the mirror. A couple of revenge ns against the news agency shed across her mind, but she knew that now was not the time to implement any of them. She clenched her fists and took a deep breath. She should not begin taking revenge until she had received her press pass. Qiao Lian returned to the vi and immediately went upstairs. Given that the two servants were not as observant as Caretaker Li, they did not notice her odd appearance. Sheid down on therge bed in the master bedroom and applied ice to her face. The fiery pain that she felt on her face had somewhat subsided, but it had not recededpletely. Furthermore, the shame she felt was amplified exponentially in the quiet bedroom. The injustice she felt caused her to bite her lip savagely as she tried not to cry. However, ultimately,rge teardrops started rolling down her face. She hurriedly wiped the tears off her face with her hands, but tears still kept rolling down her face uncontrobly. ¡°Idiot! You soft bastard! Why are you crying?¡± She cursed at herself as she continued wiping away her tears. Right at this moment, she heard the sound of a car horn emanating from somewhere nearby. She sat up immediately. Was Shen Liangchuan... nearby? Chapter 124 - A Slap to the Face (4)

Chapter 124: A p to the Face (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios A shocked Qiao Lian sat on the bed with a swollen face. Shen Liangchuan had not returned home for almost a week. Furthermore, it was currently daytime, so she thought that there was no way that he would return home at this time, no matter what. However... She instantly jumped up and ran to the window to look outside, where she shaw Shen Liangchuan stepping out of a car in a ck tuxedo. His graceful deity-like body strode into the vi. Qiao Lian¡¯s heart instantly leapt. She looked in the mirror and realized that the bruises on her face were still extremely noticeable, even though they had somewhat subsided thanks to the ice. Such serious injuries could only remain concealed if she chose to cover her face up. However... She made up her mind not to let Shen Liangchuan know about this. She anxiously hopped around the room. What should she do now? ¡ª Shen Liangchuan¡¯s inexplicable ragepleted subsided only after he stayed away from the vi for the entire week. She usually would not be home at this hour, so he had chosen to return home now to collect some documents. He walked into the living room with a cold expression. He was about to change his shoes when he saw that Qiao Lian¡¯s white sneakers were ced on the shoe rack. Did this mean that... she was home? Shen Liangchuan froze momentarily and raised his head. The second floor waspletely empty. She had note down to greet him. What could she be doing in her room at this time? Even though she knew that he was home, she had note to greet him. Was this because his rage the other day had scared her? Shen Liangchuan frowned imperceptibly and walked upstairs with a nk face. After entering the study, he purposely sat inside for a while, but she still did note over to greet him. Shen Liangchuan picked up his documents and walked out. He had already decided to leave the vi immediately, but stopped unexpectedly when he passed by the master bedroom. He lingered at the doorway for a while, beforeughing at the anxiety that he was feeling. This was his home and he should be able to enter any room as he pleased. Why should he care about her feelings on the matter? He immediately stretched out his hand and pushed the door open. Even though the room¡¯s dressing table and sofa were clean, to a germaphobe like him, they still seemed a little messy. He frowned again. This woman... Had she not tidied up this room at allst week? He surveyed the entire room, before his gaze finally fell on the bathroom door. He walked over and intended to push open the bathroom door. However, he realized that the door had been locked from the inside. The woman inside asked cautiously, ¡°Mr. Shen?¡± Shen Liangchuan frowned, sat on the sofa and waited for ten minutes. However, she still did note out from the bathroom. He stood up, walked to the doorway and knocked twice with his hand. He then heard a woman¡¯s voice emanate from within the bathroom, saying, ¡°Mr. Shen, I have a stomach ache... If you wish to use the toilet, please use the one in the living room.¡± Shen Liangchuan: ... He actually only wanted to see her, after not being able to see her lively expression for an entire week. However, after hearing what she said, Shen Liangchuan frowned for the third time and said irritatedly, ¡°I¡¯m going to work.¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s fine, please go!¡± Why did she sound so happy after hearing that he was going to work? Shen Liangchuan felt even more irritated and turned to leave. Bang! He shut the door to the room. After he went downstairs, right when he was changing his shoes, he suddenly remembered how weak her voice sounded. Stomachache... was it serious? He turned and took out some over-the-counter medication from a drawer. After a moment of hesitation, he still decided to go upstairs. When he opened the door to the master bedroom, he saw that Qiao Lian had already walked out of the washroom. Hearing the sound of the door opening, she turned around, confused! The moment he saw her face, he frowned for the fourth time. Chapter 125 - A Slap to the Face (5)

Chapter 125: A p to the Face (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan frowned and stared at the girl in front of him. Her face was covered in a mess of sticky green things and she was currently jumping inside the room. After noticing him, she momentarily bent over and clutched her stomach. Shen Liangchuan furrowed his brow and his mood immediately soured. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Qiao Lian immediately widened her eyes and said, ¡°I- I am applying a facial mask...¡± He obviously knew that it was a facial mask, but hadn¡¯t she said that she had a stomachache? How could she be in the right mood to apply a facial mask? Qiao Lian looked at his icy expression and immediately tensed up. ¡°Well, actually, having a stomachache and applying a facial mask reallyplement each other! It gets boring when you¡¯re stuck in the toilet.¡± Shen Liangchuan furrowed his brow even more. Qiao Lian coughed and said, ¡°Do you want to try it?¡± Shen Liangchuan stopped himself from scolding her for her impulsiveness. He then nced again at the awful way she had applied the facial mask and could not help but say, ¡°Do you know how to apply a facial mask? Why is your face so bumpy?¡± Qiao Lian: ... That¡¯s because it is swollen, OK? But how should she answer him? She rolled her eyes, lowered her head and put on a guilty expression. ¡°Well, I¡¯m sorry, but... I had been interested in this facial mask for so long, but never had the means to buy it. Today, I suddenly saw it and was ovee with emotion... so I identally applied too much of it.¡± Shen Liangchuan: ... Qiao Lian raised her head and took out the box of facial masks. ¡°Mr. Shen, do you want to apply it with me? Isn¡¯t it strange that other celebrities always take special care of their skin, but I¡¯ve never seen you use a single facial mask, even though there are quite a few lying around in your house?¡± Her words caused Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression to darken again. She anxiously waved her hand and said, ¡°Ah, I¡¯m not saying that you¡¯re unprofessional or that you don¡¯t have a good skin condition. In fact, I¡¯m saying that your skin condition is extraordinarily good... Do you go to the beauty parlor often, which is why you do not use the facial masks in the house? I noticed that most of these masks were about to expire, so... should I help you apply them on your face? It¡¯ll be a waste if you don¡¯t use them!¡± The veins on Shen Liangchuan¡¯s forehead started to throb violently. He threw the medicine on the coffee table and said, ¡°Take three tablets each time. I¡¯m leaving.¡± He turned to leave. Only after he had left the room did Qiao Lian breathe a sigh of relief. She touched the facial mask on her face and silently congratted herself for her wittiness. Shen Liangchuan was such an unpredictable person, so she had had to take preventive measures in case he barged into the room while she was pretending to have a stomachache. Thus, she had searched the washroom, found a facial mask and applied it to her face just in case. However... She looked at the medicine on the coffee table and turned in his direction. He was already gone, so could it be that he had returned just to give these medicine tablets to her? Was this an apology for the incident that happened a few days ago? She picked up the medicine on the coffee table and smiled silently. She begrudgingly epted his apology. After confirming that his car had left, she rushed into the washroom and washed the facial mask off her face. There were still bruises on her face, so when had applied the face mask, her face had burned with fiery pain. It took a lot of effort to wash the mask off her face, and only when she finished did she realize that the swelling on her face had aggravated. Qiao Lian silently applied ice to her face and sat on the sofa. The euphoria she had previously felt faded and her mood soured. ¡ª As Shen Liangchuan drove away from the vi, his phone started to ring. He picked up the call casually. He heard Song Cheng¡¯s voice emanate from the phone¡¯s speaker saying, ¡°Brother Shen, did you check Weibo? Wang Wenhao actually sabotaged himself by beating a reporter!¡± Reporter? When Shen Liangchuan heard his words, his eyes immediately narrowed. He stopped the car on the roadside and hurriedly took out his phone, where he got to see the video that had just been posted to Weibo. Chapter 126 - A Slap to the Face (6)

Chapter 126: A p to the Face (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan looked at the video on Weibo. The video was somewhat grainy and only showed the girl¡¯s expression after she had been beaten up. Hair was covering her face, so Song Cheng had not managed to identify the girl¡¯s identity. However, Shen Liangchuan immediately clenched his fists. This girl... Even if her face was covered, he could instantly recognize her. It was Qiao Lian! No wonder she was staying in the house even though it was clearly daytime. After all, she was a lively girl who would stay outside the entire day if she could... No wonder she had been hiding in the bathroom and had not wanted him to see her, no wonder she had applied a facial mask on her face... In reality, everything she had done was due to this! How dumb was she? Did she not know that applying a facial mask on a bruised face could aggravate the inmmation of her injuries? As he thought about this, he suddenly turned the car around and sped it towards the vi. On the way, his eyes had a foreboding feeling. As he thought about how the girl had had to endure two ps in the face, he desperately wished that he could find Wang Wenhao right now and rip him apart! When the car arrived at the vi, he intended to jump off the car to open the door but he suddenly stopped. The momentary anger that had been boiling inside him just now had also slowly dissipated. A shback of her expression filled his entire mind at that moment. He couldn¡¯t help but remember her sparkling eyes, even through the facial mask that was on her face. His gaze flickered and suddenly, his lips curled up in faint mockery. She had uncovered these scandals because of him. However... she had not dared to confide in him, even though she was angry. Why did she not confide in him? Was it because he had once warned her not to cause trouble for him? As he thought about this, he leaned into the car seat and gazed at the vi¡¯s second floor through the car window. She had probably just finished washing the facial mask off her face. Thus, if he drove back into the vi, she would definitely have to anxiously reapply it again. Since she did not want to let him know about this, then why should he enter the vi and cause more trouble for her? His gazended on the steering wheel and an imperceptible expression shed across his eyes. He could hear voices from eight years ago suddenly start emanating beside his ear... When he used to y video games with Qiao Lian, he would switch on the in-game voice chat to make theirmunication easier. Once, when they were having a match, Shen Liangchuan chose to fight in the centrene, which allowed Qiao Lian to fight from the periphery and thereby upgrade their equipments. He stared at her as he fought the waves of monsters. Suddenly, he saw on the world map that two enemy yers had appeared in front of her. He warned her, ¡°Leave now!¡± The game had just started and she would definitely lose if she fought alone against two yers. However, she said, ¡°I¡¯ll let them feel my prowess!¡± And then... her character died. After her character revived, she stubbornly continued to fight against those two yers. The centrene was being attacked as well, so he was unable to assist her in her fight. Therefore, her character died again and again. After her character had died four times, she saidmandingly, ¡°Zi Quan, go and avenge me! You must definitely kill them four times!¡± Shen Liangchuan pursed his lips and said, ¡°Why should I help avenge your deaths when you died due to your idiocy? You knew that you could never defeat them, and yet fought them anyway!¡± ¡°Because you are my boyfriend! When I get bullied, it¡¯s natural for you to protect me. Hurry up and go!¡± Because you are my boyfriend... That one sentence triggered him to ultimately kill the enemy yers four times, as promised, which made her anger subside. After the incident, he said to her, ¡°Only idiots would still stubbornly try the same method even after failing numerous times. You should have waited for me to avenge you after dying the first time.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, yes, this little girl has learnt her lesson. Dear husband, please continue to take care of me in the future!¡± The headstrong girl he had seen at that moment was a stark contrast to the girl that he saw today. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s suddenly felt his heart hurting. Chapter 127 - A Slap to the Face (7)

Chapter 127: A p to the Face (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He turned the car around and silently stopped it by the roadside. His heart was deste, like there was an empty patch in it that could not be filled no matter what. He pulled out a cigarette, lit it and took a draw. Therge quantity of nicotine immediately had an impact on his lungs, making him cough. However, for a while, he refused to exhale and kept the smoke in his body. He consecutively smoked several cigarettes. As he thought about her proud personality, he picked up his cell phone and made a call. ¡ª Qiao Lian was in her room, wondering how she was going to eat. If she went downstairs, the servants would definitely notice her face. Furthermore, it would probably not be good for her face if she applied another facial mask, right? Frustrated, she hit herself on the head. Then, her cell phone suddenly rang. When she opened it, she saw that ¡®Chuan Forever¡¯ had messaged her in the WeChat group. [Chuan Forever: Qiao Lian, were you the reporter that got hit in the viral video that¡¯s currently trending on Weibo? @QiaoLian] Qiao Lian froze and hurriedly opened her Weibo ount. Indeed, she found the video circting online. She momentarily clenched her fists. Su Meimei! It couldn¡¯t have been considered a victory for her to let the world know that Qiao Lian had been beaten up, so why had she done it? However, Chuan Forever had been her friend for many years, and she did not want to lie to her. Thus, she thought for a while and replied, ¡°Yes.¡± Chuan Forever and the others in the group immediately showedpassion for her. As Qiao Lian was chatting, she suddenly heard a knock on the door. Then, she heard Caretaker Li¡¯s voice emanating from outside, saying, ¡°Madam, your meal is ready. Something has happened at your mother-inw¡¯s ce, so I¡¯m taking some servants from here over to her ce to help. Can you manage things by yourself?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes brightened up immediately when she heard this. She said, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s no problem at all!¡± At that moment, she suddenly heard a loudmotioning from outside, ¡°Caretaker Li, Ah Lu¡¯s foot is injured! I grabbed Sir¡¯s high-quality medicine for her to use. It¡¯s on the coffee table in the living room, so please don¡¯t throw it away.¡± After a while, everybody in the vi, except Qiao Lian, had left. Qiao Lian pushed open the door and sauntered downstairs. The gods were definitely on her side today! The meal on the dining room table was sumptuous indeed. She started to chow down on the food. After she finished, she was just about to go upstairs when she suddenly saw a box of medicine sitting on the coffee table. This medicine was one that the doctor had prescribed for her in the hospital. However, because it had been too expensive, she had refused his prescription. Now that it was in front of her... it would be a waste not to use it, right? ¡ª Shen Liangchuan sat in his car until the sky turned dark. After noticing that the lights upstairs had been turned off, he waited a while more before stepping out of the car. He then quietly opened the front door of the vi and slowly went upstairs. His mind would not be at ease until he saw her face. The door to the master bedroom was not locked from the inside. Hence, he pushed it open and walked in, immediately noticing that Qiao Lian was lying on the bed, fast asleep. He slowly walked to the side of the bed. Under the dimly yellow light shining from the bedsidemp, he could tell that she had fallen into a deep sleep. Her cheeks were extremely swollen, and there was even a gash on her right cheek. Such a long gash would still leave a scar even if it waspletely healed, right? As he thought of this, his gaze grew cold. In the silent night, he stared at her face for a long time. He stretched out a hand, wanting to touch her injuries. However, the hand hovered in mid-air. He was afraid to actually touch her bruises. He only left when it was already extremelyte at night. He went downstairs and exited the vi. After entering the car and sitting down, he picked up his cell phone and ced a call. Song Cheng picked up the call rather quickly and said sleepily, ¡°Hey, Brother Shen, given that it¡¯ste at night, could you let me sleep, please?¡± Shen Liangchuan stared forward and said, ¡°Did you not tell me yesterday that a filming crew had invited me to their press conference as a way to show support? Didn¡¯t Wang Wenhao have a supporting role in this show?¡± Chapter 128 - A Slap to the Face (8)

Chapter 128: A p to the Face (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Qiao Lian woke up, it was already morning. She stretched her back and yawned. She only remembered that she had injured herself yesterday when her face started to hurt. She stood up and walked to the mirror. She realized that even though the five handprint marks on her face were still extremely obvious, the swelling has started to subside a little. That medicinal ointment was indeed pretty useful! As she thought about this, she finished washing up and then quietly walked downstairs. She noticed that all the meals had been prepared, but none of the servants were in the house. She sat in the dining room and ate her breakfast, before returning back to the master bedroom upstairs. Due to the bruises on her face, it would be untoward to leave the house like this now. Did this mean that... she had no other choice but to stay at home the entire day? Just as she was thinking about this, her phone started to ring. Her livestreaming partner Gao Youming¡¯s voice emanated from the phone, saying, ¡°Forget Chuan, you have not livestreamed for a while. Are you free tomorrow afternoon? There¡¯s a match, and we couldment it together.¡± Qiao Lian looked at her own face. She was aware that she wouldze around the house if she didn¡¯t ept his invitation. Thus, she nodded and said, ¡°All right, I¡¯ll see you tomorrow.¡± Just as she hung up, she realized that... she had not livestreamed for quite a while now. Somewhat bored, she picked up her phone. She had originally wanted to scroll through her Weibo page, but for some reason, she tapped on the icon for the ¡®LOT¡¯ video game. As she gazed at the familiar in-game interface, her eyes darkened suddenly. Perhaps due to her being beaten up, her mood was rather low. Thus, many wonderful memories started flooding into her mind... Another match had just ended. Just as everybody was celebrating their victory, Zi Chuan suddenly sent her a private message, saying: [Zi Chuan: ¡°Are you not happy?¡±] Qiao Lian immediately froze in shock. [Xiao Qiao: How do you know?] [Zi Chuan: ¡°You were so distracted when you were ying. Only a blind person can¡¯t tell that you aren¡¯t happy.¡±] [Xiao Qiao: ¡°Yes... I¡¯m upset.¡±] [Zi Chuan: ¡°I¡¯m bored now, so tell me why you¡¯re upset.¡±] Qiao Lian smiled. Even though this fellow was curt, he also had a soft heart. He clearly cared about her, yet still he had imed that he was bored anyway. Her mood instantly lifted considerably and she continued typing. [Xiao Qiao: ¡°Inst month¡¯s exam, I dropped ten spots in the school ranking. My mom told me that she would only let me y video games after I take the Gaokao. However, I¡¯m still only in the first year of high school. I will only take the Gaokao in another two and a half years! I refused, and my mom dered that if I do not improve my ranking in the next monthly exam by at least ten spots, she would confiscate myputer.¡±] Once she said this, the other side stayed silent for a long time. The silence was so long that Qiao Lian began to think that Zi Chuan had only been superficially listening to her. She frustratedly hit her head. Why had she thought that she could find warmth andpassion from Zi Chuan? This fellow had a poisonous tongue. He was decent at arguing with her, but he would never be able to console her unless pigs were suddenly able to climb trees! She pursed her lips unhappily and intended to log off. However, a private message suddenly popped up on the game¡¯s interface. [Zi Chuan: 1861XXXX123] Qiao Lian froze. A feeling of nervousness suddenly welled up in her heart. Could this be... She suppressed her heart¡¯s wild thumping and replied. [Xiao Qiao: What is this?] [Zi Chuan: You idiot! It¡¯s my phone number.] Xiao Qiao¡¯s heart thumped even faster. At that moment, they were still not in a rtionship. They had only quarreled online and yed games together. After training together for three months, her coordination with Zi Chuan was now absolutely wless. She had always thought that since their rtionship had started online, it would also end online. She did not know that such a rtionship could transcend into the physical world as well. Chapter 129 - A Slap In the Face (9)

Chapter 129: A p In the Face (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios That day, she kept staring in a daze at the cell phone number she was given. She felt a myriad of emotions in her heart, including both hope and anxiety. She silentlymitted the cell phone number to memory and then nervously logged out of the game. She could not concentrate for the rest of the day. When she was attending lessons in school, she wouldugh unexpectedly. When she was doing her homework, the cold expression of his in-game character would appear in front of her eyes. When she was eating, she could not help but think about whether he was a normal person. Even someone who was so good at ying video games would need to eat, right? So what had Zi Chuan eaten for lunch today? What was his favorite food? She did her homework until 8pm. Yet, her eyes kept drifting to her cell phone. Still, that evening¡¯s exercises were all rather simple. She actually did not find a single exercise which she was unable solve. As she hesitated, she flipped ahead to the next lesson and looked at some of the questions listed there. After looking at the questions, she realized that she did not really know how to answer them. Thus, she excitedly picked up her cell phone and dialed his cell phone number, one digit at a time. Then, she bit her lip and called him, her heart fluttering. The cell phone started ringing, but all she heard were beeps. Clearly, he had not set a ringtone. Qiao Lian pursed her lips. Zi Chuan must be simr to his in-game character, in the sense that both were boring and dull. Right as she thought of this, her call was picked up. Immediately, she heard a voice on the verge of changing due to puberty. ¡°Hello?¡± His polite greeting had a noble and graceful disposition, leaving her speechless. Zi Chuan¡¯s voice in-game had always had a tinge of irritation. Hismands were short and straight to the point, so she had always thought that he was a brutish man. In reality, his polite greeting had made her so nervous that she was rendered speechless. She could not open her mouth to speak at all. On the other side of the call, he silently waited for a while, before he suddenlyughed and said, ¡°Xiao Qiao?¡± She nervously answered affirmatively. ¡°Oh, you aren¡¯t that dumb after all.¡± His voice had a tinge of mockery and irritation, so Qiao Lian finally felt a sense of familiarity and dependability. She pursed her lips and said, ¡°I¡¯m not dumb! Given that I¡¯m so clever and witty, how could I be dumb!¡± ¡°A dumb person would never admit that they are dumb.¡± ¡°You...!¡± ¡°All right, which question do you need me to help you with?¡± She immediately went along with his change of topic, lowering her head and looking at her textbook. However, she then asked another question, seemingly unconvinced. ¡°How did you know that it was me?¡± ¡°Heh, do you think that I¡¯m you?¡± Qiao Lian froze for a while beforeprehending what he meant. She had be synonymous with the word ¡®idiot¡¯ in his eyes. ¡°You...!¡± ¡°What¡¯s the question?¡± She once again got distracted by his change of topic. From then onwards, they would practically call each other daily. Each callsted approximately half an hour, and she sent him all the questions that she could not answer for that day. In the next monthly exam, her ranking improved by 15 spots. Her mother was so happy that she did not bring up the topic again. However... in the end, she still decided to stop ying the game. As she thought about this, Qiao Lian took a deep breath, lowered her head and looked at her cell phone. She did not know what she was thinking. After finally waking up from her daze, she realized that she had unwittingly reminisced the events from a few years ago in her mind. She had called that number again. However, she only heard the following, ¡°The number you have called is no longer in use. Please check the number before calling again.¡± Sheughed bitterly and hung up. The same thing had happened again. Since that incident, she had never been able to contact Zi Chuan ever again. Chapter 130 - A Slap to the Face (10)

Chapter 130: A p to the Face (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian clenched her fists and lowered her head. Actually, he was right. She was indeed an idiot, as only an idiot would believe that they could find true love online. She curled her lips and took a deep breath. Just when she was about to put down her cell phone, a barrage of posts bombarded her WeChat ount. She logged into her ount and saw that arge number of fans in the Shen Liangchuan fan group had tagged her. Qiao Lian asked in a daze, [Qiao Lian: What happened?] [Chuan Forever: Qiao Lian, look at the headlines on Weibo, quickly!] Weibo headlines? She froze momentarily, then picked up her cell phone and logged into Weibo. When she saw the headlines, her entire body immediately froze over again! ¡ª At the film¡¯s press conference. Shen Liangchuan arrived at the scene after epting the invitation. The director immediately went to greet him in a respectful manner, politely weing him and expressing his gratitude for Shen Liangchuan¡¯s presence today. Shen Liangchuan did not speak. Instead he looked at Wang Wenhao, who was nearby. After Wang Wenhao¡¯s scandal broke, every film he starred in had been taken down. Only this show could still be broadcasted, as Wang Wenhao had a supporting role in it and was practically unnoticeable. In fact, the cast and crew hadn¡¯t even invited Wang Wenhao. However, he had obtained a copy of the invitation letter somehow, and strode imposingly into the venue anyway. He definitely had toe today. After all, this was his final chance. After his scandals broke, practically every advertiser and filming crew wanted to break their contracts with him. He would rather take a supporting role than fade out into obscurity. That was because the scandals surrounding him would never disappear. Thus, Wang Wenhao went around trying to curry favor with everybody at this press conference. Shen Liangchuan was wearing a dark grey suit and he had a cold expression. He was holding a champagne ss and was currently standing beside a table. He looked exceptionally stylish, but also exceptionally icy. As a result, none of the people around him dared to approach him. He was alone and standing inside his own bubble. If anyone had paid attention to him, they would have noticed that his gaze kept drifting over to Wang Wenhao. Song Cheng stood at his side. After noticing his behavior, he could not help but pinch his arm. Shen Liangchuan turned around and looked at him casually, with a questioning face. ¡°Brother Shen, what are you nning to do? Can you tell me beforehand so that I can prepare myself mentally. You suddenly decide toe and attend such a small-scale press conference, yet you have beenpletely silent and are now just standing here and doing nothing? My heart is beating anxiously right now.¡± After Shen Liangchuan heard him speak, he sipped a mouthful of champagne and put the ss down. Then, he walked away in long strides. Song Cheng¡¯s heart jumped and he followed closely behind. Shen Liangchuan walked forward, one step at a time, until he reached the front of the room. Wang Wenhao was currently ingratiating himself with a C-list celebrity. The celebrity asked, ¡°Hey, I heard that you beat a paparazzi?¡± ¡°Yeah, the paparazzi nowadays are so disgusting. I have wanted to teach them a lesson myself for some time now! That day, I really couldn¡¯t hold myself anymore, so I went to the news agency. The paparazzi there were all shocked when they saw me, hahaha...¡± ¡°Won¡¯t they start hating you after you did this to one of them?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already done it, so what should I be scared of? That time Best Actor Shen beat up a reporter, he imed that it was in self-defence so that he would have an excuse if he got sued, right? At that time, nobody said anything because they were secretly pleased as well, right?¡± As Wang Wenhao spoke, heughed heartily. Just as he was about to continue speaking, he suddenly felt a presence approaching him from behind. He turned around and saw Shen Liangchuan. His eyes narrowed and attempted to smile at him. However, Shen Liangchuan took a step forward, grabbed his tie and threw a punch at his face! Chapter 131 - Zi Chuan and Liangchuan (1)

Chapter 131: Zi Chuan and Liangchuan (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The situation at the conference was a mess! No one would have expected something like this to happen. Wang Wenhao was stunned. When he entered, he had realized that Shen Liangchuan was around too. Although he had grudges with Shen Liangchuan, he was a public figure and he wouldn¡¯t try to settle things with him in the public eye. Thus, he acted as he pleased. Even when he saw Shen Liangchuan walking over, he didn¡¯t bother... But who could have told him that Shen Liangchuan would have the guts to hit him? Furthermore... He was punched once, but his whole body was pushed back. His right cheek was burning with pain and when he spat, he realized that one of his teeth had fallen out. The pain numbed his brain, he was at a loss. While he was in a daze, he realized that Shen Liangchuan had approached him again and had sent his fist to the other cheek. Bang! He was thrown onto the floor, where he spat another pair of teeth out. One could tell how much strength had been put into these two punches. Wang Wenhao covered his face and widened his eyes. Since he was sure that Shen Liangchuan wanted to start a fight, he reacted and gave out a low growl, intending to hit back. But before he could make his move, Song Cheng had hurriedly rushed over saying, ¡°Ah, Brother Shen, calm down and stop fighting! Stop fighting!¡± Although he said so verbally, he identally stepped on Wang Wenhao¡¯s finger. His leather shoes caused a lot of pain to Wang Wenhao, but Song Cheng only widened his eyes and asked, ¡°Eh? Did I step on something?¡± After he spoke, he applied arge amount of force and rubbed it. He then turned around and removed his foot. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m so sorry! Mr. Wang, I didn¡¯t mean it!¡± Wang Wenhao: ...!! Wang Wenhao held his face and looked at Song Cheng and Shen Liangchuan, who were standing before him. Ignoring the fact that there were two people against him... Everyone in the industry knew that Shen Liangchuan had learnt martial arts and taekwondo for a period of time. Furthermore, Shen Liangchuan had always taken seriously whatever he did, and he already had a ck belt in taekwondo. He couldn¡¯t deal with simply one Shen Liangchuan. He wiped his mouth, his face was so swollen he resembled a pig¡¯s head. He moved his mouth and pointed at Shen Liangchuan, asking, ¡°Best Actor Shen, why did you hit me?¡± Shen Liangchuan nonchntly looked up and gave him a nce. Then, he said something that would make everyone puke blood, ¡°Your looks annoy me.¡± After he finished speaking, he just turned around and walked out. Song Cheng eagerly followed after him. ¡°Brother Shen, if you wanted to punch someone, you should¡¯ve just told me. Why do you have to do it personally? But why didn¡¯t you say that you wanted to punch him earlier? If you had told me, I would¡¯ve ced a nail in my shoes. With that step that I took, I could have easily broken his hand!¡± Hearing the long-winded speech his friend was giving behind him, Shen Liangchuan slowly closed his eyes. Why must he do it personally? Because... He was her boyfriend. No, they were even closer now. He was her husband. _ The topic of #Shen Liangchuan PK Wang Wenhao# started trending again. Qiao Lian read through the news articles, and realized where Shen Liangchuan had hit him. She couldn¡¯t help but touch her face. Why did she have the feeling that Shen Liangchuan had hit Wang Wenhao the same way Wang Wenhao had hit her? Was this... her imagination? Just as she was in her daze, someone messaged her on WeChat once again. When she opened her WeChat, she realized it. [Chuanliu Buxi: Qiao Lian, don¡¯t you feel like... Best Actor Shen is taking revenge for you?] Chapter 132 - Zi Chuan and Liangchuan (2)

Chapter 132: Zi Chuan and Liangchuan (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian stared at that message dazedly,plex emotions were emerging in her heart. Wang Wenhao had pped her twice, so Shen Liangchuan had punched him twice. This made her recall the Zi Chuan she knew. She remembered that she used to hate being killed in the game. As whenever she got killed, she would have to anxiously wait for revival. However, since she didn¡¯t y tank, she easily got killed. Thus, if anyone killed her, she would remember it and ask Zi Chuan to kill him. And, the number of times Zi Chuan retaliated and killed this yer would be the exact number of times this person had killed her. This was done in order to shock everyone, let them understand that when they werepeting against both of them, they couldn¡¯t be chasing after Xiao Qiao and trying to kill her. Or else, they would receive Zi Chuan¡¯s revenge. Now... Shen Liangchuan had beaten Wang Wenhao up, which reminded her of Zi Chuan. She didn¡¯t understand why, but the Zi Chuan in her memories, the one that had been deeply buried in her heart, was slowly emerging now. She put down her phone andid on her bed. She fell asleep unknowingly, as she indulged in weird thoughts. In her dream, she saw Zi Chuan, who was donning an armor and running forward at a very high speed. She was Xiao Qiao, but when she wanted to rush forward to look at him, she realized that she couldn¡¯t move at all. She reached out her hand anxiously in the dark, shouting, ¡°Zi Chuan, Zi Chuan, wait for me!¡± Zi Chuan really stopped and slowly turned around. Qiao Lian then started smiling at him, but when she saw his face, she suddenly jumped in shock. ¡°Shen Liangchuan? Why is it you?¡± It was when she opened her eyes that she realized that she had been dreaming. After recalling the dream, she realized that it was outrageous. She gave a bitterugh and patted her head. Qiao Lian, what are you thinking about! She took a deep breath and picked up her phone. When she looked at it, she saw the message Chuanliu Buxi had sent her: [Chuanliu Buxi: Qiao Lian, do you know Best Actor Shen? Why is Best Actor Shen taking revenge for you? Hurry up, tell me the truth!] She remained silent for a while and replied: [Qiao Lian: You are overthinking.] After turning off WeChat, she checked the time and realized that it was already five in the afternoon. The servants had been summoned to vi 18 by Caretaker Li to tidy up Song Yuanxi¡¯s room. Hence, no one was at home, so she entered the kitchen with the intentions to cook a bowl of noodles for herself. The chopping sound she made when cutting the vegetables was too loud, thus she didn¡¯t hear the engine of the car. She was in a good mood, as Wang Wenhao had been beaten up. Therefore, she was humming and shaking her buttocks while putting the vegetables, meat and noodles into the pot. However, she suddenly heard a voice behind her, ¡°This is how you cook noodles?¡± That one sentence gave her a shock. Her hands loosened their grip and all the vegetables dropped on the floor. She swallowed and turned around. Her eyes met with Shen Liangchuan¡¯s, who was standing at the door and donning a white shirt. She had no idea as to how long he had been standing there, which caused her to delve into panic. Qiao Lian widened her eyes. ¡°M- Mr. Shen, why are you back?¡± She suddenly realized something and hurriedly turned her head, covering her cheeks with her hair. But after doing so, she suddenly realized that he probably had already seen the hand marks on her cheeks. Yet, after he had seen it, he hadn¡¯t spoken nor shown any signs of surprise, which meant that... he already knew she had been pped? So... Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes immediately shone, as she suddenly turned her head and rashly asked, ¡°Mr. Shen, did you hit Wang Wenhao because of me?¡± Chapter 133 - Zi Chuan and Liangchuan (3)

Chapter 133: Zi Chuan and Liangchuan (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Her sudden question caused Shen Liangchuan to stop in his tracks, as he gave her a cold nce. Under his nce, Qiao Lian felt guilty and lowered her head. She was so muddled, how could she have asked such a question? She secretly lifted her head to look at him and realized that he was looking back at her with the same emotionless expression. He looked like he was vexing over how to give her a reply. She hurriedly changed the topic, ¡°M- Mr. Shen... have you eaten?¡± It was then that Shen Liangchuan came back to reality. After staring at Qiao Lian for a while, he said, ¡°No.¡± Qiao Lian pointed at the pot and said, ¡°Then, do you want some noodles? All the servants in the house have gone to vi 18 and they will only send food back at seven, and¡ª¡± ¡°Ok.¡± Before she could finish her sentence, Shen Liangchuan had replied emotionlessly. Qiao Lian was stunned. She had actually just offered out of politeness. She hadn¡¯t forgotten the fact that a simple bowl of noodles had made him unhappyst time. No matter how bad her noodles was, he didn¡¯t have to show his unhappiness to her right? Qiao Lian considered it for a moment, but she still said, ¡°The noodles I¡¯ve cooked might not taste very delicious¡ª¡± ¡°They¡¯re delicious...¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s heart beat increased and a strong surge of happiness filled her heart. Shen Liangchuan thought her noodles were delicious? As she gathered her thoughts, she heard the next words, ¡°... in your dreams.¡± Qiao Lian: ... Shen Liangchuan walked towards her and said, ¡°The way you cook the meat strips, vegetables and noodles make the meat too watery, and your vegetables also get easily over-cooked.¡± Looking at how he was picking on her noodles, Qiao Lian felt unhappy. How dared he say that her noodles didn¡¯t taste nice? Recalling the year when she cooked for the first time, her father had been full of praises for it and finished everything. He even patted her head and eximed, ¡°My Xiao Qiao has grown up! I¡¯m so relieved she knows how to cook for me now!¡± After her father had passed away, Xiao Yi would also praise the noodles she cooked. In the period of time where they had lived together, their daily supper was always vegetables and meat strips with noodles. And it hadsted for a whole three years! She twitched her lips with unhappiness and lowered her head, saying softy, ¡°Then how about you do it instead!¡± She had not realized that she had stopped being so careful with her words when she was with Shen Liangchuan, she had started saying whatever she wanted. However, Shen Liangchuan had realized it. The real nature of the girl before him was bing increasingly simr to the girl he had known eight years ago. His mood suddenly got better. He nodded and said, ¡°Ok.¡± Qiao Lian: ... Shen Liangchuan rolled up his sleeves and walked into the kitchen. He picked up the vegetables and meat strips on the floor and threw them into the dustbin. Afterwards, he picked up a piece of meat, cut it and ced it into the small bowl to marinate it. Then, he turned on the fire and fried the meat. His actions were adept, they even looked artistic. Qiao Lian stood beside him. By the time the noodles were almost done cooking, he had already ced the vegetables and meat strips into the pot and stirred them. Shortly after, the two hot bowls of noodles were ready to be served. This was really... a perfectbination of color, aroma and taste! Qiao Lian picked up her chopsticks and took a mouthful. Her eyes shone at once. ¡°It¡¯s delicious!¡± Comparing this to the noodles she cooked, the food she had been eating with Xiao Yi for the past three years was literally pig¡¯s food! As Shen Liangchuan watched the girl eat, his nce got increasingly gentle. She was still that simple, she could be appeased by a bowl of noodles. However, why would a person with such innocent thoughts do such a thing? He would have never believed it if he hadn¡¯t seen it for himself. As he thought about it, his expression became cold again and he suddenly lost his appetite. Chapter 134 - Zi Chuan and Liangchuan (4)

Chapter 134: Zi Chuan and Liangchuan (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian finished eating all the noodles, but when she looked up, she realized that Shen Liangchuan hadn¡¯t eaten much. Did this guy not like to eat noodles? With these thoughts in mind, she stood up and said, ¡°Mr. Shen, the servants will send food overter. If you don¡¯t feel like eating the noodles, just leave it then.¡± Shen Liangchuan took a nce at her and softly made a sound of agreement, yet his attitude was not as gentle as before. Qiao Lian immediately softened her voice, ¡°Ermmm, if there isn¡¯t anything, I¡¯ll make my way upstairs.¡± This guy was unhappy again, thus she couldn¡¯t stay. She didn¡¯t want to identally trigger him off. After she said so, she left her bowl in the kitchen and quickly proceeded upstairs. When she reached the master bedroom, she picked up the medical cream and applied ayer of it on her face. She looked in the mirror and realized her face was no longer red and swollen. Only vague p marks was left. The wound on the right side of her face had already became a scab, but it still didn¡¯t look good. When she was staring at the mirror in a daze, she heard the a car engine. She was slightly stunned and walked towards the window. Song Cheng had arrived at the vi and had brought a few people with him. This was... Shen Liangchuan¡¯s team, right? They had just started their own managementpany, so they must be really busy now. She wanted to proceed downstairs to greet them, but when she recalled the state of her face, she decided to give up on the idea. _ The small group entered Shen Liangchuan¡¯s meeting room. Shen Liangchuan sat behind the main table expressionlessly, and Song Cheng passed a few sets of documents to him. ¡°These are some of the less well-known actors I have set my eyes on. They have acted in a few web dramas, but aren¡¯t really famous yet. This is our best chance to have them sign a contract with us.¡± After he said so, he continued, ¡°We have just started out with QC Media Company, so we should bring a few people in now, right?¡± Shen Liangchuan flipped through the documents in his hand while mentally recalling which television dramas these people had acted in. However, he realized that hepletely had no recollection. He flipped until the end and threw the document on the table. He looked at Song Chen. ¡°You can decide what to do with these people.¡± Song Cheng nodded and replied, ¡°Ok.¡± After he said so, he spoke again, ¡°Actually, the career development of female casters is also really fast, many online female casters are really popr. Do you think we could choose a few female casters? They should be quite interested in ourpany, as they will be able to enter the entertainment industry after signing with apany.¡± As he finished his sentence, the assistant beside him spoke, ¡°We should beware of this! Many online female casters are really pretty before the cameras, but they look terrible in real life! Thus, if we are going to make a deal with any female caster, we will have to meet them personally at least once.¡± Song Cheng nodded, agreeing with the assistant. Shen Liangchuan did not make anyments, which showed his silent approval. Song Cheng gave it a thought and suddenly spoke, ¡°What do you think of the female caster ¡®Forget Chuan¡¯? She¡¯s really secretive in person and she rarely does livestreams. However, each one of her livestreams is very popr. She¡¯s a diamond in the rough. And most importantly, I¡¯ve heard that she hasn¡¯t signed with anypanies yet.¡± After Song Cheng finished his sentence, Shen Liangchuan looked up. Song Cheng didn¡¯t realize the slight change in Shen Liangchuan and continued speaking, ¡°Everyone thinks ¡®Forget Chuan¡¯ is a dinosaur, but it wouldn¡¯t hurt to hire her. As long as we allow her to work with better livestream tforms, the profits would still rtively significant.¡± The assistant spoke again, ¡°Yes, I have always wanted to know who Forget Chuan is!¡± After hearing that, Song Cheng was determined, ¡°I will personally liaise with her to ensure it! We must bring in Forget Chuan.¡± Chapter 135 - Zi Chuan and Liangchuan (5)

Chapter 135: Zi Chuan and Liangchuan (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After Song Cheng said so, the assistantughed. ¡°Brother Song, I¡¯ll take your word for it! ¡®Forget Chuan¡¯ is really mysterious and most people are unable to contact her. Do you know how to?¡± Song Cheng scratched his head andughed. ¡°I¡¯ll make effort and try!¡± After this topic ended, everyone continued the discussion and chose a few people. When it reached 9 pm, the team took their leave separately. When she heard the sounds of cars leaving, Qiao Lian ran to the balcony and realized that Shen Liangchuan¡¯s car had also left. Did it mean that... Shen Liangchuan had also left? She suddenly felt rxed. She had the whole huge vi to herself, she was so free! After she bathed, she came out of the bathroom wrapped in just a towel and she patted her stomach. Noodles were easily digested, so she was feeling slightly hungry. Thus, she just walked rxedly down the stairs and took out a bottle of yogurt from the fridge. The heater was turned on and she was barefoot with a towel around her. With satisfaction, she hummed happily. She conveniently picked up a straw and took a few mouthfuls of the yogurt. As the amount of yogurt decreased in the bottle, she continued using force to suck it. The straw immediately gave out a really loud ¡®tsst tsst¡¯ sound. As she walked up the stairs, she shook her buttocks while the time singing, ¡°Yo, yo, check it out! The yogurt¡¯s still insufficient!¡± When she had just finished her song and looked up, she saw Shen Liangchuan at the end of the staircase. He was looking at her with a mix ofplex emotions on his face. He looked like he wanted tough, but he was holding it in. Qiao Lian: ...!! Hadn¡¯t he left? Hadn¡¯t his car left the house? Could someone tell her why he was still here!? Boo hoo hoo hoo! It was so embarrassing! And now, she was going upstairs... wearing nothing but a towel around her!? She could only process it after entering the master bedroom. Qiao Lian stood there staring at Shen Liangchuan in extreme awkwardness. After a while, she took out the straw from her mouth and passed the yogurt to Shen Liangchuan. ¡°D- do you want some?¡± Shen Liangchuan: ... Qiao Lian coughed and said, ¡°Ah, it¡¯s time to sleep!¡± After she said so, her gaze floated around, as she was avoiding Shen Liangchuan. She then proceeded up the stairs, tightening the towel around her. In the middle of her panic, she walked quickly and on thest step, she tripped and fell forward! In her fluster, she only managed to stabilize herself after grabbing Shen Liangchuan¡¯s elbow. After managing to stand on the floor steadily, she looked at Shen Liangchuan with a smile and said, ¡°Ermmm, thank you.¡± Then... she felt a cold breeze blow across her body. The towel slipped down. She followed Shen Liangchuan¡¯s gaze and looked at her bare body... She immediately covered her chest with both of her hands, but then covered the lower part of her body... Lastly, she covered her face and ran into the master bedroom! Wu wu wu! It was so embarrassing! Shen Liangchuan was almost unable to keep a straight face any longer. There was a half-smile on his face and his gaze sunk when he recalled her state a moment ago. Then, he turned his head and followed the woman into the master bedroom, who seemed to be trying to put her clothes on in panic. However, as he might have entered too quickly after her, she decided to grab the nket andpletely bury herself, including her head, in it.¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s smile widened further as he looked at the person buried in the nket. He couldn¡¯t resist the temptation and walked over. He stood by the bed and stared at her. After a while, as he expected, she removed the nkets off her and stuck her head out. However, after seeing him, she hid back into the nket again. He suddenly spoke, ¡°What are you embarrassed about? It isn¡¯t as if I haven¡¯t seen it before.¡± Chapter 136 - Zi Chuan and Liangchuan (6)

Chapter 136: Zi Chuan and Liangchuan (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian: ... Qiao Lian hid under the nket. She waspletely dumbfounded. Why was she so shy? He had seen it before, it didn¡¯t make sense to act all embarrassed! Furthermore, was this vulgar person really Shen Liangchuan? Why did his vulgarnguage remind her of the ¡®Zi Chuan¡¯ that she had befriended in the past? She closed her eyes. Her entire body was on the verge of copse due to the fact that she was, at this moment,pletely naked. Just as she thought about this, she heard rustling soundsing from outside the nket. She froze, popped out her head and saw that Shen Liangchuan was removing his clothes. A shocked Qiao Lian immediately asked, ¡°What are you doing?¡± Shen Liangchuan looked bemused. He seemed much more gentle without his usual distanced expression. ¡°What do you think I¡¯m going to do?¡± Qiao Lian hugged the nket around her and said, ¡°Well, I...¡± She looked around wildly, her eyes darting back and forth. Atst, she coughed and said, ¡°I¡¯m not ovting today, so you can¡¯t¡ª¡± ¡°I can¡¯t what?¡± Qiao Lian red at him and threw caution to the wind. ¡°You can¡¯t do that with me!¡± ¡°Do what?¡± Ahhh! How could this man be so shameless! Her body tensed, and she was rendered speechless. She could only direct herrge, innocent eyes in his direction while desperately clutching the nket. Thest time he got drunk, he had taken advantage of her. Given that he wasn¡¯t drunk today, he definitely would not be having his way with her. She was not ady who would sleep with anybody just for a bit of money! As she red at him, Shen Liangchuan suddenly turned around and walked to the bathroom. His low and rich voice floated over to her ears, ¡°Ms. Qiao, please get your mind out of the gutter. How do you expect me to bathe without first removing my clothes?¡± Qiao Lian: ...! Why are you removing your clothes at the side of the bed when you are clearly going to shower in the bathroom? Boo hoo hoo! Why did she always overthink things and make wild spections? She grabbed her hair and desperately wished that she could give this guy a solid punch. However, Shen Liangchuan had gone to shower, so did this mean that she could finally put on her clothes? She immediately jumped off the bed, grabbed her clothes and started putting them on. Suddenly, the bathroom door opened and Qiao Lian froze. She violently twisted her head around, only to see Shen Liangchuan was standing there. Qiao Lian: ... He went into the room, took a towel from the drawer and walked back in. Qiao Lian: ...! There were towels in the bathroom as well! This guy was definitely doing this intentionally! She hurriedly put her clothes on,id on the bed and closed her eyes. After a while, he finished showering and walked out. He then went over to her side of the bed andid down next to her. The smell of manliness silently wafted into her nostrils, making Qiao Lian suddenly feel extremely peaceful and calm. She shut her eyes and almost instantly fell into a deep sleep. The next morning, she was awoken by Shen Liangchuan. ¡°Mom asks that you go over to her ce for breakfast.¡± Qiao Lian had no other alternative but to get out of bed. After wasting a considerable amount of time preparing herself in the room, she finally looked at herself in the mirror,pletely satisfied. With this look, she could finally go outside and show herself to others. When she went to the living room downstairs, the waiting Shen Liangchuan took a look at her. The corners of his lips twitched. Her petite face had a thickyer of foundation on it, making it to look as pale as a ghost. Furthermore, a ster was stuck to her cheek. She looked extremelyical. She followed Shen Liangchuan to vi 18. As she entered, she saw Xia Yehua sitting on the sofa and fuming to herself. A stunned Qiao Lian said, ¡°Auntie, what happened?¡± Xia Yehua pointed at Song Yuanxi and said, ¡°What happened? Yuanxi wants to meet her online friend! Hurry up and help me convince her that online romances arepletely unreliable. What if she was conned by somebody she met online?¡± Chapter 137 - Zi Chuan and Liangchuan (7)

Chapter 137: Zi Chuan and Liangchuan (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Song Yuanxi¡¯s face waspletely red. Her eyes red, she lowered her head. After hearing what Xia Yehua had to say, she hurriedly said, ¡°Auntie, he wouldn¡¯t lie to me.¡± ¡°Have you met him before? Do you know how he is in real life? Yuanxi, you were so obedient when you were young, but now... you make others worry way too much! No, I will never let you meet him.¡± ¡°Auntie...¡± A doe-eyed Song Yuanxi raised her head and widened her eyes. She looked pleadingly at Qiao Lian and said, ¡°Auntie...¡± Before she could finish pleading, tears rolled down her face. ¡°What I have with him is true love, so I¡ª¡± She cupped her mouth and lowered her head. For someone who had always been good-tempered and gentle, at this moment she was being surprisingly stubborn. Qiao Lian looked at her. She suddenly remembered her past self. She had agreed to meet Zi Chuan in Beijing and bought airne tickets, intending to fly there. However, her mother disapproved immensely of her decision and had said simr things to what Xia Yehua had just said. How had her past self handled this situation? She had irritatedly said, ¡°Mom, Zi Chuan wouldn¡¯t lie to me.¡± When she said this, she had been exceptionally insistent and exceptionally confident. Just like how Song Yuanxi was behaving now. Xia Yehua pointed at her and said, ¡°You have only known him for a couple of days and you already want to meet him?¡± ¡°Auntie, you were the one who said that online romances were unreliable. Therefore, we decided to meet each other, so that this romance wouldn¡¯t exist exclusively online and would move forward.¡± ¡°No! Definitely not! You know nothing about this man. If you go over, meet him and get conned in the process, do you know how sad you¡¯ll be?¡± Song Yuanxi bit her lip, feeling extremely wronged. Xia Yehua patted her chest and said, ¡°You¡¯ll be the death of me!¡± Song Yuanxi immediately walked over and patted her back, saying, ¡°Auntie, please don¡¯t be angry. I promise I won¡¯t go.¡± She was so obedient that any outsider would feelpassion and heartache on her behalf. As Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan stood on the side and watched, their feelings became even moreplicated. Many online romances failed once they transitioned into the physical world. However, Song Yuanxi had a decent appearance, thus she was unlikely to be given the cold shoulder. Qiao Lian pursed her lips and suddenly said, ¡°Mom, let her go.¡± As she finished speaking, Song Yuanxi joyfully raised her head. Xia Yehua¡¯s entire body froze. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s gaze also fixated on Qiao Lian. Qiao Lian smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s normal for Yuanxi to meet her friend. If you are still worried about her, I¡¯ll apany her to the meeting.¡± Xia Yehua frowned and was about to speak when Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°She is already an adult after all, so she should be able to decide some things for herself.¡± Xia Yehua took a deep breath after hearing this and said, ¡°Fine, fine. I¡¯ll stop minding about your teenage issues! I don¡¯t care anymore, just go!¡± Song Yuanxi immediately became excited and said, ¡°Auntie, you¡¯re the best!¡± Then, she rushed upstairs. Qiao Lian could already tell what she was doing upstairs even without following her. She was probably picking out the clothes and essories that she would be wearing... just like her past self. Her past self... After convincing her parents at their home, she flew to Beijing all by herself and excitedly went to meet Zi Chuan. She had prepared so many things just to meet him. She had practically brought every piece of beautiful clothing she owned with her. Thus, she dragged arge suitcase along with her. At the hotel, she tried out many outfits before finally deciding on one. After she was satisfied with how she looked in the mirror, she went out and hailed a cab. She then headed to the agreed location. She arrived two hours early at the agreed-upon cafe. Therefore, she managed to find a good spot to sit down. There, she waited for him silently. Chapter 138 - Zi Chuan and Liangchuan (8)

Chapter 138: Zi Chuan and Liangchuan (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios They had agreed to meet at a Starbucks cafe in the Haidian District of Beijing. She felt somewhat embarrassed because she had arrived early. Hence, she sat quietly in a corner of the cafe. At that moment, each and every second felt like a particrly arduous type of torture to her. This was the first time that she ever felt time passing this slowly. Every tick on her second-hand watch made her jump in joy. However, it was still too difficult to bear! She simply could not stand it anymore and took out her cell phone to call Zi Chuan... As she thought of this, they heard steps approaching from upstairs. Song Yuanxi walked out with a red face. She was holding a white shirt and asked loudly from the second floor, ¡°Sister-inw, do you think this shirt will look good on me?¡± Her eyes were as bright as the most polished obsidian on Earth. They were gleaming like stars in the sky. Qiao Lian tilted her head to look at her. As though by magic, she was suddenly holding a red dress and asking, ¡°Or would this one look better on me? The white shirt would make me look pale, but the red color is too bright. I am rather pale, so I don¡¯t know if I can handle such a vivid color.¡± Qiao Lian reminisced about the past again. That day, she had worn a red dress. Her mother had told her that red looked best on her, as it made her seem like a small sun that brought warmth to everybody around her. ¡°Should I put on makeup? But, if I put it on, will I look too formal? Yet, I shouldn¡¯t let him think that I¡¯m treating this too casually as well.¡± That day, she had put on makeup before leaving the house. When she reached the doorway, she turned back again and washed off the makeup on her face. The makeup made her look old! Since she was naturally beautiful, there was nothing to fear. ¡°Ah, which handbag should I take? If I bring one that is too expensive, I¡¯m worried that I will stress him out. But, if the hees from a rich family, I¡¯m afraid that he will look down on me.¡± Qiao Lianughed. She had never considered this question at that time, since the Zi Chuan she used to know would have never been ashamed because she had brought an expensive handbag. Neither would he have nced at her more often just because she had brought an expensive handbag. She had fallen in love with Zi Chuan because of his personality, so even if he had been ugly, she would have still loved him. However, Song Yuanxi had always been shy and introverted. What scared her the most was to cause trouble for others. Nevertheless, at this moment, she was excitedly speaking in a loud voice and the three people downstairs couldn¡¯t help but to smile uncontrobly. Xia Yehua was rendered speechless and she could only point at her. Qiao Lian could only say, ¡°Wear the white one! Don¡¯t put on makeup, you look better without it. Just put on a bit of pale lipstick. As for the bag, you are wearing white, so bring a blue handbag because it willplement both your clothes and your shoes.¡± Song Yuanxi seemed to have found her pir of support. She immediately answered in the affirmative and rushed back into her room. Xia Yehua eximed, ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve seen her so hopeful. However, I¡¯m really worried that she is being lied to by others.¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes narrowed. Indeed... Song Yuanxi was quite innocent, even though she seemed somewhat older than how Qiao Lian had been at that time. The Qiao Lian of yesteryear... used to be a small tyrant, and nobody would dare anger her. However, Song Yuanxi was currently as timid as a little rabbit. What if she got bullied by others? She pursed her lips and could not help but to clench her teeth. Her thoughts returned to that year¡¯s events. She had excitedly called Zi Chuan and the call had connected very quickly. Just as he answered the call with a ¡°Hello¡±, she immediately started speaking incessantly. ¡°Zi Chuan, I arrived early and have been here by myself for quite some time now. I¡¯m bored! Where are you?¡± Chapter 139 - Zi Chuan and Liangchuan (9)

Chapter 139: Zi Chuan and Liangchuan (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After finishing her spiel, she angrily opened her mouth again. ¡°I¡¯m giving you half an hour. If you don¡¯t show up within half an hour, this princess won¡¯t wait here any longer!¡± She meant those words as a joke, but the other party stayed silent. His reaction made her panic. She said nervously, ¡°Zi Chuan? Why are you not speaking?¡± He only started speaking after she finished, saying, ¡°I¡¯ll arrive in ten minutes.¡± Ten minutes... Qiao Lian¡¯s heart immediately turned warm and fuzzy. It seemed like she wasn¡¯t the only one that was worried. He was also worried that he would not be able to meet her, which was why he was arriving an hour early. She hung up the phone and supported her chin with her hands. Her eyes stared at the entrance of the cafe. At that moment, there were not many people in that Starbucks cafe. She reckoned that there were less than ten people in the cafe, but there were even less people entering and exiting the shop. Hence, Zi Chuan should be able to spot her quite easily once he entered. As she thought about this, she suddenly felt nervous and had a sense of foreboding. She bit her lip and silently waited. Then, her cell phone suddenly started ringing unexpectedly... ¡°Sister-inw, look at me! Is this fine?¡± Song Yuanxi¡¯s question interrupted Qiao Lian¡¯s trip down memoryne again. Qiao Lian¡¯s mind returned to the present and she stared at Song Yuanxi. Song Yuanxi had a delicate appearance. Her pale facial features couldplement almost any outfit, everything suited her. She looked beautiful as she wore the clothes that Qiao Lian had picked out for her. Qiao Lian nodded and said, ¡°You look great!¡± Song Yuanxi smiled shyly for a moment, and then looked at Xia Yehua, asking, ¡°Auntie... what do you think?¡± Xia Yehua humphed coldly. When Song Yuanxi saw this, she lowered her head, like a child who had just done something wrong. When Xia Yehua noticed her expression, she stood up and walked over to Song Yuanxi to tidy up her messy hair. ¡°Yuanxi, you must remember to protect yourself, all right? Also, if that guy doesn¡¯t match your expectations, you shouldn¡¯t get upset, understood?¡± Song Yuanxi¡¯s eyes brightened and she nodded vigorously, saying, ¡°I¡¯ll remember, Auntie!¡± Then, she lowered her head and looked at the time. ¡°We agreed to meet each other at the nearby Starbucks cafe at ten o¡¯clock. It¡¯s almost time, so I¡¯ll take my leave first!¡± As she said this, she happily ran outside. When she passed by Shen Liangchuan, she lowered her head, embarrassed. ¡°Brother Liangchuan, I¡¯ll be heading out now.¡± Qiao Lian looked at Shen Liangchuan and noticed that he had an unfathomable look in his eyes. He was not gazing at Song Yuanxi. Instead, he was looking at himself. Baffled, she twitched her eyebrows, only to see him open his mouth and say simply, ¡°OK.¡± Song Yuanxi did not notice his expression and immediately ran out. After a while, a chauffeur picked her up and drove her. Qiao Lian stood up. When she noticed Xia Yehua¡¯s craned neck, she suddenly said, ¡°Mom, if you¡¯re worried about her, I¡¯ll go and look after her on your behalf.¡± Xia Yehua immediately nodded and said, ¡°Ahh, yes, go and look after her. Without someone doing that, my heartbeat will keep beating erratically. Yuanxi has always been a particrly innocent child. I¡¯m truly afraid that she will be conned by that man!¡± Qiao Lian nodded, stood up and walked outside. Just as she reached the courtyard, she suddenly felt a presence behind her. She turned and saw Shen Liangchuan standing behind her. He walked past her, turned on the car¡¯s engine and said, ¡°Get in.¡± Qiao Lian froze for a second before reacting. Shen Liangchuan was going to drive her to the cafe. She got in and the car drove towards the nearby Starbucks cafe. Once they had arrived, he stopped the car at the roadside. Through the ss window, she saw Song Yuanxi nervously sitting near the cafe¡¯s window. Chapter 140 - Zi Chuan and Liangchuan (10)

Chapter 140: Zi Chuan and Liangchuan (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Noticing Song Yuanxi¡¯s nervous expression caused Qiao Lian to clench her fists nervously as well. A strange feeling of anticipation on behalf of Song Yuanxi began to blossom within Qiao Lian. She fervently hoped that the man that was about to show up was a decent person. She hoped that Song Yuanxi would not walk away disappointed, like she did so many years ago. She believed that Song Yuanxi, like her, would not care about the looks of the man that was going to show up. She quietly kept staring forward as time passed slowly by. Only after a long while did she notice that someone beside her had fixed his gaze on her. She turned her head. When her eyes met Shen Liangchuan¡¯s cool gaze, she froze momentarily. He had aplicated look in his eyes, and had an unfathomable expression on his face as he scrutinized her. His scrutiny made her feel as though this man was trying to understand her thoroughly. There was an awkward silence in the car. Finally, she could not stop herself from breaking the silence by saying, ¡°Tell me. What do you think about Yuanxi¡¯s decision to meet this person?¡± Shen Liangchuan looked at her, processed her words and lowered his head, saying, ¡°How should I know.¡± Qiao Lian: ... How could she continue the topic? She looked forward again and said, ¡°I hope that whoever arrives is a dapper and handsome teenager. After all, every woman has always dreamed of a Prince Charming!¡± When she finished speaking, Shen Liangchuan looked at her and said, ¡°Hopeless idiot.¡± His sharp tongue and look of disdain reminded her of Zi Chuan. She did not know why, but recently she had been linking the two men together. That was because these two men were extremely simr in some ways. As she stared nkly into space, she saw Shen Liangchuan turn his head around irritatedly. Suddenly, his gaze darkened and he said, ¡°He¡¯s arrived.¡± Qiao Lian followed the direction of his gaze and her eyes immediately brightened. ¡°He¡¯s really here!¡± The man who arrived seemed rather normal and was wearing a pair of sses. Due to the distance, they could not see the man¡¯s looks clearly. However, his clothes looked tidy and he looked reliable. Song Yuanxi blushed a lot and cautiously shook the man¡¯s hand. Then, the couple sat down next to each other. They chatted with each other in the cafe, as Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan sat in the car and watched them from afar. The man seemed quite proactive. Each time he spoke, Song Yuanxi would immediately startughing. Then, she would shyly lower her head and touch her hair. The man leaned forward. His expression clearly indicated that he was extremely interested in Song Yuanxi, and she got even more shy. Her timid expression would make any man want to protect her if they saw it, right? Qiao Lian saw the man waving his hand to summon a waiter. They ordered several cakes and pastries, and chatted with each other as they ate. The man seemed to really care for Song Yuanxi. He was passionate and animated. Even from afar, she could tell that their conversation was probably interesting indeed. Except... Looking at the man¡¯s height, it seems that his height was just about the same as Yuanxi¡¯s. Wasn¡¯t he just a tad too short? However, she should not judge a person based on their appearance. At least this guy looked polite, reliable and not too sketchy. Qiao Lian lowered her eyes. She felt that Song Yuanxi¡¯s luck was much better than hers. That fateful day so many years ago, her past self had also stupidly waited there. When there were only five minutes left until Zi Chuan¡¯s promised arrival time, her phone started ringing. She picked up the call. The person on the other line was just her friend, asking about her well-being. After chatting for a while, she remembered that Zi Chuan was about to arrive and thus found a convenient excuse to hang up the phone. She looked at the time again. He must be almost here, right? Chapter 141 - When We Were Young and Reckless (1)

Chapter 141: When We Were Young and Reckless (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian lifted her head and sized up the room. The moment she did so, she saw someone walking outside. She paid it no mind and continued waiting, all the while staring at the entrance. Five minutes passed. She looked at her cell phone. Zi Chuan had not arrived and had not called her either. She silently stared at her cell phone. After another five minutes passed, she impatiently dialed Zi Chuan¡¯s phone number again. She could hear his ringtone over the line, but even after a long while, nobody picked up the call. Qiao Lian frowned. Could it be that he was still on the way and thus could not hear his cell phone ring? She sat patiently and kept waiting. Half an hour had psed since the agreed-upon time. However, he had still not arrived. Qiao Lian held her cell phone and continued calling his phone number. Her calls could get through, but throughout the entire process, no one picked up any of her calls. She froze on the spot and an unprecedented sense of panic rose up within her. Did this mean that... Zi Chuan had gotten into a car ident on the way here? She widened her eyes and walked out of the cafe. Then, she stood at the entrance and craned her neck to check out the surroundings. Zi Chuan had said that he was only ten minutes away from the cafe. Even if he had been driving, in Beijing, he could not have driven a long distance in ten minutes. She impatiently walked back and forth near the cafe, asionally raising her head to check out her surroundings, hoping to catch sight of him. She also kept calling his phone number using her cell phone. Another half an hour passed. Nobody picked up her calls and nobody passed by the cafe. Qiao Lian could no longer stay seated. She has always had a vivacious personality, so it had already been extremely difficult for her to sit in this cafe for one and a half hours. Furthermore, the fact that his phone number always rang meant that his phone had not run out of battery. As she continued to call him, she gged down a cab and asked the cab driver a question that he found extremely strange, ¡°Could you randomly drive me around this cafe and stop at any ce which can be reached from the cafe in exactly ten minutes?¡± She worriedly stared through the car window. However, she did not see any car idents along the road. She got even more worried. In the end, she went directly to the nearest police station and asked if any car idents had happened nearby. The answer she received was as follows, ¡°There was a tailgating ident. However, they have settled their respective car insurance issues, so they left the scene.¡± Zi Chuan couldn¡¯t have been involved in that ident. Zi Chuan had always been both punctual and meticulous. Whenever she agreed with Zi Chuan to log in at a particr time, he would send a private message to inform her when he waste, even if it was by a single minute. She walked out of the police station and called Zi Chuan¡¯s phone number again. However, he had already switched off his cell phone. Qiao Lian hurriedly went back into the cafe and didn¡¯t dare to step out again. She was afraid that Zi Chuan would arrive at the cafe and not be able to find her. Thus, a habitually impatient person sat at a cafe for an entire afternoon. She stared at every customer in the cafe. Every time she saw someone who fit his age profile, she would approach them and ask, ¡°Excuse me, are you Zi Chuan?¡± No. Still no. Still... the answer was no. It was already 8pm, yet Zi Chuan had still not arrived. She sat dejectedly inside the cafe and a single thought kept popping into her mind. ¡°He¡¯s probably noting anymore.¡± Given what she knew of his personality, he would never let her wait at a cafe for this long. She bit her lip and silently stared outside the cafe. It was already dark here in Beijing, and cars drove to and fro on the road. At this moment, her cell phone finally began to ring. Chapter 142 - When We Were Young and Reckless (2)

Chapter 142: When We Were Young and Reckless (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian excitedly lowered her head, but when she saw the caller ID, she dejectedly hung her head again. The call was from her mother. She dejectedly picked up the call and heard her mother¡¯s gentle voice say, ¡°Xiao Qiao, have you met Zi Chuan yet? How is he? Do you find him charming? You¡¯ve even forgotten to update us!¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes immediately turned red. She choked out, ¡°Mom¡ª¡± Right as she spoke, she burst into tears. Her mother¡¯s worried voice emanated from the other end of the call, saying, ¡°Xiao Qiao, what¡¯s the matter? If something¡¯s happened, then tell me clearly. What happened to you?¡± However, the more her mother cared about her well-being, the more she wanted to cry. She bit her lip and cried uncontrobly. She did not know whether she was crying for herself or for Zi Chuan. Her mother consoled her for a long time afterwards. Once she hung up, her father called her cell phone. His calm voice helped soothing her heart. He said, ¡°Xiao Qiao, regardless of what happened, don¡¯t be afraid. You are my daughter, the daughter of Qiao Dong, after all. Now, tell your father where you currently are.¡± Only then did Xiao Qiao realize that her father might have misunderstood the situation. She hurriedly said chokingly, ¡°I- I¡¯m still at the cafe. Dad, he didn¡¯te. Boo hoo hoo, he didn¡¯te¡ª¡± The other party sighed loudly in relief and said, ¡°Xiao Qiao, don¡¯t cry. It¡¯ste and you should first return to the hotel. Perhaps he got caught up in something today. You have his cell phone number and will be able to contact him sooner orter.¡± Qiao Lian bit her lip and said, ¡°All right, I know, Dad.¡± After hanging up, Qiao Lian wiped away her tears. However, she had an unprecedented feeling of persistence. She would not leave this ce until Zi Chuan showed up. She did not know whether she was being stubborn for herself, or for him. She sat quietly and stared at her cell phone. She sat until the cafe¡¯s barista walked over and said, ¡°Miss, our cafe is closing for the night. Please¡ª¡± Only then did Qiao Lian notice the time¡ªit was already 11 pm. Her expression froze for a second. Suddenly, the door to the cafe was pushed open by someone. She jerked her head up and saw a towering male figure standing at the doorway, looking at her. Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes immediately turned red again and she said, ¡°Dad!¡± She jumped up and ran over to her father¡¯s arms. Her father gently patted her back and said, ¡°I knew you wouldn¡¯t listen to my advice. Thank goodness your mother sent me to follow you to Beijing because she was worried about you. Xiao Qiao, it¡¯s alreadyte. Shall we proceed back to the hotel first?¡± Qiao Lian shook her head and said, ¡°No, dad. I¡¯m going to wait here.¡± Her father saw her expression and patted her head dotingly. Then, he called the barista over and said something to him. After that, the barista did note over or try to chase them out again. That night, she sat on a chair facing the cafe¡¯s window. Her father¡¯s arrival had calmed her down. She gradually became less irritated, but more persistent. She held her cell phone and would ce a call every five minutes. Initially, she still had a glimmer of hope within her, wishing that the call would go through the very next second. Since it was already veryte, Zi Chuan should have already returned home. Even if his phone was out of battery, he would already have charged it, right? Even towards theter part of the night, she robotically continued calling him. As dawn rapidly approached, she was still wide awake. Her face was tense. Then, after a countless number of calls, the other party finally picked up the call. Chapter 143 - When We Were Young and Reckless (3)

Chapter 143: When We Were Young and Reckless (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The instant the other party picked up her call, her eyes immediately brightened up, full of either hope or relief. An entire night of waiting has created so much grievance in her heart that at this moment, she was on the brink of tears. However, she straightened her neck and barked harshly, ¡°Zi Chuan, where the hell are you? Do you know that I¡ª¡± ¡°Xiao Qiao.¡± His voice, on the verge of changing due to puberty, interrupted hers. Even though he had only said a couple of words, his voice gave Qiao Lian a sense of foreboding. She stopped yelling, as though she was afraid of what he was about to say next. Instead, she smiled and said, ¡°Zi Chuan, how are you? Did something happen?¡± Tears rolled down her face as she forced a smile. ¡°Zi Chuan, could youe to see me, please?¡± Once she finished speaking, he stayed silent for a while before uttering thest sentence one says in a rtionship, ¡°Xiao Qiao, I¡¯m never going to see you again.¡± Beep, beep, beep... As he finished, he hung up the phone without giving her a chance to speak. Qiao Lian immediately froze on the spot. She widened her eyes and stared at her cell phone unbelievingly. She bit her lips and said, ¡°You won¡¯t see me again? Do you think just because you said that, we won¡¯t ever see each other again?¡± She called him again. Just as the call connected, the receiver hung up again. When she called over again, the phone had already been switched off. He had actually switched his phone off... Qiao Lian stared at the phone in her hands, dazed. She had cried so much that her voice was already hoarse. That iprehensible abandonment experience associated with youth and unfathomable romance that she had just experienced had turned her entire world upside down. Her mother¡¯s words before she left her house rang in her ears again, ¡°Xiao Qiao, he can¡¯t be trusted. What if he is a con artist?¡± What if he was a con artist? What should she do? Her online romance with Zi Chuan hadsted approximately two and a half years. For two years, they had talked for almost half an hour every day, yet now, she was being told that Zi Chuan could be a con artist? She could not believe it and picked up her phone to call him again. His phone was still switched off. Only then did she realize that she knew nothing about him, other than the fact that his name was ¡®Zi Chuan¡¯. She wanted to wrest an exnation out of him, but did not know how to find him. Afterwards, for many nights, she called that familiar phone number. However, after her call connected, the answering machine would tell her that the number she called was no longer in use. Even after so many years, each time she thought about the despair that she had experienced that night, she would have a sense of haziness and confusion. She stared at the cafe in front of her, and at Song Yuanxi and the man. They were chatting with each other animatedly. She frowned. Were online romances... really reliable? Just as she thought about this, she turned her head and saw that Shen Liangchuan was also in a daze, as though he had also reminisced about some event in the past. What was on his mind? As she thought about this, she saw Song Yuanxi and the man walk out of the cafe. She hurriedly looked in front of her and saw the couple get into car. Then, the car drove away. She did not know why, but she kept feeling as though something was not quite right. She hurriedly pushed Shen Liangchuan. ¡°Mr. Shen, chase after them, hurry up!¡± Shen Liangchuan still seemed to be in a daze. He stared at Qiao Lian and suddenly asked, ¡°Why?¡± Qiao Lian immediately said, ¡°I still think online romances are unreliable, so we should follow them to see what they are nning to do next.¡± Online romances are unreliable. That sentence again. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s gaze was so deep that it seemed an entire person could get sucked into it. ¡°So, has it always been fake?¡± Were her feelings for him fake from the beginning just because they had been in an online romance? Chapter 144 - When We Were Young and Reckless (4)

Chapter 144: When We Were Young and Reckless (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She had only jerked him around for fun because their rtionship had been fake. His gaze shone with fury and hatred as he thought this, causing the temperature in the car to drop rapidly. Qiao Lian¡¯s entire body froze with his gaze. However, as she saw Song Yuanxi leaving with that man, she could not help but to grab Shen Liangchuan¡¯s arm and say, ¡°Mr. Shen, what are you thinking? Hurry up and follow them!¡± Her words caused Shen Liangchuan to snap back to reality. He lowered his head and stared at the hand that was currently grabbing his arm. He finally suppressed theplicated emotions in his heart, looked forward and started the car. Only then did they begin following the other car. The other car was currently driving around Beijing city, but it was rapidly approaching the rural area. Eventually, it stopped at a rather dpidated area near the west end of the city. Qiao Lian widened her eyes and looked in front of her. She pointed at a car in front of a small shop and said, ¡°There, the car has stopped there!¡± Shen Liangchuan frowned and stopped his car as well. Given that he was a public figure, he consciously took out a mask and a hat. However, before he could put them on, Qiao Lian had already opened the car door and gotten out. She rushed over to the other car! Shen Liangchuan took a moment to gather his thoughts, which resulted in him being slower to react than Qiao Lian. He frowned and lifted his head again. However, by this point, the girl¡¯s figure had disappeared past the entrance of the shop. He hurriedly pushed open the car door and got out. Qiao Lian worriedly rushed inside. It was a hotel after all, not a shop. There were many rooms along both ends of the hallway. The dim lighting made her feel increasingly ufortable. Furthermore, the atmosphere inside made her want to puke. With a single nce, she could tell that this was a seedy ce meant for people to conduct immoral acts. She looked at her surroundings, before noticing that Song Yuanxi, who was standing in front of her, looked somewhat unwell. She was currently leaning against the man¡¯s shoulder while she walked forward. She immediately realized exactly what was going on. As a seasoned reporter with years of experience, she had seen all kinds of scams. The Song Yuanxi in front of her had definitely been drugged. She moved forward and yelled, ¡°Stop right there!¡± The man did not turn around. Instead, he walked even faster! An anxious Qiao Lian tried to get closer again. However, at this moment, the doors on both sides suddenly opened and a group of thugs rushed towards her. Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes narrowed and she instantly took a fighting position. As she saw a man run forward to grab her, she stretched out her arm and grabbed the man at once. She then gave him a forceful shove, pushing him on top of another man! She had taken some martial arts lessons before. However, the little martial arts¡¯ knowledge that she had was ultimately not very helpful against this group of thugs. After all, her bare hands were hopelessly outmatched by the sheer number of thugs surrounding her. Even though she had just beaten two thugs, more of them rushed up behind her. Then, they surrounded herpletely. She had nowhere else left to run. She worriedly bit her lip. Thugs started to attack her from all sides. Even though she managed to defeat the ones in front, she suddenly felt a flurry of punches attacking her from behind. Oh no! They were in deep trouble! Just as she thought of this, she heard people screaming behind her. Then, a broad-shouldered and warm body pressed against her back. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s usually calm voice was currently filled with worried as he said, ¡°Are you a pig? Did you not know how dangerous it would be in here?¡± Qiao Lian froze as she got scolded. She felt an unfathomable yet familiar sensation. She remembered the other time this had happened... which had been while she was ying a video game. Some random yer was driving her crazy with his in-game antics. As she ran and chased after him, she carelessly fell into his trap. A couple of yers hiding to the side of her suddenly burst out of their hiding ce. The three yers took the opportunity to surround and attack her, causing her life bar to slowly drained away. Right as she was on the verge of death, Zi Chuan suddenly rushed inside. The voice chat function was switched on, so she heard his exasperated voice over the headset, saying, ¡°Are you a pig? Why are you rushing to your death?¡± At this moment, that familiar voice sounded strangely simr to the voice that she was hearing right now. Chapter 145 - When We Were Young and Reckless (5)

Chapter 145: When We Were Young and Reckless (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian could not help but look at Shen Liangchuan. He was wearing a hat and a mask, so she was unable to see the expression on his face. She could only notice his eyes, which were shining with a cold gleam. As she froze in shock, someone rushed up again. Shen Liangchuan immediately grabbed her arm and pulled her to the side. He then kicked the man and said, ¡°Why are you staring nkly into space?¡± After scolding her, he turned his head around and fought another man who was close by. Only then did Qiao Lian snap back to reality. She stood with her back against Shen Liangchuan and started resisting the group of men. However... they could not keep doing this. Qiao Lian bit her lip and said, ¡°I saw Song Yuanxi being taken to the second-tost room at the end of the hallway in front of us. We need to rush over and rescue her. If we keep fighting off these men, something will happen to Yuanxi!¡± If they didn¡¯t manage to save her within 20 minutes, the immoral act currently taking ce in the room would have concluded by then. Once she said this, Shen Liangchuan looked at his surroundings. ¡°I¡¯ve already called the police, but it¡¯ll take at least 20 minutes for them to arrive. I¡¯ll block them while you rush over to save her.¡± As soon as Qiao Lian heard this, she ran forward without another word. However, before she could run more than a couple of steps, she was blocked again. Given her small stature, she would not be able to rush out of this brawl! She started to panic and looked around frantically. Suddenly, she saw a metal pipe lying on the side. She immediately ran over to pick it up before rushing back to Shen Liangchuan¡¯s side. She then yelled, ¡°You should go! I¡¯ll stop them in the meantime!¡± Shen Liangchuan instantly rejected her idea, saying, ¡°No, you won¡¯t be able to handle them!¡± ¡°Indeed, I can¡¯t stop all of them. But, if I rush into that room, there might be even more fearsome enemies waiting inside. Only you can enter and stop them! It¡¯ll be up to you to protect Song Yuanxi!¡± She swung the metal pipe she was holding wildly, so nobody dared to approach her for some time. Feeling conflicted, Shen Liangchuan narrowed his eyes. She had analyzed the situation urately. Her proposal was indeed the best course of action at this point. He had to go into the room and carry out the rescue while she handled things outside. These thugs were not vicious and unrelenting. Thus, they wouldn¡¯t be itching to kill her. However, the trapped Song Yuanxi could have her life ruined if someone took advantage of her body. Given Song Yuanxi¡¯s personality, he knew that if she was raped by a man, she might be driven to suicide. Shen Liangchuan clenched his fists. The girl standing in front of him yelled, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you going?!¡± His gaze darkened when he saw that fierce expression... and that selfish look. He pursed his lips and suddenly said, ¡°Take care, Xiao Qiao.¡± Due to the chaos around her, Qiao Lian could not hear what he said clearly. She loudly yelled again, ¡°Go, quickly!¡± She could not hold the thugs back for much longer. At this moment, someone ced an ice cold dagger in her hands. She froze momentarily before noticing that Shen Liangchuan had already turned around and was rushing towards the room. He should have carried the weapon along with him as protection. However, he had chosen to give it to her... Before Qiao Lian could ponder this, more people kepting in front of her. She held the metal pipe in one hand and the dagger in the other, and then tried her best to fight back the group of people in front of her. Her arms were so sore that she could barely lift them. However, she could not give up. If she gave up, Shen Liangchuan would be hopelessly outnumbered. She had to persist. Suddenly, the pipe got stolen from her. Then, someone used the pipe to brutally hit her leg. Her knees buckled and she fell on the ground. However, she grabbed the feet of the person in front of her and used both his body and hers to block the people behind her. Pain. She felt pain throughout her entire body. Her consciousness had already started blurring, but one thought shed through her mind. She had such a great time beating people up in video games. Even if her character got hit, she wouldn¡¯t feel a thing. However, in real life... getting beaten up hurts like hell! Chapter 146 - When We Were Young and Reckless (6)

Chapter 146: When We Were Young and Reckless (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Shen Liangchuan rushed into the room, he saw that almost all of the clothes on Song Yuanxi¡¯s body had been removed. Her face was very red, and her brows were tightly furrowed. Furthermore, the man had already taken off his pants and was preparing to take advantage of her. When Shen Liangchuan kicked open the door, he turned around in fright. Shen Liangchuan momentarily broke out into a cold sweat. If he had entered even half a minuteter, the aftermath would have been unthinkable! He walked forward and kicked the man so hard that he flew across the room and hit the nearby wall, before sliding down to the floor. The man yelled while grabbing his pants, ¡°What are you doing?! It was a consensual act!¡± As he finished speaking, he was savagely kicked in his face. Shen Liangchuan beat him up thoroughly. After making sure that nobody else was in the room, he turned around and intended to assist Qiao Lian. However, just as he left the room, another two thugs rushed out from the opposite room. He saw that Qiao Lian had already fallen on the ground and was being attacked from all sides. His heart clenched in his chest, as though a hand was tightly grabbing it. He desperately wished that he could run over and rescue her. However, he could not do so as long as these two thugs were in the way. His expression grew increasingly colder. He looked back and saw that Song Yuanxi had put on her clothes. Looking behind him, he found a fruit knife sitting on top of a bedside table. Shen Liangchuan grabbed it and threw it at her, saying, ¡°Protect yourself with this!¡± Then, he ran to Qiao Lian. Song Yuanxi¡¯s fingers trembled, but she still managed to swing the knife in her hand threateningly. One of the two men went to chase after Shen Liangchuan, while the other stayed and stared at her. Shen Liangchuan ignored the punches aimed at his back and desperately ran forward. At this moment, he could only think about the girl who had fallen in a pool of blood. That was his Xiao Qiao... That was the girl who would retaliate if she got stabbed by an opponent in a video game. That was the girl who he had protected with all of his might in the past... He immediately rushed to face the group of thugs, before suddenly hearing the sound of police sirens emanating from the entrance. He saw that at this moment, Qiao Lian had already fainted after losing all of her strength. At the entranceway, a group of policemen burst into the hotel armed with tasers. ¡°Everybody stop! Do you hear me?¡± Everybody stopped fighting and waited for the police to intervene. However, at that moment, Shen Liangchuan ran forward and grabbed the man nearest to the entrance. He instantly threw the man on the ground and started throwing a flurry of punches at his face. This man had just punched Xiao Qiao eight times. He punched the man eight times and then looked at the rest of the thugs. However many punches Xiao Qiao had received, he would throw the same number of punches back! With a savage gaze, he grabbed some thug¡¯s shirt cor and started punching him! A policeman yelled, ¡°I told you to stop! Did you not hear me?!¡± Just as the policeman walked up to try and stop the beating, Song Cheng appeared in front of him and blocked his way, saying, ¡°Hey, friend, can¡¯t you see the state of my friend¡¯s wife? She¡¯s pregnant, which is why there is so much blood on the ground. It seems like the miscarriage will be inevitable! Can you now understand why my friend is so angry? These thugs who gang up on a woman like this are nothing more than cowards!¡± Once the policemen heard about how Qiao Lian had suffered a miscarriage due to the beatings, they looked at each other astonishingly. Then, they widened their eyes and looked at the scene once more. They had finally seemed to understand the reason behind Shen Liangchuan¡¯s rage. Only after Shen Liangchuan had taken revenge on behalf of Qiao Lian on every single one of the thugs, did the policemen attempt to approach him again. Song Cheng blocked them again, saying, ¡°Boo hoo hoo, hurry up and send my friend and his wife to the hospital! I¡¯ll give the eyewitness testimony!¡± Chapter 147 - When We Were Young and Reckless (7)

Chapter 147: When We Were Young and Reckless (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The policemen watched as Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan got into the ambnce. Then, they nkly surveyed the situation in front of them. Only when the ambnce had left did they snap back to reality and stared at Song Cheng simultaneously. They asked him, ¡°Do you know what happened here? Will you go with us to provide a witness testimony?¡± Song Cheng shook his head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened.¡± ¡°You- Then, please ask that gentleman from before to head over to the police station whenever he¡¯s avable!¡± Song Cheng smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, if you want to contact him, you will need to contact hiswyer first. Otherwise, he will not be able to provide you with any information.¡± Policemen: ... If a public figure was brought to the police station by the police, he would be in deep trouble indeed. Thus, Song Cheng had learnt the art of improvisation and quick-wittedness. At this point, the policemen could only handcuff the group of thugs and bring them back to the police station for interrogation. ¨C She was in a daze. All she could see was darkness. Qiao Lian tried to open her eyes, but found that she could not open her eyes, no matter how hard she tried. She felt pain all over her body, so much so that she could not help but frown. She groaned loudly. Then, she felt a warm hand sping over hers, and heard a rich voice near her ear. ¡°I¡¯m here, Xiao Qiao.¡± Those four words felt like a clear stream that was slowly quenching the fire inside her body. Immediately, she felt much calmer than before. Her eyebrows rxed and she fell into a deep sleep once again. Shen Liangchuan held her hand and waited by her side. He had also suffered some minor injuries. His fist was bleeding due to the force had exerted on punching the other thugs. Thus, at this moment, it was wrapped with bandages. He remained seated at the side of the bed, motionless. The woman on the bed had had her injuries taken care of. However, he noticed that there were many swollen patches all over her body. Her face was swollen from being beaten up again. New scars had appeared on her face, even though the old ones had not fully recovered yet. However, even in this condition, he could still see the beautiful outline of the girl¡¯s face. Those tightly-shut eyes and trembling eyebrows all showed him that she was extremely scared. Yes... She was scared. Any girl would be scared after experiencing such a harrowing encounter. However, she had still blocked those thugs without hesitation, allowing him to rescue Song Yuanxi. He stared at her continuously. Only after a long while did he slowly reach out his hand towards her cheek. His hand hung in mid-air for a while. He was scared that he would touch the injuries on her face. Hence, he ultimately dropped his hand again. Time passed by slowly, as he sat in the quiet room. He mumbled to himself... or was it to Qiao Lian? Either way, he said quietly, ¡°Xiao Qiao, we¡¯ll live a peaceful life together from now on, all right?¡± Let bygones be bygones. At this moment, he finally had a revtion after looking at her body riddled with scar. He would rather watch her stab him while smiling, than watch her get hurt again. He no longer had the heart to take revenge against this girl. As for the rued debts from the past, she had repaid enough of them so far, right? His gaze grew darker and darker until, finally, the only feeling left was one of a rich, immutable love. She did not care about their previous rtionship because it had mostly been online. Thus, he would start a formal, romantic rtionship with her now in real life. There was still time... The sunlight started to fade away, so thin light rays shone on his cheek as the sun went down. At this moment, his expression seemed extraordinarily gentle. Around 8 pm, thedy lying on the bed finally opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was the hospital¡¯s ceiling, and she could smell the piercing smell of disinfectant in the air. She moved her neck and saw Shen Liangchuan sitting at her side. Before she could speak, he said, ¡°Xiao Qiao, are you still in pain?¡± Chapter 148 - When We Were Young and Reckless (8)

Chapter 148: When We Were Young and Reckless (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xiao Qiao: ... Qiao Lian looked as though she had just seen a ghost. What she had just heard must have been her imagination. Perhaps it was due to the fact that she was notpletely awake. Thus, she widened her eyes and stared dumbly at him. Shen Liangchuan took a ss of water from the bedside table, brought it to her lips and said, ¡°Xiao Qiao, drink some water.¡± He had called her ¡®Xiao Qiao¡¯ again. Qiao Lian sighed as sheid on the bed. Then, she patted her own head and said, ¡°Ah, why can¡¯t I stay awake.¡± Shen Liangchuan: ... Shen Liangchuan stared at the person lying on the hospital bed, while his lips twitched. He then brought the ss to Qiao Lian¡¯s lips again and said, ¡°Open your mouth.¡± Qiao Lian looked at him, motionless. Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°Are you going to open your mouth or not?¡± Why did he always have such a harsh tone in her dreams? Did he think that she would be afraid of him, like she usually was in reality? She momentarily grinned and said, ¡°I¡¯m not opening my mouth!¡± As she finished speaking, he suddenly took a mouthful of water. Then, he lowered his head and immediately covered her mouth with his lips. ¡°Ooh...¡± Qiao Lian stared at him unbelievably. Only when that warm stream of water entered her mouth did she react to the situation. This... wasn¡¯t a dream after all. This was reality? After she swallowed the water, Shen Liangchuan lifted his head and stared at her dumbfounded expression. ¡°Are you going to open your mouth?¡± Qiao Lian jerked up and sat on the bed. Due to her sudden movement, she had identally stretched an injury, so she gasped deeply. Shen Liangchuan hurriedly tried to support her. The next second, Qiao Lian¡¯s hands were ced on his forehead. She mumbled to herself, ¡°He doesn¡¯t have a fever!¡± Shen Liangchuan: ... So, she thought his actions were unnatural? However, it was usually normal for a husband to do such things for his wife, right? Then, he recalled the events that happened since she had married him, and he lowered his eyes again. Indeed. He had treated her poorly, which exined why she had such a huge reaction when all he had done was to try to give her water. How terrified was she of him? Shen Liangchuan picked up a straw and ced it near her mouth. ¡°Open up.¡± Qiao Lian opened her mouth. He had never served others. Hence, even when all he had done was try to help her drink some water, he had inadvertently spilled some water on her clothes and made them wet. He stared at her clothes and suddenly had an urge to smile. No worries , he thought. Even though he did not know many things, he could always slowly learn these things. As he thought of this, Shen Liangchuan turned around again and picked up a bowl of porridge. When he approached her again, he realized that Qiao Lian was absolutely terrified of him. ¡°Mr.- Mr. Shen... are you nning to act as a caretaker in an uing film?¡± Which was why he was currently practising on her first? Qiao Lian was thoroughly confused. The corners of Shen Liangchuan¡¯s lips twitched again, and he finally shouted irritatedly, ¡°Shut up!¡± Qiao Lian immediately shut her mouth. However, she breathed a sigh of relief. Shen Liangchuan was back to normal! Shen Liangchuan thought, ¡°Why can¡¯t I be gentle with her? Is she a masochist?¡± He harshly fed the bowl of porridge to her. These circumstances... were strange indeed. Qiao Lian onlyid back down after she had her fill of porridge. Shen Liangchuan also ate some porridge, and then proceeded to go to the toilet. Qiao Lianid on the hospital bed, but could not sleep no matter how hard she tried. The abnormal behavior that Shen Liangchuan had just exhibited kept shing through her mind. Could it be that... he had finally noticed her heavenly beauty, after interacting with her for such a long period? And he had finally fallen for her? As she thought about this, Qiao Lian happily took her cell phone and switched on the front-facing camera. However, when she looked at herself... she realized that her face was severely swollen. It was so swollen that it looked like a pig¡¯s head! Chapter 149 - When We Were Young and Reckless (9)

Chapter 149: When We Were Young and Reckless (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian: ... Even she despised her own face at that moment, let alone Shen Liangchuan. He couldn¡¯t possibly like her when she looked like this! Could it be that this man didn¡¯t even like beautiful women? Did he only like ugly women? As she tried to guess Shen Liangchuan¡¯s inner thoughts, Qiao Lian could not help but lift the corners of her lips. She wanted to smile, but doing so only made her injuries hurt. After she took a deep breath, she noticed that Shen Liangchuan had already walked out of the toilet. He was slowly approching her. She stared at his body intently. He was wearing a white jacket and he looked both tall and handsome as he strode towards her. It seemed as though that day¡¯s fight hadn¡¯t even left a single scratch on his body. His face had no injuries or blemishes of any kind. She suddenly felt a sense of imbnce in her heart. Both of them had fought together. However, why was she the only one who had turned ugly and ragged, while this man looked as though nothing had happened to him? As she thought about this, he had already sat beside the hospital bed. He said, ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Her eyes seemed as though they were glued to his body. He could not help but to curl his lips, as a feeling of happiness rose inside his heart. Qiao Lian gazed at his body until he looked ufortable, before saying, ¡°Mr. Shen, did you not get even a single scratch?¡± Shen Liangchuan thought, ¡°Why does she sound disappointed?¡± He narrowed his eyes and said, ¡°Are you disappointed that I wasn¡¯t beaten to a pulp, like you?¡± Qiao Lian began to nod, but then she immediately reacted and said, ¡°No, of course not!¡± Shen Liangchuan: ... Shen Liangchuan pursed his lips and said, ¡°Xiao Qiao.¡± As he growled the words ¡°Xiao Qiao¡±, his low, rich voice sounded to Qiao Lian like a cello ying the D major scale. The voice had a unique tone to it, asting appeal that caused her body to burst out in goosebumps. Qiao Lian immediately nodded in agreement. The way he addressed her had made her blush intensely. At this moment, she was thankful that her face was already so swollen that he couldn¡¯t see how flushed she was! Then, she heard Shen Liangchuan say, ¡°Do not call me ¡®Mr. Shen.¡¯¡± Qiao Lian widened her eyes and imed, ¡°Then, should I call you Best Actor Shen?!¡± Shen Liangchuan shook his head. Not even Best Actor Shen? Could it be... ¡°Should I call you Brother Shen, like Mr. Song and the rest?¡± Brother Shen... He curled his lips. Even though the way she had said ¡®Brother Shen¡¯ was different from how others usually said those words, he did not want her to address him like this. To him, Qiao Lian was one of a kind. He continued to shake his head. Qiao Lian: ... See, she was right! How could this man suddenly treat her so well while expecting nothing in return? Look at him. A leopard can¡¯t change it spots, and this guy could not help to purposely make things difficult for her. She had no option but to keep guessing, ¡°... Teacher Shen?¡± Didn¡¯t most of the younger celebrities in the entertainment industry address him like this? As a female caster, she could be considered as a part of the entertainment industry. Shen Liangchuan continued to shake his head. Qiao Lian said, ¡°Mr. Shen, I- I have lost too much blood and my head is feeling woozy. I can¡¯t think anymore, so can you give me a hint?¡± ¡°Who am I to you?¡± Qiao Lian said dumbfoundedly, ¡°You¡¯re my idol, of course!¡± ¡°Other than this.¡± Qiao Lian said, ¡°... I can¡¯t remember.¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s tone immediately turned icy. He said, ¡°Xiao Qiao, let me remind you that we live together under the same roof.¡± Qiao Lian said, ¡°Oh, I understand now!¡± Just as Shen Liangchuan breathed a sigh of relief, she imed, ¡°I should call you ¡®roommate¡¯!¡± Shen Liangchuan thought, ¡°... What the hell?¡± Qiao Lian said, ¡°You see, if we live together, aren¡¯t you my roommate?¡± Chapter 150 - When We Were Young and Reckless (10)

Chapter 150: When We Were Young and Reckless (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan: ... Shen Liangchuan¡¯s lips twitched as he felt his patience draining away. The veins on his forehead started to pop, as he desperately wished to prise open this woman¡¯s skull to see what exactly was stuffed inside it. However, when he saw Qiao Lian desperately try to widen her eyes, but fail due to the swelling keeping them shut, he finally said resignedly, ¡°Xiao Qiao, I am your husband.¡± Qiao Lian instantly froze. She looked dumbfoundedly at the man in front of her. His expression was quite determined, and his words carried an irresistiblymanding tone. So... did he actually mean what she thought he meant? She bit her lip. When Shen Liangchuan started this topic, she had already considered this. However, she did not dare to dream big. At this moment, even after she had heard Shen Liangchuan say the word ¡®husband¡¯, she could still scarcely believe it. She stared at the man in front of her. The more she stared, the more she wanted tough. As her mouth twitched, her injuries stretched in pain. Thus, she had to keep her face straight. Then, she said tentatively, ¡°Mr. Shen, actually... you don¡¯t have to be so polite.¡± She lowered her head and continued, ¡°I only went to rescue Song Yuanxi because I really like her. I did not mean to...¡± ¡°I did not mean to obtain yourpassion and sympathy¡±, she thought. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s attitude towards her had changed from his usual coldness to a sudden gentleness, which made her feel extremely ufortable. Shen Liangchuan narrowed his eyes. It turned out that this girl wasn¡¯t as naive as he thought she was. She had already understood his intentions. However, she kept making witty quips to defuse any awkward situation, with the aim of pushing him even further away. He frowned. He could almost feel ayer of darkness beginning to form around his heart. He wanted to say something, but stopped when he saw the girl¡¯s anxious gaze. All of the emotions he was feeling were stuck within him, so he kept opening and closing his mouth repeatedly. Finally, he said, ¡°You can call me by my name.¡± Your name? Qiao Lian was dumbfounded again. Was he...promising? She widened her eyes and was slightly dazed. Then, she realized that Shen Liangchuan was eagerly looking at her. That expression! It was as though... She coughed and said, ¡°Shen Liangchuan.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He was indeed smiling. The both of them stared at each other¡¯s faces intently. For some time, a curious silence filled the room. Over the time Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan had interacted with each other, there had been many moments of silence. Furthermore, they were almost always awkward silences. However, right now, the silence that was permeating the room created a somewhat sweet atmosphere instead. She could not help but want tough due to her embarrassment. However, every time her lips twitched, she felt a twinge of pain on her face. She hurriedly tensed up her face. The expression she had of wanting to smile but being unable to do so made Shen Liangchuan twitch his lips as well. Then, he suddenly startedughing, a grin on his face. First, heughed softly. However, as heughed, he rose his head. When he saw the expression of astonishment on Qiao Lian¡¯s face, he could not help butugh uproariously. Qiao Lian sat on the hospital bed,pletely speechless. This man... was he showing off the fact that he could smile while she couldn¡¯t? This was absolutely outrageous! At this moment, Xia Yehua and Song Yuanxi were together standing outside the ward. Both of them had confused expressions on their faces. Xia Yehua turned her head and said, ¡°Yuanxi, did I hear wrongly? Is Shen Liangchuan actuallyughing?¡± Since that day eight years ago, no smile had crossed his face until today. Xia Yehua¡¯s gaze gradually softened and after a while, she began to smile. ¡°I was afraid that Shen Liangchuan wasn¡¯t taking his rtionship with Xiao Qiao seriously, but now I¡¯m finally reassured!¡±

Comment (0)

COMMENT FIRSTRate this chapterVote with Power StoneSend Gifts

Chapter 151: Forget Chuan Meets Liangchuan (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As a wide-eyed Qiao Lian watched Shen Liangchuan smile, the door to the hospital ward was pushed open. Xia Yehua walked in with Song Yuanxi in tow. Song Yuanxi bit her lip and also walked in. Her eyes were red, and the moment she entered, she could not help but burst into tears. ¡°Sister-inw, I¡¯m sorry... it¡¯s all my fault. I did not know that he was that kind of person.¡± Qiao Lian lifted her head when she heard this. Xia Yehua quickly added, ¡°All right, it¡¯s our good fortune that nothing bad happened this time. However, this incident has also taught us that people we meet online sometimes are not who they say they are, which is why we must all be extraordinarily alert when surfing the Inte. Don¡¯t ever do something like this again!¡± Song Yuanxi nodded and then walked to the side. As she lowered her head silently, tears continued to roll down her face. Qiao Lian looked at her. She understood how Song Yuanxi was currently feeling. She was definitely extremely upset. However, she still felt that Song Yuanxi had fared better than her. At least, she had been able to clearly see what kind of man she had entered into an online rtionship with. At least, she had understood that he had ulterior motives for getting to know her. But what about Qiao Lian herself? Why had Zi Chuan suddenly not shown up to the agreed-upon meeting? What exactly had happened to Zi Chuan? Until now, nobody had given her a satisfactory exnation for this. In reality, after what happened, she had thought about it for a long time. Ultimately, she could only think of one reason. If there was something that could have made Zi Chuan detest her, it had to have been that incident after all. She lowered her head and looked at her bandaged right arm. ¡ª Even though Qiao Lian¡¯s injuries looked serious, in fact, the thugs that had beaten her up were not professional fighters. Hence, no bones were broken, and she was able to settle her hospital dischargement paperwork after only three days. During this time, Shen Liangchuan had practically stayed with her at the hospital every single day. Neither of them spoke much. Qiao Lian scrolled through her Weibo when she was bored, whereas Shen Liangchuan kept browsing his script. A strange silence had filled the entire roompletely, so the nurses looked at the both of them confusingly when they came in to sweep the floor. After three days, she moved back home. She once again received a phone call from Gao Youming. ¡°Forget Chuan, you did not attend the livestreaming event three days ago. Tell me, what have you been doing this entire time? Do you know how many times you¡¯ve cancelled on me?¡± Qiao Lian hurriedly said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Gao Youming¡ª¡± Gao Youming sighed and said, ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t understand you at all. Nowadays, female casters are paid quite handsomely. Some female eSports casters are even making almost two million dors a year. You could have made it too, if you had just been more dedicated to be a sessful female caster.¡± Qiao Lian smiled, but did not respond. Gao Youming immediately continued, ¡°You¡¯re quite popr right now. I guarantee that if you are willing to show your face when you livestream, your poprity will shoot through the roof. You could be a respected figure in the livestreaming world. If you continue toze about and only livestream irregrly, like you are doing now, your won¡¯t earn more!¡± After Qiao Lian heard his words, she fell silent for a while before saying eventually, ¡°I can¡¯t show my face.¡± It was not that she did not want to, or that she did not dare to, but it was because she was not able to. When Gao Youming heard this, he stopped pressuring her. Over the past couple of years, he had broached this topic many times. Instead, he immediately said, ¡°There¡¯s a eSports match this afternoon. Are you going to attend the livestream?¡± Qiao Lian knew that she had stood Gao Youming up many times now. Thus, she instantly said, ¡°I¡¯m going! I¡¯ll go now!¡± After hanging up, she stared at the dressing table in the master bedroom. She looked at herself in the mirror and saw that her face was still swollen. She picked up a mask and a hat, and she put them on firmly. Just as she was about to go outside, Shen Liangchuan suddenly pushed open the door. When he saw how she was dressed, he froze for a second before asking, ¡°Where are you going?¡± Chapter 151 - Forget Chuan Meets Liangchuan (1)

Chapter 151: Forget Chuan Meets Liangchuan (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As a wide-eyed Qiao Lian watched Shen Liangchuan smile, the door to the hospital ward was pushed open. Xia Yehua walked in with Song Yuanxi in tow. Song Yuanxi bit her lip and also walked in. Her eyes were red, and the moment she entered, she could not help but burst into tears. ¡°Sister-inw, I¡¯m sorry... it¡¯s all my fault. I did not know that he was that kind of person.¡± Qiao Lian lifted her head when she heard this. Xia Yehua quickly added, ¡°All right, it¡¯s our good fortune that nothing bad happened this time. However, this incident has also taught us that people we meet online sometimes are not who they say they are, which is why we must all be extraordinarily alert when surfing the Inte. Don¡¯t ever do something like this again!¡± Song Yuanxi nodded and then walked to the side. As she lowered her head silently, tears continued to roll down her face. Qiao Lian looked at her. She understood how Song Yuanxi was currently feeling. She was definitely extremely upset. However, she still felt that Song Yuanxi had fared better than her. At least, she had been able to clearly see what kind of man she had entered into an online rtionship with. At least, she had understood that he had ulterior motives for getting to know her. But what about Qiao Lian herself? Why had Zi Chuan suddenly not shown up to the agreed-upon meeting? What exactly had happened to Zi Chuan? Until now, nobody had given her a satisfactory exnation for this. In reality, after what happened, she had thought about it for a long time. Ultimately, she could only think of one reason. If there was something that could have made Zi Chuan detest her, it had to have been that incident after all. She lowered her head and looked at her bandaged right arm. ¡ª Even though Qiao Lian¡¯s injuries looked serious, in fact, the thugs that had beaten her up were not professional fighters. Hence, no bones were broken, and she was able to settle her hospital dischargement paperwork after only three days. During this time, Shen Liangchuan had practically stayed with her at the hospital every single day. Neither of them spoke much. Qiao Lian scrolled through her Weibo when she was bored, whereas Shen Liangchuan kept browsing his script. A strange silence had filled the entire roompletely, so the nurses looked at the both of them confusingly when they came in to sweep the floor. After three days, she moved back home. She once again received a phone call from Gao Youming. ¡°Forget Chuan, you did not attend the livestreaming event three days ago. Tell me, what have you been doing this entire time? Do you know how many times you¡¯ve cancelled on me?¡± Qiao Lian hurriedly said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Gao Youming¡ª¡± Gao Youming sighed and said, ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t understand you at all. Nowadays, female casters are paid quite handsomely. Some female eSports casters are even making almost two million dors a year. You could have made it too, if you had just been more dedicated to be a sessful female caster.¡± Qiao Lian smiled, but did not respond. Gao Youming immediately continued, ¡°You¡¯re quite popr right now. I guarantee that if you are willing to show your face when you livestream, your poprity will shoot through the roof. You could be a respected figure in the livestreaming world. If you continue toze about and only livestream irregrly, like you are doing now, your won¡¯t earn more!¡± After Qiao Lian heard his words, she fell silent for a while before saying eventually, ¡°I can¡¯t show my face.¡± It was not that she did not want to, or that she did not dare to, but it was because she was not able to. When Gao Youming heard this, he stopped pressuring her. Over the past couple of years, he had broached this topic many times. Instead, he immediately said, ¡°There¡¯s a eSports match this afternoon. Are you going to attend the livestream?¡± Qiao Lian knew that she had stood Gao Youming up many times now. Thus, she instantly said, ¡°I¡¯m going! I¡¯ll go now!¡± After hanging up, she stared at the dressing table in the master bedroom. She looked at herself in the mirror and saw that her face was still swollen. She picked up a mask and a hat, and she put them on firmly. Just as she was about to go outside, Shen Liangchuan suddenly pushed open the door. When he saw how she was dressed, he froze for a second before asking, ¡°Where are you going?¡± Chapter 152 - Forget Chuan Meets Liangchuan (2)

Chapter 152: Forget Chuan Meets Liangchuan (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian jumped in fright. Hadn¡¯t Shen Liangchuan left earlier today to attend a meeting? Why was he back so early? Could she actually leave dressed like that? She coughed, her eyes spinning wildly, and said softly, ¡°There¡¯s a piece of news I need to uncover back at the news agency. I¡¯m rushing over now.¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s eyes darkened and saidmandingly, ¡°I¡¯m not allowing you to go out.¡± Qiao Lian: ... Qiao Lian raised her head and said, ¡°Mr. Shen¡ª¡± Before she could finish speaking, he raised his eyebrows, so she immediately changed how she addressed him, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, could you not interfere in my affairs when ites to work? We¡¯ve discussed this issue before, the terms are even written in our mutual contract...¡± Shen Liangchuan was intending to make her stay by hook or by crook, but he suddenly remembered that she used to be extremely hardworking when she worked, mostly for his sake. If he forced her to stay, would she be unhappy? Shen Liangchuan pursed his lips and said, ¡°Take care of yourself.¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes brightened and immediately said sweetly, ¡°All right! Shen Liangchuan, don¡¯t worry! I will definitely leave in one piece ande back in one piece as well!¡± She even bowed mischievously to him. Then, she ran downstairs, and he curled his lips into an irresistible smile when he saw the happy expression on her face. However, he was still worried about her. Shen Liangchuan paused for a while before going downstairs and driving his car out of the vi. He then saw Qiao Lian walking in front of him. He thought that she would hail a cab, but instead she walked to the nearest bus stop and, to his surprise, boarded a bus. Shen Liangchuan frowned, as he reacted to what had just happened. Did she always take public transport when she went to work at this time of the day? He followed the bus by car, and eventually arrived at a residential area. Just as he was about to drive inside, his phone suddenly rang. Song Cheng¡¯s voice emanated from the other end, saying, ¡°Brother Shen, I¡¯ve got some news regarding Forget Chuan today. She wants to attend the livestreaming event! I¡¯m going to stop her right now!¡± Shen Liangchuan silently nodded in affirmation. However, just as he was intending to speak, Song Cheng continued, ¡°However, guess who I just saw?¡± Shen Liangchuan froze and said, ¡°Who?¡± ¡°You, of course! Brother Shen, why are you driving near the entrance to this residential area? Are you also here to persuade Forget Chuan?¡± Persuade Forget Chuan? Shen Liangchuan froze again. As he turned around, he saw Song Cheng parking his car at a nearby spot. He hung up and parked his car at the side of the road. Song Cheng ran over to him eagerly. Shen Liangchuan said preemptively, ¡°Why are you here?¡± Song Cheng pointed at the residential area and said, ¡°I heard that Forget Chuan always livestreams with Gao Youming, and Gao Youming always streams from his own home. Forget Chuan is really quite mysterious; until now, nobody has found out her identity. I realized that the only way our managementpany will be able to sign a contract with her will be through Gao Youming! I already have Gao Youming¡¯s address. In a while, I¡¯ll directly confront him inside his own home. Brother Shen, are youing with me?¡± Shen Liangchuan shrugged and nodded casually. Song Cheng opened the car door for him and said, ¡°Brother Shen, if you areing with me, let me tell you something first. Don¡¯t forget, Forget Chuan never reveals her face when she livestreams. Thus, she could be rather unattractive in person. However, in this day and age, even the most unattractive person can look somewhat decent with a bit of makeup. Hence, I¡¯m guessing that Forget Chuan might not look too good. Once you see her in person, don¡¯t show a disdained expression on your face!¡± As he finished speaking, Shen Liangchuan looked at him coldly. Song Cheng immediately shut his mouth up. Both of them walked towards the residential area. Once they arrived at Gao Youming¡¯s house, they rang the doorbell. Almost instantly, someone opened the door. Chapter 153 - Forget Chuan Meets Liangchuan (3)

Chapter 153: Forget Chuan Meets Liangchuan (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In the past, when Qiao Lian used to livestream with Gao Youming, it had always been at Gao Youming¡¯s house. She wasn¡¯t willing to appear in front of the public, so Gao Youming was in charge of paying her. Hence, even though she was quite popr due to her secretive identity, in reality her earnings from livestreaming were rather small. At most, her ie from doing this could only improve her living standards by a little. She could only do a few livestreams a month. Furthermore, she never epted interviews or advertising requests. As Gao Youming adjusted his microphone, he asked her, ¡°I really don¡¯t know why you even livestream in the first ce.¡± Why she livestreamed... Qiao Lian smirked and said, ¡°Because it¡¯s interesting, of course!¡± Gao Youming momentarily froze and said, ¡°Interesting?¡± ¡°Yeah, I like to y video games, after all,¡± Qiao Lian said simply, choosing to give short, concise replies. However, Gao Youming was suddenly in the mood for conversing, which was why he started rambling, ¡°I also like video games. Lately, the game I like ying the most is LOT. It¡¯s a ssic video game, which might be why its yer count is slowly dwindling. Even though many games today have better graphics and animation, I still think that LOT is a ssic that won¡¯t grow old.¡± After hearing his spiel, Qiao Lian nodded. Gao Youming continued, ¡°Have you yed LOT before?¡± Before Qiao Lian could reply, he mumbled to himself, ¡°Let me see... when LOT was still a popr video game, you were probably only starting high school, right? You must have had lots of schoolwork, which was why you probably didn¡¯t have much time to y this game. Let me tell you, if you have the chance, you should definitely try out LOT. It¡¯s quite fun.¡± LOT... Qiao Lian smiled. Gao Youming noticed that there were still five minutes before the livestream began. Thus, he spoke again, ¡°Even though nowadays some yers get called the ¡®gods of gaming¡¯, because of their gaming prowess, the real ¡®god of gaming¡¯ and the one who started it all was a yer from LOT. That yer, called Zi Chuan, would definitely be the best yer in the world if he still yed some of these modern games today!¡± Qiao Lian momentarily froze and said, ¡°You know Zi Chuan?¡± Her heart suddenly jolted. This was the first time she heard anyone mention the name ¡°Zi Chuan¡± after so many years. Gao Youming was slightly older than her. Back when LOT was still popr, he should have been in university... Did he know Zi Chuan¡¯s identity or where he was at? As she thought of Zi Chuan, her heart started beating wildly. Only then did she realize that she was still holding onto a person that she thought she had forgotten, due to how much she had thought of him in the past few days. Gao Youming delightedly said, ¡°Of course... not! I¡¯ve only heard of him in passing. You may not know this, but during those days, Zi Chuan¡¯s group was practically invincible! Every member of his team was extremely good at the game. There was even one member of the group who used the nickname ¡®Xiao Qiao¡¯ after the character in the game that she often yed. Heheh, let me tell you, she was a legendary yer in the game! Even if we ignore how good Zi Chuan was, Xiao Qiao was also extremely proficient at the game. Other than Zi Chuan, I haven¡¯t seen anyone who was better at the game than she was!¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s lips twitched. Gao Youming clearly misread her expression, as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t give me that look! This Xiao Qiao really did not y like a girl. She was extremely good at the game, so much that people started to wonder whether she was actually a guy ying with a girl¡¯s username! However, people in the know said that Xiao Qiao was indeed a girl.¡± Qiao Lian blushed profusely. She felt extremely embarrassed to beplimented right to her face! Just as she was intending to speak, they suddenly heard the doorbell ring. Gao Youming stood up and immediately opened the door. ¡°Who is it? Is it the delivery man?¡± As he finished speaking, he heard Song Cheng¡¯s voice. ¡°Hello, I am looking for Forget Chuan.¡± Chapter 154 - Forget Chuan Meets Liangchuan (4)

Chapter 154: Forget Chuan Meets Liangchuan (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As there was only one minute before the livestream began, Qiao Lian sat at her seat idly. However, when she suddenly heard a familiar voice emanating from the entrance, she jumped up in shock. She quickly turned her head and immediately mmed the door of the main bedroom, where she was currently at! As a male livestreamer, Gao Youming definitely wanted to enter the entertainment industry as well, which was why he paid a lot of attention to entertainment news. Obviously, he knew who Song Cheng was. However, more importantly, the man standing behind Song Cheng wearing sunsses and a mask... could that actually be Shen Liangchuan? He felt woozy just from looking at the people who had just appeared in front of him! Finally, he intentionally shifted himself away from the doorway and stuttered, ¡°Please, please enter¡ª¡± Before he could finish speaking, he heard a door m shut behind him. Instantly, as if by reflex, he decisively blocked the front door. He widened his eyes and looked at Song Cheng. ¡°That, I- um, please wait here for a while. Let me see whether... Forget Chuan is willing to meet the both of you.¡± He had almost forgotten that Qiao Lian promised that she would livestream with him, provided he agreed to the condition that she would not have to reveal her face on-air. Furthermore, Gao Youming was not allowed to expose her location to the public, nor release any photographs of her. Song Cheng had initially thought that when the other party recognized him, the other party would respectfully invite him inside. However, was he actually being denied entry right now? Could it be that this bastard standing in front of him actually did not know who he was? He frowned, and felt as though his ego had been damaged. ¡°Maybe you don¡¯t know who I am. I¡¯m Song Cheng.¡± The man still blocked the front door. Did he really not know who Song Cheng was? His ego was totally bruised! Song Cheng continued speaking, ¡°I am... Best Actor Shen¡¯s manager.¡± The man kept blocking the door. Song Cheng: ...! Song Cheng moved aside, exposing Shen Liangchuan. ¡°Even if you don¡¯t know who I am, surely you know who he is, right?¡± However, he could not believe that the other party still stood in front of the door, even after ncing at Shen Liangchuan. Song Cheng: ... Song Cheng instantly felt a sense of relief. If this guy wouldn¡¯t even show some respect to Best Actor Shen, then he shouldn¡¯t feel bad that he wasn¡¯t being shown respect either! Heughed and said, ¡°Go and ask Forget Chuan.¡± Only then did Gao Youming nod. He turned around and walked into the bedroom. After conversing for a while, he came back to them and said, ¡°Forget Chuan says that since the livestream is about to start, she won¡¯t be able to talk with you at this moment. Thus, could the both of you wait outside for a while?¡± Gao Youming felt embarrassed as he said this. Most livestreams took at least an hour. Did she expect them to wait outside for an hour? By saying this, Forget Chuan was actually refusing to meet with them after all! Given what Gao Youmin knew about them, he was certain that there was no way they would agree to this! Indeed, once he finished speaking, Song Cheng¡¯s expression had totally changed. He knew it, they were finished! Song Cheng was indeed angry. Just as he was about to speak, Shen Liangchuan said softly, ¡°Fine.¡± Song Cheng: ... Gao Youming: ... Had they both just imagined what he had just said in their heads? Best Actor Shen had just said... what? Qiao Lian was hiding in the bedroom, fervently checking the situation outside. When she heard him agree, her entire body froze. Actually, she had told them to wait outside because she wanted to create some trouble for them. Based on what she knew about Song Cheng¡¯s attitude and Shen Liangchuan¡¯s ego, she had expected them to immediately turn around and walk away. If they did so, everything would be resolved. However, why had they agreed to her conditions? Furthermore, looking at the expressions on their faces, she knew that they had no intention to leave. She was now trapped inside the room. If only she could sprout a pair of wings and fly away! Chapter 155 - Forget Chuan Meets Liangchuan (5)

Chapter 155: Forget Chuan Meets Liangchuan (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Gao Youming was absolutely dumbfounded. Did Best Actor Shen really intend to wait outside his home for an entire hour? Gao Youming truly wanted to invite them inside. However, after recalling Forget Chuan¡¯s instructions, he could only smile awkwardly before closing the door. He turned around and entered the bedroom. ¡°Forget Chuan, you¡¯re acting too much like a diva.¡± Many managementpanies had sent people to find Forget Chuan, most likely due to her mysterious identity and heightened poprity. They wanted to convince her to join their roster of performers. Qiao Lian had rejected all of them. However, the people that were here now... were Song Cheng and Best Actor Shen! Qiao Lian felt even more frustrated than Gao Youming at this stunning development! How could she resolve this situation? She bit her lip and sighed. She looked at the time. There was no more time to dilly-dally. ¡°Let¡¯s start streaming first,¡± she said. The people waiting outside were causing her to feel more stressed. If she really made them wait for an hour... these high-profile entertainment figures might not agree to waiting patiently after all. Perhaps they would even decide to leave before the livestream ended! After thinking of this, Qiao Lian calmed down considerably. They were currently livestreaming an eSportspetitive match. One of the teams was called ¡®Sovereigns Ruling The World¡¯, which wasprised of veteran yers, and they hade in first in a previous ranked match. The other team was called ¡®We Love The Dead¡¯. It was a rtively new group,prised of younger yers. The oldest yer in the group was only 18 years old, and he also happened to be one of this year¡¯s underdog yers. The captain of ¡®We Love the Dead¡¯ had the username ¡®Zombie Leader¡¯. He liked ying aggressive characters and he was very good at controlling them. He had led his team to victory after victory, culminating in the team¡¯s participation in the semi-finals. Today, they were fighting for one of the two spots in the finals. Gao Youming and Qiao Lian stared at the match taking ce before their eyes, and started the livestream. Gao Youming immediately said, ¡°¡®Sovereigns Ruling the World¡¯ is employing their usual strategy of sending one member of their team to fight monsters, which boosts the power levels of the entire team. ¡®We Love the Dead¡¯, on the other hand...¡± Qiao Lian carried on at a suitable moment, ¡°As the match progresses, we can see that both teams have started their first head-to-head brawl.¡± The two eSports castersplemented each other nicely and their fervent passion shone through when they spoke. As time passed, thepetition started to heat up. Suddenly, ¡®We Love the Dead¡¯s central tower was suddenly attacked by the enemy team! Gao Youming anxiously said, ¡°¡®We Love the Dead¡¯ chose to focus their efforts on the middlene. However, ¡®Sovereigns Ruling the World¡¯ had obviously seen through their tactics, and thus they shifted their positions from the edges of the map to the centre. Even though ¡®We Love the Dead¡¯ is within an inch of victory, they currently have no option but to rush back to provide aid and assistance... but look! Oh my goodness, ¡®Zombie Leader¡¯ is the only yer returning back to their base. That¡¯s so conceited of him! The results are clear...¡± As he finished, Qiao Lian instead rebutted his words, saying, ¡°I don¡¯t really agree with you. ¡®Zombie Leader¡¯ is returning to base alone because he has already predicted that this exact scenario would happen!¡± As she finished speaking, she saw that ¡®We Love the Dead¡¯ had already sent out their special soldiers! ¡®Zombie Leader¡¯ returned to base, his blood gauge full. Furthermore, thanks to the boost from the special soldiers, he was able to fend off three yers at once! It was an absolute bloodbath! At the same time, his teammates struck the opponents¡¯ central tower. The match ended with ¡®We Love the Dead¡¯ as the winners! Gao Youming eximed, ¡°He¡¯s so young, yet also so capable. He has so much courage! Any normal team would have chosen to return to base as a group to mitigate the danger at their home base. They would have left the attacking forter.¡± Qiao Lian smiled. However, before she could breathe a sigh of relief, she suddenly remembered the people waiting outside. The match had ended twenty minutes earlier due to the daring n of ¡®We Love the Dead.¡¯ Could Shen Liangchuan still be waiting outside? Chapter 156 - Forget Chuan Meets Liangchuan (6)

Chapter 156: Forget Chuan Meets Liangchuan (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios With this in mind, she suddenly stood up and crept to the peephole of the room door. As she looked out, she was met with a pair of big eyes. This gave Qiao Lian a shock, and she moved back. She heard Song Cheng speak, ¡°Is she not done? The livestream looks as if it¡¯s about to end!¡± They were actually still there. And they were even watching the livestream. They were seriously going overboard! Qiao Lian walked around the room in panic. One second she was touching her face, the other she was running her hand through her hair. Someone knocked on the room door and Song Cheng¡¯s voice came over, ¡°Forget Chuan, I know your livestream has ended, hurry up, open the door!¡± A while ago, they had requested them to wait, so it didn¡¯t make sense to refuse to open the door now. Qiao Lian stared at the door and clenched her teeth. She hid in one of the rooms and said, ¡°Gao Youming, go and open the door!¡± Gao Youming could only walk over and open the door. Song Cheng and Shen Liangchuan walked inside impatiently. Song Cheng sized up theyout of the room, while Shen Liangchuan¡¯s gaze fell on the room door. Song Cheng questioned, ¡°Where¡¯s Forget Chuan?¡± Gao Youming casually said, ¡°She¡¯s here, rx.¡± After he said so, he realized Song Cheng was staring at him in fear. ¡°Is Forget Chuan actually a transsexual?¡± Gao Youming: ... Gao Youming coughed and said, ¡°I¡¯m Youming.¡± They knew that Youming and Forget Chuan worked together to hold the livestream. Song Cheng then patted his chest and eximed, ¡°You gave me a shock! Where¡¯s Forget Chuan?¡± After he asked, the door opened. Everyone looked over and Song Cheng got quite shocked. ¡°What the f*ck...!¡± Shen Liangchuan followed Song Cheng¡¯s gaze and saw a woman. The woman had an unkempt appearance and a dirty face. Wait, it was not that her face was dirty, it was that she had applied a thickyer of makeup powder on her face. Her eyes had a thick eye makeup that had been messily applied. Her makeup made her look like a ghost, so it waspletely impossible to see her original features. Furthermore, she donned loose andrge woolen pajamas. She walked out of the room, half-awake, and when she saw the two men, she rasped, ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Forget Chuan.¡± Song Cheng: ... Shen Liangchuan: ... Even Gao Youming was shocked by her appearance. Usually people would dress up prettily when meeting their managers, but Forget Chuan... why was she so weird! Qiao Lian happily sat down, believing that they would leave after seeing how she looked like. It would be unimaginably queer if they decide to sign her, even though she was weirdo. Song Cheng stared at her intensely, thinking that it was too strange. Qiao Lian openly allowed both of them to size her up and said, ¡°What... are y¡¯all here for?¡± As she said this, she even stuck out her fingers and scratched her legs. She looked extremely sleazy! Song Cheng: ... Song Cheng hinted Shen Liangchuan with a look and said, ¡°Ermmm, we just came here to take a look. If there¡¯s nothing else, we¡¯ll take our leave.¡± He stood up when he finished speaking. He would have to be a moron if he still wanted to sign such a person! Unexpectedly, when he stood up, Song Cheng heard Shen Liangchuan speak, ¡°Ourpany, QC Media Company, wants to sign a contract with you and make you one our artists. May I ask if you have thought about this?¡± Song Cheng almost fell on the floor in shock. What was wrong with Best Actor Shen?! Akin to Song Cheng, Qiao Lian had almost fallen too after hearing Shen Liangchuan¡¯s words. What the hell! Shen Liangchuan still wants to sign her despite the terrible image she showed?! Could it be that this guy had recognized her? Chapter 157 - Forget Chuan Meets Liangchuan (7)

Chapter 157: Forget Chuan Meets Liangchuan (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She widened her eyes and stared at Shen Liangchuan, but he was expressionless and she couldn¡¯t see any emotion in his ck eyes. If he had recognized her, he wouldn¡¯t have been so polite, so... did it mean that he hadn¡¯t recognized her? Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Mr. Shen, why do you want to sign me?¡± She pointed at herself and continued, ¡°After all, I¡¯m rather ugly, I am unfit to appear in the public. Only my voice is attractive for an audience.¡± After saying so, she coughed violently and continued, ¡°And I even caught the flu today.¡± Song Cheng and Shen Liangchuan had heard her voice before. She waspletely fearless when livestreaming, since a person¡¯s voice could be slightly modified with the right processing. When one talks over the phone, there is also a slight difference in the voice heard. She was only afraid to be recognized in real life. There was no change in Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression, he inly spoke, ¡°It¡¯s because I like to game.¡± His voice was mellow and deep, which made people feel reallyfortable. When Qiao Lian heard his words, she was slightly taken aback and she suddenly remembered a conversation with Zi Chuan years ago. She had asked, ¡°Zi Chuan, why are you so good at gaming?¡± ¡°It¡¯s because I like to game.¡± He had been really powerful in the game simply because of his liking to it. And now, Shen Liangchuan wanted to sign her as an eSports caster due to his love for gaming? She raised an eyebrow and heard him continue, ¡°I¡¯ve heard your livestream a few times. You have a broad knowledge of the game, and you understand how we work. You will be an outstanding eSports caster.¡± Qiao Lian was delighted to hear him praising her, and she replied humbly, ¡°You tter me.¡± Shen Liangchuan nced at Song Cheng. Song Cheng immediately came to his senses. Although he didn¡¯t know why Best Actor Shen was insisting on signing this woman in hispany, he had to follow hismands unconditionally. He directly asked, ¡°So, what are your demands? Do you have any?¡± ¡°Demands? Nope!¡± Qiao Lian answered with a grin. Song Cheng nodded. He knew that no one would reject it if Best Actor Shen asked personally. ¡°So when will we sign the contract?¡± ¡°When have I agreed to signing the contract?¡± Her words made Song Cheng want tough really badly, and she continued saying, ¡°I have never wanted to be a star in the livestream world. I livestream just to earn some extra money! Thus... I won¡¯t sign anything with any managementpanies.¡± Song Cheng asked, ¡°You wouldn¡¯t even consider it if it¡¯s ourpany that offered?¡± As she could tell that they were both going to disagree until the end, she could only take the indirect method. ¡°Ermmm, could you allow me to consider it then?¡± Song Cheng nodded and took out his phone, saying, ¡°I will add your WeChat then, like this it will be more convenient for us to contact each other.¡± When Qiao Lian was about to agree, Shen Liangchuan say, ¡°Search for 186XXX.¡± Song Cheng was stunned, and Qiao Lian was even more stunned. That phone number was Shen Liangchuan¡¯s! But with him staring at her, she didn¡¯t dare to go against him. She had no option but to log on her other WeChat ount and added him. Song Cheng and Shen Liangchuan were heading back, but when they reached doorstep, Song Cheng looked back at the person behind him. He didn¡¯t know why, but he ineffably felt that Forget Chuan was kind of simr to Qiao Lian. And following his impulse, he asked, ¡°Forget Chuan, do you know a female reporter named Qiao Lian?¡± After Song Cheng finished his sentence, Shen Liangchuan gaze dimmed. Qiao Lian looked at both of them, she suddenly smiled and said, ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t she the famous brave female hero who fights for justice?¡± Chapter 158 - Forget Chuan Meets Liangchuan (8)

Chapter 158: Forget Chuan Meets Liangchuan (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When she ended her sentence, there was a strange silence in the room. Gao Youming covered his face, he had never seen someone so narcissistic. Song Cheng curved his lips. Wasn¡¯t she just a reporter? Why did Forget Chuan adore her so much? Even Shen Liangchuan couldn¡¯t help but slightly curve his lips. He didn¡¯t speak, but his eyes were sparkling. Qiao Lian acted as if she hadn¡¯t noticed their looks and continued speaking, ¡°As part of the entertainment industry, we are bound to pay more attention to some famous reporters. I¡¯ve actually taken notice of this reporter named Qiao Lian!¡± Shen Liangchuan had always thought that it was inappropriate for her to invade others¡¯ privacy as a reporter. Thus, she had to take this chance to put in good words for herself. She stuck out her lengthy fingers and said, ¡°This Qiao Lian has been in the industry for just half a year and she has already dug out so many influential articles. Firstly, there were two female artists who were fighting for the female lead. One of them turned to underhand means to win the position. She reported that incident. Secondly... Fifth, not long ago, didn¡¯t she also report on Yao Manwen and Wang Wenhao? Thus, there are both good and bad reporters. This Qiao Lian is a good one! She¡¯s definitely the hero of the new age! The spread of evil and all demons and monsters can¡¯t escape her eyes¡ª¡± She wanted to continue, but Gao Youming had coughed and cut her off. Qiao Lian looked back at him and asked, ¡°Are you not feeling well today?¡± Gao Youming: ... Song Cheng asked, ¡°How did you know that this reporter¡¯s name is Qiao Lian? I believe her pen name is Xiao Qiao. Even if you did know her, you could only know pen name.¡± Dang it, Song Cheng, he had set up a verbal trap for her. But... she would rather die than confess that she was Forget Chuan. Qiao Lian continued lying through her teeth, ¡°It¡¯s because I have been friends with her spiritually for a long time, and she¡¯s my idol, of course I would know!¡± She crossed her arms and said, ¡°She¡¯s such a good girl. If she¡¯s married, her husband should cherish her well. She has many small w, but she¡¯s kind and magnanimous¡ª¡± ¡°Cough cough!¡± Gao Youming could no longer take it. He took a step forward and said, ¡°Goodbye, take care.¡± Song Cheng then nced at Shen Liangchuan. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression remained unreadable, but it showed a little of happiness. He nodded and took the lead to leave. Song Cheng followed Shen Liangchuan down the stairs. When he reached the first floor, he spoke, ¡°I feel that Forget Chuan is simr to Ms. Qiao. But if the way she acts is totally different from Ms. Qiao. Ms. Qiao is so quiet, but Forget Chuan is so cheerful and funny!¡± Shen Liangchuan: ... How is Qiao Lian a quiet person in any way? They both walked to the exit of the housing estate and entered their respective cars. After a while, Song Cheng realized that Shen Liangchuan hadn¡¯t started his car. He walked over and knocked on Shen Liangchuan¡¯s car window. ¡°Brother Shen, is there anything wrong?¡± Shen Liangchuan replied, ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then why aren¡¯t you leaving?¡± ¡°You can leave first.¡± Song Cheng asked, ¡°You still have something to do?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Song Cheng thought, ¡°... So, would it kill for you to talk a bit more about it?¡± He sighed deeply and nodded. ¡°I will stay to apany you then.¡± He was a famous actor after all, it wouldn¡¯t be good if someone spotted him. He stood by the car and lit a cigarette. After he took a breath, he casually asked, ¡°Brother Shen, who are you waiting for?¡± ¡°For whom I¡¯m supposed to.¡± Fine! Take it as if I never asked! Chapter 159 - Forget Chuan Meets Liangchuan (9)

Chapter 159: Forget Chuan Meets Liangchuan (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian was only relieved after Shen Liangchuan and Song Cheng had left the room. Shey on the sofa, out of strength. Gao Youming stared at her with wide eyes. ¡°Forget Chuan, I think that... there¡¯s something wrong with you today!¡± Qiao Lian rolled her eyes at him. Gao Youming continued speaking, ¡°Even if you wanted to reject Song Cheng, you didn¡¯t have to make yourself look this awful, right? It was so horrible that I could hardly bear to look at it!¡± Qiao Lian sighed and said, ¡°There¡¯s no other way, because I¡¯m such a beauty. If they had seen me, what should I do if they force me to sign the contract?¡± Gao Youming replied, ¡°Would it kill you to not be narcissistic for a day?¡± Qiao Lian stood up, smiling, and entered the room to get changed. This room of Gao Youming was their workspace. As his sole ie came from livestreaming, there were a lot of clothes in the room. After Qiao Lian got changed, she washed her face and walked out of the room. Gao Youming was watching the game rey. When he heard her steps, he couldn¡¯t help but sigh and said, ¡°Forget Chuan, ¡®Zombie Leader¡¯ is really too arrogant! His move was so dangerous. The game usuallysts about 40 minutes, why did he have to end it in 20?¡± Qiao Lian casually replied, ¡°It was in order to prevent the yers of ¡®Sovereigns Ruling the World¡¯ frompeting with their abilities in theter part of the match, after leveling up. In ¡®We Love the Dead¡¯, only ¡®Zombie Leader¡¯ is skilled.¡± Gao Youming nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s true, they have to take advantage of the opportunities they get in order to win! Damn, there really are not many people who are as skilled as Zi Chuan used to be nowadays. Recalling the past¡ª¡± ¡°Stop!¡± Qiao Lian interrupted him. ¡°I¡¯m leaving.¡± ¡°Eh, why didn¡¯t you ask me about Zi Chuan?¡± Qiao Lian walked towards the door and added, ¡°Do you even know if I asked you?¡± You definitely know less than me! After she changed her shoes, she was about to make her way out, but she heard Gao Youming¡¯s voice again, ¡°Eh, what are you talking about? Let me tell you a secret.¡± Qiao Lian turned back. Gao Youming secretively said, ¡°I don¡¯t know Zi Chuan, but I know Xiao Qiao!¡± Qiao Lian was stumped. Qiao Lian almost spitted her saliva out. ¡°What?¡± This dude... had he recognized her? Gao Youming smiled smugly and said, ¡°Haha, you¡¯re stunned right? Let me tell you, I¡¯m really familiar with Xiao Qiao!¡± His words made Qiao Lian twitch her lips. The boasting skills of this dude were indeed bing stronger. Sheughed and turned around, walking towards the door. ¡°Aren¡¯t you curious about what happened to Xiao Qiao?¡± Gao Youming looked at Qiao Lian¡¯s back and asked again, ¡°Do you really not want to know what Xiao Qiao is doing now?¡± Qiao Lian waved her hand and entered the elevator. What was Xiao Qiao doing now? She had obviously became a reporter. Otherwise, should she still be gaming? Continue gaming... When this thought appeared, Qiao Lian¡¯s expression dimmed. Zi Chuan... Did he hate her because of that matter? Had he tricked her because... When that thought appeared, it spiraled around her brain crazily. She shook her head, waved away the thoughts and once again looked forward. Zi Chuan has already be your past, Qiao Lian, you have to stop thinking about him! Ding. The elevator arrived. She walked out of the building and walked towards the exit of the housing estate. After taking two steps, she suddenly heard someone excitedly shouting for her, ¡°Ms. Qiao!¡± When she lifted her head, she saw Song Cheng, who was standing in the distance. And her gazended on Shen Liangchuan, who was in the car! Chapter 160 - Forget Chuan Meets Liangchuan (10)

Chapter 160: Forget Chuan Meets Liangchuan (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian was immediately on guard and she widened her eyes. Had they both been waiting here just to intercept her? She was still in a state of shock, when she heard Song Cheng exim excitedly, ¡°Ms. Qiao, why are you here?¡± After he ended his sentence, he turned and looked at Shen Liangchuan, who was seated in the car. Song Cheng immediately understood why Qiao Lian was here. Qiao Lian swallowed her saliva in shock and approached them. She smiled and said, ¡°This is such a coincidence! Why are both of you here?¡± Shen Liangchuan didn¡¯t answer her question and instead, replied with another, ¡°You are here to... dig for news?¡± Qiao Lian giggled and replied, ¡°I- yes, I heard that Forget Chuan was doing a livestream here and I came to take a look.¡± ¡°Did you find any news?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°I can tell you the house number.¡± Qiao Lian was absolutely stumped. So, why was this man so nice suddenly? He wanted to give her the house number for her to get news of Forget Chuan? She remained on her guard as she stared at him and said, ¡°Ermmm, it¡¯s alright!¡± Shen Liangchuan didn¡¯t make things difficult for her and instead looked forward, asking, ¡°Where are you going now?¡± Qiao Lian subconsciously replied, ¡°Home.¡± ¡°Oh, get on the car.¡± Qiao Lian didn¡¯t know what to say. He wanted to send her home? Why did it feel like reality was quite unreal? She walked to the passenger seat, got onto the car and sat there obediently. However, she constantly stared at Shen Liangchuan from the corner of her eyes. He had been so nice ever since she had saved Song Yuanxi. His kindness was difficult to ascertain, and it made her feel uneasy. She lowered her head and couldn¡¯t help but despise herself. She was really one miserable wretch. Would she only feel at ease if he continued being mean to her? Qiao Lian shook her head, and she only looked forward after she got rid of the nonsensical thoughts. But at that moment, she realized something and said, ¡°Mr. Shen- Shen Liangchuan, this isn¡¯t the road home!¡± Shen Liangchuan looked at her inly and said, ¡°Yes.¡± Qiao Lian was speechless. What did he mean by ¡°Yes¡±? This dude measured his words too much. He was truly cold on the outside, but passionate inside. As she was criticised him internally, she heard him say, ¡°We¡¯re going to eat.¡± Going to eat? He wanted to bring her to meet his friends? Qiao Lian immediately sat up straight and looked at her clothes. She was wearing a woolen shirt, a pair of jeans and white shoes. Could she really meet his friends while being dressed up so casually? She was instantly on tenterhooks. However, Shen Liangchuan didn¡¯t speak. It should be fine, right? His car arrived at a private restaurant. Shen Liangchuan alighted from the car, and he walked forward with her following closely behind. They both entered a private room. It was then that she realized that it was only them eating. She was overwhelmed by his favor... but at the same time she feared it. He had purposely waited outside the apartment, just to fetch her for food? This guy... Did he know that she was Forget Chuan? She clenched her teeth and looked at him with vignce. ¡°Shen Liangchuan, you¡¯re treating me?¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded and said, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Shen Liangchuan lifted his head and said, ¡°Take a seat.¡± Qiao Lian obediently sat down and continued staring at him. Then, Shen Liangchuan continued, ¡°I would like to ask you for a favor.¡± Best Actor Shen¡¯s asking for her help? That was so rare! Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes suddenly lightened up. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Mypany wants to sign Forget Chuan, and she seems to like you very much. Help me convince her.¡± Qiao Lian was absolutely stumped. Chapter 161 - Everybody Has Secrets (1)

Chapter 161: Everybody Has Secrets (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian stared at Shen Liangchuan unbelievingly. She felt as though she had just lifted a huge rock, only to drop it onto her foot! She opened and closed her mouth repeatedly, trying to find an excuse to reject him. However, after looking at the determined expression on his face, all the excuses were stuck in her mouth. After thinking for a while, she said stubbornly, ¡°I¡¯ve never met her before.¡± ¡°However, she has admired you for quite some time now. So, I think that she would be extremely happy if she met you.¡± Shen Liangchuan emphasized the word ¡®admired¡¯, causing Qiao Lian to desperately wish that she would have bitten her own tongue! She stared at Shen Liangchuan, trying to figure out whether he was saying this because he had deduced something about her identity, or whether it was purely coincidence. However, this person had a skilled poker face. His expression remained nk, so she was unable to deduce anything from it. Fine! She would cross the bridge when she got to it! She said casually, ¡°Let me try then.¡± Shen Liangchuan shot a nce at her before slowly lowering his head. He then said, ¡°I¡¯m begging you.¡± When Qiao Lian heard this, she raised her head astonishingly. He was begging her? This was the most polite sentence that Shen Liangchuan had ever said to her. She blinked and could not help but say, ¡°Is Forget Chuan that important to you?¡± At this moment, thepartment door was pushed open. The waitstaff entered and ced the dishes they were lifting on the table, causing the conversation to stop. After the waitstaff had left, Qiao Lian picked up her chopsticks, intending to take the most tender piece of yellow croaker. However, another pair of chopsticks shot out in front of hers and grabbed it before she could get to it. Qiao Lian immediately froze. She lifted her head, only to see Shen Liangchuan mp his chopsticks on the piece of fish. Oh well, she wasn¡¯t as fast as him after all. She was just not destined to taste this delicacy! As she thought of this, the pair of chopsticks appeared in front of her face. She lifted her head bewilderingly and watched Shen Liangchuan put the piece of yellow croaker in her bowl. Qiao Lian: ... Qiao Lian stared at the piece of yellow croaker and looked at Shen Liangchuan cautiously. ¡°What are you doing?¡± People who were unreasonably kind were probably also hiding dark intentions as well! Actually, Shen Liangchuan did not mean to cause trouble for her. However, why was she looking so bewildered, even though he was the one who was treating her to a meal? It was as though she had the impression that he had some sort of evil intention towards her. Especially at this moment... Why did a small piece of yellow croaker make her so nervous, as though it was the sharpened de of a dagger? He could only continue their previous conversation, ¡°I¡¯ll continue to wait for the good news from Forget Chuan.¡± Qiao Lian: ... Why was this person so sure that Forget Chuan would choose him? Qiao Lian lowered her head and stared at the piece of fish. Actually, she was really happy that Shen Liangchuan wanted to sign her. She had fantasized countless times before about working alongside Shen Liangchuan. He was her idol, after all. However, when this day had finallye, she realized that she was not qualified to work alongside him. She could not reveal her identity to the public... Thus, regardless of how poor she was, she had never thought of entering the entertainment industry. Gao Youming had always told her that, as a female eSports caster whose poprity was already quite high, as long as she was willing to show her face to the public, he could guarantee that she would earn more than a hundred thousand yuan a month. However, it was not that she was unwilling to do so. She had already sold her body for money, let alone her face! Yet, the fact was that she absolutely could not do so. She picked up the piece of yellow croaker with her chopsticks and put it in her mouth. However, she found it rtively nd. Then, she heard Shen Liangchuan saying, ¡°If she causes you any difficulties, let me know.¡± Qiao Lian raised her gaze, but Shen Liangchuan had already lowered his head and was concentrating on his food. He looked extremely elegant when he ate. She could tell with a single nce that he had been born in a rich family, as the etiquette he disyed had to have been taught from a young age. He must have been born with a golden spoon in his mouth, right? But then... why had Best Actor Shen chosen to enter the entertainment industry? Chapter 162 - Everybody Has Secrets (2)

Chapter 162: Everybody Has Secrets (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan had been born into a wealthy family, thus, he must have grown up in a rather affluent environment. However, most wealthy people did not look favorably upon celebrities. So, why had he entered the entertainment industry? She had never considered these questions. Only when she suddenly thought of this, did she realize that... she did not understand him at all. Apart from knowing that he had won a Best Actor award in the past and that he had arduously worked really hard to progress from a nobody to one of the most popr celebrities today, she knew nothing about him. She did not even know who his father was, or whether he had any siblings. She did not know why Song Yuanxi was bizarrely staying at their vi. Furthermore, he had never shown any intention to exin this to her. Was it because... he felt that there was no need to exin this to someone he would divorce sooner orter anyway? She recalled the conversation they had had on the night they became newlyweds. Always remember your duty. As she thought about this, the small piece of yellow croaker she was chewing suddenly turned bitter. She lowered her head and thought for a long while, before finally replying, ¡°All right.¡± She absently ate the rest of her meal. After they had finished eating, Qiao Lian sat in Shen Liangchuan¡¯s car as it drove towards the vi. On the way, her cell phone suddenly rang. When she picked it up, she realized that the chief editor was calling her. Her frowned slightly as she answered the call. The chief editor¡¯s voice emanated from the other end, saying, ¡°Qiao Lian, Wang Wenhao only pped you once, so why are you taking leave for so many days?¡± Qiao Lian pursed her lips. The chief editor continued saying, ¡°Heh, do you not want to work anymore? Then please hand in your resignation letter!¡± Qiao Lian smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯ll being to work tomorrow.¡± The chief editor humphed coldly and said, ¡°At least you have some self-awareness! I¡¯m telling you now, you¡¯d better work hard at uncovering Best Actor Shen¡¯s scoop!¡± When she finished speaking, she immediately hung up. Qiao Lian pursed her lips as she looked at her phone. She could not help but curse out, ¡°You old hag!¡± After she finished swearing, she threw her cell phone into her pocket. As she felt a cold gaze directed at her from the side, her body suddenly froze. Damn! How could she have forgotten that she was in Shen Liangchuan¡¯s car!? This fellow must have definitely heard her mutterings just now. Ahhh! She sat up straight and lowered her head, desperately wishing that she could disappear into thin air. Shen Liangchuan suddenly said, ¡°How do you usually scold me?¡± Qiao Lian replied, ¡°Ahh, why would I even scold you!¡± Bastard! ¡°Are you sure?¡± Qiao Lian replied, ¡°Absolutely certain!¡± Only then was Shen Liangchuan satisfied. When they reached the vi, both of them got out of the car. Before Shen Liangchuan went into the bathroom with a towel in his hand, he said to her, ¡°Contact Forget Chuan now.¡± Qiao Lian said, ¡°I don¡¯t even know how to contact her. Let¡¯s continue this conversation once I¡¯ve figured out how to contact her!¡± When Shen Liangchuan heard this, he raised his eyebrows and said, ¡°Don¡¯t you know her WeChat ount name? I saw that you had liked one of the posts in her friend group.¡± Qiao Lian: ...! She had liked her secondary ount using her primary ount... that¡¯s no big deal! Boo hoo hoo! Before she could reply, Shen Liangchuan had already entered the bathroom. The bastard! She angrily sat on the sofa. She definitely had to find a way to cause trouble for him. However, how could Forget Chuan reject him while embarrassing him as well? Suddenly, Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes brightened! When Shen Liangchuan walked out, he saw Qiao Lian sitting on the sofa. She was smiling at him, an expression of joy on her face. ¡°I have news from Forget Chuan! She said that in order for her to consider signing a contract with yourpany, you must first beat her in a video game match!¡± She was Xiao Qiao after all ¡ª that Xiao Qiao who could back up her reputation with her amazing video game skills! Thus, how could Best Actor Shen possibly win her?! Chapter 163 - Everybody Has Secrets (3)

Chapter 163: Everybody Has Secrets (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The only person living in this world who could have actually beaten her at ying video games in her prime would have been Zi Chuan. One could even say that it had been Zi Chuan who caused her to y video games sopetently. From the time when she used to y video games casually, to the addiction that she experiencedter, to the time that she finally became one of the best video gamers ever, video games had be one of her biggest passions in life. Qiao Lian curled her lips. Even though there were many areas in which she could not hope to match Shen Liangchuan, ying video games was certainly not one of them. After all, her ability to y video games was one of her strengths. He would be speechless once she had beaten him, right? As she thought about this, she looked at Shen Liangchuan. He had just finished showering. A towel was wrapped around his waist, exposing hispact abdominal and pectorial muscles. The only source of light in the room came from a dimly lit bedsidemp. His skin glowed brightly because of it. His face looked as sharp as a well-carved statue. His appearance was so exquisite that it could anger both mortals and deities alike. His distinct facial features exuded determination. Hence, even though he looked extremely beautiful, he did not exude any femininity at all. Instead, his body exuded a sense of masculinity. The stars were brightly shining outside. Today was a rare day in which there was no fog whatsoever. However, at this moment, Qiao Lian had no time to enjoy the scenery outside. That¡¯s because to her, the star that shone the brightest in the entire world was right in front of her. This star had guided her in the right direction during the darkest days of her life. Thus, she idolized Shen Liangchuan. Due to this idolization, she felt small and diminutive when facing him. Growing up, she had always felt as though she stood above everybody else. Even if her household was about to copse, she would neverpromise for anybody, except for Shen Liangchuan. Hence, she felt a sense of resentment within her. Now, she would teach him a lesson under the guise of ¡®Forget Chuan¡¯. At least this way, she could regain some dignity. As she thought about this, she became momentarily excited. Later, after she crushed Shen Liangchuan, would he start crying out of anger? She excitedly looked at him, only to see that he had an apathetic look on his face, causing her to be unable to gauge his feelings. Qiao Lian snickered uncontrobly when she saw his rxed expression. Go on, keep acting. Later on, you will lose everything, even the pants you are wearing! She immersed herself in her thoughts before staring once again at Shen Liangchuan. ¡°Shen Liangchuan, Forget Chuan is a female video game caster. No doubt, she will be extremely good at ying video games. Are you afraid of taking her on?¡± She was purposely asking him whether he dared to y against Forget Chuan and not whether he was actually ying because she wanted to purposely antagonize him. She was certain that there was no way he would refuse. Indeed, he lifted his head. Aplicated expression was reflected in his dark eyes. Was he afraid? Just as she thought of this, she heard him reply, ¡°All right. When is this going to happen?¡± The faster the better, of course! However, if she started the match right now, wouldn¡¯t she blow her cover? Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes rolled around in their sockets as she examined the room. How could she prevent him from figuring out that it was her ying in the video game match, while at the same time still allowing her to see him embarrass himself? This was a dilemma indeed. Qiao Lian stood up and walked into the bathroom. ¡°I¡¯ll arrange the match for tomorrow evening.¡± Once she finished saying that, she closed the door and took off her clothes. As she still had injuries all over her body, she could not shower or bathe. She could only wipe her body with a towel. She did so while looking at herself in the mirror. However, she could not wipe her back, no matter how hard she tried. Just as she was fretting over the problem, the door to the bathroom was suddenly pushed open. A shocked Qiao Lian violently turned her head to look behind her, only to see Shen Liangchuan walking towards her. Panicked, she hurriedly picked up the towel and wrapped her body with it. ¡°Why are you here?¡± Chapter 164 - Everybody Has Secrets (4)

Chapter 164: Everybody Has Secrets (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian was truly shocked. She had been married to Shen Liangchuan for almost a month now. Even though they had not been living under the same roof for too long a period, Shen Liangchuan had been barging into the bathroom with nary a greeting these past few days. She bit her lip and widened her eyes. Could this guy... actually being in here to do that with her? However, her body was clearly covered with injuries. It would be unkind of him to think of doing that with her, when she was in this state! As she thought of this, she instantly became warier of him. However, Shen Liangchuan took a step forward and said, ¡°Let me help you.¡± Help her? Help her do what? He grabbed a towel from a nearby bucket, wrung it, and pressed it on her shoulders. ¡°Where else should I rub?¡± Was- was he helping her to wipe her body? Qiao Lian¡¯s head begun to hurt. This guy... was clearly too nice towards her. Was he doing this with nefarious intentions in mind? Shen Liangchuan saw that she stayed silent for a long time as she kept staring at him with those round eyes of hers. Even though he was covered with a towel, his exquisite shoulders could still be seen. His vicle looked both attractive and sexy. Her skin was so pale that even a slight pinch could cause it to swell for a few days, let alone a beating like the one she had experienced a few days ago. His eyes filled with warmth when he saw the bruises on her body. His actions also became gentler. Suddenly, Qiao Lian snapped back to reality. She swallowed a mouthful of saliva before saying, ¡°My back.¡± Shen Liangchuan walked behind her and instantly pulled the towel away from his body. The action was so fast that Qiao Lian had no time to react! She was about to pick the towel up when she felt his warm, enormous hands grab hold of her shoulder. Then, she heard his voice emanating from her neck area, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡± She felt his warm breath near her ear, causing her entire body to freeze. She felt a fiery sensation near her abdomen. As the sensation worked its way up her body, she felt increasing hotter and drier. The warmth of the enormous hand on her shoulder felt like it came out of a furnace. Starting from her shoulder, the warmth slowly began to spread to her entire body. Due to her nakedness, her shoulders unconsciously tensed up, and she could feel a tightening sensation sucking out all of the air from her lungs as she grew increasingly nervous. She felt a hot towel being applied to her back. The heat from the towel activated sensations across her entire body, causing her to break out in numerous goosebumps. She felt as though the sensitivity of her body had reached its peak. She could clearly feel his hand gently rubbing her body with a towel. From her neck, the towel worked its way down her spine until it stopped near her tailbone. Qiao Lian¡¯s face was burning red as she felt that huge hand inching towards her derriere. She hurriedly stopped him and said, ¡°That-that area¡¯s been wiped!¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s hand paused in mid-air. He muttered an affirmative, his low voice clearly sounded a bit hoarse. Then, his hand passed by her derriere and his other hand let go of her shoulder. Qiao Lian¡¯s entire body instantly rxed. She heard him say, ¡°It¡¯s finished.¡± She obviously knew he had finished. Since you¡¯ve finished, please get out of here now! Qiao Lian bit her lip and steathily turned her head, only to see that Shen Liangchuan was directing a fiery gaze at her body. His gaze caused a renewed fiery sensation to break out all across her body again. Her skin started to turn pink, probably due to her embarrassment. She lowered her head and picked up the towel from the floor. Then, she clumsily wrapped it around herself and said, ¡°Well, let¡¯s go out.¡± As she finished speaking, she turned to run out of the room. However, in her haste, she identally tripped. In a panic, she loosened her hand from the towel and used it to grab Shen Liangchuan instead! The towel around her body was clearly not wrapped tightly. When she let go of it, it immediately slid off her body and fell to the floor. Furthermore, she also identally tugged the towel wrapping Shen Liangchuan¡¯s body off of him. Shen Liangchuan wanted to grab hold of her, but his gaze wavered and he fell down as well... Chapter 165 - Everybody Has Secrets (5)

Chapter 165: Everybody Has Secrets (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At this point, both Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan were already near the bathroom door. Outside the bathroom door, a thick Persian carpetid on the floor. As such, even if they fell onto it, they would not feel any pain at all. However, why did they both feel a body pressing onto their own? Especially...! At this moment, they were both stark naked. Their skins touched. As her body had just been wiped, her body temperature was rather cool. However, his body was ming hot. When her cool body touched his fiery one, Qiao Lian almost yelled out in shock due to how sensitive her body felt! In fact, when he fell, he had coincidentally fell on top of her. As they panicked, they somehow still felt connected to each other. Qiao Lian¡¯s heart started thumping wildly. She was anxious to the point of suffocation. She swallowed a mouthful of saliva and saw that his head was leaning over. He pressed his warm lips onto her chilly lips. His body scent wafted into her nostrils. He gently kissed her. Once he had finished kissing her, the both of them felt an emotional shift within them as they breathed heavily. She ced her hands on his shoulders. She simultaneously wanted to both push him away from herself and pull herself closer to him. As she fretted over this dilemma, she suddenly felt something jabbing at her feet. It was his package... Qiao Lian¡¯s face immediately turned bright red. She did not dare to look at his face. However, she saw in the corners of her eyes that his ears had turned red as well. Shen Liangchuan could not have predicted that what started off as harmless teasing woulde back to bite him. He acutely felt something change within his body. Never had he felt something like he was feeling right now. He desperately wanted to possess and own her body. He knew that he could fulfill his wish with a single action. He also knew that she would not reject him, because she had never dared to refuse his advances before. However, this time... As he thought of the bruises on her shapely body that he had noticed when he was wiping her body just now, he could not help but to sigh deeply. As Qiao Lian waited for Shen Liangchuan to make his next move, she noticed that he had abruptly stopped moving. It seemed as though he was feeling conflicted about something. Finally, after some time, he stood up. As the pressure of his body eased off of her, she felt as though her heart had also suddenly turned hollow. Then, she suddenly noticed that he had lifted her into his arms and was currently striding forward, until he finally ced her onto the bed gently. She hurriedly covered herself with a nket before staring wide-eyed at him. As his back was facing the light, she could not clearly see the expression on his face. However, as he stood beside the bed, his gaze was simr to one that a wolf might levy at its prey. Qiao Lian tugged the nket closer to herself. Just as she thought that he might swallow her whole, the next second, he suddenly turned around and walked to the side. Qiao Lian inexplicably sighed in relief. Even though she did not injure her bones when she was hurt, she still had numerous bruises all over her body. The doctor had even reminded her that she should not be doing any strenous activites for the time being. Shen Liangchuan clearly wanted to do ¡°it¡± with her. However, he managed to control his impulses. Was this because he had taken into consideration the state of her body? Thinking about this warmed her heart considerably. There were times when he did indeed care about her. Hence, she had decided that she would take it slightly easier on him once they had started the videogame match. After all, she did not want him to lose too terribly! She buried her head in the nket. Only her eyes were visible, and she used those eyes to stare at him. He sat on the sofa and closed his eyes, as though he was trying to calm the raging fire within his body. However, the image of a girl¡¯s pale body kept shing across his mind. These thoughts only caused him to feel even more suppressed. Certain parts of his body began to swell with pain. He abruptly stood up and barked amand at Qiao Lian, saying, ¡°Contact Forget Chuan now. I want to y a match against her immediately.¡± Chapter 166 - Everybody Has Secrets (6)

Chapter 166: Everybody Has Secrets (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He put on his pajamas, picked up his phone and said, ¡°I will wait for her in the study.¡± After he finished speaking, he walked out. Qiao Lian only came back to her senses after the room door closed. This dude... was he intending to game to divert his attention from his lower body? Furthermore, he had taken the initiative to leave. Was she able to y against him now? She hurriedly jumped off the bed and casually put on her clothes. She found her phone and entered Forget Chuan¡¯s WeChat. Once she had entered sessfully, she saw the message from Shen Liangchuan. [Shen Liangchuan: What are we ying?] Qiao Lian gave it a thought. She was Xiao Qiao, she had always been good at gaming. Although she was the most familiar with lot, since he had the title of Best Actor, she should give him a chance. Thus, she replied: [Forget Chuan: You can decide. What games do you usually y?] [Shen Liangchuan: Lot then.] Qiao Lian was stunned, he was usually sinct. Did he mean that he chose lot or that he usually yed lot? The game that she was the most familiar with was lot, would she be taking the advantage if theypeted in lot? [Forget Chuan: I¡¯m the best at lot, do you want to change the game?] [Shen Liangchuan: It¡¯s alright.] Indeed, all men were proud creatures. [Forget Chuan: Ok then, one on one?] Shen Liangchuan agreed. After thinking for a while, she continued: [Forget Chuan: My username in lot is Unforgettable Love. Add me as a friend.] After she sent the message, she entered the game. ¡°Unforgettable Love¡± was her sub-ount. She had created two ounts when she used to y. After she logged in, she got a notification from the game, and it hinted that someone had added her as a friend. His username was ¡°Shen¡± and he was only level one. If Shen Liangchuan really liked to y lot, this had to be his sub-ount. Moreover, it looked like he had just created the ount. This guy... Could he really y? Forget it. She would just give him a chanceter so that he wouldn¡¯t explode after losing! After she added him, they entered the one on one mode. The game¡¯s purpose was to destroy the main tower. Whoever destroyed it, won. The match would be carried how lot was usually yed, so they started off at level 0. Qiao Lian sent him an in-game message: [Unforgettable Love: When I used to y, I always did it on theputer, and now there¡¯s even a mobile version. But I don¡¯t feel as adept as I did onputer.] [Shen: Same.] Qiao Lian: ... Did he mean that he agreed to how she felt, or did he think that ying on theputer and the phone feels the same?! Dang it, would he die from speaking a few more words! Qiao Lian decided to ignore it. She exercised her wrist as the game was loading. She nned on just teasing him for twenty minutes and achieve her victory in thirty minutes. The game started. She hurriedly picked up her phone and, while she stared at the familiar interface, she realized her full potential. As she moved forward, she started off by killing small monsters to level up. She also killed the Shen Liangchuan¡¯s minions. But... she was already at the center of the map, why wasn¡¯t Shen Liangchuan here yet? She looked at the map, but she didn¡¯t see any traces of Shen Liangchuan¡¯s movements. She couldn¡¯t help but remain on the spot, stunned. It was a one on one battle, there were almost no bushes or ces to hide. Then, where was he hiding? Where exactly was Shen Liangchuan hiding? Actually... he wasn¡¯t hiding anywhere, as he hadn¡¯t even walked out of the base. At that moment, he was in a daze, staring at the familiar game interface. Chapter 167 - Everybody Has Secrets (7)

Chapter 167: Everybody Has Secrets (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios A few years ago, he hade into contact with online games through this game. He was in high school then, and at that time he thought that school had been rtively easy, but family problems vexed him. Thus, he started toe into contact with this game, he felt that killing people was really satisfying. He didn¡¯t think much into it then. He just found a few people who yed the game well and formed a team to joinpetitions. He had never expected himself to be famous. And sometimeter... he met Xiao Qiao. That day, he turned on theputer and went to get himself a cup of water. After he came back, he realized that his cat had clicked the mouse, and he had actually entered a random match. The system had randomly assigned him a team. He had originally intended to quit the match, but his teammates weren¡¯t online yet and the game had already started, thus he decided to continue with the match. He didn¡¯t notice Xiao Qiao in the beginning, but he soon realized that every time she revived, she woulde to look for him. He thought that she was annoying, and thus killed her time and time again. At the end of the game, he had already killed her ten times. This idiot, she didn¡¯t even level up, she didn¡¯t get her teammates to fight alongside her and instead, rushed towards him every time she revived. She was a total airhead. He hadn¡¯t been ying seriously for that match. So, in theter part of the game, he found it annoying and decided to end it as soon as possible. After the game, he went the bathroom, yet when he came back, he realized that his cat had once again entered him into a new match. He felt really annoyed then. It was really boring to y with a bunch of idiots. Thus, he decisively quit the match. After he quit the match, his teammates logged in, so they yed a ranked match together. Only after the ranked match ended, he realized that he had received a private message. He recognized her profile picture, it was the Xiao Qiao from the other match. He had not made an effort to remember her, it was just that his memory was too good. She asked him why he had quit the game. He didn¡¯t even pause to think and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t want to be in the same team as an idiot.¡± After this, he just left this person, who he considered unimportant, in the back of his mind. His self back then would have never expected that this person would actually be his obsession in the future. After that, she tried all ways to contact him and get his attention. Every time he was in apetition, she would always be a part of the enemy team. And she targeted him all the time. She didn¡¯t try to level up, didn¡¯t kill monsters, and just focused on attacking him every single time she revived. With such a idiot in the team, she always lowered the fighting ability of his enemy team. He was really confused on why his opponents would agree to have her in the team when the were actuallypeting. One day, after he had be friends with her, he asked her why. Her reply brought along bitterness. She said, ¡°Zi Chuan, you¡¯re too evil. I was too small and invisible to catch your attention. I had no choice but to spend my monthly pocket money on buying golden coins! Every time you joined apetition, I would bribe the enemy team. I said that since they won¡¯t be able to beat you, I would give them golden coins if they allowed me to join!¡± The way she spoke about the money was totally like a nouveau riche. She still spoke as if she had done the right thing, ¡°Look, you got such a good girlfriend, when will you return me the pocket money I¡¯ve spent on you!¡± Shen Liangchuan curved his lips andughed. It seemed as if his past online had once again appeared before him... Her character was like her, she was always excited and upied with something. Every time they were in apetition, she would jump about. Even when she was resting on a spot, she would run around him. He had thought that they would get increasingly closer and slowly be a real-life couple. He had even mentally nned their special wedding in the future... However, no one could have expect that things would change. Chapter 168 - Everybody Has Secrets (8)

Chapter 168: Everybody Has Secrets (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan was in a daze for a rtively long period of time. By the time he recovered his senses, he realized that she had already taken her minions to attack his second turret. Qiao Lian felt really guilty. She was really alert, as she still hadn¡¯t seen Shen Liangchuan yet. He had to be hiding somewhere. However, she was already at his second turret, why hadn¡¯t Shen Liangchuan appeared? This guy... Could it be that he had snuck up on her? She was both staring at her main tower and in front of her. Her fingers flew over the screen at a fast speed, quietly waiting for Shen Liangchuan to appear. Just then, she finally saw Shen Liangchuan! The moment she saw his level, she thought her eyes were ying tricks on her. The match had started for two to three minutes and he was only... level 1? That was unbelievable! Don¡¯t tell me that he has been standing there in a daze for the whole time? He really didn¡¯t know how to game! She had originally decided to directly kill him in one move, and end this game within five minutes. But when she saw how weak he was and why, Qiao Lian¡¯s heart immediately softened. The poor guy was certainly unhappy. If she killed him quickly, would he feel useless? He had always been temperamental, he would definitely vent his anger on her if he lost too poorly. She wanted to take revenge, but she didn¡¯t want to drag herself into trouble! Thus, when Shen Liangchuan came for her, she immediately waited on the spot. But after hesitating for a while, she still left. She was giving him some time to catch his breath. Mobile version of games were widespread in the recent years, thus Shen Liangchuan had had mobile versions of other games before. However, this was his first time ying the mobile version of lot. Although he was not very used to it, he was still able to get the hang of it in no time. The controls on the mobile were much worse than on theputer, but this didn¡¯t affect his performance. When he attacked, he realized Qiao Lian had spotted him. However, she turned around and ran away. She ran away. Her reaction stunned him a little, and he felt an unfamiliar pain emerging in his heart suddenly. Her character in the game was still Xiao Qiao. Even after so many years, she only yed Xiao Qiao. Even the skin she used was the same one. She liked wearing the conservative yellow dress, bright and beautiful. When they yed in the past, she always stayed around him. However, after eight years, she turned and run away after seeing him. It seemed like he hadn¡¯t yed with her for a long time... Yes. He had long known that Forget Chuan was Xiao Qiao. He had recognized Qiao Lian and had asionally tuned in to her livestream. Her voice hadn¡¯t changed much in all of these years, it was really simr to what it used to be in the game many years back. And he had finally found her. Shen Liangchuan calmed himself down and started ying again. After Qiao Lian returned to her base and fully healed herself, she proceed forward again. Thanks to the dy, she realized that Shen Liangchuan had killed quite a few of her minions and had levelled up. She was level four now and if she fought Shen Liangchuan was who in level three, it would be aplete victory for her. Thus, she rushed forward. It wouldn¡¯t be bullying if she killed him this way right? Thinking about it instantly made her excited. Shen Liangchuan had bullied her so many times in real life and now she finally has the chance to kill him personally! Just when she rubbed her wrist, intending to charge forward, she suddenly realized that he had immobilized her! She was stunned. And next, he rushed in front of her and did a close attack. Her health decreases by half! By the time she came to her senses, she shockingly realized that she was almost dead! Chapter 169 - Everybody Has Secrets (9)

Chapter 169: Everybody Has Secrets (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian was dumbfounded by his perfect control of the game! What the hell! He was ying like a pro. Could it be that... Shen Liangchuan had found a pro to y against her? Did that work too?! In her daze, she had revived. She quickly activated the speed boost and ran back to base. The right thing to do was to return to base to heal up. Although her defence had been effective, Qiao Lian still felt that she was going to die, since he had an ability that could reach her in an instant. Unexpectedly, when she started running towards her base and looked back, she realized that Shen Liangchuan was standing on the spot. He wasn¡¯t chasing after her. Was this... Was he giving her a chance? To repay her leniency just now? The man truly didn¡¯t like owing anyone! Or... Why had she thought of this? As that thought appeared, Qiao Lian¡¯s body froze. She then realized that she had subconsciously imagined the person in the game to be Zi Chuan. That was Zi Chuan¡¯s character, he didn¡¯t owe anyone favors. When he gamed, if the person hadn¡¯t been hot on his heels, he would let them go. He was very loyal, he put his life values and morals into the games he yed. Just like now, he had been in an inferior position. He should¡¯ve killed her and fought for time for himself to level up. However, he had still let her off. Wait... Why was she imagining Shen Liangchuan as Zi Chuan again! She shouldn¡¯t be mixing them up just because there was a ¡®Chuan¡¯ in both of their names! Qiao Lian shook her head and focused all her energy into the game, and she stopped entertaining those foolish thoughts of hers. After she healed up, she started attacking again. Shen Liangchuan had already destroyed her first turret. Now, they were both relying on their skills. Qiao Lian went for Shen Liangchuan to attack him. However, at that instant, she realized that he had once again targeted her and that he was about to immobilize her, so she quickly shunned him. Although she managed avoid the stun, she didn¡¯t avoid the hit that followed. What the hell! She couldn¡¯t help but shriek. Where did Shen Liangchuan find such a pro? He was amazing! She focused her energy on the game and fought with Shen Liangchuan with evenly matched abilities. In the study. Shen Liangchuan stared at the woman in the yellow dress. This dress was a dress they had won by killing monsters to level up. There was only one of this kind in the whole game. Thus, this was like Xiao Qiao¡¯s unique characteristic. As he watched her get hit again, although the rooms had been well soundproofed, he felt as if he had heard Xiao Qiao shout, ¡°What the hell!¡± He didn¡¯t know why, but he could hear her voice. It said, ¡°Zi Chuan,e quickly! This guy is too powerful!¡± He could¡¯ve killed her with a shot but, because of that moment of distraction, his movements slowed down. It gave her a chance to catch a breath and run away. He stared at the game and suddenly felt that his heart couldn¡¯t calm down. They had always been the best partners, they used to be so close. But why, why did they end up like this? They had met, but they couldn¡¯t recognize each other. Even when they were in game, they had to meet as enemies. This seemed to be the most deste thing in the world. Even though this was just a game, Shen Liangchuan suddenly felt deste. He suddenly stood up, went out study room and stood before the door of the master bedroom. At that instant, he suddenly had a strong urge to rush in and tell that woman in the room that he was Zi Chuan. Chapter 170 - Everybody Has Secrets (10)

Chapter 170: Everybody Has Secrets (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He even ced his hand on the door handle. He could enter whenever he wanted. However, until the end, he remained on the spot. The memories from eight years ago had rushed in, andplex emotions once again shed through his eyes. In the end, he lowered his head and gave a bitterugh. So what if he said it? It wasn¡¯t as if he could change anything from eight years ago. It wasn¡¯t as if he could change the fact that she had yed him. He took a deep breath and put his hand down. Staring at the champion on his phone, he suddenly lost the urge to continue ying. He exited the game, turned around and entered the study room. In the master bedroom. Qiao Lian had umted energy and was waiting to utterly defeat him. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s performance did not really mean much, she was still really powerful! But... who could¡¯ve told her? What was this? Her opponent had quit the match? Her opponent had quit the match! What the hell! Was he admitting defeat, knowing that he couldn¡¯t beat her? She jumped off the bed, directly opened the door and rushed to the study room. At the doorstep, she heard Shen Liangchuan¡¯s voice from the inside of the study room, saying, ¡°Oh, ok.¡± He was actually on the phone. So, had he abandoned the match? Qiao Lian took two steps backwards and returned to the room. She patiently waited for him toe back online again, but his phone call seemed tost for a long time. As she was not active on the game, the system had exited the game application for her. Theirpetition had ended, as they had stopped ying. Qiao Liany on the bed, staring at the ceiling. She didn¡¯t know why, but she suddenly startedughing. She had suddenly recalled that time that she got stronger thanks to Zi Chuan¡¯s guidance, so she recklessly insisted on challenging him to a one on one. He was so pestered by her that he had no choice but to start a game. They both started by killing small monsters in order to level up, and they didn¡¯t attack each other. After a while, she couldn¡¯t take it any longer and provoked him. However, she ended up getting hit by him. She shouted in the game directly, ¡°Hey, Zi Chuan, how dare you attack me!¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you attack me too?¡± ¡°That¡¯s different! I¡¯m a girl and you should go easy on me!¡± ¡°... How do we y then?¡± Qiao Lian covered her mouth andughed, ¡°I also don¡¯t know, but I don¡¯t want you to attack me and I don¡¯t want to attack you either. However, when I see you, I can¡¯t resist jumping on you!¡± Her honest words made him stop talking for a moment. Qiao Lian giggled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that you¡¯re embarrassed.¡± ¡°No.¡± Qiao Lian startedughing heartily and said, ¡°You¡¯re embarrassed.¡± ¡°Woman, why are you so annoying!¡± He scolded her, but they didn¡¯t quit the game. They even worked together to kill a small monster. The match became a joke in the end. However, the sweeter it had been in the past, the sadder it seemed now. Zi Chuan had made her fall deeply in love, and then hate him deeply for a long eight years. The hate had been there so long that it was deeply buried in her heart, and she waspletely unable to forget it. As shey on the bed for some time, she suddenly stuck out her hands and covered her eyes. After a while, two drops of tears rolled out of the corner of her eyes. Zi Chuan, why didn¡¯t you appear then? Why hadn¡¯t he appeared? Shen Liangchuan, who was in the study room, was standing on the balcony and looking into the distant starry sky, trying to push back memories. That day, he did go and remained near the cafe for the whole time. He stayed there until the end. Chapter 171 - He Feels Sorry for Her (1)

Chapter 171: He Feels Sorry for Her (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The haze in Beijing was not as bad eight years ago. That day was a sunny day. There weren¡¯t many people in the cafe, thus after he arrived, he saw her immediately. He quietly stood outside the cafe and watched her. She was just like what he had imagined: beautiful, eye-catching and lively. Just like a little sun. He even nervously held his phone. He wanted to enter the cafe, but he was hesitant. He shouldn¡¯t be entering, he should hate her. Hate her... But in the end, he still couldn¡¯t resist the yearning he had for her. He pushed the cafe¡¯s door open and walked in. At that moment, she was conversing on the phone. She looked really bored, sitting on the sofa, and it also showed that she was distracted. He didn¡¯t know what the person on the other side of the phone said, but she smiled and replied, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m in Beijing.¡± She held her chin with one hand and after she finished saying this, her beautiful eyes drifted to the door of the cafe. The eighteen-year-old version of her was as beautiful as a dahlia blooming on the edge of a cliff, arrogantly beautiful and eye-catching. ¡°Ok. I will let you go, I am really busy right now. Let¡¯s talk another time!¡± ¡°Ok, please help me buy that bag! I like the pink-coloured one, I will transfer the money to you first.¡± ¡°Ok, it¡¯s decided. I really have something going on and have to hang up. I will treat you to a meal when I¡¯m back. Just at that moment, his phone vibrated. After he looked down and saw the contents of the message, he suddenly lifted his head and stared at her with his ck eyes full of anger. And then, he turned around and left. When he pushed open the door of the cafe and the fresh cold air blew in, he stood on the spot and looked back at her. That day, he spent the whole time watching her from outside. He watched her hail a cab and leave, and watched her return. He watched her wait patiently in the cafe, and even by the time the sky turned dark, she still hadn¡¯t left. In the end, a middle-aged man rushed over. That man was dressed refinedly and had the aura of an educated merchant. They looked alike and it seemed like it was the father she had talked about. The one who truly doted on her. He saw her crying in her father¡¯s arms, and watched as her father waited with her. He watched from the distance in thete night, as destion rushed into his heart. It felt terrible, right? Because he had been yed by her. But did she know how terrible it felt to be yed with? Yet, when he saw how sad she was, he didn¡¯t feel any pleasure and instead, all he felt was pain. He had originally wanted revenge, he wanted to punish her. But at that moment, he still chose to leave. He had thought that by letting her off, he would also be let off. However, unexpectedly, when he saw her again eight yearster, he has lost his mental stability. He had used a shameful way to make her stay by his side, and every single time he had tried to convince himself that it was to fulfill his revenge from eight years ago. However, he only understood now that he hadn¡¯t done it for revenge. He just simply wanted to make her stay by his side. Now, she was finally by his side, what was there to be unhappy about? With this in mind, Shen Liangchuan put out his cigarette. Let the past stay in the past. He turned around and walked into the master bedroom. He realized that the woman was already sleeping deeply. But she wasn¡¯t sleeping peacefully, tears were hanging on the corner of her eyes. The Qiao Family had been the richest in her district then, she had been a pampered girl who had grown up in a rich family. She hadn¡¯t hesitated to buy a bag that cost more than 100,000 RMB then. But what had exactly happened to her family that had made her lower herself down to such an extent for money? Chapter 172 - He Feels Sorry for Her (2)

Chapter 172: He Feels Sorry for Her (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan stared at her, frowning. He stuck out his hand to smoothen out the crease between her eyebrows and covered her with the nket. Then, he took her phone and ced it on the side. He quietlyy beside her and fell asleep with her scent. Shen Liangchuan woke up when the sky had already started brightening up. The phone he had ced on the bedside table started to vibrate. He turned his head, picked up Qiao Lian¡¯s phone and walked to the balcony. When he saw the name ¡°Old Hag¡± on the screen, he hesitated for a moment, but chose to pick up in the end. After he picked up, he heard a loud female voice, ¡°Qiao Lian, where the hell are you? I asked you to report to work today, why aren¡¯t you here?¡± Her tone showed pure dislike. Shen Liangchuan frowned and kept quiet. The person on the other side of the call continued, ¡°Are you mute? Listen to me, you don¡¯t have toe to thepany, go and wait at Xiangyuan Pavilion now. Do you hear me?¡± Shen Liangchuan frowned again and just when he was about to speak, he heard a whine behind him. Qiao Lian had woken up. Shen Liangchuan turned around and saw her half-awake nk expression. He gave it a thought, walked back and ced the phone by her ear. She was still in a daze, and her confused expression when she looked up was really cute. But next, the voice of the ¡°Old Hag¡± on the other end could be heard. ¡°Hey! Qiao Lian, do you hear me?¡± Qiao Lian immediately perked up. She raised her head and said, ¡°I¡¯ve heard you!¡± Her boss snorted coldly and continued, ¡°Let me tell you, it is Mo Xicheng¡¯s birthday today. Tonight, there will be a lot of people in the industry in Wenxiang Estate. You had better wait there and uncover something!¡± ¡°Ok! I promise toplete the mission!¡± After Qiao Lian replied, the old had snorted again. Qiao Lian only felt relieved after she hung up. When she looked at the time, she realized that it was only seven in the morning. The banquet was in the evening, so asking her to wait there at such an hour was obviously to make a joke out of her. Dang it. When the managing editor had been around, she had already been the best among all the reporters. But now, she was like a newbie and had to start afresh. She mmed the pillow with force and when she lifted her head again, she realized that Shen Liangchuan had already entered the bathroom. He hadn¡¯t heard it, right? Qiao Lian came out of bed and briefly put on makeup to cover the scar on her face. She went downstairs and ate breakfast with Shen Liangchuan. Thereafter, they left separately. In the front yard, Shen Liangchuan got on the car and asked, ¡°Do you need me to take you?¡± Qiao Lian shook her head and replied, ¡°It¡¯s ok, I will hail a cab.¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s gaze sunk. Hail a cab? As he recalled her taking the bus, he realized that she was probably going to do so again, right? Looking at her, Shen Liangchuan nodded and replied, ¡°Give me the receipt, I¡¯ll pay for it.¡± He¡¯ll pay for it? Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes immediately shone, ¡°Ok!¡± She wasn¡¯t going to mistreat herself. Since someone was going to pay for it, she would obviously hail a cab! Two hourster, Shen Liangchuan sat in his office and saw the grey skies from his window. The weather had changed drastically today. The temperature had dropped by approximately five to six degrees. The wind was strong and it had even started drizzling. In this weather, was she camping outside, under the rain and waiting to catch news, like other reporters? As he thought about it, he frowned and looked at the documents in his hands. Yet, he wasn¡¯t really processing any of it. After a while, he looked at Song Cheng and he said, ¡°Cancel all the ns for this evening.¡± Song Cheng froze. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°To attend Mo Xicheng¡¯s birthday banquet.¡± Chapter 173 - He Feels Sorry for Her (3)

Chapter 173: He Feels Sorry for Her (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The temperature dropped, but Qiao Lian wasn¡¯t wearing enoughyers today. She stood on the pavement near the hotel, stomping her feet and blowing into the air. She also looked at her phone from time to time. It was just noon, the sky was grey and it was drizzling. She was freezing. The banquet only started in the evening, and she had just found out that it was a private small-scaled banquet. Usually, it was hard to get any news from such banquets. The chief editor had sent her here just to torture her. This old hag! Qiao Lian looked around her and when she was about to find a ce to rest, or order a coffee from a neighbouring cafe to warm herself up, a car stopped in front of her. The car window was opened and it revealed Su Meimei¡¯s face. When she had arrived beside Qiao Lian, she had opened the car window with the heater on. She spoke with a smile, ¡°Woah, our hardworking missus has started working again! That¡¯s really professional.¡± Qiao Lian rolled her eyes at her and turned around, wanting to leave. Su Meimei tried stopping her by saying, ¡°Stop there!¡± Qiao Lian refused to be bothered with her and continued walking forward. Su Meimei directly walked out of the car and walked in front of her. She coldly sneered and said, ¡°I asked you to stop there, did you not hear me?¡± Qiao Lian looked at her with a smile and retorted, ¡°Who are you to ask me to stop?¡± They were both reporters, did Su Meimei think she could act so arrogant just because she had an affair with the managing editor? She was really crazy! Recently, Su Meimei had been really arrogant. The time when she posted the article and video of Wang Wenhao pping Qiao Lian, she had gotten instant fame. Under the protection of the managing editor, Su Meimei could get whatever she wanted in the news agency. Furthermore, he had promised to award her the biannual best worker award. When she thought about it, Su Meimei smiled and said, ¡°Qiao Lian, you probably don¡¯t know. When I left the office today, the managing editor and my aunt werementing that your performance has been badtely. If you don¡¯t find anything today, you will have to pack your stuff and leave the news agency!¡± Qiao Lian frowned and asked, ¡°So?¡± ¡°So, you had better obediently wait here, so that you wouldn¡¯t miss any huge scoops!¡± They were determined to make life difficult for her. If a newbie in the industry was disliked by the seniors, that was how they punished the person. It was a joke that they were punishing her like that. Newbie reporters weren¡¯t usually able to find any news, but they still reported back to the chief editor for checking. I¡¯ve been here a whole day. Even if I don¡¯t find anything, I have still put in hard work! As for her... no matter whether she kept watching outside or got no huge scoops, the chief editor would not let her off! Qiao Lian didn¡¯t speak. Although she was freezing from the cold, she widened her eyes and stared at Su Meimei like an idiot. Her stare made Su Meimei really ufortable, and she asked, ¡°What are you looking at?¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking at how an idiot behaves.¡± She walked forward and skirted around Su Meimei, asking, ¡°How can you be so sure that I won¡¯t be able to get any scoops?¡± She was not brainless enough to listen to them and just freeze there! Qiao Lian didn¡¯t speak and entered the cafe. At the same time, a pair of eyes were staring from outside. It was only until four or five in the afternoon that she finally saw a few low-key cars driving slowly into the underground car park, and directly into the hotel. Qiao Lian could no longer loaf around, and she walked out of the cafe. The moment she stepped out, a gush of cold air hit her. She shivered as she hugged herself. When she was about to continue moving forward, her arm was suddenly grabbed by someone. Turning her head around, she saw Shen Liangchuan in sunsses and wearing a mask, standing beside her Chapter 174 - He Feels Sorry for Her (4)

Chapter 174: He Feels Sorry for Her (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan was covered really thoroughly, no one could tell how he looked like. However, with that aura of his, who wouldn¡¯t turn around to nce? Mo Xicheng¡¯s birthday banquet was just across the road. Who could that artist be? While everyone was guessing, Qiao Lian widened her eyes. Her first reaction was to look at her surroundings and grab Shen Liangchuan. She looked around anxiously and realized that his car was waiting right before her. She didn¡¯t need his order, she ran over and entered the car smoothly. She then turned to look at Shen Liangchuan and patted her chest, still shocked by the situation they were in. She anxiously asked, ¡°Why are you here?¡± Why was he here? Why couldn¡¯t he be here!? What kind of tone was that!? Shen Liangchuan ignored her question and removed his sunsses as well as the mask. He casually took off his coat and ced it on her. The warm coat carried his scent. It was so warm it rxed her. Qiao Lian¡¯s body warmed up, and her heart felt even warmer. No matter how he treated her, he was always a gentleman when it came to these things. But... He was still expressionless and cold. He looked as if someone owed him a huge sum of money. Ermmm, ok, then, she really did owe him two million dors. Thus, Qiao Lian thanked him. ¡°Thank you.¡± She was really not intending to reject his kindness. Who would¡¯ve expected the temperature to drop so drastically! Morevoer, it had been drizzling for the whole day. She still had to survive outdoors for a few more hours. But, why was this guy still expressionless after she had thanked? Qiao Lian awkwardly twitched her lips and turned around, intending to alight from the car. However, when she was about to alight, she realized that the car had started moving. Qiao Lian immediately panicked. ¡°Hey! I haven¡¯t gotten off the car!¡± However! The driver had no intentions of stopping, so Qiao Lian anxiously looked at Shen Liangchuan. This guy knew that she was out here searching for news and he had intentionallye to stop her? Yet, hadn¡¯t they agreed that he wouldn¡¯t get involved with her job?! Qiao Lian looked at him with anxiety. ¡°Mr. Shen, I still have to work, you¡ª¡± Before she could finish speaking, she watched the car make a u-turn, then take the route in front, and drive right into the underground car park of the hotel. Qiao Lian: ...!! Qiao Lian unbelievably widened her eyes. Shen Liangchuan was taking her into the hotel? Why? Didn¡¯t he know that she was here to dig for news? Then, she heard Shen Liangchuan say, ¡°I can¡¯te to this party without a woman.¡± Qiao Lian: ... Song Cheng, who was driving: ... Oh my, Brother Shen! Do you know how to woo a girl? You were actually worried that she would freeze outside and unable to get any news, despite the hardship, and thus you rushed here. Song Cheng coughed, wanting to remind him of something. Qiao Lian said, ¡°But, I¡¯m not properly dressed for the asion, is it alright?¡± Shen Liangchuan nced at her and nodded, saying, ¡°This isn¡¯t an official event, I¡¯m just meeting a few friends.¡± Why would he need toe with a woman to a meeting with friends? Qiao Lian wanted to ask him, but when the words were about toe out of her mouth, she swallowed them after looking at Shen Liangchuan. Her heart was filled with sweetness at that instant. She wasn¡¯t an idiot, she could feel Shen Liangchuan¡¯s concern for her. She had always thought that Shen Liangchuan was cold to her, but unexpectedly, he cared for her! The car stopped at the underground car park. She alighted the car and followed Shen Liangchuan upstairs. And then, she realized that Shen Liangchuan was actually going to Mo Xicheng birthday banquet! Chapter 175 - He Feels Sorry for Her (5)

Chapter 175: He Feels Sorry for Her (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian had thought that the birthday banquet her chief editor had exaggeratedly sent her to for uncovering a scoop was arge scale one. However, she hadn¡¯t expected that when they arrived there, it would be just a small lounge. After confirming their identity at the door, Qiao Lian entered with Shen Liangchuan. There weren¡¯t many people in the room. There were approximately less than twenty guests. But... Qiao Lian excitedly grabbed Shen Liangchuan¡¯s arm tightly. Ah, ah, ah! Wasn¡¯t the stunning woman walking towards them Best Actress Tang? Wasn¡¯t the man drinking there that currently really popr singer? All the people here were lead artists in the entertainment industry! And Shen Liangchuan had alsoe to celebrate Mo Xicheng¡¯s birthday... Qiao Lian was instantly confused. Mo Xicheng had always been a pretty stagnant second-tier artist, so why were there so many people giving him face? While she had gotten engulfed in her thoughts, Shen Liangchuan had already led her into a private room. The lounge was approximately a hundred square meters. The ce wasn¡¯t big and thus, it was really obvious who had arrived. First came Best Actress Tang. Dressed in a bright red dress, she was in her thirties and had a strong aura. When she came over, she spoke with a wide smile, ¡°Best Actor Shen, everyone was just talking about you and you¡¯re actually here!¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded expressionlessly. Tang Ying didn¡¯t mind his brevity and instead, she curved her lips and looked at Qiao Lian. Qiao Lian lowered her head and hid behind Shen Liangchuan. Bringing her to such a ce... Shen Liangchuan was much too brave! Wasn¡¯t he worried that her identity would be exposed? Although Tang Ying had seen her, she was polite and didn¡¯t ask anything. She just turned around and walked away. She looked like she had juste to greet Shen Liangchuan. Qiao Lian: ... Although she knew that Shen Liangchuan was rather respected in the industry, she had never expected that he was so high up thedder. Even Tang Ying, who was so influential, had to show him respect. Seeing the situation, she rxedly followed Shen Liangchuan forward, while greeting people that walked past. She suddenly saw a couple French-kissing on a sofa, as if there wasn¡¯t anyone around. After she looked clearly at who the people were, Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes brightened. She lowered her voice and spoke to Shen Liangchuan in a secretive voice, ¡°So, Li Manman actually got together with a hunk!¡± She felt as if she had overheard a huge secret of the entertainment industry, and she was filled with excitement! When she whispered to him, she had moved to his ear, and thus as she spoke, her breath tickled his neck. It was itchy, and it brought along her unique scent. Shen Liangchuan straightened his back and coughed. His ears turned red, as he inly made a sound of agreement. Qiao Lian was worried, so she asked, ¡°Do you think the news of meing here with you will get leaked?¡± If someone secretly took a photo of them with their phones, wouldn¡¯t the identity of Mrs. Shen get exposed? Shen Liangchuan¡¯s gaze sunk and said, ¡°No, it won¡¯t happen. They are all friends.¡± They are all friends... His sentence made Qiao Lian¡¯s heart shiver for a second, and she looked up in disbelief. She had always known that the artists in the entertainment industry had their own clique of friends. As long as they were recognized as a friend, they could share their private information and no one would leak them out. So now, did Shen Liangchuan have so much trust in her? As she was lost in thought, two people walked over to them. One could tell that one of them had a lively character, and this man spoke, looking at Qiao Lian, ¡°Best Actor Shen, who is thisdy?¡± Chapter 176 - He Feels Sorry for Her (6)

Chapter 176: He Feels Sorry for Her (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The two people walking over were Mo Xicheng and another singer named Fan Jie. Fan Jie¡¯s character waspletely different from what he was portrayed to the public. He was active and looked like the boy-next-door type. Thus, when they met, he had spoken to Qiao Lian in a joking tone. After he spoke and before Shen Liangchuan could reply, Mo Xicheng said, ¡°You talk too much.¡± After Mo Xicheng said so, Fan Jie immediately shut his mouth up. However, Qiao Lian¡¯s gaze fell on Mo Xicheng. She had watched Mo Xicheng. This man didn¡¯t look as attractive as Shen Liangchuan at first sight. He also wasn¡¯t as overbearing. He was an introverted man with deep thoughts. It took a while to truly appreciate his features. At first, you would just think that he looked decent, but after a while, you would realize that he had a certain vibe. This vibe was reflected on his deep and slightly mncholic gaze. His eyes were really attractive. You would feel like you were going to drown into the depths of his eyes after looking at them for a few times. But he was silent, and he didn¡¯t like to speak. Yet, his silence was different from Shen Liangchuan¡¯s. Shen Liangchuan was cold and he felt that there was no need to speak so much. But with him, it felt like he had nothing to say. Mo Xicheng nodded at Shen Liangchuan, he wasn¡¯t surprised. He only said, ¡°You¡¯re here.¡± Shen Liangchuan handed over the gift that he had prepared previously. ¡°Happy birthday.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Mo Xicheng received the present and ced it beside him. Although Shen Liangchuan and Mo Xicheng didn¡¯t speak, by their actions, one could tell they had a good rtionship. This was because Qiao Lian had never seen Shen Liangchuan treat anyone with such friendliness! Mo Xicheng pointed at the sofa and said, ¡°Take a seat.¡± Shen Liangchuan turned his head to look at her. Qiao Lian was dazed from his stare. What did he mean? Just when she widened her eyes to stare at him, Mo Xicheng spoke, ¡°Ms. Qiao, would you like toe over and take a seat?¡± Qiao Lian: ...!! So, had Shen Liangchuan looked at her to ask if she wanted to join them? She was overwhelmed by the unexpected favor and nodded, saying, ¡°Ok.¡± After she agreed, she was suddenly surprised. ¡°How did you know my surname?¡± Fan Jie forced his way in and remarked, ¡°Oh yes, Brother Mo, how did you know her surname? You know her?¡± After he finished his sentence, he stared at Qiao Lian curiously and asked, ¡°Best Actor Shen, Best Actor Shen, who exactly is she?¡± Mo Xicheng took a nce at Shen Liangchuan and didn¡¯t speak. Qiao Lianughed awkwardly. When she was intending to subtly ignore the question, Shen Liangchuan spoke, ¡°My wife.¡± His words shocked the whole banquet. Everyone stopped whatever they were doing and looked over. Qiao Lian waspletely in a daze. What had Shen Liangchuan said? My wife... Firstly, he had brought her to meet his friends and now, he introduced her as his wife in front of so many people? She must have hallucinated! But when she turned her head, she saw Fan Jie with his mouth open in shock. He stared at her in disbelief, ¡°You¡¯re Sister-inw? Ah, hello, Sister-inw!¡± After he finished speaking, he earnestly came forward, wanting to shake her hand. But Shen Liangchuan pulled Qiao Lian¡¯s shoulder and moved her to his side. Fan Jie failed to shake her hands and immediately looked at Shen Liangchuan with grievance, saying, ¡°Brother Shen! You¡¯re so petty! Wu wu wu!¡± Shen Liangchuan ignored him, looked towards the people around them and said, ¡°She¡¯s a reporter. I would like it you looked out for her.¡± His words made Qiao Lian even more confused! Look out for her? It would be surprising if these people didn¡¯t run away when they saw her! Had this man¡¯s brain not been wired properly today? Chapter 177 - He Feels Sorry for Her (7)

Chapter 177: He Feels Sorry for Her (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Reporters and artists were natural enemies! But after Shen Liangchuan spoke, no one felt that it was inappropriate. Instead, someone even nodded and said, ¡°No problem. If I hear any news, I will definitely let Sister-inw know before anyone else!¡± Qiao Lian: ... She felt that she had entered the wrong ce today, or rather, she had transmigrated to outer space. She winced and squeezed out an awkward smile. Thereafter, she turned her head and looked at Shen Liangchuan. Fan Jie had already stepped forward, saying, ¡°Sister-inw, coincidentally I¡¯ve heard of a scandal, do you want to report it? I can assure you that you will shoot to fame!¡± Qiao Lian: ... After being a reporter for so many years, this was the first time she met such amunicating artist. Just as she was in a daze, her phone suddenly rang. When she picked up the phone, she heard Su Meimei¡¯s sarcastic voice. ¡°Eh, Qiao Lian are you still waiting outside the hotel? The drizzle today... It¡¯s really so cold! Pfft pfft, it must be hard on you. I wonder if you have gotten any big scoops. Don¡¯t tell me you haven¡¯t even seen the shadow of an artist, hehe!¡± Qiao Lian winced and replied, ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to worry!¡± Su Meimei made a displeased sound and replied, ¡°Who would want to attend Mo Xicheng¡¯s birthday party? He¡¯s been tepid these past few years, who knows him? Qiao Lian, let me tell you, today is just the start! If you are sensible enough, you will obediently resign or else, you will have more to suffer in the future.¡± Qiao Lian: ... Any random person there would easily be someone on the hot news column! ¡°Sister-inw, who are you calling and being so secretive with!¡± Suddenly, a head popped out in front of her and Fan Jie blinked his innocent big eyes, staring at her. Qiao Lian: ...!! On the other end of the line, Su Meimei was silent for a moment and she suddenly asked with curiosity, ¡°Who was that talking just now? Fan Jie?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s hand trembled, and her phone was snatched away by Fan Jie. He then impolitely spoke to the phone, ¡°Who are you?!¡± Qiao Lian: ...!! Su Meimei was stunned and shut up at once. Fan Jie giggled and wanted to continue. However, before he could do so, Qiao Lian quickly snatched the phone over and spoke expressionlessly to the phone, ¡°You¡¯re mistaken.¡± Then, she decisively hung up. When she lifted her head again, she saw Fan Jie let out a sigh of relief. He was reporting to Shen Liangchuan, saying, ¡°Brother Shen, it was a woman. Sister-inw wasn¡¯t calling other men behind your back.¡± Qiao Lian: ... After Fan Jie had shown off his aplishment, he went up to Qiao Lian again and said, ¡°Sister-inw, I think your friend really likes me. How about I give you an autograph and help you do her a favor?¡± Qiao Lian replied, ¡°... There¡¯s no need.¡± She didn¡¯t even know how to face Su Meimei now! She twitched her lips and walked to Shen Liangchuan¡¯s side. She then heard Shen Liangchuan bidding Mo Xicheng goodbye as he said, ¡°We¡¯ll be leaving.¡± Mo Xicheng walked to the door and personally sent them off. Qiao Lian obediently followed Shen Liangchuan, but Fan Jie was reluctant to part with them. He asked, ¡°Sister-inw, you¡¯re are leaving already?¡± Qiao Lian giggled and Fan Jie waved his handkerchief saying, ¡°Sister-inw, I will take care of you more the next time we meet!¡± Qiao Lian: ... It was obvious that Shen Liangchuan had something to tell Mo Xicheng, and thus Mo Xicheng apanied them to the underground car park. When the lift doors opened, a few people walked out. Just as Mo Xicheng intended to apany them to the car, a bunch of paparazzi suddenly rushed out of a hidden corner bbering, ¡°Is that Best Actor Shen? Is the woman beside Best Actor Shen Mrs. Shen?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s irises contracted¡ªthey were doomed! They wouldn¡¯t be able to escape this time!! Chapter 178 - He Feels Sorry for Her (8)

Chapter 178: He Feels Sorry for Her (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios No one there expected reporters to have sneaked in, so they were all confused that instant. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s eyes narrowed. He subconsciously removed his cap and put it on Qiao Lian¡¯s head. Then, he buried her head in his arms. But! This wasn¡¯t enough! Qiao Lian looked at her clothes. She had been waiting outside the hotel with this group of reporters today. Thus, there must have been someone who had seen what she was wearing. Although they couldn¡¯t see her face, they would be able to figure out that it was her from her clothes. She bit her lips. She was three steps away from the car, barely three seconds away. But that was the time theycked! Song Cheng quickly moved forward and opened the car¡¯s door. But at this moment, the reporters were really close to them! The lights were dim and they wouldn¡¯t be able to take a clear photo. Yet, if they moved two steps forward, they would be able to see Qiao Lian clearly. In a split second, Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes. When he turned his head around, he saw someone who had just parked. She was intending to walk forward and pass them. He didn¡¯t hesitate¡ªhe grabbed her and kissed her on the lips! This kiss was so sudden and out of the blue. All the reporters were instantly shocked. Qiao Lian was even more stunned. Shen Liangchuan on the other hand, had the fastest reaction. He made use of the few seconds Mo Xicheng had created to shock everyone and took Qiao Lian into the car. The car started and drove off without hesitation! When they passed by Mo Xicheng, Shen Liangchuan lowered the car window slightly. He softly thanked Mo Xicheng saying, ¡°Thank you.¡± The car drove out of the car park speedily. Mo Xicheng only let go of the girl in his arms after the car drove off. The lights were too dim and the reporters were filming them. Thus, without a word, Mo Xicheng protected the girl¡¯s face in his arms and moved backwards. The reporters suddenly came back to their senses, questioning, ¡°Mr. Mo, is this your girlfriend?¡± ¡°Mr. Mo, are you going to announce your rtionship?¡± Numerous questions were thrown at them, causing Mo Xicheng to narrow his eyes. His mncholic gaze was shining with confidence. He puckered his lips and nodded to all the reporters, while his gaze fell on the securitys officers that had rushed over after hearing the news. The security officers surrounded the reporters and questioned them, ¡°Who let y¡¯all in?!¡± Taking the opportunity, Mo Xicheng pulled the girl along and rushed into the lift. Recalling the desperate circumstances, he realized he had really kissed the girl. Mo Xicheng had all along never been interested in women, but he recalled the touch just now. Her warm and moist lips, that brought along the sweetness and fragrance of peach, urged him to want more. His face slightly flushed as he lowered his head and scrutinized her. She looked really beautiful, but her innocent face waspletely shocked. She looked at Mo Xicheng in surprise, with her eyes shining with excitement. ¡°Ring!¡± The lift had arrived. Mo Xicheng took out one of his name cards, ced it in the girl¡¯s hand and said, ¡°I¡¯m really sorry for what has just happened. Do contact me if you have any wishes.¡± Then, he nodded his head really gentlemanly and went back into the birthday banquet. Only when his figure had disappeared through the door, she dazedly regained her senses. She looked down at the name card in her hand and jumped up excitedly! OMG! She had actually kissed her idol, Mo Xicheng! But, why hadn¡¯t she reacted on time and told him that her name was Shi Nianyao?! Chapter 179 - He Feels Sorry for Her (9) Chapter 179: He Feels Sorry for Her (9) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The car drove slowly along the roads of Beijing. Qiao Lian was still shocked by the things that had just taken ce. They had almost gotten caught! I had been a really close call. If it hadn¡¯t been for Mo Xicheng¡¯s wits, they would have definitely gotten caught. If her clothes had been photographed, people would have been able to find out that she was Mrs. Shen. And if that happened, the whole world would know and he... would be able to find her. Whenever she thought of this, she felt chills across her body. She swallowed in fear. When she was panicking, she felt a big warm hand cover hers. She turned her head and saw Shen Liangchuan staring at her while frowning. His gaze was calm, so it brought along a calming effect. He only reacted after seeing Qiao Lian breathe out slowly. Both Shen Liangchuan and Qiao Lian were sitting in the backseat. Shen Liangchuan was driving and speaking at the same time, ¡°Brother Shen, Mo Xicheng is going to have his first scandal after being in the industry for so many years!¡± Shen Liangchuan nced at Qiao Lian and his gaze dimmed slightly. They had almost gotten caught by reporters just now. She had been so scared... was it because she didn¡¯t want to be with him? Or was it due to something else he didn¡¯t know? And at that moment, although she wasposed, her eyes shone with panic. Shen Liangchuan lowered his eyelids, as he held her hand tighter. He even said, ¡°Today has been such a special day.¡± ¡°Exactly!¡± Song Cheng continued, not realizing the odd atmosphere at the back. He even looked at Qiao Lian jokingly, ¡°Ms. Qiao, do you know why Mo Xicheng has been stagnant all these years?¡± Qiao Lian slightly shifted her attention, as she asked, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Although Mo Xicheng is portrayed as a man of few words, he is really capable, he¡ª¡± Song Cheng rambled. Qiao Lian interrupted him, ¡°I can tell.¡± He was just a stagnant small artist with only a few million fans on Weibo but, although not many people had attended his birthday banquet, they were all high status artists. This was enough to make someone think. As a reporter, Qiao Lian had once investigated Mo Xicheng. He was good at acting, had the looks, and one could even say he had an aura. There weren¡¯t many people like him in the industry, and thus there was no reason for such a person not to be famous in the industry. Confused, she asked, ¡°Did he miss the chance?¡± Before Song Cheng could speak, Shen Liangchuan answered her, ¡°If he wanted to be famous, he could do so anytime he liked.¡± Qiao Lian was confused, ¡°Is he holding back his fame?¡± He was literally a weirdo in the entertainment industry! Who didn¡¯t want to be really famous in the entertainment industry? Even Shen Liangchuan, a bad-tempered man with a really strong character, was famous throughout the country! So, why didn¡¯t Mo Xicheng want to be famous? Qiao Lian¡¯s memories shed back to Mo Xicheng¡¯s mncholic gaze. She suddenly understood¡ªhe was a man with a story. Her emotions were led away by Shen Liangchuan and Shen Liangchuan and without realizing, her fear had disappeared. Shen Liangchuan alighted from the car somewhere near his house, so Shen Liangchuan took over the driver¡¯s ce. Qiao Lian moved to the passenger seat and they traveled back to the vi. Qiao Lian felt exceptionally tired after a long day out. She leaned on the passenger seat and after a while, her stomach suddenly started hurting. Then, she sat up straight, as she noticed a surge of heat flowing out of her stomach! Had her... periode? She instantly lowered her head and saw a faint patch of red on the seat cushion! Chapter 180 - He Feels Sorry For Her (10)

Chapter 180: He Feels Sorry For Her (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios This was Shen Liangchuan¡¯s new car. The seats in the car were all made of leather. Mustard-yellow seat cushions had been ced on top of the seats, as the weather was getting cold. But now... Qiao Lian had been on the go the whole day, she had even been freezing outside in this weather. Hence, her period flow was very heavy. Before she could do anything, the blood stained her pants and tainted the seat cushion. Her entire body froze. As she looked down, she saw a dark-red patch under her butt. Suddenly, Looking down at the seat cushion, she suddenly found something to say, ¡°Shen- Shen Liangchuan, this seat cushion is not cheap, isn¡¯t it?¡± she didn¡¯t feel good. Slowly raising her head, Qiao Lian twisted her stiff neck and looked at Shen Liangchuan. He was driving attentively. His profile looked handsome and his gaze was serious. After she looked at him, he seemed to have noticed it and turned his head over. Qiao Lian instantly closed the gap between her legs to cover the red patch. However, this sudden move gushed blood out again. Qiao Lian: ... She could tell that the red patch had expanded without even looking. She lowered her head, as her face was burning red. Afraid that something would happen again, she squeezed her legs together tightly. However, such things werepletely not in her control. Slowly but surely, she could still feel a surge of warm flow. Sob, sob, sob... What should she do now! Shen Liangchuan raised his brows, wondering why she asked this question out of the blue, so he said, ¡°Song Cheng bought it. I don¡¯t know.¡± He had never cared about such trivial matters. She continued to look down, and saw a tag at the corner of the seat cushion. It was from kig, an imported brand. Her dad had used it too. This set of seat cushions probably cost about $100,000. The one under her butt could cost from $20,000 to $30,000. As this thought crossed her mind, her head felt even heavier. Sob, sob. What should she do! She began racking her brains quickly, peeking at Shen Liangchuan every now and then. Then, she shifted her butt ufortably. When she looked down again, she realised that the red patch had gotten even bigger. After clearing her throat, she covered her face and sighed heavily all of a sudden. ¡°Sigh!¡± Hearing her sigh, Shen Liangchuan raised his brows, but remained silent. Qiao Lian noticed that he wasn¡¯t saying anything, so she said, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, erm, can I discuss something with you?¡± ¡°Speak.¡± Qiao Lian coughed. ¡°Erm...¡± She lowered her head and let out a deep sigh. ¡°This seat cushion of yours is rather pretty!¡± Speechless, Shen Liangchuan raised his brows again. Qiao Lian let out another cough. ¡°Shen Liangchuan, look, we have been together for almost a month, am I right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°So, are you satisfied with my performance so far?¡± Shen Liangchuan was puzzled. When he turned his head, he saw a pair of big eyes blinking at him, suggesting him to say that he was satisfied. His lips slightly curled up. ¡°Barely satisfactory.¡± Qiao Lian: ... Qiao Lian wished she could knock some sense into him. She could only clear her throat. ¡°I think my performance has been okay. Because of you, I¡¯ve been living on edge for so many days. I have almost gotten caught on camera several times. But, I managed to escape them all because of my intelligence and wits, right?¡± Shen Liangchuan nced at her. ¡°Yes, so?¡± ¡°So, shouldn¡¯t you give me a present?¡± Give her a present? Shen Liangchuan raised his brows. ¡°What do you want? A branded bag? Jewelry?¡± Qiao Lian waved her hands hurriedly. ¡°Those are too expensive. They can easily add up to a few hundred thousands! Hehe, I think this seat cushion is quite nice. It is soft and warm. You might as well just give me the one I¡¯m sitting on!¡± Shen Liangchuan: ... Chapter 181 - Whose Face Are You Saving? (1)

Chapter 181: Whose Face Are You Saving? (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan could notprehendpletely what Qiao Lian had just said. After all that long-winded talk and beating around the bush, all she wanted in the end was his seat cushion? Though the seat cushion was undeniablyfortable, still, it was just a seat cushion! Did she want to take it to the office and ce it on her chair? He turned and looked ahead. ¡°There are so many of those at home. You can just take one.¡± Qiao Lian said immediately, ¡°But the one under my butt now is the one I like.¡± Shen Liangchuan looked at her. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because, because... Oh! Because I felt a sense of familiarity as soon as I saw it! You may not know this, but I have liked this design of seat cushions for a long time. When I saw it just now, I immediately took a liking to it!¡± This was utter b*llshit. It wasn¡¯t even the first time she sat in his car. Why had she not liked it in the past? Shen Liangchuan narrowed his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m not giving this to you.¡± What exactly was this guy up to? Qiao Lian: ... He¡¯s so petty! It¡¯s just a seat cushion! Lowering her head, she looked at the seat cushion and and said through gritted teeth, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, then can I buy this seat cushion from you? Anyway, this cushion has already been used for at least a month and it has been sat on by who knows how many people. The original price of this set is $100,000, so this seat cushion should cost $20,000 at most. Give me a discount and sell it to me at $5,000, okay?¡± Seeing that she was bargaining with him so seriously, Shen Liangchuan teased, ¡°Not okay.¡± Qiao Lian stared at him wide-eyed. Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°Once you take this seat cushion, the rest won¡¯t form a set anymore. So, if you want to buy it, you can only buy the whole set.¡± The whole set? $100,000? Even after all the discounts, it would still cost at least a few dozens of thousands! Qiao Lian strongly believed that she was being cheated. This guy was simply atrocious. She discussed with him, ¡°Look, we are on such good terms. Moreover, you don¡¯tck this cushion. Just give it to me!¡± Shen Liangchuan lowered his eyes. ¡°We are on good terms?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve slept together so many times!¡± Anxious, Qiao Lian started rambling without much thought again. As soon as these words escaped her mouth, Shen Liangchuan turned his head slightly and nced at her. With that one nce, Qiao Lian became furious, causing her face to turn red instantly. How could those wordse out of a girl¡¯s mouth? She lowered her head to look at the seat cushion under her butt, totally deprived of words. While she was still fuming with anger, she heard him say, ¡°You are not wrong.¡± Qiao Lian: ... ¡°Since we have slept so many times, I¡¯ll give you this seat cushion.¡± In a sh, Qiao Lian stared at him with her eyes wide-open in joy. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°But, you have nowhere to put this car seat cushion. So, I will lend you this car for now.¡± When Shen Liangchuan finished his words, the ends of his ears were slightly red. He looked ahead with a solemn look on his face. In contrast, Qiao Lian thought that she must have heard wrongly! What did Shen Liangchuan mean by this? Lend her the car... Did he mean that he would let her drive this car from now on? She said, ¡°There- there¡¯s no need...¡± As she finished speaking, the car stopped. They had reached the vi. Shen Liangchuan turned his head. ¡°Then, I won¡¯t give you the cushion.¡± Qiao Lian: ... ¡°Get out of the car.¡± Qiao Lian said in a flurry, ¡°You go first!¡± Shen Liangchuan nced at her and got out of the car without saying anything. After some time, Qiao Lian alighted while clutching the seat cushion behind her butt. ¡°Ha, haha, er, today¡¯s too cold!¡± Holding on to the cushion, she made a dash for the room. After just two steps, she stumbled. As her body swayed, the seat cushion dropped immediately. At once, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s vision shifted to the seat cushion... and the patch of red on it! Chapter 182 - Whose Face Are You Saving? (2)

Chapter 182: Whose Face Are You Saving? (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian stopped moving forward as she froze on the spot. Both her hands were still covering her behind subconsciously. It was only when she did not detect any movements from the person behind that she slowly turned her head. First, she saw the seat cushion on the floor. Next, she saw the huge patch of blood on it. Her cheeks burned immediately. She did not even dare to look Shen Liangchuan in the eye. Peering from the corner of her eyes, she saw that Shen Liangchuan was also standing without moving an inch. Unaware of what he was thinking at the moment, Qiao Lian turned around abruptly and swiftly picked up the cushion from the ground! Her eyes could only shift around, as she did not dare to look ahead. ¡°Er, erm... I¡¯ll go in first.¡± Having said that, she turned around to try to escape. However, as soon as she turned, she heard Shen Liangchuan say, ¡°What¡¯s that thing?¡± Qiao Lian: ... What¡¯s that thing? It couldn¡¯t be that this grown-up man did not even know a woman¡¯s ¡°thing¡±! So, he was definitely doing this on purpose! Biting her lips, she gave him a re exasperatedly and turned to run towards the room, while still holding the seat cushion. As Shen Liangchuan looked at her, his lips curled up. Qiao Lian dashed to the room upstairs and took her clothes to change in the washroom hurriedly. After she finished tidying herself up, she walked out of the washroom and fretted over the seat cushion. Initially, she had wanted to ce it back after cleaning it. But, what was she going to do now? Shen Liangchuan saw everything, will he be disgusted by me? Just when she was at a loss and hesitant, the door was pushed open suddenly. Shen Liangchuan walked in. The sight of him reminded Qiao Lian of what had happened just now, causing her cheeks to start burning again. Lowering her head, she cleared her throat, walked towards the bed and picked up her phone as if nothing had happened. Just when she was going to look at it, Shen Liangchuan walked to her and handed her the cup in his hands. Perplexed, Qiao Lian lifted her head to look, only to discover that the cup was filled with brown sugar water. As she stared at the brown sugar water, there was a surge of warmth in her heart. She took the cup from his hands and decided to forgive his fooling around from before. Lowering her head to take a sip, she said softly, ¡°Thank you.¡± Though it was a trifling ¡®thank you¡¯, it created a ripple effect deep in Shen Liangchuan¡¯s heart. The girl sat on the bed, with a nket covering almost half of her body. Looking down, hershes fluttered slightly. The light casted on her porcin-white face momentarily made her look more frail than ever, triggering the primitive protectiveness at the bottom of one¡¯s heart. As his gaze fell, his Adam¡¯s apple shifted. Atst, he replied speedily, ¡°You are wee.¡± Then, he turned around, as he wanted to go back to the study room to do his things. However, at that moment, the atmosphere in the room felt so warm that he did not bear to leave. He paused walking, and thought he might as well pick up his phone and plop onto the sofa. In the night of Beijing city, the lights shone brightly. Sounds of car engines could be heard from outside asionally. However, the atmosphere in the room was warm and peaceful. After drinking the brown sugar water, Qiao Liany on the bed. She felt small cramps in her lower abdomen, so she ced both hands on her stomach. Though she was staring at the ceiling, her mind was let loose instantly. She had used to often talk to Zi Chuan over the phone in the past. One day, she had been like this too. Her ¡®Aunt Flo¡¯ hade, so she did not go online. When Zi Chuan called, she sounded weak too. Zi Chuan asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± She answered, ¡°That ¡®thing¡¯ came.¡± ¡°What thing came?¡± ¡°... ¡®Aunt Flo!¡¯¡± ¡°You have an Aunt Flo? Didn¡¯t you say that your mother was an only child?¡± ¡°...¡± At that time, Zi Chuan had been such a brainless fool. Chapter 183 - Whose Face Are You Saving? (3)

Chapter 183: Whose Face Are You Saving? (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios His words had left herpletely speechless. A 17 to 18-year-girl was right at her shy phase. However, the other party was so insensitive that it almost made her suffocate. ¡°Why are you so stupid?¡± ¡°How can a girl be so unreasonable? What has your Aunt Flo¡¯s visit got to do with your sickness? Did she pass a virus on to you?¡± Qiao Lian was running out of patience. ¡°... Not that Aunt Flo, it¡¯s that ¡®thing!¡¯¡± ¡°What thing?¡± ¡°Shark week!¡± ¡°What is shark week? Is it a holiday?¡± Qiao Lian: ...! Had this guy ever attended biology lessons!? She was going to die of suffocation, so she just came clean. ¡°It¡¯s menstruation! Do you understand now?¡± The other party became silent instantaneously. It was only a few momentster that his soft murmurs could be heard, ¡°Menstruation is just menstruation. Why do you have to call it ¡®Aunt Flo¡¯ or ¡®shark week¡¯ or whatever¡ª¡± Qiao Lian said, ¡°... Enough. If you keep talking, it will get me so angry that I will probably die of excessive blood loss.¡± In the past, if she wanted to end the call, the other party would surely hang up swiftly. But this time, as soon as she finished her words, the other party hesitated for quite a while before saying, ¡°Okay.¡± After the call ended, shey on her bed and giggled. Why was Zi Chuan so clueless about this topic... yet so adorable? Five minutester, the phone rang again. She checked and realized it was still Zi Chuan. Answering the call, she heard Zi Chuan say from the other end, ¡°I just checked. If your ¡®Aunt Flo¡¯ is here, you should drink more brown sugar water and keep yourself warm. Don¡¯t let the cold get to you.¡± Only when Qiao Lian felt that she was going to turn deaf anytime soon due to the incessant nagging, did they end the call. Ever since that day, he would remember the date of her monthly period. Later on, on one particr day, her rtives visited her house. She was too busy, so she did not go online. Zi Chuan called her, ¡°What are you doing?¡± Qiao Lian replied, ¡°My Aunt Flo is visiting!¡± Zi Chuan said, ¡°But the dates don¡¯t match up! Is there something wrong with your body?¡± Qiao Lian answered, ¡°This time, my distant Aunt Flo actually came to visit with her family!¡± Zi Chuan, ¡°...¡± _ As Qiao Lian reminisced, she couldn¡¯t help butugh out loud. How would anyone dislike this kind of Zi Chuan? So, even an online rtionship is enough to be etched in one¡¯s memory. Thinking about this caused her heart to ache again. Her smile slowly disappeared. Maybe it was because of her body, but today, she felt that her heart was very vulnerable. Turning around, she saw Shen Liangchuan sitting on the sofa. He was staring at his phone but judging by his look, his mind was obviously wandering. What was on his mind? Shen Liangchuan seemed to sense her gaze and suddenly lifted his head. ¡°I¡¯ll give you the list of people going to the party tonight. Is this considered news?¡± Stunned for a moment, Qiao Lian took some time to react. Was this guy actually worried about her not being able to produce any articles for the news agency tomorrow? Her eyes lit up immediately. ¡°It is news!¡± Not only did this piece of news not invade anyone¡¯s privacy, it was also exclusive. Moreover, she could be ountable for it at the news agency. Joy was written all over her face. She smiled sweetly and said, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, thank you!¡± Reminded of what had happened today, she could not help but say again, ¡°Thank you.¡± Thank you for looking after me today. ¡°You are wee.¡± He answered briefly. The atmosphere was too warm. As Qiao Lian stared at his handsome profile, she blurted out suddenly, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, what kind of person was your first love?¡± Chapter 184 - Whose Face Are You Saving? (4)

Chapter 184: Whose Face Are You Saving? (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As soon as she finished speaking, the atmosphere in the room became solemn instantly. Qiao Lian wanted to p herself in the face. Everything had been fine. Why did she have to mention this? She thought of what Xia Yehua had said. ording to her, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s first love had betrayed him and left him. So... he must hate anyone bringing her up! Lowering her head, she tried to change the topic hurriedly, ¡°Er, actually, I¡ª¡± ¡°She was a very cheerful girl.¡± His passing words caught her off guard, as she lifted her head in astonishment. Was he actually willing to talk about his first love with her? His gaze was very profound; no one could tell theplicated emotions in his eyes. However, anyone could tell his seriousness at that moment. Stunned, she did not say anything and fixated her gaze on him. ¡°Do you love her very much?¡± Love her very much? Shen Liangchuan slowly lowered his head. He seemed to have something to say, but still kept silent in the end. He stood up. ¡°You should sleep soon.¡± As he finished his words, he walked out of the master bedroom. Qiao Lian continued to look at his back. It could be because of the lighting, but she felt that he looked lonelier than ever right now. She only realized that it had been rather foolish of her to ask about his first love after the room door closed and she averted her gaze. Hitting her own head, she continued lying on the bed. She did not know why, but theplex look on his face when he had talked about his first love constantly shed across her mind. She did not understand his heart, but she understood one thing. He loved his first love very much. As she closed her eyes, she fell into a deep sleep. An hourter, the room door opened and Shen Liangchuan walked in. Borrowing the dim light from the bedside, he stared at the girl on the bed. Did he love his first love very much? This was a question he could not answer. His rtionship from eight years ago was something he could not let go of. Reaching out his hand slowly, he stroked her head and onlyy down then. _ The next day, Qiao Lian took a cab to the news agency. She thought she would be interrogated by Su Meimei about her being together with Fan Jie yesterday as soon as she walked in. However, to her surprise, Su Meimei did not say anything when she stepped into the news agency. She only rolled her eyes and took off to the managing editor¡¯s office. She was extremely d that Su Meimei was not causing her any trouble. After she passed the guest list of yesterday¡¯s party to the chief editor, her job was done. Just when she had walked to her seat and settled down, Xiao Ye came to announce, ¡°Big news!¡± Xiao Ye had always been a gossipmonger. There was nothing she did not know of in the news agency. When Qiao Lian heard her, she pricked up her ears to listen. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Do you still remember that the former managing editor had mentioned in the past that he was going to set up Team Two in our news agency?¡± Qiao Lian nodded. ¡°I remember. But the managing editor has left, so the n won¡¯t carry on, would it?¡± At that time, she had wanted to transfer to another team to avoid chief editor and Su Meimei¡¯s ill treatment. Xiao Ye said smilingly, ¡°There¡¯s hope now! The former chief editor has not forgotten about us, even though he is in the headquarters now. Look, the n to set up Team Two has been passed down. Moreover, the best employee among us will be chosen to be the chief editor!¡± I see! Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes instantly lit up. ¡°So what are the candidates for chief editor of Team Two supposed to do?¡± Xiao Ye lowered her voice, ¡°This is why Su Meimei is trying to dig up some big piece of news with all her might!¡± Big piece of news? This kind of things could only be found by chance, not by searching! Qiao Lian shook her head faintly. Xiao Ye continued, ¡°Currently, the biggest scoop is Fan Jie!¡± Fan Jie? Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes twinkled all of a sudden. Chapter 185 - Whose Face Are You Saving? (5)

Chapter 185: Whose Face Are You Saving? (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Fan Jie just released a new album, right? That¡¯s why every news agency is fighting for an exclusive interview. Right now, the chief editor and managing editor are focusing all their attention on this. If Su Meimei managed to get an exclusive interview with Fan Jie, Team Two¡¯s chief editor position would surely be hers!¡± Qiao Lian was stupefied. What the hell. Although she had long known that Fan Jie was the Prince of the entertainment industry, she suddenly felt that his fame had fallen a little after seeing him yesterday. He was just a fool! Who would have known that this fool would be of such importance to them? Xiao Ye continued, ¡°Did you know? Su Meimei and Fan Jie have some history. Before you got here just now, Su Meimei was telling us about it!¡± ¡°Su Meimei knows Fan Jie?¡± Qiao Lian was even more astonished. ¡°Yes, Su Meimei said that she interviewed Fan Jie two years ago. At that time, Fan Jie was only a small celebrity! Since she knows Fan Jie, she went to look for the managing editor to take up the job. Judging by this, she really is determined to get the scoop!¡± When Qiao Lian heard her words, she turned her head to look at the managing editor¡¯s office. After a while, Su Meimei walked out of the managing editor¡¯s office, looking pleased with herself. Scanning the few people present, shended her eyes on Qiao Lian and scoffed. Without saying anything, she walked out. As a matter of fact, while Su Meimei was on the way to meet Fan Jie, she still felt a little nervous. Two years ago, Fan Jie, a pure and innocent boy, had been all smiles in the interview with her. Shy and quiet, his face would turn red after exchanging a few words with her. Both of them had had a good time then. She had even given Fan Jie her name card. It was true that Fan Jie had risen to fame in the recent two years, but that day he had blushed as soon as their eyes met. She must have left him an impression, right? In the blink of an eye, she arrived at Fan Jie¡¯s managementpany. Reporters crowded the surroundings the ofpany, all seeking to build good personal rtions with Fan Jie in order to get the chance for an exclusive interview. Someone even went so far as to bribe Fan Jie¡¯s manager. Everyone was bootlicking them with mouths full ofpliments. As Su Meimei went forward, the security officers stopped her and denied her entry. It was only when Su Meimei took out her reporter¡¯s certificate that she was assigned to the conference room, to wait for news with the other reporters. She stretched her neck to look outside. Momentster, Fan Jie¡¯s personal nanny van drove over. Surrounded by a few bodyguards and his manager, he walked towards thepany. Not long after he got out, the reporters flocked to him in the blink of an eye. ¡°Mr Fan Jie, Mr Fan Jie, when will your new album be released to the public?¡± ¡°¡±Mr Fan Jie, can I interview you about your new album?¡± ¡°Fan Jie! I¡¯m a reporter from Everyday News. Can I make an appointment for an interview with you?¡± ¡°...¡± All the questions made Fan Jie stop walking. His features were exquisite and he looked like a porcin doll. Dressed in casual attire, he disyed a gentle smile and nodded in acknowledgment to the reporters. When Su Meimei saw Fan Jie, her eyes lit up and quickly squeezed to the front. ¡°Fan Jie, do you still remember me?¡± As soon as the words got out of Su Meimei¡¯s mouth, everyone looked at her simultaneously, thinking that she must be an idiot. Fan Jie nced at Su Meimei. Evidently, he did not know her and wanted to turn and leave. Su Meimei became anxious. Their agency had sent Fan Jie an invitation for an exclusive interview a long time ago, but Fan Jie had been unresponsive all along. She shouted in a flurry, ¡°Fan Jie, I¡¯m reporter Su Meimei from G8ssip News!¡± When she finished speaking, Fan Jie stopped in his tracks. ¡°G8ssip News?¡± Wasn¡¯t that... sister-inw¡¯s news agency? Chapter 186 - Whose Face Are You Saving? (6)

Chapter 186: Whose Face Are You Saving? (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Fan Jie stopped walking, causing all the reporters to be dazed. Shortly after, they looked at Su Meimei simultaneously. At this moment, Su Meimei waspletely worked up. See, she knew that Fan Jie would recognise her! As her eyes lit up, she squeezed towards the front. ¡°Mr Fan Jie, do you still remember me? I interviewed you two years ago. We had an enjoyable talk and you even said that you would remember me!¡± Fan Jie looked at her smilingly, with zero memories of her. However... this person was probably his sister-inw¡¯s colleague. If it was so, he should probably leave some face for her, shouldn¡¯t he? Hence, Fan Jie acted as if he suddenly realized something. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you!¡± Su Meimei said instantly, ¡°Yes, yes, it¡¯s me. Fan Jie, can we talk about your new album?¡± When Fan Jie heard this, he tilted his head and then grinned at her, ¡°About that... we can discuss it next time.¡± If he agreed to the interview with G8ssip News Agency now, in the presence of so many reporters, they would probably cook up some ridiculous stories. He smiled at Su Meimei and turned to walk inside again. Just as the reporters tried to follow along for further discussion, the security officers blocked all their paths. All of them could only wait outside. Staring at Fan Jie¡¯s back view, Su Meimei felt a little uneasy. Logically, judging by Fan Jie¡¯s reaction, he must have recognised her. However, why had he just brushed it off when asked for an exclusive interview? Evidently, she was not as special as she thought! Heaving a sigh, she waited outside for quite a while with the other reporters. Seeing that she was not receiving any good news, she returned to the news agency in the afternoon. She was slightly dejected, as she felt like she had lost the first battle. She had promised the managing editor before she left, what could she do now? However, the unimaginable happened... Before she even reached the news agency, she received a call from the managing editor. ¡°Oh Mei Mei, you are indeed my lucky star! Fan Jie¡¯s manager just contacted me and informed that we¡¯vended the exclusive interview!¡± As soon as Su Meimei heard this, her excitement surged in a sh. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°100% real! Come back to the news agency as fast as possible!¡± As Su Meimei hung up the call, she lifted her head suddenly. She was right, Fan Jie must have recognised her! After all, back then, Fan Jie had even shyly addressed her as ¡®sister¡¯... Now that she had secured the exclusive interview with Fan Jie, she could finally unt in front of Qiao Lian. _ Qiao Lian was in her desk with nothing to do. In order to limit her, the chief editor wasn¡¯t allowing her to dig for other news items, except for Shen Liangchuan¡¯s. However, Shen Liangchuan was keeping a low-profiletely, so there was no need for her to continue following him everywhere. She had no option but to be holed up in the office and sort out some files. Suddenly, someone pushed open the office door. With joy written all over her face, Su Meimei walked proudly towards Qiao Lian and stood firmly in front of her. Qiao Lian lifted her head, only to see Su Meimei with her nose stuck in the air as she sneered at her, ¡°Qiao Lian, did you enjoy the breeze outside the hotel yesterday?¡± Qiao Lian smiled. She could notprehend why Su Meimei could not give up, even though all she would get in return were savage refutes every time she tried to pick a fight with her. Right now, her sarcastic tone and the look of satisfaction on her face made Qiao Lianugh. She lowered her head and did not pay her any attention. ¡°I¡¯m talking to you, are you deaf?¡± Su Meimei continued. Tilting her head, Qiao Lian refuted, ¡°Oh, is there a dog barking! Is anyone talking to me?¡± ¡°You-¡± Su Meimei fumed. ¡°Don¡¯t think you can get away!¡± Chapter 187 - Whose Face Are You Saving? (7)

Chapter 187: Whose Face Are You Saving? (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At that moment, the managing editor walked over and pped his hands, which caught everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°Good news! Mei Mei has achieved a feat for our news agency today! Fan Jie has agreed to do the exclusive interview with us.¡± ring at Qiao Lian viciously, Su Meimei then raised her head cockily. She took two steps towards the managing editor. Then, the managing editor held her hands. ¡°Mei Mei, you really are the lucky star of the news agency! Hahaha.¡± Su Meimei¡¯s eyes narrowed as she beamed. ¡°Managing Editor, Fan Jie agreed to the interview because he was trying to save me some face. You should be well aware that our news agency is not big and I¡¯m only an insignificant reporter. If I were to interview Fan Jie like this, wouldn¡¯t he think that I¡¯m unbefitting~¡± Qiao Lian: ... Totally speechless. This was the first time she saw someone ask for a position so openly. However, if Su Meimei hadn¡¯t secured Fan Jie¡¯s exclusive interview, the managing editor would have not even batted an eye. Indeed, the managing editor said immediately, ¡°How are you an insignificant reporter? You are the chief editor of Team Two! Take a pick, who do you want to take from Team One? Or do you want to employ new talents?¡± Initially, Qiao Lian had thought that she had nothing to do with this matter. However as soon as the managing editor finished speaking, she noticed Su Meimei¡¯s meaningful nce at her. She was on edge immediately. Next, she heard Su Meimei say, ¡°I¡¯ve worked with Qiao Lian for such a long time. Leave the others forter, transfer Qiao Lian to Team Two first.¡± Qiao Lian: ... She knew it! This devil had been wanting to be her superior for a long time, hadn¡¯t she? Furrowing her brows, she heard the managing editor agree at once without even asking for her opinion. But, would giving her opinion help? Su Meimei immediately ordered, ¡°Qiao Lian, pack your stuff and report to me!¡± She had just been promoted to chief editor and she was already acting so cocky! Qiao Lian secretly ranted in her heart and heaved a deep sigh. In the span of one year, she had alreadypleted nine months of work at the news agency. She just had to pull through three more months before she could attain the reporter¡¯s certificate. So... she would force herself to endure it! She moved to the office specially prepared for Team Two with her stuff and desktop. As she ced her desktop on the table, she noticed Su Meimei walking over. She stood in front of her arrogantly. ¡°Get me a cup of coffee, with a bit of milk and three cubes of sugar. Thank you.¡± Qiao Lian stopped arranging her stuff and looked up. Her obstinate stare caught Su Meimei off guard and almost made her give in unknowingly. However, recalling the position she had now, she furrowed her brows. ¡°What? Are you not willing? Don¡¯t forget, I¡¯m your superior now! You have to do whatever I tell you to do!¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s contrasting ck and white eyes narrowed and her lips curled into a smile. ¡°Sure.¡± Without hesitation, she went out and poured a cup of coffee. Carrying the cup of coffee with both hands, she ced it on Su Meimei¡¯s table. Herpliant attitude caused Su Meimei to frown and examine the drink. The drink was pitch-ck. The scent of coffee wafted in the air, but... what if Qiao had Lian spat in it? As she thought of this, Su Meimei frowned in disgust and pushed the coffee away. That was exactly the reaction she wanted! Acting as though she had not seen Su Meimei¡¯s reaction, she returned to her seat and switched on her desktop, grinning from ear to ear. The afternoon passed quickly. It was 5.30 p.m. when the phone vibrated all of a sudden. She picked up her phone and realized Shen Liangchuan messaged her: (What time do you end work?) What did he mean by this question? As she was figuring this out, she received another message: (I¡¯m downstairs.) Chapter 188 - Whose Face Are You Saving? (8)

Chapter 188: Whose Face Are You Saving? (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian widened her eyes instantaneously. Downstairs by the office building? Terror-stricken, she replied: (Finishing work soon.) Moments after sending the message, she received a reply again: (Waiting for you.) Waiting for her... Did this mean that he was going home with her? She did not dare to waste any time, so she immediately packed up to leave. But just as she was standing up, Su Meimei walked out of her office and instructed her, ¡°Qiao Lian, I just emailed you some scripts. Go through it and check for grammar and spelling mistakes.¡± Qiao Lian: ...! She had transferred to Team Two for the whole afternoon, but Su Meimei had not spoken a single word to her. This devil started assigning work to her just when it was time to leave? She had to be doing it on purpose. Qiao Lian frowned as she thought of Shen Liangchuan, who was still waiting for her downstairs. ¡°I¡¯ll take them home to do.¡± ¡°NO! These scripts are confidential and they can¡¯t be taken out of the news agency! Don¡¯t you know these basic rules?¡± Qiao Lian stared at her and said, ¡°Su Meimei, you better not go too far!¡± ¡°Are you disobeying my orders now? If that¡¯s what you want, you can pack your stuff and get out!¡± Qiao Lian was utterly speechless. Su Meimei always used such trivial matters to pick on her. Qiao Lian bit her lips and stared at her, ¡°I am not feeling well today.¡± Today was the second day of her menstrual cycle, she could feel a wave of pain in her lower abdomen. ¡°Oh, then show me a medical certificate from the hospital!¡± How could she get a medical certificate? Qiao Lian had no choice but to return to her seat, ¡°Okay, I will do it.¡± Su Meimei smiled and took a step forward, closer to Qiao Lian. ¡°Qiao Lian, already can¡¯t bear with it? Let me tell you, this is only the beginning!¡± She stood straight with a proud smirk on her face. ¡°You are not allowed to go home before finishing it!¡± Qiao Lian swallowed her anger, wishing she could scream at Fan Jie now. This guy was already causing trouble for her, and they had just met. Suppressing her anger, Qiao Lian switched on her desktop and downloaded the script. While she scanned it, she found that Su Meimei had sent her a script with a hundred thousand words. Her blood was slowly boiling. Trying to keep calm, she saw Su Meimei walking out of the office excitedly with her handbag. Su Meimei raised her volume intentionally and said, ¡°Darling, let¡¯s have seafood for dinner to celebrate my promotion! I am so happy today.¡± Qiao Lian waited for Su Meimei to leave before she picked up her phone to send Shen Liangchuan a message: (I¡¯m sorry, I was suddenly told to work overtime. Why don¡¯t you leave first?) She started checking the script after sending the text. After a while, her phone vibrated again. She picked it up and realized that Shen Liangchuan had replied: (Approximately how long will you take?) How long? If she had to finish checking hundred thousand wordspletely, it would probably take the whole night! Qiao Lian took a deep breath again. Looking at the time, she answered: (About 10 p.m.) She knew that even if she could finish everything by tonight, Su Meimei would still find ws in her work tomorrow. So, she decided to just work until 10 p.m. and not care about anything else! Liangchuan replied: (Okay.) Assuming that he had returned home, Qiao Lian stopped thinking about it. At 10 p.m. sharp, she packed up her stuff and left. After she reached the ground level, she intended to walk towards the bus station. Just then, a sh of light shone from opposite side. She raised her hand to block the light from her eyes subconsciously, only to see Shen Liangchuan¡¯s car driving towards her. Qiao Lian was immediately stunned. ¡°You didn¡¯t leave?¡± He had actually waited for her outside for four and a half hours?! Chapter 189 - Whose Face Are You Saving? (9)

Chapter 189: Whose Face Are You Saving? (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian looked at Shen Liangchuan in confusion and surprise. The street lights shone through the open car window and reflected on his handsome face. After hearing Qiao Lian¡¯s words, he slowly looked up without any exnation and only said, ¡°Get in the car.¡± Qiao Lian settled into the passenger seat obediently. As soon as she sat down, she was reminded of how she had been bleeding heavily there yesterday. Immediately, she looked down guiltily, where she found that a red seat cushion had been ced there. This colour did not match the interior of the car at all. Furthermore, its bright-red colour was rather simr to blood. So, was he trying to say that she did not need to bother about dirtying the seat cushion anymore? Her lips twitched and she cleared her throat ufortably. Only then did she look at Shen Liangchuan and ask, ¡°Er, how long did you wait?¡± Shen Liangchuan answered indifferently, ¡°Not long. I happened to eat nearby.¡± Exactly what could he have eaten nearby that could have taken up to four and a half hours? She wanted to continue asking, however, she suddenly noticed that his ears were slightly red. Was he... embarrassed? She instantly froze. She couldn¡¯t help feeling a surge of warmth inside her heart. Yesterday, he had taken her to Mo Xicheng¡¯s birthday party. When they had reached home at night, he had poured her a cup of brown sugar water, and today, he had speciallye there to send her home... All these made her heart beat faster uncontrobly. If a man treats a woman so nicely, does it mean... No, she should not jump to conclusions. Lowering her head hastily, she tried to suppress her inner thoughts. However, she could not help but smile. ¡°What do you want to eat?¡± His voice rang in her ears all of a sudden. Qiao Lian was stunned for a moment. She took a while to realize Shen Liangchuan was talking to her. She said hurriedly, ¡°It¡¯s okay. I can just eat at home.¡± It was already 10 p.m. It was a bit toote to go eat dinner now. As she thought about this, she felt rather conflicted and continued, ¡°Er, next time, you don¡¯t have to wait until thiste...¡± Shen Liangchuan gave her a stare, which made her shut her mouth instantly. He looked ahead very seriously, looking extremely charismatic. ¡°A girl should not go home at these hours. It¡¯s not safe.¡± His caring words made Qiao Lian¡¯s cheeks burn once again. She wanted to say something, but she did not know how to express it. Hence, she could only lower her head and mutter, ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°You are wee.¡± Then, he asked, ¡°Are you still feeling unwell?¡± Taken aback, Qiao Lian took a moment to react. He was asking about her ¡°Aunt Flo¡±, so she answered quickly, ¡°It¡¯s fine. Normally, it¡¯s worse on the first day. I feel much better on the second day.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± His lukewarm answer made the whole car silent again. As Qiao Lian pressed her lips together, she suddenly thought of something and said, ¡°Er, I did not get pregnant this month. I will continue to work hard next month.¡± After hearing her words, his hand holding the steering wheel paused for a while. After a few moments of silence, an ¡°oh¡± could be heard. Qiao Lian was feeling embarrassed about what she had just said, so she hadn¡¯t noticed the change in his emotions. Her mind started to wander. Pregnant... Logically, it should be easy for a woman to get pregnant. They had even calcted her ovtion period, so the sess rate should be high. However, why was she not pregnant? With disappointment, she ced her hand on her lower abdomen. Just when she was in a daze, Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°Why did you finish working sote?¡± When he started talking about this, Qiao Lian was full of pent-up anger. Immediately, she could not help butin under her breath, ¡°It¡¯s all because of Fan Jie!¡± Chapter 190 - Whose Face Are You Saving? (10)

Chapter 190: Whose Face Are You Saving? (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Fan Jie? What¡¯s wrong?¡± Qiao Lian had intended to talk about what had happened at the news agency. However, as soon as Shen Liangchuan finished the sentence, his phone started ringing. Hence, she had no option but to shut her mouth for now. Meanwhile, Shen Liangchuan put the call through with a bluetooth earpiece. Fan Jie¡¯s voice could be heard from the other end, ¡°Brother Shen, Brother Shen, hurry up, thank me!¡± Shen Liangchuan narrowed his eyes and nced at Qiao Lian. A moment ago, Qiao Lian had still been talking about how Fan Jie had made her end workte, and now Fan Jie was calling him. He said indifferently, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s because of the exclusive interview regarding my new album! So many news agencies came to look for me, but I rejected all of them and then epted G8ssip News¡¯ invitation! Don¡¯t you think I¡¯m very loyal? Don¡¯t I treat sister-inw really well? So, how are you going to repay me?¡± It suddenly dawned on Shen Liangchuan. Qiao Lian had had to work overtime untilte at night today because Fan Jie had made an appointment with them for an exclusive interview, and she had had to prepare for it? ¡°Brother Shen, you know me. All along, when I do good, I want to be recognized! So, I¡¯m just letting you know. As for your gratitude, you must remember this favor and repay me in the future, although it was nothing difficult for me! Oh, right, don¡¯t worry. Even though I asked for sister-inw to interview me, I will maintain a safe distance with her. After all, if sister-inw were to fall for such a fine man like me, that would be terrible. I can also help you ask around the news agency to see if anyone there has ulterior motives for sister-inw! You don¡¯t have to feel so touched by this, hehe. That¡¯s all, bye bye~¡± He hung up right after saying all he wanted to say in one go. Shen Liangchuan: ... Fixing his gaze ahead, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s eyes showed a tinge of resignation. Fan Jie was a clueless chatterbox. In addition, his confidence was sky-high, as he believed that every single woman on earth would like him. The phone call had interrupted their conversation just now. Since Shen Liangchuan did not pursue it any further, Qiao Lian could only stay silent. They both reached the vi rather quickly. After the car was parked, Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan got out of it and walked towards the living room, where they found Xia Yehua and Song Yuanxi sitting on the living room sofa. As soon as Xia Yehua saw the both of them, a smile spread across her face. ¡°Why did you arrive home sote?¡± Qiao Lian wanted to say something, but Shen Liangchuan was one step ahead her. ¡°Working overtime.¡± Instantly, Xia Yehua started nagging, ¡°Work is important, but your health is more important. Don¡¯t you understand such a simple idea?¡± Qiao Lian wanted to exin, but once again, before she even got a chance to speak, Shen Liangchuan asked, ¡°Why did both of youe over?¡± This question changed the subject. Xia Yehua looked at Qiao Lian. ¡°Er, I¡¯m just here to take a look... you have already been married for a month, haven¡¯t you? I was worried, so I came over to take a look. I did the math, and I¡¯m just scared that neither of you would even realize if Xiao Qiao was pregnant. After all, you are all still young. If both of you don¡¯t control yourselves¡ª¡± Her words caused Qiao Lian¡¯s face to turnpletely red. As she looked at Xia Yehua awkwardly, she suddenly felt a little guilty and said, ¡°Mom, my- my ¡®Aunt Flo¡¯ is here.¡± The only reason for their marriage was for her to bear his child. However, after the first month, she was still not pregnant. It was not an unusual matter, but in this very moment, she felt miserable. Moreover, would Xia Yehua haveints about her? Just when this thought popped up in her mind, Xia Yehua widened her eyes. ¡°Huh? You¡¯re not pregnant?¡± She patted Qiao Lian¡¯s shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± However, she turned and yelled at Shen Liangchuan, ¡°Why are you so incapable!?¡± Shen Liangchuan said ¡°... Are you sure you are my biological mother?¡± Chapter 191 - How Embarrassing! I Want Qiao Lian to Interview Me! (1)

Chapter 191: How Embarrassing! I Want Qiao Lian to Interview Me! (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Seeing the glum look on Shen Liangchuan¡¯s face, Qiao Lian hurried over and tried to smooth things out. ¡°Mom, emm, we will try harder next month. Don¡¯t worry about this!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not worried!¡± The way Xia Yehua spoke to her was very loving. Holding her hands, she said, ¡°I just feel that the problem definitely does not lie within you. It must be because he is not putting in his best effort in getting you pregnant!¡± How was he not putting in his best effort? He had actually exercised diligently every single day of her ovting period this month! If he were to put in more effort than that... how was she going to survive the next month? As soon as she thought of this, Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°Do you have anything else to say?¡± Xia Yehua was only then reminded of the reason of her visit. Pointing at Song Yuanxi, she said, ¡°Oh, I almost forgot about the main matter. Yuanxi mentioned that she wanted to enter the entertainment industry. Isn¡¯t your agency hiring new talents? Just let Yuanxi go to your agency.¡± As Song Yuanxi was mentioned, she stood up in a flurry. ¡°Brother Liangchuan, Sister-inw...¡± Ever since she had gotten conned by that online friend, her guts seemed to have shrunk even more. Song Yuanxi¡¯s demeanorpelled others to lower their voice when speaking to her. Shen Liangchuan nodded at her. ¡°I will notify Song Cheng tomorrow.¡± Song Yuanxi was immediately on cloud nine and said, ¡°Thank you.¡± Looking at her, Xia Yehua sighed and walked over to pat her shoulders. ¡°Silly, we are family. You don¡¯t have to thank us.¡± All of sudden, Song Yuanxi¡¯s eyes turned red. After some time, she said as her lips trembled, ¡°Godmother, let¡¯s leave. We shouldn¡¯t disturb Brother Liang Chuan and Sister-inw¡¯s rest.¡± Xia Yehua couldn¡¯t reject her and agreed, ¡°Sure.¡± She picked up her bag and walked out with her. Qiao Lian wanted to see them off, but Shen Liangchuan stopped her. ¡°Go and eat, I will see them off.¡± After he finished speaking, the three of them turned around and left. Qiao Lian was indeed hungry. Hence, she was going to go to the kitchen and find something to eat. However, when she turned her head, little did she expect to see a cell phone left on the sofa. Judging by the model, the phone had to belong to Song Yuanxi. Hoping to catch up to them, she quickly picked up the phone and walked out. At that moment, the three of them were standing at the entrance and Xia Yehua¡¯s chauffeur was bringing the car over. Qiao Lian took a few steps. Just when she was nearing them, she overheard their conversation. Oblivious to what Xia Yehua had said before, she heard Shen Liangchuan answer, ¡°There¡¯s no rush.¡± ¡°No rush? You will already be 26 years old this year. You should have a kid soon! Confess it, do you not want a child? You don¡¯t still have feelings for that first love of yours, do you? Let me tell you, Xiao Qiao is a decent girl, you should spend your life with her!¡± Shen Liangchuan said with a tinge of annoyance, ¡°Just get in the car.¡± Xia Yehua reached out her hands and nodded. ¡°You have to get me a grandchild next month, do you understand?¡± Shen Liangchuan furrowed his brows and said, ¡°We¡¯ll talk about it next month.¡± Immediately, Xia Yehua was furious. ¡°What do you mean by ¡®talk about it next month¡¯? You are just trying to muddle through this!¡± Clenching his jaws, Shen Liangchuan remained silent. Just as Xia Yehua was going to continue, Song Yuanxi quickly tugged at her arm and consoled her softly. Only then did Xia Yehua get in the car with a cold humph. Qiao Lian stood on the spot and watched the car drive away nkly. Her eyesnded on Shen Liangchuan. He was standing there casually with both hands in his pockets, and looking at the car quietly. That demeanor somehow made him look rather lonely. Chapter 192 - How Embarrassing! I Want Qiao Lian to Interview Me! (2)

Chapter 192: How Embarrassing! I Want Qiao Lian to Interview Me! (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She lowered her head and looked at her lower abdomen. Initially, she hadn¡¯t thought much about not getting pregnant. However, right now her heart had sunk all of a sudden. Shen Liangchuan would rather be misunderstood by Xia Yehua than to exin that it was her fault. Such details disyed this man¡¯s care for her. Biting her lips, Qiao Lian returned to the room with the cell phone. Then, she went to the kitchen and started cooking noodles, as if nothing had happened. However, her heart could not be pacified for a long time. She clearly knew that it was only business between him and her, and that the best way to protect herself was to not fall for him. However, in this moment, there was something raging in the bottom of her heart, resembling a magnificent flower that was about to bloom. A silent night. _ The next day, Qiao Lian reported at the news agency punctually. As soon as she sat down, she was weed by Su Meimei¡¯s censure. ¡°Qiao Lian, have you finished checking the article I sent yesterday?¡± Qiao Lian sat calmly and answered with perfect assurance, ¡°No.¡± ¡°No? Who allowed you to go home without finishing the work?¡± Qiao Lian switched on herputer and said, ¡°Sorry, but the contract that I signed with the news agency does not state that I have to work overtime unconditionally. Therefore, I worked until 10 p.m. yesterday because I am responsible for my work, but you don¡¯t have the right to ask me to work for the entire night.¡± ¡°You¡ª!¡± Qiao Lian continued staring at the article. ¡°Chief Editor Su, if there¡¯s nothing else, I will proceed with my work.¡± Su Meimei was fuming with rage through gritted teeth. After ring at her for a long time, she sneered, ¡°Of course I have something for you!¡± She continued, ¡°The news agency has arranged an interview with a B-rate celebrity at a cafe in Zhong Guan Vige area. I am leaving this to you, I will send you the addresster.¡± When Qiao Lian heard this, she pressed her lips together and asked, ¡°What time?¡± ¡°11 a.m.¡± It was already past 9 a.m. She stood up and as soon as Su Meimei sent the address to her, she rushed over as quickly as possible. There was some traffic on the way, but Qiao Lian still managed to reach the private room in the cafe by 10.50 a.m. She heaved a sigh of relief. For interviews with reporters, the celebrities normally arrived on time, because arriving early would only bring down their status. After taking a deep breath, she pushed open the private room¡¯s door to go in, only to discover... there were already two people sitting in there. One of them had an oppressing stance. There was power in her delicate makeup. It was the popr female star, Mo Ru, who had gained immense fame from an idol drama. The other person was her manager. Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes narrowed when she saw them. Before she could say anything, the manager asked immediately, ¡°Are you the reporter from G8ssip News Agency?¡± Qiao Lian nodded subconsciously. All of a sudden, something shed before her eyes and next, a cup of cold coffee was spilled all over her! With an icy look on her face, Mo Ru stood up in the blink of an eye. ¡°We agreed to meet at 10 a.m., but you only arrived at 11 a.m. Is this the sincerity of your news agency?! Even though I, Mo Ru, am not an A-list celebrity, there are still reporters queuing for an interview with me! How dare you!¡± When she finished her words, she left with her manager rampantly! Standing on the spot, Qiao Lian¡¯s clothes were dirty with the coffee. There was coffee smell in her mouth and nostrils. She looked pathetic with drenched hair stuck on her face. Clenching her fist, she let out a sneer. 10 a.m. ... Ha... Good job, Su Meimei! She had actually learned to use someone else in trying to bring her down, after just a few days of not seeing her? Chapter 193 - How Embarrassing! I Want Qiao Lian to Interview Me! (3)

Chapter 193: How Embarrassing! I Want Qiao Lian to Interview Me! (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At the news agency, in the office of the managing editor. Standing in front of the office table, Qiao Lian looked at Liu Zhixing, who was sitting there and mming the table. BAM BAM! ¡°How dare you!? The interview was at 10 a.m., yet you only arrived at 11 a.m. Do you not want this job anymore? Then just leave now!¡± As he spoke, the mole on his chin quaked amusingly along with him. Qiao Lian knew that nothing she said would help, but she still said, ¡°Su Meimei told me it was at 11 a.m.¡± ¡°Do you have any proof?¡± Qiao Lian took out her phone and opened the recording application. She had expected Su Meimei to set her up, so she had already prepared. However, she did not expect the managing editor to rebut it, ¡°I don¡¯t want to know about the process. I just know that you were in charge of Mo Ru¡¯s interview and you messed it up!¡± Liu Zhixing stood up all of a sudden. Leaning forward, he assumed an oppressive posture and slightly narrowed his eyes. ¡°Qiao Lian, the mistake you made this time is way too serious. If the news agency doesn¡¯t punish you, no one will be satisfied!¡± As Qiao Lian stood there silently, she felt more furious than ever. She had never expected that the managing editor would say such shameless words, even with proof. However, after a second, Liu Zhixing was unexpectedly smiling again. ¡°Of course, you must know that right now only I can help you settle this matter in the entire news agency.¡± He approached Qiao Lian from behind the table. With a lecherous look in his eyes, he reached out to grab Qiao Lian¡¯s hand. ¡°After all, you have done a lot for the news agency by digging out so many incredible news items. The news agency can¡¯t bear to let you go either...¡± Just when he reached out his hands, Qiao Lian retreated two steps in disgust to keep a distance from him. Qiao Lian¡¯s behavior caused the managing editor¡¯s expression to darken again. ¡°Qiao Lian, you should be grateful when I try to be nice to you!¡± Qiao Lian was so furious that she was speechless. The managing editor scoffed, ¡°Sure, since you are so upright, go home now and wait for the announcement! After the news agency has agreed on your punishment, you can scram. Let me warn you, I won¡¯t let you leave just like that. The news agency will surely ask you topensate for the loss of Mo Ru¡¯s interview.¡± Was he threatening her again? Sneering, Qiao Lian turned around and left. However, little did she expect to see Su Meimei standing by the door just as she walked out of the office. She red at her with a gloomy look on her face and said, ¡°Qiao Lian, I told you a long time ago that I would make you leave the news agency with your tail in between your legs!¡± Looking at Su Meimei, Qiao Lian¡¯s lips curled up suddenly. ¡°Su Meimei, isn¡¯t the only reason you are trying so hard to bring me down that I overshadow you so much that you don¡¯t have any chances to shine? I¡¯m telling you, even if I leave, I will continue outshining you to the point that you won¡¯t ever seed!¡± As soon as the words got out of her mouth, Su Meimei¡¯s face changed drastically. ¡°Don¡¯t spew nonsense here!¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see if it¡¯s really just nonsense!¡± She immediately walked towards the entrance of the news agency. A news agency like this was not worth staying at. Actually, she already knew that the managing editor and Su Meimei had a scandalous rtionship. Even if she had shown the proof, the managing editor would have not spared her. However, when she truly experienced injustice, not only did she still feel enraged, but she also felt even more helpless and hopeless. She had tolerated Su Meimei for so long. In the end, had she still not been able to stay for a year and attain the reporter¡¯s certificate? As she was walking through the entrance of the news agency, she bumped into someone! When she lifted her head, she saw Fan Jie¡¯s dazzling small face looking at her in excitement. He eximed, ¡°Sister-inw!¡± Chapter 194 - How Embarrassing! I Want Qiao Lian to Interview Me! (4)

Chapter 194: How Embarrassing! I Want Qiao Lian to Interview Me! (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian was feeling terrible at the moment. After seeing Fan Jie¡ªthe culprit of the entire situation¡ªan inexplicable fury surged within her suddenly. Honestly, other than the asional trouble that the chief editor created for her, Su Meimei had not been a threat to her at all throughout her time at the news agency. Even after the managing editor joined, she still considered herself safe. However, this time around, she could not take it anymore. Thus, shepletely ignored Fan Jie¡¯s greeting. After angrily shooting at him a re, she immediately went downstairs and left! Fan Jie stared nkly in the direction Qiao Lian had walked away in. Scratching his head, he looked at his manager cluelessly. ¡°What¡¯s with sister-inw?¡± Just then, someone walked out of the office and saw Fan Jie. Momentarily shocked, he eximed, ¡°Fan Jie is here!¡± As soon as the managing editor and Su Meimei, who had just chased Qiao Lian away, heard this, they hurried outside. Both of them immediately bowed and greeted Fan Jie when they saw him. Rubbing his hands together excitedly, the managing editor walked forward and said, ¡°Mr Fan, it¡¯s our honor to have you visiting our news agency!¡± Su Meimei¡¯s eyes lit up as well. The news agency would have surely deployed a reporter for the exclusive interview based on the time and location that Fan Jie provided, so there was absolutely no need for him to visit the news agency. But now, the reason for Fan Jie toe personally... must have been because of her! Could it be that she had left a deep impression on Fan Jie that time they met? Su Meimei smilingly stepped forward and asked cordially, ¡°Mr Fan, is there a reason for your visit?¡± Fan Jie was still looking at Qiao Lian, so he questioned in bewilderment, ¡°What happened to her just now?¡± ¡°Who?¡± Su Meimei asked. Fan Jie pointed outside. ¡°Sister- Oh, the girl that walked out just now? She didn¡¯t look too well.¡± Su Meimei instantly understood who he was referring to and her heart sank unknowingly. She had always believed that whatever hurt Qiao Lian should not be spared. Hence, she immediately tried to equivocate, ¡°Oh, she was supposed to interview someone today. But she waste due to traffic congestion and was humiliated by the celebrity.¡± Only touching on the topic briefly, she looked at Fan Jian again with a smile and changed the subject. ¡°Mr Fan, did youe to the news agency to look for me?¡± Fan Jie¡¯s attention was already fixated on the first sentence Su Meimei had said. Nothing went in his ear after that, so he just replied with a casual ¡®oh¡¯. However, Su Meimei squared her shoulders when she heard this ¡®oh¡¯. She nced proudly at the managing editor and colleagues, who hade after hearing about Fan Jie¡¯s visit. Then, it dawned on Fan Jie that his sister-inw was in a bad mood because of her work! She had beente for the interview... so she must have been scolded badly. Turning around in an instant, he started walking out as he informed, ¡°I suddenly remembered that I have some urgent matters to attend to, so I¡¯ll take my leave first.¡± He had left even before crossing the entrance the news agency. Not only had Fan Jie¡¯s visit been sudden, his leave had been even more abrupt. However, his visit definitely had made Su Meimei feel very proud of herself. She had known for a long time that some people were still unconvinced, even though she had snatched Fan Jie¡¯s exclusive interview and Team Two¡¯s chief editor position. This was especially true for the managing editor. Despite their special rtionship, that sly old fox had yet to submit the letter of appointment to the headquarters! They had always been skeptical about the fact that she had snatched Fan Jie¡¯s exclusive interview. But now, look! No one would doubt her anymore! _ Fan Jie walked out of the news agency. As soon as he alighted from the lift, he immediately whipped out his phone. After looking for a contact, he dialed it at once. The call was answered after only a few rings. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s deep voice could be heard from the other end. ¡°Brother Shen, let me tell you something. Sister-inw is in a terrible mood today!¡± Chapter 195 - How Embarrassing! I Want Qiao Lian to Interview Me! (5)

Chapter 195: How Embarrassing! I Want Qiao Lian to Interview Me! (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Dejected, Qiao Lian was walking alone along the streets. She did not know where to go, so she found a random garden and sat on a long bench. She did not seem to fit in with the hustle and bustle of her surroundings. The garden was very lively and crowded with people. Everyone had different expressions on their faces. Someone, whose life seemed to have not gone as nned, walked past her while sobbing. Qiao Lian wanted to cry too. However, since eight years ago, she had already understood that crying was useless. She felt extremely suffocated, as though her heart was stuffed with cotton to the brim. The mistake at work was clearly not her fault. She could have even given evidence for it. Why did she have to bear the consequences? The more she thought about it, the more wronged she felt. She could not suppress that sense of defeat, even after taking in a deep breath. She had just taken her first step after struggling for eight painstaking years. Why must it be so hard on her? While she was lost in her thoughts, her cell phone in her bag rang. She ignored it willfully, as she was in a bad mood. The phone finally stopped ringing after a long time. There she was, sitting on a long bench with a nk expression on her face, just like a child that had been abandoned by the entire world. Biting her lower lips, she lowered her head. She had been born with a silver spoon in her mouth. For more than 10 years, she had lived in luxury. However, eight years ago, her family had gone bankrupt. Her parents had died in a massive fire and her younger brother had gone astray. It was only then that she gained first-hand knowledge of the good and evil of humanity. At first, she had had to slog everywhere to make a living. Later on, she had had to continue struggling to get an education. She had gone from being one of the upper ss to a nobody who could get bullied by anyone. Life was already tough enough. Why was it that so many people still disliked her? Suddenly, she stretched out her hands to cover her face. There were no tears. She was just feeling a little worn out. She didn¡¯t know how much time passed before the light in front of her suddenly dimmed. Slightly taken aback, she dropped her hands. What entered her vision first were a pair of ck leather shoes and perfectly ironed trousers. As her eyes slowly traced up the pair of long legs, they were met with Shen Liangchuan¡¯s usual nonchnt and expressionless eyes. He did not have his sunsses on. He was only wearing a mask, a baseball cap and a sweater. Both his hands were in his pockets casually. One could feel the special aura that this man was giving out, even without seeing his face. Initially, she had thought that she must have seen wrongly, so she rubbed her eyes. However, after confirming that the person before her eyes was really Shen Liangchuan, she stood up immediately and looked at him in terror. ¡°Why are you here?¡± She scanned her surroundings vigntly in an instance. There were actually numerous news agency around where she worked. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s presence there was no different from a sheep walking into a tiger¡¯s den! Shen Liangchuan turned around and walked back to where he came from. He only said two words with his deep voice, ¡°Come here.¡± Her mind had already nked out, so she subconsciously followed him. They quickly walked forward to a road beside the garden, and then got on the nanny van in no time. She could finally heave a sigh of relief. Seeing that he was taking off his mask, she immediately started nagging incessantly, ¡°How can you appear here? You are taking too big of a risk! If someone took a photo, we would be doomed!¡± After conveniently throwing away the one-time mask into the dustbin beside, Shen Liangchuan looked at her and said, ¡°Come with me somewhere.¡± To where? Qiao Lian stared at him wide-eyed, but Shen Liangchuan simply leaned back on the seat and rested his eyes. Qiao Lian could only shut her mouth. She turned her head to look out of the car, only to discover that the car was on the expressway leaving Beijing. She wanted to ask where exactly they were headed to. However, after turning around and looking at Shen Liangchuan, she swallowed her words. In no time, they had already arrived at the destination. Chapter 196 - How Embarrassing! I Want Qiao Lian to Interview Me! (6)

Chapter 196: How Embarrassing! I Want Qiao Lian to Interview Me! (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After driving on the expressway for more than three hours, they finally arrived at the seaside of Qinhuangdao. Qiao Lian got off the car after Shen Liangchuan. They were walking on the beach when Shen Liangchuan stopped in his tracks. Qiao Lian looked at him, unaware of why he had suddenly stopped walking. Shen Liangchuan pointed at the sea and said, ¡°Look.¡± She looked in the direction he was pointing at, but Qiao Lian could see nothing but the vast sea. Just when she was about to ask what was there to see, she was suddenly drawn by the distant view. The emerald-green seawater looked just like silk, floating in ripples under the sunlight. In the distance, the sea and sky joined to be one vast horizon. A wind blow triggered a massive wave. However, no matter how massive the wave was, everything returned to peace in the end. The sea was an imposing grandeur that could contain anything and everything. Standing on the beach beside the coast, all of Qiao Lian¡¯s frustrations from work became almost nothing in front of the endless sea. Suddenly, she felt a majestic strength emerge within her. So what if she had lost her job? She could just find another one! She was determined to achieve what she had set out to do before she died. These thoughts slowly calmed her heart down, and she was not as fretful as she had initially been. Standing there quietly, she turned to look at Shen Liangchuan. All of a sudden, a thought came to her mind. She widened her eyes in astonishment. ¡°Shen Liangchuan, you brought me here because...¡± Was it because... The next moment, she heard Shen Liangchuan say, ¡°Whenever I¡¯m down, I like to look at the sea.¡± He had always believed that the sea could wash away all sadness. Just like eight years ago... Whenever he felt extremely unhappy, he would secretlye here to look at the sea. He had kept this habit of his until this day. His words had confirmed Qiao Lian¡¯s guess. Her gaze, directed at Shen Liangchuan, brightened up in an instant. So, he had brought her here to lift up her spirits? He had just set up hispany. However, he had dyed his schedule just to take her to the beach and make her happy? She felt an inexplicable joy and was moved beyond words. These feelings slowly warmed her heart, and she couldn¡¯t help but lower her head. It had been a long, long time since she had experience such care. Her eyes watered instantaneously. ¡°How did you know that I was unhappy?¡± Shen Liangchuan looked down. Then, she realized something again. ¡°How did you know that I was in the garden!?¡± Shen Liangchuan pressed his lips together. Fan Jie had told him that Qiao Lian was feeling down. He had given her a call, but he hadn¡¯t expected that she would reject the call. So, he had no option but to ask someone to drive around the vicinity of her workce. Only after driving around aimlessly for a long time did he spot her in the garden. However, looking at her small, delicate face and bright eyes, he said nonchntly, ¡°I happened to pass by there and I saw you.¡± He looked rather unnatural, so there was a tinge of impatience in his tone. ¡°Are you done looking? If you are, let¡¯s head back.¡± Qiao Lian grinned from ear to ear immediately. ¡°I¡¯m done looking!¡± After driving for over three hours and looking at the sea for half an hour, the sky was already dark when they reached Beijing. Qiao Liany on her bed after eating and washing up. Her heart felt as sweet as honey. Thest thought she had before falling asleep was that she had not expected that even Shen Liangchuan¡¯s way offorting people was special. Qiao Lian had really gotten over what had happened that day. She started paying attention to hiring notices put out by other news agencies. Five dayster, G8ssip News called her and asked her to report to the news agency. Chapter 197 - How Embarrassing! I Want Qiao Lian to Interview Me! (7)

Chapter 197: How Embarrassing! I Want Qiao Lian to Interview Me! (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Actually, the mistake of beingte for the interview could be considered both big and small. Beijing¡¯s traffic was so heavy. It was impossible that no reporter had beente for an interview before. The managing editor¡¯s words then had only been to scare her. After all, if Qiao Lian got actually fired, Liu Zhixing would not be able to continue pursuing her, wouldn¡¯t he? However, there was Su Meimei, who had just risen to power in the news agency, so this matter would definitely not be settled easily. ¨C In the conference room. Liu Zhixing and Su Meimei gave Qiao Lian her final punishment notice. After Qiao Lian saw the notice, she waspletely speechless. Curling her lips, she questioned, ¡°You¡¯re asking me to apologize to Mo Ru?¡± Mo Ru was well-known for having a very bad temper in the industry. Last time, because she had beente, she had already been sshed with coffee. Who knew how hard she would be on her if she went to apologize this time! Su Meimei said arrogantly, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s your fault, of course you should go and apologize to her! Are you expecting us to clean up the mess you made?¡± Ignoring what she said, Qiao Lian looked at the second use. ¡°Compensate $300,000 for Mo Ru¡¯s loss and $200,000 for the news agency¡¯s loss?¡± This was just... daylight robbery! Unfortunately, Su Meimei went on to exin, ¡°Yes, Mo Ru wasted her whole morning, and she earns more than $300,000 in one morning! A $300,000pensation should already be a bargain for you. As for the news agency, don¡¯t you think you have topensate us for wrecking Mo Ru¡¯s news item?¡± Once again, Qiao Lian ignored her words and looked at the third use. ¡°You even want to publicly announce the reason for my expulsion in the reporters¡¯ circle?¡± This would create a tant obstacle for her when looking for a new job! Which news agency would hire an employee who had gotten dismissed and had bad records? Too much, this was way too much! It would have been fine if they had just fired her, but they were ying so many dirty moves. Taking a deep breath, Qiao Lian tried to suppress the anger in her heart. Meanwhile, Su Meimei¡¯s lips curled and she said smilingly, ¡°Yes, you have half a month¡¯s time. If you are not able to get that sum of money and Mo Ru has not forgiven you, we will sue you.¡± Half a month¡¯s time to prepare $500,000? How could any normal person be able to get that sum of money? This Su Meimei was really vicious. She had not left her any chances! Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Su Meimei, you better not go too far!¡± ¡°Too far?¡± Standing up, Su Meimei looked at her and scoffed, ¡°Of course, I can give you another option. We won¡¯t fire you or expose the reason for your expulsion. We also won¡¯t ask for those $500,000 from you. However, the only condition is that... you have to kneel down and beg me right now!¡± As soon as she finished speaking, she red at Qiao Lian evilly. Qiao Lian¡¯s fist tightened. As their eyes met, intense sparks flew in the air. She sneered, ¡°Keep dreaming!¡± She turned and left. But as soon as she walked out, she saw Xiao Ye ushering Fan Jie towards the conference room. ¡°Managing Editor, Mr Fan Jie is here!¡± As soon as the managing editor and Su Meimei heard this, they immediately rushed out. Su Meimei¡¯s eyes lit up. Quickening her steps, she stopped in front of Fan Jie and reached out her hand towards him. ¡°Mr Fan, you are here again!¡± Fan Jie was all smiles as he reached out his hand quickly. However, the next second he was fixing his gaze on her. He walked past Su Mei Mei and stopped in front of Qiao Lian. He held her hand cordially and passionately, and asked, ¡°Ms. Qiao, can we talk about the exclusive interview now?¡± Su Meimei¡¯s smile immediately froze on her face! Chapter 198 - How Embarrassing! I Want Qiao Lian to Interview Me! (8)

Chapter 198: How Embarrassing! I Want Qiao Lian to Interview Me! (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The whole office became oddly silent in an instant. Perplexed, everyone looked at the scene right before their eyes. Hadn¡¯t Fan Jie visited the news agency because of Su Meimei? But, what was happening now? The managing editor was shocked beyond words by what was happening. His eyes widened in bewilderment as he looked at them. Needless to say, Su Meimei froze as she waspletely stunned. Fan Jie knew Qiao Lian? What was going on? All of a sudden, she thought of how she had heard Fan Jie¡¯s voiceing from Qiao Lian¡¯s phone that night... Su Meimei¡¯s gaze turned cold. Stepping forward hurriedly, she stood next to Fan Jie. Before Qiao Lian could even speak, she said, ¡°Mr Fan Jie, I am the chief editor in charge of this particr project. You¡ª¡± Before she finished speaking, Fan Jie was stunned too. He nced at Su Meimei, and then at his sister-inw, who looked glum and did not seem to be in a good mood. What was going on? Qiao Lian wanted to ask what was going on too! Hadn¡¯t Fan Jie only agreed to the news agency¡¯s exclusive interview because of Su Meimei? So why had hee looking for her as soon as he stepped in? Suddenly, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s four words ¡°please treat her kindly¡± popped up in her mind. Could it be that... Fan Jie had agreed to G8ssip¡¯s exclusive interview because of her and not Su Meimei? Immediately, Qiao Lian did not know whether to cry orugh. What- what even was happening? Fan Jie was way too unreliable when doing things! She was lost in her thoughts. When she heard what Su Meimei said, her fury and dismay vanished. Her mood shot to its peak right from the bottom, just like a roller coaster. Her lips curled as she looked at Su Meimei smilingly. ¡°Su Meimei, did you hear that? Mr Fan said he wants me to interview him!¡± Su Meimei¡¯s immediately shot a sharp and vicious gaze. ¡°Shut up, Qiao Lian!¡± She turned her head and looked at Fan Jie fawningly. ¡°Mr Fan, we can talk there. Let¡¯s head to the conference room. I have prepared everything for your exclusive interview!¡± While bowing down, she pointed in the conference room¡¯s direction. Her demeanors were as though she wished she could pay respect to Fan Jie like an ancestor! Fan Jie still could not figure out what was going on, as he looked at what was happening before him perplexedly. Su Meimei was so cordial that he could not reject her, so he nodded and replied, ¡°Okay.¡± Just one ¡®okay¡¯ made Su Meimei heave a sigh of relief. They were going to head towards the conference room. However, who would have thought that after Fan Jie took two steps, he would suddenly look back at Qiao Lian. ¡°Ms Qiao, follow us!¡± Su Meimei: ...!! Turning to shoot Qiao Lian a ruthless re, she wrapped her arms around Fan Jie¡¯s and said smilingly, ¡°Mr Fan, let¡¯s go first.¡± Despite this, it was as if Fan Jie¡¯s legs were glued to the ground. A pair of big and clear eyes was staring at Qiao Lian. After blinking a few times, he said with immense grievance, ¡°Ms Qiao, why are you still standing there!?¡± The reason for his visit was to let his sister-inw interview him! As soon as he finished speaking, Su Meimei¡¯s expression darkened instantaneously. ring at Qiao Lian furiously, she said through gritted teeth, ¡°Mr Fan, Qiao Lian has just been sacked by the news agency.¡± ¡°What?¡± Fan Jie froze in bewilderment. ¡°Sacked?¡± ¡°Yes, Mr Fan. Didn¡¯t we agree on this already? I will be fully in charge of your interview.¡± However, Fan Jie dropped a major bomb on Su Meimei. ¡°Who are you even? Do I know you?¡± Chapter 199 - How Embarrassing! I Want Qiao Lian to Interview Me! (9)

Chapter 199: How Embarrassing! I Want Qiao Lian to Interview Me! (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Su Meimei was immediately rendered speechless by Fan Jie¡¯s words. Clenching her fists, she stared at Fan Jie as her whole body trembled in fury. What was going on? The managing editor and colleagues all looked at her doubtfully. Hadn¡¯t Fan Jie agreed to the interview because of Su Meimei? How was it that he didn¡¯t even know her? Before she could get a clear picture of the situation, she saw Fan Jie rush towards Qiao Lian. ¡°You resigned? Which news agency are you nning to go next? I¡¯ll follow you wherever you go!¡± His behaviour... clearly showed that he hade because of Qiao Lian! Su Meimei staggered. As she took a step back, her waist violently hit the corner of the office table, causing her extreme pain. Su Meimei¡¯s face was extremely pale now¡ªa stark contrast from that insufferably arrogant expression she had had just now. A cold smirk spread across Qiao Lian¡¯s face. She turned and nced at the managing editor. The managing editor came to his senses immediately and stepped forward without hesitation. ¡°What resignation? That¡¯splete nonsense! You have been performing so well, how can you resign? Qiao Lian, you are a respectable senior figure in our news agency, you must not leave!¡± He had already reported to the headquarters about Fan Jie¡¯s interview. If Fan Jie was to leave now, Liu Zhixing would not be able to exin this to the headquarters. Seeing how different he was before and after, Qiao Lian felt that the more she looked at him, the more ridiculous he was. ¡°Managing Editor, that¡¯s not what you said earlier!¡± The managing editor smiled at her fawnly, and then looked at Fan Jie. ¡°Mr Fan, as you can see, there is some misunderstanding here. Please give us five minutes. Could you wait in the conference room for a moment?¡± Fan Jie stood there and stared at Qiao Lian. Only after she nodded, did he say while sulking, ¡°Okay then.¡± Afterwards, he headed first to the conference room followed by his manager and bodyguards. After the conference room¡¯s door was shut, Liu Zhixing rushed to Qiao Lian. ¡°Look, Qiao Lian, this is all a misunderstanding! So it was you who settled Fan Jie¡¯s exclusive interview! Look at you, why didn¡¯t you say so?¡± Qiao Lian scoffed, ¡°Will saying it make any difference? Managing Editor, I just got sacked by the news agency!¡± The managing editor shook his head frantically. ¡°No, no!¡± Qiao Lian cocked her head. ¡°You were right. I have made the huge mistake of making Mo Ru wait for me for an hour!¡± How much was Mo Ru even worth? She was just a small B-rate celebrity at best. She was not even Fan Jie¡¯s match. Liu Zhixing snapped immediately. ¡°Su Meimei, you have really gone overboard! I have known for a long time ago that you are jealous of the fact that Qiao Lian is more capable than you. But, you shouldn¡¯t have yed such a dirty move. You had clearly arranged an interview with Mo Ru at 10 a.m., how could have you told Qiao Lian that it was at 11 a.m.?¡± Su Meimei was scolded senseless, as she widened her eyes and stared at Liu Zhixing. They had slept in the same bed yesterday night. Never in her dreams would she have thought that Liu Zhixing would just snap at her today. Furthermore, it seemed like he was nning to push all the me to her? Hadn¡¯t it been him who had taught her how to y dirty? As she watched Su Meimei¡¯s eyes fill with tears, Qiao Lian did not feel a tinge of sympathy for her. She hadn¡¯t felt any sense of sympathy for her when she had so arrogantly ordered her to kneel down and beg just now, had she? She looked down. ¡°Managing Editor, so how are you nning to punish her?¡± Liu Zhixing asked immediately, ¡°What do you intend to do?¡± Chapter 200 - How Embarrassing! I Want Qiao Lian to Interview Me! (10)

Chapter 200: How Embarrassing! I Want Qiao Lian to Interview Me! (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Su Meimei looked at Liu Zhixing in bewilderment. What he had said meant that he was going to leave her in Qiao Lian¡¯s hands. He did not even have any intention of protecting her! Biting her lips, she clenched her fists. Qiao Lian looked down. She had been working in this news agency for nine months, and she did not like it here. If she could, she would leave too. But now, she could not give up yet. For the sake of Dad and Mom, she had to pull through. Now, she would never let go of the opportunity to fight for her own interests. ¡°Su Meimei is my chief editor now¡ª¡± ¡°What chief editor? I have not even submitted the letter of appointment. Qiao Lian, you have worked so hard and achieved so much for the news agency! Team Two¡¯s chief editor¡¯s position definitely belongs to you!¡± Once again, Qiao Lian¡¯s lips curled into a smirk. She had secured the position of Team Two¡¯s chief editor, so Liu Zhixing would have to take into ount her status before bullying her next time. She turned her head and asked, ¡°What about Su Meimei?¡± Liu Zhixing looked at her. ¡°What do you think?¡± Qiao Lian lowered her head. ¡°I need an assistant for Fan Jie¡¯s interview.¡± ¡°Su Meimei can support you!¡± Qiao Lian continued, ¡°We should also find an exnation for Mo Ru¡¯s matter.¡± Liu Zhixing nodded. ¡°Yes, yes, yes. Shoot, how do you want to exin it?¡± Qiao Lian looked at Su Meimei. ¡°Let her go look for Mo Ru and exin thete-arrival incident clearly!¡± Su Meimei body suddenly trembled for a moment. Mo Ru was well-known to have a very bad temper in the industry. If she were to go exin everything clearly, she would surely not be let off easily. She looked at Liu Zhixing, signalling for help. However, she only heard him say without hesitation, ¡°No problem!¡± Qiao Lian sneered and stared at Su Meimei. When her face turned pale and as she broke out in cold sweat, she finally said, ¡°That¡¯s all. You go get me a cup of coffee and bring it to the conference room right now.¡± Seeing that proud face of hers, Su Meimei wished she could just rush over and tear off her mask. She clenched her fists. Before she could speak, Liu Zhixing had already walked to her and tugged at her sleeve. ¡°Hurry up, hurry up, go get a cup of coffee!¡± _ Actually, there wasn¡¯t much to do with Fan Jie because whatever requests Qiao Lian made, he would ept them all. As a result, the work went very smoothly. After the exclusive interview concluded, Qiao Lian took him downstairs. In the lift, there was no one, so Fan Jie finally said, ¡°Woah, Sister-inw. I finally get to call you ¡®sister-inw¡¯. I almost died of suffocation! Calling you Ms Qiao makes me feel like a stranger.¡± Qiao Lian: ... If she remembered correctly, this was only her third time meeting Fan Jie. Wasn¡¯t this guy too casual when getting acquainted with people? The ends of her lips twitched and she said, ¡°Mr Fan¡ª¡± ¡°Look at you, you are too courteous! Sister-inw, just call me Fan Jie.¡± Qiao Lian had no choice but to change the way of addressing him. ¡°Fan Jie.¡± ¡°This definitely feels morefortable. Sister-inw, I really did not know that I had created a misunderstanding in your news agency! However, you could say I helped you indirectly, right? So, Sister-inw, can you not tell Brother Shen about what happened at the news agency?¡± Darn it! His muddleheadedness had actually caused trouble for sister-inw. If Brother Shen found out about this, he would not let him off. He said immediately, ¡°Look,st time, because I noticed you weren¡¯t in a good mood, I told Brother Shen. Hehe. How did Brother Shenfort you?¡± When Qiao Lian heard this, her eyes widened suddenly. Shen Liangchuan had said that he had happened to pass by that day. She had already felt that something was off at that time. Wasn¡¯t that too much of a coincidence? So it had been Fan Jie who had called him, which is the reason he had gone looking for her? Chapter 201 - Shen Liangchuan, Do You Like Me? (1)

Chapter 201: Shen Liangchuan, Do You Like Me? (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios All Qiao Lian could think about was if Shen Liangchuan¡¯s gesture of specially looking for her tofort her meant that he liked her? As a result, she did no longer process any of Fan Jie¡¯s incessant talking. She finally sent Fan Jie off after much effort. On the way back to the news agency, her heartbeat started racing quickly and her cheeks burnt uncontrobly whenever she thought of Shen Liangchuan. She could not help but lower her head. After thinking for a moment, she picked up her phone and sent a WeChat message to Shen Liangchuan. [What time do you get off work tonight?] She sent the message and proceeded into the news agency. The moment she stepped in, she was faced with Su Meimei. As if she was looking at an enemy, she red at Qiao Lian with red eyes. That look made Qiao Lian wonder if she had done something that despicable. She was walking past Su Meimei calmly when she heard her say, ¡°Qiao Lian, don¡¯t get too excited. So what if you have the upper hand now? You seduced Fan Jie with some cajoleries, but all you get in return is just a piece of news! If you were actually capable, you would have been able to fire me like I fired you!¡± Stopping in her tracks, she turned around and looked at her. She had not voiced out this request to Liu Zhixing then because the managing editor and Liu Zhixing were still in the news agency. Hence, it was true that she could not fire Su Meimei. However, as she listened to her, she could not stifle her smile. ¡°Actually, it¡¯s better that you stayed.¡± Su Meimei flinched. Qiao Lian exined, ¡°If you stay, you will be able to see clearly that you are merely a toy that can be discarded any time in Liu Zhixing¡¯s eyes.¡± ¡°You¡ª!¡± Stepping forward, she stretched out her arm to hit her. However, she was stopped as Qiao Lian instantly grabbed her wrist. Looking at the woman who was on the brink of losing it, Qiao Lian scoffed, ¡°Su Meimei, tell me, if just now I had strongly requested Liu Zhixing to fire you and if he hadn¡¯t done so, he would have lost me and Fan Jie¡¯s exclusive interview. What do you think he would have done?¡± What would have he done? Su Meimei froze. Initially, she had been certain that Liu Zhixing wouldn¡¯t have let her suffer. But after what had happened today, she suddenly felt that Liu Zhixing might actually fire her without any hesitation. Qiao Lian caught the uncertainty in her eyes and sneered, ¡°Su Meimei, as your chief editor, I order you to go apologize to Mo Ru right now!¡± Right after that, she pushed away the dazed person and walked into her office. Once she was sitting at her desk, she picked up her phone and realized that Shen Liangchuan had replied to her message: [Why?] Qiao Lian stared at the screen nervously. During this period of time, she had been getting along very well with Shen Liangchuan. Shen Liangchuan did have feelings for her. So if she confessed, would Shen Liangchuan try to ept her? She was the kind of person who took action. After some thought, she began typing again. However, she deleted what she had typed again. She kept typing and deleting over and over. She only managed to finish crafting one message five minutester: [Why are you being so nice to me?] Then, she pressed ¡®send¡¯ nervously. Not long after the message was sent, she received a reply from him: [You are my wife.] She felt so happy that she could fly. Did these words mean that he had acknowledged her presence? Just when she was bathing in excitement, Xiao Ye walked in while holding a document. ¡°Ms Qiao, the results for the health checkup that thepany held a few days ago came out. This is yours.¡± Qiao Lian took the health checkup report and opened it right away. Her gaze was fixated on a line under the blood examination: Progesterone and estrogen levels are rather high. Re-examination is rmended. Chapter 202 - Shen Liangchuan, Do You Like Me? (2)

Chapter 202: Shen Liangchuan, Do You Like Me? (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Progesterone and estrogen levels were rather high? What did that even mean? As she stared at those few words, Qiao Lian¡¯s brows furrowed slightly. She was reminded of Xia Yehua¡¯s expectations for her pregnancy. Hence, she went on the inte and opened up Baidu. Just when she was going to type in the search bar, an annoying voice resounded. ¡°Xiao Lian, what are you doing?¡± Qiao Lian lifted her head, only to see Managing Editor Liu Zhixing walk in while smiling from ear to ear. She immediately closed the tab. ¡°Managing Editor, do you have anything for me?¡± ¡°No, no. Didn¡¯t you just interview Fan Jie? I just wanted to ask: when can you hand in the interview draft?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes narrowed instantly. She remembered how this person had not handed in the letter of appointment to the headquarters even after a few days Su Meimei had be chief editor, so she got on guard. It was not that she cared about the position of Team Two¡¯s chief editor, but considering her circumstances, this could allow her to go through the next three months more safely and smoothly. Lowering her eyes, she said with a forced smile, ¡°Managing Editor, I will sort out the draft. Time isn¡¯t an issue. But, under what position should I sign the interview draft?¡± The managing editor choked. ¡°As a chief editor, of course.¡± Not uttering anything, Qiao Lian stared at him and smiled. In an instance, the managing editor cleared his throat and said, ¡°Okay, I will hand in the letter of appointment to the headquarters immediately. Instructions from the headquarters should be passed down very soon.¡± Qiao Lian looked at him smilingly. ¡°If that is so, the interview draft will get done very soon too.¡± Seeing that she did not let herself get fooled, a tinge of gloominess appeared in Liu Zhixing¡¯s gaze. However, he still put on a smile and said, ¡°Okay.¡± When Liu Zhixing left, Xiao Ye stuck out her tongue at his back and then suddenly said under her breath, ¡°Su Meimei lost so much face. If I had been her, I would have resigned already! Did you know that just now when you sent Fan Jie downstairs, I saw Su Meimei furiously barge into the managing editor¡¯s office with my own eyes. Later on, Su Meimei actually decided to hold everything in after some magicalforting by the managing editor? This is definitely not her usual style.¡± Qiao Lian was not interested in such gossips. Shaking her head, she opened up Baidu, typed in the keywords and went on to search. Higher progesterone and estrogen levels are generally symptoms of uterine deficiency. Uterine deficiency... Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes narrowed and her chest tightened. Biting her lips, she stared at the words on the screen. If she had a uterine deficiency, did that mean that she would have difficulties getting pregnant? Her heart sank instantly. Her brows furrowed tightly. As she picked up the health checkup report, her gaze fell on the line above that segment. She stood up immediately, after seeing that a rmended re-examination was written on it. After notifying the managing editor, she took the health checkup report, hailed a cab and headed to the hospital straight away. She did not know whether it was easy or difficult for others to get pregnant. However, she remembered her mom had said that the fertility of a woman was hereditary. Her mom had been fertile, so she should have inherited that trait too. Qiao Lian had not suspected at all that there were problems with her body. If she really had difficulties getting pregnant, how depressed would Aunt Xia and Shen Liangchuan be? She reached the hospital, registered and waited for her turn. While she was waiting, there seemed to be a huge rock pressing her chest. Finally, it was her turn. She walked into the doctor¡¯s office and handed the health checkup report to the doctor. After looking at it, the doctor frowned. ¡°Youngdy, these numbers are way off the charts. Listen to my advice and stop taking birth-control pills!¡± Chapter 203 - Shen Liangchuan, Do You Like Me? (3)

Chapter 203: Shen Liangchuan, Do You Like Me? (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After listening to his words, she could not help butugh. ¡°Doctor, I¡¯m not taking any birth-control pills. Can you check and see what is going on?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t take birth-control pills? If that is so, the numbers shouldn¡¯t be that high. Nowadays, there are so many types of contraceptives avable. If you don¡¯t want to use a condom, you can undergo ligation or insert an IUD. All these are better than ruining your own body. You are still so young. Listen to me, fortunately you discovered this early. If you were to continue taking the pills, you may face fertility issues in the future!¡± Qiao Lian panicked. ¡°I am really not taking any birth-control pills! My husband and I are trying to get a baby. Doctor, please help me check and tell me what¡¯s going on?¡± When the doctor heard her words, he frowned in confusion. ¡°I will file for a check up. You can take another blood test.¡± Holding the report, Qiao Lian walked out of the office. The doctor¡¯s words were ringing in her ears. The hormonal imbnce in her body had surely been caused by medication. However, she was certain that she had not consume any medicine this month. If she did... She suddenly thought of the the milk she drank every morning, which had an odd taste. She had drank it without any suspicions because Auntie Li had said that it had fertility medicine in it. She had believed that the Shen Family was an aristocratic family with a long heritage, so they must have had their own home remedy. But now... She did not take the blood test. Instead, she quickly left the hospital, hailed a cab and rushed to the vi. She wanted to check the fertility medicine with a professional. Aunt Xia had such a strong desire for a child and Shen Liangchuan was working so hard. If all these things were to get ruined because of that bottle of medicine, everything would be meaningless! The cab stopped outside the vi. After taking out the keys, she opened the side gate and entered. She was nning on taking a pill and testing it sneakily. If the pills really had problems, she could just stop taking them from now on. There was no need to let Shen Liangchuan know that he had overreached himself and make him feel guilty about it. However, just as she entered speedily, she discovered that there was one more car parked in the yard. It was the car that Shen Liangchuan had driven to work this morning. Did that mean that Shen Liangchuan¡¯s back? She was slightly caught off guard. Without much thought, she walked towards the living room. She opened the living room door and changed her shoes. She was going to go to the kitchen to search when she suddenly heard a conversationing from the balcony. This balcony of the vi was facing the back of the garden, so the people on the balcony had not seen her enter the vi from the front door. At this moment, Shen Liangchuan was reading his script on the balcony¡¯s chair. Auntie Li, who was standing in front of him, was asking for instructions and saying something. When Qiao Lian walked over, she happened to hear Auntie Li say, ¡°Sir, are you going to let Madam continue taking that medicine?¡± Medicine? They were referring to the medicine in the milk, right? Qiao Lian didn¡¯t really know why she did, but she stopped in her tracks. Shen Liangchuan said after a moment of silence, ¡°Yes.¡± Auntie Li sighed. ¡°Sir, why must you? Since you married Madam, why don¡¯t you want Madam to get pregnant?¡± Why didn¡¯t he want Madam to get pregnant? Those words hit her like a bolt from the blue. The medicine was not to help with fertility? Why was Auntie Li asking those questions? Her eyes widened in astonishment. She could feel that her mind had gone nk in an instant. At this moment, she looked ahead in terror and even her breath slowed down. Then, she heard Shen Liangchuan say, ¡°This is not something you should worry about.¡± Auntie Li heaved a deep sigh. ¡°Sir, I watched you grow up... You still cannot let go of your first love, so you married Madam to reassure your mother?¡± Chapter 204 - Shen Liangchuan, Do You Like Me? (4)

Chapter 204: Shen Liangchuan, Do You Like Me? (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She heard every single line of the conversation on the balcony, causing chills to run down her spine as if she was suddenly in the freezing North Pole. It wasn¡¯t just that. Auntie Li¡¯s words were like a ssh of cold water, which had extinguished the burning fire in her heart today. When Shen Liangchuan had married her, they had agreed that it was in order for her bear his child... However, every time after he slept with her, he would make her takerge amounts of birth-control pills without her knowing. The doctor¡¯s words resounded in her ears. ¡°If you were to continue taking the pills, you may face fertility issues in the future...¡± Exactly how big was the portion of medicine that he gave her?! He had probably given her so many birth-control pills to fully ensure that she wouldn¡¯t get pregnant. He had married her because of Xia Yehua¡¯s urging. He just wanted to make Xia Yehue shut up. He cared about Xia Yehua¡¯s feelings and he was still thinking of his first love... but had he ever considered how she felt? No. If he had ever cared for her in the slightest way, he would have not given her such big portions of birth-control pills, which caused side-effects on her body. At that moment, his indifference, disdain, even his fits of rage and punishments when they had just gotten married, seemed to be ounted for. What he felt for her was contempt and distaste. She was nothing but a tool and a woman who would sacrifice her body for money to him. Hence, he felt like he had right to use her? This fact only made her feel like her whole world had been shaken and it was on the brink of copsing! Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, she tightly clenched her fist and harshly bit her lips. Only then did she manage to suppress the rage and fury in her heart. Then, she suddenly turned and left. Bang! The moment to metal gate of the vi closed shut, she was standing outside the door and aimlessly looking ahead. Not sure whether it was the cold or something else, but her body could not help but subtly tremble. The wind blew. She felt that the cold that was nibbling away at her bones, like it was going to freeze herpletely. However, now was still not the time to rx. She straightened up and walked forward step by step. When the statistics on the health checkup report hade out, the thought of whether her body actually had problems had crossed her mind. Even when the doctor had told her it was due to birth-control pills, she had only believed that Shen Liangchuan could have been conned. So many possibilities popped up in her head, but never in her wildest dreams would she have thought that the truth could turn out to be so devastating. Yes, devastating. Her heart felt like it was dying of a thousand cuts from invisible shards of ss. Inch by inch, it was being cut into pieces. It felt so painful that she stretched out her hand to tightly press her chest, where her heart was. A can stopped in front of her. She opened the car door and sat on the back seat. The driver asked, ¡°Miss, where are you going?¡± Qiao Lian replied calmly, ¡°Just drive and leave this ce first.¡± No matter where she was going, she wanted to escape this scary ce first. As the car started to move, she left behind Shen Liangchuan¡¯s vi. From the rear view mirror, she saw the vi be smaller and smaller. When the car finally turned a corner, her vision also blurred in an instant. Huge drops of tears flowed down her cheeks. Suddenly, she could not help but cover her face, lower her head and bawl. The sound of her sobs was sorrowful. It even made the driver feel sorry for her. ¡°Miss, what happened? Why are you crying?¡± Why was she crying? She was crying for her youth, for the past eight years. Chapter 205 - Shen Liangchuan, Do You Like Me? (5)

Chapter 205: Shen Liangchuan, Do You Like Me? (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Qiao Lian stopped crying, the car had already driven to the downtown area. She randomly chose a busy shopping mall and got off. With red and swollen eyes, she walked along the streets aimlessly. It was winter, so the sun set much earlier. The sky already got dark at 5 p.m. The street lights were turned on. Under the waning light, there were people everywhere. Even though she was walking through the crowd, the feeling of loneliness was stronger than ever. Her mind was clouded from all the crying, but she knew for sure that what had happened just now was not a dream. During this period time of time, her rtionship with Shen Liangchuan had gotten better. One could even say that she had clearly felt that Shen Liangchuan also had feelings for her. However, if she had not seen and heard everything herself, she would have never believed that this was real. Qiao Lian took a deep breath. She suddenly felt like she was very pitiful. Happiness had been clearly right before her eyes and within her reach. However, when she had reached to grab it, she had realized that it was just a beautiful bubble made out of her imagination. This time it was like this. It had also been like this eight years ago. She really was an unlucky person. Then, her cell phone rang. Emotionless, she picked up the phone and epted the call. Xiao Ye¡¯s excited voice could be heard from the other end, ¡°New gossip! Ms Qiao, guess what happened when Su Meimei met Mo Ru?¡± Qiao Lian asked without much thought, ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Ha, don¡¯t you know Mo Ru¡¯s temper? When you weretest time, she poured coffee all over you. From what I heard this time, when she knew that it had all been Su Meimei¡¯s deliberate n, she was so angry that she gave her a sharp p immediately. She even asked her forpensation with the voice recording of Su Meimei¡¯s confession! She didn¡¯t let off the news agency. Su Meimei could not stop crying. In the end, Liu Zhixing took out some money to appease Mo Ru! Ms Qiao, aren¡¯t you thrilled?¡± Qiao Lian was not even listening closely to what she was saying. She went along and said, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Su Meimei was so against Liu Zhixing at first. But now, she has be so sincere after Liu Zhixing helped her with thepensation! You don¡¯t know how her face of gratitude looked like just now... Actually the managing editor isn¡¯tpletely useless, is he? Ms Qiao, Ms Qiao?¡± Qiao Lian replied with a ¡®ya¡¯ before adding, ¡°Xiao Ye, if there¡¯s nothing else, I will hang up first.¡± Right after she ended the call, her cell phone vibrated. She looked down and realized Shen Liangchuan had sent a WeChat message: [Shen Liangchuan: Have you finished working?] Staring at the WeChat message, Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes got red and her nose tingled. She stood where she was at without moving, as she stared at her cell phone for a long time. Two minutester, there was another message from him: [Shen Liangchuan: I¡¯m downstairs. I just finished handling some matters over here, so I can pass by and fetch you home. I¡¯ll wait for you.] Handling some matters over here? He had been at the vi just an hour ago. Before she might have one-sidedly thought that it was because he wanted to pick her up, to spend more time with her, but now... Qiao Lian smiled bitterly. Was it because he wanted to make it up to her for feeding her birth-control pills? Or was it because he felt guilty that she had saved Song Yuanxi that one time? These two thoughts made her feel humiliated and extremely pathetic. Since when was she, Qiao Lian, reduced to having to be pitied by others? She held onto her phone so tightly that veins popped out on her fingers. She did not want to see him. Hence, she ignored these messages and continued walking along the streets alone. She was lost and did not know where to go. All she knew was that she did not want to return to that small rented ce of hers because it felt too lonely. Chapter 206 - Shen Liangchuan, Do You Like Me? (6)

Chapter 206: Shen Liangchuan, Do You Like Me? (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian wandered around the shopping malls for a while until her cell phone rang again. Looking down, she nced at the phone and realized it was Shen Liangchuan. She hesitated for a while before picking up the call. However, the moment the call was connected, she was suddenly at a loss of what to say. After approximately two seconds of silence, he asked, ¡°Where are you?¡± At that moment, his deep and pleasing voice resounded in her ears. However, she could sense a tinge of tant coldness in it over the phone. This feeling was not only unfamiliar, it was also miserable. She remained silent as her lips curled up. Shen Liangchuan continued, ¡°Are you out?¡± Only then did Qiao Lian reply with a sound affirmingly. He finally detected that something was odd due to her silence. Hence, his tone became more gentle. ¡°I¡¯ll go pick you up.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Qiao Lian said momentster, ¡°I don¡¯t feel like going home tonight.¡± As soon as the words left her mouth, she was quite taken aback. Since when did she regard that vi as ¡°home¡±...? What was even more ridiculous was that she had beenpletely unprotected against him and she had gotten fooled ruthlessly by him in the end. That thoughtpelled her to cover her mouth and clench her jaws tightly. Like a hedgehog sticking up its spines over its body, she took a distant and guarded stance, using coldness as a shield to protect herself. Her tone was so cold that it silenced him again. Nearly 10 secondster, he replied indifferently with a sound of affirmation. His familiar voice and that same old attitude of detachedness pained her heart fiercely. As if her lungs had been sucked out of air, a sense of painful suffocation spread in her heart. While she was still in a trance, he immediately hung up. Qiao Lian looked down and stared at her cell phone. Atst, she tossed it into her bag. Taking a deep breath, she tried her best to suppress the resentment in her heart. Then she lifted her head, scanned her surroundings and fixed her gaze on a m hotpot ce. She walked in straight away and found a seat at the corner. She ordered a huge portion for herself and said, ¡°I would like the Extreme Spicy level, thank you.¡± The service staff immediately said, ¡°Miss, our store¡¯s Extreme Spicy level is very intense. Are you sure you want Extreme Spicy level?¡± Qiao Lian nodded. About 10 minutester, a serving of m hotpot of Extreme Spicy level arrived. Qiao Lian picked up her chopsticks, took a piece of potato and put it in her mouth without any rice. The spicy hot vor assaulted her taste buds instantly. Soon, tears and snot were flowing down. She wiped them with tissue and continued eating. As she ate, tears flowed down. After finally eating until full, she suddenly felt a sense of relief in her body. She stood up and rubbed her nose, which was already red. As the service staff stared at her in astonishment, sheplimented the dish in a hoarse voice, ¡°Very delicious.¡± Her tongue had already lost all its feeling and her lips and eyes were red. Only after she left did the service staff approach the table and find that everything in the bowl¡ªincluding the chilli peppers¡ªhad been wiped clean. Qiao Lian continued wandering around. She only left at 10p.m., when the mall was closing. The harsh cold wind blew under the dark sky. Standing at the side of the road, she hugged her shoulders and hailed a cab in the end. The cab stopped at the entrance of her rented apartment. After paying the driver, she walked inside. Following the dpidated stairs, she climbed up to the fourth floor. She took out her keys, meaning to open the door. However, she froze when she saw a man with a towering stature at the door. Chapter 207 - Shen Liangchuan, Do You Like Me? (7)

Chapter 207: Shen Liangchuan, Do You Like Me? (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The residential building was so old, even the color of the cement stairs was exposed. Small pieces of advertisements covered the entire wall, making it pitch-dark. Not only that, a rotten smell wafted in the air. The old-fashioned incandescent light bulb gave out a dull yellow light from the roof. The narrow corridor looked even more cramped now because of his tall stature. Dressed impably in a suit and shiny leather shoes, Shen Liangchuan stood ever so lightheartedly. With one hand in his pocket and the other holding his cell phone, he seemed to be looking at something. The dpidated surroundings made him look rather out of ce, but also entuated his exquisite cheeks and handsome features. Shen Liangchuan slowly looked up upon hearing her footsteps. A glint of gloominess shed across his dark eyes when he saw Qiao Lian. He ced the phone in his pocket without any words and stared at her. As their eyes met, Qiao Lian¡¯s heart ached again in the tranquil surroundings. Looking him in the eye, she wished to figure out what was going through his brain. However, she realized that his gaze was too profound; so profound that it was such a joke to have thought that she knew him. Throughout their month of marriage, she had been trying very hard to understand him and amodate. Even during the times when he had thrown tantrums out of nowhere, she had simply pushed through with gritted teeth. But now, she suddenly felt very defeated and had lost all interest in figuring out his mind. Forcing herself to direct her vision elsewhere, her eyesnded on the keys in her hand. She then walked up and went around him to open the door. The gate opened and she walked in. He followed her consciously and entered the ce with her. Qiao Lian switched on the lights near the room¡¯s door, not minding him. When she turned around, she saw him analyzing the room with a frown on his face. He was obviously not pleased. Of course... He was Best Actor Shen, the cream of the crop and a highly-regarded famous celebrity. Meanwhile, she was a small, insignificant person, who lived in a cheaply rented room and was financially unstable. How pathetic of her to believe that he had feelings for her, and to dream of bing Cindere! She smiled bitterly and suppressed the surge of agony once again. She heard him say, ¡°Did something happen at work again?¡± She was stunned for a moment and only recovered after a while. He thought she was unhappy because of work? Subconsciously, her grip tightened. Instead of exining, she looked at him and changed the subject. ¡°How did you find this ce?¡± ¡°I have your personal information.¡± It suddenly dawned on Qiao Lian. When she signed the contract, she had filled in an extremely detailed document with her personal information and it seemed like she had written her address. ¡°Come back with me.¡± Standing at the entrance, Shen Liangchuan finally said in an authoritative tone after ncing at his watch impatiently. Qiao Lian stopped walking. Seeing that he had no intention to take another step into the room after she turned back, she looked down and agreed nonchntly. There was a sh of shock on Shen Liangchuan¡¯s face, as she was being rather cooperative. After Shen Liangchuan finished putting on his sunsses and mask, they headed downstairs and got into the car. On the way home, Qiao Lian rested her head on the back seat and closed her eyes to pretend to sleep. She really did not wish to say a word to him. However, even though there was no conversation between them, she could feel a subtle gaze fixed on her. The car stopped as they arrived at the vi. She opened her eyes and got off the car. Then she proceeded upstairs. Soon after she stepped into the master bedroom, she heard footsteps behind her, but she did not pay any more attention to it. Just when she was about to step forward, a pair of arms wrapped tightly around her waist. A familiar sense of masculinity surrounded her all of a sudden! Chapter 208 - Shen Liangchuan, Do You Like Me? (8)

Chapter 208: Shen Liangchuan, Do You Like Me? (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios On her waist were his big and warm hands, on her back was his broad chest and on her neck she could feel his wisps of breath, which tingled her. Qiao Lian¡¯s body stiffened as she suddenly felt a surge of defiance. She resisted subconsciously, trying to break free from his pull. However, she felt that the big hands wrapped around her waist would be stronger with each of her slight movements. She didn¡¯t dare to resist anymore, but she didn¡¯t want to continue being held like this. After some thought, she said calmly and emotionlessly, ¡°Mr Shen, I¡¯m not on my ovting period today.¡± Addressing him as Mr Shen was distant and cold. It made Shen Liangchuan frown, but the words that followed made him narrow his eyes. So was Qiao Lian rejecting him now? He paused for a moment and said, ¡°There are three more days until your ovting period.¡± ¡°So?¡± ¡°I heard that sperms can survive in the female body for three days. So we can start now.¡± Qiao Lian clenched her fists instantly. He was still in love with his First Love, wasn¡¯t he? Why was he still doing this with her? Moreover, he kept on repeating that it was for the sake of making her pregnant and what not, but these words were like spreading salt on her wound, only making her heart ache terribly. The pangs of heartache hit her and made her say without any hesitation, ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡± As soon as these words escaped her mouth, the atmosphere in the room dropped in the blink of an eye. She could sense the man¡¯s displeasure behind her even without looking back. After pushing him away in one go, Qiao Lian made her way directly to the bed without changing her clothes, and covered her head with the nket. Shen Liangchuan stared at the person on the bed, not knowing whether tough or cry. He had suddenly hugged her because he had wanted to relief some of her sadness. However, she had rejected him. In that case, shouldn¡¯t he be the unhappy one? Someone who didn¡¯t know might think he bullied her, if they saw her hiding herself under the nket. Frowning, he stared at the nket, which was moving constantly. Atst, he said helplessly, ¡°I¡¯m taking a shower.¡± Take a shower... And then? Since when did he care about her feelings? Oh, no. Last month, there had been a few instances where he had been gentle to her when they were doing it because he was in a good mood. However, if she happened to provoke him, he would make her feel that doing it was a form of punishment. So, Qiao Lian, do you have the right to reject him? Just when her thoughts were running wild, she stopped hearing the water running in the bathroom. Then she saw him walk out, wrapped in a towel only. After washing up, he got onto the bed. The lights in the room were switched off. As both of themy in bed, they could hear each other¡¯s distinct yet shallow breaths. Theyy quietly. After a while, Shen Liangchuan reached out his hands to test the situation. He held her waist and realized that Qiao Lian wasn¡¯t resisting. Then he took a step further and realized that she was still not moving. He could not see her expression in the dark, so he thought she was willing to do it. He then turned and pressed his body against hers. Momentster, pieces of clothing flew out from under the nket. Afterwards, intimate sounds resounded in the room. He couldn¡¯t see that her expression was emotionless... When Qiao Lian woke up the following day, it was already 8 a.m. As she stared at the room nkly, she could feel the sore and painful change in her body and it dawned on her what had happened yesterday. After washing up, she went downstairs, only to see the caretaker walk over with the ss of milk in her hands. ¡°Madam, please drink the milk.¡± However, Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes fell on Shen Liangchuan, who was eating. She clenched her fists and asked suddenly, ¡°Can I not drink it?¡± Chapter 209 - Shen Liangchuan, Do You Like Me? (9)

Chapter 209: Shen Liangchuan, Do You Like Me? (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Auntie Li was put in a rather difficult spot after she said that. Her gaze followed Qiao Lian¡¯s and fell on the man in the dining room. Shen Liangchuan was elegantly eating his breakfast at the table. When he heard Qiao Lian¡¯s question, he turned his head. His gaze remained imprable, but his brows were slightly raised. That look caused Qiao Lian¡¯s heart to sink. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, but he still said, ¡°No.¡± No... Qiao Lian¡¯s heart sank to a bottomless pit all of a sudden along with those words. Her gaze turned dull as she looked down. She found herself really ridiculous. After hearing their conversation yesterday, she had actually still held onto some hope¡ªhope of this man having some feelings for her, at least at that moment. However, reality gave her a sharp p. She loosened and clenched her fists, loosened and clenched them again. Atst, her dark eyes narrowed as she turned to look at the ss of milk in the caretaker¡¯s hands. A gloomy glint shed across her eyes. Without uttering anything else, she picked up the ss of milk and downed it, as though she was taking an alcohol shot. After she finished drinking the milk, she said, ¡°I¡¯m full. I¡¯ll go upstairs to get ready for work.¡± Downstairs, the caretaker made sure to see that Qiao Lian had entered the bedroom before looking at the milk and heaving a deep sigh. ¡°Sir, although this medicine has almost no side-effects on the body, it would still not be good if Madam found out in the future.¡± Mr. Shen had specially chosen and acquired the birth control pills he put in the milk. They were traditional chinese medicine (TCM), frequently used among several high-ranking officials and noble families in the ancient times. After generations of research by TCM practitioners, it was found that they had almost no side-effects on the body. Of course, the efficacy of the medicine was weak, so its probability of preventing pregnancy was only 70%. However, the western birth control pills harmed the body if consumed frequently. Hence, he couldn¡¯t bear let Qiao Lian eat it. As she thought of this, Auntie Li felt that though Mr Shen looked cold and did not seem to have a good rtionship with Ms Qiao, he actually... cared deeply for her! However, after Auntie Li finished speaking, Shen Liangchuan showed no reaction. Hence, after one line of nagging, she did not dare to continue and could only sigh to herself. Then, she went to the kitchen with the ss to wash it. _ After Qiao Lian went upstairs, she rushed to the washroom immediately. Pushing her fingers down her throat, she puked out all the milk she had drank just now. She flushed the toilet and rinsed her mouth. Raising her head, she stared at her ash-white face in the mirror, caused by the puking. The doctor had mentioned yesterday that if she continued to take medicine with such strong effects, it could make her infertile for the rest of her life. Thus, she wasn¡¯t going to consume them foolishly. If no one in this world would treat her well, she had to learn to treat herself well! Things had already developed to state that was beyond her control. However, she could not allow this to go on. She had to think of something... to solve the difficulties now! She took in a deep breath and tapped her face. Then, she put up a rxed facade and opened the door to go downstairs. After changing her shoes, she walked out, where she found Shen Liangchuan in the car. He said through the window, ¡°Get in the car.¡± Qiao Lian did not reject him and settled into the passenger seat. The car moved slowly. An hourter, they arrived at the front of her office. Just when she was about to get off the car, she heard him say, ¡°I¡¯lle fetch you when you get off work.¡± His words made her pause. Qiao Lian turned and suddenly asked, ¡°Mr Shen, why are you being so nice to me?¡± Then she broke into a smile all of a sudden without waiting for his answer and said, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, do you like me?¡± Chapter 210 - Shen Liangchuan, Do You Like Me? (10)

Chapter 210: Shen Liangchuan, Do You Like Me? (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After asking the question, Qiao Lian stared directly at him, as though she wanted to prate that profound gaze of his and delve into his inner world. However the next moment, his eyes seemed to be covered by ayer of fog, not letting anyone see through him. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s feelings were extremelyplicated. Had he fallen in love with her? She had asked him the same question eight years ago. They had been gaming together for half a year. They would tease each other, often chat andplete tasks with the team. As a result, they were getting closer to each other. One day when they were in a voice call with their team, she asked him something. In the presence of so many people, she had questioned, ¡°Zi Chuan, why do you always protect me whenever we game?¡± As soon these words escaped her mouth, she continued bombarding him, ¡°Is it because you like me?¡± That narcissistic andcent tone sounded a little annoying. As an ace of the game, many youngdies were pestering him to guide them in the game. Even in the team itself, there were a few youngdies chasing him. However, she had been the first person to speak like this to him. He was drinking water at that moment. Thus when he heard her, he suddenly choked on his water. His coughs echoed in the team voice call and broke the pin-drop silence caused by the bomb she had dropped. After this, theirughters resounded. Looking at hisputer, Shen Liangchuan was at aplete loss of what to say. Even though he had not seen her before, an image surfaced before him. He imagined the game¡¯s Xiao Qiao standing right in front of him with confidence and imperiousness, just like a princess. After he felt that the itchiness in his throat had finally subsided, he called her. Just when he was about to tease her back, she spoke again. She said, ¡°Zi Chuan, I like you.¡± _ ¡°Shen Liangchuan, I like you.¡± These words coincided with the voice in his memory. He was incapable to differentiate between reality and memory for a moment. He stared at her deep gaze, at that cheerful and beautiful girl before him, before processing what she had just said. In a trance, he did not detect that her tone when she spoke was totally different from eight years ago. Eight years ago, she had confessed proudly and confidently. But now... Qiao Lian hadn¡¯t even realized herself that there was a tinge of self-mockery and bitterness in her voice. She liked him... She had told herself clearly that she was only acting and that their marriage was nothing more than a contract. However, when she confessed, she realized that she had already fallen for him subconsciously. Before interacting with him, Shen Liangchuan had just been an idol who meant something special to her. She looked up to him, admired and adored him, and was crazy for him. But she had never experienced pure fondness towards him. When had it be like this? Whenever she saw him, her heart would beat faster, her face would blush and she would look forward to listening to his voice. She had let her imagination run wild whenever he treated her better. However, reality had given her a tight p across her face. Her fondness seemed ever so ridiculous and weak in front of the birth control pills in the milk. As her eyes welled up, she suddenly pushed open the car door, jumped out of the car and rushed into the news agency. Left alone in the car, Shen Liangchuan stared nkly at her back. Was she... embarrassed? Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression instantly became gentle. He picked up his phone and typed in two words: [Me too] Chapter 211 - We Will Eventually Be Separated (1)

Chapter 211: We Will Eventually Be Separated (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After he typed the two words, he ced his fingers on the send button. But at thest second, he stopped. He stared at the two words¡ªwhich read ¡°me too¡±¡ªfor some time and his ears started to turn red. He coughed once and deleted them. He retyped the message and sent it to her. He only drove away with a smile after sending her the message. _ Qiao Lian stood by the ss window in her office and watched the car drive away with reddened eyes. Only after the car disappeared from her sight, did she take a deep breathe and lowered her head. Picking up her phone, she saw the message he had just sent: [I¡¯ll take you home after work.] These six words were filled with such warmth, it made her want to cry. The situation urred once again. He was so nice to her. Wouldn¡¯t it cause her to be mistaken? Or did he just feel indebted to her? She curved her lips in self-mockery and casually threw her phone into her bag. Then, she walked to the lift and went up to her office. Right when she entered her office, she was grabbed by Xiao Ye. She looked at her with confusion and saw that she was staring at the managing editor¡¯s office oddly. Xiao Ye then eximed, ¡°Su Meimei didn¡¯t report to work today. I¡¯ve heard that her face is extremely swollen now!¡± Qiao Lian nodded and Xiao Ye continued, ¡°Also, I don¡¯t know what Su Meimei did but she hadpleted her job properly this time. Mo Ru has agreed to reschedule the interview with our news agency. And the managing editor has announced just now that he¡¯ll hand over this interview to the Team Two.¡± Herst sentence piqued a little of Qiao Lian¡¯s interest. She nodded and replied, ¡°Ok, I will work hard.¡± Xiao Ye nudged her arm and said, ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant. I was trying to say that you should beware of Su Meimei! If she was able to get Mo Ru¡¯s interview, she still poses as a threat. But not anyone is able topete with Fan Jie!¡± After Xiao Ye finished speaking, the managing editor opened his office door. When he saw Qiao Lian after he stepped out of his office, he immediately walked over sheepishly and spoke, ¡°Xiao Qiao, you¡¯re here. So, I helped you appeal for the position of chief editor of Team Two. The appeal has been epted and you¡¯re officially the chief editor of Team Two from today onwards!¡± As he ended his words, ps sounded through the office. Xiao Ye was really excited, as she screamed while grabbing onto Qiao Lian. Qiao Lian gave everyone a smile and followed the managing editor to the office area of Team Two. Liu Zhixing said, ¡°Xiao Qiao, Team Two has officially been formed. You can put up employment adds online now.¡± Qiao Lian was confused. ¡°Can¡¯t I get some people from the Team One?¡± Liu Zhixingughed and replied her question, ¡°Team One refuses to let anyone change. You know that we don¡¯t have much manpower in our news agency.¡± Qiao Lian could only agree to him as she replied, ¡°Ok.¡± ¡°Oh, yes, Meimei isn¡¯t feeling well today, so she requested for a week¡¯s leave and I¡¯ve agreed to it.¡± ¡°... Ok.¡± After Liu Zhixing left, she heard a loud thwack outside the moment she sat down at her desk. It sounded like a document being mmed onto a table. The noise which came after it sounded like an argument. Qiao Lian stood up and walked out. She was met with the sight of Team One¡¯s chief editor, Zhang Chunhua, scolding Xiao Ye. ¡°You still are in the mood tough when you aren¡¯t even able toplete your work well? What are youughing at? It¡¯s her promotion, what does it have to do with you? I think that you just have too much free time. Rewrite all these manuscripts!¡± When Qiao Lian heard this, she narrowed her eyes. She had immediately understood that Zhang Chunhua was venting her anger on Xiao Ye. Chapter 212 - We Will Eventually Be Separated (2)

Chapter 212: We Will Eventually Be Separated (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Just now when Liu Zhixing had announced her as the Team Two¡¯s chief editor, no one had really dared to give a strong reaction. Xiao Ye was the only one who had shown her excitement. And now Zhang Chunhua had started to lecture her, speaking between the lines. She was obviously targeting her. Qiao Lian bit her lips and a strong sense of anger rose from her heart. Xiao Ye lowered her head. Her body was trembling and she looked really pitiful. Zhang Chunhua was still scolding her, ¡°... You always enjoy making a fuss and you ain¡¯t the least sedate! If you have the time to gossip with the rest, why don¡¯t you make good use of it to practice your writing? What kind of article is this? I really doubt whether you have actually graduated from a famous university!¡± Xiao Ye¡¯s eyes turned red after hearing her words. She immediately retorted, ¡°I¡ª¡± ¡°You what? Did I ask you to speak? You don¡¯t even know how to learn from your seniors at such a young age. What can you ever achieve with that impetuous, rash and easily angered character of youra!¡± Xiao Ye immediately shut her mouth as tears soundlessly rolled down her cheeks. Team One¡¯s office was inplete silence. No other colleague dared to speak up for her in such a circumstance. Qiao Lian wanted to rush in to reason with her, but hermon sense stopped her at the door. She knew that any little tinge of concern she showed for Xiao Ye would make her life hard in the Team One in the future. Hence, as she hadn¡¯t been able to transfer Xiao Ye over to her team, she had no option but to bear with it and wait for the right time. She tightened her fists harder but in the end, she lowered her head and returned to her office feeling defeated. She had learnt to give in after having been exposed to life for the past few years. However, she felt as if there was a huge chunk of cotton stuffed in her chest, causing her to be unable to breathe properly. ( Boxno vel. co m ) Just like her issues with Shen Liangchuan... As she recalled it, she lowered her head. Shen Liangchuan didn¡¯t want her to be pregnant and personally, she wasn¡¯t going to be able anytime soon. Even if she was able to, how could she give birth to his child knowing that he didn¡¯t want it and would not care about the child? But how could she leave him if she didn¡¯t give birth to a child? Qiao Lian held her chin and she thought about it for the whole day in the office. At 6 pm, Shen Liangchuan punctually sent her a message. Her gaze sunk when she saw the message. She sat in her seat and tidied up her emotions. She stared at the mirror and smiled sweetly. Then she got off work, acting really happy. When she secretly sneaked into his car, she felt as if she was a thief. When she turned her head, she saw that he was once again wearing a mask and sunsses. She couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Actually, you don¡¯t have toe and pick me up in the future.¡± Shen Liangchuan acknowledged her words with an ¡°oh¡± and continued speaking immediately, ¡°Do you know how to drive?¡± Qiao Lian answered, ¡°... Yes.¡± ¡°Do you have a license?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Sign up for it.¡± Qiao Lian was stupefied. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you don¡¯t need me to drive you?¡± When Qiao Lian heard his words, she was stunned. If she wanted to get her driver¡¯s license, it would take at least two months. However, hearing Shen Liangchuan¡¯s words, it sounded like they would still be together for quite some time. She tightened her fist and lowered her head. She looked sad and lonely. Did he intend to use her to stop Xia Yehua¡¯s nagging and continue making her act with him? Yet, how could she be together with a man that secretly fed her such arge dosage of birth control pills? As she thought about it, she could no longer resist it and spoke, ¡°It¡¯s alright, w- we will eventually split up anyway.¡± Chapter 213 - We Will Eventually Be Separated (3)

Chapter 213: We Will Eventually Be Separated (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Upon hearing this, Shen Liangchuan, who intended to start driving, stopped moving. Separated sooner orter? He looked down to hide the panic her words had suddenly triggered. Then, he furrowed his brows and looked ahead calmly. His face looked cold all of a sudden. In an instant, the entire car got filled with tension. Qiao Lian turned to look at the scenery outside the window, as she did not dare to say anything anymore. After driving up the 3rd Ring Road, the car entered the expressway. A few momentster, she heard Shen Liangchuan say, ¡°You have not even given birth to a child and you are already thinking of leaving?¡± His words caused her to clench her fists tightly. She barely managed to suppress the urge to confront him by saying, ¡°Then why are you giving me birth control pills!¡± This was something that had been hidden deep in her heart for a long time. However, she could not say it... If she said it, they would have apletely acrimonious falling-out. Lowering her head, Qiao Lian took a deep breath to contain the rage in her heart. ( Boxno vel. co m ) On the journey back to the vi with him, she did not say anything else. It could be because of the unhappiness caused by the subject of their conversation before, but both of them remained silent. After entering the vi, she changed her shoes in the living room and went to sit at the dining room area. On the other hand, he headed upstairs immediately. Shen Liangchuan had always been a clean-freak, so he had to be going to the room to take a shower right now. Qiao Lian scanned around living room to make sure none of the servants had noticed her. Thereafter, she tiptoed upstairs very quietly. She opened the master bedroom¡¯s door first and peered inside. After checking that the water was indeed running in the bathroom, she closed the door stealthily and turned to enter the study beside it. The study¡¯s door was not closed. She lightly pushed the door open and entered quickly. The interior of Shen Liangchuan¡¯s study was veryrge. The simple yet refined ck and white furniture manifested the owner¡¯s cold aura. However, she was not in the mood to appreciate all the furniture. Instead, she walked to the office desk, opened the drawer and began searching. She hade to a decision. She wanted to leave him. If she was to initiate the divorce and he agreed to it, that would be a win-win situation. But if he was to disagree, it would instead make him be on his guard and create inadvertent rms. So what she had said in the car just now had actually partially been to probe him. His attitude was enough to exin everything. He would not let her go easily, hence he tried to use the contents of the contract to control her. He had given her two million dors and in return, she would give birth to his child. But if she continued taking the birth control pills, she would not be able to bear a child for the rest of her life! Leaving aside the other matters she had to take care of, the fact that Shen Liangchuan was harassing her so much was enough to make her want to leave. She had to leave! Thus, she had to find that contract and destroy it first. However... it wasn¡¯t in the drawer. Frowning, she looked around. Just then, she saw a painting on the wall and it had obvious traces of it having been moved. She hurriedly walked over and lightly pushed the painting, where she discovered that there actually was a safe behind the painting! Her eyes lit up. It was indeed here! In the past, there had been such a mechanism in her dad¡¯s study. It seemed like every family actually did not differ much. But... what was the password for the safe? Shen Liangchuan¡¯s birthday? She gave it a try, but it did not work. His birth year and month? It still did not work. While she was racking her brains, she suddenly heard footstepsing from the door. Next, before she could do anything, the door flew open. Shen Liangchuan stood there and narrowed his eyes. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Chapter 214 - We Will Eventually Be Separated (4)

Chapter 214: We Will Eventually Be Separated (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As Shen Liangchuan was taking a bath, he suddenly remembered that Song Cheng needed an urgent document from him. As a result, he did not wash himself as detailedly as usual. He quickly rinsed himself and wrapped his body with a bath towel, and then stepped out of the bathroom. He did not think too much at all about pushing the door of the study open. At first nce, he saw that the girl was startled. As she suddenly regained herposure, she stared nkly at him in fright. He narrowed his eyes and asked casually, ¡°What are you doing?¡± While he finished speaking, he took a step and headed into the room. He saw that she had pushed aside the painting, uncovering the safe. He looked at her, puzzled. He could not decipher her intentions at the moment. Qiao Lian bit her lip. Her heart was pounding rapidly. She felt that this was by far the most nerve-wrecking encounter she had had recently! She had entered his study in an attempt to steal something, but was caught red-handed by him. Was there anything that could be more miserable than this? She stretched the corners of her mouth¡ªher facial expression was a little unnatural. Then she worked hard to try to appear to be frank. She conveniently ced the painting back in its original position. Her eyes darted around the room with guilt. She made sure she did not look at him and then said, ¡°I- I am here to ask you to have your dinner, but I did not expect that you wouldn¡¯t be in the study.¡± She turned and looked at the room¡¯s decor. Changing the subject, she said, ¡°Your study room is very well decorated.¡± Pointing at the same painting, she added, ¡°I thought this painting looked a little strange, so I walked over to take a look. I did not expect that there was a safe behind.¡± Shen Liangchuan did notment on her words. He turned around and headed to his desk. He lifted the telephone and, at the same time, replied, ¡°Do you know that you have a habit?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°You do not dare to look into the person¡¯s eyes when you are lying.¡± Qiao Lian suddenly panicked. She knew that the excuse that she had made up earlier on simply did not work with Shen Liangchuan. She bit her lip, as her heart raced. She looked nervously at Shen Liangchuan, but found that he was just sitting there, staring at hisputer screen. Although he wasn¡¯t staring at her with his dark ck eyes, she felt a sense of pressure directed towards her. ¡°What did youe to my study for?¡± These simple and honest words came without any emotional fluctuations, yet it was tough not to answer. Qiao Lian lowered her head. With fear and trepidation, she said, ¡°I- I came here to see what you were up to.¡± Came to see what he was up to? Shen Liangchuan froze for a second. Never had he thought that a sentence like this woulde from her. When he had picked her up after she finished work, the two of them hadn¡¯t spoken at all on the way home. But back at home, he had only gone to take a bath and she already missed him and wanted to be with him? He suddenly recalled the words that she had said this morning, while he took her to work. ¡°Shen Liangchuan, I like you.¡± Having said that, could it be that she had wanted to be with him, so that was why she had gone to his study? As soon as he thought of this, the corners of his lips unknowingly began to slightly raise. He felt like his mood had been uplifted in an instant. He faintly humphed affirmingly and then continued looking at hisputer. His reaction made Qiao Lian unable to decipher his thoughts. It seemed like he didn¡¯t intend to pursue the matter, and hence Qiao Lian momentarily breathed a sigh of relief. She casually remarked, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, no matter how busy you are with your work, you have to remember to take your dinner. I¡ª¡± He hadn¡¯t said ¡°you go out first¡± yet. Instead, she saw him lift his head and stare at her intensely. Qiao Lian had originally wanted to continue speaking, but she instantly swallowed her words and dared not speak. Why was he looking at her this way? Was it because... she was nosey and long-winded and therefore she irritated him? Chapter 215 - We Will Eventually Be Separated (5)

Chapter 215: We Will Eventually Be Separated (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian hurriedly waved her hands and said, ¡°I- I am not rushing you, just that, a man is of iron, rice is of steel... I am showing concern for you!¡± With Qiao Lian¡¯s words, the room became silent instantaneously. As soon as she finished speaking, she realized that her words were inappropriate. She thought of taking back her words, but it was already toote. When she saw the look on Shen Liangchuan, which seemed as if he was smiling yet not smiling, she lowered her head at once, with her hand pressing on her chest. Even though she knew he did not like her... She had discovered that she still wasn¡¯t immune against him, at all. She couldn¡¯t help but feel embarrassed, unable to control the pace of her heartbeat. She took a deep breath to calm herself down and then said, ¡°If there is nothing, I¡ª¡± Before she could finish her sentence, she saw Shen Liangchuan wave his hand at her. ¡°Come here.¡± Qiao Lian was stupefied. She walked over obediently and stood beside Shen Liangchuan. Shen Liangchuan pointed at theputer and said, ¡°You take a look.¡± Qiao Lian stretched her neck to look at theputer. The screen disyed the graphical user interface of ¡®Lot¡¯, theputer game. Shen Liangchuan clicked on the mouse and next, theputer started broadcasting a yback of a match. Qiao Lian was in awe. ¡°Isn¡¯t this ¡®We Love the Dead¡¯ team?¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded. ¡°Erm, you take a look at the way the team leader works.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± When it came to work, Qiao Lian was usually very serious. Initially, she stood at a distance from Shen Liangchuan. However, she found that it was ufortable and she was straining her neck. Unconsciously, she moved closer to him. After watching for a while, she became a little fascinated. This made her forget Shen Liangchuan¡¯s existence, who was just beside her. Again, she moved closer, so much so that she was beginning to get annoyed at Shen Liangchuan for being in the way. Thus, she pushed away his office chair and upied the best position. This game, which was locked in a stalemate, was the finals between ¡°We Love the Dead¡± team and the champions ofst year¡¯s qualifying home team. They actually yed for more than an hour for this single match. As it got closer to the end of the game, the battle became even more intense and Qiao Lian watched until she hardly blinked. At this moment, someone handed her a ss of water and she seized the opportunity to take a sip. As the warm water entered her throat, she continued to stare at theputer. While she watched, she could not help but curse, ¡°F**k! Why is this person ying with Xiao Qiao? Simply hindering the game!¡± Every individual had their own tendencies. Although she hadn¡¯t had any close encounters with ¡®We Love the Dead¡¯ before, she still wished that there would be some new blood in the team. ¡®We love the dead¡¯ was this year¡¯s dark horse. She was very optimistic about them. From the video, one could tell that time was almost running out. The teams had started team battles and judging by the fact that time was about to run out, this was going to be thest round. The team leader of ¡®We Love the Dead¡¯ team was awesome. However, at the end, the other teammates did not manage to be in sync and they actually made a wrong move! One wrong move led to many more wrongs! Atst, ¡®We Love the Dead¡¯ suffered a crushing defeat! Qiao Lian was so mad that she mmed her palm onto the table. ¡°Indeed, one shouldn¡¯t fear having opponents that are as powerful as god, but of having pig-like team mates! This Xiao Qiao came up with stupid moves several times today. Is she an undercover sent by the other team?! Enough indeed!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be angry. Have some more water to relieve the anger.¡± Qiao Lian took the ss of water and had another sip. She pinched her brows as though she was the one who had lost. She hated and resented it. However... It seemed as though something was not quite, right? She blinked and then reacted suddenly. At this moment, she was actually sitting on Shen Liangchuan¡¯sp! Chapter 216 - We Will Eventually Be Separated (6)

Chapter 216: We Will Eventually Be Separated (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan¡¯s arms were wrapped around her waist and he was looking at her as if there was nothing wrong in that moment. That familiar masculinity surrounded her. Most of all, she could feel the solid muscles of his thighs through their clothes, right under her butt... As though she had petrified, Qiao Lian froze instantly. She dare not move a single inch. She could feel her mind turn nk. She was at aplete loss of what to do in such situations. She looked at the cup that she was holding again. He seemed to have drank from this transparent ss cup before... ( Boxno vel. co m ) She had drunk his water. The moment she thought of this, her face became boiling hot, as if it was burning. Qiao Lian had always thought of herself as smart. However in this moment, she had to admit that she wascking some brain cells. Should she jump up in shock or just stand up as if nothing happened? While she was still stuck in a dilemma, she heard the person behind say, ¡°What¡¯s your view on this?¡± Her view? What view? Staring with her eyes wide open, she cleared her throat and started stammering, ¡°Your legs are... very sturdy.¡± ¡°...¡± The person behind became silent. She was still in a daze before recovering from her trance all of a sudden. She wished that she could give herself a tight p! What had she just said? Shen Liangchuan had asked her to watch thepetition because he wanted her to see. When he had asked her for her view, he meant her view on Zombie Leader. There was zero corrtion between that and his legs! While she was trying her best to calm her feelings, she knew that Shen Liangchuan was probably stifling his urge tough now. Thus, she put on a poker face to show a ¡°I-did-not-just-say-that¡± look. Then she said seriously, ¡°This Zombie Leader looks formidable because everyone in the game listens to hismands. But I must say he likes to y unexpected winning moves and is rather obstinate. It¡¯s very obvious that this team is not a professional eSports team. A team like this might win by catching the enemy off guard with unexpected moves, but they cannotst long and win.¡± The ¡°Art of War¡± only consisted of 36 stratagems. Once the opponents saw through their ns, after a few more rounds it would be a battle of skills, control and teamwork! Judging by the skills of the rest of the yers in We Love the Dead team, they would not be able to keep up with the pace of Zombie Leader and it would be a mess when the timees. Her judgment was pertinent and it had hit the nail on the head. However when she finished speaking, there was no reply from Shen Liangchuan. As she recalled the time when she had yed a one-on-one game with Shen Liangchuan and he had been very skilled, she realized that Shen Liangchuan was probably a professional gamer as well. Could it be¡ª ¡°You have a different opinion, am I right?¡± Qiao Lian asked weakly. ¡°Yes.¡± Qiao Lian was all ears. ¡°What?¡± ¡°This is a new team. There are visible improvements every time theypete, so they most likely trained privately before. Therefore, what they are not is not the final version of them. Most importantly...¡± Qiao Lian probed curiously, ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°These five people are not on the same page. Of course, the reason for this may be rted to the fact that Zombie Leader¡¯s thighs are not sturdy enough.¡± Qiao Lian: ...! When she heard the first half of the sentence, she still agreed with it, but what kind of nonsense was the second half of the sentence? Qiao Lian¡¯s face turnedpletely red. As she put the cup in her hands on the table, she wanted to stand up immediately. However, she fell into his arms again! Qiao Lian jumped up in shock. ¡°What- what are you trying to do?¡± Chapter 217 - We Will Eventually Be Separated (7)

Chapter 217: We Will Eventually Be Separated (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Shen Liangchuan heard this, he narrowed his eyes while still keeping his arms wrapped around her waist. ¡°We should do what we are supposed to do.¡± As he said this, he leaned forward purposely. His warm breath spread over the back of her neck, which gave her tingling sensations and rising goosebumps because she was sensitive. She gulped nervously. What they were supposed to do... What kind of thing were they supposed to do? Could it be that his inner beast had suddenly been triggered and he was going to... devour her in the study? As soon as she thought of this, Qiao Lian felt like she was going to lose control of her heartbeat. She wanted to stand up, but she could not move at all. Hence after clearing her throat, she could only say with a parched mouth, ¡°Erm, we... should go and eat first.¡± ¡°We can eat after finishing what we are supposed to do.¡± Qiao Lian: ... Biting her lips, she said, ¡°But we¡¯ll only have energy after eating!¡± She was truly scared of him. ¡°Energy? Tell me, what do you need the energy for?¡± This sentence made Qiao Lian realize once again that she had been fooled. Her eyes widened in bewilderment. Her pair of big round eyes staring at him and the flustered look she had were way too adorable. She puffed up her cheeks fiercely. ¡°Of course you need energy to talk! There is a saying that goes like ¡®even talking requires effort,¡¯ isn¡¯t it?¡± This was the first time he heard of such a ridiculous saying. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s lips curled up. Meanwhile, Qiao Lian straightened her back and said, ¡°Shoot, what is the thing we are supposed to do? I¡¯ll use myst bit of energy, so say it.¡± Shen Liangchuan: ... She was still the same¡ªjust like eight years ago¡ªspewing nonsense after being embarrassed and angered. However, he did not dare to tease her more to prevent her from getting truly angry, so he said, ¡°I want to form an eSports team and ask Zombie Leader to be the team leader.¡± As soon as he finished speaking, Qiao Lian instantly widened her eyes. ¡°What?!¡± Shen Liangchuan continued, ¡°Do you still rememberst time, when told you that I want Forget Chuan toe and be the coach for my team?¡± Of course she remembered! At that time, she had been surprised of the fact Shen Liangchuan had an eSports team. However, she did not think much of it because she had thought that he had said it casually and he was only ying for fun. But looking at it now... He seemed to want to do it seriously? She turned her head in astonishment. She could tell that the expression on his face was genuine and sincere, because the distance between them was very short. ¡°Could you help me ask her what I can do to make her sign a contract with me?¡± His gaze was determined and serious, as if he was executing a sacred task. His emotions influenced her. Qiao Lian remained silent for a while before saying, ¡°I will pass on the message to her.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± His serious tone caused Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes to water ineffably. The rxed atmosphere from before turned depressing all of a sudden. Qiao Lian could not help but look down and smile bitterly. The more she interacted with him, the more she realized that this man had an unusual appeal, which only made her fall for him deeper, even though she wanted to leave him. Therefore she had to leave him as quickly as possible. Otherwise, she might actually not bear to leave him. _ After eating dinner with Shen Liangchuan, Qiao Lian went upstairs and entered the master bedroom. Meanwhile, Shen Liangchuan had some stuff to do, so he went into his study. Lying on the bed and staring at the ceiling, Qiao Lian suddenly made a firm resolution. She picked up her phone, opened WeChat and started chatting with him: [Forget Chuan: You there?] [Shen Liangchuan: Yes.] [Forget Chuan: I can ept your offer, but I have one condition.] [Shen Liangchuan: What is it?] [Forget Chuan: I want you to send me a one-time payment of two million dors of my sry for theing year.] Chapter 218 - We Will Eventually Be Separated (8)

Chapter 218: We Will Eventually Be Separated (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After she sent the message, he did not reply for a while. After a full five minutes, he sent back a message: [Shen Liangchuan: Sure.] This instantly lifted some weight off Qiao Lian¡¯s heart. However, there was a sh of sadness in her eyes. Biting her lips, she lowered her head and smiled bitterly. If she wanted to leave, she would have to pay him back the two million dors he had given her when they first got married. She ced her phone under the pillow and stared at the ceiling nkly, unfocused. epting Shen Liangchuan¡¯s offer had not been the result of her impulsiveness. She had thought he was kidding that time he had said he wanted to form an eSports team. However it turned out to be true. To form an eSports team... Thinking of this, she could not help but remember that matter from the past. On their date, Zi Chuan had not appear. After this, he had told her not to meet again. She was puzzled even after giving it much thought. She did not know what she had done wrong to make him do this to her. Throughout the years, she was filled with questions the countless times she thought of it. Atst, she had arrived at a conclusion. If there was anything she had done that could have offended Zi Chuan and made him hate her, that would probably be the matter of forming an eSports team... At that time, she had just started her second year of high school and Zi Chuan had been admitted into college at the Faculty of Finance in Beijing University. When people in the team heard the news, they were all stirred up. Those who had been addicted to videogames during high school had mostly not gotten good results. Zi Chuan was a rare case. He did not y games due to an addiction. Instead, it was because the contents of the textbooks were too easy and too boring for him. Qiao Lian could still remember that summer day in mid-july when he received his letter of eptance. Qiao Lian had felt happy for Zi Chuan, so she suggested, ¡°We must y a round of games to vent your feelings!¡± Everyone in the team agreed. Zi Chuan was of course not against it, so everyone turned on theirputers and went online ceremoniously. As soon as they went online, they encountered provocations from their opponents. They could y ranked matches in the game, and they had happened to clinch the first ce of the season. At that moment, the people who had challenged them to a one-to-one match werest season¡¯s champions, as they had lost to them this season. Qiao Lian immediately said arrogantly, ¡°They really think it¡¯s not over ¡¯til it¡¯s over, huh? Hey, let¡¯s all kill them with no mercy!¡± Those who were full of youthful vigor could not take any provocations indeed. Zi Chuan said nonchntly, ¡°I feel like there¡¯s something off about this.¡± Qiao Lian asked, ¡°What?¡± ¡°I consider myself to be familiar with this team and they don¡¯t seem like people who would lose their cool easily. However, looking at how they provoked us so arrogantly, it almost seems like they are scared that we will not ept their challenge.¡± Qiao Lian ignored him straight away. ¡°Who cares! Skills will tell everything. Let¡¯s start!¡± Since they had just clinched the season¡¯s first ce, they happened to be in a period of extreme confidence. Ever since Qiao Lian had started ying games, she had been in contact with Zi Chuan. Afterwards, she had followed him closely and yed with him for nearly two years, so she was considered one of the most highly-regarded yers. She used to brag that if she were to partner up with Zi Chuan, no one would be able to defeat them. Hence, she could not have imagined that they would lose this match so terribly. As she stared at the word ¡®FAIL¡¯ on theputer screen, her brain froze. From the start of the game all the way until the end of the game, the other team overpowered them. Zi Chuan stillmanded everyone to kill monsters, level up and carry out team battles. However, when they realized the difference in strength between them and their opponents, there was no longer any talking in their voice call. Silence. In the heavy and stifling silence, they had lost this match. Chapter 219 - We Will Eventually Be Separated (9)

Chapter 219: We Will Eventually Be Separated (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After thepetition ended, there was a long silence in the group. No one spoke, as everyone was shocked by their opponents¡¯ teamwork and control. Next, they saw the provocative messages sent by the enemy team on the game¡¯s interface. [¡°How was it? It was such an unexpected loss, wasn¡¯t it?¡±] [¡°You are too weak to go on bragging about how powerful you are as an opponent!¡±] [¡°Are all the gamers from your country only at this level?¡±] Qiao Lian caught the opponent¡¯sst line quick-wittedly. Reaching out her hands to type a few words, she asked, [¡°All of you are foreigners?¡±] As soon as she sent this, Zi Chuan¡¯s message also popped up on the screen. [¡°You are ¡®King¡¯ team.¡±] There was certainty in that statement. Qiao Lian froze immediately. ¡®King¡¯ was a famous eSports team from Country H. They were all veterans, they had even clinched the top five at this year¡¯s world ranked match! They were a group of scary people. Each member¡¯s skills wereparable to Zi Chuan¡¯s, and their teamwork and rapport were excellent. It felt like they were ying against one person instead of five people! On the other hand, Qiao Lian and the others only yed games as a recreational activity. How could they be their match? However, every gamer had his or her own idol. King was the team that Qiao Lian had used to admire. Hence, even though they had just been defeated, she became excited instantly. She did not feel any injustice about having lost to King. As soon as she thought of this, another message popped up on the screen. [¡°We heard that you are the best. But if we are a huge dragon, you are in the end only a small snake at best.¡±] Those words had obviously been tranted by a professional software. The grammar was awkward, yet full of mockery. Qiao Lian clenched her fist all of a sudden as a strong surge of unknown humiliation filled her heart. After remaining silent for a full five seconds, she said, [ ¡°How can all of you be like this?!¡±] The in-game voice chat was open, so everyone was still in the chat. The team replied to Qiao Lian immediately, ¡°I agree, they are veterans. How are we supposed to be their match?¡± ¡°What did he mean by that? Is he looking down on us?¡± ¡°Sh*t, that¡¯s too much! ...¡± Qiao Lian was going to say something, but she realized Zi Chuan was already offline. Suddenly she was not interested in the conversation anymore, so she left the voice chat, took off her headphones and stared nkly at theputer without saying anything. The joy when she found out that Zi Chuan had received his eptance letter had vanishedpletely now. What was left was a sense of emptiness and helplessness. Initially, games had been a form of recreation to them. However at this moment, she suddenly thought of other ideas. She picked up her phone instantly and called Zi Chuan. After two rings, he picked up the call. Soon after she said, ¡°Zi Chuan, let¡¯s form an eSports club!¡± Eight years ago, the eSports scene had still not been highly-regarded in the country. Therefore, this idea was way too wild and bold for them. It was simply beyond anyone¡¯s imagination. She had only said it casually out of spike, but unexpectedly the next moment he replied, ¡°Ok.¡± Humans are all equal. Zi Chuan was very smart, but his physical development was behind others. His voice was still changing even though he was already 19 years-old. His screeching voice was not appealing to the ears at all. However, one word settled her down. She had thought that they would finally get to meet if they formed the eSports club, but who would have imagined... Chapter 220 - We Will Eventually Be Separated (10)

Chapter 220: We Will Eventually Be Separated (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After forming the club, the club¡¯s professional eSports team would need to train intensively. The team that they formed randomly online had to foster their teamwork in real life and start group training. This one idea of hers had given him something to strive for that entire summer break. Zi Chuan was busy with the club¡¯s matters. The few people he worked with often were mostly students. ying video games was seen as a distraction from their studies by parents, so everyone was in a dilemma. That was the most difficult and tough period of time for Zi Chuan. He even fought with his family because of this. She showed her support, ¡°Zi Chuan, you still have me. This is our club. I won¡¯t leave you.¡± She had thought that she would stay with him until the end no matter what. She had even began to imagine that both of them would be the ¡°Batman and Catwoman¡± of the gaming scene, as they conquered the world after they got together. However, she could not have ever thought that the development of the club would be much faster than she expected. He called her. ¡°My Royal Princess, the club has been established and is ready for your inspection.¡± At that time, she had been filled with pleasant surprise and bitterness. Pleasant surprise because they could finally meet in real life, after close to two years of online dating. Bitterness... Tears started rolling down her cheeks all of sudden. ¡°Zi Chuan, I¡¯m sorry. I can¡¯t be in the club anymore.¡± She had ended up being the first person to betray him in the team. As soon as she said that, he became silent. After a while, he simply hung up on her. Even though she had wanted to give an exnation, she knew that at this moment, any exnation would be futile. Zi Chuan ignored her for a whole week. Neither did he reply her messages, nor did he pick up her calls. He did not even go online on the game. At that point in time, she had thought her and Zi Chuan were over and Zi Chuan would never forgive her. Until he finally returned her call a weekter. In the call, he remained silent for a long time before exining, ¡°Something happened in my family. My phone ran out of battery and I didn¡¯t have the chance to charge it.¡± She immediately started crying and yelling at him, ¡°I thought you did not want to talk to me again!¡± ¡°... Stupid.¡± His mood was very bad, so Qiao Lian could not help but say carefully, ¡°Since it¡¯s summer break, I¡¯ll go see you to Beijing.¡± After remaining silent for very long, he replied, ¡°Ok.¡± _ Qiao Lian¡¯s gaze focused more while she tried her best to recover her thoughts from the memories. Although Zi Chuan was petty and had always said mean things, he had never been one to bear grudges. Hence, it had never crossed her mind that Zi Chuan would not forgive her and give her a hard time. She had not said her reason for not being able to be part of the club because she had wanted to exin it to him face-to-face. However, never could she have thought that she had lost the chance to exin since the start. So, had Zi Chuan actually heartlessly dumped her because he was angry over this matter? Qiao Lian looked down while she stretched out her right hand from under the nket suddenly. That hand was fair and wless. But after holding it there and staring at it for five minutes, that hand began to tremble uncontrobly. A sense of helplessness surged in her, causing her to put away her hand. She liked games. She loved games. However from that day onwards, she had rarely yed any games. Throughout these years, she had regretted a lot. She had regretted not standing by Zi Chuan¡¯s side eight years ago. But now, she wanted to help Shen Liangchuan. Even though they would eventually separate. Chapter 221 - The Beginning That He Had Thought (1)

Chapter 221: The Beginning That He Had Thought (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan was staring at his cell phone in the study, but his brows were tightly furrowed. Again, she wanted two million dors. Was it because her brother¡¯s condition had worsened? Or because¡ª As he thought about it, he picked up his cell phone and gave Song Cheng a call. ¡°Help me pay attention to Qiao Yi¡¯s situation.¡± After hanging up, he settled the things he had on hand. Then he walked towards the bedroom. He realized that she had fallen asleep after pushing open the door. Under the dim yellow bedsidemp, even while dreaming, she was still frowning. It was as if she had troubles that were impossible to get rid of. He gradually softened his gaze and reached out his hand, attempting to smooth her frown. The suspicion that was deep in his heart got under control, just like that. He stared at her for a while. The corner of his lips gently curled up as he gave a repressed smile. His gaze softened gradually. Eight years ago, she had withdrawn from their club. Frankly speaking, there was bound to be sadness but he did not me her. He had been two years older than her. In university although the courses were rxed, he had already encountered numerous problems, not to mention that she had still been in high-school. He understood her. But there was still regret. Now they finally could start anew. They could let the fantasies they had had from those years happen. Of course, it was not only the club that had to start anew, it was also the feelings between them as well. Thinking of it, Shen Liangchuan recalled the confession that she had made to him today. All along she had been very straightforward, bold and frank, which could heat up one¡¯s heart. Shen Liangchuany down slowly. That familiar room, because of one woman, was as though it had been turned upside downpared to before. The piece that had been missing in his heart all along also seemed to be filled. Under the nket, his hand held hers. Xiao Qiao, let¡¯s start anew. _ The next day when Qiao Lian woke up in the morning, Shen Liangchuan was eating his breakfast downstairs. Both of them went out together and Shen Liangchuan took her to the news agency. After bidding farewell to Shen Liangchuan, she alighted and headed to thepany. Once she got out of the elevator, she received a text message reminding her that she had two additional million dors in one of her ounts. Her eyes shone at once. She hadn¡¯t expected that Shen Liangchuan would be so efficient! She logged into Forget Chuan¡¯s WeChat page and stood at the entrance of the news agency to send him a message. [Forget Chuan: I¡¯ve received the money~ When should we sign the contract?] [Shen Liangchuan: No rush, whenever you are free.] Qiao Lian put down her cell phone, lifted her head and then took a deep breath. Things had been on track and progressing well. So, the next step would be... She did not enter the office, but instead headed towards the corridor on the side. She picked up her cell phone and called her brother Qiao Yi¡¯s doctor. First, she inquired about her brother¡¯s condition. Seeing that everything was good, she then went ahead with the main subject, ¡°Doctor Zhang, I remembered that you mentioned before that you had a teacher who was based overseas and is an expert in this field?¡± ¡°Right, this is Doctor Kedun. Why? Are you thinking of asking him toe here to help with the rehabilitation? But it is impossible for my teacher toe over here, so¡ª¡± ¡°You misunderstood me,¡± Qiao Lian interrupted him. ¡°I am thinking of transferring Qiao Yi abroad for rehabilitation.¡± After settling some issues with Doctor Zhang, Qiao Lian put down her cell phone. She stared ahead and her gaze got deeper. She wanted to leave Shen Liangchuan. But in order not to get her brother involved, the most sensible way would be to transfer him abroad to receive treatment. As she thought about this, she turned around to enter the news agency and found that the atmosphere there seemed a little strange. Chapter 222 - The Beginning That He Had Thought (2)

Chapter 222: The Beginning That He Had Thought (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As Qiao Lian was entering the news agency, the atmosphere was the same as always. People gathered in twos and threes, talking about thetest gossips. However once she entered, the whole news agency suddenly became quiet. When they saw her, although they tried their best to pretend like nothing had happened, the kind of alienation and indifferent attitude that they had was very obvious to her. Qiao Lian frowned and sized up the surrounding people, in doubt. When she used to work with them in the past, everyone had worked together happily¡ªeven when she got promoted to chief editor in Team Two. Yesterday she had still been chatting andughing happily with this group of people, but what had happened today? Her footsteps stopped and as she was about to speak, she saw the people surrounding her immediately turn their heads to speak to those beside them. It was as if they were afraid that she would speak to them. This scene made her gaze sank. She didn¡¯t speak a word again and entered the office. After a while, she picked up her cell phone, found a colleague¡¯s WeChat and sent a message: [What¡¯s up?] The other party responded swiftly, with only one sentence. [Xiao Ye resigned.] Xiao Ye had resigned? Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils contracted. She stared at those three words in disbelief. She inquired: [Why?] However, her colleague did not reply her after that. She sat in the office, staring at her cell phone quietly. She recalled the way that Xiao Ye had been reprimanded by the chief editors of Team One yesterday. What else couldn¡¯t she understand? After a long period of silence, she picked up her cell phone again, found Xiao Ye¡¯s WeChat and sent her three words: [I am sorry.] Xiao Ye replied speedily. [Ms Qiao, it is fine. I will get a new job and I¡¯ll be fine again.] Clearly, her mood still didn¡¯t seem too bad. Just as she was deciding what to say, she received another message from Xiao Ye. [It is obvious that the chief editor is using me to show his authority. I left just like that, so it will surely be tough for you to stay in the news agency too. However, I am really unwilling to be faced with people who deliberately make things difficult for me every day. Ms Qiao, I am sorry.] Qiao Lian¡¯s hand immediately paused. She stared at that message for a very long time. Lastly, she replied: [I wish you a bright future.] Just as she put down her cell phone, Su Meimei walked in and said, ¡°Qiao Lian, the managing editor called for a meeting.¡± The p mark on her face was still red. Evidently, she had been beaten by Mo Ru with strength. At that moment she was looking at Qiao Lian¡¯s gaze, full of satisfaction. After she finished the sentence, she did not head towards the meeting room but stood at the original spot, stared at her and said, ¡°Oh yes, I forgot to tell you that the managing editor has temporarily transferred me over to be his assistant. Ah, Xiao Ye took the initiative to resign, that¡¯s tactful of her. But now, who in the office will dare to be under your charge? You have been promoted to chief editor, so what? Still merely amanding officer.¡± Qiao Lian ignored her sneers and headed forward. Indeed, the meeting was being held for the people of Team Two. Liu Zhixing asked, ¡°The people in Team One, who wants to join them?¡± As he finished speaking, everyone simultaneously lowered their heads. Liu Zhixing raised his eyebrows, ¡°No one?¡± Zhang Chunhua, the chief editor from Team Oneughed coldly. ¡°We already do not have enough manpower in Team One, how can we afford to assign them to Team Two? Liu Zhixing sighed, nced at Qiao Lian and said, ¡°You have to recruit people yourself then.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. ¡°You allowed me to recruit, and so I have already published the recruitment notice. I have received a few applications and have already made an appointment with them toe for an interview today.¡± Liu Zhixing nodded. However, the interviews did not progress well. Chapter 223 - The Beginning That He Had Thought (3)

Chapter 223: The Beginning That He Had Thought (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Although it was not the graduation season, there were still many people who hade to apply for the job. There was no one left in Team Two, so Qiao Lian did not set high recruitment requirements. She hired five to six candidates in an afternoon. After having lunch, she was thinking that she could finally start to work properly tomorrow. But something strange happened. Someone called to say that he wanted to reject the job offer. Qiao Lian was not bothered by it. But when the second person called in, she realized that apparently something was not right. Then came the third and the fourth. Those hired that afternoon had all rejected her. After hanging up thest call, her cell phone vibrated. She opened WeChat and saw a message from a kind-hearted colleague: [Su Meimei knows the phone numbers of all of the people you had hired.] Qiao Lian was so livid that she wanted to throw the phone. This Su Meimei was indeed too much! Just as she was fuming with anger, the person at the front desk walked over. ¡°Chief Editor Qiao, someone is here for the interview.¡± Qiao Lian was a little disheartened. ¡°Take her to Su Meimei straightaway.¡± What was the point of hiring them during the interview? In the end, Su Meimei would also stir up trouble. Why not just let this group of people go look for Su Meimei, so as not to waste one another¡¯s time? The sophisticated person from the front desk answered with a ¡°hmm¡± and then left. Qiao Lian stayed alone in the quiet office. Atst she let out a heavy sigh. Her words just now had been in a fit of pique. Someone else hade for the interview, it was not right to let the person suffer from Su Meimei, as she would deliberately make things difficult. So she immediately stood up and walked to the meeting room. From the entrance of the meeting room, she could see the people inside through the ss window. There was a girl sitting there with her back facing Qiao Lian and Su Meimei was speaking, ¡± So that¡¯s why Xiao Ye resigned. Do you understand what I mean?¡± Qiao Lian frowned. And so it turned out that to everyone who came for the interview, Su Meimei gave them an ount of Xiao Ye¡¯s tragic experience. That scared them away. Just as she was about to enter, she heard a crisp voice saying, ¡°Understood.¡± Su Meimei stood up and spoke with arrogance, ¡°Good that you understood.¡± Who would enjoy working with a chief editor that is not well-liked by the managing editor? It would just make one¡¯s life difficult! Unexpectedly, the person with the good voice continued, ¡°So you are actually not the interviewer. In that case, when will the interviewer be avable? These words caused Su Meimei and even Qiao Lian to freeze on the spot. Su Meimei was puzzled. ¡°Didn¡¯t you understand what I just said? The person who is interviewing you for the position, Chief Editor Qiao Lian, offended the managing editor.¡± The other party said, ¡°Hmm, I understood. So where is Chief Editor Qiao, the interviewer?¡± Su Meimei: ¡°...!!¡± She practically stared at the girl as though she was looking at an idiot. ¡°Do you really understand?¡± The girl nodded and said excitedly, ¡°I understood. Chief Editor is not being treated well now. She has no one working for her. So if i were to be here and do a good job, I could totally be under her personalmand!¡± Su Meimei was dumbfounded immediately. What kind of silly logic was this? Qiao Lian stood outside the door. After hearing these words, the depressed state that she had been in just now disappearedpletely. It was not the right time, otherwise, she would have really wanted tough out loud twice. Had this angel been sent to her by heaven, as the heavens couldn¡¯t stand what was happening? She hurriedly walked in. ¡°How are you? I camete.¡± The girl turned her head and smiled. ¡°How do you do? I am Shi Nianyao.¡± Chapter 224 - The Beginning That He Had Thought (4)

Chapter 224: The Beginning That He Had Thought (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The girl facing her had bright eyes, white teeth and luminous skin. Her looks gave a feel of a sweet-tempered nature, but her eyes exuded coolness. Just one look and one could tell that she had a good family background and was highly educated. Moreover, she looked very beautiful. That kind of beauty was not solely just on the surface, she had a type of charisma that exuded pureness. Such a person must have been born with a silver spoon in a superior family background. Qiao Lian liked her. It was their first meeting and she already liked her very much. She stretched out her hand to shake Shi Nianyao¡¯s. Su Meimei became flustered and exasperated. ¡°Hello? Is something wrong with your brain?¡± As soon as she finished speaking, Qiao Lian looked at her with a prating gaze and spoke straightaway, ¡°Su Meimei, I am hiring this person, so please leave!¡± Su Meimei was so livid that she looked at her ruthlessly. In the end, sheughed coldly while staring at Shi Nianyao. ¡°Good, very good. You wait and see! I will let youe in happily, but make you leave in tears!¡± She finally left the room after she said those vicious words. As she left, Shi Nianyao immediately said teasingly, ¡°She finally left. Actually, I don¡¯t really understand why she had to say so much to me when I am just here for an interview.¡± Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help it anymore butugh heartily. Without saying anything further, she decided, ¡°There is no need for an interview, what are your demands?¡± Shi Nianyao smiled. ¡°No demands! In fact, this is actually my first job. Chief Editor, please do give me your guidance in future!¡± ¡°Actually, I have only been working for a year. Let¡¯s discuss your sry...¡± _ After deciding on the remuneration with Shi Nianyao, Qiao Lian printed out the contract for her to sign and then said, ¡°In the future we will berades-in-arms, so when can youe to work?¡± Shi Nianyao said, ¡°Anytime!¡± Qiao Lian pointed to the office. ¡°Now then.¡± Shi Nianyao nodded and went to the office first. Qiao Lian held onto the document and followed her colleague out of the human resources department to look for Liu Zhixing, for thepany stamp. After knocking the door to enter, she saw Su Meimei standing beside Liu Zhixing. Her lips were bright red. By the looks of it, they had just been moisturized. Qiao Lian fixed her gaze. She directly ced the document on the table and said, ¡°Managing Editor, please sign this.¡± Su Meimei humphed coldly, ¡°Qiao Lian, please do not bring cats and dogs into our news agency. That girl couldn¡¯t even understand the signals, perhaps she is mentally retarded? ¡°Su Meimei, have you heard these words before?¡± ¡°What?¡± Qiao Lian lowered her gaze. ¡°In the eyes of cats and dogs, everyone is a cat or a dog. In the world of the mentally retarded, they only see themselves as smart, whereas the rest are all idiots. Since Shi Nianyao had chosen to be on her side, she definitely had to put up a fight, unlike the time Xiao Ye had faced trouble. She would protect her well! Su Meimei was stunned by her words. After reacting to it, she was utterly upset. ¡°Who are you scolding!?¡± ¡°The cats and dogs and the mentally retarded!¡± After Qiao Lian said these words innocently, she looked at Liu Zhixing without guilt. ¡°Managing Editor, could you sign it? You said before that I would bear full responsibility of the recruitment.¡± Liu Zhixing took a nce at Su Meimei,ughed heartily and said, ¡°First, let¡¯s take a look at her r¨¦sum¨¦. Qiao Lian, I know that you haven¡¯t managed to recruit someone in a short period of time, but don¡¯t be too anxious. Meimei is right, if the girlcks qualifications, our news agency will not want her.¡± Without any better option, Qiao Lian picked up the resume that Shi Nianyao had just given her and passed it to the managing editor. She looked at his gaze and with that, even she was stunned. Chapter 225 - The Beginning That He Had Thought (5)

Chapter 225: The Beginning That He Had Thought (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Although Qiao Lian already knew that Shi Nianyao had received higher education, but... Never did she expect that Shi Nianyao¡¯s r¨¦sum¨¦ would be so awesome! She had gotten a double bachelor¡¯s degree from Harvard University in Country M and was proficient in eightnguages including English, French and Italian. While she had been abroad, she had participated in research for a certain topic. Furthermore, she had also joined the country¡¯s writer guild. In short, this was a very amazing r¨¦sum¨¦. Everyone would generally be in awe of those who received high academic qualifications and good grades. Therefore after seeing this r¨¦sum¨¦, all three of them were stunned. Su Meimei widened her eyes. ¡°This is that idiot¡¯s r¨¦sum¨¦?¡± Liu Zhixing also raised his eyebrows. ¡°Could this r¨¦sum¨¦ be fake?¡± Although Qiao Lian was also shocked by this resume, she still said, ¡°The graduation certificates are all intact, there is no evidence that they are fake and so, they must be authentic.¡± Liu Zhixing smacked his tongue. ¡°So, how much is she she asking for monthly?¡± Qiao Lian thought for a moment and felt like it was a loss for Shi Nianyao. ¡°A basic sry of five thousand dors.¡± For a fresh graduate, it was considered a bit high. However for someone as highly educated as her, that amount was simply considered dregs. Liu Zhixing coughed. ¡°Are you sure you want to hire this person?¡± ¡°Definite¡± Shi Nianyao did not even hold back. At a time like this, how could she hold herself back? Therefore, even though she knew that Shi Nianyao had an ulterior motive for wanting this job, she still agreed to it. Liu Zhixing nced at her and said, ¡°If something goes wrong, you are responsible.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± When she came out of Liu Zhixing¡¯s office, she passed by Team One¡¯s office and happened to hear the people inside discussing about the new employee. ¡°I wonder, that girl Shi Nianyao is fully aware that they will make her life difficult here, why did she decide to stay?¡± ¡°What could it be? A basic sry of five thousand to a fresh graduate is considered a lot!¡± ¡°But she doesn¡¯t look like she is in need of money!¡± ¡°What do you think? Although the clothes that she wore looked good, they don¡¯t even have a brand. I think they could have been bought at the flea market.¡± ¡°Right.¡± After Qiao Lian heard these words, she shook her head gently. As reporters, this group of people certainly knew much about branded goods. But they had forgotten that to people who were truly rich in hidden wisdom and insight, the clothes they wore were custom-made. She could tell with one nce that although the clothes that Shi Nianyao wore were not eye-catching, the estimated price of the attire could be no less than a six figure sum. Shi Nianyao was certainly someone of with a good background. But no matter who she was or the reason she hade to the news agency, Qiao Lian was determined to defend her. At this moment, her cell phone rang. She lowered her head and realized that it was Doctor Zhang who was calling. She answered the call immediately and heard Doctor Zhang¡¯s voice on the other end, ¡°Ms Qiao, I have already contacted my teacher. He said that your brother can be transferred to his hospital at anytime. He looks forward to letting your brother receive the rehabilitation treatment. When do you think is a good time for the transfer?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s gaze sank. She clenched her fist and said, ¡°The sooner, the better.¡± There were some matters which she did not wish to procrastinate. At this very moment, Shen Liangchuan was standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows at the office, staring at the heavy traffic outside. At the thought of being able to rebuild their e-sports team with her, the corner of his lips slightly curled up. At this moment, the door was pushed open and in came Song Cheng. ¡°Brother Shen, I¡¯ve checked. Ms Qiao¡¯s brother is not suffering from any unexpected situation, but she did call Doctor Zhang this morning indicating that she wants to send her brother abroad.¡± Chapter 226 - The Beginning That He Had Thought (6)

Chapter 226: The Beginning That He Had Thought (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Thinking of sending her brother abroad? Shen Liangchuan¡¯s pupils shrank and he frowned tightly. So she wants two million dors from me... because she is thinking of sending her brother to a better environment for treatment? But the two million dors that I gave her before should have been sufficient. This time she was asking for two million dors and it tallied with the first figure. Could it be that... As he was thinking about this, he shook his head, feeling that he must have been thinking too much. She had just confessed that she liked him, hence she must have been wanting to start anew with him. As this thought crossed his mind, a touch of gentleness shed across his eyes. He didn¡¯t ponder about the sum of money again. He picked up his cell phone to take a look at the time. It was already four in the afternoon, but Qiao Lian had not replied the WeChat message that he had sent her in the morning. So what was she doing now? Was she busy? He picked up his cell phone and hesitated for a while before sending her a message: [What are you doing?] After sending the message, he stared at his cell phone. _ The moment Qiao Lian¡¯s cell phone vibrated, she was speaking to Shi Nianyao about work issues and hence she did not care about it. After they finished speaking and she had assigned Shi Nianyao some work, she then headed back to her office. She was quite busy with work as all of Team Two¡¯s work had fallen upon herself and Shi Nianyao, so she didn¡¯t look at her cell phone. When she was finally less busy, she picked up her cell phone to take a look. She realized that Shen Liangchuan had actually sent her two messages. One message was to ask her what she was doing. The other only had two words. [Do reply.] This meant that Shen Liangchuan was not happy. She hadn¡¯t replied for a long time, so he had gotten impatient? She hurriedly picked up her phone to reply: [Busy with work.] The other party responded swiftly: [Don¡¯t even have time to reply a message?] Although it was only a message, a touch of coldness seemed to emerge from the cell phone. His resentment was deep indeed! Qiao Lian blinked. If she replied that she hadn¡¯t looked at her phone, the other party would definitely be even more unhappy. And so... After thinking for a while, she then replied: [Sorry. You know, this broken phone of mine just got shut down automatically.] These words of hers brought along tremendous resentment. Life had been hard for her all these years and she had never bought herself any luxury items. The time thepany had rewarded her with thetest cell phone model, she hadn¡¯t been able to sell it because her work required her to have a high definition camera. But... he had broken that phone, just like that! Once she sent that message, the other party did not reply as expected. Qiao Lian stared at her phone for exactly two minutes. Just when she thought that Shen Liangchuan would not reply again, her phone vibrated: [I am downstairs.] Qiao Lian was stunned for a moment before she realized that Shen Liangchuan hade to pick her up from work again. It was six in the afternoon now. Unconsciously, she had worked slightly overtime for today. And how long had he been waiting downstairs? She zoned out for a while, but then her cell phone vibrated once again. She hurriedly picked it up and saw that there was another message: [How much longer do you need?] Qiao Lian immediately packed her things and ran out. When she reached the lift, she then realized that everyone had stayed briefly overtime today too. At this moment, they had all gathered there. When Su Meimei saw her running over in a hurry, she immediately narrowed her eyes and smiled. ¡°Qiao Lian, I heard that there have been a few times that your boyfriend came to pick you up after work. Why don¡¯t we all go and take a look at how your boyfriend looks like!?¡± Chapter 227 - The Beginning That He Had Thought (7)

Chapter 227: The Beginning That He Had Thought (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Su Meimei finished speaking, she stretched out her hand and held Liu Zhixing tightly. Gloominess shone in her eyes. Of course, she knew that Liu Zhixing was interested in Qiao Lian. On the one hand, she despised Qiao Lian¡¯s nobility and virtuousness. On the other hand, she was d that Qiao Lian was not together with Liu Zhixing. Otherwise, based on Qiao Lian¡¯s pretty and flirtatious look, Liu Zhixing would have definitely not even taken a nce at her. Now precisely, she wanted to mention Qiao Lian¡¯s boyfriend in front of Liu Zhixing. Firstly, it could make Liu Zhixing¡¯s dislike her even more. Secondly... As she thought about it, she lowered her head. She said with a fake smile, ¡°Qiao Lian, you are so pretty. Your boyfriend must be very rich, right?¡± If he was rich, then ghost existed too! Qiao Lian¡¯s clothes and purses were all from the flea market. Liu Zhixing was old and very considerate to her, and he also liked to say sweet things. Except the time he didn¡¯t defend her, he had bought many things for her. So what if she had found someone young and fresh? He was still not rich! And only that kind of person who would waste his time to wait for her downstairs. As this thought crossed her mind, Su Meimei¡¯s state of mind became clearer. As she folded her arms, she waited for Qiao Lian¡¯s joke to unfold. Qiao Lian had already frozen in shock. Want to take a look at Best Actor Shen? Only if she were mental, would she agree to it! Qiao Lian hurriedly waved her hands and said, ¡°No, my boyfriend doesn¡¯t¡ª¡± Before she could finish pleading, a colleague who was trying to please Su Meimei said hastily, ¡°I saw his car. The other time I saw you enter that car, and that same car is still waiting for you downstairs now!¡± With these words, Qiao Lian was suddenly dumbfounded. Qiao Lian¡¯s behavior gave Su Meimei the certainty that that man was definitely not ideal. Qiao Lian¡¯s behaviour was probably because she was worried that she would lose face in front of her colleagues. After all if she had found a good boyfriend, she would have wished that the whole world knew about it. Who would still hide it? She immediately took a nce at Liu Zhixing, smiling. ¡°Why? Worried that we will scare your boyfriend? So you go as far as to not let us see him? Or rather you feel like we, as your colleagues, are not your friends and that¡¯s why you rather not let us see him?¡± This method of agitating people could work with others, but for Qiao Lian it simply would not work! She folded her arms and looked at Su Meimei, smiling. ¡°Su Meimei, you are so interested in my boyfriend, aren¡¯t you worried that Managing Editor will get jealous? Also, I indeed do not want to let you meet my boyfriend, in case you fell in love with him at first sight. Then I¡¯d be a big sinner, wouldn¡¯t I?¡± Su Meimei giggled coldly. ¡°Don¡¯t find excuses here. Since his car is downstairs, if you don¡¯t want us to meet him, we will go meet him ourselves.¡± At this moment, the elevator arrived with the sound of a ¡°ding.¡± Su Meimei pulled Liu Zhixing directly into the elevator. ¡°Go!¡± Qiao Lian...! This person was indeed thick-skinned. She did not want her to meet him, but she still insisted on meeting him? But, what to do now? They were at the 18th storey. Taking the elevator would certainly be faster than going down the stairs. As these thoughts were running through her mind, she hurriedly entered the elevator before the doors were shut. As the elevator descended, Qiao Lian took a deep breath, thinking of sending a text message to Shen Liangchuan. However when she picked up her cell phone, she realized that there was no signal in the elevator! She got anxious and impatient. This group of reporters, every single one of them, had very bright and sharp eyes. Shen Liangchuan hade to pick her up from work in a car that had not been exposed to the media. But... if any traces of tiny hints got leaked out, they might guess that it was Best Actor Shen! Chapter 228 - The Beginning That He Had Thought (8)

Chapter 228: The Beginning That He Had Thought (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Su Meimei¡¯s gaze caught Qiao Lian¡¯s awkward and embarrassed look. This made her even more determined that Qiao Lian¡¯s boyfriend was poor. In the elevator, she didn¡¯t stop mocking her, ¡°Actually Qiao Lian, you are not that young anymore, it¡¯s time for you to fall in love. But your foresight cannot be too poor, can it? No matter the love, it cannot bepared with having a life full of wealth. If you marry a good man, you might possibly have 10 years less of struggle! There¡¯s this saying that goes, ¡®One would rather cry in a BMW, than tough in a bicycle¡¯. That exins it.¡± Her chatter simply made Qiao Lian more impatient. She rebutted sarcastically, ¡°So are you the one who cries in the BMW?¡± These words caused Su Meimei to choke and breathe uneasily. ¡°This is not what I meant! You- You- This penniless woman! You are just jealous that my boyfriend is rich!¡± Qiao Lian... She couldn¡¯t be bothered to talk anymore, as Su Meimei¡¯s brain circuits were absolutely abnormal. She simply turned her head to look to the side. Su Meimei was so livid that one could see her chest going up and down. After quite a while, she managed to keep her anger under control and narrowed her eyes to stare at her. Liu Zhixing chuckled, gave Su Meimei a pat on her back and then looked at Qiao Lian. ¡°Xiao Qiao, we are all colleagues. How can your words be so harsh? Meimei and I are truly in love. Whereas you, I heard that your brother is in the hospital. Howe? Do you have enough money at hand for his medical bills? If it¡¯s not enough, I can lend you some...¡± In front of Su Meimei he expressed such goodwill towards Qiao Lian. This made Su Meimei even more angry and her face turned red in anger. Qiao Lian felt that it was fun. ¡°If I were to ask you to lend me money, would you, Managing Editor, lend it to me?¡± ¡°Of course, we are all colleagues. Why wouldn¡¯t I lend? One word and no matter how much money you need, I will lend it to you.¡± Qiao Lian scratched her chin and said, ¡°My brother needs two million dors for his medical expenses. Managing Editor, will you lend it to me?¡± ¡°This¡ª¡± Liu Zhixing also choked. ¡°You are really asking for an exorbitant amount!¡± Su Meimei was hopping mad. ¡°What is his medical condition!? Why does he need two million dors!? Is your brother¡¯s life made of gold? I really can¡¯t understand it!¡± Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes and smiled coldly, but did not respond. Nevertheless, Su Meimei could not ease her anger. ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask your boyfriend for money? Or is it that your boyfriend doesn¡¯t have money? Qiao Lian, if you are really short of cash, I actually know of a few people who are rich. Do you need me to introduce you to them? They are normally generous to women! I could even introduce a few more to you...¡± With these words, Qiao Lian¡¯s expression changed. Didn¡¯t it mean that she thought of her as an escort? She immediately rebutted sarcastically, ¡°No wonder even when Managing Editor hadn¡¯t joined us yet, you already have branded bags. So they were actually given by those male friends of yours?¡± Su Meimei facial expression changed in a second. She was about to say something, but she suddenly saw Qiao Lian stretching out her hand to press the elevator buttons for all the following floors. Then once the elevator door opened, she turned her head and said while smiling, ¡°Excuse me, I will leave first!¡± After that, she leapt out and headed straight down the staircase. After that the elevator would stop at every single floor, and so when Qiao Lian reached the first floor perhaps the elevator would have not arrived yet! Qiao Lian summoned all her strength to increase her speed to the fastest she had ever reached. She definitely had to rush into Shen Liangchuan¡¯s car and speed off before the elevator reached the first floor. However... When she reached the first floor, heavily panting, she heard the ¡°ding¡± sounding from the elevator. Su Meimei and the group came out. Chapter 229 - The Beginning That He Had Thought (9)

Chapter 229: The Beginning That He Had Thought (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian had almost fallen on the ground. She ran until she could barely breathe, but still did not manage to catch up with the speed of the elevator! Behind her, Su Meimei and the group had already dashed out. When she saw Qiao Lian, Su Meimeiughed immediately. ¡°Why did you have to run so fast? Is there something about your boyfriend that made you so afraid to let us take a look? But honestly speaking, a man¡¯s face is judged by the car he drives. I wonder what kind of car your boyfriend is driving?¡± Qiao Lian felt like she was incredibly unlucky to have met a person like Su Meimei. She was extremely angry indeed! Biting her lips, she ignored them and headed outside. The colleague who had seen Qiao Lian enter the car thest time couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°I saw her boyfriend¡¯s car and it looked very good. But I am not good with car brands, so I don¡¯t know what car it is.¡± ¡°Ha, nowadays in this society there are some cheap car models that can be made to look like branded cars. Come, let¡¯s go take a look!¡± The group walked out of the door, while Su Meimei smiled and watched Qiao Lian run towards the intersection. There was a small ¡®Xiali¡¯ car parked over there. Watching Qiao Lian dashing directly towards that car, Su Meimeiughed gloatingly. ¡°That Xiali! The newest model apparently retails at 30,000? Not bad, judging by the earnings Qiao Lian and her boyfriend are making. Could it be that they are taking a loan to pay for it? I still prefer our BMW.¡± When she finished speaking, she held onto Liu Zhixing. Her words were filled with intense sarcasm and mockery. Another colleague said, ¡°Not this one¡ª¡± Before he could finish speaking, the group saw Qiao Lian pass the Xiali and dash straight for the Ferrari behind it! She speedily opened the car door, crawled into it and shut the door with a loud bang. After Su Meimei and their group of colleagues saw the situation, they immediately widened their eyes in astonishment. Even Liu Zhixing was startled. This Ferrari model was an imported limited edition! He definitely could not afford it! Su Meimei also found it unbelievable. ¡°She- Did she get into the wrong car?¡± ¡°No, this was the car that I saw her get intost time. Sister Meimei, how much does this car cost?¡± Su Meimei felt her face turn red with jealousy! With fuming rage between gritted teeth, she looked in that direction. She couldn¡¯t help but suddenly say, ¡°Could it be that she is a mistress? This man is so rich, could he be in his sixties?¡± These words seemed to even convince herself. She narrowed her eyes and headed towards them. ¡°Come, let¡¯s go and take a look at how old her boyfriend is!¡± The way Qiao Lian had jumped into the car looked like she was being chased by a monster. After the door was shut, she heaved a sigh of relief. Seeing her expression, Shen Liangchuan looked forward perplexed, and saw a group of people heading in their direction with a grandiose attitude. Qiao Lian panicked. ¡°Hurry up, drive away!¡± Shen Liangchuan was perplexed. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask why. Quick!¡± Without any better option, Shen Liangchuan started the car. But the roads were too jam-packed. There was a car which was happening to pass by his car at that moment, which did not allow him to enter the main road. With this short dy, someone knocked the car window. Shen Liangchuan turned his head and saw a girl standing outside, signalling him to lower the car window. When Qiao Lian turned her head, she saw Su Meimei standing outside in an imposing manner that looked like she would not give up unless she achieved her goal. She immediately shouted, ¡°Don¡¯t bother about her!¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s gaze darkened. It seemed that he hadn¡¯t reacted on time before he lowered the window! Since the decision to start anew had been made, then why was there a need to hide? Even if it meant announcing it to the whole world, so what? Chapter 230 - The Beginning That He Had Thought (10)

Chapter 230: The Beginning That He Had Thought (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When they had first gotten married, he had been holding onto the idea of getting revenge on her. That was why he hadn¡¯t allowed her to announce their marriage. But now, what was there to be afraid of? The more Qiao Lian yelled anxiously, the more he did not follow her instructions. Shen Liangchuan lowered the window and even turned his head to look outside. As a star, he was wearing sunsses and a face mask for protection. And so after the windows had been lowered, he stretched out his hand with the intention to remove his face mask. However at this moment, he saw a sudden sh in front of him and Qiao Lian pounced over! In the blink of an eye, Shen Liangchuan heard a ¡°bang¡± and following that, a delicate body fell into his arms. At that moment, Qiao Lian had only one thought. Even though Shen Liangchuan was wearing sunsses and had his face mask on, but as a reporter Su Meimei¡¯s wits were there. As long as she had seen him, she would definitely be able to recognize him. That is why she was not supposed to see it! As she thought of this, she did not think twice and threw a punch across the lowered window! ¡°Bang!¡± The punch hit Su Meimei¡¯s nose, pushing her back instantaneously. Time seemed to have frozen in that instant. Su Meimei looked into the car with astonishment. The car window was still open and Qiao Lian¡¯s fist was still stretched out, but her whole body was lying on the man in the driver¡¯s seat. Su Meimei¡¯s gaze was glued to this man! A thought shed through her mind: Why does this person look so much like Best Actor Shen? She frowned and moved forward, wanting to take a closer look. Qiao Lian¡¯s fist suddenly caught her cor, after which she was almost smashed into the window. When she looked up again, she met Qiao Lian¡¯s prating gaze. This kind of gaze terrified her in a second. Subsequently, she heard a warning from Qiao Lian, ¡°Su Meimei, as to what you should say and what you shouldn¡¯t say, I think it is very clear. I don¡¯t care if you are not afraid, but you should be able to understand Best Actor Shen¡¯s strategy.¡± Su Meimei¡¯s lips moved a little, thinking of saying something, but Qiao Lian saw on the corner of her eyes that the rest of the colleagues were also heading in their direction. She immediately lowered her voice and said, ¡°Don¡¯t think that I don¡¯t know about those things that you did in private. You make a guess, if I were to tell these to Liu Zhixing, do you think he will still want to be with you?¡± Her words froze Su Meimei instantaneously! Clenching her teeth, she said, ¡°Even if I don¡¯t tell, it doesn¡¯t mean that others won¡¯t see you both together!¡± Qiao Lian smiled. ¡°Then I don¡¯t care. In short, if we were to get exposed, you would have to bear the risks. You better look out for yourself!¡± After she finished speaking, she withdrew her hand while she hurriedly used her other hand to push the button to close the window. This was in an attempt to close the car windowpletely, to iste themselves from the view outside before the others came. She then heaved a sigh of relief and her heart lightened. Then after that... she moved a little, only to feel that under her arm there was a pair of strong thighs. Her body stiffened. She realized that it had been because of Su Meimei¡¯s knock on the window, which had lead to her punch... and that was why her whole body was twisted and lying on top of Shen Liangchuan! For a while the car was filled with silence. Her whole mind went nk in an instant. It was totally embarrassing for her to be in this current situation! She didn¡¯t know how much time had past when she heard Shen Liangchuan¡¯s cool voice, ¡°Done hugging?¡± Qiao Lian suddenly reacted and sat upright! Chapter 231 - This Is The Ending She Wants (1)

Chapter 231: This Is The Ending She Wants (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Enough, enough...¡± After she had subconsciously replied that, she felt like giving herself a tight p. She hurriedly lowered her head and stammered, ¡°D- drive.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Shen Liangchuan started the car and they finally started moving. A moment ago, Su Meimei couldn¡¯t believe that Qiao Lian had a rich boyfriend and thus she had been really agitated. She had ran towards the car and reached it before Qiao Lian. By the time her colleagues arrived, Qiao Lian¡¯s car had already driven away. Someone looked at Su Meimei and asked, ¡°Who¡¯s Qiao Lian¡¯s boyfriend? Is he an old man?¡± How could he be an old man! Once again someone tried to bootlick Liu Zhixing and asked, ¡°Is he more handsome than our managing editor?¡± Su Meimei really didn¡¯t feel like speaking. Shen Liangchuan! His existence was like a god. Not speaking about anyone else, even she loved Shen Liangchuan, she liked him so so much to the point that it couldn¡¯t be described. The difference between Liu Zhixing and Shen Liangchuan was like the one between the heavens and the underground. It was totally... ¡°Iparable.¡± Su Meimei¡¯s words were mistaken by her colleagues. All of them started bootlicking their managing director, but at this point all of their words sounded really ironic to Su Meimei. No, whatever she had seen just now couldn¡¯t be real! Shen Liangchuan was married. Thus, Qiao Lian was at most just one of his toys. Qiao Lian was a third party, an unknown lover of his! Yes. That had to be the truth. As she thought so, Su Meimei heaved a sigh of relief. She felt like she could finally make some sense out of it. She couldn¡¯t wait until Best Actor Shen got sick of Qiao Lian, he would definitely ditch her. When the time arrived, she would have many ways to deal with Qiao Lian! But now... Once again someone asked, ¡°Who exactly is Qiao Lian¡¯s boyfriend? He¡¯s so rich, he is probably well-known in Beijing, right?¡± Everyone instantly looked at Su Meimei and heard her reply, ¡°I have no idea, I don¡¯t know him.¡± When she finished speaking, she took a nce at Liu Zhixing and bit her lips. _ In the car. Ten minutes had already passed and both Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan hadn¡¯t spoke. Although they usually did not speak much in the car, Qiao Lian could feel that the atmosphere was kind of cold today. She thought about it and realized that it could be due to what had just happened. She hesitated for a moment and decided to speak, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, my colleague will definitely not spill the beans, since I threatened her just now.¡± After she finished speaking, Shen Liangchuan snorted coldly. Was she that unwilling to announcing their rtionship? Qiao Lian was shocked and moved back into her seat. She then smiled to him fawningly. That smile of hers had fawning intentions but as it was hers, it wasn¡¯t annoying and instead tinged with cuteness. As he recalled that he had been the one who had asked her not to leak the secret of their rtionship, he had no right to be angry with her huge reaction just now. But he still felt ufortable inside. He tried bearing with it but couldn¡¯t help making a sarcastic remark, ¡°You¡¯re just like a fox, trying to intimidate people with your tiger friend.¡± Qiao Lian immediately sucked up to him saying, ¡°Yes, you¡¯re the big tiger and I¡¯m the little fox. Hehe...¡± Shen Liangchuan nced at her coldly and replied, ¡°You¡¯re insulting the IQ of a fox by calling yourself one.¡± Qiao Lian: ... Best Actor Shen, you¡¯d be so much cuter if you weren¡¯t so evil! She twitched her lips and turned to look out of the window. It was then that she realized they weren¡¯t heading home but to another destination. She asked confusedly, ¡°Where are we heading to?¡± ¡°Let me take you somewhere.¡± Chapter 232 - This Is The Ending She Wants (2)

Chapter 232: This Is The Ending She Wants (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The car drove on for quite some time before they reached a vi district in the rural area. After their car drove through the confusing roads in the vi district, they arrived before vi 19. In the car, Shen Liangchuan took out his keys. He pressed the button on it and the door of the vi slowly opened. After Qiao Lian had alighted from the car, she stood in front of the vi. She realized that it wasn¡¯t very big, it was a small three-storey vi. As she observed it, she estimated that the second level of the vi had about six or seven rooms. The garden wasn¡¯t huge either. It wasparable to the vi they were currently residing in, but it was special in its own way. She looked at the vi dazedly, feeling confused. ¡°This is?¡± ¡°Follow me inside.¡± After Shen Liangchuan spoke, he walked into the living room. Qiao Lian followed him into the vi. The interior of the house was simple yetrge. It was well-furnished. The first floor was the kitchen and the living room, nothing special about it. Then, Qiao Lian followed Shen Liangchuan upstairs. On the second floor there were the bedrooms. From a brief nce, there were indeed approximately five or six of them. Before Qiao Lian could finish counting the rooms, Shen Liangchuan made his way up to the third floor. Qiao Lian followed him. She realized that the third floor waspletely borderless, it was just one big room. It was a room the size of a 150 square meters. There were a fewputer tables around and it looked like an office. She stared at the ce for a moment before reacting to the situation. She turned to look at Shen Liangchuan in disbelief and asked, ¡°Is this the training room for the eSports team?¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded. Qiao Lian was immediately remorseful. There were so many little details involved in forming a team. Now that Best Actor Shen was Best Actor Shen, someone who had many people under him, as long as he spoke up, anything could be aplished. However... How many difficulties had Zi Chuan faced eight years ago? Forming a team when his family was against it? He would have definitely been unable to get such a vi for it. As she thought of it, her emotions suddenly sunk. So had he been thoroughly hurt by her backing out? After he had put in so much effort to form a team? She helplessly lowered her head and took in a deep breath. She then heard Shen Liangchuan speak, ¡°Do you have any suggestions or improvements for this ce?¡± Her? Qiao Lian was stunned and looked up at him in confusion. Could it be that Shen Liangchuan already knew that she was Forget Chuan? That is why he had brought her to check out the house? The thought caused her to break into cold sweat with shock. But then he exined himself, ¡°Women are still more meticulous people. Can you help me take a look at what it iscking? So they can feel at home when they move in.¡± Eight years ago, he had set up the team himself. Eight yearster, he wanted to do it together with her. And this ce was their new beginning. Qiao Lian was surprised that he was so thoughtful. But she quickly put her surprise aside and started observing the area seriously. After all, she would most likely be staying there after they got divorced. ¡°Where are theputers?¡± she asked. ¡°I have ordered a custom-made set of the newest equipment, they will be sent over soon.¡± Qiao Lian suggested, ¡°I think that we should wait until they¡¯re here and ask them whatputers they want before assigning them one. If the team members have their ownputers, we won¡¯t have to provide them some.¡± ¡°Ok. Is there anything else?¡± ¡°...¡± Both of them were having an exciting discussion, filled with confidence for the future of the team. Qiao Lian even gave some useful suggestions and both of them were really happy when they left the ce. But little did they know... The beginning that he had thought, was the end that she wanted. Chapter 233 - This Is The Ending She Wants (3)

Chapter 233: This Is The Ending She Wants (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As they had gotten caught up in their conversation at the vi, by the time they reached home it was already 9 pm. The vi¡¯s workers were all in their room and Caretaker Li was with Xia Yehua, thus the vi seemed really quiet. After Qiao Lian finished bathing in the room, she went downstairs for dinner. On the table there was a delicious variety of food in small portions. Shen Liangchuan was already seated. He only took one nce at her and looked back down when he saw her walk over. Qiao Lian just ignored him and started eating. After she had eaten two mouthfuls, a pair of chopsticks suddenly appeared before her, putting a piece of bamboo shoot in her te. Qiao Lian was stunned and looked up in shock. She caught the sight of Shen Liangchuan awkwardly retreating his hand. He was slightly blushing, maybe due to Qiao Lian staring at him. As Shen Liangchuan frowned, he lectured her, ¡°Eat more vegetables.¡± Although his voice was freezing cold, his words brought warmth. It caused tears to suddenly well up her eyes, and she quickly lowered her head. All the food on the table seemed to lose all its taste in that instant. She looked at the piece of bamboo shoot in her te, hesitated for a moment and put it in her mouth. However, all that she tasted was bitterness. Yes, bitterness. Why was he treating her so well? He was being so nice to her that she could no longer bear to leave him. He was being so nice to her that, although she knew that all this was an act, she wanted it tost forever. She pursed her lips and took in a deep breath. She suddenly lost her appetite, as her previously hungry stomach felt as if it had been stuffed to the brim. She perfunctorily finished another bowl of soup and when Shen Liangchuan was putting down his chopsticks, she immediately stood up saying, ¡°Ah, I¡¯m so tired today. Let¡¯s quickly go and sleep.¡± One could tell he was stunned for a moment before he replied, ¡°Ok.¡± It was a normal and casual conversation, but when Qiao Lian exchanged eye contact with him, her face inexplicably turned red. Why did she have bring up the topic of sleeping!? This man wouldn¡¯t think that she was inviting him, right? As she worried and hesitated, she followed Shen Liangchuan up the stairs. ¨C In the master bedroom Qiao Lian sat on the bed, acting as if she was looking at her phone. But on the corner of her eye she was paying full attention to Shen Liangchuan, who was sitting on the sofa. After he had finished bathing, he had been sitting there using his phone. She had no idea what he was doing. Just when she was staring him, he suddenly stood up, giving her a shock. She hurriedlyy down, she could hear Shen Liangchuan¡¯s footsteps. It sounded as if he was walking to the cab. And then he walked back slowly, stopping right beside her. Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes were closed, acting as if she was sound asleep, but her ears werepletely alert. He stood next to her and stared at her for a while before saying, ¡°This is for you.¡± Then, he turned around and entered the washroom. Qiao Lian only lifted her head up after the washroom¡¯s door closed. Her gaze fell on the gift box on the bedside table. She then recalled what Shen Liangchuan had just said... So, this was his present for her? She picked up the box with curiosity and carefully opened it. In the boxid a pink-colored phone, the one that Shen Liangchuan had broken. It was also the newest model of the brand. She was suddenly really touched, as warmth rushed into her heart. He cared about her too, right? Thus, had she been mistaken? At that moment, Shen Liangchuan opened the washroom door and walked out. Seeing him, Qiao Lian had the sudden urge to have a good chat with him. After all, he didn¡¯t seem to be so cold and ruthless to her. She slowly spoke and asked, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, can I stop drinking the milk?¡± Chapter 234 - This Is The Ending She Wants (4)

Chapter 234: This Is The Ending She Wants (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios This was the second time she was making such a question. Although she had said it on impulse, she stared at him after saying so. It was because she was scared that she would regret it in the future if she didn¡¯t find out about the answer. Qiao Lian had always been resolute in the things she did, she rarely beat around the bush. If it had been ording to her usual behaviour, she would have definitely not tested and asked him so many times. She would have just left. However, she had realized that she didn¡¯t bear to do that to Shen Liangchuan. What if he wanted to start something with her after spending one month together? Since a young age, she had liked to take the initiative and go after her happiness. Just like with Zi Chuan years ago. She had been the one who confessed. And just like now... She nervously bit her lips and looked at Shen Liangchuan with anticipation. He obviously looked unaffected. If she hadn¡¯t confirmed that there was something wrong with the milk, Qiao Lian wouldn¡¯t have been able to tell anything from his expressionless and reactionless face! He didn¡¯t speak. He just stood on the stop and stared at her in the dim room. Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help but tighten her fists when seeing his obscure expression. And then sheughed mockingly at herself. See? She was overthinking again. Even if he stopped asking her to take the birth control medicine, could she forgive the pain he had inflicted on her? Would she forgive his past and get together with him? After thinking through, she realized that she actually looked forward to it. But this thought of hers was extremely low and degrading. She lowered her head and stopped looking at his expression. After she put the phone under the pillow, intending to lie down, she heard his voice, ¡°Why?¡± Why? Qiao Lian grabbed finger. If she told him that there was birth control medicine in the milk and she didn¡¯t want to take it, was it the same as telling him that she wanted to give birth to his child? She wanted to keep thest bit of her dignity and replied, ¡°I just simply dislike it.¡± Five words. It was resolute and direct. And surprisingly, Shen Liangchuan was slightly stunned. Since they had met each other, she had always been really careful in front of him. It was really rare to see this side of her. And she didn¡¯t like to drink milk. That was true. She remembered that eight years ago, she wouldin to him every night saying, ¡°Ahhh, my mom is giving me milk again!¡± He himself wasn¡¯t picky with food. He thought that milk was good for his body, hence he would drink a cup daily. But she would always rant, ¡°It¡¯s so annoying to have to drink it every night! I feel like vomiting whenever I see milk now.¡± He would reply, ¡°Drama queen!¡± She would immediately get angry and retort, ¡°Why are you so insensitive! I want you to appease me now.¡± She had always been like this. She would clearly state what she wanted and what she didn¡¯t. It had allowed him to feel her sincerity, even though they had only talked online. It wasn¡¯t until the end that reality gave him a huge blow. When this thought emerged in his mind, his gaze dimmed as he stared at the person on the bed. The womany there, scrunched up. His heart softened as he watched her. He pursed his lips and recalled what the caretaker had said, ¡°Although this medicine is barely harmful to the body...¡± But since it was a birth control medicine, it would be somewhat harmful. Qiao Lian curled in her nket and stopped looking at him. After she had said those resolute words, she felt wronged and like crying. Deep in her heart, she quietly despised herself. Qiao Lian, what are you still expecting!? Just when she was about to cry, she heard his emotionless voice saying, ¡°Ok.¡± Chapter 235 - This Is The Ending She Wants (5)

Chapter 235: This Is The Ending She Wants (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian¡¯s body froze in shock. His voice was soft and cold. At that instant, she even thought that it had been an illusion. He had said... ok? So she no longer had to take the birth control medicine? She widened her eyes in shock and they brightened instantly, like a me emerging from the ashes. All of her depressed feelings disappeared¡ªonly surprise was left! She sat up and stared at him in disbelief. ¡°Really?¡± Her bright expression was glowing with happiness. It was like the most beautiful scenery in the world, he couldn¡¯t take his eyes off her. She was so excited just because she didn¡¯t have to drink milk? He suddenly felt like he had made the right choice, but... Shen Liangchuan¡¯s gaze sunk as he walked towards the bed. ¡°Yes.¡± He moved the nket away andy beside her. Although the heater in the room was turned on, he had been sitting on the sofa for a long time after showering, hence his legs were cold. When he got into bed, his leg identally touched hers and Qiao Lian moved her legs back at that instant. After Shen Liangchuan felt it, he moved towards his side. However just as he was about to lie down, he suddenly realized that she had ced her leg on top of his under the nket. He was slightly stunned and turned his head to look at her. She waspletely covered by the nket, only revealing her head. She blinked and spoke with a tinge of shyness, ¡°It will help you warm up.¡± Shen Liangchuan was shocked. In the past although they had shared the same nket, there would have usually been a rather huge gap between them. Under the nket, her silky soft skin was in contact with his leg. The warmth she gave was spreading from his leg to his heart. It filled him with that long-lost warmth. He opened his mouth and wanted to speak, but eventually decided not to. Then he strechted out his arm and turned the lights off. The room was pitch-dark. Qiao Liany on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Although they had been sleeping together for a month, the feelings around them were so nice they made her fall into a trance. She didn¡¯t really dare sleep, worried that everything would turn out to be a dream when she woke up the next morning. She turned her head and looked at him, and then turned to look at the ceiling. After repeating this movement for a couple of times, he spoke, ¡°Are you having a difficult time falling asleep?¡± Qiao Lian jumped in fright. But she exuded happiness as she replied with excitement, ¡°Yes.¡± She then turned to look at him. ¡°Let¡¯s talk, shall we?¡± ¡°What should we talk about?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s talk about the actors¡¯ gossip?¡± Since he was in the industry, Best Actor Shen probably knew many things she didn¡¯t. Just like... ¡°Who was the person Mo Xicheng kissed in the hotel that day and got seen? Who¡¯s that? His girlfriend?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know her.¡± ¡°... Then let¡¯s discuss the recent movies?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t watched any.¡± Qiao Lian: ... How can I have a proper conversation with him? ¡°... Let¡¯s talk about what you like then. What do you like?¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing I like.¡± Qiao Lian: ... He gave it a thought and continued, ¡°But there¡¯s nothing I don¡¯t like either.¡± There was literally nothing to keep talking about. Qiao Lian didn¡¯t give up. She had always been someone who was good at bringing up the mood and creating conversation. It was such a rare chance that Shen Liangchuan was willing to talk a bit more to her, how could she give up? She suddenly got an idea and eximed, ¡°Let¡¯s y Truth or Dare then!¡± Shen Liangchuan agreed, ¡°Ok.¡± ¡°Let me ask you a question. If you can¡¯t tell the truth, you¡¯ll have to do a dare I tell you!¡± Chapter 236 - This Is The Ending She Wants (6)

Chapter 236: This Is The Ending She Wants (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan had always been an aloof and distant person, so getting to know him was very difficult. Qiao Lian had no other way but to resort to using this method. She looked at Shen Liangchuan and asked an easy question to get the ball rolling, ¡°Are you scared of anything?¡± Shen Liangchuan paused and answered, ¡°Xia Yehua¡¯s nagging.¡± ¡°Pfft!¡± Qiao Lian burst intoughter without any restrains. He indeed liked joking! ¡°It¡¯s your turn!¡± she urged him. Shen Liangchuan pressed his lips together before asking, ¡°What vegetable do you dislike?¡± ¡°Green pepper.¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s eyes narrowed. Her tastes remained the same, just like eight years ago. After answering speedily, Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t wait to ask him the next question, ¡°Why did you be an actor?¡± Many people from rich and powerful families also debuted to be celebrities. Some did it out of boredom, while some did it out of interest. Shen Liangchuan had done it because... ¡°Needed the money.¡± Qiao Lian: ... If there had been water in her mouth, she would have spurted it out! She had thought of a number of reasons for which Shen Liangchuan had joined the entertainment industry, but she had never thought that it would be because of this. Didn¡¯t hee from a rich family? Shen Liangchuan seemed to sense Qiao Lian¡¯s shock, so he asked, ¡°Why did you be a reporter?¡± Qiao Lian pressed her lips together. ¡°Because reporters can uphold justice.¡± Upholding justice and being an entertainment reporter did not seem toplement each other. Thus, Qiao Lian started exining to Shen Liangchuan. She remembered that Shen Liangchuan had something against paparazzi. She definitely did not want him to continue misunderstanding her. She said, ¡°Frankly, not every paparazzi is despicable. Nowadays the Inte is way too advanced and online harassment is diversifying. Many things are not what they seem to be on the surface. Ever since I joined this industry, I have published a total of five articles that are rather popr. The first one was about Liu Xing and Zhang Xue¡¯s divorce seven months ago. Every online newspaper reported that Liu Xing had cheated on Zhang Na, causing all theizens to bash him. However, it had actually been Zhang Na¡¯s scheme to frame him. I covered this so as to let everyone know the truth. The second one was...¡± she kept exining. ¡°The fifth one was about the matter regarding Wang Wenhao.¡± While she listed everything out in detail, Shen Liangchuan kept quiet and listened attentively. Only after she finished talking, did he reply nonchntly with a sound of affirmation. ¡°... Do you have nothing else to say?¡± ¡°Heroine Qiao is so fearless, digging out so many scandals. How many people did you kiss in the process?¡± Qiao Lian was in a daze. After thinking for a while, she suddenly realized that he was referring to the day she had grabbed and kissed him to avoid Wang Wenhao, when she had been trying to uncover news at the wine reception. But this was not the point, alright? Furthermore, why did he sound jealous? She quickly exined, ¡°I don¡¯t just grab and kiss anyone.¡± ¡°Ok, then how do you choose those who are worthy?¡± Qiao Lian refuted, ¡°I¡¯ve only kissed you!¡± As soon as she said that, Shen Liangchuan jealousy vanished instantly. Such an explicit conversation caused him to blush slightly. It was luckily during the night, so he cleared his throat to hide his embarrassment. Qiao Lian did not have a single clue about what went through a man¡¯s mind. ¡°It¡¯s my turn! My question is: how much were you paid for your first movie?¡± ¡°...$100,000.¡± ¡°Pfff.¡± That was cheap. But now, Best Actor Shen¡¯s rate went up to a few millions. She asked curiously, ¡°Then what did you do with your first pay?¡± Chapter 237 - This Is The Ending She Wants (7)

Chapter 237: This Is The Ending She Wants (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After Qiao Lian spoke, there was a long silence. Qiao Lian definitely could sense that the person beside her was rather unhappy. Could it be that this question... was too sensitive? Just when she was about to bring up something else to change the topic, she heard him say, ¡°Pay back the money I owed.¡± Qiao Lian was stunned instantly. ¡°Are you serious?¡± It was obvious that Best Actor Shen came from a wealthy family, how could he possibly owe money? Shen Liangchuan looked down. ¡°I won¡¯t go against the rules of the game.¡± That meant that it was true! Qiao Lian used toe from a well-off family too, so she knew very well that children of rich families would have a secret stash of money since a young age. The red packets for Lunar New Year could easily go up to a few hundred thousands. If she had started saving from a young age, she would have at least a few million dors. So how could Shen Liangchuan be that poor? Biting her lips, she stared at him. She wanted to continue investigating, but he seemed reluctant to continue talking about it. Hence he changed the subject, ¡°It¡¯s my turn. What color do you like?¡± ¡°Blue!¡± Qiao Lian did not find hisme questions weird at all, as she continued staring at him. After thinking for a moment, she asked, ¡°What are your chest, waist and hips measurements?¡± As a celebrity, Shen Liangchuan had to exercise regrly to maintain his figure. He was very demanding with himself, so he revealed his three urate measurements immediately. Qiao Lian thought of the safe in Shen Liangchuan¡¯s study room. The few passwords that she tried that day were all wrong. Who knows? She might not want to steal the contract anymore. However, her curiositypelled her to ask, ¡°Then are there any dates that are significant to you?¡± Shen Liangchuan paused and replied, ¡°May 17th.¡± ¡°What day is it?¡± Qiao Lian asked curiously. Shen Liangchuan pressed his lips together and said after a while, ¡°That¡¯s another question.¡± His reluctance to answer the question was apparent and it also conveyed his displeasure. This day... must have something to do with his unpleasant First Love, right? Qiao Lian immediately took back her words and acknowledged him with an ¡®okay¡¯. However, she suddenly felt like May 17th seemed rather familiar, but she could not figure out why it was familiar. Just when she about to think about it, Shen Liangchuan asked another question. Qiao Lian answered him once again. Next she asked, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, how many rtionships have you been in?¡± Once she said this, he paused and did not utter anything for a long time before replying, ¡°One.¡± So his First Love was the one and only rtionship he had been in. That was why he could not forget it, even after a long time. Shortly after she thought of this, she felt a tinge of bitterness. Shen Liangchuan had only allowed her to stop taking the birth control medicine. He had not told her clearly that he liked her... Even though she believed his actions were flirtatious. So this time, he did not consider it a rtionship? Right. They had gotten married without being a rtionship. Qiao Lian clearly knew that she might offend him with this, yet she simply could not help but ask, ¡°Why did she leave you?¡± As expected, as soon those words got out of her mouth, there was a strange silence in the room, causing her to panic. However, Qiao Lian insisted on waiting for the answer. After a while, he finally answered, ¡°I choose dare.¡± This meant that he would rather agree to some ridiculous request of hers than saying it. Qiao Lian said, ¡°We¡¯ll put that on hold until I think of something.¡± Then another question was asked. ¡°When did you lose your virginity?¡± ¡°...¡± Chapter 238 - This Is The Ending She Wants (8)

Chapter 238: This Is The Ending She Wants (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios This question rendered Shen Liangchuan absolutely speechless. Qiao Lian suppressed her evil giggles while waiting for his answer. To her surprise, he replied momentster, ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± What did she know? Just when she was about to rify it, she suddenly realized that... he meant... he had had his first with her?! She was shocked beyond words and definitely felt like she had dug out some huge secret. Best Actor Shen was a clean and dignified person, how was it possible that he hadn¡¯t had any woman in his life at his age? She knew quite well how indecent the entertainment industry was. She was so stunned that she almost could not speak. She stuttered, ¡°I- I really didn¡¯t expect...¡± Her words had made him feel even more embarrassed, so he said in a stern and cold voice, ¡°Go to sleep.¡± Immediately, Qiao Lian shut her mouth. However she was still in disbelief. She slightly tilted her head and found him lying on his back without moving, seemingly asleep. That sound look made her feel that everything was good all of a sudden. She had initially been determined to leave him. However, his gentleness today had made her heart waver. It almost seemed like if she had agreed to stay, their rtionship would have developed into something more. As she was lost in reverie, her eyelids became heavier and she drifted into her sleep eventually. After her breathing regted, Shen Liangchuan suddenly opened his eyes and turned to look at her. Xiao Qiao, have you already forgotten about May 17th? He smiled bitterly. So he was the only one who could not let go of the past. _ When Qiao Lian woke up the next day, Shen Liangchuan had left the bed already. As she sat on the bed and yawned, she felt like she was still stuck in a daze, as if the heartwarming moments between her and Shen Liangchuanst night had been just a dream. Shaking her head, she refused to dwell on it. Head to work first! She got up from the bed and washed up speedily. After she finished getting dressed and headed downstairs, she found Shen Liangchuan at the dining table already. When she walked over, Shen Liangchuan nced at her. That nce reminded her ofst night¡¯s question all of a sudden. Immediately she could not help but press her lips together, trying to suppress herughter. Conversely, Shen Liangchuan looked down with embarrassment and continued eating, as if nothing had happened. Qiao Lian followed suit and finished her breakfast with a poker face. There was an inexplicable and harmonious awkwardness between them. Even the atmosphere had a tinge of amorosity. Shen Liangchuan was rather ufortable. ¡°I¡¯m going upstairs to get a document.¡± Qiao Lian answered obediently, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll wait for you.¡± Him sending her to work had almost be a habit. As she stood in the living room and watched Shen Liangchuan go upstairs and enter the study room, she could not help but smile. She felt that there was an inexplicable awkwardness that only couples had between them. When she was lost in her thoughts, the cell phone suddenly rang. She picked up the phone subconsciously. Only after she had epted the call, did she realize that the phone was not hers but Shen Liangchuan¡¯s! The call had already been epted, so she headed upstairs and ced the phone on her ears conveniently. Just when she was about to excuse herself, she heard a man¡¯s voice from the other end, ¡°Hello Mr Shen, your ligation surgery has been arranged for Friday this week. Could you check if you are avable on that day?¡± As soon as Qiao Lian heard that, she stopped in her tracks and her body froze! Her mind went nk. There was only one thought in her head: her beautiful dreams had indeed been shattered... Chapter 239 - This Is The Ending She Wants (9)

Chapter 239: This Is The Ending She Wants (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian froze on the spot. She was holding onto the phone with so much strength that her veins were practically popping out of the back of her hands. A sense of humiliation instantly overwhelmed her. She had thought that he had also developed feelings for her, but actually... he was going to undergo a ligation surgery behind her back? Did he not want to have a child with her so desperately? Was that the reason why after he had harmed her body, he was going to hurt himself now? Clenching her teeth, she heard the voiceing from the speaker, ¡°Mr Shen?¡± She came back to her senses only then. The more angry she was, the more heartbroken she was and the more logical she was. Strangely, she managed to calm down her emotions and suppress the anger within her. She was so calm that she seemed to be wearing a mask. ¡°Okay, I will pass the message to Sir.¡± The doctor on the other end thought that she was the servant, so he answered with ease, ¡°Okay.¡± There were soundsing from upstairs, so Qiao Lian hurriedly ended the call. When she looked up, she saw Shen Liangchuan, who was dressed neatly, walking down gracefully. Qiao Lian stared at him. He looked the same as usual. She could not tell any emotions from his pair of dark eyes. If she had not epted the call, Qiao Lian would have never believed that Shen Liangchuan could do such a thing. He could sense her discerning gaze, hence he looked up indifferently. Afterwards, Qiao Lian handed him the cell phone casually. ¡°Don¡¯t forget about your phone.¡± As for what the doctor had said... She did not intend to tell him. Shen Liangchuan took his phone and walked out. Qiao Lian paused for a moment before following him. She was feeling unusually calm at the moment. She also felt utterly hopeless and an inexplicable suffocation. However, she still had a smile on her face while she followed Shen Liangchuan out. They got into the car and Shen Liangchuan drove her to the office. As Qiao Lian stared at the scenery outside, her mind was nk. Just when she was in a daze, she heard a voice beside her, ¡°Are you feeling down today?¡± Qiao Lian came back to reality immediately. ¡°Not at all!¡± Shen Liangchuan did not say anything else. He nced at her and then looked ahead again. Qiao Lian exined, ¡°We usually don¡¯t talk either, do we? I¡¯m fine, really. I¡¯m quite happy.¡± She should be happy. At least there were no doubts left about leaving, because she had lost all hope. However she waspletely unaware that even though she had put on a mask, he could still see at once that there was a hidden sadness behind that smile. Why was she unhappy? Shen Liangchuan wanted to find out, but she seemed to be reluctant to share it, so he simply kept quiet. The interactions between them had always been strange. The incident from eight years ago was still etched in his mind, so it might have caused him to still not be able to be honest with her. The car reached Qiao Lian¡¯s office in no time. When Qiao Lian was about to alight, Shen Liangchuan suddenly said, ¡°If there¡¯s anything you need help with for work, feel free to tell me.¡± She stopped opening the car door and her eyes narrowed. The same thing had happened again. If everything was just for a show, why would he be so nice to her? She turned around. ¡°Sure. If I don¡¯t reach my target this month, I can just publish any piece of news from yesterday evening and it will easily make headlines!¡± This teasing reminded Shen Liangchuan of that awkward questionst night, so he turned away and remained silent. Qiao Lian got off the car and waved goodbye to him. Right after she turned, she saw Su Meimei ring at her with hatred written all over her face. After she looked away, Su Meimei said ruthlessly, ¡°Qiao Lian, Best Actor Shen is married! Aren¡¯t you scared that Mrs Shen will find out about your rtionship with him?¡± Qiao Lian froze on the spot. She was holding onto the phone with so much strength that her veins were practically popping out of the back of her hands. A sense of humiliation instantly overwhelmed her. She had thought that he had also developed feelings for her, but actually... he was going to undergo a ligation surgery behind her back? Did he not want to have a child with her so desperately? Was that the reason why after he had harmed her body, he was going to hurt himself now? Clenching her teeth, she heard the voiceing from the speaker, ¡°Mr Shen?¡± She came back to her senses only then. The more angry she was, the more heartbroken she was and the more logical she was. Strangely, she managed to calm down her emotions and suppress the anger within her. She was so calm that she seemed to be wearing a mask. ¡°Okay, I will pass the message to Sir.¡± The doctor on the other end thought that she was the servant, so he answered with ease, ¡°Okay.¡± There were soundsing from upstairs, so Qiao Lian hurriedly ended the call. When she looked up, she saw Shen Liangchuan, who was dressed neatly, walking down gracefully. Qiao Lian stared at him. He looked the same as usual. She could not tell any emotions from his pair of dark eyes. If she had not epted the call, Qiao Lian would have never believed that Shen Liangchuan could do such a thing. He could sense her discerning gaze, hence he looked up indifferently. Afterwards, Qiao Lian handed him the cell phone casually. ¡°Don¡¯t forget about your phone.¡± As for what the doctor had said... She did not intend to tell him. Shen Liangchuan took his phone and walked out. Qiao Lian paused for a moment before following him. She was feeling unusually calm at the moment. She also felt utterly hopeless and an inexplicable suffocation. However, she still had a smile on her face while she followed Shen Liangchuan out. They got into the car and Shen Liangchuan drove her to the office. As Qiao Lian stared at the scenery outside, her mind was nk. Just when she was in a daze, she heard a voice beside her, ¡°Are you feeling down today?¡± Qiao Lian came back to reality immediately. ¡°Not at all!¡± Shen Liangchuan did not say anything else. He nced at her and then looked ahead again. Qiao Lian exined, ¡°We usually don¡¯t talk either, do we? I¡¯m fine, really. I¡¯m quite happy.¡± She should be happy. At least there were no doubts left about leaving, because she had lost all hope. However she waspletely unaware that even though she had put on a mask, he could still see at once that there was a hidden sadness behind that smile. Why was she unhappy? Shen Liangchuan wanted to find out, but she seemed to be reluctant to share it, so he simply kept quiet. The interactions between them had always been strange. The incident from eight years ago was still etched in his mind, so it might have caused him to still not be able to be honest with her. The car reached Qiao Lian¡¯s office in no time. When Qiao Lian was about to alight, Shen Liangchuan suddenly said, ¡°If there¡¯s anything you need help with for work, feel free to tell me.¡± She stopped opening the car door and her eyes narrowed. The same thing had happened again. If everything was just for a show, why would he be so nice to her? She turned around. ¡°Sure. If I don¡¯t reach my target this month, I can just publish any piece of news from yesterday evening and it will easily make headlines!¡± This teasing reminded Shen Liangchuan of that awkward questionst night, so he turned away and remained silent. Qiao Lian got off the car and waved goodbye to him. Right after she turned, she saw Su Meimei ring at her with hatred written all over her face. After she looked away, Su Meimei said ruthlessly, ¡°Qiao Lian, Best Actor Shen is married! Aren¡¯t you scared that Mrs Shen will find out about your rtionship with him?¡± Chapter 240 - This Is The Ending She Wants (10)

Chapter 240: This Is The Ending She Wants (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lianpletely ignored her and did not even bother to talk to her. She walked straight towards the office building. Su Meimei followed behind her and sneered, ¡°No wonder you rejected my offer when I wanted to introduce you to a few rich friends. It¡¯s because you had already secretly found a financial backer! But don¡¯t be toocent, there are so many beautiful women surrounding someone like Best Actor Shen. Sooner. Sooner orter, he will get sick of you!¡± Qiao Lian remained silent. When the elevator came, she entered the it. Su Meimei entered the elevator as well. Just as she was about to say something, Qiao Lian suddenly said sarcastically, ¡°Su Meimei, there¡¯s something I have always been curious about.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Managing Editor Liu is already in his thirties, why is he not married yet? Does he have a disease that can¡¯t be disclosed to anyone? Or does he hate marriage?¡± ¡°You...!¡± ¡°The worst is that what if he¡¯s already married?¡± Su Meimei was instantly trembling with anger. ¡°Qiao Lian, you just don¡¯t want to see me better off than you, do you? Liu Zhixing bought me a ring long ago, we are going to get married soon!¡± Having sessfully changed the subject, Qiao Lian rolled her eyes and said, ¡°Oh, I will surely give you a thick red packet then.¡± The elevator reached their floor just at the right moment. Qiao Lian walked out and parted ways with Su Meimei. She arrived at the office, however, she simply sat aimlessly at her desk. She had to steal the contract and then divorce him by the end of this week. This way, he would not have to do that surgery anymore. As she thought of this, she took a deep breath and picked up her cell phone to call Doctor Zhang. ¡°Doctor Zhang, can my brother go overseas today?¡± The other party was slightly taken aback. ¡°Is it this urgent?¡± ¡°Yes, it is very urgent. Please help me out, Doctor Zhang. I have encountered some problems.¡± ¡°Hmm, I will look into it right now and give you an answer in a while.¡± Qiao Lian waited for more than an hour while holding her phone in her hands before Doctor Zhang finally called her back. ¡°It¡¯s perfect, there are ne tickets avable today and my teacher is free, so I can go with him. The flight is at 3 p.m.¡± Qiao Lian said decisively, ¡°Okay, I will see him off at the airport in the afternoon.¡± After ending the call, she felt an inexplicable sense of relief. Qiao Lian worked at the news agency with Shi Nianyao until 1.30 p.m. before using going out to search for news as an excuse to sneak out. ¨C At the airport. Qiao Yi was sitting on a wheelchair pushed by Doctor Zhang. Qiao Lian was full of gratitude towards Doctor Zhang and said, ¡°Doctor Zhang, thank you very much.¡± Doctor Zhang shook his head. ¡°No problem. I will just see this as you treating me to an overseas trip. I can visit my teacher too.¡± Qiao Lian nodded and looked at Qiao Yi. As she bent down and stared at his attractive face, she was momentarily speechless. His gaze was warm, but there was still a tinge of reluctance to leave and fear for the future. Qiao Lian¡¯s heart ached. After her brother had lost both his legs eight years ago, he had not met people often. She was very unwilling to let him go overseas alone too. However, she was scared that Shen Liangchuan would vent his anger on him. If he decided to confiscate all the funds used for his treatment, what was she going to do? All her emotions, reluctance to let him go, anxiety, worry, were tranted into this sentence. ¡°Xiao Yi, you have to take care of yourself.¡± Qiao Yi had always been a well-behaved child. As his eyes watered, he nodded and reached out his hand to grab Qiao Lian. ¡°Sis, you have to protect yourself. Don¡¯t let that person find you.¡± ¡°Sis, wait for me. I will be back.¡± Chapter 241 - Let’s Get Divorced (1)

Chapter 241: Let¡¯s Get Divorced (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios A ne flew across the sky. Looking up, Qiao Lian calcted the time and concluded that her brother had to be on that ne. Her eyes watered immediately. When she was young, her parents had wanted her to study abroad. They had started to n it when she was still in high school. However when she found out about it, she was strongly against it. Her mom had asked her for the reason. She did not want to say that it was because of Zi Chuan, so she hugged her and acted coy. ¡°I don¡¯t wanna leave you, Mom.¡± Her parents expressed their regrets, but they spoiled their daughter beyond words. Afterwards, they started preparing her brother to go overseas. Unfortunately before they could even finish preparing, their family suffered a series of mishaps. Now she could finally fulfill their wishes for her brother. She hoped that Qiao Yi could have a better future overseas. Qiao Lian lifted her hand to roughly wipe away her tears and sniffed, as if these actions could soothe the bitter and stifling emotions in her heart. When she left the airport, she did not return to the news agency. Instead she hailed a cab back to the vi. Meanwhile, Song Cheng reported to Shen Liangchuan, ¡°I just received news that Ms Qiao¡¯s brother was sent overseas today.¡± Shen Liangchuan slightly frowned. Sent overseas today? Why had he left in such a rush? Then he recalled how she had been putting up a front when they had left the house this morning, and it dawned on him. So she had been unhappy because of this? As Shen Liangchuan thought of how she had been trying her best to put on a smile, his heart ached. However, Song Cheng continued reporting his uing work schedule, ¡°The major production that you have epted, Lord of Shanghai, is going to start filming soon. They will be filming in Hengdian, so you probably have to go to Hangzhou.¡± He cleared his throat and asked, ¡°Have you thought about how to settle things with Sister-inw?¡± As soon as he finished saying that, he saw Shen Liangchuan look up and frown, like he had encountered a very difficult problem. Next, he asked, ¡°How do you make a girl feel better?¡± As he was smoking, Song Cheng choked all of a sudden the moment he heard this. After he coughed violently for a few times, he asked again as if he had not heard correctly the first time, ¡°What?¡± Shen Liangchuan nced at him coldly, so he immediately switched his teasing expression to a very serious one, as if he was executing an official matter. He said, ¡°Actually, there are many ways to make a girl feel better. For example, you can give her a bag, or a video, or diamonds, or treat her to a meal. You can also give her a bouquet of flowers or say something sweet to her. But a woman¡¯s heart is so unpredictable. You must know the other party well enough to make the right choice.¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded objectively. ¡°Okay, I understand.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll head out now.¡± Song Cheng¡¯s face was turning red from stifling hisughter, so he turned around and left hurriedly. Before the door had even close, Shen Liangchuan heard Song Chengugh out loud. Then he still subtly heard his bursts ofughter. Shen Liangchuan tensed up instantly. Only after a while did he nce at the door coldly. When he looked at the time, he noticed it was already 4 p.m. Hence, he turned on hisputer and started searching for famous restaurants online. It was actually not an easy task for him to provide her a satisfying meal. Her family had been well-to-do when she was young, so she must have tasted everything. However, something that she had said before shed across his mind. ¡°Zi Chuan, I¡¯m craving for m hotpot! My mom said that it¡¯s not good for a girl to eat that. Sob sob sob! But I really want to eat it...¡± M hotpot. His eyes lit up, but he was put in a difficult situation right after. How was he going to appear in public? Chapter 242 - Let’s Get Divorced (2)

Chapter 242: Let¡¯s Get Divorced (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan thought for a moment and shortly after gave Song Cheng a call, ¡°Help me book a m hotpot restaurant.¡± Song Cheng: ...! Brother Shen, isn¡¯t the way you treat a girl to a meal a bit odd? He winced, but he still nodded and said, ¡°Ok.¡± After he hung up the phone, Shen Liangchuan gave Qiao Lian a call. ¡°Where are you?¡± When Qiao Lian received the phone call, she had already reached the vi. She had just alighted from the taxi and was about to enter the main door. However when she heard his question, she replied, ¡°I am at the office, what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°I will pick you up.¡± Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes, pursed up her lips and looked nkly at the main door in front of her. After a while, her gaze got gradually firm and persistent and her voice tone became dignified, ¡°I may have to work overtime. You...e and pick me at eight.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± This one word, with his deep voice, made her nose twitch and she almost began to weep out loud. After the call ended, she pushed open the vi¡¯s door. She entered quickly, said hello to the nanny and then went upstairs to enter Shen Liangchuan¡¯s study. The safe was still in the study. She walked over and started to fiddle with the password. As she recalled his body measurements, which she had obtained slyly from him yesterday, she tried them one by one but neither of them worked. While dealing with the safe, she was so nervous that she was almost sweating. The skies outside gradually darkened and it eventually became totally dark. Neon lights slowly started to light up the street in BJ. Shen Liangchuan had been in front of her office building since five. At this moment he was quietly sitting in the car, sizing up Qiao Lian¡¯s office building. His cell phone suddenly rang. It was Song Cheng who called. ¡°Brother Shen, the boss from the m hotpot restaurant has called a few times asking what time you both will be arriving?¡± Shen Liangchuan said apathetically, ¡°No rush.¡± ¡°Ok then. Oh, right, Brother Shen, the person you hired to deliver the flowers is already on his way. Make sure to call home to inform the housemaid to sign for the delivery.¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded and said, ¡°Yes.¡± After he ended the call with Song Cheng, he made a phone call to the vi. The housemaid answered the call and after she heard his request, she agreed. But then she continued, ¡°Mr Shen, will you being back for dinner today? Dinner is ready but Mrs Shen is still upstairs. Is she waiting for you or should I serve her first?¡± When Shen Liangchuan heard her words, his facial expression turned cold. ¡°What did you say?¡± ... In the warm room, Qiao Lian was so anxious that she broke out in cold sweat. What was Shen Liangchuan¡¯s actual password for the safe? She bit her lips and suddenly remembered that special date that Shen Liangchuan had mentioned yesterday. She tried 0517. The safe reacted and opened up. She stared at the open safe, feeling like she had been relieved from a great burden! The next second, she started to rummage through the documents in his safe at top speed. There weren¡¯t many things in Shen Liangchuan¡¯s safe. They were mostly the contracts for the his movie shoots. As she continued rummaging, she suddenly found at the bottom of the pile the surrogate pregnancy contract that she had signed with Shen Liangchuan! Her eyes lit up and she promptly took out the contract. She stood there while holding the contract, and lowered her head to inspect the document to make sure that it was the original version. She then turned around and as she was intending to close the door of the safe, the door of the study was pushed open. Seconds after, Shen Liangchuan strode in! His gazended momentarily on the document that she was holding in her hand and narrowed his eyes. Then he asked, ¡°What are you doing?¡± Qiao Lian held the document tightly in her hands. All the rage and anger in her seemed to have instantly found a venting point. The words she spoke were so calm and rational that could have shaken anyone, ¡°Let¡¯s get divorced. Chapter 243 - Let’s Get Divorced (3)

Chapter 243: Let¡¯s Get Divorced (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Her words were earth-shattering. Shen Liangchuan felt as if he had been struck and was overwhelmed with astonishment and surprise. He was rooted to the spot. She stared at the woman in front of him, unbelievably. When she usually was around him, she was always submissive and gave a smile that yed up to him. But now that smile had been obliteratedpletely. Her tiny face was tightly wrinkled and her gaze was so cold that it seemed like she was looking at a stranger. And she had yed her heartless words down, as if she had just simply been telling him, ¡°Time to have breakfast.¡± This side of Qiao Lian was unfamiliar to him. This sort of feeling was just like eight years ago! He tightened up his chin and stared at her with his cold prating gaze. However deep down in his heart, a gush of mixed emotions burst out in a split second. Ange and astonishment. But above all, sadness! He had been betrayed by her once again. This time around, it hurt more thanpared to eight years ago. He did not say a word, he just watched her grasp the document tightly in her hands. She moved one step forward, abruptly took out a card from her pocket and ced it in front of him. Then she carefully said, ¡°There are two million inside. Take it, I¡¯m paying you back.¡± His pupils shrank again. So she asked him for two million under the name of Forget Chuan because of this? At the time it hadn¡¯t been that he wasn¡¯t suspicious, but his first reaction had been that he felt that it was because she was worried about her brother¡¯s condition. He had been worried that she would be put in an awkward situation because of those two million dors, and hence he had suppressed his suspicions and decided to send her the money. Moreover, even after the incident from eight years ago, he had strived to persuade himself to believe in her. But in the end... Her words felt just like pouring oil on his fiery raging heart¡ªhe was burning with fury! He clenched his fists, trying to restrain the anger that was about to erupt, as he narrowed his eyes and said, ¡°Why?¡± His voice was hoarse, as if he was suppressing the fiery fury in his eyes. This gave Qiao Lian¡¯s heart chills. But it did not show on her face at all. She just stared at him. Why? His question made her feel strongly humiliated. How did he dare ask? She had once been the daughter from a wealthy family, but now she was being walked all over, bullied and humiliated recklessly. She had married him for money. He had agreed to suppress his own feelings, but then step by step along the way, he had enticed himself into this situation. She had always been timid and humble in front of him. But ultimately, she had gotten in return birth control medicine! A ligation surgery! Now she was going to expose this. Thest bit of pride left in her made her strive to maintain her dignity. She stared at him, and her tone remained calm as she asked, ¡°Then why did you marry me?¡± Why had he married her? Shen Liangchuan was dumbfounded because of her question. In the contract it was stated that he had married her in order to bear his child, but in reality... His hesitation made Qiao Lian heart feel even colder. With his reaction and the housemaid¡¯s words, what else was left to understand? She mocked herself with her lips raised. She saw that he did not have the intention to take the bank card, so she shoved the card into his hands and said, ¡°The money has been returned to you and I have got the contract. As for the divorce agreement, I will find awyer to help us create a draft. And rest assured, I will not take a single cent from you. I will leave the marriage with nothing.¡± Leave the marriage with nothing? She had said it so bluntly, without the slightest tinge of reluctance. How heartless exactly was this woman? He had reached so low that after eight years, he had once again given his heart to her. But she ignored it! Chapter 244 - Let’s Get Divorced (4)

Chapter 244: Let¡¯s Get Divorced (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan¡¯s facial expression became gloomier. He stared at the woman in front of him, feeling like he could no longer suppress the anger inside of him. He took out the card that she had squeezed into his hand and shortly after that, he took a step forward and forcefully restrained her. Qiao Lian was shocked by his sudden action. When she tried to move backwards, he vigorously grabbed her chin! His strength made her feel that her chin was going to be torn into pieces! However, she was stubborn enough to just clench her teeth. Without speaking a word, she just used her pair of cold and detached eyes to look at him. His eyes were very dark, as dark as a night demoning from hell in an attempt to seek for revenge. He suddenly smiled and said, ¡°Thinking of a divorce?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s body hadpletely frozen. At this moment although he was smiling, his eyes didn¡¯t show that smile, and it revealed an angry kind of authority that was waiting to be challenged. And so it was. The next second he said, ¡°Ms Qiao, I don¡¯t think you understand in what position you are in!¡± As soon as he finished speaking, his gaze fell upon the contract that she was grasping tightly in her hands. His eyes slightly narrowed and he got even angrier! The safe was intact and with no signs of damage, which meant that she had guessed the password. As for the password... So when she had suddenly agreed to y Truth or Dare with himst night, was it because of this?! Indeed, she had even decided to send her brother away. Was it because she didn¡¯t want him to get implicated? He had thought that she was obsessed with him. She had confessed her love to him more than once, just like she had done eight years ago. Moreover in the car that day, she had boldly revealed her affection. But it turned out that everything was fake! Everything was a lie! This liar! Anger ignited his rationality, which made his eyes darken and the strength of those big hands grabbing her chin be increasingly stronger. He had always been a sensitive person. But he had not seen through her simple gimmick. Was it because... he had not set up any defenses against her? But she had taken advantage of his sincerity. Shen Liangchuan stared at the person in front of him. As he held her chin, her head was slightly raised, revealing her fair, slender neck. At this moment, he even wanted nothing more than to strangle her! That rage partially subsided when he saw her obviously frightened but pretending-to-be-calm gaze, and the fact that her face had turned pale because of the pain. Yet he still partially had a strong sense of being powerless. He looked down, covering up all the emotions in his eyes. His words were so cold that they seemed to be freezing. ¡°So you think that by getting this contract, you will be able to have a fair discussion with me about the divorce?! Don¡¯t forget there are backups of all the contracts at thew firm!¡± These ruthless and strong words that came from his mouth caused Qiao Lian¡¯s eyshes to tremble slightly. She gave a bitterugh. Yes, she should have thought of that a long time ago. Even if she had managed to steal the contract, things would have still not gone smoothly! Therefore, she had made the decision to send Qiao Yi abroad early. But his coldness also made her narrowed her eyes, and she stubbornly said, ¡°I want a divorce.¡± Only four words, but they let Shen Liangchuan know her determination. Deep in his heart an inexplicable panic appeared. Because of the fluster he felt, he was put in a situation he had never faced before. He did not even wish to look into her eyes again. As he let go of her chin, he left behind a powerful message. ¡°Thinking of a divorce? OK.¡± His words made her look up hopefully. He was willing to let her go? She also didn¡¯t want to let the issue get too ugly. Him agreeing to it would be the best possible oue! Chapter 245 - Let’s Get Divorced (5)

Chapter 245: Let¡¯s Get Divorced (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios However, she immediately heard him say... ¡°After you have given birth to a child, you can get lost!¡± Give birth? Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes narrowed. She was about to say something, but he suddenly turned around and headed to the door, without giving her the chance to say anything. ¡°Bang!¡± The room door had been violently closed, as way of dering his anger. Her both legs, however, turned weak and she fell onto the ground. _ As Shen Liangchuan was rushing down the stairs, he saw the housemaid carrying in a flower bouquet. When she saw him, she inquired, ¡°Sir, should I give these flowers directly to Madam? Or will you¡ª¡± Before she could finish her sentence, she realized that he was in a fit of anger and stopped speaking immediately. Shen Liangchuan stopped to stare at that delicate flower bouquet. The flowers were pretty. They were her favourite, pink roses. But at this moment, those flowers seemed to be mocking his unreciprocated love. He clenched his fist and continued to stride forward, taking the flowers from the housekeeper and violently smashing them on the ground! He did not hesitate to step on those flowers. Then he headed straight out of the door, looked for his car and rushed out. The sports car drove at high speed on the road around the outskirts of the vi area. He opened up the roof of the car. The cold and biting wind prated his skin inch by inch, transmitting it to his heart. He had thought she was unhappy because her brother was abroad, so he had tried his best to make her happy. She had said that she was at the office and had told him to pick her up at eight. At that time in fact, he had already been waiting downstairs, but he hadn¡¯t told her because he was worried she would feel guilty. But ultimately... He had been waiting for her downstairs for more than two hours. All these were tactics to dy time, so that she could buy time to go home and steal the contract. As he thought of this... he felt as though his heart was being grabbed by a big, invisible hand. He was so angry that he thumped the steering wheel with his fist! At this moment, his cell phone suddenly rang. He picked up the call casually. He heard Song Cheng¡¯s voice emanate from his bluetooth headset, ¡°Brother Shen, you said you will be dating someone beautiful? The m hotpot restaurant¡¯s boss called again to prompt you. You¡ª¡± Before he could finish his words, Shen Liangchuan stepped on the brakes. ¡°Screech!¡± The friction between the car and the road caused that screeching sound. He fixed his eyes ahead. Song Cheng was astonished. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Brother Shen? What was that sound? I hope it wasn¡¯t a car ident.¡± But Shen Liangchuan suddenly cut off the line and shook his hand, smashing the cell phone on the street. His sports car moved in reverse a bit.. After that, the cell phone was crushed. Then the car dashed forward! ¨C When Qiao Lian heard the sound of Shen Liangchuan¡¯s car ignition, she knew that he had left. She fell and sat on the carpet, feeling powerless. At that moment, the stubbornness and strength she had had a moment ago had suddenly disappeared. Her body was trembling uncontrobly. She hugged her knees and slowly buried her head in them. After a while, huge drops of tears fell onto the carpet. She clenched her teeth firmly but eventually, she couldn¡¯t help but whimper. The soft crying sound echoed in the whole study. After about half an hourter, the sound gradually became weaker and then it slowly disappeared. Pressing her two hands onto the ground to support herself, she stood up, scanned the four corners of the room, including the contract that she had been holding tightly, and then walked out of the study slowly. After returning to the master bedroom, she simply packed the things that she had brought when she moved in. Then she took the suitcase and headed out. She turned around and looked at this undoubtedly unfamiliar but yet familiar room. Looking at the big bed, where her and him had **** on before, she said silently in her heart, ¡°Goodbye.¡± Chapter 246 - Let’s Get Divorced (6)

Chapter 246: Let¡¯s Get Divorced (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The next two days, Qiao Lian went to work as usual. After work, she returned to the room she had rented and stayed in before. Ever since that day, Shen Liangchuan seemed to have vanished without a trace and had not called her in these two days. She also did not take the initiative to contact him. Her life seemed to have gone back in time a month in an instant. Back to her nine to five and monotonous schedule. She had been very busy. She was so busy that she had only slept for a few hours these past two days. This was because if she were to be idle, she would be feeling very sad, as if the ocean was going to drown her in it. Yet this afternoon, she received a call from Song Cheng saying, ¡°I can¡¯t find Brother Shen!¡± This was the first time she heard news of him in these two days. But his words suddenly shocked her. ¡°Since when?¡± ¡°Since the day after yesterday. Have you two been quarrelling?¡± Qiao Lian panicked immediately. ¡°He disappeared the day before yesterday? Why did you only mention it now! Have you reported it to the police?¡± ¡°No, I didn¡¯t. There¡¯s no need to panic...¡± Qiao Lian scolded him directly, ¡°A big grown-up person went missing for two days, how could you not worry?¡± ¡°Hey, sister-inw, let me finish! Brother Shen has done this before. He has suddenly disappeared, but do not panic, he wille back in a few days time. He will definitely be back before his movie starts filming.¡± Qiao Lian heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°So what is the purpose of your call?¡± ¡°This is the case. Before Brother Shen¡¯s disappearance, he asked me to make an appointment for him to meet up with Zombie Leader this afternoon. He said that it was to discuss with Zombie Leader about him joining the eSports club. But Brother Shen is now missing, what should I do?¡± When Qiao Lian heard this, she pressed her lips together. Although she had suggested a divorce with Shen Liangchuan, as Forget Chuan, she had to still stay in the club. So she hesitated for a while and then said firmly, ¡°Send me the address. I will talk to him.¡± ¨C Judging from Zombie Leader¡¯s behavior in the game, he should be an arrogant and obstinate person. The person in front was actually wearing custom-made clothes and was full of arrogance. But because of his upbringing, it did not make one loathe him. It fitted his image. Qiao Lian arrived at the cafe, reached out her hand and said, ¡°How do you do?¡± The man took a look at her arrogantly and nodded. Qiao Lian did not feel awkward. She sat down directly and said, ¡°I am Qiao Lian and you are...¡± ¡°Su Penghao.¡± There was a tinge of pride in his voice. Judging by what he was wearing, he came from an extraordinary family. It was not an easy feat to invite such a person to join their club. She prepared the words in her mind before saying, ¡°I have watched you y. You are excellent in the game. Have you ever thought of joining our club to be a professional eSports yer? ¡°Never thought of it.¡± The other party had rejected her directly. After that Su Penghao let out a smirk on his face. ¡°You do not have to rack your brains to convince me. I will not join your club.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Su Penghao smiled arrogantly. ¡°Because I heard that your club¡¯s coach is Forget Chuan.¡± Qiao Lian frowned and asked, ¡°You look down on female yers?¡± ¡°Ha! It¡¯s not that I look down on them, but it¡¯s a fact that women just can¡¯t y games!¡± Qiao Lian immediately reacted, showing that she wasn¡¯t going to admit defeat, ¡°Who says that? There are some that y well!¡± ¡°Right, it is true that there are those who can make it. But I am only convinced by one female yer: Xiao Qiao. She used to y lot many years ago. The rest of them... are not worthy to be my coach!¡± Chapter 247 - Let’s Get Divorced (7)

Chapter 247: Let¡¯s Get Divorced (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The man in front of her looked like he was in his early twenties, only two or three years younger than Qiao Lian. When he said this, his chin was slightly up in the air and there was disdain in his gaze. This person was very arrogant. However when he said that he only trusted Xiao Qiao, Qiao Lian had a sense of pride. She felt a surge of warmth in her heart. When she yed lot in the past, she had not expected any outstanding results from ying it. But when she actually started ying along with Zi Chuan, her reputation boomed. Little did she expect that she would still have admirers, even though it had been eight years since she hadst yed the game. However... how could she tell him that she was Xiao Qiao? She had no evidence to show him. If she suddenly blurted out this fact, he would probably see her as a conman, wouldn¡¯t he? Qiao Lian looked down to hide the emotions in her eyes. ¡°You said you won¡¯t join a club at the moment. Are you referring to our club or...?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not interested in ying eSports.¡± Qiao Lian became silent suddenly. ¡°Can I tell you a story?¡± ¡°Actually, I am not at all interested in it. But seeing that a beautifuldy is telling the story, I shall continue listening.¡± Something nice finally came out of this person¡¯s mouth. Sheughed. ¡°Our country has always paid little attention to the field of eSports. It was only until two years ago that eSports were finally listed as a sport. Since then,rge-scale internationalpetitions have also started emerging. But do you know something? Eight years ago, there was already someone who wanted to start an eSports club...¡± She talked about the time she yed against Country H. Atst she said, ¡°In the end, they mocked us by calling us ¡®Chinese pigs.¡¯¡± Every young man would have a burst of emotions at certain times, so she tried to use this to convince him. As expected, Su Penghao became silent. Qiao Lian continued, ¡°You have never interacted with Forget Chuan, maybe she¡ª¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t even want to go near that ugly creature!¡± Su Penghao said directly, with a face of despise. ¡°... Who said that she is an ugly creature?¡± ¡°Hmph, in this day and age, anyone can do a livestream. She does not even show her face during livestreams. It must be because even makeup cannot hide her ugly face! I do not want to face an ugly creature every single day, it will make me lose all my appetite. I might not even be able to eat rice!¡± Qiao Lian: ...! She burst outughing suddenly. With both hands cupping her chin, she said, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry for making you feel ufortable!¡± Su Penghao brushed it off. ¡°It¡¯s not you, why are you apologising¡ª¡± Before he could even finish his sentence, his eyes widened as he stared at Qiao Lian in disbelief. ¡°You are Forget Chuan?¡± Qiao Lian stood up. Looking at the man in disbelief, she reached out her hand, ¡°Let me introduce myself again. Hello, I am Forget Chuan. Nice to meet you.¡± At this moment, all of the arrogance, despise and everything else Su Penghao had felt just now had turned into shock. However, his good manners urged him to set aside all his emotions. He stared at that hand and shook it after some hesitation. Qiao Lian continued, ¡°Would you consider what I¡¯ve said earlier now?¡± Su Penghao¡¯s lips curled. ¡°Even if you are Forget Chuan, my stance remains the same. I do not trust your abilities and I do not want to join a club that¡¯s not reliable.¡± She sighed in disappointment. In the end, she was simply not capable enough to guarantee him a bright future. Chapter 248 - Lets Get Divorced (8)

Chapter 248: Let¡¯s Get Divorced (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After leaving the cafe where she had negotiated with Su Penghao, Qiao Lian walked down the streets. Although she was disappointed that Zombie Leader could not join their team, she was mostly thinking about what Song Cheng had said then. Shen Liangchuan was missing. He had been like this before. Whenever he was unhappy, he would disappear for a few days. However why was he unhappy? Was it because he had felt humiliated when she had asked for a divorce? Or was it because... She did not dare to think along these lines again, because too many of her fantasies had been destroyed, making her believe that it was all one-sided. Shaking her head, she decided to head home. However, her cell phone suddenly rang. She was slightly taken aback. As she looked down and held the phone up, she realized it was Song Yuanxi. She pressed her lips together before picking up the call. Song Yuanxi said on the other end, ¡°Sister-inw, do you know where Brother Liangchuan is?¡± ¨C The seaside of Qinhuangdao was not crowded at all, as it was winter. Shen Liangchuan stood at a vi balcony, not far away from the sea. His nonchnt gaze was set on the distant sea. As he stood there, the sea breeze blew incessantly. It did not feel cooling like a summer breeze. Instead, it was freezing. He was wearing a sweater and a pair of trousers, but it seemed like he could not feel the cold at all. He drew a mouthful of smoke fiercely in an attempt to suppress the vexation in him. In the past whenever he had been upset, he woulde and look at the sea. Eight years ago, he had managed to calm his emotions by staying by the sea for a few days. However now, even though he was staring at the sea, he was not able to calm himself down at all. As he inhaled again, nicotine rushed into his lungs, triggering a surge of heat in his body. He turned around and extinguished the cigarette. With both hands on the balcony fence, he was clearly looking ahead, but the memory of her calmly telling him ¡°let¡¯s get a divorce¡± wouldn¡¯t leave his mind at all. He clenched his fists tightly. Suddenly, he heard sounds from downstairs. This vi was his private property on Qinhuangdao. However, he owned houses all over the country, so nobody could know his whereabouts during his disappearance these past few days. There was only one person who knew that he liked to look at the sea whenever he was unhappy... As he thought of this, dreariness shed in his eyes. He turned around and fixated his anxious gaze on the corridor leading to the second floor. Momentster, he heard footsteps. A figure slowly appeared in front of him. After looking clearly at the woman before him, his gaze dulled. The words that came out of his mouth carried an anger that even he did not detect. ¡°How did you know that I was here?¡± Song Yuanxi bit her lips, showing a timid look. ¡°I- I asked Sister-inw... She doesn¡¯t want you to know this, Brother Liang Chuan, but Aunt Xia has been very worried about you for the days you have been missing.¡± Shen Liangchuan looked down to hide the disappointment in his eyes. Looking at the sea whenever he was upset had always been a secret he had kept to himself since young. After so many years, he had only told this to her. Yet now, how could she tell others about this so casually? He suddenly felt ufortable, it was like there was a third party intruding their very own secret space. The sky was already dark. Song Yuanxi was carrying along a small backpack, she had nned to stay over for a night before leaving early in the morning the next day. However before she could even say anything, Shen Liangchuan suddenly started to walk out. ¡°Let¡¯s head back to Beijing.¡± She was slightly taken aback, but she did not say anything and simply followed him. Chapter 249 - Let’s Get Divorced (9)

Chapter 249: Let¡¯s Get Divorced (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Shen Liangchuan drove back to Beijing, it was alreadyte night. The vi¡¯s neighborhood was very quiet, and the street lights gave out a yellow light. He had sent Song Yuanxi back to vi 18 before driving back to vi 8. As he approached the vi, he felt more anxious. At that moment, he felt ambivalent about returning home. It was something he had never felt in the past. What if she mentioned divorce again, after she saw him return home? However, could there also be the possibility that... she had changed her mind after these two days? Just like those times, she could already be obediently waiting for him at home when he returned from work. Keeping this in mind, he drove into the vi. The vi was pitch-ck, except for the living room illuminated by the night light. When he opened the door, this gave the servant in the room a shock and woke her up. With a piece of clothing draped over her shoulders, she walked out hurriedly. When she saw Shen Liangchuan, she was surprised. ¡°Mr Shen, you are back? Would you like something to eat? Or do you have other ns?¡± Shen Liangchuan pressed his lips together and peered upstairs. Then he said nonchntly, ¡°Is Madam asleep?¡± The servant was taken aback. ¡°Huh?¡± Shen Liangchuan replied, ¡°What?¡± ¡°A- After you left the other day, Madam packed a suitcase with her belongings and left as well...¡± The more she spoke, the softer her voice was. She could already feel the gloominess Shen Liangchuan was exuding. Just when he was going to head upstairs, he stopped, turned around and gave her a cold stare. That cold stare of his almost made the insignificant servant freeze. Lowering her head, she did not dare to utter a single word, as she was extremely frightened. There was a moment of silence in the room. After a while, the insignificant servant heard Shen Liangchuan say indifferently, ¡°Oh, she went overseas to settle some things for a few days.¡± Only after he finished exining did he head upstairs. The insignificant servant was so frightened that she froze on the spot. Actually, there was no need for Mr Shen to report Madam¡¯s whereabouts to her! After wiping the non-existent sweat on her forehead, she scurried back to her room. _ Shen Liangchuan pushed the master bedroom door open and switched on the lights. The room was very neat and tidy, as if there had been no changes at all. He stood by the door and nced at the room before entering. It was only then that he realized that she had not taken a single item that he had gifted her. When she had moved here, she had only brought along one set of clothes. When she leaving, she had remained very candid. There didn¡¯t seem to be many changes from a rough overview. However Shen Liangchuan noticed that there was only one toothbrush left in the washroom, leaning against the ss cup pitifully. In addition, there was only one towel left hanging on the wall. Her little underwear at the small corner of the closet was missing as well. The expensive skincare products he had bought for her also stood remotely on the dressing table. Nothing seemed to show that there had been traces of her being here before. However, only he knew that this room had changed. Her departure signified her determination to divorce him. Actually, if she hadn¡¯t been determined about this, she would not have prepared so much prior to this. As Shen Liangchuan sat on the sofa silently, he looked at everything that had once been familiar, yet now extremely foreign to him. He could only feel a surge of endless loneliness in his heart. Then he suddenly startedughing. But thatughter seemed so terrifying in the dark night. At the same time, a sense of insidiousness filled his heart. Trying to escape, Xiao Qiao? Keep dreaming! Chapter 250 - Let’s Get Divorced (10)

Chapter 250: Let¡¯s Get Divorced (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios That night Qiao Lian had continuously sneezed several times when she was asleep. The next morning when Qiao Lian had just stepped into the office, she heard Su Meimei announce, ¡°We¡¯re having a meeting!¡± Her and Shi Nianyao looked at each other, picked up their notebooks and headed towards the conference room. Moments after they walked in, they saw Team One memberse inside as well. Team One and Team Two werepletely split up. Qiao Lian and Shi Nianyao were sitting on one side. Meanwhile, Team One members had no intentions of sitting on the same side as them, even if it meant shifting their chairs. They were all seated behind Team One¡¯s chief editor and it seemed like they were creating a clear division. Judging the situation, Shi Nianyao whispered to Qiao Lian, ¡°Actually, it¡¯s not that bad being under you.¡± Qiao Lian raised her brows. Shi Nianyao smiled. ¡°Look at the amount of space we have! That¡¯s a clear advantage!¡± ¡°Pfft!¡± Qiao Lian burst intoughter. While they were chatting casually, the atmosphere on the other side was very tense. After a while, Managing Editor Liu Zhixing walked in. When he saw the ¡®battle formation¡¯ for the meeting, he was slightly taken aback. His lips twitched wanting to say something, but he still chose to remain quiet in the end. After sitting down he said, ¡°So Team One¡¯s Chief Editor Zhang Chunhua gave a suggestion. Since the news agency is split into two different teams, there should be an equal distribution of the workload. There will also be a performance evaluation for both teams at the end of the year. First things first, we have ten assignments next week, so each team will take five¡ª¡± Before he could finish speaking, Qiao Lian interrupted him, ¡°Managing Editor, we only have two people. Isn¡¯t this ¡®equal distribution¡¯ unfair?¡± Zhang Chunhua immediatly sneered, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to employ more people in the future? Moreover, this is apetition between two teams, of course it should be done fairly!¡± After that, she said authoritatively, ¡°Qiao Lian, your team should do a follow-up of Mo Xicheng¡¯s news conference for his new album next week. Also, Mo Ru¡¯s side has set a date for the interview so you should make up for it. Another thing...¡± She distributed the ten assignments one-sidedly. Looking at the distribution, Qiao Lian was so angry, she almost wanted tough out loud. Zhang Chunhua was tantly oppressing her! Mo Xicheng was known to be someone whose information was extremely difficult to find. He was even harder to deal with than Shen Liangchuan. This was because there was never any news released about him, other than that time he had been caught kissing his secret girlfriend. Mo Ru was infamous for her nasty temper as well... She red at Zhang Chunhua with a frown. Zhang Chunhua mocked her, ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that. I¡¯m actually giving you all the big scoops. So far no one has found Mo Xicheng¡¯s girlfriend yet!¡± As soon as she finished talking, Shi Nianyao became visibly ufortable. Unfortunately, no one was paying attention to her. Zhang Chunhua criticized her, ¡°Hmpf. You cannot even dig out such an important news item. It¡¯s just likest time, when you followed Mrs Shen for a month. In the end? Not even a single piece of news. You¡ª¡± Before she could finish speaking, the conference room door was pushed open by the front desk secretary. Zhang Chunhua turned around with displeasure. She was about to say something, but she realized the front desk secretary was very excited. She was so excited that she could not even speak properly, ¡°Be- Best Actor Shen... is- is here!¡± The moment she said that, everyone in the conference room was astonished! Liu Zhixing stood up immediately. ¡°What did you say?¡± How was it possible that Best Actor Shen... hade to their news agency?! However the next moment, everyone saw a tall handsome figure standing at the entrance. The second Qiao Lian saw him, her eyes narrowed instantly! Chapter 251 - Why Are You Making Me Take the Pill? (1)

Chapter 251: Why Are You Making Me Take the Pill? (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan was wearing a sweater and trousers with both hands casually tucked in his pockets. Hisrge and tall frame was positioned in a rxed manner, but his steely gaze was fixated on Qiao Lian. The whole office fell silent all of a sudden. Everyone was staring with disbelief at the man standing in front of the meeting room. A few minutes of silence passed before Liu Zhixing finally reacted, ¡°Best- Best Actor Shen... What brings you here?¡± Obviously trying hard to please him and suck up to him, he put on his most pleasant smile as he rushed up to Shen Liangchuan, bending to offer a handshake. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s hands remained firmly tucked in his pockets. Hepletely ignored the approaching man and did not even shift his gaze from Qiao Lian, who had turned pale with fright by now. ¡°Am I not weed?¡± he asked. Although it looked as though he was responding to Liu Zhixing¡¯s question, Qiao Lian knew very well that the remark was directed to her. Of course she did not wee him! Why had he made an appearance at her publishing firm for no apparent reason? Surely he was not here to announce their rtionship, right? The possibility of making the headlines and having her pictures published crossed her mind. She trembled at the thought of that person finding her. Oblivious to the undercurrents between the two, Liu Zhixing nodded and bowed. ¡°Wee, of course we wee you! It is such an honour for us to have your presence grace our humble news agency! Mr Shen, if I may ask... what brings you here today?¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression darkened as he pointed at Qiao Lian. ¡°I¡¯m here to... look for her.¡± As he lifted his hand to point at Qiao Lian, all eyes unanimously followed the direction of his finger. Everyone was shaken to the core. ¡°You- you know her?¡± Liu Zhixing gave a quick nce in Shen Liangchuan¡¯s direction before looking at Qiao Lian with an incredibly puzzled expression. Shen Liangchuan then made an amazingly tant remark, ¡°I not only know her, we are¡ª¡± husband and wife! Before he could finish what he was saying, Qiao Lian quickly interrupted him! She hurriedly stepped up and grabbed Shen Liangchuan¡¯s elbow. Putting on the most pitiful expression she could, she pleaded, ¡°Best Actor Shen, it- it was all my fault! I will never harass you for an interview again!¡± With her words, everyone suddenly saw the light. Except for Su Meimei. After the previous incident, when Wang Wenhao hade looking for trouble at the news agency, everyone had naturally assumed that this time around Qiao Lian must have had gotten herself into some sort of trouble again. And this time it was with Best Actor Shen! Chief Editor Zhang Chunhua of Team One immediately looked gleefully at the potential situation that was developing. Liu Zhixing was stunned. Before he could say anything, Qiao Lian tugged at Shen Liangchuan saying, ¡°Best Actor Shen, could we have a word in private?¡± She gave no opportunity for anyone to speak. Pulling Shen Liangchuan along, she hurriedly walked with him into her office. The meeting room once again fell silent. After a while, someone sighed and said with a bit of sympathy, ¡°How did Qiao Lian manage to offend Best Actor Shen? This time... it might cost her more than a mere p?¡± Offending Best Actor Shen was career suicide! Zhang Chunhuaughed derisively, he seemed to take pleasure in other¡¯s misfortune. ¡°Just one look at her and you can tell she¡¯s nothing but a trouble ma!¡± Among the co-workers, some were merely onlookers, while others genuinely worried for Qiao Lian. But only Su Meimei knew the truth, who found herself caught in a dilemma. She clenched her fists tightly. Initially she had thought that Best Actor Shen was just having some fun with Qiao Lian. Never did she expect that he woulde to the news agency looking for her. Was Best Actor Shen not worried that his rtionship with Qiao Lian could be exposed?! Chapter 252 - Why Are You Making Me Take the Pill? (2)

Chapter 252: Why Are You Making Me Take the Pill? (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At this point Qiao Lian had no idea how the people in the meeting room were reacting to the situation. She had dragged Shen Liangchuan into her office and once inside, she had quickly turned around and banged the door shut, locking it. Only then did she let out a deep breath, although she still looked a little frantic. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s gaze darkened. Was she that afraid of letting others know about their rtionship? His lips curled slightly upwards in mockery, and a coldughter resounded deep in his heart. He noted that she eyed him cautiously as she asked, ¡°Mr Shen, what brought you here? Mr Shen... She was keeping him at arm¡¯s length, even in the way she addressed him. Her defences were up. The way she resisted him caused him to feel a sharp pain in his heart, as though a dagger had been plunged into it. He stared at her, thinking about how she had been talking andughing when she had walked into the room. It was as if their divorce had had no impact on her at all. Then again... She had no feelings for him. Why would she feel any sadness? Shen Liangchuan clenched his fist in an attempt to quell his own anger, but it was quickly triggered again by her expression and choice of words. Suppressing the irritation and frustration he was feeling, he asked her, ¡°Why? Now that you¡¯ve got money, you can afford to burn this bridge?¡± Burning bridges? Qiao Lian pursed her lips tightly and chose to ignore his sarcastic remark. Some words were better left unsaid. She took in a deep breath before saying, ¡°So are you here to discuss our divorce?¡± These words caused his pupils to shrink again. He suddenly straightened himself and walked towards her, taking one deliberate step at a time. Hisrge and tall frame closed in on her and blocked the light. Qiao Lian¡¯s body stiffened before his imposing presence, as though a formidable enemy was approaching. For every step that he took forward, Qiao Lian was forced to retreat, until atst she felt her back hit the cold wall¡ªit was a dead end. He raised his arms, rested his hands on the wall on both sides and looked at her. His delicate features were even more impactful and perfect up close. A pair of oriental phoenix eyes, a straight nose bridge and... those thin lips. They say that people with such thin lips tend to be inconstant in love, but when they made the decision tomit, it was for life. On that thought, she felt her heart contract with dull pain. Indeed, his exclusive rtionship had been his first love. She, on the other hand, had been left with fickleness and inconstancy. She froze at the thought of this, which gave her a sudden surge of courage. The woman who had been trembling with fear just a moment ago all of a sudden straightened her back and steadily held his gaze. Then she heard him say with his eyes half-shut, ¡°What right have you got to discuss a divorce with me?¡± What right? Qiao Lian clenched her fist. Yes, she had a lowly background and had little money. But these were no reason for him to defile her body! In his eyes, only his first love was human; she, on the other hand, was nothing! She lowered her gaze as she thought about all these things and said in an icy tone, ¡°Mr Shen, may I remind you that after two years of separation, either of us can file for a divorce?¡± Shen Liangchuan could no longer contain his anger when he heard this. He had been nothing but good to her. But this woman... how could she be this heartless? Two years of separation... considered divorced... How could she speak such words? He tightly clenched his jaw as he looked at her. Determination was written all over her face, there was no turning back. Heughed derisively all of a sudden. ¡°Qiao Lian, I¡¯ll make sure youe crying to me.¡± He had let her go eight years ago. After all this time, she still had not made amends for her own mistakes. This time even if he had to turn into the devil itself, he would take her down with him to hell! Chapter 253 - Why Are You Making Me Take the Pill? (3)

Chapter 253: Why Are You Making Me Take the Pill? (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan came out of Qiao Lian¡¯s office with a gloomy expression. He had been hopeful prior to meeting her. He had imagined the possibility that she could regret it. But now... His darkened expression revealed an underlying viciousness. No one dared to stop him as he strode towards the elevator and got into it. Then just as the elevator doors were about to close, he heard a woman¡¯s voice, ¡°Wait!¡± Following this, a silhouette dashed into the elevator. Shen Liangchuan had walked in alone. He did not look up at this point, moreover, he had put on his sunsses and mask so that no one could see his expression. The woman interrupted his deep thoughts, ¡°Mr Shen, how do you do? I¡¯m a great fan of yours and have admired you for the longest time!¡± When hearing this, Shen Liangchuan slowly looked up at Su Meimei. She was extremely nervous and her palms were mmy. However, her idol didn¡¯t seem to have taken any notice to what she had said. She was about to speak again, however the elevator arrived at the ground floor. Su Meimei panicked as she saw that Shen Liangchuan was about to leave. ¡°Best Actor Shen, Qiao Lian is a two-timer!¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s eyes darkened as he came to a halt. He turned around to face Su Meimei. As he did so, her eyes lit up. She took a step forward, saying, ¡°Best Actor Shen, do you know Fan Jie? There¡¯s something going on between Qiao Lian and him! Fan Jie specifically gave her an exclusive interview for his new album! And she only got the position of Team Two¡¯s Chief Editor because of this. While she was with you, she also had some dirty business going on with Fan Jie. They maintained an ambiguous rtionship at the office. Best Actor Shen... she is shameless!¡± Shameless? Shen Liangchuan remarked sharply, ¡°Who did you just call shameless?!¡± Seeing that Shen Liangchuan finally spoke, Su Meimei thought that her scheme was seeding. ¡°Best Actor Shen, I¡¯m telling you all of this because I can¡¯t bear seeing you being cheated by her. Qiao Lian is a skittish woman!¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s gaze hardened. ¡°Skittish?¡± Su Meimei nodded. Then she heard him mutter, ¡°At least she has what it takes to be skittish, unlike you.¡± Having said that, he strode off. Su Meimei widened her eyes, as his words crossed her mind. Was Best Actor Shen saying that she wasn¡¯t skittish? No... Qiao Lian had what it took, but she herself didn¡¯t... Wasn¡¯t he implying that she was ugly? Su Meimei blushed when she realized and felt a growing dull ache in her heart. This Best Actor Shen was too much! His words had cut right through her heart. Shen Liangchuan didn¡¯t give a damn about the fury Su Meimei was feeling. He walked out of the building and got into his car, all the while staring straight ahead. His expression darkened and he sneered, as Su Meimei¡¯s words had reminded him of Fan Jie. ¨C Qiao Lian sat in her office for a while, she had been very distracted after Shen Liangchuan left. She was disturbed by that vicious look in his eyes, right before he had left. However since she was at work, she had to pull herself together and return to the meeting room. All eyes were trained on her as she walked in. Liu Zhixing couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Qiao Lian, what have you done to offend Best Actor Shen?¡± Not wishing to borate, Qiao Lian just muttered an excuse with the hope that no one would ask further. Once she sat back down to continue with the meeting, her cell phone suddenly started ringing. It was Fan Jie. Surprised, she froze for a moment before picking up. Fan Jie¡¯s voice came through, ¡°Sister-inw, it¡¯s about the exclusive tomorrow. I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t do it...¡± Chapter 254 - Why Are You Making Me Take the Pill? (4)

Chapter 254: Why Are You Making Me Take the Pill? (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios How could he back out at this point, after thepany had made all the arrangements? Her eyes widened. ¡°What happened? Mr Fan, you promised me. How can you go back on your words? We have signed an agreement!¡± Fan Jie felt extremely embarrassed. ¡°Sister-inw, listen to me... it¡¯s not that I want to go back on my words. It¡¯s- I think you better ask Brother Shen about this. I¡¯ll agree to the interview anytime, provided that Brother Shen gives the go-ahead!¡± Shen Liangchuan? Qiao Lian widened her eyes instantaneously. She had had an inkling that he wasn¡¯t going to take this lying down, but what she hadn¡¯t quite expected was that he would go to that extent to corner her. So... was this his way of forcing her to go back to him, to submit to him? Qiao Lian was in turmoil. She replied coldly, ¡°Okay, I understand.¡± She hung up the phone, feeling angry and frustrated. What right did he have to be such a bully?! And now... She turned back and looked at the people in the meeting room. She was in fact already halfway through this exclusive. And it was because of this exclusive that she had managed to get a promotion and be Team Two¡¯s Chief Editor. It wasn¡¯t that she was yearning for the position. It was just that... if she lost this exclusive, she could end up losing her job! There were only three more months to go before she could obtain her reporter¡¯s certificate. Qiao Lian was close to tears of frustration. She took a deep breath. As she turned around, she saw Liu Zhixing looking at her, wide-eyed. ¡°Qiao Lian, what happened? Why does Mr Fan wish to terminate the agreement?! What have you done!¡± Qiao Lian bit her lower lip and was about to speak when Liu Zhixing silenced her with a wave of his hand. Looking very gloomy, he gave an order, ¡°Qiao Lian, this exclusive with Fan Jie was the justification we gave thepany headquarters to support your application. If you lose this exclusive... you will take full responsibility for it!¡± After saying these things, he stormed away with a wave of his hand. Zhang Chunhua shed Qiao Lian a cold smile. ¡°Qiao Lian, my dear Qiao Lian, you¡¯ve offended Best Actor Shen. How do you think you¡¯ll be able to continue surviving in the journalism industry? She smugly added as she picked up her notebook, ¡°I can¡¯t wait for the moment you are told to scram!¡± Then, with her nose in the air, she left the room with her team trailing behind her. All at once, Qiao Lian and Shi Nianyao were the only one left in the office. Shi Nianyao was concerned. ¡°What do we do now?¡± Qiao Lian gritted her teeth and replied, ¡°It¡¯s back to the original n!¡± ¨C That night, Beijing experienced its first snowfall of the year. Bundled up in her down jacket and shuddering in the cold, Qiao Lian paced up and down while keeping her eyes on the hotel that was not too far away. She had spotted moments ago the entertainment scene¡¯s current heart throb entering the hotel building with a girl. Hence, she had positioned herself in this spot with the hope of capturing pictures for a big scoop. Now that Fan Jie had backed out, she had to find an equally impactful story, to lessen the impact of the bad situation. However, she knew very well that she was fully reliant on luck to be on her side. Therefore now, her eyes were fully fixed on the hotel entrance, hardly daring to even blink. The icy wind wrapped its fingers around her and stung her bones. Her lips turned purple from the cold, but she could hardly spare a few minutes to get herself a hot drink. She was afraid that the pair would give her the slip the moment she got distracted. Despite this, Qiao Lian did not manage to capture the pictures she was hoping to. She hung her head in disappointment. The mobile started ringing. She picked up the phone and Doctor Zhang¡¯s voice came through. ¡°Ms Qiao, your partner hase to pick your brother up. Their ne has just taken off and they should be arriving in the afternoon.¡± Qiao Lian froze. ¡°What? Who has taken my brother away? Xiao Yi... ising back? ¡°Your partner. He even brought proof of your marriage. He said you should wait for them at home.¡± Chapter 255 - Why Are You Making Me Take the Pill? (5)

Chapter 255: Why Are You Making Me Take the Pill? (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian¡¯s fingers got weak and she almost dropped her mobile. What has she heard Doctor Zhang say? That her partner... had brought Xiao Yi home? He had even shown his marriage certificate... She clenched her fists and trembled in fury. Was he trying to make use of her brother to gain control over her? Her head spun and darkness seemed to be closing in on her. She had been up and out in the freezing cold all night, and she was now even more agitated by this new development. She almost lost her bnce. The great shame that heavily hung in the air was so pervasive that it choked her and entirely shattered her ego. The cold seeped into her bones. She felt no warmth in her stiffened body on this wintry morning. Clenching her jaw and still shaking from the cold, a thousand and one thoughts shed through her mind all at once. But eventually she hung her head in defeat and let out a bitter and derisiveugh. Indeed. Although she had once been the pampered little mistress of the household, it was no longer the case. Now people could degrade and insult her. Her retaliation would only serve to provoke him more, and she would inevitably have to bear the brunt of his anger. Her gaze was still fixated on the hotel, but all of a sudden she felt entirely defeated. So what if she managed to get a big scoop? He could totally and easily crush her, given his status in the entertainment industry. The thought of it made her feel a strong sense of helplessness. She turned and headed into the cafe. It had just opened for the day. Her fingers trembled uncontrobly as she held the hot soya milk. It could have been her fury, or perhaps an effect of the cold. Even after breakfast, strength did not return to her. She hailed a cab. After reaching home, she sat down on her bed, drawing the nket close to her. Desperately in need of a rest, she had decided not to go to work. But sleep now would note to her. She sat in that position, hugging her knees and staring nkly at the ground. After some time, her mobile phone rang. She picked up the call without looking at the caller id. Chief Editor Liu Zhixing¡¯s voice boomed across from the other end of the line. ¡°Qiao Lian! Where are you? Has Fan Jie agreed to today¡¯s interview?¡± Had he agreed? How would he have agreed without the go-ahead from Shen Liangchuan? Qiao Lian could only smile derisively. She was in no mood to listen to Liu Zhixing give her a dressing down, so she immediately turned off her cell phone. Time seemed to go by at a snail¡¯s pace. She simply couldn¡¯t fall asleep. It was one in the afternoon. She took in a deep breath. After havingin there immobile for some time, she finally began to move. She pushed away the nket and got off her bed. Then, throwing a few personal belongings into a suitcase, she left the apartment. Her leaving was swift. She had decided. Even in the event that there was a showdown between her and Shen Liangchuan, she wasn¡¯t going to give in. It was just that now she was returning in such a defeated manner. Qiao Lian felt that this whole situation was like a bad joke. Dragging therge suitcase behind her, she made her way down to hail a cab. Once she was downstairs, she noticed that there was a familiar car parked across the road. She was stunned for a moment, as Song Cheng got out of the car and came towards her. ¡°Ms Qiao, Brother Shen has sent me to pick you up.¡± Qiao Lian pursed her lips. She couldn¡¯t help but feel like she had lost her freedom and was being yed by someone else. He had guessed that she would return, and in anticipation of this he had sent Song Cheng. Was this his way of showing he had the upper hand? Together with Song Cheng, she went back into the vi. She headed to the master bedroom with her suitcase in tow. When the housekeeper heard them, she greeted Qiao Lian joyously, ¡°Madam, you¡¯re back from your business trip?¡± Business trip? Qiao Lian halted for a moment and decided there was no real need to provide an exnation. She went upstairs and quietly waited for him toe home. Chapter 256 - Why Are You Making Me Take the Pill? (6)

Chapter 256: Why Are You Making Me Take the Pill? (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The bedroom had been kept the same way as the day she had left the vi. The familiar interior seemed to mock the struggle she was going through. Qiao Lian took a good look at her surroundings and calmly sat on the sofa. It was around 3 pm when she heard the sound of a caring up the driveway. Qiao Lian got up and quickly made her way downstairs. She stood waiting in the main hall, as every muscle in her body tensed up. Shen Liangchuan and Qiao Yi entered. Since he had flown yesterday and then back again today, Shen Liangchuan was exhausted. But his tiredness quickly faded the moment he set eyes on Qiao Lian. She was smiling like a loving wife waiting for the return of her husband. Her eyes were already shining with anticipation even before he stepped in. His footsteps halted for a moment. For some reason, even though he understood that she was putting that joyful expression for Qiao Yi and not for him, he was still d. He was silent as he watched her approach them enthusiastically... and run past him, towards Qiao Yi who was in a wheelchair. She bent over happily and took his hands. ¡°You¡¯re back.¡± Qiao Yi nced at Shen Liangchuan for a moment and then nodded like an obedient child. ¡°Yes.¡± He did not ask her why she had sent him away, neither did he question the reason for his sudden return. And of course, he would not ask her about this new brother-inw that he had suddenlye to have. This was because he was afraid of saying anything that might get his sister into trouble with these strangers. Qiao Lian¡¯s heart ached when she realized how considerate her brother was. Most other boys in his plight would have developed twisted aspirations. But Xiao Yi had never lost his temper. Even those years that she had had no means of taking care of him properly and med herself for being inadequate, he had turned around tofort her instead. Her little brother was the most tender man in the universe. Despite their own feelings, all three of them held the same bright smile on their faces as this scene unfolded. Shen Liangchuan sat back on the sofa as he watched Qiao Lian speak gently with her brother. A sort of moodiness spread across his face. Her smile was as beautiful as before, as though nothing about her had changed. The atmosphere had be quite lively with Qiao Yi¡¯s arrival. But he, on the other hand, felt no real joy. One could even say he was quite at a loss, and a sense of helplessness overcame him. Exactly that, helplessness. While it was true that he had forced her to return, this oue had done nothing to fill the ck void in his heart. The weight of the loneliness that consumed him was crushing. Half-way dinnertime, Shen Liangchuan announced, ¡°I¡¯ve managed to arrange for Qiao Yi to be transferred to Bei San Hospital. There¡¯s a well-known rehab specialist working there.¡± Qiao Lian froze holding her chopsticks in the air. Then she smiled at him and said, ¡°Great.¡± The two behaved as though nothing had ever happened between them. However Shen Liangchuan had lost his appetite. Although there was a delectable variety of exotic delicacies before them, he was indifferent to them. Furthermore, he watched her ce a piece of bamboo shoot in Qiao Yi¡¯s bowl, saying, ¡°You have to eat more.¡± There was unmistakable happiness in her eyes as she gently nagged at him. Shen Liangchuan shifted his gaze away, trying to look indifferent. So... that was what she was like towards someone she cared deeply about. And it so happened that he was not the recipient of this sort of attention from her. Suddenly he put down his pair of chopsticks and said, ¡°I¡¯m done eating.¡± Before anyone could say anything, he left the dinner party and headed upstairs. He felt like an outsider, a misfit among them. He sat on the sofa in his bedroom with his gaze lowered, staring nkly at the floor. After a while, he heard footsteps approaching. It was Qiao Lian. Chapter 257 - Why Are You Making Me Take the Pill? (7)

Chapter 257: Why Are You Making Me Take the Pill? (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan didn¡¯t know why, but for some reason he stood up, walked to the door and looked out through the peephole. As the guest room was on the second floor and it was inconvenient to take the wheelchair, Qiao Lian had to support Qiao Yi and move up step by step. At the moment, they were standing in the corridor. Qiao Yi was looking at Qiao Lian with excitement while eximing, ¡°Sister, did you see that? I told you I could do it!¡± The girl was smiling really happily. She reached out her hand and patted his head while replying, ¡°Yes, our Qiao Yi is awesome! Ok, you should quickly go rest. You must be really tired after the long flight.¡± Qiao Yi tilted his head trying to avoid the girl¡¯s hand, but her expression turned cold as she eximed, ¡°How dare you shun me!¡± Qiao Yi immediately obediently stood on the spot and let her touch his hair. Only after doing that was she satisfied, and she only headed to the master bedroom after watching him enter the guest room. Her expression immediately changed as she turned away from the guest room and emotionlessly walked over. And then, she pushed open the room door and appeared in front of him with a smile on her face. She didn¡¯t seem to have expected him to be standing there, thus she was slightly shocked as she exchanged eye contact with him. Shen Liangchuan then realized that... she had always been wearing a mask in front of him. She only showed her genuine self in front of Qiao Yi. But when she was with him, she... Was she putting up an act because she had never liked him?! This new found knowledge made him feel as if his chest was filled with cotton, and it was really ufortable. His gaze also darkened. He sneered and was no longer willing to pretend as if he was on peaceful terms with her. The words that he spoke were as piercing as a knife, ¡°Ms Qiao, have you finally understood your ce?¡± So as to cover the jealousy bubbling in his heart, he said the most brutal and vile words he could think of with his most hurtful tone. He felt as if jealousy was driving him crazy! Qiao Lian had long known that she would be weed with great embarrassment if she went to him. But when she heard his words, she still felt shame fill her heart. He was controlling her using Qiao Yi, how could she reject him? She took a deep breath and tried to suppress the anger in her. Acting as if she hadn¡¯t heard him, she tried to bypass him to enter the room. Little did she know that he would violently grab her arm to stop her when she started walking. As she looked back, he sneered and said, ¡°In our wedding contract, I¡¯m the only party with the right to terminate this marriage. Do you remember it now?¡± Qiao Lian immediately tightened her fist and stared at him with anger, neglecting the pain she was feeling on her arm. He then continuously hurled hurtful words at her, ¡°Let me remind you again, you should remember your ce and stop trying to test my patience!¡± Qiao Lian felt as if her heart was turning numb from the pain. She looked at the man before her. His handsome features still looked really attractive under the bedroom lights. But the gloom in his eyes only was bone-chilling. She didn¡¯t speak and just stared at him quietly. In her distant eyes there was defensiveness and fear. Then she finally spoke, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, why do you have to treat me like this?¡± This question made him narrow his eyes. She was scared of him... He had met his goal but he didn¡¯t feel the least bit of happiness. Especially her gaze. It made him frantic for no reason. Hence, he didn¡¯t even think before forcefully pulling her arm and kissing her. Chapter 258 - Why Are You Making Me Take the Pill? (8)

Chapter 258: Why Are You Making Me Take the Pill? (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian realized his intentions and hence immediately fought back. She attempted to push him away, but his other hand pulled over the back of her head. Next, his lips were forcefully and ruthlessly pressed onto hers. He forcefully pried open her lips, mixing it with revenge and taking over them by force. When that familiar masculine breath filled her entire mouth and nose, Qiao Lian¡¯s entire body froze! She wanted to push him away, but it was impossible to control the strength of a man. Almost without thinking, she resisted and bit him ruthlessly. A fishy scent lingered in her mouth. He paused for a moment, and then his hand started to grab her arm even tighter. Just when she thought that he would let her go, he actually ignored his wound and continued kissing her even deeper! Qiao Lian felt like he had sucked away all the oxygen in her, her chest felt stuffy. She used her strength to fend off his arm, which was gradually weakening. Perhaps he had realized that she was not resisting anymore, so he finally let go of her. The next second, he carried her and directly threw her on the bed. Qiao Lian finally regained herposure and looked at his nk expression as he unbuttoned his shirt. She harshly held her clothes and said in a trembling voice, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, what are you doing?¡± ¡°Doing what?¡± He replied coldly, ¡°You are ovting today, so what else can we do?¡± Ovting? She narrowed her eyes as an even more intense humiliation tore her apart. She immediately said, ¡°Marital rape is also illegal!¡± He stopped and he raised his head to look at her directly. After quite a while, he smiled and said, ¡°Do you think we are a normal couple?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s heart pumped fiercely, along with these words. She bit her lips. She couldn¡¯t bear it anymore and cursed out loud, ¡°You bastard!¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll show you how much of a bastard I can be!¡± As soon as he said those cold words, he pounced on her. Qiao Lian wanted to retreat, wanted to escape, but he was holding her ankle. As she pulled hard, he pinned her down. Qiao Lian was thinking of shouting something, but her mouth was blocked up. She struggled frantically, attempting to protect whatever was left of her dignity. Yes, she hade back and was intending to give in to Shen Liangchuan. But it did not mean that she was going to do this kind of thing with him! Thinking about the cup of milk that she had had to drink every morning and also about her period that had promptlye on the first month, a sense of disappointment and all the grievances seemed toe pouring into her heart in an instant! She had always felt that, since she had experienced this many times with him, it would not hurt much more. Bastard... this bastard! She could not hold her tears anymore and they flowed down her cheeks. Towards the end, she was so weak and limp that shey there in the dark, crying silently. She didn¡¯t know how much time had passed until he finally stopped. She struggled forcefully, making him angry and look down on her with arrogance. ¡°Ms Qiao, you are just a tool for me to bear children, don¡¯t think too highly of yourself!¡± Give birth... Again about giving birth! Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help it anymore. The rage in her made her feel like her body had recovered its strength. She suddenly sat up and yelled at the man in front of her, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, if you had really wanted to have a child, then what is the birth control pill that you¡¯ve added into the milk everyday for?!¡± Chapter 259 - Why Are You Making Me Take The Pill! (9)

Chapter 259: Why Are You Making Me Take The Pill! (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In the past whenever he had did this with her, she had always tolerated it. But today she was resisting it tremendously. Was it because in the past she had always been acting, but now her true self had surfaced? She wasn¡¯t even trying to pretend? Shen Liangchuan thought that after doing that, his pain would ease. But he hadn¡¯t expected that in the end, when he would see her lying on the bed like a dead fish, his chest would feel terribly stuffy. Therefore, he said those words to hurt her. But... what had she just said? He narrowed his eyes. He was shocked and stood rooted to the ground. The birth control pills in the milk... The anger that was deep down in his heart, at this moment, was as if taken away in a sh. It was as if he had been struck by lightning as he stood rooted to the spot. Astonishment started to appear in his face. As someone who hardly showed his emotions, at that moment he revealed an expression of disbelief. There was only one thought left in his mind. She knew. She had known that he did not want to have a child now. So... was that why she was looking for ways to leave? It was not because she was making a fool of him, but because she had mistakenly thought that... all of this was a lie? He looked at Qiao Lian, who was in front of him. The clothes on her body were terribly wrinkled and her body was trembling violently. Her face was full of rage and even her eyes showed hatred and resentment. The force that had originally angered him at this moment caused him to panic inexplicably. He opened his mouth, wanting to exin something, but he realized that he couldn¡¯t say a word. After that, she suddenly covered her mouth and lowered her head. The sounds of her whimpers could be heard. As he saw her sob, he reached out his hand in an attempt tofort her. But when his hand touched her shoulders, her body suddenly started trembling. And then she took a step back subconsciously! She stared at him with her eyes full of horror. That gaze made him feel as though his heart had been grabbed by a big invisible hand. He felt stuffy, as if he was out of breath and there was a dull pain in his chest. Qiao Lian was truly afraid. She felt like every cell in her body was screaming with pain. Perhaps it was because she had been crying, or perhaps because had been too angry, but her brain was buzzing. And his touch had made her tremble subconsciously. Biting her lips, she stared at him with eyes full of tears. ¡°Don¡¯t touch me!¡± She had never been so humiliated before in her life. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s hand paused in mid-air and did not dare to move again. He felt a little awkward, as if the truth had been revealed. Qiao Lian suddenly smiled. Her eyes were still filled with tears. This kind of smile looked even worse than crying, which made one feel very miserable. ¡°Shen Liangchuan, I am lowly, I am someone who you bought with money in order to bear you a child. I am no one to judge...¡± ¡°But I have my dignity!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to live such a life anymore.¡± ¡°I felt disgusted doing such a thing with you just now!¡± ¡°Shen Liangchuan, tell me what to do in order for you to let me go!¡± She had said so much all at once. Every word felt like a heavy hammershing against his heart. Thinking about what he had just done and how deep it had hurt her, he felt twice the pain at this moment. He was standing beside the bed and he couldn¡¯t help but take a step back. So much so that as he stared at her resentful eyes, he couldn¡¯t utter a single word. How could he tell her the truth... tell her the real reason why he did not want her to have his child? Chapter 260 - Why Are You Making Me Take the Pill? (10)

Chapter 260: Why Are You Making Me Take the Pill? (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After Qiao Lian bellowed out those words, she seemed to have vent all her emotions. She held onto the quilt to block the pitiful state that she was in. Then she stared at the man in front of her. He was standing against the light, so it was impossible see his facial expressions clearly. However one could feel that at the moment, his anger had already subsided. What grounds did he have to unleash his temper with her? It was obvious that she was the one who had been hurt. Qiao Lian just stared straight at him, feeling stifled and annoyed. She saw him open his mouth, and he hesitated for a long time before speaking, ¡°I- I will not divorce you.¡± His muffled words made her feel cold. Qiao Lian sneered, turned her head and stopped looking at him. The room instantly became silent, creating an odd atmosphere. Qiao Lian stared at the prints on the quilt and did not say a word. After some time, she finally heard his footsteps gradually drifting away. She turned around and saw that he had already put on his clothes and was walking out of the room. ¡°Bang!¡± The moment the door was closed, tears of grievance poured down her cheeks again. Qiao Lian stretched out her sleeves to carelessly and angrily wipe her tears. Why was she crying? It was against her own interest! Didn¡¯t she already know that to him she was in fact nothing at all? Now, he had just left without even bothering to exin... But at least the things that had happened today would not happen again! So now, what she needed to do was to make herself stronger, so that she would not get humiliated at random again. She bit her lips andy in bed silently. She thought that she wouldn¡¯t be able to fall asleep, but she hadn¡¯t slept at all the previous night and, together with the rigorous exercise before, she felt that every single organ in her body was thoroughly burned out. After a while, her eyelids got heavier and she fell fast asleep. When Qiao Lian woke up, her head was dizzy and her limbs were weak and powerless. But she still reluctantly stood up and after washing her face and rinsing her mouth, she walked out of the master bedroom listlessly. As she got downstairs, the telephone rang. The housekeeper answered the call, looked at her and said, ¡°Looking for you, Madam.¡± Qiao Lian walked towards her in doubt. She held the telephone receiver next to her ear. ¡°Hello?¡± ¡°Sister-inw, it¡¯s me, it¡¯s me!¡± Fan Jie¡¯s happy voice could be heard at the other end of the line. ¡°I will go to the news agency today for the follow-up interview. Let me know when is a good time.¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s gaze sank and soon after that, a smirk appeared on her face. Heh. Fan Jie had called before to say he was noting. But now he called intentionally. So this was her remuneration forst night? This was indeed a joke. She took a deep breath in order not to take her own anger out on Fan Jie. ¡°Who would dare to trouble Superstar Fan toe to our small news agency?¡± Fan Jie immediately offered an apology. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s no trouble. Sister-inw... Could you not speak in such a peculiar manner? I- I feel terrified.¡± Qiao Lian smiled coldly and was thinking of saying something when the other person said, ¡°Sister-inw, I will be at the agency at ten and that¡¯s a deal. See you in a while. Bye bye!¡± He spoke without pausing and then hurriedly hung up the call. It was as if he was worried that she would reject him. Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes with a bleak expression. After she hung up the phone, she heard Qiao Yi voice, ¡°Sis...¡± As she turned around, she saw Qiao Yi in his wheelchair, slowly sliding towards her. Qiao Lian immediately kept her emotions at bay,ughed and said, ¡°Have you had your breakfast?¡± ¡°I have eaten.¡± Qiao Yi then said, ¡°Brother-inw said that there are some urgent matters to attend in the office today, so he left for work first.¡± Chapter 261 - What Happened Between Them (1)

Chapter 261: What Happened Between Them (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After hearing these words, Qiao Lian heaved a sigh of relief inexplicably. As she recalled the way she had vent her feelings the night before, she actuallycked confidence. Shen Liangchuan was such amanding person. She didn¡¯t know how he would deal with her after her scolding... Qiao Yi spoke once again. ¡°Brother-inw also said that we don¡¯t have to rush to go to the hospital. I can stay a few more days in the house before doing so.¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes immediately brightened after hearing his words. She had always felt worried about leaving him alone in the hospital in the past. But after this moment of happiness, she suddenly felt sad. What did Shen Liangchuan mean by doing so? The smile on her face became cold. Qiao Lian was preparing to leave for work after having breakfast. Although she still felt kind of dizzy, Fan Jie was visiting the news agency today and it would be better for her to be around. Qiao Yi saw her off with worry written all over his face. He said, ¡°Sister, you don¡¯t look well today. Can¡¯t you take a day off?¡± Qiao Lian waved it off and assured him, ¡°I¡¯m ok.¡± As she was really feeling unwell, she didn¡¯t bother acting tough and took a cab to the news agency. She felt dizzy after alighting from the cab. Before entering the office, she clenched her teeth. Just as she stepped into the office, the bustling office immediately turned silent. Everyone simultaneously turned back to their work after seeing her. No one dared to greet her. In the middle of Qiao Lian¡¯s confusion, Shi Nianyao ran over and eximed, ¡°Chief Editor Lian Lian 1 , you¡¯re finally here!¡± Since both of them were youngdies and Shi Nianyao was only less than two years younger than Qiao Lian, they addressed each other heartily. Qiao Lian frowned and asked, ¡°What happened?¡± Shi Nianyao immediately looked towards the office of the managing editor and twitched her lips. She asked, ¡°Did you hang up on the managing editor yesterday? The managing editor couldn¡¯t contact you at all after that. He was so angry the whole of day yesterday! You better watch outter.¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s expression immediately turned cold. She would have definitely been given a hard time if she hadn¡¯t had Fan Jie¡¯s interview. But now... She narrowed her eyes and saw the chief editor of Team One, Zhang Chunhua, walk out. When she saw her, she immediately stopped in her tracks and said with a mocking smile on her face, ¡°Eh? I thought you wouldn¡¯t being back. Did you return to hand in your resignation letter? But Qiao Lian, do you think thepany would let you off so easily? You think you can get out of this just by giving a random excuse to deal with thepany¡¯s higher authorities, although you had confirmed Fan Jie¡¯s interview?¡± Sheughed. ¡°I heard the managing editor on the call yesterday. He said that you would be held ountable for it! You have to pay half of Fan Jie¡¯s penalty.¡± She revealed a vicious expression, her usual glumnes was long gone. All that was left was excitement to watch a good show. Qiao Lian was really feeling unwell and she didn¡¯t even have to strength to speak. Just when she turned and was intending to make her way into her office, Liu Zhixing, who had received the news of her arrival, walked towards her hurriedly. After seeing Qiao Lian, his expressionpletely changed. Piak! He threw the documents in his hands at her feet, shouting, ¡°Qiao Lian, you are really getting good at pis**ng me off! How dare you hang up on me! Who do you think you are? Do you not have any respect for higher authorities? I am your boss!¡± His booming voice made her head buzz. After he screamed, Liu Zhixing then looked at her viciously, saying, ¡°Qiao Lian, I order you to pack right now and leave! Your position as chief editor has came to an end!¡± After he finished this sentence, Shi Nianyao was about to speak but Fan Jie¡¯s voice suddenly came from the door. He asked, ¡°What are you all doing?¡± Chapter 262 - What Happened Between Them (2)

Chapter 262: What Happened Between Them (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios All heads turned simultaneously to look at Fan Jie when he said that. He stood at the door staring, blinking innocently. Liu Zhixing¡¯s eyes widened with surprise, as though he¡¯d seen a ghost. Zhang Chunhua had an expression of disbelief on his face. Even Shi Nianyao was astonished. Fan Jie continued, ¡°Is this a bad time? I can alwayse back after you¡¯ve settled all your differences.¡± Liu Zhixing quickly went up to Fan Jie. ¡°Mr Fan, you¡¯re here!¡± Fan Jie nodded and said in an embarrassed tone, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry. I had to reschedule my ns yesterday as something came up in thest minute. Have I caught you at a bad timeing unannounced today?¡± ¡°Not at all! We have time, of course!¡± Suddenly Liu Zhixing was all pleasant and polite towards Qiao Lian, a drastic change from just a moment ago, when he had been ring at her furiously. ¡°Hurry up, Xiao Lian[1.Affectionate way of referring to Qiao Lian]. Take Mr Fan to the meeting room.¡± Qiao Lian simply nodded. Everyone had left the meeting room by now. Qiao Lian said in a business-like tone, as she picked up the audio recorder, ¡°Mr Fan, would you mind if I recorded today¡¯s interview?¡± Fan Jie scratched his head. ¡°Sister-inw... are you still mad at me?¡± Qiao Lian looked away. ¡°No.¡± She was more disappointed than angry. But she understood too that Fan Jie didn¡¯t have much of a choice either. After all, Fan Jie was Shen Liangchuan¡¯s friend, not hers. Hence, it was better for her to keep an appropriate distance. ¡°Sister-inw, I¡ª¡± ¡°Mr Fan, shall we begin?¡± Fan Jie was about to say something, but he stopped. Eventually he hung his head and said, ¡°Sure.¡± After the interview, Qiao Lian shook his hand and expressed her appreciation, ¡°Thank you for working with us.¡± She was cordial and polite. Fan Jie again looked like he was on the verge of speaking, but he finally just gave a sigh. ¡°You¡¯re most wee.¡± Qiao Lian then saw Fan Jie out. After Fan Jie left, Qiao Lian returned to her office upstairs and started to work on the interview article fully concentrated. After finishing the interview article, however, the passing of time once more started tormenting Qiao Lian. Her thoughts kept going back to the scene of the night before. She couldn¡¯t help but give out a bitterugh. Even if she had been at her worst mood and had given her pet dog a little kick, she would have eventually felt apologetic. But what was she to this man Shen Liangchuan? Qiao Lian tried her best to suppress her own bitterness and stop herself from thinking these things. It was six in the evening. The office was slowly emptying. Qiao Lian didn¡¯t feel like leaving, even though she had switched herputer off. No matter how much she didn¡¯t want to see Shen Liangchuan, Qiao Yi was waiting for her at home. She went downstairs, intending to hail a cab on the street. However as she waited, a nondescript sedan halted beside her. She froze momentarily when she recognized the familiar car. Shortly after, the door of the front passenger seat was swung open. Looking in, she saw Shen Liangchuan in the driver seat, staring back at her. He looked tired, probably from not having rested well the night before. But as usual, he was cold and aloof. Qiao Lian clenched her fists and stood where she was, motionless. She didn¡¯t feel like getting into the car. Shen Liangchuan silently responded with equal stubbornness, as though giving a signal that he wouldn¡¯t leave if she didn¡¯t get into the car. The car door remained open and curious passers-by were stopping to observe this awkward scene. A small crowd was beginning to gather. Shen Liangchuan didn¡¯t have his sunsses and mask on today. Qiao Lian gritted her teeth as she realized this. Eventually she got into the car. Right after she shut the car door, Shen Liangchuan dropped a document on herp. He was expressionless. Qiao Lian¡¯s gaze narrowed as she read the heading of the document. Chapter 263 - What Happened Between Them (3)

Chapter 263: What Happened Between Them (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios It was a rehab therapy agreement that required a signature. Qiao Lian remained expressionless as she opened and read through the document. It appeared that Shen Liangchuan had prepared a team of specialists to provide recuperative training for Qiao Yi. Qiao Lian was well acquainted with the specialists in this field, since all of these years she had the desire to help her brother recover his legs¡¯ mobility. After his surgery, Qiao Yi had never been very sessful in rehab therapy. That had made her very anxious. And now, she saw that every member in the team assembled by Shen Liangchuan was a renowned expert in the field. Qiao Lian clutched the agreement tightly. She was in a turmoil and felt emotions that were hard to exin. He hadn¡¯t given an exnation ever since the truth regarding the pill had been exposed. Instead he had time and again showed his goodwill towards her. Was this his way of making it up to her? And unfortunately, she wasn¡¯t even in the position to turn down his goodwill. Because this agreement was what she needed most right now. But she was also sure that this document came at the price of her freedom. Shen Liangchuan would never let her go now. Qiao Lian looked down to hide the agony in her eyes. Without saying a word, she picked up the pen to sign the document and returned the agreement papers to Shen Liangchuan. The atmosphere in the car was awkward at best. As Shen Liangchuan took back the agreement document, he looked as though he was going to say something. Then, not finding the right words, he stopped himself. He had sat in the study and thought long and hard about it the night before. Qiao Lian had been determined to get a divorce after finding out about the pill. Her fury made him anxious, but at the same time it caused him dismal. All because he had no idea how to give her a good exnation for it. The pill was real... But what was he going to tell her? Say that he was Zi Chuan and that not wanting her to get pregnant had initially been in order to get revenge? Or... that eventually it had been because he was worried that she¡¯d leave after having a baby, as they had never had a rtionship to begin with? He did not know how to handle her indifference, but he wanted to do what he could to make her happy. However, he noticed that her hands were trembling as she signed the agreement. It certainly wasn¡¯t the look of happiness. He found himself at a loss again. Putting the document away, Shen Liangchuan started up the car engine. No matter what, he wasn¡¯t going to give up. She was full of animosity and hated him now, but surely as time passed, this resentment would fade. Just like how much he had hated her eight years ago... but now, hadn¡¯t he decided to let those ill feelings go too? Shen Liangchuan focused his attention on the road ahead as these thoughts ran through his mind. The past would be the past, what was important was the road ahead. ¨C After driving along for some time, Qiao Lian realized that they weren¡¯t on the way back home. Surprised, she turned to Shen Liangchuan. But when she looked at him, she pursed her lips and decided not to say anything. From the corner of his eye, Shen Liangchuan caught her movement and his expression darkened. In the past, even though she had been afraid of him, she had at least asked where they were heading. But now had she withdrawn from dealing with him so much that she did not even want to speak? The thought was stifling. Finally breaking the silence in the car, he said, ¡°Let¡¯s go visit Zombie Leader.¡± Zombie Leader, Su Penghao? Qiao Lian nced at him. ¡°You¡¯re still not letting him go?¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded. ¡°He is highly versatile. I¡¯vee to realize that he easily gets into a role, no matter what role he ys. This is a very important trait in teampetition, as it can make up for the weaker team members.¡± ¡°But he¡¯s unwilling¡ª¡± Before she could finish what she was saying, Shen Liangchuan interrupted her and said full of confidence, ¡°He¡¯ll agree.¡± Chapter 264 - What Happened Between Them (4)

Chapter 264: What Happened Between Them (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At an entertainment centre in a certain suburb of Beijing. Shen Liangchuan and Qiao Lian had been sitting in a private room for almost half an hour past the appointment time. Su Penghao had not yet arrived. They sat there sipping tea, not talking to each other. As they waited in silence, it was as though the cold indifference between them was gradually melting away. When she thought about how confidently Shen Liangchuan had insisted that Su Penghao would agree, she felt both disappointed for him but also a little gleeful. After having watched a video of the Zombie Leader inpetition, she knew that he had to be noteworthy. Anyone who trained under that expert would have a great future for sure. Since she had established this gaming club with Shen Liangchuan, she wanted to ensure that it would do well. However, she was somewhat put off by Shen Liangchuan¡¯s overconfidence. He could easily bully her because she wasn¡¯t a capable person. But did he think that everyone else in the world would be as much of a pushover? Hence, a part of her was waiting to see him fail. She reached for her cell phone to look at the time. It was 40 minutes past the appointment time and still, there was no sign of Su Penghao. But Shen Lianchuan didn¡¯t seem bothered at all. He poured her another cup of tea. Even Qiao Lian was growing more impatient by the minute. She started surfing for entertainment news on her cell phone. It was now about an hour past the appointment time. Shen Liangchuan suddenly got up and walked out of the room. His sudden movement took Qiao Lian by surprise. Thinking that he must have given up, she followed him. As she stepped out, she unexpectedly realized that he hadn¡¯t left. Instead he was surveying the corridor. Then he walked towards a private room in front of theirs and knocked on the door. Qiao Lian was confused. What on earth was he doing? She could not figure out what this man was thinking. Was there someone he knew in the private room? But the door of the private room in front was firmly shut. Once more, Qiao Lian looked at Shen Liangchuan quizzically. He was calm and called out with his attractive baritone voice, ¡°I know you¡¯re in there.¡± The moment he said that, the private room door opened with a ck. Following the direction of his gaze, Qiao Lian saw that it was Su Penghao standing at the doorway! She widened her eyes with astonishment. She turned to look at the private room they were in before, and then turned back again, eximing, ¡°We booked that room over there. Mr Su, did you go into the wrong room?¡± Su Penghao nced at her contemptuously with his arms crossed across his chest. ¡°So Best Actor Shen would like to start up a gaming club?¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded calmly, void of expression. His confidence gave him an air of ease. ¡°I was wondering if you might be interested?¡± If he weren¡¯t interested, he wouldn¡¯t have appeared again. Qiao Lian finally understood. Su Penghao had not made the deal with her because she wasn¡¯t the big boss behind the scenes. He was trying to boost his own standing. It was indeed true. As she pondered this, he said, ¡°I will agree to participate under two conditions. Firstly, I will not take part in the training! In addition, whenpeting, the entire team will follow my instructions. You will pay us, but you won¡¯t be allowed to interfere with our training orpeting!¡± Qiao Lian widened her eyes. Not allowed to interfere? Not undergoing training? Then what was she, the trainer, doing here? Furthermore, how arrogant was this Zombie Leader! Su Penghao continued, ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone else is qualified to be my trainer, apart from Zi Chuan and Xiao Qiao, who used to y lot back in the days. I have to admit that I¡¯m at the very least on a par with the others!¡± Chapter 265 - What Happened Between Them (5)

Chapter 265: What Happened Between Them (5).

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian was a little taken aback. So Zombie Leader had refused to speak to her because he wanted to be the team leader! Admittedly, he was really good at the game. Shen Liangchuan needed a talent of his calibre to run the club, the question was... between Zombie Leader and herself, who would he pick? She frowned. Then she heard Shen Liangchuan say with his signature resonant voice, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, the answer is no.¡± This rejection was something that Su Penghao did not expect. He was stunned momentarily. Turning to nce at Qiao Lian, Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°Wait for me back in our private room.¡± Qiao Lian was reluctant to leave. However when her eyes met with Shen Liangchuan¡¯s, she knew there was no room to argue and returned to their private room as told. Su Penghao raised his eyebrows as Shen Liangchuan continued, ¡°Let¡¯s ce a bet.¡± ¡°What on?¡± ¡°Are you up for a one-on-one match?¡± The suggestion piqued Su Penghao¡¯s interest. ¡°And what¡¯s at stake?¡± ¡°If I win, you join the club unconditionally.¡± ¡°And what if you lose?¡± ¡°I will agree to your conditions.¡± ¡°epted!¡± Su Penghao immediately said, sping his hands. ¨C Half an hourter. A blood-curdling yell came out of the private room. ¡°Damn! You¡¯re a total freak! I had my health bar full and you still beat me, with barely no health in yours! And your level is higher than mine?¡± Shen Liangchuan lowered his gaze. ¡°Do you ept your defeat?¡± Su Penghao gritted his teeth. ¡°Get me the contract, I¡¯ll sign it!¡± Shen Liangchuan calmly handed out the contract to Su Penghao. After the contract had been signed, Shen Liangchuan stood up and strode towards the door in silence. Before he exited, he said in a business-like manner, ¡°All team members are to gather in the vi tomorrow at 3 pm sharp. I hope you won¡¯t bete again.¡± Shen Liangchuan walked over to the private room in front. Qiao Lian had no idea what had gone on, only the fact that by the time Shen Liangchuan said it was time to go, Su Penghao was trying his best to please the man, smiling and throwing nces at Shen Liangchuan. If she hadn¡¯t known that Shen Liangchuan was straight, she would have assumed that he had somehow managed to seduce Su Penghao. On the way home, her curiosity tempted her to ask what had happened in the private room. However seeing that indifferent expression on his face, she decided to remain silent. She looked out of the car window, ignoring Shen Liangchuan. Shen Liangchuan started to exin, ¡°I could see his passion when I watched him ying games. It¡¯s always been his goal to join a club and take part in professionalpetitions. So I knew he wouldn¡¯t give up until he got in.¡± Su Penghao hadn¡¯t turned up after an hour. This could only mean that he had been monitoring them. When Shen Liangchaun walked out to survey the ce, he realized that whoever was in the opposite room had a good view of the room they were in, hence he was convinced that Su Penghao was in that room. And as long as Su Penghao appeared, Shen Lianchuan was confident of making him stay. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s air of dominance and aggressiveness as he said this made Qiao Lian flinch with bitterness. He had such thorough understanding of the human behaviour and had been willing to wait for Su Penghao so patiently for an hour. This man was an extremely maniptive person. How was she ever going to flee from his control? Looking down, her thoughts drifted. She kept silent. Qiao Yi was waiting in the living room when they entered the house. Qiao Lian smiled at him and put up an amiable front with Shen Liangchuan. She didn¡¯t want her brother to worry. The three of them had dinner and wished each other a good night. The moment Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan were back in the master bedroom, the warm gentleness that she disyed towards her brother instantly disappeared. How would she get any sleep tonight? Chapter 266 - What Happened Between Them (6)

Chapter 266: What Happened Between Them (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios What had happened the night before was still vivid in her mind. Qiao Lian bit her lip. After that showdown, it now felt awkward. But this issue would soon be resolved. By the time she was out of the shower, Shen Liangchuan was asleep on the sofa with a nket draped over himself. She took a few careful steps. The sofa in the room was not a veryrge one. As he was a tall man, he barely fit the length of the sofa. She nced at the bed and then back at him. Without a word, she climbed onto the bed and fell asleep. ¨C Qiao Lian had always been in the pink of health, hence even though thest two days had exhausted her, she easily bounced back after a night¡¯s rest. The weekend had arrived. After spending the morning with Qiao Yi in the vi, she took a cab to the club in the afternoon. Since the club had been established, they had managed to garner seven members. Besides Zombie Leader, the other six were also well-known gamers. When she arrived at the club meeting, Qiao Lian saw that the seven of them were already sitting on the sofa in the living room and waiting. They were each focused on their own mobile phone, ying the newlyunched mobile online game by Lot. The teamprised six men and a woman. The six boys were nothing out of the ordinary, but the girl was exceedingly scrawny. One could tell that her features were quite attractive, but it was marred by her gauntness. Her online name, ¡®Ninth Queen¡¯, didn¡¯t quite suit her. Qiao Lian smiled as she approached them to introduce herself, ¡°How do you do? I¡¯m Forget Chuan, and also your trainer from now on.¡± When they heard this, the seven members looked up and nced at her. Among them, a fair and slightly pudgy one smiled and then replied, ¡°How are you, Forget Chuan? I¡¯m Smiling Tiger.¡± Two others then introduced themselves, ¡°I¡¯m The Godfather.¡± ¡°I¡¯m The Deputy Godfather.¡± These two were brothers and had good game coordination between them. They had such amusing nicknames. Then the fair and clean-cut one among them stood up, blushing quite a lot even before he could say anything. ¡°I¡¯m Ninth Queen.¡± Qiao Lian was absolutely stumped. Ninth Queen was a boy? He yed as a woman! And so that girl had to be... As if hearing the question in Qiao Lian¡¯s mind, the girl looked up. ¡°I¡¯m Ancestor White Bones.¡± Finding that a little hard to process, Qiao Lian was quite speechless. Apart from Zombie Leader, there was thest boy, who looked quite normal. His online name was Lonely Peerless. Qiao Lian felt like she was hosting a gathering of martial arts experts when she looked at this mixed team of Lot experts. She smiled and continued, ¡°Great. Let¡¯s start by discussing your character roles.¡± Before she could go on, Su Penghao interrupted her, ¡°Forget Chuan, I must say, your livestream is not too bad, you¡¯re pretty good at analyzing gaming theory. However I¡¯m not quite convinced of you being up to the task of training us.¡± Although he had lost the game to Shen Liangchuan, he was not amenable to having Forget Chuan as their trainer. Qiao Lian looked up. She noted that even though the rest of the team did not back Su Penghao on this remark, they had turned their attention to her, expectant. It was obvious everyone felt that Su Penghao¡¯s remark was valid. Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes glistened. Indeed, she would have to demonstrate her skills to these gaming experts, otherwise she wouldn¡¯t be able to tame them. She looked at Su Penghao and asked, ¡°So what do you want?¡± Su Penghaoughed. ¡°I was in the basketball team in college. The first day of training, our coach yed against us and gained his credit that way. So, are you up to showing us what you¡¯re made of?¡± He wanted to regain his ego after having been so thoroughly defeated by Shen Liangchuan the day before! Chapter 267 - What Happened Between Them (7)

Chapter 267: What Happened Between Them (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Su Penghao¡¯s eyes shone with anticipation as he said this. Defeating Forget Chuan would be like p to her face! This girl didn¡¯t look very much older than him. What did she have to deserve to be their trainer? All eyes were on Qiao Lian now, bright with anticipation of an outstandingly exciting match. Qiao Lian bit her lips when she heard this. She tightened her fists in her pockets. Her gaze fell on somebody¡¯sptop that was resting on the living room table. On its screen was the familiar Lot interface. It attracted her, making it impossible for her to resist. Still biting her lips, she felt the temptation to ept the challenge. Her fingers began to tremble. Qiao Lian looked down in an attempt to hide her own disappointment. Then she said softly, ¡°I dare not.¡± Upon these three words, the room fell silent. Su Penghao did not expect such an answer and immediatelyughed. ¡°At least you have some self-awareness.¡± He was not aware of any outstanding female gamer so far. Besides Xiao Qiao from back then, he was confident that he would not lose to anyone else. He believed that Qiao Lian didn¡¯t dare ept the challenge because she knew she couldn¡¯t defeat him. If she didn¡¯t take the challenge, she would still be able to have the benefit of the doubt. But if she had taken it, then her reputation would surely go down the drain. He smirked disdainfully. In the past, whenever he listened to Forget Chuan¡¯s livestream, he would feel that she was always able to urately deliver. Actually, he used to be quite impressed with her. But now... He felt like women were so petty. Unlike Shen Liangchuan, who let his skills do the talking. Thinking back on the match between them, he paused and frowned. Ever since the night before, he had had the odd feeling that his opponent¡¯s moves were familiar. But he just couldn¡¯t quite put his finger on it. Qiao Lian¡¯s admission that she didn¡¯t dare to ept the challenge had cause the team members to doubt her capability. With the exception of Smiling Tiger, the others were all looking down at their mobile phones, obviously snubbing Qiao Lian. She smiled when she realized. She understood very well that great gamers had themon traits of being arrogant and obstinate. Hence she was well-prepared, even beforeing. She took a step forward and said, ¡°Although I¡¯m not an avid gamer, even the best doctors in the world have their teachers; the top athletes have their coaches; and every scientist was once taught by an ordinary teacher. I think if the boss has employed me to be your trainer, then at least it proves that I¡¯m not totally hopeless.¡± Su Penghao sneered at her. ¡°What¡¯s the use of being a glib talker?¡± Qiao Lian turned towards him. ¡°Zombie Leader, they say you¡¯re an all-rounder style gamer. But from my observations, you do have an area of weakness.¡± Su Penghao paused. ¡°And what would that be?¡± ¡°The Master.¡± He was stunned. Then she turned to the others. ¡°Ancestor White Bones, your strength is in your steady attack, but your weakness is that you don¡¯t quite fit in with the team. As for Smiling Tiger...¡± One after the other, she gave each team member an analysis of their strengths and weaknesses. After she had given them feedback, she saw that everyone had started to put their cell phones aside. They looked up at her with a serious expression. Very good. Qiao Lian knew that she had their attention now. ¡°So are you guys ready to cooperate and start the training?¡± Smiling Tiger and Ancestor White Bones took the lead in putting away their cell phones and walked up to the table to retrieve their ownptops. Then they turned towards her. Chapter 268 - What Happened Between Them (8)

Chapter 268: What Happened Between Them (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Following their lead, the rest of the team members walked over, one after another. In the end, only Su Penghao was left. He looked at Qiao Lian with defiance in his eyes. He was about to say something when Qiao Lian shot him a warning look. He looked at the others and gave a cold ¡®hmpf.¡¯ Although none of them said another word during the session and even went along cooperatively with her lesson, Qiao Lian could feel their disdain for her deep inside. The training session started with an online fight practice following minimal instructions. She split them into two teams of roughly equal strength. Then she picked a random opponent for herself. She sat down on the sofa. This atmosphere was all too familiar to her, from the screen right down to the music in the game. This was in her blood. Something inside her was slowly awakening. Unconsciously, her gaze fell on her right hand. She raised it, seemingly examining it. It was pale and slim, flexible as though it was boneless. Although it looked no different from her left hand, after a short time, it started to shake uncontrobly. Numbness spread down her shoulder. She hung her head, devastated Eight years ago, her hand had been injured in an ident. Although it seemed like it functioned normally after healing, it could no longer produce urate movements. Xia Yehua had invited her once to y a game, however that had been a mobile game and the skills needed in terms of uracy and agility werepletely different from eSports. Hence there was no way she could y against Su Penghao. It was for the same reason that she hadn¡¯t been able to join the team years ago. But she hadn¡¯t had the chance to exin this to Zi Chuan before they lost contact. And it was probably because of this that Zi Chuan got upset and started to ignore her, right? These thoughts had gone in circles in her head and she knew she would never have the answers. It might just as well not think about it anymore. Soon, it was six in the evening. It was about time to go home. Before she left, she gave the team members some homework. She had a team of fairly good gamers. They had just gotten to know each other and it would take some time for them to gel as a team. Qiao Lian gave them the options of staying or going home, either way, they would have to get together during the day to train. Having settled this, she got ready to go back home. Even though a few team members did not think highly of her, amongst them there was still camaraderie given they shared being well-known gamers. They had yed a few matches and they were just getting started, hence they agreed to y a few more rounds. Seeing that they weren¡¯t going to see her off, she stood up and walked to the door alone. Just as she was stepping out, someone shouted at her from behind, ¡°Forget Chuan!¡± She turned around. It was Smiling Tiger and he was approaching her, smiling. ¡°Let me see you to the door.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. The two of them turned to the entrance. After they had just taken a few steps, Smiling Tiger said, ¡°I¡¯ve seen your livestream. You have your own philosophy on eSports. I bet you didn¡¯t know this, but we all thought you had to be a well-known gamer for sure. What¡¯s more, we thought you were certainly an ugly geek! Who¡¯d have expected that you were this pretty!¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Qiao Lian replied. ¡°I¡¯m a loyal fan of yours! Of course, now I¡¯m your trainee too, so please do guide me. I wonder, how could I improve the weaknesses that you pointed out earlier?¡± Qiao Lianughed. Smiling Tiger was the first ever person to ask her for help. She said generously, ¡°I¡¯ve prepared a n for you...¡± Not too far off, a nondescript ck sedan was parked by the side of the road. From his driver¡¯s seat, Shen Liangchuan had been observing what was going on. Chapter 269 - What Happened Between Them (9)

Chapter 269: What Happened Between Them (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Although he was at a distance, he could still clearly see that Qiao Lian was standing outside the door, chatting happily with a boy. The sky had turned dark. She was smiling very sincerely and that smile was even brighter and shinier than the stars in the sky, so much so that he could not move his eyes away from it. He had thought that she could only smile this way when she was with Qiao Yi. But actually with a stranger she had just met, she could also smile so happily? Was it that... she remained silent only when she was with him? This thought made him feel sad and ufortable. As he strived to avert his gaze from her, it was directed towards the boy, who had sparkles in his eyes. ¨C Qiao Lian walked out after she finished speaking to Smiling Tiger. She only took two steps before she saw his car. She stopped walking. She stood there for two seconds, recalling his overbearing behavior. Then her face turned expressionless and walked over. She opened the car door of the passenger seat obediently and got onto the car. She did not speak a single word in the car. Shen Liangchuan started the car engine. He was thinking of saying something, but he saw that she had picked up her cell phone as if she had noticed that he had wanted to say something. Her displeased look made him swallow his words. His heart felt stuffy as he drove the car. While Qiao Lian was ying with her cell phone, it started ringing. It was her managing editor, Liu Zhixing, who called. ¡°Qiao Lian, Mo Xicheng will be having a banquet the day after tomorrow. You have to think of a way to gatecrash it and make sure you get a shot of his girlfriend. Although Mo Xicheng is not a big deal, he has actually always been popr and has numerous loyal fans. And recently he has been on the spotlight, so make sure you treat this matter seriously. Do you understand?¡± Qiao Lian frowned and said, ¡°Noted.¡± She hung up the phone and clenched her jaw. Normally when reporters were to seek for an interview, the news agency would be the one to provide the means or sources. For example, bribing a certain hotel manager or dressing up as a service staff to gatecrash an event. But Liu Zhixing... was clearly making things difficult for her. How would she, a small-time reporter, be able to enter a private gathering? As she thought of this, she suddenly became aware of the person beside her and subconsciously turned and took a nce at him. The car was very quiet, which made him able to get a general idea of the conversation that Qiao Lian had just had. The moment Qiao Lian looked at him like that, he couldn¡¯t help but look forward to it in his heart. He had thought that she would be the one to break the silence between them so as to ask him for help. Never did he realize that actually, she had only taken a nce at him and then averted her gaze. He immediately felt as though he had been sshed with a bucket of cold water from head to toe, and his heart had turned cold suddenly. Shen Liangchuan was holding the steering wheel gently and his gaze was fixed ahead. But his eyes were tremendously dark. The car finally reached the vi. Qiao Lian did not wait for him. She got off the car and ran to the living room. As expected, Qiao Yi was sitting in his wheelchair waiting for her. When he saw her, he smiled and saidm, ¡°Sister, you are back!¡± Qiao Lian nodded. ¡°What did you do at home today?¡± ¡°Read books and study. Are you tired?¡± ¡°Not tired. I am full of vitality! Qiao Yiughed loudly. The warmth between the pair of siblings made Shen Liangchuan pause as he was changing his shoes. The same bitterness that he had felt earlier was aggravated. He loosened his tie, feeling like the air in the room was a little suffocating. He stood there, staring at them. Then he suddenly walked over to Qiao Lian, tugged at her without speaking and headed upstairs. Chapter 270 - What Happened Between Them (10)

Chapter 270: What Happened Between Them (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan¡¯s sudden action made Qiao Lian jump in fright. After Shen Liangchuan tugged at her and pulled her towards the stairs, she realized that something had happened. She turned around hurriedly, smiled at Qiao Yi and said, ¡°Xiao Yi, you eat first. I have to discuss something with your Brother-inw.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± Qiao Yi smiled bashfully, but his eyes did not reflect that smile. He was also tightly grasping the fingers on his knees. ¡°Bang!¡± After Qiao Lian was pulled into the master bedroom, she heard the sound of the door shutting suddenly. Next, a fiery body approached her, directly putting her against the wall behind her. The lights in the room weren¡¯t on, so it was a little dark. Under the moonlight that came in through the window, she looked up and stared at him. He had aplex expression. He looked at her as if he was going to eat her. Qiao Lian clenched her fists. She had not done much these past two days. What crazy things was this man going to do again? Could it be that he had abstained for too long and couldn¡¯t control it anymore? She couldn¡¯t help but let out a cold smirk. Their difference in strength couldn¡¯t bepared. If he indeed were to use force on her, perhaps her fighting back would only lead to even more severe punishments, just like what had happened the previous night. So what should she do next? As her imagination was running wild, she suddenly heard him sigh. The girl in front of him was ring at him with a pair of round eyes, stubbornly and obstinately. The shame and fury that he felt on his cheek seemed like he had just received a p on his face. All this anger could only ultimately be turned into a sigh. He let go of his hand, took a step back, gave her a deep look and then turned around and left the room. After he walked out, Qiao Lian heaved a sigh of relief. But shortly after, her heart felt sore. He actually did not treat her that badly. When they had first gotten married, although their rtionship had not been that pleasant, it was nothing like now, which frequently reached the freezing point. Actually, it was obvious that their rtionship had warmed up. It was obvious that she had realized that he seemed to have some feelings for her. Undoubtedly, she would have wanted to embark on a new rtionship with him. But in the end, why had it be what it was now? What had happened between them? She suppressed her bitter feelings and just when she was about to go downstairs tofort Qiao Yi, the room door was pushed open once again. The tall Shen Liangchuan walked inside. Qiao Lian¡¯s body stiffened. Could it be that he had changed his mind? He then walked towards her, reached out and handed her an invitation card to the banquet the day after tomorrow. Qiao Lian froze immediately. A mix ofplex feelings emerged once again. The same thing had happened again... What did this kind of reconciliation, after what had happened, actually mean? Biting her lips, she clenched her fists. She did not ept the invitation card, and instead she turned around and headed downstairs. Shen Liangchuan stared at the invitation card that he was holding in his hands, stunned. He did not go downstairs to have his dinner. After Qiao Lian and Qiao Yi finished their dinner, Qiao Lian returned to the master bedroom. Shen Liangchuan was smoking on the balcony. She did not go over, yet she could see the lingering smoke. His slender figure stood there and when the cold wind blew, it seemed extraordinarily silent and lonesome. Qiao Lian took a look, and then averted her gaze and entered the washroom. After she washed her face and rinsed her mouth, she headed straight to bed and decided to rest. However at this moment, the door to the balcony was opened and Shen Liangchuan, who smelt of tobo, suddenly approached her. Qiao Lian jumped up in shock, as Shen Liangchuan¡¯s body was pressing against hers. His eyes were especially dark. He stared at her for a while and then said quietly, ¡°Qiao Lian, I am sorry.¡± She couldn¡¯t control her tears as they immediately rolled down her cheeks! Chapter 271 - Xiao Qiao, Please Don’t Leave Me (1)

Chapter 271: Xiao Qiao, Please Don¡¯t Leave Me (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She had been waiting for an exnation from Shen Liangchuan ever since the pill issue hade to light. But she hadn¡¯t expected that after such a long wait, all it would amount to were these words. ¡°I am sorry...¡± Therge amount of birth control pills that she had taken had wrecked her body, and all it took was an apology to fix it? In the darkness, her tears flowed silently. She bit her lip hard, not allowing herself to cry aloud. It waste. She turned away, refusing to look in his direction. However, her defiance froze his heart. He felt like he didn¡¯t know himself anymore. He had apologized in the hope that she would leave the matter of the pills behind her and start anew with him. But now she even refused to look at him. He could only smile bitterly. He had known she wouldn¡¯t forgive him easily. Still, he had hoped that it would alleviate the strain on their rtionship. Now that she had so outrightly rejected him, he was at the end of the rope. He looked at Qiao Lian, who had buried herself under the nket. Under the moonlight, he could somewhat notice the glistening tears on her cheeks. Those tears caused him to step back. He clenched and unclenched his fists. Then, sping his hands together, he stood up. Remaining in the room would only serve to cause more awkwardness and ill feelings between them. He strode to the door, and then turned around and said, ¡°I¡¯ll be discussing a script with Song Cheng the next couple of days. I won¡¯t be back.¡± She heard his words but stayed hidden under the nket, immobile and refusing to respond. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression darkened as he strode away. The atmosphere in the vi was suffocating him. He stumbled down the stairs, changed his shoes and left, forgetting to even put on his jacket. The sound of engine starting up could be heard, after which it faded as the car drove into the distance. Thanks to this, Qiao Lian could tell for sure that Shen Liangchuan had left. She rxed her grip on the nket. By now her face was wet with tears. She sat up hugging the nket. She felt like the huge vi was closing in on her, knocking the breath out of her. She tried to suppress this sense of heaviness by taking a few deep breaths. She got up to wash her face and then got back into bed. Even though she tried, she could not get to sleep. ¨C The next day, Qiao Lian stepped out of the house with dark circles under her eyes. When Qiao Yi had noticed that, he had looked at her for a long time with pursed lips before saying, ¡°Sister, you need to rest well. Nothing is more important than one¡¯s health, isn¡¯t that right?¡± Qiao Lian felt a stinging sensation in her nose when she heard these words. She nodded. She was apanying him to his medical consultations today. He was to undergo various examinations so that the specialists could prepare a rehab programme for him. It wouldn¡¯t have been convenient for Shen Liangchuan to take them to the hospital, but when she took Qiao Yi out of the house, she saw that Song Cheng was already waiting for them by the car. ¡°Mr Shen instructed me to drive you there and back. His thoughtfulness and careful nning surprised her. She pursed her lips, but remained silent. It was noon by the time they returned from the hospital. After taking them back to the vi, Song Cheng spoke, ¡°Ms Qiao, please, would you ask Mr Shen to return my call when hees home.¡± Qiao Lian froze when she heard this. What did Song Cheng mean by this? Had Shen Liangchuan not been with himst night? So... where was he then? Her thoughts were interrupted by Song Cheng¡¯s agitated response as he picked up a phone call, ¡°What? Which hospital is Mr Shen in?!¡± Chapter 272 - Xiao Qiao, Please Dont Leave Me (2)

Chapter 272: Xiao Qiao, Please Don¡¯t Leave Me (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrunk immediately. She turned to look at Song Cheng. ¡°So serious? I¡¯ming over right now! Please wait for me!¡± Song Cheng¡¯s expression tensed up. After hanging up the phone, he did not waste another second speaking and got into the car, making another call as he drove away at a high speed. That look... If she had not misheard, he had said that Shen Liangchuan was at the hospital. Why was he at the hospital? She frowned as she pushed Qiao Yi into the living room with help from the housekeeper.. ¡°Sister, is everything alright with Brother-inw?¡± Qiao Yi suddenly asked. Qiao Lian bit her lips when she heard this. All at once, she felt anxious. Although he didn¡¯t treat her well, she couldn¡¯t help being concerned about him. But she smiled as she responded to Qiao Yi, ¡°Of course he¡¯s alright, what are you thinking!?¡± Changing the topic, she looked directly at Qiao Yi and said in a serious tone, ¡°You¡¯ve heard what the specialists said today. While I understand that you¡¯re anxious to get well, you can¡¯t overdo the exercises. This would be harmful to your knees! If you continue to overdo your exercises, you¡¯ll be crippled for life and I won¡¯t care about you anymore!¡± Qiao Yi hung his head like a guilty child. ¡°I only wanted to get well faster. I don¡¯t want you to continue suffering.¡± Qiao Lian reached out her hand to rub his head. ¡°As the old saying goes, illnesses are quick toe and slow to go. Just take it easy and rx, understand?¡± Qiao Yi nodded. ¡°I know, Sister. You didn¡¯t rest wellst night. It¡¯s the weekend now. You should go take a nap.¡± Qiao Lian headed up to the master bedroom and lied on the bed. She was physically exhausted, but lying there all she could think of was that anxious look on Song Cheng¡¯s face earlier on. She was terribly concerned. After a short while, she couldn¡¯t help but lightly p herself on the head. Qiao Lian, Shen Liangchuan treats you so poorly, why do you still worry about him? Even if he had been hospitalized, so what? Did it have anything to do with her? All the better if he died. This way she would be free from the devil¡¯s clutch again! With these mean thoughts, she took in a deep breath and shut her eyes. Half an hourter. The woman lying on the bed suddenly sat up and grabbed her own hair fretfully. Unable to stop herself, she picked up her cell phone and went into her contact list to find Song Cheng¡¯s number. She was both worried and in a dilemma. After a while, she moved away from Song Cheng¡¯s contact details and looked up Xia Yehua¡¯s instead. She dialed thetter. Xia Yehua picked up her call almost immediately. His voice was light and rxed, ¡°Xiao Qiao, are you free today? It¡¯s been a long time since you¡¯ve visited me. Let¡¯s y a game, shall we? Qiao Lian was caught by surprise. From the tone of her voice, it didn¡¯t seem like she knew about Shen Liangchuan. ¡°Oh, not today. I¡¯ve made ns...¡± She found an excuse, glossed over it with a few words and hung up. She sat on the bed with the cell phone in one hand. She felt increasingly uneasy. In the end, she got up and went downstairs for a stroll in the garden with Qiao Yi. It was eight in the evening when Qiao Lian finallyid on the bed in a daze. Just as she was about to fall asleep, her cell phone started ringing. She sat up with a jerk and picked up the phone. She saw on the screen that it was Song Cheng¡¯s number. She quickly epted the call. From the other end came Song Yuanxi¡¯s anxious voice, ¡°Sister-inw, where are you? Brother Liangchuan is sick. Can youe over?¡± Chapter 273 - Xiao Qiao, Please Don’t Leave Me (3)

Chapter 273: Xiao Qiao, Please Don¡¯t Leave Me (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian was stupefied. She had not known that Shen Liangchuan was sick, she had called Xia Yehua. But instead, Song Yuanxi was now calling her using Song Cheng¡¯s cell phone. This thought shed through her mind. She remained silent and Song Yuanxi continued, ¡°I¡¯ll send you the location on WeChat, please hurry over.¡± She hung up right after saying this. After a short time, she received the location from Song Yuanxi. Qiao Lian stared at the WeChat message and hesitated. In the end she got changed. The location given in the WeChat message wasn¡¯t a hospital, but a vi. Qiao Lian arrived in a cab. She rang the doorbell and an anxious-looking Song Yuanxi came to the door. ¡°Sister-inw, you¡¯re finally here.¡± Qiao Lian didn¡¯t answer, but quietly seized up the environment. Since Shen Liangchuan wasn¡¯t in the hospital, his condition couldn¡¯t be too serious. Just as Qiao Lian was thinking this, Song Yuanxi continued, ¡°Brother Liangchuan has a high fever. Today his temperature almost reached 40o C and he¡¯s still on a drip.¡± Almost 40o C?! Her eyes widened. ¡°Why has he not been taken to the hospital?¡± Song Yuanxi sighed helplessly and said, ¡°He doesn¡¯t like going to the hospital.¡± Song Yuanxi grabbed Qiao Lian¡¯s arm, saying, ¡°Sister-inw, Brother Song Cheng asked me toe over to take care of him but... it¡¯s not that appropriate, so I had to call you.¡± She led the way upstairs. ¡°The doctor has instructed that we should try to lower his physical temperature while waiting for the medicine to take effect. I¡¯ve prepared some rubbing alcohol, you can use that on him.¡± Having said this, she handed the alcohol over to Qiao Lian. When Qiao Lian entered the room, she saw Shen Liangchuan lying on the bed with his eyes closed. His face was abnormally red and frowning, it looked like he was dreaming and ill at ease. Lying there now, his usual imposing and intense air was absent. He looked almost angelic. Qiao Lian reached out to touch his forehead. Song Yuanxi immediately said, ¡°Sister-inw, be careful. Brother Liangchuan doesn¡¯t like to be touched.¡± Before Song Yuanxi could finish what she was saying, Qiao Lian¡¯s hand was already resting on his forehead. The sensation on the back of her hand was burning. She panicked. ¡°How did his temperature get this high?¡± Song Yuanxi looked at Qiao Lian¡¯s hand, that was resting on his forehead. Her eyes glistened and she sighed. ¡°I have no idea.¡± Qiao Lian did not pursue the matter, and she picked up the alcohol and began rubbing the liquid on his exposed skin. He winced with difort, looking like he was in pain. Was he dreaming of something unhappy? Qiao Lian anxiously held his hand and whispered, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, it¡¯s going to be okay.¡± When she said that, the man on the bed responded as though he had gotten aware of her presence. He started to calm down. The alcohol was quite effective and his temperature began to drop. Shen Liangchuan appeared to transition into a more peaceful rest. In the need to wash her hands, Qiao Lian stood up to head to the bathroom. But as she did so, someone suddenly grabbed her wrist. She tried to withdraw her hand from the hold, but she found her efforts futile. Even in his dreams, his strength was quite formidable. Her movement had stirred him up. He was muttering something. It sounded vaguely like, ¡°Don¡¯t leave.¡± Chapter 274 - Xiao Qiao, Please Don’t Leave Me (4)

Chapter 274: Xiao Qiao, Please Don¡¯t Leave Me (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Don¡¯t leave... To whom was he referring? What was he dreaming about? His first love? Qiao Lian bit her lips and tried again. His grip was tight and she could not shake it off. She suddenly felt her anger rising. This man took being overbearing to the extreme. But she immediately started finding it funny. Why was she getting so serious and angry about a sick man? She sat back down by the bed, letting him grab her hand. Song Yuanxi had left, so it was only the two of them in the room. Qiao Lian sat there in the quietness, looking at Shen Liangchuan. After a while, she heard a sounding from outside the door. She turned around and saw Song Cheng entering. Looking surprised to see her, Song Cheng quickly exined, ¡°Mr Shen instructed me before he dozed off not to let you know about this. He didn¡¯t want you to worry.¡± Hence, he had called Song Yuanxi toe over instead. Qiao Lian nodded to show she understood. Song Cheng looked at her expression and then fixed his gaze on the sick man lying on the bed. Shen Liangchuan had always been quite strong and had rarely fallen sick all these years. But this time... Song Cheng was rather certain that there was something not quite right between Mr Shen and Ms Qiao. But what could have gone wrong between them? He tried to recall the details. It seemed that... things had started to go wrong from the time Mr Shen had taken her out to a hot pot restaurant? Song Cheng gave a slight cough. ¡°Ms Qiao, do you dislike hotpot?¡± The question took Qiao Lian by surprise. ¡°What?¡± Song Cheng muttered to himself, ¡°I¡¯ve said this before, Mr Shen has no idea how to make a girl happy. Even if he had wanted to buy you a meal, it should not have been hotpot!¡± Then he quickly added, ¡°But Mr Shen has a thing for you, for sure. That day he asked me to book the entire hot pot restaurant and went to look for you at four in the afternoon. Although he didn¡¯t turn up before eight... and even if you don¡¯t like hot pot, you did appreciate the roses that were delivered to you, right?¡± Qiao Lian was confused about what Song Cheng was saying. ¡°Roses? What roses? And hot pot?¡± Song Cheng, being extremely nosey, replied, ¡°A few days ago. Mr Shen was in a bad mood and disappeared for the day! Did you two have an argument?¡± Qiao Lian was bbergasted. She looked at Song Cheng with astonishment, trying to put the pieces together. Suddenly it all started to make sense. The day she had stolen the agreement, she had received a text from him asking what she was doing and that he was driving her home... But she had told him she would leave at eight in the evening. Had he been waiting for her downstairs all that time? Then she also recalled that the day she packed her belongings and left, she had noticed crushed roses in the living room... At that time she hadn¡¯t cared. But now, she started wondering whether those roses had been for her? Surprise shed across her face but quickly, a sense of uncertainty deep within her took over. She turned and looked at the man lying on the bed,pletely perplexed. She was now a tangled mess of emotions. He obviously did not like her, so why was he being so nice to her? Biting her lip, she instantly felt warmth on her heart, wounded time and again by him. Seeing that she had stubbornly remained silent, Song Cheng did not probe any further, but made a remark, ¡°Mr Shen cares about you a lot. In all the years that I¡¯ve worked for him, I¡¯ve never seen him being so attentive to any other woman.¡± Just as Song Cheng finished saying this, Shen Liangchuan stirred on the bed. He seemed to be dreaming as he abruptly called out, ¡°Xiao Qiao, why do you treat me this way?¡± Chapter 275 - Xiao Qiao, Please Dont Leave Me (5)

Chapter 275: Xiao Qiao, Please Don¡¯t Leave Me (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan was deeply frowning with an expression of pain and hopelessness. He mumbled unintelligibly. Qiao Lian felt as though Sheng Liangchuan was crushing the bones in her hand with his increasingly tight grip. After saying the sentence, his jaw tensed up and he looked like he was having a nightmare. In this state, Shen Liangchuan looked so fragile that it was impossible to be unkind towards him. Looking at him, Qiao Lian continued to hold on to his hand. He eventually calmed down. Qiao Lian noticed that his cheeks were red from the fever, so she reached out her hand to touch his forehead. She was relieved to see that his temperature had gone down slightly. She was suddenly aware that Song Cheng had left, although she wasn¡¯t sure when. Once again, there were just the two of them in the room. In the quietness of the room, Song Cheng¡¯s words reverberated in her ears, causing her to stare immobile at Shen Liangchuan with bewilderment. She could not understand why he was so kind and at the same time so mean towards her. As she reflected upon it, she felt that if he had made her take the pill because he still had feelings for his first love, it wouldn¡¯t have made her that furious. She could understand it if he didn¡¯t want a child. After all, they had just been strangers at the time. She could even understand why he hadn¡¯t told her about it. He wanted to hide it from Xia Yehua and was afraid that she would give it away... But what she found hard to forgive was the amount of drugs he had made her take. This one thing was what she could not let go. Even though he had apologized to her, the harm that he had caused her could not be reversed. At this point, she smiled bitterly. If he had had even the slightest liking for her, he would not have harmed her like this. She lowered her eyelids as this thought came into her mind. The night grew darker. Resting her head on the bed next to him, Qiao Lian drifted off. In the middle of the night, she was woken up by the heat. Opening her eyes in a blur, she realized her shoulders were sore. After a moment of re-orientation, she recalled where she was. As if remembering something, she lifted her head suddenly and noticed that Shen Liangchuan¡¯s face was bright scarlet. Quickly feeling his forehead, she realized it was scorching hot. Startled, she quickly pushed his hand away and reached for the alcohol to try to bring his body temperature down once more. First his forehead, his armpits, followed by his chest and back, and then... his muscr thighs. She couldn¡¯t care less about the embarrassment of handling his body at this point. After rubbing him with alcohol, she quickly reached for the medicine. She gave Shen Liangchuan a few gentle prods and said, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, get up and take your medicine.¡± However, the man was unconscious and did not respond. Qiao Lian panicked and reached out to pry open his jaw, but it stayed tightly clenched. What was she going to do now?! In her panic, Qiao Lian suddenly remember amon scene she had seen in TV shows. After a momentary hesitation, she ced the medicine into her own mouth and chewed it... ¡°Urgh!¡± Qiao Lian threw up the crushed pills. So it appeared that those seemingly romantic scenes in TV shows were all lies. Because... the pills tasted bad. They were so bitter that they had numbed her tongue. She went downstairs and realized that Song Cheng was still around in the living room. After hearing about Shen Liangchuan¡¯s situation, he made a call. The family physician arrived shortly after and rushed over to put Shen Liangchuan on a drip. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s fever subsided after about half an hour¡ªonly then did Qiao Lian heave a sigh of relief. She rested her head on the bed next to Shen Liangchuan again and drifted back to sleep. The next time she woke up, she found herself lying in Shen Liangchuan¡¯s arms. Chapter 276 - Xiao Qiao, Please Dont Leave Me (6)

Chapter 276: Xiao Qiao, Please Don¡¯t Leave Me (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian slowly opened her eyes as the morning light prated the room. The first thing that greeted her was Shen Liangchuan¡¯s outstandingly handsome face and his familiar, masculine breath. Unconsciously, the first thing she did was touch his forehead. She felt relieved after noting that his temperature had gone down. Then, as if she had had some sort of sudden realization, she sat up with a jerk. She looked down to check that she was fully clothed. At some point, she had somehow wriggled her way into the folds of Shen Liangchuan¡¯s nket... Her face instantly flushed and she quickly looked at him. She heaved a sigh of relief when she saw that his eyes were still closed and he was still asleep. Then she carefully got out of bed and walked out of the room. Although she had looked after him for the whole night, the truth was that she still couldn¡¯t bring herself to face him. He was sick, and she didn¡¯t want to get into a fight with him. It was best that she left before he woke up. When she got downstairs, Song Yuanxi was just walking out of the kitchen carrying an apron. She smiled when she saw Qiao Lian. ¡°Sister-inw, I made some porridge. Would you like some?¡± Qiao Lian waved and said, ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. I have to go to work now.¡± Then she hesitated for a short while and eventually said, ¡°When Shen Liangchuan wakes up, please don¡¯t let him know that I came over.¡± Song Yuanxi looked confused. ¡°Huh?¡± Qiao Lian simply smiled and said, ¡°Thanks for your help.¡± And she left after changing her shoes. Song Yuanxi stood on the spot for a while as she watched Qiao Lian walk out of the house. When she heaved a sigh of relief and turned around, she saw Shen Liangchuan standing quietly on the corridor of the second floor. Pale from the fever and wearing a set of baggy pyjamas, his deep and dark eyes were fixed in Qiao Lian¡¯s direction. Song Yuanxi¡¯s heart sank. ¡°Brother Liangchuan...¡± Shen Liangchuan snapped back to the present and nodded at her, before he turned around and went back to his room. Song Yuanxi bit her lip and returned to the kitchen. As she came back out with the delicious porridge that she had been cooking, she heard the sound of a door opening upstairs. When she looked up, Shen Liangchuan was walking down all dressed up. She was about to call him for breakfast, but he left seemingly in a hurry. She hadn¡¯t had the chance to say a word. Song Yuanxi sighed and shut her mouth. ¨C It was around nine in the morning when Qiao Lian arrived at her office. She had barely stepped in when Shi Nianyao waved at her saying, ¡°Chief Editor Lian Lian, there¡¯s a package waiting for you.¡± A package? She paused for a second. She used to like online shopping as she could save money that way, however, she was quite sure that she hadn¡¯t bought anythingtely. Puzzled, she asked, ¡°What sort of package?¡± Shi Nianyaoughed. ¡°It¡¯s very beautifully packaged. Chief Editor Lian Lian, could it be a present from your suitor?¡± Suitor? Where would she even get one... Qiao Lian shook her head and curiously stepped into her office. She saw a little gift box on her desk. Indeed, the packaging was as Shi Nianyao had said, very pretty. It had a pink ribbon around it, done up in a butterfly knot, and it looked like it had been prepared with care. It was almost too pretty to unwrap. She walked over to her desk and put her bag aside. After starting up herputer, she made herself a coffee. She was feeling a little drowsy from not having slept well the night before. After settling down, she reached for a pair of scissors and nimbly snipped off the packaging ribbon. As she removed the cover of the box and looked in, her initially calm face froze and her pupils suddenly shrank. Chapter 277 - Xiao Qiao, Please Dont Leave Me (7)

Chapter 277: Xiao Qiao, Please Don¡¯t Leave Me (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Ah!¡± A piercing scream from just outside her office shattered the quietness of the news agency. The expression on Qiao Lian¡¯s face showed shock, but she was also stunned because of the shriek that hade from Su Meimei, who was standing at the door. Su Meimei¡¯s eyes were transfixed on the gift box on the desk, covering her mouth with her hands. Her scream got the attention of the other workers in the office. ¡°What happened?¡± Very quickly, a small crowd gathered at the entrance of her office. rmed gasps could be hearding from crowd. Finally, Qiao Lian got over her shock and reacted, looking into the package again. She clenched her fists tightly. The beautifully-wrapped gift box contained a dead cat. It used to be a white cat, but it had been very cruelly dismembered and its white fur had been dyed bright scarlet, reeking of fresh blood. It was a horrifying sight. She gulped. Her fingers were trembling uncontrobly. Although she had always been bold and courageous, this unexpected bloody sight was an assault to all her senses and it sickened her. Both Zhang Chunhua and Liu Zhixing had also hurried over by now. When they saw this thing on the desk, Liu Zhixing jumped in fright. ¡°What happened here?¡± Zhang Chunhua, on the other hand, said gleefully, ¡°What else could it be? One look and it¡¯s obvious she must have crossed somebody. Qiao Lian, I must give you this one! How do you always manage to attract trouble all the time? Can you not keep your private affairs private?¡± When she heard this, Qiao Lian looked at Liu Zhixing jerking her head up. ¡°Managing Editor Liu, the package was addressed to ¡®Xiao Qiao¡¯ and that is not my original name. So I suspect that this may be a malicious threat from someone who I have written about before.¡± And she didn¡¯t need a second guess to know who this person was. Wang Wenhao. Because of her article, he hadpletely fallen from grace and been subsequently beaten up in public by Shen Liangchuan. It had caused the end of his career in the entertainment industry. She frowned, annoyed at how troublesome this was turning out to be. For someone like Wang Wenhao, who had lost his chance of a sessful future, there was no telling what else he would do next. She looked at Liu Zhixing directly. ¡°Managing Editor Liu, I¡¯d like to file a police report and apply for a protection order.¡± Zhang Chunhuaughed derisively the moment she said this. ¡°That¡¯s making a mountain out of a molehill. You want to file a police report over such a small matter? And what if the police turns up? You think they will protect you 24/7? I say, Qiao Lian, are you paranoid or something?¡± Qiao Lian was furious. How could Zhang Chunhua use her of being paranoid when such a package was actually already on her desk? If anyone was sick in the mind, it would be Zhang Chunhua for sure. She looked at Liu Zhixing and asked, ¡°Managing Editor Liu, so what¡¯s your take on this?¡± Liu Zhixing thought for a while and said, ¡°This matter affects the reputation of our news agency. Besides, the sender has only given a warning so far. If we filed a police report now, they won¡¯t be able to do anything. Let¡¯s wait and see. If he makes another move, we can file a police report then.¡± Shi Nianyao could not contain her anger upon hearing this. ¡°If his next move is to kill someone, then what¡¯s the use of filing a police report then?¡± She took out her cell phone and insisted, ¡°This is harassment, we must file a police report immediately!¡± ¡°Shush! Are you in the lead or am I? If you dare to call the police now, you can leave immediately. You¡¯re just an intern, how dare you challenge me!?¡± Liu Zhixingshed out at Shi Nianyao, causing her to deeply frown. Seeing her expression, Qiao Lian shot Shi Nianyao aforting look and said aloud, ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s not file a report yet then.¡± Chapter 278 - Xiao Qiao, Please Don’t Leave Me (8)

Chapter 278: Xiao Qiao, Please Don¡¯t Leave Me (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After the crowd had dispersed, Qiao Lian threw the package away. When she returned, she saw that Shi Nianyao was still angry and indignant. ¡°This is indeed too much! I have never seen such a boss. But Chief Editor Lian Lian, how could you not have called the police?¡± Qiao Lian sighed and then said, ¡°For this kind of issues, even if the police were here, they would only record the incident. It would be impossible for them to send someone to protect me 24 hours a day. So it would have been useless, even if we had called for the police.¡± Shi Nianyao turned silent suddenly. ¡°So, what do you intend to do?¡± ¡°What else can I do? Just leave it like that!¡± She smiled and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will be more careful these few days.¡± Although that was easy to say, only she knew how afraid she was. For the sake of her own safety, it would be better if she stayed at the office for the whole day and not go out to gather news. She reckoned that Liu Zhixing would understand the seriousness of the matter and indeed, he did not force her. When she ended work, she decided to take the public bus to go home, since there would be many people on the bus and it should be the safest way. Although it was supposed to be peak hours when she finished work, not that many people were heading in the vi¡¯s direction. There were still empty seats when she got on the bus, as only a few were upied. Qiao Lian sat down and looked at the scenery outside. After a while, she realized that there was a person standing beside her. She turned and took a nce, but she did not mind. However after a while, she noticed some kind of warmth on her head. She stared nkly and then saw that the person standing next to her had ced his hand on her head. Qiao Lian began to frown. She was about to say something when the man suddenly said, ¡°You have very nice hair.¡± After he finished speaking, he removed his hand as if nothing had ever happened before. Qiao Lian immediately started to be vignt and stood on guard. She bit her lips. The number of people on the bus lessened as they approached the rural area. This area was rather deste, and there were not many people getting on and off the bus. While Qiao Lian was still lost in her thoughts, the person beside her suddenly swung his arm, giving her a tight p! This p was so sudden that she did not have the chance to react at all. Qiao Lian stood up, and the man started yelling at her, ¡°C*nt! Didn¡¯t you hear what I just said? You only like ying with your cell phone the whole day!¡± Qiao Lian bit her lips and then said, ¡°Who are you? I don¡¯t know you. You¡ª¡± Before she could finish speaking, the man suddenly grabbed her hair. As the bus reached the bus-stop, he grabbed her hair and headed straight down the bus. Qiao Lian cried out for help, ¡°I don¡¯t know him. Help!¡± The man spoke fiercely, ¡°What are you looking at? Never seen a couple fighting before?!¡± There was someone who wanted toe forward, but someone else stopped him and said, ¡°I saw this man touching thisdy¡¯s head just now, they are probably a couple.¡± Qiao Lian waspletely muddled, it was an abduction in broad daylight! She was so terrified that she screamed at the top of her lungs for help, but the people in the bus just looked at her with indifference. No one came up to save her. So she was dragged down the bus by the man just like that. She was then flung on the grass along the road. Qiao Lian was shivering and looked helpless, since no one had bothered to assist her. She watched as the bus left and the man forcefully pushed onto the grass. She was trembling with fear as she stared at the person in front of her. He grinned and smirked, waving a dagger in his hand. ¡°You do indeed look pretty. But if I were to sh your face, what do you think would happen?¡± Once he finished speaking, he took the dagger and pierced it into her face! Chapter 279 - Xiao Qiao, Please Dont Leave Me (9)

Chapter 279: Xiao Qiao, Please Don¡¯t Leave Me (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Qiao Lian was young, she used to practice taekwondo. As the delicate pretty eldest daughter of an affluent family, she had been terrified of pain. After she got a few bruises on her body, she started to throw a tantrum and her dad felt sorry for her, so he did not let her continue with it. When she had grumbled to Zi Chuan about this while ying, Zi Chuan replied, ¡°I will learn.¡± The next sentence obviously was, ¡°I will protect you.¡± Therefore, she never learned it again. She had thought that when she was young, her dad would be there to protect her and when she grew up, Zi Chuan would be there to protect her. At this very moment, she then suddenly understood. Dad could not stay with her forever... and as for Zi Chuan, that was already history. At that instant, as she saw the dagger moving towards her face, she wanted to move, wanted to hide, but the man was holding down her shoulders, immobilizing her. She watched helplessly as she saw that dagger moving towards her. Her heart was hopeless. In this world, one could only depend on oneself and not others. She shut her eyes and clenched her fists tightly. Since a young age, she had been most afraid of pain. She wondered what it would feel like to have a dagger piercing into her face. However... the pain that she had expected to feel did note. Instead, the grip on her shoulders loosened and next, she heard a loud ¡°bang!¡± She opened her eyes and saw that the perpetrator had fallen on the ground and in front of her stood a man. He was wearing a white sweater with ck trousers. She sat on her knees and looked up at him. That made him look extraordinarily tall. The sun shone from behind his back, he was thoroughly soaked in the sunlight. He looked as if he had been sent by the heavens to protect her, and this made her feel peaceful and contented for a moment. ¡°Are you alright?¡± He turned around and bent over. When that familiar low-pitched voice sounded in her ears, Qiao Lian still felt like it was all a dream. Why was Shen Liangchuan here? Just when she was wondering about this, she saw the perpetrator jump up and rush in their direction with the dagger in his hand! She screamed out loud, ¡°Be careful!¡± He regained hisposure right away, and his body swayed a little, trying to kick the man. However, he did not managed to kick him and the man directed the dagger towards Qiao Lian. Qiao Lian had a sense of foreboding. Next, she heard a ¡°sh.¡± It was the sound of a dagger shing through the skin. A drop of warmth was sshed directly on her face. She stared at the scene with her big eyes in confusion, and then she saw Shen Liangchuan had began to sway side to side. When the man saw that he had indeed hurt someone, perhaps in fear, he thus dropped the dagger and immediately ran away. Qiao Lian then regained herposure and jumped up to hold Shen Liangchuan! His eyes were extremely dark and steely, yet his face was pale. He saw that the man had ran away, but he still stood there in spite of the pain. When Qiao Lian¡¯s hand met his, she then sensed that his hands were extremely hot to the touch. She hurriedly touched his forehead and realized that he was actually still running a high fever. No wonder he had been staggering just now and looked weak. Qiao Lian took a look at his arm again. He had used his arm to block the dagger from hitting her just now. At this moment, a lot of blood was gushing from the wound, reddening the white sweater. She hurriedly pressed his wound and asked, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, how are you?¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s lips twitched as if he wanted to say something, but he was too weak to say anything. He took a long time before saying these three words, ¡°Please, run, fast.¡± Then, hisrge and tall frame fell directly on her shoulders and he fainted. Qiao Lian panicked and her eyes turned red. ¡°Shen Liangchuan, are you ok? Wake up!¡± Chapter 280 - Xiao Qiao, Please Don’t Leave Me (10)

Chapter 280: Xiao Qiao, Please Don¡¯t Leave Me (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At the hospital. Qiao Lian eyes werepletely red as she stood by the bedside. Shen Liangchuan was lying there with his eyes closed. His pale face was expressionless. His arm had been bandaged. The doctor beside him was still saying, ¡°It is crucial that the patient gets enough rest. How could he leave the house while he was still running a high fever?¡± But Qiao Lian could not process what he was saying. Her gaze was fixed on Shen Liangchuan, while her face was pale with shock. She would have never imagined that when she was being taken hostage by the thug, the person who would emerge to save her would actually be Shen Liangchuan. He was clearly running a high fever. Why had he been in the wilderness? And since he was clearly running a high fever, why would he rush out to save her? Moreover even when he was injured, he hadn¡¯t first thought about himself, instead he had told her to run away fast, possibly fearing that the thug would injure her. Tears brimmed in her eyes, but since she was trying hard to resist them, they did not flow out. Her hand was still subconsciously holding his uninjured hand. A certain kind of unknown emotion slowly gathered in her heart. All the anger she had felt disappeared at this moment. At this instant, she only had one thought in her mind. She wished that he would get well soon and that he could open his eyes. The door to the ward was pushed open. Song Yuanxi walked over in shock. When she was in front of the two of them, she bit her lips while looking at Qiao Lian. After a while, she finally said, ¡°After you left this morning, Brother Liangchuan followed you in his car. He was about to recover but he didn¡¯t recuperate enough, that¡¯s why his fever returned.¡± He had followed her in his car... He had been following her since that morning. Did it mean that he had been following her for the whole day? If not, it would not have been possible for him to reach her on time. But... why had he followed her? A thought shed through her mind, which astonished and startled her as she looked at the man on the bed. She really did not know what she should do with him. Half an hourter, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s fever subsided. The doctor announced that he was fine now. But Qiao Lian still sat there with a nk look on her face. Song Yuanxi reminded her, ¡°Sister-inw, you don¡¯t look good like this... You should go wash up first.¡± When Qiao Lian heard this, she looked down and realized that her clothes were a mess and there were also bloodstains on her. Shen Liangchuan had always loved to be clean. How would he stand it if he were to wake up seeing her so dirty? When Qiao Lian thought of this, she nodded and stood up. She decided to go to the bathroom, but she recalled that she did not have a new set of clothes to change into. She then suddenly also remembered that perhaps Qiao Yi was still waiting at home for her to have dinner together. She simply headed out and said, ¡°I will go home for a moment.¡± ¨C Qiao Lian hurriedly hailed a cab to go home, where she took a hot shower. Her whole being seemed to have finallye back to life. Even though her hair had not been fully blow-dried yet, she changed into a new pair of clothes and headed out in a rush. Only two hours had passed by the time she returned to the hospital. After rushing to the ward, when she was about to open the door to enter, she heard Song Cheng¡¯s voice. ¡°Brother Shen, my Brother Shen! Why can¡¯t you just take time to recuperate? You- you- The filming for ¡®Ambition¡¯ will start very soon and you¡¯ll be entering the filming set soon. And something had to happen to you at a time like this... Ugh!¡± Shen Liangchuan waited for him to finish speaking before he said nonchntly, ¡°A small injury like this will not affect the progress of the filming crew.¡± Song Cheng sighed and replied, ¡°We can talk about this again, but only when your wound has totally healed. But regarding today¡¯s incident, I have already reported it to the police. The police have caught the thug and after the inquiry, he said...¡± Chapter 281 - I Didnt Mean to Hurt You (1)

Chapter 281: I Didn¡¯t Mean to Hurt You (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°The thug imed that he carried out the assault because Ms Qiao wrote a negative article about him in the past. Apparently she exposed an affair between a certain female celebrity and a third party, and the third party was this thug. There¡¯s full evidence for his testimony, but apart from that he refuses to admit responsibility. There¡¯s nothing the police can do about that, but they¡¯ve taken him into custody for now.¡± Song Cheng paused after this update and continued, ¡°Brother Shen, do you think someone¡¯s behind this?¡± Shen Liangchuan coughed twice. Since he had just woken up, his voice was hoarse and he spoke slowly, ¡°It¡¯s not important whether we have evidence of who is behind this. The most important thing is that we all know who it is. Please assign two bodyguards to protect Ms Qiao.¡± Song Cheng responded, ¡°... Yes.¡± Qiao Lian was standing outside the door, and a warm feeling momentarily engulfed her when she overheard the conversation. It felt like the wounds in her heart found sce in these words and were beginning to heal. Finally, he prioritized her safety and well-being. She bit her lip and was about to enter the ward when Shen Liangchuan instructed, ¡°Pack up, let¡¯s go home.¡± Song Cheng eximed, ¡°Brother Shen, can¡¯t you just be good and stay put in the hospital?! Even though your fever has subsided and your wound has been cleaned up and bandaged, what if something goes wrong? You might develop pneumonia!¡± Shen Liangchuan replied, ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense.¡± With that said, he had cut off Song Cheng, who was mumbling, ¡°Such a grown man and you¡¯re afraid of staying in the hospital. Seriously...¡± However, he stood up and walked to the door, obviously not daring to defy Shen Liangchuan¡¯s orders. Seeing this was the situation, Qiao Lian immediately opened the door and walked inside. She acted as if nothing had happened, as though she had not heard a word that had been exchanged between the two men, and dropped her bag on the sofa. The room instantly became silent. Song Cheng stood there, not knowing if he should walk out or stay. Shen Liangchuan also hadn¡¯t expected that she would turn up. For a second, he was at a loss for words. The hospital gown made him seem less aloof and more human, he was almost quite adorable. Seeing that both men were silent, she turned to Shen Liangchuan. She opened her mouth as if she was going to speak, but she wasn¡¯t quite sure if he would ept her suggestion that he stayed in the hospital. In the end she said tactfully, ¡°I brought you a few pieces of clothing. I guess you will need them, since you¡¯ll be here a few days.¡± Thus if he still insisted on being discharged, it wouldn¡¯t cause her too much embarrassment. After she said these words, she noticed Shen Liangchuan was pursing his lips and giving Song Cheng a look. That look made Song Cheng shudder and he immediately headed to the door. ¡°I- I¡¯ll go arrange¡ª¡± Shen Liangchuan interrupted him before he could finish, ¡°Buy me some porridge.¡± Song Cheng was stunned for a moment. He nced at Qiao Lian and nodded wordlessly. Then he left the room lookingpletely mystified. Now only the two of them were left in the room. Qiao Lian had not expected him to change his mind about leaving the hospital just because of what she had said. She too was taken aback. Hence, she got up and took his clothes out of her bag, busying herself so that they wouldn¡¯t feel too awkward. During that time, they did not speak to each other. Qiao Lian turned to look at Shen Liangchuan after hanging up his clothes. He was frowning and disdainfully looking at his hospital gown. She finally couldn¡¯t keep her silence, ¡°Do you want to take a shower?¡± After this remark, both Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan looked simultaneously at the wound on his arm. Chapter 282 - I Didnt Mean to Hurt You (2)

Chapter 282: I Didn¡¯t Mean to Hurt You (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The fresh dressing had to be kept dry. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s fever had gone down but he had been perspiring profusely. In addition, his look of disdain as he frowned at his own mess prompted Qiao Lian to suggest a shower. Crestfallen, Shen Liangchuan paused for a while and said, ¡°It¡¯s not necessary.¡± However he was still deeply frowning. For a germaphobe like himself, not being able to take a bath was roughly equivalent to death. Seeing how ufortable he was, Qiao Lian bit her lip. After a moment of silence, she walked to him and said, ¡°I¡¯ll help you shower.¡± Shen Liangchuan froze and abruptly raised his head. His eyes were aze with passion, and Qiao Lian felt her face reddening from the intensity of his gaze. She clenched her fist and repeated it, ¡°I¡¯ll help you shower.¡± Shen Liangchuan flushed, the tips of his ears had turned a bright scarlet. He let out an awkward cough and was about to say something, but Qiao Lian took a step towards him before he could speak. She held his shoulders. ¡°Let me help you.¡± She had offered her help three times and if Shen Liangchuan rejected her now, she would be outraged. Shen Liangchuan obediently followed her into the bathroom without a word. Piece by piece, he stripped down the hospital gown he was wearing, revealing his impressive physique before Qiao Lian. Trying hard not to focus on the awkward situation, Qiao Lian said to herself, ¡°I helped him by rubbing his body when he was sick, and I¡¯ve seen everything there was to see. Why should I be embarrassed!?¡± Without even looking up, she could feel his gaze burning on her. She felt like her whole body was engulfed in a searing heat. Biting her lip, she pushed all distractions aside and focused on showering him. Shen Liangchuan raised his arms as she held the shower head and ran water over his body. Streams of water flowed down his shoulders, his abdominals... and finally reaching between his thighs. He stood motionless, with every muscle tensed and ready to explode. Qiao Lian didn¡¯t dare to touch his skin. She held the towel in her hand and wiped it over his body. She ultimately came to his sensitive area. Qiao Lian tried hard to stay detached as she aimed the shower head and ran water over his private parts... and then she couldn¡¯t help but realize... that was enough to get a reaction... Qiao Lian turned red. She looked up and saw that he was trying to keep hisposure, but his flushed skin betrayed him. After the shower, both of them were red with embarrassment and their hearts were pounding. By now, Qiao Lian was drenched in her own perspiration. Her whole body was burning. After the shower, she carefully dressed him in the pyjamas she had brought for him, and they stepped out of the bathroom. Qiao Lian was tidying up the bathroom when she heard Song Cheng return with the porridge. Looking at Shen Liangchuan, he eximed, ¡°Brother Shen, is the fever back again? Your face is burning!¡± ¡°... Get lost.¡± Shen Liangchuan gritted his teeth with hidden embarrassment. Sensing something unusual, Song Cheng kept mum. He ced the porridge on the table and quickly left. The room was silent once more. It was close to midnight when Qiao Lian finished her dinner. It was gettingte and Qiao Lian was feeling an increasing sense of awkwardness being in the same room as Shen Liangchuan. She stood up and said, ¡°I¡¯ll be outside¡ª¡± Before she could finish her sentence, his strong hand grabbed her arm. Qiao Lian was stunned and as she turned around, he said with a hoarse voice, ¡°About the birth control pills... I wasn¡¯t ready for children... I didn¡¯t mean to hurt you...¡± At that moment, Qiao Lian bit her lip and looked at him directly. Chapter 283 - I Didn’t Mean to Hurt You (3)

Chapter 283: I Didn¡¯t Mean to Hurt You (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan panicked when he saw that she was leaving. However after stopping her, he wasn¡¯t quite sure what he could say to make her stay. Those were the only words he could think of. Having said them though, he was uncertain if she would believe him. The only thing he could do was hold her hand and stand there looking at her. She bit her lip and then shook off his grip, running out of the door as fast as she could. That look... Shen Liangchuan tried to reach out to stop her, but in the end his raised hand froze in mid air. Feelingpletely dejected, he dropped his arm. ¨C Qiao Lian did not run very far after leaving the room. She stopped in the corridor outside and heavily leaned against against the wall. It waste at night and the hospital corridor was bereft of people. The screaming silence and stinging smell of antiseptic somehow sharpened one¡¯s senses. The calmness that she had always outwardly disyed was finally caving. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to hurt you.¡± If he had said these words at the time the birth control pill matter had just happened, she would have scoffed at it for sure. But now... What reasons did she have to doubt this man, who had risked his own life to save hers? Prior to this, she had never known that there was a ce for her in his heart. Her eyes instantly filled with tears. She had ran out of the room fearing that she would lose herposure in front of him. And now in this quiet corridor, she wanted tough and cry all at once. She raised her arm and wiped her tears away in an utterly unrefined manner. Then she walked along the seemingly endless corridor. There was a breeze blowing towards her, and it cleared her head. She lost track of time, she could only feel her body freezing from the wind. Her emotions had finally calmed down. At this point, she slowly turned around and walked back to the ward. She took a deep breath when she stood at the entrance of the ward, and then pushed the door. The door slowly swung open with a creak. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s body tensed up and he quickly looked up, as though expecting something. When he saw the woman at the door, his dark eyes lit up instantaneously. Qiao Lian did not speak. She felt that for some reason, there was some kind of awkwardness between them. She didn¡¯t look in his direction and instead walked to the caregiver¡¯s couch. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s gaze carefully followed the woman. Under the nket, her petite body curled into a tight ball. Before her return, he had been despondent; but now there was a spark of life in his eyes. The corners of his mouth curved into an almost unnoticeable smile. Hey down quietly and turned off the lights, reluctant to take his eyes off her even for a second. The night passed in silence. It was six in the morning when the whole hospital started toe to life. There was no exception, even in the VIP ward. Just as Qiao Lian awoke, she heard the deep voice of a man saying, ¡°... My wife is resting, will you please lower your voice?¡± She was stunned for a moment before she heard the doctor reply softly, ¡°Okay. Mr Shen, your fever has subsided. Although the wound on your arm is quite serious, it has been treated and you may go home. However during this period, you¡¯ll have to be careful not to get your wound wet. Things should be fine in a week.¡± They quietly exchanged some morements for a little while more, and then they left. Pretending that she had heard nothing of that conversation, Qiao Lian now opened her eyes. The first thing that greeted her sight was the handsome side profile of a man. He was sitting up straight in his bed and looking at his cell phone. Then as though realizing that she was looking, he turned his gaze towards her direction. Chapter 284 - I Didn’t Mean to Hurt You (4)

Chapter 284: I Didn¡¯t Mean to Hurt You (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian felt embarrassed when their eyes met, much like a guilty voyeur caught in the act. She immediately shifted her gaze, gave a deliberate yawn and stretched to relief the awkwardness. Then she sat up, rubbed her face and headed into the restroom. By the time she came back, Song Cheng had arrived with breakfast. After having breakfast together, Song Cheng apanied Shen Liangchuan toplete the discharge process while Qiao Lian went to work. Because of some dy, it was almost nine by the time Qiao Lian got into the office¡ªhalf an hourte. The workers in the office looked nosey, like they had heard news of something. Shi Nianyao came running over the moment Qiao Lian stepped into her office. ¡°There¡¯s news! You know how female casters have been quite a trend these days? And what is more, eSports is also in the limelight... so the eSports livestream departmentunched an event to select a female livestream host by popr voting. All the female anchors will be ranked! They¡¯ll host this event for a week, and eventually the top three most popr female anchors will be announced.¡± As a reporter, Qiao Lian would normally be quite sharp to find out about this sort of news, but this time she had failed to realize that this matter had something to do with herself. She nodded as she took her cup and stepped out for a coffee. She had taken just a few steps when she overheard the discussion among a group of workers. ¡°... At the moment the top three are Purple Fairy, Little Miss Sprite and Forget Chuan! Make a guess, who do you all think will win?¡± Qiao Lian came to a halt when they mentioned... Forget Chuan? Since when was she shortlisted? ¡°Do we even need to guess?¡± Someoneughed. ¡°Of course, Purple Fairy. After all, she¡¯s the number one beauty in the eSports industry!¡± ¡°But I think Little Miss Sprite is not too far behind. Plus, I prefer Little Miss Sprite because she is refreshingly frank and straightforward!¡± ¡°Actually Forget Chuan¡¯s votes are very close too. When ites to understanding eSports, her analysis is still the most passionate!¡± ¡°When ites to this, Forget Chuan won¡¯t get the highest votes for sure!¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°For an ugly duckling who doesn¡¯t even show her face, there¡¯s no way she¡¯ll win!¡± ¡°That¡¯s true too.¡± These ongoing multiple discussions stunned Qiao Lian as she walked back to her office, holding her cup of coffee. She quickly turned on herputer and looked up rted news. Then she discovered that the statistics were from a random inte site and weren¡¯t even official figures. In first ce was Purple Fairy, who had gathered more than 9000 votes. While she herself hade in third, with around 5000 votes. The female anchor Forget Chuan had an attractive voice. That, together with her unique perspective on eSports, had gained her very loyal followers, even though her fanbase wasn¡¯t huge. The number of people who had voted for her was considerable. Since she was on this website, she thought she would take a quick look at her own Weibo page as well. Very quickly, she relegated the voting issue to the back of her mind. Two hourster, something unexpected happened. Shi Nianyao shouted at her, ¡°Chief Editor Lian Lian, hurry up and take a look at Purple Fairy¡¯s Weibo page! She is suggesting that Forget Chuan is manipting the votes!¡± Qiao Lian was stunned. She reloaded the statistics website she had visited earlier and found that Forget Chuan had reached 12000 votes, overtaking Purple Fairy. Then she entered Weibo and found the content that Purple Fairy had posted. [Purple Fairy: Certain human interference has caused us to fall behind on votes. I hope that our friends will work hard to ensure my leading position.] Chapter 285 - I Didn’t Mean to Hurt You (5)

Chapter 285: I Didn¡¯t Mean to Hurt You (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The moment the Weibo message was posted, thousands of people hadmented. They were all angryments directed at her: [I swear! It¡¯s just a smallpetition, is there a need for this sort of behaviour? What a pig!] [So ugly that she doesn¡¯t dare to show her face. To think that she would actually dare to vie for the first ce with my Purple Fairy? It¡¯s too much!] [Please put up a fair fight. You don¡¯t even have a million fans, and our Purple Fairy has two million fans. How could you have more votes than Purple Fairy? Do you have no shame?] Qiao Lian frowned reading all the nasty remarks, and she started to feel angry. She logged into her Weibo ount and as she was about to post a message, she suddenly realized that there was a private message for her. It was from Purple Fairy. [Purple Fairy: I initially wasn¡¯t going to fight with you since it¡¯s just an unimportant ranking. But since you¡¯re so unscrupulous, I will fight you until the end!] Qiao Lian was absolutely stumped. What on earth had she done to court this trouble? Shi Nianyao, who was next to Qiao Lian,ughed derisively. ¡°I used to think that Purple Fairy was quite a good gamer and a decent livestream host. But I never imagined that she¡¯d be two-faced! I¡¯ve studied Forget Chuan¡¯s statistics and they have risen gradually. Purple Fairy¡¯s statistics, on the other hand, look suspicious. Isn¡¯t that just the pot calling the kettle ck!¡± Qiao Lian was speechless when hearing this. She thought for a while and typed out a short reply: [Forget Chuan: You having fun in your solo y? Retard!] Qiao Lian had never been a pushover. Even on the inte, she wasn¡¯t going to let someone take unfair advantage of her. Having given the other party a piece of her mind, she put her cell phone aside and continued to focus on her work. Compared with the much bigger Team One, Team Two onlyprised Shi Nianyao and herself, hence their workload was a lot heavier. With so much to do, they were kept busy all the way until six in the evening. Qiao Lian looked at the clock and decided not to work overtime. She thought she might head straight home. Shen Liangchuan had a strange temperament and insisted on maintaining a physical distance from his housekeeper. Now that he was nursing a wound, Qiao Lian wondered if he had faced any difficulties in his activities at home. She started to feel anxious as she thought about this. Hence once work was over, she packed her belongings and took a cab back to the vi. On entering the vi and changing of her shoes, she greeted Qiao Yi and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Shen Liangchuan?¡± Qiao Yi replied, ¡°Upstairs in the bedroom.¡± Qiao Lian nodded and headed upstairs. Without thinking, she opened the bedroom door and was immediately greeted by the sight of Shen Liangchuaning out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around him. His hair was still dripping wet¡ªhis features were delicately sculpted, yet manly and handsome. A firm chest, honey-zed skin, and a clearly-defined 8-pack abdomen. These were all a testimony of his perfect physique, nothing more and nothing less. This man was impable in every way, from his voice to his face and his body. In a time where beautiful young male celebrities were all the rage, no wonder he could still gather a bigger fanbase than these youthful idols. Qiao Lian was awed by the sight of him, as her heart pounded wildly. Right before her eyes was pure, naked seduction! Calm down, heart! Her gaze wandered down, stopping at the towel wrapped around his waist. She suddenly recalled the day before, when she had helped him shower... and that reaction... Qiao Lian¡¯s face reddened instantly and she quickly turned away. Then as though realizing something, she turned around and rushed up to him. With one hand grasping his arm she cried anxiously, ¡°Did you take a shower by yourself? Don¡¯t you know that you¡¯re not supposed to wet your wound?¡± Chapter 286 - She is Xiao Qiao (1)

Chapter 286: She is Xiao Qiao (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°You can¡¯t be trusted to take care of yourself!¡± Qiao Lian wasn¡¯t conscious that while examining the bandage that covered his wound, she was tightly grasping his arm. She found that it was slightly damp. She immediately frowned, but he said at the same time, ¡°I¡¯ve been very careful.¡± ¡°Bullsh*t! The bandage is wet!¡± In her anxiety, she had chided him. She only realized it afterwards, so she then immediately covered her mouth. Looking up at him, she caught a vague expression on his face, but there was an unmistakable tenderness in his eyes. He was apparently not angry. Relieved, she pulled him to the sofa on the side and made him sit down. Opening up the first aid kit, she knelt on the carpet and started to change Shen Liangchuan¡¯s dressing. The expression on her face was serious as she tilted her head over his wound. After the dressing had been changed, she suddenly became conscious of the warm breath grazing the back of her neck. She then realized how puzzling they probably looked, being so up-close. The scent of his breath drifted towards her, making her body tense up and her mouth parched. She wanted to stand up, but Shen Liangchuan rested his head on her shoulder at once, leaning on her as though he was a child throwing a tantrum. She dared not move. She gulped nervously and curled her fingers, staying in that position for a while. Just as she was about to speak, he slipped his arms around her waist and lifted her, cing her on hisp. The next second, he lowered his head and came closer! He had given Qiao Lian a fright. Just as she thought that he was going to kiss her, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s face came within a hair¡¯s breadth and stopped. Then with his deep and hoarse voice he asked, ¡°May I?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s face immediately turned bright scarlet. Whenever he had wanted her in the past, he had never once stopped to ask for her consent beforehand. But now... Qiao Lian hesitated. How was she going to respond to such a question?! If she said ¡®yes¡¯, it would make her seem easy. Wasn¡¯t she supposed to still be angry at him? But if she said ¡®no¡¯... the truth was, she wanted him. In her moment of conflict, he continued, ¡°I¡¯ll take it as a yes if you don¡¯t speak up.¡± Following this, he lifted her onto the sofa and pressed his body against hers. And right at that moment... Qiao Lian¡¯s cell phone started ringing! The piercing tone brought her back to her senses. Gathering all her strength, she pushed Shen Liangchuan aside and jumped up to answer the phone. On the other end of the line was Song Cheng¡¯s voice, ¡°Ms Qiao, Smiling Tiger from the team wishes to quit.¡± ¨C At the clubhouse in the vi. Qiao Lian rushed over to the vi and on arrival, she saw Smiling Tiger carrying his suitcase behind him. She asked, ¡°Why?¡± Looking a little awkward, he hesitated before saying, ¡°The King Fighting Team gave me an invitation.¡± King Fighting Team was a recently-established eSports team. Qiao Lian frowned and continued, ¡°Did they offer better terms than us? We can negotiate. You¡ª¡± ¡°Not really. I think it will be tough to find a team that offers better terms.¡± Smiling Tiger said with much guilt, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Qiao Lian took a deep breath and pressed on, ¡°What¡¯s the reason then?¡± Smiling Tiger looked at her and then lowered his gaze. ¡°Because their trainer is Purple Fairy.¡± Purple Fairy? Qiao Lian was stunned. Smiling Tiger continued, ¡°She is Xiao Qiao, the famed female gamer from Lot back then.¡± Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes. What?! Chapter 287 - She is Xiao Qiao (2)

Chapter 287: She is Xiao Qiao (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When she had initially heard about the King Fighting Team, Qiao Lian had already started roaming. If she recalled correctly, the Korean professional gamer who beat them to a pulp eight years ago had been from King Fighting Team. Hence, this team had named themselves after the original King Fighting Team. Qiao Lian felt terrible about how this situation was developing. Then there was Purple Fairy. As an eSports caster, she had actually heard of this wildly popr host. However, this liar had been acting two-faced today. Her opinion of Purple Fairy had dropped to the lowest point. But now... What was Smiling Tiger saying? That Purple Fairy was Xiao Qiao? Qiao Lian widened her eyes in astonishment. ¡°Who told you she is Xiao Qiao?¡± Smiling Tiger scratched his head. He really didn¡¯t like the way Qiao Lian was probing and questioning everything, but for the sake of the interaction that they had had so far, he obliged her with details, ¡°She said it herself. Also, only Xiao Qiao could have given me such excellent game analysis. Plus, she¡¯s good at gaming. Her movements are indeed simr to Xiao Qiao¡¯s years ago. The only thing is that she¡¯s aged and her moves are no longer as agile.¡± Aged... no longer as agile... Damn it! She had even gotten all the excuses ready! Qiao Lian frowned and looked at him. ¡°If I told you that she isn¡¯t¡ª¡± Before she could finish what she was saying, she felt someone grip her shoulder. Turning around with surprise, she saw that Shen Liangchuan hade up next to her. It was he who had apanied her to the clubhouse tonight. She had rushed ahead to settle this issue while he was parking the car. Now that Shen Liangchuan had interrupted her, she raised her eyebrows at him with uncertainty. He shook his head with a tiny movement. Qiao Lian fell silent and he spoke, ¡°You may go. There will be no breach of contract penalty imposed.¡± His decisive waiver surprised both Qiao Lian and Smiling Tiger. The fact that Shen Liangchuan was the big boss behind the team was something that a number of people knew. Hence, his appearance at the venue was not a surprise to them. Smiling Tiger nodded and then nced at Qiao Lian before he strode off, dragging his suitcase behind. After Smiling Tiger¡¯s silhouette disappeared from their sight, Shen Liangchuan turned to the others gathered around. ¡°Is there anyone else who wishes to leave?¡± Su Penghao, who was sucking a lollipop, had both his hands on the keyboard, ying a game, and acted as if he hadn¡¯t heard what Shen Liangchuan had said. The rest of the team members nced at each other and eventually shook their heads simultaneously. Shen Liangchuan continued, ¡°Okay, carry on with your training then. Very soon the first season of the national eSportspetition will begin.¡± After saying this, he left the vi with Qiao Lian in tow. The car engine started and the two of them were now on their way. Qiao Lian¡¯s gaze fell on his arm. Looking as though he wasn¡¯t even injured, he drove away steadily. Beijing was extremely pretty at night, with waning streetlights and bright neon billboards. But her spirits were low. She looked down at her right hand and gave a bitterugh. Fortunately Shen Liangchuan had stopped her from finishing what she was going to say earlier. Otherwise, it would have turned out to be a real joke. Even if she had told Smiling Tiger that she was Xiao Qiao, what proof did she have? As she thought about this, the man next to her spoke. ¡°Leaving the team just because of a name. I don¡¯t need such people anyway.¡± Qiao Lian was taken aback by this remark and turned to look at him. So was that his way of consoling her? Chapter 288 - She is Xiao Qiao (3)

Chapter 288: She is Xiao Qiao (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios A warm feeling came over her and she couldn¡¯t help but smile. Qiao Lian asked after some consideration, ¡°When did you first realize that I¡¯m Forget Chuan?¡± Ever since the two of them had argued over the birth control pill matter, neither of them had brought up the fact that Qiao Lian was Forget Chuan. But he was aware of the fact that she was training the team at the vi. Because their rtionship had been awkward, she never had the chance to ask. Now that they were back on friendly terms, her curiosity finally got the better of her. Shen Liangchuan looked at her for a while before answering, ¡°Some time ago.¡± Some time ago? How long ago exactly was ¡®some time ago¡¯? Qiao Lian¡¯s mouth twitched slightly as she wondered whether this guy was trying to get away with a vague answer. She blinked and then gasped, as if the truth had suddenly dawned upon her. ¡°Did you... choose me as a surrogate mother... because you knew that I was Forget Chuan?¡± She knew that he hated the paparazzi, so he couldn¡¯t have selected her for no other reasons. However if he had been a fan of Forget Chuan, then there was a possibility... Qiao Lian immediately looked at him with an ted expression, asking as she blinked, ¡°Are you my fan?¡± Shen Liangchuan turned to nce at her and then slowly replied, ¡°No.¡± Qiao Lian was stumped. This man must have never been in love! He had no idea how to sweet-talk a girl! She pouted and was about to make a sarcastic remark, when he continued, ¡°But probably will be from now on.¡± Qiao Lian was baffled into silence. Suddenly it felt as though she was being covered in sweet syrup. Sparkles appeared in her eyes, and she was at a loss for words. Her face was bathed in a rosy shade and she looked away shyly. Shen Liangchuan smiled, as he took in and registered every of these little movements. Back in the bedroom at the vi. They were still feeling awkward because of the phone call earlier that had interrupted them. Qiao Lian changed into her pyjamas and sat browsing through the Weibo news on her cell phone. Any news rting the eSports female casters matter went around especially quickly, as the circle was quite small. She had initially thought that the votingpetition between Purple Fairy and her was water under the bridge. Purple Fairy had criticized Qiao Lian, however thetter had also gotten even by retaliating. As for any unscrupulous means that the other party had used to gain first cing, that was actually none of Qiao Lian¡¯s business. But contrary to what Qiao Lian had thought... She realized that her Weibo site had almost been bombed! Within the short period of just a few hours, a few thousandments had been posted on hertest voting post. This had been triggered by another message that Purple Fairy had posted, which implied that Qiao Lian had a lowly character and had resorted to name-calling. As proof, there was even a screenshot of the private message Qiao Lian had sent Purple Fairy, calling her a ¡®retard.¡¯ Purple Fairy¡¯s fans were of course livid when they saw this. Hence one by one, they had visited Qiao Lian¡¯s site to express their outrage on behalf of their idol. Qiao Lian was utterly speechless. What a disaster this had turned out to be! Qiao Lian then went on to check the voting figures and realized that in their fury, Purple Fairy¡¯s fans had instigated their friends and rtives to vote for Purple Fairy, so much that now the two of them were almost on a par. Qiao Lian was looking at the poll when her cell phone rang. It was Gao Youming, her livestream partner. ¡°Er... Forget Chuan, Purple Fairy has contacted me. She said... she¡¯d like to meet up with you.¡± Chapter 289 - She is Xiao Qiao (4)

Chapter 289: She is Xiao Qiao (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian frowned upon hearing this. She suddenly recalled that Gao Youming had once joked that he knew Xiao Qiao. So this Xiao Qiao he knew... could it be Purple Fairy? It wasn¡¯t surprising that Gao Youming knew Purple Fairy, since the eSports livestreaming circle was very small. But why would Purple Fairy want to meet up with her at a time like this? Qiao Lian pursed her lips and then replied, ¡°Gao Youming, you know that I don¡¯t normally agree to meeting requests.¡± If she wasn¡¯t careful, someone could take a picture of her and post it on the inte. And what if that person saw it? Gao Youming sighed. He was caught in a dilemma. ¡°I understand. But this conflict between you and Purple Fairy... try not to take it to heart. Purple Fairy is a headstrong person and of course, unhappy that you¡¯ve pushed her out of the first cing.¡± Qiao Lianughed derisively upon hearing these words. ¡°I pushed her out of the first ce? Gao Youming, who said that the first cing belongs to her?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s ambitious andpetitive nature wasing out. In the beginning, she had not taken this online voting matter too seriously, however Purple Fairy had provoked her time and again. If she didn¡¯t retaliate, the other party would take her for an easy pushover who would just silently take this crap. Gao Youming was startled when he heard this and said with an embarrassedugh, ¡°Right, right. The first cing doesn¡¯t belong to her.¡± He was silent for a few second before continuing, ¡°Actually, although my idol is Xiao Qiao, I¡¯m on your side of course, because you¡¯re my livestream partner. Now that you¡¯repeting with her, I¡¯ll help you get some votes!¡± That was Gao Youming¡ªhe would always amodate to her no matter what. At the beginning, Qiao Lian¡¯s heart had softened and she had intended to let the matter rest. But she suddenly recalled a few of thements on her voting site. They were messages from her loyal fans, encouraging her not to give up, and that they had gotten their families and friends to vote for her. Her fan¡¯s actions made her feel that the ranking had now be important. She wasn¡¯t fighting for herself, she was fighting so that she wouldn¡¯t let them down. Hence, she agreed with a steady and confident ¡®sure.¡¯ After she hung up the phone, she saw that Gao Youming had helped her by posting a Weibo message. Since Gao Youming also had his own fan base, his post gave Qiao Lian some votes. As her votes increased, she slowly overtook Purple Fairy once more. As shey on the bed looking at the voting statistics, she felt a movement in the mattress. She looked up and realised that at some point Shen Liangchuan had gotten into the bed too. Then he grabbed her cell phone and ced it on the headboard. He got on top of her with his hands on both sides. His exquisite features were just millimeters away from her face. Qiao Lian gulped. ¡°What- what are you doing?¡± The look in Shen Liangchuan¡¯s eyes was deep and dark, suppressing a burning desire. ¡°Let¡¯s... continue?¡± Continue? Qiao Lian¡¯s mind went nk for a moment, and then she suddenly realized what he meant! Before she could open her mouth to speak, his mouth urgently met hers. Her body tensed up, as her breath was knocked out of her. While his scent filled her senses, she widened her eyes with breathless nervousness. This was their first physical encounter ever since they were back together. She had almost been estranged from him after the incident with the birth control pills. Now that they were back together, her desire for him took merely a kiss to trigger. Chapter 290 - She is Xiao Qiao (5)

Chapter 290: She is Xiao Qiao (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t resist it and drew him close, holding his neck. That night they were both driven a little mad by the urge they felt. His usual aggression was now reced with an equal amount of tenderness. At the end, Qiao Lian could not hold back any longer and finally caved in to the pleasure, unleashing her desires in intense ecstasy. It was over. Qiao Liany gasping on the bed. The rush of male pheromones lingered, with a hint of their passionate exchange¡¯s scent. She was too exhausted to even lift a finger and burrowed into the sheets after Shen Liangchuan bathed her. Then, she immediately fell asleep the moment her head touched the pillow. She slept soundly through the night, waking up only at noon the next day. Although throughout breakfast with Qiao Yi, they maintained their usualposure and didn¡¯t converse much, the feeling of an ambiguous sweetness between them did not go unnoticed by Qiao Yi. He was relieved. Shen Liangchuan insisted on taking her to work after breakfast. Qiao Lian could sense that their reconciliation had put Shen Liangchuan in a happy and rxed mood, even though he maintained his usual cold front. His eyes were deep and unfathomable as always, but Qiao Lian found that her fear of him was gradually melting away. Now for instance... As the car drove up to her office building and stopped at the main entrance, Qiao Lian took a conscious nce around before suddenly leaning over and giving Shen Liangchuan a peck on his cheek. Then she sprang out of the vehicle. Before shutting the car door, she notice that the tips of his ears had turned scarlet. She was very aware of that wondrous feeling as she made her way to her office and turned on theputer. While theputer booted up, she started browsing her cell phone, curious about the voting differences. After checking... she discovered that Purple Fairy¡¯s votes had doubled all of a sudden! She had initially garnered 20 thousand votes, but now Purple Fairy had managed to hit a hundred thousand votes. The reason, she discovered, was that a certain celebrity who had a few million followers had shared and re-posted her Weibo to help her campaign. Female eSports casters were after all a job niche. Compared to other top idols in the industry, their poprity dimmed by far. It was not surprising at all that the help from this famous star had boosted Purple Fairy¡¯s votes so drastically. It appeared that Qiao Lian was on the losing end. Qiao lian pursed her lips. Suddenly, her cell phone chimed to alert about an iing private voice message from Purple Fairy. She spoke through a voice changer, ¡°I had hoped for a truce, however, I was being ignored so I will not be cordial with you either. And do you think you are the only one with ess to external support? Gao Youming is a nobody! For your information, I know lots of people in the entertainment industry. I only need to ask for a little help and you¡¯ll be ughtered in seconds!¡± Such arrogance! Qiao Lian frowned. She was determined not to let this go easily. So Purple Fairy had celebrity friends? Qiao Lian bit her fingers and started to ponder. Who would she need to turn to for help to beat Purple Fairy? Her mobile gave out a vibrating ¡°ping¡± as she was lost in her thoughts. She nced down with curiosity and found a few messages popping up on Weibo. Just as she was about to click on the messages, her cell phone vibrated again. Before she could read the messages, her cell phone battery ran out from the vibrations. When she finally got her cell phone charged and turned it back on, the entire Weibomunity had gone into a frenzy. She was stunned, overwhelmed with disbelief, when she saw what was on Weibo! Chapter 291 - Forget Chuan Trended Online (1)

Chapter 291: Forget Chuan Trended Online (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Within five minutes, Qiao Lian¡¯s Weibo post had drawn tens of thousands ofments. Furthermore, it was gradually trending on all social media! Still shocked, she went to look at the number of fans she had. She discovered that... in a five minutes span she had had an increase of hundreds of thousands. In addition, when she refreshed the page, she found that the numbers were still increasing at an rming rate. Her intuition told her something must have happened. Skipping the individualments, she went straight to the top of the page. Then she saw the original contributor. To her surprise, it had been Shen Liangchuan who had shared her Weibo post! [Shen Liangchuan: Please vote for my idol @Forget Chuan] Qiao Lian widened her eyes in amazement. Her first reaction was to rub her own eyes, wondering if she had somehow made an error when she had logged in. When she opened her eyes to look at the screen again, she found that there was no mistake. Trembling and with a sincere attitude, she entered Shen Liangchuan¡¯s Weibo interface. Then she made the astonishing discovery that this man was a VIP user with tens of millions of fans. However, he had an aloof personality and rarely ever posted anything. The number of posts he had made ever since he had entered the entertainment industry was pitifully small, and most of them were to help his film crew in promoting. Thest post had been made about half a year ago. But! His ability to rally supporters was quite formidable. Although he would rarely post a message, his fans would still visit his site everyday. Hence when he posted out of the blue and moreover, mentioning that Forget Chuan was his idol, it had caused quite a sensation. And this had happened just five minutes ago, most of his fans had not seen it yet... One could only imagine what the situation would be like in another half an hour. And while Shen Liangchuan¡¯s Weibo ount had tens of millions of followers, the number of ounts that he followed amounted to the grand total of... one. That one ount he followed hung there with great loneliness. And when she clicked on it, she discovered that it was her own profile. Qiao Lian was slightly taken aback by this sudden change. It was hard to tell what she was exactly feeling. Her tangled emotions were tossing her like the raging sea and every cell in her body was calling out. She stood up, unable to take it anymore. She could not keep still, pacing to and fro with her fists tightly clenched. Suddenly, she buried her face in her hands and startedughing. Shen Liangchuan was her idol, she had him on a high pedestal. She could admire him from afar, but he was not to be taken lightly. She had observed him in silence for a long time. She had not even dared to imagine that one day, she would be his one and only focus. The excitement and emotions she felt were iparable. She wanted to let it out, to talk to someone but, s, there was no one she could share this joy with. After pacing the office, she still found it hard to hold back and jumped twice on-the-spot, holding her cell phone with a silly smile spread across her face. Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. She froze. She turned and saw Shi Nianyao standing at the door, giving her a curious look and smiling with embarrassment. Qiao Lian was slightly taken aback by this interruption. She quickly straightened up and coughed once. Then she stretched her arms and moved her leg joints as she said, ¡°I¡¯ve been sitting around too long and my limbs are stiff. I¡¯m just doing a little exercise.¡± Shi Nianyao smiled again, saying, ¡°Chief Editor, Su Meimei is calling a meeting. Everyone is required to attend.¡± Qiao Lian nodded immediately. ¡°Okay,ing right away.¡± In the conference room. After everyone had gathered, Managing Editor Liu Zhixing hurried in. ¡°Big news! We just received big news! Today Best Actor Shen reposted Forget Chuan¡¯s Weibo! This is already trending, it¡¯s a hot search!¡± Chapter 292 - Forget Chuan Trended Online (2)

Chapter 292: Forget Chuan Trended Online (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As soon as he spoke, the people in the room immediately entered into a discussion. ¡°That¡¯s right, and what¡¯s more, Forget Chuan is the one and only profile that Best Actor Shen is following!¡± ¡°Although Best Actor Shen tries to keep a low profile, the fact is that even the tiniest piece of news about him can send waves through the whole entertainment industry.¡± ¡°So what do you think is the rtionship between him and Forget Chuan?¡± ¡°And how are Mrs Shen and Forget Chuan rted? Could it be that they are the same person?¡± ¡°How would this be possible? Forget Chuan doesn¡¯t even show her face in the livestreams, she¡¯s an ugly duckling for sure.¡± ¡°...¡± A guess here, an assumption there... The discussion took on a life of its own. Shi Nianyao frowned, as if struggling to recall something. Liu Zhixing knocked on the table to get attention and continued, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ve called this meeting today to announce that I would like all of you to get onto this story. Uncover the rtionship between Best Actor Shen and Forget Chuan! I¡¯m sure all the reporters in the world are trying to get a scoop about this, so all of you better be prepared.¡± As Liu Zhixing said this, he nced at Qiao Lian. ¡°Each team will send two people to cover this story.¡± Zhang Chunhua, Team One¡¯s Chief Editor, immediately said, ¡°Managing Editor, will there be any reward? After all, some of us have been following Mrs Shen for months, but she is terribly elusive!¡± Liu Zhixing nced at Qiao Lian and thought for a while. Then he asked Zhang Chunhua, ¡°What do you suggest?¡± Zhang Chunhuaughed. ¡°How about this, isn¡¯t there a contest for the most outstanding staff at the end of the year? Why don¡¯t we use this big piece of news as a challenge? Whoever manages to sniff out useful information will secure the award quota for his or her team. What do you think?¡± Liu Zhixing hit the table, showing his agreement. ¡°Great. We¡¯ll go with this¡ªpressure is good motivation! The meeting is over, you guys go get ready!¡± It was a very short meeting, as everyone was eager to find Shen Liangchuan or Forget Chuan for some pieces of news. After Liu Zhixing left, the rest of the staff started to stream out of the room. Qiao Lian grabbed her notebook and was about to leave the room as well, but when she turned around, she saw that Shi Nianyao was still sitting in the chair staring into nk space. She prodded Shi Nianyao, who looked up and stared back at her with sparkling eyes. ¡°Chief Editor Lian Lian! I remember now, I¡¯ve seen Mrs. Shen!¡± Right after she said this, everyone suddenly stopped in their tracks and turned to look at her. Qiao Lian¡¯s heart skipped a beat. ¡°What?¡± Zhang Chunhua sneered. ¡°Huh, this is not even funny!¡± Totally ignoring her, Shi Nianyao looked at Qiao Lian, ¡°I¡¯ve really seen her. You don¡¯t know about this, but I went to a party once and it coincidentally was in the same hotel where Mo Xicheng was hosting his birthday party. At that time, I saw Best Actor Shen and Mrs Shen in the underground carpark, they were just leaving then. I saw Mrs Shen.¡± ¡°Really? What does Mrs. Shen look like? Is she someone we know?¡± A curious colleague asked. Shi Nianyao frowned. ¡°I only caught a nce...¡± Although Best Actor Shen and his wife were the focus of everyone¡¯s attention, in the presence of one¡¯s idol would a fan have paid attention to anyone else? She had just given them a cursory nce, all her attention had been on her greek god. Following that, she was kissed by her greek god and a stolen profile picture of that moment even made it to the news... But even if it had just been a cursory nce, she could vaguely recall it. ¡°She wasnky, with a body... very much like Chief Editor Lian Lian¡¯s. And even her looks-¡± As Shi Nianyao said this, she frowned. A look of realization suddenly crossed her face and she stared directly at Qiao Lian! Chapter 293 - Forget Chuan Trended Online (1)

Chapter 293: Forget Chuan Trended Online (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She pointed at Qiao Lian with a trembling hand, as though she had discovered something unimaginable. Qiao Lian reflexively grabbed her saying, ¡°Nianyao, let¡¯s talk in private.¡± After this, she dragged Shi Nianyao out of the meeting room and into her office with a secretive expression on her face. Shi Nianyao was still staring at Qiao Lian, who in turn looked back at her silently. After two minutes, they both pointed at each other and said in unison, ¡°It was you!¡± The same expression and the same tone! They continued to hold each other¡¯s stare after this discovery, and then they suddenly burst out into loudughter. Shi Nianyao had remembered her and in the same way, the reminder had also served to jog Qiao Lian¡¯s memory of Shi Nianyao. It turned out that the girl that Mo Xicheng had randomly kissed and who had caught the attention of the public had been Nianyao. How uncanny that one could look all over the world for an answer, but not realize it is right there before one¡¯s eyes. It was really that simple! However! Qiao Lian could not help butugh bitterly. The greatest possible achievements for the two teams this month would be, firstly, the identity of this elusive Mrs Shen and secondly, the identity of Mo Xicheng¡¯s mysterious girlfriend. But now... Qiao Lian and Shi Nianyao looked at each other in dismay and didn¡¯t speak for a while. Shi Nianyao broke the silence. ¡°So... do you know the identity of Forget Chuan?¡± Qiao Lian had no choice but nod. Shi Nianyao looked intently at her and recalled her earlier expression. She narrowed her eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s...¡± Qiao Lian nodded again. Although they had known each other for only about a month, it felt like it had been forever. They had good chemistry and a great rapport between them. Shi Nianyao said decisively, ¡°Okay, why don¡¯t you settle the thing with Mrs Shen and Forget Chuan, and I will settle the issue of my idol¡¯s mysterious girlfriend?¡± ¡°Deal!¡± Hence, the both of them busied themselves with getting ready to head downstairs and join therger group, formed by assigned members from the other teams. While knowing that the others would probably be shadowing their targeted subjects overnight, they both bade each other goodbye and each headed back to their respective homes. Once she got on the cab, Qiao Lian gave the driver directions back to the vi. She picked up her cell phone, intending to check how the voting was progressing. When Best Actor Shen did what needed to be done, the result spoke for itself. Although Purple Fairy had gotten a hundred thousand votes, Forget Chuan had managed to hit a million in a short time. Besides, the number was still on the rise! Looking at how things were going, Qiao Lian didn¡¯t even dare log into her own ount in the fear that her phone would hang. Holding the cell phone, Qiao Lian hesitated for a while. Then she clicked the directory to locate Shen Liangchuan¡¯s number and dialed. The phone rang once before he picked up the call. His deep and resonant voice came through, ¡°Hello.¡± The sound of his voice sent an electrifying current through Qiao Lian¡¯s body, hitting eventually a chord in her heart. She smiled unconsciously. ¡°I left work.¡± ¡°... I¡¯ll go pick you up?¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, I got a cab and I¡¯m on my way home.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Erm... Why did you follow my ount?¡± There was a pause on the other end, and then Shen Lianchuan replied in a business-like manner, ¡°Because... I¡¯m your fan.¡± Wasn¡¯t Weibo a ce where fans followed their idols? A silly grin spread across Qiao Lian¡¯s face when she heard the answer. Embarrassed, she buried her face in her hands. As they chatted, a notification alert sounded on her cell phone. She nced down at the screen and saw that it was a text message from Nianyao: [Check out Purple Fairy¡¯s Weibo. That hypocrite! What a two-faced creature!] Qiao Lian froze and a dreaded feeling overtook her. Purple Fairy, what was she up to this time!? Chapter 294 - Forget Chuan Trended Online (4)

Chapter 294: Forget Chuan Trended Online (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After Qiao Lian hung up the call with Shen Liangchuan, she logged into her Weibo ount. Then she discovered... The number one trending search had been reced by ¡®Forget Chuan Liangchuan.¡¯ Qiao Lian was stumped. She clicked on the link and realized... Because Best Actor Shen had shared her post, this had influenced people like Mo Xicheng, Fan Jie and his friends to also share the post, which had helped her to garner even more votes. With these few people¡¯s help, Qiao Lian¡¯s votes had been growing by the minute. This had put an unimaginable distance between herself and the second ce. Forget Chuan was a hot shot now. This female eSports caster had suddenly be the focus of everyone¡¯s attention. Remembering Nianyao¡¯s remark, Qiao Lian clicked on Purple Fairy¡¯s ount for a look. Hertest activity had just been posted five minutes ago: [Purple Fairy: Fine, I know that everyone¡¯s worried about me, but let¡¯s not fight anymore. We¡¯ll let someone else have the first ce.] Qiao Lian was stumped. Clearly, it had been Best Actor Shen and his buddies who had pulled in the votes that had managed to get Qiao Lian the first ce. However, Purple Fairy sounded as though she was giving up first ce voluntarily. This was simply... shameless! Qiao Lian slightly winced. She suddenly felt that the saying was indeed true: a shameless person is peerless! As she had time to spare on the cab, she opened her private message inbox. She found yet another voice message from Purple Fairy, ¡°I don¡¯t really care about this insignificant ranking event. Hmph, let¡¯s see who¡¯s got what it takes when ites to real business!¡± Real business? What real business would that be? Puzzled, Qiao Lian could only shake her head and push this matter to the back of her mind. But shortly after Song Cheng called. ¡°Ms Qiao, we¡¯ve got issues with the batch of newputers that we bought for the team.¡± Qiao Lian frowned. ¡°What¡¯s the matter with them?¡± ¡°The few sets of highly configuredputers that we got had been hijacked!¡± ¨C Qiao Lian asked the cab driver to turn around and redirected him to a well-knownputer retailer store. On arrival, she frowned as she looked at the shop manager and said sternly, ¡°Manager, what¡¯s this about? Didn¡¯t you just call mest night to tell me that the shipment was here? But today you inform us all of a sudden that you were no longer delivering it. What¡¯s the meaning of that?¡± The manager looked embarrassed. ¡°About this... Ms Qiao, we can discuss it. But... let¡¯s go into the private room for the conversation.¡± Qiao Lian frowned and gave the manager a look, and then following him, they headed to the private room. Before they even got there, two voices could be hearding out of the room. A male voice asked, ¡°So what¡¯s Forget Chuan¡¯s background? Some people are saying that she¡¯s Mrs Shen, and that¡¯s why Best Actor Shen shared her Weibo post. Purple Fairy, have you ever seen this person?¡± A delicate female voice answered, ¡°No, I¡¯ve never seen her, but I¡¯m certain she¡¯s not Mrs Shen! She doesn¡¯t even show her face when she¡¯s on livestream. I reckon she¡¯s exceptionally ugly.¡± After these words, the shop manager couldn¡¯t help but turn to nce at Qiao Lian. Her features were delicate and pretty, and by no means any worse looking than any of the current female celebrities. ¡®Ugly¡¯ was not a word one could associate with her. Qiao Lian frowned and looked at the manager quizzically, using her expressive eyes to question what that was about. Before the manager had a chance to say anything, the male voice interrupted, ¡°How ugly can she be?¡± Purple Fairyughed sarcastically. ¡°In any case, we¡¯ll be intercepting and buying herputer equipment at a high price. Hasn¡¯t the manager gone out to get her? I guess we¡¯ll find out when we see her.¡± Qiao Lian was suddenly alert when she heard this. She got up, pushed open the private room door and strode right in! Chapter 295 - Forget Chuan Trended Online (5)

Chapter 295: Forget Chuan Trended Online (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios There was a man and a woman in the private room. The man was nothing out of the ordinary, evidently he was just a small assistant. Whereas the woman... Qiao Lian had seen her livestream before, so she recognized her as Purple Fairy at once. She had her makeup on, as well as cosmetic contact lenses in her big eyes. This allowed her to hide her true appearance, but she looked quite simr to what she looked like on the livestream. She was not very beautiful but her figure was impressive. With just a wink, she could reveal a special charm. When she heard the sounding from the door, Purple Fairy turned around to look and saw a girl walk in. The girl was wearing a simple pair of jeans and a white windbreaker. Her hair was tied up into a high ponytail. A youthful vibe followed her entrance. Her looks were so exquisite that could brighten up someone¡¯s day. Her skin was fair and she seemed to have brought in a beam of light. It seemed that the room had light up a fair bit because of her arrival. Purple Fairy, as well as the man, were astonished. Purple Fairy immediately seemed to have thought of something, and hence turned around and looked behind Qiao Lian. The shop manager walked in after that. She continued to look behind him. But after looking for a long time, no one else came in. She suddenly realized something and nced at Qiao Lian once again with an expression of disbelief on her face. The manager pointed at Qiao Lian and started introducing them, ¡°Ms Purple, this is Ms Qiao.¡± Then he exined to Qiao Lian, ¡°Ms Qiao, this is the famous female caster, Purple Fairy, of King Fighting Team.¡± Purple Fairy seemed to feel like her online name was more popr, and so she never told strangers her real name. All her friends addressed her as Ms Purple. The moment she heard the manager¡¯s words, she raised her eyebrows and then suddenly came to a realization and asked, ¡°How about Forget Chuan? Why isn¡¯t she here? The moment she said this, Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help but raise her eyebrows too. Her identity as Forget Chuan had always been a secret, so even though she hade to purchaseputer supplies, it had still been as Qiao Lian. The shop manager had guessed that she was Forget Chuan, but she had never admitted to that before and thus the manager did not feel right to introduce her directly as Forget Chuan. At that moment... obviously due to the manager¡¯s introduction, Purple Fairy had misunderstood. She simply changed strategy and said, ¡°I am responsible for the purchasing in our club. What has Ms Purple got to offer?¡± When Purple Fairy heard this, she frowned once again and giggled coldly. She used her unique, limp and numb voice to reply, ¡°It is indeed not easy to even take a nce of Forget Chuan. Those that don¡¯t know may think that Forget Chuan is an ugly freak.¡± The words were meant to ridicule Forget Chuan for her ugliness. This Purple Fairy was certainly two-faced. Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes. As for someone who couldn¡¯t handle anger well, she immediately rebutted, ¡°Yes. Forget Chuan has always been mindful of the implications and is different from Ms Purple.¡± This words were meant to mock Purple Fairy for only being concerned about her outer appearance. Purple Fairy¡¯s face turned pale. ¡°You-¡± The man beside her coughed and this forced Purple Fairy to swallow her anger. Next, she looked up and said arrogantly, ¡°It is like this. Name a price for the sets ofputers that you have reserved. I am going to buy them.¡± When Qiao Lian saw her rich and overbearing attitude, she couldn¡¯t help but curl up her lips. ¡°Wow. I can name any amount?¡± Purple Fairy nodded. Qiao Lian stretched out one finger. Purple Fairy frowned. ¡°A hundred thousand? Although the price is slightly higher than expected, it is still eptable.¡± ¡°Wrong.¡± Qiao Lian shook her finger, smiled beautifully and replied, ¡°One million.¡± Chapter 296 - Forget Chuan Trended Online (6)

Chapter 296: Forget Chuan Trended Online (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Purple Fairy stood up immediately and stared at her in shock. ¡°What did you say?!¡± Although they were highly configuredputers, at the time Qiao Lian had bought them, each set cost less than 10 500. For a total of five sets ofputer, Purple Fairy had thought that 100 000 was already pricey. But... She pointed at Qiao Lian and remarked, ¡°You really have the guts to name that price!¡± Qiao Lian smiled and replied, ¡°If you miss out on these fiveputer sets, you will have to wait for another half a month. But this season¡¯s tournament starts in half a month. Otherwise, why would you rather pay a higher price for my five sets?¡± When you change to a newputer, there¡¯s always a period of getting use to it. So of course the sooner you change, the better. Purple Fairy widened her eyes with anger. Qiao Lian did not bother about her, but turned around to look at the manager and said sternly, ¡°Manager, I hope to receive these five sets ofputers in one hour at my vi. Otherwise, I will call toin about yourpany! I have bought and made the payment beforehand. If you dare to resell it privately, I, for sure, am not worried about the consequences. But what about you?¡± The reason the manager had called her was just to put Purple Fairy in contact with her. Theirpany had many branches throughout the country. Why would they want to destroy the reputation of theirpany over an insignificant amount? When he heard Qiao Lian¡¯s words, he replied immediately, ¡°Yes, I will arrange for the workers to deliver them now.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. Purple Fairy was so livid that she pointed at her and eximed, ¡°You really do not know the immensity of heaven and earth!¡± Seeing that she was about to leave, Purple Fairy bit her lips and said, ¡°Stop there!¡± Qiao Lian turned around. Purple Fairy responded, ¡°You help me pass this message to Forget Chuan: even if she wins the inte poll out of luck, in half a month I will meet her at thepetition! I will crush her until she¡¯s at a loss!¡± When Qiao Lian saw how haughty she was, she couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°What is your surname?¡± Purple Fairy cautiously answered, ¡°What for?¡± Qiao Lian smiled and replied, ¡°Nothing much, just wanted to check if you¡¯ve already forgotten your surname.¡± Purple Fairy was stunned at first, but realized after that that Qiao Lian was suggesting that she had been too cocky. She was so furious that she raised her head once again, but discovered that Qiao Lian had already left. She took a few deep breaths before biting her lip, picking up her cell phone and then calling the sponsor of king¡¯s club. When the call got connected, she said with a flirtatious voice, ¡°Mr Sun...¡± A male voiceing from the other end of the line replied, ¡°Oh, Ms Purple, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Purple Fairy blinked and said, ¡°So... there are some issues that I would like to discuss with you. Where are you?¡± ¨C Qiao Lian stepped out of the shop, feeling unlucky. Her intention had just been to have a goodpetition, why did she have to meet such a person? She had just stepped out when her cell phone rang. She looked down and realized that it was Shen Liangchuan calling. As she answered the call, his voice could be heard from the other end, ¡°Where are you?¡± ¡°Just got out of theputer shop. What¡¯s up?¡± Shen Liangchuan paused for a while and then replied, ¡°Let¡¯s eat out tonight.¡± Qiao Lian felt a tinge of sweetness in her heart. ¡°Sure.¡± After she hung up the phone, she stood by the door, staring dumbly ahead with a satisfied smile on her face. These past two days, ever since that conflict had been resolved, she had been feeling weird. She would think of him from time to time. Sometimes she would have a silly, dumb smile on her face, just like how it was now. She waited by the street for about 20 minutes before she saw Shen Liangchuan¡¯s caring closer to her. After she got into the car, Shen Liangchuan drove away in the direction of the rural district. ¡°There¡¯s a private restaurant that is not bad, let¡¯s go try it.¡± When they reached the restaurant and got off the car, Qiao Lian looked ahead and saw Purple Fairy alighting from a cab. Chapter 297 - Forget Chuan Trended Online (7)

Chapter 297: Forget Chuan Trended Online (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian was slightly taken aback, but when she wanted to take a closer look, arge hand grabbed hers and held her back. She turned around and saw Shen Liangchuan following her gaze. ¡°What are you looking at?¡± he asked. However, Qiao Lian¡¯s gaze instantly fell on thatrge hand holding hers. His warm palm was very dry, yet it brought with it a generous sense of security which made her feel at ease. She widened her eyes, as the warmth seemed to have gone through her hand and directly into her heart. It seemed like this was the first time they held hands in public. She couldn¡¯t help but swallow a mouthful of saliva. Only when he asked a second time did Qiao Lian suddenly regain herposure. She bit her lips and replied, ¡°No... nothing.¡± Shen Liangchuan did not continue asking and he just led her to the restaurant. Since it was a private dining restaurant, it should mean that it provided greater privacy and hence, there was no need to worry about being photographed by paparazzis. As the two of them stepped inside and continued walking, once again Qiao Lian saw Purple Fairy pass by them to enter a private room. Qiao Lian was slightly taken aback, but she did not let it bother her. She followed Shen Liangchuan and entered the private room that he had reserved earlier on. Shen Liangchuan passed her the menu to order the dishes. After taking the order, the service staff left the room. However, Qiao Lian¡¯s gaze was still on thatrge hand that was tightly holding hers. ¨C When Purple Fairy entered the private room, there was a young man sitting inside. He looked smart and handsome, and he had a bright smile on his face. One could tell with a single nce that he had a good family background, as the etiquette he disyed revealed that he had been well-taught at a young age. When Purple Fairy saw this person, she immediately flushed. She pursed her lips and sat in front of the man. The man spoke politely, ¡°Ms Purple, may I know what is the matter?¡± Purple Fairy smiled and said, ¡°So... in half a month it will be this season¡¯s first eSportspetition. Our team has only been established for a short period of time and hence, I have decided to equip them with the bestputers. However right now locally, there are only five sets of highly configuredputers, but they have been paid for and reserved¡ª¡± Before she could finish speaking, the man interrupted her, ¡°This is nothing. Just offer a higher price to buy it.¡± Purple Fairy¡¯s expression became bitter. ¡°The other party knew that we are anxious about getting them and they are asking for sky-high prices. They went as far as asking for one million. They really are¡ª¡± The man waved his hands and said, ¡°Give it to them, then.¡± Purple Fairy froze. ¡°Mr Sun...¡± The man looked at Purple Fairy and said, ¡°Ms Purple, ever since I started this eSports club, I only demanded one thing from you. I can provide you with the best resources, no matter what, but I want to be the first.¡± Purple Fairy¡¯s expression went back to normal immediately. She replied, ¡°Mr Sun, I understand now.¡± The man nodded and said, ¡°If there is nothing else, Ms Purple, you can go ahead to do your own things.¡± Purple Fairy immediately bit her lips. Seeing that the other party didn¡¯t have the intention to invite her to have dinner together, she had no choice but stand up. She headed to the door but when she reached it, she suddenly paused and turned around to ask, ¡°Mr Sun, may I ask why is it that you always have to be number one?¡± When the man heard this, he instantly fell silent. After a while he replied, ¡°This is because I want to help someone fulfil her dreams.¡± He had been searching for her eight years now, but he hadn¡¯t found a clue at all. But if his eSports team became well-known nationally and all over the world, and if he became well-known for his reputation, would shee look for him? As he thought about this, the man sighed heavily. Xiao Lian, where are you actually? Why is it so difficult to locate someone!? Chapter 298 - Forget Chuan Trended Online (8)

Chapter 298: Forget Chuan Trended Online (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios There was a loving atmosphere in the private room. Qiao Lian bit her lips and her face was bright red. Her gaze still remained on the hand holding hers. She moved a little, thinking of withdrawing her hand, but his grip became even tighter. She secretly stole a nce at his facial expression, but saw that he had an indifferent look, as if he was pinching a mantou 1 instead of a hand. Qiao Lian immediately felt like this was against her own interest. She had all along portrayed herself as a girl with a masculine behavior. How could she be defeated just by holding hands? She blinked and adjusted her chair a little so that she was closer to Shen Liangchuan. Then she stared at him eagerly and asked, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, so why did you bring me here for dinner?¡± Shen Liangchuan shot a nce at her. He said with a sharp tongue amidst her anticipation, ¡°The poached fish here is not bad.¡± Qiao Lian thought, ¡°This was not the reply I was hoping to hear!¡± Can¡¯t this man just say something nice for once? She twitched her mouth and used her other hand to pick up her cell phone. As a reporter, she had to constantly be aware of the trending topics on Weibo. But once she entered the site, she then realized that Forget Chuan was also trending online! And her fanbase had increased by a million followers! She had received many private messages, most of them asking about her rtionship with Shen Liangchuan. Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help but take a nce at him. Shen Liangchuan asked, ¡°Are there flowers on my face?¡± Qiao Lian was confused and replied, ¡°No!¡± ¡°Then why do you keep looking at me?¡± Qiao Lian thought, ¡°Ha, ha, ha. Has he been taking liberties with me?¡± Her heart was racing, yet on the surface she appeared serious and said, ¡°I am looking at your face and wondering how it has been made. Why is it so handsome?¡± Shen Liangchuan: ... His gaze seemed dull, but his ears had turned red. He was about to say something when Qiao Lian stood up. ¡°I will go to the washroom.¡± When she stepped out of the private room, Qiao Lian was still smiling secretly. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s embarrassed look was indeed too cute. She pursed her lips and was going to continue, but suddenly she heard a familiar voice, ¡°Is it you?¡± She raised her head and saw Purple Fairy standing in front of her and staring at her. ¡°You are here for dinner too?¡± Not giving Qiao Lian the chance to speak, she spoke again, ¡°I was intending to go look for you. I want those five sets ofputers! Tell me your bank ount number, I¡¯ll transfer that one million to your card in a while.¡± She carried amanding tone with that arrogant look, which made Qiao Lian smile and reply, ¡°Who said I¡¯m going to resell them to you?¡± ¡°You just did at the shop.¡± ¡°That was then. I am not selling them now!¡± Qiao Lian moved two steps to the side, wanting to go past her. Qiao Lian felt like Purple Fairy was indeed crazy. She frowned and was intending to say something, when she suddenly heard a voice that was filled with immense astonishment, ¡°Xiao- Xiao Lian?!¡± Qiao Lian slightly froze, turned around and saw that familiar face etched in her memory. Her eyes lit up instantly. ¡°Are you... Sun Tzi?¡± Sun Tzi was his nickname. His real name was Sun Linan. They were childhood friends, the two of them had constantly stuck together when young. As Sun Linan was agitated, his voice was slightly trembling. He immediately stepped forward to grab Qiao Lian. ¡°Xiao Qiao, where have you been all these years? I have been looking for you for eight years now!¡± Chapter 299 - Forget Chuan Trended Online (9)

Chapter 299: Forget Chuan Trended Online (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At first, when Qiao Lian saw her childhood friend, she was a little confused. Sun Linan was currently wearing a white Armani suit. He stood there showily. His hair had been meticulouslybed, and in the shirt pocket on his chest was a gold pen. His demeanor was as though he feared others not knowing that he was rich. Compared to eight years ago, his habit of liking to show off had not changed. Eight years ago, he had still had a childish look on his face. But now, his face had a sharp outline and he exuded an air of eliteness. Evidently, he had grown up to be someone who could assume personal responsibility. Sun Linan¡¯s demeanor was familiar to Qiao Lian, yet foreign. As she was staring at him, he immediately raised his chin cockily and said, ¡°What? You are dazed while looking at me? I knew it. After so many years, you are still so obsessed with your bro!¡± Qiao Lian: ... At this instant, she had the urge to beat someone up! However, Sun Linan¡¯s words made the passage of time between the both of them suddenly disappear. She winced and asked, ¡°Why are you here?¡± At this moment, a service staff passed by, carrying the dishes to be served. When he saw Qiao Lian, he spoke politely, ¡°Ms Qiao, the dishes you¡¯ve ordered are here.¡± When he finished speaking, Sun Linan immediately patted his forehead and said, ¡°Look, we haven¡¯t seen each other in such a long time, what are we standing here for? Come on, let¡¯s go into your private room for a chat!¡± After he finished speaking, he grabbed Qiao Lian¡¯s hand, followed the service staff and headed to the private room that Shen Liangchuan was in. Qiao Lian: ...!! Shen Liangchuan was still in the private room. How could she allow Sun Linan to see him? Since young, Sun Tzi had always had a big mouth. If he were to know about it, the whole world would surely know too. As she thought of this in shock, Qiao Lian grabbed his hand and eximed, ¡°Wait a moment!¡± Sun Linan jumped up in shock, paused and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Qiao Lian winced and said, ¡°We... can go to your private room to chat?¡± Sun Linanughed immediately. ¡°Are you worried that I¡¯ll feel ufortable if I were to meet your friend? Don¡¯t worry, that won¡¯t happen. You should know me better than that!¡± As he was saying this, he opened the door to the room and then shoved Qiao Lian to enter. Qiao Lian: ... Qiao Lian instinctive reaction was to quickly enter the room by herself, then push Sun Linan away and say, ¡°Give me a minute!¡± ¡°Bang!¡± She shut the door to the private room. Sun Linan: ... Service staff: ... Purple Fairy was stunned too. She took a look at the door of Qiao Lian¡¯s private room and then turned around to look at Sun Linan, whose eyes were full of astonishment. She pursed her lips and spoke with hesitation, ¡°Mr Sun, you... know... her?¡± Sun Linan nodded and replied, ¡°I do not just know her.¡± Purple Fairy choked instantly. ¡°The... the five sets ofputer supplies... Do we still go ahead and buy them?¡± Sun Linan frowned and said, ¡°Buy them... Of course we have to buy them!¡± After he finished speaking, he looked at Purple Fairy again and asked, ¡°Why haven¡¯t you left?¡± Purple Fairy lowered her gaze and heaved a sigh of relief, covering the brilliance in her strategy as she said, ¡°I will leave right away.¡± Her opponent was Forget Chuan. This Ms Qiao was just a nobody responsible for purchasing. Judging by Mr Sun¡¯s attitude, he was not afraid. ¨C In the private room. Qiao Lian entered in a sh and saw that Shen Liangchuan was staring at her in a calm andposed manner, despite the situation. Qiao Lian did not speak. She immediately dashed to the window and said, ¡°It is impossible to jump down!¡± She looked at the curtains and said, ¡°These can¡¯t cover the legspletely.¡± She turned around and scanned the whole room. She hurriedly lifted the table cloth and eximed, ¡°Hurry up! Go quickly under the table!¡± Chapter 300 - Forget Chuan Trended Online (10)

Chapter 300: Forget Chuan Trended Online (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan was annoyed. Qiao Lian got down on her knees. ¡°This is a big table, it¡¯s still quitefortable to crawl under it!¡± Shen Liangchuan glowered. Qiao Lian suddenly stood up again. ¡°No, you might get kicked identally if you hide under the table.¡± She turned around, looked at the private room¡¯s washroom and her eyes lit up, ¡°The restroom! Hurry!¡± Shen Liangchuan glowered. The reason that Qiao Lian had gone to the washroom outside was to give Shen Liangchuan some space to breath, as her teasing had made him feel embarrassed. Qiao Lian grabbed his hand and tried to pull him along. ¡°Hurry up, get in...¡± But the man stood there steadily, refusing to move an inch. His handsome face was cold and expressionless as he asked, ¡°Why should I hide?¡± Was he that unpresentable? Qiao Lian immediately pleaded with him, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, Brother Shen, my good brother, I beg you!¡± Her gentle pleading was getting to him and his resistance was wearing down. He scowled. He saw the anxiety on her face and it didn¡¯t look like it was a show¡ªthe fear of being discovered showed in her eyes. Although he was not happy about it, he finally amodated and stood up. Then she heaved a sigh of relief. Narrowing his eyes, he followed her into the washroom. After he got in, she shut the door behind him. He could hear her exhaling in relief through the door. Standing in the cramped washroom, hisrge frame seemed to emit a sense of coldness. His intuition told him that she didn¡¯t seem like she was unwilling to announce their rtionship. But rather that she was afraid of doing so. But what or who... was she afraid of? Shen Liangchuan lowered his gaze as he suddenly realized that although before this, he had thought that they were close, only now he felt like he had never really understood her. He didn¡¯t understand how she had gotten into this pathetic state, from being a rich and pampered little mistress. He didn¡¯t know about her circle of friends, much less her lifestyle. As he thought about this, he quietened down, trying to hear the conversation in the private room. Qiao Lian was most relieved that Shen Liangchuan was cooperating with her. She got ready, strode over to the door and opened it. The moment the door was swung open, there was Sun Linan standing showily and with a deliberately enticing pose, looking back at her. Qiao Lian said, ¡°Huh huh, running out of patience?¡± Sun Linan replied, ¡°Actually, I know women well. They like to dress up and put on makeup when they are meeting the man they love. So it¡¯s alright, not a problem at all, I can wait.¡± Qiao Lian was stumped. What sort of make up did he notice she had on? Sun Linan analyzed her face for a few seconds. ¡°Your makeup is indeed very natural, I can hardly tell you have any at all. But for sure, you are prettier than you were eight years ago!¡± Qiao Lian winced with annoyance and made a movement to indicate she was going to shut the door. ¡°If you¡¯re noting in, I¡¯m shutting the door!¡± Sun Linan immediately extended his hand and said, ¡°Coming, I¡¯ming in!¡± He pushed open the door and entered, quickly sweeping the private room with his eyes. Seeing that there was no one else in the room, he was ted. ¡°I thought there was someone else here. Seeing now that it¡¯s just the two of us, that makes our reunion much easier!¡± Shen Liangchuan thought, ¡°... Much easier, my foot!¡± Qiao Lian was used to his personality. She sat back on the sofa, asking, ¡°So what brings you to Beijing?¡± ¡°Work of course!¡± Sun Linan grabbed her hand. ¡°Lian Lian, you have no idea how much I¡¯ve missed you all these years!¡± Qiao Lian wanted to withdraw her hand, however his grip was tight. ¡°Can¡¯t you have a decent conversation without getting physical!¡± Best Actor Shen, who was by now fuming in the washroom, stood up immediately and was about to kick open the restroom door and rush out to confront the man! Chapter 301 - Qiao Lian, I Like You (1)

Chapter 301: Qiao Lian, I Like You (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios His hand was about to turn the door handle when he heard Qiao Lian yell, ¡°Let go or I¡¯ll hit you!¡± Her tone was dead serious, but at the same time, there was underlying trust and warmth, like the sort of tone one would only use with family and friends. He paused, remembering how she had used to speak to him the same way when they had first met eight years ago. Although he appeared to be in a rtionship with Qiao Lian now and although they had reconciled, the truth was that Qiao Lian had never been as casually bold with him. He stood there, immobilized for a moment. ¡°I am serious and having a decent conversation! Lian Lian, what¡¯s wrong me with holding your hand? I even intend to hug you!¡± Sun Linan leaned towards her as he said this, obviously wishing to carry this out. Qiao Lian was conscious of the man hiding in the washroom. She immediately extended her arm. Standing in between the two men, she chided, ¡°Stop this nonsense!¡± Sun Linan chuckled and sat down at the dining table, studying the various dishes on it. ¡°Wow, the steamed fish is not bad! Come, let¡¯s talk as we eat!¡± Qiao Lian silently looked in the direction of the washroom and sighed. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression was as ck as the bottom of a pot. Not only had this man taken over his private room, he was now going to eat his fish... AND chat with his woman! He had never felt so humiliated in his life. Sun Linan picked up a sliver of fish meat and said, ¡°Why do I suddenly feel funny? Like there¡¯s someone else in here watching me.¡± ¡°... You¡¯re imagining things!¡± Qiao Lian said. Sun Linan nodded immediately and took a bite off the fish. Then he put his chopsticks down on the table and stared at her. Frowning, Qiao Lian asked, ¡°Why are you staring at me?¡± Sun Linan remarked out of the blue, ¡°Lian Lian, I¡¯m truly sorry that I was overseas and not around when you needed me eight years ago.¡± His words caused Qiao Lian to suddenly clench her fists. Those year¡¯s painful memories came flooding back. She felt her muscles tensing up and her expression turned cold. The rims of her eyes were turning red and she tried to suppress her emotions. She looked down and whispered, ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± When Sun Linan saw her reaction, he quickly masked the sadness in his eyes with a smile saying, ¡°Well, now we¡¯re both back in Beijing. Where do you work? I¡¯ll take care of you and Xiao Yi from now on! Oh, why don¡¯t you give me your cell phone number? ¡± He picked up the cell phone on the table and asked before Qiao Lian could speak, ¡°Is this yours?¡± Qiao Lian was stumped. It was Shen Liangchuan¡¯s cell phone. She had forgotten to stuff that into the washroom together with the owner, but now facing Sun Linan¡¯s questioning, nodding seemed to be her only viable response. Handing her the phone, Sun Linan demanded, ¡°Turn it on.¡± ¡°And how could she know the passcode to turn it on?¡± Qiao Lian thought. But all of a sudden a set of numbers shed through her mind. She picked up the cell phone and introduced the password ¡°0517.¡± It released the lock. Sun Linan entered a number in the phone, gave himself a missed call and then smugly saved the number in his own cell phone directory. ¡°Lian Lian, let¡¯s stay in touch more often from now on.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± Qiao Lian winced. Then, Sun Linan suddenly stood up in the middle of the conversation. ¡°I must have drunk too much, I need to go to the washroom.¡± As he spoke, he started to walk to the washroom. Horrified, Qiao Lian eximed, ¡°No!¡± Following this, she jumped in front of the man to halt his advance. Stunned by her reaction, Sun Linan asked, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°That is... because...¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes wandered as she tried toe up with a valid excuse. ¡°That is because... the peeing sound that men make is too loud and it enbarrasses me!¡± Sun Linan was astonished. ¡°Cut the pretense! Are we such strangers? Remember that one time you so intently stared at my ¡®little buddy¡¯?¡± Chapter 302 - Qiao Lian, I Like You (2)

Chapter 302: Qiao Lian, I Like You (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As these words came out, Qiao Lian heard a small sounding out from the washroom. The door was about to be kicked open. She gripped tightly the door handle and retorted loudly, ¡°What nonsense are you saying? That was when we toddlers!¡± ¡°Do I care? You indeed stared at my ¡®little buddy¡¯ when we were kids, and now you have to be responsible for it.¡± ¡°Sun Linan,¡± thought Qiao Lian, ¡°had he be so clueless after eight years?¡± She waspletely speechless. Imagining how the petty Shen Liangchuan would react to this, Qiao Lian badly wished she had a needle to sew this Sun Tzi¡¯s mouth shut. She winced once again. ¡°Don¡¯t talk rubbish. You... aren¡¯t you busy? Sun Linanpletely missed the hint and continued, ¡°Nope, not busy at all.¡± Even if he were busy, he wouldn¡¯t allow himself to be busy right now. Wincing yet again, Qiao said, ¡°I suddenly recalled something, I have unfinished business and I need to get home.¡± Sun Linan looked at her with a sense of uncertainty. ¡°You¡¯re leaving?¡± Qiao Lian nodded. ¡°Let me take you.¡± Qiao Lian was stumped. Her thoughts went back to Best Actor Shen, who was still in the washroom. She immediately nodded. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go now then.¡± She picked up her bag, grabbed Sun Linan and quickly headed to the door. ¡°Lian Lian, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re really embarrassed? What¡¯s the big deal? You saw mine and I saw yours. You have a mole on your butt¡ª¡± ¡°... Shut up!¡± As the conversation disappeared into the distance, the private room was finally empty and the washroom door flung open. Shen Liangchuan was scowling. A mole on her butt? How was it that he didn¡¯t know about it!? ¨C Qiao Lian had given Sun Linan a random address since he had insisted on sending her home. It was the address of where she used to live. Qiao Lian raised her eyebrow as she got into the car. ¡°Sun Tzi, you¡¯re still driving this car after so many years? It has been eight years! It¡¯s an antique!¡± Sun Linan¡¯s eyes lit up as he replied, ¡°Because this car holds memories for me.¡± Qiao Lian fell silent at these words. Sun Linan¡¯s sudden appearance had somehow brought her back in time eight years ago. The recklessness of her youth and the indulgent lifestyle, it all felt like it had happened just yesterday. It made it hard for her to differentiate between imagination and reality. Throughout the journey, Qiao Lian was quiet. Her heart was full of regret. It was only when the car engine stopped that she realized they had arrived. She turned to look at Sun Linan. ¡°Sun Tzi, are you still in contact with Third Brother and the rest?¡± Sun Linan¡¯s eyes sparkled as he said, ¡°I went overseas eight years ago and eventually headed back to Beijing directly. I¡¯ve had no contact with them since then. What happened?¡± Qiao Lian looked away and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t want them to know I¡¯m here. Can you do me a favor and help me keep my whereabouts a secret?¡± If those people found out, that person would surely know too. Sun Linan nodded. ¡°Okay.¡± Qiao Lian alighted and took a short stroll around the neighbourhood before she hailed a cab to return to the vi. She did not realize that Sun Linan¡¯s car was hidden in the shadows, following behind as the cab drove away. ¨C It was half past seven by the time Qiao Lian got home. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s car was parked in the patio. He had obviously been back for some time. She entered the living room feeling a little guilty, as she was conscious of the grievance she had caused him earlier in the evening. Shen Liangchuan was now sitting on the sofa reading the newspaper. He looked up stone-faced as he heard her approaching footsteps. Qiao Lian smiled sheepishly at his cold stare. ¡°Err... Shen Liangchuan, you¡ª¡± Interrupting Qiao Lian by folding and cing the newspaper on the coffee table, Shen Liangchuan walked to her and, before she could react, he swept her into his arms wordlessly and headed upstairs. Chapter 303 - Qiao Lian, I Like You (3)

Chapter 303: Qiao Lian, I Like You (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian felt the room spin and before she could figure out what had happened, she was thrown onto the king-sized bed of the master bedroom. She was sprawled out face down on the bed, still in a stunned state, and was about to make a plea when she noticed Shen Liangchuan¡¯srge hand on her waist. Following that... She felt cold gust of wind on her naked butt and froze. Widening her eyes with astonishment, she felt like she could almost die of embarrassment. Although they had been intimate many times, this... ! It had always been with the lights turned off and in the dark, they couldn¡¯t see anything. But right now, all the lights were turned on. She thought about it and was sure that he could see her. Qiao Lian immediately reached out to pull up her pants, but the second she made a movement, hisrge hands were upon hers, restraining and pinning them to the side. She struggled and tried to flip over, but he had restrained her leg too, and the next thing... Just that, there was no next thing. After a short pause, the person behind her didn¡¯t make single movement. Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help but feel most annoyed. This hooligan, was her butt so ugly that all his carnal desires had died out? This made her scowl. Then she heard him mumble to himself, ¡°There¡¯s a mole indeed.¡± ¡°Sun Tzi,¡± thought Qiao Lian, ¡°I¡¯ll get you back for this!¡± She was thoroughly humiliated. ¡°Shen Liangchuan, let me go!¡± ¡°Not a chance.¡± His tone was reserved and explicit, with more than a hint that what he was about to do was R-rated. Qiao Lian turned bright scarlet, wishing she could hide under the nket. She yelled at him, ¡°You¡¯ve seen what you wanted to see, why aren¡¯t you letting me go!?¡± ¡°I¡¯m thinking...¡± he drawled slowly in a seductive and provocative way, ¡°I should carry out a thorough check-up and see if there are any other birthmarks elsewhere, so that I don¡¯t hear about your body traits for the first time from some other men.¡± Qiao Lian was stunned. Although it seemed like awkward timing, she could not control herself and burst outughing. She bit her lips and asked, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, are you jealous?¡± He paused on hearing these words. She expected that with his aloof and proud personality, he would surely deny such usations. But to her great surprise, she heard him mumble, ¡°Yeah.¡± And then he suddenly bent over and pressed his body against hers, whispering in her ear, ¡°Xiao Qiao.¡± At once, her mind went into a daze. This tone, this way of speaking... why was it so simr to Zi Chuan¡¯s from way back then? She kept still wishing to immerse herself fully in this familiar feeling, when he continued, ¡°I¡¯m your husband.¡± Those words stunned her. ¡°No matter what happens, remember, I¡¯m here.¡± She probably had some stories from her past, but he wasn¡¯t going to probe if she had no wish to tell him voluntarily. He only wanted her to know that he would always be there by her side. To not be afraid, to not panic. Because he would always protect her, as he had eight years ago, as he had done in the games. He would not turn his back on her. Qiao Lian understood what he was saying, and what he was saying between those lines. Her eyes turned misty. Eight years ago after her parents had died, she found out the hard way that no one in the world could be trusted. Single-handedly, she had taken up the responsibility of looking after her family right until this moment. She was used to erecting high walls to defend herself. She had never entertained the thought that one day, a man would tell her that he would be her shelter and safe harbour. She was moved beyond words. She turned her head towards him and suddenly pressed her lipspletely against his. Her kiss was like a fire starter, igniting Shen Liangchuan¡¯s desires and passion. Chapter 304 - Qiao Lian, I Like You (4)

Chapter 304: Qiao Lian, I Like You (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios While passion rose in the vi, Sun Linan¡¯s car was being held up by a security officer outside. He had stopped his car by the road and stared fixedly at the vi, frowning deeply. He had been ted and deeply stirred by the reunion with her tonight, and his emotions would just not calm down. Although in her presence he may have appeared quite frivolous, she had no idea how d he really was. Sun Linan couldn¡¯t help but smile when he thought of this. They had practically grown up together and back then, he had regarded her as someone he could joke around with for the rest of their lives. However, when she disappeared from his life one day, he suddenly realized there was a big void in his heart. He had been hunting high and low for her thest eight years. But there had been no trace of her whereabouts. When he had thought he wasing to a dead end, he suddenly remembered that her greatest ambition had been to establish an eSports club. Hence he had sought out all the well-known female eSports castors and the best gamers. Regardless of how much it was going to cost him, he was determined to build her an eSports universe. However now... He could not tell her all that. He wanted to wait until his eSports team achieved the first ce in the national ranking, and then at that point he would give her the club as a present. Sun Linan immediately smiled again, thinking about the great gift that he had in store for her. But he had only managed to have a very short conversation with her today, and it left a lot to be desired. He picked up his cell phone and searched for her number, which he had just saved today. He typed out a text message to her. After an evening of intense lovemaking, Qiao Lian waspletely exhausted. Shey on the bed, still, with her eyes closed. Shen Liangchuan was drenched in sweat from the exertion, but rxed. He held Qiao Lian in his embrace, thinking how she resembled a kitten, all curled up with her eyes closed and a small contented smile as shezed beside him. As he kissed her forehead lightly, the cell phone on the bedside table suddenly vibrated. Picking up the cell phone to take a look, he saw that it was a message from an unknown number. [Lian Lian, I¡¯m Sun Linan.] Shen Liangchuan immediately frowned when he read the message. Without thinking twice, he deleted it and tossed the cell phone aside. Then he turned to Qiao Lian again. Not feeling the tiniest bit of guilt, he reached out his long fingers to y with her soft hair. After a short while, the cell phone vibrated again. Hezily lifted his eyes and reached for the cell phone, reading the text that was on the screen expressionless. [What are you doing, Lian Lian? Why aren¡¯t you answering my texts?] Shen Liangchuan gave a cold half-sneer and then the third message came in. [Xiao Lian, Lian Lian, won¡¯t you reply, even if it¡¯s just a word?] Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression darkened, but he suddenly smiled as he replied with a single word: [OK] Immediately the other party got excited and sent through a barrage of messages: [Xiao Lian, do you remember how we used to eat barbecue sticks together when we were kids?] The barbequed sticks they ate together when they were kids? Shen Liangchuan had not even eaten those with her yet. He frowned and replied: [I don¡¯t remember.] [How can you forget? It was just a street across from our vi¡¯s district!] Our? Since when were the two of them an item?! Shen Liangchuan was beyond annoyed. Ding! Yet another text came in. He opened the message: [Xiao Lian, do you recall when you used to insist that Iplimented you when we yed house, when you yed being the bride?] Complimented her for what exactly? And did role-ying the bride involve real wedding rituals?! Shen Liangchuan felt anger rising in his chest. He looked down at Qiao Lian who was sleeping innocently Chapter 305 - Qiao Lian, I Like You (5)

Chapter 305: Qiao Lian, I Like You (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian was sound asleep and her breathing even¡ªsleeping like she didn¡¯t have a care in the world. Shen Liangchuan took a nce at her and suddenly reached out for the cell phone to reply to Sun Linan¡¯s message: [Getting you topliment me as the grandchild?] Sun Linan immediately responded: [Hahaha, Xiao Lian, you¡¯ve developed a sense of humour after all these years?] ¡°Was he being humorous?¡± thought Shen Liangchuan. He was obviously being sarcastic. Sun Linan continued firing messages, chatting: [Lian Lian, why do you take so long to reply? What are you doing?] What else could she be doing? Shen Liangchuan replied: [Sleeping] And he wasn¡¯t lying either. Sun Linan continued: [What? So early! You used to be a night owl!] What night owl? Qiao Lian had always gone to bed early as far back as when he first knew her. Shen Liangchuan refrained from responding. The other party sent yet another two messages: [Well, you rest early then. I¡¯lle pick you up and drive you to work tomorrow morning. Let¡¯s have dinner together after work.] [I know where you¡¯re stay, don¡¯t you try to lie to me. I¡¯ll wait for you at the vi¡¯s entrance in the morning.] Shen Liangchuan scowled. He had the audacity to suggest driving her to and from work? That ignoramus! He turned to look at Qiao Lian with an icy expression. So she liked to y house and role-y the bride, and also liked having that guy role-y the groom? They hadn¡¯t even had a wedding ceremony. As these things went through his mind, he stared nkly into space with an unfathomable look in his eyes. ¨C The following day, Qiao Lian had a naggy feeling that Shen Liangchuan was behaving oddly. He was staring at her intently while she washed up up. And during breakfast, he kept staring at her intently. After breakfast, as Qiao Lian grabbed her bag and was about to leave for work, he walked over to her saying, ¡°I¡¯ll drive you to work.¡± After some time, she had gotten used to him taking her to work and driving her home, so she thought nothing of it. However, after she got into the car... ¡°Hey? Why are we leaving through the back gate? That would mean a big detour.¡± Shen Liangchuan replied calmly, ¡°Oh, I need to get something done along the way.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± However after they drove through the back gate, he took a detour before going back onto the usual route. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you needed to get something done along the way?¡± Qiao Lian asked, puzzled. Shen Liangchuan replied, ¡°I just remembered, no need for that after all.¡± Qiao Lian looked at him,pletely baffled. Shen Liangchuan coughed once,pletely unperturbed. On arriving at the office building, they said their goodbyes. ¡°I¡¯ll pick you up tonight.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. Shen Liangchuan suddenly added, ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve also asked Qiao Yi toe to dinner, so don¡¯t bete.¡± Qiao Yi wasing with them? Because of his condition, Qiao Yi seldom ventured out of the house. As this was a rare asion, Qiao Lian was determined to put in extra effort. She immediately nodded. ¡°No problem.¡± She turned and walked into the office building, but only after watching Shen Liangchuan¡¯s car disappear into the distance. As Qiao Lian stepped into the office, she could sense immediately that something wasn¡¯t quite right. She noticed that the members of Team One were stealing nces in her direction and had a smug expression on their faces. Something must be up. Qiao Lian walked to her office and when she stepped in, she saw Su Meimei standing there and giving orders to Shi Nianyao, ¡°Look at how untidy your office is. Go clean it up.¡± Shi Nianyao refused to budge, ¡°We have cleaningdies, don¡¯t we?¡± ¡°Do as you¡¯re told!¡± Shi Nianyao looked up with defiance. ¡°But why?¡± Su Meimei was flustered. Ever since Shi Nianyao had stepped into the news agency against her wishes, she had been looking for opportunities to torture the girl. But, s, Shi Nianyao was extremely crafty. Su Meimei¡¯s expression was quite hostile, and her tone was arrogant and bossy. ¡°This is the managing editor¡¯s orders! If you don¡¯t like it, you can leave!¡± Chapter 306 - Qiao Lian, I Like You (6)

Chapter 306: Qiao Lian, I Like You (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shi Nianyaoughed. ¡°Oh, that wouldn¡¯t do. Our managing editor is my chief editor¡¯s boss, but my supervisor is the chief editor. We¡¯ll just have to wait until Chief Editor Lian Lian is back to give the order.¡± Su Meimei: ... Qiao Lian heard the exchange from outside the room and found it quite funny. Shi Nianyao was someone with a razor-sharp tongue and more than capable of taking care of herself. As she walked into her office stillughing, she heard Su Meimei humph coldly, ¡°You just watch! You think you¡¯ve got yourself covered just because you¡¯ve partnered up with Qiao Lian? Let me tell you this, her days as chief editor may very well be numbered! So don¡¯t be too smug.¡± After chiding Shi Nianyao, she turned around and saw Qiao Lian at the door. Still smiling, Qiao Lian walked in. ¡°Su Meimei, I was appointed by the managing editor as chief editor. Do you have issues with that?¡± Su Meimei crossed her arms and sneered, ¡°Don¡¯t be too smug, Qiao Lian! Let me inform you that Team One has now uncovered Mo Xicheng¡¯s scandal. Get ready for our team to beat yours to pulp! I don¡¯t even know why they¡¯re keeping the both of you on payroll. I haven¡¯t seen the two of you reporting any worthy news! I think in about a month your team will be merged into ours.¡± After saying all that, she turned around and walked out with her nose in the air. Qiao Lian turned to Shi Nianyao and pointed out, ¡°Was she implying that they¡¯ve managed to uncover information about Mo Xicheng¡¯s mystery girlfriend?¡± Mo Xicheng had been at a cocktail party the night before. Instead of attending it herself, Qiao Lian had asked Shi Nianyao to represent her. Could it be that Team One had somehow managed to take a shot of the two of them together? Shi Nianyao was puzzled and said sympathetically, ¡°I¡¯m sure they didn¡¯t! I didn¡¯t even get anywhere close to my idol!¡± Qiao Lian raised an eyebrow. ¡°Then what could it be?¡± Shi Nianyao shook her head. ¡°Forget it,¡± Qiao Lian said, ¡°We¡¯ll take it as ites. Let¡¯s wait for Team One to act.¡± Shi Nianyao nodded. Qiao Lian sat in her office chair thinking of what had happened today. Team One acted very quickly. After about an hour, the piece of news was released and it immediately became a trending topic. Shi Nianyao walked up to Qiao Lian in a huff and showed her the cell phone screen, eximing angrily, ¡°Team One is too much! How could they write such things to use my idol? This is unfair to him!¡± Qiao Lian took the cell phone to read what was on it. Reported under Su Meimei¡¯s name was the headline: [Celebrity Mr. M suspected of being a kept man by 40-year-old rich woman] There weren¡¯t many celebrities in the entertainment circle with the surname ¡®M¡¯ and it was quite obvious who the article was referring to. She frowned and looked at the cell phone. Indeed, there was a picture supporting the story. The stolen shot of Shi Nianyao was blurry and the lighting was dim, hence it was quite impossible to identify the woman in the picture. However, it was very easy to tell the brand of the limited edition handbag she was carrying, as well as the expensive attire she was wearing. And based on these two clues, Team One had somehow managed to identify a 40-year-old widow who had also been present at the event. It was a freak coincidence that this widow had been dressed simrly to Shi Nianyao. In addition, Mo Xicheng had been spotted entering a hotel that same night. So everyone had guessed that he had gone to provide his services to this woman. The moment the scandal broke, Weibo was flooded with unkindments directed at Mo Xicheng. ¡°It¡¯s no wonder he has been quiet for so many years, he¡¯s be a kept man!¡± ¡°I used to think he was an alright person who kept a low profile. Who¡¯d have thought that the truth would be so disgusting.¡± ¡°I want to scream! That woman is so ugly, to think he could do it with her?¡± ¡°...¡± Within a short time, the inte was flooded. Chapter 307 - Qiao Lian, I Like You (7)

Chapter 307: Qiao Lian, I Like You (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In the conference room. Zhang Chunhua looked at Qiao Lian haughtily. ¡°I wonder where that Miss Go-Getter disappeared? Perhaps she has ckened off after being promotion to chief editor? How is it that my team managed to snap this picture and yours didn¡¯t? I think someone¡¯s just not doing her job.¡± Qiao Lian frowned. Although they were on a par now, Qiao Lian had suffered so much under this woman in the past. What right did Zhang Chunhua have to be so arrogant and bossy now? Qiao Lian rebutted sarcastically, ¡°Why so smug about this finding? You¡¯re making these arbitrary assumptions about Mo Xicheng based on just a bag and a dress. This is fake news!¡± Zhang Chunhua burst outughing at Qiao Lian¡¯s words. She pointed at Qiao Lian and turned to her team. ¡°This must be the funniest joke of the year!¡± Qiao Lian was stunned. Zhang Chunhua continued, ¡°What sort of journalist do you think you are? An entertainment news reporter! Do you have any idea of what this means? It means your worth is based on the number of reads you manage to attract and the attention you manage to catch with your articles. This is what is expected of entertainment news reporters. The notion of ¡®truth¡¯ in the entertainment circle is a great joke!¡± Qiao Lian stood rooted to the spot and clenched her fists. The reason she had be a journalist was so that she could expose the truth of what had happened those years. As both an individual and a professional, her bottomline was to keep the truth intact. Although as a veteran in the entertainment industry, she knew too well the tendency of many people to exaggerate and sensationalize news so as to gain reads. But now that Zhang Chunhua had so explicitly pointed out the unwritten rules, she suddenly felt that her insistence on her ideals probably looked so naive andughable to these people. She pursed her lips tightly. Shi Nianyao wasn¡¯t going to take it. ¡°This is too much! These are all groundless usations. Besides, my idol went nowhere near this woman that evening!¡± Zhang Chunhuaughed derisively. ¡°Do you think I care if they were together? The hit rate for this article has gone over 100,000 views. Let¡¯s see if you can do it!¡± Shi Nianyao retorted, ¡°You have no integrity!¡± ¡°Enough!¡± Zhang Chunhua¡¯s hand mmed the table and she looked to Liu Zhixing, who had said nothing until now. ¡°Managing Editor, we¡¯ve got the news you wanted. In any case, Team One has now delivered. Don¡¯t you think we should be rewarded?¡± Liu Zhixing frowned and nced at Zhang Chunhua. ¡°So what do you want?¡± Zhang Chunhua sneered, ¡°Well, I do think that Team One¡¯s office is in a mess. As you know, our cleaningdy is getting older and is not as efficient in her work as before. Why don¡¯t we get our colleagues from Team Two to clean the office for us?¡± Qiao Lian was livid upon hearing this. This was tant bullying. Zhang Chunhua was absolutely underhanded. She looked at Liu Zhixing. Surely he would not entertain such a nonsensical request? However, Liu Zhixing grinned as he looked back at Qiao Lian. ¡°Chief Editor Zhang is not wrong. How about this afternoon, when Team One goes out for lunch, the both of you give the office a bit of a clean-up?¡± Qiao Lian was furious beyond words. ¡°Managing Editor, this¡ª¡± ¡°We are a team and somepetition is necessary to drive improvement, so let¡¯s settle with this!¡± Qiao Lian thought this was ridiculous. ¡°But we haven¡¯t lost!¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if you lose or not in the end, but you¡¯ve lost this round. Let¡¯s wait until youe back with even more sensational news. Then we can think of a penalty for Team One.¡± Chapter 308 - Qiao Lian, I Like You (8)

Chapter 308: Qiao Lian, I Like You (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Liu Zhixing stood up and looked at Qiao Lian warningly. ¡°Oh Xiao Lian, as a employee of thepany, you should follow the arrangements thepany has made, right?¡± Qiao Lian clenched her fists. It took her a huge amount of effort to reply, ¡°Yes.¡± Liu Zhixing nodded and said, ¡°Ok, you¡¯re dismissed!¡± Right after he turned around and left, Su Meimei walked past Qiao Lian raising her eyebrows at her. She smugly said, ¡°Oh right, Qiao Lian, I¡¯m no longer a member of Team Two. The managing director has transferred me back to Team One. Please tidy up my seat well and make sure its clean!¡± ¨C Everyone had gone out for lunch in the afternoon. Both Qiao Lian and Shi Nianyao took out a mop and pieces of cloth from the store room and started cleaning the ce up. Just when they were done cleaning and were about to leave for lunch, Su Meimei entered the room in her high heels. She stood by her seat, scrutinized it andmented, ¡°The table still doesn¡¯t look very clean. Wipe it a few more times.¡± After she finished speaking, she tilted her wrist and the coffee in her hands immediately spilled on the floor. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m so sorry! My hand identally slipped!¡± She looked at Qiao Lian with a wide smile and said, ¡°I will count on you for washing the rug.¡± There was a thick rug spread across the office floor and it would take a huge effort to clean it up. Shi Nianyao stared at her with fury. ¡°You did this on purpose!¡± Su Meimeiughed and said, ¡°Yes, I did it on purpose. Heh, Shi Nianyao, I have been telling you for a long time that you would have a hard time if you followed Qiao Lian.¡± After she finished speaking, she gracefully ced the cup on the table and turned around, intending to leave. Qiao Lian and Shi Nianyao exchanged eye contact, simultaneously squat down and pulled the rug. Su Meimei was still standing on the rug and as they pulled the rug, she staggered and fell forward. Qiao Lian took a step forward, picked up the coffee Su Meimei had brought in from the table and poured whatever was left inside on Su Meimei with a ssh. A sharp voice suddenly yelled, ¡°Ah!¡± Su Meimei supported herself with both hands on the floor and looked back at Qiao Lian fiercely. ¡°Qiao Lian, what are you doing?¡± Qiao Lian patted her hand, blinked innocently at Su Meimei and said, ¡°Oh, I¡¯m so sorry, my hand slipped.¡± Su Meimei: ... Su Meimei¡¯s face turned ghastly pale, but at the moment she was at the losing end, as it was her against two people. She could only swallow this anger of hers and roll her eyes at Qiao Lian. Qiao Lianughed and told her, ¡°If I were you, I would quickly make my way home and change.¡± Su Meimei was donned in a dress today. Although it was cold outside, the heater in the office was pretty strong. She was a vain person and her clothes were really thin. As her dress was wet, one could somehow see through her... Su Meimei lowered her head to take a look and shrieked. ¡°You¡¯re an assh*le!¡± She then covered her face and ran away. She mmed the door. Qiao Lian looked back, exchanged eye contact with Shi Nianyao and they both burst intoughter. After they were doneughing, Shi Nianyao stared at the rug with worry. ¡°How are we going to wash this?¡± Qiao Lian brushed it off. ¡°This isn¡¯t something within our reach. We need to get the professional cleaningpany to do it. Let¡¯s go have lunch.¡± After they returned from lunch, they suddenly found out in the afternoon that Team One¡¯s article had caused an uproar. Chapter 309 - Qiao Lian, I Like You (9)

Chapter 309: Qiao Lian, I Like You (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Thanks to some mysterious party, the rumour that Mo Xicheng was a kept man had spread like wildfire on the inte. It had consequently caused a great negative impact on Mo Xicheng¡¯s new TV series, that was ted to pilot very soon. Furthermore, he had been let go from a new production in which he had initially secured a deal for a supporting role. The productionpany had gone to the extent of announcing a change of actor. Advertisements featuring him were gradually being taken off air. Obviously someone was stirring trouble to worsen the situation! Shi Nianyao panicked. ¡°This is absolutely vile! My idol is an innocent victim! His career has been arduous enough. After so many years of going unnoticed, this has to happen just as he¡¯s picking up pace. My idol must be really upset!¡± Qiao Lian suddenly pictured a very dejected Mo Xicheng in her mind. After some thought, she picked up her cell phone and sent a message to Shen Liangchuan: [How is Mo Xicheng?] Shen Liangchuan¡¯s reply came in almost immediately, [He¡¯s okay.] He¡¯s okay... What did that mean exactly? Qiao Lian dialed Shen Liangchuan¡¯s number instead. ¡°Is he really okay? This matter has blown up to huge proportions.¡± ¡°No big deal. He¡¯s just stepped out and someone hurled eggs at him, and then he was surrounded by a mob of reporters.¡± How could Shen Liangchuan speak so casually and calmly about this? How could it be no big deal!? Wasn¡¯t this bad enough? Qiao Lian was about to continue when he interrupted her, ¡°What shall we have for dinner tonight?¡± Qiao Lian didn¡¯t know what to say. Why did she have the feeling that Shen Liangchuan and Mo Xicheng couldn¡¯t care less, while she and Shi Nianyao on the other hand were panicking? There was the saying that ¡°the eunuch gets more anxious than the emperor¡±... but she was not an eunuch, of course. Perhaps it was because of Shen Liangchuan¡¯s unflustered manner that Qiao Lian ended up calming down too. She gloomily replied, ¡°I¡¯m fine with whatever.¡± Shen Liangchuan mumbled an ¡°okay¡± and asked when he heard her sighing, ¡°Unhappy about something?¡± ¡°Uh huh.¡± ¡°What about?¡± he probed. ¡°Is that all you have to say?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Qiao Lian was frustrated. ¡°Well, it¡¯s about work. Shouldn¡¯t you offer me somefort?¡± She blushed as she said this. However, they were in the awkward phase between having had a fight and making up, which could allow her to get away with a small tantrum. Besides, the mere thought of beingforted by the nation¡¯s Best Actor was exciting to say the least. ¡°Don¡¯t be unhappy.¡± Qiao Lian stared nkly ahead, listening to the voice on the other end of the line. And then... silence. Qiao Lian scowled. He was really a man of few words! This was no way tofort a girl. ¡°I¡¯m not good with words. But actions are possible... tonight.¡± Qiao Lian turned scarlet. ¡°What are you saying!?¡± ¡°I meant buying you dinner. What were you thinking?¡± Qiao Lian didn¡¯t know what to say. Her face was still hot and flushed after hanging up. He had teased her again. She turned around and jumped when she saw Shi Nianyao¡¯s face barely a few inches away from her own. Shi Nianyao blinked. ¡°How is my idol now?¡± Qiao Lian didn¡¯t know what to say. It was as though she had forgotten about it. She gave a cough. ¡°Not doing too poorly.¡± Shi Nianyao fell into silence. They sat at their desks, both lost in their own thoughts. An hourter, the office door was suddenly swung open. Following this, Shi Nianyao gave a shout of surprise, ¡°Wow!¡± Qiao Lian looked up and saw a huge bouquet of flowers right before her. Chapter 310 - Qiao Lian, I Like You (10)

Chapter 310: Qiao Lian, I Like You (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios It was a bouquet of 99 roses, each of the stalks beautiful and alluring¡ªa delight to the eyes. Qiao Lian stood up with surprise as the delivery man asked, ¡°Are You Ms Qiao Lian?¡± Qiao Lian immediately nodded. The delivery man smiled. ¡°This is from a gentleman.¡± A gentleman? Suddenly Qiao Lian recalled what Shen Liangchuan had said about proving it with actions. So was this from him? She took the huge bouquet and searched through the packaging. Indeed, she spotted a card. A short message was written on it: Qiao Lian, I like you. See you tonight. Qiao Lian cracked a brilliant smile at once. It was a gigantic bouquet with 99 stalks of roses, no less. And it attracted everyone¡¯s attention. Members of Team One came running over to the Team Two¡¯s office to look at this amazing bouquet, expressing their admiration. ¡°Qiao Lian, is this from your boyfriend?¡± ¡°Holy cow, 99 roses! Qiao Lian, you have a rich boyfriend indeed!¡± ¡°... So romantic!¡± Qiao Lian wasn¡¯t too affected by her colleagues¡¯ responses, but the bouquet did cause her heart to swell with joy and sweetness. As Qiao Lian was all wrapped up in the emotions of having received this wonderful bouquet, someone knocked on the door. She looked up and saw another delivery man walking in with a huge tray of afternoon tea. ¡°May I know if you¡¯re Ms Qiao?¡± Qiao Lian nodded nkly. ¡°A gentleman has asked us to deliver this to you. He said that it¡¯s afternoon tea for all your colleagues.¡± These were some of Beijing¡¯s best-known cakes and pastries! So... these were from Shen Liangchuan as well? She sank into her chair in absolute bliss, with the bouquet in one hand and the cakes and pastries in the other. She got so carried away that she had failed to realize that such a showy disy of affection was not in line with a certain someone¡¯s style. ¨C After the delivery man hadpleted his job and left the building, he picked up his cell phone to make a call. ¡°Mr Sun, I¡¯ve made the delivery and Ms Qiao was so happy that she couldn¡¯t even put the bouquet down.¡± ¡°Yes, I knew she¡¯d like the bouquet. She couldn¡¯t forget me even after all these years!¡± The narcissistic Sun Linan said. Then he looked into the mirror and said to the stylist behind him, ¡°Please hurry, I have to pick someone up at six. I have to look my best for her!¡± Unable to refrain himself, he eagerly picked up his cell phone to send a message to ¡°Xiao Lian.¡± [Guess who the bouquet and afternoon tea were from? I¡¯ll reward you with a kiss for the correct answer.] ¡°Ding!¡± Shen Liangchuan was waiting by Qiao Lian¡¯s office building when the message came in. He hade at 4.30 pm to pick Qiao Lian up for their dinner date. On reading Sun Linan¡¯s message, Shen Liangchuan could immediately guess what had happened. This guy had actually bought flowers and afternoon tea for Xiao Qiao?! That was way too much. He was about to reply to Sun Linan¡¯s message, when he suddenly saw from the corner of his eye a familiar figure approaching. He put his cell phone aside and followed Qiao Lian with his eyes as she walked to the passenger seat. She looked around, quickly opened the car door and got into the car in a sh. Shen Liangchuan looked at her intently, noticing that she was radiant with joy and looking back at him with twinkling eyes. She suddenly leaned towards with and kissed him, before he could utter a word. A smile slowly spread across Shen Liangchuan¡¯s face as he tried to suppress his own glee. Qiao Lian gushed, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, I loved the bouquet and the afternoon tea. Who would have thought that an apparently stuffy man like you would be capable of being this romantic!¡± Hearing this, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression froze and almost immediately turned gloomy. Chapter 311 - Actually, I Dont Like Being Romantic (1)

Chapter 311: Actually, I Don¡¯t Like Being Romantic (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian was too absorbed in her own happiness to notice the look on Shen Liangchuan¡¯s face. Shen Liangchuan felt a little choked up seeing the sparkle in her eyes and how happy she was. He opened his mouth, but the truth would note out. He continued driving to the vi in silence and did not answer her question. Since he was normally a man of few words, Qiao Lian did not find anything amiss. She continued talking, ¡°I used to like you a lot, the sort of liking that a fan would have for their idol. But after marrying you, I discovered that you¡¯re really a mess.¡± What?! Shen Liangchuan was taken aback by this confession. He shot her a cold expression. Qiao Lian grinned and reached for his arm. ¡°Think about it, the things you did when we were newlyweds. Wouldn¡¯t you agree?¡± Shen Liangchuan tried to ignore her. ¡°But it¡¯s okay. Knowing one¡¯s own mistakes and being able to turn over a new leaf is a great virtue. You¡¯re doing well, even though you appear cold and emotionless. The bouquet and afternoon tea show that you are¡ª¡± ¡°Hush.¡± His icy voice sent a chill down her spine and her lips twitched slightly. ¡°Oh, look, someone¡¯s being shy!¡± Shen Liangchuan tried to ignore her. But he was thoroughly annoyed. Was he cold and emotionless just because he had failed to impress her with flowers and afternoon tea? And what was that she had said about him being ¡°apparently stuffy¡±? Did she mean that he would actually be stuffy if he hadn¡¯t sent her flowers or afternoon tea? Terribly bothered by these statements, Shen Liangchuan loosened his tie and made an annoyed sound. He continued to focus on the road ahead as he drove. Finally it was quiet in the car and he found himself rxing a little more. After picking up Qiao Yi from the vi, they continued their drive to a restaurant close by. This was an exceptionally private and secluded restaurant and it served an exclusive list of rich and respectable guests. The venue was safe from reporters and the paparazzi. Scanning the luxurious surroundings, Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help but feel that all this extravagance had a dream-like feel. Shen Liangchuan got out of the car and lifted Qiao Yi¡¯s wheelchair from the trunk. He then helped Qiao Yi get on the wheelchair. He tossed his car keys to the valet so that they could park his car. After taking two steps, Qiao Lian lightly pped the back of her head. ¡°Oh, I left my cell phone in the car.¡± Handing the belongings in his hands over to Qiao Lian, he told her, ¡°I¡¯ll get it for you, wait for me in the private dining room.¡± She nodded as she took his jacket and cell phone, and pushed Qiao Yi¡¯s wheelchair towards the private room. Just as they got into the private room, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s cell phone started ringing. Qiao Lian stopped and nced at the cell phone she was holding. On the screen, it said... ¡°Stupid Ass¡±? Who was ¡°Stupid Ass¡±? She blinked and on closer look, she realized that the number looked familiar. Her observation skills and understanding of numerical data as a reporter helped her recall immediately that it was the number Sun Tzi had given her a few days ago. She quickly picked up the call and indeed, it was Sun Linan¡¯s voice on the other end of the line. ¡°Lian Lian, why did you take such a long time to answer the call?¡± ¡°... Huh, what¡¯s up?¡± Qiao Lian asked cautiously. ¡°Lian Lian, why do you sound so distant? I¡¯m here to pick you up for dinner! I¡¯m at your office building!¡± Qiao Lian paused. ¡°What? Dinner?¡± ¡°Dinner! We made ns just yesterday?¡± Made ns? Qiao Lian frowned. ¡°I have no recollection of this.¡± Sun Linanughed. ¡°Even if you don¡¯t remember our conversation yesterday, surely you were reminded of it today when you received the bouquet? It was written on the card?¡± Chapter 312 - Actually, I Don’t Like Being Romantic (2)

Chapter 312: Actually, I Don¡¯t Like Being Romantic (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Bouquet? What bouquet?¡± Suddenly she felt like something was amiss. Bouquet... Card... She realized it with a start. ¡°What? The bouquet and afternoon tea... they were from you?¡± Sun Linan replied gleefully, ¡°That¡¯s right, Xiao Lian, you¡ª¡± Before he could finish, Qiao Lian interrupted him exasperated, ¡°Sun Tzi, you¡¯ve really done me in this time!¡± Qiao Lian hung up immediately. All at once, the private room started to seem chilly. She thought about the things she had said in the car and realized why Shen Liangchuan had been so quiet. He had to be fuming by now. She pped her own mouth, regretting all the things she had said. Then she hear the private room door swing open with a creak. Shen Liangchuan walked in. Qiao Lian¡¯s body tensed up and she turned around immediately. It was obvious to her now that the look on Shen Liangchuan¡¯s face was not one of shyness, but an indication of an impending storm! She curled her lips in a half-smile as he handed her the cell phone and nodded at Qiao Yi. He continued politely, ¡°The food here is quite good. Have a try and see if it suits your taste.¡± Qiao Yi nodded and smiled. ¡°Thank you, Brother-inw.¡± Shen Liangchuan pursed his lips and nced at Qiao Lian as he started to walk towards her. Startled, she took a step back. Her reaction caused Shen Liangchuan to frown, puzzled. She immediately froze. Shen Liangchuan came right up to her and pulled out a chair, indicating her to take a seat. She heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°I thought you were going to hit me...¡± He raised an eyebrow at that remark. ¡°Why would I want to hit you?¡± Qiao Lian pursed her lips and did not say another word. At this point, Shen Liangchuan had no idea that she knew about the bouquet, and she mustn¡¯t let him find out that she knew. If he found out, he would flip for sure! Hence, she tried to be pleasing and poured him a ss of water. ¡°Heh, drink up... drink up...¡± Shen Liangchuan nced at her and then took a sip. Shortly after, the dinner was served. Shen Liangchuan was about to start eating when a pair of chopsticks hovered busily above the table, picking and cing pieces of his favorite dishes onto his te. He was surprised. Qiao Lian put on all the charm she could muster. ¡°Here. You like prawns, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°And this fish too, you like fish.¡± ¡°And this bamboo shoot, this...¡± She picked up a chicken drumstick and was going to put that on his te too, but she realized the te was already quite full. And Shen Liangchuan was now looking intently at her with his clear and bright eyes. Qiao Lian paused. Then, she withdrew her hand with a grand gesture and shed him a huge grin. Shen Liangchuan looked at the mixed selection on his te. It was a riot of vour and he didn¡¯t see how he could appreciate that. But perhaps because it was Qiao Lian who had created that mix of vours, he eventually picked up his chopsticks and took a few bites. Qiao Lian exhaled with relief. ¡°Shen Liangchuan, actually I don¡¯t really like luxurious and impractical gifts.¡± Shen Liangchuan paused and looked up at her. With a slight twitch of her lips, Qiao Lian continued. ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t really like men who buy me flowers and things like that, I prefer things that are practical. I think you¡¯re a great man, and not the least bit stuffy!¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression darkened as she said this. He nced at his cell phone and quickly understood what had happened. He looked at Qiao Lian and asked, ¡°And so?¡± Chapter 313 - Actually, I Don’t Like Being Romantic (3)

Chapter 313: Actually, I Don¡¯t Like Being Romantic (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios And so? Qiao Lian eyes shone, thinking that he had understood what she meant. She quickly added, ¡°I hate it when men spend unnecessarily¡ªfor example, when they splurge a fortune on flowers that wilt after a day!¡± ¡°But don¡¯t women like romance?¡± asked Shen Liangchuan. ¡°I¡¯m not a woman! Oh! What am I saying- I mean, I don¡¯t like it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s true!¡± Qiao Lian promised. ¡°I guarantee it! Whoever lies is a dog!¡± Shen Liangchuan asked, ¡°What¡¯s the name of the director who directed Lord of Shanghai?¡± Puzzled by the sudden change of topic, Qiao Lian replied, ¡°Wang, of course!¡± ¡°What? Say it a few times.¡± ¡°Wang Wang Wang!¡± 1 Qiao Yi could not help but burst outughing. Qiao Lian turned to look at him quizzically, and only then realized that Shen Liangchuan had pulled a prank on her. She was done for! So he had figured out that she knew. She twitched her lips and lowered her head with embarrassment. Throughout dinner she did not speak a word, looking like an obedient wife. She hoped that by putting on her meekest behaviour, she would earn Shen Liangchuan¡¯s forgiveness. Unfortunately, the man kept his cool calmness and did not show any emotions or expression. Theck of anger or any sort of reaction on his part made Qiao Lian squirm with difort. After the three of them finished dinner, Shen Liangchuan drove them home. Once they arrived at the vi, Shen Liangchuan lifted the wheelchair from the trunk and said to Qiao Lian, ¡°I¡¯m going out and might being home a littlete.¡± Qiao Lian kept silent. She watched as Shen Liangchuan got into his car and drove away. She was still feeling very uneasy. As though that was the end of her! She feared that she might have offended Shen Liangchuan and he was upset by her remarks. Oh no, what should she do now? ¨C After Shen Liangchuan drove away from the vi, he stopped by the roadside. He took out his cell phone and went into the call history. Indeed, there was a record of a phone call from Sun Tzi. Hence, it was clear that Qiao Lian now knew that the bouquet and afternoon tea had not been from him. He thought about the things she had said tonight. Shen Liangchuan frowned. He felt that perhaps it was true he was a stuffy man. Given that Xia Yehua hadined that he was a bore, he wondered if Qiao Lian thought the same of him. Could it be that eight years ago Qiao Lian had disappeared because he was a bore? He frowned and loosened his tie, feeling a little frustrated. He had never been in love, apart from that one online rtionship eight years ago, hence he had no idea how to delight a girl. But today, seeing the sparkle in her eyes had made him wish he had been the one bringing her that happiness. He pursed his lips and dialed a number on his cell phone. The line connected almost immediately and Mo Xicheng¡¯s voice at the other end of the line said, ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°What would you do to impress a girl?¡± Mo Xicheng paused and said in a rxed manner, ¡°Has your cell phone been stolen?¡± Shen Liangchuan scowled, ¡°Where are you?¡± ¡°Home¡± Shen Liangchuan looked up at the night sky. ¡°Wannae out for a drink?¡± Mo Xicheng was quick to agree. ¡°Okay. I recall you have a bottle of Chateau Lafite-Rothschild in your vi in the new district?¡± Shen Liangchuan raised his eyebrows. ¡°If you need a consultation, there¡¯s a fee. Plus, it would be unwise for me to make an appearance at a bar at the moment.¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll pick you up.¡± It would probably be unwise for Mo Xicheng¡¯s car to be spotted too. After Shen Liangchuan picked Mo Xicheng, they drove to the outskirts of the city. En route, Shen Liangchuan suddenly frowned and said, ¡°We¡¯re being followed.¡± Chapter 314 - Actually, I Don’t Like Being Romantic (4)

Chapter 314: Actually, I Don¡¯t Like Being Romantic (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Concerned, Mo Xicheng took a nce at the rear view mirror. Indeed, a nondescript Volkswagen sedan seemed to be trailing them. Looking away, he said with a mocking tone, ¡°The paparazzi nowadays are getting a lot more capable.¡± Shen Liangchuan threw him a sidelong nce, saying, ¡°I¡¯m sure she¡¯s capable. She¡¯s after you. Is she not giving up?¡± Mo Xicheng looked out of the car window without a word. After a series of turns, the car entered the new vi district. The new vi district was an exclusive residential area that did not permit paparazzi to enter. Hence, the fact that the Volkswagen had ess could mean that this person was not a reporter, but a private detective. Mo Xicheng slightly frowned and wound down the window for a bit of fresh air. At this point, Shi Nianyao, who happened to live in the new vi district, had stepped out of her house. She nced at the approaching car with the wound down window and found herself looking straight at Mo Xicheng. She thought she was seeing things but the next moment, she realized that the car had parked next to her vi. Her eyes shone with excitement as she walked in the direction of the car. She saw Mo Xicheng getting out of the car with another man whose back was facing her. Her idol! It was really her idol! Ahhhhhh! Shi Nianyao tried to suppress her urge to shriek and at the same time, she took out her cell phone to take a picture. Having had a bottle of exquisite red wine at the vi, Mo Xicheng and Shen Liangchuan were now in an extremely rxed mood. Eventually, Mo Xicheng revealed that the secret to pleasing a girl was to gift her flowers. It looked like all women liked flowers. Thinking about this, Shen Liangchuan shut his eyes momentarily. If he were to gift her flowers, it would be a much bigger and more beautiful bouquet than what Sun Tzi had given her. Early in the morning the following day, he departed from the vi and headed to a florist immediately. He wore his sunsses and mask, and spoke in a low voice. ¡°Sir, are you looking for something in particr?¡± asked the service staff. ¡°Flowers.¡± ¡°What sort are you after? Are they for your girlfriend, or someone else?¡± ¡°Roses to be delivered to my office.¡± ¡°And how many stalks would you like?¡± Immediately Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°999 roses.¡± ¡°Sir... A bouquet of 999 roses would be more suitable for arger engagement event. If you would like a bouquet to be delivered to your girlfriend¡¯s office, we suggest one with 99 roses.¡± 99 roses? No way! Shen Liangchuan shifted his gaze downwards and replied, ¡°100 roses then.¡± ¡°But Sir, 99 symbolises eternity. A hundred stalks...¡± Shen Liangchuan insisted, ¡°Eternity and a day.¡± ¡°... Very well then, please write down your address here.¡± ¨C The next day, just as Qiao Lian stepped into the office, a delivery man turned up with a huge bouquet of roses from an anonymous source. While her co-workers looked on with admiration, Qiao Lian on the other hand seemed a little stiff. Damn it, this Sun Tzi, wasn¡¯t once enough? Was he going to get her into trouble yet another time? As Qiao Lian stared at the giant bouquet, there was suddenly a sparkle in her eyes. This was a chance to redeem herself! She walked briskly into her office and picked up her cell phone to send Shen Liangchuan a text message. [Some idiot sent me a bouquet of roses.] Idiot? Shen Liangchuan was not expecting this! He coughed once and typed his reply: [And so?] [I couldn¡¯t return the bouquet as it had been paid for. I had to ept it from delivery man. But after he left, I threw the bouquet into the bin!] After writing this message, she read it again, thinking that surely Shen Liangchuan would approve. However... it had been ten minutes since she had sent the message and there had been no reply. Chapter 315 - Actually, I Don’t Like Being Romantic (5)

Chapter 315: Actually, I Don¡¯t Like Being Romantic (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan hadn¡¯t returned homest night. Qiao Lian had guessed he was angry. The fact that she had expressed her disapproval should have made him feel better. But now he was silent... Was he busy with something? Qiao Lian shook her head with confusion and put away her cell phone. She was busy writing a few news articles, when there was a knock on the office door. She looked up and saw a delivery man with arge bouquet. ¡°Ms Qiao, a bouquet for you.¡± Qiao Lian was bbergasted. She knew this delivery man. He was the same one that had delivered the bouquet the day before. But... hadn¡¯t a bouquet from Sun Linan had just been delivered? She got up and inquiringly looked at the delivery man, bewildered by what was going on. Then she stood on the spot and gulped. She turned to look at the recently-delivered bouquet that was now sitting on her desk and then threw a nce at the corridor outside. She just could not figure out this strange situation. After staring nkly at the delivery man for some time, she ventured, ¡°He¡¯s sent two bouquets?¡± The delivery man was puzzled by her remark. ¡°No! Just one! Mr Sun instructed us to deliver a bouquet every day.¡± Qiao Lian was stunned. The previous bouquet... had a hundred roses, one more than 99. Hence... Her gaze fell on the cell phone. The previous bouquet... had been from Shen Liangchuan? Immediately, she bit her lip as her own words earlier came back to her. Idiot... threw into the bin... Instead of epting the new bouquet, she ran to pick up her own phone and looked at it. Shen Liangchuan had not replied. He was really upset now! Qiao Lian didn¡¯t even want to imagine how he might be feeling at this moment. She covered her mouth with her hand. Ooooh, she could kill herself right now! ¨C Shen Liangchuan was now driving back to the vi. He had left Mo Xicheng alone at the vi, so now he was returning for him. Yet now, his emotions were all tangled up and he had no idea what to say concerning Qiao Lian. At the point of paying for the bouquet, he hadn¡¯t left his name because he was conscious that Qiao Lian wanted to keep their rtionship under wraps. He had been afraid of leaving a record at the florist, hence he had chosen to remain anonymous. But he hadn¡¯t expected that things would lead to such an awkward ending! She had thrown out the flowers that he had spent so much effort selecting? Stone-faced, he drove on with all sorts of emotions rising in his chest. At this point, his cell phone rang. He waited for the next traffic light before picking up and ncing at the phone. There was a message: [Can you please ignore my previous message?] Shen Liangchuan paused. He nced at the red lights¡ªthere were 20 seconds to go. He quickly typed out a reply: [What do you think?] The reply came quickly, [¡°I was sleepwalking just then. That¡¯s right. I have no idea what happened. The flowers are still here and they¡¯re pretty! And I like the number 100 more than 99!¡±] Shen Liangchuan paused. He was about to respond but time was up. He put the cell phone aside and continued driving. The vision of Qiao Lian being utterly flustered and pulling her own hair suddenly came to him. He imagined her pouting, dull-eyed and thoroughly frustrated. All at once, he felt much better. A smile appeared on his face. No matter what, her ultimate intention had really been to make him happy, hadn¡¯t it? And she had spent a great deal of effort trying to do that. As he pulled up at the vi, Mo Xicheng stepped out. He got into the car and said, ¡°You¡¯re just in time. I need you to drop me off somewhere.¡± Chapter 316 - Actually, I Don’t Like Being Romantic (6)

Chapter 316: Actually, I Don¡¯t Like Being Romantic (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan was given directions to a secluded vi district. They arrived at a particr vi. Mo Xicheng nodded with gratitude and said, ¡°You go ahead.¡± A frown appeared on Shen Liangchuan¡¯s forehead, and he nced at this ordinary house which could only at the very best be called a vi. ¡°If I had known you wereing to such a ce, I wouldn¡¯t have given you a lift.¡± A gloomy expression shed across Mo Xicheng¡¯s eyes. Without a word, he pushed open the passenger seat door. As he got out of the car, someone grabbed his shoulder and following this... Piak! A p on his face. ¡°You unfilial son! You¡¯ll be the death of me!¡± A middle-aged woman¡¯s voice rang loud and resonant. Shen Liangchuan had just been in the midst of getting ready to drive off, but when he heard the voice, he froze and turned his head. Mo Xicheng didn¡¯t look too surprised, he stood there in silence. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression darkened. Mo Xicheng had quick reflexes and Shen Liangchuan believed that if he had wanted to avoid the p, he could have easily done it. But he... Shen Liangchuan opened the front door and was about to say something. However, Mo Xicheng at once turned to him and said, ¡°You should leave first.¡± Shen Liangchuan paused and looked at him for a while before finally getting into the car and starting up the car engine. His gaze was still fixed on the full-figured and fierce woman as he reversed the car. Before he drove away, he heard the woman¡¯s voice, ¡°You¡¯ve created such a scandal! Do you wish to be kicked out of the Mo Family? Unfilial son! I told you time and again not to join the entertainment industry, but you wouldn¡¯t listen! Look at you now. Have you seen these articles about you on the inte! Let me tell you, you¡¯re such a disgrace!¡± ¨C ¡°This is too much. Team One is really too much this time!¡± Shi Nianyao mmed the tabletop with great force. Her eyes were burning with anger. Qiao Lian looked up. ¡°What¡¯s wrong this time?¡± The day before, Team One had released news about Mo Xicheng being a middle-aged woman¡¯s kept man. The matter had blown up and now it didn¡¯t look like it would die down any time soon. On the contrary, it was bing more dramatic. All these years there had been very few articles about Mo Xicheng in the media. Now, he was making headlines all over the country. Shi Nianyao faced Qiao Lian. ¡°Someone managed to take a photo of my idol getting into a luxurious car and followed him all the way to a vi. They reported it this morning. These people have no idea that my idol was not there to visit the rumoured middle-aged woman!¡± Upon hearing this, Qiao Lian frowned. ¡°There are no pictures?¡± ¡°There are pictures in the papers.¡± Qiao Lian froze. Shi Nianyao said angrily, ¡°But the picture had been edited! I am very certain that my idol was at the new vi district all night, and he was not with any woman.¡± Although Qiao Lian was not half as enamored with Mo Xicheng as Shi Nianyao, she had had a couple of encounters with him. Besides, during the poprity poll for Forget Chuan, Mo Xicheng had even assisted her by sharing the post. Through these encounters, she had formed a good impression of him. She mmed the table angrily. ¡°Just to get a headline! Where¡¯s their integrity?¡± Shi Nianyao nodded in agreement. ¡°The initial report was just making guesses, but the moment the articles were published today, the inte has been flooded with criticisms to my idol. I sympathise with him so much now. I¡¯m so inclined to get in touch with his manager and suggest they call a press conference to rify the truth!¡± Chapter 317 - Actually, I Don’t Like Being Romantic (7)

Chapter 317: Actually, I Don¡¯t Like Being Romantic (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, let¡¯s contact them right now!¡± Shi Nianyao looked at Qiao Lian. ¡°Could I have his manager¡¯s telephone number?¡± Qiao Lian was taken aback by this request. She had assumed that Shi Nianyao had his number, given how serious she appeared to be in taking action. But she didn¡¯t! Qiao Lian coughed once. ¡°That- I don¡¯t have that kind of information.¡± ¡°Best Actor Shen is your husband! How could you not have Mo Xicheng¡¯s number?¡± Qiao Lian looked at Shi Nianyao intently for a while and said, ¡°Come clean with it. What you¡¯re really after is an opportunity to get his contact number, isn¡¯t it?¡± Since Qiao Lian had see through her ploy and hit the nail right on the head, she was unabashed and smiled sheepishly at once. She took a step forward and ced her hand on Qiao Lian¡¯s arms. ¡°Chief Editor Lian Lian, won¡¯t you give me his number please? My idol must be feeling so sad, I feel that I need to support him.¡± Qiao Lian sighed and said, ¡°I really don¡¯t have his number.¡± Seeing the look of disappointment on Shi Nianyao¡¯s face, she smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯ll help you ask around.¡± Shi Nianyao¡¯s eyes immediately lit up with excitement. But Qiao Lian fretted the moment she picked up her cell phone, because... Wasn¡¯t Shen Liangchuan still angry at her? Would he respond if she sent him a message? Besides, would it be odd asking for Mo Xicheng¡¯s contact number just like that? After all, they were celebrities and they were particrly careful about their privacy. She wondered if Mo Xicheng would mind. She worried about it for a while, but when she looked up and saw the anxious expression on Shi Nianyao¡¯s face, she picked up her cell phone and typed out the message: [Eh... Could you send me Mo Xicheng¡¯s contact number?] After she sent out this message, she anxiously crafted the next message, intending to provide an exnation by telling him about Shi Nianyao¡¯s case. But as she was typing it, the cell phone vibrated with an iing message. There was a phone number in it. Qiao Lian was stunned. She looked down at her cell phone speechlessly. Shen Liangchuan had shared Mo Xicheng¡¯s contact number with her, without even asking the reason. Did he really... trust her that much? Then for unknown reasons, Qiao Lian felt a warm sweetness in her heart. She looked up once more at Shi Nianyao and gave her the number, instructing her, ¡°Keep this information to yourself!¡± Shi Nianyao nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t you worry, Chief Editor Lian Lian!¡± Qiao Lian trusted Shi Nianyao, as they had grown to understand each other well in the time they had worked together. Then Qiao Lian moved close to her, asking, ¡°What are you going to tell him?¡± Shi Nianyaoughed sheepishly again. ¡°Just a few encouraging words...¡± She picked up her cell phone and started to feel a little confused. Leaving Shi Nianyao to figure herself out, Qiao Lian went onto the Inte to read the articles about Mo Xicheng. Indeed, there was a poorly-defined image of a couple. The woman was the richdy who Team One had identified the day before, the man... from the profile, he appeared to be Mo Xicheng. However with a different resolution, when Qiao Lian erged the image, she found that the alleged Mo Xicheng¡¯s face had been blurred. She picked up her desk phone and called the Managing Editor. ¡°Managing Editor, Team One has published a fake news article with an edited photograph. You¡¯re not worried that our news agency might get a letter from Mo Xicheng¡¯swyer? As soon as she said that, Su Meimei¡¯s voice sounded over the line, ¡°What¡¯s up? Telling stories to the Managing Editor just because you weren¡¯t able to outdo Team One? You¡¯ve already used these tricks before.¡± Qiao Lian glowered. ¡°Su Meimei, even I can tell that the image is faked. Do you think other people won¡¯t know? Are you not afraid of awsuit?¡± ¡°Of course I¡¯m not afraid!¡± She replied boldly, ¡°Mo Xicheng will not have the guts to take us on.¡± Chapter 318 - Actually, I Don’t Like Being Romantic (8)

Chapter 318: Actually, I Don¡¯t Like Being Romantic (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mo Xicheng wouldn¡¯t daree after the news agency? Why? Qiao Lian arched an eyebrow. She could sense that something was off. She suddenly recalled... Mo Xicheng had really great acting skills, not to even mention his looks. His flower boy look was actually more popr than the bossy director type. But he was still stagnant after so many years. She recalled asking Shen Liangchuan for the reason. After all, all the people who had attended Mo Xicheng¡¯s birthday party were famous. He himself didn¡¯t seem like someone with no means or ability. He would definitely reach stardom if given the opportunity. The answer Shen Liangchuan had given her then seemed to be... he was suppressing his fame? There was a reason for why he couldn¡¯t be really popr. So was it because of this reason that he didn¡¯t darego after the news agency and blow up the matter? In Mo Xicheng¡¯s current situation, he could only hope that time would let the matter die down. But... why was Su Meimei so sure? She was silent for a moment before asking suddenly. ¡°Su Meimei, how much did they give you to do such a thing?¡± The words slipped out of Su Meimei¡¯s mouth, ¡°How did you know¡ª¡± Before Su Meimei could finish her, she was interrupted and the phone was snatched away by Liu Zhixing. He said, ¡°Qiao Lian, just don¡¯t interfere with this matter!¡± Qiao Lian immediately narrowed her eyes. She was right. She had gotten the truth just by simply tricking Su Meimei. There had been something wrong ever since Mo Xicheng¡¯s matter had blown up, it felt as if someone was instigating it. And now she finally understood it. Someone was plotting against Mo Xicheng and this person had paid Su Meimei. Thus backing Su Meimei to do lowly tricks, such as photoshopping the picture and outrightly ndering Mo Xicheng. After she hung up the phone, she deeply frowed. But after a while, she couldn¡¯t help but burst intoughter. As long as she could survive this one year and receive her reporter¡¯s certificate, she would leave the news agency. But only now she realized every single extra day she stayed at the news agency felt disgusting. How could someone be so shameless to give a false ount of the truth? Just as she was thinking, Shi Nianyao finished typing her message and moved to her anxiously. ¡°Chief Editor Lian Lian, what do you think of what I wrote? Whenever I remember that I¡¯m messaging my idol, I get really nervous.¡± When she looked over, Qiao Lian realized that it was a simple encouraging message. It read. [Even if an eagle¡¯s wings are cut, it will still remain as an eagle. Mo Xicheng, I¡¯m just an inconspicuous fan of yours and I¡¯m sending this message just to tell you that I believe you. Truth will speak for itself, please take care.] Qiao Lian nodded. ¡°Well done.¡± Shi Nianyao was so anxious that her palms were perspiring. ¡°I¡¯ll send it then!¡± After Shi Nianyao sent it, she walked in front of Qiao Lian and said, ¡°Chief Editor Lian Lian, I actually have something to tell you when she looked over¡ª¡± Before she could finish speaking, she heard Su Meimei¡¯s voice from the door. She furrowed her brow and sneered, ¡°Qiao Lian, we have taken the first ce for today¡¯s article. I have asked for permission from the managing editor, you and your minion will have to clean the whole office after work today.¡± Qiao Lian stood up at that instant as she said, ¡°Su Meimei, don¡¯t go overboard!¡± ¡°Overboard? How am I going overboard?¡± Su Meimei sneered, ¡°You can only put the me on yourself for not having the talent! If you have the ability, why note up with an article that is more eye-catching than Mo Xicheng to suppress our news? I will clean the office willingly if you¡¯re able to do so. If you aren¡¯t capable enough, you have no option but to stay and do thebour.¡± After Su Meimei finished speaking, Shi Nianyao suddenly spoke, ¡°What makes you think we aren¡¯t?!¡± Chapter 319 - Actually, I Don’t Like Being Romantic (9)

Chapter 319: Actually, I Don¡¯t Like Being Romantic (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Su Meimei was stunned after being interrupted. But when she realized what Shi Nianyao was saying, she immediatelyughed and said, ¡°Shi Nianyao, how dare you say such things after being a reporter for just a few days? This is such a joke! You think that it is so easy to find news along the streets? If it was so, the news industry would have blown up by now.¡± After she said so, she looked at Qiao Lian and said, ¡°Qiao Lian, you¡¯re getting more and more unreliable. You make such unreliable statements.¡± Qiao Lian frowned. ¡°Su Meimei, why are you so sure that we don¡¯t have a piece of news in our hands?¡± Su Meimei sneered, ¡°You can just tell us directly if you don¡¯t want to do work. Why are youing up with so many excuses?¡± She rolled her eyes and showed an arrogant look. It made people want tough. Qiao Lian¡¯s eye shone and she said, ¡°Su Meimei, you¡¯re going overboard! My group only has two people. Even if we lost, it would only be us doing it. But what about you? There¡¯s so many people in Team One. It doesn¡¯t mean anything, even if we win.¡± Seeing that she refused to speak about the article and obviously wanting to shun what had urred today, she would obviously not let go of this chance. She directly said, ¡°We could also have a two men team to work for us, if both of you win.¡± Qiao Lian started to speak aggressively, ¡°Do you think I don¡¯t understand all of you? Even if it¡¯s two of you, you will still choose people under you. Doing thispared to us, aren¡¯t you the bully?¡± Su Meimei stared at her and asked, ¡°What do you exactly want so that you would be willing to work?¡± Qiao Lianughed and said, ¡°That you and Zhang Chunhua both agree to clean up the ce if we cane up with a more explosive article.¡± Su Meimei¡¯s irises swelled. ¡°That is not possible!¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t agree, why should Nianyao and I continue working today? Or does it mean that you actually don¡¯t dare topete against me?¡± Su Meimei stared at Qiao Lian. Ever since Qiao Lian had entered the news agency, she had been left aside. Qiao Lian would always be able toe out with some breaking piece of news to steal the attention away from her. Furthermore, she had took put in much effort and finally had gotten on Liu Zhixing¡¯s good side. However, every time they talked about Qiao Lian when they were together, she could see the desire in his eyes. It told her that Liu Zhixing liked Qiao Lian more. She waspletely couldn¡¯t be certain that Liu Zhixing would still give her attention if Qiao Lian agreed to date him. All these different situations had made her really oppressed. She needed to oppress Qiao Lian quickly, to make herself feel better. Seeing Qiao Lian¡¯s arrogance at that moment, she pursed her lips and then sneered, ¡°Of course, I dare.¡± ¡°Make sure you mean it.¡± Qiao Lian had disbelief on her face. ¡°What if we start working today and you go back on your wordter on?¡± After she finished her question, she looked at the entrance of the office and realized that everyone in Team One was watching them. Su Meimei was triggered and eximed, ¡°I, Su Meimei, will not go back on the words I¡¯ve said!¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Qiao Lian had been waiting for this sentence. Su Meimei wouldn¡¯t be able to go back on her words after saying this out publicly. She turned her head, looked at Shi Nianyao and asked, ¡°Nianyao, what is your big news?¡± Shi Nianyao took a step forward, looked at Su Meimei with a wide smile and said, ¡°Mo Xicheng wasn¡¯t with a woman yesterday. He went to the new vi district and was together with a man! I wonder if this piece of news will make the headlines if it gets published?¡± Su Meimei¡¯s pupils shrank immediately... Of course it would! Chapter 320 - Actually, I Don’t Like Being Romantic (10)

Chapter 320: Actually, I Don¡¯t Like Being Romantic (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Now that Mo Xichen had caught everyone¡¯s attention, any piece of news about him would make the headlines. However... Su Meimei sneered, ¡°Don¡¯t speak rubbish. Do you even have any proof?¡± Shi Nianyao smiled. ¡°Of course I do.¡± She picked up her cell phone and fished for the picture in her album. She forwarded the picture to Qiao Lian. ¡°I took this photost night.¡± Qiao Lian took a look at the picture and saw a man¡¯s back. That was Best Actor Shen. Although some people might not be able to identify him by looking at his back, Qiao Lian knew it like the back of her own hand. But obviously because Nianyao¡¯s full attention had been on Mo Xicheng, his face in the picture was very well focused and clearly taken. There was a rxed smile on his face. Under the lighting, that still shot showed off his enviably good looks magnificently. Qiao Lian gave Shi Nianyao a satisfied look and turned off her cell phone screen, holding it behind her back, when Su Meimei tried to take a peek. Su Meimeiughed derisively. ¡°I couldn¡¯t even see a thing. How could I know if it has not been edited?¡± Qiao Lian smiled. ¡°Do you think that everyonecks integrity, like yourself? Besides, why would I need to show you the picture? Would Team One show us the reports that you¡¯ve yet to publish?¡± She turned and sat behind theputer saying, ¡°Nianyao, I will start editing. Let¡¯s get the big news out today.¡± Then she turned to Su Meimei. ¡°Other than this, I wonder if you should go get yourself ready to do some cleaning? How about during lunch time you just clean up your office? Team Two¡¯s office doesn¡¯t need cleaning.¡± Then she paused and smiled sweetly. ¡°Because I¡¯m quite worried that with your clumsy fingers, you might break myputer.¡± That tone of disdain infuriated Su Meimei so much that her body trembled with anger. She raised her shaking hand and pointed at Qiao Lian. ¡°You¡ª¡± Qiao Lian widened her eyes, looking extremely innocent. ¡°What did you just say?¡± Su Meimei felt as though she was choking on her own blood and was so angry that she couldn¡¯t utter a single word. ¨C After Su Meimei left, Shi Nianyao edited the report, added the picture and immediately published it online. The moment the article was published, it started trending steadily until it hit the peak of the hot searches ranking. This piece of news about Mo Xicheng had been boiling on the burner for some time. This article acted greatly in his favor, and Mo Xicheng¡¯s fans were now even more loyal to him than ever. The rification after the scandal was beautifully executed and in those two days, the news agency received a lot of positive attention. Liu Zhixing praised Team Two and even smiled widely at Qiao Lian, making Su Meimei fume with anger. When noon came and everyone was out having lunch, Su Meimei and Zhang Chunhua did the cleaning for Team One¡¯s office. When the members of Team One returned, they were horrified by the fact that their office was in a worse state than before. But they did not dare to voice anyints, although in their hearts they were displeased. Closer to the end of the work day, Qiao Lian received a message from Shen Liangchuan: [Waiting for you downstairs.] Just those few words were enough to send her into panic. That morning¡¯s bouquet incident made her want to crawl into a hole and disappear altogether. She wasn¡¯t too sure if Shen Liangchuan would have forgiven her. What should she do now? As she stepped out of the building, she saw that Shen Liangchuan was already waiting for her with his new car. The car he had been driving before was now easily recognizable from the exposure it had gotten through the news article. She looked around to ensure that no one was paying any attention before she quickly got into the car. Chapter 321 - Be My Girlfriend (1)

Chapter 321: Be My Girlfriend (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The atmosphere in the car was not as icy as she had imagined it would be. Although Shen Liangchuan was still expressionless, she somehow felt that he wasn¡¯t unhappy. She assumed he wasn¡¯t mad at her anymore. She thought for a while and then ventured testing his reaction. ¡°Shen Liangchuan, were you at the new vi districtst night? ¡± Shen Liangchuan gave her a brief nce. Like a child waiting to be reprimanded for her wrongdoings, Qiao Lian sat up immediately. Shen Liangchuan lowered his gaze to hide his amusement and started up the car. As they drove home, he spoke, ¡°I was having a drink with Mo Xicheng as I was pissed off with somebody.¡± Oh? Was he trying to exin himself? Qiao Lian winked and giggled, unaware she was the ¡®somebody¡¯ he was referring to. Her cell phone rang as she wasughing. A nce at the caller screen revealed it was Su Meimei. The moment Qiao Lian picked up the line, she heard Su Meimei yelling, ¡°Qiao Lian, do you really think Team Two will win by doing this? We¡¯ll see!¡± Right after saying those words, Su Meimei hung up. This person was freaking sick. But what exactly did she mean by these nasty words? Qiao Lian frowned. She unlocked her cell phone and started browsing the news. And then... An unusual news headline caught her attention. It said: ¡°Actor M Is Bi? Sumbing to Unspoken Rules!¡± The phone almost slipped out of her hands. Articles about Actor M had had an impact across every news tform in the past few days, and the public had been associating the letter M to Mo Xicheng. She quickly opened the article and saw the picture that Shi Nianyao had previously posted. They were spinning a story from the picture! In the picture, Shen Liangchuan could be seen withdrawing his hand after shutting the door. Although Nianyao had captured the moment, the shot had been taken from a problematic angle. From this angle, it looked as if Shen Liangchuan had ced his hand on Mo Xicheng¡¯s waist. As it wasn¡¯t a frontal shot, no one had picked up that it was Shen Liangchuan. And now the article imed that Mo Xicheng had hooked up with a wealthy man! It appeared that Mo Xicheng wasn¡¯t just two-timing his girlfriend, he had also been outed. Mo Xicheng was bi-sexual. This vicious report was bound to destroy Mo Xicheng. All at once, news reports criticizing Mo Xicheng appeared all over the inte, amongst them were personal attacksbeling him as a total disgust. To scale the careerdder, some people would use all ways and means. Qiao Lian fumed with rage. Shen Liangchuan looked at her with much concern.¡±What happened?¡± She shoved the cell phone into his hand and said, ¡°The inte is filled with news of you and Mo Xichenging out as a gay couple!¡± Shen Liangchuan paused. ¡°They can say anything they like about Mo Xicheng, but why you? You have never been seen with a girl and I have to say, I did suspect you were in fact gay.¡± The atmosphere turned icy at once as these words were spoken. Qiao Lian quickly changed the topic andmented, ¡°But now I would be the first to rebut anyone who uses you of being gay! ¡± ¡°And how do you intend to do that?¡± Shen Liangchuan said coldly. ¡°I am the walking proof!¡± Qiao Lian answered. She realized her bluntness and blushed when she saw Shen Liangchuan looking at her steadily. That statement had been truly narcissistic and self-absorbed. In this moment of awkwardness and embarrassment, her cell phone rang again. Picking up the call, she could hear Shi Nianyao yelling at the other end. Chapter 322 - Be My Girlfriend (2)

Chapter 322: Be My Girlfriend (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Damn! I have no words to describe this! Team One is made up of total freaks! I can¡¯t believe they wrote this. How low can they go?!¡± Shi Nianyao cursed and swore at Team One for a good couple of minutes. However Qiao Lian could also sense her guilt beneath the anger. After all, she had been the one who had posted the picture. She had been out to prove Mo Xicheng¡¯s innocence, but now she had dragged him into an even bigger mess. If worse hade to worst, Mo Xicheng could have argued his way out that there was actually true love between him and his ¡®sugar mummy.¡¯ But if pictures of him being intimate with another man were to circte, then the situation could get quite ugly. Having vented her anger, Shi Nianyao now sounded quite anxious, ¡°Chief Editor Lian Lian, what should we do now?¡± Qiao Lian let out a cough and replied, ¡°Stay calm.¡± Shi Nianyao said with a deep sigh, ¡°Oh, what a rotten luck my idol has!¡± ¡°This is typical of the entertainment circle. Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯lle up with a new story to help Mo Xicheng clear his name.¡± ¡°Okay, let me do the writing now. I¡¯ll send it to you in 10 minutes for posting on social media.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. Shi Nianyao¡¯s incisive piece waspleted on time as promised. Logging into her ount to spread the article, she then noticed... ¡°Why is my ount locked?¡± She frowned. As Qiao Lian was anxiously trying to get home as soon as possible, a call from Liu Zhixing came in, ¡°Qiao Lian, I¡¯d like you to take leave for the next two days. You don¡¯t need toe to work.¡± Sensing something amiss, Qiao Lian asked, ¡°Did you lock my ount, Managing Editor?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Why did you do that?¡± ¡°Because this is not the right time to publish any rification article for Mo Xicheng.¡± Before Qiao Lian could say another word, the Managing Editor said, ¡°That will be all.¡± Then he ended the call. It was obvious he had no intention to clear Mo Xicheng¡¯s name! Although a rification article would get more attention, the Managing Director would rather give up the idea. Was he being held hostage by someone? Qiao Lian¡¯s fingers shook with exasperation. ¡°This is way too much! Someone is clearly targeting Mo Xicheng and has no intention to let it go until he¡¯s destroyed! Who could that be? And why?¡± Shen Liangchuan was in the driver¡¯s seat when he heard this. He lowered his eyes, lost in his thoughts. ¨C Shi Nianyao was desperate. The situation needed to be dealt with immediately. There was a massive jam on her way to work the next day and she waste. Her cell phone rang immediately after parking in the basement. Qiao Lian, who was on the other end, asked, ¡°Where are you now, Nianyao?¡± ¡°What¡¯s up? I¡¯m just at the basement.¡± ¡°Mo Xicheng¡¯s manager is here in the newsroom, looking for you. He said he needs to discuss some matters with you.¡± Shi Nianyao replied, ¡°I¡¯m on my way up.¡± She hung up and rushed her way up to the office. She suddenly stopped in her tracks. She was so nervous her heart was pounding. She was about to meet her idol¡¯s manager, so she mustn¡¯t leave a bad impression. She briskly walked to the nearest car and looked into her own reflection. As she quickly groomed herself, she suddenly realized... her chest was a tad too t and unttering? She reached for her assets, and began to squeeze and shape them consciously. Eventually, she managed to create a barely visible cleavage. And exactly at this point in time... The car window was wound down. Following this, the annoyingly handsome face of Mo Xicheng emerged. Shi Nianyao froze in stupor and was stunned. Chapter 323 - Be My Girlfriend (3)

Chapter 323: Be My Girlfriend (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She waspletely dumbfounded. Her body froze, her brain was totally nk and she didn¡¯t even know where to ce her hands and legs. Why was Mo Xicheng here? She felt like everything had be totally unrealistic, as though she was in a trance. As she was still looking at him in a daze, she heard Mo Xicheng¡¯s voice saying, ¡°Are you done looking?¡± Shi Nianyao¡¯s huge eyes were dark and prative. Her eyes clearly reflected his face. Ever since Mo Xicheng had entered the showbiz, he had seen the gaze of numerous fans. But it was the first time that he saw one as pure as hers. Just a moment ago, he had been waiting in his car for his manager and it hadn¡¯t crossed his mind that this girl hurriedly approach his car window. First, it was to look at herself in the mirror. Next, she started to squeeze and push up her breasts, which made her look funny and full of energy. She was like a ray of sunshine, which triggered Mo Xicheng, who was feeling down, to tease her. Actually, he shouldn¡¯t have lowered down his car window, but for some reason he decided to do so. However, he did not witness the obvious embarrassment that he had been expecting. He only saw gradual astonishment and surprise in her eyes. Being stared at by her pure eyes, Mo Xicheng felt that he couldn¡¯t help but take the initiative to break the silence. Once he said this the girl, that was supposed to be embarrassed, regained herposure, stood up straight in an instant, touched her hair and then looked at him again with her bright eyes. Mo Xicheng: ... Shi Nianyao hadpletely forgotten about the awkward moment from before. At this moment, she was feeling totally woozy and stunned from the joy of meeting Mo Xicheng, so she widened her eyes and said, ¡°You... are you here to look for me?¡± As she said these words, Mo Xicheng was slightly taken aback. ¡°I know you?¡± His words caused Shi Nianyao¡¯s gaze to instantly lose brightness. Thest time they had met, he had given her his name card. But she had identally lost it. During this period of time, she had been wondering how she would ever meet him again... And when they were to finally meet, what it would be like. Little did she know that when they would finally meet again, he would ask if he knew her. Shi Nianyao felt very upset and stuffy, her heart was slightly in pain. She looked at Mo Xicheng for a long time and then finally said, ¡°Hmm, my colleague told me that your manager is upstairs looking for me. May I know if there is an issue?¡± When Mo Xicheng heard these words, he suddenly understood and said, ¡°You are the reporter who took the pictures?¡± Shi Nianyao nodded. Mo Xicheng pursed his lips and frowned. His expression made Shi Nianyao wonder immediately if Mo Xicheng had misunderstood something. She hurriedly waved her hands. ¡°It¡¯s not what you are thinking! By sharing the photograph, I only wanted to help you clear your name and tell everyone that you were not with that woman that night. You¡¯re innocent, but there¡¯s also apetition between the teams in our news agency. The people from Team One have been manipting the facts. I came to work today to rify the article.¡± Mo Xicheng was stunned. ¡°You believe me?¡± News about him had spread like wildfire these past few days. First, he was deemed to be involved with a random woman. Now, even news of himing out of the closet were being reported. But this little reporter tantly said that he was innocent without a tinge of doubt. Unlike her... who had given him a tight p, without even saying a word, when she had seen the article. Actually, he had been feeling down ever since yesterday. But today he was healed by the words of that small reporter, just like that. This was the first time Mo Xicheng felt that care, concern and trust from a stranger could in fact also make him feel happy. The somewhat gloomy eyes he had had initially became a little brighter. Shi Nianyao said, ¡°Of course I believe that you¡¯re not with that widow! Because¡ª¡± Because the person that you kissed that day was me! These words wanted toe out but because she was shy, she swallowed them. Sheughed and then lowered her head. Then she heard Mo Xicheng¡¯s voice, ¡°Thank you.¡± His word sounded somewhat heavy. Shi Nianyao was sensitive enough to realize that, so she raised her head immediately and said, ¡°I feel that truth will speak for itself and that your innocence will be proven. Don¡¯t worry too much. I will go and report it now, to clear your name. If the managing editor does not allow me to publish the article, I will still post it on the Inte!¡± Mo Xicheng nodded and replied, ¡°Sorry to trouble you with that.¡± Chapter 324 - Be My Girlfriend (4)

Chapter 324: Be My Girlfriend (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios This matter had tarnished his reputation, he could actually bring charges and sue the relevant parties. However, when he thought of the girl who hade to him toment this morning, he lowered his eyes. Now he could only take the matter into his own hands. If Shi Nianyao coulde up with an article to rify what had indeed happened, then this matter would be over. Shi Nianyao waved her hands immediately. ¡°No trouble at all. I was the one who triggered the incident, so I- I will think of a way to solve it!¡± Mo Xicheng nodded and then he picked up his cell phone to call his manager. They both did not know what to say to each other while waiting for the manager. When Shi Nianyao was still staring at him in a silly manner, Mo Xicheng said, ¡°Don¡¯t you have to go to work?¡± He lifted his wrist to take a look at the time. ¡°It¡¯s half past nine already.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Shi Nianyao patted her head. ¡°Oh dear, I¡¯m dead meat! I¡¯mte!¡± She turned around and ran. But after taking two steps, she turned around suddenly, took out a name card from her bag and passed it to Mo Xicheng. ¡°This is my name card and my number is on it. You can call me if there is any problem.¡± As she was saying this, she even stretched out her hand to ce it beside her ear, trying to strike a pose as if she was making a phone call. Then she smiled at him and ran away finally. Even after she had finally left, Mo Xicheng was still staring in her direction with a dull gaze. For a matter that had been blown out of proportion, it was inevitable that he would be troubled and upset. However under this kind of circumstances, there was actually someone who trusted him unconditionally. He felt warmth in his heart, as if he was a nt living in a corner that had suddenly gotten nourished by the sunrays. ¨C When Shi Nianyao ran out of the underground car park, her heart was still pounding rapidly. She took a deep breath, but still felt that it was unfathomable. So she had just met her idol for the second time? As she thought of this, she suddenly realized... That day at the banquet, she had been wearing very formal clothing. She had had her hair done and put on makeup in order to show her respect. She did not have any makeup on now. It was no wonder he had not recognized her. Her sense of presence was also very low, if there was any. Shi Nianyao patted her head and entered the elevator. Five minutester. ¡°Ah ah ah ah!¡± She shrieked and grabbed her hair suddenly! What had she been doing before she had seen her idol? Shi Nianyao lowered her head and looked towards her chest... Boo hoo hoo! She felt too ashamed to face anyone. Shi Nianyao was crestfallen as she stepped out of the elevator. As she entered the office, she listlessly greeted Qiao Lian. When Qiao Lian saw her behavior, she was puzzled and inquired, ¡°What happened? I heard that you met your idol at the underground parking?¡± ¡°... Don¡¯t bring it up. Aish! I¡¯m hopeless when ites to love!¡± Qiao Lian asked, ¡°What happened? What did your idol do to you?¡± Shi Nianyao shook her head. ¡°He did not do anything to me. It was me who did something to him... Oh yes, Chief Editor Lian Lian, when can we publish the article I wrote yesterday?¡± When Qiao Lian heard these words, she frowned and became furious. ¡°They did not allow me to publish it yesterday, so I have decided to look for the managing editor today. But he did note to work today.¡± This was all to avoid them. Shi Nianyao got worried. ¡°What are they trying to do?¡± As the two of them were speaking, they saw Su Meimei proudly walking in. ¡°Qiao Lian, how is it going? It¡¯s your turn to clean up today, isn¡¯t it?¡± Chapter 325 - Be My Girlfriend (5)

Chapter 325: Be My Girlfriend (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes as she asked, ¡°Su Meimei, where¡¯s the managing editor?¡± Su Meimeiughed and answered, ¡°Is it important? The managing editor isn¡¯t avable today.¡± ¡°Where is he? I have something urgent to inform him!¡± Su Meimei looked down and yed with her nails as she replied, ¡°But he has no time for you!¡± Her remark made Qiao Lian narrow her eyes. Su Meimeiughed. ¡°Let me tell you. We have indeed received instructions from someone about Mo Xicheng¡¯s matter. So you don¡¯t have to think about flipping the situation!¡± She looked at Shi Nianyao and said, ¡°And you, stop making trouble for yourself! The managing editor asked me to let you know that he has locked your ount for the time being. If you want to post anything, you have to first email him and let him review it before you can do so.¡± ¡°How can you do this!?¡± Shi Nianyao was furious as she clenched her fist. ¡°Su Meimei! Both of you are going overboard!¡± Su Meimei sneered and replied, ¡°How can this be going overboard? Shi Nianyao, let me warn you again, you won¡¯t have a good time under Qiao Lian.¡± After she left these threatening words, she turned around and left. When she reached the door, she suddenly turned her head and said, ¡°Oh yes, the managing editor said that he hopes that you and Qiao Lian stay alert. He gave you the task to find out who Mrs Shen is. It¡¯s been a few months, why are there still no news about it? Do you still want to work here?¡± She had been wanting to quit her job for a long while already. Even so, she decided to swallow the words that swirled in her mouth. Su Meimei left arrogantly and Shi Nianyao looked at Qiao Lian. ¡°What do we do now?¡± Qiao Lian frowned and said, ¡°If they won¡¯t allow us to post anything using the official ount, we can use our personal Weibo ount or create another ount to post it.¡± Shi Nianyao¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°This is a good idea.¡± After saying this, she walked to theputer and rapidly created an ount. She started off by introducing herself as a reporter from G8ssip News, and she then rified the picture¡¯s issue. She then promised that she had seen with her own eyes that Mo Xicheng hadn¡¯t shared any intimate acts with the other man and it had been all due to the angle.¡± After she posted it, Mo Xicheng¡¯s loyal fans noticed it in no time and everyone immediately started sharing it. The people who supported Mo Xicheng rapidly spread the post. In no time, Mo Xicheng¡¯s haters were stunned and stopped by this post. Shi Nianyao finally let out a sigh of relief. However, Qiao Lian said with a frown, ¡°It¡¯s too early to be happy.¡± After Shi Nianyao heard Qiao Lian¡¯s words, she frowned again. She said, ¡°That¡¯s true. My idol is obviously being targeted and someone has been trying to sensationalize things. Or else he wouldn¡¯t have been able to trend on Weibo with his meager fame. I wonder who is the one trying to get him into trouble.¡± Qiao Lian took a deep breathe. ¡°All I know is that the person who is harming him will not give up easily until the matter has beenpletely rified.¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s words were proved really soon. In just an hour, the situation had reversed once again. Someone suspected that this sub-ount was fake and started stalking. And somehow they were actually able to make up fake proof that it was actually Mo Xicheng¡¯s manager¡¯s sub-ount. They even ridiculed Mo Xicheng, as the news agency hadn¡¯t even rified it officially and why would they do it privately. Mo Xicheng¡¯s actions were reaching a very low point! At that instant, the Intemunity was saying that he was ¡°hiding the truth, ¡°being scared of admitting what he¡¯d done.¡± Some even said, ¡°If you dared to admit it, I would admire your courage! But you have no guts to admit it after doing it.¡± And onemented that he¡¯s a ¡°scaredy cat, a fake!¡± All these different insults were hurled at him, and it brought the issue back to the spotlight! Chapter 326 - Be My Girlfriend (6)

Chapter 326: Be My Girlfriend (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The worst thing was that Su Meimei had made use of the news agency¡¯s official Weibo ount to release a report denying that the sub-ount was hers. ¡°She¡¯s utterly shameless!¡± the infuriated Shi Nianyao said and clenched her fists. Her eyes were already slightly bloodshot. To Qiao Lian this was hitting a new low for the news agency. She frowned. The post had been published under the new agency¡¯s main ount and it would remain there, regardless of any staff member resigning. Shi Nianyao was at aplete loss for words. The two of them sat in the office staring at each other, until Shi Nianyao finally broke the silence, ¡°So what do we do now?¡± What to do now? Qiao Lian had the same question in her mind. Su Meimei¡¯s determination to drag Mo Xicheng through the mud was unshakeable, and they felt helpless against it. She picked up her cell phone. ¡°Let me ask Best Actor Shen.¡± The call was picked up quickly. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s deep voice was as attractive as ever, ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Qiao Lian was straight to the point, ¡°Have you read the news about Mo Xicheng?¡± There was a pause on Shen Liangchuan¡¯s end. She had not stopped talking about Mo Xicheng sincest night, and now he was hearing that guy¡¯s name again. He wasn¡¯t going to admit he was jealous, he was just slightly less worried now. ¡°Yes, I have.¡± ¡°And?¡± Qiao Lian asked anxiously. ¡°What do we do now? Can you exin to him that our ounts have been locked down by the managing editor and he won¡¯t unlock them? The only person releasing any articles now is the managing editor¡¯s assistant.¡± ¡°Hmmm.¡± Shen Liangchuan digressed, ¡°What are you having for lunch?¡± Taken aback by the sudden change of topic, Qiao Lian replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know yet.¡± ¡°Then don¡¯t eat out.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Did Best Actor Shen mean for her to starve? ¡°There¡¯ll be a delivery.¡± Qiao Lian was surprised once again. ¡°What?¡± Then quite quickly, she realized what was going on. ¡°You¡¯re ordering takeaway for me?¡± Was Best Actor Shen starting to show the tender side of himself? How sweet and considerate was that! Qiao Lian was a little dazed from the change in him after she hung up the phone, and only realized that she had forgotten all about Mo Xicheng when she saw Shi Nianyao¡¯s worried expression. Shen Liangchuan was now in his office. And sitting across him... were Mo Xicheng and Mo Xicheng¡¯s manager. Shen Liangchuan turned to look at Mo Xicheng after he hung up the phone. The manager leaned towards Shen Liangchuan. ¡°Best Actor Shen, we¡¯re sorry to have to trouble you. We don¡¯t have a choice but to get you involved to clear Brother Mo¡¯s name. We¡¯re truly grateful.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need to thank me for anything that I do for Mo Xicheng.¡± His short reply silenced Mo Xicheng¡¯s manager immediately. Shen Liangchuan then turned to Mo Xicheng. ¡°Even if I were to rify that we were indeed together two nights ago, you¡¯ll have to take care of the matter with the widow.¡± Mo Xicheng leaned back in the sofa looking a little distracted, as though he was used to such things and they no longer bothered him. His manager quickly added, ¡°That¡¯s right, Brother Shen. Do you have any suggestions as to how we should deal with this?¡± After a pause, Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°There¡¯s only one way.¡± ¨C Shi Nianyao was in a dilemma as she held her cell phone, thinking how best to clear Mo Xicheng¡¯s name, when suddenly a call came in. It was from Mo Xicheng. She jumped and picked up the call nervously. She expected that Mo Xicheng was going to give her a hard time about the news report, but to her great astonishment he said, ¡°Be my girlfriend.¡± Shi Nianyao was stunned and rendered speechless! Chapter 327 - Be My Girlfriend (7)

Chapter 327: Be My Girlfriend (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shi Nianyao stared nkly ahead, thinking that she must be hearing voices. She held the cell phone before her and stared at the screen once more, trying to ascertain that it was indeed Mo Xicheng¡¯s number. Then she said weakly, ¡°Has your cell phone been stolen?¡± Mo Xicheng didn¡¯t quite know how to continue from here. Shi Nianyao felt a little embarrassed about her own reaction. ¡°I- I think I¡¯m imagining things. What did you just say? I probably misheard you. Her male idol was asking her to be his girlfriend. She had to be dreaming. She gave herself a p on the face. ¡°Ouch!¡± That was a bit painful! As she debated with herself whether or not what she had heard had just been her imagination, Mo Xicheng continued, ¡°The scandal has grown too much and it¡¯s not going to disappear by itself.¡± Shi Nianyao paused. She hung her head with guilt. It was all because of the picture that she had published. It had fueled all the gossips. Of course, her idol now wished to settle the score with her and she must have misheard what he had just said. Mo Xicheng continued talking, ¡°So now I need a girlfriend to prove the articles wrong. It¡¯s the only way to clear my name. Do you understand what I¡¯m saying?¡± Shi Nianyao widened her eyes. She finally saw what he meant! It was right. If he had her as his girlfriend now, he could rify publicly that the person he had kissed was Shi Nianyao and that way, the truth would be out. However... Shi Nianyao bit her lip. Any ordinary girl would have felt very lucky to be his girlfriend. But under these circumstances, it was most likely that his girlfriend would have to make a public appearance, and her identity would be out in the open. This thought made her hesitate, as she had her concerns. ¡°Well...¡± ¡°We can discuss this in person.¡± Shi Nianyao was immediately excited when she heard these words. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Where?¡± ¡°I¡¯lle over immediately!¡± Her idol was asking to meet her! What could be more exciting than this!? She looked at Qiao Lian after hanging up the phone. ¡°Chief Editor Lian Lian, I need to go out for a little while.¡± In any case, the managing editor had already relieved Team Two off their duties and barred them from clearing Mo Xicheng¡¯s name. She was only in the office to try and settle Mo Xicheng¡¯s matter, so she might as well use this time to meet up with Mo Xicheng. Looking ted, Shi Nianyao left the building in a huff. The meeting point was in a private meeting room at a secluded and high ss hotel. She turned and surveyed her surroundings, ensuring that she she wasn¡¯t being followed before she entered the hotel and then the private meeting room. Upon entering the brightly-lit private room, she saw Mo Xicheng, who was sitting elegantly on the sofa. He stood up to wee her as she entered the room. Shi Nianyao¡¯s expression immediately lit up. She stared at him with wide eyes and mouth agape, so awed and nervous that she could not speak. She had liked Mo Xicheng and been his fan for years. She had attended all sorts of events just to catch a glimpse of her idol, but she had only looked from afar. She had never dared to go up to him and make contact. Who would have imagined that one day she would meet her idol face-to-face this way? Mo Xicheng found her awed expression a little overwhelming. Finally, he pointed to the sofa and said, ¡°Please take a seat.¡± ¡°Oh, sure,¡± was all Shi Nianyao could say as she sat down, still wide-eyed. Mo Xicheng was starting to feel a little ufortable, being so intently stared-at. ¡°Miss Shi¡ª¡± ¡°You can call me Nianyao,¡± she said immediately without any reservations. Mo Xicheng didn¡¯t quite know how to continue from here. He ced a hand on his forehead, as though thinking of what to say next. Chapter 328 - Be My Girlfriend (8)

Chapter 328: Be My Girlfriend (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Shen Liangchuan had suggested this idea, his first reaction had been to dismiss it. He had never had the intention of dating anyone, much less fall in love. But for some strange reason, her face shed through his mind. Especially her bright expressive eyes that were so alive, like now. The look in her eyes was so pure and zealous, almost irresistible. He had no idea what had gotten into him as he made that call. He even had the feeling that he would regret this move as the call connected and her phone rang. But her reaction when she picked up the call was the deciding factor. His thoughts led him to the present, as he opened his mouth to speak, ¡°Would you consider the suggestion that I had made during the phone call?¡± Shi Nianyao thought for a while and replied, ¡°Okay, I agree.¡± She had been the one person in the picture, hence it was appropriate for her to take on the role. Even though it was all just a show, Shi Nianyao was still ted. ¡°Okay, so can we take a picture together?¡± Mo Xicheng requested her. Shi Nianyao nodded. He picked up his cell phone and sent his manager a message. It had to be a good picture, as it would be used to announce his ¡°rtionship.¡± Mo Xicheng positioned the camera so that Shi Nianyao¡¯s back was facing it. However, his manager asked Shi Nianyao, ¡°Miss Shi, would you mind showing your face?¡± Mind? Initially she had. But now, thinking of how this picture of her with her idol would circte all over the world... She really didn¡¯t mind, even though all of this wasn¡¯t real. Hence Shi Nianyao shook her head decidedly. ¡°No, go ahead! I don¡¯t mind!¡± ¡°Great. Then please could you sit over here together.¡± Sit together? They were sitting across each other. Of course, they had to sit next to each other if they were to take a picture as a couple. Shi Nianyao froze for a moment before she started to get up to walk over to Mo Xicheng. But in a sh, her idol had already walked over to sit next to her. His manly scent filled her senses, and she thought her heart was going to burst. Unconsciously she sat up straight as she heard the manager instruct, ¡°Sit closer.¡± Mo Xicheng leaned towards her. Shi Nianyao was beginning to have difficulty breathing. Her heart was pounding and her chest was tightening. ¡°You two,¡± the manager was halfughing, half-crying, ¡°Can you just rx and move closer? Stop being so serious and tense. You don¡¯t even feel like a couple!¡± Shi Nianyao turned to look at Mo Xicheng. Exactly at this point, he too turned to look at her. Looking at their profile view, the tips of their noses were touching and they froze. Shi Nianyao widened her eyes as she felt his warm breath upon her face. Every muscle in her body tensed up. Her mind was an infinite nk. It felt like time hade to a standstill and everything in the background had faded away. ¡°That¡¯s it! This is great!¡± Shi Nianyao was startled when the manager said this. She jumped, as the sound of his voice disrupted her dazed state. But in turn, she bumped into Mo Xicheng¡¯s nose. Mo Xicheng slightly frowned and reached out to touch his nose. Shi Nianyao, on the other hand, got hit in her forehead. As it was quite painful for her, she worried about how much worse it would have been for his nose. She got anxious and leaned towards him, softly grabbing his wrist. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, let me have a look to see if it¡¯s bleeding?¡± Chapter 329 - Be My Girlfriend (9)

Chapter 329: Be My Girlfriend (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shi Nianyao heaved a sigh of relief when she noted that Mo Xicheng¡¯s nose wasn¡¯t bleeding. But only then did she realize that she was still holding her idol¡¯s hand. She turned red immediately and took a step back. ¡°Er... My name is Shi Nianyao. Shi as in ¡®charitable giving¡¯, Nian as in ¡®to think of¡ª¡¯¡± ¡°I know,¡± Mo Xicheng interrupted her as she withdrew her hand. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Not at all!¡± Shi Nianyao quickly replied with a casual wave of her hand. ¡°I¡¯ll post it on Weibo tomorrow. Of course, as a gesture of my appreciation, I will work with you for a news release.¡± ¨C After Shi Nianyao had left the office, there was not much for Qiao Lian to do, so she left the office as well. She sent a message to Shen Liangchuan and hailed a cab to head home. As she stepped into the house, she heard chatting andughtering from the living room. She paused for a while to listen, and her eyes lit up when she recognized the familiar voices. Xia Yehua was speaking, ¡°... When Xiao Qiao and Liangchuan are back, they will be able to dig into these sumptuous dumplings, how great!¡± Although Xia Yehua didn¡¯t live far away, it had been some time since Qiao Lian had visited her. Qiao Lian quickly pushed open the door to the living room. At once, she saw Xia Yehua and Song Yuanxi making dumplings. Xia Yehua immediately waved at Qiao Lian when she saw her. ¡°Xiao Qiao, you¡¯re home early! Wash your hands ande help us make dumplings!¡± Qiao Lian paused. Reluctant to reject them, she gave a faint smiled and went to the washroom to wash her hands. When she came out, she saw that Xia Yehua and Song Yuanxi had already arranged the dumplings they had made in straight lines. She walked over, took a dumpling wrapper and then... There was too much stuffing and she wasn¡¯t able to seal the sides of the dumpling. The filling oozed out. Because the dough had oil in it, it made sealing the dumpling skin even harder. If they cooked that dumpling, it would break apart for sure. She looked at the fat and wrinkled dumpling she had made and then nced at Song Yuanxi¡¯s even and uniform looking ones. Her mouth twitched and she smiled with embarrassment. Xia Yehua, however, pointed at Qiao Lian¡¯s dumpling and startedughing aloud. ¡°Hahahaha! I thought I was bad enough at doing this. Yours is even worse!¡± Qiao Lian paused. At that point, a sound came from the front door. They turned their heads to the living room entrance¡ªit was Shen Liangchuan. Xia Yehua was surprised. ¡°Why are you back so early?¡± Qiao Lian felt her heart stirring with warmth. Was he home early because he had received her message? He changed into his house slippers and walked in. Song Yuanxi eximed, ¡°Brother Liangchuan,e make dumplings with us!¡± Shen Liangchuan analyzed the scene before him and nodded. He joined them after washing his hands and started to make dumplings too. Seeing that Qiao Lian was not great at this job, Song Yuanxiughed. ¡°Sister-inw, I think you might want to go rest?¡± Qiao Lian looked at the dumpling she had made. Yes, it was true, they were quite unpresentable. She then nodded and walked to the sofa. From where she was sitting, she heard Song Yuanxi say, ¡°Brother Liangchuan, I still remember the New Year we made dumplings for the first time. The dumplings you made then were far worse than Sister-inw¡¯s, but the second year you got really good at it.¡± Xia Yehua teased him, ¡°What do you know? At that time, I thought we were running out of flour especially quickly at home. I¡¯m sure this rascal was practicing in secret!¡± Qiao Lian looked at them chatting,ughing and getting along so harmoniously. She suddenly felt like the odd one out, sitting alone on the sofa. Chapter 330 - Be My Girlfriend (10)

Chapter 330: Be My Girlfriend (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She was disturbed to find herself feeling that way. However thatsted only for a fleeting moment, before she pushed it to the back of her mind. Almost immediately, she heard Shen Liangchuan calling out to her, ¡°Come over here.¡± Qiao Lian stood up and walked over to him. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Shen Liangchuan pointed at the dumpling wrapper. ¡°Keep practicing if you think you¡¯re not good at it. You¡¯ll slowly improve.¡± Perhaps it was what he had said or the way he had said it, but it made her think of Zi Chuan all of a sudden. When she had first started ying videogames, she wasn¡¯t good it as she was only a beginner. She had felt terribly discouraged at the time. Zi Chuan had encouraged her the same way. ¡°The clumsy bird flies early. If you¡¯re not good at the game, then y it a few more times. With practice, you¡¯ll get better.¡± In that moment of distraction, Shen Liangchuan had already ced a dumpling wrapper on her hand. Qiao Lian hesitated. ¡°But with my poorly-wrapped dumplings, everything will fall apart during the cooking process.¡± Shen Liangchuan reached out to give her head a quick, affectionate rub. ¡°Just go ahead. We¡¯ll cook yours separately.¡± ¡°Yes, and Liangchuan will eat them all!¡± Xia Yehua added in jest. Qiao Lian got into the spirit of things at once. ¡°Great, then I¡¯ll do my best.¡± Very quickly, she became part of the bantering group. They all had dinner together after the dumplings were all made and cooked. Qiao Lian then introduced her brother Qiao Yi to Xia Yehua and Song Yuanxi. While Xia Yehua was warm and friendly towards Qiao Yi, Song Yuanxi did not converse much, as she had always been a little low on self-confidence and very quiet as a result. Overall, it was a considerably happy dinner. The highlight of the evening was probably when Qiao Lian¡¯s dumplings were served¡ªeveryone at the table couldn¡¯t help but burst outughing. Qiao Yi stared at the mess with his mouth agape. After some serious consideration, he stretched his arm. ¡°I¡¯ll take this bowl.¡± But before his hand could even reach across the table for the bowl, someone had intercepted him and taken it away. Qiao Yi was stunned. He looked up and saw that Shen Liangchuan had taken the bowl and set it before himself, saying, ¡°I actually like it messy.¡± Everyone looked at him, speechless. A warm andforting feeling grew within Qiao Lian, as she felt the bond of intimacy with Shen Liangchuan deepen. She was reminded of when she tried cooking for the first time. She had prepared a pot of noodles that tasted quite awful to say the least, but her father had gulped it down, leaving nothing behind. Why did she feel that Shen Liangchuan was bing cuter by the day? The conversation that took ce that very night: ¡°Shen Liangchuan, thank you.¡± ¡°What for?¡± ¡°For the bowl of noodles, of course. If you hadn¡¯t eaten it, it would have been very embarrassing for me.¡± ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re just going to thank me verbally?¡± ¡°You- Ohhhhhh!¡± When they were done, she could hardly crawl out of bed. Qiao Lian swore in her heart that she would never make dumplings for him ever again! The following day, all the online headlines were about one hot topic! Mo Xicheng had announced on Weibo that he was in love. However, the first announcement did not reveal any information about his girlfriend¡¯s identity, or show any pictures. It was as though they were waiting for something... When she arrived at the office, Qiao Lian observed that Shi Nianyao was very restless and glowing with happiness. She could hardly sit still. As Qiao Lian entered her office, Shi Nianyao jumped. ¡°Chief Editor Lian Lian, there¡¯s hope for my idol!¡± As soon as she had said this, the cold and sarcastic voice of Su Meimei could be heard remarking, ¡°Hope? Huh. You¡¯re so naive. A mere announcement of his rtionship on Weibo isn¡¯t going to clear his name. There wasn¡¯t even a picture or mention of the girl¡¯s name! Besides, what has clearing his name got to do with you?¡± When Shi Nianyao heard these words, she could not stop herself from saying, ¡°We have big news today!¡± ¡°Big news? Huh. Apart from the real identity of Mo Xicheng¡¯s mystery girlfriend, there¡¯s nothing to stop us Team One now!¡± Chapter 331 - Best Actor Is Jealous! (1)

Chapter 331: Best Actor Is Jealous! (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Su Meimei tilted her chin up haughtily after she said this and gave Shi Nianyao a triumphant look. This article about Mo Xicheng had gotten so much attention that now, apart from his girlfriend¡¯s identity, nothing else could actually beat it. However, he had just announced his rtionship. There was no way Shi Nianyao and Qiao Lian would be able to make headway with this information! Su Meimei narrowed her eyes with glee at the thought of her own victory. Shi Nianyao could not suppress her ownughter. ¡°You¡¯re spot-on, we do have first-hand information.¡± Su Meimei¡¯s pupils shrank immediately. ¡°You know his girlfriend¡¯s identity?¡± That was impossible. ¡°Who is she?¡± she asked immediately. Shi Nianyao replied, ¡°Closer than you think... Right before your eyes.¡± Su Meimei was stumped. She turned and looked around the office. Apart from Shi Nianyao and Qiao Lian, there was no one else in the office. She frowned, as she tried to figure out what Shi Nianyao meant by that puzzling remark. Full of sarcasm, she turned to look at Qiao Lian. ¡°Why- Would that be you, again?¡± If she had been capable of hooking up with Fan Jie and after that, Shen Liangchuan, it wouldn¡¯t be too wild of an assumption to think that she could do it with Mo Xicheng too. Su Meimei continued derisively. ¡°All the sacrifices you make for a piece of news! Why? Did you sleep with Mo Xicheng? And then he decided to announce this? This way, he can clear his own name, and for you it means a big scoop. Qiao Lian, I used to think that you were a person with principles. Who would have imagined that you would becking so much integrity!¡± Qiao Lian raised an eyebrow. ¡°Oh, so you are aware of howcking integrity your own actions are?¡± Su Meimei was dumbstruck for a moment but recovered quickly. ¡°You-!! Don¡¯t go thinking you can get away with this using a glib tongue. Let me remind you there¡¯s a picture of his girlfriend, even if it¡¯s only a profile shot, you can¡¯t fake it. You think Team One won¡¯t have ae-back to your report? Furthermore, you have an ambiguous rtionship with Fan Jie andter on hooked up with Best Actor Shen. Now you¡¯re nothing but a tramp!¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank as anger rose within her. ¡°Su Meimei, you have to be responsible for the things you say! Who are you calling a tramp?¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be you? Do you deny it? Do you dare to say it in my face that there is nothing between you and Best Actor Shen? Now you¡¯ve hooked up with Mo Xicheng. A woman with two men. What would you be if not a tramp?¡± Qiao Lian wanted to bothugh and cry at Su Meimei¡¯s ridiculous but provocative remarks- ¡°Who told you that I am Mo Xicheng¡¯s girlfriend?¡± Su Meimei paused after Qiao Lian¡¯s question. ¡°Who is she then?¡± Qiao Lian looked at Nianyao. ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell her who Mo Xicheng¡¯s girlfriend is?¡± Shi Nianyao raised her finger, drew a circle in the air and then pointed it at herself. Su Meimei was stunned beyond words. Then a derisive smile spread across her face. ¡°Shi Nianyao, although you are pretty, but I do advise you to take a closer look at yourself. You? That is so ridiculously impossible! You young people are indeed overly bold with your words and don¡¯t think of the consequences.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s really me!¡± Shi Nianyao insisted angrily. Su Meimei replied with a coldughter. ¡°It¡¯s daytime now, I would suggest that you stop your dreaming!¡± After this, Su Meimei walked to the door. Shi Nianyao said, ¡°I¡¯ve written the article. We can publish it immediately.¡± Mo Xicheng and her had reached that agreement. Mo Xicheng would use her to clear his own name, and Shi Nianyao in exchange would make this her big scoop. It was a mutually beneficial agreement. Hence, the identity of Mo Xicheng¡¯s girlfriend would be her exclusive story. Su Meimei looked as though she was about to say something, when all three cell phones received an alert at the same time. There was news that Mo Xicheng had published his second post on Weibo. Chapter 332 - Best Actor Is Jealous! (2)

Chapter 332: Best Actor Is Jealous! (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mo Xicheng posted his second Weibo message exactly two hours after the first one, whetting everyone¡¯s appetites and attracting numerous views. His message on Weibo was a simple one. A photograph with a few words: [Lucky to have you in this crazy world.] Although it was only one sentence, it sted up the Weibo trending topics. In that photograph, Shi Nianyao¡¯s head was slighted tilted to the side, but it was still clear enough to see her facial features and looks. Her exquisite features, coupled with a high ponytail,pletely manifested her fair slender neck. The moment the Weibo message was posted, many people startedmenting immediately. Arge part of thements were as such: ¡°My idol has a girlfriend, I¡¯ve given up hope¡± The rest were congrattory messages. Mo Xicheng did not have many fans, as he wasn¡¯t that famous. But these fans of his were extremely loyal after having followed him for so many years. The weren¡¯t very extreme about it. They were very understanding towards their idol having a girlfriend. Thement section was very positive, but they were all trying to guess who this girl was. When Su Meimei saw that photograph, she was stunned and shocked, widening her eyes,... Because it was clearly Shi Nianyao on that photograph! But how could this be true? This was totally unfathomable. ¡°Nianyao!¡± ¡°Nianyao, is this you?¡± ¡°Niaoyao...¡± Suddenly, many members from Team One were gathered at the door. Everyone was standing there looking at Nianyao with curiosity. The atmosphere was full of excitement. Oh my goodness! They had not expected that there was a star¡¯s wife-to-be so close to them. Mo Xicheng¡¯s secret girlfriend had actually turned out to be Nianyao?! Was there anything that could be more dreamy than this? Shi Nianyao smiled graciously. ¡°Yes, thank you all for being so attentive towards Xicheng.¡± However there was gloominess in her tone. This made the people in Team One feel cold. Although the people in Team One knew that the chief editor and Su Meimei were the culprits of Mo Xicheng¡¯s issue, no one had dared to speak the truth. So, Nianyao must have hated them to the core. Shi Nianyao raised her eyebrows once again. Su Meimei became flustered and exasperated. ¡°You are simply- you wait and see- this is definitely fake!¡± After she finished speaking, she strode off. The people in Team One stared at her as they shook their heads one after another. Mo Xicheng had already announced the rtionship, so why would there be a need to debate whether it was true or not? In the entertainment industry, how much of it was true and how much of it false? Half an hourter. Liu Zhixing rushed into the office. When he entered, Su Meimei was full of smiles to wee him. But little did she know that Liu Zhixing would not even look at her, and head straight to Team Two¡¯s office. Su Meimei froze on the spot, clenched her teeth and followed him. His attitude towards Shi Nianyao had made a 180 degrees turn. ¡°Shi Nianyao, I hadn¡¯t imagined you to be Mo Xicheng¡¯s girlfriend!¡± This truly reflected the saying that goes ¡®One cannot judge a person by their appearance!¡¯ But you should have told me earlier!¡± Shi Nianyao smiled as she looked at him. ¡°Managing Editor, so could you please give us back our ount? Should we spread the news then?¡± The discovery of Mo Xicheng¡¯s girlfriend was indeed exclusive news. Liu Zhixing said without hesitation, ¡°I will publish it this instant!¡± Qiao Lian smiled. ¡°Managing Editor, this time round Team Two has made a great achievements, didn¡¯t we?¡± Liu Zhixing immediately nodded and was thoroughly impressed. ¡°Of course, credit goes to your team this round!¡± Qiao Lian looked at Su Meimei, who was standing by the door with her stiff looking facial expression. ¡°Yesterday, Su Meimei promised us that if we were to win a round, she would clean up for Team One¡¯s chief editor.¡± Chapter 333 - Best Actor is Jealous! (3)

Chapter 333: Best Actor is Jealous! (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Not raising any objection, Liu Zhixing said, ¡°That¡¯s right, let¡¯s get going then! We¡¯ll let the two of them do the cleaning today.¡± Su Meimei turned pale and almost couldn¡¯t stand straight. She had been together with Liu Zhixing ever since he had joined thepany. She had thought that from then onwards, she would be able to rise up thedder easily. But she suddenly came to the realization that for the sake of the news agency, Liu Zhixing would easily just abandon her. He was behaving the same way he had when he had wanted a big piece of news about Fan Jie from Qiao Lian. Su Meimei swayed a little as she ced her hands on her chest. Qiao Lian wasn¡¯t the kind of person to allow herself suffer from any loss. Hence if there was a chance, she would definitely let Su Meimei get what she deserved. When noon came, both Su Meimei and Zhang Chunhua cleaned the office. Whereas she went out for lunch with Shi Nianyao. The photograph that had been posted showed Shi Nianyao¡¯s profile with a ponytail. Although she was wearing something different today, she was not afraid to be noticed. However, when they had just arrived downstairs, they noticed Mo Xicheng¡¯s car by the road. His manager was standing by the car waving at Nianyao. ¡°Ms Shi, Brother Mo is treating you to lunch!¡± Shi Nianyao¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up with excitement. ¡°He¡¯s here!¡± Qiao Lian: ... She was ignoring her now that she had a boyfriend. Of course, she also understood that since the news of them had just started to spread, they would have to appear together often. The point was to allow reporters to have more chances of photographing them, in order to create more buzz and reaffirm their rtionship. So when Nianyao turned around and asked her if she would like to join them, she immediately rejected. If she were to appear in the photographs together with that pair of lovers, it would be awkward. Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help but shake her head when Shi Nianyao left. Just as she was intending to head to the restaurant on the other side of the street, her cell phone suddenly rang. Qiao Lian answered the call and heard Zombie Leader, Su Penghao¡¯s voice,ing from the other end. ¡°Hello, thendlord over here said that he wants to sell the house and is asking us to move out as soon as possible.¡± As she heard these words, Qiao Lian panicked immediately. ¡°What happened?¡± Move out? That vi had just been renovated and they had just barely moved in. It was not long before their game. Moving at this time would interfere and dy their training, and they would also need time to adapt to a new environment. Having to go through that would be way too much trouble! She frowned and felt that something was not quite right. ¡°How on earth would I know? What have you done? We were training and thendlord started chattering and making a bunch of noise.¡± Su Penghao sounded both angry and sad. Actually, it was normal to have anxiety while they still gelled together as a team in the beginning. But now, they still had to put up with other matters. Hence, Qiao Lian did not mind it and said firmly. ¡°I wille over now.¡± She hailed a cab and headed straight to the vi, without having her meal. Enroute, she gave Shen Liangchuan a call. ¡°Doesn¡¯t that vi belong to you?¡± Shen Liangchuan replied, ¡°No. These vis were suitable for them to stay at, so I rented them. What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Thendlord said that he wants to sell the ce. He has asked them to move out. If this does happen, they would be held up for at least a couple of days, which would be very troublesome. Also, how are we supposed to find a suitable ce in such a short period of time?¡± Shen Liangchuan frowned. ¡°Back then, I spoke to thendlord and told him that I would rent this ce for a year. In a year, I would buy the ce. How can he be selling it now?¡± Qiao Lian was puzzled. ¡°I will go and take a look now.¡± ¡°I will go now too.¡± ¡°No need.¡± Qiao Lian said, ¡°I will go alone and take a look at the situation first. I remember you telling mest night that you have to attend an important banquet today, so please do not miss it.¡± Chapter 334 - Best Actor is Jealous! (4)

Chapter 334: Best Actor is Jealous! (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios By the time Qiao Lian arrived at the vi, thendlord was sitting on the sofa in the living room, waiting. Su Penghao was sitting by the side, looking very impatient. The moment he saw Qiao Lian, he heaved a sigh of relief and headed upstairs. ¡°I¡¯m going to practice, you can entertain the guest.¡± He was now the captain of the team, and he spent more than ten hours a day practicing. Qiao Lian nodded as Su Penghao walked up the stairs. Qiao Lian looked at thendlord, a middle-aged woman. ¡°Auntie, I thought we had an agreement to rent this vi for a year. The year hasn¡¯t even ended yet.¡± Thendlord looked a little guilty. ¡°About that, I canpensate you, it¡¯s not a problem. It¡¯s just that now I really need to sell the vi.¡± ¡°Why so?¡± Qiao Lian asked, unconvinced. ¡°Someone came looking for us and offered to purchase the vi at a price twice the market value. My son is getting married, so I was also thinking of selling this vi to buy a house in the city for him and his wife.¡± Qiao Lian was very sharp and noted something was not quite right. ¡°Who is the person offering to buy your vi?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a coincidence. She¡¯s also a female eSports caster, her name is Purple Fairy.¡± Qiao Lian paused. Bingo! Purple Fairy had started scouting around for opportunities again. She had too much time to waste and loved creating trouble for them. Qiao Lian was speechless. She frowned with anger. This vi in Beijing would easily be worth six to seven million. If she had offered to double the market price, it meant more than ten million. Throwing this sort of money just to stir trouble could only mean that Purple Fairy was being backed by their low-down sponsor. Not even the prize money for thepetition amounted to this much. It looked like the King Fighting Team was determined to get the first ce. At this point, thendlord stood up and said, ¡°The buyer will arrive shortly, so I¡¯ll wait here for her to turn up.¡± As soon as she had said these words, the doorbell chimed. Thendlord walked out to greet her client warmly and enthusiastically and soon after this, Purple Fairy entered the house. She had an air of arrogance and haughtiness. When she saw Qiao Lian, she raised an eyebrow. ¡°Forget Chuan isn¡¯t here?¡± Qiao Lian paused. She was so persistent when it came to Forget Chuan. Adamant about not asking her for any favours, Qiao Lian ignored Purple Fairy¡¯s presence and addressed thendlord directly, ¡°Even if you wish to sell the vi, you will need time for the necessary procedures. We will need time to move too. At the very least, give us half a month.¡± Thendlord looked as though she was going to speak, but held back. Purple Fairyughed. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s not possible. I like the vi very much. I¡¯ll give you three days at the most, and you should have left by then.¡± There was no room for agreement. Qiao Lian did not speak further. Purple Fairy inspected the house and even took the opportunity to visit the training room briefly. She nodded in approval. ¡°I am very satisfied with the vi. Let¡¯s carry out the transaction tomorrow.¡± Thendlord nodded. Purple Fairy nced at Qiao Lian. ¡°Tell Forget Chuan that the first ce in thepetition will be mine for sure! I would advise her to watch out, otherwise... Ha!¡± Qiao Lian walked out of the vi slowly, feeling a seething anger. Purple Fairy was not an easy person to deal with¡ªwhile highly intelligent, she was also unscrupulous. Suddenly, she heard a honk. She looked up and saw Shen Liangchuan¡¯s car parked by the side of the road. Quickening her footsteps towards him, another car made a slight swerve and stopped next to her. The door swung open and Sun Linan stepped out of the vehicle. His eyes shone with delight at the sight of Qiao Lian. ¡°Lian Lian, what are you doing here?¡± Qiao Lian frowned. ¡°And what are you doing here?¡± Sun Linan replied. ¡°I came to buy this vi!¡± Chapter 335 - Best Actor is Jealous! (5)

Chapter 335: Best Actor is Jealous! (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Buying the vi? Qiao Lian asked. ¡°Why are you buying a vi? Besides, why did you choose this small district to buy a vi?¡± Sun Linan was about to answer Qiao Lian¡¯s question. But a vehicle in the distance suddenly honked again, interrupting their conversation. Qiao Lian turned around and saw the flickering lights of Shen Liangchuan¡¯s car. This was an indication that he was getting impatient. Qiao Lian turned around to look at Sun Linan. ¡°Sun Tzi, let¡¯s get in touch when both have a bit of time. I really have to attend to something urgently today. I have to go.¡± Although he was a close childhood friend, that was in the past. She didn¡¯t feel inclined to keep regr contact. Although it had only been momentarily, she noticed a sh of pain in Sun Linan¡¯s eyes as she said those words. However she remained firm and insistent on leaving. As she turned to go, she suddenly felt someone firmly grabbing her arm. She paused for a moment and turned around. Sun Linan was looking back at her with a serious expression that she found difficult to interpret. ¡°Lian Lian, do you- do you really dislike me?¡± He lowered his gaze. ¡°When we were young, I loved to bully you. It was because I¡ª¡± Before he could finish his sentence, the car in the distant gave another impatient honk. Qiao Lian was getting flustered and wanted to free herself from his grip. ¡°Sun Tzi, I really do have something urgent to settle. If you want to speak, just give me a call.¡± But Sun Linan wouldn¡¯t release his hold on her. ¡°Lian Lian, you¡¯re in a hurry every time I see you. Can¡¯t we just have a meal together?¡± He was exasperated and looked at Qiao Lian pleadingly with wide eyes and full of sincerity. Qiao Lian was stunned for a moment. Among all the troublesome friends she had hung out with in her youth, she had been closest to Sun Linan. For old times¡¯ sake she said, ¡°Okay, how about tomorrow? We¡¯ll go out for a meal tomorrow.¡± Sun Linan nodded. ¡°Fine. Oh, and the roses, did you like them?¡± Since he had brought up the topic of the roses, Qiao Lian halted and turned around. ¡°Sun Tzi, please don¡¯t send any more roses.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Qiao Lian fell silent. She couldn¡¯t really tell him that Best Actor Shen was jealous. ¡°Er, because it¡¯s too ring and invites unwanted attention in the office.¡± Sun Linan thought for a moment and made a gesture, showing that he had understood. ¡°Well, let me know where you live. I¡¯ll send them to your home then.¡± Qiao Lian was dumbstruck. She sighed. ¡°Sun Tzi, I¡¯m no longer the Qiao family¡¯s pampered little mistress.¡± Sun Linan was a little stunned on hearing this. Qiao Lian continued, ¡°My life is all about putting bread on the table and being able to provide for myself. I have no need for extravagant things like roses. Do you understand what I¡¯m trying to say?¡± There wasn¡¯t a more obvious way to reject a person. Sun Linan considered what she had said. ¡°I understand.¡± Qiao Lian heaved a sigh of relief, but she quickly realized that she was wrong. ¡°So perhaps next time I can send meat, rice, and vegetables. Or I could order lunch for you every day.¡± Qiao Lian was dumbstruck. She was about to say something, when suddenly the sound of a car door opening was heard from the distance. She panicked and turned around immediately. To her horror, she saw Shen Liangchuan getting out of the car. He was wearing his sunsses and a mask. This was simply... too dangerous! Although they were in the outskirts, there were still many people out and about. What if someone took a picture of this? She tried to shake off Sun Linan¡¯s grip once more, wishing that he would get back into his car. But he simply wouldn¡¯t let go. Then, wide-eyed, she stared helplessly as Shen Liangchuan walked right up to the two of them. She prayed with all her might that Sun Linan wouldn¡¯t recognize Shen Liangchuan, given that he had his sunsses and mask on. But as she was hoping for the worst not to happen, Shen Liangchuan took off his sunsses and removed his mask. Chapter 336 - Best Actor is Jealous! (6)

Chapter 336: Best Actor is Jealous! (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian watched as this happened, horrified. This guy... What on earth was this guy doing? As all sorts of thoughts went through her head, Shen Liangchuan impatiently reached out and with a strong tug pulled her over to his side, releasing her from Sun Linan¡¯s grip. Sun Linan was stunned. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Shen Liangchuan ignored him and looked straight at Qiao Lian. The expression on his face made her nervous. If Sun Linan found out about her rtionship with Shen Liangchuan, would that person find out about it too? Terrified at that thought, she turned pale. Perhaps he could feel her fear, since the expression on Shen Liangchuan¡¯s face gradually softened as he spoke, ¡°Ms Qiao, how long are you intending to keep me waiting for this exclusive interview?¡± Qiao Lian heaved a sigh of relief. For a split second, she even thought it was quite funny. Was Best Actor Shen... jealous? Trying to stifle a chuckle, she heard Sun Linan ask, ¡°Eh, aren¡¯t you that person? What¡¯s his name?¡± Qiao Lian rolled her eyes. How could Sun Linan not know the popr Shen Liangchuan? He deserved a p on the face. She stole a nce at Shen Liangchuan and saw that he wasn¡¯t bothered. In fact, he said as he looked away calmly, ¡°Yes, and what about that?¡± Sun Linan retorted immediately, ¡°What¡¯s the hurry? Can¡¯t you give us time for a few words?¡± Shen Liangchuan replied, ¡°My time¡¯s very precious.¡± ¡°How much do you charge for an hour? I¡¯ll pay you,¡± Sun Linan said boldly and shamelessly. Qiao Lian could not contain her anger on hearing this. That remark had been too much. Her eyes shed with anger as she looked at Sun Linan. Before she could say a word, the hand lying on the arm tightened its grip. Was that a warning for her not to speak? Taken aback, she looked at Shen Liangchuan as he said to Sun Linan, ¡°You won¡¯t be able to afford my time.¡± Having said that, he promptly grabbed Qiao Lian in a domineering manner and walked to his car with Qiao Lian behind. Qiao Lian smiled to herself. In that moment, she felt like Shen Liangchuan was indeed her dashing hero! She looked back at Sun Linan. ¡°We¡¯ll be in touch again, Sun Tzi!¡± Then she got into the passenger seat obediently, as Shen Liangchuan held the door open for her. Shen Liangchuan got into the driver seat and started up the engine. As the car drove away, Qiao Lian saw Sun Linan looking in their direction wistfully. She winked as Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°In touch again?¡± Qiao Lian rolled her eyes. It was getting quite obvious that he was jealous. She pursed her lips and started tough. ¨C Sun Linan watched the car disappear into the horizon and stood there for a while. Then, he frowned. Since Qiao Lian was a reporter, there was nothing unusual about her interviewing Shen Liangchuan. However, the way Shen Liangchuan had aggressively pulled Qiao Lian to his side caused Sun Linan to worry for Qiao Lian¡¯s safety. He quickly turned around and got into his car. He started up the engine and drove in the direction of Shen Liangchuan¡¯s car. That¡¯s right, he had to look out for Qiao Lian. That celebrity better not act rashly! Shortly after, his cell phone rang. It was Purple Fairy. ¡°Mr Sun, where are you?¡± After all, buying a vi in Beijing would cost a few tens of millions. Hence Sun Linan had been adamant about viewing the property before buying it. However now, there was no time for these trivial things. ¡°Just go ahead and make the purchase. I have to attend to something so I left.¡± After saying that, he hung up the phone. When he looked up again, he was relieved to see that Shen Liangchuan¡¯s car was just in front. Chapter 337 - Best Actor is Jealous! (7)

Chapter 337: Best Actor is Jealous! (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian sat in the car looking intently at Shen Liangchuan¡¯s profile. She said, ¡°Thendlord¡ª¡± ¡°In touch again when exactly?¡± She was abruptly interrupted by Shen Liangchuan. Unable to contain her amusement, she burst outughing. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t let him get too close to me.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because I don¡¯t want to-¡± Then Qiao Lian suddenly stopped short. Shen Liangchuan kept silent, waiting patiently to hear what it was that she wanted to say. Qiao Lian pursed her lips, trying to find an excuse. But seeing the look on Shen Liangchuan¡¯s face, she didn¡¯t want to lie. ¡°I don¡¯t really want to talk about the past.¡± So she was hiding something after all. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression darkened. It wasn¡¯t surprising though. Going from being the little mistress in a wealthy family to being in dire straits, she had probably experienced considerable difficulties. If she didn¡¯t feel ready to talk about it, he wasn¡¯t going to push her. Shen Liangchuan looked ahead and changed the topic, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the vi. Let the yers continue their training. I¡¯ll talk to thendlord to get it back.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. Although it would probablye at great expense, it was better than having to move. She looked out the window and realized they were heading to the suburbs. She immediately asked, ¡°Where are we going?¡± Shen Liangchuan gave her a quick nce. ¡°You haven¡¯t eaten.¡± So was he taking her out for lunch? She was pleasantly surprised. Suddenly, she noticed the car te of the vehicle behind theirs. Her surprise turned into shock as she realized that Sun Linan was trailing them. She frowned. Shen Liangchuan, who was used to avoiding paparazzi all the time, was extremely sensitive to this as well, as he noticed the car behind them. He honked. Sun Linan must have gathered that he had been busted, hence he sped up until his car drew level with Shen Liangchuan¡¯s. Qiao Lian wound down her window and saw Sun Linan¡¯s face looking back at her. She deeply frowned at him. ¡°Sun Tzi, what are you doing?¡± Sun Linan shouted, ¡°Where are you going?!¡± ¡°Looking for somewhere to have a meal!¡± Qiao Lian replied. ¡°Me too!¡± Sun Linan shot back. Qiao Lian went along with it helplessly. Was this really a coincidence? Shen Liangchuan then spoke, ¡°You mean you¡¯re heading for Pin Chuan Restaurant too?¡± Sun Linan¡¯s eyes lit up and replied immediately, ¡°That¡¯s right! I haven¡¯t had Sichuan food for a long time, so I thought of going there.¡± Shen Liangchuan looked away as he said, ¡°Then we¡¯re going different ways. You¡¯ll need to get off the expressway at the next exit.¡± Sun Linan looked bbergasted. So why did you use the word ¡°too¡±!? But then again, who was Sun Linan? Sun Linan immediately changed his tone, ¡°I just remembered, I have had a bad stomach these days and should stay away from spicy food. I¡¯ll join you guys for lunch.¡± Shen Liangchuan replied, ¡°We¡¯re going for Chongqing food, it¡¯s spicy too.¡± Sun Linan persisted, ¡°... I still feel like having spicy food.¡± Thoroughly annoyed, Shen Liangchuan decided to stop talking. He had never met anyone so shameless. Qiao Lian tightly pressed together her lips. ¡°Sun Tzi, we really do have some business to discuss.¡± Sun Linan nodded. ¡°I know. I won¡¯t interrupt you guys. You have your lunch and I¡¯ll have mine.¡± Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t do much, simply nod. The two cars pulled up at the private restaurant one after the other. It was a ssy venue that admitted only VIP card holders. Shen Liangchuan tossed his car keys over to the valet and led Qiao Lian into the restaurant. Sun Linan followed in their direction after parking the car, striding to catch up from behind. However he was stopped by the security. ¡°Eh, I¡¯m with them! Let me in! Xiao Lian, tell them!¡± Qiao Lian wanted to speak up, but Shen Liangchuan continued walking ahead and kept silent. Qiao Lian helplessly followed him. Chapter 338 - Best Actor is Jealous! (8)

Chapter 338: Best Actor is Jealous! (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As the two of them entered their private room and were about to shut the door behind them, Sun Linan ran up to them. Qiao Lian was stunned. ¡°... How did you get in?¡± ¡°I happened to run into a new friend I made in Beijing, and he agreed to be my guarantor, so I managed to get a prepaid VIP card!¡± Qiao Lian was bbergasted. Did the term ¡°wealthy idiots¡± refer to people like him? She pursed her lips as Sun Linan walked into their private room casually. He headed straight away to the sofa. ¡°Please go ahead an discuss your business. I¡¯d like to hear it too. I¡¯ve always been curious about what goes on in an interview.¡± Qiao Lian was speechless. Shen Liangchuan continued to look at Sun Linan in silence. The three of them, each upying a sofa, sat there looking at each other. For a moment, no one spoke. Sun Linan said with a puzzled expression, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to start?¡± Shen Liangchuan said coldly, ¡°I¡¯m not used to having another person listen to my private affairs.¡± Qiao Lian looked at Sun Linan. ¡°Sun Tzi, why don¡¯t you leave us alone for a while.¡± Sun Linan immediately picked up his personal bag, took out his music yer and put on hearplugs. ¡°This way I can¡¯t hear you. Please continue.¡± Qiao Lian was almost exasperated. Shen Liangchuan continued to look at Sun Linan in silence. What would they do now? Did they really have to stage an interview? Qiao Lian winced. She coughed once and cast a nce at Shen Liangchuan. He was expressionless for now, but the frostiness was beginning to show. The private room door swung open and the waiters came in, bearing the dishes they had ordered. Sun Linan was listening to very loud music, so he spoke just as loud. He picked up a chunk of pork ribs and shoved it into Qiao Lian¡¯s bowl. ¡°Xiao Lian, these are your favourite sweet and sour pork ribs!¡± Qiao Lian was shocked. She didn¡¯t have to look up to notice Shen Liangchuan¡¯s burning gaze. She coughed once and pushed the piece of pork rib to the side. ¡°I have stopped eating pork ribs recently.¡± Sun Linan removed his earphones. ¡°Oh? What do you like to eat then?¡± ¡°... Actually, I- There¡¯s nothing I like to eat.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t do that! No wonder you¡¯re so skinny! Eight years ago, you still had a chubby child-like face! And you had chubby feet too. You...¡± Qiao Lian could not help but shift her gaze to Shen Liangchuan, as Sun Linan spilled these details. She saw that by now Shen Liangchuan was silently boiling. Qiao Lian was on the verge of getting on her knees and pleading Sun Linan to stop. Sun Tzi, would you please stop digging my grave? She was about to cry. At this point, Shen Liangchuan stood up. ¡°I¡¯m going to the restroom.¡± Following this, he walked out. As soon as Sun Linan saw this, he immediately stood up too saying. ¡°Brother, wait up. I¡¯ll go too.¡± Qiao Lian was stunned. Shen Liangchuan walked into the restroom. As he was washing his hands, Sun Linan approached him. He stood next to Shen Liangchuan, washing his hands too. ¡°Eh, Shen Liangchuan... is it? May I discuss something with you?¡± Shen Liangchuan raised an eyebrow. Sun Linan continued, ¡°Do you mind leaving first, after the meal? I¡¯d like to be alone with Xiao Lian for a bit.¡± Shen Liangchuan continued to look at Sun Linan in silence. ¡°You can name a price. I¡¯ll pay you.¡± Shen Liangchuan gave him a long, hard look and turned to leave without saying a word. But just as he turned, he suddenly saw a sign standing by the door: Caution, Wet Floor. Please Walk Around It. Shen Liangchuan lowered his gaze, carelessly reached out and flipped the sign, putting it aside. Then, he went around the puddle of water on the floor and exited the restroom. Sun Linan shouted after him, ¡°I¡¯m talking to you, hey! You- Ouch!¡± A loud thud was immediately heard, which was followed by the sound of someone falling on the ground. Chapter 339 - Best Actor is Jealous! (9)

Chapter 339: Best Actor is Jealous! (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The restroom floor was dirty, so the cleaner had sshed detergent all over it to prepare for mopping it. Hence, the ground was extremely slippery where there was detergent. The sign had been meant to give warning about the slippery floor. Sun Linan had stepped on the slippery area and fallen t on his face. His clothes were soiled, and in addition... why did the dirt on the ground smell weird? Like... Just at that point, the cleaner returned and hurried towards Sun Linan. ¡°Sir, are you okay? Let me help you up!¡± With the cleaner¡¯s help, Sun Linan pushed himself up. ¡°What on earth is this?¡± The cleaner replied, ¡°... A customer had too much to drink and has just thrown up.¡± ¡°Ugggh!¡± he gagged. On hearing this, Sun Linan almost threw up. The smell on him was too much and he quickly removed his jacket. But there was puke on his trousers too. He couldn¡¯t possibly remove his trousers as well. He gritted his teeth with anger. ¡°If someone had too much to drink, then you guys ought to have cleaned up properly!¡± ¡°This- I- I had just mopped it once and went to get a refill of clean water.¡± ¡°Well then put up a sign of warning, for goodness¡¯ sake!¡± Sun Linan hollered angrily, ¡°Your hotel is so irresponsible!¡± The cleaner was on the verge of tears. ¡°I did put up a sign. It¡¯s true. See? Here it is.¡± Sun Linan¡¯s gaze followed the direction that the cleaner was pointing at and eventually fell on the sign. It had originally been ced in a conspicuous location, but somehow it had gotten moved to the side. ¡°Crap! Who has been so hical!?¡± ¨C Qiao Lian was feeling uneasy, sitting alone in the private room. Shen Liangchuan and Sun Linan had both gone to the washroom. Given Sun Tzi¡¯s personality, would there be trouble? But there was nothing she could do. She couldn¡¯t possibly walk into the male washroom. As she was considering her options, the private room¡¯s door was swung open and Shen Liangchuan walked in. Qiao Lian quickly studied his expression in search of any signs of anger. The verdict was... He looked calm. There was no sign of gloom at all. So had anything happened while the two men had gone to the washroom? She looked in the direction of the doorway awkwardly. No Sun Linan. Unable to wait any longer, she asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Sun Linan?¡± ¡°He was behind me.¡± Qiao Lian nodded as Shen Liangchuan continued, ¡°But I think he might not being back in.¡± Right after these words, his cell phone rang. He took a look at the phone screen and raised an eyebrow. After picking up, he put the call on speaker and ced the cell phone on the table. ¡°Xiao Lian...¡± it was Sun Linan¡¯s voice on the other end. Qiao Lian was surprised. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I suddenly remembered that I need to attend to an urgent matter, so I¡¯ll have to leave first. But we¡¯ve agreed... to meet up again tomorrow.¡± ¡°What?¡± Qiao Lian was stupefied and lifted her gaze to nce at the calm and collected Shen Liangchuan. For some reason she felt a little anxious. ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°... No problem! What could have possibly gone wrong? I¡¯m perfectly fine. I¡¯ll leave now and look for you at the news agency tomorrow, bye!¡± After he said these words, he hung up. Qiao Lian thought, ¡°What exactly had happened?¡± ¡°What could have happened?¡± thought Shen Liangchuan. ¡°How would he dare appear before her in soiled clothes?¡± Of course, he didn¡¯t say anything out loud. He looked at the feastying before them. Then, picking up a piece of sweet and sour pork and cing it on Qiao Lian¡¯s bowl, he told her, ¡°Here, have more.¡± Qiao Lian was still stumped. Chapter 340 - Best Actor is Jealous! (10)

Chapter 340: Best Actor is Jealous! (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian understood that Sun Tzi was troublesome to deal with. But how on earth had Shen Liangchuan managed to shake him off? Qiao Lian wanted to ask Shen Liangchuan about it, but seeing that he did not intend to speak much about it, she held back the questions. She lowered her head and ate quietly. After they had eaten, Shen Liangchuan stood up and looked at the time. It was already three in the afternoon. ¡°Are you returning to work?¡± he asked Qiao Lian. ¡°... No,¡± she answered. It would take an hour to get to the office and by that time, there would be only another hour of work before it was time to go home. She stood up and followed Shen Liangchuan to the car. As he drove off, she asked, ¡°Are we going home now?¡± ¡°No, not going home.¡± Shen Liangchuan continued, ¡°Let¡¯s go watch a movie.¡± Qiao Lian was stunned to hear that. Watch a movie. In her memory, she couldn¡¯t recall a time when she had gone out for a movie date. Suddenly, a few memories from eight years ago came rushing back. Actually, it had been quitemon to date back then, in senior high school. She had been considerably popr in school and had received love letters from a number of admirers. She recalled the time she had been in the middle of a game with Zi Chuan and her cell phone had started ringing. The call was from a boy who had been trying to ask her on a date. ¡°Qiao Lian, would you like to go for a movie with me this Saturday?¡± She couldn¡¯t remember who this boy was. But at that time, she had been curious. She had only been to the movies with family, but not friends. She thought for a moment and replied, ¡°Let me think about it and give you an answer tomorrow. What time were you nning on going?¡± ¡°Twelve noon.¡± After she hung up, Zi Chuan¡¯s voice went through her headphones, ¡°Who was that asking you out for a movie?¡± ¡°A boy of course,¡± she teased him. ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to go.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°We have apetition match tomorrow.¡± ¡°... But thepetition starts at six in the evening. I¡¯ll be done at the movies by four in the afternoon,¡± Qiao Lian replied. ¡°Don¡¯t we need to warm up?¡± Qiao Lian retorted, ¡°Do we need four hours to warm up?¡± Zi Chuan¡¯s tone was icy. In his awkward adolescent breaking voice he said, ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to go!¡± Qiao Lian paused and suddenlyughed. ¡°Zi Chuan, are you jealous?¡± There was a silence on the other end of the line. After a while, he answered, ¡°Yes. You¡¯re not allowed to go to the movies with other boys.¡± ¡°But I¡¯ve never been to the movies with friends.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take you to the movies in the future.¡± I¡¯ll take you to the movies in the future. But there was no ¡®future¡¯ for them. Her heart sank as she thought about this. Her emotions were in downward spiral, and so did her expression as she looked out of the window. She suddenly turned around and looked at Shen Liangchuan. ¡°Have you ever been to the movies with other people?¡± Shen Liangchuan nced at her briefly and looked away in silence. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve been.¡± Qiao Lian fell into silence. As Shen Liangchuan drove on, he got a little distracted. That was the truth. At that time, because of his disapproval, Xiao Qiao had not gone to the movies with that boy. Eventually, since neither of them had been happy with the oue, they had ended up going for a movie ¡°together.¡± They bought two tickets each, leaving the other seat empty, and connecting to each other through their cell phones, they watched the same movie at the same time, in different cities. Chapter 341 - Mrs Shen’s Identity Has Been Exposed! (1)

Chapter 341: Mrs Shen¡¯s Identity Has Been Exposed! (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Before entering the cinema, Qiao Lian¡¯s emotions were tangled up. The distracted Shen Liangchuan did not notice this as he led her into the cinema and took their seats. It was only after the movie started that she suddenly realized... they were together! And they were in the re of the public eye, watching a movie together! If the paparazzi caught them, their rtionship would be exposed. Her heart skipped a beat as she turned to Shen Liangchuan. ¡°Shen Liangchuan, we¡ª¡± Her eyes widened with horror before she could finish her sentence because... In the dark, Shen Liangchuan had removed his sunsses and the mask, exposing his face in the public. With someone next to him! Qiao Lian turned pale in fright, but Shen Liangchuan slightly tilted his head and said calmly, ¡°Watch the movie.¡± What freaking movie! Qiao Lian was screaming inside. She felt like she was about to get a heart attack. She surveyed all the people around them from the corner of her eyes, using her sharp senses as a reporter to check if anyone had spotted them. They were watching a romantic movie, but she was on the edge of her seat and it felt more like an action thriller. Her body was tense. And then she felt something pressing around her waist. Her muscles stiffened Shen Liangchuan wrapped his arm around her waist. He spoke calmly, ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous, everything¡¯s okay.¡± His voice was deep and steady, making her feel safe and secure. She turned towards him in astonishment and looked at his profile silhouetted against the light of the movie screen, making him seem neither close nor distant. It had a dream-like effect. There was a very familiar feeling about the person sitting next to her. But this strange familiarity made her want tough too. He was Shen Liangchuan after all, her husband and her idol. How would she not be familiar with him? It was just that... there was something else about him, which she had not yet been able to figure out. But that feeling was fleeting and went away as quickly as it came. This romantic movie that Shen Liangchuan had picked was a real tear-jerker. Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t stop crying. After the movie, Shen Liangchuan put on his sunsses and mask again and led her through the crowd and out of the cinema. ¡°What are you crying for?¡± Shen Liangchuan asked expressionlessly, pulling out a tissue and handing it to her. Qiao Lian dried her eyes. ¡°It was very touching, don¡¯t you think? Especially the ending, when the leading actress found out that the male lead has died. The way she cried was heartbreaking.¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s reply was like a bucket of cold water. ¡°The acting skills were a little mediocre.¡± ¡°Like how?¡± ¡°Like when one has to show silent pain, the eyes should portray their feelings. The look in her eyes was too cold, there wasn¡¯t much emotion.¡± Qiao Lian listened without speaking. ¡°Besides, with that much crying, why was her makeup still intact?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°The male lead was too conscious about looking good and his acting wasn¡¯t natural at all.¡± ¡°...¡± So really, was Best Actor Shen here to watch a movie or to nit-pick at it? Qiao Lian had initially felt unhappy because of the movie, but with Shen Liangchuan¡¯s criticisms, all that unhappiness disappeared. She finally said sarcastically, ¡°Fine, fine. You¡¯re the best actor.¡± ¡°Yes, I am.¡± ¡°...¡± What a narcissistic man! Qiao Lian sighed quietly. But at this point, the movie date was about to take a turn. As the two were bantering, a girl appeared from of the crowd and grabbed Shen Liangchuan¡¯s arm, eximing excitedly, ¡°You- you- you¡¯re Shen Liangchuan, aren¡¯t you?¡± Chapter 342 - Mrs Shen’s Identity Has Been Exposed! (2)

Chapter 342: Mrs Shen¡¯s Identity Has Been Exposed! (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She was so loud that everyone around heard her. All the moviegoers were streaming out of the cinema and into the passageway that led outside. When they heard the girl¡¯s excited screams, they halted and turned around to look. Just like that, Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan were both surrounded. Qiao Lian¡¯s heart started pounding. Just a moment ago, he he had gone unnoticed even without his sunsses and mask. But now, someone had identified him even when his face was covered up? Honestly, his loyal fans knew him well! As these thoughts ran through her mind, the girl shrieked again, ¡°You¡¯re- you¡¯re Best Actor Shen, aren¡¯t you?¡± Now, even more people were turning around to look at themotion. Some even took out their cell phone cameras and were getting ready to take pictures. In a sh, Shen Liangchuan suddenly pointed into the distance at a man with sunsses. ¡°Fan Jie, hurry up ande over here!¡± Hearing these words, the crowd turned their heads in the direction that Shen Lianchuan was pointing at and aimed their cameras at that man. The man in sunsses found himself surrounded suddenly. He took off his sunsses with bewilderment. ¡°What- what are you people doing?¡± The crowd then realized that the man in sunsses wasn¡¯t Fan Jie at all. Then... They started squeezing each other and turned around again, to find that Shen Liangchuan was no longer where he had been standing. ¨C Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan managed to run out of the passageway, squeezing through the crowd, and soon arrived at the carpark. They got into their car and quickly drove away. Qiao Lian¡¯s heart was still pounding furiously and wouldn¡¯t calm down. She took a deep breath as thest few minutes shed across her mind. It was still terrifying. She looked at Shen Liangchuan anxiously. ¡°Do you think someone took a picture then?¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression darkened. ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± It had been his own carelessness. In the beginning, when they sat at the cinema, he had been quite sure that no one would recognize him. But after the movie, seeing that she was so upset, he couldn¡¯t help but attempt tofort her. It was probably his voice that had given him away. He nced at Qiao Lian. ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Qiao Lian took a deep breath and nodded. Through the whole journey home, Qiao Lian kept checking Weibo anxiously, keeping a lookout for his name on the headlines. Indeed, the news of Shen Liangchuan going to the movies had quickly made its way up to the trending topics list. There were pictures taken by people who had been quick enough, but these were blurry and one wouldn¡¯t be able to recognize the faces. Qiao Lian kept watch on Weibo all night long, unable to sleep. In all probability, no one had managed to take a photo of her too. The following day at the news agency, the members of Team One were in high spirits and making a big, dramatic show of it. Qiao Lian raised an eyebrow as Shi Nianyao scurried up to her and secretively ushered her into the office. ¡°Someone on the inte announced that he has managed to snap a frontal shot of of Best Actor Shen and Mrs Shen! Team One has gotten in touch with this person and has now sent one of their people to purchase the picture.¡± Qiao Lian paused and immediately frowned. Shi Nianyao asked, ¡°Did you go watch a movie? That is so romantic! And bold! You actually ventured outside to a public ce.¡± ¡°What if they reallye back a picture of you? Are you prepared to admit the marriage? What does Best Actor Shen think?¡± As she said these words, the Team One member who had gone to make the purchase had just returned to the office, all triumphant. He loudly announced, ¡°I have the picture here!¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s heart started pounding wildly again. This would be the end of her! What was she going to do now? She bit her lip and followed Shi Nianyao to Team One¡¯s office. Chapter 343 - Mrs Shen’s Identity Has Been Exposed! (3)

Chapter 343: Mrs Shen¡¯s Identity Has Been Exposed! (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In Team One¡¯s office. Zhang Chunhua and Su Meimei rushed over excitedly. ¡°You¡¯re back! You really got the picture?¡± The team member who had been sent to purchase the image had asst name Lu, so everyone called him Xiao Lu. Xiao Lu grinned widely as he said, ¡°Yes, I got it! But it was quite expensive.¡± ¡°Price is not that important. Hurry up and load the picture so that we can have a look!¡± Xiao Lu nodded. ¡°It¡¯s in my sh drive. Find me aputer and we can upload it.¡± Immediately, someone passed him aptop. ¡°Let¡¯s all have a look at who this Mrs Shen is!¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to find out who the woman who stole my greek god is!¡± Everyone gathered theptop. Qiao Lian and Shi Nianyao moved forward too, trying to get a glimpse of it. Just then, Su Meimei said with a sharp tone. ¡°Qiao Lian, what are you two doing here?¡± Qiao Lian lifter her head and looked at her. Su Meimei pointed at the office door. ¡°Please get out. This is Team One¡¯s scoop, what does it have to do with you?¡± Shi Nianyao smiled as she walked forward. ¡°I wanted to have a look too.¡± Su Meimeiughed icily. ¡°Have a look? What do you want to have a look at? Even if you have a look, would you know who Mrs Shen is?¡± It was only a photograph. Even if they saw an image of this Mrs Shen, there was no way to prove her real identity. But after Su Meimei said this, she realized that if Shi Nianyao was indeed Mo Xicheng¡¯s girlfriend, then it would not be impossible that she actually knew who Mrs Shen was. She immediately shot Shi Nianyao a warning look and pointed at the doorway again. ¡°Get out, the both of you!¡± Qiao Lian and Su Meimei red at each other before turning around and walking out. As they walked out of the office, Su Meimei stormed up and shut the door behind them. Shi Nianyao asked quietly. ¡°You got photographed?¡± Qiao Lian was developing a small headache. ¡°We went to a movie yesterday.¡± Shi Nianyao smacked her lips with disapproval. ¡°You, you guys sure are bold! But I supposed Best Actor Shen is not worried about being exposed then.¡± Shen Liangchuan not afraid of being exposed? Qiao Lian was in a daze. The scene of their wedding day suddenly appeared in her mind. He had said he didn¡¯t want their rtionship to be public. But at the time, they hadn¡¯t been in such a harmonious rtionship. What about now? Qiao Lian clenched her fists. Suddenly she felt nervous. After some thought, she walked back to her office and picked up her cell phone to make a call to Shen Liangchuan. ¡°It seems like someone has managed to take a frontal shot of Mrs Shen. What do we do now?¡± Shen Liangchuan paused. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s possible.¡± Yesterday, when they got caught, he had quickly taken off his baseball cap and put it on Qiao Lian¡¯s head. And when they had entered the cinema, he had been careful about staying in the CCTV¡¯s blindspot. It was unlikely that someone could have taken a picture. ¡°Team One has managed to purchase an image,¡± Qiao Lian said in a low voice. Her tone was full of unrest and difort. ¡°What if we get discovered?¡± She paced the office anxiously, and it was easy to tell from her voice that she was in emotional turmoil. ¡°What do we say if the picture gets published? That we were just meeting for an interview? But why would we go to a cinema? This is unconvincing.¡± As she panicked, the voice at the other end of the line called out to her, ¡°Qiao Lian.¡± His voice was extremely steady and it was like an anchor amidst a storm. She heard him say, ¡°We¡¯ll announce it.¡± Announce it? Qiao Lian widened her eyes with horror at his suggestion. Then, she suddenly heard amotioning from Team One¡¯s office. Obviously, they had uploaded the image and seen Mrs Shen¡¯s face. Qiao Lian¡¯s hand holding the cell phone froze. Chapter 344 - Mrs Shen’s Identity Has Been Exposed! (4)

Chapter 344: Mrs Shen¡¯s Identity Has Been Exposed! (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She quickly turned around and walked out of the office. Standing in the corridor, she heard cries of rming from Team One¡¯s office. Cries of rm? Qiao Lian heaved a deep sigh of relief. If the woman in the picture had been her, the response from Team One would have been way different. Team One¡¯s immediate reaction implied that it wasn¡¯t her in the picture. However, now that she had an answer, she suddenly realized that Shen Liangchuan was still on the line waiting for her response. He had said to announce it. Did that also mean that their agreement to get a divorce after she had given birth to a child would no longer be effective? Although the two of them had reconciled after fighting over the birth control pills matter, Qiao Lian felt as though there was a sword suspended over her wounded heart. That sword came in the form of this very contract. And now he had finally relented. Somewhere in her heart, she was deeply moved. However... ¡°We can¡¯t do that now, I have my own difficulties. I don¡¯t know if you understand me?¡± She said those words with heavy feelings of guilt, also fearing that Shen Liangchuan would get angry at her. After a pause, he said, ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± She was stunned by his reaction. Slowly, she broke into a smile. It was only a phone call, but their brief conversation had made her feel like they had drawn closer to each other. And she felt something beginning to stir in her heart. She took in a deep breath and immediatelyughed. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°We¡¯re husband and wife, there¡¯s no need for formalities,¡± Shen Liangchuan said calmly. ¡°Team One has started to write the article! I believe it will be published soon.¡± Shi Nianyao¡¯s words interrupted the silent awkwardness between the couple. Qiao Lian snapped out of her dazed state and said in an embarrassed manner, ¡°I¡¯ll have to get back to work now.¡± ¡°Okay, bye.¡± After hanging up the phone, her face was burning. Shi Nianyao looked at Qiao Lian curiously. ¡°Chief Editor Lian Lian, Best Actor Shen is really something. It was only a call and he has managed to get you blushing so brightly!¡± Qiao Lian: ... She gave Shi Nianyao¡¯s forehead a light push. ¡°Okay, go keep an eye on them. Once the article is out, inform me immediately.¡± Shi Nianyao nodded. ¡°No problem. You can continue blushing while I help you keep an eye on them.¡± Qiao Lian: ... She put her hands on the sides of her face. Indeed, it was heated up. Team One moved quickly to get the article out as soon as possible. As Qiao Lian was staring into nk space, Shi Nianyao spoke excitedly, ¡°The report is out,e quick! Who on earth is this? The moment she heard this, Qiao Lian quickly navigated to the news agency¡¯s website. The moment she entered the website, the photo was the first thing she saw. The picture seemed to have been taken at the entrance of a hotel. In the picture, Shen Liangchuan was with a girl and they were just walking up the the steps. The girl had lost her bnce and nearly fallen. Shen Liangchua had ced his hand on her arm to help steady her. Even in the static photograph, his ssy elegance and poise was evident in the way he had turned around to provide support for the woman in the photograph. It was a pleasure to the eyes. And the woman in the picture looked apologetic and a little nervous. She came across as a shy and introverted, yet an outstanding individual. It was Song Yuanxi. Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank. When had Shen Liangchuan taken Song Yuanxi to a hotel? Just as she was pondering this, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s call came in. Qiao Lian picked up the line and he started to exin in his usual calm manner. ¡°I was taking Yuanxi to see the film director. I didn¡¯t expect we would be photographed. So was he exining because he had seen the news report? Chapter 345 - Mrs Shen’s Identity has Been Exposed! (5)

Chapter 345: Mrs Shen¡¯s Identity has Been Exposed! (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The members of Team One were exhrated. Of course, the news report didn¡¯t cover all the details, they had only written that the suspected Mrs Shen had made an appearance. They did not even mention Shen Liangchuan¡¯s name. As reporters, they had done this to protect themselves¡ªshould there be any errors in the article, it would leave them room to evade full responsibility. Hence... Hence Shen Liangchuan took a passive approach to this matter. Because if he attempted to post any message on Weibo rifying that Song Yuanxi wasn¡¯t Mrs Shen, then he would be making a mountain out of a molehill. And on top of that, it would embarrass Song Yuanxi, who was trying to make an entry into the entertainment industry. But if he just left it... Ultimately, the ideal solution to this matter would probably be getting Song Yuanxi herself to register for a Weibo ount and then post a public message rifying that she was Shen Liangchuan¡¯s sister. ¡°The necessary checks and approval by Weibo will take a day or two. So we¡¯ll have to wait until then before we can do anything.¡± Shen Liangchuan added quietly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry if it causes you any sort of grievance for now.¡± Qiao Lian kept silent. Why would she have any grievances about it? Then she pursed her lips andughed. ¡°So are you going topensate me?¡± ¡°What do you want?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s gaze roamed around the room as she contemted what she wanted. Then he whispered into the phone, ¡°How about I pay with my body?¡± ¡°Ptui!¡± Qiao Lian was stunned for a moment. Was Best Actor Shen joking? ¨C In thete afternoon, Shen Liangchuan came by to wait for her as she got out of work. Coincidentally, she and Su Meimei were sharing the same elevator going down the office building. Su Meimei asked full of sarcasm, ¡°Qiao Lian, now that Mrs Shen¡¯s identity hase to light, I wonder how you feel as a third party?¡± Qiao Lian said light-heartedly, ¡°How do you think I should feel?¡± Su Meimei sneered, ¡°I pity you, looking at you trying to pretend things are fine. You must be very scared? That Mrs Shen doesn¡¯t look like shees from an ordinary family.¡± Then she bent forward to close the distance between Qiao Lian and herself and said in a venomous whisper, ¡°You¡¯re. Dead. Meat.¡± Qiao Lian raised an eyebrow. ¡°Su Meimei, I do have a piece of advice for you: you should worry about yourself more. If you continue poking your nose into others¡¯ business, your Managing Editor might just fly away!¡± Su Meimei¡¯s expression changed when she heard this. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°What I just said. Literally.¡± ¡°You¡ª!¡± ¡°Ding!¡± The elevator chimed and the door slid open. As Qiao Lian walked out of the elevator, she spotted Shen Liangchuan¡¯s car parked by the road. She walked briskly towards him and got into the car. When the passenger seat door was swung open, Su Meimei caught a glimpse of Shen Liangchuan in the driver seat. At once, anger rose within her and she felt sorry for this Mrs Shen. She narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists. Qiao Lian, let¡¯s see how long you can keep up your gloating! ¨C When Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan got back to the vi, they saw that Xia Yehua and Song Yuanxi were both there. Song Yuanxi¡¯s eyes and nose were red, apparently from crying. When Xia Yehua saw Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan enter, she was relieved and said helplessly, ¡°You¡¯re finally home, thank goodness. Pleasee and talk to Yuanxi. The child¡¯s been crying all afternoon.¡± The she went on angrily, ¡°God knows which hical new agency it was that reported on Yuanxi and Liangchuan! Yuanxi is an innocent victim. This is ridiculous!¡± Qiao Lian kept silent. Song Yuanxi sniffed softly and then sobbed. ¡°Sister-inw, I didn¡¯t think this would happen. I was too nervous about meeting the film director that day and tripped going up the stairs. Brother Liangchuan merely helped to stop me from falling. And these people are now making groundless usations...¡± As she spoke, she started to cry again. Chapter 346 - Mrs Shen’s Identity Has Been Exposed! (6)

Chapter 346: Mrs Shen¡¯s Identity Has Been Exposed! (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ! Watching Song Yuanxi cry, Qiao Lian felt certain emotions that she couldn¡¯t quite ce. Of course, she knew that Song Yuanxi was innocent. However, it was only a small matter. Crying to this extent served only to make Qiao Lian seem narrow-minded. It was just a report, wasn¡¯t it? Nothing about it was real. She nced at Shen Liangchuan and saw that he was frowning too. ¡°That¡¯s enough, there¡¯s nothing to cry over.¡± Song Yuanxi immediately stopped her sobbing and looked up at Shen Liangchuan nervously. Shen Liangchuan continued, ¡°Once your Weibo ount has been approved in a few days, all that¡¯s needed is a rification post.¡± Song Yuanxi immediately nodded. He added, ¡°Spend some time reading the script if you¡¯re free these couple of days. Although I rmended you to Director Wang, it¡¯s up to you to prove yourself. It¡¯s the same for any other vocation¡ªthere aren¡¯t many serious workers. The entertainment industry may appear huge, but the director will be able to tell right away if you¡¯re putting your heart and soul into the role.¡± Song Yuanxi straightened her posture and nodded earnestly. Shen Liangchuan had always been lenient with this little sister, who was a few years younger. As she had always been well-behaved, he didn¡¯t need to spend too much effort minding her. After he spoke, he headed up the stairs. Halfway up, he suddenly recalled something. ¡°The filming crew has organised a press conference for tomorrow. I received a call from Director Wang today and he has requested that you join them.¡± Song Yuanxi was stunned for a moment and immediately looked up happily. Her ssy eyes lit up with excitement and she nodded enthusiastically. ¡°Yes!¡± Xia Yehua lightly grabbed Qiao Lian¡¯s hand. ¡°Xiao Qiao, it¡¯s been a long time since we yed a game. Why don¡¯t we y a round or two tonight?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± said a smiling Qiao Lian. After they all had dinner, Xia Yehua and Qiao Lian settled down and got ready for a game. Each of them had an iPad and logged into a simple game. It was rxing and satisfying. Qiao Lian casually asked as they yed, ¡°Mom, is Shen Liangchuan really good at ying games too?¡± ¡°I would say so. I remember he once said that he had won the first ce for something?¡± First ce for... what? Qiao Lian paused briefly and looked up at her questioningly. Xia Yehuaughed. ¡°I don¡¯t remember clearly now, but I¡¯m quite certain it was during his senior high school years that he got addicted to gaming. Ah, hurry up... which way do we go next?¡± Qiao Lian looked down at her screen. ¡°Oh, to the right.¡± ¨C Director Wang¡¯s film was a youth film. In this film Song Yuanxi yed the male lead¡¯s senior high school crush. Her clean and pure image was a perfect fit for the role. Director Wang was a well-known figure in the industry and he loved promoting new faces. Most of the actors who acted in his movies were now popr celebrities. Hence, this film¡¯s female lead received much attention. On the day of the press conference, scores of reporters turned up. Representing G8ssip News Agency was Su Meimei and another Team One member. This was considered a good assignment, as this sort of news was easy to get and attracted arge number of readers. However, when Director Wang brought Song Yuanxi onto the stage, Su Meimei was shocked. This- this... wasn¡¯t this Mrs Shen, who had been the focus of attention in the recent scandal? So, Mrs Shen was also going to join the entertainment industry? Su Meimei watched Song Yuanxi closely. The minute she saw Song Yuanxi get up to go to the restroom, she stood up quietly and followed behind. After entering the washroom, she saw Song Yuanxi standing at the mirror touching up her makeup. She took a step towards Song Yuanxi. ¡°Mrs Shen.¡± Like a frightened rabbit, Song Yuanxi jumped and turned around. Su Meimei immediately smiled. ¡°Mrs Shen, I know you¡¯re Mrs Shen. Don¡¯t be nervous, I mean no harm. I just wanted to tell you that Best Actor Shen has something going with one of the reporters in our news agency.¡± Chapter 347 - Mrs Shen’s Identity Has Been Exposed! (7)

Chapter 347: Mrs Shen¡¯s Identity Has Been Exposed! (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Song Yuanxi paused for a moment after hearing this. She furrowed her brow and looked at Su Meimei intently. ¡°You are?¡± Su Meimei replied, ¡°I¡¯m a reporter from G8ssip Daily News. I wonder if you know a woman by the name of Qiao Lian? She¡¯s involved with Best Actor Shen, and I saw with my own eyes Best Actor Shening to our news agency to pick her up after work.¡± After she said this, she narrowed her eyes. All at once, she was feeling really good about what she had done. Ever since she had discovered that Qiao Lian and Best Actor Shen had something going on between them, she had had to guard this secret. But seeing Qiao Lian so nonchnt about the whole thing made her downright angry. Now she could finally get her revenge! Although Mrs Shen looked delicate and weak, the fact that she had managed to marry Best Actor Shen meant that she was not a simple person. Now that his legal wife knew about the third party, Qiao Lian was way out of luck. She narrowed her eyes with glee and waited for a response from Song Yuanxi. However, a big disappointment awaited her, as Song Yuanxi frowned and said, ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ve got the wrong person.¡± As she said this, she walked to the door. However, her nervous reaction caused Su Meimei to misunderstand. She followed her closely. ¡°Mrs Shen, our news agency has received a picture with both you and Best Actor Shen in it. The image was very clear and I recognize you!¡± Song Yuanxi¡¯s body tensed up and she trembled very slightly. ¡°You¡ª¡± ¡°Mrs Shen, are you really so willing to allow a vixen to seduce your own husband? Mrs Shen, you¡ª¡± ¡°I just said it, you¡¯ve got the wrong person. I¡¯m not Mrs Shen.¡± Song Yuanxi frowned and walked out of the room. Seeing how she had been reacting so far, Su Meimei could only step forward and fumbled around in her pocket looking for a name card. She shoved the name card into Song Yuanxi¡¯s hand. ¡°Mrs Shen! I know that no woman would be happy about having their own husband stolen by a vixen. If you wish to know the details, you know who to call.¡± ¨C Su Meimei had done an interview for a news report and even seen the rumoured Mrs Shen. That put her in an extremely good mood. On returning to the news agency, she began to direct snide remarks at Qiao Lian again. ¡°Some people are shameless enough to seduce married men. Sigh... But nowadays third parties hardly have happy endings. Qiao Lian, don¡¯t you think so?¡± Qiao Lian was working on a few reports with Shi Nianyao. When she heard Su Meimei¡¯s words, she looked to the corridor and retorted with an equal amount of sarcasm, ¡°Well, it seems like you, Su Meimei, are extremely familiar with third party¡¯s endings.¡± ¡°You-¡± cried the annoyed Su Meimei, ¡°How shameless can you get!¡± Qiao Lian immediately smiled and covered her own face. ¡°Please don¡¯t envy me. The only slight difference is that I have more cogen than you do.¡± Su Meimei was so infuriated that she couldn¡¯t speak. She had never seen such a shameless person. She turned around and stormed away. Qiao Lian continued her discussion with Shi Nianyao, ¡°There are two stories we need to chase down this afternoon. We¡¯ll split them and take one each. We¡¯ll write our reports separately, it¡¯ll be a lot quicker this way.¡± Shi Nianyao nodded. Qiao Lian looked at the assignment she was holding and frowned. They couldn¡¯t work on the story around the identity of Mrs Shen, hence they had to take on an alternative story that was equally huge. She wondered if a story about Xin Jin Entertainment¡¯s fresh-faced beauty Fan Lu would distract the attention from Mrs Shen. Fan Lu was rumoured to be a third party and a homewrecker. No matter what, it was a good possibility. Qiao Lian had the urge to give it a try. She recalled the previous contact she had had with Fan Lu. Before Fan Lu became famous, whenever she saw reporters, she would suck up to them. Chapter 348 - Mrs Shen’s Identity Has Been Exposed! (8)

Chapter 348: Mrs Shen¡¯s Identity Has Been Exposed! (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She felt superior after bing famous and had developed a contempt for others. Recently, the fact that she was having an ambiguous rtionship with a magnate had been leaked, however she had denied this outrightly. In any case... They had received a tip that she would be attending an event with the magnateter today. Qiao Lian was very lucky to manage catching the rumored couple on camera. The slightly blurred image of their side profiles was good enough to prove their identities. She returned to the news agency on the same day to file the story before she finally left work. Shen Liangchuan was busy and wasn¡¯t able to pick her up today. She hailed a cab instead. As she arrive at the main door, the smell of dinner being cooked drifted out and theughter of Xia Yehua and Song Yuanxi could be heard. Song Yuanxi and Xia Yehua shared a very close rtionship and got along like mother and daughter. Xia Yehua was most protective over the frail-looking Song Yuanxi. Xia Yehua¡¯s eyes lit up as she saw Qiao Lian entering the house. ¡°Xiao Qiao, you¡¯re back? Come have dinner, I¡¯ve made you ck chicken soup. This is especially good for the womb, you have to drink more. You need to eat well, drink well and not get too stressed at work, since you and Liangchuan are nning for a baby.¡± Qiao Lian was grinning as she walked across the living room, but she suddenly stopped when Xia Yehua mentioned nning for a baby. Suddenly, she was worried. The results of her recent medical examination came to her mind once again. She wouldn¡¯t be able to get pregnant in the short term, as she needed to purge the toxins from her body before she was physically fit to conceive. At least not for the next six months. She looked at Xia Yehua. ¡°Mum, you...¡± Xia Yehua walked over to her, smiling, and held her hand. ¡°Come sit and have some soup before dinner.¡± Seeing her enthusiasm, Qiao Lian nodded in agreement. Shen Liangchuan was home before Qiao Lian finished the soup. On seeing him, Xia Yehua served him arge bowl of tonic soup, saying, ¡°You seem to have shed quite a few pounds again. What are you so busy with? Surely work¡¯s not more important than your health. You need to build up your health. No smoking and drinking while preparing for pregnancy, do you understand? ¡± Shen Liangchuan froze in the middle of removing his jacket and nced at Qiao Lian, who was on the couch. He could sense her gloominess and difort, even though she was just sitting quietly and smiling along. He was sure it had something to do with the birth control pills. He cleared his throat. ¡°Mum, let¡¯s not discuss this now. We are still young, there¡¯s no hurry for children.¡± Xia Yehua sneered, ¡°What are you talking about? You¡¯re almost 26! There¡¯s a time for everything and now is the perfect time for you two to have a baby. This way it will be easier for Xiao Qiao to recover from the pregnancy too.¡± She went on, ¡°Thanks to Yuanxi, who reminded me today. You two have been married for two months, so... any good news?¡± She turned and looked at Qiao Lian. ¡°Your period...?¡± Qiao Lian lowered her head. ¡°Regr as usual. My period this month shoulde in a day or two.¡± Xia Yehua¡¯s eyes sparkled with hope. ¡°Which means there¡¯s a chance this month, yes?¡± Qiao Lian threw a nce at Shen Liangchuan. ¡°I don¡¯t think it will happen that soon.¡± ¡°How is that so? You two look perfectly healthy, there shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡± Xia Yehua was about to continue when Song Yuanxi took a step forward and grabbed her shoulder. Chapter 349 - Mrs Shen’s Identity Has Been Exposed! (9)

Chapter 349: Mrs Shen¡¯s Identity Has Been Exposed! (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Song Yuanxi said, ¡°Auntie, please don¡¯t force Brother Liang Chuan and Sister-inw anymore. They have just gotten married and also, this kind of things depend on chance.¡± Just as Xia Yehua wanted to continue, Qiao Lian immediately looked at Shen Liangchuan and changed the subject. ¡°What have you been doing the whole day? Why are you back sote?¡± Shen Liangchuan went with the flow. ¡°We will be entering the filming set soon. There was a gathering for the filming crew of ¡®Ambition¡¯ today.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. ¡°Ok, I understand now.¡± As soon as she had said these words, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s cell phone started ringing. He lowered his head with a slight frown. As he reached the balcony, he heard Song Cheng¡¯s voice from the other end of the line. ¡°Brother Shen, there is a budding actress who wants to have a meal with you.¡± Shen Liangchuan spoke impatiently, ¡°If there¡¯s nothing important, I¡¯ll hang up.¡± ¡°Hey, don¡¯t hang up first! This actress is called Fan Lu. She will be the third actress in ¡®Ambition.¡¯ She said that she wants to consult with you something.¡± ¡°Anything else?¡± For the past years, there had been many who had wanted to seek guidance from him. Song Cheng wouldn¡¯t have been so blind as to introduce them to him directly. Song Cheng had to continue, ¡°She is from Young Master Lu¡¯s.¡± Shen Liangchuan frowned slightly. ¡°And then?¡± ¡°Young Master Lu was hoping that we could help her out, based on your friendship with him in the past.¡± Shen Liangchuan gave a coldughter and said, ¡°Ok, I understand.¡± As soon as he finished speaking, he hung up the phone. He gazed ahead silently while standing at the balcony. Friendship in the past... This person who was being addressed by others as Young Master Lu had indeed been his teammate in the past. Unfortunately, they hadn¡¯t kept much contact. Hence, this Young Master Lu didn¡¯t have his direct number and could only contact Song Cheng instead. Shen Liangchuan lowered his gaze and returned to the vi. Xia Yehua had already stopped broaching the subject of child bearing. She was chatting happily with Qiao Lian. However, he could tell that Qiao Lian was a little distracted. He sighed heavily. Although the issue with the birth control pills had passed a long time ago, but she... still minded it, didn¡¯t she? ¨C After sending off Xia Yehua, Qiao Lian went upstairs and Shen Liangchuan hugged her immediately. He was extraordinarily gentle tonight. His every move seemed to suggest some kind of apology in it. After the deed was done, Qiao Liany on his arm with her eyes closed and fell asleep gradually. But Shen Liangchuan¡¯s eyes were open as he looked at the woman in his arms. Her hair had gotten wet and there were a few strands stuck to her forehead. He gently stretched out his hand to push her hair away from her face. Under the moonlight outside the window, he carefully looked at her face. She was his Xiao Qiao. The Xiao Qiao that he hated yet loved. It was probably because of the life that she had led these few years which had toughened up her character and made her different from what she had been like eight years ago. As he thought of this, Shen Liangchuan suddenly smiled with satisfaction andy quietly beside her. The next day, Qiao Lian only woke up when the first ray of sunlight prated the room. The physical exhaustion she felt made her fall into a trance. She then turned her head and realized that Shen Liangchuan had disappeared. When she went downstairs, she saw Shen Liangchuaning home from his morning jog. Droplets of perspiration on his forehead were rolling down his cheek. He looked at Qiao Lian and said, ¡°Wait for me for breakfast, I will go take a shower now.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. Suddenly, her cell phone began to ring. She took a nce at the caller id and saw that it was Liu Zhixing. The moment Qiao Lian answered the call, she heard Liu Zhixing yelling with anger, ¡°Qiao Lian, do you still wanna keep your job here?! What is the matter with that article?!¡± Qiao Lian was puzzled. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°You are in deep trouble! Come to the news agency right now!¡± Chapter 350 - Mrs Shen’s Identity Has Been Exposed! (10)

Chapter 350: Mrs Shen¡¯s Identity Has Been Exposed! (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As Qiao Lian rushed to the news agency, she still wondered what could have happened. How had she gotten in trouble? She frowned as she entered the managing editor¡¯s office. Someone threw a news report directly at her face.. Qiao Lian dodged it and then she saw Liu Zhixing staring at her with exasperation. ¡°You take a look... take a look now. What have you written?!¡± Qiao Lian frowned and lowered her head. It was the article that she had published yesterday. The title was ¡°Actress F Suspected To Be Mistress¡±. The title was not wrong though. She raised her head in doubt once again and saw that Liu Zhixing was fuming. ¡°You take a look at the content! Starting from the beginning to the end!¡± With no other choice, Qiao Lian had to pick up the article and read it. As she was reading it, she suddenly widened her eyes. In disbelief, she stared intently at the name ¡®Fan Lu¡¯. Fan Lu. How could this be true? ¡°It looks as if you don¡¯t even know basic literacy and etiquette as a reporter!! Since when do we include the real name of the person when we post negative articles? You are smearing the reputation of the other party, are you aware of that?!¡± Although as a star, one would often be involved in scandals that get leaked, generally speaking reporters would use the first letter of the star¡¯s surname to imply it, instead of using the real name. Even if there was direct evidence, it could also not be directly spelt out, as this would mean damaging the others¡¯ reputation. This was the basic etiquette rule that every reporter should know. So how could she have made such a blunder!? They had to check the articles they wrote thoroughly after an interview with the other party, before they could post it. Furthermore... If Fan Lu¡¯s name had only appeared once in the news report, she could probably justify it by saying that it was her mistake. But the whole article was filled with Fan Lu¡¯s name instead! She frowned and said, ¡°This isn¡¯t¡ª¡± Before she could finish her words, Su Meimei¡¯s voice could be heard from the door, ¡°Qiao Lian, what have you done? Do you actually know what the basic literacy and etiquette rules of a reporter are?! Fan Lu¡¯swyer came knocking on our door. He wants us to withdraw the article, admit the mistake and apologize publicly. Furthermore, he asked us to pay two million aspensation for the damage caused.¡± ¡°Do you know two million means? You are fully held ountable for this matter! What a terrible mistake you¡¯ve made!¡± Qiao Lian stared at Su Meimei and then turned around to look at the managing editor. She suddenly asked, ¡°Su Meimei, is it you who changed the name?¡± Only the managing editor had ess to the password of the ount that she had used to publish the article. Thus if the news report had been tampered with, the only person who would have done could be Su Meimei. Su Meimei¡¯s pupils shrank immediately. This reaction gave Qiao Lian the certainty that it had been her who had done it. But instead she said, ¡°Don¡¯t make malicious usations carelessly! You are the one who made the blunder, and you still want to put the me on others. What a joke! Say something, Managing Editor.¡± Liu Zhixing nodded. ¡°That¡¯s enough! The most important thing now is to salvage the situation. I¡¯ve just contacted Fan Lu¡¯s manager. She said that they will be having dinner at ¡®Lustrous¡¯ tonight and they want you to apologize personally at their private room. If she is willing to forgive you and decline the two millionpensation, then we shall put this matter aside. However, if she were to insist that you have to pay for the damages, then you will have to shoulder the responsibility yourself! The news agency will definitely not help you pay for the two million.¡± When Qiao Lian heard that Liu Zhixing was siding with Su Meimei, she got insanely furious. She clenched her fists and stood rooted to the spot. Meanwhile, in another side of the city, Shen Liangchuan received a phone call from Young Master Lu. ¡°Brother Shen, see you at ¡®Lustrous¡¯ tonight. I will introduce you to Fan Lu.¡± Chapter 351 - Enraged Qiao Lian (1)

Chapter 351: Enraged Qiao Lian (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I am not going!¡± Qiao Lian said that with a cold sneer while staring at Su Meimei. Su Meimei immediately flew into a rage. ¡°If you are not going, then who is going to fix the mess that you¡¯ve created? You still have the guts to say you¡¯re not going?¡± Qiao Lian lowered her gaze without looking at Su Meimei. She stared at Liu Zhixing and said, ¡°Managing Editor Liu, I think you know very well what this whole matter is all about. If it had been my fault, I would have taken responsibility for it. But in this case, I will definitely not admit it and bear the responsibility for nothing! I have nothing to lose. If you both were to push it, the worst that could happen is that we go to courts. I am not afraid of either of you.¡± Liu Zhixing frowned and replied, ¡°Qiao Lian, you can¡¯t put it this way. You are the one who published the article, so you¡ª¡± ¡°Yes, I was the one who published it. But does the news agency assume no responsibility? All the articles that are going to be published have to first be proofread. So, Managing Editor, you should be the one that is held ountable for this whole episode.¡± Liu Zhixing stood up immediately. ¡°You-¡± When he saw Qiao Lian¡¯s rude and unreasonable attitude, he calmed down and said, ¡°Then, tell me Qiao Lian, what should we do regarding this matter?¡± Seeing that he had given in and was not behaving like he had earlier on, Qiao Lian then nced at Su Meimei. ¡°I might go to tonight¡¯s dinner.¡± Liu Zhixing was ted when he heard this. Qiao Lian took a slight nce at Su Meimei and said coldly, ¡°But Managing Editor, I was thinking, isn¡¯t it time for you to get rid of the ck sheep in the news agency? This time is about Fan Lu, what will be the next? This matter did make me look bad, but do you think that ites without impact to the reputation and profit of the news agency? Plus, if it got worse, do you think that you will still be able to secure your position as a managing editor?¡± Liu Zhixing¡¯s expression changed upon hearing these words. Qiao Lian took a nce at Su Meimei, then turned around and headed out. As she stepped out, she heard Su Meimei rebuking angrily, ¡°Zhixing, did you see her attitude? It is indeed¡ª¡± p! Before she could finish her sentence, a p on the face was heard. That sound was so loud and clear that even Qiao Lian seemed to have felt the pain. And then came Liu Zhixing¡¯s reprimanding voice, ¡°You better shut up! Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know what you have done!¡± ¡°Zhixing, it was not me! You¡¯re wrong. You¡ª¡± ¡°Shut up and get out!¡± Qiao Lian had not gone far before she heard some movements behind her. As she turned around, she saw Su Meimei being pushed out of the room by Liu Zhixing. The door was mmed with a ¡°bang.¡± Su Meimei was knocking on the door from outside, but Liu Zhixing simply ignored it. She frowned and then suddenly turned around. When she saw Qiao Lian, madness shed across her eyes. ¡°Qiao Lian, well done! You wait and see!¡± As she finished speaking, she pushed Qiao Lian aside and left in a rage. Qiao Lian raised her eyebrows, thinking that Su Meimei was indeed incorrigible. When she returned to her office, Shi Nianyao came over to her nervously and asked, ¡°How was it? How is the issue going to be dealt with?¡± Qiao Lian shook her head and said, ¡°Not an easy feat.¡± After all, it was not right to have someone¡¯s real name published on the article. She inhaled deeply and sat down on her chair, slightly irritated. After sitting on her chair for a while, she still felt stuffy. It felt as if her chest had been stuffed with a piece of cotton, making her unable to breathe. She really felt like giving up, since she did not feel like continuing in such a news agency. However... She took a deep breath and opened her drawer to retrieve a photograph. On that photograph was a family of four. That was her family photograph when she had been 18. Chapter 352 - Enraged Qiao Lian (2)

Chapter 352: Enraged Qiao Lian (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The picture had been taken in their house¡¯s garden. Her parents sat in the garden¡¯s pavilion while she and her brother stood by the side. The girl¡¯s youthful face carried a confident smile. Qiao Yi had always been a quiet and obedient child. The mother was soft-spoken and gentle, while the father was handsome and elegant. They had been a happy family of four and in Qiao Lian¡¯s mind at the time, this happiness would nevere to an end. But who would have guessed the sort of changes that life would bring? Her parents were falsely used andmitted suicide to escape punishment. She had never believed that her parents had done the things they said. Hence, she had to obtain her reporter¡¯s certificate so that she could investigate it and pursue the truth. She had to report the truth and let the world know that her parents were innocent. She wouldn¡¯t allow her father to have a tarnished reputation. She clenched her fist tightly and sighed heavily. She had put up with it for nine months, there were just three more to go. With this thought, she carefully slipped the photograph between the pages of her notebook in the drawer. The photo albums before she was 18 had all been destroyed in that fire. This particr picture was the one she had carried in her wallet, so it had been spared. And this picture was everything to her. She sat for a while until she calmed down and then stood up to go to the restroom. When she returned from the bathroom, she found... A group of people had gathered at the entrance of her office. Angry voices could be hearding from the office and amidst themotion, she vaguely heard something fall on the ground and then Shi Nianyao¡¯s raised voice, ¡°Stop it, what are you doing? Let go!¡± Qiao Lian froze for a moment and then dashed into the office. By this time, her office had been turned upside down by Su Meimei. Su Meimei was like a madwoman and had swept away all of her belongings on the desk onto the floor. Furthermore, the huge bouquet of 100 roses from Shen Liangchuan had been thrown on the ground and trampled over. Even more infuriating, after doing all that, Su Meimei couldn¡¯t be appeased and continued venting. She went on and opened Qiao Lian¡¯s drawers, emptying all the content on the ground. The roses on the ground had be a trampled mess and the rose petals had been squashed into damp pulp. The notebook in her drawer had fallen on the ground, and it had been dyed scarlet by the pulp at once. Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank as she spotted her family portrait falling on the ground. But then, Su Meimei inadvertently stepped on the picture. Suddenly, she felt something snap inside her head. Without another thought, she pushed through the crowd and charged into the room, mournfully shrieking, ¡°Su! Mei! Mei!¡± Every word carried all the hatred and anger that she felt. Her voice was sharp and bore a certain foreign element, shocking and stunning everyone around them, including Su Meimei. She clenched her fists tightly and walked into the room one step at a time. After Liu Zhixing had pped Su Meimei, she had gone back to talk to him and seek his forgiveness. However, Liu Zhixing was determined not to see her. Full of uncontainable fury, the next best thing she could do was find trouble with Qiao Lian. After the destructive rampage, she was a little calmer but when she turned and saw the burning anger in Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes, she immediately panicked. She had never seen Qiao Lian this way. The rims of her eyes were blood red, and the darkness and hatred reflected in the windows of her soul were as though they came straight from the depths of hell, making one tremble with fear. Chapter 353 - Enraged Qiao Lian (3)

Chapter 353: Enraged Qiao Lian (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Su Meimei gulped visibly. Qiao Lian slowly walked to the picture on the ground, bent over and picked it up from the pulp. The roses had already left their mark and soiled her precious memory. Qiao Lian stared at the picture and attempted to clean it with her sleeve. Soon, the brim of her eyes were filled with hot tears, but she held her eyes wide open so that the tears would not fall. Once, twice... The rose pulp stain was lighter, but there was still a pink tint on the picture. She didn¡¯t dare use any force to rub off the tint, fearing that it would damage the print. She bit her lip with strength, staring intently at the picture, and then she slowly looked up at Su Meimei. Su Meimei was terrified and didn¡¯t dare utter a word, even though her lips were quivering. She managed to stammer a few rude and unreasonable remarks, trying to hide her own guilt. ¡°You, what are you staring at? So what if I destroyed your belongings? What can you do to me?¡± In a sh, Qiao Lian¡¯s expression turned sharp and prating. Su Meimei wished to swallow thest few words she had said. She gulped again and when she saw the picture Qiao Lian was holding, she sneered, ¡°An old tattered photograph, is it even worth anything?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s expression turned even uglier. Although she had not said a word, the office was icy cold. The members of Team One stood at the door, holding their breaths, not even daring to exhale. Qiao Lian had never been a softie, everyone knew that. Although the chief editor of Team One and Su Meimei had opposed her for a long time, they had not really been sessful in derailing her and had even watched her climb, one step at a time, into the position of chief editor for Team Two. Hence now... Qiao Lian would surely not let Su Meimei go easily. So was she going to hit someone now? At this point, they heard Qiao Lian speak, ¡°Get out.¡± Everyone was stunned for a moment. Su Meimei, on the other hand, suddenly heaved a sigh of relief. Qiao Lian¡¯s expression a moment ago had made her think for a moment that Qiao Lian would really hit her. Since Qiao Lian was only asking her to get out, it proved that Qiao Lian wouldn¡¯t dare do anything to her. She had destroyed Qiao Lian¡¯s office, but all Qiao Lian could do was to ask her to get out. Su Meimei snorted coldly. Qiao Lian, this is reality. You can¡¯t do much without power and authority. With the managing editor behind me, what are you? At this point, she even raised her hand and gave Qiao Lian a push before she walked out haughtily. Shi Nianyao nced at Qiao Lian and then quickly told the crowd, ¡°Back to work, back to work, what are you guys looking at?¡± The members of Team One immediately scattered like birds, although rumours and gossips had already begun to surface in the news agency. Shi Nianyao shut the office door behind them and turned around again. She found Qiao Lian standing there with great despair, looking at the photograph in her hands. She quickly walked over and saw that Qiao Lian¡¯s face was wet with tears. Taken aback, she called out, ¡°Chief Editor Lian Lian.¡± Qiao Lian looked up with a firm and unwavering expression. ¡°I will not let her go.¡± Shi Nianyao nodded. ¡°This person doesn¡¯t know her limits. We definitely can¡¯t let her go! Chief Editor Lian Lian, tell me, what are you going to do?¡± When Qiao Lian had held back and refrained from hitting Su Meimei, Shi Nianyao knew at that very moment that this hatred was no small matter. Qiao Lian was a person who made a clear distinction between love and hatred. If she had made an immediate counter-attack, it would mean evening the score, making it water under the bridge. The fact that she hadn¡¯t... well, Su Meimei was in deep trouble. Shi Nianyao rubbed her palms together, saying, ¡°From my very first day of work here I¡¯ve disliked her. Now let¡¯s show her what we¡¯ve got! Chief Editor Lian Lian, I¡¯ll help you!¡± Chapter 354 - Enraged Qiao Lian (4)

Chapter 354: Enraged Qiao Lian (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Of course, punishing Su Meimei wasn¡¯t just a casual matter. It required some preparation. In the afternoon, Qiao Lian received a call from Shen Liangchuan. ¡°I¡¯m downstairs.¡± Qiao Lian paused for a moment, ¡°What?¡± The cast and crew he was working with were getting ready for filming soon, hence he had been quite busytely. On the way to work in the morning, he had mentioned the possibility of working untilte. So why was he there at this hour? Puzzled, she went downstairs and spotted his car parked by the road. She briskly walked over and stealthily got into the car. He asked, ¡°Where¡¯s the picture?¡± Qiao Lian was taken aback. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Mo Xicheng called me. He said you cried.¡± The corners of Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes were still a little red. When Shen Liangchuan said those words, she understood what had happened. Shi Nianyao must have told Mo Xicheng. But it had just happened and took him an hour to get from the meeting location to her office. Had he rushed over as soon as he had heard about it? Her heart was suddenly filled with a sweet warmness. She bit her lip and paused for a second before reaching into her wallet to take out the photograph, which she had left there. ¡°I¡¯ll get someone to fix this for you.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. Shen Liangchuan lowered his gaze to look at the image. The 18-year-old girl was so different from the person she was now. But the image of the 18-year-old Qiao Lian... and the memory he had of her gradually became one, as he looked at the picture. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression was slowly bing unfathomable. ¡°These are my parents,¡± Qiao Lian had the urge to confide¡ªthere were too many things that she wanted to get off her chest. ¡°They died in a fire when I was 18.¡± Shen Liangchuan frowned. ¡°Qiao Yi¡¯s legs¡ª¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. When Qiao Yi and I returned from school and saw our home on fire, I wanted to dash in to save my parents. Qiao Yi stopped me and he ran in instead, but his legs were crushed when the house fell apart.¡± As she told her story, the horrific scene came back to her. A young 18-year-old girl whose heart had been broken by a failed online rtionship and who had been cheated on. She had barely walked out of Zi Chuan¡¯s dark shadow over her life when the tragedy struck at home. From being a pampered little mistress, she became a nobody who had trouble even scavenging for a meal. At that point, she understood that love and emotions were nothing. Her hands and feet froze as these scenes from years ago shed before her eyes. It felt like she had gone back in time, watching her father and mother perish in a sea of fire, watching her little brother¡¯s legs being crushed... watching and not knowing what she could have done,pletely helpless. Hence, she must not let her parents rest without giving them the justice they deserve. As this thought went through her mind, two hands suddenly covered hers. In the cold and barrenndscape of her world, this unexpected contact brought her sce and warmth. She turned her head and looked into Shen Liangchuan¡¯s eyes. They were tender and mild as he tried tofort her, ¡°Don¡¯t think about it anymore, it¡¯s all in the past now.¡± On hearing this, Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes welled up with tears until they overflowed. She nodded. She remained silent for a while, until Shen Liangchuan¡¯s cell phone started ringing. He took a nce and decided not to take the call, putting the device aside. The vibration stopped and shortly after that it started again. Qiao Lian quickly said, ¡°Please go take care of your work, I know you¡¯re busy. I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Shen Liangchuan studied her face for a moment. ¡°Is there anything else you need help with?¡± Leaving all remaining formalities aside, she replied, ¡°Actually yes, there¡¯s something that you could help me with.¡± ¡°When?¡± ¡°Right now. Maybe ady would take time to n her revenge, but I¡¯m nody and I want to teach her a lesson today!¡± Chapter 355 - Enraged Qiao Lian (5)

Chapter 355: Enraged Qiao Lian (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Afternoons at the news agency usually went by at a leisurely pace. Part of the staff would be out gathering news, while the others who had finished the tasks at hand would sit back and rx until the end of the work day. In Team Two¡¯s office, Shi Nianyao looked at Qiao Lian calmly and asked, ¡°So how are you going to punish Su Meimei? Quit being so secretive and let me in.¡± Qiao Lian looked up and smiled. ¡°If I tell you, are you going to go ahead and tell Mo Xicheng immediately?¡± Shi Nianyao immediately stuck her tongue out at Qiao Lian. ¡°Well, you looked so devastated that it scared me. Since I joined the news agency and started working with you, this is the first time I¡¯ve seen you cry. I know how important that photograph is to you, that¡¯s the only reason I told Mo Xicheng about it, with the hope that Best Actor Shen woulde and cheer you up.¡± Qiao Lian gave a cold ¡°humph¡± and said, ¡°Even then I can¡¯t tell you.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Qiao Lian smiled mysteriously. ¡°Because that would spoil the fun...¡± Shi Nianyao eximed, ¡°Chief Editor Lian Lian, you¡¯re being mischievous!¡± Ignoring Shi Nianyao, Qiao Lian stared into the corridor outside the office. After a while, she saw Su Meimei walk out of the office in front of hers. Su Meimei then walked over to the Managing Editor¡¯s office and stood at the entrance. It seemed like this time Liu Zhixing was really angry at Su Meimei, as he had not called her to meet up all morning. However, she was eventually allowed to enter his office after a short exchange standing at his office doorway. Then, as if having waited forever for this moment, Qiao Lian immediately stood up and sent a message on her cell phone: [You cane up now.] After this, she sat back with her back straight and announced, ¡°It¡¯s showtime, Nianyao.¡± Puzzled, Nianyao quickly followed Qiao Lian¡¯s gaze and looked outside. About five minutester, the elevator chimed and a plump, heavily made-up woman stormed out as the elevator doors parted. The receptiondy hurriedly stood in her way and asked, ¡°May I know who you¡¯re looking for, and do you have an appointment?¡± The woman frowned and replied impatiently, ¡°I¡¯m here to look for Liu Zhixing!¡± ¡°Managing Editor Liu? Do you have an appointment? If not, I¡¯m afraid we can¡¯t let you in.¡± The womanughed derisively. ¡°Since when do I need an appointment to see Liu Zhixing? Get out of the way!¡± The woman pushed open the entry barrier as she said this. The receptionist was stunned for a moment before hurrying forward in an effort to stop her. ¡°Hey,dy, what¡¯s your problem? This is a news agency and it¡¯s not open to the public.¡± The woman halted and then sneered, ¡°The public? You¡¯re telling me I¡¯m just anyone? Fine, let me tell you who I am! I¡¯m Liu Zhixing¡¯s wife!¡± On hearing this, the receptionist looked surprised. ¡°What? Managing Editor Liu is married?¡± Seeing the worker¡¯s reaction, the woman quickly figured out that Liu Zhixing had never announced he was married. She gave a sarcastic smile and roughly shoved the receptionist. ¡°Get out of my way!¡± She charged in and grabbed a random worker, asking, ¡°Where is Liu Zhixing¡¯s office? The woman was too aggressive and the staff member could only point to Managing Editor Liu¡¯s office nervously. Without another word, the woman strode towards the office. It seemed that Liu Zhixing¡¯s door was locked, but the woman had obviouslye prepared. With a wave of her hand, she summoned the locksmith she had brought along. The man stepped forward, bent over the door knob and started working immediately. Within a few seconds, the lock was opened with a click and thus unlocking Liu Zhixing¡¯s office. Chapter 356 - Enraged Qiao Lian (6)

Chapter 356: Enraged Qiao Lian (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The woman forcefully pushed the door open. The scene that greeted her was rather unsightly. The neatly-dressed Liu Zhixing was sitting back on his chair with his eyes shut and with a most satisfied expression on his face. Su Meimei, on the other hand, was bent over but it wasn¡¯t clear what she was doing, since she was behind the desk. The couple must have been too engrossed in their indulgence and have not heard themotion just then, when the woman was trying to ess his office. As the office door was now suddenly flung open, Liu Zhixing jumped up from his chair. After he stood up straight and saw the woman, his eyes widened and his hands immediately reached down in an attempt to cover his crotch. Although no one got to see anything explicit, there was really very little left to the imagination. The little crowd that had gathered to watch the scene unfold was now staring with their mouths agape. Even Qiao Lian, hidden among the crowd watching this, felt like she had to recognize Su Meimei¡¯s efforts. This Su Meimei would do anything just to suck up, in all sense of the word, to Liu Zhixing! As Qiao Lian was still trying to get over her own surprise, she heard Liu Zhixing calling out in shock, ¡°Xiao- Xiao Li, what are you doing here?¡± ¡°What am I doing here?¡± The woman shrieked and stormed up to him. With a hand, she grabbed Su Meimei¡¯s hair and pulled her out of under the desk, where she was hiding. As Su Meimei emerged, everyone could see that her clothing was undone and her lips were a little red and swollen. It was very obvious what had been going on. The woman was livid and raised a hand to deliver a sharp, tight p across Su Meimei¡¯s face. ¡°You wh*re! Vixen!¡± Su Meimei was stunned for a moment and then suddenly, as if remembering something, she reached out to shove the woman aside, screaming, ¡°Zhixing, help me, quick!¡± ¡°Zhixing? How affectionate!¡± The woman mockinglyughed and immediately delivered yet another sound p across the Su Meimei¡¯s other cheek. Following this she forcefully shoved Su Meimei, who fell onto the ground. In her fury, Su Meimei got back on her feet in no time. Now both sides of her face were swollen and the metallic taste of fresh blood was in her mouth. She pointed at the woman and hollered, ¡°Who are you and what right have you got to hit me?!¡± ¡°That was for the dirty little deed you just performed!¡± Su Meimei¡¯s chest was heaving with anger. ¡°Why is it any of your business what my boyfriend and I do together? Who are you? You¡¯re hitting someone for no reason, I¡¯m calling the police!¡± What a day it had been! She had initially wanted to punish Qiao Lian, but she had been unexpectedly insulted in return and even despised by Liu Zhixing. She had then had to put aside her own ego and try to please him, but now this woman appeared out of nowhere? As she picked up her cell phone to call the police, a hand reached out to stop her. She was stunned for a moment. Looking up, she saw Liu Zhixing standing in front of her. ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± Su Meimei¡¯s eyes turned red at once and she yelled, ¡°Whoever this woman is, she hit me! Of course I¡¯m calling the police! I¡¯m going to sue her!¡± ¡°You will not!¡± Liu Zhixing spoke firmly. Su Meimei paused. ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°Why not?¡± The woman stepped forward with an agitated and furious expression. ¡°You little wh*re, what gives you the right to call the police? I have every reason to hit you.¡± Su Meimei widened her eyes. ¡°You- you- What¡¯s your rtionship with Liu Zhixing?¡± The woman was getting increasingly annoyed at Su Meimei¡¯s attitude. ¡°We¡¯re husband and wife! Don¡¯t tell me you know nothing about it. Stop acting innocent!¡± Chapter 357 - Enraged Qiao Lian (7)

Chapter 357: Enraged Qiao Lian (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As she said that, the earlier scene came to her mind, provoking her once again. She took a step forwards with fury, grabbed Su Meimei¡¯s hair and gave her another p. ¡°Wh*re! Husband snatcher! I¡¯ll teach you what seducing another woman¡¯s man means! I¡¯ll kill you!¡± As she spoke, she punctuated her angry remarks by throwing punches at Su Meimei. Su Meimei, on the other hand, was so confused she couldn¡¯t react. That woman was Liu Zhixing¡¯s wife? How was that possible? Weren¡¯t she and Liu Zhixing about to get married? How on earth had she suddenly be a third party? Not knowing why, she suddenly recalled how she had mocked Qiao Lian for being a third party and now... As Su Meimei stood there stunned, the woman kicked her in the stomach. She bent in pain and cried, ¡°Let me go! I don¡¯t know, I don¡¯t know...¡± At this point, as if suddenly remembering something, she jumped and directed a clenched fist at the woman. ¡°I¡¯ll teach you a lesson! How dare you hit me?!¡± However, before her punch could evennd on the woman¡¯s face, Liu Zhixing had reached out to grab her hand. He warned her in a low voice, ¡°Su Meimei, don¡¯t hit Xiao Li!¡± With her hand now held by Liu Zhixing¡¯s grip, it gave the women another opportunity to tightly p her on the face. This one was a vicious p indeed, for the woman had used her nails to scratch her skin, leaving angry scratch marks at the same time. Su Meimei had been beaten into a stupor by now. She lifted her leg to kick Liu Zhixing. After his crotch was kicked, he keeled over in pain and could not stand upright. He joined the woman in beating up Su Meimei with anger. No one in the crowd that had gathered dared to step forward and stop the brawl. As Qiao Lian looked at all of this coldly, a sharp expression appeared on her face. Shi Nianyao was astonished, to say the least. Su Meimei was now like a fallen viin, beaten into a corner and unable to retaliate. She squatted there like a mad woman, scheming how she could defeat the other two. But how could she stand up to the couple? This was aplete... disaster. Shi Nianyao whispered in Qiao Lian¡¯s ear, ¡°How did you know Liu Zhixing is married?¡± They had no ess to his personal details. Furthermore, when Su Meimei had announced her rtionship with Liu Zhixing in a big way, Liu Zhixing had never denied it. Hence everyone in the news agency had no idea he was married. Qiao Lian lowered her gaze and said, ¡°I once identally saw a man¡¯s wedding ring in his office. Then when Su Meimei was bragging that they were going to get married and showed off her ring, I noticed that the ring was different to the one I saw in his office¡ªthey weren¡¯t a pair. That was when I became suspicious. And on another asion, I saw a few strands of hair on Liu Zhixing¡¯s shirt, but they were short so they wouldn¡¯t have been Su Meimei¡¯s. So I became more certain.¡± Shi Nianyao raised her thumb. ¡°Brilliant!¡± Quietly, without saying another word, Qiao Lian continued watching the scene in the room unfold. Looking at Su Meimei, she was sure that Su Meimei had been cheated on by Liu Zhixing. Objectively speaking, she was an innocent victim. The main yer of this tragedy had really been Liu Zhixing. That was the reason why she had held back all this time. She had even considered warning Su Meimei. But what Su Meimei had done to her today had crossed the boundaries. That was why she had asked for help from Shen Liangchuan to check Liu Zhixing¡¯s background. Liu Zhixing had worked at other news agencies previously, and Shen Liangchuan was well connected with various news agencies. It hadn¡¯t been at all difficult to get hold of Liu Zhixing¡¯s wife¡¯s number. Chapter 358 - Enraged Qiao Lian (8)

Chapter 358: Enraged Qiao Lian (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios What followed next goes without saying. Although Su Meimei was in a tragic state, Qiao Lian felt no sympathy for her. Looking down, she turned around and walked back to her own office. Shi Nianyao followed her, groveling, ¡°What do you think will happen now?¡± ¡°What will happen?¡± Qiao Lian said calmly, ¡°Su Meimei will probably be fired. And we won¡¯t have to deal with her anymore.¡± Shi Nianyao nodded enthusiastically. ¡°It serves her right!¡± The matter was quickly resolved. Liu Zhixing owed his sessful career to his wife, and of course he would do anything to appease her. Hence he fired Su Meimei and had her leave immediately, without even giving her time to pack and retrieve her belongings. As to her threats of suing them, Liu Zhixing said arrogantly, ¡°Go ahead and sue us! At worst I¡¯ll pay apensation fee. We were both consenting adults. What has it got to do with my wife that you¡¯re so low-down?¡± Su Meimei was firmly escorted out of the office despite her violent objections, and even after being escorted out, she stood outside the agency shouting and yelling. Whenever something came to mind, her eyes would light up and she would yell out to Liu Zhixing¡¯s wife, ¡°You think Liu Zhixing is clean? Let me tell you, I¡¯m not his first affair, we have a worker by the name of Qiao Lian and both of them have something going on too. They slept together as well! Look at Qiao Lian, she looks like a vixen!¡± As soon as she said this, Liu Zhixing¡¯s wife immediately turned around and red at Qiao Lian, who was already in her office. Qiao Lian didn¡¯t know whether tough or to cry. This Su Meimei, she was rotten to the core! Qiao Lian stood up immediately. ¡°Su Meimei, are you mentally sick?¡± Liu Zhixing quickly denied it. ¡°Honey, that¡¯s utter rubbish! Really, there¡¯s no one else. Only this one. And I admit my mistake, honey, please forgive me!¡± His wife frowned and moved her gaze from one person to the other back and forth, not knowing who to believe. Su Meimeiughed scornfully. ¡°Look at her, which man wouldn¡¯t want her? It¡¯s her! She had an affair with Liu Zhixing!¡± Qiao Lian threw her hands up in defeat. This was crazy. Shi Nianyao immediately spoke up, ¡°This is funny. You¡¯ve admitted that our Chief Editor Lian Lian is pretty? If she indeed had an affair with the managing editor, would you have stood a chance against her? She¡¯s so pretty she could have any man she wants.¡± At these words, Su Meimei was fuming. ¡°Any man she wants? Well, then it depends which man would have her! Her brother¡¯s a cripple and she needs a lot of money for medical treatments! Who would want a woman like that? The managing editor once even wanted to lend her two million dors.¡± Her face was swollen from the beating and was now hardly recognizable. But still, she was trying to take Qiao Lian down with her. She pointed at the people of Team One and insisted, ¡°Ask them if you don¡¯t believe me, they all know about it!¡± Liu Zhixing¡¯s wife red at all of them fiercely. Everyone looked down and no one uttered a word. Although she had been fired, her aunt was their chief editor. And even if her aunt wasn¡¯t around today, she would find out afterwards if they said anything. No one was going to put themselves in a bad position. ¡°Su Meimei, stop making frivolous usations!¡± Qiao Lian could no longer tolerate the unfounded usations. ¡°Huh, you deny any rtionship with the managing editor? Prove your innocence then! Prove that you¡¯ve never slept with him!¡± As soon as she said these words, a familiar male voice came from outside the doorway. ¡°I¡¯m the evidence.¡± Chapter 359 - Enraged Qiao Lian (9)

Chapter 359: Enraged Qiao Lian (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Because it was so quiet, everyone heard very clearly what the voice had said. The crowd turned simultaneously to find the source of the voice, and they were greeted by the sight of a man wearing a resplendent white suit walking in. His graceful gait and elegant carriage gave clear hints that he didn¡¯te from a modest family. Su Meimei¡¯s pupils shrank immediately. Everyone in the office looked astonished. Qiao Lian asked him, ¡°Sun Linan, why are you here?¡± She didn¡¯t want to call him by his nickname in everyone¡¯s presence. Indeed, Sun Linan was there. He stepped forward and stood before her with an angry expression. ¡°If I hadn¡¯te here, I wouldn¡¯t have known how you¡¯re suffering working in a ce like this!¡± He turned around, red fiercely at the people around and then grabbed Qiao Lian¡¯s hand. ¡°I, Sun Linan, the heir of Suzhou¡¯s Sun Enterprise, am trying every day to get Qiao Lian to marry me. Do you think that she¡¯d care about promotion or your managing editor?¡± Although Sun Linan might be unreliable at times and may even be quite clueless in many ways, he was good looking andvish. And when it came to big asions, he had no problem holding his ground. Compared to him, it was clear that Liu Zhixing was a far cry below. Even Liu Zhixing¡¯s wife was at a loss for words at this point. Between Sun Linan and Liu Zhixing, only a blind person would go for thetter. Liu Zhixing¡¯s wife, beginning to understand the situation now, frowned and glowered at Su Meimei, ¡°You vixen! Wh*re! You dare make groundless usations even at this point!¡± She was sure that this sl*t was aiming to bully Qiao Lian and then ruin Liu Zhixing¡¯s career at the news agency. Realizing this, the woman shouted as she dashed out of the office, ¡°Sl*t! Don¡¯t you dare leave! I¡¯ll teach you a lesson!¡± Su Meimei recalled the beating she had gotten and shrieked as she hurried to the elevator. Unfortunately, the elevator took too long. The woman managed to grab her and gave her yet another thorough beating. ¨C Back at the office, Shi Nianyao eximed excitedly. ¡°She¡¯s really shot her own foot this time!¡± Sheughed out loud. ¡°She¡¯s finally gone. From now on, we¡¯ll be finally left in peace!¡± Sun Linan looked at Shi Nianyao and smiled at her pleasingly. Then he turned to Qiao Lian. ¡°Xiao Lian, let¡¯s go for dinner¡ª¡± Qiao Lian looked at the time and replied, ¡°I can¡¯t. I have ns for tonight.¡± She had an appointment with Fan Lu to meet at the Glitter Bar, so she didn¡¯t have time to have dinner with Sun Linan. Sun Linan immediately showed a hurt expression on his face. ¡°Xiao Lian, you didn¡¯t join me the other time and today you¡¯re not joining me either.¡± He looked so dejected that Qiao Lian quickly shook her head and said, ¡°Sun Tzi, I really do have something nned today. We can have a meal next time.¡± As she said this, she started packing her belongings and headed to the exit. Sun Linan followed behind her all the way downstairs, and he was about to say something when Qiao Lian halted and turned to face him. ¡°Sun Tzi, do you remember what I dislike most?¡± Sun Linan stopped in his tracks. ¡°You dislike people following you.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. So stop following me. I really do have business to attend tonight, is that okay?¡± Sun Linan opened his mouth to say something, but he then saw that Qiao Lian had already dashed to the side of the road to hail an approaching cab. She got onto the cab without looking back. Sun Linan stood alone by the road, looking absolutely crushed. Chapter 360 - Enraged Qiao Lian (10)

Chapter 360: Enraged Qiao Lian (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Her decisiveness made her seem as though she was determined to annihte all the memories from her past. Sun Linan clenched his fists tightly and lowered his gaze with disappointment. He gave a bitterugh. How could she be so cruel? ¨C Qiao Lian arrived at the Glitter Bar ten minutes before 6 p.m., the meeting time. She walked in, provided the private room number Fan Lu had indicated and went upstairs. Glitter was a proper bar in Beijing that had earned the reputation of being a safe ce. It served an upper-ss crowd that respected women, hence Qiao Lian wasn¡¯t too worried about her own safety. As she walked out of the elevator and turned the corner, she suddenly bumped into a dark silhouette. She took a few steps back with surprise and frowned. Then she looked up. Before her stood a tall man with a rather big frame. He was wearing a loud and eye-catching printed shirt. Because his back was to the light, it was hard to see his features. But in a sh, she had a sense of familiarity. As she squinted at the man to figure out where she knew him from, she heard him say, ¡°Oh, now you¡¯re walking right into my arms voluntarily?¡± When he spoke, his breath reeked of both alcohol and tobo. His frivolous tone made Qiao Lian frown. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Taking another step back, she moved to squeeze past him. The man then raised his hand to block her path. ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re ying hard to get?¡± Qiao Lian paused. The man lowered his head slightly. ¡°You¡¯re quite a beauty.¡± Qiao Lian tilted her head to the side and sized him up. ¡°And...?¡± ¡°But I¡¯m not interested in you. I¡¯ve seen all the tricks that you women have up your sleeves and I¡¯m tired of them!¡± ¡°How narcissistic!¡± Qiao Lian thought. With his smug attitude, this guy was just asking for it. She smirked and replied, ¡°Mister, don¡¯t worry. I don¡¯t think much of men who are narcissistic and arrogant.¡± With these words, she stepped back and took her leave. After being rejected in such a way, the man raised an eyebrow as he watched her silhouette disappear. ¨C Qiao Lian was able to quickly locate Fan Lu¡¯s private room. Even though she was quite certain that this trip wouldn¡¯t bear fruit, she still pushed open the door and entered the room. She had expected that it would be chaotic inside the private room, but to her surprise it was very quiet. It was only Fan Lu and her lover, Young Master Lu. Both sitting on the sofa, Fan Lu had her hand around Young Master Lu¡¯s arm. As Qiao Lian entered the room, Fan Lu followed her movements with her sharp eyes. Young Master Lu looked up curiously, as if waiting for someone. But when he saw Qiao Lian, he immediately looked disappointed. Qiao Lian began the conversation by politely introducing herself, ¡°Miss Fan, I¡¯m a journalist from G8ssip News Agency. I wanted to talk with you about¡ª¡± Before she could finish speaking, Fan Lu sneered, ¡°You¡¯re the reporter who imed that I¡¯m a third-party and home-wrecker?¡± Qiao Lian pursed her lips and answered, ¡°Miss Fan, that was my fault. I will make an public apology for damaging your reputation through a news report.¡± Fan Lu immediately stood up and walked to her arrogantly. ¡°An apology? If an apology was useful to me, why would I have called the police?¡± Qiao Lian was stumped. She frowned and looked at Fan Lu. ¡°So what do you want then?¡± Fan Lu gave a mockingugh. ¡°What do I want? How about this, if you kneel down and beg me, I could reconsider letting this matter rest.¡± Kneel? Qiao Lian¡¯s expression darkened. She clenched her fists and gave a derisiveugh. She, Qiao Lian, would bow down to the heavens, the earth and her parents, but she would never bow down to anyone else. Chapter 361 - She is My Wife! (1)

Chapter 361: She is My Wife! (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian hade with the intention to try and see how the woman felt. From Fan Lu¡¯s reaction, Qiao Lian realized that she wouldn¡¯t get very far. Since this was the case, there was no point in staying any longer. She lowered her gaze and turned to leave. When she had only taken a couple of steps, she heard Fan Lu speak, ¡°If you dare leave, I¡¯ll take your news agency to court tomorrow. I¡¯ll be asking for apensation of 2 million dors! Also, someone¡¯s head will roll. You have the guts to write about Lu Shao, you must be out of your mind!¡± Every word she said was a threat. Qiao Lian turned back to look at them and smiled sarcastically. ¡°You¡¯re wrong. My article was about you, not Lu Shao. Miss Fan, please don¡¯t let public opinion confuse you.¡± Even if Su Meimei had dared to make some changes in the draft, she wouldn¡¯t have dared to include Lu Shao¡¯s name. Fan Lu frowned and retorted, ¡°How unreasonable can you get? You¡ª¡± At this point she turned to look at her lover, stomping her foot. ¡°Lu Shao, look at that! Someone¡¯s insulting me right in front of you.¡± Lu Shao was calm and stood up as he nced at Qiao Lian. Following this, he cast his gaze down as though thinking. ¡°This matter¡ª¡± Before he could continue, someone came to the door and softly said, ¡°Lu Shao, Mr Shen is here.¡± As soon as Lu Shao heard this, he looked up and quickly nced at the doorway. Even Fan Lu looked up excitedly and looked in the same direction. Qiao Lian was stunned for a moment as she turned and saw Shen Liangchuan stride into the private room. He was dressed in a light grey suit and leather shoes. Hisrge frame was naturally intimidating and the moment he stepped in, his presence was felt. However it was obvious that when he saw Qiao Lian, he hated briefly. He raised his eyebrows and looked very surprised. Before he could say a word, Lu Shao had dashed over to him, eximing, ¡°Brother Shen!¡± His voice was full of emotion and excitement, as though he had just spotted his idol. He was entirely different from the calm person he had just been a moment ago. Shen Liangchuan somehow decided to hold back what he had been about to say before. He looked at Lu Shao and calmly acknowledged him with a mumble. Lu Shao¡¯s eyes were turning slightly red now. ¡°Brother Shen, so many years have passed since youst contacted me, I was so sad! When you left just like that, without a word, you didn¡¯t you care about the rest of us anymore? We¡¯re brothers!¡± When Shen Liangchuan heard this, he pursed his lips for a moment and then asked, ¡°So why did you ask me toe here?¡± His attitude was a little withdrawn and he kept a distance. Lu Shao paused for a moment and then sighed heavily. He turned to take a nce at Fan Lu, who looked as though she couldn¡¯t wait for her presence to be noticed, and said, ¡°Let me introduce you two. This is¡ª¡± ¡°Best Actor Shen, I¡¯m Fan Lu! I¡¯m a supporting actress in the film Ambition. Very soon I¡¯ll be working with you, what an honour! I have a lot to learn from you.¡± As she said this, she extended her hand to Shen Liangchuan. Shen Liangchuan did not reply and instead looked at Qiao Lian. ¡°Why are you here?¡± At this point, Qiao Lian wanted tough. She had initially thought that there would be no easy solution for the matter between herself and Fan Lu. But who would have guessed that Shen Liangchuan was going to make an appearance? In addition, it seemed that Lu Shao somehow knew Shen Liangchuan. Still... Lu Shao was the owner of Lu Enterprise and Shen Liangchuan was only an actor. Normally, someone like Lu Shao wouldn¡¯t bother with celebrities. However, his respectful attitude towards Shen Liangchuan puzzled Qiao Lian. Chapter 362 - She is My Wife! (2)

Chapter 362: She is My Wife! (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios So who was Shen Liangchuan really? Before Qiao Lian could figure this out, Fan Lu started diminishing her, ¡°What else? She¡¯s just a reporter who writes irresponsibly! The article with my name on it was written by her. She¡¯s here to ask for my forgiveness. Best Actor Shen, you¡¯re a veteran and I¡¯m sure you have a lot of experience in dealing with these liars. What do you say I should do?¡± Fan Lu had a smug smile on her face as she said this. Everyone in the entertainment circle knew that Best Actor Shen hated the paparazzi. As she didn¡¯t want to seem too ruthless in front of Young Master Lu, she conveniently pushed the matter to Best Actor Shen so that he would y the bad guy instead. She smiled triumphantly at her own brilliant scheme and then gave Qiao Lian a fierce re. ¡°I was going to let the matter go initially, but what do you know? This reporter has got some guts, even her apology is half-hearted.¡± ¡°Best Actor Shen, I know that you and Young Master Lu are good friends. If someone were to write rubbish about me, I wouldn¡¯t mind. But because the news report has implications for Young Master Lu, it¡¯s a different story. What do you think, Best Actor Shen?¡± Fan Lu leaned back and waited to watch the situation unfold. Young Master Lu quickly interrupted her, ¡°Brother Shen has never liked to get himself involved in such things, why bother him about such a small matter? Let¡¯s just ask this junior reporter to leave. Brother Shen, let¡¯s sit and have a chat.¡± However the next moment, Shen Liangchuan spoke up, ¡°I think...¡± The moment he spoke, Young Master Lu paused and suddenly looked pleasantly surprised. Ever since Shen Liangchuan had left eight years ago, he had not contacted them. But now he seemed to care enough to intervene in this matter. Fan Lu looked pleasantly surprised as well,pletely expecting that Shen Liangchuan was going to give her some suggestions on how to best punish this reporter. However, he said instead, ¡°She didn¡¯t write anything untrue.¡± As he said this, both Fan Lu and Young Master Lu were stunned and eximed, ¡°What?!¡± Shen Liangchuan squinted and asked Young Master Lu, ¡°You¡¯re not married?¡± Failing to see the light, he replied, ¡°Of course I am!¡± ¡°So she¡¯s not your lover?¡± Young Master Lu was bbergasted. Fan Lu remained silent. This whole situation felt a little wrong somehow. Fan Lu blinked and smiled forcefully. ¡°Best Actor Shen, you can¡¯t really put it that way, this is private. How could she put my name in the article? This has serious implications on my reputation. For this reason, I can¡¯t be tolerate this matter! But I am a generous person and if she kneels and bows to me to apologize, I¡¯ll let it go. What do you think?¡± Shen Liangchuan frowned and a cold expression crossed his face. She wanted Qiao Lian to kneel and bow to her? In her dreams! Young Master Lu gulped awkwardly and took a step forward. ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about her, she¡¯s just a junior reporter. Brother Shen, did youe here alone? You didn¡¯t bring Sister-inw with you? How could you?! You didn¡¯t even inform us when you got married and so far, we haven¡¯t been introduced to Sister-inw.¡± Young Master Lu said all of this in an attempt to change the topic. But after he had said this, Shen Liangchuan gave an icy and unexpected reply, ¡°You already know her.¡± Young Master Lu was stunned for a moment. Shen Liangchuan walked up to Qiao Lian and ced his hand on her arm with an expression that made the couple tremble. ¡°Allow me to introduce my wife, Qiao Lian.¡± Then to Qiao Lian, he said, ¡°Lu Ming.¡± After this simple introduction was made, the room fellpletely silent. Chapter 363 - She is My Wife! (3)

Chapter 363: She is My Wife! (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The room was silent all of a sudden. Lu Ming and Fan Lu were both bbergasted. They simultaneously turned to look at Qiao Lian. After a while, Lu Ming coughed once and said, ¡°This¡ª¡± Fan Lu interrupted him, ¡°This is not possible!¡± How could a junior reporter be the wife of Best Actor Shen? She must have misheard? She widened her eyes and gulped down, unable to ept the reality. But when she looked at the couple again, Shen Liangchuan was still standing there with his hand ced affectionately on Qiao Lian¡¯s arm. Fan Lu¡¯s gaze fell on Qiao Lian once more. Only now did she realize that although the junior reporter¡¯s clothes were ordinary, her features were delicate and well worth a few looks. She was as pretty as any other celebrity. Lu Ming confusedly looked at Qiao Lian, and then his gaze went back to Shen Liangchuan. Finally he said, ¡°Gosh, this has really been a big misunderstanding! Who would have thought we¡¯re family? As the saying goes... sometimes what we¡¯re looking for is right before us, isn¡¯t it so, Sister-inw?¡± Seeing that Lu Ming had a sudden change of attitude, Qiao Lian felt satisfied. She nced at Shen Liangchuan. From the start, she had known that Shen Liangchuan would be on her side, but she had not expect that he would announce their rtionship to them. She couldn¡¯t help but smile at the wondrous feeling that from now on she would be protected. As for Fan Lu, she could only twitch her lips and quickly say, ¡°So it seems like it¡¯s all been a misunderstanding.¡± ¡°Misunderstanding?¡± Shen Liangchuan raised his eyebrows and nced at Lu Ming. ¡°She is not your lover?¡± Lu Ming kept silent. ¡°So really, there¡¯s no misunderstanding. Lu Ming, you¡¯re still such a fearful man when handling important matters. Are you afraid to take up responsibility for your own acts?¡± At his remark, Lu Ming¡¯s ears turned red. He winced and said, ¡°Brother Shen, you¡¯re a bit harsh with your words.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that my words are harsh, it¡¯s that you have bad taste.¡± Lu Ming kept silent. Shen Liangchuan put his arm around Qiao Lian¡¯s waist and led her to the doorway without even throwing a mere nce at Fan Lu. He said to Lu Ming, ¡°See you again.¡± Then with his arm still around Qiao Lian, they left the room. As they were walking out of the room, they heard someone say with a humorous tone, ¡°Say, isn¡¯t that my brother?¡± On hearing the somewhat familiar voice, Qiao Lian looked up and saw at once the man in the loud shirt who she had ran into earlier on. He was now standing right before of them. He slightly raised his eyebrow with a look of surprise. His remark was directed at Shen Liangchuan? On realizing this, Qiao Lian looked at Shen Liangchuan. At the same time, she felt him halt and tense up. The lighting along the corridor was dim and Qiao Lian found herself looking straight at the bright colors on his shirt. Now that she was face to face with the man, her mind could finally register his features. Qiao Lian widened her eyes at once and stared at the man in disbelief. Then she turned and looked at Shen Liangchuan. No wonder she found the man with the loud shirt vaguely familiar. Now that she was looking at the both of them, she could see their resemnce. As these thoughts shed through her mind, she noticed the man gave Shen Liangchuan a sinister look and then shifted his gaze to her. At once he put on a joyful expression, reached out his hand and grabbed Qiao Lian¡¯s arm, saying, ¡°Brother! This woman is mine now!¡± Chapter 364 - She Is My Wife! (4)

Chapter 364: She Is My Wife! (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian was so fully focused on what the loud shirt guy was saying that she did not notice what he had done. ¡°Brother¡± yet again. But this time it wasn¡¯t ¡°Brother Shen¡±, it was just simply ¡°Brother.¡± So this man was... Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression darkened and he frowned slightly. Before he could speak, Lu Ming excitedly called out behind them, ¡°Hey, Zihao, what a coincidence! What are you doing here?¡± As he said this, he casually removed the loud shirt guy¡¯s hand from Qiao Lian¡¯s arm. As soon as the guy heard Lu Ming¡¯s words, he raised an eyebrow and said unceremoniously, ¡°Why? Now that he¡¯s a small celebrity, you¡¯re sucking up to him? What do you get out of it? Good-for-nothing!¡± Lu Ming turned to nce at Shen Liangchuan and saw that, apart from moving Qiao Lian away so that now he was standing in front of her protectively, there was no trace of anger in his expression. Lu Ming thenughed and said, ¡°Zihao,e with me. I have something interesting to show you.¡± The loud shirt guy raised an eyebrow and said instead, ¡°Lu Ming, you used to by my brother¡¯sckey back then and I see that hasn¡¯t changed. What would you have that¡¯s so interesting? But on the other hand, I haven¡¯t seen my brother in what? Three or four years? Ha...¡± As he said this, he took a step forward as though he was extremely fond of his brother. However, Qiao Lian could sense a vicious undercurrent in his expression. ¡°Brother, how¡¯s our mother?¡± Our mother. Bingo! The man standing before them was indeed Shen Liangchuan¡¯s brother! On hearing this, Shen Liangchuan replied deliberately and slowly, ¡°She¡¯s well.¡± ¡°Well?¡± Shen Zihao rubbed his chin for a moment. ¡°That¡¯s good then, I¡¯ll visit her some day.¡± After he had said this, his gaze shifted back to Qiao Lian again. ¡°Hey, let¡¯s talk about other things. Why, Brother, are you interested in this girl too? She¡¯s quite a stunner.¡± Then he raised his hand with the intention of touching Qiao Lian¡¯s face. However, Shen Liangchuan reached out to grip his hand before he could do that. Shen Zihao raised his eyebrow. ¡°Why? It¡¯s only a girl. You¡¯re not letting me have her?¡± Shen Liangchuan lowered his gaze and said with a hint of tolerance, ¡°Stop fooling around.¡± ¡°Fooling around? Why is liking a girl considered fooling around? Only you can like her and I cannot? What sort of logic is that?¡± Shen Zihao chortled coldly and demanded, ¡°Brother, this woman, are you letting me have her?¡± Shen Liangchuan scowled and replied, ¡°Shen. Zi. Hao!¡± The warning in his tone was clear. Shen Zihao¡¯s eyes shed and he stubbornly stuck out his chin. ¡°What? Eight years ago you took mother away from me. And now I¡¯m asking for a girl, that¡¯s a fairpensation.¡± As he said these words, he ignored all reasoning and reached out once more to touch Qiao Lian. Qiao Lian was already behind Shen Liangchuan, but seeing Shen Zihao¡¯s behaviour, she recoiled and took a step back. Before Shen Zihao¡¯s hand could make contact with Qiao Lian, Shen Liangchuan had grabbed him by his shirt cor. He gave Shen Zjhao a forceful push that sent the man stumbling a few steps back before he could steady himself again. Shen Liangchuan sneered, ¡°It was you who didn¡¯t want to go with mother eight years ago. Why do you even bring it up now?¡± Shen Zihao mockinglyughed and ignored Shen Liangchuan. He looked straight at Qiao Lian. ¡°Hey, beautiful, do you know who I am?¡± Without waiting for Qiao Lian to speak, he continued, ¡°This man you¡¯re with is the big shame of the Shen family. He¡¯s worth nothing, just an actor. But I, I am the true heir of the Shen family!¡± Chapter 365 - She Is My Wife! (5)

Chapter 365: She Is My Wife! (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Oh, and do you know the Shen family? Everyone in Beijing knows us. When you speak of the Shen family, everyone will think of us. So who will be more beneficial to you, surely it¡¯s obvious? Come on, make a choice, is it going to be me or him?¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression was dark and brooding now, like an impending storm. Qiao Lian noticed this and reached out her hand to tug at his sleeve. Then she looked at Shen Zihao as though suddenly realizing something. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s Young Master Shen!¡± Immediately, Shen Zihao looked pompous. ¡°Well, it looks like you know our family. If that¡¯s the case, you should have no concerns, right?¡± Then he stretched his hand out to Qiao Lian. ¡°Come with me.¡± Qiao Lian blinked and then nodded, stretching her hand as well. Shen Zihao stuck his chin out haughtily. But as he thought he had seeded, the hand that was supposed to grab his suddenly tightly gripped his arm. The next moment, the room spun in the blink of an eye. The next thing he knew, he had been thrown on the ground mercilessly. Qiao Lian¡¯s skillful shoulder technique left everyone gaping with surprise. Following this, she dusted off her hands and looked down at the shocked Shen Zihao, saying, ¡°I had to teach you a lesson. You need to be more respectful towards your big brother¡¯s wife!¡± After these words, she changed her tonepletely and immediately, like a needy little bird, she leaned against Shen Liangchuan and chirped, ¡°Let¡¯s go, honey.¡± This dramatic scene stunned everyone into a stupor. As Shen Liangchuan¡¯s and Qiao Lian¡¯s silhouettes disappeared into the far end of the corridor, Lu Ming turned to look at Shen Zihao, who had managed to sit up on the floor. Obviously, it had been a hard throw. He suddenly shuddered as he realized that Shen Liangchuan¡¯s wife had probably let him off easily earlier on. ¨C Since they left Glitter, Shen Liangchuan had had a gloomy expression on his face. Although most of the time he had been expressionless, but right now Qiao Lian knew he was in a truly bad mood. Was it because of that Shen Zihao? Qiao Lian opened her mouth to ask, but then eventually decided not to. She realized that she barely knew anything about Shen Liangchuan¡¯s life even though she had been married to him for some time. From the start, she had known that he didn¡¯t have an ordinary background, but she could never have imagined that he was from THE Shen family. The Qiao family had also owned a renowned family estate in Suzhou at the time, that was why she was familiar with all the great families and enterprises throughout the country. Among the countless corporations, the Shen family was one of the forerunners. The Shen family business was involved in many industries, including hotels, transportation, multimedia, entertainment etc. One could say they were the leaders in the business world and anyone in themunity would know them. She had had no idea that he had such a prominent background. She was still in a daze when she suddenly heard Shen Liangchuan say, ¡°When we get home, don¡¯t tell Mom we ran into Zihao.¡± Qiao Lian paused and immediately nodded. ¡°Okay.¡± From the confrontation between Shen Zihao and Shen Liangchuan, she could tell that Shen Zihao was not on good terms with Shen Liangchuan and his mother. Shen Liangchuan was already unhappy, there was no point in upsetting Xia Yehua as well. And now, since Shen Liangchuan wasn¡¯t going to keep exining, she decided not to probe. Just like how he had never probed into her own past. The two were silent all the way home. The minute they reached the house and got out of the car, they heard voicesing from the living room. Obviously, Xia Yehua was visiting again. Chapter 366 - She Is My Wife! (6)

Chapter 366: She Is My Wife! (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The atmosphere in the living room was extremely warm and inviting. When Shen Liangchuan walked in, he saw that Xia Yehua and Song Yuanxi had already cooked dinner. It was a sumptuous meal and it gave the house an air of joy and harmony. Perhaps Shen Liangchuan was in a bad mood, but he hid it quite well and it didn¡¯t show at all. As Qiao Lian observed him, she felt a dull ache in her heart. He had obviously been unhappy on the way back, but now he had to act as though nothing had happened. After dinner, they entertained Xia Yehua for a short while before they saw her out and went back up to the master bedroom. The moment they shut the door behind them, Qiao Lian immediately wrapped her arms around Shen Liangchuan¡¯s waist from behind. She could feel Shen Liangchuan hesitate for a moment, but immediately after, he held her tiny hands in his own big ones. The room was quiet. Qiao Lian did not speak and waited for him to say something. After a long time, Shen Liangchuan finally spoke. And he said very simply, ¡°When my parents divorced, my mother was granted custody of me and he got Zihao.¡± Qiao Lian assumed that by this ¡®he¡¯, Shen Liangchuan was probably referring to his father. She could tell that Shen Liangchuan did not like his father. Qiao Lian immediatelyforted him, ¡°Actually, it really doesn¡¯t matter. Twenty-year-olds can get quite rebellious. The separation of one¡¯s parents can indeed hurt the children. But when Shen Zihao grows up a little more, it¡¯ll be okay. He¡¯ll understand your mom.¡± Shen Liangchuan sighed deeply and nodded. He had never been an expressive person, and certainly not used to confiding in someone else. But for some reason, Qiao Lian¡¯s awkward way offorting him did make him feel a lot better. Shen Liangchuan turned around and suddenly extended his arms to embrace her tightly before letting her go. ¡°I¡¯m going to take a shower.¡± By the time Shen Liangchuan came out from the shower, Qiao Lian was ying on her cell phone. When she saw that he was done showering, she immediately stood up to head into the bathroom. She left her cell phone on her bedside table without locking the screen. As Shen Liangchuan sat on the bed waiting for Qiao Lian to finish her shower, her cell phone started vibrating. Almost reflexively, Shen Liangchuan picked up her phone and saw that it was a message from her news agency group chat. He was about to put the cell phone back on the bedside table when he identally read a message that hade in: [Qiao Lian, your boyfriend was really dashing today!] Shen Liangchuan paused. Boyfriend? After this, he read: [That¡¯s right, I did a background search on Sun Linan. He¡¯s actually from the Sun family in Suzhou! He¡¯s the only son and heir to the family estate. Qiao Lian, when are you guys nning to get married?] When he read them all, Shen Liangchuan couldn¡¯t help but type a short reply to the group chat. After Qiao Lian came out of the shower, she saw Shen Liangchuan sitting calmly on the bed and her cell phone was still on the bedside table. She wasn¡¯t sure if it was just her being overly sensitive, but she couldn¡¯t shake off the feeling that there was a dark, brooding vibe behind his nonchnce. Qiao Lian dried herself with the towel and blow-dried her hair, before finally putting on her pajamas and getting into bed. Shen Liangchuan looked at her twice with an unfathomable expression on his face, but said nothing. He then looked down and continued busily reading something on his cell phone. Not wanting to interrupt him, Qiao Lian picked up her cell phone. Immediately, she received a message from Shi Nianyao: [Chief Editor Lian Lian, quickly have a look at the Wechat group!] Qiao Lian paused for a second before clicking on Wechat. She found the agency chat group and had a casual look through it. Then she realized that she had posted a message! Chapter 367 - She Is My Wife! (7)

Chapter 367: She Is My Wife! (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Judging by the time the message had been sent, she had indeed been showering at that time. So how could she have sent that message? Moreover... what kind of message was that?! There was a sentence disyed on the phone screen: [Qiao Lian: My wife is taking a shower.] These words ignited the chatroom. Everyone was busymenting and asking who that person could be. Someone even asked: [Was that Sun Linan?] Qiao Lian winced and continued scrolling. Then she saw his reply: [Qiao Lian: I am Shen Liangchuan.] Qiao Lian: ... The next message hade exactly ten seconds after the first one, which had sted away the groupchat. Fortunately, the people in the groupchat had thought that she was just infatuated with him. Everyone was mocking her for daydreaming. Qiao Lian then looked at Shen Liangchuan, who was unfazed and calmly seating beside her. His expression was very natural, as if that message had not been sent by him. For that, he looked totally adorable! Qiao Lian controlled herughter and put her cell phone aside. Then, she moved closer to Shen Liangchuan, stretched out her hand to shake his arm, blinked her big eyes and said, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, were you the one who sent that message?¡± Shen Liangchuan calmly put his cell phone aside and raised his head slowly. ¡°Weren¡¯t you in the shower just now?¡± Qiao Lian: ... ¡°So I was just merely stating a fact.¡± Qiao Lian: ... This guy was always so stubborn! Qiao Lian stifled her urge tough and said, ¡°Are you jealous?¡± Shen Liangchuan was slightly stunned by her words. He froze and then coughed once. ¡°You¡¯re true about that.¡± Qiao Lian bursted outughing and then, while looking at Shen Liangchuan¡¯s cool gaze, she stopped smiling and said in a serious tone, ¡°You are indeed at the losing end when ites to this.¡± Shen Liangchuan raised an eyebrow. ¡°So do allow me to make it up to you.¡± As she said these words, she suddenly raised her head and initiated a gentle kiss on Shen Liangchuan¡¯s lips. Then shey down, blushing. But... She had justin down when she felt the warmth of a heated body pressing against hers. ¡°Hey, you... can¡¯t!¡± Qiao Lian was intending to say something but he covered her mouth. Next, they french-kissed for a long time. Shen Liangchuan felt like he had gone mad. The kiss that she had initiated seemed to have instantaneously ignited all the hormones in his blood, making him long for more. How could just a kiss be enough? Especially when he realized that the woman was cooperative, he began to show more initiative as both of his hands groped her body. Within a short span of time, almost all obstacles were gone. He finally lifted his head and while looking at Qiao Lian¡¯s blushing cheeks and misty eyes, he suddenly smiled. ¡°How can just a kiss be enough?¡± As soon as he finished speaking, his hand touched thest obstacle. However in his haste, his palm suddenly encountered something soft. That kind of feeling... His facial expression darkened instantaneously. As he looked down, he saw Qiao Lian¡¯s innocent eyes. She winced and said, ¡°Hmm, I am on my period.¡± Shen Liangchuan, ... She could feel that the man¡¯s body had stiffened. Qiao Lian lowered her head and wrapped herself under the nket, in the fear that he would vent his anger on her. Then, she couldn¡¯t help but smile once again. After that, she heard him say while clenching his teeth, ¡°Qiao Lian, you did that on purpose!¡± Chapter 368 - She Is My Wife! (8)

Chapter 368: She Is My Wife! (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In the middle of the night, peals ofughter could be hearding from the vi¡¯s master bedroom on the second floor, causing the housekeeper downstairs to pop her head out of her room with curiosity. What on earth was this couple doing? But immediately after this, the housekeeper blushed. Because she had heard the Madam¡¯sughter suddenly stop and turn into a low, pleading moan. ¨C The next morning, Qiao Lian was too exhausted to get out of bed, while Shen Liangchuan was refreshed and energized. Qiao Lian tried to move her fingers¡ªthey were a little numb. She thought about the man¡¯s requestst night and turned scarlet. It still made her heart thump. The atmosphere between the couple had gotten intense and highly charged. She found herself feeling too embarrassed to even look at him in the eyes. After breakfast, he got ready to send her to work as usual. Except... As they were about to drive away, Shen Liangchuan suddenly stopped and frowned. He was looking at a car that had driven into the vi neighbourhood and was now approaching them. He contemted it for a moment and changed direction. ¡°Let¡¯s pop by Mom¡¯s ce for a bit first.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. On the way to Xia Yehua¡¯s house, Qiao Lian realized that the car that they had seen driving into the vi was now parked at the courtyard. She got out of the car, and then to her surprise, saw the guy with the loud shirt getting out of the other car. Eh? Wasn¡¯t that... Shen Zihao? No wonder Shen Liangchuan had made the sudden decision toe to his mother¡¯s ce. It must have been because he had seen Shen Zichuan¡¯s car. As this thought ran through Qiao Lian¡¯s mind, the main door swung open and Xia Yehua appeared at the doorway with bloodshot eyes. She stared at Shen Zihao in disbelief for a moment. Her quivering lips managed to hoarsely whisper, ¡°Zihao?¡± Shen Zihao responded with a sneer and surveyed the apartment. Then he twitched his lips and said, ¡°I thought you had left with brother to have a better life, but look at this ce. It¡¯s not much bigger than the bathroom in our house! Ah, Mom, can you really put up with this?¡± Although he sounded like he was sympathizing with her, his expression was cold andcked emotion. Xia Yehua frowned and asked, ¡°Zihao, you are still upset with me? ¡± Shen Zihao replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. ¡°Why would I? What is there to be upset about? Upset with you for abandoning Dad and I? In fact, I should thank you. If it weren¡¯t for you leaving me with the Shen family, the heir of the Shen family would be him and I¡¯d be a mere actor.¡± The way he had insulted Shen Liangchuan made Qiao Lian¡¯s blood boil. She could feel the veins in her temple throbbing. Xia Yehua reprimanded him, ¡°Shut your mouth! You can¡¯t speak about your brother like that!¡± Shen Zihao shrugged and said, ¡°Fine, fine, I will say no more about your beloved son. Ha...¡± Then he swiftly changed the topic, ¡°I haven¡¯t had breakfast, is there any food left?¡± Xia Yehua followed the change of topic and said, ¡°Of course, Zihao, this is your home too, help yourself.¡± Shen Zihao shot Shen Liangchuan a provocative look and, without saying a word, he walked into the living room. Shen Liangchuan and Qiao Lian followed behind him. Xia Yehua hurriedly went into the kitchen and shortly after served him a bowl of Yangchun noodles, which she had prepared. ¡°Ziahao, as a child you used to like the Yangchun noodles that I cooked. Come have some.¡± Shen Zihao got up off the sofa, behaving like he was the king of the house, and strode slowly into the dining room. He took one nce at the bowl of Yangchun noodles and an expression of disdain spread across his face. With a smirk, he suddenly reached for the bowl of noodles and lifted it. Chapter 369 - She Is My Wife! (9)

Chapter 369: She Is My Wife! (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He held the bowl to his nose and carefully sniffed at it. Then he stretched his arm. Rxing his fingers, he dropped the bowl with the Yangchun noodles on the ground with a loud thud. The living room was silent all at once. Xia Yehua stood rooted to the ground, bbergasted. The noodles were now all over the floor, and the soup in the bowl had even sshed on her dress. Yet she stood there as though she felt nothing, staring straight at Shen Zihao. sping his hands together, Shen Zihao¡¯s eyes took in more of the surroundings before he casually remarked, ¡°Oh, I forgot to mention that the food that I hate most now is Yangchun noodles.¡± Shen Liangchuan glowered and took a step forward. He was about to say something when Xia Yehua and Qiao Lian both grabbed his arm and held him back. Seeing the expression on Shen Liangchuan¡¯s face, Qiao Lian was very certain that he had run out of patience and was going to give the rascal a beating. Shen Zihao, on the other hand, acted as though he hadn¡¯t noticed Shen Liangchuan¡¯s reaction and instead, turned around and sat on the dining chair. ring at him steadily, Xia Yehua paused for a moment before she asked in a calm and collected manner, ¡°What would you like to eat then?¡± ¡°Anything is ok.¡± With this, Xia Yehua went back to the kitchen and worked hard for another half an hour before she reappeared, this time with a Western-style breakfast and a traditional Chinese breakfast. Shen Zihao took a look at the two sets of breakfast and tapped his fingers on the table top a few times. During that whole time, no one spoke a single word. The atmosphere had be awkward and oppressive. Qiao Lian nced first at Shen Zihao, then at Xia Yehua and finally at Shen Liangchuan. He was standing there silently and did not speak a word. It was obvious that Shen Zihao was still full of resentment about his mother having left him. The best that they could do now was let time heal the emotional wounds. Song Yuanxi was also smart enough to just watch quietly, without drawing any attention to herself. Seeing that Shen Zihao ultimately did not pick up his chopsticks, Xia Yehua finally spoke, ¡°Zihao, is the food not to your taste?¡± Shen Zihao raised an eyebrow and stood up. He sneered, ¡°Not really, it¡¯s just that I¡¯m suddenly not hungry anymore.¡± Xia Yehua immediately looked anxious. ¡°Even if you¡¯re not hungry, you should eat a little. Skipping breakfast is bad for your health. Health is what enables you to do great things. All these years, no matter how busy your brother was, he would still eat his breakfast¡ª¡± At her remark, Zihao shut his eyes and snapped, ¡°I said I¡¯m not eating! Why do you care?¡± Xia Yehua paused for a moment and let out a deep sigh. Shen Zihaoughed derisively as he walked to the door to leave her apartment. As much as she couldn¡¯t bear to see him go, Xia Yehua did nothing to stop him, but she did say, ¡°Zihao, this is your home too, you cane by any time, okay?¡± The man paused for a moment and turned around. With a scowl he said, ¡°Sure.¡± After he had said this, the atmosphere slightly lightened up. Wistfully, Xia Yehua saw him to the door with Shen Liangchuan and Qiao Lian behind her. As Zihao got onto the car, Song Yuanxi suddenly spoke, ¡°Mr Shen...¡± Shen Zihao stopped and turned around looking a little puzzled, as though just realizing the presence of this person. Song Yuanxi nce once at Xia Yehua and smiled. ¡°It¡¯s such a rare opportunity for you two to meet, why don¡¯t you take a photo together?¡± Her words struck a chord with Xia Yehua. She stood there looking at her younger son expectedly. Shen Zihao frowned impatiently. ¡°I¡¯m not interested!¡± Immediately, Shen Liangchuan stepped forward and held his brother back by the shoulder. ¡°We¡¯ll take a photo. The three of us.¡± The force in Shen Liangchuan¡¯s action didn¡¯t seem to offer a choice. Xia Yehua smiled and quickly walked over to her two sons. Chapter 370 - She Is My Wife! (10)

Chapter 370: She Is My Wife! (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Grabbing the opportunity, Song Yuanxi quickly reached into her pocket. After a quick search she eximed, ¡°I don¡¯t have my cell phone with me.¡± Qiao Lian immediately said, ¡°Here, I¡¯ll use mine.¡± Then she took out her cell phone and snapped a picture of the three of them. In the picture, the two dashing-looking men stood next to their mother. Shen Zihao¡¯s face disyed a reluctant expression, while Shen Liangchuan was expressionless. Only Xia Yehua smiled so happily that her eyes could barely be seen in the photo. Shen Liangchuan only let Shen Zihao go after the picture was taken. Before Shen Zihao got into the car and drove away, however, he shot Shen Liangchuan a hostile re. Xia Yehua shook her head and smiled as she watched him leave. Then she turned to Qiao Lian asking anxiously, ¡°Where¡¯s the picture?¡± Qiao Lian selected the picture and disyed it on the screen for Xia Yehua. As Xia Yehua reached out for the cell phone with a trembling hand, her eyes turned teary with emotions. She stared at the image for a long time and sighed, ¡°It¡¯s been eight years. I haven¡¯t taken a picture with him for eight years.¡± The way she said it was heart-wrenching. Song Yuanxi quickly came forward tofort her. ¡°There¡¯s still plenty of time! Since Mr Shen has visited you, it shows he¡¯s no longer angry. So you don¡¯t have to worry anymore!¡± Xia Yehua smiled and looked at Qiao Lian again. ¡°Xiao Qiao, send me the picture as soon as possible.¡± Qiao Lian assured Xia Yehua that she would do so. She and Shen Liangchuan then got into their car and drove away from the vi. Sitting in the passenger seat, Qiao Lian remarked, ¡°Ipletely didn¡¯t know what to do before Yuanxi suggested taking a picture. But Mom was really happy.¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded. ¡°Yuanxi knows Mom the best.¡± Qiao Lian nodded in agreement. ¡°That¡¯s right. As the old saying goes, daughters are the closest to a mother¡¯s heart. And you, the son, had to be reminded by Yuanxi.¡± Shen Liangchuan pursed his lips tight and didn¡¯t say another word. Qiao Lian could tell that he was a little unhappy. She contemted it for a moment and reached out for his hand. ¡°There¡¯s nothing that cannot be resolved between a mother and a son. Zihao may have some grudges against you and your mom, but that will go away with time.¡± Shen Liangchuan let out a deep breath and he said with pessimism, ¡°Let¡¯s hope so.¡± ¨C The work day had been long and uninteresting. The news agency had been quiet since Su Meimei had left. It actually took a while for Qiao Lian to get used to not having that woman making snide remarks for her to hear all day long. And because the matter concerning Fan Lu had been well-managed, she was no longer putting the news agency in a difficult position. She didn¡¯t even bother with the proposed article that the news agency offered to help clear her name. Liu Zhixing therefore had been especially polite and nice to Qiao Lian. Except that just as the work day ended, there was a breaking piece of big news. ¡°Hurry up! Check Weibo!¡± ¡°Oh my god! This is the most sensational news I¡¯ve heard this year.¡± ¡°It reached the trending topics list after only having been published for five minutes.¡± The members of Team One discussed this with great excitement, so it didn¡¯t take long for Qiao Lian and Shi Nianyao of Team Two to realize it. Qiao Lian quickly took out her cell phone. Her pupils shrank immediately when she read the news. The headline read: [Best Actor Shen¡¯s Background Exposed!] Qiao Lian clicked Weibo with trembling hands. The first thing she saw was that photograph. That picture of Shen Liangchuan, Shen Zihao and Xia Yehua. The content of the article thoroughly exposed the identities of the three people in the picture. Shen Liangchuan was no ordinary celebrity, but the son of the Shen family. Qiao Lian¡¯s fingers froze as she read this and she dropped her cell phone on the ground, in shock. Chapter 371 - Do You Believe In Me? (1)

Chapter 371: Do You Believe In Me? (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian widened her eyes and looked at the picture in stunned disbelief. No matter how much she stared at the picture, it resembled the one in her cell phone. She clenched her fists tightly. Actually, the news report wasn¡¯t that bad. It only revealed Shen Liangchuan¡¯s identity and background. However... Because Shen Liangchuan had always hated the paparazzi, he had protected Xia Yehua and kept her shielded all these years. No one had known of her existence, and even his own identity had been a mystery. Ever since she had gotten to know about Shen Zihao, Qiao Lian hade to understand why Shen Liangchuan hated the paparazzi so much and why he kept such a low profile. It was all to keep his identity under cover. But now, the news report had exposed it all. Furthermore, that picture apanying the report had been taken with her very own cell phone. She bit her lip, suddenly realizing that she may have neglected something. Then she hit the side of her head, suddenly recalling the first day of her marriage to Shen Liangchuan. At the time Shen Liangchuan had said that he didn¡¯t want the media to know about their rtionship, however, the following day the news was all over the Inte. She had tried to convince Shen Liangchuan of her innocence but in the end, both she and Shen Liangchuan did not manage to find out who leaked the news. And now... would she be one of the main suspects for Shen Liangchuan? Clenching her fists, she hesitated as she considered giving Shen Liangchuan a call. Their rtionship now was quite different from when they had been newly married. If she was still Shen Liangchuan¡¯s main suspect when things went wrong, it would just show that he didn¡¯t trust her a bit. Thinking of this somewhat calmed her down. Team One had already been talking about it for a while. ¡°My god! The Shen family! Beijing¡¯s Shen family. Even if they aren¡¯t the nation¡¯s wealthiest, they are close!¡± ¡°Ahhhh, from the start I could already feel that among all the actors in the country, no one had the same air of elegance and sophistication that Best Actor Shen has. And no wonder, he¡¯s from one of the great families.¡± ¡°ording to the article, Best Actor Shen is the eldest son of the Shen family. Wouldn¡¯t that make him heir to the family¡¯s estate?¡± Every statement made Qiao Lian more nervous. If the picture had been released to the media, wouldn¡¯t the Shen family members¡¯ contact information get released too? She roughly bit her lip. Eventually, she could no longer endure it. She picked up her cell phone and dialled Shen Liangchuan¡¯s number. However, she wasn¡¯t able to get through. It seemed like Shen Liangchuan had turned off his cell phone. Her heart sank. Unable to remain seated, she stood up at once and called Shi Nianyao to inform her that she was leaving. Then, she went downstairs to hail a cab and headed home. Indeed, throngs of reporters were milling around the vi¡¯s neighbourhood. Yet the District Affairs Management was responsible and there was tight security, so none of them had been able to get into the district. Qiao Lian¡¯s cab drove straight into the vi district and, as she got off the cab at Xia Yehua¡¯s apartment, she heard there was a heated argument inside. The cab had dropped her at a short distance from the vi. Quickening her steps, she approached the vi and entered the vi grounds. As she entered, she noticed a few limited edition luxury cars parked in the courtyard. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that Shen Liangchuan had bought a big vi, the area wouldn¡¯t have been able to amodate all these cars. There were many cars so how many people were in the house exactly? She pushed open the door and stepped into the house. The living room that normally felt spacious now seemed a little tight. More than ten bodyguards in ck stood by the side, making the people in the house feel rather coerced. Chapter 372 - Do You Believe In Me? (2)

Chapter 372: Do You Believe In Me? (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian¡¯s footsteps halted as she subconsciously took a breath, preparing herself to confront whatever this situation was. At this point no one was speaking and it seemed like the guests had only just arrived, as the housekeeper hade in to serve drinks. She ced the sses on the coffee table and, looking frightened, she hurriedly retreated back to her own room. As Qiao Lian surveyed the room, her gaze fell first on Xia Yehua. Xia Yehua sat on the sofa, looking proud and indifferent, while Song Yuanxi stood behind her like a frightened rabbit, staring fearfully at the people in the room. Although frightened, she was holding on tightly to Xia Yehua¡¯s hand, as though wanting to give Xia Yehua strength and support. This simple gesture was heartwarming, even for Qiao Lian, who was just looking. The Shen family had not brought Song Yuanxi up in vain. She was a very active member, reliable and dependable in a critical moment like this. Qiao Lian then turned her gaze towards those who had just appeared. There were two guests. One was Shen Zihao with his usual loud shirt, but this time his expression was cold and the smirk on his face was barely obvious. The other person was a middle-aged man. He shared simr features with Shen Zihao and Shen Liangchuan. Then probably the man was... Shen Liangchaun¡¯s father. Although the man looked elegant and handsome, he was not breathtakingly dashing like his two sons. Obviously, the two men had gotten their striking looks mostly from Xia Yehua. The room was silent now, but Qiao Lian¡¯s presence caused the elder Mr. Shen and Shen Zihao to turn and fix their gaze on her. Qiao Lian stood still. She had attended much bigger events and this was not the time to lose herposure. Hence, she gave a faint smile, walked towards Xia Yehua and sat down beside her. Then she held Xia Yehua¡¯s hand and addressed the woman steadily, ¡°Mom.¡± Xia Yehua nodded and then looked at the two men before her. She frowned and gave an icy sneer. The elder Mr. Shen spoke, ¡°This is...?¡± His voice was deep and he sounded like a leader who was used to being in charge. Xia Yehua ignored him, but Shen Zihao immediately exined, ¡°My brother¡¯s wife.¡± Mr. Shen nodded and looked back at Xia Yehua with a coldugh. Xia Yehua narrowed her eyes and said, ¡°Well, Shen Xiu, what brings you here today?¡± ¡°What brings me here?¡± Shen Xiuughed derisively once more. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve seen the headlines on Weibo?¡± Xia Yehua¡¯s pupils shrank. ¡°So what about it? My son has always been a hot topic. The reporters pick up on every little thing to do with him.¡± Shen Xiu stood up with a jolt. ¡°Xia Yehua! Enough is enough!¡± Xia Yehua was not to be intimidated. She loudly mmed the table as though to challenge the other party. ¡°Shen Xiu, you¡¯re overstepping your boundaries! Raising your voice in my house? I can call the security to escort you out right now!¡± Shen Xiu frowned and red at her. ¡°Can you stop being this rude? Do you think raising your voice will change anything? Do you have any idea the damage that these headlines will cause to the Shen family? The eldest son of the Shen family is an actor, an entertainer! This is going to be gossip material and we, the Shen Family, will be theughing stock of the high society. This is the sort of son you¡¯ve brought up. Ha! This is great. Ever since he was born, he has made no contributions to the family, on the contrary, he only brought trouble! Where is he? Has he disappeared the moment there¡¯s trouble? Too ashamed toe home?¡± Chapter 373 - Do You Believe In Me? (3)

Chapter 373: Do You Believe In Me? (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Xiu¡¯s every word was like a stab to the heart. The remarks angered Qiao Lian so much that she clenched her fists and could not bear to listen further. However, since she was conscious that the man was Shen Liangchuan¡¯s father and she wasn¡¯t quite sure what attitude to adopt towards him, she held herself back and did not speak. Xia Yehuaughed with great disdain. ¡°You keep mentioning the Shen family. But have you forgotten when we divorced eight years ago, Shen Lianchuan stopped being a part of the Shen family!¡± ¡°Huh! That¡¯s not what outsiders would think!¡± As soon as Shen Xiu said this, a deep voice could be heard, ¡°I¡¯ll make an announcement that I have no rtions with you.¡± Upon hearing these words, Shen Xiu could no longer hold his temper and got up from the sofa, looking angrily in the direction of the main door. Shen Liangchuan, wearing a ck suit, walked into the living room with steady footsteps. With his back to the light, his tall and imposing frame stood erect, obscuring the light streaming into the living room. Now that he was home, Qiao Lian heaved a sigh of relief, as though she had found her anchor. And Xia Yehua, who had been tensed up until then, could now rx. But Shen Xiu obviously wasn¡¯t half as happy to see his firstborn. He suddenly looked agitated and said angrily, ¡°Rebel! How dare youe back!¡± Shen Liangchuan walked up to them and calmly spoke, ¡°This is my home, I cane back whenever I wish.¡± ¡°You-¡± Shen Xiu was livid. Shen Liangchuan lowered his gaze with little expression and said, ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, you may leave now.¡± Shen Xiu drew in a deep breath. ¡°Dishonourable son! How dare you talk to me this way? You have no respect for the elders?¡± Shen Liangchuan lifted his gaze and looked at him. ¡°My mother is right. When you two divorced eight years ago, we were no longer father and son. I have no father.¡± ¡°You- you dare to curse me!¡± ¡°Think whatever you wish.¡± Shen Liangchuan looked at the main door. ¡°I will get the office to make an announcement rifying that I am not rted to the Shen family.¡± ¡°People are not fools, they can see! The Shen Enterprise¡¯s reputation will be affected and I will be aughing stock. You¡ª¡± ¡°That is none of my business.¡± Shen Liangchuan slowly shifted his gaze back to Shen Xiu and spoke with heavy sarcasm in his words, ¡°Please leave, you¡¯re trespassing on private property.¡± Shen Xiu was about to continue, when Shen Liangchuan raised an eyebrow and interrupted him, ¡°If this matter blows up... you can see there are many reporters around the neighbourhood. Are you sure you want to get into trouble with me?¡± This seemed to immediately put out Shen Xiu¡¯s fury. He sneered vehemently and pointed at Shen Liangchuan. ¡°You¡¯d better spin a good story for this! Otherwise... Huh!¡± After these words, Shen Xiu left with all his men following behind him. Shen Zihao followed his father. As he neared the main door, he turned to look at Xia Yehua. It was a look of sadness apanied by coldness. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you would take advantage of me in our first meeting after such a long time. Dad is right. You¡¯re an unscrupulous and scheming woman!¡± ¡°Shen. Zi. Hao!¡± Shen Liangchuan hollered with fury. He was about to charge at his brother when Song Yuanxi suddenly called out shrilly, ¡°Auntie!¡± They turned around to look and saw that Xia Yehua was pointing at Shen Zihao¡¯s departing silhouette with trembling hands and quivering lips. While she had held her ground arguing with Shen Xiu just a moment ago, her legs had given way after hearing Shen Zihao¡¯s remark. She had copsed onto the ground. ¡°Mom!¡± Shen Liangchuan called out as he rushed to her. Shen Zihao, however, only gave a nce back before he turned and walked away. Chapter 374 - Do You Believe In Me? (4)

Chapter 374: Do You Believe In Me? (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xia Yehua widened her eyes and focused her gaze ahead, beyond the main door. Following Shen Zihao¡¯s departure, her hands fell to the sides, limp. She had dropped on the floor and passed out. After themotion, Xia Yehua was now lying on a hospital bed in the VIP ward. The doctor addressed the family members, ¡°The patient fainted because she was too agitated, it¡¯s nothing serious. However we did find her blood pressure a little high. For someone with this condition, it¡¯s best to keep her emotions in check, otherwise it could put her at risk.¡± Shen Liangchuan and Qiao Lian both nodded to show they understood. After seeing the doctor out, they turned to look at Xia Yehua who was lying on the hospital bed. Shen Liangchuan lowered his gaze. Song Yuanxi was by the bedside tending to her. Shen Liangchuan walked out of the ward and Qiao Lian followed him. She watched as he walked to the balcony nearby and took out his cell phone. He turned it on. At this point she realized that since the incident had happened, his private cell phone line must have been flooded with calls. That was probably why he had turned it off. After he turned on his cell phone, he made a call to Song Cheng and instructed him to make the announcement. Then he continued, ¡°This leak has to havee from someone in the household. Reporters couldn¡¯t have been able to get hold of the picture. Run a check on the housekeepers.¡± Qiao Lian was standing nearby and was touched when she overheard his words. He did not suspect her to be the cause of this mess. Nothing could make her happier. She lowered her gaze. Initially she had wanted to say something but now, she quietly retreated and went back to the ward. It was only the following day that Xia Yehua regained consciousness. When she came to, she sighed, ¡°Old age is catching up. My health is getting worse.¡± Qiao Lian teased her in an attempt to humour her, ¡°What are you saying, Mom? When you¡¯re next to me, people think we¡¯re sisters!¡± Xia Yehuaughed. ¡°You silly child!¡± Although her mood had lightened up, she had a poor appetite. Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan had taken leave from work to be at the hospital to apany her for the day. As Qiao Lian was concentrated in finding a way to get Xia Yehua to eat something, the ward door was suddenly flung open very impolitely. Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan turned to look and saw Shen Xiu, standing at the doorway looking very angry. He marched up and with a derisive sneer said, ¡°Xia Yehua, after so many years, you still won¡¯t give up!¡± Xia Yehua was stunned at this sudden outburst. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡°What am I talking about?¡± Shen Xiu repeated, and then he turned around and delivered a hard p. The pnded with a loud crack on Shen Liangchuan¡¯s face. As it had all happened in a sh, nobody could expect this at all. When Qiao Lian saw the scarlet mark left by Shen Xiu¡¯s hand, the fury inside her exploded. Xia Yehua was equally furious. ¡°Shen Xiu, are you mad!?¡± Shen Xiuughed and asked, ¡°I¡¯m mad?¡± He raised his hand again. ¡°Today I will beat him to death. This dishonourable son who only covets after the Shen family¡¯s assets!¡± This time, Shen Liangchuan was prepared and took a step back to dodge the second p. He said icily, ¡°I have no interest in your family¡¯s wealth.¡± ¡°No interest? Then why did your wife sell the information to the reporter!?¡± Shen Xiu raised his finger to point at Qiao Lian. ¡°I made someone investigate! The person who posted the report said it was Qiao Lian who sold them the information!!¡± When he said this, all eyes in the room simultaneously focused on Qiao Lian. Chapter 375 - Do You Believe In Me? (5)

Chapter 375: Do You Believe In Me? (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian¡¯s posture tensed up as she looked at Shen Xiu in disbelief. Ever since the photograph had been published in the article, she had had a bad feeling about it. It was the same sort of instinct that animals had when sensing danger. The suspense she had felt all this time finally culminated in this kind of situation. The worst had happened. And she had ultimately be the scapegoat. At least now she didn¡¯t have to deal with that dreaded feeling of suspense anymore. She then turned to look at Xia Yehua lying on the hospital bed. Frowning, Xia Yehua nced at Qiao Lian briefly and then her expression turned to anger as she shifted her nce to Shen Xiu. She did not look as though she believed Shen Xiu¡¯s usations. Qiao Lian heaved a sigh of relief and nced at Shen Liangchuan again. His reaction was direct and straight-to-the-point. Looking up, he said immediately, ¡°It¡¯s not possible!¡± Shen Xiuughed derisively. ¡°So far you¡¯re still in denial? This is a joke! Did you think that if you revealed publicly your identity as a member of the Shen family, you¡¯d be epted back in the family and inherit part of the Shen family¡¯s assets? Keep dreaming! The both of you will not inherit a single cent of the family¡¯s wealth!¡± His vicious words fell harshly. Even Qiao Lian was angered by these callous remarks, not to mention Shen Liangchuan. Her own father had never directed a harsh remark at her in all her life. She did not understand how a father could ever say such things to his own child. She could only marvel at this man! Clenching her fists with anger, she was about to speak but Shen Liangchuan beat her to it, ¡°Mr. Shen, if you continue creating trouble here, I¡¯ll have to call the police!¡± Shen Xiu frowned on hearing this. ¡°Xia Yehua, both you and Shen Liangchuan are just as bad. Even now, you¡¯re not going to admit it?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve done nothing wrong, what is there to admit?¡± Xia Yehua continued, ¡°Shen Xiu, you have to be responsible for your own words. You¡¯ve used Qiao Lian for selling information. Where¡¯s your proof?¡± Shen Xiu lifted his hand and shook his finger at Xia Yehua. ¡°Fine, fine, you just won¡¯t believe it until you see concrete evidence! The reporter who wrote the article confessed that someone with the surname Qiao sold them the photo. The reporter even sent a text message to this person!¡± Qiao Lian was quick to rify, ¡°This is not possible!¡± She took her cell phone out of her pocket. ¡°Since yesterday I haven¡¯t received any-¡± Before she could finish her sentence, her pupils suddenly shrank. She saw an unread message on her cell phone. It was obvious that the message hade in the night before. Only at this point did she suddenly realize that since the incident had happened she had been anxious and stressed, and hadn¡¯t looked at her cell phone. So this message was... She clicked on the message and saw that it hade from an unknown number: [Ms. Qiao, I received the documents. I¡¯ve transferred the money. Qiao Lian was speechless as she stared at her cell phone screen. She only felt cold shivers down her spine! She was certain, as she knew that she was not the one who had leaked the picture. But who could be trying to frame her by sending her that message? As she thought this, her cell phone was suddenly snatched away from her. She looked up and saw that Shen Liangchuan was now holding the cell phone in his hand, reading the mysterious message on the screen. As he read the message, a look of doubt shed across his face. Then he looked up at her with an expression that was bothplex and unfathomable. She clenched her fists tightly andughed bitterly inside. This time, was Shen Liangchuan going to believe that she was innocent? Chapter 376 - Do You Believe In Me? (6)

Chapter 376: Do You Believe In Me? (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She bit her lip and tried to exin, ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened. I¡ª¡± Before she could finish her sentence, Shen Liang Chuan suddenly turned to look at Shen Xiu, narrowing his eyes. Holding up the phone, he said steadily, ¡°There¡¯s something fishy going on.¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s heart once more filled with warmth. In all honesty, having the text message in her cell phone was probably good enough evidence to make her the prime suspect for most people, except those closest to her. And now, Shen Liangchuan was firmly and undoubtedly standing by her. Shen Xiu gave a sarcasticugh. ¡°I wanted to preserve thest bit of dignity for you and your mother and not let things to get too ugly. But I didn¡¯t expect that even at this point you would refuse to admit it. Well then, just you wait, I¡¯ll prove it to you!¡± He gave Xia Yehua a re. Then turned around in a huff and walked out. He mmed the door shut behind him as he left the room. Xia Yehuay on the bed with her eyes shut. Her breathing wasboured as she tried to suppress her own anger. Her blood pressure shot up and the doctor had to be called in. After putting her up on a drip, her condition normalized gradually. Qiao Lian waited until after Xia Yehua had fallen asleep before she finally spoke to Shen Liangchuan. ¡°About the news report and the text message, I will investigate and find an exnation for you.¡± Someone had made use of her to harm Shen Liangchuan and this was too much. She was determined to get to the bottom of this. At the very least, she had to prove her own innocence. Seeing that she was resolute, Shen Liangchuan lowered his gaze and said, ¡°Okay. I will be looking into this matter too.¡± ¨C The person who had written the article was a well-known reporter in the industry and also Daily Entertainment news agency¡¯s gold-star entertainment reporter. This reporter had been consistently producing a few huge sensational entertainment news stories every year. Hence, it was easy to pin him down. Qiao Lian decided that he was a good starting point for her investigation. Shen Xiu had imed that this reporter had specifically referred to her as the person who had sold him the picture and the insider¡¯s information. What reason did he have to set her up? Although it may be quite useless to look for him, Qiao Lian feltpelled to try anyway. However when she arrived at his news agency, she was informed by the receptionist that he had taken leave. Qiao Lian hadn¡¯t expected this. But this only made her even more certain that someone was deliberately creating trouble. Qiao Lian wondered if the person behind this was purely targeting her, or if he/she was just out to destroy the rtionship between Shen Liangchuan and Shen Xiu? The matter was bing more puzzling. Qiao Lian hung her head in despair as she returned to the vi. Since she had not gone to work and was home early, she decided to visit Xia Yehua at her apartment. Just as she opened the door and stepped into the apartment, she heard the housekeepers in a discussion. ¡°Did Madam really expose Sir¡¯s identity?¡± ¡°Madam is a reporter, it¡¯s really hard to say!¡± ¡°But why would Madam want to sell the information?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid! If it Mr. Shen¡¯s Father hadn¡¯t said so, how would you have known that Madam was the one who had leaked the information? But it¡¯s surprising. Madam looks like such a good person on the surface. Who¡¯d have imagined she could be so scheming?! You certainly can¡¯t judge a book by its cover.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Sir has been so good to Madam, what more does she want? How could she even do something like that!¡± ¡°Sir will be so sad! This is too much!¡± Qiao Lian frowned as she listened to the conversation. When she was about to retreat, she suddenly heard Song Yuanxi¡¯s voice, ¡°What are all of you doing?¡± One of the housekeepers answered, ¡°Miss Song, do you think Madam was the one who leaked the information?¡± Chapter 377 - Do You Believe In Me? (7)

Chapter 377: Do You Believe In Me? (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios For some reason, Qiao Lian halted. Song Yuanxi¡¯s presence in the household was normally very modest and she would usually be rather quiet. But she shared an extremely close rtionship with Xia Yehua. She remembered that when the incident had just happened, Shen Liangchuan had instructed Song Cheng to investigate the information leak. Every housekeeper had been investigated, but two people in the household had not been subject to this investigation. One was Shen Liangchuan himself, and the other was Song Yuanxi. It was obvious how much trust Shen Liangchuan had ced in Song Yuanxi. In fact, she was considered family to Shen Liangchuan and Xia Yehua. As these thoughts crossed her mind, she heard Song Yuanxi reply, ¡°Brother Liangchuan will get to the bottom of this matter. You should not be gossiping about it. Hurry up and get back to work.¡± This reply... was neither a denial or a confirmation. And for some reason, it made Qiao Lian feel a tad ufortable. Neither Xia Yehua nor Shen Liangchuan had suspected her. But she could tell from Song Yuanxi¡¯s reaction that thetter was not entirely convinced. As she frowned, she heard the housekeeper Auntie Li say, ¡°Madam? Why are you out here?¡± Song Yuanxi jumped like a frightened rabbit and turned around. When she saw Qiao Lian, she bit her lip and looked guiltily embarrassed. She tried to avoid Qiao Lian¡¯s gaze in the at first. She looked as though she was trying to gather enough courage before finally walking towards Qiao Lian. Qiao Lian stepped into the room and smiled at Auntie Li, saying, ¡°I just got here and was about to step in.¡± Auntie Li nodded and got back to work. Although the housekeepers were suspicious of Qiao Lian, they were well-aware of what had happened to the two workers who had previously tried to harass her. Hence, they were wary of her and scurried away guiltily. Now only Qiao Lian and Song Yuanxi were left in the living room. Qiao Lian ignored her and headed upstairs. She had only taken a few steps when Song Yuanxi suddenly spoke, ¡°Sister-inw.¡± Qiao Lian stopped and turned around. Song Yuanxi clenched her fists tightly, she was visibly trembling. As though having gathered enough courage, she asked, ¡°Was it you?¡± Qiao Lian was stunned and her pupils shrank immediately. Song Yuanxi took a deep breath before continuing, ¡°There were only the few of us that day and the picture was taken with your cell phone. I¡¯m- I¡¯m not saying it was you. But you are a suspect and I- I¡ª¡± Before she could finish, Qiao Lian spoke steadily, ¡°I wasn¡¯t the only person with the photo. After I took it, I sent it to Mom.¡± Song Yuanxi paused. ¡°Sister-inw, what are you implying? It couldn¡¯t be Mom¡ª¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t what I meant,¡± Qiao Lian said with a wave of her hand. ¡°What I meant was that Mom has the picture in her cell phone too. And a few people were in contact with Mom who could have had ess to the picture, you... for example!¡± Song Yuanxi widened her eyes at once, and they very quickly turned red and glistening. ¡°How could it possibly be me? I¡¯d never do anything to harm Auntie or Brother Liangchuan! I¡ª¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t say it¡¯s you.¡± Qiao Lian said slowly, ¡°What I meant was that a photo alone won¡¯t tell you anything.¡± Song Yuanxi bit her lip and clenched her fists. Eventually she took a deep breath, as though gathering all her courage again, and said, ¡°Sister-inw, there¡¯s something that I¡¯ve always wanted to say.¡± Qiao Lian looked at her steadily. Did Song Yuanxi think that just because Shen Liangchuan was good to her, she, as Shen Liangchuan¡¯s wife, had to be too? All this time, she had believed that Song Yuanxi had treated her like family. But seeing her attitude now, she might have been mistaken. Qiao Lian replied, ¡°What is it?¡± Chapter 378 - Do You Believe In Me? (8) Chapter 378: Do You Believe In Me? (8) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Sister-inw, perhaps you might not know who I am, but I can tell you that I was an orphan before. Eight years ago, Brother Liangchuan adopted me, and I have treated this family as my own. You might not be able to understand what the meaning of a home is to me. But to me, this is my home and if there is someone who means to destroy this family of mine, I will not let them go, even if it means having to sacrifice myself!¡± Song Yuanxi said these words with a trembling voice. Her gaze was firm and she looked as if she was a soldier heading for a battle. Anyone would be able to tell that she was afraid. Evidently, she had plucked up a lot of courage to be able to say so many words. Qiao Lian pressed her lips together while staring at her. While Qiao Lian stared at Song Yuanxi, she could not help but lower her head and say timidly, ¡°Sister-inw, although my words may not sound appealing, I meant it from my heart. I truly hope that you were not the one who caused this.¡± Having said this, she ran away in a hurry. Qiao Lian took a deep breath and after a while, she turned around. She was intending to head upstairs when she saw Xia Yehua standing at the corridor on the second floor, looking at her. Qiao Lian was stunned. Xia Yehua took a deep breath and said, ¡°Xiao Qiao,e here.¡± Qiao Lian tried her best to squeeze out a smile as she went up the stairs. Xia Yehua held her hand and said, ¡°Xiao Qiao, I believe you.¡± These words warmed up her heart. Xia Yehua spoke again, ¡°I¡¯ve seen this child, Yuanxi, grow up. Please do not mind her for that.¡± Her heart had just been warmed up, yet thisment affected her. It seemed as if there was a piece of cotton stuck in her chest, causing her to feel stuffy. But, wasn¡¯t it true that she did not have the right to me Song Yuanxi? Qiao Lian forced herself to squeeze out a smile. ¡°Mom, rest assured, I will not me her for it.¡± Xia Yehua nodded and then patted her shoulder. The two of them stayed in her room for a little while. Qiao Lian did not feel as rxed as before, instead, she felt exhausted. As she hadn¡¯t slept well the night before, she unknowingly fell asleep while sitting on Xia Yehua¡¯s sofa. When Qiao Lian next woke up, she realized that Xia Yehua had already left the room. She walked out of the room in a daze and saw Xia Yehua stepping out of Song Yuanxi¡¯s room. Song Yuanxi was following her, her eyes were all red. Evidently, she must have been crying for a long while. When Xia Yehua saw Qiao Lian, she immediately turned around and told Song Yuanxi, ¡°Do apologize to your sister-inw right now!¡± Song Yuanxi walked out of her room with embarrassment and shyness, lowered her head and did not dare to look at Qiao Lian. ¡°Sister-inw, I am sorry. I should have not been suspicious of my own family members.¡± Qiao Lian looked at her and then at Xia Yehua. The tinge of unhappiness that she had had just now immediately disappeared. Actually, Xia Yehua was in a difficult spot, wasn¡¯t she? She was stuck between her own daughter-inw and her adopted daughter, who she had already treated her as her own daughter. This was probably the least she could have done. Qiao Lian smiled and stretched out her hand to pat Song Yuanxi¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Everything¡¯s fine now.¡± But... was everything indeed going to be fine? Not matter what happened, it would be sufficient to maintain harmony on the surface. As she was saying this, they heard the main door open. The three of them turned around and saw Shen Liangchuan walking in with big strides. He changed his shoes and although he wasn¡¯t close to them, he could detect that there was some strange atmosphere going on between them. Hence, he frowned and enquired, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± As he said these words, Song Yuanxi immediately clenched her fists nervously. Chapter 379 - Do You Believe In Me? (9)

Chapter 379: Do You Believe In Me? (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Song Yuanxi lowered her head, as though she was a child who had done something wrong. After a while, it was Xia Yehua who broke the awkward silence, ¡°Nothing¡¯s wrong. Why are you back home so early today?¡± Shen Liangchuan studied their faces and replied, ¡°Erm. Because you are not well.¡± Xia Yehua smiled immediately. ¡°It seems like I should fall sick asionally so that all of you will be around me. It would be good if I could have my children and grandchildren surrounding me!¡± When she finished speaking, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s gaze drifted to Qiao Lian. Xia Yehua had changed the subject, so she turned to look at Qiao Lian. ¡°Xiao Qiao, you don¡¯t have to worry about other issues right now. The most important thing for you to do now is to give me a grandchild as soon as possible.¡± Qiao Lian pursed her lips. Although she felt slightly bitter, she still nodded her head obediently when she thought of Xia Yehua¡¯s condition. Then, they had dinner together with Xia Yehua. Song Yuanxi behaved the same way as usual. She was as silent as the grave. After they had their dinner, Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan went home together. Enroute, Shen Liangchuan enquired, ¡°What happened today?¡± What had happened? Qiao Lian looked at him. She really had the urge toin about it. However, if she told him that Song Yuanxi was suspicious of her and had said those words, which side would he take? As she recalled Xia Yehua¡¯s attitude to her, Qiao Lian lowered her gaze. He would probably react the same way as Xia Yehua. Although he would know that Song Yuanxi was in the wrong, he would probably just give her a warning, as she was part of his family. Qiao Lian took a deep breath and shook her head. ¡°Not much. Oh yes, by the way, what have you found out today?¡± Shen Liangchuan pursed his lips tightly when he saw that she was changing the subject. He then said, ¡°At the moment, nothing.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. The two of them both had plenty on their minds. When they reached the vi, Qiao Lian entered the master bedroom. She hadn¡¯t had much contact with Song Yuanxi, so obviously she couldn¡¯t expect her to believe her. But it still affected her. Shen Liangchuan saw that she was staring at her cell phone in a daze. He could tell that something was bothering her. As he recalled what had happened earlier on, he narrowed his eyes, turned around and picked up his phone. Then he walked out of the room and entered the study next to it. It was warm in the study. The study was a quiet room. He walked over to the balcony and dialed a number on his cellphone. ¡°Auntie Li, what happened to my wife over there today?¡± Auntie Li, on the other end of the line, was slightly stunned. She had no option but rte the incident honestly. When it came to work, Auntie Li was usually impartial. Even if it meant telling an incident, she would not take sides. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s facial expression remained calm. His dark eyes narrowed slightly when he heard that Song Yuanxi had been suspicious of Qiao Lian. At the end, Auntie Li said slowly, ¡°Sir, Ms. Song acted that way out of a good heart. I saw that her crying anxiously today. Even after both of you left, she cried once again in front of your mother, saying that she knew she had done wrong.¡± Even though she might have realized her mistake, she shouldn¡¯t have said those words and hurt others. Shen Liangchuan slightly raised the corners of his lips. He then replied, ¡°Ok, I know now.¡± After hanging up, he sat by his desk and his gazended on his cell phone. His fingers wereying on the armrest and he was randomly tapping them. After a while, he picked up his cell phone and gave a call to Song Cheng. ¡°Song Yuanxi¡¯s filming crew will be starting to film very soon?¡± Song Cheng replied, ¡°Yes, they should be entering the film set in the next two days.¡± Chapter 380 - Do You Believe In Me? (10)

Chapter 380: Do You Believe In Me? (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Where will they be staying?¡± Song Cheng replied, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about it. As the filming set is based in Beijing, Ms. Song will be able to go home every day. She also doesn¡¯t have many scenes in the film.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not necessary. Keep a room for her in the hotel where the filming crew will be staying at.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Song Cheng was stunned. Expressionless, Shen Liangchuan lowered his gaze and said, ¡°Staying with the filming crew will allow her to mingle with the crew and get into her role better, as well as acquire more knowledge.¡± Song Cheng thought, ¡°But she could seek guidance from you if she were to stay at home! Who else could have better acting skills than you?!¡± However he couldn¡¯t say this, so he swallowed the words in the end. Song Cheng nodded and replied, ¡°Ok.¡± Song Cheng then continued speaking, ¡°Mr. Shen, how did Ms. Song offend you?¡± He was clearly forcing her to leave the house. The answer to this question was the dial tone after a call has ended. Song Cheng: ... After he hung up, Shen Liangchuan sat down in the study for a little while before standing up. When he was intending to head to the master bedroom, he received a call from Xia Yehua¡¯s vi. As he answered the call, Auntie Li said, ¡°Sir, pleasee here quickly! Senior Mr. Shen and Young Master Zihao are here again!¡± When he heard this, Shen Liangchuan immediately stepped outside. He had to put on his clothes once again. When Qiao Lian came out of her room upstairs, she saw the anxious look on his face and therefore enquired curiously, ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°I am going over to mom¡¯s.¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s heart instantly leapt. ¡°Did something happen to mom? Let me go with you.¡± ¡°No need.¡± When he spoke, he had already started his car. Following this, he drove away speedily. Qiao Lian frowned. She did not know why, but a sense of confusion suddenly shed across the bottom of her heart. It felt like as if there was something major happening soon. She took a deep breath, uneasy. She didn¡¯t have to wait long. About fifteen minutester, her cell phone rang. She answered the call. It was Shen Liangchuan speaking on the other end of the line, ¡°Come over here now.¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s heart leapt. ¡°Ok.¡± After she had changed, she headed downstairs and realized that they had already sent a chauffeur there to take her. Qiao Lian went into the car and reached Xia Yehua¡¯s home within a short time. As usual, there were some cars parked in the courtyard. However this time, the bodyguards in ck were not allowed to enter the house, so they remain on guard outside. As she stepped in, she saw that there were a few people seated in the living room. Once she entered, she realized that Xia Yehua was frowning, as if she had found something tricky. However, Song Yuanxi was staring at her furiously. Those eyes of hers seemed to suggest anger and rage, but because she was afraid, she only dared to look at her a few times before looking down. It looked as though she was on trial with three different judges, so Qiao Lian took in a deep breath. She had not spoken yet, but Shen Zihao immediately stood up and said, ¡°This time we¡¯ve gotten hold of the evidence, what more do you have to say?! Still trying to deny it?¡± Xia Yehua and Shen Liangchuan did not speak a word, whereas Song Yuanxi said, ¡°Mr. Shen, even if it was indeed true that she did this, Brother Liangchuan definitely did not tell her to do it.¡± As he heard these words, Shen Liangchuan got furious. ¡°Shut up!¡± Song Yuanxi was going to say something. She opened her mouth, but in the end decided to shut it. Qiao Lian frowned. It looked like the other party had managed to find evidence? Shen Xiu pointed to someone in the room and enquired, ¡°Do you know him?¡± As she looked in the direction he was pointing at, Qiao Lian saw a man who was about thirty odd years old, wearing a baseball cap, turning his head around. The second Qiao Lian saw him, her body froze instantly. Chapter 381 - Do you Believe In Me? (11)

Chapter 381: Do you Believe In Me? (11)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Her pupils shrank at once and she tried stay calm. Then she clenched her fists tightly. Before she could speak, however, the man eximed, ¡°Ms. Qiao, it¡¯s been a long time!¡± The moment he said this, the expressions of everyone present changed. Qiao Lian bit her lip and clenched her fists tightly. Shen Xiu said with a coldugh, ¡°This is a reporter from Daily Entertainment news agency, and also the person who bought the information from Qiao Lian.¡± He waved his hand and threw something on the coffee table. ¡°This is the invoice from Qiao Lian. And in thest couple of days, a sum of two hundred thousand dors had been deposited into her bank ount. Together with the text message on her cell phone, don¡¯t we already have enough proof of what she has done? What else do you want to say to that? Xia Yehua raised an eyebrow. Song Yuanxi red at Qiao Lian angrily, as though she was going to charge at Qiao Lian and start a fight at any time. Qiao Lian, on the other hand, did not pay attention to anyone else in the room. Her whole attention was focused on this man wearing a baseball cap. The look in her eyes was dark andplex. With an icy chortle, Shen Xiu spoke, ¡°You went public with this to pressure our family, and then you will say you are part of the Shen Family. Xia Yehua, how scheming can you be? What a waste though, you¡¯ve made a mistake where I¡¯m concerned. Did you think that I would take you back into the Shen Family for the sake of looking good? Keep dreaming! Let me tell you this, there¡¯s no way I¡¯ll ever let you step back into the Shen Family.¡± After he said this, Shen Zihao¡¯s pupils shrank as he looked at Shen Xiu, seemingly about to speak, but eventually he kept silent. Shen Liangchuan stood up at once. ¡°You¡¯re exaggerating.¡± Shen Xiu pointed at him angrily. ¡°Dishonorable son! Shut up! If it weren¡¯t for you, your mother and I wouldn¡¯t have divorced!¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s pupils shrank again when he heard this. Xia Yehua stood up immediately. ¡°Shen Xiu, that¡¯s enough. Don¡¯t assume I won¡¯t tell the truth in front of our children just because I¡¯ve been giving you face up until now!¡± Panic shed across Shen Xiu¡¯s face as he quickly nced at Shen Zihao. Seeing that Shen Zihao had not paid close attention to Xia Yehua¡¯s words, he looked relieved and quickly changed the topic. Looking at Qiao Lian, he continued, ¡°Qiao Lian, are you still not going to own up to this matter?¡± Feeling that she was once again the focus of and attack, she opened her mouth to speak. However, Shen Liangchuan interrupted her, ¡°So what do you want exactly?¡± Qiao Lian was stunned as she did not expect that Shen Liangchuan would still protect her, even at this moment. Shen Liangchuan looked at Shen Xiu coldly. ¡°You turn up here repeatedly to create trouble. What is it that you want?¡± At this point Shen Xiu choked on his words, unable to answer that question. That¡¯s right, why was he there to create trouble? The article was out and even if they managed to uncover the real culprit, so what? Even if Shen Liangchuan were to upload a post on Weibo to deny the news report, the Shen Family blood still flowed in his veins. Could that reality be changed? No, it couldn¡¯t. The truth was that he could not bear Xia Yehua¡¯s disdain towards him. And that was why he wanted to find proof that Xia Yehua was regretful and wanted toe back to the Shen Family. He wanted to find evidence of what he hoped was true. But what then? Even if he could find such evidence, there was really no benefit in it for him. Because right up to this moment, neither Xia Yehua nor Shen Liangchuan had expressed the tiniest bit of desire to return to the Shen Family. Shen Xiu, who had been cornered by Shen Liangchuan¡¯s question, nced at Shen Zihao with an embarrassed expression. He then pointed at Shen Liangchuan and his mother. ¡°You see this? This is awful behaviour. Stay away from them in future! Let¡¯s go right now.¡± Having said this, he turned around immediately to head out. However at this point, Qiao Lian suddenly called out, ¡°Wait a minute!¡± Chapter 382 - Do You Believe In Me? (12)

Chapter 382: Do You Believe In Me? (12)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The young woman¡¯s voice was light and clear, very pleasant to the ears. It rang brightly in the silent and tense atmosphere. Shen Xiu and Shen Zihao both stopped and turned their heads in her direction. Even Xia Yehua, who had been just a moment ago so angry at Shen Xiu, looked at Qiao Lian with a puzzled expression. Song Yuanxi widened her eyes, wondering what Qiao Lian was up to. Only Shen Liangchuancked any sort of reaction, as though he wouldn¡¯t be surprised by anything Qiao Lian would do. Ignoring all the eyes on at her, Qiao Lian¡¯s gaze was fixed on the reporter. She walked up to him, one step at a time, and spoke slowly, ¡°How did I sell you the information?¡± Shen Xiuughed sarcastically as soon as she asked this question. ¡°You have been so quiet since you stepped in that I thought you wouldn¡¯t have the guts to admit it. And now you¡¯ve finally decided toe clean?¡± Qiao Lian turned and red at the man sharply. Prior to today she had been cordial with him solely because he was Shen Liangchuan¡¯s father. But after he had repeatedly subject Shen Liangchuan and Xia Yehua to verbal abuse, Qiao Lian could no longer contain her fury. She retorted without bothering to be polite, ¡°Since you insist that it is me, then I should really get things straight.¡± Shen Xiu¡¯s expression clouded over and he choked. ¡°You¡ª¡± Without bothering about his response, Qiao Lian looked back at the reporter before Shen Xiu could utter another word. ¡°Tell us the time and the ce. What exactly took ce during our transaction?!¡± Shen Xiu¡¯s blood boiled to see how arrogant she was. Pointing to the reporter, he said, ¡°Fine, since we are going to go through this, let¡¯s do it clearly and thoroughly. I don¡¯t want to be used of attacking her.¡± Given this, the reporter had no choice but to speak, ¡°Well, yesterday you called me and told me you had a big scoop in exchange for a payment.¡± ¡°Just a simple call like this for a 200 000 dor deal?¡± The reporterughed. ¡°Of course normally it isn¡¯t like this, but between us there¡¯s mutual trust.¡± At these words, Shen Xiuughed derisively. ¡°So it seems Ms. Qiao is a veteran at selling insiders information!¡± Ignoring him, Qiao Lian continued to look intently at the reporter. ¡°How did I give you the picture?¡± ¡°You sent it to me on my cell phone,¡± the reporter replied. Qiao Lian asked for further details, ¡°Where¡¯s the text message? Or the mail?¡± The reporterughed. ¡°Why would I keep that kind of evidence? We are colleagues of the same field. Of course we have to be discreet about such things, they¡¯re against our professional ethics.¡± Qiao Lian seemingly missed the sarcasm in his remarks. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m an idiot?¡± The reporter paused and replied, ¡°Ms. Qiao, you¡¯re exceptionally intelligent, otherwise you wouldn¡¯t have been able to get your hands on so much confidential information.¡± Qiao Lianughed coldly and looked at him, speaking clearly and deliberately, ¡°So you use such an underhanded way to insult my intelligence?¡± The reporter widened his eyes, looking puzzled at her words, while Shen Xiu frowned and asked, ¡°What are you saying?¡± Qiao Lian pointed at the bank receipt. ¡°Selling confidential information is against our professional ethics. And such discreet transactions would usually be made with cash, or in small and separate amounts using alternative ounts. But in this case, I openly had arge sum of 200 000 deposited into my ount. In addition, I am a considerably well-known reporter in the industry, why would I even risk doing something like that, given my personal abilities?!¡± ¡°So,¡± Qiao Lian turned and looked menacingly at the reporter. ¡°You had bettere clean and tell us who instructed you to set me up!¡± Chapter 383 - Do You Believe In Me? (13)

Chapter 383: Do You Believe In Me? (13)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She was imposing and forceful. She asked her questions quickly, not giving him too much time to think, hence the reporter was inevitably quite stunned. Before he could say anything, Xia Yehua interrupted him. Pointing her finger at the reporter, she interrogated, ¡°Speak up! Who sent you to set Xiao Qiao up?! How dare you set us up, you sc*m!¡± The reporter gulped nervously. He had no idea that the situation would turn out this way. He quickly looked at Qiao Lian and said, ¡°Ms. Qiao, I wouldn¡¯t look at it this way. We¡¯ve been long-time friends, of course we¡¯d be straight-to-the-point. There¡¯s no need to be too cautious in that way.¡± Qiao Lian cast her gaze down and avoided the topic of ¡®long-time friends.¡¯ She looked at Shen Xiu and said, ¡°So all of this so-called evidence doesn¡¯t amount to much. It ispletely possible that someone¡¯s out to set me up. And if there is no direct and irrefutable evidence, then you cannot insist it was me.¡± Shen Xiu smirked. ¡°I wonder why anybody would want to set you up, Ms. Qiao? What have you done that makes you deserve to be attacked? Perhaps you¡¯re thinking too highly of yourself¡± Qiao Lian pursed her lips tight and did not say another word. She was also at a loss to know why anyone would target her. Her marriage with Shen Liangchuan had not been made public yet, so it wasn¡¯t likely they were targeting Shen Liangchuan through her. Before she could answer, Xia Yehua got all fired up. She stood up at once and said sarcastically, ¡°Shen Xiu, Lianchuan is not the slightest bit interested in the Shen family¡¯s assets! He¡¯s a celebrity in his own right and a well-known figure in the entertainment industry. He doesn¡¯t need to make use of his family background to get attention. And even if he had the intention of doing that, he¡¯d have done it long ago! So the culprit has to be the person who benefits most from this matter.¡± Shen Xiu was stunned. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Xia Yehua narrowed her eyes. ¡°Now we have reached a point ofplete mutual dislike. This is the result the culprit wants. So who would you say it is?¡± Shen Xiu¡¯s expression froze and he sneered. ¡°Xia Yehua, I didn¡¯t think that after all these years, you could be this shameless¡ªyou have hit a new low. After all the recent happenings, you ultimately try to put the me on Mei Feng!¡± Mei Feng? Qiao Lian paused and thought for a moment when she heard this name. Then she quickly figured out that he was probably referring to Shen Xiu¡¯s current wife. Xia Yehua gave a scornfulugh when she heard this. Waving her finger and pointing at the doorway, she angrily said, ¡°Who cares about her? I want you to get out now! I feel sick just looking at you. Get lost!¡± Shen Xiu sneered. ¡°You¡¯re so angry because you¡¯re ashamed! Xia Yehua, I will get to the bottom of this matter.¡± In a huff, he walked out of the house. Now Shen Zihao was left standing there alone. He had been quiet during the whole conversation. He stood up slowly and looked briefly at each person in the room. His gaze finally fell on Xia Yehua. Xia Yehua¡¯s lips moved as if she was about to say something. However, Shen Zihaoughed coldly before he strode out after his father. Xia Yehua widened her eyes and pursed her lips tightly. Although no words came as she stood there, everyone in the room knew how bad she was probably feeling at that moment. She stumbled backwards, so Qiao Lian immediately helped her steady. ¡°Mom, you have to take care of your health.¡± Xia Yehuaughed bitterly at these words. She felt as though she had aged ten years in thest hour. Shen Liangchuan said as he looked at his mother. ¡°Mom, don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll thoroughly investigate this.¡± With a wave of her hand, Xia Yehua said with a sigh, ¡°What is there to investigate? Obviously Mei Feng is behind all of it.¡± Chapter 384 - Do You Believe In Me? (14)

Chapter 384: Do You Believe In Me? (14)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xia Yehua looked a little confused as she said out of breath, ¡°In the beginning, I thought that her intention was to sow seeds of discord between Shen Xiu and me. I scorned the idea, thinking that it wasn¡¯t as though our rtionship would be any better without her interference. But now I understand¡ªIt¡¯s not my rtionship with Shen Xiu, but my rtionship with Zihao that she¡¯s out to destroy.¡± She gave a bitterugh as she said, ¡°She wasn¡¯t able to give birth to a son of her own and took mine, and on top of this...¡± And on top of this, Shen Zihao believed Mei Feng and not his own mother. As Qiao Lian looked at Xia Yehua, she deeply sympathized with the woman and understood the pain she was feeling. But still, she didn¡¯t really know well the Shen family¡¯s history so it wasn¡¯t easy for her tofort her mother-inw. She looked at Shen Liangchuan helplessly. Shen Liangchuan did not nce back. He walked to his mother who was standing unsteadily. He scooped her up in his arms and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Mom. I¡¯ll talk Zihao around.¡± ¨C Xia Yehua¡¯s blood pressure had hit 160 again in that short time and everyone in the vi was panicking. They called in the family doctor. He medicated her, but only after two hours did her blood pressure normalize. Song Yuanxi¡¯s eyes were red and teary as she looked at Xia Yehua, who had finally fallen asleep. They quietly stepped outside of the room. Qiao Lian started to speak, ¡°I¡¯ll watch over her tonight¡ª¡± Before she could finish, Shen Liangchuan interrupted, ¡°Let¡¯s go back to our vi.¡± Qiao Lian paused. Song Yuanxi was slightly surprised and nced at Qiao Lian briefly. Then she looked at Shen Liangchuan and said obediently, ¡°I¡¯ll look after Auntie.¡± She then saw the couple out. At the doorway, Song Yuanxi looked troubled. She lowered her gaze and fixed her gaze on her own feet. After a pause, as she rubbed the sole of her shoe against the ground, she looked up and said, ¡°Sister-inw, earlier on, I- I¡¯m sorry.¡± Qiao Lian looked at her and thought about what happened. A sh of unhappiness crossed her eyes but she glossed over it. Without another word, she got into the car. Song Yuanxi stood at the doorway. Her gaze followed the car as they drove away. There was an unfathomable andplex expression on her face. After a moment, she turned around, returned to the apartment and made her way upstairs. She pushed the bedroom door and entered the room. Then she sat next to Xia Yehua¡¯s bed and looked quietly at the sleeping woman. ¡°You have to recover quickly, Auntie.¡± ¨C It was only a few minutes¡¯ drive from vi 18 to vi 8. Qiao Lian frowned throughout the short journey, as she reflected on the situation¡¯s development so far and how it had started. She bit her lip and turned to Shen Liangchuan. ¡°I feel like there¡¯s someone betraying us. That¡¯s why the picture even got out. Perhaps there are too many housekeepers at home and we should reduce the number, just keep the few trustworthy ones. What do you¡ª¡± Screech! The car came to a screeching halt. Qiao Lian was stunned. She turned to nce at Shen Liangchuan and saw that he was extremely moody. He was looking at her with an unfathomable and distant expression on his face. Her heart thumped. For some reason, that look on his face made her feel as though he had put a thousand miles between them. She didn¡¯t finish what she was saying and looked back steadily at him. Shen Liangchuan narrowed his eyes and paused before he continued with a firm tone, ¡°You know him.¡± This puzzling remark took Qiao Lian by surprise and she paused for a second too. Then suddenly she realized who he was referring to: the reporter. She clenched her fists tightly. Chapter 385 - Do You Believe In Me? (15)

Chapter 385: Do You Believe In Me? (15)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian looked startled at Shen Liangchuan and bit her lip. The look in his eyes was cold like the water of an icy river. She felt her chest tightening. After a short pause, she slowly let out a deep breath. Although the reporter had wrongly used her in this case, the fact was that he was right. They were indeed ¡®long-time friends¡¯. Of course, she knew him. She had been a reporter for briefly nine months, but it was obvious that she had her ways of sniffing out information and a good sense for news. This wasn¡¯t because of any sort of talent, they were rather skills that came with practice. Anyone who stayed in this field for a few years would develop a sharp sense. A few years ago, when she had escaped to the huge city of Beijing with her brother, she had to find means of survival. At the time, coincidentally, she had gotten to know this reporter. And they had began to coborate. Qiao Lian would sniff out information and sell it to Old Liu. But at the time, she was paid poorly. At worst, a piece of news would bring her a mere few hundred; at best, a few thousand. She depended on this ie to sustain herself and her brother. Until... nine months ago, when she finally found work in a news agency. At that point, she cut off all ties and contact with Old Liu. Because her professional growth and ethics did no longer allowed her to amodate this sort of practice. And today, running into Old Liu had brought up a past that caused her much shame and embarrassment. It was a fact that at one point in her life, she had relied on infringing on and exposing other people¡¯s privacy for a living. And what Shen Liangchuan hated most was the paparazzi who intrude on others¡¯ privacy. Hence, she was unwilling to admit it and much less talk about her past. However, she had no desire to lie to Shen Liangchuan. She could only clench her fists tightly and resist in silence. Shen Liangchuan suddenly extended his arm and clenched his fingers around her chin. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you answering my question?¡± She was forced to look up at his unfathomable expression. He was angry. Was it because she had once been the sort of person that he hated most? She frowned and didn¡¯t know what to say. More than that, she wasn¡¯t sure what she could do to alleviate his anger. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s pupils were constricted and darker than storm clouds. He suddenly realized that he might have been using too much force when he saw Qiao Lian grimace with pain. He rxed his grip on her chin. Still, there were red marks left by the forceful grip. Qiao Lian did not say another word and looked out of the window stubbornly. Shen Liangchuan started the car engine and continued driving back to their vi to drop off Qiao Lian. As Qiao Lian got off the car, she heard him say, ¡°I¡¯m going back to see Mom.¡± She halted and before she could turn around, she heard Shen Liangchuan starting up the car again. She clenched her fists tightly and walked back to the house. Because of what had happened, all the housekeepers had been redeployed to Xia Yehua¡¯s apartment. Now Qiao Lian was alone in the vi. Her eyes turned slightly bloodshot as tears welled up and blurred her vision. When the picture hade out in the news and the article had been posted, she had been prepared for a showdown between her and Shen Liangchuan. But his trust in her from the start until the end had given her a sense of warmth and sweetness that she had never experienced before. It gave her strength that she could survive almost any tough situation in life. She did not expect, however, that while they hadn¡¯t had any differences where the report was concerned, her own past on the other hand would cause him so much contempt. Chapter 386 - Do You Believe In Me? (16)

Chapter 386: Do You Believe In Me? (16)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Liany on the bed staring at the ceiling after the evening shower. She couldn¡¯t fall asleep. The moment she closed her eyes, the look of contempt on Shen Liangchuan¡¯s face appeared in her mind. She raised her hand and pressed it against her chest. All she felt was a dull ache in her heart now. She had grievances she could not speak of and they were choking her. She was penniless when she first arrived in Beijing. As a woman, what other ways were there to make money? But what right did Shen Liangchuan have to be angry at her past? What right did he have to leave her in a huff, just because he felt that she was in some way associated with Old Liu? She turned to the side and took a deep breath, but it did nothing to suppress that bitterness in her heart. Biting her lip, she suddenly sat up. No, she wasn¡¯t going to let herself be bullied like this. She immediately changed and went downstairs. She walked out of the house and towards vi 18. It was 11 p.m. now and the lights in the vi were still on. She pushed the door open and walked into the apartment. At that moment, she ran into Auntie Li. Auntie Li was a little surprised to see her. ¡°Madam, why are you here?¡± Qiao Lian waved her hand and asked, ¡°Is Mom asleep?¡± Auntie Li nodded. ¡°She woke up for a bit to have some food and then went back to sleep. The doctor says that rest will bring her blood pressure down.¡± Qiao Lian nced at the upper floor. ¡°So who¡¯s watching over Mom now?¡± ¡°Miss Yuanxi. Madam is fine now, but Miss Yuanxi is still worried and insists on sleeping in Madam¡¯s room. She says that this way, Madam could be looked after in case something happened in the middle of the night.¡± Auntie Li sighed as she continued, ¡°Miss Yuanxi and Madam are like mother and daughter. The affection Madam gives her is not in vain.¡± Qiao Lian nodded and asked, ¡°And what about Sir?¡± ¡°He¡¯s in the study.¡± Once she knew Shen Liangchuan¡¯s whereabouts, Qiao Lian didn¡¯t speak much further. She informed the housekeeper, ¡°I¡¯ll go up and see him.¡± Auntie Li nodded. Qiao Lian went up the stairs slowly and pushed the study door open. Shen Liangchuan was there, sitting behind the desk and staring into space. When he heard the door open, he looked up and their eyes met. Qiao Lian bit her lip and entered the study, shutting the door behind her. Shen Liangchuan did not speak. Qiao Lian stood before him and continued, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, do you mind my past so much?¡± Shen Liangchuan lifted his gaze slowly until he was looking at her squarely in the face. Seeing that look in his eyes, her anger rose immediately. ¡°I know you hate the paparazzi, but there are many people who earn a living doing this. Just because you happen to dislike the profession, doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s not a profession. Shen Liangchuan, you cannot be biased against me¡ª¡± Shen Liangchuan interrupted her before she could finish. ¡°The news report on Li Rui¡¯s affair years ago. It was you who sold the information to that reporter, wasn¡¯t it?¡± Qiao Lian was stunned for a moment before she replied, ¡°How did you know?¡± Shen Liangchuan stood up. His big and tall frame was towering over her, ¡°When I first entered the entertainment industry eight years ago, Li Rui patiently showed me the ropes. He was my mentor in a way.¡± Qiao Lian bit lip. She had no idea that he was so close to Li Rui. ¡°But I did spot him being intimate with a girl. It wasn¡¯t a normal rtionship and that¡¯s a fact.¡± ¡°A fact?¡± Shen Liangchuanughed sarcastically. ¡°And did you also know then that Li Rui and his wife had already secretly divorced by that time?! He and his girlfriend got to know each other after his divorce.¡± ¡°But because of your article, he was branded as an unfaithful husband and was forced to leave the entertainment industry for good.¡± ¡°Qiao Lian, do you still think that you have done nothing wrong?¡± Chapter 387 - Do You Believe In Me? (17)

Chapter 387: Do You Believe In Me? (17)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Li Rui. That matter took ce about four years ago. Li Rui and his wife at the time were both actors. His wife back then was a neer in the show business and Li Rui fancied sweet young girls, so they got married. With his help, his ex-wife steadily climbed thedder to fame. Eventually, their rtionship deteriorated over time. At the time, Qiao Lian had just started working in this field and had not yet develop a sharp sense for situations. She only took Old Liu¡¯s word that Li Rui was having an affair. Li Rui was simr to Shen Liangchuan in that he deliberately kept a low profile, hence trying to get any information about him was not easy. However, at that time she had been desperate for money to pay her rent. So she gritted her teeth and, for three days straight, waited at the spot he was likely to appear at. She stayed awake for three whole days, only having bread and mineral water. Eventually she managed to snap that shot of Li Rui and his new lover. Happily, she handed the picture over to Old Liu. Back then, she had not felt that she was doing something wrong. Because she had been reporting a fact. But now... She widened her eyes, stunned by Shen Liangchuan¡¯s words. Li Rui and his ex-wife had divorced by that time? She was speechless, feeling very much at a loss and helpless all at once. She bit her lip and stammered, ¡°How- how is that possible?¡± Shen Liangchuan looked away as he said, ¡°Li Rui and his wife parted in peace. Their rtionship had fallen apart because they spent most of their time being apart from each other. They had filmingmitments. Both of them were at the peak of their careers, so their divorce had never been publicly announced. You only saw that Li Rui had a new lover, but did you also know that at the same time his ex-wife had a boyfriend too?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s lips quivered slightly as she asked, ¡°But- but why did he not rify the situation then?¡± Shen Liangchuan replied with a gloomy expression, ¡°When the news broke, his ex-wife¡¯s poprity went up a notch as the public sympathized with her. And because he still felt guilty towards her, he decided not to rify it and instead admitted to the affair.¡± Qiao Lian was stunned by this new discovery. In reality, the public opinion was never too tolerant when it came to third parties and affairs. Hence, Li Rui¡¯s ¡®affair¡¯ had ruined his entertainment career. At the time, he had been at the peak of his career. And when this incident happened, he was heavily criticized and all the filming crews canceled their contracts with him. From then on, he vanished from the scene. When Qiao Lian realized that persistent action of hers had been the end of a celebrity, she felt as though there was an invisible hand tightly squeezing her chest, choking her. She had never meant hurt anyone. Her intention had just been to bring things out into the open for a fair debate, and for people to judge for themselves. Now she felt a mix of all sorts of emotions in her heart. Guilt, shame, remorse and sadness¡ªthey were pouring like water off a broken bottle. She looked up and took a quick nce at Shen Liangchuan. Realizing that she could no longer face him, she said, ¡°I- I understand.¡± Then, she quickly got up from her seat and walked out of the study, ashamed and embarrassed. She left the vi in a daze, walking into the night and breathing in the fresh air of the night until she slowly calmed down. Under Shen Liangchuan¡¯s re, she had felt as though she was a dirty, unworthy being. However, she did not realize that from the study¡¯s balcony on the second floor, Shen Liangchuan stood watching her as she walked away. Her emotions did not go unnoticed by him. He clenched his fists tightly. Years ago, when Xia Yehua left her marriage with nothing and he entered the entertainment industry, everything had seemed glittery on the surface. But if it hadn¡¯t been for the fact that he had the Shen family¡¯s name to lean on, he wouldn¡¯t have had it that easy. Chapter 388 - Do You Believe In Me? (18) Chapter 388: Do You Believe In Me? (18) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios There were all sorts of people in the entertainment industry and it was never easy to tell the real from the fake. At the time Li Rui, as a veteran, saw that Shen Liangchuan was a versatile talent, so he privately took special care of him and helped him to very quickly make a name. To Shen Liangchuan, Li Rui was more of a father than Shen Xiu had ever been. For that reason, when the news report about Li Rui was published, Shen Liangchuan was livid and from then onwards, he hated the paparazzi. There had been one time he was being stalked by a reporter and when he found out, Shen Liangchuan had initially wanted to let him go. However when he found out that he was from Daily Entertainment, he used an excuse to beat the guy up to avenge the damage caused to Li Rui. But now... He had discovered that the article¡¯s informant had been none other than Qiao Lian. It put him in a dilemma. His own wife had turned out to be the paparazzi he had hated for so many years. It was a small world indeed. He clenched his fists tightly, not wanting to hate Qiao Lian, but the betrayal and guilt that he felt for Li Rui¡¯s sake... He hung his head with confusion, not knowing how he could fix this with her. However, seeing that she had wandered off into the dark by herself, he picked up his jacket and walked out after her. He followed her, frowning as he noted how distracted and lost she seemed on the way back to the vi. He stood in the shadows until he made sure that she was safely back at the vi. Then, he paused and stared at the doorway for a moment. Eventually, he decided not to enter the vi. He turned around and returned to Xia Yehua¡¯s apartment. ¨C For the next two days, Shen Liangchuan did not return home and stayed at Xia Yehua¡¯s apartment instead. Qiao Lian would go to work during the day and drop by Xia Yehua¡¯s apartment after work, before returning to the seemingly empty vi by herself. Shen Liangchuan had not looked for her, and neither was she able to bring herself to face him. She had a heavy heart and found no respite. It felt like they were caught in a stalemate situation and neither could find a way to resolve this conflict. Today, Qiao Lian as usual visited Xia Yehua after work and chatted with her. Xia Yehua reached out and took her hands, asking, ¡°I asked Liangchuan today and he wouldn¡¯t talk. Tell me, is he making things difficult for you again? ¡± As much as Shen Liangchuan may try to pretend that things were fine in front of Xia Yehua, as his mother, she had seen through at once that there was something wrong between the couple. Qiao Lian looked at Xia Yehua, who had turned quite brittle from being ill. She quickly denied, ¡°Of course not. Shen Liangchuan has been worried about you. That¡¯s why he¡¯s been staying here. Why? Don¡¯t you like him being here keeping youpany?¡± Seeing that she was not going to get the truth out of Qiao Lian either, she sighed. ¡°You are both grown-ups, I won¡¯t interfere. Neither can I force you in any way. But I will say something... In my youth I used to think that it didn¡¯t matter that when we argued, no one would give in. However with the wisdom of hindsight, I can tell you that a couple¡¯s cold wars are the most detrimental. She gently patted Qiao Lian¡¯s hands. ¡°Lay things out on the table and talk through the issues. Having a big fight outweighs anything else! And if you really can¡¯t fix it, hit him. I know my son. If you hit him, he won¡¯t retaliate.¡± ¡°And this,¡± Qiao Lian thought with some amusement, ¡°is what his own mother says?¡± The following days, her gloom lessened as Xia Yehua¡¯s words upied her mind. Seeing that she was smiling again, Xia Yehua decided it was time to tell her, ¡°In this household, besides Auntie Li, I trust no one. Shen Liangchuan has found out that the person who leaked the photo is...¡± Chapter 389 - Do You Believe In Me? (19)

Chapter 389: Do You Believe In Me? (19)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Shen Liangchuan has confirmed that the one who leaked the information was our housekeeper Wang Lan. I set the picture that you sent me as my screensaver. She secretly took a picture of the screensaver and shared it.¡± Qiao Lian widened her eyes in disbelief. ¡°Wang Lan? Are you sure? She looks so honest...¡± ¡°You can never tell. I didn¡¯t think it¡¯d be her either.¡± Xia Yehua said as she sighed, ¡°Wang Lan has been with our household for five to six years.¡± Qiao Lian quicklyforted Xia Yehua, ¡°No matter what, the truth is out.¡± Xia Yehua shook her head. ¡°We¡¯ve found who leaked the picture but, since Shen Xiu used you, we are unable to find solid evidence. The person behind all this may not be so simple... that Mei Feng...¡± Her eyes shone sharply as she said, ¡°Indeed, she¡¯s not simple.¡± Qiao Lian cast her gaze downward and kept her silence. How could she be a simple woman? She had manipted Shen Zihao to the point that he wouldn¡¯t even acknowledge his own mother now. Except the other matter that Xia Yehua had mentioned. Qiao Lianughed bitterly. Would even a big fight resolve the differences between Shen Liangchuan and her? Qiao Lian looked away. The next day was the weekend and Qiao Lian did not have to work. At around ten in the morning, she received a call from Shi Nianyao. ¡°I¡¯ve done some research. It is a big coincidence that Li Rui is in Beijing right now. I¡¯ll send you his address in a moment.¡± It wasn¡¯t really a difficult task to get hold of a famous person¡¯s address. Shi Nianyao had only had to ask Mo Xicheng in order to get the information. Qiao Lian nodded and said, ¡°Good job, thanks.¡± The address came in through WeChat the moment she hung up. Immediately, Qiao Lian got out of bed and washed up. Then she left the house and headed off to look for Li Rui. She wasn¡¯t seeking forgiveness from Li Rui, or even Shen Liangchuan. All she wanted was simply to give a sincere apology for her misdeed in the past. However, she could not have known that someone had gotten ahead of her. ¨C In the elegant environment of a small vi. The middle-aged Li Rui had not lost any of the good looks from his youth. He looked at Shen Liangchuan and, smiling quite refinedly, he poured the young man a cup of tea. ¡°The great Best Actor. What brings you here today?¡± Shen Liangchuan nced at him with pursed lips and cast his gaze downward. ¡°Teacher Li, I¡¯m here today to tell you something.¡± In the entertainment industry, most people of a certain seniority would be addressed as ¡°Teacher.¡± But it was only Li Rui who Shen Liangchuan would sincerely and whole-heartedly address as ¡°Teacher.¡± Li Ruiughed. ¡°Look at that deep resentment in your eyes. What is it that¡¯s causing you so much grief?¡± Shen Liangchuan looked up slowly. ¡°After all these years, I¡¯ve found the informant who reported your affair.¡± Li Rui paused for a moment. Shen Liangchuan took a deep breath and stood up. He made a deep bow before Li Rui. ¡°Teacher Li, I¡¯m very sorry. The informant... is my wife.¡± Li Rui was stunned. ¡°Such a coincidence?¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded with a determined his expression. ¡°I once made a vow to search for this paparazzi and ensure that he or she would have no future in the industry. But now...¡± At this point, his expression clouded over with exasperation and he had a look of resignation. ¡°I fear that I can no longer keep to my word.¡± ¡°Teacher Li, if you are still grieving, please direct your anger at me. I stand in her ce to take the me and I will take responsibility for the oue.¡± His words were firm and unwavering in his determination to protect her; but they also carried the shame and guilt he felt towards the matter. He looked down at the ground. Between Li Rui and Qiao Lian, he had ultimately chosen her. Chapter 390 - Do You Believe In Me? (20)

Chapter 390: Do You Believe In Me? (20)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As Li Rui looked at Shen Liangchuan¡¯s serious expression, reminding him of someone about to charge onto a battlefield, he couldn¡¯t hold back hisughter. He stood up from his seat and patted Shen Liangchuan on his arm. ¡°I had no idea that this matter had troubled you so deeply.¡± Shen Liangchuan lifted his gaze. Li Rui waved his hand and said, ¡°Let¡¯s sit down and talk.¡± Looking uncertain, Shen Liangchuan sat down. Li Rui said after a deep sigh, ¡°At the time, I didn¡¯t tell you because you were very young... Actually, I never med the reporter. In fact, I should thank her.¡± His words stunned Shen Liangchuan, who looked at Li Rui, not quite understanding the situation. Li Rui smiled and just at this point, his current wife walked in with a te of sliced fruits. Pointing at the woman, Li Rui said, ¡°Actually, I was the one who purposely gave the information to the young reporter.¡± Shen Liangchuan raised an eyebrow and stared at Li Rui in surprise. He was greatly astounded by this turn of events. He had it done on purpose? But why? As all sorts of questions gued his mind, Li Rui started exining, ¡°I had been divorced for three or four years by then, but my ex-wife had insisted on not making it public. As a result, I had to be secretive whenever I was with my wife¡ªwe couldn¡¯t even go shopping openly! It was a real burden in our daily lives, to be honest.¡± ¡°What¡¯s more, at the time, my agency had disregarded my wishes and signed me up for a role in an idol drama. I was an old man ying the role of an overbearing CEO¡ªit was so inappropriate and affected my image! But my agency just wouldn¡¯t give in.¡± Li Rui continued, ¡°These two issues triggered my desire to retire from the scene back them. I took a look at the junior reporter and I could tell at once that the silly young girl was a greenhorn! My girlfriend at the time and I had managed to bluff our way through with so many experienced paparazzi, what was this rookie to us? So I gave her the information on purpose. I also took the chance to retire from the show business and lead a more ordinary life.¡± After hearing Li Rui¡¯s exnation, Shen Liangchuan was stunned. He wanted to give himself a tight p at this point. If all this was true, then all the agony of the past two days had been for nothing? He thought of the harsh words he had said to Qiao Lian, causing her so much guilt and self-me. Shen Liangchuan started to feel like a scumbag. He widened his eyes and stood up with a jolt, frowning deeply. Then Li Rui added, ¡°Actually, I dide across that young girl again afterwards. Do you remember that incident when you were a supporting actor and the leading actor was jealous of your better acting skills? He had been repeatedly provoking you, so eventually you retaliated and beat him up in the Club. Although the director managed to keep the matter under wraps, you thought that someone had snapped a picture and all of us were prepared for the matter to blow up. However, things went quiet after that and it never surfaced again. Eventually, I recalled seeing that junior reporter at the Club! It¡¯s a very reasonable guess that she had a lot of information about you on hand. However in thest few years, I¡¯ve hardlye across any negative reports written about you.¡± Shen Liangchuan froze when he heard this. He looked up in disbelief. Five to six years ago, when that male lead had made things difficult for him, Qiao Lian would have been even poorer. Even though he had not been that popr then, a sensational piece of news like that would have sold without a problem. But why had she not sold the information about him? He immediately stood up, as a warm feeling welled up in his heart. ¡°Teacher, I need to leave now.¡± He had grossly misunderstood Qiao Lian and he had to look for her. But unexpectedly as he walked out of the small vi, he saw Qiao Lian at the entrance, surveying thepound. She was stunned to see him. Then her expression darkened. She turned and started running away. Chapter 391 - Delighting the Girlfriend (1)

Chapter 391: Delighting the Girlfriend (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Not knowing how to face Shen Liangchuan, Qiao Lian ran away almost out of reflex. But she had only taken a few steps when the person behind her caught up. Following that, he gripped her arm tightly. With a strong tug, she spun around and fell straight into his embrace. With her nose against his muscr chest, she found herself hardly able to breath. She looked up and saw that Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression was no longer the same. It was no longer cold and icy. On the contrary, it had some sort of inexplicable tenderness and longing. He hade out of Li Rui¡¯s vi, hence he must have been there to rify the matter. And judging by his expression, she could guess that Li Rui must have forgiven them. As she pondered this, she heard Shen Liangchuan whisper hoarsely in her ear, ¡°Qiao Lian, I¡¯m sorry.¡± Sorry? Qiao Lian lifted her head and looked at him puzzled. She hade prepared to offer her humble apologies. And along with this, she had expected a stormy reception. She wasn¡¯t prepared for an apology from Shen Liangchuan. In her distracted state, she heard Shen Liangchuan continue, ¡°I misunderstood you. That picture... Teacher staged it on purpose.¡± Briefly, he exined to Qiao Lian what had happened back then. Qiao Lian was stunned by how the story had unfolded. The past few days she had been guilt-stricken, as she had tried toe to terms with how she had ruined someone¡¯s career. She had thought that she had be an unpardonable sinner. She would have never imagined that the truth could be such. She gave a deep sigh of relief, feeling the heavy burden on her chest slip away all of a sudden. However, apart from the relief that she felt, there was no joy. That¡¯s right, she was unhappy. Clenching her jaw, her expression froze and became icy as she red at Shen Liangchuan. ¡°And so?¡± Shen Liangchuan paused, trying to figure out where she was going with this. Qiao Lian clenched her fists. When he had interrogated her so aggressively that day, the look in his eyes had made her feel shame like she had never before. She looked steadily at him as she asked, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, this time is Li Rui. Next time, will there be a Wang Rui, Zhao Rui and whoever else?¡± Shen Liangchuan frowned. Qiao Lian continued, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, I¡¯mying out my past on the table right here. I¡¯ve done many things that you would consider despicable. Are you going to hold me ountable for each of them?¡± This time he had blown his top for no reason and had made her feel so wronged. Shen Liangchuan panicked a little at this point. ¡°Qiao Lian, I¡ª¡± ¡°Loving a person means loving everything about them. I am who I am¡ªin the past, present and future¡ªthat won¡¯t change. Are you going to ept the person that I am?¡± Every word and every sentence was a question she asked him. Celebrities and the paparazzi were natural enemies. She did not want to be despised because of her own past. She was lowly, but she no longer wanted to be lowly in their rtionship. And certainly, she did not want to repeat what had happened over thest few days. After asking these questions, she looked steadily into his eyes. Shen Liangchuan was stunned by her words. Her in the past, her in the present and her in the future... He had to admit he had fallen in love with the current Qiao Lian. But would he be able to ept her eight years ago? Their inte rtionship eight years ago had been burnt into his memory. But on the inte, everything was unreal, like a dream. That Xiao Qiao, would he be able to cast aside his burden and ept her? Seeing doubt and hesitation in his eyes, Qiao Lianughed bitterly Chapter 392 - Delighting the Girlfriend (2)

Chapter 392: Delighting the Girlfriend (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Obviously, Shen Liangchuan was unable to ept her, the paparazzi. Without another word, she turned away to leave. But once again, he reached out to grip her arm. She turned around as his lips moved, silently at first. Eventually he said aloud, ¡°I¡¯ll take you home.¡± ¨C During the drive home, Qiao Lian was silent, choked by her own emotions. As the car stopped by the main door, she got off and entered the house. Shen Liangchuan pursed his lips tightly, staring at her. Then he looked away. He did not wish to lie to her. He was able to ept the present Qiao Lian, but not the Qiao Lian from eight years ago. What had happened eight years ago had scarred him forever. Perhaps one day after reaching old age, he might be able to let the past go. But as for now, he could not find the magnanimity to do so. She simmered in anger and he kept silent as he followed behind her. When they entered the house, the housekeeper greeted them. ¡°Sir, Madam, dinner is ready. Would you like to start dining now?¡± Shen Liangchuan immediately looked at Qiao Lian. But she had lowered her head, like a little girl staring at the tips of her toes. She replied without looking up. ¡°I¡¯ve eaten, I¡¯m not hungry.¡± With this, she headed up to the bedroom. Shen Lianchuan¡¯s pupils shrank as he watch her back view disappear up the stairs. After she entered the master bedroom, shey on the bed, not knowing what to do next. Staring at the ceiling, she felt her unhappiness resting heavily on her chest, choking her. She had to get it off. Shen Liangchuan despised her past. But really, as a reporter now, what made her terribly different from the paparazzi she had been back then? Sheughed sarcastically. Then she heard footsteps approaching the bedroom door. She quickly turned away andy t. Pulling the nket over herself, she shut her eyes and pretended to be asleep. Then the door was pushed open and Shen Liangchuan walked in. She could hear his footsteps approaching her slowly and stopping next to the bed. She heard the sound of something being ced on the coffee table and his deep and resonant voice say, ¡°Drink some milk if you don¡¯t wish to eat.¡± Qiao Lian took a deep breath, maintaining her silence. Shen Liangchuan frowned as he noted that she was obviously not asleep, but was just ignoring him. He wanted her to sit up, but he had no idea what to say to her. After a silent pause, he began, ¡°Qiao Lian, my feelings towards you¡ª¡± Qiao Lian suddenly pulled aside her nket, sat up before he could finish what he was saying and interrupted him, ¡°I don¡¯t want you to force yourself.¡± After saying this, she got off the bed and strode to the door, leaving Shen Liangchuan alone in the master bedroom. Yes, she knew what he was going to say. He was going to say that he didn¡¯t mind her past after all? But when she had asked earlier, he had not answered so it was obvious that he minded. She saw no point in forcing him to ept her. What she wanted was a whole-hearted willingness on his part. After leaving the master bedroom, she went straight into the guest room next door. She pushed open the door, walked in and mmed the door behind her. Her disy of anger stunned Shen Liangchuan. It seemed that... this was the first time Qiao Lian had gotten so angry at him. He pursed his lips tightly and walked out of the master bedroom. As he was about to enter the guest room, he suddenly realized that the housekeepers downstairs were now all looking up with startled expressions on their faces. Obviously, they had heard the couple arguing. He suddenly felt awkward and gave a cough, ncing at the guest room door. Chapter 393 - Delighting the Girlfriend (3)

Chapter 393: Delighting the Girlfriend (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios With her hands behind her back, Qiao Liany on the king-sized bed in the guest room. The room was a little musty from theck of use, as no one stayed in it. She stared at the ceiling, thinking that perhaps this time around she had made a big fuss over nothing. She was being stubborn. But the fact was that she was angry. And there was no outlet for the grievances that were building up inside of her. She took in a deep breath, but her chest still felt tight and choked up from the anger. She picked up her cell phone and browsed around Weibo. But nothing was getting through to her. Then she logged out and yed a Lot match. Zombie Leader and the team were training every day. She could see their battle progress on the cell phone. Qiao Lian clicked on the match spectator mode and started to watch apetition. To her dismay, she found that not even her favourite eSports game could hold her attention at this moment. Qiao Lian bit her lip and sighed deeply. Just as she was about to turn off her cell phone to get some silence, she suddenly saw that an invitation for a one-on-one match hade in. The invitation was from none other than the same person she had almostpeted againstst time: Shen Liangchuan Qiao Lian was stunned for a moment before she rejected the invitation. However, within seconds, Shen Liangchuan sent another invitation. Qiao Lian paused. Once more, she rejected the invitation. At this point, she noticed someone from her friends list on the game had sent her a private message. Qiao Lian clicked to open the message. Indeed, it was from Shen Liangchuan. [Liangchuan: Would you dare to y a match?] Another short pause. Did he think she was three years old? He was prodding her with a challenge. Immediately she pounded away on her cell phone in reply: [Fine, you¡¯re on!] Who¡¯s afraid? Although her hands still suffered the effects of an injury from the past, mobile games were much easier to navigate and control thanputer games. Another private message from Shen Liangchuan came: [If I win, youe back to the master bedroom.] What!! Without waiting for her reply, Shen Liangchuan sent yet another invitation. Qiao Lian¡¯s hand trembled as she pressed on the ¡®ept¡¯ button. The confrontation began! Qiao Lian hesitated for a moment. She had not replied to hisst message. What did he mean by her having to return to the master bedroom if he won the match? That was too much. Did this guy even know how to delight a girl?! Still feeling very much frustrated and choked with anger, Qiao Lian focused all her energy on her cell phone. To defeat Shen Liangchuan, she chose the champion she was most familiar with: Xiao Qiao, a shaman. She had a strong attack, thoughcking hp. While Shen Liangchuan... chose a tank champion. In general tanks had plenty of hp, but were weak in attack. A smile immediately appeared on Qiao Lian¡¯s face. Was this guy stupid or something selecting a tank? Moreover, to fight against a shaman? The game started. Because there was only a single street, Qiao Lian charged ahead gleefully. When she saw Shen Liangchuan, she immediately cast a stun spell and then... She started to hit him, one sh after another with the sword. Seeing his life points depleted bit by bit gave her immense satisfaction! It was as though she was hitting him in real life. Finally, her pent-up anger found an outlet. When the stun spell ended and the tank was about to move, Qiao Lian threw yet another stun spell and continued hitting the tank mercilessly. When the tank could finally move, it was almost out of hp. He activated the discement skill and escaped. Qiao Lian had won the first confrontation. ted, she charged ahead and continued hitting the tank. The tank returned with a full refuel of hp. She threw a stun spell and continued to sh his champion. Obviously, she could kill her opponent with her ultimate attack, but she did not. shing the tank like she was doing made her feel good! When the tank was running low on hp, it ran away again. This repeated a few times since Qiao Lian did not kill her opponent. As sheshed out at the tank over and over again, she felt better and better. Meanwhile in the master bedroom, Shen Liangchuan held the cell phone in his hands, staring at the champion hitting him with all her might. For a long time, this champion had been seared into his memory. Chapter 394 - Delighting the Girlfriend (4)

Chapter 394: Delighting the Girlfriend (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Though years had passed and Xiao Qiao¡¯s champion graphics had gone through several revisions, Qiao Lian had stuck to the character that she had been using right from the start. Calm and unruffled, Shen Liangchuan stared steadily at his phone screen, navigating the tank to escape each time he had to recharge his hp. After four or five times of doing this, he considered she might have vented most of her anger already. At this thought, his mind wandered back to a time eight years ago. He had made her angry for a reason that he could now no longer remember. She had said directly, ¡°Hey, don¡¯t you know how to soothe me a little?¡± He asked for her advice meekly, ¡°How do I do that?¡± ¡°Say something sweet to me!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how to do that¡± ¡°Well, apologize then.¡± ¡°I apologize.¡± Those two in words obviously did nothing to satisfy her. Xiao Qiao then ordered, ¡°ept the match and fight me!¡± Obediently, he epted the match. Just as he was preparing to fight, she gave him another order, ¡°Stand still, let me hit you!¡± When his hp were almost gone, she gave him more instructions, ¡°Recharge your hp, you silly!¡± At that point he was speechless, thinking that it was all a little childish andughable. But still heplied and recharged his life, before presenting himself to get beaten up all over again. At the end of it all, she exhaled deeply and said, ¡°That felt great!¡± Shen Liangchuan: ... ¡°I feel such a great sense of aplishment beating the number one gamer to pulp!¡± Shen Liangchuan: ... From then onwards, they developed a close rapport between them. Whenever he made her angry, they would y a match. Eventually, he even began to learn how much time she needed to beat him up to be satisfied in proportion to the degree of her fury. Seeing that there wasn¡¯t much time left, Xiao Qiao led her minions through the front line of defence. He looked down at his cell phone. He couldn¡¯t lose. Xiao Qiao was feeling good and her anger was almost gone, when suddenly the tank changed its battle strategy. The tank ignored the danger and dashed into the base of the tower. Then itunched an attack. Qiao Lian was caught by surprise. She turned and cast the stun spell... Huh? It didn¡¯t work? She threw her ultimate attack. Huh? She missed! The guypletely ignored her and continued attacking the tower. Soon, her front line of defence fell, then her second and thest... And eventually the base. Qiao Lian waspletely speechless. She was stunned and did not understand how this guy had been able to dodge her ultimate attack at such unbelievable speed. Furthermore, he had seemed to be able to predict the direction in which she wouldunch it. Hence, she lost the game. Qiao Lian tossed her cell phone to the side and yelled angrily, ¡°Despicable! Come and hit me in person if you¡¯re so smart!¡± After yelling, she stuck her head out of the doorway and looked around. However, it was all quiet. This guy... He was expecting her to return to the master bedroom? Keep dreaming! Shey back down on the bed in the guest room, stubbornly waiting for him toe and get her instead. But as she waited, she nodded off. When she woke up, the vi was silent, not a noise could be heard. Feeling uncertain, she got out of bed and went downstairs. The housekeeper informed her that Shen Liangchuan had gone out. Gone out! Did this guy not know that she was still furious? Just as Qiao Lian was getting worked up all over again, her cell phone suddenly rang. ¡°Ms. Qiao, pleasee over quickly! Something¡¯s happened to Brother Shen!¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s heart sank immediately. ¡°What happened? Where are you all?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve sent the address to you through WeChat.¡± Qiao Lian changed her clothes and dashed out of the house to hail a cab. The car drove off at a high speed towards their destination. Her heart was full of anxiety when she arrived, so she took no notice of her surroundings and quickly pushed open the restaurant¡¯s front door. What she saw nextpletely took her by surprise. Chapter 395 - Delighting the Girlfriend (5)

Chapter 395: Delighting the Girlfriend (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The first thing that greeted her eyes as she stepped into the restaurant was a huge bouquet of roses. Exactly 999 roses right before her eyes. She widened her eyes with disbelief. And then she heard the sound of a violin ying. Turning around, she saw a violinist walking towards her, ying on the instrument. There was no one else in the restaurant, but Qiao Lian¡¯s heart was thumping wildly. This... Her eyes widened even more as she saw Shen Liangchuan appear from the side of the room and walk to her. The normally modest man was now dressed in a ck suit, and his erect and elegant postureplemented the aristocratic air he had. Although his handsomely sculpted face held no expression as always, his eyes gave away the anticipation he was feeling. Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t have imagined that she would be met with such a big surprise while she anxiously made her way to this ce. By now Shen Liangchuan was standing right before her. He extended his arm like a gentleman and asked, ¡°May I have the honor of inviting you to dine with me, Miss?¡± At this point, all the anger she had been holding inside melted away, just as the taut expression that she had been making an effort to keep. She broke into a smile. She knew in her heart that it was practically a miracle to have the stuffy Shen Liangchuan do such a romantic thing. She knew it wasn¡¯t easy for him. Looking into his eyes, she slowly extended her hand. The moment her pale and delicate hand held his own manly one, Shen Liangchuan heaved a big sigh of relief. He had been afraid that Qiao Lian would still be angry and ignore him. He led her to the upper floor of the restaurant. It was a gazebo. Right in the centre of the gazebo was a single dining table, still in service. After he took her to her seat, he said, ¡°This French restaurant has recently opened, the food is quite good. You should try it.¡± Qiao Lian nodded silently. It was only 6 pm, but the winter sky was now dark. In winter, they protected the gazebo with a ss cover to maintain the heat, but it didn¡¯t interfere with the view. Qiao Lian turned to look at the view beyond the ss. The huge city of Beijing stretched out before her. The heavy traffic and the glittering neon lights were part of this magnificent view. Although it was the weekend, the city was bustling and restless. One felt very high up looking down from this height. As Qiao Lian sat dazzled by the view, the food was served¡ªpan-fried foie gras for two. When Qiao Lian was about to pick up her fork and knife, Shen Liangchuan suddenly spoke, ¡°Hang on.¡± Then he held up his te before her. The food on it had been cut up into bite-size pieces. Qiao Lian was stunned for a moment before she epted his te. Then he reached out for hers and took it. Looking down at the te of sliced foie gras in her hands, her heart overflowed with warmth and sweetness. The fact was that Shen Liangchuan could bring a lot of warmth when he bothered to be attentive. She lowered her gaze and as she ate, a thousand thoughts shed through her mind. Every now and then, she would look up and steal a nce at him. That matter between them should have been water under the bridge by now. But why was it that she still had a nagging feeling? Qiao Lian shook her head, tossing all unhappy thoughts aside. After all, she shouldn¡¯t be too unreasonable. The food was good indeed. After thest course, Shen Liangchuan made no indication of leaving. Qiao Lian looked up at him. Shen Liangchuan then turned to look through the ss covering of the gazebo. She followed the direction of his gaze. The only thing she saw was the dark skies¡ªthe smog was bad today and not a single star was visible. What was this guy looking at? In the midst of this short pause, something swung before her eyes and then... Chapter 396 - Delighting the Girlfriend (6)

Chapter 396: Delighting the Girlfriend (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios A glittering ne appeared before her eyes! It was a delicately thin ne strung with a single star-shaped sapphire pendant. Catching the candlelight in the gazebo, it looked exceptionally bright and sparkling. Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes lit up at once. She turned immediate to Shen Liangchuan, who was watching her intently. He asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t it pretty?¡± Qiao Lian nodded and eximed, ¡°It¡¯s beautiful!¡± She extended her hand. ¡°Is that for me?¡± As someone who had grown up in the Qiao Family, the sight of precious gems and jewels was nothing new to her. But this star-shaped sapphire was so pretty she could hardly take her eyes off it. Most women love gemstones, so her face broke into a smile immediately. And then... As she reached out for the ne, the ne swung out of her reach and Shen Liangchuan pulled back his hand holding the jewel. He said as Qiao Lian looked at him with surprise, ¡°It¡¯s just for you to look.¡± Liar! The smile on her face disappeared at once. This guy... He was doing it on purpose. Angrily, she red at him with her widened eyes, brighter than the sapphire stone. When Shen Liangchuan saw her reaction, he couldn¡¯t help but burst outughing. Then he stood up and walked over to her. ¡°I¡¯m just teasing you. Here, let me put it on for you.¡± Liar! This guy was evil. She twitched her lips as he said, ¡°Lower your head.¡± He gathered her hair with one hand and lifted it. As Qiao Lian had left the vi in a hurry, she had not tied her hair back. She had left it hanging and fanned out across her back, lustrous like silk brocade. Parting her hair in the middle and tucking it to the sides, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s fingers brushed against the sides of her face. He paused as his gaze fell on her pale nape. His eyes darkened while he slowly secured the ne around her neck. Because he had lowered his head, Qiao Lian could feel his hot breath tickle her delicate skin. She found it hard to endure. It felt like there were a thousand ants crawling inside her heart. She gritted her teeth with self-restraint as he put on the ne for her, yet she thought that he would leave after that. But before she could even heave a sigh of relief, he had slid his arms around her waist from behind. Her posture stiffened as she felt him rest his head against her shoulder. Then his deep and resonant voice whispered in her ear, ¡°Xiao Qiao, I shouldn¡¯t have taken it out on you. From now on, your problems will be my problems. I will shoulder your burdens with you.¡± Her body tensed up. She stared nkly ahead and suddenly turned misty-eyed. So he understood all her grievances and frustrations. Although Li Rui¡¯s incident had turned out to be a misunderstanding, the fact was that because of being in the entertainment industry, she had her limitations and things would always be far from perfect. Sometimes, your eyes can y tricks on you. Hence, she would always carry the heavy burden of a past that she hadn¡¯t chosen. This would always be her conflict and pain. She feared that there mighte a second Li Rui, a third Li Rui... She had never intended to hurt anyone. Those years, she had sold information only for the purpose of survival. Now, his words hit home. He had said he was willing to share the weight of her burdens. No otherpliment in the world coulde even close to what he had said. She felt the tightness in her chest loosen and thatrge boulder crushing her heart finally crumbled too. She turned around as her eyes glistened with unspilled tears. In the dimness, they looked like obsidians, calling out to Shen Liangchuan to draw nearer. Lowering his head, he sealed his lips against hers. Chapter 397 - Delighting the Girlfriend (7)

Chapter 397: Delighting the Girlfriend (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As he drew his head back, Qiao Lian looked at him with a scarlet face. Shen Liangchuan reached out and patted her head affectionately. They were standing at the top floor of the restaurant, taking in the beautiful and glittering night scene of Beijing. By the time they left, it was past 8 pm. Shen Liangchuan was about to go and get the car when Qiao Lian grabbed his hand and said, ¡°Let¡¯s walk along this street for a little while longer.¡± He nodded, to her delight. After he put on his mask and baseball cap, they took a stroll. This was a flourishing district of Beijing and the business centre was just around the corner. Qiao Lian looked left and right, and she was just about to step on the crossing when he grasped her hand with a quick movement. Her hands had turned cold from the cool weather after they had left the heated restaurant. Hisrge hand, however, was dry and warm, triggering a wave of heat that seemed to spread to the rest of her body through her small palm. She felt her body tense up from this contact as she turned back to look at him. He acted as though nothing had happened and said calmly with his eyes still looking ahead, ¡°Don¡¯t wander off.¡± Qiao Lian nodded and grinned. The both of them strolled down the street hand-in-hand, neither of them letting go of the other person¡¯s hand even for a moment. And for that time, they were just like any other ordinary couple on the street. They did not attract any unwanted attention as it was not unusual to be wearing a mask and cap in this sort of cold weather. No one could have imagined that their heart-throb and national male idol Shen Liangchuan would walk down the street this way, like anyone else The streets of the business district were bustling with people and there were images of Shen Liangchuan everywhere. Every now and then they would walk past a giant monitor screen that would be shing an advertisement with Shen Liangchuan in it. Looking all around her, Qiao Lian sighed and leaned over to whisper in his ear, ¡°Even if we broke up in the future, I think I would do okay.¡± Shen Liangchuan raised an eyebrow. Pointing at all the billboards, she said, ¡°You¡¯re everywhere! And I would even know what you¡¯re up to everyday.¡± Shen Liangchuan replied coldly, ¡°You¡¯re thinking of breaking up with me?¡± Qiao Lian shrugged and immediately said, ¡°I¡¯m just saying.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to say that.¡± She grinned. ¡°Fine, I won¡¯t say it anymore.¡± What an overbearing guy. As they continued strolling around, they arrived at a shop that sold ornaments. Qiao Lian suddenly stopped and nced at the shop. Then, pulling Shen Liangchuan behind her, she entered the shop. The shop was rather quiet, as it was dinnertime. The two workers were watching a movie on theputer as the couple stepped in. One of them looked clearly love-struck and was eximing, ¡°Arghhh... he¡¯s so devastatingly handsome!!¡± ¡°Oooh... Best Actor Shen is so dashing, I wish I could turn into the female lead.¡± Qiao Lian halted and turned to give Shen Liangchuan a look. He was expressionless, as though he had not heard the remarks. She pursed her lips tightly and sniggered. Then pulled Shen Liangchuan along further into the shop. He followed her without a word. Seeing that she had taken interest in some items and was busy picking and choosing some, he stood next to her surveying the shop. After a short while, he saw her look up holding a sword-shaped ornament. She held it up to show Shen Liangchuan. ¡°Do you think it¡¯s pretty?¡± This section of the shop was full of mini replicas of the weapons used by the Lot champions. There were fans, swords and daggers... and the one Qiao Lian was holding was the weapon of the tank champion that Shen Liangchuan had selected in the game that they had yed earlier on. Shen Liangchuan nced at her and remarked, ¡°This is not suitable for a girl.¡± Chapter 398 - Delighting the Girlfriend (8)

Chapter 398: Delighting the Girlfriend (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian retorted, ¡°Of course. But I was going to get this for you!¡± Shen Liangchuan looked surprised. ¡°For me?¡± Qiao Lian nodded. ¡°Yes. You gave me a ne, so I want to give you something too. Even though they don¡¯t match in terms of mary value, it¡¯s still a gift from my heart.¡± His gaze softened as he pursed his lips and looked at her. However, Qiao Lian was now busy with the dilemma as to which ornament to select. She looked from one to the other asking, ¡°What type do you like¡ª¡± Qiao Lian could not tell from their match whether Shen Liangchuan was a good yer. During the match, his champion had spent most of the time dodging her attacks, hence she had no way of knowing which character he liked. Not taking his eyes off her, he suddenly reached out and from the shelf, he took a mini replica of a short dagger. That was... Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils suddenly shrank as she heard Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°This is the one I want.¡± Qiao Lian stared steadily at the dagger replica. She slowly lowered her gaze, as though trying to hide the wave of emotions that was washing through her. This dagger was the champion Zhou Yu¡¯s weapon in Lot. Zhou Yu was an assassin warrior. While Xiao Qiao was the champion used by Qiao Lian back then, Zi Chuan¡¯s favorite champion had been Zhou Yu. And now, Shen Liangchuan had chosen Zhou Yu¡¯s dagger. Qiao Lian immediately shook her head, in an attempt to shake off the memories from the past. Zi Chuan was history, she shouldn¡¯t think of him anymore. It would be unfair to Shen Liangchuan. If she expected Shen Liangchuan to love her whole-heartedly, then how could she give in return anything less? With great efforts to push aside those thoughts from the past, Qiao Lian settled for the dagger, saying, ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll pay now.¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded. The two workers were still watching the movie when the couple came up to the checkout counter. ¡°I¡¯ll take this,¡± Qiao Lian called out as she held out the item to the service staff. One of them quickly walked over with a smile. She scanned the item and said, ¡°188.¡± Qiao Lian took out her purse. As she drew out her money, she asked casually, ¡°You like Best Actor Shen too?¡± The cashier immediately cupped her cheeks with her hands. ¡°Yes! I really like him! He¡¯s so dashing! And his acting skills are superb. I have so many posters of him at home. If only I could meet him some day. Even if it¡¯s just to exchange a sentence- no- even just to walk by him!¡± Qiao Lian threw a sidelong nce at Shen Liangchuan and slid a bill across the counter top. ¡°I¡¯m sure your dream wille true.¡± Returning the change to Qiao Lian, the service staff grinned and said, ¡°Hope your words bring me luck! Pleasee again!¡± ¨C On the journey home, Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t stop smiling. The car drove along and very quickly, they left behind the bustling district and came to the vi district. On entering the vi district, they went to see Xia Yehua at her apartment before returning to their vi. Normally, they would use the main road to ess the apartment but today there was a car parked along the main road, blocking it. Hence, Shen Liangchuan had to make a detour to ess the property from the back. The car drove along a well-lit curved road. As Qiao Lian nced out of the window, she suddenly caught sight of two figures in a corner not too far off. One of the figures handed something over to the other, and thetter quickly stuffed the item into his bag. Although there was some distance between the car and the people, Qiao Lian, who was no stranger to dealing with money, could tell right away that the ¡®item¡¯ was a wad of banknotes. The person handing the wad of banknotes... how was it that there was an uncanny resemnce to Song Yuanxi? And as for the other figure... Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils immediately shrank as she recognized the figure... It was housekeeper Wang Lan! ¡°Stop the car!¡± Chapter 399 - Delighting the Girlfriend (9)

Chapter 399: Delighting the Girlfriend (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios A long shrill screech. Following Qiao Lian¡¯s loud exmation, Shen Liangchuan brought the car to a quick halt. He was driving along at considerable speed because the vi roads were quite empty at this time of the day. Even if he had reacted sooner, they would have shot past the two figures. Without a word, Qiao Lian pushed open the car door and looked in the direction they hade from. The two figures had disappeared. There was no one in sight. Had it been her imagination? Although it had just been a nce, the image was very clear in her memory. As a reporter, she was naturally sharp and sensitive to her surroundings. Hence, she moved quickly in the direction. Shen Liangchuan quickly got out of the car and followed after her. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Qiao Lian pointed in the direction of the scene she had just seen. ¡°I just saw two people right here, did you see them?¡± Shen Liangchuan frowned. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t.¡± No? Qiao Lian bit her lip. Was she seeing things? She ran over to the spot and paced to and fro. Indeed, there was no one around. Before Shen Liangchuan could ask further, Qiao Lian said, ¡°Nevermind, perhaps I was seeing things.¡± They returned to the car and continued their drive back to the apartment. They entered the house after the car had been parked. ¨C Instead of sleeping, Xia Yehua was sitting on the living room sofa watching TV. Seeing the couple walk in, she sensed that they had resolved their differences, even though they hadn¡¯t spoken a word. Immediately, Xia Yehua smiled. ¡°So you two have made up?¡± They nced at each other and he, stone-faced, walked over to Xia Yehua. ¡°Made up?¡± Obviously this guy wasn¡¯t going to admit to anything. Xia Yehua pointed at him and said with a twitch of her lips. ¡°Xiao Qiao is such a mild-tempered person, so if the both of you got into a fight, I¡¯m quite certain it¡¯s because you¡¯re making life difficult for her. I¡¯ll teach you a good lesson the next time I hear about a fight.¡± Shen Liangchuan looked at her with helpless frustration. ¡°Mom...¡± Ignoring him and turning to Qiao Lian with a big grin, Xia Yehua told her, ¡°Xiao Qiao, if he ever dares to make you feel bad again, you make sure you tell me about it!¡± Qiao Lian immediately walked over to Xia Yehua and held her mother-inw¡¯s arm affectionately. ¡°I will!¡± Having said that, she looked at Shen Liangchuan and raised an eyebrow smugly, saying, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, did you hear that? From now on, you can¡¯t make me feel bad!¡± Shen Liangchuan knew he was defeated. His deted expression put Qiao Lian in an exceptionally good mood. She looked up at the upper floor and asked, ¡°Mom, where¡¯s Song Yuanxi?¡± Xia Yehua replied, ¡°She¡¯s gone out.¡± Qiao Lian frowned and probed further, ¡°Out jogging?¡± Xia Yehua nodded. ¡°Yes, she¡¯s gone jogging.¡± Recalling the scene that she saw earlier on, she asked again, ¡°It¡¯ste, she shouldn¡¯t be out jogging alone.¡± Xia Yehua casually said, ¡°She¡¯s done this for years. She goes jogging for half an hour every day at this time. She only stopped for a few days because I was sick.¡± At this point, she nced up at the clock on the wall. ¡°She should be back any time now.¡± The moment she said this, they heard the sound of the front door opening. Turning around, they saw Song Yuanxi enter the living room. Although it was winter, the track suit kept her warm and her face was red, perspiring from the run. On seeing Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan as she entered the house, she stopped and greeted them, ¡°Brother Liangchuan, Sister-inw.¡± Then she walked in and said, ¡°I¡¯m going upstairs to wash up.¡± Qiao Lian stared at her intently as she walked up the stairs. Everything looked normal. Shen Liangchuan then stood up and headed to the washroom, leaving Qiao Lian and Xia Yehua in the living room. At this point, Qiao Lian could not help but ask the question that had been on her mind for some time, ¡°Mom, what¡¯s the rtion between Yuanxi and our family?¡± Chapter 400 - Delighting the Girlfriend (10)

Chapter 400: Delighting the Girlfriend (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After having been married to Shen Liangchuan a few months now, Qiao Lian still couldn¡¯t quite figure out who exactly Song Yuanxi was and where she came from. All she knew was that Song Yuanxi had a special ce in the Shen Family. Xia Yehua sighed on hearing Qiao Lian¡¯s question. ¡°She¡¯s an orphan. Shen Liangchuan brought her home eight years ago. I found out then that everyone in her family had perished and she was all alone. But...¡± Xia Yehua frowned and continued, ¡°I have no idea why he brought her home. All he did was put her in my custody and care. As you know, I have two sons and no daughters. And Yuanxi was a very well-behaved girl, I liked her immediately. But to be honest, I still do not know her background and identity.¡± Qiao Lian listened without interrupting. It was reasonable to trust a person that you had gotten along with for eight years. But who exactly was Song Yuanxi to Shen Liangchuan that he would ask Xia Yehua so solemnly to take care of her? Just as she frowned, puzzling over this matter, Shen Liangchuan walked out of the washroom. He drew out a tissue to dry his hands and announced, ¡°It¡¯ste, we should get going.¡± ncing at him, Qiao Lian nodded. At the same time, Song Yuanxi, who had just showered, came downstairs. She wore a set of conservative-looking pajamas and was towel drying her hair. To Shen Liangchuan and Qiao Lian she said, ¡°Brother Liangchuan, drive carefully.¡± It appeared she had gone downstairs to see them out. Qiao Lian did not speak, but nodded in response to Song Yuanxi¡¯s words. Shen Liangchuan turned around suddenly, as though remembering something. ¡°You¡¯re joining the crew for the first time tomorrow, I¡¯ll get Song Cheng to drive you. Once you¡¯ve joined the crew, don¡¯t travel back and forth anymore. It¡¯s a waste of time and also, you¡¯ll pick up acting techniques when you stay with the crew.¡± On hearing this, Song Yuanxi stopped in the midst of drying her hair and looked up with widened eyes. At once, her eyes reddened and she looked down. Although appearing reluctant, she gave her word, ¡°Okay.¡± Then she turned to look at Xia Yehua. ¡°Auntie¡¯s health is still not in the best condition. If I stay with the filming crew, perhaps, Brother Liangchuan, you both can move here and stay with Auntie.¡± Shen Liangchuan nced at Xia Yehua as Song Yuanxi said these words, and he nodded. At this point, Xia Yehua looked at Song Yuanxi, then shifted her gaze to Qiao Lian andstly it fell on Shen Liangchuan. She opened her mouth as if she was about to say something. Where Song Yuanxi would stay during the filming period had been discussed between Xia Yehua and Shen Liangchuan. In the discussion, they had agreed that she would stay at home. Shen Liangchuan had not objected to it at the time. Xia Yehua was surprised by this sudden change. However, she was quite certain that Shen Liangchuan must be still upset about Song Yuanxi being suspicious of Qiao Lian over the photo¡¯s matter. She wanted to speak up for Song Yuanxi. After all, she was new to the filming crew and having to stay with them right away could be quite worrying. However, when she cast her gaze on the couple before her, she swallowed her words and decided against it. In the first ce, it had not been right of Song Yuanxi to suspect Qiao Lian. And if she appeared to be shielding Song Yuanxi, what would Qiao Lian even think? Xia Yehua sighed helplessly and nodded. ¡°Fine, let¡¯s just go with it.¡± ¨C It was 11 pm by the time Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan got back to vi 8. After they had taken their showers, theyy on the bed. Surely more romantic acts¡ªthe sort not suitable for children¡ªshould follow a romantic evening out, right? Under the nket, Shen Liangchuan extended his hand towards her. But the next second his fingers froze and his expression stiffened. ¡°You still have your period?¡± Qiao Lian tried her best not to burst outughing and stared at him innocently. ¡°That¡¯s right... It normallysts 5 or 6 days. It won¡¯t end so soon.¡± Shen Liangchuan grunted gloomily. Qiao Lian held onto his arm and couldn¡¯t resist asking, ¡°Hey, who exactly is Song Yuanxi?¡± Chapter 401 - Xiao Qiao Shows Her Stuff (1)

Chapter 401: Xiao Qiao Shows Her Stuff (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She observed his reaction intently as she asked this question. Hence, she did not miss that sh of gloomy hesitation across his eyes after the question. He pursed his lips tightly and said after a pause, ¡°She¡¯s an orphan.¡± Weren¡¯t there scores of orphans in the world?! But to bring a 14-year-old orphan home, there must have been something special about her! Qiao Lian waspelled to pursue the matter, yet Shen Liangchuan suddenly threw aside the nket and sat up. ¡°Why don¡¯t you go to sleep first? I just remembered there¡¯s some unfinished business I have to attend to.¡± Qiao Lian was stunned. She widened her eyes and watched with bewilderment as he got up without a warning and left the room. Like a gust of wind, his back view disappeared through the door. She stared nkly into the air for a moment and could not react until, a short time after, she heard the door shut. What business warranted such an abrupt reaction? And why had he declined to speak about Song Yuanxi¡¯s background? Could there be... something wrong with Song Yuanxi? Shey on the bed staring at the ceiling. An 18-year-old boy bringing home a 14-year-old orphan girl to look after like a family member, and even spending arge sum of money sending her to study overseas. A situation like this could only mean one thing... At once, her pupils shrank and she scrambled down the bed. She walked out of the master bedroom and quietly made her way to the study. Without knocking on the study door, she very carefully pushed it open a crack and looked in through the thin slit. She saw Shen Liangchuan standing on the balcony smoking. He was still in his pajamas. She walked into the room. The sound of her entering caused Shen Liangchuan to turn around. She halted. For reasons unknown to her, she saw an expression of deep resentment on his face in that moment. However, the feeling was fleeting and it was gone in a sh. Shen Liangchuan had realized the source of the sound and walked to her. A thick whiff of cigarette smoke filled the room as the balcony door was pushed open. Qiao Lian anxiously grasped his hand. Realizing it was freezing, she immediately nagged, ¡°If you want to smoke, just do it in the room. You shouldn¡¯t have stood in the freezing wind wearing these thin pajamas. What if you fell sick?¡± Listening as she nagged, the coldness in his expression seemed to gradually fade away. He clenched his jaw and slowly eased up as she led him to the sofa and sat him down. Then she served him a cup of hot water and draped a woolen nket over him. Seeing her fussing over him, he eventually spoke, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you sleeping?¡± There had to be a reason why she hade to the study at thiste hour. Qiao Lian nced at him and said, ¡°I suddenly thought of something, that¡¯s why I came over. And fortunately so. If I hadn¡¯te over, would you be standing out in the cold all night? Changing the topic, Shen Liangchuan asked, ¡°Why are you here looking for me?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes sparkled as they looked at Shen Liangchuan. ¡°Even if you¡¯re not telling me who Song Yuanxi is, I think I¡¯ve guessed correctly!¡± On hearing this, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s body tensed up. He looked at her sharply, but there was also anxiety in his eyes. ¡°Who?¡± Qiao Lian did not seem to notice his expression at all and continued, ¡°Is she your father¡¯s illegitimate daughter?¡± That must have been why he hadn¡¯t even told Xia Yehua about it. He was probably worried that his mother would be upset if she found out. Qiao Lian felt that this guess was as close to the truth as it could get Chapter 402 - Xiao Qiao Shows Her Stuff (2)

Chapter 402: Xiao Qiao Shows Her Stuff (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Twelve midnight. The study door was suddenly thrown open. His tall and broad frame appeared. Then, like he was minding a straying chick, he shooed Qiao Lian out of the study room. He only made one remark before mming the door behind her with a thud. ¡°With your imagination, you should try writing trashy novels. Go to bed now.¡± Qiao Lian stood outside the room door, twitching her lips. It looked like she had made the wrong guess then. If that wasn¡¯t the case, then who was Song Yuanxi? Mulling over this question, she returned to the bedroom and got back into bed. The nap she took in the afternoon made it hard for her to fall asleep now, but she must have eventually done so after tossing and turning for some time. Or did she? In a semi-conscious state, she thought she heard Shen Liangchuan returning to the bedroom. He ced a cold hand on her face, which made her squirm and reach out to push it away. Then, she thought she heard him speak in a somewhat muffled voice, ¡°Xiao Qiao, we¡¯ll be okay...¡± ¨C When Qiao Lian woke up the next morning, there was no one next to her. She reached out for his side of the bed. It was cold. Shen Liangchuan mustn¡¯t have returnedst night. That hand, his voice... It must have been a dream. She got out of bed and went downstairs after washing up. Auntie Li was packing. They were moving to Xia Yehua¡¯s apartment. Xia Yehua was probably feeling lonely since Song Yuanxi had left to join the filming crew. Shen Liangchuan was not in the room. Qiao Lian asked curiously, ¡°Auntie Li, have you seen Sir?¡± Auntie Li replied with a smile, ¡°He left at six in the morning. He said something about Mr. Song looking for him.¡± Qiao Lian nodded as she recalled he had mentioned some unfinished business the night before. It looked like there really was an urgent matter. Auntie Li added, ¡°Madam, breakfast is ready. Have some before you go to work. Let me know if there¡¯s anything you¡¯d like me to move for you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have much. I¡¯ll pack whatever I need and you can help me move that.¡± Qiao Lian walked to the dining room and took a look at the table¡ªit was a Chinese-style breakfast. A bowl of thick century egg and lean meat porridge, with a few small side dishes and two steamed dumplings. She sat down and started to eat. Auntie Li walked over and was just about to tidy up the kitchen. She took a look at the dishes and smiled again. ¡°Madam, actually porridge is not that nutritious. I say, you should be drinking more milk.¡± Hearing this, Qiao Lian¡¯s expression darkened. Realizing that she had said the wrong thing as well, Auntie Li coughed once and changed the topic. ¡°Wang Lan has left, so they have forgotten to prepare the milk. From tomorrow, I¡¯ll make sure Madam gets her milk.¡± Wang Lan was the housekeeper who had leaked the photograph. She had been with the Shen Family for many years and had cried up a storm after the incident happened. For old times¡¯ sake, Xia Yehua didn¡¯t want to make life difficult for her. But having heard what Auntie Li had just said... Qiao Lian looked up suddenly. ¡°Are you saying the milk that I drank used to be prepared by Wang Lan?¡± Auntie Li nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Now she remembered! One morning after she had just moved in with the Shen Family, she had seen a housekeeper preparing milk for her. And the housekeeper had added something into the ss of milk. So that housekeeper was Wang Lan. Something began to stir in Qiao Lian¡¯s mind and it was about to surface. She suddenly asked, ¡°How was Wang Lan¡¯s rtionship with Song Yuanxi?¡± Chapter 403 - Xiao Qiao Shows Her Stuff (3)

Chapter 403: Xiao Qiao Shows Her Stuff (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Auntie Li paused with surprise at this question and replied immediately, ¡°They get along well.¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank and Auntie Li suddenly smiled. ¡°Miss Song gets along with everyone. She¡¯s kind-hearted and polite to everyone. She¡¯s very gentle and speaks slowly too. Whenever someone is in trouble, she tries to help so everyone is fond of her.¡± Auntie Li was a shrewd person and the moment Qiao Lian had asked the question, she had understood the intentions behind. She was careful to protect Song Yuanxi. When Qiao Lian first moved in with the Shen Family, she didn¡¯t have a good rtionship with Shen Liangchuan. Hence Auntie Li had never been especially protective about her. She took orders from Shen Liangchuan only and had always kept a professional distance with Qiao Lian. However when it came to Song Yuanxi, she made thesements. Qiao Lian could tell from her words that Song Yuanxi was really popr with everyone in the household. Qiao Lian cast her gaze downward. That brief thought that had almost surfaced before had nowpletely escaped. ¨C It was the weekend. Since she didn¡¯t have to work, Qiao Lian made ns to check out how things were going at the club. Although Zombie Leader and the team didn¡¯t trust or respect her, as their trainer it still was her duty to keep track of how they got along and progressed as a team. Except that... when Qiao Lian arrived at the club, she found that Zombie Leader, Su Penghao, was not at the vi. Purple Fairy had already tried once to buy the vi. In the end, Shen Liangchuan had resolved this by intercepting the deal and agreeing on the final selling price with the vi owner. Firstly, Shen Liangchuan was a popr public figure and the owner liked him; and secondly, they had known each other a long time. Hence in the end, the vi was sold to Shen Liangchuan. Thus the team avoided the trouble of having to move. Thepetition was starting in a few days, so they should all be practicing hard. But where had Su Penghao gone? Qiao Lian was puzzling over this when The Godfather informed her, ¡°Coach, Zombie Leader has been invited for tea by Purple Fairy.¡± Qiao Lian frowned on hearing this. ¡°When did this happen?¡± It was almost noon. Were they intending to have lunch together as well? Besides, why was Purple Fairy looking for Su Penghao? Qiao Lian didn¡¯t have to think twice for the answer. She was poaching. Zombie Leader¡¯s techniques were renowned in the world of gaming. Qiao Lian was feeling rather frustrated. Shouldn¡¯t a little fairness and alot of hard training be the key elements to winning an eSportspetition? Why did people have to resort to underhanded means? The Godfather scratched his nose. ¡°He went out at eight in the morning and hasn¡¯t been back since.¡± He took a step forward. ¡°Coach, do you think Purple Fairy is out to take him to her team?¡± Everyone turned simultaneously to look at Qiao Lian. Zombie Leader was the core of the team. If he were to leave them, taking part in the eSportspetition would now be pointless. Qiao Lian was quiet for a moment as she pursed her lip. ¡°We¡¯ll just let it be. If he can be poached so easily, then it¡¯s just a matter of time until it happens. If he¡¯s loyal, then it doesn¡¯t matter how many meals they have together, he¡¯ll still train with us.¡± Although everyone nodded in agreement with her words, they still looked somewhat worried. Qiao Lian sighed. At this point, the door was pushed open and Su Penghao walked into the room. Everyone turned at once to look at him. Su Penghao raised an eyebrow. ¡°Why are all of you looking at me like that?¡± Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t resist the urge to speak up, ¡°Zombie Leader, it¡¯s best that you keep a distance from Purple Fairy. You¡ª¡± Su Penghao looked terribly displeased to hear this. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with me meeting Xiao Qiao?¡± Chapter 404 - Xiao Qiao Shows Her Stuff (4)

Chapter 404: Xiao Qiao Shows Her Stuff (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian almost choked on what he said. It felt strange seeing Su Penghao behave this way. Su Penghao twitched his lips and said, ¡°She asked me out for a drink, to share our perspectives on gaming. We¡¯ve known each other for a while and she did try to poach me. However, she hasn¡¯t tried again after I rejected her.¡± Purple Fairy did invite him to join their team and he hesitated at the time. If Shen Liangchuan had not beaten him in the challenge, Su Penghao would have probably joined the King fighting team by now. Qiao Lian grimaced and said, ¡°Purple Fairy isn¡¯t as simple as you think. You just have to be more careful.¡± Su Penghao rolled his eyes and said curtly, ¡°I think you¡¯re the one with ulterior motives, assuming the worst of everyone else. Purple Fairy is the gamer Xiao Qiao, and although I haven¡¯t had much contact with her in real life, with Xiao Qiao...¡± He paused at this point, then gave a cold humph and continued, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not that stupid! Okay, let¡¯s start the match.¡± With this said, he walked straight past Qiao Lian and went into the room. The Godfather gave Su Penghao a puzzled look and asked, ¡°Zombie Leader, it¡¯s almost lunchtime, didn¡¯t you eat beforeing back here?¡± Su Penghao replied, ¡°She has a banquet to attend... Okay, I¡¯ve just ordered some food. In the meantime we can y a match or two, let¡¯s begin.¡± Seeing that the team was going to start their training, Qiao Lian shook her head and sat down on the sofa. At this point her cell phone rang. She looked down at the screen and realized it was... Fan Jie. They had not been in contact since the time Shen Liangchuan had threatened him into not epting her exclusive interview. She wondered why he was calling her now. She picked up the call and Fan Jie¡¯s voice came from the other end, ¡°Sister-inw, where are you?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes wandered around the room. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°We¡¯re having dinner. Would you like to join us?¡± Qiao Lian paused for a moment. ¡°I¡¯m not¡ª¡± Before she could get past a few words, a deep voice came through, ¡°Where are you?¡± It was Shen Liangchuan. ¡°At the team¡¯s vi,¡± Qiao Lian replied. ¡°Okay, I¡¯lle and get you.¡± Qiao Lian was stunned for a moment. ¡°What? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll go. Why don¡¯t you go ahead? I¡ª¡± ¡°That¡¯ll be all.¡± After those words, Shen Liangchuan hung up. ¨C Twenty minutester, Shen Liangchuan turned up at the team¡¯s vi. After getting in the car, Qiao Lian realized that Fan Jie was in the backseat. The moment he saw her, he eximed, ¡°My sister-inw, it¡¯s been such a long time!¡± Qiao Lian grimaced at the overly enthusiastic greeting. ¡°I think it hasn¡¯t even been a month?¡± Fan Jie sighed. ¡°A day without meeting feels like three years, as the saying goes. So a month would feel like 90 years!¡± Qiao Lian was speechless. She turned to Shen Liangchuan and whispered, ¡°What on earth are you guys up to?¡± Shen Liangchuan replied calmly, ¡°There¡¯s a gathering with friends and they insisted I bring my...¡± He paused, gave her a look and said pointedly, ¡°Spouse.¡± Spouse. That word made her feel warm inside. It seemed she had be Shen Liangchuan¡¯s spouse. She lowered her head to hide the huge, silly grin now spreading across her face. Soon they arrived at a private restaurant. Shen Liangchuan parked the car and the three of them made their way into the private room. This private gathering was indeed an all-star event, though there were only a few of them. Chapter 405 - Xiao Qiao Shows Her Stuff (5)

Chapter 405: Xiao Qiao Shows Her Stuff (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Apart from Fan Jie and Shen Liangchuan, there were Mo Xicheng and two other actors, Wang Xuan and Li Mu. Thest two were known for keeping a low-profile, there were hardly ever involved in any scandals. All of them had met at Mo Xicheng¡¯s birthday party previously and therefore knew each other. Mo Xicheng, as usual, looked sullen and sat on the sofa in a corner of the room. Although there were windows around, he had chosen to sit in the darkest spot of the room. They all stood up as they saw Qiao Lian enter the room and exchanged greetings with each other. Then they invited Qiao Lian to take her seat. They chatted about things rted to their filming crews. When the time to order came, Qiao Lian whispered to Shen Liangchuan, ¡°Did you have anything to eat before leaving the house this morning?¡± The way she had leaned over and whispered into his ear was an act intimate enough to make him feel warm inside. He calmly replied, ¡°No.¡± ¡°Well, then you should eat a little to fill your stomach before you drink any alcohol.¡± She paused and added with an anxious tone, ¡°Actually alcohol isn¡¯t good for your health, don¡¯t drink too much¡ª¡± Shen Liangchuan replied calmly, ¡°We won¡¯t drink.¡± Qiao Lian was stunned. She widened her eyes. Was she imagining it? But on the other hand, if these people got themselves drunk into a stupor, they could possibly find their names on every headline tomorrow. Her nk look made Shen Liangchuan smile to himself. This woman was sometimes quite sharp and clever in her little ways, but at times so adorably silly. As the dishes were served up, a few of them started to chat. Fan Jie was lively, engaging in a few conversations at once, and the atmosphere around the table was harmonious. As they chatted, someone broached the topic of games. Lot had recently gotten involved inrge-scale development of mobile games, and these video games had attracted a group of yers, which were both existing and new users. Celebrities included. Fan Jie was ted. ¡°... I¡¯m seriously good at it!¡± Seeing the smug look on his face, Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help butugh. Misunderstanding her reason forughing, Fan Jie said, ¡°Sister-inw, I¡¯m not joking. Wang Xuan and Li Mu are my witnesses! Also Brother Mo. The four of us very often pair up to y team matches.¡± At this point, he turned to look at Mo Xicheng excitedly. ¡°Brother Mo, aren¡¯t you going to say a few things in my favor!¡± Mo Xicheng could only say, ¡°Uh-huh.¡± What did ¡°Uh-huh¡± mean? Talking about games energized Fan Jie. He picked up his cell phone and went into the gaming site. ¡°Say, do you guys want to y a match right now?¡± Although they would normally y video games, they did it remotely and itcked social contact. Now they were all together at this event, so the fight would be even more awesome. Most of them were not too enthused by the idea, although they didn¡¯t reject it¡ªexcept Fan Jie, who was eager to give it a try. Then, Fan Jie suddenly got agitated and jumped up. ¡°Damn it! This idiot Zhang Mao dares to look down on me. He says my ying sucks! And he even provoked me by challenging us to a game! Let¡¯s y! Let¡¯s kill him!¡± Zhang Mao and Fan Jie were both singers. In the early days of their careers, they started out together as a band. Fan Jie was more popr than Zhang Mao, as he had a better image and also projected the sort of tender and adorable personality that attracted girls. This made Zhang Mao fume. He tried various times in the past to diminish Fan Jie, and eventually they parted on bad terms. But after the band split, Fan Jie¡¯s career took flight, whereas Zhang Mao was relegated to being a second-rate singer. Chapter 406 - Xiao Qiao Shows Her Stuff (6) Chapter 406: Xiao Qiao Shows Her Stuff (6) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Zhang Mao was a scheming person. When he realized he wasn¡¯t as popr, he made use of Fan Jie¡¯s name repeatedly to gain poprity for himself. At one point, Fan Jie had released a video on Weibo of himself ying enemies in a game, and people praised him for it. At the same time, Zhang Mao suddenly sent a match request. Firstly to take advantage of the opportunity and gain attention, and secondly he saw it as a chance to gain fans. After all, Zhang Mao was actually quite good at gaming. The moment Lot hit the Chinese market, it became a big thing. Hence, Fan Jie didn¡¯t really have the option to not respond to the match request. ¡°I can¡¯t let him belittle me!¡± Fan Jie hooted and rolled up his sleeves angrily, making a show of his readiness to take on the big challenge. ¡°Hurry up, 9brothers, get online!¡± Wang Xuan and Li Mu threw nces at each other and coughed. ¡°Fan Jie, we¡¯recking yers!¡± Fan Jie paused and realized that among their regr yers, there were only four of them there now. If the yers weren¡¯t able to meet in person during a match,munications would just be that bit harder. Furthermore, at a time like this, when most people were having their meals, they may not be able toe online for a match. Subconsciously, his gazended on Shen Liangchuan. Before he could speak, Mo Xicheng interjected, ¡°Brother Shen doesn¡¯t y video games.¡± Qiao Lian was a little surprised by hisment and couldn¡¯t help giving Shen Liangchuan a nce. He doesn¡¯t y games? She had yed a couple of matches with him and, although they didn¡¯t need a lot of skills for those games, she could nevertheless tell that he wasn¡¯t a person who didn¡¯t y video games. After some thinking, Fan Jie was on the verge of giving in. ¡°What can we do now? We arecking a yer for carrying on with the match.¡± Mo Xicheng tried to talk him out of it, ¡°Just ignore him.¡± Fan Jie looked up sharply. ¡°No way! Then I¡¯d look like I¡¯m scared of him!¡± Having said that, he looked around the room and then his gaze fell on Qiao Lian. Immediately, his eyes lit up. ¡°Sister-inw, you can help us!¡± Qiao Lian grimaced at his suggestion and rejected him outrightly. ¡°No, I can¡¯t.¡± Fan Jie stepped forward immediately and tugged at Qiao Lian¡¯s sleeve. ¡°Sister-inw, please, I beg of you!¡± Qiao Lian raised an eyebrow and nced once at the calm Shen Liangchuan. He was expressionless, indicating that he was leaving it up to her to make the decision. She immediately smiled and said, ¡°What¡¯s in it for me if I helped you?¡± Fan Jie immediately said, ¡°What do you want? Just let me know!¡± Qiao Lian looked briefly at each of them in the room and grinned. ¡°How about... if we win, the four of you will agree to an interview with me whenever I need it. If there¡¯s any breaking news, I¡¯ll be the first to know!¡± Fan Jie sealed the deal with a m on the table. ¡°No problem!¡± Even if they didn¡¯t win, wouldn¡¯t they help anyway, being Shen Liangchuan¡¯s friends? Sister-inw was usually quite sharp, why was she making such a silly request now? Shen Liangchuan gave Qiao Lian a brief nce and lowered his eyelids. It seemed she was still upset about the fact that Fan Jie had gone back on his words regarding the exclusive interview that time. But Shen Liangchuan was well aware that Qiao Lian knew he was behind it. And now with this agreement, she had removed his ability to influence them in the future. Qiao Lian picked up her cell phone and entered her sub-ount. After adding Fan Jie as a friend, thetter eximed loudly, ¡°Cr*p... Sister-inw, your level is really low. I suppose you don¡¯t y this game very much!¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank when she heard his remark. It¡¯s true that it had been some time since she yed. Fan Jie sighed. ¡°Oh nevermind, Sister-inw, just take instructions from me then. Follow my lead, don¡¯t get yourself ughtered.¡± After saying this, he nced at the rest of the yers. ¡°Everyone, make sure you protect her. Don¡¯t let her get beaten to tears, even if it means we don¡¯t win the match!¡± Chapter 407 - Xiao Qiao Shows Her Stuff (7)

Chapter 407: Xiao Qiao Shows Her Stuff (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As they said this, Shen Liangchuan couldn¡¯t help but twitch his lips. Would Xiao Qiao cry if she were to be defeated? He suddenly became interested in the match. He raised his head and stared at the small group of people across him. After confirming it with Zhang Mao, they included Qiao Lian. While matching the yers, Fan Jie froze and said, ¡°Who is this Purple Fairy?¡± Purple Fairy? Qiao Lian raised an eyebrow and then nced at her cell phone. Zhang Mao, had indeed added Purple Fairy. She suddenly recalled that Purple Fairy had made an appointment to meet with Su Penghao, but they hadn¡¯t met in the end. So it turned out that she had been pulled to Zhang Mao¡¯s side. Wang Xuan replied, ¡°Yeah, she is that famous eSports female caster. ¡°You mean Forget Chuan?¡± Fan Jie looked at him with exhration. ¡°Purple Fairy is Forget Chuan?¡± Wang Xuan: ... Qiao Lian: ... Mo Xicheng shook his head helplessly. ¡°Forget Chuan is Forget Chuan, while Purple Fairy is Purple Fairy.¡± Fan Jie scratched his head. ¡°Of all the female casters, I like Forget Chuan¡¯s livestream the best. If I miss an aspect about the previous match, her exnations are always precise. Her livestreams always give a very clear insight.¡± Qiao Lian: ... Qiao Lian subconsciously threw a nce at Shen Liangchuan, but she saw that he was already staring at her. He raised his eyebrow as she looked over. Qiao Lian winced and shifted her gaze. Fan Jie asked, ¡°Can that Purple Fairy y well? Zhang Mao is indeed shameless, he has actually invited professionals to the game. However, it doesn¡¯t necessarily mean that a female caster will be able to y well.¡± As he said these words, Wang Xuan couldn¡¯t help but pour cold water on his hopes. ¡°Even if Purple Fairy is an average yer, she is still much better than us, frencers. The most important thing is... that Smiling Tiger is a professional yer.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go!¡± Fan Jie got furious. ¡°Zhang Mao is totally shameless! He actually got professional yers to y with us! How are we supposed to win in this case? No matter how good we are, it is way too much topare our skills with a professionals¡¯! Moreover, two professionals at the same time. Together with the three other yers, who were not bad, this was not a good game for them. Fan Jie looked troubled. He sighed but then said in a zealous manner, ¡°We might lose out on yers, but not when ites to teamwork. Let¡¯s fight!¡± The small team started to pick their champions. Qiao Lian usually liked to use Xiao Qiao, who was a shaman. However, Fan Jie took the lead and chose the shaman. The others around him selected the remaining characters they were used to. At the looks of it, the oue of the game depended on Fan Jie. Qiao Lian frowned as she was selecting her champion. As it was her sub-ount, she only had a few gold coins and as such, she could only afford a few champions. So now she could only choose.... She chose an assassin. Fan Jie was stunned. ¡°Sister-inw, you need a lot of technique and skill to y an assassin. Also, the one you¡¯ve chosen is extremely difficult to control and demanding. How about choosing a tank? So that you can assist us when enduring the blows.¡± Qiao Lian said nonchntly, ¡°I do not have a tank champion.¡± Fan Jie: ¡°... Then what do you have?¡± ¡°A shaman and an assassin.¡± Fan Jie was stumped. Everyone stared speechlessly. Qiao Lian did not look up, but she could already guess their reaction. Wang Xuan winced and said, ¡°The assassin can also partly take a defensive role and partly take an offensive role. I¡¯ll tell you what,ter on, I will let you know what you need to do.¡± Qiao Lian raised her head and took a nce at him. ¡°Ok.¡± Wang Xuan: ... Fan Jie and the rest were worried. If only they had known that getting someone else who wasn¡¯t present would have been better than getting Qiao Lian! Why did Sister-inw give off the feeling that she was unreliable?!! Chapter 408 - Xiao Qiao Shows Her Stuff (8)

Chapter 408: Xiao Qiao Shows Her Stuff (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios However, everyone was already present. Looking at the time, the game would be starting anytime soon, so even if they had wanted to change a yer, there was no time to do so. So they had to brace themselves and fight. When the game began, Fan Jie was giving instructions. ¡°I will be fighting in the middle road. Wang Xuan, you both will fight in the right side, and Brother Mo, you can take the left side. As for Sister-inw...¡± He was a little hesitant when he saw a blurry image on the screen. Qiao Lian had already used the discement spell. She was running to the others and then... a supposedly smooth move turned into a crash on the wall. Fan Jie: ... The rest: ... Fan Jie tried to control hisughter and said, ¡°Sister-inw, do try to limit using your ultimate attack.¡± This caused Qiao Lian to frown. Although she had yed two matches with Shen Liangchuan before, in those matches the roads were through walls too. She was unfamiliar with these simplified terrains. ying via the cell phone and using theputer was not exactly the same. When using a discement spell, the length to measure was also different and this was the reason why she had crashed into the wall, since she had originally wanted to go through it. Qiao Lian sighed. Looking at it, frequent practice was essential for gaming, or else one could becking the necessary skills. She ignored Fan Jie, went around the wall and continued to run forward. She then enquired, ¡°The opponents¡¯ terrains should be the same as ours, right?¡± Although she was quite sure that they were the same, she thought it would be better to check with Fan Jie. Fan Jie: ¡°... The same.¡± He waspletely speechless. He had initially thought that Sister-inw hadn¡¯t yed games much. But by the looks of it, now it seemed like she had never even yed before. He raised his head to nce at Mo Xicheng and cleared his throat before saying, ¡°Do try to coordinate well, everyone. Sister-inw, don¡¯t fight in the wilderness, leave that monster to Brother Mo.¡± Everyone started to get serious in the game. In the initial phase, the had to develop their skills. When Fan Jie was fighting an opponent in a straight road, he used the fort to defend himself. ¡°Come back!¡± Qiao Lian screamed. Fan Jie was slightly stunned. ¡°Sister-inw, you are too timid. I¡¯ve only made a move, I-¡± Before he could finish speaking, he froze. He saw two warriorsing out of the bushes. One cast a stun spell and the other threw an execution spell. His hp were depleted by half! He wanted to go back to base, but there was no way he could have done so. He could only watch helplessly as the opponents killed his champion. ¡°Crap!¡± Fan Jie eximed furiously and stood up immediately. Of course, he had defended himself from getting assassinated. However, he hadn¡¯t seen any opponents from where he was. Where on earth had theye from? He looked at the dark screen. He hadn¡¯tpletely had the chance to react, so he immediately screamed furiously, ¡°Crap! The pace of the professional yers is swift and they¡¯ve began their killing spree right from the start. All of you have to beware.¡± As he said, two yers on the right side of the road appeared to have been surrounded by three opponents. ¡°Come back! Quick!¡± But they were stillte. After they were surrounded and had nowhere to go, they were killed. The game had just started, but three yers had already been killed. Fan Jie became anxious. ¡°Brother Mo, do not leave the tower.¡± After he spoke, he realized there was another person. But where was she? Where was Sister-inw? He took a nce at the little map. Fan Jie winced immediately. He saw that Qiao Lian was using a technique that allowed her to leap around freely. He wondered what she was doing. He raised his head to look at Qiao Lian. After a while he resigned himself to fate and said, ¡°Sister-inw, it is fine that you continue to leap around, just don¡¯t get yourself killed.¡± Qiao Lian replied ¡°ok¡± while staring attentively at the screen. Chapter 409 - Xiao Qiao Shows Her Stuff (9)

Chapter 409: Xiao Qiao Shows Her Stuff (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian was getting herself familiarized with thendscape. After all, mobile games were different fromputer games. Hence, she paid no attention to what he was saying and continued to explore the map and study its terrains. Shen Liangchuan, on the other hand, looked nonchnt. Mo Xicheng looked up and nced at him. He couldn¡¯t help but ask in a soft voice, ¡°You¡¯re really not helping?¡± Since he had known Shen Liangchuan for such a long time, he of course knew Shen Liangchuan¡¯s gaming identity. ying a video game was really a small matter, but Zhang Mao had invited professionals to crush his opponents. It was really too much. Given Shen Liangchuan¡¯s nature to cover for another yer¡¯s shorings, he wouldn¡¯t let Fan Jie be defeated. However, Shen Liangchuan was calm and emotionless. As he was puzzling over this, he heard Shen Liangchuan say with confidence, ¡°You won¡¯t lose this game.¡± Mo Xicheng was stunned as he followed Shen Liangchuan¡¯s gaze, which rested on Qiao Lian. She was now intensely focused on her cell phone. There was a saying that the most serious people were also the most adorable people. Qiao Lian¡¯s face was now very serious looking, with an expression of intense concentration. Her delicate features emanated an aura of pureness. She most certainly didn¡¯t look like she was ying a game, but performing an important task. As Shen Liangchuan gazed at her, he was mesmerized. In the past, he had used to wonder what Xiao Qiao looked like when she was ying a game. Her voice and tone never changed as she yed. He had always thought she held a rxed attitude towards gaming. He hadn¡¯t known until this moment that she took it so seriously. But if she was such a serious person, why had she treated him that way? Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression darkened. ¨C In the meantime, in the private room of a different hotel. Zhang Mao sat holding his cell phone. He gave two loudughs. ¡°Haha, now I¡¯vepletely smashed them, right? Fan Jie, you fool, you¡¯re a real joke!¡± Purple Fairy, who was sitting next to Zhang Mao, had a calm expression on her face. She was rather confident as she looked at the time and said, ¡°We can win this game in less than eight minutes, just follow my instructions.¡± With augh Zhang Mao said, ¡°No problem!¡± Smiling Tiger, on the other hand, frowned, ¡°I feel that something¡¯s not quite right.¡± Purple Fairy looked up. ¡°Why? What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°If we analyze it, we¡¯ve yed the opponents in the middle and left road, but where is the jungler [1.In online gaming, it is the champion that kills minions in the wilderness/jungle.]? Why didn¡¯t shee to the rescue when we were fighting them?¡± Purple Fairy frowned as well when she heard this. Smiling Tiger continued, ¡°That champion can be quite powerful, we must not underestimate her. I wonder if this is Fan Jie luring us into a trap so that he can level up.¡± Purple Fairy nodded and went into the data panel to have a look. She immediatelyughed. ¡°This champion is a joke... She¡¯s not even at level four. How is she going to fight us?¡± Most gamers would have three ultimate attacks. But the third ultimate attack, which was the most powerful one, could only be unlocked when the gamer attained level four. Purple Fairy continued, ¡°Also look at this... the level of this yer¡¯s ount is really low. I¡¯m quite certain they didn¡¯t have enough yers and just ended up getting anyone to make up the numbers. Follow me, let¡¯s y her.¡± Smiling Tiger nodded immediately. ¡°Okay.¡± The two of them set out and moved in Qiao Lian¡¯s direction. At this point, Fan Jie had also been resurrected. Mo Xicheng saw that a group of fighters had entered their territory and he sounded a warning immediately, ¡°Careful, two enemies approaching.¡± Fan Jie fumed, ¡°They¡¯re here to kill again? Brothers, protect Sister-inw!¡± Immediately, the three champions that had just been resurrected moved forward aggressively. Chapter 410 - Xiao Qiao Shows Her Stuff (10)

Chapter 410: Xiao Qiao Shows Her Stuff (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The three yers moved together. They believed there were only two opponents, so including Qiao Lian, there were four of them. Taking down the enemies shouldn¡¯t be an issue. But unexpectedly, just when they were about to move in her direction, Qiao Lian immediately spoke, ¡°Do not approach.¡± Upon her remark, Fan Jie said at once, ¡°It¡¯s okay, Sister-inw, don¡¯t be afraid. We¡¯ll show you our might!¡± s! As these words were spoken, they saw a great sh across their screens. Immediately after, two fighters appeared from under the bushes on the side. One cast a stun spell and the other activated the amplification function, directly damaging them. In a sh, all three of them had lost almost all their hp! ¡°Crap!¡± Fan Jie yelled, ¡°This is too powerful!¡± With that single wave of attack, they had all been hit and the opponent still had full hp. Qiao Lianmanded, ¡°Retreat!¡± But Fan Jie, who was now severely beaten up, was feeling very ufortable. Why was she asking them to step back? He gritted his teeth and retorted, ¡°Why retreat? Brothers, move forward! Kill them! Sister-inw, hurry over and support us! Brother Mo, stop fighting ande over!¡± Qiao Lian was hiding in the bushes nearby and the enemy could not see her. But her own team could see where she was positioned. On hearing Fan Jie¡¯s instruction, Qiao Lian¡¯s fingers paused for a bit. She stepped out of the bush and, as a result, exposed her position to the opponent. Smiling Tiger was indeed a professional yer and responded within the blink of an eye. First, there was a sh. Fan Jie¡¯s screen went dark, a sign of death. On top of the screen, it appeared that he had been ughtered. Fan Jie was on the verge of hurling his cell phone across the room. The professional gamer was too terrifying. It was impossible to y at this speed. Following this, the screen disyed again: ughtered! Wang Xuan¡¯s cell phone screen went ck, he had been killed. And then soon after this, another one was ughtered. All three of them had been killed within a minute ofing back into the game. This time around, it would take them 50 seconds to resurrect. Fan Jie looked anxiously at Qiao Lian¡¯s figure on the little map and quickly suggested, ¡°Sister-inw, run, quick! These people are beasts!¡± But to his great surprise, he saw on the map that Qiao Lian, who had initially been running away, was now charging at the two opponents. Fan Jie was immediately speechless. When they had fought together, she had held back. Now that they were dead, was Sister-inw intending to get herself killed? He grimaced. ¡°Sister-inw, you¡ª¡± Before he could finish what he was saying, he saw that Qiao Lian¡¯s figure had done a beautiful leap through the air, and then a ck screen followed: ughtered! They were finished. Fan Jie sighed. The game had just started and they had been ughtered repeatedly. How were they going to continue the game, after having given the opponent such a big advantage? Before his sigh was over, he was stunned. What? Was there something wrong with the game system? Hadn¡¯t Smiling Tiger just killed Sister-inw? But why... did the screen disy ¡°Unforgettable Love ughtered Purple Fairy¡±?! Purple Fairy was the opponent¡¯s professional gamer. But who on earth was Unforgettable Love? Who among them was called Unforgettable Love? He was stunned and speechless before he somewhat reacted. It seemed like... his impression was... it was that... Sister-inw was Unforgettable Love? He was still in a state of stupor when he saw the screen throbbing. Following this, he noticed a figure stumbling along and returning home to recharge its hp. This... Fan Jie looked up, startled, and stared at Qiao Lian with disbelief. He saw that she was exercising her wrist. She eximed, ¡°Let¡¯s start the game!¡± ¡°What?¡± Fan Jie thought, ¡°Hadn¡¯t they already started?!¡± Chapter 411 - Xiao Qiao Shows Her Stuff (11)

Chapter 411: Xiao Qiao Shows Her Stuff (11)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios On the other end, Purple Fairy smiled and said as Unforgettable Love was charging up to them, ¡°Smiling Tiger, this is your kill, you can have her.¡± Smiling Tiger replied humbly, ¡°You can take it.¡± Purple Fairy shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ll go with you¡ª¡± As she said this, an ultimate attack was activated. In a sh, the screen went crazy. And then the screen disyed someone had been ughtered. Sheughed as she said, ¡°You¡¯re really quick at killing, let¡¯s go back... ¡± Before she could utter the word ¡°home¡±, she had a realization. She could not move. Then another shocking realization came... She had been ughtered. Dead. How had that happened? What had happened just then? She looked at the heading: Unforgettable Love has ughtered Purple Fairy! Purple Fairy was stunned. Her smile disappeared immediately and she froze. ¡°Was there a system error?¡± Smiling Tiger was indeed a professional gamer. He frowned and stared at the screen. Seeing that he had gone from full life points to half of that, he was slightly stunned as well, and did not understand what had just happened. Purple Fairy immediately activated the Death yback function and only after studying the slow motion did she realize! Her first stroke did in fact hit the opponent¡¯s hero. And Smiling Tiger did, just as she was activating her first stroke, activate his own first stroke... However, the opponent activated her Discement Skill and avoided their strokes, and then following that released two Big Stroke techniques and ughtered her rightaway! And at the same time, Smiling Tiger had just released his second stroke to attack her till she was almost out of life points. One more hit and she would have died for sure! But at this point she turned around to deliver a Stun Spell, and then activated Discement Skill... Bang! The wall before her crumbled. Smiling Tiger and her were both beaten into a stupor and couldn¡¯t give chase. Hence, the opponent escaped. Purple Fairy was livid!! Smiling Tiger said in awe, ¡°This person... The strikes she used to defeat you were especially beautiful. She doesn¡¯t look like a beginner. But for someone who doesn¡¯t even know how to use the discement spell... can she be considered a skillful gamer?¡± How could she be a skillful gamer?! If she were a skillful gamer, why had she note to the rescue of her ughtered teammates? And furthermore, she had stupidly not leveled up at all. Purple Fairy frowned deeply. ¡°Look at how she¡¯s used the session of strikes. There are actually some mistakes. We were defeated only because we lowered our guard. That session of strikes... The victory was like a blind cat identallying across a dead rat... in other words, just a fluke.¡± Along the same line, if the opponent were a blind cat, what did it make Purple Fairy then? Smiling Tiger grimaced and nodded in agreement with Purple Fairy¡¯s theory. After all, this yer had a really low level ount. And besides, judging by her movements, the yer wasn¡¯t too experienced. ¡°No big deal. We¡¯ve killed them six times and have only been in once, no need to worry. We¡¯ll be more careful the next time,¡± Purple Fairy put things in perspective. ¡°We have the upper hand now, we¡¯lle back together.¡± Smiling Tiger nodded. ¨C On this end, Qiao Lian moved her wrist and picked up the cell phone again. Although it was much easier to operate the cell phone than theputer, it still required agility. It had taken her two rounds to feel some lifeing back to her stiff fingers. However, ying eSports on the cell phone was harder than she had imagined. She believed that if the game did not end in another half an hour, her hand wouldn¡¯t be able to pay the price. As this thought came to mind, she took a deep breath and looked at Fan Jie. ¡°Let¡¯s end this game in under 12 minutes.¡± Fan Jie was stunned. He grimaced again. 12 minutes? He had estimated that they¡¯d lose the game within 10 minutes. Chapter 412 - Xiao Qiao Shows Her Stuff (12)

Chapter 412: Xiao Qiao Shows Her Stuff (12)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xiao Qiao had killed an opponent but from Fan Jie¡¯s perspective, it was probably just luck. Qiao Lian sighed gloomily. Actually, she had seen the two enemies dashing towards her to capture her. For that reason she had hidden in the bushes. She had initially been after a good angle so that she could kill her two opponents with a single shot, but those three had dashed ahead to court their own deaths. This action also forced her to expose herself before the right time, hence she had only managed to y Purple Fairy. Moving on... The score gap between the two teams meant that this would be a hard fight. It was going to be tough. She frowned and was about to speak when Fan Jie cried out in rm, ¡°Cr*p! The enemies are trying to kill Brother Mo. Hurry up! GO!¡± Hence, the three warriors who had just been resurrected ran up to where Mo Xicheng was. Qiao Lian was stumped. She opened her mouth, ¡°Don¡¯t¡ª¡± Fan Jie interrupted, ¡°Sister-inw,e over quick! Stop fooling around!¡± Qiao Lian was stumped. This bunch couldn¡¯t get any more unreasonable. They rushed over in an attempt to help the moment they saw three of enemies attacking Mo Xicheng. Qiao Lian winced and couldn¡¯t help feeling exasperated because of this crazy breakdown of a strategy. The yers would surely get killed one by one as a result of the team¡¯s mistake. Before they could get there, the enemy would have in their teammate. Indeed, Mo Xicheng was killed. Before their eyes, Mo Xicheng¡¯s life points dropped until there was nothing and at this point, Fan Jie furiously shouted, ¡°Brothers, charge!¡± Qiao Lian was stumped. It was easy to get carried away by a game and Qiao Lian understood how they could get this impulsive. However, it was toote for her to stop them. All she could do was grit her teeth and try to stick with them. Fan Jie and the rest of the team arrived at the spot, as also did Smiling Tiger. Leveraging his teammates¡¯s cover in front of him, Smiling Tiger attacked with a rapid blow, killing one of them in a sh. Then he turned around and yed another two. His speed was amazingly fast. After Fan Jie had been in, he stared nkly at the dark screen and almost smashed his cell phone onto the ground. The expression on his face was terrible, to say the least. ring at the screen, he said, ¡°This professional gamer is too despicable! How are we going to continue this game? We didn¡¯t even get a single kill.¡± Wang Xuan immediately reminded him, ¡°We did kill one.¡± Fan Jie paused and suddenly remembered Qiao Lian. ¡°Sister-inw, where are you?¡± He nced at the map and saw her. She was standing still, but he couldn¡¯t figure out where this was. Fan Jie looked up at Qiao Lian. She was holding her cell phone, looking very focused. Why wasn¡¯t she moving? Fan Jie extended his hand to her. ¡°Sister-inw, why don¡¯t you let me have your cell phone? I¡¯ll fight¡ª¡± Qiao Lian paused and looked up at him. ¡°Why?¡± Fan Jie was stumped. If you are too afraid to move forward, I¡¯ll do it. But when he saw Qiao Lian¡¯s expression, these words wouldn¡¯te out. Saying it aloud would embarrass her, so it was better to just let it go. No big deal, it was just losing a match. Fan Jie was unrepentant, waiting tomit yet more mistakes. ¡°It¡¯s okay, Sister-inw, it¡¯s just a game, as long as it keeps you happy.¡± Qiao Lian lowered her head and focused her attention back on the screen once more, looking happy and visibly touched. Everyone could feel her excitement. Fan Jie and Wang Xuan couldn¡¯t help but nce at each other and grimace. But only Qiao Lian understood the emotions she was feeling. The familiar music and champions... It was just like eight years ago. Chapter 413 - Xiao Qiao Shows Her Stuff (13)

Chapter 413: Xiao Qiao Shows Her Stuff (13)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She felt as though every living cell in her body was charged with energy and it made her want to jump up with excitement. Mo Xicheng leaned over and asked Shen Liangchuan quietly, ¡°Is she waiting for the rest of the team to resurrect?¡± Qiao Lian was not moving at all. It was obvious she was waiting for something. Still, no one thought it was a bad choice to wait for the rest, rather than impulsively trying to fight them by herself. After Mo Xicheng spoke, Shen Liangchuan softly and calmly said, ¡°Coming.¡± Coming? Who wasing? Mo Xicheng took a look at the timer. It was five seconds for resurrecting. At this point, he suddenly saw Purple Fairy walking past Qiao Lian, who was hiding in the bushes. Purple Fairy had resurrected and was now looking to re-join her team members. His pupils shrank and then a sh crossed on the screen. Qiao Lian delivered a quick session of three ultimate attacks and Purple Fairy was dead again. Fan Jie jumped and stood up immediately. ¡°Good lord! Sister-inw, did you just cheat?¡± The people in the room were suddenly charged up. Now that they were in the advantageous position of having one more yer alive, Fan Jie quickly said, ¡°Sister-inw, hurry,e back here!¡± Four enemies of the opposing team had spotted her position and they were not very far from there. ¨C Purple Fairy stared at her cell phonepletely stunned. She looked in disbelief at the nk screen in her hands. She had resurrected for barely five seconds before getting killed again. This was unimaginable! Smiling Tiger, in the meantime, had observed every move on the screen. He looked up and nced at Purple Fairy. ¡°This way of operating is very simr to Xiao Qiao¡¯s.¡± Purple Fairy was stunned for a moment and appeared a little ufortable. She immediately retorted, ¡°I don¡¯t see any resemnce. Can¡¯t you see from her technique that she¡¯s is still a beginner? She¡¯s obviously copying. When I used this strategy in the past, I wasn¡¯t half as stiff.¡± Smiling Tiger contemted her words and decided that her exnation was reasonable enough. But Purple Fairy frowned. ¡°This is simply too much, she¡¯s killed me twice! She¡¯s like a fish that keeps slipping through our fingers. She has too many discement spells. Hurry up and help me take revenge! Don¡¯t let her escape.¡± Smiling Tiger was rxed. ¡°No problem, I¡¯lle over. There¡¯s no way she can escape.¡± After saying this, he started giving the instructions, ¡°Zhang Mao, you have very few hp left. Stay here and attack the fort. Everyone else,e with me!¡± Everyone started to spread as instructed. As a veteran gamer, Smiling Tiger of course understood that this assassin had many discement spells and could escape easily just like that. Hence, even before he started to move, he executed his ultimate attack and hovered around the spot where she would soon be teletransported to. Doing this would ensure she cannot escape. Once Smiling Tiger activated his third retention attack, he hopped away. However... where was the person that he was supposed to trap? Puzzled, he took a nce at the little map and realized something. Unforgettable Love had not tried to escape after all, on the contrary, she was now charging at them head-on. He ran after her, but two of his teammates had already surrounded her. ¡°Stop her!¡± Smiling Tiger shouted his instructions as he continued to dash ahead. But his teammates were not as quick, since they were not professional gamers. Everyone thought that she would try to escape and did not expect her toe directly to fight. Thus, her tactic had taken them by surprise. Chapter 414 - Xiao Qiao Shows Her Stuff (14) Chapter 414: Xiao Qiao Shows Her Stuff (14) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Upon hearing Smiling Tiger¡¯s instructions, they turned around, each of them delivering their ultimate attacks on Qiao Lian. Qiao Lian¡¯s hp went down immediately. Seeing that she was about to die, she held back from using her ultimate attack and instead charged at Zhang Mao, who was guarding the fort, with the intention of pushing him out. There, she activated her three spells and immediately killed off Zhang Mao. She still did not try to escape after this, but charged at the three enemies who hade chasing after her. Three enemies were damaged. At that moment, Smiling Tiger activated his ultimate attack and killed Qiao Lian at once. ¡°Damn!¡± Fan Jie couldn¡¯t help but curse loudly again. He continued, ¡°Sister-inw, you should have escaped after killing Purple Fairy. You had the time to do so but instead you exchanged your life for Zhang Mao¡¯s, it¡¯s not worth it!¡± Qiao Lian looked up and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t think so. I think it¡¯s really worth it.¡± Fan Jie was stunned. ¡°What?¡± Shen Liangchuan calmly spoke, ¡°The fort is intact.¡± Qiao Lian immediately turned and threw him a nce. She hadn¡¯t expected him to understand so quickly her tactic. Not only had she exchanged her life for Zhang Mao¡¯s, but she had also seriously injured three others, forcing them to return to base in order to recharge their life points. This also meant that she had saved the fort from being destroyed. Hence she had exchanged her life for the enemy¡¯s, as well as saving the fort. This was indeed a huge gain. But obviously, Fan Jie and his friends were casual gamers and wouldn¡¯t go too deeply into these details. So this reasoning made no sense to him. He scratched his head and continued the game. ¡°Brothers, let¡¯s go!¡± Without waiting for Qiao Lian to resurrect, they had dashed ahead. Fan Jie even said, ¡°What¡¯s the point of having professional gamers? Didn¡¯t they get killed too? Everyone, charge ahead!¡± Qiao Lian had just disyed her superior skills by killing two enemies. However, from Fan Jie and his friends¡¯ perspective, she had only gotten lucky because they had already helped her weaken the enemies. Furthermore, it was obvious to them Qiao Lian could have escaped, but she had made some poor decisions and had eventually gotten killed. Indeed, new gamers were simr to new gamblers. They had beginners¡¯ luck! Now the three of them began a new offensive move. The opponents had also recharged their hp. Mo Xicheng shouted at his teammates, ¡°Come back!¡± But Fan Jie continued to dash forward, as though he hadn¡¯t heard Mo Xicheng. Mo Xicheng didn¡¯t need to look at the screen. A face-to-face confrontation. Then, the professional gamer and his two teammates got another kill. In the meantime, Qiao Lian had just resurrected. Mo Xicheng waspletely speechless by now. Although he could y effectively, that was only among his other celebrity colleagues. Against professional gamers... No, actually,pared with Purple Fairy, he was trash. And with Smiling Tiger... there really was noparison. The whole team had been led astray by Fan Jie, the fool. The merits and drawbacks of this match were too stark and obvious. There was no way Qiao Lian could win it on her own. Mo Xicheng helplessly looked at Shen Liangchuan, holding the cell phone out to him. ¡°Here, you take over.¡± Given this guy¡¯s protective nature, Mo Xicheng knew that he would not let his own wife be surrounded and attacked by the enemies. However, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression as he stared at the cell phone was hesitant. He knew that if he yed, his distinct ying style would for sure expose his identity as Zi Chuan. His expression clouded over. That cell phone in front of him felt as though it weighed a thousand tonnes. But when he nced up and saw the serious and focused expression on Qiao Lian¡¯s face, he cast his gaze downward and reached for the cell phone. Chapter 415 - Xiao Qiao Shows Her Stuff (15)

Chapter 415: Xiao Qiao Shows Her Stuff (15)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan taking the cell phone got the other¡¯s attention. Fan Jie paused and looked at Mo Xicheng with a puzzled expression. ¡°Although we know that Brother Shen wouldn¡¯t stand to see his wife getting beaten, given that Brother Shen has never yed this game, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a little sloppy of you to hand it over to him just like that? ¡°No matter how sloppy,¡± Mo Xichen thought, ¡°he can¡¯t be any worse than you guys.¡± He couldn¡¯t care less about Fan Jie at this point. The guy had beenpletely beaten and was now in a stupor, waiting to be resurrected and continue getting killed. When Qiao Lian saw Shen Liangchuan take over the cell phone, she tried to recall the few times that they had fought in a video game. She had a fairly good assessment of his ying style. Hence, she leaned towards him and said, ¡°Let¡¯s drag it a little more first and let the three other fools continue with their killing spree.¡± Then she looked up and nced at him, saying, ¡°I¡¯ve just analyzed the data and found a loophole. Just follow my instructionster.¡± Her eyes sparkled when she spoke. He nodded, pursing his lips tight. The mobile games recently developed by Lot were quite different fromputer games. For sure, there would be loopholes for gamers to discover and based on this feedback, thepany would refine the games. He was sure she had worked out how to leverage these loopholes. ¡°Follow me.¡± Qiao Lian exercised her wrist in preparation, then picked up her cell phone and began to focus. Shen Liangchuan was silent and followed behind her. The two of them stuck closely together, as he carried out her instructions without missing a beat. They bothpletely ignored Fan Jie and the other two yers, who behaved like they were out on a suicide mission. Meanwhile, in the other private room. Smiling Tiger was a little stunned. Staring at his own cell phone screen, he frowned deeply. Zhang Mao was still talking, ¡°Unforgettable Love isn¡¯t half bad!¡± By now, Purple Fairy was speechless. As a well-known eSports female caster, she naturally had her own take on gaming. If Unforgettable Love had killed her and then run away, it would have been pure luck the first time it had happened. But just then, the way Unforgettable Love had wiped her off with such graceful ease... She had a distinct style that was so familiar. Xiao Qiao! In her attempt to imitate Xiao Qiao, Purple Fairy had spent years analyzing countless videos of Xiao Qiao¡¯s ying style. So now, she was dead sure her opponent was Xiao Qiao. Because, despite the years she had spent trying to imitate Xiao Qiao, she was still unable to execute Xiao Qiao¡¯s characteristic moves. Purple Fairy clenched her fists into tight balls. Then, suddenly realizing that there was someone looking at her, she immediately coughed and looked up. She shed a wide smile at Smiling Tiger as she met his gaze. As a professional gamer, Smiling Tiger had cultivated his own intuition and understood that in thatst fight Unforgettable Love had made a well-invested move. And he found her moves increasingly familiar. The series of executions she had deployed to y her opponents had been agile and unique. Who else would it be if it weren¡¯t Xiao Qiao? But if Unforgettable Love was Xiao Qiao, who was Purple Fairy? Smiling Tiger was thoroughly befuddled. The reason that he had changed teams and joined King Fighting Team was because Purple Fairy was Xiao Qiao. Every profession had its heroes, crowned with shining halos. Zi Chuan and Xiao Qiao were these legends from the past. Eight years ago, the two of them had taken the lead in the gaming world. The female gamer Xiao Qiao was second to none but Zi Chuan. Any gamer who had any experience with Lot games would know Zi Chuan and Xiao Qiao. They were the idols of the gaming world and their glory inspired him. But now... He suddenly realized his path ahead was a little unclear. As he was staring somewhat nkly into space with these thoughts running through his head, he heard Purple Fairy saying sharply, ¡°Focus on the game! Stop thinking about things you shouldn¡¯t be focusing on!¡± Chapter 416 - Xiao Qiao Shows Her Stuff (16)

Chapter 416: Xiao Qiao Shows Her Stuff (16)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After being killed a few times, Fan Jie and the other two finally came back to their senses. At this point, their situation was rather grim. They reckoned that they wouldn¡¯tst another eight minutes. Fan Jie and his teammates were in low spirits, and it showed in their ying. Seeing that they had hit a wall, she calmed herself down before she instructed, ¡°Stay in the base and do note out.¡± In the game¡¯s map, each team was protected by a fort around the base, and as a norm the enemy would not dare tounch an attack. But how could they win the game without leaving the base? It would merely prolong their painful ending. Fan Jie grunted listlessly to indicate he understood, but he did not feel like speaking at all. He had used to think of himself as a great gamer. Yet now he realized it was because the other party had known he was a celebrity, so they had given him the upper hand to tter him. But in reality, his skills were at best mediocre. He guarded the base obediently. As he watched, the opponent gained control and charged straight up, intending to finish it onest attack. Fan Jie was suddenly on fire. ¡°I reckon this is thest fight! Let¡¯s do our best.¡± After saying this, he looked at the little map on his screen and realized suddenly... Both Shen Liangchuan and Sister-inw were not in the base, they had gone out. Furthermore, they had now run right into their enemies¡ªall five of them! Fan Jie shouted at once, ¡°Damn it, Sister-inw, hurry back here! We won¡¯t be able to fight them!¡± ¡°So you do know that we can¡¯t take them on,¡± thought Mo Xicheng. ¡°Then what were you doing just now!¡± However, Fan Jie¡¯s eyes popped when he saw that the enemy¡¯s troops actually walked right past the both of them, totally ignoring their presence. Fan Jie was stumped. Then he noticed that both Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan were hiding in the bushes. Were they nning an ambush from both sides? Immediately, he was excited. ¡°Brothers, get ready. We¡¯ll¡ª¡± Before he could finish his sentence, he saw that she and Shen Liangchuan were now dashing towards their opponents¡¯ base. They moved at lightning speed, making their way to a nearby area. From this spot, without destroying a single part of the fort, they shed themselves into the enemy¡¯s base. ESports games were simple. Winning or losing did not depend on how many one opponents one killed. Rather, it depended on who first destroyed the central fort in the opponent¡¯s base. However, the moment the central fort detected enemy presence, it wouldunch an attack to kill the enemies and protect itself. So now Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan both took turns to hit from the central fort, withstanding the attack as shot at the fort. Fan Jie was stunned and even Smiling Tiger was watching, bbergasted. Zhang Mao anxiously said, ¡°Our base won¡¯t really be destroyed, will it? I think we should return.¡± Just a moment ago, Purple Fairy had been constantly attacked by Qiao Lian, but now she couldn¡¯t help butugh derisively. ¡°No need to! A moment ago I was still convinced that Unforgettable Love was a skilled gamer, but I hadn¡¯t expect her to be this stupid. The fort is such a powerful attacker and those two want to destroy our base? They¡¯re asking to die.¡± However just as she made these remarks, she saw to her own horror that the fort¡¯s hp was dropping before her eyes. Zhang Mao was panicking now. ¡°Hurry up, let¡¯s go home!¡± Smiling Tiger said, ¡°We have run out of time.¡± Purple Fairy sneered, ¡°There¡¯s no way they¡¯ll seed!¡± But even as she said this, she held her breath nervously. The calm and confidence she had disyed initially had now given way to anxiety and restlessness. Finally, the screen indicated: Central Fort ughtered Mo Xicheng! Purple Fairy heaved a sigh of relief. Following this, it disyed: Central Fort ughtered Unforgettable Love! Purple Fairy let out a mockingughter. ¡°What retards! They thought they could win like this.¡± Before she could finish off her sentence, however, the image on the screen shook like there was a great earthquake. At once, ¡°Mission Failure¡± appeared on the screen. Purple Fairy waspletely stumped. Chapter 417 - Xiao Qiao Shows Her Stuff (17)

Chapter 417: Xiao Qiao Shows Her Stuff (17)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios There was a strange silence in the private room. After a short time, Purple Fairy stood up with a sudden movement, thus dropping her cell phone on the ground. She stared at the screen furiously. ¡°This- this is impossible!¡± But immediately she realized too that this was a mobile game, not aputer game. Hence, the set up was different. At the same time, Smiling Tiger was also staring at the screen in a stupor. Xiao Qiao... Unforgettable Love from the other team was the real Xiao Qiao. Because only Xiao Qiao would deploy this sort of unconventional strategies. ¨C While a intive whine resounded through the private room... In Fan Jie¡¯s team, everyone was holding their cell phones with their eyes popping and mouths agape, staring at Qiao Lian with astonishment. Fan Jie was at a total loss for words and wondered if this was all his imagination. ¡°This- this means we won?¡± He had done nothing but die many times throughout the match. Qiao Lian nodded. ¡°There¡¯s a bug in this game. I reckon once the video of our game is out, the game developer will immediately rectify it with a revised version.¡± Fan Jie continued to stare at her with amazement. ¡°But... how did you know you¡¯d be able to destroy the fort?¡± Qiao Lian stared at him like he was an idiot. ¡°The fort delivers a hit every second. We had lots of hp, isn¡¯t it just simple math?¡± ... just simple math, simple math, math... What was there to calcte?! How did this calction work? He was no math genius. Not only were these people expert gamers, they were math geniuses as well. Was that fair?! The next second, he moved to Qiao Lian¡¯s side. ¡°Sister-inw, great sister-inw...¡± Qiao Lian red at him and put up her guard. ¡°What is it?¡± Fan Jie gulped. ¡°Are you taking in disciples?¡± Qiao Lian: ... ¨C Zhang Mao had set up a livestream of this game with the intention to thoroughly embarrass Fan Jie. He had not expected such dramatic ending. Celebrities were extremely influential and this video very quickly spread on the inte. Unforgettable Love¡¯s ount name shot to instantaneous fame. After the gathering, Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan headed home. On the way home, Qiao Lian browsed through the Weiboments andughed. ¡°If I opened a Weibo ount under the name of Unforgettable Love, I wonder if I suddenly would have tens of thousands of fans.¡± Shen Lianchuan threw her a nce. ¡°Well done.¡± Qiao Lian stuck her tongue out and then added, ¡°Of course. it¡¯s nothingpared to your tens of millions of fans.¡± She looked at her cell phone screen again. With today¡¯s game, she had started to feel that familiar fire again. That rush that made her feel invincible from head to toe. And she just couldn¡¯t shake off that feeling. Her fingers were dying to y again. Eight years ago, she had no choice but to quit gaming. But those few minutes today had shattered the chains that had restrained her for eight years. Unable to control her urge, she clicked on the game. And she was stunned by the friend request list that greeted her. Within that short time, she had received hundreds of friend requests. She grimaced and decided to ignore them. But at that moment, she received a private message from someone. She was going to ignore the message when she noticed that the sender¡¯s ID was Smiling Tiger. Her fingers paused for a moment and then she opened the message. It read: [Smiling Tiger: May I ask if you are Xiao Qiao?] She winced reflexively. Following this: [Smiling Tiger: Can we be friends?] ¡°If he knew that the coach that he had abandoned was Xiao Qiao,¡± Qiao Lian thought, ¡°what would he do?¡± Suddenly, Qiao Lian looked forward to that day. Chapter 418 - Xiao Qiao Shows Her Stuff (18)

Chapter 418: Xiao Qiao Shows Her Stuff (18)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan got back to Xia Yehua¡¯s apartment and entered the house, they saw Auntie Li sitting by the door. The moment the housekeeper saw the couple, she immediately said, ¡°Sir, Madam, you¡¯re finally home. Your mother, she- sigh!¡± Qiao Lian paused for a moment and then asked anxiously, ¡°What happened?¡± Auntie Li spoke in a low voice, ¡°She had very little to eat today.¡± On hearing this, Qiao Lian was taken aback and hurriedly asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Mom?¡± ¡°Upstairs.¡± Qiao Lian gave Shen Liangchuan a nce and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go see her.¡± Upon reaching the upper floor, the couple found Xia Yehua lying on the sofa at the balcony. She sat there under the sun with her eyes closed. For unknown reasons, both of them could feel her solitude and loneliness as they looked at her resting figure. When Song Yuanxi had been around, she had apanied Xia Yehua, whether it was to chat or water the nts or to read. But now Song Yuanxi was not around... Qiao Lian suddenly felt somewhat sad in her heart. She bit her lip and took a step forward. Hearing the movement, Xia Yehua turned around. Her eyes lit up when she saw them. ¡°You¡¯re back!¡± Qiao Lian nodded and suggested, ¡°Mom, why don¡¯t we ask Yuanxi toe home and stay?¡± Immediately, Xia Yehua shook her head. ¡°No, there¡¯s no need to.¡± After saying that, she smiled. ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking. But that child has done something wrong and she should be punished. It¡¯s just a temporary separation, no big deal. It¡¯s good that she doesn¡¯t forget that you are one of our family members and also her sister-inw.¡± Her words warmed Qiao Lian¡¯s heart. Xia Yehua... did consider her a part of the family. That was why she didn¡¯t want Qiao Lian to feel unimportant. ¨C Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan chatted with her for a while before the couple retired to their bedroom. Qiao Lian looked troubled. ¡°I feel we should take Mom along with us the next time we eat out.¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression clouded over. He looked at her with a softened expression and calmly agreed, ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°What else could make Mom happy?¡± Qiao Lian tilted her head and pondered. Suddenly, Shen Liangchuan embraced her waist from behind and leaned on her. Even through the thick pajamas, Qiao Lian could feel the warmth of his body. Her posture stiffened. ¡°What are you doing? I¡¯m being serious!¡± Shen Liangchuan ced his cheek against her ear. Then he looked at her delicate earlobe and her pale nape. The image of her seriously focusing on the game shed across his mind. He felt a deep throbbing growing inside him. He replied, ¡°I¡¯m serious too.¡± When he spoke, his breath was hot against her ear and it was sending an electric current that spread throughout her body. She coughed once and said, ¡°Well, tell me.¡± ¡°I think there¡¯s only one thing that could make Mom happy.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°A grandchild.¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s posture stiffened. As quickly as he had managed to arouse her, those two words doused the internal fire in half the time. She turned around immediately, extending her hands to push him away. However, he grabbed her hand and looked into her eyes with a burning gaze. ¡°Qiao Lian, let¡¯s have a child.¡± Have a child? Qiao Lianughed bitterly and hung her head. ¡°We may have to wait another half a year.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Shen Liangchuan was surprised to hear that. Qiao Lian looked up. ¡°Because the birth control pill you had me taking was too strong and the doctor said that I won¡¯t be able to get pregnant for another half a year.¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s pupils shrank upon hearing Qiao Lian¡¯s words. ¡°What did you say?¡± The sort of birth control pill that he had given her was certainly not the sort that could affect her physical health. Chapter 419 - Xiao Qiao Shows Her Stuff (20)

Chapter 419: Xiao Qiao Shows Her Stuff (20)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lianughed aloud bitterly, but in her heart she couldn¡¯t help but sigh deeply. Her marriage to Shen Liangchuan had been a signed agreement. She had initially thought that her job was just to bear his child. But who would have thought that so much would happen. Furthermore, now that Shen Liangchuan had finallye to love her, she realized that she didn¡¯t feel as ted as she thought she would. On the contrary, there was a certain bitterness in her heart. Because of the damage to her physical health, even if they wanted a child within the next six months, the chances were low. She cast her gaze downward and sighed yet again. Just how cold of a person was Shen Liangchuan? When he used to make her take the birth control pill, did he not think that one day he would really fall in love with her? As she was contemting this, she suddenly felt his hands around her wrists. Shen Liangchuan looked at her with a deep frown on his face. ¡°The birth control pill that I gave you was an imperial secret form birth prevention pill. It wasn¡¯t an extremely effective form, but it was not supposed to cause you any harm.¡± Qiao Lian was stunned when she heard this and looked up immediately. She said in a startled tone, ¡°What?¡± Previously, she had been angry at him and not because he didn¡¯t want any children. What man would be willing to have a child with a woman who was aplete stranger? What she had been angry at was hisck of care towards her health and well-being. She felt as though she had only been a tool, purchased with money, and she did not feel the least bit of respect. But now he was saying that the birth control medicine was not supposed to harm her? She suddenly recalled the time they had a fight, and he mentioned that he had never intended to cause her any harm. At that time, she had felt those words were a real joke, but now she realized the true meaning behind them. So Shen Liangchuan had never really had the intention of hurting her. If this matter had not been brought to light today, she would have still been carrying that knot in her heart, even if that was the past and water under the bridge. But now... Qiao Lian feltpletely relieved of this burden, lying on her heart like a huge rock. As she let out a deep breath, she saw Shen Liangchuan staring at her. ¡°What did you say was wrong with your health?¡± Qiao Lian spoke in a hurt tone, ¡°My physical examination report indicated that I had had an overdose. Where on earth did you get this secret form from? Now it¡¯s harmed the both of us. The doctor said that if I had continued for another month, I could have ended up permanently infertile.¡± Right now, she didn¡¯t care much beyond these basic facts. However upon hearing this, Shen Liangchuan felt something was amiss. ¡°Before you were given the drug, I had it tested by specialistpanies. I made sure that it wasn¡¯t going to harm your health in any way. This-¡± He paused for a moment. If there was nothing wrong with the drug, then... ¡°But they wouldn¡¯t have lied in my medical examination report.¡± Herpany¡¯s health check didn¡¯t take ce at a set appointment, the possibility of error wasn¡¯t high. A chill ran down her spine. It felt as though a huge and invisible was closing and tightening around her and it made her shudder in fear. Shen Liangchuan stood up immediately and put his shirt back on. Uncertain of the situation, she asked, ¡°Where are you going?¡± Shen Liangchuan looked at her and said, ¡°I¡¯m getting someone to investigate this matter.¡± After Shen Liangchuan had left, Qiao Lian stood alone in the bedroom. Her expression wasplex. If there wasn¡¯t anything wrong with the drug, what had gone wrong then? She pursed her lips tightly and walked out of the bedroom. Xia Yehua had foregone her afternoon nap and sat in the living room watching TV. Qiao Lian made her way downstairs and walked up next to her. Chapter 420 - Xiao Qiao Shows Her Stuff (20)

Chapter 420: Xiao Qiao Shows Her Stuff (20)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xia Yehua smiled when she saw Qiao Lian. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you take a nap? I saw Liangchuan going out. Where did he go?¡± Qiao Lian did not mention anything about the birth control drug. ¡°I think he has something to attend to. Mom, let¡¯s y a game.¡± Xia Yehua¡¯s eyes lit up at once. ¡°Sure.¡± Each holding their own iPad, they chatted as they yed. Xia Yehua said, ¡°I like ying with you. The others don¡¯t keep mepany.¡± Puzzled, Qiao Lian asked, ¡°Doesn¡¯t Yuanxi y these games with you? Xia Yehua shook her head. ¡°The child doesn¡¯t like these games. She has never yed with me.¡± Qiao Lian acknowledged this with an ¡°Oh.¡± After two matches, Xia Yehua put down her iPad, saying, ¡°I¡¯m really getting old. Two rounds and I¡¯m tired.¡± Qiao Lian looked down and smiled. ¡°Then you should rest a bit.¡± Xia Yehua nodded. Qiao Lian nced at her and asked, ¡°Mom, how is Wang Lan doing now?¡± Xia Yehua frowned and sighed. ¡°Aye, Wang Lan worked for us for 50 years and she¡¯s old. I trusted her all this while. Who¡¯d have imagined that eventually she¡¯d take a bribe from that tr*mp Mei Feng?!¡± Qiao Lian paused for a moment and continued, ¡°Mom, are you very certain that Mei Feng was behind this? Did Wang Lan admit it before she left?¡± Xia Yehua frowned and replied, ¡°She did not admit it, but apart from Mei Feng, who else would do such a strenuous and unrewarding thing?¡± In other words, right up till now, the matter regarding the picture wasn¡¯t clear so far. The topic seemed to open up the Xia Yehua¡¯s talkative side. She grabbed Qiao Lian¡¯s hand, saying, ¡°I shouldn¡¯t be telling you things about the Shen Family, since it¡¯s likely that we¡¯ll have nothing to do with them ever again. But now... pff... At the time, Mei Feng came into the picture and I divorced that man, taking Liangchuan with me. All these years and she has had no sons, so now that she¡¯s this old, she¡¯s destined to be childless. So she¡¯s always tried to win over Zihao.¡± Qiao Lian looked at her questioningly. ¡°But why didn¡¯t you take Zihao with you when you left?¡± Xia Yehua frowed. ¡°Zihao had been studying overseas at the time and wasn¡¯t home. Initially, I had no intention of speaking about Mei Feng. For the sake of the two boys, I didn¡¯t want to consider a divorce. If it weren¡¯t for- pff... In any case, Liangchuan and I left in a hurry. By the time I got in touch with Zihao on the phone, he had already changed his phone number and I had no means to contact him. Eventually, he came back and I went to look for him, but by that time he was convinced that I had abandoned him.¡± Xia Yehua hung her head. ¡°Where Zihao is concerned, I feel a lot of guilt and regrets. So many things happened back then that I had neglected him. So I don¡¯t me him for being upset. I only hope that the two brothers... would stop behaving like sworn enemies every time they meet. If you get a chance, do talk to Liangchuan. Zihao is young and he did not understand what happened back then.¡± Qiao Lian quicklyforted her mother-inw. ¡°Mom, don¡¯t you worry. The family bond is stronger than anything else and nothing can separate family.¡± Xia Yehua cast a vacant re at the coffee table in the living room. With a dismal expression, she said, ¡°Let¡¯s hope so.¡± Qiao Lian held up the iPad. ¡°Mom, another round?¡± Xia Yehua was immediately energized. ¡°Let¡¯s do it.¡± She finally managed to distract Xia Yehua from those unhappy thoughts. Lacking the energy to keep it up, Xia Yehua decided to go upstairs and rest after a short game. Qiao Lian now stood alone in the living room, pondering the things that Xia Yehua had told her today. Auntie Li paused and looked up. ¡°You know...¡± Chapter 421 - Was It Her?! (1)

Chapter 421: Was It Her?! (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios It was already five in thete afternoon by the time Qiao Lian found Wang Lan, following the address that Auntie Li had given her. The skies were darkening. She looked at this tiny single-storey rented house before her and frowned deeply. When Wang Lan had been working as a housekeeper in their home, she had nevere across as this poor. This discovery was unexpected. Lowering her gaze, Qiao Lian looked at the address to confirm that this was the correct house. Then she walked up and knocked on the door. She waited for some time but no one came to the door. Frowning, she was about to leave when a neighbour¡¯s door was suddenly opened. A middle-aged woman studied her with a suspicious gaze for a moment. She asked, ¡°Who are you looking for?¡± Qiao Lian paused and pointed at the door before her. ¡°I¡¯m looking for Wang Lan. May I know if she lives here?¡± That woman frowned and replied, ¡°That¡¯s right. Who are you?¡± Evading that direct question, Qiao Lian asked instead, ¡°Do you have any idea where she went?¡± The woman sighed and replied, ¡°She¡¯s selling griddle cake on the corner of that street in front!¡± Qiao Lian was about to walk in the direction that the woman had pointed out, but suddenly she turned around. ¡°Auntie, did something happen with Wang Lan¡¯s family?¡± The middle-aged woman immediately showed a sympathetic expression on her face. ¡°Indeed. Her husband diedst year, but not before they had to spend a fortune on medical fees. They were heavily in debt with loan sharks. Recently she had trouble making ends meet and wasn¡¯t able to pay back her loan, so they came and took her daughter away. She came back recently, said that the household where she had worked at as a housekeeper had given her arge sum of money. She took the money and redeemed her daughter with it, and since then they¡¯ve been here. Pff, this Wang Lan... she was good-looking in her youth, but her fate was rather bleak.¡± Qiao Lian did not hear a single thing the woman said in theter part of their conversation. Wang Lan had been asked to leave. She had always been a cautious and conscientious housekeeper and for this reason, Xia Yehua hadn¡¯t pursued the matter any further with her. This was a more than a kind gesture in itself. But why had Xia Yehua also given her arge sum of money? It must have been a considerable sum that Wang Lan¡¯s family owed, to have had her daughter taken away. Suddenly, the scene from that night in the vi district, when she and Shen Liangchuan were driving home, shed through her mind. It was still very clear in her memory. As a reporter, she was especially sensitive to these details and it was unlikely to be a mistake on her part. Hence, was there a possibility that the money that Wang Lan had was from Song Yuanxi? She frowned and looked at the woman. ¡°Auntie, how much did their family owe the loan sharks?¡± The middle-aged woman clicked her tongue and informed, ¡°200 000! Qiao Lian nodded and chatted with the woman for a little while more before she walked away, in the direction mentioned by the woman. However, she discovered that there wasn¡¯t even a stall selling fruits, much less one selling griddle cakes. Someone by the side of the streetmented, ¡°Thew enforcement officers came by, so everyone fled.¡± Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t believe her luck. Why was just trying to locate a person so difficult?! She grimaced and surveyed the environment around her. Just when she thought that there was no chance of finding Wang Lan, she suddenly saw in a corner not too far off the ex-housekeeper. She had an apron tied round her waist and her attire was greasy. She was making griddle cakes, just as the woman said. Qiao Lian observed her for a moment before she walked over, one step at a time, until she was right in front of the griddle cake stall. Wang Lan asked, ¡°What vour would you¡ª¡± Raising her head to look at the customer, she stopped in mid sentence when she realized who it was. ¡°Madam?¡± Her expression was suddenly evasive, she did not dare to look at Qiao Lian in the eye. With her head lowered, she asked, ¡°Madam, what brings you here? What is the matter?¡± ¡°I have a few questions for you.¡± Wang Lan gulped nervously. Her fingers interlocked tightly into a fist on her chest. ¡°Pl- please ask¡ª¡± ¡°It was you... who switched my birth control medicine?¡± Chapter 422 - Was It Her?! (2)

Chapter 422: Was It Her?! (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The question was direct and prating. Wang Lan¡¯s mouth fell open and she looked up with a startled expression. When her eyes met Qiao Lian¡¯s, she looked down nervously once more. ¡°I- I- I don¡¯t know what you mean. You¡ª¡± Before she could finish, Qiao Lian probed aggressively, ¡°Who made you switch the drug? Shen Liangchuan? Xia Yehua? Or was it Auntie Li? Or... Song Yuanxi?!¡± Wang Lan was suddenly at a loss. ¡°Madam, I really don¡¯t know what you mean.¡± Seeing that she wasn¡¯t going toe clean no matter what, Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes. ¡°Wang Lan, your family owed 200 000 to loan sharks. Where did you get that money to pay off your debt?¡± Her words caused Wang Lan to squirm and hunch her shoulders. ¡°I- I- I¡ª¡± ¡°You got a hold of a huge sum of money out of the blue. If you don¡¯te clean with the truth, then I will have to ask the police for help.¡± At this point, Qiao Lian picked up her cell phone and dialed 110. Just as she was about to hit the call button, Wang Lan panicked and grabbed her phone, crying, ¡°Madam!¡± Qiao Lian stared at her with a half-smile on her face. Wang Lan was on the verge of tears and looked around nervously. Eventually she gritted her teeth and said, ¡°Madam,e with me.¡± Qiao Lian returned the cell phone to her pocket and followed Wang Lan, as thetter led her into the corner of the street. It was a quiet spot and there were few passers-by. When they went around the corner, Qiao Lian turned and looked at her in the eyes. ¡°Who gave you the 200 000?¡± Wang Lan bit her lip and just when Qiao Lian thought she was finally going to speak, the elderly woman fell to her knees with a thud, right before Qiao Lian. Shocked at this unexpected response, Qiao Lian quickly took a step back and asked, ¡°What are you doing?¡± It was the twenty-first century, who knelt down this way? Wang Lan¡¯s eyes had turned bloodshot. She lowered her head and then deeply bowed three times to Qiao Lian. With a red and swollen forehead, she looked up and said in between choking sobs, ¡°Madam, please, let me go!¡± Qiao Lian almostughed in her fury. She looked at Wang Lan steadily and said, ¡°Wang Lan, you almost caused permanent damage to my health and ability to conceive. What makes you think I¡¯d forgive someone who has done this to me?¡± Wang Lan lowered her head with tears. ¡°Madam, I really cannot say¡ª¡± Qiao Lian showed no sympathy. ¡°Then I¡¯ll see you at the police station.¡± As soon as she said these words, a voice came from the side. ¡°Mama, I¡¯m hungry.¡± Qiao Lian turned with surprise and saw a girl, eighteen or neen years old, with features marred by dirt. She came skipping and running in a strange way. She blinked as she looked at Wang Lan and then plunked herself down on the ground. ¡°Mama, I¡¯m hungry.¡± It was obvious that the girl was a little abnormal. Wang Lan looked at the girl and suddenly burst into tears. Hugging the girl tightly, she looked at Qiao Lian. ¡°Madam, Madam, I beg of you, please let this widow and her poor child without a father go. I cannot go to jail. My daughter went insane after she was taken away by the loan sharks, and now she can¡¯t even take care of herself. I cannot go to jail, Madam, please, I beg of you...¡± As she said this, she bowed to Qiao Lian repeatedly. Qiao Lian pursed her lips tightly as she watched this pitiful scene unfold. As she observed silently, she clenched her fists tightly. Eventually, holding her cell phone, she left without saying another word. She could still hear them crying as she walked into the distance. Taking a deep breath, she made a call to Shen Liangchuan. ¡°Can you help me investigate Song Yuanxi¡¯s recent bank transactions?¡± Chapter 423 - Was It Her?! (3)

Chapter 423: Was It Her?! (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After hanging up, Qiao Lian turned back to look at Wang Lan and her daughter once more. Both of them were thin and weak. They looked pitiful and pathetic. Wang Lan was sobbing non-stop, while her daughter wasughing as she grabbed the corner of her shirt to stuff into her mouth. Wang Lan dried her tears with her dirty sleeves and helped her daughter up from the ground. They walked back slowly to the griddle cake stall. Before Wang Lan could even make another griddle cake, her daughter snatched a piece of sausage and stuffed that into her own mouth. The way she devoured the meat made other passers-by cast strange looks at her and whisper to each other. Qiao Lian heard someone sigh and remark, ¡°The poor girl. She was so pretty and good at her studies. When she was taken away by the loan sharks and starved for three days, she was traumatized to this state. Pff! Life is so unpredictable!¡± Qiao Lian lowered her gaze slowly. She had never been one to feel sorry for the enemy, but the picture of mother-daughter mutual dependence in front of her reminded her of herself years back. Eight years ago, when ill fate struck her parents and her family business went broke, she and her brother were left with nothing and were almost sent to an orphanage. She fought for survival with her little brother in tow. In this world, the strong would hide behind the weak, who get pushed to the front line to suffer. What reasons did she have to make life harder for Wang Lan? Weren¡¯t she and her daughter pitiful enough as it was? Besides... even without Wang Lan¡¯s evidence, she had other ways of finding out the truth. 200 000 was by no means a small sum of money. If Song Yuanxi had withdrawn that money all at once, there surely would be a trail. Lost in her thoughts, Qiao Lian walked to the side of the road to hail a cab home. The moment she entered the dining room on returning to the vi, she heard Xia Yehua and Auntie Li chatting. Auntie Li said, ¡°These sweet fermented rice balls are Ms. Song¡¯s favourite.¡± Xia Yehua replied, ¡°Yuanxi loves the sweet and sour ribs that I make, take some with you too.¡± ¡°Okay, I will.¡± Xia Yehua smiled as she said, ¡°I¡¯m sure the food provided by the filming crew tastes awful. I¡¯m not sure if she can put up with it. What if she loses weight?¡± Auntie Li shook her head. ¡°You¡¯re always worried. Ms. Yuanxi would be so happy to lose weight! Girls nowadays all want a slim figure.¡± Xia Yehua shook her head in disagreement. ¡°What¡¯s so attractive about being thin and sickly-looking? Ah, Xiao Qiao might be home soon. Hurry up and get out through the back door to avoid running into her. Oh, the sweet fermented rice balls that I kept aside for Xiao Qiao... Where did you put them? ¡°I¡¯ve taken them out and set the table as well. Madam, I¡¯ll take this to Ms. Yuanxi now.¡± Immediately, she heard approaching footsteps. Qiao Lian wanted to back out but it was toote. The next thing she knew, she came face to face with Auntie Li and Xia Yehua. Auntie Li was stunned for a moment and reflexively hid the lunchbox behind her back. Then she stammered nervously, ¡°Madam...¡± Xia Yehua too was taken aback and her posture was tense. She gave Qiao Lian a look and Qiao Lian saw an expression of guilt in her eyes, not unsimr to that of a child who had done something wrong. Looking at those two, Qiao Lian sighed in her heart. Obviously Xia Yehua was really fond of Song Yuanxi, worrying about her even when she was out of sight. Qiao Lian¡¯s gaze fell on the lunch box that Auntie Li was trying to hide behind her back. Xia Yehua said in an embarrassed tone, ¡°Xiao Qiao, this... I¡ª¡± ¡°Mom.¡± Qiao Lian looked up suddenly at Xia Yehua. ¡°Let me take the food to Yuanxi.¡± Xia Yehua was stunned. She looked up and saw Qiao Lian¡¯s sincere expression. Her expression began to soften and then she warmed up to the idea. Eventually, she was very receptive and said, ¡°Sure, why not.¡± Although Song Yuanxi did not trust Qiao Lian, the fact was they were family after all. Chapter 424 - Was It Her?! (4)

Chapter 424: Was It Her?! (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xia Yehua thought that if Qiao Lian was willing to give Song Yuanxi a little leeway so that they could all resolve the awkward situation, it would probably bring harmony back to the household. Qiao Lian smiled as she took over the lunchbox from Auntie Li, and then went on her way. She was notpletely sure of what she hoped to achieve with this, but she knew that she wanted to see Song Yuanxi. She wanted to ask Song Yuanxi directly about her involvement in the matter. Qiao Lian had always had a straightforward character and hated underhanded means. There was nothing like being upfront and direct. Xia Yehua had her own personal chauffeur, who was now given the task of sending Qiao Lian to her destination. It was six in the evening and the skies were darkening. The icy wind was whistling as the car drove along, but its interior was cozy with the heating on. Qiao Lian turned to look at the night view of Beijing. After a while, she picked up her cell phone and called Shen Liangchuan again. He picked up after a number of rings. It sounded like he was driving. Qiao Lian asked, ¡°Did you manage to track down the bank transactions?¡± After a pause, Shen Liangchuan calmly said, ¡°Yes.¡± Immediately, Qiao Lian probed further, ¡°Was there a recent transaction of 200 000?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Shen Liangchuan answered again briefly. His voice sounded gloomy, he seemed unhappy. Qiao Lian¡¯s heart sank. So there was indeed. It seemed like she hadn¡¯t seen wrong that night. Song Yuanxi had given Wang Lan 200 000 indeed. She was silent for a while before Shen Liangchuan spoke, ¡°I will have this matter carefully investigated.¡± Qiao Lian replied with a simple ¡°ok.¡± Just as she was about to keep speaking, Shen Liangchuan interrupted her and said, ¡°I¡¯m hanging up.¡± Since he was driving, Qiao Lian swallowed her words and nodded. ¡°Ok.¡± She frowned after hanging up. Song Yuanxi was generally known to be a kind person, so if she had really done it, it would make her an extremely shrewd and maniptive person. However, if she had such deep motivations, why had she been so careless as to make such a ring transaction? So was this really just a coincidence? Qiao Lian tried to suppress her own suspicions and doubts. Very soon, they arrived at the filming crew¡¯s location. External vehicles were not allowed into the filming crew¡¯s location. Auntie Li had called Song Yuanxi earlier to inform her of the visit. Now waiting at the entrance of the location was Song Yuanxi¡¯s junior assistant. When the junior assistant saw Qiao Lian, she was stunned for a moment. She was probably expecting to see Auntie Li and was surprised by the sudden change. Obviously the junior assistant did not know Qiao Lian, so she asked, ¡°You are...?¡± As Qiao Lian did not wish to provide long exnations, she simply said, ¡°Auntie Li had something to attend to at thest minute, so I¡¯m here to deliver the food.¡± The junior assistant nodded and led Qiao Lian through the set. The filming location was huge and there were filming studios scattered around the area. After the junior assistant led her in, she received a call and immediately said, ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll go over right now.¡± Following this, she turned to Qiao Lian and pointed at a resting room not too far away. ¡°Ms. Song has to film tonight, so she¡¯s in the resting room over there. I have to leave now to attend to something.¡± Qiao Lian was aware that filming crew staff were usually very busy, hence she nodded. ¡°Thank you.¡± She continued to walk towards the resting room after the assistant left. At this point, she suddenly heard a car engine. She turned around and saw a nondescript luxury caring from the main road. That was... Shen Liangchuan¡¯s car! Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank immediately. Was Shen Liangchuan here to look for Song Yuanxi? She quickened her steps at once, approaching them to hear what they had to say. Chapter 425 - Was It Her?! (5)

Chapter 425: Was It Her?! (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian hadn¡¯t gotten very far when a car came recklessly driving straight at her. She quickly halted as the car came to a screeching stop right in front of her. Qiao Lian red at the vehicle furiously. This sort of high speed driving in a filming location could easily kill someone. Furthermore, there were separate roads for vehicles and pedestrians at the location, but this car had been driving on the pedestrian zone. That waspletely unreasonable. However, because she was in a hurry, Qiao Lian did not wish to pursue the matter. Instead, she went around the car and continued walking towards Song Yuanxi¡¯s resting room. Just as she was going around the car, the driver seat door was suddenly flung open. She paused and looked up. Lo and behold, it was Sun Linan himself getting out of the car! He looked ted and waved at Qiao Lian. ¡°Qiao Lian! It¡¯s really you! I thought I had recognized from the back, so I rushed over here. Hahaha! I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d run into youing here to explore the filming location! It must be fate.¡± Qiao Lian paused. How was it that Sun Tzi was everywhere? She grimaced, but nodded at Sun Linan. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s fate.¡± Having said that, she continued walking. However, Sun Linan reached out and grabbed her arm. ¡°Qiao Lian, why haven¡¯t you been going to work these days? I haven¡¯t been able to get you at the office.¡± Qiao Lian paused. She was desperate to hear what Shen Liangchuan and Song Yuanxi were discussing and had no time to indulge in idle chatting with Sun Linan. She sighed and exined, ¡°Sun Tzi, I have an urgent matter to take care of now, we¡¯ll have to talk another day.¡± As she was about to move, Sun Linan reached out to stop her once again. He said in an extremely hurt tone, ¡°Qiao Lian, tell me, how many times has it been that you¡¯ve said you have something important when we run into each other? Why is it that you¡¯re so busy every time you see me? Isn¡¯t talking to me also important?¡± His expression was no different from an abandoned wife¡¯s. Qiao Lian said helplessly, ¡°I really do have something to attend to. Sun Tzi, you¡ª¡± ¡°Are you here to interview someone? Leave it to me. Who would you like to interview? Just tell me, I¡¯ll make sure the person cooperates.¡± Qiao Lian paused. ¡°How about this? Qiao Lian, Lian Lian, we said we¡¯d have a meal together, but how many times have you rejected me? I think we better decide on a date, rather than leave it to chance. Let¡¯s go for dinner now.¡± Qiao Lian paused. She looked into the distance anxiously and saw that Shen Liangchuan¡¯s car was already parked next to the resting room. Then, she saw him getting out of the car. From this distance, she wasn¡¯t able to see his expression but she knew that it would be expressionless, as usual. Had Shen Liangchuane over to ask her about the bank transaction? But... would Song Yuanxi admit it? Qiao Lian frowned. She saw Shen Liangchuan entering the resting room. Shortly after this, the door closed behind him and she could no longer see what was going on. Qiao Lian stamped her foot with frustration. Sun Linan took a step towards her and persisted, ¡°Qiao Lian, do you agree?¡± ¡°Agree my ass!,¡± thought Qiao Lian. She was now extremely angry and glowered as she said, ¡°Sun Linan! I really have business to attend to, so would you stop getting in my way?¡± Very hurt, Sun Linan retorted, ¡°But I really do miss you.¡± At this point, he paused and said, ¡°Oh, right! Second Brother and the rest areing to Beijing for a holiday next tuesday, would you like to join us?¡± The moment he mentioned ¡°Second Brother,¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s body immediately froze. Chapter 426 - Was It Her?! (6)

Chapter 426: Was It Her?! (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She turned around and looked at Sun Linan sharply. ¡°You told him that I¡¯m in Beijing?¡± Sun Linan immediately shook his head and rified, ¡°No, I didn¡¯t. You told me not to and of course I will help you keep it a secret!¡± Qiao Lian understood that this guy had always been a bbermouth, it would be a near-miracle to have him guard a secret. For now, she could only try to reinforce the request. Qiao Lian frowned deeply and reiterated, ¡°Do not tell them I¡¯m here.¡± Sun Linan¡¯s eyes wandered for a moment before he nodded. Qiao Lian turned to look at the resting room. Around that moment, the resting room door was pushed open. Under the light of the doorway, she could see Shen Liangchuan walking out of the room with little expression on his face. But even so, she could somehow sense Shen Liangchuan¡¯s displeasure. Given he was not in the best of moods, he did not notice Qiao Lian at all. He got into the car, started the engine and drove away. When he drove past her, she saw his profile through the open car window. His exquisite features could not hide the biting coldness in his expression. Perhaps from the corner of his eye he could sense someone staring at him. Thus he suddenly turned to look. For some reason, the moment he turned to look, Qiao Lian quickly got into Sun Linan¡¯s car, as though she was hoping he couldn¡¯t see her. Sun Linan, who had been in the middle of talking to Qiao Lian, bent down with surprise and asked her, ¡°Why did you get into the car?¡± Qiao Lian stared at Shen Liangchuan and half-heartedly replied to Sun Linan, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you want to go for dinner?¡± Sun Linan¡¯s eyes immediately lit up. He quickly straightened himself, walked to the driver seat, opened the car door and got in. Then he saw her heave a sigh of relief. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s car had left the filming location. Qiao Lian pushed the door of the passenger seat and got out of the car. Startled, Sun Linan said, ¡°Hey, what are you doing? Aren¡¯t we going for dinner?¡± Qiao Lian was already walking to the resting room. She didn¡¯t bother to turn around as she called out, ¡°You can go by yourself! Clueless fool!¡± She fumed just thinking about him. But as she walked to the resting room, she noticed that the resting room door was ajar. From where she stood, she could look through the door opening and see Song Yuanxi. Song Yuanxi stood there. Her thin body was trembling as though she had been emotionally shaken. Her eyes were bloodshot, but her hands were clenched into tight fists. Her gaze was steadily fixed on the door and her expression was determined and obstinate, but also fragile. After a moment, she rxed her clenched fists and hung her head. It appeared as though in that moment, all her energy had suddenly seeped away. She absent-mindedly took a step back and dropped herself on the chair. Her image depicted dejection, someone who was aggrieved. Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes narrowed immediately. Had they wrongfully used her? It wasn¡¯t Song Yuanxi who had given instructions to Wang Lan? How else could one exin the 200 000? She bit her lip, but now she no longer had any desire to ask Song Yuanxi directly. Qiao Lian sighed. At this point, Song Yuanxi¡¯s junior assistant had returned. Seeing Qiao Lian outside the resting room, she was stunned for a moment. ¡°Why haven¡¯t you gone in?¡± Qiao Lian held the lunch box out to the junior assistant. ¡°Please take this to her, I¡¯ll be leaving.¡± She immediately turned and headed off without waiting for the junior assistant to respond. When Qiao Lian got home, she realized that Shen Liangchuan was still out. Xia Yehua was sitting in the dining room and waved at her, calling her, ¡°Xiao Qiao,e quickly, let¡¯s eat.¡± As Qiao Lian entered the dining room, Xia Yehua said, ¡°Liangchuan called to say he has some matters to attend and will be home at ten tonight.¡± Chapter 427 - Was It Her?! (7)

Chapter 427: Was It Her?! (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian was surprised to hear this. Shen Liangchuan had just left Song Yuanxi¡¯s filming location, so what other matters were there? She hesitated and eventually said ¡®oh¡¯ with some reservation. Xia Yehua pointed to the sumptuous dishes on the dining table and remarked, ¡°Tough luck on him, he¡¯s missing out on this. I¡¯ve cooked a lot today! Eat as much as you can, Xiao Qiao.¡± As she said this, she picked up some food with her chopsticks and ced it on Qiao Lian¡¯s bowl. ¡°Thank you, Mom,¡± Qiao Lian said as she looked up. Xia Yehua smiled. ¡°No need for formalities with me. I¡¯m happy when I see my children enjoying good food.¡± Qiao Lian recalled Auntie Li mentioning that without Song Yuanxi around, Xia Yehua had been eating much less than before. Hence Qiao Lian ate heartily, in an attempt to keep her mother-inw happy. As she picked up more food with her chopsticks, she even made sure to motivate Xia Yehua, ¡°Mom, the food is delicious. You have to take more!¡± ¡°Ah!¡± Indeed, appetite can be contagious. When Xia Yehua saw Qiao Lian enjoying the food, her mood lightened up. After finishing a small bowl of rice, she told Auntie Li, ¡°I¡¯ll have another half a bowl.¡± Auntie Li smiled broadly as she took the empty bowl from her. She teasingly said, ¡°Madam, didn¡¯t you say that you should only eat up to 60% of your capability in the evening to avoid indigestion?¡± Xia Yehua suddenly looked worried. Qiao Lian immediately said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Mom, keep eating. After this we¡¯ll go for a stroll to digest our food and it will be fine! In any case, Shen Liangchuan is not home and I¡¯m bored.¡± Xia Yehua gave Auntie Li a look. ¡°You hear that? Now get me more rice!¡± This made Auntie Liugh aloud. After dinner, Auntie Li surveyed what was left on the dining table and shook her head. She said to Qiao Lian, ¡°Eating with Madam has increased her appetite! When she used to eat with Ms. Yuanxi, they would each only have a bowl of rice at most. I had to fill the bowl with as much rice as I could squeeze in it.¡± Xia Yehuaughed as she said, ¡°Yuanxi eats like a mouse. That¡¯s why she¡¯s so thin. Qiao Lian pretended to throw a little tantrum. ¡°Hey, are both of you implying that I eat too much? Mom, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll eat three bowls of rice at the most. I won¡¯t make the family go bankrupt with my eating.¡± ¡°Hahaha!¡± Xia Yehua was amused andughed. The atmosphere in the apartment became joyful. Since they had touched the topic of Song Yuanxi, Xia Yehua was naturally reminded and asked, ¡°How is Yuanxi doing at the filming location?¡± Qiao Lian smiled and lied without batting an eye, ¡°She¡¯s doing fine. When I saw her she was happy and told me that she got along very well with her colleagues. Our Yuanxi is so lovable that the director couldn¡¯t bear criticizing her for her mediocre acting skills.¡± Although all the signs were pointing at Song Yuanxi, without any proof right now, Qiao Lian didn¡¯t want to make frivolous statements. Besides, even if the culprit had really been Song Yuanxi, the person who would have to inform Xia Yehua had to be Shen Liangchuan and not her. Xia Yehua immediately nodded with satisfaction. ¡°That¡¯s good then.¡± She sighed and continued, ¡°Yuanxi has always been timid, I¡¯m afraid that she may not speak up even if things are not going too well at the filming location.¡± Auntie Li nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. I remember how frail-looking she was when she first came to us, she was barely 14 years old. Our hearts ached just looking at her.¡± Qiao asked curiously, ¡°Auntie Li, you were here eight years ago?¡± She recalled Xia Yehua mentioning that she had divorced Shen Xiu eight years ago. At that time, she had left the Shen Family with nothing but Shen Liangchuan in tow. If that had been the case, they shouldn¡¯t have been able to afford a housekeeper. Before Auntie Li could speak, Xia Yehua jumped in to exin, ¡°Auntie Li belonged to the Xia Family. When I married Shen Xiu, she came with me so when I left, I took her along too.¡± Chapter 428 - Was It Her?! (8)

Chapter 428: Was It Her?! (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Auntie Li has served me all her life. She¡¯s not been fortunate enough to enjoy a good life and, on the contrary, has suffered along with me. When we left the Shen Family home eight years ago without much money in our pocket, the three of us lived with 30 dors a day. We couldn¡¯t even afford meat. ¡± Auntie Li and Xia Yehua started to reminisce about that time in their lives. As they chatted, the topic came back to Song Yuanxi. ¡°... That child was painful to watch, so obedient and mature for her age. And she¡¯s still the same after all these years. Everyone in the family knows¡ªwhen there¡¯s trouble, Yuanxi will help! Ms. Yuanxi said that she came from a difficult environment and now that she is well off, she¡¯ll help others as much as possible.¡± After reflecting on the past, Auntie Li concluded, ¡°Ms. Yuanxi is really kind-hearted.¡± Xia Yehua nodded and remarked, ¡°Xiao Qiao, it was wrong of her to suspect you that time. But I hope you don¡¯t hold a grudge against her. She¡¯s an orphan and we are her only family.¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s expression froze on hearing this. However, she nodded in agreement. Indeed, she would hold no grudge against Song Yuanxi, if Song Yuanxi had not been the perpetrator. At about half past ten, Xia Yehua got tired and went to bed. Qiao Lian waited up for Shen Liangchuan to return. At eleven, there was still no sign of Shen Liangchuan and his cell phone had been turned off. Qiao Lian anxiously waited as shey on the bed. Finally, he came in through the bedroom doorte at night. The coldness in his bodynguage was unmistakable. Qiao Lian immediately asked, ¡°Why are you home sote? Have you found out anything?¡± The skies were still dark, so she turned on the bedsidemp. The diffused yellow light filled the room and fell on Shen Liangchuan. He was like a solitary passerby in the dark, lonely and full of sorrows. He seemed to be shackled by invisible burdens that weighed heavily on his shoulders. For unknown reasons, she perceived a feeling of mncholy within him. The iciness in his eyes made her shudder as he looked at her nkly. She widened her eyes and inquired cautiously, ¡°Shen Liangchuan?¡± Then, as though her voice had made him suddenly realize who she was, he snapped back to the present. His eyes focused on her. Before Qiao Lian could speak again, he suddenly took a step forward and pulled her into his embrace. The coldness of his shirt could be felt through her thin pajamas, causing her to shudder once more. But sensing his loneliness in that moment, she did not speak. Instead, she reached out her arms to embrace his in an attempt to provide some sce. Then, she heard Shen Liangchuan speak, ¡°Xiao Qiao, I¡¯m so d you¡¯re okay.¡± Xiao Qiao... It was a name Shen Liangchuan seldom used to address her. But suddenly, it seemed familiaring from him. She lost herself in this moment of quietness and as she did so, his embrace tightened gradually, as though he was afraid of letting her go. She had never seen this side of Shen Liangchuan. But she could only keep holding him like that. She lost track of the time that passed before she sensed some warmth returning to him. Finally, he released his embrace and removed his jacket. cing it on the sofa and with his back to Qiao Lian, he finally spoke, ¡°I went to look for Yuanxi earlier on.¡± Qiao Lian immediately sat up. It made sense that Shen Liangchuan would question her after finding out about the 200 000. But was it her? Chapter 429 - Was It Her?! (9)

Chapter 429: Was It Her?! (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At this point, Shen Liangchuan stood up. The look in his eyes was deep and unfathomable. ¡°She bought a bag recently that cost her 200 000.¡± Qiao Lian was stunned for a moment and then heaved a sigh of relief. She couldn¡¯t imagine what would have happened if Song Yuanxi had turned out to be the one who had switched her birth control drug. Both Xia Yehua and Shen Liangchuan were both so fond of her, if the perpetrator had been her, the implications would have been too terrifying. On hindsight, Song Yuanxi¡¯s reaction after Shen Liangchuan had visited her made sense now. Her show of defiance had been because she had felt terribly wronged. Looking back at her own reaction when Song Yuanxi had suspected her, she had had simr emotions. Now... Qiao Lian sighed and said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask her toe home? We¡¯ve been unfair to her by suspecting her.¡± Shen Liangchuan was quiet for a moment before he said, ¡°She¡¯s chosen to stay at the filming set. She said she wanted to pick up more acting techniques from her seniors.¡± For a moment, Qiao Lian was surprised. Then she said ¡°ok.¡± The fact that the perpetrator wasn¡¯t Song Yuanxi was the best oue. However, Qiao Lian didn¡¯t notice an expression shing across his face as he spoke. She spoke again, ¡°The birth control drug...¡± Shen Liangchuan lowered his gaze. After a brief pause, he slowly said, ¡°I took the drug to a specialist to be analyzed. There was something wrong with the form.¡± Qiao Lian eximed, ¡°Many of these folk remedies that are around may actually be harmful! You should not put trust in them in the future.¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded. Qiao Lian kept asking, ¡°And Wang Lan...¡± He cast his gaze downward. ¡°I did get someone to investigate. She has met with Mei Feng.¡± It suddenly dawned on Qiao Lian. So the reason for Shen Liangchuan¡¯s anger a moment ago was probably the certainty of Mei Feng¡¯s involvement in the matter. However, because there was no solid proof, there was no way to convince Shen Zihao and Shen Zihao would probably keep misunderstanding them. Qiao Lian took a step towards him and patted his shoulder lightly. ¡°Blood is thicker than water. I believe that time will tell. Shen Zihao will understand Mom¡¯s heart one day.¡± These words suddenly reminded Qiao Lian of her own plight. Was blood really thicker than water? The fact was that at times your family can let you down and break your heart. Lost in her own thoughts, she did not notice Shen Liangchuan looking at her steadily. His expression wasplex. Seeing that she had stopped talking about the matter, he secretly heaved a sigh of relief. ¨C After washing up, the two of them got into bed. Qiao Lian was suddenly woken up in the middle of the night. She sat up in a daze and with her eyes half-closed, she went to the bathroom and climbed back into bed. She was about to fall back asleep when something struck her semi-conscious mind. She suddenly paused and reached out, groping in the dark. Forcing herself to open her sleepy eyes, she realized that Shen Liangchuan was not in bed. She was stunned for a moment and thought that it was already morning. She reached for the bedside table and felt around it. When she found her cell phone, she took a look at the screen. It was only three in the morning. Where had Shen Liangchuan gone at this time of the night? She sat up and shook her head, forcing herself to wake up. She had just gone to the washroom and Shen Liangchuan was not there for sure. So had he... gone to the kitchen for water? But even if he had gone for some water, in the time that she had used the washroom, he would have been back by now. Chapter 430 - Was It Her?! (10)

Chapter 430: Was It Her?! (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The room was dim. She decided to turn on the bedsidemp, since she was puzzled. The side of the bed where Shen Liangchuan had been sleeping on was still rather warm. This could mean that it had not even been half an hour since the time he had woken up and left. Qiao Lian draped her clothes on, put on her slippers and headed out slowly. When she opened the door of the master bedroom, she could see that the lights in the corridor had been turned on. The lights of the big chandelier in the living room had been turned on too. Qiao Lian was puzzled and scanned around as she headed downstairs. This was Qiao Lian¡¯s second time staying over for the night, so she was not that familiar with this ce. Although this vi had the sameyout as the one that she and Shen Liangchuan had been staying at, the furnishing was still different. She walked gradually towards the balcony, as she had seen that its light was on. However, she carelessly knocked a trash bin by the side, since she was still in a daze after waking up. In the midst of the night, the trash bin made a ttering sound in the spacious and empty room, which gave Qiao Lian a fright. She stood rooted to the spot. Only after a while did she bend down, intending to pick up the trash bin. At this moment, the room door creaked and it opened. Auntie Li, who was staying in the room downstairs, pushed open her door. When she saw Qiao Lian, she was caught by surprise. ¡°Madam, what are you doing?¡± Qiao Lianughed awkwardly. ¡°I- I am looking for Shen Liangchuan.¡± At this point, she took a nce at the balcony again. There were hardly any movements in the balcony, even with such a loud noise. This meant that most probably Shen Liangchuan was not there. Then she heard Auntie Li ask, ¡°Sir is not in the bedroom?¡± Qiao Lian nodded. Auntie Li frowned. ¡°I didn¡¯t hear any noises that might indicate that Sir had gone out. If he isn¡¯t in the bedroom, then he should be...¡± She raised her head and looked at the third floor. ¡°On the third floor.¡± Third floor? Qiao Lian raised her head and followed Auntie Li¡¯s gaze. Their two vis were both three storeys high. Most of the rooms were vacant, as there were only a few residents. As for the vi that she and Shen Liangchuan were staying in, the third floor was generally used as a storage space. But she hadn¡¯t been to the third floor of Xia Yehua¡¯s vi before. At this moment, although she was downstairs, she could still see that there was some lighting out from the gap under the door of a particr room on the third floor. Qiao Lian nodded and understood it. ¡°I¡¯ll go look for him then.¡± She put back in ce the trash bin and headed up the stairs, intending to go to the third floor. She had only taken two steps when she heard Auntie Li say, ¡°Madam...¡± She halted and turned around. Auntie Li looked a little hesitant. Qiao Lian raised an eyebrow with confusion. ¡°Auntie Li, please be direct with me.¡± Auntie Li wasn¡¯t a meddlesome person. She had treated Qiao Lian well ever since she had joined the Shen Family. Although she loved Song Yuanxi much more dearly, she still had respect for Qiao Lian. Yet she had rarely seen her hesitating like this before. Auntie Li sighed when she heard this. ¡°Madam, please don¡¯t get angry with what I¡¯m about to say.¡± She looked at the third floor and said, ¡°Sir has never allowed anyone to enter that room on the third floor.¡± As she was worried that Qiao Lian might think she was controlling her, Auntie Li added, ¡°Yuanxi wasn¡¯t allowed to enter as well.¡± But then she realized that it wasn¡¯t that nice topare Song Yuanxi with Qiao Lian. Hence, she cleared her throat and added, ¡°His mother hasn¡¯t been up there either.¡± And so to speak, besides Shen Liangchuan, no one else had been to that room before? Qiao Lian raised her head with curiosity. At the same time, she felt confused in her heart. What was in that room on the third floor? Should she go up to take a look? Chapter 431 - So It Was Her! (1)

Chapter 431: So It Was Her! (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She bit her lower lip seeing that Auntie Li was a little nervous, as though afraid that she would get into an argument with her husband over this. Qiao Lian immediately smiled and replied, ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll wait for him back in the bedroom then.¡± Auntie Li heaved a sigh of relief and nodded. Giving up the idea of going to the third floor for now, Qiao Lian made her way back to the bedroom slowly. She took off her robe andy on the bed. Perhaps because she had gone downstairs, or perhaps because of the things that Auntie Li had said, Qiao Lian no longer felt sleepy. The fact was that everyone had their own little secrets. Just like her rtionship with Zi Chuan or her own past, she had never told these to Shen Liangchuan. So why should she mind his past? Besides, she and Shen Liangchuan had been married no more than two months, hence it wasn¡¯t unreasonable if they didn¡¯tpletely trust each other at this stage. She believed that, given time, he would one day invite her into his room on the third floor. With this thought, she suddenly felt better and shut her eyes. Soon, she fell asleep. ¨C The following day, Qiao Lian was supposed to go to work. Shen Liangchuan drove her to the office. However, after reporting for work, she was ready to sneak out again. Shi Nianyao grabbed her and asked, ¡°Chief Editor Lian Lian, where are you going?¡± Qiao Lian hushed her and coughed once. ¡°I¡¯m going out to gather news.¡± Then she lowered her voice and told Shi Nianyao, ¡°The eSportspetition is starting soon, so I have to go check up on the team and discuss the game strategy with the team leader.¡± Shi Nianyao immediately understood and nodded. ¡°Ok, go then and don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll cover you!¡± Qiao Lian threw her a kiss and rushed out. Ever since Su Meimei had left the news agency, the office had been a lot more peaceful and orderly. Team One¡¯s Chief Editor Zhang Chunhua had been quiettely and had note around looking for trouble. Therefore, things in the news agency had also calmed down. With Fan Jie as her guarantor and the backing of Sun Linan, a rich second-generation heir, Managing Editor Liu Zhixing had finally recognized that Qiao Lian was not one to be trifled with. Hence, he had been lenient with her recent ck and passive attitude towards work. On top of this, Qiao Lian dide back with exclusives every now and then, so he really had no reason toin. At this point, she was in the limelight. Her life was unprecedentedly harmonious. Once downstairs, Qiao Lian walked straight into Shen Liangchuan¡¯s car and the two of them headed to the team¡¯s vi. It was almost 11 am by the time they got there. The team members were mostly night owls, so they weren¡¯t awake yet. They waited for over an hour before all the members were up. Zombie Leader Su Penghao got extremely excited when he saw Shen Liangchuan. ¡°I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be able to raise our ranking in the uingpetition. I suddenly thought of a new strategy.¡± The first round of the eSportspetition was a preliminarypetition. Twelve teams would be selected from amongst all thepetitors to properly enter thepetition. Although the preliminarypetition was supposed to be easier... In eSports, team coordination was far more critical than the individual yer¡¯s strength. Because the team was quite new, team coordination was not their strength. Whereas there were other teams that had taken part in past Lotpetitions, and these were veteran teams. Hence, their team would have to initially depend on ambush troops and Zombie Leader¡¯s innovative strategies. Qiao Lian had already thought of these things. As the team hadn¡¯t had enough time to train, they could only learn and grow a step at a time through thepetition. Except... Qiao Lian looked at Su Penghao for a moment. Wasn¡¯t she the coach of this team? He was making his disdain for her very explicit. Chapter 432 - So It Was Her! (2)

Chapter 432: So It Was Her! (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As Qiao Lian calmy and steadily looked at Shen Liangchuan, he raised his eyebrows at Zombie Leader, whose expression was full of anticipation. Then Shen Liangchuan nced at Qiao Lian and said, ¡°She¡¯s the coach.¡± In other words, whatever strategies he may have, you should discuss them with Qiao Lian. Su Penghao immediately twitched his lips and grumbled, ¡°She wouldn¡¯t know anything...¡± Qiao Lian raised an eyebrow and retorted, ¡°How could you know that I don¡¯t know, if you don¡¯t talk about it?¡± Su Penghao sneered and did not say anything in response. Suddenly, they heard a m. Turning around, they saw Shen Liangchuan putting down his ss on the coffee table. It wasn¡¯t much but all at once, the air in the room had be oppressing. Su Penghao paused and looked at everyone. ¡°Okay, fine, we¡¯ll discuss it. It¡¯s like this... I thought of using this champion for thepetition...¡± In eSports, gamers would use all sorts of champions in the fights. There were shamans, snipers, tanks and supports... and they would take on different tasks. Some champions were weak when attacking on their on and looked quite useless. However, when teamed up with another champion for a fight, they could produce remarkable and unexpected results. The champion that Su Penghao wanted to use was not popr, it wasn¡¯t one regr gamers would normally select. Hence when he suggested this champion, the other team members objected. ¡°No way, this champion isn¡¯t strong enough for attacking.¡± ¡°It also can¡¯t escape very well.¡± The Godfather and the Deputy Godfather gave their opinions. Even the Ninth Queen spoke up shyly, ¡°Using this character would be aplete waste...¡± Su Penghao grimaced and made a motion to say something. However before he could do so, Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes lit up and she mmed the table, saying, ¡°It is a great idea!¡± Su Penghao was stunned. Casting her gaze downwards, she said in a serious tone, ¡°It is indeed an ambush champion, but I have to analyze the data to think of the best championbination. Let¡¯s do it tomorrow. We¡¯ll set the strategy tomorrow.¡± Su Penghao widened his eyes in astonishment. He had initially thought that Qiao Lian would outrightly reject his radical suggestion of using an unpopr champion. Unexpectedly, before his own teammates had even had time to consider this more deeply, she had already understood the crucial point. With this said, Qiao Lian stood up decisively and announced, ¡°Alright, continue with your training today, I will do some analyzing. Once I¡¯ve done that, we can initiate the newbination for thepetition!¡± Then she turned to walk out of the room. However after she had taken two steps, she suddenly halted as if remembering something. She turned around again to address Su Penghao. ¡°Su Penghao, have you ever discussed this champion with Purple Fairy?¡± Purple Fairy had been vicious so far. Hence if they were to use this ambush strategy, it had to remain a secret from the opponent so that they would not be prepared for it. Yet the moment she said these words, Su Penghao¡¯s expression changed immediately. ¡°What do you mean by this?¡± He was obviously furious. ¡°If you don¡¯t trust me, then are we still able to go ahead with thispetition?¡± Trust was an essential element in a team. Qiao Lian shook her head at his overly emotional response. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean it that way. Of course I trust you.¡± If she didn¡¯t trust him, she wouldn¡¯t have spent so much effort in convincing him to join the team. But... ¡°The person that I do not trust is Purple Fairy.¡± Men were forever careless and when it came to small details, it was easy to lead them to a slip of the tongue. The fact that Purple Fairy had been trying to get close to Su Penghao, hadn¡¯t it been in order to find out their gaming strategy? Chapter 433 - So It Was Her! (3)

Chapter 433: So It Was Her! (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Hearing these words from Qiao Lian provoked Su Penghao even more. ¡°Qiao Lian, it¡¯s fine if you have something against me, but I won¡¯t allow you to say such things about Xiao Qiao!¡± ¡°I have confidence in Xiao Qiao¡¯s character and I trust her! I¡¯ve had a few meals with her and we did discuss gaming. But we never discussed strategies. These days I¡¯ve been busy training and didn¡¯t even have the time to contact her! And this ambush strategy only came to mest night. There, are you satisfied now with this exnation?¡± ¡°And I will say it again. Since I¡¯ve made the decision to join this team, I¡¯ll make this team my home. However Purple Fairy, who is also Xiao Qiao, is my idol, so I fully trust her. Although I greatly respect her, I will not betray my club!¡± After making this statement, Su Penghao turned around and headed upstairs. In his temper and fury, he resembled a cat with standing on end fur. Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help but grimace at his extreme reaction. But on the other hand, she was warmed by how protective he was of Xiao Qiao. She hadn¡¯t thought that after all these years, she would still have such loyal fans who unconditionally loved her. She found Su Penghao¡¯s persistence to be both adorable and annoying at the same time. Shooting Shen Liangchuan a look and sighing, she got ready to leave. But Su Penghao came bouncing down the stairs again. He was after all, still a big kid. As quickly as his temper had red, it simmered down. By then, he had recovered from the outburst and was back to his normal self. He came up to her and turned off his cell phone before tossing it onto the table. Qiao Lian was stunned for a moment. ¡°What¡¯s that about?¡± Su Penghao frowned and said, ¡°I thought about it and I think you might be right. Thepetition is in two days. Let¡¯s all turn off our cell phones. Like this we can watch over each other and ensure that we have no contact with anyone outside the team. This will help us protect our strategy.¡± A team¡¯s unique and unusual strategy was a critical element to its sess. Qiao Lian was impressed by Su Penghao¡¯s quick grasp of the bigger picture. Although she trusted him, she was also worried about unforeseen situations. Hence she agreed. ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s take precautions and make no assumptions. You guys will have to put up with it for the next two days.¡± With this, the club isted itself and went into seclusion in preparation for their uing fight. ¡ª That same day when they got home, Qiao Lian went into the study room to analyze their strategy. She scribbled and drew on pieces of paper, and finally came up with the most idealbination for the team. The following day, she went to the club to discuss the strategy with the team. In addition, they secretly tested the newbination and the result was unexpectedly outstanding. Although the five teammates had initially been nervous, the team was at once relieved when they saw how effective the newbination was. All of them were steeled to fight, and the confusion and perplexity they had felt before thepetition disappeared. The team¡¯s morale was boosted to an unprecedented high. The team members kept their spirits high right up to the time of thepetition. At two in the afternoon of the third day, Qiao Lian and her team members arrived at thepetition venue together. Thispetition would pave this fighting team¡¯s path to greatness. Presented as a sporting event, the eSportspetition had attracted arge audience of fans. Thousands turned up at thepetition venue and the atmosphere was abuzz with excitement. The selected yers of each team took their own ces. Today was the preselection match. Thepetition proceeded in the arranged order for the teams, who had been ranked ording to their points. They started drawing lots on stage and Zombie Leader Su Penghao represented the CQ Team. After the lots had been drawn, the results were announced. Qiao Lian could not believe her eyes. Indeed, some enemies are destined to fight each other. Chapter 434 - So It Was Her! (4)

Chapter 434: So It Was Her! (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She could have never imagined that they would be ying against Purple Fairy¡¯s King Team in the preliminary round¡ªit wasn¡¯t even the actualpetition! Because it was a preselection round, the gaming introduction was rtively monotonous. The team would move straight into a fight with the drawn opponent. Qiao Lian sat among the audience and observed her CQ Team. The atmosphere was heated up. CQ Team did not have many fans. Among the audience there were enthusiastic discussions and excited cheers. In addition, there was that familiar music that led preceded a match. All these stirred up something in her body, giving her a heady rush of adrenalin. Apetition. Eight years ago, she was going to take part in a realpetition with Zi Chuan. But in the end, it had all been in vain. And then there were the changes that took ce at home. Ever since then, she had never thought that a day woulde when she would reappear on the scene. At this point, she could hardly sit still. She looked up to observe the team, but she didn¡¯t notice the empty seat beside her being suddenly taken. Then a hand closed around her wrist. She jumped in fright and turned around, only to see the familiar big and tall frame of Shen Liangchuan, who had taken the seat next to her. He was wearing a baseball cap and mask, sitting calmly beside her. And his big hand was now holding her tiny one tightly. Qiao Lian was stupefied. If anyone discovered that Shen Liangchuan was here, she reckoned it would cause a hugemotion. Shen Liangchuan raised a finger to his lips, hushing her. Qiao Lian looked around and saw that no one had noticed them. Then she leaned towards him and whispered, ¡°Why are you here?¡± Before she could speak another word, Shen Liangchuan interrupted her, ¡°Thepetition is starting.¡± Qiao Lian immediately looked ahead, fully focusing her attention on thepetition. Shen Liangchuan, however, turned and stared at her. The dim surroundings were like a bubbling cauldron of the audience¡¯s voices. Amidst the buzz, one could tell from her profile view that she was serious and nervous. His gaze deepened as he looked at their interlocked hands. Xiao Qiao, I want to walk into the world before us with you, one step at a time. So why wouldn¡¯t I be here? Qiao Lian had no idea what Shen Liangchuan was thinking, as she kept her full attention on thepetition. CQ lost the first round. Under the precise instructions of Su Penghao, however, CQ won the second round. And now, it depended on thest match. The third round would be the deciding round. New teams like CQ often needed a win to boost their morale. Hence when they came to the third round, Su Penghao threw Qiao Lian a nce. With the crowd in between, separating them, they nodded at each other in acknowledgment. They had decided beforehand that they would introduce their new strategy in the third game. Qiao Lian initially had a look of confidence on her face but the next moment, her expression suddenly changed. Prior to a fight, eachpeting team would ban certain champions from their opponent ording to their strengths. Because the two teams had initially been rtively unfamiliar with each other, the banned champions in the first two rounds were rtivelymon. However, when they got now to the third round... When it was King team¡¯s turn to select a champion to ban, they selected Su Penghao¡¯s ambush champion. Thatpletely messed up the team¡¯s tempo. Qiao Lian got onto her feet at once, staring at them in disbelief. Her instinct told her that their ambush formation had somehow been leaked to the opponent. But the five professional gamers had trained in seclusion and the only person who could possibly leak this information was herself! Her pupils shrank immediately as she saw Su Penghao turned to look at her with fury in his bloodshot eyes. Chapter 435 - So It Was Her! (5)

Chapter 435: So It Was Her! (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The participants of thesepetitions were mostly professional gamers and it was rare to see odd champions chosen. One could say with certainty that amongst all the banned champions in thepetition, there was not one simr to Su Penghao¡¯s ambush pick. Hence, one could be quite sure that the team¡¯s ambush strategy had been exposed. Su Penghao stood up immediately. He clenched his fist and mmed the table. He gripped the mouse tightly with anger, staring straight at Qiao Lian with bloodshot eyes! As both of them were wearing their earpieces, they were able tomunicate directly. Qiao Lian immediately made a gesture with her hands and shook her head. ¡°It wasn¡¯t me, you¡ª¡± He did not let her finish before he sneered at her. Then, turning around, he was about to walk away. Casting everything aside, she got out of her seat and started to walk towards him. The rest of the team was stupefied. For thest few days, the team had trained for this strategy in seclusion and istion. But now their key champion had been banned? Without this champion, anybination would be a joke! Seeing that Su Penghao leave so abruptly, the team members stood up too, watching him with confused expressions on their faces. Qiao Lian briskly strode over to them and grabbed Su Penghao, asking, ¡°What are you doing?¡± Su Penghao shook her grip off. Pushing her away, he sneered, ¡°What am I doing? How are we going to y this game? We have a coach who betrayed us. Even if we won this round, it¡¯s meaningless!¡± Qiao Lian lowered her voice and retorted, ¡°I didn¡¯t do this, believe it or not, it¡¯s up to you. But right now, I¡¯m ordering you to get back on that stage and fight!¡± ¡°Fight? You have the audacity to say fight! Do you know that for thest two days, the five of us stuck together so that we could execute this formation and produce an exciting match?¡± ¡°Now you¡¯re forcing me back on stage! Is that to trigger King Team so that you can see how they kill us off and how good they are?¡± Su Penghao was trembling with anger by now and his eyes were bloodshot. When he spoke, it was as though he was spitting fire. From the side, an organizing staff member started to approach them, asking, ¡°Is there a problem? Are you having any issues?¡± Before Qiao Lian could speak, Su Penghao said angrily, ¡°I¡¯m not ying in thispetition! it¡¯s a walkover!¡± The staff members were stunned. ¡°But why? This¡ª¡± Su Penghao interrupted them with a derisiveugh. Then he turned to walk away. Seeing that this was happening, Qiao Lian suddenly shouted, ¡°You stay right there!¡± Her angry tone caused Su Penghao to pause for a moment and turn back to look at her. They stared at each other in the eyes. For unknown reasons, when Su Penghao¡¯s extreme anger and senseless behavior met with Qiao Lian¡¯s determined but sorrowful expression, he started to calm down. It was hard to say how she was feeling... exhausted, uninspired, and perhaps somewhat unwilling to take things as they were. She did not understand it. Why was it so difficult to y a fair, transparent and ethical game? Purple Fairy had not only caused trouble repeatedly, she had made a negative impact on the fairness in the eSportspetition. But having gone through so much in life, Qiao Lian could ept this fact. There were such people in this world. They would break rules and use unscrupulous means to get what they wanted. But the truly strong people were unafraid of these ghosts and ghouls. She looked at Su Penghao steadily and asked, ¡°Are you really willing to admit defeat just like that?¡±. Chapter 436 - So It Was Her! (6)

Chapter 436: So It Was Her! (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°You¡¯ve trained so hard for almost a month and now, just when you¡¯re about to fight, you wish to leave?¡± ¡°Su Penghao, you are a warrior of sorts. I¡¯ve only heard of warriors that die on the battlefield¡ªI¡¯ve never heard of those that run away!¡± ¡°Or does it mean that without the formation, you have no confidence in your own strength? Yes, teamwork is very important in an eSportspetition, but the individuals¡¯ ability can also crush everything else!¡± As Su Penghao listened to her words, there was a certain rity that came to him. The redness in his bloodshot eyes gradually faded away. Qiao Lian continued to look at him. ¡°For sure, I will get to the bottom of this information leak. I will find an exnation for you. But right now, do you have the guts to get up there and finish what you¡¯vee here to do?¡± Su Penghao¡¯s jaw tensed up. The staff members looked at him almost impatiently. The preliminarypetition was not that strict to begin with. If he wanted to leave, they would just kick him out of thepetition. Hence they asked him, ¡°Are you guys ying? If not, then please leave quickly and we¡¯ll let the next team y. Let¡¯s not keep other people waiting.¡± Qiao Lian looked at Su Penghao anxiously as the staff waited for an answer. Su Penghao looked at her and after a moment, he looked at the staff and hollered angrily, ¡°What¡¯s the hurry? I¡¯m calling a pause. Can¡¯t I even take a toilet break!¡± The staff stared back, bbergasted. Qiao Lian was relieved. Su Penghao eventually did not go to the washroom, but turned around and went back to thepetition. Five toweringputers. Right now, they were the team¡¯s only weapons. He took up his designated seat and, without another nce at Qiao Lian, started the game. Now that their strategy was no longer useful, the formation they had nned was irrelevant. Hence in the third round, everyone¡¯s heart was in their mouth. In this round the enemy team was on the blue side, so it had natural strength and advantage where the ying field was concerned, causing CQ team members considerable pressure. However, Su Penghao was frighteningly calm and collected. After he picked his champion, thepetition began. Having had their strategypromised, the team members of CQ weren¡¯t in the best frame of mind. The champion Su Penghao would use was the sort of hero that could control the overall situation. The moment it made an entrance, it ran into a face-to-face confrontation with an enemy. The enemy had very few hp, so it ran away and left. It wasn¡¯t the right time to start a chase, but he was in a hurry to gain the upperhand so he pursued the opponent. ¡°Oh no!¡± Qiao Lian remarked softly. The next moment, she saw that there were people hidden in the bushes on the side and with one strike, they killed him. Su Penghao mmed the table loudly and cursed, ¡°Damn it!¡± As he was quite exhausted, the team he was leading felt a little lost. The Godfather and The Deputy Godfather looked up and gave him a nce. Qiao Lian, on the other hand, was focused on the game interface and she immediately shouted, ¡°The Godfather,e back quickly!¡± But s, he was slightly toote and was caught by four enemies. He too, was yed. The game had barely just started and three of them had lost their lives. The situation was pathetic. Qiao Lian spoke into the microphone, ¡°Hold steady, don¡¯t panic. We can win this round.¡± As she said this, Su Penghao spoke up, ¡°You shut up! I¡¯m the one instructing!¡± The coach never had as much rity as the team members during a match. Hence, in mostpetitions, it was the team leader who would give fighting instructions. The coach would normally only intervene and calm the team leader when he got too agitated. But at this point, it was obvious that Su Penghao had lost control of his own emotions. Qiao Lian frowned. Were they going to lose this fight? Chapter 437 - So It Was Her! (7)

Chapter 437: So It Was Her! (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian looked at the other four team members. Both The Godfather and The Deputy Godfather were gentle, honest and good-natured people. Although Su Penghao would be at loggerheads with her every now and then, the rest of them were respectful towards her or, at the very least, appear so, even if they did not trust her gaming ability. Yet right at this moment, they did not contradict Su Penghao. Their reaction made Qiao Lian understand where she stood. They were suspicious of her. Qiao Lian felt as though there was a heavy stone crushing her chest. She kept quiet. As he had said those harsh words to her, Su Penghao seemed to havee back to his senses. After resurrecting, his impulsiveness ceased. But the disadvantageous position they had been put into during the game opening was now clearly manifesting. Qiao Lian¡¯s frown deepened as she studied the situation. Their poor situation kept worsening. At this point, Qiao Lian called for a short break. Apart from Su Penghao, even The Godfather and The Deputy Godfather had been beaten down to a sorrowful state. Su Penghao looked up and gave Qiao Lian a vicious stare as the breakmenced. ¡°Why did you call for a break? We have hope of winning this round!¡± Qiao Lian kept her silence, but one of the team members?¡ªthe only woman¡ªAncestor White Bones stood up and said, ¡°I need to go to the restroom.¡± Thepetition continued after Ancestor White Bones came back from the restroom. Perhaps the short break gave everyone a little time to regain their sanity. Given that they were all professional yers, they managed to very quickly adjust their strategy. Self-protection was secondary, defence was the priority. As the game slowly progressed and neared the end, the team leader of King team spoke, ¡°We¡¯ll finish them up on this round. Everyone, charge!¡± The critical moment had arrived. Once more the two teams came into confrontation. This time, Su Penghao and his team were at a disadvantage and they could easily lose the match. But it was at this critical moment that they found apse in the enemy team. Ancestor White Bones managed to kill off their key champion and following that, it was five yers up against four. CQ managed to wipe out the enemy yers! And with this, the team won the match. It was a dramatic turn of events and the live audience could be heard gasping in surprise. It was too exciting! The professional yers¡¯ executions had been fast, furious, and too astonishing. Towards the end, Su Penghao took off his earpiece, threw it on the table and jumped up aggressively as the team imed its victory. The Godfather and The Deputy Godfather gave each other a tight hug and walked over to Ancestor White Bones. ¡°Ancestor White Bones, credit goes to you for the third round!¡± Ancestor White Bones quietly nodded. ¨C After thepetition ended, the team went back to the vi in high spirits. Upon entering the vi, Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan noted that Su Penghao stood there, glowering. Qiao Lian didn¡¯t have a chance to get a word in before Su Penghao spoke. He minced none of his words as he addressed Shen Liangchuan directly, ¡°There will be only one of us in this club?¡ªit¡¯s either her or me!¡± As he said this, everyone in the room fell silent. The joyful atmosphere brought about by their victory was now gone. Everyone looked at Shen Liangchuan simultaneously. Qiao Lian bit her lower lip and straightened her posture stubbornly. Indeed, Shen Liangchuan said without a moment of hesitation, ¡°It cannot not be her.¡± Su Penghaoshed out angrily, ¡°Even at this point, you take her side. Fine. If she¡¯s not leaving, then I¡¯ll go!¡± After he said this, he turned to the main door. However after taking two steps, Shen Liangchuan calmly said, ¡°We¡¯ve signed an agreement.¡± ¡°It is stated clearly in the agreement that you have to coborate for a period of at least two years.¡± Su Penghao sneered and replied, ¡°I¡¯ll pay the breach of contract penalty then.¡± Chapter 438 - So It Was Her! (8)

Chapter 438: So It Was Her! (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Done speaking, he walked towards the main door. ¡°Stop!¡± Qiao Lian called out. Su Penghao turned around. Qiao Lian took a deep breath and said, ¡°I can prove that I did not do it.¡± Su Penghao raised an eyebrow. Qiao Lian looked at Ancestor White Bones. Ancestor White Bones was expressionless and exined methodically, ¡°During the break, I went to the restroom with Qiao Lian. My performance after the break was all thanks to Qiao Lian¡¯s secret instructions. If she had sold us out and leaked our strategy, why would she have worked so hard afterwards to ensure that we win the game?¡± Su Penghao could hardly believe what he was hearing. ¡°Do you mean that it was under her guidance that you managed to prate the opponent¡¯s core defense?¡± That had almost been the turning point for that match. If it hadn¡¯t been for Ancestor White Bones¡¯ maneuver, they would have lost the game. Ancestor White Bones nodded. With Ancestor White Bones¡¯ confirmation, Su Penghao¡¯s attitude finally softened and he looked at Qiao Lian. Frowning deeply, he said, ¡°However, this alone doesn¡¯t prove that you weren¡¯t the one who leaked the information. After all, only us knew the strategy. Apart from you, there¡¯s no one else.¡± Qiao Lian nodded and said, ¡°You are all part of the team and it¡¯s not possible that you leaked the secret. I¡¯ve thought about it carefully, perhaps somehow it was me. But even if it had been, it would have been part of someone¡¯s scheme.¡± ¡°Hah, that¡¯s a bunch of talking. You think that you can get off easily just by saying that it¡¯s someone else¡¯s scheme?¡± Qiao Lian shook her head. ¡°No, of course not.¡± Su Penghao was surprised at her candidness. Qiao Lian turned to Shen Liangchuan and said, ¡°But I believe that Mr. Shen will have an exnation for you eventually.¡± ¨C Finally, they managed to convince the team members. In the car on the way home, Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan sighed deeply. Qiao Lian said, ¡°I¡¯ve thought it through in detail. The strategy for thispetition was analyzed and drafted on paper only in your study and nowhere else.¡± After the incident with the photo leak, Shen Liangchuan had carried out a purge on the housekeeping staff. Hence, things should be safe in the house now. Which was also why Qiao Lian had gotten careless. Shen Liangchuan narrowed his eyes suddenly and said, ¡°There¡¯s CCTV in the house!¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes immediately lit up. The two of them triumphantly rushed to the study on reaching home and turned on the recording yback. Then, they realized that there was a 10-minute segment missing from the recording from the afternoon of the day before, when both of them hadn¡¯t been home. Qiao Lian frowned deeply. ¡°Whoever did this must be very familiar with our home! They even managed to erase the recording.¡± Shen Liangchuan frowned deeply at Qiao Lian¡¯s words. At this point, someone knocked on the study room door. Following this, Xia Yehua walked in, carrying a tray with two sses of water. ¡°The moment you get home, you scurry into the study. What¡¯s going on? Hurry up and drink some water.¡± Qiao Lian extended her hands to reach for the water. However, her leg suddenly shook and she fell towards Xia Yehua, causing the water in Xia Yeha¡¯s hand to spill all over herself. Xia Yehua got anxious at once. ¡°Child, what¡¯s wrong with you? Hurry up and change your wet clothes, otherwise you¡¯ll catch a could. Qiao Lian looked down. Indeed, her trousers were wet from the spilled drink. She nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll go get changed.¡± But just as she walked out, she suddenly realized she had left her cell phone on the desk. She turned around to walk back into the study and retrieve the phone. At this point, she heard Shen Liangchuan speaking in a stern tone, ¡°Mom, there¡¯s something I have to ask you.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s words sounded clearly in Qiao Lian¡¯s ears. ¡°Did Song Yuanxie by yesterday?¡± Chapter 439 - So It Was Her! (9)

Chapter 439: So It Was Her! (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian halted and froze. Shen Liangchuan was speaking in a very low and soft voice, as though afraid that someone would overhear them. For reasons unknown to even herself, she gulped, stood still outside the door and did not reenter the room. A thought shed through her mind. If there was a person who was familiar with things around the house and who had unrestricted ess to Shen Liangchuan¡¯s study... it would have to be Song Yuanxi and almost no one else. Song Yuanxi... Song Yuanxi again. She had the nagging feeling that she had overlooked something as another thought eluded her in a sh. She immediately shook her head. No, she should trust Shen Liangchuan. Shen Liangchuan had said that the perpetrator wasn¡¯t Song Yuanxi. If he said it wasn¡¯t her, then it couldn¡¯t have been her. Concerning the fact that Shen Liangchuan had asked this question now, surely he had his own reasons for it. Qiao Lian tried hard to convince herself. She took in a deep breath and listened quietly to the conversation in the study. Xia Yehua paused for a while before she said, ¡°No... no she didn¡¯t.¡± But that tone... there was underlying guilt in that tone. Shen Liangchuan asked again suspiciously, ¡°She really didn¡¯t?¡± Unable to keep up the lie, Xia Yehua finally caved and said, ¡°Only ten minutes! She spoke with me for a little while, then took a few things and left. Sigh... Even if you punish her, this is her home too. Can¡¯t shee back for a short while?¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s said with a grave expression, ¡°What time was it when she came back?¡± Xia Yehua thought briefly and replied, ¡°Yesterday afternoon, around half past four.¡± Around half past four. Qiao Lian widened her eyes as she realized. The missing 10-minute segment in the video recording had been around half past four! This would mean... Before she could rify this in her own head, she heard footsteps approaching from inside the study. Reflexively, she immediately took two steps back and dashed into the bedroom. As she entered the bedroom, Shen Liangchuan followed behind and said, ¡°I¡¯m going out for a short while.¡± Qiao Lian looked at him steadily and asked, ¡°Where are you going?¡± Not expecting this question, Shen Liangchuan paused and froze in the midst of putting on his jacket. He said after a short while, ¡°I¡¯ve to attend to something.¡± Then he strode off. Qiao Lian stood in the room, staring at his back view as he disappeared. There and then, for some reason, she felt that he was like a total stranger. Her doubts were like thorns embedded in her heart. ¡°No,¡± she thought, ¡°I must not doubt Shen Liangchuan.¡± Once more, Qiao Lian took in a deep breath, trying tofort herself. After all, Shen Liangchuan had punished Song Yuanxi and sent the girl away for suspecting her. If Song Yuanxi did anything more than that, Shen Liangchuan would not let it go easily. Shen Liangchuan would not allow her to get hurt. Qiao Lian absently-mindedly changed her wet clothes with these thoughts running through her head. Xia Yehua walked in just as Qiao Lian was done changing. She looked worried. ¡°Xiao Qiao, did something happen? Why did Liangchuan look so terrible just then?¡± On seeing Xia Yehua¡¯s anxious expression, Qiao Lian wanted to tell her about their team. However, she thought of the recent fainting spells that Xia Yehua had had and decided against it. Instead, she smiled and replied, ¡°Nothing happened. Mom, don¡¯t worry unnecessarily.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not worried. But look at how distracted you must be to have worn your trousers the wrong side out!¡± Qiao Lian looked down and indeed, it was the wrong side out. She gave an embarrassedugh and stripped off her trousers, revealing her long, straight and slender legs. Chapter 440 - So It Was Her! (10)

Chapter 440: So It Was Her! (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xia Yehua made fun of her, saying, ¡°Look at your beautiful legs. You should wear tight pants, they would look good. Come, let me have a look at your closet.¡± As she said this, she turned around to open the closet door. While she looked through Qiao Lian¡¯s casual clothes, she shook her head and said, ¡°A girl should have pretty dresses. We¡¯ll go shopping one of these days, I¡¯ll buy you some!¡± Then, she nced at Qiao Lian¡¯s bag and continued, ¡°This bag... We¡¯ll get Liangchuan to buy you a bag. He has money. Not too long ago, Yuanxi and I bought two bags worth 200 000 each and we charged it to his card. He didn¡¯t even say anything. You¡¯re his wife and you need to learn how to spend his money boldly!¡± Qiao Lian felt a little embarrassed by Xia Yehua¡¯sments. Was that her mother-inw speaking? That was his Mom. Would a mother do this to her own son? Not only had she and Song Yuanxi spent his money, now she was encouraging Qiao Lian to spend his money. As she had these thoughts, Qiao Lian suddenly froze and looked up. ¡°Mom, you said... Yuanxi¡¯s 200 000 bag was paid for by Shen Liangchuan?¡± Surprised by the question, Xia Yehua replied, ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Qiao Lian looked at her with an expression of disbelief. ¡°So did Shen Liangchuan know about it?¡± Xia Yehuaughed. ¡°Of course he did. I even called him as we were making the purchase!¡± Seeing that Qiao Lian looked rather out-of-sorts, she anxiously exined, ¡°Yuanxi has just graduated and is about to step into the entertainment industry. You know how things are in that world... people notice the bags you carry. Normally she isn¡¯t that extravagant...¡± Qiao Lian did not hear a word of Xia Yehua¡¯s exnation. She was trying to recall something when Shen Liangchuan¡¯s words shed through her mind... ¡°She bought a bag recently that cost her 200 000.¡± She had spent 200 000, but the money was his. So why had he said this in a way that misled her and let Song Yuanxi off the hook? Then she realized... in the beginning, he had appeared quite honest, saying that before he had given her the birth control drug, he had had it checked by a specialist. However,ter he had sang a different tune, saying that there was something wrong with the drug form. These episodes came to her one by one, now causing a freezing chill to run down her spine. She took deep breaths as she widened her eyes in horror. She had thought she knew him, but now he suddenly felt distant. This was like a rey of what had happened eight years ago... When her parents had perished in the fire, Xiao Yi¡¯s leg got injured and he needed an operation. The so-called rtives smiled with sympathy, but behind her back, they were scheming... and she felt the same way now. She couldn¡¯t help but tremble. Terror, betrayal, anger and sorrow came to her all at once. She no longer knew where she stood in this world. ¡°Xiao Qiao... Xiao Qiao? What¡¯s wrong?¡± Xia Yehua¡¯s voice gradually pulled her back from the shadows of the past. She snapped back to the present. Xia Yehua was gripping her hand and looking at her anxiously. Qiao Lian¡¯s mind was aplete nk, but she managed to squeeze a weak smile. She replied, ¡°Mom, I¡¯m fine.¡± Xia Yehua frowned deeply. ¡°Are you really ok?¡± Qiao Lian nodded. Then she knitted her brows as though suddenly remembering something. She put on her trousers and headed to the door. ¡°Mom, I¡¯m going out for a short while.¡± She had few doubts about where Shen Liangchuan had just gone to. She was quite sure he had gone to look for Song Yuanxi! Chapter 441 - Song Yuanxi, Who Exactly Are You? (1)

Chapter 441: Song Yuanxi, Who Exactly Are You? (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian hailed a cab and headed straight to Song Yuanxi¡¯s filming location. It was a blunder to not have rified things thest time she had gone to look for Song Yuanxi. Now she wanted to ask Song Yuanxi why she was doing these things against her. And she wanted to ask Shen Liangchuan as well why he was hiding things from her! Why he was shielding Song Yuanxi. Feeling frustrated and lost, the uncertainties in her heart turned into tears that welled up in her eyes. She clenched her hands into tight fists and her body trembled. She bit her lip roughly. If this had happened before, at a time when she and Shen Liangchuan had kept each other at arm¡¯s length, she would not be doing this for sure. But now... Weren¡¯t they in love with each other? The pain bore deep into the core of her heart and it hurt like hell. She breathed deeply, but it gave her no respite. She wound down the car window and the icy wind found its way in. All of a sudden, the warmth in her body slipped away. From the tips of her fingers to the ends of her toes, all she felt was a numbing chill. But this was nothingpared to the coldness she felt in her heart. For a moment, she didn¡¯t want to confront her guesses and find out the truth, because if the worst scenario turned out to be real... How was she going to face Shen Liangchuan? In her turmoil, the cab very soon arrived at the hotel where the filming crew stayed. She got off the cab and paid her fare, then walked towards the lobby. The hotel security was tight, as the filming crew was staying there. Just as she was about to enter through the main door, the security officer stopped her. ¡°Miss, may I know if you¡¯re staying here or looking for someone?¡± Qiao Lian frowned and answered, ¡°I¡¯m looking for someone.¡± ¡°In that case, please get the person you¡¯re looking for to register you. We can¡¯t let you in otherwise.¡± Get the person to register her? She cast her gaze downwards. ¡°Give me a moment,¡± she said to the security officer as she picked up her cell phone. Scrolling through her contact list, she found Song Yuanxi¡¯s number and was about to call her when she heard a voice calling her from the distance, ¡°Qiao Lian?¡± Turning around, she saw Sun Linan, the fool, rushing towards her full of excitement. ¡°What brings you here?¡± His eyes lit up. ¡°Are you here to look for me? How did you know I¡¯m staying here?¡± Upon seeing Sun Linan, the security officer¡¯s attitude was immediately respectful and polite. Qiao Lian wanted to talk back at Sun Linan, but seeing the change in the security officer¡¯s attitude, she looked at Sun Linan and said instead, ¡°Yes, could you register me? I¡¯d like to go in.¡± With a wave of his hand, Sun Linan dismissed the idea. ¡°What¡¯s there to register? Why would my guest need to register?¡± The security officer immediately shook his head and said, ¡°Of course, Mr. Sun¡¯s guests don¡¯t need to register. Miss, this way please.¡± As Sun Linan walked in with Qiao Lian, he asked, ¡°Qiao Lian, why are you looking for me?¡± ¡°Why do you look so pale? Is something the matter? What¡¯s wrong?¡± Qiao Lian halted as Sun Linan spoke these words. She turned around to face him. ¡°I have business to attend to here. Please, don¡¯t get in my way!¡± Her words were decisive and determined. The expression on her face was so serious that Sun Linan immediately shut his mouth. Since a young age, the one thing he was most afraid of was this serious look on Qiao Lian¡¯s face. Sun Linan nodded his head obediently. Without another word, Qiao Lian got into the elevator and headed to the 12th floor. Sun Linan stood there looking at the elevator indicator that had stopped on level 12. He then got on the other elevator and went to the 12th floor. As the elevator moved upwards, Qiao Lian clenched and unclenched her fists nervously. If she recalled correctly, Song Yuanxi should be in Room 1218. ¡°Ding.¡± The elevator chimed when it reached its destination. She walked out of the elevator and marched towards Song Yuanxi¡¯s room. As she approached it, she saw that the room door was open, and from inside came the voices of Shen Liangchuan and Song Yuanxi, involved in a heated discussion. Chapter 442 - Song Yuanxi, Who Exactly Are You? (2) Chapter 442: Song Yuanxi, Who Exactly Are You? (2) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian stood outside the door quietly, listening to the conversation that was going on inside the room. They were probably halfway through their discussion, and it wasn¡¯t a happy one. Just when she had arrived, she heard Shen Liangchuan speaking in a suppressed cold tone, ¡°... Song Yuanxi!¡± His voice sounded tense. Although Song Yuanxi¡¯s voice was trembling, she spoke stubbornly, ¡°Brother Liangchuan, what did I do wrong? She¡¯s not fit to be part of the team!¡± ¡°Whether she¡¯s fit or not, it¡¯s not for you to decide!¡± Song Yuanxiughed derisively and snapped back, ¡°Then who has the say? You? Brother Liangchuan, have you fallen in love with her?¡± Shen Liangchuan kept silent and did not answer her. Song Yuanxi gave a bitterugh that was at the same time chilling. ¡°Brother Liangchuan, indeed, you have fallen for her. This is a joke... How could you fall in love with her? And be so protective towards her? She does not deserve it! And I will set her up so that she cannot remain in the Shen Family! I want her to¡ª¡± ¡°Enough!¡± Shen Liangchuan cut her off sharply. ¡°I warned you after thest incident.¡± Song Yuanxi continued boldly, ¡°So what?¡± ¡°How are you going to punish me?¡± her voice choked with emotions. ¡°Are you going to send me away again? Or are you going to cut off my bank ount? Or call the police and throw me in jail?¡± She continued, ¡°Brother Liangchuan, you may have forgotten all that had happened eight years ago, but I haven¡¯t!¡± She took a step forward and asked forcefully, ¡°Tell me, have I done anything wrong?¡± She shook her head and took a step back. Without waiting for Shen Liangchuan¡¯s answer, she continued to speak. ¡°No, I did nothing wrong. You¡¯re the one in the wrong. You forgot your initial intention... you forgot that it was a fake marriage!¡± The words ¡®fake marriage¡¯ were like knives piercing viciously through Qiao Lian¡¯s heart. Finding it increasingly difficult to stomach the conversation, Qiao Lian, who was still standing outside the room, turned pale and retreated. She widened her eyes as she heard Song Yuanxi continue, ¡°Brother Liangchuan, there¡¯s one thing I can be sure of. Unless you put me behind bars, as long as I¡¯m here, I will not allow you two to be happy together!¡± ¡°This is not the first and it won¡¯t be thest! I will make sure you have no peace!¡± She said these vicious words boldly. And after speaking, sobbing could be heard. Then, silence. No one spoke for a while. The silence along the hotel corridor was deafening and choking. She had no idea how much time passed before she heard Shen Liangchuan finally speak again, ¡°As long as I¡¯m around, I won¡¯t allow anyone to harm her!¡± Having said this, he walked to the room door. Reflexively, Qiao Lian retreated into the stairwell next to the room. Through the ss panel on the door, she could see Shen Liangchuan. His normally calm expression was reced by a look of exhaustion. He looked as though there was a tonne of rocks tied to his feet and every step was unbearably heavy. Qiao Lian¡¯s heart ached to look upon such a sorrowful Shen Liangchuan. He walked towards the lift like a lost soul. She watched his back view disappear before she stepped out from behind the door and stood before Room 1218. Pushing the door open, she entered the room. Song Yuanxi¡¯s eyes were bloodshot and her gaze was still trained on the room door. When she saw Qiao Lian enter, she was stunned for a moment. Suddenly, as though realizing something, her gaze deepened. Qiao Lian spoke before Song Yuanxi could say anything, ¡°Song Yuanxi, who exactly are you?¡± The expression on Song Yuanxi¡¯s face told Qiao Lian that the monster was about to rear its ugly head. Song Yuanxiughed derisively as she said, ¡°You wish to know who I am? Good, I¡¯ll tell you the answer right now!¡± Chapter 443 - Song Yuanxi, Who Exactly Are You? (3) Chapter 443: Song Yuanxi, Who Exactly Are You? (3) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian stared at her anxiously. At this very moment, her mind was in a mess. She had overheard every word of the conversation between Shen Liangchuan and Song Yuanxi. Shen Liangchuan had known all along that Song Yuanxi had framed her and had been sowing seeds of discord between the married couple. Yet, he had amodated himself to Song Yuanxi and tried to hide the truth from his own wife. Although, because of having overheard the conversation, it seemed that he was still very protective of her. Qiao Lian believed too that her husband did love her. After all they had been through together, this was one thing she was sure of. It was evident in how he had sent Song Yuanxi away to stay with the filming crew when she had upset Qiao Lian by suspecting her. But why was Song Yuanxi going all out to harm them? Who exactly was she? And what sort of predicament was Shen Liangchuan in to be obliged to amodate himself to her behaviour? Why had he never told her about this? Why was it that every time she asked about Song Yuanxi, he would be so evasive? Qiao Lian wanted answers to all these questions and she wanted them badly. Hence, she stared intently at Song Yuanxi. Song Yuanxi frowned. Her usual gentle and timid demeanor had now given way to reveal an underlying ruthlessness. She held Qiao Lian¡¯s stare steadily for a while and suddenly began to smile. It was a weird and menacing smile. Then she spoke. ¡°You must know already that Brother Liangchuan had a first love?¡± Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes as she heard this. Not only did she know that Shen Liangchuan had had a first love, she also knew that he had never forgotten her and she was always in his heart and mind. That was why when they first began their sham marriage, he had made her take the birth control drug. He hadn¡¯t wanted to have a child with her... But right now, Song Yuanxi¡¯s words... Did she mean that... it had something to do with his first love? Were they rted in any way? Qiao Lian widened her eyes at the thought of this. Without speaking, she waited for Song Yuanxi to continue. Indeed, her next sentence confirmed it. ¡°She was my sister.¡± Her sister? The answer was too unexpected and outrageous for Qiao Lian. She widened her eyes in astonishment. Giving Song Yuanxi a look ofplete disbelief, she asked, ¡°What did you say?¡± ¡°I said... Brother Liangchuan¡¯s first love was my sister.¡± Song Yuanxi took a step towards Qiao Lian, like a demon rising from hell. The person standing before Qiao Lian now was a far cry from the normally weak and gentle creature that Song Yuanxi was. And every word she spoke now was like fire and brimstone from the deep abyss. ¡°You do not deserve Brother Liangchuan! He belongs to my sister!¡± ¡°In his heart, he has only one true love and that is my sister!¡± ¡°Do you want to know where your birth control drug came from? Me! Do you want to know who leaked the photograph? It was me too! Brother Liangchuan knew the truth and still he protected me, he even covered my tracks for me. And do you know why? Because... I¡¯m my sister¡¯s only family!!¡± One step at a time, she walked towards Qiao Lian as she said these things, forcing Qiao Lian to take in these ugly and cutting words. ¡°Brother Liangchuan¡¯s heart has only room for my sister!¡± ¡°My sister and Brother Liangchuan are the perfect match for each other. But you, what are youpared to my sister?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t deserve to be in the team, because only my sister is good enough to work shoulder to shoulder with Brother Liangchuan!¡± ¡°My sister is willing to die for Brother Liangchuan!¡± ¡°You? You¡¯re not good enough to even lift his shoes!¡± These words were like daggers piercing her heart over and over again. However suddenly, she realized that Shen Liangchuan had never told anyone about his first love... even Xia Yehua didn¡¯t know. No one knew where she was. And Shen Liangchuan, on the other hand, had been exceptionally understanding with Song Yuanxi. So as it turns out... as it turns out...!! Chapter 444 - Song Yuanxi, Who Exactly Are You? (4)

Chapter 444: Song Yuanxi, Who Exactly Are You? (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian clenched her fists tightly as she watched Song Yuanxi take another step forward. Narrowing her eyes, she said, ¡°Qiao Lian, you¡¯ll be a match for my sister no matter what you do. It¡¯s best that you give up.¡± A barely visible smirk appeared on Song Yuanxi¡¯s face after she spoke these words. A sense of pleasure grew in her as she observed Qiao Lian¡¯s face turn pale. Was Qiao Lian hurt? In despair? In pain? Even if so, it was not enough. Just when she thought that Qiao Lian had hit rock bottom, she suddenly looked up. The look of astonishment had disappeared from her face. She said in an unexpectedly calm tone, ¡°Oh, so your sister was Shen Liangchuan¡¯s first love.¡± Herck of reaction caught Song Yuanxi by surprise. She had not expected Qiao Lian to remain this sober and calm. Qiao Lian hadn¡¯t shown any hint of emotion in herst remark, but then her following remark was logical to the point of being ridiculous. ¡°But what has that got to do with me?¡± She seemed unperturbed, almost indifferent. For a fleeting moment Song Yuanxi looked almost frantic when she heard these words. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t it have anything to do with you, you-¡± She cut herself short suddenly as she remembered Shen Liangchuan¡¯s stern warning. She recalled Brother Liangchuan¡¯s words from thest time he had paid her a visit at the filming location. Before leaving, hisst words had been, ¡°I do not wish for Xiao Qiao to know about my past.¡± He had said this as though ready to spill the blood of anyone who dared go against his wish. She shivered even as she thought about it now. While Song Yuanxi¡¯s words couldn¡¯t find their way out, Qiao Lian on the other hand spoke freely. ¡°Song Yuanxi, I have no idea how crazily Shen Liangchuan and your sister loved each other before. But since she¡¯s willing to die for Shen Liangchuan, then it must be her greatest wish that he lives happily! And not spend his remaining years living in the shadows of the her memory!¡± Qiao Lian steadily held her gaze and boldly staked her im, ¡°And right now, I am the only person who can give him that sort of happiness!¡± ¡°Whether I deserve to be by his side, it¡¯s not for you or I to judge. It is for him to decide!¡± ¡°Let me be honest with you: don¡¯t even try breaking us apart. Nothing cane in between Shen Liangchuan and I!¡± Song Yuanxi trembled with anger upon hearing these words. ¡°Nothing cane in between you? Really? You can live with the fact that he will always have another woman in his heart? Let me tell you, Brother Liangchuan will never forget my sister! And do you know what¡¯s in that room on the third floor of the house? The room that he never lets anyone in? It¡¯s filled with memories of him and his first love!¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank and sheughed derisively. ¡°So what? Your sister is a memory. But I, I am here in the flesh next to him!¡± ¡°Song Yuanxi, get it into your head that it¡¯s Shen Liangchuan, not I, who owes your sister! So if you continue to set me up, don¡¯t me me for being ruthless.¡± After saying this, Qiao Lian elegantly turned around and walked out of the room. Song Yuanxi was now alone in the room. She stood on the spot, her hands clenched into tight fists. She stared in Qiao Lian¡¯s direction with anger and hatred. A sh of iciness appeared in her eyes. So what if you are Brother Liangchuan¡¯s first love, Qiao Lian? He will never tell you the truth! So you are still at my mercy! This make-believe first love story... I cannot believe for a moment that it hasn¡¯t nted seeds of doubt in your heart . ¨C How could it not nt seeds of doubt? Qiao Lian¡¯s heart was numb from the unbearable pain as she made her way downstairs. Was Song Yuanxi speaking the truth? Or was she making up stories and telling a whole lot of lies? Chapter 445 - Song Yuanxi, Who Exactly Are You? (5)

Chapter 445: Song Yuanxi, Who Exactly Are You? (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The next moment, Qiao Lian abandoned this thought. Song Yuanxi had no need to lie to her, because such a lie would be too easy to bust. All she needed to do was ask Shen Liangchuan and the truth would be out. And Xia Yehua had even said so... At that time, Shen Liangchuan had gone out to meet up with his girlfriend. He had left the house in high spirits, but hade home all dejected with Song Yuanxi in tow. His first love had died trying to save him. For that reason he felt he owed her his life, and therefore looked after her sister Song Yuanxi as though she was his own sister. Then she recalled how, after he had visited Song Yuanxi at the filming location, he had spent all night in the room on the third floor. Was it because he had felt guilt-stricken that day? Qiao Lianughed bitterly to herself. She had never felt this lost. Perhaps everyone had a life story that couldn¡¯t be erased. She was no exception. Eight years ago, she and Zi Chuan had been each other¡¯s first love and she would never forget that. She couldn¡¯t possibly me Shen Liangchuan. Besides, did he really have a first love? She didn¡¯t know it for a fact. But what was this nagging feeling inside her? As she walked out of the hotel¡¯s main entrance, a gust of icy wind rushed at her, causing her to sneeze once. At this point, she heard a voiceing from behind her. ¡°Qiao Lian.¡± She turned around. It was Sun Linan. She paused as she noticed the care and concern on his expression. She gave a crooked smile as she acknowledged him, ¡°Sun Tzi.¡± All at once, she felt loneliness and exhaustion descend upon her. Sun Linan watched the girl before him¡ªa pale and forlorn Qiao Lian. The sh of distress in his eyes did not escape her. He was silent for a brief moment before he spoke, ¡°Qiao Lian, You can talk to me about your problems. I will help you unconditionally...¡± One time, he had trailed her to a luxurious vi district. On her own with a little brother in tow, it was impressive enough that she had manged to survive. There was no way she could afford that sort of property... unless... she had married a rich man. And today, she was not acting like her normal self. The way she had dashed up to the 12th floor a moment ago... could she have been trying to bust an illicit affair? All of a sudden, he felt a dull ache in his heart, as though an invisible hand was squeezing it. His Qiao Lian had always been determined and careless. Never in his life had he seen her looking this helpless. He wanted to help her and yearned to bring her happiness. Even if it was just to make her smile for a moment, it was good enough for him. And surely this simple offer of his now would finally move her. She looked at him and after a moment of hesitation, she said, ¡°Thank you.¡± Without another word, she stepped onto the sidewalk and hailed a cab. This time, he did not try to stop her. ¨C After driving away and leaving the hotel, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s car halted at a red traffic light along a street. His expression wasplex as he looked straight ahead at the red light. His mind was still reying the heated argument in the hotel room. Never in his life would he have expected Song Yuanxi to find out about Qiao Lian¡¯s identity and cause so much trouble. Her repeated attempts to set Qiao Lian up made him want to kill Song Yuanxi. But s, Song Yuanxi was right about one thing. The marriage between him and Qiao Lian... had started off with the intention to take revenge on her, to torture her to the brink of death. But in the process, things had gradually changed. He found out that he couldn¡¯t bear to see her get hurt even for a bit. Without realizing it himself, he had fallen so deeply in love with her. Chapter 446 - Song Yuanxi, Who Exactly Are You? (6)

Chapter 446: Song Yuanxi, Who Exactly Are You? (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The kind of love... The things she had done eight years ago, he didn¡¯t want her to know the truth as he didn¡¯t want her to bear all that pain. The traffic light turned green in front. But Shen Liangchuan was still lost in his thoughts. He regained hisposure all of a sudden when the driver of the car behind him kept pressing the horn hastily. He started his car and then continued to head forward. However, his gaze became gradually firm. One could not live in the past forever. Just like Xiao Qiao and him, they had to move on. Song Yuanxi was thinking of harming her and so, he had to protect her. He would carry whatever burden there was from the past. As for his Xiao Qiao, all she had to do would be rx and dance freely on the stage that he had set up for her. His car reached the vi area very soon, and there was a security officer that came over to open the door for him. Shen Liangchuan lowered his gaze and said to the security officer suddenly, ¡°This vi shall not wee Song Yuanxi from now on.¡± When the security officer heard this whilst opening the door, he was stunned and then reacted immediately. ¡°Yes, Mr. Shen. Without your permission, Ms. Song will not be allowed to enter from now on.¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded his head lightly and drove into the vi. He hadn¡¯t noticed that as soon as his car had entered the vi, a car came in and stopped directly at the main door. Qiao Lian alighted from the cab. She had a lot on her mind the whole way back home. When she reached home, she saw Shen Liangchuan¡¯s car at the courtyard. So he was already back? Qiao Lian raised her head to look at the bedroom on the second floor. Indeed, the lights had been turned on. But she did not know how to face Shen Liangchuan at home. He had said to Song Yuanxi today that ¡°no one would be able to harm her if I am around.¡± She was touched. But Song Yuanxi had tried to frame her numerous times, yet he hadn¡¯t been able to stop her and had in fact wanted to hide all this injustice? It was impossible to say that she did not hold any grudges. She could understand Shen Liangchuan¡¯s situation, yet as this matter concerned her, she felt unhappy about it. So she decided to head upstairs, but as she was intending to enter the room, she suddenly heard Shen Liangchuan making a phone call on the balcony. ¡°Director Wang, I hope that Yuanxi can stay with the filming crew and not venture elsewhere.¡± ¡°... Ok. Pardon me for troubling you.¡± Qiao Lian stared at him while he stood there after hanging up the phone. The moonlight shone on him, casting his tall shadow, which felt cold and lonesome. Qiao Lian¡¯s nose twitched with sadness, and then she turned around and headed outside, as she did not know how she should face him. After that, she picked up her cell phone and sent him a message: [Something came up at the news agency, I need to work extra hours for somest minute thing.] Qiao Lian did not know where to go. She hailed a cab and headed to the news agency for real. Everyone from the news agency had already ended work and left. Shey quietly on the huge sofa in the news agency and at some point of time, she fell asleep. It was already morning when she woke up. She was awoken by Shi Nianyao¡¯s tapping and rocking. Shi Nianyao lowered the tone of her voice and said, ¡°Hey! Something happened to Song Yuanxi.¡± Qiao Lian opened her eyes as she heard these words and her mind became sober instantly. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°They were filming a scene where she had to be hanging from a wire rope. She didn¡¯t get someone else to substitute her and fell from it! She¡¯s being sent to the hospital now!¡± As she said this, Qiao Lian¡¯s cell phone rang. Qiao Lian picked up her phone and saw that it was from Song Yuanxi. She answered the call and heard Song Yuanxi on the other end of the line. ¡°Qiao Lian, do you think getting Brother Liangchuan to restrict my movements will be enough? Do you think that Brother Liangchuan wille visit me, now that I am hurt?¡± Chapter 447 - Song Yuanxi, Who Exactly Are You? (7)

Chapter 447: Song Yuanxi, Who Exactly Are You? (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Qiao Lian heard these words, she responded fast and replied, ¡°You did this on purpose?¡± Certain scenes that involved hanging from wire ropes could be very dangerous, and only very experienced actors would attempt them by themselves. Normally, for newbies like Song Yuanxi, there would be someone called in as a stunt double. However, she had attempted it by herself and then had made the phone call. Indeed, she answered, ¡°You¡¯re right!¡± ¡°You¡¯re nuts!¡± Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help but scold her. This person was simply nuts! She had actually done such a cruel thing to herself so that Shen Liangchuan might go visit her. ¡°What right do you have to say I am nuts? If you hadn¡¯t told Brother Liangchuan certain things and if Brother Liangchuan hadn¡¯t banned me from leaving the filming crew, why would I have to resort to this dangerous move? Qiao Lian, I will not allow the both of you to be blissful together! Now, shall we make a bet?¡± Song Yuanxi¡¯s voice had a tinge of viciousness. Qiao Lian was stunned. ¡°Bet on what?¡± ¡°Bet that Brother Liangchuan has never forgotten my sister! Bet that Brother Liangchuan wille and visit me and that he will forgive me!¡± Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes and replied, ¡°I am not in the mood for these sorts of things!¡± She hung up right after saying this. She took a deep breath, feeling like her chest was seemingly being pressed by a huge heavy rock. She could not concentrate and wasn¡¯t herself. Would Shen Liangchuan visit her? ¡°Chief Editor Lian Lian, why are you sleeping here? Did you fight with Best Actor Shen?¡± Shi Nianyao couldn¡¯t help but nag beside her ear. Qiao Lian lowered her head upon hearing this. ¡°No.¡± It was true that they hadn¡¯t quarrelled. However, the current situation was worsepared to if they had quarrelled. This made her wish that she had had a big quarrel with him instead. She tried hard to organize her own feelings and then turned towards Shi Nianyao. ¡°Let¡¯s work.¡± She walked to her desk and sat down. The moment she sat down, a person walked in from the entrance. ¡°Hello, may I know who is Qiao Lian? Ms. Qiao?¡± Qiao Lian paused for a moment. ¡°I am. What¡¯s the matter?¡± The person handed over breakfast to her. ¡°Hello, this is your order.¡± Her... takeout? She was slightly taken aback. She looked down at the takeout bento box. It was her favorite three-ingredients steamed buns and porridge. Shen Liangchuan had rmended her the steam buns from this shop before. So could this bento set had been ordered for her by Shen Liangchuan? Qiao Lian had aplex look on her face. She entered her office after receiving the breakfast. She opened up the box and ced it on the coffee table. The smell of the soft white steamed buns and the smooth delicious porridge was irresistible. However, Qiao Lian did not have any appetite suddenly. She picked up a steamed bun and tried her very best to take a big bite. Next, she coughed out loud rigorously. She choked, making her face red and her voice hoarse. She was intending to drink some water but when she reached out for the cup, she realized that it was empty. Qiao Lian gradually ced the cup down. She didn¡¯t spit out the bun but tried to swallow it down. Tears were flowing down as she tried her best at it. However, when the first teardrops flowed out, they gushed out like a flood. Huge teardrops came tumbling down her cheeks. She finally managed to swallow the big bun bite, but her throat was sizzling in pain. She picked up some tissues to wipe away her tears. Qiao Lian, why are you so useless? You cried just by eating a bun. However, her tears became even more intense. Meanwhile, she threw the tissues into the bin beside her and lifted her hands to cover her whole face. The tears dripped onto the table, drop after drop through the gaps between her fingers. What to do now? Even though she knew that she shouldn¡¯t be jealous, she still felt like crying. What should she do now? Chapter 448 - Song Yuanxi, Who Exactly Are You? (8)

Chapter 448: Song Yuanxi, Who Exactly Are You? (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian did not see the car parked by the road next to her office building. Shen Liangchuan sat in the driver seat with his gaze fixed on the building she was in. The night before, he had received her message informing him that she was working extra hours. When he read the message, he had paused and sat quietly in the master bedroom. He hade to realize that without her presence, the ce seemed deste and terribly lonely. He wasn¡¯t sure if he had been in his right mind when he found himself driving out in the middle of the night, to Qiao Lian¡¯s office building. And when he got there, he could not find the courage to enter the building, much less go look for her. This time, he had shielded Song Yuanxi and had lied to Qiao Lian in the process. But now, he no longer wanted to tell another lie. What if she asked him about the team¡¯s information leak? How was he going to answer? He ended up staying in the car all night and, even though he was worried that she didn¡¯t have anything to eat, he had no courage to ask her out for breakfast. The only thing he could do was ce an order for breakfast to be delivered to her. At this point, his cell phone rang. It was Director Wang. ¡°Best Actor Shen, I¡¯m very sorry. I failed to take care of your actress. When we were filming a wire suspension shot today, Ms. Song insisted that she wanted to do this without a stunt. There was an ident and fell! We¡¯ve urgently sent her to the hospital and they¡¯re now examining her. You¡ª¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s pupils shrank immediately when he heard this and replied, ¡°I¡¯ming right away.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± After hanging up the call, Shen Liangchuan drove in reverse and made a turn, heading straight to the hospital. However, after speeding for five minutes, he slowed down and finally stopped by the road. He looked at the street view through the ss panes of his car windows. It was peak hour and traffic was heavy. The look on his face was one of destion, of extreme loneliness. After a while, he calmly picked up his cell phone and dialed a number. ¡°Song Cheng, I need your help with something...¡± ¨C Song Yuanxi made the call to Qiao Lian, after ensuring that no one was around, before she entered the examination room. It was after the call that she was wheeled into the examination room for an x-ray. The results came out shortly¡ªshe had broken a bone in her leg. After they wheeled her to the VIP ward and left her there, she sat quietly on the bed, as though waiting for something. After some time, frantic footsteps were finally heard approaching the ward. Immediately, she bit her lip and purposefully turned her eyes bloodshot. She knew that, no matter what, her Brother Liangchuan wouldn¡¯t be angry at her. See? The moment he had heard that she had had an ident, he had rushed over. She was now almost worried that the things she had said to him yesterday had been overly harsh. She craned her neck and looked towards the ward entrance expectantly. Then, the silhouette of a tall man appeared. He was wearing a suit, but his face... Song Yuanxi froze for a moment and then widened her eyes in astonishment. Song Cheng stood before her, grinning at her. He took a look at her case notes and said, ¡°Ms. Song, how are you feeling?¡± Song Yuanxi bit her lip, looking frustrated and terribly grieved. ¡°Why are you here?¡± Then she added, ¡°Where¡¯s Brother Liangchuan?¡± On hearing this, Song Cheng nced at her and said immediately, ¡°He¡¯s busy attending to some business.¡± It was obviously just an excuse. Feeling extremely hurt, Song Yuanxi stared at Song Cheng steadily. The memories from the time she was 14 came back to her. She was orphaned and used to cry at night when she was alone. Every time that happened, Brother Liangchuan would be there and would sit next to her. When she had fallen asleep, exhausted from the crying, he would carry her back into her room. Chapter 449 - Song Yuanxi, Who Exactly Are You? (9)

Chapter 449: Song Yuanxi, Who Exactly Are You? (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She remembered too that whenever she was bullied at school and came home with red eyes, Brother Liangchuan would ask her what the matter was. She would never say anything. But the next day, he would always appear at her school to ensure that justice was served. But now... She looked at her leg. It was broken and Brother Liangchuan wouldn¡¯te? Song Yuanxi clenched her fists tightly. She thought about the call she had made to Qiao Lian, her confidence in cing a bet. It felt like a cruel p to her own face. A look of sullenness came over her face at once. ¨C Qiao Lian had been staring nkly into space all morning at the news agency, feeling unsettled. Now that Song Yuanxi was injured, was Shen Liangchuan with her at the hospital? She stared nkly into space again. Suddenly, she felt unable to tolerate the situation any further. After all, ignoring it wouldn¡¯t solve the problem. She got up, took a leave from work for the day and hailed a cab back to the vi. As she entered the house, she saw Xia Yehua busily getting the helpers to put everything together. Auntie Li brought a pot of soup out from the kitchen. Xia Yehua sighed and said, ¡°More calcium will help healing her bone. Ah, this child, Yuanxi, doesn¡¯t know how to take care of herself. How did she break her bone?¡± Auntie Li shook her head and said, ¡°Ms. Yuanxi takes everything too seriously! We have no time, this soup has been boiling for only two hours. We¡¯ll leave the rest simmering and we can bring more over tonight. Madam, why don¡¯t you take this with you first?¡± Xia Yehua nodded and lifted the container as she got ready to leave. Then, she noticed Qiao Lian and paused for a moment. ¡°Xiao Qiao, you¡¯re back? You¡¯ve worked all night so go upstairs quickly and rest! Yuanxi was injured during filming, so I¡¯m just going to the hospital to see her.¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes shed as she heard this. Going to the hospital to see her? The thought of Song Yuanxi¡¯s identity was like a bone stuck in Qiao Lian¡¯s throat. Seeing how anxious Xia Yehua was, she immediately offered, ¡°Mom, let me apany you.¡± Xia Yehua nodded. They got into the car and were soon on their way. Looking at the time anxiously, Xia Yehua grumbled, ¡°This Yuanxi, from a young age she has been afraid of pain. I can imagine she must be crying like crazy!¡± Suddenly, Qiao Lian felt gloomy seeing how Xia Yehua was fussing over this whole matter. She wondered how Xia Yehua, who had doted on Song Yuanxi so much, would feel if she saw Song Yuanxi¡¯s true colours? She took in a deep breath as Xia Yehua continued, ¡°Where on earth has Liangchuan gone? Yuanxi has gotten into such a serious ident and he¡¯s not around. What could he be so busy with that he doesn¡¯t even have time to see a sick family member?¡± Qiao Lian was stunned when she heard this. ¡°Mom, are you saying that Shen Liangchuan has not gone to the hospital?¡± Her spirits lifted slightly when she heard the news. Very soon, the two of them arrived at the hospital. Qiao Lian and Xia Yehua hurried to Song Yuanxi¡¯s ward. On entering the ward, they saw Song Yuanxi sitting on the bed, looking very depressed and listless. Song Cheng was sitting by the side, reading a magazine. He stood up at once when he saw theme in. ¡°Yuanxi, how are you feeling?¡± Xia Yehua walked towards the girl anxiously and grabbed her arms. ¡°You silly girl, why didn¡¯t you tell me about this? It¡¯s a serious matter! If it weren¡¯t for the fact that I watch the news once in a while, I wouldn¡¯t have found out about it. It¡¯s it painful? Don¡¯t you cry...¡± Curiously, these words seemed to have exactly that effect on Song Yuanxi. Her eyes became bloodshot immediately and she said with much anxiety, ¡°Auntie, you¡¯re not in the best condition, why did youe here?¡± Chapter 450 - Song Yuanxi, Who Exactly Are You? (10)

Chapter 450: Song Yuanxi, Who Exactly Are You? (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Song Yuanxi observed the scene quietly by the side. Song Yuanxi¡¯s concern over Xia Yehua didn¡¯t seem to be fake. And it was true that she had not called Xia Yehua to inform her of the ident. So perhaps, even the worst human beings would have an Achilles heel. It did seem that Xia Yehua and Song Yuanxi had were sincere towards each other. Xia Yehua eximed at Song Yuanxi¡¯s remark, ¡°You are in no condition to be worried about me. I¡¯m fine and in the pink of health!¡± Having said that, she turned around and said to Qiao Lian, ¡°Xiao Qiao, quickly pass me the thermos. I¡¯ll pour the soup out so that she can drink it while it¡¯s fresh and hot.¡± When Song Yuanxi heard these words, she looked to the ward entrance and realized that Qiao Lian was there. She froze on seeing Qiao Lian. The docile expression on her face instantly disappeared. She was now like a porcupine that had erected all its quills in self defence. Sensing her reaction, Qiao Lian did not say a word, but walked up to hand the thermos over to Xia Yehua. Xia Yehua poured the soup into a bowl and ced the bowl before Song Yuanxi. ¡°Yuanxi, drink while it¡¯s hot.¡± After that brief loss of control, Song Yuanxi was now fighting to suppress her emotions. She stared at the soup and nodded. With her head lowered still, tears started to flow. She bit her lip and suddenly started sobbing audibly. Xia Yehua was stunned when this happened. She put her arms around Song Yuanxi¡¯s shoulders and asked, ¡°Yuanxi, why are you crying? Don¡¯t cry...¡± While wrapped in Xia Yehua¡¯s soft embrace, Song Yuanxi threw Qiao Lian a nce. The provocation in that nce was obvious. She was out to get Qiao Lian. Indeed, the next moment Song Yuanxi spoke, ¡°Auntie... Sister-inw... I was wrong...¡± Still sobbing, she continued, ¡°It was wrong of me to suspect Sister-inw. We are family, and I shouldn¡¯t treat her that way.¡± ¡°To think that sister-inw would still bring me food to my filming location! And even now, she¡¯s here to see me at the hospital.¡± ¡°Auntie, I really am sorry for what I did.¡± At this point, shepletely broke down in tears. Still, she turned to Qiao Lian and asked, ¡°Sister-inw, will you forgive me?¡± Qiao Lian was speechless. This Song Yuanxi, she yed her dirty little tricks every chance she got! She obviously knew Qiao Lian wouldn¡¯t make things ugly in front of Xia Yehua. And by putting on such an act in Xia Yehua¡¯s presence, wasn¡¯t she clearly forcing Qiao Lian to say she would forgive her? And if that happened, then Shen Liangchuan wouldn¡¯t have any reasons to not allow her toe home. Xia Yehua nced at Qiao Lian imploringly. She did not say a word, but it was obvious from her expression that her heart was aching for Song Yuanxi. Qiao Lian sighed, knowing she had no choice. She told Song Yuanxi, ¡°I forgave you long ago.¡± They were just words, not as if it would cost her an arm or a leg. As soon as Qiao Lian said this, Song Yuanxi immediately teared up again and said, ¡°Sister-inw, I¡¯ve always known that you¡¯re a kind person.¡± Then she looked at Xia Yehua and continued, ¡°Auntie, my injury is going to dy the filming crew¡¯s schedule. I¡ª¡± Xia Yehua did not wait for her to finish before interrupting her anxiously, ¡°What progress are you worrying about?! Filming is just something we¡¯re letting you do for fun, our family does notck money. You will pack up ande home with me today! For the next days, you will stay at home obediently to recuperate! You are not to go out until you¡¯ve recovered.¡± Qiao Lian frowned upon hearing this. So this was Song Yuanxi¡¯s ploy. This was all so that she coulde home and continue her dirty little deeds! At this point, she turned to Xia Yehua and cast her gaze down. Fortunately, she had apanied Xia Yehua to the hospital. Otherwise Song Yuanxi would have seeded in her evil n. Chapter 451 - Zi Chuan? Zi Chuan!! (1)

Chapter 451: Zi Chuan? Zi Chuan!! (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Instead of immediately agreeing to Xia Yehua¡¯s suggestion, Song Yuanxi looked at Qiao Lian with a pitiful expression. That look! Obviously, she was ying the sympathy card with Xia Yehua and putting Qiao Lian on the spot, so that she would be the one to invite her back to the house. It was too much. Qiao Lian looked down and calmly said, ¡°Mom, you¡¯re right. It¡¯s not as though our family needs that money.¡± Song Yuanxi¡¯s heart leaped for joy when she heard this. Her eyes glinted. Wasn¡¯t it because of you, Qiao Lian, that I was asked to leave the house? And now I will ensure you¡¯re the one who invites me toe home. Without having to think too long, Qiao Lian continued, ¡°But it would mean that Yuanxi got injured for nothing.¡± ¡°What?¡± Xia Yehua was taken aback by Qiao Lian¡¯s words. Qiao Lian smiled as she looked at Song Yuanxi. ¡°Actors all have stunts, but Yuanxi insisted on not using hers, which resulted in this situation. Mom, you have no idea but right now it¡¯s all over the news... They are praising Yuanxi for her work ethics. If we milk this opportunity and let Yuanxi continue filming, for sure her poprity will shoot through the roof!¡± Xia Yehua frowned at this suggestion and retorted, ¡°But her injury¡ª¡± Qiao Lian eximed before Xia Yehua could finish, ¡°But of course, my wish is for her toe home and recuperate, forget the opportunity. However Yuanxi is very career-minded, I¡¯m not sure if we can talk her around. After all, one could still film sitting in a wheelchair and for some scenes it wouldn¡¯t make a difference. The other scenes can be done by a stunt.¡± Song Yuanxi was so furious when she heard these words that she almost threw up blood. She had always known that Qiao Lian had the gift of speaking. However to be a victim of it, she now realized, was to experience an entirely different level of brutality. She had said it all! There was truth in it. If she went home to recuperate, it would suggest that she wasn¡¯t career-minded. After all, one could film sitting on a wheelchair. Qiao Lian continued with her gaze steadily fixed on Song Yuanxi, ¡°Mom, I think we should let Yuanxi decide this one.¡± Song Yuanxi gritted her teeth with fury but had to maintain a docile front still. ¡°Auntie, Sister-inw is right, it¡¯s better that I continued filming.¡± Xia Yehua looked as though she was going to speak, but Qiao Lian held onto her mother-inw¡¯s arm. Xia Yehua sighed and finally said, ¡°Fine, I understand.¡± ¨C On the way home after they had left the hospital, Xia Yehua was stillmenting, ¡°This Yuanxi, she must have been influenced by Liangchuan. Why would a girl want to be so career-minded? Sigh!¡± Qiao Lian kept quiet throughout the journey. Although she had sessfully stalled Song Yuanxi for now, the filming woulde to an end one day. What would happen then? Would it mean that this entanglement with Song Yuanxi would never end? Although she had earned a sense of satisfaction from the verbal crossfiring then, Qiao Lian was now feeling exhausted. She had thought that Shen Liangchuan was busy with work, but to her surprise when she got home, he was sitting back on the sofa reading the newspaper. Qiao Lian halted and stood at the door. Xia Yehua had already changed into her house slippers and was puzzled when she saw Shen Liangchuan. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you were busy? If you have time, why didn¡¯t you go to the hospital to see Yuanxi?¡± Then shemented, ¡°You should have seen how pitifully she was crying. And she was tugging at my hand asking where her Brother Liangchuan was.¡± ¡°Liangchuan, you¡¯re her brother, you should go and see her.¡± Shen Liangchuan froze for a moment at the word ¡®brother¡¯, then he put down the newspaper and calmly looked up. His expression wasplex as he turned towards the door and looked at Qiao Lian. Chapter 452 - Zi Chuan? Zi Chuan!! (2)

Chapter 452: Zi Chuan? Zi Chuan!! (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Their eyes met across the living room. Qiao Lian paused briefly before she looked away awkwardly. She didn¡¯t know what to do, or what to say. All at once, the atmosphere felt odd. At this moment, Auntie Li appeared from the kitchen. ¡°Senior Madam, Madam, you¡¯re back. Dinner¡¯s ready. Please quickly wash up ande to dine.¡± Her breaking of the awkward silence lightened up the air. Qiao Lian and Xia Yehua went back to the dining table after washing up. The three of them ate in silence. As Xia Yehua was too preupied with worrying about Song Yuanxi, she did not notice anything wrong between Shen Liangchuan and Qiao Lian. After dinner, she headed upstairs with the intention of packing some clothes for Yuanxi. ¡°I¡¯m going to the hospital to watch over Yuanxi. I think she would cry if left alone.¡± Without waiting to hear any objections from Shen Liangchuan and Qiao Lian, she hurriedly walked out of the room. Auntie Li and the other housekeepers had all gone to the kitchen to clean up. There were only Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan in the living room now. Qiao Lian tried to look busy, surfing on Weibo on her cell phone. Shen Liangchuan, on the other hand, continued to stare at his newspaper. However, Qiao Lian noticed that for a long time he did not turn the pages of the newspaper. What was on his mind? Was he worried about Song Yuanxi¡¯s condition or was it something else? She clenched her fists and looked away. After some time, she could no longer hold back. She asked, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, who exactly is Song Yuanxi?¡± Shen Liangchuan froze. He had not expected this question from her. He looked up and saw that Qiao Lian was looking at him intently. That look was both obstinate and probing. But it also seemed as though she wanted to verify something. He pursed his lips and slowly hung his head. Qiao Lian was persistent and wasn¡¯t going to let it go, even though she tried to sound rxed. ¡°Why can¡¯t you tell me? Does it mean that her background is something I cannot know of?¡± Shen Liangchuan sensed the underlying anger in her words. He paused and finally he said, ¡°Sister of an old friend.¡± Sister of an old friend. Qiao Lian repeated those words mockingly in her mind. Against all odds, she had been hoping that Song Yuanxi¡¯s words were all lies. But now Shen Liangchuan had verified them himself. Qiao Lian straightened her back and looked at Shen Liangchuan. She stubbornly continued, ¡°And this old friend must be very important to you?¡± She had to admit it. She was jealous. Song Yuanxi¡¯s evil scheme had seeded. She could look past the fact that Shen Liangchuan had loved another girl before her, but she wanted to know right now, between her and his first love, who was the priority in his heart? And she also knew that she was being unreasonable. Perhaps being jealous of someone who was no longer around was the biggest joke in the world. But she stared at him, relentlessly seeking that answer. Then he said with absolute certainty, ¡°Yes, very important.¡± While his words seemed to float very clearly and lightly into her ears, they were like daggers viciously ripping through her heart. In that moment, she felt as though all the energy had been drained out of her. She slumped back on the sofa, looking at him steadily. She got up and said, ¡°I¡¯m tired.¡± After those words, she made her way upstairs silently. Shen Liangchuan looked at her back view, feeling the weight of his burden even more now. Had Qiao Lian discovered something, to be asking about Song Yuanxi so suddenly? He dropped his gaze at this thought. He slowly rxed his tightly sped hands. Then he stood up and slowly walked up the stairs, making his way to the master bedroom. Chapter 453 - Zi Chuan? Zi Chuan!! (3)

Chapter 453: Zi Chuan? Zi Chuan!! (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan stood outside the room door. He looked at the door silently and extended his hand. Just a light push and the thin door separating him and Qiao Lian would be out of the way. But... what then, after the door had been opened? How was he going to exin the matter rting Song Yuanxi? His hand froze for a moment. Finally, he let it drop down. In the master bedroom. Qiao Lian was lying on the bed on her side, propping her head on her hand while the other rested on the side. She stared nkly into space. Her vision merely extended to the golden light from the sunset that fell on her bedside table. He still wouldn¡¯t exin... Why? Was it because he felt guilty? Because he still could not let go of that ¡°old friend¡±? As she bit her lip, she heard footsteps just outside the room door. She sat up, looking at the door. The door that separated them. But no one could know what would greet them after the door was opened. Would it be happiness and joy? Or would it be permanent separation... She clenched her fists nervously, thinking of a million and one possibilities. But after a long while, she heard his footsteps again, this time fading away. She felt her heart emptying, like a mirror in this empty house. She sat on the bed staring nkly, feeling as though her chest was stuffed with wads of cotton wool so that she couldn¡¯t breathe. She heard Song Yuanxi¡¯s voice echoing in her head, ¡°Brother Liangchuan¡¯s heart has only room for my sister!¡± These words were like an evil chant that seemed to have rooted itself firmly in her mind. Even though conscious that she should not think too much of it... she had only been with Shen Liangchuan for a bit more than two months. Could Shen Liangchuan really let go of his first love and love her? She clenched her fists tightly. Scenes of their lives together after they had gotten married shed in her mind like a slideshow. It was no wonder that at the beginning of their marriage, he had always been so stern with her. Perhaps at that time he had hated himself? He hadn¡¯t wanted to touch her because his first love was still very much on his mind? The more she thought about it, the heavier her heart felt. It was as though the air had been sucked outpletely from the bedroom. She suddenly threw aside her nket, got up and walked to the bedroom door. She pushed the door open. The living room was empty. Then as if remembering something, she suddenly looked up. Indeed, the lights in the room of the third floor had been switched on. Her eyes darkened. Song Yuanxi had said that the room on the third floor held all the memories of Shen Liangchuan and his first love. Auntie Li had also mentioned before that, apart from Shen Liangchuan, no one had even been inside that room. So then, it seemed Shen Liangchuan himself did the cleaning and dusting for that room. Having been married to Shen Liangchuan for this long, Qiao Lian knew him at least that much. He was obsessivepulsive and did not like touching dusty and dirty things. She wondered how much dust covered that room. Standing there with her fists clenched, she felt like she was choking. Not quite sure who exactly she was trying to get even with, but she stood there stubbornly, waiting to see how long he was going to stay in that room. All her life, the only sort of love she had known was the whole-hearted one. She had never thought that a man could love two women at the same time. She bit her lip, suddenly feeling like a fool¡ªaplete fool. Her gaze was stubbornly fixed on the third floor, as though wanting to make her eyes see through the walls, see what exactly was in that room, see his true love... Chapter 454 - Zi Chuan? Zi Chuan!! (4)

Chapter 454: Zi Chuan? Zi Chuan!! (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Third floor. Shen Liangchuan stood quietly in the middle of the room. Despite all the mystery surrounding this room, all it contained was two shelves. There were very few items on the shelves. The light fell on these few aged items, giving the bare room a cold and cheerless appearance. He extended his arm and very carefully picked up a little copper model. It was a model of Xiao Qiao. Years ago, the gaming group had organized apetition for couples. Xiao Qiao had registered them for thepetition and both of them were champions and won a prize. At that time, the gaming group had contacted them as they wanted to send out the prize. In thepetition, Xiao Qiao had used the champion Xiao Qiao and he had used the champion Zhou Yu. Hence, the prize had been a pair of small copper cast figurines of Xiao Qiao and Zhou Yu, made from exclusively cut moulds. Initially, the Zhou Yu figurine was to be sent to him and the Xiao Qiao figurine was to be sent to Qiao Lian. However, Qiao Lian suggested exchanging the figurines, because... ¡°We¡¯ve never met in real life, so until then, we¡¯ll make do with each other¡¯s figurine! That Xiao Qiao figurine is me! Also, I¡¯ve asked them to engrave something on the bottom of the figurines. Yours is engraved with the word ¡®Qiao¡¯ and mine is engraved with the word ¡®Chuan.¡¯ So our little figurines are unique... ¡± Shen Liangchuan smiled at this memory as he turned the figurine over to look at the word clearly engraved on it. He gently put the figurine back on the shelf. This aged figurine with peeling paint was a priceless treasure to him, and he was careful handling of it. He stood silently and looked at all these things in the room. Every object represented the beautiful past that they had shared together and standing amidst these memories took him back to that time in their youth. It was a time when they didn¡¯t have a single care in the world. These were memories that he could not pull himself out of. Before he knew it, the fluffy white clouds gradually acquired a light golden hue from the rising sun. By the time his thoughts snapped back to the present, it was six in the morning. ¨C Qiao Lian¡¯s legs were numb from standing at the corridor of the second floor. Wearing a set of thin pajamas, her body was now freezing cold even with the heater on. But she felt nothing. All night, he had shut himself in that room. He had not once step out of that room. She bit her lip as she continued to fix her gaze on that room upstairs. Finally, a sound was hearding from the room. As though having received some sort of surprise, she suddenly dashed into the master bedroom and dived into bed, pretending to be asleep. Soon afterwards, she heard him entering the room and changing. Now his footsteps approached and stopped by the bed, right next to her. Even with her eyes shut, she could feel his gaze burning into her. Following a period of silence, he finally walked away. After she heard the bedroom door open and shut, Qiao Lian opened her eyes. Every muscle on her face was taut as she opened the bedroom door and walked out, one careful step at a time. She heard the car engine start. Her gaze was once again fixed on that room on the third floor. The room now beckoned to her with its secrets and held her spell-bound, as all her thoughts and attention focused on it. Like a ma, it drew her one step at a time up the stairs, until she stood on the third floor. His first love would die to save him. His love and devotion towards her for thest eight years of his life. All these thoughts piqued her desire to know and understand this girl who was his first love. The room on the third floor was secured with a password coded padlock. She stood at the door and stared at the padlock. She recalled asking Shen Liangchuan¡¯s most important date. Slowly, she entered the code: 0517. The lock was opened with a soft click. The door was now unlocked. Without hesitating, she pushed the door open. Chapter 455 - Zi Chuan? Zi Chuan!! (5)

Chapter 455: Zi Chuan? Zi Chuan!! (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian stood at the threshold looking into the room. The curtains were drawn shut and it was dark, so she couldn¡¯t make out what was inside. She collected herself and took a deep breath, preparing to enter. But at this point, Auntie Li¡¯s voice came from downstairs, ¡°Madam? Where are you, Madam?¡± Qiao Lian, who was about to step over the threshold of the room, now quickly retracted her foot and turned around. The approaching footsteps along the corridor caused her to panic and shut the room door in a hurry. As she turned around, she saw Auntie Li had juste upstairs. Aunty appeared startled to see Qiao Lian standing in front of the room. ¡°Madam, you¡¯re...?¡± Biting her lip, Qiao Lian paused and walked away from the door. ¡°I was curious about what¡¯s inside.¡± Auntie Li¡¯s gaze shifted to the password coded padlock. Only Sir knows the pass code, so Madam probably hasn¡¯t seen it. She¡¯se to take a look because she¡¯s curious. Auntie Li didn¡¯t think there was anything strange about Qiao Lian¡¯s behaviour, and in fact found it quite understandable. Any other wife would also feel the same if her husband kept such a secret room. But still, it wouldn¡¯t be right to defy Sir¡¯s instructions. Auntie Li merely nodded and did not make things difficult for Qiao Lian. Qiao Lian followed Auntie Li as they made their way down for breakfast. A few times throughout breakfast, Auntie Li had a look like she wanted to say something although eventually she did not. Qiao Lian knew what Auntie Li wanted to say, but it would have embarrassed her to do so. Hence before Auntie Li could speak, Qiao Lian stood up. ¡°Auntie Li, I¡¯m done with breakfast. I will be on my way out now.¡± She went upstairs to change, ncing up at the third floor again on her way back down. She paused to contemte for a moment and then decided to continue her way down. When she turned around, she saw that Auntie Li was standing in the living room, looking up at her. Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes shed. Lowering her head, she headed to the main door. As she passed by Auntie Li, Auntie Li finally spoke, ¡°Madam, I won¡¯t tell Sir about this.¡± Qiao Lian halted and looked at her. Sighing, Auntie Li continued, ¡°But I have to tell you, this is Sir¡¯s limit. We had a housekeeper who once got curious and went in. After Sir found out, he lost his temper and fired her.¡± Qiao Lian clenched her fists and nodded. Then she continued towards the main door. It was only until she had walked away from the house and could no longer sense Auntie Li¡¯s presence that she let out a deep sigh of relief. She looked down at her watch, it was already eight in the morning. She hailed a cab from the sidewalk and asked to be taken to the eSportspetition location. CQ Team would be fighting in the second round of the preselection match today. The preselection matches worked with a point umtion system, and she was confident the team would make it into the mainpetition. However as their coach, she had to be there. No matter what happened at home, it was only right that she adopted a serious attitude towards thepetition. Su Penghao and all the other team members were already at thepetition venue, warming up their fingers for the match. When he saw Qiao Lian, Su Penghao froze and then turned away. The team hadn¡¯t been given an exnation yet for what had happened and, as long as there was no exnation to the matter, he wasn¡¯t going to change his attitude towards her. Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t care less. Because this was a preselection match, there were a number of y-offs going on. For CQ Team overall, they had won more matches than lost. Hence, their position was stable. It was five in the evening when the event finally ended. Qiao Lian was intending to send the team back to the vi, when she suddenly realized that Su Penghao had disappeared. Ancestor White Bones said, ¡°I saw Purple Fairy talking to him after thepetition.¡± Chapter 456 - Zi Chuan? Zi Chuan!! (6)

Chapter 456: Zi Chuan? Zi Chuan!! (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian frowned upon hearing this. She nodded and said to The Godfather and rest of the team, ¡°I¡¯ll go take a look.¡± Although the information leak hadn¡¯t been her fault, Purple Fairy had bought the information. Even if she had not given Su Penghao an exnation for the matter, surely Su Penghao would have the intelligence to realize that Purple Fairy and her team had thought of nothing but cheating in thepetition. And now Purple Fairy hade looking for him. What was there for the two to talk about exactly? ¨C In a deserted corner of thepetition venue, Purple Fairy tugged at Su Penghao¡¯s sleeve. ¡°Zombie Leader, will you listen to what I have to say?¡± Su Penghao¡¯s expression was icy. He looked at her with an expression of disappointment. ¡°I don¡¯t think we have much to talk about.¡± Purple Fairy paused for a moment. She hung her head and sighed. ¡°I know there¡¯s not much I can say. Even if I told you that I did not know anything about this matter, you wouldn¡¯t believe me.¡± Su Penghao frowned and didn¡¯t say a word. Purple Fairy continued, ¡°As a team leader, you should know that the coach does not call the shots¡ªthere is an investor.¡± Su Penghao raised an eyebrow and looked at her questioningly. Purple Fairy bit her lip and looked at him. ¡°I only knew about this during thepetition. Our boss said that I don¡¯t have a flexible or adaptable personality, so he had not told me about it before.¡± Then she added angrily, ¡°After the incident, I berated the team, including my team leader. Competitions are supposed to be fair. How could they use such underhanded means?¡± ¡°Zombie Leader, we¡¯ve known each other for some time. You should know how I am.¡± Su Penghao wavered at her reasoning. He pursed his lips and said after a while, ¡°Fine, I will believe you in this case.¡± Purple Fairy looked happy and relieved. Then Su Penghao added, ¡°Because you are Xiao Qiao.¡± Purple Fairy froze and her expression became a little awkward. ¡°You know me?¡± Su Penghao nced at her and turned away without saying anything. Of course he knew her. He had only been a young fellow back then, when he started gaming. Xiao Qiao was the first person he had gotten to know. At that time, he was a beginner still unfamiliar with the game controls and struggled to keep up and coordinate with the other yers. Xiao Qiao, as one of the yers, berated him. Infuriated, he went offline and even replied, ¡°I¡¯m not ying anymore!¡± Xiao Qiao then calmed down and stopped the scolding. In the end, they won the game, but it had mostly been Xiao Qiao who had held the fort and put on a sterling performance. Although he had gone offline for that game, he could not deny Xiao Qiao¡¯s impressive gaming skills. After the game, he thought that it was all water under the bridge but unexpectedly, he received a system notification that someone had added him on their friends list. When he went into his list, he realized it was Xiao Qian. A message apanied the friend request: [The weakling who left the game halfway through!] The message provoked him and with anger, he epted the friend request just to argue with her in the game. He still remembered Xiao Qiao¡¯s words. ¡°Don¡¯t take gaming just as an entertainment. I¡¯m serious about every game I y. Even if I lose, I¡¯ll y until the end, because each game is a challenge.¡± Just like that, he became friends with Xiao Qiao. And even though they did notmunicate often, his faith in her was firm and unwavering. Chapter 457 - Zi Chuan? Zi Chuan!! (7)

Chapter 457: Zi Chuan? Zi Chuan!! (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He had always observed Xiao Qiao in silence. In the games, she showed an inevitably chivalrous character. She would always fight for justice, and had a straightforward and candid personality. She bore no grudges and would never stab people in the back. She would even generously share her gaming techniques and knowledge with those who asked. He didn¡¯t know her too well. After all, they had only met online. But at that time, Xiao Qiao had been like a big sister, guiding him as he entered the amazing world of gaming. Hence, Su Penghao was exceptionally tolerant towards Purple Fairy. After speaking, he looked at Purple Fairy again and said calmly, ¡°Can you tell me then who among us leaked the information?¡± Purple Fairy¡¯s expression was vague. Her boss had said that, no matter what the price was, they had toe in champions. But she had seen her boss with Qiao Lian a few times. If her boss found out that Qiao Lian was working for CQ Team and was responsible for logistics, then would he favour CQ Team? She hung her head and replied, ¡°Actually our boss Mr. Sun knows one of the staff members of CQ.¡± ¡°Who?¡± Su Penghao asked anxiously. Purple Fairy smiled and replied, ¡°I only know her surname is Qiao, but who exactly, I don¡¯t have a clue.¡± Su Penghao was stunned when he heard this. ¡°Surname Qiao?¡± Purple Fairy nodded. ¡°That¡¯s all I know.¡± Switching the topic, she said, ¡°Zombie Leader, your manoeuvring during the match today was really smooth...¡± When Qiao Lian finally located them, she saw that Purple Fairy and Su Penghao were talking happily. Qiao Lian immediately twitched her lips. This Su Penghao, he never learns! She caught up to them and interrupted, ¡°Hey, Zombie Leader, are youing now? Everyone¡¯s waiting for you!¡± Purple Fairy nced at her and immediately looked away. Su Penghao frowned impatiently and said, ¡°I¡¯ming now!¡± His gaze fell on Qiao Lian and lingered for a while, remembering Purple Fairy¡¯s remarks. A look of suspicion spread across his face. But Ancestor White Bones¡¯ words also echoed in his mind. For sure, Qiao Lian was not too bad at gaming. But if she had been the one who leaked the information, Shen Liangchuan would not be so protective of her. He was sure that there must have been some misunderstanding somewhere. At this thought, he pushed all suspicions to the back of his mind and followed Qiao Lian. Qiao Lian turned to shoot a nce at Purple Fairy. As she did so, she saw Purple Fairy staring back at the two of them with a scheming expression on her face. She narrowed her eyes. As she turned around the corner, still looking at Purple Fairy, she walked right into someone. The impact caused her to take a few steps back to steady herself. She turned to look at the person she had ran into. He was in his early thirties and wore a suit that made him look rather mature. The man smiled at her and said, ¡°Are you okay?¡± As Qiao Lian looked at the man¡¯s face and registered his features, she frowned slightly. Why did he look so familiar? As she tried to think where she had seen him before, he looked like he was in a hurry. He peered into the distance and nodded at Qiao Lian. ¡°If you¡¯re okay, I have to run now.¡± Then he walked past her and hurried towards Purple Fairy. But when he walked past, Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up with a sh of realization. She remembered who he was! Years ago, when she gamed with Zi Chuan, they had joined apetitive team and this man had been the leader of that team. Chapter 458 - Zi Chuan? Zi Chuan!! (8)

Chapter 458: Zi Chuan? Zi Chuan!! (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian halted and turned around. During those gaming years, thepetitive team¡¯s members used to tease each other. And theirpetitive team had been like one big family, until Zi Chuan betrayed her and she left the team. After this, she had not kept in touch with any of the team members. Because this person had been their team leader, he was pestered by the team members to send many pictures of himself. That was how she had recognized his face. But why was their team leader here? Qiao Lian looked up and heard her team leader shouting as he ran towards Purple Fairy, ¡°Purple Fairy! Wait up!¡± Almost out of reflex, Qiao Lian started to walk in their direction. However, Su Penghao tugged at her arm at once and said, ¡°Hey, what are you doing? Are we going or not!¡± Qiao Lian turned around and said to him, ¡°The car is waiting for all of you outside. Take the team back to the vi, I have to stay behind to attend to something.¡± Then, not bothering anymore with Su Penghao, she took a few steps ahead in Purple Fairy and that man¡¯s direction. At this point, she caught the conversation between the two. Purple Fairy had halted and turned around when she heard him call her. Her sharp instincts as a caster told her that this stranger standing before her was no ordinary man. Hence, she asked politely, ¡°Yes, may I help you?¡± The team leader gave a silly grin and asked, ¡°Don¡¯t you remember me?¡± Purple Fairy paused and immediately replied, ¡°Have we met?¡± Still grinning, he said, ¡°Xiao Qiao, I used to be your team leader!¡± As soon as Purple Fairy heard the name ¡°Xiao Qiao,¡± she froze. Then she forced a smile. Putting on a surprised expression, she eximed, ¡°Oh! Team leader!¡± The team leaderughed. ¡°That¡¯s right, I used to send out pictures of myself to the team. Don¡¯t you recognize me? Or have I aged that much in thest eight years?¡± Always knowing how to talk her way out, Purple Fairy said, ¡°Of course not, it¡¯s my memory that¡¯s aging fast!¡± The team leader nodded and continued, ¡°Xiao Qiao, where have you been all these years? Our team is still around, but all of us have aged! We seldom y now, but ourradeship remains. The team members still meet for yearly gatherings and they inevitably talk about you and Zi Chuan. It¡¯s a pity you never turn up! After everyone realized that you had be an eSports caster, they all became your fans. I suppose you¡¯ve fulfilled your childhood dream now that you¡¯re King Fighting Team¡¯s coach! Our team will be organizing a group gathering again this year, would you like toe?¡± Purple Fairy¡¯s eyes shed. What was the point of going? Was there a possibility that she could get busted for being an imposter if she went? Sheughed immediately and suddenly looked into the distance. ¡°Team leader, I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m in the middle of something urgent. Let¡¯s talk another day.¡± The team leader paused and before he could snap back into the present, Purple Fairy had already disappeared. He was about to chase her when a hand grabbed his arm and held him back. He turned around. It was the youngdy who had almost knocked him over. She was looking at him intently. Qiao Lian held on tightly to his sleeve, her expression was both intense and confused. There was a painful anxiety that seemed to be squeezing her chest and an unbearable yearning in her heart. The team leader had just said that they organized a gathering every year... Would Zi Chuan be there then? Thinking of this made her so nervous she could hardly find her own voice. She finally managed to get the words past her throat and with a trembling voice, she asked, ¡°Do you know where Zi Chuan is now?¡± The team leader was stunned for a moment and answered, ¡°Of course I do!¡± Chapter 459 - Zi Chuan? Zi Chuan!! (9)

Chapter 459: Zi Chuan? Zi Chuan!! (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The team leader¡¯s simple remark ¡°of course I do¡± was like a tidal wave that lifted Qiao Lian¡¯s heart. She stared at the team leader in disbelief. Eight years... For thest eight years, she had convinced herself that she had almost forgotten Zi Chuan. She had not even thought of Zi Chuan for a very long time. But just then, when she heard Zi Chuan¡¯s name out of the blue, she couldn¡¯t help but feel a painful squeeze in her heart. Walking over to ask about him was nothing more than a basic reflex. But never would she have been able to imagine that she would hear news about Zi Chuan under such abrupt circumstances. She was so nervous now that she could hardly breathe. She gulped and then stared at the team leader, who was looking back at her with a puzzled wide-eyed look. Qiao Lian moved her lips, but only found her voice after a while, ¡°Where is he?¡± She curled her fingers into a tightly drawn fist, trying with all her strength to contain her fury. His frivolous teasing eight years ago had destroyed too many dreams of hers for the past eight years! And if ever came a day that Zi Chuan would appear before her, she would surely throw him a hard and fast punch to avenge the Xiao Qiao from eight years ago. Her whole body was tensed up and she was trembling uncontrobly. The team leader, on the other hand, thought that this must be yet another of Zi Chuan¡¯s fangirls. After all, back then Zi Chuan had been the god of the gaming world and everyone knew who he was. He had been idolized by a countless number of girls. He sighed and started to smile. ¡°This... It¡¯s easy. I¡¯ll take you to see him.¡± The moment he said this, Qiao Lian nodded and said, ¡°Yes.¡± ¨C As she sat in the team leader¡¯s BMW, Qiao Lian¡¯s mind was in a state of confusion. She had no idea how the situation hade to this. Everything was too sudden, and now she felt like she was caught in a whirlwind. They were on the way to look for Zi Chuan. Two years of an online rtionship that turned into eight years of waiting. Was she finally going to see Zi Chuan in person? Was Zi Chuan married now? And what was he working as? She also wanted to ask him why he had note to look for her in the past eight years. That missed appointment years ago had by now be the one sore point in her life, an episode that she could never get past. She took in a deep breath, suddenly feeling choked. She slightly wound down the window. The icy wind streamed in, clearing her head that moment. And as though she had suddenly realized what she was doing, she jumped, startled. How could she go look for Zi Chuan? How could she be doing this? Panicking, she turned her head to look out of the window. She realized they were now in the city center, heading towards the suburbs. Her pupils shrank as she looked at the team leader. ¡°Where are we going?¡± The team leader sighed when heard this. ¡°Aren¡¯t we going to see Zi Chuan? Regrets from all these years havee back to me after seeing Xiao Qiao today. I should go see him.¡± His eyes glistened as he spoke, and his words carried a lot of sentiments. He didn¡¯t seem like a bad person. Qiao Lian bit her lip. She asked, ¡°Zi Chuan lives in the Beijing suburbs?¡± ¡°Uh huh.¡± She had always known that he lived in Beijing. But she didn¡¯t think that he was still here, after eight years. She was silent for a while, before suddenly asking, ¡°Is he married?¡± The team leader threw a sidelong nce at her and said, ¡°No.¡± Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t quite figure out her own emotions. They wereplex, like a spilled bottle of seasoning. Then she said abruptly, ¡°I don¡¯t think I should see him.¡± But the car had pulled to a stop. The team leader looked at her and announced, ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± Qiao Lian turned to look out of the window. When she realized what she was looking at, her pupils immediately shrank! Chapter 460 - Zi Chuan? Zi Chuan!! (10)

Chapter 460: Zi Chuan? Zi Chuan!! (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian widened her eyes in shock and stared in disbelief at the scene before her. It was a vast plot of uncultivatednd and in the distance, she saw rows of tombstones. This... was a cemetery. She wanted to see Zi Chuan, but the captain had brought her to the cemetery. A horrible feeling suddenly came to her and rapidly, it spread to every cell of her body. She turned back to look at the captain, there was unmistakable fear written all over her face. The captain then nodded. ¡°Your eyes are not ying tricks. Zi Chuan is dead.¡± ¨C Qiao Lian stood before the white tombstone, staring wordlessly at it. There was a picture on the tombstone. But time had left its mark on the picture, it had lost its definition. In fact, it was blurry. Still, it could be made out that the person had had attractive features. Although he was not as exquisite looking as Shen Liangchuan, he was nevertheless a handsome man. On the tombstone it was written: Zhou Song¡¯s Grave. For the first time, she found out that Zi Chuan¡¯s surname was Zhou. Qiao Lian kept quiet and continued to read what was carved into the stone. The date of his death had been... July 21st, eight years ago? Qiao Lian froze. If she was not mistaken, that year, she and Zi Chuan had nned to meet on July 20th. On the morning of 21st July, he had called her and left a voice message: ¡°Xiao Qiao, farewell, we shall not be meeting again.¡± She clenched her fists and turned to look at the captain. ¡°How- how did he die?¡± The captain sighed and said, ¡°I¡¯m not sure of the details, but I only know that it was a car ident. They tried to save him but it was in vain. He died on July 21st.¡± On hearing this, her legs gave way and she fell on the ground. An ident... They had tried to save him in vain. He had died on July 21st. But before he died, he had called her to say goodbye. At that time, she had not understood what was wrong with him. Now she finally understood. He must have gotten into an ident on the way to see her. And he hadn¡¯t wanted her to be sad or to feel guilty, hence, he had left such a strange message. Zi Chuan... Zi Chuan!! Her eyes turned red and she felt something draining all the energy out of her body. The scenes of her ying games with Zi Chuan eight years ago suddenly flooded her mind. Whenever she was yed, she would yell, ¡°Zi Chuan, kill them!¡± He would always chide her for being stupid, but would inevitably avenge her. ¡°Zi Chuan, I¡¯m not sure how to solve this problem!¡± He would always remark that she was an idiot, and then patiently exin the solution to her over and over again. Indeed. That detestable Zi Chuan. He would talk to her every day in that adolescent breaking voice of his, across the distance that separated them. He was a strict person with a foul temper and wouldn¡¯t think twice before giving someone a dressing down. But with Xiao Qiao, he was patient. She sat before the tombstone and stared at the picture on it. She couldn¡¯t imagine what he had looked like in real life, staring at the blurry picture. Now she felt as though her heart had been ripped apart, bleeding and writhing in pain. All these years, she had never thought that this would be the way she would finally meet with him. There had been many scenarios, many possibilities. That he would be married, standing before her with his arm lovingly ced across her shoulders. That he would be devastated, crying and pleading for her forgiveness as he held her in a deep embrace. That he would have struck it rich and would look at her with a pompous smile, saying with a cheating tone, ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re Xiao Qiao.¡± Or she had even thought that he might be just an ordinary man, that they had walked past each other a million times. So many possibilities, yet she had never thought it would be this cold, lifeless tombstone. Chapter 461 - Zi Chuan? Zi Chuan!! (11)

Chapter 461: Zi Chuan? Zi Chuan!! (11)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Tears gathered in the corner of the eyes and rolled down her cheeks. They fell on the tombstone, a drop at a time. Her fingers clenched into a tight fist as she looked at the blurred image of this person who had once given her his heart and soul. Now tears were flowing uncontrobly and silently, as though even her voice had gone into painful mourning. How she wished he were still alive. Even if at that time he had toyed with her, she wouldn¡¯t have wished for this situation to be the reality. The captain sighed helplessly as he looked at the crying woman. He bent over and, as though he was talking to himself, told Zi Chuan, ¡°Zi Chuan, I saw Xiao Qiao today.¡± ¡°She¡¯s doing well and has be a well-known caster. She¡¯s even the coach of the King Fighting Team.¡± ¡°But she didn¡¯t seem to want to have anything to do with us.¡± ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s because she thought of you when she saw me, and it made her sad.¡± He stood up and gave the tombstone a pat. After a while, he sighed deeply and spoke to Qiao Lian, ¡°Youngdy, let¡¯s go.¡± After he said this, however, she did not move. He paused for a moment. Observing her pale face, he saw an expression of one who was at aplete loss, in her eyes there was unfathomable pain and hopelessness. He felt an unexinable ache in his heart as he looked at her With a softened tone he called her again, ¡°Youngdy?¡± Qiao Lian did not hear what he said. Even though her world was now blurry through a film of hot tears, she continued to stare at the tombstone. She could not ept this reality. Zi Chuan had died... How could he have died? The skies were darkening gradually and the cold winds were picking up. The captain looked around and then back at the youngdy, who was crying so pitifully as though she had lost her soul. Without another word, he bent over and helped her up. He led her to the car and they drove away. The car heater was on. The captain looked straight ahead as he drove and once in a while, he would steal a nce at the youngdy next to him. She was devastated and an air of deep destion seemed to surround her. He finally spoke, ¡°Where do you live? Let me take you home?¡± Qiao Lian finally snapped back to the present. She looked around and realized that they were now driving through a ce not too far from the vi district. She immediately said, ¡°Please let me get off here.¡± The captain paused and then pulled up on the side of the road. ¡°Is this okay?¡± Qiao Lian did not answer, but pushed open the car door and got out of the car. The captain looked at her back view and shook his head as he drove away. ¡°What a strange youngdy.¡± ¨C Shen Liangchuan was almost going crazy. It was turning dark and the hands on the clock were telling him it was eleven at night. But Qiao Lian had note home. He had called the team¡¯s vi and Su Penghao had said that they had parted ways after thepetition. But where had she gone after parting ways with Su Penghao? He had tried calling her cell phone, but why hadn¡¯t she picked up the call? Could she have gotten into some sort of unsafe situation? He drove around the streets nearby, wishing there were a few more of him to help with the search. ¡°Brother Shen, don¡¯t be anxious. Ms. Qiao is a grown up and won¡¯t get too lost. Besides, she¡¯s been gone for just five or six hours, even the police wouldn¡¯t bother if we were to report it!¡± Shen Liangchuan narrowed his eyes, ¡°If we can¡¯t do that, then we can only post it on Weibo and ask for help in the search.¡± Song Cheng immediately panicked and said, ¡°Brother Shen, you can¡¯t! I beg of you! If you get the citizens involved, it¡¯d be a public disaster! And it could be that something urgent came up for Ms. Qiao and she¡¯s merely dyed!¡± Chapter 462 - Zi Chuan? Zi Chuan!! (12)

Chapter 462: Zi Chuan? Zi Chuan!! (12)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios But all Shen Liangchuan could think about was yesterday. It was obvious that she had been behaving oddly. He couldn¡¯t exin why he was feeling so anxious. Without saying another word, he hung up the phone and went into Weibo. As he was about to post a message, he suddenly saw a small figure beneath themp post on the street leading to vi 18. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s hand froze and he ced his cell phone down. Quickly, he opened the driver seat door and got out of the car, taking brisk strides towards the figure. As he approached her, he realized it was indeed Qiao Lian squatting by the roadside. She had curled up in a tiny ball, hugging her knees and staring nkly ahead. Her eyes were swollen and red from crying. Shen Liangchuan felt an unexinable pain in his heart as he looked at her. Just before this, he had been feeling at a loss as to how he could continue to face her after Song Yuanxi¡¯s matter. Things had been awkward between them, but right now all these were pushed to the back of his mind. At this moment, his heart and mind were solely focused on her present state. Standing next to her, he bent his knees and lowered his tall frame slowly, calling out gently, ¡°Xiao Qiao.¡± When she heard his voice, she turned gingerly to look at him. Her eyes, that were dry from crying, now started to well up in tears again when she saw him, like a distraught child seeing her own parent. She harshly bit her lip and, unsure if it was from the cold or from the overwhelming emotions, she started trembling. Seeing this, Shen Liangchuan quickly took off his own jacket without saying a word and following that, he bent over to scoop her up in his arms. Ignoring his car behind him, he walked briskly towards their vi. Entering the vi still as he carried Qiao Lian in his arms, he headed up to the master bedroom. With a fluid motion, he opened the nket and wrapped it around her. Then he turned and walked out of the room. Slowly, her freezing body warmed up. Her mind began to clear. She looked towards the room door, and the sharp and deep pain in her heart returned. She clutched tightly onto the nket and drew her knees towards herself. An infinite expanse of loneliness engulfed her. At this point, the door creaked as it slowly swung open. She looked up and saw Shen Liangchuan entering the room with a basin. He picked up the towel and soaked it in the hot water, then he walked over to her. Without speaking, he gently patted her face with the hot towel. The steam from the hot towel seeped into her pores and somehow warmed up the iciness deep inside her. He removed the towel. Her red and swollen eyes were squinted, turned into two slits from the crying, distorting her pretty features. Qiao Lian sat there, not moving, letting him take care of her. After a short time, he brought in a ss of sweetened water and ced it in front of her. Qiao Lian drank it obediently. The hot drink made its way into her stomach and slowly, the heat from the drink warmed her limbs. Then he lifted the nket. She felt his hand encircle her ankle, holding it firmly as he removed her shoe, then, the other shoe. He tucked her icy feet into his abdomen to warm them up. He turned around, reached for her hands and held them, using his own as a source of heat. Qiao Lian watched him as he carried out each of these actions gently and meticulously. She felt her red and swollen eyes tearing up again. Suddenly, he extended his arm and drew her into his embrace. All the frustration and anxiety that had gued him as he had desperately looked for her earlier on had now disappeared. All that was left were tender words that were at the same time full of dangerous fury. ¡°Xiao Qiao, now you can tell me who upset you?¡± Chapter 463 - Zi Chuan? Zi Chuan!! (13)

Chapter 463: Zi Chuan? Zi Chuan!! (13)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In a domineering and decisive manner, Shen Liangchuan narrowed his eyes. He had already wanted to ask Qiao Lian the moment he saw her. He would make sure that the person who hurt her would have to pay a hundred or thousand times for it! Little did he expect that once he would say those words, the woman in his arms would actually stretched out both hands to hug his waist tightly. Although she didn¡¯t say a word, her demeanor suggested to Shen Liangchuan that she needed hispany the most at this moment. Shen Liangchuan pursed his lips tightly and didn¡¯t say another word. He didn¡¯t know how much time he spent hugging her like this. After some time, the woman stopped moving. He lowered his head only to realize that at some point, Qiao Lian had fallen asleep. Her eyes were shut as shey in his arms. She couldn¡¯t ease her worries and was still frowning, even though she was asleep. What had happened exactly to make her feel so sad and depressed? With this thought on his mind, Shen Liangchuan gently ced her on the bed and covered her with a nket. He then sat on the sofa quietly while fixing his gaze on her. However, Qiao Lian secretly opened her eyes. After being so depressed, at this moment she felt exhausted and only wanted to rest well as soon as possible, in order to reduce her heartache. Even though she was lying on the bed, she could hardly fall asleep. Using the nket to cover herself, she could see that Shen Liangchuan was sitting on the sofa. He remained still, yet his expression of worry and concern could be seen clearly. She had been too sad to realize what had happened earlier on. At this moment, she came to a realization as to what Shen Liangchuan had done. She had never seen Shen Liangchuan so gentle before. It seemed that even if she had asked for the stars in the sky, he would have dly obliged. As this thought crossed her mind, mixed feelings of sorrow and happiness came attacking her. As she thought about what had happened the past two days regarding Song Yuanxi, in fact, she was holding a grudge against him. She resented that he did not tell her the truth and had chosen to shield Song Yuanxi. However, at this very moment... Zi Chuan¡¯s death had been a big blow to her. She had began to judge others, but when she finally went through a simr feeling, she suddenly came to the realization that the memories of her first love would forever be etched in her mind, even as the years went by or even if the love was no longer as deep as before. She suddenly felt that she had understood his plight as well as his misery. Everyone had a past. If they wanted to be together happily, they would need to amodate each other¡¯s past. Just like her unspeakable past, as well as those times where she had had to rely on infringing on people¡¯s privacy and exposing their lives for a living. He had told her that he would share their burdens together with her. Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes turned red and it seemed like tears were ready to gush out at any moment. She hurriedly lowered her head to wipe her tears with the nket. This little action immediately caught the man¡¯s attention on the sofa. He stood up immediately and walked quickly to her. He said in a low voice, ¡°Xiao Qiao, do u feel unwell?¡± As he said these words, his hand was touching her forehead. There was no fever. As this thought popped into his head, she grabbed his arm in turn. Her eyes were still extremely red and puffy. However, she opened her eyes and said, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, could you sleep by my side?¡± Shen Liangchuan froze slightly and then after a while, he replied, ¡°Ok.¡± He undressed speedily and crawled into the nket, reaching out his strong and warm arms to hug her. At that moment, they were in bed together. But they didn¡¯t have any passionate thoughts, like what they had had in the past. It was only... to keep each other warm andfortable in this vast world of people. Chapter 464 - Zi Chuan? Zi Chuan!! (14)

Chapter 464: Zi Chuan? Zi Chuan!! (14)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The next day, Qiao Lian awoke at dawn. When she opened her eyes and wearily made a small movement, she realized that she was still resting on that warm arm. Her entire body froze and, as she turned around, she saw that Shen Liangchuan was lying beside her and staring at her. Qiao Lian was slightly stunned. Looking at his clear and bright eyes, he should have been.... ¡°You¡¯ve been up for a long while?¡± Shen Liangchuan replied, ¡°Just woke up.¡± Qiao Lian did not expose his white lie, but squeezed out a smile and said, ¡°Ok, let¡¯s get up and wash up!¡± Her tone was rxed as usual. Shen Liangchuan stared at her and after a while, he nodded. Both of them got up together to wash up and headed downstairs for breakfast. The way they behaved was as if they both hade to a mutual understanding to forget what had happened the night before. Shen Liangchuan enquired after they had finished their breakfast. ¡°Where are you going today?¡± The team¡¯spetition would be in three days. So she did not have to rush to the team¡¯s vi. As Qiao Lian was thinking about this, her cell phone suddenly rang. She answered the call and it was Shi Nianyao calling. ¡°Chief Editor Lian Lian! The people in the WeChat group were saying that the agency will issue the reporter¡¯s certificate today. You¡¯ve been working in the news agency for a year now, right?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes lit up upon hearing this. Having to live on apromise for so long at the agency, hadn¡¯t it just been for the sake of receiving the reporter¡¯s certificate? She immediately replied, ¡°Yes, I think so. Thank you for reminding me, I will head to the news agency now.¡± She looked at Shen Liangchuan excitedly after hanging up the phone. Shen Liangchuan did not say anything and instead got up to get changed and take her to the news agency. On the way, Qiao Lian had mixed feelings. ¡°I used to feel that the time working at the news agency passed very slowly. The chief editor was always targeting me and days were torturous. Come to think of it now, actually, one year just flew by in the blink of an eye.¡± Shen Liangchuan gazed at her upon hearing this. For someone who hardly spoke much, at this moment he couldn¡¯t help but reply, ¡°Yes.¡± He had used to think that life was hard after parting ways with her. But actually, it seemed that time did go by in the blink of an eye. The two of them reached the news agency swiftly. After unfastening her seatbelt and opening the door, Qiao Lian intended to step out of the car, but her arm was grabbed by Shen Liangchuan suddenly. She was slightly taken aback and turned around to look at him. It seemed as if Shen Liangchuan had something to say, but finally he let out a slight smile and stretched out his hand to pat her head. After a moment he said, ¡°I¡¯ll pick you up from work tonight.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. After she got out of the car and shut the door, Qiao Lian, like a wisp of smoke, disappeared towards the building. However, after running into the building, she turned around and walked to the ss wall on the side. That ss wall was such that one could see what was happening on the outside from the inside, but not the other way round. Qiao Lian looked outside through the ss wall. That car was still there. It seemed that Shen Liangchuan was still looking in her direction. At this instant, her heart was filled with bitterness. She couldn¡¯t decipher what kind of feeling that was. Considering the time, he probably thought she had already gone into the lift. Hence, he started his car and gradually disappeared into the sea of cars on the road. Qiao Lian then came out of the building and gazed in the direction he had disappeared to. At the looks of it, it seemed that the issue between them was over. However, she and he both knew that actually it still wasn¡¯t over. But wasn¡¯t it true that it was meaningless to keep harping on the past? Life had to move on, hadn¡¯t it? When she reached upstairs, indeed, she saw that the few colleagues from Team One who had joined the news agency about the same time as her had received their reporter¡¯s certificate. Chapter 465 - Zi Chuan? Zi Chuan!! (15)

Chapter 465: Zi Chuan? Zi Chuan!! (15)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She immediately ran happily to the Human Resources Department. ¡°I¡¯m here to collect my reporter¡¯s certificate.¡± She was expecting that she would be in possession of her reporter¡¯s certificate very quickly, but unexpectedly, the HR worker said in a puzzled tone, ¡°I haven¡¯t received your reporter¡¯s certificate. It¡¯s strange. The others from your batch have already gotten theirs, why don¡¯t we have yours?¡± On hearing this, her happy vibes suddenly disappeared. ¡°Could there be a mistake?¡± The HR worker shook her head and said, ¡°No, when the managing editor handed these over to me, I counted them. Yours wasn¡¯t among them.¡± Qiao Lian frowned and tried to rify it, ¡°Are you saying the reporter¡¯s certificate was handed over to you by the Managing Editor?¡± The staff worker nodded. Qiao Lian turned around and strode towards Liu Zhixing¡¯s office. Just as she arrived at his office, she heard a conversation between two peopleing from inside the room. They were the voices of the Managing Editor and Team One¡¯s Chief Editor Zhang Chunhua. ¡°Managing Editor Liu, Mei Mei has lost 10 kilograms this time. After that day, she has been refusing to eat. Oh, when do you have some time to see her?¡± Liu Zhixing sighed as he heard this. ¡°I wish I could go and see her too. But things are difficult at home. As you know, when I first started working, she had been travelling out of the country.¡± At these words, Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes. This would mean that when Liu Zhixing had first started working at the news agency, Zhang Chunhua had already known he was married? Why hadn¡¯t she tried to talk her niece out of the affair then? As she narrowed her eyes, she heard footsteps from within approaching the office door. At once, the door was opened. Zhang Chunhua stood at the threshold and paused for a moment before she said frostily, ¡°Qiao Lian? What are you doing here?¡± Smiling, Qiao Lian replied, ¡°Team One Chief Editor, do I need to report to you why I¡¯vee to look for Managing Editor? Zhang Chunhua snorted coldly and remarked, ¡°Stubborn. Even if you don¡¯t say it, I know what you¡¯re here for.¡± Qiao Lian raised her eyebrows. Zhang Chunhua continued, ¡°Everyone has their reporter¡¯s certificate except you... Without the reporter¡¯s certificate, you¡¯re at best just a worker here. That¡¯s far from being a reporter!¡± Qiao Lian ignored her and walked past her, directly going up to Liu Zhixing. ¡°Managing Editor, what¡¯s going on with my reporter¡¯s certificate?¡± Liu Zhixing immediately smiled and said, ¡°Your reporter¡¯s certificate? Sure, sure, sure! Why wouldn¡¯t we have yours? It¡¯s right here!¡± After saying this, he opened his drawer and took out the document. Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes lit up as she reached out for her reporter¡¯s certificate. Suddenly, Zhang Chun Hua rushed up to them and said, ¡°Managing Editor, you can¡¯t give that to her. Ever since she became the Chief Editor of Team Two, she has been cking and ying all sorts of tricks. How many articles have they produced this month? Why should she get her reporter¡¯s certificate?!¡± After hearing these words, Liu Zhixing withdrew his hand holding out the reporter¡¯s certificate. Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes immediately. Liu Zhixin coughed and cleared his throat. ¡°Chief Editor Zhang is right, Chief Editor Qiao. Your team hasn¡¯t done much this month.¡± It was obvious he was using the reporter¡¯s certificate to ckmail her for more news. So much had happened this month. It was true that her team had not released any sensational news in any sense of the word. But still, they had been consistent with putting news out there. Liu Zhixing was certainly a man whose greed knew no bottom! Looking at his deplorable expression, Qiao Lian hung her head and said, ¡°Okay, I understand what you mean.¡± Then she turned around and walked out of the office. She needed a big scoop now, and then exchange that for her reporter¡¯s certificate with Liu Zhixing. Back in her office, she called Shi Nianyao, ¡°Let¡¯s go, we need to sniff out some news!¡± Chapter 466 - Zi Chuan? Zi Chuan!! (16)

Chapter 466: Zi Chuan? Zi Chuan!! (16)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Outside the Glitter Nightclub. Staring at the building before her, Shi Nianyao asked, ¡°Chief Editor Lian Lian, are you sure we can find a big scoop in this ce?¡± Qiao Lian smiled. ¡°I¡¯m sure!¡± She had just spoken with Fan Jie and he had enthusiastically offered information that there would be celebrities turning up tonight for a fun time, so all she needed were a few pictures. This was the sort of news that Liu Zhixing loved the most. However... Qiao Lian scanned the environment and said, ¡°To enter this ce we need VIP membership cards. It¡¯s not about paying an entrance fee.¡± She picked up her cell phone. ¡°I¡¯ll give Shen Liangchuan a call to borrow his membership card.¡± As soon as she said this, a card appeared before her eyes. She looked up with surprise at Shi Nianyao, who then asked, ¡°Is this the card? This would be the first time I¡¯m entering the club after getting this card.¡± Qiao Lian was too surprised to speak. She had always known that Shi Nianyao was not your ordinary girl next door, but even then she hadn¡¯t expected that Shi Nianyao would have a VIP membership card to such an exclusive club. Qiao Lian, however, did not make a big deal out of it. She put away her cell phone and picked up the card. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Upon entering the ce and as they were walking towards the private room they had been told about, she suddenly saw a familiar silhouette sh past around the corner of the corridor. Qiao Lian halted and shook her head. The figure had disappeared too quickly and she had not had a chance to get a clear view. This was an exclusive clubhouse, hence safety was not an issue. The people who frequented the building were wealthy and respectable, and extremely careful about their own image. Thanks to Shi Nianyao¡¯s membership card, they had an extremely fruitful afternoon gathering news. Having taken some pictures, they did a fair bit of eavesdropping. After sessfullypleting the mission, the two of them started to quickly make their way out of this scandalous ce. And just at that moment, the elevator chimed. Shortly after, the elevator door opened and out came a few people. With one look, it was obvious from the way they were dressed that these were hedonistic sons of wealthy families. Shi Nianyao showed no change in her expression as she led Qiao Lian along the exit route. Qiao Lian looked at the group of people, initially thinking they were strangers. But suddenly, she caught a glimpse of thest maning out of the elevator. That handsome but pale face that held an impatient expression as he walked in¡ªit was Shen Zihao! Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank at once. She quickly pulled Shi Nianyao around the nearest corner, out of sight of the group. She couldn¡¯t help frown deeply. The small group of men was making rather lewd remarks as they chatted, and they were obviously intending to call for ¡®special service¡¯ter on. If Xia Yehua knew about this, she would be upset for sure. Qiao Lian and Shi Nianyao waited until the group had walked past before they came out of hiding. They stared at the back view of those men, bbergasted. Shi Nianyao stared at the men and said with disgust, ¡°How did such people manage to get into this clubhouse? If I had known that such people came here, I would never have signed up for a VIP membership!¡± Qiao Lian was slightly surprised at hearing this. ¡°Why? Do you know them?¡± Shi Nianyao snorted coldly and continued, ¡°Everyone in our circle knows them. The one in red who just walked by is apletely self-indulgent man who excels in all sorts of vice¡ªanything you imagine¡ªand he is a womanizer! It looks like they are here looking for femalepany again!¡± Qiao Lian frowned again. As they started to make their way out once more, two of the men from the group suddenly turned back and walked towards them. One of them was the man in red. Qiao Lian and Shi Nianyao looked at each other and, with a silent understanding, immediately ran into the restroom nearby. The two men looked around. Then, they stood outside the restroom and started to speak in low voices. Chapter 467 - Zi Chuan? Zi Chuan!! (17)

Chapter 467: Zi Chuan? Zi Chuan!! (17)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The man in red took a puff at his cigarette and said, ¡°Are the things ready?¡± The other man nodded and replied, ¡°Brother Li, why are you targeting Shen Zihao? He¡¯s been doing alright with us, hasn¡¯t he?¡± The man in red sneered, ¡°This Shen Zihao, he looks down on us. Even though he hangs out with us, that air of arrogance... tsk tsk. He¡¯s been an eyesore for a long time! We¡¯re all hedonistic sons of rich parents, good-for-nothings with only vices. How is he any better than any of us?!¡± The other man nodded. ¡°That¡¯s true too. When we hang out, he sets himself apart and just watches. I find that ufortable.¡± At this point, he took out a vial and poured out a small pill. ¡°Hehe, this pill is small but powerful. I guarantee that he¡¯ll go straight to the seventh heaven if he took only one of these!¡± The man in redughed in glee. ¡°And let¡¯s get a few of those men toe in to join the party.¡± The other man was stunned for a second. ¡°Huh? Isn¡¯t that overdoing it?¡± The man in red snorted, ¡°Overdoing it? Well, since he looks upon us with disdain, we¡¯ll let him have both men and women! We¡¯ll see if he can still act high and mighty with us in the future.¡± The other man sighed deeply and said, ¡°The Shen Family may not easily overlook this matter though...¡± The man in red snapped, ¡°While our family can¡¯t match up to his, everyone¡¯s familiesbined may not necessarily lose to the Shen Family! Besides, a matter like this, do you think he would dare to create a scene? In the end, he¡¯s at a disadvantage!¡± The other man immediately smiled, and said ¡°Sure, you¡¯re indeed smart, Brother Li. It¡¯s just that Shen Zihao will be quite pitiful.¡± The man in red sneered, ¡°Pitiful in what way? He has made many enemies and besides, we¡¯ve been asked to do this.¡± With these words, the man in red finished off his cigarette and the two started to walk back. ¡°Let¡¯s see if our drinks have been served.¡± They headed back to join the group. Qiao Lian and Shi Nianyao came out from hiding after the men left. Frowning with disdain, Shi Nianyao said, ¡°This guy in red, he¡¯s up to no good again!¡± Qiao Lian looked at her and asked, ¡°You know Shen Zihao?¡± Shi Nianyao replied, ¡°I recall hearing about the Shen Family. After his parents¡¯ divorce eight years ago, Shen Liangchuan and his mother left the Shen Family with nothing to their names. It was rumoured that his mother had had an affair. Later on his father remarried a woman by the name of Mei Feng. Supposedly, Mei Feng was a good woman who took excellent care of Shen Zihao and he grew close to his stepmother. However, he turned out to be a good-for-nothing eventually, although he excelled in his studies overseas. His indulgence in all sorts of vices caused his stepmother much grief, but that did nothing to prompt him to change his behavior.¡± Qiao Lian raised an eyebrow in doubt. ¡°Was this Mei Feng really as perfect as they make her out to be?¡± Shrugging her shoulders, Shi Nianyao replied, ¡°I have no idea. But that¡¯s the general opinion. Even their housekeeper says that Mei Feng treats Shen Zihao like her own child.¡± Although she was only telling Qiao Lian what she knew, Shi Nianyao said these things with obvious disdain. It was easy to tell she didn¡¯t believe these rumours. Qiao Lian looked straight ahead. Shi Nianyao too fell silent, as though waiting for a verdict from her coworker. Although Shen Zihao and Shen Liangchuan were brothers, they didn¡¯t have a good rtionship. In fact, they were quite hostile towards each other. Hence at this point, Qiao Lian could take a reasonable stand either way. However, she sighed. Xia Yehua had treated her kindly, but she also felt a certain guilt towards Shen Zihao. And now that Shen Zihao was in trouble, how could she do nothing about it? Chapter 468 - Zi Chuan? Zi Chuan!! (18)

Chapter 468: Zi Chuan? Zi Chuan!! (18)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios With this thought, Qiao Lian nced in the direction of where the men had headed and told Shi Nianyao, ¡°Here, take the pictures with you and leave first. I¡¯ll go over to take a look.¡± Shi Nianyao grinned at her. ¡°I¡¯ll be worried if you went alone. Let me go with you.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. The two girls ventured in their direction and saw that a female service worker was just walking up to the entrance of their private room with their drinks. As she raised her hand to knock on the door, the man in red called out, ¡°Hey, waitress!¡± The girl halted when she heard him and turned around. Qiao Lian and Shi Nianyao both sharply drew in a deep breath, as they saw the girl turn around from a distance. The service worker was a stunning youngdy. She had that innocent sort of beauty. Radiant, pure and natural, she looked like a delicate thing. Her fragile frame made her look as though she couldn¡¯t stand up to a strong wind. But her smile was full of sweetness as she looked at the man in red. ¡°Sir, how may I help you?¡± He looked at her in amazement and gulped. Taking a step towards her, he asked, ¡°Girl, how much for a night?¡± The girl¡¯s face turned scarlet when she heard this. She bit her lip and hung her head, saying, ¡°I¡¯m not that sort...¡± ¡°What sort?¡± The man in red gave a vulgar smile and rested a hand on her shoulder. The girl quickly stepped back and looked at him nervously. ¡°Sir, please don¡¯t do this.¡± ¡°What did I do?¡± The man in red took a step forward and snickering, he pressed himself against her. ¡°Girl, your big brother has money. If you stick with me, I¡¯ll treat you well. How about that?¡± The girl was stressed by now and tried to leave. But the man in red grabbed her by her waist. ¡°He... now that I¡¯ve found you, where do you think you¡¯re going? Do you really think you can run?¡± After saying this, he reached for her tray and took it away from her, shoving it to the other man. The man understood the cue immediately and took the opportunity to quickly drop the pill into one of the sses of wine. Initially, the task of the man in red was just to tease the girl so that the other man could drug the drink. However, after seeing this girl, who was like a breath of fresh air, he was enamored. The man in red had had many girls, but this particr fresh-faced beauty suddenly inspired his lust. Hence, with a wave of his hand he said, ¡°Sixth Brother, why don¡¯t you go serve these drinks? I¡¯ll have a word with this girl.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Seeing that the situation was not in her favor, she imed loudly, ¡°Let me go. I¡¯m just a service worker and I don¡¯t do anything more than that¡ª¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, you¡¯re a service worker. So why don¡¯t you provide your big brother here with some service?¡± He loosened his belt as he said this. The girl was disgusted by him and lifting her hand, she gave the man a resounding p across his face. This was like upsetting a ho¡¯s nest. The man in red spat with fury, ¡°Damn you! You dare to hit me!¡± Then, lifting a tight fist, he punched the girl in her stomach. As though that wasn¡¯t enough, he started to pummel her. The girl tried to protect herself by curling herself into a ball and backing into a corner. She did not make a noise, even though she was being repeatedly beaten. Even though she looked weak, she was resilient and stubborn. Qiao Lian and Shi Nianyao could not believe what they were seeing. The man in red was quick to turn violent! Unable to get his way with a soft approach, he had resorted to physical force. Not only did he beat the girl up, he even tore her shirt! By the time the both of them got over their shock, the girl¡¯s shirt had already been ripped to the point that it wasn¡¯t covering very much of her. The man in red was still hitting her, saying, ¡°I¡¯ll teach you to hit your big brother! You¡¯re asking for it!¡± Qiao Lian had always upheld the principle of minding her own business. But at this point, she could not take it anymore. Chapter 469 - Zi Chuan? Zi Chuan!! (19)

Chapter 469: Zi Chuan? Zi Chuan!! (19)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios They were about to intervene when the private room door was flung open! The raised fist of the man in red was about to drop on the girl again when someone grabbed it. Shen Zihao stood there frowning at the man, a look of disgust shed across his face. ¡°Let her go if she doesn¡¯t want it.¡± The man in red raised an eyebrow. ¡°Some people are just low-down and need a beating before they give in.¡± Shen Zihao would not loosen his grip on the man¡¯s fist. His expression turned cold and he said, ¡°Do it for my sake...¡± It infuriated the man in red. ¡°Who do you think you are? Why should I let her go for your sake?¡± He shoved Shen Zihao aside and sneered, ¡°I will have this girl today!¡± Then he looked at the service worker. At this point, someone grabbed his shoulder. The man in red turned around and a solid punch fell squarely on his face. It was Shen Zihao. ¡°Then let me tell you who I am exactly!¡± Shen Zihao had a tall and broad frame, just like Shen Liangchuan. Although he was slightly thinner than Shen Liangchuan, he still was around 1.8 meters. Like most wealthy people, he had also had self-defense training. He moved aggressively and quickly, knocking the man in red onto the ground. Shen Zihao stopped only when the man in red could no longer stand up. Then, he straightened himself up with a frown. He made a few movements to loosen his arms, and it was obvious his knuckles were bleeding. Ignoring his own injuriespletely, he walked to the girl, took off his own jacket and covered her with it. Then he got up again and walked away looking straight ahead. The girl hung her head and was biting her lip. Her eyes followed him and then finally, she looked at the jacket that he had ced over her. She said in an obstinate tone, ¡°Thank you.¡± Shen Zihao did not speak a single word and walked out. Qiao Lian and Shi Nianyao were stunned by the scene they had just witnessed. Shi Nianyao said with amazement, ¡°Normally he¡¯s like a useless piece of junk. I didn¡¯t expect that he¡¯d save a damsel in distress!¡± Qiao Lian thought that this whole episode had been really dramatic. However, it did cause her opinion of Shen Zihao to somewhat change. Now she felt that he wasn¡¯t such a bad person after all. Although it was fortunate that this had happened, otherwise he would have suffered from the man in red¡¯s scheme. Qiao Lian looked at the man who was still lying on the floor and then at the other man, Sixth Brother, who had not even had the chance to enter the room. A cunning expression crossed her face. She cried out with surprise, ¡°Oh! What happened to this person?¡± Then very quickly, without saying a word, she took the drugged drink and poured it into the man in red¡¯s mouth. ¡°Sir, have some water. Are you okay?¡± Once the ss was empty, she tossed it aside and gave Shi Nianyao a look. Then the two girls dashed towards the exit. They moved too fast for Sixth Brother to react, and the man in red had been fed the whole ss of drugged alcohol. It was only after the two girls had disappeared that Sixth Brother suddenly eximed in realization, ¡°Damn it!¡± ¨C Dashing all the way to the elevator, Qiao Lian and Shi Nianyao ran into Shen Zihao. Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes and ran up to him. ¡°Hey, Shen Zihao!¡± He turned around upon hearing the girls calling him and immediately looked behind them. Hiding his disappointment at not seeing Shen Liangchuan appear, he snorted coldly and haughtily ignored Qiao Lian. Qiao Lian grinned at him saying, ¡°Shen Zihao, you need to finish up what you started. You saved the girl but left her there. You know that she¡¯ll be reprimanded by her manager. Don¡¯t you care?¡± Chapter 470 - Zi Chuan? Zi Chuan! (20)

Chapter 470: Zi Chuan? Zi Chuan! (20)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Shen Zihao heard these words, he was stunned. He replied, ¡°That¡¯s not my problem!¡± Qiao Lian: .... Qiao Lian took a step forward, sighed and said, ¡°That youngdy looked very decent. If not, she would have retaliated when she was being beaten up. Agh, what a pity!¡± Shen Zihao raised his head. ¡°What¡¯s so pitiful about that?¡± ¡°That man was beaten quite severely. I¡¯m sure his medical expenses will amount to quite a substantial sum!¡± Shen Zihao was stunned. ¡°And also, you need to pay for the items that you have ruined during the fight.¡± ¡°As for the youngdy, she did not do her best to take care of the customers. The manager of the clubhouse will surely not let her off easily. Although in this kind of establishments the service workers are generally highly paid, in the eyes of others, it is not considered a proper job. That youngdy exercised self-control so as to protect herself from bad influence. She must have been short of money, that¡¯s why she¡¯s working here, and¡ª¡± Before she could finish her sentence, Shen Zihao turned around and walked away. Looking at his demeanor, Qiao Lian raised an eyebrow and quietly followed him. Shen Zihao was at first worried about that female worker, but when he turned around, he saw that red shirt man wiggling around on the ground and his expression was not normal. His face was red as he looked at Sixth Brother and eximed, ¡°What is happening here? Why am I feeling so hot?!¡± Sixth Brother was on the verge of crying. ¡°Brother Li, that girl just gave you the drink that you prepared for Shen Zihao!¡± The man in the red shirt was infuriated. ¡°What?¡± Sixth Brother continued. ¡°Brother Li, where is the antidote? This drug is strong, you¡¯ll need an antidote, or else your private parts might be damaged!¡± The man in the red shirt almost started to cry. ¡°This thing does not have any antidote! Quick! Take me to the hospital now! Ah! I feel very terrible...¡± Shen Zihao stopped and suddenly understood what was going on. He clenched his fists tightly with anger and rushed to the man in the red shirt, grabbing his cor. ¡°Tell me, what did you intend by drugging my drink?¡± When the man in the red shirt saw that he had returned, he was shocked. He wanted to say something, but he was too intoxicated. Instead, he raised his head to kiss Shen Zihao. Shen Zihao pushed him away with detest. He then saw a few men walking over. Shen Zihao stared at Sixth Brother with a sharp and prating gaze. Sixth Brother swallowed a mouthful of saliva in shock and then suddenly said, ¡°Shen Zihao, I have nothing to do with this. Brother Li is the one who is behind this! He also arranged for these men toe.¡± Shen Zihao became immensely shocked. ¡°We do not hold any grudges nor enmity. Why is he treating me this way?¡± Sixth Brother hurriedly waved his hand. ¡°I don¡¯t know...¡± Shen Zihao was furious when he saw his expression. He pointed to the man in the red shirt and said to those men, ¡°He was the one who asked you toe!¡± After that, he turned around and left. He did not want to stay a second longer in this disgusting ce. However, after he had taken two steps, he suddenly halted as if remembering something. He turned around to carry the female service worker, who was deeply in shock, and then left taking big strides. When he passed by Qiao Lian, he stopped as he recalled Sixth Brother¡¯s words. He realized that Qiao Lian had asked him to return so as to allow him to witness the true colors of these dissolutepanions. He took a deep breath without saying a word and intended to leave straight away. Qiao Lian followed behind him and entered the elevator. As she was walking, she was rambling, ¡°Why would the man in red shirt treat you this way when he doesn¡¯t hate you? I am sure that there must be a mastermind behind this. Why didn¡¯t you ask more?¡± ¡°Shen Zihao, for once I did save you today. Would you want to repay me? Actually, you don¡¯t have to repay me anything. How about this? Mom misses you very much, can you take some time off to go visit her?¡± Chapter 471 - She Is Mrs. Shen! (1)

Chapter 471: She Is Mrs. Shen! (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As Shen Zihao heard these words, he finally reacted with a cold humph. ¡°She doesn¡¯t need me since she already has Shen Liangchuan.¡± After saying these words, the elevator reached the ground floor. He carried the female service worker and walked out of the elevator. Qiao Lian was intending to follow him, but Shen Zihao suddenly halted and turned around. ¡°Do you know why I did not bother to investigate?¡± Qiao Lian nodded. Shen Zihao let out a coldugh. ¡°Regarding the issue about the photograph from the other time, I thought that we should investigate the matter thoroughly. But what happened in the end?¡± His face looked ghastly pale. ¡°I¡¯d rather pretend I can¡¯t see it, isn¡¯t that better?¡± When Qiao Lian heard these words, she stood rooted to the ground in shock. Shen Zihao did not speak again, instead he turned around and left. Staring at his tall back, Qiao Lian suddenly understood the meaning of his words. Actually, he craved for Xia Yehua¡¯s love. But what had happened back then had disappointed him. In the end, he still trusted Mei Feng, but not Xia Yehua. And now, he had begun to define himself as hopeless and decided to act recklessly. Qiao Lian sighed. She felt that this kid, Shen Zihao, was at his rebellious stage and it was indeed tough tomunicate with him. As she was pondering about it, her cell phone rang. She picked up her cell phone and answered the call. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s voice could be heard on the other end of the line, ¡°Where are you?¡± Qiao Lian looked at the time before she realized that it was time to get off work. She quickly answered, ¡°I am at the Glitter Club. I can take a cab home actually.¡± But Shen Liangchuan replied, ¡°No need. Wait for me, I¡¯ll be there in a jiffy.¡± After she hung up the phone, Qiao Lian saw Shi Nianyao sticking out her tongue at her. ¡°In that case, Chief Editor Lian Lian, I will head home now as I do not wish to be your third wheel.¡± She ran away after she finished speaking. ¨C A short whileter, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s car arrived. Qiao Lian hurriedly took a step. She was intending to head to the other side of the car when she saw Shen Liangchuan suddenly walking out of the driver¡¯s seat. He quickly moved to the other side to open the passenger door for Qiao Lian. This gesture... Qiao Lian paused for a moment. Actually, Shen Liangchuan had never done such a redundant gesture before outside. Because he could have been easily exposed. However, at this moment, Shen Liangchuan was looking at her seriously. ¡°Get in the car.¡± Qiao Lian smiled and sat down on the passenger seat. Shen Liangchuan then headed to the other side, got into the car and started the engine. Qiao Lian questioned, ¡°Why did you open the car door for me?¡± Shen Liangchuan replied, ¡°This is the husband¡¯s job.¡± Qiao Lian felt some warmth in her heart, but she still lectured him, ¡°What if someone took a picture? Don¡¯t do this again next time.¡± Shen Liangchuan stared ahead and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it was dim in that area and so, even if we were to be photographed, they wouldn¡¯t be able to see your face.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. Who would have thought that what she had just said woulde true? She had jinxed it! Song Cheng phoned them just when they reached home. Shen Liangchuan was trending online again. That was because he had been seen opening the car door for Mrs. Shen. Someone had taken a photograph. It was very obvious that the person in the photograph was Shen Liangchuan. His hand was on the car door, while Mrs. Shen¡¯s back was facing the camera and was about to get in the car. The title read: Best Actor Shen Disying His Love, Hurting Singles!! The content read: Who Said That The Rtionship Between Best Actor Shen And Mrs. Shen Is Poor? From The Photo, Best Actor Shen Is A Gentleman. The arrival of this piece of news ignited a st on the inte. Qiao Lian touched her forehead. ¡°Oh dear, they will start investigating who is Mrs. Shen again!¡± Meanwhile, at the hospital. Song Yuanxi was staring at her cell phone with hatred of what was trending online. Chapter 472 - She Is Mrs. Shen! (2)

Chapter 472: She Is Mrs. Shen! (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She clenched her fists tightly, clutching onto her clothes. Why was Qiao Lian allowed to be with Brother Liangchuan happily, when she, herself, had to be here, hospitalized because of a broken bone in her leg? She threw her cell phone aside and as she was about to lie down to rest, she heard a few nurses chatting. It was usually quieter in the VIP ward. As the nurses were excited and couldn¡¯t control their volumes, their voices reached her. ¡°Ah! Quick,e and take a look at my husband. Shen Liangchuan is indeed too handsome!¡± ¡°I like him very much too! It turns out that my male idol is such a gentleman!¡± ¡°Take a look at Mrs. Shen. Although it is just her back, you can tell that she has a good figure and that she is tall as well. The two of them indeedplimented each other as they stood together.¡± ¡°I recall someone iming that Mrs. Shen had a lowly background. But take a look at it yourselves, from her back we can tell that Mrs. Shen has an elegant behavior. My guess is that she must be really pretty!¡± ¡°Best Actor Shen and Mrs. Shen are so blissful together.¡± ¡°...¡± The voices of their chatting could be heard by Song Yuanxi. This irritated her and made her feel frustrated. Her eyes turned red, as she was agitated. She clenched her fists tightly as her rage and fury suddenly emerged, causing her to sit up at that instant. A hand movement hit the vase that was originally on the table, crushed on the floor with a loud ¡°bam¡± as it broke into pieces. She clenched her fists tightly and sat on the bed. Her thin body was slightly trembling. Brother Liangchuan, how dare you do this! Could it be that you have forgotten what had happened eight years ago? How can you protect this slut?! As she thought of this, she held onto her knees and suddenly started sobbing quietly. She didn¡¯t know how much time passed before she abruptly sat up straight. Her eyes and nose were red and for a fleeting moment, there was a glint in her eyes. ¡°I shall not give up just like that! She does not deserve to be blissful!¡± She picked up her cell phone and dialed Shen Liangchuan¡¯s number. ¨C At Shen Vi. Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan had dinner together before seeing Xia Yehua off. As usual, she was heading to the hospital to apany Song Yuanxi. After Xia Yehua had left, Qiao Lian went upstairs and entered the master bedroom. She hadn¡¯t rested at all the previous night and as for yesterday, she had been crying. She had been at the team¡¯s vi today, so all of these caused her to feel exhausted. But as shey on the bed quietly, she thought of Zi Chuan. The memories that she had been suppressing had made frequent appearances these past two days. The past that she had already forgotten hade back clearly. After lying on the bed for a little while, she began to feel oppressed and gloominess set in. Hence, she decided to pick up her cell phone and start working on something. It seemed that only by being busy, she could temporarily forget her pain. She sat on the bed and did some work via her phone, while Shen Liangchuan was sitting on the sofa, reading his script. Ambition was going to start filming soon. He had been on leave these few days and soon, he would have to enter the filming set. However, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s gaze oftennded on Qiao Lian involuntarily. Even though she had tried to hide her feelings well, he could still notice that something was not right. What had actually happened to make her be so pessimistic and gloomy? As he was pondering about it, his cell phone suddenly rang. He looked down and once he saw that it was from Song Yuanxi, he closed his eyes and disconnected the call. But after a while, the number appeared again. Shen Liangchuan seemed to have thought of something, as his gaze suddenly became gloomy. He picked up his cell phone and walked to the balcony. As he answered the phone, Song Yuanxi¡¯s voice could be heard on the other end of the line, ¡°Brother...¡± Chapter 473 - She Is Mrs. Shen! (3)

Chapter 473: She Is Mrs. Shen! (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After hearing that pitiful voice, Shen Liangchuan felt as though his heart was being grabbed. He closed his eyes and softened. The disgusted expression he had had earlier turnedplex at that instant, when he heard the word ¡°Brother.¡± He paused for a while and then replied, ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°I miss you, my brother...¡± The girl¡¯s cries were coupled with dejection. ¡°Can youe and see me?¡± In the past, he had apanied her numerous nights to see the stars when she was crying. If it had been back then, he would have gone to visit her without saying a word. But now, as he thought of the things that she had done to Qiao Lian, almost causing Qiao Lian not to be able to get pregnant ever again, he simply couldn¡¯t forgive her for the things she had done. Shen Liangchuan looked down. ¡°My mom ising over. She will be there in a short while.¡± ¡°But I want to see you, my brother!¡± Shen Liangchuan looked up and with a sharp and prating gaze. He stared ahead and said, ¡°Yuanxi, I know you¡¯ve understood.¡± His words silenced her. After a short while, she started to cry again. ¡°Brother Liangchuan, why are you treating me like this? Tell me, have I done anything wrong?¡± Done anything wrong? Shen Liangchuan turned around and looked at the girl who was sitting on the bed in the bedroom. After adjusting her hair behind her ears, she looked down at her cell phone in a serious manner. Both her hands were rapidly pressing the screen. At the looks of it, she was probablypiling an article. The light in the room was shining on her, making her look even more gentle. That made the whole room be bright and warm. He averted his gaze and replied to the person on the other end of the line, ¡°You have not done wrong.¡± ¡°It¡¯s me who has done wrong.¡± Shen Liangchuan turned around and then shifted his gaze to the blurry stars in the faraway night sky. ¡°But I am willing to continue to be wrong all the way.¡± ¡°Yuanxi, I know you are holding a grudge. I cannot be ruthless with you. But if there is anything that you have to do, please target me instead.¡± It seemed that Song Yuanxi was shocked by his words. A few minutes of silence passed before she suddenly burst out, ¡°Brother Liangchuan! This has nothing to do with you! She¡¯s not you! Both of you are separate individuals!¡± ¡°She is now my wife,¡± Shen Liangchuan said gradually. Song Yuanxi froze. Holding onto their cell phones, they both did not say a word for a long time. Time passed gradually. Song Yuanxiughed sarcastically. Her voice calmed down and that was frightening. ¡°Shen Liangchuan, no matter what, do you remember that tomorrow is a special day?¡± Clenching his jaw, Shen Liangchuan replied, ¡°I remember.¡± Song Yuanxi sneered, ¡°Good that you remembered.¡± After that, she hung up the phone without hesitation. Shen Liangchuan turned around to look at Qiao Lian once again. She seemed to not want to stop, as she continued busily working. Although they had been trying their best to sustain their rtionship the past few days, it still seemed like there was some sort of barrier between them. Even though both of them were in the same room, they had their own sentiments. This night was destined to be a sleepless night. The next day, Qiao Lian brought along her panda eyes to work, yawning away the whole day. Shi Nianyao couldn¡¯t help but to shake her head. ¡°Chief Editor Lian Lian, have you not been sleeping these few days?¡± Qiao Lian waved her hand at her and then threw her cell phone over to Shi Nianyao. ¡°Take a look at my report to see if it is ok. I did this over the night.¡± Then, she took some medicated oil and applied it onto her temples. That feeling was incredibly good! She then patted herself on the face. ¡°Qiao Lian, you can do it!¡± After doing these, she then rushed to the Managing Editor¡¯s office, feeling energized and gant. After submitting her report, she made sure she must definitely receive her reporter¡¯s certificate by today! Chapter 474 - She Is Mrs. Shen! (4)

Chapter 474: She Is Mrs. Shen! (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At the Managing Editor¡¯s Office. Qiao Lian stood before Liu Zhixing. He smiled broadly as he spoke, ¡°Where¡¯s the report?¡± Qiao Lian blinked and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s my reporter¡¯s certificate?¡± He paused for a moment. He sighed, but did not make things difficult for her. He opened the drawer and took out the document. Then, cing it in front of her, he said, ¡°Qiao Lian, from now on you¡¯re officially a reporter. Work hard and continue to bring us big scoops!¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s lowered her head and stared at her reporter¡¯s certificate. She saw her name clearly printed on the reporter¡¯s certificate. After a very difficult year at the agency, she had finally got her certificate. But right at this very moment, she didn¡¯t feel relieved, on the contrary, her burden bore down heavier than ever. Because this was not the end, but just the beginning of an uphill road ahead. Qiao Lian took a deep breath and walked out of the Managing Editor¡¯s office. As she exited, she noticed there was amotion in Team One¡¯s office. Qiao Lian raised her eyebrow questioningly as she heard congrattory remarks. ¡°Chief Editor, no, I should say Deputy Managing Editor, congrattions on your promotion!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, Deputy Managing Editor, such great news!¡± ¡°Based on your capability, you should have been in this position long ago!¡± ¡°But after this promotion, you¡¯ll have greater responsibilities. From now on, you have to take greater care of your health!¡± ¡°...¡± Qiao Lian raised an eyebrow at all these remarks that could be hearding from Team One¡¯s office. Then, she saw Shi Nianyao walking out of the office Team Two shared. Still puzzled, Qiao Lian asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± With an annoyed twitch of her lips, Shi Nianyao said, ¡°Team One¡¯s Zhang Chunhua has been promoted to Deputy Managing Editor.¡± Qiao Lian frowned upon hearing this and suddenly, a look or realization crossed her face. ¡°No wonder Zhang Chunhua has note to find trouble with me after Su Meimei¡¯s incident! I did think that¡¯s quite unlike her. Now it makes sense... She was just lying low and waiting for a promotion.¡± Shi Nianyao leaned towards Qiao Lian and whispered, ¡°Chief Editor Lian Lian, you never got along with her and now she¡¯s your boss. We¡¯re in for bad times!¡± Qiao Lian chortled. ¡°It¡¯s not a matter of if, but when! She¡¯s been lying low for a while now, so it¡¯s about time.¡± Patting Qiao Lian on the shoulder, Shi Nianyao said, ¡°It¡¯s going to be tough for you.¡± Qiao Lian shook her head and said, ¡°Enough of her. Have you looked at the report we drafted yesterday?¡± Shi Nianyao nodded. ¡°Yes, and I think it¡¯s good to go. We can hand it in to Managing Editor.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. Very soon after Shi Nianyao entered the Managing Editor¡¯s office with the report, Qiao Lian saw here back out again. Surprised, she asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Shi Nianyao replied, ¡°The Managing Editor says that from now on, all our drafts are to be cleared by the Deputy Managing Editor.¡± She turned and nced in Zhang Chunhua¡¯s direction. ¡°I¡¯ll go over to take a look.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. Shi Nianyao walked to Team One¡¯s office. Qiao Lian returned to her desk. Not long after, a voice could be heard reprimanding, ¡°... What kind of rubbish is this? It¡¯spletely inarticte. Anyone could produce this sort of run-of-the-mill writing. Take this back and do it all over again!¡± Stunned, Qiao Lian stood up. She saw Shi Nianyao walking back with a sullen pout. ¡°She¡¯s rejected the draft?¡± Shi Nianyao nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. She says our writing is too mundane. But this has always been the way we write. Did she want us to produce a report written in ssical Chinese? Who¡¯s going to understand that? She¡¯s just deliberately making things difficult for us!¡± Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help butugh at Shi Nianyao¡¯sment. She shook her head and said, ¡°Here, let me have the draft. I¡¯ll take it to her.¡± Chapter 475 - She Is Mrs. Shen! (5)

Chapter 475: She Is Mrs. Shen! (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shi Nianyao said with a worried expression, ¡°She was already being so nasty to me, it¡¯ll just be worse for you.¡± Qiao Lian reached for the draft that Shi Nianyao was holding in her hand, and then turned and walked towards Team One¡¯s office. As she entered, Zhang Chunhua was just chatting with her colleagues about skincare products. Walking over to her, Qiao Lian started speaking, ¡°Deputy Managing Editor, this draft¡ª¡± Zhang Chunhua immediately rolled her eyes and chided her, ¡°Can¡¯t you see I¡¯m discussing work with the others? There¡¯s an order to things!¡± Qiao Lian paused. So it seemed like Zhang Chunhua was going to have her just stand there, waiting like a fool? While a person with a mild temper may just obediently do as Zhang Chunhua said, Qiao Lian however was not by any means an easy pushover. Curling her lips, she retorted, ¡°Since when were skincare products our work? We are entertainment reporters. Skincare products don¡¯t seem to align with our department¡¯s work.¡± Zhang Chunhua was stumped. She looked up at Qiao Lian and narrowed her eyes at once. Qiao Lian stared back at her steadily. ¡°Well then, Deputy Managing Editor, why don¡¯t you continue chatting and I¡¯ll hand the draft to the Managing Editor?¡± On this note, she turned and started to walk away. Zhang Chunhua stood up immediately and called out, ¡°Come back here!¡± Qiao Lian halted and turned around. Scowling, Zhang Chunhua walked back into her office. ¡°Come over here.¡± Qiao Lian followed Zhang Chunhua. The woman took the draft from Qiao Lian and nced through it briefly before throwing it down on the desk. ¡°I¡¯ve already said that the writing style is too mundane. People read entertainment news for the gossip. Your writing style is so conforming to the norm that itcks fervor and intensity. You have to rewrite it!¡± Qiao Lian paused. To put feelings into an entertainment news report? Did she want it written in the style of a novel? Stumped, Qiao Lian asked, ¡°Deputy Managing Editor, how do you want it written?¡± Zhang Chunhuaughed derisively. ¡°Why are you such a dimwit? Don¡¯t you understand what I¡¯m trying to say?¡± Qiao Lian nodded. ¡°I¡¯m quite unintelligent and really unable to make meaning out of your instructions. Why don¡¯t you help me write it?!¡± Zhang Chunhua mmed the table top with her hand angrily when she heard this. ¡°Ridiculous! I¡¯m a Deputy Managing Editor. If I have to draft reports, then what does the agency need you guys for?¡± Qiao Lian nodded again. ¡°So you are determined to make things difficult for me?¡± Zhang Chunhua narrowed her eyes. ¡°Ever since Meimei resigned, she lost 10 kilograms! And even now she is not eating or drinking much.¡± Qiao Lian was bbergasted. ¡°But what does that have to do with me?¡± Scowling, the infuriated Zhang Chunhua added, ¡°Qiao Lian, let¡¯s get straight to the point. Weren¡¯t you the one who informed Liu Zhixing¡¯s wife so that she woulde charging up here?¡± Qiao Lian nodded without hesitation. ¡°Yes, it was me.¡± Zhang Chunhua stood up and continued, ¡°So why do you say it has nothing to do with you? It¡¯s because of you that Meimei has be what she is today! Let me tell you, you won¡¯t see the end of this! Take this draft with you and get it re-written. And you will work on it until I¡¯m happy with it. Otherwise, your team won¡¯t even be able to think of going home!¡± Qiao Lian looked at Zhang Chunhua in disbelief. Was this person right in the mind? She actually thought it was reasonable for Su Meimei to be a third party breaking up other people¡¯s marriage? And the person who had blown the cover had now be the sinner? Qiao Lian twitched her lips and couldn¡¯t help herself from bursting out inughter. ¡°So, you¡¯re ming me for saving Su Meimei from being the third party?¡± Zhang Chunhua¡¯s expression turned ugly at this point. ¡°Stop using the word third party! Meimei and Liu Zhixing are friends!¡± ¡°Being in that sort of friendship with a married man isn¡¯t being a third party?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s perspective on values were at the verge of falling apart. Chapter 476 - She Is Mrs. Shen! (6)

Chapter 476: She Is Mrs. Shen! (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios How true was the ancient saying that subordinates imitated their boss¡¯ vices! Zhang Chunhua narrowed her eyes even more as she said, ¡°When Meimei was with Liu Zhixing, she had no idea he was married!¡± ¡°But that would mean she was a third party. Whether she knew it or not, it doesn¡¯t make a difference, isn¡¯t that so?¡± With every mention of the word ¡®third party,¡¯ Zhang Chunhua¡¯s expression turned uglier. She stepped forward and grabbed Qiao Lian roughly by her arm, threw open her office door and walked out dragging Qiao Lian behind her. Qiao Lian tried to shake off her grip, but Zhang Chunhua was, after all, a strong middle-aged woman. Qiao Lian was not able to escape. Both of them realized now they were in Team One¡¯s office. Zhang Chunhua had a smirk on her face and her eyes were on Qiao Lian. ¡°Everyone gather around and listen to this! I want to expose this woman¡¯s true colours before all of you today.¡± Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes. ¡°What do you want? What true colours are you talking about?¡± She had not done anything wrong and had no idea what Zhang Chunhua was going to say. As these words came out, Zhang Chunhua sneered, ¡°It¡¯s true indeed that Meimei was careless and got herself on the wrong path. However, even if she was a third party, at most she disrupted the harmony in the Managing Editor¡¯s family for a short time. But what about you?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank. The next moment, Zhang Chunhuaughed derisively, as she continued to address the people who had gathered around, ¡°Do you know who she is? Do you know who her parents were?¡± Team One¡¯s staff as well as Shi Nianyao, who had rushed over once she had heard what was happening, were all stumped and looked at Qiao Lian questioningly. Someone asked, ¡°Who?¡± Qiao Lian frowned and clenched her fists. She now had an idea of what Zhang Chunhua was about to say. Her expression turned sharp and prating. She red at Zhang Chunhua, her eyes shing with anger. ¡°Zhang Chunhua, shut up!¡± Zhang Chunhua raised an eyebrow and said with a smirk, ¡°Why? Afraid that I¡¯ll tell everyone? I bet your guilty conscience is bothering you. Ah, the more you wish to have it swept under the carpet, the more I¡¯ll expose the truth, so that they know what sort of person they have been working with for the past year.¡± She turned to the people who had gathered and continued, ¡°Do you guys remember that eight years ago, there was a huge building project in Suzhou that copsed because the developers skimped on the budget and stinted on materials? It ultimately caused the death of seventeen workers.¡± Upon hearing this, most of them stared nkly at Zhang Chunhua. After all, many among the staff were young and still in school eight years ago. How would they be aware of such things? But there were also a few reporters who were older and they were immediately stunned. ¡°I remember now. You¡¯re referring to the case of the Xiushui Commercial Building? The evil developer acquired thend and started to sell properties before the building was even built. The buyers paid for their properties and waited for the building¡¯spletion. But who would have thought that to secure a greater profit margin, the developers would do a sloppy job and that resulted in the copse of the building?! On top of the seventeen construction workers who died, there were the buyers, who had used their hard-earned life savings to purchase the properties¡ªthey were shocked! The developer refused topensate them with a single cent. This was a piece of sensational news back then! Eventually the developermitted suicide to escape punishment.¡± Following this exnation, he looked at Qiao Lian and asked Zhang Chunhua, ¡°But what has all this got to do with Qiao Lian?¡± Every muscle in Qiao Lian¡¯s body tensed up as she clenched her fists. Zhang Chunhua then said sternly, ¡°She is the daughter of the evil developer!¡± Everyone gasped upon hearing this. They turned simultaneously to look at Qiao Lian as she turned pale as a sheet. Zhang Chunhua sneered as she continued, ¡°Some of the people who bought a property from them at that time had sold off their own properties, so up until now they have no homes!¡± Chapter 477 - She Is Mrs. Shen! (7)

Chapter 477: She Is Mrs. Shen! (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°The families of those seventeen construction workers who died did not receive anypensation either! How many people became destitute and homeless over this incident and had their future destroyed? We can only guess.¡± ¡°Qiao Lian, what gives you the right to speak badly of Meimei? No matter how bad she has been, she did not harm lives! But your parents were indiscriminate murderers. Seventeen lives were lost just like that!¡± Zhang Chunhua spoke like a warrior for justice, pointing a finger in Qiao Lian¡¯s nose and berating her. ¡°You are a piece of trash, worse than an animal! The fact that they killed themselves, it was only right to do so. At least they are doing the world a favor!¡± Qiao Lian was trembling with fury by now. Everyone had a limit of tolerance. And where she was concerned, the line was drawn at herte parents. She remembered how after the ident happened, her parents had been shocked beyond words. She remembered how people would throw rotten eggs at them when they went out on the streets. And she remembered how she and her little brother had been expelled from school because of this. Their family of four became scum in everyone¡¯s eyes. But her parents weren¡¯t evil like they had said! All their lives, her parents had held to ethical values such as benevolence. 10% of the Qiao Family business¡¯ profits would go to welfare organizations without fail every year. At home, her parents had taught them to be just and virtuous. Hence, they would have never done such evil deeds. Even under the most difficult of circumstances, her parents had persisted in patiently waiting for the investigation process. And she had thought too that at some point their names would be cleared. But never had she thought that a great fire would greet her when she came home one day. Everyone had said that her parents hadmitted suicide. But she knew that was impossible. Her parents loved her and her brother above everything else. They wouldn¡¯t have just decided to take their own lives and yet leave nothing for both their children. She bit her lip and looked at the people who had gathered around them. ¡°Don¡¯t use the innocent! My parents did not kill themselves, and certainly not because of any evil deeds they had done!¡± ¡°Huh, you think what you say here counts? They reached a verdict long ago! Do you think that just because you say all these things while looking innocent, all of us will believe you? Besides, even if the trash of society like them did not kill themselves, how were they going to bring themselves to face the world? Qiao Lian red at Zhang Chunhua and said through gritted teeth, ¡°Who are you calling trash and losers? Zhang Chunhua replied loudly, ¡°Your parents, of course! They were trash, losers! They deserved to die! And even then it was not enough!¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Qiao Lian lost her cool. She was almost shouting on top of her voice. Her parents had been wrongfully used. She had wanted to be a reporter all these years so that she could investigate and unearth the truth. She wanted the truth to be known, to clear her parents¡¯ names. But right now, all she felt like doing was to rip Zhang Chunhua¡¯s big mouth apart. Zhang Chunhua, on the other hand, stood there with a smirk. ¡°Why? Are you afraid that people will find out? Because you¡¯re carrying the guilt of those evil deeds? But it¡¯s my mouth and I¡¯ll talk if I want to!¡± ¡°Her parents had evil hearts, of course the same goes for their children. This sharp-tongued and smug Qiao Lian is just like her parents! One look at her and you know there¡¯s nothing good in her. The whole family is nothing but trash!¡± ¡°It¡¯s such a big shame to have parents like this! That is why she doesn¡¯t even dare to indicate her parents¡¯ names in the staff personal details¡¯ form. I¡¯m sure she is aware that her parents are evil people...¡± With every word, Qiao Lian¡¯s fury grew. Finally, looking at Zhang Chunhua¡¯s cold and pathetic looking face, she could not tolerate it any longer. She took a step towards the woman raised her hand and gave her a solid, resounding p across the face. Chapter 478 - She Is Mrs. Shen! (8)

Chapter 478: She Is Mrs. Shen! (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Zhang Chunhua waspletely stupefied after being pped. Stepping back, her expression changed as she processed what had just happened. ¡°How dare you hit me!¡± In response to this, she received yet another tight p. Then, Qiao Lian lunged at Zhang Chunhua. Not being able to hold her bnce, Zhang Chunhua fell on the floor. Quickly following this, Qiao Lian¡¯s punches started to rain down onto Zhang ceaselessly and mercilessly. Furthermore, Qiao Lian even started pping Zhang Chunhua on her mouth. ¡°I¡¯ll teach you to nder my parents!¡± ¡°My parents were good people!¡± ¡°I¡¯m warning you to shut up!¡± ¡°Zhang Chunhua, if I hear you talk about my parents one more time, I¡¯ll make sure I seal your mouth for good!¡± The people in the room were stumped and looked at the drama ying out before their eyes in disbelief. Being considerably civilized people, very few among them would actually get into a fight. Hence, they were now stunned and didn¡¯t know how to respond. Until Zhang Chunhua yelled at the top of her voice, ¡°Help me!¡± Everyone suddenly snapped back to reality. Someone made a move to step forward, but when he identally brushed against Qiao Lian¡¯s arm, she turned around suddenly with a fierce re. Her eyes, which were now red, carried a sharp expression. She looked like a demon released from the recesses of hell. The person who had initially wanted to go forward was deterred by the solemn and tragic expression on Qiao Lian¡¯s face. He stood there, not daring to move. In the meantime, Qiao Lian continued to hit Zhang Chunhua. But after doing this for a brief time, her eyes turned bloodshot. She was terribly grieved. It ismonly said that pressure and stress can kill a person. And that was the sort of atmosphere that her family had been subject to at that time. Perhaps, it had been this sort of situation that had finally driven her parents to their graves. They had chosen tomit suicide. They had chosen to die to save their children. And they had chosen to exchange their lives for a solution to the whole matter. Qiao Lian was filled with hatred. Hatred for how helpless she had been at that time¡ªall she had known was ying games. She had had no ambition and when she encountered trouble, she had thought that her parents would fix it all. But eventually, the world copsed on her. Now tears were forming in her eyes, overflowing and running down her cheeks. She continued hitting Zhang Chunhua until Managing Editor Liu Zhixing came running. ¡°Qiao Lian, what are you doing? Stop it right now!¡± It was only then that Qiao Lian paused and red at Zhang Chunhua, whose mouth was by now full of blood from the beating. ¡°You. Apologize to my parents!¡± Zhang Chunhua viciously spat, ¡°I didn¡¯t say anything untrue, they are trash!¡± The moment she said this, Qiao Lian¡¯s fist descended in a solid punch once more. Liu Zhixing shouted angrily, ¡°Stop this at once! Qiao Lian, are you out of your mind? Beating up your boss? Or do you not care for the job anymore?¡± In the past, he had always used this to threaten her. After all, for most people having a job was important. But this time around, when he uttered this threat, Qiao Lian started tough. Now everyone¡¯s eyes were on her. She straightened her frail and delicate frame. She slowly stood up next to Zhang Chunhua, ignoring her knuckle, which had gotten injured from beating up the woman. Then she looked at Liu Zhixing as she reached for her worker¡¯s permit, which was hanging around her neck. She pulled it off. And if there was one thing that she had been tempted to do time after time in the past year, it was this. She flung the pass in Liu Zhixing¡¯s face with great force! ¡°Qiao Lian, you¡¯re fired!¡± ¡°You can take this job back, I don¡¯t need it!¡± She turned and walked back to her office to pick up her cell phone and handbag. Leaving everything else behind, she headed to the front door of the news agency. Zhang Chunhua had lost two teeth in the beating and was in extreme pain. Seeing that Qiao Lian was leaving, she shouted at her saying, ¡°Even if you hadn¡¯t chosen to leave, we wouldn¡¯t want to keep the daughter of evil people!!¡± Qiao Lian halted and turned back to look at the pathetic Zhang Chunhua. She red straight at Zhang Chunhua with such burning fury and hatred in her eyes that it caused the woman to shudder in fear. Chapter 479 - She Is Mrs. Shen! (9)

Chapter 479: She Is Mrs. Shen! (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian halted when she saw Su Meimei standing at the entrance of the news agency, ring at her angrily. Obviously, she had just arrived. Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes shed upon seeing Su Meimei, but she turned to address Zhang Chunhua, ¡°Zhang Chunhua, even if Su Meimei had had no knowledge of Liu Zhixing being a married man, as the Chief Editor of Team One, wouldn¡¯t you have known it? Zhang Chunhua was stunned for a moment before her eyes glimmered evasively. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Qiao Lian replied with certainty, ¡°It always puzzled me how Su Meimei got together with Liu Zhixing so quickly, when Liu Zhixing had just joined the agency. Now I realize it was all through your good efforts¡ªthe scheming aunt¡ªyou encouraged your niece to get on Liu Zhixing¡¯s good side, despite knowing he was married. All this just so that you could get this promotion you were interested in, wasn¡¯t it? ¡± Zhang Chunhua¡¯s pupils shrank at these words. ¡°Stop stirring trouble and speaking nonsense!¡± Qiao Lian looked at the people who had crowded around. They were staring at Zhang Chunhua with disgust in their eyes. Qiao Lian knew that the people now believed her words. Before she left, she wanted to ensure that Zhang Chunhua¡¯s reputation in the news agency would bepletely destroyed. She nced back at Su Meimei, who had turned very white. Su Meimei had lost a lot of weight and now her clothes hung loosely on her. She too had doubt written on her face. She took a step forward and looked steadily at her aunt, clenching her fists tightly and gritting her teeth with fury. Recently, she had felt all meaning seep out of her life. She might have been better off dead. Although she hated Qiao Lian and although she was a materialistic person and wanted to marry a man like Liu Zhixing, it had never been her intention or wish to be a third party. And now, she realized that it was all her aunt¡¯s doing! From inside of the office, Zhang Chunhua suddenly saw Su Meimei and was stunned. She saw the loathe in her niece¡¯s eyes as Qiao Lian¡¯s words rang in her head... Now looking horrified, she said to Su Meimei, ¡°Meimei, I can exin. It¡¯s not what you think¡ª¡± ¡°Auntie, you can tell this to my father instead!¡± After these words, Su Meimei turned and walked out. ¨C Qiao Lian left the office building feeling gant and energized, as though something had been lifted off her shoulders. Finally, she had seen thest of the news agency. She was free! Even if the road ahead was going to be a long one, this was a moment worth celebrating. Just as she was about to cross the road, she heard someone calling her from behind. She turned back and saw Shi Nianyao running out of the office building and towards her. Qiao Lian raised an eyebrow. ¡°Why did youe running out?¡± With a casual shrug, Shi Nianyao said, ¡°With you no longer around, they are going to make life difficult for me. So I¡¯ve resigned too!¡± Feeling like she had missed Shi Nianyao already, Qiao Lian said, ¡°Let¡¯s keep in touch often.¡± Shi Nianyao nodded and replied, ¡°Of course!¡± Then she reached out both her arms and hugged Qiao Lian. ¡°Chief Editor Lian Lian, I will miss you so much!¡± As they enjoyed a brief and rather emotional exchange, they suddenly heard a car honking from the side of the road. Qiao Lian paused for a moment and turned to look. It was Shen Liangchuan¡¯s car, but she had no idea how long he¡¯d been there. Shi Nianyao immediately stuck her tongue out at Qiao Lian and said a hurried goodbye, ¡°I¡¯ll go now, won¡¯t be a third wheel!¡± Then, without waiting for Qiao Lian to speak another word, she was gone in a sh. Qiao Lian stared wordlessly at Shi Nianyao disappearing into the distance. After parting, Qiao Lian took a deep breath and ran to Shen Liangchuan¡¯s car. As she neared the car, she heard someone calling her from behind. Immediately halting and turning around, she saw Su Meimei walking towards her with an angry expression on her face. Chapter 480 - She Is Mrs. Shen! (10)

Chapter 480: She Is Mrs. Shen! (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios What was this? She had just gotten into a fight with the aunt, and now it was the niece¡¯s turn? She looked at Su Meimei in a calm and unruffled manner. However, Su Meimei was ring at her viciously. ¡°Qiao Lian, you kept calling me the third party and you despise me. But aren¡¯t you yourself a third party? What right have you got to judge me? We are the same!¡± Raising an eyebrow, Qiao Lian asked, ¡°What nonsense are you speaking?¡± ¡°Nonsense?¡± Su Meimei sneered. ¡°I¡¯m not speaking nonsense. You know it very well! I¡¯ve even seen Mrs. Shen herself! Let me tell you, Mrs. Shen already knows about you, so don¡¯t go thinking you can sit back and have a good time!¡± Qiao Lian paused. ¡°Mrs. Shen?¡± Seeing her expression of surprise, Su Meimeiughed derisively and continued, ¡°That¡¯s right, Mrs. Shen is Song Yuanxi! She already admitted it during the previous press conference! Did you think that you¡¯d be able to get away easily? Let me tell you, the real Mrs. Shen has ways to create endless trouble for you!¡± Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes, trying to figure out the meaning behind these words. After a brief moment, she suddenly came to a realization. ¡°The time you changed my report and got me into trouble with Fan Lu... that was Song Yuanxi¡¯s idea?¡± She came straight to the point. Su Meimei had always been a looker without an ounce of intelligence. It had never taken too much effort to deal with her. However, that incident had been underhanded. If it hadn¡¯t been for Shen Liangchuan, she would have had to crawl through the ditches. She would never have thought that Song Yuanxi had had a hand in this. How many evil deeds had she done?! Qiao Lian frowned and eximed this, however Su Meimei did not admit it directly. ¡°No matter if it was her or not, she won¡¯t let you off easily! And I will have you know, if I don¡¯t have a good ending, you won¡¯t either.¡± On this note, the car door next to them was pushed open. Both Su Meimei and Qiao Lian paused and turned. Shen Liangchuan had stepped out of the car and with great impatience, he said, ¡°Have you said enough?¡± Su Meimei was obviously shocked. She hadn¡¯t thought that Best Actor Shen was actually in that car. Widening her eyes in disbelief, it took her a while to recover. She nced at Qiao Lian and then at Shen Liangchuan, with tightly clenched fists. How was it that when she had been a third party, she only got ordered around by Liu Zhixing, always at his beck and call? But Qiao Lian as a third party, on the other hand, had Best Actor Shen himselfing to pick her up after work! Life was so unfair. These thoughts suddenly made her terribly angry. She stepped forward and said, ¡°Best Actor Shen, you actually appear publicly with Qiao Lian in broad daylight. Aren¡¯t you afraid that Mrs. Shen will find out about it?¡± ¡°To be honest, now that I have a bad reputation anyway, I¡¯m not afraid of making the news. Qiao Lian, your past threats will no longer scare me!¡± ¡°The both of you should think about this. What would happen if I blew the cover of your rtionship?¡± On this note, she turned to Shen Liangchuan and sincerely counseled him, ¡°Best Actor Shen, I know that from time to time, men inevitably like to fool outside their marriages. However the woman at home is your legal wife! My advice to you is that you stay away from this vixen! Otherwise, it will cause your wife great sadness!¡± As she listened to these words, he looked strangely at Su Meimei¡¯s one-woman act. Eventually, Shen Liangchuan could no longer take this absurd speech. He nced at Qiao Lian and said concisely and inly, ¡°She is my wife.¡± Su Meimei was immediately rendered speechless. Chapter 481 - Who Is More Important? (1)

Chapter 481: Who Is More Important? (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Su Meimei widened her eyes in astonishment and stared at the two of them in disbelief. After a pause, she finally spoke, ¡°This- this is not possible...¡± Qiao Lian could no longer be bothered with this raving lunatic. Su Meimei had gotten her just punishment. She had been beaten up by Liu Zhixing¡¯s wife and since then had had a difficult time. As she got into the car, the man in the driver seat grumbled with annoyance, ¡°Would I not know who my own wife is?¡± However, his tone was light andced with delight. At that moment, although Qiao Lian¡¯s heart was heavy with the matter concerning herte parents, she found herself somewhat rxing. Unable to contain her amusement, she even burst outughing. Su Meimei, on the other hand, had turned a bright red. Ignoring her altogether, Shen Liangchuan shut the car door, wound up the windows and started to drive away. As they drove away, Qiao Lian could see that Su Meimei was still stunned and had not moved from where she was standing before. By the time the car took an about-turn, she was gone. At this point, Qiao Lian nced at Shen Liangchuan and asked, ¡°Why did youe here?¡± ncing down briefly, he said, ¡°I have some matters to attend to in the afternoon and can¡¯t pick you up after work. So I just dropped by earlier to see that everything¡¯s alright.¡± And then he looked at her questioningly. ¡°You...¡± Feigning an air of nonchnce, Qiao Lian replied, ¡°Congratte me! I¡¯ve resigned!¡± Shen Liangchuan immediately narrowed his eyes at her deration. He had known for some time about the unjust treatment Qiao Lian had received from her bosses at the news agency. But this stubborn girl had insisted on sticking with the job. And now, she had resigned just like that. Although extremely puzzled by this sudden change, he said, ¡°Congrattions. I¡¯ll take you home then.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. Following this, they fell silent. The atmosphere in the car became slightly awkward. Qiao Lian turned to look at the passing scenery outside. She thought of the information that Su Meimei had leaked... That was just Song Yuanxi causing trouble for her again. Obviously Shen Liangchuan had heard what Su Meimei had said, yet he had remained silent on this matter. The corner of her lips turned upwards in a bitter smile. Her fingers enclosed her handbag in a tightened grip. Shen Liangchuan stared at the road ahead as he drove. However, he was paying full attention to the bodynguage of the woman by his side. What Su Meimei had said just then made him realize that Song Yuanxi hadunched an attack without his knowledge, through the news agency. He was livid at the discovery. While he felt an urge to speak, he didn¡¯t know what to say. However, his eyes shed with silent anger. He should no longer indulge Song Yuanxi in her malicious acts. And also because there was just no way to keep guard against her actions. He could not let this cycle of harm, making amends and istion, repeat itself endlessly. He needed to actively do something to stop it. But... Today was a special day, and it was not an appropriate day to deal with Song Yuanxi. ¨C Their car entered the vi grounds. Shen Liangchuan stayed to have lunch with Qiao Lian. He got his things together at one in the afternoon and then, bidding goodbye to Qiao Lian, left the house. Qiao Lian pursed her lips as she watched his back view. To her, leaving her job at the news agency was a happy asion. She had really wanted to celebrate this new phase of her life. However, she didn¡¯t have many friends in Beijing and Shen Liangchuan had gone out. She went to the bedroom andy down for a little while. But she found herself unable to sleep, since she had never had the habit of taking afternoon naps. Thinking that she might as well get out of the house, she got changed. Just as she went downstairs, she heard a car driving up to the apartment. She went out the door immediately to take a look. It was Xia Yehua, and she was just getting out of the car. Chapter 482 - Who Is More Important? (2)

Chapter 482: Who Is More Important? (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Surprised, Qiao Lian called out, ¡°Mom, why are you back at this time?¡± Lately, Xia Yehua had been at the hospital watching over Song Yuanxi day and night. She was afraid that the girl would be lonely. Qiao Lian sensed that something was amiss. As she tried to understand this, Xia Yehua replied, ¡°Yes, Liangchuan went to the hospital, so I¡¯m back for the afternoon to rest. I¡¯ll go back again this evening.¡± Qiao Lian froze when she heard this. Shen Liangchuan had said that he had something important to attend to. So this important matter was... going to the hospital to visit Song Yuanxi? Suddenly her heart sank and she felt a tinge of jealousy. She bit her lip and tried to suppress the growing sense of difort welling up inside. No matter what, Song Yuanxi was his sister, so it was understandable that he was worried and went to see her. As this thought ran through her mind, Xia Yehua held her hand when they walked into the apartment. ¡°Sigh, these children. They have secrets. In the past, no matter how busy they were on this particr day of the year, they would disappear all day. I thought that this year would be different, since Yuanxi is injured and can¡¯t walk around. But I was surprised Liangchuan turned up... who knows what they are up to. Xiao Qiao, did Liangchuan tell you anything about it?¡± It was just an innocent remark, but upon hearing this, Qiao Lian was suddenly feeling all sorts of emotions. Shen Liangchuan and Song Yuanxi shared a secret... It couldn¡¯t be anything but his first love. Even though his first love had died, she was still very much alive in their lives and made frequent appearances. She hung her head. Masking her emotions with a smile, sheforted Xia Yehua, ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about it, but don¡¯t you worry, Mom. Since they do this every year, it just means it¡¯s normal and there isn¡¯t a problem.¡± Xia Yehua could only nod. Having to spend time in the hospital apanying Song Yuanxi was nothing like resting at home, even though Song Yuanxi was staying in a VIP ward. Xia Yehua was quite exhausted and after speaking with Qiao Lian for a little while, she retired to her bedroom upstairs for an afternoon nap. Qiao Lian now sat alone in the living room, taking in the surroundings of the house. There were four of them living in this house. Xia Yehua was returning to the hospital to apany Song Yuanxi in the evening. Shen Liangchuan was now in the hospital apanying Song Yuanxi. And the joy she was supposed to be feeling from leaving the news agency, there was no one to share it with. At that moment, she suddenly felt alone and lonely. When this sort of feelings hit, it was hard to drive them away. She leaned back into the sofa and casually turned on the TV. Then, her gaze fell on that room on the third floor. Last time she had tried to sneak in and take a look, Auntie Li had foiled it. After that attempt, Auntie Li had been alert and probably watching her closely. But the more out of bounds it was, the more curious she got. What sort of girl was Shen Liangchuan¡¯s first love? On this note, she sighed deeply. She tried hard to distract herself by focusing on the TV program. But after flicking through a few channels, she found no interest in any of the shows. She picked up her cell phone. After a brief search, she found the entertainment program that used to be her favourite show. However, after watching the beginning part of the show, she lost the patience to continue. Tossing the cell phone aside, shey on the sofa and stared at the ceiling. She did this until she lost track of time. Then suddenly, her cell phone rang. Surprised, she turned to look at the caller id. It was Song Yuanxi. Qiao Lian frowned, like she had suddenly remembered something. The moment she picked up the call, Song Yuanxi¡¯s voice came from the other end of the line, ¡°Qiao Lian, do you want to know where Brother Liangchuan and I are?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s fingers tightened around the phone. ¡°Where?¡± Song Yuanxi deliberately said, ¡°Today is my sister¡¯s death anniversary.¡± Chapter 483 - Who Is More Important? (3)

Chapter 483: Who Is More Important? (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank at once, as she came to a realization. No wonder that on this day of each year, they would both disappear. Hence, they had gone to offer prayers to Song Yuanxi¡¯s sister? As she was thinking this, Song Yuanxi continued, ¡°Qiao Lian, there¡¯s no way to break the hold my sister has on Brother Liangchuan¡¯s heart. There is only one person that he had and will deeply love, and that is my sister! Don¡¯t you understand?¡± Didn¡¯t she understand? Of course, she did! Zi Chuan¡¯s death had so greatly stirred her. Even though he had died, he was still so alive in her heart. Of course she understood. Shen Liangchuan could not let go of his first love. Just as she could not let go of her Zi Chuan. For the past two days, she had worked terribly hard at not thinking about him. But the way she had thrown herself at work and the emptiness she felt inside, it all told her that she could not let go. Shen Liangchuan had not been able to forget that person even after eight years. And what about herself? How many years would she need to banish the shadow of Zi Chuan from her heart? Song Yuanxi continued to berate her, ¡°If I were you, Qiao Lian, I¡¯d never ept that the man I love will always have another woman in his heart! You know that Brother Liangchuan loves my sister and can¡¯t let her go. Why do you continue to hanker for him? You are so low-down!¡± Qiao Lian stared at her cell phone for a moment and then she retorted, ¡°Is your sister able to keep himpany for the rest of his life? Is your dead sister able to give him children?¡± ¡°Song Yuanxi, thank you for telling me this. Initially, I was upset because I had thought that Shen Liangchuan had gone to the hospital to visit you. But now I know, he¡¯s merely taking you to offer prayers to your sister.¡± ¡°It shows that if today hadn¡¯t been her death anniversary, he wouldn¡¯t have even gone to the hospital.¡± As she finished speaking, Song Yuanxi was livid. ¡°You¡ª¡± Qiao Lian had no wish to hear what she was going to say next and hung up the phone. She tossed the cell phone aside. Days can be so depressing! Song Yuanxi seemed to be able to find all sorts of ways to sow seeds of discord between she and Shen Liangchuan. And what about Qiao Lian? So what even if she counter-attacked each time? She had to admit, she couldn¡¯t help being jealous. That sourish feeling in her heart that left a bad aftertaste... She got up. Even if there was no one home who would keep herpany, she had family. To improve his recovery so that he could walk again, Qiao Yi had been sent to a specialist medical facility to undergo rehabilitation. A few days ago, they had called to say that fundamentally there was no problem, and that he would be able to walk like a normal person given a bit of time. Since she didn¡¯t have much to do today, she decided to visit Qiao Yi. They could celebrate her resignation together! Acting on that impulse, Qiao Lian immediately got out of the house, hailed a cab and headed for the medical facility. The sister and brother spent time reminiscing about the past. When the evening came, Qiao Lian apanied Qiao Yi as he ate his nutritious meal provided by the hospital. By the time Qiao Lian walked out of the medical facility, it was eight in the evening. She stood by the road and stopped a taxi. The driver asked, ¡°Miss, where do you wish to go?¡± Where to? Yes, where should she go next? If she went back to the vi, there would be no one home for sure. For some unknown reason, she quite suddenly gave the driver an address. It was the address of Zi Chuan¡¯s grave. Ever since she had found out about Zi Chuan two days ago, she had yet to visit him. Since she had time today, she wanted to go and see him. As she thought of this, she hung her head in despair. The corners of her lips turned into a bitter smile. It had been eight years. She was eight yearste for this visit. She wondered if he would be sorely disappointed if he knew. Chapter 484 - Who Is More Important? (4)

Chapter 484: Who Is More Important? (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The skies darkened gradually. The cab pulled up at the cemetery. As it wasn¡¯t easy to get a cab here, Qiao Lian asked the driver to wait for her return. Carrying the bouquet that she had just bought, she slowly made her way into the cemetery. She had noticed, however, that just as she entered the cemetery, three figures were slowly approaching from the other direction. Song Yuanxi was not able to walk and was in a wheelchair, pushed by Song Cheng. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s face was expressionless as the three of them made their way out of the cemetery. Suddenly, he halted and turned his head to the side. There, not very far away, he saw a familiar figure. However in a sh, it disappeared around the corner. Shen Liangchuan was stunned. Xiao Qiao? That was strange. Why would Xiao Qiaoe to this ce? His eyes must have been ying tricks. He pursed his lips and cast down his gaze, suddenly remembering how happy she looked today after her resignation. Surely, she would have wanted to share her joy with someone. But he, on the other hand, hade to the cemetery. Unconsciously he hastened his footsteps as he walked ahead. Song Cheng went to get the car, as Song Yuanxi¡¯s wheelchair made it impossible for them to get to the carpark. Shen Liangchuan was now left waiting with her by the side of the road. Song Yuanxi looked at Shen Liangchuan for a moment and suddenly spoke, ¡°Brother Liangchuan...¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s gaze shifted to her expressionlessly. She bit her lip and continued, ¡°Brother Liangchuan, I thought you¡¯d be angry with me and wouldn¡¯te with me this year. But I didn¡¯t think... I know you won¡¯t stay angry at me, right?¡± She knew that her Brother Liangchuan would not neglect her. And even if he was angry, he would not ignore her. Shen Liangchuan, however, clenched his jaw when he heard this. He turned to look at her. His cold expression seemed even icier under the pale moonlight. Perhaps it was just the weather, but it could very well be something else. Song Yuanxi suddenly felt the chill air around her. She looked at Shen Liangchuan standing before her, his face and silhouette against the bright moon. He said in a low voice that was devoid of any emotions, ¡°This is thest time I¡¯ming here with you.¡± Song Yuanxi was immediately stunned. As though she did not understand a word he was saying. She asked immediately, ¡°Brother Liangchuan, what do you mean?¡± Every year, on this particr day, they woulde without fail to offer prayers to herte sister. It was almost a given. But now, Brother Liangchuan was saying that this was thest time he woulde with her? As she was trying to make sense of this, Shen Liangchuan calmly said, ¡°We¡¯re almost done with all the paperwork required for you to go abroad.¡± Ever since he had discovered that Song Yuanxi was trying by all means to set up Xiao Qiao, he had been trying to think of a solution. He couldn¡¯t possibly put Song Yuanxi behind bars and yet, she was a human being with a free will and there was no way he could control her actions. Just like the second time she had done it, hadn¡¯t she seeded because of his carelessness? Even if some of the things she had done didn¡¯t amount to great harm, but to keep her in Beijing, so close to Qiao Lian, was too dangerous. Hence, he could only send her abroad and put a distance between her and Xiao Qiao. Song Yuanxi was shocked by the news. Paperwork to go abroad? What did he mean by going abroad? Song Yuanxi immediately stood up from her wheelchair. ¡°Brother Liangchuan, I¡¯m not going anywhere!¡± Still expressionless, Shen Liangchuan replied, ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s not up to you.¡± Song Yuanxi clenched her fists tightly and said with a trembling voice, ¡°Brother Liangchuan, even if one of us had to go, it would be her and not me! How could you even think of sending me away?¡± Chapter 485 - Who Is More Important? (5)

Chapter 485: Who Is More Important? (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan expressed no emotions when he heard this. Seeing this, Song Yuanxi knew that he had made up his mind. It felt like there was a cold wind blowing through her heart, colder than any winter chill she had ever experienced. Still in a state of shock, she asked, ¡°So, for how long are you sending me away?¡± ¡°A month?¡± Shen Liangchuan stayed silent. ¡°A year?¡± Still, Shen Liangchuan did not speak. Song Yuanxi started to tremble. ¡°Forever?¡± Shen Liangchuan looked at her, maintaining his silence. Song Yuanxi¡¯s felt like her heart was being tightly squeezed as she saw the confirmation of her greatest fear in his eyes. Her fingers curled tightly into a fist, and she said in a hoarse voice, ¡°Brother Liangchuan, eight years ago, you promised that you would look after me like I was your own little sister. You promised you¡¯d look after me all my life! You¡¯ve now forgotten your promise because of a woman?¡± Finally, Shen Liangchuan spoke. He turned to look at her, his expression sharp and unwavering. ¡°Yuanxi, I also made myself very clear. No one can harm her.¡± Speechless, Song Yuanxi was forced to step back by the imposing statement he made, as she grimaced by the leg injury¡¯s pain. She frowned deeply but made no audible sound. Shen Liangchuan looked at her steadily and continued, ¡°You instructed Wang Lan to switch her birth control drug, and you knew that if she had continued taking it for a bit longer, it would have caused permanent damage! Yuanxi, do you not feel that it¡¯s cruel to inflict such a punishment on another woman?¡± Song Yuanxi drew in a deep breath and straightened her posture. Shen Liangchuan continued to look intently at her as he went on, ¡°After that, you leaked the photograph and caused everyone to suspect it was Xiao Qiao, pushing her into a difficult position!¡± ¡°When I finally found out it was your doing, what was my warning to you then?¡± What was it? Song Yuanxi looked lost for a moment, as though trying to recall what had happened back then. He dashed into her hotel room and interrogated her. He had warned her not to harm Xiao Qiao... But... ¡°You did not heed my warning, and made use of my mother to go back to the apartment. You took the notes of our team¡¯s strategy from the study and once again, made it seem like Xiao Qiao had betrayed the Club. Because of this she was almost expelled from the team!¡± ¡°You even contacted her colleague at work and suggested to her to change Xiao Qiao¡¯s report. And for this, Xiao Qiao got into trouble with Fan Lu.¡± ¡°Yuanxi, this is only what I¡¯ve found out up until now... Who knows what else you did that I haven¡¯t found out yet?¡± He listed these deeds one by one. And as he did so, Song Yuanxi turned paler. Until atst, all the blood vanished from her face. She stared at Shen Liangchuan, eyes turning red. ¡°So in your eyes, I¡¯m an evil and deplorable woman?¡± Shen Liangchuan did not answer her, but his expression told her that she wasn¡¯t far from the truth. Song Yuanxi began to tremble visibly. ¡°Brother Liangchuan, have you forgotten how she treated you eight years ago?! You are sending me away because of such a woman?¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s pupils shrank at her words. After a moment, he hung his head, looking resolute and determined. Song Yuanxi¡¯s hopes were destroyed. ¡°Brother Liangchuan, I only took revenge for what she did, was I really wrong in doing that?¡± Shen Liangchuan slowly looked up. His gaze was fixed steadily on her for a moment before he said in a still voice, ¡°I told you. If you want revenge, take it out on me.¡± At these words, Song Yuanxi¡¯s legs gave way as she fell back into her wheelchair. Seeing how dejected she looked now, he turned away and shifted his gaze into the distance. Chapter 486 - Who Is More Important? (6)

Chapter 486: Who Is More Important? (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Song Cheng drove up and pulled the car to a stop next to the Song Yuanxi and Shen Linagchuan. He opened up the back door and pushed the wheelchair, with Song Yuanxi in it, into the nanny van. As they made their way back to the hospital, she looked dispirited and lost, as though all energy had been drained away from her. When they arrived at the hospital and as Song Cheng was about to push the wheelchair out of the vehicle, she looked up at Shen Liangchuan. ¡°Brother Liangchuan, when are you sending me away?¡± Before Shen Liangchuan could speak, she interrupted him by grabbing his sleeve and pleading to him. ¡°Brother Liangchuan, we are still in the middle of filming. Besides, I want to give Auntie a proper goodbye. Can we wait until I¡¯ve done all of this before you send me away?¡± Shen Liangchuan cast his gaze down and looked at her. After a brief pause, he said, ¡°I¡¯ll talk to the filming crew to remove you from the cast. As for Mom, I¡¯ll say goodbye on your behalf.¡± On hearing his decision, her pupils shrank. She harshly bit her lip as he continued, ¡°I¡¯ll arrange for someone toe for you tomorrow.¡± After saying these words, he turned and strode away. Song Yuanxi was left there in her wheelchair, her body tensed with fury. She looked at Shen Liangchuan¡¯s disappearing figure and clenched her fists so tightly they hurt. Ever since Brother Liangchuan had taken her into the Shen Family eight years ago, he had cared for her in every way, giving her a more thanfortable life. But now, all because of that woman, he had be so cruel and heartless towards her. In anger, she pounded the wheelchair with her fist. Qiao Lian, I won¡¯t let you off easily! ¨C ¡°Achoo!¡± Qiao Lian sneezed in the quietness of the cemetery. She gave her nose a gentle massage and looked up at Zi Chuan¡¯s tombstone. There was a wreath already ced before it, indicating that someone had probablye to offer prayers not too long ago. Like it was the most natural thing in the world, she bent over and sat next to the tombstone. ¡°Zi Chuan, I didn¡¯t think that you¡¯d have any friends, given your poisonous tongue.¡± She paused and suddenly looked distracted. ¡°But that would be right too... You were cold on the outside but warm on the inside, and you were a chivalrous person. That was why so many people liked you.¡± Her gaze was fixed on the empty space ahead. Scenes of those years, when she had been a gamer, shed in her mind as though they had a life of their own. They reyed before her. Now she realized that all these memories, which she thought she had left behind, were clear as day, down to every little detail. Sheughed bitterly and hung her head. That rtionship eight years ago... the betrayal... she remembered every detail. What else could one except of Shen Liangchuan and his first love? Hence, who was she to even think that she could rece the first love Shen Liangchuan would never be able to forget? Qiao Lian took a deep and painful breath. Then she stood up. Looking straight at the tombstone, she paused and pursed her lips before saying her goodbye. ¡°Zi Chuan, I¡¯lle look for you again another day.¡± She ced the bouquet she had brought before him. Then, she turned and walked towards the entrance of the cemetery, where the cab was waiting. It was ten p.m. by the time she got back to the vi. Pushing the front door open, she heard the voices of Xia Yehua and Shen Liangchuan in an argument. Xia Yehua sounded angry. ¡°Yuanxi is afraid of being alone. What¡¯s wrong with going to the hospital to apany her?¡± Shen Liangchuan was adamant. ¡°The caretakers there will keep herpany. You stay at home to rest tonight.¡± ¡°It¡¯s my body and I can handle it. You know that Yuanxi has been timid from a young age, and now she¡¯s alone in the hospital...¡± ¡°Mom, this is what Yuanxi wants.¡± Xia Yehua immediately fell silent and gave a sigh. ¡°Yuanxi is a good child! Chapter 487 - Who Is More Important? (7)

Chapter 487: Who Is More Important? (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Upon hearing this, Shen Liangchuan looked up at his mother. Suddenly, he was at a loss for words. When he had first brought her home, he had been afraid that his mother would not treat her well. But now it seemed like she was treating Song Yuanxi too well. If he were to tell his mother that Yuanxi was going abroad tomorrow, would the elderlydy be able to ept it? He looked away as he thought about this. Xia Yehua spoke again. ¡°Very well then, I¡¯ll do as you children say.¡± Then she went up to her bedroom to retire for the day. Qiao Lian waited until she heard Xia Yehua enter the bedroom before she opened the front door and entered the apartment. She was about to make her way upstairs after changing her shoes at the entrance hall, when she felt Shen Liangchuan¡¯s arms encircle her waist in an embrace. She felt his breath hot against her neck. Her body stiffened. A wave of aversion suddenly washed over her. It was his first love¡¯s death anniversary today. She could only think of how he and Song Yuanxi had gone to offer prayers to his first love. She could still sense the coldness in him. And she, on the other hand, had only been able to share her joy of having resigned from her job with a tombstone. There was a sorrow she found herself unable to express in the irony that hung like a great divider between the two of them. Today had just been a small matter. But if one day there should be an important asion that fell on the same day as his first love¡¯s death anniversary, what would happen then? When that time came, who would be more important to him? She almost felt ridiculous at having to vie with a dead person. She drew in a deep breath and reached out to remove his arms, that were wrapped around her waist. Turning around, she forced a weak smile and said, ¡°I¡¯m feeling a little tired today.¡± She lowered her gaze and brushed past him as she headed for the stairs. She hurriedly went up the stairs and into their bedroom, then changed into her pajamas and nestled herself under the nket without bothering to take a shower. The wind had been chilly at the cemetery and now she felt a headacheing on. At this point, she heard the bedroom door being opened. Shen Liangchuan walked in and as she heard his footsteps approaching the bed, every muscle of her body tensed up. After a short while, she heard his footsteps stop at the door. Her eyes were wide-open and she stared straight ahead. Then his low voice could be heard clearly across the room saying, ¡°Song Yuanxi will be going abroad tomorrow.¡± Qiao Lian almost jumped, startled by these words. Her eyes widened. What was he saying? Qiao Lian immediately sat up, looking at him as though she could not believe her own ears. Song Yuanxi had done so many harmful deeds, yet all along he had just turned a blind eye. She had thought that it was because of his first love, that he was exceptionally permissive with her. Just like today... He had heard directly from Su Meimei how Song Yuanxi had been behind the incident involving Fan Lu. But the next minute, he had gone to the hospital to see her. Qiao Lian would have been lying if she said she didn¡¯t mind it. After all, she was no saint! Not only did she mind it, she minded it a lot. But now he was telling her that Song Yuanxi was going abroad? How could Song Yuanxi be going abroad? Her leg was broken and she was in the midst of filming; moreover, she was hell bent on breaking them up. The only reason that Qiao Lian could think of for the sudden departure was that Shen Liangchuan had forced her. Was he doing this for her? She suddenly felt a wave of warmth envelop her, driving away the iciness in her heart. She could feel the cold numbness in her limbs going away. Shen Liangchuan saw her expression and took a step towards her. He reached out and ruffled her hair affectionately. ¡°She will never have the chance to harm you again.¡± At once, Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes grew watery with hot tears. Right at this moment, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s cell phone rang. He picked up the line and immediately heard Song Cheng saying with great urgency, ¡°Brother Shen,e to the hospital quickly. Ms. Song is threatening to jump off the building!¡± Chapter 488 - Who Is More Important? (8)

Chapter 488: Who Is More Important? (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Song Cheng¡¯s voice came through the cell phone loudly and Qiao Lian could hear every word he said. Her pupils shrank as she saw Shen Liangchuan¡¯s grip on the cell phone tighten. He pursed his lips and said to Song Cheng, ¡°I¡¯ll be there right away.¡± Immediately, he hung up the phone and turned to go. Recognizing the urgency of the situation, Qiao Lian got up and threw on some clothes, then dashed out of the bedroom after Shen Liangchuan. As she opened the front door, she saw that Shen Liangchuan¡¯s car was about to leave the vi. Taking as many big strides as she could manage, she ran up to the car, pulled open the passenger seat door and got into the vehicle. Clearly, Shen Liangchuan had not expected her toe along. The car pulled to a momentary stop as he turned to look at her. But she was looking straight ahead and said, ¡°Hurry up, we don¡¯t have time!¡± Song Yuanxi was threatening to kill herself. Qiao Lian had a bad premonition about this. She did not know if Song Yuanxi was serious about killing herself, or if this was just emotional ckmail to get her own way. Qiao Lian was not a scheming person, but Song Yuanxi contrarily had a hidden agenda. She was worried about Shen Liangchuan facing her on his own, he might just fall into one of her little ploys. Besides, if he was sending Song Yuanxi abroad because of her, she wanted to be by his side to show that she was going to be there through thick and thin. Shen Liangchuan seemed to understand her intention from the look in her eyes. He pursed his lips and wordlessly stepped on the elerator, driving off at high speed. The sky had darkened, and there was the rare asion of traffic being smooth in Beijing. From the vi it took them only 20 minutes to get to the hospital. They ran through many red lights along the way, but they finally arrived. The car drove directly into the hospital grounds and immediately, they saw a chaotic scene. A crowd had gathered around to watch the dramatic event. The police had arrived and were setting up an air cushion below the building. Some people were looking up at the top of the building. Following their gaze, Qiao Lian saw that on the rooftop of the building there was a girl in a white hospital gown standing there. The night wind was quite strong, so her gown was billowing around her. Her frail figure looked as though it would be swept away by the wind at any moment¡ªit was a ghastly sight to behold. Qiao Lian¡¯s heart pounded. She turned around and realized that Shen Liangchuan, who had been next to her a moment ago, had dashed towards the elevators. Without another word, Qiao Lian gritted her teeth and ran after him. The wind on the rooftop was more fierce than on the ground. There was a bone-chilling iciness as it whistled around them. The moment they stepped on the rooftop, their bodies were numb with the cold. In her hurry to leave the house, Qiao Lian had only worn a sweater over her clothes, thus the wind easily prated it, causing her to shake in the freezing temperatures. However, Song Yuanxi was wearing only a thin hospital gown and she stood there steadily, as though she felt nothing. There was a policeman in front of her holding a handset and he was trying to talk her around. However, she did not seem to register a word he was saying. She looked spaced-out and had a determined expression. Shen Liangchuan strode close to where she was and shouted, ¡°Song Yuanxi! What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± His voice was dispersed by the howling wind. However the moment Song Yuanxi heard his voice, her attention was caught and she seemed toe back to life. With her eyes lit up, she turned to Shen Liangchuan and her eyes reddened at once. ¡°Brother Liangchuan!¡± Shen Liangchuan drew in a deep breath. His heart was now in his throat. He red at her and called out, ¡°Come over here at once!¡± Song Yuanxi shook her head. ¡°No! I don¡¯t want to live anymore!¡± Shen Liangchuan frowned and asked, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because you no longer want me around. There¡¯s no need for me to keep living!¡± Chapter 489 - Who Is More Important? (9)

Chapter 489: Who Is More Important? (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression darkened and he called out again, ¡°Song Yuanxi,e down at once!¡± ¡°No, Brother Liangchuan. You¡¯re my only family and now you¡¯re abandoning me. Why do you care if I live or die?¡± Shen Liangchuan took in another deep breath and repeated what he said, ¡°Come down here at once. I am not abandoning you.¡± Song Yuanxi¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Brother Liangchuan, do you mean you¡¯re not sending me away anymore?¡± Qiao Lian stood away in a dark corner, afraid that her presence would agitate Song Yuanxi. However, the moment she heard this, she realized Song Yuanxi had been waiting for them. She did not want to be sent abroad, so she was using her own life and death to ckmail Shen Liangchuan. Qiao Lian bit her lip. She knew that Shen Liangchuan would not just stand there and do nothing. Even if it were an ordinary person instead of Song Yuanxi, he would surely do something about it¡ªwhat wouldn¡¯t he do for histe first love¡¯s own sister? Qiao Lian clenched her fists and looked at Shen Liangchuan. Suddenly, she felt exhausted andpletely helpless. Perhaps the more he tried to get rid of this burden from his past, the tighter it would cling onto him. She understood how he must be feeling at this very moment. How could he watch his first love¡¯s sister kill herself?! She harshly bit her lip, feeling that life was only full of gloom. She saw no light at the end of the tunnel at all. Qiao Lian did not speak a single word, but stood there silently and watched. She thought that Shen Liangchuan would relent ande to apromise. But to her great surprise, when Shen Liangchuan finally spoke, he said instead, ¡°Even if you went abroad, you¡¯d still be my sister.¡± Qiao Lian was stunned by his words and looked up. Her eyes lit up at once. At this point, she had thought that even if Shen Liangchuan had agreed not to send Song Yuanxi away, she couldn¡¯t me him. But she did not expect him to be so resolute in his decision. She wasn¡¯t the only one who was surprised. Song Yuanxi herself obviously did not expect this oue. Her expression changed at once. She bit her lip. ¡°Brother Liangchuan, how can you be so heartless?!¡± Shen Liangchuan looked at her intently and replied, ¡°Yuanxi, it will be good for everyone if you went away.¡± ¡°No! I don¡¯t want to! If you send me away, I will kill myself!¡± Having said that, she took a step backwards. She had been standing very near the edge of the roof to begin with. And now she was dangerously on the verge of falling over! Shen Liangchuan saw how devastated she was and narrowed his eyes. The policeman quickly intervened and said, ¡°Mr. Shen, please don¡¯t agitate her. Just go with what she says and then talk to her again once shees down. We¡¯re talking about a life here, please don¡¯t take it lightly!¡± The other policeman nearby nodded and agreed, ¡°That¡¯s right. She says she doesn¡¯t want to go abroad. Just agree first and we¡¯ll talk to herter!¡± Shen Liangchuan was a public figure, both policemen had recognized him. However, because they were on a high-rise building, the people below could not see his face clearly. Looking straight at Song Yuanxi, he said coldly, ¡°Song Yuanxi, do not test myst bit of patience and tolerance towards you.¡± With these words, Song Yuanxi¡¯s hopes werepletely crushed. She looked back at Shen Liangchuan and, finally, bit her lip. At once, she lowered her voice and said, ¡°I can go. And I can stop setting her up, but can you promise me something?¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s face was tense and he kept silent. Still looking at him intently, she continued, ¡°I want you to divorce that woman! Otherwise, I will jump off the building!¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression was determined and he didn¡¯t think twice before saying, ¡°That is impossible!¡± Impossible. Song Yuanxi¡¯s pupils shrank at once. She suddenly turned around as she said, ¡°I mean what I say!¡± As she said these words, her feet left the ground and she jumped forward. Chapter 490 - Who Is More Important? (10)

Chapter 490: Who Is More Important? (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The moment Qiao Lian saw that she was going to jump, her heart almost stopped. Without thinking, she rushed forward intending to pull the girl back. However the next second, a policeman grabbed Song Yuanxi¡¯s arm tightly and, with a strong heave, pulled her to safety. Song Yuanxi fell on the ground. Qiao Lian sighed with great relief. She looked at Shen Liangchuan again. No wonder he had been so determined in rejecting her pleas. Perhaps it was because he had seen that there were people already in position to save the girl. But still, this had been way too dangerous. She looked at Song Yuanxi. Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help developing a sense of fear. If Song Yuanxi had really jumped off the building a moment ago, if she had really died... Shen Liangchuan would have lived in torment for the rest of his life. Would she and Shen Liangchuan be able to continue life as though nothing had ever happened? As this thought entered her head, she suddenly felt a great fury rising in her. She took a step forward and stood right in front of Song Yuanxi. Then she bent over, tightly grabbed Song Yuanxi¡¯s cor and gave her a good dressing-down. ¡°Weakling! Only a weakling like you would choose tomit suicide to punish another person!¡± ¡°Song Yuanxi, you have lived as part of the Shen Family for so many years! Have you not thought about how devastated Mom would be if you had really died?¡± ¡°You said you have no other family... Do you know Mom is so exhausted that the moment her head touches the pillow, she falls fast asleep? But she still insists oning to the hospital to watch over you!¡± ¡°And Shen Liangchuan... He treats you like his own little sister! Do you even know how you got this role in the film? This is your first film, do you think Shen Liangchuan selected it without care? At that time, he looked through scripts every day and from a pile of scripts, he selected one that suited your image the most!¡± ¡°You go around as though everyone owes you and you think you¡¯re always right, but...¡± At this point, she paused and nced at Shen Liangchuan. Then, she pursed her lips and continued, ¡°No matter what reasons you have, it is wrong of you to continually try to break up other people¡¯s family!¡± ¡°Song Yuanxi, you are bent on separating Shen Liangchuan and me? Let me tell you this now. I, Qiao Lian, have taken him to be my man and I will not be separated from him!¡± As these words fell loud and clear, they stunned everyone that was present. Song Yuanxi, just rescued from the brink of death, looked up angrily. Shen Liangchuan too turned to look at her with an unfathomable expression on his face. Qiao Lian looked at Song Yuanxi in the eyes and suddenly lowered her voice. ¡°Don¡¯t you hate me to the core? Actually if you had died, everything would havee to an end. But you are the only living proof of your sister¡¯s existence, the only living reminder of her. If you are gone, Shen Liangchuan and I will surely live happily ever after!¡± Holding her gaze steadily on Song Yuanxi, she continued, ¡°You can only remind him of your sister if you continue living!¡± She spoke in a low voice. As the wind was strong on the rooftop, apart from Song Yuanxi, no one else heard these words. After Song Yuanxi heard what Qiao Lian said, her eyes shed piercingly. She had never intended to kill herself. She only wanted to separate them, and she only wanted Shen Liangchuan topromise. But now... Song Yuanxi clenched her fists tightly and red at Qiao Lian with hatred in her eyes. Suddenly, her lips turned up in a smirk. ¡°I will not let you two live together happily!¡± After a moment, she stood up and staggered back to the ward. Chapter 491 - Song Yuanxi, Is That Enough? (1)

Chapter 491: Song Yuanxi, Is That Enough? (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian cast her gaze downwards as she looked at Song Yuanxi¡¯s back. At this point, she suddenly felt warmth. Turning her head back, she saw Shen Liangchuan had walked up beside her and had draped his jacket over her shoulders. With great concern in his eyes he said, ¡°Why did youe out here without something to keep you warm?¡± Looking down, he saw that she was only wearing slippers. His frown deepened. With one fluid motion, he scooped her up in his arms and strode down the stairs, and back to the car. After a night ofmotion, they were finally heading back to the vi. In the master bedroom. Qiao Lian was tucked into bed by Shen Liangchuan. Song Cheng, on the other hand, was dealing with the aftermath of the suicide saga at the hospital. He made a call to Shen Liangchuan. ¡°Ms. Song has calmed down and agreed to leave the country tomorrow.¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded and calmly agreed. Song Cheng continued, ¡°Ms. Song asked if she would be able to bid farewell to Senior Madam tomorrow before she leaves.¡± Shen Liangchuan frowned as he recalled Song Yuanxi¡¯s mad course of action today. He outrightly rejected the idea. ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± It was to prevent Song Yuanxi from saying things to Xia Yehua so that Xia Yehua would not bear to let her go. If that happened, it could create another drama. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s decision was within Song Cheng¡¯s expectations. Thetter added, ¡°I did tell her that chances were low, but she insisted that I asked anyway. So... will you be at the airport tomorrow?¡± Qiao Lian turned to look at Shen Liangchuan. He frowned and after a brief moment, said, ¡°No, I won¡¯t be there.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± Song Cheng hung up the phone. Qiao Lian gave Shen Liangchuan a worried look. ¡°But if Song Yuanxi leaves, how are you going to break the news to Mom?¡± Shen Liangchuan pursed his lips and replied, ¡°We¡¯ll take it as ites.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. Song Yuanxi had good rapport with almost everyone in the household and was extremely well-liked. Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help but sigh. She clutched tightly to her nket and soon drifted off to sleep. In the midst of her sleep, she suddenly heard a loud thump. Qiao Lian jumped and her eyes immediately snapped open. Then she heard someone pounding on their bedroom door. ¡°Liangchuan, Liangchuan, open the door! Hurry!¡± Before Qiao Lian was even fully awake, the man next to her had already stood up and walked over to open the bedroom door. Xia Yehua came dashing in the moment the door was opened. She was in her pajamas and looked rather bedraggled. Her fingers were trembling as she said, ¡°Liang Chuan, hurry, have a look at this! Is this Yuanxi!?¡± Upon hearing this, Shen Liangchuan looked at what Xia Yehua was holding in her hands. So it seemed that the suicide attempt incident at the hospital had already been posted on Weibo and was trending online. Xia Yehua must have woken up in the middle of the night and, unable to get back to sleep, looked through Weibo and came across this. Shen Liangchuan reached out and put his hand firmly on Ye Xiahua¡¯s shoulder to assure her, ¡°Mom, Yuanxi¡¯s fine.¡± Xia Yehua heaved a big sigh of relief. Then frowning, she asked, ¡°So what is wrong with Yuanxi?¡± Her eyes reddened, oblivious to the fact that it was the middle of the night and she was in the couple¡¯s bedroom. She walked over to the sofa by the side of the room and sat down. She looked at the couple. ¡°Speak up, what is going on among the three of you?¡± Although she had been busy with Song Yuanxi¡¯s recovery the past few days, she was notpletely unaware of the emotional ups and downs of the three young people at home. Song Yuanxi had been hospitalized and Shen Liangchuan had not even visited her once. And today, the girl had gone as far as to attempt suicide... What on earth was going on with the three of them? Chapter 492 - Song Yuanxi, Is It Enough? (2)

Chapter 492: Song Yuanxi, Is It Enough? (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Following Xia Yehua¡¯s question, Qiao Lian threw a nce at Shen Liangchuan. He pursed his lips, apparently not wishing to lie but also not knowing how to put the truth across. Qiao Lian blinked and looked at Xia Yehua. Then she spoke, ¡°Mom, Yuanxi was just fooling around with us, none of us expected it to blow up. She¡¯s fine now, really.¡± Xia Yehua narrowed her eyes when she heard this. ¡°Xiao Qiao, you¡¯re telling the truth?¡± Qiao Lian was about to say something to gloss over the matter when Xia Yehua continued, unconvinced, ¡°I may be getting old and muddled, but my heart is not muddled!¡± She turned to Shen Liangchuan instead. ¡°How much longer are you intending to keep me in the dark?¡± Qiao Lian made a motion to speak again, but this time Shen Liangchuan interrupted her. ¡°Mom, there are a few things that we ought to let you know now.¡± Xia Yehua paused and gave attention as she noted Shen Liangchuan¡¯s serious expression. With a few broad and vague sentences, he told her about what Song Yuanxi had done. Although he had tried to paint a rtively casual storyline, Xia Yehua was, after all, someone who had been through too much in life. So hearing about the suicide attempt and the incident with the birth control drug was enough to frighten her. After hearing the whole story, she ced her hand on her chest and frowning deeply, said, ¡°Why is Yuanxi targeting Xiao Qiao? Liangchuan, I¡¯ve never questioned you or your decisions too much. But even now, won¡¯t you tell me who exactly Song Yuanxi is?¡± On this note, Qiao Lian looked straight at Shen Liangchuan. Although she now knew who Song Yuanxi was, this information had nevere from Shen Liangchuan himself. And now, was Shen Liangchuan going to tell his mother about his first love? She continued to fix her gaze on Shen Liangchuan, hoping to find out why or how she had died because of him. Shen Liangchuan frowned at Xia Yehua¡¯s question. His gaze, however, fell on Qiao Lian. It wasplex and undecipherable. It was hard to interpret that look, or what the man was thinking. After a brief pause, Shen Liangchuan finally spoke, ¡°She¡¯s the sister of an old friend.¡± Puzzled, Xia Yehua probed further, ¡°What sort of old friend?¡± Shen Liangchuan pursed his lips tightly. It was evident that he wasn¡¯t going to reveal more. Xia Yehua sighed, ¡°These things that Yuanxi has done... Are you really going to send her away?¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded in affirmation. ¡°It¡¯s the only way we can keep peace in the household.¡± Xia Yehua threw a nce at Qiao Lian. She looked at the couple before her intently, and spoke after a long pause. ¡°This child Yuanxi... Actually, she has always liked you as more than brother.¡± Obviously, Shen Liangchuan was not expecting to hear this sort of news and frowned at his mother. He quickly said, ¡°Mom, you¡¯re speaking nonsense. I¡ª¡± ¡°I am not speaking nonsense. How could I not know what a girl thinks, even if you don¡¯t? She spent years furthering her studies overseas, only because she hoped that when she returned, she¡¯d be a good match for you.¡± Clearly, Xia Yehua had gone way off-track. ¡°I wonder if she¡¯s harbouring ill feelings and targeting Qiao Lian because of this?¡± Feeling quite sure that she had nailed it, Xia Yehua sighed deeply. She turned to Shen Liangchuan and reprimanded him, ¡°People always say that women jinx things, but for our Xiao Qiao, you are the jinx! Look at how you¡¯ve made your innocent wife suffer?¡± Shen Liangchuan was speechless. Xia Yehua reached out for Xiao Qiao¡¯s hands once again. ¡°Xiao Qiao, in the next few months you have to rest and recover well. Don¡¯t worry about having children for now. You can do that after you recover.¡± Qiao Lian refrained from replying. After saying this to the couple, Xia Yehua stood up, trying to look rxed. She smiled as she said, ¡°That¡¯s enough for tonight. Rest well, both of you. I¡¯m going back to bed.¡± Chapter 493 - Song Yuanxi, Is That Enough? (3)

Chapter 493: Song Yuanxi, Is That Enough? (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xia Yehua shut the bedroom door behind her as she left. Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan exchanged looks. Following this, Qiao Lian jumped off the bed and walked to the door. She looked out through the peephole. As she looked through, she caught Xia Yehua¡¯s magnified eye looking back and it gave her a fright. Then, she saw Xia Yehua hovering around for a bit before cing her ear to the door. Qiao Lian blinked and made a hush signal to Shen Liangchuan. Shen Liangchuan stayed silent. After a while, probably thinking that they had gone to bed, Xia Yehua tip-toed quietly back to her own room. Not too long afterwards, she walked out again, dressed up, and headed downstairs Seeing this, it didn¡¯t take much for Qiao Lian to guess where she was going. After all, Xia Yehua had looked after Song Yuanxi for thest eight years and the strong bond between them was a given. ¨C Indeed, Xia Yehua had sneaked off to the hospital. She headed straight for Song Yuanxi¡¯s ward. Upon entering the ward, she saw Song Yuanxi sitting there staring nkly into space. The girl turned as she heard the sound of someone entering. Her tiny face was pale, without blood. Her frail figure in the white and roomy hospital gown made her look like a walking corpse. She was almost just skin and bones. Xia Yehua¡¯s heart softened immediately when she looked at the girl. With reddened eyes, she took a step towards Song Yuanxi. Her lips trembled as she barely managed to call out the girl¡¯s name, ¡°Yuanxi...¡± At once, Song Yuanxi¡¯s tears started to roll down her cheeks. Ignoring her own broken leg, she tried to stand up. When Xia Yehua saw this, she hurriedly walked up to the girl and held her hands. Song Yuanxi immediately copsed into the woman¡¯s embrace, crying, ¡°Auntie!¡± Xia Yehua sighed as she held the girl. ¡°Yuanxi, why did you do this?! You silly child. No matter what, you must not take your own life, do you understand?¡± Song Yuanxi only cried and did not utter a word. Xia Yehua then looked at her and said after a pause, ¡°Yuanxi, you switched Xiao Qiao¡¯s birth control drug?¡± Song Yuanxi bit her lip and hung her head. ¡°Auntie, are you very disappointed in me?¡± Xia Yehua sighed again. ¡°You¡¯ve always been a gentle and kind girl. I cannot believe that you would do such things. Yuanxi, what is wrong?¡± Song Yuanxi clenched her fists tightly and looked at her after a pause. ¡°Auntie, I don¡¯t want to go abroad!¡± Then, she started crying again after saying this. She grasped Xia Yehua¡¯s hands tightly and said, ¡°Auntie, can you please help talk Brother Liangchuan around? I admit I was wrong, I don¡¯t want to leave!¡± Xia Yehua withdrew her hands when she heard this. Song Yuanxi froze at this gesture, and she immediately looked at the elderly woman. ¡°Auntie...¡± Xia Yehua stared at her and reached out to tuck the girl¡¯s hair behind her ear. ¡°Yuanxi, if you¡¯ve done something wrong, then you¡¯ll have to ept the punishment.¡± Song Yuanxi¡¯s pupils shrank as she heard these words. Xia Yehua continued, ¡°It might be a good thing for you to spend a few years abroad and wait until the matter blows over. And when everyone¡¯s more mature, you cane back again. How about that?¡± Song Yuanxi¡¯s tears continued to stream down her cheeks. She knew that Xia Yehua was a woman of principles. There was only so much she would do to help. She nodded. Then she said, ¡°Auntie, I need to go to the bathroom.¡± Xia Yehua nodded. Minutes passed and suddenly, she realized... Song Yuanxi had been gone a little too long! Xia Yehua immediately stood up and went to the bathroom. Pushing the bathroom door open, she discovered to her dismay that there was no one there! Chapter 494 - Song Yuanxi, Is That Enough? (4)

Chapter 494: Song Yuanxi, Is That Enough? (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xia Yehua widened her eyes. No one? Why was no one there? Had she gone to... attempt suicide again? Xia Yehua¡¯s heart started to pound furiously. Because she had turned up, Song Cheng had let down his guard. He had not expected that in the blink of an eye, Song Yuanxi would disappear. He hurriedly made a call to Shen Liangchuan. Shen Liangchuan was at home, paying attention to his cell phone and waiting for news from Xia Yehua. Upon hearing what Song Cheng said, he narrowed his eyes and suggested, ¡°Go and take a look at the rooftop.¡± Song Cheng nodded and immediately headed to the rooftop, panting and trying to catch his breath as he ran. ¡°I¡¯m running in that direction now.¡± After two minutes, a puzzled Song Cheng eximed, ¡°There¡¯s no one here!¡± Shen Liangchuan was already getting changed. He turned around when he heard the sound of someone moving. It was Qiao Lian. He patted her shoulder to reassure her that everything was fine. ¡°Go back to sleep, I¡¯ll go take a look.¡± At this point, Qiao Lian indeed had no wish to have anything more to do with this Song Yuanxi mess. She had a limit too! Besides, Shen Liangchuan was so determined now, she believed that he wouldn¡¯t change his mind. Hence, shey back down on the bed and covered herself with the nket, saying, ¡°Ok.¡± After he got changed, he walked out of the bedroom. ¡°Search the areas around the hospital and the tall buildings as well.¡± ¡°Yes, Senior Madam and I are already looking.¡± It was already the wee hours, four in the morning. It was the time the human body wound down. Hence, when Xia Yehua had arrived at the hospital and asked Song Cheng to rest, he had carelessly fallen asleep. And this was the time that the hospital was at its quietest. To have a few people searching for a missing girl was all the more challenging because of this! Shen Liangchuan changed his house slippers for his shoes, picked up his cell phone and walked out to his garage. Very soon, he was on his way. Song Cheng, at his end, gave frequent updates on the search progress. There was a sense of urgency¡ªit was very worrying. Although Song Yuanxi had done a few things that were really wrong, if anything actually happened to her... Shen Liangchuan did not want to think of the worst. Song Yuanxi was an adult, and she had to be responsible for her own actions. Now he spoke to Song Cheng, ¡°How long has it been since she disappeared?¡± As he was saying this, his car just passed the vi¡¯s main entrance. Song Cheng replied, ¡°About 12 minutes. She said she needed to go to the restroom, and it was about ten minutester that Madam got suspicious, as there was no sign of her returning. Shen Liangchuan frowned. At this point of time, a car came towards him. Its high beams were turned on, temporarily blinding Shen Liangchuan¡¯s vision. Hence, he wasn¡¯t able to see much. He squinted and saw that the car had driven off to the side road. Frowning still, Shen Liangchuan thought nothing of it. There was a naggy feeling bothering him. If Song Yuanxi had really wanted to kill herself, she wouldn¡¯t have needed to make an announcement. She could have just jumped without all the drama. There was no need to bring them there to ckmail them. So he had concluded that Song Yuanxi did not really have the courage to kill herself. But now, he had no idea where she could have gone to. If not to kill herself, what else would she have wanted to do? At this point, he suddenly seemed to have thought of something. He stepped on his brakes! After this, he instructed Song Cheng, ¡°Check if Senior Madam¡¯s car is around!¡± Song Cheng responded to his tone of urgency and quickly ran to the garage. Three minutester... ¡°Senior Madam¡¯s car is not around!!¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s heart missed a beat as he spun his car around and sped towards the vi. Just as he arrived at the security entrance, the security officer opened the gate and said to him, ¡°Mr. Shen, Senior Madam Shen has juste home, and now you¡¯re back too!¡± Chapter 495 - Song Yuanxi, Is That Enough? (5)

Chapter 495: Song Yuanxi, Is That Enough? (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan froze upon hearing what the security officer said. Without another word, he stepped on the elerator and sped towards the vi! ¨C After Shen Liangchuan had left, Qiao Lian had been unable to fall asleep. Clutching to her nket, she tossed and turned in bed. All this because of a first love. Song Yuanxi had been boldly creating so much havoc. For the same reason now, Shen Liangchuan was not able topletely ignore Song Yuanxi, and had had to be interrupted a second time on the same night. To say the least, it was annoying. She tossed yet again and was about to try sleeping face down, when suddenly the sound of a car engine approaching the house. Qiao Lian was surprised. Had Shen Liangchuan returned so soon after leaving? Since she was awake, she got up, put on an overcoat and went downstairs. Then, she saw the front door swing open. She asked as she stepped closer to have a look, ¡°Have you found Song Yuanxi¡ª¡± Before she could finish her sentence, her pupils immediately shrank as she saw the person who had appeared before her. ¡°Song Yuanxi?!¡± Qiao Lian waspletely taken by surprise. Correct, the person standing at the door was not Shen Liangchuan, but Song Yuanxi, still in her hospital gown. Blood was trickling down her leg as she stood there, trying to steady herself. She wasn¡¯t wearing a jacket and was shivering from the cold. Her face was pale and she looked sick, but her eyes had a frightening and dangerous glint to them. Qiao Lian frowned. ¡°Why are you here? Don¡¯t you know that Shen Liangchuan and the rest of them are desperately looking for you?!¡± She hurriedly turned around and picked up the telephone to dial Shen Liangchuan¡¯s number, to inform him. However, the moment she did this, an icy hand reached out to disconnect the line. She looked up sharply and saw Song Yuanxi standing in front of her. Qiao Lian frowned with surprise. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Song Yuanxiughed and said, ¡°What am I doing? What am I not doing... I¡¯m the loser. Of course, I¡¯m here to plead with you!¡± Qiao Lian looked displeased. ¡°I don¡¯t think we have much to talk about. Please get out!¡± Song Yuanxi reached out to grab Qiao Lian¡¯s arm. ¡°Qiao Lian, you¡¯re the only person left who can talk to Brother Liangchuan on my behalf, so that he won¡¯t send me away!¡± Qiao Lian found this request a joke. ¡°Why would I help you plead¡±? Song Yuanxi narrowed her eyes and said, ¡°If you help me stay, I can cast aside all my prejudices against you.¡± Then, she suddenly pursed her lips. ¡°I don¡¯t want to leave. I don¡¯t want to go abroad. Qiao Lian, please, I beg of you.¡± Qiao Lian took a step backward to free herself from Song Yuanxi¡¯s grip. Biting her lip, she red at Song Yuanxi and added, ¡°Song Yuanxi, don¡¯t you feel this is really funny? If I help you stay, you¡¯ll put aside your bias... I¡¯ve said this before. The person who owes your sister is Shen Liangchuan. I don¡¯t owe her anything! Their past has got nothing to do with me!¡± Looking agitated, Song Yuanxi retorted, ¡°Who says it has nothing to do with you? If it weren¡¯t for you¡ª¡± Before she could continue, the front door was flung open! Shen Liangchuan immediately strode in, bringing the chill of the night air into the room. When he saw the two of them, he froze and said, ¡°Xiao Qiao, be careful!¡± Song Yuanxi turned to look at Shen Liangchuan, her eyes zed as she revealed the fruit knife she was carrying in her hand, hidden in the sleeves of the hospital gown. In a sh, she raised the shiny de and struck in Qiao Lian¡¯s direction. Upon hearing Shen Liangchuan¡¯s warning, Qiao Lian tried to dodge it, but as Song Yuanxi¡¯s attack came quickly and unexpectedly, it was toote to move away. Chapter 496 - Song Yuanxi, Is That Enough? (6)

Chapter 496: Song Yuanxi, Is That Enough? (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian had never expected that Song Yuanxi would be this insane. All along, she had thought that Song Yuanxi only harboured ill feelings towards her. But now, as Song Yuanxi directed the fruit knife towards her, she realized that for Song Yuanxi it wasn¡¯t just a matter of her having ¡°snatched Shen Liangchuan away.¡± Qiao Lian saw something else in Song Yuanxi¡¯s eyes. It was a look of pure hatred. Yes. Hatred. Song Yuanxi hated her to the core, to the extent that she would kill her, even if they had to die together. This certainly wasn¡¯t the thinking a first love¡¯s sister could have! All these thoughts came at once, triggering something that Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t quite put her finger on. She stood there watching the de as it came hurtling through the thin air towards her and, when it was about to strike her, she felt someone violently pulling her arm. Then she fell right into a familiar embrace, avoiding the disaster altogether. Song Yuanxi¡¯s knife met empty space, while she turned her head and saw she hated person now in Shen Liangchuan¡¯s protective embrace. Her pupils were now fully constricted, void of all emotions except raging hatred, looking more insane than before. She spun around. ¡°Brother Liangchuan, I will surely kill her today.¡± She raised the knife once again and charged at Qiao Lian! This time, with enough warning, how would Qiao Lian not get away? Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes, frowned and jumped out of the way to dodge the knife. She had thought that this time, with a dyed attack and time to escape, things would be fine. But what followed was a shocking scene. The sound of a sharp object piercing through flesh was heard. Qiao Lian froze and spun around at once. She saw the knife Song Yuanxi was holding had pierced right into Shen Liangchuan¡¯s chest. How was this possible? Evidently, the blow had not been beyond Shen Liangchuan¡¯s ability to evade it, so now... why had this happened? The sharp pain in his chest caused him to turn pale, and his forehead was now wet with perspiration. But he stared at Song Yuanxi expressionlessly. Song Yuanxi was shocked and stared at the knife in disbelief. They didn¡¯t have many fruit knives at home, but this particr one was the sharpest. Now the entire de was buried in Shen Liangchuan¡¯s chest and only the knife handle was visible. Song Yuanxi shook her head and widened her eyes... She thought that her eyes were ying tricks. The knife had aimed at Qiao Lian, why had it pierced Brother Liangchuan instead? In her fright, she wanted to take a step back, but suddenly a hand gripped her wrist firmly. That hand had prominent bones. They were good looking hands. Hands that she had once dreamed would hold her own some day. Yet now that hand¡¯s freezing coldness seemed to be generating an electric current, causing her skin to retaliate with pain. She looked up and stammered, ¡°I- I- Brother Liangchuan- I- I didn¡¯t mean to¡ª¡± Before she could finish, he suddenly lunged forward and red at her right in the eye. ¡°A life for a life. Is that enough?¡± Is that enough? Is that enough? Song Yuanxi widened her eyes and stared at the gathering scarlet fluid. The fresh red color of blood was like a deluge from a bursting dam. Now that the liquid had found an outlet, it couldn¡¯t wait to gush out. Shen Liangchuan was wearing a ck sweater. The ck around the wound had darkened even more... Song Yuanxi let go of the knife as she stepped back involuntarily. The pain in her leg now caused it to give way and she fell onto the ground! How did this happen? She had never intended to hurt Brother Liangchuan! Chapter 497 - Song Yuanxi, Is That Enough? (7)

Chapter 497: Song Yuanxi, Is That Enough? (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Qiao Lian finally somewhat recovered from the shock, she saw Shen Liangchuan stagger unsteadily. She rushed forward to steady him and looked again at the fruit knife that had been plunged into his chest. Although the knife de was buried in his body, she felt a sharp pain as though her heart had just been pierced. ¡°Shen Liangchuan...¡± her lips quivered as she spoke nervously, then she saw him slightly raise his eyebrows. Qiao Lian felt like she hadpletely fallen apart, not knowing what to do. At this time, Auntie Li walked out of her bedroom and into the living room. Seeing the situation, she was scared into a stupor. ¡°My god! Sir! Sir!¡± She rushed forward anxiously. Perhaps it was her sharp voice that made Qiao Lian snap backpletely. Suddenly, she came back to her senses and shouted, ¡°Hurry! Call 911!¡± The knife was plunged into his chest and if it had punctured his lung... or if it had pierced his heart... Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t bring herself to think of the consequences! She clenched her fists tightly, her eyes were now wet with tears. ¡°Shen Liangchuan, Shen Liangchuan, you have to stay strong for me! Stay strong, do you hear me?¡± Ten minutester, the ambnce arrived at the vi. The nurses transferred Shen Liangchuan to the stretcher and, with Qiao Lian following closely behind, they got into the ambnce. On the way, the nurses performed a simple examination, and then heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°Fortunately the stab is to the side, the internal organs aren¡¯t injured. Otherwise there would be trouble.¡± Upon hearing this, Qiao Lian could finally exhale. ¨C Qiao Lian and Auntie Li had anxiously apanied Shen Liangchuan and left with the ambnce. In the apartment, Song Yuanxi sat on the floor, her eyes fixed on the departing ambnce until it disappeared from her sight. In her mind, all she could only see was Shen Liangchuan¡¯s face. She looked down at her own hands. They were covered with a scarlet stain of fresh blood. The color was ring and caused her pupils to shrink back. How could she have hurt Brother Liangchuan? How could she?! Eight years ago, that moment when Brother Liangchuan came to her and took her home, she had made up her mind that she would be good to him for the rest of her life. She would rather have been the one stabbed a moment ago and not Brother Liangchuan. Especially when Brother Liangchuan had said those words... ¡°A life for a life, is that enough?¡± Is that enough? Apart from her broken leg, Song Yuanxi now felt agonizing pain all over her body. Brother Liangchuan... She knew that this time her Brother Liangchuan would never forgive her. She hadpletely lost her Brother Liangchuan... Then, she recalled the moment Xia Yehua had appeared at the hospital. When she realized that going abroad had be an irreversible reality for herself, she had slipped into an abnormal state of mind. She could not recall how she had ended up in the vi, how she had gotten that fruit knife... She looked at her trembling hands that were covered in blood. At this point, she tried to stand up. However, the sharp pain in her leg shot through her body and caused her to slump onto the ground again. All of a sudden, she clutched her own face, leaving blood stains all over her pale skin. After a while, a soft sobbing could be hearding out of the house. And following this, there was the sound ofughter. The hysterical mix ofughter and crying was quite nerve-wracking to listen to. The housekeepers did not understand what was going on, and one of them finally walked up to tap Song Yuanxi¡¯s shoulder. At the touch, she started to tremble, looking agitated. Chapter 498 - Song Yuanxi, Is That Enough? (8)

Chapter 498: Song Yuanxi, Is That Enough? (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At the hospital¡¯s VIP ward. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s eyes were closed and he was pale from the great blood loss. The doctor instructed, ¡°It¡¯s fortunate that the patient didn¡¯t suffer any internal organ injuries. But because the wound is quite deep, he¡¯ll need to stay and be monitored to ensure there¡¯s no internal bleeding. During this period, he is not to take part in strenuous exercise and needs to avoid getting his wound wet to prevent infections.¡± Qiao Lian took in every word that the doctor said and nodded in silence. After the doctor had given his instructions, the group of people filed out. Now it was only Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan in the ward. She looked at Shen Liangchuan lying on the hospital bed and recalled the moment Song Yuanxi plunged the knife into him. She remembered him saying to Song Yuanxi, ¡°A life for a life, is that enough?¡± Those words were solemn and moving, but also very decisive. There was an underlying tone of aggressiveness and impatience. Qiao Lian took a deep breath and walked to his bed. She took his hand, ced on the nket, and put her own face against it. Shen Liangchuan, why are you this silly? Did you do that because of me? Qiao Lian could not define the emotions she was feeling. Ever since she had found out Song Yuanxi¡¯s sister was his first love, her feelings had beenplex andplicated until now. She took a deep breath, knowing that no matter what the future held, the journey had to continue. It was not until noon that Shen Liangchuan woke up. At this point, Xia Yehua had rushed over to the hospital. Her eyes were bloodshot from having stayed up all night. The moment she stepped into the ward, she talked endlessly, ¡°Such big issues going on at home and all of you tried to keep me in the dark. I only just found out that Liangchuan was injured.¡± Her eyes were swollen, and she obviously was unwell. Qiao Lian did not speak a word but nced at Shen Liangchuan. Shen Liangchuan smiled and said, ¡°Mom, I¡¯m fine. It¡¯s just a minor injury.¡± Xia Yehua would only be convinced that it was nothing too serious after she had read through his case notes and spoken to the doctor. She sat on the ward sofa and frowned deeply. ¡°This is all my fault. I watched Yuanxi grow up. She¡¯s been kind-hearted since she was little. I¡¯d never have imagined she could have such a cruel side...¡± Qiao Lian nced at Shen Liangchuan. But she did not say a word. Shen Liangchuan pursed his lips, however, he did not ask about Song Yuanxi. Xia Yehua paused, obviously expecting the inquiry, but when neither of them showed any willingness to y along. She offered the information, ¡°When I got homest night I realized that Yuanxi... she is... mentally ill. Even if we were to charge her for aggression, I don¡¯t think the police could prosecute her. In the end I took her to the hospital. Following the diagnosis, I¡¯ve now ced her in a rehab home.¡± She sighed, feeling a tangle of emotions towards this girl she had looked after for eight years. ¡°I¡¯ve given instructions to the people in the rehab home. They will watch over her and not let her out.¡± Upon hearing this, Qiao Lian was stunned. A rehab home was just a better-sounding term for a mental institution. Because of her history of aggression now, she would certainly be put under close supervision at the rehab home. This would not be too different from being in jail. Or it could be even worse. But she had brought it upon herself. The atmosphere in the ward was charged with gloom at this thought. Qiao Lian nced at Shen Liangchuan. He too couldn¡¯t have imagined that Song Yuanxi would lose her sanity. Was he now feeling partly responsible and bearing the weight of guilt? Chapter 499 - Song Yuanxi, Is That Enough? (9)

Chapter 499: Song Yuanxi, Is That Enough? (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios While Qiao Lian was contemting the matter, her cell phone suddenly rang. As she reached for it, she saw the number on the screen and walked over to the balcony to take the call. A very formal-sounding worker¡¯s voice came through the speaker. ¡°How are you? I¡¯m Lot¡¯s official representative. Are you Coach Qiao?¡± ¡°Yes, I am.¡± ¡°Your CQ Team has passed the preliminarypetition. The team has qualified for the actualpetition that will be taking ce in three days¡¯.¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes lit up at once when she heard this. ¡°Great.¡± It was only after she hung up that she realized today was the official announcement of the results. Using her cell phone, she went to the Lot official website. It was then that she discovered CQ Team had actually taken the second position in the preliminary round. And in the top position... was King Team! Qiao Lian frowned. King Fighting Team was evidently a strong team. Besides Smiling Tiger, the rest of the team members were not new. Hence, the chances of Smiling Tiger being able to take the field would not be very high. Such apetitive team would prove to be quite a worthy opponent. In the days that followed, Qiao Lian was busy as she could be. She was constantly running between the hospital and the team¡¯s vi. She had little time to upy her mind with anything else. On this particr day, she had brought some boiled chicken and wolfberry soup from home to the hospital for Shen Liangchuan. After drinking a mouthful of soup that Qiao Lian had poured out for him into a bowl, he said, ¡°I¡¯ll be discharged tomorrow.¡± Qiao Lian was a little surprised at hearing this. ¡°Didn¡¯t the doctor say that you¡¯ll need to stay for a few days, until the wound closes?¡± Shen Liangchuan put down the bowl and replied, ¡°It¡¯s my body and I have a better idea than the doctor. I¡¯ve called Song Cheng, he¡¯ll be here in the morning to help me with the discharge paperwork.¡± Qiao Lian could not figure out the reason for his insistence, but after thinking for a moment she suddenly remembered: wasn¡¯t the team ying their semifinals tomorrow? Was Shen Liangchuan insisting on being discharged so that he could go and watch the match with her? She looked at him steadily for a few moments and finally nodded. ¡°Okay.¡± ¨C First thing the following day, Qiao Lian went to the hospital to help Shen Liangchuan pack his belongings. After the discharge paperwork had beenpleted, she apanied the newly-recuperated, or more urately, the yet-to-recuperate Shen Liangchuan to thepetition venue. To avoid being recognized, Shen Liangchuan was well-prepared,pletely disguised and not standing out at all in the crowd. As they had been dyed by the discharge process at the hospital, they arrived a littlete for thepetition. By the time they got there, the other teams and coaches were already in position. Qiao Lian headed for the backstage lounge, after she found Shen Liangchuan a seat among the audience and settled him. She also walked to the back of the venue and from there, she could see that the audience was huge and almost all the seats were filled. The crowd was a mass of ck against the stage and the ambient lights, noisy and chaotic. As she stared at this bustling scene and immersed herself in the adrenalin-pumping atmosphere, the thought of Zi Chuan automatically appeared in her mind. If only he was still alive... If only he was here. Could they have been professional gamers, sitting in this same ce, eight years ago? As her mind rested on this thought, her lips curled upwards in a bitter smile. Just as Shen Liangchuan was unable to forget his first love, wasn¡¯t she also unable to forget her Zi Chuan? She took in a long, deep breath and told herself something. This match was not just for Shen Liangchuan, and not just for their team¡¯s aspirations, it was also for Zi Chuan. For Zi Chuan, she had to be the champion in this season¡¯s match!! Chapter 500 - Song Yuanxi, Is That Enough? (10)

Chapter 500: Song Yuanxi, Is That Enough? (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian had look of great determination on her face as this thought formed in her mind. She headed backstage so that she could give the team some words of encouragement before the match started. However, just as she arrived at the backstage area, something happened... The members of CQ Team were sitting in a corner of the lounge, discussing their strategy. Before Qiao Lian could walk over to them, the lounge door was flung open suddenly. CQ team members looked up and saw a young man in his twenties standing at the doorway. Qiao Lian recognized this person as the captain of King Team. His eyesbed the lounge as he stood with his arms crossed. ¡°Why did your coach Forget Chuan did not even make an appearance in the previous matches? I wonder if she even intends toe to this evening¡¯s important match.¡± Immediately, one of the yers from King Team added, ¡°I bet she¡¯s so ugly she doesn¡¯t dare make an appearance.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Exactly. To think that she waspeting against our coach Purple Fairy for the eSports Number One Female Castor Award. Tell me, what has she got that would get her the top ce? A person so ugly that she doesn¡¯t dare appear publicly. It¡¯s no wonder she never shows her face in live broadcasts.¡± Their remarks were nasty and most unkind. Zombie Leader and the other team members scowled. They felt their brains going numb just by looking at these people. Su Penghao wondered if this bunch of people were blind. Although he wasn¡¯t fond of Qiao Lian, he could not deny that she was much prettier than Purple Fairy. If someone like Qiao Lian was ugly, then there would be no pretty girls in the world! The Godfather had a worse temper and stood up straight away, saying, ¡°What are you saying? Don¡¯t you start making personal attacks towards our coach!¡± The captain of King Team immediately smiled. ¡°I¡¯m not making any personal attacks. I¡¯m just stating a fact.¡± Everyone started tough aloud. Su Penghao stood up at once but, before he could speak, a gentle voice suddenly inquired, ¡°What are you all doing here?¡± Everyone turned in the direction of the voice and saw that Purple Fairy was walking towards them. She looked at the team captain and berated him, ¡°What a poisonous tongue you have. Besides, what do looks matter? We are here for a gamingpetition, not a beauty contest.¡± While she sounded like she was chiding the captain, in reality... Was she insulting Forget Chuan¡¯s looks? The captain immediately smiled and said, ¡°Coach, you¡¯re right. But I think at least Forget Chuan has got enough self-awareness to hide herself in events like this. She probably has to hide among the crowd to watch. If she appears, she may very wellpletely embarrass CQ Team! If it were me, I¡¯d find it embarrassing to show such an ugly coach too!¡± Purple Fairy yed along and added, ¡°Oh, do shut up. You shouldn¡¯t speak if you have nothing nice to say.¡± Then, she looked apologetically at Su Penghao, ¡°Zombie Leader, I have to apologize. He is like this and speaks without thinking. Actually something like physical appearance is not within a person¡¯s control. We¡¯re here to y a match, who cares about looks? Oh, is Forget Chuan not here yet?¡± Purple Fairy had been a sore loser when Forget Chuan hade in first ce for the Number One eSports Female Caster poll. And ever since the y-offs for this match had started, Forget Chuan had not made an appearance. Purple Fairy was now curious to know exactly how ugly was Forget Chuan! Su Penghao¡¯s mood was slightly better now that Purple Fairy was here. He was about to speak when a familiar voice calmly interrupted, ¡°I¡¯m right here.¡± Everyone turned their heads simultaneously in the voice¡¯s direction and saw Qiao Lian walking up to Purple Fairy steadily. Then, she extended her hand and said, ¡°I¡¯ve not officially introduced myself. I¡¯m Forget Chuan.¡± Chapter 501 - Liangchuan is Zi Chuan! (1)

Chapter 501: Liangchuan is Zi Chuan! (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian was wearing a white knitted top today, making her look refreshed and full of life. Her delicate features were glowing with radiance, making her look very attractive and hard to miss in a crowd. Everyone stared wide-eyed, finding hard to believe that Forget Chuan, who was rumored to be so ugly that she did not want to make public appearances, was in fact the person standing before them now! Even Purple Fairy was shocked beyond words. She stared at Qiao Lian¡¯s face in astonishment and after a moment, a look of envy shed across her expression. She bit her lip. In the eSports livestreams, Forget Chuan always had pearls of wisdom to share and could always predict the other yer¡¯s position. Hence on the inte, people would oftenpare the two of them,beling Purple Fairy a ¡®pretty ornament.¡¯ For a long time, Purple Fairy had harbored ill feelings towards Forget Chuan. The only thought she could use tofort herself was that Forget Chuan was an ugly woman. After all, they were women and looks mattered. But now... The real Forget Chuan was standing before her, she could no longer lie to herself! Qiao Lian was an obvious and radiant beauty,parable to top celebrities. If Purple Fairy was considered a beauty, thenpared to the person standing before her, thetter would win hands-down, leaving the former barely ¡°passable.¡± Purple Fairy clenched her fists tightly. The smile which had been on her face now looked taut and strained. She shook Qiao Lian¡¯s hand and said, ¡°So you are Forget Chuan.¡± Qiao Lian raised an eyebrow, but withdrew her hand before Purple Fairy¡¯s hand could even make contact. ¡°Indeed, I seldom make an appearance. But I certainly do things with transparency, unlike others.... who use underhanded means! What about you, Purple Fairy?¡± She was, of course, making a reference to how they had stolen information of CQ Team¡¯s gaming strategy. Purple Fairy smirked and replied, ¡°I know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± Then she turned to Su Penghao and said, ¡°Zombie Leader, I¡¯ve already exined the misunderstanding to you. Perhaps when you have some time, you can update Forget Chuan, just in case it results in further misunderstandings.¡± After saying this, she turned to her team members, who quickly took their eyes off Qiao Lian and immediately looked somber. She hung her head and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go back to our own lounge.¡± The moment the King team members got back to their lounge, they gathered and excitedly discussed Forget Chuan. ¡°My god, she is beautiful, like a celebrity!¡± ¡°She has a great voice too, and such a big presence...¡± ¡°...¡± Purple Fairy scowled as she heard these remarks. She angrily called the captain and through gritted teeth instructed him, ¡°We must win today¡¯s match! Get rid of CQ!¡± The captain sighed and said, ¡°I¡¯ve carefully observed the coordination among CQ team members and actually, they have great teamwork. I don¡¯t have full confidence that we can get rid of them.¡± Purple Fairy frowned, her eyes shing with an evil glint. ¡°Don¡¯t you worry. I have a n. Just go all out when you get on that battlefield.¡± ¡°And also, do not tell Mr. Sun that Forget Chuan is Qiao Lian, who he is intending to buy over!¡± The captain did notpletely understand what was going on, but he nodded. Purple Fairy then said a few words to encourage the team, before walking out of the lounge. ¨C In CQ¡¯s lounge. The lounge had a size of about 10 square meters, with two rows of sofas where a few could sit to discuss strategy. Su Penghao spoke with Qiao Lian in a corner of the lounge, ¡°... Hence, Purple Fairy did not steal the information. It was their boss and captain who did it.¡± When Qiao Lian heard this, she thought it wasughable. Chapter 502 - Liangchuan is Zi Chuan! (2)

Chapter 502: Liangchuan is Zi Chuan! (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian looked at Su Penghao questioningly. ¡°Zombie Leader, you yourself have a notable background. Do you really believe her words?¡± Her remark took Su Penghao by surprise and he frowned. ¡°Do you really think that a coach would not know which champion the team should ban?¡± Su Penghao kept silent. Qiao Lian sighed. ¡°Zombie Leader, you believe in Purple Fairy so much?¡± Su Penghao lifted his head and looked at her steadily. ¡°It¡¯s not her that I believe in, I believe in Xiao Qiao. Xiao Qiao and Zi Chuan were both impressive and well-regarded people back in the days. And even though eight years have passed since then, I believe that she still would not use underhanded means.¡± Qiao Lian was stunned when she heard this. She felt a sudden warmth in her heart. She and Zi Chuan had disappeared from the gaming world for eight years. But they were still remembered. Qiao Lian pursed her lips. She eventually did not utter the rebuking words that hade to mind, but instead said, ¡°Do your bestter.¡± Then she added, ¡°Best Actor Shen is here tonight, so the boss is watching you guys y. Make sure you show your stuff.¡± Su Penghao nodded impatiently. Having heard Qiao Lian mention Best Actor Shen, he looked up again with curiosity. After a pause, he asked her, ¡°Do you know Best Actor Shen very well?¡± Although the two of them had never admitted to any sort of rtionship, Su Penghao had noticed that there was something quite special between them. Not that he cared whether she was Mrs. Shen. Qiao Lian was puzzled by his question. ¡°Why?¡± Su Penghao paused and looked hesitant. Just when Qiao Lian thought that he wasn¡¯t going to say anything, he suddenly spoke, ¡°Best Actor Shen... is he... Zi Chuan?¡± Qiao Lian looked up at him in disbelief after this remark. Shen Liangchuan... was Zi Chuan? How... would this be possible? She felt likeughing and crying at the same time, and a dull ache gnawed at her heart. After all, Zi Chuan was someone she had liked eight years ago, and Shen Liangchuan was the man she loved now. She shook her head and said, ¡°No, he¡¯s not.¡± Su Penghao frowned and said, ¡°How could it be? Thest time I had a one-on-one fight with him, his maneuvering¡ª¡± At this point, the lounge door was flung open. His was interrupted mid-sentence. Everyone in the lounge looked at the doorway instantaneously and saw that it was Purple Fairy. She was carrying a few packages of milk tea. ¡°The nasty things that our team members said just then... I thought about it and I¡¯m concerned that Forget Chuan may hold it against us. I¡¯m really sorry. This tea is on me, consider it a little token of apology!¡± As she said this, she walked straight into the room. Qiao Lian immediately stopped her. ¡°Stand right there.¡± Purple Fairy halted. Qiao Lian walked to the doorway and stopped in front of her, preventing her from advancing. Looking intently at Purple Fairy with a frown, she said after a pause, ¡°How careless do you think we¡¯d be, eating something given by the opponent team right before a match?¡± Purple Fairy froze and put on a hurt and pitiful expression. She looked at Su Penghao. ¡°Are you... are you suspecting that I¡¯ve put something into the milk tea?¡± Qiao Lian threw a nce at Su Penghao and said, ¡°It¡¯s better to be safe than sorry. We will not ept this milk tea.¡± Purple Fairy¡¯s expression turned cold and then, looking quite angry, she picked up one of the cups and tore off the lid. ¡°If you think that I¡¯ve altered the milk tea, I¡¯ll drink it right now before your eyes!¡± Chapter 503 - Liangchuan is Zi Chuan! (3)

Chapter 503: Liangchuan is Zi Chuan! (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios This act made Qiao Lian want tough and cry at the same time. Who forces milk tea on other people? As she thought this, someone walked by behind Purple Fairy. When the person brushed past, it appeared that Purple Fairy was shoved and she stumbled forward. The box with boiling hot milk teas came flying straight at Qiao Lian¡¯s face! The heat of the hot drinks could be felt as the lids fell off. Everyone gasped in shock. Qiao Lian could already feel the steam against her face. Right at this moment, a firm grip tightened around her arm as she was yanked out of the way. And then... A hiss... ¡°Arghhh!¡± Cries of rm were heard! Startled, she turned her head at once and saw that Su Penghao¡¯s hands had been scorched by the hot liquid. And The Godfather and The Deputy Godfather, too, had bright red burn marks on the back of their hands! The lounge was tiny to begin with. CQ team members had all gathered behind Qiao Lian in support of their coach, as she stood face to face with Purple Fairy. When the hot milk tea came flying over, Su Penghao had instinctively pulled Qiao Lian aside to safety while taking the hit. The Godfather and The Deputy Godfather, on the other hand, understood very well that Su Penghao was critical to the team and when they saw him taking the hit of the burning hot liquid, they instinctively acted to shield him too. It was just human reflex to extend the hand... Hence! Purple Fairy¡¯s boiling hot milk tea hadnded on the hands of three people. The Godfather and The Deputy Godfather suffered more serious burns, but even Su Penghao felt as though his ten fingers were on fire! For one moment, everyone in the room was shocked. Ancestor White Bones lunged forward and looked at the three pairs of injured hands. With burning anger, she red at Purple Fairy. Purple Fairy stood there with her hand over her mouth, staring at the scorched skin on the hands, and gave a cry of rm, ¡°Ahhh!¡± She looked as though she was in greater agony than the three injured team members. Qiao Lian was livid! She red at Purple Fairy fiercely. Tightly clenching her fists with anger, she also felt a wave of warmth wash over her. Even Su Penghao, who hated her and often went against her, had reflexively protected her at a critical moment. If he hadn¡¯t done that, there was a high chance that the milk tea would havended on her face. As she red at Purple Fairy, she saw Lonely Peerless clenching his fists and stepping forward. Lonely Peerless had always been quiet, but among all the team members, he was the one who perhaps had the deepest understanding of what was going on. Reaching his hand out, he grabbed Purple Fairy by her shirt and was about to deliver a punch when Qiao Lian quickly intervened. ¡°Stop!¡± She pulled Lonely Peerless away and in a low voice reminded him, ¡°If you get into a fight before the match, you¡¯ll be disqualified from thepetition!¡± Lonely Peerless was a person of few words. He stared at the Purple Fairy for a moment, then took a step back. Qiao Lian looked at her nemesis straight in the eye. She was determined to make Purple Fairy pay for this. But not now. There would be plenty of time for that, after thepetition. Pointing at the doorway, she said to Purple Fairy, ¡°Please leave right now!¡± Purple Fairy sighed and tried to exin, ¡°I didn¡¯t do this on purpose...¡± As she spoke, she looked up and her gaze met five pairs of bloodshot angry eyes. She immediately looked at Su Penghao and saw that he had his fists clenched, trembling with fury. Even if she had actually been shoved and fallen holding the milk tea, most people would have spilled the liquid downwards instinctively, and not ssh it upwards. Besides, the temperature of this milk tea... Who the freaking h*ll buys tea at that temperature? Chapter 504 - Liangchuan is Zi Chuan! (4)

Chapter 504: Liangchuan is Zi Chuan! (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After ensuring that Purple Fairy had left, Qiao Lian turned around and made an assessment of their injuries. She frowned at once. The injuries were more serious than she thought. She wanted to take a closer look when The Godfather and The Deputy Godfather quickly shoved their hands into their pockets and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay, they are minor injuries. We can take it.¡± CQ Team hadn¡¯t recruited any reserve yers, so now there were only five members. Gritting her teeth and looking at them, she asked, ¡°You are really okay?¡± ¡°Really, we¡¯re okay.¡± Even if they weren¡¯t, they had to be. The Godfather and The Deputy Godfather exchanged looks and did not say another word. Su Penghao, hung his head and looked at his hands¡ªhis expression was frighteningly gloomy. He had never thought that the Xiao Qiao he had known eight years ago would be the horrible person she was today. Perhaps he could give her the benefit of the doubt once, but what had happened today... He wasn¡¯t a fool! Qiao Lian looked at Su Penghao with great concern. ¡°Can you do it?¡± Su Penghao looked down again. ¡°I can.¡± If they didn¡¯t take part in the match today, it would be automatically considered a withdrawal. Qiao Lian was worried about the team members, but before she could take care of the burn wounds, the organizing staff came shouting for them. ¡°It¡¯s your turn!¡± The semifinals were an elimination round. Two out of the four teams would enter the finals. Today, one team would be eliminated. The four remaining would be ying in two concurrent matches. The winner would get more points, the two losers would continue to y, and the ultimate loser would be eliminated. In the first match, CQ Team was set to y against King Team. The match began and both parties shook hands. Qiao Lian went on stage,ing face to face with Purple Fairy. It was obvious that Purple Fairy was pretending to be concerned. ¡°How are Zombie Leader and the team members?¡± Qiao Lian scowled and replied, ¡°Let¡¯s stop with the pretense.¡± Purple Fairy raised her eyebrow. They were all part of the entertainment industry, she hadn¡¯t thought that Qiao Lian would be such a straightforward person. She lowered her voice and smirked, ¡°Huh, Forget Chuan, I¡¯ll make sure your team will be devastatingly defeated today! You¡¯d be daydreaming if you think you can get into the finals!¡± Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes. ¡°Let¡¯s wait and see! Do you think this time you can steal our strategy?¡± Purple Fairyughed derisively. ¡°You are stubborn!¡± On this note, she turned and walked away. The match started. Three games would be yed to select two winners, thus the first game began! After all the time they had spent in training, CQ team members were really well coordinated and had good chemistry. Everyone felt great at the beginning of the match, they were able to fight to a mini climax. Qiao Lian heaved a sigh of relief. It appeared that the milk tea incident wasn¡¯t affecting the team¡¯s performance? But as this thought appeared, she realized The Godfather had suddenly made a wrong move! As a consequence of this wrong move, he was in by the opponent. Following this, The Deputy Godfather made another wrong move! Their consecutive errors directly resulted in a shift in the situation. Initially, CQ Team was poised to win the game but now, the situation had reversed. In less than two minutes, they were beaten to a pulp by the opponent. Qiao Lian sprang up from her seat, only to see that their central tower had fallen to the enemies and subsequently toppled over. CQ Team had lost the first match! Qiao Lian could not believe her eyes. Clearly, the situation had been in their favour. How did that suddenly change? And now, the second installment of the match began. From the start of the event, The Godfather and The Deputy Godfather, and even Zombie Leader, made mistaken moves in their maneuvering. It was no surprise that CQ Team tly lost the game. Qiao Lian sighed, knowing that the yers¡¯ hands would be hurting like crazy. The second team had now started their match. Taking this opportunity, Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan headed off to the lounge to visit the team. As they entered the lounge, they saw Ancestor White Bones. She was normally a calm and steady person, but at that moment, her eyes were bloodshot. Chapter 505 - Liangchuan is Zi Chuan! (5)

Chapter 505: Liangchuan is Zi Chuan! (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian paused for a moment and looked around. She noticed at once that... The Godfather and The Deputy Godfather both had tiny blisters on their scorched hands. There was no way they could continue taking part in thepetition. Qiao Lian clenched her fingers into a tight fist with fury, her eyes reddened as well. This Purple Fairy was downright evil! She took a deep breath and said immediately, ¡°We can¡¯t continue with thepetition. The Godfather and The Deputy Godfather, you have to go to the hospital immediately to get your injuries treated! Any more dy may result in an infection, and that could possibly affect the finger joints.¡± She immediately looked at Su Penghao. The back of his hands were red, but at least there was no blistering. Although for sure, he would have been in great pain. The Godfather and The Deputy Godfather were in so much agony that their faces had turned pale. The moment they heard Qiao Lian¡¯s words, they quickly protested, ¡°But the matching up...¡± After this, they would be fighting the other team that lost in the first round, and if they lost the game again, they would be eliminated. At this point, Qiao Lian clenched her fists tightly. They must not lose. This was only an urban district tournament; there was the national tournament and then the international tournament. They had only just begun, how could they stop here? But now they were two yers down. And Su Penghao¡¯s hands were injured too, which would affect his ying... It meant that for the rest of the match, Su Penghao could no longer use the critical champions. Qiao Lian bit her lip and after a moment, she said, ¡°I¡¯ll y!¡± Upon hearing this, the team members simultaneously turned to look at her. They wanted to speak but at this point of time, there wasn¡¯t much left to be said. Once that decision had been made, Qiao Lian felt relieved. She said as she warmed up her wrists with a little exercise, ¡°I¡¯ve watched you guys y often enough to understand your style. I¡¯ll try my best to fit in.¡± Lonely Peerless said, ¡°But we¡¯re still missing one yer.¡± Qiao Lian frowned. That¡¯s right, they needed one more yer. As she was trying to figure out a solution for this, Su Penghao spoke. ¡°Best Actor Shen, can you y?¡± On this note, everyone turned simultaneously to look at Shen Liangchuan. Although Shen Liangchuan had not yet recovered from his injury, his fingers¡¯ mobility hadn¡¯t been affected. He narrowed his eyes on hearing Su Penghao¡¯s suggestion. He hade a long way to resolve the problems caused by Song Yuanxi, so he thought that from then on, he could bury the incident from eight years ago forever. He thought that those worries were now behind him. But if he were to y in this match... What if Xiao Qiao discovered he was Zi Chuan? He turned to look at all these earnest faces in the room. The Godfather and The Deputy Godfather had persisted in ying despite their injuries and pain. And so many eSports fans... They all took him back to a time eight years ago, when he himself had been a passionate youth. They must not be eliminated. Because this team carried the hopes and dreams that both he and Xiao Qiao had had. He hung his head and nodded. ¡°Okay.¡± ¨C The number of yers was confirmed, so The Godfather and The Deputy Godfather then left for the hospital. The next round of matches had begun. All yers were in their position. Qiao Lian looked at her own hands as she practiced high-speed moves. Although she had previously yed with Shen Liangchuan on a mobile game, this time it was on theputer and it was very different. She wondered about Shen Liangchuan¡¯s ying style. As this thought crossed her mind, she shifted the screen disy to Shen Liangchuan¡¯s champion. While doing this, she saw one of the enemy¡¯s champions was about to descend from the tower to attack, and he was aggressive. She had initially thought that Shen Liangchuan would be killed, but unexpectedly... there was a dramatic sh. He avoided the attack and immediately he turned around... to counter-attack. Shen Liangchuan scored a kill! Qiao Lian¡¯s hands froze and her pupils shrank immediately. That ying style... It was Zi Chuan! Shen Liangchuan... Zi Chuan... All of a sudden, her mind went nk. Chapter 506 - Liangchuan is Zi Chuan! (6)

Chapter 506: Liangchuan is Zi Chuan! (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian stared nkly at the screen, as though her soul had suddenly left. Her champion stood motionless on the screen. How did Shen Liangchuan know Zi Chuan¡¯s moves? Zi Chuan¡¯s moves had always required high speed and dexterity, they were always elegant, light as clouds and fluid like water. These movements were like rhythm in motion to watch, but in reality the technical execution was extremely difficult. Besides, he had never liked to make conventional moves. Regardless of the champion he took, he would inevitably adopt an offensive approach. Just like the champion he was using right now. Clearly, it was a defensive champion and anyone would have thought that after the sh escape, he would have retreated. Nobody would have thought that he would insteadunch an attack. Was this a coincidence? Or was something strange going on here? Qiao Lian frowned. Was Shen Liangchuan merely imitating Zi Chuan¡¯s moves? That was a possibility. After all, during those years, both Zi Chuan and Xiao Qiao had set a benchmark in the gaming world. Scores of gamers had tried to copy their moves. Wasn¡¯t Purple Fairy one example of doing that and had even been mistaken to be Xiao Qiao? But... Even if it was an imitation, it wouldn¡¯t be so adept to the point that she could have sworn it was him. As she contemted this, she noticed that he hesitated and seemed a little out of ce. Qiao Lian shook her head as if trying to clear it, then thought she must be over-thinking things. And right at this point, Su Penghao¡¯s voice came across, ¡°Qiao Lian, what on earth are you doing?!¡± Upon hearing this, Qiao Lian snapped out of her thoughts and realized they were in the middle of a game. Because she had moved screen to Shen Liangchuan, she hadn¡¯t noticed that an opponent had crept up on her and was preparing to attack. By the time Qiao Lian responded and tried to escape, it was toote. The opponent threw a stun spell, freezing her in ce. If he threw an ultimate attack at her, she could easily die. This time, there was no escape and no alternatives. She bit her lip and, just as she thought that was the end of her, a familiar figure suddenly appeared next to her. Immediately, Shen Liangchuan threw a mystic ultimate attack to confuse the opponent. And Qiao Lian thus took the opportunity to escape. But she was not feeling ted at having cheated death. Instead, she was shocked and greatly astonished! That style... and how the mystifying function had been yed... The ying style was exactly the same as Zi Chuan¡¯s. Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank. She looked up, startled, and stared at Shen Liangchuan with an expression of disbelief. Shen Liangchuan frowned. He could sense Qiao Lian¡¯s gaze on him. He looked up and nced at her. Immediately, he frowned slightly. He did not want to reveal his identity as Zi Chuan to her. Hence at the start of the match, when he had acted reflexively, he had purposely erred to cover his tracks, so that she wouldn¡¯t suspect. But when he saw her in danger... He couldn¡¯t help but rush over to save her. The moves he had used... Did she recognize them? After all, eight years had passed. How many people would still remember him? At this point, he looked up pretending to be calm andposed, and nced once at Qiao Lian. Then came Su Penghao¡¯s voice again, now with a hint of anger. ¡°Qiao Lian, do you really know how to y?!¡± He continued, ¡°If you don¡¯t know how to y, you¡¯ll have to take instructions. And even if you can¡¯t keep up with the ying, I¡¯m sure you know the strategy?¡± After being chided, Qiao Lian snapped out of her shock and astonishment. She looked up and took in the atmosphere of the venue. Chapter 507 - Liangchuan is Zi Chuan! (7)

Chapter 507: Liangchuan is Zi Chuan! (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios There were thousands among the audience. The venue was throbbing with loud music, which added to the excitement of the event. All of this and, all of a sudden, she came to full realization: They were in a match. How could she be thinking of other things during a match, and not focusing on the game at hand? Qiao Lian took a deep breath and spoke after a moment, ¡°Okay. I get it.¡± Then she channeled her full attention on theputer screen and ced her hands on the keyboard and mouse. She had thought that she would be unfamiliar with the settings and fall behind the other team members, after eight years of not yingputer games seriously. However, the moment her finger touched the mouse, an old feeling of familiarity took root within her. She stared at her fingers, they felt like they were on fire. And it was a fire that raged all the way from the tips of her fingers, right to the core of her heart. Qiao Lian took another deep breath and concentrated intently on theputer screen. Then, she began to maneuver. Computer games were different from mobile games. Mobile games were easy to pick up and get good at. Computer games, however, required a lot more training. Hence, Qiao Lian was a little nervous to start off. But as her spirit made connection with the keyboard and the mouse, they slowly integrated... until they became one. It took five minutes before her maneuvering stabilized and she started to gain full control. Just as she was getting into the flow of things, the enemy team suddenly called for a break. Surprised, everyone looked up with a puzzled expression. They saw that the enemy team members were also staring nkly, confused. Only the coach got up and left. After he left, a familiar figure got up from among the audience and followed the coach. That was... Purple Fairy. Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes. She stood up and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to the washroom.¡± Then she strode off in their direction. Walking out of thepetition venue, Qiao Lian could see at once that Purple Fairy and the coach of the enemy team were talking in low voices. Qiao Lian looked around. There was a flower terrace by the side, and there was a space beyond the terrace where she could hide. Quietly, she sneaked over to the hiding spot. There she was able to hear what the two were saying. Purple Fairy spoke, ¡°Coach Li, actually it¡¯s not hard for you to win this match. I can give you a piece of advice.¡± Coach Li was surprised by her suggestion. ¡°What sort of advice?¡± After all, whoever lost this match was going to be eliminated. Purple Fairy smiled and said, ¡°If I gave you a tip, what would you offer in return?¡± Coach Li paused for a moment and then asked, ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°Well, if we happen to y against each other in the next match, I hope you will give us a one-round advantage.¡± Coach Li¡¯s expression darkened when he heard this and gave a coldugh immediately. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, we are here to have a fair match. If Coach Purple Fairy wishes to exchange technical knowledge, I¡¯m more than happy. But if it¡¯s what you¡¯ve mentioned, then I have no wish to pursue it. It¡¯s okay if our team loses.¡± After these words, he turned away. Purple Fairy looked most offended and hurriedly stopped him. ¡°You- Okay, fine. I¡¯ll tell you. Two key yers from CQ Team are notpeting today and they¡¯ve been reced atst minute¡¯s notice. One of them is a female yer named Forget Chuan. She¡¯s not a professional gamer... She was likely forced to be a backup. If you want to break through the team¡¯s defences, then you can probably start with her.¡± Coach Li gave Purple Fairy one look, then turned and walked back to thepetition arena. Purple Fairy frowned as Coach Li disappeared from her sight. At this point, she suddenly heard a sneer. ¡°Tsk-tsk.¡± Surprised, Purple Fairy spun around. Chapter 508 - Liangchuan is Zi Chuan! (8)

Chapter 508: Liangchuan is Zi Chuan! (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The moment Purple Fairy turned around, she saw Qiao Lian standing up anding out of the flower terrace. She looked at Purple Fairy with in contempt on her face. ¡°Purple Fairy, it seems like you¡¯re spending every bit of effort to deal with ourpetitive team.¡± Purple Fairy narrowed her eyes. ¡°There¡¯s a saying that goes: it doesn¡¯t matter if a cat is ck or white, as long as it catches rats, it¡¯s a good cat. So the same goes for me. As long as I win in the end, do I care?¡± Qiao Lian looked at her steadily. ¡°So you can ignore all boundaries and even throw out basic human decency?¡± Purple Fairy turned icy. ¡°You¡ª¡± ¡°And,¡± Qiao Lian continued, ¡°there is something that I¡¯ve wanted to say for a long time. You should stop using Xiao Qiao¡¯s name to sell yourself!¡± Purple Fairy tensed up and narrowed her eyes more. ¡°I¡¯m selling my own name, what has it got to do with you?¡± Seeing that she was so reluctant to admit the lie, Qiao Lian suddenly smiled. She walked up to Purple Fairy slowly and said deliberately, ¡°If you¡¯re fake, you¡¯re fake. No matter how much you try to imitate her, you¡¯ll never capture the essence of Xiao Qiao¡¯s style.¡± ¡°You¡ª¡± Purple Fairy wanted to retort, but Qiao Lian had already walked right past her and back into thepetition venue. She loosened up her wrists and took a deep breath. As someone who had ufortably suppressed her passion for so many years, today was her chance to go all out. She went back up the stage and took her seat. The match continued. Indeed, the opponent had started to target her. Realizing this was the situation, sheughed icily in her heart. She would have them know that targeting her was a huge mistake! However, she wasn¡¯t going to show her hand just yet. She would beat them at their own game. She pretended that she wasn¡¯t a very good gamer by using the discement spell to haphazardly relocate herself. Every time she did this, there would have few hp left, making herself a tempting bait to the opponent. As expected, they chased her. But of course, she eluded them in every instance. And now, having be a popr target, the enemy team selected three people to trail her. Then... This was turning out to be an amazing scene. The three enemy champions who had been chasing Qiao Lian for a whole minute were ultimately not able to capture her. And within that one minute withoutbat between Qiao Lian and those three, her team members gained enough time. Before the enemy team could realize what was happening, the disparity in strength between the two sides had hit a high. Hence, CQ took this opportunity to wipe out their opponent! That was the first round of the match. CQ won. Su Penghao jumped up with joy as the match ended. He looked at Qiao Lian and said, ¡°You don¡¯t need many ying skills to just run around and it¡¯s easy for you to do that. Perhaps you could continue doing this in the next round.¡± Qiao Lian rolled her eyes. The opponent was no fool. Why would they still send three yers on a wild goose chase in the next round? Very soon, the second round of the match began. Having learnt their lesson from the first round, the enemy team now came directly up against CQ. Su Penghao shot Qiao Lian a look. Although by looking at the two teams, it appeared to be a five against five match, reality was that they were only four against five. Given the present situation, there were no alternatives. Su Penghao gritted his teeth and cried, ¡°Let¡¯s fight!¡± Then he turned and warned Qiao Lian, ¡°Don¡¯t you go charging ahead. Stay behind us and help. When we go into a battle, we won¡¯t be able to afford the effort to protect you¡ª¡± Before he could even finish his sentence, a nce at the screen showed him that Qiao Lian had already gotten herself right in the centre of the opponents¡¯ battle formation! Stupefied for a moment, anger took over as Su Penghao yelled, ¡°Good grief, are you trying to get killed!?¡± Putting herself right in the midst of the enemy yers was equivalent to a death wish. Was this Qiao Lian a pig-headed teammate or something?! Then the next moment, he was shocked once again. Chapter 509 - Liangchuan is Zi Chuan! (9)

Chapter 509: Liangchuan is Zi Chuan! (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Using the discement spell, Qiao Lian infiltrated the enemy¡¯s formation. With a stroke, she sent the five opponents¡¯ champion up in the air for about half a second. Within that tight time frame, how could any of them could rush over to render assistance? On the other hand, if they were to wait for the enemy champions to unfreeze, she would be killed by them. Before this thought even had time to form, Qiao Lian very quickly activated her ultimate discement attack, pushing an enemy in the opposite direction! Su Penghao was nerve-wrecked and cried, ¡°You need to push him in this direction. You¡¯re pushing him in a direction where it¡¯s impossible for us to save you!¡± As soon as he had said this, however, he saw that Shen Liangchuan had executed his ultimate attack to round up the other four enemy champions. Su Penghao was stunned. And in that short time, Qiao Lian managed to y one enemy. Seeing that Shen Liangchuan was now surrounded by enemy champions, she shouted angrily, ¡°Move your butt! What are you waiting for?!¡± Although her tone was disapproving, when she said it, there was apelling force. Su Penghao, Ancestor White Bones and Lonely Peerless all charged towards the opposing champions. At this point, Qiao Lian flipped around. Five against four. If everything went well, it would be an easy wipe-out exercise for them! Su Penghao was now at full force, maneuvering at lightning speed. But suddenly, the mouse made contact with the injury on his hand. His face turned white with pain. His finger fumbled and he made a maneuvering error! In such critical moments of a chaotic battle, a maneuvering error could cause a string of events, not necessarily good. Indeed, the next moment, he was stunned by someone. That was the end of him! He feared he was going to die right here. As this thought crossed his mind, a figure stood in his direct path, blocking the few attacks that followed. Now Qiao Lian was low on hp. One more blow from the opponent and she would be killed. But at this point, Shen Liangchuan came to the rescue. In a perfectly coordinated move with Qiao Lian, he deployed the stun spell and then they began tosh out at the enemy champions. The next moment, two words appeared on the screen: Enemies Destroyed!! Su Penghao was stunned. As was Ancestor White Bones. And Lonely Peerless as well. The three of them turned simultaneously to look at Qiao Lian, who was staring straight at her screen with a serious expression. ¡°Gather now!¡± The three of them, instinctively and in unison, obeyed immediately. Her judgment of the game was sharper than Su Penghao¡¯s. And her understanding of the game data was more thorough than Su Penghao¡¯s. She led them to the opponents¡¯ central tower for total destruction. Victory! The huge word appeared on their screens. They couldn¡¯t believe their eyes. It was a beautiful win. The audience was dead silent before suddenly erupting into a huge round of wild apuse! Even the gamementator was ted and shouting, ¡°Perfect! The match we just saw was perfect! Especially the coordination between The Godfather and The Deputy Godfather,pletely seamless!¡± Shen Liangchuan and Qiao Lian both did not have gaming ount and had used the original yers¡¯ identities. Thementator continued, ¡°Let¡¯s now watch that exciting yback once more!¡± Following his words, Qiao Lian and Su Penghao turned simultaneously to look at the huge venue¡¯s screen. All the yers¡¯ moves during the team battle were clearly disyed when projected onto the big screen. Su Penghao¡¯s gaze was fixed on Qiao Lian¡¯s figurine, observing her fluid ying and her seamless coordination with Shen Liangchuan. He widened his eyes in astonishment and turned to stare at Qiao Lian. And Qiao Lian, on the other hand, looked even more astonished than Su Penghao! While she had been ying, she had felt a strange and familiar ease in coordinating with Shen Liangchuan. She had even forgotten that the person she was partnering up with was actually Shen Liangchuan. Chapter 510 - Liangchuan is Zi Chuan! (10)

Chapter 510: Liangchuan is Zi Chuan! (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios It was almost like an illusion, as though she had been transported back in time to eight years ago, when she used to game with Zi Chuan. While they were ying in the match, her attention had not been fully focused on Shen Liangchuan¡¯s ying. But now... Looking at the moves on the big screen, the familiarity was too overwhelming. This was Zi Chuan¡¯s style. These were Zi Chuan¡¯s unique moves. And this, clearly, was their signature coordination! Eight years ago, how manyte nights had the two of them spent together to practice and train so that their coordination became perfectly seamless? Coordination like this waspletely impossible without connection and chemistry backed by time. And just then, her initial n had been to exchange her life for an enemy¡¯s. That was the reason she had charged ahead. But not even in her wildest imagination would she have thought that Shen Liangchuan would step in to fill the gap perfectly! Qiao Lian clenched her fists tightly as she stared at the big screen in disbelief. Then, she turned to look at Shen Liangchuan. He had removed his sunsses for the match and now wore only his mask and baseball cap. At that moment, his head was tilted upwards, staring expressionlessly at the screen. His face was lit by the arena¡¯s lighting. The baseball cap cast a shadow on one side of his face. For some unknown reason, in that moment, Qiao Lian suddenly felt like Shen Liangchuan was aplete stranger. She no longer knew him. For the first time, she felt like she had never really met this man. Compared to the cold tombstone at the cemetery, and even to that faded photograph on the tombstone, she was more inclined to believe that this man in front of her was Zi Chuan! She gulped. But then after a moment, she narrowed her eyes as a thought crossed her mind. If Shen Liangchuan was Zi Chuan, then who was the person on the tombstone? ¨C Purple Fairy was as astonished as Qiao Lian and Su Penghao, sitting amongst the audience. Now she stared at the big screen with wide eyes, unwilling to believe that what she was seeing was a set of movements executed by Forget Chuan. Wasn¡¯t that Xiao Qiao? How could that be Forget Chuan? Then she suddenly remembered what Qiao Lian had said to her, ¡°If you¡¯re fake, you¡¯re fake. No matter how much you try to imitate her, you¡¯ll never capture the essence of Xiao Qiao¡¯s style.¡± Then, she had not quite understood what Qiao Lian meant. All these years impersonating Xiao Qiao, she had worked hard to imitate Xiao Qiao¡¯s ying style. However, there was a certain stiffness in her movements and shecked the fighting spirit. And it was at this moment, when she witnessed for herself the ease and fluidity of those movements, that she realized the meaning of that remark. So... so Forget Chuan was the real deal! Shocked, she fell into her seat as her legs gave way while Smiling Tiger, who was their team¡¯s reserve yer, was also frozen in disbelief as he watched the rey on the screen. Suddenly, he felt like aplete fool. He thought of how he had left CQ Team as a main yer for King Team to be a reserve yer, all because Purple Fairy was Xiao Qiao. Or so he had thought. But now everything seemed like a cruel joke! ¨C At this point, Qiao Lian could not be bothered with what Purple Fairy and Smiling Tiger thought or felt. After the match, as a coach, she needed to shake hands with the opposing team¡¯s coach. After she went on the stage to do this and upon her return, she realized that Shen Liangchuan was gone. Stunned, she asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Shen Liangchuan?¡± Su Penghao, still in a state of shock, seemed distracted as he said in a suddenly respectful tone, ¡°He- he- he said he had something to attend to and had to leave first.¡± Had to leave first? Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes and immediately headed to the exit to catch him. Then she suddenly felt a hand grab her wrist. She frowned and turned around. It was Su Penghao, who asked hesitantly, ¡°You- you are Xiao Qiao, aren¡¯t you?¡± Chapter 511 - Liangchuan is Zi Chuan! (11)

Chapter 511: Liangchuan is Zi Chuan! (11)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Upon hearing this, Qiao Lian paused. But she thought that if she could recognize Zi Chuan¡¯s moves, then Su Penghao as well could recognize hers. It was no big deal. Qiao Lian nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯m Xiao Qiao.¡± Su Penghao was stunned by her admission and his jaw dropped. Qiao Lian, however, had no time for this and only wanted to leave to catch Shen Liangchuan. She wanted to ask him if he was Zi Chuan. And if he wasn¡¯t, then how had he managed to master those signature moves? But by the time she rushed to the carpark, she realized that Shen Liangchuan¡¯s car was gone. Qiao Lian stood there in a daze. Suddenly, she felt like bothughing and crying at the same time. She could not say how she was feeling. It was aplex mix of emotions. She was d to think that perhaps Zi Chuan was still alive, that he was not dead... She was sad to think that if Shen Liangchuan was really Zi Chuan, then did Shen Liangchuan know that she was Xiao Qiao? She thought of Song Yuanxi, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s first love... She clenched her fist tightly. A surge of anger rose within her. If Shen Liangchuan was Zi Chuan, then when she had been with him eight years ago, had he already been seeing this other unforgettable first love? Was he two-timing her? Or... had he never taken their online rtionship seriously at all, and had just been stringing her along? Qiao Lian took a deep breath. She needed to find Shen Liangchuan and she wanted a clear exnation from him. Qiao Lian turned to head out then realized that Su Penghao was right behind her. When he saw her turn around, he immediately had a meek expression on his face¡ªa look she had never seen on him. ¡°Where- where are you going? I- I can give you a lift.¡± Qiao Lian shot him a look and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± Su Penghao had driven the rest of the team members to thepetition venue, so of course, he had to take them back. However, Su Penghao insisted with a hand wave. ¡°No, wait here. I¡¯ll drive the car over right now!¡± As he turned and ran towards his car, he saw that the other team members were already there waiting for him. Su Penghao said to them, ¡°... Could you guys hail a cab, I have to give someone a lift.¡± Then like a groveling star-struck fan, he walked up to the driver¡¯s seat and got in. He drove the car to Qiao Lian. Ancestor White Bones and Lonely Peerless exchanged a look before thetter made a remark, ¡°How is it that I suddenly feel like our captain is sucking up to her?¡± When Su Penghao¡¯s car arrived at the spot where he had left Qiao Lian, he found that she was no longer there. He was stunned. He was finished. Xiao Qiao was angry. ¨C Qiao Lian walked out of the underground carpark and hailed a cab, asking to be taken back home to the vi. When she arrived at the vi, she found that Shen Liangchuan was not there. As she stood there in the living room, her gaze fell on the third floor. She thought of the possibility of her guess and bit her lip. Since thest time she had tried entering that room and got caught by Auntie Li, she had not made another attempt. But now... Clenching her fists and gathering her courage, she dashed upstairs to the third floor. Auntie Li had gone to the market, so she wasn¡¯t home. None of the other housekeepers were allowed on the third floor. Hence, she now easily unlocked the door with the security passcode. She wanted to see for herself who this first love who was willing to die for Shen Liangchuan was exactly. What did she look like? But upon seeing the things that were in the room, she waspletely shocked. These things before her eyes... Didn¡¯t they belong to Zi Chuan and her? Chapter 512 - Liangchuan is Zi Chuan! (12)

Chapter 512: Liangchuan is Zi Chuan! (12)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The room was very clean, it was obvious that it was frequently tidied up. She thought of what Auntie Li had said¡ªthis room was cleaned by Shen Liangchuan. It showed how important these objects and their rted past were to him. There were only two shelves in the room. And there were very few objects on the shelves. Qiao Lian saw the steel figure of Xiao Qiao. She almost could not believe her eyes as she stared at it. With a trembling hand, she reached out and picked it up. Then, turning it upside down, she saw the inscription ¡°Xiao Qiao.¡± Knowing that she was holding a unique object in her hand, she felt like a loud thunder had broken right in her ear. She was absolutely shocked. Gripping the figurine tightly in her hand, she looked around again and saw that in a corner there was a limited edition miniature of a weapon. She walked over to pick it up. It was a broadsword, which sent her into yet another shockwave. This object... immediately took her back to a time eight years ago. Although at that time she had steadily improved in her skills after gaming with Zi Chuan, there was a point when she hit a teau and found herself unable to break through. During the fights, Zi Chuan would inevitably pair up with high-skilled yers. While she, an unqualified and inept yer among them, never did very much in these fighting matches. At the time, she was still not very adept at maneuvering Xiao Qiao. Xiao Qiao was very much an offensive character, so the character was bnced by having a notably low amount of hp. In other words, it could be easily killed by assassin-type opponents. Those days, she had not yet mastered the discement spell to defend herself. Hence, every time she fought in a match, she would be easily killed. Qiao Lian was very young and happy-go-lucky at that time. Every time she met Zi Chuan online for a game, she would post a message to all the yers before each game: [Big Brother Experts out there, please do not kill me.] And every time she posted this message, someone would tease her. All along, Zi Chuan would not make anyments, until one time... There was a skilled expert online who fell for it. He replied to her message: [Are you a sister? If so, I won¡¯t kill you.] Qiao Lian immediately kissed up to him, saying: [I¡¯m a cute sister, Expert, please spare me!] Zhao Yun replied: [Okay.] Qiao Lian initially thought that he was just teasing her. But unexpectedly, during a battle where she had very few hp left, Zhao Yun walked up to her to take a look, and then turned and moved away. He did this when he could have easily killed her in one attack. Qiao Lian was immediately stunned. Zhao Yun was super adorable. She went back to base to recharge and posted a cheeky message to the other party: [Brother Zilong 1 , thank you!] Zhao Yun replied: [Don¡¯t mention it. Add me as a friend after the game. I¡¯ll be your protector.] So it was him. Even though she wasn¡¯t keen on adding him as a friend, Qiao Lian immediately typed back: [Brother Zilong is so dashing!] After recharging, she went back into the map to locate Zhao Yun. However, ncing through the terrain... She discovered that Zhao Yun had died! Died? Zhao Yun was a considerably skilled yer, how had he died? Qiao Lian immediately looked around and saw that Zi Chuan was nearby. So it was him. Following this episode, the rest of the game was explosive, to say the least. After Zhao Yun resurrected and as he got ready to fight once more, he was captured again by the watching Zi Chuan. Stun spell and yed! Zhao Yun was dead. Again! Since the first time had caught him by surprise, Zhao Yun had been particrly cautious the second time. Chapter 513 - Liangchuan is Zi Chuan! (13)

Chapter 513: Liangchuan is Zi Chuan! (13)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After being captured by Zhou Yu, he was left with thest bit of hp to run for his life. But Zhou Yu was relentless and chased him. Eventually, Zhao Yun was killed at his own doorstep! Greatly angered, Zhao Yun posted something to ask: [Zhou Yu, what have you got against me that you¡¯re so bent on killing me?!] Qiao Lian, too, waspletely stumped by the air of hostility between the two of them. After a brief pause, Zi Chuan, who had always been silent during the gaming sessions, unhurriedly typed out: [You¡¯re trying to steal my wife.] Qiao Lian did not say a word. Zhao Yun was left speechless. No one ventured anotherment. Everyone was astonished. After a while, the initially heart-stopping game had be really awkward. After Zi Chuan¡¯s exnation, Zhao Yun was killed over ten times and every time it was Zhou Yu who killed him. Indeed, after the game ended, Zhao Yun added her as a friend and the friendship request said: [Are you and Zhou Yu dating?] Qiao Lian did not say a word. At that time, she and Zi Chuan had never talked about a rtionship. It was only that her gaming champion was always following his around, and she was often teased by her team members. However, whenever she thought of his remark about being his wife, her face would inevitably turn bright red. It was a sweet feeling and it reverberated through her heart, making her blush uncontrobly and giggle sometimes. But after this, she discovered that she had gotten in trouble. Because Zi Chuan no longer yed games with her. Every time she tried to ask him for a game, he would im to be busy. Until one day, she suddenly realized that the reason he was being so awkward with her... could be because he was jealous? When that thought came to her, her heart went crazy and excited. But Zi Chuan was angry, so what could she do? Coincidentally, at that time there was awork station event and they hadunched a limited edition model of Zhou Yu¡¯s broadsword. She immediately ordered it and during the game, gifted it to Zi Chuan. And that broadsword was most likely the one she was holding in her hand now. Qiao Lian looked at the broadsword model in her hand. Her lips slightly turned upwards at these memories of the distant past. Although it had been eight years, she realized that thinking of those times still made her hear beat. Even the ripples that swept through her heart by his remark about being his wife had never quite gone away. The polished model broadsword sat nicely in her tiny palm and, as she looked at it, more memories came back to her. That was his first gift to him and he had given her something in return too. Very shortly after she gave him the broadsword, it was Valentine¡¯s Day. When she logged into the game that day, she received a private message from Shen Liangchuan: [A new skin 1 as a gift for you.] Qiao Lian went to her mailbox and saw that Shen Liangchuan had given her a Valentine¡¯s Day Edition Skin. It was a red wedding dress. She immediately put it on Xiao Qiao in the game. It was simply stunning! She knew that Shen Liangchuan was no longer angry at her, so she ventured to ask if he would continue to y. This time he agreed. And when she entered the game, she had a surprise! Shen Liangchuan was wearing a red wedding robe. When they both appeared like this, the other yers in the game all cried out in surprise. ¡°Damn, that lover skin set is really expensive, look at the two local rich kids!¡± ¡°They must be a couple¡± ¡°This is making me feel bad for being single! I¡¯m envious to death!¡± ¨C How had she felt then? Surprise, shyness and some sort of anticipation. Her heart had been almost bursting. Then she had known she waspletely conquered by this guy. But even then, she hadn¡¯t thought that she would fall so hopelessly deeply in love... It had been eight years. Qiao Lian looked at the object in her hand. What else was there to understand? She smiled, but her eyes were wet with tears. Zi Chuan! Shen Liangchuan was her Zi Chuan! Chapter 514 - Liangchuan is Zi Chuan! (14)

Chapter 514: Liangchuan is Zi Chuan! (14)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian sat in the room on the third floor for two hours. There were very, very few things in the room, but it was full of memories. After the happiness, the questions remained. If Shen Liangchuan was Zi Chuan, why hadn¡¯t he told her? And... Song Yuanxi had kept saying that his first love was her sister... What was this about? Apart from this, who was the person buried in the cemetery then? Why did those team members think that it was Zi Chuan? As she thought about these things, she lowered her head. As the feelings of joy and happiness from this discovery ebbed, she still drew a nk. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her cell phone ringing. She looked at the number and recognized it¡ªLot¡¯s Beijing official number. She quickly picked it up. The voice on the other end said, ¡°Hi, this is Lot Conquest, may I know if you¡¯re CQ Team¡¯s Coach Qiao? Qiao Lian nodded. ¡°Yes.¡± The voice continued, ¡°We are doing a promotion of all the teams that made it to the semifinals, it¡¯s for the advertisement of the grand finaling up. Will you be able to bring your team members in for a photoshoot? We¡¯ve made arrangements with our top makeup artist and photographer.¡± ESports were going in the direction of making celebrities out of star gamers. Hence, it was usual to get photoshoot requests and such. Qiao Lian contemted it for a moment and agreed. Although they weren¡¯tpleting to gain fame, there was a certain obligation to meet such official requests. Shen Liangchuan was not home yet. After some thought, she decided to call him. However after attempting it, she realized that he had turned off his cell phone. Qiao Lian then called Song Cheng. When he picked up the call, she noticed he was talking very softly. ¡°Ms. Qiao, what¡¯s up?¡± Qiao Lian bit her lip and asked, ¡°Is Shen Liangchuan with you?¡± Song Cheng replied, ¡°He is here next to me, but something came up at the filming location and he¡¯s now talking to the director. He can¡¯te to the phone right now.¡± Qiao Lian heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing these words. After the match had ended, he had left in a great hurry. She was worried that it had something to do with his identity as Zichuan being discovered. Just like how they had been supposed to meet eight years ago and he never showed up... Now knowing that he wasn¡¯t trying to avoid her, she was relieved. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll talk to himter tonight then.¡± After she hung up, she made another call to the team¡¯s vi to speak with Zombie Leader. Su Penghao had always been quite arrogant, he had never liked doing things like publicity events. Before today, their club had kept such a low profile that no one knew they existed. To the extent that during the match, there was only a small handful of fans supporting them. When she got through the line, Qiao Lian started to exin, ¡°Zombie Leader, the situation is this. The organizer would like us to go for a photoshoot. Could you check your schedule and see if you have time? Actually, since we are ying these games¡ª¡± She was trying to convince him, when he interrupted her midway and said decisively, ¡°Sure, when?¡± Qiao Lian was caught off guard by the unexpected response. She looked at her cell phone. Was this the same Zombie Leader who would disagree and argue with her about every little matter? Was the guy feeling unwell?! She coughed once. ¡°It¡¯s in an hour. Could you guys get ready to be on your way? I¡¯ll go there directly.¡± ¡°Sure, see you in a bit.¡± After he hung up, Qiao Lian was in a slight daze. It had gone so smoothly that it was unbelievable. She pped herself lightly on the face to wake herself up, trying hard not to think too much about Zi Chuan. Then she left the house, hailed a cab and headed to the organizer¡¯s venue. Just as she arrived, she saw a car parked outside, by the front entrance. Purple Fairy emerged from the car. The moment she saw Qiao Lian, she halted. Chapter 515 - Liangchuan is Zi Chuan! (15)

Chapter 515: Liangchuan is Zi Chuan! (15)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The two women stood about ten meters apart and, across this distance, they exchanged a nce. Purple Fairy, guilty, inevitably averted her eyes. On the other hand, she was indignant. She had never said she was Xiao Qiao. That was only what everyone had assumed. She had merely kept quiet. Hence, she had no reason to feel guilty. At this thought, she looked up and continued to re fiercely at Qiao Lian. s! To her dismay, Qiao Lian had already looked away and had her attention on CQ Team, that wasing from the other direction. It looked like Qiao Lian had totally disregarded the other woman. Purple Fairy was furious and had to take a few deep breaths before she could calm down. It was true, Qiao Lian had no regard for Purple Fairy. Instead, her gaze fell on the injured hands of The Godfather and The Deputy Godfather. Because it was a burn injury, it was covered with a light gauze. She was full of concern. ¡°How is it?¡± The Godfather and The Deputy Godfather exchanged a look and with disappointment written all over their faces said, ¡°The injuries are not all that serious, but we just need to rest for a week or two.¡± Qiao Lian nodded, feeling a little gloomy about the situation too. It was such an important match, so being down by two people was a sad situation. She pursed her lips and then heard a voice say, ¡°How are your injuries doing? Are you able to y in tomorrow¡¯s match?¡± Qiao Lian turned around and saw that Purple Fairy had walked over to them, pretending to be worried. The Godfather and The Deputy Godfather were infuriated by the sight of her. The Godfather was a hot-tempered person, so he immediately said, ¡°We don¡¯t need your fake kindness here!¡± Purple Fairy quickly put on a hurt expression. ¡°Don¡¯t be like that. I didn¡¯t do it on purpose...¡± At this point, a small group of organizing staff came out and seeing what was happening then, they thought that CQ Team members were bullying Purple Fairy. Hence, they said immediately, ¡°What are you doing? You¡¯re a man and you shouldn¡¯t be talking to a sweet delicatedy like that.¡± The Godfather was livid. ¡°She¡ª¡± Before he could say anything, Purple Fairy hung her head and interrupted, ¡°This was all my fault, please don¡¯t me them. His hand is injured, so it¡¯s understandable that he¡¯s in a bad mood.¡± Her words only served to confirm what the organizing staff had thought. See? There was even a good reason for his behavior. The Godfather was injured and therefore in a bad mood, and that was why he had taken it out on her. One of the worker¡¯s expression darkened. ¡°In a gamingpetition, friendshipes first,petition is secondary. As a man, surely you can¡¯t be seeking revenge for every single grievance. That would be so petty.¡± The Godfather was speechless with anger. Seeing the situation unfold, Su Penghao took a step forward and began, ¡°She¡ª¡± Before he could go on, Qiao Lian stopped him. She gave the organizing staff a huge smile. ¡°It¡¯s just a small matter, let¡¯s not take it out of proportion. Okay, okay, hurry up and get your pictures taken.¡± As Su Penghao and the team members heard this, they looked at Qiao Lian strangely, wondering why she was being so afraid. However, now all the team members were obedient with her, so they didn¡¯t say another word. Smiling, the organizer took the team members through to the photoshoot. After the photoshoot, the team left the building. Su Penghao looked around for Qiao Lian and saw that she was walking towards them, carrying six packages of milk tea. She ran clumsily, straight at Purple Fairy! And then, without much effort, she aimed the hot milk tea at Purple Fairy and released the packages so that their content sshed right on her. ¡°Ahhhhh!¡± Purple Fairy shrieked sharply as the hot milk tea drenched her. Chapter 516 - Liangchuan is Zi Chuan! (16)

Chapter 516: Liangchuan is Zi Chuan! (16)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The six packages of freshly brewed milk tea rained on her, drenching her trousers. The heat from the drinks made her cry out sharply in pain. She took a step back, trying to shake off the hot tea. However because it was winter, even if she wasn¡¯t wearing much, the clothes were still rather thick and heavy, making the spilled liquid even hotter than normal. Purple Fairy turned white and beads of perspiration formed on her forehead. It was good that Qiao Lian had not bought ridiculously scalding milk tea, otherwise Purple Fairy¡¯s thighs would have needed a skin graft. But even then, this milk tea had probably taken off ayer of her skin. Qiao Lian squinted as she looked at Purple Fairy. After a while, she put on a panic-stricken expression as she walked up to her. ¡°Oh dear! You were scalded. I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry...¡± Then she hurriedly bent over, pretending to take a look at Purple Fairy¡¯s thighs. At his point, the pain had made Purple Fairy so exasperated that she extended her arm and harshly shoved Qiao Lian. Of course, Qiao Lian was able to withstand the force. But noticing that the organizer was walking towards them, Qiao Lian, in the blink of an eye, dropped her butt right onto the ground. ¡°Ouch!¡± She cried out in fake agony. The organizer came up to them and asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Purple Fairy was obviously livid and pointed a finger at Qiao Lian. But before she could say a word, Qiao Lian interrupted her and said, ¡°Coach Purple Fairy, I¡¯m really sorry, I¡¯m sorry... I was carrying six cups of milk tea and wasn¡¯t paying attention while walking. I wasn¡¯t in time to get out of your way...¡± With that, she made it seem like Purple Fairy had been running around and had gotten into Qiao Lian¡¯s path. When it came to appearance, of course, Qiao Lian looked way better than Purple Fairy. In addition, Purple Fairy had thick make-up on, while Qiao Lian was fresh-faced and pretty. Inparison, Purple Fairy looked rougher than her. Seeing that Qiao Lian was apologizing so meekly, the organizer couldn¡¯t help feeling sorry for her and said to Purple Fairy, ¡°Alright, she didn¡¯t do it on purpose. Just be more careful when you¡¯re walking around.¡± Purple Fairy was mad with rage. ¡°She did it on purpose! She ran towards me without looking! Also, this milk tea is burning hot!¡± Qiao Lian sigh. ¡°The nearest cafe is a kilometer away. I bought the tea and carried it over, they should have cooled by now. How about you take off your trousers? Let¡¯s have a look at your injury.¡± ¡°... We are in the public,¡± Purple Fairy retorted. ¡°How am I supposed to take off my trousers?!¡± The organizer frowned. ¡°That¡¯s true. One usually drinks tea freshly brewed, so the temperature is supposed to be just right for that. Even if it was a little hot, it wouldn¡¯t burn you to that extent.¡± Having said this, he turned to Qiao Lian and muttered, ¡°Girls nowadays... They are getting more and more delicate and squeamish.¡± Purple Fairy turned purple. The organizer cleared his throat. ¡°Okay, all¡¯s fine now, off you go.¡± Purple Fairy was going to say more, but not wishing to make a bad impression on the organizer, she could only grit her teeth and hold back her words. She red at Qiao Lian, eyes bulging with anger. Then, raising her finger and pointing at Qiao Lian, she said after a pause, ¡°Great. This is great. I¡¯ll remember this!¡± She strode off with her trembling legs, hurrying to the hospital to get some ointment for burns applied. Qiao Lian watched her as she got into her car and drove away. Then, she dusted off her hands. This was something she had wanted to do before the match this morning. But she knew that if they got involved in any scuffles in the midst of thepetition, they would have been disqualified. After thepetition, she had hurried to look for Shen Liangchuan and had forgotten all about Purple Fairy. And now... it was just a convenient time for payback. Since Purple Fairy had injured six hands, then Qiao Lian had returned the deed with six cups of milk tea. After all of this, she turned around and saw that CQ team members were all standing nearby, looking at her in great astonishment! Chapter 517 - Liangchuan is Zi Chuan! (17)

Chapter 517: Liangchuan is Zi Chuan! (17)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios CQ team members were all hot-blooded youths. When they witnessed unjust situations, their natural reaction was to fight back. To be honest, when Qiao Lian had stopped them earlier on and expected them to tolerate, Su Penghao, The Godfather and the rest hadn¡¯t taken it very well. But knowing that they should keep things in perspective, theyplied. Because of this matter, they looked a little cheerless and, even during the photo shoot, their smiles werecking real joy. But what had they just witnessed? They were clearly walking out of the building from the left, and that was the same side Qiao Lian had firste from. But she had gone straight to Purple Fairy, who was walking from the opposite direction. Could her intention have been any more obvious!? They observed her again. Even if she was still as eager to please as ever, she indeed did know how to get back at someone. Purple Fairy herself was left quite speechless. The way Qiao Lian had executed her payback strategy far surpassed the team¡¯s method of direct attack by a hundred times, in terms of satisfaction gained! Besides, they could tell by the way Purple Fairy was limping that she had been scalded considerably badly. The Godfather, The Deputy Godfather, and even Su Penghao, looked down at their hands. It was as though, all at once, their injuries were no longer that painful. When they raised their heads to look at Qiao Lian again, it was as though they were seeing her with new eyes. They had always felt that Qiao Lian was just a decorative vase. When they had fought inpetitions, they would never y ording to the strategies she had proposed. But at today¡¯spetition, her fine solo performance had been a real eye-opener. And now they had also seen her personal way of handling matters. Before anyone even realized it, she had conquered the hearts of all her team members. As the team members were staring nkly and trying to get over what had just happened, Qiao Lian waved before their faces. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s going on?¡± Had she frightened them with what she had done to Purple Fairy? She grimaced. ¡°That- Actually, I didn¡¯t do it on purpose.¡± The team members were close to rolling their eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t be frightened. I¡¯m really quite kind. I wouldn¡¯t injure someone else on purpose! It was all an ident!¡± The team members were close to rolling their eyes again. Seeing that they more she said, the more they didn¡¯t believe her words, she sighed. ¡°Okay, fine. Let¡¯s go back to the vi.¡± At this point, Su Penghao stepped forward. ¡°Coach Qiao.¡± Qiao Lian halted and turned around. ¡°Did you just call me?¡± It was too strange. Su Penghao had always used her name. Since when had he be this respectful? He took a step towards her and said, ¡°Well, isn¡¯t the grand final in a week? I wanted to ask you what our training programme should be like during this period.¡± It was possible that in a week, The Godfather and The Deputy Godfather would have recovered from their injuries and could y. Qiao Lian frowned. Then, she took them through the details of the drills and arrangements of other rted matters before they walked off together. She had barely taken two steps when Smiling Tiger suddenly appeared before her. He looked quite different from before. His expression was gloomy, he even looked a little depressed. He looked at Qiao Lian, hung his head and walked up to her slowly. ¡°Forget Chuan...¡± Qiao Lian looked back at him. With his eyes still to the ground, he said, ¡°May Ie back CQ Team?¡± Qiao Lian raised and eyebrow. ¡°Why?¡± Smiling Tiger exined, ¡°I left CQ Team because Purple Fairy imed she was Xiao Qiao. I was fooled and believed it! Now I¡¯ve realized she¡¯s not!¡± Besides, ever since he had yed that match with Unforgettable Love, he had realized that Purple Fairy was not Xiao Qiao. Thus knowing that her cover had been blown, Purple Fairy had started to suppress him. He was no longer allowed to y inpetitions and was merely a reserve yer! Chapter 518 - Liangchuan is Zi Chuan! (18)

Chapter 518: Liangchuan is Zi Chuan! (18)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Smiling Tiger looked at Qiao Lian with a hopeful expression. Qiao Lian suddenly burst outughing when she saw how sorry he looked. She recalled how terrible she had felt when he was poached. And at that time, his decisiveness had cut her like a knife. Now it seemed they had reversed their roles. Qiao Lian looked at him and asked, ¡°Who¡¯s going to pay for the breach of contract fee if you left now?¡± Upon hearing this, Smiling Tiger immediately answered, ¡°The penalty is actually only 100,000. It wouldn¡¯t be too much for CQ to pay!¡± Qiao Lian raised an eyebrow. ¡°100,000? But why would CQ pay the penalty for a person who once betrayed our team?¡± Smiling Tiger was stumped by her question. Qiao Lian continued, ¡°Now that you¡¯ve realized Purple Fairy is not Xiao Qiao, you wish to return. So in the future, if some other team¡¯s coach happens to be your idol, will you run away and join them too?¡± Smiling Tiger froze. Qiao Lian pointed at the team behind her and said, ¡°You see these people here? At that time, Purple Fairy not only poached you. She tried to poach them too. But no one left except you.¡± She looked at him intently. ¡°What CQ wants is a united team and not someone who is easily persuaded to leave.¡± Seeing that Qiao Lian was firm and decisive, Smiling Tiger turned to nce at The Godfather and The Deputy Godfather, and their injured hands. After a pause, he said, ¡°But aren¡¯t you afraid of losing the match next week, if their hands have not recovered by then?¡± Qiao Lian pursed her lips and shook her head after a short pause. ¡°We would rather lose than have a team member who doesn¡¯t qualify! Even if we lose, we always have the opportunity to start again from scratch.¡± On this note, she turned and started to walk away. At this point, she heard Smiling Tiger shouting, ¡°Ancestor White Bones, aren¡¯t you going to help me?!¡± Qiao Lian paused and looked at Ancestor White Bones. Ancestor White Bones used to look quite haggard, however during the time with the team, Qiao Lian had put a stop to bad practices like staying untilte at night. Hence, she had also somewhat plumped. Ancestor White Bones turned to Smiling Tiger at this question and replied, ¡°The moment you left the fighting team, I decided I¡¯d no longer speak up for you.¡± Smiling Tiger bit his lip, obviously upset. ¡°White Bones! Don¡¯t you want us to be together every day?¡± Ancestor White Bones shook her head and said resolutely, ¡°We already broke up.¡± The implication of that remark surprised Qiao Lian greatly. She looked at Ancestor White Bones questioningly. ¡°You- you two were together?¡± Ancestor White Bones nced at Qiao Lian and nodded in confirmation. Qiao Lian was stunned by this discovery. ¡°But not anymore. We broke up.¡± Qiao Lian nodded to show she understood. The six of them got in line and into the car. The car then drove away, leaving Smiling Tiger behind by himself. He clenched his fists tightly. After a pause, he took in a deep breath and said, ¡°One day you wille begging me to join yourpetitive team!¡± As though suddenly recalling something, he picked up his cell phone and dialed a number... ¨C Qiao Lian took the team members to the vi, before asking the driver to drive her back to the vi. She looked at the time and guessed that Shen Liangchuan should be home by now. However upon arrival, she realized he was not back yet. And even Xia Yehua was not home. Raising an eyebrow in slight surprise, she asked Auntie Li, ¡°Where are Sir and Senior Madam?¡± Auntie Li answered, ¡°Sir said he has a meeting and won¡¯t be back tonight. Senior Madam... has gone to see Ms. Song.¡± Qiao Lian was slightly surprised and asked after a pause, ¡°Which rehab home is Song Yuanxi in?¡± Chapter 519 - Liangchuan is Zi Chuan! (19)

Chapter 519: Liangchuan is Zi Chuan! (19)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Auntie Li provided the information. ¡°She¡¯s in the Yi De Fei Rehab Home in the suburbs.¡± Qiao Lian nodded to show she understood. Then, she headed upstairs. At the same time, in a hospital elsewhere... Purple Fairy was looking in dismay at her thighs, that had been scalded and turned bright red. She was full of anger. The scorching pain would at the most be temporarily relieved by the application of some ointment, but that wouldn¡¯t get rid of the stingpletely. Ouch. Apart from the pain, she could feel nothing else in her legs. The burns on her thighs also meant that whenever she had clothes on, they would make contact with her skin and it would be inevitably agonizing and torturous. Forget Chuan! The infuriated Purple Fairy was determined to make her pay for this. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sudden ringing of her cell phone. She picked it up and saw it was Sun Linan. She immediately answered in her sweetest voice, ¡°How are you, Mr Sun?!¡± Sun Linan¡¯s voice came through the line. ¡°How was the match today?¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t have a problem. We made it to the grand final.¡± Sun Linan nodded on the other end of the line and added, ¡°Okay, great. I will be there at the grand final. Your team must win thispetition, no matter what. Do you understand?¡± Purple Fairy gave him her word. ¡°Don¡¯t you worry. We won¡¯t have a problem!¡± ¨C Alone in the bedroom, Qiao Lian felt that unbidden sense of loneliness engulf her once again. She pursed her lips. After hesitating for a moment, she dialed Shen Liangchuan¡¯s number. Two rings. Someone picked up the line. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s resonant voice was heard saying, ¡°Hello?¡± Qiao Lian pursed her lips and said after a short pause, ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± ¡°I know.¡± His deep voice was very different from before, from the croaking voice he had as an adolescent going through puberty. It was like a person who had undergone rebirth to be resplendent and radiant. Eight years ago, Qiao Lian wouldugh at him every time she heard his voiceing through the cell phone. Boys going through puberty never liked to talk very much because of how they sounded just before their voices broke. Little had this boy known that whenever Qiao Lian heard his voice, she had felt a certain sense offort and security. At that time, she had often wondered how Shen Liangchuan would sound after his voice broke, and whether it would take away that sense of familiarity she had with him. Andter on, she did hear his manly voice. Mellow, rich and so fascinating. It was an attractive voice that she had fallen in love with. So this was how Zi Chuan was after he had grown up. Before she knew it, her eyes began to sting as tears formed. Her vision blurred a little. Qiao Lian immediately drew a tissue from the box to dry her eyes. She was bing quite awkward. Obviously, she had questions for him, but why was it that the moment she heard his voice, her heart stung? She bit her lip and said after a short pause, ¡°When are youing home?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t be sure yet.¡± His words came with some hesitation. Qiao Lian tightened her grip on the phone. A pause. ¡°I wanted to ask you something.¡± Silence. The silence was deafening, she was sure she would be able to hear a needle drop. The silence at the other end of the line caused her heart to pound in her ears. After what seemed like an eternity, but also as fast a thought, in the blink of an eye, the man spoke, ¡°Ask.¡± Qiao Lian froze. What was she going to ask? Are you Zi Chuan? The memorabilia on the third floor and the moves at thepetition this morning were proof of his identity. Did this question still make sense? But since they hade to this point, Qiao Lian clenched her fists tightly. She said after taking a deep breath, ¡°I am Xiao Qiao¡± Chapter 520 - Liangchuan is Zi Chuan! (20)

Chapter 520: Liangchuan is Zi Chuan! (20)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian had no idea why she had said that. But now that she had said it, she could only wait for a response. Silence. The line had gone silent again. Qiao Lian stared straight ahead, as though she was looking into the night. But she wasn¡¯t looking at anything. Her mind was a tangled mess... Did Shen Liangchuan know it was her? She recalled something. When she had been at the end of the rope, he hade out of nowhere and, like a saviour, had suggested a contractual marriage. She recalled again. When they had just gotten married, he had been cold towards her and there was always a sense of unexinable animosity. She had eventually thought that he treated her that way because of his first love. But now she found out that wasn¡¯t the case. And if that wasn¡¯t the case, then what exactly was the case? Could it be that he did not know she was Xiao Qiao? This thought hung in mid-air all, tangled andplicated. Qiao Lian felt like her brain was overloaded and about to explode. She continued to stare straight ahead. She might as well not think about anything, she would just wait for his answer. Second by second, time slipped away. The room was absolutely silent. Then he finally spoke, ¡°I know...¡± Like it was nothing. It wrung her heart. How could he be so unperturbed? She thought about the moment she had realized he was Zi Chuan. Those raging emotions... and yet listening to him now... Qiao Lian was even confident that Shen Liangchuan had known she was Xiao Qiao for a long time. But if he had known all along she was Xiao Qiao, why had he treated her like this? Qiao Lian had too many questions that needed rification. However the moment she opened her mouth, she realized she no longer knew what to ask. She sat there, stunned. The both of them fell silent, as though they didn¡¯t quite know what to say next. After what seemed like a long time, Qiao Lian snapped out of the hypnotic silence. The one thing she really wanted to know was... why did he not turn up eight years ago, when they were supposed to have met? Gathering her courage, she was just about to ask the question when she heard Song Cheng¡¯s voice in the background, saying, ¡°Brother Shen, the director is waiting for you.¡± Qiao Lian paused and held back the words that she was about to speak. Instead, she said with understanding, ¡°You go take care of it, we¡¯ll speak again when you have time.¡± Shen Liangchuan replied, ¡°Okay. You take good care of yourself.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± After the phone call, Qiao Liany on the bed staring at the silent night sky. So Shen Liangchuan was really busy, not avoiding her! But little did she know... In an office building in Beijing City. Shen Liangchuan stood by the full-length window, quietly looking out into the distance. The cell phone was still in his hand, frozen in the same position as when he hung up. Song Cheng was standing behind him. Everyone else had gone home after work; only the two of them were in the office. Song Cheng cleared his throat. ¡°Brother Shen, we- should we really be lying to Ms. Qiao?¡± The icy stare from Shen Liangchuan that followed was enough to shut him up for good. Shen Liangchuan continued to look into the distance. Underneath his usual calmness, he was at a loss. Although he had tried his best to cover up his moves during the game, it seemed like Qiao Lian had managed to spot something suspicious. And hence the call. She said she had a question... He didn¡¯t have to think very hard to figure out what she was going to ask. But to revisit what had happened eight years ago... would only hurt the both of them. Chapter 521 - The Grand Final (1)

Chapter 521: The Grand Final (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He would rather bear the burden alone than let her know the truth. ¨C Qiao Lian had no idea when she fell asleep. When she awoke, the skies were lit by the morning sun. She looked at the time. 7 a.m. By the time she got out of bed, washed up and got everything ready, Xia Yehua was already in the dining room having breakfast. Qiao Lian walked over to her. Xia Yehua reached for her hand. ¡°You guys must have been awfully busy, I haven¡¯t seen neither of you all day.¡± Smiling reassuringly, Qiao Lian said, ¡°I have nothing nned for today, I¡¯ll keep youpany.¡± Xia Yehua nodded. Qiao Lian thought for a bit and finally decided to ask, ¡°Mom, are you visiting Yuanxi again today?¡± The mention of Song Yuanxi caused Xia Yehua to feel aplex mix of emotions. She had watched the girl grow up and treated the girl like her own daughter. On the one hand, she had done a great deal of damage and harm to the family. On the other hand, she had now lost her sanity... Xia Yehua both resented and missed the girl. She was quiet for a moment before answering Qiao Lian¡¯s question. ¡°No, I won¡¯t go today. The rehab home allows two visits a week and they are strict about it. I¡¯ll just go once a week and that will be good enough.¡± Once a week. Before this, when Song Yuanxi was hospitalized, Xia Yehua had visited her every day. It looked like Xia Yehua was ultimately upset and angry at the girl. But who could me her for feeling that way? In the end, Song Yuanxi had used her car to return to the vi, and had even injured Shen Liangchuan. It must have made her heart ache. It wasn¡¯t hard to understand Xia Yehua¡¯s position. Qiao Lian had leisure time that morning after breakfast. Seeing that both Xia Yehua and Auntie Li were busy gardening, she sneaked out. She hailed a cab and asked to be taken to the rehab home. Now, after discovering that Zi Chuan was Liangchuan and that the room on the third floor had nothing to do with this supposed ¡°first love sister¡± mentioned by Song Yuanxi, the mystery deepened as to why Song Yuanxi hated her so much. Qiao Lian felt that there must be a reason why Song Yuanxi had such deep hatred towards her. And the reason, she was sure, had something to do with Shen Liangchuan. She took a deep breath. This matter was endless andplex. As she was struggling with her thoughts, the cell phone rang. She looked down at the screen. It was Sun Linan. She picked up the line. Sun Linan¡¯s voice came through from the other end, ¡°Qiao Lian, are you free in two weeks?¡± Qiao Lian frowned. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°Erm... Did you know that Lot is hosting apetition in Beijing? Let¡¯s go watch thepetition! I have tickets!¡± Qiao Lian rolled her eyes. Would she need to watch thepetition? She was one of thepetitors! Qiao Lian grimaced and said, ¡°No, it¡¯s okay.¡± Sun Linan was surprised. ¡°Didn¡¯t you use to like eSports? Why don¡¯t you want to go?¡± Qiao Lian tried to put an end to the conversation and said, ¡°Eh... I have tickets.¡± ¡°Oh, you frightened me. I thought you were no longer interested in it!¡± Sun Linan seemed to be getting more excited as he spoke. He could finally unveil the big surprise he had been nning for so long for Qiao Lian. When Qiao Lian finally found out that the champion team, King Team, was his team, she would change her perspective of himpletely. And he would gift the team to her right there and then, as his surprise present for her. Qiao Lian had always wanted to establish a team and now, he was making her dreamse true. Thinking of this made Sun Linan all the more excited. ¡°Erm... In a week... you have to be there!¡± Qiao Lian answered, ¡°For sure, I¡¯ll be there.¡± Chapter 522 - The Grand Final (2)

Chapter 522: The Grand Final (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian felt after hanging up the phone, that Sun Linan¡¯s excitement was a little odd. It was a gut feeling, she couldn¡¯t really put a finger on it. She and Sun Tzi had used to hang out together before she got hooked on gaming. When that happened, Sun Tzi would go on endlessly about gaming not being a productive activity. And now he was showing interest? Qiao Lian shook her head and pushed Sun Linan to the back of her mind. Soon, they arrived at the rehab home. As she got out of the cab, Qiao Lian surveyed thevish buildings and generous surroundings. Obviously, it was a private rehab home, since only the wealthy could afford the fees that such a facility would charge. She walked up to the entrance and at this point, the guard stopped her. Qiao Lian said to him, ¡°I¡¯m here to visit my sister-inw. Please, could you help me sign in?¡± The guard executed his duty strictly. ¡°No, I can¡¯t. We only allow visitors on Tuesdays and Fridays. The rest of the time the rehab home does not allow visitors.¡± Qiao Lian was unconvinced. ¡°But I really do have serious matters at hand and I have to see the patient. Can you not make an exception?¡± The guard shook his head and apologized, ¡°Sorry, Miss, these are our regtions. Because the patients here are special, if we let strangers in on a normal day, it may cause panic. I hope you understand. After all, you have a rtive in here, I¡¯m sure you¡¯d like your own family member to receive the best treatment, wouldn¡¯t you? Qiao Lian nodded in agreement. The reasoning was eptable, and the rehab home was strict in implementing its regtions. It looked like the rehab home had been dutiful when it came to ensuring their safety. There was no fear of the patients escaping. But if she was unable to gain entry, then how would she be able to see Song Yuanxi and find out the truth behind this supposed ¡°first love¡±? As she was contemting her dilemma, she saw a youngdy walking out of the rehab home. She looked very pretty and very delicate, her expression was kind and gentle. The saying ¡°tender and soft as silk¡± would exactly describe her. She wore a smile on her face and anyone who saw her would be inclined to think that she was a good-natured girl. But why did she look so familiar? As Qiao Lian tried to jog her own memory, the girl looked as though she had seen a stranger and cast Qiao Lian a nce. Immediately, her eyes lit up and she came running up to Qiao Lian. ¡°It¡¯s you! Why are you here?¡± Qiao Lian froze. This girl knew her? Perhaps she saw Qiao Lian¡¯s puzzled expression, so the girl quickly said, ¡°At Glitter Club... Have you forgotten?¡± Glitter Club. Suddenly, it came back to Qiao Lian. Wasn¡¯t this girl the one who had been beaten and then rescued by Shen Zihao? Clearly, this female worker was feeling very grateful to her. She shook Qiao Lian¡¯s hand and introduced herself, ¡°My name¡¯s Xia Nuannuan. About the other day... I really have to thank you guys. If it weren¡¯t for you...¡± Her eyes turned red and misty at this point. Qiao Lian was immediately sympathetic andforted her, ¡°It¡¯s okay, it was nothing, don¡¯t think too much of it.¡± Although Xia Nuannuan looked delicate, she had great inner strength. While she was being beaten the other day, she did not say one word. It told Qiao Lian a lot about her character. Hence, Qiao Lian quite liked her. Besides, seeing her again now, Qiao Lian felt a sense of familiarity. Xia Nuannuan asked, ¡°Erm... May I know... who was the gentleman who saved me the other day?¡± At this point, she started to blush deeply. Qiao Lian was puzzled. ¡°You don¡¯t know him? Didn¡¯t he carry you away from that ce?¡± Xia Nuannuan bit her lip and hung her head. ¡°I was scared to death at that time. He sent me to the hospital and left after they treated my injuries. His shirt is still with me. I was wondering if could have the chance to return it to him and thank him personally.¡± Chapter 523 - The Grand Finals! (3)

Chapter 523: The Grand Finals! (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian smiled. ¡°His name is Shen Zihao. And I¡¯m quite sure you¡¯ll have the chance to see each other again.¡± Xia Nuannuan nodded. Looking at the building, she asked Qiao Lian, ¡°What are you here for?¡± Qiao Lian answered, ¡°I¡¯m here to see a friend. But the guard wouldn¡¯t let me in.¡± Xia Nuannuan nodded, apparently familiar with the rules. ¡°That¡¯s right. The rehab home has strict regtions. I now work here as a caregiver.¡± She paused for a moment and then said, ¡°I can get you in.¡± Qiao Lian widened her eyes. ¡°What?¡± Once she was in the elegantpounds of the rehab home, Qiao Lian realized that they had essed the facility through the back door, in all sense of the word. Xia Nuannuan even gave her a brief background exnation of Song Yuanxi¡¯s condition. ¡°Actually, Ms Song¡¯s condition is unstable. Sometimes she¡¯s okay, sometimes she¡¯s not. She must have been triggered by something. For cases such as hers, there¡¯s actually no need to send them to a rehab home. After all... the patient still has the desire to be with their family and loved ones.¡± Having said this, she turned to nce at Qiao Lian. Qiao Lian pursed her lips and did notment. Xia Yehua had been constantly worried about Song Yuanxi. Although it was understandable why they had had to leave Song Yuanxi in a facility like this, she still felt terrible doing it. Song Yuanxi had done Qiao Lian so much damage, and had even injured Shen Liangchuan... And Qiao Lian also did not have a good rtionship with Song Yuanxi to speak of. But now, hearing what Xia Nuannuan had just said, Qiao Lian understood better. No matter how good the rehab home sounded, or how luxurious its facilities were, it made little difference. Perhaps the only thing better about this ce, whenpared to a prison, was its environment. Without the freedom toe and go as one wished, and being watched over all the time... These were in fact the greatest punishments for Song Yuanxi. As Qiao Lian had not spoken a word, Xia Nuannuan immediately understood that it must be a personal matter she did not wish to reveal. Being a kind and sensitive girl, she did not broach the topic again. Instead, she said, ¡°Ms. Song usually stays in her room alone and hardly speaks. She stares into space a lot. Sometimes she cries. We ask her to join the activities but she refuses.¡± Xia Nuannuan showed Qiao Lian the way to the residential block. ¡°Ms. Song lives here. ¡± She pointed to one of the units. The buildings of the home were all very bright and airy. Every unit had a room, a living area and a bathroom. It was a trulyfortable ce to live in, even better than most five-star hotels. Xia Nuannuan pushed open the door to Song Yuanxi¡¯s unit for Qiao Lian to enter. The sound of the door opening did not seem to catch Song Yuanxi¡¯s attention at all, as though the sounds of the mortal world no longer moved her in any way. She sat on the sofa in the living area, staring intently at a corner of the room. Following her gaze, Qiao Lian found that she was staring at a nk wall. She stood at a cautious distance from Song Yuanxi and asked, ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Song Yuanxi was staring at the nk wall with widened eyes, in her patient¡¯s gown. When she heard Qiao Lian¡¯s question, she turned around and threw her an empty nce before saying, ¡°I¡¯m looking at the memories of Brother Liangchuan and I.¡± Qiao Lian was surprised. There was a rity in Song Yuanxi¡¯s expression that made her look normal. In fact, she did not look sick at all. Qiao Lian frowned. Song Yuanxi stood up and turned to her. ¡°Why are you here? What do you want?¡± There was really nothing abnormal about her. Qiao Lian frowned and asked, ¡°I¡¯vee to ask you a few questions.¡± ¡°Go on then.¡± ¡°Song Yuanxi, why are you so against me?¡± On this note, a sudden change came over the girl. It was as though she had be another person. ¡°Because I hate you,¡± she spat. ¡°You caused the death of...¡± Chapter 524 - The Grand Final (4)

Chapter 524: The Grand Final (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Song Yuanxi suddenly lowered her voice so that thosest words were inaudible. Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank at once. She leaned forward and grabbed Song Yuanxi¡¯s wrist. ¡°What did you say? Say it so that I can hear. You hate me because...? I caused the death of...?¡± Just as she suspected! It had always puzzled her. If Song Yuanxi¡¯s sister was really Shen Liangchuan¡¯s first love, then it was understandable that she didn¡¯t want the two of them to be together. However, Song Yuanxi¡¯s intense hatred towards her was so personal that it was odd! Switching the birth control drug so that she would suffer permanent infertility was not something done out of a mere dislike for another person. And now, hearing that she was the direct cause of something... she finally understood. So it was personal vengeance. She clenched her fists tightly. Suddenly, she recalled that Shen Liangchuan had once mentioned Song Yuanxi was an old friend¡¯s sister. Old friend. This old friend would have had to be someone very important to Shen Liangchuan. Could it be that it was also for the same reason that Shen Liangchuan had hated her? And could it also be why he did not turn up to that meeting eight years ago? Eight yearster, they met again. And even though he knew she was Xiao Qiao, he did not acknowledge it. To the extent that at the time they had just gotten married, he had treated her with disdain. When she put all these together, everything began to make sense and it felt like a fog was clearing in her mind. But whose death exactly had she caused? Eight years ago she had been but an eighteen-year-old girl. She had done nothing as far as she was aware. How could it be possible she had caused someone¡¯s death? She needed to know. But Song Yuanxi seemed to be spent. She jumped when Qiao Lian grabbed her wrist, as though she was frightened by something, and shrieked, ¡°Ahhhhh, let me go, let me go!¡± ¡°Ahhhhhh, there¡¯s so much blood!¡± ¡°Brother Liangchuan, I didn¡¯t do it on purpose... Aaaaaah...¡± ¡°Brother Liangchuan, do you hate me so much...¡± ¡°Blood... Go away... Don¡¯te near me!¡± After these words, she suddenly shoved Qiao Lian out of the way and dashed to the bathroom. Turning on the tap at full st, she washed her hands vigorously. ¡°Blood, I have to wash it clean... wash it clean, this is not Brother Liangchuan¡¯s blood...¡± Song Yuanxi continued absent-mindedly and vigorously washing her hands, while Qiao Lian stood in the living room watching her. She was shaken. The Song Yuanxi she was looking at was not the detestable Song Yuanxi that she once knew. Her pathetic state now wasmentable. Xia Nuannuan heard the shrieking and had dashed into the unit. Then, she saw what was happening. She quickly rushed into the bathroom, asking, ¡°Ms. Song, what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Blood... So much blood!¡± Song Yuanxi was now getting a bit rough with the washing. And at this point, Qiao Lian noticed that the skin on her hands was raw, perhaps from frequent washing. Xia Nuannuan immediately extended her hands and said gently, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, here, let me help you wash.¡± Upon hearing this, Song Yuanxi looked at her in the eyes and began to calm down. ¨C Finally, after calming down Song Yuanxi, Xia Nuannuan apanied Qiao Lian to the door. She sighed. ¡°Ms. Song has been like this. She may look normal most of the time, but she washes her hands many times a day. And her hands have be infected with the excessive washing.¡± It must be because she had never intended to hurt Shen Liangchuan that she was now so affected by this matter. Qiao Lian sighed. Her cell phone suddenly started ringing. It was from the vi, and Su Penghao sounded very anxious, ¡°Coach Qiao, can youe over immediately?¡± Chapter 525 - The Grand Finals! (5)

Chapter 525: The Grand Finals! (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank immediately when she heard this. Something had gone wrong at the vi again? She looked at Xia Nuannuan anxiously and said, ¡°Eh... We have to talk another day. Something urgent hase up and I have to leave now.¡± Xia Nuannuan nodded and drew out a piece of memo paper. She wrote her contact number on it and gave it to Qiao Lian. ¡°I¡¯m working here now, I¡¯m no longer at the nightclub. Feel free to call me any time.¡± However, she did not ask for Qiao Lian¡¯s number. Those who could afford toe to this rehab home weren¡¯t just rich, they were rich and respectable people. She only wanted an opportunity to return the favor. There was nothing she wanted from Qiao Lian and would never dream of troubling her. Her thoughtfulness made Qiao Lian like her all the more. She was neither servile nor overbearing, her manners were extremely charming. Qiao Lian reached for the memo and immediately picked up her cell phone to save Xia Nuannuan¡¯s number. Then, she dialed it. Xia Nuannuan jumped when her cell phone rang. Qiao Lian exined, ¡°My name¡¯s Qiao Lian. Feel free to call me too if you need anything. After all, we¡¯re friends now!¡± Xia Nuannuan broke into a warm and cheerful smile, tender and soft as silk. Qiao Lian waved goodbye as she left the rehab home. Then she, hailed a cab to head over to the vi. Along the way, all she could think of were Song Yuanxi¡¯s words. She had caused the death of... who exactly? Qiao Lian¡¯s heart slowly sank. If she had really caused the death of Song Yuanxi¡¯s family member, then it was understandable how Song Yuanxi had treated her. No wonder that after Shen Liangchuan had found out the truth, he had covered up for her and had even told her, ¡°If you want revenge, take it out on me.¡± At that time, she had thought that it had nothing to do with her. Of course she had to take it out on Shen Liangchuan. She was innocent. But now... Suddenly, she felt a stinging pain in her heart. She was beginning to see that all this time, Shen Liangchuan might actually have been carrying a burden on her behalf. And as for being the cause of someone¡¯s death... She bit her lip and hung her head. The only time in her life she had been anywhere close to being involved in anyone¡¯s death was that incident, when her parents¡¯ building had copsed and 17 workers had died. Those 17 workers... Her parents had visited each and every one of their families. She didn¡¯t recall Song Yuanxi being rted to any of those families. Now that Song Yuanxi had lost her sanity, there was no way she could find out the truth. It looked like she could only ask Shen Liangchuan now. She would wait then. She didn¡¯t believe that he wouldn¡¯te home! For the moment, Qiao Lian stowed this whole matter away at the back of her mind. The cab neared the vi and, before it had even arrived, she could hear amotion in the background. Qiao Lian paused for a moment. As she neared the crowd, she saw that a car had pulled up and stopped at the entrance of the clubhouse. Themotion wasing from inside the vi. She quickened her footsteps and hurried over. There she saw a middle-aged woman. The woman was twisting Ancestor White Bones¡¯ ear and dragging her out of the vi! ¡°You little tramp! The Ling Family has taken care of you for so long, and you run away without a word. You think we can¡¯t track you down? Come home with us right now!¡± Ancestor White Bones¡¯ expression was stern and serious, but her scrawny body could not withstand the woman¡¯s rough tugging and pushing. The Godfather, The Deputy Godfather, Lonely Peerless and Su Penghao all wanted to help her, but the moment they went anywhere near her, the middle-aged woman would shout wildly, ¡°What are you doing? You¡¯re harassing me! How can you men be hitting a woman?¡± Then, grabbing Ancestor White Bones¡¯ hair, she yanked and dragged her to the car. Qiao Lian¡¯s expression darkened as she watched this scene unfold. Without a word, she stepped forward. She grabbed the middle-aged woman and yelled, ¡°Let her go!¡± Chapter 526 - The Grand Final (6)

Chapter 526: The Grand Final (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian¡¯s angry shout was quite intimidating and, coupled with her serious expression, the woman waspelled to stop for a moment. But she immediately demanded, ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m her coach. Who are you? Coming here like this and trying to take someone away, have you asked for my permission?¡± Turning to look at the security officer who was walking in, she berated him, ¡°Since when did we start allowing strangers into the vi grounds? Are you guys doing your job?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s sharp reprimand silenced everyone present. The security officer hung his head at once and tried to exin, ¡°Ms. Qiao, I tried to stop her, but¡ª¡± The middle-aged woman didn¡¯t take long to start yelling again, ¡°You mean I cannote and look for my daughter? What sort of logic is that?!¡± Daughter? Qiao Lian gave Ancestor White Bones a questioning look. Ancestor White Bones¡¯ real name was Ling Xiao. She was a scrawny girl and her thin features made her look somewhat mean and unkind. But if one were to look at her closely, one would see that she was actually quite pretty. This middle-aged woman, on the other hand, was plump and fair. With one look, one could tell that she was well-fed and got enough sleep. The two women looked like they came from different worlds. It was hard to believe they were mother and daughter. The woman dragged Ancestor White Bones and then pushed her towards Qiao Lian, saying, ¡°Go, tell her who you are.¡± Ancestor White Bones¡¯ face tensed up, looking quite terrible now. Still, she muttered, ¡°She¡¯s my mother.¡± The middle-aged woman immediately looked up smugly at Qiao Lian. ¡°You heard that? I¡¯m here to look for my daughter, what¡¯s wrong with that?¡± At that point, she grabbed Ancestor White Bones¡¯ hair again. ¡°Good-for-nothing! We¡¯ve taken care of you for so long and now you think you can go your own way? Come home with me right now! I found work for you, so stoping here to y some rubbish game!!¡± Upon hearing these words, Su Penghao immediately spoke up. ¡°Auntie, we are not ying games, we are fighting in apetition¡ª¡± ¡°Rubbish!¡± The woman looked at Su Penghao and spat at him. It was a good thing that Su Penghao was quick at dodging, otherwise... However, he was now looking very much displeased. The middle-aged woman stood there with arms akimbo. She raised a hand and pointed at Su Penghao and the team. ¡°You four men abducted my daughter and brought her to this ce! Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know what you men are up to!¡± At this, Ancestor White Bones¡¯ face turned red and retorted, ¡°Mum! It¡¯s not like that! We¡¯re not what you think!¡± The woman gave a cold snort and snapped, ¡°You shut up! You ran away from work... so you think you¡¯re so capable?! Gaming? Gaming is not proper work and saps you of your will! These things are for wealthy scions and hedonistic kids of the filthy rich. You¡¯re just a regr person, so what are you trying to prove? Let me tell you, youe home with me right now! And get back to work!¡± Ancestor White Bones bit her lip. ¡°Mom, I like it here¡ª¡± ¡°Like my ass! Can gaming fill your stomach and give you a shelter over your head? Can it earn you money for your brother¡¯s wedding? Your brother is getting married very soon and we don¡¯t have enough money for the bride¡¯s dowry! So how dare you even quit your job?¡± Ancestor White Bones bit her lip and kept quiet. It was impossible to talk to such a mother. However, Qiao Lian heard the critical element in their conversation and immediately said, ¡°Who said that we don¡¯t get paid for gaming?¡± The middle-aged woman paused for a moment and sneered, ¡°Who are you trying to fool? A bunch of people getting together to y games will get paid?¡± Qiao Lian took a step forward and held Ancestor White Bones by her arm. Then she looked at the middle-aged woman. ¡°So if she has a sry from gaming, you¡¯ll let her y?¡± Chapter 527 - The Grand Final (7)

Chapter 527: The Grand Final (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The middle-aged woman twitched her mouth and said, ¡°It depends on how much.¡± Qiao Lian immediately said, ¡°10,000 a month, and that doesn¡¯t includepetition incentives. Is that enough?¡± The moment the woman heard this, she looked up with a jolt and her eyes lit up. ¡°Enough! It¡¯s enough!¡± Then, she immediately stretched her hand out to Ancestor White Bones, palm faced up, and said, ¡°Where¡¯s the money?¡± Ancestor White Bones was bewildered. She had run away from home and had had just enough money to purchase a bus ticket. After arriving at the vi, she had never had to pay for anything else. Where was she going to get this money from?! Qiao Lian took out her wallet and drew out 5,000. cing this in Ancestor White Bones¡¯ hand, she said, ¡°This is your sry for half a month.¡± The words had barely left her mouth before the banknote disappeared from her hand and reappeared in the middle-aged woman¡¯s hand. The woman looked down at the money in her hands with a huge disgusting smile, and pocketed the notes after counting and ensuring that the amount was correct. She smiled at Qiao Lian, as though trying to curry favour, and said with feigned politeness, ¡°Oh, you just mentioned that you are her coach? I¡¯ll hand my child over to you then! If she is not doing enough, feel free to give her a good beating, or a good lecture. You don¡¯t have to hold back!¡± Qiao Lian could hardly believe her ears. Now turning to Ancestor White Bones, the woman said sternly, ¡°And you, Ling Xiao, let me warn you, focus on your gaming! And in half a month, I¡¯lle for the next 5,000!¡± Qiao Lian was bbergasted at the quick change in the woman¡¯s attitude. After the middle-aged woman had said all of this, she turned to go. Ling Xiao seemed to have calmed down by now, but The Godfather was still annoyed and said to the woman, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to even give her some of that money?¡± The woman immediately turned around and fiercely replied, ¡°What has this got to do with you? She doesn¡¯t have to worry about her meals or amodation, why would she need to spend money? This money is for her brother to buy a house and take a wife!¡± Following this, she turned around and strode away quickly. On this note, everyone thought this would be the end of the drama. Unexpectedly... After the woman left, the team members started asking Ancestor White Bones questions. From the few things she had said, everyone thought that her family followed especially rigorously the traditional practice of cing more importance on sons than daughters. Ancestor White Bones was around 20 years old this year and normally at this age, she should be in school. However, when she got to junior high school, she had been forced to leave her studies and start working so that she could pay for her brother¡¯s nuptial home. From a young age, all the eggs in the meals were for her brother only. They lived in a small two-room apartment. While her brother had a room to himself, the sofa was her makeshift bed every night. Her brother was like a blood-sucking vampire that took everything from her. Qiao Lian was shocked upon hearing her story. This was the 21st century, she didn¡¯t think that things like this still happened. She took a deep breath and patted Ancestor White Bones¡¯ shoulder tofort her. Qiao Lian then got up to leave after telling the team to train hard. She had not even taken a couple of steps when Su Penghao suddenly rushed towards her, saying, ¡°Coach Qiao, let me drive you home.¡± Qiao Lian paused and looked at Su Penghao. She noticed that his eyes were exceptionally bright with enthusiasm, and sensed that he was trying hard to please her. She thought about what Su Penghao had said before... that he trusted Xiao Qiao. Qiao Lian smiled and said, ¡°Sure.¡± On the way back to the vi. Su Penghao kept sneaking looks at her through the mirror. But when her eyes would meet his, he would quickly look away again. Qiao Lian twitched her lips and finally said, ¡°Hey, what¡¯s the matter with you? Why are you behaving so coyly, like a girl?¡± Su Penghao was a little hurt. Wasn¡¯t it obvious he was afraid that she would still be mad at him for the things that had happened before? Nevertheless, he cleared his throat and said, ¡°Anyway, there¡¯s something I¡¯d like to discuss with you.¡± Qiao Lian said, ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°Erm... Will you go buy Ancestor White Bones a new set of clothes?¡± Chapter 528 - The Grand Final (8)

Chapter 528: The Grand Final (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian was stunned by his strange request. Su Penghao cleared his throat again. ¡°She only brought one set of clothes and she¡¯s penniless. She washes her clothes every night and puts them back on the next morning, even if they haven¡¯t dried out. It¡¯s probably very ufortable for her. But I¡¯m a guy after all, and I don¡¯t know what sort of clothes to buy her...¡± Qiao Lian looked at him strangely. She had not expected that Su Penghao, who was usually casual and carefree, would be so meticulous as to notice these details. She nodded immediately and said, ¡°Sure.¡± When they arrived at the vi, Su Penghao was once again behaving awkwardly. Qiao Lian looked at him questioningly and asked, ¡°Is there something that you want to say?¡± Su Penghao coughed softly. Then he said, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡± Tell him what? Qiao Lian was puzzled for a moment, and then suddenly she understood. He must be referring to the matter about Xiao Qiao. Qiao Lian looked at him halfughing and remarked, ¡°You were so smitten by Purple Fairy, would you have believed me?¡± Su Penghao kept silent. Qiao Lian grinned. With light-hearted steps, she turned and walked into the house. However, she waspletely unaware that her every action and expression was being observed right now. In the bedroom, Xia Yehua was picking up her cell phone to call Shen Liangchuan. The line went through. Xia Yehua immediately said, ¡°Liangchuan, it¡¯s been a few days. Are you going to continue staying outside? You¡¯re going to lose your pretty little wife! I just saw a handsome young man taking Xiao Qiao home...¡± Shen Liangchuan listened without speaking. Qiao Lian had no idea that Xia Yehua was trying to coax her son toe home. She was lying on the bed in her bedroom. After pushing everything out of her mind, she finally fell asleep. In the days that followed, Shen Liangchuan did not return home. Although Qiao Lian was troubled with Zi Chuan¡¯s matter, she knew there were other priorities. The grand final was just around the corner and she was busy going to the team¡¯s vi, involved in the training and preparation process. Ever since she had yed that match and the team members had seen her capabilities, there was a new-found respect for her. They no longer disobeyed her and the training sessions were now going extremely well. The Godfather and The Deputy Godfather¡¯s burns finally formed a scab on the fifth day, and they were able to start ying. In other words, this meant that they probably would have enough yers for the grand final. It was a great relief for Qiao Lian. Tomorrow was the day of the grand final. Before she left the clubhouse, Qiao Lian reminded the team members to go to bed early For some reason, her guts told her that something bad was about to happen. Just as the cab arrived at her doorstep, she got a call from Su Penghao. ¡°Coach Qiao, something has happened!¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s heart sank. She asked the cab driver to turn around and return to the clubhouse. At the clubhouse. Qiao Lian nced at the 5,000 on the table and looked at the team members. Su Penghao frowned and said, ¡°She brought three or four rtives with her so that they could hold us back. Then they took her away. We couldn¡¯t even react!¡± Qiao Lian took a deep breath. ¡°What is going on here?¡± The Godfather anxiously said, ¡°Shortly after you left, Ancestor White Bones¡¯ mother came charging in with a group of people. She threw the 5,000 on the table, saying that she did not need your money, since she had lots of money now.¡± She had lots of money now? A few days ago she had beenmenting about not having enough money, so how was it possible that she had so much money all of a sudden? Furthermore, this had happened just a night before the grand final. Even if she were to try to find a recement, it would be difficult because of how soon it was. ¡°So what can we do now? We¡¯re short on yers for the grand final again! Chapter 529 - The Grand Final (9)

Chapter 529: The Grand Final (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The Godfather was now feeling rather anxious. It still remained to be seen if their recovery rate would allow them to y in thepetition. They were short of a yer again. Would they be able to take part in the match? The Deputy Godfather was fuming. ¡°How coincidental is this? Could it be a scheme?¡± On this note, Su Penghao gritted his teeth and said angrily, ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯s Purple Fairy again!¡± Stunned by this assumption, everyone turned simultaneously to look at him. Su Penghao exined, ¡°Not many people know where our vi is located. The first time Ancestor White Bones¡¯ mother turned up, I was surprised. Then I found out from her that she had previously given her address to Smiling Tiger. Therefore, the only person who knew that she was here and could tell her family would be Smiling Tiger. But this time, I¡¯m quite sure it is Purple Fairy!¡± Hearing this, Lonely Peerless couldn¡¯t contain his frustration andmented, ¡°Are we ever going to be able to have a properpetition?!¡± All of a sudden, the atmosphere in the room was depressing. Sensing this, Qiao Lian quickly tried to encourage them, ¡°Chin up, everyone. Let¡¯s not lose the battle before we even fight it! Su Penghao nodded. ¡°We have Coach Qiao, what are we afraid of?¡± On this note, everyone seemed to have found an anchor; they turned to look at her. The expressions on their faces were passionate and full of hope. Even Qiao Lian was stunned. Su Penghao said to her, ¡°Coach Qiao, why don¡¯t you y for the grand final too?!¡± Qiao Lian looked at the earnest faces before her. She bit her lip and smiled after a pause. ¡°Sure.¡± ¨C The smile on her face vanished after she walked out of the clubhouse. On her way home in the cab, she looked down at her right hand. It was something she hadn¡¯t noticed during thepetition. And after thepetition, her mind had been too preupied with the matter concerning Zi Chuan. Hence, it was only then that she realized her right hand had been shaking uncontrobly for a few days. In all probability, she had strained it at thepetition. How was she going to y like this? But this was not something she could tell the team. Because they believed in her so much and had ced all their hopes on her. She bit her lip and forcefully clenched her fists in the hope of stopping her hand from trembling. But she realized that by doing that, the trembling worsened. After trying for a while, she finally exhaled and gave up. She looked out the car window. She could only hope that it wouldn¡¯t give her any trouble tomorrow. Upon returning to the vi, she went up to her bedroom andy down. Tossing and turning, she couldn¡¯t fall asleep. She picked up her cell phone and hesitated for a moment. Finally, she decided to call Shen Liangchuan. He picked up the line quickly. She heard his deep and resonant voice on the other end, ¡°Hello.¡± It had only been a week without seeing him, but hearing his voice made her feel as though they were worlds apart. But it also felt like Zi Chuan had never left her. She said, ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± ¡°I know.¡± The two of them fell silent again. They had not spoken to each other since the time she had realized he was Zi Chuan and she had called to tell him she was Xiao Qiao. Qiao Lian could not help but feel at a lost as to what she should say or do. As she stared nkly ahead, lost momentarily in her thoughts, he finally spoke, ¡°Did something happen at the clubhouse?¡± Chapter 530 - The Grand Final (10)

Chapter 530: The Grand Final (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian immediately asked, ¡°How did you know?¡± A short pause. ¡°Tomorrow is the grand final.¡± Qiao Lian thought for a moment and then told him briefly the matter regarding Ancestor White Bones. ¡°... We don¡¯t know where Ancestor White Bones lives and it¡¯s going to be hard, even if we wanted to look for her now. If she doesn¡¯t turn up at the match tomorrow, I¡¯ll have to y.¡± Qiao Lian paused and asked him, ¡°Will you being tomorrow?¡± Then she anxiously waited to hear his answer. It was just like how whenever she fought in team battles eight years ago, she would ask him, ¡°Are youing?¡± With him around, she always felt a bit braver, a bit more confident. Because whenever he was there, no matter how badly she fared, things would always turn around. Now... A pause. Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°I¡¯m in Hengdian near Hangzhou.¡± Hangzhou? Qiao Lian was surprised. Shen Liangchuan continued, ¡°I had to start filming... five days ago.¡± Qiao Lian bit her lip, but no matter how hard she tried, the disappointment in her voice was unmistakable. ¡°I see. Okay, I understand.¡± Shen Liangchuan was now Best Actor Shen. He had ceased being Zi Chuan a long time ago. Of course, his priority was filming now. Perhaps he could tell how down she was, so he tried tofort her, ¡°You¡ª¡± She interrupted him before he could say anything, ¡°Don¡¯t you worry. Even without you around, I¡¯ll y my best. I¡¯m here, there¡¯s nothing to fear!¡± She solemnly vowed this, but her eyes were on her slightly trembling right hand. ¨C Hengdian. Shen Liangchuan, now in his hotel room, hung up the phone. He looked through the window. The weather in Hangzhou was quite different from Beijing. It was extremely humid. The only simrity, unfortunately, was the thick haze. Shen Liangchuan thought for a while, then turned around and called Song Cheng. ¡°Book me an air ticket for the next flight to Beijing.¡± Song Cheng was taken aback. ¡°But Brother Shen, didn¡¯t Director Wang say that he was taking you to see the investor firm tomorrow? It¡¯s an important banquet, especially since we¡¯ve only just established our entertainmentpany... We need this sort of investors. You¡ª¡± ¡°Book the ticket.¡± His tone was final, there was no point negotiating. Song Cheng could only say, ¡°Okay.¡± ¨C The next day came too soon. Qiao Lian left from home, as it was nearer to thepetition venue. When she arrived at the venue, the rest of the team were still on their way. She waited for them by the main entrance. Behind her, Purple Fairy and her King team members stood respectfully, apparently waiting for someone. After a while, a ck nanny van pulled up slowly. Dashingly opening the door from inside the car, there was none other than Sun Linan. He got out, bringing with him a thick air of ssy elegance. Purple Fairy immediately walked up to him. ¡°Mr. Sun! You¡¯re here! I¡¯ve got you the best seat of venue, so that you can see the match clearlyter!¡± Sun Linan nodded. ¡°Yes. No matter what, the team has to win today!¡± Purple Fairy nodded obediently. ¡°I know. But yesterday we spent another 100,000 yet again¡ª¡± Sun Linan raised his palm. ¡°We¡¯ll spend where we have to, I don¡¯t mind. All I want is for the team toe out tops!¡± Purple Fairy stood tall and straight, assuring him, ¡°Mr. Sun, don¡¯t you worry about that.¡± Satisfied with her assurance, he turned to look around. Suddenly, he saw Qiao Lian¡¯s back not too far off. His eyes lit up and he told Purple Fairy with a dismissive wave, ¡°You guys go in there, don¡¯t mind me. Please excuse me for a moment.¡± Chapter 531 - The Grand Final (11)

Chapter 531: The Grand Final (11)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian was waiting for the team when she suddenly heard a familiar voice calling out, ¡°Qiao Lian!¡± Turning around, she saw Sun Linan enthusiastically running up to her. His eyes lit up at the sight of her. ¡°Why are you standing here? Aren¡¯t you going in?¡± Qiao Lianughed and said, ¡°Yes. Just waiting for a few friends.¡± Immediately alert, Sun Linan asked, ¡°Who are you waiting for? What sort of friends?¡± Qiao Lian raised an eyebrow as she looked at him. ¡°Aren¡¯t you being a little nosy?¡± Sun Linan immediately took heed and said, ¡°Fine, I won¡¯t ask.¡± He looked at the crowd and thepetition venue. ¡°Qiao Lian, since you¡¯re here to watch the grand final, you must have followed the tournament, I¡¯m sure. Which team do you like?¡± Before she could speak, Sun Linan continued, ¡°I think King Team has the most potential. They have almost never been utterly defeated! They¡¯ve been on a killing spree since the beginning.¡± Qiao Lian did not say a word. This guy was truly an annoying fool. She tried to hide her grimace and asked, ¡°What about CQ Team?¡± Immediately, Sun Linan twitched his mouth and gave his assessment, ¡°CQ hasn¡¯t been performing consistently. This shows that the quality of their yers is quite low. I¡¯m sure they won¡¯t make it!¡± Qiao Lian was most offended upon hearing this. How infuriating could this moron get? Her expression darkened as she said, ¡°Thepetition has not even ended, how would you know they won¡¯t make it?¡± Sun Linan detected some animosity and wondered why Qiao Lian seemed displeased. But he was merely stating the facts! He scratched his head and said, ¡°I have tickets for the best seats in the venue. Would you like to sit with me? You¡¯ll have a good view.¡± Qiao Lian replied, ¡°... There¡¯s no need.¡± Sun Linan was keen to indulge in more talk but Qiao Lian, finding him a bother, quickly walked into thepetition venue to avoid him. Sun Linan, however, quickly tailed her, refusing to be shaken off. ¡°Where is your seat?¡± Qiao Lian did not say a word. She turned around to look at him. ¡°Hey, Sun Tzi, can¡¯t you just behave for a while? I¡¯m really busy!¡± Sun Linan protested, ¡°But I am behaving!¡± Qiao Lian did not say a word. Deciding to end the conversation with him, she stopped talking altogether and walked out of the venue. When Sun Linan persisted and followed her, she turned around to tell him, ¡°I¡¯m off to the restroom.¡± Sun Linan tly refused to leave. ¡°I¡¯m going to the restroom too!¡± Qiao Lian pointed to the other side of the building and said, ¡°Thedies¡¯ restroom is on this side, but the men¡¯s is on the other side. ncing in the direction Qiao Lian was pointing at, he was fuming. ¡°What sort of rubbish venue is this?! Shouldn¡¯t the toilets be together?¡± Qiao Lian did not say a word. Atst, she got rid of Sun Linan. As Qiao Lian walked out of thepetition venue, she spotted the CQ team members in their uniform. They came up to her. Qiao Lian looked at the team and then behind them. There was no Ancestor White Bones. Disappointed, she asked, ¡°So Ancestor White Bones did note back?¡± Su Penghao shook his head. Sigh. If Ancestor White Bones wasn¡¯t ying in the match, then she would have to. The Godfather and The Deputy Godfather were still in the process of recovering, so they weren¡¯t able to keep up with the agility required when maneuvering. Hence, the oue of this match fell heavily on the shoulders of Su Penghao and Qiao Lian. Right at this point, Sun Linan¡¯s voice was hearding from behind, ¡°Qiao Lian, weren¡¯t you going to the bathroom? Why are you here?¡± In a sh, he was right next to her. It was then that he noticed the group of young men around her. Su Penghao was surprised and asked immediately, ¡°Qiao Lian, are these your friends? The people you were waiting for just then?¡± Fortunately. Fortunately. It was just a group of young men, they were no threat! Qiao Lian nodded in response to Sun Linan¡¯s question. Su Penghao looked at Sun Linan with a puzzled expression. ¡°This gentleman is...?¡± Reluctant, Qiao Lian responded, ¡°Let me introduce the both of you.¡± Chapter 532 - The Grand Final (12)

Chapter 532: The Grand Final (12)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As she said this, she pointed to Sun Linan and said to the group, ¡°Sun Linan.¡± Then, introducing the group to Sun Linan, she said, ¡°They are all CQ¡ª¡± Before she could finish her sentence, a signal sounded from within thepetition hall to indicate that the match was starting. Qiao Lian paused and didn¡¯t continue with what she was saying. Instead, her attention was on the match. ¡°Let¡¯s go watch the match now.¡± Today, three teams would be vying for the first ce. In the semi-finals, because of the errors that The Godfather and The Deputy Godfather had made as a result of their injuries, Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan had taken over and turned the situation around. But even then, they had only managed to clinch the third ce and scrape into the grand final. Hence, today¡¯s first match was between the top teams, King Team and the second-ced veteran Pea Team. The team that lost the first match would then y against CQ Team in a second match. The losing team in the second match would be eliminated. If they won the second match, they would thene up against the winner of the first match to vie for the first ce. Now King Team and Pea Team were up against each other. Because CQ would be ying against one of these teams in the second match, they sat among the audience analyzing their battle strategies. The first match started. Qiao Lian and Su Penghao observed the game intently. Su Penghao asked Qiao Lian, ¡°Who do you think will win?¡± Before Qiao Lian could speak, Sun Linan interjected, ¡°Of course, King Fighting Team!¡± Qiao Lian did not respond to his remark. Su Penghao: ... They both looked at Sun Linan gloomily. Sun Linan immediately cleared his throat. He couldn¡¯t possibly tell Qiao Lian now that the King Team belonged to him. He had to wait until they won the first ce. Hence, trying to gloss over it, he said, ¡°Just look at the name of that team...¡±King.¡± How majestic!¡± To think that he was the one who hade up with the name! Qiao Lian and Su Penghao by now had chosen to ignore himpletely. He continued to chatter by himself, ¡°Furthermore, even if King lost this round and fought against CQ Team, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem. After all, they beat CQ Team justst week! So there is a high chance. I¡¯m sure that King will emerge as the fully-deserving winner!¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Qiao Lian snapped at him angrily. ¡°Why does Qiao Lian look so terrible?¡± Sun Linan thought to himself. ¡°Did I say something I shouldn¡¯t have?¡± He was at a total loss. Qiao Lian turned to Su Penghao on the other side and said, ¡°I feel that King will win too.¡± Sun Linan said indignantly, ¡°See? See? Qiao Lian, we think alike.¡± Qiao Lian did not respond to his remark. Ignoring him, she continued, ¡°Although Pea is a veteran team, their style is too conservative. King Team, on the other hand, has brought together many excellent yers and has been putting in a good performance.¡± Su Penghao nodded and concluded, ¡°Hence, our first opponent will be Pea Team.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Sun Linan was puzzled by their conversation. ¡°Your opponent? What do you mean?¡± The two of them continued to ignore him as they focused on the match. It progressed at an aggressive tempo. The fans on both sides were cheering wildly, the roar of the crowd was thunderous. But it was clear that the King Team had more supporters and they were a lot louder. Throughout the whole arena, the people were chanting that King Team would conquer. Sun Linan nced at the approximately one hundred people nearby who were cheering for King Team until their voices were hoarse. He nodded satisfactorily. Of course, King had to have the loudest cheers! After all, he had paid good money to those one hundred people to be shouting there. He had to make King Team appear extremely popr, so that when he could finally gift the team to Qiao Lian. It would look twice as good! Picturing this scenario put Sun Linan in high spirits at once. Chapter 533 - The Grand Final (13)

Chapter 533: The Grand Final (13)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Very quickly, the first match was over. Of course, the King Fighting Team won. The next match was between Qiao Lian¡¯s CQ Team and the veteran Pea Team. Qiao Lian stood up and followed Su Penghao as they headed for the backstage. Sun Linan was surprised when he saw them leaving their seats. ¡°Where are you guys going?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s answer was a casual, ¡°Something¡¯se up!¡± She couldn¡¯t be bothered to exin to this fool. Sun Linan immediately stood up and, nosey as usual, wanted to follow them. Qiao Lian said sharply, ¡°You stay where you are! Behave and watch the match!¡± Intimidated by her tone and sharp voice, he stood rooted to the ground as he watched them walk away. ¡°Qiao Lian!¡± He called after her desperately. Qiao Lian turned and looked at him questioningly, raising an eyebrow. ¡°Pleasee back after the match has ended. I have a big surprise for you.¡± There was unmistakable hope and anticipation reflected on his face. Exasperated, Qiao Lian said, ¡°Okay.¡± Only then was Sun Linan satisfied. He smiled and sat back down. As Qiao Lian and her team entered the backstage area, King Team, who had just finished their game, was leaving. The two teams came face to face. Purple Fairy narrowed her eyes and looked at the opposing team sharply. The scalding incident immediately came to her mind. It had burned off ayer of her skin and even now, every step she took was painful when the fabric of her trousers chafed her skin. The past few days had been even more torturous for her. She hadn¡¯t been able to sleep well, and the itch had been so bad that she couldn¡¯t stop scratching. Her once pretty thighs were now scarred by unsightly scratch marks. She had Qiao Lian to thank for all of these! But now that these people were evidently on guard, it wasn¡¯t easy to go near them. A considerable distance separated the two parties. They looked at one another from afar, fearful that the other party would employ underhanded means. Purple Fairy suddenly gave a cold snort. ¡°Losers! I do hope that you win the next round, so that we can crush you all over again! But...¡± Her gaze fell on the team. ¡°It seems like... you¡¯re short of yers yet again!¡± Without doubt, Qiao Lian would have to y today. In the previous match, Qiao Lian had stolen all the limelight. Hence, Purple Fairy had not taken notice of Shen Liangchuan¡¯s coordination. Purple Fairy saw that The Godfather and The Deputy Godfather had not recovered from their injuries. Now, without Ancestor White Bones, they were practically without one of their main strengths! She pursed her lips andughed gleefully. Suddenly, she lowered her voice and said, ¡°It only took 50,000, and those mercenaries immediately took Ancestor White Bones away. Tsk tsk...¡± When he heard this, Su Penghao was livid. ¡°How could you do this?!¡± Purple Fairy gave him a sinister look. ¡°What did I do? But Zombie Leader, actually, our King Team still wees you. If you guys lose the match, you cane join us after thepetition ends. After all, our team will be able to continue taking part in the national and internationalpetitions.¡± How arrogant was that?! She was trying to poach him right in front of Qiao Lian! Su Penghao sneered and went on to say, ¡°First of all, our team will not lose. Second of all, you are the sort of person that disgusts me the most.¡± Straight to the point. Purple Fairy¡¯s expression immediately changed. With a trembling finger, she raised her arm and pointed at Su Penghao. ¡°Just you wait! I¡¯ll make sure you regret it!¡± Then, she turned and stomped away angrily. Qiao Lian and Su Penghao exchanged a look as all the yers streamed into the resting area. Ancestor White Bones was still not there. Qiao Lian looked down at her slightly trembling hand. Could she really do this? Two rounds would take at least two hours. Could her hand hold out? She lifted her head and saw the look of trust and hope on all their faces. Suddenly, she felt the weight of the entire burden resting heavily on her shoulders. She wanted to speak, but decided not to in the end. Telling them that there was something wrong with her hand would only serve to worry them. Chapter 534 - The Grand Final (14)

Chapter 534: The Grand Final (14)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The match started. At the event¡¯s venue, both teams yed from their respective rooms. The live audience, quite a distance away, was not be able to see the yers clearly. As the yers had already been introduced in the earlier phases of thepetition, there was no introduction of yers at the grand final. Qiao Lian was a recement for Ancestor White Bones. At this point, no one knew that CQ¡¯s coach was now one of the yers. Much less Sun Linan, who had never taken any interest in thepetition up until now. As it was not King Team¡¯s turn, he felt bored sitting amongst the audience. After a short while, Purple Fairy walked up to him. ¡°Mr. Sun...¡± Sun Linan nodded andmented on the earlier game, ¡°That was quite a well-yed match.¡± Purple Fairy nodded immediately and smiled in a good-natured way. ¡°That¡¯s because of Mr. Sun, you had given good guidance.¡± Sun Linan continued, ¡°I¡¯m expecting the team to deliver a sterling performance for the final match, do you understand?¡± ¡°What,¡± Purple Fairy thought, ¡°did he mean by a sterling performance?¡± As if he could read her thoughts, Sun Linan said, ¡°Perfect maneuvering, perfect coordination! And use good-looking champions, not ones that are too ugly.¡± Purple Fairy kept silent. ¡°In any case, whether it¡¯s Pea or CQ, they¡¯ve all been defeated by our team. The first ce is ours for sure.¡± Purple Fairy especially agreed with this point. ¡°That¡¯s right, we¡¯lle in first for sure! And so the one million that you promised...¡± ¡°As long as the team clinches the top spot, the money is yours!¡± Sun Linan gave his word. Purple Fairy¡¯s eyes lit up with his assurance, and she quickly said, ¡°No problem!¡± Then with a big grin, she looked at the stage. Sun Linan, however, was still worried. ¡°Is there a possibility that our team may lose thepetition?¡± Purple Fairy had full confidence and assured him, ¡°No. The fact that Pea coulde this far was only because when they fought against CQst week, two of CQ¡¯s yers were injured. So Pea had been lucky in that sense. As for CQ... Heh, remember I told you about the 100,000 we spent today? It¡¯s like this...¡± She narrated how they had dangled money in front of Ancestor White Bones¡¯ mother and how they had taken Ancestor White bones away. Then she continued, ¡°Mr. Sun, you did say we should do whatever it takes to win.¡± Although Sun Linan thought that the approach they had taken was somewhat hical, this became insignificant whenpared to the thought of having a champion team to present to Qiao Lian as a gift. He was a businessman after all. And businessmen focus on results, not the process. Hence, Sun Linan frowned and said, ¡°Although it¡¯s not authentic, well, what¡¯s done is done.¡± Purple Fairy kept silent. Her gaze now fell on the match¡¯s situation. The match had just begun, but it was evident who was in the lead. CQ was a very strong team. Too strong in fact. With a team like that, they would give King Team a run for their money for sure! Furthermore, it was under a circumstance where they had two key yers down. Watching the game was nerve-wracking, especially watching Qiao Lian, who had reced Ancestor White Bones. Her ying style looked effortless and fluid, and all her moves were beautifully executed. Just she alone could lead the team to victory. Such strength... Such great moves! Purple Fairy¡¯s heart pounded. Suddenly, her confidence in securing a win was shaken. She bit her lip. A team had to win at least two of the three games in order to get through to the grand final. The first round had been a clear undisputable win for CQ. When the word ¡®Victory¡¯ appeared on the screen, Su Penghow and the team members were excited and emotional. They had skillfully crushed and defeated their opponents. Under Qiao Lian¡¯s lead, the team was united like never before! Chapter 535 - The Grand Final (15)

Chapter 535: The Grand Final (15)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Especially since Qiao Lian had been the one leading throughout the whole match... When they looked at her with enthusiasm and burning passion, she felt the heat and the pressure, as though she was teetering on the edge of a wok with boiling hot oil. She lowered her gaze and looked at her right hand. That numbing sensation was getting worse and even the slight trembling was bing a lot more obvious. Hang in there. Qiao Lian, you have to hang in there. Perseverance will bring sess! Qiao Lian took a deep breath and cheered herself. But even then, by the time they won the second round, her right hand was already shaking uncontrobly. She frowned. She knew that her condition was getting serious. Her right hand had never fully recovered. She had never been able to y for more than half an hour a time. Thest match had left her feeling quite exhausted. And this week she had not had enough time to rest and recover, so now this situation... Qiao Lian bit her lip. Looking at the team members all excited and in high spirits, she stood up and ced her fingers into her long sleeves. She mumbled, ¡°I¡¯m going to the restroom.¡± In the restroom. Qiao Lian extended her right hand. It was shaking involuntarily. She tried hard to control it without sess. There was no way she could continue to y like this. Her heart sank and a sense of depression appeared. Angrily, she mmed her fist against the counter top. And at this point, the restroom door was swung open and someone walked in. It was Purple Fairy. There was a look of happy surprise on her face as her gaze fell on Qiao Lian¡¯s hand. ¡°No wonder that you¡¯ve never yed a match even though you¡¯re Xiao Qiao. There¡¯s something wrong with your hand! Hahaha! This time King Team wille in first, for sure!¡± Qiao Lian quickly hid her hand behind her. She frowned at Purple Fairy¡¯s words. ¡°Purple Fairy, even if my hands are crippled, it is easy for me to crush you guys!¡± Purple Fairy sneered, ¡°Let¡¯s wait and see then!¡± The both of them walked out of the restroom. Purple Fairy quickly returned to the venue and found the team captain. ¡°When you yter, everyone, focus on attacking Forget Chuan!¡± When Qiao Lian returned to her team, she saw that the team members were all rubbing their fists and getting ready for the action. ¡°Coach Qiao, it¡¯s time for us to take revenge. Now is the chance for us to avenge what she had done to us!¡± Looking at the team, Qiao Lian suddenly felt dismayed. She knew that she wouldn¡¯t be able to hold out much longer. The match started. This time Qiao Lian chose a champion that wasn¡¯t too difficult to maneuver. But the moment the fight started, she came up against difficulties that she had never experienced before. As though they had agreed on this beforehand, the opposing yers took turns to attack her. She had to focus fiercely and hold her breath, continuously maneuvering her champion in order to stay alive. But such intense ying was wearing her hand out. Until... during an important group battle... Her right hand suddenly lost control! To the extent that she could not even hold the mouse. There was no way she could keep ying! Before she could even execute her ultimate attack, she was killed. And then, with five enemy yers against their four, CQ Team was entirely wiped out! Su Penghao and the rest were stupefied. Everyone stared at the screen in disbelief. They turned to look at Qiao Lian and saw that her right hand was damaged. It was shaking uncontrobly, unable to even hold the mouse. ¡°Coach, your hand!¡± Qiao Lian looked at her own hand, her face was ashen. She bit her lip and shouted, ¡°Once more!¡± Su Penghao and the others suddenly understood what she meant and also understood why, even though she was Xiao Qiao, she had never yed alongside them during their training sessions. Their eyes reddened as they looked back at their screens. Su Penghao¡¯s voice was hoarse and almost choking with emotion, ¡°Coach Qiao, stay strong, even if we lose this game, we¡¯ll do so with honour!¡± Chapter 536 - The Grand Final (16)

Chapter 536: The Grand Final (16)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios CQ Team hade a long way, and it hadn¡¯t been easy. Although their team had been established two months ago, from the time Zombie Leader had led the team to fight in their first match, they had been up against one mishap after another. Purple Fairy¡¯s meddling, a team member¡¯s family troubles, The Godfather and The Deputy Godfather getting injured... All of these drove them to strongly feel like this was apetition they had to win. They also felt that they would win for sure. It was as though under the lead of such a central figure like Xiao Qiao, sess was something inevitable. To the extent that as they yed this match, even when Qiao Lian had started to make errors, even when she was killed by the opponents, it all felt normal. But when they saw her hand, when they discovered her eyes were bing bloodshot... It was only then that they realized in a sh... that sess was a lot further away than what they had thought. Su Penghao¡¯s voice choked for a bit, causing the eyes of The Godfather and The Deputy Godfather, who hadn¡¯t even made a noise when their hands were scalded, to uncontrobly turn red. They were not mourning the fact that they could not win this game. They were feeling sad for Qiao Lian. Once Xiao Qiao¡ªthat Xiao Qiao who had rocked the gaming world. The Xiao Qiao who had lived in their memories as a legend in the gaming world. That exemry model of the gaming world... Her hand was injured and she could never y again. It was as though a fighting master was being stripped of his exceptional martial arts. That sharp pain in their hearts... They could not help butment. The sorrow they felt for Xiao Qiao was hard to bear. They looked at her again. They saw that her hand could no longer hold down the mouse. She willed with all her might for her hand to grab it, but it would not stop shaking and would not carry out that one simple instruction. At this point, Qiao Lian said, ¡°Resurrected.¡± They looked at their screens. Qiao Lian shouted, ¡°Continue the battle!¡± She gulped. ¡°This round depends on you guys.¡± The live audience was now silent. And in the room, only Qiao Lian¡¯s directions could be heard. ¡°Zombie Leader, you fight the front line.¡± ¡°The Godfather, you fight the enemy¡¯s back lines!¡± ¡°The Deputy Godfather, defend our back lines.¡± ¡°Peerless, look after the formation.¡± ¡°Now I¡¯ll initiate the attack. You guys follow!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take the blows and you fight!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t try to rescue me! It¡¯s okay if I get killed. I¡¯ll trick them into using their ultimate attack. This round I¡¯m not critical, I¡¯m just a bait! The most important thing is that you guys stay alive!¡± ¡°Attack!¡± ¡°...¡± As the instructions came, the team members tried to follow and coordinate, maneuvering together. The situation of the battle was deeply worrying. CQ Team was clearly disadvantaged. With one critical yer down and all of them being professional gamers, it made a big difference. But the CQ team members had an impatient look on their faces. They all knew that it was no longer important whether they won or lost the match. The most important thing was that they had given their best. Even if they went down, they would do it with their heads held high. In the past, losing a game was just that, losing. But now, they finally realized the meaning of those words. They were not sad, they were proud of themselves. CQ Team¡¯s protection tower was destroyed and King Team wanted to take this opportunity to win thest match. But at this point, CQ Team demonstrated their perseverance and patience. King Team had made three separate attacks to CQ Team¡¯s central tower, but they had not been sessful. Generally, a game wouldst for around 20 minutes. But this match had kept going for 40 minutes already! Thementator was at the brink of losing his voice because of the shouting Chapter 537 - The Grand Final (17)

Chapter 537: The Grand Final (17)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios A few times, the enemy team had killed one of CQ Team¡¯s champions and had almost won the game, but in the end it would be thwarted by a CQ yer. This happened a few times and thementator would be so excited that he stood up. ¡°My god, this match has been going on for 45 minutes! This is the Lot Beijingpetition venue, and we¡¯re in the midst of the longest game ever! There has not been another game that hadsted this long! Let¡¯s have a look at the data. King Team has got 50,000 more coins than CQ Team. CQ had actually resisted four waves of full attack from King under such strongck of gold! King Team is indeed the leading team, but I have to say, inparison, I am more impressed by CQ¡¯s fighting spirit and tenacity. Now, King isunching another wave of attack! This time CQ may not be able to take the blow, Let¡¯s cheer for CQ!¡± The match ignited the audience. Those who had been initially supporting Pea were now touched by CQ Fighting Team¡¯s spirit. One by one, they started to cheer for CQ. Even King¡¯s fans were moved by CQ. Even though they were holding up cards supporting King Team, they started to cheer, ¡°Come on, CQ! You can do it, CQ!¡± Qiao Lian stared intently at thepetition screen and shouted, ¡°Zombie Leader, you hide behind the central tower and deploy from there!¡± ¡°The Godfather, charge!¡± ¡°The Deputy Godfather, break the troop line!¡± ¡°...¡± A horrifying ughtering. Zombie Leader made himself useful in this group battle! Thementator was talking at the top of his voice, almost hoarse from shouting, ¡°What an explosive delivery from Zombie Leader with this group battle! They actually evened the score, both teams wiping out each otherpletely!¡± ¡°They managed to resist! CQ has resisted yet another wave of attack! They are peerless, I am in awe!¡± ¡°However, unfortunately, now the minions have arrived and no one in CQ has resurrected. No one in King Team has resurrected either. Finally, congrattions to King Team, it¡¯s the minions that have destroyed the central tower, you¡¯ve won the first round! Let¡¯s take a break and in ten minutes, the second round willmence!¡± There was a sudden buzz. The live audience was fired up all at once. Purple Fairy waspletely nerve-wrecked by watching that game. But now that King had won, she heaved a sigh of relief. She looked sinisterly at the opposite room, her palm mmy with perspiration. In the final of group battle, if there had even been one CQ team member alive, it could have turned the situation around. And now they had finally won. As she thought about this, she suddenly heard the fans stand up. And no matter if they were holding up King Team cards, or Pea Team cards, and even those with CQ Team cards... All of these thousands of fans were now unanimously shouting in unison, ¡°CQ! CQ!¡± Some of the CQ fans had even started crying. They shouted, ¡°Go on, CQ! CQ, we love you! You are the champion in our hearts!¡± Purple Fairy clenched her fists tightly when she heard these. She bit her lip. This was unbelievable. What right did they have!? Obviously, King Team had won the round, but CQ had won the support of all the audience? She looked at Sun Linan, who was sitting next to her, and saw that he too was somewhat consumed by the scenario. Then looking in the direction of the CQ Fighting Team, he asked, ¡°Say, how much do you think it would cost to buy CQ Team?¡± Chapter 538 - The Grand Final (18)

Chapter 538: The Grand Final (18)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Purple Fairy kept silent. She could not disapprove more of his new idea. Biting her lip and smiling bitterly, she said, ¡°Mr. Sun, I need to go to the restroom.¡± Sun Linan nodded. With a gloomy expression, she left the event venue and headed for the backstage. Qiao Lian¡¯s hand was in pain by now, and it would not stop trembling. Not even when she held her trembling hand with her other hand. Su Penghao looked at her with concern. ¡°Are you still able to y?¡± Qiao Lian gritted her teeth and nodded. Even if her hand was crippled, she would not abandon the fight! The Godfather and The Deputy Godfather hung their heads and sighed. ¡°In that final group battle, if I had been faster to dodge their ultimate attack, we might have had a chance to turn the situation around.¡± ¡°It was my fault for not having protected you.¡± ¡°Actually it was my fault. In my nervousness, I stood too much to the front.¡± They all looked humble,pletely unlike how some other teams would react after losing a fight. They weren¡¯t the slightest bit exasperated or flustered. Qiao Lian looked at them and she suddenlyughed. She was so proud of thispetitive team. As they talked, the room door suddenly burst open. Purple Fairy stood at the doorway, staring at all of them. ¡°I say, has the CQ team shown off enough?! It was obvious you were losing, yet you have to put on such a disgusting act! Let me tell you this, even if you attract more fans for yourselves, winners will be winners and losers will be losers!¡± After falling out with Zombie Leader, Purple Fairy had been less and less cordial, and increasingly not caring about their opinion. Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes after Purple Fairy spoke. Their team had fought hard and had taken thepetition seriously, but to her it was all a staged act? This Purple Fairy... ¡°This is CQ Team¡¯s lounge, please leave.¡± Qiao Lian icily ordered her to leave. Purple Fairy squinted her eyes. ¡°My advice to you would be just to give up the second round and not waste everyone¡¯s time!¡± Qiao Lian replied, ¡°In apetition, there exists only one scenario for us. As long as the tower stands, the team will stand and fight. Giving up is a term not found in our dictionary!¡± Purple Fairy stamped her foot angrily and raised a finger to point at Qiao Lian. ¡°Great, this is great! Then let¡¯s see you continue to fight with your crippled hand!¡± She red at everyone in the room in turn and then left in a huff. After she left, the team members in the room began to feel their blood boil. ¡°This Purple Fairy is getting to be too much!¡± ¡°Look at her arrogance. I¡¯d like to win thispetition just so that it feels like a p to her face!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s put in our best effort!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The second round of the match began. The team that won two out of the three rounds would be the winner. Which meant that if CQ lost this round, then King Fighting Team would emerge the champion of thispetition. Qiao Lian focused, gritted her teeth and chose the champion Xiao Qiao, which she was an expert at. When she selected this character, the entire fighting team was stirred up for a moment. Xiao Qiao was famed for ying Xiao Qiao. And the champion Xiao Qiao was difficult to maneuver. For that reason, Qiao Lian had hardly used this champion in the first few rounds. Now... Xiao Qiao, who had disappeared for thest eight years, finally made an appearance. It felt as though an elusive fighting master had resurfaced. The Godfather and The Deputy Godfather had not fully recovered from their injuries and were unable to y their best. Qiao Lian could only ce her remaining stakes on Xiao Qiao. If she took this gamble and her hand held up, then the team could win. If she could not hold up, then her Xiao Qiao would be exposed to the opponent¡¯s attacks and the team would lose the match! Chapter 539 - The Grand Finals (19)

Chapter 539: The Grand Finals (19)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Su Penghao looked at her and asked, ¡°Coach, can you make it?¡± Qiao Lian cast her gaze down and said, ¡°Yes. I can.¡± The second round of the match began! After a ten-minute break, Qiao Lian felt that her hand was much better. Now that she had the champion she was an expert in, perhaps she could make good use of it this round. Within the first two minutes of the match, she indeed yed quite well. Although she was no longer as nimble and fluid as before, at least she made no errors. Time passed, second by second and minute by minute. Qiao Lian¡¯s attention was fully focused on the game. ¡°Zombie Leader, use the discement spell and take a look if there¡¯s anyone hiding in the bushes.¡± Su Penghao immediately did as he was told and answered, ¡°Four of them.¡± ¡°Fight them!¡± Qiao Lian gave a shout and dashed over to the foliage. The Godfather, The Deputy Godfather and Peerless¡ªall three of them followed closely behind. Five against four. Logically there was no disadvantage. However right at this point, Qiao Lian¡¯s hand suddenly went numb. She lost grip on the mouse. Seeing that her champion was not moving and not being controlled, The Deputy Godfather got immediately anxious and dashed over to protect her. He ended up shielding her from an ultimate attack and was instantly killed in that attack! Qiao Lian was shocked and her face turned pale. She hadpletely lost control of her fingers and recognized that there was no turning back. ¡°Leave me, retreat!¡± Qiao Lian shouted at the team. She could only stand there to take the blows. If they had to face a situation where the three of them were beaten up by four enemies, it would be a pathetic oue. Upon hearing her instructions, Su Penghao understood. He did not even dare to look at her hand to see how she was doing, and immediately led the other two to retreat. Xiao Qiao was killed! The rest retreated to a safe distance. At this point, Su Penghao turned and saw Qiao Lian trying her best to grip the mouse. But her hand would not cooperate... Qiao Lian gritted her teeth. Her face had turned pale from anxiety and she was staring straight at her right hand, trying it to do what she needed. Su Penghao suddenly felt a stinging sensation in his eyes and he turned to look at the scene on the screen. In the scene, Xiao Qiao was lying motionless on the ground. She was dead. Her death was sorrowful and at the same time beautiful. Peach blossom petals lightly floated down to where the body was lying. In the past, he had felt like all the champions in the games looked alike. Right now, that Xiao Qiao was still the Xiao Qiao in the game. But Su Penghao had a strange sensation, the scene was extremely sorrowful for him. It was as though the ordinary Xiao Qiao had be pretty, beautiful, and mournful. ¨C King Team. The captain told Purple Fairy, ¡°Xiao Qiao is about to resurrect! She charged this way and gave us a fright. We thought we were going to be killed, but then she stood there motionless! She is going to die! We will win this round for sure.¡± Purple Fairy¡¯s expression was gloomy. ¡°Do not just win like this! Didn¡¯t she want to show off? Go and kill her! Kill her seven or eight times! Exhaust her!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± At the same time, among the audience... There was a man in full disguise with a mask and sunsses, sitting quietly by himself. His gaze fell directly on thepetition arena, there was a puzzled expression in his eyes. In thest round, Qiao Lian had not leveraged on her innate qualities and instead had rather yed a very conventional approach. But this round... that error... It wasn¡¯t like her. What was happening? At this point, Shen Liangchuan suddenly stood up. ¨C In the gaming room. Qiao Lian stared at her hand. Her champion in the game had resurrected. But her hand could not control the mouse at all. She looked at her hand, yet again... it did not respond. Her eyes turned bloodshot... She wasn¡¯t going to just settle. At this point, a warm andrge hand suddenly closed over her own. At once, she heard that protecting voice saying, ¡°Xiao Qiao, let me.¡± Chapter 540 - The Grand Final (20)

Chapter 540: The Grand Final (20)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian instantly froze. She was stunned, taken by surprise. Her heart, that had been just a second ago thumping wildly and angry at the injustice of the situation, suddenly quietened down when she heard this familiar voice. She turned around in disbelief and saw Shen Liangchuan standing behind her. Strangely, for unknown reasons, she suddenly felt like a child who had been terribly wronged. And her tears started to flow. When they had fallen short of a yer at the clubhouse, she had not shed a single tear. After they hadpleted their first round and she had found out that her old injury hade back, she had not shed a single tear. When they had fought the first round and she had made a maneuvering error, thus losing the game, she had not shed a single tear. Even when Purple Fairy had insulted them, she had not shed a single tear. And just then, when the numbness in her hand seemed to have spread to the rest of her body, she had not shed a single tear. But now, he barely said a few words and she was choked with emotion. Just like eight years ago... His presence alone would bring victory. She bit her lip and paused for a second. Then, she stood up and gave him her seat. He was wearing his mask, but she could see his eyes, and they were glistening in silence and wisdom. He took the seat, dying the ying for a moment. Su Penghao and the rest looked at him, stunned at the sudden turn of events. He did not seem to notice their excitement and only looked at the screen calmly. ¡°Now I¡¯ll be giving directions.¡± His deep voice was carrying that resonance so unique to him. It was an attractive voice that evoked trust. Su Penghao snapped back to the present situation and turned to look at the screen. Then he gave a shout of surprise. ¡°The opponent has disappeared!¡± Shen Liangchuan muttered to himself and immediately figured it out. ¡°They are in the bushes trying to capture us.¡± Su Penghao immediately asked, ¡°Do we avoid them?¡± Without looking at him, Shen Liangchuan ordered, ¡°The Godfather, lead the troops under the road. The Deputy Godfather, follow me.¡± After saying this, Xiao Qiao nimbly turned to get up and dashed out. His beautiful maneuvering dazzled Su Penghao. For some reason, although Qiao Lian¡¯s control of Xiao Qiao was beautifully elegant, her Xiao Qiao inevitably yed the role of an assassin. She would hide in the foliage, or unexpectedly kill someone. But right now Shen Liangchuan¡¯s Xiao Qiao... although still the same character, the vibes that Su Penghao got was that this Xiao Qiao was more of a warrior. This Xiao Qiao was not in the least deste and, in contrary, had an awe-inspiring presence that was powerful and impressive. She was like a heroine, like ady general! Without a word, he followed behind Shen Liangchuan. ¨C King Team. The captain spoke, ¡°They¡¯reing! This Xiao Qiao is injured and very weak. You can tell from the group battle that she was basically useless. Let¡¯s wait for them toe over and we¡¯ll kill her!¡± One of the team members suddenly said, ¡°They¡¯reing!¡± The few yers hiding in the bushes continued looking as the three CQ champions approached. Immediately, the captain sneered, ¡°They overestimate themselves. Three are trying to fight the five of us? We¡¯ll show them¡ª¡± Before he could finish speaking... Xiao Qiao entered the bushes and, almost without having to look, threw a stun spell. The five yers hiding in the bushes were, of course, gathered together. Hence, that one stun spell knocked three of them out. ¡°Damn it!¡± The captain was shocked and cried, ¡°Attack!¡± However, right after Xiao Qiao executed her ultimate attack, Zombie Leader delivered another one, causing the enemy champions¡¯ hp to be reduced by half. This coordination was quick, merciless and urate! All at once, the five enemy champions were beaten without being given time to retaliate. And on top of this, an attack from The Deputy Godfather came. Among the five King yers, the one with the lowest hp was in immediately. The captain was nervous by now and shouted, ¡°Kill them!¡± Chapter 541 - The Grand Final (21)

Chapter 541: The Grand Final (21)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At these words, they charged! When Xiao Qiao retreated, the captain thought that she was going to run and he immediately chased her. But after two steps, Xiao Qiao suddenly turned around, charging straight at him. A sh and a flying strike. The captain¡¯s hp immediately fell until it was next to nothing! Zombie Leader followed with another attack. yed! In less than three seconds, two enemy champions had been killed. And at once, the situation was even. After the captain¡¯s champion was killed, he ordered his team members, ¡°Run!¡± When the three yers finally reacted, they scrambled to get under their own defense turret. But as they reached their defense tower... Xiao Qiao and Zombie Leader had already caught up. Surely, they weren¡¯t going to start killing the champions under the turret? That suspicion was immediately answered, as Xiao Qiao charged right in! At once, she was attacked by the defense turret. The three of them thought it was all a joke. Did she want to die? The captain couldn¡¯t help remarking, ¡°This Xiao Qiao must be making some mistakes maneuvering. She¡¯s dead meat!¡± However, the next moment... The three champions took a step forward, thinking that if they made an attack each, it would kill her. s, when they took that step forward... A stun spell! All three of them were frozen at once. Zombie Leader and The Deputy Godfather quickly followed. Each of them executed an ultimate attack in turn, killing off all the opponents. Following this, Xiao Qiao headed out, but the defense turret made a final attack and it hit her. Surely, this would kill her. Just as everyone thought she was going to die... she used a healing spell... and had her hp back! The defense turret attacked her. Her hp were drained. But she did not die! The King team members were stunned. It was only then that they understood... Xiao Qiao¡¯s attack just then hadn¡¯t been a maneuvering error. She had been out to kill. She was almost dead, but she had attacked them even if it was with herst breath... The captain of King Team could not help but shudder at this thought. This Xiao Qiao was fierce... She fought too fiercely!! The three of them hadpletely wiped out King Team¡¯s yers. Every movement flowed into the next, her ying was beautiful to watch. Xiao Qiao was fearless. Even when she was in danger, she was focused on her mission to kill. This imposing manner could only be described as horrifying! ¨C CQ Fighting Team. As soon as Shen Liangchuan took over, the state of affairs turned around. His understanding of the battle situation and knowledge of every champion was deep and thorough¡ªmore so than Qiao Lian¡¯s. The three of them wiped out the opponent. It was rare that Su Penghao and the rest of CQ Team saw eye to eye with King Fighting Team on one thing... That was fierce. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s style was too fierce! But it was characteristic of Zi Chuan. ¡°What are you daydreaming about? Recharge.¡± That deep, resonant voice¡¯s order brought Su Penghao and the team members back from their stunned state. All three of them were very low on hp from the fight that had just taken ce. ¨C Qiao Lian stood behind Shen Liangchuan. Her right hand was still shaking uncontrobly. But her eyes were glued to Shen Liangchuan¡¯s screen and fingers. That movement he had executed just then was probably to the onlooker just a graceful motion, but who could have known how quickly his fingers moved?! Eight years ago, whenever they had yed together, she would hear the sound of his keyboard. At that time, she used to wonder what he was like when he yed. Now she had finally witnessed it with her own eyes. Her gaze fell on his back. They had probably started filming already. She could tell from the fact that he had his hair done. But hadn¡¯t he said he was in Hengdian near Hangzhou? So he hade here because... he must have been worried. There was no need to worry now. He was here. They wouldn¡¯t lose the game. Chapter 542 - The Grand Final (22)

Chapter 542: The Grand Final (22)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In the second round of the match, King had been initially in the lead for having killed Xiao Qiao and The Deputy Godfather. However under Shen Liangchuan¡¯s direction, they had wiped out all five of the opponents without sacrificing any of their own remaining three. It was an obvious advantage for CQ! Shen Liangchuan had never been one to slow his tempo just because he was leading in a match. Expressionlessly, he stared at his screen and started delivering his instructions in a calm voice. ¡°Zombie Leader, you assist The Deputy Godfather.¡± ¡°Peerless,e with me to capture someone.¡± ¡°The Godfather, protect this turret.¡± ¡°With this wave, we can fight! Use the amplification function and surround them, then catch up to us.¡± In between, Su Penghao asked, ¡°We are now low on hp, but they are full. Will we be able to fight?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll fight. The Deputy Godfather can make a detour to the back and push them towards us.¡± ¡°Zombie Leader¡¯s killing attack can wait. Farm 1 after your hp has decreased.¡± ¡°Peerless, deploy the treatment spell for a recharge!¡± After a group battle, there were only two yers left on the opponent¡¯s end. ¡°They¡¯re thinking. Do we chase them?¡± Shen Liangchuanughed icily. ¡°Do it. One for two, it¡¯s worth it!¡± Hence, it was another wipe-out! It was just five minutes into the game and King Team had been wiped out by CQ Team twice. Thementator was absolutely excited. ¡°My god! One almost never sees this sort ofck of gold inpetitions, but we are seeing it right now in this match! The veteran King Team next to CQ Team now, and they look like junior high school studentsing up against university undergraduates! They are powerless to resist! CQ was provoked repeatedly by King in thest round, and this must have enraged and motivated them to rise to a level higher.¡± This was indeed the case. The members of the King Team were all veterans, top yers from various fighting teams brought together. There was no way they would have been suppressed to this extent under normal circumstances. Except that in the first round, they had targeted Qiao Lian to the point that it had infuriated the CQ team members. On top of this, because her hand would not stop trembling, it had be a moving and tragic scene that had stirred even more the team¡¯s emotions. Now they felt as though the energy of every cell in their body was fully focused and invested in thispetition. Throughout the whole match under Shen Liangchuan¡¯s direction, they made no errors. Five minutes was what it took for the opponents to be suppressed and leave them out of breath. After doing this, CQ continued to attack aggressively at an unrelenting pace, beating King Team to pulp. Within eight minutes, the match was over. With a 20 to 2 headcount ratio, CQ easily bagged the victory for the second round. Almost on the verge of losing his voice, thementator hailed them, ¡°Let¡¯s congratte CQ Team for winning the second round! Their performance was like a phoenix rising from the ashes. If King doesn¡¯t get their act together, I¡¯m afraid they will find resisting their opponent extremely difficult! Okay, let¡¯s take a ten-minute break. The third round will be the final deciding round and it will start shortly. Let¡¯s take a look at a yback of that very exciting match!¡± The audience broke out in an enthusiastic apuse. In the past, when two teams yed a match, the fans of the team that won would cheer excitedly, whereas the fans of the team that lost would curse with rage, saying: ¡°Isn¡¯t this just one round of the match?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the big deal?¡± But this time... All the audience, including the loyal fans of King Team, were cheering for CQ. Someone even said, ¡°My god! CQ Team¡¯s Xiao Qiao is so dashing, what am I going to do? I¡¯m going to switch allegiance!¡± And in thepetition room... They hadpleted another round of the game. The CQ team members were in high spirits at once. Su Penghao turned to look at Shen Liangchuan, his eyes shing in excitement as he eximed, ¡°You are Zi Chuan!¡± Chapter 543 - The Grand Finals! (23)

Chapter 543: The Grand Finals! (23)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios That series of moves... Su Penghao gulped nervously. ¡°You are Zi Chuan, aren¡¯t you?!¡± From the first time he had fought Shen Liangchuan and had been mercilessly wiped out, Su Penghao had felt that Shen Liangchuan¡¯s ying style was strangely familiar. And in thest match, Shen Liangchuan had not fully manifested his moves. In this match, however, he had fully demonstrated his characteristic ying style. This was what had led Su Penghao to the realization. He was Zi Chuan. And she was Xiao Qiao. Su Penghao¡¯s gaze shifted to Qiao Lian. Hence... ¡°Are you husband and wife?¡± The moment he said this, all eyes in the room instantaneously looked at Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan. The Godfather, The Deputy Godfather and even Peerless eximed in surprise, ¡°So Mrs. Shen is actually Coach Qiao? My god!¡± The atmosphere in thepetition room was now better than ever. Looking at their faces, Qiao Lian grinned. But as she was grinning, arge warm hand suddenly covered her small one. She froze, seeing Shen Liangchuan holding her hand. He asked, ¡°Your hand... What happened?¡± Qiao Lian had a sharp sensation on the tip of her nose and immediately looked away, trying to force a smile. ¡°Nothing.¡± Then, she stuffed her trembling hand into her pocket and red at all the team members fiercely, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t lower your guard. We still have one more round to fight and we¡¯ll have to win it before we win thepetition properly. Focus on the match! I¡¯ll leave now.¡± Having said this, Qiao Lian turned and walked out of the gaming room. The moment she stepped out, her tears flowed uncontrobly. Her hand was still stuffed in her pocket and the trembling worsened. A sense of helplessness washed over her. There was no doubt now that CQ would clinch the champion title. She should be d for that. But seeing how the team members were so happy, she suddenly felt lonely and helpless. Once upon a time, it had been her dream that one day she would be next to Zi Chuan in thepetition arena, fighting the most perfect battle of their lives together... But now... That remained only a dream. Qiao Lian took a deep breath and tried to suppress that painful sense of loss. Then, she looked up and walked to the seats in the audience. Purple Fairy had already returned to thepetition room to exert some pressure on King Team. Qiao Lian went back to her seat and, at this point, saw Sun Linaning towards her. ¡°Qiao Lian, did you see the match? Do you like CQ more, or King? Feeling down, Qiao Lian did not reply. And this made Sun Linan feel down too. Everyone with eyes could see who was going to win this match. There was no suspense. If King Team could not clinch the champion title, what was the use of gifting her that team?! Amidst all these different thoughts, the third round of the game officiallymenced. Meanwhile... At the entrance of thepetition venue. A rather apologetic person with a nervous expression rushed in. The guard stopped her. ¡°Hi, thepetition has begun, we can¡¯t let you in now.¡± The girl with a gaunt face said with a stubborn expression, ¡°I¡¯m CQ¡¯s team member Ancestor White Bones, I wish to enter to y in thepetition!¡± The Godfather and The Deputy Godfather were still nursing their injuries. Even if Qiao Lian had been able to y, they would still be short of yers. She had expended great efforts to escape from home. The guard at the door paused and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, are you able to prove your identity?¡± Ancestor White Bones shook her head. She had escaped with only ten dors to pay for her transport, she didn¡¯t even have her cell phone with her. And at this point, a cab pulled up sharply next to her. A middle-aged woman came charging out of the vehicle. ¡°Well done you! You dare to run way!¡± Chapter 544 - The Grand Final (24)

Chapter 544: The Grand Final (24)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios There was no doubt about the third round of the game. Shen Liangchuan continued to be very much in his element and yed extremely aggressively right from the start. Within ten minutes, the match came to an end. All the audience stood up and gave CQ a round of wild apuse. Thementator was of course emotional and worked up. ¡°... CQ Fighting Team has made a real achievement and is now our deserving champion!¡± And thus ended the Beijingpetition. In the final round of thepetition, the rtively unknown CQ Team had made a big name for themselves with a sensational win. Thepetition had been broadcasted live and, in the blink of an eye, it caused a tidal wave in the gaming world. Qiao Lian¡¯s Xiao Qiao and Shen Liangchuan¡¯s Xiao Qiao had been yedpletely differently, and were now widely imitated. The fans of CQ Team grew overnight to be the biggest fandom among allpetitive team¡¯s fandoms. All around, there was wild apuse. Qiao Lian stared at the crowd before her. She bit her lip, her gaze falling on the gaming room. It was a considerable distance away and she could not see their faces clearly. But she could see that all the team members were joyous. They were shrieking excitedly and jumping around. There was one silhouette that sat calmly amidst the wild celebrations. Although she could not see what he was doing, she felt his gaze through the ss window, making its way among the sea of people, in search of her, looking at her. At that moment, she felt her heart burst with pride for her team! She ced her hand behind her and suddenly broke into a grin. It was alright. Even if she could never y again, it was alright. CQ Team had won. She had won! She took another deep breath. Shortly following this was the award ceremony. But before that, there was a ten-minute break to spruce up the stage. Qiao Lian sat back in her seat. Suddenly, she heard voices in a heated argumenting from the entrance of thepetition venue. Even with the background noise of the audience stirring, her ears were sensitive enough to pick up Ancestor White Bones¡¯ voice. She narrowed her eyes and quickly made her way to the entrance. Sun Linan, too, followed her. ¡°Qiao Lian, where are you going?¡± He was in a foul mood. King Team had lost, and in a pathetic way. It didn¡¯t look good at all. Now what was he going to gift Qiao Lian? Qiao Lian had no idea of the difficulties he was facing and had already dashed to the entrance. After seeing what the situation was, her expression darkened at once. Ancestor White Bones was hanging on with her life to the stone sculpture next to the entrance, and that middle-aged woman was pulling her hair. ¡°You¡¯reing home with me! I¡¯m telling you toe home with me, do you not understand what I¡¯m saying?¡± Ancestor White Bones stubbornly stood there, silent as usual, but absolutely stubborn. She said, ¡°Mom, I¡¯m pleading with you, let me take part in the final game of thepetition, and after that I¡¯ll do whatever you say! I¡¯ll leave the team, I¡¯ll go home and make money for my brother!¡± Ancestor White Bones¡¯ mother spat. ¡°If you y in thepetition, they will make me forfeit the money! You areing with me right now!¡± ¡°Mom, please!¡± ¡°No way! All you know is how to y games and it¡¯s not proper work!¡± Ancestor White Bones grabbed tightly onto the stone sculpture and refused to budge. Exasperated, her mother raised her hand and gave her a vicious p across her face. ¡°Are youing or not?¡± Ancestor White Bones bit her lip. ¡°I¡¯m not going!¡± Bam! Yet another tight p. ¡°Coming or not?¡± Ancestor White Bones¡¯ mouth was bleeding now. ¡°Not going.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll beat you to death, you big liability!¡± Bam! Bam! Bam! One p after anothernded on Ancestor White Bones¡¯ back, as she turned pale from the beating. Chapter 545 - The Grand Final (25)

Chapter 545: The Grand Final (25)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios By the time Qiao Lian rushed out, Ancestor White Bones¡¯ cheeks were already badly swollen from the beating. But she clenched her teeth, refusing to say a word. The big screen outside thepetition venue had a projection dy of about two minutes. Hence when Qiao Lian walked out, the big screen was showing that CQ Team had clinched the champion title. Ancestor White Bones was stunned. Immediately, she broke into a grin. They won. Their team won. Ancestor White Bones suddenly released her grip on the stone sculpture. Her mother was not prepared for this situation and was stunned too. Ancestor White Bones stood upright and suddenly jumped up with joy. ¡°Mom, our team won!¡± Her mother so surprised she was speechless. Ancestor White Bonesughed with tears streaming down her cheeks. ¡°They won. They no longer need me...¡± After saying this, she dried her eyes against her sleeve. ¡°Mom, I¡¯lle home with you.¡± Her mother smiled when she heard this. ¡°That¡¯s right! You¡¯re ruining your own future. Don¡¯t me your mother for being harsh with you. What can you gain from gaming? What future is there? Come home with me and after you¡¯ve made some money for your brother¡¯s wedding, I¡¯ll find you a rich¡ª¡± She grabbed Ancestor White Bones¡¯ arm and was about to lead her into the car. Qiao Lian called out, ¡°White Bones.¡± Ancestor White Bones halted and turned around sharply. As she looked at Qiao Lian, she smiled and said, ¡°Coach, we¡¯ve won.¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes turned red and stinging. She nodded. ¡°Yes, we¡¯ve won.¡± Ancestor White Bonesughed. Qiao Lian drew in a deep breath. She understood Ancestor White Bones¡¯ family situation. She wanted to intervene, but Ancestor White Bones¡¯ mother was right in one thing. There was no future in gaming. Because the golden period for a gamer was before one turned 25. After one turned 25, one¡¯s reflexes and ability to react would not be as strong as before. And they had established the club not for survival, but for dreams and aspirations. She could not expect Ancestor White Bones to give up five years of her youth just to chase a dream. Everyone had their own choices to make in life. She looked at Ancestor White Bones and finally said, ¡°CQ Team will always need you.¡± Ancestor White Bones froze and bit her lip. She nodded to show she understood. She then quickly turned away and looked down, drying her tears. She suddenly turned around and looked at Qiao Lian again. ¡°Coach, I¡¯ll be back! Wait for me.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± After these words, Ancestor White Bones¡¯ mother gave Qiao Lian a fierce re and told her, ¡°I¡¯m telling you, don¡¯t tempt my daughter to y games! We are an ordinary family, we can¡¯t afford it!¡± Grabbing Ancestor White Bones, she got them both into the cab. As the cab started to drive away, the window rolled down. Ancestor White Bones took out her hand and gave Qiao Lian a thumbs-up. As she watched the cab drive off, merge and disappear into the sea of traffic, bing one of those nondescript vehicles on the road, she wondered why her heart felt like it was being squeezed by a pair of invisible, giant hands. She wondered how many youths, for the sake of chasing their own dreams, had in the end crumbled and fallen in the face of reality? But she believed that White Bones would not bow to circumstances. She would be back. At this point, she suddenly heard a voiceing from behind, ¡°Mr. Sun!¡± Qiao Lian paused and turned around. She saw Purple Fairy dashing out. Because she had lost the game, she was anxious and had not noticed Qiao Lian standing nearby. She immediately went up to Sun Linan, saying, ¡°Mr. Sun, this was a slip-up! And even if we lose thispetition, we can wait for the next season!¡± Chapter 546 - The Grand Final (26)

Chapter 546: The Grand Final (26)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Sun Linan frowned as soon as she spoke. Of course, King Team could wait for next season¡¯spetition, but his intentions to present a gift for Qiao Lian today had been thwarted! There was a big difference between gifting a champion team and gifting a runner-up. Sun Linan nced at Qiao Lian and sighed. Since they hade to this point in time, the gift still had to be presented. Hence, he immediately looked at Qiao Lian. ¡°Qiao Lian, I¡¯m giving you a big present today.¡± Qiao Lian was already stunned. From what Purple Fairy had just said to Sun Linan... Her pupils shrank as she turned sharply to look at Sun Linan. ¡°It was you who established King Team?¡± Seeing her surprised expression, he said rather proudly, ¡°Yes, it was me. Didn¡¯t you want to establish a team years ago? You even told me that it was your dream. So I established such team.¡± He stopped, scratched his head and said sheepishly, ¡°Initially, I was expecting them to secure the champion title and then give you the team as a present. But it seems like CQ Team was a tad aggressive today. But if you want, you can guide them¡ª¡± Qiao Lian and Purple Fairy were stunned by what he was saying. Thetter had only then realized that Qiao Lian was standing nearby. But the meaning behind what Sun Linan was saying... The reason he had established King Team was because he wanted to give the team to Forget Chuan? Surely he couldn¡¯t be doing this! If from the very start his reason for establishing the club was to gift it to Forget Chuan, why had she done all these things? She was bbergasted. Qiao Lian too stared at Sun Linan in disbelief. She thought of how Purple Fairy had been spending his money without restrain. She remembered the time that she had even wanted to buy the vi because of what Purple Fairy was doing, how she had thought in her heart that the investor was such aplete fool. And then she looked at thisplete fool standing before her right now. Qiao Lian was absolutely speechless. Especially when Sun Linan thought that the look on her face was because of how moved she was. Hence, he said a little shyly, ¡°Qiao Lian, you don¡¯t have to feel embarrassed. We¡¯ve been good friends since a very young age. There¡¯s no need to feel shy about epting the team. Besides, I¡ª¡± ¡°Stop!¡± Qiao Lian didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. She had wanted so badly for the team toe in first, but time and again they had been held back by Purple Fairy¡¯s unscrupulous ways. It was hard not to hate her. But now she realized that the money this person had been spending to stir up all this havoc... came from Sun Linan? Qiao Lian had never been so mad at Sun Linan! Especially how Purple Fairy¡¯s interference had caused Ancestor White Bones to be found by her family and, as a result, she had missed her opportunity to y in the grand finals. Qiao Lian wished she could throw Sun Linan a few hard punches. This fool! Was he some sort of curse meant to ruin her? She was heaving with anger now. And still, Sun Linan continued, ¡°Hey, why are you so worked up? Don¡¯t be so worked up, it¡¯s only a team¡ª¡± Qiao Lian red at him. She waspletely speechless. At this point, Su Penghao ran up to her. ¡°Coach Qiao, hurry up, it¡¯s our turn to receive the award!¡± When Qiao Lian heard this, she turned around, extending her hand in both helplessness and fury, and tapped Sun Linan on his chest. ¡°You... I¡¯ll have to give it to you!¡± Then, she turned and strode back to the award ceremony. Sun Linan stood there staring nkly, not quite understanding the situation. He turned and looked at Purple Fairy. ¡°What was that reaction from Qiao Lian? Too happy? But how was it that she looked angry? That shouldn¡¯t be the case! And how did Su Penghao address her?¡± Chapter 547 - The Grand Final (27)

Chapter 547: The Grand Final (27)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Purple Fairy did not say a word. She widened her eyes, finding it hard to believe what was going on. Qiao Lian was the famous Xiao Qiao, and she was currently the female eSports caster Forget Chuan... Didn¡¯t Sun Linan know all that? What the hell! She grimaced, feeling that the next thing she needed to do was to hand in her letter of resignation. At the venue. Qiao Lian had returned to the auditorium. The host was speaking on stage, narrating the hardships that CQ had faced during their journey to where they were now. His touching words made all the fans tear. Led by Su Penghao, Qiao Lian walked down the side of the auditorium and stood waiting by the stage to receive the award. At that moment, Shen Liangchuan was there too. Although his face was covered by his mask and sunsses, his tall and striking frame still attracted much attention. The moment Qiao Lian walked up, his gaze was fixed on her. She looked back at him. After a moment, she smiled. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression, however, was dark and hidden in depth. His gaze fell on her hand, that was stuffed into her pocket. He could see that it was still trembling uncontrobly. Shen Liangchuan felt as though something heavy was crushing his chest, making it hard for him to breathe. And that stabbing pain in his heart... His thoughts went back to eight years ago. The team had been established. He just had to wait for them to turn up during the holidays, so that they could train together and take part in thepetition. Suddenly, a call from her. She said she wanted out. At that point, he had been truly upset with her. Although eventually, he felt that her withdrawal was not out of choice. After all, having to withstand pressures from one¡¯s parents to continue gaming was not something that everyone could do. Like himself. Hadn¡¯t he been kicked out of the family by his father for the same reason? Hence, all these years, even though he had learnt to let things go and not to take things too seriously, regrets remained nevertheless over the fact that Xiao Qiao had not made good on her word at that time. Until this moment... This day... He finally understood that it was because she was injured. His Xiao Qiao had injured her hand and could no longer y games. And he had been unaware of it, or when it had happened. When she had called him at that time, she must have been sad and devastated. While he, on the other hand, had waited impatiently for an exnation that didn¡¯te quite as immediately as he expected, before he hung up on her. What she would have needed the most at that time would have been having him by her side, supporting her. And then a scene shed in his memory suddenly. An eighteen year old girl, hugging her knees and crying quietly in a corner. That devastation and destion... All he wanted to do was to hold her in his embrace and tell her it was alright. At this point, the host on stage was starting to make the announcement, ¡°And now, let us invite the members of CQ Team toe up on stage and receive their award!¡± After these words were spoken, Su Penghao, The Godfather, The Deputy Godfather and Lonely Peerless walked up to the stage. Qiao Lian stood on the spot for a moment, but she saw that the four men on stage had suddenly turned around to look at her. Because of Shen Liangchuan¡¯s identity, he was unable to appear before the camera. But that wasn¡¯t the case with Qiao Lian. It was a moment of great honor and the team wanted Qiao Lian to share this moment with them. She could read this from the expression on their faces. Qiao Lian¡¯s lips curled upwards in a smile. She strode up to the stage. By then, Sun Linan and Purple Fairy had returned to the auditorium. Sun Lian¡¯s jaw dropped open with surprise the moment he saw Qiao Lian on stage, receiving the award. He froze on the spot. Chapter 548 - The Grand Final (28)

Chapter 548: The Grand Final (28)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The five of them stood on the stage. Because Zombie Leader was known as the captain, the host zoomed in on him. ¡°Zombie Leader, perhaps you could share with us how you feel right now?¡± Su Penghao said, ¡°Touched, excited, well, just very happy.¡± The host huped andughed. He continued, ¡°Can you tell us, then, whose contribution to the game do you think was the most important in thispetition? Whose contribution to the game was most important? Of course, it was Shen Liangchuan¡¯s. If Shen Liangchuan hadn¡¯t turned up, if it hadn¡¯t been for Shen Liangchuan eventually leading the team, they might have not been able to win. But as this thought entered his mind, he looked at Qiao Lian. Qiao Lian paused momentarily, then she heard Su Penghao say, ¡°I feel that throughout thepetition, all five of us contributed well to the game. As for who is most important, I wish to say that everyone has been extremely important. We couldn¡¯t have done without any one of the five of us.¡± ¡°But if you were to ask which of us is the core of the team, then that would be our Coach Qiao.¡± The host followed Su Penghao¡¯s gaze and looked towards Qiao Lian. Su Penghao continued, ¡°If it weren¡¯t for Coach Qiao, we wouldn¡¯t be here today.¡± When The Godfather, The Deputy Godfather and Peerless heard this, they agreed in unison, ¡°That¡¯s right. Coach Qiao is the core member of our team! She¡¯s the most important.¡± The four men were speaking all at once, their deep strong voices filling the auditorium through the microphone. Silence. The air in the venue seemed to have frozen. After a moment, the host apuded. Another moment passed. The crowd below broke into thunderous apuse. The award ceremony ended. Qiao Lian walked down the stage. She looked at the trophy in her hand and felt her eyes tearing up. Su Penghao and The Godfather, as well as The Deputy Godfather, stood on the side smiling at her. The silly grin on their faces was heartwarming. The four men surrounded her as she walked down the stage. Her gaze roved over to the dark corner where Shen Liangchuan had been standing before she had gone up the stage. But now... he had disappeared. Strange. She felt some kind of void in her heart. Had he gone away again? Ever since she had realized he was Zi Chuan, he had been avoiding her. Perhaps he didn¡¯t quite know how to exin to her what had happened eight years ago. Was that why he was avoiding her? She bit her lip. At this point, she felt someone grab her wrist. Qiao Lian turned around. It was Sun Linan, standing behind her and staring at her in disbelief. ¡°Qiao- Qiao Lian, you- you are CQ Team¡¯s coach? Looking at him, she pursed her lips and nodded. Sun Linan still had that look of disbelief. ¡°But- but-¡± But he really had had no idea! If he had known, he would never have allowed Purple Fairy to do such horrible things! Right there and then, Sun Linan felt truly regretful. So regretful that his insides could have turned sickly green. Looking at Qiao Lian, he suddenly grabbed her hand. ¡°Come with me.¡± His movement was unexpectedly quick and strong, inadvertently pushing her to the corridor on the side. Everyone was getting ready to leave the auditorium, and there was no one else where they were at that moment. Sun Linan looked at her, saying, ¡°Qiao Lian, I remember you once said you wanted your own team. Where you are now with CQ, there are investors pressuring, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re ufortable. Why note over to King Team? I guarantee you, the team will be all yours.¡± Chapter 549 - The Grand Final (29)

Chapter 549: The Grand Final (29)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Upon hearing this, Qiao Lian immediately shook her head in rejection. ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± Then, she turned to walk away. However, Sun Linan tugged at her. ¡°Qiao Lian, why not? I promise I will not interfere. Furthermore, I will transfer the team to you.¡± Qiao Lian frowned. ¡°One doesn¡¯t deserve a reward for not having done any work. Why should I take anything from you?¡± Sun Linan continued to look at her. ¡°Because whatever belongs to me belongs to you. Why should we draw such clear lines between us?!¡± ¡°Why not?¡± Still looking at her. ¡°Why are you being so serious now? How much is the team worth¡ª¡± Before he could even finish his sentence, he saw that Qiao Lian¡¯s expression had clouded over. In an icy tone, she said, ¡°First, to the Qiao Lian you knew long ago, the team indeed would not be worth much. But today, this Qiao Lian does not have that sort of money.¡± Sun Linan immediately realized what he had said and that his words had probably hurt her. He said immediately, ¡°Qiao Lian, I don¡¯t mean that. I¡ª¡± ¡°Secondly, if you gave me the team, what do I have in return for you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need anything in return. I never wanted anything from you,¡± Sun Linan quickly swore. Qiao Lian shook her head. ¡°But you must have a reason for gifting me something.¡± Sun Linan¡¯s lips went dry with nervousness. ¡°I- I only want to be good to you, I want to make you happy. And I don¡¯t wish you to suffer hardships.¡± It was simple and straightforward. Qiao Lian was stunned by his words. She reflected on these words for a while and she finally understood what they meant. She paused for a bit. ¡°Sun Tzi, is it because you like me?¡± Such an awkward and narcissistic remark. If she had said this in the past, Sun Linan would have given her an arrogant look. But right now, he held a troubled expression for a moment and said, ¡°Yes, I like you.¡± After he had said that, he quickly added before Qiao Lian could interrupt him, ¡°Please don¡¯t misunderstand, I had never thought of demanding anything from you. I only- only remember that you were Qiao Family¡¯s pampered little mistress, and you would get whatever you desired. In Suzhou, you lived like a princess. But today, you have to bend to other people and even be subservient... and I feel bad for you!¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s heart softened when he said these words. But he had only seen her hardships as a reporter. He didn¡¯t understand that being subservient, being subordinate, was just a part and parcel of an ordinary life. Unconsciously, her tone softened. ¡°Sun Tzi, one does things ording to their status. I¡¯m now a person with nothing, and so I have to start from scratch. I don¡¯t think I¡¯m suffering hardships. But I thank you for your good intentions.¡± Sun Linan sighed to hear her say these words. ¡°I don¡¯t understand the camaraderie you have in your team, but I saw you with them just then. Is it because you have a close rtionship with them that you are reluctant to leave? Then how about you give your team¡¯s boss¡¯ number, I will buy it from him at a high price! Then, I¡¯ll gift you the club and let you have the absolute say. How about that?¡± Qiao Lian shook her head. ¡°There is no need for you to do this.¡± However, Sun Linan took a step towards her and held her hand. ¡°Qiao Lian, eight years ago, when your family was in trouble, I was overseas on a holiday. I wasn¡¯t there to help you. Let me help you now.¡± Qiao Lian was about to speak, when a familiar deep voice suddenly came from not too far away, ¡°There no need.¡± Qiao Lian and Sun Linan froze and turned around sharply. They saw Shen Liangchuan standing quietly on the side, they had no idea how long he had been there. Chapter 550 - The Grand Finals! (30)

Chapter 550: The Grand Finals! (30)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The moment Qiao Lian saw Shen Liangchuan, her eyes lit up. Hadn¡¯t he left? She wondered as he walked towards them. Qiao Lian immediately asked, ¡°Why are you here?¡± Shen Liangchuan replied indifferently, ¡°I came out to make a call.¡± His icy gaze lightly brushed over Sun Linan. ¡°... and coincidentally overheard a confession mini-drama.¡± Qiao Lian was bbergasted. His tone somehow reeked of jealousy. She immediately broke into a grin and was about to speak when Sun Linan interrupted him, ¡°Shen Liangchuan?¡± Shen Liangchuan was wearing his mask, although he had taken off his sunsses. He turned around at the mention of his name. Upon confirming that it was him indeed, Sun Linan was surprised. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± What a question... Qiao Lian gave Shen Liangchuan a look. Shen Liangchuan, however, looked at Sun Linan. ¡°Are you looking for me for some reason?¡± Lookingpletely stupefied now, Sun Linan said, ¡°Was I looking for you?¡± Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°Weren¡¯t you looking for CQ Team¡¯s investor?¡± Sun Linan nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s right, I was looking for the investor, but what has that got to-¡± He suddenly realized it mid-way through his sentence. ¡°You¡¯re the investor of CQ Team?¡± Having said so, he looked over at Qiao Lian. He suddenly saw the light. ¡°So it¡¯s you, buddy!¡± Qiao Lian was bbergasted. ¡°Since when,¡± Shen Liangchuan thought, ¡°were they buddies?¡± At this point, Sun Linan took one step towards him and extended his arm, looking like he was about to pat Shen Liangchuan¡¯s back. Thetter took a step back to avoid the other man¡¯s physical contact. Not that Sun Linan noticed. He lowered his voice and said, ¡°Buddy, consider this a huge favour to me. Please, this team of yours, name a price. I¡¯ll buy it!¡± Shen Liangchuan was speechless. Sun Linan looked at Qiao Lian again. ¡°Do you see her? She is my childhood love. I want to give her the team. Sell the club to me, whatever price you name, I¡¯ll pay! Won¡¯t you agree and help me aplish my aim?¡± Help you aplish what aim exactly? Help you aplish the aim of courting my wife?! Shen Liangchuan was on the verge of rolling his eyes at Sun Linan. But instead he said tly, ¡°I¡¯m not selling.¡± ¡°But why?¡± Sun Linan grabbed his arm to stop him from leaving. ¡°If you won¡¯t give me a reason, I¡¯m not letting you leave!¡± Shen Liangchuan was speechless. He frowned deeply. Qiao Lian stepped forward. ¡°Hey, what are you trying to do?¡± Sun Linan looked at Qiao Lian. ¡°I can¡¯t stand seeing you work for someone else. I want you to be the boss!¡± Qiao Lian was bbergasted. ¡°I¡¯m no different from being a boss!¡± ¡°How could it be the same? Look, wouldn¡¯t you still have to be Shen Liangchuan¡¯s subordinate? But if the team was yours, you could do whatever you wish.¡± Qiao Lian was getting quite exhausted from having to deal with Sun Linan. Before she could say anything, Shen Liangchuan spoke again, ¡°She is the boss of the team.¡± Sun Linan paused. ¡°What? Didn¡¯t you say the team belonged to you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s hers too.¡± Sun Linan was puzzled. ¡°Why?¡± Shen Liangchuan nced at Qiao Lian and suddenly put his arms around her shoulders. He said, ¡°Because we are husband and wife.¡± Upon hearing these words, Sun Linan looked as though he was fossilized. He froze on the spot. With a look of disbelief, he stared at the two of them for some time before he stammered, ¡°How- how can that be possible?¡± Shen Liangchuan did not pay attention to his question and, on the contrary, warned him, ¡°Mr. Sun, please stay away from my wife in the future. As for your suggestion of buying the team as a gift to my wife, I don¡¯t feel it¡¯s quite necessary.¡± Chapter 551 - Would Her Hand Recover? (1)

Chapter 551: Would Her Hand Recover? (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Sun Linan was shocked. His wife... His wife! His eyes widened, stupefied by the situation before him. His gaze shifted from Qiao Lian to Shen Liangchuan, and he finally asked disbelievingly, ¡°Qiao Lian... you- you both...¡± The moment Shen Liangchuan appeared, Qiao Lian had already known that was the end. The guy was jealous. And now, she was twice as sure that he was indeed jealous. Initially, she had initially been hiding this from Sun Linan because she didn¡¯t want Second Brother to know. But since Shen Liangchuan had spilled the beans, there was no longer a need for her to keep it under wraps. She nodded and confirmed, ¡°Yes, we are married.¡± Sun Linan felt like he could almost hear the sound of his own breaking heart. Ignoring him, Shen Liangchuan suddenly grabbed Qiao Lian¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Come with me.¡± Qiao Lian stumbled along behind Shen Liangchuan. The moment they walked out of the building, they saw Su Penghao and the rest of the teaming in their direction. They were looking for Qiao Lian. When they saw Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan together and that the two were holding hands, the team members shot a few looks at each other. Su Penghao quickly said, ¡°Coach Qiao, if there¡¯s nothing else... er... we¡¯ll go back to the vi to practice.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. Su Penghao¡¯s gaze, however, fell on Qiao Lian¡¯s right hand, which was still hidden in her pocket. He opened his mouth to say something else, but immediately stopped himself. In the end, he nced at Shen Liangchuan without saying another word and left. By now, most of the fans had left the event location. Qiao Lian followed Shen Liangchuan as they made their way out. She looked at the back view of his broad and tall frame. Today, he was like a saviour that had descended from the heavens above to rescue her, rescue CQ Team. This was also the first time she had seen him ever since she had realized he was Zi Chuan. And he was still that same stone-faced Best Actor Shen. But somewhere in Qiao Lian¡¯s heart, something had quietly changed. She bit her lip and by the time she snapped back from her thoughts, she realized she was in his car. They did not speak as he drove. After thinking for a while, Qiao Lian finally asked, ¡°Have you gone home to visit Mom? She¡¯s been grumbling about you, missing you.¡± Shen Liangchuan nced at her. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± She looked out of the window and realized that they were not on the road home. She asked immediately, ¡°Where are we going?¡± In his usual calm manner, Shen Liangchuan answered, ¡°I¡¯ve just made an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon.¡± His gaze fell on her hand after he said this. ¡°I¡¯m taking you there right now.¡± Qiao Lian was surprised to hear this. She suddenly recalled what Shen Liangchuan had said. He had gone outside to make a call. So back then, he had actually been making arrangements for her to see a specialist for her hand? Her heart warmed up a little. She quickly turned to look at the road ahead. She nced at the cars on the road and, from the corner of her eye, she looked at her own hand, which she had quietly taken out of her pocket. Her right hand. It was still trembling, out of control. Her eyes reddened at once. Eight years ago, her hand had gotten injured... crippled in an ident. Would it be of any use treating it eight yearster? In fact, she had lost count of the nights she had dreamt that she was sitting in front of theputer, ying games once again. She bit her lip harshly. Shen Liangchuan calmly asked, ¡°Your hand, what happened to it?¡± Chapter 552 - Would Her Hand Recover? (2)

Chapter 552: Would Her Hand Recover? (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios What had happened to her hand? Qiao Lian¡¯s expression darkened at once upon hearing his question. Suddenly, those bad memories came flooding back. Her hand... She gave a bitter smile. Shoving her hand back into her pocket, she clenched it into a fist. Quickly putting her emotions in check, she looked out of the window as she exined in a casual tone, ¡°One night eight years ago, on my way home from school, I was robbed. My hand was injured in the scuffle that broke out then.¡± When he heard this, Shen Liangchuan frowned. This was obviously not the whole truth. It made him exceptionally ufortable. What exactly had happened to Xiao Qiao, and why was she always so evasive when talking about her past? He thought again of how she had always been afraid of being in the limelight. His frown deepened. However, he did not force her to narrate her whole story and moved on. ¡°What did the doctor say?¡± Looking at her right hand, she said, ¡°Although this hand looks no different from an ordinary hand, it cannot withstand intensive movements, especially like using a keyboard, gaming... After a while, it gets weak, twitches... It¡¯s nothing I can control. Shen Liangchuan nodded quietly. They arrived at the hospital very shortly. After they got out of the car, Qiao Lian looked at Shen Liangchuan and said, ¡°Actually, there is really no need to see another doctor. At that time in Suzhou, I saw a countless number of doctors. It was useless.¡± She had been in her second year of high school then and her studies had been critical. Her unexpected injury had resulted in her not being able to hold a pen properly. Her father had always doted on her, so he took her to consult renowned doctors everywhere, but to no avail. Eventually, they heard news of another orthopedic specialist in town and had ast glimmer of hope. But that was when the tragedy struck at home. And now it was eight yearster. After a dy of eight years, Qiao Yi could just barely stand on his legs. But her hand... such precise operations and such agile and sensitive part of the body, how could it possibly heal uppletely? Upon hearing what she had said, Shen Liangchuan took her hand. His hand wasrge, warm and dry, and she felt the heat pass from her fingers right to her heart. When she tilted her head up to look at him, he said, ¡°We¡¯ll just let him have a look, that¡¯s all.¡± The night sky was hazy. Under the glow of the streetlights, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression in this moment was warm and gentle. Qiao Lian could not bear to reject. Even if there was no hope left for her hand, his firm and steady expression suddenly made her feel like there was a light at the end of the tunnel again. She nodded. The normally quiet Shen Liangchuan seemed to understand how she was feeling, and he suggested as they walked into the hospital, ¡°This doctor is a renowned orthopedist in our country. The worst that can happen is that things remain the way they are.¡± Qiao Lian nodded again. Shen Liangchuan took her hand and looked at it. Then he held that trembling right hand tightly in the center of his own palm. Her hand was delicate and pale, even though life had been tough for her in the past eight years. But that pair of hands was flexible, as if boneless, exactly as thought she had never had to do household chores a single day of her life. In the past, this hand had fought alongside his, and in the games they had been invincible. But now... Every time he thought of the moment he had been among the audience and realized that something was not quite right, when he had dashed into the gaming room and saw her staring at her trembling hand, his heart felt a sharp pang of pain. The helplessness, sense of loss, despair and sadness that she felt at that point... All these same feelings, he felt even stronger. How could his Xiao Qiao¡¯s hand be injured? Chapter 553 - Would Her Hand Recover? (3) Chapter 553: Would Her Hand Recover? (3) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Just like a male eagle with broken wings and that could no longer fly. As these thoughts crossed his mind, he tightened his hand around hers. How much he wished that he was suffering from the injury instead! Very soon, they arrived at the doctor¡¯s office. The specialist was an middle-aged man in his forties to fifties. He had sent the remaining patients home before Shen Liangchuan arrived. Because of his special identity, of course, he couldn¡¯t be seen going in and out of hospitals. This was a private hospital, hence it was better set up in terms of both confidentiality and environment. Qiao Lian stepped into the doctor¡¯s office. When she saw the elderly doctor, her eyes narrowed. He looked familiar. Moreover, the moment the elderly doctor saw her, he paused in surprise. ¡°You are... Ms. Qiao?¡± His remark confirmed even more Qiao Lian¡¯s suspicions. Her eyes lit up at once. ¡°Are you... Director Zhao?¡± Dr. Zhao immediatelyughed. ¡°I would have never guessed that the patient Mr. Shen was bringing would be you. Please take a seat.¡± Qiao Lian widened her eyes, feeling that indeed, it was a very small world. Dr. Zhao had been the best doctor in Suzhou, the one her father had looked up after her hand was injured at that time. But at that time, Dr. Zhao hadn¡¯t been able to treat the root of the problem. Would he be able to do so now? Qiao Lian frowned. Dr. Zhao spoke first. ¡°Is it still your hand?¡± Qiao Lian nodded. Dr. Zhao had her extend her arm so that he could examine her. Then he said, ¡°Let¡¯s take an X-ray and have a look at the joints to see if there are any problems there. The issue with your hand is a littleplicated.¡± Qiao Lian nodded again. Dr. Zhao filled in a form, saying, ¡°The equipment is next door. I¡¯ll get the nurse to take you.¡± After saying this, he picked up the phone and made a call. Shortly after, a young nurse entered the room. ¡°Ms. Qiao, please follow me.¡± The service rendered in the private hospital was excellent. When the young nurse saw Shen Liangchuan, she was obviously taken aback but still, she maintained herposure. Qiao Lian nodded and threw Shen Liangchuan a nce. He said instead, ¡°Go ahead, I¡¯ll wait for you here.¡± Qiao Lian nodded yet again and left with the young nurse. After the two women were too far away to hear, Shen Liangchuan looked at Dr. Zhao and asked, ¡°Dr. Zhao, I wish to ask, what happened to her hand back then?¡± Dr. Zhao sighed when he heard this question. ¡°Concerning that matter, Ms. Qiao was really pitiful at that time.¡± He frowned as if trying to recall. ¡°At that time, when her father sent her here, she had already passed out from the pain and her face was pale. There was a heavy footprint on her right hand, and it was obvious someone had crushed it by stepping on it, all the bones were out of ce. That sort of pain wasn¡¯t the sort of pain an ordinary person can bear. The Qiao Family was a well-known and rich family in Suzhou, and that little girl had also been brought up delicately. She looked adorable and had a candid character; she was a personality in Suzhou. Looking at the situation, it was evident that someone had schemed against her. I have no idea what sort of hatred or resentment could have resulted in such a cruel act.¡± Shen Liangchuan frowned deeply after hearing this. The face of the young Xiao Qiao appeared before his eyes. Dr. Zhao continued, ¡°This is not the first time that this youngdy ising to see me for treatment. When she was little, I took care of whatever external injuries she had. She¡¯s always been afraid of pain. But that time, when she woke up, she looked at her hand and did not shed a single tear. Her lip was bruised from her biting in pain. But she asked me whether she¡¯d still be able to y games with that hand. Ah, she was a kid after all. She didn¡¯t ask if she could lead a normal life, she could only think about ying games...¡± Chapter 554 - Would Her Hand Recover? (4)

Chapter 554: Would Her Hand Recover? (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan froze when he heard this. His heart was aching so much that all he wanted to do was to take her in his embrace and treasure her from now on. He would not let her get harmed ever again. He pursed his lips as Dr. Zhao continued the story. ¡°At that time, her hand was causing her too much pain. I suggested an anesthesia injection for the position correction. However, anesthesia injections are known to have secondary effects, such as difficulting the movement. When she heard this, she objected immediately. Not even a normal man would be able to take the pain of this sort of injury, but the youngdy gritted her teeth and insisted.¡± The fingertips¡¯ nerves were linked to the heart. The pain of correcting the bone position was far worse than the pain suffered during the injury. Shen Liangchuan was nervous just hearing about it. ¡°And after that...¡± Dr. Zhao sighed again. ¡°The joints¡¯ positions were corrected, but because it was too painful, her recovery was a little slow. At that time her father took her to many well-known doctors, and he brought her to me as well. From my perspective, actually it was as close to normal as it could ever get. But shemented that her hand was weak. I could not pinpoint the reason for that. Eventually, I told her to give it more time. After all, the saying goes that it takes a hundred days for bones to knit and tendons to heal. And after this, that tragedy struck at home...¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s pupils shrank at once. ¡°What happened then?¡± Dr. Zhao continued, ¡°The Qiao Family, have you not heard of them? That building construction case from eight years ago, it killed 17 people while under construction-¡± As he said this, he suddenly realized. ¡°Oh, Mr. Shen you were still very young at that time. Probably in school. So you may have not been aware of these things.¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s pupils shrank. He remembered hearing news about that case. So the Qiao Family that had been involved in this matter was actually Qiao Lian¡¯s family? So Qiao Lian¡¯s parents... Noticing the puzzled expression on Shen Liangchuan¡¯s face, Dr. Zhao continued, ¡°Ms. Qiao¡¯s parents were good-natured people, but you really can¡¯t judge a book by its cover. You wouldn¡¯t have imagined that they¡¯d do such a thing. Initially, I just couldn¡¯t for a moment believe that her parents were guilty. Later on, they were nning to send their two children overseas, but someone discovered this and thwarted their ns. They were trying to slink off! After that, they were watched over very closely. Perhaps they could not withstand the external pressures. In the end, theymitted suicide.¡± ¡°They died, the Qiao Family went broke. Then there was a big fire, and everyone saw how pitifully the two children cried and their hearts softened, so they didn¡¯t make things difficult for the little ones.¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s frown deepened, thinking about how Qiao Lian had had to take care of her brother and fight for survival in Beijing alone. He asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t she have any rtives?¡± ¡°Yes, she did. She has an uncle. But I heard that Ms. Qiao has a strong personality. Her uncle¡¯s family depended on her family to survive, and Qiao Lian had a female cousin on that side of the family. However, it seemed that Ms. Qiao did not get along with this cousin. After the tragedy struck them, her uncle took the two children into his own home, but Qiao Lian had an argument with this cousin and eventually left their home, taking her brother along with her. From that moment, no one knew where they went. And if it weren¡¯t for this meeting today, I wouldn¡¯t have known how she is today.¡± Shen Liangchuan was still frowning deeply. It was true that Qiao Lian had her ws. Havinge from an upper-ss family, and being an outstanding person herself, she naturally had reasons to be quite a proud person. But he was certain she would have not run away from home with her brother just because of an argument with her cousin. There must be a story behind this. With a creased forehead, Shen Liangchuan contemted the situation quietly. After a while, the nurse led Qiao Lian back to the doctor¡¯s office. The moment Shen Liangchuan saw her, he sprang up from his seat. Chapter 555 - Would Her Hand Recover? (5)

Chapter 555: Would Her Hand Recover? (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian¡¯s face was as pale as before, but her right hand had stopped trembling even though it was still weak. It was hard to imagine how much her frail body had endured in life. And what about him? At the time she would have needed him the most, he had not been by her side. Even eight years after that... when they met again, he had wanted to take revenge, hit her, harm her. Right at this moment, Shen Liangchuan felt downright ashamed of himself. Despite the fact that there were others in the room, he just could not bear this sudden urge to walk to her and hold her tightly in his arms. Fortunately. Fortunately, she was still alive and kicking. Qiao Lian gave the man before her a stunned look. What was wrong with Shen Liangchuan? As she held her trembling hand against her chest, although she had not spoken a word, one could sense her post-traumatic stress. The way he was holding and pressing her tightly in his embrace was, strangely, somewhat heartbreaking. Was it because her hand...? All at once, Qiao Lian turned white. She coughed once and pushed Shen Liangchuan away, asking, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± She forced a smile. ¡°Actually my fingers can function perfectly fine for day-to-day living. Even if it doesn¡¯t get any better, it¡¯s alright. After all, I¡¯m old! If I continued gaming after the age of 25, it would be past my golden period and people will think it¡¯s a joke. I¡¯ll just focus on being a coach from now on and that¡¯s not too bad.¡± This self-mockery was saddening to hear. Indeed, the golden period for a gamer was below the age of 25. But she had missed out on those eight years. Her dreams were getting further and further away. Shen Liangchuan felt all the more bitter. Moving her aside, he suddenly looked at Dr. Zhao and said, ¡°You must heal her hand.¡± Sighing, Dr. Zhao said, ¡°I¡¯ll try my best.¡± As the X-ray film would take half an hour to process, they sat waiting in the office. Dr. Zhao walked up to Qiao Lian and carefully examined her hand, asking some rted questions. Dr. Zhao finally said after beating around the bush, ¡°Ms. Qiao, have you been in Beijing all this time?¡± Qiao Lian nodded. ¡°Eh... After you left, your uncle and his family kept looking for you.¡± Upon hearing this, Qiao Lian pursed her lips and did not speak. Dr. Zhao continued, ¡°They looked rather pitiful. They used to depend on you for living. After the tragedy struck, their home and belongings were all confiscated. Your cousin dropped out of junior high school, now she¡¯s grown-up and independent. The toughest part is over.¡± Finally, something seemed to have stirred her emotions. She pursed her lips and said, ¡°How is my uncle doing health-wise?¡± Shen Liangchuan raised an eyebrow when he heard this question. She had asked about her uncle, but made no mention of her aunt or her cousin. ¡°He¡¯s quite well.¡± Dr. Zhao said. He made her clench her fingers. ¡°How does that feel?¡± Qiao Lian frowned and said, ¡°It¡¯s sore and weak. It feels out of control.¡± Dr. Zhao frowned. Shen Liangchuan asked, ¡°How is it?¡± Dr. Zhao sighed. ¡°Let¡¯s wait until the examination report is out.¡± At this point, a young nurse walked in with aboratory test form and handed it over to Dr. Zhao. Dr. Zhao held up the form and looked at the X-ray for a long time. Then, he put down the form and looked up. Before he could speak, Shen Liangchuan asked again impatiently, ¡°How is it? Can you heal her hand?¡± After these words, Qiao Lian looked at Dr. Zhao, her eyes full of hope. Chapter 556 - Would Her Hand Recover? (6)

Chapter 556: Would Her Hand Recover? (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Looking at the both of them, Dr. Zhao gave an apologetic smile and shook his head. Qiao Lian¡¯s heart sank when she saw his expression. Shen Liangchuan frowned. Their faces made Dr. Zhao realize that he had given them quite the wrong impression, so he quickly said, ¡°It¡¯s not what you think. The examination report shows that actually, there is nothing wrong with Ms. Qiao¡¯s hand.¡± Nothing wrong? Qiao Lian was stunned and looked down at her hand. Shen Liangchuan was puzzled by Dr Zhao¡¯s remark and looked at him questioningly. Dr. Zhao said after a sigh, ¡°You can¡¯t tell that there¡¯s something wrong from this examination form. Also, Ms. Qiao¡¯s hand recovered to a reasonable extent over these years. Actually, you don¡¯t have any problem with normal day-to-day activities.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. ¡°But when I want to y games, I¡ª¡± Sighing again, Dr. Zhao said, ¡°The human body is highlyplex. Even medical experts like me have not been able to ovee certain areas. After all, this hand was injured long ago. To have it functioning as it used to would depend on your own body¡¯s ability.¡± He looked over at Qiao Lian. ¡°To reposition hand bones after they dislocated surely affected their agility. But now, medically-speaking, your hand has recovered.¡± ¡°There is really nothing for me to treat.¡± After hearing this, Qiao Lian¡¯s heart sank. Indeed, there was no solution. She had already realized this instinctively before she came to the hospital. Her hand had not given her any issues in all these years, hence, it had likely recovered. It was just that if she yed games for an extended period of time, it would start to tremble. And this was probably because of the fatigue. Even when a normal person yed games for an extended period, their fingers would stiffen, so what more could she expect? Qiao Lian nodded and said, ¡°I understand.¡± ¨C As the couple walked out of the hospital, Qiao Lian thought about everything Dr. Zhao had said. Actually, in order to increase the extent of her finger¡¯s agility, she would have to take extra care and rest more. Hence, did this mean that from now on she should no longer y games? Shen Liangchuan interrupted her train of thoughts. ¡°Don¡¯t think about it too much. Since there¡¯s nothing wrong with your hand, it means you will still be able to y games like anyone else. If western medicine can¡¯t do anything for you, we¡¯ll go to a chinese physician.¡± Qiao Lian paused and turned to look at Shen Liangchuan. His gaze was steady. ¡°In this world, there is nothing that cannot be done.¡± Just like when he had left the Shen Family years ago. He had thought initially that his mother and he would starve to death on the streets, but look at where they were now. Qiao Lian listened to the words he had said so confidently and nodded. When they drove back to the vi, Xia Yehua was still awake. She was discussing Song Yuanxi¡¯s matter with Auntie Li when they entered the apartment. ¡°Her sanity is weakening. In the past, she would wash them five or six times; but now it¡¯s more than ten times. Her hands are raw from the washing, but she says they¡¯re not clean... This child, she can¡¯t ovee the harm she caused Lianchuan.¡± Auntie Li sighed and replied, ¡°Ms. Yuanxi was always so understanding. How did she be like this? She wanted to harm Madam with the fruit knife!¡± Having exchanged these remarks, they heard the front door opening. They paused and turned simultaneously, to see Shen Liangchuan and Qiao Lian standing at the doorway. They did not continue their conversation, but Xia Yehua¡¯s face lit up with delight. She eximed, ¡°Aren¡¯t you filming in Hengdian? Howe you¡¯re back?¡± Shen Liangchuan responded to these words with a soft grunt and then changed his shoes. Qiao Lian changed her shoes too and headed to the restroom. Chapter 557 - Would Her Hand Recover? (7)

Chapter 557: Would Her Hand Recover? (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan followed Qiao Lian and when he saw her turn on the tap, he frowned and insisted, ¡°You need to wash them with hot water.¡± Seeing that she was surprised by his remark, he added, ¡°Cold water is bad for your joints.¡± While her hands froze in motion, her heart warmed. She nodded as she turned on the hot water tap instead to wash her hands. After dinner, they headed upstairs. When Shen Liangchuan returned to the bedroom after his shower, he saw that Qiao Lian was sitting on the bed, looking at him. He paused. She asked, ¡°When will you be leaving?¡± He had not intended toe home when they spoke on the phone yesterday. Hence, it was a surprise when he suddenly appeared at thepetition venue. From Xia Yehua¡¯s reaction, Qiao Lian concluded that he had just arrived today. Since he had left the filming location on such short notice, she guessed that he was expected to return very soon. Indeed, Shen Liangchuan pursed his lips and said, ¡°Tomorrow morning.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. She was right. She said, ¡°You should go and see Yuanxi before you go.¡± Shen Liangchuan paused and looked at her questioningly. Qiao Lian had never been a saint, but this time she had proactively suggested this. Seeing her magnanimous expression, he cast his gaze down and said, ¡°I don¡¯t think so. We¡¯ll see when I get back from filming.¡± Then, he walked to the bed and turned off the lights. The room was in total darkness. Lying on the bed quietly, she heard the sound of him breathing next to her ear. Suddenly, she turned her head and looked at his silhouette in the darkness. Everything felt a little unreal. Shen Liangchuan was Zi Chuan. The whole matter had been like a figment of her imagination, even right up until this moment. She could not help but break into a smile as she contemted this. She wanted to talk to him. ¡°Shen¡ª¡± Before she could get another word out, a warm andrge hand suddenly emerged from under the nket to encircle her waist. Qiao Lian jumped in surprise. She turned her head sharply and saw that the manly silhouette next to her was descending upon her, all at once. That familiar manly aroma covered her senses. Before she knew what was going on, his lips pressed up against hers. She was breathless, making her nervous like never before. Shen Liangchuan was Zi Chuan. And right at this moment, sharing the most intimate act in the world with her, was her Zi Chuan. That strange joy. She felt as though something was rising from within her. And that night, they both lost some of their sanity. The man¡¯s heavy gasping and suggestive sounds reverberated within the room for a long time. Early morning. Qiao Lian opened her eyes. The space next to her on the bed was empty. She looked at the ceiling in a daze. She could not recall how or when she had fallen asleepst night. She only remembered feeling like something inside her had exploded, which had made her all at once indulgent and unrestrained. And now, as shey quietly in bed, she caught a whiff of pleasure lingering in the air. She could still hear him calling out ¡®Xiao Qiao¡¯ in the depth of their ecstasy. She turned bright scarlet as she reached out to touch her own face. Then she got out of bed, quickly washed up and went downstairs. Xia Yehua was in the living room. When she saw Qiao Lian, she smiled and said, ¡°Liangchuan left while you were sleeping. He said the filming crew needed him urgently.¡± Qiao Lian halted as she said this. A sudden feeling of emptiness overtook her. She nodded. She went downstairs and sat down for breakfast, feeling a little distracted. She had many questions for him. But the moment she had spokenst night, he had interrupted her. When she woke up this morning, he was gone. She wondered if she really had to keep these questions for when he finished filming. She suddenly looked up at Xia Yehua. ¡°Mom, I¡¯d like to go to Hengdian.¡± Chapter 558 - Would Her Hand Recover? (8)

Chapter 558: Would Her Hand Recover? (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Her words caught Xia Yehua by surpise. Recovering from the unexpected suggestion, she immediatelyughed. ¡°You can¡¯t bear to be apart from Liangchuan?¡± Qiao Lian paused and said, ¡°No, I¡ª¡± ¡°Ah, there¡¯s no need to exin! Liangchuan is taking the nine a.m. flight. I¡¯ll get someone to book you a ticket right now.¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes lit up as she said, ¡°Okay.¡± She no longer needed to work, so her schedule was flexible. She could watch him film. Going with the flow, Qiao Lian immediately went upstairs to pack. Except that after packing, she thought she should go to the clubhouse to inform the team. Hence, she hailed a cab and went to the clubhouse. As her cab pulled up by the ville, she heard noises from within. It seemed to be bustling with excitement. She raised her eyebrows with surprise and walked into the vi. There was a delicate and refined young man sitting on the sofa. A sh of recognition immediately lit up Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes. ¡°Ninth Queen, you¡¯re back?¡± When the team was first established, they had recruited seven gamers. Later on, Smiling Tiger left, and Ninth Queen had been studying for university. By coincidence, he had the end of term exams, so he had returned to school to study. Now he was back... They were no longer short of yers! Ninth Queenughed shyly and blushed. He looked at Qiao Lian excitedly, his eyes gleaming with interest. ¡°Coach Qiao, I took my exams yesterday and didn¡¯t watch the livestream. But I did watch the rerun. They say you¡¯re Xiao Qiao! Is that true?¡± Qiao Lian paused. Then sheughed and looked at Su Penghao. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m here today to talk about our nextpetition.¡± She continued, ¡°The new year is around the corner. The annual tournament starts after that, so from now we will set a strategy, align our formation and practice hard. Don¡¯t even think for a moment that our win at the Beijingpetition was easy. There are so many people at the national level, there are bound to be countless hidden talents. Hence, for this season, I¡¯ve prepared a training n...¡± This time, the team was exuding a brand new atmosphere. Previously, whenever she discussed training ns, the team members would listen half-heartedly. But now, whenever Qiao Lian spoke, all the team members would look at her seriously, as though they were afraid to miss a word of what she was saying. Seeing that change in them, Qiao Lian smiled. After she finished, she called Su Penghao aside. Lowering her voice, she asked, ¡°Have there been any news from Ancestor White Bones?¡± Su Penghao shook his head in response. Qiao Lian sighed. Keeping his gaze on her, Su Penghao asked, ¡°Do you think we should go see her?¡± Qiao Lian contemted it for a moment and eventually shook her head. ¡°Wait a couple of days, then we¡¯ll decide again.¡± He nodded. Qiao Lian continued, ¡°I¡¯m going to be away for a few days, so I¡¯m leaving it to you to lead them in the training.¡± Su Penghao was still nodding. Then he hesitated, as though he had something to say. Qiao Lian frowned. ¡°Speak up if there¡¯s something you wish to say.¡± Su Penghao said, ¡°Coach Qiao, your hand¡ª¡± His gaze fell on her right hand. After a day of rest and with the massage the doctor had given her at the hospital, Qiao Lian¡¯s hand was now back to normal. She smiled upon hearing Su Penghao¡¯s remark and reached out to pat his shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s okay. Even if I can never y again, you can be my hands. And even if I can never y again, the team can represent me. Fight your way to the national finals, and then all the way to the international tournaments.¡± Su Penghao¡¯s eyes reddened quickly upon hearing these words. He understood. The meaning behind her words was that her hand would not recover so easily. ¡°Coach Qiao, don¡¯t worry.¡± Chapter 559 - Would Her Hand Recover? (9)

Chapter 559: Would Her Hand Recover? (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Walking out of the vi, Qiao Lian felt touched by thatst scene with Su Penghao¡¯s reddened eyes. This group of passionate youths reminded her of herself eight years ago. At that time, she had been just like them, passionate and on fire. But ultimately, they had had to sumb to the harsh reality. Now, her only hope was that their journey on this road towards their dreams and aspirations would be smooth and without bumps. As she sat in the cab on the way to the airport, her cell phone rang. It was an unfamiliar number. Qiao Lian picked up the call. Ancestor White Bones¡¯ voice came over the line, ¡°Coach Qiao.¡± Ancestor White Bones was normally a quiet person, who seemed to be perpetually under great pressure. At this moment, there was a certain perplexity in her voice as she spoke. Qiao Lian said immediately, ¡°It¡¯s me. What¡¯s up?¡± Ancestor White Bones gave a bitterugh. Then she continued, ¡°I... have something to tell you.¡± Qiao Lian paused for a moment. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°My Mom has taken my cell phone and given it to my brother. From a very young age, she has always told me that whatever we had at home belonged to my brother. When I grew up, I was to work hard and earn money so that my brother could take a wife, buy a house. I had good results when I was in school and came in top of the ss every year. My brother was mischievous and did not do well in school. But my mother made me stop school after I graduated from junior high school so that I could work and let my brother go to college. The staggering cost of tuition fees and life almost killed me. And it was during this time that I came across Lot games.¡± ¡°I love gaming and I¡¯m passionate about that world. Coach Qiao, my mother says this is not a proper job, and all my neighbors give me strange looks.¡± ¡°Coach Qiao, I¡¯m feeling lost and I¡¯m not sure what to do. I don¡¯t know where my future¡¯s headed.¡± As Ancestor White Bones spoke, Qiao Lian could her choking on her own words. Since she was speaking in a low voice, she must have been making the call in secret, not wishing for anyone to hear her. Qiao Lian¡¯s heart ached for her. Actually, life was hard. What Ancestor White Bones was saying was probably be true of many others like her. Qiao Lian looked at the bustling crowd outside. She suddenly smiled and said, ¡°White Bones.¡± Ancestor White Bones gave a soft ¡°hmmm¡± in response. Qiao Lian continued, ¡°In this world, some people are destined to be sessful; some people are destined to lead a normal life. But does it mean that ordinary folks are unhappy?¡± Ancestor White Bones paused. ¡°An ordinary life experiences ordinary joys, and pursuing your aspirations brings about its own happiness. This boils down to your own choices.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Ancestor White Bones said softly. Qiao Lian knew that she was trying to break out of her current situation. She needed a breakthrough point. But she actually stillcked courage. Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help but to add, ¡°The prerequisite for leading an ordinary life is to give up your dreams and aspirations. But what about me?¡± Ancestor White Bones paused. She asked, ¡°What?¡± ¡°Even if I wanted to chase my dreams and aspirations, I no longer have what it takes.¡± Ancestor White Bones was stupefied by these words. ¡°Coach Qiao, what do you mean?¡± ¡°My hand is injured and I can¡¯t y games.¡± Ancestor White Bones sounded shocked, ¡°What?¡± ¡°White Bones, what I wish to say is that whatever you have, may very well be what others want.¡± The voice on the other end of the line was silent for a moment. ¡°Coach Qiao, I think I understand now.¡± Qiao Lian kept silent for a brief moment and then said, ¡°White Bones, CQ Team, Zombie Leader and the rest have been waiting for you toe home to them. Chapter 560 - Would Her Hand Recover? (10)

Chapter 560: Would Her Hand Recover? (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Everyone had their own choices to make. Qiao Lian really had no right to interfere with someone else¡¯s life. But her hand... She just couldn¡¯t bear to see someone who had dreams and who had the ability to chase her own dreams, stop dead in her tracks. Besides... There were already very few female gamers in the eSports industry. And those who were good enough topete were even rarer. She could not bear watching the fighting spirit of a female talent like Ancestor White Bones being worn down. Shortly after she hung up the phone, the cab arrived at the airport. She followed the line to board the ne. Xia Yehua had bought a first ss ticket for her. She walked down the aisle and found her seat. Just as she was about to settle in, she heard an exmation, ¡°Chief Editor Lian Lian?¡± Surprised, Qiao Lian turned around. She saw Shi Nianyao looking back at her excitedly. ¡°It¡¯s really you! Are you going to Hengdian too?¡± Qiao Lian raised an eyebrow. ¡°Too?¡± Shi Nianyao¡¯s face immediately blushed a little with embarrassment. Qiao Lian thought for a moment and suddenly saw the light. ¡°Mo Xicheng is acting in Ambition with a supporting role...¡± Shi Nianyao coughed once and nodded. Then she swapped seats with the person next to Qiao Lian The two women had not met for days and now that they had run into each other, they couldn¡¯t stop chatting. Qiao Lian looked at Shi Nianyao and asked, ¡°What have you been doing after you resigned?¡± Upon hearing his question, her eyes sparkled. ¡°What do you think?¡± Qiao Lian paused. ¡°Haha, I¡¯m now a jobless hobo!¡± Qiao Lian paused. Sheughed helplessly. ¡°So then what are you doing in Hengdian?¡± Shi Nianyao¡¯s face turned scarlet and she cleared her throat. ¡°Me? I¡¯m here to help my brother inspect the Hengdian film location! My brother invested in a few of the films they are shooting in Hengdian, so I¡¯m here to take a look.¡± Shi Nianyao was a second generation heir from a rich family, and Qiao Lian had known about this from the start. However... ¡°Inspecting is an excuse, the truth is that you¡¯re here to see somebody!¡± Shen Liangchuan and Mo Xicheng both took their work seriously. If they had gone there to film, then for sure, they would be away from home for two or three months. Hence... Qiao Lian raised her eyebrows as Shi Nianyao turned even redder. Qiao Lian leaned towards her and asked in a soft voice, ¡°So how are you and Mo Xicheng doing?¡± Shi Nianyao sighed. ¡°There has been no progress at all!¡± Qiao Lian widened her eyes. ¡°What?¡± ¡°What? That¡¯s just how it is.¡± Shi Nianyao was rather depressed by this too. Ever since they had released the news that they were in a rtionship, they hardly contacted each other. Even an asional greeting wasmunicated by Mo Xicheng¡¯s assistant, and it was kept short. Shi Nianyao felt like she was going crazy. She was a male idol¡¯s girlfriend and yet the distance between them kept them so far apart. Moody... Qiao Lian smiled andforted her, ¡°Okay, stop putting that face. We¡¯re going to Hengdian together after all.¡± Shi Nianyao nodded. Time seemed to pass quickly as they talked andughed along the way. They arrived in Hengdian very shortly. The ce was set up especially to film historical dramas, so they had constructed a model of an ancient buildingplex. As they walked in, an air of history and nostalgia filled their senses. They found amodation at a hotel and settled their luggage, before they headed out again. Shi Nianyao asked, ¡°Are you going to the filming location? Take me!¡± Qiao Lian sighed and said, ¡°And I was thinking of asking you to take me!¡± Now that they were here, she was suddenly very eager to see Shen Liangchuan at work. If she appeared all of a sudden before him, how would he react? It made her excited to think about it. Chapter 561 - He’s Here! (1)

Chapter 561: He¡¯s Here! (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The two of them walked around the Ambition filming location and turned right. At once, in the not-too-far distance, they saw a hovering crowd. As they approached, they heard someone shouting as he ran towards them, ¡°Ten extras needed in a crowd scene. Eighty dors a day!¡± Immediately, the hovering crowd dashed towards him! Seeing that so many people were swarming around him, the stage supervisor of Ambition frowned. He casually pointed at a few who he found pleasing to his eyes and was about to leave when he spotted Qiao Lian and Shi Nianyao. Among the crowd, the two women were outstanding when it came to both looks and manners. It was hard not to be dazzled by them. The stage supervisor¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°And the two of you! Come over and assemble here quickly! You¡¯lle with me and join the crew!¡± Stunned, Qiao Lian and Shi Nianyao exchanged a look. The stage supervisor had made this suggestion since they were both good-looking. But when he saw their reaction, he frowned and said impatiently, ¡°Well, are youing? If not, I¡¯ll get someone else!¡± Shi Nianyao was still in a daze when Qiao Lian nodded. ¡°Coming! Coming!¡± Then she tugged Shi Nianyao along with her hand and ran over to the group. When they approached the stage supervisor and he had a closer look, he realized that the girls were as good-looking as some celebrities. He was all the more pleased at this. He thought of the two roles that he needed today... and smiled at once. He could finallyplete his task and report back to the director. Following the group of extras, Qiao Lian and Shi Nianyao finally entered the filming location. As the stage supervisor walked with them, he briefed them on things that they had to be aware of on the set. ¡°Don¡¯t wander around, and maintain order at all times! Most importantly, you are not to approach celebrities for photos. And you shall not take any unauthorized pictures of them! Do you understand?¡± ¡°Remember these rules.¡± ¡°Great. Now all of you will go put on some makeup. The gentlemen will use the makeup room on your left here, anddies, you may use the makeup room on your right. You two...¡± The stage supervisor pointed at Shi Nianyao and Qiao Lian. ¡°Come with me.¡± Qiao Lian and Shi Nianyao had just been about to head for the makeup room on the right. They paused when they heard the stage supervisor¡¯s instructions. Obediently, they walked over as told. The stage supervisor started to entice them. ¡°I see you two are rather good-looking. I suppose you¡¯re looking to develop your career in the industry. Now I¡¯m giving you a chance. Today, the scene we¡¯re filming involves two female roles that are quite significant. The two actresses who were appointed initially for these roles did not turn up. So I¡¯ll let the both of you have a try.¡± Qiao Lian and Shi Nianyao looked at each other and then said simultaneously, ¡°Thank you!¡± The stage supervisor led them towards a dressing and makeup room that was situated in an obviously better environment. ¡°Seeing how obedient you are, and plus the fact that today¡¯s roles are so important, I¡¯ll take you to a better makeup room. Follow me.¡± The stage supervisor was a young man of about 25 or 26 years old. When he saw the pretty girls, he naturally wanted to show off. Qiao Lian and Shi Nianyao followed him. The stage supervisor asked the two to wait for a bit while he entered the makeup room first. Qiao Lian could hear voices talking in the room. ¡°He¡¯s still filming and it will take him at least another half an hour to get here. The two roles I have here are important, and the director ces importance on them too. So can youe and do their makeup? When he arrives, we¡¯ll leave.¡± After talking endlessly and saying many nice and ttering words, the stage supervisor finally persuaded the other person to agree. The stage supervisor came back out and told the girls, ¡°Okay, you can go in now.¡± They entered the makeup room. The makeup artist started to put on their makeup. After a while, the stage supervisor brought in two sets of traditional dresses for them to change into. He looked at them and said to Qiao Lian, ¡°You¡¯ll put on the yellow one. Chapter 562 - He’s Here! (2)

Chapter 562: He¡¯s Here! (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He turned to Shi Nianyao and instructed, ¡°You put on the red one.¡± Then, he left the room. Qiao Lian looked at the yellow traditional dress and changed into it. As they were changing, they suddenly heard footsteps approaching. Almost immediately, they heard the makeup artist say, ¡°Sister Qiao, what brings you here?¡± Another voice replied, ¡°My makeup is smudged, please fix it for me.¡± Sounding rather nervous, the makeup artist said, ¡°Sure, please give me a moment.¡± She found the opportunity to dash into the changing room, instructing them, ¡°You two, don¡¯te out! Come out only after she leaves!¡± Qiao Lian and Shi Nianyao nodded in unison. The other voice they had just heard sounded familiar to Qiao Lian. She peered through the door crack leading to the makeup room and saw ady in traditional costume, sitting at the dressing table. From the side profile, she had a rather upturned nose and a pair of delicate eyes. Even though she looked different from the person in Qiao Lian¡¯s memory, Qiao Lian recognized her right away. Her cousin Qiao Yiyi! Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank immediately and froze on the spot, as though electrocuted. She stared at Qiao Yiyi with disbelief. She would have never imagined that she would run into her under such circumstances. Qiao Lian knew that she couldn¡¯t avoid this forever. The day woulde that she would have to return to Suzhou and face reality. It was just that she hadn¡¯t expected that they would meet so abruptly; she feltpletely unprepared and defenseless. The makeup artist was talking to Qiao Yiyi, saying, ¡°Sister Qiao, have you seen Best Actor Shen?¡± Qiao Yiyiughed and said, ¡°I¡¯ve seen him. He¡¯s much better looking in real life than on TV! Furthermore, the traditional outfit he¡¯s wearing... absolutely stunning!¡± The makeup artistughed. ¡°When ites to outfits, we admire Best Actor Shen the most. His carriage is iparable! Except, of course, hehe... Best Actor Shenes across rather cold.¡± Qiao Yiyi pouted and kept silent. Her assistant, on the other hand, interjected, ¡°Best Actor Shen might treat other people coldly, but how could he possibly be cold with our Sister Qiao?¡± The makeup artist realized that she had said something she shouldn¡¯t have and quickly corrected herself, ¡°That¡¯s right. Our Sister Qiao is not just anyone. She¡¯s so stunning, who¡¯d dare be rude to her? Perhaps when Best Actor Shen sees her, he will immediately change his attitude! But Sister Qiao has just made her first public appearance and she¡¯s already acting alongside Best Actor Shen. How fortunate!¡± Qiao Yiyi was appeased by these words. After her makeup was fixed, Qiao Yiyi stood up and said, ¡°I¡¯m going into the changing room. My undergarment hase loose.¡± On this note, she directly entered the changing room. The makeup artist tried to stop her but s, it was toote. Meanwhile, as Qiao Yiyi walked into the changing room and pushed open the door, she saw the two girls and eximed in shock, ¡°Ahhhh!¡± The makeup artist hurried over and exined, ¡°They are here to get changed and will be leaving immediately.¡± She shot Qiao Lian and Shi Nianyao a look and snapped, ¡°Hurry up and leave.¡± Shi Nianyao immediately yanked Qiao Lian along as she headed out of the room. However, as they were walking past Qiao Yiyi, thetter suddenly pressed her hand up against Qiao Lian¡¯s shoulder. Qiao Lian halted, but did not turn around. Nevertheless, Qiao Yiyi eximed loudly with surprise, ¡°Qiao Lian?!¡± Still, Qiao Lian did not turn around. But even if she hadn¡¯t turned around, that brief face-to-face meeting was enough for Qiao Yiyi to recognize her. After all, they had lived together for more than ten years. She intensified the force she exerted on Qiao Lian¡¯s shoulder and her voice sharpened, ¡°Qiao Lian! I know it¡¯s you!¡± ¡°Huh, fancy seeing you again after so many years. How unexpected that the pampered little girl is now a small-time actress!¡± Chapter 563 - He’s Here! (4)

Chapter 563: He¡¯s Here! (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Her mockery, on top of her unkind expression at this moment, was altogether detestable. Qiao Lian straightened her posture, snapped back and turned around to look at Qiao Yiyi. Her severe expression and imposing manner caused Qiao Yiyi¡¯s pupils to shrink immediately. Qiao Lian raised her hand and pushed Qiao Yiyi¡¯s hand off her shoulder. Turning her lips up in a half smile, she said, ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s me.¡± Qiao Yiyi frowned and stared at Qiao Lian. She was a month older than Qiao Lian. They had gone to school together and at that time, people used topare them. Qiao Lian was good at her studies, pretty, and even better at ying games than Qiao Yiyi. Hence at that time, she had been envious of Qiao Lian to the extent of wanting to scratch her face to shreds. They said that a girl changed significantly between childhood and womanhood. When they were young, she had not been as good as Qiao Lian, but now she had be extremely beautiful. And what about Qiao Lian? Eight years of hardship would have surely worn down her edges, turning her ugly and ordinary. However, when she saw Qiao Lian very much alive and kicking, standing before her... Those delicate features and that look of sarcasm in her eyes that she was already well acquainted with, all of this infuriated the still envious and enraged Qiao Yiyi. She said through gritted teeth, ¡°Qiao Lian, you have the audacity toe back?¡± Then, she looked at Qiao Lian viciously and said, ¡°But all these years must have been difficult for you!¡± She reached out to touch Qiao Lian¡¯s costume. Of course, the costumes for the extras were very much different from those of the main actors. Sheughed in mockery, saying, ¡°No matter what you were in the past, now you¡¯re just an insignificant extra. I, on the other hand, am the female lead of this film! In eight years, we¡¯re at points in life that ares apart. Tell me, what do you call this? Hahaha.¡± Qiao Lianughed. ¡°That¡¯s right. Back then you used to follow me around, begging me to give you the clothes I no longer wore, begging me to give you the essories I no longer used, begging me to take you to buffets. Our affection goes back a long way, doesn¡¯t it?¡± In a few short sentences, Qiao Lian had painted a vivid picture of how Qiao Yiyi had used to depend on her for basic things in life. The people in the room immediately looked at Qiao Yiyi in a different light. They thought she hade from an affluent family, but in the end, they discovered that she was just a poor kid who had gotten a lucky break and somehow got where she was today. Qiao Lian had exposed Qiao Yiyi¡¯s background with a few words, infuriating thetter. ¡°You...!¡± Qiao Lian blinked and said, ¡°Why? Am I telling lies?¡± Qiao Yiyi was full of anger by now. ¡°Qiao Lian, I see that after eight years, you still know how to use that tongue!¡± ¡°Qiao Yiyi, I see that after eight years, you¡¯re still so... easily ashamed and angered!¡± ¡°You...!¡± ¡°Ah, you get infuriated by a few words. You¡¯re still so foul-tempered?¡± Qiao Lianpletely disregarded how enraged Qiao Yiyi was. Thetter clenched her jaw and red fiercely at Qiao Lian. ¡°Qiao Lian, don¡¯t go thinking I can¡¯t do anything to you! Let me tell you, I¡¯m the female lead of this film. Apart from Best Actor Shen, no one measures up to me!¡± Qiao Lian curled her lips up into a smile when she heard this. At this point, the stage supervisor charged into the room, having heard themotion. He was immediately nervous when he saw the confrontation between the two parties. ¡°Agh, you two junior actresses, why did you make Teacher Qiao angry? Come out here at once!¡± With that fierce tone, he looked like he was chiding the two of them, but in reality he was trying to steer Qiao Lian and Shi Nianyao out of trouble. Qiao Lian had no wish to start a fight with Qiao Yiyi, hence, she exchanged a nce with Shi Nianyao and they both walked out of the room together. Qiao Yiyi, on the other hand, red viciously at Qiao Lian¡¯s back as thetter walked away. Chapter 564 - He’s Here!! (3)

Chapter 564: He¡¯s Here!! (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The stage supervisor gave some advice as he led them away, ¡°Ms. Qiao has got big backing, so it¡¯s not wise to cross her. The next time you see her, just avoid her, do you understand?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes shed when she heard the words ¡°big backing.¡± In Suzhou, who could serve as Qiao Yiyi¡¯s backing? She bit her lip and hung her head. After a brief pause, she looked up at the stage supervisor and smiled. The stage supervisor continued, ¡°We¡¯ll find you another makeup artist. During your makeup session, I¡¯ll brief you on your roles. Actually, you don¡¯t really need any acting skills. It¡¯s a scene where the male lead and his friends visit the brothel and then, when the female lead discovers this, she rushes into the brothel to create a scene. That¡¯s all.¡± Upon hearing this, Qiao Lian halted and looked at the stage supervisor, asking, ¡°So the roles that we¡¯re ying...¡± ¡°Oh, brothel...¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s expression immediately changed. The stage supervisor continued, ¡°But you are the best here!¡± Being the best doesn¡¯t make it any better...! Could they back out of this now? Furthermore, the most important thing was.. When Shen Liangchuan walked into the set to see that the brothel worker was her, how would he react?! Qiao Lian wanted to clutch her face. As the makeup artist worked on their makeup, Qiao Lian said to her, ¡°Make it thicker. Preferably, so that I can¡¯t be recognized!¡± ¡°You are already naturally pretty,¡± the stage supervisor said. Qiao Lian was stone-faced. ¡°I¡¯m just worried about stealing the mor from the lead. Why don¡¯t you make me a little uglier?¡± Stage supervisor: ... Makeup artist: ... ¨C Somewhere else, the director was briefing Shen Liangchuan on his part. Shen Liangchuan was expressionless, making the director a little nervous. Big-name actors were usually aloof. Having worked with Shen Liangchuan for a few days, he realized that Shen Liangchuan was very serious when he was shooting. He was not as loud like other celebrities, and he listened more than other celebrities. He had his own original opinions and was very urate in pointing out where some scenes needed to be improved. The director also found quite easy to discuss the scenes with him. But today... Shen Liangchuan had to take an entourage to visit a brothel. Cao Cao was down in history as a man given to lust, but Shen Liangchuan had a serious face. How were they going to portray his weakness for beautiful women? Emotional dramas had never been Shen Liangchuan¡¯s strength. Besides... in the brothel scene today, there was a need to be more outrageous. Otherwise, when the female lead charged in and created a scene, without seeing Shen Liangchuan inpromising positions with the women, it would look like she was being unreasonable. But... Shen Liangchuan was well-known from rejecting kissing scenes and intimate scenes. He would always get a stunt for these scenes. Yet the part they were filming today wasn¡¯t really that extremely outrageous. For example, in the kissing scenes, they could take it from a certain angle to create an illusion¡ªa false perspective. For this scene, it just required him to be a little more intimate... The director cleared his throat and said, ¡°Erm... For the part we¡¯re filming for today, it requires you to be a little more intimate.¡± Upon hearing this, Shen Liangchuan frowned. Then he said, ¡°I have a stunt.¡± The director was put on-the-spot now. ¡°But we intend to shoot a close-up on the face. Actually, the part today is not too outrageous. You just need to put your arms around her waist and embrace her. As for kissing and the rest, we can shoot from a false perspective.¡± Shen Liangchuan frowned deeply, he was resolute. The director was now in a dilemma. He turned to look at the stage supervisor and hurriedly waved for him toe over. Then he asked, ¡°I¡¯m assuming that the two actresses you found today who will be ying the prostitutes are not ugly?¡± Chapter 565 - He’s Here! (5)

Chapter 565: He¡¯s Here! (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The stage supervisor nced at Shen Liangchuan after the director spoke. Everyone knew about Best Actor Shen¡¯s idiosyncrasy. They had even secretly made bets in the past because of this, that Best Actor Shen could very well prefer gentlemen overdies. It was only after the news broke about his marriage that these talks were somewhat quelled. Hence, after the director¡¯s remark, the stage supervisor immediately assured him, ¡°Of course they¡¯re not ugly! The two actresses I found for today are nothing but spirited and full of life, absolutely natural beauties. I¡¯m getting their makeup done right now.¡± At this point, he threw another hurried look at Shen Liangchuan and suggested, ¡°Would you like me to bring them to you to have a look? See which one you like and which one you¡¯d prefer to work with for your scene?¡± ¡°These actresses,¡± Shen Liangchuan wondered, ¡°were selected by him?¡± He cast his gaze down and said indifferently, ¡°There¡¯s no need for that.¡± The stage supervisor was disappointed. Those two stunning beauties, to be honest, were prettier than the leading actress. Best Actor Shen would surely like them if he saw them. The director would then be impressed by his capability. But why didn¡¯t Best Actor Shen want to have a look at them? The director also gave Shen Liangchuan some well-meaning advice, ¡°We hope you will agreeter... It¡¯s just a bit of physical contact. And we will shoot the kissing scene from a false perspective.¡± Ah! The unspoken sorrows of a director! Anyone would find it a pleasure to work with an actor like Shen Liangchuan because he took his work seriously. But to actually reject kissing scenes... What sort of behavior was that? The director and the stage supervisor both were quite helpless. They walked out of the room; the director was sullen. The stage supervisor quickly said, ¡°Director, don¡¯t worry. You just wait, wait till the two actressese on stage. I guarantee you that Best Actor Shen will like what he sees! The two actresses I found for these roles are very pretty.¡± The director could only try. ¡°That¡¯s all we can do!¡± The stage supervisor smiled, then turned and walked away. He hurried back to the makeup room and said as he entered the room, ¡°Makeup artist, make sure they look their best!¡± Then he told Qiao Lian and Shu Nianyao, ¡°Erm... Initially, I was going to get you our best makeup artist, but Qiao Yiyi didn¡¯t agree so we had no choice, we can only¡ª¡± Before he could finish speaking, he saw Qiao Lian¡¯s and Shu Nianyao¡¯s faces and waspletely stunned. Good grief! A natural beauty would look beautiful, no matter what you did to her face! These two girls werepletely breathtaking. But... ¡°Could you two look a bit more charming? You¡¯re too proper now, and you have too much presence. You don¡¯t look at all like prostitutes, you look more like princesses!¡± Qiao Lian: ... Shi Nianyao: ... The stage supervisor continued to smile. ¡°Oh, be sure you put on your best performanceter on! Don¡¯t disappoint Teacher Shen!¡± ¨C Somewhere else. Qiao Yiyi sat in the lounge. Her assistant walked in. ¡°I¡¯ve asked around and found out. Those women will be ying the two best prostitutes in the brothel. That is your scene with Teacher Shen, where you create havoc in the brothel.¡± Qiao Yiyi sneered when she heard this. ¡°She¡¯s only good for such unpopr roles!¡± The assistant hung her head after she spoke. With a vicious expression, Qiao Yiyi said, ¡°You just wait, I¡¯ll take care of her!¡± ¨C Wearing her yellow costume, Qiao Lian followed Shi Nianyao as they entered the filming set. Shen Liangchuan had a slight frown and there was a hint of impatience on his face. He followed the stage supervisor, who led him to the filming set. The stage supervisor gave his most pleasing smile and said, ¡°So the scene goes like this... Later on, you and your friend will need to embrace these two women. You¡¯ll embrace the one in the red costume, while I¡¯ll get the other actor to embrace the one in yellow costume.¡± Chapter 566 - He’s Here! (6)

Chapter 566: He¡¯s Here! (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The other actor would be Mo Xicheng. In this movie, he was ying the role of Shen Liangchuan¡¯s cousin and they had grown up together. Oftentimes, young men liked to visit brothels. Shen Liangchuan frowned and replied after a while, ¡°I know how we should film this.¡± After saying these words, he turned around to look at the director. ¡°Visiting a brothel doesn¡¯t mean that one has to be physical. In the scenester on, by using eye contact, we should also be able to act the scenes.¡± Director: ... The director totally did not know what to say. He was intending to scold him, wanting him to get rid of this idea, but Best Actor Shen was nheless the top actor, so he didn¡¯t dare to scold him. In the end, he replied, ¡°How about you try acting that scene? If that doesn¡¯t work out, we will discuss it again.¡± Best Actor Shen then nodded. The director sighed. At the looks of it, he had to look for a substitute. At this moment, both Qiao Lian and Shi Nianyao were waiting by the side. The clothes of the brothel girls were definitely not particrly thick. And it was December now. Although this area was in the Southern region, it was harsher than Beijing as the weather was cold and wet. When worn, this thin costume that was meant for summer felt especially cold. When the stage supervisor saw that the two girls were still trembling in the cold, although they were draped with their overcoats, he took a look at the time and said to them, ¡°It will be another ten minutes or so before filming starts. Please go to the lounge and warm yourselves up first.¡± The heating was turned on in the lounge, making the ce feel warm enough. Both Qiao Lian and Shi Nianyao nodded. As they were heading towards the lounge, they saw Qiao Yiyi walk out of the lounge after opening the door. As the door opened, they stared at each other in the eyes. Qiao Yiyi saw them walking back and forth with their down jackets draped over them. She narrowed her eyes and quickly raised her head to look at the stage supervisor. ¡°Stage supervisor, what is happening here?¡± The stage supervisor smiled and replied, ¡°So, it¡¯s almost time to film, but these two youngdies were trembling in the cold. Would you allow them to go into the room to warm themselves up first?¡± Qiao Yiyi immediately twitched her lips. ¡°My bag is in this room. What if I lose my belongings when they are in the room? Who will be responsible for this?¡± The stage supervisor choked. ¡°This- We are at the filming set, how is it possible that you will lose your belongings here? And isn¡¯t your personal assistant always looking after your belongings for you?¡± Qiao Yiyi just smiled and stared at the stage supervisor. ¡°Although the lounge in the filming set is not officially solely for the female lead, when I joined the set, the director had it arranged for me to rest alone in this lounge. So if you have anyments, go and look for the director for confirmation.¡± Her words caused the stage supervisor to be at a loss of words. He lowered his head and was intending to say something, when Qiao Lian stepped forward and said, ¡°Stage supervisor, we can stay like this. ¡± As for Qiao Yiyi, Qiao Lian was utterly speechless. The same blood flowed through their veins but yet, she treated her as if she was an enemy. Qiao Lian pursed her lips tightly and did not add another word regarding that hatred. In this world, if she had to rank the people she hated, Qiao Yiyi would definitely be second. As for the first person... Qiao Lian looked down. This ce was not that far from Suzhou but, logically speaking, they wouldn¡¯t bump into each other here. As she thought about this, Qiao Yiyi snorted coldly before heading for the director. As she passed by Qiao Lian, Qiao Yiyi lowered her voice and said, ¡°Even if the room is empty, I will not allow you to go inside!¡± Qiao Lian immediately clenched her fists and frowned. She saw Qiao Yiyi¡¯s lips curve upwards, with her chin slightly lifted, as she walked over haughtily. Chapter 567 - He’s Here! (7)

Chapter 567: He¡¯s Here! (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As the director was still fretting, Qiao Yiyi walked out together with her assistant, Ting Ting. Qiao Yiyi was wearing a traditional dress and had a slim body, which brought along with her a pitiful demeanor. This delighted everyone around. She smiled as she walked over. First, she nodded at the director. After that she looked at Shen Liangchuan, lowered her head and said, ¡°Teacher Shen, please do guide me along the way.¡± Generally speaking, no one would reject this kind of request from a stunning beauty. The director nced at Shen Liangchuan with a smile. Actually, the male and female lead should privatelymunicate more often during their free time. This would make easier for the director to capture the emotions he wanted. The director was hoping that Shen Liangchuan and Qiao Yiyi would be able to get along well with each other. Shen Liangchuan nced at Qiao Yiyi briefly and that was deemed as a greeting. Just as Qiao Yiyi was about to speak, he turned and looked at the stage supervisor. ¡°Can we start now?¡± The stage supervisor nodded hurriedly. ¡°Yes, yes.¡± The director shouted, ¡°Everyone, please pay attention. We will start now!¡± Shen Liangchuan and his cousin Mo Xicheng smiled as they walked along, discussing the situation in the imperial court. They strode into the brothel. The female brothel manager immediately went forward. ¡°Woah, what kind of girls do you like?¡± Shen Liangchuan looked at Mo Xicheng. Mo Xicheng had already retrieved a silver ingot from his sleeve and threw it at the female brothel manager. ¡°Bring your bestdies!¡± At a young age, it was natural for one to want to do things freely, without restraint. It was in the nature of youths to be casanovas. The brothel manager immediately guided the two men up the stairs. Then she pushed open the door of a private room. At that instant, when the door was opened, everyone was stunned. They saw two beauties inside. The girl in the yellow costume was pure and adorable, whereas the girl in the red costume was beautiful and lovely. These twodies were considered extremely exquisite. As they stood there, it felt like they had just stepped out from a painting. Beautiful. This was simply too beautiful! That kind of beauty was about to overshadow the aura of the female lead. The crew workers turned at once to look at Qiao Yiyi. They had thought initially that as an oriental beauty, Qiao Yiyi was stunning after dressing up. However, at this moment, in the shadow of Qiao Lian and Shi Nianyao, Qiao Yiyi suddenly looked dull. But no matter how amazed and stunned the staff members were, that could not bepared to Shen Liangchuan and Mo Xicheng¡¯s feelings of shock. What were they seeing? Why did the two people in front of them resembled Qiao Lian and Nianyao so much? Shen Liangchuan¡¯s gaze was fixated on Qiao Lian. The girl in the yellow costume... The girl in the yellow costume. Xiao Qiao, her champion in the game, also wore yellow! At this moment, as Qiao Lian was standing there, in an instant he envisioned her as Xiao Qiao, the champion in the game. Both Qiao Lian and Shi Nianyao stood there obediently. As their roles were minimal, they were not required to have precise acting skills. However, at this moment... Shen Liangchuan, in his traditional costume, was standing in front of them, and this stunned Qiao Lian. Today was indeed a coincidence. Zhou Yu, the champion in the game, usually wore white. What Shen Liangchuan was wearing today was coincidentally a white robe. His dark hair was gently fluttering, in stark contrast to his clothes, which were white. For a moment, Qiao Lian felt like... They had managed to transmigrate and enter the world of ¡®lot,¡¯ theputer game. It seemed like they had finally met in the game after eight long years. Over there, she was Xiao Qiao. As for him, he was still that same Zhou Yu. Chapter 568 - He’s Here! (8)

Chapter 568: He¡¯s Here! (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Time seemed to have stopped still instantly. A moment of silence. No one spoke. Mo Xicheng¡¯s voice finally pierced the quiet air. ¡°Indeed, the best in the house. Outstanding beauties.¡± They all snapped back to the present. Shen Liangchuan narrowed his eyes, having forgotten his lines for the first time in all his acting career. Mo Xicheng, on the other hand, held back for a moment. He nced at the stage supervisor, who signaled for them to start. Then at once, he strode towards Qiao Lian. The stage supervisor had instructed that he was to embrace the one in yellow. But as he started to approach Qiao Lian, he saw that Shen Liangchuan, who had been motionless until then, went straight up to her. He grabbed her wrist and gave her a hard tug. Qiao Lian tipped and fell straight into his embrace. The stage supervisor, who was standing by the side, froze immediately and loudly whispered, ¡°Agh! Wrong woman! Wrong woman!¡± In the script, the male lead liked the color red. Which was the reason for the stage supervisor¡¯s arrangement. But whatever was done, was done. The director hadn¡¯t shouted for a cut, so who was he to say anything? He panicked, however, and turned around. He saw the director making hand signal for the filming to continue and for all the other people present not to interrupt. Immediately, he shut his mouth. Qiao Lian found this way of meeting very amusing and quite fun. Trying hard to control herughter, she extended her hand and hit Shen Liangchuan on his chest, saying, ¡°Hey, what¡¯s the rush?¡± Shen Liangchuan was stunned. Then his expression darkened. Fortunately at this point, his back was to the camera and his face wasn¡¯t caught on film. He curled his lips upwards and tugged at her, so that she would fall together with him onto the seat in front of the bed. Mo Xicheng observed the look on his face and then smiling, grabbed Shi Nianyao¡¯s wrist and sat next to them. Shi Nianyao was nerve-wrecked by now. Good grief, they were only here pretending to be extras. How had she ended up being in such close proximity to her male idol? And what on earth was her male idol¡¯s arm doing around her waist? Moreover, why was her male idol suddenly drawing so close? As these thoughts shed through her mind, Mo Xicheng leaned over and whispered in her ear, ¡°Act more natural, you¡¯re too stiff like this. How could you look like the best pleasure-giving woman in a brothel?¡± Shi Nianyao was bbergasted. On the other end, Shen Liangchuan had his arms around Qiao Lian. He suddenly flipped over and pinned her on the bed. From the side of the set, the director had been signaling delightfully that the performance was perfect, especially now. He was whispering audibly, ¡°Kiss her! Kiss her!¡± Everyone was anxiously staring. Whether Shen Liangchuan was going to kiss her would determine if this segment of the film needed to be reshot. However, thinking that Best Actor Shen had never agreed to kissing scenes... No one had very high hopes for sess. But the next moment, they saw Best Actor Shen pressing his lips against her skin! His warm, moist lips sealed against her lips, causing her to turn bright scarlet. This rascal. The stage supervisor had said that it wouldn¡¯t be a real kiss. It was supposed to have been shot from a false perspective! And what was he doing now? Qiao Lian widened her eyes in surprise and was most inclined to push him away. But not too far away, the director was observing the scene through the lens and said, ¡°No wonder Best Actor Shen never agrees to kissing scenes. Look at this segment, it¡¯s suggestive to the point of embarrassing, especially this kissing scene. The false perspective is too real... Eh? How is it that no matter which way I look at it, it looks like a real kiss?¡± Everyone: ... It is a real kiss! And at this point, Qiao Yiyi¡¯s role burst through the private room¡¯s door and charged in. Seeing the scene before her, her pupils shrank immediately. She dashed towards Qiao Lian, eximing, ¡°You wh*re!¡± Her eyes had an icy glint. Chapter 569 - He’s Here!! (9)

Chapter 569: He¡¯s Here!! (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In this movie, Qiao Yiyi yed the role of Shen Liangchuan¡¯s fianc¨¦e. Qiao Yiyi¡¯s character had a crafty and unruly personality. When she discovers that Shen Liangchuan had gone to a brothel, she creates a scene and from then on, Shen Liangchuan would became a distracted fianc¨¦. This would cause unhappiness in their marital rtionship. Following this, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s official career would be fraught with difficulties. In addition to his wife¡¯s deathter, he would find himself waking up to reality. He would feel like life was full of ups and downs, and nothing was permanent. If he wanted sess in this confusing world, he had to abandon the idea of being a hero. Hence, that would seal his fate as he gradually turned into an ambitious and ruthless character. This scene was thus a critical one. The big drama created by Qiao Yiyi had to be reasonable, so that viewers would sympathize with her. Qiao Yiyi had eptable acting skills. After she charged into the room, she bit her lip and her eyes turned bloodshot as she red at Qiao Lian. That look of fury and hatred in her eyes came to life and the viewers would find it realistic. But the truth of the situation was... Before she hade on stage, she had heard the crew workers eximing, ¡°My god! Why do I feel that Best Actor Shen and thisdy in yellow are so well-matched? She is so beautiful! No wonder that the male lead gets into an argument with the female lead over her. If I were the male lead, I¡¯d pick a fight too!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, the actresses that the stage supervisor has found are absolutely stunning. The girl in yellow is fresh and pure, but the girl in red is not bad either!¡± Qiao Yiyi was the leading actress of the movie, yet she was now being overshadowed by the appearance of these two extras. Her fury rose and those ill feelings saturated her acting. She pushed the table away forcefully, and then reached out to sweep the dishes on the tabletop onto the floor. She took a step forward and suddenly grabbed Qiao Lian, raising her hand to give her a vicious p across her face! Crack! The sound of the p reverberated through the set. Everyone was stunned. From the time Qiao Yiyi had charged in, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s character would feel guilty and instinctively put a distance between himself and the prostitute. If Qiao Yiyi hadplied with the script, she would have then grabbed and yanked Qiao Lian¡¯s sleeve and interrogated Shen Liangchuan, ¡°How could you like this tr*mp who gets onto every man there is?¡± But... She did not even say a word, she only gave Qiao Lian a tight p? Her movement had been too quick and sudden, leaving no time for anyone to react. The director was stunned and everyone was frozen in shock. Only Qiao Lian¡¯s face was burning in pain from the p. The stage supervisor had not given her any warning of such a scene, hence without thinking at all, she knew that was Qiao Yiyi¡¯s personal revenge. The stage supervisor felt responsible for the two girls, as he had recruited them. Immediately, he drew in a sharp breath and said, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Qiao Yiyi then turned around and put on a worried expression, saying, ¡°Director, I¡¯m sorry, I got too carried away by the role. I thought my role has quite a forceful character, so surely she would do this. I couldn¡¯t help getting into the emotions of the role and- and this happened. But I feel that there is nothing wrong with her hitting the prostitute. She is having an emotional outburst and, in addition, the pping would inject some action into the plot, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± One couldn¡¯t pick a fault with her reasoning. Qiao Lian bit her lip. After so many years, Qiao Yiyi had indeed polished her skills. Chapter 570 - He’s Here! (10)

Chapter 570: He¡¯s Here! (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The stage supervisor was almost speechless with anger at Qiao Yiyi¡¯s exnation. ¡°Teacher Qiao, if you wish to change the plot, you could have told me in advance. These are extras, not professional actors. They¡¯ll get upset if you do this.¡± Qiao Yiyi looked at Qiao Lian and said with sarcasm, ¡°Oh, in this case I¡¯ll let you take your revengeter, would that be okay?¡± Then she turned to the director and demanded, ¡°How about that, Director?¡± What could they do now? The director felt, too, that the pping had made the plot more action-oriented. Besides, Qiao Yiyi had been introduced into the cast by the film producer, so he had no choice but to protect Qiao Yiyi at this point. Hence, he said immediately, ¡°Okay, let¡¯s just leave it. It can¡¯t be undone. We¡¯ll justpensate the extra afterwards. Let¡¯s move onto the next segment.¡± With that remark, he casually dismissed the whole matter. Qiao Yiyi narrowed her eyes at once and looked at Qiao Lian mockingly. Qiao Lian was furious. She was here to look for Shen Liangchuan, not to be a punching bag! She stood up immediately with this thought, intending to get back at her by returning the p. But suddenly, Shen Liangchuan grabbed her wrist. Qiao Lian paused for a moment, as she looked up and noticed Shen Liangchuan¡¯s enigmatic expression. She sensed something brewing behind that look. On the other side of the set, the director was already shouting, ¡°Let¡¯s get going!¡± They started shooting again. Qiao Yiyi stood in front of it. ¡°Tr*mp, how dare you seduce him? He¡¯s my fianc¨¦e!¡± The moment she said this, Shen Liangchuan suddenly moved forward and, without a word, extended his leg and kicked Qiao Yiyi in her chest! The kick was forceful enough to cause Qiao Yiyi to stagger back a few steps before she could somewhat regain her bnce. Her face turned pale. It waspletely unexpected that the usually refined Shen Liangchuan would actually use physical force. Qiao Yiyi was stunned. In fact, everyone around the set was stunned. Even Qiao Lian widened her eyes in disbelief. Although he was mostly expressionless, cold and unapproachable, she had been with him long enough to know him quite well. He would never hit a woman. However, this situation now... The director was so shocked that he forgot to say ¡°cut.¡± ¡°This... What¡¯s this?¡± Shen Liangchuan turned around slowly. The fury that he had been trying to suppress was burning in his eyes. He said slowly, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that such moves would add more action to the movie? I feel the same way too. If I hit her, it would add more conflict to the future rtionship of the couple.¡± ¡°But- but this would change the intended nature of the character. After all, whatever it is, you can¡¯t hit a woman...¡± the director said. Although the formidable character Shen Liangchuan was ying would turn quite vicious towards the end, in the beginning he was an ambitious youth with far-reaching aspirations. Surely, the character design would be destroyed if he hit his fianc¨¦e like this. Shen Liangchuan acknowledged this with an impassive grunt. His attitude made obvious to the director that he was actually aware of this. Then he added, ¡°I didn¡¯t think that much about it.¡± Didn¡¯t think that much about it? The director was livid! So he didn¡¯t think much about it before making changes to the script?! He cleared his throat and said, ¡°Teacher Shen, if you intend to make changes to the script in the future, please do discuss it with me in advance, so that we can avoid such situations...¡± Shen Liangchuan looked up at Qiao Yiyi. ¡°Then in that case, the next time Ms. Qiao decides by herself to make changes to the script, please do let me know in advance, so that I can avoid reacting inappropriately!¡± Chapter 571 - He’s Here! (11)

Chapter 571: He¡¯s Here! (11)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Yiyi listened to his words, ashen faced. She bit her lip, knowing that at this point, even if she were to stay silent, she would be aughing stock in people¡¯s minds. She clenched her fists tightly and red at Shen Liangchuan. Although they didn¡¯t know each other very well, he had always been quite cordial with her. But why was he behaving like this today? Still biting her lip, her eyes reddened and she put on a pitiful expression, as though she had been bullied. However, before she could even start sobbing, Qiao Lian interrupted, ¡°Ms. Qiao, I¡¯m just an extra. Even though I took a tight p from you, I did not say a word. As a professional actress, I do think that you should at least have that inner quality.¡± Qiao Yiyi flushed when she heard Qiao Lian¡¯s words. She probably couldn¡¯t express her grievances anymore. After all, she should have that sort of professional cultivation as an actor. She was furious and gave Qiao Lian a hard re, before she looked towards Shen Liangchuan. Best Actor Shen had a reputation within the industry. Everyone knew that in the past, there had been an actress by the name of Yang Lingsi who had be a big joke overnight, after he asked if she had ¡°learnt her acting skills from pigs.¡± To date, she had not been considered for any roles since then. To remain viable in the industry, one had to gain Best Actor Shen¡¯s approval. Somehow, she had to find a way to make him take back what he had just said about her. Qiao Yiyi¡¯s eye reddened involuntarily. ¡°Teacher Shen, I was wrong, please forgive me. I- I was only thinking that your fianc¨¦e¡¯s role has a difficult character in the movie. So it wouldn¡¯t be at all surprising if she hit someone. That was why I did it, I really did not do this on purpose. I know you didn¡¯t either.¡± At this point, everyone had turned towards her to look at how pitiful she seemed. At once, everyone felt that perhaps the kick that Best Actor Shen had given her had been a little much. However, Shen Liangchuan casually said, ¡°Ms. Qiao, your character in this movie is a bold and forceful one. Not one that would cry and throw a tantrum at the drop of a hat. Look at you now... you are not even at all like the character in the script.¡± Immediately, these words put Qiao Yiyi in a conundrum. She looked up, now unable to continue crying, yet not knowing how else she could react. Qiao Yiyi stood there in a daze while Shen Liangchuan grabbed Qiao Lian¡¯s wrist, dragging her behind him and saying, ¡°We¡¯ll continue shooting this segment tomorrow.¡± Then he turned and walked out. Everyone present was shocked. Ever since Best Actor Shen hadunched his career, he was known within the circle to be a dedicated professional. He had never put on any airs as a celebrity. But now... The director¡¯s expression darkened, and the stage supervisor was peeved. Qiao Yiyi was at aplete loss. That was the end of her! She knew that she had crossed Best Actor Shen, and the consequences of crossing Best Actor Shen were... Qiao Yiyi didn¡¯t dare think any further! She nced at everyone who had gathered around and distinctly felt the looks of disdain they were casting on her. Looking at the director, she started to say, ¡°Director, I¡ª¡± The director waved his hand dismissively and said with a sudden change of attitude, ¡°Go remove your makeup, we¡¯ll continue tomorrow.¡± The tide had turned. Qiao Yiyi felt a big change in attitude of the cast and crew towards her. No. This couldn¡¯t be. She had to repair her rtionship with Best Actor Shen. And the way to do this... was to get that person toe in. With that person¡¯s status, surely the filming crew would give her some face. Qiao Yiyi picked up the cell phone. The line connected. She immediately said with a big smile, ¡°Second Brother, I¡¯ve encountered some trouble filming and I was wondering if you could step in to help me?¡± Merry Christmas Eve everyone!!!???????? Chapter 572 - He’s Here! (12)

Chapter 572: He¡¯s Here! (12)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Yiyi held her breath nervously after making the request, not daring to say another word. The silence on the other end of the line was imposing and oppressing. She could hardly breathe now. After a while, an almost aristocratic voice came through the line. The voice spoke unhurriedly and exuded a sort of demonic charm that was evident, despite the fact that he said only two words, ¡°I¡¯m busy.¡± Qiao Yiyi panicked, she sounded as though she was ready to cry with desperation, ¡°Second Brother, I was bullied again today. Someone hit me and everyone in the filming crewughed at me. When will you have some time?¡± The voice on the other end gave a sneer and said, ¡°I never have any time.¡± Qiao Yiyi bit her lip, knowing that he was going to disconnect the line any time now. Knowing how he was, she realized that if he hung up and she tried to call again, it would anger him for sure. In her panic, she quickly replied, ¡°Second Brother, what if I told you that Qiao Lian is at the filming location?¡± The moment she broke the news, she heard a sudden eagerness in his voice¡ªa tension that could just barely be detected¡ªas he asked, ¡°What did you say?¡± His tone told her that she had guessed right and she quickly reassured him, ¡°It¡¯s true! She¡¯s an extra on the set! She seems to be in dire straits, but I¡¯m not sure how long she¡¯ll be around for. When will you have time toe over here, Second Brother?¡± He was silent for a while and then, without another word, the line was disconnected as he firmly hung up. In a way, Qiao Yiyi felt a sudden sense of relief. But at once, she clenched her fists tightly. She did not understand why everyone would get all excited and worked up whenever it came to Qiao Lian. Surely she, Qiao Yiyi, didn¡¯t pale in any way whenpared with Qiao Lian? She took a deep breath, turned and called her young assistant. Then, she whispered a few things into the assistant¡¯s ear. The young assistant nodded and ran away to look for the stage supervisor. When he found him, the young assistant pulled him aside, saying, ¡°The extras you hired today... pay them and let them go. Don¡¯t let them stay on with the filming set any longer.¡± The stage supervisor pondered for a moment after this suggestion was made. He had found two pretty extras to match Best Actor Shen for the scene. However, having caused a din today, he felt bad for the extras. Hence, he nodded in agreement. The stage supervisor proceeded to search for the two extras in the filming set. But... eh... where were they? That¡¯s right, since the filming had been called off, they hadpletely vanished. Where was he going to find them within the huge set? ¨C Tugged by Shen Liangchuan and tottering behind him, she was led to his lounge. Once they got there, Shen Liangchuan wordlessly took out his own first-aid kit and some ice from the fridge. He wrapped the ice in a towel and started to apply it on her face. Looking at his rather gloomy expression, Qiao Lian bit her lip and hesitated for a moment before speaking. ¡°Hey, aren¡¯t you happy that I¡¯m here?¡± Shen Liangchuan red at her and ignored her question. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just call me?¡± What was this nonsense about being an extra? Couldn¡¯t she have just given him a call and he would have gotten her in? And now she had to suffer this plight! Qiao Lian twitched her lips. ¡°You¡¯ve been avoiding me. Would it have worked if I called you?¡± Shen Liangchuan deftly switched the topic and asked, ¡°Why did youe here?¡± Qiao Lian red at him. In the past, he had been the high and mighty Shen Liangchuan and she had just been a junior reporter. When she was in his presence, she had used to feel terrified. But after she knew that he was Zi Chuan, all of a sudden, she was no longer afraid of him. Chapter 573 - He’s Here!! (13) Chapter 573: He¡¯s Here!! (13) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Hence, Qiao Lian said with ease, ¡°Because I missed you.¡± She noticed that her straightforward answer had made Shen Liangchua¡¯s ears turn bright scarlet in response. Qiao Lian moved a step towards him. There was still an angry red handprint across her cheek. It stood out all the more against the fair skin of her face. Staring at the impact of the p, his eyes darkened and he suddenly felt like the kick he had given Qiao Yiyi had been way too light. As he contemted this, Qiao Lian picked up her cell phone and thrust it at him. ¡°Here, take a picture of me! This is a historical filming set, I won¡¯t be able to find another ce like this. Not even in a studio!¡± Then she took a step back, tilted her face and struck a pose that Xiao Qiao used to disy. With two hands behind her, a slight twist of her waist and an extremely radiant smile. The way she looked now was exactly like Xiao Qiao in the game. To Shen Liangchuan, this was a pose that was at once affectionate and funny. He raised the cell phone and aimed it at Qiao Lian. ¡°Click, click.¡± He took two pictures. Qiao Lian ran back back to him and took the cell phone from him. After ncing at the pictures, shemented, ¡°You¡¯ve taken the pictures from such an unttering angle, I can do a much better job!¡± She took a nce at Shen Liangchuan and said, ¡°Stand still. Let me take a picture of you!¡± ¡°Put your hands behind your back!¡± ¡°Stop being so arrogant. Put some expression,e on...¡± The girly chattering filled the previously cold and quiet lounge¡ªnow it was bustling with life. Shen Liangchuan suddenly smiled. ¡°Click!¡± She captured the moment his lips turned upwards. Right at this moment, a knock on the door was heard. The lounge door opened. It was Song Cheng, who looked at Shen Liangchuan with a helpless smile on his face. ¡°Brother Shen, I know it¡¯s bad timing for me to interrupt, but I need to tell you something important.¡± Shen Liangchuan stopped smiling and even Qiao Lian quickly put on a serious expression. Song Cheng continued, ¡°The director has just informed that the investors will be here shortly. Last time we missed the opportunity of dining with them, so the opportunity hase up again. We¡¯ll have dinner together tonight, and we can introduce ourpany.¡± Having said this, he looked at Qiao Lian with his most regretful expression. ¡°Brother Shen, ourpany has been established recently and we need to attract funds and sponsors. Will you be able to¡ª¡± Every time he was with Ms. Qiao, the usually rational man would turn quite irrational. Seeing how they couldn¡¯t bear to be apart from each other, Song Cheng was worried that Shen Liangchuan would reject the dinner party. His worries were proved unfounded when Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°I understand.¡± At once, Song Cheng was ted and turned to exit the room, leaving them alone. ¨C An investor wasing to visit the filming set. All at once, the ce was bustling with excitement. It seemed to be busy everywhere. Qiao Yiyi had been treated coldly moments ago, but now the director was all smiles and discussing the script with her. He casually apologized to her over the matter. ¡°Best Actor Shen didn¡¯t mean any harm with what he said, it was just a misunderstanding.¡± Putting on a magnanimous attitude, she replied, ¡°Best Actor Shen is a well-known person in the industry. He was just really into the role, so I don¡¯t me him at all. I¡¯d be happy as long as in the future he¡¯s willing to guide me and coborate with me.¡± The director nodded. However, the moment the director left the room, Qiao Yiyi¡¯s expression changed at once. Second Brother had initially said that he was busy. But the moment she mentioned that Qiao Lian was here, he immediately found the time to rush over. Chapter 574 - He’s Here! (14)

Chapter 574: He¡¯s Here! (14)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She wondered if the stage supervisor had removed Qiao Lian from the filming set. If they ran into each other... Qiao Yiyi clenched her fists and summoned her assistant. ¡°Go look for the extra right now and once you¡¯ve found her, get her out of here!¡± The assistant nodded and left. But who would have thought that Qiao Lian was in Best Actor Shen¡¯s lounge? Whilst Qiao Lian had gone away with Shen Liangchuan, Shi Nianyao had no such luck. Best Actor Shen had suddenly halted the filming and Shi Nianyao had nowhere to go. She could only tag along with Mo Xicheng. The two of them stood in a corner outside. Shi Nianyao had taken off her down jacket during filming. Mo Xicheng, as a supporting actor, didn¡¯t have his own lounge and had to share one with a couple of minor actors. Although usually he would share one with Shen Liangchuan, he knew that today Shen Liangchuan would have taken Qiao Lian there. He didn¡¯t want to be a third wheel together with Shi Nianyao. Right now, a cold wind was blowing, causing Shi Nianyao to shiver. When Mo Xicheng saw this, he took the down jacket that his assistant had given him and draped it over her shoulders. She paused when his warm aroma filled her senses as he did this. The down jacket was warm from Mo Xicheng¡¯s body heat. And all of these warmed her heart. Mo Xicheng looked at her and said in his deep and low voice, ¡°Why are you here?¡± Shi Nianyao looked at him for a moment. Then, pursing her lips, she said, ¡°I- I¡¯m here to attend to some business!¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Mo Xicheng said, ¡°you¡¯re here to be an extra?¡± Shi Nianyao was stumped. He contemted it for a moment and finally said, ¡°Are you in need of money?¡± Shi Nianyao: ...!! She grimaced and said, ¡°I¡¯ve left my job at the news agency.¡± A look of realization crossed his face. ¡°So you and Ms Qiao came here for work?¡± Shi Nianyao wondered to herself if Mo Xicheng had misunderstood something. She was about to exin the matter, when he frowned and spoke again after a brief moment of hesitation, ¡°Then you should stay. The filming crew will need extras. I can give the stage supervisor a call and see if he might be able to give you a role with some lines. Like this your sry will be higher too.¡± After hearing this, Shi Nianyao immediately swallowed her words and nodded. ¡°Yes, yes, I need to make more money!¡± Mo Xicheng smiled. Noticing that her nose was red from the cold, he unconsciously reached out to tap it. This little gesture slightly stunned the both of them. Embarrassed, as though just realizing what he had done, he withdrew his hand. At the same time, there seemed to be a sudden buzz among the filming crew as they scurried around. Whisper about an investoring to visit could be heard. Tugging at Shi Nianyao, Mo Xicheng said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid there won¡¯t be anymore filming tonight. I¡¯ll take you back to the hotel to rest.¡± Hotel. Shi Nianyao¡¯s eyes lit up at once. Was she going to be in a room together with her male idol? As this thought entered her mind, the stage supervisor came running towards them, eximing, ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve finally found you! Where¡¯s your friend?¡± At this point, the stage supervisor did not bother listening to whatever Shi Nianyao was saying, but took out 200 and ced the banknotes into her palm. ¡°This is your pay for today, please leave quickly.¡± Shi Nianyao turned to look at Mo Xicheng, bbergasted. Mo Xicheng raised an eyebrow and said to the stage supervisor, ¡°This is my friend. Can you put her on your list of extras?¡± Chapter 575 - He’s Here!! (15)

Chapter 575: He¡¯s Here!! (15)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Although Mo Xicheng was a supporting actor in the movie, and in the entertainment industry he was a low-profiled figure who enjoyed moderate poprity, he was Shen Liangchuan¡¯s friend. Besides, everyone had their unique own vibe. Even if he wasn¡¯t too eye-catching, he had enough presence for people to not normally say no to him. However, this time around, the stage supervisor hesitated. He nced at Shi Nianyao with a worried expression and lowered his voice, saying, ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t wish to help. Qiao Yiyi instructed to turn these two extras away.¡± He sighed after saying this. ¡°You should know the sort of person Qiao Yiyi is. I can¡¯t afford to offend someone who has been appointed by an investor.¡± At the mention of the investor, Shi Nianyao immediately frowned. Surely, such arge filming crew had more than one investor. Indeed, the production of Ambition had a few investors and Shi Nianyao¡¯s family was one of them. She opened her mouth to speak, but Mo Xicheng said at the same time, ¡°Why is that so?¡± The stage supervisor paused and replied after a moment, ¡°I¡¯m not sure. Perhaps Qiao Yiyi feels that Ms. Shi is too pretty?¡± Mo Xicheng¡¯s expression darkened and his eyes turned gloomy, making him seem quite frightening. The stage supervisor immediately became respectful and said, ¡°Te- Teacher Mo, I hope you won¡¯t make things too difficult for me. I¡¯m only a stage supervisor! Perhaps it¡¯s best that you spoke with the director about this matter?¡± Upon saying this, he suddenly realized that he was being overly meek with a nobody. Casting his gaze down, Mo Xicheng said, ¡°I understand.¡± He ultimately did not put the stage supervisor in a spot. Thetter wiped his forehead and quickly slipped away. Mo Xicheng¡¯s expression was still gloomy after the stage supervisor left. He turned to look at Shi Nianyao. The look of eager anticipation in her eyes made him suddenly feel quite helpless and useless. All these years, he had just kept a low profile and earned enough to meet his own daily needs. He had never considered fame seriously, and his personal attitude had never changed just because he was an actor. Like the saying went, ¡°no desires, no demands.¡± But in fact, today he suddenly felt as though he had an aim for the first time in his life. Mo Xicheng suddenly turned around, took Shi Nianyao¡¯s hand and pulled her along. ¡°Follow me.¡± Shi Nianyao paused and asked, ¡°Where are we going?¡± Mo Xicheng turned to her and suddenly smiled. ¡°To look for the director.¡± Shi Nianyao was taken aback. In a daze and not knowing what was going on, she was pulled along by Mo Xicheng and found herself standing before the director. The director smiled at once when he saw Mo Xicheng. ¡°Teacher Mo, what¡¯s up? What is the matter?¡± Although Mo Xicheng was not one of those hot celebrities, he had a significantly loyal fandom. Without beating around the bush, he said to the director, ¡°Ms. Qiao said she doesn¡¯t like this extra and wants her to leave the cast.¡± The director was stunned for a moment. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°So does that mean if Ms. Qiao says that she doesn¡¯t like me, then I¡¯ll have to leave as well?¡± Stupefied, the director remarked, ¡°How- how would that be possible?¡± Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes and continued, ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve been told... Since when does Ms. Qiao have thest say on the filming crew?¡± The director¡¯s expression soured. ¡°Teacher Mo, I think it¡¯s wrong of you to say that. How could our filming crew be like that?¡± As the two men were speaking, someone ran up to them, saying, ¡°Director, the investor¡¯s car has pulled up at our main door!¡± The director was immediately stunned when he heard this. ¡°So soon?¡± From the time the investor had called up to this moment, merely two hours had passed. Had this person travelled with a personal jet? Chapter 576 - He’s Here!! (16)

Chapter 576: He¡¯s Here!! (16)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The investor had already visited them but at that time, Best Actor Shen had gone on leave and returned to Beijing. Normally, when an investor wanted to pay a visit, it would take them at least five to six hours to get there. Yet this time they had been much faster than usual and the director was caught off guard. He was about to make his way to receive the guests when Mo Xicheng suddenly called out, ¡°Director!¡± The director turned around. Mo Xicheng pointed at Shi Nianyao and persisted, ¡°What about her?¡± Since the director was in a hurry, he immediately glossed over the matter and said, ¡°Let¡¯s keep her here first then.¡± After saying this, he turned around and strode away in a hurry. Shi Nianyao jumped up in joy and excitedly grabbed Mo Xicheng¡¯s arm, eximing, ¡°I can stay!¡± Mo Xicheng saw how excited she was and his eyes darkened. He pursed his lips and clenched his jaw. Shi Nianyao had a simple and uplicated personality, so perhaps she had not noticed that the director had only half-heartedly agreed. However, this had not escaped Mo Xicheng¡¯s eyes. Allowing her to stay was his way of appeasing Mo Xicheng for the moment. Eventually, he could pick on the tiniest reason as an excuse to let her go. And he, as a supporting actor, had no say in anything. Mo Xicheng cast his gaze down. Suddenly, he gave a bitterugh. In the past, these things did not matter to him. But all of a sudden, he realized... There were things that one had to fight for, no matter what. If it were Shen Liangchuan dealing with this situation, wouldn¡¯t it take no more than a few words from him to keep an extra on the cast? Mo Xicheng¡¯s expression turned resolute as he thought about this. Just at this point, a worker eximed loudly, ¡°The investors are here, so those of you who are avable pleasee out to wee them!¡± Hence, everyone put down whatever it was they were doing with the intention of heading out. Shi Nianyao could not help but marvel as she observed their attitude. Fr*aking hell! If she had been there in her capacity as an investor, wouldn¡¯t she have received such treatment too? That¡¯s right. How much had her brother invested on this production exactly? She made a mental note to ask him. They could increase their investment to gain benefits too. Following Mo Xicheng, they decided to leave the venue temporarily. They had not gone far, however, when they suddenly heard a rather loathsome voice say, ¡°Why are you still here?¡± Shi Nianyao turned around and saw Qiao Yiyi standing nearby. She was heading to the front door, her expression excited and full of anticipation. Second Brother was here! And he hadn¡¯t taken long at all! It gave Qiao Yiyi a great feeling of pride. She had checked her makeup and was heading to the front door to wee him, but she suddenly spotted that extra among the crowd. Although her attention had beenpletely focused on Qiao Lian back then, Shi Nianyao was also very pretty and this was something that had not escaped Xiao Yiyi. But... hadn¡¯t her assistant asked these extras to leave? Why was this girl still around? And if she was around, did that mean that... Qiao Lian was still around too? At this thought, she immediately looked around, heaving a sigh of relief only when she did not see any sign of Qiao Lian. Then she turned to re at Shi Nianyao. ¡°Leave the set right now. Get out immediately, do you hear me?¡± Shi Nianyao, on the other hand, heard it but chose to ignore Qiao Yiyi. She curled her lips and continued to walk forward. However, Qiao Yiyi suddenly took a step forward and pointing a finger at Shi Nianyao. She demanded, ¡°Where¡¯s the stage supervisor? Take this person away!¡± While it was true that she had gotten the cold treatment from the filming crew after Shen Liangchuan¡¯s chiding, at this point everyone knew that it was because of her, Qiao Yiyi, that the investor had made such a hurried visit to their filming set. Hence, there were plenty of people wishing to get into her good books. Immediately, they went looking for the stage supervisor and the security officer. Chapter 577 - He’s Here! (17)

Chapter 577: He¡¯s Here! (17)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios It didn¡¯t take long before the stage supervisor came over. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Narrowing her eyes and crossing her arms in a defensive stance, Qiao Yiyi pointed at Shi Nianyao, saying, ¡°Didn¡¯t I say to ask this extra to leave the set? Why is she still here?¡± With a troubled expression, the stage supervisor said, ¡°Well¡ª¡± Mo Xicheng took a step forward to position Shi Nianyao behind him. ¡°The director just said that we can keep her.¡± Qiao Yiyiughed derisively. ¡°But I¡¯m saying now that she should leave. If you¡¯re not going to ask her to leave, then should we get the investor toe in and make a decision?¡± The stage supervisor immediately threw Shi Nianyao a nce. He came forward and said, ¡°Ms. Shi, perhaps, could you leave for now?¡± In her head, Shi Nianyao rolled her eyes. Wasn¡¯t she just about to leave the venue? They were the ones who had stopped her. Was the other investor such a big shot that it required this investor to wee him? She nodded in response to the stage supervisor¡¯s request. Seeing that she was agreeable, the stage supervisor heaved a sigh of relief. At least, it had gotten them all out of a stalemate situation. Addressing Mo Xicheng, he said, ¡°Teacher Mo, erm... it¡¯s just for now. We¡¯ll decide our next steps when we start filming again.¡± Indeed, there was no point in forcing each other into a deadlock. Especially in this instance, when Qiao Yiyi¡¯s position had risen so significantly as the situation developed. Hence, Mo Xicheng nodded in agreement too. As they turned to walk away, Qiao Yiyi said contemptuously, ¡°He¡¯s just an insignificant supporting actor who has neither achieved fame nor poprity after all these years. He¡¯ll remain a nobody forever. Who does he think he is?¡± Mo Xicheng paid no attention to her at all and continued walking. However, Shi Nianyao suddenly halted. She turned around sharply and demanded, ¡°Who were you just talking about?¡± Qiao Yiyi retorted, ¡°I¡¯ll talk about whoever I want, why do you care?¡± Qiao Yiyi turned to Mo Xicheng and continued, ¡°Or am I wrong? Has Teacher Mo be a top celebrity? How is it that I wasn¡¯t told?¡± Her mockery cause the people around to parrot her,ughing. Shi Nianyao smiled icily. ¡°It¡¯s fine if you want to make snide remarks about me, but what right have you got to talk about him like this?¡± She pointed at Mo Xicheng and continued, ¡°Don¡¯t you know how skilled he is as an actor? When he started out as an actor, I wonder which recess you were hiding in.¡± At this point, Shi Nianyao also adopted a mocking and derisive tone, ¡°Oh, now I remember. You were a parasite and had to find a shelter under other peoples¡¯ roof. I guess you didn¡¯t have the time to watch TV much, so you wouldn¡¯t know?¡± Ooooh, that hurt. Qiao Yiyi¡¯s pupils shrank at once and she strode forward. Raising a hand, she was ready to p Shi Nianyao. ¡°Tr*mp! How dare you say such things about me?!¡± Shi Nianyao was not the least intimidated and even took a step forward, as though challenging Qiao Yiyi. Just as her hand was about to descend, she suddenly felt a strong and big hand stopping her. Turning around in surprise, she saw Mo Xicheng¡¯s firm grip on her wrist. ¡°Ms. Qiao, that¡¯s quite enough,¡± he said. Then he looked back at Shi Nianyao. She was about to tell her that they should go and not stoop to her level, when there was a sh before his eyes and the next thing he knew... Crack! A sharp sound reverberated through the set. Shi Nianyao had raised her arm and, with all the strength she could muster, swung it to deliver a solid p that turned her own palm red. S*ck that! This woman had first hit her Chief Editor Lian Lian and now mocked her male idol¡ªshe waspletely asking for it! However, this magnificent p also shocked everyone who witnessed it. Even Mo Xicheng couldn¡¯t have imagined that Shi Nianyao would react this quickly. Chapter 578 - He’s Here! (18)

Chapter 578: He¡¯s Here! (18)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mo Xicheng had always been a rather ck person. He had seen all sorts of people during his years in the entertainment industry. Thanks to it, he had also developed a considerably resilient personality. He had an ability to ignore all sorts of sarcastic and snide remarks, hence these never really provoked any anger or reaction in him. Who he was defined his fate. He wasn¡¯t destined for great fame or poprity. He enjoyed his own passions quietly, living in the shadows. This was his life. Hence, when he saw that Qiao Yiyi was about to hit Shi Nianyao, his first reaction had been to protect thetter and not to retaliate. However, Shi Nianyao¡¯s response came as quite a shock to him. He had put Qiao Yiyi under control, yet Shi Nianyao had nicely and smoothly followed through with a p. This had been absolute... poetry in motion! Very quickly, he snapped out of his shock and narrowed his eyes. He turned towards Qiao Yiyi and said, ¡°Ms. Qiao, you ought to be kind with your words.¡± With those words, he diverted all of Qiao Yiyi¡¯s fury towards himself to shield Shi Nianyao. As though he had been the one who hit her. However, Shi Nianyao came out from behind the man again and wielded her fist at Qiao Yiyi, sneering, ¡°This time it¡¯s just a p. The next time I¡¯ll make sure you end up looking for your teeth among the dirt on the ground!¡± ¡°This idiot,¡± thought Mo Xicheng, ¡°does not know the meaning of fear.¡± Qiao Yiyi had been sent by an investor and because of this, she was the ¡°boss¡± in the filming set now. Mo Xicheng quickly released his grip on her wrist and instead pulled Shi Nianyao behind him, as he headed out of the venue. While Shi Nianyao tottered behind him, she looked back and continued, ¡°I¡¯ll let you off this time! I¡¯m warning you, the next time you see me, you¡¯d better take a different route!¡± Mo Xicheng was bbergasted. Qiao Yiyi stamped her foot with fury and shouted, ¡°How dare you gang up against me?! Mo Xicheng, you¡¯d better believe it! A word from me and you¡¯ll be reced!! Who do you think you are?¡± As she shouted, someone suddenly eximed, ¡°The investor ising this way!¡± Immediately, Qiao Yiyi wiped the exasperated and flustered look off and, patting her face, hurried towards the investor. That fiery red mark the stinging p had left was good evidence. Hurriedly, Mo Xicheng dragged Shi Nianyao along as he headed out of the filming location. He was worried that Qiao Yiyi would return to seek revenge on Shi Nianyao. He nced at Shi Nianyao and sighed, saying, ¡°You can¡¯t continue to stay in this cast.¡± Puzzled, Shi Nianyao asked, ¡°Why?¡± Mo Xicheng was bbergasted. This girl in front of him was really naive. Putting on a fierce and malicious expression, he chided her, ¡°Are you aware that you¡¯ve just offended Qiao Yiyi? Even I will have a hard time in the filming crew from now on!¡± His words stunned Shi Nianyao. She had thought that, like her, Mo Xicheng wouldn¡¯t be at disadvantageous situation. But now... it seemed that her male idol had turned his back on her? He had turned his back on her thinking she had caused him trouble? She bit her lip and widened her eyes, hurt. Avoiding her gaze, Mo Xicheng said straightaway, ¡°I think you should go. I don¡¯t wish to see you right now.¡± Then he turned around, ready to walk away. However, just as he was about to leave, he felt a small soft hand hold his. He paused. When he turned around, he saw Shi Nianyao staring at him, asking, ¡°Are you afraid that Qiao Yiyi will seek revenge? Is that why you¡¯re asking me to go? But if I go, she will surely target all her fury on you!¡± Her words took Mo Xicheng by surprise. This girl was very thorough in her thinking! Before he could even say another word, she smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not afraid.¡± Chapter 579 - He’s Here!! (19)

Chapter 579: He¡¯s Here!! (19)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After she said this, she noticed a strange expression appear on Mo Xicheng¡¯s face. She couldn¡¯t help but wonder... Had pping Qiao Yiyi given her male idol the impression that she was an uncouth person? She put her hands behind her back and looked at Mo Xicheng. ¡°Well... I¡¯m usually very gentle, actually. I don¡¯t like violence!¡± Mo Xicheng: ... ¨C Back at the filming location. Imagining herself to be a tragic beauty, Qiao Yiyi walked towards the investor. The people in front of her moved aside to form a clear path for her to pass. As she went around the corner, she saw him at once. He wore a ck suit and walked with a strong, steady gait in his pair of highly polished leather shoes. A few more strides with hisnky legs, and he was in front of Qiao Yiyi. She lifted her gaze. The first thing that greeted her sight was his pair of tilted phoenix eyes that were mesmerizing in a nerve-wrecking way. His features were incredibly delicate, like they had been carved with an immortal axe. His beauty was heart-stopping, to say the least. After this, one would notice his lips that were perpetually turned slightly upwards. That signature smile of his would hardly disappear. Yet, although he was smiling, people could inevitably feel the iciness behind. His charm carried a sense of foreboding, and his bodynguage possessed an undertone of boundless oppression. Unconsciously, people would turn respectful before him. Qiao Yiyi¡¯s eyes lit up and she called him in an anguished tone, ¡°Second Brother...¡± Then she quickly took a step towards him, turning and tilting her head to fully expose the angry red mark on her left cheek. Her behavior made the director¡¯s heart thump. That was the end! The investor had rushed over with such urgency the minute Qiao Yiyi was kicked by Best Actor Shen. Of course, the director had been worried sick. And now what had happened to her face? That was it! Was the investor going to get angry now? He looked questioningly at the filming staff on the side, hoping to get a hint on what had happened. But just as he thought that the investor was going to blow his top, the man unexpectedly did not shift his gaze and looked as though he hadn¡¯t even noticed Qiao Yiyi. Instead, he continued to walk ahead. As he walked, his eyes swept through the staff gathered on either sides. There was an eagerness in his expression that made it look like he was searching for someone among the crowd. Completely ignoring Qiao Yiyi, he looked at the director instead and asked, ¡°Is this everyone on the filming crew? What about the extras?¡± The extras? The director immediately replied, ¡°The extras are all in a lounge at the back¡ª¡± Without waiting for him to finish, the investor strode away. At the speed of the light! Very quickly, the crowd dispersed. Qiao Yiyi stood on the same spot, feeling like she had just been viciously pped another time. She curled her fingers tightly into a fist as she felt the gaze of the surrounding people burning into her. But at the same time, anxiety was developing within her. Second Brother must not meet Qiao Lian! ¨C At this very same time, in Shen Liangchuan¡¯s lounge. Song Cheng stood at the doorway, hurrying him, ¡°Brother Shen, hurry up, the investor is here! Ah, I can see himing over now!¡± Just as these words were being spoken, the man apanied by the director looked as though he had just realized something and turned sharply to look in the direction of the lounge Qiao Lian was in. When the director noticed this, he said respectfully, ¡°That is the lounge of our male lead, Best Actor Shen. When you visitedst time, he was away in Beijing and you didn¡¯t get to meet him. Would you like to meet him this time?¡± Chapter 580 - He’s Here! (20)

Chapter 580: He¡¯s Here! (20)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Upon hearing this, the investor looked away from Shen Liangchuan¡¯s lounge. Striding away again, he now continued his walk to the extras¡¯ lounge. When they arrived, he pushed open the door. His gaze fell on the small crowd in the room. No, none of them. He looked over them again, one at a time, until atst he cast his gaze down in disappointment. Had she left? He turned to look at the director and asked, ¡°Are these all the extras on the set?¡± The director nodded and replied, ¡°That¡¯s right. That¡¯s all the extras we have. They are all resting here. May I know if Mr. Lu, you¡ª¡± This investor was really behaving very strangely. The moment he arrived, he had made a beeline for the extras. What exactly was he after? Was it because Ms. Qiao hadined about the extras and the investor was here to seek revenge? That couldn¡¯t be right! The investor furrowed and asked again, ¡°Are you sure they are all here and no one is missing?¡± Strictly speaking, the extras were not permitted to leave the set before 5 pm. Hence, they were not off work yet, how could they have left? The director was about to nod when the stage supervisor spoke up nervously, ¡°There- there are two others that are not here.¡± The investor turned around sharply and asked, ¡°Female?¡± The stage supervisor nodded. ¡°Very pretty?¡± The stage supervisor continued nodding. The investor was visibly stirred up by this information. He walked up to the stage supervisor and grabbed him by the cor, ¡°Where is she?¡± Stage supervisor: ... The stage supervisor cleared his throat. ¡°One- one of them is with Teacher Mo...¡± At once, the investor let go of his cor. Turning towards the main door, he demanded, ¡°Where is Mo Xicheng?¡± The stage supervisor almost broke down at this question. Was the investor looking for the woman because she had pped Qiao Yiyi? Observing the reaction of investor now, it seemed that not even Mr. Mo himself would be spared! The stage supervisor was still in a daze when the director gave him a light poke. Snapping back to the present, he realized the investor was staring at him. He quickly said, ¡°Erm... I just saw them... it seems like they went that way.¡± ¡°Lead the way!¡± At thatmand, the stage supervisor nodded and took the lead. The moment they walked through the main doorway, they ran into Qiao Yiyi. She grabbed the investor¡¯s sleeve and said, ¡°Second Brother, you have to avenge me. Look at my face. This is the work of Mo Xicheng and that extra!¡± Mo Xicheng and Shi Nianyao had just stepped out of the filming location and were about to leave. His cell phone suddenly started ringing. Picking up the line, he heard the stage supervisor¡¯s voice saying, ¡°Teacher Mo, where are you? The investor would like to see you and the extra.¡± Mo Xicheng immediately narrowed his eyes. Oh no. The investor was here to avenge Qiao Yiyi! What were they going to do now? He looked towards Shi Nianyao. Without another word, he quickly led her out. Puzzled by his actions, Shi Nianyao asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Mo Xicheng shook his head and reassured her, ¡°Nothing¡¯s wrong.¡± But after a few steps, a voice called out from behind. ¡°Teacher Mo, Teacher Mo, you can¡¯t leave! The investor wishes to see the both of you!¡± Mo Xicheng¡¯s pupils shrank immediately. Even more puzzled now, Shi Nianyao asked, ¡°Why would the investor want to see us?¡± The approaching staff: ... What else could be the matter? You had just pped Ms. Qiao Yiyi, and now her boyfriend was here to avenge her!¡± At this point, the security officer immediately blocked their path and advised, ¡°Teacher Mo, Miss, the both of you can¡¯t leave just yet. Pleasee with me.¡± With a deep frown, Mo Xicheng threw Shi Nianyao a nce. After a moment, he said, ¡°Fine.¡± They¡¯d meet with the investor then. Whether it be the dragon¡¯s pond or the tiger¡¯sir, he¡¯d protect her. Chapter 581 - Qiao Lian (1)

Chapter 581: Qiao Lian (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mo Xicheng and Shi Nianyao stood before the doorway that led to the room where the investor was waiting. Qiao Yiyi was sitting in that same room, weeping quietly. The director stood next to her, apologizing profusely. ¡°It¡¯s embarrassing that such a thing happened on the set. That extra was indeed too arrogant! When they get here, I¡¯ll make sure they give you a proper apology!¡± Qiao Yiyi looked at the man sitting on the chair. His lips were slightly turned upwards, as always. It must have been for the revenge that he had summoned Mo Xicheng and Shi Nianyao, right? She had always thought that she didn¡¯t have a ce in his heart. Never had she expected that, in reality, he still cared for her. This thought put Qiao Yiyi in a great mood. She nced at the director and sighed. In a soft and refined voice, she said, ¡°Director, not that I wish to go on and on about this matter, but being pped in the presence of so many people is really embarrassing for me.¡± The director nodded to show he understood. ¡°That¡¯s right. This consequences of this matter are indeed quite nasty. I will deal with it rigorously!¡± Qiao Yiyi nodded. Shortly afterwards, there was a knock on the door. As the door was swung open, the investor immediately shifted his whole attention to the doorway. A refined gentleman appeared. His movements were courteous albeit slightly hesitant. It was Mo Xicheng. The investor¡¯s pupils shrank. This wasn¡¯t who he expected to see. He looked beyond Mo Xicheng to see if there was anyone else. Before he could say a word, Qiao Yiyi frowned and asked, ¡°Where is that woman?¡± Mo Xicheng looked at Qiao Yiyi and hung his head after a moment. ¡°Ms. Qiao, what happened today has nothing to do with her!¡± ¡°She hit me, how has that got nothing to do with her?¡± He stared at her and continued, ¡°You may hold me responsible for whatever happened.¡± His gaze shifted to the director and finally fell on the man sitting on the chair. As a norm, any minor actors would be awed and quite fearful when they were in the presence of the investor. However in this particr instance, Mo Xicheng was being very much himself and disyed no signs of nervousness nor reverence towards the man. There was a pregnant silence in the room. Both men emanated a strong presence, even though no words had been exchanged yet. After a moment, the man spoke unhurriedly, ¡°What¡¯s your rtionship with her?¡± Mo Xicheng lowered his gaze after hearing the question. He replied, ¡°She is my girlfriend.¡± Everyone in the room widened their eyes at his answer. Even the director was stunned. Qiao Yiyi did not expect this answer and was taken aback. Then she recovered and said, ¡°Isn¡¯t this just great? It¡¯s no wonder you ganged up against me! You low-down and despicable couple! The investor¡¯s expression darkened when he heard Mo Xicheng¡¯s words. There was a dangerous look in his eyes as they shed sharply and bore right through Mo Xicheng. That perpetual smile widened as he repeated Mo Xicheng¡¯s remark, ¡°She¡¯s your girlfriend?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Mo Xicheng was straight to the point. Even if it had started out as fake news, he had decided that now it was real. The investor stood up immediately. He exuded an aura much like a bloodthirsty beast out for a kill. ¡°Where is she?¡± Qiao Yiyi was exasperated at this point and persisted, ¡°You dare to gang up against me, you¡¯re courting death! Second Brother, you must avenge me!¡± Mo Xicheng cast his gaze down and replied, ¡°Mr. Lu, this is a matter between us, it has nothing to do with her.¡± How could it have nothing to do with her? She was his Qiao Lian! Without his permission, who would dare im to be Qiao Lian¡¯s boyfriend? The investor¡¯s expression had turned terribly unpleasant and no one in the room dared to utter a word. The director, now at aplete loss, and was quite sure his own end was near. Mo Xicheng had hit Qiao Yiyi and made the investor very angry! At this point, the room door was swung open again and this time Shi Nianyao came charging in. ¡°I¡¯ll be responsible for my own actions! This matter has got nothing to do with him!¡± Chapter 582 - Qiao Lian (2)

Chapter 582: Qiao Lian (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Everyone in the room was stunned for a moment when they saw Shi Nianyao bursting in like this. Mo Xicheng moved to stand directly in front of her, as though shielding her, and asked in a low voice, ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Shi Nianyao held her head high and said indignantly, ¡°I was the one who hit her, why should I put you on the spot? They cane at me if they dare!¡± Mo Xicheng was speechless. Shi Nianyao even looked at Qiao Yiyi and brandished then a fist at her. What was the big deal about being the investor¡¯s woman? Shi Nianyao herself was an investor! Right now, she was just waiting to see who would dare attack her idol. He was her idol and she had him covered. Shi Nianyao red fiercely at the man sitting on the chair. To her surprise, his angry expression suddenly melted away. His gaze shifted back and forth between Shi Nianyao and Mo Xicheng a few times, before he finally said to Mo Xicheng, ¡°The girlfriend you were talking about is her?¡± He had unconsciously rxed his tone. As long as it wasn¡¯t his Qiao Lian, everything was good. Qiao Yiyi, however, immediately nodded and said, ¡°It¡¯s her! Second Brother, you have to teach her a lesson!¡± Shi Nianyaoughed derisively and sneered, ¡°If you¡¯re so capable, then fight me personally! Getting a man to help you because you can¡¯t do it yourself... What are you good for?¡± Everyone watched, dumbfounded. Mo Xicheng held Shi Nianyao back and looked at the investor. ¡°Mr. Lu, so what are you nning to do now?¡± Saying these words was like staking everything he had. The worst that could happen was that he would lose his supporting role in this movie. Everyone now turned simultaneously to look at the investor. After all, Mo Xicheng was the supporting actor in this cast and was considered a veteran celebrity. The director was in a dilemma too... Should he plead on behalf of this actor? Qiao Yiyi, on the other hand, widened her eyes with delight and urged him, ¡°Second Brother, punish him!¡± Thus, it would make her status in the filming crew clear to everyone and reinforce that she, Qiao Yiyi, had thest say. However, just as everyone was holding their breaths and expecting an angry outburst from the investor, they suddenly heard a barely audibleughtering from him instead. Laughter? Were they hearing correctly? They turned to look at the investor. The investor stood up and walked out of the room, amused. Everyone in the room looked at each other in dismay. What was going on? What should they do now? Qiao Yiyi was the only person who heard the investor mumble as he was walking out, ¡°Good that it¡¯s not her...¡± Good that it¡¯s not her. Qiao Yiyi¡¯s face turned pale as she realized that he wasn¡¯t upset because of her. ¨C Shen Liangchuan had gone out. As she was alone in the lounge and bored at this point, Qiao Lian overheard an exchange between some people walking past the door. They were talking about what had just happened between Shi Nianyao and Qiao Yiyi. ¡°Both that extra and Mo Xicheng have been asked to go and meet the investor. Who knows what will happen!¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank at once when she heard this. That was the end. Shi Nianyao was going to get into trouble. Without thinking twice, she opened the lounge door and approached a passerby, asking, ¡°Where are Mo Xicheng and the rest? Which room? Slightly surprised, the crew member pointed at a lounge situated not too far away. Qiao Lian hurried in that direction. As she broke into a run, she saw the door to that lounge suddenly open. Almost immediately, a familiar, tall andrge figure walked out of the lounge. The moment she saw him, Qiao Lian¡¯s muscles stiffened. She stood frozen and rooted to the ground as though she had been struck by a lightning bolt. How could she have forgotten? Who else could possibly be Qiao Yiyi¡¯s backing here apart from her great Second Brother? Lu Zenan... How unexpected that they met here! At that moment, it seemed like the man had also turned to look in her direction... Chapter 583 - Qiao Lian (3)

Chapter 583: Qiao Lian (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The moment their eyes met, Lu Nanze felt as if something struck his heart, causing his pupils to shrink. He stood paralyzed and frozen on the spot. It had been eight years. But nothing about the girl standing in front of him seemed to have changed, apart from a sharper, more distinct figure. No, that wasn¡¯t quite true. Something had changed. She had lost weight. Some of the baby fat that used to fill her face had now disappeared. Her frail frame looked as if it would float away with a strong wind. How much had she suffered in thesest years? As Lu Nanze stood there, he felt an overwhelming urge to run up to her and pull her into his embrace. But he was also fearful... Fearful that the scene before his eyes was but an illusion. After all, the person in front of him was in a traditional yellow costume. Perhaps it was only his imagination. But the next moment... He saw the girl turn around sharply, trying to escape. His reaction was almost a reflex. He took a step forward and ced his hand on her shoulder. ¡°Qiao Lian.¡± Qiao Lian. That devilishly charming voice had not lost one bit of appeal. Unfortunately for her, at that moment, it was like the voice of the Grim Reaper himself! She shivered involuntarily and then slowly turned around. Forcing a slight smile, she greeted him, ¡°Second Brother.¡± That soft and sweet way of addressing him, ¡°Second Brother¡±, had the ability to reach the depths of Lu Nanze¡¯s soul. All these years, how many people had addressed him the same way? It was when their group of second generation young heirs and heiresses came together. He was ranked second, so ¡°Second Brother¡± had be his nickname. But it was her way of addressing ¡°Second Brother¡± that stood out among everyone else¡¯s. That tone she used, the turn of her tongue that produced that sound... Every time she called him, she sounded like a spoilt child. And that hadn¡¯t changed. The perpetual smile on Lu Nanze¡¯s face faded as he looked at her now. ¡°Where have you been all these years?¡± He had searched for her for a long time without sess. The world was huge and he had no idea where else to look. As Qiao Lian cast her gaze down, he caught a sh ofplex emotions in her eyes. There was a mix of grievance, anger, and even bitterness. However, all these did not trante into her expression as she simply said, ¡°I visited different ces. Why are you here?¡± Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes at her reply and demanded in an overbearing manner, ¡°Qiao Lian, don¡¯t you try to evade my question! Tell me, where have you been thest eight years? What about Qiao Yi? And his leg?¡± Qiao Lian responded to his questions with a half-smile and said, ¡°Second Brother, I don¡¯t think we are close enough for you to ask me about my private life.¡± Her words stunned him. He narrowed his eyes even more. Right at this point, Qiao Yiyi ran out. ¡°Second Brother, Second Brother! You haven¡¯t avenged me¡ª¡± She stopped short when she saw Qiao Lian. She turned sharply, gave her assistant a fierce stare and then walked up to Qiao Lian. ¡°Oh! Qiao Lian, what a coincidence!¡± After these words, she extended her hand in an attempt to grab Lu Nanze¡¯s arm and make a point about him being hers. But immediately, Lu Nanze swept her hand away. Instead, he took a step forward and suddenly reached out for Qiao Lian¡¯s chin, forcing her to tilt her head. His pupils shrank immediately when he noticed the red mark that hadn¡¯t quite disappeared. ¡°Your face... who hit you?¡± His ruthless interrogation caused Qiao Yiyi to shiver in fear. She bit her lip and looked at Qiao Lian. With a sarcasticugh, Qiao Lian remarked, ¡°Second Brother, what an amusing question. Are you here to give vent to your woman¡¯s anger?¡± Chapter 584 - Qiao Lian (4)

Chapter 584: Qiao Lian (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lu Nanze paused at her words. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Pointing to Qiao Yiyi, Qiao Lian gave a coldugh and said, ¡°She pped my right cheek. Are you here to p my left cheek?¡± Lu Nanze¡¯s pupils shrank as his expression turned sharp and piercing. He looked at her face and pursed his lips for a moment before he asked, ¡°You¡¯re saying... that she hit you?¡± Smiling sarcastically, Qiao Lian said, ¡°You¡¯re here to get even for her, so don¡¯t pretend you don¡¯t know anything.¡± Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes. He took a sudden step forward and reached out to grab her wrist. ¡°Qiao Lian, I¡¯m here to look for you.¡± Look for her? Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank. Then, Lu Nanze turned around and looked at Qiao Yiyi. Startled, Qiao Yiyi widened her eyes and gulped fearfully. ¡°Second Brother, don¡¯t listen to her nonsense. I- I-¡± Lu Nanze took a step forward and pressed up against her with a cold and menacing smile. ¡°I¡¯ll just ask you one question. Did you hit her?¡± Qiao Yiyi wanted to shake her head and deny her deed, however, staring at his icy expression, the words would note. She finally opened her mouth to speak, ¡°Yes, but it was because she- she provoked me first¡ª¡± Crack! Before she could finish what she was saying, the p came down mercilessly. How could onepare a man¡¯s strength with a woman¡¯s? Qiao Yiyi stumbled a few steps back from the impact before she regained her bnce. But that side of her face had turned numb. Biting her lip, she called out, ¡°Second Brother...¡± But she hung her head when her gaze met with his ambiguous half-smile. After hitting Qiao Yiyi, Lu Nanze turned back to Qiao Lian and said, ¡°Now, can we talk normally?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank. From a young age, Second Brother had been a cruel person. After all these years, his vicious streak was still very much the same. Even though it was Qiao Yiyi who he had pped, Qiao Lian could almost feel the pain just listening to it happen. She gulped and took a step back. Then without saying another word, she turned around and started running away. This man was too terrifying. He was terrifying to the extent that she didn¡¯t even wish to speak with him. She didn¡¯t wish to get into conflict with him! As soon as she started running, Lu Nanze took a few steps forward and it didn¡¯t take much for him to catch her. ¡°Qiao Lian, why do you run when you see me?¡± Qiao Lian was so nervous that her teeth were chattering now. She found herself trembling. This man sent shivers down her spine. She looked at Lu Nanze with trepidation. ¡°I- I-¡± But no words came. Narrowing his eyes, Lu Nanze nced at the traditional costume she was wearing. ¡°You like acting?¡± Before she could answer, he continued, ¡°I can make you the female lead in this film, it would only take a quick word from me.¡± Upon hearing this, Qiao Yiyi turned and looked at them, shocked. Qiao Lian taking over the female lead role? Then what about her? Qiao Yiyi clenched her fists tightly and bit her lip. Qiao Lian, however, wanted to push him away. She struggled with all her might to try and break free of his grip. ¡°Let me go, Lu Nanze, let me go!¡± ¡°Come with me.¡± She jumped in fright when she heard his words. Before she could utter another word, arge hand suddenly grabbed her waist and lifted her up. Then, Lu Nanze strode away! Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank in fear as a sense of hopelessness began to overtake her. At this critical point, she desperately called out, ¡°Zi Chuan! Help!¡± Her sharp and crystal clear voice rang through the set and fell on Shen Liangchuan¡¯s ears. Chapter 585 - Qiao Lian (5)

Chapter 585: Qiao Lian (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan was walking around the set with Song Cheng, in the hope of locating the investor for a chat. When he heard that abrupt call for help, his pupils shrank at once. That was... Xiao Qiao¡¯s voice. Immediately, he lengthened his strides and hurried towards the exit. He arrived just in time to see Qiao Lian being shoved into a car. And the next moment, the car began to drive away. In the urgency of that moment, Shen Liangchuan ran towards the departing car. However, the car soon took off at a high speed and disappeared at the entrance of the filming location. Without speaking or wasting another second, Shen Liangchuan opened the door of the filming crew¡¯s vehicle and pushed the driver off his seat. He got in and immediately drove after the other car. ¡°Ah! Best Actor Shen, you¡ª¡± the angry driver who had been pushed onto the ground yelled at the car. Lu Nanze had his own personal chauffeur. Lu Nanze had carried Qiao Lian into the car. As they got into the backseat, she was enveloped by his masculine breath, causing her to shake in fear. She started to retreat into a corner of the backseat and reached out to open the car door. But it was locked and it wouldn¡¯t open, no matter how much she wrestled with it. The only thing she could do was lie against the door and keep as much distance as possible between herself and Lu Nanze. She bit her lip. ¡°Second Brother¡ª¡± Lu Nanze sneered, ¡°Who were you just calling?¡± Who was she calling? Immediately, she bit her lip. His lips turned up slowly in a slight smile. All these years, this had been the only visible warning sign of his anger. That half-smile was too dangerous, too fake. Qiao Lian gulped. ¡°Second Brother, I¡ª¡± ¡°Why are you calling me Second Brother again? Didn¡¯t you just call me Lu Nanze?¡± He lunged forward with these words, almost pinning her entirely under his own body. His face was now only a hair¡¯s breadth away from hers. His breath was hot against her face when he spoke. Unable to tolerate it, Qiao Lian turned away. But hisrge hand forced her head back in position. ¡°Look at me.¡± Qiao Lian was forced to stare straight into his alluring phoenix eyes. The smell of his breath was both familiar and strange at the same time. Her eyes reddened as she pleaded, ¡°Second Brother, let me go.¡± ¡°Let you go? Why should I? Qiao Lian, you¡¯re such a child. You ran away eight years ago and left without a word. Now tell me, where have you been all this time?¡± Before Qiao Lian could speak, he smiled menacingly and added, ¡°Tell me the truth and maybe, just maybe, I¡¯ll let you go.¡± Qiao Lian knew this man too well. From a young age, he would make his own decisions without consulting anyone and people found him terrifying. He would use all means to attain whatever he desired and would always get what he wanted in the end. Just like eight years ago... Qiao Lian cast her gaze down. ¡°I took Qiao Yi overseas to study.¡± ¡°Where?¡± Qiao Lian evaded his question and continued, ¡°Things are good now, and Qiao Yi¡¯s legs are recovering well.¡± Lu Nanze paused and said with a hint of dness in his voice, ¡°That¡¯s good then.¡± Qiao Lian looked up at him again. ¡°Second Brother, I just want to leave the past behind. I don¡¯t wish to go back to the life I led before. Will you let me go, please?¡± After her plea, Lu Nanze¡¯s expression emanated an aura of danger as he replied, ¡°Qiao Lian, you¡¯re mine. What makes you think I¡¯d let you go?¡± After he said these words, he lowered his head and kissed Qiao Lian by force! In her panic, she gathered all the strength she had. With an upward motion, she swung her head and smashed it viciously against his. Getting hit triggered the man¡¯s aggression, and he restrained her by locking her head down against the car seat. Just as he was about to lower his head again for another kiss, something crashed suddenly into the car as it pulled to aplete stop! Chapter 586 - Qiao Lian (6)

Chapter 586: Qiao Lian (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The sudden halt threw both Qiao Lian and Lu Nanze forward in the car. She felt her body being lifted in the air and knew it was going to hurt once she came back down. Just as she thought that her head was going to crash, she heard a muffled sound. When she was finally able to lift her head to look, she found that Lu Nanze had used his own chest as a barrier to shield her from the impact. The next moment, she heard someone knocking on the car window. She turned around sharply and saw Shen Liangchuan through the window. He stood there with a severe expression on his face. His appearance was like a godsend¡ªa saviour! Qiao Lian immediately stered herself against the window and shouted, ¡°Shen Liangchuan! I¡¯m here!¡± Her action aggravated Lu Nanze, however. With an upward turn of his lips, he looked at her and sneered, ¡°Why? Who¡¯s this barbarian?¡± Barbarian? Qiao Lian bit her lip, pushed him aside suddenly and forced the chauffeur to wind down the car window. As the window rolled down, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s handsome but impassive face came into view. At that moment... Shen Liangchuan had changed out of his historical costume to meet with the investor. Hence, he was wearing a ck suit, which made him look stunningly smart and eminent. Yet his icy and lofty demeanor made him all at once distant and otherworldly. Inside the car... Lu Nanze¡¯s hair was sleeked back, and his alluring and delicately chiseled face, while exuding a demonic charm, also made him look rather sinister. One icily aloof, the other sinisterly charming. As their eyes met, sparks of fury flew. Holding Qiao Lian down with a tight grip around her shoulder, Lu Nanze looked at Shen Liangchuan. ¡°Mr. Shen, how may I help you?¡± Shen Liangchuan was a nationally known Best Actor. His face was a familiar all over China. It wasn¡¯t surprising that Lu Nanze knew who he was. Shen Liangchuan cast his gaze down with little expression on his face. ¡°Let her go.¡± Lu Nanze raised an eyebrow and remarked, ¡°Why? Mr. Shen, do you have a habit of minding other people¡¯s business?¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s gaze shifted to the man¡¯s arm, that was ced around his wife¡¯s shoulder. If looks could kill, by now that arm would have already been pierced by countless arrows. But it wasn¡¯t what it seemed. The way he had his arm around her, one could think that he was taking advantage of her... Furthermore, one could even think that he was trying to restrain her. If Shen Liangchuan made any move, Lu Nanze might just harm Qiao Lian. The man¡¯s gaze shifted between Shen Liangchuan and Qiao Lian a few times. He asked after pausing for a moment, ¡°And what is your rtionship?¡± Shen Liangchuan was about to say something when Qiao Lian quickly interrupted, ¡°There¡¯s no rtionship between us!¡± Shen Liangchuan held his tongue the moment she made this remark. Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes and paused. After a moment, he said unhurriedly, ¡°Well, so how may I help you, Mr. Shen? Shen Liangchuan nced at Qiao Lian again, and this time she bit her lip and said, ¡°Second Brother, we should go.¡± At her words, Lu Nanze gave a cold half-smile. He raised his hand and lightly patted her head, saying, ¡°Good girl.¡± The car window rolled back up. Steadily, the chauffeur started the car engine. Through the window, Qiao Lian could see Shen Liangchuan¡¯s determined expression as he stood there, watching them depart. She bit her lip. Her emotions were giving way to despair, hopelessness and, at the same time, anxiety. Suzhou was but a short distance from where they were, and it was Lu Nanze¡¯s territory. If Shen Liangchuan got into a conflict with him, there would be no easy way out. As these thoughts were running through her mind, the chauffeur spoke, ¡°Mr. Lu, that car is trailing us.¡± Chapter 587 - Qiao Lian (7)

Chapter 587: Qiao Lian (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As soon as the chauffeur said this, Lu Nanze looked into the rear view mirror. The car was indeed trailing them at moderate distance behind. Lu Nanze looked at Qiao Lian and asked suspiciously, ¡°What¡¯s your rtionship with him? Biting her lip, she said, ¡°We don¡¯t have anything to do with each other.¡± ¡°Then why is he trailing us?¡± Looking down, Qiao Lian said, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t anyone else do the same if they saw me being kidnapped?¡± Lu Nanze sneered at her reply. He leaned towards her and mped both sides of her chin with his hand. ¡°Qiao Lian, you know what I can do. So if anything happenster, you know how to y your cards, right?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank upon hearing his words. She nodded after a pause. Qiao Lian was now taken to a vi not far from Hengdian. She had stopped struggling and got out of the car after Lu Nanze. The chauffeur ran to the main gate and took a look immediately after they arrived. He looked back at Lu Nanze. ¡°Mr. Lu, that car has driven away.¡± Lu Nanze nodded. Following this, he tugged Qiao Lian behind him as they entered the house. The vi had been delicately and exquisitely constructed. There were only two housekeepers working for the household. As they entered, the housekeepers came up to them. Lu Nanze took off his suit jacket and casually flung it onto the sofa next to him. In eight years, he hade a long way¡ªfrom being an evil youth, to to a truly powerful and influential figure in society. Loosening his tie, he nced at Qiao Lian, who was at the same time looking at him with cautious alertness. ¡°Go on, tell me. After tragedy struck your family, why didn¡¯t youe and ask for my help, but instead ran away? Were you avoiding me?¡± Qiao Lian bit her lip. When Qiao Lian kept silent, Lu Nanze got up in a huff. With his tall and imposing frame towering over her, he sneered, ¡°Don¡¯t think that I won¡¯t find out if you don¡¯t speak. Since you¡¯ve appeared on set, I¡¯ll be able to track down almost anything.¡± Her pupils shrank as she protested, ¡°Lu Nanze, you¡ª¡± Lu Nanze¡¯s cell phone started ringing before she could finish speaking. Raising an eyebrow, he picked up the line. Then he made a menacing snort. ¡°A police report? He sure thinks highly of himself. Let hime at me then!¡± Qiao Lian froze as she listened. Who had called the police? Lu Nanze broke into a smile as this question shed through her mind. ¡°Isn¡¯t this a joke? The great Best Actor Shen has made a police report saying that I¡¯ve captured his woman.¡± He took a step towards Qiao Lian and asked, ¡°You are his woman?¡± Pressured by his intimidating and forceful behavior, Qiao Lian found herself unable to speak a word. Seeing the viciousness in Lu Nanze¡¯s eyes, she shuddered involuntarily. It had been through his own sheer hard work that Shen Liangchuan had gotten where he was in life. A famous actor, no matter how many resources he had, would not be able toe up against Lu Nanze! Hence, she didn¡¯t want to get Shen Liangchuan involved. Qiao Lian bit her lip and said, ¡°No, I¡¯m not.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Lu Nanze smiled. ¡°So when the policemen arrive, you know what to say...¡± Qiao Lian clenched her fists tightly with his words. Meanwhile, after filing a report, Shen Liangchuan arrived at Lu Nanze¡¯s vi with the police officers. Under normal circumstances, the police wouldn¡¯t bother with suchints. However, in this instance, things were different because the person making the report was Shen Liangchuan. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s Weibo page had countless fans, and he had incredibly strong interpersonal skills. But right now, he wasn¡¯t stepping into the vi. What was he waiting for? Shortly afterwards, a car pulled up at a high speed. The door opened and Song Cheng came out, holding something in his hand and passing it over to Shen Liangchuan. ¡°Brother Shen, why do you need your marriage certificate all of a sudden?¡± Chapter 588 - Qiao Lian (8)

Chapter 588: Qiao Lian (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Song Cheng saw the people before him, he frowned, puzzled. A sense of foreboding grew within him. He gulped as he nced at the two police officers standing behind Shen Liangchuan. Without a word, Shen Liangchuan took the marriage certificate from him and walked towards the vi with the police officers. Shen Liangchuan hit the doorbell. Very quickly, one of the housekeepers came, opened the door and ushered Shen Liangchuan and the police officers into the house. Upon entering the living room, he saw Qiao Lian sitting on the sofa, still in her costume from the set. He was relieved to see her, but frowned deeply nevertheless. Lu Nanze, too, was sitting on the sofa; he had a leg crossed over the other. He looked at them with a calm and unruffled expression. That smile¡ªboth evil and charming at once¡ªhung on his face effortlessly. ¡°To what do I owe the honor of your visit, Mr. Shen? How may I help you?¡± His eyes shifted to rest on the two police officers. The two police officers immediatelyughed and said, ¡°How are you, Mr. Lu?¡± Lu Nanze nodded at them before turning to Shen Liangchuan rather abruptly. His stare was openly unweing, but he didn¡¯t give an order to kick him out. At the same time, however, Shen Liangchuan was not looking at him and instead had his attention focused on the woman next to him. He didn¡¯t have to look to know that Qiao Lian was also looking back at Shen Liangchuan. Lu Nanze suddenly felt an extreme urge. He extended his arm in a quick motion, in an attempt to draw Qiao Lian into his embrace. But, of course, they were no longer in the confined space of a car. The moment he extended his arm, Qiao Lian jumped up at once. At the same time, Shen Liangchuan reached out with his hand, grabbed Qiao Lian¡¯s arm and pulled her into his embrace. Only now when in contact Shen Liangchuan realized that, although Qiao Lian looked calm on the surface, her body was actually trembling. It told him how frightened she was! Instantly, he red sharply at Lu Nanze as he held Qiao Lian against himself. As Lu Nanze looked at them, his devilishly charming eyes shed dangerously, as though he had a bloodthirsty intent to kill. The smile spread wider across his face. Shen Liangchuan finally said, ¡°I¡¯m here for my woman.¡± Lu Nanze chortled at his words and sneered, ¡°Your woman, you said? That¡¯s interesting. In all of Jiangnan, who doesn¡¯t know that she, Qiao Lian, was mine the minute she entered this world?!¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s pupils shrank. Lu Nanze continued, ¡°So is there anything else I can help you with? If not, take your hand off my woman and leave my property!¡± His tone was exceedingly aggressive as he specifically emphasized on the words ¡°my woman¡±. The police officers both took a step forward at this point and looked at Shen Liangchuan, saying, ¡°Best Actor Shen, why not¡ª¡± Shen Liangchuan did not wait for them to finish. ¡°Since this is the case, I¡¯ll take my leave.¡± After these words, he turned around with his hand wrapped around Qiao Lian and started to walk towards the door. Lu Nanze got up from his seat immediately. ¡°Stop right there!¡± Although Shen Liangchuan simply ignored this order, both police officers, fiercely red at by Lu Nanze, hurried over to the door to stop the couple. ¡°Best Actor Shen¡ª¡± Shen Liangchuan halted and said, ¡°What other pieces of wisdom do you wish to share with us, Mr. Lu?¡± Lu Nanze stared at him for a moment before he suddenlyughed. ¡°Mr. Shen here ims that Qiao Lian is his woman, yet I insist that she¡¯s mine. Why don¡¯t we ask her whose woman she is?¡± As these words were spoken, every pair of eyes simultaneously fell on Qiao Lian. Feeling everyone¡¯s gaze burning on her now, she was able to gather her courage and lift her head slowly. Chapter 589 - Qiao Lian (9)

Chapter 589: Qiao Lian (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She had been terrified when she was being abducted by Lu Nanze. However, the more frightened she was, the more rational she became. When Shen Liangchuan had caught up with them, she knew that he, alone and without backup, would not have been able to save her. Besides, the car doors were all locked. If Lu Nanze had wanted to have his way, it wouldn¡¯t have been beyond him to ignore Shen Liangchuan and make a clean escape. Under those circumstances, she had had no choice but to deny any rtionship in order to protect Shen Liangchuan. Simrly, Shen Liangchuan hadpromised to keep her safe in the meantime. Later on, back at Lu Nanze¡¯s vi. When Lu Nanze had asked Qiao Lian if she was Shen Liangchuan¡¯s woman, they would have nevere to this point if she had admitted it. Given Lu Nanze¡¯s personality, she knew that only if she acted terrified and unwilling to involve him, would he allow Shen Liangchuan in with the police officers. She knew that he would have wanted her to shame Shen Liangchuan. It was because she understood his personality that she had yed along. However, the moment Shen Liangchuan stepped into the vi, she knew too. Whether she liked it or not, she had already gotten him involved. And since this was the case... Qiao Lian looked at Shen Liangchuan and their eyes met. In that moment, it was as though a silent conversation had taken ce. The next moment, Qiao Lian lifted her gaze and said steadily, ¡°Yes.¡± Lu Nanze¡¯s pupils shrank immediately with her response. He took a step towards her and demanded, ¡°What did you say?¡± His imposing manner caused Qiao Lian to jump. But quickly, she felt the hand around her waist tighten. That hand was like the most invincible force in the world to her, so it charged her up with courage. At once, Qiao Lian felt the indecisiveness and fear leave her as she found a sense of determination and refusal topromise. ¡°I said I am Shen Liangchuan¡¯s woman.¡± ¡°Lu Nanze, you and I have nothing to do with each other!¡± At once, Lu Nanze¡¯s eyes were aze with fury. He gave a scornfulugh and said in a helpless tone, ¡°Qiao Lian, stop fooling around ande over here. Come home with me.¡± Qiao Lian instead leaned her body against Shen Liangchuan. Her back was straight as a ruler. Steadfastly, she stood by Shen Liangchuan. Lu Nanze¡¯s tone turned gloomy as he said again, ¡°Qiao Lian, are youing over? You know what I can do.¡± Then he nced at the two police officers. Immediately, the officers moved to position themselves behind Shen Liangchuan and Qiao Lian. One of them looked at Shen Liangchuan and said, ¡°Best Actor Shen, we came over here to look into this matter for you. But you can¡¯t just take someone away from Mr. Lu without any exnation or good reason!¡± Take someone away from Mr. Lu. Qiao Lian started to panic. ¡°I have nothing to do with this man, don¡¯t make false statements!¡± Lu Nanze said unhurriedly, ¡°Qiao Lian, how could we have nothing to do with each other? Up till the age of eighteen, you followed me around, everyone knows that!¡± Qiao Lian clenched her jaw. ¡°At that time, we were all sworn brothers! There were six of us!¡± Lu Nanze raised an eyebrow. ¡°Oh? So you do admit we have a rtionship?¡± Now his aggressive behavior was bing more obvious. ¡°So if you are unable to show any proof of your rtionship, no one will leave this vi today.¡± Positioning his body in such a way to shield Qiao Lian from Lu Nanze¡¯s fierce and cruel expression, Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°I never knew that Mr. Lu has a thing for other people¡¯s wives.¡± Lu Nanze froze for a moment when he heard these words. He didn¡¯t understand what she was saying. But... other people¡¯s wife? His eyes swept over Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan and he frowned deeply. ¡°What did you say? Shen Liangchuan¡¯s long and slender fingers reached into his pockets to grab their marriage certificate. Then he said with certainty, ¡°She is my wife.¡± Chapter 590 - Qiao Lian (10)

Chapter 590: Qiao Lian (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios With these words, the room became silent instantaneously. The police officers were astonished. Everyone knew that Shen Liangchuan had a wife. Little did Lu Nanze know that Qiao Lian was actually his wife. Qiao Lian was married? How on earth had she gotten married? Lu Nanze immediately stretched his hand, attempting to snatch the marriage certificate. However, after Shen Liangchuan showed it to the police officer, he immediately ced it in his pocket. Shortly after, he spoke inly, but his tone brought along an assertiveness that people would dare not defy, ¡°So I am here to take my wife away. Who has anyments?¡± Who has anyments? He indeed had every right to do so. Both of the police officers werepletely speechless. After Shen Liangchuan finished speaking, he did not bother about anything else, grabbed Qiao Lian and headed outside. ¡°Stop!¡± Lu Nanze stepped forward and stretched out his hand, in an attempt to snatch her away. Shen Liangchuan pushed Qiao Lian aside and immediately kicked Lu Nanze. Lu Nanze was not jealous. He turned around and then headed straight for Qiao Lian. Shen Liangchuan kicked and turned around, followed by another punch towards the back of his head. Lu Nanze heard some movements and subconsciously tried to avoid it. In the blink of an eye, the two men had exchanged blows for three to four rounds. Their skills were on par with each other. But Lu Nanze wanted to snatch someone away, and that was already considered tough. Furthermore, Qiao Lian herself knew some moves too. When Shen Liangchuan managed to force Lu Nanze to retreat for the ninth time, Qiao Lian had already dashed out of the room. Shen Liangchuan followed her closely. Both of them ran straight for Song Cheng¡¯s car, which was parked outside. ¡°Stop! Do not let them go!¡± Lu Nanze yelled with exasperation. Sadly, he had been in a rush to look for Qiao Lian and he hadn¡¯t brought along any bodyguards with him. At this moment, there was no one assisting him in this vi, so Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan got into the car smoothly. When the car drove away, Lu Nanze was still thinking of taking her away, but that was impossible now. He was so livid that he clenched his fists, and there was no sign of any smile on his face anymore. Those devilishly charming eyes of his were staring directly at the car that had gone far away by now. After a while, heughed coldly. ¡°Shen Liangchuan... you are only an actor! Qiao Lian, I will make youe back to me obediently!¡± ¨C Qiao Lian only felt relieved after she got into the car. At that moment, she then realized that her limbs had turned weak and her legs were like jelly. She leaned on Shen Liangchuan¡¯s body until she finally calmed down. Then, she turned around to look at Shen Liangchuan¡¯s manly chin. However, his gaze on her was a gentle one. Qiao Lian bit her lip and said, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, I am sorry¡ª¡± She had been hiding from him, not because she was afraid or terribly frightened, but because she had not prepared herself for this. The issues from eight years ago, she would need to sort them out clearly, one by one. Lu Nanze was indeed a powerful man. Even someone with great power would not be able to defeat a local viin. Leaving aside the fact that Shen Liangchuan was only a famous actor, even if Shen Liangchuan had indeed been someone who was powerful and mighty, in Jiangnan he would not be a match for Lu Nanze. She had not expected that an abrupt meeting like this would actually drag Shen Liangchuan into the hatred and grievances between Lu Nanze and her. Lu Nanze¡¯s attitude towards her might be slightly more lenient, but towards Shen Liangchuan.... Qiao Lian shuddered and dared not keep thinking. But Shen Liangchuan quickly grabbed her wrist when she was apologizing to him. ¡°Qiao Lian, you are my wife.¡± Qiao Lian was a little stunned. She raised her head and looked into his eyes, which were deeply filled with emotions. ¡°Eight years ago, when your family fell apart and you were homeless, I was not there for you.¡± ¡°Now I want to shoulder every burden together with you.¡± These words filled Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes to the brim with tears. Chapter 591 - Lu Nanze Slays Best Actor Shen (1)

Chapter 591: Lu Nanze ys Best Actor Shen (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios It had been eight years. Her life had been hard and she had acted cautiously with every step that she had taken. Taking Qiao Yi along with her, she had single-handedly and tirelessly worked with determination. She even had the intention to clear her parents¡¯ names. However, never before had someone told her this. Willing to shoulder these burdens with her. It was as though at this moment, Shen Liangchuan was giving her a sense offort and warmth after having walked alone by herself in the darkness for the longest time. Qiao Lian looked at that Shen Liangchuan. Then she hurriedly nodded her head. When they both finally calmed down, Song Cheng, who had been as quiet as air, finally spoke, ¡°You both, after that tender and affectionate moment, I was going to start crying. Brother Shen, you have offended the investor. How are you going to continue filming this movie?¡± In this day and age, the investor called the shots and had the absolute right to speak up. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s current identity was just that of a famous actor. How would he be able topete with him? One short sentence and suddenly the entire atmosphere in the car turned heavy with gloom. After a brief pause, Shen Liangchuan finally spoke, ¡°Different situations call for different actions. Things that haven¡¯t happened yet, we won¡¯t worry about for now.¡± His gaze was firm and determined, which brought along with him a sense of confidence that the average person usually would not have. Lu Nanze was one of the top tyrants in Jiangnan? He smiled and figured that no one had ever told Qiao Lian that, once upon a time, he himself had also been one of the top tyrants in Beijing. Even though he had nothing now, he was never afraid. The three of them returned to join the filming crew. First, Shen Liangchuan took Qiao Lian to the hotel where he was staying. After Song Cheng left, Shen Liangchuan then proceeded to embrace her waist. He was able to tell that ever since his woman had seen Lu Nanze, she had been unable to ease her worries and had been perpetually frowning. Shen Liangchuan sighed. He could only gently and bit by bit kiss her face, in an attempt to help her rx. The estrangement between the two of them seemed to have disappeared in an instant. It seemed that Qiao Lian had be afraid. When he was kissing her, she suddenly lifted her foot a little, to respond to him... Passion gradually ignited amidst the gentle me. After venting out her worries without restrains, Qiao Liany in bed, weak and powerless. Shen Liangchuan was propping up his head using his hand. His other hand was gently caressing her back. He was very patient and did not enquire, neither did he force her to exin. However, Qiao Lian gradually opened up. ¡°When I was a child, the Qiao family was also very influential in Jiangnan. I, Qiao Yiyi, Sun Linan, Lu Nanze and some other prominent children used to y together often. As we were all about the same age, in school we, as tyrants, called the shots. Lu Nanze was the most overbearing one and was known to be the leader among us.¡± ¡°Lu Nanze has always been vicious to others. However with our small group, there was always some form of leniency towards us. But then... our Qiao family¡¯s property copsed in the end. I overheard my dad and mom¡¯s conversation one night before school, as I had seen that the light in my dad¡¯s study was still turned on. I stepped closer and found out that they suspected that it had been the Lu family who had been behind the matter. But they did not have any evidence. The next day, when I came back home after school, our whole house had been engulfed in mes. Dad and mom perished in the fire. Qiao Yi broke his leg while attempting to save them.¡± When she finished speaking, Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes were already filled with tears. ¡°I suspect that it was the Lu family who was behind this.¡± When Shen Liangchuan heard this, he stretched out his hand to touch her head. With a determined gaze, he said, ¡°We will go look for evidence if there isn¡¯t any.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. At this moment, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s cell phone rang. It was Song Cheng on the other end of the line. ¡°Brother Shen, this is bad!! The investor is saying that he wants a recement for the male lead, as you left without any reason in the middle of filming!¡± Chapter 592 - Lu Nanze Slays Best Actor Shen (2)

Chapter 592: Lu Nanze ys Best Actor Shen (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Anyone who starred in a film would sign some sort of contract. During filming, actors are not allowed to leave the filming location for no reason. These terms and conditions were, in reality, inconsequential to the celebrities. Who among the big name celebrities did note and go as they wished? It was only Shen Liangchuan who had never breached this particr term in the past. His serious attitude towards his work had always been praised among all the filming crews. The only exception had been... when Qiao Lian and the team had yed the match in Beijing. After Shen Liangchuan received her call, he had made a trip to salvage the situation out of concern. At that time, he had not told the director about it before flying back. It was also at that time that the investor had turned up. Hence, they discovered he was not on set and there was no way to cover up. But which filming crew would have dared to challenge Best Actor Shen? He always sold out the productions he worked on! Hence, that incident passed without another word. But now... Lu Nanze was picking on this matter as an excuse to stop filming. And this piece of earth-shattering news had also been released on the Inte. First, someone leaked that Best Actor Shen was ying prima donna with the filming crew. After this, a CCTV footage of him sneaking out of the filming location was spread. And they even found out... How Best Actor Shen had taken off with the filming crew¡¯s car without a word. There were images and pictures of how he had pushed the filming crew¡¯s driver onto the ground. All at once, the inte exploded with such news. Although Best Actor Shen had always kept a low profile, he always had scores of fans. When they saw these news articles, they insisted that it was fake news. There was no way they would believe that Best Actor Shen would do these things. [It has been eight years since Best Actor Shenunched his career in the entertainment industry. He¡¯s always kept a low profile and hardly attracts any scandals. He has also earned a good reputation among the directors, so it¡¯s not possible that he changed overnight. If he had indeed of that sort of character, wouldn¡¯t it have shown earlier?] [I¡¯m all for Best Actor Shen, don¡¯t nder my hubby!] All sorts of supportivements bombed the originator¡¯s Weibo post, making that post a trending topic. ¨C Meanwhile, in a vi somewhere. Lu Nanze stood quietly on his balcony in his white bathrobe. He had just stepped out of the shower. He held a cigarette in his hand, from which he took a long and deep puff. The nicotine rushed into his lungs, giving him a new bout of energy. The perpetual half-smile that he carried on his face in public was now gone¡ªhis expression was frosty and full of vicious undercurrents. Trying to locate someone in a vast country like China was like looking for a needle in a haystack. But once there was a target, the search could be elerated. On his desk now, there were pieces of news rted to Shen Liangchuan and Qiao Lian. From Best Actor Shen¡¯s marriage to the identity of Mrs. Shen, everything had been kept out of the limelight. Even when at one point someone had been identified as Mrs. Shen, that woman had very quickly denied this matter on Weibo. All of these only proved that the marriage certificate from yesterday was real. She really was married. Lu Nanze¡¯s expression turned severe as he contemted this. How could she be married? For eight years, he had been searching and waiting for her, while all this time she had been with another man. He clenched his fists tightly at this thought, his fury turning into a wild urge to inflict harm. At this point, his ¡°special¡± assistant came up to him. ¡°Sir, the task has beenpleted.¡± Lu Nanze nodded and said, ¡°This is not enough, More needs to be done.¡± The special assistant paused for a moment and nodded. ¡°Sure, what would be next?¡± ¡°What would be next?¡± Lu Nanze¡¯s menacing smile returned. ¡°Next, we¡¯ll wait for the prey toe to us!¡± So what if she was married? Chapter 593 - Lu Nanze Slays Best Actor Shen (3)

Chapter 593: Lu Nanze ys Best Actor Shen (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Upon executing Lu Nanze¡¯s instructions, all of the Inte went into a frenzy. Initially, everyone had believed that Shen Liangchuan was innocent. However, stories came, one scandal after another,pletely unexpected for the public. Right after the story on Best Actor Shen¡¯s prima-donna behaviour was published, a starlet by the name of Yang Lingsi came forward out of the blue to post an angryment. [Yang Lingsi: Finally people are speaking up. Best Actor Shen got rid of new actors and scared the living daylights out of people when he drove on the set. I admit that I offended him by using him to create hype. But he ruined my acting career with just a few words!! This is karma, even though it hase a littlete.] Yang Lingsi herself had quite a few fans, so when she got into the ident back then, they made a big issue out of it. The moment she posted this on Weibo, there were users who instantly agreed, and started to share and repost it in a big way. There were still a few counter-attacks concerning Yang Lingsi¡¯s incident. However, following this, Wang Wenhao suddenly made a post: [Wang Wenhao: The Best Actor Shen that you guys think you know is actually an absolutely uncouth person, a sc*mbag who uses physical violence readily! Any decent human wouldn¡¯t hit another person. ] When these two posts were published, they only circted within a limited circle. But all of a sudden, a group seemed to have surfaced and turned these into headlines. It was obvious that they were a group of trollers! However, even well-known VIP users began to post on Weibo: [News don¡¯t appear out of nowhere. Best Actor Shen has always kept a low profile, but all of a sudden there are so many incidences. It¡¯s unlikely that it¡¯s just Yang Lingsi and Wang Wenhao seeking revenge. Even the filming crew is saying things, so I do believe some of these incidences did really happen. For now we just hope that Best Actor Shen¡¯s team will provide us with a reasonable exnation. Why did you push the crew driver onto the ground and drove away with the car? And what was your reason for hitting a fellow colleague in the presence of so many people? If that person has done something wrong, you could have called the police. If violence can solve problems, why do we still need the police? As a public figure, you have the responsibility to set an example. By doing this, are you teaching our youth to settle their problems with their fists?] At once, all sorts ofments started to fly. Shen Liangchuan had be a scurrying mouse that everyone wanted to hit! By the time Qiao Lian found out about this, it was the next morning. Shen Liangchuan had already departed from the hotel and left behind a note for her, instructing her to stay with the filming crew and to wait. She went almost crazy with anxiety at this point. All of this, without a doubt, had been the work of Lu Nanze! She bit her lip. Just as she was pondering what to do, her cell phone rang. She looked down at her phone. It was a familiar number. She froze for a moment before she picked up the call. ¡°What do you want?¡± Lu Nanze was silent for a second. Then he said, ¡°You still remember my number?¡± Qiao Lian paused. ¡°Qiao Lian, all these years I¡¯ve kept the same number. It¡¯s because I was afraid that if you were ever in trouble and tried to call me for help, you wouldn¡¯t be able to reach me.¡± How touching were these words. But Qiao Lian clenched her fists tightly. ¡°Second Brother, I¡¯m already married.¡± ¡°Get divorced right now.¡± ¡°That is not possible!¡± Lu Nanze¡¯s voice was immediately gloomy. ¡°With me around, nothing is impossible.¡± ¡°Or do you feel like I haven¡¯t done enough? You don¡¯t care about his reputation being ruined, but what if other things happened to him?¡± Chapter 594 - Lu Nanze Slays Best Actor Shen (4)

Chapter 594: Lu Nanze ys Best Actor Shen (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Lu Nanze!¡± Qiao Lian shouted at the phone with anger. Lu Nanzeughed derisively. ¡°A mere famous actor vying for my woman. He thinks too highly of himself!¡± She bit her lip and said, ¡°Lu Nanze, you won¡¯t attain your goal.¡± The man continued tough. ¡°Oh? It¡¯s fine if you do not wish to leave him. Let¡¯s see if he wishes to leave you.¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank at these words. ¡°What do you mean?¡± He replied, ¡°There¡¯s a meeting at the filming location today. I wouldn¡¯t mind if you attended it.¡± Then the line went dead. As though she had just remembered something, Qiao Lian shot up from her seat. When she was about to leave the room, she suddenly thought of Lu Nanze¡¯s despicable ways. No, she must not leave the hotel. What if she got caught by Lu Nanze again? She must wait here, wait for Shen Liangchuan to return and tell her what had happened. Where Lu Nanze was concerned, she believed in her Zi Chuan. ¨C In a meeting room at the filming location. Song Cheng sat next to Shen Liangchuan. He was feeling most unsettled and cast asional nces at Shen Liangchuan. Thetter had always preferred to be casual. During filming, he disliked being forced to wear a suit and leather shoes, as they affected his mood. But now he was wearing his best suit in the wardrobe that he had brought with him. It set him apart, making him look exceptionally handsome. As Song Cheng¡¯s thoughts were wandering, the door to the meeting room swung open all of a sudden. He turned to look and saw Lu Nanze walking in with long and elegant strides. He was wearing a white suit with a purple tie, and that sinister but charming smile on his face. The moment he strode in, Shen Liangchuan turned to look and as he did so, his aura seemed to instantaneously expand. Side by side, the two men were like two suns. Their presence almost choked everyone else in the room, as the group held their breaths and looked at the two with rapt attention. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression was vague, as always, as though nothing really mattered. Lu Naze gazed at Shen Liangchuan with rare admiration. It was no wonder that Qiao Lian had married him. Lu Nanze could tell from this man¡¯s unruffled and steadfast bearing that he was indeed no ordinary person. He recalled what his assistant had said a few days back. The male lead, Best Actor Shen from the cast, had wanted to invite him to dinner with the purpose to discuss the investment. Lu Nanze¡¯s pupils shrank as he took another step forward. Slowly, he strolled up to Shen Liangchuan. Seeing that the man made no move to stand up and exchange greetings, he sat down in the opposite seat on the other side. The filming crew¡¯s Director Wang was now stumped and dumbfounded, not daring to speak as he couldn¡¯t afford to offend either of the men. For sure, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s influence in the entertainment industry was great. Even if the investor pressured him, it was upsetting. Only a few members of the crew had been ignorant enough to be bought over by the investor, to spread malicious rumors about the Best Actor. In the end, who knew what would happen to these fools? As the director was thinking, he saw Lu Nanze suddenly push a document towards Shen Liangchuan. He said to the Best Actor, ¡°This is what ourpany has nned in terms of investing in yourpany. Mr. Shen can take a look, if you¡¯re interested.¡± ¡°Apart from this, I am also willing toe forward and help correcting the recent shifts in the public opinion of Mr. Shen. The filming crew would even be willing to overlook the fact that you neglected your responsibility and left the location during filming.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Having said this, Lu Nanze interlocked his fingers over his knee and leaned back into his seat. He looked elegantly at Shen Liangchuan and continued, ¡°The prerequisite for this to happen is that you divorce her.¡± Chapter 595 - Lu Nanze Slays Best Actor Shen (5)

Chapter 595: Lu Nanze ys Best Actor Shen (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The entire room fell silent at these words. Lu Nanze looked at Shen Liangchuan steadily. Shen Liangchuan lifted his eyelids momentarily to give the other man a nce. That look was obviously reserved for fools¡ªit was a mocking nce. Lu Nanze frowned when he saw that look and was about to speak when Shen Liangchuan reached out for the document. Immediately, Lu Nanze¡¯s expression darkened as a hint of contempt shed across his eyes. It really didn¡¯t matter how noble and virtuous he pretended to be. Ultimately, wasn¡¯t he just another man who could be persuaded to let go of a woman for the right amount of money? He didn¡¯t believe for a moment that all this money would not move Shen Liangchuan. As this thought formed in his mind, Shen Liangchuan closed the document folder. He looked up at Lu Nanze and said, ¡°Two hundred million?¡± Those words, uttered in an indifferent tone, caused everyone in the room to widen their eyes in amazement. Two hundred million! Nowadays, where would one find an investor who would just give two hundred million? Everyone¡¯s eyes almost popped out at his next remark, however. ¡°You feel that she¡¯s worth only two hundred million?¡± Immediately, Lu Nanze¡¯s pupils shrank. He had analyzed Shen Liangchuan¡¯s ie. Eight years ago, when heunched his career as an actor, he had been poor as the homeless. In thest eight years, he had had a fixed ie and it was only that much. But now he wasining that the deal was not good enough? Narrowing his eyes, Lu Nanze said, ¡°If you think that¡¯s not enough, then... what about two billion?¡± Two billion! Most people would struggle all their lives and never get to see this much money. Song Cheng was stirred up by this and looked at Shen Liangchuan. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s response, however, was to slide the document back to Lu Nanze. Thetter narrowed his eyes and asked, ¡°How much do you want?¡± Shen Liangchuan sneered, ¡°I thought you like her. But it looks like... not that much.¡± Lu Nanze frowned and demanded, ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°To you, perhaps she¡¯s worth a certain numerical value. But to me, she¡¯s priceless.¡± His words stunned Lu Nanze. After a moment, Shen Liangchuan turned to look at the director and said, ¡°As I recall, the penalty for breaking a contract with the filming crew is 50 million dors?¡± The director was startled by this question and nodded, stupefied. Shen Liangchuan took out his bank card and ced it on the table. Without beating around the bush, he simply said, ¡°Let¡¯s break contract.¡± Then he got up and, without looking back, strode out of the room. This move on his part shocked everyone in the room. No one expected Best Actor Shen to y this hand. Even Song Cheng was stupefied and for a moment stood rooted to the ground. He wanted to speak but when he saw Shen Liangchuan straighten his back, he swallowed his words and hurriedly dashed out after him. Lu Nanze stared steadily at the bank card on the table. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s words echoed in his mind... ¡°To me she is priceless.¡± Hence... He was willing to exchange all his cash and break the agreement for the sake of... protecting her? Lu Nanze clenched his fists tightly and, after a moment, mmed the table with fury. The more they were in love with each other, the more it would make that man the pitiful victim. What was he, Lu Nanze, to Qiao Lian exactly? ¨C Song Cheng followed closely behind Shen Liangchuan, throwing nces at him as they walked. Thetter showed no sign of any setback and was expressionless, as usual. He cleared his throat. ¡°Brother Shen, this matter¡ª¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell her.¡± Song Cheng was stunned for a moment before he realized the person Shen Liangchuan was referring to was Qiao Lian. ¡°And now...¡± ¡°Book a flight back to Beijing. We¡¯ll leave right now.¡± Song Cheng nodded, saying, ¡°Yes.¡± Chapter 596 - Lu Nanze Slays Best Actor Shen (6)

Chapter 596: Lu Nanze ys Best Actor Shen (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Mr. Lu, we¡¯ve got the information! They¡¯ve booked the 10 pm flight back to Beijing today.¡± Lu Nanzeughed mockingly upon hearing this. ¡°Bring them to me!¡± ¡°Roger,¡± his bodyguard said before he turned around and started walking away. ¡°Wait.¡± The bodyguard turned and saw Lu Nanze putting on his jacket. ¡°I¡¯lle with you.¡± That evening, a fleet of five ck sedans departed the vi together. They drove in a neat formation towards the airport. All along the way, it attracted curious stares from countless people. They arrived at the airport an hour and a halfter. Lu Nanze got out of the car and strode into the building. ¡°Sir, they booked the XX flight and will board in half an hour. All our men are already waiting there.¡± Nodding, Lu Nanze gave the go-ahead, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± The group of men arrived at the boarding gate. A few of them were ready to perform a thorough check, however, Lu Nanze swept his gaze through the crowd and told them with a hand wave, ¡°She¡¯s not among them. Keep waiting.¡± ¡°Roger.¡± Half an hour passed. Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan had not made an appearance. The passengers were starting to board the aircraft. Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes. He waited till everyone had boarded the ne, and he waited till the ne took off. And still, the two did not appear. Then suddenly his pupils shrank again. ¡°They fooled us!¡± At that instant, Song Cheng was speeding along the expressway with his two passengers in the car. They had traveled a few hundred kilometers and were about another half a day¡¯s drive from their destination, Beijing. Qiao Lian stared steadily at the man beside her. Ever since he had returned to the hotel, he had not spoken a word, and instead had swiftly packed their belongings and left with her in tow. She had wanted to speak a few times but had stopped herself each time. Eventually, she could not hold back. ¡°What about the film? How did that matter go?¡± Shen Liangchuan nced at her with little expression and said in response, ¡°It¡¯s been settled.¡± Qiao Lian bit her lip. ¡°And the oue?¡± He continued, ¡°I terminated the contract.¡± He said it simply, without a hint that showed the sacrifice involved. Qiao Lian was surprised. Terminated the contract? Shen Liangchuan had put in a lot of effort into this film. In thest few months, he had spent almost all of his time analyzing the script. The research that he had done on Cao Cao as a historical figure had been so extensive that he now knew as much as the archaeologists. He had even gone to a professor at the History Faculty of the university to seek a private lecture and learn all that was known about this man. He was passionate about this film. It was obvious to Qiao Lian. But he had dropped it just like that... Qiao Lian bit her lip and hung her head. She paused for a moment and then said, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, I¡¯m sorry...¡± He turned towards her. Seeing all the guilt on her face, he couldn¡¯t help himself from reaching out and putting his arms around her shoulders. ¡°Xiao Qiao...¡± ¡°Hmmm?¡± Qiao Lian lifted her head and looked at him. ¡°No matter how tough it gets, we¡¯ll make the journey together, ok?¡± She bit her lip upon hearing this. Finally, she nodded. In the time toe, she would discover that it was easier said than done. They were in for a rough ride. Night had fallen now. In order to get back to Beijing as quickly as possible, they had not taken a break at all. Qiao Lian fell asleep, only to realize by the time she woke up that the sky had darkened. Looking into the dark night, she suddenly felt that there was no light at the end of this seemingly long tunnel she was travelling through. She turned to nce at Shen Liangchuan and noticed that he had shut his eyes to rest. Sensing her movement, he opened his eyes now. She bit her lip as she looked at him steadily. Then she spoke, ¡°Zi Chuan, why are you so good to me?¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression darkened as she continued with a question: ¡°Zi Chuan, on that day eight years ago... why didn¡¯t you turn up?¡± Chapter 597 - Lu Nanze Slays Best Actor Shen (7) Chapter 597: Lu Nanze ys Best Actor Shen (7) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When this question was raised, Qiao Lian¡¯s heart instantly leapt. Her heart almost copsed. In the past, she hadn¡¯t known that Zi Chuan was Shen Liangchuan. She had thought that it was Zi Chuan who had fooled her. However, ever since she found out about the secret from that room on the third floor, she immediately knew... Zi Chuan hadn¡¯t fooled her. She had been in Zi Chuan¡¯s heart all along. So what on earth had been going on at that time? This time around, she had gone Hengdian with the purpose of enquiring about this issue, which she hadn¡¯t had a chance to. She stared at him closely and saw that when he heard this, he narrowed his eyes and subconsciously pursed his lips. Qiao Lian bit her lip and asked, ¡°Was it because of Song Yuanxi?¡± Although Shen Liangchuan was expressionless, the look in his eyes had obviously changed. It was because of her. Qiao Lian did not speak further. She was afraid that she would get a reply that put their rtionship in a stalemate situation. She bit her lip, turned around and looked outside. ¡°I¡¯ll wait till the day you have decided to tell me all about it. Please do so.¡± Shen Liangchuan seemed to heave a sigh of relief. He stretched out his hand to rub her head. Although both of them had unresolved burdens, at this moment, they both felt that their rtionship seemed to have grown a little closer. The filming crew in Hengdian turned chaotic. The lead actor had gone on a strike. What did this imply? This meant that the filming would not be able to be on schedule and be screened next year. Everything had been well prepared and ready. If filming was cancelled for a day, it would mean a loss on a day¡¯sbor, cost and venue fees. Adding up all the different expenses, even if they got Shen Liangchuan¡¯s 50 million, it wouldn¡¯t cover the cost for a long period of time. The director panicked. The whole movie depended on Shen Liangchuan. As the female lead actress was a newbie, she did not have any reputation per se. Apart from that, the other famous actors who could be on par with Shen Liangchuan did not have any avable slots in their filming schedule. The director almost wanted to cry. The investor had thought of setting Best Actor Shen up but in the end, he was being set up by Best Actor Shen instead. Best Actor Shen only had to give 50 million, which was not enough to cover the losses for the filming crew. ¡°What should we do now?¡± The director mumbled and nagged at the stage supervisor. ¡°Mr. Lu called to tell us to look for another male lead. But he doesn¡¯t know that looking for a recement of the male lead is an arduous task. For this kind of movie, with such a big production and fanbase, it will not work if we were to just get a pretty boy without good acting skills.¡± The stage supervisor wanted to add something when the actor ying the male supporting role walked in. Chen Junjie, who was ying the male supporting role, was considered a veteran who had been in the entertainment industry for three years. His acting skills were fine and he was quite popr, it was just that he had always been pretty stagnant. However not too long ago, he had acted in an idol drama which had catapulted him to fame, and it went viral. This resulted in him being recently quite popr. He smiled at Director Wang and said, ¡°Director Wang, are you free? I would like to invite you both for a meal.¡± At the dining table. Chen Junjie smiled and said, ¡°Director Wang, actually, I am very familiar with the character Cao Cao and have a deep understanding of it. Before entering the filming set, I did research on this character so as to deepen my understanding of him. Now that we are short of someone in the filming crew, perhaps...¡± The meaning was evident. However, with issues pertaining the male lead, Director Wang definitely could not agree straightaway, so he smiled and replied, ¡°Do let me consider it.¡± Chen Junjie immediately rejoiced. After they finished their meal, Director Wang headed back to the filming set together with the stage supervisor. The stage supervisor inquired, ¡°Is it true that you would allow Chen Junjie to y the male lead?¡± Director Wang frowned and was intending to say something when he saw Mo Xicheng, d in traditional clothes and walking by. Director Wang eyes suddenly lit up. Chapter 598 - Lu Nanze Slays Best Actor Shen (8)

Chapter 598: Lu Nanze ys Best Actor Shen (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Among the filming crew, Mo Xicheng¡¯s presence had always been the most impercentable. But no matter who he was acting with, he always acted his role perfectly. No matter who in the filming crew was to alongside Shen Liangchuan, the person would be very much under pressure. This was because Shen Liangchuan had a very strong aura and, coupled with his excellent acting skills, this would make one feel very out of ce when acting alongside him. Only Mo Xicheng couldplement him well. The people in the industry all knew that Mo Xicheng¡¯s acting skills were pure and innocent. To someone who was slightly more witty, they would know that the reason he wasn¡¯t as popr was because he himself did not want to be that popr, and that was why he had been suppressing himself. In fact, he had the looks as well as charisma, which wereparable to Shen Liangchuan¡¯s. The only difference was the level of poprity. As the director was still lost in contemtion, the stage supervisor continued, ¡°Director?¡± Director Wang regained hisposure and then narrowed his eyes. ¡°I initially thought about using Chen Junjie, but now I know of someone even better.¡± As he said this, Director Wang headed in Mo Xicheng¡¯s direction. Mo Xicheng was holding his script and was looking through it. He was ying the role of a dashing young gentleman, a totally different character from the male lead, who was slightly obstinate and arrogant. Director Wang called him. ¡°Teacher Mo.¡± Mo Xicheng turned around. Director Wang smiled and said, ¡°Have you heard that Best Actor Shen left the filming production?¡± Mo Xicheng nodded. Director Wang continued, ¡°Are you interested in being the male lead?¡± Mo Xicheng subconsciously wanted to shake his head. But he suddenly recalled the treatment the filming crew had given him recently. In the past, no matter what happened, he wouldn¡¯t pursue it, but now... He contemted it for a while before replying, ¡°Do let me consider it first.¡± Director Wang was stunned. Normally, if one were to encounter such an opportunity, the person would definitely immediately agree to it. The exception was Mo Xicheng, who needed some time to think about it. However, he hadn¡¯t rejected it, which meant that there was still hope. Director Wang nodded. ¡°I hope to hear from you as soon as possible.¡± Mo Xicheng nodded. Mo Xicheng waited for Director Wang to leave before picking up his cell phone and giving Shen Liangchuan a call. At this very same time, Shen Liangchuan and Qiao Lian had just arrived at the vi, back in Beijing. Qiao Lian was taking a shower in the bathroom. When she was done, she wrapped herself with a towel and stepped out, where she heard Shen Liangchuan¡¯s voiceing from the balcony. ¡°I love the movie very much. The plot is excellent. If you are the one to rece the male lead, I would be very relieved.¡± ¡°You are right. I will not be returning.¡± These two sentences made her heart feel extremely bitter. Shen Liangchuan loved this movie. She knew it. She loved it too. But because of her, he had given it up. She clenched her fists and looked down. However, the next moment, she looked up again. He was Zi Chuan. Between Zi Chuan and her, there was no such thing as owing each other anything. ¨C Hengdian. After hanging up the phone, Mo Xicheng stood on the same spot. Between men, there was a certain kind of friendship. He wanted to gain poprity now, and Shen Liangchuan would assist him with it. Soon, he received a new email in his mailbox. It was from Shen Liangchuan. In it, Shen Liangchuan exined his understanding of the male lead¡¯s character. There were many documents in it, which were very deep and could give one a deeper understanding of the male lead¡¯s character. Mo Xicheng fixed his eyes on those documents and then, finally, went to look for Director Wang. ¡°Director Wang, I have made my decision.¡± At this moment, Chen Junjie paying a lot of attention to Qiao Yiyi. ¡°Sister Qiao, are you feeling suffocated?¡± He fanned Qiao Yiyi with his hand and smiled. When Qiao Yiyi heard his words, she shook her head and pursed her lips. Chapter 599 - Lu Nanze Slays Best Actor Shen (9)

Chapter 599: Lu Nanze ys Best Actor Shen (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Chen Junjie spoke again, ¡°Sister Qiao, I think Best Actor Shen was simply being too haughty and has no idea how to be tender or protect the fairer sex. If it were me, I¡¯d surely give in to such a beauty like you.¡± Qiao Yiyi was in an extremely bad mood. When she heard these words, she turned to stare at him and said afterwards, ¡°Just say it, what do you want?¡± He smiled and said, ¡°Nothing, really. Who around here doesn¡¯t know that you¡¯re the boss? Please look out for me in the future.¡± Noticing that he was considerably good looking and bright, Qiao Yiyi couldn¡¯t help but smile and promised, ¡°Fine, from now on your big sister here will get you covered.¡± ¨C When Chen Junjie received the call from the director, he almost jumped with joy! Although he had acted in an idol movie and his poprity had skyrocketed because of it, he knew that this sort of poprity was just a fleeting phase. If he didn¡¯t produce better works, then he would just fade away after a while. Hence, he had continued with this film. However, when he entered the director¡¯s office, he saw that Mo Xicheng was already in the room. Chen Junjie frowned at once. Then the director said, ¡°The filming crew has decided to assign the lead role to Teacher Mo. You will be the supporting actor. At these words, Chen Junjie¡¯s expression immediately changed. He furrowed his brow and wanted to say something, but he swallowed his words again when he looked at Director Wang and Mo Xicheng. As he left the director¡¯s office in a huff, he carelessly rammed into someone just outside the door. Looking up, he said, ¡°Who¡¯s that? Are you blind or something¡ª¡± Before he could finish, his vision was already dazzled by the person standing before him. This person was none other than Shi Nianyao. Shi Nianyao¡¯s stunning looks weren¡¯t something that a person would miss, even in a crowded sea of faces. It was hard to take one¡¯s eyes off her. At a nce, Chen Junjie recognized her as that extra who had seemed to have some sort of ambiguous rtionship with Mo Xicheng. Looking at her, she must have thought that if she hooked up with Mo Xicheng, she would be able to get a foothold into the entertainment industry. At this thought, Chen Junjie immediately put on a big smile and took a step towards her. ¡°Miss, what are you doing here?¡± A disgusting odor filled her nose at once. Shi Nianyao frowned and took a step backwards, putting a distance between them. Noticing her reaction, he immediately asked, ¡°How about we have a meal together?¡± Shi Nianyao replied with an icy expression, ¡°I¡¯m not free.¡± Chen Junjie continued, ¡°Actually, whatever Mo Xicheng gives you, I¡¯m able to do it too.¡± Mo Xicheng had just taken the lead role away from him and he could do nothing about it. Now all he wanted was to have Mo Xicheng¡¯s woman! Unfortunately for him, Shi Nianyao was a stubborn person. ¡°Sorry, please get out of my way, otherwise I¡¯m going to call for help.¡± Chen Junjie¡¯s expression darkened as he said, ¡°I¡¯m telling you, being with this guy won¡¯t have a good ending!¡± Then he turned and left. Annoyed, Shi Nianyao stuck her tongue out at his back. ¨C Mo Xicheng was now the new male lead in the film. As the scenes had already been arranged, the first filming session was for the same scene in which he had gone to the brothel as a supporting actor. Shi Nianyao had changed into her costume and was now a recement for Qiao Lian. This meant that there would be an ambiguous flirting sceneing up between she and Mo Xicheng. They started filming once everyone was ready. Chen Junjie looked at the heavily made-up and flirtatious woman before him. A malicious glint shed across his eyes. ¡°Begin!¡± At the director¡¯s cue, Chen Junjie and Mo Xicheng entered the room. Then, without the slightest word or warning, Chen Junjie lunged forward, grabbed Shi Nianyao by her waist and nted a firm kiss on her lips! It was quitemon that during filming, a male actor would find an excuse to take advantage of a female actor. This, he believed, would surely disgust Mo Xicheng. Chapter 600 - Lu Nanze Slays Best Actor Shen (10)

Chapter 600: Lu Nanze ys Best Actor Shen (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios There were many tricks and techniques that could be used during filming. For example, many kissing scenes were shot using false perspectives. While some kisses would involve contact and may even look very passionate, in reality the tongue wasn¡¯t used. However, some male actors loved taking advantage of their female counterparts, and when it came to filming intimate scenes, their hands would grab the actress¡¯ off-limits body parts. And now Chen Junjie, the pervert, was reaching towards Shi Nianyao¡¯s chest with his hands. The sensuous shape of her womanly curves caused his pupils to dte with excitement. He even craned his neck with the intention of nting a kiss on her face. When Mo Xicheng saw this, he instantly boiled with fury. He took a step forward, extended his arm and wrapped it around the man¡¯s shoulders, leading him to the side of the room. The director had not called a cut, hence, they had to continue acting. If they stopped, even if the director wouldn¡¯t nag at them, the people around would find it extremely strange. Mo Xicheng leaned towards him and whispered something in his ear. It looked affectionate, like brothers sharing a secret. However, only Chen Junjie knew that Mo Xicheng had not said a single word. He tried to break away from Mo Xicheng to grab Shi Nianyao. Yet Mo Xicheng suddenly extended his leg and the next moment, Chen Junjie tripped and fell. He stumbled and fell almost t on his face, as Shi Nianyao eximed in shock¡ªwhether it was feigned or real, no one knew for sure, ¡°Sir, be careful!¡± However as she said this, the props on the table started to rain down. Chen Junjie, who was lying on the ground underneath, all of a sudden felt an applend on him. ¡°Ptui!¡± The apple hit his face hard and squarely. Instantly, the fruit split open, spraying fresh juice all over him. Disgusted, he tried to get up. Mo Xicheng, who was behind him, took a step forward to try to help him up, but he ended up stepping on his calf. Chen Junjie: ...! What sort of rotten luck was this?! The director was now hollering angrily, ¡°Chen Junjie, what are you doing? Don¡¯t you know how to act?!¡± The crew staff standing around lowered their heads and tried to hide their sniggers. ¨C Chen Junjie¡¯s error had messed up the filming set. They had to tidy up and mend some of the props, and that was going to take a while. As the crew workers started busily working doing this, Shi Nianyao and Mo Xicheng sat by the side to rest and waited for the set to be fixed. Chen Junjie had gone to change his costume. After a short time, the director called Mo Xicheng to meet up and discuss the script. Shi Nianyao was left on her own, feeling rather bored. Suddenly, someone walked towards her, eximing, ¡°Hey, you, that extra over there. Go into that lounge and wait. It¡¯s too cold here!¡± He pointed in the direction of a lounge. Shi Nianyao nodded when she heard this. Following that person, she walked towards the lounge. As she entered the room, the door shut behind her. Her pupils immediately shrank as she turned around and saw Qiao Yiyi sitting there, staring at her. This scene was considerably nerve-wrecking. Shi Nianyao furrowed her brow. Deciding to leave, she turned around to open the door, but she found that it had been locked from the outside. Slightly stunned, she turned back and looked at Qiao Yiyi. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Qiao Yiyi red at her and asked, ¡°So you are well acquainted with Qiao Lian?¡± Shi Nianyao frowned. She nodded and replied, ¡°Yes, what about it?¡± As soon as she said this, Qiao Yiyi raised her hand, pouring the content of her ss on Shi Nianyao. Cold waternded her on head and started to rain down on her... Chapter 601 - The Investor Is Here! (1)

Chapter 601: The Investor Is Here! (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shi Nianyao was on guard against Qiao Yiyi. The moment thetter threw the water, Shi Nianyao quickly took a step back. Most of the water, however, stillnded on her body. She immediately frowned and demanded, ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± Qiao Yiyi sneered at her, ¡°What am I doing? Each extra has only one costume in the wardrobe. I think you must already know this, since you¡¯ve been wearing the same costume for a few days. If you told them now that your costume has been soaked, do you think they¡¯d allow you to change out of it?¡± Qiao Yiyi stared steadily at Shi Nianyao and continued, ¡°Besides, if you told them you¡¯ve wet your costume... What do you think Mo Xicheng would do? Will he argue with the director? But what is his status in this filming crew? Huh! Wouldn¡¯t it be just great if he made a big fuss, the director dismissed him and have him reced?!¡± Shi Nianyao red at the vicious woman. ¡°Why do you keep targeting Mo Xicheng?¡± ¡°Why? Because of you! You and Qiao Lian are good friends and you¡¯re nothing but bad news!¡± Qiao Yiyi¡¯s expression was vicious and sinister. Last time Second Brother had visited, he had frequentlye to the set. However, since Shen Liangchuan and Qiao Lian left, had he had not visited even once! It was all because of that tramp, Qiao Lian. Without the existence of Qiao Lian, she would not be this despised by Second Brother. The moment her thoughts rested on this point, she clenched her fists tightly. Her chest was aze with anger that had no outlet, so she could only take it out on Shi Nianyao, who had stayed behind with the filming crew. Shi Nianyao shook some of the water off herself. The prostitute role she was ying had little to cover herself with in the first ce. Now drenched in cold water, especially around her waist, she shivered uncontrobly. She eyed Qiao Yiyi. Even if the matter escted and sheined, it was just a ss of water. Also, it was likely that Qiao Yiyi would just apologize for being careless. For sure, Shi Nianyao was at a disadvantage. She bit her lip and narrowed her eyes. After a brief moment, her lips suddenly turned upwards with a smile. In a sh, she reached out and grabbed Qiao Yiyi. Thetter turned pale. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Shi Nianyao replied, ¡°A tooth for a tooth, of course!¡± With the other free hand, Shi Nianyao reached for a bottle of mineral water. Then, she yanked open Qiao Yiyi¡¯s costume cor and emptied the bottle¡¯s content into the opening. Qiao Yiyi struggled. Oh, but Shi Nianyao had taken Taekwondo lessons since she was a child. The delicate Qiao Yiyi was no match for her at all. The cold fluid spread down her chest, drawn downwards by the dry fabric of her costume, till it ran along both her legs. She shivered due to the cold. After thest drop of water was shaken out of the bottle, Shi Nianyao finally let go of Qiao Yiyi. Dusting her hands, she said to Qiao Yiyi, ¡°Goodbye!¡± Without another word, she turned and left the room. Qiao Yiyi stood beside her with fury. ¡°Shi Nianyao, how dare you treat me this way?! You¡ª¡± Shi Nianyao turned around when she heard these words. She blinked innocently at Qiao Yiyi, saying, ¡°Did you say your costume was wet? Do you have proof? Perhaps you may have to strip to prove it.¡± Most of the water had soaked her corset, so how was she going to prove it?! She now understood the viciousness of Shi Nianyao¡¯s act and immediately stomped her foot in anger. ¡°You¡¯re dead meat!¡± Twitching her lips, Shi Nianyao strode out of the lounge. The headwind was chilly, so the muscles around her waist and lower back shook from the cold. She covered her shoulders with her arms across her chest and shivered. Then, she saw that not too far off, Mo Xicheng had just finished his discussion about the script with the director and looked as though he was searching for her. When he spotted her, his gloomy expression lit up at once as he hurried over to her with long strides. Chapter 602 - The Investor Is Here! (2)

Chapter 602: The Investor Is Here! (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Unconsciously, Shi Nianyao smiled when she saw him. Mo Xicheng was her idol, but after getting to know him better, she had realized that he was usually an extremely gloomy person. Even when heughed, he carried an aura of mncholy that never seemed to go away. He was like a lifeform that lived in darkness. But perhaps it was because the role he was now ying was that of a masculine youth, he seemed to be emanating a bit of sunshine. This shift in him made Shi Nianyao d. She walked towards Mo Xicheng. He looked at her and asked, ¡°Where have you been?¡± She pursed her lips and replied, ¡°In the restroom. Have they fixed the set?¡± Using her arms, she tried to block her waist and abdomen from his sight. She didn¡¯t want Mo Xicheng to suspect something was wrong. Of course, Mo Xicheng wouldn¡¯t be staring at that part of her body and, besides, he had always kept a respectable physical distance from her. Thus he turned around, looked at the filming set and said, ¡°Soon.¡± As he said this, a stage supervisor ran up to them. ¡°The set is ready. Would you like toe over right away? Shi Nianyao and Mo Xicheng nodded simultaneously. This time around, Chen Junjie did not dare y any tricks and did not attempt to take advantage of Shi Nianyao. Hence, filming went on smoothly. However, in a scene where Mo Xicheng had to put his arms around Shi Nianyao, he discovered that her costume was wet around her waist. He was taken aback for a moment. But as they were filming, he showed no signs of having found out. Shi Nianyao thus heaved a sigh of relief, thinking that Mo Xicheng was none the wiser. The initial n for the day had been to film the scene where the male lead and supporting actor get caught fooling around in a brothel by the female lead. However, the female lead, Qiao Yiyi, had had to leave the filming location suddenly and return to the hotel. Hence, filming was dyed for yet another day. They had to stop in the part where the female lead would burst into the room. The director was by now livid. The staff around started to whisper among themselves. The felt like the female lead was acting too pompous. But this time, Qiao Yiyi did really have difficulties that she couldn¡¯t speak of! She couldn¡¯t possibly say that her corset was soaked, and that she had to go back to the hotel to get changed. After the shooting ended for the day, they stepped out of the set. Mo Xicheng¡¯s assistant immediately came to him with a down jacket. Taking the jacket from him, he draped it over Shi Nianyao and told the assistant at the same time, ¡°Take Ms. Shi to change out of her costume.¡± Shi Nianyao was stunned, but felt a warm sensation. Her male idol was indeed attentive... but what an embarrassing predicament she had had. As Shi Nianyao followed the junior assistant, she turned back to nce at Mo Xicheng. She noticed that underlying his icy expression, there was a type of harshness and decisiveness that she had never seen in him before today. ¨C As Shi Nianyao was changing out of her costume, her cell phone rang. She nced down and saw the words ¡°Talk-too-much Brother¡± on the caller id. She immediately twitched her lips and picked up the call. Excitedly, she eximed, ¡°Brother!¡± A deep and gentle voice came through the line, ¡°Where are you?¡± Shi Nianyao hung her head and said, ¡°At the filming location, of course!¡± ¡°Which one?¡± ¡°Ambition.¡± Having said this, Shi Nianyao continued, ¡°Why are you asking about that?¡± ¡°I¡¯m here on a business trip and will drop by to see you. How has the inspection been?¡± Suddenly, a sense of guilt washed over her. How had the inspection been? She had not inspected anything! She had just been fooling around as an extra. But her brother wasing to the filming location as an investor? Shi Nianyao chuckled to herself. This was going to be interesting. Chapter 603 - The Investor Is Here! (3)

Chapter 603: The Investor Is Here! (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After hanging up, Shi Nianyao changed out of her costume. She handed the costume over to the stage supervisor. Then, hugging Mo Xicheng¡¯s down jacket, she walked out of the changing room. Mo Xicheng was now filming another segment at a different venue. She stood by the side, watching and carrying the down jacket. As a supporting actor, he had alwayse across as a refined gentleman. But now as the lead actor, he seemed to exude a certain kind of fierceness. Shi Nianyao was mesmerized as she watched. Her male idol was indeed dashing! Especially his side profile¡ªthat high nose bridge, his sculpted cheekbones that defined his distinct silhouette, his deep, dark eyes that were so dazzling to look into... Furthermore, when he got into his role, he was so convincing. The man before her now was just like a noble gentleman in the olden days, full of arrogance and unwillingness, juvenile in nature. Mo Xicheng did not notice this during filming. However, when the first segment of filming ended, he suddenly realized that a pair of bright, sparkling eyes were following his every move. He turned around and saw that Shi Nianyao was standing nearby, staring at him with her chin resting on both her hands. Her eyes were aze and more scorching than the sun... to the extent that he started to feel a little ufortable. He turned away and tried not to notice her, but during the filming of the next segment, it was quite obvious that he had gone a little off-track. Although the director was pleased with his performance, he himself knew that his focus was shifting to the undivided attention of a particr pair of eyes. Furthermore... ¡°Achoo!¡± He heard Shi Nianyao sneeze from a short distance away. Mo Xicheng paused and frowned. ¡°Cut!¡± the director shouted and said, ¡°Teacher Mo, the male lead shouldn¡¯t be frowning at this point. He¡¯s supposed to be extremely pleased...¡± However, Mo Xicheng¡¯s frown did not disappear with these words. On the contrary, he made a signal, asking the director to stop, and walked out of the set. From a distance, Shi Nianyao saw Mo Xichenging towards her, step by step, until he was right in front of her. His majestic frame was a whole head taller than her. He was so dashing in his costume that it made her heart thump wildly. As she daydreamed, a card key appeared before her eyes. Shi Nianyao was stunned for a moment and, the next moment, she was ted! What was this? Was this a hint... that her idol would like her to visit him in his room? Oh my god! Was her male idol going to bed her? As Shi Nianyao was fantasizing in her own head, Mo Xicheng said in an unhurried tone, ¡°Go rest in my room.¡± So her idol was only asking her to rest. It wasn¡¯t that he intended to bed her... The disappointment she felt came as a surprise to herself even. What was going on? She hung her head and did not take the keycard from him. ¡°But I want to stay and watch you film.¡± Mo Xicheng immediately pushed the key into her hand and said, ¡°You¡¯ll affect me if you hang around here.¡± Not understanding what he meant, Shi Nianyao widened her eyes, puzzled. Affect him? Was she being troublesome just by hanging around? Suddenly, she felt even more disappointed. It was disheartening to hear him say that she was affecting him that way. She took the card key and nodded. Mo Xicheng gave some instructions to his assistant, although Shi Nianyao wasn¡¯t paying attention and had no idea what was being said. When they arrived at his hotel room, she stood there feeling dispirited and dejected. After a short while, the doorbell rang. She paused for a moment. Mo Xicheng was still filming, so at this time of the day, who could it be? Chapter 604 - The Investor Is Here! (4)

Chapter 604: The Investor Is Here! (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shi Nianyao walked over and opened the room door. She was met with the sight of Mo Xicheng¡¯s male assistant, standing outside the door. When he saw her, he immediately raised the things in his hands and said, ¡°Ms. Shi, these are the isatis roots Brother Mo asked me to buy for you. You should make yourself a cup.¡± Mo Xicheng had asked him to buy isatis root for her? Shi Nianyao then realized that her nose was kind of blocked and she was slightly dizzy. Was she going to catch a cold? She feeble-mindedly took the isatis roots and walked back into the room. She lowered a head and looked at the herbs in her hands in disbelief. She was confused. Her idol had bought herbs for her! Was he worried about her health? Shi Nianyao immediately became really excited. Then, she raised her head in search of something that could be used to boil water. It was at that moment that she realized that her idol¡¯s hotel room was his usual style. If she had been the one staying in the hotel, she would have scattered her belongings all over the room, but this hotel room was really neat and tidy. It looked as if no one resided in it. In this huge room, Mo Xicheng¡¯s clothes were hanging in the closet. And on the table was a cup of water. There was nothing else there other than that. Shi Nianyao boiled the water and looked at the cup... This was also a cup that her male idol had used! She took a step backwards and fell on the bed. Mo Xicheng¡¯s unique vani scent immediately wafted towards her. It made her feel as if she was being brainwashed. Shi Nianyao took Mo Xicheng¡¯s ss cup and finished a cup of isatis root tea. She thenid on his bed and fell asleep in no time. Maybe it was due to her feeling unwell, after she took the medicine, she perspired profusely in a half-conscious state. Only when she woke up again, did she realize her body felt sticky. She immediately stood up. She definitely could not let her idol see her in her current state when he returned. She rapidly took off her clothes and rushed into the washroom. When they had arrived at the hotel, she remembered hearing the assistant say that her idol would only be back after the filming ended, at eight. It was only six, so her idol shouldn¡¯t be back... right? ¨C Mo Xicheng¡¯s original filming schedule was till eight. But it was already six p.m. and he felt uneasy. The girl seemed really clumsy, he wondered if she even knew how to order dinner for herself. As he was lost in his thoughts, someone ran over from the other side and told the director, ¡°Ms. Qiao said that she isn¡¯t feeling well, she doesn¡¯t want to continue filming at night.¡± His words caused the expression of the director to changepletely. Qiao Yiyi¡¯s behavior was too much. The whole filming crew was waiting for her, but she just said that she wasn¡¯ting. The director¡¯s expression was very dark but he could only reply, ¡°Everyone is dismissed then.¡± Mo Xicheng didn¡¯t speak another word. He followed his assistant to get changed and then walked towards the hotel. He had a spare hotel room key, so when he reached the room, he opened the door and walked in. But the moment he entered, Mo Xicheng was stunned. It was because... There wasn¡¯t anyone in the room, but from the bathroom came the sound of running water. And... the girl in the bathroom was showering while singing. And the song she was singing was... ¡°Hey baby, I think I wanna marry you!¡± Mo Xicheng: ... The girl¡¯s singing was out of tune and was thus pretty terrible. But she was reaching higher notes as she sang. Unbeknown to her, her devil-sounding voice was already being heard by someone. Mo Xicheng was suddenly curious about her reaction when she walked out and saw himter. Chapter 605 - The Investor Is Here! (5)

Chapter 605: The Investor Is Here! (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mo Xicheng was calmly leaning against the door and listening to her sing. ¡°Who cares baby, I think I wanna marry you!¡± Her tone was extremely out of tune. He didn¡¯t know why, but that voice of hers didn¡¯t make him think it was noisy. Instead, he found it somewhat cute. ¨C Shi Nianyao didn¡¯t usually sing when she showered. But when she thought about showering in the bathroom of her idol... she couldn¡¯t help but get really excited. Thus, she couldn¡¯t help it and started singing really high. She showered for a good half an hour, before taking his bath towel casually and wrapping it around her body. Then, she opened the restroom¡¯s door. Just as she was about to step out, she stopped singing in shock. She widened her eyes in great shock and stared at the man in front of her in disbelief. And Mo Xicheng was even more surprised! All he had been focused on was to see Shi Nianyao¡¯s awkwardness when she exited the bathroom, but he hadn¡¯t thought that people tend to be naked after they shower. Both of them stared at each other for a long time. After a moment, Shi Nianyao screamed and stuck her hand out, covering her shoulders. The towel was actually not big, so it only covered the important parts of the body. However, it failed to cover her white silky shoulders, those long, white and slim legs that were exposed... Mo Xicheng hurriedly looked away. Just then, someone unlocked the door and the room door was pushed open. His assistant¡¯s voice sounded, ¡°Brother Mo, I have bought dinner¡ª¡± But before he could finish speaking, his shoulders were pushed by someone. He staggered a step backwards and the room door was closed with a loud bang. From inside the room came Mo Xicheng¡¯s hushed voice, ¡°We¡¯ll speakter.¡± The assistant wondered, ¡°What happened?¡± In the room, after Mo Xicheng had done so, he suddenly realized that he should have also gone out with his assistant. It was extremely awkward for him to be standing there. Meanwhile, Shi Nianyao had finally recovered from her shock. She immediately took a step backwards, rushed into the bathroom and closed the door. ¡°Ermmm, let me put on my clothes first.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Mo Xicheng only replied after a while. His one-word reply was stuffy and he had an extremely awkward tone. Shi Nianyao was literally going crazy at that point. Boohoo! He must have heard her singing just now. She had always been tone deaf. Her singing just now hadn¡¯t been that bad, right? As she thought about it, she moved towards the door and couldn¡¯t help but cough. ¡°Mr- Mr. Mo?¡± ¡°Hmmm?¡± Shi Nianyao coughed once and asked, ¡°How was my singing just now?¡± ¡°It was ok.¡± His three nd words allowed Shi Nianyao to heave a sigh of relief. Actually, people who sang off tune wouldn¡¯t realize it when they are singing really happily. But just as she heaved a sigh of relief, she heard Mo Xicheng¡¯s voice again, ¡°Were you reading a poem just now? It was pretty rhythmic, it didn¡¯t sound bad.¡± Shi Nianyao: ... Shi Nianyao covered her face, not wanting to live anymore. Boohoo... She lowered her head, really unwilling to go out and face him. But it wasn¡¯t possible for her to keep hiding in the bathroom. Shi Nianyao could only stand up straight and prepare to put on her clothes. But... where were her clothes?! Shi Nianyao was dumbfounded. If she didn¡¯t remember wrong, she seemed to have left her clothes... on the bed outside? Her clothes. Ahhh! Shi Nianyao immediately stuck out her hand and covered her face. Chapter 606 - The Investor Is Here! (6)

Chapter 606: The Investor Is Here! (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She was dead meat. She waited for a long time in the bathroom before once again weakly approaching the door. She quietly opened a slit and asked, ¡°Mr- Mr. Mo... Can you pass me my clothes?¡± Mo Xicheng: ... Mo Xicheng coughed and asked, ¡°Where are they?¡± Shi Nanyao replied, ¡°On the bed.¡± Mo Xicheng took two steps towards the bedroom and saw a few pieces of clothing on his bed. He walked over and casually picked them up, but he realized that something had fallen on the ground. When he lowered his head to take a look, he realized that it was... a bra. Mo Xicheng: ... Why was that small pinkish thing with cartoon on it so small? How was it wearable? He literally had no idea what to do at that moment. After Shi Nianyao, who was in the bathroom, had asked Mo Xicheng to help her retrieve her clothes, she suddenly realized that Mo Xicheng would see her undergarments if he was going to do so. Ahhhhhh! Shi Nianyao couldn¡¯t care less anymore. She immediately opened the door of the bathroom and ran out with the towel around her. With one nce, she immediately saw her bra on the floor and Mo Xicheng half-squatting there, gravely staring at it. That expression of his... Was he conflicted on whether to pick it up for her? Shi Nianyaoplied without another word. She really had nothing left to face him, alright? She immediately rushed forward, picked up her clothes, carried them and rushed back into the bathroom. Her heart was pounding wildly. And her face was burning like fire. What should she do now? It was the first time someone saw her bra after so many years. She¡¯s so embarrassed! However... Shi Nianyao once again looked at the things in her hands. She wished that she could throw all her bras away. Ahhhh! Her mom always said that her clothes were too cartoonish and not sexy at all. She also said that all guys liked sexy clothing. Her situation... was simply too embarrassing. Would her idol feel like she was very cheap? As she thought of it, Shi Nianyao rushed to the door once again and called him, ¡°Mr. Mo?¡± Mo Xicheng acknowledged her. Shi Nianyao coughed and said, ¡°I normally wear ck ones.¡± Mo Xicheng: ... Why did she have to exin this? Didn¡¯t exining more make it more awkward?! He coughed once and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t see anything just now.¡± Shi Nianyao let out a sigh of relief. Then she heard Mo Xicheng continue speaking, ¡°Red is actually quite cute.¡± Shi Nianyao: ...! Boohoo! She didn¡¯t want to face anyone anymore! She rapidly put on her clothes, opened the bathroom door and walked out. Mo Xicheng had be the male lead of the drama and thus, he was being treated better. The room he was currently staying in was the biggest of the whole filming set. But at that moment, the huge room suddenly felt really cramped. The humid atmosphere made Shi Nianyao blush and caused her heart to beat really fast. Although she had be Mo Xicheng¡¯s girlfriend, both of them rarely spent time together. Even if they interacted asionally, they always left after exchanging a few sentences. Circumstances like these, of them being in a room alone, were really rare. Shi Nianyao was slightly flustered, she didn¡¯t know where to ce her arms and legs. She coughed once and said, ¡°Ermmm, Mr. Mo, if there isn¡¯t anything else, I¡¯d take my leave first.¡± After she said so, Mo Xicheng suddenly took a step forward and stood in front of her. His majestic frame was imposing as he said, ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s something else.¡± Chapter 607 - The Investor Is Here! (7)

Chapter 607: The Investor Is Here! (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Her heart pounded and her cheeks started to burn as she felt his heavy warm breath envelop her senses. Her chest tightened, as though the air was being squeezed out of her. Her idol had some unfinished business? What sort of unfinished business? Could it be... that he wanted to bed her? Ahhhhhhh! Wasn¡¯t she so blissfully fortunate? However, the next moment, she saw him opening the room door and telling his assistant who was standing just outside, ¡°Come in.¡± Then, she saw the assistant pushing in the dining trolley. Greatly puzzled, Shi Nianyao stared at Mo Xicheng with a nk look. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Dinner.¡± Shi Nianyaoplied without another word. So it was only dinner. Rather than that, she had imagined they were going to be spending an unforgettable night together. She turned around and saw that Mo Xicheng had already taken his jacket off, revealing the crisp white shirt he was wearing beneath. He rolled up his sleeves and exposed the pure golden skin of his arms. His tight muscture made those arms beautifully masculine. Shi Nianyao noticed her throat got parched just by looking at him. She gulped nervously. However, it was a loud gulp, so it made Mo Xicheng look up and ask, ¡°Hungry?¡± She nodded. He pointed at the array of food on the dining trolley. ¡°What would you like to eat?¡± ¡°You, actually,¡± Shi Nianyao couldn¡¯t help thinking to herself. But of course, she mustn¡¯t say it out loud. Sigh. Good grief, the unspeakable things that she wanted to do to her idol! She hung her head coyly and said, ¡°I¡¯m fine with anything.¡± She followed Mo Xicheng¡¯s lead and sat on the sofa. He moved nimbly with a fluid motion and, within a short time, had arranged all the dishes around the dining table. Then he held out a pair of chopsticks to her. She lowered her head and started with the rice. After she had had two mouthfuls, a pair of chopsticks suddenly dropped an extra dollop of food into her bowl. She looked up in astonishment and saw her male idol looking back at her questioningly. ¡°Doesn¡¯t suit your taste buds?¡± ¡°No! I really like it!¡± She replied hurriedly. He nodded again. Her gaze fell on the bit of green leafy vegetables in her bowl. My god! These were vegetables that had been picked for her by her idol, so could she just ce it on an altar to worship instead of eating it? No, no, no. That would be so much like a love-struck idiot that her idol would think poorly of her. So she picked up a big mouthful of food and stuffed it into her mouth. Aww... Even the food that he picked for her tasted exceptionally delectable! This was more than just a feast for the stomach¡ªit was a feast for her eyes as well. The meal thoroughly satisfied her appetite. After they had eaten, she stood up and said, ¡°Well, I guess I should go.¡± Mo Xicheng stood up. ¡°I¡¯ll take you home.¡± ¡°What?¡± Shi Nianyao was stunned for a moment before she said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to do that¡ª¡± ¡°A girl going home alone sote at night... I would be worried.¡± Without allowing any more objections, he handed her jacket to her, put on his own, and started to walk towards the door. Shi Nianyaoplied without another word. A sense of awkwardness between them hung in the air. Although, in her heart, Shi Nianyao was overjoyed. Her idol had treated her for dinner and was now taking her home. She wondered if he had taken a fancy to her. Her head was fantasizing as she walked beside Mo Xicheng on the streets of Hengdian. Suddenly, someone nearby shouted, ¡°Ahhhh, Mo Xicheng! Is that Mo Xicheng?¡± Shi Nianyao was stunned and halted. Turning back to look, she saw a female fan charging towards them and shrieking at the same time. Mo Xicheng smiled when he saw the fan¡¯s reaction and said, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me.¡± The fangirl immediately shouted, ¡°Please, may I have your autograph?!¡± With no airs at all, he agreed, ¡°Sure.¡± The fangirl searched her bag and took out a pen. In her excitement, she dropped the pen cap. Before she could bend over to pick it up, Mo Xicheng had already done so and passed the cap back to her. That gesture was gentle and showed how amodating he was to his fans. Chapter 608 - The Investor Is Here! (8)

Chapter 608: The Investor Is Here! (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios However, when Shi Nianyao saw how he treated this fangirl, she suddenly felt as though she had been drenched with a bucket full of cold water. What was she thinking?! Mo Xicheng was well-known for being protective with all of his fans. He was nice, not just with her alone, but with all his other fans as well. Hence, what fantasies was she feeding? They had seen each other only a few times. How could Mo Xicheng possibly be interested in her? As she stood there in a daze, Mo Xicheng straightened up and had already signed an autograph. He returned the notebook to the fangirl. As she looked excitedly at Mo Xicheng, she now noticed thedy next to him. The fangirl immediately expressed her surprise. ¡°Idol Mo, is this person your assistant? Shi Nianyao turned to look at him upon hearing this question. She saw Mo Xicheng reaching out for her hand. He held it and said to the fangirl, ¡°No, she¡¯s my girlfriend.¡± ¨C Shi Nianyao felt as though she was walking on a giant wad of cotton wool. Even after walking a long way, she was still in the clouds. She looked down at the pair of hands sped together and then looked up again, at Mo Xicheng. What had he just said? That she was his girlfriend? Even though she knew it was just a beautiful lie, in that moment, she had felt so blissful that she almost died. Even if she could only be Mo Xicheng¡¯s girlfriend just for a day, she would be most willing. She looked down again, her cheeks burning. She looked at the pair of hands again. He had grabbed her hand to put up a show in front of the fangirl earlier on. But now the fangirl was gone... and Mo Xicheng was still holding her hand. The same moment this thought came to her mind, Mo Xicheng let her hand go. The instant his warm andrge hand released hers, she realized something in her felt empty. It made her start thinking about personal gains and losses. As she began to contemte this, she heard Mo Xicheng say, ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± ¡°What?¡± Shi Nianyao looked up and realized that they had arrived at her hotel. Still dazed, she pointed at the hotel entrance, then turned towards Mo Xicheng and nodded. She made a casual invitation, ¡°Would you like toe up for a while?¡± As soon as she said this, she wished she had just kept her mouth shut. It waste and they both were alone¡ªwho didn¡¯t know that it was a suggestion for trouble? To think that she had invited him to her hotel room... Would he misunderstand it and think that she was trying to have more with him? As this thought struck her, he said, ¡°No, it¡¯ste. I¡¯ll be on my way.¡± Her mind went nk as she waved at him, saying, ¡°Oh, in that case, bye.¡± ¡°Goodbye.¡± His deep voice melted her heart. After exchanging goodbyes, both of them stood there without moving. Shi Nianyao said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you go first?¡± He shook his head. ¡°You go first.¡± She paused and then replied, ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll go in now?¡± He nodded. She turned to leave, but turned around again after taking a step. She waved at him again. She was the exact image of a little wife who could not bear to leave her man. Mo Xicheng was stunned when he found himself having those thoughts. Why had he had that thought out of the blue? He shook his head and turned to walk away. ¨C Now he was back in his hotel. As he approached his room, he realized that the room door was ajar. Frowning, he went forward to have a closer look. Then, he saw Qiao Yiyi standing at the doorway, instructing a few people to pack up the room. His expression darkened as he said, ¡°Ms. Qiao, if my memory serves me right, this is my room?¡± Qiao Yiyiughed icily and replied, ¡°You remember right. But now this one, the best room in the hotel, is mine!¡± Chapter 609 - The Investor Is Here! (9)

Chapter 609: The Investor Is Here! (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mo Xicheng paused. Qiao Yiyi gave a mocking smile as she continued, ¡°Teacher Mo, I¡¯ve got too many suitcases and I can¡¯t fit everything into my room. Your room is thergest around here, I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t mind letting me have it?¡± That sounded like a question but, in fact, her assistant had already started packing. Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes. Of course. the best room the filming set had would go to the male lead. When Shen Liangchuan had been around, this room had been his. And now... For a moment, Mo Xicheng hung his head. Did Qiao Yiyi find him an easy pushover? The fact was that he was an easy-going person and didn¡¯t mind where he stayed. But to be ushered out like this by her... Mo Xicheng¡¯s expression turned gloomy. After hearing the din outside, the people in the surrounding rooms hade out to sneakily look at what was going on. They could hear their conversation quite clearly. Qiao Yiyi¡¯s shameless arrogance made everyone cringe, but none of them dared to speak a word. They looked at Mo Xicheng with sympathy. Qiao Yiyi had a very big investor backing her up, of course she could be this arrogant and bossy. But surely Mo Xicheng... was not such an easy victim? As the people pondered the possible oue of this showdown, the director walk over hurriedly. He frowned immediately at the scene before his eyes. ¡°What¡¯s the matter now?¡± Qiao Yiyi repeated what she had said to Mo Xicheng and then, looking at the director, continued, ¡°Director, I don¡¯t care. I insist on having this room.¡± The director was bbergasted. Although this film had a male and a female lead, anyone who knew the industry would understand that this was primarily a male movie. The romance embedded in the entire plot was secondary to the main storyline, which focused on how the main character evolved into an ambitious and formidable person. The parts of the film with Qiao Yiyi in them weren¡¯t really that many. The main actor for the film was Mo Xicheng. Assigning the best andrgest room to him was a form of respect. But now... The Director frowned and looked at Mo Xicheng after a moment of hesitation. He said, ¡°Teacher Mo, would you... ¡± Mo Xicheng frowned and said, ¡°You may have this room.¡± The director immediately heaved a sigh of relief when he heard this. Teacher Mo was indeed even-tempered. Right after this sigh, however, Mo Xicheng continued, ¡°You may also take the lead role in this film.¡± Director: ...!! With a dark expression and severe tone, Mo Xicheng exuded a distinctly imposing aura that caused everyone to shrink back in silence. He did not say another word, but that itself was all the more terrifying than if he had actually spoken up. The director gulped nervously. Qiao Yiyi furrowed her brow and started, ¡°You¡ª¡± Completely ignoring her, Mo Xicheng strode into his room. As he did so, he came up to her suitcases that were all sitting by the doorway. He tossed them out and, with a loud bang, firmly shut the door. Qiao Yiyi stamped her foot in anger as she stood outside the door. ¡°What¡¯s so great about you? You¡¯re just a small-time actor. What gives you the right to be here?¡± The director boiled with anger at Qiao Yiyi¡¯s words. Now he was realizing how difficult it was to keep her happy. This time around, her demand was simply too much. Fed up, he decided to ignore her and turned to walk away. She stood outside Mo Xicheng¡¯s room door and berated him for some time, but seeing that he wasn¡¯t going toe out again, she finally turned around and went back to her own room. Back in her room, Qiao Yiyi gnashed her teeth with fury. ¡°Who does he think he is? He thinks he¡¯s so great just because he¡¯s the male lead?¡± Then she turned to her assistant and instructed, ¡°Tomorrow, I want you to get rid of that extra! Isn¡¯t she his girlfriend? I¡¯ll make sure he¡¯s thoroughly embarrassed!¡± Chapter 610 - The Investor Is Here! (10)

Chapter 610: The Investor Is Here! (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios All night, Shi Nianyaoy on the bed turning and tossing. The moment she woke up the following morning, she saw that her brother Shi Xun had sent her a text message: [I¡¯lle visit you today.] Immediately, Shi Nianyao jumped out of bed. Her brother wasing. She had to make sure that he taught Qiao Yiyi a good lesson. After she had washed up, she headed towards the set. Through Mo Xicheng, the security officer at the filming location already knew Shi Nianyao and hence did not stop her when she walked in. She had barely taken a few steps when she suddenly heard Qiao Yiyi¡¯s voice yelling, ¡°Stop right there, you!¡± Shi Nianyao halted and turned around. With a gloomy expression on her face, Qiao Yiyi continued, ¡°This is an important filming venue. How could we allow anyone in so casually?¡± Then she turned around and looked at the stage supervisor, who had hurried over when he heard themotion. She demanded, ¡°I¡¯m asking you now to immediately, right away, get rid of people who should not be here!¡± The stage supervisor panicked at once and got someone to look for the director. This Qiao Yiyi was indeed never-ending trouble! It didn¡¯t take long for the director to arrive. ¡°Ms. Qiao, you... what¡¯s the matter again?¡± Qiao Yiyi sneered, ¡°Isn¡¯t the investoring today? How can we allow outsiders to ess the venue so readily? This woman... Get her out of here. Otherwise, if she offends the investor, I will like to see how you¡¯ll deal with it!¡± The director found himself in a tight spot. Mo Xicheng was now the male lead in the cast. He only wanted to bring someone into the set and, reasonably speaking, they should oblige. However, Qiao Yiyi was not wrong either. Qiao Yiyi hung her head and yed with her nails as he contemted it. ¡°Although I do not know the investor who is visiting today, as the second shareholder of the production, I don¡¯t think you should neglect him, isn¡¯t that so, Director? I think Mr. Lu wouldn¡¯t be too happy if he knew about it.¡± At once, the director frowned and looked at Shi Nianyao. ¡°Ms. Shi, I think it might be best that you avoid the set for now?¡± Shi Nianyao looked at the people in front of her and found the situationughable. ¡°What if I refuse to leave?¡± Qiao Yiyiughed mockingly at once. ¡°Refuse to leave? Then we will have to ask the security officers to help you do so!¡± After these words, she shouted without waiting for the director¡¯s response, ¡°Where is the security officer? Take this person away!¡± The security officer took a step forward and looked at the director. Looking extremely troubled, the director frowned. ¡°Ms. Qiao¡ª¡± ¡°My Second Brother is the biggest investor in the production and when he¡¯s not around, what I say goes! Security Officer, why are you standing there in a stupor? Let me warn you that if you do not hurry and get this person out of here, I¡¯ll fire you immediately. You can choose to believe it or not!¡± Without dy, the security officer took a step towards Shi Nianyao and said, ¡°Ms. Shi, please leave the filming set.¡± Qiao Yiyi walked up to Shi Nianyao. Giving thetter a hard stare, she lowered her voice and said, ¡°Don¡¯t go thinking that I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re here. You¡¯re chasing celebrities. I know you like Mo Xicheng, but let me tell you that as long as I¡¯m around, don¡¯t even dream of getting your foot into the cast!¡± At this point, a voice suddenly came from outside the door, ¡°Since when is an actress that hasn¡¯t even had her careerunched in charge of the filming production?¡± Everyone turned in the direction of the voice and saw an elegant man in a charcoal ck suit walking inside steadily. The director¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up when he saw the man, and he quickly went forward to greet him, ¡°Mr. Shi, you¡¯re here!¡± Chapter 611 - Beijing, Here I Come (1)

Chapter 611: Beijing, Here I Come (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shi Nianyao and Shi Xun were siblings. The only two offsprings of the Shi Family. At a young age, Shi Xun had had leukemia and Shi Nianyao had been conceived to save Shi Xun. The two of them were about six years apart in age. On top of being sickly, Shi Xun had been kidnapped in his childhood. He had grown up fast because of these unpleasant experiences; but also, from a young age he had appreciated his little sister. Hence all these years, he had doted on her and made her the apple of his eye. Basically, no matter what Shi Nianyao wanted, Shi Xun would never deny her. People who knew him knew that he was crazy for his sister. When Shi Nianyao saw her brother walk in, right away she smiled so broadly that her eyes became half moons. She did not say a word and merely pursed her lips. Then pouting, she pointed at Qiao Yiyi. Shi Xun¡¯s expression darkened. Although he had no idea what his sister was trying to do, it was obvious she didn¡¯t want her identity to be made known. But... why was his own sister being treated like this by the filming crew? They were seriously going overboard! His eyes shed and his expression sharpened. Qiao Yiyi, on the other hand, did not notice all of this. She only noticed that Shi Xun was a gentleman of elegant and graceful carriage, despite his rather severe aura. When she heard the director address him as Mr. Shi, she immediately understood that he was the second investor of the production. His earlier remark about her suggested that he was probably unaware that she was Second Brother¡¯s woman. Hence, Qiao Yiyi immediately stepped forward and extended her hand towards him, saying, ¡°Mr. Shi, how are you? I¡¯m Qiao Yiyi, the female lead of the film. My Second Brother Lu Nanze has been hoping to meet you. How unexpected that you¡¯vee here instead!¡± She said this, making her own identity obvious. She was quite sure that Shi Xun wouldn¡¯t want to make Lu Nanze look bad. However, Shi Xun stood there motionless and took no notice of her extended hand. Qiao Yiyi was speechless. She bit her lip and ventured, ¡°Mr. Shi?¡± It was only then that Shi Xun looked as though he had noticed her for the first time. Still, he did not reply and instead turned towards the director asking, ¡°Since when have the nobodies in the filming crew been allowed to address me?¡± Qiao Yiyi turned pale at his words. She wondered if it was her imagination. She had just called Shi Nianyao was a nobody. And now, Shi Xun was in turn calling her a nobody. Was he avenging Shi Nianyao? She shook with anger. ¡°Mr. Shi, no matter what, you should give me some face.¡± ¡°Give you some face?¡± Shi Xun did not bother to mince his words. ¡°What are you exactly?¡± Qiao Yiyi was speechless. Shi Xun took a step forward and continued, ¡°Besides Lu Nanze, there¡¯s no need for me to give anyone else any face.¡± Then he looked at the director. ¡°I¡¯m here to inspect the filming set. This woman here is bossing people around. Is this how the filming crew functions?¡± Even though he was being reprimanded, the director now felt quite exuberant. Qiao Yiyi had all sorts of tricks up her sleeves and had been stirring trouble every day. He had long been tired of her behavior. And now he finally had some backing to retaliate! The director put on a serious expression at once. ¡°Qiao Yiyi, are you done preparing for all your filming segments? Why are you bossing around here? Do hurry up and go study your script.¡± Qiao Yiyi¡¯s expression immediately changed and she opened her mouth to talk back. However, the director continued reprimanding her, ¡°Are you still interested in filming? If not, scram! I¡¯ve never seen this kind of filming!¡± Chapter 612 - Beijing, Here I Come (2)

Chapter 612: Beijing, Here I Come (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Ashen faced, Qiao Yiyi demanded, ¡°What did you just say?¡± The director frowned and was about to speak, when Shi Xun interrupted expressionlessly, ¡°Did Lu Nanze really rmend such an ignorant actress? What is their rtionship?¡± Qiao Yiyi¡¯s expression changed at once when she heard Shi Xun¡¯s remark. The director was stunned as well. All this time, everyone had thought that Lu Nanze was backing Qiao Yiyi. However previously, Lu Nanze had given Qiao Yiyi a tight p. Given that, it didn¡¯t really seem as though she was that precious to him at all, hence... The director looked at her. In fact, the whole crew had been tired of her for a long time! And now, Shi Xun¡¯s disregard for her caused everyone to suddenly realize that he was right. Even if Qiao Yiyi had been rmended by Mr. Lu, ever since that previous incident, Mr. Lu had note to see her. Instantly, everyone turned to Qiao Yiyi with looks of suspicion and doubt in their eyes. Qiao Yiyi clenched her fists with anger and insisted, ¡°Of course I know Second Brother. We grew up together and were childhood sweethearts. We both¡ª¡± Before she could finish, Shi Xun interrupted, ¡°Of course, you can say anything you want. If it¡¯s true, why don¡¯t you get Lu Nanze toe over?¡± In any case, Shi Xun wanted like to ask Lu Nanze how was it that this woman was bullying his very own sister! Qiao Yiyi bit her lip and said, ¡°Fine. I will ask Second Brother toe over and meet with you, Mr. Shi!¡± After saying these words, she turned around and walked away. The director turned and smiled at Shi Xun, asking, ¡°Mr. Shi, would you like me to show you around?¡± Shi Xun¡¯s expression was icy and he replied, ¡°Don¡¯t you have things to do? It seems like all of you in the filming crew have a lot of free time.¡± The director immediately felt anxious. Shi Xun now turned towards Shi Nianyao and said, ¡°She can show me around. The rest of you, go continue with what you¡¯re supposed to be doing.¡± Director: ... ¨C Shi Nianyao and Shi Xun walked together. Seeing that there was no one around, Shi Nianyao stuck her tongue out at Shi Xun and said, ¡°Brother, you were quite fierce back there.¡± He replied with little expression, ¡°And you just let her bully you like that? Shi Nianyao chuckled and did not speak. He looked at his sister and reached out to ruffle her hair affectionately. Yet at this point, Mo Xicheng was approaching them. He had heard that the investor wasing, hence, as the male lead he wanted to greet Shi Xun. He was a short distance from them and clearly saw Shi Xun¡¯s gesture with Shi Nianyao. Obviously, the man showed his affection and how he pampered her. And the woman was mischievous and adorable. Suddenly, Mo Xicheng had a sinking feeling in his heart. ¨C Qiao Yiyi had been reprimanded and asked to leave. To say the least, she was thoroughly embarrassed. Now, the only person who could help restore her dignity was her Second Brother. But ever since the incident involving Qiao Lian, when Second Brother had tightly pped her, he had not turned up at the filming location. She knew that Qiao Lian was the apple of her Second Brother¡¯s eye, and no one was to hurt her. Because she had made fun of Qiao Lian, Second Brother had been of course angry. She did not dare to call Second Brother. Holding the cell phone in her hand, she hesitated for a long time. Then she recalled something. Biting her lip, she made a call to his secretary. The line was connected very quickly. Qiao Yiyi asked, ¡°Is Second Brother around?¡± Politely, the secretary replied, ¡°Ms. Qiao, did he not tell you? He¡¯s gone away for a business trip.¡± Qiao Yiyi was stunned and her heart sank. She asked, ¡°Where has he gone?¡± Chapter 613 - Beijing, Here I Come (3)

Chapter 613: Beijing, Here I Come (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The ne left a streak of white smog in the sky as it soared down from the heights, tond in Beijing Airport. From the first ss cabin exit, a man in a ck trenchcoat strode out. Following behind him were a few bodyguards, dressed in nondescript ck. The man¡¯s presence was highly noticeable and people turned to look wherever he walked. Also, because of his aura, people around tended to make way when he approached them. He walked out of the airport. His men followed him closely and informed him, ¡°Mr. Lu, the person receiving us is here. He has prepared your amodation. Would you like to stay at the hotel or at your private vi?¡± Lu Nanze strode ahead energetically and replied, ¡°Both.¡± As he stepped out of the airport building, he stood before a limited edition of a Bentley. His bodyguard respectfully opened the passenger seat door for him. The man, however, did not get in the car immediately. He unhurriedly took off his sunsses to reveal his pair of phoenix eyes, that were devilish but charming enough to dazzle all living creatures. The look in his eyes was deep and abstruse, as they surveyed the thick haze shrouding the city. The dull grey skies made one feel an oppressing gloominess. This was where she had lived for thest eight years. The corners of the man¡¯s lips turned upwards gradually in a smile that bordered on vicious. Narrowing his eyes, he thought, ¡°Qiao Lian, did you think that if you went hiding in Beijing, you¡¯d be able to run away from me?¡± ¨C Qiao Lian had been back in Beijing for a few days now, but she still felt ill at ease. For some reason, an ominous feeling hung over her. The unrest she felt made staying in the vi impossible for her. Shen Liangchuan had been busy ever since they had returned from Hengdian and he wasn¡¯t home most of the day. And after leaving the news agency, she had not found another job. She was strolling around at home when she suddenly received a call from Qiao Yi. She picked up the call. ¡°Hello? Qiao Yi, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Not wishing to interrupt her daily life, Qiao Yi rarely called her unless something was up. After a period of rehabilitation and training, Qiao Yi was now walking fine. The doctor had said that in another fortnight, he would be well and ready to be discharged. Hence, Qiao Lian¡¯s tone sounded a little concerned, worried for any unexpected changes. However, unlike what she had thought, Qiao Yi was sounding very rxed. ¡°Nothing¡¯s wrong, Sister, I have a guest! Guess who?¡± Guest? Qiao Lianughed and asked, ¡°What sort of guest would you have?¡± As soon as she said this, she heard a voiceing from the other end of the line¡ªone that was familiar yet dreadfully terrifying, ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± That voice belonged to... Lu Nanze. Qiao Lian immediately stood up. The notebook that was sitting on herp fell onto the ground with a soft thud. Taking no notice of that, she was now on full alert and asked guardedly, ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not doing anything. I haven¡¯t seen Qiao Yi for years and we¡¯re just catching up. Would you like toe over?¡± Qiao Lian paused and bit her lip. ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll go.¡± After hanging up, she hurriedly got changed and went out to hail a cab. She went straight to the hospital where Qiao Yi was. All along the way, she felt anxious, like her heart was on fire. Although she knew that this was Beijing¡ªnot a ce where he could do as he wished... Still, she was nervous. She hurried the driver a few times as they sped towards the hospital, so that she could get there in the shortest time possible. After getting out of the cab, she dashed towards Qiao Yi¡¯s ward. Now standing outside the door, she could hearughtering from the room. She paused and heaved a sigh of relief. Then she pushed open the door and Qiao Yi¡¯sughter greeted her. There, sitting on the sofa with a long leg crossed over the other, was Lu Nanze Chapter 614 - Beijing, Here I Come (4)

Chapter 614: Beijing, Here I Come (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lu Nanze was smiling. Qiao Yi, on the other hand, was rocking back and forth withughter. ¡°Second Brother, you¡¯re too funny! There¡¯s apletely different side of you! So what happened in the end? What about Sister?¡± Lu Nanze cast his gaze downward and said after a pause, ¡°You¡¯ll have to ask your sister.¡± At those words and following the direction of Lu Nanze¡¯s gaze, Qiao Yi turned around and saw Qiao Lian standing at the doorway. He immediately stood up to greet her. ¡°Sister, you¡¯re here! Second Brother suddenly turned up this morning, I was surprised! But after so many years without meeting, he has be a lot more humorous than before!¡± In the past, Qiao Yi liked to tag along wherever his sister went, so Lu Nanze had been unfriendly with him. After growing up, Qiao Yi had realized that at the time Lu Nanze had liked his sister and, because he would never leave her alone, Lu Nanze would find ways to fend him off. Hence from a young age, Qiao Yi had always revered but also feared Lu Nanze. Now though, seeing the man again, he felt a certain affection towards him. Qiao Lian pursed her lips and stared at Lu Nanze. Seeing that he wasn¡¯t going to speak, she smiled and asked, ¡°What were you chatting about?¡± Qiao Yi wasughing so hard that he was almost in tears. ¡°We were talking about you... and the strong sense of self-interest you had, even as a child. Dad doted on you, but Second Brother managed to bribe you with candy! He asked you once, when he visited our house, who you liked more, dad or him, and you said Second Brother! Hahaha... Back then, I¡¯m sure dad was especially stumped!¡± At this point, Qiao Lian threw Lu Nanze a look. At the time, they had been family friends. However as they grew up, the Lu Family business prospered and they got stronger and stronger. On the other hand, the Qiao Family business was maintained steadily without any exceptional development. Which was why they went bankrupt just because of amercial property. During their childhood, she, Second Brother, Sun Tzi and a few others had been indeed quite close. But that was then, and this is now. She made some movements with her right hand and shoved her fingers into her pocket, as a look of precaution shed across her eyes. Then she sat down to chat with them. After a short time, Qiao Yi very tactfully threw a meaningful nce at them and said, ¡°Sister, please continue chatting without me. I have to go to my rehabilitation training now.¡± Before Qiao Lian could object to it, Lu Nanze nodded and said, ¡°Yes, hurry up and get better so that you can go back to school.¡± Qiao Yi nodded and turned to walk away. After Qiao Yi was gone, Qiao Lian looked at Lu Nanze with an icy expression and asked, ¡°Why are you here?¡± With a confident smile still hanging on his face, he said, ¡°To take you home with me.¡± Frowning deeply, Qiao Lian said, ¡°I¡¯m already married.¡± ¡°Get a divorce then.¡± She looked at him sharply and spoke, ¡°Lu Nanze, what do you mean by this?¡± The man raised an eyebrow and said, ¡°What I meant, was... I like you, ever since I was a child I¡¯ve liked you. You¡¯re mine!¡± He sprang up from his seat and said, ¡°Qiao Lian, how could you marry someone else? He extended his hand and reached out to grip her wrist. There was much grievance and distress in his tone when he said this. It made him look pitiful, like an abandoned puppy. Qiao Lian knew, however, that the man before her would never be pitiful, ever. He was strong, confident and overbearing. Qiao Lian bit her lip and said, ¡°I will go back, but not now. Furthermore, I¡¯ve never thought of getting a divorce.¡± ¡°Qiao Lian!¡± His warning tone was infused with anger. From looking pitiful, Lu Nanze¡¯s expression had changed in a sh, and now it was obvious that he was overflowing with anger. Staring straight at him, she clenched her fists and told him, ¡°The only person I like is Shen Liangchuan.¡± Chapter 615 - Beijing, Here I Come (5)

Chapter 615: Beijing, Here I Come (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The only person I like is Shen Liangchuan. To Lu Nanze, nothing could give him a bigger heartache than these words. He narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists. After a pause, he let out a chillyugh as he said in a helpless but pampering tone, ¡°Qiao Lian, there you go, being stubborn again.¡± Qiao Lian felt that it was ridiculous of Lu Nanze to be behaving this way. Did he not understand what she was saying? He lowered his voice and said to her, ¡°I, Lu Nanze, always get the woman I want.¡± Qiao Lian replied angrily, ¡°Lu Nanze, this is Beijing! And this is a VIP ward! If you dare to use force or anything like that, a shout from me will bring the police! I don¡¯t think you want to end up in jail?¡± With a smirk, Lu Nanze said, ¡°So you¡¯re concerned about my wellbeing?¡± Qiao Lian was speechless. He continued, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m not that uncouth.¡± When in Hengdian, there was one way of operating. And in Beijing, there was a different way of operating. However... Lu Nanze suddenly said, ¡°Do you know what Shen Liangchuan has sacrificed in giving up the male lead role?¡± Qiao Lian paused and looked at him with a puzzled expression. ¡°What?¡± ¡°A penalty of 50 million.¡± Immediately, Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank. For thest eight years, Best Actor Shen had just been that, an actor. He had started from scratch and got to where he was today in that time. His fixed assets were probably worth two hundred million, all together. But he had had to pay 50 million as penalty topensate the filming crew? It was no wonder the moment he had returned to Beijing, he had been so busy that she hardly saw him around. With a sudden shortfall of 50 million in thepany, he had likely been busy with investment matters for the past few days. But... he had never breathed a word about the sacrifice he had to make. If Lu Nanze had not told her about it today, she would have never found out. Suddenly, she was consumed by guilt. She clenched her fists tightly and red at Lu Nanze. He smiled, on the other hand, and reminded her, ¡°Qiao Lian, if you continue to persist so obstinately, he will have nothing left!¡± These words caused her to go into a sudden panic. Shen Liangchuan was just a famous actor. Even if he had money, how would he be a match for Lu Nanze? She bit her lip and said, ¡°Lu Nanze, don¡¯t overstep the line!¡± Lu Nanze stared steadily at her. After a brief moment of silence, he said, ¡°I¡¯m at vi 9 in Linglong District. And I¡¯ll be in Beijing, waiting for the day that youe around to look for me.¡± Having said this, Lu Nanze strode over to the door. As he crossed the threshold, he suddenly turned back and said, ¡°Tell Qiao Yi I¡¯ve left, and let him know I¡¯lle and see him tomorrow.¡± The smile he had on his face seemed to hold some meaning behind. He continued, ¡°In addition, I hope he recovers soon, but he should be careful and not get into any idents.¡± Qiao Lian clenched her fists as she heard this. The meaning behind those words was obvious to her. Besides Shen Liangchuan, he was using Qiao Yi to ckmail her. ¨C By the time Qiao Lian walked out of the hospital, she felt as though she had been skinned. As though she had been immersed in a pot of boiling water. She gulped nervously and looked up at the hazy skies. After a pause, she took out her cell phone and dialed Shen Liangchuan¡¯s number. He picked up the call after two rings. His voice was soothing as usual, it had a calming effect on her. ¡°What¡¯s up, Xiao Qiao?¡± Hearing his voice made her feel that she suddenly had courage again. ¡°Lu Nanze is here.¡± Chapter 616 - Beijing, Here I Come (6)

Chapter 616: Beijing, Here I Come (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The voice on the other end was silent for a fraction of a second, before steadily replying, ¡°I know.¡± He paused before adding, ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Those simple words from him were like an anchor for her. Immediately, it stilled the wild thumping of her heart. She drew a deep breath and spoke, ¡°Okay. Where are you?¡± ¡°At a business meeting,¡± his answer was concise. ¡°And is it going well? Qiao Lian asked casually. Then she heard the ring of soft, deepughtering from the other end. After a pause, he said, ¡°Xiao Qiao, are you worrying that I won¡¯t be able to feed the family?¡± She kept silent at his teasing and hung her head with a disheartened smile. He had thrown out 50 million without batting an eyelid. She was moved by his love and friendship. She cleared her throat and looked up. ¡°It¡¯s okay. If a timees that you can¡¯t feed the family, I¡¯ll work and keep you well-fed.¡± ¡°I have to say I¡¯m grateful to my great wifey.¡± She found herself turning bright scarlet at his teasing remark as she walked down the street. She lifted her hand to touch her burning cheeks. Great wifey. Why did those words make her feel so shy all of a sudden? She looked ahead, her vision unfocused and distracted. ¡°You keep working then, I¡¯ll hang up now.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± In the top management meeting at the office. Shen Liangchuan was standing at the corridor. The smile on his face vanished at once the moment he hung up. Song Cheng stood behind him, frowning as he reported, ¡°The two artists with whom we signedst month have asked for termination of their contracts. I¡¯ve done some asking around. They¡¯ve been poached by a newly-established entertainmentpany called NQ. They paid a high price and indicated that they would aggressively promote the artists.¡± Upon hearing this, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression darkened. NQ. Nan. Qiao. He cast his gaze down to hide the mockery in his eyes. Indeed, Lu Nanze was aggressive. It had only been a few days, but he had already set up apany? Nodding, Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°We won¡¯t keep people who have no loyalty. But make sure they pay their full penalty.¡± Song Cheng nodded to show he understood, however, he had a worried expression. ¡°But what should we do now?¡± They only had a few artists under their belt. It was extremely pitiful. Shen Liangchuan thought for a moment before he said, ¡°I recall that Mo Xicheng¡¯s contract is about to expire.¡± Song Cheng¡¯s eyes lit up. At this point, his cell phone suddenly rang. He picked up the line, spoke respectfully for a short while and then hung up the line with a heavy expression on his face. He looked at Shen Liangchuan and said, ¡°We¡¯re finished! The investor that we struck a deal with two weeks ago wishes to withdraw their capital now. At the moment, we don¡¯t have much cash flow. We were depending on the money from this investor to pay our staff¡¯s sries.¡± The 50 million they had had initially were Shen Liangchuan¡¯s personal funds and they were meant to go into investing in thepany. However, it had now been used to pay the costly penalty for terminating his filming contract. This had caused a shortage in thepany¡¯s cash flow. And now, disastrous consequences were striking them. Song Cheng sighed. He looked up and nced at Shen Liangchuan, but saw that there had been no change in his expression. Song Cheng cleared his throat. ¡°If we can¡¯t resolve this... Shall we ask the Shen Family to invest?¡± At this suggestion, Shen Liangchuan looked up and gave him a deadpan look. Song Cheng immediately lowered his gaze when his eyes met with Shen Liangchuan¡¯s. ¡°Forget what I just said.¡± Chapter 617 - Beijing, Here I Come (7)

Chapter 617: Beijing, Here I Come (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian came out of the hospital and hailed a cab home. She wanted to cook a sumptuous dinner for Shen Liangchuan. But as she reached the house, she heard Xia Yehua¡¯s voice andughter from the living room. She was stunned for a moment before walking into the room. She was met with the sight of a delicate girl sitting on the sofa and conversing with Xia Yehua. Xia Yehua had a smile on her face and she was holding onto the girl¡¯s hand. When they heard the door open, they both turned to look at the door at the same time. Xia Yehua stood up with a smile and said, ¡°Qiao Lian, let me introduce to you my new friend.¡± Qiao Lian immediately widened her eyes and asked, ¡°Xia Nuannuan?¡± Xia Nuannuan immediatelyughed and replied, ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help but startughing, and asked, ¡°What brought you here?¡± Xia Nuannuan looked at Xia Yehua and replied, ¡°Auntie went to the rehab home to visit Ms. Song and, since I had just gotten off work, Auntie invited me over to her house for a while.¡± Using invitation as an excuse... Xia Yehua must be using her old tactics. She recalled thinking that she was a pitiful old woman and bing good friends with her then. Now... Qiao Lian took a nce at Xia Yehua and sat down beside her. She said, ¡°My mom has nothing to do usually and is kind of lonely. If you¡¯re free, doe over to apany her more often.¡± Xia Nuannuan nodded and replied, ¡°Sure, I really like Aunt Xia too.¡± Xia Yehua immediately smiled. As they were speaking, they suddenly heard the sound of a car from outside the vi. Xia Yehua was slightly stunned and said, ¡°Is Liangchuan back already?¡± Qiao Lian was also confused. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible. He was still in a meeting with clients when I called him just now.¡± Just as both of them were in confusion, they heard Auntie Li shout excitedly, ¡°Madam, Madam,e out quickly! Young Master Zihao is here!¡± Young Master Zihao was still his nickname in the Shen Family. When Xia Yehua heard her, her eyes immediately brightened up. She stood up immediately and asked, ¡°Really?¡± Since the incident fromst time, Shen Zihao had never returned home. Since he was back, did it mean that he wasn¡¯t angry anymore? Before Xia Yehua could walk out, the room door was open and Shen Zihao strode in with big steps. He was donned in a shirt and perfectly straight trousers. He looked much more energized thanpared to the time in ¡°Glitter Club¡±. It looked like the incident in the club had woken him up and he was no longer so down, right? As she thought so, Xia Yehua ran towards him excitedly and asked, ¡°Zihao, why are you here?¡± Shen Zihao once again used his weird tone, ¡°Can¡¯t I be here?¡± ¡°You can, of course, you can!¡± Xia Yehua spoke with excitement. She held his hands in her palm and said, ¡°Zihao, Mom is very happy that you came.¡± Shen Zihao scoffed and replied, ¡°But I am afraid I will have to disappoint you in the near future¡± Xia Yehua was stunned. ¡°What?¡± Shen Zihao sneered and looked around the room, asking, ¡°Shen Liangchuan isn¡¯t around?¡± ¡°But oh, right, he¡¯s currently in so much trouble. He must be needed everywhere!¡± After Xia Yehua and Qiao Lian heard him, they started worrying. ¡°What happened to him?¡± ¡°What happened? Thepany iscking funds and is unable to pay its employees on time. The artists in thepany are making a fuss, saying that they want to end their contracts. They also said that he was holding back new artists. Furthermore, the investments that had been previously confirmed suddenly backed out. All these problems, is there any easy way to solve them?¡± When he said so, Xia Yehua and Qiao Lian were immediately stunned. Chapter 618 - Beijing, Here I Come (8)

Chapter 618: Beijing, Here I Come (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios They had never thought that such a big matter could happen in Shen Liangchuan¡¯spany. ¡°How is this possible?¡± Qiao Lian eximed. Shen Zihao continued, ¡°Why isn¡¯t it possible? I believe it will be reported on the news in the next few days. The reason I came here is to tell you that, Mom, if he isn¡¯t able to support you, you cane and beg me. I might agree to support you for the rest of your life in exchange for giving birth to me.¡± After he finished speaking, he scoffed at their misfortune, turned and left. But Xia Yehua grabbed his elbow at that instant. Shen Zihao turned his head around and raised an eyebrow. ¡°What? Do you already want to beg me?¡± Xia Yehua spoke, ¡°Zihao, Zichuan and you are brothers who share the same blood, can¡¯t you just lend him a hand?¡± Shen Zihao scoffed. ¡°Help him? Why should I help him? He caused my parents to divorce and snatched my mom away. Why should I help him?¡± Shen Zihao spoke again after his scoffing, ¡°But there¡¯s a way to get me to help him too.¡± Xia Yehua¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°What?¡± Shen Zihao spoke, ¡°Ask him to kneel down, beg me and admit to father that he was wrong then.¡± Xia Yehua¡¯s irises swelled as she said, ¡°This is not possible!¡± Shen Zihao scoffed and said, ¡°He can live on the streets then!¡± After saying so, he turned and left. Even after hearing the start of his car engine, Xia Yehua had not came back to her senses. She stared at the doorstep, suddenly stuck her hand out and pressed it against her chest. ¡°Mom!¡± Qiao Lian hurriedly held onto her. ¡°Don¡¯t panic.¡± Xia Nuannuan hurriedly came over to help. ¡°Aunt Xia, don¡¯t get triggered. Take a deep breath and calm down.¡± After Xia Yehua calmed down, Xia Nuannuan felt that the situation was off and she immediately took her leave. When she walked out of the vi, she sighed quietly. Every family had a different woe. But... that man just now... She bit her lip and walked forward. She had to pass by a garden on the way from the vi to the train station. When she passed by the garden, she suddenly saw a car that had stopped by the road. Xia Nuannuan did not bother, but after taking a few steps, she looked back and stared at the car for a while. She then turned and walked to the pavilion beside the garden. As she had expected, she saw Shen Zihao there. He had lit a cigarette and was holding the cigarette with two fingers. The Shen Zihao at that moment no longer showed the anger, hatred and arrogance he had had when facing Xia Yehua just now. He stood there, alone, allowing his weak side to show. Since young, he had been longing for his mother¡¯s love. But his mother had divorced his father for the sake of his brother and they had moved out of the house. From the start, they hadn¡¯t considered his feelings at all. He wanted a home, aplete home. He hated his mom, he hated his brother. But the premise of this hatred was that they had abandoned him. As he thought about it, he drew on the cigarette. The thick nicotine irritated his lungs and caused him to cough violently. That look of his made people pity him. Xia Nuannuan walked over and stood in front of him. Shen Zihao frowned and looked up at her. Xia Nuannuan bit her lip and said, ¡°Aunt Xia has a heart disease. She cannot take agitation. It is easy for patients with heart disease to die suddenly from cerebral congestions.¡± Her words made Shen Zihao¡¯s irises swell. Chapter 619 - Beijing, Here I Come (9)

Chapter 619: Beijing, Here I Come (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Xia Nuannuan saw his reaction, she pursed her lips and continued saying, ¡°In this world, a mom will always be a mom. I believe that the misunderstanding that you two had in the past was due to difficulties and a predicament you were in.¡± That one sentence angered Shen Zihao, as he stood up and retorted, ¡°What sort of difficulties would cause one to abandon her own child?¡± Xia Nuannuan choked. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Shen Zihao frowned as he let out a cold smirk. Xia Nuannuan then walked over, sat beside him and said, ¡°If you are not in a good mood, how about letting me apany you for a chat?¡± Shen Zihao stood up and yelled, ¡°Get lost!¡± Xia Nuannuan did not move. After a while, she drew out a piece of paper and wrote down her contact number. ¡°You can give me a call if there are any problems.¡± She lowered her head and walked away quietly. Shen Zihao frowned and stared at her back view quizzically. He let out a cold smirk and casually threw away the piece of paper into the bushes nearby. Five minutester. He jumped into the bushes from the pavilion to pick up the piece of paper. He casually stuffed the crumpled piece of paper into his pocket. ¨C In the vi. When Shen Liangchuan returned home at night, he saw two women sitting on the sofa, staring and waiting for him. He had just got home, but Xia Yehua stood up and handed him a bank card. ¡°There are 2 million in there. It¡¯s Mom¡¯s personal savings in the past years. Take it and use it to pay the employees their sry.¡± Then, she pointed at the luxury goods that she had packed and ced on the side. ¡°I will go to the luxury store to sell these items away tomorrow. They will bring in some money.¡± ¡°And also, we have two vis in this district. I think it would be good to sell one.¡± She paused for a moment and then added, ¡°In fact, we can also consider selling both. We can rent another ce to stay.¡± After watching her give instructions bit by bit, he spoke inly when he concluded that she had finished speaking, ¡°Done speaking?¡± Xia Yehua nodded. Shen Liangchuan acknowledged her words with an ¡°oh¡±, kept the bank card and headed upstairs. Xia Yehua: ... Qiao Lian: ... Qiao Lian followed him up the stairs. When she got upstairs, she couldn¡¯t help but talk to Shen Liangchuan when she saw him, ¡°Erm, is yourpany in need of people?¡± Shen Liangchuan raised an eyebrow. ¡°What?¡± Qiao Lian replied, ¡°I can go to work without a sry.¡± Shen Liangchuan: ... So what kind of pathetic state was he in now? He smiled and stretched out his hand to touch Qiao Lian¡¯s head. He casually ced the bank card that Xia Yehua had given him on the table beside him. ¡°I am going to take a shower.¡± She waited for Shen Liangchuan to enter the bathroom before picking up her cell phone. When she picked up her cell phone, she then discovered that.... The article about Shen Liangchuan¡¯spany facing cash flow problems was out prematurely! Judging by the different sorts of problems he was facing, it seemed like perhaps he would be bankrupt tomorrow. The main issue was still cash flow problems. Qiao Lian bit her lip, raised her head and looked at the man who was washing up in the bathroom. What would he do this time? As she was contemting about it, a new message popped up on her cell phone. It was from Lu Nanze. [Have you seen the article? Can you really bear to see him lose everything?] Qiao Lian immediately clenched her fists. In the meantime, the man who was taking a shower in the bathroom had a gaze that was turning sharp and prating. As the hot water came sshing down onto his head, his eyes shed with silent anger. Having stayed dormant for a long time, it seemed like some people had forgotten that he was actually not a meek cat, but a lion. This was Beijing. His territory. Chapter 620 - Beijing, Here I Come (10)

Chapter 620: Beijing, Here I Come (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios By the time Shen Liangchuan came out from the shower, he realized that Qiao Lian was not in the room. He frowned slightly and searched for her for a while, before walking out of the room and heading downstairs. As he went down the stairs, he saw Xia Yehua discussing with Auntie Li about what they should do in the days toe. Auntie Li was fifty this year. She had remained unwed and had been serving her all along. ¡°In the days toe, we will reduce our intake of imported beef. When ites to buying vegetables, we can drive to the local market. It will be cheaper than purchasing items from the supermarket. If we go early in the morning, we will be able to pick the freshest vegetables.¡± Auntie Li nodded. Xia Yehua continued speaking, ¡°I recalled that back then, when we first left the Shen Family, we led a difficult life. But now, we will not be going back to that situation. Even if we were to face the same kind of situation, it¡¯s alright as we are all adults now.¡± Auntie Li continued nodding. Xia Yehua spoke again, ¡°Do you think that Xiao Qiao will leave Shen Liangchuan now that he is penniless?¡± Auntie Li: ... Shen Liangchuan: ... ¡°Ah, I haven¡¯t had the chance to carry my plump grandson yet. We must be nicer to Xiao Qiao in the future.¡± Auntie Li: ... Shen Liangchuan was absolutely speechless. While he was downstairs, he searched around the vi but he couldn¡¯t see Qiao Lian. He then enquired, ¡°Where is Qiao Lian?¡± ¡°She has just gone out.¡± Shen Liangchuan frowned and was stunned at these words. Gone out? Where could she have gone to? Shen Liangchuan picked up his cell phone and gave her a call. The call was connected. ¡°Where are you going to?¡± Qiao Lian answered with a stammer, ¡°Oh, you will know in a while.¡± That guilty tone rendered Shen Liangchua speechless. After he hung up the phone, he waited for a while at home before he saw Qiao Lianing home with several small and huge bags of items. Her hands were carrying bags of vegetables that she had bought at the market. When she entered the house, she left the bags on the floor, took out a little notebook and started writing on it. After that, she ran into the kitchen and studied it for a while. Then, she came out and silently went upstairs. Everyone: ... Xia Yehua was utterly shocked. ¡°Has Xiao Qiao been triggered by something?¡± Shen Liangchuan took a nce at Xia Yehua. ¡°I¡¯ll take a look upstairs.¡± When he reached upstairs, he went into the master bedroom and saw that Qiao Lian was still busy writing in the notebook. He didn¡¯t know what she was writing. Shen Liangchuan took a step forward. He then saw that she so extremely distressed that she sighed. Shen Liangchuan stretched out his hand to ce it on her shoulder. ¡°What happened?¡± Qiao Lian raised her head, drew out a bank card from her pocket and ced it on Shen Liangchuan¡¯s hand. ¡°This is my sry for the past few months. I haven¡¯t really spent much from it. It isn¡¯t that much money.¡± Shen Liangchuan was stunned. Qiao Lian stood up with a solemn look on her face. She looked at Shen Liangchuan and said, ¡°Zi Chuan, I know that it is because of me that you are facing pressures that you have never experienced before. If I were a saint, I would have left you in order to free you from this disaster. However, I am not one. I am very selfish. I want to be with you. We have missed eight years together and I certainly do not wish to live the days ahead without you. I won¡¯t let you fumble the ball, but there are only a few things that I can do.¡± ¡°Now, the only thing that I can do is to walk together with you through this crisis. If you really go bankrupt, we shall face the future together. I have just studied the prices of vegetables and I realized that vegetables from the wet market are indeed much cheaper than in the supermarket. We will be able to save a lot of money with this. We can also cut down costs by not having a servant. From now on, I will be the one to cook for the family.¡± Shen Liangchuan looked at her, touched. He spoke after a while, ¡°Do you know how to cook?¡± Qiao Lian: ... Chapter 621 - Best Actor Shen’s Counterattack (1)

Chapter 621: Best Actor Shen¡¯s Counterattack (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios What a choice of words in such a touching moment! This guy was not in the least romantic. Qiao Lian pouted and felt like giving Shen Liangchuan a good wallop. But the next moment, a pair of strong arms embraced her shoulders, drawing her into his embrace with a swift motion. His familiar breath and air of masculinity had a reassuring quality to them, allowing her heart to calm down. To be honest... She felt insecure. When she and Shen Liangchuan got married, in the beginning, their rtionship had been stormy. All she could think of was to quickly bear his child and leave. But through the interactions she had had with him, and even towards the end, when she found out that he was Zi Chuan, she had increasingly yearned for the warmth of this family she had joined. While it was true that he had caused her a lot of pain, she couldn¡¯t deny that he had also brought her much warmth. He was like her rock, a person she could rely on no matter what trouble she got into. Yet now, Lu Nanze wasing at them aggressively. Qiao Lian was afraid that Shen Liangchuan would be defeated by Lu Nanze and would give up on her from then onwards. Hence, she was putting on her best behavior, in the hope that Zi Chuan would not bear to let her go. She was in a panic, her heart was confused. But he had seen right through her. Although sheughed and joked all the time, he knew the insecurities she had and was meeting all of these with the embrace that was now giving her. Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes teared up. He said to her in a clear and unhurried manner, ¡°Xiao Qiao, I¡¯m here.¡± These words were like a soothing balm to her soul, and they warmed up her heart. She nodded to show she understood. ¡°Umm.¡± Although she couldn¡¯t bear to speak about this, she still did in the end, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, can you promise me something?¡± ¡°Say it.¡± ¡°If therees a point that you¡¯re tired, let me know. I¡¯ll leave.¡± She didn¡¯t want to be abandoned again, neither did she want to journey through life alone again. She felt the arms around her waist tighten. It felt as though he was trying to draw her right into his soul. After a brief moment, he said unhurriedly, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, I will be here always.¡± She immediately nodded. ¨C The rumours on the inte were getting more and more serious. Even some celebrities had exposed the details of the matter. Best Actor Shen had flouted the filming crew¡¯s regtions and, hence, been fired. He had had to pay a contract termination penalty of 50 million, which was the reason for the financial turnover problems that hispany was now facing. In addition, a few artists in hispany wanted to terminate their contracts with hispany, resulting in a fewwsuits. Also, the investor that they initially had a deal with all of a sudden had shirked his responsibilities. All of these things had caused Best Actor Shen¡¯s entertainmentpany to be at the brink of bankruptcy. At once, there was a general sense of anxiety among the workers. Some staff in thepany resigned, and some even tried to look for him at home. This situation kept Shen Liangchuan awfully busy. He was all over Beijing city, looking for potential investors. In a vi in Linglong District. Lu Nanze sat on the sofa, steadily watching the news reports on his cell phone. He sneered and tossed his cell phone aside. At this point, an assistant came up to him, saying, ¡°Sir, we¡¯ve discovered that Shen Liangchuan¡¯s family is selling the properties under their name. In addition, they are trying to gather resources everywhere. Obviously, they are having turnover problems.¡± Lu Nanze knitted his brow. ¡°Indeed, he¡¯s the great young master of the Shen Family. I¡¯m surprised he canst this long.¡± The assistant asked, ¡°So what do we do now?¡± Lu Nanzeughed and replied, ¡°Of course, we add fuel to the fire. Chapter 622 - Best Actor Shen’s Counterattack (2)

Chapter 622: Best Actor Shen¡¯s Counterattack (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The assistant was puzzled. Lu Nanze stood up at once and said, ¡°Make me an appointment to meet with Shen Zihao of the Shen Family.¡± The assistant now understood in a sh. ¨C Xia Nuannuan was working in the rehab home when she suddenly received a call from an unknown number. Looking at the unfamiliar number, she picked up the call, ¡°Hello, how are you? May I know who I¡¯m talking to?¡± A momentary silence on the other end of the line. Then a voice spoke, ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± The familiar voice caused Xia Nuannuan¡¯s eyes to light up all at once. ¡°Mr. Shen Zihao?¡± ¡°Yes, how has she beentely?¡± She? Xia Nuannuan was stumped for a moment before she could react. She said, ¡°I don¡¯t know. Auntie Xia and I run into each other only asionally.¡± The voice at the other end of the line sounded rather disappointed, but said ¡°ok¡± slowly. Hearing the disappointment in his voice, Xia Nuannuan suddenly said, ¡°Mr. Shen Zihao, I can drop by Aunt Xia¡¯s house this evening after work. I can give you a call afterwards, what do you think?¡± The voice on the other end paused. Then, sounding quite unwilling, he finally said, ¡°Ok, just do that.¡± After hanging up, Xia Nuannuan couldn¡¯t help breaking into a big smile. Mr. Shen Zihao looked rebellious and insensible, but the truth was that inside he yearned for family affection. Just like when they met at the Glitter Club, even though he was being attacked, he had lent her a helping hand. With this thought, she went to the rehab home office and requested to leave. Taking a cab, she went to Xia Yehua¡¯s vi home. After the visit, she immediately called Shen Zihao. ¡°Auntie Xia looks fine, but she¡¯s worried about your brother. She has sold off all her favorite pieces of jewelry.¡± The line was silent for a moment before he said words that he did not mean at all, ¡°... serves her right.¡± Xia Nuannuan sighed. ¡°But Aunt Xia looks very worried. She seems to have aged aged ten years overnight.¡± Shen Zihao went quiet. Xia Nuannuan continued, ¡°Mr. Shen Zihao, family members help one another.¡± ¡°Why do you talk so much? I¡¯m hanging up.¡± After chiding her, the line went dead. Xia Nuannuan looked at her cell phone andughed happily. She had discovered yet another positive trait of his. He would feel embarrassed and angry when someone made a correct guess about his inner thoughts. But why was she finding this so adorable? ¨C Shen Zihao paced up and down his room impatiently after hanging up. After a short while, the cell phone rang again. He picked up the line and heard a devilishly alluring voice, ¡°Shen Zihao?¡± He paused and asked, ¡°You are?¡± ¡°Lu Nanze¡± Shen Zihao¡¯s pupils shrank at once and his expression became impatient in an instant. ¡°What do you want?¡± Even if he hated Shen Liangchuan, only he could. But what sort of rubbish person was this Lu Nanze, that had cornered Shen Liangchuan to the point that the man was now all over the ce like a lunatic? Lu Nanze smiled and said unhurriedly, ¡°I heard that you don¡¯t get along with Shen Liangchuan, hence the reason for my call.¡± Shen Zihaoughed at once. ¡°So? What do you mean?¡± ¡°I¡¯m wondering if, Mr. Shen, you might be interested in a small coboration to hasten his bankruptcy?¡± Shen Zihao narrowed his eyes and said, ¡°So, Mr. Lu, I guess you don¡¯t have any siblings?¡± After a pause, Lu Nanze said, ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Then no wonder you don¡¯t understand how normal people think.¡± At this point, he gave the man on the line a thorough scolding, ¡°You attacked my brother and now dare look for me for a coboration, you can go to hell! Chapter 623 - Best Actor Shen’s Counterattack! (3)

Chapter 623: Best Actor Shen¡¯s Counterattack! (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lu Nanze got an angry earful from Shen Zihao and then, the line went dead. His lips turned upwards in a smile. The assistant said, ¡°Mr. Lu, if Shen Zihao doesn¡¯t cooperate¡ª¡± With a hand wave, Lu Nanzhe said dismissively, ¡°I was not looking for him in the first ce.¡± Puzzled, the assistant asked, ¡°Then you¡¯re...?¡± Lu Nanze made a search on his cell phone and located the recording of the conversation he had just had. ¡°Send this recording to Shen Zihao¡¯s stepmother, the woman by the name of Mei Feng. Let her listen to it.¡± The assistant immediately saw what Lu Nanze meant. The call he had made to Shen Zihao was to get actual coboration. They had done their homework on the Shen family beforeing to Beijing. Mei Feng didn¡¯t have a son and therefore, she doted on Shen Zihao. The thing that she feared the most was that Xia Yehua would take Shen Zihao away from her. Shen Zihao, on the other hand, acted like he couldn¡¯t care less about Xia Yehua. But this phone call proved that Shen Zihao did care for those people. And if this were the case... Mei Feng would surely not hold back on joining forces with them! At this thought, the assistant lowered his head with respect immediately and said, ¡°Yes.¡± Indeed, Mr. Lu need how to do things. ¨C Shen Zihao frowned after hanging up. After pacing his room a few times, he straightened up at once. After leaving the house and getting into his car, he drove off from the Shen family home. However, after driving away, he had no idea where to go. As he cruised around aimlessly, he found himself going to Shen Liangchuan¡¯s vi district. He stopped his car by the road in the gardens. Sitting in the driver¡¯s seat, he stared at the vi before him. He wasn¡¯t quite sure why he hade here. It was just that after receiving that call from Lu Nanze, he knew and was afraid that the man would try to do something nasty. Just as he was thinking about this, he suddenly saw a car stopping next to his. Following this, the backseat door opened. Shen Liangchuan got out, walked over to his car and knocked on the car window. Upon seeing Shen Liangchuan, Shen Zihao immediately looked somewhat embarrassed. As he frowned, he heard Shen Liangchuan say, ¡°Why are you here? What¡¯s up?¡± Shen Zihao replied gruffly, ¡°Nothing. Wondering if you guys have starved to death! I got a call from Lu Nanze today. He asked if I¡¯d join him in ruining you, so I¡¯m here to see if you¡¯ve ruined yourselves even before I do anything.¡± Although his tone was fierce, Shen Liangchuan could immediately see his good intentions. His expression darkened and his deep eyes looked steadily at his brother. ¡°Thanks, Zihao.¡± Shen Zihao turned red with embarrassment and he quickly started his car. ¡°Thank me? You must be crazy. I¡¯m berating you and you¡¯re thanking me!¡± Then he stepped on the elerator and started to drive away. Shen Liangchuan stared at the disappearing silhouette of the car. On his face, there was a hint of gratitude. Shen Zihao still had their interest at heart. Song Cheng now got out of the car. Obviously, he had heard Shen Zihao¡¯s words. ¡°Brother Shen, it looks like Lu Nanze is losing his cool.¡± Shen Liangchuan narrowed his eyes and the corner of his lips turned upwards. ¡°The fish... is finally biting the trap.¡± Seeing how steady he was, Song Cheng could finally heave a huge sigh of relief and said, ¡°It looks like all the news we¡¯ve been working hard to spread, trying to create anxiety among the people and all that have been an effortpletely worthwhile. Brother Shen, it alles down to your counterattack now!¡± Chapter 624 - Best Actor Shen’s Counterattack (4)

Chapter 624: Best Actor Shen¡¯s Counterattack (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian was still not home yet when Shen Liangchuan got back. She was at the clubhouse, watching the team train with video games. Although they had clinched the Beijing regionalpetition¡¯s first prize, the national championship was in two weeks. The team surely had seen the news and articles on what had happened to thepany. Qiao Lian was there to quell any anxiety. Unexpectedly, the six of them did not even mention anything in rtion to this and were fully focused on their training. Their attitude was one that anybody looking in would be proud of. Still, Qiao Lian felt that she should exin the situation to them. ¡°Don¡¯t you guys worry, you will still get your pay in full.¡± The six of them exchanged looks with each other, and Su Penghao finally spoke up, ¡°Coach Qiao, we¡¯ve thought about it. We¡¯ve decided not to take a sry for these few months. When we manage to get into the finals and clinch the top prize and the cash, we¡¯ll take our sry from that.¡± All of them nodded simultaneously at these words. As Qiao Lian looked at the team, emotions welled up in her heart. Thest match had united them in an unprecedented way. After all the difficulties they had been through together, she believed that this team was more united than any other team. As she walked out of the team¡¯s vi, she heard a sound behind her. Turning around, she saw Ancestor White Bones walking after her. Her family situation came to Qiao Lian¡¯s mind and, before Ancestor White Bones could speak, Qiao Lian said, ¡°White Bones, don¡¯t worry, you will be paid on time.¡± Otherwise, without money going to her family, her parents would turn up again and create a scene. Ancestor White Bones paused for a moment and said, ¡°Coach Qiao, it¡¯s not about that. I just wanted to tell you that Purple Fairy was here very recently.¡± Qiao Lian kept silent when she heard this. Ever since she had found out that King Fighting Team belonged to Sun Linan, she had not seen him. Furthermore, after she had returned from her trip to Hengdian to visit Shen Liangchuan, she had heard that the team had disbanded. So why had Purple Fairye looking for them? Seeing the puzzled look on Qiai Lian¡¯s face, Ancestor White Bones smiled and continued, ¡°Purple Fairy told us that thepany had gone broke and that you won¡¯t be able to pay us our sries from now on. She was nning to find a sponsor and wanted us to join her.¡± Qiao Lian understood at once. This guy was still using the same tactic. However... Ancestor White Bones continued, ¡°But all of us rejected her proposal.¡± Qiao Lian nodded and said, ¡°I understand, and I believe what you¡¯re saying.¡± After weathering all those storms, the group that remained had be the core of the team. Nodding, Ancestor White Bones added, ¡°We all feel that we are ying with this team for the sake of our dreams and aspirations, and not for the money. So Purple Fairy has grossly misjudged us if she thinks that she can put a mary value to us. Besides, ying for this team ignites the passion in us.¡± After these words, she finally said, ¡°Coach Qiao, the reason that I¡¯m telling you this is to let you know that no matter what happens, our team will always be here.¡± Qiao Lian was touched by their sentiments and nodded to show she understood. By the time she got back to the vi, Shen Liangchuan was already home. As she reached the top of the stairs to the second floor, she heard Song Cheng say, ¡°All of Beijing¡¯s most influential people will be at the business function tomorrow evening. The potential sponsors that we¡¯re targeting will be there too¡ª¡± Before he could finish, Shen Liangchuan raised an eyebrow and interrupted him, ¡°Get the suit ready, I¡¯ll be there tomorrow.¡± Song Cheng nodded. As he turned around, he saw Qiao Lian and paused for a moment before he greeted her, ¡°Ms. Qiao.¡± Chapter 625 - Best Actor Shen’s Counterattack! (5)

Chapter 625: Best Actor Shen¡¯s Counterattack! (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian gave him a slight nod. After Song Cheng left, Qiao Lian went up to Shen Liangchuan and suddenly asked, ¡°Mr. Shen, may I know if youck a female partner for tomorrow evening¡¯s function?¡± Seeing the sparkle in her eyes, he understood at once what she was thinking. She had heard what Song Cheng was saying and knew that he was going to look for sponsors. She was worried that he would have a tough time, so she wanted to apany him. Did she think... that he was going to beg? The thought of this made him slightly smile. He thought about the past few days, how she and Xia Yehua had been home and worried sick. He nodded and said, ¡°Okay. Put on something pretty for the asion then.¡± Things would get interesting tomorrow evening. Since that man with the surname Lu had dared to frighten Xiao Qiao, she should actuallye along to watch theedy unfold, shouldn¡¯t she? ¨C Soon, it was evening of the event. Although it was winter, Qiao Lian wore an evening gown. Wearing a coat over the gown, she arrived at the event venue with Shen Liangchuan. This business banquet had been organized by the Beijing Chamber of Commerce. It was a quarterly event that saw attendance from the upper echelons of society¡ªthey were there to socialize. Many deals were made and coborations established at these functions. Hence normally, if one was looking for investors, they would find means to secure an invitation to this event, through which they would get to know more investors. In the past years, Shen Liangchuan had never been to any of these banquets. That was why when he walked into the event location with Qiao Lian by his side, it immediately caught the attention of the people around. Someone widened his eyes in surprise and eximed, ¡°Shen Liangchuan? What brings you here?¡± Shen Liangchuan turned around upon hearing this and looked at him, saying unhurriedly, ¡°Why shouldn¡¯t I be here?¡± The man then fell silent, caught by Shen Liangchuan¡¯s stare. Everyone around looked at him with an expression of reverence and flocked over to him, asking all sorts of questions. Qiao Lian stood by the side watching this happen. These people were the heirs of the various huge enterprises in Beijing. Based on his current status as a mere actor, these people would normally not bother with him. However, looking at what was going on, one could observe that Shen Liangchuan was particrly popr among the rich second-generation heirs, to the extent that they looked at him with obvious admiration. This showed that Shen Liangchuan had once been a hegemon. A person could fall in dire straits, but the rtionships that he built would be there forever. Thus, the people who had followed Shen Liangchuan in their youth were now all grown up, and could hold their family businesses on their own. Even if Shen Liangchuan was just a famous actor, this group of people would give him face. At this point, Qiao Lian was a little puzzled. If this was the case, then why couldn¡¯t Shen Liangchuan find help to raise the funds that he needed? As she was wondering this, she suddenly heard a voice yelling, ¡°Dishonorable son! Who gave you permission to be here?¡± Everyone turned simultaneously to look in the direction of the voice and saw Shen Xiu striding over. Fury was evident on his face, he looked at Shen Liangchuan with a murderous expression. And next to him was a young man. The corner of the young man¡¯s lips were turned upwards in a mesmerizing smile, and his phoenix eyes were fixed on Qiao Lian. It was Lu Nanze. When Qiao Lian saw him, her pupils shrank at once. Why was he next to Shen Xiu? Indeed, the next moment Shen Xiu spoke, ¡°We, the Shen Family and the Lu Family, are coborating on a new project. From now on we are business partners.¡± Chapter 626 - Best Actor Shen’s Counterattack (6)

Chapter 626: Best Actor Shen¡¯s Counterattack (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At these words, Shen Liangchuan narrowed his eyes and fixed his prating gaze on Shen Xiu. Laughing heartily, Shen Xiu patted Lu Nanze¡¯s shoulder and remarked, ¡°Now the world belongs to the young. Mr. Lu has good thinking and we, the Shen Family, are d to be working with you.¡± Lu Nanze smiled arrogantly and replied, ¡°Thank you for the kind words, Uncle Shen.¡± He turned to look at Shen Liangchuan and continued, ¡°I heard that this is your eldest son.¡± Before he could finish, Shen Xiu interrupted him, ¡°Son? I have no such son. The only son I have is Zihao.¡± At this point, he looked at the guests that had gathered and proimed, ¡°I, Shen Xiu, will recognize that I¡¯ve never had such a dishonourable son as Shen Liangchuan!¡± Most of the guests were the elites of the industry. When they heard this, they turned to look at Shen Liangchuan. Qiao Lian stood by his side and clenched her fists tightly in anger. Was this man his real father? He seemed more like an enemy. Did he not know that Shen Liangchuan was hitting a low point in his career? Yet this man was stirring more trouble! No wonder Shen Liangchuan had trouble securing funds. Obviously, Shen Xiu was behind it all. And now, after publicly embarrassing him, who would coborate with Shen Liangchuan and invest in hispany? Qiao Lian harshly bit her lip and feltpelled to speak up, but Shen Liangchuan made an unhurriedeback, ¡°You said the same eight years ago and everyone already knows it. Is there a need to repeatedly remind everyone? I think the guests who can make it to this event don¡¯t have memory issues.¡± Shen Xiu immediately narrowed his eyes upon hearing this retort. ¡°You¡ª¡± ¡°Mr. Shen, if there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯m going in. I am not obliged to stand here and listen to your loud and arrogant tirade.¡± Having said that, Shen Liangchuan walked towards the entrance of the venue with Qiao Lian. However, as he walked past Shen Xiu, thetter reached out his hand and pulled him back. With narrowed eyes, Shen Xiu gave Shen Liangchuan a hard stare and then finally shifted his gaze to Qiao Lian. Lowering his voice, he said to Shen Liangchuan, ¡°You unfilial son, getting yourself in such dire straits over a woman, is that worth it?¡± Shen Liangchuan narrowed his eyes as he turned to look at the elder Shen. Shen Xiu continued, ¡°If you divorced this woman, Mr. Lu would give me all the profits of our project. And when that happens, I¡¯ll take you and your Mom back, how¡¯s that?¡± Shen Liangchuan raised an eyebrow at this suggestion. Staring directly at Shen Xiu, he suddenly asked, ¡°And Mei Feng will agree to this?¡± Shen Xiu sneered, ¡°You think Mei Feng is like your Mom? This was her own suggestion! You are, after all, my son.¡± Shen Liangchuan suddenly found this funny. Shen Xiu was considered a sessful man in the industry but at home, Mei Feng had him twirled around her little finger like a lost soul. To think that she would suggest such a ridiculous idea. Shen Liangchuan narrowed his cold and distant eyes and finally expressed his anger, ¡°If you wish to have two women at your service, you should look for a youngdy. My mother is not interested in you!¡± Shen Xiu immediately fumed upon hearing this. ¡°You¡ª¡± Ignoring him, Shen Liangchuan continued walking towards the venue. It was only after he disappeared from their view that Shen Xiu took a few breaths and calmed down. Lu Nanze smiled as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Uncle Shen. He¡¯lle looking for you when he hits a dead end.¡± Chapter 627 - Best Actor Shen’s Counterattack (7)

Chapter 627: Best Actor Shen¡¯s Counterattack (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Because of what had just happened at the entrance, only a few people approached Shen Liangchuan now as he entered the event venue. Even his childhood friends kept a distance and did not approach him. Shen Liangchuan wasn¡¯t fazed and strolled over to the sofa at the resting zone on the side. He seemed to be in a rxed mood and even asked her, ¡°Are your feet hurting?¡± Qiao Lian normally wore t shoes, but she had put on heels for this function. She immediatelyughed at the idea that she should be thought of as a delicate and pampered little mistress. ¡°No, they¡¯re not hurting.¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded. Just as they were about to speak again, Lu Nanze walked up to them. Standing next to them and resting his gaze on Qiao Lian¡¯s feet, he remarked, ¡°You used to hate wearing heels. Now they no longer hurt?¡± Shen Liangchuan expression darkened at the man¡¯s words. Before Qiao Lian could say anything, he continued expressionlessly, ¡°We appreciate your concern. My wife is fine.¡± Lu Nanzeughed icily and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t you know how Qiao Lian grew up? Back in Suzhou, she basically could have whatever she wanted. Everyone in the circle pampered her and she was a little princess! But now she has to suffer along with you..¡± ¡°Lu Nanze! What I desire is my own choice. Besides, I¡¯m blissfully happy now!¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather be begging alongside him than leave with you. So you can stop dreaming about it!¡± She was firm and resolute, and her words were like a sharp knife that cut deeply into Lu Nanze¡¯s heart. She would rather beg alongside Shen Liangchuan than leave with him? Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes as his smile deepened. ¡°Fine. Then let¡¯s have you experience what it¡¯s like to beg!¡± As he thought this, someone approached them. Immediately, Lu Nanze raised his hand and pointed at him for Qiao lian to see. ¡°Do you know who that is?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s gaze followed the direction indicated. It was a man of simr age to them, and he was wearing a suit and leather shoes. Qiao Lian kept silent. Lu Nanze continued, ¡°That was yourpany¡¯s first investor. Li Chenyu grew up with Shen Liangchuan and they were buddies. Their agreement had been drafted and was ready to be signed, but he changed his mind at thest minute.¡± He looked at Qiao Lian and continued, ¡°Do you know why?¡± Qiao Lian bit her lip and looked at Shen Liangchuan. Lu Nanzeughed. ¡°Because I gave him considerable benefits.¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s expression turned ugly at once. ¡°You¡¯re despicable!¡± Lu Nanze stared at them with viciousness shing in his eyes. ¡°Qiao Lian, I¡¯ve told you before. Come with me and I¡¯ll leave him alone.¡± Now Qiao Lian was heaving with anger. At this point, as though attempting to provoke them even more, Lu Nanze yelled, ¡°Mr. Li!¡± Li Chenyu turned when he heard his name being called. His eyes lit up instantly when he saw them and he strode over. Lu Nanze kept his eyes on the man. Then, smiling, he told Qiao Lian, ¡°I¡¯ll introduce you now.¡± Those infuriating words! Qiao Lian was speechless. Li Chenyu had been Shen Liangchuan¡¯s friend, but he had betrayed thetter to gain some benefits for himself. Lu Nanze had called him over just to embarrass Shen Liangchuan. And now, Li Chenyu was standing before them. Lu Nanze extended his hand to greet the man. ¡°Mr. Li, how are you?¡± Li Chenyu smiled broadly and replied, ¡°Mr. Lu, what a coincidence! How are you!?¡± He didn¡¯t even turn to look at Shen Liangchuan. Chapter 628 - Best Actor Shens Counterattack (8)

Chapter 628: Best Actor Shen¡¯s Counterattack (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian immediately reached out for Shen Liangchuan¡¯s hand when she saw this. He was probably very upset because of how his childhood friend had betrayed him. She bit her lip and looked at the other two men. At a loss, she finally said to Shen Liangchuan, ¡°Honey, I need to go to the restroom. Will youe with me?¡± Obviously, she was trying to move Shen Liangchuan away from this situation so that he would not be subject to these taunts. Shen Liangchuan knitted his brow. Seeing that she was trying to protect him, he stood up. As they were about to leave, Lu Nanze stopped them. He pointed at Li Chenyu and said to Shen Liangchuan, ¡°Mr. Shen, you two are childhood buddies after all so, even if a coboration couldn¡¯t work out this time, can¡¯t there be a next time?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you take a seat? Let¡¯s have a drink together. Why are you in such a hurry to leave? Are you holding a grudge against Mr. Li?¡± He was sowing seeds of discord. Qiao Lian boiled with anger at what this vicious man was saying. She bit her lip and said, ¡°Lu Nanze, you¡¯re too much!¡± ¡°How is that being too much? Mr. Li and Mr. Shen are merely having a small disagreement, and I¡¯m here to mediate.¡± Lu Nanze¡¯s reply was simply infuriating. Even Qiao Lian, who usually had a goodeback, was speechless by his shamelessness. Shen Liangchuan, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow and sat on the sofa. Turning towards Li Chenyu, he said, ¡°Very well then. Let¡¯s hear what you have to say.¡± Li Chenyu cleared his throat and looked slightly embarrassed. ¡°Brother Shen... I¡¯m really sorry about what happened this time.¡± Shen Liangchuan raised his eyebrow again. Then the man immediatelyughed as he said, ¡°Why don¡¯t I buy you a meal next time? So just forgive me, please.¡± Lu Nanze said at once, ¡°Why wait till next time? It¡¯s always better to fix a date than to leave things to chance. Let¡¯s do it today.¡± Li Chenyuughed heartily and said, ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s go for dinner after the function!¡± Lu Nanze shifted his gaze to Shen Liangchuan and asked, ¡°Mr. Shen, do you dare go?¡± Not if he would like to go, but if he dared to... He was making it difficult for Shen Liangchuan to back out. The three men went back and forth, exchanging verbal blows. Listening to them, Qiao Lian was anxious for Shen Liangchuan. But Shen Liangchuan was unruffled as always, as though nothing could anger him. Seeing that he was so calm, Lu Nanze turned suddenly to Li Chenyu and said, ¡°Mr. Li, I¡¯ll fulfill my promise to you right now.¡± Immediately, Li Chenyu smiled and replied, ¡°Good, just as well. I can use the money for dinner!¡± Lu Nanze reached into his pocket and drew out a check, saying, ¡°As long as you keep to our deal, these 50 million are yours.¡± He signed the check and then passed it to Li Chenyu. Qiao Lian was livid. Lu Nanze was a true abuser! It was bad enough that he was making deals under the table, but now he was making such transactions in their presence. He was tantly trying to embarrass Shen Liangchuan! She had an uncontroble urge to scratch at his face. At this point, Qiao Lian turned to Shen Liangchuan, hoping to offer a few words of support. However, she noticed that his expression was calm and steady. His eyes were trained on Li Chenyu. As for Li Chenyu, the moment he had the check in his hand, he jumped up and ran over to Shen Liangchuan, saying, ¡°Brother Shen, 50 million. Aren¡¯t you going to praise me?!¡± Qiao Lian was stunned by his words. What sort of situation was this? Shen Liangchuan got up from his seat in one graceful movement and nced at Lu Nanze, who had by now narrowed his eyes in suspicion. He said, ¡°I¡¯ll keep the 50 million. As for dinner, do you daree? I have a few other friends to introduce to you.¡± Chapter 629 - Best Actor Shen’s Counterattack (9)

Chapter 629: Best Actor Shen¡¯s Counterattack (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The tables had somewhat turned. Qiao Lian stared at the three men, stupefied. All at once, the anger she felt disappeared. She turned to look at Shen Liangchuan and then shifted her gaze to Lu Nanze. This was beyond what her brain could take. What- was going on? Wasn¡¯t Shen Liangchuan going broke? And hadn¡¯t Lu Nanze teamed up with Li Chenyu and ruined the investment deal? Although she couldn¡¯t figure out what was happening, her eyes lit up at once as she turned to look at Shen Liangchuan. From the start, Shen Liangchuan had not panicked. She had believed all along that he was just a popr actor and surely would not be able to stand up to Lu Nanze. But who would have guessed... one step at a time, he must haveid this out when they returned from Hengdian. Her Zi Chuan was way too dashing! She looked at Lu Nanze again. There was a slight shift in his expression before it returned to normal. He was terribly resilient and would not be affected by these things. He merely lightly frowned and looked at Li Chenyu, saying, ¡°I didn¡¯t think that Mr. Li couldn¡¯t be trusted with his word.¡± Shen Liangchuan kept silent while Li Chenyu frowned in response. ¡°Of course I¡¯ll keep my word. I said that I wouldn¡¯t finance Brother Shen¡¯spany and I¡¯ll keep my promise!¡± ¡°Sigh! Really, I¡¯ve missed a great opportunity to make money all because of you!¡± His ming tone made it look like he was losing a few billion dors by not coborating with Shen Liangchuan. Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes again andughed after a short pause. ¡°These 50 million are not going to help you turn yourpany around, but it¡¯s money I can spare. Take it for your daily living expenses.¡± At this point, they heard a voice say, ¡°Brother Shen! You¡¯re finally here! I brought the sponsoring agreement. Let me know when you have a moment to sign it.¡± The voice belonged to a young man in his mid-twenties, who looked straight at Shen Liangchuan as he strode over. Then, he shed an appealing smile. ¡°CEO Zheng.¡± Shen Liangchuan shot the young man a quick look. CEO Zheng immediately said, ¡°Don¡¯t be formal with me! You¡¯ll shorten my life. Hehe. But finally, you think of me!¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded at him. ¡°Thanks for this, buddy.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to get all polite with me! Whatever you need, all you have to do is say it and I¡¯ll have it delivered right away.¡± His unrestrained and spirited words were most pleasing to hear. Qiao Lian watched as the men spoke. Shen Liangchuan had a rxed expression on his face now. His eyescked the usual iciness that was characteristic of him, making him seem more human. As he talked to them, he would often extend his hand to give the other person a pat on the shoulder. There was a certainck of restrain in the ease with which theymunicated, but it was quite obvious that they had a good rtionship. This side of Shen Liangchuan was the Zi Chuan that she remembered so well. He was the sort of person who made strong friendships everywhere he went. People were loyal to him and followed his lead unconditionally. Just like years ago with theirpetitive team, everyone saw him as a leader and they would believe in whatever he said. As she looked at him, she broke into a smile. After speaking with the two men, Shen Liangchuan nced at Lu Nanze and said, ¡°Mr. Lu, I¡¯m afraid I have to disappoint you. Ourpany is quite far from being broke.¡± ¡°In addition, our first project is to invest in the production of Ambition .¡± Chapter 630 - Best Actor Shen’s Counterattack (10)

Chapter 630: Best Actor Shen¡¯s Counterattack (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I think Ambition has got a lot of potential, so I intend to turn it into a big production. Now, your share in Ambition is less than 30 percent.¡± Initially, Lu Nanze¡¯s share for the production had almost been 60 percent. For that reason, he had been able to do as he wished and ce actors in the cast. But now... And indeed, Shen Liangchuan said right away, ¡°The current female lead¡¯s acting skills are poor and she has a foul temper. I¡¯ve already suggested to the director to have her reced.¡± Lu Nanze¡¯s pupils shrank even more. He stared directly at Shen Liangchuan as though he had a new-found respect for this strong opponent, but he was also on the alert. Shen Liangchuan couldn¡¯t know about what had gone on between Qiao Lian and him. In the beginning, Shen Liangchuan had ns to look for him in Hengdian and discuss a possible coboration. But he had appeared in Hengdian without giving prior notice, and Shen Liangchuan had not prepared. In the face of his attacks, he chose the strategy of advancing by retreating. First, he gave up 50 million to leave the filming crew. Then, suspecting that he might be intercepted at the airport, he took Qiao Lian and left Hengdian by car. The man had thought that even if the couple returned to Beijing, Shen Liangchuan was only a famous actor. Hence after he got everything ready, he rushed over to Beijing himself. It looked like he had Shen Liangchuan cornered. But ultimately, this had all been a part of Shen Liangchuan¡¯s ns. Everything about selling his family properties and hispany going broke... it had all been a fake drama. Frowning, he looked at the crowd around him with confusion and, for the first time, took the full measure of this man, Shen Liangchuan. As a leader growing up of the group in Suzhou, he himself had led his own group of wealthy second-generation heirs. But the friends surrounding him had always ced self-interest above anything else. Hence, he had never once considered the possibility that even if Shen Liangchuan were to be in dire straits, his friends would stand by him and help him. Even if, like in the case of Li Chenyu, they had nothing to gain by helping him. Wasn¡¯t everybody a businessman? How could this be possible? In his heart, he had always been cold and selfish. He had never trusted anyone and would only be convinced when a deal came with benefits. However, this philosophy didn¡¯t seem to apply to Shen Liangchuan at all. For the first time, Lu Nanze took this man seriously. He was a worthy opponent. Even if he had left the Shen Family, and even if he was a mere actor, his childhood friends would stand by him without a moment of hesitation. It showed that this man had his own charisma. Lu Nanze admitted defeat. But even as the loser, even if his expression had turned ugly, and even if he had been embarrassed by Shen Liangchuan, it took two full minutes for him to regain hisposure. Narrowing his eyes, he said, ¡°Mr. Shen, our paths shall cross again.¡± Then he turned to look at Qiao Lian and gave her a smile that expressed his unyielding determination to get what he wanted. It was a look that made her shudder inside. But the next moment, a tall and broad frame stepped in between her and Lu Nanze to shield her from the man¡¯s ill intentions. He gave another smirk and raised an eyebrow before he turned to leave. Following him closely, his assistant asked, ¡°What do we do now?¡± Lu Nanze squinted and paused. He gave an icyughter before instructing, ¡°Book me a ticket back to Suzhou.¡± The assistant was dumbstruck. ¡°Are we going back right now?¡± Lu Nanze lowered his gaze, saying, ¡°The gentleman knows not to ce himself in a dangerous position. Just as he knows this, I do too.¡± He gave an icy smile. Qiao Lian, I shall wait for you in Suzhou. Chapter 631 - Sowing Seeds of Discord (1)

Chapter 631: Sowing Seeds of Discord (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lu Nanze left the function¡¯s venue. Li Chenyu immediately jumped up. ¡°Freaking hell! An outsider trying to attack my Brother Shen! He¡¯s courting death.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. In Beijing, who canpare to our Brother Shen?¡± the man called CEO Zheng remarked. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression softened as he looked at the two men. He said, ¡°Dinner¡¯s on me tonight.¡± ¡°Sure!¡± Li Chenyu said at once. ¡°I have been calling you for so many years and all this time I was hoping for a free meal, but you just wouldn¡¯t ept! Brother Shen, I am going to order as much food as I can tonight.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! I¡¯ll gather all the other brothers and we¡¯ll have a meal together!¡± Shen Liangchuan paused for a moment, then he nodded. With his approval, Li Chenyu immediately looked excited and picked up his cell phone. ¡°I¡¯ll call them now.¡± These young people had their own heroes. Shen Liangchuan, obviously, was a person these people saw as their leader. Qiao Lian heaved a sigh of relief. Shen Liangchuan walked to her and reached out to take her hand in his. She bit her lip and looked at him. Then, she suddenly leaned over and whispered in his ear, ¡°You were way too cool just then!¡± He was slightly taken aback and his pupils widened. Shen Liangchuan was always calm, so it was rare for him to feel touched. But at this juncture... he suddenly felt like a young man being praised by the girl he admired. His eyes lit up at once, as he looked at the girl with adoration in his eyes. Suddenly, there was this strange sense of satisfaction. Just like... Eight years ago, when he yed video games, he would hear a girl¡¯s voice through his earphones as he yed saying, ¡°Zi Chuan, you¡¯re superb! Such great moves!¡± Shen Liangchuan cast his gaze down to hide the emotions that were swelling and washing over him. He reached out to squeeze the back of her hand and suddenly whispered in her ear, ¡°So how are you going to reward me when we get home tonight?¡± His tone was teasing and his hot breath brushed against her face as he spoke. Qiao Lian was suddenly overloaded with a feeling of shyness that sprung up from within. She pretended to be clueless and replied softly, ¡°I¡¯ll cook you a meal tonight?¡± He replied meaningfully, ¡°I don¡¯t want food.¡± Qiao Lian paused as he continued, ¡°I want you.¡± A few simple words. And they had just rolled out his tongue like that, in public. Even though they were speaking in a low voice, Qiao Lian still felt terribly self-conscious. Her face immediately turned bright scarlet. She coughed once and turned nervously to look around. Then, seeing that Li Chenyu was looking at her curiously, her already blushing face suddenly felt as though it was on fire. She wondered... if anyone else had heard it. However, she was obviously overthinking things. Li Chenyu only took one quick nce at her before he turned to Shen Liangchuan to ask, ¡°Brother Shen, this must be Sister-inw?¡± ¡°How are you, Sister-inw?¡± ¡°How are you, Sister-inw?¡± The people around them began to echo the greeting. Being addressed this way made Qiao Lian feel as though she had stepped right into the ranks of the mafia underworld. Smiling, she greeted them back. After a short time, a figure walked towards them. It was a very angry looking Shen Xiu. He pointed at Shen Liangchuan. ¡°You dishonorable son! I¡¯ve lost a big deal because of you! Mr Lu has called off our deal.¡± Chapter 632 - Sowing Seeds of Discord (2)

Chapter 632: Sowing Seeds of Discord (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At those words, the crowd began to disperse. The fuming Shen Xiu had now walked up to Shen Liangchuan. Thetter looked at him with displeasure in his eyes. ¡°Mr. Shen, I don¡¯t think we have much to do with each other.¡± Livid, Shen Xiu pointed at Shen Liangchuan and said in a harsh tone, ¡°You¡¯d better speak up. Is Li Chenyu being so helpful because that¡¯s what his father wants? I knew it, his father and your mother have something going on! Otherwise, why would he help you?! That b*tch. She wanted a divorce at the time because of this¡ª¡± Before he could even finish speaking, Shen Liangchuan suddenly grabbed him by the cor. Although his face was expressionless, his eyes were aze with anger. ¡°Shut up!¡± Shen Xiu jumped at hismanding tone. But the next moment, he was fuming again. ¡°You rebel! How dare you use physical force against me? Have you forgotten who I am?!¡± ¡°And who are you?¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s question caused Shen Xiu to suddenly choke up. He stared at the man as he continued, ¡°If it weren¡¯t for the small rtion we still have, I¡¯d have beaten you up. I¡¯m warning you here, let¡¯s stay out of each other¡¯s business. If you dare harass me again, don¡¯t me me for being impolite!¡± Shen Xiu was speechless but shook with anger. At this point, a woman¡¯s voice was heard saying, ¡°Liangchuan, what are you doing? Let go of your father!¡± Qiao Lian frowned and turned around. It was a woman in her forties and she was hurrying towards them in her heels. Although she was in her forties, she looked like a littledy from the Waterways in Jiangnan. Outwardly, she seemed frail and delicate with her thin frame. Her eyes were bright and glistening. Without a need for introductions, Qiao Lian knew at once who she was. Mei Feng. The woman who had seduced Shen Xiu and made him leave his wife. Qiao Lian¡¯s frown deepened at this thought. After Mei Feng came up to them, she grabbed Shen Liangchuan by his arm and pleaded, ¡°Liangchuan, we can talk it out, there¡¯s no need to use force. Your father is old and can¡¯t take physical attacks!¡± As she spoke, Shen Zihao was walking closely behind her. Shen Liangchuan frowned at once with Mei Feng¡¯s touch. The muscles on his arm tensed as he moved to push her away. Mei Feng took a step backwards, but as she spotted Shen Zihao from the corner of her eye, she took another step backwards and fell on the ground with a thud. With a soft voice, she went ¡°ouch.¡± When Shen Zihao saw this happening, his expression changed at once. He charged towards Mei Feng to support her and asked, ¡°Aunty Mei, are you okay?¡± Mei Feng pulled a face to show that she was in pain, but said to him, ¡°I¡¯m okay. Go look after your father.¡± Shen Zihao looked up again as he frowned and shouted, ¡°Shen Liangchuan! Let him go!¡± He got up and lunged towards them to pry Shen Xiu away from Shen Liangchuan¡¯s grip. However, just as Shen Zihao was doing this, Shen Liangchuan loosened his grip on Shen Xiu¡¯s cor and stepped away, dusting his hands. Shen Zihao hurried over to help Shen Xiu steady himself. Thetter cried out angrily, ¡°Dishonorable son, truly dishonorable! Such rotten luck have I had in this lifetime! To have a son like you!¡± Shen Liangchuan looked as though he was about to say something, but decided to keep silent when he cast his eyes on Shen Zihao. He turned to Qiao Lian and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± They were there for the sole reason of dealing with Lu Nanze. Now that Lu Nanze was gone, there was no reason to stay. But just as they were leaving, Shen Zihao caught up and stopped them by standing in their way. ¡°Shen Liangchuan, I want you to apologize to Dad and Aunty Mei!¡± Chapter 633 - Sowing Seeds of Discord (3)

Chapter 633: Sowing Seeds of Discord (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan froze at Shen Zihao¡¯s words. Thetter stood there, staring at him stubbornly. The two brothers were not too far apart in age. Shen Liangchuan was about three years older than Shen Zihao. And standing next to each other, they were about the same height. Shen Liangchuan, however, had a certainposure that his brothercked. Next to him, Shen Zihao was like a child that had never quite grown up. They stood facing each other, in a confrontational stance. An ufortable moment. As though the situation wasn¡¯t enough of a mess, Shen Xiu stood there pointing at Shen Liangchuan and telling Shen Zihao, ¡°Zihao, you teach him a lesson! His manners have gone to the dogs. How dare he use physical force on me?¡± Shen Zihao frowned upon hearing this. Mei Feng immediately stood up, putting her hand on her own waist. ¡°Honey, don¡¯t be like this. They are still young and ignorant... Why put yourself on the same level?¡± This was simply implying that Shen Liangchuan was ignorant. Watching this scene, Qiao Lian felt ufortable for Shen Liangchuan. Freaking hell... Shen Zihao was so muddle-headed. It would have been beneath Shen Liangchuan¡¯s dignity to pick a fight with a woman, however, she was not willing to let Shen Liangchuan be at a disadvantage. Stepping forward, Qiao Lian said, ¡°Olddy, it¡¯s true we are young and driven, unlike you, who fell on the ground at the slightest touch, like a delicate willow swaying in the wind.¡± Mei Feng turned bright red. ¡°You¡ª¡± Qiao Lian looked away. Turning to Shen Zihao, she said, ¡°And you, do you even know what happened? Don¡¯t you know your brother well enough? If it weren¡¯t for someone pushing his boundaries, do you think he¡¯d get this angry?¡± Shen Zihao immediately turned to look at Shen Xiu. The man frowned and sneered coldly, ¡°What happened, actually? The things I said... were any of them untrue?¡± Qiao Lian went quickly to the point so that she wouldn¡¯t give Shen Zihao the wrong impression that she was sitting on the fence. ¡°Mr. Shen, as an elder there¡¯s nothing terribly wrong about berating Shen Liangchuan, but you really shouldn¡¯t have dragged Mom¡¯s name through the mud!¡± Looking at Shen Zihao, she continued, ¡°No matter what, she gave birth to you and fed you. Even if you¡¯ve had some disagreements between you, how can it be right to say such negative things about her in public?¡± Immediately, Shen Zihao looked confused and undecided. He even turned to Shen Xiu and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Seeming a little evasive now, Shen Xiu cleared his throat and said, ¡°What could be the matter? Don¡¯t you listen to her nonsense!¡± Qiao Lian spoke again, ¡°Li Chenyu had lent us a helping hand, but he said¡ª¡± ¡°Enough!¡± Shen Xiu hollered angrily, looking ashamed at the same time. Turning to Shen Zihao, he said, ¡°I made a remark about your mother and Li Chenyu¡¯s father having something going between them. Do you believe me now? They helped without any benefits, so if it isn¡¯t because of that sort of secret rtion, what else could it be?¡± Shen Zihao¡¯s expression immediately darkened at these words. At the time, his parents had suddenly divorced. When he returned from abroad, his father had told him that his mother no longer wanted him. He had said she had taken his brother with her to seek some other man. And on top of this, because his mother had had an affair, she had had to leave the family and take nothing with her. In his mind, his mother had betrayed the family. Hence now, these words triggered something that hadid buried deep in his heart. Turning around and staring at Shen Liangchuan angrily, he said, ¡°Isn¡¯t dad right? Now I want you to apologize to Dad and Aunty Mei!¡± Chapter 634 - Sowing Seeds of Discord (4)

Chapter 634: Sowing Seeds of Discord (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan raised his eyebrows at Shen Zihao¡¯s words and asked his brother, ¡°So you feel that it¡¯s right of him to say these things about Mom?¡± Shen Zihao¡¯s pupils shrank, but his words were most unbing, ¡°That¡¯s right, she has no shame! If she¡¯s not afraid to do the deed, then shouldn¡¯t she be prepared for wagging tongues? If she was capable of abandoning her husband and son back then, what other shameless deeds could she have done? She¡¯s¡ª¡± Before he could finish what he was saying, Shen Liangchuan suddenly raised his hand, moved back and squarely delivered a solid punch in his face. Pow! His knucklended on the corner of Shen Zihao¡¯s mouth and now it was bleeding. Narrowing his eyes, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression was almost murderous as he warned, ¡°Say it one more time if you dare.¡± It had all happened too quickly. Shen Liangchuan had thrown that punch in the blink of an eye. Even Qiao Lian, who was standing next to him, had no time to react¡ªmuch less the others. But now Qiao Lian was livid. Did Shen Zihao know his own mother at all? Living with Aunt Xia, she knew very well that the woman was home all day doing nothing much but ying video games, because life was just a lonely existence for her. She even wished that Aunt Xia would get a winter romance, but right up till now, the woman had been alone. How could Shen Zihao even say such a thing of her? Hence, she didn¡¯t think that Shen Liangchuan had been too rash with the punch. On the contrary, Shen Zihao had gotten away easy! It was Mei Feng who got over the shock first. She ran up to support the young man and anxiously asked him, ¡°Zihao, are you okay?¡± The man turned around angrily and spat out the blood in his mouth. He looked at Shen Liangchuan defiantly and replied, ¡°I¡¯ll say it again. So what?¡± So what? Shen Liangchuan¡¯s pupils shrank. With tightly clenched fists, he took a step towards Shen Zihao and was about to throw another punch when Mei Feng suddenly put herself in front of her step-son. When Shen Liangchuan saw her lunging forward, he already tried to stop. But still, the punchnded on her. Although with a lot less force than what had been intended for Shen Zihao. However, Mei Fung staggered as the blownded on her, and she suddenly gave out a dull humph. Her face turned ghastly pale. Shen Zihao¡¯s pupils shrank at once as he called out, ¡°Aunty Mei, are you okay?¡± Mei Feng frowned and turned to him, saying, ¡°I¡¯m okay, I¡¯m really fine. Don¡¯t fight with your brother because of me. You¡¯re brothers...¡± Although she said she was fine, but she was obviously wincing with pain. Almost immediately, Shen Zihao¡¯s eyes turned bloodshot. His own mother had abandoned him and his own brother had hit him. And the only person who had ever given him warmth and protection was his Aunty Mei, who didn¡¯t even have any blood rtion with him. He looked intently at Mei Feng and suddenly hollered, ¡°I do not have such a brother!¡± Then he turned around brandishing his fist and charged towards Shen Liangchuan. Shen Liangchuan was certainly not going to back down. He extended his arm and lightly swept Qiao Lian out of the way. Qiao Lian threw him a nce. This was a matter between the two brothers, and sometimes a small fight could help alleviate tension. Besides, Shen Zihao really needed a lesson. Hence, Qiao Lian took a step back as she saw Shen Zihao lunging towards Shen Liangchuan, aiming at his brother¡¯s face. Shen Liangchuan slightly sidestepped and used both hands to lock the advancing fist in a tight grip. He red at his younger brother and said with mockery, ¡°With that scrawny body of yours, you wish to fight me?¡± Shen Zihao was livid and, like a wild beast, lifted his foot in an attempt to deliver a kick to Shen Liangchuan¡¯s abdomen. Chapter 635 - Sowing Seeds of Discord (5)

Chapter 635: Sowing Seeds of Discord (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan was agile, however, and took another step backwards. Extending his leg, he aimed a kick at the other man¡¯s stomach. It was a merciless kick. How much he wished for Shen Zihao to wake up with that one hard kick! At this point, a shout suddenly came from the entrance, ¡°Stop!¡± Shen Liangchuan froze at the sound of this voice. However, Shen Zihao took the opportunity of his hesitation and with a quick and furious extension of his arm,nded a square blow on his brother¡¯s eye. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s eye was immediately bruised. ¡°Shen Zihao!¡± It was sharp andmanding tone. And at once, Xia Yehua appeared. In her high heels, she quickly walked to them. She had found out about the business function through a good friend who had called her to inform her. Out of kindness, her friend had told her, ¡°I read in the news that your son needs some investment funds. Why don¡¯t you go to this business function to try your luck? Some of these old friends won¡¯t let you go unaided, I¡¯m sure.¡± Xia Yehua had rarely kept in touch with this particr friend since she had left the Shen family. Yet now, she had called and said such a thing out of the blue. It had left Xia Yehua quite puzzled. She then sent a good friend to ask around and found out that, indeed, there was an evening function. Hence, she had prepared her evening dress and decided to attend the event to try her luck. It had actually been to see if she would get lucky. After all, by the time she left the Shen Family, she had seen enough of what the human heart was made of. But how was it that the moment she entered the venue, the sight that greeted her was a fighting between her sons? At the very least, Shen Liangchuan had been obedient and had stopped the moment she gave that order. Shen Zihao, on the other hand, had continued with thatst punch, which made her boil with anger. She marched up and shoved Shen Zihao aside, saying, ¡°Stop it right now!¡± Turning to Shen Liangchuan, she asked, ¡°Are you okay?¡± Initially, Shen Zihao had kept silent. However, Mei Feng suddenly came up to them and positioned herself in front of the young man, saying, ¡°Why do you take Shen Liangchuan¡¯s side when they both got into a fight? Isn¡¯t our Zihao your son too?¡± These words stung Shen Zihao. It made him realize that, indeed, the moment Xia Yehua hade in, she had tried to stop him. And this thought now provoked his anger. Suddenly, he turned cold. Xia Yehua was stunned by Mei Feng¡¯s words. As she entered, she had witnessed Shen Zihao getting ready to hit Shen Liangchuan, whose back was to her. And the next moment, the punch hadnded on her elder son. With her own eyes, she had seen Shen Zihao hitting Shen Liangchuan. Hence, in her anxiousness she had dashed over to check on Shen Liangchuan. But now, after what Mei Feng had said, she realized that the corner of Shen Zihao¡¯s mouth was injured too. Her pupils shrank immediately as she took a step towards her other son. ¡°Zihao, are you okay?¡± Her concern was, however, spurned by Shen Zihao, ¡°Stay away from me! I have nothing to do with you!¡± His words were like a sharp de that sliced right through her. She felt as though someone had gorged out a piece of her heart. She clutched her chest with her hand. On the other hand, Mei Feng started speaking, ¡°Zihao, how can you talk to your mother like this?¡± ¡°Mother?¡± In his anger and pain, heshed out, ¡°I don¡¯t have such a mother!¡± As these words came out, Xia Yehua¡¯s expression immediately turned pale. She staggered backwards. Qiao Lian was rmed by her reaction. Immediately, she moved forward to support Xia Yehua. Chapter 636 - Sowing Seeds of Discord (6)

Chapter 636: Sowing Seeds of Discord (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xia Yehua had had a heart condition for a long time. After being continually provoked like this, surely, she would feel unwell. As Qiao Lian held her, she realized that Xia Yehua¡¯s arms were shaking with anger. Turning to Shen Liangchuan, she said, ¡°Let¡¯s go home first.¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded at her suggestion. He walked over to them and was about to leave the venue with Xia Yehua when Shen Xiu stood in their way. ¡°You will not leave today until you¡¯ve rified the matter!¡± He red at Xia Yehua and demanded, ¡°What are you doing here? Looking for your long-time lover? Li Chenyu¡¯s father?¡± Xia Yehua frowned at the remark. She had never been one to admit defeat easily. Hence, even though she was feeling unwell, she persisted. She immediately retorted, ¡°A foul mouth has nothing pleasant to say. Not everyone is as petty as you! There is nothing going on between Li Chenyu¡¯s father and me.¡± ¡°Nothing going on? Then what are you doing here? Isn¡¯t it for the sake of helping Shen Liangchuan secure investors?¡± She hesitated and in her silence, Shen Xiu immediately jumped up and continued, ¡°How old do you think you are to be behaving like a b*tch? Li Chenyu¡¯s father already has a wife. Aren¡¯t you a bit shameless to want to y mistress when you¡¯re already in your fifties? Xia Yehua was shaking even more violently after hearing Shen Xiu¡¯s words. Her fingers were trembling uncontrobly. She wanted to say something but, in her fury, when she opened her mouth to speak, no words came out. Seeing this situation, Qiao Lian quickly stepped forward and said, ¡°Mr. Shen, please get out of our way. If there¡¯s anything else, we can discuss it in private. But for now, we¡¯re going home!¡± Shen Xiu fumed and replied, ¡°Since when are you in a position to speak? And furthermore, why should we need to discuss it in private? Because the things that you¡¯ve done cannot be spoken of in public?¡± ¡°All the more, I want to speak about it. Back then you were entangled with Li Chenyu¡¯s father, you both were in an ambiguous rtionship. Eventually, you found an excuse and left the Shen Family empty-handed! B*tch! All these years, you must have been particrly unrestrained and carefree?¡± ¡°So be it if you didn¡¯t care about me! But you didn¡¯t even take care of Zihao. Don¡¯t you feel that you¡¯ve failed him?¡± Every remark was devastating to Xia Yehua. She turned pale. Her chest heaved badly as she extended her hand and pointed her trembling finger at Shen Xiu. She opened her mouth to speak but found herself speechless with anger. Still pointing at Shen Xiu, she looked intently at Shen Zihao And that look carriedplete despair and hopelessness. Was that the person her younger son perceived her to be? No wonder Shen Zihao had never forgiven her! However, all the exnations and all the fury she had inside amounted only to the words, ¡°You¡¯re speaking nonsense¡ª¡± Yet these words were all she could manage with the efforts she had mustered. Then, she passed out. ¡°Mom!¡± ¨C In the hospital¡¯s operating theatre. The nurses and doctors moved in and out busily. Incapable of sitting still, Shen Liangchuan and Qiao Lian stood outside waiting. They were as anxious as anything. Last time Xia Yehua had passed out as a result of agitation, the doctor had said that she was not to be triggered. This time... As they were worrying about these things, the doctor came out and walked towards them. Looking at the both of them, he told the nurse, ¡°Please get me the Critical State Form.¡± At those words, Qiao Lian¡¯s legs almost gave way. She looked at Shen Liangchuan and saw that his expression had changed too. The Critical State Form... It meant that Mom¡¯s life was in danger. Chapter 637 - Sowing Seeds of Discord (7) Chapter 637: Sowing Seeds of Discord (7) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan¡¯s hands were slightly trembling as he signed the form. For thest eight years, he had always had his mother by his side when the days seemed too long and life was difficult. At the time, it had also been Xia Yehua who had supported him in establishing a team after leaving the Shen Family. Although the team had eventually folded, Xia Yehua had never med him for it. He took a deep breath as he looked at the firm and tried his best to calm himself down. He held the pen steadily, but right after signing the document, he looked as though all strength had been drained from him. His limbs felt numb. As Qiao Lian looked at him, for some reason, she was reminded of herself eight years ago. After school, she had gone home only to see that their family home was being engulfed in mes. She remembered how overwhelmingly hopeless and helpless she had felt. She had wanted to dash into the burning building to save her parents... With these thoughts, she cast her gaze downwards and walked towards Shen Liangchuan, reaching out to hold his hand. They weren¡¯t doctors, and the situation in the operating room now was beyond their ability to solve. The only thing she could do was to be by his side, as they waited for the results of Xia Yehua¡¯s surgery. At the same time, she said a sincere prayer in her heart: Mom, you¡¯ve got to get better. At the far end or the corridor, around the corner. Shen Zichuan was standing there and had been there for some time. He dared not go any nearer. His bloodshot eyes were fixed steadily on the entrance of the operating room. At that moment, he was feeling like a child who had lost his way. She had never been good to him. He hated her and med her... But he had never thought that one day, she would no longer exist in this world. Critical State Form. Shen Zihao tightened his fists nervously. Unconsciously, his thoughts floated back to his childhood. He recalled a scene of Xia Yehua carrying him and trying to coax him into eating his meal. Actually, it wasn¡¯t true that Ye Xiahua had never been good to him. But why did he only suddenly realize how much she loved him when he was about to lose her? That¡¯s right. She had indeed left without a word eight years ago. But perhaps she really had had her own difficulties. Even if she had abandoned him, he shouldn¡¯t have been so angry. And to say those harsh words on top. Xia Yehua had a weak heart and she could not handle anger. Nor could she handle emotional provocation. He knew all of this. That girl, Xia Nuannuan, had told him so. So how could he have said such hurtful words in a heated moment? At this thought, he stepped forward. He wanted to go closer but found no courage to do so. Hence, he stood at this awkward distance watching. The seconds and minutes went by. The tension grew within him. Till atst, he took yet another step forward. As the distance closed between them, Shen Liangchuan turned around and saw him. His bloodshot eyes suddenly turned cold, revealing a certain ruthlessness in his expression. Without a word or warning, he lunged forward and grabbed Shen Zihao by the cor. He drew back his arm and delivered a merciless blow. Shen Zihao had never let himself be at a disadvantage; he had even gotten into a fight with Shen Liangchuan at the function earlier on. But now, he stood hunching his shoulders and showing no sign of retaliation. The blownded on his face, and yet another one on his body. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s anger, however, did not subside with the punches he threw. On the contrary, it got worse and, pointing a finger at Shen Zihao, he shouted, ¡°Get out!¡± ¡°Shen Zihao, are you satisfied now? Let me warn you, if anything happens to Mom, all of you will pay for it!¡± Chapter 638 - Sowing Seeds of Discord (8)

Chapter 638: Sowing Seeds of Discord (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Zihao stood where he was in silence, taking in the berating with no sign of fighting back. Shen Liangchuan dropped his fists after a few hits. Xia Yehua was on the brink of life and death, he really wasn¡¯t in the mood for a fight. All of a sudden, the corridor fell into a dead silence. Everyone was looking intently at the entrance of the operating room. At this point, the clicking of high heels was heard. Following this, Mei Feng¡¯s voice rang through the corridor as she asked, ¡°Zihao, is your mother okay?¡± Shen Zihao turned and looked at her nkly. The woman put a hand on his arm and saw the bruises on his face. She asked anxiously, ¡°Zihao, your face... What happened?¡± Then, tightening her grip around his arm, she said, ¡°Hurry, hurry up ande with me. We¡¯ll get a nurse to treat your injuries.¡± Shen Zichuan hesitated at Mei Feng¡¯s suggestion. Seeing through her pretense, Qiao Lian said in a mocking tone, ¡°He doesn¡¯t even know if his mother is going toe out of the operating room alive, and here you are, trying to get him to treat his injuries that are not itching or hurting. Aunty, do you really have his interest at heart? Mei Feng¡¯s pupils shrank at once. But Qiao Lian had turned the other way and refused to look at her again. The woman bit her lip and lowered her gaze. She took Shen Zihao¡¯s hand in her own and did not let go. ¡°Zihao, that¡¯s not what I meant. Of course, your mother¡¯s health is important. I¡¯m just worried that your wounds will get infected.¡± The young man did not say a word, but he stood there with an upright posture. His eyes never left the operating room¡¯s door. He was determined not to leave until he knew the oue. Mei Feng¡¯s eyes shed for a moment when she saw how resolute he was. After a moment, she lowered her head and just stood quietly next to him. Qiao Lian observed all of this coldly. She noted that Shen Xiu had not turned up, even though Xia Yehua¡¯s condition was serious. And as for Mei Feng, although she had said she was here to see Shen Zihao, she was probably really here to see if Xia Yehua was still alive, right? Full of resentment, she bit her lip. She had no idea how to deal with all these emotions, much less how tofort Shen Liangchuan. She could only say a silent prayer. All her hopes were on Xia Yehua¡¯s recovery. More time passed. Time that would normally seem to pass in the blink of an eye was now crawling at a snail¡¯s pace. And in the operating room, the emergency surgery continued. Within six hours, they had issued three Critical State Forms. Qiao Lian clenched her fists. This meant that Xia Yehua had been on the brink of death three times. In times like this, Qiao Lian realized, life seemed so fragile. The corridor had gone quiet with tension. And then once more, the doctor pushed open the operating room¡¯s door and walked out. The people rushed up to him instantaneously. ¡°Doctor, how¡¯s my mother?¡± Shen Liangchuan, who had always been calm and collected, asked in a voice that was now trembling. The doctor nced at him and said, ¡°We¡¯vepleted the surgery, but the next 24 hours will be critical and we have to monitor her. If she wakes up after these 24 hours, she¡¯ll be fine. But if she doesn¡¯t...¡± He did not finish his sentence, but everyone understood what this meant. Shen Liangchuan clenched his fists. ¨C In the intensive care unit. Shen Liangchuan sat outside the room quietly, looking at his mother through therge ss panel. Qiao Lian stood next to him. Shen Zihao, however, stood at a distance, not daring to move at all. He was afraid. But he had no idea whom he could talk to about this fear that was growing inside. Chapter 639 - Sowing Seeds of Discord (9)

Chapter 639: Sowing Seeds of Discord (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Only two people were allowed inside the intensive care unit at the same time. He was not allowed in since Shen Liangchuan and Qiao Lian were there. He lost track of the time that he had been standing outside, until Mei Feng appeared holding a container of hot food right before him. ¡°Zihao, it¡¯s important to eat. Eat first, and you can continue to wait afterwards. If your health gets ruined, your mum will be heartbroken when she wakes up.¡± Shen Zihao paused when he heard Mei Feng¡¯s words. Looking at her, he asked, ¡°Will she really be heartbroken if I am hungry?¡± Mei Feng choked slightly at his question and said after a pause, ¡°For sure. No matter what, she gave birth to you. How would she not be heartbroken?¡± He hung his head and kept silent. Yes, of course, her heart would ache for him. He looked up at Mei Feng again. For some reason, there were things that he suddenly didn¡¯t feel like telling her anymore. He did not bother with the food that she had brought him and walked away. Alone, he took a quiet walk around the hospital grounds. It was already three in the morning. There was no one to be seen¡ªthe corridor was pitch dark. At this point, a car pulled to a stop at the hospital entrance. Following this, a mother got off the vehicle and ran into the hospital, carrying a swaddled baby. As she ran, she was crying. ¡°Hurry up, my darling, you have to get well...¡± Next to her, the father of the baby said, ¡°What are you crying for? The child is fine, it¡¯s just a fever.¡± ¡°What do you know? He¡¯s feeling unwell and it makes me upset.¡± The couple carrying the baby hurried past him. Shen Zihao looked back and stared at their anxious figures in a daze. Suddenly, he felt as though a big hand had mped itself tightly around his heart. It¡¯s true, in this world, was there a mother who didn¡¯t love her child? What had gotten into him at the business function tonight? How could he have said those words that hurt her? And all the things that he had done... As he thought about these matters, he found himself wandering into the garden next to the hospital. He found an icy wooden block to sit on. He wished there was someone he could talk to. Picking up his cell phone and under the moonlight, he scrolled through his address book. It was only now he realized that, for thest eight years, he had led a pathetic existence. Right up till now, he actually did not have even one friend that he could confide in. Almost about to give up, he put down his cell phone. But it was at this point that he saw a name: Xia Nuannuan. Xia Nuannuan. Even the sound of her name seemed to bring some semnce offort on a cold night such as this. It would only be muchter that Shen Zihao would realize that Xia Nuannuan had been the first person in thest eight years to give him any warmth at all. Without thinking twice, he dialed her number. The phone rang for a while before the line connected. Then, Xia Nuannuan¡¯s voice was heard. Her voice had a certain dreamy quality to it. ¡°Hello?¡± Suddenly, Zihao realized that it was right in the middle of the night. He pursed his lips, feeling childish andughable all of a sudden. He was tempted to hang up, but her voice was gentle and heartwarming. He paused for a moment before he finally said, ¡°Were you asleep?¡± She was silent for a moment before she suddenly reacted, ¡°Mr. Shen?¡± ¡°Uh huh.¡± ¡°Are you okay? What¡¯s the matter?¡± Not knowing what had gotten into him, Shen Zihao immediately said, ¡°I¡¯m at the hospital. It seems... something¡¯s happened to her.¡± Xia Nuannuan was stunned for a moment. Then she asked, ¡°Which hospital? I¡¯lle over right away.¡± Chapter 640 - Sowing Seeds of Discord (10)

Chapter 640: Sowing Seeds of Discord (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Zihao was still sitting in the garden when Xia Nuannuan arrived. He sat alone, shrouded by the darkness around him, as though abandoned by the world. It was a cold night. He hadn¡¯t realized that it had started to snow. His hair and eyebrows were dusted with a thinyer of white powder. Like a frozen snowman. She remembered the man who had once been insufferably arrogant, who had carried her out of the Glitter Club and had also told the general manager not to make things difficult for her. As she looked at this same man, who was before her now, Xia Nuannuan felt a sort of pain in her heart. She walked closer and called quietly, ¡°Mr. Shen?¡± At the sound of her voice, he snapped out of his dazed state and came back to his senses. Slowly, he moved his frozen neck and his gaze focused when he saw her. ¡°You¡¯re here.¡± Xia Nuannuan nodded. As a medical staff, she was good at taking care of people. She walked up to him and reached out to touch the back of his hands. They were icy cold and must have stiffened due to it. She looked at him again. He must have left the business function without his jacket. He was wearing a shirt and a woolen pullover in this chilly wind. Moreover, he had been up and having a tough time all night. His whole body was freezing, without a trace of warmth. Her pupils shrank after she felt how cold his hands were. ¡°Mr. Shen, you have to drink some hot water quickly.¡± Fortunately, she had bought some hot soy milk when she saw a stall opening for breakfast on her way to the hospital. She ced the hot soy milk on the stone table by the side. As she reached out to insert the straw into the cup, something tightened around her waist. She froze and then felt someone leaning up against her. Her body stiffened and she turned her head slowly. She saw that Shen Zihao was embracing her waist, like a drowning person holding onto thest piece of wood that could keep him afloat. He had rested his head against her waist, so she wasn¡¯t able to turn around. She heard his voice, which was weak and thin. He asked, ¡°Is she going to die?¡± Xia Nuannuan¡¯s eyes suddenly stung when she heard those words. At once, her eyes were watery. She bit her lip and said, ¡°No, she won¡¯t, Mr. Shen¡ª¡± ¡°What would happen to me if she died?¡± His question caused her to choke with emotions. ¡°Where is Aunt Xia?¡± ¡°In the intensive care unit.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go and see her, ok?¡± she tried to convince him. Shen Zihao paused. Perhaps he had been sitting out for too long and had lost his rity¡ªor perhaps he just needed to talk to someone badly. He made no attempt to hide his vulnerability and said, ¡°I don¡¯t dare to go in.¡± Yes. He had no courage to go. The moment the Critical State Form was issued, he had been ovee by fear. When the doctor had walked out of the operating room, he had thought that his heart was going to stop. Shen Xiu had made Xia Yehua angry many times and nothing had happened to her then. But tonight, Xia Yehua had been this angry and upset because of Shen Zihao. He had brought this upon his mother. And this thought kept springing in and filling his head like wild grass, making him feel terribly lost and helpless. Xia Nuannuan frowned as she looked at him. After a moment, she continued, ¡°Come with me. I¡¯ll go and see them. After that, I¡¯ll update you. Ok?¡± Shen Zihao nodded. She heaved a sigh of relief. Then, she immediately removed her down jacket and draped it over him, covering his heart-breaking figure. Chapter 641 - I Don’t Need You Take Responsibility(1)

Chapter 641: I Don¡¯t Need You Take Responsibility(1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Her down jacket looked tiny when draped on Shen Zihao. However, she felt that if he could feel some warmth thanks to it, she would dly let him have more. Just like what he had done for her at Glitter Club the other time. He had used his own jacket to cover her. Xia Nuannuan guided Shen Zihao into the hospital. The warm air from the heater filled their senses, making them feelfortable for a moment. She took Shen Zihao to sit on a bench along the corridor and then passed the soy milk to him. ¡°Do drink up the soy milk. I will go visit Aunt Xia now.¡± Shen Zihao nodded. Xia Nuannuan then went upstairs. ¨C In the intensive care ward. Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan were both standing there, staring at the person in the ward. Three hours had passed since the surgery. However, she was still silently lying on the bed and it looked like she wouldn¡¯t wake up no matter how. She had an expression on her face that reflected that she was at ease, just like when she was sleeping. If she didn¡¯t have an oxygen tube fixed to her face, no one would have imagined that she was a patient. Qiao Lian quietly looked at her through the ss window. At this moment, her only hope was that the 24 hours would pass slowly, so as to allow Xia Yehua to wake up from her sleep. Qiao Lian sighed. She turned around and saw the dishes ced on the table. Shen Liangchuan, and even herself, did not have the appetite to eat the food that had been bought. Right at this moment, some movements came from the door. They both turned around to look and saw that Xia Nuannuan was walking over, holding something for breakfast in her hand. Qiao Lian was slightly stunned. ¡°Why are you here?¡± Xia Nuannuan took a nce at Shen Liangchuan. Her crystal clear appearance gave her an air of gentleness. ¡°I heard from Mr. Shen that Aunt Xia was hospitalized, so I came to take a look. Please do have some soy milk, I will go take a look at Auntie¡¯s condition. As she said this, she ced the food on the table and walked towards the door of the intensive care unit. She then picked up the case notes to take a look. Qiao Lian walked towards her, puzzled. ¡°You know medicine?¡± Xia Nuannuan immediately lowered her head. ¡°When I was in college, I was in the medicine faculty, studying to be a nurse. I can¡¯t treat, but I am able to understand some content.¡± Qiao Lian came to a realization. ¡°No wonder you were in the rehab home, but¡ª¡± Xia Nuannuan spoke without any reservations, ¡°I worked at Glitter to pass time, as well as to earn some money.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. Xia Nuannuan continued to look at the case notes. When she finished, she nced at Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan before saying, ¡°Looking at this, it seems like there is a 90% chance that Aunt Xia will be ok.¡± Upon hearing this, both Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan heaved a sigh of relief. Xia Nuannuan then continued speaking, ¡°However, there is still a certain degree of risk and that is why the doctor and the nurse did not dare to inform you. But I believe that Aunt Xia will be able to wake up, it¡¯s just that...¡± As she said these words, Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan turned around and looked at her. Xia Nuannuan lowered her head. ¡°There might be some issues when Auntie wakes up.¡± Shen Liangchuan frowned and Qiao Lian immediately enquired, ¡°What¡¯s the issue?¡± Xia Nuannuan frowned and replied, ¡°Aunt Shen had a blood pressure rise and suffered a stroke. When she wakes up, most likely, for a period of time, she might not be able to lead a normal life.¡± After saying these words, she contemted it for a while before continuing, ¡°I¡¯ve studied nursing, so if you both were to trust me, I would be able to help you take care of Aunt Xia for half a month, to help her recuperate.¡± Qiao Lian immediately replied, ¡°How could we not trust you?¡± Xia Nuannuan was meticulous and gentle. Qiao Lian did not want to insist on taking care of Xia Yehua herself. With regard to taking care of Xia Yehua, she could learn the ropes. However, this was not the right time to show that she was a filial daughter. If there was someone else who was more capable to do the job, then by all means, they should choose that person. Chapter 642 - I Don’t Need You Take Responsibility(2)

Chapter 642: I Don¡¯t Need You Take Responsibility(2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan nodded as well. ¡°Take it that we, the Shen family, will employ you. Sry wise¡ª¡± Xia Nuannuan immediately waved her hands. ¡°No need, no need.¡± Then she nced at Qiao Lian. ¡°Both Ms. Qiao and Mr. Shen have helped me a lot. This little offer of mine is nothing at all.¡± ¨C Xia Nuannuan only felt relieved after they finalized their discussion. It was no surprise to Xia Nuannuan that Xia Yehua woke up four hourster. However, indeed, there were side effects. She couldn¡¯t feel anything on her right arm, while her mouth was slightly uneven. Seeing a beautiful middle-aged woman like her in this state, instantly, made one feel very sad and in pain. Xia Yehua wanted to say something, but she couldn¡¯t say a word as her mouth was crooked. Her eyes turned instantly red as she panicked. Xia Nuannuan smiled as she looked at Xia Yehua. She said with a nice tone, ¡°Auntie, please don¡¯t worry. You will be able to recover! I will massage you every day, and within a month, you will be back to normal!¡± Listening to her gentle tone made everyone feel at ease. Xia Nuannuan¡¯s looks were not particrly stunning, but the kind of gentle tenderness that she had was definitely suitable for the nursing industry. After discussing the details as to when she would take care of Xia Yehua, Xia Nuannuan decided to make a trip down to the rehab home and apply for a leave. At the same time, she also intended to go home and pack some clean clothes. Xia Yehua wasn¡¯t going to be discharged soon, hence, she decided to stay in the hospital and be her caretaker. When Xia Yehua got discharged, she would then go stay with the Shen family. This would allow her to spend every hour and minute with Xia Yehua, allowing her to recuperate at a faster rate. She stepped out of the ICU and headed towards the first floor, with the intention of looking for Shen Zihao. However, she realized that Shen Zihao was no longer on his seat anymore. Xia Nuannuan panicked and hurriedly picked up her cell phone to give Shen Zihao a call. The call got connected and Shen Zihao¡¯s voice could be heard vaguely, ¡°Who is that? What on earth are you doing?¡± As she heard this, Xia Nuannuan immediately knew that Shen Zihao must have had too much to drink. She quickly asked, ¡°Mr. Shen, where are you?¡± ¨C By the time Xia Nuannuan rushed into the bar near the hospital, there was no one else in the bar. The night crowd had already dispersed. In the wee hours, Shen Zihao was the only one left drinking, ss after ss. As she walked over, Shen Zihao looked at her as he let out a bitter smile. ¡°Do you think I am silly?¡± Xia Nuannuan was stunned. Shen Zihao had drunk so much that his face was totally red and his eyes looked dazed. ¡°That was my mother. I treated her as if she was an enemy. Why did I have to make her angry?¡± ¡°Actually, I hadn¡¯t thought of wishing her death. I was only thinking that if I were to make her angry, she would put me in her heart!¡± ¡°Many years ago, when she had decided to leave the Shen family, why didn¡¯t she take me along with her? She only took my brother with her.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t she think of my feelings? I also wanted my Mom!¡± As Shen Zihao said this, his eyes turned red. He raised his wine ss and drank the entire content in one go. ¡°She is going to die soon and I feel very upset about it.¡± When Xia Nuannuan heard this, she immediately squatted down and looked at him. ¡°Mr. Shen, please wake up! Don¡¯t drink anymore. Aunt Xia is fine! She¡¯s out of danger already!¡± Upon hearing this, Shen Zihao raised his head in confusion and looked at Xia Nuannuan. After a pause, he spoke with a smile, ¡°Not dead... Good that she is not dead.¡± Then, he stood up and headed towards the door. Halfway down the road. The waitress from the bar ran over to block them. ¡°Sir, you have not paid the bill yet.¡± Xia Nuannuan hurriedly took out her purse. ¡°How much?¡± Chapter 643 - I Don’t Need You Take Responsibility (2)

Chapter 643: I Don¡¯t Need You Take Responsibility (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°2,000.¡± As she dug into her purse for the money, she hesitated. Then she put it away and, instead, reached into Shen Zihao¡¯s pocket for his wallet. Fishing out 2,000 from it, she paid the waitress. Trying to support the drunk man, they made their way out. At the entrance, she managed to hail a cab and help Shen Zihao into the vehicle. Given how drunk he was, Xia Nuannuan was at a loss as to where she could take him. Eventually, she gave the driver her own address. After they arrived and finally managed to get him up the building and into her home, Xia Nuannuan removed his shoes and draped a nket over him. She started preparing some water from the restroom to clean him up. Finally, she organized her things, since she had the intention of going back to the hospital and take care of Aunt Xia after Shen Zihao woke up. However, as she was packing her belongings, she heard a sudden movement on the bed. Turning around, she saw the man opening his eyes. Still in a dazed state, he sat up and looked around, seemingly confused about where he was. Xia Nuannuan¡¯s rented amodation was a tiny apartment. With 30 square meters, it wasn¡¯t hard for him to figure out where the restroom was. He found it quickly, relieved himself and came back out. However, as he made his way across the room, he tripped over the suitcase on the floor and stumbled. Xia Nuannuan was quick to react and, in a sh, she was by his side to help him regain his bnce. Unfortunately, the man was too heavy for her to handle. The next thing she knew, the room spun and she had tumbled onto the floor herself. Shen Zihao followed,nding right on top of her. He let out a puff of warm breath that enveloped her. As the whiff of his masculine breath invaded her senses, she immediately turned bright red and her heart started thumping wildly. She widened her eyes, since she felt his entire weight on her, and her heart rate started soaring. The man looked steadily at her for what seemed like an eternity. Gradually, he lowered his head. Stunned, Xia Nuannuan turned her head to the side, avoiding him. Attempting to lightly push him away, she said, ¡°Mr. Shen, please let me get up.¡± Her sweet and pleasant aroma drifted up towards him. For a moment, he was rapt. Then, with a sudden movement, he reached out to pin her head against the floor as his lips came down onto hers. His heady scent immobilized her in such a way that she even forgot to fight back. She could only stare with widened eyes at his face, that was barely inches from her. He was good looking. His features were handsome and bore some resemnce to Shen Liangchuan¡¯s. At that moment, the alcohol in his breath and his masculine odor made Xia Nuannuan gasp, as though it had knocked the air out of her lungs. As she was in a daze, he already started unleashing himself on her. Not long after, she felt his hand lifting and coaxing the fabric of her top out of the way, till he was touching the bare skin on her chest. His touch on her naked body made Xia Nuannuan feel an electric current spreading from that point throughout her body. She wanted to push the man away, but he was strong and insistent, not a force she could even begin to resist. She opened her mouth to speak, to ask him to stop but, aroused by his touch, the only sound that escaped her throat was a desperate moan. And that sound was like an instant aphrodisiac that woke the beast in him. When he finally entered her, the pain was so intense that she almost bit through her lip. She found herself unable to cry or yell as he covered her mouth. As he began to find and move to his own rhythm, she rose to meet the hunger in each thrusting movement, until she too waspletely consumed. The moments after their ecstatic exchange, a gentle and charming glow hung in the air. Chapter 644 - I Don’t Need You to Be Responsible for It (4)

Chapter 644: I Don¡¯t Need You to Be Responsible for It (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xia Nuannuany on the rug, listening to Shen Zichuan¡¯s steady breathing as he slept. Biting her lip, she waited for a while before she sat up and looked at the various bruises on her body. Her eyes turned bloodshot. When she turned to look at Shen Zihao, however, she saw that he had gotten into a deep sleep and it didn¡¯t look like he was going to wake up any time soon. She stared at him, mesmerized, for a long time before she stood up. Using whatever strength she had left, she got him onto her bed, threw the nket over him, and then got dressed. She couldn¡¯t think how she was going to face him. She had to admit it. She really did like Shen Zihao. At the Glitter Club, when the men had made things difficult for her, he had appeared out of the blue like an unrivalled hero. And in that instant, she had fallen in love with him. The fact was that, sometimes, one second was all it would take to fall in love. It was just that she had never imagined there woulde a day when she would have rtions with this man. They were from two different worlds. She hung the head the moment this thought entered her mind. She hurriedly packed her belongings. Dragging her suitcase behind her, she quickly left the apartment. ¨C After a few hours, Shen Zihao gradually woke up. The moment he opened his eyes, he had a splitting headache. But when he saw the pink sheets and smelled the fresh fragrance, he recalled what had happened. For a moment, he sat there stunned and stared nkly. Vaguely, he remembered himself and Xia Nuannuan. At this thought, he hurriedly jumped out of bed to look for her. However, there was no one else in the apartment. Shen Zihao knitted his brows. Putting a bathrobe on, he started looking for his cell phone. He took the wallet out of his pocket and tossed it aside. Then, he looked around some more for the cell phone. Suddenly, he halted. He turned to look again at his wallet. He had always found troublesome to carry cash around and paid for things mostly with his credit cards. Hence, he only had 2,000 in his wallet. But now all that cash was gone. Frowning, an ufortable idea suddenly surfaced in his mind. At this point, his cell phone rang. He finally found his cell phone underneath the pillow. Looking at the screen, he saw Xia Nuannuan¡¯s name. After a short pause, he picked up the line. She spoke in a low voice, ¡°Mr. Shen? You¡¯re awake?¡± He made an expressionless grunt as an affirmation. Silence. For a moment, both of them said nothing. Another moment passed before Xia Nuannuan spoke again to exin, ¡°Aunt Xia¡¯s condition has stabilized. She¡¯s out of danger and things are okay.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± An awkward silence. Shen Zihao cleared his throat and continued, ¡°Well, then, I¡ª¡± Suddenly nervous, she quickly interrupted him, ¡°Mr. Shen, I- I don¡¯t need you to take responsibility.¡± Didn¡¯t need him to take up the responsibility? The handsome man raised an eyebrow as his gaze fell on his wallet once more. His lips turned upwards into a smile. ¡°2,000 for a night. It¡¯s not expensive, but it¡¯s not cheap either.¡± Xia Nuannuan froze upon hearing his words. She stood on the balcony in Xia Yehua¡¯s ward, her eyes staring ahead nkly. She bit her lip as her fingers curled tightly around her cell phone. So, was that the sort of person he thought she was? That she had taken his money after he slept with her? She smiled bitterly. Suddenly, she didn¡¯t feel like giving any exnations. She only felt a wrenching pain in her heart. Chapter 645 - I Don’t Need You Take Responsibility (5)

Chapter 645: I Don¡¯t Need You Take Responsibility (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She was being misunderstood by the man she loved. She was too embarrassed to tell him that she was poor and had only had 200 in her purse. She hadn¡¯t been able to afford to foot his bill, so she had no choice but to take the money from his wallet. She paused for a moment and then said, ¡°Goodbye, Mr. Shen.¡± Hanging up, her expression was calm once again. It seemed that they had never been meant to be. Although she was poor, her love did not carry a price tag. What she wanted was a mutually respectful rtionship, not be looked down on. ¨C Four dayster, Xia Yehua had recovered enough to be discharged and return home, where she would continue with her treatment. Together with Qiao Lian and the rest, Xia Nuannuan returned to their family vi. Qiao Lian prepared a guest room for Xia Nuannuan and left the girl to rest alone before she went to check on Xia Yehua¡¯s condition. Her condition had improved over thest four days, and she had regained sensation on the right side of her body. Even when she spoke, her words were clear. Overall, it was a great improvement. After seeing Xia Yehua, she went to the study to look for Shen Liangchuan. As she pushed the door to the study, she saw that he was on a video conference with his back to her. Song Cheng was on the screen reporting thetest developments, ¡°... for Ambition¡¯ s production, Lu Nanze has withdrawn his capital. But the production isn¡¯t suffering any losses. The leading actress has been reced by Best Actress Tang Ying. Apart from that, the other investments that you mentioned... Brother Shen, are we really moving in the direction of property investments? After all, it¡¯s hard to predict market forces. What if we suffer a loss¡ª¡± Shen Liangchuan replied unhurriedly, ¡°We¡¯re investing for sure.¡± Song Cheng felt at a loss. ¡°Brother Shen, I recall that when I suggested other types of investments years ago, you said you were happy just by having enough to spend. But what are you doing now? Trying to make a quick buck?!¡± Shen Liangchuan cast his gaze down and kept silent. But he thought to himself that it had indeed been the case... before he met Lu Nanze. He was happy with having just enough to spend. But now, if he didn¡¯t grow stronger, how was he going to protect her? This time he had been able to depend on his childhood friends for help. But favours had to be returned. And what could he really give in return? His buddies believed in him. He attracted capital, they invested. Even if there were no kickbacks, or even if they lost that money, it was nothing to them. But he could not use their money without a clear conscience. He had to use this money to make more money, so that there was at some value in their investment. At least, it had to be a real investment. It was also so that the people whoughed at them would now shut their mouths. Without exining all of this, he simply told Song Cheng, ¡°You may go now.¡± Without another word, thetter obediently exited the video conference. Qiao Lian stood outside the door, biting her lip as she heard the exchange between the two men. She understood everything that he had not said, everything that was between the lines. He was willing to make changes for her. Hence, she had to work hard too. Silently, Qiao Lian retreated. She did not enter the study, but went back to the master bedroom. Only when she was back in the master bedroom did she take out her cell phone. It had been almost half a month since she had resigned from her job. During this time, too much had happened at home, to the point that she had failed to think about her own future. But now... It was time for her to think about what she could do. She didn¡¯t want to be a person who had to depend on Shen Liangchuan, like a parasite. She had to grow stronger too. The team¡¯s training was being well taken care of by the team leader now. As for her, she had to start looking for a job. Chapter 646 - Slap Yourself! She Is Forget Chuan! (1)

Chapter 646: p Yourself! She Is Forget Chuan! (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xia Yehua¡¯s condition had stabilized, and her mood had gradually improved. Qiao Lian had also sent her resume out as she began her job hunt. But she had gotten no response at all, like a rock that had sunk into a great ocean. She even started to wonder, ¡°Isn¡¯t there even a single news agency that would hire me?¡± Shen Liangchuanforted her, saying, ¡°You¡¯re a real gem and good at what you do, it¡¯s just that you haven¡¯t met someone who appreciates you.¡± And Qiao Lian could onlyfort herself that way too. Still, the anxiety did not go away. In addition, she had ceased her eSports caster work. Most of the time now, she was at home doing nothing, which made her feel like a guilty criminal. However, juss when she had almost lost all hope thinking that she would nevernd a job in this lifetime, she finally received a notice for an interview. It set in the afternoon a few days from now. Since the interview notice hade from the biggest news agency in the industry, she jumped with excitement and joy. On the day, she dressed up and headed for the meeting eagerly. When she arrived, thepany staff were very polite towards her and led her to the human resources department. The interviewer was ady. Upon meeting, she pointed to a chair and invited Qiao Lian to take a seat. She began by saying, ¡°Miss Qiao, our agency does have a few requirements.¡± Qiao Lian paused for a moment at these words and said, ¡°Please go on.¡± ¡°First of all, you will have to y whatever role may be required of you by the agency in order to obtain information. This may include disguising as a club hostess, for example.¡± ¡°What?¡± Qiao Lian was taken aback. ¡°Secondly, you will be at the beck and call of the agency and you will have no leisure time. All the time that you have belongs to thepany. And thirdly, the agency will pay you a monthly wage of 5000, there will be nomission for you.¡± The three conditions seemed like a bad joke to Qiao Lian. ¡°So is the agency looking for a human or an ox? Even if you made an ox work, you would provide better conditions, right?¡± The interviewer suddenlyughed at Qiao Lian¡¯s reply. ¡°Do you think this agency would really hire someone who hits her supervisor?¡± Although initially confused by this remark, she suddenly realized what it was about. Her expression grew tense and she asked, ¡°Madam, what do you mean by this?¡± ¡°What do I mean?¡± the woman said in a mocking tone. ¡°I suppose you haven¡¯t been called for many interviews, if at all?¡± Qiao Lian nodded. Smirking, the woman continued, ¡°The story of you hitting Zhang Chunhua has spread among the industry. Do you really think that our agency would want to hire you?¡± ¡°These are the three requirements of our agency, you can stay if you agree. If you don¡¯t, you¡¯re free to go!¡± ¨C As Qiao Lian walked out of the news agency, her face was pale. Freaking hell! Zhang Chunhua had actually secretly done such a thing. No wonder the woman hadn¡¯t gone after her. She bit her lip as her chest was heaving with fury. After she left the agency, the interviewer picked up her cell phone and dialed a number. ¡°My old schoolmate Zhang Chunhua! I¡¯ve finally avenged you today! How are you going to thank me?¡± Zhang Chunhua¡¯s voice came through the line, ¡°Well, let me give you thetest news then.¡± ¡°What would that be?¡± ¡°Forget Chuan, of course! CQ Team stood out at the eSports championship, and their coach is Forget Chuan. Ever since sheunched her career, her identity has been a mystery. Let me tell you, she¡¯s the trending topic of the day! Our agency is nning to interview her. I¡¯ll let you know that there¡¯s going to be an event in CQ¡¯s clubhouse these two days and I¡¯m sure she will attend. You and I can go and report about the event! If we manage to catch Forget Chuan for an exclusive, it will guarantee us a headline.¡± Chapter 647 - Slap Yourself! She Is Forget Chuan! (2)

Chapter 647: p Yourself! She Is Forget Chuan! (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Zhang Chunhua hung up after this conversation. She sat in her office and narrowed her eyes, as she thought. Before Qiao Lian had resigned from the news agency, she had given the woman a severe beating. Zhang Chunhua wanted to go to the police, but Managing Editor Liu Zhixing didn¡¯t think it was a good idea. Hence, she had been prevented from taking revenge. Eventually... Qiao Lian had intentionally used her of taking advantage of Su Meimei, who thus fell out with her. This had made her jittery and bad-tempered. Hence, she wanted to ensure that Qiao Lian had no future in the media industry. Hadn¡¯t she left with plenty of moral backbone? Good luck finding a job then! In the end, she mighte back with her tail between her legs, begging toe back to the news agency. This thought satisfied Zhang Chunhua. She stood up and, as she walked towards the Deputy Managing Editor¡¯s office, she asked the staff, ¡±Has anyone found out anything about Forget Chuan? Does anyone have a picture?¡± Someone responded with a wave of his hand, ¡°I have information here. I saw on a live broadcast video someone shaking hands with the coach. The coach must be Forget Chuan!¡± Upon hearing this, everyone moved over and gathered to watch the broadcast video footage. On the screen, the silhouette of a figure could be seen. However because of the dim stage lighting, in addition to the distance at which the footage was shot, they couldn¡¯t tell what the person looked like and could only see a blurry silhouette. The footage yback was paused on the moment that Forget Chan went on stage to shake hands with the opposing team¡¯s coach. Everyone¡¯s eyes were fixed on the still frame all at once. Someone remarked, ¡°Forget Chuan looks alright from here. My gut tells me she may be quite pretty in person and not ugly, like what they say on the inte.¡± Another person nodded and agreed, ¡°That¡¯s right. Besides, she has a good figure and dresses well.¡± ¡°But... why do I find Forget Chuan a little familiar?¡± Everyone nodded at once. ¡°That¡¯s right. Why does this Forget Chuan look so familiar?¡± All of them continued to stare intently at the picture. Suddenly, someone eximed, ¡°This person... Why does she bear a resemnce to Qiao Lian?¡± Everyone fell silent at this remark. Ever since Qiao Lian had created a scene beating Zhang Chunhua up and had left the news agency, her name was a taboo. Indeed, after a moment, they heard Zhang Chunhua say angrily, ¡°Have you all gone stupid? In what ways does she resemble Qiao Lian? If Qiao Lian was Forget Chuan, she could easily live off the money she earned from the live broadcasts. Why would she need to work in our news agency? Look at the way she was, did she look wealthy to you?¡± As her arguments sounded reasonable, everyone fell silent and did not say another word. Zhang Chunhua continued to analyze the picture. As the scene in the picture really didn¡¯t have good lighting, it was impossible to see the face of the figure. With a coldugh, Zhang Chunhua said, ¡°People with this sort of body are a dime a dozen. What makes them think it¡¯s Qiao Lian?¡± Someone then spoke up in a weak voice, ¡°I- I noticed her shoes. Qiao Lian had a pair exactly like that.¡± ¡°Huh. Are her shoes of limited edition?¡± The person choked for a bit and shook his head as he replied, ¡°No.¡± Sheughed again mockingly. ¡°If they¡¯re not, then what¡¯s the big deal with wearing the same shoes?¡± At this point she looked around at the staff. ¡°Don¡¯t just stand here all day and imagine things! If Forget Chuan is Qiao Lian, then pigs can fly. Get back to work! Next Monday, you two wille with me to interview Forget Chuan.¡± ¡°Yes, Deputy Managing Editor.¡± Chapter 648 - Slap Yourself! She Is Forget Chuan! (3)

Chapter 648: p Yourself! She Is Forget Chuan! (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian took some time to calm down after leaving the news agency, before she hailed a cab home. Feeling distracted as she entered the house, Qiao Lian was walking towards the bedroom when she saw Xia Nuannuan out on the balcony calling with her cell phone. Her voice tone was soft and gentle, ¡°That¡¯s right, Aunt Xia is okay.¡± It was Shen Zihao on the other end of the line. When he heard the news, he nodded and said, ¡°Yes, please look after my mom for this period.¡± Xia Nuannuan wasn¡¯t used to Shen Zihao being this polite. Unsure of how to react, she finally said, ¡°Is there anything else, Mr. Shen?¡± He paused, hoping that she would keep the conversation going, but eventually said, ¡°That¡¯s all.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll hang up then.¡± Without hesitating, she disconnected the line. While her actions seemed swift and decisive, she continued standing on the balcony, holding her cell phone and staring into the distance quietly. Xia Nuannuan had been behaving oddly recently. Every day, she would secretly call Shen Zihao, but the manner in which she spoke to him was distant and very unlike her usual gentle self. Weren¡¯t the two getting along very well? Puzzled, Qiao Lian shook her head as she walked past Xia Nuannuan. As she did so, she suddenly heard someone throwing up. Immediately, she turned around and hurried to the balcony. Xia Nuannuan was holding onto the side of the balcony door, retching. Taking a step towards her, Qiao Lian asked anxiously, ¡°Are you okay?¡± Xia Nuannuan looked terribly pale, but she waved her hand and said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Not quite sure what it is, perhaps I¡¯m staying up tootetely?¡± She had been waking up every night to massage Xia Yehua, to help speed up her recovery. Hence when Qiao Lian heard this, she instantly felt bad. ¡°This period has been tough for you.¡± Shaking her head, Xia Nuannuan replied, ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡± After resting shortly, she felt better and walked back into the house with Qiao Lian. Seeing that the girl was quite frail, Qiao Lian waspelled to give Auntie Li some instructions, who was now just about to enter the kitchen. ¡°Auntie Li, would you please boil some chicken soup for Nuannuan? She¡¯s been exhausted recently.¡± The Shen family never treated their housekeepers like servants. The treatment that Xia Nuannuan got was therefore not unlike Song Yuanxi¡¯s. Hence with these instructions, Auntie Li immediately nodded. Xia Nuannuan opened her mouth to say something at this point, but no words came. Following this, Qiao Lian headed upstairs to get changed and visited Xia Yehua for a short chat. Then, returning to the study, she picked up herptop with the intention of continuing the job hunt. She browsed the inte for a long time and sent out a few applications. Up till now, her search had not been fruitful. Soon, it was dinner time. Qiao Lian could smell the aroma of chicken soup in the air as she made her way down the stairs. She took a deep breath as she burst into the kitchen, eximing, ¡°Auntie Li, the chicken soup smells heavenly!¡± Laughing, Aunty Li poured a bowl of the steaming hot liquid and said, ¡°Well then, Madam, why don¡¯t you have some first?¡± ¡°Ooooh, yes.¡± She took the bowl from Auntie Li and walked out of the kitchen. As she walked out of the kitchen, she noticed Xia Nuannuan was alsoing downstairs now. She still looked rather pale. Immediately, Qiao Lian brought her the bowl of soup and said, ¡°Nuannuan, here, have some soup first.¡± The moment Xia Nuannuan smelled the soup, she got even more pale and shook her head vigorously before dashing to the restroom. Qiao Lian was stunned by her reaction. Putting down the bowl, she rushed into the restroom after Xia Nuannuan. Patting the girl on the back, she inquired, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you, Nuannuan?¡± Chapter 649 - Slap Yourself! She Is Forget Chuan! (4)

Chapter 649: p Yourself! She Is Forget Chuan! (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xia Nuannuan shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. My stomach has been acting up. It¡¯s nothing serious.¡± With a wave of her hand, she stood up straight and let Qiao Lian lead her out of the restroom. As they walked out, they saw Xia Yehua standing near the doorway, giving Xia Nuannuan a strange look. She asked, ¡°Have. You. Had. Your. Period. This. Month?¡± Xia Yehua¡¯s speech was slurred due to the stroke. However, she made an effort to say those words one at a time, clearly. With a nk look, Xia Nuannuan shook her head at the question and said, ¡°No, I haven¡¯t.¡± Then, as though suddenly realizing something, her expression changed. With a look of disbelief, her gaze fell on her own abdomen. Still looking at her intently, Xia Yehua asked again, ¡°Then. Are. You. Pregnant?¡± Color drained from Xia Nuannuan¡¯s face. Qiao Lian held Xia Yehua and said, ¡°Mom, Nuannuan doesn¡¯t have a boyfriend.¡± A sudden look of realization appeared on Xia Yehua¡¯s face. ¡°Then. Surely. It¡¯s. Not. It. Must. Be. Her. Stomach. Go. To. The. Hospital. For. A. Checkup.¡± Xia Nuannuan shook her head and said immediately, ¡°I- I can go by myself. Aunt Xia, please don¡¯t worry.¡± As soon as she said this, she went upstairs. After a short while, she came back downstairs with her bag. ¡°Sister Qiao Lian, Aunt Xia, I have something to attend to, I need to leave for a bit.¡± Qiao Lian was puzzled as she watched Xia Nuannuan leave the house. But there was only so much she could ask without prying into the girl¡¯s private affairs. After all, she wasn¡¯t part of the family. She then helped Xia Yehua to her seat at the dining table as they got ready for dinner. Just as she sat down, her cell phone rang. She picked up the call and heard an unfamiliar voice say, ¡°How do you do? I¡¯m calling from Lot¡¯s business office. May I know if you¡¯re Coach Qiao from CQ Team?¡± After a short pause, Qiao Lian nodded and said, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s me.¡± ¡°So, we are nning an activity and need photos for the asion. We were wondering if it would be too much trouble for you to bring your team members ande to our office?¡± Having won the Beijing regionalpetition, it was inevitable that all sorts of publicity would follow. There was no way to avoid this. Hence, Qiao Lian nodded and asked, ¡°Sure, what time are we expected to be there? ¡°How about the day after tomorrow?¡± ¡°Ok.¡± Qiao Lian set her chopsticks aside after confirming the time and venue with the caller. Since she had had no luck with her job hunt, she decided to drop by the clubhouse to have a look. As the coach of this team, she had been irresponsible. ¨C After dinner, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s car finally pulled up. He had been busytely and had not been home for dinner. Since he wasing home at this hour, he had not had dinner almost for certain. Qiao Lian hurriedly instructed Auntie Li to heat up the food and apanied Shen Liangchuan at the dining table as he ate. Eating quickly yet in a refined manner, he was a pleasure to watch. Qiao Lian stared at him with her chin resting on the back of her hand. He picked up a prawn ball with his chopsticks. ¡°Open your mouth.¡± Qiao Lian did as she was told. The fresh and juicy prawn ball was dropped into her mouth. She chewed twice and swallowed it. Then, he did the same with the vegetables. She immediately waved her hand and said, ¡°I¡¯ve eaten, I¡¯m full to the brim.¡± Raising an eyebrow, he asked, ¡°Then why are you still staring at me?¡± He had thought that she wanted more food. She broke into a cheeky grin at his question and replied, ¡°Because you are dashing!¡± Shen Liangchuan: ... Did that mean she was teasing him? Chapter 650 - Slap Yourself! She Is Forget Chuan! (5)

Chapter 650: p Yourself! She Is Forget Chuan! (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At some point of the dinner, Xia Nuannuan came home. She looked dispirited and lost. She seemed rather depressed, as though she had lost her confidence. Qiao Lian immediately stood up and asked, ¡°Nuannuan, what¡¯s wrong? Did you go to the doctor because you¡¯re unwell?¡± The girl seemed to suddenly snap back to reality. Pulling herself together, she said, ¡°Sister Qiao Lian, I¡¯m fine, just a little tired. I¡¯ll go back to my room now.¡± She had been given a room of her own on the second floor. Qiao Lian was still worried nevertheless and persisted, ¡°Nuannuan, are you really okay?¡± In the guest room. Xia Nuannuan tossed her bag aside and took out a blood test report from her pocket. She looked at the data on the slip of paper. Although it was still early and not too obvious, it was very certain that she was pregnant... And the retching was because of the pregnancy, as well as the fact that her body was exhausted. This was causing her to experience the symptoms much earlier. She hung her head and looked at her abdomen. It had been beyond her imagination that she would get pregnant at this point of time. But... She clenched her fists tightly. Should she keep the baby? She now looked at another piece of paper. It was an appointment slip for two days from now for an abortion. ¨C Two dayster. Qiao Lian had left the vi early and had rushed to the clubhouse, so that she could take the team to the photo shoot. Without Purple Fairy¡¯s interference, the team was peaceful andfortable. They arrived together at the photo shoot location. Qiao Lian took them in to prepare for the session. Su Penghao looked at her and said, ¡°Coach Qiao, you¡¯re a part of the team. Come join us for the photo shoot!¡± She shook her head at this suggestion. ¡°I¡¯m not a contestant and you know I don¡¯t like publicit. You guys go ahead.¡± Upon hearing this, Su Penghao and the rest of the team went into the studio reluctantly without her. As she waited alone outside, Qiao Lian took out her cell phone and yed on it for a while to kill boredom. As she was doing this, she heard a voice speaking. ¡°Is Forget Chuan really here?¡± ¡°Will we be able to catch a shot of herter?¡± ¡°I wonder if she¡¯d be willing to talk, and whether we¡¯d be able to get her to agree to an interview.¡± ¡°...¡± These remarks reached Qiao Lian¡¯s ears, causing her to look up at once. Her professional instincts led her to soon discover that, suddenly, a big group of reporters had gathered outside the studio. Were these people here... to stalk Forget Chuan? She widened her eyes in horror and immediately heard a voice behind her inquiring, ¡°Qiao Lian?¡± When she turned around, she saw Zhang Chunhua frowning and walking towards her, apanied by two staff members of the news agency. She eyed Qiao Lian up and down a few times and said after a pause, ¡°What are you doing here?¡± After saying this, she suddenly recalled that Qiao Lian had previously depended on her ability to sniff out news to gain foothold. She sneered at once, ¡°Did you think that Forget Chuan would give an interview to a nobody? You don¡¯t even have a job, why would she even help you?!¡± Qiao Lian looked at the woman with mocking amusement. Zhang Chunhua snorted in response. Ensuring that no one was paying attention she leaned in close to Qiao Lian and said, ¡°Qiao Lian, do you wish toe back to work? Let me tell you... if you plead with me, I might let youe back to the news agency. Think about it.¡± ¡°Otherwise, believe it or not, even if you manage to scoop the news about Forget Chuan, none of the news agencies will dare ept your article.¡± Chapter 651 - Slap Yourself! She’s Forget Chuan! (6)

Chapter 651: p Yourself! She¡¯s Forget Chuan! (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian found Zhang Chunhua¡¯s remarks very funny indeed. She looked at Zhang Chunhua and suddenly asked, ¡°Say, Zhang Chunhua, I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯ve fallen in love with me?¡± Zhang Chunhua was bbergasted. Qiao Lian immediately continued, ¡°Why are you watching my every move otherwise? I¡¯ve already resigned and our paths no longer cross. But every time you see me you seem so eager, right?¡± Zhang Chunhua was stumped by her remark and finally said, ¡°You really are a thick-skinned idiot!¡± ¡°Thank you, it¡¯s just a matter of having more cogen. You don¡¯t have to envy me¡ª¡± In terms of having a sharp tongue, not even ten of Zhang Chunhua would be able to match up to a single Qiao Lian. Raising her finger at Qiao Lian with anger, she only managed to stammer, ¡± You- you¡ª¡± ¡°Enough already. Old people like you need to stay calm. You¡¯ always get angry at the tiniest thinga, it¡¯s not good for health.¡± The words ¡®old people¡¯ drove Zhang Chunhua speechless with fury. Qiao Lian merely raised an eyebrow and went back to staring straight ahead. Zhang Chunhua snorted and said, ¡°What¡¯s the use of having a sharp tongue? If she doesn¡¯t manage to squeeze some worthy news with an interview, she¡¯ll have something to cry about!¡± Then, she turned and looked at the two staff members next to her, instructing them, ¡°When Forget Chuanes outter, be sure to run after her.¡± ¡°And be sure you speak to her nicely.¡± ¡°Try and get our agency an exclusive.¡± After briefing the two of them, shemented, ¡°I don¡¯t even know what Forget Chuan likes to eat. If only we could secure a meal with her... that would be ideal.¡± Qiao Lian was quite gleeful, for some reason, to see the woman¡¯s nervous expression. She wanted to burst outughing, but held back on second thoughts. She sat back in her little corner and waited for CQ team to return. After about an hour, something caused a stir at the doorway. Turning to look in that direction, Qiao Lian saw the six yers walking out of the studio. She was just about to walk towards them when Zhang Chunhua grabbed her arm. Then, she gave an eye signal to her two colleagues. Right away, they rushed forward. ¡°Forget Chuan!¡± All the reporters had sprinted towards the team and were now surrounding the six yers. At once, the crowd held up their cameras and pointed them at Ancestor White Bones, which started to sh and click. Someone among them asked Ancestor White Bones, ¡°Forget Chuan, may we interview you?¡± ¡°Forget Chuan, why don¡¯t you ever show your face? What is the reason for keeping such a low profile?¡± ¡°Forget Chuan, can you tell us your real name? Can we announce it?¡± ¡°Forget Chuan...¡± The barrage of questions stunned Ancestor White Bones. Observing this, Qiao Lian wanted to go over to help her out of the situation. However, Zhang Chunhua held onto Qiao Lian¡¯s wrist with a deadly grip that would not be shaken off. She sneered, ¡°Qiao Lian, you can only dream about getting any first-hand information today!¡± Her expression was determined, as though she was never going to let go of her grip on Qiao Lian. As she looked at Zhang Chunhua¡¯s expression, she could not bring herself tough nor cry. Neither could she figure out what exactly made this woman hate her so much. Thus, she decided there was no point in trying to go anywhere. She stood still. From afar, she saw Ancestor White Bones waving her hand and saying, ¡°I¡¯m not the coach. I¡¯m not Forget Chuan.¡± The reporters were stumped and started looking around. ¡°Where¡¯s Forget Chuan then? Where is she?¡± Su Penghao swept his gaze across the crowd and finally saw Qiao Lian right at the back. Hurriedly, he tried to push them aside as he walked through the sea of people towards Qiao Lian. ¡°Coach Qiao! We¡¯re here!¡± Chapter 652 - Slap Yourself! She Is Forget Chuan! (7)

Chapter 652: p Yourself! She Is Forget Chuan! (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When the reporters heard what he said, they turned around simultaneously. The crowd parted to let him through as he ran up to her. His eyes lit up. ¡°Coach Qiao, we¡¯ve kept you waiting.¡± The team members, who had been unmoved by the crowd of reporters, were all invariably full of emotions when they saw Qiao Lian. The six of them surrounded her and chattered excitedly. She listened to them patiently. Shortly after, she heard someone, obviously stunned and shaken, ask, ¡°You- you are Forget Chuan?¡± She turned around only to see an astonished Zhang Chunhua staring at her, wide-eyed in disbelief. With a smile, she replied, ¡°Yes. I¡¯m Forget Chuan.¡± Then she looked down at Zhang Chunhua¡¯s hand that was still tightly gripping her wrist. ¡°So would you mind letting go now?¡± Zhang Chunhua dropped her hand in fright and stumbled backwards. Still staring at her, she said, ¡°Are- are you really Forget Chuan? How is that possible?!¡± Qiao Lianpletely ignored the woman. Turning her attention back to the team members, she said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± As though this was a cue, all the reporters swarmed around her immediately, pointing their microphones and cameras at her and asking, ¡°Forget Chuan, Forget Chuan, can we schedule an interview?¡± ¡°Forget Chuan, why did you choose to be an eSports caster?¡± ¡°Forget Chuan, do you have a few words for us?¡± Qiao Lian had intended to leave together with the team. But when she heard these questions, she halted. Turning to face them, she said after a moment, ¡°Because I am passionate about eSports.¡± It was because of the man that she had fallen in love with gaming. She was hot-blooded, always ready to jump and channeled all of herself into eSports. She only made that remark before she turned again to leave. At this point, a voice rang through the crowd, speaking in a way that was obviously trying hard to please, ¡°Forget Chuan, Qiao Lian... erm... can we make an appointment for an exclusive interview?¡± Qiao Lian halted when she heard this request. The look on her face was almost incredulous as she asked in return, ¡°Do you think I¡¯ll actually agree to it?¡± Zhang Chunhua took a step towards her and said in a low voice, ¡°You have to agree whether you like it or not. Otherwise, I¡¯ll expose all your ugly secrets on the inte!¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank immediately as she red at the vicious woman. Zhang Chunhua smiled triumphantly and continued, ¡°I finally found out why you¡¯ve never show your face in live broadcasts. It¡¯s because of this! You¡¯re afraid that what your parents did in the past would be exposed and that there will be public bacsh.¡± Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes at Zhang Chunhua¡¯s words. Still ring at the woman, she said, ¡°Zhang Chunhua, do you really think I¡¯m afraid of trouble? I never knew that ourw extends punishment to the descendants of the convicted.¡± ¡°Besides, I¡¯m not afraid even if so. Expose me as you please.¡± ¡°But I will not give you an exclusive. Because... I despise your disgusting news agency!¡± Leaving this harsh remark for Zhang Chunhua to ruminate over, Qiao Lian and the CQ team members got into their nanny van and left. After Qiao Lian left, Zhang Chunhua stood there with a pale expression. Her fists were tightly clenched. Never in her wildest imagination had she considered the possibility that Qiao Lian was Forget Chuan. If Forget Chuan was indeed Qiao Lian, then why... why had she worked in the news agency? Qiao Lian had to be hiding some secrets! As she thought, she narrowed her eyes. Then she called her two workers, ¡°Trail her! We have to unearth her secrets!¡± Chapter 653 - Slap Yourself! She Is Forget Chuan! (8)

Chapter 653: p Yourself! She Is Forget Chuan! (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian proceeded to send the CQ team members back to the clubhouse. When she was leaving, Su Penghao and the rest were reluctant to let her go. Su Penghao even said, ¡°Coach Qiao, can¡¯t we just y a match together? Will you be able to y a game with your hand like this?¡± Ever since Shen Liangchuan took her to the doctor, she had been more conscious of her own hand. However, when it came to ying a match, her hand was still not up to it. As she was thinking about it, she bit her lip and said, ¡°Ok, let¡¯s have a match.¡± Su Penghao¡¯s eyes immediately lit up. Qiao Lian¡¯s character, as usual, was Xiao Qiao. For the first half an hour, her moves were indeed smooth, but after half an hour, she started to often make maneuvering errors. Her hand would asionally feel weak. Finally, Qiao Lian decided to give up. ¡°Better to rest a bit more.¡± After leaving the vi, a slight look of disappointment could be seen on her face. For thest period of time, she had been taking care of her hand almost everyday. But why hadn¡¯t there been any improvements? As she was contemting this, she didn¡¯t realize that there was someone following her. She took a cab and headed straight back to the Shen Vi. When she just reached home, she saw Xia Nuannuan sitting alone on the sofa in a daze. It was obvious that her emotions were not quite right. She took a step forward and casually enquired, ¡°Nuannuan, what is wrong?¡± Xia Nuannuan jumped up in shock. When she regained herposure, she immediately stood up and spoke as if trying to hide something, ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong. I am going upstairs.¡± Yet after she went upstairs, Xia Nuannuan continued to sit on the sofa, dazed. She had initially made an appointment with the hospital to have an abortion this afternoon. But when it was finally time, she was hesitating and in a dilemma. She liked Shen Zihao. Even though Shen Zihao had misunderstood her, she had tried hard to control her own emotions. But she still liked him. As she thought about this, she ced her hand on her lower abdomen. This child belonged to her and Shen Zihao. Thinking about this made her feel a sense of joy deep down in her heart. But... what would happen when the baby was born? She and Shen Zihao were both from different social sses, and it was impossible for them to be together. How could she allow her own child to be without a father from a young age? And, if one day Shen Zihao came to know about the child, how should he face the child? It seemed like if she gave birth to this child, the aftermath would create infinite trouble. Besides... If her parents were to know of her pregnancy before marriage, they would certainly be enraged. As she thought of this, Xia Nuannuan made a firm resolution. She stood up, picked up her bag and then headed out straightaway. After saying her greetings to Qiao Lian, she walked outside to take a bus and go to the maternity hospital. There were people everywhere in the hospital. Those who came for an abortion mostly had their husbands or boyfriends with them. She was, however, the only one who came alone. She bit her lip. But as she went to get the paperwork done, the doctor requested for the father of the child to sign the papers. But where on earth could she go and find a father for the child? Xia Nuannuan spoke nervously, ¡°Doctor, I- Can¡¯t I do this by myself?¡± The doctor spoke angrily, ¡°Of course not! These are the rules of the hospital. Where is the child¡¯s father? Even if you both have separated, he should at leaste here to sign the papers.¡± The doctor spoke in a loud voice and soon, it attracted a lot of attention from the people around them. Xia Nuannuan gripped her fingers and lowered her head, although she didn¡¯t feel embarrassed. Right at this moment, Shen Zihao¡¯s voice could be heard somewhere nearby, ¡°Xia Nuannuan?¡± Chapter 654 - Slap Yourself! She Is Forget Chuan! (9)

Chapter 654: p Yourself! She Is Forget Chuan! (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Zihao hade to the hospital to settle some issues. Mei Feng had some gynecological problems, so he was here to collect her medication. He was already intending to leave when he heard a doctor¡¯s interrogating voice near him. As he subconsciously turned around, he saw a girl with her head lowered and being reprimanded. Her face was pale. Under normal circumstances, he would not bother about such things. However, once he saw that girl, he immediately halted. He took a step forward to confirm that it was her and then couldn¡¯t help but call her with confusion, ¡°Xia Nuannuan?¡± He asked with uncertainty, ¡°Why are you here?¡± As he took another step forward, he saw Xia Nuannuan attempting to hide the piece of document that she was holding in her hands. However, he had already seen the content on it. He frowned immediately and asked, ¡°You came here for an abortion?¡± Xia Nuannuan was so frightened that her face turned pale. She didn¡¯t know what to say when she came face to face with Shen Zihao. She only saw that he had started to frown. The way that he was staring at her was somewhat helpless, doubtful, as well as dumbfounded. It was as though he wanted to enquire about something. At this moment, strangely, Xia Nuannuan had a sense of hesitation within her. She expected him to ask about it, yet, she was worried that he would question her. If he were to ask if this child belonged to him, what should her reply be? But what if he was not intending to ask? As she was still hesitating, Shen Zihao raised his head to look at the doctor and spoke immediately with a frown, ¡°Is having an abortion illegal nowadays?¡± His fierce tone was a little overbearing and that made the doctor be listless straightaway. The attitude that he had shown towards Xia Nuannuan, at this instant, toned down. ¡°No, it is not illegal.¡± ¡°A doctor is a professional that serves the people. No matter what issues the patient has, you are not supposed to discriminate against the patient. What kind of attitude did you have just now?¡± Shen Zihao spoke with a nasty tone. ¡°A doctor is also supposed to keep patients¡¯ records confidential. After yelling so loudly, did you know that I can sue you for infringement of privacy?¡± That doctor was so stunned and shocked that he swallowed a mouthful of his saliva. ¡°I- I¡ª¡± Shen Zihao spoke again, ¡°What is your staff number? I will go file aintter!¡± The doctor turned pale and said, ¡°Sir, I- I am in the wrong. I am really sorry for what I did.¡± But Shen Zihao let out a cold snort and snapped, ¡°What¡¯s the point of apologizing to me? The person that you reprimanded just now wasn¡¯t me.¡± The doctor then looked at Xia Nuannuan once again. ¡°Miss, I am sorry. Please do forgive me this time.¡± Xia Nuannuan was the kind of person who was kind at heart and could not bear to see someone begging her like this. As a healthcare provider, she actually could understand what the doctor was feeling right now. After seeing so many patients every day, they were bound to get irritated at times. Therefore, she did not want to make things difficult for this doctor and said in a warm tone, ¡°In the future, if there is anything that you want to say, please say it directly and do not scream or shout. It is certainly not a pleasant thing if someone else were to hear it.¡± The doctor nodded and replied, ¡°However, the rules in this hospital are that the child¡¯s father needs to sign the documents too, before we are allowed to proceed with the surgery.¡± At this instant, Xia Nuannuan was in such a predicament that she wished that she could find a hole and hide herself inside. She hurriedly nodded. ¡°Hmm, I am not going to do it anymore.¡± As she finished speaking, she turned around, meaning to leave. She had only taken two steps when she heard Shen Zihao say, ¡°I shall sign the papers.¡± Xia Nuannuan halted upon hearing these words. As she turned around, Shen Zihao told the doctor, ¡°I am the child¡¯s father. I was settling some other issues earlier on.¡± That doctor nodded straightaway and handed over the documents for the surgery to Shen Zihao. ¡°It will do if you just sign here.¡± Shen Zihao took a nce at Xia Nuannuan and nodded. Chapter 655 - Slap Yourself! She Is Forget Chuan! (10)

Chapter 655: p Yourself! She Is Forget Chuan! (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xia Nuannuan clenched her fists as he stared at the document for the surgery. And then he proceeded to sign the document. Xia Nuannuan bit her lip harshly. She cast her gaze downwards to conceal the sadness that she felt. However,e to think of it, this made sense as well. To the both of them, this child hade as an ident. She took in a deep breath and followed Shen Zihao, sitting down on the chairs next to them. They waited there for her number to be called. Time passed slowly, but also swiftly. This caused Xia Nuannuan to feel a sense of unspeakable sorrow and grief. She didn¡¯t know what to say or what to do, so she just waited for her turn. Finally, the doctor came over and called her. Xia Nuannuan stood up and looked at Shen Zihao. After hesitating for a while, she then said, ¡°That¡ª¡± Shen Zihao raised his head. Xia Nuannuan bit her lip and said slowly, ¡°Aunt Xia is fine now. Basically, she is already able to function as usual. Her speech is also functioning smoothly. You don¡¯t have to worry.¡± Shen Zihao nodded. Xia Nuannuan bit her lip once more. ¡°Since we have met coincidentally today, then there¡¯s no need for me to give you a call again.¡± Shen Zihao answered with a ¡°Hmm.¡± Xia Nuannuan took a nce at the doctor and said, ¡°I shall go in now.¡± Shen Zihao continued nodding. Xia Nuannuan then followed the doctor into the surgery room. As her baby was still premature¡ªnot even forty days old yet¡ªshe couldn¡¯t undergo abortion surgery, so she opted to take medication for abortion. The doctor prescribed her medication and told her to take a pill now, and the other pill two hourster. Xia Nuannuan walked to the chair next to her after nodding. She had to take the medication at the observation room. After taking the medicine, she would be kept under observation for four hours. Once the unborn baby had been removed safely, she could go home. However, while sitting in the observation room, she stared at the pill and could hardly bear to eat it. She was carrying a live baby in her belly. But right now, this pill could terminate the pregnancy. It was such a cruel thing to do. Xia Nuannuan¡¯s eyes filled with tears gradually. She was only 23 years old, had just graduated from university and just entered the workforce. She did not know how she should handle this situation, much less how to face the future. She only knew that right now, she was suffering from a terrible heartache. She suddenly lifted her hand to cover her own mouth, while tears kept flowing down her cheeks. She bit her lip harshly, not allowing herself to cry aloud. There were a few others in the observation room. They all looked as if they were numb from the procedure, as if doing this had already be the norm. Someone even patted her shoulder after seeing her reaction. ¡°What¡¯s there to cry? I can tell from one look that this is your first time. In the future, you won¡¯t care!¡± Xia Nuannuan was stunned. Was this the way? But, perhaps because this was the first one, she especially cherished it and was terribly sad. Xia Nuannuan took in a deep breath before lowering her head to look at the pill in her hand once again. She picked up the bottle of mineral water. She had unscrewed the cap of the water bottle and was about to ce the pill in her mouth, when suddenly the observation room¡¯s door was flung open. Xia Nuannuan was stunned. As she turned around, she saw that Shen Zihao was standing right in front of her! There was a look of eagerness and hesitation on Shen Zihao¡¯s face. When he saw her, he pursed his lips and asked, ¡°Is this child mine?¡± Xia Nuannuan was totally muddled by his words. Was this child his? So in his eyes, he regarded her as a skittish woman? As she thought about this, he said, ¡°If the child is mine, please keep it and let¡¯s get married.¡± Chapter 656 - Public Display of Affection: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (1)

Chapter 656: Public Disy of Affection: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xia Nuannuan waspletely stunned. She raised her head and stared at Shen Zihao with disbelief. Get married? She widened her eyes and clenched her fists. She had never imagined that it would turn out this way. But should she get married? Her heart started to thump even faster. She could only feel a sense of turmoil, and that it was hard to exin her emotions. Marriage. She had thought of that before. That one day in her life she would ultimately get married. However, she had not imagined that the day would arrive so soon. And was this child his? Xia Nuannuan bit her lip as she stood up. She nced at Shen Zihao and, after a moment, lowered her head and said, ¡°No need, I don¡¯t need you to take responsibility for this.¡± These words were an indirect answer to the question of who the child belonged to. Shen Zihao¡¯s facial expression darkened. So it turned out that the child was really his. When he saw the document earlier on, he had already had his doubts. However, when he recalled that she had secretly taken 2000 from him, and also remembered that she had worked as a waitress in Glitter, he felt that perhaps he was thinking too much. He had been totally drunk the first time they had been together. After the incident, he couldn¡¯t recall what had happened. Thus, hepletely did not know that that had been her first time. However, when he saw her demeanor when she entered the observation room, he couldn¡¯t help but be suspicious. He got increasingly uneasy. The images of that night kept shing in his mind¡ªof how she had appeared at the hospital, hugging, coaxing and calming him with her gentle voice. He also recalled secretly visiting Xia Yehua in the hospital, but each time, he would see her gently taking care of Xia Yehua. Her gentleness had even seemed to soften his heart. If it hadn¡¯t been for what had happened that day, he felt that he would have fallen in love with her. As he thought about this, reflexively, he suddenly stood up and dashed into the observation room. He blurted out that sentence out of impulse. However, he realized that he had rxed after saying those words. Indeed. It was just a marriage, wasn¡¯t it? Wouldn¡¯t it be a good idea to protect her in the future? Even if this child wasn¡¯t his, he also wanted to be able to protect her. But what had she just said? She didn¡¯t need him to take ount for his actions. So this sentence implied that the child was his? Shen Zihao did not say another word and simply took a step forward, grabbed her wrist and walked out of the room. Xia Nuannuan jumped up in shock. ¡°You- What are you doing?¡± ¡°You cannot abort this child.¡± Xia Nuannuan bit her lip and asked, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because the child¡¯s dad does not agree with it.¡± Xia Nuannuan: ... Shen Zihao turned around and red at her fiercely. ¡°Hey! Did you hear what I¡¯ve just said? I disagree and hence you cannot abort this baby!¡± Xia Nuannuan remained silent. But after a while, she suddenly burst outughing. Along with herughter, her eyes turned red and misty. Shen Zihao was stunned. ¡°Are you actually crying orughing?!¡± Xia Nuannuan lowered her head without saying a word. Shen Zihao was not bothered by it. He took her straight to the carpark, started the car and headed out. In the beginning, Xia Nuannuan did not react fast enough. Only when the car had started to cruise down the road did she notice the unfamiliar scenery outside. She was slightly stunned. ¡°Where are you taking me to?¡± ¡°Home.¡± Xia Nuannuan immediately turned to look at him. Shen Zihao continued, ¡°We will go home to get our household registration booklet and ID, and then go to town hall.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need to pick a date. Let¡¯s just go apply for our certificate today.¡± Xia Nuannuan: ... Chapter 657 - Public Display of Affection: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (2)

Chapter 657: Public Disy of Affection: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xia Nuannuan felt that the matter had escted too rapidly, so much so that it made it hard for her to ept. She stared at Shen Zihao and after a moment, she said, ¡°We cannot do this¡ª¡± Before she could finish her sentence, Shen Zihao¡¯s facial expression darkened. Xia Nuannuan immediately swallowed her words and spoke with a stutter, ¡°Isn¡¯t this too sudden?¡± When Shen Zihao heard these words, he narrowed his eyes and turned towards her. ¡°You do not wish to marry me?¡± Xia Nuannuan was stunned and immediately shook her head. ¡°No. I¡ª¡± ¡°Since you do not not wish to marry me, then it means you wish to marry me. So that¡¯s it.¡± It was impossible for her to rebut his words... But wasn¡¯t this a little too fast?! The time they had seen each other and spent together did not even amount to a month. She swallowed her saliva and then said, ¡°Hmm, I think you might have misunderstood... I am not that casual when ites to marriage. I don¡¯t want you to propose marriage just because of the child. I¡ª¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. I am also not a casual person. Since I want to marry you, certainly, I¡¯ve put much thought into it.¡± Xia Nuannuan: ... Xia Nuannuan wanted to speak on a few asions, but she swallowed her words because of Shen Zihao. But she was truly nervous about this issue. She somehow felt that something was wrong with this matter. They hadn¡¯t even dated, yet they wanted to get married... Wasn¡¯t this too fast?! When Xia Nuannuan widened her eyes, she looked so adorable that it made him just want to reach out his hand and touch her head. Shen Zihao resisted his urge to do that. Initially, it had been his impulsiveness that made him want to get married. However, he had no idea why but when he got closer to home, he was certain that he wanted the marriage. Actually, wouldn¡¯t it be great to be able to look at her like this everyday? Anyway, he had reached the age where he should be thinking about marriage. Mei Feng had also urged him several times. He was the only child of the Shen family now. The idea of them starting a next generation was indeed a good one. Wasn¡¯t it better this way, since there was already a baby on the way? As he thought about this, Shen Zihao pursed his lips and smiled. He turned his head once again to look at Xia Nuannuan and asked, ¡°Where are you from?¡± Xia Nuannuan replied, ¡°Zhejiang, Hangzhou.¡± From Zhejiang province. Shen Zihao was very satisfied with this answer. This was because, in his opinion, only the water viges in Jiangnan could produce someone as gentle as Xia Nuannuan, who was tender and soft. She had the looks and stature of someone delicate, which couldn¡¯t help but make people want to take care of her. However, after interacting with her, one would then realize that this girl wasn¡¯t as delicate as she looked. At Glitter Club, after rejecting that man¡¯s offer and eventually getting beaten up, she did not even make a single audible sound. This clearly showed that she was in fact someone who had much pride within her bones. As Shen Zihao thought of this, instantly, he felt that Xia Nuannuan was the perfect match for his appetite. ¡°Did you bring your ID along?¡± Xia Nuannuan was still in a daze and hadn¡¯t had a chance to respond. But when she heard this question, she casually answered, ¡°I have it. I carry my ID along with me all the time.¡± Shen Zihao nodded. ¡°It¡¯s more convenient this way then.¡± He took a look at the time. ¡°We should still be able to make it.¡± He drove a little faster. Soon, the car made a turn into a luxurious vi. In this area, there was only one vi standing. It was surrounded by big courtyards with tall walls. It had its own security officers. Xia Nuannuan widened her eyes and stared at this vi, which looked like a pce. She then clenched her fists subconsciously. This was her first time visiting such a luxurious ce. Chapter 658 - Public Display of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (3)

Chapter 658: Public Disy of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Hesitant, Xia Nuannuan got out of the car. She followed Shen Zihao as he walked through the front door into the living room. At the same time, she observed her surroundings from the corner of her eye, not daring to show her curiosity or astonishment in case it made her lookpletely ignorant. However, upon entering the living room and seeing how incredibly polished and reflectant the floor was, she hesitated to step on it. She followed Shen Zihao closely as he walked towards the shoe rack, where she watched him change his shoes. She stood still, not daring to make any big movements. He kicked off his shoes and put on his home slippers. As he walked into the house, he suddenly noticed that the person next to him was missing. He turned and looked at her with a puzzled expression. Immediately, she asked him, ¡°Mr. Shen... do- do I have to change my shoes?¡± With a look of sudden realization, he called loudly, ¡°Senior Auntie Zhang, Senior Auntie Zhang!¡± Almost immediately, a middle-ageddy appeared in response to his call. ¡°Young Master, what is it?¡± Shen Zihao pointed at Xia Nuannuan and said to the housekeeper, ¡°Find Miss Xia a pair of slippers.¡± Senior Auntie Zhang nodded with a nce in Xia Nuannuan¡¯s direction. ¡°Yes.¡± Then she left and very quickly returned with a pair of disposable slippers, which she handed over to the girl. Xia Nuannuan heaved a sigh of relief after changing out of her shoes. However, she still felt somewhat oppressed and overwhelmed by this ce. She had only ever seen such luxurious vis on the television. From a young age, she had only ever been exposed to the life of an ordinary person, be it the surroundings that she had been born in, her school orter, her workce. Even Xia Yehua¡¯s home was just a small three-story house. But this... was quite something else. It was like a huge pce! She gulped and looked up at Shen Zihao again. For the first time she realized just how huge this gap was that existed between them. She hung her head and took a step towards him. ¡°Mr.- Mr. Shen...¡± Ignoring what she was about to say, he interrupted her, ¡°Wait for me here. I¡¯ll go and get my identity card and household registration booklet.¡± Xia Nuannuan was stumped. Suddenly, she had developed an anxiety towards this marriage. What was she going to do? The thought of having to live in such unfamiliar surroundings after her marriage made her extremely ufortable and frightened. But when she looked up again, she found that Shen Zihao had disappeared around the corner. She tried to follow him but by the time she got there, there was no sign of him. Probably, he had gone upstairs. She stood still again, not daring to move. She didn¡¯t know where to stand. The floor was so pristine that she felt she couldn¡¯t ce her feet anywhere. As she was fretting over this, she heard a woman¡¯s voice saying, ¡°Is Zihao back?¡± ¡°Yes, Madam, Young Master brought a girl home.¡± ¡°A girl?¡± came the curious reply. Xia Nuannuan immediately straightened her posture and looked ahead respectfully. Mei Feng appeared walking towards her in a set of golden pajamas, looking every inch the wealthy man¡¯s wife she was. She paused as she looked at Xia Nuannuan. ¡°You are?¡± Before she could speak, Mei Feng continued, ¡°Oh, you must be Zihao¡¯s friend.¡± Then she frowned, ¡°But it wasn¡¯t you he brought home previously.¡± Xia Nuannuan was taken aback upon hearing this. She looked at Mei Feng with a puzzled expression. The woman saw that she was confused for a moment before sheughed and said, ¡°Since you¡¯re Zihao¡¯s friend, doe in and take a seat. Senior Auntie Zhang, hurry up and get this youngdy a drink.¡± Xia Nuannuan hung her head at the woman¡¯s friendliness. She looked down at the tips of her toes and said, ¡°It¡¯s- it¡¯s okay. I- I can wait for him here.¡± Chapter 659 - Public Display of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (4)

Chapter 659: Public Disy of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Before Mei Feng could speak further, Shen Zihao came downstairs. He saw them both and immediately said, ¡°Aunty Mei, you¡¯re also home. Let me introduce you.¡± He hurried downstairs taking a few steps at a time. When he was finally standing before them, he pointed at Mei Feng and introduced her to Xia Nuannuan, saying, ¡°This is my stepmother, Aunty Mei.¡± Xia Nuannuan greeted her formally, ¡°Aunty Mei.¡± Smiling, Mei Feng said, ¡°Good girl.¡± He then turned to Mei Feng to introduce Xia Nuannuan. ¡°Aunty Mei, her name¡¯s Xia Nuannuan, she¡¯s my¡ª¡± ¡°New girlfriend?¡± Mei Feng said teasingly. ¡°I liked Miss Xia the moment I set my eyes on her.¡± Shen Zihao nodded. ¡°I knew you would like her. Hence, we¡¯ve decided to get married.¡± Mei Feng smiled and nodded at once, saying, ¡°That¡¯s great¡ª¡± Then, she suddenly halted in shock, as though only just realizing what he had said. Stunned, she said, ¡°What?¡± Shen Zihao repeated, ¡°I said, Aunty Mei, we¡¯ve decided to get married.¡± At this point, he looked at Mei Feng again and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s our household registration booklet? Please let me have it. I¡¯m taking her to register our marriage. There should be enough time still.¡± After hearing these words, Mei Feng looked at Xia Nuanuan. She could hardly believe this was happening and said after a moment of silence, ¡°This is really... unexpected!¡± She looked at Shen Xihao and continued, ¡°This matter should be discussed more. This is a marriage we¡¯re talking about. It¡¯s really too sudden.¡± Shen Zihao shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s nothing abrupt about it. I¡¯ve made the decision.¡± The patient woman said, ¡°Getting married is a big event. No matter what, you should ask your father¡¯s opinion too. Aunty Mei cannot make the decision for you. How about we wait till your fatheres home?¡± He immediately picked up his cell phone after he heard Mei Feng¡¯s words. ¡°I¡¯ll call him then, is that okay?¡± Mei Feng nodded. Shen Zihao made the call to his father, told him everything in a summary and then hung up the phone. ¡°Dad says he¡¯s on his way back now.¡± ¨C An hourter. Shen Xiu finally arrived home. He was frowning as he entered the house and looked very serious. ¡°I do not agree to this marriage!¡± Shen Zihao was taken aback. ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°Why not? How could you just bring a random girl home and say you wish to get married? Are you crazy? Do you even know this girl¡¯s family background? Her parents are teachers¡ªordinary folks. What can she bring to the marriage?¡± His words were direct and he didn¡¯t beat around the bush. ¡°Our Shen family¡¯s daughter-inw must be of equal social standing to be a good match for you!¡± Shen Zihao immediately retorted, ¡°Are you looking for a daughter-inw or are you looking for family background?¡± Shen Xiu almost choked. ¡°You¡ª¡± Shen Zihao reached out for Xia Nuannuan¡¯s arm and turned to his father, saying, ¡°Dad, she¡¯s pregnant with my child. I¡¯m getting married, no matter what!¡± ¡°What?¡± Shen Xiu was stunned and looked at Xia Nuannuan with a shocked expression. Shen Zihao stood there stubbornly, unrelenting and unyielding. The father and son were now locked in a stalemate. Xia Nuannuan found this scene particrly ugly. Her future father-inw openly despised her, and it was without doubt the most embarrassing moment in her life. Right now, she wished she was anywhere else but here. Biting her lip, she ventured, ¡°Mr. Shen... erm... I- I should leave.¡± Then she turned around and walked towards the door. Shen Zihao looked at her back and frowned. ¡°Dad, I¡¯m getting married and that¡¯s that! No one¡¯s going to stop me!¡± Chapter 660 - Public Display of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (5) Chapter 660: Public Disy of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (5) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After those words, Shen Zihao grabbed Xia Nuannuan¡¯s wrist and headed out of the house with her in tow. Mei Feng nced at Shen Xiu. Then, she went after Shen Zihao and saw him off. She was smiling and said to Xia Nuannuan, ¡°Nuannuan, please don¡¯t take it to heart. Your uncle has a temper. But don¡¯t you worry, he doesn¡¯t despise you. That¡¯s not what he meant.¡± Then she looked at Shen Zihao and said, ¡°Zihao, take Nuannuan home first. I¡¯ll try to persuade your father.¡± Shen Zihao immediately nodded and replied, ¡°Yes, Aunty Mei. I¡¯ll leave the matter in your hands. If there¡¯s anyone in this household that he¡¯ll listen to, it¡¯s you. I¡¯ll have to trouble you with this.¡± Mei Feng almost choked. If there was anyone he would listen to... If Shen Xiu didn¡¯t agree to it, this would end up being her idea. Mei Feng gave an embarrassed smile as her gaze fell on Xia Nuannuan. Then, she looked at the girl¡¯s abdomen. Her eyes were void of emotions. She nodded and said, ¡°No problem, just wait for my good news.¡± Shen Zihao nodded. They didn¡¯t have to wait very long for the good news. As Shen Zihao was driving Xia Nuannuan back to Xia Yehua¡¯s vi, they received a call from Mei Feng. ¡°Your father has agreed, but you won¡¯t have time today. Why don¡¯t we select an auspicious date for you to get married? But from now on, you can start your wedding preparations.¡± At once, Shen Zihao was excited and happy. ¡°Yes, I knew that, Aunty Mei, you¡¯d be able to convince him.¡± ¡°Ok. Come home early. We¡¯ll discuss your wedding tonight.¡± ¡°Sure!¡± Qiao Lian wasn¡¯t home when Shen Zihao and Xia Nuannuan arrived at the house. She was at the clubhouse watching the team train. Later that night, her cell phone rang. Qiao Lian picked up the line. It was Shen Liangchuan, who asked, ¡°What time will you be home?¡± ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°I¡¯m at the clubhouse. Shall we leave together?¡± Immediately, she broke into a smile, causing her eyes to turn into tiny crescent moons. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s office was nowhere near. He was there specially to drive her home. She said at once, ¡°I¡¯ll pack my belongings and get ready to go.¡± She hung up. As she walked out of the vi with a blissfully happy expression, she saw Shen Liangchuan¡¯s car stopped by the roadside. She ran up to him quickly, firstly because she was excited, but also because this vi was a paparazzi-free zone. Thus, she was able to just open the car door without worries. However, the moment the car door was opened, there seemed to be a quick sh from somewhere in the distance. Prompted by her reporter¡¯s instinct, Qiao Lian looked up at once and studied their surroundings. Shen Liangchuan asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Qiao Lian frowned and said, ¡°My gut tells me that someone took a picture of us.¡± He followed the direction of her gaze and looked into the darkness. After a moment, he shook his head. ¡°No one seems to be around.¡± She nodded and replied, ¡°Probably a case of upational illness.¡± Not dwelling any further on that thought, she got into the car. As they drove away, a person stood up from a clump of foliage not too far away. Although he was pale with fright, he was overjoyed. He picked up his cell phone and dialed Zhang Chunhua¡¯s number. ¡°Deputy Managing Editor, guess what I just managed to capture!¡± ¡°What would that be?¡± ¡°I managed to snap a picture of Forget Chuan together with Best Actor Shen! He came here specially to pick her up! Do you think... that Forget Chuan is Best Actor Shen¡¯s lover?¡± Upon hearing this, Zhang Chunhwa immediately saw the light. ¡°Hurry back here right now! Prepare the news report! This time, our agency will be famous!¡± Chapter 661 - Public Display of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (6)

Chapter 661: Public Disy of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As they were driving thome, Qiao Lian turned to look at Shen Liangchuan. He had been busy with work these days, so he appeared to have lost weight. His chiseled features had be almost gaunt, and her heart ached when she noticed this. She asked, ¡°Have you been feeling tired?¡± He raised an eyebrow and gave her a puzzled look, obviously waiting for her to exin what had brought her to that conclusion. She continued, ¡°I noticed you¡¯ve lost weight, and you look exhausted.¡± He eyed her briefly and replied, ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡± She sighed. ¡°It¡¯s all my fault...¡± Shen Liangchuan had always been the sort of man who stood aloof the world¡¯s matters He had been like that from their gaming days. He was like an elusive kungfu master who lived in recluse and stirred no trouble with anyone. However, if someone provoked him, he would surely beat them up and send them looking for their own teeth in the dust. Besides, given his standing in the entertainment industry, he could very well live a leisurely life now. But because of her, he was now being targeted by Lu Nanze and had been sucked into another round of struggle. Qiao Lian felt bitter about this and said, ¡°If it weren¡¯t for me, you wouldn¡¯t be this tired out.¡± Upon hearing these words, his suddenly broke into a huge smile. Shen Liangchuan was a man of few smiles, but right now, his smile was as resplendent as dahlias on the edge of a cliff and it dazzled her. She stared at him in awe. In her daze, he said, ¡°Mrs. Shen, you have some way to go yet.¡± Qiao Lian was taken aback by his reply. Best Actor Shen continued, ¡°You¡¯ll need to work a lot harder at night if you wish to tire me out.¡± The ambiguous remark made her turn beet red at once and, in that moment, all the guilt she had totally disappeared into thin air. Almost jumping with embarrassment, she cried out, ¡°Shen Liangchuan!¡± When she said his name, it carried a certain shyness and petty anger with the melodious crispness of youthful girlishness. Especially hisst name, the way she said it with a smooth turn of her tongue made his heart go weak. The expression in his eyes suddenly deepened. By that time, they had already driven into the suburbs and there were few people around. They weren¡¯t far from the vi. He pulled the car to a sudden stop by the road. Qiao Lian was surprised. ¡°Why did you stop the car? You- Ohhhh!¡± Before she could finish speaking, she felt his hand on the back of her head and, with a strong pull, he drew her in as their lips met and locked. His kissed was enthusiastic and intensively fiery. Like a beast that had been let out of the cage, he went ahead on a reckless rampage to explore the inside of her mouth. The kiss left Qiao Lian reeling in a daze, as her brain was malfunctioning. The atmosphere in the car turned increasingly amorous. A sense of ambiguity hung heavily in the vehicle, saturating the air within. Just as Qiao Lian thought that she was about to pass out from this crazy tryst, Shen Liangchuan suddenly let go of her, giving her a chance to gasp for air. Then, the man leaned over and whispered in her ear, ¡°Xiao Qiao, we... have never tried it in the car?¡± Tried what in the car? Qiao Lian had a moment of confusion before she suddenly realized what he meant. Immediately, she turned bright red. ¡°No way! I- Ahhhhhh!¡± Her protests had barely left her mouth when she felt the back of the passenger seat drop down. And she found herself lying almost t against the seat. At once, his strong and vigorous figure was on top of her. The interior of the car was small and there was no room for her to reject. The next kiss that the man delivered drew her soul out of her till she couldn¡¯t quite remember where she was. By the time she regained a sense of reality, they were already joined as one. Chapter 662 - Public Display of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (7)

Chapter 662: Public Disy of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan¡¯s transpiration rolled down and dropped on Qiao Lian with a silent ssh. She looked at him through her misty eyes. His deep and suppressed voice sounded in her ear, ¡°Xiao Qiao, I¡¯m more than happy to get tired out by this sort of work.¡± Qiao Lian: ... Just at this critical moment, someone knocked on the car window! Qiao Lian¡¯s rationality came rushing back to her. With a sudden movement, she tried to sit up, but there was no way Shen Liangchuan was going to let her... not in that critical moment! He pinned her down and gestured for her to keep silent. Then, turning to look out the window, he saw that it was the vi district¡¯s security officer. He walked around outside the car, leaned over the dark windows and tried to peer into the interior. Qiao Lian panicked. ¡°Ahhh! Hurry up and get up! This is the end of us. We¡¯ve been spotted!¡± Shen Liangchuan said in his low voice, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he can¡¯t see us.¡± Qiao Lian: ... Even if he couldn¡¯t see them, she felt uneasy that someone was just outside. Furthermore, Shen Liangchuan wasn¡¯t going to listen to her at this point. Just as she was about to continuementing, he pressed down against her. Qiao Lian bit her lip harshly and tried to suppress her cries. At the same time, the feeling of excitement washed over her and spread within her. As the security officer continued knocking on the dark window pane, the couple in the car kept still and silent. Eventually... When their deed was done, the security officer turned to walk away, muttering to himself, ¡°Why does the car keep shaking?¡± Qiao Lian: ... Pushing Shen Liangchuan away, Qiao Lian sat up at once and started putting her clothes back on. She was blushing so much her face was almost bleeding. ¡°It¡¯s all your fault!¡± Pointing at him, she said, ¡°This is really embarrassing!¡± He, on the other hand, was taking his time to put his clothes back on. ¡°What¡¯s the big deal? He couldn¡¯t see.¡± How is it that I¡¯ve never noticed how shameless he is! By the time they tidied themselves up, half an hour had passed. Qiao Lian¡¯s face was still red. A sweet and suggestive smell lingered in the car¡¯s interior. She quickly wound down the window to air the car, feeling thoroughly embarrassed by the episode. Shen Liangchuan on the other hand, seemed alive and refreshed. The exhaustion his face had shown earlier on had disappeared without a trace after the venting. Seeing that it had done him good, she was less grudging about it. Thinking back, the fact was that doing it in the car... Was actually quite thrilling. The car drove along slowly and soon it entered the vi grounds. As they drove inside, they noticed a loud and luxurious car parked in the courtyard. That was... Shen Zihao¡¯s car? What was he doing here at the vi? Qiao Lian gave Shen Liangchuan a puzzled look and thetter frowned in response, obviously worried that Shen Zihao would upset Xia Yehua again. Hence, they quickly got out of the car and walked towards the apartment. Qiao Lian pulled the car key out of the ignition switch and shut the car doors, settling these details before walking into the apartment. However, the scene that greeted her was quite different from what she had imagined. There were no signs of swords being drawn, or bows being bent. There was a strange sense of harmony in the living room. This unexpected calmness took Qiao Lian by surprise. What was going on? As she was contemting the situation, Xia Yehua spoke with a joyous expression on her face, ¡°Xiao Qiao,e over quickly! Zihao says he¡¯s getting married!¡± Getting married?! Good grief! What to make of this sudden climate change?! Qiao Lian gave Shen Zihao a confused, who shifted in his seat ufortably. And sitting right across from him was Xia Nuannuan. As she walked over to them, Xia Yehua grabbed her hand. ¡°You guys were parked at the neighbourhood¡¯s entrance for the longest time. Why didn¡¯t youe in?¡± Qiao Lian: ...!! Chapter 663 - Public Display of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (8)

Chapter 663: Public Disy of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian¡¯s face instantly bushed again. Xia Yehua did not notice her embarrassment and went on, ¡°I was waiting for you two toe home so that we could discuss this. At some point, I saw on the CCTV that your car was just outside and you were there for a long time before you came in. I was getting really worried and was about to go out to get you.¡± Qiao Lian kept silent. This was way too embarrassing. She gave Shen Liangchuan a fierce re and then smiled awkwardly at Xia Yehua. Shen Liangchuan cleared his throat and looked at Shen Zihao, ¡°Why are you getting married all of a sudden?¡± His question caused Xia Yehua to look away from Qiao Lian. She turned to her younger son as well. ¡°That¡¯s right. Why so sudden?¡± Shen Zihao looked at the coffee table in the living room for a moment. This was the first time he had visited since Xia Yehua had fallen ill. Initially, he had only intended to apany Xia Nuannuan to the door and was going to leave right after that. However, Xia Nuannuan had said, ¡°Your mom is in there. Shouldn¡¯t we at least tell Aunt Xia that we¡¯re going to get married? Can you imagine how devastated she¡¯d be if she found that out from someone else?¡± The moment she mentioned that it would devastate Xia Yehua, it made him think of her weak heart. He reluctantly came in. When he entered the apartment, he saw that Xia Yehua was practicing her movements using a walking stick. Her right arm and leg were numb, so she had to exercise to recover. After going through this bout of illness, he could see that a few strands of white had appeared among her ck hair. Seeing his mother in this state made his heart ache, for some reason. This woman had given birth to him and taken care of him till he was in his teens, and then she had left him. He was full of resentment towards her but now, facing the aged Xia Yehua, those words of hatred and anger would note out. Even the feelings of resentment had disappeared in the blink of an eye. He followed Xia Nuannuan as she walked into the living room. He had even been obedient when Xia Yehua had asked him to stay till Shen Liangchuan came home. He did not understand why he had suddenly be this generous with the woman. So now, he looked up when Shen Liangchuan asked the question and nced at Xia Nuannuan. She turned red and hung her head. Shen Zihao replied impatiently, ¡°We¡¯re just getting married, what¡¯s so sudden about it?! Aren¡¯t you happy to see us get married?¡± Xia Yehua immediately replied, ¡°Happy! Of course, I¡¯m enthusiastic and happy! Nuannuan has been by my side for a month now and she¡¯s been nothing but meticulous. She¡¯s a good girl!¡± Xia Nuannuan blushed at the praises. These words seemed to alleviate the tension with Shen Zihao. Shen Liangchuan, however, asked again, ¡°And will Shen Xiu and Mei Feng agree to this?¡± Shen Zihao frowned and said in an icy tone, ¡°Of course. As long as I¡¯m happy, they¡¯ll ept it.¡± Shen Liangchuan did notment on this. Feeling the tension between the two brothers, Xia Yehua quickly said, ¡°Has a date for the wedding been chosen?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll go and get our certificate tomorrow.¡± Shen Zihao said, ¡°We wanted to go today, but it was dyed.¡± Xia Yehua nodded immediately and said, ¡°Good, good.¡± Then all five of them fell silent again. Feeling awkward, Shen Zihao stood up and headed for the door, saying, ¡°I¡¯ll leave now.¡± Chapter 664 - Public Display of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (9)

Chapter 664: Public Disy of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xia Nuannuan stood up immediately and said, ¡°I¡¯ll- I¡¯ll see you out.¡± As the both of them walked out of the apartment, she turned to him. ¡°Mr. Shen¡ª¡± ¡°We¡¯re getting married, you should stop calling me Mr. Shen. I¡¯ll call you Nuannuan from now on, and you can call me Zihao,¡± he said to her. For a moment, she was stunned. She lowered her gaze and nodded. ¡°Ok, Zihao.¡± Zihao. When she said his name, she made it sound as gentle as water. The expression in his eyes darkened as he nodded. He got into the car, started the engine and drove away. As her gaze followed the car quickly disappearing into the distance, she had a certain sense of loss. For some reason, she felt that this whole situation around the marriage was quite unreal. As she contemted this, his car suddenly turned around. There was a look of surprise on her face as she saw Shen Zihao wind down his car window. He coughed and looked rather embarrassed as he said, ¡°Erm... I¡¯ve never been in love, and I don¡¯t know what girls like. If there¡¯s anything you want, just text me.¡± Her eyes lit up and she nodded immediately. He continued, ¡°So, I¡¯lle and get you tomorrow.¡± She nodded again. In this moment, all her perplexity,ck of confidence and fear of these rich and powerful families disappeared at once. She liked Shen Zihao and, if that was the case, what other apprehensions should she have? After saying this to her, he nodded again and started the car engine. Through the rear view mirror, he could see Xia Nuannuan standing at the door. Her frail frame seemed so delicate and weak. All at once, he felt apelling desire to protect her. The corners of his mouth turned upwards into a barely visible smile as he cast his gaze downwards. He was beginning to look forward to being married. ¨C Xia Nuannuan stood outside the doorway for a long time, until his car disappeared from sight. Then she turned and walked into the house. As she entered the living room, she heard Xia Yehua still pursuing the matter, ¡°What were you guys doing? The car was parked outside for more than an hour. Why were you out there for so long?¡± Qiao Lian: ... She grimaced. Actually, what was an hour? If it hadn¡¯t been for the security officer provoking Shen Liangchuan... even two hours wouldn¡¯t have been enough. But how could she say that to her mother-inw?! This was the ultimate embarrassment. Hence, she threw Shen Liangchuan a look and protested, ¡°Mom, it¡¯s all because of Shen Liangchuan.¡± She raised an eyebrow at him with the intention for him to continue with an exnation, since it was he who had gotten them into this. Xia Yehua¡¯s gaze shifted to Shen Liangchuan. ¡°What was going on?¡± Without batting an eye, he said, ¡°Oh, an important call came in.¡± Qiao Lian was made speechless by the man. Xia Yehua shook her head and chided him, ¡°You were already almost home. The next time you want to take a call, let Xiao Qiaoe home first. She will get bored to tears if she has to wait for you for over an hour to take a business call.¡± Shen Liangchuan: ... Qiao Lian: ... Then, clearing her throat, Qiao Lian quickly chimed in, ¡°That¡¯s right, you¡¯re a grown adult. I can¡¯t believe you need to be apanied to make a phone call!¡± Shen Liangchuan replied half-jokingly, ¡°I need you to be around to take this call. How would it work otherwise?¡± Qiao Lian bit her lip and immediately yed along. ¡°You have a pair of hands. You can pick up your own call, what do I have to do with it?¡± He raised an eyebrow and questioned, ¡°Then why did I get myself a wife?¡± Listening to this, Xia Yehua was bbergasted. What had a wife got to do with taking a call? She felt that she simply did not understand young people nowadays anymore. Chapter 665 - Public Display of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (10)

Chapter 665: Public Disy of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Was this some sort of new lingo that was the trend on the inte? Xia Yehua didn¡¯t want to open her mouth to ask, fearing that they wouldugh at her ignorance. Instead, she pretended that she knew what they were talking about, ¡°Yes. I understand. Fine, you guys go upstairs to rest.¡± Qiao Lian wondered to herself, ¡°What did she understand exactly?¡± She nced over at Shen Liangchuan, stupefied. Had Xia Yehua actually figured out what they were talking about? Ahhhhhhh! That would be so painfully embarrassing. She turned red immediately. Shen Liangchuan, on the other hand, was calm and collected. Without missing a beat, he headed up the stairs steadily. As both of them wanted to change into their pajamas, Qiao Lian followed him closely. Taking an opportunity when Xia Yehua wasn¡¯t paying attention, she reached out to give Shen Liangchuan a hard pinch on his arm. It¡¯s all your fault! Shen Liangchuan, on the other hand, turned around and looked at her with much fondness in his gaze without saying a word. Xia Nuannuan stood at the doorway, observing the couple. They showed their love for each other through bodynguage and small gestures. Whereas Zihao and her... She would feel nervous for a long time, even to just speak with Shen Zihao. Would they really be able to make the marriage a sess? She took in a deep breath. She thought she had calmed down enough about this, but now she was getting anxious all over again. ¨C All of them had gone upstairs. Xia Yehua was alone downstairs, watching a TV programme. Auntie Li sat next to her to keep herpany. In the middle of the programme, the home phone suddenly rang. Xia Yehua picked up the handset and Shen Xiu¡¯s voice came through, ¡°Are you aware that Zihao wishes to marry some ordinary girl who has absolutely no worth?¡± Xia Yehua replied after a short pause, ¡°Yes, I know.¡± ¡°And you agreed?!¡± Xia Yehua did not consider it a problem. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I agree?¡± ¡°That girl looks strange and there¡¯s something sinister about her. She must be fooling around with Zihao. He¡¯s young and has been seduced. As his mother, not only did you not give him good advice, on the contrary, you¡¯ve agreed to the marriage. How are you fit to be his mother?!¡± Xia Yehua was by now used to Shen Xie¡¯s nonsense and was unaffected by it. Sheughed icily and sneered, ¡°What about you? Haven¡¯t you agreed too?¡± Shen Xiu gave a cold snort and continued, ¡°That¡¯s different. I don¡¯t wish for our father and son rtionship to be interfered with!¡± Xia Yehua found his remark ridiculous. What did he mean by that? Their father and son rtionship was important, but her mother and son rtionship was not? Shen Xiu immediately demanded, ¡°You are to tell him that you do not agree, he can¡¯t just bring any girl home. So what if that girl is pregnant? She can deliver the baby and we will take the child in. We, the Shen family, can afford to bring up any child!¡± At these words, Xia Yehua¡¯s eyes immediately lit up. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Ha! Now you realize it¡¯s wrong too? That girl is using the child to ckmail us, we don¡¯t even know for sure if the child is Zihao¡¯s. You¡ª¡± Before he could finish, Xia Yehua tossed the phone aside and made her way upstairs, yelling, ¡°Nuannuan, Nuannuan, are you really pregnant? My god, I¡¯m going to have grandchildren!¡± Shen Xiu: ... Xia Nuannuan was resting in her room. When she heard Xia Yehua, she walked out of her room, her face bright scarlet. ¡°Aunt Xia, I¡ª¡± Xia Yehua was overwhelmed with emotions at this point. She looked at the girl¡¯s abdomen and eximed, ¡°Oh my, this is a serious matter! Why didn¡¯t you say so earlier? Hurry, hurry, Auntie Li, you have to boil her some chicken soup tonight!¡± On another note, the people in Shen Vi had no idea that on the Inte, a post was silently going viral. And the post¡¯s caption said: [EXCLUSIVE: Best Actor Shen strays. Forget Chuan and Best Actor Shen meet at night!] Chapter 666 - Public Display of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (11)

Chapter 666: Public Disy of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (11)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As Qiao Lian was browsing the Inte, Weibo suddenly went wild. The message notifications started ringing non-stop. She was stunned for a moment, unaware of what had just happened. Hence, she logged into her Weibo ount. The moment she logged in, her cell phone froze. No matter which button she tried to press, there was no reaction. It was only after a short while that it recovered, but the notifications were stilling in one after another at high speed. As Qiao Lian looked at the screen, her pupils shrank. Her instincts told her that something was not right. She quickly opened her private message. She had received shoutouts from a group: ¡ª What¡¯s your rtionship with Best Actor Shen? ¡ª Is the article true? ¡ª Forget Chuan, can you give me a reply? Hurriedly, Qiao Lian exited the private messages and searched for the original news report. Moving down to the bottom of the list, she found the root. It was from G8ssip Daily News. Her pupils shrank at once as she fixed her eyes on the article. It was reported that someone had managed to snap a picture of Best Actor Shen going to the clubhouse vi to pick up Forget Chuan. And after that, it was reported that they had gone to a hotel. As for which hotel, it wasn¡¯t mentioned. The picture only showed Forget Chuan getting into Best Actor Shen¡¯s car, and furthermore, it was the front passenger seat of his car. The moment the news report was out, someone wrote a long and apparently very well-rationalized post. Firstly, Forget Chuan had never made a public appearance and this pointed to the probability that she had something to hide. But then she was pretty and such an impressive gamer, what else could she be hiding? Now the truth was out for all to see. She was his lover! Secondly, when that poll for the most popr female eSports caster happened, Best Actor Shen rallied for Forget Chuan. He openly proimed that Forget Chuan was his idol. Lastly, Forget Chuan¡¯s bodynguage and expression when she got into his car showed that their rtionship was beyond ordinary. It was all very reasonably justified and logically presented with evidence, so the conclusion was that Forget Chuan was Best Actor Shen¡¯s mistress. When this article hit the inte, all of Best Actor Shen¡¯s fans went crazy. They went to Qiao Lian¡¯s Weibo site to use her of releasing fake news to gain attention for herself. How could it be possible that their Best Actor Shen and her were an item? Someone even remarked, ¡°Can¡¯t they be together just to y video games?¡± As soon that the remark was made, it caused a group brawl. Qiao Lian was speechless. As Qiao Lian was about to close her Weibo screen, a private message appeared: [How are Best Actor Shen¡¯s bedroom skills? I envy so much that you can have intimate contact with Best Actor Shen!] Qiao Lian waspletely astounded. Freaking hell, fans nowadays were quite horrifying. She quickly exited Weibo and stood up, meaning to look for Shen Liangchuan and tell him about the report. Her cell phone suddenly started ringing. She picked up the call and Zhang Chunhua¡¯s voice came through, ¡°How is it going? Have you seen the report? I now understand why you¡¯re hiding.¡± Qiao Lian was speechless. She simply felt that Zhang Chunhua was really overly imaginative, to say the least. She pulled back the corners of her lips for a moment and said, ¡°You¡¯re seriously bored to the point of being unreasonable!¡± ¡°Bored and unreasonable? Aren¡¯t you afraid that Mrs. Shen will look for you, now that she knows of your existence? There are many examples of third-parties with bad endings in the entertainment circle.¡± Qiao Lian could not be bothered to waste another second listening to her nonsense and hung up the line. She nced at her cell phone and shook her head. Zhang Chunhua really did take her as the number one enemy. Just at this point, the room door was swung open and Shen Liangchuan walked in. Chapter 667 - Public Display of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (12)

Chapter 667: Public Disy of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (12)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian hurriedly took a step towards him and said, ¡°About Weibo¡ª¡± ¡°I know.¡± Shen Liangchuan showed little expression and looked at her calmly, as though it was a matter of no consequence. ¡°What do you think?¡± She bit her lip immediately. She knew what he was asking¡ªwhether she wanted to make their rtionship public. In the past, she did not want this to be public knowledge, as she had been hiding from Lu Nanze. But she had already been discovered. She suddenly looked up at him, still biting her lip, and decided, ¡°Well then, let¡¯s go public with it.¡± ¨C Although that was the decision, there were still some preparations that had to be done. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s manager, Song Cheng, immediately announced in his official Weibo site: [In order to address the inte rumor of Best Actor Shen cheating, there shall be a press conference in two days. We wee you to this event.] Once this post was released, the inte went wild again. Everyone knew how rare of an asion it was that Shen Liangchuan would appear in public, and this had been the case ever since he had entered the entertainment industry. He kept a low profile and never liked to appear in any entertainment programs. For this reason, there had always been an air of mystery around this man. However, this time around, Best Actor Shen was going to confront the press! In order to create a greater impact, Forget Chuan¡¯s and Shen Liangchuan¡¯s Weibo sites both stopped activities. Up till now, they had kept silent and refrained from any sort of exnation regarding this matter. They left the matter to develop and spread in any fashion, so that when the truth was finally revealed, it would be all the more explosive and effective in gaining the favor of the public opinion. Therefore, it would also help Shen Liangchuan¡¯s future career development. To them, this was really only a small matter. Hence after dinner, when both of them had showered and were lying down on bed upstairs, Qiao Lian felt in the mood to tease him. ¡°Best Actor Shen, don¡¯t you have any phone calls to take tonight?¡± She was going to make a joke out of this for the rest of his life. He looked up with little expression. After a moment of contemtion, he suddenly said, ¡°Of course, I do.¡± With a quick movement, he flipped over andy on top of her at once. She extended her arm to reject it. ¡°But if your wife found out about this, she¡¯d be livid. After all, I¡¯m a mistress.¡± His expression darkened at her words. ¡°Oh... I see you like role y. So do you know what a mistress¡¯ duty is?¡± ¡°What would that be?¡± ¡°Pleasing her master.¡± ¡°...¡± In a way, she had dug her own grave and made her funeral. That had not been on his mind tonight, but she had ended up suffering and exhausting herself. ¨C Early the next morning, Qiao Lian was up and about, rushing into Xia Nuannuan¡¯s room to help her pick out a dress. After all, it was her big day today. They were going to take a photo for their marriage certificate and she should wear something nice. However, she noticed that Xia Nuannuan had dark shadows under her eyes and she seemed a little distracted. Qiao Lian was concerned and asked her, ¡°Nuannuan, are you feeling unwell?¡± The girl immediately shook her head. She gulped and looked at Qiao Lian nervously. ¡°Lian Lian, am I really getting married?¡± She was having pre-nuptial phobia! Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help butugh. She suddenly recalled the day before she and Shen Liangchuan went to get their marriage certificate. At that time, she had remained in a daze through the whole thing. From the time that Song Cheng came for her and led her to him like a young bride, to the time they took a photo together and registered their marriage, she went through it all in a daze. Chapter 668 - Public Display of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (13)

Chapter 668: Public Disy of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (13)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Thus, she hadn¡¯t had the normal feeling that Xia Nuanuan had. When she gave it a thought, she realized that it was pretty amazing. Qiao Lian lowered her head andughed. Then, she patted Xia Nuannuan¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Ok, there¡¯s no use to think so much. You should be happy today as it¡¯s your big day. But, have you told your parents about it?¡± Xia Nuannuan immediately nodded. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve told them. They said that they¡¯ve bought tickets for today to meet Mr. Shen¡¯s... Zihao¡¯s parents.¡± Qiao Lian nodded and replied, ¡°Right. A marriage is a matter that concerns two families. After they meet, they can also discuss the nning for the wedding and other rted matters.¡± Xia Nuannuan nodded, but she didn¡¯t feel the happiness from her imminent marriage. Instead, she was feeling burdened. Xia Nuannuna bit her lips and sighed heavily after a while. In the end, Qiao Lian chose a pink dress with a cored shirt underneath and a blue coat over both for Xia Nuannuan. Xia Nuannuan looked as if she was a delicate princess, gentle and neat. Qiao Lian nodded with satisfaction and helped her put on light makeup. Then, they both proceeded downstairs. But Xia Yehua was still walking around downstairs with her walking stick. Although she still had to rely on the walking stick to move around, she was able to walk much more smoothly now. When she heard that Xia Nuannuan was pregnant yesterday, she had been so excited that she ran from the first floor up to the second. After seeing them as she turned her head and noticing Xia Nuannuan, she immediately broke into a smile. ¡°Xia Nuannuan looks really good in these clothes!¡± Xia Nuannuan had used to feel at ease when facing Xia Yehua, but now she felt kind of embarrassed. Thus, she lowered her head and her face immediately turned red. ¡°Thank you, Aunt Xia.¡± ¡°Why are you still addressing me as Auntie? From today onwards, you have to change and call me Mom!¡± Xia Nuannuan¡¯s eyes lit up and her face turned redder. Xia Yehua took a step forward and withdrew the red packet[1.Red packets or red envelopes are used East Asian societies as a mary present] she had prepared from her pocket. She stuffed it into Xia Nuannuan¡¯s hands and said, ¡°Here, this is the red packet I prepared for you! It¡¯s inconvenient for me to go out and buy your wedding gift, so I can only ck off and give you a red packet.¡± Xia Nuannuan wanted to reject it but Xia Yehua continued saying, ¡°You can¡¯t reject a gift from your elder!¡± Xia Nuannuan held onto the red packet and nodded with red eyes. The three of them sat in the living room. To ease Xia Nuannuan¡¯s anxiety, Qiao Lian remarked, ¡°Hurry up and open the red packet, and see how much Mom gave you!¡± After saying so, she looked up at Xia Yehua and added, ¡°Why did I not get such treatment when I got married then?¡± Xia Yehuaughed and said, ¡°I wanted to beat you up back then, you still want a red packet?¡± After hearing her words, Qiao Lian suddenly recalled the embarrassing incident at the start. Xia Yehua and her had spoken ill of each other, only to realize in the end that she was her daughter-inw and Xia Yehua was her mother-inw. Now that she recalled that incident, it was really funny. Qiao Lian stuck her tongue out and said, ¡°Mom, you can¡¯t be so biased about your second daughter-inw! I¡¯m your first one. You can¡¯t forget the old one after getting a new one!¡± Xia Yehuaughed. ¡°Ok, ok. I will give you one during the Chinese New Year!¡± Qiao Lian was only satisfied then, as she said, ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll remember it.¡± As the three women were talking, they finally heard the sound of the car engineing from outside the vi. Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes lit up and she looked at Xia Nuannuan immediately. ¡°Shen Zihao is here!¡± Xia Nuannuan¡¯s face immediately flushed red. Chapter 669 - Public Display of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (14)

Chapter 669: Public Disy of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (14)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The three women stood up together and watched Shen Zihao walk in with big steps. Xia Nuannuan stepped two steps forward, as if weing him. But she saw that he was slightly shocked when he saw her. When they met, she would usually be donned in casual clothes with little makeup on. But at that moment, she had put on makeup and looked fresher and more attractive. Moreover, the clothes she was wearing suited her temperament, making it an unforgettable sight for others. There was no doubt that Xia Nuannuan was really beautiful. But only at this exact moment, Shen Zihao realized that Xia Nuannuan could actually be that stunning. Qiao Lian gave him a surreptitious wink and said, ¡°You must be stunned by her looks, right? Isn¡¯t our Xia Nuanuan really beautiful today?¡± Xia Yehua also smiled and said, ¡°Today is a good asion, that is why one must dress prettily! You guys should go to get your marriage certificate as soon as possible and bring it back. In the afternoon...¡± After saying so, she looked at Shen Zihao and continued, ¡°If your dad has prepared a feast, both of you should attend. If not,e back for lunch in the afternoon and we will celebrate together with you.¡± Xia Nuannuan¡¯s face turned red and she looked down shyly without saying a word. Shen Zihao recovered from his daze at that instant and coughed. ¡°Ermmm, there are some unexpected changes with this matter.¡± Confused, Xia Yehua asked, ¡°What happened?¡± Shen Zihao said with a pale face, ¡°My dad identally wet the household registration booklet and also damaged one of the pages, rendering the household registration booklet unusable. He has gotten someone to fix it, but until then, we cannot register our marriage.¡± After hearing that sentence, Xia Yehua¡¯s expression froze. Qiao Lian frowned and could not help but sneer, ¡°This household registration booklet really got spoiled at the best moment!¡± Shen Zihao felt a little awkward, and he looked at Xia Nuannuan. ¡°I will inform you of the exact date.¡± Without the household registration booklet, they could not register their marriage. Although Xia Nuannuan felt disappointed, she quietly sighed in relief. Actually, she really hadn¡¯t gotten used to such quick process. Luckily, the marriage process had slowed down, allowing her to take a breather. At that moment, Xia Nuannuan¡¯s phone started ringing. She frantically fished her phone out of her bag and instantly answered when she saw who was calling. ¡°Yes, Dad?¡± ¡°What? Y¡¯all have already reached Beijing?¡± Stunned, Xia Nuannuan¡¯s eyes widened and the person on the other side of the phone said, ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s such a big and joyous asion that Nuannuan is getting her marriage certificate! Of course we had to rush over to Beijing. Although you said you would register the marriage before the wedding dinner, but we should also have a small gathering tonight, am I right?¡± Xia Nuannuan, not knowing how to reply, reluctantly agreed, ¡°Yes, right, right...¡± But now, how was she supposed to tell them that they wouldn¡¯t register their marriage?! Her dad continued speaking, ¡°Nuannuan, what time are you going to the municipal government bureau? Do find a decent hotel to hold the wedding dinner, there is no need to be thrifty for this important asion, ok?¡± Xia Nuannuan took in a deep breath and replied nodding, ¡°Yes, Dad, I know.¡± After she hung up, Xia Yehua was also stunned. ¡°Now that the inws havee, what do we do?¡± How would they pay their respects to their inws without the marriage certificate? Just as they were fretting over the problem, Shen Liangchuan came downstairs and said, ¡°It is alright even if your household registration booklet is damaged. I have a friend working in the police station, I can give him a call. You can register your marriage at the arranged time.¡± After hearing this, Shen Zihao eyes brightened up and he said, ¡°Sure!¡± Chapter 670 - Public Display of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (15)

Chapter 670: Public Disy of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (15)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Zihao was a capable man. Together with Xia Nuannuan, he first drove to the police station to file a report and then went to the municipal government bureau. In less than half a day, they managed to get their marriage certificate. As he held a marriage certificate that was hot off the press, Shen Zihao found himself in a rather distracted state of mind. Xia Nuannuan even more so, she felt like she was dreaming and floating along. They stood outside the municipal government bureau looking at each other, not knowing what to say. The fact was that they had known each other for only a month and were almost strangers. Even if they added up all the things they had ever said to each other, it didn¡¯t amount to much. Shen Zihao cleared his throat and said, ¡°Erm... your parents... dad and mom inw... where are they now? We ought to be there to receive them.¡± Xia Nuannuan hung her head and looked at her feet, feeling shy suddenly. Mom and Dad inw... He was quick in adopting the new way of addressing them. ncing at Shen Zihao, she said after a pause, ¡°I- I¡¯ll call them to ask.¡± After she made the call and got their address, Shen Zihao drove her to the high-speed rail station. As they arrived at the ce where they were supposed to meet, Shen Zihao saw a couple in the distance. They were both in their fifties but looked older than his own parents. They were wearing obviously new clothes, yet it was easy to tell that these were low-priced goods. Both of them were neat and clean. Dad Xia was a teacher and looked like a literati. Mom Xia, a very gentledy, was a healthcare provider. When Xia Nuannuan saw them, she was excited like a child. She hugged her father and then her mother. She started chattering incessantly in high spirits. Finally, Dad Xia turned towards Shen Zihao and inquired, ¡°This is Zihao?¡± Zihao? Shen Zihao was stunned for a moment before he realized the man was referring to him. Hence, he rushed forward. As someone brought up in a good family, he came across well-mannered. He stood before his new inws and greeted them respectfully, ¡°Father-inw, how do you do? Mother-inw, how do you do?¡± As Xia Nuannuan stood by the side watching them, she felt a sense of relief at once. She had been worried that Shen Zihao woulde across as a spoilt brat from a wealthy family, and that he would be rude to her parents. However now, it looked like she had just been overthinking things. Furthermore... He hade across very gentlemanly when he greeted them. However, Dad Xia and Mum Xia suddenly cracked up at his greeting. Shen Zihao looked at them with a puzzled expression. Dad Xia said, ¡°The formality sounds awkward. Why don¡¯t you just call us Dad and Mom, like Nuannuan?¡± Readily following their advice, Shen Zihao greeted them again, ¡°Dad, Mom, how do you do? It¡¯s the first time we¡¯re meeting, I do look forward to learning from you in the future.¡± Grinning from ear to ear, Dad Xia nodded with approval. ¡°Good, good.¡± Then he turned to Xia Nuannuan and said, ¡°Nuannuan, you¡¯ve found yourself a good man!¡± At once, her face flushed. Quickly moving to carry her parents¡¯ suitcases, she said, ¡°Dad, Mom, let¡¯s get into the car.¡± Next to the two huge suitcases, her petite frame looked particrly delicate. Shen Zihao walked over and picked them up instead, one in each hand. These suitcases, that looked over-sized next to Xia Nuannuan, seemed almost weightless in his hands. Dad Xia looked at the young man and exchanged a meaningful nce with his wife. He seemed satisfied as he gave her a knowing smile. This son-inw was not too bad! After they got into the car, Shen Zihao picked up his cell phone and exined to his parents-inw, ¡°Dad, Mom, your visit was quite sudden and we¡¯re not prepared at home. I¡¯ll call them now and have them tidy up the guest room for you, and also book a hotel room. My parents cane and meet you both as well.¡± Chapter 671 - Public Display of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (16) Chapter 671: Public Disy of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (16) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Dad Xia and Mom Xia quickly said in response, ¡°We won¡¯t stay at your ce, we¡¯ll stay at a hotel.¡± They nced at Xia Nuannuan and continued, ¡°Or we could stay with Nuannuan.¡± Nuannuan nodded at once. ¡°Yes, you can stay at my ce as I¡¯m now at Auntie Xia¡¯s apartment.¡± Hearing this exchange, Shen Zihao paused, nced at his inws and suggested to Xia Nuannuan, ¡°Your ce is too small for Dad and Mom. Why don¡¯t I arrange for them to stay at our family-owned hotel? It won¡¯t cost them anything.¡± Hearing that amodation would be free of charge, Dad Xia and Mom Xia finally agreed. ordingly, Shen Zihao made a call and booked the Presidential Suite. Following this, he made a call to Shen Xiu. The call was picked up and Shen Xiu voice came through, ¡°What is it, Zihao?¡± ¡°Ok, so Nuannuan¡¯s parents are in Beijing, would you have time for dinner tonight?¡± Shen Xiu was silent for a moment before he said, ¡°About this... let¡¯s wait for a while more. After all, you still haven¡¯t gotten your marriage certificate. Our family¡ª¡± Interrupting the man, Zihao informed him immediately, ¡°We have our marriage certificate.¡± There was a stunned silence on the other end before Shen Xiu questioned, ¡°What was that you said?¡± Shen Zihao continued driving as he listened to his father¡¯s angry hollering through his Bluetooth earpiece. He, however, had a grin on his face. ¡°Dad, it is ok if the household registration booklet is damaged. The police station issued us a police report.¡± Shen Xiu was livid. ¡°How could you register your marriage just like that? Without my permission?!¡± Shen Zihao raised an eyebrow and said to his father, ¡°Didn¡¯t you agree yesterday?¡± Shen Xiu thought, ¡°... That was just a dy tactic!¡± He felt that his son had been seduced by Xia Nuannuan because he was too young to know how to resist her. After dying it, he was hoping that Shen Zihao would be less curious about this woman and eventually lose interest. This was the scheme that he and Mei Feng hade up with, so that it wouldn¡¯t sour the rtionship between the two men. But now... Shen Xiu was heaving with anger. Could Shen Zihao have discovered his cunning scheme? Shen Xiu took two deep breaths and said icily, ¡°I have an important meeting today and can¡¯t cancel. Go look for your Aunty Mei.¡± Right after saying this, the phone line was cut Shen Zihao frowned. He had known from the start that his father did not like Xia Nuannuan. The household registration booklet being damaged had just been an excuse to dy things. However, he knew that his father had done this in his interest, the man was afraid that he was being cheated. After all, he did not know Xia Nuannuan. Even himself, in fact, did not know Xia Nuannuan that well. But he did want to get married. That was his current obsession. If Dad didn¡¯t understand, then so be it. Shen Zihao picked up his cell phone again to call Mei Feng. However, Xia Nuannuan, who was sitting in the passenger seat next to him, reached out to stop him and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go and see Aunt Xia.¡± Shen Zihao paused. Xia Nuannuan hung her head and said, ¡°I¡¯ve been there for a month now and Aunt Xia has been very kind to me. We should have a meal with her first. Besides, Aunt Xia wishes to see my parents. Before I left the house today, she had already started preparing.¡± Shen Zihao thought about his aged mother and his heart softened. Then he nodded. Hence, they took Dad Xia and Mom Xia to the hotel and, after they dropped off their belongings, they headed for the Shen family vi together. After Shen Xiu hung up the call with Shen Zihao, he angrily dialed Mei Feng¡¯s number. Chapter 672 - Public Display of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (17)

Chapter 672: Public Disy of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (17)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The moment she picked up, he went off in an angry tone, ¡°All these troublemakers! Since when has he a friend in the police station? How did things turn out like this?!¡± Mei Feng was quiet for a moment and then she spoke, ¡°I recall that Li Chenyu works at the police station?¡± The moment she said that, Shen Xiu¡¯s blood boiled. ¡°Him again! That dishonorable son Shen Liangchuan!¡± This time he said nothing about Xia Yehua. After all, she had almost died from hisst provocation and he still felt guilty about it. Mei Feng sighed and tried tofort him, ¡°Don¡¯t get too worked up. The children are grown up, so it¡¯s the time that they do things like that. Since they¡¯ve registered their marriage and her parents are here, we should host them. Otherwise, it would look bad if it gets out.¡± Shen Xiu snorted and spat. ¡°I¡¯m not going! I¡¯m not going to give them any face! I tell you what. If Zihaoes looking for youter, arrange a meal at a good restaurant with the girl¡¯s parents. Let¡¯s embarrass them and let them realize how stupid is they could even consider marrying their daughter to our Zihao.¡± Mei Feng nodded. ¡°Since they are married, let¡¯s not make things difficult. I¡¯ll make reservations at a hotel restaurant and we¡¯ll host them tonight.¡± Infuriated, Shen Xiu raised his voice again, ¡°You can go by yourself! I said I¡¯m not going!¡± After saying those words, he hung up the phone. Mei Feng furrowed her brow and contemted it for a moment. And then she sniggered to herself. In fact, she had no objections to the children¡¯s marriage. On the contrary, she weed it with open arms. Why so? Because she had never had any children of her own after she married Shen Xiu. Given that Shen Xiu was well over ten years older than her, if he died before her, she would only have Shen Zihao to depend on. For all these years, she had doted on the boy because she knew she had to bank on him to provide when she got old. If Shen Zihao married a girl from a wealthy family, however, inparison to her, she may not be able to secure such a good standing and her authority in the Shen Family would be weakened for sure. Having Zihao marry Xia Nuannuan was different. Xia Nuannuan... She lowered her gaze as she thought of how weak this girl was. She would be an easy person to control! At this thought, she quickly picked up the phone to make reservations at a ssy restaurant. Following this, she waited for Shen Zihao¡¯s call, which unexpectedly never came. Puzzled, Mei Feng raised an eyebrow. She waited and another two hours passed. It was already past three in the afternoon. Would they still be in time if he didn¡¯t call soon? Hurriedly, she picked up her cell phone and dialed Shen Zihao¡¯s number. The line was connected and she heard his voice, ¡°Aunty Mei, what¡¯s up?¡± A little surprised, Mei Feng paused before saying, ¡°I heard that Nuannuan¡¯s parents are in town. Shall we have dinner tonight?¡± There was a brief silence before Shen Zihao replied, ¡°Aunty Mei, since you hadn¡¯t made any preparations, we¡¯re having dinner at my mom¡¯s. They have already prepared dinner.¡± Mei Feng waspletely unprepared for such a turn of events. She clenched her fist, taking no notice of her long fingernails that were digging into the flesh of her palm. My mom. Since when had Shen Zihao started calling that woman ¡°mom¡±? She gritted her teeth but tried to sound as gentle as possible, ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, alright then. We¡¯ll host the inws tomorrow instead.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, Aunty Mei, there¡¯s no need for that.¡± Stunned, Mei Feng heard Shen Zihao continue, ¡°It¡¯s meaningless if you came without Dad, Xia Nuannuan¡¯s parents would suspect something¡¯s wrong. Our two families wille together when my Dad finallyes around. In any case, Dad Xia and Mom Xia will be in Beijing for a while. And also, Aunty Mei, please help me prepare for my wedding. We want to have the ceremony before Nuannuan¡¯s three months pregnant, otherwise, it will be obvious.¡± Chapter 673 - Public Display of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (18)

Chapter 673: Public Disy of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (18)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mei Feng gritted her teeth with fury. This Shen Zihao... who did he think he was? He didn¡¯t want to have dinner with her, but instead he asked her to help him with the chores. But it was not as though she could say anything! Eventually, she could only say, ¡°Since you¡¯ve registered your marriage, then bring Nuannuan home with you tonight. We will prepare the room for you.¡± ¡°Well... Dad doesn¡¯t like Nuannuan, I don¡¯t wish to stir any trouble. Mom has just said that there¡¯s room in the Shen family vi. Nuannuan will stay here for now.¡± Stumped, Mei Feng didn¡¯t know what else she could say. If the daughter-inw was staying at Xia Yehua¡¯s home, how would Shen Zihao want toe back home and stay there?! This Xia Yehua, she had nned her moves! She had snared Shen Zihao for herself through the daughter-inw. Her eyes shed. Indeed, Shen Zihao did not return home that night. The next morning, he called to say that he had had too much to drink with his father-inw and ended up staying the night. Livid, Mei Feng thought of ways and means to get Shen Zihao toe home, but Shen Xiu wouldn¡¯t budge an inch. She panicked. ¨C No one was happier than Xia Yehua, of course, with the fact that Shen Zihao had stayed over at the Shen Vi. She grinned from ear to ear all day long and did not stop smiling for a moment. But because she had not fully recovered, she sent Auntie Li along with Xia Nuannuan to apany her parents sightseeing around Beijing. When she woke up in the morning, Qiao Lian remembered that this was the day that Song Cheng had called for the press conference. Shen Liangchuan had left early in the morning to attend a meeting. They had arranged to meet directly at the press conference venue instead. She got out of bed, washed up and put on her makeup. Just as she was leaving, she heard Shen Zihao making a call to Mei Feng. He was on the balcony with his back facing the room. He sounded like he was a spoilt child throwing a tantrum, ¡°I know, I know. Don¡¯t worry, Aunty Mei, you¡¯re too naggy. I¡¯ll go home for sure tonight...¡± At first, Qiao Lian did not take that to heart, however when she turned around, she saw Xia Yehua standing close by. She had to have heard Shen Zihao¡¯s conversation too. Looking very disappointed, she turned to walk away, leaning her weight on the walking aid. She made her way up the stairs with much effort and returned to her bedroom. Qiao Lian felt her own heart shrivel in pain at once. She frowned. Just at this point, she saw that Shen Zihao had hung up and was walking in from the balcony. He had had too much to drink the night before and he was frowning, in pain. There was a bowl of soup on the coffee table for dissipating the effects of the alcohol. Xia Yehua had left it there for Shen Zihao. Pointing at the bowl, Qiao Lian waspelled to inform the man, ¡°Mom made this for you early in the morning. Drink it up quickly.¡± Shen Zihao paused. Qiao Lian continued, ¡°Some people show their concern through actions. others do it through words. Shen Zihao, you¡¯re an adult, you should know well enough as to who is good and otherwise. Why do you think Nuannuan was reluctant to let you go back to the Shen family home?¡± Shen Zihao paused and his expression immediately turned cold. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Qiao Lianughed icily. ¡°Exactly what I said. Nuannuan had never been to your house before this. But after she did so, do you know how she¡¯d been feeling? I saw how worried and nervous she was. What was in your house that made her so afraid?¡± Shen Zihao snorted coldly and said, ¡°Don¡¯t try to sow seeds of discord! Besides, let me tell you, since you have time to be minding my business, why don¡¯t you worry about yourself too?¡± Puzzled at his remark, she shot back, ¡°What about me?¡± ¡°What about you? The news that Forget Chuan is my brother¡¯s mistress is a trending topic on Weibo now! Don¡¯t tell me you know nothing about it.¡± Chapter 674 - Public Display of Love, Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (19)

Chapter 674: Public Disy of Love, Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (19)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian: ... She didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry at his remark. She looked at Shen Zihao, who was now frowning deeply. He said, ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that. Even though he¡¯s my brother, I do think he¡¯s in the wrong.¡± ¡°So far, he has not made a statement rifying whether or not Forget Chuan is his mistress. This itself is not right! Even if he¡¯s trying to create publicity, he shouldn¡¯t do it through such scandals.¡± He snorted and muttered, ¡°All these underhanded means.¡± Qiao Lian admitted defeat and truly bowed to this guy¡¯s IQ. She cleared her throat and said, ¡°Well, isn¡¯t there a press conference today? I¡¯ll be going.¡± Upon hearing this, he frowned and said after a moment, ¡°Since I have time today, I¡¯ll go with you.¡± Qiao Lian raised an eyebrow in surprise. ¡°Why would you want to go?¡± ¡°To see what that Forget Chuan looks like. To see what sort of vixen has such a hold on my brother!¡± Then he looked at Qiao Lian with a haughty but tender expression. ¡°Don¡¯t overthink it. It¡¯s just that I¡¯m afraid you might get bullied.¡± Qiao Lian: ... That gesture revealed a side of Shen Zihao that he had always attempted to hide and she found it extremely adorable. And now she had discovered it. Although outwardly he seemed like an awkward person and was unaffectionate towards Xia Yehua, in reality he was an extremely amodating person. He would not allow his friends and family to be attacked or taken advantage of by others. Thus, a wave of warmth came over her as she realized that Shen Zihao was not as hopeless of a person as she had first thought. She nodded and said to him, ¡°Fine, let¡¯s go together then.¡± ¨C On their way to the conference, in the car. Since she had some free time, Qiao Lian picked up her cell phone and went into Weibo. She had been meaning to log in and have a look for thest two days, but she hadn¡¯t had a chance because of how busy she had been with Shen Zihao¡¯s and Xia Nuannuan¡¯s marriage. When she logged in, she saw that after a few days of brewing, the amount of ming and caustic remarks that she had received had shot through the roof. This matter had gone beyond red hot. Many of these people demanded an exnation from her. Reading through thements, Qiao Lian felt no anger and could only find Shen Liangchuan¡¯s fans quite adorable. They berated her for using him to gain attention, but did not say a single nasty word to him. They were sure that it was all fake news. Their Best Actor Shen would never cheat! As she read thements, she couldn¡¯t help but burst outughing. After thinking for a brief time, she went into Weibo and, unable to control her own mischief, posted a message: [Forget Chuan: It seems like I¡¯ve be your mistress? @Shen Liangchuan] The moment the post was released, it immediately caused a pandemonium on the Inte. Very quickly, the post was shared and circted around. Many celebrities spoke up and chided her for being arrogant. Qiao Lian looked at the flurry of posts and bit her lip. As she was doing so, she heard Shen Zichuan, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, exim with fury, ¡°Damn! Forget Chuan is really too arrogant!¡± He turned around to look at Qiao Lian in the back seat and asked her, ¡°Have you seen Weibo? Forget Chuan is actually going over the board!¡± ¡°Do you have a Weibo ount? Here, pass me your cell phone, I¡¯ll help you respond to her!¡± Qiao Lian: ... She grimaced. As a joke, she shook her head and said, ¡°No, I don¡¯t have one.¡± Shen Zihao berated her with frustration, ¡°How could you not even have a Weibo ount?¡± He picked up his cell phone and started to dial Shen Liangchuan¡¯s number, ¡°I¡¯ll call him and ask him what this is all about! He has to respond to this immediately.¡± However, before he could even make the call, he froze as Shen Liangchuan had now just posted a response on Weibo. Chapter 675 - Public Display of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (20) Chapter 675: Public Disy of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (20) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At once, the news that Shen Liangchuan had responded to Forget Chuan¡¯s post created a storm on Weibo. Because the man had given such a reply: [Shen Liangchuan: Stop it // Forget Chuan: It seems, I¡¯ve be your mistress? @Shen Liangchuan] Stop it!! Although it was a simple message, it fired everyone¡¯s imagination. It sounded exactly like what a man would say affectionately to his girlfriend when she threw a tantrum, ¡°stop it.¡± Suddenly, there was an eerie silence on Weibo. Within two minutes of the publication, no one posted a singlement. Until someone finally ventured a timid question: [Our idol, has your Weibo ount been hacked?] Then, as though this was a triggering spark that could start a wildfire, Weibo went wild again. [My god, Best Actor, what is wrong with you?] [Is that reply meant to scold Forget Chuan?] [Why does it sound like there¡¯s a sort of affection in the reply?] [Ahhhh! I must be imagining things!] [Sc*mbag Shen! Are you admitting that you¡¯re having an affair with Forget Chuan? Have you thought about how your wife would feel?] [Ahhhh! What they are doing is wrong, but they still get to be openly lovey-dovey. It¡¯s aplete insult for the singles like me.] [Person above, you¡¯ve taken the words right out of my mouth! Why do I feel so envious of their interaction?] [I wonder if Best Actor Shen does not intend to rify anything in today¡¯s press conference, but rather announce that he and Forget Chuan are in fact in love with each other?] ¨C All the posts seemed to being in at once. To the extent that Shen Liangchuan, who was about to call Qiao Lian, couldn¡¯t because his cell phone froze. When Shen Zihao saw his brother¡¯s response, he was so mad that he almost smashed his cell phone. ¡°This Shen Liangchuan, he¡¯s too much!¡± ¡°How can he do this? I¡¯m speechless!¡± Then, picking up his cell phone to call his brother, he realized... ¡°Why can¡¯t I get through?¡± Qiao Lian exined, ¡°Probably there are too many iing messages and made the phone shut down.¡± Shen Zihao: ... He looked at Qiao Lian with a puzzled expression. ¡°Why are you so calm?¡± She looked back at him and asked, ¡°What should I do then?¡± ¡°Give this cheating couple a piece of your mind!¡± ¡°Rumors and nonsense!¡± Shen Zihao: ... Before Shen Zihao could say anything else, they had arrived at the venue of the press conference. He was fuming with anger. ¡°You don¡¯t appreciate goodwill!¡± They got out of the car and quietly walked into the venue. As they were early, the press wasn¡¯t there yet. Hence, Qiao Lian and Shen Zihao went backstage to take a short break. While using the washroom, Qiao Lian was fortunate enough to run into... who else but Zhang Chunhua! When the woman saw Qiao Lian, she raised an eyebrow and sneered, ¡°Forget Chuan, you actually dare show up here?¡± Qiao Lian twitched her mouth and replied, ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I dare to?¡± ¡°Even if Shen Liangchuan replied to you on Weibo, it doesn¡¯t change the fact that you¡¯re a mistress. You think that you¡¯ll get sympathy bying here and acting pitiful? Let me tell you, you¡¯re done for.¡± ¡°A male celebrity cheating and having an affair is something that people will forget in a few years, but it¡¯s different for a woman.¡± ¡°It¡¯s swarming with reporters here today, and you dare to make an appearance. I think you must be crazy!¡± ¡°What you really need to do now is to plead on Weibo and ask everyone for their forgiveness. Perhaps then, you might get a little sympathy! You¡¯ve been seriously stupid to openly provoke Mrs. Shen so much.¡± Chapter 676 - Public Display of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (21)

Chapter 676: Public Disy of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (21)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian waited patiently for Zhang Chunhua to finish mocking and ridiculing her, before she twitched her mouth and asked, ¡°Are you done?¡± The woman narrowed her eyes at once. Spreading her hands, she said, ¡°Can I leave now then?¡± If it weren¡¯t for Zhang Chunhua being in the way, she would have left rather than stand here listening to the woman spouting nonsense. Upon hearing Qiao Lian¡¯s words, she was annoyed and rather exasperated. This wasn¡¯t the reaction that she was hoping to see from Qiao Lian. She wanted to see a pleading and panicky Qiao Lian who was at aplete loss. She wanted to see the girl relegated to the bottom of the pit and thoroughly ashamed. But the person standing before her now was as arrogant as ever, just like when she had been in the news agency. A mere neer who talked as though she was above her. Yet on this matter, Zhang Chunhua was in fact grossly mistaken. Qiao Lian had an excellent family background and, even though she had fallen into dire straits these years, her innate pride was intact. In fact,pared to how she had been before her family¡¯s downfall, she was now much more restrained. The sort of workers that Zhang Chunhua liked were those who would follow her around and stroke her ego. And because Qiao Lian had not done this, she thought the girl was too arrogant. However there was nothing more for her to say, hence, she had to get out of the way to let Qiao Lian pass. Without another look at the woman, thetter walked out. As Zhang Chunhua looked at her figure disappear, she gritted her teeth with anger. She only managed to calm down after taking a few deep breaths. What was the hurry? In any case, she would be just as embarrassed when the press conference startedter on. There was no way that Shen Liangchuan would admit his affair with Forget Chuan in the presence of all these media representatives. At the thought of this, she heaved a sigh of relief and walked away. ¨C After leaving the washroom, Qiao Lian went to the lounge where Shen Zihao was waiting. He was browsing through Weibo andmenting at the same time, ¡°These people are morons!¡± Then he looked up at Qiao Lian and frowned. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you worried at all?¡± ¡°Would worrying help with anything?¡± she replied as she sat down calmly, apparently unruffled. ¡°That,¡± Shen Zihao thought, ¡°is very logical.¡± Worrying wouldn¡¯t help with anything. But still... He nced at her a few times and then said with some hesitation, ¡°Is there something you¡¯re not telling me? I just feel that something¡¯s not quite right.¡± She simply pursed her lips and smiled. As she was about to say something, one of the workers ran in to inform, ¡°Ms. Qiao, Best Actor Shen is here. Song Cheng asked you to join us at the press conference.¡± Qiao Lian nodded and stood up to follow the worker. However, after she took two steps, Shen Zihao held her back by tugging at her sleeve. ¡°Hey, you¡¯re definitely not so silly as to help your husband rify the matter?¡± She didn¡¯t have a chance to speak. Shen Zihao frowned and said immediately, ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡± They both followed the worker as he led them out. As they entered the conference room, they saw that Song Cheng was already on the stage to start the event with a wee speech. ¡°First of all, we thank everyone for taking the time out of your busy schedule to be here.¡± Shen Zihao quietly asked Qiao Lian, ¡°Say, do you think that Forget Chuan will be here? I wonder what she looks like for Shen Liangchuan to be so infatuated. I¡¯m sure she¡¯s a real sl*t.¡± Qiao Lian replied, ¡°... She¡¯s already here.¡± Looking around with surprise, he asked, ¡°Where?¡± At this point, a reporter spotted them and approached her, inquiring, ¡°Forget Chuan, may I ask if you¡¯re really Best Actor Shen¡¯s mistress?¡± Chapter 677 - Public Display of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (22)

Chapter 677: Public Disy of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (22)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Zihao was already on the alert when the reporter charged at them. Hence, he ced himself between Qiao Lian and the reporter and, when the reporter asked the question, he reacted by saying at once, ¡°Regarding this matter, you should be asking Shen Liangchuan. It has nothing to do with her.¡± The moment these words left his mouth, he froze. He had a look of disbelief on his face as he turned to look at Qiao Lian horrified, his eyes widened. What had the reporter just called her? Forget Chuan. Was Qiao Lian Forget Chuan?! Good grief! He was shocked. Looking at her with great astonishment, he was at a loss for words. Her mouth parted in a grin and she turned to the reporter. She and Shen Zihao had taken a hidden path to the venue, which should have been a direct route. However, they had still been ambushed, which pointed to the possibility that this reporter had been lying low and waiting in advance. This, surely, must have been Zhang Chunhua¡¯s plot again. This woman was simply everywhere. Qiao Lian hung her head for a moment before continuing, ¡°Where this matter is concerned, I¡¯m afraid my friend here is right. Shen Liangchuan will give everyone here an exnation.¡± At this point, the reporters began to raise difficult questions. ¡°Miss Forget Chuan, we notice you address Best Actor Shen by name. Is that a sign that you are very familiar with each other?¡± ¡°Miss Forget Chuan, are you really Best Actor Shen¡¯s mistress or lover?¡± ¡°Do you know Mrs. Shen? Does Mrs. Shen know about your close rtionship with Best Actor Shen?¡± ¡°Forget Chuan, you¡ª¡± The interrogation came fast and furious. Qiao Lian looked at the crowd before her and turned towards Zhang Chunhua. After a brief pause, she smiled and said to the crowd, ¡°You¡¯ve all turned up so enthusiastically because you wish to have an answer. Since Best Actor Shen has decided to call a press conference, why are you surrounding me like this? Won¡¯t Best Actor Shen give everyone an answer in a short while?¡± As soon as she has said this, everyone saw the light. That¡¯s right. They had been invited by Best Actor Shen, so why were they surrounding Forget Chuan? At this point, someone shouted, ¡°Best Actor Shen is here!¡± Following this, the reporters surrounding Qiao Lian all scattered and rushed to the entrance. And for the time being, Qiao Lian was left alone. She raised an eyebrow. Shen Liangchuan had to be in the underground carpark now. How was it possible that he would enter through the main door? Of course, he would use a special passageway. So the shout just then... She turned around and her gaze swept across the room. She spotted Song Cheng standing in a far corner giving her a look. She smiled immediately and nodded to Song Cheng to thank him. Then, following Shen Zihao, they walked towards the conference room. During this time, Shen Zihao had been quite speechless and stared horrified at Qiao Lian for the longest time before he managed to join the dots. ¡°I¡¯ll be damned! So you are Forget Chuan!¡± It finally made sense. No wonder that she had been so unruffled right from the start. And no wonder a cold person like Shen Liangchuan would actually speak up for Forget Chuan. And no wonder that he had called a press conference. All of this was because Mrs. Shen was Forget Chuan! Now that he knew this, Shen Zihao felt thating to the event had really been a bad decision. Damn it, had hee all the way just to watch them disy their affections for each other in public? He cursed and swore in silence as he took his seat among the audience. Qiao Lian, on the other hand, walked to the back of the room and there, she saw that Shen Liangchuan had juste in through the special passageway. When the reporters, who had flocked to the main entrance, realized that they had been fooled, they came back to reality and went back to their seats obediently. Now the press conference had officially started. Chapter 678 - Public Display of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (23)

Chapter 678: Public Disy of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (23)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan walked to the centre of the stage and stood there. The reporters on the seats were in an excited frenzy. The questions they had asked Qiao Lian earlier were now all directed at Shen Liangchuan. ¡°Mr. Shen, can you tell us what your rtionship with Forget Chuan is?¡± ¡°Why did you respond to her on Weibo?¡± ¡°What did you mean by ¡®Stop it¡¯?¡± ¡°Mr. Shen, does your wife know about this? You¡¯ve kept the identity of Mrs. Shen under wraps all this time. Did you want this to be a secret marriage? Or could it be that you are not even married?¡± ¡°Mr. Shen..¡± Shen Liangchuan was the picture of calmness, even as these questions were rapidly directed at him. Song Cheng extended his hands in a gesture to get the people to calm down. ¡°Okay, we will take the questions one by one.¡± The reporters immediately raised their hands. Song Cheng pointed to one of them. The reporter asked, ¡°Mr. Shen, are you really married?¡± Shen Liangchuan replied, ¡°Yes.¡± The reporter was going to follow up with another question when Song Cheng had pointed to another reporter, who asked, ¡°Mr. Shen, what is your rtionship with Forget Chuan?¡± Everyone turned around simultaneously with this question and looked at Shen Liangchuan as well as Qiao Lian, who even after hiding had been spotted by the crowd. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s lips curled into a smile and said, ¡°Our rtionship is what you think it is.¡± That simple deration shook the crowd. Their rtionship was what people thought it was Their thoughts were that Qiao Lian was Shen Liangchuan¡¯s lover? That they had something going on? Zhang Chunhua was getting angry now and asked boldly, ¡°Mr. Shen, what do you mean by this? Are you telling us that you are with both women? Are you telling us that both Forget Chuan and Mrs. Shen are willing?¡± She certainly did not mince her words. And there was worse toe. ¡°The other day we saw that, Mr. Shen, you picked Forget Chuan up and drove her to your vi district. Does this mean that Forget Chuan and Mrs. Shen live together?¡± Sheughed derisively and looked in Qiao Lian¡¯s direction. ¡°Forget Chuan, since you¡¯re here, why are you not daring enough to show your face? Have you finally realized how shameful this is?¡± After she had spoken, all the reporters around started to concur with her. ¡°That¡¯s right, what sort of society is this?¡± ¡°What is this all about?¡± ¡°Mr. Shen, is your marriage with Mrs. Shen on the rocks?¡± When he heard this, Shen Liangchuan suddenlyughed. He said, ¡°That¡¯s correct. My wife, Forget Chuan and I, we all live together.¡± With that remark, the room fell into a dead silence. Was this how open people were nowadays? However, as everyone was trying to get over their shock, Shen Liangchuan continued, ¡°Because my wife is Forget Chuan.¡± After saying this, he turned suddenly to look at Qiao Lian, who was in a corner, and held his hand out towards her. Qiao Lian felt a surge of emotions as she smiled and shook her head, and then she walked towards him. She extended her hand and ced it on Shen Liangchuan¡¯s. Both of them stood hand-in-hand before the media representatives and, through the camera lenses recording a live broadcast, the rest of the world. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s gaze fell steadily on the cameras before him and, through the lenses, it was as though he was looking into the eyes of everyone who was watching. He said in a serious tone, ¡°Please allow me to introduce my wife, Forget Chuan.¡± My wife, Forget Chuan. Those simple words were the year¡¯s most torturous for the singles out there. Regardless of whether they were reporters, or the livestreaming audience, everyone thought the same way as they watched the couple standing together, shoulder-to-shoulder, hand-in-hand. Chapter 679 - Public Display of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (24)

Chapter 679: Public Disy of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (24)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mrs. Shen was Forget Chuan. This was a fact that almost no one had thought of. Primarily, it was because Forget Chuan had kept an extremely low profile. And Mrs. Shen... she was an enigma that everyone had been trying to figure out for a long time. In addition, everyone had the fixed idea that if Mrs. Shen had also been someone in the entertainment circle, then it would be someone really famous or someone who Best Actor Shen had paid special attention to. Hence, Mrs. Shen was probably someone not in the entertainment circle, but someone from a wealthy family. This was the sort of thinking that had been underlying the quest for the identity of Mrs. Shen and over time, as the exercise got tougher, this thinking became more entrenched. This was the reason why, when the matter around Forget Chuan blew up, the first thought in everyone¡¯s mind was that Forget Chuan was his mistress. Almost no one had thought of this oue. As Shen Zihao sat among the crowd watching the reporters shocked into a stupor, he suddenly felt that his own reaction hadn¡¯t been that bad after all. Their eyeballs were almost falling out of their sockets! He twitched his mouth and observed the people around him calmly. The first person who got round to responding was Qiao Lian¡¯s sworn enemy, Zhang Chunhua. She stared at the couple on the stage in disbelief and shock. Her voice was almost trembling as she looked at their hands tightly sped together and asked, ¡°How- how is this possible?¡± How was that possible? Their news agency had asked Qiao Lian to uncover Mrs. Shen¡¯s identity and she had taken months. If Qiao Lian was Mrs. Shen... She could only feel like this was all a dream. That¡¯s right, this was not only just a dream, it was a nightmare! Zhang Chunhua gulped and looked at the stage again. They were still there. And they were looking at everyone. And finally, their gaze fell on Zhang Chunhua. His expression turned harsh as he said, ¡°Furthermore, we will be suing G8ssip Daily News for spreading fake news. They have infringed our privacy and image rights! Your news agency will receive ourwyer¡¯s letter very shortly.¡± His sharp words caused Zhang Chunhua to stagger backwards and she almost fell on the ground as her legs turned to jelly. If Best Actor Shen had issued awyer¡¯s letter... She thought about his status in the entertainment industry. The news agency could very well end up firing her to save itself! She gulped nervously as her expression froze. As for the other reporters, one at a time, they got over their shock. Someone asked, ¡°Mr. Shen, how did you and your wife meet?¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression darkened at this question and he turned to look at Qiao Lian. After a pause, he said, ¡°We met on the inte.¡± On the inte? An online romance?! All the reporters got excited again. ¡°Is Forget Chuan your fan?¡± Shen Liangchuan lowered his gaze and replied, ¡°I¡¯m her fan.¡± Someoneughed and followed with the question, ¡°So who made the first move?¡± The Best Actorughed when he heard this question. Who made the first move? As he paused, Qiao Lian suddenly stepped forward and said cheekily, ¡°Of course, he made the first move.¡± Heughed again at her remark and said, ¡°Are you sure?¡± Qiao Lian immediately shot him a sidelong nce and he hurriedly nodded, saying, ¡°I¡¯m sure. I was the one who made the first move.¡± The interaction between the couple was heartwarming and humorous. However in Suzhou, Lu Nanze, who was watching the livestream, crushed his drinking ss with his fingers in anger. The more loving they were, the more of an eyesore it became to him. Chapter 680 - Public Display of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (25)

Chapter 680: Public Disy of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (25)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lu Nanze squinted his eyes and stared at the livestreaming screen. The camera focused on Qiao Lian and her countenance appeared on the screen clearly. Compared to eight years ago, her face had be even more beautiful as she grew up. At this moment, her smile was poised and dignified. However, it also carried along a reserved femininity. She smiled to the reporters every time they asked her a question. Yet Lu Nanze could tell that she was nervous. Her hands were at her sides and she was clutching onto the lower hem of her jacket. This was something she always did when she is nervous. All of a sudden, Lu Nanze recalled the past... They were around 15 years old then. They were requested to perform an act when they were in high school. As everyone else came from rich families, they tend to be talented and gifted. Qiao Lian was the only one who didn¡¯t have any skills, as she had been spoiled since young. Their small group gathered to discuss what they should perform, and the spoiled girl dered loudly, ¡°I don¡¯t care, but I want to be in the limelight!¡± Hence, the boys modestly gave in to her and let her be in the limelight. Qiao Lian was very talented in dancing. She was actually very smart and could pick up new skills easily. It didn¡¯t take long for them to prepare the performance. However, during thest rehearsal, Qiao Lian, who had been all along fearless, felt slightly nervous. Lu Nanze asked her, ¡°Why are you feeling nervous?¡± Qiao Lian replied, ¡°There are so many people seated down there that will watch me, how can I not feel nervous?¡± Lu Nanze smiled andforted her, ¡°Just picture the audience as cabbages and smile when you are dancing. When you feel nervous, smiling can not only make you feel calmer and moreposed, but can also show your graciousness.¡± It suddenly dawned on Qiao Lian. From then onwards, Qiao Lian never forgot to smile when she faced the media. However, after a while, Lu Nanze realized she did this when she was nervous. At this thought, Lu Nanze could not help but curve his lips upward. After so many years of not seeing each other, Qiao Lian had not changed at all¡ªit was her old self. As he was thinking of this, he saw from the live streaming screen that Sheng Liangchuan seemed to have realized that Qiao Lian was nervous. Thus, he suddenly reached out his hand and held Qiao Lian¡¯s shoulder. This disy of affection triggered a buzz in the reporters. One after another, they raised their cameras and started taking pictures rapidly. But his Qiao Lian.... slowly calmed down under Shen Liangchuan¡¯s protective gesture. Her smile became more genuine and rxed. Lu Nanze¡¯s irises shrunk and he clenched his fist. He stared at Sheng Liangchuan¡¯s hand on Qiao Lian¡¯s shoulder, eyes shining with bloodthirst. After which, a crack was heard. The ss cup he was holding in his hand had shattered loudly into pieces. He did notin or respond, even though the ss shards had pierced into his skin. ¡°Second Brother!¡± At that moment, Qiao Yiyi had entered the room carrying tea. Upon noticing his state, she was shocked and rushed to his side. She kneeled down beside him, and her heart ached when she looked at his bleeding hand. She immediately opened his hands with utmost care and realized that many of the ss shards had already pierced into his skin. Qiao Yiyi bit her lips and her eyes reddened. However, her eye irises shrunk suddenly when she saw Qiao Lian on the screen. Qiao Lian, it was her again. It wasn¡¯t surprising, though. It seemed that in this world, Qiao Lian was the only person who could cause her Second Brother to lose control of his emotions. Qiao Yiyi clenched her teeth tightly with anger. It had been so many years. She was the one who had stayed by her Second Brother¡¯s side, she was the one who had never stopped thinking about him! Yet why was she still not worth any space in her Second Brother¡¯s heart? Chapter 681 - Public Display of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (26)

Chapter 681: Public Disy of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (26)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian, who was far away in Beijing, could obviously not know Lu Nanze and Qiao Yiyi¡¯s expression. After the news conference, she returned home together with Shen Liangchuan. The couple sat at the back seat and Shen Zihao sat in the passenger¡¯s seat with a reluctant expression. ¡°Hmph, it¡¯s just an announcement of your marriage. Why do you have to make it so secretive?¡± Shen Liangchuanpletely ignored him. Instead, Qiao Lianughed. ¡°Are you so jealous that you are starting to hate us? You can also announce your rtionship. The rich second-generation heir with the most potential in Beijing has secretly married Xia Nuannuan!¡± After hearing her words, Shen Zihao immediately shut his mouth. Ok then, he could never beat her in an argument. But instead, Qiao Lian suddenly spoke, ¡°Where¡¯s Nuannuan? Shen Zhihao, why didn¡¯t you apany Nuannuan and her parents for a walk around Beijing?¡± Shen Zihao twitched his mouth and replied, ¡°What¡¯s there to enjoy in Beijing? Furthermore, I had drunk too muchst night, so Nuannuan said that I should rest today.¡± Qiao Lian answered with an ¡°oh.¡± But Shen Zihao spoke again, ¡°How do you think the onlinements will be after your marriage announcement? Qiao Lian, are you not afraid of Shen Liangchuan¡¯s fans scolding you?¡± Qiao Lian corrected him. ¡°You should address your brother as Brother Liangchuan and address me as Sister-inw.¡± ¡°Tsk. How can you be considered my sister-inw?¡± Shen Zihao rolled his eyes and looked back to the front. However, Qiao Lian¡¯s interest was instigated by Shen Zihao¡¯s question. She hurriedly picked up her phone, opened Weibo and logged in to see thements. The hashtag #MrsShendisclosed had immediately became the number 1 trending topic. After she clicked on the topic, she saw the picture of Shen Liangchuan and her standing shoulder to shoulder. Thements below were really aggressive. Most fans weren¡¯t able to ept the fact that their idol had a wife, and that his wife was a eSports caster with not much fame. Thus, many people started attacking Qiao Lian. [Ugh, Mrs. Shen looks so pretty. She must have had stic surgery!] [No matter how pretty the woman is, she is still notpatible with my husband!] [Mrs. Shen get lost! The husband is mine!] [Mrs. Shen,e and fight me!] ... Suchments were endless. Qiao Lian was furious. ¡°I¡¯m real and untainted! How could I have done stic surgery?¡± She directly threw her phone into Shen Liangchuan¡¯s arms and said, ¡°Your fans are not cute at all!¡± Shen Liangchuan raised his eyebrows, lowered his head and took a nce at the phone. Then, he put the phone on a side. Shen Zihao was gloating at her misfortune and said, ¡°Who asked you to be so incredibly conceited?! See, you¡¯re getting scolded now. Hahaha!¡± Qiao Lian was actually faking her anger. She knew that the fans¡¯ actions were not the idol¡¯s fault. Furthermore, he was already hers. She was able to understand the jealousy the fans had towards her. She wouldn¡¯t be bothered by them. As she thought so, Qiao Lian picked up her phone once again and started scrolling through Weibo, viewing the trending topics.. It was a habit of hers that had formed after she became a reporter. If she had nothing to do, she would post something on Weibo. As she was looking at some other content, she heard Shen Zihao¡¯s voice, ¡°Dang! This is really an outright public disy of affection! It¡¯s really shameless!¡± Qiao Lian lifted her head up in confusion. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Shen Zihao let her know, ¡°Check Weibo! Check Shen Liangchuan¡¯s Weibo!¡± Since the matter had just been announced, Qiao Lian had turned off thements on her Weibo. She had even changed her private messages to do not disturb mode. But after she heard Shen Zihao¡¯s words, she immediately picked up her phone and opened Weibo. She then saw the status Shen Liangchuan had just posted: [Shen Liangchuan: Patting your head, Wife @Forget Chuan] Chapter 682 - Public Display of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (27)

Chapter 682: Public Disy of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (27)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Touching the head was an expression of one¡¯s feelings. Qiao Lian scowled. As soon as he published it, it was immediately shared and circted in a frenzy. Comments of this sort were made: [Best Actor Shen, is this in response to the stic surgery remark?] Shen Liangchuan even replied: [Shen Lianchuan: Don¡¯t worry, everyone, authenticity is guaranteed. I¡¯ve checked thoroughly.] Checked thoroughly! That was a terribly suggestive phrase! What did he mean by ¡®checking thoroughly¡¯? Of course, there was immediate chaos. [Ahhhh, my idol sounds so cozy, what do I do? [Hubby, are you abandoning me just like that? I wish to be checked thoroughly by you too!] [Hon, you¡¯ve been corrupted! But in such an adorable way!] [My star, what did you use to check thoroughly?] ¨C All sorts ofments were posted, which made her blush and increased her heartbeat. This man. Qiao Lian turned red as an apple and couldn¡¯t help but feel like she had been a victim of his teasing. She bit her lip and looked up at him furiously. Her reddened face and shing eyes with emotions made her exceptionally beautiful to look at. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s eyes darkened. Raising a hand and pointing at him, she said to mock him angrily, ¡°You just wait!¡± Then she picked up her cell phone and started to type on the keyboard. She put keyboard on loud, so the clicking was rhythmic. After she was done, she looked up provocatively with a raised chin, as if to challenge the man. Shen Liangchuan raised an eyebrow and picked up his cell phone. Indeed, she had posted something and had even tagged him in it. [Forget Chuan: But I haven¡¯t checked you thoroughly... What if you¡¯re the one who has had stic surgery? @Shen Lianchuan] Shen Liangchuan¡¯s lips curved into a smile when he read thement. The normally cold and distant man had no idea the damage that his dazzling smile could cause. Qiao Lian was rapt. She saw him type something on his cell phone again. Shortly, there was an expected vibration on Qiao Lian¡¯s cell phone. She looked down at the device and unlocked the screen. Immediately, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s post was disyed: [Shen Liangchuan: I wee a thorough check any time// Forget Chuan: But I haven¡¯t checked you thoroughly... What if you¡¯re the one who has had stic surgery? @Shen Lianchuan] ¡°Fine,¡± thought Qiao Lian, ¡°I admit defeat!¡± This guy was too shameless. Of course, these posts were followed by an explosion ofments. [Please livestream the thorough checks!] [Ahhhh... Baby, I wish to do a thorough check on you too!] [How could it be that my idol had stic surgery? What a joke!] [Idol, where did your aloof and cold personality go? Why do I feel so warm!] [Woohoo, I¡¯ve been suddenly and unexpectedly taunted for my singlehood again! My idol,pensate me!] ¨C Qiao Lian clutched her own face with her hands,pletely embarrassed. And at this point, Shen Zihao added, ¡°Do you guys wish to do a thorough check now? You can pretend I¡¯m not here, really.¡± Qiao Lian scowled. Shen Liangchuan: ... Qiao Lian immediately tossed her cell phone aside and gave Shen Liangchuan a vicious re. He lowered his head and continued to look at his cell phone. As though he had just thought of something, he started typing again. Seeing his serious expression, Qiao Lian did not dare to interrupt and went back to ying on her own phone. Shortly afterwards, she saw that he had tagged her in another post. Was this guy... about to tease her again? Damn! She had decided to surrender! Hence, she logged into Weibo again. However, what she read next made her tear up. Chapter 683 - Public Display of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (28)

Chapter 683: Public Disy of Love: Forget Chuan is Mrs. Shen (28)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios [Shen Liangchuan: Every life has its imperfections. To me, you are the greatest perfection in my lifetime. Thank you foring back to me eventually @Forget Chuan] It was a simple message that held so much meaning. It reminded Qiao Lian of what happened 8 years ago. Of that meeting that never took ce, for a reason that she still had no rity over. She hung her head and, for unknown reasons, couldn¡¯t agree more with the post. The heavens were just. Her family had been treated unfairly in life, yet she had been able to find perfection in love. She bit her lip and did not respond to this post. However, the post did cause another explosion ofments. Initially, the masses hadn¡¯t approved their rtionship and had even attacked Qiao Lian out of jealousy. But now, they were moved by Shen Liangchuan¡¯s post. [Wow, I¡¯m so touched, what do I do?] [I want this sort of perfection too.] [Let¡¯s stop being nasty to Mrs. Shen. Actually, they look like a good match standing next to each other.] [I wish you both well.] [Romances in the entertainment circle often hit their expiry dates quickly. However, I feel that Best Actor Shen and Forget Chuan will be a legendary couple. I sincerely wish you both the best.] [Wishing both of you a lifetime together.] ¨C All sorts of wishes and blessings were posted, and reading them made Qiao Lian smile with delight. Putting her cell phone aside, she sneaked at the chauffeur and Shen Zihao in the front seats. Then, she quietly reached out to hook her little finger around Shen Liangchuan¡¯s thumb. Although she looked calm on the surface, the contact with hisrge and warm hands still made her heart pound uncontrobly. Her heart was filled with sweetness. Was that actually his way of confessing his love to her? At this point, Shen Zihao suddenly turned around to look at them. ¡°I¡¯ll be damned. Shen Liangchuan, can you be any more nauseating? Perfection indeed... What is so perfect about your life? He frowned and snorted. Turning around again, he gave them a look of resentment, as though he had been reminded of how Xia Yehua had walked out of the Shen Family with Shen Liangchuan eight years ago, leaving him behind. Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan exchanged a nce and quickly put a stop to this topic. Very soon, they arrived home. It was 5 pm. However, Xia Nuannuan and her parents weren¡¯t home yet. Xia Yehua was in the living room, doing her exercises, and smiled immediately when she saw them. Shen Zihao¡¯s eyes swept across the apartment and frowned when he saw no sign of Xia Nuannuan. ¡°Why aren¡¯t they back yet? Aren¡¯t the two old folks tired of walking around?¡± Qiao Lian and Xia Yehua looked at each other and raised an eyebrow when they heard his remark. Shen Zihao was obviously concerned about Xia Nuannuan, but he hid it behind harsh words. What an awkward child. He looked at his cell phone impatiently and dialed Xia Nuannuan¡¯s number. It rang for some time before the line was picked up. He asked, ¡°Where are you guys?¡± Upon hearing a reply, he jumped up at once. ¡°What? I¡¯lle over right now!¡± He hung up and strode towards the main door. Xia Yehua hurriedly stopped him. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± He said, ¡°My dad and Aunty Mei called Xia Nuannuan, the silly girl. She is actually taking Father-inw and Mother-inw with her to meet them over dinner. Isn¡¯t this like walking straight into the tiger¡¯sir?!¡± Qiao Lian was astonished to hear this. What sort of description was that?! So it seemed that Shen Zihao was not such a moron after all. He was aware that his own home was a dangerous ce! Chapter 684 - Discussing the Marriage (1)

Chapter 684: Discussing the Marriage (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help but shake her head andugh. Shen Zihao dashed out of the house and drove away in a hurry. ¨C Xia Nuannuan, together with her dad and mom, was window shopping around Beijing when her cell phone rang. She nced at the screen and saw it was an unfamiliar number. Xia Nuannuan paused. Puzzled, she picked up the call and realized afterwards that it was Shen Zihao¡¯s stepmother, Mei Feng. For unknown reasons, she suddenly got nervous and said immediately, ¡°Aunty Mei, how can I help you?¡± There was a short pause and then the womanughed. She went on to say, ¡°It¡¯s like this. Zihao¡¯s father knows that the inws are in Beijing and has specially asked me to call you and arrange dinner together. Do you have time tonight?¡± Shen Zihao¡¯s father... Xia Nuannuan looked at her parents immediately. Dad Xia could hear the conversation on the phone, so he hurriedly nodded. Xia Nuannuan bit her lip and hesitated. ¡°But¡ª¡± Dad Xia took over the phone in a sh and said, ¡°Sure, Inw, we¡¯ll see you tonight!¡± Nodding and smiling, Mei Feng replied, ¡°Sure,e to our ce for a visit.¡± After hanging up, Dad Xia advised his daughter, ¡°One look at Shen Zihao and you can see has a good background. Such a decent family... We ought to visit them. I¡¯d like to meet his father too.¡± It was toote for Xia Nuannuan to say anything. Her father had agreed, so she couldn¡¯t possibly back out now. Hence, they hailed a cab and headed for the Shen family home. On the way, Xia Nuannuan was going to call Shen Zihao to inform him but she received his call at that moment. She updated him of the situation. She wasn¡¯t quite sure if it was because Shen Zihao had immediately offered toe over, or if there were other reasons, but she felt a little unsettled, as though something bad was going to happen. Taking in a deep breath, she tried to suppress the difort she was feeling. Because Shen Liangchuan had not wanted to have anything more to do with the Shen family, after they left, he had bought a vi that was a great distance away. Hence, because Xia Nuannuan had been at the city, she was very much closer to the Shen family home than Shen Zihao. By the time the cab arrived at the Shen family home, Shen Zihao was only then leaving and the drive would take an hour. Standing at the main entrance, Xia Nuannuan looked at the metal gate, which was like the doorway to the ptial vi, and felt lost. Thest time she hade with Shen Zihao, he had been driving and the gate had opened automatically when it recognized his car. However, this time... Dad Xia and Mom Xia stared at the grand entrance, now feeling an immeasurable pressure on themselves. Mom Xia even stammered, ¡°Nuannuan, Zihao- Zihao lives in this ce? How many people live here?¡± All they could see was the outer courtyard, and it was like a park. Mom Xia even thought that this was a whole vi neighbourhood, in a simr style to Shen Liangchuan¡¯s home. Xia Nuannuan nced at her mother and hung her head. She said softly, ¡°This is his home,¡± Dad Xia was stumped. As was Mom Xia. She ventured, ¡°This- this is a tad big, isn¡¯t it?! Zihao¡¯s family is this wealthy?¡± Xia Nuannuan nodded. Dad Xia nced at her and cleared his throat. Then he said, ¡°Okay, let¡¯s not fuss over this. Otherwise, we¡¯ll embarrass our daughter.¡± Mom Xia immediately nodded and agreed, ¡°Yes, yes.¡± Dad Xia then looked at Xia Nuannuan and told her, ¡°Go knock on the door then.¡± She stepped forward and knocked on the door. After a while, they finally heard an impatient voiceing from within, ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± Chapter 685 - Discussing the Marriage (2)

Chapter 685: Discussing the Marriage (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Feeling terribly nervous suddenly, Xia Nuannuan squeaked, ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± Immediately, the side gate next to the huge metal gate swung open. Behind it stood a security officer who, when he saw Xia Nuannuan, frowned and asked, ¡°Who are you?¡± Surprised by the question, she hung her head for a moment and began, ¡°I¡ª¡± Dad Xia stepped forward and said, ¡°We are Shen Zihao¡¯s¡ª¡± Before he could finish, the security officer frowned again and asked, ¡°Do you have an appointment?¡± Dad Xia paused at this question. ¡°What?¡± The security officer waved his hand impatiently. ¡°Go away! How could I let you in without an appointment? Do you think this is a tourist attraction? Our Sir and Madam are extremely busy people and have no time to see shabby people like you.¡± Dad Xia was immediately belligerent to hear the word ¡°shabby¡± being used on them. Xia Nuannuan too, looked up in horror. Thest time she had visited, besides being awed by the luxury of the Shen family home, she had left with the impression that the employees of the household were all very well-mannered. But this person... She bit her lip. The emotions she was experiencing were a little hard to take and it made her feel quite sick. Xia Nuannuan was outwardly gentle, but she was a tough person inside. She might have probably not have said a word if she had been the one who got insulted, but this person had insulted her parents as well. Feeling a little angry now, she grabbed her father¡¯s hand and looked at the security officer, saying, ¡°Did Aunty Mei not tell you that I¡¯ming here today?¡± The security officer fell silent for a moment and then asked, ¡°Who are you? Even the servants in the Shen household are more decently dressed than you. Would the Shens have such poor rtives?¡± Even the servants were more decently dressed. This, Xia Nuannuan did not doubt. Because thest time she hade, she had seen that the servants were all wearing customized uniforms of an international brand. All the staff in the vi were strictly supervised. Xia Nuannuan had never minded being poor, and she had never envied people who were wealthy. But still... Being told off this way right in her face... Dad Xia didn¡¯t look pleased at all. ¡°What did you just say?¡± Mom Xia frowned too and red at the man, her chest heaving with anger. Looking straight at the security officer, Xia Nuannuan bit her lip and said after a pause, ¡°I¡¯m Shen Zihao¡¯s wife.¡± As soon as she said this, the security officer immediately realized, ¡°Ah, it¡¯s you!!¡± ¡°Madam, I¡¯m so sorry! I didn¡¯t recognize you... after all...¡± He rudely gave Xia Nuannuan a look and startedughing as he took a step backward. He said, ¡°Well then, please wait here, I¡¯ll go and inform the people in the house.¡± Following this, he shut the metal side gate and disappeared. Xia Nuannuan was stunned. Her eyes reddened at once, as she had never been this insulted and shamed before. She turned towards her father, who waspelled to ask her, ¡°Is everyone in his family so pompous?¡± Standing on the side, Mom Xia said, ¡°Okay, enough, stop being so unforgiving. Looking at how polite Zihao is, I¡¯m sure his family brought him up well. This security officer... Let¡¯s forget about him. Maybe they have troublemakers turning up all the time and he thinks we¡¯re...¡± She found herself unable to continue. Although the Xia Family came from a small vige, they were considered a well-off family. Furthermore, Dad Xia was a teacher and was well-respected. He had never been subject to such treatment. On top of that... Since their identities were now known, why were they being kept outside a shut gate? The three of them choked with anger. Chapter 686 - Discussing the Marriage (3)

Chapter 686: Discussing the Marriage (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Days were short during winter in Beijing, so the skies were already dark at 5 pm. At that moment, the streetmps were lit up. The three of them felt the biting cold as the wind whistled around them. Biting her lip, Xia Nuannuan said after a moment of hesitation, ¡°Dad, Mom, why don¡¯t we go home first?¡± She wouldn¡¯t mind it so much if they made things difficult for her alone. After all, she understood how Shen Xiu felt. Given that his son had gotten married without so much as informing him, of course he felt like she had seduced Zihao. However, her parents had done nothing wrong. What right did these people have to be treating them like this? Xia Nuannuan¡¯s eyes reddened. Fortunately, the skies had darkened and her parents couldn¡¯t tell. Otherwise they would be really upset. Dad Xia frowned when he heard her suggestion. After a brief moment, he turned to nce at the towering gate and huge courtyard. Then, heughed and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay. The security officer has to pass the message to the big boss and it might take some time. We can wait, we¡¯re in no hurry.¡± Xia Nuannuan¡¯s heart wrung with pain when she looked at her father. She knew why he said that. He had been a proud man all his life. When had he swallowed his pride like this? He did so now because he felt that if they went away, it would put his daughter in a difficult position with her mother-inw, and it would make things difficult for his daughter ultimately. His heart ached for his own daughter. And now, for the first time, she regretted this marriage. It was the second day of their marriage, but she wished they hadn¡¯t registered it the day before. Mom Xia spoke as well, saying, ¡°That¡¯s right, let¡¯s wait for a while, it¡¯s okay. You¡¯re too impatient, child.¡± Xia Nuannuan hung her head and did not say a word. Holding the cell phone in her hand, she said, ¡°I¡¯ll call a cab, let¡¯s go. Let¡¯s not wait here any longer.¡± There would be few taxising into the vi district, and the one that brought them here had already left. In order to leave, the only way was to call a taxi. However, even the nearest taxis were at least ten minutes away. Xia Nuannuan swiftly made the call. Another five minutes passed. Xia Nuannuan¡¯s hands had turned as cold as ice. Mom Xia stepped forward and held her hands. ¡°Nuannuan, you must be cold. Come, let me warm you up a little. Put your hands under my armpits, it¡¯s quite warm there.¡± Xia Nuannuan was silent. She felt tears welling up in her eyes. She had never felt such shame, which made her curl her finger into a tight fist. She was about to say something when, at that moment, the little side gate swung open. Following this, a voice came from beyond. ¡°Ah! Inws! Look at you, really... I scolded Xiao Zhao. How could he make you wait here?!¡± Mei Feng was wearing a mink coat, looking every inch the wealthy man¡¯s wife that she was. She stood on the inside of the gate, smiling apologetically. When she saw them, she approached the family at once. She grabbed Xia Nuannuan¡¯s hands, saying, ¡°Oh dear, Nuannuan¡¯s hands are so cold! You must be freezing. Come in quickly! Come in quickly!¡± She kept chattering, ¡°I was watching over things in the kitchen after I called you, so I inadvertently forgot to inform the security officer. You don¡¯t understand, this ce is too conspicuous and we often have offenders trying to break in. So the security officer has always been careful to remain impartial. I just scolded him! That blind fool! Inws, please don¡¯t be angry.¡± Her attitude was quite sincere as she apologized once more. Both Dad Xia and Mom Xia kept silent. Mom Xia smiled as she took a step forward and said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I¡¯m not angry. We just waited for a short while, we¡¯re not angry.¡± And then, turning to Mei Feng, she asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Zichuan¡¯s Dad?¡± Chapter 687 - Discussing the Marriage (4)

Chapter 687: Discussing the Marriage (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Normally, when the inws visited, both parents of the hosting family were supposed to be present and wee them, to show proper respect. However, in this instance... only Mei Feng was present. Where was Shen Xiu? Dad Xia cleared his throat. Mei Feng sighed, ¡°He¡¯s just returned from work and is still upstairs, showering and changing. He¡¯s particr about some things! You¡¯ve turned up early and we were caught off guard, so we¡¯re not quite prepared yet.¡± Turned up early and caught off guard? She made it sound like the Xias were in a hurry to meet them. Xia Nuannuan¡¯s expression changed as anger rose within her. She exined, nevertheless, ¡°We weren¡¯t too far away when you called.¡± Mei Feng said immediately, ¡°That exins it! I thought that, since our inws had just arrived yesterday, you must be still resting at the hotel today. After all, it takes about an hour to get here from the hotel. I apologize that Zihao¡¯s father is not here to greet you. Please,e in quickly!¡± Following these words, she stepped aside to let them through the house entrance. Xia Nuannuan her lip and looked at Mei Feng. Then she said, ¡°Aunty Mei, since you¡¯re not prepared, why don¡¯t we juste some other day?¡± She really did not feel like visiting them with her parents. Who knew what else would happen once they were in the house? However when Mei Feng heard this, she sighed immediately. ¡°Please don¡¯t. Inws are already here right at our doorstep, how could you note in?! Zihao¡¯s father is waiting for you both, we should discuss the children¡¯s marriage!¡± Initially, as Mei Feng let them through, Dad Xia had studied the door and noticed something. Xia Nuannuan and Mom Xia had been less exposed to the outside world, so they might have been unaware. However, he was much more knowledgeable. These wealthy people were particr about decorum. Which door a guest used depended on the person¡¯s status. It all mattered. The doorway they were being shown now to enter the house was a side door. This was the equivalent to a concubine¡¯s status in the old days. It was their right, since they were now rtives, to be shown the front door and ushered into the house through the main doorway. However, sensing how cold and unweing Mei Feng was right now, Dad Xia couldn¡¯t help but wonder if this was intentional. Dad Xia was put in a dilemma over this matter. He wanted to leave, but because Mei Feng had mentioned that they should discuss the children¡¯s marriage, he felt they had to stay. Since the young couple had already obtained their marriage certificate, a wedding ceremony should follow. After all, ording to the Chinese custom, a marriage was only official after the formalities of a wedding. Hence for the sake of Nuannuan, they must not leave. Mom Xia thought the same way and immediately smiled, as she said, ¡°Very well then, we will have dinner here.¡± Then following Mei Feng¡¯s lead, they entered the house. Dad Xia suppressed the difort he was feeling. He nced at the door again. Eventually, he walked in without another word. The moment they entered, Mom Xia was overwhelmed by the scene before her. But remembering that she must not embarrass her daughter, she steeled herself and continued walking with her husband into the house. Mei Feng spoke, ¡°Look at this ce, it¡¯s big but with disadvantages. It took me 5 minutes to walk from here to the gate! That¡¯s why I had to keep you waiting.¡± As she spoke, they walked further into the house. Xia Nuannuan bit her lip and said , ¡°Aunty Mei, you¡¯re too formal.¡± Right after she inquired this, they heard a voiceing from upstairs, ¡°Aunty Mei? Shouldn¡¯t it be Mom?¡± All of them turned around simultaneously and saw Shen Xiuing down the stairs. He looked at Xia Nuannuan with a sharp expression. ¡°This is your Mom.¡± Chapter 688 - Discussing the Marriage (5)

Chapter 688: Discussing the Marriage (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xia Nuannuan was stumped at once. Shen Zihao addressed Mei Feng as Aunty Mei, and when they had first been introduced, he had addressed the woman as Aunty Mei. As his wife, of course, she followed his lead. That was why she called her Aunty Mei. But now... Shen Xiu wanted her to address the woman as Mom? While it was true that legally Mei Feng was Shen Zihao¡¯s mother, this was 21st century. Besides, when Mei Feng married Shen Xiu, Shen Zihao had already been in his mid teens. Shen Xiu had had no way of forcing the grown boy to address her as his mother. So now... Xia Nuannuan was caught in-between. She did not know Mei Feng well and had no idea what sort of person the woman was. However, if she did not address Aunty Mei as Mom, it would anger her father-inw. On the other hand, calling her Mom may anger her husband. Hence, the moment Shen Xiu appeared, he had thrown her a hot potato. Just as Xia Nuannuan moved her lips in a bid to say something, Mei Feng interrupted her and stepped forward saying, ¡°That¡¯s enough for now. I¡¯m the stepmother, what¡¯s the big deal? The food is ready. Let¡¯s go and eat!¡± Frowning at that remark, Shen Xiu chided her, ¡°A stepmother is a mother too. In the future, she is to be addressed Mom. Who taught you to call her Aunty Mei?¡± Xia Nuannuan was stumped once again by his words. This was her first meeting with her father-inw. Even though she knew that he didn¡¯t like her, how could he berate her in the presence of her own parents? She bit her lip. However, before she could say anything, her father spoke, ¡°Old brother, this is where you¡¯re wrong. You don¡¯t have a say in the way Nuannuan should address her.¡± The remark was made in an affectionate manner and did not sound offensive at all. Looking at Dad Xia, Shen Xiu asked, ¡°Then who has a say?¡± ¡°Zihao, of course! Nuannuan is Zihao¡¯s wife, of course, she has to obey him.¡± Shen Xiu immediately furrowed his brow and said, ¡°By right, Zihao should address Mei Feng as Mom.¡± Dad Xiaughed heartily and said, ¡°That¡¯s right, this child Zihao, he doesn¡¯t know his manners! When I see himter, I shall give him a sound reminder.¡± With that, he took care of Shen Xiu. Didn¡¯t you say that our Nuannuan is ignorant? This was how your son Zihao taught her to be. This was the point that Dad Xia had so subtly made in his remark. Shen Xiu ceased to speak about this matter. Instead, he cleared his throat and turned to Mei Feng, asking, ¡°Is dinner ready?¡± She smiled and said at once, ¡°I¡¯ll take a look inside, please have a seat.¡± Following this, she got someone to serve tea. Even the Shen Family¡¯s tea set was different from the ones that weremonly used outside. Looking at the tiny essories, Xia Nuannuan looked at her parents nervously. Dad Xia and Mom Xia were also looking quite stressed at the intricacies that would be involved in using it. Afraid of embarrassing his daughter, Dad Xia politely declined it and said, ¡°Our family doesn¡¯t have the habit of drinking tea before a meal, we won¡¯t have any tea then.¡± Upon hearing this, Mom Xia was relieved at once. However, Xia Nuannuan felt a pinch in her heart just observing the situation. Her father had never liked doing such petty acts, but now he had to for her sake... Was this marriage really the right thing for her? As she was contemting this, Shen Xiu continued, ¡°Since the children have registered their marriage, we will have to discuss the wedding ns then.¡± Dad Xia nodded at once, agreeing, ¡°That¡¯s right, we had to hurry ande because of this matter. Do you have an idea about when you would like the event to take ce?¡± Shen Xiu coughed once and said, ¡°Because of how quickly they registered their marriage, we were caughtpletely unprepared.¡± Dad Xia¡¯s expression froze when he heard these words. Chapter 689 - Discussing the Marriage (6) Chapter 689: Discussing the Marriage (6) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios How quickly they had registered it... Caughtpletely unprepared. Shen Xiu was certainly not going to save them any face. Dad Xia¡¯s face clouded over. He cleared his throat and retorted, ¡°That¡¯s right, they did it too quickly. We weren¡¯t prepared either when we heard the news. These two kids can¡¯t be relied on to do things properly!¡± He brought Shen Zihao into the picture again. Shen Xiu furrowed his brow and agreed, ¡°That¡¯s right. Zihao was brought up in our home, it¡¯s a simple environment. He¡¯s seen little of the outside world and doesn¡¯t know much. I have to apologize to you both, inws.¡± There was such mockery in this words! Dad Xia was beginning to look most displeased. The meaning of those words couldn¡¯t be more obvious. Wasn¡¯t he implying that Shen Zihao was innocent and the marriage had been the result of his daughter¡¯s maniption? S*ck that! He simply should not be insulting people like that. Dad Xia hung his head and said, ¡°So, my inw, are you saying that this marriage doesn¡¯t look good?¡± Shen Xiu hung his head even lower. Before Dad Xia could say anything else, Mom Xia tugged at his sleeve. Dad Xia took a deep breath and made a great effort to control his anger. ¡°Now that we¡¯vee to this situation now, what are you saying?¡± ¡°Of course, we need to throw a big event. Our Shen family wedding will not be a small event. Otherwise, others will look down on us.¡± And... So prior to this, what he had really meant was that it didn¡¯t look good that amoner like Xia Nuannuan was marrying into their family? Xia Nuannuan¡¯s eyes were stinging with anger now. She bit her lip and suddenly stood up, saying, ¡°I- I¡¯m feeling unwell. Dad, Mom, why don¡¯t we just go home for now?¡± She was really regretting bringing her parents here to be insulted like this. Shen Xiu¡¯s intentions were very clear. He didn¡¯t like her and he looked down on her. The moment Xia Nuannuan spoke, he looked at her abdomen and said, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Is something wrong with my grandchild? Hurry, Mei Feng, call the family doctor and get him toe and have a look.¡± This was the real difference between the wealthy people andmon folks like themselves. When someone rich was sick, they would get a family doctor to do a house call, rather than go to a hospital. Dad Xia and Mom Xia exchanged a look. Both of them felt like there was a giant rock weighing down on their chest. Would their daughter really be happy marrying into such a family? They sighed deeply. Shen Xiu kept looking at Xia Nuannuan¡¯s abdomen. Actually, he really wanted a grandchild too. Given this, he decided to stop being difficult and continued, ¡°Why don¡¯t we do this? There is an auspicious date in a month from now. We will help them prepare for the wedding. Do you have any requests?¡± Finally, they were hearing something reasonable. Dad Xia and Mom Xia exchanged a nce, then heaved a sigh of relief. Dad Xia hurriedly said, ¡°We have no requests, we just want the children to be happy.¡± Shen Xiu nodded. Then frowning, he said after a pause, ¡°We intend to give them a cash gift of 8.88 million, what about your dowry?¡± He felt he had to make this clear, in case the other party decided on a dowry of a hundred thousand. That would look truly ugly. When Dad Xia heard 8.88 million, he turned pale immediately. 8.88 million! He had never seen that much money in all his life. But now, he was being asked about the dowry, so what could he possibly say? Dad Xia and Mom Xia exchanged another nce before Dad Xia said, ¡°We¡¯ll give a dowry of 9.99 million to marry off our daughter.¡± Adding 1.11 million to the 8.88 million cash gift would be a decent dowry. Although they weren¡¯t very rich, Xia Nuannuan was his only daughter, so it had to look good for her. Dad Xia decided that he would borrow some money once they got home. Chapter 690 - Discussing the Marriage (7) Chapter 690: Discussing the Marriage (7) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xia Nuannuan had a fright when she heard what her father said. ¡°Dad, our family doesn¡¯t have that kind of money.¡± She knew very well how much money the family had. They had spent most of their savings when her father had fallen ill the year before. That was why she had desperately worked to make money and had ended up working in Glitter as a waitress. Even if they sold their family home, they would not be able to gather 1.11 million. She didn¡¯t want her parents to lead a poverty-stricken life just so that she didn¡¯t look bad. If that were the case, then what was the use of having a daughter? But the moment she said that, Dad Xia frowned and said, ¡°Why are you interrupting when we adults are talking? Your Mom and I know how to deal with our family¡¯s money! Although we¡¯re poor, we have our pride. Let me tell you, you won¡¯t stop working after you get married. Our daughter is not the sort of wife who only knows how to stay at home and be a parasite! You¡¯re to work and have your own ie. Do you hear that?¡± This was really meant for Shen Xiu to hear. Dad Xia felt that if his daughter were to stay home, she would not be able to secure her own standing. A woman would only be mentally independent if she could be financially independent. Shen Xiu¡¯s expression turned gloomy. ¡°This¡ª¡± Dad Xia looked at Shen Xiu and continued, ¡°I know, marrying into your family, she doesn¡¯t have to work to put food on the table. But a person¡¯s got to have ambition and ideals, don¡¯t you think so?¡± Shen Xiu: ... Dad Xia stood up and said, ¡°It¡¯s dark and we shouldn¡¯t keep you up too long. When there¡¯s a chance,e over to our ce. We¡¯ll host a dinner for you.¡± Then he turned to Mom Xia and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Following this, he led Mom Xia and Xia Nuannuan towards the door. Shen Xiu did not try to make them stay either. However, it was Mei Feng who came running out of the kitchen when she noticed they were leaving. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? The food is almost ready. Aren¡¯t you staying for dinner? Zihao just called and said he¡¯s almost here.¡± Dad Xia looked at her and said, ¡°No, we won¡¯t stay.¡± The three of them continued walking towards the door. Just when they got to the doorway, they heard the sound of a car outside. Almost at once, Shen Zihao came flying in like a madman. Seeing the look on their faces, he paused for a moment and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Dad Xia had a bone-chilling smile on his face as he said, ¡°No big deal, we are just tired from walking around all day. We won¡¯t eat. We¡¯ll go back and rest.¡± Shen Zihao had no idea what had had happened, but he looked at Shen Xiu and Mei Feng for a moment. Then he turned around immediately and said, ¡°Sure, let me take you back then.¡± Upon hearing this, Shen Xiu frowned and said, ¡°You¡¯re out and about all day without doing any serious work. And you didn¡¯t evene homest night! This is ridiculous! Driving the inws home is a job that our family chauffeur can handle.¡± He then turned to the butler and instructed, ¡°Go get someone to take our inws home in our family Bentley nanny van.¡± The butler immediately nodded and said, ¡°Yes, Sir.¡± Shen Zihao was reprimanded for seemingly no reason, but he persisted, ¡°I¡¯ll apany them out then.¡± He followed Dad Xia and Mom Xia as they walked out of the house. Once outside, Shen Zihao apologized, ¡°Dad, Mom, my father can be merciless with his words, please don¡¯t take it to heart. It¡¯s Nuannuan¡¯s and my future, it has nothing to do with him! It must have been tough on all of you today?¡± Xia Nuannuan bit her lip when she heard this. Dad Xia, however, shot him a nce. Pretending to look puzzled, he asked after a pause, ¡°Zihao, I do have a question that I wish to rify.¡± ¡°Please ask.¡± ¡°At home, how do you address your stepmother? Is it Mom, or Aunty Mei? Your father insisted earlier that Nuannuan should address her as Mom. This needs to be made clear.¡± Chapter 691 - Discussing the Marriage (8) Chapter 691: Discussing the Marriage (8) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Zihao was stunned and rendered speechless. His expression turned gloomy at once. He cleared his throat and said, ¡°My father doesn¡¯t seem to understand what¡¯s important and what¡¯s not. Aunty Mei doesn¡¯t even say anything about this, so why does he interfere? It¡¯s not an issue, you can address her as Aunty Mei. Aunty Mei is young, it¡¯s not right to call her Mom anyway.¡± Dad Xia looked at him and said with a half-smile, ¡°Aunty Mei was there when your father said this. She did appear as though she wishes you¡¯d call her Mom. Zihao, you should go home and sort things out.¡± Shen Zihao was silent for a moment and then nodded. As Xia Nuannuan was about to get into the car after Dad Xia and Mom Xia, Shen Zihao suddenly said, ¡°Nuannuan, why don¡¯t you stay? We¡¯re married and can live together.¡± At this suggestion, Dad Xia¡¯s head popped out of the window from inside the car. ¡°Zihao, you¡¯d better not. Your father already thinks that the both of you are immature. In our Chinese tradition, you can only live together after the wedding ceremony. I wouldn¡¯t want your father thinking that Nuannuan doesn¡¯t know her customs.¡± Shen Zihao was not clueless. He realized from his words that his father had probably berated her. At once, his expression darkened. After the Xia family left, Shen Zihao marched into the house in a huff. He red at Shen Xiu furiously. ¡°Dad, this is too much! How could you do this?! This is your first meeting with them, you¡¯re being so embarrassing!¡± Shen Xiu snorted icily. ¡°A family that could raise that vixen can¡¯t be a very decent family. I¡¯ve done a background check. This Xia Nuannuan was once a waitress at Glitter. How decent can she be? Once the child is born, I will have a DNA test done. I¡¯m not going to bring up someone else¡¯s child.¡± Shen Zihao was stunned, speechless. For the first time, he was seeing this acrimonious side of his father. Shen Xiu had not been like this in the past. This was also the first time he considered the possibility that, years ago when his mother left the Shen family home without a cent in her pocket and in such a hurry, she might have had her reasons. For a moment, he looked distracted and lost in his thoughts. He hung his head for a moment before he dashed upstairs to his bedroom, without another word. He needed some silence. The Shen family¡¯s dinner invitation not only caused anxiety in the Xia family, even Xia Yehua was nervous about it. She knew more than anyone else what sort of man Shen Xiu was. It was only when Xia Nuannuan and her parents were back in the hotel that Xia Yehua heaved a sigh of relief. Qiao Lian wanted to bothugh and cry when she saw that look on the woman¡¯s face. Unfortunately, very soon, she would find herself unable tough. Around 10 p.m. that night, the vi district¡¯s guard called them saying someone was looking for Qiao Lian. She was puzzled. Who could be looking for her? The guard was tripping over his own words and only said that she should go take a look. Having no choice, she put on her jumper and walked outside. ¡°I¡¯lle with you.¡± Shen Liangchuan followed her. ¡°Why? You¡¯re worried about me? Afraid that I might be sneaking out for a date with another man?¡± Qiao Lian joked as they walked out of the door. Unfortunately, very soon, she would find herself unable tough. Just outside the door, she saw that a small crowd had gathered. Someone with a sharp eye spotted her, hurriedly walked up to her and grabbed her by the sleeve. ¡°It¡¯s her! The scammers¡¯ daughter! Return my family¡¯s money! Return my son to me!¡± the person cried. Upon hearing this, Qiao Lian felt a part of her brain snap. Chapter 692 - The Scammers’ Daughter! (1)

Chapter 692: The Scammers¡¯ Daughter! (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian looked at the crowd before her in horror. At first nce, she estimated there were thirty to forty people. And now, they were all looking at her furiously. Right at the back of the crowd stood reporters, who were hungering to capture a scandal involving Best Actor Shen and Mrs. Shen. They all ran up to them, pointing their cameras and poised to shoot. A reporter asked, ¡°What¡¯s the story?¡± As soon as he asked, the crowd was stirred. ¡°She is those scammers¡¯ daughter! Dishonest businessmen! My son died because of them. It was a tragic death! And up till now not a cent was given inpensation.¡± ¡°Sob, sob! Our family was devastated too. When they started to construct the building, there was so much hype about the development project. We sold off our homes to buy those new properties. Those were our life savings! And we thought we¡¯d buy it for our son¡¯s wedding. In the end, the building copsed and up to now, no one has given us a proper exnation. And because we didn¡¯t have a home, the woman that my son was to marry ran away. Our family savings have been depleted! And all of us are living in a tiny thirty square apartment. Sob, sob, even the bank has beening after us to pay our loan. Why did my family end up like this?!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, you scammers, my son died on the construction site and there was no exnation given to our family. After that, my wife died of a broken heart and now I¡¯m all alone. Sob, sob...¡± An elderly man in his sixties spoke up as he clutched his own face in tears. ¡°That¡¯s right, these hical businessmen! Sob, sob!¡± ¡°...¡± The crowd said all sorts of things. Qiao Lian stood there, as though she had been fossilized and rooted to the ground. She looked at the crowd before her, at the people in regr clothes, all of them angry and full of resentment. She felt like her soul had been taken from her and did not know what to do. Then someone among the reporters said, ¡°My god, is this to say... that Mrs. Shen is actually the daughter of the scammers who developed that property eight years ago?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! They say that debts are passed to the next generation. She¡¯s living the life now, staying in a vi, driving a luxury car. And why are we, the victims, still suffering?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want anything else but an exnation and my son back...¡± ¡°People like you, why are you still alive?¡± Apart from this, some reporters said slowly, ¡°But didn¡¯t her parents alreadymit suicide?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, they killed themselves to escape punishment, which is why we don¡¯t even have a way to redress now. But does that mean we deserve what we lost? 17 lives, how many buildings, how many families have been destroyed?!¡± Someone ranted furiously. These words drew the sympathy of the crowd immediately. ¡°I want to kill you! I want to avenge my son!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! Kill her!¡± ¡°Compensate us!¡± ¡°I want her to give me back my son! I don¡¯t want any money. I want my son back. Sob, sob...¡± With these furious demands, the crowd took a step forward. Some unknown person among the crowd took an apple, which he aimed and threw squarely at Qiao Lian¡¯s head. Now that there was someone leading, the others also took out their fruit and vegetables and starting throwing them at her. Everyone in the crowd swarmed towards Qiao Lian, surrounding her from all sides. Chapter 693 - The Scammer’s Daughter! (2)

Chapter 693: The Scammer¡¯s Daughter! (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± By the time Shen Liangchuan¡¯s voice reached her ears, it was toote. Qiao Lian was surrounded. Someone held her arm, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t you try to run away.¡± As these words came, she felt a sharp pain as something hit her. A tomato had hit her and it fell apart with the impact. The juice of the fruit sshed against her body. She bit her lip and shut her eyes in pain, clenching her fists. The happenings from eight years ago now came back to her in shes. She knew the faces in front of her. She knew them well. Even though eight years had gone by, they hadn¡¯t changed much. Eight years ago, these were the same people that had surrounded the doorway to her home, holding up a banner and demanding an exnation. It got to the news and her parents became the target of everyone¡¯s wrath. It had changed her brother¡¯s and her lives forever. It hadn¡¯t been so bad for her. At most, people talked and debated it behind her back. With Lu Nanze and his gang behind her, people didn¡¯t dare to confront her. But her brother... She remembered one day after school, she saw his face swollen and bruised, but he wouldn¡¯t tell her what had happened when she asked. She eventually found out. He had been bullied and beaten up. After that, he dreaded going to school. Actually, without even going into the details of the matter... It had been her parents¡¯ matter to solve. What did she and her brother had to do with it? But these people harassed them and wouldn¡¯t let them go... until there was that huge fire. Her parents had perished in that firem, and her brother had broken his leg. When the building copsed, her father had had their property impounded by the bank that financed them and they were dered bankrupt. At the time, she didn¡¯t even have the money for her brother¡¯s medical bills, where was she going to get the money topensate the people? She knew too that they were innocent victims. But why did they have to force her? Would they be appeased only when she and her brother died along with their parents? She stared at the tomato juice stain in a daze. At this point, she felt someone yank her arm. At once, she was leaning against someone¡¯s broad chest. She froze for a moment before looking up with a frightened expression. Shen Liangchuan had slid a hand around her shoulders, drawing her into his embrace, and with a turn, he had used his back to protect her from all the flying projectiles that were being hurled at her now. Slowly, her blurred vision focused and zoomed in on the man before her. Suddenly, she felt a dull ache in her heart. Shen Liangchuan was truly the only warmth she had in her life. She bit her lip and was about to say something when she felt something warm fall on her. The skies were dark and the streetmps gave out a mellow glow. She couldn¡¯t see clearly, so she reached out to touch her forehead with confusion. Then she looked down at her hand. That thick and sticky fluid... it was blood! She widened her eyes and realized that among the things that the people had hurled, there was a piece of brick. And Shen Liangchuan had taken the hit for her, although it hadnded on his head. Qiao Lian panicked at once and called, ¡°Shen Liangchuan!¡± She heard him reply, ¡°Xiao Qiao, I¡¯m here. It will be okay.¡± After these words, his eyelids shut and his legs gave way! Qiao Lian used all of her strength to try to hold him up, but in the end, she found herself kneeling on the ground next to him. It was only then they saw that his face was covered in blood. Suddenly, a silence fell over the crowd. Qiao Lian stared at Shen Liangchuan and threw herself on him, shouting her lungs out, ¡°Shen! Liang! Chuan!!¡± Chapter 694 - The Scammers’ Daughter! (3)

Chapter 694: The Scammers¡¯ Daughter! (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In the hospital, outside the operating room. Xia Yehua had a deep frown as she paced up and down the corridor frantically. Qiao Lian sat on a bench with her head hung. Her gaze was fixed, staring nkly at the thin air in front of her. Very soon, the doctor came out. As though she had suddenly found her purpose, she sprang up and ran up to him. The doctor informed them, ¡°It¡¯s nothing serious, it¡¯s just that he lost some blood. He¡¯ll be fine with some rest. We¡¯ve dressed the wound on his head.¡± Hearing that it wasn¡¯t anything too serious and that it was just a superficial injury, Qiao Lian could finally exhale. Yet he was still unconscious, so they moved him to the VIP ward. Lying on the bed with his eyes shut, color had drained from his face. Xia Yehua sat on the sofa on the side and was patting her chest, obviously feeling unwell. Qiao Lian hurried over to her side and held her, asking, ¡°Mum, are you okay?¡± The woman exhaled fully and said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I¡¯m just a little anxious.¡± Qiao Lian quickly helped her lie down and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go buy some breakfast.¡± Xia Yehua nodded. Qiao Lian walked out of the VIP ward and went to the breakfast store. As she did so, she suddenly caught sight of a group of people rushing towards her. They were holding video recorders and cameras and, when they saw Qiao Lian, it was like a pack of wolves that had spotted sheep. Their eyes glistened hungrily! ¡°Mrs. Shen, can you tell us how Best Actor Shen is doing?¡± ¡°Mrs. Shen, that case about the building that copsed eight years ago, did your family really have something to do with it?¡± ¡°Mrs. Shen, you¡¯re living quite afortable life. Is that because your parents put some money away years ago?¡± ¡°Mrs. Shen, does Best Actor Shen know your identity? Are you hiding it from him? Or is he your aplice?¡± ¡°May we ask if Best Actor Shen is so wealthy because of the money that your family ran away with years ago?¡± The harsh questions rained down on her. She was at aplete loss now. She frowned and could only say, ¡°Whatever happened to my family had nothing to do with Shen Liangchuan!¡± ¡°So who was involved then? Does Best Actor Shen know your identity? Does he know about your parents¡¯ insane and cruel deeds?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes started to burn and she pleaded, ¡°My parents have died. Please do not speak unkindly.¡± ¡°They have died, but what about their victims? Mrs. Shen, have you considered them? In all these years, haven¡¯t you gone back? Haven¡¯t you thought ofpensating them?¡± She choked, ¡°I did not...¡± ¡°So why didn¡¯t you go back to provide them an exnation?¡± Qiao Lian bit her lip. ¡°I did not have money...¡± ¡°No money? Now you and Best Actor Shen are a couple. How could you not have money? Do you think we¡¯ll believe it? Or is it because Best Actor Shen will not give you the money? Or is it because Best Actor Shen doesn¡¯t have money either?¡± The reporters¡¯ questions were getting harsher and Qiao Lian could barely handle it. Clenching her fists, she looked at the crowd in front of her and said, ¡°We¡¯re talking about my family matters. Why do you have to bring Shen Liangchuan into it?¡± ¡°Mrs. Shen, so are you angry because you are ashamed?¡± Qiao Lian waspletely speechless now. Before she could continue, she heard a voice say, ¡°This is a hospital and it needs to be kept quiet. Why are these reporters allowed in here?¡± Everyone turned to look in the direction of the voice and saw it was Shen Zihao. He was striding towards them, apanied by a few security officers. Chapter 695 - The Scammers’ Daughter! (4)

Chapter 695: The Scammers¡¯ Daughter! (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The security officers dispersed the crowd of reporters. Shen Zihao frowned and nced at Qiao Lian. Then he gave a cold humph and headed into the VIP ward. He had brought breakfast. Qiao Lian hung her head when she saw that. Following him, she asked, ¡°Why are you here?¡± He sneered, ¡°All you celebrities, you¡¯re a trending topic even if you do so much as sneeze. It¡¯s tough not to know.¡± Although his words were hard to stomach, there was genuine concern in his tone. Ignoring his negative tone, she said, ¡°Thank you.¡± He halted and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t thank me. You should thank that silly girl Xia Nuannuan. When she saw the news, she called me and insisted that I shoulde. She said you guys may not be able to get breakfast. That¡¯s just creating unnecessary worries. Fortunately, I¡¯m here, otherwise you really would have no breakfast!¡± Of course, he wouldn¡¯t have turned up if he really hadn¡¯t wanted to. Qiao Lian took a deep breath. She continued to follow Shen Zihao. He halted suddenly after a couple of steps and said, ¡°Hey, you normally go on and on talking non-stop, why are you so down today? I¡¯m really not used to it.¡± She gave a bitterugh and replied, ¡°If this happened to your family, would you be happy?¡± ¡°But still, why this mournful look?! No matter how big of a disaster it was, your parents have died, what else do they want? Ultimately, all they want is money, isn¡¯t it? Just give them some money and the problem will be resolved.¡± Qiao Lian cast her gaze downwards at his words. She knew that she and Shen Liangchuan were husband and wife, of course. Reasonably, there was nothing wrong with her using Shen Liangchuan¡¯s money. But still... It wasn¡¯t a matter of reaching an agreement with one or two people. There was a crowd of them... If they wanted apensation, it would end up being a very hefty sum. There was no way she had that sort of money to cough up. And if Shen Liangchuan were to finance this, it would probably amount to half of the Shen family¡¯s assets. How could she possibly even ask for such help? She bit her lip and kept silent as she entered the VIP ward with Shen Zihao. Shen Liangchuan was still unconscious. Xia Yehua had fallen asleep on the sofa from exhaustion. Qiao Lian had no appetite for breakfast as well. She took out her cell phone and followed the development of the news. The number 1 trending topic was #Mrs.ShenAndTheSeventeenLives. Weibo, as if part of a conspiracy, imed that at the time, the property market had been undergoing a recession and if the Qiao family had built that building, they would have made a loss. Hence, the Qiao family had chosen to put all their stakes in that one throw. They had used discounted steel bars in ce of normal steel bars and added more stories to the building, but the staircase could not take the strain. Finally it copsed, killing 17 people and injuring 45 others. Eventually, the Qiao family dered bankruptcy and the Qiao couplemitted suicide, but before that they diverted all their money. It also imed that the diverted money had been transferred to Qiao Lian and her brother, who had been living the good life in Beijing all these years. It went as far as to say that Qiao Lian, Mrs. Shen, was Best Actor Shen¡¯s sugar mummy. That was why Best Actor Shen was so wealthy! In the beginning, after Best Actor Shen got married, they decided to keep the marriage a secret because they didn¡¯t wish to expose Mrs. Shen¡¯s true identity. In the end, they had to call for a press conference because they were cornered and had no choice. They must have thought themselves so lucky when they held the press conference, but unexpectedly someone recognized them. Finally, the article expressed: [I wonder how they can sleep at night.] Chapter 696 - The Scammers’ Daughter! (5)

Chapter 696: The Scammers¡¯ Daughter! (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios [After all, the money they used to enjoy life was someone else¡¯s hard-earned life savings. A couple like this... To think that not long ago they were disying their mutual affections in public and announcing their rtionship. I feel disgusted!] As soon as the article was published, it immediately made the rounds, spreading like a wildfire. The couple was berated by a huge group ofizens, whomented that they were truly the shameless descendants of hical businessmen and scammers. Qiao Lian¡¯s chest heaved with anger when she read thesements. She bit her lip and clenched her fists. She would have epted it if it had just been her getting the criticism, but what right did they have to say these things about Shen Liangchuan? What wrong had Shen Liangchuanmitted? She bit her lip harshly. She had not expected things to end up in such a situation. She looked at Shen Liangchuan again. He was still lying in bed. When he saw the brick hurtling towards her, he had taken the hit for her without a second thought. And after being hit, he had only said one thing¡ªthat he was there for her and things would be ok. He had given her all the protection he could, but what about her? The recement of the lead actor for Ambition... How busy he had been these days, to the point that she hardly saw him... And even today, being verbally abused by the public because of her... The only thing that she had brought him was negativity. For the first time, she feltpletely useless, like a piece of trash. Biting her lip, she stared at the man lying on the bed. After a moment, she suddenly stood up and walked out of the room. When Shen Zihao saw her getting up and the determined expression on her face, he was stunned for a moment. He quickly got up and followed her, as he asked, ¡°What are you doing?¡± She cast her gaze downwards and answered, ¡°Just doing what I need to do.¡± He frowned, ¡°What is it that you need to do? Don¡¯t you know that it¡¯s crawling with reporters outside the hospital building? Besides, those people demanding forpensation have surrounded and blocked up this ce. If you go out just like this, you¡¯ll be walking right into the tiger¡¯sir!¡± Qiao Lian immediately spun around and looked at Shen Zihao. ¡°And then what? Do I just keep avoiding this matter?¡± Shen Zihao almost choked. Ignoring him, she strode towards the entrance of the building. Panicking, Shen Zihao cried, ¡°My god!¡± He hurried back into the VIP ward. ¡°Shen Liangchuan, you have to wake up, quick! Your wife has gone nuts!¡± ¨C Qiao Lian stood at the entrance of the hospital. The reporters and the group of people seekingpensation had already spotted her. They turned towards her simultaneously. They looked as though they would surround her the minute she stepped out of the hospital. Qiao Lian took a deep breath. At this point, her cell phone rang. Lowering her gaze, her eyes narrowed at once when she saw the number. After a short pause, she picked up the call. From the other end, Lu Nanze¡¯s voice came through, ¡°Divorce him ande back to me. I will resolve all these matters for you.¡± That remark sounded like the greatest joke in the world to her right now. ¡°Lu Nanze, is this all your doing?¡± He did not reply. Staring straight ahead, she said, ¡°So you think that without you, I have no way of resolving this matter?¡± Lu Nanze suddenly panicked. ¡°What are you thinking of doing?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll find out soon.¡± Without another word, she hung up the phone and, without hesitating, walked out of the hospital. In that instance, the crowd swarmed around her. ¡°Mrs. Shen, are youing out here to give us an exnation?¡± ¡°Ms. Qiao, are you here topensate us?¡± ¡°Give me back my son!¡± Standing there, as she took all the verbal abuse and questioning, Qiao Lian suddenlyughed aloud. Chapter 697 - The Scammers’ Daughter! (6)

Chapter 697: The Scammers¡¯ Daughter! (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Her smile was such a sorrowful one. She looked at the people who surrounded her and walked up to the one who had been demanding the return of her son. She suddenly extended her hand and held out a fruit knife to the woman, saying, ¡°You want me to return your son¡¯s life? Sure, here¡¯s your chance now. Kill me and avenge your son!¡± She looked determined as she said these words. The woman, who had made the most noise, was immediately stunned. She lowered her gaze and stared at the knife in Qiao Lian¡¯s hand. She bit her lip. Qiao Lian reached for her hand, ced the fruit knife in it and, thrusting it at her own chest, she said, ¡°Kill me. In the presence of these people, I¡¯m announcing that if you kill me, you won¡¯t be made responsible legally. Is that alright?¡± Her stern words and actions frightened the woman, who then took a step back with a cry, ¡°Ahhh!¡± The fruit knife fell on the ground with a dull ck. The woman fell silent. Everyone that was present fell silent. They looked at Qiao Lian with disbelief in their eyes, shocked by her behaviour. The fact was that these people were there only because they felt they deserved the truth, and they were easily swayed by public opinion. However, their intentions weren¡¯t evil. One of the reporters stepped forward and pointed his finger at Qiao Lian, saying, ¡°You¡¯re crazy!¡± She looked at the crowd with a despondent smile and replied, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m crazy. Because you people have driven me to insanity!¡± ¡°And now, will you listen to what I have to say?¡± After she said this, she looked at the crowd and then each of the faces one by one. There were close to a hundred people in the crowd, but no one dared to utter a word now. Everyone looked at her in silence. It wasn¡¯t that she meant tomit suicide, of course. But this crowd had been carried away by their emotions and their anger had been amplified. If she had started out by saying that she wanted to speak, they would have never given her a chance. Hence, she had to use a shocking action to silence them. At that moment, no one was speaking. She took a deep breath and began, ¡°Eight years ago, when the building copsed, I wasn¡¯t even 18, and my brother Qiao Yi, 15.¡± ¡°I do not know what the so-called scammers¡¯ are like in your imagination, but I knew them as my parents. I saw them having sleepless nights, racking their brains to deal with the bank¡¯s constant chasing andpensate the buyers. My father said that no matter what, you lost your rtives and homes because of the Qiao family¡¯s negligence. Hence, you would bepensated no matter what.¡± ¡°The bank got back their loan, the Qiao family business went broke, and all of the assets under our name. Our properties, jewellery and everything valuable were impounded. But my father said that, even if he had to sell thest scrap, or work his hands to the bones, he¡¯d do what he could topensate the people, because you are innocent victims.¡± The people were on the verge of tears when they heard this. The reporter asked, ¡°What happened in the end?¡± Qiao Lianughed bitterly and continued, ¡°In the end? In the end my parents perished in a great fire! My brother Qiao Yi became a cripple. He was only 15! But he was bedridden, because I had no money to have him treated by a doctor!¡± She took a step forward and still looking into their eyes, she continued, ¡°I was in my third year of senior high school, and he in his third year in junior high school. But we had to stop our studies. Without any source of ie, we had to find ways to survive.¡± Pointing at herself, she said, ¡°At 18, I was washing dishes in a hotel.¡± Chapter 698 - The Scammers’ Daughter! (7)

Chapter 698: The Scammers¡¯ Daughter! (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I had to wash dishes eight to nine hours a day, and a day¡¯s work meant washing over two thousand dishes, rain or shine. And the pay for a dish-washing worker was just 80 a day.¡± ¡°Since we lived in Suzhou, people always said, ¡®look... those are the scammers¡¯ children!¡¯ We didn¡¯t want to face these things anymore and wanted to leave home, to start afresh. But the train tickets from Suzhou to Beijing were a thousand dors and we couldn¡¯t afford it! So I took all the money the family had left and headed for Nanjing first. When we didn¡¯t have money for aodation, we¡¯d sleep under a bridge. When we didn¡¯t have food, we¡¯d look for a temporary job. Because I was underage, the only ces that would hire me were the small shops.¡± ¡°One time, the boss of a shop told me that if I could wash all the piled up dishes, he¡¯d pay me 500.¡± ¡°For the 500 promised, I worked without a break for two days and finished all the work.¡± ¡°But in the end, the boss went back on his word and didn¡¯t pay me.¡± ¡°But what could I do as an 18 year-old girl? I could only grit my teeth and looked for an hour¡¯s work elsewhere, because my brother had been starving for two days!¡± ¡°You said I took your money and have been living the life. Now I¡¯m telling you, it¡¯s not true at all!¡± ¡°I have no money! And because I have no money, the treatment for my brother¡¯s legs was dyed and it was only recently that he could finally stand up.¡± ¡°And I, right up till now, have only a four-figure sum in my bank ount!¡± ¡°I know that you have suffered, but what about my brother and I? Aren¡¯t we innocent too?¡± ¡°Everyone ims that my parentsmitted suicide. But if they had really been hical businessmen, why didn¡¯t they leave the country after moving their funds out? Why did they rather stupidly waited for their deaths in this country?¡± ¡°Even if they had moved their assets away, why didn¡¯t I have any money at a critical moment when my brother needed to undergo an operation?¡± ¡°They were dead! What was the use of having money?!¡± ¡°If my brother and I had money, would we be living this way today?¡± ¡°Any of the things I told you can be verified. I¡¯m not afraid of being checked. You can even check my bank ount!¡± ¡°As for Shen Liangchuan, all of this has got nothing to do with him!¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s words were powerful and resonating. The crowd kept quiet after hearing what she said, no one dared to speak. Her eyes reddened. Qiao Lian, as the proud pampered little mistress of the Qiao Family, had never been willing to tell anyone these sad reminders of her past. She was unwilling to be theughing stock of the people around her. The ugly past that she had tried so hard to hide felt like an exposed wound as she told her story. But even then, there were some who wouldn¡¯t believe it. A reporter stepped forward and said, ¡°We know that it hasn¡¯t been easy for you. But now that you¡¯re in a much better position, how could you bear to watch these people still suffering from that past?¡± ¡°No matter what the truth of the matter is, we focus on the present, and in the present, you¡¯re living in a vi and driving a luxury car. You may even pay thousands for a simple meal. But the victims from that incident... apart from you, who would be able to make it right for them?¡± Everyone nodded at those words. As Qiao Lian looked at them, she heaved a sigh of relief. At the very least, they were no longer being carried away by emotions and had regained their rationality. She looked at them steadily and said emphatically, ¡°Don¡¯t worry! I will return that money! I, Qiao Lian promise here and now that from now on, I will do my best to return you what I owe with every cent that I earn.¡± Chapter 699 - The Scammers’ Daughter! (8)

Chapter 699: The Scammers¡¯ Daughter! (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios It was hard not to believe in her powerful and resonating words. Everyone looked at her simultaneously. In that moment, they seemed to suddenly understand her. Shen Liangchuan was wealthy, but that was his money. Qiao Lian didn¡¯t want to get others embroiled, neither was she trying to evade her responsibility. She even suggested an effective solution, ¡°I will open a bank ount meant topensate you all. Every month, I will deposit money into this ount. You can also choose to appoint an overseer. Would that be okay?¡± At some point, this matter had to be resolved. She had been running away for eight years. Now that she had a means of survival, she really had to stop running away. This idea was effective and simple. Everyone in the crowd looked at each other. She wasn¡¯t even afraid of death and, if they didn¡¯t settle with the promised money, what else could they want? No one spoke up to object. Even the reporters had fallen silent. Through the reporters¡¯ video cameras, this moment was livestreamed to the rest of the world. From a long distance away, in Suzhou, Lu Nanze watched this with widened eyes, obviously shaken by her words. He had not known that Qiao Lian had actually suffered this much. Immediately, an image of her frail figure appeared in his mind. A pampered little mistress... crouching in a corner of a hotel washing dishes. He clenched his fists tightly, the expression in his eyes deepened. Just at this point, Qiao Yiyi came into the room carrying a cup of freshly-brewed coffee. She ced the cup on the table. She raised her head, saying, ¡°Second Brother, you¡ª¡± Before she could finish, Lu Nanze suddenly threw a fit. He extended his arm and swept the cup of coffee away. Then he sprang up from his chair, suddenly reached out and grabbed Qiao Yiyi by the neck. Eyes burning with fury, he asked her, ¡°Tell me, were you the one who informed all these people that Qiao Lian was in Beijing?¡± The grip around her neck was tight and the woman started to choke and turn pale. Using both her hands to try to loosen Lu Nanze¡¯s grip, she barely managed to whisper hoarsely, ¡°Second Brother, let me go. I- I just couldn¡¯t bare to see it... What right did she have to treat you like that?¡± ¡°This is my business. What has it got to do with you?!¡± As he said this, he gave Qiao Yiyi a hard shove. She staggered back a few steps and fell on the ground. He stood over her and looked at her, saying, ¡°Qiao Yiyi, I hope this is thest time you do something like this. Otherwise, I cannot guarantee that the next time I won¡¯t strangle you to death.¡± The woman¡¯s eyes immediately clouded over with a fearful look of uncertainty. ¨C Beijing, outside the hospital. After Qiao Lian had said what she wanted to say, she stood there. All the people around were quiet. She nodded and continued, ¡°Since there are no objections, then¡ª¡± ¡°I object,¡± a weak voice spoke and, at once, Qiao Lian froze. She spun around and saw that Shen Liangchuan, with a bandage around his head, was walking towards her unsteadily. His face was pale. She bit her lip immediately. That¡¯s right. Her future paychecks actually all belonged to Shen Liangchuan too. Assets acquired after marriage were joint assets. Without his agreement, she couldn¡¯t do as she personally wished. As these thoughts entered her mind, Shen Liangchuan said unhurriedly, ¡°For the 17 workers who died in that incident, I¡¯ve already contacted the social securitypany. Compensation will be paid out in a single payment, the sum will be apportioned ordingly. As for those who bought properties, I¡¯ve already sent people to take care of the copsed building. In two years, you will get your apartments.¡± After these words, he squinted slightly. Running away would never solve the problem, he had to start counter-attacking. To Suzhou! This was also in order to investigate the truth behind her parents¡¯ deaths. Chapter 700 - The Scammers’ Daughter! (9)

Chapter 700: The Scammers¡¯ Daughter! (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios It was obvious that someone had instigated the situation. Without having to think twice, the person behind this mess was most definitely Lu Nanze. Qiao Lian had only just announced her identity as Mrs. Shen. The next thing they knew, this group of people came charging up. It was too much of a coincidence. Besides, being able to garner such a big group of people... At the thought of this, Shen Liangchuan lowered his gaze and broke into an icy smile. Since Lu Nanze hadn¡¯te looking for him, he would go look for Lu Nanze. At this moment, all the more, he couldn¡¯t be passive. Qiao Lian, who was standing next to him, was nowpletely stunned. She stared at Shen Liangchuan with a look of disbelief. He had given 50 million without thinking twicest time, which had caused hispany ack of funds. T Yet this time, constructing a building surely wasn¡¯t a matter of just 50 million. Thepensation for the 17 people alone would sum up to tens of millions. To start constructing a building... She couldn¡¯t imagine the sum. Qiao Lian¡¯s mouth fell open and she was about to speak when Shen Liangchuan turned to look at her. ¡°I¡¯ve said it before, we¡¯re husband and wife. I will shoulder your past together with you.¡± To shoulder together the responsibilities that they had to take up. To shoulder together the debts that her parents had left behind. Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes were instantly wet with tears. Even though right now Shen Liangchuan was looking pale, in her eyes he had be the biggest person in her life. It was as though with his hand now, he was holding up her world, which had once crumbled apart. The crowd that had gathered outside the hospital was appeased and, in addition, the whole process had been livestreamed. Suddenly, all theizens who had been smearing Shen Liangchuan disappeared. He had, instead,e out and shouldered it all. Immediately, his fans jumped to his defence. Some people postedments: [In the past, I¡¯d always felt that there were few responsible people in the entertainment industry, now I think differently.] [In the past, I didn¡¯t have a great impression of Best Actor Shen. But after this incident, I¡¯ve decided to be his fan.] [Best Actor Shen and Mrs. Shen share such a great rtionship. I didn¡¯t expect that Best Actor Shen would step in! My idol is indeed my idol.] All sorts of praises were posted. Overnight, Shen Liangchuan had gotten himself a few million new fans. Because of how the whole matter had exploded, this too very rapidly became a hot topic. The news that Shen Liangchuan would take care of the copsed building caught the attention of people across various industries. ¨C At the Shen Family Business Office Shen Xiu hadn¡¯t started yet his working day when he saw the news on the Inte. Straightaway, heughed derisively and said, ¡°What a fool!¡± However, almost immediately after he had mouthed these words, the phone rang. After looking at the caller id on the phone screen, he immediately looked solemn. Picking up the line, he said respectfully, ¡°Dad.¡± ¡°You,e to the family at once.¡± Shen Xiu replied, ¡°Yes.¡± After hanging up, Shen Xiu was a little puzzled. Currently, the head of the Shen family was actually not Shen Xiu. Instead, it was Old Master Shen, who was Shen Xiu¡¯s father. Although he had left the minding of the family business to Shen Xiu for now because Shen Xiu was his only son, it didn¡¯t mean that the business would end up being his. But... Only Shen Xiu knew that his own position as CEO of thepany was an empty title. The shares of thepany had not been transferred to him yet. Upon arrival at the family home. Shen Xiu was full of respect as he looked towards the old man sitting on the sofa in the living room. He was in histe 70s, almost 80, but he was a picture of good health and vitality. Chapter 701 - Do You Hate Me This Much? (1)

Chapter 701: Do You Hate Me This Much? (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He looked at Shen Xiu with a pair of bright and expressive eyes, dancing like torches. ¡°You must have heard about Liangchuan.¡± Shen Xiu nodded immediately. The old man continued, ¡°What are your thoughts regarding this matter?¡± Shen Xiu snorted icily at once and sneered, ¡°That dishonorable son, he must be mad! He¡¯s invested all his years of savings in a jerry-built building project, all for the sake of a woman! He¡ª¡± The old man interrupted him before he could finish his tirade, ¡°What I¡¯m asking is what you think of this jerry-built building project?¡± Shen Xiu fell silent for a moment. Immediately, he knew that the old man was testing him. He was gleeful at once. When the old man¡¯s call came out of the blue, he knew that it had to have something to do with Shen Liangchuan. Hence, he had done his homework. He began, ¡°This building project will be a big loss for sure. Let¡¯s not talk about the other factors and focus on the building project itself. Although it¡¯s in a good location, it¡¯s been abandoned for eight years. No one took care of it. This alone shows that it¡¯s definitely not going to make money.¡± ¡°Besides, at the time, the building structure had already been erected. There were huge issues with the building materials that they used. As the big development n it is, it would be very costly to tear it down, and all the steel bars are trash that has to be disposed of. Secondly, I inquired in the past about the possibility of building on thatnd. Eight years ago, when the property market wasn¡¯t as hot, it was a small district and the Qiao family sold about a hundred units. Now property prices have flipped. Actually, even if Shen Liangchuan were to build 300 units¡ªand let¡¯s not think about whether it will sell out¡ªbased on costs alone, it¡¯s an overall loss! In addition, about a hundred families bought a part of it eight years ago so, really, he¡¯s building those apartments for free. How is this ever going to make money?!¡± Finally, Shen Xiu chortled as he continued, ¡°Unless within half a year property prices suddenly rise, this project will almost certainly bleed to death. With that bit of money he has, he¡¯s going to lose everything!¡± After saying all that in high spirits, Shen Xiu now looked at the old man and waited for a word of praise or approval. However, unexpectedly, the old man merely nodded after hearing all this. Then he told his son, ¡°Okay, you should go to work now.¡± Shen Xiu waspletely stumped by his father¡¯s cold response. But after the man left, the old man sighed. His long-serving butler asked, ¡°Sir, what¡¯s the matter? I thought that Mr. Shen gave a very reasonable assessment.¡± The old man shook his head slowly from side to side and muttered, ¡°This Shen Xiu, his mindset is limited. If I handed the Shen family over to him, the best he could do would be to maintain it. There would never be any improvements. Sigh, I didn¡¯t expect that a mature and grown man like him wouldn¡¯t even match up to the younger one...¡± The butler paused when he heard this and asked, ¡°Sir, what do you mean?¡± The old man lowered his gaze and said, ¡°Let¡¯s just wait and see. If I¡¯m not wrong... huh.¡± ¨C Shen Liangchuan had no idea that he had been the topic of a discussion between his grandfather and Shen Xiu. His injury wasn¡¯t serious, so he regained consciousness on the same day. After a physical examination, showing that he was fine, he was discharged from the hospital and went back home. Feeling much better two dayster, he booked flight tickets to Suzhou to settle the building matter. This time, Qiao Lian apanied him, of course. On the ne. Qiao Lian stared straight ahead for some time but, not able to contain herself any longer, she turned suddenly to Shen Liangchuan and asked, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, will you regret this someday?¡± Chapter 702 - Do You Hate Me This Much? (2)

Chapter 702: Do You Hate Me This Much? (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At that moment, they fought for their youth. He was willing to give up all his wealth for love. But one day, if he should find himself left with nothing, would he regret all the things he was doing today? Taking over that jerry-built building project was going to be a loss, no matter how one looked at it. But he had gone ahead without so much as batting an eye. Qiao Lian knew it was all for her. She had said nothing about this in the past two days. But she had been thinking about it a lot. She was no saint. She couldn¡¯t bring herself to leave him for his own good, so that he wouldn¡¯t have to bear all this burden. The only thing she could do was to be by his side and support him. But today, seeing that the ne was about tond and that he was about to embark on this journey in Suzhou, she could no longer hold back and finally asked the question that had been ying in her mind. Was he going to regret it? As though reading her mind and emotions, he turned to her with his gaze lowered and said after a moment¡¯s pause, ¡°I had nothing eight years ago. At worst, I will return to where I was. What is there to regret? Besides, we may not make a loss.¡± Qiao Lian was taken aback by his reply. Shen Liangchuan turned and, looking straight ahead, he said, ¡°Xiao Qiao, I can¡¯t say too much now, but I can tell you this time I¡¯m gambling. If we win, then it¡¯s all good. But if we lose, like you said, we will be left with nothing.¡± Having said this, he held her hand tightly. ¡°But at worst, we lose everything and struggle together.¡± Her eyes burned upon hearing this, but she nodded. And as though making a promise, she said, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, don¡¯t worry. Even if we lose, we can start all over again.¡± He smiled and nodded. His eyes, however, betrayed his rxed attitude. That¡¯s right, this was a gamble. And his chances of winning were only fifty percent. All would be well if he won. But if he lost, things wouldn¡¯t be as simple as just losing Qiao Lian. He would lose his wealth and power and, without these, there was no way he could stand against Lu Nanze. And at that point, Qiao Lian would be taken away from him. At the thought of this, his expression clouded over. He couldn¡¯t lose. ¨C The ne drew an arc in the sky andnded in Suzhou airport. Coming back to Suzhou, Qiao Lian felt as though it had been a lifetime ago. Last time, they had been a pitiful sight, as they had had to quickly escape from Hengdian. But now, shortly after, they were returning and not afraid to do so in broad daylight. That¡¯s right, it was above board now. Last time, Mrs. Shen had not announced her identity and Lu Nanze could take her captive by force. But this time, wherever they went, there would likely be reporters trailing them. This, in a way, was a form of protection. Besides... Qiao Lian turned back to look at the few bodyguards in ck suits walking behind Shen Liangchuan and grimaced. One look at these few men and it was obvious that they were dmissioned soldiers from the special forces. Taking into ount that Shen Liangchuan had hired such aggressive bodyguards, it wasn¡¯t hard to guess whom he was guarding them against. Grimacing again, she smiled helplessly. Together with the rest of the group, they walked out of the airport. Just as they exited, they saw Song Cheng waiting outside to receive them. Then a few people walked up to them, saying, ¡°Brother Shen, you¡¯re finally here!¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded at them and asked, ¡°How are thingsing along?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve sealed the deal with the people on the construction site. We won¡¯t be using locals. We¡¯ll import foreign workers. Everything else is ready.¡± Chapter 703 - Do You Hate Me This Much? (3)

Chapter 703: Do You Hate Me This Much? (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian was surprised to hear this. After she got in the car, she looked at Shen Liangchuan and asked, ¡°So you sent Song Cheng over here much earlier?¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded and replied, ¡°Yes, this is the investment project that kept me busytely.¡± Property management was not a simple business. In fact, it was aplicated industry. Buyingnd from the authorities, construction and all the sorts of liaison needed¡ªthere was a lot of work involved. Hence, this was not work that could have been done in a few days. Qiao Lian widened her eyes in disbelief. While Shen Liangchuan, staring straight ahead now, looked as though this was a matter of course. Back then, when she had mentioned her parents¡¯ death and the defective and problematic project, he had understood immediately. The reason why Qiao Lian was so bent on bing a reporter was so that she could clear her parents¡¯ names. Hence sooner orter, she would return to Suzhou. He took it upon himself to move a few steps ahead and prepared for that time. He would have told Qiao Lian these things at some point, but he hadn¡¯t expected that Lu Nanze would stir trouble of this nature. Thus, Quan Lian had to find out earlier than intended. He cast his gaze down as these thoughts came to him. Whatever Xiao Qiao needed, he would do for her. Because his Xiao Qiao had suffered too much in those eight years. ¨C Once they arrived at their hotel, Shen Liangchuan hit the ground running. Together with Song Cheng, they did the required qualification checks. After a week or so of continuous work, they covered most of what needed to be done. However, things went suspiciously smoothly. Qiao Lian felt that this wasn¡¯t like Lu Nanze¡¯s style at all. Even though the building project that Shen Liangchuan had taken over would certainly be a loss, knowing the sort of person Lu Nanze was, he still wouldn¡¯t make it easy for them. She was therefore surprised that he had not thrown a spanner in the works so far. She even expressed her concern to Shen Liangchuan, ¡°I just feel that something¡¯s not quite right. Unless that guy has turned over a new leaf?¡± At that moment, there was a knocking on the door. It was Song Cheng. The door swung open and Song Cheng walked in. He frowned at once when he saw the both of them. ¡°Brother Shen, I¡¯m not sure what happened, but our paperwork is stuck at the administration bureau. Someone¡¯s holding it up. They say that our qualification checks cannot be cleared!¡± He frowned and continued, ¡°We¡¯vepleted the rest of the paperwork, this is the only one with problems. Besides, we were already prepared and there are definitely no issues! I asked them to rify which audit we did wrong, but they¡¯re evasive and haven¡¯t given an exnation. Even when I said I wanted to see their leader, they rejected it saying that he¡¯s not in his office. I think it¡¯s not that simple. I¡¯m sure someone¡¯s behind this!¡± When Qiao Lian heard this, she couldn¡¯t help but look at Shen Liangchuan and say, ¡°Here ites!¡± Her fear was confirmed, the suspension was finally over. Lu Nanze had indeed been waiting around the corner. But thepany¡¯s qualification checks? What were they going to do about it? At this point, Shen Liangchuan said calmly, ¡°I understand.¡± With an air of expectation, he stood up and said, ¡°I¡¯lle with you.¡± He looked as though he knew this was going to happen and had long been prepared for it. ¨C Shen Liangchuan and Song Cheng arrived at their destination very shortly. Song Cheng repeated his request to thepany worker, ¡°I¡¯d like to see your boss.¡± The person nced at Song Cheng and shifted her gaze to Shen Liangchuan. Then she was stunned into a stupor. But when she remembered his boss¡¯ instructions, she said immediately with a smile, ¡°That... erm... our section manager has gone on a business trip, I¡¯m so sorry, Best Actor Shen. Shen Liangchuan nodded when he heard the reply and continued, ¡°Since I can¡¯t get him toe out, then I can only ask someone else¡¯s help to get him to see us.¡± Chapter 704 - Do You Hate Me This Much? (4)

Chapter 704: Do You Hate Me This Much? (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The moment Shen Liangchuan said this, the staff was taken aback and paused. She frowned as she looked at him. He sat there unruffled and unaffected. Calmly, he said, ¡°I¡¯m taking over and starting this development project for the sake of resolving the affairs that the Qiao family business left behind. I believe many people around the country are keeping an eye on this matter. Everything that I¡¯m doing is legal and aboveboard. May I ask the reasons for holding up my qualification checks? If the section manager is not around, then I will have to ask for the help of my reporter friends to track him down.¡± Indeed, right now many people were paying attention to the fact that he was restarting the development project of this building. The jerry-built building project was extremely well-located. However, for so many years, no one had taken it over. Now that someone was finally moving things on, not only the reporters, but even the Suzhou government was paying attention. Having heard his words, the staff worker immediately understood the implications. She immediately stood up and said, ¡°Let me give my boss a call, I¡¯ll ask him where he is.¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded. Before he arrived, he knew that he would be on Lu Nanze¡¯s territory and everything would be much tougher. Hence, he hade prepared. At that moment, he didn¡¯t believe that this section manager would be willing to ruin his official career path for Lu Nanze¡¯s sake. What he didn¡¯t expect, though, was that right at that moment, someone had beaten him to the section manager¡¯s office. Sun Linan was wearing a charcoal suit, standing in front of the section manager. After the eSports club incident previously, he had grown up and matured. He said to the section head, ¡°Uncle, you promised me once that you¡¯d help me. You have to keep to your word.¡± Section Manager Sun was Sun Linan¡¯s uncle. Upon hearing this, he looked troubled and said, ¡°Linan, it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t wish to help you. This is Young Master Lu¡¯s order.¡± Sun Linan cast his gaze down and said, ¡°Uncle, please help me with this matter. I will bear the responsibilities for the consequences. If Second Brother loses his temper, then let hime look for me.¡± Section Head Sun paused and said, ¡°But¡ª¡± ¡°Uncle, let¡¯s just do this.¡± Sun Linan was now the head of the Sun family. Therefore, what he said did matter to Section Manager Sun. Besides, this matter was between the youngsters and, as a section manager, he really didn¡¯t wish to get involved. He sighed and said, ¡°Then I hope you know what you¡¯re doing. We are in Suzhou and if we offend Young Master Lu, who knows what will happen to the Sun family. Even though you grew up together with him, you should know what he¡¯s like.¡± Sun Linan nodded and said, ¡°Yes, I know.¡± But eight years ago, he had done nothing to help. Now that she was in trouble eight yearster, how could he watch this happen and do nothing to help? Section Manager Sun sighed and nodded, ¡°Ok, fine. I¡¯ll pass their application now.¡± As soon as Section Manager Sun said this, the phone rang. Hearing from the staff worker that Best Actor Shen and Song Cheng were there again, he didn¡¯t wait for the staff worker to speak further and interrupted her, ¡°Fine, ss their application.¡± Due to this freak coincidence, Shen Liangchuan thought that his threat had worked. Returning to the hotel with the qualification checks¡¯ documents, he saw that the main entrance of the hotel was surrounded by a crowd. He frowned at once. The crowd was the same that had been in Beijing demandingpensation. They had even brought a group of reporters. His heart sank. What was it now? What about Xiao Qiao? Quickening his steps, he strode up to them. Chapter 705 - Do You Hate Me This Much? (5)

Chapter 705: Do You Hate Me This Much? (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As Shen Liangchuan approached them, he saw the man who had previously demandedpensation. He was tugging at Qiao Lian¡¯s sleeve and saying something. His expression turned cold and sharp at once. Shen Liangchuan hurried over and strode into the crowd. Raising his voice, he asked icily, ¡°What are you doing here?!¡± Upon hearing his voice, everyone turned in his direction simultaneously. The moment Qiao Lian saw him, her eyes lit up and sounded relieved as she said, ¡°You¡¯re finally back!¡± It didn¡¯t look like the man was making things difficult for her, but rather she looked helpless. Shen Liangchuan paused. The man was in his fifties or sixties and he was tugging at Qiao Lian¡¯s sleeve. When he saw Shen Liangchuan, his face lit up and he dashed towards the young man, saying, ¡°Best Actor Shen, I finally see you in person!¡± His line of sight fell on Shen Liangchuan¡¯s head. It was still bandaged, as the wound had not fully healed. There was a look of guilt in the old man¡¯s eyes. He bowed his head and, suddenly, gave himself a sound p. ¡°Best Actor Shen, you should beat me up. It¡¯s all my fault. I was the one who hurled the brick.¡± Shen Liangchuan kept silent. The old man¡¯s eyes reddened at once. ¡°I- I really thought you were scammers and didn¡¯t care about us anymore. I was angry then, that¡¯s why¡ª¡± He looked down and choked before he could finish speaking. Someone from the crowd stepped forward to exin on his behalf, ¡°Sigh, this man is quite pitiful. Eight years ago, he and his wife sold off their old home and borrowed arge sum of money to pay up for a unit in that building. When the building did not happen, his family had to rent a small space to live in. His son¡¯s wife ran away, and his own wife fell ill from the stress and anger. She died two yearster. The rtives who lent them the money started toe after him for the return of the loan, as they were worried that he too would soon follow his wife and they¡¯d never get their money back. He and his son now work as manualborers in a worksite.¡± Qiao Lian bit her lip as she listened to his story. The fact was that a child had nothing to do with the debts of his or her parents. But looking at these people now, she understood that all their lives must have been about this home, a home that had gone wrong. And they must have felt like they couldn¡¯t see the light at the end of the tunnel. It was pitiful to be living like this. She was no saint, but she did feel that the situation back then had gone out of control and people had lost their lives, and no one had given them an exnation. Those who bought the property had lost everything. These people were not evil. They were victims like her. The people who had pushed her parents to their deaths were not these people, but someone behind the scenes. Qiao Lian cast her gaze down. Shen Liangchuan nced at her before turning to the person who spoke and saying, ¡°It¡¯s okay, I can understand you. But please be reasonable and logical in dealing with matters, don¡¯t be misled by others.¡± Choked with tears, he nodded at once. Then everyone looked at Best Actor Shen and started to put in good words. ¡°Best Actor Shen, you¡¯re our saviour!¡± ¡°Best Actor Shen, from now on I¡¯m your loyal die-hard fan!¡± ¡°Best Actor Shen, you saved all of us!¡± Shen Liangchuan did not know whether tough or cry at all the praises they were showering him with. When they finally managed to get the people to leave, Qiao Lian looked at all the gifts of local products they had left behind and felt quite emotional. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Shen Liangchuan asked her as he slipped his arm around her waist. Chapter 706 - Do You Hate Me This Much? (6)

Chapter 706: Do You Hate Me This Much? (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian raised her head and looked at him. She said after a pause, ¡°Thank you.¡± Shen Liangchuan kept silent. He knew that she, having personally heard about these people¡¯s lives, would now feel uneasy and guilt-stricken. Her words of gratitude were meant for what he had done to help, but said on behalf of this group of people. Putting his arm around her shoulders, he replied unhurriedly, ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal.¡± He looked out into the distance and said, ¡°It¡¯s not a very busy day. Since you grew up here, let¡¯s take a stroll around.¡± She nodded at the suggestion. They returned to the hotel room and changed. Shen Liangchuan bundled himself up tightly and followed Qiao Lian as they walked out. They drove around the streets of Suzhou with no particr destination Coming back after eight years, I don¡¯t even recognize this street anymore.¡± She pointed at their surroundings and said, ¡°When I was little, I often ate vermicelli soup at that stall, it was delicious.¡± Then she looked and pointed ahead. ¡°That stall sells steamed buns stuffed with yummy sliced meat.¡± ¡°...¡± Qiao Lian talked incessantly and excitedly to Shen Liangchuan. He simply smiled as he listened to the things she said. He suddenly felt that such conversations about life¡¯s ordinary things brought about a sort of peace and tranquility. As he was contemting this, he realized that Qiao Lian had stopped talking all of a sudden. He turned to look at her. Her gaze was fixed on a vi neighbourhood in front. Following her gaze, he saw a huge vi in that direction. There was an unfathomable expression in her eyes. Shen Liangchuan asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± She was unable to hide the great sadness that overtook her. ¡°That was my home.¡± It used to be her home. She had lived there for more than ten years. That ce held within it the blissful life that her parents, her brother and she had shared together. But hadn¡¯t it been destroyed in the huge ze eight years ago?! The car stopped by the side of the road and she opened the car door. With one motion, she jumped out and strode towards the vi. As she arrived at the front entrance, she halted and looked up. Everything was so familiar. Shen Liangchuan followed beside her. Studying her expression, he realized something wasn¡¯t right. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Her eyes immediately glistened with tears. ¡°Do you see that? That tree there. It was nted the year I was born. It grew up with me.¡± ¡°That flower pot there, one of the corners is damaged. I broke it identally when I was little. But because it was a very valuable flower pot, Dad could not bear to throw it out.¡± Then she pointed at the swing in the fenced garden and said, ¡°That was my favourite spot. In the summer, I¡¯d sit there and Dad would stand behind me to swing me. He swung me really, really high, till I could see all of that street.¡± Everything was too nostalgic to her. She felt as though she had gone back eight years in time, when she woulde home carrying her school bag. She almost felt as though her parents woulde to the doors to wee her home, if she walked in right now. Her eyes were wet and, unconsciously, she took a step forward. Without a word, she raised her hand to ring the doorbell. At this point, a warm andrge hand suddenly grabbed her wrist. She spun her head around. Shen Liangchuan was looking straight at her. He asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that your home was burnt to the ground in that great fire?¡± As soon as he said that, Qiao Lian was jolted out of her dazed state. She turned her head back again and suddenly looked as though she had seen a ghost. Chapter 707 - Do You Hate Me This Much? (7)

Chapter 707: Do You Hate Me This Much? (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios It was true. That huge fire eight years ago had razed everything to the ground, everything in the house and the garden. Even that flower pot had been charred¡ªobviously useless. But if that was the case, was the scene before her just her imagination? She turned and saw that Shen Liangchuan too had an extremely troubled expression. She took a step back in fright and grabbed Shen Liangchuan¡¯s hand at once. The door flew open before she could open her mouth to speak. An elderly woman walked out. With a hoarse voice, she called out, ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± Then she saw the two people in front of her. Her gaze finally fell on Qiao Lian. After a moment of silence, her eyes lit up suddenly as she eximed with a voice choked with emotions, ¡°Little Miss? Little Miss, you¡¯re back!¡± Qiao Lian immediately walked forward and took the old woman¡¯s hand. Stunned, she cried out, ¡°Senior Auntie Zhang?!¡± This had been their family caretaker, who had been with them from the time they were born. At that time, after her parents perished in the fire, they had to dispatch the housekeepers. There was much crying when Old Auntie Zhang left. She had even kept her years of savings aside, with the intention of helping them through the tough period. At that time, Qiao Lian¡¯s parents had been worried. Having taken that money from her, what would she do in times of urgent need? But now... Who could tell her what was going on here? Had she... time traveled? That couldn¡¯t be right. Because Old Auntie Zhang looked really old and different from what she had eight years ago. Without time to contemte it or reflect on it, she asked as she held the old woman¡¯s hand tightly, ¡°Senior Auntie Zhang, what are you doing here?¡± With reddened eyes, the old woman looked at her. ¡°Sigh... my pampered little girl, you¡¯ve suffered much these years! Auntie Zhang came back here six years ago, and I¡¯ve been waiting, hoping for you toe home to take a look. But how could you be so cruel! You never came back.¡± She came back six years ago. Qiao Lian surveyed the vi and its surroundings and suddenly thought of a possible reason for the situation. ¡°This vi...¡± ¡°Mr. Lu bought it back from the bank at a high price and put in a great deal of effort in restoring it. He said that, like this, when you finally return some day, it will feel familiar.¡± When she heard the name Mr. Lu, Qiao Lian froze. She bit her lip as pure fear overtook the surprise and warmth that she had felt earlier. She looked at the scene before her eyes now and then turned towards Shen Liangchuan. Shen Liangchuan quickly put his arm around her shoulders and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. Senior Auntie Zhang said excitedly, ¡°Little Miss, hurry up ande in! Everything inside is just like before! Your bedroom has been restored! I even made your favourite roasted meat. Quickly,e in to eat.¡± Qiao Lian shook her head after hearing this. ¡°Senior Auntie Zhang, there¡¯s no need.¡± Lu Nanze had bought this vi, and she would not step on any of his property. Senior Auntie Zhang looked at her and sighed. ¡°Mr. Lu instructed me on the day you came to Suzhou to cook your favourite dishes every day, knowing that one of these days, you¡¯de by to take a look.¡± The olddy was about to continue, when Qiao Lian interrupted her, ¡°Senior Auntie Zhang, I have to get going. I wille and see you again another day.¡± After saying this, she hurriedly led Shen Liangchuan back into the car. The moment she got into the car and before she could even speak, her cell phone rang. She picked up the phone and looked at the screen. It was a local call. After some thought, she answered it. At once, a familiar voice from her childhood days spoke, ¡°Freaking hell! Qiao Lian,e quickly! Second Brother is about to beat Sun Tzi to death!!¡± Chapter 708 - Do You Hate Me This Much? (8)

Chapter 708: Do You Hate Me This Much? (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian was immediately stupefied. She responded subconsciously, ¡°What did you say?¡± ¡°What do you mean? Come over at once!¡± Qiao Lian was confused and asked, ¡°What has this got to do with me?¡± ¡°D*mn it! Do you have a heart? Sun Linan pulled strings so that Shen Liangchuan¡¯s qualifications could be passed. Now Second Brother is beating him up and he¡¯s almost dead!! You can¡¯t be so heartless!¡± When she heard this, her heart dropped. Widening her eyes with horror, she turned to look at Shen Liangchuan in disbelief. So it seemed that Sun Linan had a part in this whole matter? She shivered uncontrobly as she thought about what Lu Nanze was capable of doing. He was a man with vicious intentions and his methods were cruel. Despite the fact that Sun Tzi had grown up together with him, if he rubbed Lu Nanze the wrong way, thetter would beat him up all the same. Furthermore, there was even the possibility that he would kill him! Besides that, he would surely attack the Sun family¡¯s enterprise. She thought of the chain reaction that this would set off and immediately asked, ¡°Where are you guys?¡± ¡°Same old ce!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be there soon.¡± After hanging up, Qiao Lian said to Shen Liangchuan, ¡°Drive straight ahead, I¡¯ll need you to drop me off somewhere. It¡¯s a life-and-death matter!¡± Without asking further, Shen Liangchuan drove in the direction Qiao Lian told. Suzhou itself wasn¡¯t a very big city and Qiao Lian knew it inside out. Even if some roads had changed, many were still the same. Twenty minutester, they arrived at Jiahao Club. Without another word, Qiao Lian got out of the car. After thinking for a moment, she turned back and looked at Shen Liangchuan, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they won¡¯t do anything to me. Wait for me here.¡± If he followed her, her group of childhood friends would gang up against him for sure. Qiao Lian had no wish for him to suffer even verbal insults. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression darkened. But he wasn¡¯t familiar with Suzhou. This was Lu Nanze¡¯s territory, just as it was Qiao Lian¡¯s territory. Hence, he considered it for a moment and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go in if you are not out in half an hour.¡± Knowing he would be worried, she nodded and, after that, ran into the club. Very shortly, she arrived before the private room they had always used for their gatherings in the past and she flung open the door. Everything in the room looked the way it was eight years ago. Nothing had changed. There were five people in the room. Besides Lu Nanze and Sun Linan, there was Qiao Yiyi and two other wealthy second-generation heirs who had grown up with them. Lu Nanze was wearing a ck suit, sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed. His short hair was rebellious like him, each strand standing on its end and pointing backwards. There was an evil smirk on his face and he had his trademark aura of demonic charm. Qiao Yiyi sat next to Lu Nanze, almost not daring to breathe. The other two sat a slight distance from him and were looking at him with both fear and respect. Sun Linan, on the other hand, was sitting on the floor. His face was bruised. As Qiao Lian entered the room, she saw Lu Nanze looking at the man on the floor with disdain in his eyes. ¡°Have I been too good to you all these years that you even dare to disobey my orders?¡± Sun Linan was in extreme pain from the beating and was bleeding in his mouth. But when he heard these words, he looked up and said, ¡°Second Brother, we all grew up together. Please don¡¯t harass Xiao Lian anymore, is that okay?¡± Chapter 709 - Do You Hate Me This Much? (9)

Chapter 709: Do You Hate Me This Much? (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He spoke with much difficulty¡ªit was obvious he was in great pain. Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes and stared at him, asking, ¡°You feel like I¡¯m harassing her?¡± Clenching his fists, Sun Linan replied, ¡°Second Brother, you don¡¯t consider this harassment?¡± Staring at Lu Nanze with much wrath, he continued, ¡°She is getting by happily now and that¡¯s good enough. Second Brother, liking a person doesn¡¯t mean owning her. It just means you¡¯d be happy if she is.¡± Lu Nanze¡¯s pupils shrank as he sprang up from his seat. ¡°I don¡¯t need you to teach me what liking a person is about!¡± As soon as these words came out, he raised and aimed his foot at Sun Linan¡¯s chest to deliver a powerful kick. Sun Linan staggered backwards when he received the blow and finally fell back on the ground. The others sprang up reflexively with rm, wanting to help him stand up, but they didn¡¯t dare to make any movements as they looked at Lu Nanze. Lu Nanze had been a vicious and cruel person from a young age. Back in the day, Qiao Lian had kept this streak of his under control when she had been around. However, in the eight years that she had been missing, it was as though a beast had been unleashed within him. It awakened and gradually consumed him. And along with the rapid ascent of the Lu Family, these people had grown to fear him. As Qiao Lian stood at the threshold of the doorway, she heard the exchange. Seeing that Lu Nanze was not going to stop beating Sun Linan, she clenched her fists tightly and hollered with anger, ¡°Lu Nanze, you stop that right now!¡± At the sound of her voice, Lu Nanze¡¯s raised fist froze in mid-air as he spun his head around. Qiao Lian strode in. The music in the private room was turned up, so no one had heard her opening the door. When she appeared, Lu Nanze¡¯s eyes narrowed and his pupils shrank. The other two in the group heaved a sigh of relief. Qiao Lian¡¯s gaze swept through the room and fell on Sun Linan. The guy¡¯s face waspletely bruised and swollen and he had injuries all over his body. Obviously, Lu Nanze had not restrained himself. She was now almost shaking with anger. The initial fear and apprehension she had felt on her way here had faded, as her fury about the situation overtook her. Quickly, she ran over to Sun Linan and helped him up, asking, ¡°Sun Tzi, are you okay?¡± Sun Linan tried to grin and put on a rxed expression for Qiao Lian, but the moment he moved his mouth, it aggravated the pain and he drew in a sharp breath. Still, putting up a front, he said, ¡°It¡¯s no big deal, just superficial wounds. Second Brother and I are just fooling around.¡± Fooling around... He was just saying that so that she wouldn¡¯t worry. Ever since she had realized that Purple Fairy¡¯s team had belonged to Sun Linan, Qiao Lian had been thoroughly annoyed at this fool, given all the problems he had caused her own team. Since then too, Sun Linan had realized his mistake and stopped bothering her. But she had not expected that he would now offend Lu Nanze because of her. Her eyes reddened at once, as she gritted her teeth and tried to hold him up by his arm. ¡°Are you able to stand up?¡± she asked him. ¡°Of course, that¡¯s not a problem!¡± Sun Linan tried and only barely made it. ¡°Second Brother wouldn¡¯t use too much force on me, don¡¯t worry.¡± If this wasn¡¯t too much force... what was it then? Killing the man? An evil anger welled up within Qiao Lian. She bit her lip and frowned before saying to Sun Linan, ¡°I¡¯ll take you to the hospital.¡± He hesitated for a moment. He dared not go because Second Brother had not given him permission to do so. Chapter 710 - Do You Hate Me This Much? (10)

Chapter 710: Do You Hate Me This Much? (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian felt sad, seeing how afraid he was of Lu Nanze. Obviously, he feared Second Brother, but yet for her sake... She clenched her fists tightly and said, ¡°Why are you looking at him? If he¡¯s so capable, let him kill all of us then.¡± She turned around and looked at Lu Nanze. Her eyes were bloodshot and she looked like an infuriated wild animal. She red fiercely at Lu Nanze and hollered angrily, ¡°Are you still human? Each of us here, we grew up together, our brothers! How could you treat your brothers like this? Lu Nanze, are you worthy of us calling you Second Brother?!¡± He looked at the girl standing before him and, suddenly, a dazed look appeared in his eyes. The first time she saw again after eight years, she had cowered in fear. Now that she was hollering at him, he suddenly felt a familiar feeling¡ªa feeling he felt eight years ago. He was a selfish and self-serving person, he had never known what friendship was. If it hadn¡¯t been for Qiao Lian, who had made him join their group at the time, he would have had no friends today. The few people before him were indeed the only friends he had ever had. A look of reminiscence shed across his face. For some reason, he recalled the moment when their small group became sworn brothers. At that time, Qiao Lian considered herself the big sister of the group. But the fact was that he was older than all of them by a year, which is why they addressed him as Big Brother. At that time, refusing to lose her stand, Qiao Lian had said, ¡°Big Brother sounds too much like a gangster. Let¡¯s start from the next level.¡± Grinning at him, she had said, ¡°Lu Nanze, from now on you¡¯re our Second Brother. What do you think?¡± Second... Of course, that didn¡¯t sound good at all. But he saw that she wasughing as she said this. There was a mischievous twinkle in her eyes, which made obvious to him that she was teasing him. He eventually refrained from saying the words that had formed in his mouth. From then on, he became their Second Brother. As Lu Nanze recalled all of these things, he saw that Qiao Lian was already helping Sun Linan make his way to the door. She did not look back at him once. Feeling a dull ache in his heart, Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes. The tenderness he had felt a moment ago disappeared at once. The iciness and cruelty returned as he said, ¡°You¡¯re going just like that?¡± Qiao Lian and Sun Linan halted and turned back to look at him. Lu Nanze lowered his head and looked at his own hand. That menacing smile on his face brought out his devilish charm. He had not finished speaking, but the meaning behind it was as clear as daylight. He wasn¡¯t going to let Sun Linan go. Her fists still tightly clenched, Qiao Lian said, ¡°Lu Nanze, you¡¯re going way overboard!¡± Lu Nanze sneered, ¡°Way overboard? All of Suzhou knew that I was trying to raise the bar for the new investor, but Sun Linan here betrayed his own people. If I dealt with this shoddily, how will I gain a footing in Suzhou in the future?¡± Qiao Lian red at him with burning eyes. ¡°You¡¯d never have to worry about this. You¡¯d even hit your brother, who grew up with you. When you put yourself out there, I¡¯m sure no one would dare stir trouble with you, you living Satan!¡± There was an unmistakable mocking tone in her voice. Lu Nanzheughed derisively, as his expression magnified that devilish charm. Sun Linan, however, did not dare to inch another step forward. He looked at Lu Nanze and said, ¡°Second Brother, this was my idea and mine alone. It has nothing to do with the Sun family. You can do whatever you wish to me, but please do not drag the rest of the Sun family into this matter.¡± Lu Nanze gave a coldugh and said, ¡°I can leave the rest of your family out of this, but...¡± Chapter 711 - Do You Hate Me This Much? (11)

Chapter 711: Do You Hate Me This Much? (11)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios His gaze fell on Qiao Lian, and the intention of his words was obvious. Sun Linan¡¯s pupils shrank as he clenched his fists tightly. Furiously, he red at Lu Nanze and said, ¡°Second Brother, you really do not care about brotherhood?¡± Lu Nanze cast his gaze down and replied, ¡°How do you expect me to care about brotherhood when you yourself do not?¡± He looked at Qiao Lian. ¡°Unless we make a deal, the Sun Family will notst five months!¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s fingers curled into a tight fist. She knew what he was going to ask even before he spoke. For sure, it was going to be something along the lines of a divorce with Shen Liangchuan and returning to him. She bit her lip. At this point of the dilemma, Sun Linan had already decided, ¡°Second Brother, let¡¯s have a business fight then.¡± Thest thing that he, Sun Linan, needed was a woman to defend his family. Lu Nanze suddenlyughed upon hearing this. He raised his hands and gave a slow apuse. ¡°You are truly exemry! You¡¯d actually sacrifice your family name for a woman! Huh, however, Qiao Lian, are you really not even going to hear my proposal first?¡± Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes and paused at his words. ¡°What sort of terms and conditions could you possiblyy down?¡± ¡°¡±My condition is...¡± he paused as he looked intently at her. After a moment his red lips, that formed a thin and cold line across his face, slowly moved. ¡°I want you to have dinner with me and, on top of that, help me pick out a set of clothes.¡± There was no need for Qiao Lian to speak further about this. What?! Did she hear wrong?! Were his conditions that simple? She frowned and threw Lu Nanze a look of disbelief. ¡°Is that all?¡± The man nodded and replied, ¡°That¡¯s all.¡± Before she could speak again, one of them quickly said, ¡°Qiao Lian, hurry up and agree to it!¡± ¡°Second Brother, I agree on Qiao Lian¡¯s behalf! You two go for dinner, we¡¯ll both take Sun Tzi to the hospital.¡± Upon saying this, the two of them stepped forward nimbly, one on each side of Sun Linan, and helped the man up. As Sun Linan made a motion to speak, they hurriedly covered his mouth to silence him and dragged him out of the room. After they left the room, Sun Linan quietened down. One of them sighed deeply and said to him, ¡°I really thought that Second Brother had lost his senses. For a moment I really feared for you, but who would have expected... sigh!¡± The other one nodded and turned to look back at the private room. ¡°These past years, Second Brother has actually treated us well. I think he just wanted to let this matter go. That condition of his wasn¡¯t really a condition.¡± Sun Linan cast his gaze down on hearing their exchange. Of course, he understood. He had taken things into his own hands to help Qiao Lian precisely because he hadn¡¯t thought that Second Brother would be so vicious. His rtionship with Second Brother had been considerably good these years, and thetter had been very helpful with the Sun Family. ¨C In the private room. Qiao Lian stood before Lu Nanze, looking at the man steadily. She quickly understood his words. This was his way to bow out of the situation, he didn¡¯t really mean to make things difficult for Sun Linan. But to have dinner with him... Qiao Lian looked away. Lu Nanze was already walking towards the exit. He turned back to look at her. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Even if she was unwilling, she had no option but to follow him. Yet as they walked out of the club, they saw Shen Liangchuan¡¯snky frame loitering at the entrance. In that instance, the two men¡¯s eyes met. Chapter 712 - Do You Hate Me This Much? (12)

Chapter 712: Do You Hate Me This Much? (12)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios One icily aloof, the other sinisterly charming. But in an instant, both were on the alert, bristling at the sight of each other as though they were ready for war anytime. Aggressive sparks flew as they looked at each other in the eye. As the saying goes, if looks could kill, Qiao Lian suspected right now they would have had about 300 fight rounds. She took a step forward, cing herself right in front of Shen Liangchuan. She exined to him what had happened in the private room and, with her back facing Lu Nanze, she said to Shen Liangchuan, ¡°Why don¡¯t you wait for me back at the hotel? We¡¯ll be okay. This time Lu Nanze won¡¯t dare to hold me captive like he did previously.¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression darkened. Qiao Lian immediately shrank back as she felt him turning cold and hostile. She couldn¡¯t me him. Of course Shen Liangchuan would get angry at her for agreeing to have a meal with him, knowing that he desired her. As she was trying hard to think of a way to exin this to him, he said instead, ¡°So was that exactly what he said? ¡®I want you to have dinner with me and, on top of that, help me pick out a set of clothes?¡¯¡± Qiao Lian was stumped for a moment and gave him a puzzled look before nodding. Shen Liangchuan made a sound to indicate he understood. Then, he walked around her and towards Lu Nanze. She was stunned for a second before all her guards went up. If Shen Liangchuan made things difficult for Lu Nanze, would it provoke him to target Sun Tzi again? Besides, this was Suzhou. If things turned ugly, Shen Liangchuan would be at a disadvantage. She started to panic at this thought. Following Shen Liangchuan, they walked to Lu Nanze. As they did so, Shen Liangchuan held out his hand to the other man and said, ¡°Mr. Lu, since you¡¯ve been so kind to Xiao Qiao all these years, my wife and I should really buy you a meal. It¡¯s only right we do so.¡± There was no need for Qiao Lian to speak further about this. Lu Nanze scowled. When did the n change from Qiao Lian having dinner with him alone, to the couple buying him a meal? Qiao Lian looked at Shen Liangchuan,pletely bbergasted. Suddenly, she recalled that Lu Nanze had asked her to have a meal with him. He, however, had not specified that there couldn¡¯t be anyone else around. Shen Liangchuan had taken full advantage of this loophole. But it was a reasonable request! She closed her lips tightly and said nothing. It would indeed be rather torturous if she had to have dinner with Lu Nanze alone. But if Shen Liangchuan were there... She looked at Lu Nanze. Naturally, his expression had darkened and he looked displeased. She gave a soft cough and did not speak a word. He nced sharply at Shen Liangchuan and shifted his gaze to the woman standing next to him. He took a moment to put his fury under control. Smiling once more, he replied, ¡°Then why not?¡± After he said that, his gaze fell on Shen Liangchuan¡¯s hand. He frowned and made a small movement with his hand, as he contemted whether he should shake it. However at this point, Shen Liangchuan decided to withdraw his hand. Lu Nanze scowled. This fe, he was doing it intentionally! He lifted his head once more and looked intently at Shen Liangchuan. Managing to suppress his burning anger again, he turned to get into his own nanny van. He immediately looked at Qiao Lian and said, ¡°Qiao Lian, get in.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, we drove here.¡± We. And she had intentionally emphasized the word. It made Lu Nanze¡¯s heart sink at once. That¡¯s right, they were a ¡®we¡¯ now. Whereas he was just ¡®him¡¯. This thought was as though a huge, invisible hand was squeezing his heart tightly. Chapter 713 - Do You Hate Me This Much? (12)

Chapter 713: Do You Hate Me This Much? (12)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lu Nanze drove ahead as Shen Liangchuan tailed with Qiao Lian in his car. After about half an hour of driving, the two cars arrived, one after another, at an ordinary private restaurant. They got out of the car. Qiao Lian¡¯s expression turned gloomy immediately as she recognized the ce. This was the dining venue that they used to frequent eight years ago. Next to it was their high school. Because it was troublesome to go home from school for lunch, and because they had never quite liked the food in school, their small group of families got together to open this private dinning hall. It catered especially to their small group for lunch. At that time, they coulde up with their own weekly menu. Eventually, because the hired chefs were all renowned, they decided to establish a simple restaurant. Over time, the restaurant had be quite well-known. But their private room had not changed a bit. As she contemted it, she noticed that Lu Nanze had stopped his car by the side and was walking into the restaurant. Shortly afterwards, the boss came out. ¡°Mr. Lu, the same old seats?¡± Lu Nanze nodded and then turned back to nce at Qiao Lian. The boss followed his gaze and her eyes lit up immediately when she saw Qiao Lian. ¡°Ms. Qiao?! Ms. Qiao, you are here too! I haven¡¯t seen you in eight years! You look prettier than ever.¡± Qiao Lian smiled at her. Then the boss¡¯ gaze fell on Shen Liangchuan, who was wearing his mask and sunsses. Their marriage had been a hot topic, so of course the boss knew that the man next to Qiao Lian was none other than Best Actor Shen. Besides, taking into ount the way he waspletely covered, who else could he be? The boss nced at Lu Nanze and then turned back to look at Best Actor Shen. She was going to greet Qiao Lian and make some small talk, however, sensing the tension between the two men, she thought better and stood there respectfully instead. The three guests, one leading and the other two behind, walked into the private room. The private room was well insted so that it was sound-proof. The boss made sure they werefortable. ¡°Mr. Lu, Ms. Qiao and Mr. Shen, what would you like to order?¡± Qiao Lian reached out for the menu and was about to ce her order, when suddenly Lu Nanze quickly gave a list of dishes. ¡°Braised Spare Ribs, Roasted Marinated Trotters, Ants Climbing A Tree, Sweet Sour Pork...¡± In a single breath, he had ordered over twenty dishes and, with each order, the boss couldn¡¯t help but nce at Qiao Lian. They were all dishes that Qiao Lian loved. After Lu Nanze was done, he turned and shot Shen Liangchuan a provocative look. It was obvious he was trying to show how well he knew Qiao Lian. Because they were a pair that had grown up together. Shen Liangchuan paused in the middle of reaching out for the menu and looked up. After this, he tossed the menu back on the table and pursed his lips. He said calmly, ¡°Coincidentally, these are all dishes that Xiao Qiao and I like. Thanks.¡± Qiao Lian was speechless. Good grief, Best Actor Shen, could you be more vicious with your words? She lowered her head and sneaked a nce at Lu Nanze. Indeed, the guy¡¯s expression had clouded over. It was obvious what Shen Liangchuan was trying to convey. So what if you know her favourite meals? She and I like the same things. We are the true couple! At once, the room fell silent. No one spoke as the boss made her way out to prepare the food. After a while, Lu Nanze finally asked, ¡°Would you like to visit our school after the meal?¡± Chapter 714 - Do You Hate Me This Much? (14)

Chapter 714: Do You Hate Me This Much? (14)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Qiao Lian heard this suggestion, she looked up and clenched her fists. Before she could reply, Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°We won¡¯t trouble you, Mr. Lu. We can go on our own.¡± There was no need for Qiao Lian to speak further about this. Lu Nanze had intended to use the topic of their school days as a conversation starter. He wanted to talk about the past but, unexpectedly, he was cut off abruptly by Shen Liangchuan. It made pursuing a conversation about their school days inappropriate. Hence, he fell silent. Shortly afterwards, the food arrived. The familiar dishes whetted her appetite. Just as she was about to pick up some food with her chopsticks, a piece of pork rib was ced on her te. Surprised, she looked up and caught Lu Nanze moving his chopsticks away from her te. ¡°I remember you used to love eating pork ribs. But the portions here were small and there was only a piece for each of us. I always gave you mine.¡± Qiao Lian frowned at his remark. She looked at Shen Liangchuan, hoping for a chance to exin. But Shen Liangchuan said instead, ¡°Thank you, Mr. Lu, for taking care of her.¡± Then he turned to look at Qiao Lian and said affectionately, ¡°Have more then.¡± Qiao Lian waspletely astounded. Trying not tough aloud, she lowered her head and started eating. Lu Nanze had always been a gloomy person. How would he able able to outdo Zi Chuan¡¯s viciously sharp tongue? During the years they had been avid gamers, Zi Chuan had even made people cry with his scoldings. Lu Nanze sat there, looking at the couple in silence. Shen Liangchuan didn¡¯t eat much, as the food didn¡¯t seem too appealing to him. Throughout the meal, he looked at Qiao Lian. She attacked the food voraciously. The scene caused Lu Nanze to be increasingly ufortable. As no one spoke during the meal, it was over in half an hour. Before they left, the boss walked in and asked, ¡°Mr. Lu, would you like to put this on your ount or would you like to pay with credit card?¡± Shen Liangchuan stood up and was about to speak. However, Lu Nanze interrupted him and said, ¡°This is on me.¡± He gave an icy smile. ¡°After all, you¡¯ve poured so much money into that jerry built construction project, sooner orter you¡¯ll go broke. Keep this money for your times of emergency.¡± As he said this, he held his credit card out to the boss. Qiao Lian, infuriated by his remark, looked up and said angrily, ¡°Lu Nanze, what do you mean by that?¡± Casting his gaze downwards, he sneered, ¡°What do I mean? Since you have the guts to continue this project, then you must have already weighed the risks. Have you not thought about the possibility that no one will buy the units after the construction starts and the project goes on sale? What would happen then?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank upon hearing these words. They had made their calctions. Even if they were to sell everything, Shen Liangchuan would still lose all the wealth he had umted over thest eight years. But if the development didn¡¯t sell... they wouldn¡¯t even be able to pay for the losses. Most of the time, the bank would provide a loan to partly finance the construction of the building, and this part of the money waspensated with prepletion sales of the units. If the units did not sell, the building may end up having the same plight as it did previously¡ªthe project would be shelved halfway through construction. Qiao Lian furrowed her brow. ¡°Lu Nanze¡ª¡± Shen Liangchuan interrupted her before she could finish and said to Lu Nanze, ¡°There are no guarantees in this world. Whether I end up making a fortune or go broke, let¡¯s wait and see.¡± Lu Nanze replied at once, ¡°Great! Let¡¯s wait and see! You¡¯ll be starting the sale of those units in two weeks. I think it won¡¯t take long to see the results.¡± Chapter 715 - Do You Hate Me This Much? (15)

Chapter 715: Do You Hate Me This Much? (15)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After the meal, Lu Nanze continued to lead the way and drove to a shopping mall nearby to buy his clothes. Qiao Lian did this with the mindset that she was about toplete her mission. Her intentions were just to pick something... anything... and hand it over to Lu Nanze. Upon entering the shopping mall, she scanned her surroundings. Eventually, Lu Nanze led them to an upscale bespoke fashion store. They sold clothing of an immensely broad range of styles, it was exceptionally brilliant and varied. As this was a shop of bespoke tailoring for men, the attendant took a step forward and looked at Lu Nanze and Shen Liangchuan. He asked with uncertainty, ¡°How are you today? May I know which gentleman we might be serving today?¡± Lu Nanze stepped forward and said, ¡°Me.¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s gaze swept across the shop and suddenly, her eyes lit up. ¡°That suit isn¡¯t bad!¡± She was referring to a suit hanging right in the middle of the shop. Its swallowtail design added a dash of mischief to the formality of the suit. Moreover, certain ties could add more color to the formal suit, making it stand out among others. Qiao Lian dashed over to have a close look. Lu Nanze and Shen Liangchuan exchanged a nce and followed. Studying the suit, Lu Nanze said with approval, ¡°Yes, this is not bad.¡± Whatever she picked out for him would be great. However, as he was thinking this, Qiao Lian excitedly turned around to grab Shen Liangchuan¡¯s arm, saying, ¡°I think this suit would look especially good on you. Go try it on and let me have a look, hurry!¡± Lu Nanze was bbergasted. He frowned and, without thinking twice, he pointed at the suit and said to the attendant, ¡°I¡¯d like to have this.¡± The attendant immediately looked troubled. ¡°Mr. Lu, this is a limited edition suit, so we only have one in our shop.¡± Lu Nanze came up to Qiao Lian and said, ¡°I¡ª¡± Before he could get started, Shen Liangchuan handed the suit to the attendant and said to him, ¡°I¡¯ll take it.¡± Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes at once and said, ¡°I think we are here today to shop for me?¡± With a raised eyebrow, Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°So? Who made the rule that I¡¯m not allowed to make any purchases?¡± Lu Nanze scowled. Qiao Lian defended Shen Liangchuan and added, ¡°That¡¯s right. And this suit doesn¡¯t go that well with you. However, I do feel...¡± A crafty look suddenly shed across her eyes. She reached for an alternative outfit on the rack and held it out to Lu Nanze, saying, ¡°You would look better in this.¡± He looked at the suit given to him and gritted his teeth with anger. The colorful shirtpletely contradicted his image. But looking up, he saw the mischief in Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes and at once, his anger died down. He stood there staring at her steadily. Her teasing, for some reason, made him feel that he was finally back to where he had been in the past. His smile gradually disappeared as his expression turned icy. Immediately, he held Qiao Lian¡¯s chosen outfit out to the attendant and said, ¡°Wrap this up.¡± His response shocked her. It was obviously out of spite that she had picked the ugliest outfit in the shop for him. But he had bought it just like that? This was not the Lu Nanze that she knew. She gave a cough and said nothing. After both Shen Liangchuan and Lu Nanze paid for their items, they headed back to the mall¡¯s underground car park, each man holding their own purchase. They had parked side by side. And now they were to part ways. Without saying much, Qiao Lian made a move to get into the car. But at this point, Lu Nanze suddenly reached out to grab her wrist. Chapter 716 - Do You Hate Me This Much? (16)

Chapter 716: Do You Hate Me This Much? (16)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Whether it was the meal they had shared or the shopping trip, everything had gone unbelievably smoothly for Qiao Lian. But now that they were about to part ways... She had already let her guard down when he made the sudden move to grab her hand. She widened her eyes in horror and spun around. The next thing she knew, Lu Nanze had her pressed up against the car. The underground car park wasn¡¯t very well lit. As his back was to the light, she couldn¡¯t really see the expression on his face. But his voice now sounded in her ear, ¡°Qiao Lian, do you hate me this much?¡± The evident mncholy in those words made her heart shrink back uncontrobly. Qiao Lian was stunned. The Lu Nanze that she knew was an arrogant and recalcitrant man. Even as a child, he had a rotten personality and was so arrogant that people just found him annoying. She looked at him and said, ¡°You¡¯ll never have friends if you continue being like this.¡± He chortled, ¡°So what if I don¡¯t? What are friends? I have money and that¡¯s enough!¡± He had never felt pitiful, and would never indulge in self-pity or self-me just because no one yed with him. As a grown man, he had be cold-blooded and formidable. This was the first time she saw him showing any sign of weakness. Qiao Lian frowned. At the same time, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s deep voice boomed, ¡°Let go of her!¡± His tone was icy and saturated with anger. As these words came out, a gust of air rushed past her ears. Her pupils shrank at once the moment Lu Nanze released his grip and staggered backwards. Then she felt an arm encircling her waist and, as it tightened around her, she was pulled into Shen Liangchuan¡¯s embrace. He stood in front of Qiao Lian, his cold and emotionless eyes stared back at Lu Nanze. ¡°Please keep a distance from my wife.¡± Lu Nanze gave a sinister smile. Without so much as a look at Shen Liangchuan, he eventually said, ¡°Qiao Lian, I¡¯ll wait for you toe back to me.¡± His tone was like that of a parent talking to a child who had gone astray¡ªa parent who would be waiting at home till the child eventually came home when he got tired of being outside. Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes as she held onto Shen Liangchuan¡¯s arm. She told the other man, ¡°Lu Nanze, we have nothing to do with each other anymore.¡± The finality of those words was cruel, and Lu Nanze winced. After a moment, he smiled coldly and asked, ¡°Qiao Lian, what is so great about this person?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve investigated him. He is the one you got to know through ying video games years ago.¡± ¡°But eight years ago, he did not turn up. Did you ask him why?¡± ¡°How can you go with a man who yed with your feelings so easily?!¡± Qiao Lian bit her lip at his words. For the first time, she had noeback. What happened eight years ago was a thorn in the flesh for both herself and Shen Liangchuan. He refused to talk about it, and she wouldn¡¯t ask. But the fact was that both of them knew that the matter hung over them, like storm clouds. Still. Lu Nanze smirked at the expression on her face. Shen Liangchuan spoke, ¡°We shouldn¡¯t trouble you, Mr. Lu, with being too concerned about what¡¯s between us, husband and wife.¡± He was trying to tell Lu Nanze that whatever happened between him and Qiao Lian was none of his business. Lu Nanze¡¯s expression clouded over at his remark. He smiled and said sarcastically, ¡°Fine, fine, I¡¯ll wait for the day of your downfall! I hope you treasure the good times while theyst.¡± After saying this, he turned and got into his nanny van, bing that cold, selfish man once more. Chapter 717 - Do You Hate Me This Much? (17)

Chapter 717: Do You Hate Me This Much? (17)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lu Nanze¡¯s car slowly picked up speed and departed. Standing in the car park still, Qiao Lian looked intently at Shen Liangchuan. He wore a serious expression, but his eyes glistened withplex emotions. After a few seconds, when she was certain that he would still not talk about what had happened eight years ago, she looked away and turned to get into the car. ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded. And then, it was like nothing had happened a moment ago. But Qiao Lian herself knew that she wasn¡¯t going to get over this. She had been at her most naive age, the time of her life when she had had the sincerest approach to love. Why had he missed the appointment? It was also because of this incident that, for thest eight years, she had been conflicted about love and rtionships. ¨C In the days that followed, Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan were kept terribly busy. Time flew by and, soon, two weeks had passed. Most of the building matters had been settled and soon they would be able to start the actual construction. At the same time, they received the approval for the units¡¯ pre-sale, which would beunched for sale the following day. Of course, one couldn¡¯tpare the prices of property eight years ago to the present. Not taking into ount the hundred units that had been sold eight years ago, if they were to benchmark against the current market prices in the locality for the outstanding number of 200 units, then overall, they would have made a great loss. In the hotel. Shen Liangchuan, Song Cheng and a few others were having a meeting in the room next door. Qiao Lian, on the other hand, was holding the budget document that Song Cheng had just prepared. She turned pale when she saw the figures on it. Even beforeing to Suzhou to undertake this construction project, she had already known that it was going to be a loss. But she hadn¡¯t thought that it would be such a great loss. If that was the case... even if the Shen family invested everyst bit of what they had, the funds wouldn¡¯t be enough. As she took this information in, the room door swung open and Shen Liangchuan walked in. Qiao Lian lifted her head and, as she looked at him, she thought about the sacrifices he was making for this building project. Her heart wrung with pain at once. Taking in a deep breath, she walked up to him and held him tightly. Seeing how troubled she was, Shen Liangchuan took the budget document from her and looked at the desk. He immediately walked over and closed the document disyed on theputer screen. Then he said to her, ¡°Things are not what they seem.¡± Qiao Lian knew he was telling her that to make her feel better. Unless this housing project was sold at sky-high prices, there was no way it would profit. But property prices weren¡¯t something that he alone could control. She bit her lip. She was about to say something, but the room door suddenly flew open and Song Cheng walked in. He was usually a steady worker, never this frantic. Something must have happened! As these thoughts crossed her mind, Song Cheng said in a panic, ¡°Brother Shen, hurry and look at the news! Look online!¡± Upon hearing this, Qiao Lian frowned and immediately turned on the television. She found a channel that was airing the news and they were reporting, ¡°... the defective and low-quality building project from years ago. The drainpipes and such were made of the lowest quality materials. The incident eight years ago happened because the steel bars in the building snapped. And now Best Actor Shen has invested a lot to rebuild this project. The quality of the building is causing concerns.¡± They went on the Inte to take a look. Most of thements about Shen Liangchuan¡¯s building were negative, iming that the worst quality building materials were being used. Someone even said, ¡°Think about it. This is a project that is a certain loss, and the question is how much loss. Let¡¯s not talk about the quality of the building, this is not an upscale housing project for sure. If they were to be using the best quality materials, they wouldn¡¯t get their money back even if they sold off Best Actor Shen.¡± Chapter 718 - Do You Hate Me This Much? (17)

Chapter 718: Do You Hate Me This Much? (17)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Before the jerry-built building project evenmenced, the inte was already flooded with negativements. Unfavorable reports started appearing. Someone evenmented about how dark and shady the vibes around the building were, given that 17 people had died there. Although the incident had happened long ago and there were a lot less superstitious people now, buying a property was a major life decision, and people were extremely cautious to begin with. Hence, the remark about the negative vibes immediately caused the city¡¯s residents much conflict. Someone even said that he was determined not to buy the property. There were also a few families that made appeals on the inte and to the reporters, saying, [Now I only hope that the developer returns me the money. I don¡¯t want the property. We waited eight years because of it! I don¡¯t wish to spend all of my life savings, only to end up with a poorly done property.] Furthermore, someone said, [If they don¡¯t do a good job with the waste pipe, it¡¯s going to smell and the house will stink.] [Leakages in the water pipe and oven gas stoves are huge issues! The most important thing about owning a home is that you have to befortable living in it. If you have to worry about this and that every day, then what good is there in owning such a property?] There were all sorts of negativement bearing down on the project. Looking quite ill by now, Song Cheng said, ¡°How are we going tounch our sales tomorrow like this?¡± Prior to this, the project had been adequately advertised thanks to the influence of Shen Liangchuan. In fact, there was no need for advertisements, the whole of Suzhou knew about the project. It had saved them a hefty sum of money. But now! Would anyone be willing to buy the property now that this had happened? If they did not sell their target number of units in the pre-sales, there would be a big issue with theter phase of construction. Qiao Lian panicked too and said with exasperation, ¡°This Lu Nanze!¡± It had been about two weeks since the housing project had been announced, but all of these negativements had surfaced just a day before the scheduled pre-sales. Thinking back on what Lu Nanze had said about the results showing in two weeks, it made sense to Qiao Lian now that this was all his doing. Why was it that he just couldn¡¯t bear to see her happy? She gritted her teeth with anger. Both she and Song Cheng looked at Shen Liangchuan. However, he was the picture of calmness, as usual. He lowered his gaze, then lifted his head slowly again and looked at the two of them. Seeing his look of confidence, they suddenly understood. ¡°You knew this would happen, didn¡¯t you?¡± Qiao Lian asked, giving him a strange look. He nodded and finally said, ¡°Things had been going too smoothly in thest two weeks. I knew he¡¯d target the pre-sales.¡± Hearing this, Song Cheng and Qiao Lian calmed down somewhat. Simultaneously, they looked at him and asked, ¡°Now what?¡± His expression darkened as he said, ¡°No hurry.¡± ¨C With the reopening of the housing project, its name was changed. It was now called Yuxiu Gardens. The matter concerning Yuxiu Gardens had attracted the attention of themunity atrge. Hence, on the pre-salesunching day, the reporters had made their way there early in the day. Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan went to the sales venue together in a car. She was aware that her palms were cold and mmy. What if no one came forward to buy the property? Her anxiety was put to rest when they arrived and saw that there was a bustling crowd outside the pre-sales venue. As long as there were people, it meant it was poprity. ¡°However,¡± she thought, ¡°this is still too good to be true.¡± Just when she heaved a sigh of relief and walked into the sales venue with Shen Liangchuan to wait for the buyers toe in, she saw Song Cheng walking up to them with a worried expression. ¡°Brother Shen, the people in the crowd are those who bought the units eight years ago. Now they wish to withdraw from the purchase!¡± Chapter 719 - Do You Hate Me This Much? (19)

Chapter 719: Do You Hate Me This Much? (19)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian jumped when she heard this and eximed, ¡°What?¡± Song Cheng frowned and looked infuriated as well. They had thought initially that all these people were here with an interest to buy from the housing project. He gritted his teeth with anger. A surge of anger welled up inside Qiao Lian. In the eyes of thew, there was in fact no obligation for her to repay what her parents owed. Shen Liangchuan had taken up the task of constructing this building in order to give these people an exnation and closure. But unexpectedly, in the end, these people had nothing but found fault with them! As she was contemting the situation, she heard someone among the crowd raising their voice. Frowning, she walked to the entrance. She noticed that the crowd had split themselves into two groups. One group was made up of the people who had previously turned up at the hotel to thank them. The other group was obviously just troublemakers. The two groups were arguing with each other. ¡°Say, Old Zhang, you guys are too much! Mr. Shen is constructing this building topensate us and it¡¯s a loss for him! Don¡¯t you have any conscience?¡± ¡°What the h*ck! I spent so much money and all I got in the end is this rubble! With this money, why wouldn¡¯t I use it to buy a house elsewhere? It¡¯s my hard-earned money and there¡¯s nothing wrong in taking back my own money, is there?¡± ¡°You- you-¡± ¡°Besides, in thest eight years, the property price has flipped and we are asking for a refund at the current market price.¡± ¡°This request is even more unreasonable, you...¡± Qiao Lian clenched her fists as she listened to the two groups arguing. She frowned and was about to take a step forward, when the leader of the troublemaking group, who was leading a group of reporters, asked, ¡°Although it¡¯s true, there is no room for regret and refund after you¡¯ve purchased a property, be reasonable. We paid eight years ago and up till now have not received our property. We just wish to have a new good quality home, why is that so difficult?¡± Even the reporters sighed upon hearing this. ¡°Best Actor Shen,e out here! We want to return our purchases!¡± ¡°Return!¡± Given that five or six households were making trouble and demands, the whole group was swayed. Qiao Lian was furious. If they all returned their purchases, how would they continue with their construction? It was obvious that the troublemaking group had been sent by Lu Nanze! She took a step forward and was about to say something, when Shen Liangchuan interrupted, ¡°You really wish to return your purchased homes?¡± The crowd looked at Shen Liangchuan and started shouting at the same time, ¡°That¡¯s right! We want to return our purchased units!¡± Upon hearing this, Shen Liangchuan lowered his gaze and said icily, ¡°Sure, you can return the units, I hope you won¡¯t regret it. Song Cheng, take note of the people who wish to return their purchases.¡± Once these words were spoken, Qiao Lian and Song Cheng hurriedly stepped forward. ¡°Brother Shen!¡± ¡°Shen Liangchuan!¡± So far, no one hade forward to buy any units, so how could these people return the units? However, Shen Liangchuan was determined and insisted, ¡°Do the sums. Return them the money based on the current market price.¡± As he voiced his decision, the reporters apuded loudly. They all praised him for being a generous person. Moreover, those homeowners were immediately excited and happy upon hearing that they would get back their properties for their current value. Originally, about a hundred units had been sold. So when the people saw that they could get a refund by returning their property, over 50 people stepped forward for this opportunity. Song Cheng was sitting on the side, punching numbers on his calctor. As he did so, his heart was aching. How much would this cost?! The building construction had not even started, yet they already had to give aspensation such a huge amount of money. As for the group that did not want a refund, the group leader was an elderly man, the same one who had hurled the brick that hit Shen Liangchuan. Having seen what was going on, he frowned and looked at Shen Liangchuan with great concern, asking, ¡°In this case, are you still going ahead with the construction?¡± Chapter 720 - Do You Hate Me This Much? (20)

Chapter 720: Do You Hate Me This Much? (20)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Sure, I am going ahead with the construction, why would I not?¡± At this point, Shen Liangchuan looked at Song Cheng again and asked, ¡°Did anyone ask to buy our property?¡± Song Cheng nced at the situation outside and finally shook his head. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s eyes darkened as he said, ¡°That¡¯s good then.¡± ¡°What?¡± Song Cheng said in astonishment. Qiao Lian looked at Shen Liangchuan, wondering why he was still expressionless at a time like this. It was hard to tell what he was thinking. All she had was a vague feeling that he had everything under control. ¨C In the Lu family vi. Lu Nanze stared at the screen steadily. It was the news livestream of the situation onsite. Heughed icily. With the rumors he had started, in addition to the few people he had sent to the pre-sales venue to fan the fire, it looked like they would soon have to wind down the housing project. So Shen Liangchuan wanted to help Qiao Lian settle this business? Had he asked for permission to do so? Lu Nanze¡¯s intention was to have the other man¡¯s effortspletely go to waste! He smiled menacingly, certain of having thestugh concerning the housing project¡¯s pre-sales. At this point, no one in their right mind would buy a house from them. And if the units didn¡¯t sell like hotcakes on the first day... The vicious man chortled and lifted his gaze to look at the time. The pre-sales were going to start at 9 am. In order words, at 9 a.m., it would be time for him to sit back and be entertained! Time went by. He watched Song Cheng taking care of the refunds and signing the pertinent agreements. Lu Nanze¡¯s lips turned upwards in a wicked smile. 9 a.m. sharp. The housing project¡¯s pre-salesmenced. The pre-sales¡¯ price was also to be announced. Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes and waited to watch an embarrassed Shen Liangchuan announce the property price to an empty queue. At this point, the main door opened. Shen Liangchuan walked out. Behind him, Song Cheng held up a sign and hung it outside the entrance. When Lu Nanze saw the text on the sign, his eyes narrowed and he immediately jumped up. Initially, he had thought that the sign would show the property price. But now, he saw that the sign only said: ¡°Temporarily Not For Sale!¡± Temporarily not for sale. Was this because Shen Liangchuan knew that no one woulde forward to buy, so this was just so he wouldn¡¯t look bad? Lu Nanze snorted. Even if he was going to halt the pre-sales now, he would have to sell the units at some point, wouldn¡¯t he? He would wait for the time, then. ¨C In the hotel. Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan returned to their room. Shen Liangchuan came out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist. Qiao Lian looked at him intently and hurriedly stood up. She dashed up to him and said, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, are you hiding something from me?¡± The man immediatelyughed upon hearing these words. ¡°You finally realized?¡± She nodded at once and said, ¡°Yes, you knew from the start that Lu Nanze would try to damage us, but you didn¡¯t try to promote it in advance. Even on the first day of the pre-sales, you put up a sign to say that you¡¯re not selling in the end. On the surface, it looks like you¡¯repletely defeated. This is not your style at all!¡± Shen Liangchuan narrowed his eyes and said, ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, we should have some news within a couple of days.¡± ¡°What sort of news?¡± As soon as she said this, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s cell phone suddenly rang. He strode over, looked at the number id and hurriedly picked up the call. He listened to what was being said and suddenly, his darkened eyes lit up. After hanging up, he looked at Qiao Lian and smiled triumphantly. Completely puzzled now, Qiao Lian asked, ¡°Is there some sort of good news?¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded in a rare disy of delight. ¡°Really good news! The government hasunched a new policy! They will announce it tomorrow. In the next half a year, property prices will show an important growth. Qiao Lian, our gamble this time has paid off, we¡¯ve won!¡± Chapter 721 - Best Actor Shen Slaps Himself! (1)

Chapter 721: Best Actor Shen ps Himself! (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Shen Liangchuan came to develop the building project, he had known that this was going to be a loss for sure. However, as he had sensed in Beijing, it was about time that property prices went up. Lu Nanze controlled Suzhou. Shen Liangchuan, on the other hand, owned Beijing. So even though he was in Suzhou to develop this property, he was at a disadvantage. However... He was a talented businessman. And this was his gamble. If he won, he would make a hefty sum. If he lost, he would have nothing but debts to service. Hence, for the past two weeks, although he had been busy with the development project, he had really been waiting for news from Beijing. He had faced tremendous psychological stress. And it was only now that he could rx and finally breathe. The moment he received the news, he was immediately d. After Qiao Lian heard these words and had a chance to reflect on what he had said, she suddenly understood. For the next six months, property prices would shoot through the roof, which would mean... that the value of their development project would shoot through the roof too. And the higher property prices rose, the more they would benefit. Then, she thought about how earlier that day, when the crowd demanded a refund of their units, Shen Liangchuan had done so at the current market price without another word. But when they found out about the news tomorrow... Oh, how much would they regret it! As Qiao Lian looked at the man standing before her now, for some reason, she felt as though something within her was set aze. He had kept quiet all along, looking as though he had been totally defeated by Lu Nanze. But in the end, he never failed to give her a pleasant surprise. At this point, Qiao Lian¡¯s cell phone rang. Picking up the call, she heard Lu Nanze¡¯s voice saying, ¡°Didn¡¯t manage to sell any houses? For the sake of our close childhood friendship, do you need my help? Why don¡¯t I buy the both of you a meal?¡± Shen Liangchuan had gotten first-hand news. It had not been publicly announced. Hence, Lu Nanze did not know yet that his scheme had amounted to nothing. She looked at Shen Liangchuan and then thought about the things that Lu Nanze had done. Suddenly, she felt the irresistible urge to p someone in the face. She immediately replied, ¡°Yes, why not? Let¡¯s have breakfast together tomorrow.¡± After she hung up, she gave Shen Liangchuan a mysterious smile and said, ¡°Let¡¯s take revenge tomorrow!¡± The next morning. Aware that they were meeting Lu Nanze for breakfast, Shen Liangchuan quietly took out the suit he had bought shopping together before. The suit made him look exceptionally tall and gave him an outstanding silhouette. Qiao Lian had chosen something casual for herself but, when she turned around and saw him, she immediately burst outughing. Shen Liangchuan wearing this suit would infuriate Lu Nanze so much, she was sure. Petty men were such scary people. She was stillughing as they walked downstairs. After they got into the elevator, Qiao Lian stood on her tiptoes to straighten Shen Lianchuan¡¯s tie. He, on the other hand, reached out to teasingly neaten her hair. Song Cheng, who was standing next to them, couldn¡¯t help but give an embarrassed cough and said, ¡°Brother Shen, Sister Qiao, public disys of affection can cause premature death.¡± They were just making him exceptionally conscious of his own singlehood. Those bullies! Qiao Lian immediately pursed her lips andughed uncontrobly. As they stepped out of the elevator, they saw Lu Nanze at once. He was in a suit and leather shoes, sitting and waiting for them in the restaurant. From afar, his lips were curled upwards into a smile and he looked iparably magnificent. Thinking that he had probably beaten Shen Liangchuan, he was in high spirits. As Qiao Lian looked at him, they caught his attention too and his eyes narrowed at once. However, the moment he saw what Shen Liangchuan was wearing, his smile froze. Chapter 722 - Best Actor Shen Slaps Himself! (2)

Chapter 722: Best Actor Shen ps Himself! (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian noticed the change in Lu Nanze¡¯s expression and, trying to contain herughter, turned back to nce at Shen Liangchuan. Thetter was expressionless, as usual, acting as if he had not noticed the change in the other man. Likewise, what he was wearing today was just whatever he had happened toy his hands on. He remained nonchnt. Qiao Lian lowered her head immediately. This man was simply two-faced and downright evil. They walked up to Lu Nanze. Lu Nanze chortled and looked intently at the suit Shen Liangchuan was wearing. He said disdainfully, ¡°The old saying is true indeed: you can¡¯t make a silk purse out of a sow¡¯s ear.¡± He was implicitly saying that Shen Liangchuan wasn¡¯t good-looking, so he had to rely on a good suit to make him look outstanding. Shen Liangchuan nodded in agreement and added, ¡°So you should really get yourself a few more nice suits.¡± Qiao Lian burst out in uncontrobleughter again, before quickly looking away. Unfazed, Lu Nanze smiled and looked at them. He said, ¡°But it¡¯s true that you should dress as well as possible now, because I¡¯m afraid that soon you might even have to sell thest shirt you have.¡± Shen Liangchuan raised an eyebrow and retorted, ¡°You won¡¯t have to worry about that.¡± The other man snorted coldly and looked at Qiao Lian. The look in his devilish eyes was full of arrogance. ¡°I thought that wouldn¡¯t have sleptst night. After all, you haven¡¯t even sold a single unit.¡± At this point, a waiter came up to serve their breakfast. Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help but add, ¡°That¡¯s because they¡¯re not on sale yet!¡± ¡°Huh, do you really think anyone would buy, even if you did?¡± Qiao Lian kept silent. Raising an eyebrow, Shen Liangchuan looked at the time and spoke to the waiter, ¡°Could you turn on the television and switch to the news channel.¡± The waiter did as he was told. Lu Nanzeughed coldly and remarked, ¡°Mr. Shen is in the mood to watch the news? You should rather be worrying about your building project.¡± After these words, both Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan turned to focus on the television screen, totally ignoring the other man. Lu Nanze could only follow suit and watch the news with them. The program started with reports of special news and Lu Nanze paid no attention to those. However after a short time, picking up some words from a certain news report, he looked up at once and his pupils shrank. As a businessman, he was sensitive to such news. There was a new policy being pushed out. All therge and medium cities were shocked at this piece of news. All developers would be making in hefty profits soon! Lu Nanze frowned and suddenly turned towards Shen Liangchuan. ¡°You stopped the presales of the property yesterday on purpose?¡± Shen Liangchuan took a bite of his toast and put down his fork and knife. He picked up his napkin, dabbed at his mouth elegantly and looked up, saying, ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Then he continued, ¡°I have you to thank for the help in manipting the crowd to return their units. Now we have a greater profit margin.¡± Lu Nanze was bbergasted. That¡¯s right, that group had returned their units. If they wanted to buy it back, it wouldn¡¯t be at that same price. But still, Lu Nanze stubbornly said, ¡°Even if this were the case, so what? If the units don¡¯t sell, you will still have to keep them.¡± When he said this, Shen Liangchuan nced at him with a strange expression. That mocking look made Lu Nanze realize his remark was a joke. Their development project was situated in a prime location and property prices were skyrocketing. All they needed to do was to let the units go at a price that was but a fraction lower than the other properties around them, and they would surely sell. Besides... Shen Liangchuan stood up at this point. ¡°We have Mr. Lu to thank for a huge saving in advertising costs.¡± ndering Yuxiu Gardens was also, in a way, giving the development project publicity. After he had said these words, Song Cheng came up to them. ¡°Brother Shen, everything is settled!¡± Chapter 723 - Best Actor Shen Slaps Himself! (3)

Chapter 723: Best Actor Shen ps Himself! (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Upon saying this, he held up the cell phone for Shen Liangchuan to have a look. Thetter read the screen and raised an eyebrow. He then held the phone out to Lu Nanze. At a nce, he saw that Yuxiu Gardens had be a trending topic on Weibo¡¯s property site. Lu Nanze had made a big deal of the whole matter and today, it finally showed the oue of his efforts. Their small district would be turned into an upscale district. They had just released the ns for the remodeled district on the Inte, and it would be an elegant neighbourhood. Besides, it had a convenient location, hence, if property prices were to go up, the location¡¯s prices would skyrocket. Real Estate was the country¡¯s most renowned real estatepany, and they had already signed an agreement. They had also chosen the country¡¯s most well-reputed factories to supply their building materials. In addition, they had secured the services of the best construction teams of the area. There was no reason for concern in terms of the development¡¯s quality. Notwithstanding, they had even secured the services of a geomancy expert to survey the location. The well-known geomancer announced that this piece ofnd was virtually a gold mine, but the disaster years ago had probably happened because the ¡®yang¡¯ energy of this ce was too powerful. Hence, they were advised to build a river through the district to put the energy under control. The terrain and shape of the garden to be constructed eventually would resemble the auspicious shape of a cornucopia. All at once, it refuted every fault that Lu Nanze had picked on the development project to make things difficult. Best Actor Shen, being in the entertainment sector, on the other hand, was an expert in fielding difficult questions and sneaky attacks. Lu Nanze had chosen to manipte public opinion as an attack strategy, but he had all along been ying Shen Liangchuan¡¯s game. And now, most of thements on Weibo showed interest in buying Shen Liangchuan¡¯s properties. People wanted to know when the construction would begin. From an abandoned site that no one wanted, Yuxiu Gardens had suddenly be a hot property that everyone became interested in. The workers at the site were even calling to ask, ¡°Mr. Song, when will the presalesmence? Are there any news? A crowd turned up today and they were all asking about the presales.¡± Song Cheng looked at Shen Liangchuan with a questioning expression. Unhurriedly, Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°In three months.¡± Prices would be skyrocketing crazily in the next two months and it should stabilize after that. In half a year, the real estate boom would die down. Hence, if he started selling the property in three months, he would catch a golden opportunity in terms of timing. However, what no one had expected was that the housing prices would rise this much. In three months, it would be around 50% higher. Those who returned the unit all came back, pleading to get back their properties at the original price, regretting every bit of the decision they had made back then. As for Shen Liangchuan, the development project would pave the way to the highest echelons in the business world. Of course, this was besides the point. ¨C After dismissing a gloomy Lu Nanze, Qiao Lian felt as though justice had finally been served. After feeling the frustration of being oppressed by the man all this time, they had seeded atst. Once all the matters were settled, things moved along as they should. And this ended the saga in Suzhou. The only remaining matter was the cause of Qiao Lian¡¯s parents¡¯ death years ago and the matter concerning those low-priced building materials. It was challenging to find an entry point for investigation. The steel bars they had procured were problematic and had made the building copse. The manufacturer of the steel bars, however, had gone broke at that time and the leaders of thepany had all disappeared. This would take time and effort to investigate. So for now, the both of them had free time on their hands. Suzhou was near Hengdian so, on this particr day, they both decided to visit the set of Ambition. On the way there, Qiao Lian thought of Shi Nianyao and gave her a call. ¡°Are you in Hengdian?¡± ¡°Yes, I am,¡± Shi Nianyao said with ackluster tone. Surprised by theck of enthusiasm, Qiao Lian asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Sighing, the girl replied, ¡°Say, what do you think is wrong with my male idol? He¡¯s been blowing hot and cold all this time.¡± Chapter 724 - Mo Xicheng, I Like You (1)

Chapter 724: Mo Xicheng, I Like You (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Before entering the filming crew, when they arrived at Su Zhou, they identally ran across Shi Nianyao. Shi Nianyao looked really sad and hopeless. The moment she saw Qiao Lian, she dragged her to the side of the filming crew and started whispering to her. When Shen Liangchuan saw them talking enthusiastically, he knew that they wouldn¡¯t be done for quite a while. Thus, he went to look for Mo Xicheng. When Qiao Lian saw that Shi Nianyao was donned in an ancient traditional costume, she was confused and asked, ¡°You are still working as an extra here?¡± Shi Nianyao nodded and replied, ¡°Yes. If not, how else would I be able to stay with the filming crew?¡± Qiao Lian thought, ¡°... This girl is quite persistent!¡± Shi Nianyao cupped her chin with both hands like a depressed youngdy as she said, ¡°Why do you think that my idol suddenly became cold to me, although I felt that he was starting to gain a bit of feelings for me?¡± Qiao Lian looked at her. ¡°Did something happen between the two of you?¡± Shi Nianyao shook her head and said, ¡°He is so aloof because nothing happened!¡± Qiao Lian: ... Qiao Lian stared at her and asked, ¡°When was that?¡± ¡°When the investors came to check out the filming set. Didn¡¯t he always protect me when Qiao Yiyi was around? He was quite nice towards me. But after Qiao Yiyi left, he no longer bothered about me. Aish, don¡¯t tell me that I have to find someone else to bully me for him to start protecting me.¡± Qiao Lian: ... Qiao Lian looked at her for a while and asked, ¡°Do you like Mo Xicheng as an idol or... as more?¡± Shi Nianyao took a deep breath. ¡°At first, I liked him as an idol. I¡¯ve been quietly following him for so many years but, after interacting with him, I realized that my feelings towards him seem to... have changed.¡± ¡°So what did they be?¡± ¡°Previously, I would introduce him to my friends so we can support and like him together. But now, I think it is enough if only I like him.¡± Shi Nianyao stared at Qiao Lian with her big watery eyes. At that moment, the girl akin to a princess was like a lost child. ¡°I feel really sad whenever he ignores me. What to do?¡± Qiao Lian gave it a thought, and she couldn¡¯t help it but ask, ¡°Have you confessed your feelings?¡± Shi Nianyao was stunned for a moment and replied, ¡°Not yet.¡± Qiao Lian stared at her, ¡°Actually, isn¡¯t it easy to tell if he likes you? Just go and confess and you¡¯ll know.¡± Shi Nianyao hade from overseas. She wasn¡¯t shy, she was straightforward and daring. Furthermore, Mo Xicheng¡¯s attitude towards hertely had made her feel as if she was being roasted over a fire. She often felt uneasy, worried that her actions would piss him.off. This anxious feeling of losing him made her despise herself. Shi Nianyao stood up suddenly and eximed, ¡°Lian Lian, I think you¡¯re very right! Since I like him, I should confess courageously. At most, if he rejects me, I¡¯d just continuing treating him as my idol.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. The next moment, Shi Nianyao held her sleeve. Shi Nianyao looked at her pitifully and said, ¡°Lian Lian, you have to help me with this.¡± ¡°... What do you want me to help you with?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t even get close to my male idol, how could I even confess? Lian Lian, please help me ask my male idol out!¡± ¡°Please, my happiness depends on you!¡± ¡°You can do it, Lian Lian!¡± Qiao Lian: ... The security in the filming crew was indeed really strict. Lately, Mo Xicheng had been busy filming there. As an extra, if he didn¡¯t want to see her, it was indeed hard for her to get close to him. Chapter 725 - Mo Xicheng, I Like You (2)

Chapter 725: Mo Xicheng, I Like You (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Qiao Lian found Shen Liangchuan, he was standing by the filming set and watching them film. The director was filming an important scene of Mo Xicheng. When Qiao Lian walked over, she saw that Shen Liangchuan¡¯s gaze as he stared at Mo Xicheng was swarthy. She immediately felt bad for him deep inside. Shen Liangchuan only acted in one production every year. He put in a lot of effort for all of his productions, and he usually did a lot of research beforehand. Ever since she had married Shen Liangchuan, he had been researching the role for Ambition. But in the end, for her sake... Qiao Lian immediately shook her head to stop thinking about that matter. She returned her attention to the filming set. Mo Xicheng was indeed very powerful in his acting. Qiao Lian had seen Shen Liangchuan act. He seemed like he could immerse people into the role in seconds, and this feeling was vividly reflected on Mo Xicheng too. If not for the setup around them, as well as the presence of the director, Qiao Lian would have felt as though she had transmigrated to Chinese Three Kingdoms¡¯ Period and had personally witnessed Cao Cao¡¯s tough journey, after watching that scene. Only after they were done shooting that scene, did the director approach Shen Liangchuan together with Mo Xicheng. The director was really excited to see Shen Liangchuan as he eximed, ¡°Best Actor Shen! Why did youe?¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded to the director and replied, ¡°I came to visit.¡± Mo Xicheng took a step forward and both men stuck our their fists to bump each other¡¯s shoulder once. It showed the friendship between them. Then the director looked at Mo Xicheng. ¡°We¡¯ll film Teacher Mo¡¯s scene tomorrow then! It¡¯s so rare to have Best Actor Shen here. Teacher Mo can represent the filming crew and treat Best Actor Shen for dinner.¡± Director Wang was on good terms with Shen Liangchuan. Due to the fight because of those investing issues, Director Wang felt indebted to Shen Liangchuan. When Shen Liangchuan looked for him to discuss investing in the drama, he immediately agreed. And the percentage of investment Lu Nanze had put into the filming instantly dropped to 30%. He was a bossy man and, since he didn¡¯t have absolute power in the crew, he withdrew his investment and quit straight away. But with Shen Liangchuan¡¯s investment, Director Wang wasn¡¯t worried about losing that money. Thus, Lu Nanze was no longer an investor of the production. Instead, it was Shen Liangchuan. Director Wang knew Shen Liangchuan¡¯s character. He didn¡¯t like overstating things. Thus, he just let Mo Xicheng apany him. Mo Xicheng nodded. ¡°Ok, let me go remove my makeup.¡± Shen Liangchuan was randomly walking around the filming crew, but Qiao Lian was really anxious. She looked left and right and asked Shen Liangchuan, ¡°Where are we eating tonight?¡± Shen Liangchuan raised his eyebrows. ¡°You¡¯re hungry?¡± Qiao Lian shook her head and answered, ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then what are you anxious about?¡± ¡°... Tell me, quick!¡± Shen Liangchuan then spoke, ¡°If there isn¡¯t anything wrong, we will be going to the hotpot restaurant across the road.¡± Winter and hotpot were a perfect match. The hotpot restaurant in front of the filming set was a restaurant that idols always frequented. There were private rooms in it and they had a good sound-proofing. After hearing his words, Qiao Lian immediately nodded and called Shi Nianyao. ¡°See you at the hotpot restaurant tonight!¡± After making the call, like a thief, they waited for another half an hour before Mo Xicheng finally came back. There was still a stic hat on his head. He had only changed his clothes and taken off his makeup. When he saw Shen Liangchuan, he spoke, ¡°Putting on the stic hat is too troublesome, I still have another scene to film tonight, so I won¡¯t take it off.¡± The three of them walked towards the hotpot restaurant. And, just as they entered, Qiao Lian eximed exaggeratedly, ¡°Eh, isn¡¯t that Nianyao! That¡¯s really coincidental! Did youe to eat hotpot too? Come, let¡¯s eat together!¡± Chapter 726 - Mo Xicheng, I Like You (3)

Chapter 726: Mo Xicheng, I Like You (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shi Nianyao cooperated seamlessly, ¡°Oh, Chief Editor Lian Lian, what a coincidence! Fancy running into you here. Let¡¯s eat together!¡± Shen Liangchuan was quite bbergasted. Mo Xicheng: ... Did these two women take them for fools? Would Shi Nianyaoe for hotpot here alone? Besides, that fake greeting... This was Hengdian, the capital city of drama. The corners of Shen Liangchuan¡¯s mouth curved upwards into a slight smile. Now he understood why the woman had been pestering him for an answer as to what they were having for dinner. As for Mo Xicheng... His expression darkened the moment he saw Shi Nianyao. He was a gloomy person to begin with, but now he looked even more abstruse. He tensed his chin and, although he had not said anything, his bodynguage suggested that he had suddenly distanced himself. When Qiao Lian observed this, she immediately understood what Shi Nianyao meant. It seemed that Mo Xicheng... wasn¡¯t too weing towards Shi Nianyao. However, his upbringing had also taught him not to reject a girl and embarrass her. Hence, he said nothing and merely kept a distance. He gave her a nod of acknowledgment before heading into the private room. Shi Nianyao opened her mouth in a motion to say something, but before she could do so, he was gone... Leaving the words stuck in her throat. Looking hurt, she frowned as she looked at his disappearing figure wistfully. In the private room. Because it was only the four of them, the room wasn¡¯t a very big one. Tastefully decorated in a traditional theme, there were only four chairs, two in a row. Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan walked into the room and saw that Mo Xicheng had sat down. She hurriedly tugged at Shen Liangchuan and took a section for them. Raising her eyebrows and ncing at Shi Nianyao, she tried not to be too obvious about her intentions to create an opportunity for the two. Shi Nianyao walked over and sat next to Mo Xicheng. In reaction to this, although there was no change in his facial expression, Mo Xicheng shifted slightly away to create more distance between himself and the girl. Shi Nianyao paused at his movement and then turned to look at him with a startled expression. Qiao Lian too felt that Mo Xicheng¡¯s action was uncalled for; in fact, it was a bit much. She turned to give Shen Liangchuan a look. Shen Liangchuan kept silent. Being buddies, there was no way he could intervene. If Mo Xicheng didn¡¯t fancy Shi Nianyao, could he force them to be together, really? At once, Shi Nianyao¡¯s heart sank. Because of this episode, the atmosphere in the room became quiet and gloomy. Shen Liangchuan and Mo Xicheng found a topic to talk about and started to discuss the character Cao Cao. Qiao Lian and Shi Nianyao, on the other hand, stared at each other and after a while, thetter pouted. Qiao Lian kept silent. Qiao Lian extended her arm and gave Shen Liangchuan a poke, interrupting his conversation with Mo Xicheng. She leaned into him and said in a low voice, ¡°Talk to me!¡± She wanted to create an opportunity for Mo Xicheng and Shi Nianyao to talk to each other. Shen Liangchuan was quite bbergasted. On the other side of the table, Shi Nianyao finally found the chance. She lifted her ss of fruit juice and held it out to Mo Xicheng, saying, ¡°Mo Xicheng, thank you for taking care of me recently.¡± Looking down, he lifted his ss in response and took a sip. Then he said in an emotionless tone, ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡± ¡°This attitude!¡± thought Shi Nianyao, ¡°How am I supposed to continue the conversation?!¡± Shortly afterwards, the waitress served the hot pot. This restaurant used individual pots, so they each had their own. The waitress arranged the four hotpots on the table for the guests. When the waitress moved to serve Shi Nianyao¡¯s hot pot, one of her high heels suddenly gave way and the little pot tipped over in Shi Nianyao¡¯s direction. Chapter 727 - Mo Xicheng, I Like You (4)

Chapter 727: Mo Xicheng, I Like You (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The hotpot soup wasn¡¯t too hot and, even if it had sshed onto Shi Nianyao, it wouldn¡¯t have caused any harm. Besides, the waitress quickly steadied her heel and regained bnce. So, even though the pot had poured its content, it eventually did not spill on Shi Nianyao. However, in that moment, it did cause rm. Qiao Lian reflexively yelled, ¡°Be careful!¡± Shi Nianyao was startled and with widened eyes, she tried to dodge it to the side. But for some reason, the image of Mo Xicheng moving his chair earlier on suddenly shed across her mind. She couldn¡¯t help thinking that if she were to fall in his direction, he might think that she was doing it on purpose. The moment that thought struck her, she froze in position. But at this point, she felt someone¡¯s arm grabbing her shoulders and, with a strong pull, she fell uncontrobly in that direction, right into Mo Xicheng¡¯s embrace. With both his arms shielding her, he shot the waitress a warning look. After the waitress steadied herself, she felt terribly embarrassed and said immediately, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry...¡± Then she ced the pot of soup before Shi Nianyao and asked with great concern, ¡°Miss, are you okay?¡± Shi Nianyao was still in a state of confusion at this point. Because... Right now, all she could process was the scent of Mo Xicheng filling her nostrils. That heady, manly scent that was both familiar and strange, making her head spin and leaving her in aplete daze. Mo Xicheng had saved her? Her male idol had saved her! This thought went round and round in her head, till atst she looked at Mo Xicheng with shining eyes. Could it be that her male idol had a teeny weeny bit of interest in her? However, that sense of vanishing hope quickly came back as that thought crashed and burned. It was only when the waitress spoke that Shi Nianyao realized that she was still held in her idol¡¯s embrace. She quickly straightened herself up and coughed once. With a red face, she looked at Mo Xicheng and said, ¡°Thanks for that.¡± He stared at his hands and recalled how when he was holding her, his heart had missed a beat. Then, expressionlessly, he turned to look at the food on the table. Suddenly, the image from the other day appeared in his mind, that scene of how affectionate she had been with that investor. Distancing himself again, he said, ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± The atmosphere went back to being awkward. When the dinner was finally over, the four of them got up and headed out. Looking at Shi Nianyao, Qiao Lian hurriedly grabbed Shen Liangchuan and said, ¡°Let¡¯s take a slow stroll back and enjoy the night scenery. Hengdian¡¯s night sky is lovely!¡± Shen Liangchuan looked up at the smoggy air. It was dark and not a star was in sight. It was very much simr to Beijing. But he didn¡¯t expose Qiao Lian¡¯s intentions. He merely nodded and said a few parting words to Mo Xicheng. Looking at Shi Nianyao, Qiao Lian said, ¡°Mo Xicheng, Nianyao is also staying at the hotel next to the filming set. It would be nice if you could apany her.¡± Having said this, she subtly raised an eyebrow and nced at Shi Nianyao. Thetter took a deep breath and silently gestured an ¡®okay¡¯ sign at her. After Qiao Lian and Shi Nianyao left, Shi Nianyao and Mo Xicheng took a slow walk back to the filming location. Shi Nianyao thought about the things that she was intending to say and became so nervous that her hands were mmy. She gulped a few times. And seeing that they would arrive at the filming location very soon, she suddenly called, ¡°Mo- Mo Xicheng.¡± The man halted and turned around. Looking down at her feet, Shi Nianyao said aloud, ¡°Well... you... would you want a girlfriend?¡± Chapter 728 - Mo Xicheng, I Like You (5)

Chapter 728: Mo Xicheng, I Like You (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As soon as she asked this question, Shi Nianyao¡¯s heart started racing and jumping out of control It thumped erratically. She did not dare to raise her eyes and look at Mo Xicheng, so she stared at the ground with a lowered head. Her attention, however, was fully and entirely focused on Mo Xicheng. He, on the other hand, was stunned by her question and didn¡¯t know what to say. This was the first time in her life she made this sort of confession. The anxiety and unease she felt right now was torturous and she thought she would go crazy. Was that a yes or a no?! She bit her lip, wishing that time would go faster so that she could hear an answer. Yet she also wished that time would stop still right there and then, so that she wouldn¡¯t hear an answer that was different from what she wanted. After what seemed like forever, Mo Xicheng still had not answered, making Shi Nianyao wish that she had never asked. She coughed once and looked up. She was about to say something when she saw Mo Xicheng frowning in confusion. He tried to rify it, ¡°What do you mean?¡± What did she mean? Shi Nianyao almost died. Wasn¡¯t it simple and straightforward enough? She said directly, ¡°What I meant was that I like you. Can I be your girlfriend?¡± The moment she said this, her face turned bright scarlet. She bit her lip and gathered all her courage to raise her eyes and look straight at Mo Xicheng. As though she wouldn¡¯t give up if she didn¡¯t get an answer. However, following this, Mo Xicheng was quiet for a long time. He remained expressionless, and his eyes were gloomy and deep, as always, like doorways to a million things. For some reason, when she saw his expression, she suddenly felt as though she knew what he was going to say. She looked away quickly and tried to change the topic, ¡°Look, the sky is beautiful tonight.¡± However, Mo Xicheng finally spoke, ¡°I don¡¯t really intend to date anyone at the moment.¡± Shi Nianyao halted for a moment. She felt her heart, which had been full of hope just a moment ago, turn cold as though it had been tossed into the wintry wilderness. She felt like she had been drenched with a basin of icy cold water. She gave Mo Xicheng a startled look and held the gaze for some time before the truth sank into her. She had been rejected. But... no matter what, she had to keep herposure in front of her idol. Shi Nianyao gulped and then managed to squeeze a smile, that looked even worse than crying. ¡°Oh, well maybe when you have that intention, you can let me know.¡± Saying this was just a way for her to ease herself out of the situation. Being such an intelligent girl, how could she have missed how Mo Xicheng was trying to create a distance between them? His gaze darkening, he hesitated for a moment before replying, ¡°Ok.¡± Then Shi Nianyao said, ¡°I just remembered. I have to look for Chief Editor Lian Lian to discuss something. Why don¡¯t you leave first? ¡®ll walk back to look for them.¡± There were streets with stores and street sellers all around, so it was quite safe. Besides, the girl was on the verge of tears. Given her stubbornness and pride, she probably did not want him to be around to see the predicament she was in. Mo Xicheng lowered his gaze and said, ¡°Ok.¡± She then turned and slowly walked back in the direction of the hotpot restaurant. The sky had darkened and the lights had dimmed. No one could really see the expression on her face, but Shi Nianyao felt as though she was choking on a huge wad of cotton wool stuck in her chest. She tried hard to suppress her own emotions, telling herself not to cry. Otherwise, it would be just too embarrassing. It was just a confession and a rejection, what was there to cry about? Chapter 729 - Mo Xicheng, I Like You!(6)

Chapter 729: Mo Xicheng, I Like You!(6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Although she thought that, the tears formed uncontrobly and rolled down her cheeks, wetting her face. She walked alone along the streets of Hengdian. Mo Xicheng followed her, frowning and lost in his thoughts. He looked bewildered and at a loss as to how tofort an upset girl. He knew she didn¡¯t want him around, but he was too worried to let her be alone. Qiao Lian was tugging Shen Liangchuan along as they trailed the two of them from a safe distance. They couldn¡¯t have heard what Shi Nianyao and Mo Xicheng had said to each other, but looking at what was going on, everything was self-exnatory. She shot Shen Liangchuan a look to indicate that they should attend to them separately. Qiao Lian walked up to Shi Nianyao and tapped her shoulder. Thetter spun her head around and, seeing that it was Qiao Lian, now felt worse than ever. She called out, ¡°Lian Lian!¡± and started to cry aloud. Qiao Lian drew the sobbing girl into her embrace. Shi Nianyao was starting to choke on her own tears now. After a brief moment, she looked up and dried her eyes. ¡°Actually, there really isn¡¯t anything to cry about.¡± Qiao Lian nodded in agreement. ¡°That¡¯s right, three-legged toads are rare, but two-legged men are a dime a dozen. We¡¯re not bad looking, so the least of our worries is finding a man to like us.¡± ¡°Lian Lian, what are you saying?!¡± Shi Nianyao pouted and said, ¡°I¡¯m sure my idol doesn¡¯t like me because I¡¯m not good enough. Tell me, what is it I¡¯mcking?¡± Qiao Lian waspletely astounded. After all of this, the silly girl still held a torch for him? Frowning, Shi Nianyao continued, ¡°Mum and Dad are both good-looking people. Logically speaking, I shouldn¡¯t have a problem in that department. Intellectually, even less so. That leaves...¡± Qiao Lian widened her eyes. In what other ways was Shi Nianyao not perfect? As she contemted the possibilities, Shi Nianyao suddenly pped her own forehead, saying, ¡°Could it be because I don¡¯t have a good figure?¡± Figure? Qiao Lian looked at Shi Nianyao again. She had the right curves, front and back. What else was missing? Shi Nianyao lowered her head and stared at her chest. ¡°It¡¯s indeed a little t.¡± Qiao Lian: ... Wiping her fists and rubbing her palms, she asked, ¡°Should I eat more papayas?¡± Qiao Lian: ... ¨C On the other end of things, Shen Liangchuan walked up to Mo Xicheng. Following his gaze, he noted Mo Xicheng was staring at the two girls in the distance. They had no idea what Qiao Lian had said to Shi Nianyao, who had been crying her eyes out just a little while back, but now lookedpletely fine. The girls were chatting about something. Shen Liangchuan pursed his lips and said, ¡°You don¡¯t lookpletely disinterested in her. Why did you reject her?¡± Mo Xicheng looked away. He smiled in a mocking manner and said after a short pause, ¡°Someone like me... with my status... why would I want to weigh someone else down?¡± Shen Liangchuan was bbergasted by this answer and was left quite speechless. After a moment, he asked, ¡°Is that why you¡¯ve never dated anyone all these years?¡± Mo Xicheng looked at him and nodded. Shen Liangchuan finally gave a deep sigh and said, ¡°You are the one limiting yourself.¡± Mo Xicheng lowered his gaze and said, ¡°I can¡¯t help being who I am. This is my identity.¡± He was an illegitimate child, born out of wedlock. And he was the child who would never see the light of day. But she, on the other hand, was like the sun. He found her irresistible, yet he could not bear being the one weighing her life down. Hence, it was better to put an early stop to things. Chapter 730 - Mo Xicheng, I Like You (7)

Chapter 730: Mo Xicheng, I Like You (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Besides... she had better options, didn¡¯t she? Mo Xicheng cast his gaze down. ¨C Night time, back at the hotel. Shi Nianyao said goodbye to Qiao Lian happily. ¡°Okay, I should get going now.¡± Still worried, Qiao Lian suggested, ¡°Why don¡¯t I keep youpany tonight?¡± Shi Nianyao waved her hand dismissively and nced at her, saying, ¡°Nah. I wouldn¡¯t want Best Actor Shen to face and empty room all night¡ªhe¡¯d hate me for it! Besides, it was just a confession and a rejection. No big deal!¡± Qiao Lian insisted, but Shi Nianyao waved her hand again adamantly and said, ¡°There really is no need. Just go. Hurry.¡± In the end, Qiao Lian could only nod. By the time she went back upstairs, Shen Liangchuan was already in the hotel room. The moment she thought of Mo Xicheng, she couldn¡¯t help but feel angry. ¡°What is wrong with Nianyao? Why did Mo Xicheng reject her? When they stand side by side, they look like the perfect couple.¡± Upon hearing this, Shen Liangchuan pursed his lips. Finally, he walked up to her and put his arms around her waist. He told her, ¡°The truth is Mo Xicheng doesn¡¯t want to hold her back with his background.¡± She paused. ¡°What?¡± Shen Liangchuan gave Qiao Lian a sketch of Mo Xicheng¡¯s family background. ¡°His mother is in charge of the Mo family household, and is also the mistress of the Chairman of the Mo family¡¯s business. Madam Mo knows about the existence of this woman and her son, Mo Xicheng. Chairman Mo and this mistress were lovers, so when it all started long ago, she pleaded with Madam Mo to allow her to be with the Chairman. Madam Mo has a son who is just slightly older than Mo Xicheng. His mother couldn¡¯t bear to leave the Chairman, but on the other hand felt that she owed this to Madam Mo. Hence, she has always tried to suppress Mo Xicheng, making sure he doesn¡¯t think about inheriting anything from the Mo Family.¡± Qiao Lian frowned deeply and said, ¡°Is this woman sick in the mind? She¡¯d rather be a mistress all her life? And that Madam Mo, why did she want to continue being the wife of such a man?! And to think she even bore him a son!¡± Shen Liangchuan said with little emotion, ¡°Madam Mo is cold and weak in temperament, she and my mother share a very close friendship. At that time, she didn¡¯t know about the mistress. It was only after she had given birth that she realized her own son had a brother who was born only a few days after him. At that time, she did consider a divorce, but knew that the Mo Family would never let her take a male heir away with her. On the other hand, she reticent to let everything in the Mo Family go to the mistress, which would have been the case if she had left. So she stayed. But all these years, she and Mo Xicheng¡¯s father never really kept a close rtionship. The marriage was only a facade.¡± He sighed and continued, ¡°Unfortunately, Madam Mo¡¯s son, who is Mo Xicheng¡¯s half-brother, is a little... How would you put it? Hedonistic, and he has no wish for sess. He¡¯s now an intern in his family business office, but heins incessantly and no one respects him. Two years ago, during a board meeting someone suggested for Mo Xicheng toe in as an intern too. Since then, Madam Mo is wary towards him. His own mother also continued to suppress him. She felt it was bad enough that she had taken away Madam Mo¡¯s husband, so she will not allow Mo Xicheng to take away what should belong to his half-brother.¡± Qiao Lian waspletely bbergasted after hearing this. She had only seen parents who would suffer for their child¡¯s sake, but had never seen a parent who would subject their child to suffering for their own sake. And since she knew she was in the wrong, why didn¡¯t she leave and return justice to that family? Was her so-called love that important? Chapter 731 - Mo Xicheng, I Like You (8)

Chapter 731: Mo Xicheng, I Like You (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios It was no wonder that, even though Mo Xicheng was obviously capable of carving a career for himself in the entertainment industry, it had never really taken off. He never epted films that had a huge potential for sess. He was never even involved in any scandals, all because he had always been so inhibited. With such a mother, what could anyone say? Suddenly, Qiao Lian was full of sympathy for Mo Xicheng. That would exin why he always looked so troubled and gloomy, as though he was a nocturnal creature that could not thrive in the light. She sighed deeply. If Shi Nianyao were to date this guy for real, who knew how much more she would suffer? Qiao Lian now understood where Mo Xicheng wasing from. ¨C The following day, they decided to return to Beijing. Now that the development project was fully on track, they just needed to wait three months before the housing units were on sale. First thing in the morning, they saw Shi Nianyao standing at the door of their hotel room with her suitcase. Qiao Lian was stunned. ¡°You¡¯re¡ª¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you returning to Beijing? I¡¯ll go with you.¡± She walked up to them. Although she had a smile on her face, that smile was somewhat forced. Qiao Lian could tell from the look on her face that she had been hurt by what happened the day before. Given what had happened, it wasn¡¯t a bad thing that she was leaving the filming crew. Hence, she nodded. As they were leaving, Mo Xicheng turned up to see them off. His eyes were bloodshot fromte night filming. Yet when he saw Shi Nianyao standing there with her suitcase next to the couple, he was slightly stunned. However, he did not say a word. After all, even if he had some good feelings towards her, it was just that¡ªa seed that had just germinated. Seeing his cold expression, Shi Nianyao¡¯s heart sank even lower. Eventually, she got on the ne with the other two. ¨C It was close to the end of the lunar year when Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan returned to Beijing. Xia Yehua was busy shopping for the New Year celebrations and the housekeepers were all preparing for the festive season. Xia Nuannuan and Shen Zihao¡¯s wedding was ted for the 15th of the first lunar month. After all, they couldn¡¯t possibly wait too long. It wouldn¡¯t look good for the bride to be obviously pregnant in her wedding dress. Because of the rush, Dad Xia and Mom Xia decided there was no point in returning home. They would stay in Beijing to prepare for the wedding. The atmosphere became more festive as the days passed. It was also bustling at home. But when night time came, Qiao Lian found Xia Yehua standing outside Song Yuanxi¡¯s room with a longing look on her face. And she suddenly realized: it had been almost two months since Song Yuanxi had been taken to the rehab home. She wondered how the girl¡¯s recovery wasing along. At this thought, she cast her gaze down. Song Yuanxi was the cause of what had happened eight years ago. All along, Shen Liangchuan had avoided giving her an exnation for why he had not turned up for their meeting. Perhaps she could make some headway through Song Yuanxi. Thest time she had visited, the girl hadn¡¯t been in the right state of mind. Qiao Lian wondered if Song Yuanxi¡¯s condition had stabilized by now. The following day, Qiao Lian found an excuse to go out and headed for the rehab home. The guard at the entrance of the rehab home did not allow her in, as usual. Qiao Lian decided to call Xia Nuannuan for help However unexpectedly, as she stood by the road making the call, she saw a luxury car drive up. At first, Qiao Lian took no notice of the car. But after the car stopped and the chauffeur got down to open the door, Qiao Lian spotted the person sitting in the backseat¡ªit was Mei Feng! She froze at once. What was Mei Feng doing here and who was she visiting? Chapter 732 - That Matter Eight Years Ago (1)

Chapter 732: That Matter Eight Years Ago (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Because today was not a visiting day, the security entrance was closed to prevent visitors. Mei Feng made a call and then a person walked out¡ªnot only to wee her, but they even let the car in. This treatment... But did Mei Feng have a rtive staying in the rehab home? Qiao Lian did not think too much about it at this point. She simply called Xia Nuannuan. New Year was just around the corner and Xia Yehua had almost recovered. Hence, Xia Nuanuan was also back to work. After waiting five minutes, Xia Nuannuan walked out of the rehab home. The white down jacket matched her increasingly gentle demeanor. When people looked into her expressive and lively eyes, they warmed immediately to her. No matter the situation, Xia Nuannuan would always give people the impression that she was a girl from a Jiangnan waterways town. Her eyes lit up when she saw Qiao Lian. She approached her and asked, ¡°You¡¯re back from Suzhou?¡± Qiao Lian nodded. Xia Nuannuan immediately gave a smile that made the skin around her eyes crinkle. She continued, ¡°Aunt Xia was nagging just two days ago, thinking that you both wouldn¡¯t be back for the New Year.¡± Qiao Lian teased the girl, ¡°Are you still calling her Aunt Xia? Shouldn¡¯t you change the form of address now?¡± Xia Nuannuan blushed and said, ¡°But we haven¡¯t had the wedding ceremony.¡± ¡°You can still change it, since you¡¯ve already registered your marriage.¡± Qiao Lian lowered her gaze and looked at Xia Nuannuan¡¯s abdomen. Because she was no more than two months pregnant and, furthermore, was wearing a thick down jacket, one couldn¡¯t tell she was with child. Still, Qiao Lian reached out to touch the girl¡¯s belly. ¡°Has the baby been behaving?¡± Xia Nuannuanughed. ¡°You seem to like babies. Why don¡¯t you and Best Actor Shen have one too?¡± At these words, Qiao Lian paused and her hand froze on Xia Nuannuan¡¯s belly. Pursing her lips, she straightened up and replied, ¡°We¡¯re still young, but don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t take too long after you.¡± As they chatted and walked, they arrived at the rehab homepound. These days the rtionship between Xia Nuannuan and Xia Yehua had deepened, hence, the girl had alsoe to understand Song Yuanxi¡¯s rtionship with the family. She understood as well why Qiao Lian hade to visit Song Yuanxi without Xia Yehua¡¯s knowledge. Qiao Lian inquired, ¡°How has her condition beentely?¡± Xia Nuannuan offered her opinion, ¡°Actually, I do think that her emotions have stabilized and her condition has eased up. After all, it was triggered by a specific instance. But every time Aunt Xiaes to visit, she doesn¡¯t speak much so we don¡¯t really know if she¡¯s well.¡± She sighed and continued, ¡°Normally Ms. Song is quite calm and doesn¡¯t seem to have any issues with staying here. But I do feel that she¡¯s not really sick. Rather, she seems...¡± Qiao Lian looked at her and asked, ¡°She seems...?¡± ¡°She seems to be in self-exile.¡± Xia Nuannuan lowered her voice and continued, ¡°I studied psychology. This situation looks like she hasn¡¯t been able to let go of the fact that she harmed Best Actor Shen. Now she¡¯s confined herself here, as though she sentenced herself to jail. Most days, she doesn¡¯t even step out and sits by herself in the room.¡± She furrowed her brow. ¡°If a normal person istes herself for an extended period and ceases to interact with the outside world, she can develop autism.¡± Qiao Lian frowned and took a few steps forward after hearing what she had said. Suddenly, she saw Mei Feng¡¯s car. It had stopped next to the apartment building where Xia Nuannuan stayed. Then, the woman got out of the car and walked towards Song Yuanxi¡¯s room. Chapter 733 - That Matter Eight Years Ago (2)

Chapter 733: That Matter Eight Years Ago (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Startled, Qiao Lian widened her eyes. She had thought that perhaps Mei Feng was here to visit someone else, but now... Wasn¡¯t Song Yuanxi the sister of Shen Liangchuan¡¯s old friend? Even Xia Yehua had never been quite sure who she was exactly. But Mei Feng... why had shee to see Song Yuanxi? She was stunned for a moment. Then she heard Xia Nuannuan remark with surprise as well, ¡°Aunty Mei? I¡¯ve heard from others that a wealthydy oftenes and visits Ms. Song. So this wealthydy is Aunty Mei?¡± Qiao Lian seemed to suddenly catch something in these words and turned sharply towards Xia Nuannuan. ¡°What do you mean?¡± The girl began, ¡°I took a leave for a month to look after Aunt Xia recently. When I returned from my leave, I paid special attention to Ms. Song. My colleague told me that a wealthydy has been visiting her, but invariably on a non-visiting day. I hadn¡¯t thought much of it... but how does Aunty Mei know Ms. Song?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s instinct told her there was some secret behind this! She bit her lip and suddenly looked around. Then she grabbed Xia Nuannuan and said, ¡°Come with me!¡± Xia Nuannuan had always kept a prim and proper image. But now, Qiao Lian passed the main entrance stealthily with her head lowered and body bent over. She sneaked past the building frontage and went around it, to the back. She had no choice but to follow. When they reached the back of the building, Qiao Lian lifted her head and looked around. ¡°Song Yuanxi¡¯s room should be on the second floor of this side, right?¡± Xia Nuannuan nodded. Qiao Lian gave a slight cough and said to her, ¡°Keep watch for me. I¡¯ll try to hear what they¡¯re saying.¡± Xia Nuannuan hesitated. Then she nodded and said, ¡°Ok.¡± Hurriedly, she added, ¡°Don¡¯t get caught.¡± Qiao Lian made an ok gesture to her. She surveyed the environment and found that the only way up was through the air conditioningpressor units. So she took a deep breath and leaped onto one. Then, straightening her posture, she gripped the sill of the second floor window. On her tip-toes, she could just barely see what was going on inside. Fortunately, there was a nt on the second floor¡¯s balcony and it covered her head. She looked inside. The room was well-heated, but the window was open. Standing in this position, Qiao Lian could feel the warm air envelop her. Song Yuanxi was in thin white pajamas, sitting on the seat by the window. Qiao Lian could see that the girl¡¯s face had turned pale with the cold. Her dark hair was untied and she was staring nkly ahead. Mei Feng frowned as she set aside the snacks that she had brought with her. Both of them sat there in the room, not speaking to each other. Time slipped by minute by minute, and Qiao Lian began to wonder if Mei Feng hade to visit Song Yuanxi just to sit there, staring at each other like this. As she pondered, Mei Feng finally spoke, ¡°Actually, you¡¯ve recovered, haven¡¯t you?¡± Song Yuanxi kept silent. Mei Feng sneered, ¡°Did you think that by pretending to be sick here, people out there will feel guilty? Let me tell you, your beloved Brother Liangchuan has already announced on the Inte who Mrs. Shen is.¡± At these words, Song Yuanxi¡¯s fingers, that were resting on her knees, curled and dug into her flesh. The woman stood up suddenly and said, ¡°I know there¡¯s nothing wrong with you. And I also know that your heart has softened because you injured your Brother Liangchuan. But have you forgotten what happened eight years ago?!¡± Chapter 734 - That Matter Eight Years Ago (3)

Chapter 734: That Matter Eight Years Ago (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Those words seemed to provoke Song Yuanxi. Her fingers curled into a tight fist, and her nk stare focused as she looked at Mei Feng. Her lips were tightly pursed. Mei Feng heaved a sigh of relief when she saw that the girl had reacted. She hurriedly walked over, knelt in front of Song Yuanxi and tried to coax her. ¡°Ms. Song, don¡¯t forget how your brother died then! Are you really not going to avenge him? Are you really going to let Shen Liangchuan and Qiao Lian live happily ever after? Are you really willing to do that?!¡± she spoke with much enticement and persuasion. Was she willing? Song Yuanxi frowned. Her eyes were riveted on Mei Feng. After a moment, she said unhurriedly, ¡°What else can I do?¡± A smile shed across Mei Feng¡¯s face. ¡°You¡¯re finally talking.¡± The girl remained expressionless. Her frail figure made her look as though she might be blown away by the wind at any moment. She stared at Mei Feng, looking delicate and like a lost child, not knowing what path to take. At this point, Mei Feng stood up and said, ¡°Go home. You have to think of a way to go home. Only when you are among the Shen Family, and only when you are constantly around Shen Liangchuan, will he be reminded every moment of the pain from eight years ago.¡± ¡°Child, I know it¡¯s hard for you. But it was even harder for your brother, when he died back then. If nothing, you have to stand up for the sake of avenging your brother!¡± Song Yuanxi frowned at the woman¡¯s words. Mei Feng patted her shoulder. ¡°As for the rest of it, I don¡¯t think I need to teach you what to do?¡± Song Yuanxi lifted her head to look at the woman. Finally, her expressionless face began to show some stirrings of emotions. After a moment, she nodded. Qiao Lian jumped off the air conditioningpressor. Her hands were icy and she gulped nervously. She stared straight ahead and felt an evil gust of wind brush against her back. That matter from eight years ago. What happened in Song Yuanxi¡¯s family eight years ago? What was the connection between her and the death of Song Yuanxi¡¯s brother? Qiao Lian frowned deeply. She couldn¡¯t think of what could¡¯ve happened eight years ago. After going back to Suzhou, she had found a list of property buyers and the workers who had died in the disaster. Song Yuanxi¡¯s brother was definitely not among them. This meant that Song Yuanxi¡¯s brother did not die because of the construction incident. If this were the case, then what was the reason for his death? And how had Mei Feng been involved in this matter eight years ago?! She clenched her fists and looked up, staring at the second floor window. For some reason, she felt a chill down her spine and shivered involuntarily. Xia Nuannuan was standing there, unaware of the exchange that had happened upstairs. However, there was a troubled expression on Qiao Lian¡¯s face now. She took a step forward and tapped her shoulder, asking, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Qiao Lian jumped and snapped out of her dazed state. When she turned and saw it was only Xia Nuannuan, she heaved a sigh of relief. After a moment, she said calmly, ¡°I¡¯m okay. It¡¯s just that...¡± Xia Nuannuan gave her a puzzled look and asked, ¡°So, do you still want to see Ms. Song?¡± Qiao Lian shook her head and said, ¡°I just remembered I have to settle something and need to return home first.¡± Then she hurriedly strode to the main entrance. After leaving the rehab home, she quickly hailed a taxi, wishing to get back to the Shen family vi as soon as possible. For reasons she couldn¡¯t quite pinpoint, she felt that something bad was brewing. Moreover, she had to go home and ask Shen Liangchuan what exactly happened eight years ago. Chapter 735 - That Matter Eight Years Ago (4)

Chapter 735: That Matter Eight Years Ago (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Why was everyone trying to hide things from her? But when the taxi arrived at the Shen family vi, she got out and looked at the building before her. She frowned. After hesitating for a moment, she walked in slowly. As she entered the house, she saw that Xia Yehua and Auntie Li had bought fish and putting it in the freezer. When they spotted her, they immediately eximed, ¡°Xiao Qiao,e over quickly and have a look. The fish we got today is really fresh!¡± Qiao Lian walked over and took a look. Then she nodded and looked around. ¡°Mom, where¡¯s Shen Liangchuan?¡± ¡°Oh, he just received a call and went out.¡± He had gone out again? Qiao Lian nodded, and Xia Yehua and Auntie Li kept talking about the food they were going to prepare when Dad Xia and Mom Xia came over for a meal. Shen Liangchuan finally came home an hourter. He took off his jacket as he stepped in. Qiao Lian noticed that his expression was cold, however, when he saw the people in the house, it seemed to warm up slightly. Upon seeing her son, Xia Yehua asked casually, ¡°Where did you go in such a hurry?¡± Subconsciously, Shen Liangchuan muttered, ¡°I didn¡¯t go anywhere.¡± But right after saying this, he felt he shouldn¡¯t hide things from Xia Yehua. He pursed his lips and hesitated for a moment before saying, ¡°The rehab home called, they said Song Yuanxi requested to see me.¡± Xia Yehua paused slightly upon hearing the news about Song Yuanxi. Looking at Shen Lianchuan, she asked, ¡°So what was your response?¡± His gaze then fell on Qiao Lian, who was watching him now in silence. After a moment, he replied, ¡°She said she¡¯d like toe home for the New Year celebrations.¡± She would like toe home for the New Year celebrations. Indeed, it was Mei Feng¡¯s idea. Qiao Lian frowned and looked up. Xia Yehua was stunned too. ¡°And you¡¯ve agreed?¡± After asking that, she felt that her remark was redundant. If he had agreed, Song Yuanxi would havee back together with him already. From the looks of it, it was quite obvious he hadn¡¯t agreed. Somewhat disappointed, Xia Yehua hung her head. Then she looked up again with renewed energy and said, ¡°I understand.¡± His intentions were obvious. He had not agreed to Song Yuanxi¡¯s plea, so he was afraid that the girl would instead try to ask Xia Yehua. Hence, he was making this known now. This was also to avoid a situation where Xia Yehua should give in and allow the girl toe home. However, Xia Yehua just couldn¡¯t bear the thought of having Song Yuanxi spend the New Year celebrations alone in hospital. Her heart ached for the girl. Qiao Lian nced at Shen Liangchuan and quietly heaved a sigh of relief. After having overheard Mei Feng¡¯s words, Qiao Lian was worried that Song Yuanxi would be pulling tricks again to get Shen Liangchuan to take her home. She wasn¡¯t afraid that Song Yuanxi would try to take revenge on her, she was just afraid that Song Yuanxi would stir trouble in the household. After dinner, she and Shen Liangchuan retreated upstairs. Laying on the bed and contemting the matter concerning Mei Feng, she suddenly felt something tighten around her waist. At once, a masculine body loomed over her. After unrestrained and fulfilling lovemaking, Qiao Lian, red and trying to catch her breath, fell back on the bed next to Shen Liangchuan. He reached for her and drew her into his embrace. She could hear his heartbeat. It was distinct, and its presence made her feel like all of the hardships that she had to face in life were nothing. She took a deep breath, preparing to ask him about what exactly had happened eight years ago. But as the words formed in her throat, she thought of how he always reacted to this question. Then she decided to keep silent. She narrowed her eyes in the dark room. Even if he didn¡¯t want to tell her, she could always find out. Chapter 736 - That Matter Eight Years Ago (5)

Chapter 736: That Matter Eight Years Ago (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The next day, when Qiao Lian woke up, Shen Liangchuan was already downstairs working out. After she finished washing up, she headed downstairs, where she found Xia Yehua frowning while sitting on the sofa and speaking to Auntie Li, ¡°I¡¯m sure he did it on purpose! He already knew that I invited the inws for dinner tonight, but he still intentionally made an appointment with them.¡± ¡°This old fool, Shen Xiu, is really the death of me! He always has to oppose me in order to feel good about himself.¡± ¡°We bought lots of vegetables yesterday.¡± As Xia Yehua was saying this, her eyes turned red with indignation. When Qiao Lian saw this, she was stunned and immediately rushed down the stairs. ¡°Mom, what happened?¡± Auntie Li was also livid. ¡°Madam already invited the inws toe over to our house for dinner tonight, and everyone had agreed to it. However, Shen Xiu just rang Madam up suddenly to tell her that he has invited the inws to have dinner tonight at Together Restaurant, to discuss the wedding.¡± Since this meeting was about discussing the wedding, even if Dad Xia wanted to go to their house for dinner, it would not be possible. After all, as tradition stated, marrying into a family meant that the wife had to follow her husband. Xia Nuannuan was going to marry Shen Zihao and Shen Zihao was from the Shen family, indeed. Dad Xia probably also would not dare to offend Shen Xiu, because Xia Yehua, as his daughter, was marrying into the Shen Family soon. Actually, yesterday, Xia Yehua had been the whole day busy with preparations to wee the inws. There was no way Xia Yehua would not be disappointed at the news. Qiao Lian frowned. As she was pondering about it, the house phone started to ring. She walked towards it, answered the call and heard Xia Nuannuan¡¯s voice on the other end of the line. ¡°Hello?¡± ¡°It¡¯s me, Nuannuan. What¡¯s up?¡± Qiao Lian spoke immediately. Xia Nuannuan¡¯s gentle voice, even over the telephone, could make one feel as if one was bathing in the spring breeze. ¡°So, Zihao¡¯s dad just called to inform us that he has already made a reservation for a private room at Together Restaurant, and he¡¯s inviting us for dinner tonight. However, my dad and Auntie already arranged to meet tonight for dinner. I¡¯ve just discussed with Zihao this issue, so I would like to check with Auntie if she would be fine if all of us had dinner together.¡± It was obvious as to what she was trying to convey. Shen Xiu had already made a reservation with the restaurant before informing Dad Xia about it. This had caught the Xia family off guard. Actually, with Shen Xiu¡¯s temper, who knew? It could have sounded more like an order than a notification. Xia Nuannuan was afraid that Xia Yehua would be unhappy and that was why she hade up with this solution. Qiao Lian then rted Xia Nuannuan¡¯s intentions to Xia Yehua. Xia Yehua smiled coldly and replied, ¡°I¡¯ll go, why shouldn¡¯t I go? I have never once done anything wrong to him, why should I be afraid to see him?!¡± When she finished speaking, Auntie Li couldn¡¯t help but to nudge her a little. ¡°Evidently, you are worried that they will make things difficult for Nuannuan without your presence and so, that¡¯s why you have decided to go. There is no reason to speak as if you are going there to ruin the whole meeting.¡± The other time, when Dad Xia and Mom Xia went over to the Shen family, they left without even having dinner. Needless to say, something unhappy must have happened. And so, Xia Yehua had been eager to invite them over for dinner, in view of reconciliation. This time she definitely had to turn up, and she would also bring along Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan to help back Xia Nuannuan up. As she thought of this, Xia Yehua stood up. At the same time Shen Liangchuan, who was done with his work-out, stepped into the house. When Xia Yehua saw him she immediately told him, ¡°Please arrange for a car to pick Dad Xia and Mom Xia tonight.¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded. Time flew and soon it was the evening. The three members of the Shen family headed towards the hotel, feeling energized and gant. When they arrived at the hotel, they saw that Mei Feng was already seated in the private room. When they saw one another, they narrowed their eyes and smiled. Chapter 737 - That Matter Eight Years Ago (6)

Chapter 737: That Matter Eight Years Ago (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Qiao Lian¡¯s group arrived at the hotel, Dad Xia and Mom Xia arrived too. Xia Yehua was holding Mom Xia¡¯s hand, chatting andughing happily with Dad Xia, as they walked into the private room. When she saw Mei Feng, Xia Yehua gave a cold smile. Mei Feng hurriedly stood up and spoke kindly, ¡°You are all here. Please, take a seat!¡± She then gave an exnation, ¡°Zihao¡¯s dad had to deal with something urgent at the office. Once he¡¯s done with the meeting, he will be here straight away. Inws, please do ept my sincere apologies.¡± What could Dad Xia say? Although he wasn¡¯t happy, he still maintained a smile on his face. ¡°No problem, work is more important!¡± However, when Shen Zihao heard these words, he was not happy. ¡°What can my dad be busy with? What can be more important than his son¡¯s marriage?¡± After these words were spoken, Shen Xiu¡¯s voice came through the door. ¡°You! This bastard! You don¡¯t even bother to help me in thepany, how do you expect me to handle such a bigpany all by myself?¡± He walked in while saying these words and, when he saw Xia Yehua, he let out a cold humph and averted his gaze. Xia Yehua looked cautiously at the group of people before her. She was worried that Shen Xiu would say something that might make Dad Xia unhappy. However this time, Shen Xiu didn¡¯t say anything inappropriate, seemingly because he was aware that Shen Zihao was around as well. But his attitude was still somewhat arrogant and cold. As a whole, it was not a bad start. Xia Yehua heaved a big sigh of relief. When Qiao Lian saw Xia Yehua¡¯s look, she couldn¡¯t help butugh. After a while, the cold dishes were served. Xia Yehua saw a picked pepper chicken foot and she picked it up immediately to ce it on Shen Zihao¡¯s te. She smiled obsequiously and said, ¡°Zihao, this is your favourite.¡± Lately, because of Xia Nuannuan, Shen Zihao had been at Xia Yehua¡¯s ce more often. Ultimately, they were still mother and son by blood. Although the matters of the past had not been clearly exined, under Xia Yehua¡¯s gentle influence, Shen Zihao didn¡¯t seem to be as cold as before. Xia Yehua had picked up a piece of chicken feet, but she hadn¡¯t given it to Shen Liangchuan. Instead, she had given it to Shen Zihao. Shen Zihao narrowed his eyes and felt slightly content. He lowered his head and was intending to take a bite when he heard Mei Feng¡¯s voice, ¡°Sister Xia, Zihao loved to eat chicken feet when he was much younger, but now, Zihao especially loves to eat steamed chicken.¡± As these words were spoken, she picked up a piece of steamed chicken, ced it on Shen Zihao¡¯s te and then said with a smile. ¡°Our taste buds are constantly changing.¡± Shen Zihao narrowed his eyes as he heard this. He recalled that, for thest eight years, she had been totally clueless of his diet. His expression turned cold in a split second. He made a disapproving sound and threw the piece of chicken feet he had picked up on his te. ¡°Right, I don¡¯t like it anymore.¡± Xia Yehua was so affected that her eyes turned red and her mouth twitched a little. In the end, she could only say, ¡°It is Mom¡¯s fault for not knowing your current diet. What do you like to eat? Let Mom know, I will cook for you next time.¡± In this world, needless to say, a mom should be the one that knows best about her son. However, his mom had to ask him what his favorite meals were. Shen Zihao felt extremely pathetic. With a cold expression, he said, ¡°Don¡¯t trouble yourself as there aren¡¯t many chances anyway.¡± The meaning between the lines was that he would not be going to the Shen family¡¯s home in the future. Xia Yehua choked. The atmosphere in the private room turned cold in the blink of an eye. Witnessing Xia Yehua¡¯s inability to find a way out of the embarrassment, Qiao Lian was intending to say something but then she heard Xia Nuannuan voice, ¡°Zihao, I love to eat chicken feet too.¡± Chapter 738 - That Matter Eight Years Ago (7)

Chapter 738: That Matter Eight Years Ago (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After she said those words, she extended her chopsticks to pick up the piece of chicken feet left on the te. She then smiled and looked at Xia Yehua, saying, ¡°Auntie, next time I go to your house for dinner, remember to prepare this dish for me, ok?¡± These cheeky words turned the whole atmosphere around in a split second. Mom Xia couldn¡¯t help but point at her and say, ¡°This child of mine, why are you so greedy?¡± Xia Nuannuan smiled shyly and covered her mouth, before taking a bite of the chicken foot. Xia Nuannuan couldn¡¯t endure spicy food. She had only taken a bite, but she already found very spicy. However, she had already mentioned that she loved eating it, so she had no choice but to bear with the spiciness and take another bite. But then, Shen Zihao snatched the chicken foot away, even before she could finish eating it. ¡°Why did you take my food away?¡± Everyone saw the details in this scene. Dad Xia and Mom Xia both nced at each other, satisfied. Xia Yehua too,ughed. Qiao Lian nced at Mei Feng. Initially, Shen Zihao hadn¡¯t provoked much conflict with Xia Yehua. All of it had been caused by Mei Feng¡¯s words. She frowned and was trying to say something, when suddenly a cunning expression shed across Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes. She then pointed at Xia Nuannuan. ¡°Nuannuan, why are you still calling her Auntie, even though you already have a marriage certificate? It¡¯s going to be the new year soon, you should address her as Mom now. Let me tell you a secret, Mom has prepared a huge red packet!¡± Upon hearing these words, Xia Nuannuan immediately blushed. She sneaked a nce at Shen Zihao but realized that he wasn¡¯t making any objections, so she said softly to Xia Yehua, ¡°Mom¡±. Xia Yehua grinned from ear to ear instantly. ¡°Aye!¡± She then pulled out a huge red packet from her bag and passed it to Xia Nuannuan. The atmosphere in the room became lively instantaneously. Everyone was joyous and harmonious together. However, Qiao Lian noticed that Mei Feng¡¯s expression looked a little ufortable, especially when Xia Nuannuan had addressed Xia Yehua as ¡°Mom¡±. She had seemed to be gritting her teeth with anger. But she was quick to adjust her mood as she lowered her head to look at the dishes on the table. After a while, she then smiled, raised her head and nced at Qiao Lian. That gaze immediately caused Qiao Lian to shudder involuntarily. She did not know why, but Mei Feng¡¯s calm andposed gaze her a sense of foreboding. Just at this point, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s cell phone began to ring. He took a nce at the people at the table and then picked up his phone in a low-keyed manner. He then walked to the side of the room to answer the call. Qiao Lian realized that as Shen Liangchuan was taking the call, Mei Feng¡¯s gaze was directed at him and it was filled with satisfaction. So Mei Feng already knew the content of the conversation? As she was thinking this, Shen Liangchuan turned around and sat beside her. Qiao Lian spoke with a soft low voice, ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Shen Liangchuan pursed his lips and looked at her. ¡°Song Yuanxi went missing.¡± When Qiao Lian heard these words, she immediately widened her eyes in horror. Song Yuanxi... had gone missing?! Just at this point, she heard a knock on the door of the private room. Following that, a waiter walked in together with a small woman. ¡°Mr. Shen, thisdy here says that she is here to look for you.¡± After hearing these words, everyone turned their heads simultaneously and saw that Song Yuanxi was standing at the doorway, still dressed in her white gown from the rehab home. She had probably ran out of the rehab home, as her face had turned pale and her body was still shivering slightly. But her eyes were fixated on Shen Liangchuan. Chapter 739 - That Matter Eight Years Ago (8)

Chapter 739: That Matter Eight Years Ago (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Everyone in the room turned silent instantaneously when they saw Song Yuanxi. Xia Yehua was the first to stand up. ¡°Yuanxi, why did youe here?¡± When Song Yuanxi heard these words, her gaze fell on the dinner table. After a moment, she then replied, ¡°Why can¡¯t I be here?¡± Dad Xia and Mom Xia both stared at her, puzzled. Shen Liangchuan spoke, ¡°I will get someone to take you back.¡± Song Yuanxi lowered her head. She did not look good. Xia Yehua was afraid that, since Song Yuanxi was present, she would speak of things that were not appropriate for the asion. Hence, she hurriedly apologized to Dad Xia and Mom Xia. ¡°She is now at the rehab home because she has some mental problems. I shall now find someone to take her back.¡± At the opposite side of the table, Mei Feng stood up suddenly. ¡°This is... Ms. Song? The child that you adopted eight years ago? This child looks like she is perfectly normal and it¡¯s going to be the new year soon. Why let a child be outside alone? Since she is here and since everyone here is family, it¡¯s not embarrassing to have her here. Hurry up, bring another chair here for Ms. Song!¡± The waiter hurriedly brought over a chair to ce it beside Mei Feng. Song Yuanxi did not wait for anyone to invite her to sit on the chair, she just walked to the chair straight away and took a seat. She then raised her head and looked at the people in front of her. She stared at everyone, making the mood rather nerve-racking. Qiao Lian was especially flustered. She stared at Song Yuanxi wondering what her motive was toe here suddenly. What else could she do besides creating more trouble for Shen Liangchuan and her? As she was pondering about it, she heard Mei Feng enquire, ¡°This child, Yuanxi, looks very obedient. What made you all adopt her at the time?¡± As she said these words, Mei Feng gaze was fixated on Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan. The gaze was ill-intended. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s pupils shrank. Qiao Lian, on the other hand, narrowed her eyes. She clenched her fists tightly. Perhaps today Song Yuanxi would obediently follow Mei Feng¡¯s wishes to create a scene here. But, at the same time, she would also be able to find out what had exactly happened eight years ago. As she was pondering about this, her eyes stared straight at Song Yuanxi, hoping that she could unravel the truth right from Song Yuanxi. Song Yuanxi¡¯s gaze was, however, fixated on the dish in front of her. She did not have any intentions to speak. Xia Yehua, conversely, frowned deeply. ¡°These are our own personal affairs. It is none of your business.¡± Mei Feng smiled. ¡°I¡¯m not saying anything bad, but... years ago, when you both left the Shen Family, you were very poor and couldn¡¯t even afford to take Zihao with you. So why did you adopt a girl suddenly? I hope it is not because this girl has a special identity.¡± Shen Zihao¡¯s pupils shrank upon hearing this. His cruel gaze fell upon Xia Yehua. He suddenly smiled and asked, ¡°Speaking of it, I¡¯ve always known that Ms. Song is your adopted daughter, but who is she exactly? Where is she from? I am now curious to know.¡± His words caused Xia Yehua to panic. ¡°Zihao, I¡ª¡± Before she could finish speaking, all of a sudden, Shen Liangchuan mmed the wine ss in his hand onto the table. With his strong aura and that reaction, th entire private room fell silent instantaneously. Soon after, he looked up and gave a deadpan look at the rest of the people in the room. ¡°Aren¡¯t we supposed to discuss Zihao¡¯s wedding tonight? On this note, the whole room became quiet. However, Song Yuanxi stood up suddenly. ¡°I have something to say before you all discuss about the wedding.¡± Chapter 740 - That Matter Eight Years Ago (9)

Chapter 740: That Matter Eight Years Ago (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Her words caused Qiao Lian to panic immediately. Her fingers were curled into a tight fist as she looked at Mei Feng intently. Were the issues that had been bothering her since eight years ago going to be revealed today? She bit her lip as she looked at Song Yuanxi. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s gaze sunk and he spoke strictly with a warning tone, ¡°Song Yuanxi!¡± During all this time, Xia Yehua had had no idea about Song Yuanxi¡¯s identity. However at this moment, seeing that she was seated next to Mei Feng, she knew immediately that something bad would happen very soon. So Xia Yehua too, hurriedly stopped her. ¡°Yuanxi, do not create a scene here. Come over here and sit beside me.¡± Mei Feng smiled as she looked at both of them. ¡°What is the matter with both of you? Could it be that Ms. Song has a shameful identity? Not one, but two of you do not allow her to speak! I am actually very curious. Ms. Song, who are you exactly?¡± Shen Liangchuan jolted and stood up, looking at Song Yuanxi. Although he did not speak a word, his expression was as cold as the south pole. Shen Xiu mmed his chopsticks on the table. ¡°What is happening here? Aren¡¯t we all here for dinner? Can¡¯t we have a decent conversation here?!¡± After saying this, he looked at Song Yuanxi instead. ¡°I am also very curious as to where this Ms. Song is from.¡± As these words were spoken, every pair of eyes simultaneously fell on Song Yuanxi. Song Yuanxi froze on the spot. She did not look at anyone else but Shen Liangchuan. She stared straight at him. After a moment, she then answered, ¡°All of you are interested to find out about my identity?¡± Her words caught everyone¡¯s attention. She suddenly parted her lips and slightly smiled. Her eyes turned red in an instant, carrying a sense of injustice. She clenched her fists tightly, while her expression looked as if she was going to pick up a fight with Shen Liangchuan and also speak up about his bad deeds. Mei Feng looked at Song Yuanxi with anticipation. Say it! Speak up whatever grievances you have in your heart! Hadn¡¯t Xia Yehua and the rest caused trouble and misery to her home? That is why she also wanted them to be miserable. She looked eagerly at Song Yuanxi, full of hope. She had a gleeful look at the potential story that was developing and a vicious glint shed across her eyes. Then Song Yuanxi spoke up. ¡°I am not going to tell you.¡± Everyone: ...!! Mei Feng widened her eyes in horror. She stared at Song Yuanxi unbelievably and Song Yuanxi suddenlyughed. ¡°Because I have already promised Brother Liangchuan that I will not speak about the past in front of her.¡± Mei Feng: ...! Mei Feng literally felt like she wanted to spit out blood. Her reason for asking Song Yuanxi toe over had been to create more tension and turmoil for Xia Yehua. But now what was going on? She turned her head and looked at Song Yuanxi in disbelief. But Song Yuanxi just stood there, expressionless. It seemed like a gust of wind could blow her frail body away effortlessly. Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes as she turned to look at Shen Liangchuan subconsciously. She was not supposed to tell her what had happened eight years ago. Why couldn¡¯t she know? As she was pondering over this, she heard Shen Liangchuan enquire, ¡°So in that case, why did youe here today?¡± Song Yuanxi lowered her head. ¡°I came here to tell all of you a few things.¡± She lifted her head and stared at Shen Liangchuan. ¡°Didn¡¯t you ask me how I knew that she was Xiao Qiao from the past?¡± Shen Liangchuan narrowed his eyes. Mei Feng¡¯s heart immediately felt nervous and uneasy. She seemed to have realized something and hurriedly turned her head, only to find Song Yuanxi pointing at her all of a sudden. ¡°She was the one who told me!¡± Chapter 741 - That Matter Eight Years Ago (10)

Chapter 741: That Matter Eight Years Ago (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Brother Liangchuan, haven¡¯t you always wanted to know where I got the birth control drugs? It was she who passed them to me.¡± ¡°She was also the one who instructed me to leak the photo that time.¡± At this point, Song Yuanxi looked at the people before her. Finally, her gaze fell on Shen Zihao. Suddenly, sheughed and said steadily, ¡°I¡¯m here to expose this woman¡¯s pretence! She¡¯s always been insecure about Aunt Xia, so she asked me to spy on them in secret. When Qiao Lian and Brother Liangchuan got married, she contacted me from overseas. It was also through her arrangement that I was able to get out of the rehab home today. And she was the one who told me about this dinner.¡± She turned to look at Shen Zihao and suddenlyughed. ¡°Young Master Shen, you are pitiful. Aunt Xia has always been worried about you. Countless nights, I¡¯ve heard her crying because she missed you. I¡¯ve also witnessed how she¡¯d without fail prepare your favorite dishes every festive holiday, knowing you would never have a chance to taste them... But it¡¯s a pity that you were so blinded by this evil woman and created a separation between you and your mother.¡± She drew her chair back and left Mei Feng¡¯s side. She made her way to the door and turned back to look at all of them steadily. No one had expected this turn of events. Even Qiao Lian was now looking at Song Yuanxi in disbelief. Shen Liangchuan too, looked stunned. Xia Yehua¡¯s eyes were bloodshot as she stared at the girl, and she started speaking, ¡°Yuanxi¡ª¡± ¡°Auntie.¡± Song Yuanxi¡¯s eyes were reddened too, as she made an effort to smile. She looked at Shen Liangchuan and called him, ¡°Brother Liangchuan.¡± Standing at the door, she bowed deeply and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°I never intended to harm you. I only wanted revenge.¡± She pursed her lips as tears started to roll down her cheeks. ¡°But now... Brother Liangchuan, you¡¯re right, a life for a life. I no longer want revenge.¡± ¡°Brother Liangchuan, Aunt Xia, you are good people. And you deserve good things.¡± ¡°And I will not be misled into doing irreversible damage anymore.¡± Now Song Yuanxi¡¯s face was wet with ears. It was as though in those few minutes, she had let out everything that had been brewing in her head for thest few months. And the moment she had said all these things, her posture rxed, as if a heavy load had been taken off her back. Her gaze was fixed on Shen Liangchuan for a while and suddenly, she smiled. ¡°Brother Liangchuan, I wish you happiness.¡± Having said this, she spun around and ran out. ¡°Yuanxi!¡± Xia Yehua jumped up from her seat to chase after her. But she had just recovered and had barely started walking normally, so how could she catch up with the youngdy? Shen Liangchuan stood frozen on the spot, until Qiao Lian pushed and urged him, ¡°Go after her!¡± Shen Liangchuan snapped out of his dazed state. He looked at Qiao Lian, turned his head and ran out after the girl. The room became silent at once. Qiao Lian stood there in a web of emotions. Although she wanted very much to know what had exactly happened eight years ago, the moment Song Yuanxi had changedpletely, she had been moved beyond words. She knew that Song Yuanxi was not an evil person. She had merely been taken advantage of by someone else. Taken advantage of... At this point, Qiao Lian looked towards Mei Feng once more. Chapter 742 - Xiao Qiao, We Will Be Fine (1)

Chapter 742: Xiao Qiao, We Will Be Fine (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In that moment, everyone in the room turned to stare at Mei Feng. Shen Zihao stared at her with a look of disbelief, his startled eyes widened as if he didn¡¯t know the woman before him. Mei Feng turned as pale as a sheet. She looked shocked, as though she could not believe what was happening. After a moment, she snapped out of her dazed state and suddenly jumped up from her seat, eximing, ¡°She was speaking nonsense! I don¡¯t even know that girl!¡± She looked at Shen Zihao and said, ¡°Zihao, believe me! In thest six months, how has Aunty Mei treated you? You know it in your own heart.¡± As she spoke, her eyes turned red. She couldn¡¯t help turning to look at Xia Yehua and, biting her lip, she added, ¡°Today was the day that both our families were toe together to discuss the wedding. Sister Xia, why have you chosen this very day to make things difficult for me? Those words made it seem as if Xia Yehua was behind all of this. Upon hearing this, Shen Zihao looked at Xia Yehua again. In that moment, he could no longer tell what was real and what was not. Xia Yehua looked at Shen Zihao. Her heart ached when she saw his expression of doubt and uncertainty. Clenching her fists, she said, ¡°I like Nuannuan so much, why would I stir trouble today?¡± Mei Feng hung her head and said, ¡°That¡¯s right. I want to know too. This is Zihao¡¯s once-in-a-lifetime event, why did you have to pick today?¡± Seeing that Mei Feng was trying to shift the me even at this point, she raised her arm in anger and pointed at her. ¡°You¡ª¡± Witnessing how things were developing, Qiao Lian stood up unexpectedly. She fixed her eyes steadily on Mei Feng and said, ¡°Did you just say you don¡¯t know Song Yuanxi?¡± Mei Feng frowned and replied, ¡°I¡¯ve heard of her, but I¡¯ve never really met her.¡± Qiao Lian smiled icily and continued, ¡°So for what reason did you go to the rehab home to visit her?¡± Mei Feng¡¯s pupils shrank at once as she immediately denied it, ¡°What are you talking about? I don¡¯t understand.¡± Qiao Lian started, ¡°Yesterday, you were at the rehab home to see Song Yuanxi and went to her room to have a chat with her. I wasn¡¯t the only witness, Nuannuan saw you too.¡± At this point, Xia Nuannuan stood up and nodded in agreement, ¡°That¡¯s right, Lian Lian and I both saw it.¡± Perhaps Shen Zihao would doubt anyone else¡¯s words, but now even Xia Nuannuan was speaking up, he immediately looked at Mei Feng with suspicion. Furrowing his brow, he said, ¡°Aunty Mei, why were you at the rehab home to see Song Yuanxi?¡± If there wasn¡¯t a collusion to begin with, how could she know that Song Yuanxi was in the rehab home? Now all eyes were on Mei Feng. The woman looked at Shen Zihao and her eyes suddenly reddened. ¡°Zihao, you¡¯re suspecting me? You don¡¯t trust me!¡± Shen Zihao frowned and said, ¡°Aunty Mei, you¡ª¡± Mei Feng suddenly raised her arms and covered her own eyes, but the tears continued flowing. ¡°Zihao, Aunty Mei has never done anything against my own conscience. How I¡¯ve treated you all these years, I believe you know it in your own heart. Why would I do that? What would I have gained for myself?!¡± As she said this, she couldn¡¯t contain her tears and started crying. ¡°I¡¯ve been with your father for so many years, and I don¡¯t have a child of my own. I treat you like my own son! How could you suspect me?¡± Her crying sounded pitiful, making Shen Zihao frown deeply. Qiao Lian, on the other hand, lost her patience. This woman was simply too pretentious. Even at this point she wouldn¡¯t admit it. Speaking up finally, she said, ¡°Madam Mei Feng, crying won¡¯t solve the problem. If you can¡¯t give a reasonable exnation, you won¡¯t be forgiven.¡± Chapter 743 - Xiao Qiao, We Will Be Fine (2)

Chapter 743: Xiao Qiao, We Will Be Fine (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Her words were logical and carried weight. Mei Feng immediately looked up. She looked at Qiao Lian with a frown and then put on a hurt look. After drawing a few deep breaths, she said, ¡°I did go to the rehab home. It seems like I¡¯ve actually met Ms. Song.¡± Shen Zihao¡¯s pupils shrank upon hearing this. However, Mei Feng continued saying, ¡°But that was for official business. Our Shen family enterprise gives donations every year as an act of charity. I have to represent thepany to go to different ces to visit andfort the people. Mostly orphanages, nursing homes and this year, it was a rehab home. I did go to the rehab home and have even been there a few times. But every time I go, I meet many people. How would I remember who I¡¯ve met?!¡± After saying this, she bit her lip looking hurt again and tears started flowing. At this point, Shen Xiu finally spoke, ¡°Giving to the rehab home a donation this year was my idea. For the past few days, I¡¯ve indeed been asking your Aunty Mei to visit them and put up a presence.¡± Mei Feng harshly bit her lip, crying pitifully. She looked at Xia Yehua and said, ¡°Sister Xia, I know you¡¯re trying to win Zihao back. But if you simply treat him well, he will know it. Why do you have to do this to me? Who doesn¡¯t know that Song Yuanxi is the adopted daughter of your family? Although her identity is a mystery, she has been close to you from a young age.¡± All the things she said only pointed to the usation that Xia Yehua was setting her up intentionally. Shen Zihao¡¯s shifted to and fro between Xia Yehua and Mei Feng and at that moment, he had no idea whom to believe. At this point, Shen Xiu made a loud humph and looked at Xia Yehua, saying, ¡°To think that after eight years, you¡¯re still so vindictive and your moves are so calcted. Xia Yehua, I¡¯ve really underestimated you!¡± He turned his head around and swept his gaze past Qiao Lian, till it fell on Xia Nuannuan. Frowning deeply, he rebuked her, ¡°You are the future daughter-inw of the Shen family! You¡¯d better be very clear about this before you do or say anything.¡± He was furious at her for speaking up against Mei Feng. He then snorted and looked at Dad Xia, saying, ¡°We¡¯ll have to talk about the wedding another day. There¡¯s no way we can discuss anything else today after all that has happened.¡± On this note, with an arm swing, he walked out. Mei Feng was bawling her eyes out, but at the same time followed Shen Xiu closely behind, wailing, ¡°Zihao¡¯s Dad, don¡¯t go, the wedding is in two weeks. Let¡¯s stay and discuss this. Let¡¯s not spoil the wedding just because of this matter! I¡¯m okay, I¡¯m not feeling bad, please don¡¯t be angry...¡± ¡°You are too amodating! Now that it¡¯se to this, what more is there to discuss? I was wondering why she had insisted oning to this dinner... now I know¡ªshe had an axe to grind!¡± Their voices faded as they walked away. In the private room, Xia Yehua had turned pale. She looked at Shen Zihao and made an attempt to speak, but she realized that whatever she said would be in vain. At this point, there was no proof from either party. It was all reliant on his own instinct. However, in Shen Zihao¡¯s eyes, she had been the substandard mother who had abandoned her child from the start. Hence, why should he believe her? Indeed, she saw disappointment in Shen Zihao¡¯s eyes. She thought that Shen Zihao would berate her, like he had always done. But before he could even do so, Xia Nuannuan had grabbed his arm to silence him. Chapter 744 - Xiao Qiao, We Will Be Fine (3)

Chapter 744: Xiao Qiao, We Will Be Fine (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xia Nuannuan said in a low voice, ¡°Aunt Xia has a weak heart. We haven¡¯t made a thorough investigation on this matter, Zihao, don¡¯t upset Aunt Xia.¡± Shen Zihao gave an icy humph and said, ¡°Haven¡¯t made a thorough investigation? Isn¡¯t it clear enough? What is there to investigate?¡± He had said these words as a conclusion, but he ultimately did not lose his temper at Xia Yehua. Instead, he turned to Dad Xia and Mom Xia and said, ¡°Dad, Mom, let me take you back.¡± Since this situation had happened, no one was in the mood to eat. Dad Xia and Mom Xia knew neither Mei Feng nor Xia Yehua well. Hence, even though they liked Xia Yehua more, they couldn¡¯t say much. Dad Xia could only look at Xia Yehua and say, ¡°Well, in that case we¡¯lle and see you another day.¡± Xia Yehua nodded. Shen Zihao led the group of people out. Before leaving, Xia Nuannuan turned around and nced at Qiao Lian. Qiao Lian nodded and gestured to her not to worry. After the people had left, there was only Qiao Lian and Xia Yehua in hte private room. Qiao Lian approached Xia Yehua to support her and found that her body was slightly trembling. Seeing her mother-inw in this state made her so furious she wished she could w Mei Feng¡¯s face. Obviously, she knew that Mom had a weak heart, but she would provoke her over and over again. And Shen Zihao, that fool! It was such a simple situation and he wasn¡¯t discerning the truth. As she was cursing Shen Zihao in her mind, Xia Yehua spoke up, ¡°I don¡¯t me him. I can only me myself for being so naive to think that leaving him with the Shen family was the better thing to do for him.¡± At these words, her eyes reddened and she gave a bitter smile. Worried that Xia Yehua was feeling ill, Qiao Lian quickly took out her rescue pills from her handbag and gave one to her. They sat in the private room for a little while until the woman felt better. ¨C When Qiao Lian and Xia Yehua got back to the vi, Shen Liangchuan was not home yet. It was the New Year festive season, so most of the housekeepers had gone back to their own homes. Only Auntie Li remained in the vi. When she saw them both, she immediately came up to them, looking very worried. ¡°Senior Madam, why do you look so pale? What happened?¡± Qiao Lian shook her head at the housekeeper, letting her know that they didn¡¯t want to talk about it. Then she helped Xia Yehua into the bedroom. After the woman had fallen asleep and her condition seemed stabilized, Qiao Lian heaved a sigh of relief. She did not return to her own room, but sat on the sofa in Xia Yehua¡¯s bedroom. She was in a bit of a daze. A lot of things had happened over dinner. It made her confused. She was furious at how Mei Feng had turned the tables on them. But right now the room was quiet and still apart, apart from the light breathing of the sleeping woman. All the thoughts resulting from the earlier episode came flooding into her mind. What happened eight years ago was like an obsession. The more Shen Liangchuan tried to hide it, the more she wanted to know the truth. Up till now, only three people really knew what had happened. Shen Liangchuan, Song Yuanxi and another one... was Mei Feng. As she thought about all of this, she heard the sound of car engineing from outside. Immediately, she stood up and quietly left the room. She saw Shen Liangchuan enter the house, bringing with him a cold gust from the icy air outside. Qiao Lian looked at his figure and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Song Yuanxi?¡± He cast his gaze down an said quietly, ¡°She¡¯s run away, I couldn¡¯t find her.¡± Chapter 745 - Xiao Qiao, We Will Be Fine (4)

Chapter 745: Xiao Qiao, We Will Be Fine (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Ran away? Coldn¡¯t find her? Qiao Lian widened her eyes. Honestly speaking, at this moment, she didn¡¯t hate the girl anymore. At the bottom of all these things, there must have been some sort of misunderstanding. She had sincerely been hoping that Shen Liangchuan would be able to find Song Yuanxi and bring her back. But now... Looking worried, he said with a frown, ¡°It¡¯s New Year¡¯s Eve tonight and she¡¯s a girl running around alone. It¡¯s chaotic out there...¡± At this point, he paused briefly and hung his head, ¡°But she¡¯s not a young girl anymore. She¡¯s grown up.¡± Song Yuanxi must have felt that she no longer wanted toe back home, to have made the decision to run away. She could no longer face Shen Liangchuan and, even more so, Qiao Lian. Actually, running away was some sort of solution to the situation. Perhaps there was an opportunity to start anew? Thinking of this, Shen Liangchuan felt slightly better. He picked up his cell phone and called Song Cheng. ¡°Get a few people to continue the search. If you find her, don¡¯t alert her. As long as she gets her life on track, our people can let her be.¡± Song Cheng reply came through the line, ¡°Yes.¡± After hanging up, Shen Liangchuan put aside his worries and looked at Qiao Lian. ¡°You¡¯re back early?¡± Qiao Lian told him what happened in the private room after he left. She was all worked up again. ¡°I overheard them because I was on the air conditionerpressor. I didn¡¯t record the conversation. Who would have thought she¡¯de up with such a sneaky excuse?!¡± Shen Liangchuan frowned and said, ¡°The way Mei Feng works is quite watertight. Otherwise, how do you think she could have kept Zihao twirled around her little finger for so many years? She must have been prepared to answer all sorts of questions around her visit to the rehab home, she would never leave a weak spot around that can be used against her.¡± He narrowed his eyes and continued, ¡°Furthermore, she would never have trusted Yuanxi.¡± That¡¯s right, because she was aware that Song Yuanxi had been brought up by Xia Yehua and was close to them. Hence, even if Mei Feng had used Song Yuanxi for her means, would she have left any proof around that could damage her? Without proof, Mei Feng could pass anything off as the truth. Qiao Lian frowned and said, ¡°Is Mei Feng really that clever?¡± As she said this, loud and sharp crackling sounds came from outside. Fire crackers weren¡¯t permitted anywhere within the Fifth Ring Road in Beijing normally. But every year, this was the only time that it was allowed. Her words were interrupted and they walked over to the balcony. Outside, fireworks and firecrackers sounded everywhere. It was colorful and vibrant. The skies were lit with exploding colored lights that expanded into all shapes and sizes. It was beautiful. Then, they heard the clock in the house chime. Dong! Dong! It chimed twelve times. At the same time, the sound of crackers intensified outside. It was as though by appointment, the whole of Beijing blossomed all at once. Standing on the balcony, looking at the city, it was a magnificent scene. Qiao Lian craned her neck to watch and, as she did so, she felt Shen Liangchuan embrace her. At once, his scent filled her nostrils. He held her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder. When he spoke, his warm breath tickled her ears. He said, ¡°Xiao Qiao, this is our first time beginning a new year together.¡± For some reason, when she heard this, she felt a little emotional. She nodded. But it was because of some sort of misunderstanding that she did not understand, even now, that this moment had been dyed for eight long years. As these thoughts came to her mind, she heard him whisper in her ear: ¡°Xiao Qiao, we will be fine.¡± Chapter 746 - Xiao Qiao, We Will Be Fine (5)

Chapter 746: Xiao Qiao, We Will Be Fine (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios They watched the fireworks on the balcony for about half an hour, until the celebrations gradually died down. Around them, things quietened down again. The festive atmosphere in Beijing was intense. The districts and the streets werepletely decorated with Chinese knots. Because Xia Yehua enjoyed the bustling atmosphere, the Shen family home was, too, decorated with Spring festival calligraphy characters symbolizing good fortune. At one a.m., they both decided to go to bed. They quickly checked on Xia Yehua to ensure she was sleeping well, and then returned to their bedroom. Before getting into the shower, Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°I¡¯ll watch over Mom tonight, just in case she feels unwell.¡± There were no other housekeepers around and Auntie Li herself was an elderly woman. As she had been triggered over dinner, they feared that she might feel ill in the night. Qiao Lian nodded and offered, ¡°You watch over her the first half of the night, I¡¯ll take over the next half.¡± He shook his head, ¡°No.¡± After saying this, he walked into the bathroom. Qiao Lian was still awake by the time he came out of his shower. Now it was almost two a.m. Shen Liangchuan walked up to her and asked, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you asleep already?¡± ¡°To enjoy the new year!¡± Qiao Lian grinned as she said this. But the truth was that she had too much on her mind and couldn¡¯t get to sleep. He paused for two seconds and said, ¡°I¡¯ll keep youpany.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. They walked to a balcony near Xia Yehua¡¯s balcony with woolen nkets draped over to keep themselves warm and watched the moon. The sky in Beijing was thick with smog, mostly from the fireworks and the celebration¡¯s firecrackers. The outline of the moon was blurred. They snuggled up to each other. Qiao Lian suddenly spoke, ¡°Zi Chuan, I have a question for you.¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± She ventured, ¡°Why did you and Mom leave the Shen family eight years ago? Why does Zihao misunderstand Mom all the time? And Mei Feng, what did she do?¡± After asking those questions, she fell silent to listen to his answers. She was hoping to find answers to her real questions from these leads. He paused for a moment and then said, ¡°Mei Feng used to be his secretary.¡± By that, he was referring to Shen Xiu. Qiao Lian nodded and continued, ¡°And so they were sleeping with each other secretly?¡± He nodded, ¡°Yes, but they hid it well so no one knew. This one time, I went to his office and hid in his private room to y video games, but I ran into them.¡± As he recalled this episode, he narrowed his eyes. A young man of about 18 was ying video games. He heard footsteps and quickly turned off the volume of his game. He was immediately alert and held his breath, fearing that he would be caught by his father and berated for wasting his time on video games. However, he only heard rustling soundsing from the office. He sneaked around to the door and looked out, where he saw two naked bodies pressed up against each other. At that time, he had wanted to throw up in disgust. This, incidentally, was the cause of his mysophobiater on in life. Qiao Lian was stunned and asked, ¡°What happened after that?¡± ¡°After that I rushed out.¡± Shen Liangchuan narrowed his eyes and continued, ¡°I looked at the flustered couple. He was trying to convince me that it wasn¡¯t what I thought...¡± Shen Liangchuan smirked, ¡°I was 18, not 8 months old. Hence, I told Mom.¡± ¡°Mom was livid. And they had a big fight. From then onwards, he hated me, but because Mom defended me, he couldn¡¯t do anything to me.¡± He stopped for a moment and then continued, ¡°Right up to when we decided to create an eSports team.¡± Chapter 747 - The Man On The Tombstone (1)

Chapter 747: The Man On The Tombstone (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian remembered that, prior to establishing the eSports club, he had been a wealthy young master¡ªas evident in their idle chats. However, after the eSports club had been established, all of a sudden he seemed to have be as poor as a pauper. At the time the club was established, she could sense that he was short of money. Hence, she had even sent him 100,000 at one point. She guessed that, by that time, he had left the Shen Family home. Shen Liangchuan continued, ¡°I told my family that I wanted to establish an eSports club, so he finally found an excuse. He imed that Icked education and skills and gave me a good beating. Mom could not tolerate it and in the end took me with her, seeking a divorce. He was furious and told her that if that was what she wanted, then there was only one way: leave the Shen family home, taking nothing with her.¡± ¡°At that time, Mom hesitated. But when I told her I¡¯d look after her, she went ahead with the decision.¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s tone was calm. It was so calm that no one would have guessed how painful it was. But still, Qiao Lian held his hand tightly. Mom could not tolerate it... She could imagine how bad the beating must have been. She was reminded of the way Shen Xiu red at Shen Liangchuan all the time, as if he couldn¡¯t wait to kill the man. Qiao Lian frowned and said angrily, ¡°This man is simply too much!¡± Shen Liangchuan cast his gaze down in silence. ¡°Ever since he was born, Zihao was cherished and pampered. He didn¡¯t treat me that well. When we left the Shen family home, we were really penniless. I had to borrow money from friends to settle Mom and I really didn¡¯t have the energy to care about Zihao. Besides, he was studying overseas and I couldn¡¯t even afford a year of his tuition fees. So I selfishly thought, ¡®let him finish his studies and when he¡¯s back, I¡¯ll tell him the truth.¡¯ But I never expected that Mei Feng and Shen Xiu would intercept and mislead him.¡± ¡°At that time, his affair with Mei Feng had been too secretive. Apart from Mom and I, no one knew. From Zihao¡¯s perspective, she wasn¡¯t a third party. He had always thought that after he was abandoned by Mom, Mei Feng looked after him, so their rtionship deepened. And Mei Feng has always held an important ce in his heart.¡± After he said all of this, Shen Liangchuan looked at Qiao Lian and said, ¡°You¡¯ve seen how she operates. She doesn¡¯t show her hand or leave a trail.¡± She had ensured she had legitimate reasons for visiting the rehab home. This person was frightening. Qiao Lian frowned and sighed deeply, saying, ¡°I think Nuannnuan is in for a hard time.¡± Shen Liangchuan did notment any further. Snuggled together, the two of them chatted and as they did so, they soon realized that sleep had escaped them. It was way past midnight when their stomachs started rumbling. Shen Liangchuan stood up and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to cook two bowls of noodles.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. As Shen Liangchuan worked in the kitchen, Qiao Lian watched him from outside. After a while, feeling bored, she picked up her cell phone and logged into the mobile version of Lot. She logged in with her Xiao Qiao ID. The moment she signed in, she saw there was a message from thepetitive team. She opened the message, which was from the team captain. The content informed that the team gathering was on the second day of the new year, in Beijing. It also mentioned that after the meal, they would all go and pay respects to Zi Chuan. Those who wished to participate were to reply to the message. Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank when she read this. She jumped up from her seat. Lifting her head suddenly, she looked at Shen Liangchuan in the kitchen. Zi Chuan was obviously not dead. So who was the person on the tombstone? Why did the people on the team im that he was Zi Chuan? These questions came to her all at once. She curled her fingers into a fist and replied to the message, saying: [Count me in.] Chapter 748 - The Man On The Tombstone (2)

Chapter 748: The Man On The Tombstone (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As soon as she sent her reply, Shen Liangchuan walked out of the kitchen with the bowls of noodles. He nced at her and asked, ¡°What are you doing?¡± Guiltily, with a jerking movement, she logged out of the game and stood up. She walked to the dining table. He had ced the two bowls of noodles on it. The noodles were piping hot and, on top of the pale yellow strings, he had added two leaves of tender and plump greens, making it look extremely appetizing. Qiao Lian¡¯s stomach started rumbling again immediately. They had had very little food during dinner and now they were famished. She quickly took her seat and dug into the food with her chopsticks. She took one bite. The soup tasted fresh and the texture of the noodles was lovely¡ªoverall, the bnce of saltiness was perfect. In her famished state, she almost bit her own tongue. Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes shone and without saying another word, she gulped down her food. She did not put down the chopsticks and bowl till she finished thest drop of soup. Then she lifted her head and looked at Shen Liangchuan. The man was still eating and in a most polite manner. It was easy to tell that he had had the upbringing and training that could only havee from a prominent family. Comparing how she had just been eating and his manners now, Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help but burst outughing. After the meal, she rested her chin on her hand and stared at him. His eyes darkened and asked, ¡°Want more food?¡± She nodded immediately and said, ¡°Yes.¡± Without waiting for Shen Liangchuan to speak, she lifted her chopsticks at once and picked a noodle strand from his bowl. Putting one end in her mouth, she started to suck and draw the rest of the noodle strand in. As though food tasted better if stolen! Shen Liangchuan started tough too at this point and, ying along, he too picked up a noodle strand and started to suck it. As they did so... they realized eventually that they we sucking different ends of the same strand! Qiao Lian widened her eyes. At the same time, the look in Shen Liangchuan¡¯s eyes deepened and he stood up suddenly. Bit by bit, he sucked in the strand suspended between them, until atst there was only a hair¡¯s breadth left separating them. Startled, Qiao Lian widened her eyes and her face turned scarlet, as she quickly bit the noodle strand. But the next moment, a pair of soft and moist lips nted themselves against hers. With the little dining table between them, he leaned over with his hands on the table and kissed her. Qiao Lian: ... It was a quick peck, a brush against her lips. But he did not move for some time. All at once, the atmosphere was heavily suggestive. There was a tenderness and charm in the air. The rest of the noodles was left untouched. Shen Liangchuan circled around the table, so he was now next to Qiao Lian¡¯s dining chair and bent over. If the earlier kiss had been like a dragonfly skimming the water surface, then now it was an impending thunderstorm. He filled every bit of the inside of her mouth now, frantically and fiercely. After a while, he grabbed her waist and was about to make his next move... when they heard someone cough. Qiao Lian waspletely taken by surprise. She froze and felt Shen Liangchuan jump from the fright as well. Both of them jumped up and straightened up their postures, as they spun their heads around at the same time. They saw Xia Yehua standing at the top of the stairs, her eyes wide and curious, looking straight at them. Shen Liangchuan was at a loss for words. She raised her hand to cover her mouth. The earlier cough they had heard hadn¡¯t been done on purpose, they realized. Seeing the couple staring at her, she waved her hand dismissively and said, ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t see anything. Please continue.¡± After this, she turned and walked back to her own room. Qiao Lian: ... Chapter 749 - The Man On The Tombstone (3)

Chapter 749

: The Man On The Tombstone (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian turned bright red and extended her arms to push Shen Liangchuan away. Then she went upstairs and, just as she was entering the bedroom, she saw Xia Yehua open her bedroom door. The woman stuck her head out of the doorway. Qiao Lian was speechless. Xia Yehua looked around, as though trying to find out if the couple downstairs had finished their business. Qiao Lian was speechless. Qiao Lian walked up to the woman quietly and called out, ¡°Mom.¡± Xia Yehua jumped and straightened her posture immediately. She eximed, ¡°Oh dear, why am I here? Have I been sleepwalking?¡± Upon hearing this, Qiao Lian looked a little bemused and said, ¡°Mom, are you hungry or something?¡± The woman immediately turned around with a grateful expression and said, ¡°My Little Qiao Qiao, you¡¯re still the best!¡± Qiao Lian had guessed as much. They hadn¡¯t had a proper dinner, even Shen Liangchuan and her had been famished a moment ago. In addition, Xia Yehua had certainly not eaten much for lunch, so she had to be starving by now. She hurriedly took a look downstairs and called Shen Liangchuan, ¡°Mom¡¯s hungry, can you cook more noodles?¡± Shen Liangchuan was amused. He looked up at the two women helplessly. These were probably the two most important women in his life. He turned around, put on his apron and, with a look of resignation, returned to the kitchen. Just at this point, his cell phone rang. Qiao Lian picked it up and looked at the screen. It was Song Cheng. She shouted from upstairs, ¡°It¡¯s a call from Song Cheng.¡± Then she ran downstairs to the kitchen. Shen Liangchuan had his hands full, so he said, ¡°Pick up for me.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. She picked up the call and Song Cheng¡¯s voice came through, ¡°I say, Brother Shen, even though we¡¯re not going to make another film this year and have gone into business, have you forgotten you¡¯re still a celebrity?! It¡¯s New Year and everyone has posted their new year blessings on Weibo. What about yours?¡± At these words, Qiao Lian replied immediately, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll make him post something in a little while.¡± Song Cheng: ... Song Cheng suggested, ¡°Sister Qiao, don¡¯t. Forget about asking him to do it. Why don¡¯t you do it for him instead? Brother Shen has never liked postings such messages. Every year, I end up having to push and hurry him a few times.¡± Qiao Lian agreed and said, ¡°Alright.¡± After hanging up, she looked at the man who was busy cooking in the kitchen. After thinking for a moment, she picked up his cell phone and took a profile shot of him. Then, logging into his Weibo page, she posted a message: [Shen Liangchuan: First day of the new year. Eating for good fortune.] She attached the picture to the caption. Then she posted it and waited. Almost as soon as the post was published,ments poured in. Theizens¡¯ responses were like this: [Ahhhhh, my hubby looks good even when cooking!] [I feel like eating, what do I do now?!] [Best Actor Shen is posting a picture of his daily life? I must be dreaming!] [I dare say, this post must have been made by Mrs. Shen] Qiao Lian was speechless. Just how cold and silent was this guy normally to be able to draw a huge reaction with just an ordinary Weibo post? Shen Liangchuan had just finished cooking around the same time Qiao Lian was done with his cell phone. Xia Yehua came downstairs and had her noodles in silence. Five minutester, the noodles were all gone and she headed back to her bedroom, but not before saying, ¡°Alright, all this space is yours now. The living room, the kitchen, the sofa, the carpet¡ªwherever you wish, feel free to stay!¡± Qiao Lian: ...!! Chapter 750 - The Man On The Tombstone (4)

Chapter 750: The Man On The Tombstone (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The first day of the new year, Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan went to the hospital and brought Qiao Yi home. They were joyously reunited for the day. Qiao Yi had fully recovered by now. He never gave his academic pursuits for all these years, but if he were to enter a local university, he would be older than most of his ssmates. Shen Liangchuan had decided to send him overseas for his undergraduate studies. Hence, until he was notified of his application to an overseas university, he would stay in the Shen vi and spend time studying on his own. Xia Yehua was very fond of the smart and likable boy, so she would cook a variety of dishes for him every day. With someone home to keep herpany now, Xia Yehua¡¯s mood gradually lightened up. ¨C Second day of the new year. The moment Qiao Lian opened her eyes in the morning, she was racking her brain for an excuse to go out and join thepetitive team¡¯s gathering. Shen Liangchuan had been tight lipped about what had happened eight years ago. If she wanted to find out more about the man in the picture on the tombstone, she would have to go and have a look with the team. Perhaps she would be able to discover some useful information. After breakfast, she got dressed to leave home. Then, she made her way slowly down the stairs. Xia Yehua and Auntie Li were busy in the kitchen, preparing lunch. Both Shen Liangchuan and Qiao Yi were sitting on the sofa in the living room, each looking through their own documents on theirptops. When they heard Qiao Lian¡¯s footstepsing down, they turned simultaneously. Seeing that she was dressed up, Shen Liangchuan raised an eyebrow and asked, ¡°You¡¯re going out?¡± Qiao Lian coughed once. With a vague expression on her face, she said, ¡°Yes.¡± Curiously, Shen Liangchuan asked further, ¡°What are you going out for?¡± Before she could reply, his cell phone rang. He looked down at the screen and paused when he saw the caller¡¯s number. He pursed his lips as Xia Yehua walked out of the kitchen, wiping her hands. When she heard the ringing of his cell phone, she asked, ¡°Who would be calling you on the second day of the new year?¡± The casual question drew a puzzled look from Shen Liangchuan as he said, ¡°My grandfather.¡± Xia Yehua was stunned for a moment before eximing with surprise, ¡°Why is Senior Master calling you? Hurry and pick up!¡± Years ago, after getting married, Shen Xiu moved out of his old family home. Shen Liangchuan seldom saw his grandfather. He nodded at Xia Yehua¡¯s words and picked up the call. ¡°Grandad.¡± They couldn¡¯t hear what the man on the other end was saying, but they saw Shen Liangchuan frown and look reluctant. But he finally said, ¡°Okay, I¡¯lle by right now.¡± After he hung up, he looked up with a sense of uncertainty and said, ¡°Senior Master has asked me to see him at the old family home.¡± Xia Yehua sighed and said, ¡°Senior Master is in his seventies now. If he wishes to see you, then just go. After all, he¡¯s your grandfather. In fact, he was good to you when you were little. But because your father didn¡¯t allow you to go back to the old family hometer on, you eventually lost contact with Senior Master.¡± Shen Liangchuan could only snort disdainfully at her words. If his grandfather had really been good to him, then he would have known at the time that he and his mother had left the family home without a cent in their pockets. But in all these years, they had never heard from him. However, Xia Yehua was right. He was his grandfather after all and furthermore, in his memory, although he and his grandfather weren¡¯t very close, they weren¡¯t estranged either. Shen Liangchuan nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯ll drop by to see him.¡± As he said this, he hurried upstairs to get changed and came back down. Remembering their earlier conversation as he walked past Qiao Lian, he asked, ¡°Why are you going out?¡± Qiao Lian replied furtively, ¡°... I- I have an appointment with Nianyao to go shopping.¡± ¡°Where? I¡¯ll drive you.¡± Chapter 751 - The Man On The Tombstone (5)

Chapter 751: The Man On The Tombstone (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Immediately, Qiao Lian said with a wave of her hand, ¡°No, it¡¯s okay! Nianyao wille pick me upter.¡± Risk him taking her? If he found out that she was going to join the team and insisted oning along, how was she going to find out more about the fake Zi Chuan? Besides, she felt that the other Zi Chuan had some sort of close connection with her. Shen Liangchuan raised an eyebrow and looked at her intently. ¡°Ok, then.¡± He then strode out of the house and drove away. Qiao Lian sighed in relief. Just as she did that, she heard Qiao Yi say, ¡°Sister, how is it that you are still so bad at lying?¡± Qiao Lian was stumped. ¡°It was obvious that brother-inw could tell you were lying and decided not to expose you. Why did you lie to him? Where are you going? Are you secretly meeting a gigolo?!¡± Qiao Lian reached out and poked Qiao Yi¡¯s head. She berated him, ¡°Go and study. You¡¯re young, what do you know!¡± Then she sneaked out of the house. She called a taxi and headed straight for the Beijing Banquet. The team captain used to be a young and rich second-generation heir. Now, yearster, he had gone on to be the chairman of a small enterprise. In his thirties, he was mature and steady. At the same time, there was a pure and innocent quality about him. All these years, he had been the one managing the team¡¯s gatherings, and this time he was financing it again. It had been eight years and, even though the team members no longer yed video games, among themselves, they had formed a friendship bond. Upon arriving at the Beijing Banquet, she searched for the venue given in the message and went to the private room 888. She stood outside the doorway, suddenly feeling a little nervous. This team from her youth was made up of people she had met on the Inte. She had never seen them in real life. She had no idea whaty beyond the door. These people with whom she hadughed and argued on the Inte... What would they be like in real life? As she contemted these questions in her mind, a waitress walked towards the door, preparing to serve up the food. Qiao Lian stepped aside to allow him to open the door and enter the private room. There were already more than twenty people seated around the huge banquet table in the private room. There were men and wonmen. They were all unfamiliar faces, but they were chatting happily among themselves. Qiao Lian overheard them talking about Lot before she could step in. ¡°The Beijingpetition hase to an end. CQ Team has been selected to take part in the national finals. What do you think are CQ¡¯s chances of winning? ¡°Need we say more about this?¡± ¡°Up till now, they¡¯ve only gotten into the national finals! Have you forgotten that there¡¯s the long-standingpetitive team KG, from Shanghai? They were the absolute national champion for five consecutive years.¡± ¡°Zombie Leader from CQ Team is quite a skilled fighter. Besides, in thest match, the maneuvers of Ancestor White Bones were awesome to say the least.¡± With a member of the team injured and unable to take part in thepetition, Qiao Lian had yed as a stand-in. Hence, these people hadn¡¯t realized that she had been the one behind the maneuvers of Ancestor White Bones. ¡°Speaking of Ancestor White Bones, don¡¯t you guys find her moves a little familiar?¡± ¡°Yes, yes, I thought they resembled Xiao Qiao¡¯s! But again, it¡¯s odd. I studied Ancestor White Bones¡¯ maneuvers from the previous matches and the style differed. Besides, in thest two matches of the Beijing finals, she yed like apletely different person. That change was too fast!¡± Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t helpughing when she heard this. Of course the change was fast! Zi Chuan had yed thest two matches. Of course it was different from Xiao Qiao¡¯s style. ¡°Ancestor White Bones is a ck horse indeed, but don¡¯t forget, KG Team has Prince, the absolute national solo champion.¡± Chapter 752 - The Man On The Tombstone (6)

Chapter 752: The Man On The Tombstone (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Ah, talking about Prince. I¡¯m such a huge fan!¡± a female gamer squealed. ¡°He¡¯s handsome and his ying skills are so awesome. I can¡¯t find the words for it!¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. Prince is absolutely the deserving solo champion.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say for all games, but in Lot, Prince can be considered the number one. For sure, he has a talent in gaming! Come to think of it, Prince is the best yer I¡¯ve seen in many years.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I think Prince is really peerless.¡± A female gamer then expressed her displeasure, saying, ¡°What if youpare him with Zi Chuan?¡± The room fell silent at once. Even those who were talking among themselves turned to look at the girl who spoke up. Qiao Lian was about to walk in when she too, halted. Zi Chuan. Years ago, Zi Chuan had been like a god among thepetitive yers. Everyone sighed when they heard these words. ¡°If Zi Chuan were here, if he did the same as Prince and had gone through professional training and taken part in matches, perhaps he¡¯d be on par. But what¡¯s the use of saying this? Isn¡¯t- isn¡¯t he gone?¡± Everyone kept silent. As though they were seeing a rising star fall from the skies with their own eyes. Their emotions were greatly stirred by the sense of tenderness for this hero. Looking at them, Qiao Lian too couldn¡¯t help but feel the same emotions. Even though these people were now grown-ups, even though some of them may have already chosen different career paths, when it came to gaming, they were still wholehearted. She pursed her lips and smiled. After the waitress served the food and as she was about to leave the room, she noticed Qiao Lian standing outside the door. She asked curiously but politely, ¡°Miss, are you a guest for this private room too?¡± All pairs of eyes shifted their attention towards her when they heard this. Qiao Lian looked at the group and pursed her lips. Then she said to the waitress, ¡°Yes, I am.¡± She walked into the room. Smiling politely still, the waitress walked out. Someone asked curiously, ¡°Are you here to join our team¡¯s gathering?¡± Qiao Lian nodded. ¡°Who are you? Why have we never seen you in the past?¡± Qiao Lian was slightly taken aback by that question. Looking at the person, she was going to speak when the team captain suddenly realized and eximed, ¡°Oh! It¡¯s you, youngdy!¡± As soon as the captain spoke, everyone grew even more puzzled, ¡°Do you know her, captain?¡± The captain smiled and replied, ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you that there was a young female fan who cried like there was no tomorrow before Zi Chuan¡¯s tombstone? This is she.¡± Upon hearing this, all of them turned towards Qiao Lian again. ¡°So it¡¯s her. How did she know about our team¡¯s gathering? Was she also part of the team?¡± ¡°Are you from overseas and that¡¯s why we¡¯ve never seen you?¡± People started to specte among themselves. The captain stood up and spoke candidly, ¡°No matter what, since she¡¯s here, she¡¯s a guest. We all became friends because of gaming in the first ce. And with her, we have the privilege and good karma to have our paths cross. Come, youngdy, you can sit here!¡± The captain smiled as he made space for Qiao Lian. She continued to look at the crowd. They seized her up curiously. Someone even said, ¡°Why does she look so familiar?¡± Back when Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan announced their rtionship and went public, she had had some makeup on. But now, wearing a white down jacket and jeans, she looked like just a pretty regr girl. Hence, even for those who had seen Mrs. Shen¡¯s pictures, they couldn¡¯t have recognized her right away. Chapter 753 - The Man On The Tombstone (7)

Chapter 753: The Man On The Tombstone (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian hade for the sole reason of investigating the identity of the man in the picture on the tombstone. Hence, she was nonchnt about letting the people know that she was Xiao Qiao. She had nothing to hide. The group chatted and joked around. The atmosphere in the private room became casual and bustling again. The guests were alluding each other¡¯s aplishments as they talked. Thepetitive team was still there, but out of the 20-odd people in the room, almost half of them did not y video games anymore. Those who persisted had also taken a step back and took it as a form of entertainment now. Of course, gaming itself was a type of entertainment. The captain was considerably emotional. He said, ¡°When one gets old, things really be impossible.These games are for 25-year-old youngsters. A few days ago, I joined other yers to y one round and I lost pathetically!¡± ¡°Hahaha, Captain, you¡¯re in your thirties, I¡¯m sure you can¡¯t beat that bunch! The young people nowadays get better and better.¡± ¡°We¡¯re old and about to be obsolete.¡± ¡°Sheesh, ultimately, it is down to the individual¡¯s ability. Look at Xiao Qiao, isn¡¯t she still as good of a yer today?¡± Qiao Lian immediately looked up. Someone else said, ¡°I¡¯ve seen Purple Fairy y a few games. Although she¡¯s not bad, it¡¯s nowhere near her previous standards. No matter what, she has aged.¡± Qiao Lian then realized that the fact that she was Xiao Qiao was not something that had been publicly announced. So they still thought that Purple Fairy was Xiao Qiao? As this thought crossed her mind, the man sitting next to her said, ¡°Hi, how do you do? I¡¯m from the team and my nickname is San Lang.¡± He was a delicately good-looking young man in his mid-twenties. San Lang? Qiao Lian raised an eyebrow at once. She remembered how they used tough at his handle all the time. She remembered him to be a shy boy. During calls in the past, she had heard his voice. What she saw before her and the voice she remembered matched quite well. Qiao Lian smiled at him and said, ¡°So it¡¯s you!¡± San Lang¡¯s eyes lit up with surprise. ¡°You know me?¡± The girl sitting on the other side of San Lang immediately said, ¡°Who doesn¡¯t know you? You¡¯re a top yer in Lot. When we yed ranked, you were even among the top 20. Sigh... and now, you don¡¯t even help us girls score and fight.¡± The young man scratched his head, saying, ¡°It¡¯s been busy at worktely.¡± He looked at Qiao Lian and asked, ¡°Which champion do you like to y?¡± Which champion did she like? ¡°Xiao Qiao.¡± Of course, she liked Xiao Qiao the most. San Langughed and said, ¡°Xiao Qiao is pretty, all you girls like that champion. My expertise is Xiao Qiao too!¡± He said that with an expression that was full of pride. The girl next to himughed at once. ¡°Right, right. You¡¯re Xicheng district¡¯s number one Xiao Qiao!¡± San Langughed at her words and humbly said, ¡°Actually, my skills are just modest.¡± He took out his cell phone and said, ¡°Can we be gaming friends? At some point, I can lead you in a few matches.¡± The girlughed heartily and teased him, ¡°Oh, look at that, San Lang chooses who he leads in games. Some of us are probably not pretty enough, that¡¯s why he doesn¡¯t have time to lead us, is that right?¡± It was a harmless jest, but San Lang turned scarlet. He cleared his throat and said, ¡°Of course not. Of course I¡¯ll lead you too!¡± After saying that, he looked at Qiao Lian again and inquired, ¡°So your gaming ID is...?¡± Qiao Lian muttered a string of numbers. San Lang entered this into the search field and added, ¡°Great, I¡¯ll add you as a friend-¡± Before he could finish what he was saying, the search loaded the ID associated with the number and his eyes suddenly widened with shock. He looked at her in disbelief. Chapter 754 - The Man On The Tombstone (8)

Chapter 754: The Man On The Tombstone (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian had given him her main ount. That was Xiao Qiao¡¯s ount. He looked at the gaming ID on the screen in astonishment, staring at the nickname that the search had fetched. Then he noted the familiar avatar and looked up at Qiao Lian with a snap of his head. His jaw fell open and he was so excited that he was at a loss for words. ¡°You- you are-¡± The way he was stammering made the girl next to himugh. She gave him a friendly shove and said, ¡°San Lang, stop being such a loser, ok? Losing your tongue like that when you see a pretty girl.¡± San Lang gulped. Qiao Lian smiled casually, with the mysterious air of a top gamer. She said, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me.¡± He widened his eyes further. The people around the table were all engaged in their own conversations, catching up with each other. Apart from the girl next to San Lang, no one noticed his expression. Seeing that he was in a daze, she turned around to look at the captain sitting on her other side. The main reason she was here today was to find out about Zi Chuan. She was about to speak when the room door was thrown open suddenly. Following this, a man with arge body swaggered in. The captain¡¯s pupils shrank at once when he saw the man, and he stood up with a start. ¡°Monochrome, why are you here?¡± Monochrome? Qiao Lian looked at the person by the door¡ªanother old yer of the team! However... Qiao Lian frowned. A feeling of abhorrence rose within her. Monochrome had been a part of the team at that time, but he had caused much unhappiness with his words and deeds. When they yed a game, he would follow the other yers and say all sorts of negativements. Eventually, the others found out that he was trying to hook up with pretty gamers and, to do this, he had been telling the girls online that he and Zi Chuan were buddies. Zi Chuan was arrogant. He had a cold and distant personality. Apart from the pioneers of theirpetitive team, he didn¡¯t really care tomunicate with anyone else. He was the unquestionable number one in the gaming world and he had scores of female fans. The female fans wanted to get to know him and Monochrome used this to his own advantage. When Zi Chuan found out about this, he gave Monochrome a direct warning through the groupchat. After that episode, Zi Chuan stopped leading him altogether in the games. Zi Chuan had warned her, ¡°Even at such young age, Monochrome uses this sort of hical means. This goes to show that he has no integrity. You should stay away from people like that.¡± From then on, Qiao Lian ceased allmunication with Monochrome. And now that she was seeing this person in real life, the only thing she could say was that... he looked as rotten on the outside as how he was on the inside. Monochrome was an obese man withrge ears and small eyes. His wretched look was quite revolting. As soon as he walked in, his beady eyes were riveted on the captain. With an unpleasant smile, he said, ¡°Isn¡¯t this a team gathering? Why shouldn¡¯t Ie?¡± The captain looked at him with a frown. Ignoring the look of disapproval, the disgusting man found a seat and sat down. His rotund figure was dressed in branded clothes and he held a briefcase in his hand. He looked up after he sat down and addressed everyone, ¡°Brothers of thepetitive team, I, your humble brother, would like to request your help on a matter regarding Zi Chuan.¡± At this point, he reached into his briefcase to pull out a wad of banknotes. ¡°Here¡¯s a 100 000. This is for you all to divide and distribute. You can consider this a red packet for the new year.¡± The captain narrowed his eyes immediately and asked him, ¡°What exactly do you want?¡± Chapter 755 - The Man On The Tombstone (9)

Chapter 755: The Man On The Tombstone (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°It¡¯s like this... I assume you know that I¡¯ve created a game. The business has just started and, of course, we need to attract yers with something. Isn¡¯t Zi Chuan very well-known? Hence, I was thinking of borrowing his fame.¡± Qiao Lian looked up with a snap of her head when she heard his words. Borrowing Zi Chuan¡¯s fame? Before she could say anything, the captain frowned and said, ¡°it¡¯s been eight years since Zi Chuan passed away. What do you mean you want to borrow his fame?¡± Monochrome sniggered and continued, ¡°Actually, who else besides the few of us know that Zi Chuan is dead?¡± The captain narrowed his eyes and asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°What I mean is that I intend to find a gamer to impersonate Zi Chuan and invite this person to y the game, and also to be a caster. It will attract many people.¡± At these words, Monochrome pushed forward the wad of banknotes and said, ¡°Yes... so, actually, I hope that you can keep your mouths sealed.¡± Then he sped his fat palms together in a gesture of thanks and said, ¡°I will depend on your help, Brothers.¡± Qiao Lian immediately narrowed her eyes and looked at the 100 000. There were 20-odd people on the table. If the 100 000 was split evenly among them, everyone would end up with 4000 or 5000. To a celebrity this money was nothing, but for mostmoners, it was half a month¡¯s sry or more. Hence... As Qiao Lian contemted this, the captain stood up at once and said, ¡°No way!¡± Monochrome immediately looked unhappy and turned towards him asking, ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°Zi Chuan is dead. If you got someone to impersonate him, it would be a great disrespect to him!¡± Monochrome replied with a twitch of his lips, ¡°Captain, stop objecting to this. How would you know that Zi Chuan wouldn¡¯t feel grateful to me? It has been so many years since he died, but now, through the hype that I¡¯m about to create, he wille alive again.¡± His tone was filled with disdain for the dead person. Now everyone, not just the captain, was stirred up. The captain clenched his fists tightly at those words. ¡°What are you saying?¡± Then, he raised his clenched fist with an intention to punch the disgusting man. Monochrome hurriedly retreated a step and sniggered, as a few of the others stepped up to hold back the captain. ¡°Captain, don¡¯t get worked up. Let¡¯s not start a fight.¡± Monochrome added, ¡°That¡¯s right, let¡¯s talk nicely. Why be violent? We are all educated people, I don¡¯t think any one of us wishes to end up in the police station, isn¡¯t that right?¡± Monochrome looked at the crowd and continued, ¡°Besides, I¡¯m only here to inform you of this matter. Furthermore, the 5000 are nothing to you since you¡¯re rich, but maybe it matters to some other people.¡± He grinned at all of them. ¡°If you have no objections, then take the money and seal your lips, that¡¯s all.¡± One by one, the people around started to show an angry expression at those words. But they knew, as adults, that if they hit him, they could be sued for intended assault. None of them said anything. After a short while, someone stepped forward and took the 100 000. Monochromeughed at once. ¡°Very good, a wise man will go with the situation.¡± However, right after he said this, the person who had taken the wad of banknotes extended his hand and threw the money in the fat man¡¯s face. ¡°We are poor, but we will not betray our own conscience!¡± Dazed after being hit by the wad of banknotes, Monochrome retorted angrily, ¡°Let me tell you, don¡¯t push your luck! Even if you won¡¯t help me with this matter, I¡¯ve got help from elsewhere! Xiao Qiao has agreed!!¡± Chapter 756 - The Man On The Tombstone (10)

Chapter 756: The Man On The Tombstone (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios With his im, the room suddenly became silent. Reflexively, San Lang turned towards Qiao Lian. She was frowning deeply and looked back at him. The captain froze and said, ¡°What did you say?¡± Monochrome gave a cold humph and squatted to pick up the wad of money, ignoring a few notes that hade loose and fallen from the pile. He stashed the wad back into his briefcase and looked up at the captain. ¡°Exactly that! I¡¯ve gotten in touch with Xiao Qiao, who¡¯s Purple Fairy now, and she¡¯s agreed to my suggestion. Also, I¡¯ve invited her to be the spokesperson for my video game.¡± The captain was so furious that his finger shook as he pointed to the man and said, ¡°You- you are really shameless!¡± Monochrome¡¯s lips curled upwards into a smile as he said, ¡°I¡¯m shameless indeed, so what? This is what businessmen are like. We will do whatever it takes to achieve our goal. As for you people... humph!¡± He looked at the people in the room and continued, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you honestly, I¡¯m not afraid of you ndering me online. Will people think that the mysterious Zi Chuan is dead just because you say so? Who can prove that the person who died was Zi Chuan? As long as Xiao Qiao says he¡¯s alive, then that¡¯s what he is.¡± His tone was exceptionally smug when he said this. The captain shook with anger. ¡°You- you-¡± Monochrome raised an eyebrow and sneered, ¡°Oh... one thing... I¡¯ve invited Xiao Qiao over tonight. If you have any objections, feel free to tell her!¡± At these words, his cell phone rang. He looked down at the iing call ID and picked up immediately. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re here? Juste up to the private room number 888.¡± After hanging up the line, he looked at the crowd and said with an icy smile, ¡°I¡¯ve paid Xiao Qiao a million to be our spokesperson. You¡¯d be very naive if you even think that she is going to be on your side!¡± At once, everyone in the room fell silent. Monochrome twitched his lips. After a short time, they heard a knock on the door. Monochrome called out, ¡°Come in!¡± The door swung open and Purple Fairy walked in. She was beautifully dressed up. But when she saw the crowd in the room, she halted with surprise and asked, ¡°You are...?¡± shing a showy wide smile, Monochrome said, ¡°This is a gathering of ourpetitive team.¡± Then he motioned to her as he said, ¡°Xiao Qiao- oh... That¡¯s not right, now I should address you as Purple Fairy. Come here quickly, let me introduce these people to you.¡± Monochrome was currently the boss of the video game, and Purple Fairy was the game¡¯s potential spokesperson. For the sake of securing this deal, she of course had to go for broke. Hence when she heard what Monochrome had said, although hesitant, she eventually walked in. Of course, she knew that she wasn¡¯t the real Xiao Qiao. Because of this, she had never taken part in these activities to avoid the risk of exposing her true identity. Yet right now, she had no choice but to enter the room, no choice but to convince them that she was Xiao Qiao. Otherwise, she may not be able to swing the deal. After she coached the King Team and lost thepetition, Mr. Sun was furious and disbanded the team. He had even demanded his money back for all the expenditures that were deemed unnecessary. This had resulted in a significant reduction in ie for the female caster. In the recent times, she had fallen into dire straits. Clinching this deal as a spokesperson would allow her to return to the eSports industry once more. At this thought, Purple Fairy frowned and then walked in gracefully. There were many people in the room and Qiao Lian had hidden herself in the crowd, hence, Purple Fairy did not notice her. She stood before the crowd in a natural and unrestrained manner, and introduced herself, ¡°Hi, how are you? I¡¯m Xiao Qiao.¡± Chapter 757 - The Man On The Tombstone (11)

Chapter 757: The Man On The Tombstone (11)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios San Lang did not understand what was going on. He stared at Purple Fairy for a while and then turned to look at Qiao Lian. There was confusion in his widened eyes, he had no idea who was the real McCoy. Qiao Lian continued to stand in her hidden little corner, her lips turned into a mocking smile. Shen Liangchuan had been spot-on in his assessment of Monochrome. This mancked integrity, was uneducated and unskilled. He had found a fake spokesperson and, on top of that, he was looking for someone to impersonate Zi Chuan! This was both intolerable and unbearable. Even though thest eight years of her life had been tough, she had seen much of the world. But a person like Monochrome was really something else. Qiao Lian continued to observe him and Purple Fairy from her corner, waiting to see what other acts they woulde up with. Once Purple Fairy had greeted the crowd, the captain hurriedly walked up to her and grabbed her wrist, asking, ¡°Xiao Qiao, have you really agreed to help him find someone to impersonate Zi Chuan?¡± Purple Fairy lightly swept away the captain¡¯s grip and at these words turned to look at Monochrome with a frown. After a while, she turned back to the captain and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± The captain became anxious and retorted, ¡°Xiao Qiao, although Zi Chuan is gone, how could you treat him like this?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! In thest eight years that Zi Chuan was gone, have you even been to his grave to pay respect?¡± ¡°Zi Chuan was so good to you during those years. You were almost an ideal couple in the games. How could you do this?!¡± ¡°Xiao Qiao, you have to do Zi Chuan justice! He is dead. We are not asking you mourn his death or live in pain, but you must have a conscience.¡± ¡°...¡± The people in the crowd gave theirments and rebuked her. Hearing all these words, Purple Fairy narrowed her eyes and looked up after a moment with an expression of pain and confusion. She protested, ¡°But I really do not know what you¡¯re talking about! Zi Chuan is dead? When did that happen? I was just chatting with him yesterday.¡± Upon hearing this, everyone in the room widened their eyes in surprise. Qiao Lian, on the other hand, narrowed her eyes. Indeed, the next thing that Purple Fairy said was, ¡°We have been together all these years. How could Zi Chuan be dead? Your Zi Chuan... have you all been conned?¡± She sighed and remarked, ¡°The Zi Chuan that you speak about... Is that really Zi Chuan?¡± Everyone in the room fell silent at her question. Because they suddenly realized that Purple Fairy had a point. Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes, holding her breath, and fully focused on what was going on. Finally, they were at the point where they might talk about Zi Chuan¡¯s death and its cause. She stood there, listening as the captain spoke, ¡°Xiao Qiao, have- have you been conned?¡± He frowned, pointed at the crowd in the room and continued, ¡°In our very first gathering, we all saw Zi Chuan. How could a dead person fake his own death?!¡± Qiao Lian froze upon hearing this information. The very first gathering. The very first gathering... that would have been nine years ago. Nine years ago. Now she recalled it! Once there was a gathering for theirpetitive team organized by the captain. He had said that those in Beijing should meet up. Because Qiao Lian was in Suzhou, she had been unable to make the trip. At that time, she had been sorely disappointed. Although she was the Qiao family¡¯s pampered little mistress and it wouldn¡¯t have been difficult for her to go on a trip to Beijing... Back then, she had never thought about making her inte romance with Zi Chuan a reality. After all, they were barely eighteen. Chapter 758 - The Man On The Tombstone (12)

Chapter 758: The Man On The Tombstone (12)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Nine years ago, she wasn¡¯t even a grown-up yet. When she thought about how the other team members would get to see what Zi Chuan looked like, whereas she, who was so much closer to him, would not be the first one to see him, she was upset. When Zi Chuan realized what she was thinking, heughed and said, ¡°These gatherings are so meaningless, I won¡¯t be going.¡± Immediately, Qiao Lian was appeased and said, ¡°Is that because you feel that they are from a virtual world, or is that because of me?¡± Zi Chuan replied, ¡°I¡¯ve never treated the friendships that I form in the online gaming world as virtual¡ªthe same way I¡¯ve never treated my romance in the games as unreal.¡± Those words he said made her heart flutter and her face turn scarlet. After this, she paid little attention to what happened at the gathering, since she was not attending it. The people who had attended the event also did not mention if Zi Chuan had gone. Yet now, ording to what the captain was saying, it seemed that Zi Chuan had in fact been... to that very first gathering? Her eyes narrowed as she grabbed San Lang, who was standing next to her and shifting his gaze with great perplexity between her and Purple Fairy. She asked him, ¡°That gathering nine years ago... Did you attend it? Did Zi Chuan attend it, yes or no?!¡± San Lang was startled by her question and cleared his throat. Then he said, ¡°I- I did not attend. I was young at that time and my folks did not let me go.¡± Qiao Lian started to feel a sense of panic and a great urge to find out the truth from someone who knew what had happened. Then she heard the girl next to San Lang speak, ¡°Humph! I was at the gathering nine years ago. Xiao Qiao really struck gold! Monochrome has just said that Zi Chuan was dead, which means that Xiao Qiao must have known it all along, otherwise, why would Monochromee all the way here to try to seal our lips? Purple Fairy is despicable. So now she¡¯s bringing Zi Chuan back to life?¡± Upon hearing this, Qiao Lian quickly asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t he say he wasn¡¯t going to go to that gathering nine years ago? Why did he turn up?¡± The girl paused and said after a moment, ¡°I can¡¯t remember as it¡¯s been so long. At that time, the captain received him. Eh... in the end, Zi Chuan did ask us not to mention that he had been there, because he was afraid that Xiao Qiao would be jealous if she found out. He was really good to Xiao Qiao, but...¡± Obviously, Zi Chuan had not attended. It was a fake Zi Chuan who had gone. And the fake Zi Chuan had even known about the deal she had made with the real Zi Chuan. That was why he had told the rest of them not to mention his attendance at the event. And they had kept their word to him. All this information left her in a daze. Who was this fake Zi Chuan? As she tried to make sense of this, the captain had already gotten into a confrontation with Purple Fairy. ¡°Where is your Zi Chuan from? What Zi Chuan is this? If Zi Chuan were still alive, why is he not speaking up? If you have no proof that this person you¡¯re talking about is really Zi Chuan, I¡¯ll challenge you right to the end.¡± The captain straightened his posture right after he said this. Purple Fairy shrank slightly back before his tall and muscr frame. The captain looked at Monochrome and said, as he gave the man an icy smile, ¡°You are well aware of my family¡¯s standing. I have time and money. Let me tell you, I will not let this matter go.¡± ¡°I established the team. At the time, Zi Chuan trusted me and joined my team. I will ensure ountability in his name.¡± ¡°When Zi Chuan was alive, he was a proud man. Now that he is dead, I will not let some impersonator take his ce!¡± His weighted words fell and resounded through the private room. Chapter 759 - The Man On The Tombstone (13)

Chapter 759: The Man On The Tombstone (13)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Monochrome seemed shaken by his words too. When he snapped out of his daze, his expression turned ugly. He red at the captain intently and said, ¡°Captain, so you are bent on being at odds with me?¡± The captain replied icily, ¡°Humph! I¡¯m just being fair and objective. It¡¯s nothing personal.¡± Monochrome looked at the crowd andughed before he said, ¡°Fine then, I¡¯ll take you on.¡± ¡°I shall wait and see. There being a low-key Zi Chuan who is only close to Xiao Qiao¡ªit¡¯s your word against hers.¡± With this, he turned and looked at Purple Fairy. ¡°Go on. Tell us. Who is the real Zi Chuan?¡± Purple Fairy¡¯s pupils shrank at once and she sighed. ¡°I say, everyone, you¡¯ve been lied to. The Zi Chuan that you know is not Zi Chuan at all. Why would Zi Chuan, who has always kept such a low profile, attend the team¡¯s gathering? Besides, I¡¯m the one who knew him the best among all the other gamers.¡± ¡°Actually, all these years, Zi Chuan and I took our rtionship from an online one to a real-life one. If you don¡¯t believe me, I can ask him toe over and you can meet him.¡± The people in the crowd exchanged looks with each other upon hearing her im. Some of the people started to hesitate. ¡°Is Zi Chuan dead or not? Could that Zi Chuan we knew years ago be a fake one?¡± ¡°Stop speaking nonsense!¡± the captain shouted angrily at the crowd and then turned to look at Purple Fairy once more. ¡°Xiao Qiao, do you really want to treat Zi Chuan like this? You won¡¯t reconsider it, even for the sake of your rtionship in the past?¡± Purple Fairy lowered her gaze and persisted, ¡°I¡¯m telling the truth. Everyone, please don¡¯t be fooled by the fake Zi Chuan. At the time, Zi Chuan got into university and after that, he focused on his studies. He got into a good university, so how could he give it up? The ns that we had made to start a team didn¡¯t even materialize in the end.¡± ¡°So Zi Chuan didn¡¯t die?¡± Someone raised the question. Purple Fairy nodded to confirm it. ¡°He really didn¡¯t die. If you insist that the person who died is Zi Chuan, do you have proof then?¡± Was there proof? What proof was there in the virtual world? If it weren¡¯t for that one gathering, they wouldn¡¯t have even known what Zi Chuan looked like. Bute to think of it now... Someone remarked with a deep frown, ¡°Actually, thinking about it now, there was indeed something fishy about that Zi Chuan.¡± The people turned around and asked, ¡°What was wrong?¡± The person who spoke up continued, ¡°After he arrived, he stood outside without entering the room. And even when he finally did, he didn¡¯t speak very much. If you remember, back then we said that since we were there, we could y a match together and let Zi Chuan lead it. He declined it and said that he had to go home to attend to something. Then he left. Now thinking back, was this person just being evasive? He asked us not to tell anyone that he had been there because Xiao Qiao might get jealous. But was that really the case?¡± The person who had died was actually an impersonator. Now that it had been exposed, of course, there were many gaps in the theory. As soon as the person said this, those among the crowd who had been at that first gathering started to wonder whether perhaps they really had been tricked. The captain was frantic now. ¡°Don¡¯t you believe in her words! She¡¯s speaking nonsense!¡± Obviously, the captain was losing ground. Monochrome smiled icily. ¡°How have I been speaking nonsense? Captain, why did youe up with a fake Zi Chuan to lie to everyone? Huh? Maybe it¡¯s high time you tell us. You¡¯ve lied to everyone for eight years. What was the reason?¡± Chapter 760 - The Man on the Tombstone (14)

Chapter 760: The Man on the Tombstone (14)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The captain frowned and clenched his fists tightly. Although he had wealth and a good status, the fact was that, as Monochrome had said, he had no proof. His acquaintance with Zi Chuan had only been on the Inte. He didn¡¯t even know where Zi Chuan lived, or what other family members the mysterious man had at home. How was he going to prove that the person who had died was Zi Chuan? He red at Monochrome and rxed his fist with a dejected look on his face. So were they going to let this man and Xiao Qiao twist the truth of the situation? Furthermore, Xiao Qiao... How could she... how could she treat Zi Chuan like this?! He shook with fury, but at this point, no one could offer any solution. Because none of them even knew the real Zi Chuan. Seeing that everyone in the room was silent now, Monochrome smiled coldly and said, ¡°You realize you¡¯re taking the hard way rather than the easy way out, right? You turned down the money when I offered it, but you¡¯ve missed the opportunity now!¡± He took a step forward and put his arm around Purple Fairy¡¯s waist, saying, ¡°Okay, Xiao Qiao, since you¡¯ve said your greetings, let¡¯s go. We will leave it here and discuss the arrangements of our agreement elsewhere.¡± However, his hand hovered around her waist and pinched it. His intentions couldn¡¯t be more obvious. The members of the fighting team frowned when they noticed this. Someone sighed deeply and said, ¡°How did Xiao Qiao be like this?¡± The group watched as the two of them made their way to the door. Yet just as they opened the door and were about to walk out, a delicate and pretty voice shouted, ¡°Stop right there!¡± Everyone in the room paused and fell silent. Even the captain was startled and raised his head. The next moment, he saw the fresh-faced Qiao Lian walk up to the front. The captain was stunned and then, as if remembering something, he sighed and said to her, ¡°Youngdy, regarding Zi Chuan... sigh... there¡¯s not much we can do.¡± Upon hearing this, she nodded at the captain and said, ¡°Who said we can¡¯t do much?¡± She turned to look straight at Monochrome. ¡°Don¡¯t you even think of looking for a fake Zi Chuan without asking me about it first!¡± Monochrome was stunned and stared at Qiao Lian with his disgustingly lustful eyes. Purple Fairy, on the other hand, now looked at Qiao Lian as though she had just seen a ghost. Qiao Lian! Forget Chuan! Xiao Qiao! What was she doing here?! Purple Fairy turned ghastly white and looked at the crowd nervously. She gulped. Initially, she had thought that everything would be fine after signing the agreement with Monochrome. At that point, she would no longer have to worry about being exposed for impersonating Xiao Qiao. But if her cover was blown now, then the endorsement deal... At the thought of this, Purple Fairy quickly held onto Monochrome¡¯s arm and said, ¡°Boss, let¡¯s go.¡± Monochrome, however, was staring at Qiao Lian lustfully and asked, ¡°Why so? Is this youngdy... a newbie? Why have I not seen you before?¡± Qiao Lian gave him a mocking smile and said, ¡°Monochrome, I haven¡¯t seen you in years. How did you get as fat as a pig?¡± Monochrome twitched his lips briefly at Qiao Lian¡¯s cutting remark. A few years ago, when they were all part of thepetitive team, Monochrome had sent a picture of himself to everyone. At the time, he looked considerably normal and definitely not as wretched as he was now. His expression immediately clouded over upon hearing Qiao Lian¡¯s words. ¡°What did you say?¡± But after he said this, he was also astonished. ¡°How did you know me?¡± All of a sudden, Monochrome felt a strange sense of familiarity in the way this person spoke to him. That high-and-mighty tone that rang with boldness and confidence. Chapter 761 - The Man On The Tombstone (15)

Chapter 761: The Man On The Tombstone (15)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian took a step forward and looked at him with sarcasm. ¡°You really have a pig brain. You¡¯re seriously a pig!¡± Monochrome was even angrier. ¡°Where did you evene from? If you dare keep speaking, you don¡¯t think I will smack you?¡± The captain beside her immediately took a step forward and said, ¡°If you darey a hand on her, I¡¯ll immediately call the police! And do you think we are just bystanders and wouldn¡¯t care?¡± The captain had a lot of power in the team and, after he spoke, someone stepped up and stood beside him. Monochrome sneered and said, ¡°Ask her to control her mouth then.¡± Qiao Lian curved her lips and added, ¡°I¡¯m just stating a fact. If you didn¡¯t have a pig brain, it wouldn¡¯t be possible for you to do such things!¡± Monochrome was stunned. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I mean... you want to find someone who will pretend to be Zichuan, but why must you find someone to pretend to be Xiao Qiao?¡± After Monochrome heard her words, he was totally stunned and immediately turned his head to look at Purple Fairy. A fake Xiao Qiao? Actually, eight years ago, he had been interested in Xiao Qiao from the team. Although the Xiao Qiao back then had never sent any pictures, her clear and crisp voice and her straightforward character easily made people like her. Many people in the team liked Xiao Qiao then. But Xiao Qiao and Zichuan were a couple and everyone was afraid of Zichuan, thus, no one dared to express their liking for her. Monochrome had already imagined doing it with Xiao Qiao countless of times. And unexpectedly, he had finally done it eight yearster! No one knew how good he felt when he pumped in and out of Purple Fairy¡¯s body. The feeling of him lying on top of her and watch her beg for forgiveness below him. But what was this woman saying now? She said that Purple Fairy was a fake Xiao Qiao? A fake? He immediately turned his head and looked at Purple Fairy. Purple Fairy tried her best to maintain herposure. She only spoke after taking in a deep breathe, ¡°What nonsense are you spouting?¡± Qiao Lian sneered, ¡°Nonsense? You are well aware of what I¡¯m talking about! A fake is a fake, it will never be real.¡± Purple Fairy anxiously tightened her fist ¡°You- you don¡¯t spout nonsense!¡± She held Monochrome¡¯s arm and said, ¡°Boss, don¡¯t listen to her nonsense. We already have that kind of rtionship, how can you choose not to believe me because of an outsider?¡± Monochrome breathed out heavily and looked at Qiao Lianposedly. ¡°What proof do you have?¡± Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes and looked at everyone around her. After a while, she spoke slowly, ¡°I am the proof.¡± ¡°What?¡± Monochrome looked as if hepletely couldn¡¯t understand her words. But after she said so, San Lang immediately shouted, ¡°She is Xiao Qiao! She is the real Xiao Qiao!¡± His words exploded in the room as though they were an unexpected bomb. Everyone turned their gazes incredulously and stared at Qiao Lian. Even the captain did so. He looked at Qiao Lian in disbelief and his gaze suddenly filled with realization. ¡°No wonder you cried so badly in front of the tombstone then. It felt as if you were going to lose your soul!¡± No wonder she knew the address of their gathering and even... The captain hit his head and said, ¡°I remember it now! Xiao Qiao answered me and said that she would be joining our gathering!¡± Monochrome stared at Qiao Lian in astonishment. There was nothing more to be said. He already believed her. Just because of that familiar feeling, he could tell that it was Xiao Qiao. Chapter 762 - The Man On The Tombstone (16)

Chapter 762: The Man On The Tombstone (16)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Monochrome took in a deep breath and turned his head fiercely. He then saw how Purple Fairy¡¯s face had turned white. Purple Fairy pointed at her and said, ¡°You- you are spouting nonsense!¡± ¡°I¡¯m spouting nonsense?¡± Qiao Lian took a step forward and sneered, ¡°Do you know Xiao Qiao¡¯s ount ID then?¡± Purple Fairy stammered and said, ¡°My- my ount has been hacked.¡± ¡°Then do you know who these people are specifically in the team?¡± Purple Fairy swallowed and replied, ¡°It¡¯s been eight years, I- I¡¯ve forgotten¡ª¡± ¡°But I remember.¡± Qiao Lian started listing them as if she was counting her family treasures, ¡°San Lang, Au Tian, Shang Xin...¡± Whenever she called a name, the person mentioned would take a step forward. After a while, she finished calling out all her teammates from Beijing. She pointed at San Lang and said, ¡°I taught you how to y Xiao Qiao. The first match we yed, I didn¡¯t use Xiao Qiao and let you use it.¡± San Lang became agitated. ¡°Yes, I said that I wanted to y Xiao Qiao and so you let me. And you used Zhou Yu instead.¡± Qiao Lian nodded and looked at Au Tian. ¡°We had a fight in the team once. It was because every time you rushed to your death, I didn¡¯t want to save you.¡± Au Tian narrowed his eyes, but he was so agitated his eyes turned red. ¡°How is that rushing to my death?! It¡¯s called being courageous.¡± Qiao Lianughed and patted his shoulder, then she turned to the next. She remembered. She remembered all of these people. The two years she had yed video games, eight years ago, had been the happiest two years of her life. She remembered every detail about them. After she seemed to be done talking to everyone she knew in the room, she turned her head and looked at Purple Fairy. ¡°So do you still want to insist that you are Xiao Qiao now?¡± Purple Fairy¡¯s face had already turned pale. She was speechless. Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes and said, ¡°You stole and used my name casually. I will take you to court to protect my honor.¡± Her strong voice carried a girly and crispy ring, but no one present dared to underestimate her words. Everyone was staring at her. Qiao Lian¡¯s figure appeared so small in that crowd of men. But at this moment, it felt as if everyone was looking up to her. This young girl, this girl with such a skinny body¡ªit felt as though she had inserted a fresh stream water into thepetitive team, which was drying up. It made the fighting team feel the strength of a new life. She stood there and ignored Purple Fairy. Instead, she looked at Monochrome and said, ¡°Besides that, have you asked me before finding someone to act as Zi Chuan? I believe that no one here has more say than me in deciding who Zi Chuan is.¡± Monochrome was already speechless. And Purple Fairy had already quietly moved back, wanting to leave. But just as she reached the door, Monochrome suddenly turned around and grabbed Purple Fairy¡¯s hair. He directly gave her two tight ps on her face. ¡°Liar, you are a liar!¡± Then he started hitting her. And the group of people, together with Qiao Lian, just stood there and watched the scene coldly. After Monochrome was done hitting her, Purple Fairy had already fallen on the floor. She was crying so much she wasn¡¯t able to stand up. But Monochrome turned his head and his gazended on Qiao Lian. After he looked at the clothes she was wearing, he felt sure that she didn¡¯t have much money and immediately narrowed his eyes. ¡°Since she¡¯s a fake, what about inviting you to be my game¡¯s ambassador? What do you think? The price can be discussed.¡± Chapter 763 - The Man On The Tombstone (17)

Chapter 763: The Man On The Tombstone (17)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes narrowed at once upon hearing this. Monochrome took a step towards here and looked at her with a pair of lustful eyes. ¡°My price for her was a million. For you... two million. How about it?¡± Gasps could be hearding from the people around when they heard those words. The endorsement fees for a popr female eSports caster were not much. But he was offering Qiao Lian two million? The amount was simply too tempting. Even the captain frowned at this suggestion. The real Xiao Qiao was standing before him. But looking at how she was dressed, it seemed like she didn¡¯te from a wealthy family. Two million... Any ordinary person would be moved. How would Xiao Qiao choose? She raised an eyebrow at his offer, but the next moment, she smiled icily and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t do endorsements.¡± Monochrome kept his gaze fixed on her and said, ¡°Five million, and I¡¯ll hire Zi Chuan too.¡± This caused an uproar. Everyone in the room was blown away. Five million! One could buy an apartment right in the middle of Beijing city with that sort of money. And it was just for an endorsement deal! Now, everyone was tempted. Qiao Lian looked at the pathetic man and suddenly, she burst outughing. She said, ¡°Five million doesn¡¯t even bring you close to being able to afford Zi Chuan.¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s status as a Best Actor put him in the category of 80 million on average earnings per film. He epted very few endorsement deals. In fact, the one and only advertisement deal that he had taken up was worth tens of millions. Five million... Was Monochrome trying to mock Best Actor Shen? Monochrome squinted and said, ¡°Xiao Qiao, don¡¯t try and bargain here. I can get a second-tier celebrity for 5 million.¡± Qiao Lian tilted her head and suddenly burst outughing. ¡°And so?¡± she asked. ¡°So don¡¯t push your luck!¡± Qiao Lian raised her hand to her chin and replied, ¡°I¡¯m just illustrating a fact.¡± Monochrome further squinted at her words. Purple Fairy, who was still on the ground after being hit by Monochrome, suddenly startedughing. This was a joke. Qiao Lian was Forget Chuan, but Forget Chuan was Mrs. Shen! Best Actor Shen¡¯s wife! This joke alone was worth more than five million. She saw the way Monochrome was eyeing Qiao Lian and, trying hard to bear with her own pain, she said, ¡°Boss, why don¡¯t you just hire me. She- she¡¯s married!¡± Married. The remark once again set off everyone in the room. Xiao Qiao was married at such a young age? To whom was she married? As his pupils shrank, Monochrome paused and looked at Qiao Lian for a moment. He persisted nevertheless, ¡°So what if she¡¯s married? Just take a look at her, it¡¯s obvious her man can¡¯t provide for her. Why don¡¯t you follow me? I¡¯ll give you five million. How about it?¡± Qiao Lian frowned, with a look of clear rejection on her face when she heard his words. Just how disgusting could Monochrome get?! Even the captain could no longer tolerate this and stepped forward to say, ¡°Monochrome, stop harassing Xiao Qiao right now.¡± Monochrome raised a finger to point at the captain and sneered, ¡°Don¡¯t y the good guy here! Don¡¯t think that I don¡¯t know your intentions towards Xiao Qiao.¡± He turned to Qiao Lian and continued, ¡°Are you with the captain now because your husband has no money? How much did he give you? Enough to buy a house and a car?¡± Qiao Lian wanted tough at these insults. Monochrome was nothing but a clown. He was repulsive just standing there. She opened her mouth to say something when suddenly, a cry of astonishment was hearding from the doorway. Shortly following this, the private room door was thrown open. Anky silhouette with an elegantly straight posture appeared. Then a voice said, ¡°Xiao Qiao,e home with me at once.¡± Chapter 764 - The Man On t?The Tombstone (18) Chapter 764: The Man On t?The Tombstone (18) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan had no idea where Qiao Lian was heading. But it was the second day of the new year, and if she wanted to have some fun out, it didn¡¯t really matter. After all, Qiao Lian didn¡¯t have many friends or rtives in Beijing. It wasn¡¯t a bad thing for her to spend some time rxing with Shi Nianyao, since she had been cooped up at home for so many days. However while he was on the road, he received a call from Shi Nianyao. She had asked him, ¡°Best Actor Shen, where¡¯s your Lian Lian? Would you mind if I asked her to hang out today? I¡¯m feeling terribly bored at home.¡± Upon hearing this, Shen Liangchuan frowned and replied, ¡°Didn¡¯t you n to meet up today?¡± If they hadn¡¯t nned to meet, then where was Qiao Lian going by herself? Puzzled by his remark, she replied, ¡°No, I wasn¡¯t sure if you¡¯d agree, so I¡¯m calling to ask. I thought I¡¯d only call her if you agree.¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression turned serious. There were few cars on the road. After all, it was the festive season and most people were staying at home. Few people were out and about. He slowly stopped his car on the road. As though he suddenly remembered something, he quickly hung up. Then he immediatelyunched the Lot game and logged in with his ount under the user ¡°Zi Chuan.¡± It has been a terribly long time since he logged into this ount. If his memory served him right, the team members would gather on the second day of the new year each year. The moment he logged in, indeed, the announcement was there. At the Beijing Banquet. Immediately tossing his cell phone aside, he floored the elerator and sped towards the venue. At that moment, a group of waiters had already gathered around the doorway. They stared at Shen Liangchuan with astonishment, their hands raised to cover their mouths, looking both excited and nervous. Qiao Lian looked at Shen Liangchuan and at once, she noticed that he still had on the ck jacket that he had worn to visit his grandfather. He had his ck driving gloves on too. However, the expression on his face was in. He had rushed over and he looked nervous. Why was he nervous? Was he afraid that she would find out something? At this thought, she turned to look at the captain once again and then at the crowd. She was doubly sure now... The man in that picture on the tombstone had something to do with this team. Perhaps the answer was right here. As this thought entered her head, she heard the people in the crowd already gasping, ¡°Best Actor Shen!¡± ¡°Oh my god! Shen Liangchuan! My idol!¡± The crowd stared in the direction of the doorway, at Shen Liangchuan, as though they didn¡¯t understand why he was here. Both the captain and Monochrome too, werepletely astonished. Their jaws had fallen so much that their mouths were now open, forming the shape of the letter ¡®O¡¯. Shen Liangchuan walked towards Qiao Lian and repeated, ¡°Xiao Qiao,e home with me right now.¡± Xiao Qiao? Everyone turned simultaneously to look at her. Come home with him? Someone suddenly narrowed his eyes as he realized something. He jumped up and pointed at Qiao Lian, saying, ¡°My god! I recall now! She¡¯s the female eSports caster Forget Chuan!¡± ¡°She is Mrs. Shen!¡± As soon as the term Mrs. Shen was mentioned, everyone in the room was shaken. All eyes were on Qiao Lian now, staring at her in disbelief. Following this, they recalled what Monochrome had just said about paying her for the endorsement, and she had said he couldn¡¯t afford it. Indeed. Mrs. Shen! Based on the fact that she was Mrs. Shen, how much would that be worth?! Then they also recalled that Monochrome had actually remarked that Xiao Qiao¡¯s husband was poor. They looked at Shen Liangchuan... He was everything but poor! Who didn¡¯t know that Best Actor Shen perceived the highest film sry as an actor in the entertainment industry? And who didn¡¯t know that Best Actor Shen hardly took on endorsement deals? But for the products that he did endorse, he was paid tens of millions in endorsement fees. Chapter 765 - The Man On The Tombstone (19)

Chapter 765: The Man On The Tombstone (19)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios This man was anything but poor. Immediately, Monochrome¡¯s expression clouded over like there was an impending storm. Hispany was but a limitedpany in the technology sector. A small game developer that wasn¡¯t too rich. Compared to Best Actor Shen, it was next to nothing. Monochrome¡¯s face now felt like it was burning from two tight ps. Shen Liangchuan strode in and eyed everyone in the crowd, then his gaze fell on the captain. He gave the captain a nod before reaching out to hold Qiao Lian¡¯s hand. Knowing that he was going to leave, she realized that the moment she stepped out of this ce, it would be almost impossible to obtain more information in the future. Hence, in a sh of brilliance, she immediately put on a look of distress and said, ¡°Honey, this is Monochrome. He offered me five million to spend a night with him.¡± Hearing her upset tone, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s eyes shed and he turned around at once. That sharp look in his eye caused Monochrome to shrink back in fright, as he felt a chill run down his spine. He quickly gestured with his hands and tried to deny it, ¡°I- I didn¡¯t- that- I didn¡¯t know that she¡¯s your wife...¡± Qiao Lian wasn¡¯t going to relent easily. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say my husband is a piece of trash and that I should follow you?¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression darkened even further Monochrome was on the verge of tears now. Who would have guessed that Shen Liangchuan¡¯s wife would dressed so ordinarily? At least carry a brand bag so that I have a hint! Monochrome simply wanted to break down in tears. He only owned a small firm. How was he going to fight with someone who could mobilize tens and hundreds of millions of dors at the drop of a hat?! His mouth fell open as he pulled back the corners of his lips. He wanted to smile, but what came out was a pathetic expression. Shen Liangchuan asked him, ¡°What¡¯s the name of your gamingpany?¡± What was the name of the gamingpany? Before Monochrome could even utter a word, the captain immediately said, ¡°It¡¯s Zhihe Technology Limited!¡± Shen Liangchuan lowered his gaze in contemtion. After a moment, he said, ¡°The game you¡¯re developing is called The Return of the King?¡± Monochrome turned pale in fright and nodded. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the game!¡± His gaze still lowered, Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°The game is aplete imitation of Lot, except for the fact that its champions¡¯ visuals are ugly and unrefined, its mode of operation is outdated, and the data are problematic. It¡¯s full of bugs. Are you sure there are yers out there?¡± These words were so nasty that one would be inclined to rip Shen Liangchuan¡¯s tongue off. Dripping in cold sweat now, Monochrome stammered, ¡°Wha- what do you mean by that?¡± Shen Liangchuan remained cold and emotionless as he went on, ¡°Coincidentally, a friend rmended this game to me and I gave it a try. I¡¯ll post my sincerestments about it on Weibo.¡± Monochrome was shaken by his words at once. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s Weibo could make it to the trending topics any minute. His countless fans followed him unquestioningly. If he said that the game sucked, then who was going to be ying it? Simply! Disastrous! Total! Destruction! For hispany!! The fat man¡¯s legs turned to jelly as he fell on the ground with a thud. Shen Liangchuan turned around to get Qiao Lian, but she had grabbed the captain and both had walked to the side of the room. Qiao Lian lowered her voice and asked hurriedly, ¡°Captain, in that gathering nine years ago, how did Zi Chuan arrive?¡± Upon this question, he frowned in recollection. ¡°Sigh... about that, the first time we had a gathering, all of the members in Beijing turned up. At the time, he was thest one to show up.¡± Chapter 766 - The Man On The Tombstone (20)

Chapter 766: The Man On The Tombstone (20)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°When he arrived, he stood at the door and asked if you were here. I thought at that time that surely, it had to be Zi Chuan. I asked him. He didn¡¯t deny it, so I invited him in. But in the end, he left without saying very much.¡± Qiao Lian frowned and persisted, ¡°So how did you find out about his death?¡± The captain sighed and replied, ¡°Back then, both you and Zi Chuan had disappeared from the game. I was troubled when I couldn¡¯t find you. I then sent him a private message on the game. After a few days, I received a reply that said...¡± In that instant, the captain looked as stunned as years ago when he received the news. The message said: [He is dead.] Those words shocked him to the core. He quickly asked the other party: [Who are you?] After a long time, the other party replied: [I¡¯m his friend.] The captain was silent for a long time before he ventured to ask again: [I¡¯m Zi Chuan¡¯s old friend. Where can I go to pay my respects?] The other party then replied with an address. Shortly after, the messages stopped, as though the other party had also disappeared. Eventually, he stopped logging in. So that was how he was sure that Zi Chuan had died. As Qiao Lian listened to his story, she felt an immense pain in her heart. She looked up at Shen Liangchuan. He would not have given anyone else his ount information. The only person who could log into his mailbox was himself. Why had he told people that Zi Chuan had died? What had happened that caused him to be sopletely disillusioned with gaming eight years ago? Only a person who was determined to bow out of the world of gaming would tell others that he had died. Qiao Lian frowned. She wanted to continue with a few other questions, but Shen Liangchuan was done dealing with Monochrome and he was walking towards her. When he saw that she and the captain were talking in low voices, his eyes shed as he interrupted, ¡°Grandpa is waiting for us at home. Come with me now.¡± He was urging her. Besides, her identity had been exposed now. Looking at their team members, who were staring back at them with reverence in their eyes, she knew that if she stayed, it would spoil their gathering. Furthermore, she had already heard what she wanted to know. There was really no reason for her to stay longer. Hence, she nodded at the captain and looked at the people in the crowd. Then she said, ¡°I have something to attend to, I have to go.¡± Everyone looked reluctant as she said goodbye. San Lang said at once, ¡°Xiao Qiao, we have all been close friends for such a long time, can¡¯t you stay a bit longer?¡± The captain immediately kicked him after he said those words. Then he turned towards Qiao Lian and said, ¡°Sure, off you go then.¡± At this point, he leaned towards her and said in a low voice, ¡°I¡¯ll leave Zi Chuan a bouquet on your behalf.¡± Qiao Lian was silent. She turned to nce at Shen Liangchuan. He must have heard what the captain had said. But he was expressionless, as though he didn¡¯t wish to expose his identity. Qiao Lian nodded and walked out after Shen Liangchuan. As she departed, she could even hear San Lang eximing behind them, ¡°Hey, you¡¯re really leaving! Ah! Captain, will you stop poking me?¡± The captain replied, ¡°Xiao Qiao¡¯s husband is here, so it¡¯s not appropriate for her to stay. After all, this matter about Zi Chuan may be a taboo with her husband.¡± Qiao Lian was silent. As she followed Shen Liangchuan on the way to the elevator and was about to step in, she suddenly heard the captain yell behind her, ¡°Wait, Xiao Qiao! I suddenly remembered something else.¡± Chapter 767 - He Is Soul Fighter (1)

Chapter 767: He Is Soul Fighter (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian turned around with curiosity as the captain rushed towards her. He seemed a little nervous about Shen Liangchuan and didn¡¯t dare to look at the man. Instead, he focused on Qiao Lian. Puzzled, she asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Captain?¡± The captain scratched his head and said, ¡°Actually, I know I shouldn¡¯t be asking you this, but I do feel that apart from you, probably no one would know.¡± He was going round and round, so Qiao Lian got more and more puzzled. ¡°What is it exactly?¡± The captain sneaked a nce at Shen Liangchuan and then ventured, ¡°So.... do you remember Soul Fighter from ourpetitive team?¡± Qiao Lian paused and said, ¡°Of course.¡± At the time, Soul Fighter, Zi Chuan and her had been the closest friends in the team. Zi Chuan was very familiar with the games¡¯ strategies and sometimes, in a match no one could catch up with his pace. In the end, Zi Chuan had trained her as well as another fighter. And the three of them were considered the solid anchors of the game. Zi Chuan and her were a couple, so Soul Fighter self-proimed himself the Third Wheel. Back then, the three of them frequently yed together and often called each other. It was onlyter on, when she and Zi Chuan nned to meet and Zi Chuan missed the appointment, that all of them lost contact with each other. Zi Chuan had disappeared from the game, so she never did log into her ount again. She looked at the captain with a puzzled expression and asked, ¡°Why? What¡¯s wrong?¡± The captain sighed, frowned and said, ¡°Soul Fighter is from Beijing too, isn¡¯t he? That first year, he said he woulde for the gathering but he didn¡¯t turn up. In the end, Zi Chuan died and you stopped logging into your ount. He disappeared around that time too.¡± ¡°I¡¯m thinking that because he was impacted by what happened to Zi Chuan, he stopped ying.¡± ¡°I was on very good terms with Soul Fighter at the time, so I wanted to get some rity on this. After all, we were all in the game together for three years, and I¡¯d consider us all good friends.¡± ¡°This guy really caused me grief for disappearing on us like that.¡± The captain went on and on, but to Qiao Lian this discovery was like a bolt of lightning that shed before her eyes and triggered some sort of realization in her. And a thought suddenly struck her mind. She spun her head around to look at Shen Liangchuan. His expression, however, was as calm and unruffled as always. But his eyes... There was something lurking behind his deep eyes. But it was so obscured that Qiao Lian had no way of guessing what he was thinking, or feeling. She held her gaze on him steadily and, to her astonishment, she began to see light. The captain was still talking but gradually, he started to sense that something was wrong. He looked up and saw the strange expressions on Qiao Lian¡¯s and Shen Liangchuan¡¯s faces. He quickly stopped himself, ¡°Heh- err- I think you better get going! Xiao Qiao,e look for me if you need anything.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. ¡°Ding,¡± the elevator chimed as the door opened. Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan walked in and the door slowly shut, leaving the captain alone outside. At once, the deafening silence inside of the elevator was obvious. Qiao Lian turned to nce at Shen Liangchuan, but she saw that he was expressionless. She opened her mouth, but no words came. An awkward silence fell over them both. ¨C Shen Liangchuan was truly fearful that Qiao Lian would start asking him questions. He knew she was intelligent and, as a journalist, she was sensitive to these things. For sure, she had figured out something was wrong. Hence, after the elevator door shut, he waited quietly for her to start raising the difficult questions. However, she ultimately kept silent. He, too, began to slowly rx. Upon arriving at the underground carpark, the two got into the car and then drove out of the hotel grounds. Chapter 768 - He Is Soul Fighter (2)

Chapter 768: He Is Soul Fighter (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios It was the second day of the new year, so there were very few people on the streets. Shen Liangchuan was driving, but his gaze was always on Qiao Lian. Both of them didn¡¯t speak. While Shen Liangchuan was thinking, he suddenly heard Qiao Lian say, ¡°Wait a minute.¡± Shen Liangchuan pupil¡¯s shrunk and he turned his head. Qiao Lian stared at him, but she only spoke after a while, ¡°It¡¯s the new year, we shouldn¡¯t visit your grandfather empty-handed. The fruit store there looks open, let¡¯s go buy some fruits.¡± Shen Liangchuan wanted to say that there was no need, but when he met Qiao Lian¡¯s gaze, his eyes sparkled and he nodded. They stopped the car by the roadside and walked into the store to buy some fruits. Shen Liangchuan stood at the side and studied her. As she was buying them for an elderly, Qiao Lian was really careful and serious while choosing. Qiao Lian only paid after she finished picking them. Then, they had a smooth journey to the Shen family¡¯s old home. This was Qiao Lian¡¯s first time in the Shen family¡¯s old home. It was different from the Jiangnan vige. The old home in Beijing had a courtyard. It was a huge house with a courtyard in the city center. It took arge portion ofnd, so one could easily tell how rich and powerful the Shen Family was. Qiao Lian had never ever been to such a ce and was thus filled with curiosity about the ce. The courtyard house there was also different from those that people usually see. Although the architecture had strong historical vibes, it had been renovated and it didn¡¯t look like an old and tattered house. Instead, it gave a solemn feel. The car stopped at the courtyard. When they alighted from the car, a seventy-year-old butler came up to greet them. He was filled with delight to see Shen Liangchuan as he eximed, ¡°Young Master, you¡¯re here!¡± But after he saw Qiao Lian, he was stunned slightly. ¡°This is... Madam?¡± It was obvious that Senior Master had only ask Shen Liangchuan to go over and did not expect him to bring her too. Qiao Lian smiled and nodded at the butler. Shen Liangchuan then spoke inly, ¡°Grandpa Cai, you don¡¯t have to address me as Young Master. I no longer have anything to do with the Shen Family.¡± His cold and aloof words shocked the old butler a little, but he sighed. ¡°Young Master, in my heart, you¡¯ll always be our oldest young master.¡± After Shen Liangchuan heard his words, he did not acknowledge or answer him. He just followed the butler and walked into the house. Qiao Lian followed him. They walked a distance before reaching the courtyard where Old Master lived. When they arrived at the doorstep, from afar, they saw a bunch of people standing there. As they looked over, they realized that they were Shen Zihao, Mei Feng and Shen Zihao. Qiao Lian frowned. What were those three doing here? In her confusion, she heard Shen Liangchuan¡¯s exnation, ¡°After he got married, he moved from the old home to the Shen vi. Since then, they have lived separately. Theye over to visit on the first day of the new year, and thene over on the second for a family dinner.¡± Qiao Lian: ... Qiao Lian felt that Shen Xiu was kind of distant from his father. How could a father and son have such a rtionship? Qiao Lian shook her head and followed him inside. Then, she heard Shen Xiu¡¯s voice. He frowned and looked at the house¡¯s servant impatiently. ¡°Senior Master is still doing t¡¯ai chi?¡± ¡°Yes, Sir. Senior Master trains at least two hours every day at this hour.¡± Shen Xiu impatiently waved her away. The three of them continued standing outside the courtyard and waited. Although they were impatient, they didn¡¯t dare to show any sign of unwillingness. Shen Xiu only turned his head around after he heard footsteps. When he saw Shen Liangchuan and Qiao Lian, he immediately narrowed his eyes. Chapter 769 - He Is Soul Fighter (3)

Chapter 769: He Is Soul Fighter (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios His gaze suddenly became alert and sensitive. He stared directly at Shen Liangchuan and spoke with a really unfriendly tone. ¡°What are you here for?¡± Shen Liangchuan kept silent. Shen Liangchuan sneered and said, ¡°Are you here to get into Senior Master¡¯s good books? Humph, Shen Liangchuan, let me tell you, you¡¯re just a homeless dog that I chased out of the family. Your name has already been removed from the Shen family by me. On what basis are you here? Get lost now!¡± After he said that, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s irises swelled but he kept silent. Instead, he took a nce at Butler Cai. Butler Cai immediately spoke, ¡°Eldest Young Master didn¡¯te on his own ord, it is Senior Master who invited him.¡± After the butler spoke, Shen Xiu narrowed his eyes and said, ¡°Senior Master invited him? Why did he even invite him? He¡¯s just an actor, what rights does he have to be here? And why is he the eldest young master? There¡¯s only one young master in our family and it is Zihao.¡± His face was filled with anger after he spoke. Butler Cai lowered his head and did not dare to look up so as to hide his awkwardness. Just at this moment, someone walked out of the courtyard. ¡°Senior Master said that if Elder Young Master is here, he doesn¡¯t have to wait. He wants Elder Young Master to enter and see how his t¡¯ai chi is.¡± These words were like giving Shen Xiu a tight p across his face. It made his face turn pale and then red with anger. After Shen Liangchuan heard the words, he didn¡¯t have much of an expression. He told the person, ¡°Go and tell Senior Master that since someone doesn¡¯t wee me here, I will just visit another day.¡± He turned and grabbed Qiao Lian after he said those words, ready to leave. But when he had just taken a step, he heard a loud and booming voice from behind him. ¡°Who dares to kick my grandson away?¡± His words made everyone turn to him. Then, Qiao Lian saw an elderly man in his seventies. The man who walked out was filled with vigor, donned in a set of white sportswear. Both of his hands were behind him. As he was of some age and old, his stature was slightly bent forward. It was no doubt that he was the shortest amongst all the men there. But there was a special aura around him, which caused people around not to dare belittle him. Shen Xiu was evidently one head taller than him, but he was so shocked that he lowered his head and addressed him respectfully. ¡°Dad.¡± Senior Master sneered coldly and said, ¡°You don¡¯t even visit many times in the year, but once you¡¯re here, you act as if you¡¯re very big? This is the old home and I am not dead! It¡¯s not yet your turn to be the head of the family.¡± Hisment made Shen Xiu¡¯s face turn red as he stammered, unable to say anything. Senior Master Shen didn¡¯t even bother waiting for him to speak. He directly walked up to Shen Liangchuan. His judgmental eyes looked at Shen Liangchuan from head to toe, nodding his head after doing so. ¡°Liangchuan has grown up. You¡¯re taller than your father now.¡± Shen Liangchuan lowered his head and addressed him respectfully, ¡°Grandad.¡± His tone had respect but no tinge of closeness. Senior Master Shen seemed to have sensed the purpose behind they way he addressed him and sighed. ¡°You left this house for eight years. You didn¡¯t visit me at all during the new years, you really have no conscience!¡± Shen Liangchuan stood there and kept silent. Senior Master Shen then turned his head to look at Qiao Lian. His sharp gaze judged her thoroughly. Qiao Lian could obviously tell Senior Master¡¯s didn¡¯t really like her, but it seemed as if he didn¡¯t hate her though. Senior Master¡¯s expression was too hard to read, no one could tell his feelings. Just as she was deep in thought, she heard him ask, ¡°So this is your wife?¡± Chapter 770 - He Is Soul Fighter (4)

Chapter 770: He Is Soul Fighter (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After hearing his words, Shen Liangchuan finally reacted and he introduced her to Senior Master, ¡°Her name is Qiao Lian.¡± Then he turned to Qiao Lian and said, ¡°Please, greet Grandad.¡± Qiao Lian immediately addressed him obediently, ¡°Happy New Year Grandad. We¡¯re here to pay a New Year visit to you.¡± Senior Master smiled and said, ¡°Good, good.¡± Then he looked at Butler Cai. ¡°Why are you still standing here? Hurry up and invite Elder Young Master into the room to wait. It¡¯s so cold here!¡± Butler Cai smiled and obeyed. ¡°Elder Young Master, pleasee in with me.¡± Old Master spoke, ¡°Let me change my clothes and I¡¯lle over in a bit. Let¡¯s have a chat.¡± His attitude was so nice that it made those present feel like the stern Senior Master was an illusion. The better Senior Master had treated Shen Liangchuan, the worse Shen Xiu¡¯s expression had be. Shen Xiu clenched his teeth and said, ¡°Dad¡ª¡± Before he could finish his words, Senior Master didn¡¯t bother with him at all and directly walked into the courtyard. Shen Xiu¡¯s face immediately turned pale. He had received apletely different treatment. Even as his blood-rted son and Shen Liangchuan¡¯s father, Senior Master never said anything about the outdoors being cold and asking him to wait inside when he arrived. This ce was clearly his house, the ce where he had grown up. But every time he came, he was treated like a guest. He had to listen to the instructions of others. And Shen Liangchuan? Shen Xiu frowned. Butler Cai didn¡¯t bother about him as well. He looked at Shen Liangchuan and Qiao Lian and said, ¡°We knew that you wereing, so we prepared the Rolling Donkey sweets that you loved to eat when you were young. Young Madam isn¡¯t from Beijing, right? Have you eaten the traditional Rolling Donkey before? Do you want to try it?¡± His words moved Shen Liangchuan slightly. Shen Liangchuan took a nce at Qiao Lian before nodding and saying, ¡°Ok.¡± Then they entered the room. Although it was a single-storey house, it was really warm inside as the heater was really strong. Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan sat on the sofa in the living room and looked around. The furnishing in this room was very different from the outside. She thought that it would have an ancient vibe, but instead the furniture inside was really modernized. In no time, Butler Cai entered with the Rolling Donkey sweets. Shen Liangchuan picked up a piece and passed it to Qiao Lian, saying, ¡°Try it. It tastes different from the ones they sell outside.¡± Rolling Donkey was a famous dessert in Beijing, but it actually didn¡¯t taste very nice when eating it. However, the Rolling Donkey the Shen family had was crystal clear and it made people want to eat it. She immediately praised it after eating a mouthful. After she had eaten two pieces of the Rolling Donkey, Senior Master had finished changing and he walked in with Shen Xiu and a bunch of people. Shen Liangchuan and Qiao Lian hurriedly stood up. Senior Master took a nce at them and immediately spoke, ¡°Yes, actually my purpose of asking you toe today is because I wanted to say that, since Liangchuan has already grown up, let bygones be bygones. Liangchuan, you can return home.¡± After hearing his words, Shen Xiu immediately shouted, ¡°No way!¡± Senior Master¡¯s gaze turned to him at once.. The other words Shen Xiu wanted to say got stuck in his throat as he inhaled deeply and said, ¡°Dad, he is my son and I should have the power to decide. Eight years ago, this guy went against his seniors in the family. And he is actually an actor now! It will make the Shen family lose face if we allow him back.¡± Shen Xiu kept repeating the fact that he was an actor and even Qiao Lian got annoyed from hearing it. She was so angry that she clenched her fist. Artists now were obviously different from the actors back in the days. He was just putting Shen Liangchuan down on purpose! Chapter 771 - He Is Soul Fighter (5)

Chapter 771: He Is Soul Fighter (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Before Qiao Lian could voice out her opinion, Old Master had already became furious. ¡°Enough! You think that it doesn¡¯t make us lose face when you talk about your son like this? And regardless of whether hees back, he is still a part of the Shen family.¡± After he reprimanded Shen Xiu, he looked at Shen Liangchuan. He only spoke after a while saying, ¡°Eight years ago, you didn¡¯t choose to take up a proper job and tried to start a team, as if you had be insane, so your father punished you. Then, you chose to go for another improper job and entered the entertainment industry. But from what I see, Liangchuan has recently started to be more mature. You did well on the matter of getting thend in Suzhou! Your sight is sharp, and your economic knowledge and foresight were really simr to what I had when I was young.¡± His words made Shen Xiu¡¯s face turn pale. When Senior Master had specially asked him toe to ask about Shen Liangchuan, Shen Xiu had told him that Shen Liangchuan was just creating a fuss. And Senior Master¡¯s reaction had been unclear. So Senior Master had already sensed that the house prices would increase. Shen Xiu felt ashamed. He had actually lost to his son. This made him recall the times Old Master would always call him an idiot and scold him, saying that hecked a business instinct. Now, he allowed Shen Liangchuan to return, which could mean that... Shen Xiu¡¯s gaze immediately became sharp and vicious. He turned his head and looked at Shen Liangchuan, speaking cruelly, ¡°Even if he returns, what about Xia Yehua? Is she going to return to the Shen family too? My current legal wife is Mei Feng, so with what status would she returning? As a mistress?¡± His words caused Shen Liangchuan to sink his brows. He took a step forward and said, ¡°Shut up!¡± ¡°Why should I shut up? You¡¯re a unfilial and rebellious son! It¡¯s just the second day of the new year, yet you came back to cause trouble for me. Didn¡¯t you say that you could build an empire for yourself eight years ago? Why? Did you fail outside and thuse back thick-skinnedly? Let me tell you, I don¡¯t agree!¡± Shen Liangchuan sneered coldly after hearing his words. He didn¡¯t even look at Shen Xiu and directly said to Senior Master. ¡°Grandad, don¡¯t worry. This family will only have either him or me, I won¡¯t return.¡± After saying so, he turned his head to Qiao Lian and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Qiao Lian nodded and both of them left directly. Shen Xiu immediately heaved a sigh of relief. But after Old Master saw their determined expressions, he turned around and smacked Shen Xiu¡¯s head. ¡°Who is the head of this house?¡± Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan could no longer see the ruckus happening in the Shen family. They had already drove out of the old home, on the way home. Qiao Lian discreetly looked at Shen Liangchuan and realized that his emotions hadn¡¯t changed. He was obviously used to such situations. After they returned home, he remained silent about what had happened in the Shen family. The second day of the new year was still considered a good day. Everyone gathered together to eat dinner and had fun in the living room for quite some time. For the whole day, Shen Liangchuan realized that Qiao Lian hadn¡¯t been affected by the team reunion. She was enjoying herself, chatting,ughing and eating. She even yed a few rounds of a game with Xia Yehua and chatted with Qiao Yi for a bit. He secretly let out a sigh of relief. It was fine as long as she didn¡¯t realize it. It wasn¡¯t until 11 o¡¯clock that they went upstairs to sleep. When Shen Liangchuan was intending to bathe and closed the bedroom door, Qiao Lian called him, ¡°Shen Liangchuan.¡± Shen Liangchuan turned around. He found before him an expressionless Qiao Lian. She slowly asked, ¡°The person in the tombstone is Soul Fighter, right?¡± Shen Liangchuan immediately lost grip on the towel he was holding and dropped on the floor. Chapter 772 - He Is Soul Fighter (6)

Chapter 772: He Is Soul Fighter (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The crystal chandelier in the bedroom was turned on. The room was as bright as daylight. They stood facing each other now without speaking. The room was silent. Shen Liangchuan did not bend over to pick up his towel. He looked steadily at Qiao Lian. The quick sh of sorrow in his eyes was barely noticeable. Indeed. He should have known. She was a smart girl and surely, she had realized it. He lowered his gaze slowly. Her question wasn¡¯t really a question. She already knew. Indeed, after a short pause, she spoke again slowly, ¡°That person by the name of Zhou Song was Soul Fighter¡¯s real name, and he was Song Yuanxi¡¯s brother, is that right?¡± Shen Liangchuan felt every muscle in his body stiffen. Too many things had happened in the space of a day, and the mix of messages that Qiao Lian had received was at best confusing. On the surface, it looked like she was in a festive mood, having a boisterous time with Xia Yehua, but in fact, she had been thinking. And right now, she had straightened all the thoughts in her head. Although Shen Liangchuan did not answer her questions, she was already sure of her own guesses. Soul Fighter... So that person was Soul Fighter. She gulped and looked intently at Shen Liangchuan, waiting for his final confirmation. He stood there, his deep and dark eyes bing sharp and abstruse. Then he slowly replied, ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right.¡± Yes to the guess that he was Soul Fighter. She was right about Song Yuanxi being Soul Fighter¡¯s sister. At once, Qiao Lian clenched her fists tightly. She thought about how the day that she and Shen Liangchuan were supposed to meet was the day Zhou Song had an ident. Then, she thought about how the day that Zhou Song had died was the day that Shen Liangchuan had called her to say that they wouldn¡¯t meet again. So did Soul Fighter have anything to do with what happened eight years ago? She took a step towards Shen Liangchuan and looked at him steadily. Then she asked, ¡°How did Soul Fighter die?¡± Shen Liangchuan pursed his lips. She reached out to grab his arm, asking, ¡°Did it have anything to do with me?¡± ¡°No,¡± his answer was quick. Too quick. As though he was anxious to put an end to that idea. But it was too obvious. How could it have nothing to do with her? She bit her lip and continued, ¡°If it had nothing to do with me, then why did Song Yuanxi insist that I¡¯m her enemy?¡± Shen Liangchuan turned away sharply and, after a moment, turned back to look at her. She could see the struggle in his eyes. She kept her gaze steadily on him, hoping for an answer. However, Shen Liangchuan pulled his chin taut and replied after a moment of silence, ¡°She misunderstood.¡± Misunderstood? Surely, the whole matter from eight years ago was a misunderstanding. She had done nothing! She had never even seen Soul Fighter. How could she have done anything to harm him? Qiao Lian took a step forward and started to speak, but she saw that Shen Liangchuan had suddenly bent over to pick his towel up. As he did so, he said, ¡°I¡¯m going to take a shower.¡± He strode into the washroom and shut the door. She was left standing outside, staring at the bathroom door. Suddenly, she felt terribly helpless. Why was it that he simply refused to talk about certain things? Was it so difficult to tell her the truth? She took a deep breath and hung her head. Then she walked to the bed and sat down. ¨C Shen Liangchuan was in the shower for more than half an hour. The look on Qiao Lian¡¯s face just then kepting back to him. He couldn¡¯t face her. About the matter from eight years ago... He took a deep breath. Eventually, he wrapped the towel around his waist and walked out of the bathroom. Chapter 773 - He Is Soul Fighter (7)

Chapter 773: He Is Soul Fighter (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian was already in bed and she looked like she was asleep. He walked over andy next to her. His hair was still wet, but he had no intention of sleeping. Hence, he sat up leaning against the headboard and picked up his cell phone. As he stared at the screen on his phone, his mind wandered to the scene at the gathering that afternoon. Eight years ago, the captain was narcissistic and used to love send his photos on the team¡¯s group chat. But after eight years, there was no trace left of that young and inexperienced gamer. He had be a mature andposed young man. Although Shen Liangchuan had not met the rest of the team members, he had a familiar feeling among them and it evoked many fond memories. Perhaps because of seeing all these people from his youth, his thoughts went back to eight years ago. He and Soul Fighter met through a random match in a game. At that time, Soul Fighter was ying against Shen Liangchuan. The four other team members that thetter had been matched up with were poor yers, probably because they were new yers. Every time they got into a group battle, they would charge blindly without a strategy, causing their team to lose every match. Young and impetuous, Shen Liangchuan took every game seriously. Angered and frustrated by his teammates, he started to dash madly through the game, ying all the opponents he saw on the way. He yed the first, then the second... In the end, he saw a message from Soul Fighter: [(All) Soul Fighter: Feeling sorry for Zi Chuan there, all four of his teammates are pigs!] At once, Shen Liangchuan felt an indescribable sense of liberation. He seldom berated anyone in the game. However, some team members were really hopeless beyond words. He felt vindicated by Soul Fighter¡¯s words and it felt great. At that time, Zi Chuan was not well-known. He won that particr match by a narrow margin. After the match ended, he saw that there were a few new requests on his friends list. This was usual after every match he yed. Uninterested, he meant to clear the list when he suddenly saw Soul Fighter¡¯s name among it. In addition to the fact that he had spoken up for Shen Liangchuan, thetter also recalled that Soul Fighter was quite a skillful gamer, so he made an exception and epted the friend request from this yer. After he had agreed, the yer sent him a private message: [Soul Fighter: One more together?] Shen Liangchuan did not remember what he had been thinking at that time, but only that he epted the invitation. They yed one round together and found that they coordinated well, so they started to y a second round, and a third round... Sometimes, strangely, that is just how friendships blossom between men. During those years, he was aloof and arrogant and, because of that one remark Soul Fighter had made, they crossed paths and became friends. He brought Soul Fighter into theirpetitive team and introduced Soul Fighter to his follower, Xiao Qiao. In the end, even as the rest of the team members came and went, the three of them remained steadfast. It was as though their fates were intertwined. Eventually, when he was preparing to establish an official, the first person he thought of was Soul Fighter, and the first person to agree to it was also Soul Fighter. As this thought came to Shen Liangchuan, he slowly cast his gaze downwards. Setting up the team had been aplicated matter. He had had to go through many procedures to finally obtain the credentials for the team. There was the venue rental and the purchasing ofputers. There were so many matters to handle that he got so busy he could hardly breathe. At the time, it was Soul Fighter who fought alongside him, right up to the moment that he established the official Lot club and called Xiao Qiao to ask her to join him. But at that time also... Qiao Lian¡¯s hand had been injured, so she told him over the phone that she would no longer be able to y. In that moment, Shen Liangchuan feltpletely abandoned. Only Soul Fighter remained firmly by his side because of his passion for gaming. Chapter 774 - He Is Soul Fighter (8)

Chapter 774: He Is Soul Fighter (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As the scenes from the past shed through his mind, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s eyes grew heavy. Then, he had a strange feeling, as though he had gone back to the past. At that time, he and Soul Fighter were both in Beijing, so they had long be friends in real life. They often went for walks in Springtime and hang out together. Sometimes they would y video games together in person, just for the social interaction. It felt like he had gone back to a particr summer, when he was at home with the air conditioning turned on and sitting in front of theputer. He was chatting with Xiao Qiao on the game and waiting for Soul Fighter to turn up. Xiao Qiao was jealous and said, ¡°You two are almost a couple now.¡± Listening to her seductively delicate voice, heughed and teased her wickedly, ¡°Are you jealous?¡± ¡°Of course not! Why is Soul Fighter taking so long? Are we going to start ying soon?!¡± Shen Liangchuan looked at his watch. It was nine in the morning. They had nned to meet at this time. Why hadn¡¯t Soul Fighter turned up? Shen Liangchuan frowned, wondering. The next moment, the doorbell rang. Heughed and said, ¡°Speak of the devil. Let¡¯s make Soul Fighter take the champion Cao Cao.¡± Immediately, Xiao Qiaoughed gleefully and said, ¡°Great. So you¡¯re still ying Zhou Yu and I¡¯m Xiao Qiao. Let him rot in jealousy.¡± ¡°Uh huh.¡± The housekeeper downstairs opened the door to let Soul Fighter in. He made his way upstairs. He knocked on the door to theputer room. Shen Liangchuan looked up and yelled, ¡°Come in.¡± There was a dead silence. Seeing no response, Shen Liangchua stood up as he said to Xiao Qiao, ¡°This Soul Fighter, does he expect me to wee him personally?¡± Slowly, he walked to the door and opened it,pletely prepared to invite Soul Fighter in. But the moment he opened the door, a figure lunged straight at him. He felt someone grab him by the neck and, the next second, he encountered the sight of a face marred by blood and torn flesh. Soul Fighter¡¯s hoarse voice rang in his ear, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, did you let me down?¡± Shen Liangchuan jumped in fright. His eyes snapped open as he felt someone¡¯s hand around the back of his neck. He sat up at once and reached out to grip that arm around his nape, giving the person who was trying to lock him down a hard shove. Thump. Qiao Lian was pushed onto the ground with a painful thud. She looked at Shen Liangchuan with a startled expression, caughtpeltely by surprise. This wasn¡¯t the oue she had expected. Shen Liangchuan had gone into the shower and she hadin down on the bed unable to sleep, thinking of everything that had happened in the day. All along, he had kept what happened eight years ago away from her. But she wanted to know what had happened. She knew, when she realized he was taking too long in the shower, that he wasn¡¯t willing to talk about it. Hence, when he got out of the shower, she pretended to be asleep. She heard him get into bed next to her. There were many thoughts entangled in her head. She was confused and thought of many possibilities. Hence, during the celebrations, there were times that she almost broke down in tears. She thought that if she couldn¡¯t force the answer out of him, perhaps she could try some other ways. Hence, she turned around and put her arms around his neck. Didn¡¯t they say that a man¡¯s tongue would loosen after a bout of lovemaking? Thus, she took action and put her arms around Shen Liangchuan, intending to shift her body on top of him and proactively kiss him. However, he had snapped open his eyes and suddenly given her a hard shove. Although the floor was thickly carpeted, right now, all Qiao Lian could feel was pain. Not from the fall. But because of his rmed expression and the loathing in his eyes when he had pushed her away. She widened her eyes in shock and curled her fingers into a tight fist. Chapter 775 - He Is Soul Fighter (9)

Chapter 775: He Is Soul Fighter (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios All of a sudden, Qiao Lian remembered something from when they were newlyweds. At the time, this was exactly the sort of look that she often saw in Shen Liangchuan¡¯s eyes. That hatred for her, as though he couldn¡¯t wait to torture her to death. But in the period of tenderness and love that had followed that rough and difficult beginning, she had almost forgotten that in the first ce, he had married her as an act of revenge. Her heart felt as though it was tightly being squeezed by a pair of invisible hands, causing her to wince in pain as she looked at him. It was only after he pushed her on the ground, that Shen Liangchuan realized he had fallen asleep earlier. And all of this had just been a dream. But the image of Soul Fighter¡¯s blood-covered face was still causing his heart to thump madly. He was not conscious of the fury in his eyes as he stared at Qiao Lian. He only felt as though he had been taken back eight years in time, when the whole matter happened. It was the same fury he was feeling now. He clenched his fists tightly and, like when he had just married Qiao Lian, a murderous feeling suddenly welled up within him. Except that now he saw the pain in Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes. It was like he had been drenched by a bucket of icy water, giving him a good wake-up call. In that frightful moment, he realized what he had just done. He hurried down the bed and walked over to Qiao Lian, reaching out to help her up from the floor. ¡°Xiao Qiao, I¡ª¡± But as he reached out for her, she reacted by pushing his arm away. Following this, he saw her eyes turn cold and distant. Frowning, she pushed herself up from the ground. She looked steadily at Shen Liangchuan. He was at a loss for words, but this change in Qiao Lian caused him to panic. He wanted to speak but no words came. He could only stand there, watching her helplessly. The room fell silent all at once. In the darkness of the night, fireworks kept going off in the distance. It was ironic how, in the midst of the festive season, the atmosphere in the room had gone below the freezing point. Qiao Lian turned to walk out of the room. But suddenly, she thought of Qiao Yi and Xia Yehua. It was in the middle of the New Year celebrations. If she just walked out like this, wouldn¡¯t they be worried? She felt sorrowful at once. Due to the fact that she didn¡¯t even have the option of arguing and making things difficult, and that she had nowhere to run to. As Qiao LIan contemted her situation, she heard him call out to her, ¡°Xiao Qiao.¡± She halted at the doorway. She thought that he would at least offer somefort or an apology. As a woman, trying to make the first move and ending up being rejected by the man was particrly embarrassing for her. However, the next moment, all he said was, ¡°I¡¯m going to the study.¡± Her heart turned icy cold. She stared at him as he walked past her and made his way out slowly. He shut the door behind him slowly. In that moment, she suddenly felt like her chest was on fire and she was going to explode with fury. She wasn¡¯t afraid of confrontations. After all, they had argued countless times when they yed video games eight years ago. And when they argued, they had even managed to work out many problems. What she disliked the most were these cold wars! She would have no idea of what she had done wrong if all he did was keep quiet and not say anything. That sense of frustration overwhelmed her and irritated her so much that she got into bed and threw punches at the pillow. Her chest heaved in anger as she thought about how infuriating the man was! Chapter 776 - He Is Soul Fighter (10)

Chapter 776: He Is Soul Fighter (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios On that particr night, the sleepless Qiao Lian tossed and turned in bed. In the study, Shen Liangchuan stood on the balcony, looking at the New Year celebrations in the distance, smoking most of the night away. ¨C The next morning. Qiao Lian got out of bed and sshed her face with icy cold water from the tap. She hadn¡¯t slept a wink all night and she looked extremely sallow. But knowing that Xia Yehua and Qiao Yi were waiting downstairs for her to eat with them, she gave her own cheeks a few pats and cheered herself, ¡°Come on, Qiao Lian, you can do it!¡± She took a deep breath and put on a joyous smile, before opening the bedroom door and stepping out. At the same time, the door of the study room, which was just in front of the bedroom, creaked open and Shen Liangchuan walked out. Both of them halted as they found themselves looking into each other¡¯s eyes. The smile on her face froze. She could tell that he had not slept well either. The moment he walked out, the stench of cigarettes hit her in the face. She raised an eyebrow at once. Then she noticed that he was standing on the spot, looking at her with an expression that was unusually abstruse. Still angry, she gave him an icy smile. She wondered where hisplex emotions wereing from really, given that he had not uttered a single useful word to her. As she simmered silently at the thought, he started, ¡°Xiao Qiao¡ª¡± She immediately gave another cold smile and, without another word, headed down the stairs. She knew that he was following her, as she heard his footsteps behind her. The couple came downstairs one after the other. The atmosphere was causing Qiao Lian to feel rather suffocated. Xia Yehua and Qiao Yi were sitting in the dining room downstairs. At this point, Auntie Li came out of the kitchen, carrying breakfast. Qiao Yi grinned from ear to ear, saying, ¡°Auntie, the breakfasts here are always yummy. Auntie Li¡¯s culinary skills are quite exceptional! I¡¯ve only been here for two days, but I¡¯ve gained a kilo already.¡± Xia Yehuaughed heartily at what he said. ¡°This child has a good sense of humor, indeed! No matter how much you eat, is it even possible to gain a kilo in two days?¡± Immediately, Qiao Yi patted his own stomach and said, ¡°It¡¯s true. I used to be a lot more restrained, I only ate till I was about 80 percent full. But over here, I unknowingly overfeed myself...¡± Auntie Li too couldn¡¯t help butugh and said, ¡°Xiao Yi Sir, you are too skinny! Look at how tall you are, and yet you¡¯re only about 60 kg. You¡¯re like a bamboo stick. Be careful that your future girlfriend doesn¡¯t have a problem with it.¡± ¡°Huh. If she does, I¡¯ll fight her!¡± Xia Yehua and Auntie Li couldn¡¯t help but burst outughing again. The sense of great harmony in the living room softened Qiao Lian¡¯s mood and expression. She took a step forward and asked with a smile, ¡°What are you guys talking about?¡± The three of them turned their heads simultaneously and saw Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan. Xia Yehua gestured at them and said, ¡°Hurry up,e over here and eat.¡± Auntie Li brought two bowls of porridge for them. Qiao Lian stirred her porridge absent-mindedly. Just as she lifted the spoon to her mouth, Xia Yehua remarked, ¡°Liangchuan, what were you so busy with that you had to work in the study all night? It was the second day of the new year. Although it¡¯s important to make a living, shouldn¡¯t you set aside time to keep Xiao Qiaopany for the New Year holiday?¡± Shen Liangchuan paused holding the spoon in his hand. He looked up to give Qiao Lian a nce and said, ¡°I know, Mom.¡± Xia Yehua then looked at Qiao Lian and said, ¡°You¡¯re at a young, lovey-dovey and inseparable age, so treasure it. The worst thing rtionships can go through is slow erosion. Don¡¯t go thinking that you¡¯re young and that makes it alright. Why don¡¯t you apany your wife and go shopping with her today?¡± Chapter 777 - He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (1)

Chapter 777: He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Mom, there¡¯s really no need!¡± ¡°Ok.¡± They both spoke at the same time. Qiao Lian lifted her gaze to look at Shen Liangchuan. He said, ¡°You haven¡¯t gotten any new clothes for the new year. We¡¯ll go and get you some today.¡± Still angry, Qiao Lian was about to decline. But the next moment, Xia Yehua said, ¡°That¡¯s right! It¡¯s the new year and the young ones should dress up nicely. Mom has decided that you should go! Take my credit card. All expenses today are on me! And look around for some new clothes for Qiao Yi as well.¡± She was so insistent that any further objections from Qiao Lian would have raised an rm that there was something wrong. Hence, Qiao Lian swallowed her protests. After breakfast, Xia Yehua started to hurry them, ¡°Have your lunch out as well. I¡¯ll reserve you a seat at a romantic restaurant.¡± She even decided where they were to go shopping. ¡°I¡¯ve got a Shin Kong membership card here. Do your shopping there and have lunch at a nearby restaurant.¡± Then she insistently ushered them out of the house. As Shen Liangchuan drove out of the driveway with Qiao Lian and moved away from the vi, they could see Xia Yehua standing at the doorway and waving at them. Qiao Lian pursed her lips, waiting until the car had gone around the corner and out of Xia Yehua¡¯s sight. Then she said grudgingly to him, ¡°You can drop me off just a little further down from here.¡± Shen Liangchuan kept silent for a moment and then said, ¡°Mom would want to see what you¡¯ve bought when we go home tonight. And if we have nothing to show for it, what are we going to do then?¡± It didn¡¯t take much for Qiao Lian¡¯s anger to well up and she retorted, ¡°Then I¡¯ll go shopping by myself! In any case, it doesn¡¯t seem like you fancy having me around.¡± The way he had brushed her offst night had been deeply hurtful. Upon hearing these words and noticing that she was edgier than lit explosives, he suddenly felt that life could actually be quite interesting and colorful if they got into a disagreement once in a while. He cleared his throat once and said, ¡°I¡¯m really not at ease, because you have bad taste.¡± Qiao Lian: ... Qiao Lian was absolutely livid now. Could Shen Liangchuan be any more despicable? Obviously, he was in the wrong, so what right did he have to be so high-handed? She turned her head away and looked out of the window, ignoring the man for the rest of the ride. Very soon, they arrived at the shopping mall. Shen Liangchuan left his car in the underground car park. Then, putting on his mask and sunsses, he followed Qiao Lian as they made their way up. They went into a clothing store. He looked at all the colorful clothes as they walked in. Then, he reached out for a red jacket and, holding it out to her, said, ¡°This looks good.¡± Without looking at him, she said icily, ¡°I don¡¯t like it!¡± Then she picked two pieces of clothes on the rack and headed to the changing room. Shen Liangchuan looked at her, then at the jacket he was holding and sighed helplessly. After a short time, he picked up his cell phone and wrote a message. Of course, Qiao Lian knew that as a woman, she couldn¡¯t be overly unreasonable. But what had happened the night before was intolerable! She was truly angry and couldn¡¯t help these emotions. It was as though she had been totally possessed by a fiery ape and every little thing he said or did would set her off. Qiao Lian stood in the changing room, staring at the clothes she had picked. She casually put one of the pieces on. She was a tall girl and her skin was fair, hence, almost everything looked good on her. When she put on the white sweater, it immediately brought out her porcin skin. Upon walking out of the changing room, after trying on the clothes, she noticed that the attendant was looking at her with a different expression on her face. Chapter 778 - He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (2)

Chapter 778: He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian frowned slightly. The attendant standing outside the changing room was smiling from ear to ear, and she seemed to be looking at her with an eagerness that hadn¡¯t shown earlier on. Was there something wrong with the clothes she had picked? Qiao Lian scrutinized herself. There was nothing wrong, the clothes suited her well. That meant... She turned around and looked at Shen Liangchuan, who was waiting for her in the lounge. He was already getting up from his seat, and she could feel a pair of eyes behind those sunsses fixed on her. She thought that the attendant had probably recognized him, despite hisplete disguise. That would be why she suddenly seemed so eager to attend them. Qiao Lian cleared her throat. She was about to return to the changing room and try on the other piece of clothing, when the attendant said, ¡°Madam, you have such a doting husband, please don¡¯t be angry anymore.¡± Qiao Lian was puzzled by her remark. Was it so obvious that even the attendant could tell she was angry? She coughed and acknowledged it with a grunt. Then, she returned to the changing room. She walked out after trying on the second piece of clothing. With his eyes fixed on her still, he said, ¡°Very pretty.¡± She felt that both pieces were fine. It would be easy to buy both, so that she had something to show her mother-inw. At the cashier, she took out Xia Yehua¡¯s membership card. The attendant grinned and then held the wrapped-up clothing out to her. Following this, she also held out a card. Casually, Qiao Lian took the card from the attendant and was surprised when she took a nce at it. On the card were the words: Wifey, don¡¯t be angry. Her pupils shrank upon seeing those words. She spun her head around to look at Shen Liangchuan, who was behind her. The attendant stood there grinning ear to ear and said, ¡°Mr. Shen and Mrs. Shen, I wish you togetherness till a ripe old age and to always be of the same mind.¡± Qiao Lian was bbergasted. She smiled at the attendant and started to feel like something was not quite right. Following Shen Liangchuan, they walked out of the shop. As they did so, she saw someone walking straight at them. That girl looked excited and was carrying a bunch of roses in her hands. Approaching them, she held the bouquet out to Qiao Lian and said, ¡°Mrs. Shen, please don¡¯t be angry!¡± Qiao Lian was bbergasted. She looked around and realized that a number of people had gathered around. Suddenly worried and as though she had remembered something, she grabbed Shen Liangchuan and pulled him along as she headed back into the clothing store. She turned and red at Shen Liangchuan, asking, ¡°What¡¯s going on? You¡¯ve been recognized! Let¡¯s sneak around and see how we can return to the parking.¡± Before she could finish her sentence, her cell phone rang. She picked it up and looked at the screen. It was Shi Nianyao. Answering the phone, Shi Nianyao¡¯s voice was exceptionally animated as she squealed, ¡°Chief Editor Lian Lian, what¡¯s wrong between you and Best Actor Shen? Why did you argue?¡± Qiao Lian was stumped and asked, ¡°... How did you know?¡± It was getting more and more puzzling. Why did it seem like everyone in the world knew about it? As she wondered, Shi Nianyao squealed again, ¡°Go look at Weibo!¡± Qiao Lian: ...! She immediately hung up and logged into Weibo. She found that her Weibo was flooded withments. As if the whole world had sent a message to her. Ignoring thements, she quickly scrolled down to identify the originator. Indeed, it had been Shen Liangchuan¡¯s post: [Shen Liangchuan: Call for help. How to appease an angry wifey?] Qiao Lian: ...!! No wonder the whole world knew that she was angry... so this was how! This rascal and the post... Chapter 779 - He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (3)

Chapter 779: He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The moment ,Shen Liangchuan posted this, thements poured in immediately. In the few minutes that she took to change her clothes, thements at the bottom had been pushed to the top. [Of course, you should put her against the wall and kiss her! Best Actor Shen is dashing so if he did that, any feelings of anger would vanish.] [Buy her clothes, give her flowers, a new bag and presents. But, what is there to be angry at if she¡¯s looking into his handsome face everyday?] [Ahhhhh... I¡¯ve discovered Best Actor Shen¡¯s post location! Shin Kong Shopping Mall. Oh my god, I¡¯m here too! Wait, Best Actor Shen, I¡¯ll help you get the flowers for her.] [Everyone ask Mrs. Shen to cease being angry!] [Why do I feel like this post is a real taunt for singletons? Don¡¯t you guys feel it?] Qiao Lian was in a daze just looking through some of thesements. She lifted her gaze and stared at Shen Liangchuan in disbelief. He extended his hands and suddenly put them around her shoulders. Then he said in a low voice, ¡°Xiao Qiao, don¡¯t be angry anymore.¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes were instantly wet with tears. It was as though at once, all her frustrations and anger had found an outlet. She pouted and griped, ¡°Why did you make a Weibo post?!¡± He looked at her and replied, ¡°Because I¡¯m not sure how I could make you happy again, so I had to ask.¡± Still pouting, she persisted, ¡°So why did you push me awayst night?!¡± He drew her tightly to him and said, ¡°It was my fault.¡± ¡°And you were cold towards me today!¡± ¡°It was my fault.¡± ¡°I was furious and you didn¡¯t even apologize.¡± ¡°It was my fault.¡± ¡°It was entirely my fault, honey, I¡¯m sorry.¡± When she heard the apology, she smiled through her tears. She gave him a hard shove, but he didn¡¯t budge. She started saying, ¡°So what now? You¡¯ve exposed our location with your Weibo post.¡± Now, a crowd had gathered outside the clothing store and many were yelling excitedly. ¡°Best Actor Shen! Mrs. Shen!¡± ¡°Stay together!¡± ¡°Mrs. Shen, don¡¯t be angry!¡± Qiao Lian was rather embarrassed by all their cheers. Seeing that she was no longer angry, Shen Liangchuan sighed in relief. He took her hand and said, ¡°Come with me.¡± There was a back door in the clothing store. They made their way towards it and, lowering their heads, they madly dashed away. They ran straight for the lift, which took them to the underground carpark quickly. Upon reaching the underground carpark, they hurried into the car and sped away from the ce. As they pulled away from the Shin Kong Shopping Mall, Qiao Lian heave a huge sigh of relief. Shen Liangchuanughed as he observed her from the corner of his eye. She asked him, ¡°Where do we go now?¡± Before he could speak, his cell phone suddenly rang. He picked up. Auntie Li¡¯s voice came through, ¡°Sir, Shen Xiu is here and he¡¯s making a fuss. I¡¯m worried for Senior Madam.¡± As she said this, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression darkened. He replied, ¡°I¡¯ming back now.¡± After hanging up, he looked at Qiao Lian and said, ¡°It¡¯s early still, let¡¯s go home and deal with Shen Xiu first.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. They drove straight home. Upon parking the car in the courtyard, the couple hurried out of the car. They could hear the sound of breaking ssing from the living room. Crash! The crystal clear sound of ss breaking rang in their ears. Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank at once and they quickened their steps. Upon reaching the house, they pushed the door and dashed in. They saw Auntie Li and Xia Yehua standing near the stairway. Shen Xiu, on the other hand, was holding a vase and about to smash it onto the floor. As Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchaun entered the house, another crash sounded. Chapter 780 - He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (4)

Chapter 780: He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The vases at home had been smashed to bits. The broken shards flew in every direction, sprayed all over the floor near the stairs where Xia Yehua was standing. She stepped back to avoid the bits of flying ss and red at Shen Xiu, saying, ¡°You¡¯re mad!¡± ¡°Mad? Yes I¡¯m mad!¡± Exasperated, he pointed a finger at Xia Yehua. ¡°You tr*mp! Do you think that if Shen Liangchuanes back to the Shen family, he¡¯ll be able to get his hands on the Shen family¡¯s assets? I¡¯m telling you now, there¡¯s no way.¡± In his fit of anger, after saying these words, he looked around for something else to smash. The coffee table had already been smashed, and anything made of ss and within reach had been broken. Shen Xiu was like a demon let loose who had left a trail of destruction in the house. Xia Yehua was heaving with anger. Auntie Li did not dare to step forward, so she stayed next to her Senior Madam supporting her andforting her, worried that she wouldn¡¯t be able to stand this and pass out. Qiao Yi was held back by two bodyguards dressed in ck, and he was struggling to break free from their hold. From the looks of it, he must have been trying to intervene but got held down. This was an outright attack on all the elderly, sick and weak in the household. Seeing this, even Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes burned with anger, not to mention Shen Liangchuan. However, before she even had the chance to speak, Shen Liangchuan strode right in. He charged straight at Shen Xiu. Seeing that the man was about to smash another vase, he extended his arms and grabbed the man¡¯s wrist. ¡°Stop it at once!¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s icy voice seemed to bring some sense back to Shen Xiu. The man frowned. Then he turned and looked at Shen Liangchuan. With that, the fury in his eyes was reignited. ¡°Dishonorable son! How dare youe back?!¡± Shen Liangchuan continued, ¡°I¡¯ve said countless times that I don¡¯t want a single cent from the Shen family. Don¡¯t bring your nonsense here! Shen Xiu sneered and said, ¡°You don¡¯t want it? Do you take me for a retard and think that I¡¯ll believe what you say? Don¡¯t y innocent with me. You¡¯re just like your mother! The both of you are my enemies, bringing disaster to the Shen family! Xia Yehua, from the time Shen Liangchuan was little, you trained him to please Senior Master, so that Senior Master would feel good. Isn¡¯t pushing Shen Liangchuan into the line of inheritance and ousting me part of your scheme? You lust so much for the Shen family¡¯s inheritance that you are downright shameless.¡± Xia Yehua was livid to the point of numbness. It made her mad that he had destroyed so many things in the house. She red at Shen Xiu and said something that hit him where it hurt the most, ¡°Since your youth, Senior Master has maintained that you had no talent for doing business. He liked Shen Liangchuan because the boy was intelligent! You can¡¯t even hold a candle to your own son, yet you simply interpret others from your own narrow and dismal perspective. And because Senior Master has always thought highly of Liangchuan, you treated the boy with disdain and held him at arm¡¯s length. You even limit him, like an animal. It¡¯s no wonder that Senior Master can¡¯t stand you!¡± Her words hit hard, so his eyes burned with fury as he hollered, ¡°Tr*mp! It¡¯s not like that at all!¡± He took a step towards Xia Yehua, but Shen Liangchuan stepped between them to stop him. Shen Xiu tried to push him out of the way, but he did not budge an inch. The older man was indignant and turned to look back at his other bodyguards, shouting, ¡°Get him! I¡¯ll kill this bastard today!¡± As instructed by him, the two bodyguards stepped forward. Shen Liangchuan loosened his grip on Shen Xiu as he saw them approached. With a spin, he extended a leg and gave one of them a kick on the chest, causing the man to fly backwards andnd on the ground. Then he lunged forward and threw himself at the other man. Chapter 781 - He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (5)

Chapter 781: He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan had taken martial arts lessons as a child and, on top of that, he had been an actor for many years. He was well-trained in Chinese martial arts, as well as Taekwondo. Furthermore, he was properly fit thanks to a regr training program. Handling the two bodyguards did not pose a challenge for him at all. He easily threw the two bodyguards on the ground. At that moment, he had one leg on one of the bodyguards, ensuring that the other could not get up at all. However, he simply raised his head to look at Shen Xiu in dismay. The look in his eyes was icy and so full of anger that anyone looking at them would shudder. Shen Xiu stumbled backwards in fright. ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing? Will you dare to hit me?¡± Shen Liangchuan looked at him impassively and said only one word, ¡°Scram.¡± Shen Xiu¡¯s expression clouded over, dark as a pot. The younger man shifted his gaze away and turned around to walk back to his mother. But after he had taken two steps, a loud crash was heard. All of a sudden, the house fell into a deafening silence. Everyone looked at the scene that was ying out before their eyes inplete disbelief. Qiao Lian watched the unimaginable in horror. Shen Xiu had lifted the vase in his hand and thrust it in the direction of Shen Liangchuan¡¯s head. But Xia Yehua had been faster. She had taken a step forward and pushed her son out of the way, so the vase fullynded on her back. Her expression went nk. Then a bolt of pain shot up her spine and her vision turned dark, as she almost passed out. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression clouded over as he spun to catch the falling Xia Yehua in his arms. Widening his eyes in horror, he cried out, ¡°Mom!¡± Xia Yehua sighed with relief as she whispered, ¡°Good thing that it didn¡¯t get you.¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s eyes reddened at once. His head snapped up as he red at Shen Xiu with fury. Qiao Lian felt the inside of her head explode, as the anger that had built up within her found no outlet. She saw that Shen Liangchuan was holding Xia Yehua, unable to retaliate. Without a word, she went into the kitchen. When she came back out, she was holding a chopper knife in her hand. Brandishing the knife in the air, she shouted at Shen Xiu and his bodyguards, ¡°Come on then! If you¡¯re not afraid of death,e!¡± Her angry cry was like an animal roar, causing the bodyguards to shrink back a fraction. Even Shen Xiu¡¯s expression turned wretched, as he retreated behind his bodyguards. With the knife raised, Qiao Lian stood in front of Shen Liangchuan and stared straight at Shen Xiu. ¡°Are you going to be so unreasonable?! Mom cut off ties with you a long time ago, why do you keeping back to provoke her?¡± He gave a cold snort and red at Xia Yehua. She was as pale as a sheet now. His eyes shed with the realization that he had gone overboard indeed. Slightly softening his tone, but still looking viciously at the mother and son, he said, ¡°You said you don¡¯t lust for the Shen family¡¯s inheritance. So, do you dare swear that you will never take a single cent from the Shen family?¡± After he said this, his eyes lit up and he took a step forward, as though he had chanced upon a great idea. ¡°As long as you swear that you will never ever step into the Shen family and will never ever take a single cent from the Shen family, I promise that I will nevere to create trouble for you.¡± He said it like he was a martyr doing them a huge favour and giving them an out. Qiao Lian wanted tough out loud when he said this. She turned to look at Shen Liangchuan. He narrowed his eyes and suddenly gave an icy smile, saying, ¡°Why should I give you my word for this?¡± Chapter 782 - He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (6)

Chapter 782: He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios These words made Shen Xiu¡¯s pupils shrank. ¡°You...¡± Shen Liangchuan narrowed his eyes as he stared at him, speaking in a clear and deliberate tone. ¡°Initially, I wasn¡¯t interested in the Shen family¡¯s assets at all. But now I am gaining some interest.¡± Shen Xiu became infuriated and his expression turned gloomy at once. ¡°Shen. Liang. Chuan!!¡± Shen Liangchuan had already decided to ignore him, so he said, ¡°Scram.¡± When Qiao Lian heard this, she immediately waved the knife once again. Shen Xiu had intended to say something, but when he saw the knife, he dared not speak a word anymore. He stretched out his hand to point at Shen Liangchuan. ¡°Fine! You¡¯ve finally revealed your true colors. I knew it! This is your aim! Since you are the one harboring ulterior motives, don¡¯t me me for being ruthless in future.¡± He turned around, waved his hand and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± They had only taken two steps when they heard Shen Liangchuan¡¯s words, ¡°Auntie Li, call the police.¡± Shen Xiu halted. Shen Liangchuan stared at him and said, ¡°For trespassing a private property and damaging possessions, I want to make sure that he is responsible for his actions. At the same time, do also give a call to mywyer and enquire what the sentence is for this type of offence.¡± Shen Xiu abruptly turned around. ¡°You want to sue me?!¡± However, Shen Liangchuan did not reply. He held Xia Yehua and instructed in a in voice, ¡°Do not touch anything in the room as we wait for the police officers toe and gather evidence.¡± After saying that, he took Xia Yehua straight up the stairs, without looking at anyone else in the living room. As Shen Liangchuan and Xia Yehua left and disappeared into the stairway, Auntie Li hesitated and looked at Qiao Lian. ¡°Madam, this...¡± Qiao Lian stared at the people in front of her. Even Qiao Lian had deep hatred towards Shen Xiu, not to mention Shen Liangchuan. Mom¡¯s health hadn¡¯t been good, hence, she couldn¡¯t be agitated. Thest time she had been provoked, she almost didn¡¯t make it in the operating room. However, Shen Xiu was still bent oning to their home and provoking her time after time, without taking their past rtionship as husband and wife into consideration at all. If he wasn¡¯t taught a lesson, incidents like this might be rampant in the future. Hence, Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes and replied, ¡°Call 911.¡± Seeing that Qiao Lian had a firm attitude, she answered affirmatively before heading straight for the telephone. Realizing the situation, Shen Xiu panicked. The Shen family was on the upper echelons of society, they had an important status and position. He would have to go through theirwyers, even if it meant that something had happened or him getting arrested. Hence, Shen Xiu¡¯s pupils shrank, aware that he should not stay put and wait for the police. If they got taken to the police station, it would be extremely embarrassing. Therefore, he spoke nervously, ¡°Let¡¯s leave!¡± He then left the ce along with his subordinates. Qiao Lian took a deep breath and checked the remnants of the room. Qiao Yi, meanwhile, walked over and lowered his head. ¡°Sister, I am really useless. I wanted to protect Auntie, but I can¡¯t even do that well.¡± Qiao Lian patted his shoulder. Auntie Li had picked up the phone and dialed 911 already. Then, she turned to look at Qiao Lian. ¡°Madam, are we reporting them to the police for real?¡± Call the police for real? She had just been trying to scare Shen Xiu earlier on, but now she was unsure what she should do. As she was pondering about this, she heard a voiceing from upstairs, ¡°Call the police.¡± Auntie Li looked at Shen Liangchuan. ¡°Sir, he is your dad after all.¡± Shen Liangchuan lowered his gaze. ¡°I don¡¯t have such a dad.¡± He then turned around and entered the room. Auntie Li sighed deeply upon seeing him like this. After calling the police, the police officers came to gather the evidence and also, through the surveince cameras, they were able to find out who the culprits were. This case would be resolved very soon. The police officers spoke to Shen Liangchuan before they left. Chapter 783 - He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (7)

Chapter 783: He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Ok, we will look into this matter as soon as possible. First, we will go check Mr. Shen Xiu¡¯s side, and see whether they agree to private mediation or receive a punishment from the authorities.¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded. ¡°I hope that this affair will be settled ording to official principles.¡± The police officers nodded as they understood the meaning of his words. After the police officers left, Shen Liangchuan went upstairs once again. Xia Yehua¡¯s back had been hit by a vase, but her condition was not too serious as she had only sustained superficial injuries. After resting for a while, she felt much better. Shen Liangchuan felt unhappy looking at the situation in the living room. He spoke directly, ¡°Pack up your belongings, we shall all move to Vi 8.¡± ¨C It was indeed meddlesome to move house. Although both vis had the same structure and the renovation works done were quite simr, because of having to move one¡¯s personal effects, as well as cleaning and tidying up, the whole day went by just like that. There was a lot of cleaning and tidying to be done since they had just moved in. Everyone was tired after the whole day, so Qiao Lian suggested to order dinner. Xia Yehua as well as Auntie Li agreed. Qiao Lian then picked up her cell phone, found a restaurant and ordered a whole set of dishes. Everyone went back to their respective rooms to rest for an hour, beforeing out of their rooms to have dinner. After entering the master bedroom, Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help but stare at Shen Liangchuan. His own dad had been so cruel to him, he had to be feeling very upset now. Looking at the back view of his thin body, Qiao Lian took in a deep breath. In view of this issue, the conflict that they hadst night was cast aside. At the moment, Qiao Lian was not angry with him anymore, she only felt that Shen Liangchuan was very pitiful. She took a step forward and hugged him from behind to give him some warmth. Shen Liangchuan then turned around to hug her. Both of them snuggled up to each other on the bed. They did not do anything. They only snuggled together for warmth andfort. Towards the end of it, Qiao Lian heard Shen Liangchuan say, ¡°Xiao Qiao, thank you.¡± ¨C When the dishes from the restaurant were delivered, it was already eight in the night. Everybody was famished, after being hungry for the whole day. As Qiao Lian confirmed the dishes with the delivery man, she suddenly discovered that there was an extra box of food. The delivery man¡¯s head was covered under the brim of his hat. It made sense, since it was winter time and it was cold outside. He had thick scarfs on as well. After hearing these words, the delivery man immediately smiled and replied, ¡°As you have ordered many dishes, the chef has decided to add a free side dish for you.¡± After saying this, the delivery man reminded her, ¡°This dish is a little special.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. After the delivery man left, Qiao Lian took the dishes to the dining table and shouted vigorously, ¡°Time to eat!¡± Qiao Yi cooperated seamlessly, as he replied with a smile instantly, ¡°I¡¯m super famished.¡± After the dishes were ced in order, they took their seats. Meanwhile, Qiao Lian shouted out loud to get Shen Liangchuan¡¯s attention, who was upstairs. ¡°Shen Liangchuan,e and have your dinner!¡± Shen Liangchuan had been taking a shower earlier on. He would already be done by now. Only after she heard an answer from upstairs, did she decide to take her seat once again. With her chopsticks, Auntie Li picked up a bit of the free side dish and took a bite. Yet she spat it out immediately with a ¡°ptui¡± sound. Surprised, Qiao Lian asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Auntie Li looked troubled. ¡°Why is the taste of this side dish so strange? What sort of thing is this?¡± When Qiao Lian heard these words, she took a nce at the dish and found that it was a te of green leafy vegetables. However, she had not eaten such a thing before. As the small group pondered over this dish, Shen Liangchuan came down the stairs. Chapter 784 - He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (8)

Chapter 784: He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios His hair was still wet as he approached the group. He asked casually, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Qiao Lian took her phone and searched on Baidu, beforeing to a realization. ¡°This side dish is actually a type of chinese herb! It is called the Chameleon nt. But I have never eaten it before.¡± ¡°Ah, no wonder it tastes so bad. But what kind of restaurant is this? Why did they even give us this side dish for free? The taste of it is really weird,¡±mented Auntie Li. Xia Yehua thought for a moment before replying, ¡°Oh, I recall that people in Sichuan love to eat this dish. This kind of dish has an acquired taste. Those who like it, love it, whereas those who don¡¯t, will hate it. Come, everyone, let¡¯s try it and see if it¡¯s to your taste.¡± After Auntie Li heard this, she muttered, ¡°Who could like this kind of weird-tasting dish?!¡± Qiao Lian pursed her lips and smiled as she saw that everyone was nagging incessantly, creating a nice atmosphere. She turned, intending to ce a bowl of rice on Shen Liangchuan¡¯s hand. However, she saw that Shen Liangchuan was staring at the side dish as if he had just seen a ghost. Qiao Lian was stunned. She stretched out her hand and waved it in front of Shen Liangchuan. ¡°Hello! Hello!¡± Shen Liangchuan then regained hisposure and answered, ¡°Oh.¡± He held his bowl of rice, distracted. As he sat down at the dining table, his gaze was still on the te of Chameleon nt. Qiao Lian felt puzzled and asked, ¡°You know of this dish?¡± Shen Liangchuan lowered his gaze as he answered inly, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Do you like it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± But someone else loved it. Soul Fighter loved it. He recalled that, after knowing each other for half a year through ying the game, he nned to meet Soul Fighter in real life. They had arranged to meet for lunch in a restaurant on a Saturday afternoon. Out of courtesy, he let Soul Fighter decide the ce. Soul Fighter had chosen a restaurant that served Sichuan cuisine in a deserted area of Beijing. At that time, they were served this dish. He had frowned and swallowed the food after taking a bite. However, Soul Fighter enjoyed eating it. ¡°In Sichuan cuisine, most dishes are spicy, however, this Chameleon nt is good at repelling body temperature risa, as well as removing toxins. It¡¯s easy feel hot in this dry Beijing weather. After having a few more tries, you will get used to it and will find that it is especially nice to eat.¡± As Shen Liangchuan lowered his head to eat his food, the image of that familiar figure shed across his mind. ¨C Shen Liangchuan had a dream once again. He dreamt that he had arranged to meet Soul Fighter to choose aputer, but he could not find him anywhere on the street. When he finally spotted his back view, he immediately rushed over to pat Soul Fighter¡¯s shoulder. When Soul Fighter turned around, again, it was that face full of blood. Soul Fighter even questioned him in the dream, ¡°Zi Chuan, I heard that you and Xiao Qiao are getting along very well.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you think you let me down?¡± Shen Liangchuan opened his eyes all of a sudden. It was pitch-ck. Through that dim night light, he could tell that it waste in the night. His heart was pumping rapidly and he had broken out in cold sweat. Shen Liangchuan took in a deep breath and tried his best to suppress that sense of guilt in him, before turning his head gradually. He saw that Qiao Lian was in deep sleep. She probably was exhausted due to the day¡¯s events, moving houses and cleaning, and hence she was soundly asleep. Her breathing was calm as he looked at her tiny face. Shen Liangchuan drew in another deep breath. He didn¡¯t know why, but Soul Fighter¡¯s face suddenly shed past in front of him. Both Soul Fighter and Qiao Lian¡¯s faces appeared before his eyes. He shook his head as the frustration in him intensified. That kind of guilt was amplified many times in the dark. In the end, it seemed as if it had be a heavy stone, crushing his chest and making him unable to breathe. Chapter 785 - He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (9)

Chapter 785: He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan decided to move the nket away from him and sat up in bed. In the dark room, the sound of Qiao Lian¡¯s breathing could be heard clearly. It sounded like it was from a little kitten, seemingly pitiful. Shen Liangchuan turned his head to take a look. The woman was curled up into a ball, but he did not know how to react. He clenched his fists tightly and suddenly got off the bed. He changed his clothes and then headed out of the room. He drove his car aimlessly down the streets of Beijing in thete night. He did not know where to go. But when he finally regained hisposure, he found himself at the cemetery where Soul Fighter had been buried. The night was chilly. The wind was whistling past his car. He stopped his car. He sat at the driver¡¯s seat for a while before pushing the car door open. He got out of the car, retrieved a bottle of liquor from the boot and walked into the cemetery. Gusts of wind blew while he was in the cemetery, but he had never believed in ghosts. Although at that moment it was very dark, he still moved forward until he reached Soul Fighter¡¯s tombstone. His real name was carved on the tombstone: Zhou Song. The sky was dark and there were no lights in the surroundings. The only light was the one shining in through the streetmps, which gave the photo on the tombstone an eerie color. It looked ghastly and spooky. However to him, it wasn¡¯t scary at all. Although it had been eight years, in his mind, his looks still remained as what he had been like at that time. Shen Liangchuan squatted down as he looked at his picture quietly. Soul Fighter, didn¡¯t you resign to fate? He picked up the bottle of liquor as he sat beside the tombstone. He then drew out two wine sses from his pocket. He opened the bottle and poured some liquor into the two sses. He then picked up one of the sses and raised it up in front of the tombstone. ¡°Brother, I am sorry. Song Yuanxi left and until now, there¡¯s still no news of her.¡± ¡°I know that it is because she can¡¯t face me and Xiao Qiao.¡± ¡°Brother, rest assured I will find her and take care of her.¡± ¡°Xiao Qiao and I... We are very sorry towards you.¡± After saying these words, he raised his head and downed the whole ss of liquor. The alcoholic content of that liquor was very strong. Drinking the ss of liquor in one go felt as though a ball of fire had gone done straight from his mouth, burning his insides. He sat there as he fixed his eyes on the tombstone. After a moment, he lowered his head. Following this, he did not say anything and merely drank the liquor ss after ss. His eyes started to fill with tears. But men shouldn¡¯t shed their tears unnecessarily. He tightened up his chin and stared ahead. It was as if he had traveled back in time to that fateful day eight years ago. He had been brought up in a strict family, he seldom drank as much as this. The first time he had drank wine in his life was because of that time. Soul Fighter and him had been tirelessly busy with preparations forpleting the team for a month. They had been waiting for Xiao Qiao toe to Beijing and join them. However, she gave them a call. ¡°I am sorry. I will not be able to y games anymore.¡± Simple words like these caused him to panic immediately. He did not say a word and just hung up on her. It had been due to his decision of setting up the team that his younger self had been kicked out of the Shen family, causing him to face the uncertainties of life together with Xia Yehua. He had persevered to chase his dreams, even though it had turned out to be like this. He had always thought that in this world, the only person who would never betray him would be Xiao Qiao. He had thought that they would start from gaming, move towards reality, and then head for marriage. He had always felt that, although they were in an online rtionship, their rtionship had greatly surpassed a regr real-life one. He had even thought of working hand in hand with her, as they head towards the peak of the eSports world. Chapter 786 - He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (10)

Chapter 786: He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios They had only just started their quest, but she had chosen to quit. At that point in time, he felt like he had been abandoned by the whole wide world. He started to wonder what exactly it had all been for, going through such difficulties. He was upset and hurt. He couldn¡¯t get over Xiao Qiao. He still remembered that at that time, it was Soul Fighter who brought with him two bottles of liquor to the clubhouse they had rented. It was still sparse. He took along the peanuts he had bought at the supermarket and they both just sat down on the floor, drinking sses of liquor. The burning and spicy sensation somewhat subsided the emotions. He patted his shoulder and shouted out loud, ¡°Brother, if you call yourself a man, you have to pull yourself together!¡± He was hot-blooded and his gaze was filled with passion. ¡°Why do you have to be upset? You see, we¡¯ve sessfully set up an official team. Thepetitions will also start soon! We are the pioneers of the eSports scene in the country! We can also take part in internationalpetitions and be the champion in thosepetitions! When we finally stand on the stage to receive our award, your Xiao Qiao has to be there cheering for you, offstage. In the end, they got themselvespletely drunk. When they woke up the next day, he advised him, ¡°You should know well the efforts you¡¯ve put into setting up this team, and how much you¡¯ve sacrificed for it.¡± ¡°You are unlike me. I do not have parents. No matter what I want to do, no one will stop me.¡± ¡°But think about it. If Xiao Qiao were here, she would be facing predicaments simr to yours. As a man, you are able to step into the unknown, but what about Xiao Qiao? Do you wish for Xiao Qiao to be like you, to be punished by her parents and then break up with them?¡± After hearing his words, he then realized that he couldn¡¯t bear to have that happen. Through their daily chats, he knew that Qiao Lian had a brother, a father and a mother who loved her dearly. Her life was simple and blissful, unlike his. He would rather that she sit and watch, andter share with him the fruits and joy of sess, than her following him on this journey, which would be filled with numerous obstacles. So he finally solved it. It had been Soul Fighter¡¯s advice and encouragement which had prevented him from losing her because of that incident. But then in the end... As he thought about this, Shen Liangchuan lowered his gaze once again as he stared at the sses in front of him. The icy cold wind prated through his skin, into his bones. He stood up only after he finished the whole bottle of liquor. In a daze, he thought that he had seen a ck figure sh past before his eyes. His expression changed as he shouted out loud, ¡°Who is that?¡± But the figure moved to the back of a nearby tombstone. Shen Liangchuan frowned. He took a big step forward in the cemetery, meaning to run over and take a look. However, when he approached it, he didn¡¯t see anything amiss. He believed that he hadn¡¯t seen wrongly, but there wasn¡¯t anything ahead of him. There were no signs of any ghostly figure ahead. Could it be that... he was really seeing things? Shen Liangchuan shook his head as the icy wind blew once again. He felt dizzy in that instant. Perhaps it was because he had drunk too much today. He picked up his cell phone and gave Song Cheng a call. After that, he walked out slowly and entered his own car. Soon, the driver that Song Cheng had arranged arrived to take him back. ¡°Mr. Shen, may I know if you are heading home?¡± Going home? Shen Liangchuan lowered his head. He turned to look at the cemetery. In the dark night, the cemetery looked spooky and gloomy. After a while, he replied, ¡°To the office.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± Chapter 787 - He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (11)

Chapter 787: He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (11)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Qiao Lian woke up the next day, she realized that Shen Liangchuan was not by her side. She paused for a moment and figured that he had woken up early to exercise. But to her surprise, she heard Ye Xiahua say, ¡°Liangchuan called in the morning and said that he¡¯s in the office. He has to attend to an urgent matter, so he will not be home for a couple of days. She paused again when she heard this, but she didn¡¯t think much of it and merely nodded. The New Year celebrations were just over and she had time to spare. Around midday, she suddenly thought to call Song Cheng. The call was picked up and Song Cheng¡¯s voice came across, ¡°Sister Qiao.¡± ¡°Is Shen Liangchuan in the office?¡± ¡°Ha, Sister Qiao are you checking on him? He¡¯s been in the office a lot recently, don¡¯t worry.¡± Qiao Lian pursed her lips and smiled when she heard that. Without saying very much more, she hung up. At around 11 am, she packed a lunch box and headed out to Shen Liangchuan¡¯s office. He had eaten out the day before and in the morning, he had eaten out again. She thought he could do with a healthy meal. She arrived at the office building carrying the lunch box. However as she walked in, she realized that the building where Shen Liangchuan had set up his newly-established entertainmentpany was strangely quiet. This office building was located in Beijing¡¯s downtown area, but right now, the streets were fairly empty and there were few cars on the road. The New Year celebrations had just finished, so most people were still not back at work. Noticing how quiet and empty the office building was, Qiao Lian felt rather sorry for Shen Liangchuan. She shook her head and continued her way in. Just at this point, she saw a delivery man holding a package of food murmuring to himself as he looked around the building, ¡°12th floor...¡± Then he got into the elevator. Qiao Lian dashed to it, trying to press the elevator button to hold the door. But she was one step toote. The door was shut and the elevator went on its way up. She could only wait for the next ride. Because it was a public holiday, only one elevator was operating. It went up to the 12th floor, so Qiao Lian realized that the delivery was for the level that Shen Liangchuan was on. Had that delivery gone to Shen Liangchuan? As these questions ran through her mind, the elevator returned. She thought it would be empty, but to her surprise the same delivery man walked out. He was no longer carrying the package. This... had been unbelievably fast. But even then, the thought only shed through her mind and she did not think much of it. When she arrived at the 12th floor and walked out of the elevator, she saw yet another delivery man¡ªthis time one dressed in a yellow shirt¡ªwalking towards her. Qiao Lian looked around. The 12th floor was quiet and there was no one in sight. Obviously, no one was working overtime. So did that mean Shen Liangchuan had ced two orders? Qiao Lian wondered around casually but, upon seeing her, the delivery man quickly looked down and lowered his baseball cap further, so that his face would remain hidden.. She took little notice of this delivery man and brushed past him. She hurried towards Shen Liangchuan¡¯s office. Because his office facade was made of clear ss, one could look in from the outside. There were a few dishesid out on the coffee table, and Shen Liangchuan was holding a bowl of rice in one hand and chopsticks in another. His gaze was fixed on the bowl of rice, staring nkly. He wasn¡¯t eating. Shen Liangchuan was indeed not eating. Among all the dishes he had ordered, he was staring at the Chameleon nt. He frowned. The Chameleon nt, the Chameleon nt again. Since when did all of these big restaurants start giving out Chameleon nt as appetizers? Chapter 788 - He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (12)

Chapter 788: He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (12)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Chameleon nt. Few people liked to eat Chameleon nt because it was quite an odd-tasting dish. Wouldn¡¯t restaurants provide appetizers that were more suited to the general public¡¯s taste? Shen Liangchuan frowned. Seeing the Chameleon nt was like seeing Soul Fighter. In a sh, he had lost his appetite and put aside his chopsticks. He ced his bowl of rice back onto the table. Then, he picked up his box of cigarettes and drew one out. He was strangely fidgety and unsettled, and had a splitting headache from drinking too much the day before. In fact, he felt nauseated. Knitting his brows and just as he was about to light his cigarette, a small hand held his big one back. He lifted his head and saw Qiao Lian grinning at him. ¡°Ta-da!¡± She was smiling happily and held up the lunch box in her hand. ¡°Are you sick of takeaway food? Fortunately, I realized it and brought you this! At the end of the day, no matter what other food you¡¯ve had, isn¡¯t Auntie Li¡¯s cooking the best? He raised his eyebrows inquiringly. Then she sat down next to him and took out the rice and dishes, arranging them neatly before him. Shen Liangchuan looked at the dishes. His pupils shrank as he lifted his gaze. As she prepared the food, she chattered non-stop, ¡°No matter how busy you are, you mustn¡¯t forget your meals.¡± She reached out and took the cigarette out of his hand. ¡°Smoke less. I know you must be exhausted. Sleep for a while if you¡¯re tired, don¡¯t push yourself so hard.¡± Her non-stop talking somehow calmed his fretting and restless heart. He looked at the foodid out before him¡ªit all held Auntie Li¡¯s personal and unique trademark in look and vor. His wintry heart suddenly found warmth and sce. He felt a pair of chopsticks being shoved into his hand. Looking up, he saw Qiao Lian¡¯s expression of anticipation as she said, ¡°Go on, eat.¡± Shen Liangchuan lowered his head, picked up some food with his chopsticks and ate. From the day before, he hadn¡¯t slept a wink or eaten a bite. As the warm food found its way into his stomach, he felt a light heating sensation that spread to the ends of his four limbs. It seemed to wake him up. He looked down again and devoured the rest of the food. The delivery food had been set aside. They looked like culinary items from a high-end restaurant. As she ran her gaze through all the food, her eyes fell on the Chameleon nt. She paused to wonder out loud, ¡°Since when has Chameleon nt be a favorite high-end restaurants?¡± After she said this, Shen Liangchuan halted and looked up. Qiao Lian stared at him and said, ¡°Is it really that good? Let me try!!!¡± As she spoke, she picked up a piece of Chameleon nt with her chopsticks and brought it close to her mouth. However, Shen Liangchuan suddenly felt a mix of emotions overwhelm him and he reached out to flick the chopsticks out of her hand. The chopsticks fell on the ground as did the piece of Chameleon nt. When he saw the shocked expression on Qiao Lian¡¯s face, he realized he had overreacted. As he looked at Qiao Lian staring at him, he frowned and reached out to massage his own temple, not knowing how to exin why he had done what he had just done. He opened his mouth to speak, but Qiao Lian interrupted him and said, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, are you feeling unwell?¡± Feeling unwell? Indeed, he was feeling unwell. He stood up and said, ¡°I have to go lie down for a bit.¡± Perhaps he should get a good night¡¯s sleep and, with enough rest, it might be possible to discard all these distracting thoughts. Qiao Lian watched Shen Liangchuan walk into the resting area in his office. At once, her expression turned abstruse. Her gaze fell on the te of Chameleon nt on the table. Chapter 789 - He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (13)

Chapter 789: He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (13)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Since the night before, Shen Liangchuan had been behaving oddly. And it had continued until today. What exactly was all this about? She sighed as she thought about the situation. She picked up the broom to sweep the Chameleon nt that had fallen on the ground, and put away the unfinished food on the table. She tidied up the space quickly and approached his desk with the intention of wiping it. But when she got to the desk, she froze. She had expected to see work documents, or whatever he was busy with, on hisputer screen. But unexpectedly, on the huge screen, she saw the Lot game interface. She was stunned and looked more closely. She realized that no other programs or files were open apart from the game interface. Hence, all this talk about being busy for work... Actually, he had just been sitting in front of the gaming interface and staring nkly at it. She stood there and looked at the door of the resting area, as though through that door she could see the man, see what he was thinking, see what he was doing... She could sense his sorrow, but didn¡¯t know why he was feeling like this. At this point, she suddenly heard a low grunting from the resting area. She paused for a moment before dashing into the resting area. This resting area was designed for Shen Liangchuan¡¯s personal use. It was a small inner room with a single bed in it. He was now sitting on the bed, and his face was exceptionally pale. It looked like he had had a bad dream and woken with a start. The deep and dark look in his eyes was frightening. He frowned and, when he was properly awake and figured out where he was, he sighed with relief. After a few breaths, he raised his gaze slowly to look at Qiao Lian and asked, ¡°How long was I asleep for?¡± He felt like he had slept for hours. However, Qiao Lian stared at him for a while before she said, ¡°Five minutes.¡± His pupils shrank and he frowned again. Five minutes. Two nights ago, he hadn¡¯t slept a wink because of the argument with Qiao Lian. Yesterday, they had moved in and he had slept only an hour before he had been woken up by the nightmare. Since then, he had not slept. He was exhausted, so he had thought that he could have a good sleep and take a proper rest. But unexpectedly, it hadsted only five minutes. It was no wonder he had a splitting headache and felt like there were hundreds of needles embedded in his brain. Qiao Lian was startled to see him in such a state. Without asking any questions, she said, ¡°Try and sleep a bit more.¡± He nodded. She walked out of the inner room. Through the ss pane on the door, she could see that he sat on the bed for a while before he lied down again. Then his long and narrow eyes slowly fell shut. However not long after, they snapped open again. Hey in bed like this, just staring at the ceiling, as though he knew that she would be worried if he got up without having rested. Qiao Lian¡¯s heart writhed with pain. It was very painful to see him like this. But what was the reason? What was he going through? This was how the afternoon passed. Hey staring at the ceiling in the inner room. For the whole afternoon, she sat on the sofa outside his room. The skies turned dark gradually. Pretending that he had been sleeping, Shen Liangchuan finally walked out of the inner room. Qiao Lian said in a rxed tone, ¡°You¡¯ve slept all afternoon, do you feel refreshed now? Shall we go home?¡± He answered unhurriedly, ¡°I¡¯m still busy with a few things.¡± Chapter 790 - He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (14)

Chapter 790: He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (14)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian looked at him intently. A sense of sorrow hung heavily between them. Qiao Lian suddenly felt helpless. Shen Liangchuan stood there, towering before her, as though he was the one who could shield her from the winds and storms. But right now, she felt like something was getting in between them. She felt like she could not get through that barrier, unable to enter his heartpletely. Disappointed, she nodded. She walked to the door and looked back, asking, ¡°Your dinner...¡± ¡°I¡¯ll order some takeaway meal.¡± She nodded again. Qiao Lian took another look at him and said, ¡°Rest early tonight.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Without another word after this, she turned and left the office. ¨C The room instantly became silent. The entire floor was empty except for his office. It glowed with the weak light of hismp. He felt exhausted as he sat down on the chair. His gaze fell on theputer screen. He couldn¡¯t figure out why it was that whenever he closed his eyes, the vision of Soul Fighter¡¯s face, marred by blood and flesh, would appear. His mind would go into turmoil and he couldn¡¯t get to sleep. On top of that... He wanted to go home. But whenever he thought of Soul Fighter, he just couldn¡¯t bring himself to speak. He knew these were his own inner demons. He wanted to sort himself out before going home. Thest thing that he wanted was to repeat what happened the other day, when he pushed Qiao Lian away. At this thought, he sat back on the sofa, feeling that every ounce of strength had left his body. After a while, his cell phone rang. He picked up the phone and heard Qiao Lian¡¯s voice on the other end saying, ¡°I¡¯ve just ordered food for you. They¡¯ll deliver it in a bit. Don¡¯t forget to have your meal.¡± His heart felt a certain warmth as he softly said, ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Take good care of yourself.¡± ¡°Uh huh.¡± ¡°I¡¯m hanging up now.¡± Listening to her voice, he suddenly called out, ¡°Xiao Qiao.¡± She paused. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be home tonight.¡± At once, he could hear the happiness in her voice as she said, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll wait for you.¡± Shen Liangchuan smiled after she hung up. He looked at theputer screen and then turned it off. He thought he must be crazy, to let Soul Fighter affect his life like this. He stood up and picked up his jacket. Just as he was about to leave, he saw the delivery man walk in to deliver the food. He frowned as he received the package. The delivery man smiled and said, ¡°Sir, our restaurant has included aplimentary appetizer.¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s pupils shrank at these words. Suddenly, as though realizing something, he looked down at the meal package and opened it. He saw that... the appetizer was Chameleon nt! Chameleon nt. Shen Liangchuan narrowed his eyes at once. Finally, he felt that something wasn¡¯t right. First, it was that shadow at the graveyard, then, it was the Chameleon nt. These things had stirred his emotions in thest few days. Because it made him feel as though Soul Fighter was just next to him. And this feeling was too nerve-racking. It wasn¡¯t normal. This Chameleon nt wasn¡¯t normal. Once he figured this out, he suddenly looked up and realized that the delivery man was gone. His pupils shrank at once. Dropping the package on the ground, he dashed towards the elevator. Running to the elevator, he saw that it was already on the way down. He hurriedly dashed to the stair exit and started running down the stairs. When he reached the ground floor, he saw the delivery man and hastened his steps to catch up. Chapter 791 - He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (15)

Chapter 791: He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (15)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan put a hand on the delivery man¡¯s shoulder and demanded, ¡°Who exactly are you?¡± The delivery man jumped and spun around. When he saw Shen Liangchuan, his eyes lit up at once and he said, ¡°You- you are Best Actor Shen?¡± That look... There was no hint of guilt at all. Shen Liangchuan frowned and asked after a pause, ¡°Were you the one who delivered my dinner?¡± The delivery man looked up to the 12th floor and said, ¡°So it seems like the 12th floor receives deliveries. No wonder! It¡¯s no wonder your assistant didn¡¯t let me in at all. He took the delivery from me at the elevator.¡± Assistant? What assistant? He frowned and asked, ¡°So it wasn¡¯t you who delivered the package to my office?¡± The man paused and replied, ¡°That¡¯s right. Didn¡¯t your assistant say that it was because of your special identity? Hence, he took the food from me at the elevator.¡± The moment he heard this, Shen Liangchuan knew that something was wrong. He continued, ¡°What sort of appetizer was your restaurant giving today?¡± The man looked bbergasted. A high-end restaurant would of course not let a regr delivery man deliver their meals¡ªit was done by their own staff. Giving out appetizer? Puzzled, the man said, ¡°What appetizer, Sir? We have never given appetizers.¡± Shen Liangchuan felt a chill run down his spine, as if something had possessed him, and he shivered involuntarily. He frowned and said after a moment, ¡°That assistant who took the package from you, what did he look like?¡± The delivery man seemed to have finally realized that something wasn¡¯t right. He widened his eyes and stammered, ¡°I- I- I didn¡¯t take a good look at him.¡± Letting go of the man, Shen Liangchuan spun around immediately. That person was already gone. But who was he and why did he add the Chameleon nt to the takeaway? Shen Liangchuan frowned. He picked up his cell phone hurriedly. He found the phone numbers of the restaurants that had provided his takeaway meals in the afternoon and yesterday evening He dialed one of the numbers. The call got through. ¡°Good evening. This is XX Hotel, how may I help you?¡± Shen Liangchuan immediately asked, ¡°What sort of appetizer did you give away with yesterday¡¯s orders?¡± ¡°Sorry, Sir, we did not give away any appetizers with yesterday¡¯s takeaway orders.¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s pupils shrank immediately. Now he was increasingly sure of his own guess. Someone had messed around with his orders. But who could this person be!? And what motives did this person have? Shen Liangchuan turned around and went back to his office upstairs. Picking up the package that he had dropped earlier, he left the office. He headed into an investigation agency and gave the package to the staff there. ¡°Could you help me check what¡¯s in this food?¡± The worker nodded and said, ¡°Indeed, Sir.¡± Just as Shen Liangchuan turned to leave... A worker called him from behind, ¡°Mr. Shen!¡± He turned back and saw a worker with a puzzled expression on his face. He had drawn a card out of the package, thus he asked, ¡°Mr. Shen, this card... is it for you?¡± There was a card in the package?! Shen Liangchuan hurriedly stepped forward and took the card from the man. He looked down at the card to read what was on it. Then he felt all the hairs on his body rising and standing on their ends. On the card, written in bloody red ink, were the words: [Chuan Zi, how are you?] Chuan Zi. His pupils shrank at once as he clenched his fists tightly. That was Soul Fighter¡¯s special nickname for him. Chapter 792 - He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (16)

Chapter 792: He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (16)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After getting to know Soul Fighter in real life, they met up often. Soul Fighter knew that his real name was Shen Liangchuan. He gave his buddy a friendly pat on the shoulder andughingly said, ¡°Do you know how people would address you back in my hometown?¡± Shen Liangchuan shook his head. Soul Fighterughed and said, ¡°Chuan Zi! Exactly your name Zi Chuan backwards. Haha! Chuan Zi...¡± From then on, he had often called him Chuan Zi. Although only Soul Fighter used this name, quite a number of team members knew about it. Hence, he didn¡¯t think it was Soul Fighter based on the card alone. Shen Liangchuan stared at the words steadily, pulling his chin taut. Then he suddenly looked up at the worker and requested, ¡°Please, could you quickly check if anything unusual was added into the food?¡± The worker nodded. As Shen Liangchuan walked out of the office, he suddenly turned around and extended his arm, telling the workers, ¡°It may not be easy to detect anything in the food, but from my blood... it may be faster.¡± ¨C Shen Liangchuan stood by the road as he left the detective agency. His heart was heavy and sunken. It was his own carelessness. The blood test results showed traces of a stimnt drug in his body. While it hadn¡¯t harmed him physically, it had made him high-strung and irritable. He always had good control over himself, but the drug had caused him to almost hurt Xiao Qiao a few times. But who was behind the drug? Shen Liangchuan frowned and looked down at the card again. Soul Fighter. In thest few days, Soul Fighter had constantly upied his mind. The stimnt had amplified all his emotions and caused him to almost re up at Xiao Qiao uncontrobly on a few asions. Still, it was Soul Fighter. The perpetrator was leveraging his sense of guilt towards Soul Fighter to avenge the dead man. This person... who could it be? His eyes narrowed all of a sudden. He picked up his cell phone and dialed Song Cheng¡¯s number. ¡°Get a few men to find out about Song Yuanxi.¡± Even though he had made this call, he still felt that it couldn¡¯t have been Song Yuanxi behind this. If she had wanted to create trouble for them, she could simply make an appearance every so often. This alone would remind him of Soul Fighter, there was no need to go through all the trouble. But besides Song Yuanxi, did Soul Fighter have any other friends around? Shen Liangchuan hung his head in deep thought. After a moment, he sighed deeply. Just as he was about to drive away, the cell phone rang. He picked up and Auntie Li said on the other end, ¡°Sir, Young Master Zihao is here.¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression clouded over when he heard this. After a short pause, he said, ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll be home soon.¡± ¨C When Qiao Lian came home, she found that Shen Zihao and Xia Nuannuan hade to visit. Although they hadn¡¯tpleted the wedding ceremony yet, as they had registered, they hade to pay a New Year visit as a couple. Their arrival made Xia Yehua very happy, she just could not stop smiling. It was as though the infuriating episode with Shen Xiu had not happened. Qiao Lian was happy too. She took Nuannuan¡¯s hand and looked at the girl¡¯s belly. She couldn¡¯t help remarking, ¡°Why is it that I still can¡¯t tell you¡¯re pregnant?!¡± Xia Nuannuanughed and said, ¡°It will only show after three months and we¡¯re not quite there yet.¡± A look of realization shed across Qiao Lian¡¯s face as she said, ¡°Oh, is that how it is?¡± Then she led Nuannuan to the sofa, where they sat and chatted with Xia Yehua. In the evening, Xia Yehua asked the couple to stay for dinner. Shen Zihao immediately stood up and said, ¡°We won¡¯t stay for dinner, but there is something I might need to trouble you with.¡± Chapter 793 - He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (17)

Chapter 793: He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (17)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The moment he said this, Xia Yehua¡¯s eyes lit up and she said, ¡°Go ahead, tell me how I can help. It¡¯s no trouble at all. Is it your wedding you need help with? It¡¯s not a problem! We can help with anything!¡± Shen Zihao¡¯s face tensed up at these words. He cleared his throat and said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing about the wedding, Aunty Mei made the preparations. But...¡± He hesitated for a bit as he gave Xia Yehua a nce. Qiao Lian was immediately cautious when she saw his expression. Anything that would cause Shen Zihao to hesitate like this could not be a good thing. Indeed, the next moment, he said, ¡°Can you drop the charges against Dad? Dad was... too angry, he didn¡¯t do it on purpose.¡± The request startled Xia Yehua and she widened her eyes. Qiao Lian frowned tightly. Shen Zihao was going to say something else when Xia Nuannuan stood up suddenly and interrupted, ¡°Zihao...¡± Shen Zihao paused and turned to look at her. Xia Nuannuan smiled and continued, ¡°There are more than ten days left until our wedding.¡± In other words, even if the court gave a verdict, it wouldn¡¯t interfere with their wedding. Shen Zihao frowned and said, ¡°But no matter what, it wouldn¡¯t be auspicious. If we went to court and all the other families know about it, it would embarrass Dad.¡± His father¡¯s unhappy expression at breakfast this morning came to mind. It had caused Aunty Mei to sigh continuously too. It was the New Year season, but the atmosphere was unhappy. Aunty Mei had told him that his father would be embarrassed at the wedding, hence, he didn¡¯t want to be present at the event. But how could that be possible? It would be difficult to exin to Xia Nuannuan¡¯s parents if the father-inw didn¡¯t show up at the wedding. Hence, he thought of asking Xia Yehua¡¯s help, even though he knew that his request might be a little much. But Aunty Mei was right about one thing. On one end, it was his mother; on the other end, it was his father. He had been ced in a difficult position. But if Xia Yehua had his interest at heart, she would understand his difficulties. At this thought, Shen Zihao looked up again and said, ¡°After all, it¡¯s really not a big deal. Whatever he broke, I can pay for it, what do you think?¡± These words immediately made Xia Yehua¡¯s blood boil. He would pay for whatever was broken. Were theycking anything in this Shen family? Were they suing Shen Xiu just because of the things he had smashed? This time they finally had something solid against him, so they wanted to give him a lesson. However, it was also true that she had neglected the fact that there was Shen Zihao. Xia Yehua frowned. Standing by the side, Auntie Li had already picked up the phone to call Shen Liangchuan. Qiao Lian looked at Shen Zihao and lowered her gaze. The sad fact was that Shen Zihao had been brought up by Shen Xiu and Mei Feng, so his values and perspectives on life and the world were thwarted. But if they were to try and tell him that he was being too naive, would he feel like they meant to create trouble? Besides, things had ended unhappily at the New Year¡¯s Eve family dinner. Right up until now, it seemed like Shen Zihao was still oblivious to Mei Feng¡¯s true colors and was suspicious of Xia Yehua. If they were to turn him down outrightly, it would only serve to hurt their rtionship with Shen Zihao. But if they were to agree, it would boost Shen Xiu¡¯s ego and his behavior could worsen in the future. Asking Shen Zihao toe to them and ask this favor was simply a very clever move on Mei Feng¡¯s part. Either way, they would gain something. Qiao Lian calmed herself down before she spoke again, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about this. It¡¯s a rare chance to have the both of you here to make a New Year visit. Why don¡¯t you just stay for dinner?¡± Immediately, Xia Nuannuan agreed, ¡°Sure.¡± Where this matter was concerned, they would have to wait for Shen Liangchuan toe home for a decision. Chapter 794 - He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (18)

Chapter 794: He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (18)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Zihao wanted to say more, but because Xia Nuannuan had agreed, he looked at her with a slight frown and didn¡¯t say another word. He hung his head in silence. Auntie Li hurriedly went into the kitchen to cook, while Xia Yehua and Qiao Lian invited Shen Zihao and Xia Nuannuan to take a seat on the sofa. Every time Shen Zihao opened his mouth to speak, Qiao Lian and Xia Nuannuan would quickly change the topic so that he couldn¡¯t persist with the earlier topic. As dinner was almost ready, they finally heard the sound of car engineing from outside. Shen Zihao paused and looked up. Qiao Lian and Xia Yehua exchanged a look and, at once, the former smiled. Shortly afterwards, Shen Liangchuan came in through the door and strode into the house. For some reason, he seemed to have lost his radiance within two days time and looked dispirited. He had lost weight as well. As he walked in, his gaze fell on Shen Zihao. After a moment, he unhurriedly asked, ¡°Did Shen Xiu send you here to plead on his behalf?¡± Shen Zihao frowned. From a young age, he had been a little afraid of his elder brother. Now that Shen Liangchuan hade home, since this was the first thing he said, he retorted impatiently, ¡°Forget it if you don¡¯t wish to. Just don¡¯t look for excuses.¡± Immediately, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression turned dark as storm clouds as he red at his younger brother. Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank immediately, as she walked over to ce her hand on her husband¡¯s arm. Although she, too, felt like giving Shen Zihao a good beating to wake him up, it was the New Year after all. Besides, she knew Xia Yehua wouldn¡¯t wish for her two sons to fight. She patted Shen Liangchuan lightly and tilted her head in Xia Yehua¡¯s direction, puckering her lips. Shen Liangchuan gave her a reassuring look and then walked towards his younger brother. ¡°Come with me.¡± Shen Zihao hesitated and asked, ¡°Where to?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know in a while. Why? Are you scared?¡± Shen Zihao snorted icily and said, ¡°Why would I be?¡± He turned around to pick up his jacket and walked out after Shen Liangchuan. Xia Yehua and Xia Nuannuan wanted to follow along, until Qiao Lian suddenly extended her hands and held them back. ¡°Mom, Nuannuan, they are brothers and they have their own way of dealing with things. Let them be.¡± Xia Yehua was still worried and asked, ¡°Won¡¯t they end up fighting?¡± Qiao Lian thought to herself that if Qiao Yi were so undiscerning, she would have beaten him to death. Shen Zihao really did deserve a beating. Although she had these thoughts, she was worried too. She wondered if Shen Liangchuan had taken Shen Zihao somewhere else, so that they wouldn¡¯t have to have a fistfight right in front of Xia Yehua. She frowned as this thought entered her mind. When she turned back and saw that Xia Nuannuan was standing there with a worried expression on her face as well, she quickly said, ¡°Mom, Nuannuan, let¡¯s have dinner first.¡± Xia Yehua was about to speak when Qiao Lian smiled and said, ¡°We can stay hungry, but we mustn¡¯t let Nuannuan stay hungry. She has to eat for two.¡± At that light-hearted remark, the two of them did not say another word and took their ces at the dining table. ¨C Shen Liangchuan led Shen Zihao out of the house and into his car. As he started to drive away from the vi, he asked Shen Zihao, ¡°The day Shen Xiu created trouble here, what happened after he went home?¡± Shen Zihao cleared his throat after hearing this and replied, ¡°Dad knows he was at fault.¡± Through this remark, Shen Liangchuan knew at once that Shen Xiu must have had insisted that he had done nothing wrong. Shen Liangchuan did not say another word and pulled up at vi 18. Chapter 795 - He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (19)

Chapter 795: He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (19)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Night had fallen. Vi 18 was shrouded in darkness. Although the lights along the corridor turned on automatically when they drove in, they weren¡¯t bright enough to illuminate the interior of the house. Puzzled, Shen Zihao raised an eyebrow. The car came to a stop and Shen Liangchuan got out. Shen Zihao could only follow. After this, he saw Shen Liangchuan walking into the house. Frowning, he followed behind. When Shen Liangchuan arrived at the door, he turned to look at his younger brother and said, ¡°My guess is that when Shen Xiu went home, he was flustered and exasperated. He must have cursed and swore that I was disobedient and disrespectful to the elders, and that I even wanted to hit him. Am I right?¡± After all, they were father and son and had lived together for more than ten years. Shen Liangchuan knew his own father very well. Shen Zihao spoke up for Shen Xiu, ¡°No matter what, you shouldn¡¯t hit Dad. He is elderly after all. Besides, the other day he sprained his back when you shoved him. He has beenining of backache recently.¡± Shen Liangchuan snorted coldly at these words. At the same time, he walked into the house and turned on the crystal chandelier in the living room. The soft white light from the crystal chandelier flooded the room at once with light, making it look as though it was daytime. It also showed the sorry state that the house was in, as Shen Zihao took in this terrible sight. He stared in disbelief at the scene with widened eyes. The ss coffee table in the room had been shattered and ss was strewn all over the floor. Smashed drinking sses and vases littered the floor, among fine ss shards and powder. The sofa set had been damaged. There was no way anyone could live in this house in such mess. Shen Liangchuanughed sarcastically and said, ¡°This is what he and his men did.¡± ¡°And all because I went to pay a New Year pay to Granddad?¡± He took a step forward, looked at Shen Zihao and continued, ¡°I hadn¡¯t returned even once to the old family home after leaving the Shen family eight years ago. You yourself heard it, it was Granddad who called me and asked to see me. And what did I say during the visit? He thought that I was lusting after the Shen family¡¯s inheritance, huh!¡± Shen Zihao¡¯s face turned red at his brother¡¯s tone of ridicule. Shen Liangchuan stared straight ahead as he continued speaking, ¡°It was the festive season and the housekeepers had gone home. How do you think we could continue to live here? So that same day, we had to move to the other vi. You only worry about your father being embarrassed, but have you thought about Mom?¡± ¡°There are no security officers in the house, only three women without bodyguards. He and seven or eight other men rushed in and started to destroy everything. If it were you, what would you do?¡± If someone were to do the same to him, surely he would have instructed his men to fight back. When he thought about it, Shen Xiu had only injured his back. Then it seemed that Shen Liangchuan had been merciful. At this thought, he frowned. Hearsay was never the same as seeing it with one¡¯s own eyes. The picture that his dad had so lightly painted when he had talked about breaking a few things in the house had made him think that he had only broken a few drinking sses. He would have never have imagined the scene he was looking at right now. Now, Shen Zihao could no longer utter those pleas. In a conundrum still, he saw Shen Liangchuan turning around to leave the house. He stood among the chaotic mess in the house and sighed deeply. Then he turned and followed his elder brother. When Shen Liangchuan returned to Vi 8 with his brother, the three women, who were quite distractedly eating, immediately stood up. The men had returned very quickly. Xia Yehua had a deeply concerned expression on her face, but seeing that there were no hints of a fight between the boys, she was relieved. As she was about to speak, Shen Liangchuan took a step towards her and said, ¡°Mom, can you show your back?¡± She paused. He took another step towards her and supported her, as he lifted the back of her blouse. Chapter 796 - He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (20)

Chapter 796: He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (20)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xia Yehua was wearing a two-piece set of silk pajamas. In that instant, her top was only slightly lifted to expose her lower back. She had fair skin and, even though she was elderly now and her skin had lost its firmness, one could still tell that she had been exquisite in her youth. And now, on that fair skin, there was a huge bruise. Shen Liangchuan gave Shen Zihao a mocking look and said, ¡°He only told you that he injured his back. Did he tell you that it was because he hit Mom that I shoved him?¡± ¡°Have you seen the injury on his back? Is it as bad as Mom¡¯s?¡± ¡°He berates me for being disobedient. Does he mean I should watch him hit Mom and not do anything?¡± Shen Zihao could only hang his head, as Shen Liangchuan fired away these questions. Although he hated Xia Yehua for abandoning him, he had been keeping an eye on how she and Shen Liangchuan had been doing all these years. He knew that it had been a long and hard journey for them to get where they were today. Even though they were now living in vi and had three or four housekeepers,pared to what the Shen family had, this vi was the equivalent of a tiny corner. Hence from his perspective, Mom and Shen Liangchuan were almost living in poverty, but this was the price they had to pay for abandoning him. And because of this, he also felt that it had been awfully wrong of Shen Xiu to bring a bunch of men to harass them. Besides, Xia Yehua¡¯s back... Shen Zihao did not speak another word, but took Xia Nuannuan¡¯s hand, saying, ¡°I understand. We¡¯ll go home now then.¡± He did not bring up another unreasonable request. He could not say more, because he found himself not being able to face Xia Yehua. ¡°Zihao, why don¡¯t you have dinner before you leave?¡± Xia Yehua took two steps towards them, hoping to keep them for a little longer. Shen Zihao halted, yet he said, ¡°There¡¯s no need for that.¡± He led Xia Nuannuan out of the door, into the car, and then drove away from the vi. Xia Yehua sighed when she heard the car starting up. She turned and looked at Shen Liangchuan. After a moment of hesitation, she suggested, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, why not¡ª¡± ¡°No way.¡± Shen Liangchuan was adamant. ¡°If we give in this time, there will be a next time.¡± Xia Yehua choked, unable to speak. Seeing this, Qiao Lian quickly said, ¡°Mom, Shen Liangchuan, let¡¯s talk after we¡¯ve eaten.¡± Xia Yehua looked like she was going to say something, but eventually kept quiet. The three of them sat at the dining table and ate in silence. Shen Liangchuan had not slept much for the past three days, he was exhausted. He had kept going only through his strong will. Because he hadn¡¯t had enough rest, he had poor appetite and could not eat more after taking two bites. When Xia Yehua realized this, she immediately asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You¡¯ve been too busy and you¡¯re feeling unwell?¡± He lifted his head and said indifferently, ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Qiao Lian gave him a worried look upon hearing this. But she said nothing, lowered her head and continued eating. If he had no wish to talk about it, then let it be. She already knew who the man in the picture on the tombstone was, so it was only a matter of time until the whole truth was out. As she was thinking this, someone rang the doorbell. Auntie Li walked over to open the door. Shortly, she returned and said, ¡°It¡¯s an express delivery for us, Senior Madam. Did you buy something on the inte?¡± Xia Yehua was surprised and replied, ¡°No. Was it Xiao Qiao?¡± Qiao Lian was surprised too and answered, ¡°No.¡± Following this, all three of them looked at Shen Liangchuan simultaneously. Qiao Lian noticed that Shen Liangchuan was initially surprised and almost reflexively answered, ¡°I didn¡¯t...¡± Chapter 797 - He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (21)

Chapter 797: He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (21)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He seemed to suddenly realize something before he could finish what he was saying. His pupils shrank as he immediately said, ¡°It¡¯s for me.¡± He ced his chopsticks down on the table, walked to Auntie Li and took the express delivery from her. ¡°I¡¯ll take a look at it.¡± Then he headed upstairs. Qiao Lian dropped her gaze as she watched his figure disappear upstairs. What was wrong with Shen Liangchuan? ¨C Holding the express delivery, he walked upstairs. He went into the study and opened the mail using a pair of scissors. From within the envelope, he drew out a card. On the card, there were the same words: [Chuan Zi, how are you?] Chuan Zi. It was him again. Soul Fighter. Shen Liangchuan squeezed his eyes shut in pain. The anxiety he felt in his heart brought with it a growing sense of suspense that made him want to explode. Three days without sleep would be a torture for anyone. Even if he knew that this was an evil plot by someone, he had no means of suppressing the guilt he was feeling. It was like a seed that had taken root in his heart, spreading out gradually, and by the time he had discovered it, there was no way of stopping it from growing. He took a deep breath, trying hard to calm himself down. Then he threw the card into the bin. As he stood up, the room swung and he realized he was seeing double of everything. There were the effects of a severeck of sleep. He stopped to take a few deep breaths, before walking out of the study and into the bedroom. Hey on the bed, feeling total exhaustion washing over him. Hey there as though drained from all energy. He shut his eyes. Too tired, he needed a good sleep. As his sleep deepened, Soul Fighter came to him in his dreams again. He dreamt of the time that they had just gotten to know Xiao Qiao... He got to know Soul Fighter two to three months before Xiao Qiao came into the picture. At that time, they had already built up a good rapport ying video games. Then, by random match in a game, he met Xiao Qiao. From then onwards, Xiao Qiao followed him around, threatening that she would defeat him. She added him as a friend, harassed him, and eventually joined his fighting team. In the end, not able to tolerate her constant nagging, he decided to rope her into a team fight. The first round that they fought, Soul Fighter was with them. At that time, Xiao Qiao was new to gaming and yed rather poorly. She didn¡¯t even have a good sense of the game. He felt that she was a fool. In the game, Soul Fighter had an argument with her. Initially, the two exchanged words by typing: [Soul Fighter: Hey, Xiao Qiao, aren¡¯t you a pig head?] [Xiao Qiao: Aren¡¯t you just an actual dog?] [Soul Fighter: ??] [Xiao Qiao: The amazing yer hasn¡¯t even spoken and here you are, having nothing good to say.] [Soul Fighter: ...] [Xiao Qiao: It¡¯s because of bad fighters like us that people like you look good. Besides, you just wait, I¡¯ll get better than you.] [Soul Fighter: ...] [Xiao Qiao: Infuriating! I¡¯m wasting my time typing to you rather than ying. Turn your mic on.] Shen Liangchuan had been focusing on the game the whole time and, at this point, he saw Soul Fighter turning on his audio. At the time, all he wanted to do was listen to this Xiao Qiao who had been following him around. He was curious what she was like. Or just to even listen to how the sharp-tongued Soul Fighter made this girl cry. He inserted his earpiece and heard Soul Fighter¡¯s adolescent breaking voice saying, ¡°I¡¯m Soul Fighter. What¡¯s up?¡± Right after this, Shen Liangchuan heard Xiao Qiao¡¯s voice for the first time in his life. Chapter 798 - He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (22)

Chapter 798: He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (22)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Initially, he had thought that she would sound like an unreasonable brat, the sort of immature pampered little mistress who would berate and me Soul Fighter. He was prepared to join forces with Soul Fighter to make her cry. But unexpectedly, the voice that he heard over the audio was light and sweet, and what she said surprised the two boys. ¡°Amazing yer, teach me how to y then. If you instructed me, I wouldn¡¯t be such a fool.¡± Shen Liangchuan was speechless. As was Soul Fighter. He wasn¡¯t sure how Soul Fighter felt at that moment, but her attitude made him do a double take. Soul Fighter fell silent at once. Since she had already humbly addressed him as an amazing yer, what else could he say? Secondly, the person he was dealing with was a gentle girl, and he had always been kinder with his words to them. Hence, he cleared his throat and said, ¡°Let¡¯s get Zi Chuan instruct you.¡± Shen Liangchuan was bbergasted. Since he was given this task... He helplessly did what he had to do and, under his instruction, they won the match. The moment before the match ended, Xiao Qiao was shouting, ¡°Amazing yer, you¡¯re too dashing! Except that...¡± Before she could finish speaking, the game ended and the audio was cut off. Except what? Shen Liangchuan was curious. After the match, both Soul Fighter and he didn¡¯t want to carry her anymore, hence, they started a new match. After they concluded their new match, he found that Xiao Qiao had sent him a private message: [Xiao Qiao: Amazing idol, I didn¡¯t finish what I was saying. You were an amazing instructor, but you have a pretty terrible voice!] Shen Liangchuan was bbergasted. [Xiao Qiao: Amazing idol, why did you stop teaching me? Teach me in the next game! I¡¯ll wait for you.] When he saw this message, he paused. At the same time, another new message came in: [Xiao Qiao: Amazing idol, I see you¡¯ve finished your game. Teach me, teach me, teach me!] Shen Liangchuan was bbergasted. Had she been watching him all this time? He sighed and sent a private message to Soul Fighter: [Zi Chuan: Carry Xiao Qiao for another game?] Soul Fighter¡¯s reply came back. [Soul Fighter: Chuan Zi, are you in love with her?] In love? The remark puzzled Shen Liangchuan. He had only just gotten to know Xiao Qiao, so could he be in love with her? At that time, he just found her difficult to shake away and, if he didn¡¯t agree to her request, she might send many more messages. Besides, how was it that he didn¡¯t remember the content of Soul Fighter¡¯s reply being this? At this point, Soul Fighter sent another private message. Shen Liangchuan opened the message. A sentence written in red immediately appeared on his screen. [Soul Fighter: So you are not going to avenge me?] Shen Liangchuan suddenly jumped in fright and his eyes snapped open. He sat up with a start. Then he realized that he had been dreaming again. He took in big gulps of air, hand on his chest. He felt his heart racing wildly. He lifted his head and knitted his brows, looking at the clock. His pupils shrank at once. He had only slept for ten minutes. Ten minutes. His head was throbbing like it was going to split apart. It was from theck of rest. Hey down and shut his eyes, trying to force these thoughts out of his mind. But he just could not get to sleep. Anxiety welled up in him again as he turned to lie on his side. At this point, he heard the room door being pushed open quietly. Although that sound was barely audible and normally he wouldn¡¯t have noticed it, now it was amplified many times, causing him to frown. Chapter 799 - He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (23)

Chapter 799: He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (23)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian slowed down her steps even more when she saw that he was resting. Her movements were very light and stealthy, almost holding her breath. Then she walked into the bathroom. He heard her shut the bathroom door and soon after, there was the sound of running water. A shower before bed. The room was very well sound-proofed, so the sound of her taking a shower was almost negligible. But right now, that sound was drilling into his brain, creating an unbearable noise in his head. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s eyes snapped open as he sat up in bed. He felt as though there was a huge rock pushing down his chest, causing him to breathe with much difficulty. He sat there motionless, with an almost nk look in his eyes. The night was dragging on forever. She had only been in the shower for 15 minutes but to him, it felt more like 15 hours. When Qiao Lian finally stepped out of the bathroom, he sighed with relief. She was surprised to see him sitting up in bed and asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t you sleep?¡± He massaged his temples as he nodded and said, ¡°I couldn¡¯t fall asleep.¡± Couldn¡¯t fall asleep? Qiao Lian looked at him with a stunned expression. He had always been mindful about maintenance of good health. But right now, he had dark circles under his eyes as though he had not slept well for a long time. Recalling the situation in the office in the afternoon, she walked over to him and said, ¡°Let me help you.¡± Shen Liangchuan paused and grunted, ¡°Hmmm?¡± She walked over and climbed into bed. When she came close, a whiff of fresh scent filled his nose. For some reason, the scent calmed him down. She sat next to him, patted her thighs and said to him, ¡°Come, lie over here.¡± Puzzled, hey down where she asked him to and the next moment, a gentle but icy cold pair of hands touched his temples. When she gently pressed down, he felt soreness and distention. Then she said, ¡°I think Mom is hoping that we drop the charges against Shen Xiu.¡± Shen Liangchuan snorted with disdain. She asked him, ¡°Where did you take Shen Zihao earlier on?¡± ¡°Vi 18.¡± She gasped in surprise and continued, ¡°So the reason you left the vi in disarray was because you wanted Shen Zihao to see it?¡± Shen Liangchuan did not deny it. ¡°I say! You- How did you know that Mei Feng was going to do this?¡± ¡°Just a guess.¡± Qiao Lian was amazed when she realized this and she said, ¡°You are clever!¡± Somehow, her praises had a soothing effect on him. As the pair of little hands continued to work on his temple, the soreness and tension started to ease up and gradually went away. ¡°I do feel that we should let Shen Xiu off this time for Zihao¡¯s sake. Mom really doesn¡¯t wish for Zihao to be sad.¡± This sort of domestic small talk provided Shen Liangchuan a sense of their daily reality, as opposed to the thoughts that he had been having around Soul Fighter, which made him extremely sorrowful. He gave a cold humph. Qiao Lian continued, ¡°As I wasing up, Mom told me to have a chat with you about it. It¡¯s not that she doesn¡¯t want to make Shen Xiu pay, but Shen Zihao was right in the fact that this is going to be his once-in-a-lifetime event. Even if Mei Feng didn¡¯t mind it, she would. She doesn¡¯t want to create any difficulties for Zihao.¡± He sighed and replied, ¡°The greatest people in the world are always be mothers. Mom is someone who would rather be put in a difficult situation herself than to put any of her children through it.¡± ¡°Although I don¡¯t think I can forgive Shen Xiu, and even wish I could use this opportunity to greatly embarrass him to teach him a lesson, my heart aches for Mom when I see her like this.¡± ¡°Shen Liangchuan, I¡¯ve passed on the message. Whether we agree to it, it¡¯s your call.¡± Chapter 800 - He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (24)

Chapter 800: He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (24)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After Qiao Lian said this, there was a pause before Shen Liangchuan sighed. Another pause. He said, ¡°Okay.¡± Qiao Lian followed with a sigh as well. Letting go of this opportunity to get back at Shen Xiu, it would be hard to find another chance. But actually... Although Shen Liangchuan seemed cold and emotionless outwardly, he did have a deep bond with Shen Xiu. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have let it go so easily. She sighed again at this thought. Then before she could speak another word, she heard his shallow and light breathing. He had fallen asleep. Her hand rxed a little. She continued with a light massage for another five minutes. She was about to stop, when the image of him lying down on the bed in the office this afternoon came to her mind suddenly. Her gaze fell on his tightly creased forehead. He needed a good rest. ¨C Shen Zihao was quiet as he drove away from the Shen vi with Xia Nuannuan. Xia Nuannuan, who was in the front passenger seat, turned to look at him. After thinking for a moment, she feltpelled to speak up and said, ¡°Actually, Dad has been a little unreasonable on this matter.¡± Xia Nuannuan had started addressing Shen Xiu as Dad since the New Year. Shen Zihao felt even more bothered upon hearing this. He nodded and acknowledged, ¡°Uh huh.¡± She threw a sidelong nce at him and looked away as she said, ¡°Given that Aunty Mei is such a meticulous person, she didn¡¯t handle today¡¯s matter well at all.¡± Impatiently, Shen Zihao asked, ¡°Why?¡± Xia Nuannuan sighed and gave her view, ¡°On one end it¡¯s Dad, and one the other end it¡¯s Mom. You are caught in a difficult position. Since you¡¯re handling this matter... Mom would feel terrible if they agreed to drop charges. But if they did not agree to drop the charges, then the rtionship between you and Mom would be strained.¡± Shen Zihao paused after hearing her take on the situation. Xia Nuannuan sneaked a nce at his expression, then cleared her throat before she continued, ¡°Besides... since Dad knows that he¡¯s in the wrong, then he shoulde and apologize. If Mom agrees to drop the charges, what would they do if he harasses them again?¡± Shen Zihao¡¯s expression darkened, but he chided her, ¡°Stop speaking nonsense.¡± Immediately, Xia Nuannuan fell silent. After taking Xia Nuannuan back to the hotel, Shen Zihao drove back to the Shen family home. As he walked towards the front door, he passed by the exquisite flower bed in the garden. They had pasted festive decorations all over the ce, especially papers with the word ¡°good fortune¡± written on them. Suddenly, the smashed-up living room with all its broken content came to her mind. His expression darkened. When he stepped into the house, he saw that both Shen Xiu and Mei Feng were home. They were sitting on the sofa in the living room. When Mei Feng saw him, she immediately got up from her seat and said, ¡°Zihao, you¡¯re back? Your mother... has she agreed to drop the charges?¡± Shen Zihao pursed his lips when her heard this. Shen Xiu snorted and said, ¡°One look and I can tell that she did not agree to it. The tr*mp, she won¡¯t rest until she finds trouble with us! Doesn¡¯t she know that Zihao is getting married soon? She wants to find trouble at such a critical time. I just knew it, nothing goodes out of them!¡± For some reason, he recalled what Xia Nuannuan had just said in the car. Dad was in the wrong, But now, the old man wouldn¡¯t even entertain the thought of making an apology. And the things he said... Shen Zihao frowned as he listened to his father go on and on. Then he finally couldn¡¯t hold himself back anymore and said, ¡°Dad, seriously. Why couldn¡¯t you have waited for a while more? Why did you have to pick the New Year to destroy their home? And after doing all of this, you wish for them to drop the charges?¡± Chapter 801 - He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (25)

Chapter 801: He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (25)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Xiu was immediately quiet and looked at Shen Zihao in disbelief upon hearing his words. Mei Feng was stunned as well. The two of them looked at him for a moment before Shen Xiu got angry. ¡°What was it that you just say? Are you berating me for smashing up their house? So you¡¯d be happy if Shen Liangchuan gets his hands on our inheritance? You¡¯ll be happy when the Senior Master hands him the family business?¡± Shen Zihao frowned and said, ¡°Dad, thepany belongs to Grandad. Isn¡¯t it his decision to choose who to hand it over?¡± Shen Xiu almost choked before heughed icily. He said, ¡°Then what? Let that dishonorable son and that tr*mp Xia Yehua get their hands on the business, and from then on we beg them for pity?¡± Mei Feng quickly stepped forward with red eyes and said, ¡°Zihao, don¡¯t quarrel with your Dad. Let¡¯s not create disharmony among the family because of some outsiders! Your Dad is doing this for your good, he wants to keep the best of the Shen family for you.¡± Shen Zihao fell silent upon hearing this and swallowed the words of criticism that he was going to say. Mei Feng sighed and continued, ¡°Your Dad has a bad back and he didn¡¯t want to go to sleep. He berated me for making you ask for the favor and putting you through that unpleasant moment. Sigh... this matter... nevermind. I¡¯ll go and look for her myself tomorrow. I will go and plead with her to let your Dad off the hook.¡± Shen Zihao was taken by surprise. ¡°You¡¯re going to do that yourself?¡± It didn¡¯t feel right having her do this, although he couldn¡¯t pinpoint why. She nodded and went on, ¡°Your Dad is a man and cannot afford topromise his dignity like this, but I¡¯m not afraid of doing it for your father and for the sake of your wedding. We can¡¯t let this matter escte all the way to the police station. Besides, your mother... She harbors anger against me. If I went and pleaded with her, I¡¯m sure she¡¯d be happy. Actually, as long as someone from our family makes an apology, it will be fine. After all, it¡¯s no big deal, right?¡± Somehow, Shen Zihao felt that there was something odd in her reasoning, but just could not think what it was. She spoke again, ¡°Ok, go and rest.¡± He nodded and then turned to head upstairs. As he came to the stairs, he heard Mei Feng say, ¡°Darling, how¡¯s your back? Let me help you up the stairs. Sigh... No matter what, he¡¯s your son. How could he do this to you?¡± Shen Zihao suddenly thought of his mother¡¯s bruised back for some reason. Worried for Shen Xiu, he went to his room and grabbed the bottle of ointment that he would normally used for strains, fractures and such injuries. Then he walked to Shen Xiu¡¯s bedroom. After knocking a couple of times, he pushed open the door and walked in saying, ¡°Dad, here¡¯s some ointment, you¡ª¡± Before he could finish what he was saying, he saw Mei Feng and his father hurriedly jumping apart from each other. Obviously, he was intruding on a private moment not meant for his eyes. Mei Feng turned scarlet and Shen Xiu looked terribly awkward, given that he had taken off his top. Possibly, Mei Feng had been giving him a massage and that turned into something else. Shen Zihao hurriedly walked out of the room. At this point, Shen Xiu was quite flustered and said, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you knock before entering?¡± Shen Zihao coughed once and replied, ¡°I did. Anyway, it¡¯s nothing. I¡¯m going back to my room.¡± He took a few steps and suddenly halted, as though he had just realized something. Shen Xiu¡¯s back was unbruised and pale. There were no visible injury. He frowned and thought again about what happened earlier. Suddenly, he was puzzled. In the bedroom. Mei Feng pushed Shen Xiu away, saying, ¡°Stop behaving so inappropriately. It was too embarrassing to get caught by Zihao.¡± ¡°What¡¯s so embarrassing? You¡¯re my wife, what¡¯s wrong, even if I kissed you?¡± Chapter 802 - He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (26)

Chapter 802: He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (26)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mei Feng gave a humph. Shen Xiu¡¯s wandering hand was already making its way up from under the hem of her pajama¡¯s top. He cajoled her, ¡°Come on, Feng¡¯er... he¡¯s a big boy, he is aware. He¡¯s got a wife and a baby now, everyone¡¯s an adult around here. What are you shy about?¡± ¡°Ah, be gentle. Didn¡¯t you say your back hurts?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a minor injury, it¡¯s nothing. If you don¡¯t believe, let¡¯s try it...¡± ¡°So inappropriate... Ahhhh...¡± ¨C When Shen Liangchuan woke up, the room was quiet and still. On reflex, he reached for his cell phone. With a slight movement of his body, he realized that his head was resting on a pair of soft thighs. He paused and recalled what had happened earlier on. He lifted his head immediately and tried to make out the situation under the dim ambient light. Qiao Lian must have massaged him for some time, until she was tired and fell asleep herself. She was lying down sideways. Her thighs, however, had not moved from the earlier position, so they were probably quite numb by now. Shen Liangchuan focused his vision and picked up his cell phone. It was already five in the morning. This meant that he had slept for five hours. But physically, he felt like he had finally recovered and was revitalized. The headache had subsided. Quietly, he stood up and straightened himself up. As he was walking out, he suddenly heard movement on the bed. Then he heard the woman¡¯s half-awake mumbling, ¡°Oh... I fell asleep! Has your headache gone away?¡± Shen Liangchuan turned around when he heard her speak. He suddenly felt warm all over. He walked over to the bed. Putting his arms around her waist, he drew her in andy her down on the bed. Then he nted a kiss on her forehead and said, ¡°It¡¯s already 5 a.m., get some sleep. I¡¯m going out for a jog.¡± Qiao Lian mumbled and turned onto her side. Shortly afterwards, she fell back asleep. Shen Liangchuan touched her lightly on the face before turning and leaving the room. It was early. He changed into his exercise gear, headed towards the garden and ran around it a few times. Breathing in the early morning smog of Beijing, he felt as though he had been out of his own body in thest few days. Since he had chosen to be together with Xiao Qiao, he had to have faith. He knew that what he was doing may be unfair to Soul Fighter, but it was a conscious decision nevertheless, wasn¡¯t it? The icy cold morning air filled his lungs as he took a deep breath, and the sharpness of it woke him up and cleared his mind. He jogged home, went upstairs and took out his cell phone as he walked into the study. He called Song Cheng. ¡°Get me a family physician.¡± Song Cheng was surprised. He asked, ¡°Brother Shen, what¡¯s the matter? Are you feeling unwell?¡± ¡°Uh huh.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll get onto it as soon as possible. Where should I send him?¡± ¡°Your ce.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go over now.¡± After he had hung up, Shen Liangchuan gave an excuse that he was busy and drove off to Song Cheng¡¯s apartment. Wearing his sunsses and mask, he avoided the paparazzi and pedestrians along the way, till he arrived at Song Cheng¡¯s doorstep. The door flew open after he hit the doorbell. Now Song Cheng was standing at the doorway, looking troubled and worried. His eyes seemed to be glistening with tears as he looked at Shen Liangchuan. ¡°Brother Shen, quicklye in!¡± Ignoring the fact that the man was clearly in turmoil, Shen Liangchuan walked straight in. Song Cheng sighed and asked, ¡°Brother Shen, are we keeping this from Sister Qiao and Senior Madam?¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded. The other man frowned and said, ¡°But keeping it from them is not a solution. Why don¡¯t we tell them, and we can all get through this together?¡± Shen Liangchuan looked up in confusion when he heard Song Cheng¡¯s remark. Chapter 803 - He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (27)

Chapter 803: He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (27)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Song Cheng hung his head and said, ¡°Sometimes a sick person needs to be cheered up. Besides, if you don¡¯t give them a heads-up and something happens to you suddenly, it would be really difficult for them to ept it.¡± Shen Liangchuan finally realized there might be some misunderstanding and asked, ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Song Cheng looked up. His eyes were teary as he said, ¡°Brother Shen, please tell me, what condition are you suffering from that you have to see the family physician in secret, avoiding Sister Qiao and Senior Madam like this? Is there no other way to get treated in the hospital? Do you wish to make an announcement?¡± Shen Liangchuan was bbergasted. He grimaced and, after a moment, he stood up and said to the other man, ¡°I think you can shut your mouth now.¡± Then he looked at the family physician and said, ¡°I need a prescription for some sleeping pills.¡± Hence, Song Cheng thought, ¡°did I misunderstand something?¡± ¨C By the time Qiao Lian woke up, Shen Liangchuan was gone from her side again. The skies were bright and it was a radiant day with a mild level of smog. She washed up after getting out of bed. As she made her way downstairs, she saw that Xia Yehua was reading the newspaper. Qiao Yi was reading quietly. She greeted Xia Yehua. The woman spoke, ¡°You didn¡¯t sleep wellst night? Shen Lianchuan said before he left that we were not to wake you, so that you can get some rest.¡± Qiao immediately smiled and said , ¡°Uh huh.¡± It was 11 a.m. by the time they finished breakfast. Shen Liangchuan had returned. His mother and wife both looked at him with puzzled expressions and they asked, ¡°Why are you back at this hour? Don¡¯t you have to work?¡± Actually, there was no work at all. Shen Liangchuan nodded without speaking. His gaze fell on Qiao Lian and he saw that her face had turned rosy like a red apple, thanks to getting proper sleep. He was relieved. Xia Yehua was already calling Auntie Li, who was in the kitchen, ¡°Auntie Li, Liangchuan is home! Please cook lunch for him as well.¡± ¡°Got it!¡± Auntie Li¡¯s voice could be hearding from the kitchen. At once, the atmosphere in the living room became harmonious and warm. But s, this lovely atmosphere wasn¡¯t meant tost. It was soon to be shattered. The doorbell chimed. Auntie Li scurried to open the door. Following this, the housekeeper gasped in surprise and said with disgust, ¡°Why are you here?¡± Qiao Lian and the rest of them lifted their gaze and looked at the uninvited guest. Mei Feng was standing at the doorway with a wide smile stered on her face. Behind her stood two bodyguards carryingrge bags of visiting gifts. She said in a modest manner, ¡°Zihao¡¯s mother, I¡¯m here to apologize and make amends.¡± As she said this, the two bodyguards took a step forward and brushed Auntie Li aside, so as to allow Mei Feng to walk in. Observing their aggression, Qiao Lian frowned and stood up immediately. She ced herself in front of Xia Yehua. Mei Feng¡¯s gaze swept across the room as if to assess the ce. Although she did not say a word, she looked at Xia Yehua with a mocking expression. It seemed as if she was ridiculing her and saying: She may have lived in the Shen family¡¯s luxurious residence in the past, but now, the mistress of the Shen family household was her, Mei Feng. She was full of ill intentions, Xia Yehua¡¯s pupils shrank at once. She told Mei Fend coldly, ¡°Please leave.¡± Mei Feng sighed and said, ¡°Zihao¡¯s mother, if there¡¯s an issue, we can talk about it. I¡¯m here to apologize on his father¡¯s behalf. Look at these things. I heard that you¡¯re not in good health, so I¡¯ve bought these for you to strengthen your body.¡± Xia Yehua¡¯s face was frosty as she said, ¡°There¡¯s no need. I do not wish to see you. Don¡¯t me me for calling the police if you insist on staying.¡± Mei Feng¡¯s pupils shrank at these words. Then she suddenly took a step towards Xia Yehua and dropped on her knees with a thud. Chapter 804 - He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (28)

Chapter 804: He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (28)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios This move on Mei Feng¡¯s part was too sudden, so Xia Yehua was certainly not prepared and rather shocked. However, no one stepped forward to help her up, even after they got over the initial surprise. She had broken up Xia Yehua¡¯s family and caused Xia Yehua and her son to leave the Shen family without a cent in their pockets. Hence, no one felt that the kneeling was uncalled for. Xia Yehua certainly had earned the right to deserve it. Sheughed icily and asked, ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± Qiao Lian yed along with much sarcasm and said, ¡°Mom, I do remember learning somewhere that in the old days, concubines marrying into a family would have to bow down to thewful wife and head of the household. I wonder if Madam Mei here is asking you to acknowledge her ce in the family?¡± The atmosphere of the solemnly silent room at once became rxed with Qiao Lian¡¯s evil sense of humor. Mocked, Mei Feng¡¯s expression visibly darkened. Feigning ignorance, Qiao Lian continued, ¡°Oh, but we¡¯re in modern times now and there really aren¡¯t so many formalities. Madam Mei, I think you¡¯d better get up.¡± Mei Feng gritted her teeth in anger at Qiao Lian¡¯s words. Her chest was heaving. But given that she was the one who had climbed to where she was through silent endurance, she managed to curb her emotions very quickly. She hung her head to hide the hatred in her eyes and said, ¡°Sister Xia, Zihao¡¯s Mom... I beg of you to drop the charges, please. Zihao¡¯s wedding ising. It¡¯s unlucky to have to deal with such things when we¡¯re preparing for a wedding! For Zihao¡¯s sake, I beg of you.¡± Her words exasperated Xia Yehua. For the sake of Zihao... In the first ce, she had already decided to drop the charges. But now, wouldn¡¯t it look like she was dropping the charges because Mei Fung hade to kneel before her and beg her? Xia Yehua was infuriated and frowned. Her fists were tightly clenched. Still kneeling before her, Mei Feng continued, ¡°I know you dislike me and you¡¯ve held a grudge for all these years. But I¡¯m kneeling before you now to appease you. Please don¡¯t make it difficult for Zihao. In his heart, he does think of you as his mother!¡± Xia Yehua was speechless. Since when had she ever made things difficult for Shen Zihao? All she wanted was for Shen Xiu to stop creating trouble for them. She frowned as she took a step backward. Qiao Lian stepped up. Looking straight at Mei Feng, she said, ¡°Madam Mei, please leave.¡± Mei Feng shook her head stubbornly and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to keep kneeling here if you won¡¯t forgive Zihao.¡± This low-down move! Qiao Lian exchanged a look with Shen Liangchuan and smiled icily at the woman. ¡°Continue to kneel then, but please do this outside and not in our house. Otherwise, we will call the police!¡± Mei Feng was stunned for a moment. However, she saw that Qiao Lian had taken a step towards her and was about to make some sort of a move, so she quickly stood up and retreated. At once, the front door was mmed shut. Mei Feng narrowed her eyes and, after a moment, nodded at one of the bodyguards. The man took out his cell phone and showed Mei Feng the scene he had just recorded. Mei Feng had a look at the footage andughed icily after that. Then she released it on the inte. Matters like this would thoroughly embarrass the Shen family if they went public. She was just an insignificant woman, so she was not afraid of being ashamed. What she was more worried about was Shen Zihao being bought off by Xia Yehua Ever since Xia Nuannuan and Shen Zihao had registered their marriage, she had been feeling as though the boy was no longer under her control. She would show Shen Zihao how unrelenting his mother was¡ªwhile on the other hand, she would show how she would subject herself to such poor treatment for his sake. At this thought, her expression turned determined. She took one step backward and knelt down again. At the same time, on the Inte, a video was beginning to go viral. It was a video of a woman kneeling before the front door of a vi, an exceptionally bleak scene in the midst of the festive season¡¯s celebrations. Chapter 805 - He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (29)

Chapter 805: He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (29)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Zihao was now having lunch at the hotel with Xia Nuannuan and her parents. They were scheduled to go into the shop and try on wedding dresses after lunch. The short time they had meant that it was toote to get a custom-tailored wedding dress. Hence, they had to select one off-the-rack to be modified. Fortunately, Xia Nuannuan was not fussy about this. Besides, she was pretty and not particr about clothes. As they were eating, Shen Zihao received a phone call from Shen Xiu. The moment he picked up, he heard Shen Xiu¡¯s voice eximing, ¡°Hurry up and look at the Inte! Your mother went really too far this time. How could she shame Mei Feng like this? She¡¯s your stepmother no matter what! If she has an issue, then she should take it out on me. What does she get out of embarrassing people like that? I only broke a few things around the house, what¡¯s the big deal? Does she need to go to this extreme?¡± Shen Zihao had a splitting headache from listening to all of these things going on at home. He frowned and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter now?¡± ¡°Go have a look at the video and you¡¯ll see. Does she think that by putting up a video like that on the Inte, it would show the world that I, Shen Xiu, have been defeated? This is too much!¡± After this tirade, Shen Xiu hang up. Shen Zihao had no idea what was going on and picked up his mobile phone to log into Weibo. Then, he saw the video. In the video, there was a woman kneeling down and, even though only her side profile could be seen, it was obvious that it was Mei Feng. Shen Zihao¡¯s pupils shrank at once. Then he heard Mei Feng speaking in the video, ¡°I know you dislike me and you¡¯ve held a grudge for all these years. But I¡¯m kneeling before you now to appease you. Please don¡¯t make it difficult for Zihao. In his heart, he does think of you as his mother!¡± Shen Zihao sprang up from his seat at once and his eyes reddened. It was too much that Mei Feng had been embarrassed like this. He was heaving in anger now and his expression darkened. He nodded at Dad Xia and Mom Xia, saying, ¡°Something came up at home and I need to go back at once.¡± He stood up and walked away. Xia Nuannuan hurriedly followed him and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Shen Zihao¡¯s eyes were red as he said, ¡°On the one hand, there is my real mother, and the other is my stepmother. Why are they so different from each other? If it weren¡¯t for the age gap, even I would have suspected that Mei Feng was my real mother instead.¡± Xia Nuannuan kept silent when she heard this and did not say another word. However, she was starting to get worried. Still keeping silent, she looked at Zihao open the driver seat door. Shen Zihao gave her a nce. She said, ¡°I¡¯m here with you.¡± I¡¯m here with you. Those words warmed his heart. This was the charm of Xia Nuannuan, she was like rain that moistened everything around silently. Her words were always measured and never offensive. To the extent that he felt that no matter what happened, she would be with him and behind him. She looked weak, but she had great wisdom and the things that she said were always logical. Unconsciously, his heart quietened. Xia Nuannuan said, ¡°What was Aunty Mei doing at the Shen family vi?¡± Shen Zihao sighed and said, ¡°She went there because of that situation with Dad.¡± Her eyes shed as she said, ¡°Oh.¡± Then, she sighed again and continued, ¡°Did Mom leave the Shen family because Dad and Aunty Mei were tangled up in a suspicious rtionship? Shen Zihao humphed icily at once and said, ¡°That was just an excuse!¡± Xia Nuannuan was stumped for a moment before she said, ¡°But didn¡¯t Aunty Mei end up with Dad?¡± Chapter 806 - He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (29)

Chapter 806: He Followed Closely Like a Shadow (29)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Zihao paused. He floored the brake and pulled the car to a stop. Turning to Xia Nuannuan, he asked, ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± She hung her head and replied softly, ¡°I- I¡¯m just saying. After all, I¡¯m not sure about what happened with your family.¡± She looked so timid that Shen Zihao found himself unable to get angry at her. Besides, she had said ¡°your family?¡± His eyes shed. He cleared his throat and looked straight ahead saying, ¡°Actually, at the time, when Mom and Dad got divorced all of a sudden, Mom took Shen Liangchuan and left the Shen family, I did suspect it.¡± Xia Nuannuan lifted her gaze and turned to him, listening to his ount of the past. He continued, ¡°At the time, I came home from overseas. Dad said Mom and Tianyu¡¯s father had had an affair, and that¡¯s why she had left the Shen Family. On top of that, she left the family without a cent in her pocket.¡± ¡°Later on, I went to look for Mom. However, Mom said she had left because she had caught Dad and Aunty Mei having an affair.¡± Both sides had their own story. Still looking at Shen Zihao, Xia Nuannuan asked him, ¡°So what was it that made you believe Dad¡¯s story rather than Mom¡¯s? Shen Zihao took in a deep breath and replied, ¡°It was Mom¡¯s evasiveness when I spoke with her. Besides, if you suspect your husband to be having an affair, why would you leave without taking anything with you? Even if it were a divorce, you could go through the normal process. She made such a clean cut that it was obvious she was leaving the Shen family for good. Besides, I asked many people and investigated deeply. Dad and Aunty Mei really had nothing between them. Their rtionship was purely supervisor and subordinate. But Mom and Tianyu¡¯s father... they had indeed met in secret frequently.¡± Met in secret frequently¡ªhe ced emphasis on those words. He pursed his lips tightly and said, ¡°Tianyu¡¯s father liked my Mom when he was young and everyone knew that. They were childhood sweethearts, but Mom married Dadter. Dad often told me when I was little that he was afraid that Mom would abandon us.¡± He paused for a while and then continued, ¡°Tianyu¡¯s mother died not long after giving birth to him. And it was all because she felt depressed about what was happening between Tianyu¡¯s father and Mom.¡± When Xia Nuannuan heard all of this, she understood at once. The death of Tianyu¡¯s mother caused Shen Zihao to suspect that there was really something going on between Xia Yehua and Tianyu¡¯s father. On top of that, with Shen Xiu¡¯s influence, it was no wonder that Shen Zihao had felt that Xia Yehua was one who had abandoned her family and son. But... ¡°But now, Dad and Aunty Mei are together, but Mom and Tianyu¡¯s Dad had never been together. Furthermore, I¡¯ve been apanying Mom for quite long and I¡¯ve never once seen Tianyu¡¯s Dad visit her. It proves that there is really nothing going on between those two. I¡¯ve stayed there for more than a month.¡± Shen Zihao was a little taken aback by her words. Although he didn¡¯t like that Xia Nuannuan was speaking up for his mother, he knew that what she was saying was reasonable. No matter what, Dad and Mei Feng were together. But Mom had never been together with Tianyu¡¯s father. Shen Zihao frowned. The fiery anger that he had felt when hearing the news that Mei Feng was kneeling at the doorstep of the Shen vi had by now simmered down and disappeared. With a serious expression on his face, he now arrived at the Shen vi together with Xia Nuannuan. The moment he arrived, he saw Mei Feng¡¯s tottering silhouette at the front door, still in a kneeling position. It was winter and the winds were icy. Wealthy women like Mei Feng normally dressed flimsily. Most of them would just have a woolen shawl draped across their shoulders, as they rarely stayed outdoors for too long. Chapter 807 - Who Recorded the Video? (1)

Chapter 807: Who Recorded the Video? (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At this point, Mei Feng was pale from the cold and she was shivering. Yet she persisted in the icy wind. The moment he saw her, Shen Zihao¡¯s pupils shrank. He reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, exploding in anger. ¡°Sheesh!¡± The moment the car came to a stop, he threw open the driver seat door and jumped out. He ran towards Mei Feng. The suspicions he had developed along the way to the vi disappeared at once, when he saw how pitiful she looked kneeling there. And even if Mei Feng was faking it, so what? At least she was pleading with Xia Yehua to be merciful for his sake. Almost at once, he came next to her. Grabbing her arm, he demanded, ¡°Aunty Mei, what are you doing here? Get up at once!¡± Mei Feng turned towards him slowly when she heard Shen Zihao¡¯s voice, as though she had just noticed his arrival. She looked at him with great surprise and asked, ¡°Zihao, why are you here?¡± Shen Zihao was livid as he stared at the firmly-shut door before them. The metal gate was stone cold without a hint of warmth. It felt as though it was there to keep them out. Suddenly, a sorrowful thought came to his mind. This was just like eight years ago. Taking Shen Liangchuan with her, Xia Yehua had left the Shen Family and abandoned Shen Zihao. Shen Zihao clenched his fist tightly and marched up to the door. He lifted his arm and hit the doorbell angrily. ¡°Ding! Ding! Ding!¡± The doorbell chimed. As if that wasn¡¯t enough, he pounded on the door. After a while, the big metal gate finally swung open. Aunty Li appeared and said in an impatient tone. ¡°What now? Tired of kneeling? Just go then. What else do you want?¡± After saying these words, she realized there was someone else besides Mei Feong at the gate. Startled, she said with widened eyes, ¡°Young Master Zihao?¡± Shen Zihao looked as though he was about to chew someone up and looked at Auntie Li with contempt. He said mockingly, ¡°Aunty Li, you¡¯re just a housekeeper hired by our family. What do you think you are?! Get out of my way!¡± In a fit of anger, he did not care about hurting the loyal servant, who had been serving her mother since she was very young. Auntie Li turned pale at once. She retreated a step as Shen Zihao burst into the house. When they heard the pounding on the door, Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan exchanged a nce and hurriedly went downstairs to have a look. Just as they reached the door, they overheard what Shen Zihao said. Qiao Lian saw that at once, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression darkened. He took a step towards Shen Zihao and grabbed his arm. ¡°Apologize to Auntie Li!¡± ¡°Apologize? Why should I? Was I wrong in what I said? She is a housekeeper. What right does she have to talk like this?¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression darkened. Xia Yehua heard their voices and came out of the house. She was very surprised to see Shen Zihao. ¡°Zihao is here?¡± Shen Zihao gave an icyugh. ¡°I¡¯m here. Otherwise, how would I ever know that you¡¯d actually trample on my Aunty Mei like this? Mom, I never knew you were this cold-hearted and evil.¡± He turned around to look at Mei Feng, who had walked in after him assisted by her bodyguards. Her legs were trembling from kneeling out in the cold for so long in those flimsy clothes. His heart ached for the woman. Suddenly, he recalled one time five years ago, when his father had punished him by making him kneel down in the ancestral hall. At the time, he had created trouble because he felt abandoned by his own mother. Chapter 808 - Who Recorded the Video? (2)

Chapter 808: Who Recorded the Video? (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios That had been on a winter day too, it had been bone-numbingly cold. He felt alone and abandoned by the whole world. He couldn¡¯t help but think that if his mom was home, she would surely speak up for him and make him feel better. In the end, he found out that, as he was kneeling in the ancestral hall, Mei Feng was kneeling before his father, pleading on his behalf. Finally, his father relented and Mei Feng helped him up. She covered his kneecaps with a nket and said to him, ¡°The knees are an important part of the body and it¡¯s crucial that it doesn¡¯t get exposed to the cold. My knees hurt now because I didn¡¯t take care of them when I was young. I was vain and liked to dress in flimsy clothes.¡± She had bad knees to begin with and now, for his sake, she had had to suffer this plight. In that moment, he had sworn in his heart that from then on, he would treat Mei Feng like his own mother. If his own mother didn¡¯t want him, someone else did. Now, Mei Feng once again had gotten down on her knees for his sake, and someone had even circted this on the inte to deliberately embarrass her. Shen Zihao turned red with fury. When Xia Yehua heard her son berating her for being cold-hearted and evil, she froze. Her heart was numb from being repeatedly hurt by him. She looked at the two people standing before her. After a pause, she waspelled to say, ¡°Zihao, I used to think that leaving you with the Shen family was the right thing to do. But now, it¡¯s my great regret!¡± ¡°If I had known that you¡¯d be so undiscerning and easily influenced, I¡¯d have taken you with me even if it meant I had to beg in the streets.¡± Shen Zihao¡¯s pupils shrank. Was Xia Yehua ming him for not knowing right from wrong? Heughed derisively, feeling the coldness that was spreading in his heart. He was deeply hurt by the look of disappointment in his mother¡¯s eyes. Mei Feng quickly eximed, ¡°Sister Xia, it¡¯s okay to hate me! But please don¡¯t be angry at Zihao! He¡¯s so intelligent, how could he not tell right from wrong? He knows and can feel who is truly good to him.¡± She appeared livid and looked as though she was trying to protect the one thing that was most important to her. She rushed to stand in front of Shen Zihao and said to Xia Yehua, ¡°Sister Xia, I¡¯ve said it once and I¡¯ll say it again¡ªyou can berate me but please do not me Zihao!¡± ¡°I want to thank you for letting Zihao stay with the Shen family and giving me the privilege of having such a great son! If you don¡¯t wish to have him, I do.¡± If you don¡¯t wish to have him, I do. At once, Shen Zihao¡¯s eyes reddened. Yes, he had never been the child that his mother wanted. The child she wanted had always been Shen Liangchuan. At this thought, he smirked and said, ¡°Madam Xia, sorry for disappointing you. Will you only be satisfied when our Shen family bes theughing stock of Beijing, and my wedding bes the biggest gossip in town?!¡± Xia Yehua was taken aback by his words. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°What do I mean?!¡± Shen Zihao held up his cell phone, yed the video and then held the phone up for all to view. With an angry expression, he said, ¡°You¡¯ve made a joke out of Aunty Mei. Is this your revenge?!¡± ¡°You are cruel! Given this, how is Aunty Mei supposed to face family and friends in the future?!¡± ¡°Madam Xia, the next time you wish to take revenge on others, could I trouble you to keep please your undiscerning son in mind? So that he can hold his own head up high.¡± Chapter 809 - Who Recorded the Video? (3)

Chapter 809: Who Recorded the Video? (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Everyone was stunned by Shen Zihao¡¯s words. The video had been posted on Weibo, however, it hadn¡¯t spread too quickly. Mei Feng was no celebrity and, moreover, there was no mention of who she was. Hence, there were no more than 10 000 views. Hence, Qiao Lian, Shen Liangchuan and the rest had not seen it yet. Xia Yehua was also taken aback when she saw the video. ¡°Who- who posted this?¡± ¡°Who posted it? Besides you, who else could it be?!¡± He sneered, ¡°At this point surely you can stop acting innocent!¡± He turned to nce at Mei Feng and saw that she had turned pale. She stared at the video with a look of disbelief. Then she clenched her fists, as though she was suffering some great humiliation. Her body tottered like she was about to pass out. This made Shen Zihao¡¯s heart ache even more. He turned back to Xia Yehua and said, ¡°It¡¯s already shameful enough to have to kneel before someone, why do you have to be so cruel?¡± Xia Yehua frowned and protested, ¡°I did not post the video!¡± As she said this, they heard a noise at the door. Everyone turned simultaneously towards the sound. Then Shen Xiu dashed in. He had a big scowl on his face and his expression was clouded over. The moment he came in, he looked at Mei Feng and sighed with relief when he saw that she was unharmed. Then he turned back to look at Xia Yehua angrily, saying, ¡°So this was your n! You want to torment Feng by pressing these charges against me?! How could you be so despicable?!¡± One by one, the people spoke up and imed that Xia Yehua had released the video. The woman gave an icy smile and said, ¡°I¡¯ve said it. I did not release the video!¡± Her gaze fell on Shen Zihao as she asked him, ¡°So I forced her to get down on her knees?¡± Shen Zihao choked on his words. Immediately Mei Feng said, ¡°No, I did it willingly.¡± ¡°I forced her toe here?¡± Mei Feng quickly shook her head and replied, ¡°No, I came on my own ord.¡± ¡°And so?¡± Xia Yehua fixed her gaze on the other woman. ¡°I didn¡¯t even know she wasing today. So how would I be prepared for posting an online video?¡± She fixed her eyes on Shen Zihao once more and said, ¡°What can I do if she suddenly turns up and kneels at my doorstep? If I¡¯m evil just because she turns up to kneel at my doorstep, then would it make her evil if I knelt before her now too?¡± ¡°It¡¯s very simple logic, don¡¯t you understand?!¡± Shen Zihao narrowed his eyes. Almost at once, Mei Feng started to tear up. She hung her head and started to sniff, her body trembling from the cold. She said, ¡°Zihao¡¯s father is a proud man, of course I came here to¡ª¡± Shen Xiu nodded and interrupted, ¡°That¡¯s right, the only person in our family who¡¯d lower herself toe begging would be her. How could you not have expected that? Weren¡¯t you just waiting for this to happen, and that¡¯s why you didn¡¯t agree when Zihao asked yesterday?!¡± ¡°But this time, you¡¯ve overstepped your boundaries.¡± Xia Yehua ignored him and continued to look at Shen Zihao. She asked him, ¡°Would you rather believe them and not me?¡± He frowned and said, ¡°The video was posted from this location. Apart from all of you, who else is there?¡± Xia Yehua looked terribly hurt. Qiao Lian quickly stepped towards her and held her. Although Xia Yehua did not speak further, it was obvious that she was extremely upset. Shen Zihao narrowed his eyes as he looked at her. At this point, Shen Liangchuan took one step forward. Looking straight at Shen Zihao, he said, ¡°Besides us, there is her!¡± He raised his arm as he said this and pointed at Mei Feng. Stunned, Shen Zihao asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡± Chapter 810 - Who Recorded the Video? (4)

Chapter 810: Who Recorded the Video? (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Narrowing his eyes, Shen Liangchuan picked up Shen Zihao¡¯s cell phone. Pointing at the image, he said, ¡°Look carefully at the filming angle! Think about where the person recording this scene would have been standing.¡± Filming angle? From the observable angle, the scene seemed to have been shot from a corner. With Mei Feng kneeling at the doorway, the video was shot from her left. Her left? That would be outside the house. At that time, the Shen family members had all been in the house. How could they have been filming her from outside? Shen Zihao¡¯s pupils shrank and he turned around. At the time, the only people who could have been next to Mei Feng were her bodyguards. Shen Zihao frowned. Mei Feng lowered her gaze andughed bitterly at Shen Liangchuan¡¯s words. Looking hurt, she said, ¡°I thought it was bad enough that Sister Xia treated me this way. And now she even nders me?¡± She looked up with a bitter smile and continued, ¡°Do you think I¡¯m a fool that would create trouble for myself?¡± Shen Xiu immediately said, ¡°The filming angle can be exined in many ways. How can we know you didn¡¯t have someone standing there at that time? If you want to argue this based on the filming angle, do you have proof?¡± Was there proof? Lowering his gaze, Shen Liangchuan answered, ¡°Of course I do.¡± At this point, Mei Feng¡¯s eyes glistened. Of course, if she had dared to do such a thing, it was because she was confident enough that besides the Shen family members and her two bodyguards, there wasn¡¯t anyone else around. There should be no other witnesses. Then who could argue with her? But now, Shen Liangchuan was saying that he had proof. How could that be possible? Mei Feng frowned. And suddenly, as though she had thought of something, she looked up quickly. If he really had proof, then it must be... At once, Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°We have outdoor surveince cameras.¡± Just as she suspected! Mei Feng¡¯s fingers curled up tightly as she spun her head around. Shen Liangchuan continued, ¡°The surveince videos overwrite themselves every six days. We should have what it has just been recorded. So, should I take you all upstairs to have a look at who filmed the video?¡± Shen Xiuughed icily and said, ¡°The person filming would have had his back facing the surveince camera. How will we be able to see the person that was filming?¡± Shen Liangchuan looked at him and said, ¡°We¡¯re not interested in the filming process but whether anyone from the Shen Family stepped out during the filming process! If during the entire filming process no one stood behind Mei Feng on the right, then wouldn¡¯t it show that Mei Feng set this up herself?¡± Mei Feng¡¯s expression changed greatly at these words. Qiao Lian, on the other hand, had turned and dashed into the house when she heard Shen Liangchuan. The monitoring system at home automatically saved videos. She picked up aptop and went back outside. She navigated around and found it. At that moment, the surveince timestamp was disying the moment that Mei Feng turned up at the vi. She held out theptop and ced it in Shen Zihao¡¯s hands. He watched with his own eyes what had happened since Mei Feng went into the vi, who thenter on got on her knees. She did it out of her own ord, Xia Yehua and the rest had not even said a word to her. They had only shut the door, to show that she wasn¡¯t wee. In addition, throughout the whole footage, no one in the Shen family left the house. As for the person standing on her right, behind her there was coincidentally her own bodyguard. However, because the surveince camera was also on the right side and the bodyguard¡¯s back was to the camera, it was impossible to see what the bodyguard was doing. Chapter 811 - Who Recorded the Video? (5)

Chapter 811: Who Recorded the Video? (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Yet it was very obvious who had filmed the video. Shen Zihao¡¯s pupils shrank as he looked at Mei Feng in disbelief. Panic was written all over her face now, and she gestured with her hands after a moment, saying, ¡°It really wasn¡¯t me! I- I- Why would I nder myself? As your father¡¯s second marriage, I¡¯m alreadyughed at. If people knew about this... I¡¯d rather die!¡± She was right. All these years, in social events and such, where the wealthy would gather, Mei Feng had always been a subject of gossip. Once, he had happened to be amidst a group of women and overheard them gossiping about Aunty Mei. Hence, it was unlikely that she would hurt herself like this. Kneeling down before the first wife was not the sort of embarrassing news that one would wish to spread. Shen Zihao suddenly grabbed one of the bodyguards and interrogated, ¡°Who instructed you to film the video? Say it!¡± The bodyguard frowned and said at once, ¡°It wasn¡¯t me¡ª¡± Before he could finish, Shen Zihao threw a vicious punch across his face and said, ¡°Who else could it be if it weren¡¯t you? It¡¯s already evident from the surveince video.¡± When the bodyguard heard this, his eyes lit up instead and eximed, ¡°That¡¯s right, Young Master, the surveince video! It wasn¡¯t just me who could have filmed from that angle. There was a surveince camera too.¡± There was a surveince camera too. Shen Zihao¡¯s clenched fist froze in mid-air for the longest time as he contemted the possibility. Mei Feng was already sobbing quietly, as though she had finally found vindication. Shen Zihao frowned. He was thoroughly confused now. He turned back to nce at Xia Yehua and then looked towards the sobbing Mei Feng, who seemed to be feeling terribly wronged. Then his gaze fell on Mei Feng¡¯s knees. At this point, both sides had their own arguments and reasonings, so he no longer knew whom to believe. Shen Xiu, however, was more direct. Looking at Xia Yehua, he shouted, ¡°Oh, so you all were ready for us! If our bodyguard hadn¡¯t been quick-witted, we could¡¯ve been fooled by you.¡± ¡°Now what else have you got to say?¡± Xia Yehuapletely ignored the man. Now both sides were quiet. Shen Xiu looked at Shen Zihao and asked, ¡°Zihao, what¡¯s the hesitation? Don¡¯t you understand what¡¯s going on? Do you believe the woman who has abandoned you, rather than Aunty Mei who has been nothing but wholeheartedly good to you?¡± Indeed. Why was he doubting? He felt a warm hand around his wrist at this point. He paused and turned around. It was Xia Nuannuan. She said to him, ¡°Zichuan, without evidence we shouldn¡¯t use anyone. Now there¡¯s no proof that Aunty Mei filmed it, but there is also no evidence to say it was Mom, isn¡¯t that so? That¡¯s right, there was no evidence in both aspects. He understood what Xia Nuannuan was trying to say. Impartiality. Before Zihao could speak further, Xia Nuannuan interrupted, ¡°Mom has a poor health, let¡¯s leave things be for now.¡± When she said this, Shen Zihao was reminded of howst time Xia Yehua almost didn¡¯t make it through alive. His pupils shrank and he immediately turned to look at Xia Yehua. She had turned very pale. Clenching his fists, he reached out to hold Mei Feng steady and said, ¡°Enough. Where this matter is concerned... I will investigate it thoroughly! Let¡¯s go home for now.¡± Mei Feng looked as though she was about to say something, but eventually held her tongue. Then she walked out after Shen Zihao. After they left and as Shen Liangchuan was about to shut the front door, he spotted an express delivery courier standing outside. The courier said, ¡°How are you, Sir? I have an express delivery item from Mr. Shen.¡± Chapter 812 - Who Recorded the Video? (6)

Chapter 812: Who Recorded the Video? (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan¡¯s pupils shrank the moment he heard the words ¡°express delivery.¡± He looked at the courier and then shifted his gaze to his name tag. It looked like he was an official worker. Just at this moment, Xia Yehua came out, assisted by Qiao Lian. At the other end of the courtyard, Shen Zihao had helped Mei Feng into the car and was just about to walk into the driver¡¯s seat, when Xia Yehua called him, ¡°Zihao.¡± Shen Zihao halted. Not knowing how to face Xia Yehua, he did not turn around. If she was going to say anything negative about Mei Feng, should he retaliate or listen? As this thought ran through his mind, Xia Yehua said, ¡°We already requested to drop the charges.¡± He froze at those words. He turned around. There was an expression of disbelief on his face as he looked at Xia Yehua. She held his gaze steadily and said, ¡°We dropped the charges early this morning.¡± What she did not say was that they had already dropped the charges before Mei Feng turned up. Hence, she never even had bad intentions with Mei Feng. Shen Zihao narrowed his eyes at once and turned to look at the woman already sitting in the car. She was pale and shivering from the cold, looking extremely pitiful. Shen Zihao¡¯s expression darkened and he pursed his lips. He didn¡¯t know what to say, except, ¡°Thank you, Mom.¡± Xia Yehua shook her head slowly and paused before she said, ¡°I only hope that you will be an upright, discerning and responsible man.¡± After these words, she turned around, unable to hide the disappointment on her face. She walked back into the house slowly, with Qiao Lian apanying her. Shen Zihao stood there watching his mother¡¯s deste and pitiful figure. He choked. As he clenched his fists tightly, he felt as though his heart was being squeezed by an invisible hand. The pain was almost unbearable. He took a deep breath before he turned and walked back to the car. On the way home, Shen Xiu ranted non-stop. ¡°That tr*mp, it¡¯s unbelievable!¡± ¡°She¡¯s bing more and more scheming! She is capable of doing such unscrupulous things. How is your Aunty Mei going to face people in the future?¡± ¡°...¡± The endless background nagging irritated Shen Zihao, so he raised his voice and said, ¡°Dad, I think that¡¯s enough.¡± This caused Shen Xiu to suddenly choke. After a short pause, he spoke again, ¡°Why? I haven¡¯t finished. If she dares to do these things, then she shouldn¡¯t be afraid of being talked about like this. I want you to stay away from them in the future, you are not to visit their house again! They are not toe to the wedding and neither will you send them an invitation. I do not wee anyone from that family! They don¡¯t even care about your wedding, creating so much trouble on the eve of the asion.¡± From the rear view mirror, Shen Zihao could see that his father¡¯s face and neck had turned red with exasperation. In the past, he had always felt that his father was a dignified man and scary when he was angered. But right now, he only felt that Shen Xiu was an irresponsible. He suddenly spoke, ¡°Dad, if you hadn¡¯t gone to their vi and wrecked their house, I don¡¯t think they¡¯d have pressed charges against you.¡± His remark rendered Shen Xiu speechless. Infuriated, he was about to continue when Mei Feng intervened, ¡°Zihao, your dad has a bad temper and he might have been in the wrong this time. Sigh... but your Dad and I only have one son, of course we hope that your wedding event will be a perfect. You don¡¯t have to worry about that, we will give you the best of everything...¡± Chapter 813 - Who Recorded the Video? (7)

Chapter 813: Who Recorded the Video? (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios They had started with talking about his dad being in the wrong this time and, suddenly, the conversation took a turn to focus on what they were doing for his wedding. Shen Zihao quickly stopped paying attention. But in the car, there was another pair of eyes, looking at him with confidence. Shen Zihao paused and turned to nce at Xia Nuannuan, who gave him a look of encouragement. At once, he felt as though standing up to Shen Xiu just then had been absolutely worth it. He now unconsciously sat taller, like he had found his own spine. Interrupting Mei Feng, he said, ¡°Aunty Mei, Dad, where this matter is concerned, the fault lies with us. I suggest that the both of you do not go to my mother¡¯s house in the future.¡± His words were firm and there was a certain authority in them. Mei Feng was stunned and looked at Shen Zihao in disbelief. What happened today had fallenpletely outside her expectations, and the oues too had not been what she anticipated. Under normal circumstances, her act of kneeling outside the Shen vi would have caused Shen Zichuan to react explosively. His temper would have gotten the better of him and it would have ended with Xia Yehua being provoked to the point of fainting. But today, he had remained unusually cool and calm. So much so that in her surprise, she had almost given herself away. Fortunately, the bodyguard was intelligent and hade up with the possibility of the surveince camera being the source of the video. Otherwise, the whole n would have ended in disaster. But in the car, the few times that she had tried to move him with her words, he had cut her off. Mei Feng frowned, her gaze now falling on Xia Nuannuan. A moment ago she had clearly seen the girl giving Shen Zihao a look, as if encouraging him to say those unpleasant words. All this time, she had thought that Xia Nuannuan was just an ordinary girl. But she hadn¡¯t expected that she would have such a great influence on Shen Zihao. She narrowed her eyes. Soon, they arrived at the vi. Mei Feng got off the car and was about to speak when Shen Zihao got into the car again. He told them, ¡°Dad, Aunty Mei, I¡¯m taking Nuannuan back.¡± Mei Feng was stumped. In the past, whenever she was injured, he would make it his priority to look after her and ensure her wellbeing without fail. But now, he was going to take Xia Nuannuan back first. This realization made her exceptionally ufortable, but she could only nod. The young couple drove away in the car. Along the way, Xia Nuannuan stole a nce at him and said, ¡°All mothers in the world spare a thought for their children. After what you said to Mom today, she still made peace. Actually, in this whole matter, the person who has suffered the most is Mom.¡± Shen Zihao frowned. Indeed, who else could have suffered more? Her house had been wrecked by Shen Xiu. And today¡¯s episode... He suddenly turned, looked at Xia Nuannuan and asked, ¡°Who do you think uploaded that video on the Inte?¡± Looking straight into his eyes, Xia Nuannuan replied, ¡°Actually, no matter who uploaded it, it¡¯s not important.¡± Shen Zihao paused and then asked, ¡°So what is important?¡± ¡°What¡¯s important is that Mom was greatly saddened.¡± Shen Zihao was stunned. Xia Nuannuan sighed and continued, ¡°I¡¯ll still say the same. I believe that there¡¯s nothing going on between Mom and Tianyu¡¯s father.¡± Shen Zihao kept silent. After a while, Xia Nuannuan sighed softly again and added, ¡°Actually, from her everyday behavior at home, it¡¯s easy to tell what sort of a person Mom is. You grew up around her. Do you not understand what kind of person she is at all?¡± At this remark, Shen Zihao looked up. Xia Nuannuan spoke again, ¡°You have the answer in your heart, haven¡¯t you?¡± Shen Zihao clenched his fist and said, ¡°But I don¡¯t understand why she¡¯d do this.¡± Chapter 814 - Who Recorded the Video? (8)

Chapter 814: Who Recorded the Video? (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xia Nuannuan did not attempt to answer his question. She did not understand this family, nor did she have an understanding of Mei Feng. There was only so much she could do for Shen Zihao. ¨C After Shen Zihao took Xia Nuannuan back to the hotel, he drove home alone. Upon entering the house, he saw Mei Feng in the living room, probably waiting for him. He walked into the house. The woman stood up immediately, her face radiantly happy when she saw him. ¡°Zihao, you¡¯re home!¡± This was a familiar scene that once upon a time had brought Shen Zihao much warmth. Now, however, his expression was rather subdued. He merely nodded. Mei Feng attended to him and prepared lunch for him. Seeing Mei Feng working around, he couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Aunty Mei, how are your legs?¡± She smiled immediately and said, ¡°They¡¯re okay.¡± When she said this, the housekeeper next to her interrupted, ¡°How could you be okay? Madam, your knees have got huge bruises on them and you nearly couldn¡¯t walk! If it hadn¡¯t been for Xiao Hong massaging your legs for a long time, you probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to get out of bed yet.¡± Mei Feng waited for her to finish before telling her, ¡°Hush now!¡± She looked at Shen Zihao and assured him, ¡°Zihao, I¡¯m okay. Hurry up and eat, don¡¯t starve yourself.¡± Everything was centred around him. This was the Mei Feng that he had known eight years ago. Initially, he had had his suspicions about her motives. But he believed that the woman couldn¡¯t have been acting for thest eight years. His expression softened as he looked at Mei Feng. ¡°Aunty Mei, you need to go to the hospital to have your legs treated without dy.¡± She smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, hurry up and eat.¡± Noticing that he was distracted as he ate, she sighed and continued, ¡°Zihao, although your mother abandoned you at that time, she must have had her own difficulties. Look at what happened today. She relented for your sake.¡± Shen Xiu, who was just walking down from the second floor, gave an icy snort when he heard these words. ¡°What do you mean for his sake? The way I see it, it was because you knelt at her doorstep.¡± Mei Feng red at him and retorted, ¡°Don¡¯t speak nonsense.¡± Then she turned back to Shen Zihao and said, ¡°Zihao, don¡¯t listen to your dad¡¯s nonsense. Of course your mother loves you very much.¡± In the past, Shen Zihao would have jumped at this point in the conversation. Because if there was one thing that he never liked to hear, it would be ¡°your mother loves you very much.¡± Mei Feng had sacrificed herself, and even suffered such long hardships, so that Shen Zihao and Xia Yehua would be estranged from each other. So this episode, after all, should be considered a sess, right? But unexpectedly, when Shen Zihao heard these words, he merely lifted his head. He stared at her intently for a brief moment before he nodded and said, ¡°I think you¡¯re right, Aunty Mei. No matter what, she has relented, so I shouldn¡¯t hate her too much.¡± Mei Feng was bbergasted. She looked at him with widened eyes, as though he was aplete stranger. Following this, she heard Shen Zihao say, ¡°In the past, you used to tell me that there was never a single bad mother in the world. I didn¡¯t use to believe that, but Nuannuan has told me the same thing... Now I do feel that my mother cares for me.¡± Xia Nuannuan... Xia Nuannuan again! Mei Feng clenched her fists immediately. She must not continue to sit back and do nothing about it. ¨C Back at the Shen vi. After Shen Zihao and the group left, Shen Liangchuan took the express delivery package and headed upstairs. He walked into the study and opened the package. This time, it was another card. The words on the card had finally changed: [Chuan Zi, have you forgotten my anger?] Chapter 815 - Who Was That Person? (1)

Chapter 815: Who Was That Person? (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan¡¯s pupils shrank as he tightly clutched the card that was in his hand. Forgotten his anger? He had never forgotten it, not even for a day. But he could no longer avenge the man. He sat quietly in the study for a while, then he shot up from his seat and tore the card, throwing the torn bits into the trash bin. As he narrowed his eyes in deep contemtion, the study room door was pushed open with a crack. He opened his eyes and looked at the door. It was Qiao Lian. She walked in with a ss of milk in her hand. She blinked and ced the ss of milk on the table. She said, ¡°You just asked Auntie Li to get you coffee, so I¡¯m here to deliver it.¡± Shen Liangchuan paused a moment upon hearing this. His gaze fell on the ss of milk. Qiao Lian smiled in a pleasing manner and said, ¡°If you¡¯re tired, go to bed. Don¡¯t drink coffee to stay up, it¡¯s not good for your nerves.¡± She took a step forward and stood behind him. Reaching out, she ced her fingers on his temple and started massaging it. ¡°Is thisfortable?¡± Shen Liangchuan seemed to have found his inner peace in the gentle tactile motion and her crisp fragrance. The Qiao Lian that he knew had always been a carefree person. Since when had she be this meticulous and eager to please him? Shen Liangchuan held her hands and gently buried his face in her upturned palms. He had caused her to worry. Putting his arm around her waist, he stood up and said, ¡°Ok, let¡¯s go downstairs for lunch.¡± Qiao Lian sighed in relief and followed him downstairs. Qiao Yi was still chatting with Xia Yehua. He had a glib tongue, so his words were always pleasing to hear. Xia Yehua, on the other hand, liked young people. Hence, the two of them were almost friends despite their age difference. As the couple made their way down, they heard Xia Yehuaughing. Although theughter was a little forced, it was obvious that Qiao Yi had managed to cheer her up. Qiao Lian gave Xia Yehua a hug and then said, ¡°I¡¯m finished, Mom. Now that you have Xiao Yi, you don¡¯t like me anymore! I¡¯m quickly losing your favor.¡± Xia Yehuaughed even more now and replied, ¡°How could that be possible? I¡¯ve always been fond of you!¡± ¡°Mom, you have to remember what you just said! No matter how good Xiao Yi is, he can¡¯t call you Mom. I¡¯m your daughter-inw!¡± Xia Yehua raised her hand and pointed at her. ¡°You little rascal! You make meugh!¡± Shen Liangchuan stood by the side watching this heart-warming scene. He knew that his Xiao Qiao was worried about Xia Yehua. The episode with Shen Zihao had left her heartbroken and Xiao Qiao was trying to cheer her up. And Xiao Qiao cared for Xia Yehua, because she was his mother. She was hardworking, lovable and considerate. How could he bear to hurt her? How could he even think of hurting her? Shen Liangchuan lowered his gaze. After eating together, he excused himself saying that he had work to do. He went into the study and took two sleeping pills. After this, he stayed in the study for some time before returning to the bedroom. Upon entering the bedroom, he saw Qiao Lian lying on her stomach on the bed, watching a video on her cell phone. Curious, he walked over and looked at the screen from where he was standing. He realized she was watching a video on how to give a massage. As she watched, she practiced the motion with her fingers. Her serious expression warmed his heart. He suppressed all the emotions that he had been dealing with recently. Suddenly, Qiao Lian, who had been solely focused on the video, felt arge body pressing down on her, causing her to jump in surprise. Before she knew what was going on, he had locked both her hands down against the bed. Chapter 816 - Who Was That Person? (2)

Chapter 816: Who Was That Person? (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Then a warm and dizzying kissnded on her lips. Qiao Lian was stunned for a moment, but this was followed by a rush of happiness. Of course, she was aware that Shen Liangchuan had not been himselftely. While she did not know what she could do for him, she had tried her best, however little it may help. It seemed like he had made some headway in his affairs and was proactively seeking intimacy from her. She returned his kiss. An innocent, yful kiss that slowly deepened till the two intertwined bodies rose in heat and passion, softly moaning with expressions of desires for each other. The release was freeing and satisfying. At the end of it Shen Liangchuany spent, next to Qiao Lian. Perhaps it was the sleeping pills, or it could have been theforting harmony he felt at this point, but Shen Liangchuan¡¯s eyelids grew heavy and soon fell shut. He was like a satiated beast,pletely rxed and finally asleep. Qiao Lian, on the other hand,y next to him with her eyes wide open, staring into his good-looking face, lost in thoughts. How had Soul Fighter died? Why wouldn¡¯t Shen Liangchuan tell her anything? She turned slightly and stared steadily at the ceiling above her. It was noon now, and she had never had the habit of taking afternoon naps. Then she suddenly heard a low murmuring from the sleeping man next to her, ¡°Soul Fighter, I¡¯m sorry.¡± Sorry... How much guilt was this man harboring that even in his dreams he sought forgiveness? Suddenly, she felt a stabbing pain in her heart. It was painful, so painful. ¨C Shen Liangchuan¡¯s sleep was interrupted by the ringing of the cell phone. He was woken by the ringing and vibration next to his ear. For a moment he stared at the ceiling nkly, feeling lost in time and space. It had been too long since he slept soundly, so it took him a while to recall where he was. In his dazed state, the ringing stopped. He turned around with the intention of going back to sleep. At this point, the bedroom door opened and Qiao Lian walked in with her cell phone. ¡°Shen Liangchuan, it¡¯s Song Cheng. He says it¡¯s important.¡± Shen Liangchuan sat up and took the cell phone from her hand. Putting it by his ear, he grunted, ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Brother Shen, we¡¯ve found Song Yuanxi!¡± With that, all sleepiness disappeared. Unable to face him and Xiao Qiao, Song Yuanxi had run away. For some time, and throughout the New Year, they had not been able to locate her. She seemed to have evaporated from Beijing and they couldn¡¯t find her anywhere. And all this time, Shen Liangchuan had been nervous about it. If anything happened to her, then really, he wouldn¡¯t know how to exin it to the dead Soul Fighter. Finally they had found her! He threw his nket aside and got off the bed. Picking up his trousers and trying to put them on, he asked, ¡°Where is she?¡± ¨C They arranged to meet up at a cafe. By the time Shen Liangchuan rushed there, Song Yuanxi was already waiting with a cup of cappino in her hand, lips pursed. She stood up when she saw Shen Liangchuan. Song Yuanxi had always been a delicate and feminine girl, but now she waspletely dolled up and wearing an exquisite woman¡¯s suit. The first thing Shen Liangchuan noticed was that the suit she was wearing would havee with a hefty price-tag. When Song Yuanxi left them, she had still been at the rehab home. She had no money or any assets on her. So who had bought her the suit? Or rather, where had she gotten the money for it? Shen Liangchuan frowned and strode over. They stood there looking at each other. After a brief moment, Shen Liangchuan finally said, ¡°Come home with me.¡± Chapter 817 - Who Was That Person? (3)

Chapter 817

: Who Was That Person? (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Upon hearing this, Song Yuanxi immediately smiled. There was something different about her smile¡ªit was candid, and carried a certain honesty. Her delicate body did notpletely hide her obstinate and stubborn personality. She said, ¡°Brother Liangchuan, I will not leave with you.¡± Shen Liangchuan frowned. They continued to look at each other in the eye. In the past, Song Yuanxi had always been afraid of him and would always obey him. But now, there was a certain defiance about her, even if there was still a hint of that old fear in her eyes which she stubbornly tried to conceal. In the end, Shen Liangchuan sighed and took the seat opposite her. Following his lead, the girl sat down and asked, ¡°Brother Liangchuan, what would you like to drink?¡± Before he could speak, she had already raised her hand and signaled to the waitress. ¡°A cup oftte, thanks.¡± She had lived with him for eight years, she knew by heart his taste for coffee. He looked at her and asked, ¡°Where have you been putting up?¡± Song Yuanxi smiled again at the question. ¡°Brother Liangchuan, is that you worrying about me?¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded and said, ¡°Yes.¡± She replied, ¡°You care about me because you worry about not being able to fulfill my brother¡¯s wish?¡± He fell silent for a moment and then nodded again. Song Yuanxiughed and said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry anymore. You¡¯ve taken care of me for eight years and I¡¯m grown up now. You can¡¯t be minding me forever. You¡¯ve already fulfilled your promise to my brother.¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression darkened. Before he passed away, hisst request had been for Shen Liangchuan to take care of his little sister. Instead of doing that, he had driven Song Yuanxi to the edge of sanity. The truth was that he did harbor guilty feelings. He furrowed his brow and continued questioning her. ¡°Don¡¯t change the topic. Tell me, where are you staying now?¡± ¡°At a friend¡¯s ce.¡± ¡°Which friend?¡± Song Yuanxi pursed her lips and replied, ¡°Brother Liangchuan, I¡¯m already grown up.¡± He continued to look at her intently. ¡°Which friend?¡± Song Yuanxi had been a loner during her school days, hence she had few friends in Beijing. It was only after going abroad that she had gradually be a more sociable person. She pursed her lips. At this point, the cafe door swung open and a sessful-looking young man of about 30 strode in. He wore a suit and a pair of sses with a gold frame. His outward appearance gave the impression that he was some sort of schr merchant. It was obvious that he was from a wealthy family and had received a good family upbringing. Shen Liangchuan narrowed his eyes. One step at a time, the man walked in Song Yuanxi¡¯s direction, finally stopping next to her. When Song Yuanxi saw him, a look of surprise shed across her eyes but she still stood up. The man extended his hand when he saw Shen Liangchuan and said, ¡°How do you do?¡± Looking at the man, Shen Liangchuan asked, ¡°This is...?¡± As though suddenly remembering something, Song Yuanxi¡¯s eyes lit up. She reached for the man¡¯s arms and said, ¡°This is my boyfriend. I¡¯ve been staying at his ce.¡± She smiled after saying this. Narrowing his eyes, Shen Liangchuan repeated, ¡°Your boyfriend?¡± The girl nodded. Shen Liangchuan took at look at the young man again and, after a moment, stood up. He said to Song Yuanxi, ¡°The Shen vi¡¯s door will always be open to you.¡± Her eyes reddened at once. He turned around to walk away, but after a few steps he halted and turned to look at her again. ¡°Yuanxi, I hope you can find your own happiness.¡± She nodded again. Shen Liangchuan strode away. By now, tears were rolling down her cheeks. Goodbye, Brother Liangchuan. As she cried, a tissue suddenly appeared before her face. Chapter 818 - Who Was That Person? (4)

Chapter 818: Who Was That Person? (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Song Yuanxi reached out for the tissue before her and dried her eyes with it. But when she realized who had given her the tissue, she suddenly jumped nervously. She turned to look at the young man and quickly said, ¡°I¡ª¡± ¡°You what? My darling girlfriend? Or should I say the bed mate I picked up from the streets?¡± The young man¡¯s yful voice was mellow and rich, like a C major note yed on a cello. It carried the sort of charm that could stir a girl¡¯s heart. Song Yuanxi immediately turned scarlet. She clenched her fists tightly and an expression of shame crossed her face. ¨C Shen Liangchuan stood outside the cafe, looking through the ss facade. He observed the interaction between Song Yuanxi and this man. He could tell their rtionship was not a normal one. If Song Yuanxi had been staying with this man for these days, then the express delivery mail that he had been receiving and the person who had delivered the Chameleon nt couldn¡¯t have been because of her. He knew Song Yuanxi well. He could tell from the conversation he had had with her that she had truly left those ill feelings behind her. She had started a new life for herself. This was all good. Shen Liangchuan turned and got into the car. He drove aimlessly around the streets of Beijing city, thinking about who it could be, who could know so much about him and Soul Fighter, but at the same time remind him constantly to take revenge. It wasn¡¯t Song Yuanxi, but there was the naggy feeling that the person was very familiar with his rtionship with Soul Fighter. As he thought about this, his expression suddenly darkened. He recalled the silhouette of the courier who had delivered his takeaway order. At the time, he had been wearing a baseball cap and his head was lowered, covering his face. But now that he thought about it, his figure... bore a resemnce to Soul Fighter¡¯s! Could it be... At this thought, he quickly picked up his cell phone and dialed Song Cheng¡¯s number. ¡°I need your help to find Zhou Song¡¯s death record. I want the details. Every single detail.¡± ¡°Soul Fighter¡± was Zhou Song¡¯s online nickname. He was also Song Yuanxi¡¯s elder brother. One of them had taken their mother¡¯s surname; the other, their father¡¯s. Hence at that time, when Qiao Lian saw the tombstone, she had not made the connection between Zhou Song and Song Yuanxi. If Zhou Song hadn¡¯t died... then would everything be a lot lessplicated? And the burden he had been carrying in his heart wouldn¡¯t be as heavy. At this thought, Shen Liangchuan took a deep breath. He hoped so. He hoped that things would turn out to be what he thought. Song Cheng said respectfully, ¡°Sure, Mr. Shen, but Zhou Song died eight years ago and it will not be easy to get that information. I will need some time.¡± ¡°Uh huh.¡± ¨C Time flew. In the blink of an eye, two weeks of the first lunar month passed. The next day, it was going to be Xia Nuannuan and Shen Zihao¡¯s wedding, but recently Qiao Lian could clearly see that Xia Yehua was distracted. During the meals, she ate little and would find excuses to go back into her room after taking a bite or two. Qiao Lian was puzzled and, looking at Shen Liangchuan, said, ¡°Zihao will be getting married soon. Why does Mom look so mncholic?¡± Shen Liangchuan frowned. He too, had no idea. At this point, Aunty Li walked out of the kitchen and said with a deep sigh, ¡°Tomorrow is Young Master Zihao¡¯s wedding but up till now, no one in the Shen family has sent an invitation to Senior Madam.¡± At once, a great realization came upon Qiao Lian. Xia Yehua and Shen Liangchuan had cut off all ties with the Shen Family when they left years ago. Without an invitation, there was no way they could get into the event hall. Could it be that Xia Yehua wouldn¡¯t be able to attend Shen Zihao¡¯s wedding at all? Chapter 819 - The Wedding (1)

Chapter 819: The Wedding (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian stared at Xia Yehua¡¯s figure and sighed deeply. Both Xia Yehua and Shen Liangchuan were proud people. If no one from that side of the Shen family had sent an invitation, the other side of the family wouldn¡¯t ask as well. But... Things were so busy in the Shen household that, if Mei Feng deleted Xia Yehua off the guest list, how would a careless person like Shen Zihao know about it? In addition, as Xia Nuannuan was the female spouse, it was even less likely that she would have paid attention to the people on the guest list. But if no one voiced this matter, they would end up as the losing party for sure! After everything was over, Mei Feng would probably dismiss the whole matter with a simple apology, giving the excuse that she had been careless. Qiao Lian frowned. What could they do now? Well, if Xia Yehua and Shen Liangchuan had too much pride to do this themselves, she didn¡¯t! Quietly, Qiao Lian picked up her cell phone and went upstairs. She thought for a moment and then dialed Xia Nuannuan¡¯s number. Xia Nuannuan was having a fitting. The stylist had to design a few hairstyles for her to select, toplete her bridal look for tomorrow. For this, Mom Xia, Mei Feng and Shen Zihao were all present. When she picked up the phone call, the hairstylist was working on Xia Nuanuan¡¯s hair. Qiao Lian started, ¡°Nuannuan, is it a good moment to speak now?¡± Xia Nuannuan nced at the others and said softly, ¡°Yes, it is.¡± ¡°Ermmm... it¡¯s like this... Why didn¡¯t Mom get an invitation to the wedding?¡± Xia Nuannuan¡¯s eyes shed and, immediately, she knew what Qiao Lian was hinting at. She answered, ¡°I understand.¡± Then she hung up and acted as though nothing had happened. After the stylist had coiled her locks, she stood up. She lowered her gaze shyly, her fair skin looked wless. The white gownplemented and brought out her innate temperament, making her look like an angel. She was a dazzling sight. Her make-up wasn¡¯t too strong. It only took a small dab of scarlet lipstick to bring out the beauty in her features. Xia Nuannuan had a personality that was gentle and soft, like water. She was a pretty girl, but she had never been particrly eye-catching. But right now, she looked like the star of the universe and her every movement was incredibly captivating. At least, Shen Zihao was dazzled into a stupor. In the past, he had thought that she was pretty, but he had never thought she could look this beautiful. Mom Xiaughed heartily as she took a step forward, saying, ¡°Our Nuannuan looks really pretty!¡± As she said this, her eyes reddened. Xia Nuannuan smiled shyly. Mei Feng watched from the side and couldn¡¯t help but add with jealousy, ¡°The stylist is really skilled!¡± Xia Nuannuan did not bother to read too much between the lines, but looked at Shen Zihao and said, ¡°Your mom has always said that, with the shape of my face, I¡¯d look good with my hair coiled up. At first I didn¡¯t believe her and felt that letting out my hair would look good, but indeed, she¡¯s right, this looks better. I¡¯m sure she¡¯llugh at me when she sees me tomorrow.¡± When she said these words, she noticed that Mei Feng had started to look ufortable. Shen Zihao¡¯s heart sank when he heard her mention Xia Yehua. But as he studied her hairstyle, he also felt that it looked better coiled up the way it was now. He nodded, ¡°Mom has always had good taste.¡± When he was little, his mom had been the prettiest among all the other mothers. When she was at the parents¡¯ meetings, she always managed to catch everyone¡¯s attention. After all the parents left, all of his ssmates would surround him and praise his pretty mother. Now, he suddenly felt a little lost. Chapter 820 - The Wedding (2)

Chapter 820: The Wedding (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The fact was that Xia Yehua had left him with a lot more than just unpleasant memories At some point in his life, his mother had been his pride. And even now, many women of his mother¡¯s age did not look half as good as his mother when dressed up. These thoughts about his mother softened his heart. Observing his expression, Xia Nuannuan said, ¡°I wonder if your mom wille.¡± If she would? How could she possibly not? Shen Zihao paused again at this thought. He wondered if Mom was angry after he had gone to her house a few days ago to create a scene. As though she knew what he was thinking, Xia Nuannuan said out of the blue, ¡°There¡¯s no anger between mother and son that willst longer than a day.¡± Upon saying this, she winked and added, ¡°I wonder if she got the invitation. If not, we can bring it to her ourselves tonight.¡± Shen Zihao looked at Mei Feng and said with disappointment, ¡°The invitation should have been sent a few days ago.¡± By now Mei Feng was gritting her teeth with hatred. As the stepmother organizing this wedding, it was an important asion for her to gather attention. But if Xia Yehua were to turn up, she would have no position in the family. Her status at the wedding would be rather awkward and embarrassing. Hence, she had purposefully left that side of the Shen family out. She had thought that if she didn¡¯t mention it, no one would notice. And if Xia Yehua didn¡¯t turn up, Shen Zihao¡¯s pride would also stop him from asking about it. It would have been beneath Xia Yehua¡¯s dignity as well to ask why she hadn¡¯t received an invitation. With both sides keeping silent about it, the tension between the mother and son pair would worsen and be irreparable. But now... She turned and red at Xia Nuannuan. Xia Nuannuan again! Since they had spoken about the matter, there were no longer any excuses for her not to send an invitation. Mei Feng was livid but had to say through gritted teeth, ¡°Oh, look at me! I almost forgot! I had nned for you to take the invitation card to your mom, but I was so busy that it slipped my mind.¡± Immediately, Xia Nuannuan said happily, ¡°That¡¯s great then, I¡¯ll go with Zihao this evening to deliver it.¡± Shen Zihao cleared his throat. While he obviously wanted to go, he feigned reluctance and said, ¡°Well, if you insist, let¡¯s go then.¡± Xia Nuannuan couldn¡¯t help but lower her head to hide herughter when she saw his awkwardness. Mr. Shen was actually quite adorable. After she selected her look for the big day, Xia Nuannuan changed out of her wedding dress. They took Mom Xia back to the hotel and then headed for the Shen vi to deliver the wedding invitation. Mei Feng stood in the hotel lobby looking at Xia Nuannuan¡¯s figure. She turned suddenly to look at Mom Xia and walked towards her, smiling. With a sigh, she reached for Mom Xia¡¯s hand and, with the other hand, reached into her pocket and took out a check. ¡°Nuannuan¡¯s mother, this is our family¡¯s mary gift, 8.88 million.¡± Stunned, Mom Xia stared at the cheque. 8.88 million was not much for the Shen Family. But giving this with check... Did it mean that the dowry tomorrow should be given in a check too? Mom Xia nodded and then parted ways with Mei Feng. After this, she went upstairs to look for Dad Xia. After Dad Xia saw the check, he frowned. He said after a short pause, ¡°Perhaps, these are the ways of the wealthy. If they are giving us a check today, then it means that the dowry should be given in a check too. Since that¡¯s the case, let¡¯s use a cheque then.¡± Mom Xia sighed and said, ¡°I just feel that using a check for these things doesn¡¯t seem right.¡± These people had no idea that this was Mei Fung¡¯s dirty scheme to trap Xia Nuannuan. Chapter 821 - The Wedding (3)

Chapter 821: The Wedding (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xia Yehua was so happy when the couple came personally to deliver the invitation that she just could not stop smiling. Grinning from ear to ear, she held onto Xia Nuannuan and Shen Zihao and asked them about the event¡¯s details. Then she shot Shen Liangchuan a look, signaling him to chat with his brother, while she took Nuannuan¡¯s hand and led the girl upstairs. She looked at Xia Nuannuan and sighed lightly. ¡°Nuannuan, after the wedding, you¡¯ll be moving in with the Shen family. And then you¡¯ll discover a new life has begun. I won¡¯t say much more than that.¡± She reached into her pocket and took out a card. Thrusting the card into Xia Nuannuan¡¯s hands, she said, ¡°There are 2 million in here, it¡¯s a little token from me to you and Zihao.¡± Xia Nuannuan was immediately taken aback and said, ¡°Mom, no, please don¡¯t do this!¡± Xia Yehua held her hands tightly and said, ¡°Nuannuan, 2 million are nothing to Zihao, but I know you can understand it¡¯s not an easy amount for me. This money is my savings, but it¡¯s also my heartfelt gift as a mother to my son. What an elderly gifts you must not turn down. Stop objecting now.¡± When she heard this, Xia Nuannuan could only hold the bank card. Xia Yehua continued, ¡°In a wealthy family, a rtionship is just that bit moreplicated than that in an ordinary family. For tomorrow¡¯s wedding, the truth is that your family doesn¡¯t really have to give arge dowry.¡± At this point, giving the Xia family money for dowry would mean that she looked down on the family. Hence, Xia Yehua wouldn¡¯t do that. Instead, she patiently gave her advice, ¡°Because even if your father and mother sold everything they had, the money they would raise would never impress a wealthy family. So since that¡¯s the case, why don¡¯t you just do your best and ignore what others say? As long as you and Zihao live happily together, that¡¯s enough. Zihao won¡¯t mind how much dowry your family gifts, isn¡¯t that right?¡± The girl¡¯s eyes reddened when she heard these words, her heart was greatly warmed. All this time, the dowry had been the matter that had worried her the most. Dad had already given his word to gift 9.99 million. After the Shen family gave them their 8.88 million, where were they going to find another 1.11 million to make up for the promised amount? Even their own home was worth only about 500 000 to 600 000. Besides, her dad and mom were only a middle-ss family, they didn¡¯t haverge savings. She would have to have a good talk with Dad when she got back to the hotel. Xia Nuannuan held the bank card in her hand. Since this was Mom¡¯s gift to Zihao, then she would just safekeep it for him. If at any point in the future should Shen Zihao need the money, she would pass this to him. ¨C After all, Shen Zihao and Xia Yehua had just been through a lot. Hence, things were a little awkward between them at that moment. Particrly so when Shen Liangchuan kept looking at him in a way that made him feel like he was most unintelligent. It made him squirm with unease. When Xia Nuannuan finally came back downstairs, he stood up with great relief. As he turned to go, Shen Liangchuan reached for his arm, saying, ¡°After the wedding, you¡¯ll be all grown up, you¡¯ll have to learn to be more mindful of your own actions.¡± Shen Zihao: ... Was Shen Liangchuan saying that before this he had not been mindful? He gave a silent snort and decided to ignore the man. On the way to taking Xia Nuannuan back to the hotel, Shen Zihao told her, ¡°Go to bed early tonight. You have to wake up early in the morning to do your make-up and it will be tiring.¡± Xia Nuannuan nodded. After he dropped her off, he drove away and she went into the hotel room. The moment she entered the room, she saw her parents standing there with pained expressions on their faces. They were fretting. ¡°It turns out that if we want to withdraw more than 50 thousand, we have to make Chapter 822 - The Wedding (4)

Chapter 822: The Wedding (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The elderly couple stood facing each other with a look of bitterness and great resentment on their faces. The bank simply wouldn¡¯t allow their sudden request for withdrawal of 8.88 million dors in cash. The gift hade toote to be on time for this. Now, they were unable to get 9.99 million for the dowry overnight. Moreover, returning the 8.88 million check as part of the dowry would not look good. Even if everyone knew that the 9.99 million dowry included a mary gift of 8.88 million dors by the Shen family, a family that was more particr would find that embarrassing. What could they do now then? Xia Nuannuan understood the plight her parents were facing and her heart ached for them. She said, ¡°Dad, Mom, actually you really don¡¯t have to fret. The marriage is something between Zihao and I, and has little to do with dowry and mary gifts.¡± Dad Xia frowned and said, ¡°Nonsense! The dowry that apanies you into the Shen family signifies that our daughter does notck anything and is not dependent on his family. This is so that you can stand tall and proud!¡± At this point he grunted and sighed again. ¡°I think I shall take a walk and think of a solution.¡± Sensing his frustration, Xia Nuannuan bit her lip. Her father had never been to Beijing, what sort of solution could he find here? She said, ¡°Dad, let me think of a solution.¡± ¨C It was already 9 p.m. when Qiao Lian received a call from Xia Nuannuan. The skies had darkened. She was startled when she looked at her cell phone screen. The wedding was the next day. Something must have happened for Xia Nuannuan to be calling sote at night. After she picked up the call, Xia Nuannuan exined the situation and finally said, ¡°I have a check here for 8.88 million and I can¡¯t cash it. But I have no other friends in Beijing...¡± By now she was at her wits¡¯ end and it showed on her face. Qiao Lian was most understanding and said to her, ¡°Don¡¯t panic. Let me talk to Shen Liangchuan, I¡¯m sure there¡¯s a solution.¡± Without hanging up, she walked to his study. Because of the urgency of the situation, she entered the room without knocking. She saw him sitting on a chair, staring at a vial of pills in his hand. Stunned for a moment, she finally stepped forward and asked, ¡°What are the pills for?¡± Shen Liangchuan looked at her and for a fraction of a second, there was a sh of panic in his eyes. Then, very quickly, he put the vial back into his drawer calmly and steadily. He said, ¡°Vitamins. You¡¯re here to look for me? What¡¯s the matter?¡± After this quick change of topic, Qiao Lian spoke at once. She pointed at the cell phone and told him about Xia Nuannuan¡¯s situation. He stood up and picked up his jacket. ¡°Tell her I¡¯ming over right now.¡± After hanging up, they went to the hotel. She took a long look at Shen Liangchuan. She realized that he was the sort of person that was cold on the outside but warm on the inside. Although he didn¡¯t think highly of Shen Zihao, when it came to his wedding, he would readily help Xia Nuannuan to think of a solution. For sure, he was doing this for the sake of Shen Zihao. With Shen Liangchuaning to the rescue, in no time a check of 9.99 million in Xia Nuannuan¡¯s name was issued. Even though Dad Xia felt really bad about this, he was truly grateful towards Shen Liangchuan. After Shen Liangchuan and Qiao Lian had left, Dad Xia looked straight at Xia Nuannuan and gave her his earnest and most sincere advice, ¡°The way I see it, that stepmother in the Shen family is difficult to ward off. In the future, try to keep frequent contact with Shen Zihao¡¯s real mother. After all, they are blood-rted. If there came a time you two ever need any help, perhaps his own mother and brother would be the only people you could turn to.¡± Chapter 823 - The Wedding (5)

Chapter 823: The Wedding (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The following day was the auspicious date chosen for Shen Zihao¡¯s and Xia Nuannuan¡¯s wedding. Xia Yehua woke up early in the morning and woke Qiao Lian up as well. The two women were in the fitting room, discussing what they were going to wear. Excitedly, Xia Yehua held a bright red top up and said, ¡°Today is Zihao¡¯s big day, how do I look in this?¡± Qiao Lian said, ¡°Pretty and festive!¡± But Xia Yehua shook her head and decided, ¡°It¡¯s too bright. I¡¯m too old... Forget it.¡± Having said this, she tossed the top aside. Qiao Lian grabbed her hand and said, ¡°Mom, today you¡¯re the mother-inw! Of course, you should dress brightly. Zihao will be displeased If you dress too simply and subtly.¡± Xia Yehua looked troubled and hesitated. Shen Liangchuan stood at the doorway in his suit. ¡°Mom, we¡¯re just going to a wedding. Why are you so nervous?¡± Xia Yehua immediately rolled her eyes and said, ¡°What do you know? This is the first time a son of mine is getting married. Of course I¡¯m nervous!¡± The moment she said this, the room fell silent. Xia Yehua quickly looked up and saw that Qiao Lian had froze on the spot. Throughout all the preparations for Shen Zihao¡¯s and Xia Nuannuan¡¯s wedding, Qiao Lian had been feeling uneasy, or even slightly unpleasant. Now she finally understood why. Because she had not even had her own wedding. Now that Xia Yehua pointed it out, Qiao Lian felt somewhat at a loss. She didn¡¯t know how she should respond to the remark. Her eyes shed as she turned to look at Shen Liangchuan. Neither had Shen Liangchuan considered this matter till Xia Yehua made the remark. His eyes clouded over as he looked at Qiao Lian and saw that her eyes were glistening. She obviously did not wish to address the matter. He thought of his initial intentions for marrying her, of how he owed her a wedding, and of how she had been trying in all kinds of ways to cheer him and his mother up recently. But he, on the other hand, had neglected her because of Soul Fighter. He felt guilty at once and walked into the room. He said with absolute certainty, ¡°Xiao Qiao, I assure you that you¡¯ll have a special wedding.¡± Then he turned to look at Xia Yehua and said, ¡°Mom, today¡¯s a good opportunity for you to learn. It¡¯s a good reference for when you prepare for my wedding.¡± Sensing the awkwardness between the couple, Xia Yehua immediately held Qiao Lian¡¯s hands and said with a smile, ¡°Yes, and we won¡¯t hold the wedding in Beijing. Let¡¯s look for an ind! It will have to be exceptionally romantic.¡± Qiao Lian pretended to pull a face at their remarks and said, ¡°Who said that I¡¯m going to marry you? You haven¡¯t even proposed! I¡¯m not marrying you!¡± Then she petntly turned around to select a gown for herself. Xia Yehua shot Shen Liangchuan a look, picked up her dress and left the room quietly. Qiao Lian had no idea what was going on, she was focused on deciding which gown looked more appropriate for the asion. As she was contemting this, she suddenly felt a pair of arms embracing her waist. She felt his light breathing tickling the back of her neck as he whispered, ¡°Xiao Qiao, I love you.¡± She was stunned and froze in the midst of what she was doing. She stood there, feeling like she was in a dream as her eyes started to sting. She hung her head and acknowledged it with a soft ¡°umm.¡± He spoke again, ¡°Will you... marry me?¡± Chapter 824 - The Wedding (6)

Chapter 824: The Wedding (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Will you marry me? How could she possibly say no?! Eight years ago, her dream had been that one day he would walk from the virtual world into her real life, and from real life into marriage. But all these dreams had been shattered eight years ago, after that meeting that was supposed to have taken ce. Who could have imagined that after all the twists and turns in life, they would eventually be together again? Even though initially it was because of hatred, that hatred had born love. She teared up. She turned around and suddenly said, ¡°I¡¯ve got to think about it.¡± She couldn¡¯t just agree like this. How would all the sufferings that she had been through be justified otherwise? As she looked into his eyes, she studied him with astuteness. He asked, ¡°How long do you need to think it through?¡± ¡°This will depend on your performance.¡± Shen Liangchuan took a step towards her. ¡°What sort of performance? Performance in bed?¡± She felt her face burn and redden. Pushing him away quickly, she chided him, ¡°You idiot!¡± ¡°What do you mean then?¡± She rolled her eyes and said, ¡°Huh, if you want an answer, let¡¯s y a one-on-one match!¡± His gaze deepened as he said, ¡°Sure.¡± She gave him another light push and said, ¡°Alright already, Zihao¡¯s wedding is about to start. Let¡¯s get changed quickly.¡± ¡°Uh huh.¡± He reached out to pick a champagne-colored gown and said, ¡°Wear this. Don¡¯t be too particr. If you look too pretty, it will steal the thunder from the bride. What then?¡± Qiao Lian: ... How could this guy say sweet nothings so effortlessly? She cleared her throat and looked at him. ¡°Are you saying that I¡¯m the prettiest?¡± Then she ced her palms on her face and said, ¡°So in your eyes, I¡¯m actually that pretty!¡± Xia Nuannuan was such a pretty girl and this guy was actually worried about her stealing the limelight. Shen Liangchuan gave a cough and said, ¡°Yes, after all, beauty lies in the eye of the beholder.¡± Qiao Lian: ... Flushing, she changed into the champagne colored gown. Then, putting on her coat, she left the house together with Xia Yehua in the nanny van. It was silent in the car along the journey but very soon, they arrived at the hotel where the wedding event would take ce. Looking from afar, they could see that the atmosphere of the luxurious venue was full of excitement. The Chinese character ¡®joy¡¯ was pasted all over the venue. The Shen family was a wealthy family with a significant social status in Beijing, hence, all the wedding guests were exceptionally well heeled and respectable people. Qiao Lian even saw a few people who were often seen on television. Senior Master Shen was present as well, however few people were worth him standing at the entrance to greet. Shen Xiu and Mei Feng stood outside the entrance, looking joyful and radiant. Everyone who walked through would say a congrattory word or two to them. Getting out of the car with Shen Liangchuan and witnessing this scene, Qiao Lian finally understood how powerful and influential the Shen family was. Compared to them, her own family in Suzhou at that time was nothing. The strength of this family did not depend on the effort of just one person, but of a few generations, one passing down to the other. That was how their wealth had been safeguarded and umted. And at that time, this was the sort of family that Zi Chuan had decided to abandon. What else had he sacrificed for the sake of the team? At this thought, she turned towards Shen Liangchuan. But she found that even when confronted with all the finery and wealth that at a time would have belonged to him, and to know that he could work all his life now and not even achieve as much, he was unmoved and unaffected. It was as though all the things before him were nothing. In her heart, Qiao Lian developed a new found respect for him, an admiration that she hadn¡¯t even realized she had. Chapter 825 - The Wedding (7)

Chapter 825: The Wedding (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios This was the man she so dearly loved. A man who she had loved for eight years, a man that she had not been able to forget. The sort of pride that she felt for him was iparable. At this thought, she lifted her head, held Xia Yehua to support her, and then walked towards the entrance with the mother and son. When Mei Feng and Shen Xiu, who were weing the guests, saw them, Qiao Lian caught a vicious glint that shed momentarily in Mei Feng¡¯s eyes. But the next moment, as if nothing had happened, the woman stepped forward with a big smile on her face and eximed, ¡°Zihao¡¯s mother, you¡¯re here!¡± Shen Xiu gave an icy snort and stood where he was withouting forward. The smiling face that he had worn just a moment ago had suddenly turned gloomy. Ignoring him, Mei Feng said, ¡°Thank you foring to our Zihao¡¯s wedding. Come,e in quickly. There¡¯ll be someone to show you to your seats! There¡¯ll be good food and drinks in a moment.¡± She acted like she was the mistress of the household. Qiao Lian simply found it an eyesore. She looked at Xia Yehua. Although she had not spoken, Qiao Lian could feel the woman¡¯s sorrow. It was her own son¡¯s wedding, yet she was not the one managing the asion. She was just here to attend the event as a guest. Xia Yehua hung her head and kept silent. She held onto Qiao Lian as they walked in. For this sort of asions, there would normally be an ounting room around. The moment the three of them entered, an attendant immediately walked over and led them to the ounting room. This was where people would hand over their cash gifts. Shen Liangchuan took out a red envelope and handed it over. Then the three of them walked out. Qiao Lian took a nce at Xia Yehua, who seemed to be keen to go see the bride. Qiao Lian asked one of the attendants, ¡°Is the bride already here? Is she in the lounge?¡± The attendant said, ¡°She should be arriving shortly! Where are your invitation cards? May I have a look? Their seats were indicated on the invitation cards. Qiao Lian handed the card to the attendant. It was written on the card: Zone A Table 3. She thought that most banquet tables were arranged starting with Zone A and, although Zone A Table 3 wasn¡¯t the first table, it was close by. But unexpectedly... as they followed the attendant, she started to feel uneasy. They were getting further and further away from the stage where the wedding ceremony was to take ce. Puzzled, she frowned and asked the attendant, ¡°Is this Zone A?¡± The attendant nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s right. Our zoning starts from the back. This is Zone A.¡± Qiao Lian was taken aback. She frowned as she trained her eyes on the stage. In a while, the ceremony would take ce there. Many had turned up for the asion, and if they went any further back, they would have to watch the bride and groom from the projector screen. Her expression turned gloomy and she asked, ¡°Who¡¯s in charge here? Please, can I speak with them?¡± The attendant was taken by surprise. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Do you know who I am? My Mom is the groom¡¯s mother, do you think it¡¯s appropriate for her to be seated in Zone A?¡± The attendant was stunned. However, she replied, ¡°Please wait for a moment, let me check with the people in charge.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. But after five minutes, no one turned up and the three of them were still standing there. At this point, most people around had been seated, while they stood there sticking out awkwardly. Everyone was now looking at them. Chapter 826 - The Wedding (8)

Chapter 826: The Wedding (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Looking at the crowding in, Qiao Lian frowned. None of the attendants hade to help. Her expression darkened. She knew that this was Mei Feng¡¯s doing. But most of the people who were seated knew Xia Yehua. When they saw her standing there and no one attending them, they started to whisper to each other. Some of the remarks they made could be heard: ¡°Eh, why is she here?¡± ¡°Shen Zihao is her son after all, why shouldn¡¯t she be here?¡± ¡°But how embarrassing. Look, she¡¯s standing there and no one¡¯s attending her.¡± ¡°And she¡¯s quite pitiful. Look at the Shen family¡¯s wedding and look at her. Really, she ought to be the one attending us.¡± ¡°...¡± Every word, every sentence caused Qiao Lian¡¯s expression to turn darker. She clenched her fists. Then she saw Shen Liangchuan narrowing his eyes, he was about to stride away somewhere. At once, Xia Yehua held him back and said in a low voice, ¡°Liangchuan, don¡¯t create a scene.¡± She looked around and said, ¡°I no longer care about these sort of sarcastic words. Today is an important and big day for your brother, I don¡¯t wish for anything to go wrong. If we have to suffer a little, then so be it. The difficulties of being a parent. Xia Yehua didn¡¯t wish to cause any trouble at Shen Zihao¡¯s wedding. At those words, Shen Liangchuan pursed his lips. Standing there, the three of them fell silent. Finally, Xia Yehua sighed and said, ¡°Let¡¯s just sit in Zone A Table 3.¡± Then she looked around and started to walk further back. Shen Liangchuan, however, took a step forward and said, ¡°Mom, don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t cause any trouble.¡± He looked towards the front and told them, ¡°Wait here for a bit.¡± If no one was going to help them, then he would help themselves. Mei Feng had always operated in secret. He strode over to the table nearest the stage. Senior Master Shen was sitting there, receiving greetings from people. His eyes were old but sharp and he was observing his surroundings. As he looked around, he spotted Shen Liangchuan striding towards him. ¡°Grandad.¡± Senior Master Shen¡¯s lips broke into a smile. ¡°Liangchuan, you¡¯re here.¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded. Senior Master Shenughed with pleasure and said, ¡°Come sit next to me.¡± At these words, the few people seated at the same table were taken by surprise. The people who sat at this table were the most important people for the asion. Later on, even the bride and groom would have to sit at Table 2. Yet Senior Master Shen was asking a grandson who had been banished from the Shen family to sit next to him. The people then recalled Shen Liangchuan¡¯s recent building project in Suzhou, and all of them started to smile and praise Shen Liangchuan. He epted everyone¡¯sments graciously, without showing much expression on his face. After everyone had acknowledged him, he said, ¡°I was going to ask Grandad where Mom will be seated.¡± His mother? Senior Master Shen was surprised and replied, ¡°ording to the given seats!¡± Shen Liangchuan lowered his gaze and said, ¡°We are in Zone A.¡± Zone A? Senior Master had never really cared about such things, but when he heard this, he sensed something amiss. He looked up at the seating arrangement and understood at once. Then his expression turned ugly, and he looked at the nearest attendant. ¡°Go get Mei Feng!¡± Shen Liangchuan stood there in silence. After a brief moment, Mei Feng hurried over with quick and small steps apanied by the attendant. The moment she saw Shen Liangchuan, she halted and at once understood what had happened. Her face turned pale. Chapter 827 - The Wedding (9)

Chapter 827: The Wedding (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mei Feng had been quite sure that Xia Yehua wouldn¡¯t create a scene. Hadn¡¯t it always been that way? Whenever they met in an event, Xia Yehua would take a step back. Besides, it was Shen Zihao¡¯s wedding today. But what was this situation now? Shen Liangchuan was carrying tales to Senior Master? Wasn¡¯t it a fact that Shen Liangchuan had not seen Senior Master again after he had left the Shen Family? She was well aware of Senior Master¡¯s status. At this thought, she heard Senior Master say, ¡°Indeed, wives picked from the wrong path are different. They can¡¯t be trusted to carry out their jobs properly. Such narrow-mindedness and pettiness!¡± Immediately, Mei Feng¡¯s expression turned ugly. Wives picked up from the wrong path... He was saying that her marriage to Shen Xiu wasn¡¯t proper. Mei Feng feltpelled to retort that they had been properly registered. But in front of Senior Master, she hardly dared to even breathe. Now, the people around were looking at them. Senior Master had made such cutting remarks about her in the presence of all these people... She waspletely embarrassed. She was also probably the first daughter-inw among all these wealthy families to be so severely rebuked by a father-inw. How was she going to face people in the future? Mei Feng clenched her fists tightly and hung her head, her face ashen. She was now perspiring in fear, worried that the Senior Master would make further remarks to make her look even worse. She quickly said, ¡°Dad, did I do something wrong? Please let me know and I¡¯ll rectify it immediately.¡± Senior Master was mindful of the asion and pointed at Shen Liangchuan, saying, ¡°Where did you arrange for Liangchuan and Zihao¡¯s mother to be seated?¡± Mei Feng immediately answered, ¡°I arranged for them to be seated at Table 3.¡± Shen Liangchuan gave a cold humph and said, ¡°Table 3 is right, but guess what? It¡¯s in Zone A.¡± Mei Feng put on a shocked expression and said, ¡°What? Something must have gone terribly wrong! I- I¡¯ll rectify that immediately.¡± Senior Master snorted disdainfully. The discernment in his eyes caused Mei Feng to feelpletely out of ce. She lowered her head and was about to leave, but Senior Master said, ¡°There¡¯s no need to make other arrangements. Just add another seat next to mine. He can sit here.¡± Mei Feng turned pale at those words. This table was for the elders, the sort of people who could shake Beijing city with just one word. Even Shen Xiu had not earned the right to be at this table after having moved around this circle for most of his life. And now, he was letting Shen Liangchuan sit at this table... What did this mean? At this thought, she frowned. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you moving along?!¡± Mei Feng immediately jumped and panicked. ¡°Sure, sure.¡± ¨C Eventually, Qiao Lian and Xia Yehua were seated at Table 3. Just as they sat down, there was amotion at the entrance. The bride had arrived. The wedding ceremonymenced. Everything went as nned, except that after Shen Xiu and Mei Feng took their seats at Table 2, Shen Xiu gave Xia Yehua a re that looked as though he was out to kill her. The ceremony host went through the program in an orderly manner. When the time came for Xia Nuannuan and Shen Zihao to exchange rings, Xia Yehua¡¯s eyes reddened with emotions. The host then proimed, ¡°Great, now I¡¯d like to announce that they are officially husband and wife! They will now bow to the couple¡¯s parents and change the way they address them.¡± He looked at the few tables next to the stage. ¡°May we invite Madame Xia Nuannuan¡¯s parents and Mr. Shen Zihao¡¯s parents on stage!¡± After these words, Shen Xiu immediately stood up. Without even a nce at Xia Yehua, he grabbed Mei Feng by the hand and started to walk towards the stage. Chapter 828 - The Wedding (10)

Chapter 828: The Wedding (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mei Feng was obviously declining it, but Shen Xiu said aloud, ¡°For all these years, you¡¯ve worked hard to care for Zihao. Although you are not his birth mother, you¡¯ve treated him far better. Besides, you are now my wife. If you are noting with me, who else has the right to be next to me?¡± Although these words were meant for Mei Feng, they were also for the hearing of everyone present. Senior Master could rebuke Mei Feng in everyone¡¯s presence, but surely wouldn¡¯t do the same to Shen Xiu. Because Shen Xiu was a grown man and was the head of his own family. Mei Feng¡¯s eyes reddened immediately when she heard these words. Hence, Shen Xiu led Mei Feng up to the stage. Sitting at Table 3, Xia Yehua felt the stares of all the people burning on her. The inquiring looks caused her face to flush with embarrassment. Qiao Lian was livid. Shen Xiu was simply too despicable. So be it, if he wanted Mei Feng to be on stage with him. Xia Yehua had never thought of sharing, much less stealing, the limelight from Mei Feng. Besides, why did he need to nder her at the same time that he praised Mei Feng? Qiao Lian clenched her fists tightly, but Xia Yehua reached out to hold her hand. She looked at the woman and saw Xia Yehua give her a helpless smile. Thetter said, ¡°As long as Zihao is happy and lives a blessed life, I¡¯m okay.¡± The words of a real mother. Qiao Lian nodded. The newly-weds addressed each others¡¯ parents. Shen Zihao knelt before Xia Nuannuan¡¯s parents. After he bowed once and addressed them as Dad and Mom, they gave him a red package. Xia Nuannuan then knelt before Shen Xiu and Mei Feng. She addressed Shen Xiu as ¡°Dad.¡± Then she looked towards Mei Feng. When she hesitated, Zihao intervened and called her, ¡°Aunty Mei.¡± Following his lead, she said, ¡°Aunty Mei.¡± At once, Mei Feng pulled a taut face. Still, she managed to cover it up quickly, as she put on a wide smile and gave the couple a red package each. She even lifted her eyes up to give Xia Yehua a look. It was a look that said everything. It was as though she was showing off. ¡°Look, so what if your son and daughter-inw do not call me Mom? They are still kneeling before me and I¡¯m the person on stage, next to Shen Xiu!¡± After this, the recognition of new inws ceremony ended. It was time for the bride and groom to propose a toast. Qiao Lian and Xia Yehua were sitting down at Table 3 when they saw Xia Nuannuan, who had just walked off the stage, grabbing Shen Zihao. They had a short exchange and Shen Zihao gave a nce in their direction. There was a hint of reluctance on his face, but after another word with Xia Nuannuan, he nodded impatiently. After this, the both of them picked up a ss of wine each and headed towards Table 3 rather than Table 1. The banquet hall was huge and, even though there were many people, the banquet tables were well-spaced. Xia Nuannuan and Shen Zihao walked up to Xia Yehua. Then they both took a step back and dropped on their knees before her. Xia Nuannuan eximed, ¡°Mom.¡± Xia Yehua immediately stood up and quickly bent over to help her up. ¡°Please, get up...¡± Xia Nuannuan gave the woman a big smile and said, ¡°Mom, I¡¯m not letting you get away without giving us a red package.¡± Xia Yehua immediately understood. The two of them were acknowledging her in public. She clenched her fists and her eyes immediately teared up. Looking at this touching scene, Qiao Lian sighed to herself. It was so important to have a thoughtful daughter-inw. Chapter 829 - The Wedding (11)

Chapter 829: The Wedding (11)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She quickly held Xia Yehua to stop the woman from crying and said, ¡°Mom, look at you, you¡¯re dazed with joy. Where¡¯s our red package?!¡± She certainly had a red packet ready. Xia Yehua reached into her handbag and drew out a swollen red envelope. Thrusting this into Xia Nuannuan¡¯s hands, she said, ¡°My wish is for the both of you to live a harmonious and beautiful life together. Mom wishes you both unity from now till eternity.¡± Her sincere wishes meant far more to them than the formal instructed blessings that Shen Xiu had given them on stage earlier on. Even Shen Zihao found himself tearing up. Xia Nuannuan nodded and said, ¡°Yes, Mom. We understand.¡± Shen Zihao hesitated and said, ¡°I understand.¡± Then he added, ¡°Mom.¡± Suddenly, this became a touching scene and everyone¡¯s eyes were stinging a little. For some reason, the recognition ceremony of the new inws they had just seen on stage hadn¡¯t been half as touching as this. Mei Feng, who was seated at Table 2, clenched her fists so tightly that her fingers dug into the flesh of her palm. Just as she thought that she had a one up on Xia Yehua, in the blink of an eye, it had all been destroyed by this little tr*amp! The crowd seated further away could not have heard Xia Nuannuan, however, she had heard every word loud and clear. After Xia Nuannuan had walked off the stage, she had told Shen Zihao, ¡°Let¡¯s go and bow to Mom as well.¡± Shen Zihao had replied, ¡°Do we really need to go through all this trouble?¡± Xia Nuannuan had insisted, ¡°A marriage is a once in a lifetime asion. Let¡¯s not be concerned about taking the trouble. If we don¡¯t do this now, we may live with regretster on. Mom is not in good health. She was looking at you with so much yearning that my heart aches for her.¡± At these words, Shen Zihao immediately became ambivalent and said, ¡°I¡¯ll leave it up to you.¡± Then he was led along by Xia Nuannuan and walked towards Xia Yehua. All of this had happened because of the interfering Xia Nuannuan! Mei Feng was so mad that she wished she could throw the content of her wine ss in Xia Nuannuan¡¯s face. But still, she worked hard at keeping herposure, so that she looked indifferent, as though nothing had happened. ¨C Now, it was time for the bride and groom to give their toasts. As Xia Nuannuan was pregnant, they had reced the wine in her ss with water. The guests didn¡¯t make things difficult for them. After a single round of toasts, Shen Zihao got tipsy. The wedding banquet came to an end at 2 p.m. Everyone started to leave in an orderly manner. Xia Yehua looked worriedly at Shen Zihao and Xia Nuannuan, saying, ¡°Look at these two. One is pregnant and the other has had too much to drink. What do we do now?¡± Shen Liangchuan assured her, ¡°There are many people here from the Shen family. You worry too much.¡± Xia Yehua sighed. So what if she were worried? The newlyweds had to head back to the Shen family anyway. It wasn¡¯t as though she could follow them. She looked at Shen Zihao being helped into the car, and then Xia Nuannuan, in her wedding gown, also entered the vehicle. After this, she watched the car pull off and drive away slowly. Xia Yehua¡¯s gaze followed the vehicle until it disappeared into the distance, then she sighed deeply. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s nanny van pulled up next to them at this point. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Xia Yehua nodded and got into the van. Around the time they arrived back at the vi, Xia Nuannuan and Shen Zihao too, had arrived at the Shen family residence. Their car entered the main gate of the Shen family residence, drove past theyered gardens and atst came into the ptial western-style multi-storied building. Xia Nuannuan felt as though all of a sudden, she was being restrained by something invisible. She got off the car, almost too afraid to breathe, and followed Shen Zihao as they stepped into their nuptial home together. Shen Xiu had stayed behind in the hotel to take care of the post event matters, hence, Mei Feng hade back home with the newlyweds. Chapter 830 - The Wedding (12)

Chapter 830: The Wedding (12)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mei Feng said looking at Shen Zihao, ¡°Nuannuan, Zihao had too much to drink. Look after him.¡± Xia Nuannuan nodded. Following the housekeepers, Mei Feng left and walked away from their bedroom. Xia Nuannuan slowly took off the cumbersome wedding gown by herself, and then went to the washroom to remove the hair grips that were holding her coiled bun in ce. After this, she started to remove her make-up. When she had done all of this, she finally changed into her pajamas and walked over to the bed. Shen Zihao had fallen asleep on the bed, having had too much to drink. His breathing was even and in the air, there was a lingering hint of alcohol. Xia Nuannuan stared at Shen Zihao. They were married. Finally married. From now on, she was this man¡¯s wife. Even though this was reality, it felt like a dream. As she was contemting this, Shen Zihao suddenly started to move. He frowned, tilted his head and threw up. Xia Nuannuan had not had any morning sickness throughout her pregnancy so far. But when the acrid stench now hit her nose, she suddenly felt nauseous. She quickly covered her nose, ran to the window and opened it, taking deep breaths. When she felt better, she turned around and saw that Shen Zihao was lying on the bed again with his forehead deeply furrowed. She walked over and found that he hadn¡¯t really dirtied himself. It was just the carpet... Looking at the gooey mess on the ground made her feel nauseous all over again. She quickly turned away, opened all the windows and tried to air the room. Then she walked to the door and opened it. She had never been a squeamish person, but pregnant women sometimes couldn¡¯t control their physiological reactions. She went downstairs and saw that Mei Feng was instructing the housekeepers to remove the ¡®happiness¡¯ character that had been pasted all over the house. She walked up to the woman and softly called her, ¡°Aunty Mei.¡± Mei Feng turned around. Xia Nuannuan asked, ¡°Could we get someone to help clean up? Zihao threw up.¡± The moment she said this, Mei Feng started tough. ¡°Nuannuan, now that you¡¯re married to Zihao, shouldn¡¯t you look after him?¡± Xia Nuannuan paused for a moment and said, ¡°The smell was¡ª¡± Mei Feng didn¡¯t wait for her to finish before saying, ¡°I know, he threw up. Of course it smells bad, but that¡¯s your husband now. Besides, do you think it¡¯s appropriate to get the housekeeper to attend your drunk husband?¡± Mei Feng gave Xia Nuannuan no chance to retort. The girl finally nodded and said, ¡°I understand, Aunty Mei.¡± She went back upstairs and took the mop from the washroom. Then she returned to the bedroom with the mop and started to clean up. Trying to endure the nausea, she finally managed to clean up the mess on the carpet, but it made her sick. She dashed into the washroom and started retching, and she did so until there was nothing of the wedding lunch left in her. It left her feeling weak. She walked out of the washroom and sat down on the sofa. At this point, her cell phone rang. She picked up and heard her mother¡¯s voice on the other end, ¡°Nuannuan, your Dad and I will be going home this afternoon. We¡¯ll get the house ready for you to return in three days.¡± Xia Nuannuan couldn¡¯t bear to say goodbye. She started, ¡°Mom...¡± ¡°You¡¯re married now and from now on, you¡¯re a grown up. You have to take good care of yourself, do you hear me?¡± ¡°Uh huh.¡± ¡°And also, today¡¯s dowry, it was a check and it¡¯s with your Aunty Mei. Remember to get it back from her. If she doesn¡¯t say anything about it, you have to remind her.¡± ¡°Uh huh.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll hang up then.¡± ¡°Mom...¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Chapter 831 - The Wedding (13)

Chapter 831: The Wedding (13)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Nothing.¡± Xia Nuannuan felt a deep sadness in her heart. ¡°I- I miss you.¡± ¡°Silly girl. What¡¯s there to miss? We¡¯ll see you again in three days. Is there anything else? If not, I¡¯ll hang up.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all.¡± ¡°Okay, remember the dowry. That money is our family¡¯s savings.¡± Xia Nuannuan nodded. After hanging up, she sat there feeling a little lost as she looked at the unfamiliar surroundings. Her gaze finally fell on Shen Zihao, who was lying on the bed. He had been born a pampered young master and didn¡¯t really know how to care for others. But he took adequate care of her. Perhaps she was just feeling ill because this was a new environment and she was not used to it. It had to be that. She took a deep breath at this point. ¨C The skies gradually darkened and Shen Zihao finally woke up. After the sleep, his head was still throbbing a little. Seeing that he was finally awake, she sighed in relief. Shen Zihao asked, ¡°What time is it?¡± ¡°Six.¡± She took a step towards him and asked, ¡°How are you feeling?¡± Massaging his head, Shen Zihao sat up and said, ¡°It¡¯ste. Have you eaten?¡± Xia Nuannuan replied, ¡°Not yet.¡± He paused. ¡°Aren¡¯t you hungry?¡± She quickly said, ¡°No, not hungry.¡± But just as she said this, her stomach gave a loud rumble. Shen Zihao: ... He got up and said, ¡°This is our home now. Whenever you¡¯re hungry, you should say so.¡± She looked up at him and wanted to say something, but no words came. This was his home, but not hers. Still, she smiled and nodded gently. The couple made their way downstairs. Mei Feng was in the living room waiting for them. When she saw theming downstairs, she called out, ¡°Dinner is ready!¡± Shen Xiu walked out of the study and made his way down as well. When Xia Nuannuan saw him, she immediately greeted him, ¡°Dad.¡± Shen Xiu frowned and icily grunted an acknowledgment. Then he chided her, ¡°In future, please seek permission with whatever you do. After you came down from the stage earlier, you bowed to that woman. Did you seek my agreement about that?¡± Shen Zihao frowned when he heard this and said, ¡°That was my decision!¡± Shen Xiu immediately replied coldly, ¡°Your decision? I don¡¯t think you would have made such a decision before you got married.¡± Shen Xiu looked at Xia Nuannuan and was about to say more, when she hung her head and said, teary-eyed, ¡°Dad, I know it¡¯s my fault.¡± With that, he shut up. He would have said more, but looking at Xia Nuannuan with her head lowered and reddened eyes, it was difficult for anyone to be tough on her. No matter what, she was a gentle girl and anyone would feel like a criminal raising their voice at her. In the end, all he said was, ¡°Don¡¯t do that again!¡± Then he walked past her and headed for the dining room. When Mei Feng saw this, her eyes shed sharply. The four of them were silent over dinner. After the meal, Xia Nuannuan looked at Mei Feng, waiting for her to bring up the matter of the 9.99 million. But Mei Feng seemed to have forgotten all about it and did not say a word about this. At 9 p.m., Shen Xiu stood up and said, ¡°Okay, we should all go and rest.¡± Seeing that her inws were about to head upstairs, she waspelled to speak up, ¡°Dad, Aunty Mei!¡± Chapter 832 - The Wedding (14)

Chapter 832: The Wedding (14)

The two of them halted and turned around. Xia Nuannuan bit her lip and said, ¡°Aunty Mei, my- my dowry- the check- It¡¯s still with you...¡± Before she could finish, her face started burning and turning scarlet. At the same time, Mei Feng said, ¡°Oh, now that you mention it, it¡¯s a good reminder.¡± Xia Nuannuan exhaled in relief. She thought that Mei Feng would return the check but, unexpectedly, the woman said instead, ¡°Your dad says that since Zihao is married and grown up now, he should enter the family business. In the future, he should depend on himself for expenditures.¡± When Xia Nuannuan heard this, she panicked. A portion of that money, 1.11 million, were taken from her parents¡¯ savings. Her parents had never thought of asking that money back for themselves, but it was money that they had given her. Now that Mei Feng was holding onto it, what would that mean? Besides, she knew that Mei Feng didn¡¯t like her. Xia Nuannuan was about to speak again when Mei Feng smiled and looked towards Shen Zihao, saying, ¡°The money is with me, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re not worried about that, right? Zihao, what do you say?¡± Shen Zihao casually replied without much thinking, ¡°It¡¯s not that much money. Even if you spent all of it, it¡¯s fine. There¡¯s nothing to worry about.¡± 9.99 million was a figure that didn¡¯t bother Shen Zihao a bit. It would cost that much to buy a car and there were more than ten cars in their garage. Xia Nuannuan was speechless. Did Shen Zihao possess any worldly wisdom at all?! How could he just make such a decision about her dowry? But now, it was toote. There was no way to get that money back. She couldn¡¯t possibly berate Shen Zihao in front of his parents. She bit her tongue, feeling like a giant wad of cotton wool had been shoved down her throat. After they went back to their room, Xia Nuannuan and Shen Zihao too headed back to their bedroom. The moment they stepped in, Xia Nuannuan looked towards Shen Zihao and said, ¡°Zihao, the 9.99 million¡ª¡± ¡°Okay, I know you¡¯re worried. Tomorrow I¡¯ll give you 9.99 million, ok? The check from today, let her keep it. Besides, the check was made in your name. Without you, she can¡¯t withdraw the money, so you don¡¯t have to fret.¡± What else could the girl say? The following day, Shen Zihao discovered... ¡°My ount, why is it frozen?! I can¡¯t even withdraw a single cent!¡± This was when he realized what Mei Feng had meant when she said those words. The Shen family was serious about cutting off Shen Zihao¡¯s resources so that he would go to work obediently. ¨C Xia Yehua was nervous every single day about the sufferings that Xia Nuannuan had to go through. In the mornings, she would say, ¡°I wonder if Mei Feng will torture Xia Nuannuan.¡± In the afternoons, she would say, ¡°I hope they are not making Xia Nuannuan cook lunch.¡± In the evenings, she would ask, ¡°What do you think Nuannuan and Zihao are doing? I hope they are not cleaning the house.¡± Even Qiao Lian found her attitude funny. ¡°Mom, those who know are aware that you got a daughter-inw, but those who don¡¯t know might think that you¡¯ve given away a daughter!¡± Xia Yehua was aware of her repeatedments. Sheughed. ¡°I¡¯m only worried that Mei Feng might bully Xia Nuannuan. Nuannuan isn¡¯t like you, she¡¯s gentler.¡± Qiao Lianughed and said, ¡°But I feel that Xia Nuannuan is a very wise person.¡± Shen Liangchuan stood there and was about to add to the conversation when his cell phone rang. He picked up the call. It was Song Cheng. ¡°Brother Shen, we¡¯ve managed to find out everything rted to Soul Fighter.¡± Chapter 833 - These Are Sleeping Pills (1)

Chapter 833: These Are Sleeping Pills (1)

Shen Liangchuan¡¯s pupils shrank as he turned to nce at Qiao Lian. He left the two women and headed upstairs. After stepping into the study, he said, ¡°E-mail them over to me.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve done so.¡± ¡°Uh huh.¡± ¡°Brother Shen?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve taken a look at the documents. I can confirm that Soul Fighter... is dead for real.¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s heart sank when he heard those words. After a moment, he said, ¡°I understand.¡± He hung up and sat behind his desk, staring nkly at the tabletop. At the time, when Soul Fighter died, he actually did not see the man¡¯s dead body. He remembered well that day was the day he was supposed to have met up with Qiao Lian. He saw her in the cafe. At the time, she was talking on the phone with her best friend. He stood there, staring at her steadily. Later on, he received a text message from Song Yuanxi. [Song Yuanxi: My brother has died.] He stood up with a snap at those words and left the cafe without a word, heading straight to the hospital. By the time he arrived at the hospital, Soul Fighter¡¯s body had already been transferred to the morgue. After that, he was cremated and buried. Hence from the start till the end, he had never seen Soul Fighter¡¯s dead body. Now all the information was in hisputer. He took a deep breath and turned on the machine. All the information on Soul Fighter appeared on the screen at once. An ident, internal hemorrhage, failed CPR, death. The pictures of Soul Fighter¡¯s ident, of him lying on the hospital bed, the moment of death... There was ven information on whether his eyes were shut at the moment of death. His eyes were open but unseeing. The massive internal bleeding, how his oral cavity was filled with blood from the internal bleeding... It was evident that the man had been in great pain before he passed away. This heavy information crushed Shen Liangchuan¡¯s heart, pulling it apart. The pain was almost unbearable and he raised his hand to clutch at his chest. Soul Fighter... Soul Fighter! With a quick motion, he turned theputer screen off. He was heaving and taking deep breaths. He had never known that this was how Soul Fighter had died. He clenched his fists tightly. After a while, there was a knocking on the study door. He looked up and saw Qiao Lian standing at the doorway, giving him an inquisitive look. ¡°Aren¡¯t youing to bed?¡± It was only then that Shen Liangchuan realized it was already 10 p.m. He stood up and said, ¡°You go ahead. I¡¯ll be on my way.¡± She nodded and left the room. He took a deep breath and opened the drawer. He reached for the vial of sleeping pills and took one. The study door was pushed open again, with Qiao Lian at the doorway. She said, ¡°Oh, I forgot to tell you, I¡¯ve showered.¡± How much more obvious could an invitation get? But the only vision that filled Shen Liangchuan¡¯s eyes was the look on Soul Fighter¡¯s face at the moment of his death. He felt sick. Frowning, he nodded at her and replied, ¡°Uh huh.¡± He stood up and followed Qiao Lian back to the bedroom. Then he picked up his towel and went into the bathroom for a shower. When he came out of the shower, Qiao Lian was nowhere to be seen. Puzzled, he walked out of the bedroom and saw that the lights in his study had been turned on. He walked over and opened the door. As he did so, he saw Qiao Lian raising her head and downing a mouthful of water. But in her hand was the vial of sleeping pills that he had ordered from overseas! His pupils shrank and he asked, ¡°What are you doing?!¡± With a wave of her hand, Qiao Lian answered, ¡°I just took a few of those vitamins that you always take!¡± Chapter 834 - These Are Sleeping Pills (2)

Chapter 834: These Are Sleeping Pills (2)

How many? Recalling the way that she had downed those pills, he jumped up in fright and ran towards her, demanding anxiously, ¡°How many did you take? Spit them all out!¡± Qiao Lian shrank back and replied, ¡°Why? It¡¯s just vitamins. Taking a few won¡¯t hurt!¡± ¡°How are you feeling now? Spit them out quickly! These are sleeping pills, an overdose can kill you.¡± In his panic, he said these words aloud. But the moment these words came out, the study fell silent. Qiao Lian looked at him with a shocked expression and said, ¡°So these are sleeping pills?¡± Seeing her reaction, Shen Liangchuan suddenly realized that he had been tricked. Actually, she had taken none. Indeed, she hadn¡¯t taken any. In thest few days, although Shen Liangchuan had gotten back into the normal swing of his daily life... She felt that it was all forced. He had forced himself to be good towards her, forced himself to not lose his temper, and even forced himself to sleep. Nothing had changed in their daily lives. Yet she felt that something was awfully different. No matter what, it was different. Even when he smiled, it was so superficial. When she came looking for him just now and saw him taking the pills, she felt that something was wrong. That was why she had set him up. And so... These were sleeping pills. These days, before bedtime every night, he had to take sleeping pills. What was wrong with him exactly that he had to take sleeping pills to help him sleep?! Qiao Lian stood up and stared at him. ¡°Shen Liangchuan, tell me. Why are you taking sleeping pills?¡± The effect of the sleeping pill was starting to set in. Shen Liangchuan felt the heaviness in his eyes and tiredness was descending upon him quickly. His mind was shutting down. He looked at Qiao Lian and said, ¡°Xiao Qiao, stop the nonsense.¡± Qiao Lian shook her head and said, ¡°I¡¯m not being nonsensical. You can¡¯t be taking this sort of drugs.¡± ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t.¡± ¡°Tell me then, why are you taking this?¡± Shen Liangchuan massaged his temple and said, ¡°I haven¡¯t been able to sleeptely, perhaps it¡¯s the pressure I¡¯m facing.¡± Hearing theme excuse, she finally closed her eyes with resignation. She squeezed the vial in her hand tightly and said after a pause, ¡°Let¡¯s go to sleep.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± Following Shen Liangchuan, they walked back into their bedroom. After lying on the bed for some time, she finally heard Shen Liangchuan¡¯s light and shallow breathing. He must have fallen asleep. She, however, could not get to sleep. Her eyes were wide open, staring at the ceiling. Finally, she shut her eyes. All night long, she drifted in and out of a restless sleep. And in the middle of the night, she suddenly heard the man next to her sit up in bed with a snap. She opened her eyes again and saw Shen Liangchuan sitting up. He appeared to have a headache as he pressed down on his skull. Then he stood up and walked out of the room quietly. Qiao Lian sat up and got out of bed, silently following behind him. She saw him enter the study and open the desk drawer, like he was looking for something. Qiao Lian walked in and looked at him. Holding up the vial of sleeping pills in her hand, she asked, ¡°Are you looking for this?¡± Shen Liangchuan turned around and saw the vial of medicine. He pursed his lips and hesitated before he nodded. With a serious expression on her face, she walked towards him. Without saying a word, she handed the sleeping pills over to the man. He took the vial from her, opened the lid and took out two pills. He popped them into his mouth. Then, a bottle of water appeared before him. He turned around and saw that Qiao Lian had brought the water for him. He hesitated again for a moment, then reached out and took the ss from her. ¡°The doctor said this medicine is safe...¡± Chapter 835 - These Are Sleeping Pills (3)

Chapter 835: These Are Sleeping Pills (3)

She didn¡¯t say a word, but her tears welled and gathered behind the rims of her eyes, before they overflowed and slid down her cheeks in two streams. The tears hung momentarily at the edge of her jaw and fell on the ground with a silent ssh. But they were like boiling hot water hitting against his heart. There was a writhing pain inside his chest. He quickly put the vial of medicine and the ss of water away, and fumbled around for a tissue to dry her eyes. But the tears were now falling at an rming rate and atst, he feltpletely helpless. He looked at her and pleaded, ¡°Xiao Qiao, please don¡¯t cry. I¡ª¡± Before he could finish speaking, she suddenly turned around and threw her arms around him. ¡°You fool! All sleeping pills have side effects, do you think I¡¯m stupid? Why do you want to take these pills and harm yourself?¡± Her crying had left him at a total loss. He looked at her frantically and could only say repeatedly, ¡°Don¡¯t cry, Xiao Qiao, please don¡¯t cry.¡± ¡°Then promise me that you won¡¯t take them again, ok?¡± ¡°Ok.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll massage you to help. I¡¯ve learnt how to do that recently.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± She stopped her crying, grabbed his hand tightly and threw herself into his embrace. Hey down on the bed and she sat next to him, extending her hands to softly massage his head. He shut his eyes. At once, the room fell silent. Ten minutes passed. His breathing became even, it seemed as though he had fallen asleep. She didn¡¯t stop. An hour passed, he had not moved and there was no change in his breathing. She still went on. Two hours passed. The man opened his eyes. Suddenly, he turned around and held her in his arms. He had thought that if he fell asleep, she would stop and rest. But he had been pretending for two hours and she hadn¡¯t stopped. He knew that she knew he had not fallen asleep. At this point, he could only feel that dull ache in his heart. Qiao Lian held onto him tightly. The two of themy on the bed, embracing each other. But none of them spoke. They stayed like this, eyes wide open, till the morning came. The light broke through the clouds. Shen Liangchuan sighed in relief, looked at the time and sat up. He looked at Qiao Lian, bent over and kissed her on the forehead. ¡°I¡¯m going for some exercise, you catch up on sleep.¡± Seeing that she was still quiet, he added, ¡°I promise you I won¡¯t take those pills anymore. Ok? She nodded. He got changed into his exercise gear and headed out. The moment he shut the room door behind him, Qiao Lian buried her head in the nket and started to cry again. She didn¡¯t know why she was crying. She only knew that it would feel awful to have insomnia. And she knew that sleeping pills would harm the body if taken in excess. But now what could she do? Ack of sleep, night after night, to Shen Liangchuan would be pure torture. And at some point, the human body would break down. What sort of burden was he bearing in his heart exactly? Qiao Lian clutched at the nket tightly and couldn¡¯t stop crying. ¨C While exercising, Shen Liangchuan was feeling distracted. The insomnia he was experiencing had actually been easing up recently. But seeing the death records of Soul Fighter had worsen things considerably. As the cold morning air hit him, his mind started to clear up. He understood. He had fallen into a trap. The person who had delivered his order wasn¡¯t Soul Fighter, but it had led him to investigate and reopen the wounds from eight years ago. Chapter 836 - These Are Sleeping Pills (4)

Chapter 836: These Are Sleeping Pills (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios So even if he had not witnessed Soul Fighter¡¯s death eight years ago... Eight yearster, he had relived the moment. And it had increased his feelings of guilt. Although now he knew it was all an evil scheme, he had walked right into in. He could not escape his own inner demons. It was better in the day, when he could stop himself from thinking about all these things. But when night came, in his dreams, he would lose all control of his own emotions. He was sleepless not because he could not get to sleep. It was because he didn¡¯t dare to fall asleep. Because the moment he fell into a deep sleep, Soul Fighter would appear in his dreams. At this thought, Shen Liangchuan hung his head. After exercising, he returned to his room. At this point, Aunty Li walked in with another express delivery package. He was now almost getting one of these every day. Prior to this, the card would say: [Chuan Zi, how are you?] He thought it would be the same today. Hence, he went upstairs and walked into the study. He tore open the package and found a card, but it was a different message today: [Soul Fighter had such a tragic death, can you really live with a clear conscience?] His pupils shrank at once. Yet again, he tossed the card into the trash bin. He sat in the room for a while, letting his own emotions settle before standing up again. The insomnia he had been suffering for thest fortnight made him feel like his health wasn¡¯t at its best. He stepped into the bathroom and took a shower. Then, he walked at a slow pace towards the bedroom. As he stepped in, he heard a barely audible sobbing. He was taken aback for a moment. Immediately, he drew open the curtains and walked over to the bed. He lifted the nket and saw that Qiao Lian was sobbing spasmodically, her eyes were bloodshot. Seeing her messed-up hair and her reddened nose and eyes, he felt a wrenching pain in his heart. Immediately, he covered her with his arms silently. He heard her say, ¡°We¡¯ll take you to a psychologist, is that ok?¡± Is that ok? Shen Liangchuan paused for a while and then said, ¡°Ok.¡± ¨C They made an appointment with one of the most well-known psychologists in the country. Qiao Lian apanied him to the appointment, but waited outside. Shen Liangchuan needed to trust the psychologistpletely for the therapy to work. Qiao Lian didn¡¯t know the things that were going on in his mind, and neither did he want her to know. She waited outside the psychologist¡¯s office for a long time. About two hourster, the door to the room finally swung open. Shen Liangchuan walked out, pale. Qiao Lian looked at the psychologist and asked, ¡°Doctor, how is he?¡± The psychologist smiled and said, ¡°Just matters of the heart, it¡¯s nothing too serious, certainly not as serious as you thought. As for the sleeping pills, it¡¯s ok to take a small amount, but don¡¯t be reliant on them. The other thing, of course, is to rx. My suggestion is that you go on a holiday! Let gopletely and leave Beijing.¡± Qiao Lian took his every word seriously and nodded. On the way home with Shen Liangchuan, she thought about where to go for a holiday. Shen Liangchuan was a celebrity and it wouldn¡¯t be convenient to travel overseas. But within China, there were huge crowds everywhere and it was impossible to get awaypletely. When they got home, they saw Xia Yehua looking worried and restless. Puzzled, Qiao Lian asked, ¡°Mom, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Xia Yehua replied, ¡°Zihao and Nuannuan are returning to her parents¡¯ home in Hainan today. I¡¯m just a little worried.¡± Hainan. Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up. ¡°What¡¯s there to worry about? We¡¯ll go with you. We¡¯ll all take a family holiday!¡± It was a good time for a change of environment. There would be things to do and that would distract everyone for now. Chapter 837 - Trip to Hainan (1)

Chapter 837: Trip to Hainan (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The ne drew an arc across the sky. From the smog-covered city of Beijing, they made a slow transition into clear blue skies. While it was still the middle of the winter in Beijing, in Hainan it was spring all year round. Emerging from the airport, Qiao Lian looked up at the deep blue heavens. It felt like these were the skies that she had only seen in her childhood. The air they were breathingcked the hazy quality of the Beijing air, and she immediately felt her body detoxify. Even her mood shifted. Xia Nuannuan looked at her andughed, ¡°Hainan is not bad, right? Nowadays, developers use theck of smog in Hainan to market their properties here.¡± Qiao Lian nodded in agreement. ¡°It¡¯s great out here. We should really buy a holiday vi here! The air is great.¡± Xia Yehua looked around and said, ¡°No wonder, Nuannuan, you have such good skin. The air is clean and it is high in humidity.¡± Shen Zihao and Shen Liangchuan were thest two to walk out of the airport. Each of them were carrying two suitcases and they both looked at the three women with a gloomy expression before grimacing very slightly. The two brothers looked at each other with disdain, while the three women had talked non-stop along the way and had been nothing but annoyingly cheerful. As they stepped out of the airport building, they were being received by some people, as Shen Liangchuan had arranged. Shen Liangchuan was wearing his sunsses and mask, walking in the direction of the crowd with two suitcases in tow. As he exited the main entrance, someone shoved him from behind. He reached out quickly to move his suitcases out of the way, but this sudden action pushed his mask away. At this point, someone spotted him and eximed at once, ¡°Best Actor Shen?¡± The remark triggered an uncontroble reaction, as the people in the crowd turned their attention in this direction simultaneously. Shen Liangchuan frowned at once and hurriedly reached for his fallen mask, putting it back on despite that it had fallen into the ground. Pushing the suitcase along, he tried to move forward, but the crowd had already blocked his path. ¡°Best Actor Shen! Are you Best Actor Shen?¡± The crowd closed in even more. Shen Zihao and Shen Liangchuan were now standing next to each other. But the three women, free of the burden of any luggage, had been pushed away by the crowd. The pregnant Xia Nuannuan could not get herself mixed in the crowd for sure and Xia Yehua wasn¡¯t in good health, so Qiao Lian had to look after the two women. For this reason, she had not dared to turn back and rescue Shen Liangchuan. At this point, Qiao Lian¡¯s alerts were all up. If she had known this was going to happen, she would have suggested to have Song Cheng and the bodyguardse along. For the sake of a proper holiday, they had failed to take into ount how recognizable Shen Liangchuan actually was. They were dead meat. Were they in for serious trouble now? When would the airport security officers turn up to help? As she contemted the problem, she suddenly heard a loudughter among the crowd. ¡°Are you saying I¡¯m Best Actor Shen? Open your eyes widely to have a look! I look a little different from Best Actor Shen, ok?¡± That was... Shen Zihao¡¯s voice. Qiao Lian stood at the fringe of the crowd and had no idea what was going on in the crowd. In the crowd. Shen Liangchuan lowered his head, trying to make his way through the people, but his path was blocked. The people swarmed around. He frowned and looked towards Shen Zihao to signal his intentions to escape first. Yet the moment he heard Shen Zihao¡¯s remark, he turned around with surprise and saw that his brother had taken his cap off to fully expose his face to the crowd. ¡°Hey, take a look! Take a careful look. Although we bear a slight resemnce to each other, I¡¯m actually better looking than Best Actor Shen.¡± Shen Zihao did indeed bear some simrities to his brother in looks, hence, everyone was stunned at once when he exposed himself to the crowd. Chapter 838 - Trip to Hainan (2)

Chapter 838: Trip to Hainan (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Oh, he¡¯s really not after all!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve made a mistake!¡± Shen Zihao sighed and said, ¡°So can everyone let me through now?¡± The crowd started to retreat to let them pass. Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t believe that the two men had managed to get themselves out of the situation this easily. After they got onto the nanny van, the people were still in a daze as it had all happened very quickly. Shen Zihao snorted icily and said, ¡°See all the trouble you cause by being an actor? Aren¡¯t there better jobs out there?¡± Although his words weren¡¯t the kindest, Shen Liangchuan saw how his brother had protected him just now. It had been a very heartwarming act. He gave Shen Zihao a nce and then looked ahead without replying. The three women exchanged looks and finally burst outughing. Shen Zihao and Xia Nuannuan were to stay with the Xia¡¯s, of course. Qiao Lian and the two others had booked hotel rooms. Xia Nuannuan said, ¡°Mom, it¡¯s a rare opportunity that you and brother-inw are here. My parents said they¡¯d like to invite you for dinner. You muste.¡± Xia Yehua nodded in agreement. ¡°Sure, you two go home today. We¡¯ll be here for a few days anyway, so we¡¯lle to visit another day.¡± Xia Nuannuan nodded. They dropped Xia Nuannuan and Shen Zihao at the Xia family home, and then were on their way to the hotel. The room they had booked was a suite in a six-star hotel. It had more than adequate facilities. They had selected a two-bedroom suite with a living area, and the rooms were veryfortable. The moment Qiao Lian stepped in, she threw herself on the bed and made ae-hither gesture at Shen Liangchuan with her index finger. Shen Liangchuan walked over to the bed and sat down. Now the skies were darkening. They ordered dinner from the hotel¡¯s menu, had dinner together with Xia Yehua and then returned to their own rooms to rest. The air was great and the environment was beautiful in this unfamiliar city. Qiao Lian gave Shen Liangchuan a massage and in five minutes, he was fast asleep without the need for any sleeping pills. When she saw that he had finally fallen asleep, she was ecstatic. This trip had been a right decision! ¨C Someone had fallen asleep, but someone else had lost sleep. Xia Nuannuany on her bed in her own room looking at everything around her that was so familiar. She was ted and joyful. She had only been in the Shen family residence for three days, yet it had felt like dreary three years. Now that she was home, she finally could let out a long sigh of relief. She tossed and turned in bed, unable to get to sleep. Finally she stood up and walked out of the room. The moment she stepped out, she saw her mother sitting on the sofa in the living room, staring into space. Xia Nuannuan was surprised. ¡°Mom?¡± Mom Xia stood up and asked, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you asleep?¡± Xia Nuannuan hung her head and said, ¡°I couldn¡¯t get to sleep.¡± Mom Xia held out her hand and said, ¡°Then let¡¯s have a mother-daughter chat.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± ¡°Nuannuan, how¡¯s life with the Shen family?¡± The girl paused briefly at this question, then said, ¡°It¡¯s quite good.¡± Mom Xia continued to nod and smiled. ¡°Our Nuannuan has grown up and gotten married. And now you¡¯re bing a mother. You have to take better care of your own health from now on, do you understand?¡± Xia Nuannuan nodded. ¡°Mom, why aren¡¯t you asleep?¡± Mom Xia¡¯s eyes glistened and said, ¡°I can¡¯t sleep either.¡± The girl was surprised and asked, ¡°Why?¡± In the dark, Mom Xia forced a smile and said, ¡°I can¡¯t bear to let you go.¡± Chapter 839 - Trip to Hainan (3)

Chapter 839: Trip to Hainan (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xia Nuannuan didn¡¯t notice the strange expression on her mother¡¯s face. She stretched her arms out, hugged Mom Xia and said like a spoilt child, ¡°Mom, what¡¯s there to worry about? Just pretend that I¡¯ve gone away to school and wille back to see you every year. If you miss me, why don¡¯t you and dad move to Beijing?¡± Upon hearing this, Mom Xia seemed to have some thoughts. ¡°We could rent something in Beijing anyway, now that our home no longer-¡± She halted suddenly. Curious, Xia Nuannuan asked, ¡°Our home no longer what?¡± Mom Xia smiled and looked at her. ¡°Our home no longer has you in it! But you¡¯re in Beijing! Your Dad and I call it home only where you¡¯re present.¡± The girlughed when she heard these heartwarming words. While the mother and daughter talked to each other, Dad Xia stood at the doorway of his bedroom and looked at them quietly. His weathered face was wet with tears. He had brought up his precious daughter for so many years only to give her away. He could hardly bear to do this. But no matter what, he had to. He saw that Shen Zihao treated his daughter well and that was a source offort to him. At least, not all of it had been in vain... Dad Xia sighed at this thought. Xia Nuannuan spoke with Mom Xia tillte before they went to bed. The following morning, when the day broke, she was up. Mom and Dad had slepttest night, so they were not up yet. She thought about how they were so reluctant to let her go and feltpelled to make breakfast for them. As Shen Zihao was still asleep, she tiptoed softly out of the bedroom, gently opened the front door and let herself out. As she walked down the street, she felt rxed. This was where she had grown up and she knew her way to the market with her eyes shut. When she got to the market and as she was selecting the fresh vegetables and seafood, a robust aunty came up to her eximing, ¡°Good grief, isn¡¯t this Nuannuan?¡± Xia Nuannuan paused for a moment and then said, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s Aunt Li!¡± Aunt Li was her father¡¯s colleague. When she saw Xia Nuannuan, she immediately smiled and said, ¡°I heard you¡¯re doing really well! You¡¯ve gotten married in Beijing! And after this are you settling down in Beijing?¡± The girl smiled and answered, ¡°Yes.¡± The smiling Aunt Li continued, ¡°So this time are you here to take your parents there?¡± Xia Nuannuan was surprised at this remark. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Your parents sold their house in a hurry. Wasn¡¯t it because they were moving to Beijing to stay with you? They are going to enjoy their lives there! When you were little, I always said that you were a blessed child. What do you know?¡± Xia Nuannuan wasn¡¯t listening to Aunt Li¡¯sst few sentences. Her head had only registered that remark. ¡°...sold their house in a hurry...¡± The house that their family had lived in for almost 20 years! That was her parents¡¯ sweat and blood of a lifetime, bought with a loan from the bank. And now they had sold it off? She finally realized where the 1.11 million of her dowry hade from. So that was how they got the money. At once, her eyes turned red. She dropped the vegetables in her hand and ran back home at once. Just as she arrived at the door, she heard her parents talking inside. Mom Xia was saying, ¡°This child, she disappeared early in the morning! Where could she have gone to?¡± Dad Xia replied, ¡°Could she have gone to the market?¡± Mom Xia pped her own thigh and eximed, ¡°Oh no! I¡¯ve only instructed our neighbors to keep mum about the sale of our house. What if she runs into people we know?¡± At these words, Dad Xia immediately stood up and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go look for her!¡± But the moment he opened the door, he saw Xia Nuannuan standing outside, her face wet with tears. Chapter 840 - Trip to Hainan (4)

Chapter 840: Trip to Hainan (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Dad!¡± Xia Nuannuan called him and bit her lip. ¡°Dad, Mom, why did you do a silly thing like that?¡± When Dad Xia and Mom Xia saw her in such a state, they took a nce in the direction of her bedroom. Being sure that Shen Zihao was still asleep, they grabbed her hand and pulled her into their bedroom. Xia Nuannuan looked at the both of them. Dad and Mom were only in their fifties. But whereas Aunt Xia looked young and pretty and Mei Feng looked like she was in her thirties, Dad and Mom looked old and quite frail. She should have known back then that their family didn¡¯t have much money. How could Dad and Mom just give away 1.11 million? She could imagine that the 1.11 million had depleted them of all their savings. With their house sold off, where were they going to live? Xia Nuannuan stood up and said. ¡°Dad, Mom, to whom did you sell the house? Let¡¯s return the money, let¡¯s not sell the house.¡± She used the back of her hand to dry her tears, but they just kept flowing and would not stop. Dad Xia sighed and said, ¡°Silly girl, the money has been paid. How can we decide not to sell just like that?¡± Immediately, Xia Nuannuan sobbed spasmodically and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go back to Beijing now and get the check back from Aunty Mei. I¡¯ll return you the money from the sale of the house! Please buy the house back!¡± Mom Xia heard the main point of the message at once and asked, ¡°Are you saying that the check is still with Zihao¡¯s stepmother?¡± Xia Nuannuan choked back her tears. After a moment, she nodded and said, ¡°She said she was safekeeping it for us, in case we spent it frivolously.¡± Mom Xia frowned and said, ¡°That¡¯s too much!¡± Xia Nuannuan looked at them and said, ¡°Dad, Mom, why did you do such a silly thing? Why did you sell the house?!¡± Dad Xia sighed and replied, ¡°You are not marrying into a normal family. This is a wealthy family. You didn¡¯t know when you were getting married, but your mom and I heard people talking about you.¡± Xia Nuannuan stood up straight and said, ¡°What¡¯s there to talk about? I have a clear conscience! What¡¯s there to say about me? I¡¯m not afraid of being talked about. Dad, Mom, we are only ountable to ourselves, not others. Is ego more important, or survival more important? You¡¯ve sold your house now, where are you going to live?¡± Dad Xia was taken aback by his daughter¡¯s imposingments. ¡°We still have a few 1000 left, your Mom and I are going to rent a ce. We still have a sry! We can look after ourselves!¡± Mom Xia nodded and added, ¡°That¡¯s right. In the past when we didn¡¯t have a house, didn¡¯t we rent too? It¡¯s not an issue.¡± But at that time, Dad and Mom¡¯s dream was to buy a house. Compared to now, of course it mattered. They had used twenty years of their lives to service the home loan, and now they had sold the house off. Xia Nuannuan was terribly anxious now. She bit her lip and decided. ¡°No¡ª¡± Before she could speak further, her father stood up and said, ¡°That¡¯s enough, say no more! This is a done deal. Nuannuan, as long as you live happily, your mom and I are fine! Besides, when we have any needs in the future, we wille to you for money. When the timees that we are old and you have to look after us, we don¡¯t want to hear the Shen family make thoughtless remarks.¡± At those words, Xia Nuannuan was defeated and fell silent. Mom Xia patted the girl on her shoulder and said, ¡°Okay, let¡¯s stop all of this now. It wouldn¡¯t be nice for Zihao to suspect that something¡¯s wrong.¡± Xia Nuannuan¡¯s eyes were still bloodshot. ¡°But¡ª¡± ¡°There¡¯s no but,.¡± Dad Xia said again. ¡°If you dare go ask for your money back, you- you¡¯ll be the death of me!¡± Chapter 841 - Trip to Hainan (5)

Chapter 841: Trip to Hainan (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xia Nuannuan looked at the couple standing before her and fell silent. She knew Dad and Mum had led dignified lives. They didn¡¯t wish for others to make a joke out of them, thinking that they couldn¡¯t even afford giving their daughter a decent dowry. She took a deep breath and bit her lip. ¡°Dad, Mom, why don¡¯t youe to Beijing with me?¡± Upon hearing this, Dad Xia and Mom Xia exchanged a look and shook their heads simultaneously. ¡°No, we won¡¯t. We¡¯ve lived here all our lives and are used to it. We won¡¯t go.¡± Before Xia Nuannuan could speak further, they heard a sound outside. Obviously, Shen Zihao was up. The three of them immediately hushed up. At noon, Qiao Lian, Shen Liangchuan and Xia Yehua came to the Xia¡¯s home for lunch. It was their way of hosting their guests from out of town and, at the same time, Xia Nuannuan¡¯s uncle also came along to greet them. Xia Yehua was an easy person to get along with. The families chatted happily, it was a satisfying meal indeed. After lunch, they sat around having tea and talking some more. Xia Nuannuan¡¯s cousin was a lively 18-year-old boy. Giving Shen Zihao a wink, he asked, ¡°Brother-inw, how did you snag my sister?¡± Shen Zihao was taken by surprise. Xia Nuannuan immediately blushed. Her cousin continued, ¡°My sister was the beauty of our hometown since a young age. The number of people who tried to date her would form a queue that took up the length of the street. But she had never had a boyfriend. So how did you manage to capture her heart?¡± Shen Zihao raised an eyebrow and looked at Xia Nuannuan. She was certainly a leggy fair beauty and, on top of this, she had a gentle temperament. Basically, any man would find her charm quite irresistible. He still remembered the time at Glitter Bar, when a man had tried to force himself on her. When Shen Zihao looked at her, she was embarrassed and chided her cousin, ¡°Stop speaking nonsense!¡± But her cousin was keen to stir the atmosphere and persisted, ¡°Sister, why don¡¯t you let me speak? Unless... you were the one who went after Brother-inw?¡± Xia Nuannuan turned red at his remark. Wasn¡¯t she the one who had liked him first? She bit her lip and was about to say something, when Shen Zihao interrupted, ¡°I was the one who went after her.¡± Xia Nuannuan gave Shen Zihao a strange look. He continued, ¡°The first time I saw her, I felt that she was different, so I went after her.¡± ¡°Oh? How do you go after a girl? Did you ask her out for a movie? What sort of movie?¡± Shen Zihao paused. The cousin continued asking, ¡°What was the first meal that you bought her?¡± Shen Zihao pursed his lips. The cousin persevered, ¡°How did you propose to her? Was it very romantic?¡± Shen Zihao coughed once. The cousin widened his eyes and looked at them intently. ¡°Speak up.¡± ¡°Well...¡± Shen Zihao dragged the word and saw that Xia Nuannuan had turned scarlet with anxiety. He then said, ¡°This is a secret. If this secret gets out and a line of suitors form on the streets to try to win your sister¡¯s heart, then what would I do? Cousin: ... Xia Nuannuan was speechless. On the side, Qiao Lian was snacking melon seeds and watching the scene unfold. When she heard this remark, she choked on the snack and started to cough violently. Shen Liangchuan reached out and gave her a couple of pats on the back. She couldn¡¯t help looking back at him and giving him a nce. She thenughed and said in a low voice, ¡°I thought that Shen Zihao was an honest boy. I couldn¡¯t have imagined that he¡¯s just like his brother!¡± Chapter 842 - Trip to Hainan (6)

Chapter 842: Trip to Hainan (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan asked, ¡°... What do you mean by that?¡± Qiao Lian was taken by surprise. Ooops, why had she been so tactless the moment she was happy and rxed? Wouldn¡¯t her remark imply that Shen Liangchuan was a devious person? She turned around hurriedly and continued chewing her melon seeds. She mumbled, ¡°I didn¡¯t just say that.¡± Shen Liangchuan: ... The cousin had been making fun of Shen Zihao and Xia Nuannuan for a while when his cell phone rang. He picked up the call. The voice on the other end could be heard by everyone around. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s up? I messaged you on QQ a few times and you¡¯re still not here! Hurry up! Let¡¯s start the game!¡± The cousin immediately said, ¡°Ok, ok, ok, I¡¯ming right now!¡± After the exchange, he hung up and made a few taps on the cell phone screen. Qiao Lian¡¯s ears immediately picked up the music of the Lot interface. Her eyes shone. Recently, Lot had just released the mobile version of the game and they were promoting it. This had attracted a group of small-time yer. Mobile games had be the trend now, even overtakingputer games, because one could reach for the cell phone any time, any ce, to y a match. Hence, it was a hot trend. The cousin picked up his cell phone and nced at Shen Zihao, asking, ¡°Brother-inw, do you y Lot?¡± Shen Zihao frowned and said, ¡°No, I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Wow, are you that behind times?¡± At these words, he tempted the man, ¡°y a game with me!¡± Shen Zihao¡¯s good upbringing meant that he couldn¡¯t reject his brother-inw. Hence, he had no option but to pick up his cell phone. ¡°Let me download the game first.¡± The cousin nodded. Five minutester, Shen Zihao had sessfully created an ount and looked at the cousin somewhat impatiently for the next step. ¡°How do I y?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll lead you for one round. Don¡¯t you know that games are a great rtionship builder for men? Brother-inw, fear not!¡± He sent an invitation to Shen Zihao and, before the game started, he made an announcement in the game chat. [My brother-inw is a newbie, thanks for being patient.] Then the game started. As the two of them got engrossed in the game, Qiao Lian looked up and threw a nce at Shen Liangchuan. They exchanged a smile. Then she moved over next to Shen Zihao and stared into his screen. As a new yer, his ying wasn¡¯t any good, although he had good awareness. Unfortunately, his maneuvering couldn¡¯t quite keep up. He won the first game, thanks to someone else¡¯s effort. Shen Zihao quite enjoyed the game, all things considered. The cousin said, ¡°Brother-inw, the yers are going to create team fight. I¡¯m inviting a few more people, you can join us!¡± Shen Zihao nodded. After a short while, an additional yer suddenly appeared in the game. His id was ¡°Warm My Heart.¡± When this yer appeared, the cousin was stunned for a moment before he looked up and said, ¡°Brother-inw, we¡¯re finished!¡± Puzzled, Shen Zihao looked up and asked, ¡°How so?¡± The cousin cleared his throat and replied, ¡°I was wondering why my ssmate had suddenly created a team fight. This- this Warm My Heart is his brother.¡± ¡°And so?¡± ¡°And so my ssmate¡¯s brother has been infatuated with my sister for years. He has tried to date her since high school! And he¡¯s... How do you put it? Quite wealthy!¡± When he heard those words, his gaze immediately fell on the yer¡¯s id ¡°Warm My Heart.¡± Initially, that had just been someone¡¯s id and held no meaning. Yet he suddenly realized the double meaning behind those words: warm1 was his love. Shen Zihao narrowed his eyes. All at once, that id offended him. Chapter 843 - Trip to Hainan (7)

Chapter 843: Trip to Hainan (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The gamers had selected which team to join. The cousin eximed, ¡°Damn! My ssmate is such a bully! There are three people on his side and all of them are skilled yers. Brother-inw, what do we do now? It will look so bad if we lose.¡± As he said this, he looked through his list. ¡°Let me see if I know of any other skilled yers who can give us a hand.¡± While he searched, the yers on the interface started to chat. [Warm My Heart: Hi, I¡¯m Nuannuan¡¯s childhood sweetheart.] Shen Zihao: ... He raised an eyebrow and replied: [Shen Zihao: Hi.] He had always used his own name for all his social media ounts and had never thought of concealing his own identity to protect himself. He felt like there was nothing to hide about himself. [Warm My Heart: I hear you¡¯re in Hainan. If you¡¯re free, we can arrange to meet for a meal?] Shen Zihao burst outughing the moment he saw the message. A meal together? And to allow this guy to have a chance to be near Xia Nuannuan? He wasn¡¯t a fool. Shen Zihao simply replied: [Shen Zihao: I¡¯m busy.] Qiao Lian was taken by surprise. Shen Zihao had been so polite to Xia Nuannuan¡¯s cousin that she hadd forgotten how arrogant this man actually was. He wouldn¡¯t bother giving face to people that didn¡¯t matter to him. Indeed, Warm My Heart did not attempt tomunicate after this. During this time, the cousin had found a few good friends to join, so the game started. The cousin looked at Shen Zihao and said, ¡°Brother-inw, you have to be alert! These people on the other team are all ruthless and never have anything good to say. If you lose, they may say unpleasant things!¡± Then he instructed, ¡°Brother-inw, I¡¯ll go to the jungle and hunt. You take top and farm the minions.¡± Shen Zihao obediently took to topne. Just as he moved, suddenly a figure appeared from among the bushes. A stun spell! Then an ultimate attack! And a blow! yed. Warm My Heart had killed Shen Zihao! The first kill in the game. The cousin froze in the midst of his hunt and looked up. ¡°Dang! Such a bully!¡± He picked up his cell phone immediately and started typing: [Nuannuan¡¯s Cousin: Don¡¯t bully my brother-inw, he¡¯s a newbie.] His ssmate replied at once to his remark: [Oh, he¡¯s a noob. I thought he was some expert since he spoke so arrogantly. My brother asked him for a meal together only because he was giving him face.] The cousin stamped his foot with anger: [Nuannuan¡¯s Cousin: Don¡¯t take it too far! Watch your words.] The other party replied: [I¡¯m already careful! A noob... it is his fault we lost that round.] The cousin was livid. ¡°See! These people have nothing good to day. Don¡¯t be afraid, Brother-inw, I¡¯ll avenge you.¡± After these words, he charged ahead and moved to topne. Just as he got ready to fight, he was ambushed by two enemies. Warm My Heart killed Nuannuan¡¯s Cousin. Cousin: ... Shen Zihao: ... The cousin put on a gloomy expression and said, ¡°That¡¯s the end of us, Brother-inw. We¡¯re going to lose this game. Urgh! How embarrassing!¡± Shen Zihao stared at the cell phone screen. The opponent yers were already starting to taunt them. [Hahaha, are we fighting against bots?] [He so weak. Sister Nuannuan, what sort of taste do you have? See how much better my brother is?] Shen Zihao¡¯s pupils shrank immediately at this remark. He looked up and nced at Qiao Lian. Suddenly, he picked up the keyboard and started to type: [Shen Zihao: Would you dare toy a bet?] Chapter 844 - Trip to Hainan (8)

Chapter 844: Trip to Hainan (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios A quick reply came: [Warm My Heart: What sort of bet?] Shen Zihao replied as he stood there: [Shen Zihao: If I lose this round, I¡¯ll buy you a meal.] [Warm My Heart: Sure.] [Shen Zihao: If I win, you change your id.] Qiao Lian was taken by surprise. She grimaced and nced at Xia Nuannuan, who had no idea what was going on. Suddenly, she felt that Shen Zihao was such an adorable person. Was he jealous? It seemed that all the men in the Shen family were petty. The answer came: [Warm My Heart: Then I¡¯m afraid Nuannuan¡¯s name is going to stay with me all my life.] Shen Zihao gave an icyugh. [Shen Zihao: So we have a deal?] [Warm My Heart: No problem! Let¡¯s start!] The cousin was stupefied. ¡°Brother-inw, are you drunk?! That guy¡¯s a highly-skilled gamer and we were at a disadvantage early on in the game. There¡¯s no way we can win! You- you- you-¡± Shen Zihao remarked, ¡°Who says we won¡¯t win?¡± Qiao Lian widened her eyes when he said this. Could it be possible that... Shen Zihao had his brother¡¯s talent and was a gifted gamer? Had he thought of some way to win with a surprise attack? If that was indeed the case, she could... find a way to integrate Shen Zihao into the CQ Team? As she was thinking, Shen Zihao tossed her his cell phone and said, ¡°Sister-inw, please.¡± Qiao Lian: ... She was stunned. She grimaced and looked at Shen Zihao. Suddenly, she gave him a mischievous grin and thrust the cell phone back in his hands. ¡°No way! My hand has been acting uptely. Get your brother to help!¡± Shen Zihao: ... While he didn¡¯t have a problem asking Qiao Lian to help, asking Shen Liangchuan... Shen Zihao sat there awkwardly, finding it impossible to begin. As he tried to get his head around the matter, Shen Liangchuan suddenly stood up and walked over to him. He extended his hand and his long fingers closed around Shen Zihao¡¯s cell phone. Taking the cell phone with him, he walked to the sofa, sat back and swung one leg over the other, casually holding the cell phone in both hands. His rxed attitude made Shen Zihao nervous. He asked Qiao Lian in a low voice, ¡°Can he really do it?¡± Qiao Lian was Forget Chuan. Forget Chuan was a highly-skilled gamer. But Shen Liangchuan... Shen Zihao got worried. Qiao Lian looked back at the worried man and sighed, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Shen Zihao coughed once and said, ¡°This will have an impact on my dignity as a man.¡± Qiao Lian replied, ¡°That¡¯s why I think you¡¯d better go have a look.¡± Shen Zihao had never gotten along with Shen Liangchuan, and even when they walked together, they kept a distance. But after hearing this from Qiao Lian, Shen Zihao nced at Xia Nuannuan and still felt unsettled. He cleared his throat and stood up, looking like he was going to get some water. He picked up his ss and then walked behind the sofa Shen Liangchuan was sitting in. He craned his neck and stared at Shen Liangchuan. Shen Liangchuan continued to move ahead by himself. The cousin said, ¡°Big brother, don¡¯t go there alone. Let me cover you! They will ambush you for sure¡ª¡± Before he could finish speaking, Shen Liangchuan had already moved forward. Shen Zihao said nervously, ¡°They are in the bushes.¡± Shen Liangchuan halted and looked up. He gave Shen Zihao a nce and said with an indifferent expression, ¡°I know.¡± Shen Zihao: ... Shen Zihao quickly straightened himself and diverted his gaze elsewhere, as though he wasn¡¯t looking at Shen Liangchuan. That awkwardness made him extremely endearing. Chapter 845 - Trip to Hainan (9)

Chapter 845: Trip to Hainan (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian tried to control herughter and poked Xia Nuannuan. Xia Nuannuan hurriedly tried to cover Shen Zihao and said, ¡°Lian Lian, look at this article.¡± Qiao Lian burst outughing uncontrobly. Shen Zihao¡¯s eyes were still deadly fixed on the cell phone in Shen Liangchuan¡¯s hands. He saw Shen Liangchuan pause and then start walking forward again. He had taken one step when a figure emerged from the bushes. Shen Zihao widened his eyes and shouted in rm, ¡°Be careful!¡± All he saw was Shen Liangchuan making a swift movement, effectively dodging the opponent¡¯s first stun spell. At this point, a second figure in the bushes immediately tried to trap him. There were two opponents against him. If he fell into someone¡¯s trap once, it would happen a second time, and so on until he was killed. Hence, this first attempt had been extremely dangerous. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s heart was in his mouth. He saw Shen Liangchuan take a step forward and then another step backward, dodging the opponent¡¯s second attempt to trap him. Right after this, he spun around. He threw a stun spell, immediately freezing the two opponents. Quickly following this, he threw an ultimate attack. These attacks heavily damaged the two opponents. Seeing this, Warm My Heart tried to escape. Shen Zihao eximed excitedly, ¡°Go after him, kill him!¡± It wasn¡¯t good to chase a cornered enemy. Besides, there were two of them. If he chased them, the chances of them retaliating would be great. Because the opponents already had othersing to help. Shen Liangchuan had initially intended to retreat, but when he heard Shen Zihao¡¯s shout, his fingers froze for a moment. Suddenly, he turned around to chase them instead. Warm My Heart¡¯s teammate had already rushed over and started defending him. Shen Liangchuan walked around the champions and, with great uracy, killed Warm My Heart with a stroke. That walking, that maneuvering... It was dazzling to say the least! Shen Zihao could not help but let out an exmation, ¡°Excellent!¡± His eyes lit up at the discovery that this game, which he had always opposed to in the past, was actually really fun. While the ying style was at best normal in his hands, when in Shen Liangchuan¡¯s hands, it flowed with unobstructed ease. So this was how the game should be yed. At this point, he saw that, for the sake of killing Warm My Heart, Shen Liangchuan had gone too far into enemy territory and now was surrounded by four opponents. At once, he was on the edge. They were finished. This time he would surely die. Indeed, the next moment he got hit and lost half of his HP. Shen Zihao panicked. ¡°Run, hurry!¡± Shen Liangchuan wasn¡¯t the least bit ruffled. He walked around, avoiding three opponents with full HP. Very quickly, he killed the opponent who had just been heavily damaged. At this point, he himself was heavily damaged too. An opponent released an ultimate attack, which was impossible to dodge. Shen Zihao was now more anxious than ever. He observed that Shen Liangchuan had deployed two spells on the spot as a decoy, and an additionalyer of protection now covered him, helping to reduce damage from hits. After this, he unleashed a spell that immediately transported him out of the center of the warzone. He barely had no HP left, barely escaping alive. Beautifully yed! Shen Zihao¡¯s eyes shone at once. The series of movement had been simply too exquisite. His gaze fell on Shen Liangchuan, who was still sitting on the sofa with a look of indifference on his face. He had left the Shen family at that time because he had insisted on pursuing gaming. Hence all along, Shen Zihao had felt that his dad was right. Gaming wasn¡¯t making an honest living, it could ruin one¡¯s life. It didn¡¯t provide for a proper job, it was for those whocked ambition and aspirations. But he had never known that in reality, gaming could bring one such splendor and glory. Chapter 846 - Trip to Hainan (10)

Chapter 846: Trip to Hainan (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios There was no suspense, this game was theirs to win. Any ordinary yer would look merely decorative next to an outstanding gamer like Shen Liangchuan. In the end, when the huge announcement that they had won shed across the screen, even Shen Zihao felt the exhration and ecstasy. There was already passion flowing in his blood. He saw the light in Shen Liangchuan¡¯s eyes. It felt like years ago, when he would go to school with his big brother. Walking beside him would always, without fail, give him a sense of pride. He still remembered that every time the teacher in school mentioned outstanding students who had graduated, his big brother¡¯s name would inevitablye up. His pride came from being Shen Liangchuan¡¯s little brother, and all his ssmates envied him for having such a great big brother. Their family... He, his big brother and Mom... they had once been so happy together. Actually, it wasn¡¯t like he had thought. Mom and Big Brother hadn¡¯t really abandoned him. Like just now. Big Brother had not intended to attack, but because he had shouted ¡°Kill him!,¡± Shen Liangchuan had charged at the opponents, which had been a slight error. Or it would also be right to say that if the opponents had been a little quicker, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to escape. The truth was that his big brother still doted on him, like he did when they were young. He seldom rejected his little brother¡¯s requests. Shen Zihao fell silent as these thoughts yed in his mind. He lowered his gaze. On the other hand, the cousin had already tossed his cell phone aside. ¡°Hahahaha! They have admitted defeat! That Warm My Heart has changed his id. Brother Shen Liangchuan, you¡¯re too awesome! Not only are you a celebrity, you¡¯re a star gamer.¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s smile was barely visible and he kept silent. That look... It was as though he was some expert from out of this world. Pretense. Shen Zihao snorted icily to himself. That annoying smug look that his big brother had since they were young... he may look indifferent, but deep down inside he liked being praised. Wasn¡¯t that a slight smile on his face? But Shen Zihao didn¡¯t realize that his own lips had turned upwards, in a barely visible smile as well. It was obvious from the expression on his face, as he looked at his big brother, that he no longer held any hostility towards the man. As though the chasm between them for thest eight years had finally narrowed a little. ¨C After lunch, all of them stayed to chat till night time, and they were again invited to stay for dinner. It was already around 10 p.m. when Shen Liangchuan and Qiao Lian left. But the nightlife was full of life in Hainan. Hence at this hour of the night, there was still a bustling crowd out on the streets. As they were about to leave, Qiao Lian nced at Shen Zihao and Xia Nuannuan, and then also at Xia Yehua. She said, ¡°Zihao, Nuannuan, we¡¯ve nned to go to the beach tomorrow. Why don¡¯t youe along?¡± In the past, Shen Zihao would have snorted coldly at that idea and given a disdainful expression. Or he would have even felt abandoned by the three of them. But now, before he could say a word, Xia Nuannuan quickly agreed, ¡°Sure! As your local host, I¡¯ll make sure you enjoy.¡± After saying this, she shot Shen Zihao a look and asked, ¡°Would that be okay?¡± Shen Zihao looked at all of them and said to Xia Nuannuan, ¡°You¡¯ve already agreed, what else can I say?¡± Although his tone was gruff, everyone found his arrogant expression funny. ¨C After a long and enjoyable day with the Xia family, the three headed back to the hotel. As they were on their way, Xia Yehua remarked, ¡°Nuannuan¡¯s parents are really understanding people. No wonder they brought up their child to be such a pleasing youngdy. Zihao is a lucky man!¡± Chapter 847 - Trip to Hainan (11)

Chapter 847: Trip to Hainan (11)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian nodded in agreement. ¡°Ever since Nuannuan came, Zihao has changed a great deal!¡± Xia Yehua sighed. ¡°That¡¯s right. Nuannuan is really the bridge between Zihao and I.¡± Shen Liangchuan listened to the conversation without saying a word as he drove. But they could tell that he had a rxed expression on his face. When they arrived at the hotel room, Xia Yehua turned to the couple and said, ¡°It¡¯s been a tiring day. I¡¯m going to bed early, but you young people go and enjoy yourselves. You¡¯re on holiday, so you shouldn¡¯t be cooped up in a hotel room keeping an olddypany. Go out and enjoy!¡± She yawned after she said this and returned to her bedroom. Qiao Lian paused. The couple exchanged a look. Qiao Lian asked, ¡°Do you want to go out?¡± Shen Liangchuan looked at her, the expression in his deep eyes was calm. ¡°What about you?¡± She thought for a moment and said, ¡°Actually, it¡¯s noisy out there. I don¡¯t feel like it. I think...¡± At this point, she reflexively turned to look at the bedroom. Her stealthy expression evoked scenes quite unsuitable for minors. Was she looking for...? Then she said mysteriously, ¡°I was thinking... Why don¡¯t we y video games tonight?¡± Shen Liangchuan was bbergasted. So they hade all the way to Hainan and booked an extremely expensive hotel for the sake of locking themselves in a hotel room to y video games? For some strange reason, Shen Liangchuan started wondering what would happen if they were to be stalked by reporters right now and it got onto the Inte. Best Actor Shen and some mysterious girl had a secret date at a hotel, and ended up ying video games in the dark! Who was going to believe it? He smiled to himself when he pictured the scenario. He turned to look at Qiao Lian again and saw the desire in her eyes. She persuaded, ¡°Come on... honey...¡± With the word ¡°honey,¡± his heart melted. How could he reject her? Although the Lot mobile app was not as demanding in terms of skills as its PC version, it moved at a quicker tempo and was more exciting. Perhaps it provided an even better experience than the PC version. After a few rounds, Qiao Lian had fallen in love with the mobile version. Watching Shen Liangchuan y in the afternoon had tempted her to y too. Besides... Ever since shest saw the doctor, she had been taking extra care of her hand, so she had no idea how she could perform in games now. Actually, mobile games were less demanding to control thanputer games, since they required less dexterity of the fingers. Hence, that night... One could hear the trademark background music of Lot gamesing out of the presidential suite of the hotel. And it sounded all night. Qiao Lian used her favorite champion, Xiao Qiao, and Shen Liangchuan used his favorite, Zhou Yu. They teamed up and yed tillte. ¡°Zi Chuan, topne!¡± ¡°Xiao Qiao, stop wandering around,e back!¡± ¡°Zi Chuan, help me! Ahhh! I¡¯m about to die!¡± ¡°Ahhh, Big Brother Zhao Zilong at on the other end, why are you targeting me?!¡± ¡°Xiao Qiao...¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll stop calling Big Brother Zilong. Can I continue talking?¡± ¡°...Ok.¡± ¨C The next morning. Qiao Lian woke up looking like a panda with dark circles around her eyes. The moment she stepped out with Shen Liangchuan and they saw Xia Yehua in the living room, the woman grinned at them and said teasingly, ¡°It looks like there was an intense battlest night!¡± Qiao Lian nodded vigorously and said, ¡°That¡¯s right, it was intense!¡± Xia Yehua pointed out, ¡°Actually, there was no need for you to turn the music on. I wouldn¡¯t have eavesdropped!¡± Chapter 848 - Trip to Hainan (12)

Chapter 848: Trip to Hainan (12)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian was puzzled. ¡°Huh? what music? Xia Yehua lifted her hand to cover her mouth as sheughed, ¡°Stop pretending. You think Mom doesn¡¯t know how considerate you are. You worry about being too loud and that I might hear... it.¡± Qiao Lian paused. She was stunned for a moment, and then suddenly realized what Xia Yehua really meant. She was absolutely speechless. Her face turned red at once. ¨C After breakfast, Xia Nuannuan and Shen Zihao came over to look for them. The five of them headed to the beach in the nanny van. They had booked a small vi by the sea, so they changed into their swimming gear there. All the women had conservative swimsuits on. They even wore sun protection garments that covered most of their bodies. They chatted noisily as they changed into their beach clothes. Especially after Xia Nuannuan had taken her clothes off in front of Qiao Lian. Thetter eximed with surprise, ¡°Wow, Nuannuan, you have a pair of huge assets!¡± Xia Nuannuan turned scarlet at once and replied, ¡°I- It¡¯s because I¡¯m pregnant. It¡¯s the body¡¯s response...¡± Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help but stare at her figure. Her abdomen was t and there was no hint of pregnancy at all. Her thighs were shapely. She was a real beauty! In addition to all that, she had a pair ofrge and glistening eyes that were mostpelling. They made her look rather coquettish, but on the contrary, she was a proper and very decent girl. She blushed angrily at Qiao Lian¡¯s teasing. Seeing how red she had turned, the other two women startedughing at her. In the other room, the two men were quick and didn¡¯t make a fuss. They took off their suits and changed into their swimming trunks. Then they threw on their robes and headed out. Standing at the doorway, Shen Liangchuan took a few nces at his water resistant watch. The three women had taken half an hour to get changed. He frowned. Shen Zihao grumbled, ¡°What are they up to?¡± The room door was opened as he spoke, and the three women walked out. Even though Xia Yehua was rather old now, she had a good figure and had taken good care of her skin. Standing next to each other, the three of them looked like sisters and were a feast for the eyes. Xia Yehua said in response to Shen Zihao¡¯s remark, ¡°Of course women take a longer time to get changed.¡± Shen Zihao frowned. ¡°It¡¯s just taking off and putting on clothes!¡± Qiao Lian jumped in immediately, ¡°We were chatting!¡± ¡°What¡¯s there to chat about in the changing room?!¡± ¡°We were talking about things that are not for men to hear! You have a problem waiting for us? The man¡¯s duty is to wait for the woman,¡± Qiao Lian said with much conviction. Xia Nuannuan and Xia Yehua both nodded simultaneously in agreement with her. Shen Zihao was bbergasted. He looked towards Shen Liangchuan and asked, ¡°Do you think so too?¡± Shen Liangchuan cleared his throat and said, ¡°Do you take five minutes to take off your clothes and another five to put on your swimsuit?¡± Although his tone was polite, he sound slightly displeased. A rare asion that the two men were in agreement. The three women snorted coldly, and all of them headed out to the beach. The sand was damp. The temperature was moderate during this season, at 20 degrees. It was pleasant and that day exceptionally so. The water was inviting under the mild sun. Holding onto Shen Liangchuan, Qiao Lian got into the water. Then, like a delighted little puppy, she started to paddle in the depths. One of her favorite things as a child was to go to the beach with her parents. Chapter 849 - Trip to Hainan (13)

Chapter 849: Trip to Hainan (13)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Pulling Shen Liangchuan towards her, she extended both her arms and threw the water into the distance. ¡°Shen Liangchuan! The water feels wonderful!¡± Qiao Lian shouted with glee. Then, raising her hands and cupping them around her mouth, she shouted, ¡°I love it here!¡± Her crisp voice rang through the water surface. Her echo came back amidst the sound of the waves. Indeed, everyone felt happy and rxed. Qiao Lian turned around to look at Shen Liangchuan, her eyes shining with excitement. She was obviously ted. From the side, Shen Zihao looked at her and couldn¡¯t help but say to his wife, ¡°Nuannuan, don¡¯t you get too close to this person.¡± Surprised, Xia Nuannuan asked, ¡°Why?¡± He humphed and said, ¡°Don¡¯t you see how insane she is?!¡± Upon hearing these words, Xia Yehua remarked from the shore, ¡°Girls should be lively and adorable! You¡¯re all young, of course you shouldn¡¯t be dull and lifeless. How meaningless that would be?¡± He twitched his lips and retorted, ¡°But still, one shouldn¡¯t behave like a mad woman.¡± Although his tone was disdainful, he had a smile on his face. But at these words, a big ssh of water was directed at him. He was stunned into silence... And stared at the woman before him with a look of disbelief. Qiao Lian raised an eyebrow at him and said, ¡°We¡¯re all here to have fun, so stop all the pretense!¡± The man was livid and choked, ¡°You- you-¡± But on the other hand, he couldn¡¯t possibly do anything to thedy. As he stood there bbergasted, he suddenly felt a ssh of water from behind him. The water flew past him and thoroughly drenched Qiao Lian¡¯s head. Stunned, Shen Zihao turned and saw Xia Nuannuan standing behind him,ughing at Qiao Lian. ¡°Lian Lian, stop bullying Zihao! I¡¯m avenging him.¡± Her mischievous words surprised Shen Zihao. Avenged him. Suddenly, he felt a wave of warmth washing over him. Then he saw Qiao Lian putting an angry expression. ¡°Oh, just you wait, Xia Nuannuan. I¡¯ll get back at you for this today!¡± As she said this, she made a gesture of rolling up her sleeves and prepared to start a water fight. From the edge, Xia Yehua shouted, ¡°Zihao, take care of Xia Nuannuan. That mad woman Xiao Qiao, make sure she doesn¡¯t hurt the baby!¡± But in reality, Qiao Lian knew what she was doing and measured in her actions. How could she possibly hurt Xia Nuannuan¡¯s baby? Of course, Xia Yehua had said this on purpose. As expected, Shen Zihao panicked. Although he had initially stood there, watching them y in the water, he was now stepping in front of Xia Nuannuan protectively. She hid behind him now, sshing water at Qiao Lian. Every time Qiao Lian tried to aim the water at Xia Nuannuan, Shen Zihao inevitably got in the way. Xia Nuannuan stuck her tongue out at Qiao Lian. Qiao Lian started to get excited and turned around. ¡°Shen Liangchuan! Your wife is being outnumbered, hurry up and help me!¡± Shen Liangchuan looked around helplessly and took a step forward. Then moment he did so, he was greeted with a huge ssh of water. Stunned, he saw Shen Zihao standing there, apparently high from the action. That ssh was from him. His gaze deepened as he immediately broke intoughter. Then, lowering his head, he joined the fight. Xia Yehua sat down at the edge. After all, she was well in her years and the water was too cool for her this time of the year. Even though she was not part of the action, she was fully absorbed in the fun that the four of them were having from the water fight. Theirughter was the most delightful sound in the world to her, and she couldn¡¯t stop herself fromughing along with them. There was a time when Shen Zihao would look upon her with coldness. There was a time when Shen Liangchuan and Shen Zihao would face each other as though they were enemies. Chapter 850 - Trip to Hainan (14)

Chapter 850: Trip to Hainan (14)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios But right there and then, the great chasm between them had disappeared. And she understood immediately why Qiao Lian had behaved the insane way she had when she got into the water. Because at times, one had to let oneself go to close the distance. After a long water fight, the four were finally exhausted, trying to catch their breaths. Qiao Lian looked at Shen Zihao smugly and said, ¡°See, aren¡¯t we good?¡± ¡°Sheesh... You call that good?¡± ¡°Your big brother is better looking than you, has a better body than you, and his results in school were better than yours! Speak the truth, were you ever jealous of him?¡± Shen Zihao snorted and said, ¡°My big brother is perfect in your eyes, but don¡¯t you know there¡¯s something that he¡¯s not as good at as I am?¡± ¡°What?¡± She was curious now. He looked up smugly and said, ¡°When we were young, he could never beat me at the 100 meter sprint!¡± Qiao Lian looked at Shen Liangchuan when she heard this and asked, ¡°Is that true?¡± Shen Liangchuan coughed. Shen Zihao continued to expose the truth of the past, ¡°Sister-inw, you should know that even though you think the world of him now, the fact is that he waszy as a kid. I was much fitter than him!¡± Qiao Lian bit her lip, trying not tough, and said, ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re simple-minded, but well developed physically. Your brother was probably the type who exercised his brain more?¡± Shen Zihao widened his eyes and retorted, ¡°What do you mean by simple-minded but well-developed physically? Don¡¯t you have any diplomacy?!¡± ¡°Hahahaha.¡± They struggled against the ebbing of the water as they walked towards the shore. They hadn¡¯t felt it when they were ying around in the water, but now it felt like their legs wereden with lead. The four of them threw themselves down on the sand and were so tired that they didn¡¯t want to move. Xia Yehua called them at this point, ¡°Ok, you guys must be hungry and thirsty? Come over quickly for some food!¡± None of them felt like moving an inch. With a wave of her hand, Qiao Lian told the woman, ¡°Mom, just leave the food there for now. We¡¯re tired and can¡¯t move an inch.¡± Xia Yehua had already started approaching them as Qiao Lian spoke. She was carrying a tray on which there were four sses of beverage. Thrusting a ss of mango juice at Qiao Lian, she said, ¡°There you go, your favorite.¡± Qiao Lian smiled as she reached for the ss. Then she gave Shen Liangchuan a ss of Chinese herb tea and said, ¡°Your favorite herb tea!¡± And right after, she walked up to Shen Zihao, held out a ss of honey lemon water and said, ¡°This is your favorite!¡± Taking the ss from her, Shen Zihao paused for a moment. When he was a child, honey lemon water had been his favorite drink. After all these years, his mom still remembered. Or rather, she had never forgotten. She stood before him now smiling broadly. Her affable expression warmed his heart, like how the sun was warming their bodies now. He took a sip of the honey lemon water. The taste was familiar¡ªjust enough honey and not too sweet. However, it was full of vor, just the way he liked it. Even a meticulous person like Mei Feng hadn¡¯t picked up on these little habits of his. Shen Zihao hung his head. Actually, it felt wonderful to have a mother, didn¡¯t it? Finally, Xia Yehua walked up to Xia Nuannuan and said, ¡°Nuannuan, you¡¯re pregnant, don¡¯t y in the water too much. I¡¯ve prepared you apple juice. It¡¯s soft and good for the child.¡± Xia Nuannuan reached for the apple juice and said, ¡°Thank you, Mom!¡± Then she lowered her head and started to drink. So this group of youngsters yed unrestrained all afternoon, thus forging a closer bond. Chapter 851 - Trip to Hainan (15)

Chapter 851: Trip to Hainan (15)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios They stayed in Hainan for a week. After a week, work was calling and it was time to return to Beijing. Qiao Lian had paid close attention in thest few days, so she was certain that Shen Liangchuan was indeed able to go to sleep without help. It was a relief for her. The psychologist was right, it was good to leave Beijing and have a rxing break. The day they were leaving Hainan, the three of them went to the airport first. There, they waited for Shen Zihao and Xia Nuannuan. Dad Xia and Mom Xia arrived at the airport with Xia Nuannuan to send her off. Her eyes were red as she looked at them. After she left, Dad and Mom would have to move out and into their rental home. Her heart ached to think about how their lives would be in the days that followed. She took out a wad of notes from her bag and gave it to her mother. ¡°I have my own savings for the Xia family, it has got nothing to do with the Shen family. Dad, Mom, please take this money.¡± Mom Xia didn¡¯t want to take the money. However, Xia Nuannuan said, ¡°Mum, don¡¯t reject this please, this is what you deserve.¡± Mom Xia sighed. With red eyes, Xia Nuannuan gave Dad Xia a hug. Then as she turned around to leave, Shen Zihao poked at her arm. She thought that Shen Zihao had gotten impatient waiting, so she quickly straightened up to bid her parents goodbye. ¡°Dad, Mom, we¡¯ll be on our way then.¡± She turned around and walked next to Shen Zihao. To her surprise, he suddenly ced a card in her hand. She paused. He said, ¡°Tell Dad and Mom that we¡¯ve left a card under the pillow in the bedroom. There¡¯s 100 000 in the ount and it¡¯s my monthly allowance. We haven¡¯t really brought them any gifts for our visit. The money is a small gift.¡± Xia Nuannuan looked at Shen Zihao with great surprise. She had not expected him to be this meticulous. Actually, it was quite obvious. For a normal family to get 1.11 million for the dowry, it would mean being left with little money. And recently, Xia Nuannuan had been looking worried, he was sure her family had financial issues. He looked at her, staring at him in a daze, and cleared his throat. She snapped back from her thoughts and said, ¡°It¡¯s ok.¡± Before she could finish speaking, Shen Zihao frowned and said, ¡°We¡¯re husband and wife now, there¡¯s no need for formalities.¡± Xia Nuannuan choked back on her emotions. That was right, there was no need for formalities. She immediately smiled and nodded at him. ¡°Right. I won¡¯t be so polite with you then!¡± She turned to tell her parents about the bank card and then left to board the ne. When the ne took off, she pressed her nose up against the window by the seat and looked out. She surveyed Hainan from a distance andmitted those details to her memory. She knew that once back in Beijing, things would be different. ¨C A few hourster, the nended in Beijing. The moment theynded, Song Cheng¡¯s call came in. ¡°Brother Shen, there¡¯s a traffic jam in Beijing and I¡¯m still trying to get out of the city. You might need to wait for a while.¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded and said, ¡°Ok.¡± Because of his identity, it wasn¡¯t possible for him to take a cab or appear in crowded ces. The best they could do was look for a quiet corner andy low while waiting. Song Cheng, however, was still making his way out of the city and it would take him another hour and a half to get to the airport. Upon hearing this, Xia Nuannuan lowered her gaze. The moment the five of them walked out of the arrival hall with their suitcases in tow, they heard someone yell, ¡°Zihao!¡± They turned at once and saw Mei Feng standing there. Chapter 852 - Trip to Hainan (16)

Chapter 852: Trip to Hainan (16)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mei Feng was smiling broadly when she saw Shen Zihao, but the moment she noticed the people behind him, especially when she saw Xia Yehua, she froze. Frowning, she wondered why Xia Yehua was there. On a closer look... it appeared like Xia Yehua had gone to Hainan with Shen Zihao? Following this, she saw Xia Yehua talking to Shen Zihao and the way he turned to look at her. Mei Feng suddenly panicked. Was Xia Yehua going to take Shen Zihao away from her!? She clenched her fists tightly at the thought of this. Then, she saw Shen Zihao striding up to her. Qiao Lian followed Shen Liangchuan and walked to them as well. They heard Mei Feng asking Shen Zihao, ¡°How was Hainan? You¡¯re so tanned and you¡¯ve lost weight too... Were you not used to the food there? Let¡¯s go home quickly, your Dad¡¯s home waiting for us! We¡¯ve prepared lots of delicious food for you.¡± Shen Zihao nodded. As Mei Feng turned around ready to leave with Shen Zihao, he suddenly asked her, ¡°Oh, Aunty Mei, how many cars came with you?¡± Smiling, Mei Feng replied, ¡°One, of course.¡± Shen Zihao nodded and said, ¡°Well then let¡¯s take a detour and drop my mom and the rest home first.¡± My mom... the rest... He had addressed them affectionately without any sense of distance between them. Mei Feng clenched her fists and looked in Xia Yehua¡¯s direction. She looked like she was about to speak, when she caught Shen Zihao eyes. She quickly smiled and said, ¡°Why, of course!¡± With a wave of her hand, Xia Yehua meant to decline and said, ¡°I won¡¯t trouble you, please go ahead without us¡ª¡± Before she could finish, Xia Nuannuan interrupted, ¡°Mom, we¡¯re family, there¡¯s no trouble. Because of Big Brother¡¯s identity, he¡¯ll be recognized quickly if he stays here. There¡¯ll be anothermotion. You¡¯d better leave with us.¡± We¡¯re family... Big Brother... Xia Yehua smiled and said, ¡°Ok then, I won¡¯t refuse then!¡± Hearing that exchange made Mei Feng¡¯s blood boil. The car that hade to pick Shen Zihao up was argemercial seven-seater. Hence, the five of them together with Mei Feng and the driver fitted nicely into it. After getting into the car, Mei Feng turned around in the front seat next to the driver to chat with Shen Zihao. However, he and Xia Nuannuan were instead engrossed in a conversation with Xia Yehua. And she found herself hardly able to contribute to the content of their conversation. All along the way, Mei Feng only felt one thing... That all of them were a family and she was the outsider! How could this have happened? If Shen Zihao and Xia Yehua made up, then wouldn¡¯t all her efforts in the past eight years had been in vain? At this thought, a vicious glint shed in her eyes. When was it that all of this had started to go wrong? Her gaze turned to the rear view mirror and fell on Xia Nuannuan. It had all started when this girl came into the picture. Xia Nuannuan. The car arrived at the Shen family vi. As she got out of the car, Xia Yehua told Shen Zihao, ¡°Zihao, didn¡¯t you say that you like Auntie Li¡¯s Braised Pork? Come over when you¡¯re free, I¡¯ll get her to prepare that for you.¡± When Auntie Li, who hade out to receive the family, heard this, she immediately said, ¡°Aiyo, what a coincidence! There¡¯s braised pork cooking in the pot now. Probably because it somehow knew that Young Master Zihao would be dropping by!¡± Shen Zihao¡¯s eyes shone with delight. ¡°Then let¡¯s have lunch before going home!¡± Xia Nuannuan nodded and said, ¡°I stayed here for a month and the food I missed most was braised pork!¡± When Mei Feng heard this, she quickly said, ¡°Zihao, your Dad is waiting to eat with you at home.¡± Chapter 853 - The Truth about Eight Years Ago! (1)

Chapter 853: The Truth about Eight Years Ago! (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Zihao turned around upon hearing this. It was only at this point that he suddenly remembered she was in the car. He thought for a moment and said, ¡°Aunty Mei, why don¡¯t you go home first then and have lunch with Dad? I¡¯ll get them to take me home after I¡¯ve eaten here.¡± Mei Feng was bbergasted. Was that what she meant? What she meant was that he should go home with her?! With a troubled expression, she said, ¡°But your Dad is waiting for you. If you don¡¯t go home, he¡¯ll be upset.¡± At these words, Shen Zihao hesitated. When Xia Yehua saw his expression, she quickly said, ¡°It¡¯s not a problem! Wait here.¡± Then she dashed into the house. After a short while, she brought out a container of braised pork and handed it over to Shen Zihao. She told him, ¡°Take this home to eat. You cane over any time. Don¡¯t upset your father.¡± Shen Zihao held the thermal container in his hands and looked up at Xia Yehua. From the side, Qiao Lian said cheekily, ¡°Mom, you have favoritism! The container is filled with braised pork. Is that everything that Auntie Li cooked? Did you leave a piece for me?¡± Everyoneughed at her remark. The atmosphere had never been better. Seeing this made Mei Feng¡¯s blood boil even more now. Mei Feng finally sighed in relief when Shen Zihao got into the car. She thought that atst, she had been sessful in separating the two, but unexpectedly, Shen Zihao wound down the car window and said to Xia Yehua, ¡°Mom, I¡¯lle over to eat tomorrow. Don¡¯t forget to cook my share.¡± ¡°No problem!¡± Mei Feng was speechless. ¨C After Shen Zihao had left, Xia Yehua went back into the house happily with Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan. In the house, they started to unpack the presents that they had brought back for Auntie Li. After this, they had dinner and went back to their rooms to rest. After the trip, everyone felt a little tired out. Once back in the bedroom, Qiao Lian started to pay close attention to Shen Liangchuan. He behaved normally and she was relieved. Following this, she took a shower. After she came out of the shower and while Shen Liangchuan was taking his turn, she held her towel and started drying her hair. At the same time, she thought she would walk over to Xia Yehua¡¯s room and see how she was doing. The moment she opened the door, she saw Auntie Li standing at the doorway. When she saw Qiao Lian, she gave her the packages she was holding in her hands and said, ¡°These express deliveries came for Sir while you were away.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. She took the packages from Auntie Li. There were seven packages, one for each day that they had been away. In addition, all the packages looked identical, even the writing on the packages looked like it had been written by the same person. Suddenly, Qiao Lian actually recalled that before they had gone on holiday, Shen Liangchuan had been receiving packages. But what was in them? At this thought, and still trying to dry her hair, she turned and walked into Shen Liangchuan¡¯s study. She found a pair of scissors and casually opened one of the packages. In it, she discovered a card. Puzzled, she drew the card out and nced at the content: [Chuan Zi, I died so tragically! Why did you not avenge me?] Qiao Lian loosened her grip and her towel fell onto the ground. Ignoring this, she picked up the pair of scissors and opened the rest of the packages. Chapter 854 - The Truth about Eight Years Ago (2)

Chapter 854: The Truth about Eight Years Ago (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios There was a card in each package. All the content was simr. Such as: [Chuan Zi, how are you?] [Shen Liangchuan, do you remember Soul Fighter?] All the content, every card, was a reminder to Shen Liangchuan of Soul Fighter, who had died eight years ago. Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank as she looked at the notes in disbelief. She felt a chill run down her spine and she shivered. After a moment, as though suddenly realizing something, she quickly tossed the cards on the desk and dashed into the bedroom. She heard the sound of running water in the bathroom. He was still showering. She heaved a sigh of relief. She sat on the bed and quietly stared ahead. She had no idea what was going on with Shen Liangchuan, but the content of all the cards was a reminder of Soul Fighter¡¯s death. He had died the day after Shen Liangchuan and her were supposed to have met. Was this a coincidence or... Qiao Lian bit her lip. She knew that Shen Liangchuan hadn¡¯t been in his best state of mind, and it might have something to do with her. But it was only now that she could be sure that it had to do with her. She clenched her fists tightly and wasn¡¯t sure what to do next. Then she sighed deeply in relief. Fortunately, Shen Liangchuan had been recovering. He hadn¡¯t taken a sleeping pill once while they were in Hainan for the week. Basically, he hadn¡¯t had trouble sleeping. If that continued, would his insomnia disappear? At this thought, she stood up. She paced to and fro restlessly a few times. She kept thinking, what could be wrong with Shen Liangchuan? What happened eight years ago? Suddenly, she halted in the midst of her thoughts. Her gaze fell on the bathroom door. She could hear the water running, but she didn¡¯t hear any movements from Shen Liangchuan. Shen frowned deeply and, with a puzzled expression, walked over to knock on the bathroom door. ¡°Shen Liangchuan?¡± The sound of running water. But no one answered. Qiao Lian frowned. She knocked again, calling him, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, what are you doing? You¡¯ve been showering for a long time. Come out.¡± No reply. Suddenly, she had a bad feeling. She quickly pushed the bathroom door and saw that the shower head was turned out, but Shen Liangchuan was slumped on the ground. He was sitting on the floor, and his upper body was leaned against the wall with his head slightly turned. He wasn¡¯t moving. Qiao Lian widened her eyes in fright and took a step forward before she dashed over to him. ¡°Shen Liangchuan! Shen Liangchuan, what¡¯s wrong?!¡± Where her warm hands touched, his skin was cold. It meant that he had been unconscious for some time. With trembling fingers, she extended her hand and ced a finger under his nose to feel his breath. She sighed with relief when she realized he was still breathing. But the next moment, she started shouting, ¡°Mom! Auntie Li! Mom!¡± It waste at night when the ambnce arrived at the vi. ¨C At the same time, Shen Zihao, who had just finished his dinner, was being berated by Shen Xiu. ¡°You actually went to Hainan with that tr*mp! Why didn¡¯t you say a word about this?! Are you going to recognize this woman as your mother? Don¡¯t you know that Shen Liangchuan is trying to take the Shen family¡¯s assets? And you get so close to them, are you out of your mind?!¡± Chapter 855 - The Truth about Eight Years Ago! (3)

Chapter 855: The Truth about Eight Years Ago! (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Zihao frowned and was about to say something when his cell phone rang. He picked up the call and, after listening to the other party, he shot up from his seat and said, ¡°I¡¯ll be right there!¡± Ignoring whatever Shen Xiu was saying earlier, he ran out of the house, started up the car and drove away. When Mei Feng heard themotion, she walked in and looked at Shen Xiu, asking him, ¡°What happened?¡± The man frowned and pointed at the doorway angrily, saying, ¡°What happened? I want to know what happened too!¡± He got up, walked out of the study in a huff and saw Xia Nuannuan in the living room. He asked her, ¡°Xia Nuannuan, where has Shen Zihao gone?¡± She looked at him with a puzzled expression and replied, ¡°Dad, I- I don¡¯t know...¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know, you don¡¯t know anything when asked! You¡¯re his wife! How could you not know where he¡¯s gone?!¡± Shen Xiu was just throwing his temper around. Xia Nuannuan didn¡¯t argue with him, but instead hung her head and said, ¡°Yes, Dad. I understand. The next time I¡¯ll make sure I ask him.¡± Shen Xiu found himself unable to continue throwing his temper at the gentle girl. He fell silent. Mei Feng stood behind him, ring at Xia Nuannuan and seeing that there was little sincerity in her expression. A deep thought shed through her mind. This Xia Nuannuan was a smart girl, and she knew how to get by in this household. How could she tolerate such a person in their home? ¨C At the hospital. Shen Liangchuan had been sent to the emergency room. Qiao Lian and Xia Yehua stood outside, looking anxiously at the situation in the operating room. Xia Yehua was slightly calmer, but she was stumped. ¡°What happened? Liangchuan has always been healthy. Why would he suddenly pass out?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes were bloodshot as she stared at the door of the operating room. She didn¡¯t know how to answer that question. At this point, they heard footsteps along the corridor. They turned around and saw Shen Zihao walking up to them hurriedly. He was slightly out of breath, as he had been running. Taking deep breaths and staring at the operating room door, he asked, ¡°How¡¯s Big Brother?¡± Qiao Lian was unable to speak. She was at aplete loss. Her mind was nk. What happened to Shen Liangchuan? Hadn¡¯t he just been getting better? Why had he passed out all of a sudden? Biting her lip and clenching her fists tightly, she continued staring at the door. After a while, the door swung open and Shen Liangchuan was pushed out on a trolley bed. Qiao Lian quickly run up and asked the doctor in a trembling voice, ¡°Doctor, how is he?¡± Xia Yehua and Shen Zihao too, looked at the doctor with great concern in their expressions. Looking at them, the doctor frowned slightly and said, ¡°It¡¯s not terribly serious.¡± He gave the nurses instructions and had Shen Liangchuan pushed to the ward next door. Then, looking at the three of them again, he said, ¡°Why don¡¯t youe to my office? We¡¯ll talk there.¡± They followed the doctor into his office. After he sat down, he said, ¡°The patient is not in a serious condition, he merely fainted and now he¡¯s asleep. We¡¯ve examined him thoroughly and we don¡¯t really know what caused him to pass out. He doesn¡¯t have low sugar, but his blood pressure is a little unsteady, and it seems like he was extremely exhausted... as though he hadn¡¯t slept for a long time.¡± He hadn¡¯t slept for a long time... When Qiao Lian heard this, her legs went weak suddenly and she took a step back. All this time, she had thought that while in Hainan, he had been getting good sleep. But... she was wrong. He had only been staging a very good performance. Chapter 856 - The Truth about Eight Years Ago! (4)

Chapter 856: The Truth about Eight Years Ago! (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios So it turned out that he hadn¡¯t been getting better at all. All this time, he had just been pretending that he had no trouble sleeping. The thought of this choked her so much that she had trouble breathing. It felt as though her heart was being squeezed tightly by an invisible hand. She took a deep breath as the doctor continued, ¡°We¡¯ve examined his medical case and realize that he¡¯s been seeing a psychologist. What¡¯s the reason for this?¡± Xia Yehua was shocked when she heard this. ¡°What psychologist? My son is very healthy, how could he be seeing a psychologist?¡± Shen Zihao looked at all of them with a confused expression and added, ¡°That¡¯s right. When my big brother was in Hainan he was as lively as anything. How could he have needed to see a psychologist?!¡± After making these remarks, their gazes both fell on Qiao Lian. She slowly spoke, ¡°He has been having insomnia.¡± The doctor sighed in relief at the correct diagnosis. ¡°That would be right. The patient has been sleepless for some time. The inability to fall asleep has caused him to lose focus. Now he has passed out and fallen asleep. If he continues like this, his health will suffer. Insomnia is a disorder and the cause has to be pinpointed.¡± Qiao Lian nodded as she listened to the doctor. ¨C In the ward. Shen Liangchuany on the bed. His eyes were shut, but his forehead was deeply furrowed, as though even in his sleep, he could find no rest. Qiao Lian sat next to him and stared at him without blinking. Now she realized that he has lost weight. His profile had be more defined and his arms had definitely lost girth. She thought about how he seemed so normal when he was awake. It didn¡¯t seem at all like he was an insomniac. One could not tell at all from his appearance that there was something wrong with him. How long had he been fighting this and why was he putting up such a strong fight? If he couldn¡¯t sleep, he could have talked to her and she could have given him the sleeping pills. He hadn¡¯t said a thing and hadn¡¯t taken the pills... Was it because she had cried and he was afraid that it would upset her? Her eyes turned moist at this thought. She bit her lip and dug her fingers into her palms. Shen Liangchuan, what is wrong? ¨C Qiao Lian didn¡¯t sleep a wink, she sat quietly next to Shen Liangchuan. Until the following morning, when Shen Liangchuan woke up at 5 a.m. Seeing that he had opened his eyes, Qiao Lian quickly held his hand and called him, ¡°Shen Liangchuan!¡± It helped him focus. He frowned for a moment and said, ¡°Where am I?¡± ¡°In the hospital.¡± She exined, ¡°You fainted in the shower. How are you feeling now?¡± Fainted? He frowned. The next moment, he reached out and tightly held Qiao Lian¡¯s hand. ¡°Xiao Qiao, I¡¯m okay. I¡¯m just... tired.¡± I¡¯m just tired. Those simple words cut her like a knife. Shen Liangchuany on the bed for two more minutes and then sat up. His expression was resolute and wise as he looked at Qiao Lian. Not like a sick person at all. He was a strong person and had never been one toin about being tired or burdened. These days, even though he hadn¡¯t had much sleep, he hid it behind a steel front so that no one knew... This was Shen Liangchuan. And now, he had stood back up and said, ¡°I¡¯m okay, Xiao Qiao. I¡¯ve finally had enough sleep. Let¡¯s go home.¡± Qiao Lian looked at him and nodded. ¡°Okay.¡± On the same day, the hospital made arrangements to discharge him. Chapter 857 - The Truth about Eight Years Ago (5)

Chapter 857: The Truth about Eight Years Ago (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan¡¯s condition couldn¡¯t be solved by staying in the hospital. Hence, the doctor agreed to discharge him. He advised before they left, ¡°Mr. Shen, I know that as a celebrity, the pressure is great, but sometimes you have to find a bnce. Don¡¯t keep everything inside. This sort of long periods without sleep are bad for your health and definitely can be fatal! Don¡¯t take it lightly. Insomnia can be a serious disorder, you need to get cured.¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded. Shen Liangchuan was now in his suit, and the look in his eyes was sharp and deep. It was hard to believe that this was the same frail man who had been found unconscious in the bathroomst night. Hisplete self-control was perfectly manifested in that instance. Even though he had insomnia, this was not affecting his normal routine and work. Qiao Lian looked at Shen Liangchuan. He was like a machine¡ªthe moment the fuel ran out and lights dimmed, one only needed to add more fuel and he would be up and running again at once. But everyone knew that this was just treating the problem and not the cause. If this were to go on, his health would suffer for sure. Qiao Lian took a deep breath. She got in the car after Shen Liangchuan and they headed home. Xia Yehua was in the living room. When she saw them, she eximed, ¡°Child, what is this about seeing a psychologist? Why didn¡¯t you tell me that you have been having insomnia?¡± She looked at Shen Liangchuan and asked, ¡°What is wrong?¡± Shen Liangchuan smiled and replied, ¡°I¡¯m ok, Mom. Sorry to have worried you.¡± ¡°What do you mean you¡¯re ok? You¡¯ve fainted because of ack of sleep! You call that being ok? Child, what problems are you up against? Can¡¯t you tell your Mom?¡± He pursed his lips and said, ¡°I¡¯m really ok.¡± Unable to get a satisfactory answer from him, Xia Yehua shot Qiao Lian a look. Shen Liangchuan added, ¡°Mom, I¡¯m already seeing a psychologist. I guess I was just too tired from the flight. I didn¡¯t really pass out. I just fell asleep. I¡¯m fine now.¡± Xia Yehua could only nod upon hearing this. ¡°Well, then just sort out your emotions with the psychologist.¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded and said, ¡°Ok. I will.¡± ¨C Shen Zihao kept watch at the hospital till 2 a.m. When he was assured that Shen Liangchuan was ok, he left with Xia Yehua and took her home. From there, he headed home to the Shen family residence. The living room lights were still on when he got home. Shen Xiu and Mei Feng were in the living room waiting for him. Xia Nuannuan could hardly keep her eyes open, but she had not dared to go back to her room upstairs. She sat on the sofa with her inws. Shen Zihao paused when he saw them. Raising an eyebrow, he asked, ¡°What are you doing up at this time of the night?¡± Shen Xiu snorted. ¡°This is what I should be asking you! It¡¯ste. Where were you?¡± Shen Zihao frowned and said, ¡°My Big Brother passed out.¡± Shen Xiu jumped up from his seat uon hearing this. His eyes shone as he asked, ¡°What happened to him?¡± Shen Zihao was shocked by his father¡¯s reaction and hesitantly asked, ¡°Dad... you seem very happy?¡± Shen Xiu at once realized that he had overreacted and immediately suppressed that gleeful look he had on his face. He retorted, ¡°How could that be possible?! No matter what, that dishonorable son is still my son. What happened to him?¡± Shen Zihao was not convinced and felt most ufortable. He replied, ¡°Not much. Low blood sugar. He¡¯s alright now.¡± Shen Xiu looked disappointed at once and chided his son, ¡°Such a small matter. How is that worth your time!?¡± Chapter 858 - The Truth about Eight Years Ago! (6)

Chapter 858: The Truth about Eight Years Ago! (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Zihao looked at Shen Xiu and Mei Feng. Suddenly, he felt as though he didn¡¯t know them anymore. He looked at Xia Nuannuan again and paused before he said, ¡°It¡¯s bad as it is to have Dad and Aunty Mei wait up for me. You¡¯re pregnant, what are you doing up?¡± Xia Nuannuan stood up and did not say a word. She gave Shen Xiu a quick nce. Shen Xiu snorted and replied, ¡°How can she go to bed before you¡¯re home?¡± Shen Zihao said after a short pause, ¡°Well, you¡¯re always home reallyte. Does Aunty Mei wait up for you all the time? Shen Xiu almost choked upon hearing this. There was no way he could out-argue the boy. With a wave of his hand, he said, ¡°That¡¯s enough, go to sleep.¡± Shen Zihao and Xia Nuannuan returned to their bedroom. Xia Nuannuan asked anxiously, ¡°I didn¡¯t dare to ask back when we were downstairs. Hurry up and tell me, how¡¯s Big Brother? Is he ok?¡± Shen Zihao stared at her. This was the right way that a family would react. But... ¡°Why didn¡¯t you dare to ask this when we were downstairs?¡± Xia Nuannuan paused. She said with hesitation, ¡°I feel like Dad and Aunty Mei would be displeased.¡± They would be displeased if they worried about their own brother. What sort of a world was that?! Shen Zihao kept silent andy down on the bed. This was the first time he had ever felt so suppressed being in the Shen Family. ¨C The following afternoon, Shen Zihao and Xia Nuannuan visited Shen Liangchuan at the Shen family vi. Xia Nuannuan saw Shen Liangchuan¡¯s strong outward appearance and said, ¡°You don¡¯t look like you¡¯re sick, you look like you¡¯re in high spirits!¡± After all, everyone was family there, so the atmosphere was joyous and harmonious. Soon it was evening. Qiao Lian felt as though the air was thickening and weighing down on her, choking her. She and Shen Liangchuan went upstairs, washed up and got into bed. After a while, Qiao Lian lifted her head and nced at Shen Liangchuan. His breathing was even, it looked like he had fallen asleep. Qiao Lian stood up and quietly walked to the side of the room. She picked up a sleeping pill and a ss of water. Then she walked back to the bed. She stood in front of Shen Liangchuan and said, ¡°I know you¡¯re not asleep. Here, take a sleeping pill.¡± She was afraid. Terribly afraid. How long could a person go without sleeping? She didn¡¯t know. She only knew that if she went without sleep for two days, she would be on the verge of falling apart. Hence, even if it meant that Shen Liangchuan would be dependent on sleeping pills, she would not let him go sleepless all night. After she said those words, Shen Liangchuany there giving no response. Qiao Lian stood next to him stubbornly, staring at him with an intense gaze. Five minutes passed. Shen Liangchuan opened his eyes. He looked at Qiao Lian and then said after a pause, ¡°Xiao Qiao, no need for medication. I can do it.¡± She looked at him and left the sleeping pill on his bedside table. She walked back to her side of the bed andy down. She stared at the ceiling and asked once again, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, how did Soul Fighter die?¡± He replied briefly and simply, ¡°An ident.¡± An ident. What sort of ident was it that she hade into y? And what sort of ident was causing Shen Liangchuan to be suffering such unbearable pain now? Qiao Lian shut her eyes. Soon, it was morning. Early in the day, Shen Liangchuan was in high spirits. At one nce, it was impossible to tell if he had gotten some sleep. There were matters for him to attend to at work, so he left for the office first thing in the morning. After Shen Liangchuan left, Qiao Lian picked up her cell phone and called Shen Liangchuan¡¯s psychologist. ¡°Hello, Doctor, I wish to speak with you. I wille to your office right now.¡± Chapter 859 - The Truth about Eight Years Ago! (7)

Chapter 859: The Truth about Eight Years Ago! (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At the hospital¡¯s psychology department. Qiao Lian sat facing the psychologist. The treatment room was one and the environment was designed to make one feelfortable. The interior looked more like an office than a hospital. The psychologist was affable and there was wisdom in his eyes, which made him look trustworthy. Qiao Lian looked at him and rted Shen Liangchuan¡¯s performance so far. Finally she asked, ¡°Doctor, what do we do now?¡± The psychologist sighed after hearing her description. ¡°As you know, our job as psychologists is to guide and facilitate the patient¡¯s thinking. But there is a type of patient that we fear the most.¡± After a short pause, Qiao Lian asked, ¡°What sort of patient?¡± ¡°Patients like Best Actor Shen. On the one hand, they have great mental strength and cannot be influenced by external factors. On the other hand, they can get obsessive and pedantic about one particr thing.¡± The psychologist continued with a sigh, ¡°What do you think happenedst time he came?¡± Qiao Lian shook her head. The psychologist said, ¡°Actually, we didn¡¯t do much in that session. After he came in, he said only one thing.¡± He cleared his throat and continued, imitating Shen Liangchuan¡¯s speaking style, ¡°May I use your couch to sleep for an hour?¡± Qiao Lian widened her eyes in astonishment. The psychologist kept speaking, ¡°He was not open to sharing and I have no idea what happened to him. There is no way I can help him.¡± ¡°He is a strong and confident man, so it¡¯s impossible to influence his thinking. This sort of patient is our greatest fear and Best Actor Shen without doubt falls into this category. I can say with certainty that, without the preupation he has, he could be the most sessful businessman. He has been in the entertainment world for a long time, he doesn¡¯t feel the need to confide, he knows what he wants. But if he doesn¡¯t wish to tell me what¡¯s troubling him, then I¡¯ll never be able to n a treatment to address his situation.¡± Qiao Lian was quiet for a long time after hearing out what the doctor had to say. Finally she spoke, ¡°And if his insomnia cannot be cured?¡± ¡°His health will suffer from theck of sleep, and his immunity will take a plunge. ording to you, his health has already suffered thest couple weeks. If this goes on, it can endanger his life. Insomnia is not a small matter, especially in his case, where he is unable to even get an hour of sleep a day. It won¡¯t take long until he develops a terminal condition!¡± Qiao Lian jumped up in fright when she heard this. She looked at the psychologist, showing that she understood, and said after a moment, ¡°I will try my best to find out the problem and uncover the truth.¡± The psychologist stood up as well and said, ¡°Ok, I wish you sess. Only when we find out the cause and its effects, will we be able toe up with a treatment n.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. She left the hospital feeling a little lost. The psychologist¡¯s words echoed in her ears: ¡°... It can endanger his life!¡± She recalled that night, when she called him and he had not answered. She recalled how she had dashed into the bathroom and saw him on the ground, with his body slumped against the wall, his head lowered and water rolling down his hair. His body was limp and lifeless. In that instant, she had felt her heart in her throat. Nothing bad could happen to him. She had to ensure that. Qiao Lian frowned. She had to find out what had happened to to Soul Fighter eight years ago. Her expression was resolute at this thought. She picked up her cell phone, found the captain¡¯s number and dialed it. Chapter 860 - The Truth about Eight Years Ago! (8)

Chapter 860: The Truth about Eight Years Ago! (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The call was picked up quickly, and the captain replied, ¡°Hello, you are¡ª¡± ¡°Captain, I¡¯m Xiao Qiao.¡± There was a momentary silence. Then she could hear that he was pleasantly surprised when he responded, ¡°Hi, Xiao Qiao, what¡¯s up?¡± Qiao Lian stared straight ahead as she asked, ¡°Are you free now? I wanted to have a chat. It¡¯s about Zi Chuan and Soul Fighter.¡± ¡°Oh, let¡¯s meet up and talk then. I have a meeting now and will be avable in about an hour. Let me know where you are, I¡¯ll go look for you.¡± Qiao Lian said unhurriedly, ¡°Let¡¯s meet at Zhou Song¡¯s grave.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± ¨C Qiao Lian gged down a taxi and went to Zhou Song¡¯s grave by herself first. She stood before the cemetery grounds. It was still winter, so it was cold outside. She wore a white down jacket and herplexion was pale, as though drained of blood. Her gaze was fixed on the picture on the tombstone. She recalled how hard she had cried thest time she had been here and took a deep breath. Soul Fighter. So this was Soul Fighter. ¨C When she started getting to know Zi Chuan, she found that he had a friend known by the nickname of Soul Fighter. At that time, she had been following Zi Chuan around, hoping to have him as her teacher in these games. It was also then that Soul Fighter and she would often show a mutual dislike for each other when they yed online. From the start, they had never seen eye to eye. But for the sake of Zi Chuan, they tried hard to get along. Later on, she realized that Soul Fighter was quite a skilled yer too. The three of them became a gang of reckless kids. One time, the gameunched some sort of couple skin. She and Shen Liangchuan decided to get themselves a matching pair and started to show public disys of affection in the games. Every time Soul Fighter caught them doing this, he would sarcastically remark, ¡°Lovers die quicker.¡± She would inevitably rebuke him, ¡°Are you jealous? Soul Fighter, when will it be your turn to get a girlfriend?¡± Soul Fighter would answer, ¡°Why would I get into a rtionship at such a young age? I¡¯m not interested in getting a girlfriend.¡± Time passed and he never had one. There were times that she wanted to y a match with Shen Liangchuan, just the two of them together, but he would always be around. She remembered there was a time when she really hadn¡¯t wanted Soul Fighter around. Hence, she formed a team and invited Shen Liangchuan. The moment he joined, she started the match. Finally, she felt like she had gotten rid of Soul Fighter for once and was rather smug about it. After the game started, she chatted with Shen Liangchuan. [Xiao Qiao: Weren¡¯t you two together?] [Zi Chuan: We are.] [Xiao Qiao: Haha, good thing I was quick. Otherwise we¡¯d have brought him in again!] The other party fell silent. The two continued ying then. At some point, Qiao Lian started to feel something odd. Zhou Yu¡¯s ying style today seemed a little different. Normally, when they attacked an opponent, they were always sharp and urate. But that day, after she had given a word and dashed in to attack an opponent, the guy had not followed through to back her up. She was quickly killed! And Zi Chuan then turned and run away. Qiao Lian was stupefied. She typed a few words on the keyboard: [Xiao Qiao: You¡¯re not haven a good day?] [Zi Chuan: I am.] [Xiao Qiao: You didn¡¯t help me just then!] [Zi Chuan: Because you deliberately left me out of the game.] [Xiao Qiao: ...?] She was stunned for a while and then, with a sudden realization, typed: [Xiao Qiao: You¡¯re Soul Fighter!!] Chapter 861 - The Truth about Eight Years Ago! (9)

Chapter 861: The Truth about Eight Years Ago! (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios [Zi Chuan: Hahahahaha! We exchanged ounts today! After you invited me, I was going to bring him in, but you started the game.] Qiao Lian: ...!! She knew that those two would get together to game on the weekends. They only had to exchange seats to switch ounts. Qiao Lian was livid at that point. She had wanted to ditch Soul Fighter to enjoy a bit of couple time, but she had unexpectedly caught the wrong person. When she thought about these things from the past, Qiao Lian broke into a smile. The three of them had formed a close bond. Even though she argued with Soul Fighter everyday and would rebuke him all the time, she held him close to her heart as a good friend. Eventually, they decided they wanted to start a gaming team. They wanted to turn gaming into a profession, but no one else apart from Soul Fighter would stand by them unconditionally. He was there supporting them and forging the way with them with no questions asked. Qiao Lian sighed deeply. She lowered her body and stared steadily at Soul Fighter¡¯s picture. She had lost track of time before she finally heard footsteps approaching behind her. She turned around and saw the captain. He was in a ck coat, striding towards her and lifting up dust with each step he took. Upon seeing her, he smiled and said, ¡°Xiao Qiao, sorry to have kept you waiting! The meeting ran half an hourte.¡± She shook her head and replied, ¡°It¡¯s ok. I¡¯m just thankful that you took time amidst a busy schedule to meet me.¡± The captain turned and nced at the tombstone. Then he turned back to look at Qiao Lian and asked, ¡°You¡¯re...¡± He recalled how Xiao Qiao had cried when she found out about Zi Chuan¡¯s death. The questions that he had been carrying around in his mind finally found an outlet. ¡°At that time, the three of you disappeared at once from ourpetitive team. I thought you bowed out because of Zi Chuan¡¯s ident. But... you didn¡¯t know about the ident?¡± Qiao Lian nodded. The captain looked as though he had more questions. But when he spoke, the following words came out, ¡°Xiao Qiao, it¡¯s all in the past. You¡¯re now Best Actor Shen¡¯s wife. So just focus on your life together from now on. If he doesn¡¯t treat you well, let me know and I¡¯ll ensure justice for you!¡± The captain still had the same sense of justice, like in the past. Qiao Lian smiled and asked, ¡°Captain, I wanted to find out more about what went on between Soul Fighter and Zi Chuan. Would you happen to know?¡± The captain eximed, ¡°Weren¡¯t the three of you the closest? I may not even have any information on the things that you wish to know.¡± Qiao Lian looked at him and asked, ¡°At that time, didn¡¯t we say that we wanted to set up a eSports team? Did you know anything about this?¡± Looking bewildered, the captain shook his head and said, ¡°When Zi Chuan invited me to join the official team, I had to decline. Firstly, 0my parents would never have agreed, and secondly, I knew my limits. I was too far behind and could have never reached the level you guys were ying at. I wasn¡¯t suited to y professionally. What happened to you guys in the end, I had no idea.¡± Qiao Lian hung her head in despair and said, ¡°I understand. But captain, do you know anything about Soul Fighter? For example, anything about his family?¡± The captain seemed to be at a loss but said, ¡°This... Soul Fighter¡¯s parents passed away when he was 15. So he wandered around in Beijing, taking his little sister along with him. At the time, when we used to y together, he wasn¡¯t going to school but working. I only know that he had a little sister who was in school, and not much else besides this.¡± Chapter 862 - The Truth about Eight Years Ago! (10)

Chapter 862: The Truth about Eight Years Ago! (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian continued, ¡°So do you know where his ident took ce?¡± The captain was stunned and shot back, ¡°What ident? The person who had an ident was Zi Chuan, not Soul Fighter.¡± Qiao Lian pointed at the tombstone and said, ¡°Right, the ce of his ident, do you know where?¡± The captain thought for a while and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know. At the time, I only went to pay my respects and I really don¡¯t know much else.¡± She could find no other meaningful information rted to this matter. Qiao Lian sighed and nodded. She stood there for a while. The captain asked, ¡°What did you mean by what you just said?¡± Qiao Lian raised an eyebrow at him. ¡°You said that the person on the tombstone is Soul Fighter?¡± Qiao Lian looked towards the captain. After a moment, she nodded. ¡°Yes.¡± The captain said, ¡°But Zi Chuan¡¯s rtives told me that this was Zi Chuan. You-¡± At this point, he was suddenly aware that the person before him was Xiao Qiao. Xiao Qiao knew Soul Fighter and Zi Chuan a lot more than he did. If she maintained that the person on the tombstone was Soul Fighter, then it couldn¡¯t be Zi Chuan. On the other hand, Soul Fighter had told him that Zi Chuan had died and that the person here was Zi Chuan. Then the person who talked to him at that time... must have been Zi Chuan himself? The captain was full of doubts now. ¡°So where has Zi Chuan gone?¡± Qiao Lian kept silent. The captain knew that she had her reasons for not wishing to say anything and did not pursue it. But he suddenly realized something. ¡°I remember now!¡± Qiao Lian paused and looked at him. The captain continued, ¡°It¡¯s no wonder that the first year, when we had a meeting, he turned up and stood at the door but was reluctant toe in.¡± Qiao Lian paused again and asked, ¡°So what happened after that?¡± ¡°Actually, he never admitted that he was Zi Chuan.¡± Back then, Soul Fighter had stood at the door and craned his neck to look in. He came closer when he ascertained that these were people from his team. The boy stood there with some reservation and asked, ¡°Is Xiao Qiao here?¡± The captain shook his head. ¡°No.¡± Then he looked at the boy and asked after a moment, ¡°Are you Zi Chuan?¡± At the time, there was an expression of disappointment on his face and he might not have heard what the captain asked. He only remarked, ¡°Huh?¡± Huh? But the captain mistook it for a confirmation. Hence, he grabbed the boy and led him into the venue, introducing him to everyone as Zi Chuan. He remembered that Soul Fighter, at that time, had looked like he was trying to rify something, but everyone was talking over him and interrupted him. In the end, he kept silent. He looked uneasy throughout the time he was there and didn¡¯t stay long. He found some excuse and left. After the captain told Qiao Lian all of thi, he said with a tinge of regret, ¡°Looking back, I was being arbitrary and misled everyone into believing that the person on the tombstone is Zi Chuan!¡± Qiao Lian sigh and asked, ¡°Is there anything else you remember?¡± The captain shook his head and said, ¡°Soul Fighter and Zi Chuan were simr in that they were a little proud and aloof. I didn¡¯t really have much contact with them. We fought together in a game or two. With Soul Fighter, I¡¯ve chatted with him online but never met him in person.¡± Qiao Lian nodded, looking sorely disappointed. The captain stayed with her in silence for a while, standing before the grave. She looked at the tombstone and couldn¡¯t help but think, ¡°Soul Fighter, what happened back then? What do I owe you?¡± ¨C After honoring Soul Fighter¡¯s memory, the two of them got ready to leave the cemetery. Qiao Lian bade goodbye to the captain and got into the taxi. Just as the taxi was about to drive away, he suddenly took a step forward to stop the car and knocked on the window. Qiao Lian wound down the ss window. The man hesitated before saying, ¡°Actually, there¡¯s something else, I¡¯m not sure if I should tell you...¡± Chapter 863 - The Truth about Eight Years Ago! (11)

Chapter 863: The Truth about Eight Years Ago! (11)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After a pause, Qiao Lian said, ¡°Please tell me.¡± The captain looked troubled for a moment and then finally said, ¡°Did you know that Soul Fighter liked you?¡± Qiao Lian was stunned and said with a shocked expression, ¡°What?¡± Soul Fighter liked her? Surely, the captain was joking. But... he looked serious. And Soul Fighter was dead. The captain wouldn¡¯t make a joke about a dead person surely. She stared at him, stupefied. Soul Fighter liked her? That guy who had loved to berate her and oppose her, even whenter on she got better than him at gaming... that same guy liked her? The captain scratched his head and continued, ¡°Actually, at that time, many guys in the team liked you.¡± She was good at gaming and, even though they had never seen her picture, from her voice they could tell she was a lively and adorable girl. She had the willfulness and arrogance of a young girl, but she had never known that, at that time, she had been so well-liked in the team. Most of the guys in thepetitive team had liked her. And right from the start, they liked to have her tag along them in the games. But this girl was too good and quickly learnt all the techniques. It was as though she was made for gaming and slowly, she overtook all of them. Eventually, the only person left who could be on par with Zi Chuan was her. Even Soul Fighter had been left behind. A person like this was a natural attention grabber, she had a gift from the heavens and the envy of everyone. What the captain had not said was that he also had once liked her, that she had once been his dream girl. But there was no need to mention these things now. ¨C As she left the cemetery, Qiao Lian was in a state of confusion. Soul Fighter had liked her. Could this have been the cause of all the misunderstandings that started years ago? She hung her head as this thought came to her mind. Then she bit her lip. The matter seemed to have just gotten more convoluted. Qiao Lian felt a splitting headacheing up and she sighed. Why was it so difficult to uncover the truth about eight years ago? Could it be that Song Yuanxi was the only other person besides Shen Liangchuan who knew what happened back then? But ever since the girl had left the Shen family vi, she had been out of contact. She seemed to have evaporated and was never seen again. Qiao Lian hung her head at this point. What else could she do? Who else could help her understand the situation? Then she suddenly thought of something. Once, when they were having dinner with Xia Nuannuan¡¯s parents, it seemed like Mei Feng and Song Yuanxi had something going on between them. Mei Feng! Mei Feng knew what had happened eight years ago. Her eyes lit up at this thought and she picked up her cell phone at once. She dialed Xia Nuannuan¡¯s number. However, the phone rang for a long time and no one picked up. Qiao Lian paused for a moment and tried dialing once more. ¨C The cell phone lying on the red bed sheet was vibrating, but there was no one in the brightly lit room. Xia Nuannuan was in the living room, doing household chores under the direction of Mei Feng. Shen Zihao had gone to the office today, to officially familiarize himself with the Shen Family Corporation. The only masters at home now were Mei Feng and Xia Nuannuan. Pointing at the unwashed clothes in theundry basket, Mei Feng said to Xia Nuannuan, ¡°Nuannuan, these are all Zihao¡¯s clothes and they can¡¯t be machine-washed. In the past, before he married you, I washed them. Now this should be your job.¡± Handwash? Shen Zihao liked cleanliness and basically used two sets of clothes a day. Besides, it was now winter. Apart from the woolen clothing, there were seven coats. How long was it going to take to handwash these? Chapter 864 - The Truth about Eight Years Ago (12)

Chapter 864: The Truth about Eight Years Ago (12)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mei Feng was displeased when she caught the girl staring at theundry in a daze. ¡°You don¡¯t wish to do theundry?¡± Xia Nuannuan immediately said, ¡°No, Mom, I¡¯ll go now.¡± Then, dragging theundry basket, she headed to theundry room. She ced the clothes on the floor and couldn¡¯t help pouting. Although she had a gentle nature, she was no fool. She too would sometimes buy coats that couldn¡¯t be machine washed. But most of these garments would be sent to the dry cleaners because the were just too troublesome to wash by hand. Seven coats... It was obvious that Mei Feng was making things difficult for her on purpose. Xia Nuannuan lowered her gaze and slowly picked up the garments. She started with his shirts. One at a time, she washed them. And she did it slowly. Mom had told her that the second month of pregnancy was a crucial window when a miscarriage could easily happen, so she shouldn¡¯t be doing anything strenuous, especially washing heavy garments. It was important not to stress the abdominal area. Mom had also said that for most women it was difficult to carry the first pregnancy to full term. Perhaps it had to do with the air or environment, but it wasn¡¯t umon to suffer a miscarriage. Hence, she had to carefully protect herself. She sat there and took her own sweet time washing the clothes. When she got tired, she stood up and walked around. When she got thirsty, she went out to the kitchen for a drink. When she got hungry, she got herself something to eat. Washing became a leisurely activity. The housekeepers all looked at her with astonished expressions on their faces. Logically speaking, as the young madam of the Shen family, since she had been asked to do theundry in such a way, shouldn¡¯t she be hiding in theundry room and crying by now? But how was it that their young madam was so unconventional? One of them said, ¡°Is Young Madam a fool?¡± Another housekeeper pointed out expectantly, ¡°I think our Young Madam is a rare talent.¡± The other woman was surprised by her remark and asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡± The other person smiled and said, ¡°Just you wait and see. Young Madam won¡¯t be taken advantage of by Madam so easily.¡± The afternoon slowly passed as Xia Nuannuan continued washing. She had actually managed to wash all the shirts, but the coats were still hanging there. Mei Feng came downstairs and saw the coats. At once she frowned and asked, ¡°Have you beenzy and sneaking for breaks?¡± Sia Nuannuan immediately hung her head and said, ¡°Mom, I haven¡¯t. I¡¯m just clumsy and slow.¡± Mei Feng snorted and replied, ¡°I think you just have something against washing! Otherwise you wouldn¡¯t be this slow.¡± She stepped forward and pointed at the coats. ¡°And these. Why haven¡¯t you washed even one of them?¡± Xia Nuannuan at once put on a pitiful expression and apologized, ¡°Mom... I¡¯m sorry.¡± Mei Feng was speechless. Why did she somehow feel that, while she was using so much energy criticize this girl, her blows had simplynded on fluff? It felt to her like all her efforts had gone nowhere. She scolded the girl and the girl would admit that she was clumsy. What was going on? And it was impossible for Mei Feng to do anything to her. She wanted to give her a nasty reply, to spoil her mood. But the girl was in a happy mood and her expression was inevitably pleasant, smiling. Was she a fool? She didn¡¯t feel awfully wronged and upset? The sound of a car engine could be hearding from outside at this point. Mei Feng hurriedly walked to the doorway. She saw Shen Xiu and Shen Zihao both striding in. Smiling broadly, Mei Feng hurried over to wee them home. Shen Zihao swept his gaze across the house and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Nuannuan?¡± Mei Feng paused and said with a smile, ¡°She¡¯s washing your clothes!¡± Shen Zihao changed his shoes and turned around immediately. ¡°I¡¯ll go look for her.¡± Chapter 865 - The Truth about Eight Years Ago (13)

Chapter 865: The Truth about Eight Years Ago (13)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mei Feng¡¯s expression froze and she chided him, ¡°I¡¯ll just ask someone to call or her! Why do you need to go look for her?¡± As she turned her head to instruct the housekeeper, Shen Zihao was already heading to theundry room. ¡°It¡¯s ok, I¡¯ll go look for her.¡± Theundry room was on the first floor. Just as he entered the room, he saw Xia Nuannuan flinging a coat out to dry with great effort. And in front of her, there was a neatlyid out row of his shirts. She was straightening herself with a hand on her lower back and the other lifting the coat upboriously. She had a delicate frame to begin with, so one naturally felt a desire to protect her. It felt like the task of washing such heavy garments wouldpletely exhaust her. Shen Zihao quickly rushed forward in fright and asked, ¡°What on earth are you doing?¡± Xia Nuannuan jumped and turned around. Shen Zihao strode over and, at once, took the coat from her hands and flung it into the basin. The moment he took the garment from her, he felt its weight in his hand. This was such a heavy piece of clothing and she had actually cleaned it. Shen Zihao frowned deeply at once, when he recalled how he had just seen her trying to support her lower back with one hand. ¡°Can¡¯t you get the housekeeper to do this? Why are you even doing theundry in this household? Didn¡¯t they say that you are not to do anything strenuous during your pregnancy?¡± As they were on the way back from Hainan, Xia Yehua had already grabbed his hand and gone on and on about the pregnancy, reminding him of this. In the first three months of pregnancy, she must not exert herself. Shen Zihao was livid. It was only then that Xia Nuannuan replied with a hurt expression, ¡°It wasn¡¯t me. Aunty Mei asked me to do theundry. She said these are your garments and she used to be the one who washed them...¡± Shen Zihao was stumped. He had no idea who used to wash his clothes. However... ¡°You¡¯re in a special situation now. Also, there are so many clothes. How long is that going to take? Come, let¡¯s go eat dinner.¡± Xia Nuannuan bit her lip and looked at him. ¡°But Aunty Mei will be displeased.¡± These words made Shen Zihao feel twitchy inside. ¡°How could that be possible? Aunty Mei is not like that.¡± Then he took Nuannuan¡¯s hand and led her to the living room. When Mei Feng saw them, she said immediately, ¡°Nuannuan,e quickly and have your dinner!¡± The girl nodded at Mei Feng. Mei Feng gave Shen Zihao a nce and smiled. ¡°In the past, I personally washed all your clothes. Now that Nuannuan has married you, I guess I can sit back and rx!¡± Shen Zihao said when he heard these remarks, ¡°Aunty Mei, Nuannuan is pregnant and she¡¯s not supposed to perform manual tasks. In the future, please don¡¯t let her do things likeundry!¡± There was an unnoticeable displeasure in his tone. Mei Feng froze for a moment and then looked up. Looking puzzled, she asked, ¡°Don¡¯t they say that pregnant women should exercise? They shouldn¡¯t sit around all day.¡± ¡°They can walk around, but they should not do anything physically demanding!¡± The woman looked as though she suddenly understood and said, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s like that is it? I¡¯ve never had a baby, so I have no idea.¡± At this remark, Shen Zihao froze. The disapproving words he had for her stuck in his throat. When Mei Feng married Shen Xiu, she took an operation to ensure that she would never be able to bear children. She had told Shen Zihao that she wasn¡¯t marrying Shen Xiu for the Shen family¡¯s inheritance, so for the rest of her life, she would treat Shen Zihao like her own son. She had done this to prove that she and Shen Xiu weren¡¯t what Xia Yehua had thought. Shen Zihao sighed at the remark that Mei Feng had suddenly made. A woman robbed of the joy of motherhood is a cruel thing. Chapter 866 - The Truth about Eight Years Ago (14)

Chapter 866: The Truth about Eight Years Ago (14)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios This time, the duel between Mei Feng and Xia Nuannuan ended in a draw. After dinner, Xia Nuannuan and Shen Zihao went upstairs. He looked at Xia Nuannuan and said, ¡°It hasn¡¯t been easy for Aunty Mei thest eight years, so try and be respectful towards her in the future.¡± Xia Nuannuan nodded immediately. Seeing how agreeable she was, he added, ¡°But if she insists on having you perform demanding chores, you can refuse. Your health is a top priority.¡± Her eyes lit up and she nodded immediately. Then she got him his pajamas. After he changed into them, they got into bed. Even though they had gotten married, they hadn¡¯t been intimate yet. After all, Xia Nuannuan was pregnant and needed to take extra care in her first trimester. She had been busy all afternoon, but she was finally back in her bedroom. It was only then that she noticed she had a missed call on her cell phone. It was from Qiao Lian. She quickly called back. Almost immediately, Qiao Lian picked up the call. By now, Qiao Lian was back at the Shen vi. Seeing that the call was from Xia Nuannuan, she moved to the balcony. Xia Nuannuan said, ¡°Lian Lian, what¡¯s up?¡± With a frown, Qiao Lian started, ¡°Nuannuan, I was wondering if you¡¯d help me.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Could you try to get Mei Feng to talk? See if you¡¯re able to find out what happened eight years ago, when Shen Liangchuan started up the gaming team.¡± Without hesitation, Xia Nuannuan replied, ¡°Ok. But she¡¯s a tight-lipped person and it may not be easy.¡± ¡°Ok. Sorry to trouble you.¡± After hanging up, Qiao Lian turned towards the empty bedroom. Shen Liangchuan wasn¡¯t home. After apany meeting, he was going to have dinner with his colleagues. Her expression turned gloomy at this thought and she headed downstairs. Xia Yehua was mumbling, ¡°Would some alcohol help Shen Liangchuan with his insomnia?¡± If sleeping pills were not working, how much more effective could alcohol be? Besides, it wasn¡¯t as if being drunk was good for his health. The two women chatted for a while before Qiao Lian retreated to the bedroom. Lying on the bed, she got fidgety and decided that she could no longer wait. She had to do something about it. She took a deep breath, picked up her cell phone and looked up Song Yuanxi¡¯s old phone number. She hesitated for a moment and dialed. The phone rang for a long time, but no one answered. But at least the call had gotten through. Qiao Lian knitted her brow and dialed again. This time, the line was disconnected before anyone even picked it up. Unwilling to give up, she dialed again. Finally, someone answered. Song Yuanxi sounded breathless as she spoke, ¡°Hi, who is it?¡± Qiao Lian was slightly taken aback. Her voice... She frowned and said, ¡°Song Yuanxi, this is Qiao Lian.¡± The voice on the other end paused. Knowing that Song Yuanxi wasn¡¯t fond of her, she was prepared for the line to be disconnected again. But unexpectedly, the next thing she heard was a muffled moan. And then some very suggestive noises. Even though Song Yuanxi had gritted her teeth in an attempt to suppress any sounds, the rustling of sheets in the background was unmistakable. Qiao Lian froze. She waspletely stunned. Then she quickly said loudly into the phone, ¡°Song Yuanxi, I¡¯ve got some questions regarding Shen Liangchuan to ask you. Please return my call when you¡¯re avable, ok?¡± Chapter 867 - The Truth about Eight Years Ago (15)

Chapter 867: The Truth about Eight Years Ago (15)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Far away, in a holiday vi in Sanya. The floor was a mess. With underwear and clothes strewn all over. The bed was creaking and the nket was gathered into a twisting mound. Song Yuanxi was looking through a pair of blurry eyes at the lightly muscled man on top of her. She didn¡¯t even react to the fact that the caller was the much-hated Qiao Lian. Until... Qiao Lian said those words that froze Song Yuanxi. Her eyes suddenly found focus. She got up to pick up her cell phone but at that point, she felt an aggressive rush that almost tore her body apart. Following this, a hand tightly grabbed her jaw as the man thrusted her face closer. He chortled, ¡°Song Yuanxi, do you know what sort of women I hate most?¡± Song Yuanxi fell silent. ¡°Those who think of other men when making love with me. Is it because I¡¯m not working hard enough?¡± At these words, Song Yuanxi¡¯s pupils shrank. The next moment, a violent storm washed over her. She clenched her fist tightly and harshly bit her lip. Silently, she counted until, atst, the man finished his business and she slowly recovered. The smell of intimacy pervaded the air and her senses. He finally pulled his body away from hers. At this point, she gasped and took in big gulps of air freely. She sat on the bed and looked at the drops of evidence of the deed that had just happened on her body. At the same time that she wanted to cry, she felt likeughing. The moment passed and all the emotions she was feeling were reduced to a single sigh. After a while, the sound of running water in the bathroom stopped. The man walked out with a towel wrapped around his waist. He wore a pair of golden sses. Looking at Song Yuanxi with his sharp eyes, he said, ¡°Ms. Song, you are a sub-par bed mate.¡± Her fingernails dug into the flesh of her palm as she heard those words. ¡°But you provide a considerably good experience.¡± The man¡¯s words made her feel a deep shame that spread throughout her body. A piece at a time, he picked up his clothes from the floor and put them back on. In no time, he looked impable again. No one could have told what a beast he had just been. After he had tidied himself, he headed towards the door. ¡°I¡¯m going for a meeting. You have fun here in the meantime, I¡¯ll take you to dinner tonight.¡± It was only when the man had fully disappeared from view that Song Yuanxi took a deep breath and was able to rx again. She waited for a while till she had regainedposure. Rather than taking a shower, she picked up her cell phone and dialed Qiao Lian¡¯s number. The call was picked up quickly. Sounding quite embarrassed, Qiao Lian started, ¡°Just then¡ª¡± Song Yuanxi¡¯s timid expression had be freezing. After having gone through so much, she had be unbending and obstinate. She said coldly, ¡°What is it? Be quick.¡± ¡°I wish to know how Soul Fighter died eight years ago.¡± Song Yuanxi paused for a while before she said, ¡°I promised Brother Liangchuan that I¡¯d never tell you what happened.¡± Qiao Lian took a deep breath and continued, ¡°I feel that there must be some misunderstanding between us. I have never met your brother and certainly couldn¡¯t have caused him any harm. You¡ª¡± ¡°Huh.¡± Song Yuanxiughed mockingly. ¡°Is there anything else? If not, I¡¯m hanging up.¡± Qiao Lian got desperate at this point. She shouted loudly into the phone, ¡°Shen Liangchuan now has serious insomnia! Because of what happened to your brother. He has been feeling guilty!¡± Chapter 868 - The Truth about Eight Years Ago (16)

Chapter 868: The Truth about Eight Years Ago (16)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Song Yuanxi halted when she heard Qiao Lian¡¯s words. Realizing that Song Yuanxi had not hung up, she continued, ¡°If he can¡¯t be cured, it will impact his health for sure, and it could even endanger his life.¡± ¡°Song Yuanxi, I know I¡¯m the one you hate. You deeply love Shen Liangchuan and Mom. You won¡¯t hurt them, isn¡¯t that right?¡± ¡°Can you tell me the truth? Or if you won¡¯t tell me, then tell the psychologist and allow the psychologist to find the best treatment.¡± ¡°Shen Liangchuan fainted two days ago from theck of sleep, and he is exhausted.¡± ¡°Song Yuanxi, I¡¯m pleading with you.¡± After saying all of this, she quietly waited for Song Yuanxi¡¯s reply. After a while, she finally spoke, ¡°I¡¯m not in Beijing. I¡¯ll only be back tomorrow and will go to the psychologist with you.¡± Immediately, Qiao Lian sighed with relief and teared up. She paused for a moment and said, ¡°Ok.¡± After hanging up, Qiao Liany on her bed quietly, as though she had taken a weight off her shoulders. Finally, there was a way to solve the problem. Finally, she was one step closer to the truth of what had happened eight years ago. Qiao Lian shut her eyes. In her dream, she seemed to have heard a sound. Her eyes snapped open and she saw that Shen Liangchuan was home. He seemed to have had a bit to drink, as there was a faint smell of alcohol on him. He was changing in the dark. After he had done so, he stood there, as though observing Qiao Lian. She kept silent and didn¡¯t move. He seemed to think she was asleep. He walked over to the bedside table and picked up the vial of sleeping pills. He took one, hesitated, and then grabbed another two. Three in total. And he took all of them in a single gulp. Following this, he got into bed. Qiao Lian waited in the dark. She waited for a long time, until she heard his shallow and regr breathing. Shen Liangchuan was finally asleep. Qiao Lian shut her eyes in relief. In the middle of the night, the man got out of bed, stood up and went to the washroom. When he got back into bed, hey quietly next to her, not moving at all. But Qiao Lian knew. He wasn¡¯t sleeping. Three sleeping pills had given him only two hours of sleep. Two hours... Qiao Lian felt her nails digging into the palms of her hands. ¨C Just as the sky started to brighten up, Shen Liangchuan got up. After washing up, he went downstairs and saw that Xia Yehua was in the living room, making soup for him. He raised his eyebrows when he saw Xia Yehua walking out. Her gaze fell on him and she asked, ¡°Liangchuan, did you sleep wellst night?¡± His expression deepened and he replied in a rxed tone, ¡°I slept well. Had a few drinks and it helped.¡± She nodded and sighed with relief. ¡°That¡¯s good then!¡± He headed out for a run. After three loops around the garden, he stopped and noticed that his vision had be blurry. He stumbled and immediately reached out to hold onto the tree trunk next to him, to steady himself. However when he looked up, he realized he was seeing double. He frowned with intense concentration and shook his head. He stood on the spot and squeezed his eyes shut. After a moment, he felt a little better. He started to walk back to the house. All this time, he was unaware that Qiao Lian had been watching him from the balcony of their bedroom window on the second floor. Chapter 869 - The Truth about Eight Years Ago (17)

Chapter 869: The Truth about Eight Years Ago (17)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios On the surface, Shen Liangchuan certainly didn¡¯t look sick at all. Hisplexion was radiant and he was in the best mood. His self-control was so perfected that one couldn¡¯t tell if he had slept. It was only when there weren¡¯t people around that he would let his weakness show. Qiao clenched her fists tightly as she thought about it. The more he behaved this way, the greater her heart ached. She had stayed awake on purpose the night before. Just lying there, not moving till daybreak. The minutes and seconds crept by at an unbearable pace, making a moment feel like an eternity. That feeling was terrifying. She had only stayed awake for a night, but he had not been able to sleep for more than two weeks. ¨C Qiao Lian had arranged to meet with Song Yuanxi at the psychologist¡¯s clinic at 5 p.m. At 4 p.m., Qiao Lian went to the clinic and waited outside it for two hours. There was no sign of the girl. The psychologist was concerned and asked, ¡°Perhaps Ms. Song decided not toe?¡± Qiao Lian clenched her fists, as though remembering something. Song Yuanxi hated her. Hence, she would do whatever it took to make her feel awful. Actually, Qiao Lian realized that asking Song Yuanxi for help this time had been a bit much. And now, would she really not turn up? At this thought, Qiao Lian picked up her cell phone and dialed Song Yuanxi¡¯s number. The call was connected very quickly. Qiao Lian sighed with relief and asked, ¡°Yuanxi, where are you now?¡± The moment she asked this, she heard a man chuckle softly and say, ¡°I¡¯d like to know that too. Where has she gone?¡± Qiao Lian was taken by surprise and asked, ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°ording to her, I¡¯m her boyfriend.¡± Qiao Lian widened her eyes. She asked again, ¡°Where¡¯s Song Yuanxi?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Her cell phone is with you. How could you not know?¡± ¡°Oh, she ran away this morning.¡± Ran away? Where to? Just as Qiao Lian was puzzling over this, she heard a sounding from the end of the corridor. Turning around, she saw Song Yuanxi striding towards her! With a sigh of relief, she quickly disconnected the call. Song Yuanxi exined unhurriedly with a straight face, ¡°I came from the airport. There was a traffic jam.¡± Qiao Lian nodded to show she understood. Then she pointed at the psychologist¡¯s office and said, ¡°If you don¡¯t wish to tell me, please tell the psychologist, ok?¡± Only if the psychologist knew where the problemy could he find a way to fix it. Song Yuanxi nodded. Qiao Lian sat down outside the psychologist¡¯s office. She felt as though a cat was wing at her inside. She wanted more than anything else to know what had happened eight years ago, how Soul Fighter had died. But now she had to control her urges. She sat outside for a long time, and the door finally swung open. Qiao Lian got onto her feet in a snap. She looked intently at Song Yuanxi and asked, ¡°Is there a conclusion?¡± Song Yuanxi cast her gaze downward and said with little expression, ¡°Why don¡¯t youe in?¡± Qiao Lian frowned and followed Song Yuanxi into the psychologist¡¯s office. The psychologist adjusted his sses and pointed to the chair opposite him. He nodded at Qiao Lian and said, ¡°Please sit.¡± She sat down and asked, ¡°Doctor, is there a conclusion?¡± The psychologist nodded and answered, ¡°Yes. We found the problem.¡± Qiao Lian looked at him and asked, ¡°Well, what is next?¡± The psychologist frowned upon hearing this and looked at Song Yuanxi. Then he stood up and said, ¡°I¡¯ll leave the room for a while. You both can have a chat.¡± Chapter 870 - The Truth about Eight Years Ago (18)

Chapter 870: The Truth about Eight Years Ago (18)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian watched the doctor walk out in confusion and then stared at Song Yuanxi, sitting opposite her. Qiao Lian looked at her. Her expression was cold and she looked as if she was under a lot of pressure. She probably hade directly from Hainan. The clothes she donned were thin and she only wore a down jacket as an outeryer. Her face was tense and she look very serious. Song Yuanxi in this state was really unfamiliar. The Song Yuanxi in her memories was one that would blush when talking to someone, a weak girl who didn¡¯t even dare to speak loudly. But when one thought about it, as someone who had studied abroad alone, how could she really be so weak? And this person was the younger sister of Soul Fighter. Ah, Soul Fighter. That man who had had an unbing behavior and was mean online. Just as Qiao Lian delved into her memories, Song Yuanxi was also staring at her. It seemed as if both of them hadn¡¯t seen each other for really long. It seemed really weird that the two of them were suddenly in the same room and, furthermore, with such peace. Song Yuanxi averted her gaze and slowly spoke, ¡°Didn¡¯t you want to know the things that happened eight years ago?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank as she immediately looked up. ¡°You¡¯re willing to tell me?¡± The girl nodded. Qiao Lian¡¯s heart immediately became alert. The truth she had been trying so hard to uncover... She had searched for so long and had thought about it so much. She had originally thought that she would have to go through a lot to find out, but little did she know that the truth woulde when she least expected it. Qiao Lian¡¯s breathing became faster as she stared at Song Yuanxi. She had delved into an extremely anxious state. This anxiety made Song Yuanxi happy. Seeing her in that state, Song Yuanxi couldn¡¯t help but lower her head as she said, ¡°I only hope that you won¡¯t regret it after I tell you the truth.¡± Qiao Lian was taken aback by her reply. Song Yuanxi looked at her and continued. ¡°Qiao Lian. I actually really hate you, but I also envy you.¡± Qiao Lian frowned. Song Yuanxi smiled bitterly and said, ¡°The two most important men in my life are both so protective of you.¡± Qiao Lian didn¡¯t know what to say. Song Yuanxi didn¡¯t expect a reply from her anyway, so she continued speaking, ¡°Brother Liangchuan always prohibited me to tell you and it was actually to protect you.¡± Qiao Lian lowered her head. Song Yuanxi stared at her and asked, ¡°For thest time, do you really want to hear the truth about what happened eight years ago?¡± Qiao Lian bit her lip. After a while, she looked up. She stared straight at Song Yuanxi and replied, ¡°Yes, I want to know.¡± Even if what had happened eight years ago made her a vicious monster, she also wanted to know itpletely and clearly. Life is not a bed of roses. But her world was as clear as ck and white. She thought that there was definitely a misunderstanding concerning Soul Fighter¡¯s death and her. There was a really big misunderstanding, so she had to know what exactly had taken ce eight years ago. Song Yuanxi sneered and said, ¡°Ok, I will tell you then! I only hope that you will not regret this.¡± She looked at Qiao Lian and said, ¡°Eight years ago, you, my brother Soul Fighter, and Brother Liangchuan became good friends after meeting each other online and you would y games together online often, right? My brother actually always spoke about you at home.¡± She had had no courage when she was young. She was scared of doing anything and didn¡¯t have a sense of security. Her brotherpared her to ¡°Xiao Qiao¡± every single time. Every time that she said she was scared, her brother would say, ¡°You are both girls, so can¡¯t you just pick up Xiao Qiao¡¯s feisty character, just as strong as a hot pepper?¡± Chapter 871 - The Truth about Eight Years Ago (19)

Chapter 871: The Truth about Eight Years Ago (19)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She knew that her brother did it for her own good. They had lost their parents at such a young age. Her brother had to work to earn money, so he also wanted to y games at night. Thus, she had to take care of her own life. At that time, her brother had actually just been a 18-year-old boy. Her brother hoped that she would be stronger and feistier. Once, he even agitated Xiao Qiao on purpose and put her on speaker, so that she would be able to hear Xiao Qiao scold him furiously. The way she had cursed and scolded him confidently was like a superwoman. She was lively and spoke humorously. It made Yuanxi really envious. Thus, her brother often pointed out, ¡°You should learn from Xiao Qiao.¡± You should learn from Xiao Qiao... Everything was rted to Xiao Qiao. Back then, she knew that her brother liked Xiao Qiao. Once, when they were eating, and since she didn¡¯t like green peppers, she started picking them out of the bowl. However, her brother picked a big piece of green pepper and put in her bowl. She twitched her mouth and softly asked, ¡°Brother, can I not eat the green pepper?¡± After she said so, she heard her brother say, ¡°Xiao Qiao loves to eat green peppers, you should eat more too. You should learn from her, so that you won¡¯t get bullied in school.¡± It was Xiao Qiao again. It was rare for her to get angry. She threw her chopsticks on the table and said, ¡°Have you fallen in love with that Xiao Qiao? You talk about everything she does everyday. If you like her, then go chase her! When you seed, she can be my sister-inw and she can teach me how to be feisty!¡± Her brother was shocked by her words. He sprang up from his seat and eximed, ¡°Who likes her? Who likes her?! How would I like her?!¡± She was confused, ¡°Why can¡¯t you like her?¡± Why couldn¡¯t he like her? After some time, she then understood that she was the girlfriend of his best friend, Zi Chuan. And after some more time, her brother became kind of crazy and started to avoid Qiao Lian often. Sometimes, he no longer joined them to y and would just y himself. Her brother started bing unhappy. In the past, he would get really happy and excited whenever he was going to y. But after that, he would always have a depressed look when he yed. After some more time, Zi Chuan came to their house. That wasn¡¯t her first time seeing Brother Liangchuan. He was so tall, so handsome and so cocky. She didn¡¯t know what Brother Liangchuan told her brother. but her brother changed instantly and returned to his past self. They once again became best friends. They brought along the chatty, feisty and cute Xiao Qiao and continued their reckless life in the game. Until then... Song Yuanxi stared at Qiao Lian and spoke slowly. ¡°There was a time that, after losing a match, you came up with the idea of starting a team, right?¡± As Qiao Lian reminisced the past, she was also stunned slightly. It was her. She was the one who suggested it. Song Yuanxi looked at her andughed, ¡°I was envious of the temper you had as a daughter of a rich family, but I hated you a lot at that time. Because of your one sentence, my brother quit his job and Brother Liangchuan was chased out by his family. Do you know how much they had to prepare to set up an eSports team? You were far away, but just with a few words, you made them work so hard.¡± Qiao Lian instantly froze. Because of CQ Team, she had gotten involved in the whole process of setting a team up and she knew howplex the process was. It must have been so much harder for Zi Chuan and Soul Fighter then, both who were only 18 and penniless. Chapter 872 - The Truth about Eight Years Ago (20)

Chapter 872: The Truth about Eight Years Ago (20)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Song Yuanxi hung her head and said, ¡°You weren¡¯t in Beijing, but I was.¡± ¡°I witnessed with my own eyes how a proud man like Brother Liangchuan had to bow down to people and buy them meals so that they could get sponsors. He had to exin eSports to people and what the official team was about.¡± At that time, they were just kids. And eSports were not well-known or well-developed. At that time, it wasn¡¯t even listed as a sport on the national agenda. To adults at that time, eSports weren¡¯t eSports as they are known it today. It was just a game, not a proper job. No one was willing to invest in it. Thinking back now, setting up an official team at that time was an unimaginable task. Because they didn¡¯t have money, they had to involve investors for sure. Otherwise, there was no way they could set up the team club. ¡°My brother and Brother Liangchuan had to intercept the potential investing firmste at night, and spent great efforts to reinforce the differences between gaming andpetition. Although they had started eSportspetitions in other countries, it wasn¡¯t the trend in our own country yet.¡± Song Yuanxi looked like she was immersed in her memories now. ¡°My brother and I never had a lot of savings to begin with. But in the end, because he had to run around with Brother Liangchuan, our family ran into difficulties. I still remember that at that time, I needed to pay 50 to my school for materials, but my brother couldn¡¯t afford it.¡± Soul Fighter had had to make a living to sustain both himself and his sister. Shen Liangchuan, on the other hand, had been banished from the Shen family and hadn¡¯t had a penny on him. Amidst dealing with such difficult circumstances, they had never once thought of giving up. Qiao Lian clenched her fists tightly. A feeling of guilt started to develop within her. Her one simple remark had changed the lives of two people so irrevocably. Song Yuanxi continued, ¡°At the time, I med my brother for not having a proper job. I cried because we didn¡¯t even have enough to eat at home, but he had only one focus and that was gaming. In the end, I watched as the team club was formed. When I saw how happy my brother and Brother Liangchuan were, I realized that there are things that material wealth cannot buy. My brother and Brother Liangchuan had big dreams.¡± ¡°I do not understand your passion for gaming. I only know that I wanted my brother and Brother Liangchuan to be happy.¡± ¡°At the time, Brother Liangchuan moved out of his home and became like us, living in a single-story house, renting an apartment. When the team club was established, he and my brother didn¡¯t sleep all night. They had an intense discussion about the way forward... I was happy for them.¡± ¡°But in the end?¡± Song Yuanxi stood up, her eyes bloodshot and staring at Qiao Lian. Biting her lip and pointing at Qiao Lian, she continued, ¡°In the end? You bowed out of the deal without a second thought.¡± Qiao Lian wanted to speak up. She had injured both her hands and it had been a great setback for her. Hence, she had called Zi Chuan and told him that she could no longer y video games with them. But... what did her withdrawal from the team club have to do with Soul Fighter¡¯s death? ¡°You didn¡¯t know how the club was built, a little at a time? As easily as you said you wanted a team club, you said you wanted to withdraw! Did you know the price others had to pay for your whim and fancy?! To establish the team club, my brother left his work and became jobless. And when you withdrew, he had to pay with his life!¡± Pay with his life? Qiao Lian shot up from her seat and stared at Song Yuanxi, horrified. ¡°What happened after I withdrew from the club?¡± She clenched her fists tightly, waiting for the answer. Chapter 873 - The Truth about Eight Years Ago (21)

Chapter 873: The Truth about Eight Years Ago (21)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Song Yuanxi stood before Qiao Lian. Her eyes were red and she was agitated. She looked like she was going to kill Qiao Lian the next moment. Qiao Lian looked at her, waiting for her to continue. She bit her lip and said unhurriedly, ¡°Didn¡¯t you know that when you establish a team club, you need to sign a recruitment contract?¡± Qiao Lian nodded and said, ¡°I know.¡± Zombie Leader and the members of CQ Team had all signedbour contracts. Their wages would be paid ording to the terms and conditions of the contracts. And at the time... Her hands were injured, so she had been preupied with the thought that she could no longer y. She had not thought about all of these other matters. Besides, at the time she had had no knowledge of these things. Puzzled, she looked at Song Yuanxi as she continued, ¡°And didn¡¯t you know that your sudden withdrawal would incur a heavy penalty for breach of contract?!¡± A heavy penalty. Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank immediately. Song Yuanxi continued, ¡°200 thousand! A penalty of 200 thousand! Did you know how hard my brother and Brother Liangchuan had to work for that money?!¡± 200 thousand? Qiao Lian stood up, looking horrified. She looked at Song Yuanxi and said, ¡°I- I didn¡¯t know about this at all...¡± ¡°Of course you had no idea! Because my brother and Brother Liangchuan could not bear to tell you! You were so precious to them! How could they bear to put you in a difficult position because of the 200 thousand?¡± Song Yuanxiughed bitterly. By now, tears were streaming down her face. ¡°Then, to raise this money within the shortest time possible, my brother and Brother Liangchuan started to y online games day and night without rest for a whole week, to generate ie from testing the games. It was then that they barely pooled enough money together to pay the penalty.¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t have much rest for a week and were not focused. When they were crossing the street, Brother Liangchuan did not notice a car approaching at a high speed.¡± ¡°But my brother, he suddenly noticed, and shoved Brother Liangchuan out of the way! And my brother was hit by the car.¡± At this point, Song Yuanxi was choking on her tears and spoke with difficulty. She looked at Qiao Lian with hatred in her eyes and continued, ¡°I know that 200 thousand may be nothing to you! But how could you y with people like that? The team club had been your suggestion, so why didn¡¯t you see it through?! Why did you back out?! If it weren¡¯t for you, my brother would be well and alive. You killed my brother!¡± Sob. Her crying and whimpering fell hard on Qiao Lian¡¯s ears. As though it was a loud crack of thunder. She had cracked her head over this and pursued the truth for so long, but never had she expected such an oue. She had thought that Soul Fighter¡¯s death had had nothing to do with her. She had thought that all of this must have been some sort of misunderstanding. But she never could have imagined that it was a series of things that had gone this wrong. Her legs felt weak and her mind went nk. How had it turned out this way? Song Yuanxi spoke again before Qiao Lian could recover from her daze, ¡°Now you know why I hate you so much. My brother and Brother Liangchuan had been nothing but good to you! Why did you betray them? How could you bear to betray them?¡± Chapter 874 - The Truth about Eight Years Ago! (22)

Chapter 874: The Truth about Eight Years Ago! (22)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Betray... Qiao Lian clenched her fists tightly, unable to utter a word. The notion of that word was too much to bear. At the time, it had never entered her mind that withdrawing from the team club because her hands were injured would have amounted to any sort of betrayal in the eyes of Shen Liangchuan and Soul Fighter. She thought of that particr meeting with Zi Chuan that never took ce because he did not turn up. What had she thought at that time? Yes, it had felt like betrayal. All of these eight years, she had held a grudge and wouldn¡¯t let it go, because she had felt that Zi Chuan had betrayed her. So at that time, when she left the team, it must have felt like a great betrayal from Soul Fighter¡¯s and Zi Chuan¡¯s perspectives. 200 thousand. She had never known about this. It was no wonder that Song Yuanxi hated her so much. And it was no wonder Shen Liangchuan felt so much guilt. She suddenly thought that if she were Shen Liangchuan... If her own friend had been by her side in her toughest moments tofort and encourage her, and if in the end, he saved her and died in an ident... What could have been in his mind the moment Soul Fighter pushed him out of the way? He would have rather been hit than see his own friend die before his eyes. Hence... Was she the one who had killed Soul Fighter? Qiao Lian felt every bit of energy drain out of her body. She slumped onto the chair, feelingpletely spent. She had always thought that what happened eight years ago had been a misunderstanding. She had never met Soul Fighter, so how could Soul Fighter¡¯s death have anything to do with her? Yet the truth was nothing like what she could have imagined. Qiao Lian looked at Song Yuanxi with her mouth agape and nodded slowly as the truth hit her. She wanted to exin that it had been because of her injuries at that time that she had withdrawn from the team, that her intentions had not been to betray them. But the words would note out, and neither would they go away. So what? Even if she had a reason, so what? Soul Fighter was dead. He had died because her actions had incurred a penalty they couldn¡¯t afford. He had died to save his friend Zi Chuan. She had been confident that after knowing the truth about eight years ago, she could help Shen Liangchuan get better. But now, she finally understood that the situation hade to a dead end. She sat there in a daze. She was at a loss, lonely, helpless and on top of everything, she felt a boundless pain and guilt. Those emotions washed over her and drowned her like a tidal wave. It was her... Everything had to do with her. Her heart felt as though it was being sliced by a de, and the pain made it hard for her to breathe. The pain made her realize the sort of psychological pressure that Shen Liangchuan was facing. He had protected her from this information because he was afraid that it would cause her sorrow and guilt? Even the mighty Shen Liangchuan could not take the psychological blow and ended up with insomnia. Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes teared at once. And those tears, they rolled down her cheeks. She clenched her fists tightly and clutched her chest after a moment. She had never known what Shen Liangchuan had done for her, but right at this moment she understood. When Song Yuanxi had been on the verge of killing her, it was Shen Liangchuan who had taken the hit. He had pushed aside his friend¡¯s little sister to protect her. Was it from that moment, was it from the time that Song Yuanxi had been sent to the rehab home, that Shen Liangchuan had started to feel the guilt weighing heavily on him? She widened her eyes and stared at Song Yuanxi. Song Yuanxi spoke, ¡°Do you know why I decided to tell you the truth now?¡± Qiao Lian shook her head. Song Yuanxi opened the door. The psychologist walked into the room and said, ¡°The key of the patient¡¯s conundrum is you. Hence, the only way to cure the patient is for you to leave him.¡± Chapter 875 - The Truth about Eight Years Ago (23)

Chapter 875: The Truth about Eight Years Ago (23)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian stood there in a daze. The psychologist sighed again before he continued, ¡°To sum up what Ms. Song has said, taking into consideration Best Actor Shen¡¯s behaviour, I¡¯vee to a conclusion. Soul Fighter died to save Best Actor Shen, but you are the cause of his death. Best Actor Shen is unable to remove himself from this vicious circle. He is unable to forget his friend either. The happier the both of you are, the greater his guilt. This sort of guilt can sometimes torture people to death. Insomnia is one of the manifestations.¡± The psychologist looked at her and continued, ¡°Think about this. Didn¡¯t he start showing these signs only after you were truly together?¡± Qiao Lian bit her lip. Indeed. From the moment she had known that Shen Liangchuan was Zi Chuan. From the moment Zi Chuan had found out that she had stopped gaming because of her hands injuries... It seemed like the two of them had left behind what happened eight years ago and started to open up to each other. From the moment they happily returned from Hengdian together. Shen Liangchuan had fallen ill gradually, right up till now, when they were nning to have a child and live happily together. His health had eventually crumbled down, like a mountain being razed to the ground. No, those express delivery packages had also triggered it. They made him guilty. Qiao Lian looked at the psychologist, and then at Song Yuanxi. Song Yuanxiughed bitterly and said, ¡°I¡¯ve told you the truth. The rest is up to you.¡± After these words, she stood up to leave. At the doorway, she halted without turning around. Looking straight ahead of her, she said, ¡°Qiao Lian, I don¡¯t hate you two anymore. I was on the verge of killing you to avenge my brother, but the moment Brother Liangchuan took the blow for you, I stopped hating you. I think that if my brother were alive, he would forgive you.¡± She turned around and continued, ¡°If my forgiveness could ease his pain, I am willing to give the both of you all my blessings.¡± She smiled at this point and concluded, ¡°But I know it¡¯s useless. I don¡¯t carry enough weight in his heart and never will.¡± She lifted her gaze and looked at Qiao Lian. ¡°That is all I can do.¡± She hung her head, with her sorry and pitiful figure. All along, she had hated Qiao Lian to the core. Because she had always thought that Qiao Lian had betrayed the team club. At that time, the penalty should have not been for her brother and Brother Liangchuan to pay. But Qiao Lian did not bear the penalty¡ªan amount that would have meant next to nothing to the Qiao family¡¯s pampered little mistress. An amount that, at that time, to her brother and Brother Liangchuan was something almost insurmountable. But even then, so what? Perhaps her brother had willingly paid the penalty for the girl. Her brother was dead. And he had been for eight years. If it hadn¡¯t been for Mei Feng looking for her, instigating her and stirring those feelings of hatred she had buried deep inside, perhaps she wouldn¡¯t have been so bothered about Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan¡¯s rtionship. It was only now that Song Yuanxi discovered that Brother Liangchuan¡¯s happiness was all that mattered. She would rather not have known that Qiao Lian was that Xiao Qiao, the one who had betrayed the two boys eight years ago. At these thoughts, Song Yuanxi smiled bitterly and strode away from the clinic. It was finished. The matter hade to an end. To her, she had left everything behind the moment she left the Shen family vi. She had to begin her new life. She walked out of the hospital with her head lowered, towards the street. Then, she suddenly rammed into a man. Stunned, she looked up. The man with golden sses was standing right before her. This was her new life. Chapter 876 - The Truth about Eight Years Ago (24)

Chapter 876: The Truth about Eight Years Ago (24)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian walked alone along the street. She wasn¡¯t sure where she was heading. Leave Shen Liangchuan? How could that be possible? She took a deep breath, discarded all the confusing thoughts in her head for the moment, and strode forward. After a moment, her cell phone rang. She picked up the call and heard Song Cheng¡¯s voice. He sounded terribly anxious, ¡°Sister Qiao, Brother Shen had an ident and he¡¯s in the hospital. Can you get here quickly?!¡± Her hand went weak for a moment and she almost dropped her phone. ¨C In the hospital. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s eyes were shut, and he was quietly lying on the hospital bed. One leg was bandaged and tied to the bed, to prevent it from moving. Xia Yehua sat beside him with a deep frown on her forehead, looking very nervous and concerned. ¡°What is the matter? First, he faints and now he¡¯s gotten into an ident. What is wrong with Shen Liangchuan?¡± Song Cheng scratched his head and replied, ¡°I have no idea.¡± Xia Yehua persisted, ¡°Did something happen to thepany? Is it in some sort of trouble?¡± Song Cheng was on the verge of tears as he said, ¡°Ever since he proved his skills with the Suzhou development, all other investments we¡¯ve made recently have been doing well. The people trust his acumen and there¡¯s been no trouble. He¡¯s just tired.¡± Xia Yehua sighed, ¡°What is wrong with this year?¡± Qiao Lian listened quietly to their conversation, her eyes fixed on the man on the hospital bed. His face was pale and drained of blood. He used to be in peak health, but he had lost much weight recently. Even though his eyes were shut, his brow was tightly knitted. As though something was troubling him, and he would not let it go. Frowning, Xia Yehua looked at Song Cheng and asked, ¡°How did the ident happen?¡± The ident wasn¡¯t serious, because the driver had braked aggressively. It had ended up with Shen Liangchuan injuring his leg. Almost crying now, Song Cheng said, ¡°I don¡¯t really know. We had knocked off and gone to the underground parking. I went to get the car and Brother Shen waited for me to pick him up. And when I arrived, he had already been hit!¡± Still frowning, Xia Yehua continued questioning him, ¡°And the driver who caused the ident? Did he escape?¡± Song Cheng shook his head and answered, ¡°No. The driver... the driver is one of ourpany¡¯s employees.¡± At these words, someone approached them. He was nervously looking at Song Cheng and said, ¡°Brother- Brother Song, is Best Actor Shen- is Best Actor Shen ok?¡± Song Cheng pointed at the man and said, ¡°He¡¯s the driver.¡± Qiao Lian and Xia Yehua simultaneously shifted their gaze to the man. Immediately, he looked frightened and was almost in tears. ¡°I didn¡¯t do it on purpose, and I did not break any traffic regtions either. I was reversing and intending to leave the parking. The lighting in the parking is a little dim, as you know. I don¡¯t know why but Best Actor Shen seemed to suddenly get in the way, it was too sudden...¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s life wasn¡¯t in any danger. It was just that this man was in a shock and was stammering. Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t bear to berate him. So she kept silent. Song Cheng said, ¡°Ok, Xiao Tang, we¡¯ll know where the fault lies once we take a look at the recording. Don¡¯t be nervous, we won¡¯t be unfair with you.¡± Xiao Tang nodded and lowered his head dejectedly. After a short while, Song Cheng¡¯s cell phone rang. He looked down at the screen and saw that a video had been sent. He immediately frowned and said, ¡°I just received the recording of the ident.¡± Chapter 877 - The Truth about Eight Years Ago (25)

Chapter 877: The Truth about Eight Years Ago (25)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As soon as he had said this, Qiao Lian and the rest quickly gathered around his cell phone. He clicked on the video. It showed the underground parking. The lighting was a little dim, but one could clearly see Shen Liangchuan standing near the entrance. He had his mask and sunsses on, and he must have been waiting for Song Cheng to drive over. At this point, Xiao Tang¡¯s white sedan appeared moving towards the exit. Everything seemed normal. But just as Xiao Tang¡¯s car passed the spot where Shen Liangchuan stood, Shen Liangchuan suddenly lunged forward, as if possessed. As he rushed towards the approaching car, it seemed like he shouted something. He stretched his hands out, as if he was trying to push something out of the way... But... There was nothing in front of Shen Liangchuan at all. Xiao Tang floored the brake but even so, the car hit Shen Liangchuan¡¯s leg, throwing him in the air beforending on the ground. The video stunned everyone who was watching. It looked more like Shen Liangchuan had dashed in front of the car in a suicide mission. Xiao Tang had not erred on any ount. Xia Yehua was bbergasted. ¡°What was Liangchuan doing?! That was too dangerous! Why was he endangering his own life?¡± Song Cheng was just as astonished, ¡°I- I didn¡¯t think it would be like this.¡± Xiao Tang was at aplete loss. ¡°That was how it happened. I really do not know why Best Actor Shen would suddenly run... I...¡± They could only make guesses about why this had happened. Qiao Lian, on the other hand, had a realization after she watched the video. There was a pain in her heart, as though it was being squeezed by arge, invisible hand. The pain was so great that she was almost in tears. Staring steadily at the video, she asked Xiao Tang, ¡°Your car is a Xiali?¡± Xiao Tang nodded and confirmed, ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve driven it for many years.¡± Qiao Lian looked away from him and turned towards Song Cheng. She knew that Song Cheng had been working for Shen Liangchuan for a long time and he knew far more than her. Biting her lip, she asked unhurriedly, ¡°Many years ago, the car that hit Soul Fighter was also a Xiali?¡± Song Cheng was immediately reminded of it by her remark. He widened his eyes with great surprise and looked at the video again at once. ¡°That¡¯s right. That car was the same model as this one. Xiao Tang, how is it that you¡¯re still driving a car model that was popr eight years ago?¡± But Qiao Lian froze like a block of ice. Xia Yehua was puzzled and asked, ¡°So what if it¡¯s a Xiali?¡± So what? Qiao Lian hung her head as her eyes filled with tears. As Shen Liangchuan had dashed in front of the car, he had waved his hands and shouted something. It was hard to tell what he was shouting from reading his lips, but now she knew. It was: ¡°Soul Fighter, look out!¡± Soul Fighter, look out! His insomnia had caused him to hallucinate. In that instant, he had gone back eight years. He thought he had gone back to the scene of the ident. That familiar Xiali sedan had caused him to dash ahead without thinking, to push Soul Fighter out of the way. He would have rather been the person who had died in that ident. Qiao Lian¡¯s nails dug into her palms. She turned again to look at Shen Liangchuan. His insomnia was getting worse. The psychologist¡¯s words came back to her. ¡°... on the longer term, it can endanger his life.¡± Now she finally understood what he meant. Chapter 878 - The Truth about Eight Years Ago (26)

Chapter 878: The Truth about Eight Years Ago (26)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She looked at Shen Liangchuan with tightly clenched fists. ¨C By the time Shen Liangchuan woke up, he had slept deeply for six to seven hours. It had been a long time since he had slept like this. Perhaps it was the drip and the stabilizing effect it had so that he could sleep exceptionally well. To the extent that he seemed to have had a dreamless sleep. The deep sleep seemed to have replenished half of his strength. He sighed in relief. He knew it himself that if he continued without sleep, his body would not be able to take it much longer. This situation gave him a chance to breathe. He moved in an attempt to get up. But a searing pain shot through him all of a sudden. Never one to look delighted, he frowned without saying a word. Looking up, his gaze fell on his leg. What had happened before he lost consciousness came back to him, and he couldn¡¯t help but startughing. What was wrong with him then? How was it that he had seen Soul Fighter standing in front of that car? He was like a man possessed, dashing right towards the car. Xiao Qiao and Mom must have had a fright, right? As this thought entered his mind, he suddenly became aware and looked up suddenly. He turned to look at the sofa by the side of the room. Xia Yehua had fallen asleep on it. He paused for a moment. Where was Xiao Qiao? He frowned and was about to get out of bed to look for her, however, the ward door swung open and his wife¡¯s familiar silhouette appeared. The moment he saw her, he was relieved. Qiao Lian stood there and said cheerfully, ¡°Oh, you¡¯re awake? Are you hungry? I¡¯ve made pig¡¯s trotters soup. They say one should eat what one wishes to heal. Since you¡¯ve injured your leg, it means that for the next few days you¡¯ll have to have pig¡¯s trotters soup!¡± Seeing a mischievous and lively Qiao Lian, Shen Liangchuan nodded and said, ¡°Ok.¡± He broke into a smile. That smile was like light sunlight, brightening the whole room. It made Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes sting a little. Quickly, she turned away and walked over to pour some soup out for the man. Shen Liangchuan nced at it¡ªsoybean pig¡¯s trotters soup. It was food for pregnant women, it looked greasy and just a little disgusting. Frowning, he said, ¡°It¡¯s my bone that has been injured. Shouldn¡¯t I be having pork rib soup? Why is it pig¡¯s trotters soup? Qiao Lian turned frosty at once, saying, ¡°Just drink whatever you¡¯re given. Why so you have to talk so much?¡± At this, she thrust the bowl into his hands and ordered, ¡°Hurry, drink it!¡± Shen Liangchuan looked at her with a helpless expression. Then holding his breath, he gulped all of it down. After he had eaten the soup, Xia Yehua woke up. Upon seeing Qiao Lian, she immediately said, ¡°You¡¯re back?¡± Qiao Lian nodded and replied, ¡°Mom, you should go home. I¡¯m here to mind him now.¡± Xia Yehua was still feeling uneasy and said, ¡°But¡ª¡± ¡°Mom, no buts.¡± Qiao Lian looked at her and smiled. ¡°He injured his leg and that¡¯s all. It will be fine, but you don¡¯t have the best of health. If you get stressed, your blood pressure might go up. What will we do then?¡± Xia Yehua could only nod and say, ¡°Ok.¡± After the elderly woman left, Qiao Lian took out a bento box in which she had put together a nutritious mix of foods. After Shen Liangchuan had eaten, she tidied up for a bit. Then she took the utensils to the restroom and washed them. She walked back into the room when everything was done, looking busy like a little wife. Looking at her, Shen Liangchuan felt at ease. Chapter 879 - The Truth about Eight Years Ago (27)

Chapter 879: The Truth about Eight Years Ago (27)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After tidying the ward, Qiao Lian sat next to Shen Liangchuan¡¯s bed. As they sat facing each other, he suddenly reached out and rubbed her head. Sheughed. ¡°What¡¯s that for?¡± He said, ¡°I feel that my Xiao Qiao has grown up.¡± ¡°Are you saying I¡¯m old?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Yes you are!¡± He was amused by how willful and obstinate she was. ¡°Even if you were, it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Qiao Lian fell silent. Then she gave a humph and looked at Shen Liangchuan. She suddenly picked up her cell phone and said, ¡°I¡¯m bored. Let¡¯s y a game or two.¡± He raised an eyebrow. It seemed like she had gotten addicted to gaming again recently. Besides, he was recuperating and it wasn¡¯t a good time to be working. It seemed like a good opportunity to have some rxing fun. He picked up his cell phone. They signed into the Lot mobile game app. Qiao Lian said, ¡°I now feel that mobile versions of games areparable to PC ones. The pace is extremely fast! They are certainly more exciting than the PC version. Of course, it¡¯s more challenging in terms of team coordination.¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded in agreement. ¡°Mobile eSports have potential for development.¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes lit up at his analysis. ¡°Perhaps we can invest in developing mobile games.¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded. She smiled and opened the app. Then she signed in. Shen Liangchuan was stunned the moment she signed into her ount. Because she had logged in with her primary ount, Xiao Qiao. He frowned. Qiao Lian lifted her head and looked at him, saying, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, the teams we get matched with when we use our sub-ounts are always bad and it¡¯s no fun ying. Let¡¯s use our main ount to y.¡± He pursed his lips. He had not logged into his Zi Chuan ount for a long time. Because he felt that the day Soul Fighter had died, Zi Chuan had died too. But seeing Qiao Lian¡¯s hopeful expression, he suddenly smiled and said, ¡°Ok.¡± He could never bear to say no to her requests. Just like eight years ago... He cast his gaze down when he thought of the things that had happened eight years ago. Picking up his cell phone, he logged into his main ount as Zi Chuan. Zi Chuan and Xiao Qiao thus finally met once again in the world of gaming. Qiao Lian sent him an invitation to y together. When they finally had ten yers for two teams of five people, Qiao Lian selected her champion Xiao Qiao, and Zi Chuan selected his champion Zhou Yu. The game started. Immediately, someone texted: [Oh my god, what am I seeing? Zi Chuan and Xiao Qiao!] [That must be fake? It must be a fake ount.] [It can¡¯t be fake, because ount IDs cannot be reused. There is only one Xiao Qiao in all of Lot.] Qiao Lianughed when she saw thesements. Yes. ount IDs could not be reused. She liked the character Xiao Qiao and she liked the name Xiao Qiao. In the past, when she wanted to use the name Xiao Qiao, she realized that someone was already using it. She looked at Shen Liangchuan and said with a smile, ¡°When I was young, I was obstinate. Back then I found the yer who had first been using the ID Xiao Qiao, and I pestered her to edit her ID and include some sort of symbol, so that I could then use the ID Xiao Qiao.¡± So in the end, she was the one and only Xiao Qiao in Lot. Shen Liangchuanughed when she told him this. Then someone in the assembled team remarked: [Who are Xiao Qiao and Zi Chuan? Why are all of you people so excited?] Suddenly, the chat turned silent. Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan exchanged a look without speaking. Because right now, the game had begun. Chapter 880 - The Truth about Eight Years Ago (28)

Chapter 880: The Truth about Eight Years Ago (28)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The game was fast, furious and exciting. After one round, both Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan were greatly excited. She shouted uncontrobly, ¡°One more game!¡± ¡°Ok.¡± ¡°Zi Chuan, don¡¯t go there. Come over and help me!¡± ¡°Go, go, go! We can attack!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll loop around to the back and you work with me from the front! Let¡¯s kill whatever the opponent¡¯s sending first.¡± ¡°...¡± The ward was filled with gaming sounds. Qiao Lian¡¯s voice was attractive. Shen Liangchuan¡¯sughter grew louder. In the world of video games, there were noplicated emotions and sorrows. After a few games, he was rxed in a way that he hadn¡¯t been for the longest time. The day passed quickly. In the evening, Xia Yehua came to see Shen Liangchuan, so she asked Qiao Lian to return home for dinner and to rest. Qiao Lian agreed. After saying goodbye to Shen Liangchuan, the moment she walked out of the ward, the smile on her face vanished at once. ¨C Auntie Li weed her home the moment she entered the Shen family vi. ¡°Madam, dinner is ready. Would you like to eat now or after you wash up?¡± Qiao Lian answered, ¡°No hurry.¡± She changed into her house slippers and walked into the living room. Looking around, she inquired, ¡°Where¡¯s Qiao Yi?¡± ¡°Young Master Qiao Yi is upstairs reading.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. She headed upstairs, towards Qiao Yi¡¯s room. She knocked on the door and then entered. The boy was studying for his IELTS, as training for studying abroad. He had to pass this test. Qiao Lian nced at him and sat on the sofa seat next to him, observing him. His legs had recovered and he could walk normally now. She realized when he stood up that he had grown up, he was half a head taller than her now. He had grown into a fine young man. She continued to observe him. His face had lost its child-like features and looked considerablyposed, like an adult¡¯s. He no longer disyed that trusting innocence when he looked at people, but rather possessed an air of wisdom and insight. He said as she studied him, ¡°Sister, there¡¯s something I¡¯d like to discuss with you.¡± Slightly surprised, she looked at him and said, ¡°Go ahead.¡± He cast his gaze down and thought for a while before he started, ¡°Sister, I was hoping to go abroad right away.¡± She froze as something inside of her stirred up. She had not expected him to bring this up before she did. She also had not expected that he would be this thoughtful and sensitive to her own thoughts. Holding her gaze steadily, she encouraged him, ¡°And?¡± Qiao Yi smiled broadly as he said, ¡°Sister, I¡¯m grown up and can decide for myself. I¡¯ll be 22 this year. Although my studies have been dyed, I don¡¯t wish to be a parasite. I can go overseas and work as I study to pay my tuition fees. I could also wait for the eptance notice from the universities, and continue studying on my own in the meantime.¡± This was exactly what Qiao Lian wanted for him as well. Although she did think that it was a rather harsh decision. Qiao Yi continued, ¡°Sister, you¡¯ve looked after me for the past eight years and I really don¡¯t wish to turn into a good-for-nothing. I can¡¯t repay you right now, but at the very least I can look after myself.¡± Qiao Lian said with clenched fists, ¡°But after all, you haven¡¯t been in contact with the outside world for eight years.¡± ¡°Which is why I should start!¡± Qiao Yi grinned. ¡°Are you afraid that I¡¯d be dazzled by the outside world? But I¡¯ve seen all sorts of splendor and wealth. It¡¯s not like we¡¯ve never been wealthy. Don¡¯t worry.¡± She bit her lip and finally said, ¡°Ok.¡± Chapter 881 - The Truth about Eight Years Ago (29)

Chapter 881: The Truth about Eight Years Ago (29)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She hade looking for him with exactly the same thoughts in her head. She took out a card from her handbag and said, ¡°There are 100 thousand in here. I don¡¯t have the means at the moment to give you more. This is all I have.¡± ¡°This is enough!¡± Qiao Yiughed with elegant ease. ¡°I had expected that all I¡¯d be getting was a flight ticket.¡± She stood up immediately and said, ¡°Did you think I¡¯d be that petty?!¡± Qiao Yi asked, ¡°So when should I leave?¡± Qiao Lian looked at him inquiringly. ¡°When do you wish to leave?¡± Heughed and said, ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve booked a ticket to leave tomorrow.¡± This time, the smile vanished from Qiao Lian¡¯s face. Her little brother had grown up indeed. He was no longer the boy who needed her protection. What was unexpected was that, even though she had acted normal thest few days, her brother had already sensed her intentions. Her eyes started to sting and her vision blurred through a thin film of tears that had formed. She patted him on the shoulder and said, ¡°I¡¯ll be cheering for you and waiting for your return so that you can take care of me.¡± The young man grimaced and said, ¡°What a way to put it! To think you¡¯re a reporter!¡± Qiao Lian fell silent. She smiled, but her heart was full of emotions as she left his room. She walked into her bedroom and surveyed it, as though looking at it for the first time. Then she washed up and went downstairs for her dinner. Auntie Li brought the dishes she had cooked andid them on the table. As Qiao Lian ate, she talked incessantly, ¡°Auntie Li, Mom has high blood pressure. In the future, be careful with the salt you use in the dishes and try to cook light meals.¡± ¡°Ok, noted!¡± ¡°Uh huh. And, although Shen Liangchuan forbids you to clean the bedroom, he doesn¡¯t have time to do this himself. You may mop the floor when he¡¯s not around. He won¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± ¡°And he likes to go to a beach vi on Qinghuangdao to spend time when he¡¯s unhappy. I¡¯ll write the address down for you.¡± Auntie Li looked at her steadily in silence. Qiao Lian cupped her face and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Auntie Li said, ¡°Madam, you¡¯re being exceptionally long-winded, as though you¡¯re giving your final instructions. I¡¯m feeling a little odd about this.¡± Qiao Lian froze. Then sheughed after a moment. ¡°That¡¯s true. I¡¯m not that old, but I¡¯ve be this naggy.¡± Auntie Li smiled and walked towards the kitchen, saying, ¡°There more soup. I¡¯ll get you more.¡± Looking at her, Qiao Lian called, ¡°Auntie Li!¡± The housekeeper turned around. Qiao Lian smiled at her and said, ¡°I¡¯ve never said a proper thank you.¡± Stunned, Auntie Li asked, ¡°Thank me for...?¡± ¡°Thank you for looking after me!¡± Ever since she had married Shen Liangchuan, the only housekeeper among all the housekeepers in the household who had not despised her was Auntie Li. Auntie Li shook her head and walked into the kitchen. She scooped a bowl of soup and brought it out, cing it on the dining table. Qiao Lian lowered her head and took a sip. ¡°Auntie Li, you¡¯re the best cook!¡± ¡°Oh, Auntie Li, Mom¡¯s blood pressure medication is in the drawer of her bedside table. There¡¯s a white bottle and she takes three each time. Don¡¯t forget.¡± Auntie Li nodded and said, giving her a strange look, ¡°Madam, you should quickly eat your dinner while it¡¯s hot.¡± Qiao Lian finally kept quiet. She finished her dinner. Then she went upstairs. She took in everything in the familiar bedroom¡ªthe current pain in her heart was overflowing and consuming her. Finally, shey on the bed, taking in Shen Liangchuan¡¯s familiar smell and cried her heart out. Chapter 882 - It Wasn’t Her (1)

Chapter 882: It Wasn¡¯t Her (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian clutched the nket tightly and buried her head in it. After she calmed down, she took a deep breath. Then, as though remembering something, she suddenly sat up and looked at the time. It was only 7 p.m. She picked up her cell phone and dialed Xia Nuannuan¡¯s number. The call was picked up almost at once. Xia Nuannuan said, ¡°Hello? Lian Lian, what¡¯s up?¡± Qiao Lian said, ¡°Nothing important. Do you have time?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Xia Nuannuan put the book in her hand aside and gently rubbed her tired eyes. After Shen Zihao had spoken about it, Mei Feng had not dared to ask her to do theundry anymore. But obviously the woman had spread the word and the housekeepers no longer chatted with her. Even when she wanted to y on theputer, Mei Feng would forbid it, using radiation as an excuse. Hence, she could only hang out in the study. She had picked a romance web-novel called ¡°Because of Love.¡± The web-novel was humorous and a tear-jerker at the same time. She got hooked and hadn¡¯t realized that so many hours had passed as she read. She looked out the window and asked, ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°Nothing, actually. I just wanted to tell you that Mom misses Shen Zihao. If you can, try to get him toe over more often and visit Mom and Shen Liangchuan.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± Being an exceptionally sensitive and perceptive girl, Xia Nuannuan asked, ¡°Did something happen?¡± ¡°Nah... The issue has been resolved. Oh, and you don¡¯t have to try asking Mei Feng anymore.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± Xia Nuannuan looked at her cell phone and ventured to ask, ¡°Lian Lian, you don¡¯t seem to be in the right frame of mind. What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Nothing. It must be the cold I caught a few days ago. It¡¯s nothing. I won¡¯t get in the way of you two lovebirds. I¡¯m hanging up!¡± Before Xia Nuannuan could say another word, Qiao Lian had hung up. Xia Nuannuan stared at the phone in a slight daze. Could it be that something had happened to Shen Liangchuan? At this thought, she quickly picked up her cell phone again, intending to dial. However, before she could even do that, she heard the sound of a car pulling up on the driveway. Shen Zihao and Shen Xiu were home. She quickly stood up. Just as she was making her way downstairs, Shen Zihao and Shen Xiu entered the house. Mei Feng approached Shen Xiu, helped him with his briefcase and then looked at Shen Zihao. ¡°How has work been since you¡¯ve started?¡± Shen Zihao twitched his lips and said, ¡°Not much about it. Everything is too easy. How could I possibly not do it well?¡± He walked towards Xia Nuannuan. Xia Nuannuan said to him at once, ¡°I¡¯m not sure if something has happened to Big Brother or Mom. Qiao Lian just called and she didn¡¯t sound quite right.¡± Shen Zihao paused. She continued, ¡°Why don¡¯t you go over and have a look?¡± At these words, Shen Xiu said icily, ¡°What¡¯s there to see? That dishonorable son Shen Liangchuan broke his leg in an ident! What¡¯s the big deal?¡± Both Xia Nuannuan and Shen Zihao were stunned to hear this. Broke his leg in an ident and it was no big deal? Shen Zihao immediately put on the jacket that he had just taken off and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go take a look.¡± Shen Xiu said, ¡°I¡¯ve already said there is no need to go.¡± Shen Zihao hesitated for a moment. Mei Feng added, ¡°It¡¯ste and they must be resting. You¡¯ve been working all day, Zihao. You must be tired too.¡± Shen Zihao took off his jacket again. Seeing that the two had talked Shen Zihao out of it, Xia Nuannuan started to get anxious, but she knew she could not make a big deal out of it. She said, ¡°Big Brother should be alright. It is just that I wonder if Mom¡¯s heart can take it.¡± The moment she said that, Shen Zihao froze. Ignoring Mei Feng and Shen Xiu¡¯s advice, he put his jacket on again and left the house in a hurry. Chapter 883 - It Wasn’t Her (2)

Chapter 883: It Wasn¡¯t Her (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xia Nuannuan exhaled with relief. Shen Xiu frowned and snorted angrily. ¡°This child is really disobedient!¡± Mei Feng shot Xia Nuannuan a look, her eyes filled with dislike for the girl. As Shen Zihao and Xia Yehua grew loser, she felt increasingly insecure. Even her words almost held no weight on the boy. This could not continue. She had to start taking measures. At this thought, she looked at Xia Nuannuan viciously as she followed Shen Xiu upstairs. Shen Xiu changed out of his work clothes. Following this, he took out a wad of banknotes from his pocket and thrust it into Mei Feng¡¯s hands. ¡°Here¡¯s 50 thousand. Keep it for your own expenses.¡± 50 thousand was a rather thick wad of banknotes. It was inconvenient for Shen Xiu to be carrying it around. After all, he paid for most things with his credit card and not cash. The money was a gift from someone. Basically, whenever Shen Xiu received cash, he would give it to Mei Feng for safekeeping. She nodded at his remark. Then he went to take a shower. As Mei Feng¡¯s gaze fell on the wad of banknotes... The corners of her mouth turned upwards into a menacing smile. After his shower, Shen Xiu had dinner with Mei Feng and Xia Nuannuan. Then he headed up to the study to finish some work. As Xia Nuannuan was about to return upstairs to her bedroom, Mei Feng called her. ¡°Come with me. I¡¯ve got something to tell you.¡± Xia Nuannuan nodded and followed the woman into her bedroom. The bedroom was actually a suite. It had all the necessary items in it. Xia Nuannuan stood there cautiously as Mei Feng suddenly frowned and said, ¡°Wait here, let me go to the restroom first.¡± Xia Nuannuan nodded again. Mei Feng disappeared into the restroom. Xia Nuannuan surveyed the room. Her eyes wandered around and finally, her sight fell on the bedside table, where she noticed a wad of cash casually ced on it. She took in a deep breath and thought, ¡°Wee to the lifestyle of the wealthy.¡± It looked like a lot of money. Probably it was worth a few month¡¯s wages. And they had no qualms about having it lie around like this. Mei Feng took a long time in the restroom before she came out. Then, she dismissed Xia Nuannuan after making a few casual remarks. After Xia Nuannuan left the room, she turned to look at the bedside table. The wad of banknotes was still sitting there, untouched. She paused for a moment and then smirked icily. ¨C Shen Liangchuan¡¯s leg injury wasn¡¯t too serious, and Xia Yehua¡¯s health was fine too. Shen Zihao had been at the hospital for a short while, but he was told to go home. After all, he had to work the next day. After he got home, Xia Nuannuan instructed the housekeepers in the kitchen to warm up his dinner. After the dishes wereid out on the table, she took a seat opposite Shen Zihao. Shen Zihao was surprised. ¡± Haven¡¯t you eaten? Didn¡¯t I tell you to eat your meals on time now that you¡¯re pregnant?¡± Xia Nuannuan smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯ve eaten.¡± ¡°Then what are you doing now?¡± Xia Nuannuan replied, ¡°Apanying you, of course! You¡¯ll be lonely, eating by yourself.¡± Shen Zihao paused for a moment when he heard these words. Lonely eating on his own? Hence, even after eating, she would sit with him to apany him? He had never in his life had anyone say anything like this to him. This was the first time... That thought warmed his heart, but her actions also made her seem like a young girl to him. Furthermore, there was a hint of adoration in the way she was looking at him. He couldn¡¯t help butugh. As he was eating, they suddenly heard amotion upstairs. Chapter 884 - It Wasn’t Her (3)

Chapter 884: It Wasn¡¯t Her (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The young couple was taken aback and looked up. Then they heard Mei Feng berating a housekeeper, ¡°Our family has always treated you well, but to think you¡¯re actually a thief!¡± The housekeeper was sobbing and saying, ¡°Madam, I really did not take the money! Please believe me!¡± When Xia Nuannuan heard these words, for some reason, she thought of the money that Mei Feng had so casually ced on the bedside table. She knitted her brow. When she turned and saw that Shen Zihao was about to put aside his bowl and chopsticks, she said, ¡°Continue eating. I¡¯ll go take a look.¡± Shen Zihao nodded. Xia Nuannuan stood up and slowly walked up the stairs. She arrived at the second floor. In the second floor¡¯s corridor, Mei Feng, who was trembling with anger, was pointing at a young housekeeper and rebuking her, ¡°We pay you a higher wage than other ces for working in our household. Why are you still not satisfied?¡± The young housekeeper cried pitifully and tried to exin, ¡°Madam, I wouldn¡¯t steal. It really wasn¡¯t me!¡± Hearing the noise, Shen Xiu stood up and walked out of the study. Frowning and looking at the scene that greeted him, he shouted angrily, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Mei Feng pointed at the young housekeeper and said, ¡°She stole the 50 thousand that you just gave me and now she¡¯s denying it!¡± Shen Xiu spoke impatiently, ¡°Just send her to the police station then. Why create a scene?¡± At these words, the young housekeeper panicked. Her legs grew weak and she dropped to the ground on her knees begging, ¡°Sir, Madam, it really wasn¡¯t me! I didn¡¯t steal!¡± She wiped her tears with her sleeves as she cried, looking extremely pitiful. Looking at the young housekeeper, she was suddenly reminded of a time in her life where she had had to work. She nced at the young housekeeper again. The girl looked simple and honest, certainly not like someone who would steal. Besides... even if she had stolen money, why did Mei Feng need to create such a din? All she needed was to find the evidence and then send the girl to the police station. Wouldn¡¯t that do? Very insightfully, she had pinpointed the oddity of the situation and stood there in silence. Mei Feng¡¯s pupils shrank when she noticed Xia Nuannuan. Humph. Hypocrite! If she was such a kind-hearted person, why wasn¡¯t she speaking up for the young housekeeper by now? Obviously, Xia Nuannuan was no kind soul. She turned back to stare at the young housekeeper and said, ¡°Sir had just given me the money and I left it on my bedside table. I didn¡¯t even have the time to put it away! From then till now, you¡¯ve been the only outsider who entered my room. Who else could it be if it isn¡¯t you?¡± The young housekeeper was still crying pitifully. ¡°It really wasn¡¯t me. I don¡¯t know how the money disappeared. When I went in, there was no money on the bedside table! Madam, why don¡¯t search? You can search me.¡± Mei Fengughed icily. ¡°From the time you took the money till now, more than ten minutes have passed. How could the money still be on you!? It must have been transferred elsewhere.¡± The young housekeeper was sobbing uncontrobly now and said, ¡°It really wasn¡¯t me.¡± Mei Feng said, ¡°I¡¯ll still say the same. Only you came into my room. I¡¯ve just looked through the room carefully and I can¡¯t find the money! If it isn¡¯t you, who else could it be?!¡± The young housekeeper was really panicking by now. She had to think of who else might have entered Mei Feng¡¯s room, so that she could prove her own innocence. After thinking very hard, her eyes suddenly lit up. ¡°Madam, besides me, Young Madam has also been in your room!¡± As soon as these words were spoken, all eyes simultaneously shifted onto Xia Nuannuan. Xia Nuannuan¡¯s pupils shrank immediately. Of course. Here it came. Chapter 885 - It Wasn’t Her (4)

Chapter 885: It Wasn¡¯t Her (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The moment Xia Nuannuan was implicated, everyone¡¯s expressions darkened. Mei Feng¡¯s voice weakened at once. ¡°What nonsense are you speaking? How could Young Madam have taken the money?¡± The young housekeeper immediately said, ¡°Why not? Young madam is from a poor family too! If it was really as much money as Madam has said, why wouldn¡¯t she covet it?!¡± Xia Nuannuan listened to this with clenched fists. Poor family. Someone had actually gone to the extent of criticizing her for this now. She felt her face burn. The young housekeeper was terrified of being sent to the police station, hence, she stood up with a snap and said, ¡°I¡¯m willing to let you search me. I wish to prove my innocence. I didn¡¯t steal it!¡± Mei Feng shot Shen Xiu a look when those words were spoken. Shen Xiu looked suspiciously at Xia Nuannuan. Xia Nuannuan bit her lip and looked at Shen Xiu. ¡°Dad, I didn¡¯t do it.¡± The man knitted his brow and said after a moment, ¡°Get a few people to search the housekeeper¡¯s room!¡± At these words, the butler called a few people at once and led them into the housekeeper¡¯s room. After five minutes, they came back out. The butler nced at Xia Nuannuan and shook his head, saying, ¡°We didn¡¯t find anything.¡± The young housekeeper sighed with relief and sat back on the ground. Crying, she said, ¡°It really wasn¡¯t me!¡± She suddenly turned to look at Xia Nuannuan and asked, ¡°Young Madam, why did you take Madam¡¯s money and almost get me in trouble?¡± Mei Feng immediately rebuked the girl. ¡°What nonsense are you speaking? How could Young Madam possibly steal that? Even if so... I¡¯d have given her the money.¡± Her obvious attempt to defend Xia Nuannuan aroused suspicion amongst the other housekeepers. The way they looked at Xia Nuannuan was as though she was the culprit, and the atmosphere became uneasy. Xia Nuannuan¡¯s expression was solemn as she looked at her inws. ¡°Dad, Aunty Mei, I¡¯ve always acted with integrity. I did not take the money.¡± Mei Feng agreed, ¡°That¡¯s right. I asked Nuannuan toe in, to have a word with her about Zihao¡¯s pocket money. It¡¯s not possible that she stole the money.¡± The young housekeeper refused to let it go. She knew that if the culprit wasn¡¯t caught today, she would still be a suspect and there was the possibility that she might lose her job with the Shen family. Wealthy families like the Shen family paid a wage that couldn¡¯t bepared to others. Furthermore, she felt a sense of aplishment for being able to live in such an environment. How could she leave? Hence, the young housekeeper kept going and asked, ¡°In that case, Madam, were you with Young Madam the whole time? Were you there watching Young Madam from the time she entered the room till she left the ce? Having heard these words, Mei Feng was visibly shaken. Then, as though she had remembered something, she frowned and looked at Xia Nuannuan. She coughed and made it very apparent that she was trying to hide something. ¡°That¡¯s- that¡¯s right...¡± But Shen Xiu caught this and frowned. ¡°Speak the truth!¡± Mei Feng elbowed Shen Xiu and said, ¡°Let it be. It¡¯s just 50 thousand. Let¡¯s not investigate any further.¡± ¡°No way!¡± ¡°No way!¡± Shen Xiu and Xia Nuannuan said at the same time. Then, Shen Xiu looked at Xia Nuannuan with deep intention. ¡°We have to get to the bottom of this matter. The Shen family will not tolerate a dishonest daughter-inw!¡± He turned to look at the butler and gave a firm order, ¡°Search Young Madam¡¯s room!¡± Chapter 886 - It Wasn’t Her (5)

Chapter 886: It Wasn¡¯t Her (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xia Nuannuan¡¯s eyes immediately widened at these words. Searching her room meant that Shen Xiu suspected her! She bit her lip, feeling deeply ashamed. Why? What right did they have!? Just because her family wasn¡¯t well-off, when money went missing, she would have to naturally be a suspect? What was her status in the Shen family? She wanted to speak up but, at this point, a voice said, ¡°No!¡± Shen Zihao, who had been having dinner downstairs, had overheard that the money was missing. Not that he cared about that. After all, how much could it have been, given that it was cash? But when Xia Nuannuan got implicated, he had put his chopsticks aside and gone upstairs. Just as he arrived at the scene, he heard Shen Xiu¡¯s words. Objecting to it, he said, ¡°Dad, what is this about? Asking to search the room of the Young Madam of the Shen family... if word got out, how would that look? Shen Xiu gave an icy humph and said, ¡°To prove her innocence, we have to search.¡± Shen Zihao nced at Xia Nuannuan and said, ¡°She wouldn¡¯t steal the money!¡± Xia Nuannuan was touched by his faith in her. Shen Zihao believed her. She bit her lip. Shen Xiu looked at Shen Zihao and said in a sincere and heartfelt manner, ¡°Regardless of whether it was her, we¡¯ll search her room and prove her innocence. I don¡¯t wish to have the housekeepers in this family gossiping about us being unfair.¡± Mei Feng stepped forward as well when she heard this. ¡°It¡¯s not good to search her room just like that. Zihao¡¯s father, let¡¯s reconsider this... let it be. The money¡¯s gone anyway.¡± Shen Xiu frowned at these words and said, ¡°No!¡± He instructed the butler, ¡°Go search!¡± Shen Zihao frowned and turned to look at Xia Nuannuan. With a lowered voice, he tried tofort her, ¡°Dad is asking for your room to be searched so that he can prove your innocence. You...¡± He had no idea how to exin further without it sounding ridiculous. After all, it was embarrassing to be searched like this. Shen Zihao¡¯s anger swelled up within him. Without an outlet, he finally looked at the young housekeeper and said, ¡°If we can¡¯t find anything in Young Madam¡¯s room, then it has to be you!¡± The young housekeeper hung her head and started to cry again. Shen Zihao was about to continue when the butler walked towards them with a serious expression. ¡°Sir.¡± Shen Xiu turned to look at him. Shen Zihao too looked at him and said, ¡°Hurry up and tell them. You haven¡¯t found anything, I¡¯m sure?¡± Following these words, he turned to look at Shen Xiu. ¡°Dad, please don¡¯t treat us like this in the future. If our room can be searched just like any other room here, then what would that say about our status in the Shen family?¡± Shen Xiu gave a cold snort u`pon hearing this. Xia Nuannuan stared steadily at the butler and noticed that he looked slightly embarrassed. Her heart sank. She knew that the worst hade. Indeed, the next moment, the butler extended his hand and held out a wad of banknotes. ¡°This was found in Young Madam¡¯s drawer. I¡¯ve just counted 50 thousand, no less, no more.¡± The room fell dead silent at these words. During this moment of silence, Shen Zihao, who had been defending Xia Nuannuan a few minutes ago, looked at the wad of cash in the butler¡¯s hand with disbelief. Then he spun his head around to look at Xia Nuannuan! Chapter 887 - It Wasn’t Her (6)

Chapter 887: It Wasn¡¯t Her (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xia Nuannuan stared at the butler with a bbergasted expression. She frowned, trying to understand how the money had ended up in her room. For sure, she had not taken it. And it was not as though her room was essible to everyone. How did this happen? As she pondered this, she suddenly caught Shen Zihao looking at her. Immediately, she shivered. That look in his eyes... Was he doubting her? How could he doubt her?! Xia Nuannuan felt his gaze on her, cutting her, and it plunged into her heart like a knife. She her fingers tightly. Shen Xiu¡¯s suspicion made her feel ashamed. Mei Feng¡¯s ndering was at worst insulting. But Shen Zihao¡¯s suspicion caused a pain that was now growing in her heart. She stared at them in a daze and heard Shen Zihao asking, ¡°Where did you find this money?¡± The butler hung his head and said, ¡°Young Madam has a suitcase. This money was found in Young Madam¡¯s suitcase.¡± The money was found in the suitcase. How could the money possibly be in the suitcase? Xia Nuannuan gritted her teeth. Shen Xiu was already looking at her and rebuking her, ¡°You really bear the mark of someone with a low family background. You were so poorly brought-up! You are capable of stealing. Are we, the Shen family, not giving you enough food to fill your stomach or enough clothes to keep you warm?!¡± Xia Nuannuan red at Shen Xiu when she heard these words. She stood there with her eyes glistening, like a delicate girl, but there was something obstinate and stubborn about her. She said unhurriedly and clearly, ¡°Dad, you are right. The Shen family feeds me well and provides everything I need. So why would I need to steal?¡± Shen Xiu almost choked upon hearing this. That¡¯s right. Why would Xia Nuannuan need to steal? As soon as she said this, Mei Feng sighed deeply. ¡°Let¡¯s be fair. Actually, I¡¯ve known for some time that our inws haven¡¯t been doing too well. To marry their daughter off into our family, they sold their home and even borrowed money... but Nuannuan, you should speak up. If you had spoken up, we would have helped regardless. After all, it¡¯s our inws.¡± These words made the people standing around realize something else. They had sold their home to marry their daughter off into a wealthy family. What sort of decent family would do something like that? All the housekeepers suddenly looked at Xia Nuannuan with changed expressions. Xia Nuannuan, on the other hand, stared steadily at Mei Feng. She felt as though she had been stripped naked, exposed to be looked upon and judged by these people. Her pride waspletely destroyed in that moment. She turned to look at Shen Xiu. There was a deep despise in his eyes. Finally, she looked at Shen Zihao and saw he had a deep frown on his face. Xia Nuannuan harshly bit her lip and said, ¡°Our family is poor, but I wouldn¡¯t steal! This money¡ª¡± ¡°Was from me. I gave it to her.¡± Those words casually came from Shen Zihao. Xia Nuannuan was stunned for a moment. Mei Feng paused. Shen Xiu fell silent. Shen Zihao suddenlyughed. ¡°I gave her that money. Why? Aunty Mei, these 50 thousand are not your 50 thousand. I gave Xia Nuannuan this money.¡± ¡°Xia Nuannuan is not a thief.¡± Shen Zihao suddenly reached out and put his arm around Xia Nuannuan¡¯s waist. He continued, ¡°This is the Shen family¡¯s money. Xia Nuannuan is my wife, hence, this money is hers!¡± Those words were powerful and resonating. They epassed his authority andmitment. Mei Feng was stumped into silence, as a consuming envy grew within her. To think that this Xia Nuannuan would enjoy Shen Zihao¡¯s protection even at a time like this. Chapter 888 - It Wasn’t Her (7)

Chapter 888: It Wasn¡¯t Her (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mei Feng frowned, feeling a little discouraged. She knew that, as long as Shen Zihao was around today, there was nothing she could do to Xia Nuannuan. Hence, she stepped forward and said, ¡°Ok, I must have made a mistake. The money hasn¡¯t gone missing.¡± They she looked towards the young housekeeper and said, ¡°It was my fault, I apologize. Is that ok?¡± The young housekeeper was crying from feeling wronged and used. She continued, ¡°Madam, it wasn¡¯t your fault. Obviously someone stole the money and I was implicated!¡± Mei Feng frowned and said, ¡°Enough! Say no more! This matter hase to an end. I¡¯ll double your wage this month.¡± The young housekeeper immediately smiled and said, ¡°Sure, sure.¡± Then she got up from the ground. Shen Xiu¡¯s gave Xia Nuannuan a sharp look and then, shifting his gaze to Shen Zihao, he said, ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to educate your own wife. This time I¡¯ll let it go for your sake. If this happens again... humph!¡± Mei Feng quickly yanked Shen Xiu¡¯s arm and said, ¡°Enough.¡± Then she looked at Shen Zihao and told him, ¡°Take Nuannuan back to the room.¡± With a wave of her hand, she told the rest, ¡°Get back to work. Get back to work. There¡¯s nothing to see here.¡± The people looked at Xia Nuannuan with despise. She stood there, clenching her fists and staring at the man before her. Suddenly, she sneered. Even if Shen Zihao had protected her, so what? This was nothing but an indirect way of saying that he thought she had taken the money. She recalled how, initially, Shen Zihao had thought she had taken the two thousand from his wallet. So did Shen Zihao now think that she was just a thief? Her expression suddenly became determined. Just as everyone was leaving, she suddenly yelled, ¡°Hang on!¡± There was a firmness underlying her gentle voice. Everyone halted with surprise. They simultaneously looked at her. She stepped forward and said, ¡°Shen Zihao did not give me this money.¡± Shen Zihao was shocked at this deration and he grabbed her hand, saying, ¡°Nuannuan, what are you doing?¡± ¡°What am I doing? I will not be the scapegoat for something I haven¡¯t done!¡± Her voice was gentle and, even at this point of extreme anger, her words and behavior did not lose their tenderness and softness. She looked at Shen Zihao steadily and said, ¡°I did not take the money. As to how it has appeared in my room, I have no idea! Someone has set me up.¡± Someone had set her up? Why would someone set her up? The money had initially been in Mei Feng¡¯s room, and no one had gone into her room apart from the young housekeeper. The young housekeeper reacted immediately, ¡°I- I went into Madam¡¯s room to clean. I did not go into your room.¡± This meant that the person who could have framed Xia Nuannuan wasn¡¯t the young housekeeper. If it weren¡¯t the young housekeeper, who else could it be? Everyone now shifted their gaze to Mei Feng. Mei Feng was stunned and looked at Xia Nuannuan with an expression of disbelief. ¡°Nuannuan, what do you mean?¡± Xia Nuannuan bit her lip and said, ¡°There is no other meaning.¡± Mei Feng trembled with anger. ¡°You... I am not even ming you for taking the money, why are you being so obstinate? And now you¡¯re even turning the tables and using me? Are you saying that I¡¯ve set you up? Why would I want to set you up? What good would that do me?¡± ¡°Because I did not steal it.¡± She said each word clearly and deliberately, ¡°I did not steal it.¡± Chapter 889 - It Wasn’t Her (8)

Chapter 889: It Wasn¡¯t Her (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She hadn¡¯t stole it, but the money had appeared in her room. Hence, this was a set-up. After saying this, Xia Nuannuan looked towards Shen Zihao. Shen Zihao frowned. His expression was hesitant and uncertain. Xia Nuannuan¡¯s heart froze. But she couldn¡¯t really me him. Although they were married, they had not known each other for more than three months. Besides, apart from getting married, prior to getting married, they had seen each other only once in a while. He did not know her well and did not trust her. But even then, she was sad. Suddenly, she understood Xia Yehua¡¯s heartache. Mei Feng¡¯s influence over Shen Zihao was too strong. She bit her lip and hung her head. Shen Xiu understood what was going on and he was livid. ¡°What do you mean? Are you saying your Aunty Mei is ndering you? How can you have the audacity to say this? Why would your Aunty Mei nder you? We already have evidence that you stole it. The witnesses and the money are all here. What proof do you have to show you didn¡¯t steal it?¡± Mei Feng hung her head as well. ¡°Nuannuan, from the time you arrived into this family, I will say that I¡¯ve been nothing but good to you. Why do you use me groundlessly?¡± Xia Nuannuan bit her lip. Then she looked up and said stubbornly, ¡°There are surveince cameras on the second floor. I want to see who has been into my room.¡± At once, Mei Feng¡¯s expression lit up with amusement. In the beginning, when Shen Zihao was covering up for her, the oue had put a stop to Mei Feng¡¯s scheme. But Xia Nuannuan was so silly that she did not take the easy way out. She would rather not let things go. This was exactly what Mei Feng had been waiting for. The woman instructed, ¡°Bring the surveince footage of the house!¡± Xia Nuannuan was immediately taken aback by the boldness with which Mei Feng was acting. She thought to herself, ¡°Oh no!¡± Mei Feng had always been a careful and very meticulous person, so she wouldn¡¯t leave a trace of evidence for sure. However, Xia Nuannuan was hoping for a fluke and wanted to take the chance. The butler turned around and quickly went to get the surveince footage. As the footage of the second floor was being yed, they saw that since the money had been taken right up to now, only the young housekeeper had been into Mei Feng¡¯s bedroom. After that, no one had gone near Xia Nuannuan¡¯s bedroom. But how could this be? If no one had ced the money in her room, how could the money have vanished from Mei Feng¡¯s room? Mei Feng sighed and said, ¡°Nuannuan, now you believe me? I did not nder you.¡± Xia Nuannuan started to panic. ¡°There are other ways to prove that I did not take the money. I¡¯ve never touched this money and my fingerprints can not be on them. We can take the money to the police station and have them investigate the matter.¡± At once, Shen Xiuughed icily. He said, ¡°Is this not embarrassing enough? Now you want to blow this matter up?!¡± Xia Nuannuan opened her mouth to speak again, but before she could utter a word, Shen Zihao shouted angrily, ¡°Enough!¡± Xia Nuannuan was stunned and turned to look at him. He looked at her sharply and said, ¡°I said that¡¯s enough! I gave you that money, like I said! Now let¡¯s go back to our room!¡± Xia Nuannuan¡¯s pupils shrank at once. Enough... He had ¡°given her the money.¡± Shen Zihao still did not believe her. She tightened her fists at once and stood there, refusing to move. But the next moment, Shen Zihao grabbed her wrist and pulled her into their room. Bang! The bedroom door was mmed shut. As Xia Nuannuan looked at the furious Shen Zihao, she suddenly no longer felt afraid. She only felt tired. Chapter 890 - It Wasn’t Her (9)

Chapter 890: It Wasn¡¯t Her (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xia Nuannuan suddenly quietened down and her fists rxed. She walked to her wardrobe and opened her suitcase. The room was in a bit of a mess because the butler had searched through it. But he had left Shen Zihao¡¯s belongings untouched, he had not dared make a mess of his things. On the other hand, her belongings had been strewn all over the ce. Xia Nuannuan felt a deep sorrow and gloom in her heart, as though something was weighing heavily on it, making it hard for her to breathe. She bit her lip and bent over. Slowly, she folded her clothes and put them into the suitcase. She wasn¡¯t from a rich family. Hence, even after getting married and moving in, there wasn¡¯t much to take with her. She put the strewn clothes into her suitcase. Then she turned around and reached for her other clothes. At this point, Shen Zihao grabbed her wrist. She looked up towards Shen Zihao. He said to her, ¡°I¡¯ve already protected you. What else do you want?¡± Already protected her. Indeed. By saying that the money was his. That was protecting her. But what she wanted was not only protection, there was also trust. She clenched her fists tightly and looked at him again, suddenly asking, ¡°Zihao, why did you marry me?¡± Why? Shen Zihao was taken aback by the question. He could not find an immediate answer. He felt happy whenever he saw her. Whenever he was unhappy about something, he would calm down when he saw her. He wasfortable when he was with her. And also because she was pregnant. Hence, they had gotten married. Xia Nuannuan continued looking at him and said, ¡°Perhaps you married me because of the baby. But I married you because I liked you.¡± ¡°From the start, I knew that our marriage wasn¡¯t bnced. The statuses of our families do not match. My family isn¡¯t wealthy, but we are not so poor that I¡¯d steal money.¡± ¡°Zihao, you don¡¯t understand me. What I want is not this sort of marriage.¡± With red eyes, she looked at Shen Zihao steadily. ¡°What sort of person am I to you?¡± ¡°Right now, you think that you¡¯ve protected me. Yes, you protected me, but everyone could see that you were trying to protect me. Do you feel that I can continue staying in this house? The way the housekeepers were looking at me... They were thinking, ¡®look at that thief!¡¯¡± Sheughed bitterly and continued, ¡°So I can no longer live in this house.¡± After cing all her clothes in the suitcase, she zipped it. Seeing that she was heading outside, Shen Zihao panicked and ran up to her. ¡°Nuannuan, what are you doing? I¡¯ve already said that the matter has passed! They won¡¯t dare to talk about you behind your back.¡± Xia Nuannuan halted at these words. Turning back to face him, she said, ¡°That¡¯s right. You also know that they don¡¯t dare. It¡¯s not that they won¡¯t.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell you one more time, I did not take the money.¡± Frowning, Shen Zihao asked, ¡°If you didn¡¯t take it, how did it end up in your suitcase?!¡± Xia Nuannuan froze when she heard this. She smiled bitterly and said, ¡°That¡¯s right. I didn¡¯t take it, so how did it end up in my suitcase? I suddenly feel that this home is really terrifying.¡± She clenched her fists and continued, ¡°Let¡¯s part ways. I don¡¯t wish for my child to be born into this sort of family.¡± She did not want her child to have a grandmother who schemed against him, or a father who didn¡¯t trust him, or a grandfather who knew no better. Chapter 891 - It Wasn’t Her (10)

Chapter 891: It Wasn¡¯t Her (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After Xia Nuannuan said these words, she opened the room door and walked out. Shen Zihao stood there, looking steadily at her back. She looked frail and delicate, like she couldn¡¯t lift a thing. But right now, her upright posture was strong and obstinate. Shen Zihao failed to understand. Initially, he had believed Xia Nuannuan. But when they found the money in her suitcase, he recalled the incident with the two thousand. She had slept with him, taken two thousand and thenter told him that he didn¡¯t need to feel responsible for what had happened. It had been a transaction. Wasn¡¯t that how she worked? Now, Dad Xia and Mom Xia were in dire straits, and it was true that he had not given her any money. He understood that she had taken Mei Feng¡¯s money so that she could help her parents. Because of this, he had even helped her cover it. Shouldn¡¯t he be the angry party? She had embarrassed him, so what right did she have to leave?! Shen Zihao started to boil with anger at this thought. Especially when the housekeepers downstairs started to look at her with disdain, when they saw her leaving with her suitcase in tow. Suddenly, he felt gloomy and troubled. He went downstairs, picked up his jacket and went out after her. However, when he rushed out of the house, he saw no sign of Xia Nuannuan. He went to the garage, got into his car and drove away. He spotted her and followed that figure from a distance. He saw her get into a taxi and trailed her all the way to her little rented apartment. It was then that he stopped worrying. At the same time, he was angry at himself. How could he be so tolerant with her? If it had been someone else who had stolen that money, he would have given that person a tight p. ¨C Shen Zihao drove aimlessly along the streets of Beijing. He was moody and didn¡¯t feel like going home. Unconsciously, he found that he had driven to the Shen vi. He stopped his car and was going to walk to the house, when he suddenly remembered that Shen Liangchuan and Xia Yehua were at the hospital. He started his car again and drove to the private hospital, pulling up at the front entrance. He stopped the car at the hospital entrance, but suddenly he didn¡¯t feel like going upstairs. He walked around the building for a bit. He saw that, not too far off, there was a bar. He still remembered that this was where he had gotten drunk. In the end, Xia Nuannuan had taken him home... That was also the day that he had slept with Xia Nuannuan for the first time. He stopped his car by the street and entered the bar. He walked up to the counter and ordered a strong drink. After one sip, he choked on the drink and started coughing. The bartender looked at him and, on a closer look, his eyes lit up. ¡°Oh, Sir, it¡¯s you!¡± Shen Zihao halted and asked, ¡°You know me?¡± ¡°Of course I know you. Thest time you came, you drank yourself into a stupor. In the end, your girlfriend came to take you home! She even took out your wallet and paid your two thousand yuan bill with it.¡± Shen Zihao nodded upon hearing the ount. He hung his head and was about to take another sip of his drink. Suddenly, he looked up with a start and stared straight at the bartender, ¡°What- what did you just say?!¡± That two thousand had been used to foot his bill?! If Xia Nuannuan had not taken the two thousand, and he was actually wrong about her attitude towards money... Then, indeed, she may really not have taken the 50 thousand. Chapter 892 - It Wasn’t Her (11)

Chapter 892: It Wasn¡¯t Her (11)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Zihao was stunned. He stared at the bartender incredulously. He furrowed his brow, while at the same time he felt a sort of dness in his heart. In all honesty, even though he had married Xia Nuannuan, the fact was that there was still something about her that weighed heavily on his mind. The two thousand had been his biggest conundrum. From his perspective, Xia Nuannuan was a bit of a contradiction. She was gentle, kind, generous and very presentable. But at the same time, she seemed to have no self-respect. She had practically slept with a stranger for the transactional price of two thousand... He had found her difficult to respect because of this. This had always been like an invisible wall between him and Xia Nuannuan. So much that, even as close as he hade to falling in love with her, he had felt a certain repulsion. But now that invisible barrier seemed to have disappeared. He was almost jumping with joy! So it turned out that his Nuannuan was not a materialistic woman. He shot up from his seat, feeling rather panicky after the momentary happiness and excitement. Because he anxiously recalled the decisiveness with which she had packed her belongings and left the Shen family. Indeed. At the time, Xia Nuannuan had said that she hadn¡¯t taken the money, but he had chosen not to believe her¡ªon the contrary, he had tried to cover the situation. At that point, he had felt like he was being very tolerant with her. But in hindsight, that was just him showing that he did not trust her and that he believed she had stolen it. Hence, Xia Nuannuan must have been terribly angry and upset. He found himself unable to down his drink at the thought of her being upset . He stood up, threw 200 on the bar counter and then walked out of the bar. He got into the car, started up the engine and sped to Xia Nuannuan¡¯s rental apartment. When he arrived, he dashed upstairs to the apartment. Raising his hand, he was about to knock on the door, when he thought... that Nuannuan was probably still angry. Otherwise, with her gentle nature, she wouldn¡¯t have packed her belongings and left. Even if he tried to exin anything, she would probably not listen, right? Immediately, he felt dejected. He stood there looking at the door, suddenly feeling a little helpless. Shen Zihao sighed deeply. He suddenly recalled her words, ¡°So I can no longer live in this house.¡± Indeed. Now everyone in the house felt like Nuannuan was a thief. In order for her to agree toe back, he had to prove her innocence and make a thorough investigation of the whole matter. Otherwise, there was no point in having her return home. Shen Zihao¡¯s pupils shrank as he turned around. He got back into his car and drove home. Upon entering the house, he heard Shen Xiu hollering angrily, ¡°How dare this girl with a poor family background throw a temper tantrum here? She even packed her belongings and left the house. She has such a poor character! Go, let her go and never return! She has the cheek after stealing? We don¡¯t need a daughter-inw like her.¡± Following this, Mei Feng¡¯s tried to calm him down in a low voice, ¡°Don¡¯t be angry. She¡¯s young after all and easily embarrassed. Blowing this matter up in front of everyone made her look bad.¡± ¡°Look bad? If she cared about looking bad, why did she steal? She¡¯s so short-sighted that she thinks 50 thousand is worth stealing.¡± When Shen Zihao heard this, he was immediately sullen and entered the house saying, ¡°So Dad, do you mean that 5 billion would be worth stealing?¡± Chapter 893 - It Wasn’t Her (12)

Chapter 893: It Wasn¡¯t Her (12)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Xiu almost choked upon hearing this and said, ¡°Of course, I don¡¯t mean that.¡± He looked at Shen Zihao and peered behind him. ¡°Why? Have you finally found her and brought her home?¡± Snorting disdainfully, he continued, ¡°She thinks that by throwing a little tantrum, she will retrieve her dignity? Let me tell you, our family doesn¡¯t buy that crap! The crying, the tantrum and the threats, huh!¡± He said these words sarcastically as he looked behind Shen Zihao, but no one appeared. Shen Zihao had returned home alone. Shen Xiu was stunned and asked, ¡°Where is Xia Nuannuan?¡± Shen Zihao didn¡¯t know what else to say. He stood there and looked at Shen Xiu steadily. Then he turned to look at all the housekeepers standing around. They stood there with lowered heads, but they looked at him with pity in their eyes. A few of them had shown outright disdain when they heard Xia Nuannuan¡¯s name. All of these housekeepers earned more than 10 thousand a month. Hence, 50 thousand was really not much to them. He was sure these people looked down on Xia Nuannuan. He finally understood what Xia Nuannuan meant. Suddenly, he felt anger rise within him. He lifted his gaze and wanted to say something, but when he saw the deep concern in Mei Feng¡¯s eyes, he hesitated and then kept silent. After a moment, he said, ¡°She¡¯ll be home in a few days.¡± As he said this, he nced at Shen Xiu. ¡°Dad, Aunty Mei, it¡¯ste. You should go and rest.¡± Shen Xiu frowned as Shen Zihao said those words. A momentter, the man grunted, ¡°Uh huh.¡± Then he went upstairs with Mei Feng. The people around started to disperse. The butler turned around, but suddenly heard Shen Zihao call him, ¡°Butler.¡± The butler halted. Looking at him, Shen Zihao instructed, ¡°I want the surveince footage from every part of the house today.¡± The butler hesitated for a moment when he heard this. ¡°Eh? Young Master?¡± He thought he had heard wrong. However, Shen Zihao looked calm andposed as he continued, ¡°Send them to my study.¡± The butler immediately replied in a respectful tone, ¡°Yes, Young Master.¡± Five minutester, the recordings were sitting on Shen Zihao¡¯s study desk. He looked through all the recordings, from the time the money had been taken, till it was discovered in Xia Nuannuan¡¯s suitcase. Xia Nuannuan had not taken the money. He could be sure of that now. Otherwise, why would she react so angrily? But he had discovered nothing odd after carefully watching the recording from various spots on the second floor. Besides... These recordings had not been edited. It was obvious they were the original footage. This would mean... After the 50 thousand had gone missing, besides Xia Nuannuan, no one else had entered their bedroom. But the money had eventually been found in the bedroom. Analyzing the details, it was almost certain that Xia Nuannuan had taken the money. Hence... where exactly did the problem lie? Surely, the 50 thousand couldn¡¯t have grown legs and ran to Xia Nuannuan¡¯s suitcase. Shen Zihao furrowed his brow in deep concentration as he stared at the footage. He pondered with great focus. A few hours ago, he had been led by all of this evidence to believe that Xia Nuannuan had taken the money, but now... Suddenly, as though he had thought of something, his eyes lit up. Chapter 894 - It Wasn’t Her (13)

Chapter 894: It Wasn¡¯t Her (13)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He had finally found the answer. If Xia Nuannuan had not taken the money, and no one else had been in their bedroom, then there was only one way that the money could have appeared in Xia Nuannuan¡¯s suitcase. The only way was that... the money had been brought into the room by the person who searched it, to smear Xia Nuannuan. Shen Zihao stood up and suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. If this was true, then this situation had apletely different meaning. There was someone in the household who wanted to set Xia Nuannuan up. Who could that be? Shen Zihao clenched his fists tightly, suddenly feeling like he had grown up. He had to protect Xia Nuannuan, and had to protect her well. At this thought, he picked up the phone and said, ¡°Butler,e over for a second.¡± Two minutester, a knock came on the door and the butler said, ¡°Young Master.¡± ¡°Come in.¡± The butler walked in. Shen Zihao looked at him and spoke, ¡°Uncle Cai, I have a few questions for you.¡± The butler hesitated for a second and said, ¡°Young Master, please let me know how I can help. You only need to tell me.¡± Shen Zihao nodded and said, ¡°How many people did you take with you to search my room today?¡± The butler paused and then replied, ¡°Two of them. Ah Huang and Xiao Bai.¡± Shen Zihao frowned upon hearing this. Hence, one of these three people had had a part in setting Xia Nuannuan up. He narrowed his eyes and continued to question the butler, ¡°So who was the person who discovered the 50 thousand in the suitcase?¡± The butler thought for a moment and answered, ¡°It was Xiao Bai. He was the one who found it first.¡± Shen Zihao immediately nodded and said, ¡°Get me Xiao Bao.¡± He would have to turn every stone. It was the only way to solve the case. After a short while, Xiao Bao came upstairs. Shen Zihao did not ask the butler to leave, but turned instead to Xiao Bao and asked, ¡°Where did you discover the 50 thousand?¡± Xiao Bao answered, ¡°In Young Madam¡¯s suitcase.¡± ¡°Be more specific.¡± Xiao Bao tried to recall. ¡°I think it was under a piece of clothing.¡± Shen Zihao knitted his brow and probed further, ¡°What sort of garment?¡± ¡°Er... It was an undergarment, I¡ª¡± Before he could finish, Shen Zihao shot up from his seat. He picked up a pen on the desk and threw it at the worker. ¡°How dare you go through Young Madam¡¯s personal belongings?¡± Xiao Bao panicked at once and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t do it on my own ord! Ah Huang ordered me to do it!¡± Ah Huang? Shen Zihao paused for a while and then asked, ¡°Who was the one who opened the suitcase?¡± Xiao Bao scratched his head and said, ¡°It was Ah Huang!¡± Hence, Ah Huang was a suspect too. The butler had been standing on the side, he had not been near the suitcase during the search. So... it had to be either Ah Huang or Xiao Bao. But who among them was the culprit who framed Xia Nuannuan? Shen Zihao narrowed his eyes and said suddenly, ¡°Get me Ah Huang.¡± Ah Huang walked in shortly after. Shen Zihao looked at him and asked, ¡°Were you the one who opened the suitcase?¡± Ah Huang nodded. Shen Zihao immediately stood up and interrogated him, ¡°Why did you set Young Madam up? Speak up! Who instructed you to do it?¡± Regardless of who among them had framed Xia Nuannuan, they both were junior security officers in the household and should have nothing against Xia Nuannuan. If it really had been any one of them, then the order must havee from someone else. Ah Huang looked as though he was at aplete loss and said, ¡°Young Master, I did not set Young Madam up!¡± ¡°Huh, you obviously ced the money in the suitcase. What other excuses do you have?!¡± Chapter 895 - It Wasn’t Her (14)

Chapter 895: It Wasn¡¯t Her (14)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Panicking now, Ah Huang insisted, ¡°Young Master, I really didn¡¯t!¡± No? Shen Zihaoughed icily, looked towards Xiao Bao and said at once, ¡°Xiao Bao has already said that you were the one who opened the suitcase.¡± ¡°Who would put money in the suitcase? But you, of all the ces, looked in the suitcase. You must have known from the start that the money could be found there!¡± Ah Huang was so nervous that he was on the verge of tears. ¡°Young Master, I opened the suitcase because the butler asked me to! If it is because of this reason, then the person who would want to frame Young Madam would surely be the butler.¡± The butler? Shen Zihao¡¯s pupils shrank at once as he looked at the butler. He saw the butler frowning and tutting at once. He berated the man, ¡°Ah Huang, how could you use someone just like that? I asked you to open the suitcase, but I hadn¡¯t gone near the suitcase. All along, I stood at the door instructing you both. How could I possibly have put the money in the suitcase? Nervous, Ah Huang gestured with a trembling hand. ¡°No- no, I didn¡¯t mean that... Butler, I-¡± He found himself unable to speak further. Shen Zihao narrowed his eyes and stood up. ring at Ah Huang, he paused a second before saying, ¡°Actually, it¡¯s easy to find out if you were the one who put the money in the suitcase. It¡¯s simple and I have an idea.¡± Ah Huang was taken aback and asked, ¡°What idea?¡± ¡°Fingerprint analysis!¡± Stunned, Ah Huang eximed, ¡°Ah?!¡± Shen Zihao continued, ¡°Think about it. You said you did not touch the 50 thousand at all, right?¡± Ah Huang nodded. ¡°So, if you weren¡¯t the one who ced the money in the suitcase, your fingerprints shouldn¡¯t be on it. I¡¯ll call the police now and get them to investigate! Then the truth will be revealed.¡± The moment Ah Huang heard this, he nodded vigorously. ¡°That¡¯s good, Young Master. Bring in the police so that I can also prove my innocence!¡± Shen Zihao frowned as he observed Ah Huang¡¯s reaction. Almost immediately, he picked up his cell phone to make the call. But suddenly, the butler stepped forward and said, ¡°Young Master, it¡¯s not appropriate to escte this matter. Have you forgotten?¡± Forgotten? How could he possibly forget?! Furrowing his brow, Shen Zihao said, ¡°But if I don¡¯t get the police involved, how will we ever know the truth of the matter?¡± The butler sighed and said, ¡°After all, we¡¯ve recovered the money. Madam and Sir¡¯s intention is to let the matter rest. If this blew up and word got out, it really would look bad for the family.¡± The butler advised, ¡°Young Master, please consider it carefully.¡± Shen Zihao frowned and nodded after a moment. ¡°You¡¯re right. Besides, the money has been touched by too many people now. It would be hard to prove anything just based on fingerprints alone.¡± Shen Zihao then sighed and said, ¡°You may leave now! It had better not be any of you. If I find out otherwise, I won¡¯t let you off!¡± The three of them were visibly relieved as they left Shen Zihao¡¯s study. Shen Zihao stood up, returned to the bedroom and got into bed. The skies darkened gradually. Suddenly, he heard some small movementsing from downstairs. He sat up. After getting out of bed, he made his way down. He saw a silhouette lurking around slowly in the dark. Shen Zihao narrowed his eyes immediately and approached the silhouette. He had already expected this. He knew that if he stirred things up a little, the culprit would not sit back and do nothing. The person would give away some signs for sure. And if he were to follow this person closely, he would be able to track down who had framed Xia Nuannuan. Chapter 896 - It Wasn’t Her (15)

Chapter 896: It Wasn¡¯t Her (15)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Zihao took a couple of steps forward and saw the silhouette leaving the housekeepers¡¯ quarter, towards a small unnoticeable balcony on the first floor. Under the moonlight, Shen Zihao saw that the person was Xiao Bao. He clenched his fists tightly. He hadn¡¯t expected that it would actually be Xiao Bao. Who was Xiao Bao meeting at this hour? Shen Zihao followed Xiao Bao silently. He hid in an obscure corner. After a short while, another silhouette appeared. Xiao Bao hurried up to this person and said, ¡°What do we do now? Young Master has discovered the truth.¡± In response, a voice inquired, ¡°What is there to be afraid of? Can¡¯t you even hold your ground? If you give anything away, I won¡¯t let you off.¡± That voice... Shen Zihao¡¯s pupils shrank back at once, as things began to make sense. He realized that, indeed, this other silhouette was the butler. The butler! In a sh, Shen Zihao managed to figure out how Xia Nuannuan had been set up. The three of them had gone into the room to search. The butler had asked Ah Huang to open the suitcase, and Xiao Bao took the opportunity to slip the money into it. If he believed Xia Nuannuan, he would naturally suspect the butler and the two security officers. In this case, they could then make Ah Huang the scapegoat. Shen Zihao knitted his brow. This butler was very meticulous indeed. If it weren¡¯t for his gut feeling telling him that something was odd and him deciding to trail Xiao Bao, he might have never believed that the butler would do such a thing. But why? Why did the butler want to frame Xia Nuannuan? Shen Zihao curled his fingers tightly as she stood, waiting on the spot. Xiao Bao was on the verge of crying. ¡°Butler, I won¡¯t spill anything, of course, but I¡¯m afraid... What if Young Master finds out?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ll make Ah Huang the scapegoat. Young Master won¡¯t suspect us. After all, all three of us went into the room for the search, he would not think that two of us were involved in this matter.¡± Xiao Bao nodded and asked, ¡°What should we do now then? I had a fright when Young Master said he was going to call the police.¡± When the butler heard this, he snorted icily and said, ¡°What is there to be afraid of? Don¡¯t be so anxious! Just do as you¡¯re told! Young Master is not clever enough to figure out it¡¯s us.¡± Shen Zihao dug his fingers into his palm when he heard this. What was the butler implying? That he was stupid? But in hindsight, he had to admit that he was quite stupid for suspecting Nuannuan for this long. Xiao Bao sighed with relief and said, ¡°Well then, Butler, I¡¯ll go back now.¡± The butler nodded. After Xiao Bao left, the butler stood there for a while. He looked around to ensure that there was no one around before he turned to go back into his own room. The living room was now silent and still. Shen Zihao continued to stand in the corner, behind the curtain, without moving. He had a gut feeling that there was more to this than what he had just witnessed. He waited for a while more. Just as he was thinking that it was probably all for the day and there would be no more clues, he suddenly saw the butler open the door. The man walked out again. The butler looked to his left and then his right. Finally, he walked stealthily towards the garden. Silently, Shen Zihao followed him. He watched the butler for a while. Then, he noticed that a silhouette walking slowly towards him. When the butler saw the figure, he was visibly relieved and hurried up to it. However, as Shen Zihao looked at the figure, he froze. Because it was none other than Mei Feng!! Chapter 897 - It Wasn’t Her (16)

Chapter 897: It Wasn¡¯t Her (16)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios All of Shen Zihao¡¯s energy was drained away as he stood there, staring wide-eyed in shock at the two people before him. His heart was pounding so hard that he thought it would burst. He kept silent and listened carefully to the conversation between them. The butler said, ¡°Madam, Young Master is beginning to find clues! I¡¯m not sure what happened, but he has suspicions around this matter now.¡± Upon hearing this, Mei Feng frowned. ¡°How did that happen? Did you give away something?¡± The butler immediately hung his head and said, ¡°No, I can guarantee that I haven¡¯t. But Young Master suddenly started meddling in this matter. I think he already has an idea of what happened.¡± Mei Feng took in a deep breath and said after a moment, ¡°This has be troublesome then. Go talk to Xiao Bao. If ites to the worst, tell him to own up. Let him know that I¡¯ll take care of his family.¡± The butler nodded immediately. Mei Feng frowned and said unhurriedly after a pause, ¡°No matter what, we must not let Zihao suspect me. Do you understand?¡± The butler nodded and said, ¡°Yes.¡± Mei Feng turned around and said, ¡°Ok, you may go.¡± The butler turned and left. Mei Feng, dressed in thin garments, stood on the balcony for a short while. Then she sighed deeply before turning around to leave. However, just as she was turning around, she suddenly saw a figure in the shadows observing her quietly. She jumped in fright and reflexively inquired, ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± That aggressive voice was nothing like what Shen Zihao was used to hearing every day. He was stunned. He stood there, looking at her in a daze. The house was in darkness, as the lights had all been turned off. Only the pale moonlight lit the house¡¯s interior. Shen Zihao stepped forward, out of the shadows. He looked towards Mei Feng and said unhurriedly, ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± The moment Mei Feng heard his voice, she froze. Shocked, she started, ¡°Zi- Zihao?¡± She widened her eyes, not daring to believe at whom she was looking. She realized it was him when he walked out of the dark corner, into the dim light of the moon. The darkness hid the expression on his face. She thought of the conversation that had just taken ce... Perhaps luck was on her side and he hadn¡¯t heard anything. ¡°Zihao, why are you still up at this hour? And what are you doing here?¡± She hoped that he had not overheard her conversation with the butler. But s. Shen Zihao looked at her steadily and said, ¡°Aunty Mei, I heard everything that you said to the butler.¡± Mei Feng stood frozen and rooted to the ground. Horrified, she opened her mouth, but she had no exnation ready. She could only take a step towards him hurriedly and grabbed his arm. ¡°Zihao... let- let me exin.¡± Shen Zihao stood there and continued looking at her. ¡°I want an exnation too. Let¡¯s go to the study.¡± ¨C In the study. Shen Zihao sat opposite Mei Feng, his expression at once nk and blurry. As though everything that had happened that night was a dream and he had not yet woken up from it. He had thought of many possible scenarios around the matter concerning the 50 thousand, but none of these possibilities included Mei Feng being the culprit. So he waspletely stumped. Chapter 898 - It Wasn’t Her (17)

Chapter 898: It Wasn¡¯t Her (17)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Xia Yehua took Shen Liangchuan and they left the Shen Family without a cent in their pockets, Shen Zihao had only been 15 years old. It was the age when teenagers were naturally rebellious. Xia Yehua¡¯s departure had caused him to abruptly lose his mothers¡¯ love, so he became exceptionally sensitive and nervous. It left him feeling insecure. It might not have been so tough on him if hi mom had not taken Shen Liangchuan with her when she left. At that time, she took his brother along with her and they left without warning. Sometimes in the night, he wouldy awake questioning himself. If he was unwanted because he wasn¡¯t good enough, if it was because he angered his mom all the time. He wanted to be a child who pleased his mother, and he wanted to have a home where he belonged. Especially at that time. He was young and naive, going away to study abroad. In a strangend, he missed home even more. But while he was looking forward to being home again for the holidays and enjoying time with his family once more, he had received the grievous news. He still remembered clearly how his Dad had called him on the phone, saying that his mother had left, taking his brother with her. But he was in another country, separated by vast seas, connected only through the telephone. He could only ask his father, ¡°What about me?¡± He had no idea of what that question really meant, but those were the only words that came out. At a time in his life when he had felt terribly lost, Mei Feng appeared. He had always known Mei Feng. He had met her many times as Dad¡¯s secretary. Mei Feng treated him exceptionally well. After his mom left home, Mei Feng started to take care of his father and him daily. Her patience, tolerance and warmth made them happy. Especially how Mei Feng treated him. She was less than 20 years older than him. At the time she had married his father, she would have been about 35 years old. This youngdy became his stepmother. He had seen her talking to housekeepers, who knew him well, to ask about his eating habits. Mei Feng had given him a warm home again. And it had been so for many years. She had never done anything against him and this hadn¡¯t changed in eight years. She had been nothing but kind towards him, and that kindness came from her heart. He was no fool, of course he could feel her sincerity. Hence, every time he came face to face with the mother who had abandoned him, he would take Mei Feng¡¯s side. Compared to Xia Yehua, he trusted Mei Feng more. But now... He had realized that Mei Feng had set his own wife up. He looked at the woman steadily. When the truth finally sank into him, he spoke, ¡°Why did you do this?¡± He needed a reasonable exnation. No, actually, he could not think of any good reasons why Mei Feng would try to destroy his rtionship with Xia Nuannuan. When Mei Feng heard this, her eyes reddened immediately and she bit her lip. After a moment, she said, ¡°Zihao, I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Why? I just need a reason.¡± Mei Feng hung her head and tears started to roll down her cheeks. She took a deep breath and said after a pause, ¡°Zihao, I feel that she¡¯s not good enough for you.¡± Shen Zihao was stunned immediately when those words came out. He looked at Mei Feng with a shocked expression. ¡°Aunty Mei, I thought all this time that you had agreed to this marriage.¡± She looked up at him and replied, ¡°Yes, in the beginning. But after I met her father and mother, I no longer did! Because their family can¡¯t be of any help to you.¡± Chapter 899 - It Wasn’t Her (18)

Chapter 899: It Wasn¡¯t Her (18)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Zihao looked at Mei Feng with a puzzled expression. ¡°Why would I need their family¡¯s help?¡± Mei Feng answered through gritted teeth, ¡°Senior Master is on the brink of bringing Shen Liangchuan back into the Shen family! How could you not be anxious?¡± Shen Zihao was at aplete loss now. ¡°What is there to be anxious about?¡± ¡°Senior Master is going to hand over the lead of the Shen family to Shen Liangchuan! Your father has been nothing but anxious these days. The head of this family should belong to your father, and he will pass it on to you.¡± Shen Zihao listened to this with a great realization. ¡°Hence, you feel that I am no match for Shen Liangchuan. That¡¯s why you wish to find me inws that will secure my position, right?¡± Mei Feng nodded. Shen Zihao clenched his fists tightly and said, ¡°I understand now, Aunty Mei.¡± Thinking that he was no longer angry, Mei Feng hung her head and sighed deeply. ¡°Zihao, I- I know that I¡¯m wrong thinking this. But I have to do this for you and your future. Nuannuan¡¯s parents cannot benefit you in any way and will only be a burden to you. Shen Liangchuan is so strong, I¡¯m just afraid that you won¡¯t be his match... that in the end, you will have nothing.¡± She raised her hand to wipe her tears. Then, raising her head to look at Shen Zihao, she added, ¡°Zihao... I did all of this for your own good.¡± Looking up, she thought that she would find Shen Zihao¡¯s forgiving gaze but unexpectedly, she was confronted with his determined expression. Stunned, the next thing Mei Feng hearding from Shen Zihao was, ¡°Aunty Mei, although we¡¯re not mother and son, we have a simr rtionship. I thought that you understood me well enough, even if some things were left unsaid. But now, let me tell you my thoughts.¡± Suddenly, Mei Feng had a bad feeling about this. Shen Zihao continued, ¡°First of all, I¡¯m a man. Shen Liangchuan did not marry a wife that came from a powerful family. Why should I depend on my wife to fight my battles?¡± Mei Feng was stunned to hear this. Shen Zihao continued, ¡°Secondly, I¡¯ve never thought about fighting for anything! All I can do is be the best person I can be. I¡¯m sure Grandad values people¡¯s abilities. Besides, the Shen family was built generation upon generation, by our grandfathers. This family belongs to them and he can give the power to whoever he wishes. Why would I need to fight for it?¡± Mei Feng was once again stumped. She hesitated for a moment and then said, ¡°Zihao, all of the money... Don¡¯t you want any of it? You...¡± Looking at her steadily, Shen Zihao said after a pause, ¡°Aunty Mei, even if my big brother takes over the lead of the Shen family, I¡¯m still part of the family. He won¡¯t banish me. Isn¡¯t that so?¡± Mei Feng was left speechless. She looked at Shen Zihao. At this point, she suddenly realized something. The boy who had been following her lead all this time was now a grown-up. She widened her eyes as she saw Shen Zihao looking at her with an unmistakable expression of disappointment. ¡°Finally, Aunty Mei, all of these were your own assumptions. Did you ask my opinion when you did these things?¡± ¡°Even if you didn¡¯t agree, you could¡¯ve told me directly. Such unscrupulous means...¡± Shen Zihao frowned deeply and did not continue. He stood up and said, looking at Mei Feng, ¡°Aunty Mei, I¡¯m sorry, I cannot see eye to eye with you.¡± When he stood up to leave, Mei Feng started panicking. She asked, ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°Nuannuan is my wife. I¡¯ll go where she is. I¡¯ll go and look for her.¡± Chapter 900 - It Wasn’t Her (19)

Chapter 900: It Wasn¡¯t Her (19)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After Shen Zihao said this, he stood up and walked away. Mei Feng was left standing there alone, looking as though she had been struck by lightning. The words Shen Zihao had said before he walked away: ¡°Even if you didn¡¯t agree, you could¡¯ve told me directly. Such unscrupulous means...¡± Unscrupulous. He had said she had used unscrupulous means. She had poured all of her efforts to win this child over step by step, from opposing her till he trusted her fully. But now, he actually said with such disappointment that she had used unscrupulous means. She felt all of the energy being drained out of her at once, as her legs gave way and she dropped on the chair. She had used eight years to warm his heart. But because of this Xia Nuannuan, a new hostility had appeared between them? She curled her fingers tightly. She had always put up a perfect performance before him, and had never taught him the evils of the world. Of course, she had never dared to show him this side of herself. Because... she was afraid of exactly this sort of situation. Mei Feng sat there for a long time, unable toe to terms with it. Xia Nuannuan... It was all Xia Nuannuan¡¯s fault! She gritted her teeth andughed icily. This person, Xia Nuannuan, was obviously gentle on the outside but hard on the inside. A person like her wouldn¡¯t forgive Shen Zihao easily. Hence, once the boy had tried enough fruitless attempts, he woulde back. Perhaps he might even get sick and tired of the girl after having enough, ande home. So she just had to sit back quietly and watch what would happen next. ¨C After Shen Zihao drove away from the Shen family residence, he headed towards Xia Nuannuan¡¯s rental apartment. He looked up at the building, thinking of what to say when Xia Nuannuan came downstairs so that she would forgive him. He frowned and sighed. The truth was that he had never expected Mei Feng to be such a person. In the past, he had feltfortable with her and she treated him well. But under the same guise of doing what was best for him, she had done things to hurt Nuannuan. He knitted his brow with guilt about his wife. He sighed again as he leaned back on the driver¡¯s seat. He sat there looking steadily at her window. It waste. He turned on the heater in the car and, just like that, fell asleep. As he slept, he had a dream. In his dream, Xia Yehua appeared together with Mei Feng. Then there was also Xia Nuannuan. The three of them talked to him till he was giddy and confused. This countinued until there was a banging by his ears that didn¡¯t seem to be part of the dream. He woke up with a start. The moment he opened his eyes, he was confused and didn¡¯t know where he was. But when he turned and saw Xia Nuannuan through the car window, his mind cleared up. Quickly, he opened the car door to say something, but an exasperated Xia Nuannuan interrupted him, ¡°How can you fall asleep in the car like this?! Don¡¯t you know anything? There have been news reports of people falling asleep in the car and suffocating. Don¡¯t you know how to look after yourself? You¡¯re already in your twenties, but you¡¯re like a child!¡± Xia Nuannuan sounded angry because she was anxious. But when Shen Zihao heard her going on and on, his heart warmed up and overflowed with this warmth. That was the effect Xia Nuannuan had on him. Even when she was mad at him, it put him at ease. Chapter 901 - It Wasn’t Her (20)

Chapter 901: It Wasn¡¯t Her (20)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The thing that he feared the most was that she would ignore him. He had never known what love was. When he saw how some others made love out to be something so full of sound and fury, he found it too tedious. But now, he had discovered that perhaps love wasn¡¯t something dramatic, but found in the normal ups and downs of daily life. Just like the love that had grown and developed between him and Xia Nuannuan recently. With one swift motion, Shen Zihao pushed open the door, got out of the car and took Xia Nuannuan into his embrace. Xia Nuannuan was taken by surprise. She was speechless for a moment, as she sensed Shen Zihao¡¯s inner restlessness. Finally, she asked gently, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Xia Nuannuan had asked herself what sort of man she would fall for. She had always thought that she would fall in love with someone mild and tender, very much like her. Never had she imagined that one day, she would find herself liking someone like Shen Zihao. He was like a big child with many shorings. Impulsive, obstinate, self-opinionated, and childish in many ways. But in reality, he was kind and had a sense of justice, and even had a great understanding of right and wrong. Xia Nuannuan sighed, felling like she was forgiving him too easily. But the next moment, she heard him say, ¡°Nuannuan, I¡¯m sorry.¡± She was surprised. He said nkly, ¡°I¡¯m not sure why Aunty Mei became like this all of a sudden. Or perhaps she¡¯s always been like this... But this matter was all her doing. I¡¯ve never suspected her and I¡¯ve always trusted her. I treated her like my mother.¡± Slowly, he poured out his grievances. Xia Nuannuan¡¯s heart softened as she forgave him for the things that had happened. Embracing him, sheforted him, ¡°Don¡¯t be sad. It¡¯s not toote to see her true colors. Zihao, perhaps you may have to reconsider certain things with the new insight you now have. You discovered the truth about this particr matter. But what about the things that happened before this? She¡¯s had many conflicts with Mom, and there was no closures about many matters. You¡¯ve always believed in Aunty Mei, but what about now?¡± What about now? He thought of the photo leak, and the time Song Yuanxi appeared during their dinner and the things she had said. For the first time, Shen Zihao realized that he did not really know Mei Feng. He finally contemted whether there had been a misunderstanding all of these problems. As he thought about these things, Xia Nuannuan asked, ¡°What time were you here yesterday?¡± He stopped his train of thoughts. Still embracing her, he paused a moment and said, ¡°I came here right after you left.¡± Xia Nuannuan counted the number of hours and inquired, ¡°You¡¯ve been out here for more than ten hours?¡± Good grief! She asked anxiously, ¡°Are you cold?¡± He nodded. ¡°Yes.¡± Then he continued pitifully, ¡°And hungry too. I haven¡¯t had anything to eat.¡± She got even more anxious upon hearing this. ¡°I¡¯ve got some noodles upstairs,e up with me and have some food.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± When he heard this, Shen Zihao broke into a crafty grin. He knew it. His Nuannuan was gentle and kind, and she would not stay angry at him for long. From now on, he would trust her. ¨C After having some food, his body warmed up. He asked Xia Nuannuan, ¡°Where were you just going?¡± She replied, ¡°Your big brother is still in hospital, so I was going to visit him. I¡¯m wondering how Mom is holding up.¡± Chapter 902 - Xiao Qiao, where are you? (1)

Chapter 902: Xiao Qiao, where are you? (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After Shen Zihao heard her words, he hurriedly spoke, ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡± Xia Nuannuan nodded. On their way to the hospital, Shen Zihao suddenly gave Xia Nuannuan a key. She froze. Shen Zihao said, ¡°I have bought a house in Hainan, it is very suitable for Dad and Mom to stay in.¡± Xia Nuannuan widened her eyes. Shen Zihao looked ahead and said, ¡°I feel that Aunty Mei was too insistent on keeping your dowry and it was inappropriate of her. I also know that you definitely wouldn¡¯t ept it if I gave you money, so I chose to act first before letting you know. You can send the keys back to Dad and Mom and let them move into the new house.¡± Xia Nuannuan bit her lips and nodded. She wasn¡¯t an adamant person. Especially when she recalled that her parents had to rent an apartment, she would feel bad. Since she now had a new house, she thought that she should give it to her parents. At most, she just did not want the 9990 thousand dors of dowry anymore. As she thought so, she nodded and grasped the key in her palm. When they reached the hospital, Shen Liangchuan and Xia Yehua were both in the hospital ward. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s leg injury had already recovered, but as they say, hurting your bones and ligaments affects you for a hundred days, so he still had to rest to recover. When the couple entered the room, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s eyes suddenly brightened up. However, after he realized that it was them, he immediately furrowed his brows in disappointment. Shen Zihao raised an eyebrow and said, ¡°What? What kind of expression is this? Are we not wee here?¡± Although the brothers had patched up, as they were both proud men, they were unwilling to give in. Thus, every time they met each other, there was always a hint of tension. Xia Yehua immediatelyughed. ¡°How is this not weing you? Xiao Qiao said that she had to go settle some matters, so she can¡¯te and this is making someone miss his wife a lot.¡± Shen Zihao sneered coldly and said, ¡°If you miss your wife, you should think of your own safety and not rush towards a car stupidly. Only you would do such things!¡± Although his tone wasced with sarcasm, it couldn¡¯t hide his thick and glorious concern. Shen Liangchuan raised his eyebrows and asked, ¡°What did you twoe for?¡± They couldn¡¯t havee just to mock at the patient. Shen Zihao immediately replied, ¡°We obviously didn¡¯te to see you, we came to visit Mom!¡± After hearing his words, Xia Yehua¡¯s eyes immediately brightened and she spoke with excitement, ¡°I¡¯m ok! My body is really strong and healthy!¡± Seeing the genuine care that Xia Yehua had shown, Shen Zihao kept silent. He had increased his interactions with her in this period of time. The more they interacted, the more Shen Zihao felt like Xia Yehua wasn¡¯t the kind of woman who will leave her husband and ditch her son. As he thought so, he suddenly felt a kick on his calf. He was slightly stunned and when he turned his head around, he saw Xia Nuannuan ncing at him. She ced the breakfast she was holding in his hands. He walked to Xia Yehua and suddenly spoke, ¡°Mom, have you eaten breakfast? If you haven¡¯t, then you should quickly eat.¡± It was already quitete, who wouldn¡¯t have eaten breakfast? But Xia Yehua still replied, ¡°Nope, I¡¯m really hungry now!!¡± She hurriedly took the breakfast from Shen Zihao and started eating. The hospital room was filled with happiness, but Shen Liangchuan¡¯s gaze was dark and sunken. Ever since Qiao Lian had leftst night, she still hadn¡¯t returned. She had said that she had some things to settle, but what was she busy with? He didn¡¯t know why, but a bad thought suddenly emerged in him. He sat up suddenly and said, ¡°Mom, please help me apply for discharge now. I want to be discharged from the hospital.¡± Chapter 903 - Xiao Qiao, Where Are You? (2)

Chapter 903: Xiao Qiao, Where Are You? (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xia Yehua was made puzzled by his remark. ¡°Why do you want to be discharged in such a hurry? Didn¡¯t the doctor say that you should stay a few days to keep you in observation?¡± Shen Liangchuan frowned and said, ¡°I feel well now.¡± Before Xia Yehua could say another word, Shen Zihao suddenly spoke up, ¡°Are you sure you want to be discharged?¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded. Shen Zihao replied, ¡°I¡¯ll help you make the arrangements then.¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded again. Shen Zihao left the room to make arrangements for his brother¡¯s discharge. Following him closely, Xia Nuannuan asked, ¡°Big brother hasn¡¯t recovered. Why is he asking to be discharged?¡± Shen Zihao replied, ¡°Who knows?! He has had his own ideas since he was a kid, and he¡¯s always had his own reasons for doing something. Since he¡¯s asking to be discharged, I think something must have happened.¡± Xia Nuannuan frowned and said, ¡°I hope nothing¡¯s happened to Lian Lian.¡± Shen Zihao halted and turned towards her. ¡°Why did you say that?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you yesterday that I felt something was not quite right with Lian Lian?¡± Shen Zihao nodded. She continued, ¡°She called me and asked me to keep Mompany, as though she was leaving some sort of final message.¡± Shen Zihao¡¯s pupils shrank at once and he quickened his steps. ¡°Let¡¯s arrange for him to be discharged as soon as possible.¡± ¨C Shen Liangchuan sat in the ward, feeling increasingly uneasy and restless. He picked up his cell phone and dialed Qiao Lian¡¯s number. But her cell phone seemed to be turned off and the call wouldn¡¯t connect. He frowned and called home. Auntie Li picked up the call. He asked, ¡°What¡¯s Madam doing?¡± ¡°Oh, she¡¯s gone to the airport to see Young Master Qiao Yi off.¡± Shen Liangchuan raised an eyebrow. ¡°See Young Master Qiao Yi off? Where¡¯s he going?¡± ¡°He¡¯s going abroad to study.¡± Shen Liangchuan was bbergasted. They had discussed sending Qiao Yi abroad for his studies, but this was not the beginning period for universities overseas. And why had no one told him that Qiao Yi was leaving today? A sense of panic started to grow in Shen Liangchuan. nting his broken leg, he hopped off the bed as he said, ¡°I¡¯m going home now. Give me a call when Madames home.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± He hurriedly changed his clothes. When Xia Yehua saw this, she nagged at him, ¡°Why are you in such a hurry? The doctor has instructed that you shouldn¡¯t be putting any weight on your leg in the next few days.¡± Shen Liangchuan had already picked his clothes up and was hopping towards the door before she could even finish speaking. There was a wheelchair at the entrance of his ward. He sat in it and wheeled himself towards the hospital exit. At this point, Shen Zihao and Xia Nuannuan were returning. They rushed to them and asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Shen Liangchuan said immediately, ¡°Take me home.¡± Shen Zihao nodded. All of them got into the car and drove away, towards the Shen vi. Shen Liangchuan was restless, and his sense of unease was bing stronger. He furrowed his brow, feeling like something was terribly wrong. Just as he was worrying about this, his cell phone suddenly rang. Shen Liangchuan picked up the call. It was Song Yuanxi. ¡°Brother Liangchuan, I¡¯m sorry.¡± Shen Liangchuan turned cold with dread. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Song Yuanxi said, ¡°I had promised you not to tell her about what happened eight years ago. But I¡¯ve broken my promise.¡± His fist immediately tightened and his knuckles turned white. His pupils shrank back immediately. ¡°Song Yuanxi! If anything happens to Qiao Lian, I¡¯ll never ever forgive you!¡± He hung up after saying this. Very soon, the car arrived at the Shen vi. But the only thing that waited for Shen Liangchuan was a copy of their divorce agreement on the desk in his study. Chapter 904 - Xiao Qiao, Where Are You? (3)

Chapter 904: Xiao Qiao, Where Are You? (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Zihao¡¯s car pulled up at the Shen vi. Before it could even stoppletely, Shen Liangchuan had already jumped out and started limping towards the door and into the house. When Auntie Li saw him, she was surprised. ¡°Sir?¡± He immediately asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Madam?¡± Auntie Li replied as she nced at the second floor, ¡°Madam took Young Master Xiao Yi to the airport this morning and she has not been back since.¡± She had seen him off in the morning. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s pupils shrank as he quickly asked, ¡°Did Madam take any suitcases with her when she left?¡± Auntie Li shook her head. ¡°No, Madam was seeing Xiao Yi off, why would she take her suitcase with her?¡± Shen Liangchuan was momentarily relieved, but he saw Auntie Li frown at this point. ¡°But when Young Master Xiao Yi left, he took two suitcases with him.¡± Two suitcases. Shen Liangchuan had just heaved a sigh of relief, but his heart sank right away again. As though he had suddenly thought of something, he asked, ¡°Did Madam say anything before she left?¡± Auntie Li immediately said, ¡°Oh, yes... There¡¯s a document for you in the study.¡± In the study. Limping, he took big strides to the stairs and went up to the second floor. As his leg was in a cast, it was immobile and made going up the stairs difficult. But he didn¡¯t seem to notice the difficulty as he dashed upstairs and walked into his study. Everything in the study looked the same, yet there was a document on the desk. After pausing for a moment, he took a few steps forward. When his gaze fell on the document, his pupils shrank. The words ¡°Divorce Agreement¡± on the cover page unexpectedly appeared before him. He felt as though he had been struck by lightning, as though a loud thunder seemed to have fallen on his ears. Just as though everything before him now was fake. He opened his eyes and saw her standing next to him. But when he looked carefully again, the divorce agreement was still sitting coldly on the desk. His hands were trembling now, and he didn¡¯t even dare to continue walking forward. At this point, Xia Yehua, Shen Zihao and Xia Nuannuan charged into the room. All three of them shifted their gaze onto the divorce agreement. Xia Yehua¡¯s pupils shrank when she saw this. She cried out in rm, ¡°What happened? Where¡¯s Xiao Qiao?¡± There was a bleakness in her voice that was heart-wrenching. Xia Nuannuan felt a sharp, stinging sensation in her eyes. Shen Zihao looked startled by what he was seeing. ¡°Big- Big Brother... did you have a fight with sister-inw?¡± Xia Yehua looked at Shen Liangchuan and asked, ¡°Liangchuan, what did you do? Why has Xiao Qiao gone away?¡± Why had she gone away? Shen Liangchuan felt all the energy draining out of him. His legs gave way as he fell on a chair by the wall. Indeed. Xiao Qiao, why have you gone away? Where are you? As these thoughts ran through his mind, he suddenly heard Xia Nuannuan say, ¡°There¡¯s a letter here.¡± A letter. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s head snapped up and looked at her at once. She walked over to him with the letter. ¡°It¡¯s for Big Brother!¡± Hands trembling, Shen Liangchuan reached out for the letter and unfolded it. He recognized Qiao Lian¡¯s handwriting right away: ¡°Zi Chuan, By the time you¡¯re reading this letter, I will probably be gone. I¡¯ve always felt that meeting you again after eight years was a blessing from the heavens. But I never would have imagined that my blessing was built upon your pain. I finally understand why you hid the truth of what happened eight years ago from me. Now I¡¯ve finally learnt the truth. I have left. Please, don¡¯t look for me.¡± Chapter 905 - Xiao Qiao, Where Are You? (4)

Chapter 905: Xiao Qiao, Where Are You? (4)

¡°Zi Chuan, I¡¯m really sorry. I could not have imagined that my own stubbornness eight years ago could end like this. I never knew that all of these years, you¡¯ve carried such a heavy burden on my behalf. Zi Chuan, I love you. I don¡¯t want our love to be a burden to you. I can also no longer confront this love between us, because it is unfair to Soul Fighter. Zi Chuan, farewell, we shall not be meeting again.¡± ¨C It was a short letter. but Shen Liangchuan did not seem to understand a word of it. He stared hard at the piece of paper in his hands. He stared at it as though through it, he could peer into Xiao Qiao¡¯s heart. Curling his fingers tightly, he worked hard to regte his breathing, but he felt a coldness that wouldn¡¯t go away. Gradually, his vision blurred. All he could see now was thest sentence in the letter. ¡°Zi Chuan, farewell, we shall not be meeting again.¡± Just like back then, when he made that final call to Xiao Qiao. ¡°Xiao Qiao, farewell, we shall not be meeting again.¡± Then, for the next eight years, they had not contacted each other. But this time around, how long was this farewell going tost? He took in a deep breath, but that sharp pain and sadness in his heart wouldn¡¯t go away. Everyone in the room fell silent. Xia Yehua had no idea what was written in the letter. After Shen Liangchuan had read it, she walked up to him. She wanted to say something. But suddenly, she halted. She stared steadily at her son. Shen Liangchuan had always been calm and steadfast, as though nothing could ever shake him up. Even when they left the Shen Family eight years ago, he was unruffled. He was a person who would never show his true emotions. In the past year, she had weathered so many ups and downs with Shen Liangchuan, yet she had never seen him like this. His eyes were deep and vast as the seas. He wouldn¡¯t be moved by the sight of the most glittery wealth, nor flinch at the most bloody carnage. But now... He could not contain the sorrow and pain that was growing inside him, spreading from the inside out, consuming him. He sat there with little expression, yet everyone could feel his emotions filling the room. No one dared to utter a word, no one wanted to disrupt him. Xia Yehua looked at him, but the words that she had wanted to say eventually did not find their way out. Then she looked at Shen Zihao and Xia Nuannuan and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go downstairs first.¡± The couple exchanged a look and nodded. As the took their leave, only Shen Liangchuan was left in the study now. Even though it was a winter day, the room was warm from the heating. But in this moment, Shen Liangchuan felt nothing but the icy cold. He looked around the room and his gaze fell on the sofa by the side. In the past, when he would be working in the study and she was bored, she would curl up in that seat reading news on her cell phone. And now... That seat was empty. There would no longer be anyone upying it. When he thought of this, he felt like a knife had been plunged into his heart, slicing through it slowly. Till it bled. His hand clutched the letter tightly. She had found out. She knew what had happened eight years ago. He thought of the guilt he had felt during this time. He could not imagine what he could do if she also felt that way, and if she would be able to bear it. With his fists tightly clenched, he shut his eyes. Then the images of what had happened eight years ago surged in his mind. There was that thing that only Soul Fighter and him knew, that incident that even Song Yuanxi wasn¡¯t aware of. Chapter 906 - Xiao Qiao, Where Are You? (5)

Chapter 906: Xiao Qiao, Where Are You? (5)

Soul Fighter died in an ident. Song Yuanxi had always thought that the ident had happened because Shen Liangchuan and Soul Fighter were raising money to pay off the penalty incurred by Qiao Lian. For this reason, she had taken it out on Qiao Lian. But there was something that Shen Liangchuan knew, which he had never told Song Yuanxi. At the time, Qiao Lian had suddenly withdrawn from the team club. After he got over his depression, he and Soul Fighter decided to go ahead and form a team anyway. However, the people from the team club demanded for arge penalty because of Xiao Qiao¡¯s withdrawal. 200 thousand. In the past, that money would have been nothing to Shen Liangchuan. But because they had left the Shen family and were on their own, they could barely scrape by. That amount of money was impossible to get. What sort of work could get him 200 thousand just like that? At that time, both he and Soul Fighter were poor. It was under these circumstances that Xiao Qiao sent him a message in the Lot chat out of the blue: [Xiao Qiao: Zi Chuan, could you return me the 100 thousand that I gave you? I need it for an emergency.] The 100 thousand that she had given him. That was the money she had given to him for renting a space, and for taking care of all sorts of business matters before the team club had been established. Hence at this point, Shen Liangchuan could no longer bring himself to ask her for the 200 thousand. If she said that she needed the money for an urgent matter, then it must have been something really urgent. So in the end, he had told Soul Fighter that they would settle the money issue themselves. There were very few ways of making so much money in a short time. Just around the same time, there was a gamer who wished to have a specific build and skin set for a particr game. This build required the yer to pass a certain level in the game. So he and Soul Fighter were glued to the inte for a whole week, just so that they could pass the level for the build set. Then, they sold this build to pay for the penalty. Finally... As the were walking out after that gaming session... He did not notice the approaching car, so he was pushed out of the way by Soul Fighter. After Soul Fighter was hit, he was taken to the hospital. At first, the doctors only examined him and things looked fine. There was a pain in his chest but he took it lightly, and even joked about it. Later on... he recalled that it was the day he had arranged to meet with Xiao Qiao. Hence, he had made an excuse to leave the hospital and meet with Xiao Qiao. But at that time, unexpectedly, he overheard Xiao Qiao talking on the phone. She was talking to her best friend, saying something about a bag that had cost 100 thousand. She had bought it without thinking twice. So it turned out that the 100 thousand that she needed urgently had been to purchase of a bag? Ultimately, she had no idea that because of this bag, his friend was lying on a hospital bed. And he himself had had a narrow escape. The moment he was standing there, trying to make peace with himself, Song Yuanxi sent him a message. Soul Fighter had suddenly gone into critical condition. He left the cafe and headed quickly back towards the hospital. They weren¡¯t able to save Soul Fighter. He died. After everything that had happened, Song Yuanxi had maintained that it was Qiao Lian who killed her brother. Shen Liangchuan never had a counter-argument for this. Soul Fighter had died to save his life. They had both been in that situation because of the 200 thousand. Right at the bottom of this was the fact that Qiao Lian had withdrawn from the team club with no exnation, the fact that it had been to buy an expensive bag. Shen Liangchuan hung his head at these thoughts. He knew that Qiao Lian was innocent. She had not caused Soul Fighter¡¯s death directly. But he couldn¡¯t stop thinking about it. He had never dared to tell Qiao Lian the truth, because he was afraid that she wouldn¡¯t be able to deal with the pain and guilt. For thest eight years, she had had a hard life. Surely, she would havee to understand how much 100 thousand had meant to them eight years ago. Chapter 907 - Xiao Qiao, Where Are You? (6)

Chapter 907: Xiao Qiao, Where Are You? (6)

Drained of all energy, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s arms fell to his sides. He shut his eyes with extreme pain. With the matter of Soul Fighter separating them, Qiao Lian had now left him out of guilt. But... He didn¡¯t want her to leave. He missed her. Shen Liangchuan struggled to stand up and walked to the bedroom. Pushing the door, he found that her belongings were all gone. Perhaps she was afraid that it would be a sad reminder for him, hence, she had restored the room back to the way it was before she had moved in. Everything was simple and clean. There was no trace of her ever being there. Shen Liangchuan dropped his gaze. It finallynded on a stain on the carpet. On one particr asion, she had spilled her coffee identally. Because it had not been dry-cleaned, it had left a mark. At that time, she hadughed it off and said with no sign of guilt, ¡°Why does the house have to be so clean? Some dirt around will make it look like someone lives in it.¡± Yet now... There was only one sign that reminded him she had once lived in this house. He slowly knelt before this spot. His eyes were fixed on this spot on the carpet. Finally, with a slight quiver of his lips, tears fell down his cheeks. Xiao Qiao, where are you? When will you...e home? A sorrowful expression appeared on his face. He hung his head, unable to control his emotions anymore. ¨C The ne drew an arc across the sky. Qiao Lian was sitting in one of the passenger seats, with scenes of her recent parting with Qiao Yi shing through her mind. He had looked at her and asked, ¡°Sis, you¡¯re really leaving Brother-inw?¡± She had kept silent. He didn¡¯t pursue the matter. He only looked at her and said, ¡°Sis, I only want you to be happy.¡± Indeed. Happiness! They would only be able to start afresh with their lives if she left him and they each went their own way, leaving the past behind. And only then would Shen Liangchuan get better. By now, they would have discovered she had left. What could Shen Liangchuan be doing at this moment? Was he holding the letter that she had left behind, feeling sad? But... With her gone now, he should be able to get a good sleep. She smiled at the thought of this. But the tears fell uncontrobly. Don¡¯t cry. Don¡¯t cry, Xiao Qiao. Sometimes two people who love each other don¡¯t have to be together. It was good enough by just knowing that the other person was happily alive. Qiao Lian hung her head and buried her face in her palms, as the tears were slipping between her fingers. ¡°Miss, are you feeling alright?¡± She heard the sweet and gentle flight attendant speak to her in her sorrow. Qiao Lian looked up quickly and with a wave of her hand said, ¡°No, I¡ª¡± But as soon as she spoke, she felt her gut churn and it only made her feel terrible. She stood up at once as the flight attendant helped her to the restroom, where she finally threw up. The nausea she was feeling made her even sadder. The flight attendant asked, ¡°Miss, how are you feeling? Do we need to get you a doctor?¡± Qiao Lian waved to dismiss the suggestion. But she was now stunned. Nausea, throwing up. This felt like... She searched her memory. Her period this month... it hadn¡¯te? She bit her lip. It couldn¡¯t be what she was thinking... or was it? Chapter 908 - Xiao Qiao, Where Are You? (7)

Chapter 908: Xiao Qiao, Where Are You? (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The ne glided to a smoothnding. Qiao Lian walked out of the airport, her face pale as though drained of blood. She hailed a cab and headed towards her childhood home in Suzhou. This city never seemed to change. It had the graceful and subtle trademarks of the water towns in Jiangnan. Along the way, she turned to look at the street scenes, but her heart felt cold and bare. In the eight years that she had been in Beijing, there wasn¡¯t a moment that she hadn¡¯t wished to be back here, to clear her parents¡¯ names and unearth the truth behind the copsed building. But right now, she felt as though nothing could raise her spirits, and she feltpletely exhausted. She took a deep breath. She patted her face lightly. Qiao Lian, stop being so depressed. Wasn¡¯t not being able to be with Shen Liangchuan just a minor problem? It wasn¡¯t as though she had never fallen out of love, like she had done eight years ago. So why behave like life had be meaningless without love? You have a lot on your hands! Mom and Dad are waiting for you to clear their names! At this thought, she straightened her posture and tried to look energized. The driver asked, ¡°Miss, where are you headed?¡± Qiao Lian gave him the address of the cemetery. With her suitcase in tow, she went to the cemetery and stood before her parents¡¯ graves. It had been eight years. The tombstone looked clean and tidy, as though someone had been looking after it all this time. She set her suitcase to the side, walked up to the side of the graves and sat down. She stared nkly at the space in front of her. ¡°Dad, Mom, I¡¯m here to see you.¡± ¡°Xiao Yi has gone overseas, and I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll make something good out of it.¡± ¡°Dad, Mom, I¡¯m back here too. I¡¯ll uncover the truth and clear your names.¡± ¡°Dad, Mom, I got married.¡± ¡°But I got a divorce too.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s okay, just like eight years ago, Mom, you were right. Life is not only about love.¡± Qiao Lian paused andughed. Then she hung her head and continued, ¡°Mom, do you remember Zi Chuan?¡± ¡°He was the boy I had an online rtionship with eight years ago. In the end, I gave him 100 thousand because we wanted to set up a team club. When you found out, you got angry at me and said that I trusted people too easily.¡± ¡°I still remember that you made me ask for that money back, and I even argued with you about that.¡± ¡°Later on, I had arranged to meet up with him in Beijing, but he didn¡¯t turn up. Mom, you said that perhaps he was a conman and it had all been to get the 100 thousand. You even said it was ok to lose that money, to just take it as a life lesson.¡± ¡°At that time, I disagreed with you and said that Zi Chuan wasn¡¯t that sort of person.¡± ¡°Eventually, he broke my heart. For thest eight years, I had not believed in love.¡± ¡°But now I understand, love is the most amazing thing in the world. He had endured so much for my sake... Oh, his name is Shen Liangchuan.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve never met him. But if you were still alive, Mom, I¡¯m sure that, like me, you would love him, and love his movies and tv series.¡± Qiao Lian took out her cell phone and searched for his photo. She continued, ¡°Mom, this is him. Isn¡¯t he handsome?¡± As soon as she said this, the cell phone rang. The screen showed that is was Shen Liangchuan. She looked at the screen steadily and, after a moment, she smiled and removed the phone¡¯s SIM card. Also at this point, outside the cemetery, a veryrge Bentley sedan pulled up slowly and stopped at the entrance. The overbearing frame of Lu Nanze emerged from within. Chapter 909 - Xiao Qiao, Where Are You? (8)

Chapter 909: Xiao Qiao, Where Are You? (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The chauffeur stepped aside respectfully, while the two bodyguards stood tall and still next to him. Lu Nanze looked at the cemetery grounds with an abstruse expression. He slowly lowered his gaze. Then he strode through the entrance. ¨C Qiao Lian had lost track of the time that she had been sitting there next to the graves. She finally stood up and said as she looked at her parents¡¯ tombstones, ¡°Dad, Mom, I¡¯m home for good this time. I won¡¯t be returning to Beijing. I¡¯ll be here in Suzhou investigating the truth of what happened eight years ago. I¡¯m leaving now for today, I¡¯ll look for a ce to stay. I¡¯ll be back in a few days to see you again.¡± She stood up after saying this, picked up her suitcase and headed towards the other entrance of the cemetery. Just as she disappeared around the corner, Lu Nanze appeared and walked to the graves. He stood before Dad Qiao and Mom Qiao¡¯s tombstones, looking steadily at them with his dark and deep eyes. However, as he slowly approached them, he froze. There was a familiar scent in the air. He focused his energy to breathe in the scent, but a gust of wind blew past. At once, the familiar scent vanished. The man smiled bitterly. The normally arrogant man sounded a little helpless now as he spoke, ¡°Uncle and Auntie, I actually thought I had caught a whiff of Lian Lian. I must be going mad.¡± ¡°Uncle and Auntie, how have you beentely?¡± ¨C After leaving the cemetery, Qiao Lian hailed a cab. It waste, so she found a hotel to stay the night. Then she started to look through room rental ads on the inte. This time she was returning to Suzhou, she was nning to stay for the long haul. She chewed her instant noodles as she went through the ads. As she ate, all of a sudden, that feeling of nausea came back. She stood up immediately and dashed to the restroom. She threw up once again. She felt better once she had emptied her stomach of content. She sat on the sofa in a daze and stared nkly ahead. Was it just her stomach giving her problems or was she pregnant? And if she were pregnant, was she going to keep this child? Qiao Lian furrowed her brow as this thought struck her. Nevermind, she would make a decision once she was sure of what it was. At this thought, she got changed and went downstairs. She went to a pharmacy and got a pregnancy test kit. Back in the hotel room, she tossed the kit aside. She continued to look through the room rental ads as well as the job ads. Having left the Shen family, she did not have much money with her. Since she had chosen to get a divorce, she had no wish to take a single cent from Shen Liangchuan. With limited savings, she would have to find a means of survival. As she contemted this, an email suddenly arrived in her mailbox. She paused and opened it. It was an email from Gao Youming. Ever since her identity as Forget Chuan and Mrs. Shen had been exposed, Gao Youming had not been in touch much. Actually, it had been a long time since they hadst paired up as gamementators. Why was Gao Youming looking for her? She read the email. In the email, he asked her to return his call when she had a moment, as he hadn¡¯t been able to get through to her. She remembered she had removed her Beijing SIM card from her phone earlier today. Quickly, she picked up the hotel phone and dialed Gao Youming¡¯s number. The line was connected. Qiao Lian said, ¡°Hey, it¡¯s me.¡± Chapter 910 - Xiao Qiao, Where Are You? (9)

Chapter 910: Xiao Qiao, Where Are You? (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Gao Youming said, ¡°Forget Chuan? You¡¯ve finally called. I thought that nowadays you¡¯ve got Best Actor Shen and no longer wish to contact me! I tried calling you today and your cell phone seems to be turned off.¡± Qiao Lian cleared her throat and replied, ¡°I should be getting a new number very soon. I¡¯ll be sure to inform you when I do that.¡± Gao Youming agreed to this. Qiao Lian asked, ¡°Why are you looking for me? What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s like this, as you know, mobile application eSports are all the rage these days.¡± Qiao Lian paused and replied, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Our livestreaming tform started off a series of mobile gaming livestreams and they thought of us. I¡¯m just a moderate yer inpetitions and there¡¯s no way I can do livestreams. So I wanted to find out if you might be interested.¡± In mobile livestreams, one had to y as a live demonstration for the audience. This was one of the better ways of making good money. Hearing her silence, Gao Youming quickly said, ¡°I should have known that you wouldn¡¯t be interested. After all, Best Actor Shen provides for you, haha. I was only asking because I feel that you have a talent in gaming. Besides, your fans have been asking to see you in livestreams. If you¡¯re not interested, that¡¯s fine, I didn¡¯t ask¡ª¡± Before he finished speaking, Qiao Lian interrupted, ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± Surprised, Gao Youming said, ¡°What?¡± She couldn¡¯t help butugh. ¡°I said I¡¯ll do it!¡± It took Gao Youming a moment to let the answer sink in. Then he said, ¡°My god, if you agree to it, our tform will certainly promote it as much as possible! Besides, I¡¯ve heard that this kind of tforms are quite profitable these days. You can earn some pocket money!¡± Qiao Lian nodded and replied, ¡°Uh huh. And the working location would not be an issue, I assume?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. There¡¯s no restrictions. What sort of games would you choose for the livestreams?¡± At once, Gao Youmingughed after he said that. ¡°Silly me, of course you¡¯d choose the Lot mobile games! Let me have your address, so that I can send you the equipment that you will need for the livestreams.¡± Qiao Lian nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯ll let you know once I¡¯ve found amodation.¡± ¡°Looking for amodation?¡± ¡°Uh huh.¡± ¡°You and Best Actor Shen, you guys...?¡± ¡°We¡¯re divorced.¡± Gao Youming was a little shocked and kept silent for a moment. Finally, he said, ¡°It¡¯s ok. You know it¡¯s hard to find three-legged toads in this world, but two-legged men... there are aplenty!¡± Qiao Lian burst outughing at once. Gao Youming then asked, ¡°So what ID will you be using for the livestream?¡± Qiao Lian paused as her gaze rested on the nk wall. She stared at it for a moment, as though it was going to give her an answer. Then she spoke, ¡°I¡¯ll use Love Chuan.¡± She had told him not to look for her. Knowing him, he wouldply with her request. Besides... She smiled. The words ¡°Love Chuan¡± would be a message to him in itself. To let him know that she was well and he didn¡¯t have to worry. After hanging up with Gao Youming, she put her cell phone aside and curled up on the sofa. Then she took a deep breath and turned her attention back to theputer. She got in touch with a fewpanies to arrange visits of apartments the next day. After this, she climbed into the big hotel bed and fell into a deep sleep. She was woken up by the rm clock early the next morning. She had nned to spend some time looking for amodation. As she washed up, her gaze suddenly fell on the pregnancy test kit. After a short pause, she remembered that she had not yet taken the pregnancy test. After following the instructions, she waited for the test results. Chapter 911 - Xiao Qiao, Where Are You? (10)

Chapter 911: Xiao Qiao, Where Are You? (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After a minute passed, two red shes appeared on the test kit. Qiao Lian stared at the test kit in a daze. She was stunned. She was pregnant indeed?! She ced her hands on her belly in disbelief. In that instant, there was a little life growing in here? This was too amazing. When she had wanted a child with Shen Liangchuan, none hade. But the moment she left him, a baby appeared. She smiled sadly. Child, why did youe at such a bad time? On top of that... She suddenly remembered that Shen Liangchuan had been taking sleeping pills recently. Given this, would it harm or affect the child? The thought made her terribly nervous. She stood up in a snap. She decided to go to the hospital and have a check up. ¨C Qiao Lian went to the hospital and had a full health check. It showed that the baby was doing fine. With that out of the way, she focused on her amodation search. Finding a cheap and suitable apartment was not going to be a stroll in the park. On the third day of her search, she finally signed a lease agreement. When the package from Gao Youming with the equipment finally arrived, she started the first gaming livestream in her life. Qiao Lian¡¯s hands had seen vast improvements ever since Shen Liangchuan had taken her to the doctor. Moreover, maneuvering in mobile games was much simpler than on theputer. Hence, thanks to the livestreaming tform¡¯s active promotion, the name ¡°Love Chuan¡± attracted hundreds of thousands of fans within a very short time. ¨C Thus, Suzhou¡¯s Qiao Lian started her own business and, from the very beginning, it was a runaway sess which kept her extremely busy. In Beijing¡¯s Shen vi, however, things had grown silent. The time that Shen Liangchuan had been recuperating, he had spent all of his time shut in his bedroom, standing on the balcony and looking out into the distance. He would not speak a word all day. Xia Yehua looked worried everyday, so she said to Xia Nuannuan, ¡°What do we do? This child... I¡¯ve only seen him like this one other time in all my life.¡± Xia Nuannuan was surprised and asked, ¡°When was the first time?¡± Sighing, the woman recalled, ¡°The first time was eight years ago. He had arranged to meet with his first love. After he returned from that meeting, he was in exceptionally low spirits. After this, things at home got tough and we had no money to buy rice. That was when he pulled himself together. But this time, what do we do?¡± She sighed again at this point andmented, ¡°Where on earth did Xiao Qiao go? Even if something happened between them, what can¡¯t be sorted out between husband and wife? What will Liangchuan do now? And the same for Xiao Qiao. Why did she just disappear like this?¡± Xia Nuannuanforted Xia Yehua, ¡°Mom, I think it might not be a bad idea for them to be apart and let things cool down sometimes. Once Xiao Qiao has thought things through, she¡¯lle back. As for big brother... I think he¡¯ll pull himself together.¡± Xia Yehua could only nod. Xia Nuannuan had been going tofort Xia Yehua for the past few days. That evening, Xia Yehua asked her to stay the night. Xia Nuannuan smiled and replied, ¡°Sorry, Dad is waiting up at home.¡± She had not told Xia Yehua that they had left the Shen family residence. Xia Yehua would worry for sure if she found out about it. After leaving the Shen vi, Xia Nuannuan returned to her distruct and at the entrance, she ran into Shen Zihao. They went home together. But when they reached their apartment, they saw Mei Feng standing at their doorstep. Her eyes were bloodshot. When she saw the couple, she took a step towards them and said, ¡°Nuannuan, Zihao, I know it was all my fault. Pleasee home with me.¡± Chapter 912 - Mei Feng’s True Colors (1)

Chapter 912: Mei Feng¡¯s True Colors (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mei Feng stood there, teary-eyed. Her gaze fell on Xia Nuannuan, who was looking radiant and at peace. She nced first at Xia Nuannuan and then shifted her gaze to Shen Zihao. She saw that he was carrying a bag of vegetables, obviously bought by his wife. Mei Feng¡¯s pupils shrank back at once, as a feeling of jealousy came over her. From a young age, she had always been the one amodating to him and pampering him. When they went out, she had never made him carry anything for her. So why should she suffer alone at home while Xia Nuannuan had Shen Zihao tightly wound around her little fingers enjoying life? She bit her lip as this thought came to her mind. All along, she had been betting on Xia Nuannuan not forgiving Shen Zihao and that sooner orter he woulde home obediently. But now they were living on their own and enjoying their married life. How could she let that happen? She must get Shen Zihao toe home. Her determination grew stronger than ever. With tears pouring down her face continuously, she looked at the two of them and said, ¡°Nuannuan, I was wrong.¡± Clutching her teary eyes, she continued, ¡°Nuannuan, I really realized my mistake. Won¡¯t you forgive Aunty Mei once?¡± She knew that it would be useless to ask Shen Zihao toe home alone. She had to convince Xia Nuannuan and have them both return together. She reached out to grab Xia Nuannuan¡¯s hand. Lowering her head, she said, ¡°Your Aunty Mei was blind to have such thoughts. I now know I was in the wrong. Pleasee home with Zihao. Your Dad and I miss you both. It¡¯s quiet and lonely in the house.¡± Then she looked at Shen Zihao and said, ¡°Zihao, your Dad is worried about you. He¡¯s been coughing at night, losing sleep and he even told me he wondered how you are. And he¡¯s even more worried about your child... Nuannuan is pregnant and it¡¯s not easy to live away from home. Come home with me and I¡¯ll make sure I look after her, wouldn¡¯t that be good?¡± It was a beautifully crafted speech without ws, but Shen Zihao seemed to be wavering. Noticing his expression, Xia Nuannuan immediately cast her gaze down. Then, just as she thought that he would trust Mei Feng, soften his heart and go home with her, she heard him say instead, ¡°Aunty Mei, how can we go home?¡± Mei Feng was taken aback slightly. He continued, ¡°After we go back, the housekeepers will say that Nuannuan is a thief! So how can we possibly go back? How do you suppose Nuannuan is going to live under the same roof as that bunch of people?¡± Mei Feng immediately said, ¡°Then let¡¯s tell them that I gave her that money!¡± The moment she said that, Xia Nuannuan sighed. When Shen Zihao heard her sigh, he thought about it and at once understood. He replied to Mei Feng, ¡°No one¡¯s going to believe it. They will only think that you¡¯ve created this as an out for Nuannuan, so that she cane home. So even if they look like they believe it, in their hearts they won¡¯t.¡± Seeing that Shen Zihao was not so easily convinced, Mei Feng bit her lip. Lowering her head, she said after a moment, ¡°Then tell them that it was I who framed Nuannuan, ok? I¡¯ll admit what I¡¯ve done. Come home with Nuannuan.¡± Shen Zihao furrowed his brow and looked slightly convinced. He nced at Xia Nuannuan. In all honesty... He had grown used to living in arge house. Although the little rental apartment was cosy, it was too tiny to Shen Zihao. Whenever he stood up, he felt like his head was going to hit the ceiling. Chapter 913 - Mei Feng’s True Colors (2)

Chapter 913: Mei Feng¡¯s True Colors (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When he turned around, he would bump into a table or chairs. He had no daily ess to gym equipment and had to go to the park. Life had be inconvenient overnight. Shen Zihao knew that he shouldn¡¯tin about life, because these were small things and when he was with Xia Nuannuan, he didn¡¯t get bored and it really didn¡¯t affect his mood. But... What about after the baby arrived? A child of the Shen family should be born into a life of luxury. How could Xia Nuannuan stay home alone to look after the baby? Besides, that was his home. Why shouldn¡¯t he be able to return to it? As these thoughts came to him, he looked at his wife. Xia Nuannuan was a girl who had always known where boundaries were. If she didn¡¯t go home, even after Mei Feng had expressed her apologies so humbly, surely it would put Shen Zihao in an ufortable position. When she heard Mei Feng¡¯s words, she looked at the woman and said, ¡°Ok, as long as Aunty Mei can clear my name, I¡¯ll go home with you.¡± She, too, could see with her own eyes that it hadn¡¯t been easy for Shen Zihao to live in this tiny rental apartment. Neither did she wish for Shen Zihao to be suffering along with her. Mei Feng¡¯s expression immediately brightened. She nodded, looked at Shen Zihao and said, ¡°Zihao, in this case, go pack your things now ande home with me.¡± Shen Zihao said, ¡°Aunty Mei, we will go, but first you should settle the situation at home.¡± Upon hearing this, an expression of hatred shed across her face as she quickly nodded and said, ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll go home now and tell everyone what happened. And then, after I¡¯ve settled this matter, you bothe home, ok?¡± Shen Zihao nodded. Mei Feng bit her lip with strength. She had initially thought that if she took a step back, the two of them would back down too. But she had not expected that they would force her to admit her framing Xia Nuannuan in front of everyone. If she really did that, wouldn¡¯t her position in the family be worse than Xia Nuannuan¡¯s? Her authority in the household was now being threatened by an outsider. This was too outrageous and intolerable. Mei Feng¡¯s fists tightened as she contemted her own plight. But to get them both toe home, she would have topromise herself this time. Mei Feng turned to nce at the couple before walking away. ¨C After Mei Feng left, Xia Nuannuan went back into the apartment. The moment they shut the door behind them, Shen Zihao embraced Xia Nuannuan¡¯s waist from behind. Resting his head on her shoulder, he said, ¡°Nuannuan, you¡¯re the best.¡± Xia Nuannuanughed, amused by how he sounded like a spoiled child. This man acted like he had never really grown up However... Xia Nuannuan sighed and said, ¡°I¡¯m just worried that Aunty Mei still has a certain negative opinion of me.¡± Immediately, Shen Zihao reassured her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll shield you from her!¡± After hearing this, Xia Nuannuan said, ¡°Actually, I¡¯m not afraid of her opinion of me. What I fear the most is you not trusting me.¡± The man made her a promise immediately, ¡°I will believe you in future! I will love and protect you, and will never be suspicious of you. How¡¯s that?¡± Xia Nuannuan exhaled in relief. The love between them was something that had to be built little by little over time. They had not been together long, hence their rtionship was unlike the intense and rich rtionship between Shen Liangchuan and Qiao Lian. But... things were improving and this big child was growing. This was good enough. At these thoughts, Xia Nuannuan smiled and said, ¡°Alright, I have to prepare dinner!¡± Chapter 914 - Mei Feng’s True Colors (3)

Chapter 914: Mei Feng¡¯s True Colors (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Very quickly, Mei Feng settled the situation at home. In the presence of everyone, she admitted her mistake. There were tens of housekeepers in the household in total, and everyone was shocked by what she told them. After she admitted that she had set Xia Nuannuan up, thetter and Shen Zihao returned to the Shen family residence. The day that the both of them returned, all of the housekeepers smiled respectfully at Xia Nuannuan. Mei Feng was full of jealousy when she witnessed how well-regarded Xia Nuannuan had be. She had even heard the housekeepers talk among themselves: ¡°Say, Madam¡¯s position waspromised the moment Young Madam returned! I think from now on we ought to treat Young Madam better.¡± ¡°What do you know?¡± The person said in a low voice, ¡°Young Madam is now pregnant with a Shen family descendant! Madam... has never even given the Shen family a son or daughter.¡± Mei Feng tightened her fists angrily when she overheard this. The words hit her where it hurt most. ¡°Ultimately, Madam will lose out because she has no children. The lead of the Shen family will eventually go to Young Master anyway. When that happens, won¡¯t Young Madam be in charge? Hence from now on, we should take Young Madam seriously.¡± The small group of housekeepers talked to themselves as they walked away. Mei Feng got out from hiding around the corner and cried in anger and humiliation, as she looked at the back of the couple. Clenching her fists tightly and turning around, she suddenly saw that Shen Xiu was standing behind her. Mei Feng¡¯s eyes turned bloodshot at once. She looked at Shen Xiu and said through gritted teeth, ¡°Shen Xiu! Did you see that? That¡¯s how the housekeepers perceive me! I¡ª¡± Shen Xiu sighed as she spoke. She reached out and put his arm around her shoulders. Mei Feng continued, ¡°What do they know? We have had children before.¡± They had children. At the time, when she and Shen Xiu had been together secretly for five or six years, she had had a number of pregnancies. But every time it happened, Shen Xiu would take her to abort. Finally, because she had had so many abortions, she could no longer get pregnant. All of this had been because of Shen Xiu! Mei Feng cried like there was no tomorrow while Shen Xiu, full of guilt, embraced her. In the end, with his arms around her, he said, ¡°Alright, Feng¡¯er, don¡¯t cry. It¡¯s all my fault. I haven¡¯t given you what you deserve. I¡¯ve already said this, Zihao is your child too, he will not disrespect you.¡± She lowered her head and said, ¡°Now he already treats me like this because of a girl. In the future... who knows?¡± The moment she said this, his pupils shrank. ¡°If he is disrespectful towards you, I¡¯ll break his legs!¡± Mei Feng lifted her head and said, ¡°Don¡¯t say that.¡± She bit her lip. Shen Xiu snorted icily, however, and said, ¡°I already made it clear before that I didn¡¯t want such a daughter-inw, but you insisted that we should take her in first and then think of ways to get rid of her. Now see what has happened. She¡¯s got your Achilles¡¯ heel. How are we going to deal with this in the future?¡± Mei Feng gritted her teeth angrily and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve lived for so long, surely I can manage a young girl.¡± Shen Xiu nodded. After a moment, he said, ¡°If you really can¡¯t handle it, leave it to me.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t. It will spoil your rtionship with Zihao if you do that. And wouldn¡¯t that only push him towards Xia Yehua?¡± she lowered her head as she said this. ¡°Leave these things to me.¡± Shen Xiu looked at her and said after a pause, ¡°It¡¯s terribly hard on you.¡± Chapter 915 - Mei Feng’s True Colors (4)

Chapter 915: Mei Feng¡¯s True Colors (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After Xia Nuannuan and Shen Zihao moved back home, Mei Feng¡¯s attitude changed noticeably. She would often ask about Xia Nuannuan¡¯s welfare and tried to give Shen Zihao everything he needed. Suddenly, it seemed like the tough days were over. Until a weekter... Xia Nuannuan was at Shen Liangchuan¡¯s vi, apanying Xia Yehua and chatting with her. ¡°Is Big Brother still the same? Not talking very much?¡± Deeply troubled, Xia Yehua replied, ¡°That¡¯s right. I have asked his psychologist toe over, but the psychologist said to give him time to sort out his past. Otherwise it won¡¯t work.¡± Xia Nuannuan frowned and asked, ¡°What exactly happened between him and Lian Lian? He still doesn¡¯t want to reveal anything?¡± Xia Yehua nodded. Xia Nuannuan lifted her head and looked at the room on the third floor. Shen Liangchuan had been doing nothing other than sitting on the sofa, staring at each and every memorabilia from the past. Those were the happiest times that he and Xiao Qiao shared. But now, the happiness had gone and would never return again. Xia Nuannuan turned to Xia Yehua again and asked, ¡°It¡¯s been so many days, is there still no news from Lian Lian?¡± Xia Yehua shook her head sadly. Sighing, Xia Nuannuan said, ¡°How can a grown adult just disappear like this?¡± Xia Yehua hung her head and said, ¡°My gut tells me that it¡¯s not that we can¡¯t locate her.¡± ¡°Then what is it?¡± The elderly woman nced at the third floor, ¡°He hasn¡¯t really gone looking for her. I¡¯m sure he knows where Xiao Qiao has gone to.¡± After hearing this, Xia Nuannuan could only remain silent. If one really wanted to look for someone, one would surely be able to locate the person. Since Shen Liangchuan had not searched for her, it could be that... he had some unresolved matters in his heart. She stood up. ¡°Mom, let¡¯s go for a walk. You shouldn¡¯t stay in the house all day.¡± Xia Yehua nodded. They walked to the garden. Gradually, Xia Yehua¡¯s worried expression faded. Breathing in the fresh air and feeling the buzz of everyday life took her away from the suffocating atmosphere at home. Her mood began to lighten up. Looking at the garden, Xia Yehua suddenly said, ¡°The first time I met Xiao Qiao was in this very garden.¡± Xia Nuannuan smiled and asked, ¡°Where exactly?¡± Xia Yehua led her towards a little pavilion by the side of the garden and pointed at it. ¡°Over there.¡± At that moment, there was a boy of about seventeen or eighteen years old sitting in the little pavilion. He looked down as he yed on his mobile phone. As the women walked to the spot, Xia Yehuan gazed at the garden¡¯s views and told Xia Nuannuan about that first meeting. ¡°... Can you believe it? I was telling her how much I disliked my daughter-inw, and she told me how much she disliked her mother-inw. We said a few mean things to each other, talking about that person we disliked! In the end, we found out that we were talking about each other, and it was so embarrassing. But fortunately, we were both shameless, so we let things go eventually.¡± Xia Nuannuanughed till her sides split. ¡°Mom, you¡¯re too funny!¡± As they chatted, the boy on the little pavilion suddenly spoke, ¡°I say,dies, could you lower your voices? I can hardly hear the caster speak!¡± Xia Nuannuan and Xia Yehua immediately exchanged a nce and looked at the boy. They realized he was listening to a Lot game livestream. A caster was doing a live demonstration and her maneuvering was excellent. The two women stood up and were just about to walk away, when they heard the caster¡¯s voiceing out of the boy¡¯s cell phone, ¡°... We shouldn¡¯t engage in this team battle, because we don¡¯t have enough yers. We¡¯ll get ourselves killed if we do that, so...¡± They immediately halted. That voice... Why did it sound so much like Xiao Qiao?! Chapter 916 - Mei Feng’s True Colors (5)

Chapter 916: Mei Feng¡¯s True Colors (5)

Xia Nuannuan was stunned for a moment. The voice was too familiar, even though it was through the inte and there could have been a slight distortion. But Xia Nuannuan had spoken on the phone with Qiao Lian so many times, she could tell right away that it was Qiao Lian¡¯s voice. She spun around immediately and walked to the boy, asking, ¡°Who¡¯s that on the livestream you¡¯re watching?¡± ¡°Lian¡ª¡± Before he could finish speaking, Xia Nuannuan¡¯s cell phone rang and interrupted the boy. She frowned and looked down at her cell phone, intending to further question the boy about Qiao Lian. However, after she saw the iing call, she froze for a second. Because the caller was none other than her uncle. Her uncle rarely called her. Could it be that something had happened? At this thought, she picked up the call. She immediately heard her uncle¡¯s voice through the line, ¡°Nuannuan, have your parents called to let you know they¡¯re okay?¡± Xia Nuannuan paused and asked, ¡°What do you mean by letting me know they¡¯re okay?¡± ¡°Oh, you didn¡¯t know? There¡¯s a typhoon! This year¡¯s typhoon is worse than usual. Almost half of the buildings in XX city have fallen, and the trees and nts too. And it has killed many people who refused to evacuate! It seems like the death toll is above ten now. I¡¯ve tried calling your parents, but I couldn¡¯t get through! Sigh... When the typhoon alert came, I called them and asked them toe over to help them, but they wouldn¡¯t listen...¡± Xia Nuannuan could not hear what he said after this. She felt as though thunder had crashed by her ears. ¡°Uncle, you- what did you say?¡± Their home was in XX city. Besides, her parents lived by the beach, because Shen Zihao had bought a beachfront property. That was the most dangerous spot! ¡°Nuannuan, if your parents call you, you must remember to inform me!¡± ¡°Ok.¡± Xia Nuannuan hung up hurriedly. With trembling hands, she dialed her parents¡¯ number. But the call wouldn¡¯t connect, implying the absence of a signal. At once, she started to panic. She picked up her cell phone, turned to Weibo and started to read news rted to the typhoon. This year¡¯s typhoon had been worse than all of the other times. And the most affected area had been the neighbourhood where Dad and Mom had been living. The news said that a hundred-year-old tree in their district had even been uprooted. It had crashed against some houses and they did not know how many people had been killed! Xia Nuannuan¡¯s hands froze. When Xia Yehua noticed how distraught she was, she asked the girl, ¡°What happened?¡± Xia Nuannuan lifted her head and looked nkly back at Xia Yehua. ¡°Mom, what do I do? My Dad and Mom... what do I do?¡± Xia Yehua frowned immediately and said, ¡°Ask Zihao toe! Hurry up!¡± Xia Nuannuan¡¯s tears rolled down her cheeks as she said, ¡°Zihao has gone on a business trip! He¡¯s abroad. Right now, he should be on the ne!¡± Xia Yehua looked at her anxiously and patted the back of her hand. ¡°Don¡¯t panic, although typhoons are destructive, in reality the death toll each year is not that high. Besides, the country has already taken the necessary preventive measures, so don¡¯t panic.¡± At this point, Xia Yehua said to her, ¡°Hurry, go home. Go home and wait for your parents¡¯ call!¡± ¨C At the same time, in the Shen family residence. Mei Feng was in the living room watching TV when the home phone suddenly rang. She walked over and picked it up. From the other end, a loud and clear voice sounded amidst static noise. ¡°Hello? Is that one of the inws on the phone?¡± Chapter 917 - Mei Feng’s True Colors (6)

Chapter 917: Mei Feng¡¯s True Colors (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Mei Feng realized it was Dad Xia, she became impatient. Besides, the line was noisy and had static interferences, which was annoying to hear. Mei Feng frowned and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Dad Xia¡¯s voice came over the line again, asking, ¡°Is Nuannuan at home?¡± ¡°No, she¡¯s not.¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s okay if she¡¯s not. There is a long queue here to call our families to inform them that we¡¯re okay. I¡¯ve tried reaching her on her cell phone, but I couldn¡¯t get through, hence I¡¯ve called your home. May I trouble you to let Nuannuan know that her Mom and I are both fine? She does not need to worry.¡± Mei Feng gave a cold chortle and said, ¡°Ok.¡± Without waiting to hear anything else from the other party, she hung up the phone with a firm click. She continued to watch TV, holding a toothpick in one hand and eating the pieces of fruit that had been ced on the coffee table. As she ate, she suddenly heard a car stopping at the driveway. Without turning to look, she knew it was Xia Nuannuan returning. And she was sure the girl had gone to Xia Yehua¡¯s house. This girl had absolutely no regards for her. A look disgust shed across Mei Feng¡¯s eyes as she observed Xia Nuannuan walk into the room dejectedly. Mei Feng did not move from her seat. Shen Zihao had gone on a work trip, so she wouldn¡¯t bother to put up a show. Xia Nuannuan saw her watching TV as she walked into the house. She walked up to the woman and said, ¡°Aunty Mei.¡± Mei Feng raised an eyebrow and looked at her, pretending to be surprised. ¡°Oh dear, Nuannuan, what¡¯s wrong? Why are you so pale?¡± Xia Nuannuan asked her, ¡°Mom, did my parents call at all?¡± When Mei Feng heard this, a vicious glint appeared in her eyes. She tapped her fingers on the coffee table a couple of times and then put on a befuddled expression. ¡°No, what¡¯s up?¡± No. Xia Nuannuan was stunned. Oh, no! There had been many typhoons in Hainan in the past, but none of them had been as serious as this one. There had been no news from her parents, and she was anxious and confused. How were they? Were they safe? Xia Nuannuan fell on the sofa in despair. She had just calmed herself down from a wave of nausea, but she felt it worsening again suddenly. Feeling a congestion in her chest, she sprang up and ran to the washroom. She was throwing up for a while. She only managed to control the nausea after she had thrown up most of the acid in her stomach. But when she tried standing up, the room spun. She tried hard to focus, but her vision blurred. She was seeing double. Hanging on to the door, she stood there for a long time before she felt a little better. She put one foot in front of the other and tried to take a step forward. She could see Mei Feng standing at the doorway, pinching her nose in disgust. Extending her hand towards the woman, she said, ¡°Aunty Mei, please- please help me...¡± But as she took that step, a curtain of darkness fell and she lost consciousness. When Mei Feng saw that she had fainted and was about to fall, she stepped forward reflexively, but froze the next moment with her arms in mid air. Then, she retracted her arms. She stood there coldly as she watched Xia Nuannuan fall on the ground. At this point, she shouted, ¡°Young Madam has fainted!¡± The housekeepers rushed over to where they were. Now, she pretended to be concerned and said, ¡°Hurry, hurry and take her to the hospital!¡± When she arrived at the hospital, Mei Feng grabbed the doctor¡¯s hand and asked, ¡°How is the child Nuannuan?¡± She was sure that would end the pregnancy, surely. Chapter 918 - Mei Feng’s True Colors (7)

Chapter 918: Mei Feng¡¯s True Colors (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The foetus was extremely delicate in the first trimester. She had been agitated, and had even fainted and fallen on the ground. Mei Feng smirked. But quickly following this, the doctor said, ¡°It should be fine. As for specifics, we will still need to observe her.¡± Mei Feng frowned at once. Fine? She herself had miscarried so easily in the past. Why was this girl¡¯s baby so sturdy? Mei Feng tightened her fists angrily. ¨C Shen Xiu soon turned up¡ªhe had rushed from his office to the hospital. Upon seeing Mei Feng, he asked at once, ¡°What happened? Why did she faint out of the blue? She is carrying Zihao¡¯s son! Although I don¡¯t like this daughter-inw, I do still want my grandchild!¡± That vicious glint shed across her eyes again when she heard this. Grandchild. So the baby mattered to Shen Xiu after all. But he had made her go through so many abortions in the past. She cast her gaze down and smiled. ¡°She¡¯s fine. The doctor said it was just agitation.¡± Shen Xiu sighed with relief. Then he asked, ¡°Why was she agitated?¡± She raised an eyebrow and replied, ¡°About that... I have no idea.¡± She turned to nce at the ward. ¨C In the ward, Xia Nuannuan was gradually regaining consciousness. She stared at the spotless ceiling and slowly recalled the things that had happened just before she passed out. Immediately, she looked around for her cell phone to call her parents. Just as she did so, the ward door swung open. Shen Xiu and Mei Feng walked in. Xia Nuannuan enquired anxiously, ¡°Did my parents call?¡± Mei Feng shook her head and said, ¡°Not yet.¡± Xia Nuannuan continued, ¡°Aunty Mei, Dad, where¡¯s my cell phone? I have to call them to see if they¡¯re safe.¡± The words angered Shen Xiu and he berated the girl immediately, ¡°Will you stop this at once?! Don¡¯t you know you¡¯re carrying the child of the Shen family? If you get agitated again and have a miscarriage, you can leave the Shen family!¡± Xia Nuannuan bit her lip as she listened to his unreasonable words. ¡°Dad, I just want to make a call to my parents and know that they are safe.¡± Shen Xiu snorted icily and spat, ¡°Those two old good-for-nothings, what¡¯s there to worry about? There are typhoons every year, it¡¯s nothing serious! You focus on carrying the baby, that¡¯s your priority.¡± Old good-for-nothings. Xia Nuannuan felt her heart writhe in pain as a wave of fury rose within her. She wanted to retort, but when she opened her mouth, she felt her head was starting to spin again. Recalling Shen Xiu¡¯s threat regarding the baby, she held back her words and took a deep breath. As much as she could manage, she tried to regte her breathing. There was no news from her parents and she was anxious. But she had to watch her health for the sake of the unborn child. But ultimately, her heart sank and she felt discouraged. Her parent¡¯s situation was unknown and, not only did Shen Xiu and Mei Feng not help her find out, but they had said unkind words. She curled her fingers tightly. Shen Xiu turned to nce at Mei Feng after saying all of this and told the woman, ¡°You stay to look after her and, if everything¡¯s fine, get her discharged. I¡¯ll leave first.¡± Mei Feng nodded. After Shen Xiu left the ward, Xia Nuannuan frowned. Mei Feng sighed and said, ¡°I hear that the typhoon is especially aggressive. I wonder how your parents are.¡± Xia Nuannuan did not say a word, but her expression showed she was lost in her thoughts. Mei Feng then turned on the TV in the VIP ward and selected the news channel. The news was covering the typhoon situation in Hainan. The copsed buildings along the streets, the uprooted trees. Chapter 919 - Mei Feng’s True Colors (8)

Chapter 919: Mei Feng¡¯s True Colors (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The streets of Hainan were inplete disorder. When the winds swept through, they took everything that had life and, in return, made everything look dark and dreary. Seeing these scenes made Xia Nuannuan even more anxious now. She had no ess to the cell phone in the hospital. She looked at Aunty Mei and said, ¡°Aunty Mei, I feel well now. Let¡¯s go home.¡± Mei Feng said, ¡°I¡¯ll have to ask the doctor about your situation first.¡± Xia Nuannuan nodded. Mei Feng walked out of the ward and found the doctor. She asked, ¡°How is her condition?¡± The doctor looked through Xia Nuannuan¡¯s medical report and said, ¡°There are signs of a possible miscarriage. It¡¯s best for the patient to rest in bed for the rest of the first trimester. Otherwise, there is a high chance of miscarriage. And also, the patient must at all cost avoid big fluctuations in her emotions. She needs to be kept in a good mood and should not experience sudden excitement, or be overly distressed.¡± Nodding to show she understood, Mei Feng said, ¡°We will arrange for discharging her today.¡± The doctor paused in surprise. ¡°But it¡¯s best that she is kept under observation for another three days. You¡ª¡± ¡°We¡¯d like to have her discharged now.¡± Mei Feng looked determined. The doctor could only relent. ¡°Ok then.¡± ¨C Xia Nuannuan waited for Mei Feng¡¯s news in the ward. After a short while, the woman returned. Looking at Xia Nuannuan, she said, ¡°You¡¯re fine. The doctor says you¡¯re fine, we can have you discharged.¡± Xia Nuannuan exhaled in relief. Nothing bad must happen to this child. After all the necessary discharge paperwork had been done, Mei Feng took Xia Nuannuan back to their home. The moment thetter entered her bedroom, she dashed for her cell phone. Picking up the mobile device, she saw that there were a few missed calls. All of them were from Liu Haiyang. Liu Haiyang was her childhood sweetheart from Hainan, the same guy who had called himself ¡°Warm My Heart¡± in the mobile game. He was in Hainan at the moment. When she saw those missed calls, Xia Nuannuan immediately dialed his number. The line connected and almost immediately she heard Liu Haiyang¡¯s voice saying, ¡°Nuannuan, Uncle and Aunty are safe, don¡¯t worry. We are now on the way to Beijing. The typhoon¡¯s situation in Hainan is serious, so electricity and water supplies had been disrupted. Uncle and Aunty¡¯s cell phones have run out of battery, so they¡¯ve turned their mobiles off. I¡¯ll take them to Beijing to go through this difficult period.¡± Upon hearing this, Xia Nuannuan sighed and could finally rx. As long as her parents were safe, everything was ok. As soon as she rxed, she felt exhaustion taking over her, as though all her energy had been sapped. She nodded with relief and asked, ¡°So what time are you arriving?¡± Liu Haiyang replied, ¡°In about five hours. We are now rushing to the airport from another city. The airport here has closed.¡± Xia Nuannuan continued nodding and said, ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll go pick you up when you arrive.¡± After a few hours. Liu Haiyang¡¯s call came in. ¡°Nuannuan, we¡¯re about to board the ne.¡± With a huge sigh of relief, she said to her parents on the phone, ¡°Dad, Mom, after this just stay put in Beijing. I was frightened to death when I heard the news!¡± Dad Xia could not help but chide her, ¡°Stop saying the word death, it brings bad luck! This time we¡¯reing to Beijing, we won¡¯t leave till you have the baby. At least, we¡¯ll be there to look after you.¡± Xia Nuannuan nodded and thenined, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you even call me to say you¡¯re ok? I was terribly anxious!¡± Dad Xia was stunned when he heard this. He said, ¡°We did call. It was thedy inw, your Aunty Mei, who picked up the call. She said she¡¯d pass the message to you, so I didn¡¯t worry after that.¡± Chapter 920 - Mei Feng’s True Colors (9)

Chapter 920: Mei Feng¡¯s True Colors (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After hearing what her father said, Xia Nuannuan was stunned and asked, ¡°Dad, what did you say?¡± Dad Xia continued, ¡°I said, I did call! I even chatted with her briefly. I asked her to let you know that we¡¯re safe and she said she would.¡± Xia Nuannuan froze. Dad Xia had already called Mei Feng?¡± ¡°When did you call?¡± ¡°After the typhoon warning was released. We knew you¡¯d be worried, so we called you at once!¡± Xia Nuannuan clenched her fists as she heard these words. She bit her lip and said, ¡°Ok, Dad. I understand.¡± She hung up the phone. The more she thought about the whole matter, the angrier she got. Here she was, getting all frantic and worked up over her parents¡¯ safety, but when she had gone home and asked Mei Feng if her parents had called, what had the woman said? She had unhurriedly answered, ¡°No.¡± And this was what she meant by ¡°no¡±?! She took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself down, but in the end she was unable to let it go. Angrily, she marched out of her room. Mei Feng was watching TV in the living room. In a huff, Xia Nuannuan walked up to the woman and red at her. ¡°Aunty Mei.¡± Mei Feng looked up and gave her a nce. Then she went back to looking at the TV screen. ¡°Nuannuan, what¡¯s up?¡± ¡°Aunty Mei, did my father call at all?¡± She finally shifted her gaze to Xia Nuannuan. There was no one else in the living room now, apart from the butler standing by the side. Mei Feng sneered and said, ¡°No.¡± Looking at the lying woman, Xia Nuannuan said straightaway, ¡°How could he have not? My parents called you and asked you to let me know they were safe. Aunty Mei, why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡± Mei Feng observed the girl and suddenly remembered what the doctor had said. She was showing signs of a possible miscarriage, so the worst thing for her was to suffer mood swings. A vicious glint shed across her eyes. She suddenly turned around and crossed one leg over the other. She sat back on the sofa looking at the girl and said casually, ¡°Oh, yes. I forgot about that.¡± Forgotten? Xia Nuannuan felt her temper rising. She said unhurriedly, ¡°How could you forget? How can one forget such things?! Aunty Mei, you¡ª¡± ¡°Enough, your parents are safe and that¡¯s all that matters. What¡¯s the point in pursuing these things?¡± Mei Feng¡¯s tone was casual, as though this had nothing to do with her. That¡¯s right, it really had nothing to do with her. They were her parents, of course this woman didn¡¯t give a d*mn about their safety! Xia Nuannuan gritted her teeth and said, ¡°Aunty Mei, it¡¯s not right to do this. You know I¡¯m worried about my parents.¡± ¡°Not right? In this household, who are you to educate me on how things should work?¡± Mei Feng continued arrogantly, ¡°Xia Nuannuan, I suggest that you understand your position in this house.¡± ¡°You¡¯re someone with a lowly background, who got married into a high-society family, a pheasant who schemed to marry into wealth! Pity. You can¡¯t make a silk purse out of a sow¡¯s ear.¡± Xia Nuannuan red at Mei Feng upon hearing these words. ¡°You have a negative opinion of me?¡± Mei Feng nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s right. I do have a negative opinion of you. So what?¡± Tightening her fists, Xia Nuannuan asked, ¡°Why? Just because I¡¯m not from a wealthy family?¡± Mei Fengughed icily and replied, ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Suddenly, the girl retorted, ¡°Then what about you, Aunty Mei? And what sort of background do you have?!¡± That question came like a p across Mei Feng¡¯s face. She narrowed her eyes and sprang up from her seat. Chapter 921 - Mei Feng’s True Colors (10)

Chapter 921: Mei Feng¡¯s True Colors (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mei Feng red at Xia Nuannuan. If looks could kill, then Mei Feng¡¯s stare would have been a sword waiting to slice Xia Nuannuan into eight pieces. She had never imagined that the soft-spoken girl, who was as tender and gentle as silk¡ªa girl who came across as a real pushover¡ªwould actually have such a sharp tongue! The one thing that she, Mei Feng, hated most in her life was talking about her family background. At the time, it was exactly because she didn¡¯t have a decent status that the Senior Master had despised her. It was because she was a mistress that she had never been permitted to have a child. These were the things that hurt her most. And now... The woman frowned and stared at Xia Nuannuan. ¡°No matter how my status was, I am now the mistress of this household! Xia Nuannuan, let me be very clear, in this house, I have many ways to make you miserable.¡± Xia Nuannuan¡¯s pupils shrank back at these words. Mei Feng gave her an icy smile. ¡°You¡¯re nothing but a silly little girl. You¡¯re too delicate, so don¡¯t even dream of taking me on! Xia Nuannuan, ast word of advice, leave the Shen family on your own ord, otherwise, don¡¯t me me for taking it into my own hands.¡± Xia Nuannuan clenched her fists tightly upon hearing Mei Feng¡¯s tant threat. Staring at this woman before her, she could only feel darkness around her. Why was Mei Feng so against her? Xia Nuannuan took a deep breath in. She felt her own chest tighten and her breathing wasbored. There was a dull pain in her abdomen, making her feel somewhat spaced out. Her scalp felt numb. She realized that physically, this was taking a toll on her. A wave of nausea washed over her and she could not control it. Dashing to the restroom, she threw up again. This time, she retched till her feet were weak beforeing out of the restroom. She must not be angry, must not let herself fly into a rage. Xia Nuannuan told this to herself. Her body had been reacting abnormally, and even she could feel that there was something not right. What was going on? Why did she keep getting dizzy spells? She didn¡¯t want to get entangled with Mei Feng any longer. She turned around and headed upstairs. Looking at her back view, the butler could not help but speak up, ¡°Madam, Young Madam seems unwell. Her face is awfully pale.¡± Mei Feng smirked coldly and said, ¡°Isn¡¯t that great? Go tell everyone, none of them is to disturb Young Madam, she¡¯s resting.¡± The butler immediately lowered his head and said, ¡°Yes.¡± ¨C Xia Nuannuan went back to her room and tried hard to lie down. At this point, her cell phone rang. She picked up the call and Shen Zihao¡¯s voice came through the other end of the line, ¡°I¡¯ve just arrived. The air here is exceptionally good, I¡¯ll take you here for a holiday when I have the time.¡± Xia Nuannuan said weakly, ¡°Ok.¡± At once, he detected something was odd. ¡°Nuannuan, what¡¯s wrong?¡± When Xia Nuannuan heard this question, it felt like all her pent-up frustrations had found an outlet. Tears started rolling down her eyes. Ever since she had married him, she had prepared for a long haul battle. But now... Perhaps it was her own health, perhaps it was the things that Mei Feng had said and how those unkind words had embarrassed her. For the first time, she allowed that weak and exhausted side of her to show. She said to him, ¡°Zihao, if we had never gotten married, how would things be like for us now?¡± If they had never gotten married, what would life be like? Shen Zihao was stunned to hear such a question. ¡°Nuannuan, what exactly is wrong?¡± She came out of her daze and immediately forced herself to say, ¡°Nothing. I¡¯m just a little tired. I¡¯m going to nap for a little while.¡± Chapter 922 - Mei Feng’s True Colors (11)

Chapter 922: Mei Feng¡¯s True Colors (11)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Ok.¡± Xia Nuannuany on the bed after hanging up. She stared at the ceiling till her eyes grew heavy. Perhaps it was because of the bout of crying and releasing her emotions, but she fell into an exceptionally deep sleep. It was only after she woke up that she realized she had received a few calls. Quickly, she took a look at the call history and saw that those calls were from Liu Haiyang. Her parents¡¯ phones had ran out of battery and could not be turned on. She could only return Liu Haiyang¡¯s call. ¡°Liu Haiyang, what¡¯s up?¡± ¡°Nuannuan, I¡¯ve arrived with your parents! Where shall I take them now?¡± Her parents had arrived? She gave her cell phone screen a quick nce and discovered that six hours had passed. She hurriedly gave him the address of her rental apartment and stood up. ¡°I¡¯ll take the keys over right now.¡± ¡°Ok,¡± noted Liu Haiyang. However, the sudden motion to stand up triggered another dizzy spell. She lightly massaged her head and took a deep breath with great difficulty. She found some snacks in the room, and she only managed to regain some energy after eating a bit. Then she changed and walked out of the room unsteadily. Passing by the living room, she noticed that Mei Feng and Shen Xiu were having dinner. When they saw her, Shen Xiu¡¯s expression darkened. He berated her, ¡°Where are you going now? Aren¡¯t you supposed to be resting in bed?¡± Xia Nuannuan replied, ¡°Dad, my parents have just arrived from Hainan. I¡¯m going to meet them.¡± She changed her shoes as she said this and then headed out. She gged down a taxi outside the house and went straight to her apartment. ¨C In the dining room. Shen Xiu frowned and remarked, ¡°Why are the inws here again? What is up?¡± Mei Feng lowered her head as a vicious expression shed across her face. After a pause she said, ¡°It¡¯s probably because of the typhoon in Hainan, they¡¯re here to take shelter from it.¡± She said as she started to get up from the chair, ¡°How about... I go take a look?¡± Shen Xiu nodded. She straightened herself and got the chauffeur to drive her. Their car trailed Xia Nuannuan¡¯s taxi all the way to her rental apartment in the outskirts. ¡°Stop the car by the street,¡± Mei Feng instructed the chauffeur. He pulled up by the sidewalk. Mei Feng stared ahead at Xia Nuannuan. She stood there looking around, obviously waiting for someone. After a while, another cab pulled to a stop near her. Following this, Dad Xia and Mom Xia got out. Besides them, there was another younger man. Upon seeing her parents, Xia Nuannuan¡¯s mood visibly lightened up. After she hugged both her parents, they stood there chatting. The man beside Xia Nuannuan looked like he wanted to speak, but couldn¡¯t get a word in. Shortly after, they headed into the building together. Mei Feng stared at the man, deep in thought. ¨C ¡°Dad, Mom, you can stay here for now. The apartment¡¯s tiny, but even a sparrow has all its organs!¡± Xia Nuannuan said as sheughed. The ce she used to live at was a studio of about 40 square meters. Tiny, but it had all the necessary facilities. In addition, she and Shen Zihao had stayed in it together previously, so during that time they had decorated the space to make it really cosy. After hearing this and viewing the apartment, Dad Xia and Mom Xia decided, ¡°Good, we¡¯ll stay here, it¡¯s better than staying in a hotel. We wouldn¡¯t feel at ease staying in a hotel.¡± Xia Nuannuan nodded. Then she turned to Liu Haiyang and asked, ¡°Liu Haiyang, what about you? Where are you going to stay?¡± Chapter 923 - Mei Feng’s True Colors (12)

Chapter 923: Mei Feng¡¯s True Colors (12)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Liu Haiyang was tall but skinny, and he was wearing a pair of spectacles, which made hime across as a refined gentleman. A pity he wasn¡¯t the kind of guy that Xia Nuannuan liked. All of his life, Liu Haiyang had professed his love to Xia Nuannuan umpteen times. However, he had been rejected by Xia Nuannuan every single time. And at that moment, he had brought Xia Nuannuan¡¯s mom and dad to Beijing, yet she hadn¡¯t even suggested having a drink or a meal together. She had the look of wanting to draw the lines of their rtionship very clearly. Liu Haiyang narrowed his eyes as he lowered his head. ¡°I have decided to find a job in Beijing and not go back, so I will be staying at a hotel in the meantime.¡± Xia Nuannuan pondered for a moment when she heard those words. She then said, ¡°Sure, which hotel are you staying at? It¡¯ste now, should I take you to the hotel?¡± Liu Haiyang immediately raised his head and nced at Xia Nuannuan before taking a deep breath. He shook his head and replied, ¡°No need, I will go there myself.¡± Xia Nuannuan nodded once again. ¡°I won¡¯t stand on ceremony with you then! When you¡¯ve reached the hotel, do give me a call so that I know you¡¯ve reached it safely. I¡¯ll be a better host by treating you to a meal when I¡¯m free.¡± Liu Haiyang nodded. Xia Nuannuan, together with Mom Xia and Dad Xia, walked Liu Haiyang to the door. After Liu Haiyang left, Dad Xia sighed. ¡°I thought that you two would eventually be a couple. Actually, this child, Liu Haiyang is quite fine.¡± However, Xia Nuannuan changed the subject. ¡°Dad, aren¡¯t you two tired after the journey?¡± ¨C After Liu Haiyang walked, he turned around to take a look. He realized that the streetlights were already turned on. By that time, the sky had already turned dark. Lights were waning in Beijing. Yet he felt dejected. He deeply sighed before turning around and heading outside. When he reached the doorstep, he saw a car stop in front of him. Liu Haiyang froze and the car window gradually came down. He then saw a wealthydy¡¯s face. ¡°Gentleman, shall we have a chat if you are interested?¡± ¨C Xia Nuannuan did not know where Liu Haiyang had gone after leaving the ce. After telling her parents about where the daily necessities were ced, she chatted with them for a short while and ordered food. After finishing their dinner, Xia Nuannuan then left Dad Xia and Mom Xia to rest for the day. She went downstairs and headed home. While she was on the cab, she thought of Liu Haiyang and picked up her cell phone to call him. He picked up the call quickly. His voice came through the other end of the line, ¡°Hello?¡± Xia Nuannuan heard some fine musicing from the background and was a little stunned. ¡°Where are you?¡± Liu Haiyang replied, ¡°I am at the hotel, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Xia Nuannuan thought nothing of it and answered, ¡°I am relieved that you got there safe. My mom and dad said that they will be preparing lunch tomorrow afternoon and they would like to invite you, to thank you for bringing them.¡± Liu Haiyang replied politely, ¡°Most wee.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s a deal then.¡± However, Liu Haiyang then asked, ¡°Will you be there?¡± Unable to control herughter, Xia Nuannuan chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s my house, of course I¡¯ll have to be around to host my guests.¡± Liu Haiyang nodded. After she hung up the phone, Xia Nuannuan did not think too much into it and walked into the vi. Mei Feng had probably gone out, as she was not home. She didn¡¯t mind, headed upstairs and entered the master bedroom. Suddenly, she felt pain in her lower abdomen. When she entered the toilet, she discovered that her clothes were stained with blood. As she saw the blood, Xia Nuannuan pupils shrank at once. Chapter 924 - Mei Feng’s True Colors (13)

Chapter 924: Mei Feng¡¯s True Colors (13)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As a nurse, of course she knew that if there was bleeding, it could signify the first sign of a miscarriage. But hadn¡¯t she just gone for a check up to the hospital and it seemed that everything was fine? Although she had been feeling unwell, she hadn¡¯t seen the blood test report with her own eyes. She hadn¡¯t been able to see the figures on the report, hence, she couldn¡¯t have even known that there was something wrong with her body. Yet now there was bleeding. Xia Nuannuan¡¯s pupil shrank as she hurriedly walked out of the toilet to lie on the bed. After a long time, she felt much better. Once again, she took a deep breath and headed downstairs. Mei Feng was sitting in the living room, so she asked, ¡°Aunty Mei, can you please find someone to take me to the hospital?¡± Mei Feng raised an eyebrow. ¡°Nuannuan, although you are pregnant, as a woman, you shouldn¡¯t be so delicate and squeamish. Haven¡¯t you just visited the hospital? And now you are going there again?¡± After hearing her sarcasticment, Xia Nuannuan immediately bit her lip. She didn¡¯t say a word and walked out straightaway. She hailed a cab and headed to the hospital. When she reached the hospital, she did blood tests and check ups. After sitting down and waiting for a while, she finally got to see the results. Xia Nuannuan frowned when she saw the figures. The numbers were not too bad, but there was a chance of a miscarriage. In theing days, she would have to stay in bed and rest. As she was thinking about this, she got the doctor to prescribe her some medication to protect her baby before going home. However, halfway down the road, she suddenly thought of something. If she were to return to the Shen family, she was bound to be mocked and ridiculed by Mei Feng everyday. This would cause her to be in a bad mood and might affect her baby. It wouldn¡¯t make much difference now if she asked Shen Zihao toe back. Hence, she decided to hail a cab and went to her rented apartment. When she reached home, she told her dad and mom about her situation. Mom Xia was instantly confused. She immediately said, ¡°Please go and lie down now. Leave the rest of the matter to me!¡± Then she boiled some soup and brought her some hot water for her to take her medicine. Xia Nuannuan felt very much better. Shey down and gradually drifted away into sleep. ¡ª At the Shen family residence. Shen Xiu got home from work. When he was having dinner, he did not see Xia Nuannuan around, so he asked Mei Feng, ¡°Where is Xia Nuannuan?¡± His words sparked a sh in Mei Feng¡¯s eyes. After a while, she sighed. ¡°Gone to her parents¡¯ ce.¡± Earlier on, Dad Xia had called to tell her that his daughter was unwell and would be staying with them. Her mom would be taking care of her. His words had sounded somewhat judgemental. Mei Feng ced her chopsticks down. ¡°It¡¯s my fault for not taking care of Nuannuan well. Nuannuan said that she was not feeling well, and has been frequently vomiting, so she left to her parents¡¯ ce. Her dad even called... Sigh. Forget it, let¡¯s not talk about it anymore.¡± Shen Xiu frowned upon hearing this. ¡°Why is she so squeamish?! Isn¡¯t feeling nauseous amon thing in pregnancy?¡± He stood up after saying that. ¡°Send someone to go pick her up. How can she be staying somewhere else? If others were to know about this, they would think that we, the Shen family, are mistreating her.¡± Mei Feng hurriedly tried to calm him down. ¡°Well, don¡¯t get angry. Now that her dad and mom are here, it wouldn¡¯t be nice if the matter blew out of proportion. How about getting her dad and mom toe over to our ce and discuss the issue?¡± When Shen Xiu heard these words, he frowned and nodded. Mei Feng then spoke again. ¡°Forget it. I think we should go to their ce and take a look. After all, they travelled all the way here. It is reasonable that we pay them a visit.¡± ¡°What kind of inws are those?¡± Shen Xiu was unwilling. ¡°In order to give face to Zihao, we have to go. If not, tongues might wag.¡± Shen Xiu nodded. Chapter 925 - Mei Feng’s True Colors (14)

Chapter 925: Mei Feng¡¯s True Colors (14)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xia Nuannuan felt a lot better after sleeping. Still lying on the bed, she called out, ¡°Mom!¡± She heard footsteps approaching. When she looked up, she realized it was Liu Haiyang. Surprised, she asked, ¡°Why are you here?¡± He replied, ¡°Uncle and Aunty have gone out grocery shopping, so I volunteered to look after you.¡± Feeling that the situation was inappropriate, she said to him, ¡°I¡¯m fine. Why don¡¯t you go home first?¡± After all, the man was interested in her and being alone with him was awkward. Instead of leaving after she said this, he walked over and sat by her bed. Xia Nuannuan immediately widened her eyes and demanded, ¡°Liu Haiyang, what are you doing?¡± The man, however, looked at her with adoration in his eyes and said, ¡°Nuannuan, are you unhappy staying with the Shen Family?¡± She froze. He continued, ¡°Nuannuan, are you really happy marrying into a wealthy family? Look at you, you look so pale. Don¡¯t you realize how pitiful you look?¡± Xia Nuannuan¡¯s expression turned cold as she said, ¡°Liu Haiyang, this is a personal issue, it¡¯s none of your business.¡± ¡°How could it be none of my business?!¡± He continued, ¡°You are the woman I like most, how can I possibly watch you being this depressed?¡± Xia Nuannuan was stunned upon hearing his words. She looked at him in disbelief. ¡°What- what are you trying to do?¡± Liu Haiyang clenched his fists and said, ¡°Nuannuan, you have to remember, I¡¯m doing this for your own good. Leave that family. I¡¯ll take you somewhere else and we will live happily. I will treat you well.¡± After saying this, he reached out and tore Xia Nuannuan¡¯s pajamas so that one of her shoulders was exposed. Xia Nuannuan jumped in fright and screamed, ¡°Liu Haiyang, are you crazy!¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m crazy! I¡¯ve liked you for more than twenty years, but you¡¯ve never looked at me. Nuannuan, listen to me. Leave this tiger¡¯sir ande with me.¡± Xia Nuannuan struggled with all her strength, but she could not outdo Liu Haiyang. She shouted, ¡°Liu Haiyang! You beast! Let me go! I¡¯m showing signs of a possible miscarriage, you can¡¯t do this to me!¡± The moment Liu Haiyang heard this, he paused. Then heughed as if mocking himself. ¡°Nuannuan, am I such a wretched person in your eyes? Of course, I wouldn¡¯t do anything to you when you¡¯re feeling unwell.¡± Xia Nuannuan paused when she heard this. Then Liu Haiyang took off his own shirt and stood bare-bodied. Xia Nuannuan had a bad feeling about this. She looked at the man steadily and asked, ¡°What- what are you trying to do?¡± Sighing, he replied, ¡°Nuannuan, please forgive me. I¡¯m doing this for your own good.¡± As he said this, she heard footsteps approaching the front door. ¨C Shen Xiu and Mei Feng had arrived at her building. Shen Xiu frowned as he looked at the narrow, tiny elevator. ¡°I really don¡¯t understand this. She doesn¡¯t want to stay at the Shen family home and would rather live in this ce, that¡¯s not even the size of a bathroom?¡± Mei Fengughed at Shen Xiu teasingly and said, ¡°You think everyone¡¯s like you. People who are wealthy, of course, live in big ces. People with no money- Alright, alright, we are here anyway, so stop nit-picking.¡± Shen Xiu snorted icily. They came to the apartment. Shen Xiu ced at Mei Feng. She extended her arm to knock on the door, but the door opened with a creak. Surprised, she said, ¡°Oh, why is the door not shut properly?¡± Chapter 926 - Mei Feng’s True Colors (15)

Chapter 926: Mei Feng¡¯s True Colors (15)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Xiu paused when he heard this. However, the next moment, Mei Feng opened the door. At once, they heard Xia Nuannuan¡¯s voiceing from the bedroom, ¡°Stay away.¡± Although there seemed to be anger in her voice, because Xia Nuannuan was a mild and tender person, she was extremely gentle in her speech. Hence to the listener, it coulde across as her throwing a girlish tantrum rather than being harsh. Shen Xiu frowned. Mei Feng inquired, ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± Shen Xiu strode in and threw open the bedroom door. At once, he was stunned by the scene he saw. The bare-bodied Liu Haiyang was right on top of Xia Nuannuan. And Xia Nuannuan, on the other hand, wasn¡¯t properly dressed. Shen Xiu¡¯s pupils shrank back immediately, as he felt a wave of fury rise within him. He pointed at them and shouted angrily, ¡°You- you two!!¡± Mei Feng widened her eyes too and gasped, ¡°Xia Nuannuan, what are you two doing? Who is this man? It¡¯s- it¡¯s no wonder you don¡¯t even want toe home! Zihao has just gone on a business trip and you can¡¯t even wait?! You two cheaters! How could you do this to Zihao?!¡± At these words, Liu Haiyang frantically scrambled off Xia Nuannuan. He stood in front of Xia Nuannuan protectively and asked, ¡°Who are you? How did you get in? Nuannuan and I are each other¡¯s true love.¡± Hearing the words ¡°true love¡± somehow agitated Shen Xiu. True love... At that time, hadn¡¯t Xia Yehua and Tianyu¡¯s father been each other¡¯s true love?! He fumed immediately and pointed at Liu Haiyang, shouting, ¡°You, get lost! This is my daughter-inw!¡± Upon hearing the words ¡°daughter-inw,¡± Liu Haiyang pretended to finally realize who these two people were. He panicked at once and nced at Xia Nuannuan. ¡°Xia- Xia Nuannuan and I, we truly love each other. Please let her go. Let her leave with me!¡± Xia Nuannuan was in a daze because of what was unfolding before her eyes. Things were happening too fast and she could not make sense of what was going on. In the beginning, she hadn¡¯t understood, as it wouldn¡¯t have been possible for Liu Haiyang to do anything to her since she was unwell. Why did he have to act as though something was going on between them? But now everything was clear to her. Her eyes reddened as she tightened her fists. Her body was trembling. Trembling with anger and shame. And on top of that, a sorrow which she had not experienced before overwhelmed herpletely. She bit her lip as she watched Liu Haiyang still putting on this act. She mouthed his name, ¡°Liu. Hai. Yang!!¡± That heartbreaking voice, she had never felt like this before. She had always been an extremely gentle person, but in that moment, she was like a demon unleashed. Liu Haiyang froze upon hearing this. Mei Feng, however, looked at Xia Nuannuan and said, ¡°Xia Nuannuan, Zihao has treated you so well, how could you do this to him?! How do you expect him to face his peers now?!¡± Xia Nuannuan immediately lifted her nket. Apart from her pyjama being torn on one shoulder, she was fully clothed. She red at Mei Feng and then at Liu Haiyang. Finally, she shifted her gaze to Shen Xiu. She walked up to Shen Xiu slowly and said, ¡°Dad, I did not- Nothing happened between Liu Haiyang and I! I don¡¯t know why he did this, Dad, you have to believe me. I want to look for Zihao, ask him toe back now.¡± Before she could finish, Shen Xiu suddenly raised his hand. With a sweep of his arm, his hand came down andnded mercilessly on her face. p! The sound was crisp and clear, and rang through the apartment. Chapter 927 - Mei Feng’s True Colors (16)

Chapter 927: Mei Feng¡¯s True Colors (16)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xia Nuannuan was pped into a daze. Because of the force that Shen Xiu had exerted, she reeled and fell on the ground. The metallic taste of fresh blood filled her mouth. Then she heard Shen Xiu hollering at her, ¡°You tr*mp! How dare you betray Zihao? We, the Shen family, have no such daughter-inw!¡± He pointed at her saying, ¡°You¡¯ve been caught red-handed, what else do you have to say for yourself? Tr*mp! I¡¯ll beat you to death!¡± He stepped forward as he said this. At this point, Xia Nuannuan felt a sharp grinding pain in her abdomen. The pain was so great that perspiration formed on her forehead immediately. She suddenly clutched her stomach area. The pain was so intense at that point that she curled up into a ball. Then, on the light pyjama trousers that she was wearing, a small patch of blood appeared. The fresh red patch spread as the viscous liquid started to flow out of her body. Xia Nuannuan only felt warmth on her lower body. She looked down. When she saw the blood, her pupils shrank immediately. Clutching her abdomen, she screamed, ¡°My baby!¡± ¡°Dad, day, hurry up, take me to the hospital.¡± ¡°Zihao, Zihao.¡± She was perspiring profusely from the pain now, clutching her abdomen and trembling. Shen Xiu was shocked by what he was seeing and his anger vanished at once. The patch of blood on the floor began to spread. The situation looked extremely bleak for the unborn child. What could they do now? As he was still in a daze, Mei Feng spoke. ¡°What are you calling out Zihao¡¯s name for? This child may not even be Zihao¡¯s.¡± These words caused Shen Xiu to snap back to the present. That was right! Since she was obviously involved with this man, then this child might not even be a child of the Shen family. He pointed at Xia Nuannuan and rebuked her, ¡°You tr*mp, you¡¯re carrying a bastard child. To think you were trying to slip it into the Shen family?! You can dream about it!¡± ¡°I¡¯m telling you, no way!¡± Xia Nuannuan¡¯s vision was blurring from the pain. She could only feel a massive amount of warm fluid flowing out of her body. Her heart was writhing in pain and it felt as though it was leaving her too, like the blood that was flowing out. Zihao, Zihao, where are you? Zihao, hurry up and save our child!! At this thought, a dark curtain fell and she passed out. Shen Xiu and Mei Feng stood there watching this coldly. Liu Haiyang started to look gravely concerned. The three of them stood there and suddenly, they heard footsteps approaching. ¡°Inw, I didn¡¯t expect to see you here!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, to think that we ran into each other downstairs! How fortunate! I¡¯m here to see Nuannuan.¡± As the chatting continued, the three people entered the apartment. When they saw the scene that greeted them, Mom Xia screamed, ¡°Nuannuan!¡± Then her eyes rolled backward as she too, passed out. Dad Xia stared in disbelief as he saw his wife pass out, and then his daughter lying in a pool of blood. He turned to Shen Xiu in fury and shouted, ¡°What- what on earth is happening?!¡± Shen Xiu angrily replied, ¡°What happened? You should ask your good daughter! She and this man... what¡¯s going on between them?!¡± ¡°She is bearing this man¡¯s child, yet she married into the Shen Family, hoping to make use of our son to bring up the child. Keep dreaming! This is karma! The Shen family does not want such a daughter-inw.¡± At these words, he saw that Xia Yehua had already picked up her phone and dialed a number. The line connected and she shouted into the phone, ¡°Shen Zihao, something¡¯s happened to Nuannuan! Come back right away!¡± Chapter 928 - Mei Feng’s True Colors (17)

Chapter 928: Mei Feng¡¯s True Colors (17)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As soon as Xia Yehua spoke, Shen Xiu looked fric for a brief moment. She frowned and took a look at Xia Nuannuan. The girl was pale and her forehead damp with perspiration. She said anxiously, ¡°What are you doing, standing there? Take her to the hospital! Her life is at stake!¡± Take her to the hospital? Mei Feng¡¯s pupils shrank at this suggestion. Her gaze fell on Xia Nuannuan. She had wanted to bear a child for the Shen family so many times, yet she had had to abort so many times. Why should this Xia Nuannuan have it so easy? Immediately, she stood in Xia Yehua¡¯s way and said, ¡°Now we¡¯ve caught them red-handed, we have to rify this affair first.¡± ¡°Get out of my way! rify my ass! Can¡¯t you see that Nuannuan has lost a lot of blood?¡± Mei Feng smiled icily and continued, ¡°My fear is that, after we leave this ce, somebody will mislead Zihao and cause a misunderstanding between Zihao and us.¡± Shen Xiu quickly nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s right, let¡¯s rify this.¡± Xia Yehua stood there clenching her fists with fury. ¡°Get out of the way, the both of you!¡± ¡°Get out of the way!¡± Dad Xia wanted to dash over to carry his daughter. Although Mom Xia had fainted, she was probably alright. The horrifying thing in that instant was thatrge volume of blood that his daughter was lying in. He wanted to rush over but Shen Xiu stood before him, blocking his path. ¡°That¡¯s right, Mei Feng is right. If we don¡¯t rify this matter, how are we going to exin it to Zihao when hees home? Xia Nuannuan and Liu Haiyang were caught red-handed. Mei Feng and I saw it with our own eyes!¡± As he said this, he looked at Liu Haiyang. ¡°This is the ce where the deed took ce. Does your family admit it? If you don¡¯t, then you better have a good defence!¡± Xia Yehua was not in the best of health. Shen Xiu and Mei Feng both were in Dad Xia¡¯s way, so there was no way that Dad Xia could get through to help his daughter. She called the ambnce. Seeing this situation unfold before him, Dad Xia was speechless with fury. His gaze fell on Liu Haiyang. The man¡¯s upper body was bare. Then he looked at his daughter. Suddenly, he dropped on his knees with a thud before Shen Xiu and pleaded with the man, ¡°Inw! Consider it our daughter¡¯s fault, we admit it! Please get out of the way, let me carry her and take her to the hospital.¡± The moment he got down on his knees, the room fell silent. Everyone was stunned. Xia Nuannuan had initially fallen on the ground and fainted, but now she was gradually regaining consciousness. She vaguely heard her father¡¯s words and at once tried to lift her head, looking at him in disbelief. She could not speak because of the intense pain she was feeling, and she had lost too much blood to be able to stand up. But at this moment, she wanted to grab her father¡¯s shirt, tell him that things weren¡¯t like that. She extended her arm and opened her mouth as though, trying to say something. Shen Xiu stepped aside as Dad Xia rushed up to his daughter and picked her up from the ground. At the same time, they finally heard the ambnce pulling up outside. ¨C In the hospital, outside the operating theatre. Dad Xia sat on the bench, staring at the lights in the operating theatre. Liu Haiyang stood before him with his head lowered. ¡°Uncle, I know Nuannuan and I were in the wrong and we¡¯ve made you angry! But I really do like Nuannuan. Don¡¯t worry, after she leaves the Shen family, I will treat her well.¡± After he heard these words, Dad looked up and stared at Liu Haiyang. After a while, he pursed his lips and nodded. ¡°Ok, ok.¡± At once, Xia Yehua¡¯s head snapped up and she said, ¡°Inw, I do not for a moment believe that Nuannuan would do such a thing. Before we make any decisions, I think it might be better that we wait till Nuannuanes and see what she has to say. Chapter 929 - Mei Feng’s True Colors!! (18)

Chapter 929: Mei Feng¡¯s True Colors!! (18)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°What¡¯s there to say?¡± Shen Xiu¡¯s voice was hearding from the end of the corridor. Everyone turned simultaneously to look at the man as he walked up to them. He looked at the ward and then his gaze fell on Xia Yehua and Dad Xia. ¡°I consider this matter settled.¡± As he said this, he held out a divorce agreement and thrust it at Dad Xia. ¡°The matter has blown up! A reporter managed to take pictures of Xia Nuannuan and Liu Haiyang in the act. No matter what now, the Shen family does not want a daughter-inw like her! If you know what¡¯s good for everyone, then sign this divorce agreement.¡± At this juncture, Shen Xiu took out a check and said, ¡°Here¡¯s one million, consider it a smallpensation to Xia Nuannuan from us.¡± Then he gave a cold humph. ¡°Actually, I shouldn¡¯t even be giving this money! It¡¯s just that I pity her.¡± Xia Yehua took a step forward and said, ¡°Shen Xiu, that¡¯s enough! We¡¯ll talk about the divorce when Zihaoes home!¡± Shen Zihao had called a few times. The earliest flight he could get on only arrived half a dayter. He had bought the ticket hurriedly and was madly rushing to Beijing. Shen Xiu snorted icily and said, ¡°They are young and don¡¯t know better. If they¡¯ve done something wrong, then we as adults have to intervene. Why? Our inw here is not going to ept this? Then let¡¯s reason this out.¡± Before he could finish what he was saying, Dad Xia interrupted and said, ¡°Alright. I agree.¡± Shen Xiu choked for a moment. He had not expected that Dad Xia would actually agree without even trying to reason things. Frowning, he handed the divorce agreement and the check to Dad Xia before he said, ¡°I¡¯m leaving then.¡± After Shen Xiu left, Xia Yehua walked up to Dad Xia and said, ¡°Inw, you should consider this carefully. Signing this document means that you¡¯re admitting it. The man Nuannuan loves is Zihao. If she has to end up with this other man, she won¡¯t be happy for the rest of her life!¡± Dad Xiaughed bitterly at her words. ¡°One time, Nuannuan told me your story. I thought at that time that you must have done something wrong to decide to leave the Shen family without a penny in your pocket. I even told Nuannuan not to be nosy about other people¡¯s business. But now I understand.¡± He pointed at Xia Nuannuan and said unhurriedly, ¡°You¡¯ve seen the situation with your own eyes today! The worst thing that could happen if I sign these papers is that my daughter will never find happiness in life. But if I don¡¯t sign them, my daughter may lose her life at some point! His remark stunned Xia Yehua into silence. When she thought of how Xia Nuannuan had been lying in that blood pool, as Shen Xiu and Mei Feng shamelessly blocked the way and refused to let them near her until they would rify their stand, it chilled her to the core. Every parent hoped that their child sailed through life safely. It was fine for a son to take a few hard knocks, but for a daughter... She was sure that, at that moment, Dad Xia wished that the person suffering was him instead. He looked at Xia Yehua and continued, ¡°Inw, we are not an extremely rich family, but this daughter of mine, I brought her up with great love and care.¡± At this point, he said once again, ¡°Hence, this divorce will happen for sure!¡± So what if they bore a sullied reputation? Looking at the determined man, Xia Yehua was at a loss for words. ¨C Xia Nuannuan¡¯s operation to clear her womb did not take long toplete. After she was taken out of the operating theatre, the doctor spoke with them. ¡°What did you people think you were doing? The patient was in such a state and you didn¡¯t rush her to the hospital? Do you realize that if you had been just a few minutester, she would have lost her entire womb?!¡± Chapter 930 - Mei Feng’s True Colors (19)

Chapter 930: Mei Feng¡¯s True Colors (19)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios By the time Shen Zihao rushed back, Xia Nuannuan¡¯s operation was over. The moment his nended, Mei Feng and Shen Xiu received him at the airport and apanied him. Shen Zihao wanted to go to the hospital at once, but Shen Xiu snorted and said, ¡°That sort of shameless tr*mp is not wanted in the Shen Family! Why do you want to go to the hospital? You wille home with me right now.¡± Sighing, Mei Feng said, ¡°I wonder who leaked this. Now the Shen Family is thoroughly embarrassed! Zihao, don¡¯t be anxious. You don¡¯t need to exin anything to your friends or colleagues. Besides, the Xia family has admitted it was their fault, so we can say they were in the wrong. They took the check and agreed to a divorce.¡± Shen Zihao frowned. Up till now, he was in a daze. First, it had been Xia Yehua calling him to tell him that something had happened to Xia Nuannuan. She had lost their baby. Following this, Mei Feng and Shen Xiu had called him and told him that they had caught Xia Nuannuan with another man. Furthermore, the photo of Xia Nuannuan and Liu Haiyang in apromising position had been posted on the Inte. It was an unedited picture and definitely had not been photoshopped. Even the bed in the picture... Zihao knew it. It was the same bed that he and Xia Nuannuan had been intimate for the first time... Later on, he had slept in it when he left home for a few days to be with her. What his father and Aunty Mei had said about Xia Nuannuan... He absolutely would not believe it. How could Xia Nuannuan possibly do something like that? Even if they ced the evidence before him, he wanted to personally rify it. Ignoring whatever Shen Xiu and Mei Feng said, he left his suitcase with them and gged down a taxi, heading straight for the hospital. Xia Nuannuan was still unconscious and in the ward when he arrived. Liu Haiyang was keeping watch outside the ward. When Shen Zihao saw the man, he was livid and charged towards him, delivering a punch. Liu Haiyang did not retaliate, he just staggered backward a few steps after he was hit. He steadied himself and said to Shen Zihao after a moment, ¡°Young Master Shen, I¡¯m sorry. Xia Nuannuan and I have let you down.¡± Shen Zihao¡¯s fury grew as he looked at the man. Turning to look around, his gaze fell on the check in Dad Xia¡¯s hand. He recalled Mei Feng¡¯s words. ¡°They agreed to the divorce.¡± Agreed to the divorce and after that elope with this man Liu Haiyang?! This thought grew root in Shen Zihao¡¯s mind and it drove him mad. He clenched his fists and stared at the ward. He did not say another word. A small group of nurses walked towards them. Their whispers could be heard: ¡°Did you see that? That was the case about the affair! Tsk tsk, the woman who married into a wealthy family was caught red-handed with another man. Did you see the photo? It was passionate.¡± ¡°Shush, lower your voices.¡± These gossips infuriated Shen Zihao even more. He looked at the ward. In his anger, he walked towards it, opened the door and went in. ¨C Time passed and Xia Nuannuan finally regained consciousness. Catching the sharp smell of antiseptic and the sterile environment, she ced her hands on her abdomen. The baby, her baby, was gone. She could clearly feel the sharp pain of the separation, it was as though her heart was being sliced. At once, her eyes reddened and turned moist. She bit her lip and turned her head to the side. When she did, she saw that Shen Zihao was there, sitting by her bed. Chapter 931 - Mei Feng’s True Colors (20)

Chapter 931: Mei Feng¡¯s True Colors (20)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Feeling terribly wronged and unfairly treated, her tears started to flow as though they had finally found an outlet. She reached out to take his hand. As she opened her mouth to speak, sobbing and choking with emotions, Shen Zihao suddenly asked her, ¡°Whose child was this?¡± All at once, her emotions and words got stuck in her throat. She stared at Shen Zihao in disbelief, never imagining that he would actually say such a thing. Inplete shock, she tightened her fists and bit her lip. She held back all her emotions and feelings of injustice, all the things that she had wanted to say to him. She looked at him and, after a pause, asked him, ¡°Zihao, you do not believe me?¡± Shen Zihao frowned and said, ¡°I¡¯m a little confused now. Nuannuan, I do believe you, but they said you and he-¡± He did not say the rest aloud. But that expression on his face... Xia Nuannuan¡¯s heart sank as she felt everyst hope she had slip away. She bit her lip and said unhurriedly, ¡°Zihao, you have to believe me. There is nothing going on between him and I. It¡¯s not what you think, Zihao¡ª¡± Before she could finish speaking, the ward door was thrown open. Liu Haiyang charged in and walked right up to Shen Zihao. ¡°If there¡¯s a problem, take it up with me! It has nothing to do with Nuannuan.¡± He red at Shen Zihao and continued after a pause, ¡°How much suffering has she gone through because of your rtionship? Do you even know how sad she feels?¡± ¡°You have no idea! You have always been selfish and you¡¯ve never cared about how others feel!¡± ¡°All you care about is that father and step-mother of yours! What do you take Nuannuan for?¡± ¡°A way of bearing you children?¡± ¡°The only thing you can give her is sorrow!¡± ¡°Shen Zihao, Nuannuan said a long time ago that you¡¯re just a child who never grew up. She is tired of being with you!¡± ¡°Consider this my plea. What do we have to do so that you¡¯ll let us be? The two of us just want to be together happily.¡± Shen Zihao stood rooted to the ground as he heard all of this. A child who never grew up. Selfish, he never cared about how others felt. So that was it. That was what Nuannuan actually thought of him? A surge of emotions welled up inside him. Clenching his fists tightly, he turned towards Xia Nuannuan. Xia Nuannuan was in such a panic that she was almost getting out of bed. ¡°Liu Haiyang, what nonsense are you speaking? I did not- It wasn¡¯t me! Zihao, you have to believe me. There is really nothing going on between this man and I.¡± She was on the verge of tears. But right at this point, Dad Xia marched in. He stared at Shen Zihao icily. ¡°Liu Haiyang was right about one thing. What have you given Nuannuan? Where were you at the time she needed you most?!¡± Shen Zihao was stunned by these questions. He stood there in a daze, not able to speak a word. He looked at the people in front of him and suddenly, he felt guilty. At once, he spun around and said, ¡°I- I¡¯lle and visit Nuannuan another day!¡± Then, without saying anything else, he ran out. He wandered around in the streets for a long time. By the time he finally got home, it waste at night. As he entered the house, he realized that Mei Feng was still awake. When she saw hime in, she immediately extended her arm, holding out a copy of a document to him. ¡°The Xia family has returned this.¡± He looked at the papers and realized that it was the divorce agreement. The space for the female party¡¯s signature, it was written: Xia Nuannuan. Shen Zihao¡¯s pupils shrank back immediately. This... was impossible. Chapter 932 - Mei Feng’s True Colors (21)

Chapter 932: Mei Feng¡¯s True Colors (21)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios How could Xia Nuannuan have agreed to sign the divorce document? Shen Zihao¡¯s head spun because of this. He took a deep breath and stared at the divorce agreement. After a pause, he looked up and asked, ¡°Aunty Mei, what is all of this about?¡± Mei Feng sighed and patted Shen Zihao¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Zihao, the Xia family sent this over today. Dad Xia pleaded for mercy and asked us to let them go.¡± Upon hearing this, Shen Zihao¡¯s heart sank lower than ever¡ªhis world looked bleak. Let them go. Did he mean to allow Xia Nuannuan and that man to be together? He lowered his head and reached out for the document. Then he made his way upstairs slowly. He kept looking at Xia Nuannuan¡¯s name on the divorce agreement, to ensure that it was her handwriting. Sitting in the study alone, he felt as though all the efforts and hard work that he had put in amounted to nothing. He was the hedonistic son of extremely wealthy parents. From the time his mother had taken his brother with her and left the Shen family, he had been one. Excessive drinking, creating all sorts of trouble... There was nothing bad that he hadn¡¯t done. In fact, wasn¡¯t it at Glitter Club where he had first met Xia Nuannuan? Butter on... Because Xia Nuannuan hade into his life, things gradually changed. He couldn¡¯t remember when it was that he had started distancing himself from those friends who were a bad influence on him. He began to have aspirations. Whenever she looked at him, he noticed admiration and encouragement in her eyes. And that would spur him on, because he would bepelled to work harder so as to not let her down. No one else had ever made him feel that way. Hence, when his father asked him to be an intern at the Shen family¡¯s Business Office, he had agreed. He had even started with the smallest department in thepany. His intention was to prove to Xia Nuannuan that he was capable. He could even remember how nervous he had been when thepany sent him on a business trip, because it had been his first time representing thepany in negotiating a deal. It was Xia Nuannuan who had helped him pack and she had told him, ¡°Thepany belongs to your family. So don¡¯t be afraid, I believe that you can do it!¡± Hence, he had left in high spirits. And then what? Eventually? Was it because he wasn¡¯t good enough and he had never trusted her enough that she had finally lost hope? Shen Zihao hung his head at these thoughts. But still, he could not bring himself to give up. How could he part with Xia Nuannuan just like this? Even if the affair between Liu Haiyang and her was real, he wanted to hear it straight from the horse¡¯s mouth. Shen Zihao sprang up from his seat and dashed out of the house. It was the middle of the night, but he took the car and headed straight to the hospital. However, when he arrived at the entrance of the hospital, he was shocked. A crowd of reporters had turned up. And now, they were surrounding Dad Xia and throwing at him all sorts of crafty and tricky questions. Dad Xia was at aplete loss. The moment he saw this situation, Shen Zihao quickly got out of his car and dashed up to the mob, shouting, ¡°Get out of the way! You people get out of the way!¡± Then he looked at Dad Xia and asked, ¡°Dad, are you okay?¡± At these words, the reporters immediately erupted with even more questions. ¡°May I ask... are you Young Master Shen Zihao?¡± ¡°Young Master Shen, how do you feel about the affair between your wife and that man?¡± ¡°How does the Shen family intend to manage this matter?¡± ¡°Do you feel ashamed and embarrassed because of it? ¡°Young Master Shen, do you feel cheated?¡± ¨C With much effort, Shen Zihao managed to get the reporters out of his way. Taking Dad Xia along with him, they returned to the hospital building. Upon reaching the ward corridor, Dad Xia finally got over the encounter with the reporters. Looking at Shen Zihao, his eyes reddened. Chapter 933 - Mei Feng’s True Colors (22)

Chapter 933: Mei Feng¡¯s True Colors (22)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Frowning as well, Shen Zihao asked, ¡°Dad, how are you feeling?¡± Dad Xia had never had such an experience. After a moment, he replied with his face taut, ¡°Zihao, I beg of you, let our Nuannuan go.¡± Pointing at the reporters outside the hospital, he continued, ¡°Look, Nuannuan has even made the news. Her reputation has been destroyed! How do you expect her to face the world for the rest of her life?¡± Lowering his head, tears began to flow as he said, ¡°Zihao, our Nuannuan is an ordinary girl. She is not made for great wealth and fortune, like the Shen family!¡± The elderly man, in his fifties now, was crying like a child before Shen Zihao. Shen Zihao looked at Dad Xia and suddenly was at a loss for words. After a moment, he pursed his lips and asked, ¡°What about Nuannuan?¡± Dad Xia replied, ¡°Now that we¡¯vee to this, what else can Nuannuan do?¡± He said as his tears continued to stream down his face, ¡°Nuannuan can no longer remain as the Shen family¡¯s Young Madam. She will be with Liu Haiyang and he will treat her well.¡± Liu Haiyang... That man Liu Haiyang again! A wave of fury welled up in Shen Zihao at the mention of that name. Clenching his fists tightly, he heard the echoes of the reporters¡¯ questions in his head: ¡°Young Master Shen, how do you feel knowing that you have been cheated on?¡± How did he feel? He felt like he was about to explode. Suppressing his anger with great effort so that he wouldn¡¯tsh out at Dad Xia, he said after a moment, ¡°Ok, fine!¡± Without looking back, he strode away. Lying on the hospital bed, Xia Nuannuan stared nkly at the ceiling. She didn¡¯t know what to say. Since she had regained consciousness, she had been staring at the ceiling like that, without speaking a single word. After a while, she suddenly heard her father¡¯s voiceing from just outside the ward: ¡°Don¡¯t believe what they say in the news! Our Nuannuan is not like that!¡± ¡°Old Zhang, what are you saying? Huh? We¡¯ve known each other for so many years, surely you know what Nuannuan is like?¡± ¡°Get lost, you! Get lost!¡± Xia Nuannuanughed bitterly as she heard her father¡¯s angry shouting. She knew how humiliated he must have felt. She just could not understand how things had suddenly turned out to be like this. One moment, she had been happily anticipating the birth of her baby, and the next moment, she had be the great sinner, the immoral tr*mp. And where was Shen Zihao? Why hadn¡¯t hee to visit her? Was it because he did not believe her? She bit her lip and clutched her nket tightly. All she felt was a deep sorrow and despair, as her world suddenly turned bleak, gloomy andpletely hopeless. She shut her eyes and pretended to be asleep. After some time, Dad Xia came into the room. She opened her eyes and when she saw him, she realized that he looked as though he had aged ten years overnight. Dad had always been conscious of keeping up appearances, so now that his matter had gone public, he was probably really mad. However in front of her, he had been suppressing his temper. As these thoughts ran through Xia Nuannuan¡¯s mind, Dad Xia said, ¡°Mei Feng is here.¡± Xia Nuannuan kept silent. Mei Feng appeared behind Dad Xia. She held the divorce agreement in her hand and said, ¡°Zihao has signed the divorce document, when are you going to sign it?¡± That question was the straw that broke the camel¡¯s back. Her pupils shrank immediately. Shen Zihao had signed the divorce agreement? So he had given up on their marriage? Clenching her fists tightly, she said after a moment, ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll sign it.¡± Chapter 934 - Mei Feng’s True Colors (23)

Chapter 934: Mei Feng¡¯s True Colors (23)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Three dayster. Xia Nuannuan was discharged from the hospital. On the day she was discharged, a crowd of reporters was waiting outside the hospital for a long time. They struggled with the reporters for a long time and Xia Yehua even had to find them additional help, before they could sessfully leave the hospital. After they arrived at the little rental apartment, Xia Yehua looked at Xia Nuannuan and asked her, ¡°Nuannuan, do you really wish to give up on the Shen family?¡± Xia Yehua thought highly of Xia Nuannuan and wanted to fight for her. Xia Nuannuan lowered her gaze at her question. After a pause, she looked out of the window nkly. She said, ¡°Mom¡ªactually, I should be addressing you as Aunt Xia now¡ªdo you think it¡¯s still possible for us to be together?¡± Was it possible? Mei Feng was right about one thing she had said during herst visit to the hospital. No matter what, now that the situation had turned so bad, there was no possibility for her and Shen Zihao to stay together. The Shen family could not and would not lose this man. And she, Xia Nuannuan, did not wish to live the rest of her life carrying this reputation. She wanted to leave this ce and start life afresh again elsewhere. She had lost all hope in life, all she felt was a deep despair. Xia Yehua knew that trying to talk her around would be a futile effort, so she had no option but to leave. However, right after Xia Yehua had left, Mei Feng charged into the apartment with a few people. She looked at the Xia Nuannuan, who was still terribly pale and weak. Then she smirked icily and said, ¡°Xia Nuannuan, you¡¯ve still lost to me! If you had obediently left the Shen family right from the start, things wouldn¡¯t havee to this.¡± Xia Nuannuan listened to this with clenched fists. She lifted her chin and looked at Mei Feng asking, ¡°You must have been the one who released the news to these reporters.¡± Mei Feng smiled but said nothing. Xia Nuannuan continued, ¡°So now has it alle to an end?¡± Had ite to an end? Not even close! Mei Feng narrowed her eyes viciously as she thought of Shen Zihao, who was at home and depressed as though he was gravely ill. Thinking about the close bond they shared only made her increasingly angry. Her lips curled upwards. At this point, Mom Xia walked into the apartment, looking in panic. ¡°What¡¯s happening? There are many reporters gathered outside. They¡¯re blocking the entrance! Who gave them our address?!¡± At these words, Xia Nuannuan¡¯s pupils shrank and she looked at Mei Feng. ¡°It was you?¡± Smiling coldly, the woman replied, ¡°That¡¯s right, it was me.¡± ¡°Xia Nuannuan, No matter where you go, I will find you. And I will make sure that you and your family are treated like rats on the streets, despised and hated by everyone!¡± She red at Xia Nuannuan and continued, ¡°Only then will I be appeased.¡± Xia Nuannuan froze when she heard this, immediately thinking of how her parents would have to live a life like criminals, never able to see daylight again. ¡°What do I have to do so that you leave us alone?¡± Xia Nuannuan hated this woman. But what could she do? She was a nobody with no power or money, there was nothing she could do. And then there were her parents. For the sake of her parents, she couldn¡¯t get into a conflict. Her parents had brought her up, but she had never had the chance to repay them before they had had to sell their home to afford her dowry. Yet now, they couldn¡¯t even live with their heads held high. She had to admit defeat. Mei Fengughed icily when she heard the question and replied, ¡°Marry Liu Haiyang!¡± She wanted Xia Nuannuan to marry the man she hated, so that the girl would be tormented for the rest of her life. She continued, ¡°After all, you had something with him and got pregnant with his child. And now that child is gone. Marrying him is your best option, isn¡¯t it?¡± Chapter 935 - Mei Feng’s True Colors (24)

Chapter 935: Mei Feng¡¯s True Colors (24)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She said this with a smirk. With a wave of her hand, someone came forward from behind her with a suitcase. She pointed at the suitcase and said, ¡°Here¡¯s the wedding dress you wore when you married Zihao. I¡¯ve brought this for you! And the rest of your belongings as well. You don¡¯t even need to buy another wedding dress when you marry Liu Haiyang! How¡¯s that? I think I¡¯m being more than kind enough to you.¡± Xia Nuannuan¡¯s pupils shrank as her gaze fell on the suitcase. After a pause, her lips turned upwards as she finally broke into sorrowfulughter. ¨C The news of Xia Nuannuan marrying Liu Haiyang was all over the news and Inte overnight, thanks to the reporters. Shen Zihao was livid when he found out. Even if he had initially believed Xia Nuannuan, at that point his anger rose and he finally could no longer contain it. She had barely just signed the divorce agreement, yet now she was going to marry Liu Haiyang? Xia Nuannuan... Xia Nuannuan! In a fit of anger, he swept everything on his desk away on the floor and charged downstairs. When Shen Xiu saw him rushing out of the house, he called him, ¡°Stop right there! Why are you still getting yourself entangled with such a woman?¡± Shen Zihao halted, glowered and said to his father, ¡°We haven¡¯t even received our divorce certificate! Why is she in such a hurry to remarry?!¡± After saying these words, he rushed out of the house. ¨C ¡°Nuannuan, do you really wish to marry Liu Haiyang?¡± Dad Xia asked Xia Nuannuan. ¡°We won¡¯t force you to marry him. Really.¡± Xia Nuannuan smiled instead and replied, ¡°Dad, Liu Haiyang is someone you know well enough. If I marry him, he will treat me well, won¡¯t he?¡± Dad Xia¡¯s eyes reddened as he asked, ¡°Are... are you really in love with Liu Haiyang?¡± Xia Nuannuan clenched her fist tightly. Dad had always believed her, but even he couldn¡¯t exin what went on in the bedroom that day. After all, no one could have thought that Liu Haiyang had been such a beast because he wanted to set her up. She took in a deep breath and nodded. ¡°Dad, do you feel that I¡¯ve let you down and embarrassed you greatly?¡± Dad Xia sighed heavily and said, ¡°Nuannuan, you are so careless! You- I don¡¯t know what to say. As long as you¡¯re happy, it¡¯s fine. This is your decision and you have to be responsible for your own decisions.¡± Xia Nuannuan nodded and then looked at her parents. ¡°Mom, I feel like having some radish meatballs, could you make some?¡± Mom Xia nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll go buy some groceries then.¡± Xia Nuannuan looked at her father and said, ¡°Dad, Mom is not good at finding her way. This is Beijing and I¡¯m worried. Please go with her to the supermarket.¡± Dad Xia stood up and said helplessly, ¡°Ok.¡± After Dad Xia and Mom Xia left, Xia Nuannuan pushed the nket away and got out of bed. She went to the suitcase, opened it and took out the luxurious wedding gown. It was the most beautiful wedding gown she had ever seen in her entire life. She stripped herself and put the gown on. Sitting before the mirror, she put on her makeup. She found herself too pale and not pretty enough for the gown. Mei Feng had said that she only had one option now. Marrying Liu Haiyang. But Xia Nuannuan would not. So what if the whole world thought that she had had an affair? She was going to clear her name. Furthermore, she wanted Shen Zihao to see Mei Feng¡¯s true colors. And this was also going to be thest thing in her life that she could do for Shen Zihao. At this thought, she smiled. ¨C Dad Xia and Mom Xia were walking to the supermarket. Mom Xia couldn¡¯t helpmenting, ¡°My eyes keep twitching and I feel terribly uneasy. I hope nothing bad is going to happen.¡± Chapter 936 - Mei Feng’s True Colors (25)

Chapter 936: Mei Feng¡¯s True Colors (25)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Dad Xia frowned at Mom Xia¡¯sment. He said after a pause, ¡°Nuannuan usually looks like a gentle person, but she actually has an upright and outspoken personality. She is behaving quite oddly today. But perhaps she¡¯s just really sad because of Shen Zihao.¡± Mom Xia¡¯s eyes reddened at hisment. ¡°That woman, Mei Feng, she¡¯s really despicable!¡± She buried her face in her palms as she said this. She had never cried in Xia Nuannuan¡¯s presence. She was afraid of upsetting Xia Nuannuan and the girl needed a good rest after her miscarriage. Putting his arms around his wife¡¯s shoulders, he stared ahead, feeling lost. He really had no idea where this situation was going. How hadst month¡¯s obviously joyous wedding turned into this ugly situation? They had lost their house and their family of three now had no permanent abode. They had been set adrift with no one to turn to for help. As these thoughts crossed his mind, he saw Liu Haiyang walking up to them. The young man immediately called out, ¡°Uncle, Aunty!¡± Dad Xia frowned. He still had his suspicions about the situation. However, he had watched Liu Haiyang grow up and the man really did treat Nuannuan well. Nevermind, perhaps some things were better off unsolved. Mom Xia hurriedly put down the basket she was holding and asked, ¡°Haiyang, why are you here?¡± ¡°I was worried about Nuannuan, so I came to see her. And you? Have you just gone shopping?¡± Mom Xia nodded. Quickly, Liu Haiyang extended his arms and took the groceries she was carrying. He looked at Mom Xia and said steadily, ¡°Aunty, let me help you carry these.¡± The three of them walked to the apartment. As they neared the apartment building, they heard a loud screech as a car pulled to a hard stop outside. Shen Zihao came out of the car, furious. Seeing Liu Haiyang standing next to Dad Xia and Mom Xia made him feel as though the man had taken his ce, and taken his Nuannuan by force. He felt a rush of jealousy inside. Shen Zihao clenched his fists tightly and charged at Liu Haiyang. He drew back his arm and threw a hard punch at the man. But this time, Liu Haiyang did not just stand there to be hit by him. Instead, he took a step back and blocked the punch. ¡°Shen Zihao, what are you here for?¡± What was he there for? Shen Zihao gave a scornfulugh and said, ¡°I should be the one asking you this!¡± Liu Haiyang stared at him. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°What do I mean? Nuannuan and I are not divorced yet and she is still my legal wife! You stay away from her!¡± Liu Haiyang sighed and replied, ¡°Shen Zihao, don¡¯t you understand? Nuannuan has always liked me! And she is going to marry me. Why do you keep pestering her? Clenching his fists tightly, Shen Zihao said, ¡°The only person pestering her has always been you! Liu Haiyang, if she liked you, why did she marry me? She could have just been with you.¡± Liu Haiyang choked for a moment and said, staring back at him, ¡°She did that for your family¡¯s money.¡± For your family¡¯s money... If he had said this weeks ago, perhaps Shen Zihao would have believed him. But after the incident involving the 50 thousand, there was no way he would believe this man. He looked at Dad Xia and said, ¡°I wish to ask her personally, Dad. I won¡¯t give up if I don¡¯t hear it from her myself!¡± It had only been a few days since they had been Shen Zihao, but the man had lost much weight. Dad Xia eyed him for a moment and said, ¡°Ok.¡± Chapter 937 - Mei Feng’s True Colors (26)

Chapter 937: Mei Feng¡¯s True Colors (26)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Although it looked rather odd, all of them went up to the apartment together. Shen Zihao hung his head as he walked behind Dad Xia and Mom Xia. He thought that, when he finally saw Nuannuan, he would ask her why she was treating him like this. He wanted to hear her thoughts. They arrived at the apartment. As Shen Zihao looked at the familiar corridor of the ce he had stayed in for a few days, he felt lost. At the time, when he lived there with Xia Nuannuan, he had felt that the ce was too small, that he didn¡¯t even have enough space to turn around. But now, thinking back, he felt exceptionally sorrowful. If he had known that things woulde to such an end, he would have neverined about the inconvenience or the size of the apartment. It was now that he finally understood that only this tiny apartment could give him a sense of home. His heart writhed with pain at once. He wanted Xia Nuannuan back. He wanted them to go back to the life they had before. He wished to tell her that he didn¡¯t care what others thought. As long as she was willing to be with him, he would share his life with her. As he stood there in a daze, thinking this, Dad Xia suddenly remarked, ¡°Strange, why is the apartment locked from the inside?¡± Mom Xia was stunned to hear this. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Did you use the wrong key?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s this key. I¡¯ve been using it for a few days with no problem.¡± He turned the key again, but it did nothing to open the door. He frowned and stared at Mom Xia asking, ¡°What do we do now?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t Nuannuan in there? Yell for her to open up.¡± Dad Xia nodded and started to knock on the door. They banged on the door and hit the doorbell many times. But no one came to the door. Mom Xia started to feel uneasy and that feeling grew. Suddenly, she pushed Dad Xia aside and pounded on the door with force, shouting, ¡°Nuannuan, Nuannuan, open the door! Nunannuan!¡± ¡°Nuannuan, are you doing something foolish? Nuannuan? Don¡¯t do anything silly! Nuannuan!¡± Her mournful voice echoed through the corridor. Shen Zihao and Liu Haiyang suddenly reacted to the possibility that something might have happened. They immediately panicked. Mom Xia started to cry. Her heartbreaking wails shook the others heavily, making it hard for one to breathe. Dad Xia widened his eyes in disbelief and stared at the door. Then, as though he had realized something, he pushed his wife out of the way. ¡°Stand aside!¡± He raised his foot and kicked the door solidly. Thump! Therge metal door did not move a bit. Dad Xia and Mom Xia both had tears rolling down their faces by now! A dreaded thought suddenly began to grow within Shen Zihao. As though suddenly understanding something, he dashed forward and used all the strength he could muster. He raised his foot and gave the door another solid kick. Thump! The door opened and they rushed in. There was no sign of Xia Nuannuan in the tiny living room. Shen Zihao charged into the bedroom without a second thought. He opened the room door and saw that the bed had been made tidily. There was the sound of running water in the restroom. He heaved a sigh of relief. So she was showering, it wasn¡¯t like what they had thought. She could have not heard the door if she was showering. But even as he thought this, he saw that Mom Xia had her doubts and lingering fears. She frowned as she said, ¡°Why would she be showering at this hour? Besides, she just had a miscarriage three days ago. She can¡¯t take a shower yet.¡± At those words, Shen Zihao, who had initially sighed with relief, was now nervous again. A look of realization crossed his face, as he pushed open the restroom door. Chapter 938 - Mei Feng’s True Colors (27)

Chapter 938: Mei Feng¡¯s True Colors (27)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The moment the door swung open, everyone was shocked to the core. Red. Before their eyes was a sea of red. The same color red that reminded Shen Zihao of their wedding day. How that sea of red had greeted the newly-weds when they returned to their room. Xia Nuannuan had sat on the bed with red sheets in her resplendent white wedding gown, looking at him with a dazzling smile. In that instant, amidst the sound of running water, Xia Nuannuan was lying in the bathtub. There was a quiet, peaceful smile on her face. She was in the wedding gown she had worn on their wedding day. But now, that wedding gown was dyed with red blood. Shen Zihao¡¯s pupils shrank back at once as he stared at the scene before him in disbelief. His mind was nk. ¡°Nuannuan!!¡± Finally, the piercing scream from Mom Xia broke the eerie silence in the room. Then Dad Xia shouted, ¡°Hurry! Call the ambnce!¡± ¨C In the hospital. Shen Zihao stood outside the operating theatre. His gaze was fixed on the door of the operating theatre, he did not speak a word. Never would he have imagined that Xia Nuannuan would kill herself. Never would he have imagined that the girl he had loved so much could look so pale. And he had not known before today that a person could bleed this much. His heart was filled with deep sorrow. Nuannuan, why would you rather kill yourself than be honest with me? Dad Xia and Mom Xia had cried so much that they had no tears left. Perhaps that day, they both spent all the tears they had in their lifetimes. At that moment, they were dry-eyed, like the living dead, staring at the operating theatre. The two aged parents were heartbreaking to look at. This was the scene that Xia Yehua and Auntie Li saw when they arrived at the hospital. Xia Yehua was stunned. She dashed up to them and looked at Shen Zihao, asking, ¡°What happened? What happened to Nuannuan? She will be alright, won¡¯t she?¡± On the phone, she had just been told that Nuannuan had tried to kill herself. But they did not mention how she was. She would be alright... But Shen Zihao suddenly recalled how frozen her body had been when he had lifted her out of the water. Her body was limp, as though there wasn¡¯t a single bone in it. She would be alright! Shen Zihao clutched his head and did not say a single word. Xia Yehua¡¯s tears started streaming down her face. She looked at the door of the operating theatre. All of a sudden, Mom Xia broke down and screamed her lungs out: ¡°Nuannuan, my daughter, wake up!¡± ¡°Please wake up, Mom will never force you to marry anyone again!¡± ¡°Nuannuan, just say so if you don¡¯t want to get married! Your dad and I won¡¯t force you!¡± ¡°Nuannuan, if only you¡¯d wake up, if only you¡¯d live, we would agree to anything you wish!¡± The mournful cries were heart-wrenching. When the nurses who had initially run over to stop her heard this, they started to tear up as they watched Mom Xia cry like that. This was what it looked like to have an older person saying theirst farewell to a younger person. At this point, the door to the operating theatre was suddenly swung open. The doctor walked out, apanying Xia Nuannuan¡¯s trolley bed. Everyone jumped up with a start and looked at him. Mom Xia and Dad Xia¡¯s legs grew weak, so they fell back into their seats after a few attempts to stand. Only Xia Yehua was calm. She asked the doctor, ¡°Doctor, how is she?¡± Chapter 939 - Mei Feng’s True Colors (28)

Chapter 939: Mei Feng¡¯s True Colors (28)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The doctor said, ¡°If you had arrived five minutester, she would have lost her life! Although we¡¯ve managed to keep her alive, whether she wakes up is no longer up to us.¡± ¨C In the ward. Xia Nuannuany on the hospital bed. Shen Zihao sat next to her, looking as though he had lost his soul. Dad Xia and Mom Xia did not have much left in them after the fright they had gotten. They sat there with a nk look. Xia Yehua had gone back to Xia Nuannuan¡¯s apartment to tidy up. After all, a life had almost been lost and someone had called the police when she had been carried out of the building covered in blood. Xia Yehua had taken care of the police beforeing back to the hospital. Holding out a letter to Shen Zihao, she said, ¡°This is from Nuannuan.¡± Shen Zihao was stunned. ¡°It was on her desk. I saw it and brought it for you.¡± He lowered his head as he took the envelope in his hand. Written on it were the words: For Zihao. When he saw his name written with her handwriting, he felt a deep pain in his heart. He opened the envelope and drew out the letter enclosed in it. Then he read its content. [Zihao, By the time you read this letter, I¡¯ll probably be gone. I know that I¡¯ve chosen perhaps the toughest way out and left you bearing the pain, I¡¯m sorry. 1But I didn¡¯t have much of a choice. Mei Feng threatened that if I didn¡¯t marry Liu Haiyang, then no matter where I went in the future, she¡¯d make sure to hunt me down. I¡¯m not afraid to bear a sullied reputation, but I can¡¯t let my parents, who brought me up, suffer along with me. I¡¯m sure you understand the horror of Inte violence too well. So I¡¯m sorry. There has never been anything going on between Liu Haiyang and me, and I hope you believe me now. There¡¯s something else too... You once said that Mom had chosen to leave the Shen family without taking a penny from them because she was guilty. But now I also feel that if I could leave the Shen family with a spotless reputation, I¡¯d be happy to do so without taking a single cent from them. Zihao, do you really think you can keep staying with such a family? Zihao, no matter what, we were husband and wife in this lifetime, so I beg of you, please look after my parents and tell them that if there is a next life, their unfilial daughter Xia Nuannuan will repay them for all that they have done to bring me up. This is myst wish. Zihao, farewell.] There water stains all over the letter. Obviously, she had been crying as she wrote it. Shen Zihao¡¯s eyes teared after reading the letter. As they said, a man would not easily shed a tear if it did not hurt enough. At that moment, he felt his heart tearing apart and it was so painful he could hardly breathe. This was what Nuannuan was like... Even as she had been about to face death, she had tried to reconcile things between him and Xia Yehua. With great sorrow, Shen Zihao held the letter and buried his face in his hands. His tears dropped on the letter, ran along the paper and fell on the ground. It was different from Mom Xia¡¯s heart-wrenching cries. His cries were repressed and heavy. This was the first time that he had shed tears since he had turned 20. Yet now, he cried like a child. And in a corner of the room, Shen Haiyand, who had been in a daze since the whole episode had taken ce, finally started to sob uncontrobly. It was as though he had finally understood something. With a loud thud, he dropped to his knees saying, ¡°Nuannuan, I¡¯ve let you down!¡± His tears started to fall. He cried, ¡°Uncle, Aunty, I¡¯ve let you down!¡± With a vigorous downward motion he kowtowed deeply, knocking his forehead against the ground so hard that a bruise appeared. ¡°Nuannuan and I were never together! It was all a plot that Mei Feng and I came up with.¡± Chapter 940 - Mei Feng’s True Colors (29)

Chapter 940: Mei Feng¡¯s True Colors (29)

Liu Haiyang had always felt that Xia Nuannuan was his. Although she had rejected him for many years every time he dered his feelings for her, in his mind, this had only been a disy of the young girl¡¯s carelessness. Hence, he had waited for her patiently. Until... he had heard news of her wedding. He hadn¡¯t been able to get over the news. Eventually, he had managed to sneak to Beijing and into the wedding event. He was stunned by the luxury and grandeur. So this was the sort of family that she was marrying into. Depressed, he returned to Hainan. Unable to ept his defeat, he tried to regain some confidence through online gaming, but yet again he lost miserably. In the end, he gave uppletely. Until the trip to Beijing. Mei Feng had discovered him. It was then he realized that his desire for Xia Nuannuan was stronger than ever. Besides, how could Nuannuan be happy living such a life? He waspelled to free her from her sufferings. He knew that perhaps she would hate him for now. But he had the rest of his lifetime to love her and win her heart. He could afford to wait. As long as Nuannuan would marry him, any other problems could be resolved. But he could not have imagined that things would turn out like this. He had been shocked by the bloody scene that had greeted them when opening the bathroom door. He loved her, but he had never wanted her dead. It was only then that he was reminded of the fact that, even though she appeared to be a gentle person, her nature was very tough and stubborn. It had been a misjudgment on his part. A gross oversight! At this thought, he could no longer suppress his emotions and cried painfully. Burying his face in his hands, he felt so guilty that he thought he would never be able to forgive himself. And his remark stunned everyone in the room. Everyone looked at him in disbelief. Shen Zihao walked to him and reached out to grab his cor. He demanded, ¡°What did you say?¡± Between hard sobs, Liu Haiyang replied, ¡°It was all my fault! I deserve to be beaten to death! Mei Feng found me and proposed that we staged a show that would eventually result in Nuannuan marrying me. Nothing really happened between Nuannuan and me! Those photos were spread by Mei Feng. And... I imitated Nuannuan¡¯s handwriting on the divorce agreement. Nuannuan was waiting for you all along. It was my fault, it was all my fault...¡± By now, he was sitting paralyzed on the ground, crying his eyes out. Shen Zihao stood there, stunned. Xia Yehua stared at Liu Haiyang in disbelief. ¡°Mei Feng? Mei Feng again!¡± Clenching her fists angrily, she sneered as she looked at Shen Zihao, ¡°Now will you believe me? Mei Feng has always covered her tracks perfectly! She was with your father for years, but no one found any proof. It was your big brother who saw them and told me. Do you know why I took your brother with me? Because your brother wanted to establish an eSports team club and your father used that as an excuse to berate him for not having a decent job. He almost beat the boy to death!! The first ce that we went to after leaving the Shen family was the hospital. If I had not chosen to leave, your brother would have died from the beating!¡± Taking a step back, Xia Yehua asked him, ¡°Shen Zihao, although Mei Feng has treated you well all of these years, do you really want to trust a person like her?¡± Chapter 941 - Mei Feng’s True Colors (30)

Chapter 941: Mei Feng¡¯s True Colors (30)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Would he still trust her? COMMENT He would be stupid to do so! He clenched his fists tightly and stood there in a daze. It was as though his mind waspletely empty of thoughts, leaving a nk behind. Right at this time, the ward door swung open. Mei Feng and Shen Xiu stood at the doorway. Mei Feng had a nervous and worried expression on her face. She rushed up to Shen Zihao at once and took his hands, saying, ¡°Zihao, are you okay? Have you been traumatized?¡± Then she turned to look at Xia Nuannuan, who was lying on the bed. She sighed and continued with her act. ¡°Sigh! I didn¡¯t think that Nuannuan had such a rigid character. We had already forgiven her for her shameful deeds. Now that she has done this, how are you going to face the world in the future?¡± She said this with a well-practiced look of sympathy. As Shen Zihao observed her expression, he shook with fear. He had actually spotted nothing peculiar. This was one side of Mei Feng that terrified people. Unconsciously, he swept her hand away. Mei Feng froze and stared at Shen Zihao. A moment after, she said, ¡°Zihao, what¡¯s wrong with you? Are you unwell? Or have you been traumatized?¡± Everyone in the room kept silent. They all looked at her steadily. Shen Zihao finally spoke. ¡°You set Nuannuan up, didn¡¯t you?¡± Mei Feng frowned and said, ¡°Zihao, what are you talking about?!¡± Shen Zihao pointed at Liu Haiyang in response. ¡°He has already admitted it.¡± When Mei Feng heard this, she looked at Liu Haiyang who was still kneeling on the floor. She had noticed him as she walked in, so it had crossed her mind that he might already have confessed. However, there was no way she would so easily confess. She frowned at once. ¡°What did he say? Zihao, would you rather believe an outsider than me?¡± She put on a hurt look and continued, ¡°Zihao, how could you do this¡ª¡± Xia Yehua could no longer put up with the woman¡¯s great pretense. ¡°Mei Feng, aren¡¯t you tired of putting up an act for so many years? You¡¯ve pushed Nuannuan to the brink of suicide, what more do you want?¡± ¡°Suicide?¡± Mei Feng frowned. ¡°Wasn¡¯t it unsessful? Who knows, she may be using this method to win back Zihao.¡± ¡°She knew that all of you would be returning home, so why did she choose such a suicide method? If she really had wanted to kill herself, wouldn¡¯t it have been much faster to throw herself off the building?¡± ¡°Perhaps she was in cahoots with Liu Haiyang to do this, so that Zihao would believe her again!¡± ¡°Zihao, you mustn¡¯t fall victim to their lies.¡± She looked at Shen Zihao nervously. But she saw only coldness in his eyes. Furrowing her brow, she continued, ¡°Zihao, you don¡¯t believe me?¡± Shen Zihao hung his head and said, ¡°Aunty Mei, do you think I¡¯d still believe you now?¡± Clutching her chest, Mei Feng staggered backward and fell into Shen Xiu¡¯s embrace. He put his hand around her shoulders and swept his gaze around the room slowly. Finally, it fell on Xia Yehua. ¡°Dishonorable son! Is it because this woman told you things? Your Aunty Mei has been nothing but nice to you, but now you would rather believe these outsiders! You said that your Aunty Mei framed Xia Nuannuan. Where¡¯s your proof?¡± Was there proof? Could there be any? Mei Feng had always made perfect cover-ups. But he believed in his own intuition. Chapter 942 - The Abrupt Rise of Best Actor Shen (1)

Chapter 942: The Abrupt Rise of Best Actor Shen (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios And the deep love he had for Xia Nuannuan. Shen Zihao¡¯s eyes turned red. He totally ignored Shen Zihao and stared straight at Mei Feng. ¡°Aunty Mei, why did you hurt her? What enmity do you have with Nuannuan to be so brutal?! What made you treat her so brutally?!¡± Mei Feng shook her head and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t!¡± ¡°How can you be insisting that you didn¡¯t?¡± Shen Zihao took one step forward and stared at her ringly. ¡°Do you dare swear to God that you didn¡¯t? If you are the one that harmed her, you will die a terrible death.¡± Mei Feng¡¯s eyes shed when she heard this. She only spoke after a while, ¡°If that is the only way for you to believe me, then I¡ª¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± Shen Zihao cut her off. The sh that had crossed her eyes did not escape his eyes. He clenched his fist with reddened eyes and stared deadly at her. ¡°It is me who misjudged you! I shouldn¡¯t have trusted you.¡± Mei Feng panicked and took a step forward, shouting, ¡°Zihao!¡± Shen Zihao used his strength and pushed her away. Mei Feng directly fell on the ground, Her waist hit the side of the table and her knee was also scratched. She furrowed her brow and moaned in pain. However, Shen Zihao took another step forward. The anger that filled him made him want to tear her apart into pieces. But at this moment, Shen Xiu became angry. He blocked Shen Zihao and said, ¡°Unfilial son, what are you doing? Are you learning from your rebellious brother to hit your elders?¡± After saying so, he directly squatted down and helped Mei Feng up. However, Shen Zihao narrowed his eyes and said, ¡°Dad, if the house has her, I won¡¯t be in it me. Make her leave! I won¡¯t allow her to step foot into our house.¡± His words immediately angered Shen Xiu. ¡°I¡¯m not dead yet and you want to cross me to be the head of the house? She is your stepmother! Mywful wife!¡± Shen Zihao stared at Shen Zihao and replied, ¡°Good, good, since you¡¯ve chosen her, then both of you can leave together! I don¡¯t want to see you two anymore.¡± He wanted to stay there, he wanted to stay in the hospital to guard Nuannuan and wait till she woke up. Shen Xiu supported Mei Feng up and they exchanged a nce. Then Mei Feng said, ¡°Shen Xiu, let¡¯s leave. Zihao is currently really unhappy. We cane and visit him when he¡¯s feeling better.¡± Until this point, she was still acting as if she was really sincere and caring. However, Shen Xiu frowned and only nodded after a while. Only after the both of them had left did Shen Zihao sit down by the bed, staring at Xia Nuannuan who was still sleeping soundly. He held her hand and said, ¡°Nuannuan, please wake up.¡± ¡°Nuannuan, I will always trust you.¡± ¡°Nuannuan, I was wrong. I don¡¯t want anything else, I only want you to be by my side.¡± ¡°Nuannuan, as long as you wake up, I¡¯m willing to do anything.¡± After he finished speaking, Shen Zihao used Xia Nuannuan¡¯s hand to cover his face as he broke into tears. Looking at Shen Zihao¡¯s state, Xia Yehua¡¯s expression showed pain. She could have never thought what had happened today would ur when she left Shen Zihao with the Shen family years ago. Her gaze once again fell on Xia Nuannuan. She was really such a gentle, kind and strong girl. An hourter. Shen Zihao was by Xia Nuannuan when the hospital room door was suddenly opened. Then a few bodyguards donned in ck suits rushed in. Two of them directly held and restrained Shen Zihao. The butler walked in. ¡°Young Master, Sir has instructed us to take you home.¡± Chapter 943 - The Abrupt Rise of Best Actor Shen! (2)

Chapter 943: The Abrupt Rise of Best Actor Shen! (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± Xia Yehua was furious. The butler didn¡¯t even look at her and turned away. Shen Zihao wanted to struggle, but both of the bodyguards were trained in martial arts and he totally wasn¡¯t able to escape their hold. Shen Zihao turned his head and screamed, ¡°Nuannuan, Nuannuan! You two let go of me!! Get lost!¡± ¡°Let go of me!¡± ... As he shouted, Shen Zihao was forced out of the hospital and stuffed into the car. Xia Yehua anxiously followed them but after all, she was just a woman. There was no way she could fight against their five or six bodyguards. She jumped on the front of the car, wanting to drag Shen Zihao out of it. But one of the bodyguards pushed her away forcefully and the car left. Xia Yehua pushed herself up from the floor. Dad Xia and Mom Xia were both terrified and they hadn¡¯t even dared to move. Liu Haiyang had even left the hospital, as he felt guilty. Xia Yehua broke down and cried, but she was still powerless. She suddenly thought of something and directly hailed a cab back to the Shen vi. She rushed upstairs and saw Shen Liangchuan sitting in a wheelchair on the balcony. His gaze was inly looking out into the distance. She ran over and cried, ¡°Liangchuan! Nuannuan has attempted suicide! Your brother has been taken away!¡± Shen Liangchuan had originally been in a dazed state. However, his lifeless eyes suddenly shrunk as he heard Xia Yehua¡¯s words. Lately, he didn¡¯t do anything. All he had done was recollect the memories he had with Xiao Qiao and Soul Fighter. Thus, hepletely had no idea of what was happening in the outside world. He finally spoke the first words in a couple days, ¡°What happened?¡± ¨C ¡°Let me out!¡± Shen Zihao banged on the door forcefully. He wanted to kick the door open with his legs. But the doors in the Shen family were as strong as steel, so he waspletely unable to kick it open. Shen Xiu¡¯s cold voice floated in from outside the room. ¡°Unfilial son, you better reflect on this! Xia Nuannuan, who is already in this state, and you still want to be together with her?¡± ¡°Let me tell you, that¡¯s impossible! Our family definitely doesn¡¯t want a daughter-inw with such a pitiful and bad reputation.¡± ¡°And I will not allow my son to be a joke among the upper ss!¡± ¡°Divorce, you must divorce! From now onwards, you will have to reflect in this room. I will only let you out after you have thought it through and woken up from your ideas.¡± His cold voice made Shen Zihao shiver. Why had he not realized before that... this house was actually socking in human kindness? He growled furiously, ¡°Dad! We don¡¯t even know if Nuannuan will survive! Let me out! I want to apany her!¡± But the only reply he got in return was an endless silence. Shen Xiu had already left. Shen Zihao was like a lion kept in an enclosure, filled with rage and anxiety. But no matter how he growled and shouted, it was to no avail. Only at the end, after he had depleted all his energy and after his voice had turned hoarse, he heard a voice. ¡°Zihao, Aunty Mei is doing all of this for your good. You should take a good rest.¡± Shen Zihao¡¯s irises shrunk as he replied, ¡°Mei Feng, you should let me out if you want the best for me.¡± How disappointed would Nuannuan be when she woke up and realized that he wasn¡¯t apanying her by her side? He wanted to go and visit Nuannuan. He had already failed to apany her when she had gone through the most painful and tough times. He must go and visit her. But Mei Feng¡¯s voice immediately became cold and vicious as she said, ¡°Zihao.¡± Shen Zihao fell on the rug. It was the first time he felt powerless. Just as he was in grave despair, he suddenly heard the sound of a car engine. Then he heard the butler¡¯s anxious voice saying, ¡°Madam, Elder Young Master Shen Liangchuan is back!¡± Chapter 944 - The Abrupt Rise of Best Actor Shen (3)

Chapter 944: The Abrupt Rise of Best Actor Shen (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After Shen Zihao heard this, his gaze, which had originally been dim, instantly brightened up. He stood up instantly, rushed to the window and hit the door twice forcefully while shouting, ¡°Brother, I¡¯m here, I¡¯m here!¡± A me of hope suddenly rose up in him and started burning in his heart. Shen Liangchuan was here, he had hope! ¨C When Mei Feng heard that Shen Liangchuan was here, she was stunned. That pair of eyes, which unexinably seemed to see through everything, suddenly appeared before her. Indifferent, cold and with a wisdom that could see through everything but yet so deep no one could tell what he was thinking. It was as if everyone¡¯s demons were invisible in front of him. It made one feel pathetic. No matter if it was the eighteen-year-old Shen Liangchuan or the Shen Liangchuan now, he had always given her an unknown sense of pressure. She hurriedly walked away from Shen Zihao¡¯s door and went to the first floor. She saw the living room door being pushed open. The bodyguards Shen Liangchuan had brought stood on the sides of the door and he walked in slightly stiffly. His leg was injured. At that moment, he was wearing a ck suit, but at the bottom of his pants was a big bulge. One could tell that there was a cement cast there. His eyes were still resolute and wise. After he walked in, his gaze was locked on Mei Feng. Although he didn¡¯t speak, the honorable vibe he gave out was really strong and people couldn¡¯t help but want to bow down to him. Mei Feng took in deep breaths and then picked up a smile to wee him. ¡°Mr. Shen, what brings you here?¡± Yes. Mr. Shen. She never could help being humble when she faced him. Shen Liangchuan didn¡¯t haggle over the things she had done in the past. He looked around the room and asked, ¡°Where is Zihao?¡± Mei Feng cast her gaze down and asked, ¡°Why are you looking for Zihao? He has done something wrong and his dad locked him up so that he is able to calm down.¡± After she said so, Shen Zihao¡¯s knocking on the door sounded, coupled with muffled shouts from him. Mei Feng¡¯s irises shrunk. She then saw that Shen Liangchuan had ignored her and continued walking forward. Mei Feng hurriedly blocked Shen Liangchuan. Shen Liangchuan stood his ground and stared at her, slowly speaking, ¡°Good dogs don¡¯t block the road.¡± His words made Mei Feng instantly furious. She pointed at Shen Liangchuan and said, ¡°Mr. Shen, this is my house! You¡¯re barging into my house and you¡ª¡± Before she could finish speaking, she saw Shen Liangchuan frown as he paused. A bodyguard beside her immediately took a step forward, pulled Mei Feng¡¯s arm and pulled her to the side. Shen Liangchuan took big steps forward. Mei Feng eximed, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, what are you doing? This is the Shen family! Servants, where are you?! Where¡¯s the security officers? Where are the security officers in our house?! Butler!¡± Hearing her shouts, the butler and security officers immediately rushed in front of Shen Liangchuan. But when they were faced with Shen Liangchuan, they showed signs of hesitation. Shen Liangchuan furrowed his brows and coldly yelled, ¡°Scram!¡± His two violent words stunned the butler and security officers on the spot. They just watched Shen Liangchuan walking to Shen Zihao¡¯s room upstairs. Mei Feng panicked and inquired, ¡°Butler, security officers, what are all of you doing?¡± What were they doing? They also didn¡¯t know what they were doing! They had all worked in the Shen family for a really long time, so they had watched Elder Young Master Shen grow up. They knew his character and they obviously didn¡¯t dare to go head on against him. Chapter 945 - The Abrupt Rise of Best Actor Shen! (4)

Chapter 945: The Abrupt Rise of Best Actor Shen! (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Especially just now, Young Master Liangchuan¡¯s nce had scared them and made their legs shake. ¨C Shen Zihao was knocking on the door with all his force and, after a while, a cold voice came from outside. ¡°Shut up, you¡¯re so noisy.¡± When Shen Zihao heard that voice, he almost burst into tears. He was immensely touched and his heart was filled with warmth and amiability. Then he heard him speak. ¡°Key.¡± Not longter, Shen Zihao heard the voice of the butler. ¡°Elder- Elder Young Master, I don¡¯t have the key with me.¡± Shen Zihao hurriedly spoke, ¡°It¡¯s with Mei Feng!¡± After he said so, Mei Feng also eximed, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, this is the Shen family, it isn¡¯t a ce you can act as you please! The key is indeed with me, but I will definitely not give it to you.¡± Shen Zihao was breathing heavily. But Shen Liangchuan just said inly, ¡°Then you move away.¡± Shen Zihao was stunned for a moment as he took a step back. Immediately, he heard a loud bang. The door was loose and swinging as it opened. Outside the door was a mess. He saw Shen Liangchuan holding a fire extinguisher, which he arrogantly threw to the side. Then he pped his hands against one another as he frowned. He didn¡¯t enter and just stood there. But there seemed to be thousands of sun rays emerging from behind him. Shen Zihao¡¯s eyes were sour as tears fought to rush out. He tried his best to take in a deep breath, trying to settle his feelings. But before he was able to step out of the door, he heard Shen Liangchuan¡¯s voice, ¡°Do you still need me to go in and invite you out?¡± Shen Zihao hurriedly walked out with two kick steps. He stared at Shen Liangchuan and said, ¡°Brother, you¡¯re here.¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded. The two brothers exchanged nces. Although they did not converse at all, Shen Zihao had an inexplicable feeling. He felt as though he was a child who had seen his parent and his eyes once again reddened. He wanted to speak but before he could, Shen Liangchuan inly lowered his eyelids and said, ¡°If you¡¯re a man, you have to protect your wife. Only weaklings cry.¡± His words seemed to make Shen Zihao understand something. He instantly rose his head. Then he clenched his fists tightly and said, ¡°Brother, you¡¯re right! I want to get revenge for the sake of my kid and also for Nuannuan.¡± After he said those words, his gaze became vicious as he looked downstairs. When Mei Feng saw their gaze, she immediately shivered. Following this, Mei Feng watched Shen Liangchuan and Shen Zihao walk down the stairs and stand before her. Mei Feng swallowed her saliva and said, ¡°Zihao, what- what are you doing?¡± Shen Zihao stared at her for a while and suddenly said, ¡°Mei Feng, from now on, I will be against you!¡± Against her. His threatening words made Mei Feng¡¯s legs shake. She wanted to grab Shen Zihao, but Shen Zihao had turned around to look at Shen Liangchuan as he said, ¡°Brother, let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± At this moment, an angry and hurried voice yelled. Then, Shen Xiu¡¯s figure appeared outside the door. Looking at the bodyguards standing around them, his gaze fell on Shen Liangchuan. ¡°Unfilial son, who let youe in?! How dare you bring your people in?¡± Shen Liangchuan stared at him and spoke slowly, ¡°We are in the same position.¡± Shen Liangchuan was hinting at how Shen Xiu had once brought people into the Shen vi and made a mess by smashing everything into pieces. Shen Xiu furrowed his brow and said, ¡°This is the Shen family, do you think that it is a ce that you cane and leave as you please? Did you think that you could take Zihao away with just these few people?¡± Chapter 946 - The Abrupt Rise of Best Actor Shen (5)

Chapter 946: The Abrupt Rise of Best Actor Shen (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After he said that, Shen Xiu waved his hand and all of the security officers in the house gathered at the door. Shen Liangchuan had brought along about seven to eight people. But when adding the security officers of the Shen family together, there are about twenty to thirty of them. The difference in strength made it hard for Shen Liangchuan to leave. Shen Zihao narrowed his eyes and asked, ¡°Dad, what are you doing?¡± Shen Xiu sneered, ¡°What am I doing? He entered the Shen Family illegally and thus he¡¯ll have to pay the price. Break both of his legs!¡± His vicious tone and grim gaze brought along danger and bloodthirst. Seeing Shen Xiu in this state was unfamiliar to Shen Zihao. He narrowed his eyes and said, ¡°Dad, he is my brother! He is your son!¡± Shen Xiu said, ¡°Pff, I don¡¯t have such a son! Since I am the one who gave him his life, asking for both his legs is not much.¡± Shen Zihao widened his eyes in shock. In his eyes, his dad had always been the man who had loved his mom dearly. The only reason why he was terrible to his mom was because his mom had betrayed him, but never would he have thought that a father could actually be so vicious to his own son. He frowned and Shen Xiu continued, ¡°If you don¡¯t want his legs to be broken, then you should obediently go upstairs to reflect on your mistakes! Divorce Xia Nuannuan and ept the marriage we have arranged for you.¡± Shen Zihao¡¯s pupils shrank and said, ¡°You¡ª¡± No matter how, he was unable to finish that sentence. At this moment, he suddenly understood the feeling Xia Nuannuan had had when she was being threatened. Being threatened with the people you care about makes one feel such anger and helplessness, feel like you want to give up. Just as he was deep in thought, a strong arm suddenly appeared in front of him and blocked him. Then, Shen Liangchuan took two steps forward and his big built blocked the way. He spoke with a powerful and resonating voice, ¡°Eight years ago, you tried to break my legs but you didn¡¯t seed. Just as eight years ago, go ahead ande for me!¡± Shen Zihao stared at Shen Liangchuan¡¯s back, who was standing in front of him. His heart suddenly started to hurt for him. When he was helpless, his brother protected him. What about Nuannuan? When Nuannuan was being threatened by Mei Feng and had needed him the most, where had he been? It had indeed been his distrust that caused Nuannuan to end up in that state! As he thought about it, his gaze became determined and he looked forward. He only realized after that what Shen Liangchuan had said. He hurriedly spoke, ¡°Brother, you mean that eight years ago- What do you mean by eight years ago?¡± Shen Liangchuan inly lowered his eyelids and said, ¡°Eight years ago, when I wanted to start an eSports team club, he tried to take the chance to break my legs. If mom hadn¡¯t taken me away in time, divorcing with nothing, I wouldn¡¯t be able to stand before you.¡± Shen Zihao pupils suddenly shrank and asked, ¡°How- how is this possible?¡± In this world, how could there be a father who would treat his own son so maliciously? After this thought came out, he heard Shen Xiu sneer, ¡°A unfilial son like you shouldn¡¯t be alive in this world! Breaking your legs is no big deal. Shen Liangchuan, you¡¯vee into my house voluntarily today, so don¡¯t me me for being impolite! Charge at him.¡± The moment he said so, the bodyguards looked at one another, not daring to move. Shen Xiu was furious. ¡°Charge at him! Leave if you are not going to fight him!¡± Only a few people rushed forward after hearing so. Watching the scene, he suddenly felt a surge of recklessness and stood back to back with Shen Liangchuan. ¡°Brother, I will fight with you!¡± Chapter 947 - The Abrupt Rise of Best Actor Shen (6)

Chapter 947: The Abrupt Rise of Best Actor Shen (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan was obviously slightly shocked by what he did. He was slightly stunned but felt his brother¡¯s strength behind him. After a while, he said, ¡°Ok.¡± The bodyguards around who hadn¡¯t received Shen Liangchuan¡¯s orders didn¡¯t dare to move forward. Shen Liangchuan and Shen Zihao who were back to back, looking at theing bodyguards. Shen Liangchuan directly said, ¡°Charge!¡± The two brothers took the first move! One suppressed a heart full of pain for the sake of Nuannuan. The other had a heart filled with sorrow due to Qiao Lian. Both men needed a vivid and thorough outlet to vent. Six to seven bodyguards charged at them, but it was obviously insufficient against the utmost fight they put up against them. Seeing this situation, Shen Xiu took a step backward and said, ¡°Hit his legs! His legs are injured!¡± After he said so, a bodyguard kicked Shen Liangchuan¡¯s legs when he wasn¡¯t paying attention. Just at this moment, Shen Zihao turned around and pushed Shen Liangchuan away, who took the kick for him. He hurt so badly that his lip twitched, but he was still smiling happily when he looked at Shen Liangchuan. Shen Liangchuan narrowed his eyes and only spoke after a while, ¡°Charge!¡± They weren¡¯t able to unleash their power fully as the room was still rather small. Although there were many bodyguards attacking, there were even more beaten and spread across the floor. Furthermore, this bunch of bodyguards was cautious of attacking them due to their status. It meant that neither of them would actually get injured. After the battle was over, the bodyguards were all lying on the floor, groaning in pain. It was then that Shen Zihao and Shen Liangchuan looked at Shen Xiu. Shen Xiu frowned and said, ¡°Did you think that you could leave just by beating up a few men? Let me tell you, the Shen family has a lot of bodyguards! If you have the capability, you can beat all of them up.¡± Shen Zihao stared at his father and said, ¡°Dad, we are both your sons, why are you so harsh to Brother?!¡± Shen Xiu was stunned and he didn¡¯t speak. Shen Liangchuan suddenly spoke, ¡°It¡¯s because he can¡¯tpare to me.¡± Shen Xiu was furious as he shouted, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, you shut up!¡± ¡°What? Was I spot on?¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s tone wasced with sarcasm. Then, he exined to Shen Zihao, ¡°In the past, Mom never allowed me to tell you the real side of dad. She was worried that after you¡¯d found out, you will look down on him. But now is time for me to tell you some truth.¡± Shen Zihao furrowed his brow. Shen Liangchuan spoke slowly, ¡°When I was five, he was still really nice to be. But that same year, we went to visit Grandad for the new year and Grandad said something.¡± ¡°What was it?¡± ¡°He scolded Shen Xiu, saying he was worse than a five-year-old child. He said that the Shen family should just skip him and go into my hands.¡± Shen Zihao was stunned for a moment and asked, ¡°Then?¡± ¡°Then, he was really furious and started being cold to me. When other children got perfect marks for their exams, their parents would praise them. But he would only ask me coldly that, other than studying, what else did I know how to do.¡± ¡°He is weaker than others and thus everyone else is at fault. Shen Xiu, am I right?¡± Shen Xiu¡¯s face reddened with anger. All of the bodyguards and servants around lowered their heads and didn¡¯t even dare to breathe loudly. But even if it was so, he also felt extremely ashamed of himself. Indeed. That was all. He had been jealous of a five year old child! So he had hated him! After he finished exining this, they heard Shen Liangchuan continue, ¡°After Mom and I left, during that year, I realized that the biggest revenge I could get on you was to take away what you wanted.¡± After he said so, Shen Xiu¡¯s irises swelled, ¡°What do you mean?¡± Chapter 948 - The Abrupt Rise of Best Actor Shen (7)

Chapter 948: The Abrupt Rise of Best Actor Shen (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuanis gaze sunk as he looked around at the whole Shen family. The Shen Family¡¯s old home had always been where Grandad had resided. The new house was built onnd bought when Shen Xiu and his mom had gotten married. Their whole vi had a European style, which Shen Xiu liked. Old Master didn¡¯t like the ce and had thus never moved in. Furthermore, he had wanted to give the couple some space to themselves. Now this house was worth a few hundred millions. Shen Liangchuan sneered and said, ¡°You¡¯re wary of me and dislike me. Isn¡¯t it just because you¡¯re worried that Grandad will pass the Shen family directly to me and skip you?¡± After he said so, he looked at Shen Xiu calmly and continued, ¡°Let me tell you then. In the past, I didn¡¯t want to have anything to do with the Shen family. But now I want toe back and snatch away everything that¡¯s yours!!¡± When he said these words, he stopped after every word, stressing them. Just as though he was taking a vow. Oddly, that demeanor made Shen Xiu and Mei Feng tremble. The two of them stared at Shen Liangchuan in disbelief. After a while, Shen Xiu finally returned to his senses as he directly said, ¡°Good, Shen Liangchuan, you¡¯ve finally shown your true colors today! I¡¯ve always known that you and that tr*mp wouldn¡¯t give up so easily.¡± ¡°Let me tell you, the Shen family is mine! Don¡¯t dream of taking anything away.¡± After he said so, he looked at Shen Zihao once again. ¡°As for you, Zihao,e over now and follow my ns obediently, I will still give the Shen family to you. If you still insist on the wrong things, don¡¯t me me for asking you to leave without anything.¡± Leave without anything. It was to leave without anything again. Shen Zihao suddenly recalled what Xia Nuannuan had said. If she could smoothly and safely leave without anything, she would leave. But it was such a pity that Mei Feng hadn¡¯t even given her a chance to do it! Shen Zihao clenched his fists tightly. He looked up firmly and his gaze became more determined. His gaze shifted towards Shen Liangchuan. Eight years ago, his brother had only been eighteen, but he had had the determination and courage to take their mom away from here. So what did his current self have to be scared about?! As he thought so, Shen Zihao stood up straight and looked at Shen Xiu. ¡°Dad, allow me to leave without anything then!¡± Shen Xiu¡¯s irises swelled and he became extremely furious. ¡°Rebel! Rebel!!¡± If this son of his left too, what could he do even if he got the Shen family? He would not have a son to continue the family¡¯s business. Who would take over the future Shen family? As he thought so, he could only feel that his chest was suffocating and tight. He pointed at Shen Zihao angrily and eximed, ¡°Unfilial son!¡± Shen Zihao sneered for a moment and lowered his head. Then Shen Liangchuan spoke and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Shen Xiu shouted angrily, ¡°Stop them!¡± But Shen Liangchuan coldly said, ¡°Who dares to stop me?¡± That one sentence of his wasn¡¯t as loud as Shen Xiu¡¯s, but it shocked everyone around and no one dared to take any steps forward. Shen Liangchuan then took Shen Zihao out of the Shen family in front of the whole crowd. Shen Xiu only regained his senses after they both had left. Then, he looked at the bodyguards around him and furiously shouted, ¡°What have I hired all of you for?¡± The bodyguards lowered their heads one by one, not daring to speak. Shen Xiu was so furious he swept everything on the coffee table onto the ground. After a while, he lifted his head up, looked at the room door Shen Liangchuan had broken and said, ¡°Call the police! I want to sue Shen Liangchuan for breaking into my house!¡± Chapter 949 - The Abrupt Rise of Best Actor Shen (8)

Chapter 949: The Abrupt Rise of Best Actor Shen (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After he said so, Mei Feng¡¯s pupils shrank and she immediately looked at the butler. The butler walked to the phone on the side, picked it up and, when he was about to dial 911, a loud and clear voice inquired, ¡°What happened?¡± The butler¡¯s hand trembled and he almost dropped the phone on the floor. Everyone turned their heads and saw the Senior Master, who rarely visited the ce, walk in with big steps. He narrowed his eyes, which were filled with wisdom, and stared at everything before him. He frowned and repeated, ¡°Can someone tell me what happened here?¡± His voice wasn¡¯t loud but at this moment, it made everyone in the room conscious of their own breathing. Shen Xiu immediately lowered his head, not daring to speak. He couldn¡¯t say that his son had brought people in and taken his other son away, right? That was just too embarrassing. Mei Feng, who was beside him, saw his state and immediately sunk her gaze with anger. Why had she chosen such a cowardly man as her husband?! When they were together many years ago, they had had to keep it a secret so their rtionship wasn¡¯t discovered. Now, he didn¡¯t even dare to give an exnation! As she thought about this, she hurriedly lowered her head and with red eyes and spoke slowly, ¡°Dad¡ª¡± ¡°Who are you to call me dad?¡± Mei Feng almost choked. Ever since she had stepped into this house, the Senior Master hadn¡¯t liked her. She knew that it was because she couldn¡¯tpare to Xia Yehua. Mei Feng coughed and spoke again, ¡°Senior Master.¡± She wiped her tears and said, ¡°Xia Nuannuan had an improper rtionship with someone else and we caught her red-handed. Then, we asked Zihao to divorce her and, to keep Zihao under her power, she attempted suicide. This made Zihao think that we did something bad to her. The Elder Young Master also came, created a big fuss and took Zihao away. He even made such a mess in the house, so Shen Xiu wants to report them to the police¡ª¡± ¡°Report them to the police?¡± The Senior Master looked at Shen Xiu. ¡°You choose to call the police when you can¡¯t beat your own son? Is this all that you¡¯re capable of?¡± Shen Xiu was immediately at a loss for words. ¡°I- I-¡± ¡°Senior Master, Shen Xiu also does not want to punish them. But Xia Nuannuan was always really close to Xia Yehua and, ever since she had married into the family, there have been continuous scandals. Xia Yehua and Shen Liangchuan kept trying to get close to Zihao... Senior Master, Shen Liangchuan has always had a scheming heart and I heard that, before Xia Nuannuan married into the family, they already knew each other.¡± Then Senior Master Shen looked at Mei Feng and sneered coldly, ¡°So you meant that all of this was part of Shen Liangchuan¡¯s n?¡± His words made Shen Xiu return to his senses. Just as he was about to speak, he saw the Senior Master throw his walking stick at Mei Feng suddenly. The walking stick left his hand and directly hit Mei Feng¡¯s forehead! Then the walking stick fell on the floor, making a clear and crisp thump. The sound shocked everyone in the room. The Senior Master looked at Mei Feng coldly and only sneered after a while, ¡°Since when do you have the position to talk in front of me? Furthermore, is my grandson someone that any lowly person can defame?¡± His words sshed onto Mei Feng like a bucket of cold water, making her clench her fists. Shen Xiu looked at the Senior Master and said, ¡°Dad, how can you speak of Ah Feng like this? She¡¯s my wife! And I must make a police report so I can teach Shen Liangchuan a lesson!¡± The Senior Master Shenughed sarcastically and said, ¡°So is being defeated by your son not enough? You still want to tell the world that as a father, you have lost to your son?¡± Shen Xiu was at a loss for words. Chapter 950 - The Abrupt Rise of Best Actor Shen (9)

Chapter 950: The Abrupt Rise of Best Actor Shen (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The two brothers had no idea of the events that had followed after leaving the Shen family residence. Now they were in Shen Liangchuan¡¯s van. Shen Zihao hung his head dejectedly¡ªhe was at aplete loss. Shen Liangchuan frowned when he saw his brother in such a state and immediately asked, ¡°Where are you headed now?¡± ¡°The hospital. I wish to keep Nuannuanpany.¡± Those words made Shen Liangchuan somewhat d. He instructed the chauffeur, sat back in his seat and closed his eyes to rest. Shen Zihao looked at his brother, who had noticeably lost weight after only a few days of not seeing him. Suddenly, he felt like he would never be a match to Shen Liangchuan. He had been depressed after Qiao Lian had left. But when his family needed him, he would step out without thinking twice. What about himself? There was no question of why Nuannuan wouldmit suicide. He had been an irresponsible man. Shen Zihao¡¯s eyes turned misty again as he choked with emotions. He started, ¡°Big brother¡ª¡± ¡°What are you crying for?¡± Shen Liangchuan said roughly. ¡°Are you a man?¡± Shen Zihao quickly suppressed his tears and emotions. Shen Liangchuan opened his piercing eyes and looked at him saying, ¡°You have to fight for your own happiness! And more than that, to protect it! Do you understand that?¡± Shen Zihao nodded vigorously. Now he understood. What other doubts could he have now? But... ¡°Big brother, how about you?¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s pupils shrank upon hearing this and his eyes narrowed at once. That¡¯s right, how about him? Shen Liangchuan grimaced and chortled. ¨C Very soon, the van arrived at the hospital. Shen Zihao jumped out of the car and dashed all the way to the ward. But as soon as he saw Shen Zihao, Dad Xia, who was standing guard at the door, glowered. ¡°Stop right there!¡± Shen Zihao halted and asked, ¡°Dad, has Nuannuan woken up?¡± Dad Xia¡¯s eyes were bloodshot from having stayed up all night, making him look even more frail now. ring at the young man, he said after a long pause, ¡°No, she hasn¡¯t.¡± Shen Zihao was stunned. ¡°Why hasn¡¯t she woken up?¡± There was great pain in Dad Xia¡¯s red eyes as he said, ¡°The doctor says that if she doesn¡¯t wake up, she¡¯ll probably end up in a vegetative state.¡± Shen Zihao froze at those words. He stared at Dad Xia with disbelief. ¡°What?¡± Dad Xia frowned and said, ¡°Young Master Shen, look at the pathetic state my daughter is in! Please, I beg of you! Please, go away and don¡¯t drag her through the mud anymore. Her mother and I just wish to be with her for the rest of our lives.¡± Shen Zihao tightened his fists at these words. With a loud this, he dropped to his knees before Dad Xia! Dad Xia was stunned and took a step backward. ¡°What- what is this about?¡± Shen Zihao said with a look of determination, ¡°Dad, I won¡¯t go. I want to stay here with Nuannuan.¡± ¡°Stay here with her? Young Master Shen, what have you done to earn the right to even say that?! Where were you when she had a miscarriage? Where were you when she was maligned? Where were you when she had nowhere to turn to and the only way out was tomit suicide? Shen Zihao! You promised me when you married her that you¡¯d take care of her for the rest of her life! And what has happened!?¡± Every question hit the core of Shen Zihao¡¯s heart like a hammering down on him. His eyes reddened as he lowered his head and said, ¡°Dad, I know I was really off the mark in the past. So now, all the more I can¡¯t leave.¡± ¡°But Nuannuan... may not ever wake up again!¡± Chapter 951 - The Abrupt Rise of Best Actor Shen (10)

Chapter 951: The Abrupt Rise of Best Actor Shen (10)

¡°Then I will stay by her side right to the end!¡± Shen Zihao said this without a moment of hesitation, stunning Dad Xia. The young man continued, ¡°Dad, the fact that Nuannuan would rather die than marry Liu Haiyang shows that she still loves me.¡± Finally, Dad Xia fell silent. Seeing that he was no longer objecting, Shen Zihao kowtowed once more, then got up and dashed into the ward. In the ward, he saw Nuannuan lying quietly on the hospital bed. She looked pale and lifeless. Her longshes cast a shadow on her face. Shen Zihao sat next to her, staring at her. Scenes of the past shed through his mind. The first time they had met, she was being brutally beaten as she stubbornly standing in a corner, yet she had not uttered a single sound. At the time, he had thought about what a stubborn girl she was. Eventually, he had gotten to know her. She had an extremely heartwarming smile. She had a manner of speaking which would calm people down and make them listen. He had always been an impatient person, and it was only her gentle demeanor that could calm him down so that he could appreciate life. His Nuannuan was such a wonderful girl. She had even made every bit of effort to fix things between him, his mother and big brother. He had always felt her cautiousness when talking to him about his mother. He could also feel her concern and love towards him. As he thought of these things, he smiled. Slowly, he reached out to touch her now peaceful face, like a sleeping baby. Then he said: ¡°Nuannuan, wake up. Let¡¯s leave the Shen family, let¡¯s not go back ever again.¡± ¡°Nuannuan, I must have never told you that you¡¯re beautiful.¡± ¡°Nuannuan, you must be tired too, right? Nevermind, take a nap, I¡¯ll watch over you. I¡¯ll never let you be harassed by anyone ever again.¡± ¨C Shen Zihao sat in the ward holding her hand, calling her and hoping that Xia Nuannuan would wake up. Outside the ward, Xia Yehua stood there looking in through the ss panel. Her eyes reddened and she said, ¡°Nuannuan will wake up, the heavens will not be so cruel to her.¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded as he looked into the ward. Xia Yehua pointed out as she nced at him, ¡°Nuannuan is already in this state. If she doesn¡¯t wake up, this might be the biggest regret of Zihao¡¯s life. On the other hand, Xiao Qiao is fine.¡± ¡°We never value what we have until we lose it, and then we regret it. Xiao Qiao loves you, I can sense that. And you love her too. Since this is the case, what is it that you two can¡¯t seem to get past?¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s pupils shrank at these words. Indeed. No hurdles should be able to stop him. He assigned a few bodyguards to stay behind at the hospital and protect Shen Zihao and Xia Nuannuan before he turned and left. There was a look of determination on his face as he stared ahead. Xiao Qiao, where are you? At this point, his cell phone suddenly rang. He looked down at the screen. It was the number of the Shen family¡¯s old home. He picked up the call. The Senior Master¡¯s voice came through, ¡°Liangchuan,e over, let¡¯s have a chat.¡± At once, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s eyes darkened. A chat. Of course, they had to have a chat. Even if the Senior Master hadn¡¯t looked for him, he would have gone looking for his grandfather to discuss some things. Chapter 952 - The Abrupt Rise of Best Actor Shen (11)

Chapter 952: The Abrupt Rise of Best Actor Shen (11)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Shen Liangchuan arrived at the Shen family¡¯s old home, the Senior Master was seated on the sofa reading the newspapers. The moment the Senior Master saw his grandson, he beamed and pointed at the sofa seat in front. ¡°Take a seat.¡± Shen Liangchuan lowered his head and sat down. The Senior Master looked at him for a moment and then went straight to the point, ¡°I¡¯d like to hand over half of the Shen family¡¯s assets for you to manage, if you were to agree toe back. What do you think?¡± He frowned. Standing up and looking at the young man, the Senior Master continued, ¡°Liangchuan, I¡¯ve been waiting for your return for eight years! Are you going to keep rejecting me?¡± Half of the Shen family¡¯s assets was a substantial bait that anyone would have found irresistible. But unex¨¨ctedly, Shen Liangchuan had declined a few times in the past. He had thought initially that if he severed ties with the Shen family, things would be fine and life would be good. But who would have expected that Shen Xiu would time and again force them into a corner, so that he now had no choice but to do this? Besides... The Shen family¡¯s assets belonged to Shen Xiu by right and would have gone to Shen Zihao eventually. Hence, he had never vied for them. However, now... If the assets were to go to that man and his mistress... Shen Liangchuan was most unwilling. At this thought, Shen Liangchuan raised his gaze slowly and said, ¡°I¡¯ll do it on one condition.¡± The Senior Master Shen¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Say it!¡± Even if there was a whole list of conditions, the Senior Master would agree to it without hesitation. The Senior Master was in histe 70s and would turn 80 soon. He had been holding on and struggling, unable to let go of things because there hadn¡¯t been a qualified sessor. Shen Xiu¡¯s capabilities were limited and the old man didn¡¯t trust him at all. But Shen Liangchuan... This grandchild was the apple of the Senior Master¡¯s eye! If it weren¡¯t for the fact that he was too young and needed more experience, the Senior Master would have handed all of the family¡¯s assets over to him. Even the thought of this brought a sparkle and liveliness to the old man¡¯s eyes. On that promise, Shen Liangchuan added unhurriedly, ¡°You cannot limit me in whatever I wish to do.¡± Not to limit him. He meant... ¡°You wish to continue your acting career?¡± The Senior Master frowned. He looked at Shen Liangchuan and considered the young man¡¯s assets. Although it was insignificantpared to what the Shen family had, for any ordinary person, it would have been an impressive feat to get from penniless to that in a matter of just eight years. Casting his gaze down, Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°I don¡¯t like to be limited, you already know that.¡± Sighing, the Senior Master remarked, ¡°What¡¯s the attraction in show business? It¡¯s a waste of time... but nevermind, I¡¯m old and don¡¯t understand the ways of the young. I¡¯ll let you have your way as long as youe back.¡± After saying that, he quickly added, ¡°See you at the board meeting tomorrow!¡± Shen Liangchuan stood up, straightened his clothes and headed off. From behind, no one would have been able to tell that the man¡¯s leg was injured. This was the typical Shen Liangchuan. He was one who would never show weakness, voice anyints, or show any signs of pain. And this was what the Senior Master liked most about him! ¨C At the board meeting on the following day. In a building standing tall amidst Beijing¡¯s most prestigious and expensivend. This development belonged to the Shen Family Corporation. Shen Xiu was frowning as he stepped out of his car. He asked his secretary, ¡°Any idea why Senior Master called for this meeting?¡± The secretary shook her head in response. ¡°I have no idea. We were all taken by surprise when Assistant Xu informed us this morning.¡± Shen Xiu snorted impatiently and said, ¡°The older the Senior Master gets, the more troublesome! This is ridiculous.¡± Chapter 953 - The Abrupt Rise of Best Actor Shen (12)

Chapter 953: The Abrupt Rise of Best Actor Shen (12)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Having said this, he went up the building, towards the meeting room. Slowly, thepany shareholders walked in and finally, almost everyone was there. Shen Xiu greeted each of them and sat among the front seats. Above him in the hierarchy, there was one empty seat that belonged to the Senior Master. Even if he were absent, that seat would be left empty for the meeting, no one would sit in it. As Shen Xiu stared at that seat, contemting the idea that a time woulde when he would sit in it, there was amotion at the door. Frowning, Shen Xiu then heard someone remark: ¡°Why is Best Actor Shen here?¡± ¡°Indeed, what¡¯s the Elder Young Master doing here in the office?¡± ¡°Aye, my daughter loves his movies. I¡¯ll have to get his autograph for herter. She¡¯ll be delighted!¡± Upon hearing these remarks, Shen Xiu looked towards the doorway. He saw Shen Liangchuan approaching him. The young man was in a ck suit, his handsome face expressionless. At once, Shen Xiu narrowed his eyes and immediately jumped up from his seat. Seeing that the man was about to step into the meeting room, he quickly walked over and stood in the middle of the entrance. He demanded, ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Then as if he suddenly realized something, he sneered, ¡°Are you here to look for me to discuss Zihao¡¯s matter? Why? Is he finally regretting it?¡± ¡°He shoulde home obediently since he has realized his mistake! Sending you here to speak on his behalf indeed... Did you think you¡¯re in a better stead?¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression darkened at Shen Xiu¡¯s presumptuous statement. After a brief pause, he said, ¡°No.¡± ¡°No?¡± Shen Xiu said with surprise and asked at once, ¡°Then what do you want from me?¡± Casting his gaze down, Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°I¡¯m not here to look for you.¡± The man gave a cold snort. ¡°If you¡¯re not here to look for me, are you here to look for your grandfather?¡± He narrowed his eyes and continued, ¡°This is the Shen Family Corporation! Not for you to charge in as you please. Get out now!¡± Turning to his assistant, Shen Xiu ordered, ¡°Please escort Best Actor Shen out. If he doesn¡¯t cooperate, then get the security to do it!¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The assistant nodded as he walked up to Shen Liangchuan and said, ¡°Best Actor Shen, this way please.¡± What an embarrassing scene! The shareholders in the meeting room looked away awkwardly, pretending that they hadn¡¯t witnessed this. Shen Xiu felt a gleeful exhration as he noticed this. Although these shareholders appeared to respect him, he knew that deep down inside they despised him. But today, he would show them who was the boss of the Shen family. Yet as soon as the Assistant had said this, the Senior Master Shen¡¯s voice suddenly came from beyond the door. ¡°Who dares to ask my grandson to leave?¡± Upon hearing his voice, everyone in the meeting room simultaneously stood up. They looked towards the doorway with respect. The Senior Master Shen strode in and smiled broadly the moment he saw Shen Liangchuan. ¡°Liangchuan, you¡¯re here.¡± In his usual manner that was neither servile nor overbearing, Shen Liangchuan stood there and lowered his head as he greeted the Senior Master, ¡°Granddad.¡± The Senior Master was as pleased as punch and smiled like a blooming chrysanthemum. But when his gaze fell on Shen Xiu, that smile turned immediately into gravity and contempt. ¡°I was the one who asked Liangchuan to be here. How dare you kick him out?!¡± You dare to kick out someone I¡¯ve invited? These words were like a sharp p on Shen Xiu¡¯s face. He turned pale at once. This was most embarrassing. He had been embarrassed in the presence of all the shareholders. Chapter 954 - The Abrupt Rise of Best Actor Shen (13)

Chapter 954: The Abrupt Rise of Best Actor Shen (13)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios s, Shen Xiu did not dare to make another vicious remark. He simply said, ¡°No, I was only rifying¡ª¡± ¡°So now has it been made clear?¡± Shen Xiu almost choked as he said, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s clear now.¡± Then he extended his arms and said, ¡°Here, Dad, let me help you.¡± The Senior Master Shen snorted and immediately stretched his arm out towards Shen Liangchuan. Shen Xiu had been embarrassed once again. Shen Liangchuan, however, nced at the old man and said with slight contempt, ¡°Although you¡¯re old, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re capable of walking unaided.¡± The Senior Master Shen chided him, ¡°You rascal, you¡¯re not even willing to help your granddad!¡± Then he made his way into the meeting room. Shen Liangchuan followed him. Furiously, Shen Xiu went back to his seat. As he sat down, he could hear the Senior Master Shen saying, ¡°The reason I¡¯ve called for today¡¯s meeting is to make an announcement. The Shen family¡¯s business in the Southern cities and the few projects in the Beijing city will all be under Liangchuan¡¯s charge in the future. Liangchuan is your newly-appointed CEO!¡± Shen Xiu immediately jumped up from his seat at this announcement and retorted, ¡°Dad, you can¡¯t do this!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t?¡± The Senior Master Shenughed icily. ¡°Who are you to say that?¡± He continued unhurriedly, ¡°I hold over 80% of thepany¡¯s shares. If you wish, we can call for a vote?¡± Shen Xiu was immediately speechless. After confirming Shen Liangchuan¡¯s position, the shareholders left one by one. Lastly, there were just the three of them¡ªthe grandfather, his son and grandson¡ªleft in the room. This was when Shen Xiu finally exploded. ¡°Dad, what¡¯s the meaning of this? This dishonorable son was banished from the family long ago!¡± The Senior Master replied, ¡°But he carries the Shen family¡¯s blood and name!¡± Narrowing his eyes, Shen Xiu continued, ¡°Dad, are you nning to hand over the entire family business to Shen Liangchuan? You expect me to put up with this?!¡± The Senior Master Shen replied unhurriedly, ¡°I have no such ns right now. Now you each have half of the family business. Eventually, I¡¯ll hand the entire business over to whoever performs better.¡± Shen Xiu cried out with exasperation, ¡°Dad!¡± The Senior Master Shen snorted icily and said, ¡°Or is it that you feel you are no match to your son?¡± That remark silenced Shen Xiu immediately. After a moment, he said through gritted teeth, ¡°So I wonder where the new CEO intends to work?¡± The Senior Master looked at Shen Liangchuan on this note. Shen Liangchuan nced at Shen Xiu and said after a pause, ¡°The office on the top floor of this building is ideal.¡± Shen Xiu shouted belligerently, ¡°That¡¯s enough! Now you want to take away my office for yourself?¡± If Shen Liangchuan took that office, everyone in it would know that the Senior Master Shen favored him. He had just stepped into the position and had not yet established a firm foothold. Hence, Shen Xiu was still ahead. But with the Senior Master¡¯s support, that would be an entirely different story! Shen Xiu narrowed his eyes. Forcing his own way, Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°In any case, I feel like you¡¯re using the office to carry out indecent acts anyway. Why not just give up that good space so that I can have it?¡± Indecent acts... Shen Xiu squinted, knowing at once that Shen Liangchuan was referring to his affair with Mei Feng in the past. The Senior Master too, was suddenly reminded and said right away, ¡°Let him have the room then! After all, Liangchuan is still young.¡± Shen Xiu was bbergasted. The Senior Master Shen looked at Shen Liangchuan and said, ¡°Liangchuan, look, what else do you need? I¡¯ll fulfill all of your requests.¡± Chapter 955 - The Abrupt Rise of Best Actor Shen (14)

Chapter 955: The Abrupt Rise of Best Actor Shen (14)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios [Best Actor Shen, whoes from a notable family, now returns as CEO of the Shen Family Corporation] [Best Actor Shen suspected to have seeded in the Shen Family Group.] News about Shen Liangchuan made it to the trending topics all the time. Hence, the news that Shen Liangchuan had be the Shen Family Corporation¡¯s CEO was all over the Inte at once. Right from the start of his acting career, Shen Liangchuan had had a noble air around him and that was his trademark. This had also caused many to wonder about his family background and many had already guessed that he must have been from a wealthy family. Later on, his identity had been exposed. In this instant, with such an explosive headline and the media giving it so much coverage, in addition to pictures of Shen Liangchuan taking up the CEO position, it became the number 1 trending topic the moment news broke. ... Meanwhile, far away in Suzhou, where Qiao Lian had been for half a month now, she followed the news with the cell phone in her hand. From the pictures, she could tell that Shen Liangchuan¡¯s face looked less thin and in better spirits. Of course, most people would look plumper in pictures. But Qiao Lian felt that Shen Liangchuan seemed to finally be in a better state of mind. He was more alive. In thest fortnight, although she had found footing in Suzhou and even gained some poprity running her livestream channel, she had been following Shen Liangchuan¡¯s news closely. No news to her was bad news. Now, the moment he appeared, it was with a heavy headline. Seeing how Shen Liangchuan was full of mettle, she could finally stop worrying. As long as he had recovered, everything was fine. She stared hard at the cell phone while thinking this. Initially, she had thought that she was feeling restless and nerve-wrecked because she hadn¡¯t heard any news about him. But now, after reading news about him, she had discovered that... She missed him. More than any words could describe. In thest fortnight, there hadn¡¯t been a moment that she hadn¡¯t thought of him. Ofte, she had been staring at her cell phone screen obsessively, with sadness in her eyes. They had had an online romance for two years. And after he became a celebrity, she had been among his numerous fans. Now that she was his wife, ironically, she had to find out about him through the inte. At this thought, she logged out and closed Weibo. She took a deep breath and tried to suppress the bitter feelings she had. Then she discovered that among her WeChat groups, one of the groups suddenly was flooded with messages. That was Shen Liangchuan¡¯s fans group. Someone among the fans was eximing now: [Ahhhhh! Best Actor Shen ising to Suzhou tomorrow!] Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank at reading the message. Shen Liangchuan wasing? Was heing to Suzhou... to look for her? Did he know she was here? As these questions ran through her mind, someone exined: [Best Actor Shen will be in Suzhou to sign an agreement for one of the Shen Family Group¡¯s projects. But... Best Actor Shen¡¯s manager has just informed us that he is going to do a fanmeeting! It is thanks to the fans in Suzhou. Ahhhhhh! I¡¯m getting all excited!] [Hurry up! Who is in Suzhou? Come and register!] [I¡¯m in Shanghai. I can go over, it¡¯s very near!] [Why didn¡¯t you say so earlier?! Tomorrow I¡¯ll be in Hainan and, even if I wanted to fly over, it¡¯s toote!] [Suzhou, Suzhou, Suzhou! I want to go!] Then the group owner wrote: [Chuanliu Buxi: Because of a quota, only 20 people are allowed to this event. We intend to filter the participants and go by order of membership seniority. Does anyone object to this method?] No one objected to this suggestion. Just as Qiao Lian was about to put her cell phone aside, Chuanliu Buxi sent her a private message: [Are youing?] Chapter 956 - Best Actor Shen Is Here (1)

Chapter 956: Best Actor Shen Is Here (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When her identity as Forget Chuan and Mrs. Shen had been exposed, Qiao Lian¡¯s name had also been made public. But even then, no one had thought that the junior reporter Qiao Lian in this group was Best Actor Shen¡¯s wife herself. There were too many people who had the same names in this world. Some time ago, when Qiao Lian got in contact with Chuanliu Buxi, she had told Chuanliu Buxi that she was in Suzhou. Hence, thetter was now asking her. Qiao Lian was stumped for a while when she read the message. Did she want to go? In all honesty, it was too great a temptation. She took a deep breath and gulped. Yet another message came from Chuanliu Buxi: [Doe along. Best Actor Shen seldom has any activities in Suzhou, so it¡¯s a rare chance! A few of us have been fans for a long time, I¡¯ve saved seats for us.] Qiao Lian paused and tightened her fists. But suddenly, she realized something and it woke her up. She replied: [I may be busy tomorrow.] Chuanliu Buxi¡¯s reply came quickly: [I think now that Best Actor Shen has taken over the Shen Family Corporation, he¡¯ll be acting less and less. And there will be less fanmeetings. So I still think this is a rare chance!! Think about it and let me know by tonight.] Qiao Lian paused for a moment and typed her reply: [It¡¯s ok, thanks.] Then she turned off her cell phone, looked up and gave her forehead a light massage. She stood up, stretched on the sides and headed into the kitchen to cook. Ever since she had discovered that she was pregnant, she had stopped eating out or eating instant noodles. She only knew how to cook noodles with meat floss and vegetables on top. Although it wasn¡¯t tasty, ultimately it was more nutritious and healthier. However, looking at the food on the table, she couldn¡¯t help but recall the images of Shen Liangchuan cooking in the kitchen of the Shen vi. With the apron tied around him, he never appeared to be very busy with something but in no time, a bowl of piping hot noodles would appear. The fresh vegetables would be green and plump, the meat tender and moist and the noodles inevitably chewy. It was always appetizing. But returning to reality, she sighed as she looked at the lifeless limp vegetables and meat floss noodles that she had prepared. She picked up her chopsticks and took a big bite. Patting her belly, she said, ¡°Little darling, you¡¯re not as lucky as I was! I had the privilege to eat Best Actor Shen¡¯s gold-star meat floss noodles cooked by himself. But you can only have your Mom¡¯s unbranded meat-floss noodles.¡± After she had eaten, she washed the dishes. As she was doing so, a bowl slipped from her hands and fell on the ground with a sh. It shattered into pieces. Qiao Lian looked at the broken bowl and sighed deeply. She bent down, lowered her body and cleaned up the mess. She knew that she was distracted and restless about something. She wanted to see him. Looking at a picture was certainly different from seeing a person in real life. She couldn¡¯t be sure he was doing well and she couldn¡¯t stop worrying. He was a stubborn man and, even if he was still insomniac, he could hide it easily from Xia Yehua and she would never realize. So was he now really able to sleep well? After she made a decision, she picked up the cell phone and typed her message to Chuanliu Buxi: [I¡¯lle tomorrow!] Once the message was sent, that heavy feeling in her heart immediately went away. She took a deep breath, did evening exercises and then turned on theputer to deliver her casting livestream. Chapter 957 - Best Actor Shen Is Here (2)

Chapter 957: Best Actor Shen Is Here (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mobile games were all the rage now, and female casters were also extremely popr. Perhaps because she was Forget Chuan, the tform organizer took good care of her and ensured she had all the resources. Basically, Love Chuan was always listed at the top of the rmendations homepage. Hence, in less than two weeks, she had gained poprity and hundreds of thousands of followers. Every time she was the caster, the live audience rate would rise to tens of thousands. On top of this was the fact that she was a good yer and was always spot-on with hermentating. Hence, those who watched her and noticed her became her loyal fans. Love Chuan had be a hot personality on the tform. But now that she was pregnant, she had to restrain sometimes. She limited her casting work to three hours a day. By the time she finished work, it would be 9 p.m. She would then take a shower and go to bed. But on this particr night, she just couldn¡¯t get to sleep. They didn¡¯t use heaters in Suzhou. It was cold in the house. Even though she had grown up in the south, she had been in Beijing for thest eight years and had grown used to the dry air there. With this thought, she curled up. Her hands and feet were cold and it made her think of Shen Liangchuan. Hisrge hands were always warm. At a time when they were lovey-dovey, she would always curl up in his embrace in bed at night. Even though they would both end up drenched in perspiration sleeping like that in the warm room, she would never move away from him. But now... Qiao Lian hugged her knees and squeezed her eyes shut. A small tear formed in the corner of each eye and slowly slid down her face. Soon, it was the next day. She got up early in the morning and washed up. Winters in Suzhou could get a little chilly. Wearing a hat and scarf with her head down kept herfortably warm. She walked down the streets like any other pedestrian. Like always, she went to a store to buy breakfast and then went to the market to purchase some vegetables. That familiar and yet odd feeling came back as she walked down the street. She turned to look. People were walking to and fro along the streets, there was nothing odd about it. She sighed deeply. Recently, she had been experiencing an odd feeling, as though someone was following her and watching her, but every time she turned around, she did not spot anything suspicious. She felt that perhaps this was the one of the job hazards of being a reporter. It made her paranoid. She shook her head. Soon, she was home. Not too far away on the side of a street, there was a nondescript ck sedan parked there. In the sedan. Lu Nanze¡¯s gaze followed her figure closely through the dark window from the backseat of his car. In thest fortnight, this had be a habit for him. His chauffeur and assistant in the driver seat looked at him through the rear view mirror. He couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Sir, why don¡¯t you approach Ms. Qiao?¡± This wasn¡¯t Mr. Lu¡¯s style at all. Mr. Lu had always taken whatever he wanted. But this time, he had been watching her for half a month and done nothing? At that question, Lu Nanze said unhurriedly, ¡°No rush.¡± Of course there was no rush. He knew Qiao Lian. If he went to her at this point of time, it would only make her feel repulsed. In any case, Shen Liangchuan was now out of the way. He would give her enough time to forget that man. As long as she was in Suzhou and as long as there was no Shen Liangchuan, he had the confidence that Qiao Lian would eventually fall in love with him. At this thought, the corners of his mouth gradually curled upwards into a devilish smile. Chapter 958 - Best Actor Shen Is Here (3)

Chapter 958: Best Actor Shen Is Here (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After taking her breakfast, Qiao Lian looked at the time and left the house. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s event was being held in a hotel. As the signing for the Shen Family Enterprise¡¯s project was taking ce at this hotel, the fanmeeting event was being held there too. When Qiao Lian arrived, she saw that the hotel had hired additional security in preparation for Shen Liangchuan¡¯s arrival. The atmosphere had be quite solemn for the important asion. Many reporters thronged the surroundings, in hope to catch new bites. There were also fans who had turned up because they had heard about the event and were standing in line. On a cold winter¡¯s day, these fans were heated up with passion, holding up banners that read: Best Actor Shen, We Love You! Qiao Lian stood among the crowd and craned her neck, hoping to catch a glimpse of Shen Liangchuan in person. There were just too many people and everyone was trying to swarm forward. The security officers immediately tried to stop that and started to do what was needed to keep order. A long rope had been put up as a barrier to keep the fans behind, while also creating a long walkway. The surrounding fans¡¯ discussions could be heard: ¡°Ahhhhh! I¡¯ll finally get to see Best Actor Shen in real life!¡± ¡°I heard that in real life he¡¯s even better looking than on screen!¡± ¡°Pity Best Actor Shen is married!¡± ¡°Him being married can¡¯t stop me from loving him!¡± ¡°I wonder who Mrs. Shen is. I envy her.¡± All sorts ofments could be heard. Qiao Lian smiled sadly, hearing all of these remarks. At this point, she felt someone tap her shoulder. Immediately, she turned around. She saw an unfamiliar girl standing behind her. The unfamiliar girl looked at her from head to toe as though studying her and asked, ¡°Are you... Qiao Lian?¡± Qiao Lian paused for a moment and then responded, ¡°Chuanliu Buxi?¡± The girl nodded at once. ¡°Yes. Let¡¯s go over to the other side, we can go inter. Best Actor Shen is here to sign an agreement, so we have to wait till he finishes his official business before he cane over.¡± Qiao Lian nodded and followed the girl to the side. The 20 qualifying fans for Shen Liangchuan¡¯s meet-and-greet event were already standing there. Someone said aloud with some bitterness, ¡°We are all fans of Best Actor Shen, why can¡¯t we go to the event?¡± ¡°Just because they were fans of Best Actor Shen first? But when Best Actor Shen got popr, I was only 12! I fell in love with him when I was 15. They can¡¯t discriminate against us just because of our age!¡± ¡°Exactly, and that Chuanliu Buxi is so arrogant! Just because she¡¯s the leader of Best Actor Shen¡¯s fanclub.¡± ¡°I heard that Chuanliu Buxi has met Best Actor Shen many times! She¡¯s also been on filming site visits. She even took a photo together with Best Actor Shen!¡± ¡°Ahhhhh, I¡¯m so envious! Best Actor Shen rarely takes pictures with anyone!! I¡¯ve never even seen him in real life.¡± As the discussions took ce, Chuanliu Buxi started tough. The 20 qualifying fans surrounded Chuanliu Buxi and asked, ¡°Leader, is Best Actor Shen handsome? I envy you! Have you shaken hands with Best Actor Shen?¡± ¡°Leader...¡± Even though Chuanliu Buxi was a good-natured girl, she couldn¡¯t help but feel a little smug and conceited from the attention. She smiled and said, ¡°Won¡¯t we all get to meet himter? What¡¯s the rush? There are only 20 fans, so for sure there will be an opportunity to take a photo.¡± ¡°But Best Actor Shen doesn¡¯t like pestering fans, so everyone please take note. Please do cooperate with his managerter on. Do as you¡¯re told, do you understand?¡± Everyone nodded. ¡°Uh huh.¡± Just as these words were uttered, there was a suddenmotion among therger crowd of fans. There was a loud shout, ¡°Best Actor Shen is here!¡± Chapter 959 - Best Actor Shen Is Here (4)

Chapter 959: Best Actor Shen Is Here (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Initially, Qiao Lian had stood among the crowd, not saying anything or trying to stand out much. But seeing how much these fans idolized and protected him, she couldn¡¯t help but feel honor and pride welling up in her. She was happy for Shen Liangchuan. And these fans... were just like her. They had loved him and been his fans since he had started his acting career. As these thoughts ran through her mind, they heard loud gasps through the crowd. She immediately looked in their direction. An exclusive ck Bentley sedan pulled to a slow stop outside the hotel entrance. Following this, someone walked up to open the car door. Then, anky leg extended out from inside the car. Shortly after, he got out and stood up. ¡°Ahhhhhh!¡± The fans went wild, the noise was deafening. Amidst all of themotion, Qiao Lian felt her world suddenly light up. He was like the sun, no matter where he went. He was always the focus of everyone¡¯s attention. Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes were fixed on his face, and there she lost herself. He had grown even thinner than when she had left him. His cheekbones had be more prominent, which made his side profile more defined and sharp. His eyes were as deep and dark as ever, but now she could see some heavy emotions lurking beneath. As she looked at him, she found her breathing slightlybored. As usual, he was expressionless. He swept his thin gaze over the crowd of fans. Whatever direction he looked, loud gasps and cries of excitement could be heard from that direction. Qiao Lian¡¯s heart was naturally full and bursting with pride that Shen Liangchuan was so revered by all these people. Her emotions wereplex and her eyes turned moist. She had seen him now. And hisplexion was indeed radiant. The dark circles under his eyes had lightened up, a sign that he had probably been feeling better these days. She was happy for him, yet sad for herself. Her existence in itself was a tragedy. It seemed that her departure had indeed been the right choice. She felt her throat tightening up and the familiar stinging of her nose, as the brim of her eyes began to swell. Right at this time... ¡°Best Actor Shen, do you remember me? I¡¯m Chuanliu Buxi!¡± Chuanliu Buxi screamed loudly, making Shen Liangchuan turn to look in their direction. Qiao Lian¡¯s heart jumped as she quickly looked down to hide her face. And even though she had done that, from the corner of her eye, her gaze was fixed firmly on the man. She ultimately could not bear to look elsewhere. She knew that a moment gone would be one moment less. She must treasure every second she had. She knew too, that she would not be able to participate in the meet-and-greet session. Because she feared that she would not be able control herself and would rush right up to him. She saw that as he cast his gaze in their direction, he nodded slightly at Chuanliu Buxi. Right after, he looked back at the red carpet that stretched before him and followed its lead into the hotel lobby. The security officers held back the fans who had swarmed forward, closing in to try to follow him into the hotel. He walked slowly in their direction... Then, he moved right past Qiao Lian and straight ahead. Qiao Lian stood rooted to the ground in a daze, her eyes following his every move and not letting up till she could only see his back. She knew that soon he would disappear. But as he stepped into the hotel lobby, he halted as though he had suddenly realized something. Then he spun around. All the fans, initially feeling dejected that he was finally going to disappear from their view, now exploded into a frenzy again as he turned around. ¡°Best Actor Shen! Best Actor Shen!¡± The excited screams sounded all over again. The crowd surged forward in attempt to get closer to their idol. Qiao Lian did not dare to go near. She wanted to take a step backward when she was shoved and found herself staggering forward from the force. The next moment, she was falling on the ground. Chapter 960 - Best Actor Shen Is Here (5)

Chapter 960: Best Actor Shen Is Here (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Because the crowd was surging forward and only Qiao Lian was trying to retreat, it was inevitable that she tumbled. It was winter and her garments were thick, hence, it wasn¡¯t a painful fall. But... The situation became chaotic. If the crowd continued to press forward towards Shen Liangchuan, they could trample on her and injure her. She widened her eyes in fright and waved both her hands in attempt to fend off the crowd. But the people were all frantically looking in Best Actor Shen¡¯s direction, how would they really make way for her? Someone on the front halted and the people behind collided with him. At a critical moment, the crowd suddenly stopped moving. Qiao Lian looked up in terror. She had expected a great collision but that did not happen. On the contrary, there were audible gasps and exciting squeals! Then she saw that Shen Liangchuan, who had initially been about to step into the hotel, had suddenly turned around, bypassed the security and was striding in her direction. Qiao Lian froze on the spot. She wanted to stand up but before she could do so, the man was already standing in front of her. Qiao Lian was stunned and she found herself unable to move. There were only a few people standing between them now. She could sense his familiar presence and see his familiar face¡ªhe was so close, only a breath away. She stared at him in wonderment and suddenly snapped back to the present. Pressing her palms against the ground, she quickly pushed herself back up on her feet. Then she lowered her head and hid herself in the crowd, trying to melt and disappear among the people. The man before her halted all of a sudden. The fans surrounding him were in a frenzy, calling out shrilly, asking him to shake hands and his autograph. He was mobbed by the people. His assistant and the security officers stepped in to form a barrier between him and the fans. As Shen Liangchuan stood there, he heard a fan say, ¡°Best Actor Shen, why did youe back out here all of a sudden?¡± Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help but purse her lips when she heard this question. Indeed, why had hee back here all of the sudden? Had something happened? Shen Liangchuan¡¯s pupils shrank back when he heard this question. Come back here all of a sudden... He had no idea too as to why he hade back here again. He had only felt as though he had heard her voice, so he hadn¡¯t thought twice before striding back out. But among the sea of fans, he couldn¡¯t even spot her face. At this point, Shen Liangchuan thought that his ears must have been ying tricks on him. He drew his chin taut and said unhurriedly, ¡°The weather is cold and all of you here must have waited a long time. Give each person here today a cup of hot milk tea.¡± The moment he said this, the crowd of fans started to go wild again. ¡°Ahhhh!! Best Actor Shen is too dashing!¡± ¡°Best Actor Shen is so considerate!¡± Those words fell on Shen Liangchuan¡¯s and Qiao Lian¡¯s ears. They were only separated by a small distance of a few bodies. Yet they could not acknowledge each other. Amidst the crowd, Qiao Lian had to extend her own imagination. She clenched her fists tightly as she listened to the words of admiration from the crowd. Her heart was full of pride and honor. She could only keep looking, as Song Cheng whispered something in Shen Liangchuan¡¯s ear and thetter nodded. As though looking for something, his gaze lingered on the crowd and swept through it one more time. Then he looked away and followed Song Cheng into the hotel lobby once more. After Shen Liangchuan had left, the fans were still chatting delightedly about what he had just done. Finally, when the cups of milk tea for the fans were distributed, Qiao Lian clutched hers tightly in her hands. Her eyes blurred suddenly as they turned moist and that stinging sensation in her nose came back. Chapter 961 - Best Actor Shen Is Here (6)

Chapter 961: Best Actor Shen Is Here (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Qiao Lian, hurry up ande. We are preparing to go meet Best Actor Shen!¡± Qiao Lian suddenly smiled and replied when she heard Chuanliu Buxi calling her, ¡°Mypany just called me out of the blue. They want me to go over urgently as something came up. I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be able to join you.¡± Chuanliu Buxi eximed in surprise, but said amodatingly, ¡°That¡¯s a pity! But nevermind, I¡¯ll get you an autograph! I¡¯ll give it to you.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. ¨C Away from the hotel, away from the crowd. The chaotic noise finally faded from her ears. While Qiao Lian walked along the street, she realized that her thoughts had stopped the moment her gaze had fallen on his face. Shen Liangchuan had never had the habit of putting on makeup, and she had seen that hisplexion was considerably good. So she no longer had to worry. ¨C At the same time, Shen Liangchuan, who had now stepped into the hotel lobby, felt a wrenching pain in his heart. It felt as though something of importance was leaving him. He frowned and thought for a moment before he turned to Song Cheng and asked, ¡°Do we have a makeup artist?¡± Song Cheng nodded. Looking ahead, Shen Liangchuan continued, ¡°I need a touch-upter on. At least I won¡¯t look too bad then.¡± Song Cheng was troubled when he heard this, but he nodded. Since Ms. Qiao had left, Best Actor Shen had gone downhill and looked worse. Although he was able to sleep now, his mood never lifted. But that was also not entirely true. Because before Ms. Qiao had married him, he had never been happy either. So now, it was just going back to that monotonous, joyless life. ¨C Dejectedly, Qiao Lian returned to the apartment where she now lived. She had not noticed that a nondescript ck sedan had followed her all the way. Lu Nanze sat in the backseat and his gaze had never left her back. He was frowning. His assistant could not stop himself from remarking, ¡°Sir, will Ms. Qiao go look for Shen Liangchuan?¡± Lu Nanze cast his gaze down and tapped his fingers against the armrest. After a moment, he said, ¡°No, she won¡¯t.¡± If she was going to look for Shen Liangchuan now, then she wouldn¡¯t have left in the first ce. He pulled his chin taut at this thought. After another pause, he spoke again, ¡°Let¡¯s move ording to our n.¡± ¡°Roger.¡± ¨C Initially, Qiao Lian had thought that Shen Liangchuan¡¯s business trip to Suzhou was just a short day trip. She had thought that he would leave on the same day, or at most, on the third day. But unexpectedly that evening, Chuanliu Buxi sent messages to the fans¡¯ group chats, telling them that Shen Liangchuan was going to be in Suzhou for an extended period. When Qiao Lian saw the messages about him being there for an extended period, her heart started to pound wildly. Staying for an extended period! What for? Did he know she was in Suzhou? At that thought, her cell phone suddenly rang. She looked down at the screen and saw that it was Cheng Sizhe. She picked up the call and Cheng Sizhe¡¯s voice came through the line, ¡°Forget Chuan, one of our tform¡¯s big bosses has contacted me. He said he¡¯d like to contact you. Is it ok with you if I arrange a meeting?¡± Qiao Lian was surprised by the unexpected request and asked, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Apparently, it¡¯s to discuss signing an agreement.¡± At present, she was considered one of the tform¡¯s contracted female casters. Could it be that there was a problem with the agreement? It couldn¡¯t be. Even if there was something wrong with the agreement, the big bosses wouldn¡¯t be the ones talking to her about it. Having contemted this, she said, ¡°Sure, why don¡¯t you give him my cell phone number?¡± Chapter 962 - Best Actor Shen Is Here (7)

Chapter 962: Best Actor Shen Is Here (7)

She hung up. After a while, a call came in from an unfamiliar number. Qiao Lian picked up the call. ¡°Hello, how can I help you?¡± ¡°Hello, Ms. Qiao. I¡¯m looking for you to find out some information.¡± Qiao Lian frowned. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s about the professional team PC Team. Have you heard of them?¡± After a pause, Qiao Lian answered, ¡°Yes, I have.¡± PC Team had been exceptionally popr in recent years. Although she had not been gaming in recent years, she had been paying close attention to thepetitive scene. Besides... CQ Team had made it to the national grand final, hence, she had to understand the teams with strong yers. PC Team was considered peerless and had held the national champion title for a number of consecutive years. Furthermore, when one spoke of the PC Team, one name was exceptionally famos: Prince. Prince had fought his way up to be the individual national champion in thest few days. The whole gaming world knew Prince. He was like Zi Chuan of the past, or even more famed than Zi Chuan at that time. Because he had taken part in the nationalpetition, his image was simr to a celebrity¡¯s. For some time, he had already been known as Lot eSports¡¯ current celebrity gamer. Yet why was this big boss asking her these things? The big boss continued, ¡°Well, it¡¯s like this. PC Team would like to invite you.¡± Invite her? Qiao Lian was surprised. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Their team captain Prince saw your livestream and finds you acutely talented in gaming. Furthermore, you have a unique perspective. Hence, their fighting team has invited you to join them, to be their team coach.¡± Qiao Lian was speechless. So had she been talent-spotted? Although being talent-spotted was a happy thing... Qiao Lian said confidently, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sir, I¡¯m not really interested in professional gamingpetitions.¡± She was already the coach of CQ Team. How could she join PC Team? If Zombie Leader found out, he would be livid. Besides... There was no way she could lead CQ into the next phase now, so it was also out of the question for her to be the coach of their opponent team. When the big boss of her livestream tform heard this, he started to get anxious. ¡°Ms. Qiao, please reconsider. As a coach, you don¡¯t have to spend much time guiding them. In terms of wages, we can negotiate.¡± Qiao Lian smiled and said, ¡°Thank you, but I¡¯m really not interested.¡± As she sounded adamant and left him no room to negotiate, the big boss sighed and replied, ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll convey your message to them in a bit.¡± Qiao Lian: ... After hanging up, Qiao Lian sighed. As usual, she delivered her livestream that night. The night passed in silence. The following day, after she woke up and checked her cell phone, she saw that she had a few missed calls. Most of the calls hade inte at night. This puzzled her. Thinking that the calls were from a local number in Suzhou, she called back. She wondered if they could be from her old-time friends in Suzhou. Unexpectedly, after the phone rang for a long time, someone finally picked up the call. Following this, a croaky voice, as though the person had just woken up from his sleep, came through the line, ¡°Hello?¡± Qiao Lian cleared her throat and asked, ¡°May I know whom I¡¯m speaking with?¡± ¡°Prince.¡± Prince? Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank immediately as Prince continued, ¡°Can we meet up and have a chat?¡± Chapter 963 - Best Actor Shen Is Here (8)

Chapter 963: Best Actor Shen Is Here (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Meet up? Unable to control herself, Qiao Lianughed and said, ¡°Can I know why you¡¯re looking for me?¡± Prince¡¯s tone was somewhat lofty, ¡°Well then, are you saying that you don¡¯t wish to meet up?¡± Qiao Lian replied politely, ¡°But we don¡¯t know each other.¡± ¡°You should have heard of my name.¡± Qiao Lian kept silent. ¡°So you do know me. And I got to know you just yesterday.¡± Qiao Lian still did not say a word. ¡°Where do you live? If you don¡¯t wish toe out, I¡¯ll go to your ce and wait for you downstairs.¡± Seeing how insistent he was, Qiao Lian finally spoke, ¡°Prince, I don¡¯t think there is a need. I know why you¡¯re looking for me, but I can¡¯t agree.¡± ¡°Why? Why would you not want to be my coach?¡± Qiao Lian was speechless. She finally understood. Prince was a proud and arrogant person. He couldn¡¯t ept the fact that she had rejected the request to be the team¡¯s coach. Hence, now he wanted to personallye and pester her. Qiao Lian took a deep breath and said to him, ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want. It¡¯s because I can¡¯t.¡± ¡°But if I don¡¯t mind, why should you?¡± Qiao Lian was quite exasperated that her message to Prince wasn¡¯t quite getting through. She cleared her throat and said, ¡°Well, is there anything else?¡± Prince challenged her, ¡°How about we y a solo match? Let¡¯s y one-on-one!¡± Qiao Lian asked, ¡°And then what?¡± ¡°Ane if you lose, you shall be my coach.¡± Qiao Lian was bbergasted. She was a female caster with an injured hand, why would she want to y against a professional gamer? Wasn¡¯t that just being masochistic? Finally, not wishing to pursue the conversation any longer, she said, ¡°Prince, if there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll hang up now.¡± After hanging up, she got up and went on about her daily routine, heading out to get breakfast and to the market, thening home to cook. At 6 p.m. her life as a caster began. ¨C Meanwhile, in the hotel. Shen Liangchuan stood at the balcony listening to Song Cheng¡¯s report. ¡°I have also asked at the Qiao family¡¯s old home. They said they haven¡¯t seen Ms. Qiao. At the graveyard, the security officer can¡¯t say for sure as there are just too many visitors, however it seems that they haven¡¯t seen Ms. Qian.¡± Sounding a little disappointed, Song Cheng said, ¡°Could it be that Ms. Song is not in Suzhou?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not possible,¡± Shen Liangchuan said unhurriedly. She had to clear her parents¡¯ names, so she couldn¡¯t possibly be away from Suzhou. Song Cheng lowered his head and said, ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll get people to continue investigating.¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded. After Song Cheng left, he finally sighed to himself. Xiao Qiao, where on earth are you? He knitted his brow at the thought. After leaving Shen Liangchuan¡¯s room, Song Cheng went down on the elevator. In the elevator, someone was watching a livestream on the cell phone. Song Cheng let out a long and deep breath. Where exactly was Ms. Qiao and why had she gone away? Suddenly, in the middle of his thoughts, he heard an extremely familiar voiceing from the other person¡¯s cell phone. He snapped his head around, looked at the person and asked, ¡°What are you watching?¡± ¡°Love Chuan¡¯s gaming livestream.¡± Love Chuan? Love Chuan!! Wasn¡¯t that Sister Qiao? No wonder that voice was so familiar! Song Cheng was absolutely stunned. The search had been worth every bit of effort since it finally bore fruit. He almost jumped with joy at the thought. He did not get out of the elevator when it arrived on the ground floor. Instead, he went back to Shen Liangchuan¡¯s room. He shouted excitedly as he threw open the door, ¡°Best Actor Shen, we¡¯ve found Sister Qiao!¡± Chapter 964 - Best Actor Shen Is Here (9)

Chapter 964: Best Actor Shen Is Here (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan¡¯s pupils shrank at once the moment he heard the news. He spun around and heard an excited Song Cheng say, ¡°Hurry, hurry and download the eSports app! Sister Qiao is doing a livestream! Under the name Love Chuan!¡± Shen Liangchuan picked up his cell phone. There was no need for him to download an app, he opened one that was already installed. Upon entering it, the homepage rmended Love Chuan¡¯s livestream that was now in progress. Shen Liangchuan immediately clicked to join the livestream. At once, he heard a familiar voice saying, ¡°The pressure¡¯s greater here on the topne, so it would be better if I used this champion, with a greater ability to resist attacks. You can see it¡¯s not bad in midne.¡± ¡°... There will be an individual fight in midne, but I can¡¯t help out there. As you can see, I would be at a disadvantage so going that way is a suicide mission. But I¡¯ll take the opportunity to destroy their turret on the topne. A champion for a turret, it¡¯s worth it. Remember, this game is not about killing the opponent, but destroying turrets.¡± And it went on. Her voice was crystal clear and agile, she spoke quickly as she exined the game through her knowledge. It was mesmerizing to listen to her. Seeing that Shen Liangchuan was now fully absorbed and fixed on his cell phone screen, he quietly left the room. Shen Liangchuan walked to the sofa at the side of the room with his cell phone and sat down. COMMENT Listening to the cadence of her speech and the enthusiasm in her voice, he finally found rest and a quiet spot in his heart. Xiao Qiao was doing well. This knowledge relieved him as he felt a burden lift from his shoulders. Sometimes loving did not mean to possess. It was enough just to know that she was happy. He found himself rxing at this thought, as he sat back on the sofa and concentrated on her livestream. The pressure and pain of the past suddenly vanished. A certain calmness and peace came over him just by listening to her sweet voice. As her voice permeated the room, his spirit calmed down. When she finished the match, she paused for a bit and during the break, she said rather bashfully, ¡°Well, may I trouble all of you to move your adorable little fingers and press that button to follow me?¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s lips curled upwards slowly at the shyness in her voice. He hadn¡¯t expected her to be this shy even online. He pressed the button to follow her. In the past, he had never been interested in casters and would merely nce at it without paying much attention. However he realized that, after clicking on the button to follow her, he had to register to log in. In the past, he had never bothered with these troublesome processes or registered for anything. But now, following the instructions, he entered the required information. Finally, when he had to introduce an id, he paused. His gaze fell on Qiao Lian¡¯s id as a caster. Love Chuan. She had used to be Forget Chuan. Now she was Love Chuan. He smiled while a surge of happiness welled up in his heart. He cast his gaze down as he contemted for a moment. Then in the field where he had to enter his it, he typed: Missing Qiao. He confirmed the entry and logged into the game. While waiting for the tform to load, Qiao Lian cleared her throat and said, ¡°Everyone, if you have bubbles, may I ask you to give me some? After all, this is a popr thing. For those who want to give some gifts, please do so ording to what you can afford. After all as a caster, I do depend on this for my livelihood.¡± Sending bubbles? Shen Liangchuan frowned. What did that mean? Chapter 965 - Best Actor Shen Is Here (10)

Chapter 965:

Best Actor Shen Is Here (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He studied this thing seriously. He soon discovered that every day, the system would allocate some bubbles. However, if one wanted to give more than that, they would have to purchase a top-up. A top-up. Without the slightest hesitation, he purchased 10 000 dors¡¯ worth of balloons. Subsequently, he started to send bubbles and purchase gifts. Suddenly, he heard Qiao Lian¡¯s voice say, ¡°Thank you to Missing Qiao for your gift of 1314 bubbles! Thank you to Missing Qiao for the 520 gifts!¡± 5201314. This number. Shen Liangchuan smiled. He actually felt somewhat excited for having his name mentioned. He had never followed celebrity and, even when meeting with the nation¡¯s leaders, he had never felt nervous or excited. But right now, he actually felt as though he was a young boy meeting his first love. His heart pounded wildly and his eyes were once again fixed on the cell phone. The next moment, he picked up his cell phone and continued buying things. ¡°Thank you, Missing Qiao.¡± And in thements section, someone started toment: [Woah, here¡¯s another local rich man!] [How about a date, caster?] [Caster, show your face please!] ... All sorts ofments started to appear and this made Shen Liangchuan frown at once. Caster, what about a date? How could someone even say that out loud?! Just as he took a deep breath, he saw on the screen that, suddenly, someone had appeared and sent many great gifts. Shen Liangchuan frowned at the gifts shing on the screen. It read: [Prince has gifted 2017 bubbles! 2017 gifts!] Prince? What the freaking hell?! ¨C Qiao Lian realized that she must have made a lot of money tonight. That person Missing Qiao appeared to have purchased 10 000 dors¡¯ worth of gifts. Just as she was feeling pleased, she suddenly saw Prince. Prince! Freaking hell! He couldn¡¯t possibly be that same Prince from this morning? As the question surfaced in her mind, she saw the words on the gift tag: [Caster, a solo match! One-on-one!] Qiao Lian was bbergasted. He was trying to gain attention by giving her presents. She pretended not to see it and continued to livestream her match. Oh! Gifts from Prince started to arrive, quickly one after the other. Until atst someonemented: [Prince? Is that Prince from PC?] [How can it be? How is it that Prince is watching her livestream?!] [Oh my god! Prince is challenging the caster to a solo match? This is too exciting!] As thesements came in, Prince repliedzily: [Hi everyone, I¡¯m Prince from PC. I wish to make a bet with the caster.] These words immediately caught everyone¡¯s attention. The questions flooded the chat at once: [What bet?] [What?] Prince answered: [I want to y a solo match with the caster. If I win, she will coach our team. If I lose, I¡¯ll purchase 100 000 dors¡¯ worth of gifts for the caster.] At once, the live audience got extremely enthusiastic. Love Chuan had a lot of followers to begin with. Out of the hundreds of thousands of fans she had, at least tens of thousands were watching the livestream. When they read this, they immediately hit a high. One by one, they sentments. [Caster, please ept the solo match with Prince!] Qiao Lian was speechless. All she wanted was to y a game on livestream peacefully, so why was it proving to be so difficult? She cleared her throat and sighed. ¡°Everyone, please don¡¯t create a fuss, I won¡¯t y against Prince.¡± Prince immediately took advantage of the live audience, instigating them: [Your chance to watch an exciting duel is going to depend on whether you can help me convince the caster!] Chapter 966 - Let’s Play (1)

Chapter 966: Let¡¯s y (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The pleas from the audience flooded in, begging the caster to have a solo match with Prince. Someone even wrote: [We are watching the caster for entertainment. Treat it as an entertainment round, it¡¯s alright even if you lose. He is Prince and it would be expected if you lost. And even better if you win! It would just show that you¡¯re a better gamer than him and you would be even more famous.] [Indeed, caster, why are you hesitating?] [Women can be so awkward. Prince is already being so provocative, aren¡¯t you going to respond?] [Caster, if you don¡¯t respond, we¡¯re going to unfollow you!] ... All sorts ofments were posted, annoying Qiao Lian to no end. But these were her fans. They had gotten into the habit of watching her livestream these days. Qiao Lian had always treated her fans well. Hence, pressured by so many people in this instance, she had no other choice but to ept the challenge. She sighed. Then she saw ament from Missing Qiao: [It¡¯s her own business. Whether the caster wishes to ept the fight, what has it got to do with all of you? I support the caster!] Qiao Lian was surprised. Finally someone spoke up for her. Unfortunately, the moment he said this, everyone started to argue with him. [Where¡¯s this fool from?!] [We spend money to follow the caster, so we have the right to say whatever we want!] ... Thements got ugly and Qiao Lian had to step in to say, ¡°Stop arguing, everyone.¡± Having said this, she saw Missing Qiao had posted anotherment: [All of those who use public opinion to pressure the caster are not real fans.] At once, the audience quietened down for a few seconds. Then someone spoke up: [Why does this remark sound so familiar?] [Ah, I remember. It was something that my idol Best Actor Shen once said.] [Right, right! But who is this Missing Qiao? What gives you the right to steal my idol¡¯s words?] [Go away, Missing Qiao! Don¡¯t insult my male idol!] [Best Actor Shen is an idol way up there, but what are you? What right do you have to say that?] [We don¡¯t need your judgment on whether we are Love Chuan¡¯s fans.] Qiao Lian: ... Shen Liangchuan: ... Shen Liangchuan stared at all of thements berating him and he glowered. He wished he could tell them he was really Shen Liangchuan. But he wasn¡¯t at liberty to disclose that at all. He frowned in frustration. At the same time, he kept his eye on Prince. Because he had his finger on the pulse of eSports, he understood that Prince¡¯s influence should not be underestimated. But Xiao Qiao was CQ¡¯s coach, surely, she couldn¡¯t possibly coach another team. As he was thinking of ways for Xiao Qiao to reject this, he heard her responding, ¡°Fine, all of you please stop arguing, I¡¯ll agree to Prince¡¯s request for a match!¡± Shen Liangchuan was speechless. This girl! Why had she agreed to it?! Qiao Lian was actually rather unwilling. But the fans were already getting Shen Liangchuan involved, so she didn¡¯t want things to blow up. As a reporter, she was more than aware that if this argument continued, both she and Shen Liangchuan would be making news headlines together. If that were to happen, her name would surelye to his attention and through that, he would watch her livestream. Consequently, he would discover her. Indeed, the moment she said that, all the fans fell silent. She continued, ¡°Let me finish this game.¡± By the time she finished her game, five minutes had passed. She saw that Prince had kept sending her gifts and there was a message: [Prince: Add me as friend] Chapter 967 - Let’s Play (2)

Chapter 967: Let¡¯s y (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian went into the game tform and navigated to the friends page. Indeed, there was an invitation from Prince. She frowned. Then she clicked to ept his friend request. Once she had done that, an invitation came through from Prince. It was her livestream schedule, so she had promised her fans that this would be in the livestream too. Furthermore, she realized that after the big fuss, her poprity had now grown by at least 200 000 more followers. Everyone was waiting for the match between hers and Prince. Hence, there was no way out now. Qiao Lian gritted her teeth and clicked to ept the match.. Prince selected Zhou Yu as his champion. Qiao Lian furrowed her brows. Since she had agreed to the match, she should do it with her greatest sincerity. She shouldn¡¯t be half-hearted. Besides, if she defeated him, no troubles would followter on. Hence, after some consideration, Qiao Lian selected the champion Xiao Qiao. Prince immediatelyughed at her in the chat of the game interface: [Prince: Zhou Yu is Xiao Qiao¡¯s husband. Do you really think that Xiao Qiao can defeat Zhou Yu?] Qiao Lian was speechless. Without even typing, she said aloud, ¡°We¡¯ll find out if she can. Let¡¯s begin!¡± The gamemenced! In the one-on-one interface, there was only one passageway. Qiao Lian bought her build and went forward. Immediatebat! The way Prince yed Zhou Yu was quite different from how Zi Chuan had yed the same champion. Zi Chuan¡¯s Zhou Yu had the habit of charging forward. Of course, that was because he was unbeatable when it came to maneuvering, whereas Prince¡¯s Zhou Yu was an exceptionally vicious fighter. Xiao Qiao threw a stun spell. The other party shifted his position in order to avoid it and, immediately after that, ran back in the direction where he came from. Qiao Lian had thought that he was really trying to escape, so she took a step forward to chase him. But unexpectedly, Zhou Yu at this point turned around. A stun spell! She was immobilized. Qiao Lian was stunned. She had been tricked. Upon this discovery, she watched in dismay as her hp went from full to almost nothing! She retreated quickly after the stun spell wore off and managed to avoid Zhou Yu¡¯s final attack. Immediately, Prince¡¯s praise was disyed on the screen: [Prince: Very quick operation and reflexes! Not many people can escape a series of attacks like that alive.] Many fans alsomented how those moves had happened in a sh, and that her actions had been extremely fast. Within the space of one second, both of them had actually thrown a few ultimate attacks. Qiao Lian frowned and focused on the fight. Prince¡¯s maneuvering was precise and meticulous. He had certainly proven himself to be the best among all professional gamers! ying against him, Qiao Lian felt the sort of excitement that one would when met with a worthy opponent. Everything within her came alive. This person, Prince, was a gaming expert on par with Zi Chuan. Right until the end, they both were on a killing spree. However, Qiao Lian took a misstep and was mercilessly yed by Prince. She lost. But it was a convincing defeat! Prince was truly the well-deserved champion. With that sort of maneuvering and speed, perhaps the only person who could equal it would be Zi Chuan from back then. Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes lit up. All at once, the irritation she had felt about his pestering lessened in the light of his exquisite gaming skills. Prince sent ament on the livestream interface: [You¡¯ve lost, so will you agree to be my coach?] Agree? How could she possibly agree? A crafty smile shed across her face as she said, ¡°I only agreed to y and that was the only thing I agreed to. Besides, I can¡¯t even defeat you, how does that put me in a position to be your coach?¡± Prince: ...! How could this woman be so crafty?! Just as he was typing something, he suddenly saw that someone had created a room in the game and had asked for a one-on-one match. He saw that the other party¡¯s name was ... Zi Chuan?! Chapter 968 - Let’s Play (3)

Chapter 968: Let¡¯s y (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Although Qiao Lian had lost the game to Prince... It wasn¡¯t by any means a crushing defeat. On the contrary, even Prince had had to fight hard against her maneuvering. There were even a couple of times that he had almost been killed because he was slightly distracted. Hence, although Qiao Lian had lost the game, Prince was more determined than ever that she should be his coach. Because there weren¡¯t many gamers who were noteworthy to him. This was the sort of appreciation that a person with talent had for another talented person. Yet... Before he could say a word, Zi Chuan¡¯s challenge came through. Zi Chuan. His pupils shrank at once upon recognizing that name. Could this be the famed eSports yer Zi Chuan from eight years ago? Ofte, he had been unmatched in the gaming world. Hence, some people had made the remark that if there was anyone who could take him on, then it had to be Zi Chuan. The unfortunate thing was that Zi Chuan had bowed out of the gaming world eight years ago. Not having had a chance to y against Zi Chuan had always been a regret for him. And now... Could this Zi Chuan be a fake? Regardless of whether he was the real Zi Chuan or not, he had to ept the invitation to begin with. Hence, with no time to spare to create trouble for Qiao Lian, he epted the invite straight away. When he entered the room, he typed: [Prince: Are you the Zi Chuan from eight years ago?] But the other party did not bother chatting and immediately started the game. Both yers selected the champion Zhou Yu. Holding his breath and focusing his attention, Prince ventured forward. The champions came face-to-face. Prince had the intention of verifying the opponent¡¯s authenticity when Zi Chuan threw a stun spell. Prince got a shock but did not fret, although he had missed the opportunity. On the contrary, he was excited as he became aware that this was indeed Zi Chuan. He rolled up his sleeves to prepare for a great battle. To and fro, the two of them dueled until atst Prince¡¯s hp fell slightly below Zi Chuan¡¯s. Prince activated the sh function, retreated and hid under his own defense turret. At this point, pushing a confrontation was no longer a good strategy. He should be able to force Zi Chuan to retreat. The moment Prince had that thought, the opponent also activated the sh function and reappeared under his defense turret. Prince narrowed his eyes at once, as the both of them simultaneouslymenced an all-out attack to kill. yed. Two voices in the game announced: Zi Chuan yed Prince. Prince yed Zi Chuan. Prince stared at the screen in a daze! What was with this person? Exchanging a life for another, that was so not worth it. In gaming, there was nothing worse than a gamer would fight till death. This sort of suicide mission had to be dealt with and stopped. As the champions resurrected, Prince could not help but type: [Prince: Brother, was that worth it?] Very quickly, Zi Chuan responded with a simple: [Zi Chuan: Yes.] Of course it had been worth it. From the onset, he hadn¡¯t begun this match to win. He had more self-awareness than that. Prince was new blood and a rising star. Having yed professionally for so many years, he had to have practiced more than Shen Liangchuan. He hade here only to keep his promise to Xiao Qiao. In a game, whoever killed her once, he would kill three times as much. In the game earlier on, he had killed Xiao Qiao twice. Hence now, his mission in this game would be to kill Prince six times. For now, this was only the first. The skilled one had now met the suicidal one. Hence began the explosive, epic battle. Ten minutester. Prince waspletely speechless, staring at his 6:6 result. There hadn¡¯t been a single attack to the tower, just a head-on showdown between the two champions. But it had to be said: it was a sizzling red-hot fight like never before. Whom the winner would turn out to be was anybody¡¯s guess! Chapter 969 - Let’s Play (4)

Chapter 969: Let¡¯s y (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Prince exercised his wrist for a bit. At that moment, winning or losing was no longer important. The most important thing was to fight for his own satisfaction. He stared at the countdown till resurrection. When that finallypleted and he was fully recharged and ready to fight another battle, the cell phone screen turned ck. Prince: ... He was stunned. Then he realized that his cell phone had run out of battery. In his anger, he almost smashed his phone. Quickly, he tossed his cell phone aside and grabbed another one, logging back into his ount. Unfortunately, this interruption had terminated the game. Anxiously, Prince sent Zi Chuan a message: [Prince: My cell phone battery ran out. Let¡¯s y again!] After sending this message, he waited for Zi Chuan¡¯s response. Unfortunately... After waiting ten minutes, there was still no response from Zi Chuan. He could only send another message. But this time, he found that Zi Chuan had gone offline. Gone offline? How could he do that? Prince had not had enough! Zi Chuan had whetted his appetite and then suddenly disappeared. This person, Zi Chuan... what was he up to exactly? ¨C What was he up to? Their game had hit a stalemate. And from this point, it was just a matter of who would make an error first. It was quite meaningless to continue the match. Besides... he had killed Prince six times, so it wasn¡¯t necessary for him to continue with the game. Hence, Shen Liangchuan had left the game decisively and did not even see Prince¡¯s provoking messages. Neither was he aware that in a certain hotel in Suzhou, Prince was now feeling quite tormented. After he had logged out of the game, he went back to the eSports app to continue watching Qiao Lian¡¯s livestream. The fans had posted a lot of goodments. After all, even though she had just lost the match, everyone could see her capability. Shen Liangchuan stared at the screen, at the champion she was using for this game, Xiao Qiao. Finally, the corners of his lips turned upwards into a smile. Xiao Qiao, I¡¯ve avenged you. ¨C As Shen Liangchuan was watching the livestream, the door swung open yet again. Song Cheng walked in. ¡°Brother Shen.¡± Immediately, Shen Liangchuan motioned for Song Cheng to hush as he continued to stare obsessively at the livestream app. God knew how much money and gifts he had sent that night. But for sure, his name had appeared continuously throughout the livestream. Even Qiao Lian remarked, ¡°... Thank you for sending bubbles, Missing Qiao, but that¡¯s more than generous enough! You¡¯ve been sending gifts all evening, so I¡¯m really thankful.¡± Shen Liangchuan cast his gaze down and posted ament: [Missing Qiao: Why won¡¯t the caster show her face?] He really wanted to see how she was and her daily life situation. Unexpectedly, she responded to hisment with augh. ¡°Because I¡¯m not good-looking! Besides, we are game casters, it¡¯s not necessary to show our faces, is it? It¡¯s better to leave some things to the imagination.¡± I¡¯m not good-looking. Shen Liangchuan smiled at once, suddenly remembering how he had, at one time, sarcasticallymented how she probably didn¡¯t look very attractive. The memories of their past were vividly etched in his mind, as though they had happened only yesterday. He couldn¡¯t help but immerse himself in these memories. After some time, the final game for the day ended. Qiao Lian was making her closing remarks for the session, ¡°Alrighty, that¡¯s all for today. After all, it¡¯s been three hours and you must be tired. Have an early night, everyone, goodbye!¡± Then the screen went nk as the livestream ended. Chapter 970 - Let’s Play (5)

Chapter 970: Let¡¯s y (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Her voice was gone. When she said goodbye, Shen Liangchuan felt his heart suddenly empty out as the hotel room went dead silent. He stared at his cell phone and looked at the time with dread. Three hours had flown by before he knew it. But it had felt like only a few seconds to him. He looked at his cell phone quietly and in his mind, he said to her, ¡°Goodnight, Xiao Qiao.¡± After taking a few moments to calm down, he nced up at Song Cheng and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Song Cheng quickly spoke, ¡°It¡¯s like this, they requested you to be the spokesman for a game.¡± Shen Liangchuan lifted his gaze at these words. Quickly, Song Cheng continued, ¡°I know you¡¯re now focused on the Shen family enterprise, but this game is special... It was created by Lot. So I thought I should ask you.¡± All the other advertisers usually got rejected. After all, Shen Liangchuan rarely took on endorsement deals. However, Lot had some impact on Sister Qiao, hence, it was necessary to rify it. The moment he said this, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression somewhat darkened. Lot games. This was connected to his past with Qiao Lian. If it had been some other game, he wouldn¡¯t have taken a nce. But Lot... His heart knotted up. After a moment, Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°You know my usual preference. Decline it.¡± Song Cheng nodded and replied, ¡°Ok.¡± He had expected this oue, hence he expressed no surprise. ¨C On the other end, Qiao Lian, who had just finished the livestream, was feeling moody. It seemed to her like Prince was some sort of pampered, bratty Young Master, and one who would not take rejection easily. That would be why he had kept pestering her. She had thought that after feeling like she had gone back on her word, he would continue to pester her and not let her go. But why had he suddenly vanished without a trace? At this thought, she shook her head and smiled. Really, why was she even thinking about it when the guy had obviously left it as that? She stood up, stretched on her sides and limbered up a little. Then she headed to the restroom to wash up. Finally, she stood before the mirror and studied her reflection. Herplexion was extremely rosy. It looked like she had done something right with her nutritiontely. At this thought, she lowered her head and ced her hand on her belly. This child had been behaving exceptionally well. Besides having thrown up once on the ne, she hadn¡¯t experienced any more morning sickness. And she hadn¡¯t felt any more tired than usual. Was it because... it could feel Mama¡¯s hardship, so it had decided to rest quietly? She patted her belly reflexively and walked back to her bedroom. 10 p.m., bedtime. She had used to be a night owl, but since she had found out she was pregnant, she had started to sleep and rise early. However, before she could fall asleep, her cell phone rang. Surprised, she paused for a moment and picked it up. She put the phone to her ear. A voice came over the line once the call connected, ¡°Love Chuan, how are you? I¡¯m a staff member of the eSports¡¯ app tform.¡± After a pause, she replied, ¡°Oh, hi. How can I help you?¡± Could this possibly be an attempt to talk her into that coaching matter? As this question surfaced in her mind, she heard the caller say, ¡°So... our tform coborates with Lot. The Lotpany is creating a publicity trailer and they¡¯re looking for a few well-known faces to endorse them. They came to us, so I¡¯m calling you to find out if you might be interested in an endorsement deal?¡± Chapter 971 - Let’s Play (6)

Chapter 971: Let¡¯s y (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Was she interested? Of course she was interested. Lot held significance to her past with Zi Chuan! If she could leave a trace of herself in Lot, it would be a very meaningful thing to her. However... If she were to agree to the endorsement deal, wouldn¡¯t that mean having to show her face? And if she showed her face, Shen Liangchuan would be able to locate her. At this thought, she bit her lip and agonized over it for a moment. Then she replied, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m not interested.¡± ¡°The endorsement deal is worth a million dors, would even this not interest you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Well then, why don¡¯t I give you a day to reconsider? Please give it a bit more thought.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± ¨C After hanging up, Qiao Lian agonized over it and hesitated. The endorsement fee was a million dors and this money woulde in handy for her delivery months down the road. And the money would provide some stability for her and her child for a few years. The birth and confinement period1 would both require a significant amount of money. Qiao Lian frowned. As she contemted this, her cell phone rang again. The moment she picked up the call, an unfamiliar voice came through, ¡°Ms. Qiao, I¡¯ve found the person you¡¯re looking for.¡± Found? Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes lit up and she sprang up from her seat. If she wanted to clear her parents¡¯ names, she would have to track down thepany staff from back then. She remembered that the employee in charge of finance in her parents¡¯pany at that time had been a man with the surname Li. So she had sought the help of a private investigator to do the search. Staring ahead, she asked, ¡°Where is he?¡± ¡°After what happened at that time, he and his family all moved to Hainan.¡± Qiao Lian said with swift decisiveness, ¡°Well then, track him down!¡± The caller hesitated for a moment. Qiao Lian asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Ms. Qiao, here¡¯s the thing. Initially, we agreed that I would help you search for the person for 100 000, but now it seems like this person may be outside Suzhou, and I have to go to Hainan. The initial fee is not enough.¡± ¡°We can negotiate the fees. Name your price.¡± ¡°500 000.¡± Qiao Lian was stunned and replied, ¡°Why so high?¡± ¡°Ms. Qiao, Hainan is not our territory. If we go, we will need to prepare things to go there. Besides, going to Hainan to search for a person can easily take half a month. We have to pay for food and amodation. This price is not really high.¡± Qiao Lian sighed and bit her lip. After a moment, she said, ¡°Fine, but I don¡¯t have that much money on hand. Can I owe you for now and pay you in two weeks?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± After hanging up, Qiao Liany back on the bed. There was no way she could make a trip all the way to Hainan to search for a person. She had no other choice but to depend on someone to do the job. But now, where was she going to find the 500 000? She turned around in bed. Suddenly, as though realizing something, she picked up her cell phone. She dialed the number of the person who had called her earlier on. ¡°Hello, how are you? About the Lot add endorsement deal, I¡¯ll ept it!¡± She came to the conclusion that, since she had chosen to be a caster, she couldn¡¯t be afraid of Shen Liangchuan finding her. And if he did find her, so what? Even if he knew that she was in Suzhou, he wouldn¡¯te looking for her, would he? If that were the case, why would she make things difficult for herself? When the person heard this, he immediately said, ¡°Great! That¡¯s great! I heard that they were also looking for a male spokesperson¡ªand it might be an important person. At the moment we don¡¯t know who that is, but since you¡¯ve agreed, can youe over tomorrow? We need to sign the contract. I¡¯ll text you the address.¡± Qiao Lian agreed and said, ¡°Ok.¡± Chapter 972 - An Unexpected Meeting (1)

Chapter 972: An Unexpected Meeting (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In the entertainment industry, people are also ranked ording to seniority. Since they wanted to look for famous male artists to be their spokesperson, they had to start by asking Shen Liangchuan. After Shen Liangchuan rejected them, they had no option but to look for someone else. Although there were many artists in the entertainment industry that yed online games, there were only a few who were famous. Every time Shen Liangchuan visited Suzhou, he would definitely make time to visit his good friend Mo Xicheng in Hengdian. At the same time, the organizer of the Lot event had alsoe to Hengdian to look for Mo Xicheng and discuss the position as spokesman. Mo Xicheng¡¯s movie, Ambition, was still in the middle of filming. As the movie was too important, everyone was really meticulous and the filming period for this movie was half a year. When Shen Liangchuan arrived, Mo Xicheng¡¯s assistant was discussing with Lot¡¯s organizer. Mo Xicheng was intending to ept the position as spokesman. As usual, Mo Xicheng treated Shen Liangchuan to food at the hotpot restaurant they had been tos time. Both of them sat down and Mo Xicheng stared at him with a frown as he asked, ¡°You don¡¯t look so good, what happened?¡± Shen Liangchuan frowned. Mo Xicheng continued speaking, ¡°Why didn¡¯t Sister-inwe with you? Aren¡¯t you two inseparable now?¡± Shen Liangchuan didn¡¯t speak but his gaze slowly sunk. Mo Xicheng¡¯s expression froze and asked, ¡°What happened between you?¡± Shen Liangchuan was one that refused to share his emotions, even if you beat him up till his teeth dropped and bled. But in this world, if there is a person Shen Liangchuan was willing to tell his troubles to, it would be Mo Xicheng. Hearing Mo Xicheng¡¯s questions, he slowly answered, ¡°She left.¡± ¡°She left? What does that mean?¡± Mo Xicheng inquired in surprise. Shen Liangchuan was silent for a while before speaking again, ¡°She left a divorce agreement and left.¡± Mo Xicheng became silent immediately. He didn¡¯t continue speaking. He immediately picked up the ss on the table and raised it. Then he finished it in one go and said, ¡°I¡¯ll apany you today, we will not part till we¡¯re drunk.¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded and said, ¡°Sure.¡± The friends drank non-stop and, after a while, they were drunk. When men became drunk, they would talk more. In Mo Xicheng¡¯s depressed gaze was a tinge of frustration as he said, ¡°How do you think she is now, after leaving some months ago?¡± Shen Liangchuan was confused. ¡°Who are you talking about?¡± ¡°Shi Nianyao.¡± Shen Liangchuan frowned and suddenlyughed. ¡°You¡¯re smitten.¡± Mo Xicheng furrowed his brows and said, ¡°When she was around, I didn¡¯t really feel anything but after she left, I kept dreaming about her. It was then that I realized I can¡¯t help thinking about what she¡¯s doing. Do you think that everyone is so miserable?¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded, agreeing. ¡°Yes, this is called not cherishing what you have when you have it and only realizing its worth after losing it.¡± The two heart-broken men sat opposite each other, drunk. In the end, theyy on the table and fell asleep. ¨C When Shen Liangchuan woke up, he was in Mo Xicheng¡¯s hotel room. The hangover headache was so bad that he frowned. Only Mo Xicheng could get him to fully rx and get totally wasted. He stood up and entered the restroom. After washing up, he walked out and realized that Song Cheng was waiting for him outside. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s lowered his eyelids and only spoke after a while, ¡°Let¡¯s return to Suzhou.¡± Song Cheng nodded. Shen Liangchuan asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Mo Xicheng?¡± Before leaving, he must bid goodbye to Mo Xicheng. Song Cheng replied, ¡°He¡¯s in the meeting room next door, signing a contract. He has decided to take up Lot¡¯s offer to be their spokesman, the one you didn¡¯t want.¡± Chapter 973 - An Unexpected Meeting (2)

Chapter 973: An Unexpected Meeting (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shen Liangchuan nodded and went with Song Cheng, frowning. When they approached the meeting room, he stood outside, lit up a cigarette and walked to the window to wait for Mo Xicheng, after seeing that he was discussing with someone inside. Song Cheng and Mo Xicheng¡¯s assistant started talking outside. Song Cheng was quite a busybody and, as it was a chance that Shen Liangchuan had missed, he couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Who is the female spokesperson they are signing with?¡± The assistant replied, ¡°A female caster, not a big shot.¡± Song Cheng immediatelyughed. ¡°People now are all like this. They only need one big shot to attract the attention and the other can just be a newbie. But female casters are pretty amazing and have a lot of fans. Who is this female caster?¡± ¡°The female caster ispletely a newbie. She has only been a caster for less than half a month, so I don¡¯t understand why thepany has devoted all the best resources on her either. I have checked this person, and she must have a strong background.¡± Song Cheng was curious. ¡°Who is it? Which caster tform is she from?¡± ¡°She¡¯s from the eSports app. Ever since the female caster joined, the tform has been giving her really strong support. And in half a month, she has hundreds of thousands of fans. For a new female caster, these results are really amazing! What is more, I¡¯ve heard from the high ranks of thepany that almost all the sponsoring the tform has was given to her. So, the tform didn¡¯t even hesitate before giving her this opportunity!¡± Song Cheng was instantly more curious and asked, ¡°What¡¯s her name? I might follow her some day.¡± The assistant thought for quite a while before saying, ¡°She¡¯s called... something Chuan? Love Chuan. Yes, Love Chuan!¡± After he said so, Song Cheng was immediately dumbstruck. On the other side, Shen Liangchuan was smoking on the balcony. When he heard the assistant¡¯s words, his fingers tensed up and the cigarette immediately fell. He turned around and saw Song Cheng grab the assistant¡¯s wrist as he confirmed, ¡°You said the female caster is Love Chuan?¡± The assistant was terrified. ¡°Ye- yes... why?¡± Shen Liangchuan immediately lowered his head and put out the cigarette on the floor. Then he strided into the meeting room. The assistant was stunned by his actions as he said, ¡°Best Actor Shen, Brother Mo is still signing his contract inside, you¡ª¡± Before he could finish speaking, Shen Liangchuan had already pushed the door open and directly walked in. Mo Xicheng had finished reading the contract and was about to sign it when he heard the door open. He then saw Shen Liangchuan rushing in and blocking the contract. Mo Xicheng was shocked. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Shen Liangchuan stared at the contract and only spoke after a while, ¡°It¡¯s because the female spokesperson is Love Chuan.¡± ¨C Early in the morning, Qiao Lian reached thepany of the eSports app ording to the address given on the text message. The employee who had been contacting her was a man in his twenties. Seeing Qiao Lian, he slightly showed his experienced side by saying, ¡°I¡¯ve heard of your name, but I didn¡¯t expect you to be so beautiful!¡± Qiao Lian smiled at him. After that, she followed him into the meeting room. The man pushed a contract towards her and said, ¡°This is the contract.¡± Qiao Lian nodded and casually asked, ¡°Who is the male spokesperson?¡± The man replied, ¡°They wanted to get for Best Actor Shen...¡± His words shocked Qiao Lian so much that her fingers trembled and she immediately raised her head. Then he continued, ¡°Unfortunately, Best Actor Shen didn¡¯t even consider the contract at all and now we don¡¯t know who the male spokesperson will be. He¡¯ll probably be a famous artist.¡± Chapter 974 - An Unexpected Meeting (3)

Chapter 974: An Unexpected Meeting (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian only felt relieved after she heard thosest words. If the male artist was Shen Liangchuan, no matter how important this endorsement was, she wouldn¡¯t be able to ept it. Luckily, he had rejected it. As she thought so, Qiao Lian then signed on the contact. That person said, ¡°This requires filming a short video. I reckon that we will be choosing two champions from the game and have you act as them. Do you have any champions you would want to y as?¡± Hearing his words, Qiao Lian suddenly said, ¡°Xiao Qiao then.¡± The crew worker nodded. ¡°Ok, the tform will try to make it as you wish.¡± ¨C At the same time, in Hengdian. The signatory had be Shen Liangchuan! Lot¡¯s representative was stunned, but he immediately became filled with excitement. He instantly said, ¡°Best Actor Shen, we will immediately do the adjustments on the endorsement fees. We wille up with the new contract by tomorrow. Let us discuss the details now.¡± With Shen Liangchuan as their endorser, the impact he could achieve would certainly be different from Mo Xicheng. Furthermore, thepany had always wanted to hire Shen Liangchuan. They didn¡¯t mind, even if the contract fees were higher. But what he didn¡¯t expect was that, after he said so, Shen Liangchuan unhurriedly replied, ¡°There¡¯s no need. Let¡¯s just sign this contract!¡± The worker was shocked. Was this a gift falling from the skies? Or was Best Actor Shen fooling around with him? It was only when Best Actor Shen had signed the contract that he finally regained his senses and realized that it was indeed true. The representative carefully asked Shen Liangchuan, ¡°Best Actor Shen, we will have to film a short video when the timees and you will need to act as a champion from the game. Which champion do you want to act as?¡± After hearing his words, Shen Liangchuan narrowed his eyes and replied, ¡°Zhou Yu.¡± The representative immediately felt relieved. ¡°Ok.¡± ¨C Qiao Lian was in Suzhou so, after she signed her contract, the employee stood up and asked her, ¡°Love Chuan, you haven¡¯t been to thepany, right? Do you want me to show you around?¡± Qiao Lian looked at thepany building, which seemed really huge. It didn¡¯t seem to only do eSports live streams, but also other live streams as well. She shook her head and replied, ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± The employee nodded and said, ¡°Let me take you back then.¡± They walked to the exit and as they were walking, the employee gave her instructions, ¡°We¡¯re in a hurry to start the filming, so thepany will be giving you an assistant. I will look for you when we have settled the filming date.¡± Qiao Lian nodded and replied, ¡°Ok.¡± Just as they were walking out, Qiao Lian suddenly stopped in her tracks. She instantly turned her head and looked at a poster on the wall. On the poster was a woman who was smiling while looking ahead. She was donned in a pretty dress and there were a few words above her: Yiyi. This was...? Seeing Qiao Lian¡¯s confused gaze, the employee looked up and said, ¡°This is our tform¡¯s most popr female caster now. Her name is Qiao Yiyi. But she isn¡¯t an eSports¡¯s employee, she¡¯s just a female caster.¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank. She had never expected that her and Qiao Yiyi would be on such a narrow path as enemies. What was even more unexpected was that Qiao Yiyi hadn¡¯t managed to use Ambition to enter the entertainment industry, so she became a female caster instead. This was really... Qiao Yiyi sneered coldly. When she walked out of thepany, Qiao Yiyi rushed into it aggressively. She directly rushed into the superior¡¯s office and shouted, ¡°Why did you choose Love Chuan, such a small and unknown caster, to endorse a huge event for Lot?!¡± Chapter 975 - An Unexpected Meeting (4)

Chapter 975: An Unexpected Meeting (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The superior immediately stood up and looked at her with arge smile. ¡°Ms. Qiao, erm... Please don¡¯t be angry, let¡¯s sit down and talk about it.¡± ¡°Talk about what? Have you forgotten who I am? Have you forgotten my rtionship with Second Brother?!¡± Qiao Yiyi stood there and continued, ¡°Don¡¯t forget that the wholepany belongs to Second Brother. So how dare you give resources to such a small caster? Where is your respect for Second Brother?¡± Seeing that Qiao Yiyi was once again using Lu Nanze to put up a fight, he frowned and said, ¡°Ms. Qiao, just to let you know, it was Mr. Lu¡¯s instructions to provide Love Chuan with all our resources.¡± After hearing his words, Qiao Yiyi was stunned on the spot. However, the superior was secretly really satisfied with her reaction. This female caster was really arrogant and rude during live streams. Theirpany had already received manyints. However, Lu Nanze backed her and they could only continue helping her. It was now great. Mr. Lu had found a new sweetheart! ¨C Qiao Lian obviously knew nothing about what had happened in thepany. She just followed her usual routine and went to the market to buy groceries, and then returned home to cook lunch. After lunch, she took a short afternoon nap and started live streaming a match when she woke up. The day passed really fast. After her livestream ended, she received a call from thepany saying that she had to film a short video the next day. Furthermore, thepany had gotten her a junior assistant to help her. The next morning, her junior assistant hurried to her ce. When she saw Qiao Lian, her eyes immediately brightened. ¡°Love Chuan, I¡¯ve seen your live stream and you¡¯re really good at ying online games. I didn¡¯t expect you to be so pretty as well!¡± Qiao Lian shook her head whileughing. Her junior assistant was a twenty-two-year-old girl. She looked really lively and probably had just graduated from university. One could still see the innocence and pure mindset she had towards the world in her eyes. Qiao Lian liked the clean and pure vibe of this girl. They took a taxi to the filming set. When they reached the entrance of the filming set, the crew went just to wee them. The whole filming set was filled with joy, as if they were weing really important guests, and everyone was really busy. The crew who came to wee Qiao Lian was really excited. ¡°So you are Qiao Lian! Ah, the fact that you can film with that person is really such a blissful thing!¡± That person... How amazing was this person that she didn¡¯t even dare to utter his name? Qiao Lian shook her head and one of the crew workers continued speaking, ¡°Oh, yes, remember to observe and react to the situation wellter, ok? You better not anger him... His wishes are a priority.¡± ¡°Let me tell you, what this famous Best Actor doesn¡¯t like the most is teaching newbies. He doesn¡¯t really have a good temper, so you must definitely be more meticulous and cautious!¡± Famous Best Actor? Qiao Lian frowned. But the term Best Actor was only given to one person every year. Other than Shen Liangchuan, there are really few people in the industry addressed as Best Actor. She wondered who he was talking about. Qiao Lian asked, ¡°Which Best Actor ising?¡± Just as the crew worker was about to answer her, a voice suddenly came from the powder room, ¡°What? You want me to do make up for a newbie? What¡¯s wrong with you?!¡± The sharp voice directly prated. Qiao Lian paused for a moment. Then she heard the voice from the powder room continue speaking, ¡°I am the best makeup artist in the country! If it hadn¡¯t been for the fact that a famous Best Actor wasing, I wouldn¡¯t have agreed. And now you want me to do makeup for a small caster? Heh, and you want me to make her as pretty as a fairy? This caster hasn¡¯t even ever shown her face before. If she is so ugly that even makeup can¡¯t save her, what am I supposed to do?¡± Chapter 976 - An Unexpected Meeting (5)

Chapter 976: An Unexpected Meeting (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After hearing that, Qiao Lian¡¯s junior assistant froze. She immediately tried to rush in and reason with the makeup artist, but Qiao Lian quickly grabbed her and shook her head. The junior assistant eximed, ¡°Sister Love Chuan, this person is really going overboard! How could she speak of you like this? She¡¯s just a makeup artist, what¡¯s so impressive about her?¡± Her voice was quite loud, so the people inside the room could hear her. ¡°Who¡¯s outside?¡± the makeup artist¡¯s voice came over. The junior assistant immediately snorted coldly. Qiao Lian wasn¡¯t scared of trouble, but she just didn¡¯t want to start it. Since they had been found out, she just pushed the door open and walked in unaffectedly. Once she entered the room, she saw a makeup artist who was donned in colorful clothes sitting down. Her face had really thick makeup and she directly shot a nce at them. Her gaze firstnded on the junior assistant and she only spoke after a while, ¡°Is this the female caster? She could indeed only be a caster. With her looks, she¡¯d merely look degrading beside an artist.¡± Her look of despise and her words made the junior assistant¡¯s expression turn really bad. The junior assistant was so angry that her body was trembling and she couldn¡¯t speak. After a while, she said, ¡°No, it¡¯s not me. I¡¯m just a junior assistant, our sister Love Chuan is here!¡± After saying these, she moved away and Qiao Lian was exposed to the makeup artist. The moment she saw Qiao Lian, the makeup artist was stunned. Although the person before her didn¡¯t have makeup on and looked really solemn, she really had nice skin and, as she was currently pregnant, her face glowed. Her looks were not bad even whenpared to an artist¡¯s. The makeup artist¡¯s pupils shrank. But as she had made her lose face, she sneered coldly and said, ¡°So what if you¡¯re really pretty? Does it mean that you can eavesdrop on other people¡¯s conversations just because you¡¯re pretty?¡± Qiao Lian was speechless. She was just totally unreasonable. Qiao Lian had never seen someone so unreasonable before. The junior assistant was so angry that she was about to cry, as she had been called ugly. Seeing her expression, Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Firstly, we didn¡¯t eavesdrop on anyone. We were just about to enter the room and your voice was too loud. Secondly, I¡¯ve always thought that the makeup artist is supposed to have the ability to do magic on someone and make even the ugliest person beautiful. I¡¯ve never known a makeup artist that chose the people to do makeup for!¡± The makeup artist immediately stood up and pointed a finger at Qiao Lian. ¡°You¡ª¡± The crew worker immediately tried to calm and persuade her, ¡°Ok, ok, help Ms. Qiao to put on makeup first. Otherwise, when that famous Best Actorester, he will be angry if you¡¯re not settled here!¡± After hearing her words, the makeup artist narrowed her eyes and gave a cold snort. Then she spoke sarcastically, ¡°You can tell that some newbies who have just entered the entertainment industry do not know the rules. How dare they act highly here?!¡± Qiao Lian was speechless. The junior assistant wanted to argue with her, but Qiao Lian grabbed her arm and shook her head. Just as the makeup artist had said, she was just a newbie and she had no intention of entering the show business. She was just filming a video advertisement and she would go back to doing her live streams. She would even give up on her career as a female caster after finishing the investigation on her parents¡¯ death. As she was deep in thought, she sat on the chair on the side. The crew worker continued, ¡°The famous Best Actoring has a bad temperament and he¡¯s famous for it in the industry. Furthermore, you might not have seen many artists before. When working with that famous Best Actor, you must be genuine and sincere. Don¡¯t be too nervous!¡± Chapter 977 - An Unexpected Meeting (6)

Chapter 977: An Unexpected Meeting (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian kept silent. Having put up with Shen Liangchuan¡¯s foul temper for so long, she found it hard to imagine anyone with a worse temper. At this thought, she grinned at the worker and nodded. When she saw that Qiao Lian was rather good-natured, she was relieved. She decided to let them be in the powder room and walked away. Through the mirror¡¯s reflection, Qiao Lian could see the makeup artist who stood behind her. She could see that the makeup artist was taking her own sweet time, fishing items out of her makeup bag slowly. An item at a time, she arranged her tools in front of the mirror, and that took more than 10 minutes. The junior assistant standing on the side couldn¡¯t help saying, ¡°Can you work faster? What if the great Best Actor turns up? What is our Love Chuan going to do?¡± The makeup artist snorted icily and said, ¡°So now you realize you should be worried? It¡¯s useless! I have toy out my gear. Otherwise, how am I going to put on your makeup?¡± The junior assistant fumed silently. The makeup artist gave another snort before she finally walked up to Qiao Lian and started to apply her makeup. Of course, she wouldn¡¯t deliberately make Qiao Lian look bad, that would reflect badly on her reputation. However, her attitude was extremely half-hearted as she worked on Qiao Lian. She looked around and then her gaze fell on the junior assistant. ¡°You, bring me that makeup powder.¡± The junior assistant looked at all the cosmeticsying, found the makeup powder and handed it over to the makeup artist. The makeup artist narrowed her eyes. Just as the junior assistant released her grip on it, the former immediately opened her hand. The makeup powder slipped through their fingers and fell on the ground, spraying its content all over! Because it had fallen onto the ground, and in addition it had been shaken up, a huge puff of fine dusty powder now filled the air. The makeup artist said raising her voice, ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± The junior assistant was stunned and replied, ¡°I- I¡¯m not doing anything. I thought you had it¡ª¡± The makeup artist frowned and stared at her fiercely. ¡°Enough¡¯s enough! This makeup powder is not used inrge quantities and I only have one case with me. Now that it fell on the ground, what do we do? Are you doing this on purpose? When the great Best Actor arrives, are you going to make him wait for you?¡± The junior assistant was berated to the point of tears. Her eyes were moist and glistening. When the crew worker outside heard the din inside, she rushed into the powder room. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± The makeup artist pointed at the makeup powder on the floor and said, ¡°This junior assistant threw the makeup powder down on the ground because she resents me for calling her ugly!¡± The junior assistant immediately said, ¡°No, I didn¡¯t¡ª¡± ¡°You¡¯re denying it even now! Am I wrongfully using you?¡± After saying this, the makeup artist turned to look at the crew worker and continued, ¡°Now what? When the great Best Actor arrives and there is no makeup powder, are we going to make him wait?¡± The crew worker started to panic too and chided the junior assistant, ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you?! Don¡¯t you know that for celebrities like Best Actor Shen, we have to pay him for the time he spends here?! Making him wait... How are you going to bear the consequences?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s head snapped up as she heard this. She widened her eyes in horror and asked, ¡°Who did you say wasing? Best Actor Shen?¡± The crew worker nodded By now, Qiao Lian was not listening to what the crew worker was saying. Her head was full of Best Actor Shen... Best Actor Shen! Shepletely had not expected that the person who would be filming the advertisement with her would actually be Shen Liangchuan! As she was agonizing and trying toe to terms with this new development, someone outside shouted, ¡°Hurry, Best Actor Shen is here!¡± Chapter 978 - An Unexpected Meeting (7)

Chapter 978: An Unexpected Meeting (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Upon hearing this, Qiao Lian felt the atmosphere in the room changepletely. Everyone started to look nervous. The junior assistant¡¯s eyes lit up as he stared at the doorway expectantly. Only Qiao Lian... she felt that her heart had jumped into her throat with this announcement. She knew that even if she had wanted to escape, it was way toote. Besides, she was bound by the contract. She couldn¡¯t possibly reject the filming without a good reason. Shen Liangchuan: ... It waspletely unexpected that they would meet like this. It was too abrupt and there was no way she could have guarded against it. She didn¡¯t feel the least bit prepared for it. As she sat there in a daze, she could hear the makeup artist¡¯s voice ringing in her ears. ¡°Oh, now you¡¯re afraid? It¡¯s toote! As a newbie, you tried to throw your weight around here. Ha! You¡¯d better pray hard that Best Actor Shen will not pursue this matter and hold you responsible for it!¡± After saying this, the makeup artist crossed her arms and leaned back waiting for the situation to unfold. Qiao Lian could not be bothered with her. The junior assistant, however, walked to Qiao Lian and said as she looked at her fearfully, ¡°Sister Qiao, I¡¯m really sorry. I shouldn¡¯t have started an argument with the makeup artist. Snif, it¡¯s all my fault. Now that Best Actor Shen is here, he¡¯s going to me us for this! You- you can push the me on me, it¡¯s ok. Just don¡¯t let it get in the way of your filming.¡± It was at this point that Qiao Lian snapped out of her dazed state. She looked at the junior assistant and told her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± The junior assistant was now on the verge of tears and replied, ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid? Best Actor Shen is the top celebrity in the circle, and the makeup artist is being difficult.¡± Suddenly, they heard footsteps approaching the room! The junior assistant immediately held her breath and focused. Qiao Lian¡¯s heart was now on the edge. She could hear someone outside exining, ¡°Best Actor Shen, this is our powder room. It¡¯s a little small, so we hope you won¡¯t mind just putting up with it for a bit.¡± Then she heard that very familiar voice, ¡°Sure.¡± It was just one word, but it made her heart contract with a familiar pain as she felt the urge to cry. Immediately, her eyes reddened. Then the door to the powder room swung open and Shen Liangchuan walked in. With everyone swarming around him, he was like the sun, shining brightly wherever he went. And the moment he walked in, everything else in the room paled beside him. Everyone in the room got up on their feet and unconsciously showed an attitude of respect. Only Qiao Lian sat there, unmoving, because she had been stunned into a stupor. This was more than she could take in. She bit her lip and felt someone nudge her arm. Her head spun around and she saw that the junior assistant was shooting her a look. ¡°Sister, hurry, stand up and wee Best Actor Shen!¡± She snapped out of the daze she was in. Slowly, she got onto her feet. She looked at him again. At the same time, he looked in her direction. Their eyes met across the room. At that moment, a mix of emotions rose within her. Every feeling imaginable... A film of tears in her eyes blurred the image of the man standing before her. But she could see that he had taken two steps towards her. Immediately, she lowered her head and stepped back. He halted. Stood on the spot. The atmosphere between the two of them froze in an instant. Right in this moment, the makeup artist stepped forward and said to Shen Liangchuan, ¡°Best Actor Shen, I do apologize, my makeup powder was spilled by Ms. Qiao¡¯s junior assistant. I¡¯m afraid we may have to cause you some dy. This whole matter happened because her assistant is proud and arrogant, sigh...¡± Chapter 979 - An Unexpected Meeting (8)

Chapter 979: An Unexpected Meeting (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After she said this, she feigned a sigh and continued, ¡°These new small-time newbies, they don¡¯t know modesty.¡± At once, everyone in the room simultaneously fixed their eyes on Qiao Lian and her junior assistant. The junior assistant was so nervous that she was trembling now and didn¡¯t dare say a word. Qiao Lian, on the other hand, just stared straight at the tips of her own toes in silence. The makeup artistughed derisively. Best Actor Shen was well-known for being a consummate professional and, especially, for disliking tardiness and people who pushed their weight around. Hence, many celebrities who have a habit of beingte would make sure to be on time so as not to hold the crew up whenever they were filming a scene with Best Actor Shen. Now, even if this small-time newbie managed to get away with it, she was in for a difficult time. The new kid, instead of begging for getting people to put in a good word, was haughty and rude. Well then, let her suffer the consequences! The makeup artist waited gleefully to watch trouble brew at this point. The crew worker quickly stepped forward to try and mediate the situation. He smiled and said, ¡°Best Actor Shen, these junior casters, they don¡¯t know any better. Please don¡¯t be angry, we¡¯re really sorry. I¡ª¡± Just when everyone was bracing themselves for Best Actor Shen¡¯s anger, he said unhurriedly, ¡°Oh, no big deal.¡± ... Huh? Had they misheard or was there something wrong with his answer? Wasn¡¯t Best Actor Shen supposed to berate them with an icy expression on his face? How had that suddenly be ¡°no big deal¡±? Indeed... Marriage changes a man. He had be more tolerant towards women. The crew worker was delighted by this and said, ¡°Great, great. We¡¯ll go look for some powder foundation.¡± ¡°No need for that.¡± Song Cheng stepped out from behind Shen Liangchuan and looked at Qiao Lian. He smiled and added, ¡°We brought our own makeup, including makeup powder.¡± shing a smile at Qiao Lian at this point, he said, ¡°This must be... Ms. Qiao. If you don¡¯t mind, you can use ours too.¡± Everyone was bbergasted. So now even Song Cheng had turned into a bubbly and warm man? Their eyes widened and jaws dropped at this unexpected situation. The crew worker very quickly snapped out of his dazed state and said, ¡°Great, great, Best Actor Shen, please take a seat.¡± Turning to the makeup artist, he said, ¡°Hurry over here and do Best Actor Shen¡¯s makeup!¡± He then turned to Qiao Lian and said, ¡°Ms. Qiao, please proceed to the changing room to get changed. Then you maye back here to do your hair.¡± Qiao Lian nodded and took this opportunity to quickly leave. As she left the powder room, she could feel his gaze following her, burning into her back. The moment they were out of the room, the junior assistant said as she patted her chest in relief, ¡°They said Best Actor Shen is really fierce, but I personally feel that he¡¯s very gentle! He wasn¡¯t the least bit fierce just now.¡± Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help grimacing at that remark. Although they were now separated, she would certainly not take any temper tantrum from him. After a deep sigh heavy with emotions, she headed into the room on the side and changed. In the powder room. The makeup artist said as she applied Shen Liangchuan¡¯s makeup, ¡°Best Actor Shen, you have really great skin, certainly not as good as that Ms. Qiao¡¯s. Humph, I was just doing her makeup and she was really pushing her weight around. She insisted that I should make her look prettier. Even after all that thick foundation, she still had an attitude. Ignoring the fact that she¡¯s not good-looking, ignoring the fact that she has a bad disposition, what¡¯s amazing is that foul temper she has- Ermmm, Best Actor Shen, why are you looking at me like that?¡± Chapter 980 - An Unexpected Meeting (9)

Chapter 980: An Unexpected Meeting (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As she went on and on, the makeup artist realized that Best Actor Shen was staring at her in silence. That look in his eyes... was icy as the wintry North Pole, and it made her shudder involuntarily. Shen Liangchuan said to her slowly, ¡°You¡¯re saying that the girl we just saw has a bad disposition?¡± The makeup artist nodded. ¡°You¡¯re saying she¡¯s not good-looking?¡± The makeup artist nodded again. ¡°And has bad skin?¡± She nodded for the third time. Shen Liangchuan turned around and looked at Song Cheng. He instructed the man, ¡°Get me the crew worker.¡± Song Cheng nodded. In his heart, he mourned the plight of the makeup artist for two seconds before he turned to leave the room. But the makeup artist paused and immediately got the wrong idea. She continued, ¡°That¡¯s right. Small-time casters like this are a dime a dozen. Why use a troublesome person like her? It¡¯s good to get a recement!¡± Shen Liangchuan frowned. Earlier on, when he had just arrived, she had said that the makeup powder had fallen on the ground. At that time, his attention had beenpletely on Qiao Lian and he had not taken notice of what was going on. It was only after Qiao Lian left the room that he recalled the earlier scene. Qiao Lian had a bad disposition? She could smile and talk to anyone. She was not good-looking? In his eyes, none of the celebrities were better-looking than her. She had bad skin? At home, she didn¡¯t even use makeup. This makeup artist had bullied Xiao Qiao and now was back-stabbing her! A person like this should not be allowed to stay for sure. Just as these thoughts crossed his mind, Song Ching returned with the crew worker in charge. Shen Liangchuan pointed at the makeup artist and said, ¡°Please, get her to leave.¡± Turning to Song Cheng, he ordered, ¡°Get a new makeup artist. We have time, we can wait.¡± The crew worker stood there, bbergasted. The makeup artist was stunned. She was shocked into a daze. This wasn¡¯t supposed to happen. Shouldn¡¯t it have been the junior caster who was told to leave? How had she ended up being the one getting fired? She shouted loudly, ¡°Best Actor Shen, I- I¡¯m Suzhou¡¯s top makeup artist¡ª¡± ¡°Top makeup artist?¡± Shen Liangchuan looked at her with a deadpan expression. ¡°With the makeup you¡¯ve done for Ms. Qiao, I think she looks better without it. Is that the standard of a top makeup artist? I seriously doubt your professional skills.¡± She was stunned by that stinging remark. She knew very well what was Best Actor Shen¡¯s status in the entertainment circle. One time, he had made a passing remark that Yang Lingsi had learned her acting skills from pigs. Consequently, it had be a joke for many years and her career went nowhere. Now... with this remark, that was the end of her reputation in the industry. The makeup artist widened her eyes in horror. ¡°Best Actor Shen, I- I-¡± The crew worker was hesitant too and started, ¡°Best Actor Shen, this¡ª¡± Shen Liangchuan raised an eyebrow and looked at them sharply. Immediately, the crew worker lowered his head. He grabbed the makeup artist and led her out of the room. She had initially thought that he no longer had a bad temper, so why had he suddenly flown into a rage? Was Best Actor Shen nasty or nice?! ¨C Qiao Lian heard amotion outside while she was changing, so she hurriedly went out. As she did so, she saw the makeup artist being forcefully escorted out by a few security officers. Puzzled, she asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± One of the crew workers overheard her question and quickly told her, ¡°She has just offended Best Actor Shen. His temper... You have to be carefulter!¡± At these words, the junior assistant immediately hunched over and said, ¡°Sister Qiao, why do I suddenly feel that this is so terrifying? What if Best Actor Shen suddenly flips? Then what are we going to do?¡± Chapter 981 - An Unexpected Meeting (10)

Chapter 981: An Unexpected Meeting (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian was speechless. So what sort of dangerous beast was Shen Liangchuan exactly that everyone was so afraid of him? As this thought came to her mind, she suddenly recalled that she too had found him quite terrifying initially, before she found out he was Zi Chuan. That guy had a fiery temper, an icy exterior, and a talent for creating an awkward silence among people. Qiao Lian shook her head at this thought and said, ¡°Ok, let¡¯s ignore these things. Let¡¯s get changed.¡± The junior assistant nodded. Because this was an advertisement, their getup resembled the champions in the game. Among all the female yers, Xiao Qiao wore the most clothes. She was almost entirely covered up from head to toe. That yellow dress was beautiful. It was floaty and dreamy. Qiao Lian was a pretty girl to begin with. With this dress, she looked awesome! The junior assistant couldn¡¯t stop praising her. Looking at herself in the mirror, Qiao Lian also felt that she didn¡¯t look half bad. In the beautiful dress, she sat in the dressing room in a daze. After a while, one of the crew members came and called her, ¡°Ms. Qiao, once you¡¯ve changed, please go to the powder room and wait for the new makeup artist.¡± Qiao Lian replied, ¡°... But isn¡¯t Best Actor Shen there?¡± ¡°Oh, Best Actor Shen said he¡¯lle and change in a minute.¡± Immediately, Qiao Lian very quickly left the room. Sharing the same room with Shen Liangchuan now would surely feel awkward. After leaving the changing room, she followed the crew worker¡¯s instructions and headed towards the powder room. She peered through the ss panel on the door and checked that there was no one in the room before she entered it. She let out a deep sigh of relief as she dropped down on the sofa. The junior assistant was still worried. ¡°Sister Qiao, is Best Actor Shen really terrifying?! Why do I feel goosebumps all over me?¡± After hearing these words, Qiao Lian teased her, ¡°Of course he¡¯s terrifying. Don¡¯t you know these actors, because they are ying different characters all the time, have to project themselves as different personalities? This causes them to... actually, all of them suffer from split personality disorder!¡± The junior assistant widened her eyes. Qiao Lian continued, ¡°So,ter when you see Best Actor Shen, just lower your gaze, keep silent and that will be fine! Otherwise, you might end up like the makeup artist and get fired.¡± The junior assistant immediately nodded. ¡°Well then, what about you? You eventually have to act alongside him!¡± Having said this, she clutched her face and continued, ¡°And I heard that you have to do a kissing scene and a bedroom scene. You... have the guts to do that?¡± ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I?!¡± Qiao Lian raised her chin immediately. ¡°Your big sister¡¯s dream is to hook up with male idols, one after another, non-stop!¡± The junior assistant said with a thumbs-up gesture, ¡°That¡¯s a good aspiration to have.¡± Qiao Lian immediately burst outughing. However, just as she did so, she suddenly stopped. She looked at the junior assistant with a horrified expression as she felt a chill down her spine. ¡°Did you just- did you hear a sound?¡± The junior assistant turned white and almost lost her tongue. Finally, she stammered, ¡°I- I heard something... Someone just flushed the toilet... There¡¯s someone... in the restroom?¡± As these words came out, they heard the sound of running water, as though someone was washing their hands after going to the toilet. Qiao Lian froze and jumped up from her seat. She turned her head around with a snap, as she heard the restroom door open with a creak. Following that, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s tall and big frame emerged from it. Chapter 982 (1)

Chapter 982: Untitled (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Hadn¡¯t they said that Best Actor Shen had gone to the changing room?! Why was he still in the powder room?! Qiao Lian exchanged a desperate nce with the junior assistant and both of them simultaneously lowered their heads, like obedient children. They shuffled their feet and moved back to the doorway. Once they had reached the doorway, she cleared her throat and the junior assistant opened the door with the slightest motion. With a swish, she was gone. Just as Qiao Lian was about to do the same, Shen Liangchuan suddenly spoke. ¡°Hook up with male idols?¡± Her body stiffened. She immediately looked up and their eyes met. At once, Qiao Lian had the urge to cry. Why had they found themselves in such a situation? Given what had happened, shouldn¡¯t they both have cried when they finally saw each other? Shouldn¡¯t they be feeling bitter and sad? But what was this awkwardness and embarrassment about? Qiao Lian cast her gaze down and cleared her throat, willing herself to handle this logically. She looked up at Shen Liangchuan and said, ¡°Emmm... have you been sleeping well?¡± ¡°Uh-huh.¡± Shen Liangchuan replied, ¡°Very well.¡± Qiao Lian sighed with relief. She had always been worried about him overworking himself. Her gaze wandered around the room awkwardly and then fell on the nk wall behind him. ¡°Emmm... is Mom doing well?¡± ¡°Not well.¡± Surprised, she paused for a moment and asked, ¡°What? Has her heart been causing trouble?¡± ¡°No, but ever since you left, I haven¡¯t heard herugh once.¡± Qiao Lian felt a sharp pang of pain in her heart and she looked away. ¡°It will be ok, there¡¯s Nuannuan, who can take my ce in keeping herpany. She¡¯ll be fine soon.¡± A silence greeted that remark. She paused and looked up. Shen Liangchuan was staring at her intently, looking like he wanted to say something but at the same time hesitating. Puzzled, Qiao Lian asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Xia Nuannuan has been in aa. The doctor says if she doesn¡¯t wake up in two weeks, it¡¯s likely that she¡¯ll be in a permanently vegetative state.¡± Qiao Lian was shocked by the news she was hearing. ¡°What happened? How did this happen?¡± Shen Liangchuan pointed to the sofa and said, ¡°Take a seat.¡± Not taking her eyes off him, she walked to the sofa and sat down as she was told. Shen Liangchuan then summarized everything that had happened. At the end of his story, Qiao Lian hit the sofa with her palm angrily. ¡°This tr*mp, Mei Feng! And that old fart, Shen Xiu!¡± She creased her brow as she teared up. ¡°Nuannuan¡¯s child... They¡¯re inhuman! Why did they have to harm the child?!¡± Perhaps it was because she was pregnant herself that she was extremely sensitive about things rted to children. Shen Liangchuan looked at her steadily and quietly. Now, this was the Qiao Lian he knew. He frowned. After Qiao Lian got over the initial shock, she looked at Shen Liangchuan and asked, ¡°So you¡¯ve returned to the Shen family as a way to avenge Shen Zihao?¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded. Immediately, Qiao Lian said with cold determination, ¡°That¡¯s right. Shen Xiu¡¯s greatest fear is that you became the head of the Shen Family, isn¡¯t it? Well then do it! Now I see it clearly. If we had kept avoiding it, it would have never solved any problems, so we might as well attack! Rather than allow Shen Xiu to harass us over and over again! He thinks our family is an easy pushover.¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s heart softened at her every mention of ¡°we¡± and ¡°our.¡± He nodded. ¡°Indeed, we have to retaliate.¡± With him repeating the word ¡°we,¡± Qiao Lian suddenly snapped back to reality. She immediately hung her head and said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to get changed?¡± He replied with little expression, ¡°Now that we¡¯ve got family business out of the way, shouldn¡¯t we be discussing this thing about hooking up with male idols?¡± Qiao Lian: ...!! Chapter 983 (2)

Chapter 983: Untitled (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At once, Qiao Lian cringed with embarrassment. She stared at Shen Liangchuan and said after gathering enough courage, ¡°What about it?¡± ¡°Ummm, so is it that eight years ago you wanted to hook up with Zi Chuan or that eight yearster you wished to hook up with Shen Liangchuan?¡± Qiao Lian was speechless. She quickly retorted, ¡°I was only a teenager eight years ago! I wouldn¡¯t have been so filthy!¡± ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re saying you wish to hook up with me now?¡± Oh! Great, I¡¯ve been tricked again! She coughed once and said, ¡°But I¡¯ve managed to hook up with you, haven¡¯t I? Countless times!¡± And now she even had the result of hooking up with an idol in her belly. Shen Liangchuanughed and replied, ¡°Since you¡¯ve hooked up with me so many times over, then... should it be my turn to hook up with you?¡± Her head snapped up. ¡°What?¡± At once, the man standing in front of her took a step towards her. Then he bent his magnificent frame over her and closed in on her. One of hisrge hands held her waist as the other grabbed the back of her head. Then they drew her in as he pressed his lips against hers, sealing them in a kiss. His familiar scent filled her senses. Her mind went nk. She could no longer breathe easily. It was as though the air in her chest had beenpletely sucked out by him. The kiss carried both their frantic yearning and their deep love for each other. This kiss was so heart-wrenching that she had nothing left in her to push him away or to reject him. The casual atmosphere that they had built earlier shattered at once with this kiss. Suddenly, Qiao Lian remembered the psychologist¡¯s words. He could only recover if she left him. As long as she was by his side, there would always be an unresolved tension within him. Hence, they were fated to not be together, wasn¡¯t that so? The moment this thought came to her, she felt a searing pain in her heart and it caused her to tear up involuntarily. Huge teardrops rolled down the contours of her face and fell on his. He paused. He halted and opened his eyes. And all that greeted his sight was her tear-drenched face. Upon seeing this, he immediately panicked. Reaching out to wipe her tears away, he asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Xiao Qiao?¡± ¡°Xiao Qiao, don¡¯t cry.¡± But these words offort only made her cry even harder. Until atst, Shen Liangchuan drew her into his embrace with one swift motion and said, ¡°Xiao Qiao, I miss you so much.¡± I miss you so much too. Qiao Lian clenched her fists, fighting hard to suppress these words. With great effort, she tried to regte her breathing. After a while, she finally managed to calm down her own emotions. Following this, she looked at Shen Liangchuan and asked, ¡°Have you signed the divorce papers?¡± Shen Liangchuan paused and then shook his head. Qiao Lian cast her gaze down and said, ¡°Actually, sometimes love means not being together, but letting go. Since it¡¯s so difficult for us to be together, it¡¯s better to part ways.¡± Shen Liangchuan frowned and started, ¡°Xiao Qiao¡ª¡± ¡°Say no more,¡± Qiao Lian interrupted him. ¡°Although Soul Fighter¡¯s matter was not something I did on purpose, I feel guilty nevertheless. Shen Liangchuan, I¡ª¡± Before she could finish what she was saying, there was a knocking on the door, interrupting their conversation. Shen Liangchuan looked towards the doorway. Qiao Lian wanted to sneak out with this opportunity, but just at the same time, she frowned as she felt a wave of nausea wash over her. She immediately dashed to the restroom. Chapter 984 (3)

Chapter 984: Untitled (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian dashed into the washroom with a strong urge to throw up, but nothing came out. As she leaned weakly against the wall, she heard Shen Liangchuan asking behind her, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± She straightened herself up at once. Frowning, she turned back to look at him. He had a worried expression on his face and, as she looked at him, she lost grip. He took a step towards her, his eyes deep and dark, looking as though they were guessing something. She frowned and quickly said, ¡°Oh, it must have been something I ate this morning.¡± He looked at her steadily. Then he said, ¡°Oh.¡± He hadn¡¯t even thought of the possibility of pregnancy. Firstly, because he had made her take birth control medication and this had lowered the chances of pregnancy for the next six months. Secondly, they had initially gotten married for having a child... Now that they were divorced, how could there be any possibility of a child? Besides, Qiao Lian looked perfectly normal, there were no signs of difort or being sick. At this point, the person who had been knocking on the door walked in. The crew worker smiled upon seeing Shen Liangchuan. He said, ¡°The new makeup artist is here! Shall we start doing your makeup?¡± Shen Liangchuan nced at Qiao Lian and suddenly said, ¡°I just remembered I have an urgent matter at hand.¡± The crew worker was stunned. He looked at Shen Liangchuan in a daze as a million curses ran through his mind. Best Actor Shen was a well-known consummate professional! And famed for his foul temper! But what was wrong with him today? Shen Liangchuan stood there, looking like everything was perfectly normal. The crew worker was renderedpletely speechless. Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°We¡¯ll dy the filming one day. Let¡¯s film tomorrow.¡± The crew worker started, ¡°But the shooting schedule¡ª¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about the shooting schedule.¡± Shen Liangchuan looked at Song Cheng and said, ¡°I¡¯m the one with matters to attend to, but I will allocate a month to film this.¡± This situation was nerve-wracking for the employee. All famous celebrities like Shen Liangchuan were hired for certain time periods. Hence in the industry, they did have some strange practices. For example, one would not see the male or female leads throughout the filming, since these celebrities would film their segmentster and these would be put together with the rest of scenes further ahead. Or some of them would at first even use doubles and then charge by the hour, after they stepped in. So the fact that Shen Liangchuan had casually said that he would extend the filming schedule for a month waspletely to the advantage of Lot Gaming Company. The crew worker immediately said without thinking twice, ¡°Sure, please feel free to go then. We are in no great hurry to film in this case.¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded and nced at Qiao Lian. ¡°Ms. Qiao, would you like to leave with us?¡± She immediately shook her hand from side to side saying, ¡°No, it¡¯s ok. It¡¯s ok.¡± He nodded again. He took a lingering look at her before he turned and walked away. It was only after Shen Liangchuan had left the powder room that Qiao Lian gradually recovered from the whole episode and went out of her dazed state. Could Shen Liangchuan have dyed the filming because he thought she was feeling unwell and wanted to let her rest? As much as she understood him, he would never have something urgente up in the middle of a shooting. His professionalism was well-known in the circle. A wave of warm and fuzzy feelings welled up in her, as she hung her head and walked back to the changing room. Then she changed and left. She parted ways with the junior assistant at the entrance of the filming studio, gged down a taxi and returned home. What she hadn¡¯t noticed on the way home was that a ck van was trailing her taxi. Chapter 985 (4)

Chapter 985: Untitled (4)

Qiao Lian got out of the cab and walked into her neighbourhood. This time, she felt again as though someone was following her. She frowned and spun around. Nothing was out of order. Still frowning, she walked towards the market, bought some vegetables and went up to her apartment. After Qiao Lian got into the lift, Shen Liangchuan stepped out of the van. He was wearing his sunsses and a baseball cap. Staring at the lift¡¯s panel, he saw that it had stopped on the sixth floor. He furrowed his brow and went into the lift. When he stepped out of the elevator on the sixth floor, he discovered that there were two apartments there. He frowned again. Looking for Qiao Lian like this was like a game of probability. He walked to one of the apartments and knocked on the door. Then he pressed the doorbell twice. He heard Qiao Lian¡¯s voice yell, ¡°Who is it?!¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s lips curled upwards into a smile, as he ran back into the elevator in a sh. He took the elevator back downstairs. Qiao Lian, meanwhile, was most puzzled. She found no one at the door when she came out. She frowned and shook her head. Retreating back into the apartment, she felt a slight headache appearing as she looked at the vegetables she had just bought. But nevermind, it was time to eat. She went into the kitchen. After Shen Liangchuan left the elevator on the ground floor, he stood there thinking for a bit. He went up the building again. Qiao Lian was staying in apartment 601, but that wasn¡¯t where he went. Instead, he went to 602, opposite her apartment. He rang the doorbell. The 60-year-olddy who lived there opened the door. She obviously had bad eyesight and squinted at Shen Liangchuan, saying, ¡°Young man, who are you? Who are you looking for?¡± Respectfully, Shen Liangchuan took off his sunsses and his mask. ¡°Granny, my name is Shen Liangchuan. May I trouble you with something?¡± Half an hourter. Qiao Lian looked at the bowl of rather lousy noodles that she had prepared. It wasn¡¯t the least bit appetizing. She picked up her chopsticks and lifted a few strands of noodles. Then she ced the chopsticks back on the table. Pregnancy always caused nausea. To begin with, she had always been a fussy eater and now... She sighed, thinking of how she was going to manage her meals in the days ahead. At this point, someone knocked on the door again. She walked to the door, not speaking this time, and quickly looked through the peeping hole. Then she saw who was standing outside... She quickly opened the door and, as she did so, a fragrant aroma wafted towards her at once. Her eyes lit up. Looking at the old Granny standing before her, she asked, ¡°Granny, what¡¯s the matter?¡± This old granny lived alone in the opposite apartment and these days, they had gotten to know each other. The old granny grinned at her and said, ¡°Young girl, I guess you haven¡¯t had dinner? I made some noodles today, you can have them. Don¡¯t eat junk all the time.¡± At first, Qiao Lian had wanted to decline, but her gaze fell on the bowl of noodles with fresh green vegetables in the old granny¡¯s hands. And she started to salivate involuntarily! The vegetables were a luscious green and alluring. There was even an egg on them, and chicken floss too. The thick soup was fragrant with sesame oil and vinegar. Oh, that aroma... it was heavenly! Then she thought of that lousy bowl of noodles on her own dining table. It was an easy decision... She just had to be a little shameless. Immediately, she reached out for the bowl of noodles and grinned at the olddy. ¡°Thank you, Granny!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, child. In the future, you cane and eat with granny! I¡¯ll cook for you.¡± Qiao Lian immediately nodded and volunteered, ¡°I¡¯ll do the groceries!¡± The old granny nodded and smiled. ¡°Good, hurry up and eat while the food¡¯s warm.¡± Chapter 986 (5)

Chapter 986: Untitled (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Holding the bowl of noodles, Qiao Lian returned to her apartment and shut the door. The olddy turned around smiling and returned to her own apartment as well. As she walked in, she saw that Shen Liangchuan was taking off his apron and cing it on the sofa. Then, putting his sunsses and mask back on, he said to the grandma, ¡°Granny, I¡¯m leaving now. Around mealtime, I¡¯lle and cook if I have time. But if I¡¯m busy, I¡¯ll get someone toe over and cook for the both of you.¡± The grinning olddy made an ok gesture with her hand. As Shen Liangchuan walked towards the door, he suddenly heard the grandma say, ¡°Eh... Best Actor Shen.¡± Shen Liangchuan turned around. The grandma tottered towards him holding a camera and asked, ¡°Can we take a selfie together?¡± Shen Liangchuan: ... ¨C After Shen Liangchuan came down from the sixth floor, he lowered his head, avoided contact with anyone and walked towards his car. Song Cheng was in the front passenger seat, almost falling asleep. The moment Shen Liangchuan got into the car, Song Cheng¡¯s nose twitched. He sniffed the air and then said, ¡°Brother Shen, have you been eating noodles? Does this mean Sister Qiao has asked you to stay? Why are you going back then? You might as well stay here for the night!¡± Shen Liangchuan was silent for a moment. Then he ordered, ¡°Start the car.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± The car slowly rolled away from her neighbourhood. This was a safe neighborhood. Shen Liangchuan had also seen the structure of the apartment and felt that it was suitable for Qiao Lian. Since it seemed that they were both still thinking things over, then perhaps letting things be for now would be best. As long as they had each other in their hearts, that was enough. Shen Liangchuan returned to the hotel and took out his cell phone, tuning in to the live stream on time. The live stream would start at 6 p.m. He wondered if she would fare better if he gave her more presents. Hence, that evening, Shen Liangchuan sent gifts amounting to a total of 100,000! It became the hot topic of the livestream. Thements wouldn¡¯t stop pouring in. [That rich guy, Missing Qiao, is cozying up to her!] [Rich guy, please let me be your mistress!] [Rich guy, are you interested in our Love Chuan?] [Ahhhhhhh, great rich guy, oh my god, 100,000!! That is true love!] Shen Liangchuan continued to send gifts in silence, but a sense of sweetness blossomed in his heart as he read thesements. At this point, he heard Qiao Lian mentioning his name in the livestream, ¡°Thank you, Missing Qiao, for the gifts and bubbles, but you¡¯ve sent too many gifts today! Please don¡¯t spend too much.¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s heart went soft and fuzzy when he heard her mention the name Missing Qiao. He felt an indescribable excitement that once again welled up within him. The corners of his lips turned upwards as he silently continued sending bubbles. Until atst, a message popped up: [Congrattions, you¡¯ve be Love Chuan¡¯s faithful guardian.] Shen Liangchuan squinted and all of a sudden started tough. However as he took a closer look, that gleeful expression on his face at once darkened. He! Actually! Wasn¡¯t! Listed! As! Love Chuan¡¯s! Number One Fan!! This was insufferable. Hence, even though Love Chuan was not online, he sent another 100,000¡ä worth of gifts. At once, this rich man shot right up to top ce on Love Chuan¡¯s fans list in the game. Only then was he satisfied. He was about to put his cell phone away, when the gaming app¡¯s chat window popped up. The chat window of this app wasn¡¯t really well-designed, it was simply meant for quickmunication. It was a message from Love Chuan: [Love Chuan: Hi, how are you? Your gifts are too expensive and I haven¡¯t done anything for you, really, so I can¡¯t ept them. Why don¡¯t you let me have your ount number? I¡¯ll return the money to you.] ¡°So,¡± Shen Liangchuan thought, ¡°have I just been rejected by Qiao Lian?¡± Chapter 987 (6)

Chapter 987: Untitled (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Indignant, Shen Liangchuan answered back: [Missing Qiao: Why do you want to return it? I enjoy watching your live stream and it makes me happy.] [Love Chuan: Are you a man or a woman?] Missing Qiao contemted the question. His Xiao Qiao had a prim and proper character. If he were to say he was a man, she would reject him for sure. Hence, he immediately answered: [Missing Qiao: You can address me as Sister Si.] [Love Chuan: Hello, Sister Si, thank you for your support. I do depend on gifts for my livelihood, but do your parents know you¡¯re doing this?] Parents? Shen Liangchuan burst outughing at once. This woman, Xiao Qiao, really cared about other people! Was she thinking that Missing Qiao was a school kid using her parents¡¯ cell phone and credit card to send gifts? He quickly replied: [Missing Qiao: I think you¡¯ve misunderstood. I¡¯m an adult and I¡¯m married.] [Love Chuan: Oh? Well, since that¡¯s the case, then... thanks!] Shaking his head, Shen Liangchuan finally sighed in relief. ¨C Qiao Lian too put away her cell phone. It wasn¡¯t as though she was nosey, but Missing Qiao had already sent 300,000¡ä worth of gifts. Even after all necessary deductions were made, she would still end up with a hefty sum of 200,000. This sort of sich fans could get a little scary. But since now she had rified the person¡¯s status, it was fine. Perhaps this was just one of those rich second-generation heirs trying to unt their wealth. Just like how she was years ago, when she would readily buy a bag that cost 100,000 or 200,000 at the drop of a hat. She had led a high life then and thought nothing about spending money. Money to her at that time was just a number. A few 100 000 were then to her like what 100 were to her now. Only after she had been through hardships did she understand the value of money. She got up, stretched her sides and headed into the restroom. Little did she know about that ck, nondescript sedan that was downstairs. Lu Nanze sat in the vehicle with a vicious glint in his eyes. ¡°So she is now filming that advertisement together with Shen Liangchuan?¡± His assistant nodded. Lu Nanze snorted icily and sneered, ¡°He just has to be everywhere!¡± The assistant looked at Lu Nanze and said, ¡°Mr. Lu, in this case would you like to cancel the filming?¡± Thetter furrowed his brow and replied, ¡°No. If we did that now, it would arouse suspicions.¡± The assistant nodded and continued, ¡°It seems that ofte, Ms. Qiao has been making regr visits to the hospital. I¡¯ve got someone in the hospital to get her medical records.¡± Lu Nanze nodded. Xiao Qiao had always been in good health. What was the matter now? Was she unwell? The following day. Qiao Lian indeed felt a lot better after a good night¡¯s sleep. Hence, she made her way to the filming studio together with her junior assistant. Just as they arrived at the filming studio, they saw the crew worker walking towards them with a man. ¡°Ms. Qiao, why don¡¯t you both get to know each other a little more?¡± Qiao Lian looked at the man and paused in surprise. ¡°What?¡± Wasn¡¯t Shen Liangchuaning to film? As this question crossed her mind, the crew worker said, ¡°Oh, so Best Actor Shen is well-known for rejecting kissing and bedroom scenes. Hence, we¡¯ve found him a double. He will be recing Best Actor Shen in the more intimate scenes.¡± Qiao Lian was bbergasted. She grimaced visibly as she looked at the employee. ¡°But this¡ª¡± Before she could even voice a protest, the crew worker spoke again, ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal, don¡¯t be nervous. You¡¯ll just have to be humble when you¡¯re working with Best Actor Shen. So go ahead and make yourselvesfortable with each other, so that when we start filming, your interactions won¡¯t be too stiff.¡± Chapter 988 (7)

Chapter 988: Untitled (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian grimaced and stared at the crew worker, at a loss as to what to say. She cleared her throat and lowered her head. Nevermind, she was a nobody and her words wouldn¡¯t count. In any case, it was just filming and it really didn¡¯t matter with whom she did it. As these thoughts went through her mind, the double took a step towards her and stared at her. He greeted her, ¡°Sister Qiao, nice to meet you.¡± Pulling the corners of her lips back slightly, she extended her hand and returned his greeting, ¡°Hi, it¡¯s my pleasure.¡± ¡°Sister Qiao, you are pretty! I¡¯ve seen your livestream and thought you had a great voice. I didn¡¯t expect that you would look even better than you sound! Why didn¡¯t you develop your career in the entertainment circle?¡± With a quick cough, Qiao Lian answered, ¡°I am not interested.¡± ¡°Oh, Sister Qiao, then what are you interested in?¡± the double went on and on, in an attempt to reduce the unfamiliarity between them. He was most excited to think that in a short while, he would be filming intimate scenes with such a pretty girl. Qiao Lian made some small talk with him. Then they heard the crew worker calling her, ¡°Sister Qiao, time to get changed and do your makeup!¡± She nodded, went to change into Xiao Qiao¡¯s costume and walked to the powder room. Just as she walked in, she saw that Shen Liangchuan was actually sitting in the room. She raised an eyebrow in surprise. Shen Liangchuan took a nce at her and then shifted his gaze back to the mirror. At this moment, Shen Liangchuan looked rather funny. Because he had to put on makeup and wear a wigter, his hair was all wrapped back, making him look like a monk. However... even as a monk, his eyebrows made him look sharp and fierce, he did not carry an air of benevolence. He only looked cold and lofty. Even aical get-up such as this couldn¡¯t make one want tough aloud. Qiao Lian took a seat on the side. After a while, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s makeup was done and he went to get changed. The makeup artist smiled as she walked over to Qiao Lian to do her makeup next. The new makeup artist was good-natured and extremely skilled at her trade. Because the lighting for the filming was rather strong, the actors would look pale and lifeless if they had no makeup on. Hence, all actors necessarily put on makeup. The makeup artist took a look at Qiao Lian and eximed, ¡°You have really good-looking features, so you really don¡¯t need a lot of makeup. I¡¯ll just give them more definition and that should do.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. After the makeup artist had worked on Qiao Lian, thetter took a look at herself in the mirror. In her dreamy yellow dress and jet ck hair loose behind, she was indeed a beauty to behold. As Qiao Lian was grinning and looking at her costume, the door to the powder room swung open. Following this, the Official Zhou Yu walked in in his ritual robes. Qiao Lian was stunned the moment she looked up. By this point, Shen Liangchuan had already put on his wig. With his ck hair loose behind him and his dark robe, he looked every inch the smart and beautiful aristocrat. He was like a replica of a military general from the olden times! The people in the room lookedpletely mesmerized by him. Best Actor Shen was an extremely skilled actor and generally, the female stars who acted alongside him inevitably felt eclipsed by his presence. But this wasn¡¯t the case with Xiao Qiao. Her clean and fresh appearance, the transparency of her emotions, on top of the light makeup she had on made her a stunning beauty. Next to Zhou Yu, the two of them made a perfect couple. The sight of them together was so delightful that the crew could not stop smiling. They knew that once the advertisement wasunched, it would stir the inte for sure. And when that time came, the publicity for the game would achieve unprecedented results. At this thought, a crew member immediately said, ¡°Teacher Shen, Sister Qiao, let¡¯s proceed to the filming set.¡± They couldn¡¯t wait to see the result of the coboration between this couple. Chapter 989 (8)

Chapter 989: Untitled (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In the filming set, the director was talking the two actors through the script. ¡°The scene that you¡¯re doing now is the first meeting between Zhou Yu and Xiao Qiao. It takes ce in the courtyard of the Qiao family residence. Xiao Qiao is ying in the garden and trips over a small rock. Just as she is about to fall, Zhou Yu passes by and catches her in his arms. It¡¯s love at first sight for the both of them.¡± Then he pointed at the filming set and said, ¡°Ms. Qiao,ter on you¡¯ll have to pretend that you¡¯re looking at the flowers.¡± The briefing went on for a long time, and Qiao Lian finally spoke, ¡°Director, where are the flowers?¡± Wasn¡¯t she supposed to look at the flowers? But the setprised only a blue piece of cloth. There were no flowers to be seen! Upon hearing this, the directorughed and replied, ¡°We¡¯ll edit the background sceneryter. Right now, you¡¯ll just have to use your own imagination.¡± Qiao Lian was speechless. She grimaced and said after a pause, ¡°Well, let me give it a try then.¡± The filming started. With multiple cameras trained on her, Qiao Lian lowered her head, pretending that there was a flower. She reached out and picked it up, then held it up to the tip of her nose for a quick sniff. ¡°Cut!¡± The director shouted and continued, ¡°Ms. Qiao, the object that you¡¯re looking at is a flower. What are your eyes looking at exactly? Also, your movements are too stiff!¡± Qiao Lian was speechless. She was no professional actor, how was she going to imagine the scene as he had instructed? She turned to look at the director and saw that he was ring at her like he was about to spit fire. The crew standing around had covered their mouths, trying not to be too obvious that they wereughing. She could even hear people discussing among themselves: ¡°Her acting standards are so bad.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, no wonder she¡¯s a female caster. I did wonder why she hadn¡¯t gone into acting, since she¡¯s so pretty.¡± ¡°Look at that, quick. Best Actor Shen looks most displeased now.¡± ¡°There is nothing Best Actor Shen hates more than female artists with bad acting skills!¡± ¡°...¡± When Qiao Lian heard thesements, she sneaked a look at Shen Liangchuan. Indeed, she saw that he was frowning and looking back at her with displeasure. Qiao Lian twitched her mouth and then bit her lip. Once more. ¡°Action!¡± At the director¡¯smand, Qiao Lian took a step forward, saw the flowers and her eyes lit up. She was ted¡ª ¡°Cut!¡± She froze and looked up. The director berated her, ¡°Do you know how to act!? The garden is full of flowers but you look like you¡¯ve just found money on the ground... What¡¯s with that?¡± ¡°Hahahaha.¡± The people standing around weren¡¯t able to contain themselves any longer and burst outughing. Qiao Lian frowned. She had always been a person who did not easily bow to defeat. Otherwise, she would have never risen from being an idiot noob gamer to the number two yer in the gaming world. So now, beingughed at only provoked this unyielding quality in her. Hence, she gritted her teeth and said, ¡°Once more, Director.¡± Then, an expression of approval appeared on the director¡¯s face. There was no crying andmenting, but instead a determined attitude. Although she wasn¡¯t any good at acting, it was still evident that she improved with every take. Yet she really didn¡¯t cut it as an actor. The director was a perfectionist and couldn¡¯t tolerate this. He finally said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you step away and think about how this scene should be filmed? I¡¯ll move onto someone else¡¯s segment. I can¡¯t hold back the filming¡¯s progress for you.¡± Qiao Lian sighed helplessly, hung her head and moved to the side. Arghhhhh! This was an empty room. How was it supposed to be a blooming garden in her head? As she went into a conundrum over this, she heard audible gasps around the room. Qiao Lian paused and lifted her gaze. She saw Shen Liangchuan suddenly stand up and stride towards her. Chapter 990 (9)

Chapter 990: Untitled (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°That¡¯s it!¡± ¡°Best Actor Shen finally flips!¡± ¡°Remember Best Actor Shen¡¯s poisonous tongue? He once asked Yang Lingsi if she had picked up her acting skills from pigs! That was so embarrassing.¡± ¡°Ha. What¡¯s Best Actor Shen now going to do to Sister Qiao?¡± ¡°Oh my god, let¡¯s just wait and watch her burst into tears!¡± ¡°...¡± Qiao Lian didn¡¯t say a word. She stood up and was about to walk towards Shen Liangchuan, when she felt someone grab her arm. Spinning around, she saw the junior assistant looking at Shen Liangchuan nervously. She whispered, ¡°Sister, what are we going to do now?¡± ¡°Is Best Actor Shening over to yell at you?¡± ¡°Sister, if he does chide you, you mustn¡¯t cry! I¡¯ve heard that Best Actor Shen hates girls who cry.¡± ¡°Sister, I think you¡¯d better not go. What are we going to do now?¡± ¡°Why do I feel like we¡¯re about to be eaten alive by Best Actor Shen?¡± Qiao Lian kept silent. Was it really that terrifying? She stole another nce at Shen Liangchuan. Although he was as expressionless as always, he obviously wasn¡¯t angry. Besides, she was new at filming, of course she was clueless. What was there to be angry about? At this thought, she patted the junior assistant¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s ok.¡± ¡°How can it be ok¡ª¡± The junior assistant was on the verge of tears by now. Yet... before she could finish her sentence, Shen Liangchuan was already standing in front of them. The junior assistant dropped her grip on Qiao Lian in fright, the moment she felt Shen Liangchuan¡¯s stare. She retreated. She thought the next thing he said would be, ¡°Ms. Qiao, did you pick up your acting skills from the pigs?¡± The people around also expected that Qiao Lian was going to end up in tears from a lecture. Then, the next thing they heard Shen Liangchuan say was, ¡°Are you getting a feel of it now?¡± Everyone was bbergasted. What? They had to be hearing things. Getting a feel of it now? What sort of feeling? The feeling of being nervous or embarrassed to tears? Or had Best Actor Shen found a new style of sarcasm to berate others? As this thought ran through their minds, they saw the newbie shake her head and reply, ¡°I still don¡¯t understand. I¡¯m not getting the feel...¡± Everyone was speechless. How dared she talk back at the great Best Actor? Furthermore, she had dared to say she didn¡¯t get it. Did she think that the great Best Actor¡¯s tongue wasn¡¯t vicious enough? Everyone expected that the great Best Actor would nextsh out at her, saying she was as stupid as a pig. But all they heard Shen Liangchuan say was, ¡°Let me exin.¡± Inconceivable. Had they dropped their sses?! Was this Best Actor Shen? He must have been possessed. They shifted their gaze back to Qiao Lian. Indeed, she nodded like a newborn calf that had no fear of the tiger. ¡°Uh huh. Tell me then. How do I imagine this room to be a blooming garden when it obviously isn¡¯t one?!¡± Everyone: ...!! They stared with their mouths agape, staring in astonishment at the serious conversation that was taking ce between Best Actor Shen and Qiao Lian. The questions that Qiao Lian was asking were at best idiotic. But Best Actor Shen answered every one of those questions. That look of long suffering convinced everyone that Best Actor Shen¡¯s quota of patience in all his lifetime waspletely spent right at this moment. And Best Actor Shen lived up to his name. After half an hour of exining, Qiao Lian finally stood up saying, ¡°Ah! Let me try again! I¡¯ve got the feel of it now.¡± Silence. As proven, Qiao Lian was a bright girl. With her new-found ¡°feel,¡± her next take vastly improved. Although she was still a little stiff, it was a passable effort. After this came her intimate scenes with Zhou Yu. Chapter 991 (10)

Chapter 991: Untitled (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After Shen Liangchuan filmed a few scenes, it was time to film the scene in which Xiao Qiao tripped and was saved by Zhou Yu. Best Actor Shen had never liked close physical contact with women. Hence at this point, the double was called in. Shen Liangchuan was waiting to discuss with the director which might be the best way to embrace her, when the director pointed at a man who was hovering around Qiao Lian. ¡°Best Actor Shen, this is your double. He will be doing the intimate scenes that follow.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, those two have been getting to know each other since this morning, so the segments we¡¯ll be filming won¡¯t be too poorly done! After that, we can film a few close-ups of you and that will sort things out. Errr... Best Actor Shen, do... you have any advice for us?¡± As the director spoke, he noticed Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression darkening, hence he immediately sealed his mouth nervously. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s gaze, on the other hand, fell on Qiao Lian, who was chatting andughing with the double. Ah! He had been wondering about this guy, who had been hovering around Qiao Lian since early in the morning. It turned out he was the double! All he had been looking forward to was filming these intimate scenes and being close to Qiao Lian. And now they had found him a double? Shen Liangchuan was livid, enraged and embarrassed into anger. He said immediately, ¡°There¡¯s no need for the double.¡± The director was stunned. ¡°What? What then?¡± Shen Liangchuan shot him a dirty look and said, ¡°That double looks too ugly.¡± The director stammered, ¡°But... we¡¯ll only shoot his back, not his face.¡± ¡°Oh. He¡¯s a bit of a hunchback.¡± Hunchback? ¡°Is he?¡± The director looked across the room. That guy had a posture as straight as anything, he had used to be a military officer. Best Actor Shen lowered his gaze indifferently and insisted, ¡°He is. Look carefully.¡± The director said uncertainly now, ¡°... Maybe, perhaps, it seems he is just a little?¡± ¡°Uh huh. So we can¡¯t use him.¡± ¡°Well then, we¡¯ll look for a new person for you?¡± the director offered. ¡°Today¡¯s segment... Isn¡¯t it terribly urgent?¡± The director was suddenly at a loss and replied, ¡°We- we have a month?¡± They had nothing but time. This was an advertisement and the end product would be in total twenty minutes long. A month to film was more than enough. ¡°Are you saying we can waste time just because we have a month?¡± The director fell silent. You wanted to rece the makeup artist yesterday and that¡¯s what we did. That took time too, didn¡¯t it? So what is the hurry now? But of course, he didn¡¯t dare say these thoughts out loud. He could only say falteringly, ¡°So- so- what should we do?¡± Shen Liangchuan sighed and replied, ¡°We won¡¯t be able to find a suitable double with such short notice. Since that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll film these scenes myself.¡± Oh, that look of great reluctance. Immediately, the director bowed his head and said, ¡°We¡¯ll have to trouble you then!¡± His expression was full of gratitude. One had to understand that, right from the onset of his career, Best Actor Shen had never had to do the intimate scenes himself. And he was actually going to do this for the first time in their advertisement! This was great publicity in itself. The director¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Best Actor Shen, you are certainly our crew¡¯s lucky star! Nothing would beat having you act in these segments yourself. Nevertheless, we will start looking for a new double for you immediately. Today¡¯s scenes are not that intimate. There is a bedroom scene the day after tomorrow and we¡¯ll find you a suitable double by then, for sure!¡± Shen Liangchuan replied, ¡°... No hurry, take your time in looking.¡± How could they not hurry? Best Actor Shen was just giving them face by saying there was no hurry. But it wouldn¡¯t be good to overstep their boundaries. Hence, they had to find that perfect double as soon as possible. Chapter 992 (11)

Chapter 992: Untitled (11)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In that instant, they were just about to film the scene in which Zhou Yu embraced Xiao Qiao. As before, the filming was to take ce in an empty room and it depended on their own imagination. The background would only be addedter. Qiao Lian stood there and then saw... The double had initially been supposed to y this role, but now Shen Liangchuan himself would do it. At once, she was stunned. Quickly following this discovery, she heard the director¡¯smand, ¡°Action!¡± Qiao Lian was still in a daze. She tripped and was really going to fall over. Right at this point, Shen Liangchuan took a quick step forward and slipped his arm around her waist... But the most embarrassing thing happened! Because she was going to fall, Qiao Lian had stuck out both her arms reflexively and waved them wildly in the air. At this point, Shen Liangchuan had caught her. However, with no control over her body at that moment, her palm hadnded Shen Liangchuan right across his face with a sound p. Bam! It had been a forceful motion and the p hade down quite mercilessly. Because they were in the midst of filming, the studio was silent, causing the sound of that p to be exceptionally noticeable. Qiao Lian was stupefied. She stared at Shen Liangchuan with a look of utter disbelief and then shifted her gaze to her own hand. Everyone present was stunned as well. This junior caster had just pped the great Best Actor?! Everyone froze on the spot immediately and they turned simultaneously to observe the unfolding scene. Qiao Lian could almost hear the inaudible gasp of her junior assistant, and feel the looks of sympathy that were now directed at her from everyone around. Even the director couldn¡¯t help but gulp. Then the director took a step forward and chided her, ¡°What have you done? Can you really act? Ah, Ms. Qiao, can you not be a tad moreposed? It¡¯s an unprecedented asion that our great Best Actor has agreed to do an intimate scene himself and yet, look at yourself, this is simply...¡± At this point, he frowned. Qiao Lian, on the contrary, was secretly grateful towards him. Assuming she hadn¡¯t known Shen Liangchuan, the director was right now actually doing her a favor by chiding her first. This would mean that there was no need for Shen Liangchuan to berate her again, as it wouldn¡¯t look good on him. It was obvious to her that the director was trying to protect her. She smiled sheepishly and then looked at Shen Liangchuan again. The director looked towards him as well and said, ¡°Hurry, hurry over here and see if Best Actor Shen¡¯s face is alright.¡± In fact, there wasn¡¯t even a scratch on Shen Liangchuan¡¯s face. At this point, Shen Liangchuan finally recovered from this unexpected incident and snapped back to the present. He looked at everyone around with a frown. Eventually his gaze rested on Qiao Lian. With a sigh, he asked, ¡°Is your foot alright?¡± He had seen it clearly. Qiao Lian wasn¡¯t pretending, she had really twisted her ankle. Qiao Lian quickly shook her head upon hearing his question. ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± However, Shen Liangchuan immediately lifted her in his arms and strode to the side of the room. He called for the crew¡¯s physician to have a look. After confirming that there was no great harm to Qiao Lian¡¯s foot, Shen Liangchuan sighed with relief. Everyone waspletely stumped by Shen Liangchuan¡¯s behavior. Wasn¡¯t Best Actor Shen a bit too... something... towards Ms. Qiao? He was well-known for avoiding female charms, but now... Everyone finally realized that the way Shen Liangchuan treated Qiao Lian was exceptionally different. Hence the crowd stood around, exchanging looks with each other, and then finally averted their gazes silently. Wasn¡¯t it amon thing for a great Best Actor to make a move on a beginning actress? The director was visibly stumped as well, seeing how things were unfolding as they were. But when his gaze fell on Qiao Lian¡¯s face, a great realization came over him. It would be even stranger for Best Actor Shen to be oblivious to such a great beauty! Chapter 993 (12)

Chapter 993: Untitled (12)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Clearing his throat loudly, the director said, ¡°Ok, everyone, we¡¯ll take a five-minute break.¡± During the break, Song Cheng suddenly walked towards them. The director looked at him and asked, ¡°Manager Song, what¡¯s up?¡± With a broad smile, Song Cheng exined, ¡°It¡¯s like this. Our Brother Shen feels that by the time filming ends, it will be ratherte. With the next shooting scheduled for early morning tomorrow, it¡¯s a little inconvenient. We were wondering if the filming crew could arrange for amodation at a hotel nearby, we¡¯ll just stay there tonight.¡± Director: ... Hence, could it be that Best Actor Shen was really interested in Qiao Lian? Given that Best Actor Shen had so generously given them a month of his time to film, he couldn¡¯t possibly decline such a request. As for Ms. Qiao... Well, she should be more than d to have Best Actor Shen make a move on her. ¨C Half an hourter. After Qiao Lian was done filming and left the set, her junior assistant came up to her and said, ¡°Sister Qiao, the crew says that tonight we¡¯ll have to work overtime, so they¡¯ve booked amodation at the nearby hotel for us.¡± Staying at a hotel? Qiao Lian raised an eyebrow. It wasn¡¯t a problem. It didn¡¯t matter now that she was living alone. Furthermore, because of the filming, she had informed her fans that the live stream sessions would stop for a few days. Qiao Lian nodded,pletely unaware of the fact that she had been earmarked for Best Actor Shen¡¯s pleasure. The filming that followed went extremely smoothly. At 8 p.m., they finally finished for the day. When Qiao Lian and her junior assistant arrived at the hotel, they found that the filming crew had so respectfully booked her the presidential suite! ted, her junior assistant eximed, ¡°Woah, I didn¡¯t think that there¡¯de a day that even I could stay in a presidential suite!¡± As soon as she said this, a crew member smiled and said, ¡°May I exin? A room has been booked for you too. Oh, that¡¯s right, you¡¯ll be sharing the room with another assistant from our crew.¡± The junior assistant fell silent. Patting her arm, Qiao Lian headed towards the Presidential Suite. Upon unlocking the door and entering the room, she saw that it was rather well-furnished. Humming a tune, she walked into the room. However, as she entered the living area, she suddenly halted. She spun around sharply to look outside. Then she looked down again at the card key in her hand. Again, she lifted her gaze and looked steadily at the man in front of her. bbergasted, she asked him, ¡°Have you gone into the wrong room? This is my room!¡± Shen Liangchuan uncrossed his long legs and stood up. He walked to her a step at a time, saying, ¡°That¡¯s right. This is indeed your room. I¡¯m here to look for you.¡± Guardedly, Qiao Lian took a step back and asked, ¡°What do you want?¡± Shen Liangchuan cast his gaze down and replied, ¡°Hmmm. There¡¯s going to be a kissing scene tomorrow. I¡¯m here to go over the script with you.¡± Qiao Lian was speechless. What sort of rubbish excuse was this?! She wasn¡¯t a child, how could she not tell right away that this was a feeble excuse? The next moment, she saw that indeed the man had two scripts with him. He ced them on the coffee table and turned back to look at her. ¡°Are you going to make the whole crew wait for you tomorrow?¡± Qiao Lian kept silent. ¡°Take a seat.¡± Qiao Lian found herself unconsciously obeying his instructions. Shen Liangchuan pointed at the content in the script and said, ¡°We¡¯re filming the wedding night. There¡¯s a kissing scene and, the day after, there¡¯s a bedroom scene.¡± ¡°How can it be so filthy?¡± Qiao Lian thought to herself. At this point, the seat on the sofa next to her sank. Following this, a dark silhouette filled the empty space beside her. Her head spun around. She saw that Shen Liangchuan had moved to sit next to her. ¡°So let¡¯s try the kissing scene first?¡± Chapter 994 (13)

Chapter 994: Untitled (13)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios That intimate and familiar scent filled her nostrils, causing all the muscles in her body to tense up. It was as though all her senses had suddenly sharpened and every cell in her body had be alert. She gulped and hesitantly asked, ¡°How- how do we try that?¡± The moment these words came out, a shadow fell over her. At once, his face appeared right before hers, just a hair¡¯s breadth away. At this distance, in which his face was really close, she could clearly see the great depth of his eyes. Qiao Lian widened her eyes as she heard him say, ¡°Like this.¡± He embraced her waist and whispered, ¡°In the past, all my kissing scenes were shot with a misleading perspective.¡± Slightly shifting his face, he pointed, looked in a certain direction and exined, ¡°Shooting from that angle, we would look like we¡¯re kissing.¡± With each word he spoke, his breath brushed against her face. The warm breaths tickled and had a maism that aroused her desires. She felt as though a feather was lightly teasing her heart, evoking a subtle and numbing current that was now spreading through her body. Her body weakened and her mouth was parched as she stared at him, mesmerized. ¡°So, are we using that type of perspective as well tomorrow?¡± His gaze traveled downwards, following the contours of her face, and rested on her luscious lips. ¡°I¡¯m the only one who uses forced perspectives. Nowadays, actors who care about being professional will just perform a real kiss.¡± ¡°What?¡± Qiao Lian was astonished and became worried. ¡°How can they do that?!¡± She had barely finished speaking when a pair of warm and soft lips suddenly pressed against hers. She was stunned. Her posture stiffened immediately. She felt an electrical shock suddenly spread from her heart to the tips of her limbs, and her fingers curled involuntarily. She gulped again. Then suddenly, Shen Liangchuan withdrew his lips away from hers and moved away. When this happened, all of the fuzzy sensations disappeared at once, leaving a gaping void in her heart. She was ashamed of feeling like that. Then she heard Shen Liangchuan say, ¡°That¡¯s how they film, doing a dry kiss. But of course, sometimes male actors take advantage of the female actors.¡± This gave Qiao Lian a slightly better understanding. She cleared her throat and turned her head as she said, ¡°Ok, I understand¡ª mmph!¡± Before she could finish, he had ced his hand over the back of her head and drawn her into a passionate and enthusiastic kiss, cutting off all her words. Qiao Lian widened her eyes in shock, but his eyes were already shut in ecstasy. She wanted to fight back. But instead, her arms involuntarily wound around his neck. Her body was not obeying her at all. Her ability to think clearly was quickly melting away as their kiss deepened... In this act of intimacy that belonged only to them. In these recent days, not a moment had gone by that she hadn¡¯t thought of him. So in that instant, she threw all caution to the wind as she let herself fall into his embrace. The atmosphere in the room charged up at once. The gentle moans and heavy breathing grew, as the temperature in the room started to soar. Until atst, he lifted her and she felt the softness of the bed beneath her. Yet she suddenly snapped back to reality. She- she had been seduced by his masculine charms! This guy... this rubbish about kissing scenes, it had all been to lure her into a trap. And now she could feel the stiffness of his heated passion pressing against her. But! She was only just over a month into her pregnancy, she couldn¡¯t be indulging in this sort of pleasure. At this thought, she suddenly shoved him away. Looking at him, she said raising her voice, ¡°We can¡¯t do this!¡± Chapter 995 (14)

Chapter 995: Untitled (14)

Shen Liangchuan was taken aback by how agitated she suddenly was. He asked, ¡°Why not?¡± Qiao Lian quickly realized that she had probably overreacted, and that he would suspect something was not right if she didn¡¯t have a good exnation for her behavior. She cast her gaze down and hurriedly said, ¡°The divorce agreement that I left behind for you... Have you signed it?¡± Shen Liangchuan frowned. Clearing her throat, she continued, ¡°We- we- we can¡¯t be doing these things when our rtionship is so unclear!¡± She said this with conviction, as though it provided all the justification she needed. However, upon hearing this, Shen Liangchuan looked at her in astonishment and asked ,¡±What was it that you thought I was going to do?¡± Turning a bright scarlet, she stammered, ¡°That- that.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°That- that thing, of course!¡± The man raised an eyebrow and asked, ¡°And what would that thing refer to?¡± She was bbergasted. Immediately, she jumped off the bed, saying, ¡°Well, that thing! You- Don¡¯t you know anything?¡± Seeing how he had teased her into a rage, Shen Liangchuan couldn¡¯t stop himself fromughing. ¡°What was it you thought I was going to do? I was only trying to rehearse the script.¡± Rehearse the script? Sure. Shen Liangchuan stood up and walked to the coffee table. He picked up a script and held it out to Qiao Lian. ¡°The two characters¡¯ first kiss is on the wedding night and then Zhou Yu carries Xiao Qiao to the bed. This is followed by an intimate scene.¡± Qiao Lian was stumped. So what had happened just then had all been a rehearsal? She bit her lip. No way. She pointed at the door and said, ¡°Well, I suppose you can leave now that the rehearsal is done?¡± The man shook his head in disapproval. ¡°You didn¡¯t do a good job.¡± Qiao Lian was bbergasted. He continued, ¡°Why don¡¯t we try it again?¡± Qiao Lian: ...!! She lifted her hands and clutched her chest at once, saying, ¡°No way! You pervert! Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know you¡¯re trying to take advantage of me.¡± Shen Liangchuan cast his gaze down and suddenlyughed. But as he did so, he said something that melted her heart, ¡°Xiao Qiao...¡± ¡°Uh huh?¡± ¡°I¡¯d take advantage of only you.¡± She fell silent. She blushed furiously at those words, as much as she tried not to. She lowered her head, helplessly wondering how this man could be so improper. At once, the tension appeared between them and an uncertain sensation rose in the room. Shen Liangchuan walked towards her and stopped next to her. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s stop this nonsense and go to bed.¡± Stumped, Qiao Lian asked at once, ¡°... Why aren¡¯t you going back to your own room?¡± He raised an eyebrow and replied, ¡°The crew thinks that you want to hook up with the male lead. So they¡¯ve booked one room only for the two of us.¡± Qiao Lian was stunned. Hook up with the male lead... this guy wouldn¡¯t let her forget what she had said. It was no wonder that they had arranged for the junior assistant to be in another room. It all made sense now. Qiao Lian spoke, ¡°So now what are we going to do?¡± ¡°Xiao Qiao, you¡¯re going to have to shelter me for the night. Otherwise, I¡¯ll have to sleep on the street.¡± As he said this, his voice faded. She turned to look at him and found that his eyes had shut, as though he had fallen asleep. Fallen asleep. She remembered his insomnia and didn¡¯t dare to move an inch, for fear of waking him. ¨C On the other end of things, an employee who had his eyes fixed on the presidential suite called the director. ¡°She hasn¡¯te out of the room. It looks like Best Actor Shen has sessfully snatched thedy!¡± The directorughed and said, ¡°Really? Best Actor Shen has ekpthimself clean all of these years, it¡¯s surprising that he¡¯s suddenly taken interest in a junior caster.¡± The crew worker paused and said, ¡°Actually, there¡¯s something I have to say.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Director, don¡¯t you feel that Ms. Qiao looks very familiar? I¡¯ve seen pictures of Mrs. Shen...¡± Chapter 996 - The Love Rival Arrives (1)

Chapter 996: The Love Rival Arrives (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The director gasped audibly before the crew worker could finish his sentence. ¡°You mean, Ms. Qiao resembles Mrs. Shen and that¡¯s why Best Actor Shen wanted her?¡± The crew worker paused. Why did he have this nagging feeling that Ms. Qiao and Mrs. Shen were one and the same person? However, Mrs. Shen wasn¡¯t a public figure after all and rarely made an appearance. Although there had been pictures of her, in pictures people often looked different from real life. Hence, many celebrities often would go unrecognized even if they stood right next to you. The crew worker said after carefully contemting it, ¡°I recall that Mrs. Shen¡¯s surname was Qiao too, right?¡± ¡°What do you mean? Ms. Qiao is Mrs. Shen? You¡¯re kidding! If Ms. Qiao were Mrs. Shen, why would she be an insignificant caster? Mrs. Shen is Forget Chuan, not Love Chuan. But... since you said this, it¡¯s possible that this Ms. Qiao is using her resemnce to get Best Actor Shen¡¯s attention! The entertainment circle is tooplex, let¡¯s not entangle ourselves. But the fact that Best Actor Shen has sessfully hooked up with the junior caster will make our filming easier from now on, and that is good enough!¡± At these words, the crew worker fell silent. ¨C Qiao Lian, who was in the hotel room, of course had absolutely no idea that her identity had almost been revealed. Shey on the bed, as still as she could be, afraid that the slightest movement on her part would wake up Shen Liangchuan, causing him to lose sleep afterwards. She shut her eyes and listened to his breathing, as his masculine scent filled her nostrils. She was blissfully happy right now. She pursed her lips. Her hands unconsciously found their way to her belly. Child, can you hear that? It¡¯s the sound of your daddy¡¯s breathing. The corners of her lips turned upwards into a smile as she gradually fell asleep Once she had fallen asleep, the man opened his eyes and turned to look at her, his gaze so intense that it seemed almost obsessive. He knew only too well that forcing his way on her would never work. He had to gently persuade. If he pretended to have fallen asleep, she would not bear to kick him out. Otherwise, it would have been another bout of struggle. He stared at her, recalling her reaction. He squinted as he felt a pang of sharp pain in his heart. Had they grown apart so much in this short time? He cast his gaze down and, after a pause, made a slight movement to extend his arm. Quietly and lightly, he embraced her and then shut his eyes again. As her scent invaded and took over his senses, he slowly fell into a slumber. ¨C When Qiao Lian woke up the following day, Shen Liangchuan was gone. Strangely, she sighed in relief. She realized that she didn¡¯t know how to confront him. She couldn¡¯t bear to leave him. But whenever she remembered the psychologist¡¯s words, she would feel overwhelmed by deep concern. She didn¡¯t want him to go back to a life of sleepless nights. She took a deep breath. Then she got out of bed and washed up. She saw that there was breakfast on the table and ate her fill. She determined after some thinking that, in the future, she was better off going back home, no matter howte filming ended. What could she do with the awkward arrangement of spending the night in a hotel room with Shen Liangchuan? After making up her mind, she took a few bites of her breakfast and got ready to leave. The moment she opened the room door, she saw the junior assistant standing there. ¡°Sister Qiao, there¡¯s word from the crew that we¡¯re going to film in Hengdian. Best Actor Shen said that it¡¯s hard to get a feel of the role filming here without any background, so we might as well go to Hengdian.¡± The crew¡¯s biggest concern initially had been Shen Liangchuan¡¯s avability, but since he was now making himself avable, of course they were more than willing. Chapter 997 - The Love Rival Arrives (2)

Chapter 997: The Love Rival Arrives (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian felt as though Shen Liangchuan was reading her mind and doing this on purpose. She grimaced and asked, ¡°What about today then?¡± The junior assistant replied, ¡°They¡¯ve canceled filming for today, so that everyone can go home to pack. We¡¯ll gather at 2 p.m. to leave for Hengdian together.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. Although taking a break from live streaming for a day or two was not a problem, she couldn¡¯t possibly do that for an extended period. Hence, she had to make a trip home to retrieve her live streaming equipment and take it along. Qiao Lian got home, took herptop and packed a few belongings. Then she returned to the filming set. By the time she arrived, it was 1.30 p.m. She saw a few unfamiliar faces standing there. When the crew worker saw Qiao Lian looking in their direction with a puzzled expression, he exined, ¡°These are popr casters from different tforms. Since we¡¯re going to Hengdian to shoot, we thought of getting everyone toe along.¡± Qiao Lian realized something all of a sudden. She had initially been quite puzzled about the fact that, when turned up to film, she had been the only caster. When she signed the agreement, thepany had indicated that there would be two casters from each tform involved in the filming. Now she understood. Because of Shen Liangchuan¡¯s limited avability, the filming crew had arranged it so that she could shoot the scenes with him first. The other casters were ying the roles of other champions in the video game. However, their scenes were shorter than hers. As she stood quietly by the side observing, a prettydy who seemed rather arrogant walked up to her and asked, ¡°Hi, are you Love Chuan?¡± Qiao Lian looked at her and nodded. The girl extended her hand towards Qiao Lian and introduced herself, ¡°I¡¯m Water Incense from the Incense Livestream tform.¡± Water Incense? Qiao Lian paused for a moment. Water Incense creased her brow at Qiao Lian¡¯s reaction. ¡°Have you never heard of me?¡± Of course she had heard of the girl. As a reporter, she knew almost all of the popr figures on the major tforms. This girl, Water Incense, had been extremely popr throughout most of the country two years ago. However, she wasn¡¯t in eSports. She had a few million fans on Weibo and was very popr. Rumor had it that she had been sought by many filmingpanies, who were trying to get her to join the entertainment industry and star in TV series. But why had she approached Qiao Lian to introduce herself? From the vibes Qiao Lian was getting, Water Incense didn¡¯t seem terribly fond of her. Whatever the reason, Qiao Lian immediately extended her hand and said, ¡°Hi, how are you?¡± Yet before her hand had even made contact, Water Incense withdrew her hand, lowered her head and said as she studied her nails, ¡°I was wondering why they would even get a small-time caster to y the lead role in this advertisement. Why, I thought it was going to be some great beauty, perfect for the role, but it turned out to be no big deal.¡± Qiao Lian was stunned. So this girl had approached her just to insult her? She lowered her gaze. Did this girl really think that she was a newbie in the entertainment industry? Feigning innocence, Qiao Lian replied, ¡°Indeed, I was surprised too. But it¡¯s not really up to us who they wish to pick for the female lead. Doesn¡¯t it depend on the tform?¡± In other words, the Incense Livestream tform could not hold a candle to her own eSports tform. Water Incense almost choked at hereback. ¡°You- Our tform¡¯s most popr female streamers easily have millions of fans, unlike you guys, who at best have 100 000 fans.¡± Qiao Lian nodded in agreement. ¡°That¡¯s true. Obviously, our tform draws less audience than yours. But why did they choose our tform to select the female lead role then? Oh... I remember now. Because this is Lot¡¯s trailer and our tform specializes in video games!¡± ESports live streams were a very niche field to begin with. Hence, it waspletely unfair of Water Incense topare a normal streamer to a female eSports caster. Chapter 998 - The Love Rival Arrives (3)

Chapter 998: The Love Rival Arrives (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian had never been an easy pushover. Even if it was just an argument, she would not let others take advantage of her in the slightest way. Hence she had returned the insult, causing Water Incense to frown in anger. ¡°You, an insignificant newbie and yet so sharp-tongued. Let me warn you, don¡¯t be too smug!¡± She gave an icy humph. Water Incense¡¯s assistant walked over to her hurriedly and reminded her, ¡°Sister Water Incense, don¡¯t fret. Have you forgotten the reason we¡¯re here today?¡± As soon as she said this, Water Incense looked as though she had just remembered something. Then she stopped herself from speaking further and, instead, looked around. ¡°Is Mr. Jiang not here yet?¡± The assistant immediately shook her head. Water Incense frowned. She gave Qiao Lian a vicious re and stepped aside. At 2 p.m. sharp. The crew worker arrived and shouted for everyone to get on the bus. Because the destination was Hengdian, the crew had secured arge bus for the trip. As Qiao Lian was boarding the bus, she saw Water Incense say in disdain, ¡°If it weren¡¯t for Mr. Jiang, I wouldn¡¯t be taking this bus. Get our car to follow us because, after we arrive at Hengdian, I¡¯m not going to take this bus.¡± Her assistant hurriedly agreed, ¡°Yes, yes.¡± Qiao Lian was speechless. She thought that Water Incense was just too pretentious. The girl boarded the bus and found a seat. After a while, the bus seats started to fill up until there were no more empty seats. However, the vehicle did not depart. Puzzled, Qiao Lian knitted her brow and started to look around. She heard the other casters and presentersining, ¡°Which big shot are we waiting for now?! The entire bus is just waiting for him.¡± ¡°Shhh, can¡¯t you see that the crew is not even angry? That means that the person we¡¯re waiting for is someone really significant.¡± Someone really significant? Qiao Lian was puzzled now. It couldn¡¯t be Shen Liangchuan they were waiting for, could it? How could he possibly be taking the bus together with the rest of them? She shook her head and turned to look out of the window. At 2:30 p.m., a ck luxury sedan pulled to a stop next to the bus. The car door opened. A yawning man came out of the car. He was dressed casually, looking like he wasn¡¯t quite awake yet. He had spiky hair and the most arrogant look. Qiao Lian also observed that the crew was extremely polite towards this man, nodding, bowing and talking non-stop. The man nodded impatiently and then boarded the bus. After he boarded the bus, he asked, ¡°Where?¡± A crew worker immediately pointed in Qiao Lian¡¯s direction. Qiao Lian was taken aback. She saw the man striding towards her and then... He sat in the seat in front of her and next to Water Incense. Qiao Lian: ... She had thought that the man was looking for her. After all, the crew worker had been pointing at her. Now it looked like the guy was looking for Water Incense. At the same time, Water Incense immediately got excited and eximed, ¡°Mr. Jiang, you¡¯re here!¡± The man nodded and looked at Water Incense. ¡°Hmmm, I didn¡¯t know you were this pretty!¡± Water Incense was ted at once. ¡°Mr. Jiang, you do know me?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve even watched your live stream. Have you forgotten? I rewarded you with gifts worth more than 100 000?¡± There was a look of pure excitement on her face. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to have watched my live streams. So what¡¯s your ID on the live stream tform?¡± She quickly jogged her memory. She knew the few rich fans she had, and she had even met them in real life. But she had no recollections of this person. As she was thinking, the man said, ¡°Prince.¡± Qiao Lian, who was sitting behind them and drinking water, almost choked and spat out her drink upon hearing this. Chapter 999 - The Love Rival Arrives (4)

Chapter 999: The Love Rival Arrives (4)

Prince? Could it turn out to be what she had been thinking? As she was pondering about it, she saw that Water Incense was slightly taken aback. ¡°Ah? Prince? Are you sure that you have sent me presents worth 100 000?¡± The man nodded. ¡°Why should I lie to you?¡± Water Incense frowned and replied, ¡°But you are not at the top of my fan¡¯s list!¡± Prince answered, ¡°How could that be? I was clearly the top fan on your list, but in the end I was overtaken by someone by the name of Missing Qiao. Tonight, I will keep rewarding you.¡± The corners of Water Incense¡¯s lips twitched. ¡°Who is Missing Qiao then?¡± Prince: ... Prince raised his head in confusion. ¡°You are not Love Chuan?¡± Water Incense¡¯s facial expression immediately stiffened., The people in the bus couldn¡¯t help but lower their heads, trying to hide their sniggers. Water Incense waspletely embarrassed. She replied instantly, ¡°No, I am not. I am Water Incense.¡± ¡°Who is Water Incense?¡± Prince said these words without bothering to give her face. After that he stood up suddenly and asked, ¡°So who is Love Chuan?¡± Everyone in the bus fell silent. Qiao Lian hurriedly lowered her head and kept quiet. ¡°Hey, staff!¡± The crew members immediately pointed at someone behind him. ¡°Prince, she¡¯s over there!¡± Prince turned around and saw the top of someone¡¯s head, staring back at him. Prince: ... Prince was about to walk over when Water Incense said, ¡°Mr. Jiang, there is already someone sitting beside her. The only vacant seat left is right beside me, so please just sit here.¡± Prince was stunned as he raised his eyebrows. ¡°How is it possible that there is someone beside her?¡± He then looked at Qiao Lian yfuly. ¡°Love Chuan, is there someone beside you?¡± Even if there was indeed nobody, she had to say otherwise. She did not want to be pestered by Prince! She had already seen with her own eyes how pestering Prince could be during the live stream the other day. Qiao Lian raised her head and smiled. ¡°There¡¯s someone.¡± Prince frowned instantly. ¡°There is someone who ister than me?¡± The moment he finished speaking, everyone started to react. Since Prince had already turned up, why hadn¡¯t the bus started to move yet? Could it be that they were still waiting for someone? As he was pondering about it, Prince started to count the number of people in the bus. He then said, ¡°There isn¡¯t anyone else, so there¡¯s no one beside you.¡± When he said these words, he stood up and went to the back. Qiao Lian eximed, ¡°There is indeed someone!¡± She then signaled her junior assistant. The junior assistant understood what she meant instantly and stood up hurriedly. As she was about to approach her, she heard someone¡¯s voice. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯mte.¡± As soon as that attractive deep voice sounded, everyone in the bus was astonished. They all turned simultaneously to look at the door, only to see Shen Liangchuan entering the bus slowly. With his back to the light, his tall and big frame stood erect and seemed to block the sunlight in the whole cabin. Then he strode into the bus. He walked straight towards Qiao Lian, sat beside her and looked straight ahead. Everyone: ...!! Water Incense was green with envy. Totally envious! If only she had known that Best Actor Shen would be joining them, when Prince wanted to move to the other seat, she wouldn¡¯t have stopped him... So that the only vacant seat left would be the one beside her. ¡°Ok, everyone¡¯s here, we will leave now!¡± The bus started to move away. Prince had no choice but to sit beside Water Incense. Water Incense was intending to say something to him when Prince suddenly kneeled on his seat, looking towards the back of the bus. Hemented arrogantly, ¡°Love Chuan, you wait and see! In a while, I shall reward you handsomely and overtake that Missing Qiao!¡± Chapter 1000 - The Love Rival Arrives (5)

Chapter 1000: The Love Rival Arrives (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian: ... Qiao Lian winced and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to reward me, since you are not even watching my live stream.¡± ¡°I do watch!¡± ¡°Still, you don¡¯t have to reward me with that much, since I shouldn¡¯t receive rewards without any work done.¡± ¡°How about youe over to our team and be our coach then?¡± Prince was the young master of a wealthy family. As he didn¡¯t have to take over the family business, he was always idling around. Ever since he had found out that he was talented at ying games, he had started his journey inputer games and it had gotten out of hand. So, not only was Prince extremely good at gaming, he also had an impressive family background. From a young age, he had never experienced rejection before. The more Qiao Lian rejected him, the more he wanted to pester Qiao Lian. Qiao Lian grimaced. ¡°No, it is not possible.¡± ¡°But why? You¡¯d be veryfortable as the coach of our team because you wouldn¡¯t need to do much. You can name your sry too.¡± Qiao Lian: ... The arrogant look on Prince¡¯s face was just unbelievable. However, Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t tell him that she was already the coach of CQ Team. She took a deep breath and was wondering what she should do to flee from his pesters, when she suddenly heard Shen Liangchuan¡¯s voice, ¡°Are you done speaking?¡± His in tone was infused with coldness. Prince was taken aback as he looked at Shen Liangchuan, pursing his lips. Shen Liangchuan then remarked, ¡°It¡¯s too noisy. Please maintain silence.¡± Shen Liangchuan had an immense aura, not forgetting that he was also the CEO of the Shen Family. So when Prince heard those words, he immediately frowned and subconsciously wanted to brush it aside. But the next second, Shen Liangchuan spoke inly once again. ¡°Hasn¡¯t Jiang Zheng taught you not to create a scene in public? Or should I give him a call now and inquire about this?¡± Prince shut up instantly. As he was the youngest in the family, he had always been pampered and no one dared to defy his wishes. At home, he was treated like the heavenly king. But it so happened that there was someone in the family who turned out to be his nemesis. And that was his elder brother, Jiang Zheng. Jiang Zheng had never once pampered him, like the others had done. All of these years, whenever he made a grave error, the elder brother would not say a word but just give him a beating straightaway. Till he began to beg for forgiveness. Hence, when Prince heard Jiang Zheng¡¯s name, he became listless in an instant0. Furthermore, he had recalled that, when he was leaving the house, his elder brother had specially called him to his side. ¡°Do not offend Shen Liangchuan, do you understand? We are friends.¡± If Shen Liangchuan were toin about him, he was very sure that his very busy brother would run like the wind and fly to Hengdian immediately to bash him. Prince started to behave instantly. However, he snorted before returning to his seat. He only behaved himself for two minutes before turning his head to look at Qiao Lian. ¡°Please, log into your ount. I will now enter it to reward you!¡± Qiao Lian: ... Qiao Lian hurriedly waved her hands and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need. You¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯ve taken a look and Missing Qiao is overtaking me by a 100 000. I will catch up.¡± He turned his cell phone on and started to work on it. Sending 100 000¡¯s worth of gifts took a long time. When he was done sending gifts, he picked up his cell phone excitedly and scrolled to look at the fan¡¯s list. ¡°Look, I am- What?! What is this Missing Qiao up to? When did he reward you with another 100 000?¡± Qiao Lian: ...!! Qiao Lian was stunned. She lowered her head and entered the eSports app. Indeed, she saw that Missing Qiao and Prince were flooding the page. Chapter 1001 - The Love Rival Arrives (6)

Chapter 1001: The Love Rival Arrives (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Lian waspletely stunned and looked astonished. Prince was spamming because he was here. But Missing Qiao... How was it that she was also sending gifts at the same time? She stared at the ranking and right away opened the chat window. [Love Chuan: You there?] The moment the message went out, the cell phone of the man sitting next to her received a notification. At once, her head spun around in surprise. She saw Shen Liangchuan holding his cell phone. She couldn¡¯t be sure what he was looking at, but when he noticed her staring in his direction, he returned her gaze with a quizzical expression. That expression was so convincingly innocent that no one would have ever guessed that he was in fact Missing Qiao. Qiao Lian grinned at Shen Liangchuan, watched him type something on his cell phone and then stare at it. She lowered her head to look at her cell phone screen and realized that a message hade from Missing Qiao at some point. [Missing Qiao: I¡¯m here.] She immediately started typing a reply, so she did not notice that Shen Liangchuan had at the same time set his cell phone on silent mode. [Love Chuan: Why have you sent me such a big mary reward again?] Very quickly, Missing Qiao came back with a curt reply. [Missing Qiao: I¡¯m rich and stubborn.] Qiao Lian was speechless. Surely, there were better ways of being stubborn. [Love Chuan: Sister Si, if you have nowhere else to spend your money, you can buy yourself a handbag... Just don¡¯t waste it on me.] [Missing Qiao: I¡¯ve never thought of it as a waste.] After a pause, another message came in: [Missing Qiao: Besides, I think your number two fan, that one by the name of Prince, is a retard.] Qiao Lian had no idea how to respond to that. This person had a rather poisonous tongue. Qiao Lian pursed her lips and smiled. [Love Chuan: I do think he¡¯s a fool too.] [Missing Qiao: Is he interested in you?] Qiao Lian was surprised: [Love Chuan: Why do you say that?] [Missing Qiao: If he weren¡¯t, why is he sending you so many gifts? That kind of people are unreliable. You should stay away from him.] [Love Chuan: ... Ok.] Putting away her phone, Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help but feel that this Missing Qiao person was rather strange. Her gaze wandered towards Shen Liangchuan again and saw that he was still staring at his cell phone. He must be chatting with Song Cheng, considering the rate he was typing at. She looked away. After a short time, Shen Liangchuan suddenly spoke, ¡°It will be past 5 p.m. when we arrive at Hengdian. The hotel is not too far from where Mo Xicheng is, would you like to visit him?¡± Qiao Lian looked at Shen Liangchuan in surprise and paused for a moment. Then she replied, ¡°I don¡¯t think¡ª¡± Before she could finish, he interrupted her in amanding tone, ¡°That¡¯s what we¡¯ll do.¡± Exasperation. So why did you make that sound like a question? It hadpletely misled her into thinking she had a choice. With a twitch of her mouth, she turned around. At the same time, Prince, who was sitting in front of her, suddenly stood up as though he had thought of something. He turned to Qiao Lian and said, ¡°Oh, do you know Zi Chuan?¡± Upon hearing this, Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank back. Her gaze casually brushed past Shen Liangchuan. She noticed he had his head down, lookingpletely unruffled and nonchnt, as though the topic discussed had nothing to do with him. She twitched her mouth and shifted her gaze back to Prince. ¡°What about him?¡± He sighed loudly and said indignantly, ¡°I was just wondering if you knew him. We had a solo match recently and my cell phone ran out of battery halfway through!¡± Chapter 1002 - The Love Rival Arrives (7) Chapter 1002: The Love Rival Arrives (7) He took a deep breath and continued, ¡°I¡¯m Lot¡¯s top gamer, I simply have to have a match with him!¡± Qiao Lian threw Shen Liangchuan a curious nce at this point and asked Prince, ¡°When did you guys y a solo match?¡± Prince replied impatiently, ¡°I¡¯m just asking if you know him and know how to get in touch with him. Why do you have so many questions?¡± Annoyed by his attitude, Qiao Lian simply replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know him.¡± ¡°Very well then!¡± Prince said and was about to continue, when he noticed Shen Liangchuan¡¯s icy stare. At once, he had the intelligence to shut up Prince settled back into his seat and yawned, as the bus drove through the road. Gamers like him mostly had a messy lifestyle. He supposedly slept during daytime, so he soon drifted off. When he fell asleep, Qiao Lian finally found some peace and quiet in the bus. She let out a long sigh of relief. Perhaps she hadn¡¯t managed to rest well, sharing the bed with Shen Liangchuanst night. Or perhaps it was just being pregnant that made people sleepy in general. As she sat back, looking at her cell phone screen, she soon started battling her heavy eyelids. She nodded off a few times. Finally, unable to fight it any longer, she fell asleep. When Shen Liangchuan turned his head and saw that she had fallen asleep, he moved in closer and gently nudged her head to rest on his shoulder. She finally was sleeping. Shen Liangchuan, however, frowned as he stared at her with a puzzled expression. Qiao Lian had never had the habit of taking afternoon naps. Yet now, she seemed exhausted and to be sleeping without a care in the world. He also recalled when they were filming, how she had been continuously yawning. Was life without him too tough for her? His heart strangely contracted with a dull pain at this thought. He cast his gaze down. ¨C When Qiao Lian woke up, she found that they had arrived at the hotel. She quickly straightened herself up. Looking down the bus aisle in a daze, she could see everyone was getting ready to alight. However, they didn¡¯t move to do this because Shen Liangchuan was still on the bus. After all, among everyone in the bus, he held the highest status in the entertainment industry. Realizing the situation, he leaned over and whispered in her ear, ¡°See you at the hotel¡¯s south entrance.¡± Then he got off the bus. Following this, everyone got into a line and filed out of the coach. When Qiao Lian walked past Prince¡¯s seat, she saw that the man was still sound asleep. His face was buried in the sweater he was clutching, and his head was slightly tilted. The picture of innocence and harmlessness. Without waking him up, Qiao Lian walked past and got off the bus. After she had alighted, she handed her suitcase to the junior assistant and said, ¡°I need to go and get something done. Could you help me take this to your room? I¡¯ll go look for you tonight when I¡¯m back.¡± The junior assistant nodded. Having done this, she spoke with one of the crew workers and ascertained that there was nothing nned in the evening. Then she headed towards the south entrance. At the south entrance, a ck sedan had pulled to a stop. As she approached it, two honks came from the vehicle. She quickened her steps and reached out to open the back seat¡¯s door. Indeed, Shen Liangchuan was sitting there. She got into the car. They drove to the filming set and, when they arrived, the car pulled to a slow stop. As Qiao Lian turned to look around, she saw that not far away a few men had surrounded a woman. The woman looked angry and spoke sharply, ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing? Get out of my way!¡± That voice... It was Shi Nianyao! Chapter 1003 - The Love Rival Arrives (8)

Chapter 1003: The Love Rival Arrives (8)

Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank as she immediately opened the car door. She was about to walk over to them when Shen Liangchuan reached out and grabbed her wrist. Taken by surprise, Qiao Lian turned to look at him and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Holding up his cell phone, Shen Liangchuan instructed her, ¡°Call Mo Xicheng.¡± Was Shen Liangchuan¡¯s idea to call Mo Xicheng so that he coulde and rescue the damsel in distress? She looked ahead... Were they in time? Couldn¡¯t this guy tell the urgency of the situation? As she contemted this, the call went through and Shen Liangchuan¡¯s icy voice was saying, ¡°Mo Xicheng, Mo Zhi is now at the entrance of the filming set, taking liberties with Shi Nianyao.¡± Those words caused Qiao Lian to immediately realize that... The man whose back was to them and harassing Shi Nianyao was Mo Xicheng¡¯s elder brother. That idle man who was rumored to never be up to anything good... The first-born son of Madam Mo, who was also thewful daughter-inw of the Mo family. Huh... Here it goes. Although Mo Zhi had gotten in Shi Nianyao¡¯s way, he wasn¡¯t trying to do anything too drastic in public. He was only staring at her lustfully and said, ¡°Miss, I only wanted to ask you where you work. Are you in Hengdian to seek an opportunity to star in a film? Are you looking for fame, perhaps?¡± Shi Nianyao red at the man in front of her fiercely and hissed, ¡°No, get lost!¡± Then she continued sharply, ¡°If you don¡¯t leave right now, I¡¯ll call the police!¡± At these words, she picked up her cell phone and got ready to dial. Mo Zhi immediately said, ¡°No, don¡¯t! You probably don¡¯t know who I am, right? I¡¯m Mo Xicheng¡¯s elder brother. Don¡¯t you know Mo Xicheng? I have lots of resources you can use!¡± Shi Nianyao was stunned when she heard these words. She stared in disbelief at the man in front of her. On a closer look, she realized that indeed, he did bear some resemnce to Mo Xicheng. Unfortunately though, this man had a deceitful and unpleasant look about him, which was aplete waste of the handsome features. But if this man was indeed Mo Xicheng¡¯s elder brother, then she couldn¡¯t possibly call the police. As she put away her cell phone. Mo Zhi at once misunderstood and quickly took a step forward. ¡°That¡¯s the way, Miss. Come with me and spend a few nights with me. I¡¯ll make you the female lead of a series, what do you think? I¡¯ve never liked to force people, so let¡¯s make this a fair trade for two willing parties. It would make everyone happier, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± Shi Nianyao replied icily, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mr. Mo. I have a boyfriend. I don¡¯t agree to your good intentions.¡± ¡°You have a boyfriend? Will your boyfriend find you a leading role? Who is he? Is he in this filming crew?¡± Mo Zhi gave a frosty snort. Then he extended a hand and rested it on Shi Nianyao¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Miss,e with me¡ª¡± The next moment, he heard a familiar and most annoying voice speak, ¡°I¡¯m her boyfriend!¡± Mo Zhi furrowed his brow at once and spun around to face Mo Xicheng, as thetter strode towards them in his historical costume with an anxious expression on his face. He said, ¡°Mo Zhi, take your pig¡¯s trotter off her or I¡¯ll beat you up to the point that you¡¯ll be looking for your teeth on the streets!¡± When Mo Zhi saw the expression on Mo Xicheng¡¯s face, he reflexively removed his hand from Shi Nianyao¡¯s shoulder. Mo Xicheng strode right up to them, took Shi Nianyao¡¯s wrist and ced her behind him. Glowering at Mo Zhi, he demanded, ¡°Why are you here?¡± Mo Zhi, on the other hand, peered past Mo Xicheng and remarked, ¡°She¡¯s that girl they mentioned in the scandal? I say, no wonder she looks familiar!¡± Chapter 1004 - The Love Rival Arrives (9) Chapter 1004: The Love Rival Arrives (9) Mo Zhi was mesmerized for a bit. All of these years ying the field, he had met many pretty women, but this was the first time he hade across such a haughty beauty. It had only taken one look at Shi Nianyao to capture all of his attention. Yet he hadn¡¯t expected that she would turn out to be Mo Xicheng¡¯s girlfriend. The moment Mo Zhi said those words, Mo Xicheng frowned in disdain. He eyed Mo Zhi fiercely as he said, ¡°She will have nothing to do with you.¡± ¡°How could she have nothing to do with me?¡± Sniggering, Mo Zhi said as he kept his gaze steadily on her, ¡°Since she¡¯s your girlfriend, of course I¡¯ll have to help you take good care of her.¡± Mo Xicheng tensed his jaw and said, ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°What do I mean?¡± Mo Zhi sneered, ¡°I didn¡¯t mean anything. I only thought that it¡¯s a waste for a pretty girl like that to be living a life of misery with a bastard.¡± Mo Xicheng¡¯s pupils shrank back as he reflexively looked in Shi Nianyao¡¯s direction. He saw that for a moment she lookedpletely at a loss. He frowned and said in a warning tone, ¡°Mo Zhi!¡± ¡°Why? She doesn¡¯t know about your status?¡± Mo Zhiughed derisively and looked at Shi Nianyao. ¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯s told you that he¡¯s the second young master of the Mo family. But perhaps you¡¯re not aware that his mother is a mistress and he is a shameful bastard! Ha! In my eyes, he¡¯s always a bit lower than others! And do you know? Since he was little, he had to eat my leftovers, y with my old toys and live begging from my family. Let me tell you, he won¡¯t get a single cent of the Mo family¡¯s assets! A person like him can¡¯t even find poprity as an actor. Being with him will only make your life tough.¡± He sneered and continued, ¡°Miss, why don¡¯t youe with me instead? At least, I¡¯m the elder young master of the Mo family, I won¡¯t mistreat you.¡± Smiling till his eyes had almost disappeared, he added, ¡°Come with me. You can act in whatever film you fancy! How about that?¡± Having had his identity exposed by Mo Zhi, Mo Xicheng looked gloomier than ever. He clenched his fists tightly, feeling as though he had been stripped naked. He felt thoroughly embarrassed. His eyes were as deep as the oceans and all sorts of emotions were now brewing in them. As Shi Nianyao looked at him, she felt a dull ache in her heart. No wonder then... No wonder that, even though he looked like he didn¡¯t have amon family background, he worked as an actor. No wonder that for so many years, he had kept a low profile to the point that no one paid any attention to him. He would go about his job and take his sry. So that was his family background... She turned silent and subdued, as she felt the pain in her heart. Mo Xicheng suddenly felt uneasy seeing that Shi Nianyao had gone quiet. She must be feeling really disappointed. He had always put up a mysterious front around her. But now everything had been exposed. He felt like a clown who had been stripped bare. A trace of nervousness appeared in his expression. Mo Zhi too thought that Shi Nianyao was now hesitating and had new concerns. So he said again, ¡°How about it? Come with me, beautiful, you¡¯ll have good food and great wine if youe with me. If you follow this wretched beggar, you will simply be trampled on by people like me for the rest of your life.¡± ¡°So consider it carefully ande with me now!¡± At these words, Mo Zhi extended his hand towards Shi Nianyao. Shi Nianyao stared at his hand and then nced at Mo Xicheng again. Slowly, she extended her hand towards Mo Zhi. Chapter 1005 - The Love Rival Arrives!(10)

Chapter 1005: The Love Rival Arrives!(10)

Mo Zhi was now grinning from ear-to-ear, while Mo Xicheng lookedpletely devastated. But the next moment, there was a turn of events. Shi Nianyao¡¯s extended hand grabbed Mo Xicheng¡¯s wrist. She looked at Mo Zhi furiously as she snapped back, ¡°Watch your mouth. You¡¯re the wretched beggar!¡± She stared at Mo Zhi, her face burning with anger. ¡°So what if you¡¯re the elder young master of the Mo family? What kind of education did you receive at home? Calling people all sorts of nasty names like ¡®wretched beggar¡¯ and ¡®bastard¡¯ with your filthy mouth.¡± Mo Zhi was immediately livid as her words fell. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I am criticizing you for the non-existent family education you received!¡± ¡°How dare you, woman?! See if I don¡¯t beat you to death!¡± Mo Zhi rolled up his sleeves as he said those words. He took a step forward and made a motion to hit her. Shi Nianyao quickly jumped and hid behind Mo Xicheng. Sticking her tongue out at Mo Zhi, she challenged him, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m saying that about you. Why? Having no family education isn¡¯t your fault, but shaming your family¡¯s name in public is!¡± ¡°Let me tell you, in my eyes, you can¡¯t even hold a candle to Mo Xicheng¡¯s toe! And you want me to choose you over him? I¡¯m not blind!¡± ¡°So what if you have money? I¡¯d rather go begging with Mo Xicheng, and that¡¯s a hundred times better than being with you!¡± ¡°Besides, our Mo Xicheng isn¡¯t half as useless as you¡¯ve made him out to be. He¡¯s ssy, elegant and presentable! Unlike you. Next to each other, the difference between the two of you can¡¯t be more obvious!¡± ¡°Plus, can a person control his own birth status? Nowadays, there¡¯s no such thing as a bastard son in the eyes of thew, is there? As long as he is blood-rted to your father, he has a right to the family¡¯s assets. Since you so obviously despise him, why did youe here then?¡± Shi Nianyao had such a sharp tongue that Mo Zhi had no way of getting a word in. He pointed at Mo Xicheng and said, ¡°Get out of the way, you. I will teach this woman a lesson today! I¡¯ll tear her mouth apart!¡± ¡°Come then. Catch me if you can! Shame on you, lifting your hand at a woman. What sort of man are you?! That¡¯s all you¡¯re good for.¡± Shi Nianyao felt strangely safe hiding behind Mo Xicheng, hence, she was exceptionally merciless with her words. Mo Zhi was livid and finally yelled at Mo Xicheng, ¡°Well, are you going to get out of the way!¡± Mo Xicheng stared at the man steadily and said after a pause, ¡°No.¡± Mo Zhi extended his hand and pointed a trembling finger at him. ¡°Fine, fine. You want to be at loggerheads with me? Great! That¡¯s great! Just you wait!¡± He then turned to the small group of men around him and ordered, ¡°Let¡¯s go! I¡¯m going home now to tell Mom!¡± ¡°Pfff!¡± Shi Nianyao burst outughing uncontrobly. ¡°Are you some elementary school kid? Looking for your mom when you lose a fight? Shame, shame!¡± Mo Zhi was speechless with fury. Mo Xicheng: ... Mo Zhi was now so angry that his hair was almost falling out. He turned around and strode over in an attempt to catch Shi Nianyao. However, the girl nimbly jumped backwards. Mo Zhi tried to get past Mo Xicheng but at this point, Mo Xicheng extended his arm and held the enraged man back by the shoulder. ¡°Enough.¡± A simplemand, but it was strangely authoritative. Mo Zhi hupped. In that instant, he was more embarrassed and angrier than ever. It had been like this from the time they were kids. Mo Xicheng had obviously grown up in his shadow, but no one knew that underneath all of this, in private, he was afraid of Mo Xicheng. He remembered well one time he scorned Mo Xicheng in private and called him a bastard. Mo Xicheng had given him a merciless beating. After he told this to his mother and Mo Xicheng¡¯s mistress mother, that mistress had given Mo Xicheng a beating double as hard. Chapter 1006 - My Turn on The Stage (1)

Chapter 1006: My Turn on The Stage (1)

He had thought that it would scare Mo Xicheng. However, as soon as Mo Xicheng had recovered, he gave Mo Zhi yet another merciless beating and further warned him, ¡°If you go around carrying tales again, beware that your next beating is going to be worse.¡± And that was enough to cower Mo Zhi into silence. Although Mo Xicheng was an illegitimate son and may appear low in status to others, Mo Zhi admitted in his own heart that he indeed feared the man. Right now, those few words from Mo Xicheng were enough to keep him from creating further trouble for Shi Nianyao. He squinted and stared at Mo Xicheng. Then he said, ¡°Fine. Since you insist on protecting this little tr*mp, just you wait!¡± When he finished speaking, he turned and finally left. After Mo Zhi had gone away, Shi Nianyao continued to berate the stupid man, ¡°Good for nothing! He dares topare himself to my male idol, who is a hundred times better than him. He only knows how to run away. And to think he even tried to threaten us! Humph!¡± After she said this in her crystal clear voice, she turned to look at Mo Xicheng. When she saw him looking back at her intently, with his deep and dark eyes, she was slightly taken aback and asked, ¡°What- what¡¯s the matter with you?¡± Mo Xicheng continued to stare at her for a moment and, suddenly, he extended his arms and pulled her into his embrace. He had initially been avoiding her, thinking that he wouldn¡¯t be able to bring her any happiness given his status. Since they hadn¡¯t started a rtionship, it was fine for him not to hold her back from the happiness she deserved in life. Furthermore, after witnessing how intimately she had interacted with the show producer, it had only made him more determined to let Shi Nianyao find someone who was better than him. But just then... Her words were, ¡°... in my eyes, you can¡¯t even hold a candle to Mo Xicheng¡¯s toe!¡± Strangely, this had struck him in the most tender spot of his heart. That was when all the yearnings and emotions he had for the girl, which he had tried to suppress all of this time, washed over him like a tidal wave. Mo Xicheng realized now how much he had missed her. Besides, when Mo Zhi had tried taking her hand and dragging her away earlier on, he had realized his own nervousness and uneasiness. He was finally sure. He had fallen for her. Hence, he could not stop himself from embracing the girl. Shi Nianyao was stunned. His scent filled her nostrils. Leaning against his chest now, she could hear the beating of his heart. A strange sense of security came over her. Widening her eyes in astonishment, she suddenly broke into a broad smile. She extended her arms and circled them around his waist. She had been feeling down all of this time, ever since he had rejected her. During the New Year period, she had gone traveling with her parents but still, she had not been able to put him behind her. Hence the moment she had returned to Beijing, she had packed her belongings and gone to Hengdian again. She had really wanted to ask him if he didn¡¯t like her even a little. Now... she understood. She bit her lip and grinned like a child. They stood there in each other¡¯s embrace for some time, until she turned scarlet and said, ¡°Ermmm... Idol, would you release me now?¡± Mo Xicheng: ...? ¡°Your card holder, it¡¯s been pinching me quite ufortably!¡± Mo Xicheng: ...!! He rxed his arms. Shi Nianyao straightened herself. Her face was glowing radiantly and her eyes sparkled, although she averted her gaze shyly. Clearing her throat, she started, ¡°Well then- you- I- we- what¡ª¡± As she rambled senselessly trying to find the right words, Mo Xicheng asked, ¡°Why did youe here?¡± Chapter 1007 - My Turn on The Stage (2)

Chapter 1007: My Turn on The Stage (2)

Shi Nianyao blinked a couple of times and coughed before she said, ¡°I- I came back to work as an extra! Is there a job vacancy on your crew?¡± She stared at Mo Xicheng anxiously waiting for a reply. If he showed his interest in keeping her, it would mean that he liked her. If he didn¡¯t ask her to stay, it would mean that he didn¡¯t like her. As this thought formed in her mind, Mo Xicheng replied, ¡°We don¡¯t need any extras.¡± Shi Nianyao dropped her shoulders reflexively, as she felt immediately crushed like a beaten eggnt. For a moment, when Mo Xicheng had told Mo Zhi she was his girlfriend, she had thought that he had epted her. But it had turned out to be her own imagination. If that was the case, why had he hugged her? Arghhh! Looking terribly dejected, she resembled a puppy abandoned by its owner. When Mo Xicheng saw this, he had an uncontroble urge tough aloud. He extended his hand and affectionately ruffled her hair as he said, ¡°However, it happens that my junior assistant has taken leave to return home, so I do need an assistant. I wonder if Ms. Shi might be interested?¡± ¡°...What?¡± Shi Nianyao was taken by surprise. The unexpected good news made her think she was hearing things. She looked so adorable andical that Mo Xicheng started tough. And hisughter was like flower buds that suddenly bloomed, so mesmerizing that Shi Nianyao was stunned. When she finally recovered, she quickly said, ¡°You¡¯re saying that I can stay, is that right?¡± He looked at the dazzled girl and nodded. ¡°Ahahah, I¡¯m so happy!¡± she shouted as she jumped up and down excitedly. At this point, they suddenly noticed that not far away a couple stood next to a parked sedan, looking at them. Mo Xicheng paused. He had almost forgotten that Shen Liangchuan and Qiao Lian were here to visit. He turned towards Shi Nianyao and said, ¡°Best Actor Shen is here and I¡¯m inviting him to dinner. Will you join us?¡± Together? Without a second thought, she nodded. Last time, she had only managed to have a meal with him through Qiao Lian¡¯s help, but this time, her idol had asked her himself. Grinning from ear-to-ear, she followed Mo Xicheng as he walked towards Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan. Mo Xicheng nodded at them and suggested, ¡°How about hot pot?¡± Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°I¡¯m easy.¡± Mo Xicheng made a call to inform the crew and then, without bothering to remove his makeup, they headed for dinner. As they walked, Shi Nianyao suddenly turned to Qiao Lian and asked, ¡°Chief Editor Lian Lian, why did youe here? Wow, it¡¯s been a long time since I saw you!¡± Qiao Lian was bbergasted. Had she and Shen Liangchuan been just invisible up until this moment? She grimaced at once, realizing how frightening a woman in love could be. Shi Nianyao dashed towards her, gave her a hug and then returned to her ce next to Mo Xicheng. Every now and then, she would turn to look at him. That shining expression on her face... it was just too much to take. Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t bear watching her any longer and looked away. Finally, they were seated in the hotpot restaurant with the heated hot pot before them. As the dishes were being served, a call came in for Mo Xicheng. His expression was frosty as he said, ¡°Yes, in the hotpot restaurant in front. You¡¯reing over? Ok.¡± After he hung up, he turned to Shi Nianyao. ¡°My mom¡¯sing.¡± What? Meeting the mother-inw already? How nerve-wracking! And... Five minutester, a woman arrived at the hotpot restaurant. The private room door was thrown open and, before everyone even managed a clear view of the woman¡¯s face, the loud crack of a p was heard. Chapter 1008 - My Turn on The Stage (3)

Chapter 1008: My Turn on The Stage (3)

Not to mention Qiao Lian, even Shen Liangchuan was stunned. Everyone turned simultaneously to look at the doorway. There stood an expensively-dressed woman. With her mink coat, she looked every inch a wealthy Tai tai[1]. Although she was pretty, she obviouslycked subtlety and there was a coquettish air about her. Her tackiness was close to nauseating. There was more white than ck in her huge eyes, which were looking rather fierce. She stood near the doorway ring at Mo Xicheng, oblivious to the presence of others in the room. Then she started to rebuke him, ¡°Mo Xicheng! I¡¯ve said it before, you are not to covet what belongs to your elder brother. Have you not taken what I said to heart?¡± Qiao Lian furrowed her brow and shifted her gaze into Shi Nianyao, who was now wide-eyed in shock. Mo Xicheng was still spinning from the p. He hadn¡¯t thought she would go this far to embarrass him in public. But unexpectedly... Especially, because she had done it in Shi Nianyao¡¯s presence. His expression darkened as he clenched his fists tightly and stared at the woman. After a moment, he called, ¡°Mom.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t call me Mom! I have no such son. I already feel so guilty for Elder Sister and here you go, fabricating stories about Mo Zhi! Are you doing this on purpose? Spreading rumors on the inte about him harassing an actress at the filming location? Are you happy now that his reputation has gone to the dogs? What do you think you¡¯re doing? Are you hoping to inherit the Mo Family¡¯s business?¡± Extremely worked up by now, she pointed a finger at Mo Xicheng and continued, ¡°I¡¯m a shameful mistress! I¡¯m hopelessly in love with your father and am incapable of bringing myself to leave him. I¡¯ve already destroyed Elder Sister¡¯s happiness! She¡¯s a kind soul and thanks to her charity, we have livedfortably and you¡¯ve had a good education. Now have you gotten ambitious? An illegitimate son who covets your elder brother¡¯s inheritance?¡± Upon hearing these words, Mo Xicheng finally reacted and asked, ¡°What rumors?¡± The woman raised her voice in fury and said, ¡°Pretending, you¡¯re still pretending! When will you stop feigning innocence?¡± Mo Xicheng frowned and picked up his cell phone. Immediately, he saw the trending topics on Weibo. The Mo family¡¯s Young Master was harassing an actress! Immediately, he narrowed his eyes. This hadn¡¯t even been his doing. If he were to spread this sort of rumors, it would only expose his identity as an illegitimate son. He raised his head. ¡°Mom, it wasn¡¯t me¡ª¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t you? You¡¯re the male lead in that crew! You¡¯re the only one in the position to do this. How could it possibly be anyone else?¡± On this note, she gave an icy snort and demanded, ¡°No matter what, you have to suppress this matter!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you know,tely your brother¡ª¡± It was only at this point that she seemed to develop some awareness and looked around her. Before this, when she charged in, started berating Mo Xicheng and tightly pped him, she had beenpletely oblivious of her surroundings. Yet now that she was addressing a matter rted to Mo Zhi, discretion suddenly became important to her. What sort of mother was she? If they had not known she was Mo Xicheng¡¯s mother, one would have easily assumed that she was Mo Zhi¡¯s mother. Mom Mo, also known as Yao Lili, walked further into the room. She frowned when she saw the people around the table. Somewhat apprehensive of Shen Liangchuan, she was more careful with her words now. She said to her son, ¡°One of your elder brother¡¯s projects has suffered big losses and the board now feels that his judgement was wrong, so they¡¯ve suggested that youe work for the family business.¡± [1] Tai tai is a Chinese colloquial term for an elected leader-wife or head-wife Chapter 1009 - My Turn on The Stage (4)

Chapter 1009: My Turn on The Stage (4)

Suggesting that he went to work for the family business really meant that they were giving him an opportunity. If he proved himself to be capable, then the sessor of the Mo family could very well end up being him. After all, he was his father¡¯s son. Mo Zhi had been too outrageous. If they were to hand him the lead of the Mo family, at some point he would bring it to total destruction. When he heard this, he understood at once why Mo Zhi hade here.. But why was Yao Lili here as well? He narrowed his eyes and looked at Yao Lili. ¡°But Mom, what brought you here?¡± Yao Lili said without beating around the bush, ¡°I¡¯m here to warn you not to ept it. If anyone from the Mo familyes to talk to you, you won¡¯t agree. If you dare to fight your elder brother for the inheritance, I¡¯ll kill myself in front of you! I can¡¯t do something this embarrassing.¡± But on the other hand, being someone¡¯s mistress wasn¡¯t embarrassing? This Yao Lili was a truly despicable woman. As Qiao Lian thought this, Shi Nianyao took a step forward to stand between Yao Lili and Mo Xicheng. She said to Yao Lili, ¡°Auntie, you¡ª¡± Before she could continue, Yao Lili suddenly raised her arm to deliver a p across Shi Nianyao¡¯s face. ¡°You t*amp, you dare to appear before me?¡± Crack! The crisp and clear sound of the p resounded throughout the room. Everyone was shocked into silence. Shi Nianyao widened her eyes and stared at the woman before her in disbelief. Then she turned and her gaze fell on Mo Xicheng¡¯s face. She called him weakly, ¡°Mo Xicheng.¡± Yao Lili¡¯s p had been aimed at Shi Nianyao. But at thest moment, Mo Xicheng had grabbed Shi Nianyao. His face got right in the path of Yao Lili¡¯s raised hand. She could have stopped herself, but she had not. Not only did she deliver that p, she had made it double as hard. Having been pped twice now, even his makeup could no longer cover the angry red swelling that was appearing. Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes. He could now even sense that dull metallic taste of fresh blood in his mouth. He hung his head for a moment, before looking up again at Yao Lili. Yao Lili pointed her finger at Shi Nianyao and started rebuking the girl, ¡°It was her, she seduced your elder brother. One look and I can tell she¡¯s nothing good. Fooling around with the two of you just because she has a pretty face. She¡¯s just trying to sow seeds of discord between you and your elder brother!¡± She shifted her gaze to Mo Xicheng and continued, ¡°That your elder brother was interested in her is her good fortune! But she acted as though she¡¯s pure and chaste. Mo Xicheng, I¡¯m warning you, a girl like this... it¡¯s fine if you¡¯re just fooling around, but I¡¯ll never agree to a marriage.¡± Her cutting remarks were sharp and determined. Shi Nianyao was stunned. No one in the room had expected this situation. They all looked at Yao Lili in disbelief. No matter how much Qiao Lian tried to think around this, she could not understand how this woman¡¯s brain was wired. Her own son¡¯s girlfriend had been harassed by Mo Zhi, but instead of feeling insulted, she was here scolding Nianyao for having a pretty face? This waspletely ridiculous. She pursed her lips and was going to speak up, when she felt Shen Liangchuan¡¯s hand tighten around her shoulder. She turned back to look at him and saw him shaking his head subtly. She fell silent. Indeed. This was Mo Xicheng¡¯s family business. She was an outsider and shouldn¡¯t intervene. Mo Xicheng, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes and stared at the woman. Heughed bitterly after a pause and said, ¡°You¡¯re worrying too soon. Nianyao may not even want to marry me.¡± Chapter 1010 - My Turn on The Stage (5)

Chapter 1010: My Turn on The Stage (5)

With a mother like that, it was no wonder Mo Xicheng hadn¡¯t dared to date anyone. Whoever he married would have ended up with a huge burden. Shi Nianyao turned to look at Mo Xicheng with a shocked expression, the pain in her heart reflected in her eyes. She bit her lip and understood now why Mo Xicheng had always held her at arm¡¯s length. It was true that he really had never thought of dating anyone, or marrying anyone, or having children. He was prepared to be single all his life. This exined his unrestrained attitude towards life, his indifference, his... mncholy. Whereas Yao Lili had totally missed the point of Mo Xicheng¡¯s words. Instead, she looked at everyone in the room in turn and said, ¡°It¡¯s best you understand that you¡¯re the son of the Mo family and in future, you¡¯ll have to ensure a strategic marriage. This woman is amoner, so it¡¯s not possible for you to be together. And I¡¯ve said what I¡¯vee here to tell you, so I¡¯ll leave now. Remember, if anyone from the Mo familyes to talk to you, you won¡¯t agree! And this woman... break up as soon as possible!¡± With this, she left. The room door was thrown open and left like that. It seemed that this person had no idea what it meant to be civilized. A few curious passers-by had gathered outside the opened door. Their gaze fell on Mo Xicheng¡¯s face It was good the hotpot restaurant did not allow taking pictures or filming, otherwise this would have made it to the inte. There was a dead silence in the private room. Until Shen Liangchuan suddenly grabbed Qiao Lian¡¯s wrist and said to Mo Xicheng, ¡°We¡¯d better leave first.¡± Mo Xicheng nodded. Pulling Qiao Lian behind him, Shen Liangchuan walked out of the room and, in a considerate move, shut the door behind him. Walking along the street in Hengdian together. Qiao Lian was still in shock, unable toe to terms with what had just happened. ¡°How could such a selfish mother even exist? Why does Mo Xicheng tolerate her?¡± Shen Liangchuan looked at Qiao Lian and replied, ¡°Because that¡¯s his mother. The mother who brought him up from when he was a baby till he became an adult. And even if there is nothing left of their mother-son rtionship, legally he still has to support her.¡± He narrowed his eyes, looked ahead of him and continued, ¡°His mother loves his father a lot. It seems that when they were young, she almost lost her life trying to save his father. This is also the reason why the Mo family acknowledges and epts their existence.¡± Qiao Lian was curious. ¡°So does his father love his mother?¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression darkened at this question. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± He added immediately, ¡°If I love a woman, I would never allow her to have no status, live with ambiguity, or to be aughing stock.¡± Qiao Lian understood immediately what he meant. Perhaps, Dad Mo didn¡¯t really love Mom Mo and only treated them this well because he was grateful she had saved his life. But it was also because of this that Mom Mo felt all the more inferior. Not only was she unable to live with her head held high before Dad Mo and Madam Mo, even before their son, they had to lower themselves. And all of this only because she hungered for some affection and attention from Dad Mo. This woman was indeed a sad person. Did she not know that she was ruining Mo Xicheng¡¯s life like this?! Qiao Lian frowned as she turned back to look at the hotpot restaurant. She wondered what Mo Xicheng could possibly be saying to Shi Nianyao right now. Hopefully, Shi Nianyao wouldn¡¯t wake up with a broken heart tomorrow. ¨C In the private room. Shi Nianyao bit her lip and surveyed the food on the dining table. Chapter 1011 - My Turn on The Stage (6)

Chapter 1011: My Turn on The Stage (6)

Hurriedly, Shi Nianyao picked up an uncracked egg and threw it into the hotpot. When it was cooked, she fished it out, peeled it and wrapped it in a towel. ¡°Here, let me apply this. It¡¯s really effective and you¡¯ll be able to go back to filming tomorrow.¡± Mo Xicheng sat there without moving. The happiness that he had felt being with Shi Nianyao had now turned to nothing. He watched silently as Shi Nianyao fumbled around clumsily. He did not make a sound, even when the piping hot hard-boiled egg was applied to his face. Shi Nianyao kept muttering, ¡°This should be the right way to do it, right? I think it should be right?¡± Mo Xicheng couldn¡¯t help but reach out for her hand. She froze and looked at him. He started to speak unhurriedly, ¡°Nianyao...¡± Immediately, she reached out and covered his mouth with her other hand. ¡°Mo Xicheng, I like you, not your status, not your family. I only like you. Please say no more, ok?¡± She bit her lip. ¡°What did you mean when you said that I may not even want to marry you? I¡¯m telling you, all my life my dream has been to marry you, be your wife!¡± ¡°It¡¯s ok if your mother doesn¡¯t like me. We don¡¯t have to live together after we get married. And if shees over once in a while, I won¡¯t speak, just how I was now. I¡¯ll put up with her.¡± ¡°Mo Xicheng, I really really like you. Please, don¡¯t talk about breaking up, ok?¡± As she said this, tears started to roll down her face. Mo Xicheng opened his mouth and started, ¡°Nianyao, I¡ª¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say it!¡± In her desperation, she stuffed the hard-boiled egg into his mouth and said, ¡°You haven¡¯t eaten much of the hotpot dinner. Here, have more!¡± He spat out the egg in his mouth and said, ¡°This egg is the one you applied on my face.¡± Shi Nianyao: ...!! He took her hand and said, ¡°I promise you I won¡¯t talk about breaking up. But you have to promise me too that you will let me know when things get too hard and you can no longer take it. I don¡¯t wish for you to live your life in embarrassment and regret.¡± While he was willing to give her a rtionship that she would always remember... He didn¡¯t wish to give her an unforgettably traumatic marriage. So I have to apologize, Nianyao, I can only date you, but I can¡¯t marry you. As Mo Xicheng was contemting this, his cell phone rang. He picked it up and froze when he saw the caller ID on the screen. Shi Nianyao followed his gaze and tried to peer at the screen. Mo Xicheng picked up the call. ¡°Hello.¡± A gentle and cultured voice came from the other end of the line. ¡°How are you, Mo Xicheng?¡± ¡°Madam Mo, hello.¡± ¡°Is it convenient for you to meet me for a short while?¡± Mo Xicheng lowered his head immediately and said, ¡°Ok, where are you now? I¡¯ll go over right away.¡± ¡°I¡¯m at the hotpot restaurant in front of your filming set.¡± Mo Xicheng shot up from his seat, opened the private room door and saw a woman standing at the entrance of the hotpot restaurant. He said hurriedly, ¡°I¡¯lle over now.¡± After he hung up, he looked at Shi Nianyao and said, ¡°Mo Zhi¡¯s mother is looking for me. I¡¯ll go over and check out the situation.¡± Shi Nianyao nodded immediately. As Mo Xicheng was walking out of the hotpot restaurant, Madam Mo seemed to have run into someone she knew and was talking to him. ¡°Old Liu, I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d run into you here,¡± Madam Mo said in surprise. The man called Old Liu smiled at once. When he saw Mo Xicheng, his eyes lit up and said to Madam Mo, ¡°This must be your son? He certainly inherited the same artistic charm you had in your youth!¡± Chapter 1012 - My Turn on The Stage (7)

Chapter 1012: My Turn on The Stage (7)

Mo Xicheng halted. He saw that Madam Mo looked embarrassed at once. On the outside, Madam Mo came across as a good-natureddy, except that there was a certain mncholy in her eyes. She and Mo Xicheng¡¯s father were actually a loving couple. In fact, all of these years, he had paid little attention to Yao Lili. It was only when he betrayed their marriage many years ago that Madam Mo was cold towards him. She had a paleplexion because of her poor health. But even then, she had an aristocratic and elegant air about her. Logically speaking, his mom was a mistress only because of this woman¡¯s existence. But strangely, Mo Xicheng had never harbored any ill feelings towards Madam Mo. On the contrary, he had an affectionate sort of admiration for her. Besides, Madam Mo was practically the only person in that household who had ever given him any sense of warmth. As an illegitimate child, Madam Mo had every reason to despise him. But he remembered a time in his childhood when he had been ill and his face scarlet with a high fever. His mother had gone out shopping for a new dress to wear on a date with his father. The young child hadn¡¯t known what to do. At that time, they had been staying in a small apartment next to the Mo family residence. He had walked out of the room and, the moment he saw Madam Mo, he had dashed towards her. He had hugged her leg and said, ¡°I feel unwell.¡± At that moment, she had looked upon him with an icy expression. He jumped in fright and released his grip. Then he saw Madam Mo walking away and retreating into her room. He stood in the courtyard in a daze. After a while, a housekeeper in the household walked out, picked him up and took him to the hospital. Although it had been the housekeeper who hade to him, he knew that it had been under Madam Mo¡¯s instructions. Yao Lili had always been afraid of Madam Mo, but he had never felt that she was scary. At that moment, he saw that she was standing there looking rather awkward. Mo Xicheng cast his gaze down and pretended that he didn¡¯t know her. He walked to the side and took out his cell phone to make a call. Madam Mo silently sighed in relief. Old Liu nced at Mo Xicheng and then looked at Madam Mo apologetically. ¡°Looks like I was mistaken, you don¡¯t know each other! But Li Shu, what brings you to Hengdian?¡± Li Shu was Madam Mo¡¯s maiden name. It was an elegant name. But to begin with, she had never dolled herself up morously like many of her high society counterparts. Instead, she had the air of an academic. She was a well-known writer in fact. In answer to his question, she lowered her gaze and said, ¡°To take in the scenery and take some pictures.¡± Old Liu nodded. The two of them exchanged a few more words before he parted ways with her. After he was gone, Mo Xicheng, who had hidden in a corner, came out of the shadows and walked to Madam Mo slowly. He looked at her and spoke respectfully, ¡°What brings you here and how could I help you?¡± Madam Mo cast her gaze down and said, ¡°Firstly, I do apologize on behalf of Mo Zhi.¡± That opening statement at once triggered mixed feelings in him. In order to please his father, his own mother had always pandered to Mo Zhi and berated him. Madam Mo, however, had her principles. All things considered, although she would protect her own son, Mo Xicheng felt that at the very least she respected him. His nose suddenly felt congested, like a wronged child confronted by his parent. It was strange that he felt like this. Chapter 1013 - My Turn on The Stage (8)

Chapter 1013: My Turn on The Stage (8)

In fact, he felt rather embarrassed and hung his head as he grunted, ¡°Uh huh.¡± Her expression wasplex as she looked at him. This was the only reason why the mistress had a legitimate ce in their lives. That woman had given her husband a son¡ªa son who was more talented than her own son. She should hate this boy. But ever since he had been a child, she had never managed to bring herself to hate him. He was so small, so gentle. He was like her own Mo Zhi when it came to his ability to melt her heart. But as the boys grew up, this child had continued to excel, while Mo Zhi had started to go astray at some point. She had the feeling that she had to be careful with the boy. Eventually, she had a heart to heart talk with him. After that, he had joined the entertainment industry, moved out of the Mo Family residence and kept a low profile in the years that followed. This boy was quite more reassuring than his mother. ¡°You may already know the reason why I¡¯m here.¡± Mo Xicheng nodded and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I promised you that I wouldn¡¯t get involved in the Mo family business.¡± Madam Mo nodded. ¡°I trust your word on this.¡± The Mo family¡¯s leadership belonged to Mo Zhi. What right should an illegitimate child have in the session of the family assets? Although this was a reasonable question in many ways, when she looked at Mo Xicheng in his historical costume and doing everything he could to survive in the entertainment industry, Madam Mo felt terribly uneasy. Suddenly, she lowered her gaze and drew out a check from her purse. Thrusting it towards Mo Xicheng, she said, ¡°This is a token of my gratitude for staying out of it.¡± Mo Xicheng looked at the check and saw that it was for a sum of 50 million. It was enough for him to live in luxury for the rest of his life. His pupils shrank back at once as he declined it. Madam Mo¡¯s tone grew icy. ¡°Do you feel it¡¯s inadequate?¡± He shook his head as he lifted his gaze to look at her. ¡°You had someone take me to the hospital when I was sick, you allowed me to be educated alongside Mo Zhi. I am grateful enough. Not getting involved in the family business is my only way of thanking you. I will keep my word.¡± Upon hearing this, aplex expression shed across her face. This boy truly far surpassed Mo Zhi. But what could she do? Mo Zhi was her own flesh and blood. She would rather the Mo family business came to an end in her son¡¯s hands than to give it to a mistress¡¯ illegitimate son. And if Mo Xicheng seeded the family business, how would Mo Zhi be able to endure it? She nodded and turned to walk away. Mo Xicheng suddenly called her, ¡°You-¡± She turned around. He looked at her and asked after a pause, ¡°Were you the one behind my scandal?¡± Some time ago, there had already been talks of having him work for the family business. At the time, he had been caught on photos with Shen Liangchuante at night and the rumors had gotten ugly. It was obvious that someone was instigating the public opinion, for these articles had all been against his image. At the time, everyone had been convinced that this was very much in line with Madam Mo¡¯s style of doing things. Only he had refused to believe it. He had not seen her in years, so now that they had the opportunity to meet, he wanted to know for sure. Madam Mo froze at this suggestion and replied, ¡°I, Li Shu, would not stoop to such resources.¡± She had lived a transparent and well-regarded life all of this time. She would rather conspire openly than use underhanded means. Hence, who could have been the instigator? Chapter 1014 - My Turn on The Stage (9)

Chapter 1014

: My Turn on The Stage (9)

After parting ways with Mo Xicheng, Li Shu strolled quietly alone down the street. About a 100 meters down, a van was parked on the side, waiting for her. As she walked towards the vehicle, a middle-aged man came out. He held open the car door for her. ¡°Li Shu, you must be freezing?¡± This man was Mo Zhi and Mo Xicheng¡¯s father, Mr. Mo. Mr. Mo looked as though he was trying hard to please Li Shu, but she held a cold expression and merely nodded at him cordially as she got in the car. He smiled bitterly without the slightest trace of anger and got into the front passenger seat. Mo Zhi was in the backseat and hung his head meekly in Li Shu¡¯s presence, trying to look pitiful. He waspletely bereft of the arrogance that he usually disyed to the outside world. He looked at Li Shu and asked, ¡°Mom, what did he say?¡± Without lifting her eyes, Li Shu replied, ¡°He will notpete with you.¡± ¡°But if he wasn¡¯t going to do that, why did he spread those rumors? Mom, don¡¯t be fooled by that bastard! He is an actor and is best at ying the poor victim.¡± Li Shu frowned immediately and turned sharply to look at Mo Zhi. ¡°Who said he¡¯s a bastard? If he were one, what does that make your Dad?¡± Mo Zhi fell into a sullen silence. Li Shu humphed and continued, ¡°You¡¯ve been behaving outrageously these days. Since you were a child, I¡¯ve taught you to mind your words but look at you now, using words like ¡®bastard!¡¯¡± Mo Zhi hung his head at once and said, ¡°Mom, I know it¡¯s my fault. I was just too angry.¡± As he said these words, he reached out and lightly took Li Shu¡¯s arm. Li Shu frowned and pushed him away. Following this, she lowered her gaze and said, ¡°From now on, you won¡¯t create trouble for him.¡± His eyes shed a few times before he nodded and said, ¡°Ok.¡± Having said that, he turned to look at Li Shu again and asked, ¡°Mom, did you see his girlfriend?¡± Ever since he had left the filming set, he hadn¡¯t been able to take his mind off her. The more he thought of her, the more he thought she was attractive. Li Shu frowned angrily again. Mo Zhi hung his head quickly and sighed, ¡°I really do like her, she¡¯s so pretty¡ª¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Mo Zhi fell silent obediently. From then onwards, no one in the car spoke a single word. They arrived at the hotel. The three of them headed up to the presidential suite¡¯s level. Li Shu entered a room, but when Mr. Mo followed her to do the same, the door was mmed shut in his face with a loud ¡°bang,¡± leaving him stranded outside. Crestfallen, Mr. Mo hesitated outside the door for some time. Finally, he said to her, ¡°Li Shu, rest well then.¡± After these words, he went with Mo Zhi into another presidential suite nearby. When Mo Zhi entered the room, he grabbed Mr. Mo¡¯s arm and said, ¡°Dad, I don¡¯t care. I like that girl. You have to make her break up with Mo Xicheng!¡± Mr. Mo frowned and said, ¡°You! I¡¯ve really spoiled you.¡± In his wife¡¯s eyes, he was an embarrassment and she had been ignoring him. All of these years, Mr. Mo had showered Mo Zhi with all of his affection and that was why the boy had turned out like this. Mo Zhiughed derisively and said, ¡°It¡¯s just a woman, so what if I fool around a little? Besides, didn¡¯t you have many affairs too when you were young?¡± Immediately, Mr. Mo looked uneasy. After a pause, he nodded and said, ¡°But since Mo Xicheng wants to seriously pursue the girl... I won¡¯t allow it.¡± Chapter 1015 - My Turn on The Stage (10)

Chapter 1015: My Turn on The Stage (10)

Turning towards Mo Zhi, he asked, ¡°I just remembered. Isn¡¯t Yao Lili here too?¡± With his eyes glinting, Mo Zhi confirmed, ¡°Yes, she¡¯s here.¡± Mr. Mo nodded and told Mo Zhi, ¡°Get her on the phone for me.¡± The moment the line connected, Yao Lili¡¯s delicate and sweet voice could be heard, ¡°Mr. Mo, what¡¯s up?¡± Mr. Mo creased his brow and started, ¡°Mo Xicheng was brought up in the Mo family. He is not to make his own decisions about marriage! Before I came, I found him a girl... the youngdy will be here tomorrow. When the timees, you will bring the girl to him. This is a strategic union, do you understand?¡± Yao Lili said at once, ¡°Of course I understand. Don¡¯t worry, I know what to do. Since he¡¯s a part of the Mo family, he should contribute his part. So don¡¯t worry, he will not defy your wishes.¡± Mr. Mo nodded and grunted, ¡°Uh huh.¡± ¨C After leaving the hotpot restaurant, Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan returned to the hotel in the car. To the filming crew, everyone else was only part of the supporting cast. The female and male leads were Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan. Hence, ording to the usual practice, Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan would stay on the highest level, apart from the rest of the cast. They went upstairs together and Qiao Lian walked towards her assigned room. However, just as she was about to swipe her card key, she heard a chime. Qiao Lian: ...!! She turned around and saw that Shen Liangchuan had used the card key he was holding to open her room door. A silent pause. Qiao Lian frowned and demanded, ¡°Why are you trailing me to my room?¡± Shen Liangchuan raised an eyebrow and replied, ¡°This you may have to ask the filming crew, because this is my room too.¡± Qiao Lian was speechless. So just how much help was the crew offering exactly to Shen Liangchuan so that he could sleep with a female celebrity?! How was she going to kick the guy out? Or would she have to go to the extent of booking another room? As she was contemting this, Shen Liangchuan spoke, ¡°I received a call from the Beijing Hospital today. Nuannuan, she¡ª¡± Qiao Lian turned to look at him anxiously. ¡°How is Nuannuan?¡± Lowering his gaze, he said, ¡°Let¡¯s talk inside.¡± Qiao Lian: ... Even though knowing this was a ploy, she walked into the room anyway, as she was worried about Xia Nuannuan¡¯s condition. Once inside the room, she looked at Shen Liangchuan and said, ¡°Hurry up and tell me, how is Nuannuan?¡± ¡°Nuannuan hasn¡¯t woken up. Other than that, everything¡¯s ok.¡± Qiao Lian was speechless. She stared at the room door and then heard Shen Liangchuan say, ¡°Go and take a shower. You smell like hotpot.¡± Qiao Lian immediately lowered her head and raised her arm to sniff at her shirt sleeve. Of course one would smell like hotpot having sat in a hotpot restaurant. She frowned as she picked up her towel and headed into the restroom. After she entered it, she suddenly realized: why would she have to shower in this ce?! What aplete silly brain! She wasn¡¯t thinking straight! Qiao Lian told herself that even if they were sharing the room, she must not get intimate with him. She was carrying a baby and had to be a responsible mother. Sitting in the hotel room, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression darkened as he stared at the vague and moving silhouette in the bath. At this point, the doorbell sounded. This was followed by Prince¡¯s voice yelling, ¡°Love Chuan, are you there? I¡¯ve got something to discuss with you.¡± Upon hearing this, Shen Liangchuan shot up from his seat and walked to the door. He opened the door and said, ¡°You can tell me, I¡¯ll pass the message on to her. She¡¯s taking a shower now.¡± Prince: ...!! Chapter 1016 - Qiao Lian Is Pregnant (1) Chapter 1016: Qiao Lian Is Pregnant (1) Prince stared at Shen Liangchuan with a look of disbelief and then he shifted his gaze back to the room. But Shen Liangchuan stood there with his tall masculine body and did not allow Prince to enter. Prince frowned and asked, ¡°Why are you here?¡± Shen Liangchuan raised an eyebrow at that remark and replied, ¡°I should be asking the question instead.¡± He did not answer any questions at all, and the words he used were all ambiguous and vague. So did Shen Liangchuan mean that he and Love Chuan were staying together? Prince frowned. When Shen Liangchuan saw the look on his face, he couldn¡¯t help but smile to himself. On the road to Hengdian, he had already discovered that Prince was pestering Qiao Lian. Although Prince might not be harboring any intentions towards Xiao Qiao, the fact that he wanted her to be the coach of their team was uncalled for. So it was time to show his authority! At this thought, Shen Liangchuan stood even more firmly by the door. He thought that, facing this kind of situation, Prince should have known that it was time to retreat. But he hadn¡¯t imagined that the next second, Prince would just remain standing there. ¡°It is not convenient to speak to you about it, so I should just wait for Love Chuan to finish her shower and talk to her directly. Is there a problem with that?¡± Shen Liangchuan: ... !! Shen Liangchuan frowned and stared at Prince. ¡°I believe it is not convenient for her to do so.¡± ¡°Why would it be inconvenient? Isn¡¯t Mr. Shen here too? Wouldn¡¯t it be better to count me in too?¡± Then, without Shen Liangchuan¡¯s approval, he attempted to barge into the room. A pity that he couldn¡¯t enter the room, as Shen Liangchuan was guarding the door firmly. Just at this point, the bathroom door swung open and Qiao Lian stepped out. While Qiao Lian took her shower, she realized that she had been deceived. So at this present moment, as she stepped out, she immediately eximed, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, it is not right of the crew to make this kind of arrangements. Even if there are not enough rooms for them, what right do they have to put us in the same room? No way, I want to check into another room by myself.¡± After saying this, she then realized that there was someone standing by the door. Qiao Lian was shocked, immediately halted and nced at the doorway. She saw that Prince was standing there, staring at them in awe. Qiao Lian: ... Shen Liangchuan lowered his gaze with little expression and gradually said, ¡°It¡¯s the first time the crew makes this kind of arrangement. How about you just try your best to make do with it?¡± Qiao Lian frowned and let out an awkward expression. However, Prince instantly understood tacitly and said, ¡°Actually, my room is also on the top floor. It is indeed unreasonable for the filming crew to make such an arrangement. Since Love Chuan also shares the sentiment, how about staying in my room instead? I cane stay with Best Actor Shen, is that fine?¡± His words totally solved Qiao Lian¡¯s agony. She would definitely not be at ease staying in the same room as Shen Liangchuan. Furthermore, what if she couldn¡¯t stand Shen Liangchuan¡¯s seduction and eventually end up doing something disastrous? For now, everything had to be centered around the baby. As she pondered about this, Qiao Lian spoke immediately before Shen Liangchuan had the chance to do so, ¡°Ok, it¡¯s a perfect idea! Erm, Prince, which is your room? I will move over straightaway.¡± Prince replied, ¡°Beside you.¡± Qiao Lian picked up her unopened luggage and headed straight for the door. ¡°So I will move over now.¡± Shen Liangchuan frowned at her behavior, which showed her will to escape immediately from the room. He stretched out his arm to block Qiao Lian. Qiao Lian looked up and red at him. Prince too looked at Shen Liangchuan. ¡°What¡¯s up? Best Actor Shen, are you trying to force her to stay?¡± Chapter 1017 - Qiao Lian Is Pregnant (2)

Chapter 1017: Qiao Lian Is Pregnant (2)

Shen Liangchuan lowered his gaze inly and said, ¡°You¡¯ve stayed in your room for a few hours already, it is not suitable for her. It would be better if I moved there.¡± When Qiao Lian heard him propose to swap rooms of his own ord, she immediately felt ted, as though her prayers had been answered. In excitement, she pushed his luggage out and replied, ¡°Apologies for the trouble, Mr. Shen!¡± It seemed like she really wanted to draw a clear line between them when she addressed him in such a distant and cold manner. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression darkened as he nodded. Qiao Lian stood in the room and smiled at Prince and Shen Liangchuan, as she waved goodbye to them. She then proceeded to shut the door swiftly. She finally breathed a sigh of relief. At this present moment, Shen Liangchuan and Prince were standing outside the door. Shen Liangchuan stared at Prince. Prince raised an eyebrow. ¡°Best Actor Shen, do you want to go stay with me?¡± Shen Liangchuan lowered his gaze inly and said, ¡°No need, I will book a room myself.¡± ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t know you were able to get yourself a room. I¡¯ll leave you alone then.¡± After Prince finished speaking, he entered his own room straightaway. Whereas Shen Liangchuan narrowed his eyes and gave Song Cheng a call. Five minutester, he got a room right beside Qiao Lian. Shen Liangchuan was dragging his luggage into the room when Song Cheng called. ¡°Brother Shen.¡± Shen Liangchuan spoke with a cold voice. ¡°Have you checked properly? The filming crew¡¯s rules are that only the male and the female lead can stay on the top floor. Why is Prince also staying on this floor?¡± Song Cheng answered hurriedly, ¡°I¡¯ve checked! They said that Prince was the one who reserved that room by himself. It wasn¡¯t the one the crew gave him.¡± Shen Liangchuan hupmhed. His heart was filled with rage. The opportunity to be together with Xiao Qiao legitimately was totally gone! ¨C Meanwhile, Prince entered his room and picked up his cell phone to call his big brother, Jiang Zheng. The moment the line got connected, Jiang Zheng¡¯s voice responded, ¡°What¡¯s up? What did you do wrong this time?¡± Prince immediately cleared his throat and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t. Brother, I wanted to tell you that you¡¯ve been deceived!¡± Jiang Zheng was stunned. ¡°What?¡± Prince twitched his mouth and said, ¡°You know, that Best Actor Shen actually wanted to make a move on a minor actress and force her. You told me that he was a good person. If he was indeed someone who treated his wife well, how could he sumb to that kind of indecent behavior? Humph, Brother, I have seen his true colours with my own eyes. You shouldn¡¯t stop me from confronting him.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t sprout nonsense. Shen Liangchuan is not that kind of person.¡± ¡°I am not speaking nonsense, I just came from the female actress¡¯ room. Best Actor Shen was even helped by the crew, forcing the little female caster! Humph, I don¡¯t care, I only believe in what I have seen! I insist on confronting him. Brother, I thought you hated people who forsook others after using them? It¡¯s a deal then! Brother, I won¡¯t speak to you anymore. I need to get ready and think of what to do to ruin his ns!¡± ¨C Meanwhile, at the Lu family¡¯s vi. The assistant lowered his head and hesitated as he walked into Lu Nanze¡¯s study. At that moment, Lu Nanze was looking down at the documents. He raised his head to look at the assistant. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± The assistant answered with a stammer, ¡°Mr. Lu, we¡¯ve found out the reason why Ms. Qiao has been going to the hospital.¡± Looking at his demeanor, Lu Nanze thought that Qiao Lian had contracted some incurable disease. He stood up suddenly. ¡°What happened?¡± The junior assistant immediately passed the investigation report to Lu Nanze. Lu Nanze lowered his head and scanned the document anxiously. Finally, he froze and spoke in disbelief. ¡°She¡¯s pregnant?¡± Chapter 1018 - Qiao Lian Is Pregnant (3)

Chapter 1018: Qiao Lian Is Pregnant (3)

The atmosphere in the room was filled with an indescribable sense of anxiousness. The junior assistant stood quietly by the corner. In that instant, he wished that he could vanish into thin air and not be noticed by Mr. Lu. Lu Nanze stood there, staring at the report in his hands. The veins on his forehead started to pop. Although he already knew that, since she had been married to Shen Liangchuan, they definitely had done certain things that only lovers would do... just imagining those scenes made him go mad with envy. He had tried with great effort to push those thoughts aside. However, at this present moment, when the fruit of their love was being presented right in front of him, he suddenly felt a feeling of hatred brewing inside him, one that he had never felt before. Not only had she done those intimate things with him, now there was even a baby on the way. How had it turned out like this? If Shen Liangchuan were to find out now that Qiao Lian was pregnant, then wouldn¡¯t all of his efforts until now be a total waste? At this thought, Lu Nanze suddenly raised his head and stared at his junior assistant. ¡°Where are they now?¡± The junior assistant gulped down a mouthful of saliva before replying, ¡°In- in Hengdian, together with the filming crew.¡± After hearing these words, Lu Nanze¡¯s eyes narrowed at once. Initially, he had wanted to just let her be on her own, let her be wild and free. He wanted to only take her back when she had gotten over Shen Liangchuan. But now... Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes and spoke after a while. ¡°She cannot keep the child.¡± The junior assistant shivered as he heard those evil words. Lu Nanze seemed to be persuading himself, although it sounded like he was trying to exin it to his junior assistant, ¡°If this child was born, it would mean that she and Shen Liangchuan would never be able to cut ties with each other. But without this child, I could have a few more children with her in the future and make it up to her. What is more, nowadays many people can¡¯t go through their first pregnancy.¡± He then lowered his head again to look at the health check report. ¡°Also, you see, although the numbers on the report are seemingly normal, they are rather low. Perhaps, within the next two weeks, she might miscarry the baby. For now, I am just assisting her to move it forward.¡± Hearing his stammering words, the assistant sighed in his heart. Mr. Lu¡¯s love for Ms. Qiao was incredibly deep. But no matter what, they had to make sure that her health was of utmost priority. He now wanted to make her lose her child. He was probably saying this because Mr. Lu didn¡¯t dare and didn¡¯t wish to hurt Ms. Qiao. The assistant lowered his head and said to Lu Nanze, ¡°Mr. Lu, if that is the case, you cannot be the onemitting it.¡± Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes. After a while, he then replied, ¡°What has Qiao Yiyi been doing recently?¡± The assistant immediately replied, ¡°She has been doing live streams every day. Thepany has given Ms. Qiao all of its resources, so the other day, Ms. Yiyi was still angry about not being able to film the advertisement for Lot.¡± Lu Nanze sneered, ¡°Then let¡¯s give it to her.¡± The assistant looked down instantly and replied, ¡°Mr. Lu, I know what you mean. I will contact the filming crew now.¡± Lu Nanze nodded. Lu Nanze sat on the chair nkly after the assistant left. Qiao Lian, do you really wish to bear Shen Liangchuan¡¯s baby? Where have you ced the eighteen years we spent together? How about the eight years that I¡¯ve been waiting for you? As he thought about this, Lu Nanze suddenly stretched out his hand and mmed the desk. Xiao Qiao, don¡¯t me me. All of these sacrifices are worth it for our future happiness. Chapter 1019 - Qiao Lian Is Pregnant (4)

Chapter 1019: Qiao Lian Is Pregnant (4)

The next morning, she was rudely awoken by the rm clock. The crew had to report for work at eight in the morning. As she was a beginner, she did not have the right to bete. After washing up, she opened the room door, looked out and saw that the door to Prince¡¯s room was still shut. She felt that Prince was someone who didn¡¯t have any concept of time. She shook her head. She was intending to walk to the elevator when she heard the door of the room next to hers open. At once, a good morning greeting was heard. Taken by surprise, Qiao Lian turned to look and saw that Shen Liangchuan was standing there, immactely dressed. Subconsciously, she asked, ¡°Did you sleep wellst night?¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression darkened at her words. He replied with a slightly hoarse voice. ¡°Nope.¡± Qiao Lian: ... Qiao Lian had just asked casually, but when she heard the other party¡¯s reply, she knew that it wasn¡¯t going to be pleasant. Hence, she decided not to continue asking. On the other hand, although she didn¡¯t ask, he said of his own ord, ¡°Because you were not with me.¡± Qiao Lian: ... Why did she still not know that Best Actor Shen had be a smooth talker when it came to saying sweet things? She coughed once and grimaced. However she still blushed at those words, as much as she tried not to. She immediately turned and headed towards the elevator. Shen Liangchuan followed her with big strides. Both of them entered the elevator. They were the only ones in the elevator. Qiao Lian chose to stare straight at the mirror, instead of looking at him. She felt that if she looked at him, she would feel somewhat embarrassed. As Qiao Lian was still staring ahead, she heard Shen Liangchuan¡¯s voice. ¡°Are you ready for today¡¯s filming segment?¡± Speaking about work, Qiao Lian became serious. ¡°Almost.¡± She knew that her acting skills were not good and that Shen Liangchuan had very high demands. Thereforest night, she had purposely read the script numerous times. Furthermore, there was going to be an actual background this time, which was unlike acting in a filming set. In the filming set, there wasn¡¯t any background and she had to make use of her imagination. So she felt that with that, she would manage to get into the scene much better. After seeing her attitude, Shen Liangchuan nodded and said, ¡°All the best for the filmingter on.¡± Qiao Lian: ... Qiao Lian felt that the current Shen Liangchuan seemed to have been possessed. She had thought that he would say some nasty words to her, so she couldn¡¯t believe that in the end all she got were the words, ¡°All the best¡±. This... caused her to panic inexplicably! Qiao Lian twitched her lips and cleared her throat. She then smiled at him but did not continue speaking. Both of them went downstairs together and headed straight for the filming crew. The venue needed for the advertisement they were filming was not that big, hence there was only a small area for the crew. Basically, only Shen Liangchuan and Prince had their own separate lounge area. The rest of them would be resting in a big meeting room. As it was the first day of shooting, everyone turned up especially early. When Qiao Lian arrived, besides Prince and Shen Liangchuan, the rest was already there. Qiao Lian hastened her pace to enter the room before Shen Liangchuan. Like that, the others would not think that they hade together at the same time. As Qiao Lian was praising herself for being smart, a voice came from the doorway, ¡°Sister Water is treating us all to milk tea!¡± She saw Water Incense¡¯s assistant bringing cups of milk tea. After the assistant came into the room, Water Incense smiled and distributed the milk tea to everyone. Everyone in the room, be it the actors or crew workers, received a cup of milk tea in their hands. But when it was Qiao Lian¡¯s turn, the junior assistant halted and Water Incense spoke with a smile. ¡°Oh dear, we¡¯ve run out of it. Do excuse me for that, Qiao Lian.¡± Chapter 1020 - Qiao Lian Is Pregnant (5)

Chapter 1020: Qiao Lian Is Pregnant (5)

Qiao Lian: ... Obviously, Water Incense had done a head count before getting the milk tea. Furthermore, there were already not many people from the crew at the set, so why would sheck one cup? And if indeed she hadcked one cup, she should have distributed the milk tea based on the status of the people in the filming crew. Thus, Water Incense had purposely skipped her. She was definitely doing this on purpose. Even at that moment, she still dared to speak with such a loud voice. Her intention was definitely to make Qiao Lian feel embarrassed in front of everyone. Qiao Lian just couldn¡¯t be bothered by her cup of milk tea. She also didn¡¯t care about all of her little initiatives. She only smiled coldly and stood on the side without speaking a word. However, Water Incense stepped forward and spoke slowly, ¡°Love Chuan, are you angry about this?¡± ¡°This person is so bothersome,¡± Qiao Lian thought. Qiao Lian smiled at Water Incense and replied, ¡°Ms. Water, I have epted your apology.¡± Water Incense was taken aback. When had she apologized? Qiao Lian raised an eyebrow. ¡°You wanted to treat everyone to a cup of milk tea, but you werecking a cup. It seems like this assistant of yours is not good at her work! I advise you to find another assistant who is slightly better at mathematics.¡± Water Incense¡¯s expression turned ugly at once. ¡°You¡ª¡± Qiao Lian continued to look at her with a smile on her face. ¡°Ms. Water, what other advice do you need? You wanted to treat everyone to tea and I do not have a problem with that. I don¡¯t have a cup and I also am fine with that. But now you want an apology from me? Or pretend that I am not here?¡± Water Incense: ... How could Love Chuan be so sharp-tongued?! She was so mad that she did not know what to say. She took a deep breath and snorted coldly before turning to the side. Finally, she personally brought a cup of tea to Shen Liangchuan. ¡°Best Actor Shen, this tea is for you.¡± Shen Liangchuan raised his head gently as he heard these words. He stared at the cup of milk tea as his gaze fell on Qiao Lian, who was not far away. But he saw that the girl was staring at him in anger. It was as though she would cut all ties with him if he were to ept that cup of milk tea from her. Shen Liangchuan raised an eyebrow and looked at the milk tea once again. Finally, he spoke, ¡°I do not like to drink milk tea.¡± Even if he didn¡¯t like it, when someone else is giving a treat, he should just ept it. He could choose not to drink itter. But instead, he had declined directly. He was not giving any face to Water Incense. The crew workers who stood nearby exchanged looks and then, one by one, put down the cups of milk tea they were holding. Everyone was wise. Since Best Actor Shen wasn¡¯t giving face to Water Incense, then how could they be on such good terms with Water Incense? Especially those few crew workers who were aware of the rtionship between Best Actor Shen and Love Chuan, who immediately remarked, ¡°Actually, I also don¡¯t like to drink milk tea.¡± ¡°Yes, me neither. It is too sweet!¡± Everyone started cing their unopened cups of milk tea on the table and then continued on with their work. When Water Incense saw that there were more than ten cups of milk tea left on the table, her face turned red with fury. She totally didn¡¯t understand what she had done wrong and why had Best Actor Shen treated her like this. Water Incense teared up at once. Meanwhile, Prince had forced himself to wake up. Although he had done that, he was alreadyte by the time he reached the filming crew. When he entered the room, he saw that there were many cups of milk tea on the table. He raised his eyebrows and asked, ¡°Why are there so many cups of milk tea here?¡± Water Incense¡¯s eyes lightened up at once. She immediately took a cup of milk tea and headed towards Prince. ¡°Mr. Jiang, do you drink milk tea? I am treating.¡± Chapter 1021 - Qiao Lian Is Pregnant (6)

Chapter 1021: Qiao Lian Is Pregnant (6)

Prince frowned and said rather rudely, ¡°Dang! Treating everyone to milk tea is a bit miserly, isn¡¯t it?! Also, my least favourite drink is milk tea.¡± Water Incense was speechless. Not the least bit aware that he had just crushed Water Incense¡¯s already broken ego, Prince looked at the set and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Love Chuan?¡± Water incense did not reply. An expression of anger and hatred came over her face. At this point, her assistant spoke, ¡°Sister Water, there¡¯s a call for you ¡± Water Incense picked up the phone and looked down at the screen. When she saw the number, she immediately took the call. Qiao Yiyi¡¯s voice came from the other end of the line, ¡°Water Incense, where are you guys?¡± Water Incense paused for a moment and said, ¡°At the filming location, you¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be there right away!¡± Water Incense frowned and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t yourpany already choose Love Chuan to film? Why are you here?¡± Water Incense was the most important caster in her live stream tform, just as Qiao Yiyi was the most important in hers. The two seniors frequentlypeted with each other on their live streams. Thepany was filming an advertisement, but Qiao Yiyi had not been selected. At that time, Water Incense hadn¡¯t been able to resist calling her, to rub salt in her wound. Now, of course Qiao Yiyi had to get her own back by calling to show-off. Sheughed and said smugly, ¡°Initially, I was really busy and wasn¡¯t going to do this, so thepany gave the opportunity to Love Chuan. But now that I¡¯m avable, thepany immediately called the filming crew to give me a role. Well, I¡¯ll be there soon, so let¡¯s chat when we meet.¡± Five minutes after hanging up, Qiao Yiyi arrived and walked in. Water Incense narrowed her eyes. Then, smiling broadly, she greeted her, ¡°Qiao Yiyi, I heard that yourpany¡¯s Love Chuan is quite a big shot. I wonder if this happened because you challenged her and lost.¡± Qiao Yiyi frowned at once and retorted, ¡°What nonsense are you speaking? With Second Brother behind me, how could I possibly lose out to her? Humph!¡± Water Incense continued to stoke the fire, ¡°So this time, what sort of supporting role are you ying next to Xiao Qiao¡¯s lead role?¡± Qiao Yiyi said, ¡°The roles have been fixed and can¡¯t be changed.¡± But even as she said that, she was feeling indignant. She wanted to see for herself who this small-time female caster was, who actually dared to fight her for resources. She would show this Love Chuan who called the shots in thepany! At this point, she turned towards Water Incense and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Love Chuan? After all, we¡¯re from the samepany, I really should say hello.¡± Water Incense smiled as she said, ¡°In the powder room. After all, she¡¯s the femaledy, she gets her makeup done before everyone else.¡± Qiao Yiyi nodded. She headed straight for the powder room. ¨C Qiao Lian was in the powder room, putting on her makeup, when the door was suddenly thrown open. Following this, someone walked in. ¡°Love Chuan, ourpany¡¯s big sister, Miss Yiyi is here. Hurry over here to greet her.¡± Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes at once. Qiao Yiyi? Why was she here? As she was wondering this, she heard Qiao Yiyi¡¯s voice from beyond the doorway, ¡°I¡¯m going to have to see for myself how pretty Love Chuan is, since she got the female lead role!¡± Along with these words, Qiao Yiyi entered the powder room. She was stunned at once when she saw Qiao Lian. She turned ashen as though she had seen a ghost. ¡°Qiao Lian, why are you here?!¡± Qiao Lian smirked and replied, ¡°Qiao Yiyi, it¡¯s been some time.¡± Chapter 1022 - Qiao Lian Is Pregnant (7) Chapter 1022: Qiao Lian Is Pregnant (7) Qiao Yiyi was shocked. But she suddenly realized a lot of things. The reason thepany had given her all the resources... and even kept her identity so secret that Qiao Yiyi had been unable to find out a single detail. It was all because it was her! An upset feeling shed across her eyes. Second Brother, does this Qiao Lian really matter so much to you? Why was it that she found herself fading into insignificance every time Qiao Lian appeared? She clenched her fists and narrowed her eyes. She didn¡¯t know what had happened, but she was sure this wasn¡¯t the right time to create any trouble. Hence, she narrowed her eyes again after Qiao Lian had spoken. She retreated at once as she remarked, ¡°I have such bad luck. Everywhere I go, I run into you!¡± Then she walked away from the powder room. After she had walked some distance away, she anxiously stood in a quiet corner. She took out her cell phone and hesitated for a moment before she dialed Lu Nanze¡¯s number. The number that would unfailingly greet her with a busy signal in the past, strangely, connected immediately. The muscles around her eyes tensed up at once. She knew... the matter from eight years ago had reared its head again. She spoke, ¡°Second Brother.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve seen her?¡± Qiao Yiyi nodded and replied, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Do you understand then?¡± She shook her head and said, ¡°Second Brother, I don¡¯t understand. Why is she here?¡± ¡°She and Shen Liangchuan are divorced.¡± Qiao Yiyi¡¯s eyes lit up at once, but it very quickly changed to a worried expression. Lu Nanze continued, ¡°She¡¯s pregnant. I want you to destroy the child without hurting her.¡± Her pupils shrank back as she bit her lip forcefully. Images from the past flooded her mind. At the time, she had been 18. As much as she had always adored and admired him, he had never been within her reach. She could only silently yearn for him. Until one time, he suddenly called her and asked, ¡°Do you like me?¡± She was ted and answered, ¡°Yes, Second Brother, I¡¯m willing to do anything for you.¡± ¡°Good. Now I have a task for you.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Qiao Lian wishes to join some sort of club. I want you to ensure this doesn¡¯t happen under any circumstances.¡± In that moment, her heart sank and died. But she had already known, given her status, she would never be able to capture Second Brother¡¯s attention. She had to make herself useful to him. Hence she agreed to it. ¡°Second Brother, if I seed, how will you reward me?¡± ¡°What do you want?¡± Biting her lip, she told him, ¡°I want to be your woman.¡± She knew that given her status, it would be impossible to marry him. But being by his side was good enough for her. Indeed, Second Brother agreed, ¡°Fine.¡± And this time round? Biting her lip, she spoke into the phone, ¡°Second Brother, will you promise me something if I seed in this task?¡± ¡°What is it?¡± She tightened her fists as she made her request, ¡°I wish to carry your child, may I?¡± All of these years, Second Brother had made her take birth control pills after they had been together. He had reminded her time and again that, if they had a child, Qiao Lian would never go back to him. But now, she yearned for a child with him. There was a silent pause for a moment, and then he said, ¡°You do know that even if you have a child, the child would have no status.¡± Chapter 1023 - Qiao Lian Is Pregnant (8)

Chapter 1023: Qiao Lian Is Pregnant (8)

Qiao Yiyi tightened her fists at those words. After a pause, she said, ¡°I agree.¡± There was another pause on the other end of the line. Finally, Lu Nanze¡¯s voice was cold as he said, ¡°This is a choice you¡¯ve made.¡± Qiao Yiyi nodded. ¡°Yes.¡± They hung up. She turned and looked in the direction of the filming set. The door to the powder room was open. Qiao Lian looked extremely pretty after she was dressed up, she was as radiant as the sun. Qiao Yiyi dug her fingers into her palms as she looked at the other woman. It had been like this ever since they were young. Qiao Lian had always been the center of the universe, whereas she... she had always been disced to a corner,pletely eclipsed by her, living an inconsequential existence. She had had enough of this. As her fists tightened, her eyes narrowed. Growing up with Qiao Lian, she knew the woman a lot better than Second Brother did. She wanted purity in a rtionship, and Qiao Yiyi was determined to be that speck of impurity between the woman and her Second Brother. If only she had a child with Second Brother... then all possibilities of a rtionship between them would be destroyed. If Second Brother could wait eight years for this woman, then he could very well wait for another eight years. But if she had a child by then, this would be Second Brother¡¯s only child. So what if the child had no status? At this thought, she took a deep breath. Hence she had to guarantee her sess in this matter. Just like eight years ago, she had to make sure everything went well and to his satisfaction. Eight years ago... She had nned to cripple Qiao Lian¡¯s hand. Now, eight yearster, she would see to the destruction of the same woman¡¯s child. At this thought, Qiao Yiyi¡¯s expression turned vicious. She walked up and surveyed the area where the filming props were kept. In a short while, they would be filming a scene in which Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan met on the bridge. On the bridge... Qiao Yiyi¡¯s pupils shrank back as she lifted her gaze and looked around. If Qiao Lian were to fall into the water in this freezing weather, and even if nothing happened to the child, she would struggle for her life. Qiao Yiyi¡¯s lips turned upwards in a frosty smile. ¨C On the other side of Hengdian, at the filming location of Ambition. Mo Xicheng was in the midst of filming, while Shi Nianyao sat on the side with her chin propped up in her palms, staring at him like a love-struck puppy. Arghhhh! She couldn¡¯t get over how dashing her male idol was. Especially in a historical costume. He looked every bit the elegant child he was ying. She waspletely dazzled. His temperament obviously surpassed Mo Zhi¡¯s by far. It was just a cruel y of fate that Mo Zhi had been born the son of Madam Mo, and her idol had been born the son of a mistress. She couldn¡¯t help but let out a deep sigh, as she recalledst night¡¯s encounter with Yao Lili. If she were to date her male idol and end up marrying him, then wouldn¡¯t she have to deal with such a mother-inw every day of her life? She sighed deeply again at this thought. She felt bad for her male idol. As she was contemting all of this, Mo Xicheng finished filming the segment and walked up to her. Even the way he walked was dashing! Shi Nianyao waspletely infatuated. At this point, she felt a light tap on her forehead. Snapping out of her daydream after a pause, she realized her idol was standing right before her and saying, ¡°Why are you staring into space? Get me some water!¡± Shi Nianyao jumped to her feet at once. Indeed! She was his assistant now. How could she be so tardy? But as she turned around, she saw Yao Lili walking towards them. There was a girl next to her. Chapter 1024 - Qiao Lian Is Pregnant (9)

Chapter 1024: Qiao Lian Is Pregnant (9)

Both Shi Nianyao and Mo Xicheng were stunned. He frowned as his gaze followed Yao Lili. The woman strode across the room in an easy and confident manner, until she stopped right in front of him. Although everyone in the crew was busy with their work, all eyes were trained in their direction. Yao Lili halted in front of them. She nced at Shi Nianyao and frowned. At once, she asked, ¡°Why is she here?¡± Mo Xicheng replied immediately, ¡°If we need to discuss anything, let¡¯s go to the lounge.¡± ¡°Why? Are you afraid that I¡¯ll create a scene?¡± There was a warning expression on her face. She red at Mo Xicheng and then grabbed the hand of the girl behind her. She pulled the girl forward, so that she now stood in front of Mo Xicheng. ¡°Let me introduce you. This is Li Xue, one of the daughters of the Li family. Her father is the head of the Li family. Your father has asked me to bring her here to introduce the two of you.¡± At these words, Li Xue took another step forward and extended her hand arrogantly. ¡°How are you? Mo Xicheng, I like you! I like watching your shows.¡± Mo Xicheng frowned and shifted his gaze back to Yao Lili, asking, ¡°Mom, what¡¯s the meaning of this?¡± ¡°Your father would like you to get along with Miss Li. She¡¯s looking forward to getting to know the entertainment industry. Why don¡¯t you show her around the filming location, familiarize her with your crew?¡± Mo Xicheng felt his anger rising and said, ¡°You think the filming location is a zoo?¡± Although he was the male lead for the film, he really didn¡¯t have the adequate status. Although he was a capable actor, he had kept a low profile all of these years and his fanbase was not substantial enough. That he even managed to get the lead role in this big film was because Shen Liangchuan had withdrawn from it and they hadn¡¯t been able to find another suitable actor in time. Hence, they had made the bold move to give the role to him. Despite his great dedication to his work, even bringing Shi Nianyao into the crew had not been something he could pull merely with his own status. For sure, he did not have the clout to take someone on a casual tour around the filming set. Mo Xicheng frowned deeply as he looked at the woman standing in front of him. For the sake of pleasing his father, her shame knew no boundaries. Mo Xicheng took a deep breath and said, ¡°Mom, please take Miss Li with you and leave now. I am in the middle of working. If you want to continue creating a scene, I will have to call security.¡± Yao Lili was embarrassed into anger by his words. ¡°How dare you, you unfilial son?! You¡ª¡± Before she could finish speaking, Li Xue held her back. The girl looked at Mo Xicheng and lightly swept her gaze over Shi Nianyao, as though she was inconsequential. Finally she smiled and said, ¡°Aunty, I think Mo Xicheng is really busy. Why don¡¯t we leave now, and when Brother Mo finishes work this evening, he¡¯lle and look for us? How about that?¡± Of course, Yao Lili agreed to whatever Miss Li said. She nodded and said to the girl, ¡°Wait for me outside. Give me a minute to say a few things to him.¡± Li Xue nodded and turned to walk away. Yao Lili took a few steps and turned to Mo Xicheng with a serious expression on her face. ¡°Are you aware of Miss Li¡¯s status?¡± Mo Xicheng shook his head. Yao Lili continued, ¡°Miss Li is the illegitimate daughter of the head of the Li family.¡± His pupils shrank as he asked, ¡°What are you trying to say?¡± ¡°What I want you to know is that, if you choose to be with other women, they may despise your background, but Miss Li will not. She will only understand your sorrows. You have equal statuses and are a perfect match! The only difference between Miss Li and you is that her father is very fond of her. Otherwise he wouldn¡¯t have arranged for her to be in this strategic marriage.¡± Chapter 1025 - Qiao Lian Is Pregnant (10)

Chapter 1025: Qiao Lian Is Pregnant (10)

Having said this, Yao Lili narrowed her eyes and stared at Mo Xicheng. No one could have noticed the expression of hatred that shed across her eyes. A person like him... What rights did he have to deserve the love of a normal girl? What he deserved was the child of a mistress! His mother had made herself a mistress... So she was determined to subject him to a life in which he would experience the sorrow of never being able to live with his head held high. These insane thoughts ran rampant in her mind, as she took a deep breath and said, ¡°I¡¯m doing this for your own good. To get along well, a couple needs to be equal in status, don¡¯t you think?¡± A man like him deserved to live in the shadows forever. Mo Xicheng clenched his fists tightly. He was in histe twenties, almost thirty now. All these years, he had never been in love. All because he had feared he would subject a girl to the sort of gloomy life he lived. But he had never expected that Yao Lili would demean him to such an extent. Because he didn¡¯t have a good background, he could only marry the child of another mistress? At this point, his own life seemed like a joke. He looked at Yao Lili without saying a word. Yao Lili felt a tinge of guilt under the steady gaze of the man. She averted her gaze after a moment and said, ¡°Alright, we will meet this evening at the hotpot restaurant in front of your filming location. And if you don¡¯t turn up, I will keep bringing Li Xue to your set, so you decide!¡± After saying this, she turned and walked away. By now Shi Nianyao, who had been watching all of this, was heaving in anger. Was this his real mother? She frowned and wanted to rebuke the woman. However for the sake of Mo Xicheng, she held herself back and swallowed those words. But at this very moment, Mo Xicheng didn¡¯t seem approachable. It was as though he had deliberately ced distance between himself and the rest of the world. He felt extremely isted. Seeing him like this made her exceptionally sad, it was heartbreaking. She wished more than anything to break him out of this mncholy. She looked around and finally found a bottle of water. She brought it to him and said with a wide grin, ¡°Idol, drink up!¡± He lowered his gaze, trying to hide his gloominess behind an indifferent expression. Then he looked at Shi Nianyao. She thrust the water towards him. ¡°Drink up, idol. Let me ask you, are you worried about that Li Xue being a bit ugly? I think she¡¯s ugly too! She is nowhere as cute, lively and innocent as me.¡± As she said this, she lifted her palms to her face and shook her head from side to side. Her antics cheered him up immediately. A tender look shed across his eyes. Then Shi Nianyao continued, ¡°I¡¯m telling you, you have to take me with you tonight! Just you watch me. I don¡¯t like her and I have my ways of kicking her out! Don¡¯t you worry, male idol. From now on, I¡¯ll get all the demons and the gods alike out of my way.¡± Mo Xicheng was speechless. Her liveliness and the way she was wracking her brains made the corners of his lips turn upwards suddenly, as he broke intoughter. Shi Nianyao came alive when she saw himughing. Lightly patting her chest, she said, ¡°You¡¯re finallyughing! My efforts didn¡¯t go to waste. Do you know, idol, that you looked very scary just now? You should smile more. Look at me, Iugh happily every day. Augh can make you ten years younger. But idol, it¡¯s enough if youugh twice. If youugh three times, you might be taken back to your mother¡¯s womb, then what would I do?¡± Mo Xicheng: ... Chapter 1026 - Qiao Lian Is Pregnant (11)

Chapter 1026: Qiao Lian Is Pregnant (11)

On the other end, at the Lot publicity advertisement¡¯s filming location. Qiao Lian, after being made up and dressed, brought the pretty Xiao Qiao to life. Setting his wig in ce, Shen Liangchuan too became Zhou Yu. Besides an additional take for the previous scene, in which the two characters met in the garden, the other scene they had to shoot today was on the street. In this scene, the characters had a chance encounter on a bridge. The water below this bridge in Hengdian wasn¡¯t terribly deep. Because the scene did not require anyone jumping, they had not set up any wires. Shen Liangchuan and Qiao Lian were standing next to each other as they listened to the director¡¯s instructions. ¡°... Later on, Ms. Qiao, you¡¯ll walk in this direction on the bridge. Mr. Shen, you will walk in the other direction. I¡¯ll arrange for a few extras to be walking on the bridge as well. And the two of you will run into each other. Here, we need to take a slow shot, so take your time and walk slowly. I¡¯ll be adding music here.¡± Shen Liangchuan and Qiao Lian nodded. This segment was actually super easy. They each went to their own end of the bridge and then when the director eximed ¡°action,¡± Qiao Lian slowly walked onto the bridge. Because this was an advertisement, most of the extras¡¯ faces would be blurred during editing. Hence there weren¡¯t any extras among the crew, but they would instead get some of the other casters and presenters to make guest appearances. Everyone found this fun and was willing to y along. But most importantly, who would evenin about supporting Best Actor Shen¡¯s scene? Qiao Lian got on the bridge and then looked at the scenery around. After this, she continued walking. At this point, Water Incense and Qiao Yiyi, in theirmoners¡¯ costumes, walked onto the bridge arm-in-arm, like girls did when they strolled along the streets. A step at a time, they approached Qiao Lian. On the opposite end, Shen Liangchuan also got onto the bridge. When he and Qiao Lian were about five meters from each other, they halted and looked at each other. Qiao Lian¡¯s face lit up with a happy expression. Making an effort to put herself in Xiao Qiao¡¯s shoes, she did not notice that there were some sudden movements behind her. Qiao Yiyi had lost her footing and rammed aggressively into Water Incense. Thetter, in turn, knocked against one of the extras. Following this, the extra fell on Qiao Lian. And now!!! Qiao Lian was standing on the side of the bridge and her eyes were fixed on Shen Liangchuan. If the extra fell on her, for sure it would push her in that direction and towards the side of the bridge. And when this happened, even if she didn¡¯t fall over the bridge and into the water below, she would hit the guard rail at the side of the bridge. The moment Qiao Lian became conscious of the situation next to her, she froze. She wanted to react, but it was toote! Her only reflex was to extend her hands around her belly to protect it. Just as she thought that she was about to get into a mess, someone grabbed her and drew her away. Then she tumbled forward and fell hard into Shen Liangchuan¡¯s embrace. At the same time, the extra behind her was pushed against the guard rail of the bridge and fell right into the water. ¡°Hurry up, rescue her!¡± The director was yelling. Qiao Lian was wide-eyed in shock and stared straight ahead. If Shen Liangchuan hadn¡¯t grabbed her and protected her, she would have been the one on the water. In this cold weather, the water surface would certainly be around freezing point and her child.. She turned pale immediately at this very thought. In the meantime Shen Liangchuan, who had been closely observing her, picked her up in his arms heroically with one swift motion and walked out of the set, asking her, ¡°Xiao Qiao, how are you feeling? Don¡¯t be afraid, I¡¯ll take you to the hospital.¡± Chapter 1027 - Qiao Lian Is Pregnant! (12)

Chapter 1027: Qiao Lian Is Pregnant! (12)

Qiao Lian was as white as a sheet. The post-trauma was making her tremble uncontrobly. When she recovered slightly from the shock, she realized that Shen Liangchuan had carried her into the car. He started the engine and the car started to drive away from the filming location. Then she realized... Going to the hospital? If they went to the hospital, wouldn¡¯t that mean he would find out about her pregnancy? Her pupils shrank back at once and she stopped Shen Liangchuan. ¡°I¡¯m fine!¡± Shen Liangchuan turned to look at her. She was still pale, but she seemed to be recovering gradually and regainingposure. He frowned and tried to persuade her, ¡°We¡¯ll go to the hospital for a check-up.¡± ¡°No, there¡¯s no need for that. I want to return to the hotel to rest. Qiao Lian rejected the idea of going to the hospital. Shen Liangchuan frowned as Qiao Lian said again insistently, ¡°I want to return to the hotel to rest.¡± Knowing how stubborn she was, he knew that she meant it when she said she didn¡¯t wish to go to the hospital. He could only turn back and take her to the hotel. After he had parked in the underground parking, he picked her up again and carried her all the way into the elevator. She tried to struggle. ¡°I can walk by myself, let me down.¡± With a serious expression, he replied, ¡°You have only two options. One, let me carry you. Two, go to the hospital.¡± Immediately, Qiao Lian fell silent. Looking at his determined expression, she couldn¡¯t help but curse silently how overbearing he was. She sighed and buried her head into his chest,pletely giving in to being a scaredy cat for the moment. Very soon, they arrived at the hotel room. He took out his card key and swiped it at the door. Upon entering the room, he walked over and ced her gently down on the bed. Then he bent over and checked her up and down, asking, ¡°Did you get hit anywhere?¡± Everything had happened in a sh, so he wasn¡¯t sure if she had been injured. She shook her head and said, ¡°I¡¯m ok, I had got a fright, that¡¯s all.¡± Shen Liangchuan lifted his gaze to look at her when he heard these words. ¡°Aren¡¯t you normally rather fearless? Why are you being such a chicken this time?¡± Qiao Lian cast her gaze down and tried to change the topic, ¡°I¡¯m feeling rather thirsty.¡± He stood up, walked to the side of the room and poured out a ss of water. He held it out to her. She reached out for the ss. The moment she took the ss in her hand, however, she suddenly lost grip, the ss tilted and its content was emptied on Shen Liangchuan¡¯s costume. Qiao Lian: ...!!! She shot up from her seat and reached for two tissues from the tissue box next to her. Then she quickly attempted to dry the stain on the man. Shen Liangchuan was in his historical costume. In a frantic, it was difficult to tell the exact spot of the long gown that had gotten wet. But... The more Qiao Lian tried to clean the spot, the stranger she felt. Why was there a swelling on that spot and why was the swelling increasing? At the same time that this puzzling thought shed through her mind, she also suddenly realized and her head snapped up at once. She saw that Shen Liangchuan was frowning and his eyes, now burning with dark desire, were trained on her. She was bbergasted. It was then that she noticed the water had sshed on none other than... Arghhhh! This was way too embarrassing. She shot up and stood back on her feet at once. She looked around, wishing there was a hole somewhere that she could go into. Her heart was pounding wildly as she felt the temperature of the room rise. When she could no longer take the awkwardness, she muttered, ¡°I- I need the toilet.¡± At these words, she turned and scurried to the restroom. Chapter 1028 - Do You Know Who I Am? (1)

Chapter 1028: Do You Know Who I Am? (1)

But she suddenly felt a hand grab her shoulder and, the next moment, she was pressed down against the soft and luxurious bed sheets. She widened her eyes as his mouth was sealed against hers. That familiar and masculine scent invaded and filled nostrils, knocking her out of her senses at once. Her mind blurred as she felt his soft and gentle teasing, slowly leading her on. She slowly sank and gave in to his seduction. But when she felt a cold rush of air against her exposed skin, she suddenly snapped out of her daze and realized what they were doing. She jumped in fright and quickly attempted to shove Shen Liangchuan aside. But he wouldn¡¯t budge an inch. No matter the strength she mustered under Shen Liangchuan¡¯s muscled body, it was at best minuscule. But they mustn¡¯t do this, they mustn¡¯t. If they did this, the child might be at risk. After all, this was her first trimester. Qiao Lian bit her lip and, suddenly, a ray of divine light shed across her eyes as she shouted, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, stop- stop it, you!¡± Shen Liangchuan halted and lifted his head to look at her, confused. She continued, ¡°I said I needed the toilet!¡± He frowned. She continued, ¡°I need the toilet, I can¡¯t hold it any longer. You¡¯re pressing down against my stomach and I can¡¯t hold it anymore!¡± Shen Liangchuan was speechless. But seeing that she really did look like she couldn¡¯t hold her dder any longer, he relented and stood up. In a sh, she jumped off the bed and dashed into the bathroom. She shut the door tightly and locked it. Then, standing in the bathroom, she started to fret. She was dead meat! What was she going to do now? She had managed to avoid it for the moment, but she couldn¡¯t run away forever. This man, Shen Liangchuan... She had been clear about getting a divorce, but he still cornered her to this extent. It was too much. Her eyes reddened She started to pace to and fro in the bathroom. Every few steps, she lifted her head to look at the bathroom door. She frowned thinking about that man outside. On the other hand, she also could feel how much he was craving intimacy. She smiled bitterly. Just as she was getting anxious, salvation came. There was a knock on the hotel room door and Prince¡¯s voice yelled, ¡°Love Chuan, I know you¡¯re in there. I¡¯m here to see you. Open the door, hurry up!¡± Like a criminal being granted great forgiveness, she opened the restroom door and dashed to the hotel room door¡ªall in a motion so swift that Shen Liangchuan felt the vein on his forehead throbbing. Was she so against being alone with him now? When she opened the door and saw Prince, she was immediately extremely weing. ¡°Ah, Prince, how are you? Come in quickly!¡± Prince was overwhelmed by the warm wee. Love Chuan had always showed indifference towards him, so what was this sudden enthusiasm and warmth? However when he entered the room and saw Shen Liangchuan, a look of realization came over his face. That expression quickly turned into animosity, as though he hade face to face with an arch-enemy. That was what it was all about! Best Actor Shen was trying to make a move on the junior caster again, so his arrival must have made him her savior. He looked at Qiao Lian and said, ¡°Don¡¯t you worry, Love Chuan!¡± Qiao Lian: ... Shen Liangchuan: ... ¨C Gradually, the skies darkened. Shen Liangchuan left Qiao Lian¡¯s room, unsatisfied and far from being satiated. And while Shen Liangchuan was fuming on this end, Mo Xicheng was not having a good time on his end either. After the filming crew wrapped up for the day, he changed and walked out of the filming location with Shi Nianyao. At this point, he noticed Yao Lili and Li Xue standing on the opposite side of the road. When Yao Lili saw him, she waved. He frowned at once when he saw them. Chapter 1029 - Do You Know Who I Am? (2)

Chapter 1029: Do You Know Who I Am? (2)

Seeing Mo Xicheng¡¯s gloomy expression, Shi Nianyao lifted her chin and took a step forward to stand next to him. ¡°Idol, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll get rid of her for you! And it will be a clean job.¡± Mo Xicheng was stumped for a moment. Then he shook his head and said, ¡°Let me handle this matter. Why don¡¯t you return to the hotel first?¡± ¡°Now way!¡± Shi Nianyao was insistent. ¡°As your assistant, I will share your burdens and miseries.¡± On that note, she strode forward. As he watched her from behind her, he could only think of how adorable she was when she was this overbearing and aggressive. He shook his head and followed her. Upon seeing Shi Nianyao, Yao Lili shot her a dirty look and asked, ¡°Why are you here?¡± Shi Nianyao said, ¡°Aunty, I¡¯m Mo Xicheng¡¯s girlfriend, so I¡¯vee to say hello to you.¡± She had emphasized the word ¡°girlfriend¡± to stake her im. Li Xue narrowed her eyes at that word and looked at Shi Nianyao, as she humphed icily. On the other hand, Yao Lili said, ¡°What nonsense are you speaking? Our Mo Xicheng does not have a girlfriend. And even if he did, it would be Li Xue.¡± As she said, Mo Xicheng had already walked over. His gaze was cast downwards and his eyes were sorrowful. He said with an indifferent expression, ¡°Miss Li, I¡¯m sorry. I already do have a girlfriend.¡± When Yao Lili heard what he had said, she was livid. Pointing a finger at him, she started, ¡°You rascal, are you going to make me let your father down? Huh! The Mo family has brought you up and this is how you repay their kindness? You¡¯re saying that this silly girl is your girlfriend? Let me tell you, I won¡¯t ept her.¡± Mo Xicheng ignored Yao Lili and looked straight at Li Xue. Li Xue¡¯s pupils shrank back, but very quickly, she smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, Mr. Mo, but I think you should at least give me a chance. Let¡¯s have a meal together, if that¡¯s ok with you. And even if we don¡¯t end up as a couple, we can be friends. Perhaps I can even remain as one of your fans¡ª¡± Upon hearing this, Yao Lili immediately interjected, ¡°What do you mean not a couple? Miss Li, don¡¯t worry. Mo Xicheng will not go against my wishes. Since Miss Li suggested a meal together, then we shall do that.¡± At this point, Li Xue threw a nce in Shi Nianyao¡¯s direction and said with a faint smile, ¡°I think perhaps we should have French cuisine.¡± When Yao Lili heard this, her pupils shrank immediately. She recalled the early days of being together with Dad Mo. He would take her to French restaurants, but she had not known a word of French when it came to the names of the dishes. At that time, she had felt inferior and the experience had shaken her self-esteem. Since Li Xue had suggested eating French cuisine, was she using this as an opportunity to beat Shi Nianyao? At that thought, Yao Lili¡¯s face lit up with delight and she pped her hands once to seal the decision. ¡°French cuisine it is then!¡± She would leave Shi Nianyao no doubt about this. Although Mo Xicheng was a bastard son, they still were from a wealthy family. It was not something amoner girl like her could handle. Mo Xicheng had listened silently to this conversation. Having grown up in such an environment, he immediately understood the intentions of these two women. His pupils shrank back as he furrowed his brow. Just as he was about to reject the suggestion, Shi Nianyao spoke up, ¡°The French cuisine you¡¯re referring to... Would it be that newly-opened French restaurant about a 100 meters from here?¡± Li Xue nodded at once and said, ¡°Indeed. I just passed by that way and the atmosphere seemed rather pleasant.¡± Shi Nianyao thought to herself, ¡°That restaurant is my big brother¡¯s new business venture... Of course the atmosphere is rather pleasant.¡± Chapter 1030 - Do You Know Who I Am? (3)

Chapter 1030: Do You Know Who I Am? (3)

Shi Nianyao turned to Mo Xicheng and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go and eat. I¡¯m sure they serve delicious food there!¡± It was a chance to help her brother advertise. She would make sure to ask him for an advertising reward when she got home. She thought this to herself as they made their way to the restaurant. When they arrived at the restaurant, Li Xue quickly took the lead. The waitress greeted and weed them in French. Li Xue immediately replied in French. Actually, there were two service options for this type of French restaurants in China. The staff who worked in such ces spoke both French and Mandarin. Because it was a French restaurant, they always greeted their patrons in French. If the patron replied in Mandarin, then they would provide their service in Mandarin. Since Li Xue had replied in French, the waitress assumed that they preferred to be served in French. Hence from that point on, they spoke in French. They exchanged a few words before Li Xue turned to look at Mo Xicheng and Shi Nianyao. ¡°I¡¯ve asked for a private room, is that okay?¡± Mo Xicheng nodded. Shi Nianyao nodded as well. Yao Lili praised her enthusiastically, ¡°Miss Li, you¡¯re very capable, you speak such fluent French! Our Mo Xicheng doesn¡¯t speak French, he never learnt it.¡± Mo Xicheng¡¯s eyes shed when he heard those words. When she pointed that out, Li Xue smiled. Then she turned towards the waitstaff and said, ¡°Please bring us a French menu to the private room, thanks.¡± She was all set to make a fool out of Shi Nianyao. Shi Nianyao, however, could tell the moment she heard Li Xue speaking French that it wasn¡¯t authentic. Surely, Li Xue had no idea that she was fluent in eightnguages. She had majored innguages at the university! However... Her idol didn¡¯t know French? That wasn¡¯t possible. She recalled that he had coborated on a film with a French celebrity previously. At the time, gossip had it that her idol and the French actor had had no problemmunicating on a personal level. But Yao Lili had just said that her idol had never taken French lessons. It wasn¡¯t surprising though, if one thought about it. As an illegitimate son of the Mo family, he had already been quite fortunate to have been able to go to school and receive a higher education. Not knowing how to speak French wasn¡¯t surprising at all. Shi Nianyao sighed. She followed them as they entered the private room. As soon as they sat down, Yao Lili started to highly praise Li Xue, ¡°Miss Li is so learned indeed, knowing anguage as difficult as French. Our Mo Xicheng doesn¡¯t know French and that¡¯s inconceivable! Miss Li, when you have some time, why don¡¯t you give him some lessons?¡± Li Xue nodded immediately and said, ¡°Sure.¡± Shi Nianyao fumed. Damn! This was just an excuse to get close to her idol. How could she possibly let Li Xue have her way with this one? Shi Nianyao narrowed her eyes and smiled. Li Xue then shifted her gaze to Shi Nianyao. With a faint smirk, she pointed at the menu and told the waitress, ¡°Please take the order from thisdy.¡± At once, the waitress handed the menu over to Shi Nianyao and asked her a question in French. Everyone in the private room turned their eyes towards her at once, waiting for her to panic and make a fool out of herself. Shi Nianyao couldn¡¯t help grinning when she saw the anticipation on Li Xue¡¯s and Yao Lili¡¯s faces. She blinked her innocent-looking eyes a few times and pretended to look a little lost, as she lowered her head and stared at the menu. She flipped through the pages and, just when everyone was expecting that she would just point at a few random items, she suddenly looked up and in her effortlessly fluent French, ced a long order. After shocking everyone, she turned to look at Li Xue directly and remarked, ¡°Do excuse me, I majored in French.¡± Chapter 1031 - Do You Know Who I Am? (4) Chapter 1031: Do You Know Who I Am? (4) All the color drained from Li Xue¡¯s face at once. Yao Lili was even more speechless, but she recovered quickly enough to react and say, ¡°So what if you speak French? Miss Li learnt it by herself! Besides, after listening to you ramble, I can tell your ent in French isn¡¯t even half as good as hers.¡± This remark caused Li Xue to frown. Anyone who had ears could tell that Shi Nianyao was obviously more fluent in French than her. But Li Xue wasn¡¯t going to admit defeat. She cleared her throat and smiled. ¡°It¡¯s no wonder that Ms. Shi is so fluent at French, it was your major. So I was disying my amateur skill before an expert just now. Don¡¯t mind me, I have only picked up a few phrases by myself. I¡¯ve even learnt a few words in Japanese.¡± Having said this, she turned to the French cuisine waitress and said, ¡°I do recall you have a Japanese chef, he is very skilled. Please call for him.¡± The waitress nodded and walked out of the room. Shortly after, the Japanese chef came in. He bowed to greet them and said in Japanese, ¡°Pleased to meet you.¡± In simple Japanese, Li Xue started tomunicate with him, showing off her ability and also telling Yao Lili, ¡°The chef says that their fish steaks are made by pan-frying the freshest cuts, guaranteeing the tenderness.¡± Yao Lili was impressed. ¡°Miss Li, so you are not only good at French, you¡¯re fluent in Japanese too!¡± She was full of praises again, ¡°You are awesome! But it¡¯s not a surprise. People from wealthy families like us learn differentnguages to kill time, unlike others, who learn them for survival.¡± She turned towards Shi Nianyao at this point and asked, ¡°Do you know Japanese?¡± Shi Nianyao paused. At the same time, the Japanese chef asked Li Xue, ¡°Miss, may I know how much fish by weight you¡¯d like to order?¡± Li Xue cast her gaze down and smirked faintly, as she told the chef, ¡°Perhaps you¡¯d like to ask the otherdy.¡± The Japanese chef hesitated for a moment. Yao Lili asked Li Xue, ¡°Li Xue, what is he saying?¡± Smiling, Li Xue said, ¡°The chef is praising Ms. Yao¡¯s pretty looks. He says he¡¯d like to have a few words with her.¡± In any case, none of the other three knew Japanese. Hence, no one would know how obviously evil she was. But as soon as this thought entered her mind, Shi Nianyao had already startedmunicating with the chef in effortless Japanese. Li Xue was speechless. How- how was this possible? It was well enough that thismoner knew French¡ªafter all, it had been her major. But Japanese... After Shi Nianyao hadmunicated with the chef, she turned to the others and told them, ¡°I¡¯ve asked for a kilo of fish. It¡¯s just perfect for four steaks.¡± Yao Lili was visibly stunned by now. She looked at Shi Nianyao steadily and asked, ¡°How- how- how do you know Japanese?¡± ¡°Oh, I majored in Japanese.¡± Yao Lili gulped and asked again, ¡°What else did you major in?¡± Shi Nianyao lowered her head at this point, looking at her fingers as she counted, ¡°French, Japanese, Latin... does English count? Italian... Not many, I only know eightnguages.¡± Li Xue was speechless. Eightnguages... only! As Shi Nianyao said this, she evenmented to herself that her big brother knew more than tennguages. Then she grinned as she saw the changed expression on Li Xue¡¯s face. Chapter 1032 - Do You Know Who I Am? (5)

Chapter 1032: Do You Know Who I Am? (5)

She threw a look of satisfaction at Mo Xicheng and raised an eyebrow. Right from the start, Mo Xicheng had kept silent, just sitting back and observing as Shi Nianyao single-handedly defeated them time and again. She had so effortlessly countered Yao Lili and Li Xue¡¯s attacks. Strangely, watching how Shi Nianyao showed her capabilities, he suddenly found her very clever and adorable. His Nianyao had turned out to be a genius! She knew eightnguages... It looked like he would have to work harder to keep up. Li Xue was already speechless with anger at this point. Instead, it was Yao Lili who spoke again after recovering from the shock, ¡°Huh! Still, nothing beats speaking our own mother tongue, Mandarin. What¡¯s the point of knowing so manynguages? Not like you¡¯re going to be an interpreter!¡± Shi Nianyao sighed and said, ¡°It happens that being an interpreter was my childhood dream.¡± Unfortunately, her elder brother had felt that the job was too demanding and hadn¡¯t let her do it. But obviously, Li Xue and Yao Lili misunderstood her remark. They thought it meant that she didn¡¯t have the status or means to be an interpreter. The two of them smirked and lowered their heads. Randomly, Li Xue started again, ¡°Ms. Shi, do you y the piano?¡± On that note, Yao Lili added, ¡°Our Li Xue has a level nine certificate in piano! So do you y?¡± Did she y? Errr. Shi Nianyao smiled and replied, ¡°A little.¡± Being on national level 10 was really nothing. After all, it wasn¡¯t as if she was a concert pianist. Li Xue paused. Yao Lili continued, ¡°Indeed, everyone took piano lessons in grade school. How could you possibly not y a little?¡± Shi Nianyao raised an eyebrow at that remark and said nothing. One could say that this meal was extremely exhausting. Li Xue and Yao Lili wouldn¡¯t stop trying to provoke her so that they could beat her. However, she either stared nkly in pretense or, like the moment she spoke French, she would defeat thempletely. This girl Shi Nianyao... Who would have thought she was this knowledgeable? The four of them walked out of the restaurant together after the meal. Once outside the restaurant, Yao Lili said to her son, ¡°Mo Xicheng, why don¡¯t you take Miss Li back to her hotel?¡± The man frowned at once. Yao Lili humphed icily and said, ¡°Miss Li came to Hengdian because of you! Does it make sense that you don¡¯t care about her safety?¡± His frown deepened. Upon hearing this, Shi Nianyao took a step forward, intending to volunteer to apany the girl back instead, but Mo Xicheng reached out and held her back. Then he turned towards Li Xue and said, ¡°Miss Li, which hotel are you staying in?¡± ¡°Hengdian Holiday Inn.¡± Mo Xicheng nodded, lowered his head and searched on the navigation system of his cell phone. Thinking that he was going to drive Li Xue to the hotel himself, Yao Lili immediately smiled. Li Xue looked pleasantly surprised as well and shot Shi Nianyao a triumphant look. She then walked in front of all of them. But just as they had taken a few steps, a car suddenly pulled up and stopped next to them. Mo Xicheng opened the back door of the vehicle and said, ¡°Miss Li, I¡¯ve got you an express car and will check your whereabouts on the navigation system to ensure your safety. You shouldn¡¯t have any concerns now.¡± Li Xue: ...!! Yao Lili: ...!! Yao Lili was now angry and shot at Mo Xicheng, ¡°Mo Xicheng, why are you being so obstinate? I¡¯m asking you to take her back.¡± Mo Xicheng lowered his head and then looked at Yao Lili. ¡°Mom, I don¡¯t wish for you and Miss Li to misunderstand anything.¡± At once, Li Xue put on a pitiful expression. Chapter 1033 - Do You Know Who I Am? (6)

Chapter 1033: Do You Know Who I Am? (6)

Looking at Mo Xicheng, she said, ¡°Mo Xicheng, I really like you and I¡¯m a fan of yours. I didn¡¯t misunderstand anything. Since you¡¯re not taking me back home, can we take a picture together?¡± Mo Xicheng rejected her request saying, ¡°The filming crew¡¯s policy is that we can¡¯t take any pictures in Hengdian during the filming period.¡± Li Xue was speechless. She could only get into the car sullenly. As the car drove away, Yao Lili spun around sharply to look at Mo Xicheng. Finally, she gave an icyugh and said, ¡°Great, Mo Xicheng, now that you¡¯re grown up, you disobey me. Great, great... you¡¯ll be the death of me! Don¡¯t you know your father wishes to coborate with the Li family? So the opportunity to bond through your marriage is not something you have a say in!¡± After he had listened to Yao Lili¡¯s words, he raised his eyes towards her and said in an unruffled manner, ¡°Mom, I can obey you in other things, however when ites to my marriage, I will make my own decision.¡± On this note, he grabbed Shi Nianyao and led her away. Shi Nianyao was stunned. She turned her head back to look at Yao Lili and saw the woman standing in a daze under a streetlight. Her shadow greatly lengthened under the lighting. Shi Nianyao lowered her gaze and sighed deeply. Since she and Mo Xicheng were both now staying at the same hotel, they headed back together. She looked at him longingly as she apanied him to the top floor. It was obvious in her gaze, as they rode up the elevator, that she couldn¡¯t bear to be away from the man. Helpless under her steady gaze, Mo Xicheng finally sighed and grabbed her hand as he stepped out of the lift. She widened her eyes in surprise and asked, ¡°I- idol... what are you doing?¡± He replied indifferently, ¡°You¡¯re so good at French, why don¡¯t you teach me?¡± Shi Nianyao paused. So she was there to teach him French? Nevertheless, she was ted. When they arrived at Mo Xicheng¡¯s room, she stood at the doorway surveying the space. She was no stranger to this room. She had slept there for a night and even taken a shower here at one point. Yet when she returned this time, she realized that some things had changed since she had been there a month ago. It was tidy like before, in fact it was so bare it felt cold and lifeless. She liked to strew her belongings all over the ce, not because she disliked being tidy, but because she thought that the room would feel warmer and livelier like that. Unlike Mo Xicheng¡¯s room... At this thought, Shi Nianyao dug into her bag, took out her personal pink mug and quietly ced it on the coffee table. Just an added dash of beauty and the room looked livelier at once. As she grinned happily, looking at her mug, Mo Xicheng walked over with a hot water thermos from the minibar. When he saw the pink mug, he halted for a moment. But following that, his expression quickly returned to normal. If it hadn¡¯t been for the faint smile that had appeared on his face, no one would have noticed this shift of emotions in him. He looked at the mug, sitting squarely on the coffee table as if staking its im. Then he lowered his gaze, approached it and poured water into it. Shi Nianyao cleared her throat once and looked at Mo Xicheng, who was infusing the tea at this point. Finally, she asked, ¡°I can teach you a simple French sentence today. What would you like to learn?¡± He nced at Shi Nianyao and said, ¡°How about a love confession?¡± Chapter 1034 - Do You Know Who I Am? (7)

Chapter 1034: Do You Know Who I Am? (7)

¡°Ptui!¡± Shi Nianyao choked at his words, as the water that she had just taken was sprayed out. She paused for a moment as she studied his serious expression and then said, ¡°Je t¡¯aime, je veux rester avec toi pour toujours.¡± (I love you and wish to be with you forever.) Upon hearing this, Mo Xicheng lowered his head and turned the corners of his lips up into a smile. He looked at Shi Nianyao and said unhurriedly, ¡°Uh huh, I understand.¡± Shi Nianyao was stumped when he said this. ¡°What? You have to repeat after me!¡± Mo Xicheng coughed and said, ¡°I... think I should give up learning.¡± Shi Nianyao paused. Why did she feel as though she had just made a love confession to Mo Xicheng? Could this guy... have done it on purpose? At this thought, she stole a nce at the man, but saw that he was unruffled and expressionless. Just as she was about to continue her rambling train of thought, Mo Xicheng spoke again, ¡°How do you say ss in French?¡± ¡°Verre.¡± ¡°Uh huh... and the color pink?¡± ¡°...¡± The two of them went to and fro like this. Finally, Mo Xichengmented, ¡°You speak French professionally.¡± Shi Nianyaoughed immediately. It felt pretty good being praised by her idol. Time flew by quickly and before they knew it, it was 11 p.m. It turned out that they did enjoy talking with each other. However... Mo Xicheng had more filming tomorrow. Shi Nianyao stood up and said, ¡°I¡¯ll be gone now. I¡¯lle over in the morning to go to the filming location with you.¡± Mo Xicheng nodded. After Shi Nianyao had reluctantly left his room, his cell phone rang. He picked up the phone. After ncing at the screen, heughed to himself and picked up. From the other end of the line came the voice of a French man, speaking in fluent and rapid French, ¡°How are you, Mo Xicheng? Have you been welltely?¡± This was the famous French actor. They had be good friends after filming a movie together. Mo Xicheng cast his gaze down and, with light movements of his thin lips, a sentence in fluent French flowed easily. As he spoke in a low voice, there was a strange and mysterious maism about him. ¡°Hi, how are you?¡± ¨C Shi Nianyao didn¡¯t have the slightest idea that she had beenpletely fooled by Mo Xicheng. Upon returning to her room, she jumped on her bed ted. She fell asleep with a wide smile on her face, as she thought about how she had spent the day se to her idol. Early the next morning, she was sitting on the side admiring her idol¡¯s acting skills when a crew worker called her, ¡°Shi Nianyao, someone¡¯s looking for you.¡± Someone was looking for her? Curiously, she walked out of the filming set. Then she saw Li Xue standing in a spot not too far away. She was slightly surprised. Li Xue walked towards her and spoke in a haughty manner, ¡°Shi Nianyao, I¡¯m here to cut you a deal. You should know, based on your status, that you won¡¯t be of much help to Mo Xicheng. I¡¯m different. I¡¯m from a wealthy family. Mo Xicheng will be better off being with me!¡± Then she lowered her head and drew out a check from her bag. She looked at Shi Nianyao and said, ¡°Leave Mo Xicheng. You can name the price. As long as it¡¯s not ridiculous, I will meet your request! A million. How about that?¡± A million? To buy Mo Xicheng? Besides... her status? Li Xue was an illegitimate child, what right did she have to talk about status with Shi Nianyao? Shi Nianyao started tough. She narrowed her eyes and smiled as she looked steadily at Li Xue, saying, ¡°Li Xue, do you know who I am?¡± Chapter 1035 - Do You Know Who I Am? (8)

Chapter 1035: Do You Know Who I Am? (8)

Li Xue paused upon hearing this, smirked and said, ¡°Who are you? What sort of nobody can you possibly be? You¡¯re a graduate who majored in French? Why? Do you have some sort of status? Huh, if you really had some status, Yao Lili wouldn¡¯t be trying so hard to please me.¡± Shi Nianyao twitched her mouth at her remarks. From the time she was very young, her elder brother had been meticulous in protecting her. Because of her elder brother Shi Xun¡¯s own experience when he was a youngster, he had always felt insecure. Hence, the care that he took to ensure Shi Nianyao¡¯s safety and well-being was quite obsessive. To the extent that, while most people knew that the Shi family had a pampered little mistress, apart from a small handful of very close friends, no one even knew her name, much less seen her face. That exined why even when Li Xue heard her name, she did not recognize it. Shi Nianyaoughed coldly and looked at the check that Li Xue was holding. She reached out for the slip of paper, lightly tore it into shreds and stylishly flung the torn pieces in Li Xue¡¯s face. Following this, she said, ¡°Li Shuang will being tomorrow. When she does, she can tell you who I am.¡± Li Shuang? Upon hearing this name, Li Xue¡¯s pupils shrank back at once. Li Shuang was her half-sister from her father¡¯s legal marriage, and hence was the true pampered little mistress of the Li family. Although Li Xue was liked by her father, her father liked Li Shuang a lot more. Comparing the two of them, if Li Shuang were a bright star in the sky, then Li Xue would be the dust on the ground. So when she heard Li Shuang¡¯s name being mentioned, she had a fright. The next moment, she grabbed Shi Nianyao tightly and asked, ¡°What- what are you trying to do?¡± Shi Nianyaoughed derisively and answered, ¡°Not much. It¡¯s just that I feel Li Shuang has failed to educate you properly, so I should have a word with her.¡± Shi Nianyao had a few friends, and Li Shuang happened to be one of them. In character, Li Shuang was upfront and straightforward,pletely different from Li Xue. After Shi Nianyao said this, she turned and went back to the filming set. Looking at Li Xue, who was still standing at the doorway, she picked up her cell phone and dialed Li Shuang¡¯s number. The line connected and Li Shuang eximed, ¡°Yao Yao! Why haven¡¯t you contacted me for so long? Have you forgotten about your sister here?¡± Shi Nianyaoughed and said, ¡°Li Shuang, your little sister, Li Xue is now in Hengdian trying to steal my boyfriend. Are you really not going to do anything about it?¡± Li Xue, on the other hand, had no idea what was happening. But she was so shocked that she had immediately hurried back to her hotel room. She waited all night, but there was no sign of Li Shuang. She immediately smiled. What a fright she had had. Shi Nianyao must have heard from somewhere that she had such a formidable sister. So she had just been dropping names! At this thought, she snorted coldly. This Shi Nianyao had to watch out. She sprang to her feet, opened the door and decided to go to the set and create more trouble for Shi Nianyao. Unfortunately, the moment the door swung open, what greeted her was a merciless p. ¡°Bam!¡± Li Xue¡¯s head spun. Steadying herself and looking at the doorway, she saw Li Shuang standing right outside. Her pupils shrank as Li Shuang gave her a frosty smile. ¡°Li Xue, you are really capable, aren¡¯t you? Using Dad¡¯s name anding to Hengdian to steal another girl¡¯s boyfriend?¡± Li Xue immediately stammered, ¡°It- it was Dad who introduced me to this man! Sister, you¡ª¡± ¡°Shut your mouth. I don¡¯t remember my Mom ever giving me a sister!¡± Li Xue choked and after a moment, she continued, ¡°Did that girl, Shi Nianyao, ask you toe here? What- what¡¯s your rtionship with her?¡± Li Shuang sneered, ¡°We were schoolmates.¡± ¡°Schoolmates? You pped your sister because of a schoolmate? I will make sure Dad knows about it, he¡¯ll get justice for me.¡± Li Xue was wailing by now. Chapter 1036 - Do You Know Who I Am? (9)

Chapter 1036: Do You Know Who I Am? (9)

¡°Who is she really? Just a lowly being who wishes to get rich but has no means! So what if I like Mo Xicheng? I¡¯ll get rid of her and win Mo Xicheng.¡± Li Shuangughed icily the moment Li Xue said this. ¡°Do you know who she is?¡± Li Xue paused and looked up at her. Looking back at her steadily, Li Shuang warned, ¡°If you dare toin to Dad about this, then go ahead. I can guarantee he¡¯ll skin you alive, but not before making you apologize to her. Did you know how much effort Dad made back then just to get me into the same school and ss as her?! Huh! My years of good rtions with her have been destroyed by a fool like you.¡± Stumped by this revtion, Li Xue asked, ¡°Who- who exactly is she?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard of the pampered little mistress of the Shi family.¡± ¡°Yes, I have. But everyone says that her identity is so secret that she must have some sort of illness, or be really ugly.¡± As she said this, she suddenly realized, ¡°You¡¯re saying she¡¯s- she¡¯s- she¡¯s¡ª¡± ¡°Shi Nianyao! Do you understand it now? Li Xue, it¡¯s fine if you get into trouble yourself, but don¡¯t drag our Li family through the mud. The head of the Shi family, her elder brother, dotes on her! When she was born, she donated her bone marrow to her brother. Everyone knows that! He treats her like his own life. Tell me, what do you think he¡¯d do if he knew you were trying to steal her boyfriend?¡± The thought of it sent a shudder down Li Xue¡¯s spine. Immediately, she crawled to Li Shuang. Holding onto thetter¡¯s leg, she cried, ¡°Sister, help me please!¡± Li Shuang looked at her and smirked in disdain. ¨C On the same day, Li Xue left Hengdian. When Yao Lili called her, she said, ¡°Madam Yao, you see, love is a matter between two people. Since Mo Xicheng doesn¡¯t like me, let¡¯s not make things difficult for him.¡± Then she hung up. Yao Lili stared at her cell phone, speechless with anger. At this point, the cell phone rang. Picking up the call, she heard Mr. Mo¡¯s voice on the other end, ¡°How are Miss Li and Mo Xicheng getting along?¡± Yao Lili hemmed and hawed, unable to say anything meaningful. Mr. Mo snorted coldly and said, ¡°Such a small matter and you can¡¯t handle it. What¡¯s the use of having you around?¡± Yao Lili started with desperation, ¡°Mr. Mo- Mr. Mo¡ª¡± But Dad Mo had already hung up. Meanwhile, Li Shu and her son arrived back in Beijing. The moment Mo Zhi entered the study and saw his father, he asked, ¡°Dad, has Mo Xicheng dumped the girl?¡± Dad Mo frowned and shook his head. At once, Mo Zhi asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Don¡¯t we have an arranged marriage with the Li family? Mo Xicheng can¡¯t even get this right?! Or should I marry that pampered little mistress of the Li family... Li Shuang?¡± But on this note, he twitched his mouth and hesitated. ¡°She¡¯s too fierce though, not the sort of woman I like.¡± Dad Mo shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t speak nonsense. I¡¯ve got it all nned out for you, so behave yourself for now.¡± Mo Zhi¡¯s eyes lit up at once. ¡°Dad, who have you nned for me to marry?¡± Dad Mo said, ¡°Have you heard of the Mo family?¡± Mo Zhi immediately protested, ¡°The pampered little daughter of the Mo family? No way! Rumor has it that she¡¯s probably physically handicapped in some way, or is really ugly. Otherwise why would her brother have her hidden away? Dad, don¡¯t start getting silly ideas.¡± Chapter 1037 - Do You Know Who I Am? (10)

Chapter 1037: Do You Know Who I Am? (10)

Dad Mo shook his head and said, ¡°You have no idea. Your Mom, at that time, was a close friend of Si Jingyu, who is also Madam Shi. At that time they made a pact¡ªthey aspired to be each other¡¯s inw in the future. Recently, the Shi gamily has grown from strength to strength, even our family hasn¡¯t been able to keep up. If it weren¡¯t for their rtionship, we wouldn¡¯t even be in the line for this sort of arrangement.¡± Mo Zhi immediately frowned and said, ¡°I won¡¯t have this! The pampered daughter of the Shi family may look like a pig. I want that pretty chick from the filming crew!¡± Dad Mo frowned and said, ¡°You can¡¯t bring that sort of girl into the family. Besides, you¡¯d better behave. Of all things, your Mom hates fooling around. I made a mistake back then... sigh. That was so many years ago and she has not forgiven me! So you¡¯d better get rid of your vices and focus on managing the business.¡± Mo Zhi pouted at once and wailed, ¡°Dad!!¡± ¨C Far away in Hengdian, meanwhile, Shi Nianyao sneezed. Mo Xicheng was observing her while filming. At the end, he walked towards her and held out a ss of water. She grinned at him and said, ¡°Mo Xicheng, you can stop worrying now. I¡¯ve taken care of Li Xue¡¯s matter!¡± Raising an eyebrow, Mo Xicheng asked, ¡°Oh? And how did you manage that?¡± Rolling her eyes, Shi Nianyao said, ¡°She came looking for me with a check, hoping to bribe me with money. But I appealed to her emotions and reason. She was moved and bowed out!¡± Mo Xicheng was speechless. He smiled bitterly and did not pursue the matter, but he looked at the girl with a deeply contemtive expression. In the meantime, a rumor had started to circte among the social elite circle in Beijing city. That the Mo family and Shi family had a verbal marriage agreement. However one time, when Mo Zhi was drunk, he imed that the pampered little mistress of the Shi family looked like a pig and vowed to never marry her. So when the news broke, the pampered daughter of the Shi family became aughing stock at once. Yet all of this escaped the notice of the few people who were filming in Hengdian. ¨C In a different ce. A ck premium sedan came to a stop at a five-star hotel. Lu Nanze¡¯s eyes were deep and gloomy as he stepped out from the car. He stood at the hotel entrance and looked across the street for a moment. There stood the hotel where Qiao Lian and the rest of them were staying. After a moment, he made his way up. About an hourter, there was a knocking on the hotel room door. Lu Nanze lifted his head and heard Qiao Yiyi¡¯s voice, ¡°Second Brother, it¡¯s me.¡± The man got onto his feet, walked over and opened the door. Upon seeing him, Qiao Yiyi immediately extended her arms to reach for his. An expression of disdain shed across his face as he took a step back to avoid the contact. He looked at her and berated, ¡°You can¡¯t even handle a small matter like this, and you dare to appear before me?¡± Qiao Yiyi pouted in response. ¡°Second Brother, you talk about Qiao Lian the second we meet. You¡ª¡± Before she could finish, Lu Nanze¡¯s face had already broken into a sinister smile. She immediately stopped and said instead, ¡°Second Brother, don¡¯t you fret. This time Shen Liangchuan ruined my ns, but next time they won¡¯t be this lucky. I¡¯ve made arrangements! Nothing will go wrong now.¡± Lu Nanze looked at her while hearing these words. ¡°You are very sure that it will not harm Qiao Lian?¡± The woman nodded and reassured him, ¡°I¡¯m very sure!¡± Lu Nanze stared at her, his expression so vicious that she couldn¡¯t help but shudder. Lu Nanze smirked, on the other hand, as he said, ¡°Eight years ago, you assured me the same thing, that she would leave the teamclub without being harmed. But what did you do in the end?¡± Chapter 1038 - Do Not Harm My Child (1)

Chapter 1038: Do Not Harm My Child (1)

Qiao Yiyi¡¯s pupils shrank back at once as she quickly lowered her head. ¡°Second Brother, that was an ident. I really didn¡¯t think that they would be so heavy-handed. I initially meant to stop her through her parents, but she was too determined and it didn¡¯t work at all. This was thest resort. But I only ruined one hand... and that has recovered now.¡± The man narrowed his eyes and sneered, ¡°I don¡¯t just want lip service this time. I want the child destroyed, and if Qiao Lian gets harmed in any way, I will not let you go!¡± Qiao Yiyi lowered her head and quickly said, ¡°Second Brother, don¡¯t worry. I understand.¡± Lu Nanze nodded finally and pointed at the doorway. ¡°You may leave.¡± Qiao Yiyi bit her lip and looked at him. ¡°Second Brother, you promised me that you¡¯d give me a child.¡± Lu Nanze¡¯s pupils shrank and that look of disdain came back. The evil charm in his smile deepened as he said, ¡°So you want it right now? Can¡¯t wait any longer?¡± She lowered her gaze coyly and replied, ¡°Second Brother, you haven¡¯t touched me in a long time.¡± Lu Nanze¡¯s smile turned even colder now. After a moment, he reached out and pinched her chin tightly. ¡°You want it now?¡± She nodded. His smile was growing more vicious by the minute. ¡°Go take a shower then.¡± A lot of joy spread across her face. After she had gone into the bathroom, Lu Nanze drew out a tissue from the side, cleaned his hands with it and tossed it into the bin. He picked up the phone and dialed his assistant¡¯s number. ¡°Zhao Yang, you cane in now.¡± Zhao Yang was his assistant, who had been single all of these years. After Qiao Yiyi came out of the shower, she saw that there was a bottle of red wine on the coffee table. Her pupils shrank as she walked towards it. She shifted her gaze to Lu Nanze, who was sitting back on the sofa, taking sips of wine. With a low voice, she started, ¡°Second Brother...¡± He nodded and pointed at the other ss of red wine. Qiao Yiyi bit her lip and sat down beside him. All of these years, whenever she was with him, he would make her drink a ss of red wine. Because, he said, she looked just that bit more like Qiao Lian if she had some color on her face. Even if she had ever been unwilling, she would have never dared to decline it. However, this time... She looked at him and said, ¡°Second Brother, I don¡¯t take alcohol well. Now that we want a child, do you think we should¡ª¡± Before she could finish, Lu Nanze red at her. She immediately went silent. He said with an ambiguous expression, ¡°Red wine is good for your health.¡± With that, Qiao Yiyi did not dare to speak further. She could only bite her lip, walk over and pick up the ss of red wine. Then with a single gulp, she downed the wine. Shortly after taking the wine, her vision started to blur. Giggling as she walked to Lu Nanze to put her arms around his, she called him, ¡°Second Brother.¡± ¡°Get on the bed and wait for me there.¡± Qiao Yiyi nodded. Following this, he heard the room door open and a man walked in. His familiar scent greeted her. She tried hard to keep her eyes open as she stretched out her arms and said, ¡°Come over here, Second Brother.¡± The man got into bed. Outside the door, Lu Nanze smiled icily as he listened to the suggestive sounds in the room. A vicious glint shed in his eyes. Did Qiao Yiyi really think that he would touch a person like her? Chapter 1039 - Do Not Harm My Child (2)

Chapter 1039: Do Not Harm My Child (2)

After an intense session, Qiao Yiyi fell asleep on the bed. When she woke up, she realized that two hours had passed. Opening her eyes, she saw that Lu Nanze was sittingnguidly on the sofa with a cigarette between his fingers. She sat up straight and said in a delicate voice, ¡°Second Brother.¡± Lu Nanze shifted his gaze to her calmly and said, ¡°It¡¯ste.¡± It was his way of telling her that it was time for her to leave. She bit her lip upon hearing those words. By right, the best time to talk to a man was after he was satiated. But instead, Lu Nanze was always very rational. It was as though he hadn¡¯t been involved in the whole intense episode that they had just shared. She felt terribly hurt inside, but after all of these years, she hade to understand the man¡¯s temper. She recalled one time where she had pestered him to apany her shopping. As a consequence, he hadn¡¯t touched her for one whole year. The moment she thought this, she lowered her head obediently. She got out of bed and put on her clothes. Then she walked up to Lu Nanze and said, ¡°Second Brother, I¡¯ll leave now.¡± Without looking up at her, he nodded and said carelessly, ¡°Uh huh.¡± Biting her lips, she walked to the door. She turned back once more and looked at him. He was still holding the cigarette between his fingers. He drew on his cigarette and let out a cloud of smoke. Qiao Yiyi frowned and sighed. Then she opened the door and left. Just as she walked out, she saw Zhao Yang standing outside. He held a ss of water in one hand and a pill in the other. When she saw this, she immediately frowned. He held the pill out to her. Still frowning, she told him, ¡°Second Brother promised me a child!¡± When Zhao Yang heard this, his gaze wandered to her neck. That love bite looked like a strawberry, red and pretty. When she noticed his stare, she lifted her chin haughtily. Zhao Yang cast his gaze down and said after a moment, ¡°Miss Yiyi, are you sure... you won¡¯t take this?¡± She sneered icily, ¡°Zhao Yang, what do you think you are? Are you thinking of defying Second Brother¡¯s wish?¡± The man furrowed his brow and replied, ¡°But if you really have this child, then he will be an illegitimate child. Are you willing to let that happen?¡± Qiao Yiyiughed icily. ¡°Zhao Yang, you¡¯d better understand your status. Don¡¯t think too highly of yourself all the time! Do you think you¡¯re in a position to evenment on my rtionship with Second Brother?¡± On this note, she reached out and pushed the ss away before leaving. As she turned her back on him, he held back the words he was going to say. For so many years, it had been him every time. But she didn¡¯t know it. Besides, if he were to tell her that he was the child¡¯s father in the event she got pregnant, would she be so devastated that she would no longer want to keep living? He lowered his head at this thought and stared at the ss of water in his hand. Finally, he broke into a cold smile of resignation. At the same time, the hotel room door swung open. Lu Nanze stepped out and nced at Zhao Yang. He asked, ¡°The room is ready?¡± Zhao Yang nodded. Lu Nanze continued walking ahead and entered the room in front. Lowering his head, Zhao Yang understood that Mr. Lu would of course not use the bed that he and Qiao Yiyi had just slept in. As this thought ran through his mind, Lu Nanze halted and said, ¡°Zhao Yang, how about I grant you a child?¡± Chapter 1040 - Do Not Harm My Child (3)

Chapter 1040: Do Not Harm My Child (3)

Zhao Yang was taken aback and started, ¡°Mr. Lu...¡± Lu Nanze smiled and asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t it true that you like Qiao Yiyi?¡± Zhao Yang moved his lips but didn¡¯t speak. Then he lowered his head and said, ¡°Mr. Lu, it was my mistake.¡± Lu Nanze said, ¡°You know the consequences of developing these feelings when you¡¯re working for me.¡± Zhao Yang looked down hurriedly. Lu Nanze continued, ¡°You go and check the business in Hangzhou.¡± Zhao Yang frowned and understood. This was Lu Nanze¡¯s way of moving him out of Hengdian, away from Qiao Yiyi, in case feelings overtook him. He sighed and nodded. ¡°Ok.¡± ¨C At the filming crew¡¯s hotel. Qiao Lian had just eaten dinner and was about to return to her room upstairs. She saw Qiao Yiyi walking in with her head lowered. She seemed to be in a hurry. From afar, she could see a red patch on her neck, which looked like a love bite. Qiao Lian frowned but didn¡¯t think too much of it. She walked behind and headed upstairs. She hadn¡¯t done a live stream in a few days. She decided to host a two-hour gaming live stream tonight. When she went into the live stream chatroom, she was at first taken aback by the numbers on her fan ranking. Right on top was still Missing Qiao. And following that was of course Prince. However! Who could exin to her why Missing Qiao¡¯s fan value was worth two million? That would be... a reward for her of two million?! She waspletely stunned. She only saw this when she went into the game. Hence, she paused in a daze during the live stream. The number of fanments had gone through the roof. [My god! What did I just see? Two million?!] [I worship that rich person in awe!] [Oh wow! Even the second in rank gave a million and a half!] [Love Chuan, you¡¯ve struck gold!!!] [So rich! I want them to support me too!] The homepage of the tform also listed the names of her fans withrge fan value. This episode at once became a trending topic in the live streaming industry. And because of this, Missing Qiao as well shot to fame. Recovering from the shock, Qiao Lian cleared her throat and said, ¡°I just saw the reward after my two-days break. This is too surprising. But thank you, Missing Qiao, and thank you, Prince.¡± Prince immediately spammed the screen with his messages. [Prince: If you want to thank me, thene and be the coach of our team club! Or a member even. Your level qualifies you to y professionally.] Qiao Lianughed as she said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t. I¡¯m a person of principle! Ok, I¡¯m about to start the game.¡± Prince started to post messages: [Prince: y a game with me.] Qiao Lian: ... The fans got excited at once. [Ahhhhh, y a game with him!] [y a game with Prince! We want to watch Prince y, but he doesn¡¯t do live streams.] [To think we¡¯re fortunate enough to watch Prince y a practice game!] [My god! Love Chuan, I guarantee your fan base will expand tonight.] Qiao Lian was bbergasted. Sheughed hesitantly and said, ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s appropriate for me to game with an expert?¡± On this note, the fans immediately went into a frenzy, spitting bubbles and giving gifts. All thements below were urging her to y a game with Prince. Qiao Lian was at a loss. The fans were the boss and everyone was egging her on. If she didn¡¯t y a game with Prince, it would mean letting all of them down. She grimaced and replied, ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll have a game with Prince then.¡± Prince spammed the screen again: [Prince: I can be with you anytime, you can call me anytime. In the match, you just need to look pretty, I¡¯ll y the enemies for you.] Qiao Lian: ...!! Chapter 1041 - Do Not Harm My Child (4)

Chapter 1041: Do Not Harm My Child (4)

Qiao Lian shouted, ¡°Well, are you fighting!? Join me.¡± Immediately, Prince logged into his gaming ount. Qiao Lian sent him an invitation and started matching with other yers. Qiao Lian was in room 1808 and next to her was 1806, with 1809 in front. Room 1806 selected his champion. Prince sniggered and extended his wrist to stretch quickly. Then he looked at his cell phone excitedly. ¨C Room 1809 selected his champion. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression darkened at once. He was holding his cell phone, watching Love Chuan¡¯s livestream. As the yers matched, he was partially watching the live stream and partially watching thement screen. It turned out that many viewers were saying: [Ahhhh, don¡¯t you feel that Love Chuan and Prince are a perfect match?] [Indeed, it feels like they are the Condor Heroes of Lot.] [Start dating! Date!] [Start dating! +1] [Prince and Love Chuan, you should date!] Shen Liangchuan started to feel a particr emotion gnawing on him, growing within him. It felt like he had just taken a mouthful of vinegar. He picked up his cell phone and started to spam: [How are they a good match? I don¡¯t think they are suitable for each other at all!] The moment thisment was posted, it drew a great number of opposing remarks from the viewers. [They look like a great match from all perspectives! They both are gamers and highly-skilled yers. I¡¯m sure they have a lot inmon.] Shen Liangchuan: ... !! Shen Liangchuan continued to reply: [Life would be monotonous because both are gamers. They should find a match from a different profession andplement each other¡¯s partner.] Everyone started to reply to this. [Haha, say no more, Missing Qiao is jealous.] Jealous? Shen Liangchuan paused. Then he realized that he was indeed jealous. As they were arguing, Qiao Lian and Prince had already logged onto the game. Normally before Qiao Lian started a match, she would do some hand exercises to get a feel of things. She would also select the champion that she was best at, hence, she had selected Xiao Qiao. And when Prince saw that she had chosen Xiao Qiao, he had selected Zhou Yu without any hesitation. Xiao Qiao and Zhou Yu. They were a couple again! Everyone went into a frenzy and started toment. [What am I going to do? Makes me feel like such a singleton!] [Is this really a mobile gaming lives tream? Why do I feel like it¡¯s a livestream to torture singletons?] [But even if so, I want to watch it!] [Ahhhhh, I love this!] Once they were in the game interface, the champions appeared in their chosen skins. And what a coincidence it was that Qiao Lian and Prince had chosen matching skins for a couple! The theme color of the costumes was yellow. All the viewers immediately got excited. [Is this fate?] [Love Chuan and Prince are totally a couple!] Upon seeing thesements, Qiao Lian gave a helplessugh and said, ¡°Don¡¯t make a fuss, it¡¯s not possible for Prince and I to date.¡± The fans started to probe further: [Why is it not possible?] [Love Chuan, do you already have a boyfriend?] When Shen Liangchuan, who was just about to continue insisting that Qiao Lian and Prince were not a good match, saw these questions, his fingers froze. He waited nervously for her response. Did she have a boyfriend? What was she going to say? This was being heard to countless fans. Strangely, he was nervous. At this point, he heard Qiao Lian saying unhurriedly, ¡°It is my personal affair, I won¡¯t answer.¡± This immediately set all the fans off: [Well, is that a yes or no?] [Alright already. Stop asking our Love Chuan about her private life, give her some space! Let¡¯s all watch the match!] Feeling both disappointed and happy at the same time, Shen Liangchuan sighed and turned his attention to the match on the screen. Chapter 1042 - Do Not Harm My Child (5)

Chapter 1042: Do Not Harm My Child (5)

Qiao Lian had chosen to take the middle road in this game. Prince should have gone his own way. But instead, he hovered in the bushes next to Qiao Lian¡¯s champion. When the enemy¡¯s minions came up the middle road, she used herself as a bait to lure them. Indeed, they couldn¡¯t resist the temptation andpromised their formation. Prince threw a stun spell at once. Qiao Lian immediately followed him. They both coordinated wlessly to achieve a fruitful killing spree. After killing their first enemy, neither Xiao Qiao nor Zhou Yu had lost any hp. It was perfect coordination. Comments from the fans came flooding in at once. [My god! This is perfect coordination!] [Love Chuan and Prince are surely a couple in real life! One look at the fans list and you know it.] [Then what about Missing Qiao? Why do I feel like Missing Qiao is going after Love Chuan? Is Prince vying with Missing Qiao? But I still think Missing Qiao is cuter!] Shen Liangchuan felt better after reading this. But just at this point... Even when she was ying a match, Qiao Lian checked the fans¡¯ments every so often. After seeing thest fewments, sheughed and said, ¡°Stop making wild guesses! Missing Qiao is a girl!¡± Shen Liangchuan was stumped. Oh! Why had he even told Qiao Lian he was a girl?! Now he couldn¡¯t even throw a jealousy fit using Missing Qiao¡¯s identity. Seeing the sleek coordination between Prince and Missing Qiao made him feel like a cat was wing him on the inside. The situation wasn¡¯t moving along well at all. So what was the n now? How was he going to stop the game between the two of them? As his mind raced, his eyes suddenly lit up, as though he had just remembered something. ¨C Qiao Lian and Prince were now in a critical team battle in the game. Qiao Lian was right at the battle front and had almost run out of hp. Prince had every intention to step in to y the hero, saving the damsel in distress. But at this point!! Right at this point!!! There was suddenly a message on the game interface: [Xiao Qiao has left the game.] Prince was stunned. He looked across the screen and realized that Xiao Qiao was suddenly standing still, and in doing so she was yed. yed. Prince: ... In room 1808. Qiao Lian had been in the midst of an extremely beautiful maneuver when she was suddenly forced out of the game. Furthermore, her ount notified her that she had logged in elsewhere. What?! She was stupefied. She had logged in elsewhere? Where?? And why wouldn¡¯t she know if she had indeed logged in elsewhere? She stared at her screen in a daze. Yes, that was exactly what the live stream screen said. At once, she eximed, ¡°Who has taken my ount?!¡± It so happened that if one were in a game and tried to log in elsewhere, then he or she would be booted out of the current game. And even if the yer were to reconnect again, there would be no way to go back to the same game. Qiao Lian fell speechless. Very quickly, she tried to login again. She entered her password. Sess. She was taken aback. It worked? Could it have been the system making a mistake? Qiao Lian started, ¡°It must be a bug in the system. This is my new ount and no one should know the password. How could it have been taken suddenly?¡± Frowning, she logged into the game again. Indeed, Prince was still in thest game and had not exited from it. Qiao Lian had already started a new game. ¨C It was now deep in the middle of the night. Qiao Yiyi had crept into the filming location and walked towards the props department. A few minutester, she left. Chapter 1043 - Do Not Harm My Child (6)

Chapter 1043: Do Not Harm My Child (6)

After she walked some distance away from the props department, a smirk appeared on her face. She was sure Qiao Lian would lose her child this time. At this thought, she reached for her cell phone and sent Lu Nanze a message: [Second Brother, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve settled the matter.] Satisfied, she returned to her hotel room. ¨C Shen Liangchuan stared intently at the live stream with a faint smile on his face, as he listened to Qiao Lian¡¯sments. What azy girl she was. Even with a new ount, she had kept the old password. From now on, every time she yed with Prince, he would be sure to push her out. At this thought, he smugly sat back with his arms behind his head and continued to focus on the cell phone screen. 9 p.m. He heard her yawn. He paused and was about to type a message asking her to rest, when she said, ¡°That¡¯s all for today. See you tomorrow, everyone!¡± Then the screen went nk. At once, a heavy silence fell over the hotel room. And a void in his heart became suddenly noticeable. It was as though something in him had disappeared. When he had had her voice in the background a moment ago, he had felt fine, but now... He sighed. Then his gaze fell on the doorway. After a moment, he stood up and walked to the door. He peered through the peephole. The corridor was empty. He opened the room door and stepped out with the intention to walk towards Qiao Lian¡¯s room. But then with a creak, Prince¡¯s room door swung open too. Shen Liangchuan was slightly surprised. Their eyes met in silence. Finally, both of them simultaneously turned around and went back into their own rooms. ¨C The next morning, Qiao Lian woke up before the rm rang. She went to the filming location after washing up. When she arrived at the entrance of the lounge, she heard the flurry ofments circting around the room. ¡°Have you heard? That female caster, Love Chuan, hooked up with Best Actor Shen.¡± ¡°Indeed, otherwise how could she possibly have gotten the female lead role?¡± ¡°That¡¯s impossible. Isn¡¯t Best Actor Shen married?¡± ¡°So what if he is? Don¡¯t you know the things that go on in the industry? Besides, that Love Chuan is indeed quite pretty.¡± ¡°But if this were really the case, then wouldn¡¯t Mrs. Shen be really pitiful?!¡± There were also some voices that were saying, ¡°Don¡¯t speak nonsense. These remarks you¡¯re making, do you have proof?¡± On this note, Water Incense sniggered icily and said, ¡°Proof? I saw with my own eyes Best Actor Shen walking out of her hotel room. Do you think that those two were discussing the script at that time of the night?¡± ¡°Huh? Is that true?!¡± ¡°Dang, this Love Chuan is good! She¡¯s even managed to hook up with someone like Best Actor Shen.¡± ¡°Tshhh, no matter what, she¡¯s his mistress. That¡¯s the sort of people I despise the most!¡± Thements flew to and fro in the room. Qiao Lian stood out listening to this and couldn¡¯t help butugh coldly. She had known that, as a beginner, appearing from nowhere to take the leading role would ruffle some feathers. But to create rumors like this... Qiao Lian was speechless. She appeared at the doorway and walked into the lounge with her head held high. The moment she entered the room, everyone fell silent. They looked at her with an awkward and embarrassed expression on their faces. All of them, apart from Water Incense, because her back was to Qiao Lian and she hadn¡¯t heard Qiao Liane in. Seeing that everyone had gone quiet, Water Incense continued, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you guys talking? I do feel that Love Chuan is rather shameless. Hooking up with a man who has a wife! Think about how pitiful Mrs. Shen in Beijing would be?¡± Chapter 1044 - Do Not Harm My Child (7)

Chapter 1044: Do Not Harm My Child (7)

¡°People like that are really shameless.¡± After Water Incense had said these words, she heard a voice behind her, ¡°So what about people like you then, who talk bad about people behind their backs?¡± Water Incense froze. Spinning around, she saw Qiao Lian standing at the doorway with a broad smile on her face. Her expression was tense, but only for a second. She quickly recovered from the embarrassment of being caught and went on to say defiantly, ¡°Ha, I didn¡¯t even mention any names. Why do you care?¡± Qiao Lian raised an eyebrow and replied, ¡°I didn¡¯t mention names either. Why do you care? Unless... you were actually talking bad behind people¡¯s backs?¡± Water Incense was speechless. Qiao Lian walked into the lounge. She looked at the crew and said after a pause, ¡°So are we filming?¡± On this note, the crowd dispersed as the people scurried away. Qiao Lian turned around and nced at Water Incense briefly. As she turned back to start walking away, Water Incense suddenly called, ¡°Love Chuan!¡± Water Incense¡¯s voice was loud, so the people nearby had all turned around to look at them. Qiao Lian halted and turned back. Now Water Incense was standing just behind her. She said, ¡°Those words that I said were indeed referring to you!¡± Qiao Lian raised an eyebrow. Water Incense smiled in a scornful manner and continued, ¡°I don¡¯t really care by how you got yourself up there, but getting involved with a married man is wrong! You¡¯re destroying someone¡¯s family. If you dare to do it, I dare to say it aloud.¡± Qiao Lian stared at Water Incense with narrowed eyes. Water Incense sneered, ¡°And I¡¯ll say it again. Your personality sucks, you¡¯re a home-wrecker!¡± ¡°I¡¯m just saying this out of fairness to Mrs. Shen.¡± She said this with much conviction, which garnered the support and agreement of the people around. ¡°¡±That¡¯s right, indeed.¡± ¡°No matter what, you can¡¯t be a third party!¡± ¡°Exactly. A person like that, what right does she have to criticize us?¡± ¡°Why should we be the ones feeling guilty? It¡¯s not as though we¡¯re the third party.¡± Qiao Lian frowned And right at this point, a voice came from the doorway, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about my wife.¡± Everyone turned around simultaneously when they heard these words. They saw Shen Liangchuan striding in, apanied by Song Cheng. At once, the room fell silent. Water Incense¡¯s pupils shrank back in shock as she quickly said, ¡°Teach- Teacher Shen.¡± Without so much as a look in her direction, Shen Liangchuan walked right up to Qiao Lian. Then he frowned at her. After being subject to such nasty rumors, was she still stubbornly refusing to admit that she was in fact his wife? Was she dead set on getting a divorce? Shen Liangchuan felt his heart sink at once. He clenched his fists tightly and tried to suppress that growing pain within. After a pause, he took a deep breath. As he was about to speak, Water Incense interjected, ¡°Best Actor Shen, if- if your wife knew that you¡¯re so protective of Love Chuan, wouldn¡¯t she be really sad?¡± ¡°Back then, when you acknowledged your wife in the presence of the reporters, you were our role model. But now, you¡¯re openly defending this woman, you¡ª¡± The more Shen Liangchuan listened to Water Incense, the tighter he frowned. The people around had also stepped forward. ¡°Best Actor Shen, Mrs. Shen is waiting for you in Beijing.¡± ¡°Best Actor Shen, are you nning to divorce Mrs. Shen?¡± But amidst thesements, a voice suddenly eximed, ¡°My god! You guys, haven¡¯t you noticed that Love Chuan... looks a lot like Mrs. Shen? And it seems like Mrs. Shen¡¯s surname is also Qiao!¡± Chapter 1045 - Do Not Harm My Child (8)

Chapter 1045: Do Not Harm My Child (8)

At that one remark, the room fell into a dead silence once more. Everyone turned simultaneously to look at the person who had said this. It turned out to be a female caster¡¯s junior assistant. Her head was lowered and she was looking at her cell phone. On her screen was the photo of that particr press conference. She looked at the picture and then at Qiao Lian. A look of surprise shed across her eyes. Everyone fell silent and started to search for the photo with their cell phones. When they found it, they looked at Qiao Lian again. Someone said falteringly, ¡°So... Love Chuan... is Mrs. Shen?¡± With that one question, everyone now turned their gazes simultaneously towards Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan. Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank immediately. In response to thisment, Shen Liangchuan smoothly extended his hand, put it around Qiao Lian¡¯s arm and remarked, ¡°Mrs. Shen, you¡¯ve been busted. How am I going to continue ying along with you?¡± His tone was pampering, which set off the small crowd. Love Chuan was Mrs. Shen. This discovery was like an explodingndmine, sending everyone into a shock. A crew worker quickly ran to look for the director. Blinking his eyes in disbelief and still in shock, he said, ¡°Director, Love Chuan and Best Actor Shen- Love Chuan- she¡ª¡± The director hushed him, ¡°Shhhh, are you trying to tell the world about this? No one is to speak about what¡¯s going on between those two.¡± The crew worker shook his head nervously and started again, ¡°No, I¡¯m saying... Love Chuan, she- she- she is Mrs. Shen!¡± Stunned, the director eximed, ¡°How could this be possible?!¡± How could this be? Everyone shifted their gaze to Love Chuan, who wasn¡¯t wearing makeup. She looked like the girl next door. Apart from being prettier than the average girl, there was nothing special about her. But this person happened to be Mrs. Shen? Water Incense was stupefied and astonished. Her jaw fell open. When a person¡¯s status was not too far from one¡¯s own, perhaps there might be some room for jealousy. But when the person¡¯s status became far beyond one¡¯s reach, then jealousy would necessarily be irrelevant. Right there and then, Water Incense waspletely dumbfounded. All she could think of was... that was the end of her! She had ruined herself. How had she managed to offend Mrs. Shen?! ¨C Did I offend Mrs. Shen? This thought seemed to be amon question in everyone¡¯s mind right now. Those who had said nasty things before lowered their heads, stressed at the thought that Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan might go after themter on. But at this point, Qiao Lian said, ¡°Well, aren¡¯t we going to start filming?¡± At that remark, everyone seemed to snap out of their daze. Hence, one by one they started to work on their tasks at hand. Qiao Lian followed her makeup artist as they headed into the powder room. The makeup artist was exceptionally attentive and said, ¡°Mrs. Shen, you¡ª¡± Qiao Lian interrupted and said, ¡°It¡¯s better that you just address me as Ms. Qiao.¡± ¡°Oh, oh, ok, Ms. Qiao. You do have an outstandingly beautiful face!¡± Has changing my identity changed my face as well? She smiled awkwardly. It was obvious that the makeup artist was doing a more exquisite job today with her makeup. And she was being more patient too, no longer needing to curry favor with Best Actor Shen. ¡°Wasn¡¯t that the advantage of being Mrs. Shen?¡± Qiao Lian thought. After her makeup was done and she left the powder room, she saw her junior assistant standing by the side, looking at her with a dazed expression. Waving her hand in the assistant¡¯s face, she asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± The junior assistant immediately looked up and down and asked, ¡°Sister Qiao, are you really Mrs. Shen?¡± Qiao Lian: ...!! Chapter 1046 - Do Not Harm My Child! (9)

Chapter 1046 Do Not Harm My Child! (9)

The scene they were filming today was a martial arts fighting scene. After all, it was a video game and fighting scenes abound. Hence, today¡¯s segment was an extremely important one. The series of movements that the martial arts teacher had choreographed for them were beautiful, and it would look awesome in the advertisement. However, because there were no special effects during the filming, it was a little awkward. Whenever Qiao Lian saw the other party falling on the ground from a wave of her hand, she couldn¡¯t help bursting out inughter. After a long day of filming, they finally came to thest part, a scene which required the actor to soar through the air with a wire. Zhou Yu was attacked by an assassin and Xiao Qiao came to his rescue. Fighting back to back, the two of them subdued five enemies. This scene was designed based on a two-vs-five scene in the game. Even the setting was created to closely resemble the game. They filmed the battle scene first, when they threw the ultimate stun attack of the game. It was elegant, like poetry in motion. Finally, they needed an additional scene where Xiao Qiao soared through the air with the aid of a wire. When it came to the scene that required the wire, Qiao Lian requested the service of a double. After all, she was pregnant and it wasn¡¯t suitable that she performed such highlyplex and dangerous moves. However, there was a scene she would need to film personally. It was a scene where she would descend slowly. This would not be from a great height, so the descending speed would be slow. Everyone started to prepare for the scene. Standing some distance away and keenly observing what was going on, Qiao Yiyi broke into a vicious smile. And even further away in a tall building, Lu Nanze surveyed this scene through a pair of binocrs. The crew secured the wire around Qiao Lian. They started to raise her. At the height of about two meters, they would descend her slowly. Action! Qiao Lian raised both her arms as she was lowered by the wire. ¡°Great, fantastic!¡± The director watched Qiao Lian¡¯s expression through the lens and made encouraging remarks. This girl, Qiao Lian, lived up to being Mrs. Shen indeed. Her acting skills had so vastly improved overnight. Then at this point, all of a sudden, Qiao Lian¡¯s body fell on the ground. There was still a distance of about a meter and a half between her and the ground. Qiao Lian had a fright and turned pale in that split second, suddenly lowering her head to look. Then the wire that secured her loosened, as she elerated towards the ground! She widened her eyes and, as a reflex, tried to stop the fall using all of her limbs to protect her belly. Bam! It was a free-fall, straight down. She felt a searing pain through her arms, as though they had dislocated. ¡°Xiao Qiao!¡± Shen Liangchuan called out in shock as he ran towards her. ¡°Hurry to the hospital!¡± The director shouted and the stunned crew workers suddenly snapped out of their daze. Everyone started to panic and the ambnce was called. She was in agony, but all her attention was on her belly. Because of the pain in all of her limbs, she could not tell if her belly was in pain. Her child... Nothing must happen to the child. In the ambnce, the doctor frowned and remarked, ¡°Logically speaking, from this height, the fall shouldn¡¯t have been this serious. When you fall from a height, you reflexively try to stop the fall with the back... but what¡¯s going on here?¡±. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression was dark like murky waters now, as he stared intently at Qiao Lian¡¯s pale face. The previous incident, on top of this incident... Things were not as simple as they seemed. Once at the hospital, the doctor sprang into action. ¡°Hurry, hurry, do a full check!¡± ¡°My- my child...¡± At these words, Qiao Lian was ovee by the pain and passed out. Chapter 1047 - Do Not Harm My Child (10)

Chapter 1047 Do Not Harm My Child (10)

Before Qiao Lian passed out, she had mumbled a few words softly, but no one in the room heard her clearly. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression was dark and gloomy as he stared at Qiao Lian. Without shifting his gaze from her, he instructed the doctor, ¡°Hurry, hurry and check what¡¯s wrong with my wife!¡± The doctor nodded as they pushed the trolley bed into the examination room. When examining her bones, he found that there was a slight fracture in her shin bone, and her arm was slightly dislocated. Thetter was easy to manage, they just needed to reposition the joint. But her shin bone was more troublesome. The doctor frowned as he tended to the wound on her lower leg. There was a graze around the wound to prevent infection, so the doctor had to prescribe some antibiotics. He wrote out a prescription at once and handed it to the nurse, so that she could pick up the drug. The nurse collected the prescribed drug. It was written on thebel: Not for use on pregnant and nursing mothers. The doctor had failed to note this and he directly injected the drug into the drip bottle. After this was ready, they prepared to inject it on her. This was a strong antibiotic drug and, if it were introduced into Qiao Lian¡¯s blood stream, the baby would be endangered. At the same time Shen Liangchuan apanied Qiao Lian to the hospital, Lu Nanze had been trailing them closely behind. Although he had not entered the treatment area, he had been able to observe the situation in the emergency room from another room in the hospital. His eyes narrowed. At this point, there was a knock on the door. An experienced doctor walked in. He lowered his head immediately when he saw Lu Nanze. ¡°Master Lu.¡± Lu Nanze nodded. After a moment, he took Qiao Lian¡¯s case notes and held it out to the doctor. ¡°Can you take a look and tell me what her situation is?¡± The doctor picked up the notes and looked through them. Then he started, ¡°From a logical viewpoint, falling from a half-a-meter height should not have caused her to pass out. Furthermore, when falling from the wire, the natural reflex would be to curl oneself using the back, which is the most resistant part of the body, to reduce impact. However, thisdy...¡± At this point, the doctor smiled and asked, ¡°Is thisdy pregnant?¡± When Lu Nanze heard this, his pupils shrank immediately. The doctor continued, ¡°Only pregnant women would do this. As mothers, their physical reflexes are geared towards protecting the child. So they would ratherpromise their own position in the fall than risk a physical trauma to the womb¡¯s area.¡± These words distracted Lu Nanze momentarily. His eyes fell on the face of the woman in the ward, projected now on the monitor. Qiao Lian¡¯s face was pale. Her eyes were shut but even then, it was obvious that her brow was tightly knitted. Her injuries were not that serious, however... For the sake of her child, she... As this thought crossed his mind, the doctor suddenly eximed, ¡°Oh no! This antibiotic drug must not be given to pregnant women! If she is given this drug, it may cause abnormalities in the child!¡± As he said this, he quickly picked up the phone to call the operating room. At this point, Lu Nanze suddenly reached out to grab the phone. The doctor was stunned and looked up at the man. Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes and said after a pause, ¡°Shen Liangchuan must not know about this.¡± Widening his eyes, the doctor nodded and ventured, ¡°The antibiotics...¡± Antibiotics. Huh! The child is fortunate. Even with the fall, it was unscathed. Its tenacious grip on life was admirable. But if the antibiotic was administered to her unknowingly... then really, it wouldn¡¯t be him murdering the child, would it? Chapter 1048 - Do Not Harm My Child (11)

Chapter 1048: Do Not Harm My Child (11)

At this thought, Lu Nanze cast his gaze down and said, ¡°Let it be.¡± The doctor was going to speak again, but when he saw Lu Nanze¡¯s expression, he finally fell silent. ¨C In the emergency room. Qiao Lian was slowly regaining consciousness, and as she did, she heard the doctor saying, ¡°Hurry up, put her on the antibiotic drip.¡± At those words, her eyes suddenly snapped open. A mother always put her child first, no matter what they were about to do. Hence when she heard the word ¡°antibiotic¡± mentioned, her first reaction was that this would affect the child. Normally, a person wouldn¡¯t recover consciousness this quickly, but Qiao Lian had widened her eyes in a sh and yelled, ¡°No, don¡¯t!¡± The doctor was stunned and, upon looking down, saw that she was wide awake. Qiao Lian said, ¡°Please don¡¯t put me on a drip, I¡ª¡± Before she could finish what she was saying, the operating room door swung open. Almost at once, an older doctor appeared. He took one look at Qiao Lian and then told everyone present, ¡°I¡¯ll take this patient.¡± When the other doctors saw him, they called him, ¡°Director.¡± ¡°Umm.¡± Then the attending doctor immediately left. Qiao Lian turned to the doctor, thinking that Shen Liangchuan had sent him, and said, ¡°I can¡¯t use antibiotics, because I¡¯m¡ª¡± ¡°Pregnant,¡± the director said. Qiao Lian nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± The director nodded and replied, ¡°Fine, we won¡¯t put you on a drip in this case. In any case it¡¯s winter now, so your wound should be fine. You just have to take care of it, don¡¯t get it wet. As long as it doesn¡¯t get infected, it will be fine.¡± Qiao Lian sighed in relief and said, ¡°Great. And my child?¡± ¡°The child is fine, in good health.¡± Qiao Lian continued to nod. After the wound was treated, Qiao Lian was given the green light to leave. Because her injuries were external, there was no need to stay in the hospital. Besides, the strong smell of antiseptic in the hospital was making her ill. Since the child was unharmed, she insisted on being discharged so that she could rest at home. The moment she was pushed out of the operating room, she saw Shen Liangchuan standing outside with an extremely worried expression. The look in his eyes darkened when he saw her. He strode up to her. He bent over her, looked her up and down once, and then asked, ¡°How are you doing? Are you alright?¡± The doctor said unhurriedly, ¡°The patient is in good health, her injuries are all external. It¡¯s nothing too serious.¡± Shen Liangchuan sighed in relief at once and asked, ¡°So what¡¯s next?¡± ¡°She can be discharged.¡± Shen Liangchuan continued to nod, indicating for Song Cheng to handle the discharging process. The doctor continued, ¡°Who is the patient¡¯s family? I need to give some instructions concerning her care and what to look out for.¡± Shen Liangchuan said immediately, ¡°I¡¯m her husband.¡± The doctor nced at Shen Liangchuan and said, ¡°Come with me.¡± Watching Shen Liangchuan disappear into the doctor¡¯s office, Qiao Lian opened her mouth to say something. But after a pause, she fell silent again. After all that had happened, would Shen Liangchuan now know that she was pregnant? And if he knew, what was she going to do about it? Should she continue to walk away from him or... She lowered her head, extending the arm that was not injured and cing it on her belly. Little one, little one. Do we go home with your Dad, or continue staying in Suzhou? She frowned. After Song Cheng and Shen Liangchuan had settled their business, they drove back to the filming location. As Qiao Lian sat in the car, she turned to look at the trees that lined the streets. They zoomed past, one at a time. She couldn¡¯t help but nce at Shen Liangchuan from the corner of her eye. Chapter 1049 - Do Not Harm My Child (12)

Chapter 1049: Do Not Harm My Child (12)

Her heart turned a little cold. The fact was that, ever since she had found out she was pregnant, her determination to leave him had started to waver. That was the reason why, when they had met this time, she had not been too cold nor kept an excessive distance from him. It was because deep down in her heart, she still had hopes for the two of them. But in all this time, Shen Liangchuan had not said a word about her going back to him. Hence she hadn¡¯t mentioned it either. And now she was pregnant. Was he going to maintain his silence? Could it possible be... that the matter of Soul Fighter, which had been weighing heavily on his mind, would never ever go away? Would the two of them never be able to go back to how they had been before? Qiao Lian clenched her fists tightly at this thought. In her daze, she finally heard Shen Liangchuan speak, ¡°Since you¡¯re feeling unwell now, I¡¯ll take you back to Suzhou. As for the filming, you shouldn¡¯t continue.¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank at once when she heard these words. Back to Suzhou... It seemed that he really had no intention to take her back home. So what did he want exactly by now staying in Suzhou, or extending his stay for the filming, or even shamelessly budging into her hotel room? Perhaps it was her pregnancy that made her rather short-fused. All the grievances she had harbored over this period of time seemed to be looking for an outlet. She took in a deep breath, seemingly cold all of a sudden, as she said, ¡°Ok.¡± Shen Liangchuan detected that sudden change and threw a nce in her direction, having no idea what was going on. ¨C In the hospital, after Qiao Lian had been discharged, the doctor entered the room and walked up to Lu Nanze. The doctor said, ¡°She woke up in time. It looks like fate has it that the child should live. I did not continue, in fear that she might feel something¡¯s amiss.¡± Lu Nanze nodded. ¡°You did well. It wouldn¡¯t be good to rm her.¡± But it was a crucial point Shen Liangchuan was here now and if he came to know that Qiao Lian was pregnant... Even if she had lost the baby! From what he knew of Shen Liangchuan, he was sure that the man would immediately, even if it meant having to use force, take Qiao Lian home with him and never let her leave him again. Something like that must not happen. At the optimum moment to get rid of the baby, the one thing that could not happen was to let Shen Liangchuan discover its existence. Hence, today had not been the right time to force their way through. Nevermind, they had time still. His gaze fell on the car that was now slowly making its way out of the parking. He was now in Hengdian because of this child. No hurry, no hurry. ¨C Qiao Lian had been injured. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s initial intention had been to stop her from filming immediately and take her back to Suzhou. But Qiao Lian became stubborn and insisted onpleting the filming before leaving. It was an advertisement to begin with, so there weren¡¯t that many scenes she had to film. Instead, it had been because Shen Liangchuan had high standards and demanded re-shootings all the time¡ªtherefore dying progress. In a fit of anger seemingly directed at no particr person, Qiao Lian requested to finish the retakes of all her scenes. The fact was that many of the following fighting segments were shot using a double. All they needed now was a few close-up shots of her face. This took another two days in Hengdian before the filming for all of Qiao Lian¡¯s segments waspleted. She then decided to return to Suzhou the following day. The night before she left, the director suddenly called for a meeting. Qiao Lian did not attend this meeting, but her junior assistant did. When the assistant came back that evening, her face was ashen. ¡°Sister Qiao, did you know? What had happened to you then was not an ident at all. It was Qiao Yiyi¡¯s plot!¡± Chapter 1050 - Do Not Harm My Child!? (13)

Chapter 1050: Do Not Harm My Child!? (13)

Qiao Lian froze when she heard those words. She looked at her junior assistant and asked, ¡°What did you just say?¡± The assistant said, ¡°It¡¯s true. It was Best Actor Shen who called for the meeting and he exposed Qiao Yiyi right there and then!¡± ¡°At first Qiao Yiyi refused to admit it, but in the end Best Actor Shen found a CCTV of the filming location. It showed clearly that she entered the props department. She insisted that it wasn¡¯t her, that she had only been at the props department to look around, that she hadn¡¯t done anything. It was only when Best Actor Shen said he was going to report her to the police that she panicked.¡± ¡°The director has already kicked Qiao Yiyi out of the production.¡± Qiao Yiyi?! Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank immediately. Why had Qiao Yiyi wanted to target her? Falling from a half-a-meter height would have gotten her dusty at most, assuming she hadn¡¯t been pregnant. Knowing Qiao Yiyi¡¯s personality, it wasn¡¯t in line with her style to bother with such an inconsequential job. Unless... Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes widened at once. Unless Qiao Yiyi was trying to take her child¡¯s life! The child. But how could Qiao Yiyi know she was pregnant? If Qiao Yiyi knew that she was pregnant... then did that mean that Lu Nanze knew that she was pregnant too? At this thought, she sat up with a start and stared at her junior assistant with a look of disbelief. After a pause, she said unhurriedly, ¡°Where is Qiao Yiyi now?¡± ¡°She¡¯s gone. Packed and left the filming location. It looks like that might be the end of her career! Having done something like this is absolutely shameful.¡± Gone? Where had she gone to? Qiao Lian stood up at once and asked, ¡°How long has she been gone?¡± ¡°Not long. Just walked out.¡± Qiao Lian said immediately, ¡°Help me find out where Qiao Yiyi went after leaving the hotel.¡± Although the junior assistant had no idea what had happened, she recovered quickly and hurried away. As Qiao Lian sat in her wheelchair in the silence of the room, a spine-chilling thought came to her mind. She broke out in cold sweat as she contemted the possibility. After five minutes, the junior assistant returned. She looked at Qiao Lian as she spoke, ¡°When I went down to the lobby, I saw Qiao Yiyi walking out of the hotel with her suitcase in tow. She waited outside furtively for a while and then walked to the grand hotel in front of ours.¡± That grand hotel in front. Why had she gone to the grand hotel in front? Unless it was because... Lu Nanze was there. All of a sudden, it seemed like she had figured something out. Shen Liangchuan might not even know she was pregnant. He had been looking after her thest couple of days, but he had not mentioned a word about the child. If he had no knowledge of her pregnancy, then her next question would be why that doctor in the hospital hadn¡¯t told him about it. This thought sent another shiver down her spine at once. She got onto her feet immediately and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Shen Liangchuan?¡± The junior assistant said, ¡°He¡¯s still filming on the set.¡± Qiao Lian instructed her junior assistant, ¡°Help push me along. Let¡¯s go to the filming location now!¡± She would go to the filming location now to tell him she was pregnant. Because Lu Nanze had already found out. She knew his temper and character, he would want to destroy her child. Her child was now in danger. Her junior assistant¡¯s expression turned anxious when she heard her instructions. ¡°Sister- Sister Qiao, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Qiao Lian looked serious. Now was not the time for her to be throwing tantrums at Shen Liangchuan, she had to ensure her child¡¯s safety. ¡°Hurry, let¡¯s go and look for Shen Liangchuan!!¡± Chapter 1051 - Do Not Harm My Child (14)

Chapter 1051: Do Not Harm My Child (14)

Pushing Qiao Lian¡¯s wheelchair along, the junior assistant walked out of the room. Although the filming location was considerably close to the hotel, there was still a little distance in between. The filming crew had made a car avable for their use and it was parked in the underground parking. They both went directly to this parking. The underground parking¡¯s lighting was dim, and the environment was rather spooky. Qiao Lian looked around and, for some strange reason, had a premonition that something bad was about to happen. She had that naggy feeling, as though she had neglected something. Suddenly, she turned to look at the assistant and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s my cell phone?¡± In her panic, she had not thought of giving Shen Liangchuan a call first. Even if he were in the midst of filming and could not pick up any calls, there still was Song Cheng. She knew that the moment she told him it was an urgent matter, he would rush back here immediately, for sure. But... The junior assistant froze momentarily and then she lightly pped her head, saying, ¡°Sister Qiao, the cell phone- I left the cell phone in the room!¡± Qiao Lian was panic-stricken. Her pupils shrank as she watched her junior assistant turn around and run towards the elevator. ¡°I¡¯ll go get it for you right now. Wait here for a bit.¡± As soon as she said these words, she had gone around the corner and disappeared into the distance. The horror in Qiao Lian was growing. She could only feel a freezing cold. She gulped nervously, unable to move as she was in a wheelchair. Her eyes swept the environment steadily. The dim light was giving her the chills. Taking in a deep breath, she turned her head around and swept her gazed again. At this time, most of the crew workers were on the set, so there was no one in the hotel parking. But as soon as this thought crossed her mind, a beam of light suddenly shot out from the car parked in front. The car¡¯s headlights were turned on, training them on her. Qiao Lian widened her eyes and watched in disbelief as the car came straight at her. Her pupils shrank as she used all the strength she could muster to maneuver her wheelchair out of the way, so that she could avoid a collision with the car. But she wasn¡¯t used to handling a wheelchair after all, and she wasn¡¯t very familiar with operating one. In this moment of urgency, shepletely fumbled. Her heart jumped into her throat as she saw the car continue to advance towards her, closing the distance between them rapidly. She extended one hand reflexively to shield her eyes from the ring light, and the other slid around her belly in an attempt to protect it. The only thought running through her mind now was that this was it, this was the end. ¨C At the filming location. Shen Liangchuan and his double were filming the final fighting scene of the advertisement. In a moment of distraction, he was hit on the arm by the sword that his double was wielding. The double panicked because of the unexpected incident, as did the director. It was obvious that Shen Liangchuan had been distracted then, but a mistake like this was not the sort of error that Best Actor Shen usually made. What was the matter? The double apologized profusely while the director tried to put in a good word. Shen Liangchuan, however, furrowed his brow. He looked at the panicking double and said calmly, ¡°It¡¯s alright, it was my fault.¡± He touched the throbbing spot where he was hit and took a deep breath, as he walked to the side of the set. Song Cheng and the crew doctors hurried towards him to tend to the injury. With his gaze fixed on it, he asked, ¡°What¡¯s Xiao Qiao doing at the moment?¡± Song Cheng paused and said, ¡°I suppose Ms. Qiao is still in the hotel.¡± Just as he said this, Shen Liangchuan received a notification on his0 cell phone. There was an iing message. He looked down at the screen and saw that it was a message from Qiao Lian. Chapter 1052 - Do Not Harm My Child (15)

Chapter 1052: Do Not Harm My Child (15)

Qiao Lian thought that was going to be the end of her. Confusion filled her mind in this instant, as she came face to face with death. She felt at once that her life had been a joke. She had met her first love at the age of 18. Then she had doubted love because of a missed appointment with Zi Chuan, and had never fallen in love again since. After oveing great adversities, they were finally together again, but had somehowe to this ending because of Soul Fighter. She also suddenly felt that her decision to leave Shen Liangchuan because of Soul Fighter had been ridiculous. If she had known that her life was going to end here and now, she would have stayed even if he had feltpletely ill. At least they would have had this time of being together. And now, if she died, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s conundrum woulde to an end. At this thought, she suddenly felt a great sense of relief. The only thing left that worried her was this child inside her... Her eyes reddened at once. Just as she thought that the car was going to ram right into her, it pulled to a hard stop a hair¡¯s breadth away! Following this, its door swung open. She saw a tall, almost demonic figure step out of the vehicle. Framed by the light source behind him, he walked towards her, a step at a time, until he was right before her. Then he bent over, reached out to touch her face and asked, ¡°Qiao Lian, where are you going? To look for Shen Liangchuan?¡± Qiao Lian gulped nervously as her eyes met the man before her. After a pause, she started, ¡°Second Brother¡ª¡± Lu Nanzeughed icily and continued, ¡°Qiao Lian, it¡¯s time for you toe home.¡± ¡°But before you do so, I¡¯ll have to take you somewhere.¡± When he said this, he extended his arms and lifted Qiao Lian from the wheelchair. ¡°We¡¯ll have to get rid of what shouldn¡¯t be there.¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank back at those words. She looked at the man anxiously and said, ¡°Second Brother, what are you doing? Where are you taking me?¡± ¡°Let me go!¡± ¡°Second Brother, please, I beg of you!¡± But those pleas fell on deaf ears. Lu Nanze ced her in the car and drove away. The car drove out of the underground parking. It was useless pleading with him now. She had to think of a way to save herself. She was sure now that it had been Second Brother who had incited Qiao Yiyi to kill her child. She clenched her fists tightly and said, ¡°Second Brother, if Shen Liangchuan knows I¡¯m missing, he will look for me for sure! And if I can¡¯t be found, the only possibility would be that you¡¯ve kidnapped me. Second Brother, I¡¯m still Shen Liangchuan¡¯s legal wife now. If he calls the police, you¡¯ll¡ª¡± Before she could finish, the man reached out to stroke her head. He reassured her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. How could you possibly go missing? Obviously, you¡¯ve... gone back to Suzhou by yourself.¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank back at once. ¡°What- what do you mean by that?¡± Lu Nanze threw her a nce. He gave a chilling smile and did not reply. As though she had suddenly realized something, she said, ¡°The junior assistant is someone you¡¯ve nted?¡± Lu Nanze looked towards her and remarked, ¡°A staff chosen by thepany... What do you think?¡± Her limbs turned icy. In the hotel. The junior assistant entered the hotel room and started to pack Qiao Lian¡¯s belongings. After checking that nothing had been left behind, she picked up her cell phone and sent a message to Shen Liangchuan: [I¡¯m returning to Suzhou, don¡¯t look for me. Please sign the divorce agreement as soon as possible.] Chapter 1053 - Do Not Harm My Child (16)

Chapter 1053: Do Not Harm My Child (16)

Shen Liangchuan¡¯s arm was now swollen because of the hit from the double. A doctor was tending the injury. He picked up his cell phone. His pupils shrank the moment he read the message and he withdrew his injured arm. Even though it was painful, there was no time for dy. He quickly picked up his cell phone and called Qiao Lian. However, as soon as the call went through, it was disconnected. When he tried calling again, the phone had been turned off. Shen Liangchuan sprang up from his seat and, despite the fact that he was still dressed in Zhou Yu¡¯s costume, he dashed out of the filming location. ¡°Song Cheng, the car! Back to the hotel!¡± ¡°Roger.¡± Shen Liangchuan rushed from the filming location to the hotel at top speed. The moment he got out of the car, a service worker came up to him and greeted him, ¡°Mr. Shen¡ª¡± Before she could finish her sentence, she jumped in fright due to the historical costume he was wearing. Ignoring all of this, Shen Liangchuan dashed towards the elevator. After getting into the elevator, which took him to the 18th floor, he charged towards Qiao Lian¡¯s room. He had her card key, but it didn¡¯t work when he tried. The door remained shut. There was a cleaner nearby, hence he asked, ¡°Where¡¯s the guest in this room?¡± The cleaner said, ¡°She checked out. I¡¯ve just cleaned the room.¡± Checked out. Shen Liangchuan suddenly halted and stood on the spot. Why had Xiao Qiao left? Was it because he had said that she should return to Suzhou to recuperate, rather than asking her to return to Beijing with him? Was that why she had left without another word? He frowned and took a deep breath. After a moment, Song Cheng ran up to him, trying to catch his breath. ¡°Brother Shen, what¡¯s the matter?¡± He looked at Qiao Lian¡¯s room. ¡°Has something happened to Sister Qiao?¡± Shen Liangchuan paused and then said, ¡°She¡¯s left.¡± ¡°Left? Where has she gone?¡± Song Cheng asked again. Ms. Qiao had left once previously. Why had she gone away again? He widened his eyes and looked at Shen Liangchuan. But Shen Liangchuan was speechless. He shook his head and calmed himself down. Song Cheng tried tofort the man, ¡°Brother Shen, don¡¯t worry. Sister Qiao has always taken good care of herself. Besides, she has some money on hand now. Life won¡¯t be too tough. I¡¯ll send people to look for her and will update you once we¡¯ve found her.¡± Shen Liangchuan lowered his head upon hearing this. After a pause, he said, ¡°Check Suzhou, whether she has gone home indeed.¡± Song Cheng nodded and replied, ¡°Roger.¡± After more thinking, he added, ¡°Then check with reception who did the checking-out.¡± He had to make sure if it had been Qiao Lian herself. Song Cheng nodded. ¡°Roger.¡± After five minutes, Song Cheng replied to Shen Liangchuan, ¡°It was Sister Qiao who checked out, her assistant managed the process.¡± Shen Liangchuan was now in room 1809. He nodded after he heard this. He got to his feet and was about to say something when his cell phone rang. He stopped short and quickly picked up the call. It was Shen Zihao¡¯s voice at the other end of the line. He was sobbing like a lost and helpless child. ¡°Big brother, Nuannuan is still unconscious. The doctor says that if she doesn¡¯t wake up after tonight, she¡¯ll never wake up again! Big brother, what do I do? Will Nuannuan be unconscious forever?¡± Shen Liangchuan felt a faint ache in his heart upon hearing this. After a pause, he said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she will wake up.¡± After he hung up the call, he frowned and instructed Song Cheng, ¡°Book me a flight to Beijing for tonight. You stay here and give me a call once you¡¯re sure that Xiao Qiao is back in Suzhou.¡± ¡°Roger.¡± Chapter 1054 - Do Not Harm My Child (17)

Chapter 1054: Do Not Harm My Child (17)

Qiao Lian sat in the car staring into nk space. She knew Lu Nanze was a very meticulous person, so he would never leave any traces or clues behind. Given that the one tying up loose ends would be her trusted junior assistant, who had been by her side for so long, Shen Liangchuan would surely not notice anything amiss. So what was she going to do now? And where was Lu Nanze taking her? This question caused her to shudder involuntarily, as she slid both her hands over her own belly. When she turned to look out of the window, she realized that the car was heading towards Suzhou. Indeed. Suzhou was his territory. It was easy for him to operate in his own territory. She took a deep breath and said, ¡°So you¡¯ve known for some time that I¡¯vee back to Suzhou?¡± Lu Nanze nodded. ¡°And the eSports App belongs to yourpany?¡± Lu Nanze replied, ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡± Her heart sank. She realized now that she had been lured right into the trap he had set up. She thought about the first day she arrived in Suzhou, when Cheng Sizhe called her to talk to her about the female caster position. At the time, she had thought it had just been luck, but looking back now... She felt a chille over her. ¡°The first day I arrived in Suzhou, or even when I was nning toe back to Suzhou... Did you already know all that?¡± Lu Nanze continued nodding. Qiao Lian widened her eyes. ¡°The person who was sending those express delivery packages to Shen Liangchuan in Beijing... It was you!¡± Lu Nanze did not stop nodding. Qiao Lian tightened her fists and asked, ¡°How did you know Soul Fighter?¡± But right after she asked this, sheughed at her own question. ¡°How would you not know?¡± Lu Nanze kept silent. Qiao Lian continued, ¡°Lu Nanze, do you know these things you do only serve to make me disgust you?¡± The man frowned. She did not bother to mince her words, ¡°When you were young, you were pitiful, like a diseased dog! You had no friends and even your family did not care about you. I felt sorry for you and introduced you to my circle of friends. I thought that at the very least, you had a good heart. But I¡¯vee to discover that I was wrong!! You are a monster. Lu Nanze, you heartless beast!¡± Lu Nanze listened without speaking and, right from the start, he did not say a word to defend himself. He only looked at Qiao Lian intently and said after a pause, ¡°I know you hate me now, but it¡¯s ok, Qiao Lian. We have a lifetime together. I will show you where my heart is.¡± Qiao Lian choked. Turning away from him, she looked out of the window. After two hours, the car pulled up by a vi in Suzhou. After they got out of the car, she saw Qiao Yiyi waiting for them outside the vi. As they walked up towards her, Qiao Yiyi said to Lu Nanze submissively, ¡°Second Brother, you¡¯re back! We¡¯re all prepared, you may proceed with the operation any time.¡± Operation? Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank back and at once, she turned in an attempt to run away. But Lu Nanze grabbed her wrist suddenly, and she was powerless to retaliate. With one swift motion, the man scooped her up in his arms and took her to a room in the vi. In the room, various instruments had beenid out, ready for use. Her pupils shrank back in horror as she saw the cold operating table. ¡°Lu Nanze, let me go, what are you trying to do?¡± Qiao Yiyi said, ¡°Qiao Lian, don¡¯t be anxious. You will just be sleeping. After sleeping, your child will be gone. You won¡¯t feel a thing.¡± Qiao Lian felt her hands and feet being held to the operating table. As hard as she tried, she was unable to escape. She yelled loudly, ¡°Lu Nanze, do not harm my child!!¡± Chapter 1055 - Do Not Harm My Child (18)

Chapter 1055: Do Not Harm My Child (18)

Qiao Lian¡¯s heart-wrenching cry caused everyone in the room to feel a dull ache in their hearts. Her hands and foot were chained, she was unable to break free. Being restrained like this made her feel robbed of all human rights. She red at Lu Nanze with burning fury in her eyes, shouting, ¡°Let me go! Let me go!¡± Lu Nanze looked at her. Her hair was disheveled and her eyes were red. She looked like a demon who was out to devour her prey and, at the same time, a trapped beast struggling in a half-crazed state. Even the normally cold-hearted man felt a little shaken. Lu Nanze lowered his head and said, ¡°Qiao Lian, close your eyes. It will be over very soon.¡± At this point, he gestured to Qiao Yiyi with a wave of his hand. Qiao Yiyi at once gave a signal, and a specialist nurse walked towards them with a needle and drip bottle. Qiao Yiyi bent over and whispered softly into Qiao Lian¡¯s ear, ¡°Qiao Lian, you see that? There¡¯s anesthesia in that bottle. Once it gets into your bloodstream, you will feel no pain. I¡¯ve even heard that if the operation is done well, there¡¯s no bleeding. There will be no trace of this child left in you. Don¡¯t worry, the doctor that Second Brother got you is the best gynecologist in all of Suzhou. As for you... enjoy the sorrow!!¡± After saying this, with her back to Lu Nanze and looking at the pitiful Qiao Lian, a vicious expression shed across her face. Growing up in Qiao Lian¡¯s home, she had had to lower herself and live like a sycophant. To think that such a day woulde for Qiao Lian! Qiao Lian bit her lip as she stared at Qiao Yiyi. Such insanity and hatred. She said, ¡°Qiao Yiyi, I knew from the start that you¡¯re the sort of person who bites the hand that feeds you! Would you believe I could have had you killed years ago?¡± Laughing icily, Qiao Yiyi said, ¡°What¡¯s the point of talking about the past? He whoughsst,ughs best!¡± At this point, she turned to the nurse and instructed, ¡°Get started!¡± The nurse took a step forward, as someone proceeded to restrain Qiao Lian¡¯s arm. Qiao Lian stared as the nurse got ready to insert the needle into her vein. She suddenly narrowed her eyes and shouted, ¡°Second Brother! Don¡¯t you want to know why I hated you so much when we met again this time?¡± At these words, the nurse hesitated and looked up at Lu Nanze. But Qiao Yiyi¡¯s pupils shrank back as she shouted, ¡°Why are you stopping? Get on with it!¡± The nurse furrowed her brow, but saw that Lu Nanze¡¯s pupils had shrank back as he looked at Qiao Lian. Qiao Lianughed icily and looked at Qiao Yiyi. ¡°Why? Are you afraid that I¡¯ll tell on you? Or could it be that what you told at that time was not what Second Brother asked you to say?¡± At those words, Lu Nanze¡¯s gaze lightly shifted to Qiao Yiyi. Qiao Yiyi drew back in fright as she started to tremble. She gulped and looked at Lu Nanze. ¡°Second Brother, I...¡± Lu Nanze did not look at her, but he instead looked at Qiao Lian and frowned. ¡°Speak up.¡± Because Lu Nanze wanted to hear what Qiao Lian had to say, the nurse held back and did not proceed with inserting the anesthesia. She stood back. Looking straight at Lu Nanze, Qiao Lian started, ¡°When my family went bankrupt, and Mom and Dad died, my brother and I were sent to my uncle¡¯s house, which was Qiao Yiyi¡¯s home. Even though I was berated by my uncle and aunt every day, I took it in my stride. But do you know why I finally took my brother and left Suzhou?¡± At this point, sheughed scornfully and continued, ¡°That was because Qiao Yiyi told me you were the one who got people to injure my hand!¡± Chapter 1056 - Do Not Harm My Child (19)

Chapter 1056: Do Not Harm My Child (19)

¡°Lu Nanze, just so you could stop me from joining the club, for the sake of your so-called love, youmitted such an atrocity. Huh! Do you have any idea how much your so-called love disgusts me and makes me sick? And your Lu family, you wanted to eradicate my brother and me! My hand was injured and my brother¡¯s legs were crippled, but you still wouldn¡¯t let us go, right? You went to look for my uncle and discuss your intentions to take me by force!¡± ¡°And all of these things, I found out thanks to my good sister Qiao Yiyi. She was the one who told me you wanted to force me. My uncle had intended to give me to you and that was why I took Qiao Yi and fled.¡± ¡°Lu Nanze, tell me, after all you¡¯ve done, how could I possibly forgive you? And I¡¯ll have you know, whenever I see you, I want to skin you, rip your muscles apart and drink your blood!¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s questions caused Lu Nanze to suddenly turn weak in his legs. He stared at Qiao Lian in disbelief. He had thought that she would never find out about all of the things he had done, but he had not expected... He quickly tried to exin, ¡°About your hand, I did not ask Qiao Yiyi to be that ruthless!¡± ¡°Huh! That¡¯s right. It wasn¡¯t ruthless. At least this hand still looks like a normal hand, it¡¯s just that it can¡¯t make precise movements. At least it wasn¡¯t like Qiao Yi, who was crippled for just eight years! I should thank you for your benevolence.¡± Lu Nanze heard every bit of sarcasm in her words. He quickly said, ¡°Qiao Lian, I- I did not mean to actually force you, but it was your uncle who wanted to give you to me. I¡ª¡± ¡°Huh. Lu Nanze, do you think I¡¯ll believe anything you say?¡± ¡°Why do you think I have never epted you? Because of all these things, how could I be together with the child of the people who killed my parents? Your Lu Family destroyed my family, how could I possibly be together with you? There will never be any possibility for us!¡± ¡°Lu Nanze, I will tell you this. I, Qiao Lian, have never bowed to pressure! Unless you keep me tied up like this! Otherwise, in this lifetime, the next lifetime, and in all my future lifetimes, I will hate you to the core of my being.¡± Qiao Lian hollered like an insane woman, while Lu Nanze¡¯s legs buckled from the despair evident in her words. He looked stunned as he took a step back. At this point, a sense of fear gripped him momentarily. He understood Qiao Lian very well. He knew that she meant what she said. He gulped as though she had frightened him. Then he took a step towards her and asked, ¡°Qiao Lian, what do I have to do so that you forgive me?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes lit up at these words and she replied, ¡°If you let me and my child go, I will forgive you. Lu Nanze, I will forgive you for everything that happened in the past. Everything!¡± Her voice softened. Qiao Lian had always been a person who would make sharp and cutting remarks, but now she was pleading. Tears were rolling down her cheeks as she begged, ¡°Lu Nanze, I love my child. Shen Liangchuan and I can never be together again, but I love this child. Take it as my plea to you, let the child go. I will not pursue the past! If you let me have my child...¡± Lu Nanze had just been softening, but those words hardened his heart and it grew cold at once. Ultimately, it had all been because of the child. Lu Nanze smiled icily and told her, ¡°Qiao Lian, apart from this, I can promise you everything else. Be obedient, let¡¯s get on with the operation. After that, we can have a good talk.¡± Chapter 1057 - Do Not Harm My Child (20)

Chapter 1057: Do Not Harm My Child (20)

After he said this, he took a step back. The fear and panic he had just felt had quickly turned into cold ruthlessness. Qiao Lian also froze as she looked at his expression. She knew that look on his face. It meant that there was no chance of turning things around. No chance of turning things around. Her child... She hadn¡¯t even felt the heartbeat of her child. Was her baby going to be taken away from her body just like that? Qiao Lian harshly bit her lip as she watched the nurse approach her, following Lu Nanze¡¯s instructions. She looked as someone else held her arm and then as the needle was inserted into her skin. Following this, she saw the nurse turn on the drip. The drugs and fluid in the drip bottle flowed into her body through the needle. The icy cold fluid caused a chill to spread throughout her limbs. No! She couldn¡¯t allow this. All her sanity instantly vanished. Her limbs were held down and she couldn¡¯t move. The only part of her body she could move was her head. Without thinking, she used her head and crashed it against the bodyguard who was tightly gripping her wrist. Bam! The bodyguard was pinning her arm down with one hand, holding the drip bottle in the other. He was holding it tightly, but right there and then, Qiao Lian had only one thing in her mind, one goal. Knock the drip bottle over, spill the content inside. Using her head, she aggressively broke the bottle. And at the same time, blood flew in every direction!!! And at once, a bloody and deep wound appeared on her forehead. Who would have thought that Qiao Lian would risk her own life like this? She had broken such a sturdy drip bottle using her forehead. Her forehead. Everyone in the room was stunned. The drip bottle fell on the ground and cracked. Her gaze shifted to the IV needle inserted into her wrist. Blood had flowed back out of her vein, into the IV tube. Qiao Lian¡¯s head snapped upwards and she red at Lu Nanze with zing eyes, looking like she was going to eat someone alive. Her eyes were burning with hatred as she coerced him, ¡°Second Brother, if you kill my child, no matter what it takes, I, Qiao Lian, swear that I will not make peace with you!¡± After this extreme announcement, her eyes rolled backwards and she fell unconscious. Everyone in the room was shaken to the core. They all stood there, staring in a daze at the traumatized woman on the operating table. They stared at the blood flowing out of her arm, at that deep and gaping wound on her head. Until Lu Nanze¡¯s pupils shrank back suddenly, recovered from the shock. As he turned around, he shouted, ¡°Qiao Lian!! Hurry! To the hospital!!¡± At the hospital. Outside the emergency room. Lu Nanze stood there at a loss and in a daze. He stared at the door of the operating theatre, not moving at all. The only image in his mind was of Qiao Lian, and that one thing she had said just before fainting. He suddenly recalled a time when he was young. He had angered his mother and she had given him the cold treatment. He had sat alone by a field gloomily. In the end, Qiao Lian had looked for him tofort him. Later on, he had asked her in wide-eyed innocence, ¡°Qiao Lian, if in the future I make you angry, will you also ignore me?¡± The young Qiao Lian hadughed happily and said with a wave of her hand, ¡°Aren¡¯t you a little silly? If you make someone angry, then you¡¯ll just have to shamelessly apologize and the person will eventually forgive you.¡± Hence, he had always felt that no matter what he did, as long as he shamelessly stuck around her, in the end he would be forgiven. But right at this very moment, the way she had retaliated and knocked some sense into had made him suddenly understood. She would readily exchange her own life for that child. Chapter 1058 - Do Not Harm My Child (21)

Chapter 1058: Do Not Harm My Child (21)

An extremely dismal feeling welled up in Lu Nanze¡¯s heart. The sort of dismal feeling apletely abandoned person would feel. He was now afraid. He was really afraid. Seeing the amount of blood Qiao Lian had lost, seeing her taken into the operating theatre ashen-faced. For the first time, he felt panic-stricken. His Qiao Lian, she must not die! At this thought, his eyes reddened immediately. He would not look away from the operating theatre for a moment. After a few hours, the door of the operating theatre swung open. The doctor walked out. Lu Nanze took a nervous step towards him and looked at the doctor. He was not familiar with all of the emotions inside him now, he merely felt the tightness in his chest. He looked at the doctor, not even daring to bring himself to ask the question. At this point, the doctor said, ¡°The patient is out of danger. Although the wound looks terrifying, it is fortunate you had professionals present to stop the bleeding. So that was alright, and even the child in the womb is safe.¡± Just as he said this, he saw that Qiao Lian¡¯s bed was pushed out of the operating theatre. She wasying t on the bed with her eyes shut. Quietly. Peacefully. Her forehead was bandaged. Although there was blood still seeping through it, it was not as terrifying as before. As Lu Nanze looked at her, a voice next to him continued, ¡°Mr. Lu, Ms. Qiao has not been significantly harmed. Now that she¡¯s unconscious, there is actually no danger in performing the abortion. Do you wish to return her to the operating theatre?¡± Return her to the operating theatre? Lu Nanze¡¯s gaze fell on her again and slowly shifted to her arms. Even unconscious, both her hands were ced protectively around her belly. The image of her saying those words appeared through his mind. He lowered his head slowly, clenching and unclenching his fists. Atst, he took a deep breath. He ordered, ¡°Take her to the ward.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± He continued to stare at her and followed the trolley bed as they walked away from the operating theatre. He did not take his eyes off her for a moment. Qiao Lian, I¡¯m letting you keep this child. I only ask that you forgive me. Will you do that? He lowered his gaze at this thought, as he felt the deep remorse and sorrow in his heart. ¨C In the meantime, in Beijing. In the premium VIP ward. Shen Zihao was sitting next to the trolley bed anxiously, looking at Xia Nuannuan. He could not keep still and fidgeted uncontrobly. His palms were damp with perspiration. Shen Liangchuan stood next to the bed, by Xia Yehua¡¯s side, looking at the lost and helpless Shen Zihao. Minute by minute, time passed. With every minute that slipped away, the chances of regaining consciousness dropped. Shen Zihao took the hand of the girl lying on the bed and, as he looked at her, said, ¡°Nuannuan, please wake up!¡± ¡°Nuannuan, I love you, will you open your eyes and look at your Dad and Mom, will you?¡± ¡°Nuannuan, don¡¯t leave me all alone. He kept going and the atmosphere in the ward became heavy with gloom. Xia Yehua¡¯s eyes reddened. Shen Liangchuan looked at her. He was just about to offer a few words offort when his chest suddenly tightened and was in extreme pain. His hand moved upwards and exerted pressure on the area. It felt as thought his heart had stopped abruptly for a few beats, but the feeling passed quickly. And following this, he oddly panicked. As he tried to make sense of this, from the corner of his eye he suddenly spotted a diminute movement in Xia Nuannuan¡¯s hand. Chapter 1059 - Who Am I? (1)

Chapter 1059: Who Am I? (1)

¡°Nuannuan, Nuannuan!¡± What Shen Liangchuan saw, Shen Zihao, who had all of his attention focused on Xia Nuannuan, of course saw too. He cried out in rm and dashed out of the ward calling, ¡°Doctor! Doctor!¡± Shortly, the doctor and nurses walked in and examined Xia Nuannuan. After this, the doctor looked at everyone in the room and said, ¡°Congrattions, the patient has regained consciousness. She¡¯s about to wake up!!¡± When Shen Zihao heard this, his eyes reddened. He stood by the bed, holding Xia Nuannuan¡¯s hand tightly. After a few hours, Xia Nuannuan¡¯s eyshes fluttered and she finally woke up. The moment she did so, she saw Shen Zihao crying tears of joy. She paused for a moment and smiled faintly. Their hands tightly held onto each other¡¯s. ¡°Nuannuan, we will never separate again. I promise you, I will never doubt you again.¡± The atmosphere in the ward had turned warm and fuzzy, but outside, Shen Liangchuan continued feeling that pain in his chest. Xia Yehua stood next to him, looking at the people in the ward, and was moved to tears as well. Then she turned towards Shen Liangchuan and said, ¡°Zihao has found happiness now, what about you? You should know where Xiao Qiao is now. What is the ongoing issue that is still keeping you two apart?¡± Shen Liangchuan lowered his gaze at these words. What was the ongoing issue? He took a deep breath. Without answering the question, he turned and walked away. After he had left the hospital, he received a call from Song Cheng. ¡°Brother Shen, we have spent many resources trying to track down the person who sent you those packages, but we haven¡¯t found any clues. However...¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Do you still remember that psychologist you went to? Shen Liangchuan narrowed his eyes and answered, ¡°Yess I remember.¡± ¡°We found out that she has left the country. Gone abroad. Emigrated.¡± Emigrated? ¡°Was it nned? Or when did this happen?¡± Song Cheng replied, ¡°Emigration processes are slow, but she followed the urgent procedure. When I checked the timeline, I saw that it was after you had gone to see her.¡± So there was something fishy about the psychologist. It was no wonder every time he went to see her, he not only did never feel better, instead he felt even worse. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s pupils shrank as he probed further, ¡°What else?¡± ¡°Also, Ms. Qiao has once met up with this psychologist. I¡¯ve also contacted Ms. Song Yuanxi and she said- she said...¡± ¡°What did she say?¡± ¡°She said that Qiao Lian looked for her at that time, and that was how she had found out about what happened eight years ago. The psychologist told her the only way that would help you recover would be... if she left you.¡± The moment Shen Liangchuan heard this, his hand tightened around the cell phone. So the reason that Qiao Lian had left him was because of what the psychologist had said? He stared steadily ahead, his eyes so piercing that it looked as though they could burn a hole in the wall. All of this had been a part of someone¡¯s scheme. It was so that she would leave him. ¡°Brother Shen, we¡¯ve been trying to find out who is behind all of this, but the person seems to be an expert at it and right up till now we don¡¯t have a single clue. This matter¡ª¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need to continue investigating.¡± Shen Liangchuan didn¡¯t have to think twice to know who was behind all of these evil deeds. With the resources to do that much, but all in order to separate Qiao Lian and him... there was no doubt. Lu Nanze. Chapter 1060 - Who Am I? (2)

Chapter 1060: Who Am I? (2)

When Song Cheng heard this, he stopped short for a moment. Then he started, ¡°So now¡ª¡± ¡°What¡¯s happening with Xiao Qiao in Suzhou? Make sure she¡¯s protected.¡± Song Cheng nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll send people to track Ms. Qiao down right now.¡± ¡°Umm.¡± At this point, Shen Liangchuan paused for a moment. Then he said, ¡°Book me a flight to Suzhou.¡± Things were clear now. If he continued allowing Lu Nanze to manipte him, then he would be failing himself. He had to find Qiao Lian and bring her home. The matter concerning Soul Fighter had to be set aside for now. They could deal with it after they had settled Lu Nanze. ¨C Suzhou, in the premium VIP ward. Qiao Lian was lying in the hospital bed. Her eyes were shut and her face was pale. Lu Nanze sat on the sofa staring at her. Ever since she had been wheeled out of the operating theatre, his gaze had not left her. As he stared, he couldn¡¯t help but lower his head at one point and give an icyugh. This had been the result of trying to force her. She knew that the head was the most vulnerable part of the human body, yet she had used it with much force to break the drip bottle. This was what Qiao Lian was like, stubborn and would never admit defeat easily. The woman that he loved so much that he couldn¡¯t let go. As he contemted these things, the ward door suddenly swung open. Qiao Yiyi walked in. She was holding breakfast in her hands and she ced it before Lu Nanze. She called him shyly, ¡°Second Brother.¡± Her voice caused Lu Nanze to suddenly snap out of his daze. His sharp gaze suddenly shifted to her. The corners of his lips turned upwards at once, to give the woman a cruel smile. With his eyes riveted on her, he said unhurriedly, ¡°Qiao Yiyi, it seems you¡¯ve done quite a lot behind my back.¡± When she heard this, she hurriedly dropped to her knees with a loud thud. ¡°Second Brother, please hear me out, I can exin!¡± ¡°Exin. What else is there for you to exin?¡± Qiao Yiyi bit her lip and started, ¡°About what happened when I sent those people to cripple her hand, I really did not tell her on purpose. Those thugs came asking for money from me. I had to use your name to scare them, but she overheard it. Later on, she came to stay with our family. It was my father who wanted to drug her and give her to you. It was to please you, but she overheard this too. This was the reason she had fled away with Qiao Yi. It really had nothing to do with me. Second Brother, you have to believe me.¡± As Lu Nanze sat there listening to her, his smile grew colder. He looked intently at Qiao Yiyi. After a pause, he smiled coldly and said, ¡°Qiao Yiyi, do you take me, Lu Nanze, as a retard?¡± Her pupils shrank back as she stammered, ¡°Second Brother, I¡ª¡± Just at this point, when she felt that there was no way of escaping from Second Brother¡¯s punishment, someone softly groaned on the hospital bed. At once, they fell silent. Lu Nanze looked at the bed with a pleasantly surprised expression. He quickly strode over and stared at Qiao Lian. Then he saw her slowly opening her eyes. The ambient light caused her to squint her eyes and shut them again. She felt an unbearable, splitting pain in her head. Frowning, she reached out to touch her head. Her eyes gradually grew distant. Lu Nanze frowned and said to her, ¡°Qiao Lian, how are you feeling? Does your head hurt? Can you see me? Where are you feeling pain? Tell me.¡± At this point, he snapped his head around to look at Qiao Yiyi. ¡°Call the doctor!¡± With these words, Qiao Yiyi immediately stood up and dashed towards the doorway. But just as she was about to dash out of the door, she saw Qiao Lian sitting up in bed looking at them nkly. Her gaze swept over the room. Looking helpless and at aplete loss, she asked, ¡°Who... am I?¡± Chapter 1061 - Who Am I? (3)

Chapter 1061: Who Am I? (3)

The moment these words came out, Lu Nanze froze and Qiao Yiyi halted. The two of them simultaneously turned to look at Qiao Lian with an expression of disbelief and shock on their faces. ¨C In the doctor¡¯s office. The doctor frowned as he looked at Lu Nanze, who now had an extremely serious expression on his face. He thought for a moment and then started, ¡°Mr. Lu, the brain is the most amazing organ in the body. When we saw that she had such a bloody,rge and gaping wound, we already knew that she would suffer side-effects. However, we didn¡¯t think it would be memory loss. To sum up, memory loss could result from two things. One would be a blood clot pressing against a nerve, which can cause a temporary memory loss. The other would be that possibly, she¡¯s been through a traumatizing experience, so her body automatically chooses to filter out the memory. All of this has a scientific base. Which of these applies to Ms. Qiao, we will have to investigate further. But... because Ms. Qiao is pregnant, we cannot use many of the equipment and drugs on her. So it may be a slow process.¡± Lu Nanze nodded upon hearing this. He sat on the chair and contemted it for a moment before asking, ¡°Will she suddenly recover these memories at some point?¡± ¡°This is a possibility. It¡¯s hard to say.¡± Lu Nanze cast his gaze down. After a moment, he got to his feet and said, ¡°Once you can confirm that she¡¯s well, we will arrange to have her discharged.¡± The doctor deliberated his request briefly and then replied, ¡°Mr. Lu, the wound on thedy¡¯s head has to be monitored for a few days. After all, it¡¯s a big wound. We¡¯ll need to wait for it to close at least, before she can be discharged.¡± Lu Nanze knitted his brow and gave a nod. Walking out from the doctor¡¯s office, Lu Nanze felt a surge of tion within. Qiao Lian had forgotten the past. She had lost her memory! Didn¡¯t this mean that she had forgotten all the hatred and ill feelings she had towards him? Were this the gods taking pity on him and giving him a chance? He clenched his fists tightly at these thoughts. If this was the case, then he should treasure this opportunity. He quickened his steps and walked into the ward. As he stepped in, he saw Qiao Lian sitting on the bed, staring nkly ahead. When she saw Lu Nanze approaching, she lifted her gaze and gave him a look of indifference. Then she frowned and asked, ¡°Now can you tell me who I am?¡± Lu Nanze looked at her and, after a moment, said, ¡°You¡¯re my wife.¡± Qiao Lian tilted her head slightly and nodded. ¡°Ok.¡± ¡°You are carrying my child now, Qiao Lian. From now on, we will live happily together, alright?¡± She nodded again. ¡°Ok.¡± Outside the doorway, Qiao Yiyi clenched her fists tightly when she heard Lu Nanze¡¯s words. To Second Brother, it was definitely a good thing that Qiao Lian had lost her memory. Furthermore, he was now going to adopt that child in her womb. A sinister expression appeared on her face slowly, as the memories of all the past years came rushing into her mind. After a moment, Lu Nanze got to his feet and walked towards the door. Hurriedly, she hid around the corner. She waited till Lu Nanze had left before she walked towards her ward. The look in her eyes was vicious as she opened the door and entered the ward. Standing in front of Qiao Lian and looking at the girl, she said, ¡°Qiao Lian, do you know what kind of rtionship I have with Second Brother?¡± Chapter 1062 - Who Am I? (4)

Chapter 1062: Who Am I? (4)

Qiao Lian stared nkly at the woman who had suddenly appeared before her. She struggled to think where she had seen this face before. It was a very familiar face, but it made her disgusted. Qiao Lian stared at her for a moment and asked, ¡°Who are you?¡± The woman said, ¡°I¡¯m Qiao Yiyi, your cousin.¡± Qiao Lian tilted her head and replied, ¡°Ok.¡± She could not recall. She was unable to recall anything. Even that man who said he was her husband, she had no recollection. And even towards that man, she felt nothing. At this point, she looked at Qiao Yiyi and asked, ¡°Are you looking for me for a reason?¡± ¡°Of course. Of course I have a reason!¡± Qiao Yiyi looked at her and suddenly lowered her gaze with red eyes. ¡°Qiao Lian, Second Brother and I are in love with each other! We already have a child. Why can¡¯t you let him go? Did you think that you¡¯d be able to make Second Brother stay bymitting suicide? Even if you manage to keep him by your side, you won¡¯t be able to win his heart.¡± Suicide? Qiao Lian reached out to touch her forehead. So this wound had been caused by a suicide attempt. It looked like she did really hate these two people. Was that the reason why the man had such a guilty expression on his face when he had been looking at her earlier? It was because he had wronged her? She continued staring at Qiao Yiyi and asked, ¡°And what happened after that?¡± Qiao Yiyi choked and looked at her again. ¡°Qiao Lian, I know that my existence makes you very ufortable. But I really can¡¯t bear to leave Second Brother.¡± ¡°I love Second Brother, and he loves me too.¡± ¡°But now he feels guilty towards you.¡± Qiao Lian continued to look at her and said, ¡°What happens now? What would you like me to do?¡± The woman choked again. What did she want Qiao Lian to do? She had no idea what she wanted Qiao Lian to do. When she had been standing at the doorway, all she had heard was Lu Nanze iming to be Qiao Lian¡¯s husband. In a fit of anger, she had charged in and told Qiao Lian all of these things. What could she get Qiao Lian to do? She had only wanted to make Qiao Lian feel worse. She bit her lip and nced at Qiao Lian. Then lowering her gaze after a moment, she said, ¡°I- I don¡¯t know. I was only hoping that you would ept me.¡± Qiao Lian tilted her head and continued to stare at the other woman. ¡°Doesn¡¯t it always happen that the mistress wants to take the ce of the legitimate wife?¡± Qiao Yiyi was taken aback. ¡°Huh?¡± Qiao Lian nodded and said, ¡°Uh huh. I will grant you your wish then.¡± Qiao Yiyi was stunned yet again. ¡°What?¡± Qiao Lian frowned and said after a moment, ¡°You may go now.¡± Qiao Yiyi walked out of the ward. Lu Nanze was gone for only half an hour to settle some business. He was now hurriedly going back to the ward, to keep Qiao Lianpany. However when he opened the door, he saw that the bed was empty. A nurse walked in and informed him, ¡°Mr. Lu, thedy who was upying this bed left you this note. She has gone away.¡± Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes. ¡°What?¡± He took the note from the nurse. Looking down, there were only a few words scribbled on it: Let¡¯s get a divorce. Lu Nanze was bbergasted. In the meantime, Shen Liangchuan had arrived in Suzhou and was standing outside of the hospital. He looked at Song Cheng with a frown and asked, ¡°Have you found out the reason why she was hospitalized?¡± Just as he said this, he saw someone in a gown walk out of the hospital. Chapter 1063 - Who Am I? (5)

Chapter 1063: Who Am I? (5)

Shen Liangchuan was stunned beyond words. He looked at the woman before him. There was a thick bandage around her head, making her tiny face look terribly pale. She looked around and stood still for a while before lifting her head to survey her surroundings again, as though trying to decide where to go. Then she frowned as though in deep contemtion. Shen Liangchuan had no idea what she was doing, but the moment he saw her, he was relieved. At the same time, he frowned when his gaze fell on the dressing around her head. Xiao Qiao was injured? How had she gotten injured? Why had she injured her forehead? What about her arm? Had it recovered? Her leg? As all of these thoughts ran through his mind, he suddenly saw her being startled and jump like a deer that had encountered a pack of hunting dogs. She immediately moved away. With a frown, he looked behind Qiao Lian. Indeed, he saw a few people emerging from the hospital and they seemed to be looking for someone. Since Qiao Lian thought she was about to be discovered, she panicked and tried to run forward. But after two steps she felt dizzy, as she had lost a great amount of blood and was low in blood sugar after all. Just as she thought her escape attempt was going to fail, the door of the car in front suddenly swung open. Immediately, someone grabbed her arm and yanked her inside. She slid into the car. The car drove away abruptly. When Qiao Lian turned to peer through the back window, she saw that the people going after her were looking like headless flies, turning in all directions. Obviously, they had not spotted her. She heaved a big sigh of relief. Following this sigh of relief, she heard an extremely pleasant and most seductive voice in her ear, ¡°Xiao Qiao, what¡¯s the matter with your head?¡± Xiao Qiao? Qiao Lian widened her eyes, spun her head around and looked at Shen Liangchuan. This man had an extremely handsome face. He had exquisite looks¡ªnot unlike Lu Nanze, but the two men were worlds apart. There was something devilish underlying Lu Nanze¡¯s good looks. Although his features were handsome, and although she did not remember anything from the past, she strangely felt terribly uneasy around that man. It was as if there was a voice in her head telling her to run, to escape from him. Hence without second thoughts, she had left the hospital. But this man in front of her... When she looked at him, she only felt a dull and faint ache in her heart. She tilted her head and stared at him. Her expression was a little odd, so Shen Liangchuan asked puzzled, ¡°Xiao Qiao, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Qiao Lian looked intently at him for a long time after these words. Then she said, ¡°You- you know me?¡± Shen Liangchuan was stunned. Widening his eyes and frowning at the same time, he asked, ¡°Don¡¯t you remember me?¡± Qiao Lian bit her lip and pointed to her head. ¡°I injured my head and then after that, I didn¡¯t remember anything.¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s pupils shrank back immediately at her answer. ¡°How did you injure your head?¡± Qiao Lian shook her head and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t remember.¡± With an aching heart, Shen Liangchuan reached out to touch her forehead. But before he could make contact, Qiao Lian had backed away. Looking at him with caution in her eyes, she asked, ¡°Who are you?¡± Shen Liangchuan was speechless. He said slowly, ¡°My name is Shen Liangchuan. I¡¯m your husband. We are husband and wife.¡± Qiao Lian was bbergasted to hear this. She widened her eyes and took a big gulp, swallowing all the words she had just been about to say. Her husband? Although the man before her was very handsome, she had just lost consciousness and woken up to find she had gained two husbands?! Chapter 1064 - Who Am I? (6)

Chapter 1064: Who Am I? (6)

Qiao Lian stared at the man in front of her. Then she suddenlyughed. ¡°Really?¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded and said, ¡°Yes.¡± Qiao Lian mumbled an ¡°ok¡± and then suddenly clutched her stomach, saying, ¡°Ohhhh, I have a stomachache!¡± Shen Liangchuan was anxious at once and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°A stomachache, I need the toilet. Can you pull over? I¡¯ll go to the restroom in that mall over there.¡± Shen Liangchuan quickly said, ¡°Ok.¡± The car pulled to a stop. Qiao Lian immediately pushed the door open and jumped out. Then she ran hurriedly and turned back to look as she did so. When she saw that Shen Liangchuan had gotten out of the car as well, she jumped in fright and ran even faster now. She looked nothing like a person who was having a stomachache. Shen Liangchuan was stumped. Qiao Lian took to her heels and ran into the mall. After circling twice inside the mall, she exited through the other entrance of the mall. She turned back to see if anyone had noticed her, and wiped off the beads of perspiration that had formed on her forehead. What was going on? How had she ended up with two husbands? Between the two men, Lu Nanze and Shen Liangchuan, who was lying to her? Or were both lying to her? Qiao Lian tilted her head and could not figure it out. But certainly, she wasn¡¯t going to just follow anyone stupidly. When she had gotten out of the car and ran away, she had only thought of the possibility that Shen Liangchuan was the bad guy. But now she had no idea where to go. As she looked ahead, strangely, an address started to appear in her mind. A home. She started to aimlessly walk down the street, lost. After walking some distance, she started to regain a little rity and suddenly noticed that she had arrived in a... ce that was strangely familiar. She lifted her head and looked at the vi before her. She was stunned. The nts were familiar, as was the garden and the swing in it. This familiar feeling gave her a deep sense of security. She took another step forward. As she stood there looking, a voice rang out beside her, ¡°Little Missy!¡± Qiao Lian spun her head around at that familiar voice. When she saw the person, she unconsciously called, ¡°Auntie Zhang?¡± Auntie Zhang nodded as her eyes turned watery. ¡°Little Missy, you¡¯re finally home?¡± Qiao Lian felt warmth and familiarity from the deeply-etched memories of her childhood. The sort that could not be wiped away. She nodded as Auntie Zhang opened the front door. ¡°Hurry,e in! I made your favorite braised pork ribs today.¡± Following Auntie Zhang, Qiao Lian stepped into the house. Auntie Zhang looked at her bandaged forehead and asked, ¡°Little Missy, what happened to your head?¡± Qiao Lian replied, ¡°It was an ident.¡± ¡°It looks like a bad wound. Will you suffer side-effects from it?¡± Qiao Lian frowned and said, ¡°I can¡¯t recall much of my past.¡± Auntie Zhang¡¯s eyes reddened. ¡°Little Missy...¡± Qiao Lian tilted her head and started, ¡°Auntie Zhang, I need to ask you a few things.¡± Auntie Zhang nodded immediately. ¡°What¡¯s my rtionship with Lu Nanze?¡± Auntie Zhang sighed and replied, ¡°You and Mr. Lu were childhood sweethearts and grew up together. You had a good rtionship.¡± Good rtionship. So was Lu Nanze her husband? She recalled Lu Nanze had mentioned something about the child she was carrying. So who on earth was this Shen Liangchuan? She asked Auntie Zhang again, ¡°What about Shen Liangchuan?¡± Auntie Zhang said, ¡°Shen Liangchuan is a big celebrity. He¡¯s the famous Best Actor Shen.¡± Chapter 1065 - Who Am I? (7)

Chapter 1065: Who Am I? (7)

The famous Best Actor Shen? Hence, there had to be news about him on the inte, right? At this though, Qiao Lian immediately asked, ¡°Is there aputer around here?¡± Auntie Zhang nodded and handed her aptop. Qiao Lian searched Shen Liangchuan¡¯s name. At once, dozens of headlines appeared. But... Right at the top of the list was: ¡°Mrs. Shen exposed: Mrs. Shen¡¯s surname is Qiao.¡± She quickly clicked on the link. She saw the article from the press conference with Shen Liangchuan and Mrs. Shen. Although there was only one picture, Qiao Lian could see that the woman in the picture was herself. At the same time, the doorbell chimed. Auntie Zhang stood up and said, ¡°I¡¯ll have a look. Who could it be?¡± She opened the door and at once, Qiao Lian heard Auntie Zhang exim, ¡°Best Actor Shen!¡± Qiao Lian was taken by surprise. She sprang up from her seat as she saw Shen Liangchuan stride elegantly into the house. This sort of news couldn¡¯t be fake. Hence, this man was her husband for sure. Qiao Lian smiled radiantly at once and called out sweetly, ¡°Oh, you¡¯re here!¡± At this point, Shen Liangchuan took a step forward and looked at her. ¡°Xiao Qiao, we are really married. Do you believe me?¡± ¡°I believe you! Of course I believe you! For sure, I swear a million times I do.¡± Qiao Lian replied very quickly. But the moment she lowered her gaze, she wished she could knock herself on the head. It was clearly written in the news, so it wasn¡¯t up to her not to believe it. She was Mrs. Shen. On the other hand, Auntie Zhang had said that she and Lu Nanze were childhood sweethearts, but she had married Best Actor Shen... and was now carrying Lu Nanze¡¯s child. That was the end of her. Why did she have the bad feeling that this matter was ratherplicated? Could it be... Qiao Lian widened her eyes in astonishment. She had remarried? Or she had had an affair behind Shen Liangchuan¡¯s back? She grimaced at the thought that she was carrying Lu Nanze¡¯s child and had cheated on this dashingly handsome Best Actor. She blinked a few times. She wondered if this husband of hers knew that he was in such a pathetic plight. Seeing how he was so anxious and concerned about her, he probably didn¡¯t. He didn¡¯t know... Qiao Lian started to feel pressured. She lifted her gaze and smiled at Shen Liangchuan. Then he asked her, ¡°How are you feeling?¡± Qiao Lian quickly replied, ¡°Ah, I feel well, superb!¡± As she spoke, Aunty Zhang walked out of the kitchen carrying a tray of dishes. ¡°Let¡¯s not just stand around and talk. Come and have some food, hurry!¡± Qiao Lian nodded and walked over to sit at the dining table. Following her, Shen Liangchuan walked over as well. He took a look at her head and said, ¡°You¡¯ll go to Beijing with meter. Then I¡¯ll take you to the doctor.¡± Qiao Lian initially nodded. Then suddenly she looked up at Shen Liangchuan and said, ¡°What? No we can¡¯t!¡± If they were to go to a doctor, wouldn¡¯t he find out about her pregnancy? At this thought, she said immediately, ¡°I don¡¯t wish to go to the hospital!¡± Then she gave Shen Liangchuan a long hard stare, which turned into a look of great precaution. Shen Liangchuan wasn¡¯t quite sure how to react to this, but with her staring at him like this, he found himself unable to reject her wishes. He frowned and could only nod. He had questions for her, but he didn¡¯t know how to approach these. Just at this point, they heard the phone in the house ring. Then Auntie Zhang shortly called her, ¡°Little Missy, a call for you!¡± A call for her? Qiao Lian walked over and picked up the phone. Then she heard Lu Nanze¡¯s voice saying, ¡°Qiao Lian, it¡¯s me. ¡° Chapter 1066 - Who Am I? (8)

Chapter 1066: Who Am I? (8)

Qiao Lian¡¯s first reaction was to spin her head around to look at Shen Liangchuan at the dining table. Seeing that he was eating his dinner peacefully and not paying attention to her, she spoke furtively into the phone, ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go and look for you.¡± ¡°No!¡± Qiao Lian panicked and started fumbling. However, she certainly had to rify their rtionship for her own sake. Just in case she had reallymitted bigamy, would both Shen Liangchuan and Lu Nanze sue her? At this thought, she contemted it for a moment and said, ¡°Let¡¯s meet in a cafe.¡± Although Lu Nanze did not understand why she wanted to meet in a cafe, he agreed to do so. After she hung up, she put on a nonchnt expression and returned to the dining table. Then she turned to Shen Liangchuan and said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you rest here? I have to go out for a short while.¡± Shen Liangchuan looked at her intently with a frown. He nodded after a moment. Qiao Lian opened the front door and stepped out of the house. After considering it briefly, he followed her. ¨C Qiao Lian arrived at the cafe she had arranged to meet Lu Nanze. When she stepped in, Lu Nanze got to his feet. His dark and gloomy eyes followed her closely and he spoke in amanding tone to her, ¡°Qiao Lian, the wound on your head hasn¡¯t recovered, you¡¯re not supposed to leave the hospital. Go back to the hospital with me.¡± Qiao Lian grabbed Lu Nanze¡¯s hand. Ignoring everything he had just said, she asked him, ¡°You said you¡¯re my husband. Do we have a marriage certificate?¡± Upon hearing this, he paused for a moment and then said, ¡°Not yet, but we¡ª¡± ¡°And so do you know... Shen Liangchuan?¡± Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes at these words. He stared at her and asked, ¡°Who told you about him? Or do you still have memories of him?¡± Even after suffering memory loss, had she forgotten everyone else but Shen Liangchuan? Lu Nanze felt a sharp pain in his heart. Even if she remembered Shen Liangchuan, he was determined not to let her go. At this point, he grabbed her hand and insisted, ¡°Qiao Lian, leave with me at once.¡± The next moment, just as he was about to force Qiao Lian to leave with him, Qiao Lian waved her hand, irritated, and plunked herself down on the chair. She said in a raised voice, ¡°Hey! Lu Nanze, we can¡¯t be doing this. It¡¯s not right!¡± Given Lu Nanze¡¯s reaction, she suspected that he knew she was married to Shen Liangchuan. Hence, was she indeed having an affair with Lu Nanze behind Shen Liangchuan¡¯s back? How indecent of a person had she been before losing her memory!? How could she have done something like this? Lu Nanze was stupefied by her behavior and protested, ¡°What about... us?¡± Qiao Lian looked at him and said, ¡°We should break up immediately!¡± Lu Nanze was bbergasted. ¡°Break up?¡± They weren¡¯t even together, how were they going to break up? Qiao Lian was about to continue when, from the corner of her eye, she suddenly saw Shen Liangchuan striding into the cafe. She panicked immediately. She was dead meat! Would Shen Liangchuan lose his temper if he caught her having an affair? At once, she grabbed Lu Nanze. Looking around quickly, she realized that the cafe had no other exit. Hence, yanking him behind her, she dashed towards the washroom and shoved him into the single unisex cube. Lu Nanze was stumped and asked, ¡°Qiao Lian, what on earth are you doing?¡± ¡°Lu Nanze, Shen Liangchuan is here. Don¡¯te out! If he caught us having an affair, we¡¯d be dead meat.¡± Lu Nanze was bbergasted. Why did he now suddenly feel as though he was a third party being kept under wraps?! Chapter 1067 - Who Am I? (9)

Chapter 1067: Who Am I? (9)

And furthermore, having an affair? Since when had they had an affair? His expression darkened and he started, ¡°Qiao Lian, I¡¯m not afraid of him, I¡ª¡± ¡°I know, I know!¡± Qiao Lian answered at once. She waved her hand in his face and said, ¡°But we¡¯ve done something wrong to him, so we can¡¯t let him know.¡± Done something wrong to him? He, Lu Nanze, had never felt that he had done anything wrong to that man. Before he could say another word, Shen Liangchuan had already stepped through the entrance of the cafe and walked in. Lu Nanze opened the restroom door and walked out. He was about to walk back to the dining area when Qiao Lian suddenly reached out and held him back by his head. He was stunned and, in that moment of distraction, was shoved back into the washroom by Qiao Lian. She red at him fiercely as she turned. ¡°You¡¯d better behave yourself!¡± Following this, there was a loud bang. The washroom door had been mmed shut. Lu Nanze was bbergasted. In all his life, this was the first time that anyone berated him. He reached out to touch his head, his expression had darkened considerably by now. In the past, when they had yed together as a group, Sun Tzi and the rest had liked to joke around, but no one had ever dared to treat him like this. Even Qiao Lian in the past had always been respectful towards him. But just now... Strangely, when he thought of the stony expression she had put and how she had berated him, he was suddenly reminded of how, in their youth, she had used to berate Sun Tzi in that very same way every time he did something wrong. At that time, whenever he saw this, he had felt jealous. He didn¡¯t have any siblings, and his parents were always busy with work. No one had ever disciplined him strictly. On the other hand, this sort of disciplining could onlye from a family member. It surprisingly gave him a sense of warmth somewhere deep in his heart, at the same time that he was furious. The Xiao Qiao he was seeing now made Lu Nanze suddenly feel that they had gone back eight years. The Qiao Lian eight yearster was a product of a tough life, a life that hadpletely worn down her sharp edges. The Qiao Lian eight years ago was wilful and unrestrained, it was a part of her that Lu Nanze reminisced. He was so taken aback by his ownplex emotions that he failed to retaliate. He, the grand young master of the Lu family, ended up hiding in the washroom. Meanwhile outside, in the cafe, Qiao Lian immediately waved at Shen Liangchuan when she saw him. She put on her sweetest smile. Except that, as an ipetent liar, her eyes wandered everywhere and avoided him entirely. Shen Liangchuan looked around and asked, ¡°What are you doing here?¡± ¡°I- I came for a coffee!¡± She pointed at the table on the side. He swept his gaze in this direction and saw two cups on the table. He replied in a casual but cool tone, ¡°You had two cups of coffee?¡± She fumbled for an answer, ¡°Er... I wanted to see if there was a difference between the two vours.¡± At this point, she saw that Shen Liangchuan¡¯s gaze had started to roam around the cafe. She quickly took a step towards him and grabbed his arm, saying, ¡°Honey, let¡¯s go home.¡± At the sound of ¡°honey,¡± he felt fuzzy inside. He nced at her. Her clear and bright eyes blinked innocently at him, making her look lively and adorable. He sighed. Then his gaze fell on the washroom door. After a pause, he nodded and headed back to the Qiao family home with Qiao Lian. Shen Liangchuan had an extremely dashing profile. And Qiao Lian felt very secure when she was with him. At the same time, he could stir something inside of her. It was apletely different feeling from the sense of repulsion she had when she was with Lu Nanze. Chapter 1068 - Who Am I? (10)

Chapter 1068: Who Am I? (10)

Qiao Lian concluded that she must have liked Shen Liangchuan before losing her memory. She had little recollection of the past, so she acted solely on her instinct now. And ording to how her heart felt, she was probably in love with Shen Liangchuan but... She reached out to touch her abdomen. But this child belonged to Lu Nanze somehow. What was she going to do about this? Come clean with Shen Liangchuan? Or im that the child belonged to Shen Liangchuan regardless? It wasn¡¯t that she hadn¡¯t thought about the possibility of Shen Liangchuan being the real father of this baby. But... The child was in the early stages, there was no way to ascertain this. Instinctively, she did not feel in any way inclined to abort the child. No matter what, this child must stay. Qiao Lian felt most anxious and troubled. To the extent that when bedtime came and Shen Liangchuany down on her bed, she realized something in retrospect. What about tonight?! Was she to share her bed with Shen Liangchuan? Although it seemed like her natural instincts did not dislike this at all... She wasn¡¯t prepared for this. What was she going to do? After all, to her now, Shen Liangchuan was a total stranger. She cleared her throat and sat at the edge of the bed. Looking at him, she attempted to convince him to go to another room. ¡°Eh, hubby...¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s gaze shifted to her as he said, ¡°Uh huh, aren¡¯t you tired?¡± ¡°Of course I am!¡± After all, her head had been injured and she had lost a lot of blood. Her eyelids were now fighting to stay open. ¡°Go to sleep then.¡± ¡°Huh? But¡ª¡± ¡°Xiao Qiao.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Do you want to know how we met?¡± Immediately, her interest was piqued and she nodded. Shen Liangchuan patted the spot next to him. Qiao Lian hesitated for a moment and theny down. It was better to rify the past. So that life could quickly get back on the right track. Otherwise life would be hell for her, caught between the two men. Lying there, she asked, ¡°So how did we meet?¡± How did they meet? After thinking for a moment, he started, ¡°You fell in love with me at first sight.¡± After all, she had pestered him from the moment they first met on the game. Surely it had been love at first sight. Qiao Lian was stunned. This was shocking to say the least! ¡°And then what happened?¡± ¡°And then you came after me in hot pursuit.¡± The way she had pestered him every day to y video games with her and she would never learn, no matter how many times he beat her to pulp in the games. That should qualify as hot pursuit. ¡°You had a good family background. Whereas I, to make a living, had to join the entertainment industry.¡± All of this was the truth. Qiao Lian¡¯s imagination had started to roam wild from Shen Liangchuan¡¯s contradicting ims. In Qiao Lian¡¯s mind, she was already forming images of a wealthy pampered mistress taking liberties with a new actor in the entertainment circle, harassing him and eventually marrying him. But since she had married him, why had she had an affair with her childhood sweetheart? As she was puzzling over this, Shen Liangchuan suddenly turned and looked at her. ¡°Xiao Qiao.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°You were the one who pestered me to date you.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± ¡°So...¡± ¡°So what?¡± ¡°You have to be responsible for me now.¡± Qiao Lian was speechless. Could she possibly say ¡°no?¡± It seemed not. She shut her eyes to pretend she had fallen asleep. But eventually, she really did. Shen Liangchuan stared at her in the pale moonlight, and the corners of his lips turned up into a smile. After a good night¡¯s sleep, Qiao Lian awoke to a piece of shocking news. Auntie Zhang informed her, ¡°Little Missy, Mr. Lu is here! Mr. Shen is hosting him downstairs.¡± Qiao Lian was bbergasted. The sh of the legitimate spouse and the third party... Was it turning into a bloody war zone right now?! Chapter 1069 - Two Men Vying For A Lady (1)

Chapter 1069: Two Men Vying For A Lady (1)

At this very thought, Qiao Lian sprang to her feet. She dashed out of the room without bothering to wash up. She instinctively nced downstairs as she left the bedroom. The bloody battlefield scene she had imagined had not materialized, but the atmosphere in the living room was obviously cold. Qiao Lian took the stairs a step at a time, until she came to the ground floor where the two men were. Shen Liangchuan asked Lu Nanze, ¡°Mr. Lu, I wonder what brought you here looking for my wife?¡± Lu Nanze replied with a smile, ¡°I¡¯m here to see Qiao Lian and I will speak with her in private.¡± Giving a freezing smile, Shen Liangchuan was about to speak again when Qiao Lian quickly got in between them. She first gave Shen Liangchuan a broad smile and then at once turned to re at Lu Nanze. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± That tone... The man¡¯s expression darkened. He nced at Shen Liangchuan and got to his feet, saying to Qiao Lian, ¡°I¡¯m here to return your mobile phone.¡± As he said this, he reached into his pocket, fished out a cell phone and handed it over to Qiao Lian. She was stumped. Cell phone? Indeed. Ever since she had regained consciousness, she hadn¡¯t had a cell phone. But how had her phonee to be in Lu Nanze¡¯s possession? Furthermore, why was Lu Nanze the one who had taken care of her in the hospital after regaining consciousness? What had Shen Liangchuan been doing then? Qiao Lian could not imagine what the answers to these questions might be. But without even having to look at Shen Liangchuan, she knew that right now he had to be fuming mad or, perhaps, he was already being eaten by jealousy. She quickly took the cell phone from him and cleared her throat. ¡°Oh, I see you¡¯ve found my lost phone somehow. Thanks so much!¡± As she said this, she sent Lu Nanze eyes signals by blinking at him energetically. Seeing her panic-stricken expression, Lu Nanze cast his gaze down and said, ¡°Qiao Lian, let¡¯s speak in private.¡± Then he turned and looked outside. Qiao Lian threw a nce in the same direction and then looked at Shen Liangchuan. She cleared her throat and instinctively looked at Shen Liangchuan in the eye. He gave a cold humph and did not say a word. Qiao Lian didn¡¯t dare to go against Shen Liangchuan¡¯s silent but obvious wish. Hence, she couldn¡¯t agree to Lu Nanze¡¯s request. ¡°Actually, you and I... we don¡¯t really have much to say to each other.¡± ¡°Well then, let¡¯s talk about this cell phone and why it¡¯s with me.¡± At these words, Qiao Lian suddenly grabbed Lu Nanze and said, ¡°Ah, it¡¯ste. You need to be on your way to work. Shoo! Shoo! Shoo! I¡¯ll see you out.¡± Freaking hell. Shen Liangchuan must not find out about her ambiguous rtionship with Lu Nanze, otherwise... Otherwise, who knew what would happen. She had no idea what would happen. But she knew instinctively that she did not want to upset Shen Liangchuan at all. Outside the vi, Lu Nanze stood next to his car. Qiao Lian looked at him like a mad woman and impatiently demanded, ¡°Speak up then, what did you want to say?¡± ¡°Qiao Lian, don¡¯t you remember that you were in the midst of getting a divorce with Shen Liangchuan?¡± A divorce? Strangely, Qiao Lian suddenly saw an image in her mind. She recalled signing divorce papers. That image came and went in a sh, causing her to deeply frown. Then she suddenly asked, ¡°I wanted a divorce with Shen Liangchuan so that I could be with you?¡± She first pointed at herself, then her finger slowly turned to point at Lu Nanze, and it finally moved towards Shen Liangchuan, who was in the house. Chapter 1070 - Two Men Vying For A Lady (2)

Chapter 1070: Two Men Vying For A Lady (2)

Narrowing his eyes, Lu Nanze nodded and said, ¡°Yes, that is correct. We are in love with each other and you¡¯re even carrying our child now. You¡¯re getting a divorce for me.¡± This threw Qiao Lian into a conundrum. She bit her lip and stared at Lu Nanze. After a moment, she sighed deeply. Lu Nanze asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Qiao Lian replied, ¡°I must have been a real idiot before I lost my memory. Or I was a mental case.¡± Lu Nanze was taken aback. Qiao Lian continued, ¡°I didn¡¯t like this dashingly handsome man and, instead, had an affair with you! Tell me, am I nuts or what?¡± Lu Nanze: ...!! He narrowed his eyes and looked at Qiao Lian with a gloomy expression. He was livid. What did she mean by that? Was she implying that he, Lu Nanze, paled inparison to a pretty boy?! He was about to say this aloud when Qiao Lian spoke, ¡°Why would I ignore the wealthy gentleman at home and, instead, like a pretty boy like you?¡± Lu Nanze was speechless. Who was the pretty boy?! His expression froze but, before he could even get a word in, Qiao Lian looked at him and continued her interrogation, ¡°Does he know about us?¡± Lu Nanze was choking with fury inside now and his expression was extremely gloomy. However on the other hand, his smile widened, a sure sign that his anger was rising. In the past, whenever he had this expression on his face, Qiao Lian would leave as soon as possible. But with that pale little face and a bandage around her head, looking as pitiful as she could be, and with that image of her breaking the drip bottle with her head reying in his mind, he found himselfpletely unable tosh out at her. Qiao Lian, on the other hand, nced back anxiously, worried that Shen Liangchuan mighte out any time and overhear their conversation. She waspletely oblivious to his emotions. Lu Nanze could only feel exasperation welling up within himself. He took a deep breath and said, ¡°Of course he¡ª¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s head spun around, looked at him before he could finish and interrupted, ¡°Surely he doesn¡¯t know. If he does, then I might as welle clean.¡± Come clean? How was she going to do that? Tell him she was pregnant? Then Shen Liangchuan would certainly easily know just by a quick calction whose child it was. Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes and lowered his head. ¡°That¡¯s right, he doesn¡¯t know.¡± Qiao Lian sighed in relief and said, ¡°That¡¯s great, that¡¯s great!¡± Lu Nanze scowled. He grabbed her hand and continued, ¡°Qiao Lian, we love each other. Divorce him ande to me. Wouldn¡¯t that be good? Wasn¡¯t that what you wanted to do before?¡± Qiao Lian looked troubled at these words. Turning to look at Lu Nanze, she bit her lip and said after a moment, ¡°But what about Qiao Yiyi?¡± ¡°Qiao Yiyi.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Didn¡¯t she say she¡¯s carrying your child?¡± Qiao Lian sighed and continued, ¡°Since there¡¯s someone else that you like, let¡¯s forget about us. As for this child...¡± Qiao Lian furrowed her brow. But what she had just said stunned Lu Nanze. ¡°She¡¯s carrying my child?¡± ¡°Indeed. Qiao Yiyi told me herself. Of course it¡¯s real! Look, Qiao Yiyi is unmarried and she¡¯s a good match for you. Besides, although I can¡¯t remember you, every time I see you I feel uneasy. It feels like you¡¯re a bad guy.¡± Lu Nanze was speechless. As though she had not realized the odd expression on Lu Nanze¡¯s face, she continued talking. Chapter 1071 - Two Men Vying For A Lady (3)

Chapter 1071: Two Men Vying For A Lady (3)

¡°So it¡¯s best that you stop pestering me, ok? It¡¯s wrong of us to do this. The injury I¡¯m suffering must be some sort of retribution.¡± Lu Nanze was bbergasted. Where did all of thise from? But those words she had just said, ¡°although I can¡¯t remember you, every time I see you, I feel uneasy,¡± they tightened his chest and were painful. He clenched his fists. Those eyes that seemed to be perpetually smiling now red at her icily. After a moment, he suddenly asked, ¡°So you no longer love me?¡± Qiao Lian snapped out her daze and nodded decisively. This was like shing his already wounded heart twice. Lu Nanze frowned and continued, ¡°And you... love him?¡± Him? As in Shen Liangchuan? Qiao Lian turned back and looked in the direction of the man. She paused and hesitated for a moment before she said, ¡°I don¡¯t know, after all, I don¡¯t remember the past.¡± ¡°That means you don¡¯t love him either!¡± Lu Nanze took a step forward and asked, ¡°Qiao Lian, does that mean I stand a chance too?¡± Qiao Lian was stumped. She lifted her head in and looked at Lu Nanze in astonishment. ¡°But¡ª¡± ¡°Since this is the case, why can¡¯t I try? Perhaps you might fall in love with me.¡± Qiao Lian stared at the man, unconvinced. ¡°That may not be quite possible, after all...¡± He was a far cry from Shen Liangchuan. Although they were both very handsome, oddly, while she found Shen Liangchuan dazzling, Lu Nanze was... just annoying. Lu Nanze did not care about all of this, of course. ¡°If you don¡¯t give me a chance, how could you know it¡¯s not possible between us? Qiao Lian, you¡¯re being unfair to me like this.¡± What freaking fairness? She and Shen Liangchuan were a married couple! But Lu Nanze said with a look of determination, ¡°I will not give up.¡± Then he turned, got into the car and left. Qiao Lian was left speechless. She hung her head, sighed and returned to the house. Just as she stepped in, her cell phone, which she had left on the coffee table earlier, suddenly rang. Qiao Lian walked over and picked up the call. A voice came through the line saying, ¡°Love Chuan, why haven¡¯t you live streamed in thest couple of days!¡± Love Chuan? And who was this?! Tilting her head, Qiao Lian tried to recall. ¡°Who is this?¡± There was a pause before the person answered, ¡°I¡¯m Prince!¡± ¡°Prince who?¡± ¡°Dang! It¡¯s only been a few days and you¡¯ve forgotten me? Love Chuan, where¡¯s your loyalty? Even if you¡¯re married to Best Actor Shen, even if you¡¯re Mrs. Shen, there¡¯s no need to make such a clean cut with me. You¡ª¡± Before he could get another word in, Qiao Lian quickly interrupted and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I injured my head and don¡¯t recall some things of the past quite clearly. Who are you? Can you be more specific?¡± A pause. Then the voice said, ¡°You really don¡¯t remember?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°... Oh, I¡¯m your team captain! Our PC Team is about to have a match, but you haven¡¯t turned up at our training camp for days. Of course I have to find out what¡¯s the matter!¡± PC Team? Captain? Qiao Lian was stumped. She didn¡¯t have the slightest memory of this. But the voice continued, ¡°I¡¯ve sent you the address to your cell phone. Come over when you¡¯re ready. The match is just round the corner, doe and join the training! Understand?¡± Chapter 1072 - Two Men Vying For A Lady (4)

Chapter 1072: Two Men Vying For A Lady (4)

Qiao Lian was speechless. Before she could say anything, Prince had hung up with a click. Then a text message followed. When she opened it, she saw an address. An image suddenly shed across her mind as she stared at the address. She was with a group of people in a vi. They were in front ofputers and discussing battle strategies. She couldn¡¯t recall the faces of those people, but for sure this had happened in the past. Hence, was she really a member of the PC Team? ¨C Lu Nanze pulled up at the driveway of his home. His normally smiling self was now carrying a gloomy expression. Although Qiao Lian had already said she didn¡¯t like him, he wasn¡¯t going to admit defeat. That she had lost her memory must have been the gods giving him a chance, because they had taken pity on him for having waited eight long years. He had to seize the opportunity and he would not give up. As he contemted this, he saw a woman walking towards him. Upon seeing her, his pupils shrank and he halted. Qiao Yiyi had walked up to him and casually slid her arm around his. ¡°Second Brother, you¡¯re home? Is Qiao Lian feeling better?¡± Her outwardly virtuous and soft demeanor made it hard for one to believe that she could have told Qiao Lian that. Lu Nanze looked at her icily. With a sudden motion, he reached out and grabbed her chin, forcing her to lift her face to look at him. A look for panic shed across her eyes, as she bit her lip and looked at the man. Holding her gaze steadily, she asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Second Brother?¡± ¡°What have you been telling Qiao Lian?¡± Qiao Yiyi shrugged and replied, ¡°Second Brother, I didn¡¯t tell her anything¡ª¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t? And you think I¡¯ll believe what you¡¯re saying?¡± Upon saying this, he shoved her with great force and threw her on the ground. ¡°Pregnant with my child? Asking her to leave?¡± He looked down at her and said forcefully, ¡°You think you¡¯re good enough?¡± She widened her eyes. ¡°Second Brother¡ª¡± ¡°Men!¡± At thismand, the butler appeared. Lu Nanze stared at Qiao Yiyi with narrowed eyes. She finally started to feel nervous. She looked back at Lu Nanze, trembling. She knew how terrifying he could get when angered. Crying, she pleaded, ¡°Second Brother, please have mercy on me! For the sake of everything I did for you in the past, for the sake of me staying by your side for so many years.¡± ¡°Second Brother, I really do love you. I¡¯m the one who has been by your side for thest eight years.¡± ¡°Second Brother, please, I beg of you, no matter what, I¡¯m Qiao Lian¡¯s cousin. Second Brother, please have mercy.¡± He narrowed his eyes at those words. After a moment, he said coldly, ¡°Shut this woman away! From now on, she¡¯s not to leave the house without my permission.¡± The butler immediately nodded and said, ¡°Yes, Sir.¡± Then he walked up to Qiao Yiyi. The woman looked at Lu Nanze in disbelief. ¡°Second Brother, are- are you trying to put me under house arrest?!¡± How could he possibly do that? She would rather be punished than put under house arrest. At the same time, the movie Ambition was finallypleted. Shi Nianyao and Mo Xicheng returned to Beijing. After parting reluctantly, Shi Nianyao went home. Shortly after she did so, she received an order from her mother: ¡°You¡¯reing to an arranged blind date tomorrow.¡± What?! Chapter 1073 - Two Men Vying For A Lady (5)

Chapter 1073: Two Men Vying For A Lady (5)

Shi Nianyao was shocked and looked at her mother, Si Jingyu, as she started, ¡°But¡ª¡± ¡°The suitor is the son of your favorite auntie, Li Shu.¡± Shi Nianyao was bbergasted. Auntie Li Shu¡¯s son? Wouldn¡¯t that be Mo Xicheng¡¯s brother, Mo Zhi? Shi Nianyao immediately objected. ¡°I¡¯m not going!¡± ¡°Why? Unless you already have a boyfriend, what¡¯s the problem?¡± Si Jingyu asked. Shi Nianyao shook her head at once and sighed. ¡°Mom, have you ever met Mo Zhi? Do you know what he¡¯s like??¡± Si Jingyu was stunned and asked, ¡°You¡¯ve met him? When and where?¡± Shi Nianyao kept silent. If she admitted to this, then she would also have to admit to having gone to Hengdian. Hence she said vaguely, ¡°Do we really need to meet? All my friends say that this Mo Zhi is an idiot.¡± Si Jingyu looked at her and shook her head, saying, ¡°You should not just listen to what others are saying, you know? Because you¡¯ve been so well protected, many people in Beijing city say that you must be ugly. We haven¡¯t even met him, how can we know whether he¡¯s good or otherwise?¡± Shi Nianyao bit her lip and said, ¡°In any case, I¡¯m not going!¡± Si Jingyu: ... She sighed and walked over to sit next to Shi Nianyao. ¡°And why?¡± ¡°Is it because people in the circle are spreading rumors about Mo Zhi minding your looks? That¡¯s because he has never seen you. Besides, it¡¯s not as if it¡¯s a real blind date. I¡¯m upset too, that such rumors about my daughter are going around. Let¡¯s just go and meet them so that they can see that you¡¯re not ugly!¡± ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll do just that. Just a meal. As for the rest, Mom won¡¯t force you. We¡¯ll leave it to fate.¡± ¨C On the other end, at the Mo Family¡¯s. ¡°I¡¯m not going, I¡¯m not going!¡± Mo Zhi stamped his feet and threw a tantrum. ring at his father, he said, ¡°I¡¯m not going to see that ugly monster.¡± Dad Mo sighed and replied, ¡°The board members have a very bad impression of you right now. If you can have a rtionship with Ms. Shi, you will have Shi Xun to help look out for you where the business is concerned. Then at least our family business won¡¯t suffer a loss in your hands!¡± Mo Zhi was greatly angered to hear this. ¡°Dad, what do you mean by that? Are you saying I¡¯m not capable of managing this business well? Are you saying I¡¯m stupid? And that your illegitimate son is better? Then why don¡¯t you just get him to marry that woman in the Mo family?¡± When Dad Mo heard this, he became anxious and chided him, ¡°What is this you¡¯re saying? Ignoring the fact that he doesn¡¯t have those intentions, just based on the fact that he¡¯s an illegitimate son, I will not hand the Mo family over to him! It was my carelessness at that time. Besides, I¡¯ve met Mr. and Mrs. Mo, and both of them are quite good-looking. Their daughter won¡¯t turn out too bad. It¡¯s just a blind date, just go and meet her.¡± ¡°I will not go!¡± Mo Zhi gave a loud snort. Shortly after, with a sudden roll of his eyes, he spun around and looked at his father. He added, ¡°Dad, since the Shi family is so great, why don¡¯t you make Mo Xicheng marry the girl? Didn¡¯t the Li family¡¯s girl end up regretting it?¡± Dad Mo immediately pped Mo Zhi¡¯s head. ¡°Are you stupid? If Mo Xicheng married the Shi family¡¯s daughter, how are you going to sit securely as the head of the Mo family? I¡¯d say that if he likes thatmoner girl, then let him have her! Without a leverage, he¡¯ll never be able to match up to you in all his life. You have to remember, I will only hand over the Mo family to the children of your mother and I.¡± Chapter 1074 - Two Men Vying For A Lady (6)

Chapter 1074: Two Men Vying For A Lady (6)

Mo Zhi nodded when he heard this. Dad Mo patted the boy on his shoulder and said, ¡°Alright, you have to go tomorrow. Otherwise, I¡¯m suspending your allowance for next month.¡± Mo Zhi finally panicked when he heard this and said, ¡°Fine, fine, fine. I¡¯ll go, ok?¡± After walking out of the study, Mo Zhi humphed loudly and muttered, ¡°That piece of rubbish, the daughter of the Shi family, I¡¯m sure she¡¯s ugly! That¡¯s just forcing things on me.¡± At this thought, a crease appeared on his forehead. Suddenly, he gave himself a light p on the head and thought, ¡°Isn¡¯t Mo Xicheng back?¡± His eyes turned once. Dad would surely not hand the Mo family business to Mo Xicheng, and Mo Xicheng, that man of inferior quality, would also not dare to challenge him for that position. With Yao Lili¡¯s help, on top of the support from Mom and Dad, Mo Xicheng would never have the authority to seed in the Mo family. Hence, Dad¡¯s thinking waspletely off-track. He should Mo Xicheng marry that ugly woman to still have the support of the Shi family. This is what a strategic marriage meant. As for himself, of course he wanted a gentle and caring beauty for a wife. At this thought, Mo Zhi immediately got excited. He picked up his cell phone and called Mo Xicheng. The line connected and Mo Xicheng¡¯s voice sounded on the other end, ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Hey, are you back in Beijing?¡± Mo Xicheng paused. ¡°Uh huh.¡± Mo Zhi said immediately, ¡°Tomorrow, at Beijing Grand Hotel. Come over at noon.¡± Mo Xicheng, who had just arrived home and unpacked his belongings, was sitting on the sofa now and frowned as he heard this. He asked, ¡°Why? What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°Why do you ask so many questions? Just turn up as you¡¯re told!¡± Mo Xicheng said at once, ¡°I¡¯m busy.¡± ¡°You¡ª¡± Mo Xicheng had already hung up. Shortly after, the cell phone rang again. Looking down at the screen and seeing it was Mo Zhi, he frowned and refused to pick up the call. Mo Zhi, however, would not stop trying. Finally picking up the call, he asked, ¡°What exactly do you want?¡± ¡°Go to Beijing Grand Hotel. If you don¡¯t turn up, I¡¯ll call Yao Lili! Think about it. If she turns up and does anything embarrassing, it¡¯s out of my hands.¡± Mo Xicheng frowned. ¡°Are youing?¡± The man cast his gaze down and finally agreed, ¡°Fine.¡± ¡°You could have agreed from the start, couldn¡¯t you? But you made me threaten you with calling Yao Lili. Mo Xicheng, let me tell you, I¡¯m your older brother. You¡¯d better obey me and, since we are brothers, I¡¯ll make sure you get some benefits. Otherwise¡ª¡± Before he could finish, Mo Xicheng had hung up. He tossed the cell phone aside, raised his hand and massaged his temples. Then he raised his head and slumped into the sofa. When would days like this evere to an end? All he wanted was a simple life. He didn¡¯tck money, he only wanted to draw a clean line between himself and the Mo family. He shut his eyes, feeling lonesome and exhausted. The cell phone suddenly rang with a notification. He paused for a moment and then picked it up. It was a WeChat voice message from Shi Nianyao. Clicking to open the message, her voice yed on the phone speaker, ¡°Idol, have you showered? Go to bed early after you¡¯ve showered. Remember that every day is a new day! And remember to smile every day.¡± Her warm voice and sweet tone calmed his restlessness immediately. Indeed. Every day was a new beginning, so he should face life with a smile. Who knew? Maybe at the whatever hotel tomorrow, there would be some sort of surprise. Chapter 1075 - Two Men Vying For A Lady (7)

Chapter 1075: Two Men Vying For A Lady (7)

Si Jingyu woke up early in the morning. And early in the morning as well, the clothing store sent the dress that had been specially tailored for Shi Nianyao for the asion. Si Jingyu looked at the white dress and felt that it suited her daughter well. There was a sort of pureness in Shi Nianyao¡¯s personality, hence a white dress was very suitable. At this thought, she lifted her head and looked upstairs. She then looked at the time. It was already 10 a.m. There was an hour and a half left for their 11.30 a.m. appointment. As a courtesy, they should have left by now. After all, the traffic in Beijing at this hour could get seriously congested. But why hadn¡¯t that young girl, Nianyao,e downstairs? She walked up to her room and knocked on the door, calling HER, ¡°Nianyao? Are you ready?¡± Then she heard Shi Nianyao¡¯s voice, ¡°What? Soon, soon! No hurry!¡± Si Jingyu shook her head helplessly. Her husband, meaning Shi Nianyao¡¯s father, Shi Jinyan, walked out in his suit and leather shoes. He looked at Si Jingyu and then at the door. Time had not added many wrinkles to the man¡¯s face, although through his experience in life he had aged like a fine and full-vored wine. His face, and particrly his eyes, disyed happiness and contentment. Looking at his wife and then at the door of his daughter¡¯s room, he remarked, ¡°She¡¯s not out yet?¡± Si Jingyu sighed andmented, ¡°You know her, she¡¯s never liked these blind dates.¡± She looked down at the time anxiously and continued, ¡°I¡¯ve arranged with Li Shu to meet at 11.30 a.m. If we¡¯rete, even though we¡¯re the girl¡¯s family, it¡¯s not good.¡± Shi Jinyan smiled faintly and patted her on the shoulder. ¡°Here, let me do this.¡± Si Jingyu stepped aside. Shi Jinyan walked up to the door and called her, ¡°Yao Yao.¡± ¡°Ah! I know, I¡¯ming! Stop being so anxious!¡± Shi Jinyan continued, ¡°I¡¯m giving you one minute. If you don¡¯t open this door, I¡¯m going to throw out all those posters in your study.¡± There was a silent pause and then immediately, they heard the thumping of feet. Following this, the door flew open with a creak. Shi Nianyao stood at the door and eximed, ¡°Dad, I¡¯ming!!¡± Posters? That was her collection of Mo Xicheng¡¯s photographs. She had every single one the promoter had released. With that one remark, he had held his daughter by her Achilles heel. As the door flew open, he threw his wife a nce, but when he turned back to look at Shi Nianyao¡¯s anxious face, he was stunned. ¡°You- you- this is¡ª¡± ¡°Dad, hurry up. Didn¡¯t you say we¡¯rete? Why are you procrastinating? Hurry, hurry, hurry!¡± As she spoke these words, Shi Nianyao ran downstairs. She saw the dress that had just been delivered, thought for a second, picked it up and ran back upstairs. Without further ado, she quickly changed into it and ran downstairs again. Then she jumped into the car, all the time while Si Jingyu and Shi Jinyan both stared at her with their mouths agape. After she got into the car, she waved at them and said, ¡°Hurry up. If you don¡¯t get in, we¡¯re going to bete.¡± ¨C In the Beijing Grand Hotel. Mo Zhi, his father and Li Shu arrived first to the reserved private room. Seeing that the other party had not arrived, Mo Zhi at once twitched his mouth. Quietly picking up his cell phone, he sent a message to Mo Xicheng: [Are you here yet?] After a while, Mo Xicheng¡¯s reply came back: [In half an hour.] Mo Zhi nodded. Half an hour was just nice. Although the Shi family¡¯s little missy was an ugly woman, he had never seen her. In case she was a beauty, he would ept her, but if she was too ugly, he would let Mo Xicheng have her. Chapter 1076 - Two Men Vying For A Lady (8)

Chapter 1076: Two Men Vying For A Lady (8)

Mo Zhi had his own little scheme nned out. His eyes were already darting around, keeping a lookout. After a short while, he said impatiently, ¡°Mom, why aren¡¯t they here already? Could it be because the girl is so ugly they don¡¯t dare toe up?¡± Li Shu was taken aback at once and asked, ¡°What is this you¡¯re saying? Don¡¯t you have any manners?¡± Mo Zhi was about to retort when Dad Mo shot him a look. The boy lowered his head at once and said, ¡°Mom, that was wrong of me.¡± Li Shu¡¯s expression softened a little upon hearing this. But immediately, she turned to look outside with a worried expression and then chided Mo Zhi, ¡°Let me tell you, I¡¯ve seen that child, Yao Yao, when she was younger and she¡¯s delicate and pretty¡ª¡± ¡°A woman¡¯s looks change drastically when she grows older. There are scores of good-looking kids. But when they grow up, maybe they turn ugly.¡± Li Shu¡¯s expression froze at his remark. ¡°Mo Zhi, I¡¯m warning you, when you meet Yao Yaoter, even if you¡¯re not willing, you will keep your mouth shut! You watch your manners, is that clear?¡± Mo Zhi rolled his eyes impatiently. Dad Mo Zhi immediately said, ¡°Mo Zhi, you¡¯d better hurry and give your word on this.¡± Reluctantly, Mo Zhi gave his word, ¡°I know, Mom!¡± As they spoke, Li Shu received a call from the front desk, telling her that the Shi family had arrived. Li Shu immediately stood up. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen Jingyu very often in the recent years. Let¡¯s go to the entrance and wee them.¡± Dad Mo got to his feet at once and obediently followed Li Shu. Mo Zhi, on the other hand, sighed again and dragged his feet to the doorway. Then he craned his neck, looking into the distance. They waited before the elevator that essd the private rooms. It was just in front, around the corner. The three of them stood there and, not long after, a youngdy appeared. She wore a white dress, but she was at this point standing backwards, happily talking to her parents behind her. Hence at that moment, Mo Zhi only got to see her back. But... His eyes had already lit up! It was only her back, and this already triggered all sorts of wild and exciting thoughts. Because she had a simply beautiful neck, it was pale and graceful. And that body under the dress... Mo Zhi could tell through his eyes, that were richly experienced in inspecting women, that it was most adequate. For sure, this was a fine specimen. Shi Nianyao¡¯s back had enticed Mo Zhi¡¯s imagination so much that he was almost drooling now. Normally, women with such traits didn¡¯t look too bad. And even if she didn¡¯t look that great, he wouldpromise. Because such a temperament and such a figure... As Mo Zhi was contemting this, he put on a huge smile at the same time and waved at them, ¡°Uncle Shi, Auntie! Sister Yao Yao, you¡¯re here!¡± As soon as they heard the enthusiastic voice from afar, the three of them looked simultaneously in his direction. Mo Zhi¡¯s gaze wandered onto Shi Nianyao¡¯s face eagerly. Her beautiful figure around, resplendent in its pure and virgin glow that made one almost afraid to sully it. And then... A dark and pockmarked face turned to look him directly in the eye. That face... was heavily made-up, as though she was trying to hide herplexion. There were countless moles on her face¡ªand especially that huge and ck one next to her mouth, it couldn¡¯t be more obvious. Within that turn of her head, Mo Zhi fell t on the floor at lightning speed. This reminded him of a short paragraph that he had read on the inte. It had been about a person¡¯s back view being enticing and, with the turn of the head, feeling as though looking at a flower. Chapter 1077 - Two Men Vying For A Lady (9)

Chapter 1077: Two Men Vying For A Lady (9)

Mo Zhi shuddered involuntarily. From looking mesmerized a moment ago, his expression at once gave way and he immediately spat out two words, ¡°Freaking hell!¡± Freaking hell. This was way too much of a surprise to handle. That face was simply one big mess. That makeup was so terrible that she could pass as a clown. One couldn¡¯t even see her features clearly. But... What was the point of having pretty features if the makeup was done this poorly? At this thought, he saw Shi Nianyao¡¯s eyes suddenly light up as though she had seen a treasure. She quickly waved back and, with a coy tilt of her waist, nced at Mo Zhi shyly. ¡°Big Brother Mo.¡± Mo Zhi was stunned speechless as goosebumps broke out all over his body. Si Jingyu: ... Shi Jinyan: ... Both were at a loss for words. They exchanged a nce and grimaced. How had they even gotten so brain-washed by the girl on their way here? She had said something along the line of, ¡°Of course he¡¯ll react well if I look beautiful. But if I look ugly and he still reacts well, then wouldn¡¯t it mean he has excellent character?¡± ¡°Dad, Mom, we won¡¯t be picky with Mo Zhi¡¯s looks, but he had been spreading rumors about me being ugly, so I have to look into his character.¡± But... But in order to look into the man¡¯s character, wasn¡¯t the show Shi Nianyao had put up a little overboard? At this point, Si Jingyu simply wished she could stuff her daughter back into her womb for a remake. But this had to do with her daughter¡¯s lifetime happiness ands since things hade to this, of course she could not undermine it. Hence, Si Jingyu cleared her throat and took a step forward to give Li Shu an affectionate hug. She took a good look at Li Shu and sighed. ¡°Li Shu, it¡¯s been years since west met. You look bleaker than before.¡± Upon hearing this, Li Shu studied the other woman¡¯s face and said, ¡°And you haven¡¯t changed much. It looks like you¡¯re living life well.¡± She lowered her head with slightly reddened eyes at this point. Si Jingyu quickly took the woman¡¯s hand and turned to the rest. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s not stand around. Take a seat, everyone.¡± When they were deciding where to seat everyone, Shi Nianyao yed out yet another of her wicked ideas. She sat next to Mo Zhi on purpose. And after sitting down, she rested her chin in her propped up hands, looked at Mo Zhi and started throwing flirtatious nces in his direction. But with this makeup, Mo Zhi found itpletely intolerable. He cleared his throat and gulped down. Despise was written clearly all over his face. Shi Jinyan sat there observing Mo Zhi, quietly measuring the man. He cast his gaze down with disappointment. On the other side of the table, So Jingyu and Li Shu were chatting. Li Shu looked at Shi Jinyan, shifted her gaze to Si Jingyu and said with a sigh, ¡°I remember we got married the same year. Back then you said you envied me. But now it looks like you had a better eye. I am as sorrowful now as I was happy then. And you are as happy now as you were sorrowful back then. With a boy and a girl, Jingyu, I¡¯ve said so before, you¡¯re a blessed and fortunate woman.¡± Upon hearing this, So Jingyu quickly reached out for Li Shu¡¯s hand and said in a low voice, ¡°You and Mo Zhi¡¯s father...¡± Li Shu¡¯s expression froze as she said, ¡°It¡¯s still the same.¡± Si Jingyu sighed at once. Chapter 1078 - Two Men Vying For A Lady (10)

Chapter 1078: Two Men Vying For A Lady (10)

Thinking back on those years, Li Shu and Mo Zhi¡¯s father were childhood sweethearts. Everyone had thought they were the perfect couple. But unexpectedly, the manter had an affair. Li Shu had wanted a divorce at that time, but Mo Zhi¡¯s father wouldn¡¯t hear of it. Their political marriage was a significant tie between their families and, after the marriage, they had so much estate inmon that a clean break had be impossible. Hence all of these years, Li Shu had had to keep up appearances with the man. Although they lived as a family, they kept separate vis. Li Shu was an author, so she traveled yearly to gather sources of inspiration. And Mo Zhi¡¯s father would be quietly waiting for her return from these trips. When Si Jingyu thought of this, she sighed. Looking at the table, she said, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about this. Our meeting today is about the kids.¡± At these words, everyone looked towards the two youngsters. Shi Nianyao¡¯s makeup was a tragic sight, but unfortunately she seemed tock self-awareness and continued to make eyes at Mo Zhi. When the dishes arrived, she used her chopsticks to rudely pick up a load of food. Mo Zhi grimaced at her behaviour. He could not endure the attention that she was putting him through. But because his father shot him looks of warning ever so often, he knew he had to take it in his stride today. Although he had decided that this girl was definitely not the one for him, he had to see the lunch event through. So he would tolerate it. At worst, he could just cast his gaze elsewhere. Now, she looked as though she hadn¡¯t eaten for ages. She ate whatever was served. Her uncouth mannerisms were absolutely... Mo Zhi shook his head and discreetly inched his chair a fraction away from her. Just at this point, the waitress served up a chilly okatter. Shi Nianyao immediately picked up some of these with her chopsticks. Turning towards Mo Zhi, she said, ¡°Big Brother Mo Zhi, you like chillies, don¡¯t you? Come now, open your mouth, ahhhh.¡± After saying this, she held the chillies towards Mo Zhi. At once, Mo Zhi waved his hand in disgust and reached out to push her arm away. He had reached his limit of tolerance. ¡°Go away! Of all the things, I hate chillies¡ª¡± Before he could finish his sentence, he saw Shi Nianyao jump in fright. The chillies that she had picked up for him suddenly flew across andnded on his face. At once, the spicy chilli oil entered his eyes. He squeezed his eyes shut from the hot stinging sensation, unable to reopen them again. Mo Zhi was livid. He had never been a patient person. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have been this careless and hot-tempered to make the board members be so negative about him. Besides, since a young age, he had always gotten what he wanted and had never been aggrieved. But as though she knew how angry he must be feeling right now, Shi Nianyao immediately took a step towards him and said, ¡°Big Brother Mo Zhi, are you ok?¡± Of course, deep down in her heart, she was gleeful. This is your pay-back now for harassing mest time! The parents on both sides were now greatly concerned and stood up at once. Li Shu even started to walk towards Mo Zhi. As she instructed the waitress to get some water, Mo Zhi jumped up and down in fury. He extended his hand and pushed the people in front of him out of the way. He hollered, ¡°Get lost! You ugly monster! I¡¯ve got enough! Tell me, did you do this on purpose? Huh? Who is your Big Brother Mo Zhi? I¡¯m not going to marry you, I¡¯m telling you. Stay away from me!¡± Chapter 1079 - Two Men Vying For A Lady (11)

Chapter 1079: Two Men Vying For A Lady (11)

Shi Nianyao continued to add fuel to the fire and said, ¡°No way, Big Brother Mo Zhi. My Mom has already said you¡¯re my fiance¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m not! I will not marry an ugly monster like you! Look at yourself, you make people lose their appetite! It¡¯s revolting! I¡¯ve said it, stay away from me, do you understand?¡± Just as he had said this, Li Shu shouted at him, ¡°You keep your mouth shut!¡± She was ring at her son sharply. Then she turned to Si Jingyu and Shi Jinyan, who were looking quite appalled by now, and sighed. ¡°This child has been spoilt by his father. He¡¯s frank and outspoken, please, don¡¯t mind him.¡± Si Jingyu was livid. Even if her daughter was not that good-looking, Mo Zhi¡¯s behavior was not right. Frowning now, she looked at Li Shu and said, ¡°Li Shu, I have to say this. Even if you haven¡¯t really minded the situation at home recently, this child¡¯s education needs to be tightened.¡± Li Shu nodded. She could tell from the start that Shi Nianyao had just been putting on an act. The girl¡¯s makeup skills were impressive. How could she possibly not know that Shi Nianyao was just testing Mo Zhi? Ignoring everything else, Shi Nianyao¡¯s extraordinary style alone told Li Shu that this was no ordinary girl. Her son was a potential husband and had a bad reputation¡ªand even at work hecked capability¡ªso who could me his potential inws for testing his character? Hence, Li Shu did not say a word. Her intentions had been to allow Si Jingyu to see her son for what he was. But unexpectedly, it had toe to this. She was furious. Upon hearing what Si Jingyu had to say, she immediately felt ashamed. Sighing deeply, she was about to apologize when Mo Zhi started to yell on top of his voice, ¡°What did you say? Whose parents did not educate their child? Did you see it? Your daughter was hung up on me the moment she arrived and would not let me alone. Your daughter can¡¯t startining about me now. It¡¯s I, Mo Zhi, who doesn¡¯t want her!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve asked you to keep your mouth shut!¡± Li Shu shouted. Mo Zhi was about to retort when Dad Mo stepped forward and stood before him. He said, ¡°Hush! Don¡¯t make your mother angry!¡± Mo Zhi¡¯s eyes were red and swollen from the chilli, so he could barely open them. Then he heard Li Shu say, ¡°Jingyu, my son is really not good enough for Yao Yao. I think where this matter is concerned¡ª¡± Li Shu had always been an adaptable person. This meeting to her had just been an opportunity to explore possibilities, see if their children were fated to be together. Since things had turned out like this, then there was no need to continue this talk about marriage. Yet Mo Zhi jumped at these words, like he had stepped on an anthill. He exploded and said at once, ¡°Mom, am I not your son? What mother despises her own son like this? I know you dislike me! You hate me! But clearly, all of this is the fault of this ugly monster here. Look at her pig face, look. Who did you say is not good enough?!¡± ¡°Mom, you¡¯re my mother. Which mother beats her own son down like you¡¯ve done?¡± Li Shu trembled in fury at Mo Zhi¡¯s words. She red at her son. Then there was a loud p. Everyone was stunned as they saw Dad Mo lift his hand away from Mo Zhi¡¯s face. He said coldly, ¡°Shut your mouth! You won¡¯t anger your Mom! Apologize to her!¡± Chapter 1080 - Two Men Vying For A Lady (12)

Chapter 1080: Two Men Vying For A Lady (12)

Under pressure from both his parents, Mo Zhi lost it. He was stunned by the p initially, but he very soon recovered and shouted, ¡°Dad, you actually hit me! You hit me because of this ugly monster!¡± Feeling terribly wronged, his eyes reddened as he said, ¡°You two got together and tricked me into this blind date, you even insisted she wasn¡¯t ugly. Look at her, are you blind?¡± ¡°What right do you have to sacrifice my marital bliss for the sake of the family business?! There is no point in forcing it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have you know that I will not have this woman. Simply looking at her revolts me!¡± Just at this point, Mo Xicheng¡¯s voice was hearding from the doorway, ¡°What¡¯s this about?¡± Everyone turned around simultaneously. At once, Mo Xicheng¡¯s gaze fell on Shi Nianyao. His pupils shrank back. Though Mo Zhi regained hisposure upon hearing Mo Xicheng¡¯s voice. Pointing at Mo Xicheng, he shouted, ¡°If anyone has to marry her, let Mo Xicheng do it! He is a son of the Mo family too. Although illegitimate, he and this ugly monster are a perfect match.¡± Dad Mo said angrily at once, ¡°Stop speaking nonsense!¡± As though he had found an anchor, Mo Zhi said, ¡°I¡¯m not speaking nonsense! Mo Xicheng grew up with the Mo family¡¯s money, he should make sacrifices for the family.¡± Having said this, Mo Zhi walked up to Mo Xicheng and continued, ¡°Although that girlfriend of yours is pretty, but what¡¯s the use of that alone? If you marry this ugly monster, on the other hand, you¡¯ll have lots of benefits.¡± Mo Zhi went on, ¡°Dad, Mom, I¡¯m not going to marry this woman anyway!! Let Mo Xicheng marry her.¡± Mo Zhi¡¯s words both greatly shamed and infuriated Li Shu. She red at Mo Zhi in disbelief. Indeed, she had spent little time with her son in all of these years. But whenever they met, Mo Zhi would be on his best behavior, never like today. Right up until now, she had not known that Mo Zhi¡¯s character was so poor. Si Jingyu and Shi Jinyan looked appalled, especially Shi Jinyan, who red at Mo Zhi as though he was going to tear him apart. When Li Shu saw this, she quickly reached for Si Jingyu¡¯s hand. Tottering, at the verge of copsing, she said, ¡°Jingyu, I will punish him well today. Please, don¡¯t be angry.¡± Si Jingyu withdrew her hand and said, ¡°Li Shu, I think we ought to leave now.¡± Sighing, Li Shu replied, ¡°Ok, I wille by your ce to apologize another day.¡± Si Jingyu and Shi Jinyan then got up to their feet and got ready to leave. At this point, Dad Mo threw an angry nce at Mo Zhi. At once, Mo Zhi knew he was in trouble. If they weren¡¯t able to reach an marriage agreement with the Shi family today, they could very well part as enemies. This must not happen. At this critical point, he racked his brain and looked at Shi Nianyao. Suddenly, he jumped in front of her and said, ¡°Ugly- er Sister Yao Yao, look, this is my brother. He¡¯s better looking than me. How about him for a husband?¡± Shi Nianyao¡¯s gaze moved towards Mo Xicheng, at whom Mo Zhi was pointing. She creased her brow tightly. How miserable. Damn. Why did she have to run into her idol? She couldn¡¯t be looking worse. He may perhaps, possibly not be able to recognize it was her? At this thought, Mo Zhi looked at Mo Xicheng and said, ¡°Hurry over here and cheer Sister Yao Yao up!¡± Chapter 1081 - Two Men Vying For A Lady (13)

Chapter 1081: Two Men Vying For A Lady (13)

Shi Nianyao turned her head ever so slightly towards Mo Xicheng at these words. He had a serious expression on his face as he stared at them. He stood there and did not move. Given his reaction, obviously he had not recognized her. Shi Nianyao¡¯s heart did a happy flip at this thought. She blinked and then suddenly had the idea of ying a trick on him. Hence, she happily skipped up to Mo Xicheng, tilted her head and said in a squeaky voice, ¡°Big Brother Mo, you¡¯re a handsome man, will you be my husband?¡± She felt her face burn a little even as she said this. Damn. She was using this crazy situation to finally say what she had kept hidden in her heart for so long. Ha, wait till tomorrow, when she would tell him that she had made yet another confession to him. She was ted at this thought. But unexpectedly the next moment, she heard a response that shocked her. ¡°Ok.¡± That word, uttered with his deep maic voice, crazily shook her heart. She was stunned. She stared at Mo Xicheng in disbelief. What had he just said? Ok? Shi Nianyao widened her eyes. Following this, Mo Zhi humphed coldly and added, ¡°See what I said? Love is all crap! The moment he saw the daughter of the Shi family, he tossed his girlfriend to the back of his mind. To think he acted so loyal... tsk tsk!¡± Shi Nianyao couldn¡¯t help taking a big gulp as well. Damn, what sort of situation was this? He had turned the situation to his own advantage? Had her idol just said yes? And if her idol decided to date her, then what was going to happen to his girlfriend, to herself? Shi Nianyao had trouble thinking straight now. This hadn¡¯t been in the script. As her head was still spinning, Dad Mo finally recovered. Mo Zhi wasn¡¯t going to make the cut. He was unwilling and Dad Mo¡¯s heart ached for him. He wasn¡¯t going to force the boy. Besides, since this girl Shi Nianyao would put makeup like this to frighten people, for sure she certainly wasn¡¯t an easy person to get along with. Finally, in the interest of his own selfish motives, Dad Mo relented. He would have Mo Xicheng date Shi Nianyao. At worst, he himself would keep an eye on Mo Xicheng so that Mo Zhi¡¯s position would not bepromised. This political marriage with the Shi family must be settled. At this thought, Dad Mo pulled Mo Xicheng towards himself, looked at Si Jingyu and Shi Jinyan and said, ¡°The both of you may not have met him. This is my illegitimate son, who has not lived up to expectations. Actually he does have some capabilities, I¡¯m not sure if he¡ª¡± However, the moment they heard the words ¡°illegitimate son,¡± Si Jingyu and Shi Jinyan exchanged a look and frowned faintly. Initially, they had been on the verge of declining this arrangement, however when they saw Mo Xicheng, they held back their words. Of course as parents, they were well-aware that their daughter was obsessed with this celebrity. If their daughter liked him, they didn¡¯t really care about status or position. Their only concern now was the man¡¯s bearing and character. And in terms of these, Mo Xicheng was miles ahead of Mo Zhi. Hence, after exchanging a nce with each other, Si Jingyu and Shi Jinyan agreed, ¡°As long as Yao Yao likes him.¡± At this point, Dad Mo quickly strode over to Shi Nianyao. He pointed at Mo Xicheng and asked, ¡°Yao Yao, do you think he looks dashing?¡± Shi Nianyao nodded. ¡°In this case, do you like him?¡± Shi Nianyao nodded again. Of course she liked him... more than liked him! ¡°Then so be it! The two of them will get engaged right now! I¡¯ve even brought the engagement ring.¡± Chapter 1082 - She Remembers (1)

Chapter 1082: She Remembers (1)

Si Jingyu anxiously tried to stop this. ¡°We can¡¯t do this. The two of them can date for a bit, and then we¡¯ll see if they are willing¡ª¡± ¡°What¡¯s there to not want? He¡¯s fortunate to be able to marry Yao Yao! As long as Yao Yao doesn¡¯t back out of the n, everything will be fine. And if he dares to do anything to upset Yao Yao, I¡¯ll break his legs.¡± Si Jingyu spok, ¡°But I heard he has a girlfriend.¡± Dad Mo immediately made an unreasonable remark, ¡°Break up with her right away.¡± Mo Xicheng: ... Si Jingyu remarked, ¡°So her idol has decided to abandon his girlfriend for an ugly pampered little mistress?¡± Eventually, through all her sound reasons, Si Jingyu managed to stop the engagement, so that Shi Nianyao and Mo Xicheng could date and get to know each other for a while. After they left the hotel and got into the car, Si Jingyu looked at the dejected Shi Nianyao. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? Isn¡¯t Mo Xicheng your favorite star? Why aren¡¯t you happy to be dating?¡± Shi Nianyao looked up and wailed, ¡°Mom, I¡¯ve been dumped!¡± Si Jingyu was speechless. ¨C Suzhou. The wound on Qiao Lian¡¯s forehead had almost healed up. The blood clot seemed to have cleared. Her sleep for the past nights had been fraught with dreams. This made her wake up with a splitting headache every morning. She felt that vague memories wereing back to her. But indeed, she wasn¡¯t able to connect the dots or associate one mental image with another. It was another new morning, but she sat up with a start as she started taking in big gulps of air. Next to her, someone¡¯s arm touched her back. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? A bad dream?¡± The familiar voice strangely made her feel safe. She turned around and, the moment she saw Shen Liangchuan¡¯s face, a few images shed very quickly through her mind. At once, her head started to hurt again. She took a deep breath and tried to suppress it. Then she got out of bed to wash up. Looking into the mirror, she saw a strange yet familiar self. No. She had to find out what had happened in the past. Right now, there was no rity and she felt terribly lost. On that same day, she secretly went to the address that Prince had sent her. It was a vi with nothing around. Qiao Lian stood outside, feeling that this scene was somewhat familiar. As she was still in a daze, she felt someone pat her back. She turned around and saw Prince standing behind her. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you go in?¡± As he said this, he put his arm around her shoulder and led the way, saying, ¡°You¡¯re quite skilled at mobile games, but do you know how to y theputer version?¡± Upon hearing this, Qiao Lian felt another wave of familiarity welling up in her. Frowning, she shook her head and said, ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s give it a try.¡± All the other team members in the vi were still asleep, none of them were awake yet. Prince led her to one of theputers and entered a Lotputer game interface. When she saw the game, that sense of familiarity in her started to grow. Prince pointed at the keys on the keyboard and said, ¡°Let me show you the basics. This here is¡ª¡± Before he could finish speaking, he saw that Qiao Lian had, with quick and well-practiced moves, opened up the game and clicked on the login interface. She hesitated for a second, followed her instinct and logged into a gaming ount: Xiao Qiao. Staring at the name Xiao Qiao, Qiao Lian felt as though something was about to spill out of her brain. She had a splitting headache all of a sudden. Chapter 1083 - She Remembers (2)

Chapter 1083: She Remembers (2)

Qiao Lian knitted her brow tightly and reached out to massage her head. Then she stared at theputer. It had been a long time since she had logged onto that gaming ount. Now that she had logged in, her champion, Xiao Qiao, appeared on the interface. That familiar figure with the floaty yellow dress was like a deja vu. Qiao Lian stared at it and then heard Prince say, ¡°Love Chuan,e, let¡¯s y a solo match. I can also then assess your maneuvering skills on theputer version.¡± Qiao Lian frowned. She was feeling twitchy from the splitting headache, so when she heard him say this, she immediately retorted, ¡°Why should I y a solo match with you?¡± Prince said, ¡°I¡¯m currently the top yer in the gaming world. You wouldn¡¯t lose anything by ying a solo game with me.¡± Prince moved closer to her and said, ¡°Think about it. I¡¯m the top yer, the pressure¡¯s on me. If you win, you¡¯ll be famous just like that! And if you lose, wouldn¡¯t that just be a given? Thest time we yed a solo match, didn¡¯t you gain a whole army of new fans?¡± Qiao Lian was stumped by what he said. All she felt was this strong sense of familiarity. There were a few memories that seemed to be on the verge of returning to her, but there was just something in the way¡ªsomething that was yet to be sorted out. She stared at the game in a daze. In an odd move, she suddenly went into the friend page in the game. And then... She saw Zi Chuan¡¯s name. Zi Chuan. That name held a boundless charm and it came at her at full force, freezing her. She clicked on the avatar. Zi Chuan... Zi Chuan!! Her pupils shrank back. At this point, she heard some noisesing from upstairs. ¡°Big Brother, why are you here so early?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. We were struggling till five in the morning, we¡¯re still sleeping!¡± ¡°Hey, who¡¯s this girl?¡± ¡°A new team member?¡± Qiao Lian turned around when she heard them. She didn¡¯t feel at all familiar with any of these people in front of her. She stared at them with her head tilted. She could not think who these people were. Prince got up to his feet and said, ¡°Ok, let me introduce you. This is Love Chuan! I¡¯ve just discovered that she was Xiao Qiao from way back. And she¡¯s our new team member!¡± The people were stunned upon hearing this. They surrounded her immediately. ¡°Ha, you¡¯re really Xiao Qiao?¡± ¡°Is that for real? Xiao Qiao, when you were gaming, I had only just started going to middle school.¡± ¡°Ahhhh, if Xiao Qiao is here, then where¡¯s Zi Chuan? Is Zi Chuan still gaming?¡± ¡°What about Zi Chuan? Xiao Qiao, hey, Xiao Qiao, why aren¡¯t you talking?¡± Their voices rang out shrill and sharp, like daggers stabbing her brain. She could only feel a head-splitting pain. Suddenly, she bent over and aggressively pushed away the people surrounding her. Then she ran out of the vi. Scenes from the past shed across her mind one by one, till she halted in the courtyard clutching her head. She remembered. When she saw the game, she finally remembered. All these scenes from the past, the things that Lu Nanze had done, at once caused her expression to freeze. Lu Nanze. He had actually wanted to kill her child. Qiao Lian immediately looked down, reached out and slid her hands protectively around her belly. Now that she had managed to remember this, then she certainly must not allow him to hurt her child. Chapter 1084 - She Remembers (3)

Chapter 1084: She Remembers (3)

Qiao Lian¡¯s expression darkened at this thought. She headed out immediately. Prince hade running behind her. ¡°Ay, Love Chuan, why are you leaving?¡± She turned around to stare at him. Then, without a word, she gged down a cab and asked to be taken back to the Qiao family home. Shen Liangchuan was still at home. She had to tell him that she was carrying their child. Now in the cab, she finally calmed down. Since she had regained her memory, she had to straighten out the past. As she contemted, her cell phone rang. She looked down and picked up. A voice said, ¡°Ms. Qiao, how are you? It¡¯s me.¡± That voice. It was that person she had hired, the private investigator she had sent to Hainan. At once, her pupils shrank back as she asked, ¡°Are there any news of the person we¡¯re looking for?¡± ¡°Yes, Ms. Qiao. We¡¯ve found him.¡± Qiao Lian immediately said, ¡°Then bring him here!¡± ¡°Ms. Qiao, this might be tough. He wouldn¡¯te with us no matter what. And we can¡¯t do anything illegal.¡± Qiao Lian cast her gaze down and thought for a while. ¡°Hand the phone over to him.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± After a moment, a meek voice came from the other end of the line, ¡°Ms.- Ms. Qiao.¡± That voice... Qiao Lian was silent for a short while before speaking. ¡°Uncle Wang.¡± He had been the Head of the Finance Department in her father¡¯spany at the time. She stared at the phone and then said slowly, ¡°What happened at that time¡ª¡± ¡°Ms. Qiao, I beg of you, just let bygones be bygones. Please, spare me, ok?¡± At those words, Qiao Lian cast her gaze down and continued, ¡°Uncle Wang, you must have been the first person the police went after when trouble came for the Qiao Family enterprise. But at that time you disappeared. If the police knows that you¡¯re in Hainan, what do you think will happen?¡± The man started to panic at this remark and said, ¡°Ms. Qiao, I didn¡¯t have a choice! Your parents were forced to die and now, are you like the same people who pushed them to the edge, trying to do the same to me?¡± Qiao Lian lowered her gaze and replied, ¡°I¡¯m not trying to force you. I just want a better understanding of what happened back then! It has been so many years since they died, but whenever people talk about them, they still talk about them as profiteers. I cannot allow that. Uncle Wang, I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t want to be a drifter all your life, right?¡± The man fell silent at her words. After a while, he finally spoke, ¡°There¡¯s no way to investigate this matter.¡± ¡°How so?¡± Uncle Wang sighed and said, ¡°Do you know how the police came to the conclusion that your parents did a sloppy job?¡± Qiao Lian shook her head and said, ¡°No, I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°It¡¯s because, after the building had copsed, when they came to seal the finance department, they discovered the ount book rted to this building project had gone missing. And the actual materials left behind at the construction site were all of inferior quality. This was how they came to the conclusion that thepany was skimping on materials and your parents were stuffing their own pockets.¡± ¡°Where is the ount book?¡± Qiao Lian probed further. Uncle Wang sighed and said, ¡°It is with the person who caused your parents¡¯ plight.¡± Qiao Lian fell silent. The person who had caused her parents¡¯ plight. Who could that be? If they could retrieve the ount book, then it would be clear that the materials they had bought at the time were of good quality, and that her parents hadn¡¯t been stuffing their own pockets. The reality was that the materials they had originally bought had been stolen. Hence, the person responsible for this must have been someone from the material factory. The material factory... belonged to the Lu Family. Her pupils shrank immediately. She asked, ¡°Uncle Wang, do you know who?¡± ¡°I- I don¡¯t¡ª¡± ¡°If you didn¡¯t, why did you disappear at the time?¡± Chapter 1085 - So She Is Mo Xicheng’s Girlfriend (1)

Chapter 1085: So She Is Mo Xicheng¡¯s Girlfriend (1)

There was an immediate silence. Then the man finally said with a sigh, ¡°It was the Lu Family that was responsible for this. Lu Nanze¡¯s parents did this!¡± So it had been them indeed. If that were the case, then the ount book would be with the Lu Family. Qiao Lian took a deep breath. She had to get her hands on the ount book to prove that her parents were innocent. At the thought of this, she lowered her head. ¡°But, Ms. Qiao, you have to understand something.¡± She paused. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s possible that the ount book has been destroyed! After all, keeping it would only bring trouble. If the ount book no longer exists, then there is really nothing else that can rify what had happened back then.¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank back as she said, ¡°Not possible.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Qiao Lian looked out of the backseat window. The willow trees along the streets of Suzhou were starting to grow new shoots. The earth was starting to rejuvenate, spring was around the corner. Just like her springtime with Shen Liangchuan was also just around the corner. She said unhurriedly, ¡°Lu Nanze once told me that his father had an obsession, that he collected tokens from all his evil deeds as proof of how clever he had been in the past. Besides, you only say that it¡¯s a possibility that the ount book has already been destroyed. But there¡¯s also a possibility that they¡¯re still around?¡± As long as there was a glimmer of hope, she would not give up. After hanging up, all sorts of possibilities came to her mind. It was going to be extremely tough to infiltrate the Lu Family residence and get her hands on the ount book. But now... She was in a very good position to do this. Since she had lost her memory, she was of no threat to Lu Nanze. He would not be on guard against her. Hence, if she continued pretending to have no recollection of the past and sneak into his office, she could take the opportunity to locate the ount book. At this point, she lowered her head. If this were the case, she couldn¡¯t possibly start ignoring Lu Nanze for now. But how was she going to manage Shen Liangchuan then? If she told him the truth, would he stop her from taking this risk, for the sake of the child? But if she didn¡¯t tell him. She was now in a conundrum. ¨C On the other end, at the hospital. Lu Nanze looked intently at the doctor, listening carefully to his exnation of Qiao Lian¡¯s condition. ¡°This sort of memory loss is the result of an external trauma, which resulted in a hemorrhage into the surrounding tissues. Once this has cleared, she will regain her memory.¡± Lu Nanze quickly asked, ¡°Specifically, how long would that take?¡± The doctor shook his head and said, ¡°This is impossible to say for sure. Perhaps a month, perhaps a few days, perhaps a year, or even a lifetime. You know, the most amazing part of the human body is the brain. There are so many nerve connections in it, there are many things that medical science cannot exin.¡± Lu Nanze frowned and got to his feet. ¡°I understand.¡± After walking out of the hospital, Lu Nanze looked into the distance. His hope was that Qiao Lian would never regain her memory. But he knew this was being too selfish of him. The only other way was to capture her affection before her memory returned. At this thought, he lowered his head and got into the car. He drove to a florist and bought a bouquet of flowers. With the bouquet in his hand, he headed to the Qiao family vi. Beijing. Shi Nianyao was feeling dejected as she arrived home. She went upstairs and then holding her cell phone, she waited to hear from Mo Xicheng. She was in a conundrum. Did he see through her disguise and knew that was her?! As this question shed through her mind, a call from Mo Xicheng came in. Chapter 1086 - So She Is Mo Xicheng’s Girlfriend (2)

Chapter 1086: So She Is Mo Xicheng¡¯s Girlfriend (2)

Shi Nianyao immediately got worked up. Staring at the cell phone, she almost jumped when it rang. She picked up the call at once and heard Mo Xicheng¡¯s voice, ¡°Are you home?¡± Shi Nianyao replied, ¡°I- I¡¯m home. Hey, how did you know I went out?¡± Mo Xicheng kept silent. Shi Nianyao cautiously asked, ¡°Mo Xicheng, what did you do today?¡± ¡°I went on a blind date.¡± Shi Nianyao demanded, ¡°... How could you go on a blind date? You have to know you have a girlfriend!¡± Fortunately, it had been her this time. But if the daughter of the Shi family hadn¡¯t been her, would Mo Xicheng have also agreed? She felt she had every right to be angry. Unexpectedly, the next thing he said was, ¡°What did you do today?¡± She replied, ¡°... I went on a blind date.¡± Hence, did that mean they were even? Urgh! Could one get even over something like this? Shi Nianyao grimaced and continued, ¡°You- I¡ª¡± Before she could finish speaking, Mo Xicheng interrupted, ¡°Yao Yao, I didn¡¯t expect that you woulde from such a prominent family.¡± That remark caused her to stop short at what she was going to say. She bit her tongue. She stared nkly at her cell phone, suddenly at a loss for words. Mo Xicheng continued unhurriedly, ¡°When I saw you today, I had a fright.¡± Pursing her lips, Shi Nianyao hung her head and said, ¡°I- I wasn¡¯t purposely hiding things from you. It¡¯s just¡ª¡± It was just that she had never had the habit of telling others about her family. Hopefully, Mo Xicheng... wouldn¡¯t be angry with her? As she started worrying about losing this man, Mo Xicheng continued, ¡°You¡¯re the daughter of the Shi family and I, on the other hand, am only an illegitimate child. If you really do end up with me, you¡¯ll see over and over again the sort of situation you saw today.¡± ¡°Yao Yao, if you marry me, you¡¯ll only get bogged down because of me. And you¡¯ll never be able to hold your head up high in front of the Mo family members. You¡ª¡± The more he said, the more nervous Shi Nianyao became. Was he hinting for them to break up? The thought of this made her panic. She quickly said, ¡°Mo Xicheng, listen up. I, Shi Nianyao, will not break up with you! Don¡¯t even think about it for a moment.¡± Mo Xicheng fell silent when she said this. The silence made her panic even more. She spoke into the phone frantically, ¡°Mo Xicheng, say something!¡± ¡°Mo Xicheng, are you still there?¡± He faintly grunted, ¡°Uh huh.¡± She sighed in relief. Then she continued, ¡°Mo Xicheng, it¡¯s you, and not your family background, that I¡¯m in love with. So what if you¡¯re an illegitimate son? The one who erred was your mother, not you! Hence, I will not break up with you.¡± Mo Xicheng couldn¡¯t help butugh aloud at her insistence on not breaking up. Shi Nianyao was taken aback. ¡°What are youughing at?¡± ¡°Yao Yao, I¡¯m asking you for thest time. Have you really thought this through?¡± Shi Nianyao bit her lip and then said, ¡°I¡¯ve thought it through.¡± He was silent for a moment and finally said, ¡°Yao Yao, I won¡¯t mention break up again.¡± Recently, he had increasingly grown to like having someone by his side. As someone who had grown up in a dark and gloomy world, Shi Nianyao was the only light in his life. He had tried to avoid her, but she had made all her efforts to be around him and close to him. And gradually, he had grown addicted to this feeling of being in love. He could no longer let go. Since this was the case, he wasn¡¯t going to let her leave him again. And this would be thest time he was asking this question. Chapter 1087 - So She Is Mo Xicheng’s Girlfriend (3)

Chapter 1087: So She Is Mo Xicheng¡¯s Girlfriend (3)

Shi Nianyao understood his intentions and sighed in relief. She dropped back on the bed. Lying on her back and looking at the ceiling, she asked, ¡°It¡¯s my birthday tomorrow and they¡¯re throwing me a party at home in the evening. Will youe?¡± Laughing, Mo Xicheng said, ¡°I¡¯d love to go, but....¡± He was busy? Shi Nianyao immediately felt disappointed. But Mo Xicheng was busy working, it was pardonable. She couldn¡¯t possibly hold back Mo Xicheng¡¯s work. At this thought, she said, ¡°Well, it¡¯s just a birthday. There¡¯s one every year. You have important matters, so it really doesn¡¯t matter! Tomorrow¡¯s event is not a big event, it¡¯s just family gathering for a meal.¡± ¡°Oh so, it¡¯s not a big event.¡± Mo Xicheng said unhurriedly, ¡°So you don¡¯t want to invite me?¡± Shi Nianyao was taken aback by his remark and said after a moment, ¡°Why would I not invite you? But weren¡¯t you just about to say... you¡¯re busy?¡± Heughed and continued, ¡°But I don¡¯t have an invitation card. Is the security officer at your home very strict? Do I have to jump over a wall to get in?¡± Shi Nianyao was astonished. She hugged her phone and rolled around on her bed in ecstasy. The way her idol¡¯s voice sounded in her ears, with his deepughter and teasing tone, made her feelpletely... like a love-struck school girl. Her heart went wild and her face turned a deep red. She grinned in a silly manner and said,¡±Uh huh. Our security officer is really strict, but there is a doggy door that you could crawl through.¡± There was a silent pause and then he replied, ¡°For the sake of meeting my girlfriend, I¡¯ll just have to use the doggy door then. Where is it, specifically?¡± Girlfriend. Ahhhhhhh! She felt her heart melting. She couldn¡¯t help butugh aloud. ¡°How could I possibly let you use the doggy door?! For sure, the invitation card will be delivered to the Mo family residence tomorrow.¡± ¡°Uh huh, now I¡¯m a little worried.¡± Shi Nianyao asked, ¡°What are you worried about?¡± ¡°Worried about what sort of birthday present to get you.¡± Shi Nianyao¡¯s eyes lit up immediately. That¡¯s right, what was Mo Xicheng going to give her as a birthday present? Actually... There was no need for a present. He only had to bring himself along! But she should not say that out loud. Reserve. As a girl, she had to be reserved sometimes. She cleared her throat and said, ¡°Surprise me!¡± Sighing, Mo Xicheng said, ¡°I¡¯ll try my best.¡± She flipped onto her belly on the bed and swung her legs to and fro. She yawned into the phone. ¡°Are you tired? Why don¡¯t you take an afternoon nap?¡± ¡°No!¡± As she said this, she yawned again. Seeing that she was fighting hard to stay awake, he asked at once, ¡°You haven¡¯t removed your makeup, have you?¡± At these words, Shi Nianyao suddenly froze in the middle of another yawn. She realized at once howpletely unsightly she looked. Then she quickly remembered a question she had wanted to ask. Ahhhhhhh! To think that Mo Xicheng had seen her in such an ugly state. She grimaced, quickly sat up and exined, ¡°My- my makeup today...¡± ¡°Uh huh?¡± Shi Nianyao coughed lightly and whispered, ¡°How was it?¡± ¡°... Very unconventional.¡± He had to think very hard toe up with this diplomatic answer. Unable to contain herself, Shi Nianyao burst outughing. Chapter 1088 - So She Is Mo Xicheng’s Girlfriend (4)

Chapter 1088: So She Is Mo Xicheng¡¯s Girlfriend (4)

Time flew by quickly and it was now the following evening. It was the first time the Shi family¡¯s daughter celebrated her birthday in such a grand manner. All the people who had never met her thought of ways to get themselves an invitation, to get into the party and, through this, into the high society. At the Mo family. Dad Mo looked at the two invitation cards and paused. The two invitation cards were written separately, one to the Mo family and the other to Mo Xicheng. It separated Mo Xicheng from the Mo Family. Dad Mo frowned. It looked like the Shi family¡¯s intention was clear. They wanted a clear distinction between Mo Xicheng and the Shi family. Was their intention to stop the Mo family from attacking Mo Xicheng after Shi Nianyao married him? The reason he had agreed to let Mo Xicheng marry Shi Nianyao was, firstly, because Mo Zhi had offended her. If they hadn¡¯t reached a marriage agreement, they could have turned into enemies. And secondly, he had hopes that Mo Xicheng would have some loyalty to the Mo family after the marriage. Like this, hopefully his inws would extend some goodwill towards Mo Zhi. But now... Dad Mo sighed. Hopefully, he hadn¡¯t made a wrong decision. But Mo Xicheng had always been obedient and it should all work out. At the time, he had allowed Mo Xicheng to go to school together with Mo Zhi. Obviously, he had been a bright student but in every exam, he would make a point to fare worse than Mo Zhi. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t know all of these things, it was just that he would turn a blind eye. Because Mo Zhi was his son. Mo Xicheng... had just been an ident. At this thought, Dad Mo cast his gaze down and picked up his cell phone to call Mo Xicheng. ¡°Are you aware of tonight¡¯s party?¡± ¡°Uh huh.¡± Dad Mo sighed. This calmness andposure alone was something that Mo Zhi didn¡¯t have. But it was useless, even if Mo Xicheng was an outstanding person. Dad Mo continued, ¡°Uh huh. So you should make sure to prepare a present for her, and we will also prepare a gift. Also, tonight, don¡¯t start any nonsense. You¡¯re not to embarrass your brother, do you understand?¡± Mo Xicheng was silent for a moment and then said, ¡°I¡¯ll try my best.¡± ¡°Not try your best, you must promise. Besides, there are a few things I have to say again. Your brother is the sessor of this family. I think you understand what I¡¯m hinting at.¡± Mo Xicheng clenched his fists tightly as he listened to that voice from the other end of the line. It carried no trace of warmth and affection. He said, ¡°I understand.¡± After hanging up, Mo Xicheng took a deep breath. His gaze fell on the present that he had picked for Shi Nianyao early this morning. After a moment, he hung his head. ¨C It was six in the evening. Mo Xicheng¡¯s car pulled up at the Shi family residence. There were already all sorts of luxury cars parked outside the vi. He parked his car, picked up the present and walked towards the house. After taking two steps, he heard the people in front of him discuss something. ¡°Is this little missy really that ugly?¡± ¡°Although everyone¡¯s saying she¡¯s not pretty, I don¡¯t think she is that ugly?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Besides, if she¡¯s really that ugly, how can it be that your younger brother agreed to marry her? After all, he¡¯s so dashing.¡± After these remarks, Mo Zhi¡¯s voice could be heard saying, ¡°Sheesh, that ugly monster... I wouldn¡¯t want her. Of course I have to give her to Mo Xicheng! I say, what¡¯s the use of him being this dashing? Huh, with such an ugly monster mother, his future children will surely not be as good-looking as mine.¡± Chapter 1089 - So, She Is Mo Xicheng’s Girlfriend! (5)

Chapter 1089: So, She Is Mo Xicheng¡¯s Girlfriend! (5)

Dad Mo was a good-looking man, and both Li Shu and Yao Lili were considerably good-looking. Hence, although Mo Zhi was a bad person in many ways, it was no lie that his looks were indeed quite outstanding, almost on par with Mo Xicheng. That Mo Xicheng had been able to enter the entertainment circle and, on top of that, be an outstanding actor, had been because he had previously been chosen as the most beautiful male artist in China. Hence, it wasn¡¯t hard to imagine that Mo Zhi¡¯s looks were considerably attractive among the sea of people. What a waste. That he had a younger brother like Mo Xicheng. Especially when Mo Xicheng was in the business, appearing on big and small screens. Everyone was so used to seeing his face that when they looked at Mo Zhi, they didn¡¯t think that he was a big deal inparison. This to Mo Zhi was a thorn in his flesh. Since childhood, he had done better in his studies than Mo Xicheng. But of course, one¡¯s looks were given by Mother Nature and little could be done about it. But things were great now. He would surely find himself a beautiful woman to bear his children, whereas Mo Xicheng¡¯s children would have their looks ruined by the Shi family¡¯s little missy. Mo Zhi felt a surge of glee as he thought about this. But just as he was feeling ted, he saw a change in the expressions on the people in front of him. They had started to look awkward and had stopped smiling. He said immediately, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? Keep talking! I¡¯m telling you, that little missy of the Shi family has got a mole here, right here. Dang! Simply beautiful. But I¡¯ll have to say, that girl has got a good figure and has pale skin on her arms. But that face... The makeup was so ridiculously thick. Sigh! ... Hey, what¡¯s wrong with your eyes? Why do they keep twitching?¡± The person who had been trying to warn him with eye signals had gonepletely silent. And at the same time, Mo Xicheng was already standing right behind this group of people. He frowned as he looked steadily at Mo Zhi and called, ¡°Mo Zhi.¡± Mo Zhi froze when he heard that voice. He turned around and saw Mo Xicheng standing there with little expression on his face. Oddly enough, his heart pounded. Guiltily, Mo Zhi coughed and said, ¡°What are you doing? Sneaking behind us and eavesdropping on my conversation with my buddies?¡± Ignoring him, Mo Xicheng knitted his brow and gave an icy smirk. Then he walked forward. Mo Zhi was forced by his brother¡¯s presence to take a step back. Then he stared wide-eyed as Mo Xicheng approached his friends and looked at them steadily. Mo Zhi gulped and started, ¡°Hey, what do you want¡ª¡± Lowering his head, Mo Xicheng warned, ¡°From now on, I don¡¯t want to hear you say one negative word about her.¡± At these words, the group immediately lowered their heads and looked away from the two brothers. However, being embarrassed by Mo Xicheng like this in the presence of his friends infuriated Mo Zhi. He hollered, ¡°Mo Xicheng, what do you mean? Stand right there! What negative things have I said about her? She¡¯s ugly, isn¡¯t that the truth?¡± Upon hearing this, Mo Xicheng looked up and took a step towards him. His strong aura overwhelmed Mo Zhi, who huped and got even angrier. ¡°Mo Xicheng, don¡¯t you go thinking that you¡¯ve had a lucky break just because you¡¯ve abandoned your pretty girlfriend to curry favor with the Shi family¡¯s daughter. Let me tell you, you¡¯re just an illegitimate son to the Mo family! You will never be able to dissociate yourself from your status. What are you in my eyes? I only have to move my little finger and you¡¯ll have to get down on your knees to beg me.¡± After saying all of this, he lifted his head and tilted his chin upwards. And right at this point, Shi Nianyao¡¯s voice was heard, ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± Chapter 1090 - So She Is Mo Xicheng’s Girlfriend (6)

Chapter 1090: So She Is Mo Xicheng¡¯s Girlfriend (6)

Everyone turned simultaneously to look as these words were spoken. They saw Shi Nianyao, who had not changed into her evening gown. Dressed simply in a pair of jeans and zer, she strode over to them. She was wearing light make-up and had a smile on her face. Herplexion was smooth and delicate like a piece of wless jade. Her pale skin was enhanced by her dark hair, making her a picture of glowing health. Although those wealthy young men had seen their fair share of beautiful girls, Shi Nianyao stunned them still. All their eyes were tantly trained on her now. Shi Nianyao, on the other hand, ignored everyone¡¯s stares, but her eyes lit up at once when she saw Mo Xicheng. Quickening her steps, she came up to him and immediately embraced him. She said, ¡°You¡¯re here.¡± Everyone then shifted their gaze onto Mo Xicheng at once, with an unmistakable look of envy in every pair of eyes. Then someone said in a jealous tone, ¡°Mo Zhi, who¡¯s this?¡± Mo Zhi was already stunned speechless. When he had seen Shi Nianyao previously, outside the filming location, she had been wearing a puffy down jacket. Although she had a pretty face, it definitely hadn¡¯t looked as delicate and breathtaking as this very moment. Even then, the Shi Nianyao he remembered was enough to set him crazy for her for a long time. He had just managed to put all of that behind him, but now unexpectedly, he realized that she actually was even more beautiful with a light touch of makeup. His eyes were fixed on her and he simply could not look away. He answered that person¡¯s question absentmindedly, ¡°This is Mo Xicheng¡¯s girlfriend.¡± At once, everyone sighed in envy. ¡°How lucky!¡± Mo Zhi approached Shi Nianyao and Mo Xicheng, his eyes never leaving her once. Then he said to her, ¡°Ms. Shi, what brings you here?¡± Shi Nianyao raised an eyebrow and looked at Mo Zhi. Then she tilted her head to think for a moment and said, ¡°I¡¯m here to look for my idol, of course.¡± At once, Mo Zhi misunderstood what she meant. He thought Shi Nianyao had heard the news of Mo Xicheng being engaged to someone else, and she was here for this reason. Hence he smiled at once, as he pointed at Mo Xicheng and said, ¡°So Ms. Shi, do you have any idea what your idol did? Let me tell you, just so that he can curry favor with this family¡¯s missy, he is going to abandon you.¡± Initially, he had thought that Shi Nianyao would be devastated and end up in tears. When that happened, he would be perfectly ready to step in. But unexpectedly, when Shi Nianyao heard this, she raised an eyebrow andughed, saying, ¡°How could that be possible?¡± But before she had a chance to finish what she was saying, Mo Zhi interrupted her, ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t it be possible? I¡¯m telling you, that¡¯s the sort of person Mo Xicheng is. If you don¡¯t believe me, just wait and see.¡± ¡°No, I meant you have misunderstood¡ª¡± ¡°Misunderstood? Ha, is he trying to justify this whole matter just by using misunderstanding as an excuse? Are you stupid or something? You believe his lousy excuse? Is it possible for a misunderstanding to lead to marriage? Or is Mo Xicheng wanting the best of both worlds and you don¡¯t mind being his mistress?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not¡ª¡± ¡°You¡¯re not what? Do you know why you lost out to that ugly monster? Because that ugly monster has money! Ms. Shi, don¡¯t you think so? Look, nowadays, you can¡¯t survive without money. You see, he can abandon you for the sake of money. So why bother entangling yourself with him? The way I see it, you¡¯re better off with me.¡± Chapter 1091 - So She Is Mo Xicheng’s Girlfriend (7)

Chapter 1091: So She Is Mo Xicheng¡¯s Girlfriend (7)

Shi Nianyao was speechless. He hadn¡¯t let her get a word in to rify her identity. Shi Nianyao gave up and decided to wait till he was done before she started talking. But to her surprise, Mo Zhi conveniently took a step forward, reached out and took her hand. Shi Nianyao was bbergasted. She frowned and was about to react when she felt a movement next to her. Mo Xicheng had stepped in and intervened, grabbing his wrist. His eyes red at the other man fiercely and he started, ¡°Mo Zhi, I¡¯ve said this before, keep your hands off her!¡± Mo Zhi sneered, ¡°Why? You¡¯re not satisfied with that ugly monster and want another woman for yourself? Let me warn you, you¡¯d better let go! Let me have this girl for a few days, otherwise, I¡¯ll stir so much trouble that you¡¯ll get on the Shi Family¡¯s wrong side, and the Mo Family will note to your rescue! When that happens, and knowing that you¡¯ve fooled around with that ugly monster, her brother will never forgive you.¡± He had thought initially that Mo Xicheng would be worried and afraid, but thetter unexpectedly narrowed his eyes, reached out and gave Mo Zhi a forceful push. Mo Zhi stumbled a few steps backwards. At this point he was livid. ¡°Mo Xicheng, are you seriously so bold?¡± Looking at Mo Zhi with his narrowed eyes, he said, ¡°Mo Zhi, I suggest that you¡¯d better be more respectful and understand where you are.¡± These words provoked Mo Zhi even more. ¡°I¡¯m the sessor of the family, I should be the one saying these words to you! You¡¯re engaged to that ugly monster, so why are you still hogging this girl?!¡± At this point, he looked at Shi Nianyao again. Coming face to face with her now, an obsessive and sparkling expression appeared on his face as he said, ¡°Ms. Shi, I can marry you and you will be the Mo family¡¯s young madam. What do you say? Come with me. It¡¯s at any rate better than being with this pretty boy as his mistress! Let me tell you, in the future he¡¯s just going to be a henpecked husband. You¡¯d better not be with him!¡± Having said all of that, he extended his arm towards Shi Nianyao and said, ¡°Since things havee to this point, now you should see clearly who is truly good to you, right?¡± Then he stepped towards her and tried persuading her, ¡°Come with me, I¡¯ll escort you into the event venue. I can even make you the sister-inw of that ugly monster!¡± Hearing him using the term ¡°ugly monster¡± over and over again just made her blood boil. Suck that! You¡¯re the ugly monster, everyone in your family is an ugly monster! Urgh, no... With the exception of my idol, everyone in your family is an ugly monster! So how could I possibly go with him? But Shi Nianyao rolled her eyes at his arrogance, immediately put her hand on Mo Xicheng¡¯s arm and said, ¡°I¡¯d rather be my idol¡¯s mistress than your legal wife. Because you disgust me!¡± At these words, she instinctively moved a step back to hide behind Mo Xicheng. Mo Zhi turned ashen and lifted a finger to point at Shi Nianyao, saying, ¡°You¡ª¡± Shi Nianyao lifted her chin and challenged him, ¡°Why? It¡¯s illegal to speak the truth? Mo Zhi, I suggest that after you get home tonight, you should switch on yourputer and then look in the mirror.¡± Mo Zhi was taken aback and asked, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°You should look at my idol¡¯s picture and then in the mirror.¡± At these words, she sighed and continued, ¡°So be it if one is ugly. But what¡¯s worse is that you think you¡¯re so great looking that you show your face to frighten others. That¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong. In my heart, you can¡¯t even hold a candle to my idol¡¯s toe.¡± Chapter 1092 - So She Is Mo Xicheng’s Girlfriend (8)

Chapter 1092: So She Is Mo Xicheng¡¯s Girlfriend (8)

Mo Zhi was speechless with fury!! He trembled and was now almost losing control of the anger that had built up in him. Shi Nianyao stuck her tongue out at the man and, grabbing Mo Xicheng¡¯s wrist, said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Mo Xicheng had wanted to chide Mo Zhi, but seeing that Shi Nianyao wanted to leave, he went along with her. As they walked past Mo Zhi, he halted and nced at the man. The spark of warning in his eyes caused Mo Zhi to shrink back and retreat. Mo Zhi was now even angrier at himself for being so afraid of Mo Xicheng. After Mo Xicheng had walked enough of a distance away, he shouted loudly at them, ¡°Fine, fine, Mo Xicheng, you¡¯ve actually so openly brought her here. You really think the ugly monster is so easy to handle? Let me tell you, I¡¯m going to look for her right now. I¡¯ll tell her you¡¯re with another woman!¡± Of course, Shi Nianyao and Mo Xicheng both could not be bothered with him and continued to walk away. Mo Xicheng stood there fuming on the spot. Someone came forward and remarked, ¡°This Mo Xicheng is a bit much! He¡¯s just an illegitimate son yet acts so arrogant. I wonder where he got his guts!¡± ¡°Indeed, and could it be possible that the ugly monster is so ugly that Mo Xicheng no longer wishes to get engaged to her?¡± Having said this, the person even reached out to give Mo Zhi¡¯s shoulder a little push and added, ¡°If he goes back on his word now, your father will surely make you go through the marriage for the sake of the Mo family. And when that timees, the ugly monster is yours permanently again.¡± Mo Zhi shuddered at those words. He narrowed his eyes, snorted coldly and continued, ¡°Things havee to this point, so it¡¯s no longer up to him to decide to go ahead. Ha, I definitely wouldn¡¯t want that ugly monster! As for Shi Nianyao, of course I have to get my hands on her.¡± ¨C On the other side, Shi Nianyao had left that annoying person behind now with Mo Xicheng in tow. They sneaked into the back garden. Once they were there, she turned around and, with her eyes lit up, looked at Mo Xicheng. Then she stretched out a slender and pale arm, and said, ¡°Hurry up, give it to me!¡± Looking back at her, Mo Xicheng feigned innocence and asked, ¡°What?¡± ¡°A present, today¡¯s my birthday! What present did you get me?¡± Mo Xicheng sighed and furrowed his brow. Shi Nianyao tensed up at that sign and said, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you didn¡¯t get me a present?!¡± She pouted and looked as though she was on the verge of tears. That expression on her face was heart-meltingly cute. Mo Xicheng immediately said, ¡°Of course I did.¡± Her eyes lit up again at once. ¡°Hurry up and give it to me then!¡± Casting his gaze down, he said, ¡°Ok.¡± He slid his hand into his pocket. Shi Nianyao¡¯s gaze followed his movement and was fixed on his pocket, in great anticipation of what he could have gotten her. But unexpectedly... Mo Xicheng¡¯s hand dug around. He frowned and said, ¡°Damn, I actually forgot to bring it with me!¡± Shi Nianyao was bbergasted. Ahhhhhhh! This man was too evil. How could he possibly forget to bring her birthday present?! Pouting and looking as though she was going to cry again, she started, ¡°You- you- Are you teasing me?¡± Mo Xicheng lowered his head and started to grope around in his other pocket. ¡°I recall putting it in my pocket before leaving the house... Ah, I remember now. I left it on the coffee table in the room. I¡¯ve forgotten to bring it with me.¡± Chapter 1093 - So She Is Mo Xicheng’s Girlfriend (9)

Chapter 1093: So She Is Mo Xicheng¡¯s Girlfriend (9)

Shi Nianyao immediately looked dejected. She hadn¡¯t even changed into her gown, but she had dashed out to look for him because, in the first ce, she had really wanted to see him. Secondly, she had wanted her present, but he had actually forgotten and left it at home. She was about to burst out in tears. ¡°What now then? Get your housekeeper to send it?¡± Mo Xicheng replied, ¡°I don¡¯t like having housekeepers so there¡¯s no one home. Otherwise, I¡¯ll go home now and get it.¡± At these words, he turned around. Shi Nianyao quickly grabbed him and said, ¡°No, no, I have to start the dance shortly! You have to be my partner for the first dance.¡± This was her debut in the presence of all these people. How could she not have her idol with her? Between the idol and her present, she was torn apart for a moment. Then she said, ¡°The present¡¯s a small matter. Of course you¡¯re more important!¡± At these words, a faint smile was suddenly noticeable in Mo Xicheng¡¯s expression. He drew out the hand that was in his pocket and took out a small delicate gift box. cing it in front of Shi Nianyao, he said, ¡°Happy birthday.¡± Shi Nianyao was stunned. Staring at the gift box, her eyes lit up at once. The present she had thought wasn¡¯t meant to be today had now materialized before her eyes. She immediately broke into a broad smile. A smile so broad her mouth couldn¡¯t close. She reached for the present. ¡°You- you¡¯re so evil. Why did you tease me?!¡± With his head lowered, Mo Xicheng said, ¡°Well, tell me then, did you dash out here for me or for the present?¡± Shi Nianyao froze in the midst of opening her present and looked up silently. She stole a nce at him and then looked down again. Aha. So it seemed that her idol was this adorable too! He was actually... jealous. And furthermore, jealous of the present he had bought her. Hahahaha. Mo Xicheng was simply too cute! At this thought, Shi Nianyao lifted her head with a big grin on her face. Catching him off guard, she stood on her tip-toes and nted a quick kiss on his cheek. Immediately after, she turned around and ran, saying aloud, ¡°Of course it was for you, silly! I¡¯m going to get changed into my gown!¡± With a deep blush on her face, she quickly ran back to her dressing room. Staring at her light and graceful back view disappearing into the distance, Mo Xicheng stood stunned and rooted to the spot. He stood there for a while before he recovered. Then he reached out slowly to touch his face. He was so shaken by the gentle sensation of the kiss she had voluntarily nted on his face that, if it hadn¡¯t been for her quick escape, he would have devoured her. At this thought, the corners of his lips turned upwards into a smile. His cell phone rang. Looking down at the screen, he saw that it was a call from Dad Mo. ¡°Where are you? Come here at once!¡± Mo Xicheng frowned. Five minutester. He arrived at the lobby and found his father. Dad Mo grabbed his arm and said in a low voice, ¡°Why did I hear Mo Zhi saying that you brought that girlfriend of yours? I¡¯m telling you, ask her to get out of here immediately!¡± ¡°And make sure your n to marry the ugly monster is sealed as soon as possible! Get it done tonight!¡± Mo Zhi added. At these words, Mo Xicheng looked at Mo Zhi impassively and asked, ¡°You were telling tales?¡± Mo Zhi huped and said defensively, ¡°How¡¯s this telling tales? I¡¯m just trying to stop you from making a mistake! I¡¯m telling you, make sure your n to marry the ugly monster is sealed tonight!¡± Chapter 1094 - So She Is Mo Xicheng’s Girlfriend (10)

Chapter 1094: So She Is Mo Xicheng¡¯s Girlfriend (10)

Mo Xicheng¡¯s pupils shrank back at his words. But Mo Zhi was already in a discussion with his father, ¡°Dad, you must not regret this. I¡¯m telling you, this deal has to be sealed today! Otherwise, if Mo Xicheng does anything to betray the ugly monster, the Shi family will hold us ountable. And Dad, just to remind you, isn¡¯t ourpany trying to form strategic ties with the Shi family and join forces with them? You must not soften your heart.¡± Dad Mo listened to this with his head lowered. He nced at Mo Zhi and nodded, ¡°Ok, since there is a crowd here today, we should at least get this out and make it official. We can pave the way for a smoother future like this.¡± Mo Zhi immediately nodded. Dad Mo lifted his gaze and nced at Mo Xicheng. Then he said, ¡°You,e with me!¡± Upon hearing this, Mo Xicheng hung his head. It had been like this since he had been a child. In the eyes of Dad Mo and Mo Zhi, he was less than a human being. He was only an object. They had never sought his opinions before making any decisions for him. And they would also not ask him whether he liked it. Perhaps, Dad Mo had never thought of him as his son? At this thought, he started walking and followed Dad Mo. Indeed, they had to seal this before the crowd today. Then, when Nianyao appearedter, Mo Zhi wouldn¡¯t be able to go back on his word even if he wanted to. Hence, he might as well beat him at his own game. Mo Xicheng obediently followed his father as the man made his way through the crowd and went right up to Shi Jinyan, who was entertaining some of the attendees. Shi Jinyan looked every bit the traditional confucian merchant. With years of experience behind him, he had grown matured andposed. Upon hearing a smallmotion, he turned around and saw the men who had approached him. His eyes fell on Mo Xicheng at once. Mo Xicheng couldn¡¯t help but feel all the pressure that was emanating from his heavy gaze. He held Shi Jinyan¡¯s stare steadily and looked into the man¡¯s eyes. His manner was neither servile nor overbearing and, in addition, Mo Xicheng had a steady character. Shi Jinyan was pleased with what he saw and a satisfied expression came over his face. He knew his own daughter well, hence, when she said she liked Mo Xicheng, then it definitely wasn¡¯t because of the man¡¯s good looks. It had to be his character. It seemed that, at the very least, he didn¡¯t have the furtiveness of an illegitimate son. One had to understand that many youngsters did not pass his visual assessment. As these thoughts ran through his mind, Dad Mo had already started speaking, ¡°Mr. Shi, although this son of mine has never stood out since he was little, he doesn¡¯t look too bad! He¡¯s a perfect match for your daughter, don¡¯t you think?¡± As these words were spoken, Shi Jinyan noted that the people around were already turning their attention to them. Immediately, he knew what Dad Mo was leading up to. He walked towards Dad Mo and patted Mo Xicheng on the shoulder, saying, ¡°He will surpass us in the time toe.¡± These words were a sterling appraisal of the young man. The people around had started to congratte them, ¡°Young Master Mo and Ms. Shi, they must be a perfect match!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Look at Young Master Mo¡¯s presence. We hear that your families are about to be inws, when¡¯s the wedding banquet?!¡± Dad Mo quickly said, ¡°No hurry, no hurry! We... will have to wait for Mr. Shi to release his daughter.¡± The exchanges were extremely joyous. Seeing this situation, Mo Zhi was most gleeful. Now that news of the intended marriage was out and everyone knew, he had severed all associations with that ugly monster. But where was Shi Nianyao? Just as this thought crossed his mind, he suddenly heard the emcee speak, ¡°And now, let¡¯s wee Ms. Shi!¡± At these words, every pair of eyes in the crowd lifted, as did the spotlight, and focused on the second floor. Shortly, a silhouette appeared. The moment he saw the silhouette, Mo Zhi froze. Wasn¡¯t that... Shi Nianyao?! Chapter 1095 - So She Is Mo Xicheng’s Girlfriend (11)

Chapter 1095: So She Is Mo Xicheng¡¯s Girlfriend (11)

Mo Zhi stared at that girl upstairs with a look ofplete disbelief. Shi Nianyao was in a long white gown and looked like a fairy slowly descending. Every step she took was graceful. It didn¡¯t take anyone more than a nce to know that this was a well brought up and educated girl. Enhanced by the long white dress, the exquisite beauty of her face had on a radiant glow and everyone had their eyes fixed on her. Mo Zhi was stupefied. Why was Shi Nianyao upstairs? Had they focused the spotlight on the right person? He was in shock as he looked at Shi Nianyao descending the stairs slowly and head towards the stage. She took over the microphone from the emcee. She started to speak into the device, her sweet voice reaching everyone¡¯s ears, ¡°Thank you to all our friends out here who havee to show their support to me. In the past, because I was in school, I had little contact with everyone. In the future, I ask for everyone to please be patient with me.¡± It was a simple but appropriate speech. She made a good impression on everyone. As Mo Zhi stood there in a daze, he heard voices remarking: ¡°Darn! This is the little missy of the Shi Family?¡± ¡°Way beautiful! I can¡¯t think of any family with a daughter on par.¡± ¡°Indeed!¡± ¡°Do you remember Mo Zhi said she¡¯s an ugly monster?¡± ¡°Mo Zhi, your standards are way too high! If this is an ugly monster, then who, in your opinion, is a beauty?¡± ¡°Haha, could it be that Mo Zhi has a totally different taste from the rest of us?¡± These sorts ofments came like ps, to the extent that he felt his face turning red and swollen. To think he had been waiting for the rest of them to join him in taunting Mo Xicheng. But unexpectedly, he had now be the biggest joke. Mo Zhi took a deep breath, feeling thoroughly ill now. Then he looked at the emcee, as thetter announced the first dance and encouraged Shi Nianyao to invite her partner. Smiling radiantly, her eyes swept across the room and fell in Mo Zhi¡¯s direction. Following this, the crowd parted automatically to form a clear path. Mo Zhi stared in a daze and, for some reason, took a step forward. But at this point, someone next to him overtook him and walked straight up to Shi Nianyao. Mo Xicheng was in a jet ck suit thatbined with his crisp white shirt. He stood dashingly and elegantly before Shi Nianyao and asked, ¡°May I have the first dance?¡± Shi Nianyao¡¯s eyes were sparkling as she looked at him. Her hand reached out unconsciously to touch her neck lightly. Around it hung a ne with an aquamarine gemstone. It was a teardrop-shaped aquamarine gemstone. Hung around her neck, it brought out the paleness of her skin. That was the gift from Mo Xicheng. The both of them smiled as their eyes met. Then Shi Nianyao extended her arm, lifted her chin and ced her hand on his. Holding her hand, he led her slowly to the dance floor. The focus waspletely on them now. ¡°This illegitimate son is lucky indeed!¡± ¡°The daughter of the Shi family is wealthy, beautiful, and very highly educated, I hear. This guy has got all the luck indeed!¡± ¡°My god! Didn¡¯t they say the Shi family had some sort of marriage arrangement with Mo Zhi? How did that turn out to be Mo Xicheng?¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m so envious of Mo Xicheng! When will I find such a beautiful girlfriend?¡± All thesements were driving Mo Zhi nuts. He was supposed to be the person that everyone would envy. Chapter 1096 - So She Is Mo Xicheng’s Girlfriend (12)

Chapter 1096: So She Is Mo Xicheng¡¯s Girlfriend (12)

Mo Zhi was livid. At once, he shoved away the people who were in front of him as he tried to ess the dance floor. Suddenly, he felt a hand pressuring his shoulder, holding him back. Mo Zhi turned around. Then he saw Shi Nianyao¡¯s brother, Shi Xun, standing in front of him. There was a strong sh of warning in his eyes as he spoke, ¡°Young Master Mo, this is the Shi family residence, not a ce where you can do as you please. If anyone ruins my sister¡¯s birthday party, I will not let him off easily.¡± Mo Zhi shuddered at his warning. Shi Xun turned around and indicated to the men behind him, ¡°Invite Young Master Mo to the lounge for tea till the banquet is over.¡± ¡°Roger.¡± At once, two security officers held Mo Zhi firmly by his shoulders. Frightened by Shi Xun, it was only when he was sandwiched between the two security officers and led out of the event venue that he recovered. He opened his mouth in an attempt to yell but, the moment he did so, a towel was swiftly stuffed into it. Mo Zhi hadn¡¯t had the chance to even make a noise. He only managed to make a few muffled sounds. Unfortunately for Mo Zhi, Shi Xun had trained all his men in the Shi household to work very efficiently, hence in no time, he had been hauled away. In the meantime, the few grown-ups who were watching all of this from a corner shook their heads. Si Jingyu started, ¡°Now I feel that Mo Xicheng, instead, inherited more of Li Shu¡¯s charm and grace. It was a good thing that Nianyao wanted to test Mo Zhi¡¯s character. Otherwise, he would have been so frivolous and...¡± She didn¡¯t finish what she wanted to say. Si Jingyu¡¯s brother, Si Zhengting, was wearing a ck suit. He held a cold impassive expression and gave the impression that he was a decisive man with killer instincts. He hadn¡¯t changed a little bit after all of these years. He took no heed of people like Mo Zhi, but Nianyao... ¡°Sis, have you ever thought about the sessor of the Mo family?¡± His meaning was clear. Support Mo Xicheng in inheriting the Mo Family headship. Otherwise, Shi Nianyao would suffer if she ended up being together with Mo Xicheng for the long haul. Si Jingyu sighed and replied, ¡°Li Shu and I have been good friends for many years after all.¡± Si Zhengting kept silent. Although Si Zhengting¡¯s wife, Zhuang Nainai, was in her forties, she had not lost her elegant bearing. Because she had taken pains to maintain herself well, she looked young apart from bearing a calmness as a result of age. Character-wise, she had grown to be less unpredictable, however she was still outspoken. ¡°Let¡¯s not bother with the Mo family¡¯s internal affairs! In the hands of that son, the family will only deteriorate. If Li Shu doesn¡¯t wake up, sooner orter they wille beg us for help. As long as Nianyao is happy, everything¡¯s fine!¡± Si Jingyu nodded in agreement. Si Zhengting, however, was amazed at how naive these two women were despite their age. He sighed and said, ¡°Just look at Mo Zhi, do you really think we will sail through this marriage arrangement that easily?¡± Si Jingyu frowned at once and asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡± Si Zhengting did notment any further. Shuang Nainai tugged at his sleeve and probed, ¡°Come on, don¡¯t just leave it in the air.¡± The man looked helplessly but affectionately at his wife and finally said, ¡°Mo Zhi is not going to just give up like that. After all, from the start, this marriage was supposed to be between Yao Yao and him.¡± ¨C The banquet ended. Dad Mo located Mo Zhi, who had been held in the lounge. With Li Shu, he pushed open the door. The moment they entered, they saw a Mo Zhi with a tear-streaked face. Straight away, he flew towards them crying. ¡°Dad, Mum, you have to get back my honor! Shi Nianyao is his girlfriend. Look at her today. Obviously, she was just ying a trick on me during the blind date. I¡¯m her rightful fiance!!¡± Chapter 1097 - So She Is Mo Xicheng’s Girlfriend (13)

Chapter 1097: So She Is Mo Xicheng¡¯s Girlfriend (13)

Dad Mo¡¯s expression immediately froze at those words. Staring at Mo Zhi in silence for a moment, he knitted his brow tightly and gave a deep sigh. Li Shu almost couldn¡¯t believe her eyes when she stood there, looking at this disgraceful son of hers. She thought of how, when the banquet had just finished, Si Jingyu had taken her to the side and hinted clearly that there was something gravely wrong with her son Mo Zhi. Furthermore, she had suggested that she shouldn¡¯t be traveling all the time to avoid her husband, as in doing so she neglected her son. Up until this point, Li Shu had never thought it was a problem. Because even while traveling, she had kept in contact with Mo Zhi. She also stayed with her son every few months and spent time with him. But right now, as she looked at the boy... Because he had been held there, feeling scared and shocked, he cut a sorry figure. He held tightly onto his father¡¯s sleeve, as though expecting his father to salvage the situation. But shouldn¡¯t the person who had created trouble at other people¡¯s events be locked up? Besides... they had merely locked him up and done little else. What was he so nervous about? All of these thoughts shed through her mind. At this point, she heard the overbearing Mo Zhi demanding, ¡°Dad, you have to get Shi Nianyao back for me! She¡¯s mine, she¡¯s mine!¡± Dad Mo patted him on the shoulder and said, ¡°Calm down. Dad will take care of this matter for you.¡± When Li Shu looked at the father-and-son pair, she suddenly felt disengaged. She turned and started to walk away. Mo Zhi, on the other hand, had not noticed the change in his mother¡¯s mood and said to her, ¡°Mom, this Mo Xicheng is downright evil! He¡¯s atrocious!¡± ¡°Shut up already!¡± Li Shu spun around. Mo Zhi froze. Dad Mo quickly added, ¡°That¡¯s right. Say no more for now. This is not our home after all. We¡¯ll talk when we get home.¡± Mo Zhi nodded at once. The three of them walked out of the lounge. They saw that Si Jingyu and Shi Jinyan were both standing by the door and seeing their guests out. When Li Shu saw Si Jingyu, she was suddenly ovee by embarrassment. She thought of how they had used to be such close friends. But now... who would have thought they would get into such an awkward situation over their children¡¯s future? Li Shu walked up to Si Jingyu and waved at her, saying, ¡°We¡¯re leaving now.¡± Si Jingyu nodded. Mo Zhi looked around and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Mo Xicheng?¡± His tone was not harmonious. Si Jingyu frowned and ignored the boy. While Li Shu turned to re at him. Immediately, Mo Zhi fell silent. Li Shu sighed, looked at Si Jingyu and said, ¡°I¡¯m far behind you when ites to bringing up kids.¡± Si Jingyu shook her head when she heard this and said, ¡°Actually, it has to do with the family and not the individual.¡± Thinking back on those years, Shi Xun had actually been brought up away from home. But if it hadn¡¯t been for the fact that she and her husband had stuck together, she believed that her two children wouldn¡¯t have turned out this outstanding. Mo Zhi¡¯s environment as he was growing up had shaped his wed character. Li Shu nodded. As she was walking out, she heard Si Jingyu say in a low voice, ¡°Li Shu, as your friend, I have to remind you. Although he is an illegitimate son, he did grow up in the Mo family. Don¡¯t go overboard with some things.¡± Li Shu paused for a moment and looked at Si Jingyu. Then she nodded again. Chapter 1098 - So She Is Mo Xicheng’s Girlfriend (14)

Chapter 1098: So She Is Mo Xicheng¡¯s Girlfriend (14)

With Mo Zhi and Dad Mo, Li Shu got into the car. Just as they were about to drive away, Si Jingyu suddenly spoke, ¡°Today is Yao Yao¡¯s birthday. Some of the children have gone out together to have fun, Mo Xicheng is with them.¡± Li Shu halted when she heard these words. She turned around to look at Si Jingyu, pursed her lips and nodded. As the car drove away, Mo Zhi frowned and said, ¡°Mom, Auntie Si Jingyu said just that they¡¯ve gone out with friends to have fun. Those friends... was she referring to Si Mubei, Xiao Munan and the rest?¡± Zhuang Nainai and Si Zhengting had twin boys. The older one, Si Mubei, had inherited the Si family estate. Xiao Munan, on the other hand, had inherited his maternal grandmother¡¯s flourishing family business. Both were huge enterprises, making them almost Beijing city¡¯s rulers. Li Shu frowned upon hearing this. She turned, looked at him and said, ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, besides them, there should also be Su Penghao, Liu Zuojian and others.¡± Mo Zhi¡¯s eyes lit up at once. ¡°These are all well-known people of our generation! Especially Brother Munan. He¡¯s like the leader of the pack. If you¡¯re on good terms with him, you have nothing to fear in the business world.¡± Dad Mo smacked his son¡¯s head at these words and said, ¡°Did you only just realize this? Now do you know why I wanted you to marry the daughter of the Shi family? It¡¯s not only the Shi family¡¯s resources that we want, it¡¯s also the Si family¡¯s friends. Si Jingyu is Si Mubei and Xiao Munan¡¯s aunt, and they¡¯re probably on good terms with Shi Nianyao. If you can get into their circle, your future would be most promising.¡± By now, Mo Zhi was so envious and resentful that he had turned green. He looked at his father and demanded, ¡°Dad, such unbelievably good resources, I have to be there.¡± Li Shu turned, stared at him icily and said, ¡°And why would you go there? Just to be kicked out? The whole of Beijing is already aware that you¡¯ve gone around ndering the daughter of the Shi family! Mo Zhi, you can forget about this marriage arrangement.¡± Mo Zhi immediately panicked and said, ¡°Mom, how could you take sides with that mistress¡¯ son? That little bastard and illegitimate son! Do you know that before this, when he had nothing, he was already stepping all over me? Now that he has all of these resources, he¡¯ll surely try to fight me for the family business. Mom, can you bear to see me give the Mo family business to that illegitimate son?¡± ¡°No way!¡± Dad Mo interjected before Li Shu could get a word in. ¡°Our family business has to go to you! Only your mother¡¯s child is my son. That boy is not my son!¡± Dad Mo was resolute, to Mo Zhi¡¯s relief. Li Shu had fallen silent all of a sudden. Logic told her that Mo Zhi was right. She had to make the marriage happen somehow. Otherwise, Mo Zhi may lose his hold over the Mo family enterprise. If Shi Nianyao could potentially support him, perhaps Mo Xicheng may not immediately have intentions to fight Mo Zhi for the family business, but who could say this wouldn¡¯t happen at some point in the future? But her emotions told her... She actually did hope that the boy found happiness. Honestly, she found her husband¡¯s mistress Yao Lili to be annoying all the time. Even the thought of the woman having bore Dad Mo¡¯s child infuriated her to no end. But whenever she saw Mo Xicheng and noticed the mncholy in his eyes, her heart would ache for him somewhat. Chapter 1099 - So She Is Mo Xicheng’s Girlfriend (15)

Chapter 1099: So She Is Mo Xicheng¡¯s Girlfriend (15)

Meanwhile Mo Xicheng was the subject of this talk between Mo Zhi and Li Shu, he was now being held back by Shi Nianyao at the Shi family residence. The party outside had ended, so Shi Nianyao got energized at once. As they opened the door to the private party venue, Mo Xicheng was stunned when he saw the people who had stayed after the party. Si Mubei, Lin Muxi, Xiao Munan, Ye Feifei, Su Penghao. All of these people were the notable figures of their generation. What more could be said about Si Mubei and Xiao Munan? They were already chairmen of their respectivepanies. Even Su Penghao, whose focus was on eSports, not only held a leading position in this aspect, he had also inherited his family business. All of these individuals had a significant position on their own. Even celebrities were respectful towards them. He hadn¡¯t expected that he would actually be acquainted with this group of people. As he was contemting this, Shi Nianyao dragged him into the room and before the presence of these people, eximing, ¡°Hey, listen up, everyone! This is my idol and also my boyfriend! From now on, you guys have to look out for him, do you understand?¡± Si Mubei and Xiao Munan exchanged a nce and smiled helplessly. It was hard to tell the pair of identical twins apart. It was Su Penghao who cried out next, ¡°Dang! Even you have a boyfriend now! And I don¡¯t have a girlfriend yet.¡± Shi Nianyao shot back immediately, ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Su Penghao walked around her and came up to Mo Xicheng. He eyed the man up and down a few times, snorted coldly and said, ¡°You with the surname Mo, I heard that you¡¯re an illegitimate son of the Mo family?¡± Nianyao¡¯s expression darkened at once when she heard this. She took a step forward and grabbed Su Penghao. ¡°Su Penghao, do you have manners at all? If not, then you should just shut up!¡± Su Penghao twitched his mouth and said, ¡°Why? Isn¡¯t it a fact? Why can¡¯t I say it?¡± Shi Nianyao was about to reply when Mo Xicheng suddenly took her hand. Shi Nianyao turned around with a quizzical expression. Then Mo Xicheng nodded at her and then stepped in front of her. He looked at Su Penghao for a moment and said, ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± There was no trace of inferiority in his behavior. Initially hoping for some entertainment, everyone¡¯s expressions turned serious at once when they saw Mo Xicheng¡¯s reaction. Su Penghao¡¯s eyes shed as he continued, ¡°So what makes you good enough for our Nianyao?¡± Nianyao was livid by now. ¡°Su Penghao, you stinking ill-mannered idiot, will you just shut up?!¡± After she had said this, however, she noticed that Mo Xicheng was unshaken and still looking back at Su Penghao calmly. ¡°I know that my status is not morous, but I know too that from now on, I will not let Nianyao suffer the slightest grievance.¡± His words came like a promise that held significant weight. Shi Nianyao, who had wanted to hit Su Penghao initially, froze in mid-motion when she heard these words. She turned around and looked at Mo Xicheng in astonishment. But he stood there, looking back at her with the gentlest of expressions. Shi Nianyao felt a strange warmth flowing around her and she suddenly smiled. Such was the love they had for each other. No drama, full of bliss and sweetness. Shi Xun and Si Mubei were standing next to each other on the side of the room. They had been watching as observers when Su Penghao had started to create trouble, but right now Si Mubei turned towards Shi Xun suddenly and said, ¡°This man is worthy of Nianyao.¡± Chapter 1100 - So, She Is Mo Xicheng’s Girlfriend! (16)

Chapter 1100: So, She Is Mo Xicheng¡¯s Girlfriend! (16)

Shi Xun nodded. His ability to keep his cool and unwavering attitude, despite external pressure alone, were good enough indication of this man¡¯s fine inner quality. Which had initially been a worrying problem had now been easily resolved. Su Penghao walked over and patted Mo Xicheng¡¯s shoulder, saying, ¡°Fine, you¡¯re epted, my brother! However, if you mistreat our Nianyao in future, don¡¯t say you weren¡¯t warned.¡± Mo Xicheng¡¯s lips turned upwards into a smile and he nodded. Shi Nianyao gave Su Penghao a hard shove instead and retorted, ¡°Hey, aren¡¯t you supposed to y the national match soon? What are you doing here? Why aren¡¯t you training?¡± Su Penghao put on a pitiful expression and said, ¡°So now you¡¯re avenging Mo Xicheng? I¡¯m just testing him. Our little sister finally has a boyfriend, and we¡¯re not allowed to ask some questions?¡± Shi Nianyao humphed coldly, but at the same time, she was like a lofty princess, tugging at Mo Xicheng and smiling very sweetly. That smile was radiant like the sun that lit up Mo Xicheng¡¯s world. After a moment, Shi Xun walked up to the couple and said to Shi Nianyao, ¡°Ye Feifei is looking for you.¡± Shi Nianyao was surprised. ¡°Oh? Where? I¡¯ll go look for her!¡± After Shi Nianyao had left, Mo Xicheng turned towards Shi Xun and said, ¡°Mr. Shi, what advice would you have for me?¡± Shi Xun looked at the man for a short while and then asked, ¡°What¡¯s your opinion of the Mo family?¡± Mo Xicheng cast his gaze down and said, ¡°I don¡¯t wish to have anything to do with them.¡± The look in Shi Xun¡¯s eyes deepened and he said, ¡°And the Mo family¡¯s assets¡ª¡± ¡°My mother is a mistress. The Mo family¡¯s assets all should belong to Mo Zhi. I don¡¯t want it and I have no wish to have it. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve been saving up for all these years, I will not allow Nianyao to suffer.¡± Upon hearing this, Shi Xun looked at him in silence for some time. He finallyughed and said, ¡°You have to remember, sometimes giving in doesn¡¯t mean that your life will get better. On the contrary, people may take advantage.¡± Mo Xicheng frowned. Looking at him, Shi Xun asked, ¡°So do you intend to keep giving in? And when does it stop?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a limit.¡± Shi Xun persisted, ¡°What¡¯s your limit?¡± ¡°In the past, I didn¡¯t know, but now I do.¡± Shi Xun smiled when he heard this and said, ¡°I hope you keep your word. Before you sort out the internal affairs with your family, I will not agree to a wedding date.¡± Lowering his head, Mo Xicheng replied, ¡°Neither will I make a wedding proposal prior to that.¡± His intention was to provide a clean te and a peaceful start for her, a world without darkness. ¨C He stayed with Shi Nianyao and her friends till after dinner and then headed home. On his way home, he received a call from Dad Mo. ¡°Come home at once.¡± Upon hearing this, he paused and eventually turned around to go to the Mo family vi. He entered the vi upon arriving. The moment he walked in, a silhouette immediately flew towards him. Before he knew it, a vicious pnded on his face. Bam. Mo Xicheng looked up with narrowed eyes and saw Yao Lili pointing at him, shouting, ¡°Mo Xicheng, how dare you steal your brother¡¯s fiancee?! You¡¯re rotten to the core! You are to give up Ms. Shi and return her to your brother right away.¡± Chapter 1101 - So She Is Mo Xicheng’s Girlfriend (17)

Chapter 1101: So She Is Mo Xicheng¡¯s Girlfriend (17)

His face was tilted to the side from the p, burning from the force of the hit. It was a familiar feeling by now. He had been hit by Yao Lili countless times ever since he had been a child. It wasn¡¯t that he had never retaliated. When he was a child, he could not fight back when he was beaten. Eventually, he understood. When he went to junior high school, during the mid-semester examination, he felt that after so many years, he no longer wanted to be repeatedly suppressed. Hence, he had scored 60 for every one of his papers. It was easy to do badly, but tough to score exactly 60 for every subject. It was then that Dad Mo and Li Shu realized his academic capabilities. Hence when Mo Zhi came back gloating, Li Shu gave him an icy look. Dad Mo, on the other hand, said a few unkind words to Yao Lili. At the time, Yao Lili¡¯s expression had soured immediately. The moment she got home, she gave Mo Xicheng a beating. He did not fight back, he only tried to dodge it. Looking at Yao Lili, he said, ¡°I did nothing wrong!¡± Then he slung his backpack over his shoulder and ran out. At the time, he had wanted to run away from home. Leave this rotten family. He wandered along the streets alone with his backpack on his back. A young teenager facing a murky future, feeling lost. He lost track of time as he wandered around, until the next morning a car pulled up in front of him. Then the door swung open and Li Shu stepped out elegantly. In that instant, he was squatting in front of a shop that had not yet opened, curled into a ball and shivering. She cast her gaze on him from above. After a moment, she spoke, ¡°Come with me.¡± From a young age, he had had a certain respect for Li Shu. Hence, he obediently got onto his feet. First she took him to have some bread for breakfast, and then they went to an orphanage in Beijing city. Looking at him, Li Shu asked, ¡°Are you feeling sorry for yourself, sorry that life is bad?¡± Mo Xicheng nodded. Pointing at the orphans in the building, Li Shu said, ¡°Do you have any idea how many people in this world are worse off than you? They don¡¯t know who their parents are, and no matter how much they wish to have a home, they can¡¯t find one.¡± After these words, she looked at Mo Xicheng and said unhurriedly, ¡°You¡¯ve done nothing wrong, but your existence was the original sin. You cannot stand out more than Mo Zhi, because he is the eventual head of the Mo family. Your existence is a threat to him. If you feel wronged, then have you ever thought of Mo Zhi¡¯s feelings?¡± ¡°He was the only son of the Mo family, but you were your father¡¯s mistake.¡± ¡°And your mother... Perhaps you had never realized, but she hides your capabilities and talent because she wants to protect you.¡± Mo Xicheng paused and looked at Li Shu, not quite understanding her exnation. Li Shu continued unhurriedly, ¡°Because if you be a threat to Mo Zhi, I will not let you grow up sofortably.¡± Mo Xicheng was stunned. Even though her words were vicious, he didn¡¯t feel the least bit afraid. At that time, he did not understand why Li Shu had said these things. But eventually he did. She was a woman who did things above the line. She had told him openly that he had to watch himself, because if he outshone her son, she would not let him off easily. This was actually the kindest thing she could have done. Chapter 1102 - So She Is Mo Xicheng’s Girlfriend (18)

Chapter 1102: So She Is Mo Xicheng¡¯s Girlfriend (18)

She had no wish to cross swords with him, hence she would rather forewarn him. At the time, Mo Xicheng hadn¡¯t understood what all of this meant. He had only nodded. Eventually, Li Shu gave him a bank card and said, ¡°Here¡¯s a 100 000. It¡¯s up to you whether you choose to return home or otherwise.¡± Then she turned and left. He stood there, holding the bank card in a daze. He didn¡¯t know if he should go home or just leave. Butter on, her car returned after a while. Li Shu got out and walked over to him. She reached out and put her hand on his shoulder, saying, ¡°Your mother did not sleep a winkst night and she has been crying. She has ced all her hopes on you.¡± She left again after saying this. Mo Xicheng knew Li Shu had hoped that he would leave when she handed him the bank card. Because that would have been her ideal situation. However, it was cruel to the young boy. So her kindnesspelled her to return. Who knew what could happen to a young teenager left adrift? Mo Xicheng eventually returned home. Yao Lili did really cry till her eyes were sore. When she saw him, she rushed up to hug him, hitting him and crying at the same time. After this episode, he had never retaliated again. ¨C Yao Lili had a lot of pent-up anger that she had no outlet for. And being alone, she was quite pitiful. At this thought, he wiped the side of his face and straightened his posture. He looked at Yao Lili through his pair of mncholic eyes and then shifted his gaze to the others in the room. Dad Mo stood by the side, watching this with a cold attitude. There was glee in Mo Zhi¡¯s eyes, but he was also obviously dissatisfied that Mo Xicheng had only been pped once. Only Li Shu looked neutral. Mo Xicheng looked at her and felt a faint aching in his heart. He could sense the hopelessness and great disappointment in her. Was it because she had finally discovered her son¡¯s true nature that she seemed so disappointed? As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he lowered his head and looked away. Gripping her son tightly, Yao Lili was already berating him in anger, ¡°Say it, did you already know a long time ago that Shi Nianyao is the Shi family¡¯s daughter, and you seduced her to get revenge on your brother?¡± Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes at this using remark and looked up. Hence... Were they nning to use this excuse to persuade Shi Nianyao to give Mo Zhi a chance and remove himpletely from the picture? If Shi Nianyao¡¯s parents really did believe this excuse, they wouldn¡¯t let him continue to see Nianyao for sure. Mo Xicheng¡¯s expression turned deeply sorrowful. He looked at Yao Lili steadily and then shifted his gaze to Dad Mo. Finally, he said, ¡°No.¡± ¡°No? You are stubbornly denying it even now!¡± Yao Lili continued to berate him angrily, ¡°Mo Xicheng, you give Shi Nianyao a call right now and rify this to her! The marriage arrangement is between your brother and the Shi family! How could you develop such ill intentions?¡± At these words, she picked up the cell phone and said, ¡°If you won¡¯t tell her, I will! You¡¯ve done something wrong and I will manage it! Tell me, what¡¯s her phone number?¡± Mo Xicheng kept silent but Mo Zhi immediatly eximed, ¡°I know! I know!¡± He told her the number. Mo Xicheng saw that Yao Lili was holding the cell phone and was about to dial. He felt his blood boil. In his seething anger, he took a step towards her and grabbed her wrist. Then he took the phone out of her hand, disconnected the line and smashed the device on the ground. Bam. It shattered into pieces. Chapter 1103 - So, She Is Mo Xicheng’s Girlfriend (19)

Chapter 1103: So, She Is Mo Xicheng¡¯s Girlfriend (19)

Since childhood, he had been a docile person. This was the first time he retaliated so violently, and it shocked everyone present. Yao Lili was frightened out of her wits and started trembling, while Mo Zhi had retreated several steps to hide behind his father. Looking at Mo Zhi, Li Shu¡¯s expression of disappointment had grown even more obvious now. Looking grave and gloomy, Dad Mo raised his voice, ¡°Mo Xicheng, what are you doing? You¡¯re going to fight back?!¡± Mo Xicheng did not look at any one of them and stared only at the broken cell phone on the floor. He spoke unhurriedly, ¡°Our family affairs have got nothing to do with Shi Nianyao.¡± Having said this, he lifted his gaze and gave a warning look at Yao Lili. After a pause, he curled his lips and continued, ¡°If find out that you¡¯ve called Nianyao¡¯s family and spoken nonsense, don¡¯t me me for not respecting our mother-and-son rtionship!¡± Yao Lili was now shaking with anger. Like a vixen, she took a step towards her son and said, ¡°Mo Xicheng! What do you mean by that!?¡± ¡°I¡¯m telling you, I gave birth to you! I gave birth to you and brought you up. Is that how you demonstrate your filial piety? What can you do? Hit me?!¡± Mo Xicheng moved his lips and wanted to speak, but right at this point, a clear and crisp voice shouted, ¡°Enough!¡± Everyone was stunned and looked up at Li Shu. She looked at them with exhaustion and pointed at the doorway. She simply said, ¡°Get out.¡± Yao Lili frowned as resentment shed across her eyes. Looking at Dad Mo, she saw that he was looking back at her and Mo Xicheng in fright, saying, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you getting out of here?! Get out! Get out! Get out!¡± Mo Zhi, on the other hand, started, ¡°Mom, about Shi Nianyao¡¯s matter¡ª¡± ¡°I said get out! All of you out!¡± Li Shu shouted, giving Mo Zhi a fright. He immediately fell silent, while Dad Mo took a step forward and said, ¡°Li Shu, you¡ª¡± ¡°Get out!¡± Dad Mo could only step back and say hurriedly, ¡°Ok, don¡¯t be angry. I¡¯ll leave. I¡¯ll leave.¡± Everyone started to walk towards the door. As they approached the doorway, they heard Li Shu call out, ¡°Mo Xicheng.¡± Mo Xicheng halted and turned his head around. He noticed that all of a sudden, she seemed to have aged ten years. Carrying that disappointment, she also seemed to be at a loss. She looked at him and reminded, ¡°I hope you will always remember what you promised me.¡± He narrowed his eyes and said after a moment, ¡°As long as it doesn¡¯t cross the line, I will not leave the Mo family alone.¡± Li Shu nodded and then looked at Dad Mo and Mo Zhi, saying, ¡°You will leave this matter right now!¡± Having said this, she ignored Mo Zhi and headed upstairs. ¨C Walking out of the Mo family vi, Mo Xicheng got into his car at once and drove away,pletely ignoring Yao Lili. Dad Mo¡¯s gaze followed the car that had left so abruptly and gave a deep sigh. Mo Zhi, on the other hand, shot a look at Yao Lili. He gave her an eye signal and said, ¡°Let me take you home.¡± Yao Lili immediately looked ted. Dad Mo wanted to stop him, but he had already started his car engine and Yao Lili had quickly scrambled into the vehicle. But as Dad Mo was also preupied with how to cheer Li Shu up, he did not bother too much about those two. The car was started, rolled down the driveway and left the Mo family vi. After it had traveled some distance, it pulled to a stop by the roadside. Mo Zhi turned around and looked at Yao Lili, who was in the front passenger seat. ¡°You told me once that you are my real mother, but I never believed it. Now, this is your chance to prove your im!¡± Yao Lili¡¯s eyes immediately lit up. Chapter 1104 - So She Is Mo Xicheng’s Girlfriend (20)

Chapter 1104: So She Is Mo Xicheng¡¯s Girlfriend (20)

Yao Lili¡¯s eyes shone as she looked at Mo Zhi, ¡°How can I prove it?¡± Mo Zhi eyed her steadily and said, ¡°If you can help me ruin this wedding, and on top of that help me win Shi Nianyao, I¡¯ll believe you. How about that?¡± Her eyes reddened at once. She teared up as she looked at Mo Zhi and said, ¡°I¡¯m really your mother, Mo Zhi. Why wouldn¡¯t you believe me?¡± Mo Zhi twitched his mouth. Lowering her voice, Yao Lili revealed, ¡°Back then, she gave birth a day earlier than me, and we were in the same hospital. I took the opportunity when no one was paying any attention to sneak in, and switched you and Mo Xicheng. Besides myself, no one else knows about this.¡± Frowning, Mo Zhi realized as he looked at her that she was being very serious, to the point that one could almost believe that she was telling the truth. Mo Zhi¡¯s expression darkened as he said quickly, ¡°If that is indeed true, then it¡¯s best that you keep your mouth shut forever!¡± Immediately, Yao Lili sealed her lips and did not say another word. Looking at her still, Mo Zhi said, ¡°Don¡¯t you forget this. You¡¯ve pretended for so many years, you must continue the act!¡± Yao Lili opened and shut her mouth like a carp. She was going to speak but when she saw Mo Zhi ring at her, she quickly nodded. He sighed in relief. As the son of Dad Mo, and having lived in this house for over twenty years, he knew very well that... Compared to Mo Xicheng, there was really nothing special about him. Nearly the only simrity they shared was their bloodline. Dad Mo loved Li Shu a lot. He had loved her for so many years, even now, in her old age. He was very willing to amodate her and yield to her. He would try all ways to please her. The son that Dad Mo loved was not him at all. Because in his heart, the person he loved the most was Li Shu, and everyone else could be easily given up. He was already facing all sorts of crises in thepany now. If he lost Dad Mo¡¯s support, he would lose everything. ¨C So much was happening in Beijing, but Qiao Lian was unaware in Suzhou. Except that now she was looking at a bouquet of flowers in a daze. When her memory hade back suddenly at Prince¡¯s club, she had wanted to rush home and look for Shen Liangchuan. But unexpectedly, the moment she arrived at the Qiao family vi and got out of the taxi, Lu Nanze had appeared before her with a bouquet. She frowned and looked at him asking, ¡°What¡¯s this about?¡± Lu Nanze replied, ¡°Qiao Lian, lilies used to be your favorite.¡± Then he ced the bouquet in her arms and at once held her wrist. ¡°Haven¡¯t you lost your memory? Let me take you somewhere. Perhaps when we get there, you will remember something.¡± He quickly opened the backseat door. Qiao Lian bit her lip with caution, recalling the things that the man had done before she had lost her memory. She felt a seething anger rising in her. As these thoughts crossed her mind, she saw Lu Nanze looking at her in a puzzled manner. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you getting in?¡± She looked at him steadily. After a moment, she got in. She could not let him discover that her memory hade back. She had to get in. Through the memories that had returned, she was quite sure from observing him that he would not harm her. Hence now, she was curious as to where he was taking her. Chapter 1105 - Shen Liangchuan, I’m Pregnant (1)

Chapter 1105: Shen Liangchuan, I¡¯m Pregnant (1)

The car moved slowly along the streets. Qiao Lian turned to look out of the window. For the eight years that she had been away, there had been rapid changes. Hence the ces she used to know had be strange, although still familiar. Lu Nanze did not say where he was taking her, neither did she ask. She made a note of where they were and tried to rte it to the Suzhou she remembered, so that she had an idea of where they were headed. If she felt something amiss, she would call Shen Liangchuan or send him a message, so that he coulde and rescue her. After the car went around a curve and Qiao Lian saw the spicy soup stall, her body stiffened at once. Upon noticing this, Lu Nanze asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Do you remember something?¡± Qiao Lian quickly said, ¡°No, I just find this ce familiar.¡± It was certainly familiar, because beyond the stall, just straight ahead, was a high school. When she saw the signboard, she was stunned. This was her high school. As this thought came to her, Lu Nanze drove the car up to the school entrance and parked by the kerbside. He opened the car door and looked at her. ¡°This is where we went to school. I¡¯ve brought you here to walk down the memoryne.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. She followed Lu Nanze as he entered the school grounds. It felt like nothing in the school had changed. Except that where there used to be an empty piece ofnd, there were now a few blocks of hostels. There were lessons at the moment, so pleasant sounds of students reading could be hearding from some of the ssrooms. Qiao Lian found herself slightly distracted as she listened to the voices in unison. It felt like she was back in high school. She heard Lu Nanze reminiscing, ¡°Qiao Lian, do you remember? Our small group used to sit together.¡± ¡°You sat in the centre, I sat behind you and Sun Linan sat next to you on the same desk.¡± ¡°At the time, we did well in school and were a loud bunch. Do you remember? We had to go to extracurricr sessions in the evenings, so all of us stayed in the hostel. It was the first time we stayed away from our parents and we felt so much freedom. But what we hadn¡¯t expected was that it would be even stricter in school. We used to be able to go out and have fun after school, but when we started staying at the hostel, we couldn¡¯t even step out of campus.¡± ¡°Back then, you had a particr favorite cartoon that was released weekly. You had to watch it every Tuesday night. Hence, on that particr Tuesday night you had asked us to go to the inte cafe to pull an all-nighter.¡± ¡°All of us walked out of the school gate boldly, except you. You jumped out of your hostel room window on the second floor.¡± As Lu Nanze spoke of this incident, they arrived at the hostel building where she had used to stay. He pointed up at a window on the second floor and said slowly, ¡°You see that? That was your hostel room. I still remember when Sun Tzi and I were waiting for you downstairs, and we heard some movements. We looked up and saw you jumping out. At that moment my heart jumped into my throat, fearful that you¡¯d fall. Later on, seeing that you were alive and kicking, standing there before me, I was so mad at you.¡± ¡°Why were you so careless with yourself? Did you know how dangerous we thought it was as we saw you jump?¡± As Lu Nanze droned on, Qiao Lian fell into a daze. Chapter 1106 - Shen Liangchuan, I’m Pregnant! (2)

Chapter 1106: Shen Liangchuan, I¡¯m Pregnant! (2)

She remembered the details. They were clear as daylight in her mind. At the time, the cartoon¡¯stest episode had ended at a cliffhanger. Hence, she had kept thinking about it all day and when the evening study session came, she had wanted to get her friends to go and watch it with her. Her thinking then was that, even if they got caught, the school couldn¡¯t do much if there was a big group of them. And if her parents interrogated her when she got home, she could use Sun Linan as a shield. But when night time came and the hostel lights went out, she still hadn¡¯t managed to get out. She had tried all ways to persuade the auntie at the hostel, to no avail. In the end, she had decided to jump out of her hostel room window. After she escaped, she clearly remembered Lu Nanze¡¯s expression, which changed immediately. And his temper had red up too, strangely. At the time, she had felt that Lu Nanze was a prickly person to handle, but now she understood. He had lost his temper because... he was worried about her? Qiao Lian looked at him in astonishment. He took a step forward and continued, ¡°That night, when we pulled an all-nighter, you kept rolling your eyes at me. Then the next day, when we were in ss, you fell asleep. The teacher even called you to answer questions.¡± At this point, the corners of his lips turned up as he broke into a smile. Qiao Lian remembered that episode. She had stood her book upright and rested her chin on the desk behind it. Then she slept like a sloth. At some point, Sun Linan had poked her shoulder to wake her and whispered at the same time, ¡°The teacher¡¯s asking you. Hurry and answer the question, the answer is A!¡± Behind her, Lu Nanze said softly, ¡°Select B!¡± Then on her other side, another ssmate said, ¡°The answer¡¯s D.¡± After hearing the three of them, she rolled her eyes, stood up and said in her lovely and crisp voice, ¡°Teacher, my answer¡¯s C!¡± She couldn¡¯t help gloating after giving her answer. She felt rather clever for having not fallen for their tricks. But the next moment, reality cut her like a knife. The teacher said, ¡°Qiao Lian! This is a true or false question!¡± Dang. She could not help smiling at these memories. She shook her head slightly. Lu Nanze continued to lead her ahead, towards the field. He pointed at it and said in a low voice while looking at her, ¡°I still remember in our third year...¡± Her pupils shrank immediately at those words. She remembered. They were in ss when his butler suddenly dashed into the ssroom. He asked to speak with the teacher outside. They didn¡¯t know what the content of exchange had been, but when the teacher came back in, she said, ¡°Lu Nanze, pack up your belongings and go home now.¡± At the time, he looked confused, but stood up and packed up. Envying for not having to be in ss, she sent him an eye signal and red at him. Then he left, following their butler. That week, Qiao Lian stayed in the hostel and did not return home. It was only five dayster that Lu Nanze came back to school. However, he looked like his soul had been sucked out of him and he was like a zombie wandering around. He sat in his seat and did not speak a word to anyone around him. Later on, during their self-study session... She suddenly discovered that he had gone out by himself. She ran after him. In the end, she found him on the field. He had a bottle of beer in his hand and was crying hard as he drank. Back then, their group attended school under fake names. People around did not know their real identities and status. Chapter 1107 - Shen Liangchuan, I’m Pregnant (3)

Chapter 1107: Shen Liangchuan, I¡¯m Pregnant (3)

There were a few misbehaving students in the third year, and they often cut ss to y in the field. They saw that Lu Nanze was good-looking and had some money, so they tried to bully him. By the time she ran there, they were already in a tussle. Because of a heated exchange, the group had started to hit Lu Nanze. He did not move. He squatted on the ground as he was being beaten. He didn¡¯t even try to retaliate. Seeing this, she somehow found a surge of strength as she shrieked and charged at them. The girl used all the strength she had and single-handedly chased away all the students. Eventually, looking at Lu Nanze who by then had fallen on the ground, she kicked him angrily and said, ¡°You¡¯re a guy. Don¡¯t you know how to fight back when they hit you? Where has your pride gone? Aren¡¯t you very clever? Why did you get beaten up like that?¡± As she berated him, she began to feel something amiss. She bent over and lowered herself to look at him. It was only then she realized that he was crying. His face was swollen and he was crying. Qiao Lian was shocked and asked, ¡°Hey, what- what¡¯s wrong? Don¡¯t cry. Are you in pain? I¡¯ll get them toe back here and we¡¯ll fight them again.¡± As she spoke, he suddenly extended his arms and threw himself to her. Qiao Lian got angry at once and said, ¡°Can you say something? Why are you doing this? Second Brother, you¡ª¡± The next moment, he said in between sobs, ¡°My mom... she killed herself.¡± She was shocked upon hearing these words and froze. When she took a proper look at him, she realized that he smelled of alcohol and he looked lost and disoriented. Beyond those words, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to say anything else. The only thing she could do was to reach out and hold him, saying, ¡°It¡¯s going to be ok, it¡¯s going to be ok.¡± Then, feeling his pain, she cried along with him. ¡°At the time, you cried so pitifully that anyone who hadn¡¯t known any better would have thought it was your mother who died. And after you started crying, I suddenly felt that there really was nothing to cry over. Then I just watched you. Qiao Lian, in that moment, do you know what I was thinking?¡± As Lu Nanze¡¯s voice resonated in Qiao Lian¡¯s ears, she felt herself being pulled back to the present. Lu Nanze continued, ¡°I was thinking that since you had cried so much because of me, and had fought those kids for me, I should protect you for the rest of your life too, right?¡± At this point, he took a step forward and ced a hand on her shoulder saying, ¡°Eventually we all grew up. Then I discovered I could no longer bear to be apart from you.¡± ¡°Qiao Lian, you are the only girl I¡¯ve ever loved, one and only in my heart and mind. I¡¯d always thought that if we continued being together, we could get married after we graduated, did you know that? When we were in middle high school, I wanted to ask you which university you wanted to go to because I wanted to go to the same university. Then we could be together and never be apart.¡± After he said all of this, he moved his face close to hers, looked at her in the eyes and said, ¡°Qiao Lian, can you really not remember this?¡± Remember all of this? Of course she did, clearly. In fact, many times she had wished that they never had to grow up. Wouldn¡¯t that be so great? But reality was always cruel. Chapter 1108 - Shen Liangchuan, I’m Pregnant (4)

Chapter 1108: Shen Liangchuan, I¡¯m Pregnant (4)

Because his family wanted to acquire the Qiao family enterprise, they had caused her parents¡¯ death. Furthermore, even after their deaths, there was no justice and they had to bear a sullied reputation. These thoughts drew Qiao Lian out of her memories and into the present. She quickly put up an act and put on a confused expression. Looking straight into Lu Nanze¡¯s eyes, she said unhurriedly, ¡°I can¡¯t remember.¡± Lu Nanze looked a little disappointed and also d at the same time. He said, ¡°It¡¯s ok if you can¡¯t remember now. We can do it slowly. Maybe, we can leave all the past behind and start afresh from now on.¡± Start afresh. Qiao Lian¡¯s expression darkened and, after a pause, she said, ¡°Ok.¡± When Lu Nanze heard the ¡°ok¡±, he was so ted that he almost jumped up in joy. That pair of demonic eyes lit up with hope, and that smile became full of charm and charisma. He reached out, took her hand and said, ¡°Great, so let¡¯s¡ª¡± ¡°Take me home.¡± Lu Nanze was taken aback. ¡°You¡ª¡± ¡°Right now, I¡¯m Shen Liangchuan¡¯s wife.¡± Qiao Lian sighed and lowered her head. ¡°Even if I were to leave him unfairly, I¡¯d still have to sort out my rtionship with him before I can be with you.¡± ¡°Besides, I don¡¯t even know who I like now. I have to think about it, whether I really like you, or Shen Liangchuan more?¡± Her baffled expression caught Lu Nanzepletely off guard. He looked at her for a moment and said, ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll take you home.¡± The two of them walked away from that campus filled with memories and headed back to the Qiao family vi. Lu Nanze stopped the car at the entrance of the vi and quickly got out of the car. He circled to the other side and opened the door for Qiao Lian. As she got out of the car, he held the bouquet out before her and said, ¡°Here, take this with you.¡± Qiao Lian looked at the bouquet and then shifted her gaze to him. He suddenly lowered his head and nted a quick kiss on her forehead. Qiao Lian was caught by surprise. He had acted too quickly, leaving her no chance to react. Then, like a cat that had stolen a fish, Lu Nanze got back into the car and drove away. Qiao Lian stood at the vi entrance and looked at the car disappearing into the distance. When the kiss reyed in her head, she immediately reached out and wiped her forehead forcefully. When she turned around, she realized that Shen Liangchuan was standing behind her with a most unreadable expression. Qiao Lian: ...! She jumped in fright. She turned and looked back, pointing at Lu Nanze. Then shifted her gaze to Shen Liangchuan again and pointed at him. She stuttered, ¡°I- he- you¡ª¡± Before she could finish, Shen Liangchuan had grabbed her wrist. With a firm grip, he led her back into the Qiao family vi. By now, his expression was frighteningly gloomy. Pulling her along behind him, he headed upstairs and into the master bedroom. Shutting the door behind them, he turned around immediately and pressed her up against the door. She could feel his anger rising and tried to exin, ¡°He- he took advantage when I wasn¡¯t paying attention. I- I really¡ª Oooh!!¡± The words following this never found their way out of her throat. With hisrge hand, he reached under her clothes in a sh, at the same time tugging her jacket off roughly. Sensing that he was like a desperate beast, Qiao Lian got worried. Finally, grabbing an opportunity, she shouted loudly, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, I¡¯m pregnant!¡± Chapter 1109 - Shen Liangchuan, I’m Pregnant (5)

Chapter 1109: Shen Liangchuan, I¡¯m Pregnant (5)

Those words were like a lightning bolt. Shen Liangchuan was shaken to the core at once. He halted and looked at Qiao Lian with a confused expression. He said after a pause, ¡°What- what did you say?¡± Seeing his shocked expression, Qiao Lian bit her lip and took a deep breath before repeating, ¡°I said I¡¯m pregnant! You didn¡¯t hear wrong.¡± Looking more confused than ever, he frowned. The first thing he did was look down reflexively at her abdomen. Then he asked, ¡°How many months?¡± His expression was gloomy like storm clouds¡ªhis tone, frighteningly calm. Hisck of reaction made it look as though he was asking something as casual as ¡°have you had breakfast?¡± Qiao Lian was a little disappointed. She lowered her head and said slowly, ¡°Two months.¡± Immediately, Shen Liangchuan grunted in acknowledgment. Gently holding her arm at once, he said, ¡°Let me help you, would you like to sit for a bit?¡± Qiao Lian nodded, followed him to the sofa and took a seat. She saw that Shen Liangchuan was still standing there and staring fixedly at her abdomen. ¡°Is this child a boy or a girl?¡± Qiao Lian replied, ¡°It¡¯s just two months old. You can¡¯t tell.¡± Shen Liangchuan grunted in acknowledgment and asked further, ¡°And are you feeling alright? Do you want to drink some sweetened water?¡± She replied, ¡°I¡¯m just pregnant, it¡¯s not that I¡¯m having my period. Why would I need to drink sweetened water?¡± ¡°Oh! Right!¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded. ¡°Then you should have... chicken soup. I¡¯ll get someone to make you chicken soup right now!¡± Having said this, he walked out of the door. Thump! He had thrown the door open but hadn¡¯t moved out of the way, so the door had hit him in the head when returning. He reached out to massage his head a little, without the slightest trace of embarrassment. He walked out again and said, ¡°I just remembered there¡¯s no chicken at home. I¡¯ll go get one then... Oh, right, as well as carp and tofu soup.¡± Qiao Lian was bbergasted. She noticed, to her amusement, that Shen Liangchuan seemed to have lost all his logic and looked like a clueless small child. She giggled uncontrobly. The truth was that he was actually excited. It was only because he had a rather cold personality and suppressed his emotions, that it was hard to tell from his facial expression. But through his actions... She wasn¡¯t even breastfeeding, yet he was talking about getting chicken soup, carp and tofu soup. It looked like he was quite overjoyed. Qiao Lian got to her feet and peered down at him from the second floor. She couldn¡¯t hear what he was saying, but now he was busily making his way up again. He seemed to be in a daze still as he stood outside the door and said, looking at her, ¡°Old Auntie Zhang said there¡¯s no need to drink any soup at the moment, you just need to take good care of yourself. You shouldn¡¯t try to take too many vitamins in the first few months.¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s lips turned upwards into a smile. She tilted her head and looked at the big child before her. She asked, ¡°And then what?¡± ¡°So what do you feel like eating? Are you feeling nauseous? Tell me what you feel like eating and I¡¯ll go and get it for you right away.¡± At these words, Qiao Lian had already taken a step towards him and gripped his arm, saying, ¡°I¡¯m not craving any food at the moment, so hurry up and get in here!¡± Her movement somehow made Shen Liangchuan jump. He suddenly held her arm and said, ¡°You- you should move slowly. Come, let me help you sit on the bed.¡± Qiao Lian was both speechless and amused. She understood how he was feeling, hence she followed his lead as he carefully helped her onto the bed. Chapter 1110 - Shen Liangchuan, I’m Pregnant (6)

Chapter 1110: Shen Liangchuan, I¡¯m Pregnant (6)

Right after she sat down, Shen Liangchuan immediately looked around the room. Then he took a bolster and positioned it against her lower back. He straightened up and got a cushion. Walking back to her, she asked, ¡°Is the bed too hard? Is itfortable?¡± Qiao Lian: ... She felt like a porcin doll being handled with great care, as though she was extremely fragile. At once, this warmed her heart up. She continued to observe Shen Liangchuan. After so much had happened, she felt that perhaps it was really time to face some of life¡¯s matters together as a couple. If she kept Shen Liangchuan in the dark and continued pretending that she didn¡¯t remember anything so that she could get into Lu Nanze¡¯spany, it would make her a terribly irresponsible mother. This child belonged to Shen Liangchuan too, and she needed to discuss the n with him. But seeing that he was so concerned, she suddenly began to waver. Feigning memory loss and getting into Lu Nanze¡¯spany to get the ount book was perhaps the only opportunity she would ever have. On the other hand, this child... Thinking how not long ago she had fallen and injured her head, she was not in the best of health in the first ce. The child was indeed at risk. Feeling deste at this thought, she sat there looking at Shen Liangchuan steadily. When Shen Liangchuan turned and noticed her expression, his senses slowly came back to him. He looked back at her. After about ten minutes, he said, ¡°Xiao Qiao.¡± Qiao Lian looked up at once. He asked her, ¡°You... got your memory back?¡± Got her memory back? She bit her lip. Should she hide it from him and continue to pretend? Or should she tell him the truth? As she looked at him, she could see a feeling of happiness in his expression, as though he had lost and found something. Much like how she had felt when she first recalled everything. The first thing she had felt was that, taking everything into perspective, that matter regarding Soul Fighter was really not a very big deal. They had lost eight years and that was punishment enough where Soul Fighter¡¯s matter was concerned. How many eight years would one have in life? They hadn¡¯t done it on purpose, so... why were they so hard on themselves? What they needed to do was to treasure the present, treasure the person that was right before them. Biting her lip, she slowly nodded. At her nod, Shen Liangchuan was ovee by emotion and lunged forward, gripping her arm. His grip was strong, as if afraid of losing something, and his eyes were fixed on her. ¡°Xiao Qiao, you¡ª¡± Halfway through speaking, he remembered she was pregnant and quickly let go of her arms. ¡°But do you feel ufortable? Does your head hurt? Or anything? Do we need to take you to the hospital for a check-up?¡± Having said this, he quickly swept her up in his arms and said, ¡°I¡¯ll take you to the doctor. We¡¯ll find out if your memory¡¯s back only temporarily or if it¡¯se back for good.¡± Qiao Lian saw that he was about to carry her out of the bedroom and quickly grabbed his hand, saying, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, let¡¯s not go to the hospital first. Listen to me!¡± Shen Liangchuan halted. When he lowered his head, he saw that she was looking back at him with a serious expression. He frowned. Coming back to his senses, he put her back down and said, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± She bit her lip and told him what she had found out about her parents. Then she asked him, ¡°I wish to continue pretending that I don¡¯t remember. I can get close to him and then try to find that ount book. Will you agree to that?¡± Chapter 1111 - Shen Liangchuan, I’m Pregnant (7)

Chapter 1111: Shen Liangchuan, I¡¯m Pregnant (7)

Holding her breath, she looked intently at his expression after saying this. She was afraid that he would object to it. As expected, he frowned as his gaze traveled to her abdomen. ¡°What if, in doing this, you end up in danger?¡± Biting her lip, Qiao Lian kept silent. A feeling of disappointment welled up inside. Indeed, Shen Liangchuan would not agree to let her take the risk. ¡°The child is only two months old, it¡¯s at its most fragile stage. Many miscarriages take ce in the first trimester.¡± Qiao Lian hung her head and looked at her abdomen. Yes. The child was fragile, she must notpromise her own child¡¯s health. As she contemted this, she heard Shen Liangchuan continue, ¡°And you, you¡¯re being so close to him. If you do manage to get your hands on the ount book and he finds out after that, what will happen if he flies into a rage? Have you thought about how you¡¯re going to resolve all of this?¡± Qiao Lian sighed deeply. She had thought of all these possibilities, but she had no idea how she was going to resolve them. She hung her head and bit her lip, saying, ¡°I understand. I won¡¯t risk the child.¡± ¡°Hence, we have to draw up a detailed n.¡± Qiao Lian nodded and said, ¡°Ok, I understand, I¡¯ll not- What did you just say?¡± She looked up with a jerk of her head and stared at Shen Liangchuan in disbelief. But his expression was calm and steady. His dark eyes were fixed on her as he said slowly, ¡°How to get close to him, how to get into his office without arousing suspicion, how to get that ount book¡ªall of this must be based on a reasonable n. Qiao Lian, we can¡¯t just use brute force without logic. We have to use this to achieve our objectives.¡± He tapped his head with a finger. When she heard these words, her eyes welled up with tears at once as she looked at Shen Liangchuan in astonishment. ¡°You- you agree to me getting close to Lu Nanze?¡± He nodded and replied, ¡°Yes, I agree, but you have to promise me one thing.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°No matter what, you have to protect yourself.¡± Qiao Lian started crying at once. ¡°Shen Liangchuan!¡± Shen Liangchuan was taken aback by her reaction and hurriedly took a step forward. Putting his arms around her shoulders, he asked, ¡°Why are you crying?¡± ¡°Shen Liangchuan, you¡¯re so nice to me.¡± Qiao Lian murmured these words. Shen Liangchuan couldn¡¯t help butugh at her. ¡°You¡¯re saying I¡¯m nice to you because I agreed. But if I hadn¡¯t agreed, would that mean I¡¯m not being nice to you?¡± Qiao Lian shook her head and said, ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I meant. I was saying¡ª¡± Shen Liangchuan looked at her, waiting for her exnation. But the next moment, all she said was, ¡°I love you.¡± He froze when he heard those three in words and even started to look slightly awkward. Clearing his throat, he said, ¡°Ok, I know.¡± He got to his feet and lightly rubbed her head affectionately, saying, ¡°Wait here for a bit.¡± She nodded. He left the room and went into the study. After half an hour, he came back to the bedroom and walked up to Qiao Lian holding out a piece of paper to her. ¡°This is the detailed n I¡¯ve drafted for now. It needs refining. But what we need to do first is ensure that you are in good health. I¡¯ve called the family physician and he will fly from Beijing tonight. He¡¯ll be here early tomorrow morning to give you a check-up.¡± Chapter 1112 - Shen Liangchuan, I’m Pregnant (8)

Chapter 1112: Shen Liangchuan, I¡¯m Pregnant (8)

Qiao Lian nodded. Shen Liangchuan continued with the second point, ¡°Secondly, we have to think about how to get you ess to Lu Nanze¡¯s office without arousing his suspicion. This is actually quite simple, because you are in fact their employee.¡± Qiao Lian was taken aback by his remark. She looked up at once and asked, ¡°Why did you say that?¡± Shen Liangchuan replied, ¡°The ESports app belongs to theirpany.¡± Qiao Lian widened her eyes. ¡°And thirdly...¡± ¨C Early next morning, the family physician arrived at the Qiao family vi. After performing aplete check-up, the doctor suggested, ¡°Because Ms. Qiao injured her head, there has been some bleeding. Now she needs to rest more as she lost a lot of blood. Still, the child is very healthy, the heart and organs are functioning normally.¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded and followed with a question, ¡°The heart?¡± The doctor nodded and replied, ¡°You can hear the baby¡¯s heart now.¡± Shen Liangchuan looked delighted at once and asked, ¡°May I have a listen?¡± The doctorughed and said, ¡°Of course you may.¡± Then, he ced the ultrasound scanner on Qiao Lian¡¯s abdomen and located the baby¡¯s heart. Immediately, the rapid and rather weak heartbeat could be heard. The heart rate was very fast, to the extent that Shen Liangchuan¡¯s looked rmed as he said, ¡°I counted and it seems like it¡¯s beating over 150 beats per minute. Isn¡¯t this a problem?¡± The doctor shook his head and said, ¡°The child is still small, this is normal.¡± At this exnation, he was relieved. Qiao Liany on the bed and listened to the conversation between the two men, as her gaze fell on her stomach. As she listened to the heartbeat amplified by the equipment, she was amazed. And it was in this moment that she finally felt that there was a life growing inside of her. A sense of higher purpose took root deep within her, making her determined to protect this child no matter what. She took in a deep breath and saw that Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression had be serious as well. They were new parents and right now, they felt a sort of excitement that they had never felt before. They didn¡¯t even dare to breathe loudly, for fear that they would rm this tiny, fragile life. After the doctor had removed the equipment from the room and it was quiet again, the couple sighed in obvious relief. When the doctor noticed this, heughed. Then he packed up and left the room. Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan exchanged a look and both their gazes fell on her stomach. It was still very t. Her pale skin was smooth and fine in texture, full of sticity. He ced hisrge hand over it and asked, ¡°Does he feel squished in there?¡± Qiao Lian suddenly burst outughing at the ignorant question. She shook her head and said, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, did you switch identities with someone else? Please return my husband to me.¡± Shen Liangchuan was stumped. He cleared his throat and got to his feet. At the same time, Qiao Lian pulled her shirt back down. Shen Liangchuan remarked, ¡°The doctor just said that for now you¡¯re physically fine. Besides...¡± At this point, he lowered his head and continued, ¡°I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll try to harm this child anymore.¡± Initially, Qiao Lian had injured her head and been operated. If Lu Nanze had wanted to destroy the child, it would have been very easy after she lost consciousness. But in thest minute, he had given up the idea. Shen Liangchuan believed that it was because Lu Nanze eventually hadn¡¯t dared to. He couldn¡¯t bear it and wasn¡¯t willing. Chapter 1113 - Shen Liangchuan, I’m Pregnant (9)

Chapter 1113: Shen Liangchuan, I¡¯m Pregnant (9)

In the past, his attitude towards Qiao Lian had been possessive but now... As this thought crossed his mind, he heard Senior Auntie Zhang calling from downstairs, ¡°Miss, Mr. Lu is here!¡± Lu Nanze was here? Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes and immediately looked at Shen Liangchuan nervously. He cast his gaze down, stood up after a pause and said, ¡°You take a good rest, I¡¯ll go downstairs to meet him.¡± Qiao Lian paused. ¡°But¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s ok. Just wait here.¡± She nodded, biting her lip. Shen Liangchuan started to walk towards the door. However at the doorway, he suddenly lowered his head and looked at what he was wearing. He turned around, nced at Qiao Lian and cleared his throat. He walked back into the changing room. After a while, Qiao Lian saw him reemerge wearing a ck shirt. The ck shirt made him look even more charming and imposing. But he suddenly halted again as he was at the doorway. Then he reached up to undo another button on the cor so that he looked more casual. After doing this, he headed downstairs. Qiao Lian was highly amused. She almostughed till her sides split. She could almost hear him cursing and swearing inside. For sure, he was trying to look good in front of Lu Nanze, hence he wanted to wear something smart. But on the other hand, he felt that dressing up to meet Lu Nanze was giving that man too much respect, hence he had to pretend he really couldn¡¯t be bothered. How was it that she had never realized he could be this adorable? But downstairs... ¨C Downstairs. Lu Nanze sat on the sofa in the living room, surveying every corner of the house. He thought of the time eight years ago when he bought this house and restored it to its original condition. He had spent a fortune just so that some day, he could live here with Qiao Lian. But he had not expected a situation like now. Qiao Lian hade back to stay, but in the house, there was this other annoying man. As this thought crossed his mind, he heard a noiseing from upstairs. He immediately looked up. Shen Liangchuan opened the room door and made his way down. The moment he saw the man, Lu Nanze¡¯s smile grew broader. His gaze fell on the ck shirt Shen Liangchuan had picked and his eyes narrowed. One had to say that Shen Liangchuan fully deserved the title of Best Actor. His features were so perfect one couldn¡¯t pick a single w in them. The ck shirt only served to heighten that air of mystery he exuded. But Lu Nanze wasn¡¯t dressed too poorly today either. In a dark gray suit, he looked both formal andnguid at the same time. There was a reckless and devilish charm in his smile, he projected a sense of wild beauty. Even just sitting there casually, there was a naturally imposing manner about him. Both men had their own unique traits and strengths. Side by side, they were on par with each other. Narrowing his eyes, Lu Nanze lifted his gaze and looked at the second floor, asking, ¡°Where¡¯s Qiao Lian?¡± Shen Liangchuan said right away, ¡°She¡¯s still sleeping. What brings Mr. Lu here looking for my wife?¡± Lu Nanze cast his gaze down when he heard his stern tone and replied, ¡°I¡¯m here looking for Qiao Lian, not Mr. Shen.¡± ¡°She¡¯s sleeping, it¡¯s not convenient for her to be down here. But I do have a few things to say to you,¡± Shen Liangchuan spoke clearly and calmly. His tone could send chills down one¡¯s spine. However, Lu Nanze replied with an icyugh, ¡°Pity, I¡¯m only interested in Qiao Lian, not so much in Mr. Shen.¡± At these words, the tension in the living room suddenly thickened, as though both men were sitting at the edge of their seats with their daggers drawn. Chapter 1114 - Shen Liangchuan, I’m Pregnant (10) Chapter 1114: Shen Liangchuan, I¡¯m Pregnant (10) Besides Auntie Li, there were a few other housekeepers in the vi. The housekeeper who had made tea was about to serve the drinks. Yet for some inexplicable reason, she froze at the kitchen entrance, not daring to take another step into the living room. They all craned their necks and peered at the two men on the sofa, holding their breaths. Lu Nanze didn¡¯t bother to be cordial with his words. Shen Liangchuan narrowed his eyes and started, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Mr. Lu. You can rest assured that I¡¯m even less interested than you are. But there are some things I have to say.¡± With a cold snort, Lu Nanze replied, ¡°Make it quick then.¡± Looking at the man, Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°I once heard a story. Someone saw Buddha and asked the difference between like and love.¡± Lu Nanze¡¯s pupils shrank immediately at these words. ¡°Go ahead.¡± Shen Liangchuan continued slowly, ¡°Buddha pointed at a boy in the courtyard, who had developed a liking for a particr flower. The more he looked at it, the more obsessed he became. Then, unable to stop himself, he reached out to pluck it and hid it in his pocket. Buddha said, ¡®This is what ¡®like¡¯ is.¡¯ The person went on to ask, ¡®What about love?¡¯¡± ¡°Buddha pointed at another boy. This boy watered the nt, made sure it had fertilizer and checked the earth around the nt, under the hot sun each day. To ensure the nt didn¡¯t get burnt by the sun, he even shielded it from the sun with his own shadow, till atst the flower bloomed radiantly. This is love.¡± After Shen Liangchuan said this, Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes. Clenching his fists, he suddenlyughed mockingly and asked, ¡°So would you say you like or love her?¡± Shen Liangchuan did not answer. Lu Nanze continued, ¡°No one can judge another person¡¯s feelings. It¡¯s the same for you and me. Shen Liangchuan, there is no certainty whom Qiao Lian likes or wishes to be with. If you love her, then you should let her go.¡± Shen Liangchuan narrowed his eyes at this thought and said calmly, ¡°Do you think that you were just that little bit toote and that¡¯s why you lost her?¡± Lu Nanze nodded. Shen Liangchuanughed coldly and cast his gaze down. He then said after a pause, ¡°How about wey a bet?¡± Narrowing his eyes, Lu Nanze said, ¡±What sort of bet?¡± ¡°In one month from now, let¡¯s ask her who she wishes to be with. If her memory has not returned and she chooses to be with you, then I will bow out.¡± Lu Nanze¡¯s pupils shrank back at once at that suggestion. He looked at Shen Liangchuan in disbelief and asked, ¡°Are you being serious?¡± With narrowed eyes, Shen Liangchuan nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯m serious.¡± Lu Nanze asked immediately, ¡°What makes you so confident?¡± The corners of Shen Liangchuan¡¯s lips turned upwards and a proud smile broke across his face, as he said, ¡°Because there is love between us. Lu Nanze, she has lost her memory now and we¡¯re all back to square one. Even if I gave you a chance, you won¡¯t win her heart.¡± Shen Liangchuan got to his feet and faced Lu Nanze. ¡°Because what happened in the past was real. She is the wife of Shen Liangchuan.¡± Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes. ¡°You see each other every day and night. Of course you have an advantage over me!¡± Shen Liangchuan looked at the other man like he was an idiot and went back upstairs. That look clearly said that he, Shen Liangchuan, was no fool. Why would he push his wife towards someone else? Lu Nanze frowned deeply. Right now, Qiao Lian felt that she should not be unfair to Shen Liangchuan. But if they were to spend all their time together, surely she would fall in love with him all over again at some point. She had to find a way to keep them apart. Chapter 1115 - Best Actor Shen Is Jealous (1)

Chapter 1115: Best Actor Shen Is Jealous (1)

Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes at this thought. Then he lifted his gaze and looked upstairs. This was the Qiao family¡¯s home, although the property belonged to him. But Shen Liangchuan acted like the master of the house, deciding whether he could stay or leave. He had had quite enough of Shen Liangchuan¡¯s attitude whenever he came to look for Qiao Lian. Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes and turned to leave after a moment. ¨C Upstairs, when Qiao Lian saw that Shen Liangchuan had returned to the room, her eyes searched behind him. She was surprised that he had returned so quickly with no drama. Shen Liangchuan walked up to her and sat down in front, saying, ¡°If my prediction is correct, he should be contacting you very soon, to ask you to return to work.¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank back as she stared at Shen Liangchuan. After a pause, she nodded. He ced his hands on her shoulders and said to her, ¡°During this time, you have to ensure your own safety.¡± Qiao Lian nodded and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll work hard at keeping myself safe.¡± Shen Liangchuan kept silent. He seemed to have lost the decisiveness he had had when he agreed to it. He looked at her intently and suddenly started, ¡°Xiao Qiao.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Hesitating for a while, he finally said slowly, ¡°You and he were on such good terms in the past, you were close. What I¡¯m saying is.... If nothing had happened to your parents, perhaps this whole matter would have had nothing to do with him, so you and he...¡± The normally cool and great Best Actor, who had never had trouble delivering his lines, was now stammering and not making sense with his words. Qiao Lian looked at him with a confused expression. As she listened, she finally understood and widened her eyes at once Looking at Shen Liangchuan, she said, ¡°What are you saying? I¡¯ve always treated him like a buddy. Besides, the way he treats me, that isn¡¯t liking me and it isn¡¯t love either. It¡¯s just a sort of... How can you say it? You know... When he was younger, he had a strange temperament and I was his only friend. I think I¡¯m just a habit for him, an obsession. If he really liked me, how could he have that sort of rtionship with Qiao Yiyi? Hence, you don¡¯t have to worry! He and I... There¡¯s no possibility.¡± After hearing these words, Shen Liangchuan looked at Qiao Lian and opened his mouth as though he wanted to say something. He wanted to say that if Lu Nanze didn¡¯t like her, he wouldn¡¯t have let her keep the child. But as these words came up, he found himself unable to utter them. Why should he speak up for his love rival? That would be inane. He had to admit it, he was agitated by Lu Nanze. This man had grown up together with her, like a childhood lover. He made Shen Liangchuan feel like he had missed out on eighteen years of Xiao Qiao¡¯s life. But it was he and Xiao Qiao who were fated to be together, wasn¡¯t it so? At this thought, Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°Yes, I do believe you.¡± Qiao Lian looked at him and grinned. ¡°Haha, why do I feel like you¡¯re getting a little uptight about me? But with a beautiful woman like me, you should be uptight! Hahaha.¡± Shen Liangchuan looked serious at once when she said these words. She froze immediately as herughter ended abruptly. Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°That¡¯s right. It gets me really uptight, thinking that I¡¯m about to send you into the lion¡¯sir.¡± Qiao Lian: ... As they were speaking, Qiao Lian¡¯s cell phone rang. Chapter 1116 - Best Actor Shen Is Jealous (2)

Chapter 1116: Best Actor Shen Is Jealous (2)

She picked up the call and a voice came over the line, ¡°How are you, Ms. Qiao? This is the ESports App Company. So, in the past, all of our contracted female casters worked remotely. Now ourpany requires that all our employees have toe to the office to work. Also, the office has moved to the headquarters. This would mean that from tomorrow, you¡¯ll have toe to the headquarters to work. Would that be okay?¡± Qiao Lian was astonished. Her eyes lit up at once and she looked at Shen Liangchuan, smiling broadly. ¡°Yes, sure.¡± ¡°Good, in this case I¡¯ll send you the address in a bit. Ms. Qiao, please report to the headquarters at 9 a.m. sharp tomorrow.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± After she hung up, Qiao Lian sprang up from her seat and eximed, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, what did you tell Lu Nanze? How is it that I¡¯ve suddenly been asked to go to the headquarters to work?¡± He frowned and reached out to support her, saying, ¡°You have to be careful when you get up, you¡¯re pregnant! Don¡¯t be so rash and careless in everything you do.¡± She stuck her tongue out at him and said, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, you used to be a man of few words, but now you¡¯re like a naggy olddy.¡± Shen Liangchuan: ... Qiao Lianughed aloud after she said this. ¨C The following morning, Qiao Lian was ready by 8 a.m. and left the house on time. Shen Liangchuan, who was sitting on the sofa, had mixed feelings as he watched her change her shoes. Carrying her bag, she was full of fighting spirit as she took a deep breath. She turned around and gave him as rxed a smile as she could manage. ¡°I¡¯m off to work!¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded and specially reminded her, ¡°Be careful, watch out for your own safety.¡± Qiao Lian made an OK gesture, opened the front door and left the house. The moment the door shut behind her, the rxed expression on Shen Liangchuan¡¯s face vanished at once. He picked up his cell phone and dialed Song Cheng¡¯s number. ¡°Have you found the person?¡± Song Cheng replied hurriedly, ¡°The guy was dmissioned from the special forces, he used to be a top-grade soldier and is extremely nimble. I even had three bodyguards fight him and he put them down very easily. He is certainly adequate to protect Sister Qiao.¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded and said, ¡°Ok, get a few more bodyguards and nt them around her in disguise.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± Still, Shen Liangchuan wasn¡¯t satisfied and added, ¡°I want to know everything that happens to her without the single tiniest detail left out.¡± ¡°Roger.¡± ¡°And where Beijing is concerned, we¡¯ll manage by teleconferencing. I won¡¯t be going back just yet.¡± Song Cheng sounded nervous at once and said, ¡°Brother Shen, you¡¯ve just taken over thepany¡¯s business. If you remain in Suzhou, people will gossip and it¡¯ll benefit Shen Xiu. If theye around to create trouble¡ª¡± ¡°That¡¯s all.¡± Shen Liangchuan refused to listen further to what Song Cheng was saying. ¡°Understood.¡± After he hung up, Shen Liangchuan cast his gaze down and tried to suppress his nervousness. He was nowhere near as rxed and confident as he looked. That was his wife and that was his child. Even though he felt that Lu Nanze would not harm them, he was still worried. Holding his cell phone, he paced up and down restlessly. ¨C Qiao Lian turned around and looked at the vi after she walked through the front door. Then she took another deep breath. Trying to suppress her own nervousness, she turned around again. But just as she stepped out of the vipound, she saw that Lu Nanze was by the street, standing next to his car and waiting for her. Chapter 1117 - Best Actor Shen Is Jealous (3)

Chapter 1117: Best Actor Shen Is Jealous (3)

Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank back in a sh, as she did her best to look rxed. Taking a step forward, she said to Lu Nanze, ¡°Why are you here?¡± Smiling at her, he said, ¡°To take you to work.¡± Qiao Lian was bbergasted. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Hop in.¡± As he spoke, he opened the door to the front passenger seat and signaled her to get in. She looked at Lu Nanze, cleared her throat and said, ¡°Do you know where my office is?¡± Since she was putting on an act, she thought she would go all the way. After all, she was someone who had lost her memory. Lu Nanze continued to look at her with a grin on his face and said, ¡°I do know. Get in.¡± Qiao Lian nodded and got into the car. They drove away. After their car took the turn ahead, a nondescript ck Volkswagen started driving and followed them. Half an hourter, they arrived at Lu Nanze¡¯s office. As she got out of the car, Qiao Lian looked up at the imposing high-rise building before her and narrowed her eyes. It wasn¡¯t her first time here. Eight years ago, they had often gone to each other¡¯s family offices for fun. She remembereding here when she was younger. At that time, this had just been a shabby five-story building. She couldn¡¯t have imagined that after eight years, in its ce would be this splendid building that looked about thirty or forty stories high. Just like the Lu family enterprise. They had grown from being a medium-sized enterprise back then to be leaders of the industry today. But these changes had taken ce only after the Qiao family¡¯s building project came to that tragic end. Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes and tightened her fists at once. In other words, it was possible that it was on her parents¡¯ hard-earned fortune that the Lu family had built their properties. As she stood there, lost in her thoughts, she suddenly felt someone touch her arm. She immediately snapped out of her dazed state and turned around. Lu Nanze was looking at her. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Qiao Lian shook her head immediately. Seeing the puzzled expression on his face, she feigned an innocent look and said, ¡°I¡¯m not sure why, there¡¯s something familiar when I look at this ce, but at the same time it¡¯s foreign to me. What¡¯s going on?¡± Lu Nanze sighed in relief at those words. He pointed at the building and said unhurriedly, ¡°This is my family¡¯s office building. When we were young, we often sneaked out here together to y in the office.¡± Qiao Lian looked at him and found herself suddenly asking instinctively, ¡°Then what about my family¡¯s office building?¡± Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes. Qiao Lian continued, ¡°You said that you were my childhood sweetheart. Your family had a business, hence I guess my family must have had a flourishing business too. Tell me about it.¡± She had put on a very innocent look but at this remark, the smile on Lu Nanze¡¯s face froze. Tell her about her family? How was he going to answer this question? He fixed his gaze ahead, not daring to look into her eyes. He said unhurriedly, ¡°Your family... The building they were building copsed and that had caused your family to go bankrupt.¡± Qiao Lian tilted her head and probed, ¡°How could a building just copse for no reason? And my parents? How did they die?¡± This matter had been released to the press at the time, there was no way he could lie about it. He started, ¡°There was an idental fire in your house and they both died.¡± She continued to ask, ¡°Were my parents evil people?¡± Lu Nanze found himself at a loss for words. Of course they hadn¡¯t been. They had almost been the most honest businessmen in all of Suzhou! He had only looked into their ount books from that time, after bing in charge of the Lu family business. Chapter 1118 - Best Actor Shen Is Jealous (4)

Chapter 1118: Best Actor Shen Is Jealous (4)

He had found out that her family had been doing charity work in silence all along. They had actually donated to five primary schools. But the Qiao family had never used this for publicity. They were true phnthropists. A family like that should have never suffered such a tragic end. But he couldn¡¯t bring himself to say these things to her. Because he didn¡¯t know how to exin it to her. He couldn¡¯t just tell her that his family had caused the death of her parents. He felt a dull ache in his heart as he thought of these things. It was because of that tragedy that Qiao Lian had left Suzhou, left him. If that whole matter had not happened, perhaps now he and Qiao Lian would have married, have a healthy and happy kid. They could have been the most envied couple in Suzhou, perhaps. But now... she was married to someone else. And he was just here. No, he didn¡¯t want to think about it anymore. Every time he thought of the eight years he had waited in loneliness, he panicked. He grabbed Qiao Lian¡¯s wrist tightly, as though he was afraid that she would suddenly leave. And then it would be for another eight years. After these thoughts had shed through his mind, his expression became more determined. Even the heavens couldn¡¯t bear to see it continue, so they had given him a chance for a new start. He had to treasure the opportunity. So he took her lightly by her shoulders and said to her with certainty, ¡°No, your parents were good people. But in anypany, there are always people who cause trouble. What happened at that time, no one can say for sure. Alright, let¡¯s not talk about these things. Let¡¯s go in and start work.¡± Qiao Lian nodded, as though she hadn¡¯t fully understood. But as she cast her gaze down, mockery shed across her eyes. At the same time she looked away, Lu Nanze sighed deeply in relief. As they entered the office, the staff around them stood up immediately and said in a respectful tone, ¡°Mr. Lu, you¡¯re here!¡± Lu Nanze nodded. Pointing at the staff, he said to Qiao Lian, ¡°Qiao Lian, I¡¯m your boss and from now on, this is your office.¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes lit up at once and asked, ¡°So can I feel free to walk around?¡± He nodded and replied, ¡°Sure.¡± She looked around happily and said, ¡°You are really clever to be managing such a big office by yourself. But can everyone in the office just walk around as they please?¡± When he heard this, he led her to the reception desk. The receptionist immediately handed him a card. He held the card out to her and said, ¡°This is the card to my penthouse and you have ess to all departments of the office. I have to go to a meetingter on. I¡¯ll get someone to show you around and take you to the Entertainment Department, where the female casters are.¡± Qiao Lian nodded immediately. Lu Nanze reached out to touch her head. Qiao Lian took a step back and looked at him guardedly. His hand froze in mid-air for a moment before he drew his arm back. He looked at the head of Human Resources, who had just rushed over after being informed, and said, ¡°Show Ms. Qiao around. After that, take her to the casters and introduce her.¡± The head of Human Resources was ady in her 40s. She was extremely capable and experienced. Analyzing Lu Nanze¡¯s bodynguage, she knew at once that Ms. Qiao wasn¡¯t an ordinary staff member. At once, she said respectfully, ¡°Yes, Mr. Lu. I will ensure Ms. Qiao feels very at home.¡± Chapter 1119 - Best Actor Shen Is Jealous (5)

Chapter 1119: Best Actor Shen Is Jealous (5)

Making her feel at home. Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes and rified, ¡°She¡¯s not just a guest, remember that. Ms. Qiao is not a guest, she¡¯s thedy boss around here.¡± The head of Human Resources immediately looked up when she heard these words and stared at Qiao Lian in astonishment. She gulped, nodded in shock and replied, ¡°Yes, Mr. Lu. I¡¯ll remember that!¡± Lu Nanze nodded satisfactorily. He turned around and nced at Qiao Lian with a devilish smile on his face. With his hands stuck into his pockets, he exuded an evil charm as he walkednguidly towards the director¡¯s elevator. After Lu Nanze had left, the head of Human Resources looked at Qiao Lian and asked, ¡°Ms. Qiao, what would you like to do now? I¡¯ll take you! You can visit any part of the office.¡± Qiao Lian was speechless. She smiled awkwardly and nodded at the woman. Then she looked at the ess card in her hand. Although this card would give her ess to all locations, perhaps even including the penthouse, as a new employee, if she tried to go up, she would surely be stopped by the surveince team before she got there. As much as she wanted to get her hands on the ount book, being too rash wouldn¡¯t help her achieve her objective. She decided to hold back. Hence, looking back at the head of Human Resources, she said, ¡°Let¡¯s go and meet the casters.¡± After they had walked away, the girls at the reception immediately gathered around. They huddled together and whispered to each other, ¡°Did you see that? Big boss just said she¡¯s thedy boss! Is that the future Mrs. Lu?¡± ¡°Holy moley, what sort of background does this woman have, to actually conquer our big boss the moment she appears?!¡± ¡°I heard she¡¯s a female caster, that Love Chuan!¡± ¡°Ah, no wonder thepany allocated almost all resources to her when she became a caster. So this is the reason! It¡¯s easy to get benefits when one is pretty.¡± ¡°What do you know? ¡± An older staff member said, ¡°That is the daughter of the Qiao family! She and Mr. Lu were childhood sweethearts, they grew up together.¡± ¡°What? Really? They were actually childhood sweethearts? Ahhhhh! Tell me more!¡± ¡°...¡± At once, the famous personality Qiao Lian became a legend before everyone had even met her. ¨C Noon time. In the management meeting room. Normally during this hour, the workaholic Lu Nanze would continue working and skip lunch if he hadn¡¯t gotten through his work. But today, he behaved differently. Interrupting the person on the phone, he got to his feet and said, ¡°It¡¯s lunch time. Whatever it is, we¡¯ll talk in the afternoon.¡± Everyone was bbergasted. Even after he had left the office, the people sat there looking at each other in dismay. Someone asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter with him?¡± ¡°I heard that our Mr. Lu brought a girl to the office. Word even has it that she might be the newdy boss So has he gone off to have lunch with his woman?¡± At these words, everyone startedughing. ¡°Indeed, once the man has a family, everything changes! See? His heart aches for his wife. And our lives will be better because of it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! We don¡¯t have to starve from now on. But that can¡¯t be right. Isn¡¯t director Lu involved in some kind of rtionship with Qiao Yiyi? This¡ª¡± ¡°What do you know? If Director Lu really liked that Qiao Yiyi, he¡¯d have married her by now and not leave her hanging. When have you ever seen Director Lu interrupt a meeting for Qiao Yiyi?¡± ¡°Well, if that is the case, then this time round it¡¯s for real.¡± Chapter 1120 - Best Actor Shen Is Jealous (6)

Chapter 1120: Best Actor Shen Is Jealous (6)

While everyone was gossiping about her, Qiao Lian was sitting in the casters¡¯ office. The office was spacious and, as her eyes roamed around and took in the details of her surroundings, she ate from a mixed fruit tter from the pantry. Because the eSports App Company had been relocated to the headquarters, everyone was busy with the move. Of course, being pregnant, Qiao Lian could not do any heavy lifting so she sat on the sofa looking at the people. A few of the other female casters who had been asked toe into the headquarters to work were now sitting on the sofa with a look of displeasure on their faces. They were discussing among themselves. ¡°What¡¯s with this? Suddenly I have to clock in at the office. We are female casters, this is so inconvenient.¡± ¡°Indeed. I¡¯m not even fully awake yet, this is tiring!¡± ¡°Alright, here¡¯s some gossip! Let me tell you guys, do you know Love Chuan¡¯s identity?¡± Qiao Lian started listening upon hearing her name. Then she heard the girls chattering. ¡°Love Chuan is a real beauty, this is without doubt. She has even starred in an advertisement with Best Actor Shen! But I have been asking around for some time and finally found out about her background.¡± At this point, she looked around. Immediately, a few other female casters moved in closer. Curious, Qiao Lian paid close attention and listened. ¡°That Love Chuan actually has something going with ourpany director!¡± Qiao Lian: ... Ourpany director. Did she mean that bald guy in his fifties? She almost choked on her water. Immediately, the girl replied, ¡°Of course not, how could you say that?¡± ¡°Exactly, do you have proof?¡± The person who started the gossip said at once, ¡°I think it must be true! I heard some staff say that Love Chuan has just been around the office.¡± The group of girls suddenly looked as though they had seen the light. ¡°So indeed, if this were the case, I can see why she is so popr.¡± Qiao Lian had no idea how she should react to this. Was it somewhat an insult to her? She coughed once and spoke again, ¡°From what I understand, Love Chuan doesn¡¯t know that director.¡± Everyone turned their gaze simultaneously towards her. They saw the young, pretty and leggydy and asked at once, ¡°How would you know?¡± Qiao Lian said in a serious tone, ¡°I know everything about her. She has backing, but it¡¯s not that man.¡± ¡°Then who is it?¡± Someone immediately came up and joined in the gossip. Everyone looked at Qiao Lian, waiting expectantly for an answer. She said mysteriously, ¡°Her backing is Director Lu from the headquarters.¡± She had to let everyone know that her backing was Lu Nanze, so that when she had the chance to sneak upstairs, there would be no hindrance. ¡°Is that true?¡± ¡°How could that be possible?! Love Chuan¡¯s backing is Director Lu?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s possible, that¡¯s a bit wild! If her backing is Director Lu, then why would she still be a caster? She could just get into the entertainment circle and take any role she fancies.¡± ¡°Exactly!¡± The girl who first started the conversation looked at Qiao Lian and asked, ¡°Who are you? Aren¡¯t you just a great joker, saying something like that?¡± Qiao Lian said with a straight face, ¡°I¡¯m Love Chuan.¡± At that remark, everyone was stunned. And almost at the same time, the room door was suddenly opened. Lu Nanze strode in. The moment he entered the room, everyone in it was shocked. Chapter 1121 - Best Actor Shen Is Jealous (7)

Chapter 1121: Best Actor Shen Is Jealous (7)

Everyone straightened their postures as they turned to look at him. All the workers got to their feet and greeted him respectfully, ¡°Mr. Lu!¡± Lu Nanze nodded and, as though there was no one else in the room, he walked towards the female casters. He approached Qiao Lian straightaway. Seeing that there was a tter of fruits in front of her, he lifted the te, set it aside and said, ¡°Hungry? I¡¯ll take you to lunch. How can fruits fill up your stomach?¡± At these words, he reached out for her wrist and led her out of the room. ¡°It¡¯s my fault, I¡¯ve forgotten you¡¯re pregnant. Pregnant women are always hungry. What do you like to eat? Tell meter and I¡¯ll get them to buy the freshest fruits. We¡¯ll stock the fridge too.¡± Everyone was stunned. Was this the aloof and devilishly charming Director Lu? This was a henpecked man. Qiao Lian hadpletely not expected that Lu Nanze woulde to look for her personally. She had thought that he would be upstairs in a meeting during lunch time. But it was not until she had walked with him to the parking lot, got into the car and drove out, that Qiao Lian suddenly came to her senses. She grabbed Lu Nanze¡¯s arm and asked, ¡°Where are we going?¡± He said unhurriedly, ¡°Going for lunch. To a private restaurant. You¡¯re pregnant so you can¡¯t be eating just anything. You have to have nutritious meals.¡± She nodded and said, ¡°Ok.¡± The private restaurant was very close to the office. Very soon, they arrived. After they had parked the car, they walked into a private room in the restaurant. The meal had been ordered and now they were serving the dishes one by one. ¡°This is ck chicken soup. Drink a bowl of this first. All of these dishes are dishes that you like.¡± As he said this, he moved the dishes closer to Qiao Lian and continued, ¡°Eat up.¡± Qiao Lian: ... She looked at the dishes on the table. Indeed, they were all dishes that she loved. And indeed, she was hungry. Besides, the food served in restaurants like this was probably safe. Hence, she picked up her chopsticks, ready to stuff herself. Lu Nanze had bothered to remember clearly all of the dishes she loved. At this thought, she cast her gaze down to hide theplex emotions that would have been apparent in her eyes. As she stared at all of these dishes, her gaze suddenly fell on a basket of crab roe dumplings. Her eyes lit up at once. She reached out for the crab roe dumplings, but instead of putting them into her own mouth, she raised one with her chopsticks and moved it towards Lu Nanze, saying, ¡°Ahhhhh. Open your mouth, look, I¡¯m the only one eating everything here and you¡¯re just watching! This crab roe dumpling is my way of thanking you.¡± Lu Nanze was bbergasted. He looked at the crab roe dumpling like he had seen a ghost and his expression turned really odd. Looking at Qiao Lian intently, he said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you eat it? I¡ª¡± ¡°Why aren¡¯t you eating what I¡¯ve picked out for you? Are my hands dirty? The crab roe dumpling is yummy and I¡¯ve selected the tastiest thing for you.¡± Lu Nanze was speechless. Indeed, Qiao Lian loved crab roe dumplings, but... Unfortunately, he, Lu Nanze, was allergic to crab roe. Even the tiniest amount would cause his lips to swell in pain. He wanted to decline, but the moment he opened his mouth to do so, she had shoved the crab roe dumpling in. At the same time, he saw her ted expression as she enthusiastically asked him, ¡°Is it yummy?¡± Chapter 1122 - Best Actor Shen Is Jealous (8)

Chapter 1122: Best Actor Shen Is Jealous (8)

Lu Nanze waspletely taken aback. His mouth was already almost filled with the tasty vor of crab roe. The fresh aroma pervaded his senses. The taste of crab roe was indeed delicious, but the thought of his allergy caused him to want to spit out the food reflexively. However the next moment, his gaze met with Qiao Lian¡¯s as she remarked, ¡°We were childhood sweethearts, so you must like the food that I like too, isn¡¯t that so?¡± Looking into those eyes, Lu Nanze found himself nodding when what he really wanted to do was shake his head. With a big gulp, he forced the crab roe dumpling down his throat. Hurriedly, he started to down water, hoping to suppress the itch that was already starting on the corners of his mouth. But to his dismay, yet another crab roe dumpling appeared before his eyes. Lu Nanze: ... Qiao Lian said in a serious tone, ¡°There are only six here. I¡¯ll eat three and you have the other three. See how good I am to you?¡± Lu Nanze was shaken. Could he rather not have her being good to him like this? Just as he was about to respond, Qiao Lian spoke again gravely, ¡°Why do I have the feeling that I lived a moment like this, eating with you, long ago?¡± Lu Nanze winced as he held back the words he was about to say. After putting crab roe dumpling into her mouth, she picked up another one for him and said, ¡°One has to learn how to share good food, Lu Nanze. I¡¯m willing to share my happiness with you, but are you willing to ept what I share?¡± He said, ¡°I¡¯m willing.¡± And he meant it too. Even if he got an allergic reaction, he still felt the beauty of that moment could be retained. Hence, when Qiao Lian approached her chopsticks, he opened his mouth and gulped down the crab roe dumpling. Qiao Lian was appeased only after he had eaten the three crab roe dumplings. Three of those should be enough to make him quite ill all day. At this thought, she giggled to herself. After lunch, Lu Nanze took Qiao Lian back to the office before leaving in a hurry without another word. At 3 p.m., an ambnce turned up at the office building. At 4 p.m., she received a call from Lu Nanze saying, ¡°Qiao Lian, I have some business matters to attend to, I won¡¯t be able to take you home, but the chauffeur will do so. If there¡¯s nothing to do in the office, just go home. I¡¯ll pick you up for work tomorrow.¡± She smiled broadly and said, ¡°Sure, sure. What is the important business matter you have to deal with?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± ¡°Ok. But no matter how busy, health is more important. You have to take care of your health.¡± Lu Nanze, who was on a drip in the hospital in the meantime, said, ¡°I know.¡± Finally satisfied, she hung up, picked up her bag happily and headed out of the building. By the time the chauffeur dropped her off at home, it was 5:30 p.m. Entering the house hurriedly, Qiao Lian saw Shen Liangchuan sitting calmly in the living room. She quickly walked up to him and told him everything that had happened in the office today, without leaving out the tiniest detail. At 6 p.m., Shen Liangchuan got to his feet and said, ¡°Dinner time.¡± Qiao Lian nodded and went to the dining room with Shen Liangchuan. When she saw the spread, she was stunned. Why was everything on the dinner table an exact replication of what she had had for lunch? Especially the six crab roe dumplings. As she processed this, Shen Liangchuan sat at the dinner table, pointed at the crab roe dumplings and said, ¡°Three for you and three for me, how about that?¡± Qiao Lian: ...!! Chapter 1123 - Best Actor Shen Is Jealous (9)

Chapter 1123: Best Actor Shen Is Jealous (9)

Qiao Lian raised her head and looked at Shen Liangchuan. For some strange reason, she suddenly felt a little guilty. She smiled awkwardly and cautiously spoke, ¡°Ok, let¡¯s eat then.¡± She reached out with her chopsticks, quietly picked up a crab roe dumpling and dropped it into her bowl. She looked at Senior Auntie Zhang and smiled as she remarked, ¡°Auntie Zhang, why did you prepare so many dishes? And the crab roe dumplings, this must be the first time you made them!¡± Senior Auntie Zhang immediately replied, ¡°I didn¡¯t make them. Mr. Shen ordered them and got them delivered from the private restaurant.¡± At this point, she even looked puzzled. ¡°I say, in your current situation, you should be eating light food. I even cooked you some porridge. It¡¯s better that you don¡¯t eat the crab roe dumplings. Let Mr. Shen have them all.¡± Qiao Lian was surprised. He had specially ordered food from the private restaurant? So it wasn¡¯t her being overly sensitive, but an obvious statement on his part? She looked at Shen Liangchuan awkwardly and said, ¡°You- you got someone to spy- I mean, to protect me? Shen Liangchuan looked up and nodded calmly and naturally. Qiao Lian gulped. She could feel that he wasn¡¯t in the best mood. But... she only had lunch with Lu Nanze. What was the matter with him? As she was trying to figure it out, Shen Liangchuan remarked calmly, ¡°I heard that you filled his bowl for him?¡± Filled his bowl? Qiao Lian was stumped for a moment. She quickly remembered that, indeed, she had picked the crab roe dumplings for him. So was Shen Liangchuan jealous? Suddenly, Qiao Lian had a strong urge tough aloud. Why was a jealous Shen Liangchuan such an adorable person? Shen Liangchuan coughed once as Qiao Lian was still deep in thought. Then his gaze shifted to the basket of crab road dumplings, but he kept silent with a cold expression on his face. It was obvious what that look meant. He wanted Qiao Lian to pick up the food and fill his bowl for him. Qiao Lian was silent. Lowering her gaze, she didn¡¯t let him see the astute understanding that shed across her eyes. On the contrary, she feigned innocence and said, ¡°Why are you coughing? Is your throat too dry? Should I pour you some water?¡± Shen Liangchuan answered, ¡°No, it¡¯s ok. Let¡¯s eat.¡± Qiao Lian said, ¡°Ok.¡± Looking at her food again, she started eating. Shen Liangchuan: ... Qiao Lian was normally quick-witted, so where had her agility gone today? He frowned and stared at the dishes on the dining table. He had to admit it, he was jealous. And not just that. He was extremely jealous. When the bodyguard had reported to him what had happened today, jealousy had crept in the moment he heard that Qiao Lian had personally served Lu Nanze the crab roe dumplings. Even if she had just been putting on an act, did she have to go all the way? To think that she had actually served him crab roe dumplings with her own chopsticks. It was only the first day and she was already serving him food. What was next? Was she going to hold hands with him in ces where the bodyguards wouldn¡¯t be able to see them?! Thinking of this made Shen Liangchuan feel as though there was a raging fire burning inside that he couldn¡¯t suppress. He took a deep breath as he looked at Qiao Lian enjoying the food, oblivious to his feelings. He started, ¡°Xiao Qiao.¡± Qiao Lian looked up with her pair ofrge, innocent eyes. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I want some crab roe dumplings.¡± This time, surely it was obvious enough, right? Hurry up, pick up a dumpling and serve it. But all that he got was: ¡°Go ahead, take it and eat it. It¡¯s delicious!¡± Right after those words, she lowered her gaze again and quickly ate her dinner. Chapter 1124 - Best Actor Shen Is Jealous (10)

Chapter 1124: Best Actor Shen Is Jealous (10)

Shen Liangchuan: ... !! He looked at Qiao Lian, who just kept on eating, and his chest started heaving. Greatly disappointed and trying to suppress his emotions, he picked up his chopsticks to serve himself. All of a sudden, a crab roe dumpling was held out in front of him. Surprised, he looked up and saw that Qiao Lian was smiling at him. She said, ¡°Here, this is for you.¡± She was holding the dumpling between her chopsticks and, just as Shen Liangchuan was about to close his mouth around it, she quickly retracted her hand and drew back the dumpling. Shen Liangchuan was bbergasted. At once, peals ofughter from Qiao Lian rang through the room. She pointed at the man,ughing and saying, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, you¡¯re childish beyond belief! Hahahahaha.¡± His expression immediately darkened. So after going round in circles, Qiao Lian did understand what he was going on about, but had feigned ignorance. As he realized this, Qiao Lian¡¯sughter died down and she looked at the spread on the dining table. She said slowly, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, I know you don¡¯t like eating crab roe dumplings.¡± Shen Liangchuan was slightly taken aback by her remark. She continued, ¡°So stop making things difficult for yourself.¡± At these words, she reached out with her chopsticks and picked up a piece of sirloin. cing that in his bowl, she said, ¡°I know you like this. Eat up.¡± Shen Liangchuan lowered his gaze to stare at the strip of sirloin steak in his bowl. All of a sudden, he smiled. He must have been possessed to get jealous over a crab roe dumpling. He shook his head, feeling sillier than he had ever felt all his life. He lowered his head as this thought crossed his mind and reached for his chopsticks. As he picked up the sirloin in his bowl and put it into his mouth, Qiao Lian remarked, ¡°Lu Nanze is allergic to crab roe.¡± Shen Liangchuan was stunned by those words. He looked up at her. A sh of realization struck him like lightning out of the blue. So Qiao Lian had fed him crab roe on purpose because she knew he was allergic to it? Immediately, that choked up feeling in his chest vanished. Following this, he picked up a slice of fish and ced it in Qiao Lian¡¯s bowl, saying, ¡°Eat more of this.¡± Qiao Lian was speechless. The glee he felt all of a sudden after hearing about the allergy was just a little too obvious. This man... This man! ¨C As warm and joyous the atmosphere was in the Qiao family vi, there was the same measure of destion and loneliness in another vi elsewhere. Qiao Yiyi had been held in the house for a few days now. Almost no one had talked to her during this time. Even the housekeepers downstairs had avoided her like gue and jumped like they had just seen a ghost whenever she tried talking to them. She felt like she was going crazy. That feeling of not having anyone interact with her all day. She was extremely frustrated, troubled and at the same time full of fear. This was Second Brother¡¯s punishment for her. There was no physical pain, but the mental torture was beyond unbearable, she was about to have a breakdown. At 6 p.m., the housekeeper brought dinner to her right on time. She set the table and was about to leave after this when Qiao Yiyi stood up suddenly. She grabbed the housekeeper¡¯s hand and said, ¡°You, help me get Second Brother, tell him I¡¯m looking for him.¡± The housekeeper immediately withdrew her hand. She looked at Qiao Yiyi and said, ¡°Mr. Lu is very busy, how could he find time for you?¡± Qiao Yiyi bit her lip at once. Chapter 1125 - She’s Carrying Lu Nanze’s Child (1)

Chapter 1125: She¡¯s Carrying Lu Nanze¡¯s Child (1)

¡°What¡¯s Second Brother busy with? Even if he¡¯s busy, he wouldn¡¯t ignore me.¡± Qiao Yiyi was insistent. The housekeeper couldn¡¯t keep it any longer and sighed, saying, ¡°Mr. Lu has really been very busytely. He¡¯s at the casters¡¯ office every day. I heard that even when they need his signature for anything, they have to look for him at the casters¡¯ office! Also, he has to think of a new strategy every day just to have lunch with this particr female caster. Everyone is saying that Mr. Lu is interested in her.¡± At these words, Qiao Yiyi¡¯s expression changed drastically. ¡°What did you say?¡± The housekeeper shot her a look. She had had enough of Qiao Yiyi¡¯s usual disy of shameless arrogance and said, ¡°I said Mr. Lu is flirting with a girl in the office. That girl has the same surname as you, Qiao. Everyone calls her Ms. Qiao.¡± Ms. Qiao. Qiao Yiyi widened her eyes in horror. Bumping into the table behind her as she retreated in disbelief, she said, ¡°Her? It¡¯s her! I¡¯m sure it¡¯s her.¡± She understood Second Brother only too well. He was trying to get her to fall in love with him before she regained her memory. Hence now, the two of them must be inseparable for sure, relishing each other¡¯spany every day. But if the two of them were together, then what about her? She had waited for Second Brother for eight years. Was she just going to be tossed aside like this? She bit her lip and clenched her fists tightly. ¡°No way, hand me the cell phone. I want to call Second Brother!¡± At these words, Qiao Yiyi lurched forward and tried taking the cell phone from her hands. The housekeeper took a step back and said, ¡°Ms. Qiao, don¡¯t fool around now. Mr. Lu has said that we are not to interrupt him for no reason.¡± ¡°Who says it¡¯s for no reason? It¡¯s important! I want to talk to Second Brother!¡± Qiao Yiyi was shouting now, ¡°Give me back my cell phone!¡± The housekeeper looked at her with great loathing and said, ¡°Ms. Qiao, you should finish your lunch quickly.¡± As though she was avoiding some gue, she quickly retreated and scurried away. When she saw that the housekeeper was gone and that she was now all alone, she started to panic. She dashed to the door and yelled, ¡°Open the door! Open up! Return the cell phone to me! I want my cell phone! Someone! I want to look for Second Brother! He can¡¯t do this to me!¡± After being shut in the room for a few days, she had be afraid. If Second Brother really ended up with Qiao Lian, he could very well keep her imprisoned in this ce forever so that she couldn¡¯t be a hindrance between them. The very thought of this was enough to drive her crazy. She pounded on the door for hours, but there didn¡¯t seem to be any sign of movements outside the door. Dejected and dispirited finally, she slid down with her back against the door. She stared at everything in the room. Gathering thest of her strength, she sprang to her feet and, with great force, swept all the dishes on the table onto the floor. Then footsteps were heard. She covered her face with both her palms and cried in anguish. She couldn¡¯t evenmunicate with the outside world. There was no way she could rescue herself. After crying for a long time, she finally stopped. The smell of food pervaded the room. Among the mess from the food spige, there was a fish. After some time, the fish grew stale. The smell of the stale fish drifted into her nose. It could have been because she had been trapped in for too long, or it could have been the hard crying, but Qiao Yiyi suddenly felt ill. She clutched her chest as a wave of nausea washed over her. Chapter 1126 - She’s Carrying Lu Nanze’s Child (2)

Chapter 1126: She¡¯s Carrying Lu Nanze¡¯s Child (2)

The housekeeper and men watching over her outside the door were at once aware that Qiao Yiyi had thrown up. The housekeeper immediately contacted Assistant Zhao Yang. Because when he shut her away, Lu Nanze had instructed that Assistant Zhao Yang would be responsible for everything to do with Qiao Yiyi. Zhao Yang turned up very shortly, and he had brought a physician with him. The room smelled awful when the two men entered it. No one had cleaned up the food she had swept on the floor and the windows were sealed tight. Qiao Yiyi was sitting on the sofa in the room, looking very pale. Her eyes were staring straight ahead and she looked extremely unwell. Zhao Yang¡¯s pupils shrank back when he saw her. The housekeepers had gathered at the doorway and were looking in curiously. In his anger, Zhao Yang raised his voice at them, ¡°What did I say when I handed Ms. Qiao over to you?¡± The housekeepers fell silent and straightened their postures, not daring to breathe. Zhao Yang pointed at Qiao Yiyi and said, ¡°I¡¯ve already told you to take good care of Ms. Qiao. What is this I¡¯m seeing?¡± The moment these words fell, an alert housekeeper immediately rushed into the room. She opened the windows to dissipate the foul smell and quickly picked up the broom to sweep away the food on the floor. After this, she fetched a mop. After some efforts, the room was finally cleaned and the doctor then stepped in. Qiao Yiyi¡¯s long hair fell over her shoulders. Because she had thrown up badly, in addition to the heating in the room, she had broken out in perspiration. When one went near her, the acrid smell of stale sweat was noticeable. The doctor frowned. Zhao Yang couldn¡¯t help wincing as he turned to the housekeepers to ask, ¡°How many days has Ms. Qiao not showered?¡± The housekeepers said, ¡°About three or four days.¡± Zhao Yang turned to look at Qiao Yiyi again. Was she taking it out on herself because Lu Nanze had abandoned her? The woman before him now was like a different person from the hypocritical and egoistic person that she used to be. He turned his gaze to the doctor and said, ¡°Please examine her.¡± The doctor nodded and took a step towards her, observing her carefully. ¡°Ms. Qiao, how do you feel?¡± ¡°Nauseous. I feel like throwing up.¡± Qiao Yiyi looked straight ahead. ¡°Why do you feel nauseous?¡± Qiao Yiyi took a deep breath and replied, ¡°The fish, it smelled bad.¡± The doctor asked about her symptoms and then finally asked her, ¡°Ms. Qiao, may I know when was it that you had yourst period?¡± Qiao Yiyi paused when she heard this question. As though she suddenly remembered something, she sprang up from her seat. She had a look of disbelief on her face as she answered the doctor, ¡°I- it- it wasst month. Am- am I pregnant?¡± The doctor took out his equipment and said, ¡°Let me take a blood sample. We can easily find out with a test.¡± Her eyes were shining as she nodded. Zhao Yang, who was standing at the doorway, was stunned when he heard this exchange. He looked at Qiao Yiyi with widened eyes. All of these years, that had been the one and only time that they had not used any birth control measures. He hadn¡¯t expected... that she would get pregnant? He was going to be a father? His eyes suddenly burned as he looked at Qiao Yiyi¡¯s stomach. The stomach held his growing child. Zhao Yang narrowed his eyes. Very quickly, the examination result was out. And the oue was that Qiao Yiyi was pregnant. Chapter 1127 - She’s Carrying Lu Nanze’s Child (3)

Chapter 1127: She¡¯s Carrying Lu Nanze¡¯s Child (3)

Pregnant. Qiao Yiyi looked excitedly at the test results in her hand, her eyes glistening with tears. The child came at a critical time. With this child, surely Second Brother would let her leave this ce. From the dejected woman that she had just been moments ago, she was suddenly inspired and touched. Grabbing Zhao Yang¡¯s wrist, she ordered as she looked steadily at him, ¡°Zhao Yang, I¡¯m now pregnant with Second Brother¡¯s child! Call him immediately and tell him. Ask him to let me out. I want to get out of this ce!¡± When Zhao Yang heard these words, the look of excitement on his face suddenly vanished. He looked steadily at Qiao Yiyi, who was now pacing to and fro the room in an agitated state, saying, ¡°This child belongs to Second Brother, I wonder if it¡¯s a boy or a girl. If it¡¯s a girl, what do we name her? If it¡¯s a boy, he will someday inherit Second Brother¡¯s estate. That¡¯s right, hurry up and tell Second Brother. I hear that we should be able to tell the gender of the child after three months.¡± She was beside herself with excitement and emotions. Seeing her like this made Zhao Yang feel increasingly sorrowful. He opened his mouth and eventually had to say, ¡°Ms. Qiao, Mr. Lu has never liked you, you should already know.¡± Those words drenched her like a bucket of cold water, waking her up in an instant. She spun around, looked at Zhao Yang fiercely and said, ¡°What nonsense are you speaking? Second Brother likes me! Except that he doesn¡¯t know it yet. If that tr*mp Qiao Lian didn¡¯t exist, I¡¯d be the person he liked.¡± She said this is as though trying to convince herself. She paced the room and continued, ¡°That¡¯s right, you don¡¯t understand Second Brother. He is an exceptionally nasty man and if he hadn¡¯t liked me all these years, he wouldn¡¯t have epted me and wouldn¡¯t have been intimate with me. He hates doing things against his own will. Didn¡¯t you see that he never had another woman by his side in all these years? I admit, he likes Qiao Lian, but he likes me too.¡± After she said this, she spun around and looked at Zhao Yang again. ¡°Hurry up and inform Second Brother, tell him I¡¯m pregnant.¡± ¡°And after that?¡± Zhao Yang suddenly felt that Qiao Yiyi was loathsome for behaving like this. It made her pathetic. Qiao Yiyi paused. And after that? That¡¯s right. What then, after that? It was true that, since she was now pregnant, the cards were stacked in her favor to get out of this ce. But given that the Second Brother was hitting on Qiao Lian, surely he wouldn¡¯t set her free now. He would be afraid that once Qiao Lian knew about the existence of this child, the hopes of them being together would disappear. In hindsight, Qiao Yiyi, who had initially been ecstatic about her pregnancy, began to have second thoughts. She bit her lip. After a moment, she looked at Zhao Yang and said, ¡°Zhao Yang, can you do me a favor?¡± Zhao Yang¡¯s eyes narrowed at her words. Looking at him, she continued, ¡°This child in me is Second Brother¡¯s firstborn and perhaps the only child that he¡¯ll ever have. You have to understand, this child will eventually be the head of the Lu family. Zhao Yang, helping this child would be the same as helping Second Brother, do you understand?¡± Zhao Yang hung his head and asked, ¡°What are you thinking of doing?¡± ¡°Help me inform my parents that I¡¯m pregnant.¡± Chapter 1128 - She’s Carrying Lu Nanze’s Child (4)

Chapter 1128: She¡¯s Carrying Lu Nanze¡¯s Child (4)

¡°Pregnant?¡± Lu Nanze was sitting on his sofa at home when he received the news. He had not fully recovered from the allergic reaction, hence his lips were still purple and slightly swollen. He raised an eyebrow when he heard the news from Zhao Yang and said with a mocking tone, ¡°Congrattions, you¡¯re going to be a father.¡± Not daring to even breathe, Zhao Yang lowered his head in silence. Lu Nanze stood on his feet and rubbed his chin. He paced back and forth a few times and eventually looked at Zhao Yang, asking, ¡°Zhao Yang, do you want the child?¡± Zhao Yang was stunned by the question. ¡°Sir, you mean¡ª¡± ¡°If you want the child, then keep it. If not, then ask the doctor to abort it.¡± The emotionless words were as cold as ice. Zhao Yand shuddered and looked at Lu Nanze. He saw the disdain in the man¡¯s eyes. It had always been like this. Mr. Lu had never liked Qiao Yiyi. The interest and affection were only one-sided. Zhao Yang lowered his head and said, ¡°She- she wishes to see you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not seeing her,¡± Lu Nanze said without the slightest hesitation as he walked back to the sofa and sat down. ¡°You may leave.¡± Zhao Yang nodded, turned around and headed towards the door. After he had taken two steps, he heard Lu Nanze call out, ¡°Hang on.¡± Zhao Yang turned around, thinking that Lu Nanze had changed his mind. But unexpectedly, he said instead, ¡°Have you arranged for someone to pick Qiao Lian up from work tomorrow?¡± Zhao Yang replied, ¡°Yes, I have.¡± ¡°Good. And the reservation for lunch has been made?¡± ¡°Yes, it has.¡± ¡°Good, that¡¯s all. You may go.¡± Zhao Yang paused as he stood there for a moment. Then, with a ¡°yes,¡± he turned and left. Sitting on the sofa, Lu Nanze¡¯s head was filled with thoughts of how to hit on a girl. Xiao Qiao had always liked lilies, so should he buy her a diamond lily locket? The housekeeper walked in as he was thinking this and said, ¡°Mr. Lu, Mr. and Mrs Qiao are here.¡± When he heard the words Mr. and Mrs. Qiao, he frowned immediately. He knew why they were here. All these years, every time Qiao Yiyi made him angry, this would happen. He said immediately, ¡°I don¡¯t wish to see them!¡± The housekeeper nodded. She turned around but after she had taken two steps, Lu Nanze spoke again, ¡°Wait.¡± She turned around. Looking at the housekeeper, his lips suddenly turned upwards into a sarcastic smile. He said to her, ¡°Take them to see Qiao Yiyi.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± An hourter, Zhao Yang returned. He lowered his head and said, ¡°Mr. and Mrs. Qiao took Qiao Yiyi away. They said they¡¯ll take her home and care for her. After all, she¡¯s pregnant.¡± Lu Nanze¡¯s gaze was fixed straight ahead. He nodded and mumbled a faint ¡°uh-huh¡± when he heard this. Zhao Yang looked up at him again. Lu Nanze¡¯s face was expressionless, but Zhao Yang found that look strangely terrifying. For so many years, Lu Nanze had amodated himself to the Qiao family, but what was the reason for it? Knowing what he was like, he could have just swept Qiao Yiyi aside. Why did Lu Nanze make him sleep with Qiao Yiyi and in the process mislead her? It was as though he was pacifying Qiao Yiyi and her family. Chapter 1129 - She’s Carrying Lu Nanze’s Child (5)

Chapter 1129: She¡¯s Carrying Lu Nanze¡¯s Child (5)

Early next morning. After breakfast, Qiao Lian was about to leave the house when Shen Liangchuan came out and said, ¡°I¡¯ll take you to work.¡± Qiao Lian said, ¡°But you don¡¯t have a car.¡± This was Suzhou. Where was he going to get a car and take her to work? As she said these words, the door of the garage in the courtyard slowly opened and, at once, a brand new Audi appeared before her eyes. Surprised, Qiao Lian asked, ¡°When did you buy a car?¡± ¡°Yesterday afternoon.¡± Qiao Lian was speechless. As they drove away, they saw that Lu Nanze¡¯s chauffeur had turned up to pick Qiao Lian up for work. The chauffeur was stumped when he saw that Qiao Lian had gotten into another car and they were now driving away. He immediately called Lu Nanze, ¡°Mr. Lu, erm... Best Actor Shen has just driven away with Ms. Qiao to take her to work, so I-¡± Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes when he heard this. Since swallowing the crab roe dumplings the day before, his mouth had been swollen. Right now it was still burning and itching, making him feel most ufortable. He winced as he got to his feet and said, ¡°I know. You may go now.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± After hanging up, Lu Nanze went to change. Someone walked in to inform him, ¡°Mr. Lu, the family physician will be here soon.¡± Because of his allergy, Lu Nanze had been put on a drip at home for two days and that had helped to reduce the swelling. He had initially nned to be away from the office these two days, but he hadn¡¯t expected there would be this unforeseen event. The action of Shen Liangchuan taking Qiao Lian to work made him conscious of the possibility that, if he missed his opportunity now, he may end up missing the boat forever. The deal he had with Shen Liangchuan was a month. Two days of a month were too precious, so he had to rush to the office. He told the housekeeper in response, ¡°Ask him toe back tonight.¡± Then he headed towards the front door. Just as he approached it, he stopped in front of the dressing mirror. His gaze fell on his lips. They were swollen, thick and red. They were slightly better than looking like sausages, but they honestly still were still a rather strange sight. Lu Nanze furrowed his brow. As thepany¡¯s CEO, he couldn¡¯t possibly present such an image in the office. Hence, he turned towards the housekeeper and said, ¡°Get me a mask.¡± By the time Lu Nanze arrived at the office, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s car pulled up as well. Both their cars met and stopped at the same time. After a short pause, Lu Nanze opened his car door and stepped out of the vehicle. He walked up to Shen Liangchuan¡¯s car and knocked on the window. At the same time, the door of the front passenger seat was pushed open. Qiao Lian emerged from the car. Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes and stared at Shen Liangchuan, saying, ¡°Thanks for taking the trouble of taking Qiao Lian to work.¡± He spoke as though Shen Liangchuan was an outsider, as though he, Lu Nanze, was her rightful husband. It was downright repulsive. Especially when Shen Liangchuan knew that Qiao Lian had regained her memory, yet he had to y along and send her right into the hands of his love rival. That utter difort he was feeling... Shen Liangchuan looked at Lu Nanze icily and replied, ¡°Having my wife work at yourpany, please take good care of her.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing to worry about, really. Qiao Lian and I were childhood lovers and we grew up together. Of course I will take good care of her.¡± He especially emphasized the words ¡°take good care.¡± There, with the car between them, the two men got into a verbal sparring. Chapter 1130 - She’s Carrying Lu Nanze’s Child (6)

Chapter 1130: She¡¯s Carrying Lu Nanze¡¯s Child (6)

There was no change in Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression, but the look in his eyes was sharp and murderous. When she noticed this, Qiao Lian knew that she had to intervene. Otherwise, if they started a fight on the street, she wouldn¡¯t know what to do. She hurriedly took a step forward and positioned herself between Shen Liangchuan and Lu Nanze. She grinned at Lu Nanze, turned to look at Shen Liangchuan and said, ¡°Hubby, why don¡¯t you go home first?¡± Her child-like tone at once melted the coldness in Shen Liangchuan. Lu Nanze froze, on the other hand. Hubby. This was the first time he had ever heard her address Shen Liangchuan like that, calling him Hubby. He felt an intense pain in his heart, like it was being slowly sliced by a blunt knife. So this was how sweet she sounded when she addressed her own husband. In the past, he had tried countless times to imagine what it would be like when Qiao Lian called someone ¡°hubby¡±. Now he had finally heard it. But it wasn¡¯t him she was talking to. Tightening his fists and looking at them, he suddenly reached out and grabbed Qiao Lian¡¯s arm. He said, ¡°We¡¯re going to bete for work. Let¡¯s stop the small talk!¡± He wanted to yank her away and take her into the office, as though this was the only way that he could separate them. Only if he could separate them would he feel better. But this forceful act by him caused Shen Liangchuan to narrow his eyes at once. He opened the driver seat door and sprang out of the car. He strode over to Lu Nanze and grabbed the man by his arm. He narrowed his eyes as he red at Lu Nanze and demanded, ¡°Let her go!¡± Lu Nanze sneered, ¡°Why should I? We should be together, we were childhood sweethearts. The person who should let her go is you!¡± The expression in Shen Liangchuan¡¯s eyes turned as cold as the water in the North Pole, like water that had stayed frozen for a 1000 years. It was clear that if Lu Nanze didn¡¯t release his grip on her, he would not let the man go either. Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes with a chilling smile. Shen Liangchuan started, ¡°She is my wife. Mr. Lu, I ask that you watch your boundaries!¡± Lu Nanze slowly replied, ¡°Watch which boundaries exactly? Mr. Shen, I¡¯ve done more intimate things with¡ª¡± ¡°Lu Nanze!¡± Qiao Lian shouted angrily before the man could finish what he was saying. He looked at her. She looked back at him and then shifted her gaze to Shen Liangchuan. These two men weren¡¯t behaving at all like the CEOs of huge enterprises that they were. They were more like immature school boys that had not grown up! Were they going to start a fight too? She said to Lu Nanze, ¡°Let me go!¡± ¡°I will not!¡± ¡°Are you going to do it or not?¡± ¡°Not letting go.¡± ¡°Lu Nanze, you-¡± Qiao Lian was angered into speechlessness. Eventually, she said, ¡°You¡¯re hurting me! My wrist feels like it¡¯s breaking. Ouch! It hurts!¡± Lu Nanze frowned as she yelled out but he still didn¡¯t let go. He looked at Shen Liangchuan and said, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you letting her go?¡± Only he knew how tight and strong the grip that Shen Liangchuan had on his arm was. It was a bone-crushing and agonizing pain, but he stubbornly wouldn¡¯t move and would only stare at Shen Liangchuan. But indeed, the next moment, Shen Liangchuan rxed his grip and said, ¡°Let her go.¡± Lu Nanze gave an icyugh before he let go of her arm. That vicious look on his face was peerless. Giving Shen Liangchuan a hard re, he even said, ¡°Since childhood, I¡¯d rather destroy whatever I wanted that I could not get my hands on.¡± Chapter 1131 - She’s Carrying Lu Nanze’s Child (7)

Chapter 1131: She¡¯s Carrying Lu Nanze¡¯s Child (7)

His remark left Shen Liangchuan speechless. Lu Nanze looked at Qiao Lian and said, ¡°Come to the office with me.¡± She nced at Shen Liangchuan and bit her lip. During their argument, Shen Liangchuan had lost because of having to let go first. But wasn¡¯t that only because he had truly been concerned that Lu Nanze was hurting her? On the other hand, Lu Nanze... A faint derisive smile appeared on her face. His so-called like and love couldn¡¯t withstand a simple test of reality. It was clear to Qiao Lian that she was only an object, and not a human being in Lu Nanze¡¯s world. She narrowed her eyes at this thought and suddenly smiled. With the hand that Lu Nanze had just released, she suddenly grabbed his arm and eximed, ¡°Hey, Lu Nanze!¡± Stunned, the man halted and lowered his head. He almost couldn¡¯t believe that she was holding his arm. Was she now automatically warming up to him? He was suddenly excited as he turned to look at her with shining eyes. But the next moment, he saw a hand wave before his face and at once felt a rush of cold air. The mask that he was wearing had, in a quick motion, been pulled off by Qiao Lian. Lu Nanze was aghast. After Qiao Lian had removed the mask, she muttered to herself, ¡°It¡¯s bright and sunny and it isn¡¯t even cold. The air is fresh and clean. Why are you wearing a mask?¡± Then she released her hold, letting it fall onto the ground. Lu Nanze quickly reacted to recover the mask so that he could put it back on, but his hand froze in mid-air. Because, by mere chance, the mask had floated away and fallen into a pile of trash by the road. Lu Nanze was bbergasted. s! At this point, Qiao Lianzily stretched her lower back and turned to look at the man. Her remark turned into an exmation, ¡°Ah, Lu Nanze, sorry about that. Butterfingers! Urgh... Your mouth, what¡¯s the matter with it?¡± With that, both Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan¡¯s eyes were fixed on his lips. Those lips... They were red, swollen and absolutely unsightly! Unable to control herself, Qiao Lian burst into peals ofughter at once. Then she looked at those lips with curiosity and asked, ¡°Lu Nanze, your lips, why do they look like you did something wild with them?¡± Lu Nanze scowled. Shen Liangchuan: ... !! Why did that remark sound so wrong? It triggered all sorts of wild and tititing thoughts in one¡¯s mind. Yet Qiao Lian continued to examine his lips with her head lowered. After a while, she spoke between sniggers, ¡°Lu Nanze, hahaha, your lips are too funny! Hahaha. It¡¯s like you kissed for too long and got hurt, but shouldn¡¯t it be the girl that ends up looking like this? Which man were you with that was so aggressive? So you are the passive type!¡± These remarks were made in jest, but Lu Nanze turned beet red and frowned, pointing at Qiao Lian furiously. All the feelings he had felt a few moments ago when he fought with Shen Liangchuan had vanished without a trace. Especially because Qiao Lian was speaking so loudly that everyone walking by had turned around to look. Lu Nanze grew increasingly embarrassed. Ashen-faced, he nced at the people around who were staring. He waved his hand with flustered fury, turned and quickly walked into the office building. As she watched him leave, Qiao Lian broke into peals ofughter once again. Shen Liangchuan too, lowered his gaze in amusement, knowing that Qiao Lian had probably made a fool out of that man for his sake. It seemed like letting someone else have the upper hand once in a while could bring unexpected results. His lips turned upwards into a smile. Chapter 1132 - She’s Carrying Lu Nanze’s Child (8)

Chapter 1132: She¡¯s Carrying Lu Nanze¡¯s Child (8)

Qiao Lian said goodbye to Shen Liangchuan at the entrance and hurried into the office. As she entered, she saw the receptionist standing there. Tip-toeing up to her, she asked, ¡°How did Mr. Lu look?¡± The receptionist looked at Qiao Lian and smiled as she said, ¡°He looked normal.¡± Qiao Lian nodded and said ¡°oh.¡± She peered upstairs and went to the female casters¡¯ department. They had just finished moving yesterday, so now everyone was frantically working extra hours. Qiao Lian didn¡¯t have much to do and just sat there. After a short while, someone walked in. When she saw Qiao Lian, she waved at her and said, ¡°Ms. Qiao, there¡¯s a document here that requires Mr. Lu¡¯s signature. He¡¯s asked you to take this to him.¡± Could she possibly say no? She had just taken great liberties with him and now he wanted her to bring him the document. It certainly didn¡¯t sound like anything good. But wasn¡¯t this a chance for her to boldly go to his office? It was a good opportunity to explore her way around. After all, even though she had been familiar with the Lu family building eight years ago, this building was now an entirely different one. She bit her lip at this thought, took the document from the person and walked out of the office slowly. To get to the penthouse, she had to take the director¡¯s exclusive elevator. She could get into his office with her keycard, but she had to get off the elevator a level below the penthouse. Then, she had to take the stairs one level up to reach the penthouse itself. She slowly ascended the staircase. If she were toe here to steal the ount book, she couldn¡¯t take the elevator all the way up for sure. She could only take the stairs, so she had to have a look first. After a slow walk to the penthouse, she arrived at a doorway. She pushed the door lightly but it stayed shut. Hence, using a little more force, she gave it another push. The door creaked, but still it stayed firmly shut. As she stood there puzzled, she suddenly saw someone through the ss panel on the door. She jumped and sprang back. Turning around and ready to run away, the door suddenly flew open. At once, a man who looked like some sort of bodyguard appeared at the doorway and said to her, ¡°Ms. Qiao, Mr. Lu is waiting for you.¡± Qiao Lian: ... Had she been discovered? If she had indeed been discovered, what was she going to sayter? Struggling toe up with something as she made her way up, she heard the turn of the key as the bodyguard locked the door. She looked back and realized... that door was locked. Qiao Lian: ... It was no wonder she couldn¡¯t open it. This Lu Nanze was a seriously protective person. She was full of unspoken criticism as she walked into Lu Nanze¡¯s office. For security reasons, Lu Nanze¡¯s office was close to the stairs. The penthouse had a simpleyout and few staff. As Qiao Lian entered, Lu Nanze was looking at theputer. He saw her approaching with her head down, like a guilty child who had done something wrong. With a wave of his hand, the bodyguard left the room. Lu Nanze turned his gaze on Qiao Lian and signaled for her toe. Qiao Lian shook her head and said, ¡°Just tell me what it is. I¡¯m not going to walk right into your trap!¡± She looked at him guardedly. Lu Nanze frowned and turned theputer monitor towards her. When she looked at it, she realized the images were recordings of the stairs outside. He had seen all of her stealthy movements earlier on. Chapter 1133 - She’s Carrying Lu Nanze’s Child (9)

Chapter 1133: She¡¯s Carrying Lu Nanze¡¯s Child (9)

Qiao Lian¡¯s heart skipped a beat. Had she aroused his suspicion? As soon as she had this thought, Lu Nanze asked, ¡°Speak up, what were you doing?¡± Her fingers curled into a tight fist immediately and she bit her lip. Her posture was as straight as a pencil, and her fingers clenched tightly around her cell phone in her pocket. The moment something didn¡¯t look right, she had to call Shen Liangchuan and get him to rescue her. She could hardly breathe now as she looked at Lu Nanze steadily. Her mind raced at top speed, thinking of a good excuse for this behavior. Then she saw Lu Nanze getting up on his feet. Her pupils shrank back immediately as she eyed him guardedly. But the next moment, Lu Nanze said slowly, ¡°So you also know how to be afraid? Then why did you make a fool out of me?¡± Qiao Lian: ... What?! Did Lu Nanze mean... She couldn¡¯t be sure as she stood on the spot, stupefied. Lu Nanze finally sighed and said, ¡°Are you trying to help him? So after embarrassing me, you don¡¯t dare toe up here and instead go around sneaking and peeping.¡± Qiao Lian was reeling from the turn of events. This way of looking at it seemed logical too. At once, she was relieved and stared back at Lu Nanze nkly. The way he had said it had almost frightened her to death. She immediatelyughed once, and then another time, and said, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s true.¡± As she was saying this, Lu Nanze was already striding towards her. He stood before her and hisrge frame loomed over her threateningly. She couldn¡¯t help but take a step backward. He spoke slowly as he asked, ¡°Qiao Lian, why do you want to help Shen Liangchuan?¡± Why did she want to help Shen Liangchuan? She bit her lip and blinked a couple of times. Then she began to put on an act, ¡°Because... he is my husband!¡± Lu Nanze¡¯s pupils shrank back and he probed, ¡°You remember something about it?¡± Qiao Lian shook her head and continued, ¡°No, but think about it. You¡¯re saying I love you, but he¡¯s saying that I love him. If I really do love you and I¡¯m even carrying your child, then he¡¯s quite pitiful. And if he¡¯s the one I like, then it¡¯s only natural that I help him. It¡¯s reasonable!¡± Lu Nanze sighed in obvious relief. This preposterous argument was a little far-fetched, but that was very much like Qiao Lian. Her thinking had always been a little different. ¡°Also...¡± Lu Nanze immediately looked at her again when she started. She pouted as shemented, ¡°When I said that my hand was going to break from your grip, you didn¡¯t even let go! Shen Liangchuan was the one who let go first. Of course I¡¯d help him! He knew how to show concern for me.¡± When Lu Nanze heard this, heughed at once and said, ¡°You- I know very well how much strength I was using on you. It wasn¡¯t painful at all! Why should I let go?¡± Qiao Lian: ... However, with an underlying nervousness, he asked her, ¡°So who do you like now?¡± While he asked this, he looked at Qiao Lian intently, as though afraid to hear an answer that he didn¡¯t wish to hear. Qiao Lian tilted her head and contemted it for a moment. Then she finally said, ¡°I don¡¯t know. I feel that I like the both of you?¡± The answer made Lu Nanze feel like punching a wall. But at the same time, something was stirred deep in his heart. Chapter 1134 - She’s Carrying Lu Nanze’s Child (10)

Chapter 1134: She¡¯s Carrying Lu Nanze¡¯s Child (10)

So she did like him and had feelings for him after all. In that emotional moment, Lu Nanze ced his hands on Qiao Lian¡¯s shoulders and said, ¡°Qiao Lian, we were childhood sweethearts and grew up together. Everyone in Suzhou knows this. So why don¡¯t you just agree to our rtionship?¡± After saying this, he made a move to take Qiao Lian into his embrace. Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank back at once and was about to dodge him, when suddenly they heard a din outside. ¡°Let me in, I want to see Second Brother. Second Brother, I¡¯m Qiao Yiyi!¡± Lu Nanze froze upon hearing this. He lowered his head and looked at Qiao Lian. At once, she heaved a big sigh of relief inside, although she maintained a serious expression on her face. After a moment, she smiled and pushed Lu Nanze away. With a serious expression, she said, ¡°Don¡¯t you think that you should exin to me who this woman is? The moment I regained consciousness, she told me she was your woman, that you are in love with each other. Lu Nanze, before you sort things out with Qiao Yiyi, I don¡¯t think you have the right to say that you like me!¡± She tossed the documents that needed his signature on his desk and said, ¡°Once you¡¯ve signed them, have someone send them down.¡± After saying this in amanding and overbearing tone, she turned away to leave. She opened the door. At once, she found herself looking into Qiao Yiyi¡¯s eyes, who was now being held back by the bodyguard outside. Both of them halted. Qiao Yiyi bit her lip and stared at Qiao Lian as though she was an enemy. They wouldn¡¯t let her into the office, giving excuses and saying that Mr. Lu¡¯s office was not a ce for people to enter as they wished. But what about Qiao Lian? She wouldn¡¯t for a moment believe that Qiao Lian was there on official business. She bit her lip forcefully and red at Qiao Lian. She said through gritted teeth, ¡°Qiao Lian, why are you here?!¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank at these words. It wasn¡¯t as though she wanted to be here. If it weren¡¯t for the ount book, did Qiao Yiyi think that she would want to be anywhere near here? But of course, she could not say these things aloud right now. Hence, she could only nce at the woman and say with an icyugh, ¡°Concerning your question, you should ask Mr. Lu himself.¡± Tilting her chin up arrogantly, she brushed past Qiao Yiyi haughtily on her way out. ¡°Stop right there!¡± Qiao Yiyi raised her voice with fury. Qiao Lian turned around. Qiao Yiyi looked her up and down with hostility and inquired, ¡°Have you really lost your memory?¡± Qiao Lian nodded. Narrowing her eyes, Qiao Yiyi suddenly smiled and said, ¡°Qiao Lian, you really don¡¯t remember me? I¡¯m your cousin! There¡¯s no way I can lie about this!¡± After speaking, she stared hard at Qiao Lian and said, ¡°Then why do you treat me so coldly? Or is it because you actually haven¡¯t lost your memory?¡± Lu Nanze¡¯s gaze immediately shifted to Qiao Lian. At once, his expression became guarded and cautious. Qiao Lian startedughing as though Qiao Yiyi had made a big joke. ¡°Why do I treat you coldly? But why should I treat you with enthusiasm? The way you re at me, I can almost see the daggers. I¡¯m not a masochist in a hurry to get harassed by you!¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... Lu Nanze: ... ¡°Besides, when I had just regained consciousness, you didn¡¯t even bother to ask about my injury. Instead you were busy telling me about your rtionship with Lu Nanze. Tsk tsk, is this what a cousin should be doing? I lost my memory, not my mind!¡± Chapter 1135 - She’s Carrying Lu Nanze’s Child (11)

Chapter 1135: She¡¯s Carrying Lu Nanze¡¯s Child (11)

After Qiao Lian finished speaking, she looked at Qiao Yiyi as though the woman was a retard. Then she turned and walked out. Qiao Yiyi: ... Biting down her lip, Qiao Yiyi¡¯s eyes followed the girl until she disappeared into the elevator. She spun around and looked at Lu Nanze, calling him, ¡°Second Brother.¡± There was loathing in his eyes. Knitting his brow, he said, ¡°Come in.¡± The bodyguards parted to let her in. They shut the office door. Lu Nanze sat on his swivel armchair as Qiao Yiyi stood obediently in front of him. ¡°Second Brother, I¡¯m pregnant. Do you think it¡¯s a boy or a girl? Did you think of a name for the child?¡± ¡°Second Brother, you should know this child is exceptionally well-behaved. I didn¡¯t even know I was pregnant! I have no morning sickness and don¡¯t feel unwell. Second Brother, aren¡¯t you happy?¡± She went on and on, but Lu Nanze did not speak a single word. Qiao Yiyi looked at him anxiously and asked, ¡°Second Brother? Why haven¡¯t you said a single word?¡± Lu Nanze finally spoke up, ¡°I remember, before you got pregnant, that we made a deal.¡± Qiao Yiyi was taken aback. She knew and remembered what he had said¡ªthat even if she had a child, at most it would be his illegitimate child, he would never acknowledge the baby. But hadn¡¯t that just been a casual remark? This child was his own flesh and blood. How could he possibly be so heartless to not want it? Qiao Yiyi ced her hands on her abdomen. Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes and said, ¡°So what has your child got to do with me?¡± His words and tone were stone cold. There wasn¡¯t a trace of warmth in them. Qiao Yiyi was stunned and stood there, not quite able to believe what was happening. She looked at Lu Nanze and said, ¡°Second Brother, you¡ª¡± ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, Ms. Qiao, you may go.¡± A cold order for her to leave. Qiao Yiyi bit her lip and attempted it again, ¡°Second Brother, I¡ª¡± ¡°Get out.¡± Scared out of her wits, Qiao Yiyi could only walk to the door. After she had taken a step, the freezing voice behind her called her, ¡°Hang on.¡± She halted and turned around. Lu Nanze looked at her steadily and said, ¡°Qiao Yiyi, I think you should know what to say and what not to say, right?¡± She was a smart woman and widened her eyes immediately. ¡°Second Brother¡ª¡± ¡°I do not wish for Qiao Lian to hear what she shouldn¡¯t be hearing.¡± Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes and continued, ¡°Especially this month.¡± Qiao Yiyi forcefully bit her lip and interlocked her fingers tightly. Nodding, she said, ¡°Yes.¡± After leaving Lu Nanze¡¯s office, Qiao Yiyi clenched her fists tightly. There was a sh of agony and sorrow in her eyes. She had thought that, once she carried Second Brother¡¯s child, he would treat her better. But unexpectedly, it had turned out like this. She took a deep breath. That was not right. It was obvious that the moment Second Brother had heard that she was pregnant, he had freed her. He was behaving like this now probably because he was trying to regain Qiao Lian¡¯s affection. But the moment the child was born, Second Brother would surely like it. Having an adorable child in front of him, calling him ¡°daddy¡±... She would not believe that he would still be so heartless to deny that child. That thought renewed her strength and calmed her down once more. ¨C The hours flew by and soon it was lunchtime again. Just thinking of the meal she had had with Lu Nanze yesterday and how it had ended with Shen Liangchuan¡¯s jealousy, Qiao Lian was beginning to feel ufortable about this lunch matter. Her thoughts were interrupted by a door knock, followed by a delivery worker who asked, ¡°May I know who is Ms. Qiao?¡± Qiao Lian: ...!! Chapter 1136 - She’s Carrying Lu Nanze’s Child (12)

Chapter 1136: She¡¯s Carrying Lu Nanze¡¯s Child (12)

Puzzled, Qiao Lian stood up after a short pause when she heard this. The delivery worker walked in and handed her a lunch set. Confused, Qiao Lian asked, ¡°Are you sure this is for me? I didn¡¯t order lunch.¡± The delivery worker smiled and confirmed it, ¡°Ms. Qiao, I can confirm it¡¯s yours. Someone calel Mr. Shen ordered this for you. He also said that you should have a nutritious meal. Do you need my help toy the table?¡± Qiao Lian quickly shook her head and said, ¡°No, no it¡¯s ok.¡± The delivery worker left the package on the table and left. Qiao Lian: ... She looked at the package and couldn¡¯t help giggling. This man, Shen Liangchuan, he¡¯s so jealous. She shook her head, picked up her lunch and walked to the lounge. But just when she had set the table, Lu Nanze walked in. All the department staff turned to look at him, not daring to breathe a word. Qiao Lian looked at him with a silly and innocent grin. He was on the verge of saying something when he noticed the food on the table. He was surprised and asked, ¡°You ordered takeout?¡± Qiao Lian immediately nodded. Her awkward smile eventually made Lu Nanze realize that this delivery must have been ordered by Shen Liangchuan. This was simply too much. It was hard enough to get an arrangement where he could get close to Qiao Lian at lunch time during office hours, but that Shen guy had to interfere. This was simply intolerable! Lu Nanze frowned with fury. He looked at Qiao Lian for a moment and narrowed his eyes. Suddenly, he walked over to the table and sat on her seat, saying, ¡°This food doesn¡¯t look too bad. I¡¯ll eat it.¡± He picked up the chopsticks and, without another word, chomped through the food on the table till nothing was left. After he had eaten, he stood to his feet and looked at Qiao Lian. He said, ¡°I¡¯ve eaten your lunch, so now I¡¯llpensate you. Come with me.¡± Grabbing her by her wrist, he led her out of the office. Qiao Lian was stunned. She stared at the food containers on the table, which looked like it had been swept clean by a storm, and then looked at Lu Nanze again. He had, in five minutes, finished up all that food! Furthermore, when he was eating, he looked like he was doing it with a clenched jaw. It certainly didn¡¯t look like he was eating lunch, it looked more like he was ripping Shen Liangchuan¡¯s flesh apart. Qiao Lian grimaced. There was no food left. She couldn¡¯t stay for lunch. She could only follow as Lu Nanze led them out of the office. They went to the parking lot, got into the car and drove to a private restaurant. They went to the same private room where they had had lunch yesterday. Different dishes were served this time, but they were still dishes that she loved. Qiao Lian looked at the spread and nced at Lu Nanze. He softly said, ¡°Hurry up and have some food.¡± She nodded, picked up her chopsticks and started eating. As she was eating, his cell phone rang. He frowned as he looked at the phone. He got to his feet and walked to the other side of the room to pick up the call. Qiao Lian could not hear the other party, but Lu Nanze sounded impatient and interrupted the caller with an icy reply, ¡°Isn¡¯t your throat sore from talking so much? Tell him that he can scram if he has no wish to coborate! And in the future, he can forget about getting any projects in Suzhou. Spread the word among all the local Suzhou enterprises¡ªdon¡¯t they dare!¡± Having said this, he hung up and turned around. Chapter 1137 - She’s Carrying Lu Nanze’s Child (13)

Chapter 1137: She¡¯s Carrying Lu Nanze¡¯s Child (13)

Qiao Lian quickly lowered her head and pretended that she hadn¡¯t heard a thing. She continued eating. But oddly, she found herself distracted. Lu Nanze had always been a quick and firm decision-maker, and he acted based on worldly wisdom. Among friends, he always defended his position. People pursued and feared him, and he had no particr patience with anything. But although this was the case, when he turned back to face Qiao Lian after hanging up, he went back to the calm demeanor he had had before the call, as though he had all the patience in the world for her. His style of working had always been to use force and suppression. Just like when he found out she was pregnant, he had thought of all ways and means to have the child aborted. But now, he seemed to have patience to have lunch with her and spend time with her. Seeing this side of Lu Nanze somehow caused her to feel a strange pain in her heart. If he kept being evil, perhaps she could stay cool-headed. But this sudden change in him made her feel a little cruel. She lowered her head and kept eating while she thought this. Actually, perhaps it was unfair to me him for what had happened to her parents at that time. After all, he had only been neen years old and still a child. However, it so happened that the heavens had put them on the same side. Scenes of the years that had gone by shed through her mind. She shook her head. What are you thinking, Qiao Lian? He is your enemy, how could you soften your heart? She immediately took a deep breath and tried to suppress the dull ache in her heart. She lowered her head and continued to eat. After taking a few mouthfuls of food, she suddenly heard a strange sound. She looked up immediately and saw that Lu Nanze had turned quite pale. His brow was tightly knitted and he looked ill. Qiao Lian was stunned and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Frowning, Lu Nanze answered after a pause, ¡°The take-out you got... There was some crab roe in it. I¡¯m allergic to seafood.¡± Qiao Lian was shocked by what he said. She sprang up from her seat and walked to Lu Nanze. She noticed that his lips were now looking worse than they did in the morning. Furthermore, tiny red spots had appeared around his neck. Qiao Lian: ... So had Shen Liangchuan already thought of the possibility that Lu Nanze would eat that food when he ordered it? Hence, he had sneakily ordered some food that one couldn¡¯t tell had crab roe in it. This guy was evil! She grimaced, quickly stood up and looked at Lu Nanze. She said, ¡°Why don¡¯t we quickly give Zhao Yang a call and get him to take you to the hospital?¡± Lu Nanze was feeling quite ill by now. He felt like there were 10 000 ants crawling all over him, all he wanted right now was a cold shower. He could only nod at Qiao Lian¡¯s suggestion. Even though he was unwilling, he picked up the cell phone and dialed Zhao Yang¡¯s number. Half an hourter, Zhao Yang arrived. Lu Nanze pointed at Qiao Lian and instructed, ¡°Take her safely back to the office.¡± Zhao Yang nodded immediately. After this, Lu Nanze took a deep breath and left with Zhao Yang. After Qiao Lian had eaten, the chauffeur took her back to the office. Upon arriving at the office building, Qiao Lian got out of the car and was about to enter the building when she suddenly heard a voice from afar, calling her, ¡°Qiao Lian?¡± Chapter 1138 - She’s Carrying Lu Nanze’s Child (14)

Chapter 1138: She¡¯s Carrying Lu Nanze¡¯s Child (14)

Qiao Lian halted and spun around. She saw a middle-aged woman staring at her with an uncertain expression. When Qiao Lian turned around, the middle-aged woman¡¯s eyes lit up immediately and she hurried over. She took Qiao Lian¡¯s arm with one hand as she said, ¡°It¡¯s really you, Qiao Lian! You¡¯re back? Where have you been all these years?¡± After saying this, she turned to the middle-aged man behind her and waved to him, yelling, ¡°Qiao Zhigang,e over here quickly and look. It¡¯s your niece Qiao Lian!¡± The middle-aged man was stunned and looked at her with an expression of disbelief. There was a simple honesty in his refined look and he shared simr features with Qiao Yi. It was her uncle and Qiao Yiyi¡¯s father, Qiao Zhigang. Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank back as the man hurried over to them. He held her arm as he eximed, ¡°Xiao Lian! It¡¯s really you! Xiao Lian! Where have you been all these years?! Did you know how hard I looked for you? If anything had happened to you, how would I ever face your father?¡± He looked at her up and down anxiously after saying this and continued, ¡°You¡¯ve grown taller and thinner. Where were you all these years? Have you been well? What about Qiao Yi? How is he? Did his legs recover?¡± Hearing this barrage of questions, Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes reddened as she stood on the spot. Apart from Qiao Yi, he was probably the closest rtive she had in this world. He was also the man that she and Qiao Yi had depended on the most after her parents had died. But what she had never expected was that he would scheme to get her into Lu Nanze¡¯s bed, in order to curry favor with that man. At the time, she had only just turned eighteen. But her pride did not allow her to be given away like a gift. Besides, she needed arge sum of money to treat Qiao Yi¡¯s legs. Every time she went to Qiao Zhigang for money, he would make it look like it put his family in a difficult position. But she knew that, although her uncle had not inherited the family estate, her father had given him a lot of money every year. When the Qiao family went broke, only her uncle¡¯s family had been unaffected. They had a small vi and a car. Why couldn¡¯t he have spared some money to have Qiao Yi treated? Clearly, he had been giving excuses. That was why she had left and taken Qiao Yi with her. In any case, even if they had kept staying with their family, they wouldn¡¯t help get Qiao Yi treated. Looking now at this heartless couple, how Qiao Lian wished she could give them a tight p across their faces! However, she couldn¡¯t. She was supposed to have lost her memory and she had to pretend that she didn¡¯t recognize them. But the anger that rose in her chest made it hard for her to breathe easily. She took another deep breath in an attempt to suppress her fury. With this effort, she managed to look puzzled as she spoke, ¡°You are... ?¡± ¡°We are your uncle and aunt.¡± Qiao Zhigang grabbed her wrist and said excitedly, ¡°Qiao Lian, we¡¯ve found you finally after all these years! This child, you ran away without a word at the time. Sigh.¡± That tone, oh, that tone. It was as if she was an ignorant runaway child. Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes and lowered her head, looking at Qiao Zhigang¡¯s hand clenched around her wrist. Following this, she looked at them and said, ¡°I don¡¯t remember you. Will you please let go of my hand?¡± With an embarrassed expression, Qiao Zhigang let go of her. Chapter 1139 - She’s Carrying Lu Nanze’s Child (15)

Chapter 1139: She¡¯s Carrying Lu Nanze¡¯s Child (15)

¡°Qiao Lian, since you¡¯re back in Suzhou, why haven¡¯t youe home to visit us? At the time, after your parents¡¯ misfortune, you stayed with us for some time. You¡ª¡± Qiao Lian sighed and said, ¡°Look, I really do not remember you two. Erm... I have to go to work.¡± At these words, she walked around them, intending to leave. Her uncle was her rtive, but she had decided that she was going to ignore them for the rest of her life. She didn¡¯t wish to take revenge, because life shouldn¡¯t be about living with hatred and punishing oneself. But unexpectedly, just as she had started to leave, Qiao Yiyi walked out of the office building. When she saw them, she approached them in a hurry immediately. Narrowing her eyes, she held Qiao Lian¡¯s hand and slowly said, ¡°Qiao Lian, my parents are here. Did you see them?¡± Qiao Lian frowned and looked at her hand. Surely, Qiao Yiyi wasn¡¯t nning to harm her child in the public, in broad daylight? Qiao Lian eyed her guardedly. However, Qiao Yiyi brushed past Qiao Lian and walked up to Qiao Zhigang, saying, ¡°Dad, Mom, why are the both of you here?¡± Qiao Zhigang sighed and said, ¡°You¡¯re feeling unwell, so you shouldn¡¯t be eating as you please. Your mother and I cooked a few dishes and we¡¯re here to deliver it to you.¡± Qiao Yiyi sighed at once. ¡°That¡¯s true. Whenever I see the food outside, I don¡¯t feel like eating. I¡¯ll feel nauseous and want to throw up.¡± ¡°If you get strong reactions, then it¡¯s clearly a baby boy!¡± Qiao Lian halted. She spun around, looked at Qiao Yiyi and stared at her belly in disbelief. Qiao Yiyi... was pregnant? So were they going through all the trouble just to have her know that Qiao Yiyi was pregnant? Her pupils shrank back as she saw Qiao Yiyi turn around to give her a knowing smile. It became clear that all of this had certainly been to tell her that she, Qiao Yiyi, was pregnant with Lu Nanze¡¯s child. In other words, a message to Qiao Lian to leave. What a joke. Qiao Yiyi had been with Lu Nanze for so many years, it wasn¡¯t a surprise that she was finally pregnant now. She turned and walked back into the office. After she entered the office building, Qiao Yiyi nced back at her and asked her mother, ¡°Mom, do you think she got the hint?¡± Her mother replied, ¡°She should have gotten the hint. After all, didn¡¯t you say that she¡¯s pregnant too?¡± Qiao Yiyi nodded. Dad Qiao stood by the side, looking at Qiao Lian as she walked back into the office building. For some strange reason, he felt that this niece, who he had trouble keeping under control years ago, had be even more impossible to control now. Would she really leave, even if she knew that Qiao Yiyi was carrying Lu Nanze¡¯s child? Qiao Zhigang frowned. ¨C There was not much work to do in the afternoon. Qiao Lian did a short livestream and received a call from Prince out of the blue. ¡°Hey, Love Chuan, when will you being to the club to join us for training?¡± Qiao Lian: ... This Prince, he was bing addicted to lying. She grimaced and was about to speak when Prince continued, ¡°I hear that you¡¯ve gone to the headquarters to work. That¡¯s great. How about everyone in our team club goes to the headquarters to work too, and join you? Would that be good enough?¡± Qiao Lian paled at once when she heard these words. She tried to get more information, ¡°Do you mean that PC Team is part of the Lu family business?¡± Prince said as a matter of course, ¡°That¡¯s right, didn¡¯t you already know? The boss of PC Team is Mr. Lu! The national finals in Shanghai are just around the corner. You¡¯d bettere and train with us when you have some time.¡± Chapter 1140 - She’s Carrying Lu Nanze’s Child (16)

Chapter 1140: She¡¯s Carrying Lu Nanze¡¯s Child (16)

The grand final in Shanghai. Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank as she remembered! When she left Beijing, CQ had intensively been training because the grand final in Shanghai was in ten days. CQ had even done some research and found out that the participants of this Shanghai event were highly-skilled yers from all over the country. And PC Team happened to best year¡¯s champion. As CQ Team¡¯s coach and a friend of Zombie Leader and the rest, how could she possibly betray PC Team? Besides, she didn¡¯t want to resort to unorthodox means to sneak into PC Team. However, it wasn¡¯t as though she could decline it at this point. Because if she didn¡¯t join the club, it would mean that she knew this club was fake, and it may arouse Lu Nanze¡¯s suspicion that she was pretending to have lost her memory. She bit her lip, all of a sudden finding herself in a situation where she just had to go with the flow. Even though they hade this far, having apetitive team would always remain a shared dream and aspiration of Shen Liangchuan and her. Prince spoke again at the other end of the line, ¡°Hey, Love Chuan, why aren¡¯t you saying anything? Let¡¯s decide on this then. I¡¯ll take the team members to the office tomorrow! I¡¯ll call Mr. Luter to ask him to prepare us a room for training.¡± Then Prince hung up. Qiao Lian did not speak a word. From the looks of it, Prince and Lu Nanze were closely acquainted. Hence for sure, Prince did not know about the rtionship between Lu Nanze and her. She frowned. As Qiao Lian left the building after work in the evening, she spotted Shen Liangchuan¡¯s car parked by the road. She hastened her steps. The moment she came up to the car, she suddenly heard a voice behind her, ¡°Qiao Lian.¡± She paused slightly and turned around to see Qiao Zhigang standing there. She frowned and paused again, before asking, ¡°Why are you here?¡± The man sighed and started, ¡°Qiao Lian, are you still holding a grudge against me? There are a few things I have to say. Otherwise, I won¡¯t be able to get over this obstacle in my heart. I would also not be able to face your father in the afterlife.¡± Qiao Lian replied, ¡°I don¡¯t feel like we have much to discuss.¡± ¡°So you don¡¯t wish to know how your parents died?¡± Her pupils shrank when she heard those words. She took a step forward and asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡± Qiao Zhigang nced to the side and said, ¡°Let¡¯s speak over there, ok?¡± Shen Liangchuan was in the car, so Qiao Zhigang wanted to go to a quiet spot. She nodded and followed the man to the suggested spot. Eyeing Qiao Zhigang steadily, she said, ¡°I can¡¯t remember things from the past, so I¡¯d like to hear what you have to say.¡± Qiao Zhigang sighed again and started, ¡°When that jerry-built building project happened, your parents were implicated. It sullied the reputation of the Qiao family as a whole. At the time, our family really did not have the money. You have to understand, the house and car were basic necessities, I still had to work to feed the family and could not spend the money for Qiao Yi¡¯s treatment. I hope you don¡¯t hold this against us, ok?¡± Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes and said, ¡°Is there anything else you wish to say?¡± Had he asked her to talk just to listen to this hypocritical talk? Or was he just trying to use this as a guise, to test if she had really lost her memory? Well, she was not going to show it. Observing her response, Qiao Zhigang continued, ¡°Do you know the truth behind that jerry-built building project?¡± Chapter 1141 - She’s Carrying Lu Nanze’s Child (17)

Chapter 1141: She¡¯s Carrying Lu Nanze¡¯s Child (17)

¡°There was no reason at all to doubt my brother, or your mother. At the time, everyone said that the building had copsed because low-quality materials were used, and the reason for this was that your parents had embezzled thepany funds. But you and I know better, because that money really didn¡¯t exist.¡± At this point, Qiao Zhigang looked at her and continued, ¡°But did you know this? After the Qiao Family went broke, the Lu family rose in stature and has grown to be the leader of the industry in Suzhou. Furthermore, I once heard from Elder Brother that part of the materials he had used for the building were rmended by the Lu Family. After all, the Lu family was very experienced in this field... Xiao Lian, I know you¡¯ve always been a smart girl. You understand what I¡¯m trying to say, right?¡± Qiao Lian frowned. After a moment, she shook her head and said, ¡°I can¡¯t remember anything from the past! But your daughter is pregnant with Lu Nanze¡¯s child, why didn¡¯t you ask her to stay away from him?¡± ¡°Do you think that by telling me this I will keep a distance from Lu Nanze? You¡¯re dreaming!¡± Qiao Zhigang frowned and cried, ¡°Xiao Lian!¡± Qiao Lian smirked coldly and said, ¡°I¡¯m quite sure that we weren¡¯t on very good terms, because when I see you, I don¡¯t feel any affection. So I won¡¯t believe what you¡¯ve said. Goodbye.¡± As she turned and was about to walk away, Qiao Zhigang sighed and said, ¡°Xiao Lian, your elder sister is pregnant! She is pregnant with Lu Nanze¡¯s child, so why can¡¯t you just let her have Lu Nanze?¡± Qiao Lian frowned upon hearing this. She turned and looked at Qiao Zhigang. After all he had told her, this was probably the main reason that he was here for. Qiao Lian smiled icily and, for some strange reason, felt a sudden urge to make fun of him. Hence, she frowned and put her hands on her abdomen. She said, ¡°I wish I could help, but you do know something?¡± Qiao Zhigang looked at her with a serious expression on his face. Qiao Lian whispered, ¡°Let me tell you, Lu Nanze said that this child I¡¯m carrying is his.¡± Qiao Zhigang¡¯s expression immediately changed when he heard these words. Looking at him, Qiao Lian continued, ¡°So Uncle, if you¡¯re really my uncle and she¡¯s my elder cousin, then why not let me have Lu Nanze? After all, she is older and I¡¯m her little sister, am I not?¡± Qiao Zhigang was bbergasted. Feeling exuberant, Qiao Lian turned to get into the car, smiling. Once in the car, she was crestfallen. Her eyes at once turned gloomy. This afternoon, she had felt guilty and ashamed for pretending to get close to Lu Nanze. Now she could be sure. The Lu family had been behind all of this, causing her parents to lose both their reputation and standing. So she had to think of a way to restore her parents¡¯ reputation. As she thought about this, she felt increasingly better about herself. ¨C The next day, when Shen Liangchuan took Qiao Lian to work, they discovered that Lu Nanze was nowhere to be seen. Could it be that he had had a serious allergic reaction yesterday? Qiao Lian was puzzling over this as she walked into the caster¡¯s office. While she sat there, not doing very much, her cell phone suddenly rang. Picking up the call, she heard Lu Nanze¡¯s voiceing through, ¡°Qiao Lian, I¡¯m at home on a drip today and can¡¯t go to work. But there¡¯s an important document in my office, can you bring it to me?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes suddenly widened and lit up when she heard this. Wouldn¡¯t this be the perfect chance to boldly walk into his office and locate that ount book from years ago? Chapter 1142 - She’s Carrying Lu Nanze’s Child (18)

Chapter 1142: She¡¯s Carrying Lu Nanze¡¯s Child (18)

While Qiao Lian was stunned into speechlessness, Lu Nanze began to get nervous. He cleared his throat and said slowly, ¡°Qiao Lian, it¡¯s not too much if your boss asks you to bring a document to him, is it?¡± Not too much. Of course it wasn¡¯t too much! This ¡°too much¡± was exactly what she so desperately needed. ¡°Besides, I¡¯m suffering this allergy because of you, so you really shouldn¡¯t decline.¡± Qiao Lian wondered if Lu Nanze thought that she wasn¡¯t keen on going. How could she possibly not want to? She immediately said, ¡°It¡¯s not a problem, shall I get the document from your office?¡± ¡°Uh huh.¡± Lu Nanze said this slowly and it was followed by a detailed description of where the document was ced. Finally he said, ¡°I¡¯ve called Zhao Yang and he¡¯s waiting for you downstairs now. Go downstairs once you¡¯ve got the document.¡± ¡°Oh, so how do I get into your office?¡± ¡°Your keycard is able to unlock all the doors in the office.¡± Qiao Lian was stunned. So did it mean that the card she was holding in her hand was an extremely important one? Did Lu Nanze really put so much trust in her? As soon as this thought shed past her mind, she abandoned it. She hung up, took her keycard and walked out of the room. Just as she stepped out, she saw Qiao Yiyi walking in. As a female caster, she was now working in the headquarters as well. Upon seeing Qiao Lian, her pupils shrank back at once. She said, ¡°Where are you going?¡± Qiao Lian raised an eyebrow and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t think I have to report my movements to you?¡± Qiao Yiyi bit her lip and said, ¡°Qiao Lian, don¡¯t go thinking that you can get away with being this arrogant just because Second Brother favorites you. You think you can justify not being at your desk during working hours?¡± Qiao Lian tilted her head and smirked, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, am I really that arrogant? Why? You can¡¯t stand it? Go tell Second Brother then!¡± She snorted and immediately headed for the door. Qiao Yiyi, however, quickly followed behind. She halted and gave Qiao Yiyi a questioning look. ¡°What are you doing?¡± The woman gave her a cold smile and said, ¡°I¡¯m doing whatever you¡¯re doing. Do you mean thepany allows you to go anywhere but doesn¡¯t allow me to follow?¡± Qiao Lian raised an eyebrow and said, ¡°It¡¯s up to you.¡± After saying this, she entered the Director¡¯s elevator. Qiao Yiyi was about to step in too, when Qiao Lian extended her hand and said, ¡°Ms. Qiao, if you wish to get into this lift, please swipe your keycard.¡± ¡°You- What right do you have?¡± ¡°My rights are granted through my keycard, and I will not let you use my keycard. If you can, go and get yourself one from Second Brother!¡± Qiao Yiyi: ...!! She was so envious that she was now on the verge of going berserk. What right? She had dedicated herself to Second Brother for so many years, but she did not even have an all-ess keycard for the office. Yet Qiao Lian had one the minute she came in. This was unfair, too unfair! She bit her lip at this thought and took out her card. Then she pressed the lift button of the level below the penthouse. The door of the elevator slid close, shutting out Qiao Yiyi¡¯s furious face as she was left stranded. Qiao Lian frowned as she thought about Qiao Yiyi¡¯s behavior. How could she possibly allow that woman to follow her to the penthouse? If Qiao Yiyi discovered what she was up to, then there would be big trouble. At this thought, she narrowed her eyes and looked at the elevator¡¯s panel, showing the ascending numbers. Very shortly, she arrived at the penthouse. The secretary obviously knew that Qiao Lian wasing, hence she allowed her entry to Lu Nanze¡¯s office. Chapter 1143 - She’s Carrying Lu Nanze’s Child (19)

Chapter 1143: She¡¯s Carrying Lu Nanze¡¯s Child (19)

This wasn¡¯t Qiao Lian¡¯s first visit to Lu Nanze¡¯s office. The room was deafeningly silent. The secretary respectfully sat outside the office, not daring to enter without good reason. Qiao Lian looked around the room and found Lu Nanze¡¯s document in one of the drawers. She peered at the secretary by the doorway. At this point, she saw the junior secretary getting onto her feet and walking away, as though something hade up. She found herself alone, with no one watching her. It was divine intervention! This would be the time. She quickly opened the second drawer and searched. Nothing. Then, looking at the third drawer, she opened it and searched. No luck either. There were important documents in the drawers that were unrted to what she was after. She straightened up and looked around. Suddenly, her gaze fell on a picture. She discreetly moved to the door and shut it. Turning, she looked around to ensure there were no surveince cameras in the office. Then she walked to the picture, reached out and swung it to the side. At once, she saw a safe. Indeed. Lu Nanze had no imagination. This was too easy to find. Except, what was the passcode to open the safe? Staring at it, she thought for a while and entered Lu Nanze¡¯s birth date. Unfortunately, an error message came up. She was left with three more attempts. Biting her lip, she entered his mother¡¯s birth date. Wrong again. Qiao Lian frowned and followed with entering his father¡¯s birth date, but that also didn¡¯t work. She was down to her final attempt. Qiao Lian knew that if she got this wrong again, then there was every possibility that the safe would trigger a police alert. Right now, she was on a street with a dead end. If she continued, she could lose the gamble. But if she didn¡¯t try, she may never get another chance to be in his office alone. She took a deep breath at this thought. Narrowing her eyes, she extended her finger towards the keypad and entered her own birth date. Finally! Click. The safe was unlocked. Shocked by the situation herself, Qiao Lian stared at the safe in disbelief. The passcode for the safe... was her birth date? She hesitated as she looked down at her hand. Lu Nanze¡¯s passcode was actually her birth date. The surprise from the discovery left her stunned for a while. She couldn¡¯t tell how much time had psed before she suddenly heard amotion outside the office. At once, she heard the secretary¡¯s voice saying, ¡°Ms. Qiao, you can¡¯t go in there.¡± Qiao Yiyi¡¯s tone was unrelenting as she argued, ¡°Why? She can go in there! So why can¡¯t I? Do you know who I am? I¡¯m pregnant with Second Brother¡¯s child. Get out of the way. If you dare to stop me, then you¡¯ll have toy your hands on my stomach first.¡± Qiao Lian snapped out of her dazed state when she heard this. Immediately, she started to rummage through the safe. No luck. Still no luck... Don¡¯t panic, it must be buried deeper. Deeper. Qiao Lian suddenly thought of something. She looked inside and saw a little box. Her eyes lit up as she reached in for it. At the same time, Qiao Yiyi¡¯s voice rang out, ¡°Get out of the way, let me in!¡± Then the door flew open. Chapter 1144 - She’s Carrying Lu Nanze’s Child (20)

Chapter 1144: She¡¯s Carrying Lu Nanze¡¯s Child (20)

Qiao Yiyi felt uneasy about Qiao Lian. She felt that her recent appearance in thepany was odd. And now she actually had ess to the penthouse to enter Lu Nanze¡¯s office. Second Brother wasn¡¯t at work today, so what was she up to, going into his office? It was this thought that hadpelled her to climb the emergency stairs from the floor below and ess the penthouse. At that moment, it had been her pounding on the emergency door that had rmed the secretary, who walked over, giving a window of opportunity to Qiao Lian. The junior secretary had not intended to open the door for her initially, but under repeated threats and cajoling from Qiao Yiyi, she finally gave in. At once, Qiao Yiyi tried to charge into the office. The secretary did not dare to allow this and stopped her at once. However, Qiao Yiyi had used her abdomen to force a clear path, given that the junior secretary didn¡¯t dare toy hands on her. The thought of harming Mr. Lu¡¯s child was inconceivable. The same went for the bodyguards, of course, and even more so. Hence, Qiao Yiyi was able to charge her way through these people and had now thrown open the office door. When the door flew open, Qiao Yiyi was stunned by what she saw in the room. Because Qiao Lian was now sitting on the sofa, looking through a photo album on Lu Nanze¡¯s desk. The woman surveyed the rest of the room quickly and saw that everything was in ce. It was only then that her focus returned to Qiao Lian. Smiling coldly, she said, ¡°What are you doing here exactly?¡± Qiao Lian raised her gaze with an indifferent expression and waved the junior secretary off, who had dashed into the room with Qiao Yiyi. She added, ¡°You may leave now, we¡¯ll be fine.¡± That Qiao Yiyi had lost favor was something that everyone in the office could see. In the past, Qiao Yiyi had been the only woman who had any sort of rtionship with Mr. Lu, even if it was clear to everyone that it was Qiao Yiyi who kept sucking up to him. But now, it wasn¡¯t an exaggeration to say that Lu Nanze absolutely infatuated with Qiao Lian. The junior secretary could see that Mr. Lu couldn¡¯t wait to spend every minute he had with Qiao Lian, which told her that Qiao Lian was the one that Mr. Lu liked. So the minute Qiao Lian said this, she nodded respectfully at once and said, ¡°Sure, Ms. Qiao. Please feel free to call me if any situation arises.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. The secretary left the room and shut the door behind her. Qiao Yiyi eyed Qiao Lian guardedly, with one hand on her stomach. As she stared at her, feelings of insane jealousy raged and built up within her. When she had been with Second Brother in the past, those people had never been this obedient. But the way that the junior secretary was treating Qiao Lian was as though Qiao Lian was thedy boss. It was an eyesore to watch. She started to try and make things difficult for Qiao Lian. ¡°Qiao Lian, what do you want exactly? Could it be that you haven¡¯t lost your memory?¡± After she had said this, Qiao Lian stood up slowly and calmly. Holding the document in her hand, she said at once, ¡°Don¡¯t you know? Lu Nanze asked me to take this to his house, so what are you doing exactly?¡± Delivering a document? Qiao Yiyi was bbergasted as she stared at the document. What sort of document was it that he needed Qiao Lian to bring it to him? it was Lu Nanze¡¯s obvious excuse to see her. As Qiao Yiyi frowned, Qiao Lian slowly and calmly walked past her and left the office. Then the door shut with a loud bang. Chapter 1145 - He Actually Likes Her This Much… (1)

Chapter 1145: He Actually Likes Her This Much... (1)

Qiao Lian¡¯s expression changed the moment she walked out of the office. She looked ahead steadily and, after a moment, her expression softened. Following this, she walked into the elevator and went down to the car. By the time she arrived at the Lu family vi, she looked calm. The housekeeper from the Lu family greeted her respectfully as she got out of the car. Qiao Lian walked into the house with a broad smile, looking here and there. The more she looked, the colder her expression became. Because the entire vi lookedpletely different now from a few years ago. In the past, the Lu family had ranked third or fourth among the great families and their vi had not been as grand as the Qiao family¡¯s. But now... The Lu family vi had grown to upy arge area ofnd, and many of the buildings within the estate were new. There were many facilities and there was even a big garden on the back. All of this had appeared after tragedy struck the Qiao family. The Lu family was making a lot of money every day, they lived in luxury and drove expensive cars, but what about the Qiao family? After the tragedy, she and her brother had gone through extreme hardships. Her expression was cold as she stepped into the living room. She saw Lu Nanze sitting on the sofa with a drip. His eyes lit up when he saw Qiao Lian and immediately pointed at the seat opposite. ¡°Take a seat.¡± This was the original building of the Lu family vi. It hadn¡¯t changed much from before. Qiao Lian looked around as Lu Nanze spoke, ¡°Is this ce in any way familiar to you?¡± Qiao Lian raised her eyebrows and nodded at once. ¡°It¡¯s a little familiar, it feels like I¡¯ve been here before. But the gardens outside, why don¡¯t they feel familiar at all?¡± Lu Nanze exined, ¡°Those were builtter. But don¡¯t you feel anything particrly familiar?¡± Something familiar? The interior of the house had not changed much? What else was there? Qiao Lian was mystified and frowned. Seeing this, disappointment came over Lu Nanze¡¯s expression, but he very quickly looked optimistic again and said, ¡°You told me once that you would like a river running through your garden. Did you see that little river in the garden when you came in?¡± Qiao Lian was stumped for a moment. Then she remembered. It seemed like she had said something like that a long time ago. But that had only been her daydreaming. She hadn¡¯t thought that Lu Nanze would make that a reality in his own home. Lu Nanze continued, ¡°So, Qiao Lian, I¡¯ve built our home. When do you intend to divorce that guy Shen and move in with me? Qiao Lian: ...!!! She looked up at Lu Nanze in astonishment. There was still a red rash on his face and neck, and his lips were still swollen. But when he said this, he sounded extremely serious. There was a barely detectable grief underlying his words. Qiao Lian fell silent. She stood there steadily, not knowing what to say. When was she going to divorce Shen Liangchuan? That was impossible. And it was even more impossible that she would move in with Lu Nanze. At this thought, she opened her mouth to speak but Lu Nanze suddenly interrupted her with augh, saying, ¡°I¡¯m just teasing you. Look at how pale you¡¯ve turned. Alright, did you bring the document?¡± Qiao Lian snapped back to reality as his words reminded her why she was there. She quickly ced the document on the coffee table. Then she got on her feet and got ready to leave. ¡°Here¡¯s the document. If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll leave now.¡± Chapter 1146 - He Actually Likes Her This Much… (2)

Chapter 1146: He Actually Likes Her This Much... (2)

¡°You¡¯re leaving right now?¡± Lu Nanze sounded a little hurt. ¡°You¡¯ve rushed all the way here to bring me this document, so I should buy you lunch to reward your effort, don¡¯t you think?¡± Qiao Lian: ... ¡°I¡¯ve asked the housekeeper to cook today. They know my taste, so there won¡¯t be crab roe for sure.¡± Qiao Lian insisted, ¡°I like crab roe!¡± ¡°You¡¯re pregnant. It¡¯s better to eat less of that.¡± What more could she say? If she insisted on leaving in a hurry, that may arouse his suspicion. At this thought, Qiao Lian looked at the time. It was 11:30 a.m., lunch time. The food couldn¡¯t possibly be poisoned. Hence, she walked to the dining area. At the same time, Lu Nanze also went there with his drip and sat at the table. He looked at Qiao Lian as she ate, picking out food every now and then and cing it in her bowl. Then he continued to stare at her. She found the gawking intolerable and it became impossible to eat. cing her chopsticks back on the table, she asked, ¡°Why are you looking at me?¡± ¡°Looking at how beautiful you are.¡± Qiao Lian: ... ¡°Qiao Lian, you¡¯ve grown more beautiful over the years.¡± Qiao Lian: ... ¡°Qiao Lian, do you remember we said we¡¯d go to the same university? Which university did you go to in the end?¡± She replied, ¡°... I don¡¯t remember.¡± She wouldn¡¯t be so easily tricked into saying the wrong thing. At this point, her cell phone rang. She quickly picked up the call and heard Shen Liangchuan¡¯s voice on the other end. ¡°Qiao Lian, Mom is here. Can you take a leave this afternoon ande home?¡± Her eyes lit up at once and she replied, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be home in a while.¡± After hanging up, she said to Lu Nanze, ¡°It seems my mother-inw is here, so I have to hurry home.¡± Having said this, she stood up and got ready to leave. Lu Nanze, however, grabbed her hand and said, ¡°Qiao Lian, I¡¯m feeling unwell and you don¡¯t even care? I¡¯m not going to let you leave then, even if your mother-inw is here.¡± Qiao Lian was stunned for a moment. How could she have forgotten that Lu Nanze was her boss? However... She sighed and said, ¡°Look, I¡¯ve cheated on her son, shouldn¡¯t I at least keep up appearances? I feel terribly conscious and guilty about Shen Liangchuan.¡± Lu Nanze¡¯s eyes brightened at once when he heard these words. Only when one couldn¡¯t be another person would they feel guilty. Hence, it seemed like Qiao Lian was beginning to take to himself? She wanted to leave Shen Liangchuan to be with him? This hint extremely delighted Lu Nanze and he broke into a smile. ¡°Fine, but you have toe to work tomorrow.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± ¡°Shall I get someone to take you home?¡± ¡°Oh, no, no, it would be hard for me to exin if someone took me home. I feel that we should avoid doing anything that would arouse suspicion!¡± When Lu Nanze heard the phrases ¡°hard for me to exin¡± and ¡°avoid doing anything that would arouse suspicion,¡± he was even more delighted and immediately granted her request. Qiao Lian secretly sighed in relief, put on her coat and headed out of the house. After exiting the house and as she was about to walk ahead, she suddenly heard a car honk sound from that direction. She halted in surprise when she saw the car window rolling down and Shen Liangchuan¡¯s scowling face emerging from within. Tensed and stressed since the moment she had entered Lu Nanze¡¯s office, it was at this point that she finally found relief. She took a deep breath, looked left and right, and got into the car without another word. Chapter 1147 - He Actually Likes Her This Much… (3)

Chapter 1147: He Actually Likes Her This Much... (3)

The car slowly drove away from the neighborhood. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s finally spoke, ¡°Don¡¯t be scared.¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s head spun around. It was only then she realized that her fear was so apparent. She sighed in relief again and then looked around in the car. ¡°Mom is here?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°So you¡ª¡± ¡°I saw that you had entered the Lu family vi with trepidation and I was worried that you¡¯d let the cat out of the bag. It¡¯s just an excuse to get you out of there.¡± She continued to heave sighs of relief. After this, he continued, ¡°But I did just book Mom a ticket and she¡¯ll fly in about an hour. She should get here in about four to five hours.¡± ¡°So,¡± Qiao Lian thought, ¡°they were going all out for pretending?¡± Indeed. Otherwise, what if Lu Nanze got suspicious? After all, it would be easy to find out if Shen Liangchuan¡¯s mother had never been to Suzhou. Qiao Lian once again sighed in relief silently, thankful that Shen Liangchuan was such a meticulous person. At this point, Shen Liangchuan asked, ¡°Did you get your hands on it?¡± An odd expression immediately crossed Qiao Lian¡¯s face. When she did the thorough search of the safe, there had been no signs of the ount book. But she had seen a very well hidden box that had obviously been kept in good condition. She had picked up that box, initially thinking that the ount book was in it, but unexpectedly, when she opened it, she found... She frowned and stopped short at this thought. She stared ahead in a slight daze and said after a moment, ¡°The ount book wasn¡¯t in the safe. I¡¯ve searched all of his office and I couldn¡¯t find it there.¡± She sounded terribly disappointed. If she had been sessful in locating the ount book today, then everything would have been fine. But now... Shen Liangchuan said, as these thoughts were running through her mind, ¡°It¡¯s not surprising that you didn¡¯t manage to find it.¡± She paused and looked at him in disbelief. Casting his gaze down for a moment, he then exined, ¡°If I were him, I wouldn¡¯t have kept the ount book. That is a dark spot of the Lu family¡¯s history and also proof of their part in smearing the Qiao family. Keeping a time bomb would be a death wish, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± Qiao Lian frowned immediately at this idea. ¡°You mean, he must already have destroyed the ount book?¡± He shook his head at her conclusion. After a pause, he said, ¡°If the ount book had been destroyed, then why didn¡¯t that ountant dare to return from Hainan? My guess is that someone else has the ounts book.¡± He exined as he navigated the car, ¡°He has been vignt about this whole matter because someone else has the ount book and uses it to threaten him. And all of these years, there has been only one person he has indulged.¡± Shen Liangchuan nced at Qiao Lian after saying this. Suddenly, Qiao Lian saw a light. ¡°You¡¯re saying it¡¯s... Qiao Yiyi?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± He sighed after saying this and looked at Qiao Lian, who was already in a daze. She had always thought that her uncle¡¯s family had never gotten along with her because of Qiao Yiyi. But if the ount book was in Qiao Yiyi¡¯s hands, then what role had her uncle Qiao Zhigang yed in the bankruptcy of the Qiao family business? In that very moment, a chill ran down her spine, making her shudder involuntarily. Chapter 1148 - He Actually Likes Her This Much… (4)

Chapter 1148: He Actually Likes Her This Much... (4)

Qiao Lian stared nkly ahead. A wave of fear and trepidation washed over her, as a chilling thought shed through her mind. But the next moment, she started to feel that maybe it was just a wild guess. When the Qiao family business copsed, the Qiao family as a whole was impacted. Only her uncle¡¯s family seemed untouched. But then again, she had always been the one who understood Lu Nanze more than anyone else. He would never be this tolerant towards someone he didn¡¯t like. Qiao Yiyi was a dull person to say the least. That Lu Nanze would put up with her for eight years was a miracle. Initially, she had thought that Lu Nanze really liked Qiao Yiyi, but now it looked like... Qiao Lian knitted her brow immediately. If Qiao Zhigang did indeed have a hand in this matter, then she was not going to let him off. She sighed deeply at these thoughts. ¡°What do we do now? Ask for the ounts book from Qiao Yiyi?¡± The problem was that surely, she wouldn¡¯t hand it over. Shen Liangchuan continued driving and looking ahead. He said after another pause, ¡°Don¡¯t make any rash moves, in case it alerts anyone. We need to do some detailed nning in this matter.¡± He turned to nce at Qiao Lian and then looked straight ahead again. ¡°Don¡¯t panic. Nothing is too difficult. There will be a way.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s steady voice reassured her that she wasn¡¯t fighting alone. It gave her a security that she had never known before. After they returned home, they pored over the details of what they had to do next. Four hourster, there was a knock on their front door. The next second, Xia Yehua burst into the house. The moment she entered, she ran towards Qiao Lian with her arms up and said like a spoiled child, ¡°Xiao Qiao, I¡¯m overjoyed! Come and let me give you a hug!¡± Qiao Lianughed helplessly when she saw Xia Yehua¡¯s reaction. She extended her arms and was about to give Xia Yehua a hug, when suddenly she felt a firm grip on her shoulder. At once, Shen Liangchuan stepped forward and stood himself between the two women. ¡°Mom.¡± Xia Yehua waved him off, saying, ¡°Hey, go away. My little Qiao Qiao, I haven¡¯t seen her for the longest time, hurry up ande over here. Let me see if you¡¯ve lost weight?¡± Then she turned around and grabbed Qiao Lian. After taking a good look at her, she eximed in surprise, ¡°Xiao Qiao, shouldn¡¯t you have gotten thinner after leaving us? Why have you put on weight instead?¡± Qiao Lian: ...! Put on weight? Had she really put on weight? Distracted at once, Qiao Lian lowered her head and looked at her body. Then she pinched her face a couple of times and looked at Shen Liangchuan curiously, asking, ¡°Have I put on weight?¡± He coughed once and replied, ¡°Not that bad.¡± Not that bad. That meant she really had put on weight. Sob, sob, sob. Just as she was sobbing secretly in her heart, Xia Yehua said, ¡°Now you look about right. You were too skinny before. You will need our help with getting some vitamins. Alright, where are we exactly? Was this your home? Xiao Qiao, aren¡¯t you going to show me around and tell me where I¡¯ll be sleeping?¡± Hearing this, Qiao Lian snapped from her daze. She showed Xia Yehua upstairs and took her to the guest room. That night, as Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan were lying in bed discussing how they should deal with Qiao Yiyi, he suddenly turned towards her and gestured to her to keep silent. The moment she halted and fell silent, the two of them head light moving feet in the hallway. Qiao Lian was stunned at once Could it be that Lu Nanze had nted a spy in the household so as to keep an eye on them? Chapter 1149 - He Actually Likes Her This Much… (5)

Chapter 1149: He Actually Likes Her This Much... (5)

The moment this idea struck, she held her breath and became alert. She nodded at Shen Liangchuan at once. The two of them got out of bed quietly and noiselessly tiptoed to the door. Qiao Lian took a deep breath, looked at Shen Liangchuan and made an OK gesture with her hand. He nodded. The next moment... Shen Liangchuan threw the door open, Qiao Lian jumped to the side and the two of them stuck their heads out simultaneously to look! If Lu Nanze had really nted a spy, then that person would appear right before their eyes now. But... They had not expected that the person who was outside the door eavesdropping on them was in fact... Xia Yehua? Xia Yehua was thoroughly embarrassed too and had a shocked expression on her face. When she saw them, she grimaced. Quickly, in the fashion of a crying thief, she said, ¡°Howe the both of you are still not asleep at this hour?¡± Shen Liangchuan and Qiao Lian exchanged a nce. Shen Liangchuan turned to Xia Yehua and asked, ¡°Mom, why aren¡¯t you asleep?¡± Xia Yehua stammered, ¡°Oh- that- I- erm- I came to tell you that... I¡¯m about to go to bed.¡± Shen Liangchuan: ... Qiao Lian: ... Having said that, Xia Yehua waved at them and said, ¡°So I¡¯m off to bed now.¡± Qiao Lian: ... She smiled and nodded. Then Xia Yehua suddenly turned around at looked at Shen Liangchuan, saying, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to apany me back to my bedroom?¡± Qiao Lian was bbergasted. She stared at the short distance between the two rooms. It was only two meters. She wanted Shen Liangchuan to apany her back to her room? Qiao Lian lowered her head, finding Mom Xia immensely funny. What sort of secret message did she have for Shen Liangchuan that she had toe up with such an excuse? She turned to look at the man and nodded at him. Shen Liangchuan himself had already realized his mother¡¯s intentions, hence he walked over to her with a helpless sigh. ¨C Xia Yehua took Shen Liangchuan with her into the guest room. The moment they entered the room, Xia Yehua quickly shut the door behind them. Following this, she turned to Shen Liangchuan and asked, ¡°Are things between you and Xiao Qiao sorted out? ¡°Yes, things are fine now,¡± Shen Liangchuan replied. ¡°You¡¯re lying! If things are fine, then why didn¡¯t you... do that?¡± Shen Liangchuan frowned. ¡°Do what?¡± ¡°Urgh. You know, being intimate! Were you two so quiet about it that I couldn¡¯t hear a thing or weren¡¯t you really doing it?¡± Shen Liangchuan: ... !! So Xia Yehua had eavesdropped because she wanted to know if the two of them were back together for real. He was speechless. As he turned around to leave the room, Xia Yehua held him back by his arm and said, ¡°I¡¯m telling you, now that you¡¯ve found Xiao Qiao, don¡¯t you dare keep me in the dark and put up an act with her. She¡¯s my daughter-inw, so don¡¯t try ying any tricks, understand?¡± Shen Liangchuan was bbergasted. ¡°Mom, are you really my mom or her mom?¡± Speechless with exasperation, he left Xia Yehua¡¯s room and returned to the master bedroom. He saw that Qiao Lian was lying in bed. She was fast asleep. It seemed like she was excessively sleepy ever since she got pregnant. But at the same time, she was worried about her parents¡¯ issue. This was causing her plenty of additional effort during her pregnancy. His gaze fell on her abdomen. Noticing that it was still rather t, the corners of his mouth turned upwards into a faint smile. This was their baby. Chapter 1150 - He Actually Likes Her This Much… (6)

Chapter 1150: He Actually Likes Her This Much... (6)

Qiao Lian slept all the way through till day broke. After anguid stretch and washing up, she walked out of her room and saw that Xia Yehua was in the dining room preparing breakfast for her. ¡°Mom,¡± she called as a morning greeting and walked over to the woman. After breakfast, she left the house with Shen Liangchuan. On her way to work, Shen Liangchuan said calmly, ¡°Let¡¯s not tell Mom about your pregnancy for now.¡± Qiao Lian understood his intentions at once. Shen Liangchuan was concerned that Xia Yehua would object to the pregnant Qiao Lian endangering herself under the guise of having lost her memory. If that happened, it could very well strain the rtionship between the two women. Qiao Lian nodded and said, ¡°Ok, I understand.¡± Upon arriving at the office building, Qiao Lian parted with Shen Liangchuan most reluctantly. The receptionist greeted her very politely when she walked into the office. She smiled broadly, waved back and then headed to the caster¡¯s department. Just as she was stepping in, she suddenly heard amotion at the door. She halted and turned around. Lu Nanze strode in. He looked gloomy and very serious. She noticed that he had not fully recovered from the allergic reaction. He headed straight for the elevator. As he was walking quickly, he did not see Qiao Lian, who was just around the corner. She frowned when she observed his tense expression. Had something significant happened? Why did he look so frantic? Shaking her head, Qiao Lian continued her way into the office. In the office, she saw that a few casters had gathered around the resting area and were having a casual chat. Qiao Yiyi was sitting in the midst of this group, staring straight ahead. One of the casters instigated, ¡°Sister Yiyi, the fact is you¡¯ve been here for many years. What has that study girl done to deserve challenging your position?¡± ¡°Indeed, isn¡¯t it only because she scored with the director? She¡¯s got youth on her side now. Let¡¯s see how long she can stay this arrogant.¡± ¡°Exactly, Sister Yiyi, that Love Chuan isn¡¯t even qualified. Why should she deserve all the resources in thepany? But fortunately, there¡¯s fairness for once. You¡¯ve been given the opportunity for the caster exchange.¡± Their words only fueled her anger. Qiao Yiyi felt even gloomier now. What did they mean by fortunately? The opportunity had been hers to begin with. She sprang up from her seat and shouted, ¡°Enough, shut up, all of you!¡± Everyone jumped in fright and fell silent looking at her, puzzled by her outburst. She frowned and started walking away. But the moment she turned, she saw Qiao Lian. Her eyes narrowed at once, and she stared at the other woman as though she was going to devour her. Qiao Lian raised an eyebrow and, without saying a word, walked right past her. Then, the moment Qiao Yiyi stepped out of the caster¡¯s office, she deliberately approached the general manager and asked, ¡°That caster exchange opportunity that I rejected, who¡¯s doing it instead now?¡± Qiao Yiyi clenched her fists tightly at once when she heard this. With a scowl and cold snort, she stormed out of the door. Looking at her back, Qiao Lian smirked coldly. After spending some time brainstorming with Shen Liangchuan, they had thought that the only way to make her use the ount book would be to provoke her to the point that her rtionship with Lu Nanzepletely broke down. Only then would Qiao Yiyi want to take revenge on Lu Nanze. She would use the ount book to threaten him, or even to prosecute him. Chapter 1151 - He Actually Likes Her This Much… (7)

Chapter 1151: He Actually Likes Her This Much... (7)

So now, what Qiao Lian needed to do was to provoke Qiao Yiyi. Although she felt it was an extremely meaningless undertaking. Seeing that Qiao Yiyi had left, her expression softened as she walked to the side and sat down quietly. Shortly after this, she heard gossip. ¡°Hey, have you guys heard? It¡¯s frightening up there in the penthouse!¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Mr. Lu is furious.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t Director Lu always furious?¡± ¡°What do you know? Director Lu seldom beams with joy. Normally, if you make a mistake, he doesn¡¯t say much, but this time he blew his top in his penthouse office. Now everyone upstairs is nervous as hell, afraid of even speaking.¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank at once as she paid attention to the people talking. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? What happened that made Director Lu rush into the office so early in the morning?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Isn¡¯t Director Lu feeling unwell?¡± One of them looked around cautiously before saying in a low voice, ¡°My aunt¡¯s cousin¡¯s niece works in the secretary¡¯s department in the penthouse. I¡¯ve just sneaked upstairs to ask. Guess what?¡± ¡°Someone broke into the penthouse and something got stolen!¡± At those words, everyone in the room sucked in their breath sharply. ¡°Damn! Is that true?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, it can¡¯t possibly be. That¡¯s the penthouse! How did that happen?¡± ¡°Inconceivable, isn¡¯t it? Let me tell you something even more inconceivable! Actually, they don¡¯t know when the break-in happened. It¡¯s only that this morning, when the assistant went in to do some cleaning, he noted the safe behind a picture had been opened by someone.¡± Sitting in a corner, Qiao Lian¡¯s head snapped up when she heard this. She looked in their direction in disbelief. Then her pupils shrank as every rm bell in her went off. That was the end. Had she been busted? At this thought, she broke out in cold sweat. She held her breath as the person continued, ¡°It¡¯s strange though. Do you know how he discovered someone had gone through the safe?¡± The group shook their heads at once and looked curiously at the person who was speaking. Qiao Lian also thought that this was inconceivable and looked at the person with a stunned expression. After going into the office yesterday, and right in the critical moment before Qiao Yiyi burst into the room, she had returned everything to its original ce and shut the safe. How could anyone have discovered this? As she pondered, the person continued. ¡°I heard that when Mr. Lu found out about this, he rushed down to the office. Then, after opening the safe, he said someone had moved something inside an important box.¡± Qiao Lian was bbergasted. That box. So it was that box that gave it away. But how could that box have given it away? She narrowed her eyes and furrowed and frowned. The safe was opened yesterday. After investigating everyone else around him, the very next suspect in line would surely be herself. So should she run now, before Lu Nanze discovered her? She sprang onto her feet at this thought. But at the very same time, the office door was opened. Lu Nanze¡¯s assistant appeared at once and called her from the doorway, ¡°Ms. Qiao, Mr. Lu would like you toe up to the penthouse right away.¡± Chapter 1152 - He Actually Likes Her This Much… (8)

Chapter 1152: He Actually Likes Her This Much... (8)

Qiao Lian halted and she froze. She looked at the assistant and cleared her throat after a pause, saying, ¡°Can I not go?¡± The assistant shook his head in silence. Qiao Lian: ... This whole building belonged to Lu Nanze. If she tried to run, it would definitely arouse suspicion. Everyone would be after her before she could even get out and, at that point it would be impossible to escape. So she must not panic at this point. As this thought sank in, she immediately smiled and looked up at the assistant, saying, ¡°Let¡¯s go then.¡± She would just have to y by ear. And even if she was busted, at worst there would be a showdown. She steeled her faith at this thought. They took the director¡¯s private elevator up to the penthouse Indeed, the atmosphere in the penthouse office was oppressive. The secretary staff worked with their heads lowered, trying to be as unnoticeable as possible. The awkwardness was extremely ufortable. As Qiao Lian walked out of the elevator, she could feel the staleness of the atmosphere. She turned to look and noticed that the door to the stairs was locked. This elevator... Crestfallen, she finally understood why Shen Liangchuan had been worried about her all of this time. Now, even if she wanted to run, there was no way out. As these thoughts shed through her mind, they arrived at the office. The assistant raised his hand and knocked on the door. Lu Nanze¡¯s devilishly charming voice was hearding from within the room, ¡°Come in.¡± The assistant held the door open for Qiao Lian. She walked through, turned around and looked at him. He then retreated in an unkind manner and immediately shut the door. It was written all over his expression: look out for yourself. Qiao Lian: ... Resisting the pressure, Qiao Lian slowly raised her head and looked at Lu Nanze, who was sitting on the chair. But at this moment, his back was to her. He was looking out of the window, at the city of Beijing that spread out before him. Qiao Lian could not see his expression and had no idea if he was happy, or otherwise. This was most ufortable for her. She lowered her head and broke the silence in the room. ¡°Why did you ask me toe up here?¡± In answer to this, Lu Nanze raised his arm and pointed at the coffee table by the side. Qiao Lian¡¯s gaze followed the direction he pointed at and saw that there was a huge spread of food on the coffee table. Lu Nanze said, ¡°I called you to have lunch.¡± She fell silent. Why did she have the feeling that the food might be poisoned? Did she really dare eat it? She cleared her throat and said, ¡°It¡¯s ok, I¡ª¡± ¡°Qiao Lian, what are you afraid of? It sounds as if I might poison you.¡± She quickly waved her hands and said, ¡°No, no, I didn¡¯t mean that. I¡ª¡± Before she could finish speaking, the man suddenly turned around. His eyes were burning as he looked at her. Immediately, she lowered her head and said, ¡°Ok, ok, fine, I¡¯ll eat.¡± She walked over to the table, picked up the chopsticks and started to eat. The food was delicately prepared and presented, and looked like take-away food. Surely, food like this could not have been poisoned. Because she was nervous, she unconsciously ate more than usual. A million thoughts were shing through her head. What was the situation now? Did Lu Nanze suspect her? Although there were no surveince cameras in his office, surely there would be some outside his office. Besides herself yesterday, no one else hade in. Just as she was thinking these thoughts, Lu Nanze suddenly spoke, ¡°Qiao Lian, could it be that you haven¡¯t actually lost your memory?¡± Chapter 1153 - He Actually Likes Her This Much… (9)

Chapter 1153: He Actually Likes Her This Much... (9)

Qiao Lian froze in the middle of eating. Her fingers tightened around the chopsticks and her posture straightened. Had she been busted? So what should she do now? Admit it or deny it? In a split second, she made a decision. She lifted her head immediately with a nk expression in her eyes. Puzzled, she looked at Lu Nanze and spoke calmly, ¡°Why do you say that?¡± The moment she said this, Qiao Yiyi¡¯s voice drifted in from the doorway, ¡°Because you stole from Second Brother¡¯s safe! Qiao Lian, what were you looking for in Second Brother¡¯s safe? I knew it! You have ill intentions. You haven¡¯t lost your memory, you¡¯re just pretending!¡± Qiao Yiyi charged into the room after saying this. Pointing at Qiao Lian with her finger, she said usingly, ¡°Second Brother, I knew she was up to no good. Look, now she¡¯s given herself away. I saw her sneaking up here yesterday and knew straightaway she had nned this in advance! Good thing I rushed over and foiled her ns. Otherwise, she¡¯d have stolen the things in your safe.¡± Qiao Lian pursed her lips tightly. ring at Qiao Yiyi, she smirked. How could anyone be this shameless? She first took advantage of the Qiao family andter on, she betrayed the Qiao family. And now she was out to frame her? She hadn¡¯t even tried to get even with Qiao Yiyi, yet thetter now jumped right in the line of fire. Qiao Lian wasn¡¯t going to hold herself back now. She narrowed her eyes and thenughed icily. Staring at Qiao Yiyi, she said, ¡°What gives you the right to say I wanted to steal?¡± ¡°Because your purpose was to sneak into Second Brother¡¯s office then!¡± Qiao Lian looked at Lu Nanze and said, ¡°You should know the best. You were the one who asked me toe up here to get the document, isn¡¯t that right?¡± ¡°Then why did you stay in the office for so long? After you found the document, why didn¡¯t you leave immediately?¡± Qiao Yiyi was trying to corner her. Narrowing her eyes, Qiao Lian replied, ¡°I wanted to have a look around Lu Nanze¡¯s office since I was here, what¡¯s wrong with that? Do you mean that you didn¡¯t look around in curiosity the first time you went to his office?¡± At once, Qiao Yiyi was stumped. The first time she had pestered Lu Nanze and entered this office, she had beenpletely stunned by the interior. At the time, she had beenpletely amazed and had looked around for the longest time, trying to imagine in her mind that she would marry Lu Nanze some day and officially sit in this office as thedy boss. Could it be that Qiao Lian had been thinking the same thing? Qiao Yiyi narrowed her eyes at this thought. Qiao Lian continued, ¡°Did you see with your own eyes, or hear with your own ears, me stealing from the safe? You don¡¯t even know anything and you use someone without any basis? I know that you like Lu Nanze, but you don¡¯t have to smear me like this.¡± Qiao Yiyi began to panic and retorted, ¡°How did I use you? There was only one person in this office at the time and it was you! Who else would it be if it weren¡¯t you?¡± Qiao Lian looked towards Lu Nanze at once. She saw that he was staring at them in silence, as though he was contemting something. Qiao Lianughed icily and said, ¡°You are wrong. I wasn¡¯t the only one who was alone in this room yesterday.¡± Then she pointed a finger at Qiao Yiyi and raised her voice, saying, ¡°After I left, you stayed back in the office alone. And all the secretaries can verify this!¡± Chapter 1154 - He Actually Likes Her This Much… (10)

Chapter 1154: He Actually Likes Her This Much... (10)

On that note, Qiao Yiyi¡¯s expression changed immediately. ring at Qiao Lian, she asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡± Qiao Lian smirked and said, ¡°ording to your reasoning, I stole something just because I was in the office. Well, you were alone in the office as well, so why couldn¡¯t it have been you who stole? Qiao Yiyi shouted angrily, ¡°Lies! How would it be possible that I stole from Second Brother?¡± ¡°So why would I touch Lu Nanze¡¯s belongings? You have to give me a valid reason to smear me like this.¡± She turned, looked at Lu Nanze and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say we were childhood sweethearts and grew up together? So what is this now? Something happens and I get called up here as a suspect. Is this how you show you love me?¡± At this point, she raised her finger, pointed at Qiao Yiyi¡¯s stomach and continued, ¡°And this too! Qiao Yiyi has let everyone know she¡¯s pregnant! Lu Nanze, you¡¯re so smart, aren¡¯t you? You even wish to have two women at your service? Let me tell you, no way!¡± Having said this, she turned and headed for the door. She added as she left, ¡°I¡¯ve lost my memory, not my intelligence! You two are in cahoots, don¡¯t think I can¡¯t tell!¡± She pretended to lose her temper to cover the awkwardness of the situation. But unexpectedly, just as she crossed the threshold of the door, Lu Nanze suddenly shouted, ¡°Hang on!¡± Qiao Lian halted without turning around, but she heard the shifting of the chair. Apparently, Lu Nanze was getting onto his feet. Following this, she heard footstepsing towards her. Her chest tightened immediately as she became so nerve-wracked that she lost her voice. If Lu Nanze grabbed her, how was she going to protect herself and her child? Kneel down, cry and beg him to let her go? Or threaten to take her own life? Now Qiao Lian was really scared. She didn¡¯t know what to do. She was not afraid of death, she only feared harming her unborn child. Just as she was struggling with this thought, she heard a sudden p behind her. The p was loud and sharp, causing her to tremble involuntarily. She turned around at once to look. Qiao Yiyi¡¯s head was tilted to the side and she was clutching her face, staring at Lu Nanze in disbelief. Lu Nanze¡¯s expression was as dark as a gathering storm. Qiao Yiyi widened her eyes and said in a shocked and shaking voice, ¡°Second Brother?¡± Lu Nanze lowered his head and looked at his hand. He walked to the side and drew out a napkin. After cleaning his hands, he walked to Qiao Lian without even taking another look at Qiao Yiyi and said, ¡°Look at you, why do you have such a bad temper? I had asked you toe here not as a suspect, but for lunch.¡± Qiao Lian was speechless. The situation had changed too fast, she found what Lu Nanze was thinking hard to follow. Qiao Lian twitched her mouth and looked at Qiao Yiyi again. The woman was still looking at them in shock. Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes shed and, suddenly remembering the n she had agreed with Shen Liangchuan for dealing with Qiao Yiyi, she narrowed her eyes. After a short pause, she snorted coldly and said, ¡°But this child she¡¯s carrying¡ª¡± ¡°Is not mine.¡± Those words came firmly and decisively. It put Qiao Lian at aplete loss for words. She had not expected Lu Nanze to be this shameless. Chapter 1155 - He Actually Likes Her This Much… (11)

Chapter 1155: He Actually Likes Her This Much... (11)

He had denied that the child was his right in Qiao Yiyi¡¯s face. How was Qiao Yiyi going to take this? As the thought shed through her mind, she heard Qiao Yiyi cry out, ¡°Second Brother!¡± When he gazed indifferently at her, she instantly fell silent. Lu Nanze lowered his head to look at Qiao Lian at once and tried to convince her, ¡°Look, I have so much trust in you, don¡¯t you think you should trust me too? I¡¯m really not lying to you. The child is not mine.¡± He said this with too much sincerity. There was nothing but honesty in his eyes and, if it weren¡¯t for the fact that she knew about their rtionship, Qiao Lian would have fallen right for it. She widened her eyes, stared at Lu Nanze and couldn¡¯t help but wonder what was different about him from before. The Lu Nanze in the past had never been this shameless. Qiao Lian stared at Lu Nanze with wide eyes. After a while, she turned and nced at Qiao Yiyi. Right now, Qiao Yiyi was in a state ofplete disbelief. Written all over her face, there was a hurt expression that refused to believe she was being treated like. But when she opened her mouth, no words came. She could only take in huge gulps of air as her chest heaved noticeably. Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes again, trying to further ignite the situation. ¡°But she said¡ª¡± ¡°You must understand what sort of person she is. She can use you of stealing because of her jealousy. Qiao Lian, you have to trust me, my feelings for you are real. This child is honestly not mine! How could I allow another woman to carry my child?¡± Qiao Lian was too amazed. This man in front of her looked exactly like he was speaking the truth. She could almost believe him. She grimaced and then finally said, ¡°Ok, it¡¯s good if it¡¯s not yours.¡± As she said this, she almost couldn¡¯t help feeling sorry for Qiao Yiyi. This man, Lu Nanze, had a heart of stone. If he didn¡¯t like someone, that was that, and so what if Qiao Yiyi had tried for eight years to get his attention? He had now tossed her aside just like that, so bereft of human emotions. Even though she knew that this was the time for her to continue sowing discord between them, Qiao Lian could not bring herself to do this when she looked at Qiao Yiyi. Instead, she shut her eyes momentarily and said, ¡°Well, I¡¯ve had lunch. Is there anything else? If not, I¡¯m going back to work.¡± ¡°Go then.¡± Lu Nanze nodded. Qiao Lian walked out of the office and turned back to nce at Qiao Yiyi in the process. After she left, the tenderness in Lu Nanze immediately vanished. He turned around, disying only a sharp and cold glint in his eyes. A wave of guilt suddenly washed over Qiao Yiyi as she lowered her head. Lu Nanze said calmly, ¡°Have you forgotten what I told you the day I freed you from being locked up?¡± Her pupils shrank at once. How could she forget? That had almost been the most shameful moment of her entire life. When she was freed, she wholeheartedly thought that Lu Nanze wouldfort her, but who would¡¯ve thought that when they finally met, Lu Nanze¡¯s first words would be, ¡°I would not like Qiao Lian to know about the existence of this child.¡± It drove her mad with envy. What was so great about Qiao Lian? And what had she done to deserve all of Second Brother¡¯s love? Chapter 1156 - He Actually Likes Her This Much… (12)

Chapter 1156: He Actually Likes Her This Much... (12)

Qiao Yiyi couldn¡¯t contain herself any longer and shouted, ¡°Second Brother, you put her on a pedestal but what¡¯s so great about her? She is carrying someone else¡¯s child! But I¡¯m carrying your child inside me and he doesn¡¯t even have a status! You don¡¯t even dare to acknowledge the child in front of her. Second Brother, how could you lower yourself to this extent in front of her?¡± Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes upon hearing this. He shot her a look so cold that her words froze mid-sentence. He slowly said, ¡°I recall that, when you insisted on having a child, I told you that I would not recognize him. So you can stop dreaming about it.¡± On this note, he turned and walked back to his seat at the desk. But Qiao Yiyi started to get anxious and continued, ¡°But why? Second Brother, why wouldn¡¯t you acknowledge this child, and would rather acknowledge that bastard in her stomach? But that is someone else¡¯s child!¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Lu Nanze raised his voice at her. Hearing about that child being someone else¡¯s stung him painfully. Narrowing his eyes to look at her, he instructed, ¡°Find some time to go to the hospital for an abortion.¡± Qiao Yiyi paled at those words. ¡°Second Brother, I¡ª¡± ¡°Get out.¡± ¡°Second Brother¡ª¡± ¡°Scram!¡± Qiao Yiyi wanted to say more, but Lu Nanze¡¯s expression was so hostile she left the office without daring to utter another word. The moment she walked out, she started to cry uncontrobly. How could Second Brother treat her this way? In thest eight years, it was she, Qiao Yiyi, who had been by his side. It was she, Qiao Yiyi, who had spent the days and nights keeping himpany. It was she, Qiao Yiyi, who was carrying his child. But now, he ced more importance on someone else¡¯s child over his own. Clenching her fists, she thought, ¡°No, I have to keep her baby.¡± This was herst chance with Second Brother. When she thought this, she did not go back to the caster¡¯s office. Instead, she walked out of the office building and hailed a cab to head home. In all these years, the Qiao family residence had not changed, it had always been the little vi. Although the family was doing alright financially, they weren¡¯t significantly better offpared to when they depended on the greater Qiao family. Qiao Yiyi headed to the bedroom the moment she got home. Just at this point, she saw Mom Qiao and Qiao Zhigang walking out of their own bedroom. Qiao Yiyi immediately ran up to them and grabbed Mom Qiao¡¯s hand saying, ¡°Mom, help me, please, I don¡¯t know what to do now!¡± On this note, she couldn¡¯t hold back her emotions any longer and started crying aloud. She cried so badly that Mom Qiao started panicking and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Speak up and tell us!¡± Qiao Yiyi immediately said, ¡°It¡¯s all Qiao Lian¡¯s fault! Mom, Second Brother wants me to abort my baby!!¡± ¡°What is it about that tr*mp that¡¯s so good? He has his heart and mind fixated on her. Mom, what do I do now? I¡¯ve suffered for so many years and thought that if I got pregnant, I¡¯d have a chance, but who would¡¯ve thought? Sob, sob, sob.¡± Qiao Yiyi was crying with much grievance. Since she had gotten pregnant, she had thought she could finally be part of the Lu family, but this had led to an unexpected oue now. Seeing her daughter crying so sorrowfully, Mom Qiao started to cry as well. The two women hugged each other and cried their hearts out. Finally, Qiao Yiyi lifted her head and looked at Qiao Zhigang, who was trying to contemte the situation in a logical manner. ¡°Dad, what are you thinking about? Hurry up and save my child!¡± Chapter 1157 - He Actually Likes Her This Much… (13)

Chapter 1157: He Actually Likes Her This Much... (13)

Qiao Zhigang frowned upon hearing this. After a pause, he slowly said, ¡°Our family has struggled for eight years, all because we hoped to marry you off to Lu Nanze. With this child, things are now much easier. I think it may be about time that I went to Lu Nanze¡¯s father and discuss your marriage.¡± Qiao Yiyi¡¯s eyes lit up at once when he said this. Immediately, she hung her head and gave another random sob. Qiao Zhigang continued, ¡°From tomorrow onwards, don¡¯t go to work. Stay at home and tend to your pregnancy. The most critical thing now is to deliver this child. Leave the rest of the matter to me to handle.¡± Qiao Yiyi struggled for a moment and bit her lip, saying, ¡°But Dad, as long as Qiao Lian is around, Second Brother will never set his heart on me.¡± At this point, she said viciously, ¡°Hasn¡¯t she already made up her mind that she was never going to be with Second Brother? So what¡¯s this situation now? This is too much! On the one hand, she¡¯s married to someone else, on the other hand she gets herself entangled with Second Brother! This Qiao Lian, she¡¯s always had ulterior motives.¡± She said grudgingly through gritted teeth, ¡°She went away then and should have just stayed away. Now she¡¯s returned after eight years, it must be for revenge! Dad, she¡¯s back to take revenge for sure. She feels we¡¯re doing too well and hase back to avenge her parents.! ¡°Shut up!¡± Qiao Zhigang shouted loudly, stopping Qiao Yiyi from speaking further. The man¡¯s face now disyed an underlying viciousness that contradicted his simple and honest looks. ¡°You will not speak of that matter again! Now, go upstairs, rest and focus on taking care of your pregnancy. We¡¯ve retreated and put up with so much all these years just so that the day woulde when we would have a better life. You have to marry into the Lu family, that¡¯s for sure! I will do all I can to get you there. But your job now is to see the pregnancy through and whatever dirty work there is, I¡¯ll do the cleaning for you.¡± Qiao Yiyi was taken aback and asked, ¡°Cleaning... Like how?¡± A murderous look shed across Qiao Zhigang¡¯s eyes as he said, ¡°Of course, we¡¯ll do a clean job so that it will nevere back to bother you again!¡± Qiao Yiyi suddenly felt a strange chill down her spine. The news that Qiao Yiyi had left the office in tears spread far and wide in the office at once. Qiao Lian had even heard about it just sitting there in the caster¡¯s office. Leisurely eating some fruits, she narrowed her eyes as she contemted this. Given what Lu Nanze was like, it would be easy to make himpletely destroy his rtionship with Qiao Yiyi. The moment their rtionshippletely broke down, Qiao Yiyi would wish death upon Lu Nanze, which meant that she would surely use the ount? book. Although there had been trouble along the way, overall it was still progressing quite sessfully. This was a happy and rxing thought. Qiao Lian held a toothpick between her fingers, stuck it into a piece of pineapple and popped it into her mouth. The sourish burst of vor filled her mouth and it tasted sublime. As she was enjoying the fruit, she received a call from the penthouse¡¯s office, asking her to go to the penthouse. Qiao Lian thought for a while and decided to make her way up slowly. When she arrived at the penthouse, the secretary pointed at a bowl of strawberries and said, ¡°Mr. Lu specially asked to have these bought for you. He¡¯s asked you to go to his office and enjoy them in peace.¡± Qiao Lian: ... What did this mean? Was he trying to make the point that he trusted her and was willing to let her into his office? She shook her head, picked up the bowl of strawberries and walked into his office. Chapter 1158 - He Actually Likes Her This Much… (14)

Chapter 1158: He Actually Likes Her This Much... (14)

Qiao Lian found afortable spot and sat on the sofa. She was eating her strawberries when she suddenly heard footsteps outside. Immediately after this, she heard the secretary sprang to her feet calling out, ¡°Elder Mr Lu!¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s hand that was holding the strawberry froze in mid-air, as her eyes narrowed immediately. Elder Mr Lu!. Lu Nanze¡¯s father! He had actuallye? She clenched her fists tightly and sprang to her feet. After walking to the door, she took a look through the peephole. Dad Lu was around 60 this year and in good health. He stood there, his sharp eyes sweeping through the office. This was the Uncle Lu whom she had felt was a super nice man at that time. But in the end, he had smeared the Qiao family and caused the death of her parents, and the family to fall apart. Qiao Lian¡¯s chest was heaving as she found herself losing control. She had the strong urge to dash out and give him a vicious beating, make him pay for the loss of her parents. But logic told her not to be rash. Qiao Lian looked at him with hatred burning in her eyes. After the secretary greeted him, he said in a dignified tone, ¡°Where¡¯s Lu Nanze?¡± The secretary replied, ¡°Mr. Lu is in a meeting.¡± ¡°Go and take a look. If the meeting is not important, ask him toe out here.¡± The secretary nced at Lu Nanze¡¯s office, seemingly at a loss. She then lowered her head and said, ¡°Yes.¡± She left at once. Dad Lu turned around and looked at the office. Following this, he pushed open the office door. The room was empty, there was only a bowl of strawberries on the coffee table that was next to the sofa. Dad Lu thought nothing of it as he walked to the sofa and took a seat. In the room next to the office, Qiao Lian stood at the door, gasping to catch her breath. Never would she have expected that they would meet under such circumstances. After a while, she heard hasty footstepsing from outside. It must be Lu Nanze, running all the way here. He entered the office, sweeping his gaze around in the first instance. Then he frowned and looked at Dad Lu. ¡°Dad, what are you doing here?¡± ¡°What am I doing here? You got the woman pregnant! I have to step in and settle this business, don¡¯t I?¡± At once, Lu Nanze frowned. Dad Lu continued, ¡°For so many years, I¡¯ve been trying to force you to get married and have children, but you wouldn¡¯t listen. And now you¡¯ve done it. You¡¯d better hurry up and marry Qiao Yiyi, that will solve all the problems! Our Lu Family would finally have sessors.¡± To this, Lu Nanze said at once, ¡°I object.¡± ¡°Object? Is this something you are in a position to disagree with? Are you still hankering for that Qiao Lian? Let me tell you, despite the fact that she¡¯s already married, even if she weren¡¯t, given the rtionship between you and her, do you really feel that she¡¯d marry you?¡± Lu Nanze fell silent. Dad Lu sneered icily, ¡°It¡¯s been so many years, but you are still so innocent and naive!! Given the rtionship between our families, you could never be with her.¡± Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes at those words. ¡°Dad, this is our business, you don¡¯t need to interfere.¡± ¡°Interfere?¡± Dad Lu stood up and sighed. ¡°Do you know why I have to step in suddenly? It¡¯s because Qiao Zhigang came to look for me!¡± Lu Nanze asked at once, ¡°Why did hee round looking for you?¡± ¡°Why? Of course it was to remind me of the ount book from that time!¡± Chapter 1159 - He Actually Likes Her This Much… (15)

Chapter 1159: He Actually Likes Her This Much... (15)

Qiao Lian stood in the washroom, listening to the conversation, and was stunned at once. The ount book from that time. Narrowing her eyes, she ced her ears against the door and listened with great attention to what was happening in the office. Following this, she heard Lu Nanze lower his voice as he said, ¡°He¡¯s using the ount book to threaten you again? Dad, it¡¯s been so many years. Are you going to be held hostage all your life?¡± Dad Lu narrowed his eyes and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t speak nonsense. As long as you marry Qiao Yiyi and our families be inws, it will be ok. On top of this, after Qiao Yiyi has your child, we¡¯ll be a family. At that point, they will surely destroy the ount book.¡± Lu Nanzeughed coldly and said, ¡°So, you¡¯re using my marriage as a transaction?¡± Dad Lu coughed awkwardly and said, ¡°How can you call this a transaction? Besides, Qiao Yiyi is pregnant with your child, it¡¯s only reasonable that you marry her! Haven¡¯t I told you before? All these years, you managed to keep Qiao Yiyi under control and now it¡¯s great, you¡¯ve gotten her pregnant, you have to be responsible somehow. I can¡¯t let my grandson or granddaughter bear thebel of an illegitimate child all his life.¡± Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes upon hearing this. Qiao Lian, in the washroom, on the other hand, was shaken. Prior to this, she had only been guessing but unexpectedly, in this moment, she actually had a confirmation. Qiao Zhigang was definitely involved in her parents¡¯ tragic ending. Qiao Lian¡¯s fingers curled tightly as the thought ran through her mind. She couldn¡¯t think of a good reason why her uncle would do this. Thinking back, her grandfather had left everything to Dad when he died. At that time, Uncle and his family should have moved out. But Dad had said that Uncle was family, and the Qiao family belonged to him too. Hence, Dad had always been kind to their family. Although Uncle wasn¡¯t the head of the Qiao family, and neither was he the CEO of thepany, her family had always made sure he didn¡¯tck anything. Even when Qiao Yiyi was born, Dad had asked Uncle toe over and they opened an ount for the newborn. Every year, two percent of thepany¡¯s profits would go into it. And Dad told Uncle that this would be Qiao Yiyi¡¯s dowry in the future. They had been nothing but kind to Uncle¡¯s family, so why had he treated them like this in return?! With her fists tightly clenched, she leaned against the wall, shutting her eyes after a pause to take a deep breath. In reality, she only felt anger for all the things her uncle¡¯s family had done. She wasn¡¯t sad. What was sad was that she had been betrayed by such a close family member. At the time, Dad had trusted Qiao Zhigang so much, he had even allowed him to work in thepany. After the Qiao family business got into trouble, Dad had, in the first instance, removed Qiao Zhigang from any implications and bore the burden himself. But what about them? Qiao Zhigang. Qiao Yiyi. Qiao Lian was determined that she would never coexist with their family in this lifetime. At this point, she heard the voices outside continue, ¡°Nanze, are you still enamored with that silly girl from the Qiao family? I¡¯m telling you, she¡¯s already married, I will never agree to her remarrying you! If you really want her, then find another way to get her. Women. Once you have them, they¡¯re all the same.¡± Qiao Lian frowned at once. Then she heard Lu Nanze interrupting his father, ¡°Dad! Don¡¯t insult Qiao Lian! I won¡¯t let her be without status, I won¡¯t cause her such grief. I can tell you something for sure: in this lifetime, I will marry no one but Qiao Lian.¡± Chapter 1160 - He Actually Likes Her This Much… (16)

Chapter 1160: He Actually Likes Her This Much... (16)

There was no hesitation. He said this firmly and decisively, and it was obvious that he spoke straight from his heart. But this stunned Qiao Lian again. She stared straight at the door before her, as though she could see right through it, see the two men in the room. Through Lu Nanze¡¯s determined words, she saw his sincerity. But the next moment, she couldn¡¯t helpughing. Sincerity? How could that possiblye from someone in the Lu family? When Dad Lu heard his son¡¯s words, he was infuriated. ¡°What nonsense are you speaking? What¡¯s good about that silly girl? Lu Nanze, I¡¯m here today to inform you that you¡¯re to get ready to marry Qiao Yiyi.¡± The man stared at his father through narrowed eyes and gave an icyugh. ¡°Dad, in my heart and mind, she¡¯s better than anything. I will not agree to this marriage.¡± Dad Lu was livid by now. ¡°You¡ª¡± Before he could say another word, Lu Nanze was coldly pointing at the door and saying, ¡°You may leave now.¡± ¡°You unfilial son, you¡¯re actually asking me to leave?¡± ¡°This is my workce. If there¡¯s anything else you wish to say, we¡¯ll wait till I get home.¡± Dad Lu said angrily, ¡°Get home? How many days have you not been home?¡± Casting his gaze down, the man replied, ¡°I¡¯ll go home today. For now, please leave first.¡± Dad Lu said most unwillingly, ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll wait at home for you.¡± With a cold humph, he left with his entourage following behind. After Dad Lu had left, Lu Nanze sat down on his swivel chair with exhaustion. After some time, there was a knock on the door. The junior secretary walked in. Lu Nanze asked, ¡°Where is Ms. Qiao?¡± The secretary paused and answered, ¡°Ms. Qiao? I- I¡¯m not sure.¡± Lu Nanze¡¯s pupils shrank as he continued, ¡°Didn¡¯t she leave the room?¡± The secretary replied, ¡°I didn¡¯t see that. I only saw Elder Mr. Lu walk in. Wasn¡¯t Ms. Qiao in your office?¡± Upon hearing their conversation, Qiao Lian, who was still in the washroom, calmed herself and stepped out. Lookingpletely nonchnt, she stuck out her head and said softly, like she was up to no good, ¡°Have the people left?¡± Lu Nanze: ... Secretary: ... The moment he saw her, he recalled the conversation with his father. His pupils shrank as he sprang to his feet. He stared at Qiao Lian. He wondered how much of the conversation she had overheard and how much of it had she understood. He said slowly, narrowing his eyes, ¡°Why are you here?¡± She scratched her head a couple of times and replied, ¡°I heard your fathering and I hid! It wouldn¡¯t be good for him to find me here.¡± Lu Nanze was silent for a moment. He gestured to his secretary and she left the office. He spoke again to Qiao Lian, ¡°How much of the conversation did you hear just then?¡± She replied, ¡°I heard everything!¡± His pupils shrank at once. Puzzled, Qiao Lian tilted her head and looked at him, asking, ¡°Does Qiao Yiyi¡¯s family have some sort of information that they can use against your family? Otherwise, why would your father force you to marry her?¡± Lu Nanze seized Qiao Lian up with an intense gaze. He noticed that her nk expression didn¡¯t look fake, and she did not look as though she was pretending. He hung his head and frowned, saying slowly, ¡°Yes, but don¡¯t worry, it won¡¯t affect our rtionship. Give me some time, I will get this matter sorted.¡± Chapter 1161 - He Actually Likes Her This Much… (17)

Chapter 1161: He Actually Likes Her This Much... (17)

Qiao Lian nodded, as a quick sh lit her eyes. She waved at Lu Nanze and said, ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll go back downstairs. Are you alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°Ok, see you.¡± After Qiao Lian left the office, Lu Nanze¡¯s face turned gloomy as he grabbed the cell phone to call Qiao Yiyi. Very quickly, she picked up the call. She called out happily, ¡°Second Brother!¡± Lu Nanze¡¯s expression darkened and he spoke, his demonic voice sounding like it rose from the depths of hell itself, ¡°Qiao Yiyi, have you ignored all my warnings?¡± Qiao Yiyi shuddered when she heard those words and bit her lip. She asked, ¡°Second Brother, what do you mean?¡± ¡°What do I mean?¡± Lu Nanzeughed icily and continued, ¡°I remember when I was young, Mom loved keeping cats and I hated them. But Mom made me keep a pet cat. Do you know what happened to that cat?¡± Qiao Yiyi¡¯s voice trembled. Following this, Lu Nanze added, ¡°The cat died.¡± Qiao Yiyi froze and started, ¡°Second Brother, you¡ª¡± ¡°I think I don¡¯t have to say much more. Sure, the ount book is in your hands, but are you certain that you can turn it in to the police? Suzhou is my territory, don¡¯t force me into doing nasty things!¡± Upon hearing his words, Qiao Yiyi cried out in fear, ¡°Second Brother, Second Brother!¡± But the only response she got back was an engaged tone. Qiao Yiyi stared at her cell phone in a daze. Lu Nanze had always been a man of his word. His meaning was clear: if her father continued to pursue the matter, he would make sure that her whole family disappeared altogether. This thought sent Qiao Yiyi shuddering involuntarily. She gulped and dashed out of the room, calling out, ¡°Dad! Second Brother just called!¡± In the study, Qiao Yiyi told her parents what had happened and then rubbed her eyes as she sobbed, trying to dry her tears. ¡°Dad, Mom, what do I do now? I¡¯m pregnant, but he doesn¡¯t acknowledge my baby. He has only that tr*mp in his heart! Dad, if he doesn¡¯t agree, you know Second Brother¡¯s way of dealing with things. Over the years, he has grown increasingly cruel, I¡¯m afraid¡ª¡± ¡°Afraid of what??¡± Qiao Zhigang sprang up from his seat. ¡°We are here, there¡¯s no need to fear! This matter is actually easy to solve.¡± Qiao Yiyi¡¯s eyes lit up as she raised her head and looked at the man. ¡°How do we resolve it?¡± Qiao Zhigang narrowed his eyes slowly and said, ¡°Of course, we cut it at the roots. Weren¡¯t you getting along very well previously? We¡¯ll go back to that time then, a time when there was no Qiao Lian.¡± As he said this, a vicious hint shed across his eyes. ¨C Qiao Lian was sitting back, leisurely eating some fruits and waiting for her livestream session to start. It would be a two-hour livestream. In addition, PC team had moved into the office to y some matches with her. She grimaced and coordinated with them rather absent-mindedly. However, as she interacted with their team members, she actually found out that people who yed video games were really only holding onto a dream and their aspirations. Although the team club gave them a sry, the fact was that there was an age limit for excelling in eSports. After the age of 25, their career would be over. After all, as people age, their reflexes would not be as nimble. Chapter 1162 - He Actually Likes Her This Much… (18)

Chapter 1162: He Actually Likes Her This Much... (18)

Hence, all eSports professional yers were admirable. After an afternoon of training, when Qiao Lian was packing up her belongings and getting ready to get off work, her cell phone rang. She picked up the call and heard Shen Liangchuan¡¯s voice on the other end, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be leaving work?¡± ¡°Right away! I¡¯m going now.¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded and said, ¡°Ok, I¡¯m waiting downstairs.¡± Sheughed immediately and said, ¡°Ok, I¡¯ming down now.¡± After she hung up, she picked up her bag and walked out. Just as she stepped out of the office, she saw Lu Nanze standing outside. He looked at her. She raised an eyebrow and asked, ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°To take you home.¡± She grimaced and said, ¡°No, there¡¯s no need to! Shen Liangchuan is just outside waiting for me.¡± If Shen Liangchuan and Lu Nanze saw each other, who knew what sort of friction might ur again. Hence, it was better to keep them apart. Right now, she really had to protect her weak heart! But unfortunately, Lu Nanze acted as though he didn¡¯t hear her and insisted, ¡°I¡¯ll take you.¡± Qiao Lian was taken aback. She cocked her head to the side and said, ¡°Really, there¡¯s no need. I¡ª¡± ¡°You are together with him every night and only spend a few quick hours with me during the day. Won¡¯t you even please for once and let me take you home? Or could it be that you don¡¯t like me?¡± Qiao Lian was taken aback. She grimaced again. The Lu Nanze that she had known all along had been a forceful man, she rarely saw this side of him. Still grimacing, she finally said, ¡°But I¡¯m off work now and I¡¯m going home. Shen Liangchuan is waiting for me, don¡¯t create a scene, ok?¡± Upon hearing this, his expression clouded over. As she stood there nervously, not knowing what to do next, he suddenly said, ¡°Ok.¡± Just like that, he stepped aside. Qiao Lian was taken aback. She walked past him and headed towards the elevators. After taking two steps, she heard footsteps behind her. She turned around with uncertainty. Lu Nanze said, ¡°I¡¯m leaving too.¡± Without thinking too much about it, Qiao Lian continued walking towards the elevator. From afar, she saw that the elevator door was about to shut. Hastening her footsteps, she shouted, ¡°Hold on!¡± She broke into a run and held the lift door open. Someone inside said, ¡°Who¡¯s that? Can¡¯t she wait for the next one?¡± But as those words fell, they saw it was Qiao Lian and at once fell silent. Everyone in the lift suddenly became respectful and called out, ¡°Mr. Lu!¡± Lu Nanze nodded as he stood outside the elevator. Then he said calmly, ¡°Can you guys get into the next ride?¡± ¡°No problem! No problem!¡± As they said this, all of them started getting out of the elevator. Qiao Lian was bbergasted. She grimaced as she walked into the elevator, and then she saw that Lu Nanze had followed her. She looked at the director¡¯s private elevator on the other side and then gazed at him. The director¡¯s private elevator was for Lu Nanze¡¯s exclusive use. But now, he was actually squeezing in the public elevator with her? This man, Lu Nanze, was he mental? She pressed the button for the ground floor. The elevator made its way down slowly. When it arrived at the ground floor, Qiao Lian turned back and smiled at him saying, ¡°Director Lu, I¡¯m off.¡± But the next moment, Lu Nanze grabbed her wrist and yanked her into the elevator. He pressed the button to shut the elevator door. Chapter 1163 - He Actually Likes Her This Much… (19)

Chapter 1163: He Actually Likes Her This Much... (19)

Qiao Lian was shocked by the sudden turn of events. By the time she realized what was happening, Lu Nanze had already pinned her against the elevator wall. She widened her eyes and said fiercely, ¡°Lu Nanze, what are you doing?¡± Smiling, Lu Nanze said, ¡°Every time I want to discuss things properly, you object. So I can only use force. But don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not doing anything apart from taking you home.¡± ¡°You- Lu Nanze, you¡¯re too much!¡± Qiao Lian tried to push him away using force. ¡°Can you stop being so childish?¡± ¡°Nope.¡± There was no way she could use physical force. After all, she was pregnant. Hence they had to reach apromise in this matter. ¡°Well, then at least give me some space and let me send a text to Shen Liangchuan. I¡¯m sure you can do that?¡± The man gave a cold smile and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need to send a text.¡± As Qiao Lian stared at him sternly, he added, ¡°I¡¯ll give him a call.¡± On this note, he picked up his cell phone and dialed Shen Liangchuan¡¯s number. The call was picked up quickly and Lu Nanze said in his usual evil manner, ¡°I¡¯ll take Qiao Lian home.¡± Then he stylishly hung up. Qiao Lian was speechless. This person, was he incapable of speaking politely? She grimaced at his arrogance and childishness. Her chest tightened somewhat because of the anger. She took a deep breath and said, ¡°So now will you let me go?¡± He smiled and replied, ¡°But I like it like that.¡± Qiao Lian: ... She extended her arm and shoved him aside. ¡°That¡¯s enough already!¡± As she said this, the elevator arrived at the basement level two parking. This parking was normally quiet, so there wasn¡¯t a single person in sight. As the elevator door opened, Qiao Lian stepped out first. But just as she had taken two steps, suddenly six to seven burly men in ck suits appeared before her out of nowhere. Qiao Lian frowned at once and winced, as she turned around to look at Lu Nanze and say, ¡°Lu Nanze, it¡¯s just taking me home. Do you need so many people to watch over me? Are you worried there¡¯s some wild beast in my house?¡± The moment after she spoke, Lu Nanze grabbed her wrist. She was yanked back into the elevator at once. She widened her eyes and tried to retaliate, but heard Lu Nanze shout, ¡°Be careful, they¡¯re not my men!¡± In that instant, fear gripped her. Not his men. But the group before them was now staring intently at them. Who were they? As this question appeared, one of them took a step forward and shouted an order, ¡°Take her away!¡± At this order, the rest of the men charged towards her. Qiao Lian was stunned. She and Lu Nanze tried to get away, but they were at a dead end in the elevator. They tried to press the button to shut the elevator door, but the men got to them before that. Qiao Lian wrapped her hands around her stomach and Lu Nanz positioned himself in front of her, asking, ¡°Who are you? Don¡¯t you know where you are? Don¡¯t you know who I am? I¡¯m telling you, I¡¯m Lu Nanze! Leave now and I will not pursue this or hold you ountable.¡± One of the menughed at what Lu Nanze had said. ¡°You must be joking. People like us, in this line of work, aren¡¯t afraid of youing after us!¡± At this point, the man raised his arm and dropped it in a sh. Qiao Lian only felt a sharp pain in her neck, and then everything went ck as she passed out. Chapter 1164 - He Actually Likes Her This Much… (20)

Chapter 1164: He Actually Likes Her This Much... (20)

When Qiao Lian woke up, she found herself in a truck. The vehicle¡¯s loud rumble and low drone hummed continually in her ears. She could feel the pain and soreness in the back of her neck and, when she opened her eyes, all she saw was pitch dark. She couldn¡¯t see clearly. Trying to recall what had happened, she heard Lu Nanze¡¯s anxious voice, ¡°Are you awake? Do you feel unwell in any way?¡± Qiao Lian turned at once and saw Lu Nanze sitting next to her. She made an effort to get up, but both her hands and feet were bound by ropes and she wasn¡¯t able to get up. She had to make one little movement at a time to finally sit up. Then she saw that Lu Nanze was in the same plight. Both his hands and feet were tied. Looking at Lu Nanze, she took a deep breath and said after a pause, ¡°What is going on? Whose men are these?¡± Lu Nanze immediately shook his head. Qiao Lian frowned and said, ¡°Could they be nning to abduct you and then ask for a ransome? Lu Nanze, it¡¯s all your fault, now you¡¯ve gotten me into this!¡± Lu Nanze said at once, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, don¡¯t worry, everything will be fine.¡± His words were exceptionally firm. There was a reassuring strength in them. Qiao Lian nodded. Then she put her eye to the crack between the doors at the back of the truck. They were traveling on a small road and it looked like they were in a remote area. But where were these people taking them? They had kidnapped Lu Nanze, possibly for ransom money. Soter on, would they leave Lu Nanze there and make her go get the money? She was pregnant and she couldn¡¯t take risks. But the moment she had this thought, she immediately felt bad. They were in the same pot of hot soup, how could she abandon him? The truck pulled to a stop finally, as she was contemting the situation. Right now, there was still light. It didn¡¯t look like it was past 7 p.m. They had left work at 5 p.m. and were kidnapped then. Up till now, they had been traveling only two hours. They couldn¡¯t be too far from Suzhou. She made a quick mental assessment of the situation, and then saw the doors of the backpartment of the truck swing open. Following this, she was treated like a chicken, picked up and thrown out of the truck. It was fortunate that her reflexes were quick, otherwise she would have fallen on the ground. She bit her lip and saw that Lu Nanze was being thrown out as well. Even though abducted, the man kept his devilishly charming temperament, that faint smile never left his face. He acted like he was on a tour. Eyeing the men, he said, ¡°Go on, say how much money you¡¯re after? I can afford it.¡± When he said this, the men immediately exchanged looks with each other. After a pause they looked at him and said, ¡°We¡¯re after her, not you! If you can assure us you won¡¯t cause us trouble, we¡¯ll let you go. Let¡¯s not get in each other¡¯s path, what do you think?¡± Qiao Lian immediately looked up, astonished by what she heard. What?! These people were out to kidnap her and not him?! Whom had she, Qiao Lian, offended?! And... She looked at Lu Nanze in panic and fear. She was done for. For sure, these people didn¡¯t dare offend him, hence those words. Now the most logical way forward was for Lu Nanze to go and get help to rescue her. But with him gone, who was going to guarantee her safety for the next two hours? Chapter 1165 - Their First Collaboration (1)

Chapter 1165: Their First Coboration (1)

Qiao Lian¡¯s expression clouded over as she looked at Lu Nanze in a daze. Lu Nanze nced at her and then shifted his gaze to the man who spoke. ¡°Are you speaking the truth?¡± The man nodded immediately. Lu Nanze raised his brow and said, ¡°Meaning you believe I am who I said I am?¡± The man continued to nod and said, ¡°We¡¯re after the girl, so if you can assure us you¡¯ll turn a blind eye, we¡¯ll let you go.¡± Qiao Lian felt a chill inside, a strange sort of despair spreading in her heart. But she gave a bitter smile at once. That¡¯s right, Lu Nanze was only a friend who had grown up with her. Why should he risk his life for her? Besides, if he stayed, both of them would be held in captivity. He might as well leave and bring men to rescue her. At least... tell Shen Liangchuan to go and rescue her- Lu Nanze leaving now was the right choice. At this thought, she looked at Lu Nanze and said slowly, ¡°Director Lu, why don¡¯t you leave? I won¡¯t me you. You have lots to do in the office, and your car is waiting outside the building.¡± Her words were hinting at him to inform Shen Liangchuan. But unexpectedly after she said this, his expression darkened at once. Narrowing his eyes, he said after a pause, ¡°In your heart, will I never measure up to him?¡± His remark simply puzzled her. She had no idea where the sudden re of anger came from. She turned to look at him with a confused expression. He, on the other hand, looked at the men and said, ¡°Brothers, since you know who I am, let¡¯s get acquainted. Let us go. The road ahead is long and we¡¯re bound to meet again. When we do, I shall have some regard for you, how about that? Or if you wait, I will reward you handsomely once I¡¯m back.¡± His offer of protection was clear. The men looked simultaneously at their leader, the man who spoke. The leader had a yellow fleshy face and a braid around his head. One look and it was obvious he was a shady character. Upon hearing this, his eyes shifted between Qiao Lian and Lu Nanze a few times. Then he said with a mockingugh, ¡°Oooh, is this your little lover? You actually can¡¯t bear to leave her here?¡± His eyes immediatelynded on her, tutting. ¡°I must say she¡¯s quite pretty. Also, that body and skin... What luck!¡± He rubbed his hands together in glee, looking lecherously in her direction. ¡°No wonder you¡¯re so concerned about her. But¡ª¡± Before he could finish, Lu Nanze suddenly exploded in fury. He drew back his arm and at once threw a merciless punch in the man¡¯s face, shouting, ¡°I¡¯ll teach you to speak nonsense!¡± Bam. The punch fell hard on the man and two of his teeth flew. He spat out a mouthful of blood. Livid now, he hollered, ¡°Brothers, go for him!¡± The men charged in that instruction. Even though Lu Nanze had learnt taekwondo, he was outnumbered. Besides, Qiao Lian¡¯s current physical condition didn¡¯t allow her to take any hits. His pupils shrank. Looking around them, he immediately lowered his body and bent over, clutching his own head to protect it. Following this, the punches and kicks started to rain on him. ¡°You dare to hit me? I don¡¯t give a damn if you¡¯re Lu Nanze or Li Nanze. Beat him up, beat him to death!¡± the man with the braid yelled, lisping from the missing teeth. Chapter 1166 - Their First Collaboration (2)

Chapter 1166: Their First Coboration (2)

Following his next instructions, the punches and kicks rained down quicker and harder. Qiao Lian furrowed her brow. She was hiding behind the crowd and wanted to step forward. But she saw Lu Nanze suddenly raise his head and shot her a look, immediately saying, ¡°Don¡¯t.¡± Don¡¯t. Qiao Lian instantly froze. When Lu Nanze had suddenly hit the man with the braid, she had thought that he was just being too rash. The two of them had been kidnapped by eight or nine people. In a moment like this, even if they were verbally abused, there was no need to use physical force. But she now suddenly realized Lu Nanze¡¯s intention. Lu Nanze had meant... The man with the braid had obviously wanted to take advantage of her. And he had found a timely moment to hit the man, so that all the pressure would be directed on him. For the moment she, Qiao Lian, would be safe. He had used himself as bait to hold these people¡¯s attention, only so that she would not suffer any outrageous acts. Qiao Lian stared as Lu Nanze got beaten up, his head buried in his hands. Her eyes reddened at once. He could have walked away from this, he could have left, but why had he stayed to protect her? She looked at him in disbelief. She had a lot of mixed feelings. She had initially been determined to hate him but now, she wavered. She gulped and took a step back in silence, shrinking into a corner so that she became as unnoticeable as possible. She knew she was being selfish, but she had to do this. Because he wanted to protect her child. She mustn¡¯t do anything rash. But suddenly, her vision blurred as she broke out in tears. The people were after her and for sure, they wouldn¡¯t dare to beat Lu Nanze to death. After all, he was the hegemon of Suzhou and if they killed him, there would be trouble. But by the time they stopped, Lu Nanze had injuries all over his body. Qiao Lian rushed over to him and helped him up, anxiously asking, ¡°Are you ok?¡± ¡°No problem, didn¡¯t even break a bone.¡± Lu Nanze lifted his head after saying this and looked at the men. In a low voice, he then said to Qiao Lian, ¡°These men are not simple, be careful. Follow me closely.¡± With teary eyes, she nodded. When the man with a braid saw how badly Lu Nanze had been beaten up, he was satisfied and called his men to tend to his own injuries. He no longer was in the mood to bother with Qiao Lian. Qiao Lian had thus managed to get off lightly, but both Lu Nanze and she were pushed along into a little room and locked up together. There was nothing in the room except for a pile of straw on the ground. Qiao Lian walked over and patted down the straw. Then she helped Lu Nanze lie down on it. After she took care of this quietly, she stared at the man and reached out to feel all of his body. Lu Nanze¡¯s pupils shrank and suddenly, heughed. ¡°What? Even when I¡¯m injured, you won¡¯t forget to take advantage of me?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s movements froze when he said this. ring at him, she said, ¡°Even when you¡¯re injured, you won¡¯t shut up!¡± He immediatelyughed aloud. ¡°Your touch feels so good. Why don¡¯t you touch me right here too?¡± Qiao Lian looked at where he was pointing and turned a bright scarlet at once. ¡°Damn! Lu Nanze, can¡¯t you be a little more decent?¡± The man continuedughing, but seeing that she had stopped checking him, he was quietly relieved. Chapter 1167 - Their First Collaboration (3)

Chapter 1167: Their First Coboration (3)

Qiao Lian sat down in a corner and hugged her knees. She looked outside and said to Lu Nanze, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you leave?¡± Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes and said after a pause, ¡°How can I leave when you¡¯re here?¡± He had said that like a matter of course. Qiao Lian was taken aback. She had always thought that Lu Nanze treated her like a thing that he didn¡¯t own yet, something he desired to possess, just a toy. But now... She stared straight ahead and bit her lip. After a silent pause she said again, ¡°You are aware that by not leaving then, it¡¯s possible that the both of us will end up not being able to leave.¡± ¡°If ites to the worst we die here.¡± Qiao Lian fell silent at once. He had said it with such ease, as though he wasn¡¯t even thinking about what he was saying. She pursed her lips. At once, the room fell silent. Qiao Lian could hear Lu Nanze¡¯s breathing, which soundedbored. It must be painful. But he wasn¡¯t showing it at all. She turned to look at him. His eyes were lit up even in the dark. He suddenlyughed and said, ¡°Qiao Lian, this must be the first time we¡¯re spending the night together?¡± Qiao Lian chided him, ¡°Can you be more decent?¡± ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll be decent.¡± He continued, ¡°Don¡¯t be scared. If I don¡¯t go home, they¡¯ll send people to look for me. Besides, your man will look for you too. There are surveince cameras in the underground parking lot, they¡¯ll find out soon enough what happened.¡± Qiao Lian nodded and then suddenly asked, ¡°Are you scared?¡± ¡°You?¡± She thought for a moment and then nodded. Lu Nanze contemted this in silence for a moment as he looked at her. Then he asked, ¡°You didn¡¯t used to be scared, why are you scared now?¡± Qiao Lian lowered her head and looked at her stomach. ¡°Because I¡¯m no longer alone. Do you know? I love this child, I hope to deliver it safely, and hope that it will grow up happily and live happily.¡± When she said this, there was a tenderness in her expression and a sense of peace around her. As he looked at her, the light from outside framing her silhouette, he suddenly felt tranquility washing over the passage of time. He narrowed his eyes as his gaze fell on her abdomen. After a pause, he said, ¡°Do you remember when we were fifteen?¡± Qiao Lian froze at those words. She turned towards him with a nk stare. He lowered his head and said, ¡°That year, I had a fight with Dad and wanted to run away from home. I was determined. But I came to bid farewell to you.¡± As he spoke, scenes of that past shed through her mind. At the time, no matter what she said, he wouldn¡¯t listen. He had made up his mind to run away. In the end, she also packed her belongings. Strapping her bag on her back, she was ready to go with him. He had asked her then, ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± Qiao Lian had rolled her eyes and looked at him like he was a fool. ¡°Of course, I¡¯m running away with you. If you ran away alone, what would you do if you ran into trouble?¡± After she said this, she had straightened herself up and walked in front of him. That picture of an arrogant Qiao Lian had never left his memory. Of course, in the end, their attempt to run away failed. They both went home. Chapter 1168 - Their First Collaboration (4)

Chapter 1168: Their First Coboration (4)

The reason had been that, after walking for six hours, Qiao Lian suddenlyined that she was hungry. He was hungry too, and had been for some time. But when he heard that she needed food, he walked to the side and called home. After that, the two families came in their cars to get them. As children that had initially ran away from home safely, they ended up going home with their tails between their legs. After that incident, he was never that stubborn again. ¡°At the time, I vowed to myself that I¡¯d be nothing but good to a girl who would run away from home with me.¡± After Lu Nanze slowly said this, he looked at Qiao Lian with a serious expression on his face. ¡°Qiao Lian, do you know that when you suddenly left the Li family at the time, words could not describe my anxiety? I must have searched the entire Suzhou.¡± Later on, still at a young age, he had taken over the Lu Family enterprise. All so that he could have enough resources to search for her. She had apanied him when he ran away from home. So when she went missing, he had taken up the responsibility to find her. That had been their youth, and his persistence. But he had never thought that it would hurt her. He narrowed his eyes at this thought and his gaze fell on her. In the dark, her silhouette was still, as though she had fallen asleep. But Lu Nanze knew she wasn¡¯t sleeping. Qiao Lian, if you were hurt because of what I¡¯ve done, then let me say now that I¡¯m sorry. ¨C When Shen Liangchuan received the call from Lu Nanze, his expression immediately darkened and turned cold. He snorted coldly and made a call to Qiao Lian¡¯s cell phone. However, he could not get through the line. Later on, he kept trying to call but the line was dead. He frowned, thinking that it must be Lu Nanze¡¯s doing. Feeling helpless, he could only drive home slowly. However upon arriving at home, he found that Qiao Lian had not returned. He parked his car and frowned, puzzled. Half an hourter, he called a bodyguard who was keeping watch over Qiao Lian and asked, ¡°Where are they?¡± ¡°Sir, they¡¯ve been in the underground parking and haven¡¯te out of there.¡± Although she had a bodyguard team, they weren¡¯t able to follow her too closely, otherwise they would be easily discovered. Since Qiao Lian and Lu Nanze were in the underground parking, they could only wait around there. But how could there still be no signs of them after two hours? Shen Liangchuan¡¯s pupils shrank and he instructed them, ¡°Go in and have a look.¡± ¡°Roger.¡± Five minutester, they called Shen Liangchuan. ¡°Mr. Shen, they¡¯ve disappeared!¡± Shen Liangchuan sprang onto his feet and demanded, ¡°What do you mean they¡¯ve disappeared?¡± ¡°Lu Nanze¡¯s car is still there, but the two of them have disappeared! We went to the office and asked many people, but none of them saw the twoe back! They are not in the office either.¡± The moment Shen Liangchuan heard this, his first reaction was that Lu Nanze had kidnapped her. After all, it wasn¡¯t as though it hadn¡¯t happened before. He quickly said, ¡°Hurry, go to all of Lu Nanze¡¯s properties in Suzhou and check. See if there are signs that he¡¯s been to any of them.¡± ¡°Roger.¡± Shen Liangchuan paced back and forth in the study a few times and then he stopped. He had an odd premonition that something had happened to Qiao Lian. The next moment, he received a call saying, ¡°Mr. Shen, we¡¯ve just checked the basement surveince cameras and found- We found that Ms. Qiao and Lu Nanze were abducted by a group of men!¡± Upon hearing this, Shen Liangchuan shot up from his seat and headed out without even putting on his jacket. ¡°Which way did the vehicle go? All of you,e with me!¡± Chapter 1169 - Their First Collaboration (5)

Chapter 1169: Their First Coboration (5)

Feeling drowsy, Qiao Lian fell asleep leaning against the cold wall. But it was a restless sleep. She hadn¡¯t had dinner and her stomach was growling, she was nauseous from the hunger. Just at this point in her semi-consciousness, the door was kicked open. Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes snapped open in fright and saw a group of people surg into the room. Snap! The light bulb was turned on. Qiao Lian squinted as the sudden brightness flooded the room. She stretched her hand out reflexively to block some of the light. Bleary-eyed, she looked at the few men standing in front of her. The man with the braid looked at them fiercely and sneered, ¡°Sheesh, I almost let you spoil my fun! You stinker, I suppose you hit me to protect the girl. I finally figured out how to torture you. Hahaha!¡± Having said this, he headed straight towards Qiao Lian and said, ¡°Tonight, let me give this girl some tender love! Come with me, I¡¯ll fulfill your every desire and make sure you end up in ecstasy. But if you don¡¯t and choose to suffer instead, haha, I¡¯ll make sure you wish you were dead.¡± His words were suggestive and disgusting. When he went near Qiao Lian, Lu Nanze dashed over and stood in front of her. Eyeing the man with the braid, he said, ¡°Why did the one who is giving you orders ask you to abduct her? How are you going to get your money if you kill her?¡± The man with the braidughed icily when he heard these words and said, ¡°Our job is to make her so ecstatic that she feels like dying! How would she feel that way if we don¡¯t give her some tender love?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank at those words. Initially, she had not thought much about why these people had abducted her. Now, reading into what he was saying, it seemed these men had been paid a tidy sum to kidnap her and to torture her? Torture her. Something like this could only be Qiao Yiyi¡¯s doing! She gulped and stared in horror as the man with the braid came towards her, a step at a time. She quickly extended her hand and cried, ¡°Don¡¯te near me!¡± Then she started looking around, hoping to find a weapon to defend herself. Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes. He had made a miscalction. From the moment they were abducted, he had known that it was Qiao Zhigang¡¯s doing. He had thought that Qiao Zhigang had done this only to teach him a lesson. But now, it looked like... Qiao Zhigang wanted Qiao Lian¡¯s life. She was pregnant, and if she were sullied by these people... What would her future be like? Lu Nanze clenched his fists tightly, his gaze following Qiao Lian¡¯s, sweeping the room to find a suitable weapon. At the same time, he was wracking his brain for a way to dy things. He narrowed his eyes, looked at the man with the braid and slowly said, ¡°She¡¯s pregnant! Where¡¯s the fun?¡± ¡°Pregnant? Well, wouldn¡¯t that feel even better? Hahaha.¡± The man with the braid nced at Qiao Lian¡¯s stomach. Immediately, she ced her hands protectively over it and retreated hastily. As Lu Nanze was fretting, he suddenly heard Qiao Lian speak calmly, ¡°If I slept with you, will you let me go?¡± He was stunned and looked at Qiao Lian in a panic. The man with the braid paused and then startedughing. ¡°That¡¯s right, what a smart cookie. Come,e with big brother here.¡± At these words, he extended his hand towards Qiao Lian. Chapter 1170 - Their First Collaboration (6)

Chapter 1170: Their First Coboration (6)

Biting her lip, Qiao Lian put on a humiliated expression and hung her head as she walked towards the man with the braid. The man raised his arm and put it around her shoulders. But just as the man¡¯s lips were about toe into contact with Qiao Lian, she suddenly shouted, ¡°Stay away!¡± At once, she took a step back and extended her arms, waving the electric baton that she had stolen from the man¡¯s waist. ¡°Back off! If youe a step nearer, I¡¯m not going to hold back!¡± Qiao Lian gave them a stern look of warning as she retreated towards Lu Nanze. She said to the man with the braid, ¡°Let us go now or I¡¯ll electrocute you!¡± She pointed the electric baton at them as the men took a step backwards. The next moment, the man with the braid said, ¡°That¡¯s crap! I didn¡¯t charge it yesterday. The battery¡¯s t.¡± Qiao Lian was bbergasted. She quickly tried turning on the switch upon hearing this and, indeed, the end of the baton didn¡¯t react. What rotten luck! ¡°Hahahaha!¡± the man with the braid and his underlings all startedughing. When they were doneughing, the man with the braid eyed Qiao Lian and uttered an icy humph. ¡°A bad tempered woman indeed, but such women have character! Brothers, charge! Subdue that woman, let me show you what I¡¯ll do!¡± Show them? Not only was he out to shame her, he wanted to make a show of it in front of the others? Qiao Lian gritted her teeth and shook in fury. As she watched the men approaching, the electric baton in her hand was suddenly taken away by Lu Nanze! Following this, she felt a tight grip over her wrist. Then the man firmly positioned her behind him. Staring at his back now, she heard him speak calmly to the men, ¡°If you n to harass her, you¡¯ll have to get past me first!¡± Holding the baton, he charged towards the group. Every movement he made was rhythmic and strong, as the baton fell on the opponents¡¯ legs. When a man was struck, he would cry out in agony. Very quickly, with the baton, Lu Nanze forced the men to a retreat. Suddenly, there was a clear path to the doorway. Qiao Lian knew that if she ran right now, she would be able to escape. She bit her lip and heard Lu Nanze shout, ¡°Hurry up and run!¡± He was wearing a white shirt today, but now one couldn¡¯t tell it¡¯s original color as it was in a sorry state, every inch covered in either dirt or blood. She stared at him. But he was guardedly looking ahead. He turned and nced at her anxiously, saying, ¡°What are you daydreaming about? I¡¯ll hold them back, you run!¡± She took a deep breath, nodded and shouted, ¡°Thanks, Lu Nanze!¡± She took two steps towards the doorway. ¡°Quick, get her, don¡¯t let her run away!¡± The man with the braid shouted. Everyone intensified their efforts. With just a baton, there was no way Lu Nanze could hold the men back. Soon, the opponent had a grip on the baton and the battle was in a stalemate. Turning around to look, Lu Nanze realized Qiao Lian had gone. He sighed in relief. Once he did so, he found that all his energy had been drained, his legs were trembling slightly. Was he to perish right here today? Heughed icily at this thought. The next thing he knew, he heard a cry of rm, ¡°Stay away! Stay away!¡± When he spun around to look, he saw Qiao Lian charging in with a huge kitchen knife. Chapter 1171 - Their First Collaboration (7)

Chapter 1171: Their First Coboration (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Wielding therge chopping knife in her hand, she was trembling. She knew that the logical thing for her to do was to leave and let Lu Nanze stay. Because these people would be wary of his status and wouldn¡¯t dare cause him serious harm. And because she was pregnant, she could easily suffer a miscarriage from any physical impact, if she returned. But she couldn¡¯t bring herself to leave him there alone, especially when he had stayed for her sake. She wielded the chopping knife in one hand and stood trembling, as she confronted the men. It miraculously halted some of them. The men looked at her in shock and the room fell silent at once. She took a deep breath and eyed them cautiously, as she walked over to Lu Nanze. The man panicked when he saw her. ¡°Why are you back?¡± Ignoring him, she continued to re at the men and said, ¡°All of you stay away!¡± They froze as they continued to stare at her, stunned by this knife-wielding woman. Qiao Lian told him, ¡°Hurry,e with me!¡± Lu Nanze frowned at once. At this point, the man with the braid shouted, ¡°Brothers, charge! This woman is too arrogant!¡± Given this instruction, one of the henchmen took a step forward. Qiao Lian quickly wielded the knife in retaliation, but her wrist went numb suddenly and the knife fell on the ground. She immediately panicked, but looked at the men steadily. The next moment, Lu Nanze had yanked her and shoved her behind him. She bit her lip and then, with her back against his, she said slowly, ¡°Let¡¯s get even!¡± When he heard Qiao Lian¡¯s suggestion, he nodded, narrowing his eyes at once. In a sh, the two of them were surrounded by the muscr men. Qiao Lian and Lu Nanze both had had no dinner that night and right now they were hungry, cold and weak. On the other hand, their opponents were all muscr men. One look and it was clear the two would surely not win the fight. Qiao Lian clenched her fists tightly. She heard Lu Nanze asking her, ¡°Why did youe back?¡± That was the second time he was asking. He urgently needed an answer¡ªan answer that would satisfy him. Qiao Lian had no idea what was in his mind and said at once, ¡°Is this an appropriate time to be asking this question? You should be thinking about how we can escape. It would be more useful!¡± She frowned and continued, ¡°Lu Nanze, do you remember when we were kids, we used to y house and once we were surrounded by thugs? I wonder if we could take on this bunch like before.¡± Lu Nanze was stunned for a moment when he heard this. A dull glimmer shed across his eyes. At the same time, the man with a braid said, ¡°Brothers, charge! This woman is pregnant and she has no strength!¡± As he said this, a few of the men charged ahead. Qiao Lian looked around guardedly. At this point, someone approached. She gave a spiral kick and, as her legnded on the man, Lu Nanze raised the baton and dropped it on the shoulder of another man who was charging at Qiao Lian. The fight started! Qiao Lian made an all-out effort a few times and coordinated well with Lu Nanze. But very soon, she was feeling a physical drain. Both her legs had gone weak, and she was even feeling pain in her abdomen. Biting her lip, her forehead broke out in breads of perspiration. At this point, a wave of pain spread through her stomach. She bent over uncontrobly and at the same time, one of the men holding a stick was charging at her... Chapter 1172 - Their First Collaboration (8)

Chapter 1172: Their First Coboration (8)

Once she saw the stick, she knew that if it came down on her, she would be in a bad situation. But the pain in her belly didn¡¯t allow her to stand up, she couldn¡¯t even move. She stared wide-eyed as the stick was about toe down on her body and, suddenly, she heard a shout, ¡°Be careful!¡± At once, Lu Nanze lunged towards her. All she heard was the stick falling with a crack on someone¡¯s body. She looked up in horror and saw that Lu Nanze had used his own body to shield her from the beating. Widening her eyes in shock, she looked at Lu Nanze in disbelief. She hadn¡¯t thought that this was a scene that she would ever witness. Even though he had stayed for her sake, it was iparable to how shaken she was feeling right now. In that moment, it was as though she had forgotten the pain and the fear. She just stared steadily at Lu Nanze. She could hear the man with the braid saying, ¡°For f*cks sake, let¡¯s beat this damned couple to death!¡± Then more punches rained down. Squatting on the floor, Qiao Lian covered her head as Lu Nanze protected her body. She could hear the impact of the strikes on his body and tears started to streak down her face. She remembered now. When they were younger, they used to have fun and skip school together. They were arrogant and had done reckless things together. Once, her teacher had called her parents to school. When they got home, her mom had wanted to give her a beating. At that time, Lu Nanze had done exactly the same as what he was doing now. He had shielded her and taken the hit for her. The fact was that they had been really, really close in their younger days. But how had theye to this point now? Qiao Lian cried her heart out and, as she cried, she called out to him, ¡°Lu Nanze, get out of the way, let them hit me.¡± ¡°Lu Nanze, you don¡¯t have to do this.¡± ¡°Lu Nanze, you...¡± Then her cries got softer as her sorrow grew. In this chaos, she finally heard a voice that was like the most wonderful sound of nature, ¡°Stop!¡± Her head snapped up at once and she saw, standing at the doorway, like a god from the heavens, Shen Liangchuan. With his back to the light, he was already dashing over to them. After he saw clearly what the situation was, his pupils shrank and he raised his hand. These men were already injured from the tussle with Qiao Lian and Lu Nanze earlier on. Single-handedly, Shen Liangchuan yanked them out of the way and helped Qiao Lian up by her arm. He asked anxiously, ¡°Are you ok?¡± He had no idea how panic-stricken he looked at that moment. He was frightened to death. Ever since he had found out Qiao Lian had been abducted, right up to the moment he found his way to this ce alone, he had been ovee by fear as all sorts of scenarios yed out in his mind. It was only when he saw the crying Qiao Lian and the bloody Lu Nanze in the flesh that he could finally rx. But at the same time, the fear and anxiety that he had had now turned into boundless fury. He spun around and red at the men. Meanwhile, Qiao Lian, now helped to her feet by Lu Nanze and standing, turned towards him and asked, ¡°Lu Nanze, are you ok?¡± When Lu Nanze saw Shen Liangchuan, his pupils shrank back. He picked himself up upon hearing Qiao Lian¡¯s question. Lowering his head, he spat a mouthful of blood on the floor. Following this, Shen Liangchuan asked, ¡°Can you make it still?¡± Chapter 1173 - Their First Collaboration (9)

Chapter 1173: Their First Coboration (9)

Straightaway, Lu Nanze¡¯s expression froze as he turned to the other man and said, ¡°?Do you know you should never ask another man that question?¡± Shen Liangchuan looked at him with disdain and replied, ¡°Well then, is that a yes or no? If you can¡¯t then you should say so, don¡¯t force yourself.¡± Lu Nanze clenched his jaw and said through gritted teeth, ¡°No problem!¡± ¡°If it¡¯s no problem, let¡¯s take revenge then!¡± After saying this, the two men stood back-to-back against each other, facing the surrounding henchmen. They positioned themselves to iste Qiao Lian and keep her apart from the men. Qiao Lian watched them steadily. She knew that Shen Liangchuan had provoked Lu Nanze because being beaten up was a shameful thing for a proud man like him. They were men and they had their ego. If Shen Liangchuan rescued Lu Nanze, then Lu Nanze would have owed the man a favor. Furthermore, it would have been a permanent embarrassment for Lu Nanze. For that reason, they both had to defeat the opponents together. This was the only way to preserve Lu Nanze¡¯s dignity. It was likely that, because Shen Liangchuan had seen that Lu Nanze had saved Qiao Lian, he was being considerate towards the man. Qiao Lian stood there watching the two men as they punched, kicked and beat the opponent to pulp. She was suddenly distracted. These two men were both of such high caliber, they were really too good for her. She didn¡¯t deserve them. Five minutester. The men were strewn all over the floor, groaning in pain. Shen Liangchuan and Lu Nanze stood over them, looking at them steadily. After a short time, police sirens were heard. The police cars arrived. The police got out of their cars and were shocked by the scene. But one nce at Shen Liangchuan and Lu Nanze sent them scrambling to handcuff the men and take them into custody. The police chief looked at the three of them and said slowly, ¡°Do you have time toe with us and give a statement?¡± Shen Liangchuan nced at Lu Nanze and Qiao Lian then replied, ¡°We¡¯ll take the two of them to the hospital first.¡± The police officer nodded. Hurriedly, they called an ambnce. The ambnce turned up very shortly. When it arrived, Shen Liangchuan helped Qiao Lian into the vehicle, as her legs were weak and her abdomen was in pain. Then he turned around to look at Lu Nanze, who had been silent all this while. ¡°Do you need help?¡± Lu Nanze pushed his hand away with an icy snort and stiffly entered the ambnce. After he got into the vehicle, Lu Nanze took a bench seat in the corner and leaned back, leaving the trolley bed to Qiao Lian. Shen Liangchuan sat close to Qiao Lian and fixed his eyes on her nervously. The nurse wanted to examine Lu Nanze, however, pointing at Qiao Lian, he said, ¡°Just examine her, that¡¯ll do.¡± Hence the nurse turned back to look at Qiao Lian. Shen Liangchuan quickly added, ¡°She¡¯s pregnant. Please examine her and see how she¡¯s doing.¡± The nurse immediately reached out to feel Qiao Lian¡¯s abdomen. After a brief examination, the nurse said, ¡°She¡¯s alright for now, but after going through all of this, the specifics still have to be determined by an examination in the hospital.¡± Upon hearing this, the three of them felt somewhat upset. The atmosphere in the ambnce turned gloomy. Qiao Lian stared wide-eyed and nervously at the ceiling of the ambnce. She hoped that her child was alright. As these thoughts ran through her mind, the ambnce arrived at the hospital. The nurses unloaded Qiao Lian and pushed her into the hospital. Lu Nanze was still sitting and leaning against the corner of the vehicle with his eyes shut. A junior nurse gave him a light push and said, ¡°Hey, we¡¯ve arrived, wake up.¡± However, he did not respond. Chapter 1174 - Their First Collaboration (10)

Chapter 1174: Their First Coboration (10)

The junior nurse was rmed and gave him a harder push. Lu Nanze¡¯s body immediately fell on its side. She was shocked and then saw that blood was trickling from the side of his mouth. The junior nurse became anxious and yelled, ¡°Someone,e over here quickly!¡± ¨C Qiao Lian had remained conscious as she was pushed into the emergency room. Here, the doctor gave her a full body examination. The checkup results showed that the child was alright, but there was apparently a slight threat to suffer a miscarriage. In the days that followed, she was to take adequate rest. Both Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan felt that they had been lucky. As long as the child was alright, then there was a chance and it wasn¡¯t toote. They silently sighed in relief. Following this, they were taken to a normal ward for monitoring. After settling down in the ward, Qiao Lian looked at Shen Liangchuan. Having been through an abduction ordeal, normality felt like something that had happened a lifetime ago. She suddenly reached out to hold him tightly. Breathing in his familiar scent slowly calmed her down from how panic-stricken she had felt. The fact was that even now, when she recalled charging back into the room with a knife, she felt post-traumatic anxiety. If she had lost the baby then, she didn¡¯t know if she would have ever forgiven herself. But luckily, it wasn¡¯t toote. As she held onto him, she felt his warm hand patting her ever so gently, almost as if it was afraid any sort of strength would hurt her. Biting her lip, tears began to roll down her face. Her breathing and emotions calmed down after a while and she looked up at Shen Liangchuan, asking, ¡°How is Lu Nanze?¡± The man¡¯s pupils shrank immediately. Qiao Lian looked intently at him. He said after a pause, ¡°Two of his ribs were broken and that has injured his lungs. He¡¯s in an emergency operation.¡± ¨C Qiao Lian sat in her wheelchair outside the operating theatre, anxiously looking at the lit up sign above the door. Lu Nanze was in an operation, his life was in danger. The doctor went in and out of the operating theater hurriedly, making her restless and worried. As she was waiting, she suddenly heard footsteps approaching. Turning around, Qiao Lian saw Dad Lu and Qiao Yiyi hurrying towards them. Qiao Yiyi immediately started crying as she looked at the operating theater¡¯s door. ¡°Second Brother, Second Brother, you¡¯ll be alright! Second Brother!¡± Dad Lu furrowed his brow as he peered into the theatre. But when he shifted his gaze and saw Qiao Lian, he looked stunned and said after a pause, ¡°Little Qiao Lian, it¡¯s you!¡± As Qiao Lian looked back at him, a hint of hatred grew in her eyes. ¡°Uncle Lu.¡± Dad Lu frowned. They exchanged a look, but neither of them spoke. It didn¡¯t take long for Qiao Yiyi to break the silence between them. She immediately went up to Qiao Lian and grabbed her arms, hollering, ¡°You tr*mp! You did this to Second Brother! Tr*mp! If he hadn¡¯t tried to rescue you, do you think he would have ended up like this? If Second Brother dies, you¡¯d better apany him to his grave!¡± Qiao Lian snapped out of her daze. She sprang to her feet, shrugged off the grip on her shoulders immediately and delivered a vicious p right across Qiao Yiyi¡¯s cheek. Bam. The crisp and sharp p echoed through the floor of the building. Everyone turned and looked at them in disbelief. Then Qiao Lian spoke with a serious expression, ¡°Qiao Yiyi, I should be the one saying that to you! If Second Brother dies, I will make sure you apany him to his grave!¡± Chapter 1175 - Their First Collaboration (11)

Chapter 1175: Their First Coboration (11)

Qiao Yiyi stood rooted to the ground, staring at Qiao Lian questioningly, her authoritypletely overpowered. She gulped before she finally said, ¡°What- what do you mean?¡± ¡°You know very well what I mean! I think you know very well who sent the men. I don¡¯t need to spell it out to you, do I?¡± Qiao Yiyi retreated a step as her pupils shrank. She started to stammer, ¡°What- what are you saying? I don¡¯t understand¡ª¡± ¡°Don¡¯t understand? Then I think Qiao Zhigang would!¡± Since they were captured right up to this moment, Qiao Lian had been trying to figure out who might have done this to her. After eliminating all possibilities, there was only one person, Qiao Zhigang. And when Shen Liangchuan spoke with the police, it seemed like someone had admitted that they had acted under Qiao Zhigang¡¯s instructions. She could almost be certain now that Qiao Zhigang was behind this. She looked at Qiao Yiyi with disappointment and sadness. The woman was obviously panicking as she took a step backwards and said, ¡°I¡¯ve said it, I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about!¡± Then she spun around and ran out. She had to look for Dad quickly. Now that the matter had blown up, Qiao Lian knew! If the people at the police station spilled the beans, that would be the end of her dad. Qiao Yiyi ran out of the hospital in a panic. ¨C In the hospital, Dad Lu stared at Qiao Lian in shock. ¡°You mean...¡± Ignoring the man, Qiao Lian sat back down on her wheelchair. This man had killed her parents, she had no regard for him. Dad Lu was unfazed by Qiao Lian giving him the cold shoulder. He walked to the chairs on the side and sat down quietly, waiting for news about Lu Nanze¡¯s operation. Qiao Lian pursed her lips, suddenly upset. Lu Nanze, nothing must happen to you! Then she said a quiet prayer for him in her heart. Shen Liangchuan looked at Qiao Lian as he stood beside her. Although feeling a little jealous still, when he recalled how Lu Nanze had shielded his wife and taken the blows for her, those feelings vanished. No matter how much he had hated the man, now he prayed sincerely that Lu Nanze would be alright. He hoped that Lu Nanze would make it through with no mishaps. The people outside fell silent at once and continued to stare at the operating theater. After some time, the door of the operating theater swung open. The people surged forward. Because Qiao Lian was feeling unwell and in a wheelchair, she was unable to react quickly. Dad Lu was the first to reach Lu Nanze¡¯s bedside. He looked at the nurse anxiously and asked, ¡°Doctor, how is my son?¡± ¡°Mr. Lu is out of danger, he¡¯s suffered serious injuries and needs to be hospitalised till his bones heal.¡± ¡°Sure, sure, that¡¯s not a problem! He¡¯ll stay in the hospital, he¡¯ll stay.¡± Dad Lu¡¯s eyes were reddened as he followed the trolley bed. Qiao Lian followed in her wheelchair till she was at the ward¡¯s door. Once she saw that they had settled Lu Nanze, she looked up and tried to catch a nurse to ask a few questions, when Shen Liangchuan spoke, ¡°When will he wake up?¡± ¡°In about five hours.¡± The doctor exined, ¡°The anaesthesia hasn¡¯t worn off yet.¡± Five hourster. Lu Nanze regained consciousness. He saw Qiao Lian when he turned his head and immediately grabbed her hand, asking, ¡°Qiao Lian, have you got your memory back?¡± Chapter 1176 - Their First Collaboration (12)

Chapter 1176: Their First Coboration (12)

His question caught her by surprise. She looked at Lu Nanze but did not speak. Instead, she pushed his hand away. Then she turned her wheelchair around and said, ¡°Rest well, I¡¯ll get the doctor toe and examine you.¡± After saying this, she left the ward. As long as he had woken up, all was well. She went back to her ward andy down, finally closing her eyes and falling into a deep sleep. ¨C In the meantime, Qiao Yiyi had rushed home. Upon seeing Qiao Zhigang, she grabbed his hand and said, ¡°Dad, did you send people to kill Qiao Lian? Those fools have all been nabbed! Qiao Lian is safe, but Second Brother was beaten up badly! Also, I heard that the men held by the police confessed. What are we going to do now?!¡± Qiao Zhigang¡¯s expression immediately changed upon hearing this. He sprang up from his seat, cursing, ¡°These fools!¡± Qiao Yiyi had turned pale in fright. She paced to and fro nervously. ¡°What do we do now? What do we do?¡± Qiao Zhigang narrowed his eyes and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry and don¡¯t be afraid! If the Lu family tries to pursue this with us, we¡¯ll use the ount book! Hmph! If he dares to put me in jail, then I will make sure he keeps mepany.¡± Qiao Yiyi widened her eyes and asked, ¡°But what about now?¡± ¡°What¡¯s there to be afraid of now? You¡¯re carrying a child of the Lu family! They wouldn¡¯t dare to do anything to you.¡± Qiao Yiyi bit her lip. Although that was what Qiao Zhigang imed, she was still nervous. She took a deep breath and nodded. Then Qiao Zhigang got to his feet. ¡°Dad, where are you going?¡± Qiao Zhigang immediately said, ¡°I¡¯m going to the hospital to see him.¡± Qiao Yiyi nodded. ¨C At the hospital. Qiao Lian had had a good sleep and now felt well-rested. Besides some soreness and limpness, she felt well. However, the doctor had advised that she needed more bed rest in her first trimester, hence any sort of vigorous exercise would not be suitable. Therefore, Qiao Lian sat gingerly with a straight posture. After she had eaten, she got in the wheelchair so that Shen Liangchuan could take her to see Lu Nanze. They chatted on the way. When they arrived at Lu Nanze¡¯s ward and the moment Qiao Lian was about to push the door open, they suddenly heard Qiao Zhigang¡¯s voice, ¡°Nanze, I feel terrible seeing you in this state. Those useless dogs actually injured you, it¡¯s intolerable! However, I do feel that given they are friends in a way, could you perhaps consider talking to the police and telling them that you¡¯d like to drop the matter?¡± Drop the matter? Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes and looked at Shen Liangchuan. He made a gesture, signaling her to be quiet. She immediately pursed her lips. Then she saw that Shen Liangchuan had quietly taken out his cell phone and turned on the recording function. Her pupils shrank at once as she raised her thumb at him. In the ward, the conversation continued. In response to the man¡¯s request, Lu Nanze seemed indifferent. ¡°Uncle, our society is governed by thew and I suggest we abide by thew. How could we settle this in private?¡± Qiao Zhigang was livid and bristled at this in fury. Heughed icily and said, ¡°To be honest with you, it¡¯s true I sent those men! Yiyi is pregnant with your child and it¡¯s bad enough that you refuse to acknowledge it. All I wanted to do was to teach that girl Qiao Lian a lesson! But if you really wish to pursue the matter, I can not guarantee that I won¡¯t hand stuff over to the police. The ount book... for instance?¡± Chapter 1177 - Their First Collaboration (13)

Chapter 1177: Their First Coboration (13)

Qiao Zhigang was boldly threatening him and this stunned Qiao Lian. She clenched her fists tightly as she witnessed the situation in the ward. Qiao Zhigang¡¯s back was to her, so she could not see his expression. But she could see Lu Nanze¡¯s expression as hey on the bed, unable to move. His expression was stormy, his usual smile had vanished and he looked extremely serious. At this stage, he was probably on the edge of a violent rage. Qiao Lian stared at him from her wheelchair. She had no idea what sort of choice Lu Nanze would make. On one hand was his father. If he proceeded with prosecuting, it would mean his father might end up in jail in the case that Qiao Zhigang handed in the ount book. Given this, would he drop the charges? In a ce like Suzhou, if he dropped the charges and protected Qiao Zhigang, then it would be impossible for her to press charges if she wanted Qiao Zhigang punished. She forcefully bit her lip, feeling distressed as she watched the situation unfold. Initially, after the abduction incident, she had felt that there was already softening when it came to Lu Nanze. But now, if Lu Nanze made the decision to protect his father, then the two of them would never be on good terms again. She cast her gaze down as these thoughts shed through her mind. Then she smiled bitterly. Actually, wasn¡¯t that how rtionships between people worked? One moment they would fight for each other till death, the next moment they would be at odds over some advantage or benefit they could gain. Qiao Lian¡¯s lips turned upwards, almost certain about what Lu Nanze was going to choose. She lowered her gaze and turned her wheelchair around, but as she was trying to wheel herself away, she found that the wheelchair wasn¡¯t moving at all. She looked back and saw Shen Liangchuan standing there with a hand on the wheelchair. He was looking at her steadily. There was a firmness in his expression that she hadn¡¯t noticed. She halted and then heard Lu Nanze¡¯s voiceing from the ward, ¡°Actually, my injuries aren¡¯t serious and I¡¯m big enough to overlook what all of you have done.¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank as she heard these words. She felt pain in her heart. Her hands were tightly gripping the armrests of the wheelchair. Indeed, Lu Nanze had chosen to protect his father. She took a deep breath and tried hard to suppress the deepening heartache. Qiao Zhigang started to look overjoyed and he sounded very happy as he said, ¡°That settles it then, my good nephew. I knew you wouldn¡¯t let our family down. Your uncle here apologizes to you, haha. I¡¯ll go home now and tell Qiao Yiyi toe and look after you, she¡¯ll take good care of you for sure¡ª¡± Before he could finish, he was interrupted again by Lu Nanze, ¡°I think you misunderstood something.¡± Qiao Zhigang paused as the other man continued, ¡°I¡¯m not done speaking.¡± He stared at Qiao Zhigang in silence for a moment and then finally said, ¡°I can overlook the fact that you¡¯ve caused me these injuries, but this time your target was Qiao Lian. I think the decision to press charges should be up to her, I have no right to interfere.¡± Everyone was shaken by these words. Qiao Lian looked at the pale man on the hospital bed in disbelief. At this point, his usual smile had returned to his face, which was both stunningly beautiful yet frightening at the same time. As Qiao Lian bit her lip, she heard Qiao Zhigang blow his top. ¡°What do you mean by that? Isn¡¯t it up to you to let her press charges? I cannot believe for a moment that right here in Suzhou, you can¡¯t handle a girl like Qiao Lian. Lu Nanze, don¡¯t you f*cking talk to me like I¡¯m an idiot! If you can¡¯t get past being beaten up, then just say so!¡± Chapter 1178 - Their First Collaboration (14)

Chapter 1178: Their First Coboration (14)

After having said that, Qiao Zhigang saw that Lu Nanze¡¯s expression had turned frosty. ¡°What I mean is what I¡¯ve just said! Your target was Qiao Lian. So shouldn¡¯t she be the one to decide whether to press charges?¡± Qiao Zhigang widened his eyes in horror. He had not expected that Lu Nanze would say that to him in all seriousness. He pursed his lips and looked at Lu Nanze. ¡°So you are sure that you wish to settle ounts with me?¡± Looking quite exhausted, Lu Nanze massaged his temple and repeated, ¡°I¡¯ve already said that I¡¯m not getting back at you, it¡¯s Qiao Lian¡¯s decision.¡± On this note, he slid downwards and, as hey down, concluded, ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, you may leave.¡± Qiao Zhigang froze. He took in a deep breath and spun around, heading towards the door. The moment he threw open the door and saw the people outside, he was instantly stupefied. From looking extremely furious, he suddenly turned into that simple and honest man once more as he said, ¡°Xiao Lian, why are you here? I heard that you were in trouble so I came over to see you. Are you ok?¡± Looking at her uncle coldly, she could only feel horror. Why had she never realized that he was that kind of person? Furthermore, he had considerably good acting skills and an ability to switch roles very quickly. The kind uncle role that he was ying now was way too convincing. In the past, he had been that loser, the little brother that needed to be taken care of, but now... Qiao Lian bit her lip as she narrowed her eyes and looked at Qiao Zhigang. After a pause, she said, ¡°I¡¯m very well.¡± Qiao Zhigang smiled and looked relieved at once. ¡°That¡¯s good then, that¡¯s good. I can rx now that you¡¯re alright!¡± On this note, Qiao Zhigang nced at Lu Nanze and suddenly said with a smile, ¡°Qiao Lian, let¡¯s have a few words?¡± Qiao Lian cast her gaze down and nodded, moving to the side with him. She wanted to hear what he had to say. The man said unhurriedly, ¡°Qiao Lian, I think you must have offended someone that you shouldn¡¯t have.¡± She smirked and waited for him to say more. Qiao Zhigang continued, ¡°Look at how heavy-handed they were, they even beat up Lu Nanze. Have you thought about where these people might be from?¡± Qiao Lian kept silent still, looking at the man impassively and waiting for him to finish. Qiao Zhigang was beginning to feel oddly guilty under her stare but continued nevertheless, ¡°In any case, if they dare to do such things in Suzhou, they must have someone backing them for sure. You have neither status nor money, so it¡¯s better that you don¡¯t get entangled. I heard that they were badly beaten up too, so you could consider that as revenge. Now, if you¡¯re willing to let them go, I can try talking to them and asking them not to look for trouble with you any more. What do you think? I¡¯m doing this for your own good, really.¡± Qiao Lian was amazed. These words gave her a whole new perspective of the man. How could there exist someone as despicable as him? She looked in wonderment at how eloquent he was, like a caring uncle who would negotiate with thugs for his niece¡¯s safety. Unable to tolerate it any longer, she startedughing. Taken aback, Qiao Zhigang asked, ¡°Qiao Lian, why are youughing?¡± Qiao Lian said unhurriedly, ¡°I¡¯mughing because I wonder how dad never realized what sort of person his little brother really was.¡± Qiao Zhigang¡¯s expression froze as he asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡± Narrowing her eyes, she replied, ¡°I¡¯m no fool, I know very well what¡¯s going on! Where this matter is concerned, I¡¯ll get to the bottom of it.¡± Chapter 1179 - Their First Collaboration (15)

Chapter 1179: Their First Coboration (15)

Qiao Zhigang narrowed his eyes when he understood what she meant. He eyed Qiao Lian for a moment and said, ¡°What do you know?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not important what I know. What¡¯s important is what you¡¯ve done.¡± The man seemed stunned as he looked at her intently. Ater a moment, there was a look of sudden realization. ¡°You got your memory back?¡± Qiao Lian kept silent. Qiao Zhigang snorted icily and warned, ¡°Qiao Lian, I would advise you to drop the charges and stop pursuing the matter. We are family after all!¡± Family. Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help butugh at those words. She said, ¡°If you thought we were family, would you have joined forces with an outsider to destroy your ownpany? If you thought we were family, would you have treated my brother and I as you did after our parents died? I don¡¯t think we¡¯re family at all!¡± Qiao Zhigang stared viciously at her and said, ¡°Qiao Lian, whatever you say is meaningless! You say that the Qiao family treated me well? If that was so, why did I not get a cent of the family¡¯s money? If that was so, why was your father the head of the family while I could only y second fiddle and had to depend on your family? We had the same parents! I was the young master of the Qiao family, yet I had to get your father¡¯s approval to spend.¡± He poured out his grievances, but everything he said astonished her. At the time, Grandad had passed the business over to Dad so that the shares would not get divided. It was also so that Dad would have enough authority to make decisions for the business. Hence, Qiao Zhigang hadn¡¯t received any part of this. Dad had felt bad and therefore had made a decision to give a portion of shares to him. In addition, Dad had even split the yearly bonus equally with Qiao Zhigang. But this person was now telling her that he hadn¡¯t been treated fairly. It wasn¡¯t fair, but even so, wasn¡¯t Dad his own brother?! How could he join forces with other people to kill his brother and have the audacity to say these things now? Qiao Lian stared at the man till he finally finished what he had to say. Then she cast her gaze down and said with an icy smile, ¡°Qiao Zhigang, I will get down to the bottom of my parents¡¯ deaths! It¡¯s best that you get your act together.¡± She started to wheel herself away. As she turned, Qiao Zhigang suddenly said, ¡°Qiao Lian, I¡¯m your only rtive now. Do you really want to take me to court? Do you really want to further sully the reputation of the Qiao family?¡± Qiao Lian halted and turned around to look at him. ¡°What is left of the reputation of the Qiao family?¡± Her parents¡¯ names had been dragged through the mud. As for Qiao Zhigang, what did he have to do with her? On that note, she turned and left. Qiao Zhigang stared after her, clenching his jaws tightly. Narrowing his eyes, he turned and walked away. He had to quickly think of a way to make the Lu family confront this matter and resolve it. They must not press charges against him. The other party had information on him and if he got sued, they would be able to get witnesses and proof. At this thought, he hurriedly picked up his cell phone and called Qiao Yiyi. ¡°I want you to use your pregnancy as an excuse to see Lu Nanze¡¯s father and rify this matter with him! You have to make him confront this matter so that I¡¯ll be safe. If he doesn¡¯t want to see you, then mention the ount book.¡± He would not believe that Lu Nanze didn¡¯t care about his own father. If he had to go to jail, then they both would go together! Chapter 1180 - Their First Collaboration (16)

Chapter 1180: Their First Coboration (16)

Qiao Lian wheeled herself away from Qiao Zhigang and returned to Shen Liangchuan. He looked at her and asked, ¡°How was it?¡± She cast her gaze down and replied, ¡°I will neverpromise with my parents¡¯ death.¡± Although Lu Nanze had saved her, it didn¡¯t change the fact that there was right and wrong. Her parents had put up with a sullied reputation for so many years, she couldn¡¯t possibly let that continue even after they had died. At this thought, she lifted her gaze and looked at Shen Liangchuan. He nodded as he sharply nced at her, ¡°We¡¯ll just have to owe him a favor and find a chance to return that someday.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. Shen Liangchuan lowered his voice and asked, ¡°So where are we heading now?¡± Where? They were here initially to see Lu Nanze. But now, she suddenly felt that it was only right that she kept a distance from the man. Qiao Lian looked away. ¨C Qiao Yiyi managed to locate Dad Lu in a spa while he was getting a full body treatment. He had a towel wrapped around him when he walked out and saw Qiao Yiyi standing there awkwardly. Taken aback, he asked after a pause, ¡°What brings you here?¡± It was indeed an awkward meeting between the future father-inw and his future daughter-inw. Qiao Yiyi¡¯s eyes lit up as she quickly stepped forward. ¡°Uncle Lu, you have to help my father!¡± As soon as she had said this, she lowered her head and started sobbing quietly. Dad Lu was stunned and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter with your dad?¡± Qiao Yiyi told him what had happened, of course, spinning a tale about how Qiao Lian had harassed her and seduced Lu Nanze, hence her father had had to step in to teach her a lesson. He hadn¡¯t meant to harm her. But Lu Nanze and Qiao Lian were now forcing them into a corner and unwilling to forgive them. At this point of the story, Qiao Yiyi hung her head and cried pitifully, saying, ¡°Uncle Lu, you know my dad, he doesn¡¯t like being at a disadvantage. It¡¯s true that his methods may not always be right and going to jail to learn is not a bad thing, but I¡¯m worried that if he ends up hating Second Brother, he might hand something over to the police and what do we do then? I mean... like the ount book.¡± Dad Lu had impatiently been listening to her ramblings until she said this. Then his pupils shrank at once and he looked up. He hadn¡¯t expected the weak and delicate youngdy to be this scheming. Dad Lu immediately smiled and said, ¡°Isn¡¯t this a simple matter that we can talk through? Don¡¯t worry, your father will be fine.¡± ¡°What about the guys that had been nabbed by the police?¡± ¡°I know the bureau chief, I¡¯ll give him a callter.¡± Qiao Yiyi immediately sighed in relief. After she left, Dad Lu picked up his cell phone with narrowed eyes. He walked to the side of the room. First, he called the bureau chief. ¡°Xiao Li...¡± Xiao Li was one of Lu Nanze¡¯s friends who was now a high-positioned officer. Xiao Li eximed, ¡°Uncle Lu, I know why you¡¯re calling, but Second Brother has just called and said that we should handle this matter ording to thew.¡± ording to thew meant a thorough investigation. Dad Lu narrowed his eyes and muttered, ¡°This unfilial son, I¡¯ll go to the hospital right now!¡± After he hung up, he drove straight to the hospital. At the same time, police officers had arrived at Qiao Zhigang¡¯s home. They knocked on his door and then said, ¡°Pleasee with us.¡± Chapter 1181 - Goodbye, Second Brother (1)

Chapter 1181: Goodbye, Second Brother (1)

Qiao Lian was lying on the bed. She had to stay in the hospital for a few days to be monitored. Shen Liangchuan was handling some documents and had to make a call. Hence, taking his cell phone with him, he walked out to the balcony. With little else to do, Qiao Lian was browsing Weibo when suddenly the ward door was opened with a loud creak. She casually looked up, smiling and saying, ¡°That was fast¡ª¡± Before she could finish and when she looked at the doorway, she realized it wasn¡¯t Shen Liangchuan, but Qiao Yiyi. Her eyes were full of viciousness and she was emanating an intense hatred as she looked at Qiao Lian. She said, ¡°My dad has been taken away by the police, you must be gloating now, right?¡± Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes and looked away. ¡°Qiao Yiyi, this is the hospital. Please get out.¡± ¡°Get out? I¡¯m not going to get out!¡± Qiao Yiyi sneered and continued, ¡°Are you feeling guilty? Or are you afraid? Qiao Lian, he is your uncle, do you have to be so heartless?¡± ¡°Heartless?¡± Qiao Lian was almost speechless. ¡°And you don¡¯t think it¡¯s heartless to send thugs to kidnap me?¡± Qiao Yiyi replied immediately, ¡°We were only out to scare you! Look, aren¡¯t you unharmed?¡± So just because she was unharmed, it made the act justifiable? Qiao Lian had nevere across this sort of argument. Staring at Qiao Yiyi, she asked, ¡°Then what about Lu Nanze?¡± Even Lu Nanze had been beaten up badly. She couldn¡¯t imagine what would have happened if she alone had been abducted. She thought of the behavior of that man with the braid. She was so angry that her chest felt congested. Qiao Yiyi¡¯s eyes were on fire. ¡°What happened to Second Brother was an ident, that¡¯s a separate matter from yours! You are unharmed, so why won¡¯t you let my dad off? Qiao Lian cast her gaze down, feeling that trying to reason with Qiao Yiyi was apletely futile exercise. She pointed at the door and said, ¡°Get out.¡± ¡°Qiao Lian, don¡¯t you dare be so arrogant!¡± Qiao Yiyi bit her lip forcefully. Seeing Qiao Lian¡¯s expression infuriated her and she continued, ¡°I¡¯m telling you now, Second Brother will not just stand and watch our family get into trouble!¡± She held her abdomen and smirked. ¡°Uncle Lu is already here. I don¡¯t believe that Second Brother will abandon my father, abandon me, abandon his own child, and abandon his father!¡± She narrowed her eyes and added, ¡°Qiao Lian, just you watch!¡± After saying that, Qiao Yiyi walked out. Qiao Lian frowned. For some reason, she was suddenly worried about Lu Nanze. He had broken two of his ribs and his condition was serious now. Could his condition worsen if things blew up? At this thought, Qiao Lian threw her nket aside, put on her shoes and walked out of the room. Just as she did so, Shen Liangchuan returned from his phone call. Qiao Lian was about to say something when Shen Liangchuan interrupted with a serious expression, ¡°I just saw that Lu Nanze¡¯s father has turned up. Let¡¯s go and have a look.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. The two of them went to Lu Nanze¡¯s ward. As they approached, they heard voices of people arguing. She halted for a moment and exchanged a nce with Shen Liangchuan. Then they continued to walk towards the room. As they were about to enter the room, they heard Dad Lu hollering, ¡°You unfilial son, are you trying to get me into trouble now? All because of a woman. Don¡¯t you want your father? Don¡¯t you want your child anymore?!¡± Beside the two men, Qiao Yiyi stood with her head lowered and crying most pitifully. Chapter 1182 - Goodbye, Second Brother (2)

Chapter 1182: Goodbye, Second Brother (2)

Lu Nanze was lying on the bed. He was in a daze, watching his father berating him. He hadn¡¯t known about what had happened back then. It was only muchter that he found out what his father had done to Qiao Lian. At the time, he had had no idea how he would face her again. And now... Dad was standing before him, berating him as though those acts were fully justifiable. Lu Nanze cast his gaze down, suddenly feeling frustrated. The fact was that he felt lost. This was his father. Even if he wasn¡¯t the nicest guy around, he was the only family he had. He should protect his own father because he himself wasn¡¯t a good person either. He was the sort of person who would sacrifice anything for his own gain. But now he suddenly felt that what he had done in the past was wrong. Since Qiao Lian had injured her head to defend her child, to the extent that she had almost died, he had started to reflect upon himself. Right up to now... He suddenly understood what Shen Liangchuan had said once. ¡°Like¡± was when one plucked a flower for himself, so that he could fully own it. ¡°Love¡± was to painstakingly cherish it, to protect it from storms, for the sake of the flower itself. In the past, Qiao Lian had always insisted that he didn¡¯t love her. What about now? Lu Nanze hung his head and narrowed his eyes. He knew that he would only have the chance topete with Shen Liangchuan if he sent his father to the police. But now... Lu Nanze slowly lifted his head and looked at Dad Lu. He said after a pause, ¡°I understand, Dad.¡± Immediately, Dad Lu sighed in relief. He took a step forward and patted Lu Nanze on the shoulder. Lowering his head after a moment, he said, ¡°Good son. I knew you wouldn¡¯t abandon your father.¡± After saying this, he turned to look at Qiao Yiyi and said, ¡°And what about her?¡± Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes. He suddenly said after a pause, ¡°You wish to marry into the Lu family?¡± Qiao Yiyi nodded. Lu Nanze lowered his eyelids and said, ¡°I¡¯ll give you two choices. One, you may marry into the Lu family, however this depends on your sincerity. Two, I let your dad go. Between these two choices, you decide for yourself. Now, both of you please leave. I want some peace and quietness.¡± Upon hearing these words, Qiao Yiyi¡¯s pupils shrank and an expression of crazed delight started to spread across her face. Clenching her fists and looking at Lu Nanze, she said after a pause, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know what to do.¡± She turned around and headed out right away. Just as Qiao Yiyi walked out of the ward, she ran into Qiao Lian. Hardly able to contain her overflowing joy and ecstasy, she smiled broadly and eximed, ¡°Qiao Lian, did you hear that? Second Brother will not let go of me, he likes me!¡± After she had said this, she smiled again and said, ¡°Second Brother is going to marry me! Second Brother is going to marry me!¡± Qiao Lian looked at Qiao Yiyi. It seemed as though the woman had overlooked the implications of Lu Nanze¡¯s words. If she wanted to marry into the Lu family, then she would have to persuade Qiao Zhigang to admit that he had hired those men to harm Qiao Lian and, on top of that, destroy the ount book. But this woman seemed entirely oblivious to the fact that he was her father. Frightening, it was too frightening. Her obsession had made her cast aside her own family. Chapter 1183 - Goodbye, Second Brother (3)

Chapter 1183: Goodbye, Second Brother (3)

Qiao Lian fixed her gaze intently on Qiao Yiyi until the woman finally turned and walked away. The men in the ward could hear what Qiao Yiyi had just said outside of the room. Lu Nanze was obviously shaken as he lifted his head and saw Qiao Lian. But Qiao Lian¡¯s face was expressionless as their eyes met. He pursed his lips, knowing that she must have overheard what he had said to Qiao Yiyi. He winced and opened his mouth to say something, but eventually no words came. Qiao Lian turned and walked away. After she left, Lu Nanze stood there and stared at the empty doorway. There was a pained look in his eyes as a wave of sorrow washed over him. His chest tightened in deepening agony as though a part of his heart had been sliced away with a knife. In that moment, even death would have been easier. ¨C Qiao Yiyi left the hospital and headed for the police station. After locating the right people and pulling the right strings, she was finally given a chance to see Qiao Zhigang, who was now locked away. He looked at her intently and said, ¡°Yiyi, what did that scumbag Lu Nanze have to say?¡± With a broad smile on her face, Qiao Yiyi said, ¡°Dad, Second Brother says he¡¯s going to marry me!¡± Qiao Zhigang¡¯s eyes lit up with hope as he asked, ¡°When are they going to release me?¡± Biting her lip, Qiao Yiyi replied, ¡°Dad, I may have to trouble you for a while longer. Second Brother doesn¡¯t want you to leave here just yet, because as you also know, Qiao Lian has got Shen Liangchuan backing her. He¡¯s not only a Best Actor, he¡¯s also the Shen family enterprise¡¯s sessor. Right now, it¡¯s Qiao Lian who doesn¡¯t want to let this matter rest. So now we¡¯re still stuck.¡± Qiao Zhigang frowned, feeling dispirited. After a pause, he said, ¡°So what- what do we do now?¡± Sighing, Qiao Yiyi said, ¡°Dad, the punishment for instigating harm isn¡¯t all that heavy actually. I¡¯ll find you the bestwyer, let¡¯s prepare to fight the case.¡± Qiao Zhigang narrowed his eyes and asked, ¡°Yiyi, have you been tricked? Do you mean Lu Nanze can¡¯t resolve a small matter like this?¡± ¡°Dad, Second Brother has agreed to marry me, and we¡¯re even starting to prepare for the wedding. How can this be fake?!¡± Qiao Zhigang frowned upon hearing those words and he said, ¡°No, I still feel there¡¯s something off about this whole situation.¡± Qiao Yiyi bit her lip and lowered her voice, saying, ¡°Dad, the truth is that Dad Lu is terribly worried about the ount book, so he¡¯s forcing Second Brother to marry me. Even if Second Brother treats you and me like dirt, he wouldn¡¯t treat his own father like that.¡± Still frowning, Qiao Zhigang said after a silent pause, ¡°Fine! If I can exchange being in jail for a few years for your lifelong happiness, it¡¯s worth it!!¡± At once, Qiao Yiyi looked at her father and asked, ¡°In this case, Dad, where¡¯s the ount book? I¡¯m about to get married, and you know Second Brother¡¯s temperament well. You should know that I need some sort of leverage to be able to control him.¡± Qiao Zhigang thought for a while and then said, ¡°The ount book is kept...¡± ¨C Upon leaving the police station, Qiao Yiyi hurried home. Once she arrived at home, she went into Qiao Zhigang¡¯s study and very quickly located the ount book in a well-hidden location. The ount book was tattered and torn but all these years, she had depended on it to meet Second Brother. And now, she would have to depend on it again to marry Second Brother. This ount book had simply been her lucky star. At this thought, Qiao Yiyi stashed the ount book into her bag and ran out of the house again. Chapter 1184 - Goodbye, Second Brother (4)

Chapter 1184: Goodbye, Second Brother (4)

She understood that, when Second Brother said that she had to show some sincerity, this is what sincerity referred to. Only when she handed over the ount book to Dad Lu, everything would be resolved. Qiao Yiyi was at once excited by this thought. But she could have never imagined that this ount book would eventually cause so much trouble in the end. ¨C Qiao Lian returned to her own ward. She stared nkly at the wall for a moment and then suddenly said to Shen Liangchuan, ¡°I want to be discharged.¡± Shen Liangchuan nced at her and without hesitating said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll get someone to start the discharging procedure.¡± Qiao Lian continued nodding. After a moment, Qiao Lian suddenly said, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, it¡¯s also not so wrong that Lu Nanze chose to protect his father, is it?¡± After all, if her own father did something wrong, she too would find it impossible to ce righteousness before family, right? She cast her gaze down but still, deep down in her heart, there was profound mncholy. She understood Lu Nanze¡¯s intentions. Qiao Zhigang had hired people to abduct them, hence to avenge her, he wouldn¡¯t let Qiao Zhigang get away easily. The best scenario for the man was probably a lifetime in jail. However, being human also, Lu Nanze could not just send his own father to jail. Hence, to resolve the issue of the ount book he could only marry Qiao Yiyi. But how could this be ok? Even if Lu Nanze had saved her, all that she owed him was her life. There was no way she wouldpromise her parents¡¯ innocence just like that. She bit her lip. After a moment, she looked at Shen Liangchuan and said, ¡°The ount book is with Qiao Zhigang. What can we do now?¡± Shen Liangchuan narrowed his eyes and replied, ¡°Steal it, of course.¡± Steal it. Narrowing her eyes, Qiao Lian thought, ¡°Lu Nanze, I hope you won¡¯t hold this against me!!¡± Shen Liangchuan spoke again, ¡°I¡¯ve arranged for people to steal the ount book from Qiao Yiyi, but as you know, this is Suzhou.¡± Not Beijing. In this ce, Lu Nanze was obviously more powerful than Shen Liangchuan. If Shen Liangchuan could think of stealing the ount book, then Lu Nanze could very well expect it. Hence it was likely that there were many people nted around Qiao Yiyi at this point. Qiao Lian paused for a moment after she heard this and then asked, ¡°What are the chances that you get your hands on it?¡± ¡°20 percent.¡± Qiao Lian fell back on her wheelchair in disappointment. As she contemted this, Shen Liangchuan suddenly said, ¡°But if my men fail at this, then the both of us can try it in the hospital.¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank back at once. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°What I mean is that once Qiao Yiyi gets her hands on the ount book, she¡¯lle to the hospital for sure to give it to Lu Nanze.¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes widened and lit up all at once. Qiao Yiyi took a cab to the hospital,pletely oblivious to the fact that a few fights had already taken ce behind her. The number of people that Lu Nanze had mobilized to protect her was five to six times more than Shen Liangchuan¡¯s men. Hence, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s men were no match at all for Lu Nanze¡¯s. Thus Qiao Yiyi arrived at the hospital safely. Standing at the entrance of the hospital, she stared at the building excitedly, thinking that once she handed the ount book to Second Brother, their marriage would be ready to happen. But... She narrowed her eyes and called Dad Lu. ¡°Uncle, I¡¯ve got what you want, but shouldn¡¯t you show your sincerity as well?¡± Dad Lu immediately said, ¡°Good, good niece. From now on, you have to live happily with Lu Nanze. I¡¯ll go and announce the marriage!¡± Chapter 1185 - Goodbye, Second Brother (5)

Chapter 1185: Goodbye, Second Brother (5)

Qiao Yiyi¡¯s eyes lit up at once. For a huge public listedpany such as the Lu family¡¯s, every move the chairman made was closely watched by the rest of the world. The Lu family¡¯spany shares were pricey and, in addition, Lu Nanze¡¯s bachelorhood had been the focus of everyone¡¯s attention since his situation would have a huge impact on thepany. Hence, the well-doing of their shares had been controversial in recent years. If Dad Lu announced the marriage, then there would be no two ways about the union. Because if Lu Nanze backed out of the marriage, then the Lu family¡¯spany shares would copse. Hence, Qiao Yiyi was most satisfied. She quickly said, ¡°Uncle Lu, I¡¯m just outside the hospital. Once the announcement is out, I wille in and hand the ount book to Second Brother.¡± ¡°Great, the press release is ready and we only need to announce. Since you¡¯ve said this, my good niece, I will make this a grand affair for you.¡± Five minutester, the news came and it rocked the Suzhou industry: [Lu family enterprise Chairman Mr. Lu Nanze and Ms. Qiao Yiyi officially engaged and will marry within two months.] The moment this was released, Qiao Yiyiughed immediately, feeling that her long-time dream had finally materialized. It had been eight years. Since Qiao Lian had left right up till now, it had been eight long years. Every day, she had kept dreaming of marrying Lu Nanze. And today it was finally happening! She really was going to marry Lu Nanze. Qiao Yiyi¡¯s eyes sparkled with excitement, as though filled with the joy of gaining something. She felt as though she was walking on air. Then she quickly entered Lu Nanze¡¯s ward. Lu Nanze was sitting up on the bed reading. When he heard her enter, he looked up. His pupils shrank upon seeing her. ¡°You¡¯ve brought the book?¡± Qiao Yiyi nodded at once. Then, as though presenting a treasure, she held the ount book out to Lu Nanze. He lowered his head and flipped through the book. Although he didn¡¯t understand everything that was in it, seeing the object itself made him feel like everything wasing to an end. As long as this ount book was destroyed. From then on, the Lu family would no longer be held hostage by the Qiao family. Qiao Zhigang had already confessed and he would spend the rest of his days in jail. As for the fool Qiao Yiyi, he had no regard for her. At this thought, Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes and said, ¡°Bring me a brazier.¡± Immediately, an assistant left the room and brought in a brazier. Lu Nanze looked steadily at the brazier and then at the ount book. He knew that once the ount book was burnt to ashes, his father would be safe forever, there would no longer be any hidden trouble. But he also knew that this act would burn away whateversting mutual affections that Qiao Lian had for him. With narrowed eyes, he looked at the object for the longest time and slowly, he raised the ount book over the brazier. ¨C Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan were dashing towards Lu Nanze¡¯s ward with a few men. On the way, there were people trying to obstruct, but they were all put down by Shen Liangchuan. Very soon, they arrived at the ward. There were two bodyguards standing outside and they held the group back, barring them from entering. Shen Liangchuan immediately suppressed the two men and shouted at Qiao Lian, ¡°Get yourself in there!¡± Chapter 1186 - Goodbye, Second Brother (6)

Chapter 1186: Goodbye, Second Brother (6)

Qiao Lian nodded, lowered her head and sneaked into the ward. The moment she entered, she saw Lu Nanze and Qiao Yiyi standing there. Lu Nanze was holding something that looked like an ount book, getting ready to set it aze in the brazier. Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes shone as she stepped forward in a sh, moving faster than she would normally do. Seeing that Lu Nanze was about to drop the ount book into the brazier, she reached out and grabbed the object, saying, ¡°Lu Nanze, give it to me!¡± Even though he was injured, he moved very quickly and dodged her. He held the ount book by his side and looked up at her asking, ¡°Why are you here?¡± Biting her lip, Qiao Lian said, ¡°Lu Nanze, you know me, I mean what I say. Lu Nanze, do you know that all these years, my parents¡¯ names have been dragged through the dirt? Do you know that my brother and I have been called the scammers¡¯ children all this time? And do you know how sad I feel every time someone curses at my parents?¡± ¡°I know you have nothing to do with what happened eight years ago. But do you think it¡¯s right of your father to do this to my family for the sake of your family business? Now my family¡¯s ruined and the people dead! I suppose the fire at that time was a nned move to fool people too.¡± ¡°Lu Nanze, you have no idea how it feels. I want to restore my parents¡¯ reputation! This ount book belongs to the Qiao family, I want you to return it to me.¡± ¡°Lu Nanze, return it to me, or I will hate you for the rest of my life!¡± As she uttered these heartbreaking words, she started to cry. She looked at the ount book anxiously. If it got destroyed, then her parents reputation would be ruined forever. All these years, she had endured hardships and lived a miserable life in hope that one day she could clear her parents¡¯ names. But now that the ount book was just before her eyes, she was helpless to do anything. Her voice trembled as she spoke these words with fury. Biting forcefully her lip, she red at Lu Nanze, but everything she saw was a blur as tears rolled down her face. Lu Nanze feltpletely lost as he looked at the highly distressed Qiao Lian. He reached out and said, ¡°Don¡¯t cry, Qiao Lian.¡± But before he could finish speaking, Qiao Lian quickly dashed for the ount book. Her hand almost touched the book, but she was up against a man like Lu Nanze. He immediately grabbed her wrist with one of his hands and with the other hand, tossed the ount book into the brazier. At once, the mes in the brazier jumped into the air and the cover of the ount book was devoured. Qiao Lian was almost dying of anxiety. Without a second thought, she reached into the mes with her free hand to rescue the ount book. Her hand was almost right in the brazier. At this point, Lu Nanze used his other hand to grab her wrist tightly. Now her hand was right over the brazier. And his hand was over hers, stopping her from reaching in. At the same time, the mes from the brazier sparkled in the air. Qiao Lian was going crazy, but the next moment the smell of something burning filled her nostrils. She froze and suddenly realized... Lu Nanze had forced her hand back but while doing this, his own arm had gotten exposed over the brazier. In that moment, his arm was being grilled by the angry mes and that was where the smell wasing from. Chapter 1187 - Goodbye, Second Brother (7)

Chapter 1187: Goodbye, Second Brother (7)

Her pupils shrank back as she looked at Lu Nanze. He was staring at her with stubbornness in his eyes. He said slowly and clearly, ¡°Qiao Lian, I¡¯m sorry.¡± He was sorry that he could not let his father go to jail. Even if murder had to be punished, would he be the one to send his father to the guillotine? That wasn¡¯t possible. Qiao Lian merely felt an explosion of fury inside her chest. She red at him with hatred in her eyes. She was infuriated. He would rather get burnt in order to destroy the ount book. All for his father¡¯s sake! It wasn¡¯t wrong of him to protect his father, but what about her parents¡¯ reputation? Who was going to defend them? Were they to die just like that? That feeling of injustice overwhelmed her and, like a child who had been wronged, tears started to pour down her face. Her gaze fell on the brazier. The ount book had been half burnt. And Lu Nanze¡¯s arm was blistering badly now. If this continued, his arm would be crippled. She was angry enough to let him lose an arm. But she looked up suddenly and their eyes met. For some odd reason, her memories of the arrogance in his youth, the way he had sacrificed himself to save her when they were abducted, came to her and she suddenly led his hand away from the brazier. His hand was still tightly sped around her wrist, their arms locked over the centre of the brazier. Then, she watched helplessly as the ount book burnt to ashes, disappearing forever. The room was silent, only the mes danced as they too began to disappear. Atst, Lu Nanze let go of Qiao Lian. She stared at the brazier as eight years of grievances suddenly erupted within her. Right there and then, even her tears seemed to have forsaken her. She felt greatly dejected. There was no way to prove her parents¡¯ innocence. The hard work that she had put in for so long hade to nothing. Her fingers curled into fists with strength and she clenched her jaw tightly as she red at Lu Nanze. Through gritted teeth, she said slowly one word at a time, ¡°Lu Nanze. I, Qiao Lian, will never forgive you. For the rest of my life.¡± After these words, she turned and walked out. Lu Nanze sat on his bed and stared at her figure vanishing in the distance. He extended his hand to ask her to stay, but that stretched hand could not reach her disappearing silhouette. He stared nkly into thin air for a moment and then hung his head. He felt as though a knife had been plunged into his heart, repeatedly grinding to go deeper. He knew that there would never be any possibility of being together with her ever again. ¨C As Qiao Lian walked out of the ward, she burst out in tears. She sobbed as she walked. Crying like a dam unleashed, her tears rolled down her face non-stop. When she saw Shen Liangchuan, who had by now subdued the two bodyguards at the door, she started bawling loudly at once. She flew into his embrace and cried her heart out. ¡°The ount book is gone, my parents¡¯ reputation is tarnished forever.¡± ¡°Everyone in the world thinks they were scammers, but they weren¡¯t. They were good people, they were kind and generous, they were charitable and contributed much to society.¡± ¡°Shen Liangchuan, I¡¯m so devastated, so very devastated... What should I do? What about Qiao Yi?¡± Chapter 1188 - Goodbye, Second Brother (8)

Chapter 1188: Goodbye, Second Brother (8)

She had worked so hard for something she had deeply believed in for eight years, and her hopes had all copsed in that moment. She felt as though her whole life had been a joke. Full of grievance, she cried heart-wrenchingly. As she was crying, she suddenly heard a voice behind her, ¡°Qiao Lian, now you know who Second Brother likes the most?¡± Qiao Lian froze and turned around. She saw Qiao Yiyi¡¯s silhouette through her tears. Qiao Yiyi stood there and said haughtily, ¡°Qiao Lian, I¡¯ll have you know that Second Brother and I are getting married soon. We are a match made in heaven. You and he will never be together!¡± ¡°Second Brother ultimately chose me and his father.¡± ¡°Qiao Lian, I¡¯ll have you know that in the past I had to live in your shadow. Both of us are granddaughters of Grandad, so why were you the favorite? Was I born with a lower status? Just because your father was born two years before mine? I¡¯m telling you now, I will not just ept this.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve worked hard for eight years and finally, Second Brother is taking a second look at me. Now I¡¯m going to be Mrs. Lu. Hahaha, I¡¯ve finally seeded!¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s nails dug into the palms of her hands. She had had all her hopes destroyed because of the destruction of the ount book, so she didn¡¯t register any of Qiao Yiyi¡¯s words in that instant. She could only stare at Qiao Yiyi and say with an icy smile, ¡°Qiao Yiyi, did your father betray the Qiao family for all of this?¡± This was just too ridiculous to conceive. When the Qiao family was doing well, Qiao Zhigang was, at the very least, brother of the head of the family and Qiao Yiyi, at the very least, would have had the Qiao family to rely on after getting married, but now... ¡°The most important thing in a political marriage is family. Do you think that a woman who marries into the Lu family without family support can survive?¡± ¡°Qiao Yiyi, you are so foolish. If I were you, I¡¯d never have handed the ount book to him, never. I¡¯d have kept the ount book as leverage against him forever. Like this, at the very least, he¡¯d never mistreat me.¡± These words stunned Qiao Yiyi. She widened her eyes. She remembered what her father had said¡ªthat she must never give the ount book to Lu Nanze. But still, she had. Because the marriage had been announced. How could Second Brother not fulfill the marriage arrangement? If he really didn¡¯t and the matter blew up, it would severely damage the Lu family¡¯s reputation. At that point, theirpany¡¯s share price would surely tumble. Besides, she was carrying Second Brother¡¯s child. The moment she thought of the child, she immediately straightened her posture and smirked in confidence. ¡°Even if Second Brother doesn¡¯t treat me well, I am bearing his child. He¡¯s always been a responsible person, he will not abandon us. Qiao Lian, on the contrary, you will have to bear a sullied reputation. Everyone who sees you will say, look, that¡¯s the daughter of those scammers. I wonder how that will feel?¡± The moment she said this, Qiao Lian straightened her posture. She walked towards Qiao Yiyi. Thetter retreated a step in fright and asked, ¡°What- what do you want?¡± Before she could finish speaking, something shed before her eyes and a sound pnded right across her face. Bam. The crisp and clear p echoed through the corridor. Qiao Lian red at Qiao Yiyi and said in a dangerous tone, ¡°What did you just say? If you have the guts, say it one more time!¡± Her face was burning with fury. Her parents could never be proven innocent ever again, it was a topic she couldn¡¯t let slide. Chapter 1189 - Goodbye, Second Brother (9)

Chapter 1189: Goodbye, Second Brother (9)

Qiao Yiyi had now rubbed her the wrong way. Like an enraged bull, or a lion in the wrong mood. Qiao Lian¡¯s vicious expression frightened Qiao Yiyi so much that thetter quickly retreated a step, not daring to pursue the topic. She looked at Qiao Lian in a daze and muttered, ¡°What- what do you want? Are- are you afraid that I will tell everyone about your parents? Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes at Qiao Yiyi¡¯s reaction and replied with determination, ¡°Qiao Yiyi, let me tell you one thing, the innocent will always be innocent! Even if I have no way to prove it to the world, I¡¯ve never been afraid to tell others who my parents were. I am proud of them. Don¡¯t impose your own filthy perspectives on others! You can abandon your own father for the sake of luxury and money, but I would never have done that.¡± Qiao Yiyi was infuriated and retorted, ¡°Qiao Lian, don¡¯t try to use your sharp tongue here. Even if you¡¯re not afraid, haven¡¯t you spared a thought for Shen Liangchuan? He¡¯s in an awkward position, he¡¯s a Best Actor and gets a lot of attention. If people keep saying that his wife is the daughter of scammers, what do you think he¡¯ll do?¡± What would he do? Qiao Lian turned around and looked at Shen Liangchuan. But he had already started saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much about what goes on between my wife and me. We are husband and wife, we are one.¡± After speaking, he reached out and put his arm around Qiao Lian, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t lower yourself to her level and join the dogfight. Do you bite a dog back just because it has bitten you? Let¡¯s go.¡± Qiao Lian then realized that Qiao Yiyi had angered her. At that moment, the worst thing she could do to her own health was to get too emotional. She had to calm herself down as soon as possible. Hence, she gave Qiao Yiyi an icy look, turned around and left with Shen Liangchuan. Qiao Yiyi stood on the spot and looked at the two departing figures. Her gaze fell on Shen Liangchuan¡¯s arm. One of his arms was supporting Qiao Lian and the other was lightly wrapped around her waist from the back, protecting her in his embrace. It was as though he was caring for some rare treasure. It was a small gesture that showed much affection and love. Qiao Yiyi bit her lip. Suddenly, she felt a hatred that came from envy and jealousy. In the past, she had been quite sure that, between them, Qiao Lian was the one who had pestered him endlessly, but now it looked like... Shen Liangchuan was truly good to her. Andpared to her, they were worlds apart. Biting her lip still, she suddenly ced her palm on her cheek and walked into Lu Nanze¡¯s ward. The ssy VIP room was indeed well sound-proofed. Lu Nanze had not heard the exchange that had just gone on. He was now sitting on his bed, staring nkly into the distance. He looked at the blue skies outside the window as though trying to see past the thickyer of clouds. He did not react when Qiao Yiyi came into the room, but continued staring with a distant look in his eyes. There was a sense of emptiness in him, of deep dejection. Qiao Yiyi cleared her throat once. He did not react still. She walked purposefully to the window and stood in front of him, calling him, ¡°Second Brother.¡± Deliberately, she showed him her profile. His gaze finally fell on her and saw the distinct red mark of a p. He paused and asked, ¡°She pped you?¡± Chapter 1190 - Goodbye, Second Brother (10)

Chapter 1190: Goodbye, Second Brother (10)

Qiao Yiyi¡¯s eyes lit up and she quickly put on a hurt expression, saying, ¡°Yes.¡± She turned towards him and showed him a teary face. She then said usingly, ¡°Second Brother, don¡¯t you know? She¡¯s so unreasonable! I¡¯m her elder cousin but she doesn¡¯t respect me a bit! She even pped me, and this was really painful.¡± As she spoke, she suddenly realized that Lu Nanze was looking at her face but at the same time seemed to be somewhere else. Slightly taken aback, she probed, ¡°Second Brother?¡± ¡°Her hand. Did the p hurt her hand?¡± He finally spoke, but his words infuriated Qiao Yiyi. She had been pped, but all that Second Brother asked was if it had hurt that woman¡¯s hand. She was stunned and stood rooted to the ground. ¡°Second Brother?¡± ¡°Such an angry mark. It looks like she used a lot of force. Do you think it could have hurt her hand?¡± Qiao Yiyi felt a burning sensation in her eyes immediately and she protested, ¡°Second Brother, how can you be like this? That tr*mp¡ª¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Lu Nanze hollered at her. Qiao Yiyi paused in shock. Lu Nanze¡¯s expression turned vicious all of a sudden. ¡°If I hear you call her a tr*mp again, don¡¯t me me for being nasty.¡± His sinister tone sent a shudder down her spine. Like a fool, she stared back at him. Then she gulped and said, ¡°Second Brother, how- how can you treat me this way? She hit me. How could you say that?¡± ¡°What should I say then, if not that? Your father and my father killed her parents. And you feel that the p she gave you is unjust?¡± She didn¡¯t know how to answer that. She only looked at him steadily and said, ¡°But Second Brother¡ª¡± ¡°But what?¡± Lu Nanze slowly raised his gaze and the corner of his lips suddenly curled up into an icy smile. Qiao Yiyi bit her lip and said, ¡°But we are about to get married! I¡¯m your fianc¨¦e. pping me means pping you!¡± After these words were spoken, Lu Nanze slowly said, ¡°Who said we¡¯re getting married?¡± Qiao Yiyi froze on the spot and said, ¡°Second Brother, what- what do you mean?¡± ¡°What I just said. Literally.¡± ¡°Second Brother, you are not marrying me?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Qiao Yiyi looked at him in disbelief. ¡°How could you do that?¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°Your father has already announced our marriage!!¡± Lu Nanze said in an evil tone, ¡°I can always call it off.¡± ¡°You- you-¡± Qiao Yiyi pointed her finger at him and said, ¡°How could you not keep your word? You said that if I gave you the ount book, you¡¯d marry me! Second Brother, you can¡¯t abandon me.¡± Lu Nanze opened his mouth and was about to say something when Dad Lu suddenly pushed open the door and walked into the ward. Noticing the situation in the room, he paused and asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± ¡°Uncle Lu, you have to speak on my behalf! Second Brother says that he wants to call off the wedding!¡± ¡°Call it off? How can we call it off?!¡± Dad Lu frowned. Lu Nanze said, ¡°The ount book has been destroyed, why would we still need the marriage?¡± Dad Lu was stunned and said, ¡°But she- she- Isn¡¯t she pregnant with your child?¡± Upon hearing those words, Lu Nanze threw her a nce. Then he smirked and said, ¡°And you think she¡¯s good enough?¡± Qiao Yiyi was stunned and replied, ¡°Second Brother, what do you mean?! I¡¯m carrying a child in me, how could that be fake?!¡± Chapter 1191 - Goodbye, Second Brother (11)

Chapter 1191: Goodbye, Second Brother (11)

¡°Oh, the child is not fake.¡± Qiao Yiyi sighed in relief and said, ¡°Well then, Second Brother, you must not abandon us.¡± Dad Lu nodded in agreement. ¡°That¡¯s right, we have to keep the child! Besides, I¡¯ve announced your marriage. If you don¡¯t keep your word, thepany¡¯s reputation will be affected and our share prices will drop.¡± ¡°What if I say the child is not mine?¡± These baseless words immediately stunned Qiao Yiyi and Dad Lu into a daze. Dad Lu was quiet for a long time before he said, ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I simply mean the child is not mine.¡± ¡°How is that possible?!¡± ¡°That is not possible!¡± Dad Lu and Qiao Yiyi both eximed loudly at once. Qiao Yiyi immediately hollered, ¡°All my life, I¡¯ve only been with one man. How could this child not be yours?! Second Brother, how could you smear my name like this!¡± She was so angry and her eyes had reddened. She felt terribly wronged. During all these years, although she had only been with Lu Nanze once every few months, the fact remained that she had only ever been with one man. So what did Second Brother mean? Was he trying to deny the child was his?! She bit her lip and stared at him. Then Lu Nanze said slowly and deliberately, ¡°All these years, the person who you slept with was Zhao Yang.¡± ¡°How is that possible?!¡± Lu Nanze smiled and drawled, ¡°Did you really think that I¡¯d get pushed around by a woman like you? The person who touched you has always been Zhao Yang. Think about it carefully, have I really ever touched you?¡± Had he really ever touched her? Qiao Yiyi was stunned. Every time, she would have some red wine first and then get very excited. Inevitably, she would get drunk. Now that she thought about it, she had always been able to hold a few drinks. How could she possibly get drunk on a ss of red wine? Her legs slightly gave way and she tottered, taking a step back. She stared at Lu Nanze in disbelief. She gulped and asked, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because I feel disgusted even just by looking at you.¡± Qiao Yiyi was on the verge of falling apart. With a shocked expression, she looked at Lu Nanze and her lips quivered, unable to utter a single word. Second Brother actually disliked her to the extent that he wouldn¡¯t even touch her? She was shaken by this reality and looked at Lu Nanze, not daring to believe any of this. Finally, she shifted her gaze to Lu Nanze and pleaded, ¡°Uncle Lu, Uncle Lu, this isn¡¯t true! You have to believe me, this child belongs to Second Brother! You have to speak up for me! Uncle Lu!¡± Dad Lu frowned and said, ¡°You don¡¯t even know who you slept with?¡± Qiao Yiyi paused and finally said through gritted teeth, ¡°It was Second Brother!¡± Lu Nanzeughed icily and replied, ¡°Then keep the baby and after it has been delivered, we¡¯ll do a DNA test.¡± Qiao Yiyi¡¯s pupils shrank upon hearing those words, and she started to look less confident about her im. Dad Lu understood at once what had happened from her bodynguage and his expression froze. ¡°So it turns out you¡¯re a sullied woman! Then of course this marriage is not valid. I¡¯d rather mypany shares fall a few dors, than ept bringing up another man¡¯s child! I will not agree to this marriage.¡± When Qiao Yiyi heard this, she quickly said, ¡°In this case, I¡¯ll abort the child!¡± ¡°Even if you abort the child, you are not a clean woman. Why should I take a daughter-inw who has slept with the assistant?¡± Dad Lu¡¯s words were even sharper than Lu Nanze¡¯s and even more shaming. It made Qiao Yiyi feel absolutely sick. Chapter 1192 - Goodbye, Second Brother (12)

Chapter 1192: Goodbye, Second Brother (12)

Qiao Yiyi stood at the door staring at the two men. Until finally, Lu Nanze icily ordered for her to leave, ¡°Why are you still here? Scram!¡± ¡°Second Brother, Second Brother, you can¡¯t treat me like this!¡± ¡°Somebody, please take Ms. Qiao away!¡± A bodyguard walked into the room. When Qiao Yiyi saw this, she took a step back nervously and looked at Lu Nanze and Dad Lu in devastation. ¡°You can¡¯t treat me like this, you can¡¯t¡ª¡± Before she could finish speaking, the bodyguard cupped his hand over her mouth and dragged her out of the room. After this, he pushed her on the ground and said, ¡°Scram!¡± The tearful Qiao Yiyi stood up, her voice hoarse from crying. She shouted in despair, ¡°Second Brother, Second Brother, you can¡¯t treat me like this. You can¡¯t treat me like this.¡± She wept pitifully. She had struggled for eight years and was finally able to marry Lu Nanze. How could Lu Nanze do this? How could it be possible that the baby she was carrying belonged to Zhao Yang? She knelt on the ground in sorrow and clutched her face with her hands. But no matter how she cried and shouted, no one came out of the room. Qiao Yiyi sat there and stared ahead in a daze, there were no more tears left to cry. She began to feel like she was the biggest joke in the world. She thought she had stood to gain, but she hadn¡¯t. Now, her father was in jail, the ount book was gone... and even the child was fake. Everything was a lie. All of this had been Second Brother¡¯s doing. His words rang in her ears, ¡°I feel disgusted even just by looking at you.¡± Those words felt likerge hands squeezing her heart and strangling it. It was so painful that she didn¡¯t want to live. That was how she felt right now. With one hand clutching her chest and her other hand tightly clenched into a fist, she stared at the room as her expression clouded over with hatred. Second Brother, since you¡¯re so heartless towards me, then don¡¯t me me for being disloyal to you. She could note to ept this. ¨C In the ward, after Qiao Yiyi had been taken away. Dad Lu sat next to Lu Nanze¡¯s bed. Looking at Lu Nanze, he said after a pause, ¡°Actually Qiao Yiyi is an alright person, why wouldn¡¯t you even touch her?¡± Lu Nanze slowly cast his gaze down and said, ¡°I¡¯m not you.¡± Dad Lu was taken aback by those words. Then he said, ¡°You are still thinking about what happened with your mother?!¡± Lu Nanze kept silent. Dad Lu lowered his head and agreed, ¡°At the time, I didn¡¯t know any better and your mom died from being so angry at me. I know you hate me, but today I have to thank you.¡± Lu Nanze lifted his head and looked at his father in disbelief as the man continued, ¡°Thank you for destroying that ount book for my sake. From now on, I can finally stop worrying.¡± When Lu Nanze heard these words, that sharp pain in his heart came back momentarily. The price he had had to pay for destroying the ount book had been to ruin all possibilities of ever being together with Qiao Lian. He smiled bitterly as he hung his head. ¡°Son, I know you¡¯ve never really liked me, but I have already learnt my lesson.¡± ¡°After your mom died, I¡¯ve never been with another woman. After I die and in my afterlife, I hope to reunite with your Mom.¡± ¡°Men, we always have trouble holding ourselves back, but I think it¡¯s not that we can¡¯t, rather than we won¡¯t.¡± ¡°Nanze, Dad knows you¡¯re the best. From now on, I¡¯m handing the business over to you to manage.¡± Chapter 1193 - Goodbye, Second Brother (13)

Chapter 1193: Goodbye, Second Brother (13)

This was a sudden change in Dad Lu¡¯s usual temperament, he was actually amiably chatting with Lu Nanze. Lu Nanze looked steadily at Dad Lu and realized something he had never done before¡ªhis dad was growing old. He was starting to talk a lot. Lu Nanze cast his gaze down and sighed. Dad Luughed as he said, ¡°I know, you¡¯re getting impatient. Look, it¡¯s not good that you sit in the room staring into space every day. Why don¡¯t I take you out for a walk? The hospital has quite a pleasant garden.¡± Upon hearing these words, Lu Nanze looked at his father again and nodded. Dad Lu walked out of the ward, pushing Lu Nanze on the wheelchair, and they made their way to the garden. He tried to talk Lu Nanze around and said, ¡°Nanze, there are many good women in this world, there¡¯s no point in getting all hung up on one. All these years, the reason you haven¡¯t touched Qiao Yiyi was because you still think of that Qiao Lian?¡± Lu Nanze kept silent on this matter, as though he was indignant. Every time he eventually thought of what was to happen next, he would feel the wrenching pain of anger. Because he never would have thought... As they were walking in the garden, they suddenly heard a car engine start up and the sound of it hitting something. They turned around and saw a car charging into the garden. There was a barrier around the garden, but that car had broken through the fence. Lu Nanze frowned. He moved the wheelchair a little and said to his father, ¡°Push me up to the top of the stairs, so that the car won¡¯t hit us if ites inside more.¡± ¡°How could it? I see that it has stopped. I¡¯m sure the driver has realized he¡¯s gone the wrong way.¡± Dad Luughed as he said, ¡°Look at that car. The driver couldn¡¯t even stay on a broad road and drove into the garden, how strange! Haha, one look and you know it¡¯s a new driver on the road.¡± Lu Nanze was getting annoyed by his father¡¯s incessant talking. He said immediately, ¡°Dad, can¡¯t you be quiet?¡± Dad Lu got angry at once, ¡°Rascal, look at how to talk to your father? Huh? You¡ª¡± Before he could finish speaking, the two of them heard the revving up of the car engine. They turned around simultaneously and saw that the car that had driven into the garden was now charging straight at them. It elerated quickly and Lu Nanze suddenly saw that the person in the driver seat was actually Qiao Yiyi. There was a crazed expression on her face, and she was flooring the elerator as she drove straight at the two men. Then she opened her mouth and shouted, ¡°Lu Nanze, go to hell!!¡± She pressed further down on the elerator. Lu Nanze¡¯s pupils shrank at once. The car was going too fast and there was no time for them to get out of the way. Besides, his ribs were broken and he wasn¡¯t mobile. There was no way out! Just as he thought he was going to die for sure, just when he sensed the force of the caring at him in that st of air, he suddenly felt a hard push on his back. The whole wheelchair rolled to the side. Lu Nanze was moved out of the car¡¯s path. But the next moment, he heard a loud crash. Shocked, he turned around and saw that Dad Lu¡¯s body was already flying through the air due to the impact, which then fell and hit the car hood mercilessly. After this, it rolled off and fell on the ground. Bam. The body hit the ground with a loud sound. Lu Nanze saw Dad Lu throw up a mouthful of fresh blood. The man¡¯s eyes were wide open as they looked at Lu Nanze and made sure that he was alright. Then, the body rxed. Finally, the body became still and motionless. Meanwhile, Qiao Yiyi¡¯s car had also crashed right into a wall in front. Chapter 1194 - Goodbye, Second Brother (14)

Chapter 1194: Goodbye, Second Brother (14)

Lu Nanze squeezed his eyes shut tightly. The world went quiet at once. He saw nothing else around him. Then he stared at the scene of the ident before him. Because the car had crashed into the wall, Qiao Yiyi had hit her head and passed out. Not far from the car, Dad Lu was lying on the ground. There was no movement in his chest, as though he was no longer breathing. All of this had happened too quickly, so quickly that even now, Lu Nanze was incapable to react. After ten whole minutes, he finally had an inkling of what was happening. He stood up and dashed over to his father. Both of his hands were trembling as he approached Dad Lu. He stared at Dad Lu¡¯s body lying in a pool of blood. Blood was flowing out of his mouth and his face was bleeding everywhere. Lu Nanze had always been extremely cruel but even then, he had never known that a person could bleed this much. He bent over and lowered his body. He reached out and ced his finger under his father¡¯s nostrils, but he didn¡¯t feel any breath on his finger. He called him anxiously, ¡°Dad.¡± His lips were quivering. He thought of how he had just taken it out on his father a few moments ago because he had chosen him over Qiao Lian. He had given his father a cold shoulder and ignored the man¡¯s incessant talking. Lu Nanze panicked all of a sudden. Those shouldn¡¯t have been hisst words to his father! He got to his feet at once. The staff around who had heard the ident had already called the doctors in the hospital. A doctor hurried over. Lu Nanze grabbed his arms anxiously and said, ¡°Hurry, hurry and save my father!¡± The doctor nodded and went to examine the body. Finally, he sighed and said, ¡°He is already inhaling more than he exhales. Mr. Lu, you have to be prepared for the worst.¡± The doctor called for help and got Dad Lu onto a stretcher. They transported him into the operating theater. Lu Nanze was numb as he followed them. He could not even feel the pain from his broken ribs now. He simply stood outside the operating theater with his gaze fixed on the inside. An hourter, the operating theater door swung open and the doctors walked out. They looked at Lu Nanze and sighed. ¡°Mr. Lu, we¡¯re sorry, we did our best.¡± The words fell like an exploding bomb on Lu Nanze¡¯s ears. He stood there in shock. His eyes narrowed and then he saw a trolley bed being pushed out of the operating theater, behind the doctors. On the trolley bed there was a body covered by arge white sheet. Lu Nanze immediately stepped forward and lifted the sheet. At once, he saw his father¡¯s rather unkind-looking face. The man he had just been arguing with him a moment ago, the man he had just thought was mellowing and now... He was lying here, unable to open his eyes ever again. Lu Nanze¡¯s legs grew weak as he dropped on the ground. He looked at the man on the trolley bed as his vision started to blur from tears that were forming and rolling down his face. ¡°Dad, wake up.¡± ¡°Dad, if only you woke up, I¡¯ll do anything you want me to.¡± ¡°It¡¯s true, Dad, open your eyes.¡± Lu Nanze¡¯s deep voice echoed through the hospital. Everyone around fell silent from the depressing atmosphere, not daring to utter a word. Finally, someone came forward and said, ¡°Mr. Lu, please take it easy. You are still recuperating from your injuries and you shouldn¡¯t be kneeling on the floor like this. Mr. Lu, let us help you back to your room.¡± Lu Nanze pushed the approaching people away and continued fixing his gaze on the man on the trolley bed. Chapter 1195 - Goodbye, Second Brother (15)

Chapter 1195: Goodbye, Second Brother (15)

¡°Dad, I know you¡¯re only sleeping. Open your eyes.¡± But that person did not react. Right at this moment, for an odd reason, a word came to his mind: karma. Dad had killed Qiao Lian¡¯s parents and, to prevent his father from being punished by thew, he had destroyed the ount book, thinking that would save his father¡¯s life. But right now, his father had still ended up paying with his life. Lu Nanze hung his head. He looked at his own hands and suddenly buried his face in them. Around the same time, two police officers came up to him and asked, ¡°Mr. Lu, someone reported an ident here. Hence we¡¯re here to investigate. May we ask a few questions? Was this someone¡¯s deliberate action or was it a pure ident?¡± Someone¡¯s deliberate action or a pure ident? How could this have been an ident? Lu Nanze looked up immediately and fixed his eyes on the police officer. Dad was dead. And those who had harmed him should not live a good life. But he didn¡¯t want them dead, he wanted them to live in sorrow. Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes and said slowly, ¡°Of course it was somebody¡¯s doing. Qiao Yiyi deliberately wanted to harm us, she killed my father!¡± As though he had suddenly found strength again, he got to his feet slowly and said, ¡°I want justice for my father!¡± ¨C Qiao Lian found out about Dad Lu¡¯s death from the news on the second day. She had cried all night and finally fallen asleep at 3 a.m. She was giddy when she woke up the next day and looked rather frail and dispirited. Shen Liangchuan wasn¡¯t by her side when she woke up, hence she thought that he must have gone downstairs to exercise. As she didn¡¯t feel like getting out of bed, she picked up her cell phone and browsed through it. Then she saw the news. When she did, she was stunned. Dad Lu was dead? Dad Lu... was dead. How could this be possible?! She widened her eyes and stared at the news article in horror. She read it another time but still found it hard to believe what she saw. She looked up in a daze and, at the same time, heard the door open. She looked at the source of the sound and saw Shen Liangchuan walking in. She held the phone out to him and started, ¡°This¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s true.¡± Shen Liangchuan pursed his lips and sat down next to her. Lightly patting her head, he said, ¡°Qiao Lian, in this world, there is always a natural order of things. It¡¯s not that there isn¡¯t justice, rather than it was not the right time! The bad guys will be punished. Even if your parents¡¯ names have not been cleared, the perpetrator has got his just ending, so will you now let go of some of these things?¡± Would she let go? Was there any point in these words when the people were dead? The despair and devastation she had felt a day ago when she had seen the ount book burnt right before her eyes now turned into understanding. She felt the heavy load weighing on her heart suddenly get lifted and her skies began to clear. She smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s right, why punish myself over someone else¡¯s mistake?¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded and paused for a moment. Then he asked, ¡°Lu Nanze will be holding the funeral in three days, will you go?¡± Qiao Lian was silent for a moment. Then she nodded and said, ¡°Yes, I will.¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded too. As long as she faced all of this bravely, she would start to leave the matter behind her. The ount book had been burnt to ashes and there was no way they coulde up with another one. The only thing they could do was ept reality. Chapter 1196 - Goodbye, Second Brother (16)

Chapter 1196: Goodbye, Second Brother (16)

Three dayster. The Lu family¡¯s funeral. Lu Nanze sat in his wheelchair in his mourning garment. At the entrance to greet the guests, he epted condolences with an expressionless face. He nodded mechanically in response to the people paying theirst respects, and his expression didn¡¯t change no matter who walked by. He did not speak a word. In Suzhou, everyone wanted to please him, hence no one dared to point out hisck of manners. Besides, no one could really expect a family member of the deceased to put up a perfect show of manners. Dad Lu was the closest family Lu Nanze had, his only father. Now that he had died, Lu Nanze was truly alone. As he contemted this fact, he couldn¡¯t help but smile bitterly. He greeted guests that turned up until a couple stood before him. At once, he heard a familiar voice call him, ¡°Second Brother.¡± Lu Nanze froze and looked up in disbelief as he realized it was Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan standing before him. Both of them were in ck, and they carried a peaceful expression on their faces. There was no hint of animosity. Obviously, they weren¡¯t here to create trouble, they were here to pay their respects. Lu Nanze cast his gaze down and nodded at them. He said at once, ¡°You¡¯re here.¡± It had only been a few days since Qiao Lian had seen him, but he had lost so much weight that he looked really different. His face had sunken so much that his cheekbones were now prominent and his silhouette had sharpened. His eyes had darkened, making them even more mesmerizing. Qiao Lian suddenly recalled that this was how he used to look in their younger days, when they hung out together. He used to be silent, only his eyes were dark and sparkling. She sighed and said after a moment, ¡°Second Brother, take it easy.¡± Lu Nanze nodded. Qiao Lian looked in and said finally, ¡°I¡¯ll go in and pay myst respects to Uncle Lu.¡± Lu Nanze continued to nod. She walked in and bowed in front of the altar. Then she offered a lit joss stick. At the entrance. Because Shen Liangchuan didn¡¯t know Dad Lu, he didn¡¯t have to pay his respects. He stood there looking at Lu Nanze. It was quitete by the time they arrived, hence right now, there were fewer peopleing. The two men stared at each other. After a considerable length of time, Shen Liangchuan suddenly spoke, ¡°Do you regret it?¡± Lu Nanze paused and asked, ¡°Regret what exactly?¡± Casting his gaze down, there was a hint of vengeance in his eyes as he said, ¡°Burning the ount book right in her face.¡± He knew this remark would provoke and hurt the other man. But the moment he thought of how pitifully Qiao Lian had cried all day, he couldn¡¯t help making the remark. Indeed, Lu Nanze¡¯s pupils shrank back as though a nerve within him had been struck. Hepletely bristled. Looking at Shen Liangchuan, heughed once icily and said, ¡°I have no regrets.¡± ¡°Even though Dad was no nice guy, he was my father. He is a part of me and raised me, and I could never have sent him to the guillotine.¡± ¡°So I, Lu Nanze, will never regret it.¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s eyes narrowed at those words as a hint of admiration shed across his eyes. He nodded and spoke again, ¡°So you will have to remain single, while she and I are getting married.¡± Lu Nanze frowned and said, ¡°What did you say?¡± ¡°I said I am marrying Qiao Lian. We¡¯re going to hold a wedding ceremony.¡± A long overdue wedding ceremony. Chapter 1197 - Goodbye, Second Brother (17)

Chapter 1197: Goodbye, Second Brother (17)

Things in Suzhou came to the end of a chapter for now. When the doctor finally announced that Qiao Lian was well enough to fly, Shen Liangchuan immediately booked the flight tickets to return to Beijing. Qiao Lian did not see Lu Nanze after the funeral. But Shen Liangchuan knew that she was following the news on him. For example, there were some problems within the Lu Family Corporation. Dad Lu¡¯s death had ultimately impacted the board of directors and thepany shares had fallen by a significant 20 percent. After this, some other troubles surfaced. For example, Dad Lu had announced the marriage of Lu Nanze and Qiao Yiyi before he died. However, Qiao Yiyi had been taken away by the police and immediately sentenced to death. But because she was pregnant, they had to dy execution until after she had delivered the baby. However ording to the Chinesew, if she showed good behavior during this time, then her death sentence could be deferred indefinitely. Still, she would spend the best years of her life in jail. In this case, Lu Nanze was facing the threat of calling off the marriage. If the chairman remained a bachelor, people would inevitably start wondering if he had trouble conceiving or if there was something unusual about his sexual orientation. All sorts of talks abound. If Lu Nanze couldn¡¯t give the public a proper exnation for his marriage with Qiao Yiyi, then the Lu family¡¯spany shares would be affected. Hence, Shen Liangchuan kept hearing Qiao Lian incessantly talk about it, ¡°I wonder if Lu Nanze is going to get past this easily. Shen Liangchuan, what do you say he should do?¡± Shen Liangchuan airily made some sarcastic remarks, ¡°Of course he should marry Qiao Yiyi and take the pressure off thepany.¡± Qiao Lian retorted, ¡°You¡¯re talking nonsense again. Qiao Yiyi is in jail. How is he going to marry her?¡± Shen Liangchuan replied, ¡°He could still do it. And once he marries her, he¡¯ll no longer have to worry about her all the time.¡± On top of that, his wife wouldn¡¯t have to worry about him every day! Qiao Lian opened her mouth to say something but before she could speak another word, Shen Liangchuan quickly interrupted, ¡°It¡¯s Mom¡¯s birthday tomorrow. Let¡¯s go home and celebrate her birthday with her.¡± Xia Yehua had left Suzhou two days ago. Upon hearing this, Qiao Lian was distracted at once and said, ¡°What are we going to get Mom as a birthday present? Why didn¡¯t you remind me earlier? I could have been better prepared! What am I going to do now! Ahhhh! It¡¯s too cliche to give jewellery. What will we give her? Giving presents is a big headache for me.¡± When Shen Liangchuan heard this, he immediately looked at Qiao Lian¡¯s stomach and said, ¡°Actually, we¡¯ve already prepared our present.¡± Qiao Lian looked down in surprise. Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°Now that the pregnancy is stable, I suppose we can tell Mom.¡± A look of realization shed across Qiao Lian¡¯s face and she eximed, ¡°So that was why before this you didn¡¯t want me to tell Mom I was pregnant?¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded. Qiao Lian broke out into a broad smile. They immediately started packing and soon afterwards left the Qiao family vi. Before leaving, Senior Auntie Zhang took their hands reluctantly and said, ¡°My girl, you have toe back to see me whenever you have time.¡± Qiao Lian nodded ruefully. After they got off the flight, the first thing Qiao Lian noticed was the dryness and smog of Beijing. They got into Shen Zihao¡¯s car and headed home. But upon arriving in the house, they realized... Shen Xiu was there as well. Chapter 1198 - Goodbye, Second Brother (18)

Chapter 1198: Goodbye, Second Brother (18)

When Shen Zihao picked them up nearby the airport, he had checked Qiao Lian up with a big grin on his face and said, ¡°Woah, Sister-inw, it¡¯s only been a few months since Ist saw you, and you¡¯ve put on weight!¡± Qiao Lian: ... Ignoring the fact thatmenting about a woman putting on weight was very annoying, he walked ahead excitedly and drove them home. On the way, Qiao Lian asked, ¡°How is Nuannuan now?¡± Shen Zihao answered happily, ¡°She¡¯s alright now. She was discharged from the hospital yesterday and she¡¯s at home now! She said she had toe home to be with Mom on her birthday.¡± It was obvious from what he was saying that the couple had gotten back together. Thinking that from now on there would be someone to control a runaway horse like Shen Zihao, Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help butugh. All was good as long as Xia Nuannuan was well! The car sped along the way home. Shen Liangchuan nced at Qiao Lian and worried that she might feel unwell. He cleared his throat and reminded Shen Zihao, ¡°Slow down with the driving.¡± Shen Zihao replied, ¡°... I can¡¯t. Before I came here, Nuannuan said that she was boiling soup for me and the timing would only be just right if we got back now!¡± Qiao Lian: ... Shen Liangchuan: ... What was with this overdose of love? But in hindsight, it was understandable. After going through a life-and-death episode, it really wasn¡¯t so strange that the two were nowpletely inseparable. Qiao Lian smiled as she shook her head. Very soon, they arrived at the Shen family vi, which was also Shen Liangchuan¡¯s home. However, as the car was entering thepound, they noticed a ck Bentley sedan in the courtyard. Upon seeing the car license te number, the three of them furrowed their brows at once. What was Shen Xiu doing here? They quickly got out of the car and dashed into the house. At first, they thought there was going to be another big fight, but unexpectedly, the atmosphere in the living room was extremely odd. Shen Xiu was sitting alone awkwardly on the sofa. On the other end of the sofa, Xia Yehua and Xia Nuannuan were talking to themselves,pletely ignoring Shen Xiu. He spoke aloud, ¡°What do you think of what I just said?¡± Xia Yehua red at him and then spoke, ¡°If you have finished what you have to say, then you may leave.¡± Shen Xiu protested, ¡°I think there¡¯s a logic to what I¡¯m saying, why are you being so unreasonable?!¡± Xia Yehua raised an eyebrow and said, ¡°You can even say something like asking Liangchuan to divorce Xiao Qiao? Let me tell you, you can stop dreaming, they will never get a divorce.¡± Shen Xiuughed icily and continued, ¡°Qiao Lian¡¯s parents were scammers, the word has gone around!! I¡¯m telling you that this is not my personal opinion, it¡¯s the board¡¯s opinion. If Shen Liangchuan wishes to continue working in the family business, then he¡¯ll have to get a divorce. The Shen family enterprise will not ept a woman with a bad record to be the CEO¡¯s wife!¡± Xia Yehua smirked and said, ¡°I think that¡¯s not the board¡¯s opinion, it¡¯s your own opinion. Shen Xiu, just because you yourself divorced once, you can¡¯t stand seeing other couples being happy? I¡¯m telling you now, I am not agreeing with you on this.¡± ¡°You disagree? You have to agree even if you disagree! Let me ask you, how long has that Qiao Lian been married to Shen Liangchuan? Many months I suppose! Look at how skinny she is, I¡¯m sure there¡¯s something wrong with her health. Otherwise howe she¡¯s still not pregnant? If she doesn¡¯t give Shen Liangchuan a child or two, then what is she good for?¡± Chapter 1199 - Goodbye, Second Brother (19)

Chapter 1199: Goodbye, Second Brother (19)

They heard Shen Xiu¡¯s big talk as they wereing in through the door. Qiao Lianughed icily and Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression darkened. He immediately stepped forward and said slowly, ¡°And what was the use of you marrying Mei Feng then?¡± Meaning that Mei Feng could not bear children either. Shen Xiu almost choked. He paused before saying with exasperation, ¡°I already have you and your brother! So why does it matter that your Auntie Mei Feng has no children?¡± Shen Liangchuan raised an eyebrow and said, ¡°And what makes you think I don¡¯t have a child?¡± Shen Xiu was stumped by these words and, for a moment, did not realize what they actually meant. But Xia Yehua very quickly and sensitively caught it, and she immediately looked at Qiao Lian¡¯s stomach. She took a step forward excitedly and shoved Shen Xiu aside, while grabbing Qiao Lian¡¯s hand and saying, ¡°Xiao Qiao, Xiao Qiao, so you¡¯re our family¡¯s big achiever! Hurry, hurry and get out of the way! Xiao Qiao,e,e sit next to me. Are you tired after the flight and the drive? Does your back hurt?¡± Qiao Lian wasn¡¯t quite sure what to make out of Xia Yehua¡¯s reaction. She looked at her and said helplessly after a moment, ¡°Mom, I¡¯m fine.¡± She nudged the woman and looked simultaneously in Xia Nuannuan¡¯s direction. Xia Nuannuan had gotten paler during this period, probably because she had lost a lot of blood and had not yet recovered. It may take some time. Observing that Qiao Lian was looking in behind her, in Xia Nuannuan¡¯s direction, she immediately understood. Nuannuan had just lost her baby and was grieving over it. Xia Yehua, on the other hand, had been so excited that she had outrightly expressed her happiness. As Xia Yehua realized this, Xia Nuannuan said, ¡°Lian Lian, congrattions.¡± Qiao Lian smiled at her and acknowledged this saying, ¡°Uh huh.¡± It was a harmonious time for the family. And the atmosphere in the house was joyous. Seeing this, Shen Xiu narrowed his eyes and suddenly thought of a time when he was together with Xia Yehua. She had always been a carefree, casual and loud person. Hence when they were together, the home was always buzzing and noisy. He used to get a headache from it but after they divorced, he had suddenly felt that the home was oddly missing something. Now being in this atmosphere, Shen Xiu winced and actually felt like it was something he had cherished. But how could he cherish it? At this thought, Shen Xiu snorted and said, ¡°Even if she¡¯s pregnant, the child carries the blood of the scammers! How are we going to manage the public opinion?¡± He looked straight at Shen Liangchuan and continued, ¡°In the past, you were a Best Actor and I couldn¡¯t interfere. But now you¡¯re working for the family business, so you have to set a good example in these things!¡± ¡°The two of you have to get a divorce! The Shen Family doesn¡¯t want a girl from such a family.¡± Shen Liangchuanughed icily and said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid this is not up to you. Besides, whose idea is this?¡± Shen Xiu immediately sneered, ¡°Whose idea do you think it is? If it weren¡¯t for your grandfather¡¯s tacit approval, do you think I¡¯de all the way here to mind other people¡¯s business?!¡± Shen Liangchuan narrowed his eyes at once. At this point, Qiao Lian¡¯s cell phone suddenly rang. Puzzled, she picked up the phone and took the call. It was Shi Nianyao, who said at once, ¡°Qiao Lian, hurry, hurry up and check out the link I sent you, big news!¡± Qiao Lian pressed on the link, wondering what this was about. The startling headline caught her eyes: [BIG NEWS: Wealthy businessman Mr. Lu approached police and rified jerry-built building project scam from eight years ago. Dead father guilty!] Chapter 1200 - Goodbye, Second Brother (20)

Chapter 1200: Goodbye, Second Brother (20)

Qiao Lian was stunned when she saw the headline. She widened her eyes in shock and read the report in disbelief. The wealthy businessman Mr. Lu referred to in the report was Lu Nanze. He had actually gone to the police and admitted that the jerry-built building project from eight years ago had actually been a set-up, a ploy that the Lu family and Qiao Zhigang had nned to gainmercial benefits. As for why the police had never been able to find evidence, it was because Qiao Zhigang had had ess and covered up the tracks in the Qiao family business. The fire was also started by the deceased in cahoots with Qiao Zhigang. He said that this matter had been eating at his father¡¯s conscience before his father died, but the man hadn¡¯t had the courage to tell the world. Now that the man had had an ident, Lu Nanze wanted to help his father realize hisst wish. Qiao Lian knew that the final remarks were fake. Lu Nanze was just trying to make his father look better. But she felt that this... was adequate. It was really adequate. The moment the man died, Qiao Lian had thought that it was simr to what had happened eight years ago. She had never thought that the truth would be out now. Dad and Mom finally had their names cleared. She bit her lip hard and clenched her fists tightly, her eyes reddened with emotion. Her gaze was fixed on that report for a while before she finally took a deep breath. Noticing her reaction, Shen Liangchuan nced at her a few times. In the end, he walked over to her curiously and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Qiao Lian looked up, still overwhelmed with emotion, and showed him the article on her cell phone. Their interaction hadpletely left Shen Xiu ignored and the man was hopping mad. Heined, ¡°Look at you, I¡¯m talking to you guys, what sort of attitude is this? You¡¯re indeed the child of scammers, such a low ss woman!¡± Upon hearing this, Qiao Lian¡¯s head snapped up and she looked at him steadily. She said to him confidently and with her head held high, ¡°My parents were not scammers!¡± Shen Xiu smirked and said, ¡°Your parents are not scammers? No one would admit that their parents are scammers! But so what if you don¡¯t admit it? Facts speak louder than words, so are you saying that the whole world is wrongfully using you?¡± ¡°They dared to do it, but didn¡¯t dare to admit it! At least if you were to admit it, I¡¯d give you some credit. But now... Ha! Besides, it¡¯s useless even if you don¡¯t admit it.¡± Shen Xiu¡¯s words were most unpleasant and Xia Yehua frowned disapprovingly. She rebuked him, ¡°Shen Xiu, what nonsense are you speaking?¡± Shen Xiu raised an eyebrow and replied, ¡°Why? Am I wrong?¡± Xia Yehua opened her mouth to speak again but Qiao Lian interrupted, ¡°My parents were wrongfully used and now, their names have been cleared!¡± At these words, she immediately handed her cell phone to Xia Yehua. Her eyes reddened and she waspletely overwhelmed to the extent that she almost forgot that Shen Xiu was there. Upon reading the content of the news report, Xia Yehua was stunned too but immediately said joyfully, ¡°Oh! The inws¡¯ names have finally been cleared!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, Mom, I¡¯m so happy. So so happy.¡± Qiao Lian threw open her arms to embrace Xia Yehua. Unable to contain her joy, she took the cell phone from the woman and said, ¡°Mom, I- I have to call Qiao Yi.¡± Xia Yehua nodded and said, ¡°Go, go.¡± Then without taking another look at Shen Xiu, she took her cell phone and went upstairs. Upon reaching the bedroom of the second floor, Qiao Lian went to the balcony. She looked at the cell phone and made a long-distance call to Qiao Yi. Chapter 1201 - Goodbye, Second Brother (21) Chapter 1201: Goodbye, Second Brother (21) Very quickly, the line was connected and Qiao Yi¡¯s voice answered, ¡°Sis, what¡¯s up?¡± She suddenly started to cry again at the sound of his familiar voice. She could not figure out this tangle of emotions herself, but the moment she opened her mouth to speak, she sobbed, ¡°Xiao Yi.¡± The voice on the other end of the line sounded immediately anxious and asked, ¡°Sis, what¡¯s the matter? Did someone give you a hard time? Or have you run out of pocket money? Calm down and tell me. I have money and I can wire funds to you¡ª¡± Before he could finish what he was saying, Qiao Lian interrupted. She quickly said, ¡°No, it¡¯s not that. Qiao Yi, Dad and Mom, their names have been cleared.¡± The line was silent for a moment after she said this. The next moment, Qiao Yi¡¯s excited voice said, ¡°Sis, is that true?¡± ¡°It¡¯s true.¡± ¡°Sis.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Just cry and let it out. I¡¯m here, I hear you.¡± Upon hearing his words, Qiao Lian started crying again. That¡¯s right, let it out. She had had a hard time for eight years and had worked hard for eight years so that this moment could happen. When Dad Lu died, she had thought that she could leave it all behind, but it was only when this moment came that she realized that she hadn¡¯t, and couldn¡¯t. She wasn¡¯t as magnanimous as she thought she could be. She hadn¡¯t been able to stop brooding about it. ¨C Outside the door, Shen Liangchuan was just about to knock when he heard Qiao Lian¡¯s emotional exchange. He halted and suddenly felt that the moment really belonged to the two siblings. They should have the space to relish the joy of the moment and he shouldn¡¯t interrupt. Hence, he stood there outside the door and leaned against the wall. Suddenly, his own cell phone vibrated. He furrowed his brow and lowered his head to look at the screen. There was a text message from a non-registered number. The moment Shen Liangchuan saw the string of digits, he recognized it. It was Lu Nanze¡¯s cell phone number. Surprised, his gaze first fell on the master bedroom door. At this point, he could still vaguely hear Qiao Lian¡¯s joyful sobbing. Then he turned and unlocked his cell phone to read the content of the text message. It was a simple and short message: [It was me who sent those express delivery parcels and the takeouts.] Shen Liangchuan¡¯s pupils shrank as he sneered. Following this, another message came in: [I think Soul Fighter pushed you out of the way to save your life at that time, but that wasn¡¯t so that you two lovers can kill each other. He was your friend and he would want you to be happy together.] Shen Liangchuan was stunned by this message. After a moment, he sighed deeply. Indeed. Soul Fighter had been their best friend. At the time, Shen Liangchuan had been dispirited for a long time because of Qiao Lian¡¯s sudden withdrawal from the club. That was the advice that Soul Fighter had given him. ¡°How many true loves does one meet in a lifetime? How much time do you have in a lifetime to waste? No one knows what tomorrow will bring, so treasure what you have now, that¡¯s the most important.¡± Hence, cherishing and treasuring Qiao Lian was what he ought to be doing, not pushing her away. Sheng Liangchuan was stirred somewhere deep in his heart. At this point, the third message came in: [Even though you¡¯ve won, if you ever do anything unworthy of her, I won¡¯t let you off.] Shen Liangchuan narrowed his eyes at that warning. After a moment, he picked up his cell phone and slowly typed out his reply. Chapter 1202 - Goodbye, Second Brother (22)

Chapter 1202: Goodbye, Second Brother (22)

[Don¡¯t worry.] After he replied, he took a step towards the door and found that Qiao Lian had quietened down. He opened the door and saw that she was sitting on the sofa, hugging her knees close to herself. She seemed a little tired. Shen Liangchuan walked to her and held her tightly. She suddenly lifted her head and said to him, ¡°I don¡¯t think I want to be a journalist anymore.¡± Initially, she had chosen to be a journalist in order to get the reporter¡¯s certificate, so that she could investigate her parents¡¯ matter and report on it. But now her parents¡¯ matter had been resolved. She could move on to do what she enjoyed doing. Shen Liangchuan was extremely indulgent towards her and said, ¡°Uh huh, don¡¯t then.¡± Qiao Lian bit her lip and said after a moment, ¡°I want to take part in gamingpetitions.¡± Shen Liangchuan was slightly surprised and asked as he looked at her hand, ¡°Would you be able to do it?¡± ¡°Yes, I can.¡± Qiao Lian pushed Shen Liangchuan away as she stood on the sofa. Standing on the sofa and thus towering over Shen Liangchuan, sheughed as she stretched out both her hands and said to him, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, before I was eighteen, I was a little spoiled princess at home. Since I turned eighteen right up to now, I lived my life for my parents. But from now on, I want to live for myself!¡± She wanted to live her life the way she wanted, she wanted to liberate her inner self. Looking at her, Shen Liangchuan finally nodded. Then he held her and said, ¡°Fine, my child¡¯s mother, take it easy.¡± With the mention of her child, Qiao Lian immediately slowed down. She carefully got down the sofa and foolishly grinned at Shen Liangchuan. After a while of foolish grinning, Shen Liangchuan reminded her, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to give Lu Nanze a call? She suddenly realized something after she heard this. Lu Nanze had exposed the truth, hence now he had to be having a difficult time. She quickly picked up her cell phone and dialed Lu Nanze¡¯s number. Very quickly, the call was connected. Immediately, Lu Nanze¡¯s devilishly charming voice answered, ¡°There¡¯s no need to thank me.¡± Qiao Lian fell silent. She cleared her throat and said, ¡°I wasn¡¯t about to thank you. All of these are things that you ought to do anyway.¡± ¡°Uh huh, so there¡¯s no need to thank me.¡± Qiao Lian fell silent. Changing the topic, she said, ¡°How¡¯s thepany doing?¡± ¡°Not too bad, don¡¯t worry.¡± Indeed, as he said this, his secretary¡¯s frantic voice in the background sounded, ¡°Director Lu, the board of directors is here. They¡¯re quite aggressive, please hurry ande for the meeting. If we¡¯rete again, we won¡¯t have a good exnation for them.¡± Her voice grew indistinct. Obviously, Lu Nanze had tried to muffle the phone¡¯s microphone when he realized what the secretary was saying. Qiao Lian fell silent. She was using the hands-free speaker mode to talk to him. She could distinctly hear what the secretary was saying. Of course, Shen Liangchuan was even sharper. Qiao Lian quickly said, ¡°Second Brother, yourpany... Are you in a bit of trouble?¡± Lu Nanze was silent for a moment and then he said, ¡°It¡¯s not doing too poorly, don¡¯t worry about me. These things can be sorted out. Uh huh, I have to go to a meeting now.¡± ¡°Ok, hurry up then. I¡¯ll hang up now.¡± After she hung up, Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help but look at Shen Liangchuan and ask, ¡°Will he... be alright?¡± ¡°Uh huh, it¡¯s not a big deal. It¡¯s just that his father was a murderer and used topete against other businesses using illegal means. Now it¡¯s all over inte forums and Weibo. They¡¯re all talking about his father and such things have to be dealt with by the authorities. It¡¯s really no big deal. Theirpany shares fell by about 10 dors, that¡¯s all.¡± Chapter 1203 - Goodbye, Second Brother (23)

Chapter 1203: Goodbye, Second Brother (23)

Qiao Lian was shocked. Dropped ten dors and that was all? Theirpany shares were about 50 dors per lot. That was a fall of about 20 percent! To put it in greater perspective, that was to say that if theirpany had a asset value of 500 million dors, it had now 100 million dors less. If they didn¡¯t act quickly to gain back the people¡¯s trust, then they were at the risk of going bankrupt. Qiao Lian was starting to get anxious again when Shen Liangchuan spoke again, ¡°Also...¡± Qiao Lian almost copsed, thinking that wasn¡¯t everything. Shen Liangchuan calmly continued, ¡°They already have a bad reputation. If they don¡¯t go ahead with the marriage as announced, the public¡¯s trust in them will continue to decrease. At that point, they would have to face the bombarding from the media and public opinion. The shares will surely tumble even more and the Lu family enterprise will crash.¡± Qiao Lian started to panic at Shen Liangchuan¡¯s horrifying description and asked anxiously, ¡°So what do we do now?¡± Shen Liangchuan frowned too and said after a pause, ¡°Now it would be best if there aren¡¯t any more incidents. For example, news about the wedding...¡± ¡°But Qiao Yiyi is already in jail! How are they going to get married?¡± Shen Liangchuan cast his gaze down. He nced at Qiao Lian and kept silent. Actually, there was another way, but it shouldn¡¯te from his own mouth. Lu Nanze should have already thought of it already. After all, he was no decent businessman. ¨C At this very moment in Suzhou, the dam had already burst in the board meeting at the penthouse of the Lu family business office. Lu Nanze sat there, listening as the major shareholders talked back and forth incessantly. They were berating him for being rash. ¡°Lu Nanze, your dad is already dead. You wouldn¡¯t even let his reputation be!¡± ¡°We know you don¡¯t like your father, but we didn¡¯t think it was to this extent!¡± ¡°This is too much! What do we do now? What will happen to thepany? You guys are so rash. Did you think of the consequences?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a bunch of reporters outside the building entrance right now. Tell us, what are we going to do?¡± ¡°The Lu family business is finished, we¡¯re in trouble!¡± Everyone was sighing and talking. Listening to their analysis, Lu Nanze slowly cast his gaze down and said casually after a moment, ¡°What¡¯s with all the anxiety?¡± The meeting fell silent at those words and everyone turned simultaneously to look at him. Then the people erupted with anger. ¡°What¡¯s with the anxiety?¡± ¡°Lu Nanze, how could you even say that?¡± ¡°You have to know, it¡¯s not just your own money thepany¡¯s losing. We are shareholders too! Even though we hold less shares, that¡¯s not the way to manage things!¡± ¡°Lu Nanze, tell us what ns you have. Now the best thing for you to do is to get married! Go through with what father had announced to the media before he died. Otherwise, people will think that you go back on your word. If that happens, it will worsen things for thepany.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get married then.¡± At those words, the meeting fell into another bout of silence. Everyone turned simultaneously to look at him with a shocked expression, almost not daring to believe what they had just heard. After a moment, someone reacted. ¡°Get married? What are you saying? Qiao Yiyi is in jail! If you were to marry her, you¡¯d be aughing stock. With an evil father, and your future father-inw and wife both in jail!¡± ¡°Exactly, how are you going to get married?¡± Chapter 1204 - Goodbye, Second Brother (24)

Chapter 1204: Goodbye, Second Brother (24)

Everyone was stunned at these words. That was correct indeed. How was he going to get married under such circumstances? He could not get married. But he could not not get married! Either way things wouldn¡¯t work. At this thought, the shareholders started to look devastated. When everyone had finally quietened down, Lu Nanze spoke up calmly, ¡°The wedding has to take ce. Only a wedding will make things look like they are going on a right path and ease thepany¡¯s situation. Someone retorted at this point, ¡°But Qiao Yiyi is in jail!¡± ¡°Who said that Qiao Yiyi is in jail?¡± Everyone¡¯s expression changed at this remark. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Was he going to break into the jail to get her out? The moment he said this, Lu Nanze signaled to the secretary. She took a step forward and said, ¡°ording to the statistics, there are currently 255 people with the name Qiao Yiyi in Suzhou. 56 of them are between the ages of 18 and 25.¡± They looked at him puzzled, not knowing where this was going. Then Lu Nanze ordered, ¡°Get in touch with them at once and see if any of them would be willing to marry me.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Suddenly, everyone saw the light. Indeed! The news report had only mentioned that Lu Nanze was going to marry Qiao Yiyi, but the identity of this Qiao Yiyi had not been clearly indicated. But since that Qiao Yiyi was Qiao Zhigang¡¯s daughter and she had gotten involved with Lu Nanze, everyone would have just assumed that it was that Qiao Yiyi. They would find another Qiao Yiyi. This was a brilliant idea! However... The next moment, someone stood up, sighed and said, ¡°Nanze, I have been working for your father for a long time. Your father¡¯s greatest hope when he was alive was that you¡¯d get married and have a child. If you look just for any woman so casually, it would be troublesome to get a divorce in the future.¡± Lu Nanze cast his gaze down. After a moment, he slowly said, ¡°Uncle, it¡¯s ok. After getting married, I won¡¯t be looking to get a divorce.¡± He was sure he would never love another woman in his lifetime. Hence he would just marry any woman, spend his life with her and that would suffice. He lowered his head and told the secretary, ¡°The woman has to be obedient, first and foremost.¡± The secretary was speechless. ¡°Oh, right, and find a pretty one. At least a decorative piece that is pleasing to the eye.¡± The secretary was speechless. As was everyone else. Lu Nanze got to his feet, his big and tall frame heading towards the doorway now as he said, ¡°Gentlemen, I hope today¡¯s board meeting has been satisfactory. Please feel free to carry on with your business.¡± After these words, he walked out of the meeting room. But as he turned to walk away, he was a picture of loneliness. ¨C When Qiao Lian received the news that Lu Nanze was getting married, she was shocked and almost copsed. She almost jumped up and down in anger, eximing, ¡°How could this be? How could this be?!¡± Shen Liangchuan asked coldly, ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°Qiao Yiyi is in jail! How could a person like her be good enough for Second Brother? Besides, she ran the car into Second Brother¡¯s father and killed the man! That¡¯s too humiliating for Second Brother, even if it is for the sake of thepany.¡± ¡°Is that painful for you?¡± Qiao Lian sighed and said, ¡°I¡¯m only thinking that it¡¯s unfair, why does he have to bow down in this situation?¡± The adorably silly girl still had not realized that the man was getting increasingly jealous. Anxiously, she picked up her cell phone, walked to the side of the room and said, ¡°No, I have to call Second Brother and persuade him. Getting married is not a game.¡± Chapter 1205 - Goodbye, Second Brother (25)

Chapter 1205: Goodbye, Second Brother (25)

But as she walked to the side, arge hand reached out and took her cell phone away. She was taken aback. Turning around, she saw Shen Liangchuan standing behind her. He said, ¡°Are you unhappy about his marriage?¡± Unhappy? Then she realized that a certain man was jealous. She looked at Shen Liangchuan,pletely bemused by his reaction. Then she shook her head and said, ¡°What are you thinking? Second Brother and I are like siblings. We grew up together. Actually, although he looks evil and has a cruel streak, he tends to cover up for people¡¯s shorings. If you really think about it, he¡¯s a really alright person.¡± ¡°Oh and?¡± ¡°And...¡± Qiao Lian shrugged and cleared her throat before she said, ¡°That¡¯s all, there¡¯s no and.¡± At this point, she retreated a step. A jealous man is a scary man. But before she could take another step, she was held back by her shoulders. She turned around and found herself looking at Shen Liangchuan, who was staring at her. He asked, ¡°There is no and? Really?¡± ¡°Truly!¡± Qiao Lian said as though she was swearing upon her own life. Shen Liangchuan nodded. Her gaze then fell on her cell phone as she said, ¡°So can I have my cell phone back now?¡± ¡°So that you can call him and ask him not to get married?¡± Qiao Lian nodded. Shen Liangchuan, however, said very seriously, ¡°Qiao Lian.¡± Qiao Lian paused. Shen Liangchuan cast his gaze down and said, ¡°There are many Qiao Yiyi¡¯s in Suzhou, so you really don¡¯t have to worry.¡± She was stunned by his remark and demanded, ¡°What do you mean?¡± Shen Liangchuan kept silent. Suddenly, Qiao Lian was struck by a realization. ¡°So is he going to just marry any other girl by the name of Qiao Yiyi?! How can he be so casual about it?! Getting married is not a small matter!¡± On this note, she snatched the cell phone out of Shen Liangchuan¡¯s hand anxiously. However the next moment, she paused. Indeed. Getting married was not a small matter. But perhaps, it was the only way to calm the storm that the Lu family was facing? This indeed was a clever idea. Once news of the wedding went out, it would at least suppress the negative gossip. Besides, Lu Nanze was already close to thirty yet still a bachelor. This could easily upset the investors. Getting married would be equivalent to settling down. That would help him project a more trustworthy image. All of these were Lu Nanze¡¯s own decisions. She, Qiao Lian, indeed had no right to interfere, nor was she in a position to. As she thought about this, she put away her cell phone again and turned around. She was about to say something when there was a knock on the door. Shen Liangchuan walked over and opened the door. An excited Shen Zihao charged in. ¡°Guess who¡¯s here?¡± Shen Liangchuan frowned and asked, ¡°Who?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t youe down quickly and see for yourselves?!¡± Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan exchanged a look. They walked to the stairnding, where if they looked down, they could see the living room. Xia Yehua was sitting on the sofa and in front of her, there was a handsome man in his 50s. He stood there grinning and looking at her. Pausing for a moment, Qiao Lian heard Shen Liangchuan exin, ¡°That¡¯s Tianyu¡¯s father.¡± She understood in a sh. So this was Tianyu¡¯s father, the one who was rumored to have been involved with Xia Yehua and misunderstood by Shen Xiu. The man was in a suit and leather shoes. He looked mature andposed. Just one look and it was clear he was a reliable man. Besides,pared with Shen Xiu, this man looked a lot more honest. Chapter 1206 - Xia Yehua’s Marriage (1)

Chapter 1206: Xia Yehua¡¯s Marriage (1)

Qiao Lian observed what was going on downstairs mosily. Tianyu¡¯s father had the surname Li, and his name was Mao. He had the looks of a typical Southern Chinese¡ªrather fair and quite slim. One could tell from his features that he had been a very good-looking man in his youth, and even now he was an attractive uncle. He was looking at Xia Yehua, grinning as he said, ¡°Yehua, you said years ago that I should not look for you for six years, but now it¡¯s past that. Don¡¯t you think we should consider it?¡± Xia Yehua had turned a bright scarlet and jumped right to her feet. ¡°You- you- you old man, how old do you think you are and yet you are saying these shameless words?!¡± She pointed a finger at him and continued, ¡°What are you talking about? Six years?¡± Looking hurt, Li Mao said, ¡°Yehua, how can you deny it? Look, my hair has greyed and we¡¯ve both grown old! What will I do if you don¡¯t marry me?¡± Xia Yehua was speechless. Meanwhile upstairs, Qiao Lian was on the verge of bursting out inughter as she listened to the handsome old man. This handsome old man was too adorable. Who proposes like this? He spoke as if he didn¡¯t have enough time. Qiao Lianughed uncontrobly as she looked at Shen Liangchuan, who had a frown on his face. He turned suddenly to look at Shen Zihao and said, ¡°Did you know that six years ago, which was three years after Mom and I left the Shen family, Uncle Li proposed to Mom?¡± At that remark, Shen Zihao¡¯s pupils shrank as he snapped his head around to look at his brother. If by now one said that he still didn¡¯t believe Xia Yehua, it would be a lie. But he still felt ufortable whenever he thought of those rumors about his mother divorcing his father because of this man. He furrowed his brow and stared at what was going on downstairs. He looked terribly displeased as he said, ¡°Why didn¡¯t Mom agree then?¡± Shen Liangchuan was silent for a moment and then he said, ¡°At the time, after we left the Shen Family, life was hard. It was with Uncle Li¡¯s help that we were able to get past the difficult times. Eventually, their frequent contact did result in mutual liking.¡± Shen Zihao was stunned and asked further, ¡°In that case, Mom and Uncle Li did not have any rtionship before that?¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded and continued after a pause, ¡°They had great affection for each other, but were restrained by conventions. Even after so many years, they never overstepped their boundaries.¡± Shen Zihao was once again stunned upon hearing this. He looked at the living room downstairs. Shen Liangchuan said impassively, ¡°But Mom did not agree six years ago, and do you know why?¡± Curious, Shen Zihao asked, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because Mom knew that you had misunderstood her. She wanted to exin it to you but you wouldn¡¯t listen. She knew that if she were to marry Uncle Li, you¡¯d be sad all your life, hence she would rather remain single than to upset you.¡± Shen Zihao was stunned into silence now. Shen Liangchuan continued with his gaze fixed on the two people in the living room, ¡°Six years ago, Uncle Li proposed to Mom for the first time in this very same ce.¡± At that time, Li Mao had been a little younger. Even in histe 40s, he looked ten years younger. He was gentlemanly, cultured and refined. Shen Liangchuan had been at home when he proposed. The boy had just been about to go out and as he had walked out of his bedroom, he had heard the conversation. Uncle Li had said, ¡°Yehua, let¡¯s get married.¡± Shocked, the woman had replied, ¡°What nonsense are you speaking?¡± ¡°Yehua, I know that we have feelings for each other.¡± Chapter 1207 - Xia Yehua’s Marriage (2)

Chapter 1207: Xia Yehua¡¯s Marriage (2)

¡°We have both been through it all and have our past. The woman I loved has passed away and you¡¯ve been divorced for years, so why can¡¯t we build our own happy family?¡± Xia Yehua replied without having to think twice, ¡°But everyone¡¯s talking¡ª¡± ¡°What does it matter what other people say? Have you forgotten? When I was young, I went through a bad patch where people were saying things and you scolded me. You said that I shouldn¡¯t punish myself for other people¡¯s mistakes. If people wanted to talk nonsense then let them, it wouldn¡¯t kill me! But when ites to you, why don¡¯t you have the same wisdom?¡± Xia Yehua was stumped. ¡°So don¡¯t use what other people might say as an excuse.¡± Xia Yehua started again, ¡°I¡ª¡± ¡°Yehua, we know each other so well, I know how you feel about me. So don¡¯t lie to me and say that you have no feelings for me. We get along well when ites to our personalities and interests. Let¡¯s be together.¡± Xia Yehua replied, ¡°... We can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t wish to get married right now.¡± Uncle Li paused and asked, ¡°Then when do you wish to get married?¡± Xia Yehua bit her lip and tried to gloss over the matter, ¡°In another six years.¡± ¡°Ok, then I¡¯ll wait another six years and propose again.¡± At that point, Shen Liangchuan could see that it was obvious his mother was just trying to avoid it. She actually didn¡¯t want to be together with Uncle Li. Even though she liked him, as long as she had not mended her rtionship with Shen Zihao, she wouldn¡¯t be able to bring herself to get married and upset him. Shen Liangchuan knew that in another six years, their affections would have faded somewhat. Uncle Li would likely have found some other woman and wouldn¡¯t be waiting for Mom still. He knew too that this was what his mother was thinking, she didn¡¯t want them to hold each other up. But it had been so many years and Shen Liangchuan realized that up till now Uncle Li had not remarried. After that episode six years ago, it had indeed been quite awkward for the two of them whenever they saw each other. Hence in thest six years, they had seen less of each other. As Shen Liangchuan was contemting the situation, Qiao Lian nudged him on the arm. Snapping back to the present, he noted that Qiao Lian was nodding towards the living room and pointing her chin at the two downstairs. Xia Yehua was then heard saying, ¡°No way, we are already so old, there¡¯s no point in getting married. Isn¡¯t it good how we are now?¡± ¡°What is so good about this? I¡¯m constantly thinking of being together with you.¡± Qiao Lian was bbergasted. This Uncle Li was good with women. She quickly looked up and grimaced when she saw Shen Liangchuan and Shen Zihao. At once her face turned beet red, apletely different shade from her usually fair skin, which now looked like a monkey¡¯s butt. She quickly said, ¡°You, you- Hush! I¡¯m telling you, the kids are here so if you speak nonsense here again, you- you- You better believe that I¡¯ll get someone to kick you out of this ce!¡± Uncle Li immediately nodded and said, ¡°Ok, fine, I¡¯ll ask again when there¡¯s no one around.¡± Xia Yehua was bbergasted. Was that the point? This Li Mao, he always missed the point. She grimaced again and for a moment, there was a hint of a smile on her face that she couldn¡¯t have realized herself. Then she heard Uncle Li say, ¡°Oh, right, I heard that Liangchuan¡¯s wife is pregnant? So I bought a chicken from the market on my way here. Let¡¯s boil that and she can have a soupter.¡± Chapter 1208 - Xia Yehua’s Marriage (3)

Chapter 1208: Xia Yehua¡¯s Marriage (3)

Qiao Lian was amazed. This person, Uncle Lu, simply used every trick in the book. Now he was even trying to please the daughter-inw. Qiao Lian grimaced as she heard Xia Yehua nag,, ¡°You went to the market again? Why are you wandering around in a market all dressed up? The next time you want to eat anything in particr, can¡¯t you just get the housekeeper to buy it?¡± Uncle Li replied, ¡°I just thought it¡¯s something you¡¯d like. Anyway, it¡¯s just buying a chicken, it¡¯s nothing. Even if you asked me to buy napkins, I¡¯d do it.¡± ¡°Is this handsome uncle,¡± Qiao Lian thought, ¡°really in his fifties?¡± The things he was saying would turn a young girl scarlet and make her heart pound. Indeed, Xia Yehua jumped to her feet with exasperation and turnedpletely red again. ¡°You shameless old man, what nonsense are you saying? Huh, what are you talking about? I¡¯m already having my menopause!¡± Li Mao immediately said, ¡°Oh, right, see? Before we know it, it¡¯s menopause. We are really getting old and if you still don¡¯t agree to marry me¡ª¡± ¡°Oh, shut up I said!¡± Li Mao obediently fell silent. Still exasperated with the man, she lowered her voice and warned him, ¡°I¡¯m telling you, you¡¯re not to speak a word in front of the childrenter.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Let me discuss this with them, immunise them so to speak. We have to ease them into it slowly.¡± Li Mao nodded and said, ¡°Ok, sure. I¡¯ll take the chicken into the kitchen and prepare the soup.¡± Xia Yehua nodded finally and craned her neck to nce outside. ¡°Did youe here alone?¡± ¡°Uh huh.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell Li Tianyu toe over? Why leave him to eat by himself at home?¡± ¡°Ok, anything you say.¡± Hence half an hourter, Xia Yehua and Li Mao were helping the housekeeper with making dinner. In the study upstairs. Lu Tianyu was holding onto Shen Liangchuan¡¯s arm and shaking it with both his hands saying, ¡°Brother, Big Brother, Brother Chuan, can¡¯t you consider my plea? Just agree to it! Look, my mother passed away for eight years and Dad hasn¡¯t found someone else. How nice is it for them to be together?! And I¡¯ve liked you since we were little, followed you around, treated you like my own brother. Look, if they got married now, we¡¯d really be brothers.¡± Shen Liangchuan was silent. He frowned and was about to speak when Shen Zihao¡¯s gloomy voice said, ¡°I don¡¯t seem to recall any of my parents having another child?¡± Li Tianyu replied, ¡°What do you mean?¡± Shen Zihao sneered icily, ¡°Exactly what I said. You and my brother will never be as close as real brothers.¡± Li Tianyu: ... Shen Liangchuan: ... Qiao Lian: ...! Shen Zihao sprang onto his feet from the sofa and stuck his hands into his side pockets. Walking slowly towards the doorway, he said, ¡°I won¡¯t agree to this marriage.¡± Li Tianyu asked anxiously, ¡°Zihao, why not?¡± Shen Zihao halted and turned around. He said like a spoiled and petnt child, ¡°I don¡¯t agree because I don¡¯t feel like agreeing.¡± Everyone thought, ¡°How willful!¡± Qiao Lian grimaced. Then Li Tianyu turned to Shen Liangchuan and asked, ¡°Now what do we do?¡± Chapter 1209 - Xia Yehua’s Marriage (4)

Chapter 1209: Xia Yehua¡¯s Marriage (4)

Shen Liangchuan frowned as he looked at the doorway. He knew that all these years, Xia Yehua had felt she couldn¡¯t do enough to make up for leaving the Shen family without taking Shen Zihao with her. Hence if Shen Zihao did not agree to the marriage, she would not go ahead with it. But how were they going to persuade Shen Zihao? He furrowed his brow, feeling perturbed by not knowing what his brother was thinking. Seeing how troubled the two men were, Qiao Lian said with a wave of her hand, ¡°Stop fretting already, you two. I can easily get Nuannuan to ask him.¡± ¨C An hourter, just before dinner was ready, Xia Nuannuan knocked on the study door and walked in. Smiling, she greeted everyone as Qiao Lian hurriedly asked, ¡°Nuannuan, why is Shen Zihao objecting? Mom has had a hard time for many years, it¡¯s only reasonable that she finds a partner now.¡± Xia Nuannuan coughed once and said, ¡°Uh huh, that¡¯s what I said. Zihao said of course he will give Mom his blessings if she got married, but¡ª¡± She hesitated as she looked at Li Tianyu. Li Tianyu paused. Shen Liangchuan pointed at him and said, ¡°You, go make us some tea.¡± Li Tianyu: ... ¡°Sure, Big Brother, I¡¯m here with my father to seek your mother¡¯s hand in marriage, so of course I should help you with the chores.¡± Saying this, he retreated from the study and shut the door behind him. Qiao Lian looked at Xia Nuannuan and said, ¡°Nuannuan, you can speak freely now.¡± Before speaking, Xia Nuannuan sighed. Then she started, ¡°The reason Zihao is objecting is because of... you, Big Brother.¡± Ever since Shen Zihao had reconciled with Shen Liangchuan and his mother, both Xia Nuannuan and he had been addressing Shen Liangchuan as big brother. They were truly a family again. But right now, Xia Nuannuan¡¯s remarkpletely stumped Qiao Lian. ¡°What has Mom¡¯s marriage got to do with Shen Liangchuan?¡± Xia Nuannuan cleared her throat and said hesitantly, ¡°Erm, actually... I¡¯m not sure how to exin this myself. But I sort of understand where Zihao¡¯sing from.¡± She lowered her head, looking quite embarrassed, and continued, ¡°He said that after Mom gets married, he won¡¯t be your only brother.¡± Qiao Lian: ...!! Shen Liangchuan: ...!!! After all the talking, that was Shen Zihao¡¯s reason for objecting?! Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help grimacing. Was Shen Zihao a child? He was actually worried about someone else taking his big brother away? Grimacing, Qiao Lian lifted her head and looked at Xia Nuannuan, finally understanding why the girl was hesitating and looking embarrassed. Even she thought that Shen Zihao¡¯s thinking was absolutely childish. However the next moment, Xia Nuannuan continued, ¡°You two have always shared a mother, so he doesn¡¯t mind someone else sharing her too. But he sees your role as a big brother as something that belongs exclusively to him alone. Especially in thest eight years, he has missed having a brother to go y tennis with, jog with. You have only just now fixed things, and then Li Tianyues along, so he doesn¡¯t feelfortable.¡± Qiao Lian was stumped. Shen Liangchuan got onto his feet and said, ¡°What sort of craziness is this? Let me talk to him.¡± Then he walked out of the study. Bam. The door was mmed shut. The two women exchanged a look and suddenly burst outughing. Chapter 1210 - Xia Yehua’s Marriage (5)

Chapter 1210: Xia Yehua¡¯s Marriage (5)

At mealtime, Shen Zihao came downstairs with Shen Liangchuan, looking moody. Qiao Lian looked at Shen Liangchuan and saw him raise an eyebrow. Obviously, he had managed to sort things out. As they around the table, Qiao Lian leaned over to Shen Liangchuan and whispered, ¡°How did you manage to talk him around?¡± He turned towards her and spoke into her ear. Immediately, Qiao Lian paid close attention, all ready to hear the juicy story, when his voice whispered back, ¡°It¡¯s a secret.¡± Qiao Lian was bbergasted. A secret. Then why did you look like you were about to say it?! She drew the corners of her mouth back and heard Xia Yehua say, ¡°Let¡¯s eat.¡± Hence, everyone started to eat their food. While they ate, Li Tianyu picked up a piece of ribs and dropped it into Shen Liangchuan¡¯s bowl, saying, ¡°Big Brother, here, eat this.¡± Shen Zihao¡¯s head immediately snapped up in the middle of eating and nced at the dining table. He looked at Shen Liangchuan¡¯s bowl again, as a gloomy expression shed across his face. At this point, a pair of chopsticks appeared before his eyes. He looked up and saw that Shen Liangchuan had picked up a chicken drumstick. ¡°Here, you take this.¡± When he was a kid, he had loved eating drumsticks. Every time they had chicken at home, both drumsticks would be his. Because even if their mom gave the two brothers a drumstick each, his big brother would give up his own drumstick for him. Like an angelic child, Shen Zihao¡¯s expression lightened up at once. Happily satisfied, he lowered his head, but as soon as he did so he heard Tianyu say, ¡°Big Brother, I want one too! Isn¡¯t there another drumstick? Big brother, give me one.¡± Shen Zihao: ...!! Shen Liangchuan: ...!! Qiao Lian tried to control herughter as Shen Zihao was fuming in jealousy. This was simply... too hrious! Shen Liangchuan¡¯s chopsticks froze in mid motion and noticed that Shen Zihao was staring at him wide-eyed. That look on his face... Was this the same untamed man from before? He waspletely like a little puppy that was terrified to lose favor of his owner. Qiao Lian was on the verge of bursting out inughter. But fortunately, Uncle Li resolved the situation in time when he spoke up, ¡°Is eating all you know?! Can¡¯t you see that your sister-inw is pregnant! This drumstick is for her.¡± Qiao Lian: ... Hence finally, the other drumstick found its way into her bowl. Actually, her least favorite part of the chicken was the drumstick, because it was not vorful. But it seemed like she had no choice but to eat it. After the meal, Shen Zihao noticed that Li Tianyu was about to head upstairs to hang out in Shen Liangchuan¡¯s study. He immediately said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going home now that you¡¯ve eaten? Aren¡¯t you busy with work?¡± ¡°Not busy!¡± Li Tianyu did not understand Shen Zihao¡¯s expression and had no idea what was causing that animosity. ¡°Besides, what could be more important than having a meal with you guys?!¡± ¡°You sucker.¡± ¡°Hey, what was that?¡± Li Tianyu bristled. Shen Zihao smiled icily and repeated, ¡°I called you a sucker!¡± ¡°What are you saying? I dare you to say it one more time!¡± ¡°Sucker!¡± ¡°You-¡± Li Tianyu took a step forward, but he immediately backed off again and said, ¡°Fine, fine, fine. I¡¯m a sucker, happy now? As long as you agree to our parents¡¯ marriage, you can call me whatever you like!¡± Shen Zihao was furious. He had just snatched his big brother away, and now he was trying to snatch his mom. This Li Tianyu was indeed his nemesis. Arghhhh! He would never agree to this marriage! Chapter 1211 - Xia Yehua’s Marriage (6)

Chapter 1211: Xia Yehua¡¯s Marriage (6)

So there was a sh between Shen Zihao and Li Tianyu. Li Tianyu was feeling ufortable too. Dear lord, that guy had just called him a sucker. After their parents¡¯ marriage, he was going to be his second brother. When that time came, he would make sure the guy was taught manners. Huh huh. Although that was what went through his mind, his expression became even more affectionate. And his words brought up once again Xia Yehua and Li Mao¡¯s possible wedding. Li Mao merely smiled and said nothing. Xia Yehua, on the other hand, got angry and said, ¡°You silly boy, what nonsense are you saying? When- when- when did I say I was marrying your father? The two of you, get out now!¡± Li Tianyu grinned as he replied, ¡°Yes, yes, we know, Aunt Xia. See? We still have to go all the way home. How troublesome is that? If you married Dad, we¡¯d be living together!¡± ¡°Oh, shut up, you!¡± Xia Yehua said. He continued grinning in silence. Although it was an awkward situation, it was a happy asion. Qiao Lian felt d just thinking that Xia Yehua was about to leave singlehood behind. But right at this point, a voice came from just outside the doorway, ¡°Who¡¯s getting married?!¡± Everyone turned around simultaneously to look at the door. They saw Shen Xiu standing there, looking at them in shock. Qiao Lian fell silent. Xia Yehua¡¯s expression froze over. Then she red at Shen Xiu with loathing in her eyes and asked, ¡°What are you doing here?¡± ¡°What am I doing here? If I weren¡¯t here, would you be already married to this gigolo here?! Huh? Xia Yehua, I¡¯m telling you, I¡¯m not allowing you to get married!¡± Xia Yehua burst outughing. ¡°What did you just say?¡± ¡°I said I¡¯m not allowing you to get married!¡± Shen Xiu raised his voice. Li Mao took a step forward and said, ¡°Shen Xiu, what do you mean by this? She¡¯s single as am I and we have the right to marry. As far as I know, it¡¯s not against anyw?¡± ¡°The right to marry? Huh, the right to marry can go to hell! I¡¯m telling you both that I, Shen Xiu, do not agree. I will not allow you to marry. And even if you do, the man will not be him!¡± These overbearing words made Xia Yehuaugh scornfully and she said, ¡°So I can¡¯t marry just because you say so?¡± She grabbed Li Mao¡¯s hand and continued, ¡°Then let me tell you today that if I were to marry someone, Li Mao would be the only man I would marry!¡± Li Mao, of course, couldn¡¯t be happier to hear that. Shen Xiu, on the other hand, was heaving in anger as his expression clouded over. He stretched out his arm and pointed a finger at Xia Yehua and Li Mao, saying, ¡°Good, very good, you cheating couple.¡± When Shen Liangchuan heard this, he and Li Tianyu were going to take a step forward. However, Qiao Lian grabbed them and held them back. They turned to look at her immediately, but she gestured to them to hush. The two of them halted. At this point, Li Mao took a step forward and positioned himself in front of Xia Yehua. Even though he was a gentle person by nature, because he had held a high position for a long time, there was an air of authority around him that was many times stronger than Shen Xiu¡¯s. He then said to Shen Xiu in an extremely forceful but calm manner, ¡°Mr. Shen, excuse me for suggesting this, but you have been married for eight years. I¡¯d advise you not to interfere into other people¡¯s family business.¡± Other people¡¯s family business. Shen Xiu was livid and walked right up to Shen Zihao. Grabbing the young man¡¯s hand, Shen Xiu pointed at the couple in front of himself and said slowly, ¡°Now you see! There is something going on between them.¡± Chapter 1212 - Xia Yehua’s Marriage (7)

Chapter 1212: Xia Yehua¡¯s Marriage (7)

The moment these words were uttered, a silence suddenly fell across the room. Everyone turned simultaneously to look at Shen Zihao. They wondered if Shen Zihao was going to be foolish and fall for this again. Shen Xiu pointed at Xia Yehua and berated him, ¡°Shen Zihao, do you see this? Do you see it clearly now? This is what your mother is like! At the time, she divorced me because she was involved with Li Mao. She so decisively divorced me, didn¡¯t even want a single cent and then she left home.¡± ¡°All these years, you didn¡¯t dare to marry Li Mao, did you? Because you were afraid that Zihao would not forgive you! And now?¡± ¡°Ha! He has just forgiven you and there you go showing your true colors? Now that you know I¡¯ve kicked Zihao out of the house, now that you know Zihao won¡¯t direct his anger at you, or do anything to you, you¡¯ve decided to be open about your rtionship with Li Mao?¡± ¡°Xia Yehua, let me tell you, don¡¯t be too arrogant! You think that Zihao is afraid of you?¡± He grabbed Shen Zihao¡¯s hand at this point and continued, ¡°Zihao, Dad said some things in the past out of anger, but now can you see clearly what she is truly like? If you do, thene home with me.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have you know that the person who dotes on you most in this world will always be me. These people here... are all lying to you!¡± ¡°Come home with me and take over the Shen family business in the future.¡± After saying this, everyone fell silent and then simultaneously turned to look at Shen Zihao. Shen Xiu looked at Xia Yehua with narrowed eyes,ughing icily to himself. He was livid to see Xia Yehua and Li Mao together and, furthermore, discussing the possibility of getting married. How could this woman marry someone else? Besides feeling a raging jealousy, there was an odd anger. After speaking, he couldn¡¯t help but think, ¡°Xia Yehua, if you betray me, I¡¯ll take your son away from you! Let Zihao be angry at her forever!¡± He knew that this would be the greatest punishment for Xia Yehua. He felt good thinking of how this would make Xia Yehua cry so sorrowfully. He could make her sad and wound her heart just by taking Shen Zihao away from her. At the same time, this would destroy the rtionship between her and Li Mao. As Shen Xiu cast his gaze down to contemte these thoughts, he heard Shen Zihao mutter, ¡°Ok.¡± Shen Xiu: ...?? Ok? And? And then... nothing else. Shen Xiu waited for Shen Zihao to blow his top but after ten seconds, there was no reaction. He turned around and looked at his son, but Shen Zihao said instead, ¡°You guys are already divorced, there is nothing wrong with going your own way to look for happiness.¡± Shen Xiu was bbergasted and started, ¡°But the past¡ª¡± ¡°The past is the past. No matter who was in the right or wrong, I hope you all will end up happy.¡± Shen Xiu was stupefied and said, ¡°What- what do you mean?¡± ¡°What I mean is that as long as my mother is happy, then it¡¯s up to her who she chooses to be with. It has nothing to do with you or me.¡± Shen Xiu could not believe his ears. The Shen Zihao in front of him couldn¡¯t be his real son. Where was his real son, who would have surely blown his top if he heard that Xia Yehua was together with Li Mao? Since when had he be this calm?! At this point, Li Tianyu was already eximing on the top of his voice, ¡°Woohoo! In this case, Zihao, you agree to my dad being with ourr mom? This is absolutely fantastic!¡± Chapter 1213 - Xia Yehua’s Marriage (8)

Chapter 1213: Xia Yehua¡¯s Marriage (8)

To this, Shen Zihao replied, ¡°Would you stop being so shameless? What do you mean by our mom?¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t your mom marrying my dad make her our mom? Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll surely get used to calling her that.¡± Shen Zihao was speechless. Li Tianyu turned around and immediately jumped in front of Xia Yehua and Li Mao, saying excitedly, ¡°Dad, then why are we leaving? We¡¯ll stay and discuss this fternoonafternoon the ns for your wedding with my mom!¡± Xia Yehua was at a loss for words. Li Mao: ... Before anyone could add anything, Li Tianyu was already saying, ¡°You are both already getting old, do you want a Chinese-style wedding? Or a Western-style wedding? I think an oriental wedding is good, it¡¯s traditional.¡± Shen Zihao fumed at once when he heard this and said, ¡°What¡¯s good about a Chinese-style wedding? My mom wants to wear a wedding gown!¡± At this point, Li Tianyu became forceful and insisted, ¡°But a Chinese-style wedding suits our mom¡¯s personality!¡± ¡°And what makes you think a Western-style wedding doesn¡¯t?¡± ¡°...¡± The two went to and fro and started to argue. But the whole argument was around their parents¡¯ wedding. As Xia Yehua listened to them, her gaze fell on Shen Zihao. Her eyes began to redden and she started to feel a sharp stinging in her nose. In the past, she had always been worried that her younger son would misunderstand her, so she had put Li Mao through a torturous six-year waiting period. It had been six years. In all honesty, she had started to feel that perhaps she was no longer the one that Li Mao was waiting for. But who would have thought that this dyed happiness would arrive so unexpectedly? Although Shen Zihao was not at his most polite at the moment and was in a disagreement with Li Tianyu, it was obvious that he had agreed to her marriage with Li Mao. Xia Yehua¡¯s eyes began to sting. She lowered her head, full of emotions. Then she felt warmth on her hand. It wasn¡¯t a familiar feeling. She paused for a moment and, as she looked up, she met with Li Mao¡¯s gentle gaze. ¡°Yehua, you see that now? The children have agreed, so you shouldn¡¯t be worried anymore, right? What do you think about the tenth next month to celebrate the wedding?¡± Xia Yehua realized that it was already the 25th today. If the wedding were to fall on the 10th, it meant that he was nning to organize an epic wedding in fifteen days? Xia Yehua was simply too astounded to react. She looked at the grinning Li Mao, who still looked just like how he had when he was younger. She softly hit him and red at him. Still grinning, Li Mao immediately let go of her hand, as though nothing had happened. Xia Yehua, now slightly blushing, turned her head and cleared her throat, feeling quite embarrassed. Shen Xiu,pletely ignored by everyone else, stood by the side fuming in anger. It was bad enough that Shen Zihao was not obeying him, but that gesture from Li Mao just then, even though no one had noticed it, he had seen it clearly from the corner where he was standing. The man had even given him a provocative look after Xia Yehua had turned red. Hence, Li Mao was doing this on purpose. He had held Xia Yehua¡¯s hand to provoke Shen Xiu. Shen Xiu was livid to the point that even his fingers were shaking. But the next moment, his gaze suddenly fell on Xia Yehua¡¯s scarlet face. Although she was now past her 40s, one had to admit that she had taken the pains to maintain herself well and looked about the same age as Mei Feng. When she turned red, the most noticeable part was her ears. His gaze fell on her ears. Indeed, they were a bright scarlet and seemed translucent under the sunlight. Chapter 1214 - Xia Yehua’s Marriage (9)

Chapter 1214: Xia Yehua¡¯s Marriage (9)

It was such an eyesore that he felt the rims of his eyes swelling. He suddenly recalled that this was what she had been like on their own wedding night, that shyness... The moment the thought came to him, an overwhelming sense of possessiveness overtook him. Shen Xiu narrowed his eyes. The fury calmed him in a strange way, but also deepened his viciousness. He looked at the people in the room and saw that they had no intention of engaging with him. Hence, he turned around and left. After he disappeared from the courtyard, the group that had been noisily discussing a moment a ago stopped talking at once. They turned simultaneously to look at the doorway. Shen Zihao snorted icily as he gave Li Tianyu a nce. After this, he turned around and went back to his own room. Immediately, Li Tianyu and Li Mao felt awkward and exchanged a nce. Li Mao quickly said, ¡°Yehua, I guess we should leave today. We won¡¯t hold you up any longer. Why don¡¯t you discuss it with the children? On my end, everything is fine. I¡¯ll go with whatever you want!¡± Upon hearing thosest few words, Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help whistling and remarking, ¡°Ooooooh, whatever you want.¡± Xia Yehua turned red again very quickly and said, ¡°Xiao Qiao, you¡¯re being very naughty!¡± Qiao Lian stuck her tongue out at Xia Yehua before she threw a nce at Li Mao. The man scratched his head in embarrassment and followed Li Tianyu into the car. After getting into the car, instead of driving off immediately, Li Mao wound down the car window and said, ¡°Yehua, I¡¯lle and see you tomorrow.¡± ¡°What for?¡± Xia Yehua replied fiercely. Li Maoughed and said, ¡°Just to see you!¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to see me every day!¡± ¡°In that case, I¡¯lle the day after tomorrow then.¡± Xia Yehua was speechless. After the Li¡¯s drove away, Qiao Lian, unable to contain herself any longer, finally burst outughing. She found the interaction between Xia Yehua and Li Mao too adorable! Sheughed, shaking her head, and then noticed that Xia Yehua¡¯s expression had calmed down after Li Mao left. The woman asked, ¡°How is Zihao doing?¡± Shen Liangchuan cast his gaze down and said, ¡°He should be fine.¡± After a pause, Xia Yehua said, ¡°I¡¯ll go have a chat with him.¡± ¨C Upstairs, in the study. Shen Zihao was on the sofa browsing the news on his cell phone. The door opened with a creak. At once, Xia Yehua appeared holding a ss of water. She walked over and sat next to Shen Zihao. ¡°Zihao, here, drink some water.¡± Shen Zihao took the ss of water and drank two sips before cing the ss on the side table, saying, ¡°Thanks, Mom.¡± He continued staring at his cell phone and didn¡¯t seem to want to talk. She swallowed her words. Then she got onto her feet and walked slowly towards the door. But at the doorway, she suddenly turned to look at her son again. ¡°Zihao, there are some things that I¡¯ve never told you. But today, I realize that you¡¯ve grown up and you have the ability to make your own judgments. Hence, I still want to tell you about what happened.¡± Shen Zihao paused. Xia Yehua turned and walked back to sit next to him. ¡°In the past, you were living with your father, so I did not want to ruin the image you had of him. That was why I never told you. The woman cast her gaze down and calmly exined, ¡°At the time, it was your big brother who discovered that your father and Mei Feng were having an affair. After he came home and told me about it, he was beaten up very badly by your father. You know that your father has never liked him. Eventually, your big brother wanted to set up the eSports team club, and it reached the point that your father tied him up and beat him.¡± Chapter 1215 - Xia Yehua’s Marriage (10)

Chapter 1215: Xia Yehua¡¯s Marriage (10)

¡°Your big brother was beaten till his life was just hanging by a thread. Literally. His back was almost yed and, in that weather, it would have gotten easily infected. I knew he was using it as an excuse to take revenge. At the time, I¡¯m sure he thought that all the better if the boy died from the beating. Later on, your brother was taken down and untied. I called the ambnce and wanted to send him to the hospital, but your father stopped me and only called the family physician. You know, I inadvertently overheard his conversation with the doctor.¡± Shen Zihao had never known about these things. He widened his eyes and looked at Xia Yehua in disbelief. Shen Liangchuan had almost died from being beaten by Dad? In addition, Xia Yehua had said that she had overheard Dad and the doctor talking. What was that conversation about? As he wondered this, Xia Yehua said, ¡°At the time, the family physician said that your big brother¡¯s injuries were too serious and that he needed to go to the hospital for treatment and observation. Otherwise, the wounds could have gotten infected and it would have threatened his life.¡± Shen Zihao¡¯s pupils shrank back at her words. Xia Yehua continued, ¡°I panicked when I heard that. I was going to dash up to your father and ask him to take your big brother to the hospital, but I heard him say...¡± ¨C Even though this had happened many years ago, she could still hear his cold and cruel voice in her ears saying, ¡°There¡¯s no need to do that, just give it some basic treatment and it will be fine.¡± The family physician started to sound anxious. ¡°But Mr. Shen, this could cost the patient¡¯s life!¡± Shen Xiu was quiet for a moment before he said, ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I want¡ªhis life.¡± Xia Yehua froze and was stupefied at once. She looked at the two men before her in a daze and saw that the family physician was shocked too. Shen Xiu had said, in part to convince himself, in part to exin to the man, ¡°Urgh, that rebellious son, he only knows how to suck up to the Senior Master to the extent that he keepsparing us. The Senior Master¡¯s favorite phrase is: You can¡¯t even hold a candle against a three-year-old kid! Tell me, if I were to destroy his precious grandchild, wouldn¡¯t I then secure my position?¡± ¨C Xia Yehua repeated every word that Shen Xiu had said. Shen Zihao was so shocked that he stood frozen on the spot, in a daze. With a look of disbelief, he stared at Xia Yehua and asked, ¡°Is- is everything you¡¯ve just said true?¡± Xia Yehua cast her gaze down. She understood that he wasn¡¯t suspecting her, but was simply too shocked. She continued calmly, ¡°I was so frightened at the time. I wanted to take your big brother to be treated but he was 18, a grown boy, and I couldn¡¯t move him by myself. Because his condition and treatment couldn¡¯t be dyed, I took the opportunity when he was on the phone with Mei Feng to go up to him and rebuke him. I then demanded a divorce.¡± Shen Xiu hadn¡¯t agreed at the time because of the assets¡¯ division. But Xia Yehua had had no time to waste. Shen Liangchuan had been in a bad condition. Hence, she had taken whatever personal savings she had and had left the Shen Family, one could say, penniless. Her story ended. A silence fell over the study Shen Zihao was still shocked and had not recovered from the daze. He could never have imagined something like that could have happened at the time. Seeing that he was deep in thought, Xia Yehua stood up and turned to leave. As she came to the doorway, Shen Zihao suddenly called her, ¡°Mom.¡± She turned around. He looked up at her and asked, ¡°Did you like Li Mao at that point in time?¡± Chapter 1216 - Xia Yehua’s Marriage (11)

Chapter 1216: Xia Yehua¡¯s Marriage (11)

Xia Yehua halted and looked at him. She pursed her lips as her eyes met his. She finally said slowly, ¡°Zihao, Li Mao and I grew up together and had been lovers since we were 18.¡± Shen Zihao was stunned and started, ¡°You both¡ª¡± ¡°We were helpless. His family needed a political marriage, so he married someone from another family and I, your father. But all these years, don¡¯t you already know the sort of rtionship Lu Mao and I had?¡± ¡°We bowed to reality and gave each other up after we got married. But deep in our hearts, we had each other. It wasn¡¯t something we could have controlled.¡± ¡°Very naturally. I cared for him and would pay attention to him.¡± ¡°Li Mao knew at once that I had left the Shen family with no money and he helped them. I didn¡¯t have much cash and your big brother needed immediate treatment. So at the time I epted his help.¡± ¡°But that was the only time. After your big brother recovered, he entered the show business and earned his own money. Later on, we became less and less connected with the Li family. Li Mao¡¯s wife passed away a monthter. It was only after settling her burial that our families started to contact each other again.¡± Shen Zihao found these words hard to ept but at the same time, he understood. He was silent for a long time before he asked, ¡°Mom, if, just suppose, Dad had never had the affair with Mei Feng and he hadn¡¯t hit my big brother, would you have divorced him to be with Uncle Li after his wife died?¡± Xia Yehua couldn¡¯t help butugh at the question and said, ¡°Honestly, I have no idea.¡± She said realistically, ¡°At the time, the marriage between your dad and I was decided by our families. It is true that your father isn¡¯t the type of man I like, but I stayed in the marriage because of my two children. But if the both of you were married and had your own families, perhaps I¡¯d choose to divorce and travel the world. Perhaps I¡¯d meet someone else, I don¡¯t know.¡± Shen Zihao suddenly saw the light and said, ¡°That¡¯s right, you have your freedom.¡± If a couple had different philosophies and life views, lost theirmonality, or if their feelings faded, or if they grew tired of each other and wanted a divorce, this had to be their choice. Hence, there was nothing for him to be bitter about. ¨C After Xia Yehua left the study, Shen Zihao quietened down. In his mind, there was an image of Shen Liangchuan being nearly beaten to death. At this point, the study door swung open again. Shen Liangchuan walked in with one hand in his pocket. Shen Zihao sprang onto his feet upon seeing him. He took a step forward and flung the water in the ss onto Shen Liangchuan¡¯s white shirt. Then he said, ¡°Brother, hurry up and remove your shirt! The water is scalding hot!¡± Shen Liangchuan had no idea what this guy was up to, but he unbuttoned his shirt and removed it, baring his upper body. Shen Zihao¡¯s gaze fell on his back. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s skin had a warm golden color. On his back, although those scars had faded, it was obvious there were the remnants of theshings. The closeness of the stripes told him that Xia Yehua was speaking the truth. Dad had truly wanted to whip Big Brother to death then. Chapter 1217 - Xia Yehua’s Marriage (12)

Chapter 1217: Xia Yehua¡¯s Marriage (12)

Shen Zihao cast his gaze down and suddenly hung his head. After a moment, he spoke, ¡°Big brother.¡± ¡°Uh huh.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have doubted Mom and checked the scars on your back.¡± On that note, he suddenly felt a light tap on his shoulder. Shen Zihao froze and lifted his gaze. He saw Shen Liangchuan looking back at him and saying, ¡°No big deal.¡± No big deal. It was really no big deal. ¡°At least now you won¡¯t just listen to one side of the story and will seek the truth yourself. This shows you¡¯ve grown up.¡± Shen Zihao: ... ¨C After Shen Xiu left, he returned home to Mei Feng. When his car turned at the street he lived in, the traffic around ceased. His car was the only vehicle on that little street. Looking into the distance, he could see his property. Very soon, the car pulled up at the gate. He cut a lonely figure as he swiped his card key to open the automatic gate and drive in. The Shen family property was huge. Driving to his vi in itself took five minutes. Although the property was beautifullyndscaped and kept, along the way in he saw no one. There wasn¡¯t a soul in sight. He thought of the lively atmosphere when Xia Yehua, Shen Liangchuan and Shen Zihao were gathered together, and he suddenly felt a loneliness that he had never experienced before. Walking into the living room, he saw Mei Feng on the sofa talking on the phone. ¡°... That bag is a very limited edition, you have to get one for me. Sure, when I go on a holiday to France next month, I¡¯ll bring you one.¡± After she said this, she startedughing uncontrobly. Then she turned and saw Shen Xiu. She got to her feet immediately and said, ¡°Darling, you¡¯re back.¡± Then she extended her arms and rushed towards him. At once, it was as if he had found a vent for the loneliness that he had felt along the way home. He immediately embraced and lifted her in his arms. He then hurriedly stumbled all the way up to the bedroom. Like the parched ground after a long drought, Mei Feng soaked up his desperate advance. Shen Xiu was quite old now and over time, they had had less and less intimate moments. Hence right at this point, Mei Feng clung onto him anxiously. That day, Shen Xiu turned that burning desire into crazed and furious action. He tortured Mei Feng till her back was on the verge of breaking, but he just couldn¡¯t find release. Desperate, Mei Feng was about to make a suggestion when a confused expression spread across his face. He covered Mei Feng¡¯s eyes with his hand and immediately called out, ¡°Yehua.¡± The next moment, the action was over. Shen Xiu copsed onto Mei Feng. The woman, however, had turned cold and stiff, as though frozen. It was no wonder that Shen Xiu had seemed so odd the past few days. It was because he had gone to see that woman. That woman. Mei Feng clenched her fists tightly and shook in fury. It had been eight years. How could Shen Xiu still think of her? It was her, Mei Feng, who had been by his side. She bit her lip. Suddenly, Shen Xiu reached out with his arms and put them around her shoulders. He was exhausted. At this point, his eyes were shut since he had fallen asleep. In his semi-conscious state, he slowly mumbled, ¡°Yehua, I miss you. You are mine, you can¡¯t marry Li Mao!¡± Mei Feng¡¯s pupils shrank back upon hearing this. She suddenly put it all together. So Xia Yehua was going to marry Li Mao and he had found out about it. Was that why he hade to her to seek sce? Her expression sharpened and an evil glint shed across her eyes as she thought, ¡°Xia Yehua, you want to marry Li Mao and live happily. No way.¡± Chapter 1218 - Xia Yehua’s Marriage (13)

Chapter 1218: Xia Yehua¡¯s Marriage (13)

Mei Feng was woken up in the middle of the night by a stomachache. Dragging her exhausted body, she walked to the bathroom. The difort in her body told her that it could be that time of the month again. She couldn¡¯t straighten her back because of the ache in her abdomen. Frowning, she sat on the toilet to relieve herself. She looked up into the mirror and saw her face staring back at her¡ªshe was as pale as a sheet. She suddenly recalled her doctor¡¯s words, ¡°You had too many abortions when you were young and that had damaged your uterus. It¡¯s unlikely that you can get pregnant again and your periods will be exceptionally painful.¡± Exceptionally painful. More than exceptionally painful, she felt nauseous and wanted to throw up. The pain made her break out in cold perspiration, she was unable to stand up straight and her bare face was ashen. She opened the door, walked out and got herself some sweetened water. After she drank this, she rested downstairs for a while before going upstairs again. Then shey down quietly and went back to sleep. After some time, Mei Feng woke up with a start. Her eyes snapped open as though remembering something. Immediately, she reached for her cell phone and found that it was already 9 a.m. Damn! She turned her head, looked to the side and found that Shen Xiu was gone. She froze for a moment and immediately became wary. During this time of the month, her face would always look terrible to the point that she couldn¡¯t bear anyone seeing her. In the dim lighting at night it wasn¡¯t an issue, but during the day... Hence during this time of the month, she would make it a point to get up half an hour earlier than Shen Xiu so that she could put on makeup to look better. But today... Had he seen her bare face? As she was thinking this, she suddenly heard the toilet flush and, immediately after, the bathroom door was opened. Shen Xiu walked out. Mei Feng lowered her head in reflex but still, when Shen Xiu came out and saw her, it was hard to miss that startled expression on his face. He cleared his throat and Mei Feng said, quickly turning the other way, ¡°You¡¯re awake? Hurry up and have your breakfast.¡± Shen Xiu muttered faintly, ¡°Ok.¡± He picked up his jacket and turned around to head downstairs. However at the doorway, he halted as though he had just remembered something. But after a short while, he was still silent. Mei Feng asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Shen Xiu started, ¡°Your face, what¡¯s wrong with it?¡± Face? What was wrong? She stretched her hands out to cover her cheeks. Shen Xiu coughed and said calmly, ¡°You should buy better quality makeup. Look at you, you have more wrinkles on your face than Xia Yehua. She looks ten years younger than you. You¡¯re only in your forties, how could you look like this? Actually, don¡¯t all these celebrities get botox or anti-wrinkle injections? Why don¡¯t you go and get that done as well?¡± Mei Feng bit her lip at once. Anger welled up within her. She looked up angrily as she curled her fingers into tight fists. Shen Xiu had turned around to leave. Fuming, she picked up her pillow and threw it furiously on the floor. Botox, anti-wrinkle injections. Didn¡¯t she want them too? But the doctor wouldn¡¯t let her. Besides, what did he mean by saying she had more wrinkles than Xia Yehua? Was there only room for Xia Yehua in his heart and none for her? She was so furious that with a swing of her hand, she swept everything that was on the table on the ground. Xia Yehua... Xia Yehua again! If it weren¡¯t for that woman, then she wouldn¡¯t have had to go through so many abortions. If it weren¡¯t for that woman, Shen Xiu would have been together with her from the start. She had wasted twenty years of her youth and in the end, was this all she got in return?! Chapter 1219 - Xia Yehua’s Marriage (14)

Chapter 1219: Xia Yehua¡¯s Marriage (14)

But Xia Yehua was going to marry Li Mao. She had met Li Mao previously and she knew him. She had also seen Xia Yehua and Li Mao together in the past. They got along very well and when she was with him, one could tell that she was genuinely happy. Hence, they would be very happy together. But how could she let that woman Xia Yehua live happily while she suffered? At this thought, Mei Feng sprang up from her seat. She picked up her cell phone and dialed a number. Then she spoke to the person on the other end of the line, ¡°I need you to do something for me.¡± ¨C Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the Shen vi was joyous. Everyone was gathered in the living room discussing Xia Yehua¡¯s wedding. Shen Liangchuan sat there without saying a word throughout. Li Tianyu and Shen Zihao, on the other hand, would not stop arguing. Qiao Lian and Xia Nuannuan were holding their iPads checking up information. ¡°I think a Chinese-style wedding is a good idea.¡± ¡°Western-style is better.¡± ¡°Look here, look at how luxurious the Chinese traditional wedding dress is!¡± ¡°Look at how pristine and pure the Western white bridal gown is!¡± ¡°But the Chinese-style¡ª¡± In the midst of their never-ending argument, Shen Zihao suddenly looked up at Qiao Lian and Xia Nuannuan and said, ¡°Hey, what are you both doing? Why aren¡¯t you helping out here?¡± Xia Nuannuan and Qiao Lian exchanged a look and startedughing. They put aside their iPads and said as they looked up, ¡°We¡¯re selecting the event venue. Do you guys think it¡¯s better to hold it in Beijing or somewhere else? Look at this ind here, it¡¯s beautiful!¡± The two men immediately moved over when they heard this and simultaneously turned to look at theputer screen. ¡°This is good.¡± ¡°Are you stupid or something?! Obviously that ce has a bluer sea!¡± ¡°That¡¯s just because it¡¯s a picture. Can you stop being so naive?¡± Shen Zihao fumed. ¡°Who are you calling naive?¡± Li Tianyu was going to speak again when Xia Yehua suddenly said, ¡°You people, please don¡¯t worry about this.¡± They turned to look at her immediately as she continued, ¡°I¡¯ve already discussed it with Uncle Li, we won¡¯t have a wedding. We¡¯ll just collect our certificate and that will do.¡± Everyone was stunned to hear this. After a moment, Shen Zihao broke the silence, ¡°How can we not have a wedding?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, you¡¯re getting married. How can you not have a wedding?¡± Xia Nuannuan added, ¡°Mom, you¡¯ve always lived a refined life. So how could you do away with something as important as a wedding?¡± Qiao Lian nodded in agreement and said, ¡°Getting married is a one-in-a-lifetime event, how could you not have a wedding?¡± Xia Yehuaughed and replied, ¡°Both of us are already this old, why go through a wedding? We¡¯d be invitingughter from others. I¡¯d rather keep a low profile.¡± Shen Liangchuan was going to say something when Xia Yehua quickly interrupted, ¡°You and Xiao Qiao didn¡¯t have a wedding either, so it¡¯s not that strange that your Uncle Li and I prefer not to have a wedding.¡± Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan fell silent upon hearing those words. Feeling extremely embarrassed, Qiao Lian immediately said, ¡°Mom, my situation was different from yours.¡± At the time, she had married into the family for money. And although Shen Liangchuan had married her on the pretext that he wanted to have a child, the reality had been that he was out to take revenge. So how was this in any way simr? At this point, she reflexively looked at Shen Liangchuan. He stood there quietly for a while before he looked at Qiao Lian. After a moment, he looked away from her and strode towards the door, saying, ¡°I have to return to the office to take care of something. Please continue without me.¡± Then he left. Chapter 1220 - Xia Yehua’s Marriage (15)

Chapter 1220: Xia Yehua¡¯s Marriage (15)

Qiao Lian was slightly disappointed by his reaction. She had thought he would have at least said something about the topic, but... After Shen Liangchuan left, the rest of them somewhat lost interest in continuing the discussion. Besides, Xia Yehua had expressed her wishes of not having a wedding, so it looked like the event was off. But throughout the evening, the atmosphere was lively and happy in the vi. Xia Nuannuan had not fully recovered. Furthermore, because Shen Zihao had been more deeply impacted by Shen Xiu and Mei Feng¡¯s actions, he had not gone to work. Instead, he had been spending leisure time at home with Xia Nuannuan. After dinner in the evening, Qiao Lian went back into her bedroom. It was only at 11 p.m. that she heard the sound of the car engineing from outside. She got up, opened the bedroom door and walked out. Shen Liangchuan was striding in. As he came in, he lifted his head and steadily looked at Qiao Lian. Then he quickly walked upstairs. She stepped forward and asked, ¡°Have you had dinner? It¡¯ste, why was it so busy at work today?¡± He did not answer these questions and merely grabbed her arm. He said, ¡°Xiao Qiao,e with me.¡± He led her back to the bedroom. The puzzled Qiao Lian, who was firmly ushered into the room, turned around to look at Shen Liangchuan questioningly. He shut the door behind him and turned back to her. Then, like a magician, he held out a very small jewelry box. The packaging obviously hadn¡¯t been put together with too much care. Qiao Lian looked at the case with a puzzled expression as Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°Open it and take a look.¡± Qiao Lian was curious now. What rare treasure could there be in such a regr jewelry box? Or was it... A little excited, she reached out for the box and slowly opened it. The very moment her gaze fell on the inside of the gift box, her eyes turned bloodshot and she almost broke down in tears. She already had a hunch that something was up when Shen Liangchuan came homete, and the moment he did so, he had ushered her upstairs in such a hurry. And even before she had opened that case, she had wondered if there was a ring in it. She was right. But even so, she was overjoyed. Because the ring was simr to the couple ring that Zhou Yu and Xiao Qiao had in the video game. Except that where the original ring had a small gemstone on top, there was a diamond. The exquisite ring was glittering prettily. Her heart overflowed with emotions just looking at it. Every beautiful memory from their youth seemed to be embodied in the ring she held in her hand now. As she lost herself in these thoughts, the box and the ring were suddenly taken away. Stunned, she saw Shen Liangchuan¡¯s tall andrge frame take a step back. The next moment, he bent his slim leg and got down on one knee. He raised the ring and slipped it onto her finger. His maic and attractive voice said the following words, ¡°Xiao Qiao, marry me.¡± Xiao Qiao, marry me. That had been Zhou Yu¡¯s line in the game. The dubbing in the game had a humorous and rxed tone to it, but Shen Liangchuan had said it with such seriousness that her eyes turned moist with tears at once. She stared at the ring before her with a lost expression. Biting her lip, she finally nodded. Chapter 1221 - Xia Yehua’s Marriage (16)

Chapter 1221: Xia Yehua¡¯s Marriage (16)

She felt like the moment Sheng Liangchuan had slipped the beautiful ring into her finger was a dream. He had proposed. He had proposed to her! Every woman dreamt of a beautiful wedding. Walking into a church in a resplendent white dress, receiving good wishes from close friends and family. It was no different for Qiao Lian. But ever since she married Shen Liangchuan, she had stopped fantasising about it. She had not even taken to heart the remark that Xia Yehua had made earlier on. They had been living together for almost a year and now they were even expecting a child, what sort of wedding could she possibly dream of? But right now, this gesture by Shen Liangchuan had made up for all of the disappointment and regret. With this ring, so what even if they had never had a wedding? She, Qiao Lian, liked it like this. As these thoughts ran through her mind, Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°I¡¯ve already got people to help with our wedding preparations. Let¡¯s do this before you¡¯re three months pregnant, while it¡¯s not too obvious.¡± Qiao Lian: ...! She looked up at Shen Liangchuan, astonished. She could hardly believe it. ¡°What- what did you say?¡± ¡°I said that we¡¯ll hold our wedding before Mom¡¯s.¡± A wedding... a wedding! Her eyes lit up at once. The wedding that she had always wanted! Biting her lip, she looked at Shen Liangchuan and finally nodded. They both slept soundly and sweetly that night. Through the night and till the next morning. Since Qiao Lian had been experiencing excessive sleepiness after getting pregnant, she had been waking upter. She got up at 9 a.m., washed up and went downstairs. Expecting to get ready for breakfast, she saw that Xia Yehua, Shen Zihao, Xia Nuannuan and Shen Liangchuan were all sitting on the sofa. She raised a hand to greet them, but fell silent at once when she realized that they didn¡¯t look like their usual selves. Something was up. Without making a noise, she made her way down and walked up to Shen Liangchuan. In a low voice, she asked, ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Shen Liangchuan frowned and was about to speak when Xia Nuannuan lightly tugged at her sleeves. Qiao Lian turned around with a puzzled expression as Xia Nuannuan held out the cell phone towards her. Qiao Lian took the cell phone and, the moment she looked, she saw the headline: [Married woman with surname Xia caused death of man¡¯s wife, finally marrying man after years of cover up.] The content told the story of a wealthy woman who had married a man with status and bore him two sons. She had taken the elder son and left the family without taking a penny. From this point of the story, it was all wild guesses. The woman had left the family without any demands, which probably meant something fishy. And this fishy business was anyone¡¯s guess. Except thatter on, a man who had been this woman¡¯s childhood sweetheart had started to have trouble at home. His wife had discovered their affair and died of grief. Many years ago, someone had suspected that the adulterous pair had chosen to lie low and not announce their rtionship in the midst of all those problems. But now that the rumors were dying off, they were going to announce their wedding. However, one wondered if this woman felt bad for what she had done to the man¡¯s wife. Although this report had not mentioned any names throughout, anyone who had an inkling of Xia Yehua¡¯s situation would be able to figure out with minimal guesswork that they were writing about her. Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes and lifted her head after reading this. She looked at Xia Yehua, who was now frowning and so angry that she could hardly speak. Immediately, sheforted the woman, ¡°Mom, don¡¯t be anxious.¡± Chapter 1222 - Xia Yehua’s Marriage (17)

Chapter 1222: Xia Yehua¡¯s Marriage (17)

Xia Yehua was looking quite tense. Pursing her lips, she took a deep breath after a moment. Lifting her head to look at the rest, she finally stood up and said, ¡°No big deal, let¡¯s eat first.¡± Then she headed towards the dining room. Following her, Qiao Lian slipped her arm around the woman¡¯s and said, ¡°Mom, don¡¯t fret. One look and people can tell it¡¯s fake news, you mustn¡¯t get worked up.¡± Xia Yehua nodded. They all sat around the table eating in silence. Because Qiao Lian was exceptionally hungry, she ate quickly. After she finished her food, she did not leave the dining table and just stayed there with the rest, browsing through the news on her cell phone. The moment she went into Weibo, she saw that the headline had now be: [Exposing the ugly past] Out of curiosity, she clicked to read the article and found that the Weibo blog owner had actually written the entry as though he was a first-hand witness, exining how Xia Yehua was a third party, making everything sound logical and even showing evidence for it. One of the pictures was of Xia Yehua and Shen Xiu¡¯s divorce document. The other was one of a medical report from Zhang Yuan, who had been Li Mao¡¯s wife. Both documents had dated stamps on them. Zhang Yuan¡¯s medical report was clearly dated after Xia Yehua and Shen Xiu¡¯s divorce. With these pictures as evidence, readers posted all sorts ofments. [Dang, this is abominable! She¡¯s only a third party and yet she¡¯s so arrogant? Tell her that even if thewful wife died, it¡¯s not right that she steps into that role.] [Just a very wild guess. This woman with the surname Xia seems to be Xia Yehua, right?] [Who is Xia Yehua?] [You probably wouldn¡¯t know her if you¡¯re not high up enough, but I¡¯m sure you know Shen Liangchuan. She¡¯s Shen Liangchuan¡¯s mother.] [I¡¯m shocked! Is that real?] [I¡¯m only guessing from the story.] [I know what the reader above is saying, it¡¯s her! I can confirm that she is going to marry that trashy man Li Mao soon.] [I really feel bad for the deceased wife.] Qiao Lian was stunned. Thements were very unkind and some of them even berated Shen Liangchuan. Qiao Lian was so furious she frowned. Right there and then at the dining table, her resentment was immediate. [Such a tr*mp, why is she still alive?] Qiao Lian replied: [You¡¯re reallycking perspective, just listening to gossip and saying what everyone says. Do you even know the facts? Talking so much nonsense when you have no real knowledge is something only studid people like you would do.] She replied to as manyments as she could, and as she went along, she suddenly realized that the room had gone all quiet. Puzzled, she looked up. Eh? Apart from Xia Yehua, where were all the others? In that instant, she suddenly felt something odd behind her. She spun her head around and saw that Shen Liangchuan, Shen Zihao and Xia Nuannuan were all standing behind her. Qiao Lian: ...!! Shen Zihao immediately said, ¡°Sister-inw, you have quit a sharp tongue!¡± Xia Nuannuan added, ¡°I¡¯ll join you in a minute and help out.¡± Shen Liangchuan looked at her with an indifferent expression and did notment. Sitting at the dining table and slowly eating her dinner still, Xia Yehua couldn¡¯t help butugh at them. ¡°That¡¯s so childish. I won¡¯t take these things to heart. I¡¯d rather spend my time doing other things than arguing with them.¡± Qiao Lian retorted, ¡°But Mom, I have nothing else to do at the moment.¡± Xia Yehua: ... Rolling up his sleeves, Shen Zihao picked up his cell phone and said, ¡°Continue to get back at them. Come, let me help you!¡± Chapter 1223 - Xia Yehua’s Marriage (18)

Chapter 1223: Xia Yehua¡¯s Marriage (18)

Now that Shen Zihao had joined, Xia Nuannuan would surely do the same. The three of them turned simultaneously to look at Shen Liangchuan. Shen Liangchuan turned around and walked to the living room, ignoring them. He picked up the newspapers and sat on the sofa. Shen Zihao eximed, ¡°Freaking hell, Sister-inw, this person is saying that my mother not only is a tramp, but on top of that is trying to pretend to be pure!¡± Qiao Lian replied, ¡°Tell him to spend his spare time making more money, in case he can¡¯t even afford his own gravestone in the future.¡± Shen Zihao: ... Xia Nuannuan said next, ¡°This one says that although Mom has been able to endure this in silence, hoping time will erase it is unrealistic. That this is a matter of principle and the mistress can never fill the position of awful wife.¡± Qiao Lian spat, ¡°Mistress my foot! They have to stop imposing their narrow-minded views on the rest of the world. Buddha says that you see what you think. So are they all thinking of being mistresses? Specially the sort that aren¡¯t worthy of any status?¡± Xia Nuannuan said, ¡°I don¡¯t think that was what he meant.¡± Qiao Lian replied, ¡°Can¡¯t remember the actual saying, but it doesn¡¯t matter, it means the same thing.¡± Xia Nuannuan: ... Shen Zihao started again, ¡°And this- this-¡± ¡°...¡± Qiao Lian certainly had the ability toe up with stinging remarks. After years of being a reporter, her talent with words was unrivaled. Besides, she had a deep-seated hatred for inte violence. In this particr instance, it was rather fortunate in a way that the victim of this issue was Mom. If it had been someone else, that person would have had no one toe to her defence and that would have been unimaginable. At this thought, Qiao Lian continued to fire away. An hourter. Shen Zihao tossed his cell phone aside andined, ¡°There are so manyments!¡± Stretching her sore arms, Xia Nuannuan said, ¡°It¡¯s so tiring to answer thesements one after another. To think there are thousands of them.¡± Qiao Lian replied, ¡°... Three against a crowd. Of course we are outnumbered.¡± Continuing with hisint, he said, ¡°There are four of us here obviously.¡± Qiao Lian immediately looked up at Shen Liangchuan and saw him lifting his gaze with his usual indifferent expression. He put down the magazine he was holding and picked up his cell phone. After ncing at it, he said, ¡°Uh huh, it¡¯s all settled.¡± Qiao Lian: ?? The next moment, Shen Zihao almost fell off the sofa. He cried out in surprise, ¡°Good grief! What¡¯s going on? Why have we gotten so many supporters suddenly?¡± Qiao Lian looked at Shen Liangchuan questioningly and he replied, ¡°I got Song Cheng to activate online ghostwriters.¡± Qiao Lian was bbergasted. So was that what Best Actor Shen did in the past whenever there was negative news about him? That totally tarnished her image of him. Given that now thements were no longer one-sided, Qiao Lian and the rest could sit back and rx. Frowning, Qiao Lian said, ¡°There¡¯s something fishy about this matter. Even though Best Actor Shen¡¯s name is linked to it, it has blown up too quickly. It feels like there¡¯s someone behind it.¡± Shen Liangchuan frowned as well upon hearing this. He started, ¡°That¡¯s right, someone¡¯s behind it. The people postingments are ghostwriters as well.¡± Qiao Lian was stumped. So had they just been arguing with a bunch of ghostwriters? She looked at Shen Liangchuan with a vexed expression. He replied, ¡°Mom will be fine. It¡¯s fine when ites to public opinion.¡± The atmosphere in the room became more rxed at once, however, Shen Liangchuan continued, ¡°My only fear is¡ª¡± Before he could finish speaking, the housekeeper came running in and said in a panic, ¡°Mr. Shen, the- the members of the Zhang family have turned up with a group of men!! What do we do now? Should we call Mr. Li?¡± Chapter 1224 - Xia Yehua’s Marriage (19)

Chapter 1224: Xia Yehua¡¯s Marriage (19)

The housekeeper¡¯s words made the whole room fall silent. Qiao Lian looked at Xia Yehua and then looked at Shen Liangchuan. He sighed and said, ¡°The situation that I was most worried about still happened.¡± The Zhang family was the rtives of Li Mao¡¯s wife, Zhang Yuan. When Zhang Yuan passed away, she had been in herte 40s. At that time, the members of the Zhang family had been extremely sad. Since the past had been brought up and it had been such a saddening situation, the Zhang family definitely had an opinion. The war of rumors wasn¡¯t scary. As a Best Actor Shen, Shen Liangchuan and his team were all experts and could settle these rumors. But what was the most scary was that the person that had spread rumors was actually targeting the Zhang family. The five in the room were all smart. After hearing what the housekeeper said, they immediately understood the situation. Shen Zihao¡¯s face turned slightly pale as he said, ¡°This person really has a really scary motive.¡± He wanted to borrow power to fight another power. Other than Shen Xiu, who would have wanted to stop Xia Yehua and Li Mao from getting married? It wasn¡¯t possible for Shen Xiu to be so intelligent. Thus, this person could only be Mei Feng. Mei Feng. Shen Zihao suddenly realized that he had really been wrong about her. Her motives were really terrifying. Just as he was in a daze, someone suddenly held his wrist. A warm feeling spread from his wrist to his whole body and made hime out of his daze slowly. Looking at Xia Nuannuan, who was beside him, his heart gradually calmed down. Yes, so what if he had been deceived by Mei Feng in the past? He had what he wanted now, it wasn¡¯t toote and that was enough. As he thought about it, he held Xia Nuannuan¡¯s hand back. Everyone looked at Xia Yehua as if they were preparing to fight a huge enemy. No matter what, she was still the decision-maker of the house. Xia Yehua contemted it for a while before saying, ¡°It is really rude to stop them from entering. Furthermore, I also considered Zhang Yuan a friend. Let them in then.¡± The housekeeper took her instructions, turned and then left. No longter, they heard the sound of footstepsing from outside. Qiao Lian followed Xia Yehua and walked to the door. And there they saw the Zhang family walking in. There weren¡¯t many of them. There were only four people; an olddy who had difficulty walking straight and a middle-age man who was Zhang Yuan¡¯s brother, together with a middle-ageddy and a slightly younger man who were supporting the olddy. The middle ageddy and the younger man were Zhang Yuan¡¯s sister-inw and nephew. This meant that the three generations of the family hade. Xia Yehua looked at them and her nce first fell on the olddy. She took a step forward and spoke, ¡°Aunt Zhang, what brings you here?¡± Before her stretched hand couldnd on the olddy¡¯s body, the olddy took back her hand and sneered. Then, she skirted around Xia Yehua and walked into the room. Xia Yehua stood rooted to the stop slightly awkwardly for an instant, before turning around and heading back into the living room. Senior Mrs. Zhang sat on the sofa and was currently staring intently at Xia Yehua. Just as Xia Yehua entered the room, she angrily stuck out her trembling hand and pointed at her while saying, ¡°Tell me how did Yuanyuan die!¡± Xia Yehua frowned and answered, ¡°It has nothing to do with me.¡± ¡°Nothing to do with you? Haha, you really think that all of us are idiots? Since you were young, your rtionship with Li Mao was always strange. Don¡¯t think that we don¡¯t know that! You must give us an exnation today.¡± Chapter 1225 - Xia Yehua’s Marriage (20)

Chapter 1225: Xia Yehua¡¯s Marriage (20)

Xia Yehua was instantly at a loss of words after hearing the olddy describe their rtionship as strange. On the side, Zhang Yuan¡¯s sister-inw was choking. She lowered her head and spoke with reddened eyes, ¡°You can¡¯t even speak! I knew it, you must be guilty! That year when you suddenly tppl Shen Liangchuan away, divorced without asking for anything and left the Shen family, we already felt that something was wrong. Mom, do you remember that time when you were very worried about Yuanyuan and kept asking me to check on her? At that time, Yuanyuan was already a little unhappy but I didn¡¯t take it to heart. She was also often distracted but I thought that she just didn¡¯t care. Little did I expect that just after two months, Yuanyuan would get seriously ill and die!¡± After she said so, Zhang Yuan¡¯s brother scolded her furiously, ¡°Yes, there¡¯s something fishy with my sister¡¯s illness, she died so suddenly! I had my suspicions then but I trusted Li Mao¡¯s character and didn¡¯t probe further. Also, I saw that there was nothing between you and Li Mao so I didn¡¯t suspect both of you. Now, are those online rumors true? Xia Yehua, tell me!¡± The olddy was so furious that she had trouble breathing. ¡°Why are you still asking her? How can this situation be fake? If it was fake, why would it have gotten online?! Also, you can ask her yourself if she is getting married to Li Mao! I have asked people to check it out for me! Li Mao was indeed preparing for his wedding. Xia Yehua, say it yourself, are you getting married to Li Mao?¡± Xia Yehua opened her mouth but she was at a loss for words. Just at that moment, a piece of paper on the table attracted the Zhang family¡¯s attention. It had the pictures of the wedding gowns Qiao Lian and Xia Nuannuan had received yesterday. Although Xia Yehua didn¡¯t want to hold a wedding ceremony, they didn¡¯t want her to receive less than what she should. At that instant, after seeing that few pictures, who wouldn¡¯t understand the situation? The olddy immediately burst in anger. She picked up the teacup from the table and threw it at Xia Yehua. Xia Yehua furrowed her brows and took a step backwards. Then the olddy scolded her, ¡°What a pair of despicable cheaters! Both of you caused my daughter¡¯s death. Did you think that no one would realize it after so long? Both of you want to get married now? What gives you the face to get married? Let me tell you! Xia Yehua, the Zhang family will never forgive you!¡± Zhang Yuan¡¯s brother couldn¡¯t help but also say, ¡°Xia Yehua, you could say we grew up together. Haha, never would I have thought that you¡¯re actually such a person.¡± ¡°Yes, you caused the death of my aunt! I will not forgive you. Don¡¯t think that just because eight years have passed since the incident that everything can¡¯t be forgotten. We will definitely find evidence. Even if thew isn¡¯t able to prosecute you, we will make you pay for it!¡± Zhang Yuan¡¯s nephew said. Zhang Yuan¡¯s sister-inw then continued by shouting, ¡°My sister-inw had such a tough life, such a wrongful death! She passed away so suddenly then with a diagnosis of an incurable disease and cancer, but now that we think of it, it might not be true. Why would a person suddenly die when she had been fine all along?! There¡¯s something fishy in all of this.¡± ¡°Yes, we will go and check now. We will find out the real reason for Yuanyuan¡¯s death then! What if it was a set up?¡± Just as they were discussing this, a voice came from outside. ¡°Brother, Sister-inw, Mom, what are all of you doing here?¡± The group turned to look immediately and saw that Li Mao was standing at the doorstep with anxiousness written on his face. He quickly walked in and said, ¡°All of this has nothing to do with Yehua!¡± Chapter 1226 - Xia Yehua’s Marriage (21)

Chapter 1226: Xia Yehua¡¯s Marriage (21)

It was obvious that Li Mao had heard the news and thus hurried over. But sadly, he was stillte. When he walked into the living room and heard them interrogating Xia Yehua, he instantly panicked. The panicking man had abruptly made a really dumb remark. Directly protecting Xia Yehua in front of his original wife¡¯s family was definitely the greatest trigger for the Zhang family. Zhang Yuan¡¯s brother immediately became furious. He took a step forward and grabbed Li Mao. He shouted angrily with reddened eyes, ¡°Li Mao, how dare you say such a thing?! Did you forget what I told you when I handed Yuanyuan to you then?! For this woman, do you now intend to break up with the Zhang family?!¡± Back then, Li Mao and Zhang Yuan¡¯s marriage had been arranged by the two families. If the Li family and the Zhang family broke up now, there would definitely be a huge negative impact on both families. Li Mao panicked and said, ¡°Brother, hear me out! Yuanyuan indeed passed away due to an illness. I can swear to god that I¡¯m speaking the truth! Yuanyuan¡¯s death has nothing to do with Xia Yehua at all. Xia Yehua hadn¡¯t even divorced Shen Xiu when Yuanyuan got sick.¡± ¡°So what if they hadn¡¯t divorced?! Both of you were having an affair, so when Shen Xiu found out, Xia Yehua divorced him without taking anything. It must be that! Why would Xia Yehua divorce him without asking for anything? So this is the reason. You two are really shameless, a pair of despicable cheaters!¡± Zhang Yuan¡¯s sister-inw had just totallypletely made up the story with her assumptions. Furthermore, after putting everything together, it seemed like what she hade out with made sense. After all, no one would believe that as a father, Shen Xiu would want to kill his son with his own hands. Even if they told them the truth, these people wouldn¡¯t believe them. But Shen Zihao was immediately triggered. He took a step forward and shouted, ¡°Who are you calling despicable cheaters? You¡¯d better believe that if you say it again, I will tell my people toe and hit you.¡± The furious Shen Zihao immediately pulled up his sleeves and said, ¡°If you have anything to say, you can say it, but don¡¯t yell at people without a reason. Where is your etiquette?!¡± Zhang Yuan¡¯s nephew, who was about the same age as Shen Zihao, immediately stood up and said, ¡°Shen Zihao, talking is cheap. Don¡¯t speak as if you can understand what we are going through. The one that died isn¡¯t your aunt, you can obviously keep your cool! My grandma had to bid my aunt farewell as her mother. Do you know that she almost left along with my aunt then?!¡± Shen Zihao sneered and said, ¡°I don¡¯t care. As long as anyone dares to scold my mom again, I will not forgive you. My fist doesn¡¯t have eyes!¡± After he said so, he even waved his fist at Zhang Yuan¡¯s sister-inw. She immediately frowned, but it was obvious that Shen Zihao¡¯s threat had worked, as the words they spoke after were no longer that malicious. Zhang Yuan¡¯s brother did not bother with his threat. He only stared at Li Mao and said, ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re speaking nonsense again for the sake of getting her off the me. You really made a lot of effort! Yuanyuan was sick? How would we not know? Don¡¯te here and make up stories.¡± Li Mao panicked and rebutted, ¡°Brother, everything I said was real. Yuanyuan was indeed sick, she had already known that she was dying since the start. It¡¯s just that she didn¡¯t want all of you to worry and did not let you know.¡± After saying so, Li Mao looked at Xia Yehua once again and said, ¡°The reason why I had dared to help you openly was because she suggested it. She was the one who asked me to lend you a hand.¡± His words stunned everyone in the room. Chapter 1227 - Xia Yehua’s Marriage (22)

Chapter 1227: Xia Yehua¡¯s Marriage (22)

Xia Yehua was even more taken aback by this news. The fact was that in her youth, she had indeed been together with Li Mao. Butter on, they had parted ways and they both got married to other people. After their marriage, for the sake of not arousing suspicion, they had not contacted each other. This hadsted for a period of twenty years. It was only when she left the Shen family with her son and housekeeper in tow, penniless, that Li Mao appeared once again to help her pay for Shen Liangchuan¡¯s medical treatment. He also found them amodation to settle into. But even then... Even the deepest feelings had diminished after 20 years. At the time, Xia Yehua hadn¡¯t even thought of being together with Li Mao again. Besides, she had only epted his help at first butter on, they lost contact once again. Until Zhang Yuan passed away. Her death took Xia Yehua by surprise. On the day she died, Xia Yehua had gone out, wondering how Li Mao was taking it. Later on, they ran into each other at the ce that they had often hung out together in their youth. Li Mao had been drinking by himself. She had a few words with him. Because Zhang Yuan was no longer around and she was divorced, they eventually grew closer to each other. Initially, Li Mao couldn¡¯t get over Zhang Yuan¡¯s demise. It was only after a year that he started to ovee it gradually. Later on, with more contact, he started to have feelings for Xia Yehua again. Hence, Zhang Yuan¡¯s death really had nothing to do with Xia Yehua. But Zhang Yuan¡¯s elder brother obviously did not believe Li Mao¡¯s words. He insisted, ¡°If what you say is true, then let us take a look at all her medical reports from the past. Show me all of them.¡± Li Mao¡¯s eyes shed when he heard these words. He hung his head somewhat guiltily and said, ¡°I¡¯ve thrown the reports away.¡± ¡°Thrown away?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Yuanyuan didn¡¯t want all of you to worry, so the reports were destroyed. And after she passed away, I was even more worried that you all would be sad, so the rest of it was burnt.¡± ¡°Ha! Li Mao, do you think we will believe you? Why would you worry about us knowing her condition after she died?! The fact that you have burnt all her medical reports shows that you must have something to hide. Tell us, what did Yuanyuan die of exactly?¡± Li Mao said in a firm tone, ¡°She had cancer. It was at ate stage by the time we found out. Shested a few more months without further treatment before she sumbed.¡± ¡°Cancer. Cancer. Cancer is normally hereditary! Up till now, no one in our family has died of cancer. How could she have gotten cancer? Do you really think I¡¯ll believe you?!¡± Before Li Mao could say another word, an anxious voice shouted from outside, ¡°Uncle, it was really cancer!¡± These words were followed by Li Tianyu¡¯s appearance as he walked into the room. The moment he walked in, he apologized to Shen Zihao and Shen Liangchuan, ¡°Big brother, so sorry. My grandma doesn¡¯t understand this and has wrongly used Aunt Xia.¡± Then he turned around and tugged at Senior Auntie Zhang¡¯s hand, saying, ¡°Granny, you really have misunderstood. My mom¡¯s death has nothing to do with Aunt Xia. Let¡¯s go home, don¡¯t create a din here, otherwise it will put Dad in an awkward position.¡± A hard pnded on his arm the moment he said those words. ¡°Silly! Your mother gave birth to you and brought you up, but now all you care about is your father?! Let me tell you, I will not let this matter rest easily. I have to get to the bottom of how these two people caused my daughter¡¯s death. Otherwise, the two of you can forget about a wedding!¡± Chapter 1228 - Xia Yehua’s Marriage (23)

Chapter 1228: Xia Yehua¡¯s Marriage (23)

Thatst remark was meant for Li Mao. He was speechless. Looking at the Senior Madam helplessly, he started, ¡°Mom¡ª¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you call me Mom! If we don¡¯t get this sorted today, I won¡¯t leave. Not only did you kill my daughter, you¡¯re going to kill me as well.¡± Senior Madam Zhang sat on the sofa, heaving and patting her chest in fury after saying this. Zhang Yuan¡¯s sister-inw hurried over to her and held her, patting the olddy¡¯s back, trying to sooth her. The Senior Madam looked up at Xia Yehua and continued, ¡°If you don¡¯te clean and tell me how my daughter died, you can dream about getting married. Otherwise, you will go ahead with it over my cold and lifeless body!¡± The more she spoke, the more agitated she got. She was heaving visibly. Everyone was at a loss for words. Shen Zihao frowned but didn¡¯t dare to get into a fight with a sickly olddy. The olddy waited to calm down a little and then started toment with reddened eyes, ¡°My poor, pitiful daughter, you died for no good reason. How do you expect your Mom to go on? I already said at the time, don¡¯t marry this Li Mao, his heart was elsewhere, but you were silly. Were you very sad before you died? Were you furious? Especially at this tr*mp Xia Yehua...¡± In tears, the Senior Madam stood up and tottered over to Xia Yehua, raising her hand to p her. ¡°Tr*mp! I will avenge my daughter today!¡± Xia Yehua stood there still, while the people around desperately rushed forward as that hand came down and was about to make contact. Then... Bam. The p hit her. The room fell silent. Everyone turned to look at Li Mao. Usually gentle, the man was now frowning as he eximed anxiously, ¡°Mom, how could you hit her?¡± The Senior Madam was an elder after all and had little strength. The p hadn¡¯te down too hard. But that action was enough to anger everyone in Xia Yehua¡¯s family. They all stood up, stepping forward in fury. How many of them were Shen family members and how many were Zhang family members? Of course, the members of the Zhang family started to panic. The Senior Madam pointed at the advancing Shen Zihao and others, saying, ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± Shen Zihao replied icily, ¡°Olddy, we, the Shen family, do not wee you. Please get out!¡± How dared she hit Xia Yehua and furthermore, right there in the Shen Vi? This olddy was crazy for sure. Zhang Yuan¡¯s elder brother stepped forward quickly and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be rash, my mother is old and does not take threats. Also, I think this matter has to be resolved. Otherwise, like Mom says, we won¡¯t leave!¡± Zhang Yuan¡¯s sister-inw agreed, ¡°That¡¯s right, there has to be justice, things have to be cleared out to have peace and harmony. If you use force, we¡¯ll call the police.¡± After they said, Li Mao stepped forward and said, ¡°Brother, Sister-inw, Zhang Yuan and I were married many years and I never begged you for any help. But today, I, Li Mao, beg of you! Please leave for now. Don¡¯t cause trouble here, is that alright?¡± ¡°Beg?! Li Mao you must be eaten by a guilty conscience! You think we will just let it go because you begged us?!¡± Chapter 1229 - Xia Yehua’s Marriage (24)

Chapter 1229: Xia Yehua¡¯s Marriage (24)

Li Mao really was at his wits¡¯ end now ¡°Elder Brother!! So what exactly do you want?¡± ¡°What do we want? We want to know how exactly Yuanyuan died! We want justice for her! If she died of grief because of you two, then we, the Zhang Family, won¡¯t let it go easily.¡± Li Mao pursed his lips tightly and started, ¡°You¡ª¡± Before he could speak, someone interrupted him in a calm and indifferent tone, ¡°Please leave. I will not marry him.¡± Everyone was stunned by these words. They looked at Xia Yehua, who was standing there impassively, saying again, ¡°Please leave.¡± Zhang Yuan¡¯s elder brother finally reacted. All worked up, he demanded, ¡°You- you- Did Yuanyuan die of grief because of you? Now you¡¯re feeling the guilt!! Otherwise, why are you giving up on the marriage?!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, that must be it.¡± Zhang Yuan¡¯s sister-inw took a few steps forward and added, ¡°You¡¯re finally admitting it because you have no answers for us. The two of you, you¡¯re simply the scum of the society!¡± ¡°My poor daughter, she had such a tough life. Why did she meet people like you in her life? To think that she treated you like a friend... Sob, sob, sob,¡± the Senior Madam started crying. Li Mao looked at Xia Yehua in a daze. Her expression was firm and resolute as her eyes met his. At once, Li Mao understood what she was thinking. He had been avoiding telling the truth about Zhang Yuan¡¯s death. Xia Yehua knew that he had his reasons. Hence, he would rather try to exin his way out, to convince them it hadn¡¯t been what they thought, thane clean with the real reason for her death. The reason surely left him in a tight spot. She lowered her gaze. She felt a little bitter. It had been many years since Zhang Yuan had died, but Li Mao seemed to care so much still. Hence, she suddenly felt that the marriage was now meaningless. After all, it had been so many years and their rtionship had never progressed. Life still went on. Since this was the case, why make things difficult for him? Forget about getting married then, and the cover-up could just continue. She did not speak again and just retreated a few steps, showing her wish to bow out of the storm had stirred up. She felt a little exhausted and did not want to fight with these people. Li Mao, on the other hand, felt like his heart had been squeezed by a pair of invisible hands. It was unbearably painful. She would rather be maligned by the Zhang family than to let them put him in a difficult position. Clenching his fists, he started to feel like his own persistence was ridiculous now. Looking steadily at the people before him berating Xia Yehua, and looking at how Xia Yehua was tolerating it all, his face tensed up. Senior Madam Zhang was now wailing, ¡°Xia Yehua, you caused my daughter to die of grief. I curse you, you wille to no good end!! You will go to hell after you die and you will reincarnate as a lowly beast! Sob, sob, sob.¡± The olddy¡¯s words were toxic and ugly. Still, Xia Yehua maintained her silence. The words were like sharp knives being driven into Li Mao¡¯s heart. The man suddenly straightened his posture and lifted his head, shouting, ¡°All of you, shut up!¡± He hollered those words. The room suddenly fell silent as everyone turned to look at him. Then the manughed bitterly and said, ¡°Fine, if you really wish to know why Yuanyuan died, I will tell you.¡± Chapter 1230 - Xia Yehua’s Marriage (25)

Chapter 1230: Xia Yehua¡¯s Marriage (25)

When Li Mao said this, Li Tianyu immediately stepped forward and said, ¡°Dad, no!¡± Li Mao frowned and replied, ¡°What is there to hide still? Now that things havee to this, Tianyu, please don¡¯t me me. I really- It would be wrong of me to continue keeping mum about this matter.¡± Upon hearing this, Li Tianyu choked back his words. He paused for a while and then sighed. He nodded and stepped back. Looking at everyone in the room, Li Mao started, ¡°At the time, Yuanyuan had kept her condition a secret because... she had AIDS.¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°That is not possible!¡± ¡°What nonsense are you speaking? Don¡¯t you know that saying such things will sully Yuanyuan¡¯s reputation?¡± They started to raise their voices. Pursing his lips, Li Mao looked up at them and said, ¡°Why would I joke about such a thing? At that time, we went overseas and Yuanyuan fooled around. When we returned home, we discovered that she was infected with AIDS. She begged me not to tell anyone and certainly not to let you all know, because she didn¡¯t want you to be sad or to despise her. She¡¯d rather she die of cancer. The medical reports are at home! If you don¡¯t believe me, you cane with me to have a look.¡± Zhang Yuan¡¯s elder brother looked at him with an expression of disbelief and said after a moment, ¡°And you...¡± Li Mao cast his gaze down and sighed. He finally revealed, ¡°Yuanyuan and I had already separated ten years ago.¡± Senior Madam Zhang and Sister-inw Zhang were shocked to hear this. They too looked at Li Mao in disbelief. Li Mao calmly continued, ¡°We made sacrifices for our families when we got married. In fact, the day we got married, we had made an agreement that if in the future we didn¡¯t get along, we¡¯d choose to get a divorce. She and I had very different personalities and temperament, we had different hobbies and little inmon. After Tianyu was born, the differences we had in our values became obvious. Eventually, we parted on amicable terms. But because our marriage implicated the families¡¯ estates, we had never made this public. But Tianyu knows about it.¡± Li Tianyu immediately nodded and said, ¡°Dad and Mom divorced when I was ten.¡± Everyone was stunned. Li Mao cast his gaze down and continued, ¡°From that day on, Yuanyuan fooled around outside. She eventually came back when she fell sick. Tianyu and I took care of her right up till the end. ¡°Mom, Elder Brother, I never wanted to tell you these things because I didn¡¯t want you to be sad. But now, please don¡¯t make things difficult for Xia Yehua anymore. This matter had nothing to do with her right from the start!¡± The Zhang family members were all stunned and at a loss for words after hearing all this. It was no wonder then that Zhang Yuan had just suddenly died without showing any warning signs before that. So that was... AIDS! All of them knew clearly how AIDS spread. Hence, it became obvious that it was Zhang Yuan who had treated Li Mao unfairly. But in the end? Not only had Li Mao not gotten angry and thrown a temper, he had even been there for Zhang Yuan in her most painful moments, right up till the end, when he said his final goodbye to her. So what right did the Zhang family have to be creating trouble here? Elder Big Brother Zhang realized this immediately. He looked at Xia Yehua and said, ¡°I- We were in the wrong.¡± Chapter 1231 - Xia Yehua’s Marriage (26)

Chapter 1231: Xia Yehua¡¯s Marriage (26)

The Zhang family members had charged into the Shen vi, brandishing their swords, and left with their tails between their legs. Li Mao and Li Tianyu both apanied the Zhang family members as they left the Shen vi. Senior Madam Zhang was teary-eyed as she stood at the doorway saying, ¡°Good daughter, I have wrongfully used you. I was in the wrong, good daughter, please don¡¯t take it to heart.¡± At this point, she broke down in tears and continued, ¡°That disappointing daughter of mine actually fooled around and caught such a disease. Sob, sob, sob, my poor daughter, why was she so silly?!¡± The olddy was devastated and Xia Yehua couldn¡¯t help but sigh. She said, ¡°Aunt Zhang, don¡¯t cry anymore. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t take it to heart.¡± Senior Madam nodded. On the side, Zhang Yuan¡¯s elder brother and Li Mao were whispering to each other. Elder Brother Zhang said, ¡°This matter has gone viral on the inte. I fear there¡¯s someone behind it, using the situation and the Zhang family to do something nasty. I won¡¯t let this matter rest just like that, I will find out who the perpetrator is!¡± If it hadn¡¯t been for the person who had spread the rumors, the reason for his sister¡¯s death would have never been known and the Zhang family would not have been this embarrassed. If news of a woman fooling around and then catching some nasty disease got out, her reputation would be done for. Elder Brother Zhang felt really bad and said, ¡°Li Mao, I¡¯ve wrongfully used you, it¡¯s my fault.¡± Li Mao sighed and gave the other man a few pats on his shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t be so rash in the future. They¡¯ll take advantage of you easily.¡± Zhang Yuan¡¯s elder brother sighed and nodded. After the Zhangs left, peace and quiet was finally restored in the Shen vi. Everyone sat around on the sofa and looked at Xia Yehua. She had a calm expression on her face and she sat there quietly. Qiao Lian nced at her and walked towards her. ¡°Mom¡ª¡± Xia Yehua interrupted, ¡°You don¡¯t have to say anything. I just want to be alone and have some quiet now.¡± The fact was that the truth behind Zhang Yuan¡¯s death had not only shocked the Zhang family, even Xia Yehua was shaken. Li Mao and Zhang Yuan had been divorced for so many years, yet they had never announced it. She didn¡¯t know what to think of it, except that her own feelings were mixed andplex. She sighed and said, ¡°Actually, there¡¯s no need to lose heart over this matter. That would be falling right into Mei Feng¡¯s trap! But I really cannot understand why that woman keeps targeting me. She doesn¡¯t lose anything if I¡¯m together with Li Mao.¡± Qiao Lian replied immediately, ¡°I think it¡¯s hatred, rooted in her envy and jealousy. Look at how well Uncle Li Mao treats you, but I think Mr. Shen doesn¡¯t treat her very well.¡± Shen Xiu was the father of Shen Liangchuan and Shen Zihao after all. Hence, Qiao Lian didn¡¯t dare address him by his name. Xia Yehua was speechless. ¡°Just because of this?¡± Frowning, Qiao Lian said, ¡°I really can¡¯t say for sure, but right now, Mom, hurry up ande help us decide. What sort of the wedding would you like?!¡± Then she held out the designs to show Xia Yehua. ¡°Mom, what do you think of this dress? It has a train, so the skirt will add length to your profile. And this one would make you look exceptionally shapely.¡± ¨C As the women spoke, on the other side of the room, Shen Zihao frowned and approached Shen Liangchuan. Chapter 1232 - Xia Yehua’s Marriage (27)

Chapter 1232: Xia Yehua¡¯s Marriage (27)

Raising his eyebrows, Shen Liangchuan saw Shen Zihao sitting on the sofa. Shen Zihao lowered his voice and said, ¡°Brother, can you tolerate how mom is getting harrassed? Don¡¯t you want to retaliate?¡± Shen Liangchuan raised his eyebrows even more and nced at him inly. Shen Zihao lowered his voice and slowly spoke, ¡°Let me tell you, we could...¡± Hearing Shen Zihao¡¯s revenge n, Shen Liangchuan eyebrows sunk. He had never expected that Shen Zihao¡¯s n would be the same as his. It seemed like the person who knew Mei Feng the best was indeed Shen Zihao. Shen Liangchuan curved his lips. With the two brothers working hand in hand this time, he was determined to help Xia Yehua seek revenge this time. ¨C When Shen Xiu woke up, he felt really dizzy and had no idea where he was. After moving, he frowned and realized that a woman was lying beside him. He instantly narrowed his eyes and looked at the woman. She looked like she was in her twenties, young and alluring, as she carried the glow of youth. Shen Xiu couldn¡¯t help but be stunned. He tried really hard to recall what had happened the night before. It seemed like someone had invited him to a drink and he had epted it. After drinking too much, he could no longer remember what had happened. He also knew that the girl in front of him was a small secretary from thepany. He had seen her before. She wasn¡¯t really good-looking, but she was young and filled with vigor. She had always tried to get his attention but at this moment... Shen Xiu frowned and sat up. When he moved, he felt something under his palm. When he lowered his head to see, he realized that it was blood. He was stunned and looked at the sleeping girl in shock. He hadn¡¯t expected that this would actually be her first time. Her first time. Shen Xiu¡¯s heart suddenly really softened. He had originally meant to get out of bed, but he stopped in the midst of it. It was not that Shen Xiu had never had a one night stand with a girl. He even had very efficient methods to settle these one night stands. Furthermore, it had been the girl who had offered herself to him. It would have been such a waste if he hadn¡¯t taken the opportunity. But little would he have expected that it was the girl¡¯s first time. Shen Xiu hesitated for a while and woke her up. ¡°Xiao Wang, wake up.¡± Xiao Wang opened her eyes and nced at Shen Xiu. Her gaze immediately focused. ¡°Manager Shen.¡± Then, she stuck out her hand and hooked it around his arm. That look of admiration immediately made Shen Xiu¡¯s heart fill with adrenaline. He coughed and Xiao Wang spoke, ¡°Manager Shen, there¡¯s something that I want to tell you. I really like you and enjoy spending time with you. I hope that you don¡¯t push me away, ok?¡± Shen Xiu was speechless. He lowered his head and stared at the girl¡¯s honest expression. He pursed his lips, suddenly smiled and nodded. After he was done getting dressed and walked out, the girl on the bed sat up and took out her phone. She dialed a number. ¡°Mr. Shen¡¯s orders have been settled. Has the money also been transferred?¡± ¡°Yes, don¡¯t worry. You pay me and I willplete the task. I assure you that I willplete it extremely well!¡± After hanging up, the girl adopted an experienced smile. She pushed the nket away and pulled out the bed sheet stained with blood. After this, she shook the bedsheets and whistled. ¡°I wonder how many people have been fooled by this chicken blood. Pff, pff.¡± After throwing the bed sheet into the washing machine, she dusted her hands off. Chapter 1233 - Xia Yehua’s Marriage (28)

Chapter 1233: Xia Yehua¡¯s Marriage (28)

When Shen Xiu arrived home, it was already the morning after.. He usually did not stay out overnight, but yesterday had been an ident. He reached home and realized that no one had woken up yet. Hence, Shen Xiu quickly rushed up to the study room, opened the door and entered it. After a while, Shen Xiu acted as if he had spent the night in the study room and had just walked out of it. Just as he opened the door, he saw Mei Feng walking out from her bedroom. After seeing him, Mei Feng was a little stunned and she instantly took a step forward. She asked, ¡°I thought that you didn¡¯te home. What time did you returnst night?¡± Shen Xiu coughed and, with his eyes shining a little, he replied, ¡°Yes, I worked overtime till prettyte so when I returned it was already reallyte. I didn¡¯t want to disturb your rest, so I stayed in the study.¡± After Mei Feng heard his words, she narrowed her eyes and asked, ¡°Did you just wake up?¡± ¡°Ah, yes!¡± Mei Feng¡¯s gazended on his neck. There was a lipstick mark on his neck. She couldn¡¯t help but take a step forward. She sniffed a female perfume on him, it was the scent of really thick fragrance. She frowned instantly and covered her mouth. Tightening her fist and clenching her teeth, she felt as if she was going mad. This man had actually found another woman outside? He had just gone out to look for other women right after asking her to take good care and maintain her looks. But the angrier Mei Feng was, the calmer she looked on the surface. She took a step forward and lowered her head so as to hide her thoughts. Then she smiled as she spoke, ¡°You must be really tired. Go down and eat breakfast quickly.¡± Shen Xiu nodded and went downstairs with Mei Feng. As he was feeling guilty, he could not help but stare at Mei Feng. Mei Feng looked very tired, as if she had not slept at allst night. Moreover, after looking at her again, Shen Xiu only realized that Mei Feng¡¯s skin was really too loose. It seemed like not even cosmetics could save her skin. He could not resist recalling Xiao Wang¡¯s tender skin earlier today. If he hadn¡¯tpared the skin condition of the both of them, the harm caused could have been avoided. Yet Shen Xiu couldn¡¯t help butment again, ¡°I thought that I said you should get some botox, or use lifting. Just look at the wrinkles on your face.¡± After saying so, he frowned and stopped talking. He went straight downstairs. Only Mei Feng was left behind. She was so angry that her face was ghastly pale. So just right after being with another woman outside, he was now criticising her because she was getting older?! Mei Feng moved away from the stairs to take a few breaths so as to suppress the anger inside. Keeping her calm, she walked downstairs and reached the living room. She saw that Shen Xiu was already seated at the dining table and eating his breakfast. He appeared to have a good appetite. She walked over and sat opposite him. As they were eating, she saw Shen Xiu¡¯s phone light up due to a message notification from WeChat. She looked up, wanting to see who had messaged him. Shen Xiu¡¯s face lit up with happiness as he picked up his phone and raised his face. His lips widened immediately and it was obvious that he was delighted by the message. Mei Feng: ...! Mei Feng was filled with so much anxiety that she was really tempted to pick up Shen Xiu¡¯s phone to take a look. But she knew that she could not do it so forcefully. She only had the chance to do so when Shen Xiu went to the toilet, where she rushed over to pick up the phone. Upon picking up the phone, she saw that the message was from a woman who looked like the standard b*tchy third party, with a seductive profile picture. The message read: [Xiao Wang: Manager Shen, my thighs feel sore since I woke up today. Can I take the day off and not go to work?] Chapter 1234 - Xia Yehua’s Marriage (29)

Chapter 1234: Xia Yehua¡¯s Marriage (29)

Mei Feng almost died when she read this. Her legs felt weak? It was self-exnatory, it wasn¡¯t hard to guess what had happenedst night. Even though it was obvious and there was evidence that she had guessed right, Mei Feng wasn¡¯t able to ept it. No wonder, no wonder at all that there was that heavy scent of a woman¡¯s perfume on Shen Xiu, and that lipstick mark on his neck. Mei Feng clenched her fists in fury. Was it true that people would always covet what they didn¡¯t have? He felt that she had grown old, he despised her age. As she was thinking this, Shen Xiu walked hurriedly out of the bathroom and towards her. He asked, ¡°Where¡¯s my cell phone?¡± Pretending that she hadn¡¯t seen the message, she looked up and handed the cell phone to him. He took the phone and headed back into the bathroom. Mei Feng: ... Now he couldn¡¯t even bear to part with his cell phone for the length of a toilet break? She clenched her fists tightly and the look in her eyes turned vicious. An hourter, Shen Xiu left for work. From the moment he left the house, Mei Feng trailed him. She saw with her own eyes that he did not go to his office, but instead headed to a building that was obviously a rental apartment block. She saw that Shen Xiu went to the breakfast stall to buy breakfast before heading into thepound. She continued to follow closely as he went to the 12th floor and then hid herself along the building corridor. After a while, she saw him walk out of unit 1205. When he walked out, a woman was with him. The delicate thing acted coquettishly and said, ¡°You¡¯lle and see me after work, won¡¯t you?¡± He nodded and said, ¡°Yes, yes. You stay at home and wait for me. Last night must have been tough for you, take a good rest today.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll leave now.¡± ¡°Uh huh. Mr. Shen, see you tonight. You must not forget toe. I¡¯m afraid of being alone.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± After Shen Xiu left, Mei Feng came out of hiding. She red viciously in the woman¡¯s direction. After a while, she walked to the corridor and went to the door of unit 1205. She knocked on the door. The door swung open. The woman who opened it and appeared before Mei Feng had a simple and honest face, but she was no great beauty. Certainly, she was nowhere as beautiful as Mei Feng had been once. Otherwise, Mei Feng wouldn¡¯t have been able to catch Shen Xiu¡¯s attention. But this woman, Xiao Wang, radiated a vitality that Mei Fengcked and was brimming with youthfulness. When Mei Feng looked at her, she was envious at once. Especially the woman¡¯s face, it was so firm and plump with moisture that one could almost wring water out of it. Mei Feng curled her fingers but immediately smiled as she said, ¡°Ms. Wang, I wonder, if we could have a chat?¡± Ms. Wang eyed Mei Feng a couple of times and raised an eyebrow at once. ¡°You are... Mrs. Shen?¡± Mei Feng nodded. Ms. Wang stepped aside and said, ¡°Pleasee in then.¡± Mei Feng walked in. After Mei Feng entered the unit, she immediately held out a check to Ms. Wang and said, ¡°Here¡¯s a million. Leave him.¡± Ms. Wang looked at the cheque. Then she reached out and took it, nodding at once. ¡°No problem.¡± Mei Feng was astonished by this. She hadn¡¯t thought that it would go so smoothly. Ms. Wang coughed once and said, ¡°I am with him for the money. Since you¡¯ve given me this, then there is no need for me to continue pleasing him.¡± Mei Feng stood up and said, ¡°I¡¯m surprised Ms. Wang is so upfront. Then there¡¯s no need to say more. d to coborate with you.¡± Immediately, Ms. Wang smiled and nodded. Chapter 1235 - Xia Yehua’s Marriage (30)

Chapter 1235: Xia Yehua¡¯s Marriage (30)

After Mei Feng left, Ms. Wang picked up her cell phone and called Shen Liangchuan. She spoke with azy drawl, ¡°The fish has gone for the bait, but this fish is obviously smarter than we thought. She didn¡¯t lose her cool and instead gave me a million.¡± After a short pause, Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°The million¡¯s yours to keep, just finish up the rest of the job.¡± ¡°Uh huh, don¡¯t worry.¡± Qiao Lian approached Shen Liangchuan after he hung up and looked at him with a puzzled expression. He had been on a hands-free call, so she had heard the conversation. She inquired, ¡°How much did you pay Ms. Wang to do this?¡± ¡°A 100 000.¡± ¡°What? Now that she¡¯s got a million from Mei Feng, why would she continue to help us?¡± Shen Liangchuan nced at her, reached for her hand at once and said, ¡°Ms. Wang is no amateur. People in her profession have professional ethics. Besides, she hates men who abandon their wives.¡± Qiao Lian was astonished. Laughing at her reaction, he continued, ¡°Who would sacrifice their own body for such work? Circumstances make a person. Years ago, after she got married, her husband sacrificed her to his boss to please him. She waspletely disappointed with him. Eventually she divorced him and fought for his assets, but Sister Wang¡¯s reputation was sullied afterwards so she went into this profession. But don¡¯t underestimate her. People in the industry know her for being someone with loyalty.¡± Hearing this, Qiao Lian felt both amazed by and sorry for the woman. Every profession has its own ups and downs. Even though Sister Wang was in this profession, and even though she made sacrifices with her body, one had to admit that she was an admirable woman. Qiao Lian looked at Shen Liangchuan and continued, ¡°So what¡¯s going to happen next?¡± The man replied indifferently, ¡°What happens next... just watch and see.¡± Mei Feng got back into the car and drove along the streets alone after leaving Ms. Wang¡¯s home. As she drove, she took in the scenery around, feeling a cold istion within. Her age was her greatest enemy now. She looked at her own reflection through the mirror in the car. Even with makeup, her skin had lost its sticity and she hadrge pores that broke the smoothness of her foundation powder. Even she despised such aplexion, what more Shen Xiu. She recalled how Shen Xiu had been talking about botox and lifting. She clenched her jaws and suddenly made an about-turn. Then the car headed towards Beijing¡¯s biggest aesthetic clinic. She joined the queue and registered for an appointment. When she finally got to see the doctor, he asked, ¡°So what do you wish to do?¡± Biting her lip as Xiao Wang¡¯s plump and tender face shed across her mind again, she said through gritted teeth, ¡°Everything!¡± Because Mei Feng¡¯s body was intolerant to anesthesia, the doctor carried out the procedures without it. The pain made her feel weak. Her face slightly swelled up afterwards and the doctor informed her, ¡°Your face might feel stiff for a few days. Once the injected drugs have been absorbed, your face will settle and the wrinkles will smoothen out. But it¡¯s important to keep yourself calm for the next few days. Don¡¯t get agitated and be careful not to hit your face against anything.¡± She nodded. After leaving the clinic and upon returning home, Shen Xiu immediately charged at her and delivered a tight p across her face, hollering, ¡°What did you do to Xiao Wang?!¡± Chapter 1236 - Mei Feng’s Ending (1)

Chapter 1236: Mei Feng¡¯s Ending (1)

Mei Feng¡¯s face was already stiff and numb. But the pain shot right through her with that p. Holding her face with one hand and turning around, she looked at Shen Xiu with an expression of disbelief. She saw Shen Xiu looking back at her with his eyes on fire, enraged like he was a starving wolf that had had his dinner stolen. His expression sent a chill through her body. For the sake of this man, she had just gone through a painful aesthetic procedure. But this man...? He had pped her the moment she came home? Clenching her fists tightly, she red at Shen Xiu. Her face was expressionless because of the injections that she just had. To begin with, Mei Feng had an aggressive look, but because she was good at pretending, she always had a smile on her face. With the help of makeup, she could hide it and managed to look sweet and gentle usually. But right now, because she was unable to use makeup and the injected drugs had not been fully absorbed, she was a ghastly sight. Her re gave him the chills all of a sudden. For the first time, he thought, ¡°Is this what she looked like?¡± He seemed to remember a time in her youth that she looked very different. But what had she looked like exactly when she was younger? He tried hard to recall, but all that came to mind was a heavily made-up face. A face without makeup. Suddenly, an exquisitely beautiful face appeared in his mind. That face was startlingly pretty and literally breath-taking. But no, that couldn¡¯t be right. It wasn¡¯t Mei Feng... that was Xia Yehua. So what had Mei Feng looked like without makeup? He had no memory of it at all. He stared back at her like she was aplete stranger, as she slowly said, ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± Shen Xiu took a step backward in fright, feeling like he was in a perilous situation. What was he doing? That¡¯s right, what was he doing? Suddenly remembering Xiao Wang, anger rose in him again. He red at Mei Feng and demanded, ¡°I asked you what did you do to Xiao Wang?! Now she refuses to be with me!¡± Mei Feng¡¯s heart skipped a beat when she heard this, wondering if Xiao Wang had sold her out. But when she heard hisst remark, she knew that Shen Xiu was just making a wild guess. She immediately said, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about. Honey, how could you not trust me?¡± She wanted to smile but the moment her lip twitched, she felt extreme pain in her face and she sucked in a breath of cold air at once. Moving the muscles around her mouth made her look both ugly and sinister. Shen Xiu retreated, reflexively rejecting what he saw. He eyed Mei Feng carefully, analyzing her from head to toe. Apart from aging, why did he feel that there was something else about the woman before him that had changed? A person¡¯s facial features would not change that drastically. But on a closer look, why did it seem that not a single one of Mei Feng¡¯s features could match up to Xia Yehua¡¯s? He must have been blind to have fallen for her back then. She didn¡¯t even look as good as Xiao Wang. At least Xiao Wang was young. Shen Xiu turned cold at this thought. He raised his hand and pointed at Mei Feng, saying, ¡°I¡¯m warning you, don¡¯t you interfere with Xiao Wang! Men fool around outside. If you take it so seriously, you will only lower your own status.¡± Mei Feng was stunned by his words. Chapter 1237 - Mei Feng’s Ending (2)

Chapter 1237: Mei Feng¡¯s Ending (2)

Clearly, he was the one who was having an affair, but how could he behave like he had every right to? Besides... these words, why were they so familiar? Now she remembered. This was exactly what she had told Shen Xiu when he was having an affair with her. That was why Shen Xiu had fooled around with her frequently, again and again, until it became a serious affair. Her pupils shrank back as she clenched her fists tightly. Now, the word ¡°karma¡± shed across her mind. As she contemted this, Shen Xiu suddenly walked around her and headed out of the room. Mei Feng followed him by reflex and grabbed his arm, asking, ¡°Where- where are you going?¡± He spun around and looked straight into the woman¡¯s bare face. It scared him so much that he reacted by pushing her away forcefully. This caused Mei Feng to fall onto the ground. He stood there and frowned disapprovingly at her, saying, ¡°I¡¯m going out, leave me alone!¡± Without looking back, he left. Mei Feng picked herself up from the floor at once, as though remembering something. After Shen Xiu had driven away, she called the chauffeur and immediately followed Shen Xiu¡¯s car closely. Shen Xiu led them to that same apartment block. She continued to follow Shen Xiu closely. After the man had gone up the building, she took the elevator to the 11th floor and hid herself at the stairnding, peeping out from behind it. After a while, she saw that Ms. Wang had opened the door. She immediately pushed him away and said, ¡°CEO Shen, I really cannot be together with you. I don¡¯t wish to break up your family. Please leave.¡± After saying these words, her eyes turned red. Shen Xiu looked at the aggrieved woman before him and, all the more, he wouldn¡¯t leave. At once, he reached out to embrace her and said, ¡°Xiao Wang, what nonsense are you speaking? What we have is true love. She¡¯s nothing.¡± This scenario was amazingly simr to how Mei Feng had managed to keep this man by her side years ago. You are my true love. She was nothing. Indeed, the true love from those years... was nothing now! Mei Feng curled her fingers tightly around the handrail of the stairs. At the time, when she heard those same words from him, she had immediately thrown herself into Shen Xiu¡¯s embrace and cried her heart out. Later on, she had managed to firmly grip Shen Xiu¡¯s heart. But now, Ms. Wang was saying, ¡°I don¡¯t care, I just don¡¯t want to break up your family. I don¡¯t want to be that hated mistress despised by everyone. Sob, sob, sob. CEO Shen, please leave.¡± Having said this, she pushed Shen Xiu away and shut the door in his face. Shen Xiu was not the least bit angry. On the contrary, he reached out and knocked on her door, saying, ¡°Xiao Wang, open the door. I¡¯ve already said that I only love you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not a mistress. You¡¯re really not.¡± ¡°Xiao Wang, didn¡¯t you say you like that newly-built vi? What do you say if I buy that for you?¡± ¡°Xiao Wang, open the door.¡± He patiently tried to appease her, as Mei Feng watchedpletely stunned. Shen Xiu had been energetic and full of vigor when he was younger. She had always been extra careful around him and, even when she wanted to vent her anger, she had never dared to lose her temper. She would only cry and then after that made sure that she yed the understanding wife who sympathized with him. But now, the man that she had always taken the pains to please and cate was now trying to please and cate another woman. Mei Feng¡¯s gaze fell on that door. She was shocked as she stared. She saw Shen Xiu sigh as he said, ¡°Xiao Wang, tell me, what do I have to do to get you to open the door?¡± Chapter 1238 - Mei Feng’s Ending (3)

Chapter 1238: Mei Feng¡¯s Ending (3)

After he said this, the door swung open. Shen Xiu looked up happily and saw Xiao Wang standing there, with her red eyes shing angrily. She was holding the check that Mei Feng had given her. She threw the check in his face and said, ¡°I don¡¯t need you to buy it for me! I have money. I won¡¯t be with you because I don¡¯t need people embarrassing me with money. Am I seeing you because of money?¡± Shen Xiu didn¡¯t care how insulting of a gesture it was to have a check throwing in his face. Instead, he took a step towards Xiao Wang, embraced her and attempted to cate her, saying, ¡°No, no, how could it be for money? Even if others don¡¯t understand you, do you think I don¡¯t understand you either? Don¡¯t be angry now. She doesn¡¯t think before she acts, don¡¯t put yourself on the same level.¡± ¡°Sob, sob, sob. I just find it very embarrassing! My parents gave me everything I wanted as a child and spoiled me when I was growing up. If they knew that I am a mistress, they¡¯ll kill me!¡± Shen Xiu replied, ¡°It was all my fault, Xiao Wang, don¡¯t cry. You don¡¯t want to be a mistress. Why don¡¯t I divorce her right away?!¡± Divorce? Mei Feng felt like her heart had been stabbed by a sharp dagger. That word... How could he have said it so easily? The woman gulped and stared at Shen Xiu. After a moment, she got a grip of herself. Xiao Wang said, ¡°Isn¡¯t that a rather bad thing to do?¡± Her tone was hesitant. ¡°What is so bad about it? She has been married to me for so many years, but she has done nothing useful! She didn¡¯t even give me a child. Divorcing her is easy.¡± Mei Feng winced. She was on the verge of copsing. She had thought that, having gotten rid of Xia Yehua, she would have thestugh. Who would have thought that now Shen Xiu could so casually mention a divorce? And he had even said that she had given him a child. That was because she had once had four abortions within the span of a year and it had damaged her body. It was because of that that she was no longer able to bear children. While it was true she had no children, for whom had she sacrificed all this?! Mei Feng felt her heart gradually die. Her vicious eyes glistened with tears. Xiao Wang continued, ¡°No, you can¡¯t do that. I can¡¯t let you divorce her for my sake. If that were the case, I¡¯d feel guilty for the rest of my life.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not for you, it¡¯s because I¡¯ve grown tired of her long ago. You know, for so many years she¡¯s been so fake, right down to the heavily made-up face that I see everyday. I saw her bare face today and I got a shock! I just couldn¡¯t believe that was what she looked like, under all that makeup.¡± Xiao Wang said, ¡°I¡¯m not pretty either!¡± ¡°No at all, she¡¯s way worse than you. There¡¯s noparison!¡± ¡°Heehee, I like hearing that. This is what they mean by beauty lies in the eye of the beholder.¡± Taking advantage of this situation, Shen Xiu continued, ¡°Well, can Ie in now then?¡± Xiao Wang had no choice but to step aside and say, ¡°Fine then, CEO Shen,e in for now! But I¡¯ll make it clear first, we¡¯re not going to do anything naughty tonight. If you even touch me, I¡¯ll bawl my eyes out.¡± ¡°Fine, fine, fine, my precious one. Don¡¯t cry, it makes my heart ache.¡± As he said this, he followed the woman into her unit. Just as he had taken a few steps, he suddenly heard a voice from hell sneering, ¡°Stand right there!¡± Shen Xiu spun around to see Mei Feng pushing the door to the stairwell open and then charging at them angrily. Chapter 1239 - Mei Feng’s Ending (4)

Chapter 1239: Mei Feng¡¯s Ending (4)

Mei Feng was really furious. Every word that Xiao Wang and Shen Xiu had said had violently wounded her heart. She waspletely unable to maintain her rationality. She immediately rushed in. She just wanted to make a big fuss without having to care about anything. She rushed towards their room with her angry bloodshot eyes. Xiao Wang saw that something was wrong with the situation and hid behind Shen Xiu. Shen Xiu frowned as he guiltily watched Mei Feng approach them. He tensed up his chin and his whole body was very straight. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°Shen Xiu, return home with me.¡± Mei Feng told him directly. Shen Xiu coughed and looked back to take a nce at Xiao Wang, ¡°Ok, you go down first.¡± ¡°I said you will return home with me now.¡± Mei Feng spoke again. Shen Xiu wanted to say something, but Xiao Wang¡¯s voice sounded, ¡°Leave with her then. But after you¡¯ve left, don¡¯t ever return!¡± Her words instantly made Shen Xiu hesitate. On one side was his wife and they had been married for so many years. And on the other was the woman he loved. She had even given her first time to him. Just as he was hesitating, Mei Feng suddenly held his wrist. Then, Mei Feng said, ¡°Leave with me.¡± Shen Xiu turned his head and nced at Xiao Wang. Xiao Wang was expressionless, but there were so many emotions in her cold eyes. Hesitation, unwillingness and also a bit of hopelessness. It seemed like if Shen Xiu left, Xiao Wang wouldn¡¯t be able to live anymore. That kind of reliance strongly triggered the male pride deep in Shen Xiu¡¯s heart. He instantly stopped in his tracks and looked at Mei Feng. ¡°You can go home first, I will be back in a while.¡± Mei Feng frowned and said, ¡°Shen Xiu, husband, I asked you to return home with me. I don¡¯t allow you to be with this woman.¡± Shen Xiu just freed himself off her grip and said, ¡°Mei Feng, why are you so immature? I want to take good care of Xiao Wang before leaving. Otherwise, what would happen if such a young girl like her takes things too hard?¡± His words made Mei Feng so angry she was about tough. ¡°What is there to worry about as a third party and b*tch?!¡± Shen Xiu immediately answered, ¡°Didn¡¯t you try to take your life many times back then?!¡± His sentence instantly rendered Mei Feng speechless. At the time, for the sake of getting his attention, she had indeed diagnosed herself with ¡°depression.¡± She had said that she felt guilty for breaking his family apart and wanted Shen Xiu to divorce her. But she had clearly known that was fake. It was fake! Unfortunately, the man before her had believed it then and, even now, he believed it. Mei Feng was going to go mad. She turned her head, suddenly stuck her hand and pointed at Xiao Wang. ¡°B*tch, third party! You have broken someone¡¯s family, you¡ª¡± Before she could finish speaking, Xiao Wang acted as if she had gotten a big shock. She didn¡¯t rush into the room, but instead rushed behind Shen Xiu and said, ¡°Director Shen, protect me, protect me!¡± Her look of fear made Shen Xiu subconsciously stand before her. He even stuck out his hands and stared fiercely at Mei Feng. ¡°What do you want to do?¡± Mei Feng was speechless. Shen Xiu¡¯s rmed look and him subconsciously protecting Xiao Wang thoroughly broke her heart. What did she want to do? She wanted to rip this b*cth¡¯s face apart. And what she wanted even more was to punch Shen Xiu¡¯s face. Mei Feng red at him with a death stare as her blood started boiling. She felt as if her head was slowly swelling. Chapter 1240 - Mei Feng’s Ending (5)

Chapter 1240: Mei Feng¡¯s Ending (5)

She finally couldn¡¯t take it anymore. Like a woman who had gone mad, she directly rushed in front of Shen Xiu, stuck out her hand and grabbed Xiao Wang. However the next second, a pnded violently on her face. p! The crisp sound resonated throughout the corridor. Mei Feng was stunned. However, Shen Xiu took his hand back and spoke with a cold gaze, ¡°Have you cooled down? If you have cooled down, then scram! Stop showing your face here!¡± Mei Feng could only feel that she was totally shocked. Now who was the one in the wrong?! She bit her lip forcefully and stared at Xiao Wang behind Shen Xiu. After a while, she finally turned around and went downstairs. Xiao Wang, who was standing behind Shen Xiu, had watched the whole scene unfold before her coldly and sneered. But when Shen Xiu turned around, she immediately acted as if she was extremely frightened, She gulped and asked, ¡°She- she- Will she send someone toe after me?¡± ¡°She won¡¯t. Don¡¯t worry. If she dares toe after you, I will definitely not forgive her!¡± Xiao Wang nodded and then cowered. ¡°Shen Xiu, you- you must protect me well. She said today that if I stay with you, she will make me disappear.¡± Shen Xiu¡¯s gaze immediately became fierce as he assured her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t do that.¡± Xiao Wang nodded. Shen Xiu then patted her head and said, ¡°Ok, let me settle the issues in my house today. Be obedient, alright? Don¡¯t make me worry about you.¡± Xiao Wang nodded. Shen Xiu then turned around and went downstairs. When he was going down, he saw that Mei Feng was already standing in the courtyard. The moment she was exposed to the cold wind, she had awoken from the situation. She definitely couldn¡¯t be rash. She couldn¡¯t allow losing what she had fought for her whole life just like that. Now that she was old, she had to insist that she couldn¡¯t divorce Shen Xiu. Thus, the moment Shen Xiu came down, she lowered her head and started crying with her reddened eyes. Indeed, the power of crying worked. Shen Xiu, who had originally been furious, immediately softened after he saw her cry. After all, they had been together for so long. It wasn¡¯t possible to say there were no feelings between them. Shen Xiu sneered and stood in front of Mei Feng. ¡°Have you realized your mistake?¡± Mei Feng bit her lips and answered as her shoulders trembled, ¡°You, do you not like me anymore? Are you nning to divorce me?¡± Shen Xiu was stunned. ¡°What are you talking about.¡± ¡°Husband, I still remember. If our first child was still alive, he would have been 18.¡± Shen Xiu was shocked by what she said. ¡°I know it has been hard on you.¡± ¡°Husband, please don¡¯t ditch me, alright? I¡¯m old and no longer young anymore. If you don¡¯t want me, who would?¡± Her tone was filled with reliance and it filled Shen Xiu with a sense of responsibility. He patted her shoulder and replied, ¡°I was just fooling around. Every sessful man definitely has a few lovers. After so many years, I only have one. Can¡¯t you bear with it for a bit?!¡± Mei Feng immediately choked and started crying. ¡°But, I¡¯m worried that you longer like me. I¡¯m scared that you are going to divorce me. I¡¯m even more worried that you will pick on me... Sob, sob.¡± ¡°Stop crying, aish, you really think too much. Why would I pick on you? Don¡¯t worry, I wouldn¡¯t divorce you. I said those words then just to appease Xiao Wang. She¡¯s still young and after all, my body still has needs now, right?¡± Chapter 1241 - Mei Feng’s Ending (6)

Chapter 1241: Mei Feng¡¯s Ending (6)

Mei Feng bit her lip and said, ¡°I did botox and got a lifting injection today, so the effects will be seen in a few days. Now that I am old, I¡¯m really not like the young women anymore. My actions today were indeed really rash, but you should know that my love for you will never change, just like many years ago. When you were under Xia Yehua¡¯s strict rules, it was not easy for us to get together.¡± What she said had drawn the sympathy of Shen Xiu. He was really touched by what she said and thus sighed deeply. He took a step forward, touched Mei Feng¡¯s face and asked, ¡°Is it still painful?¡± Mei Feng immediately said, ¡°No, it¡¯s not painful at all. How could it hurt when it was you who hit me?¡± Although she said so, tears were falling down her cheeks again. Shen Xiu hastily held her hand and said, ¡°It¡¯s ok, let¡¯s go home.¡± She nodded. When they reached home, Mei Feng went to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. The redness and swelling looked a little bit abnormal. However, she wasn¡¯t too worried. She had just had a minor operation after all and there was a possibility that parts of her face would get swollen. She walked out of the bathroom and changed into a set of sexy pajamas. She went to the bed andy on it with a pose. When Shen Xiu walked out, she could not help but look at him. Shen Xiu yawned andy next to her. Mei Feng reached out her hand and said, ¡°My husband.¡± Her teasing tone was disrupted when Shen Xiu said, ¡°Ok, stop ying around, let¡¯s sleep.¡± Mei Feng was speechless. Mei Feng was shocked and bit her lip as she asked, ¡°Husband, do you not want it?¡± Shen Xiu asked, ¡°What do I want?¡± Mei Feng was speechless. Mei Feng was so angry as she bit her lip. She knew that she had lost her charisma now but just a few days ago, hadn¡¯t Shen Xiu been on good terms with her? Just because of that Xiao Wang, he didn¡¯t even want to touch her at all. Mei Feng clenched her fist, not believing what was happening. Just as she was about to do something, she heard snoring. She turned her head and saw the man lying next to her, with his back to her and already fast asleep. With his back to her. In the past, they had used to hug each other to sleep. Mei Feng only felt really terrible, as though her chest was blocked. She bit her lip and, in the end, sighed deeply. The following day. When Mei Feng woke up, Shen Xiu had already left. She knew there could only be one reason why he left so early, which was undoubtedly to find Xiao Wang. She decided that this could not go on. She needed to find a way to seduce and win Shen Xiu back. She frowned and walked to the bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror and started observing her own face. The hand print from the p yesterday was still on her face and it had not disappeared, although it had faded a little bit. She heaved a sigh of relief, but she went into a daze as she stared at the mirror. The face of the person in the mirror was indeed not exquisite enough. There was no way it could bepared to Xia Yehua, and it was even less charming than Xiao Wang¡¯s. Should she consider... going for stic surgery? If she became more beautiful, Shen Xiu would no longer go out and look for other women. Just as she thought so, she heard the sound of a car engineing from outside. Was Shen Xiu back? She walked out hastily and saw Shen Xiu really getting out of the car and striding to her. Mei Feng was shocked when she saw him. Her eyes lit up and she asked, ¡°Why are you back?¡± After she said that, Shen Xiu grabbed her by her cor and asked furiously, ¡°Tell me, where did you hide Xiao Wang?!¡± Chapter 1242 - Mei Feng’s Ending (7)

Chapter 1242: Mei Feng¡¯s Ending (7)

Mei Feng felt a chill when she noted the anger in Shen Xiu¡¯s tone. She quickly started, ¡°I- I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know? You dare to pretend still!¡± Shen Xiu was so angry he was on the verge of hitting her. ¡°I went to see her today and saw that her home was in disarray. She didn¡¯t even take any of her belongings with her, she¡¯s simply disappeared! I¡¯m telling you, bring her back here right now or I¡¯ll call the police.¡± Mei Feng¡¯s pupils shrank back at once as she said, ¡°You went to see that tr*mp the moment you woke up this morning?¡± ¡°Ha! If I hadn¡¯t, I¡¯d never have found out that you¡¯d actually do this to her.¡± Shen Xiu raised his hand and pointed a finger at Mei Feng, saying, ¡°I have known for a long time that you are an evil woman, but I didn¡¯t expect that now you would be worse than ever. Xiao Wang is a migrant worker without a residence permit here and she has no one to turn to for support! How could you be so cruel? Tell me, where have you taken her?!¡± Mei Feng looked at him steadily. Then she shut her eyes and said, ¡°I¡¯ll say it again, I did not¡ª¡± ¡°Do you think I will believe you?!¡± Shen Xiu grabbed her by her cor and looked at her with an expression of great disgust. As he spoke, she could feel the heat of his angry breath against her face. ¡°I am giving you onest chance. Are you going to tell me? If not, I¡¯m going to the police!¡± At this point, he took out his cell phone and dialed 911. Shen Xiu¡¯s behaviour sent Mei Feng into a daze. She looked at him with a shocked expression. He thought that she had hired people to kidnap Xiao Wang? But even if she had, how could he call the police on her? If it had indeed been her who had done this, wouldn¡¯t he be just sending her straight to jail?! Her heart had just begun to warm up to him again yesterday, but now it had been tossed to a ce colder than the icy North Pole, as though it would never thaw again. Sheughed sarcastically and said, ¡°Shen Xiu, go ahead and call the police then. Call them!¡± ¡°Mei Feng, after all we are husband and wife. I wanted to give you a way out, but it looks like you won¡¯t regret it until death is before you!¡± He shouted anxiously as he picked up the cell phone. He then made the call, ¡°Hello, police station? I wish to report that my worker, Xiao Wang, has suddenly gone missing today. I suspect she¡¯s been kidnapped. Yes, you need to search her home... The suspect? I suspect it¡¯s my wife.¡± He threw Mei Feng a cold and impassive nce at this point. His expression towards her was devoid of feelings as he continued, ¡°Yes, because she thinks that I¡¯m sleeping with Xiao Wang. She¡¯s gone mad... but now she won¡¯t say anything. Please rescue Xiao Wang.¡± An icy smile had appeared on Mei Feng¡¯s face as she listened to what he was saying. She took a step backwards. She looked at him coldly and narrowed her eyes. After he had hung up, Shen Xiu looked at her and said, ¡°Now things havee to this. If you return Xiao Wang, I can convince her to let the matter rest and not to press charges against you.¡± Mei Feng took another step backwards instead. She told him with an icy smirk, ¡°I¡¯ve already said that it wasn¡¯t me. Don¡¯t try to put the me on me!¡± Shen Xiu paused for a moment and then replied, ¡°Well, let¡¯s wait for the police to investigate then.¡± Cold-heartedly, he turned his back on her and walked out of the house. Mei Feng was left standing there alone. She looked at the familiar surroundings. Everything looked the same, but everything seemed different and unfamiliar now. Chapter 1243 - Mei Feng’s Ending (8)

Chapter 1243: Mei Feng¡¯s Ending (8)

Noon. Mei Feng took some bites. Since she had no appetite at all, she ced her chopsticks back on the table. Afternoon. There was amotion outside. Looking up, she saw that Shen Xiu had returned with a number of police officers. Upon entering, he raised his hand and pointed at Mei Feng, saying, ¡°It was her. Police officerrades, take her away and question her. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get the information you need!¡± Mei Feng gave them an icy stare as one of the police officers stepped towards her. He looked at her and asked, ¡°Ms. Mei Feng, your husband has filed a report saying that you allegedly kidnapped Ms. Wang. Do you have anything to say in response?¡± She red at all of them and asked, ¡°Do you have evidence?¡± The police officers shook their heads. Mei Fengughed icily and said, ¡°Since when does the police no longer need evidence to carry out their work? Do you just depend on your own imagination?!¡± The police officer paused as Mei Feng said to Shen Xiu, ¡°I wish to add that he was the one who kidnapped Ms. Wang. So will you take him in for questioning?¡± The police officer immediately said, ¡°Surely, we won¡¯t.¡± Mei Feng sneered at them and said, ¡°Then I have nothing to say as well. Why don¡¯t you go and look for some evidence? And if you manage to find some, I shall cooperate with you.¡± The police officers nodded at the suggestion and turned to nce at Shen Xiu once, as they prepared to leave. Shen Xiu tried to stop them at once and said, ¡°Don¡¯t go just yet. Hurry up and take this evil woman away! Please rescue Xiao Wang!¡± ¡°Mr. Shen, although Ms. Wang¡¯s disappearance looks as though it was a kidnap, we couldn¡¯t find any evidence at the scene pointing to Ms. Mei Feng as a possible suspect. So we cannot arrest her right now.¡± ¡°Bullsh*t! It was this woman. What other evidence do you need? Did you policemen all grow up eating dirt? You can¡¯t even perform a simple task right.¡± The expressions on the police officers¡¯ faces were starting to change. One of them frowned and said, ¡°Mr. Shen, if there¡¯s nothing else, we will leave for now.¡± Chasing after them, he called out, ¡°Wait, don¡¯t go. Take this woman with you. If you interrogate her, you¡¯ll find out the truth. You-¡± His voice gradually faded until it disappeared at the end, like the police officers. Because the police hade, all the curious housekeepers hade out to watch what was going on. Now as they observed Mei Feng¡¯s expression, they felt sorry for her. Like she was some pitiful victim. She cast her gaze down as an evil glint shed across her eyes. Clenching her fists tightly, she looked up after a moment and suddenly shouted at them, ¡°What are you looking at? Just go away if you have nothing to do!¡± One of them jumped, quickly lowered her head at once and went back to work. But some of them sniggered and said, ¡°Sheesh, she really thinks that she¡¯s the Madam of the household! If Mr. Shen divorces her, she¡¯ll be nothing. What¡¯s all this arrogance?¡± Mei Feng felt a sharp pain in her heart, it was so painful that she couldn¡¯t speak a word. She sat on the sofa of the living room alone, staring at the TV in silence. Picking up the remote control, she started to surf through the channels, but she found herself unable to focus on anything. The only images shing through her mind were that of Shen Xiu stopping the police and begging them to take her away. Her grip tightened around the remote control device. At 6 p.m., there was anothermotion outside. She turned around and saw Shen Xiu standing at the doorway, looking terribly exhausted as he stared at her. There was aplex expression on his face, he seemed troubled and extremely grieved. He said at once, ¡°Ah Feng, I was wrong.¡± Chapter 1244 - Mei Feng’s Ending (9)

Chapter 1244: Mei Feng¡¯s Ending (9)

Mei Feng looked at him coldly, her heart unmoved. She knew this man too well and right now, she held no more hopes of him turning back. She looked at him as he walked slowly towards her. Then he grabbed her arm and said, ¡°Ah Feng, I must have been possessed. I was wrong and shouldn¡¯t have fooled around with Xiao Wang. I really didn¡¯t like her that much. The woman I love the most is you still. Will you forgive me?¡± She looked at him and nodded as she cast her gaze down. ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Good then.¡± Shen Xiu got onto his feet and poured a ss of water for her. Then he held her hand and said with regret in his tone, ¡°Why is your hand so cold? Are you feeling unwell? Have you had dinner?¡± She shook her head and replied, ¡°No, I haven¡¯t.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll eat with you,e.¡± Holding her hand, Shen Xiu led her to the dinner table in the dining room. Then he quickly pulled out a chair for her, helped her sit down and served her food, all the while trying to cate her with sweet words. ¡°Ah Feng, I remember you like chicken soup. Here, drink more of this.¡± It wasn¡¯t that she liked chicken soup. It was because she had had too many abortions and her body was weak. She needed the supplement. ¡°Ah Feng, I remember when we were young you loved western food. Shall we go and have western food tomorrow?¡± It wasn¡¯t because she had liked eating steak. It was because she had wanted to look like a person with taste and wealth. Actually, she couldn¡¯t even tell the difference between a good steak and a bad steak. ¡°Ah Feng, are you full? Eat a little more, you¡¯re eating too little.¡± She used to eat a lot more butter on, to keep her figure, she had started to eat less and she had never once felt full after dinner. She had done so much for him, but in the end...? She listened to him quietly. After dinner, the two of them sat on the sofa in the living room watching TV. Shen Xiu nced sneakily at her every now and then, and he finally said, ¡°Ah Feng.¡± She turned and looked at him. Shen Xiu sighed and continued, ¡°I was possessed when I did that. Look, I¡¯m so good to you and you¡¯re so pretty. I won¡¯t go and look for Xiao Wang again, so...¡± The corners of her lips started to curl upwards. After a night of putting on an act, he was finally going to get to the point? Indeed, the next thing he said was, ¡°Look, why don¡¯t you let Xiao Wang go? And I guarantee I¡¯ll never go and look for her again.¡± ¡°I¡¯m asking you to let her go for your own good. If this matter leaks out, you won¡¯t look good, isn¡¯t that so?¡± ¡°Besides, what¡¯s the big deal? We¡¯ll just give her some money and ask her to leave.¡± ¡°Ah Feng, don¡¯t overthink it. I have reallye to my senses. It¡¯s not that I¡¯m trying to rescue her. I just want you both to be ok. I promise I won¡¯t go looking for her again, isn¡¯t that good enough?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you just let her go? She¡¯s young and quite pitiful.¡± ¡°Ah Feng, why are youughing? Do you understand what I¡¯m trying to say?¡± Mei Feng finally spoke, ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I can agree to it, but you have to agree to a condition.¡± ¡°Say it, it¡¯s not a problem! As long as you let Xiao Wang go, I can agree to even a hundred conditions, ok?¡± Chapter 1245 - Mei Feng’s Ending (10)

Chapter 1245: Mei Feng¡¯s Ending (10)

She stared at the man and knew that he was only trying to pacify her the moment he had so easily agreed to it without hesitating. Mei Feng smiled icily and shut her eyes. ¡°No need for a hundred. I only have one condition.¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get a divorce.¡± ¡°...¡± Shen Xiu was speechless. The surprise sent him into a daze. He looked at her in disbelief. Never could he have imagined that Mei Feng would ever say such a thing. He widened his eyes in astonishment and said, ¡°What did you say?¡± ¡°I said, let¡¯s get a divorce.¡± Mei Feng sat up straight and looked at him. She continued, ¡°You like Xiao Wang and I¡¯ve grown old. A divorce is our best option. We can stop hurting each other.¡± Shen Xiu frowned and started, ¡°But if we get a divorce, what would happen to you? Oh, yes, I need to give you an alimony to maintain your lifestyle. How much money do you want? You can give me a figure.¡± Shen Xiu had long wanted to get a divorce. Right now, since she had brought it up herself, he couldn¡¯t be happier. Rubbing his hands together with glee in his heart, he wondered if this meant that he would be able to marry Xiao Wang and bring her home once he was divorced. Xiao Wang was a humorous person and being with her made him feel ten years younger. Of course, he couldn¡¯t treat Mei Feng too poorly since she was willing to step out of the ring so easily. After all, she had been with him for so many years. He would give her a million, or maybe ten million. At this thought, he heard Mei Feng say, ¡°That¡¯s right, let¡¯s get a divorce. Of course we will have to split assets. I want two-thirds of your assets.¡± Shen Xiu was immediately stunned upon hearing this and sprang up on his feet eximing, ¡°What did you say?!¡± Although he didn¡¯t havepany shares, when thepany gave a yearly bonus, the Senior Master would give him a portion. Besides as the CEO of thepany, he drew a sry. Hence, he obviously had at least hundreds of millions worth of assets. Shen Xiu didn¡¯t have any shares, so his personal assets were all he had and they were important to him. Now Mei Feng has opened her mouth to ask for two thirds?! He was furious and said, ¡°Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re asking for too much!¡± Mei Feng looked indifferent. Although she felt like her heart was painfully torn apart, she didn¡¯t show it at all on her face. Looking at Shen Xiu, she said calmly, ¡°It¡¯s not too much. Your assets are our joint assets as husband and wife. It¡¯s ok if you don¡¯t want to give me two-thirds of it, let¡¯s settle for equal share. You are the one who is having an affair and it¡¯s your responsibility. I¡¯m more than kind enough to not have kicked you out without a single cent.¡± Shen Xiu snorted icily and said, ¡°Have you even earned a cent out of all this money? I was the one who earned it all, so why should I even give you any?! Five million. You take the money and get out of the Shen family immediately!¡± Mei Fengughed and said, ¡°What do you think five million can do? It can¡¯t even buy a house in Beijing! What sort of life do you want me to live? Shen Xiu, let¡¯s go half-half. If you agree, I will return your Ms. Wang, all intact, immediately!¡± Shen Xiu looked hesitant. Half would be at least tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions in capital. All this money in exchange for Xiao Wang... Was it really worth it? He frowned and snorted icily after a moment. ¡°Divorce? What divorce? I¡¯m not going to divorce!¡± Then he stood up and headed off to his study. Looking at his back view disappear up the stairs, Mei Feng could not help butugh icily again. Perhaps she would have even thought a little higher of him if he had actually agreed to it. Chapter 1246 - Mei Feng’s Ending (11)

Chapter 1246: Mei Feng¡¯s Ending (11)

As it were, Mei Feng only felt regretful. What hade over her at the time? To actually have fallen for such a man? Furthermore, to think that she had sacrificed so much of her lifetime for him. ¨C In a part of the Shen vi, in the meantime. Qiao Lian was almost three months pregnant. The people got together, chattering and giggling as they discussed Xia Yehua and Li Mao¡¯s wedding. Qiao Lian and Xia Nuannuan were looking at wedding dresses and gowns, when they saw Shen Liangchuan suddenly pick up his cell phone and nce at it. He walked off to the side to pick up the call. She suddenly recalled Ms. Wang, so she stood up and walked over. As she approached Shen Liangchuan, she heard him say, ¡°Keep yourself hidden and don¡¯te back to Beijing in the near future. Uh huh. Thanks for your help.¡± After he had hung up, Qiao Lian walked up to him and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± He turned to look at her and smiled immediately. ¡°Sister Wang has settled the matter.¡± Qiao Lian widened her eyes and asked, ¡°Really? And now what¡¯s happening between Shen Xiu and Mei Feng?¡± ¡°My guess is that they¡¯re in a big fight. Today Shen Xiu called for the police to arrest Mei Feng. But there was no proof and they couldn¡¯t take her away.¡± ¡°Hahaha, wouldn¡¯t that just infuriate Mei Feng!¡± He nodded and said, ¡°Yes, probably.¡± ¡°And after that, what¡¯s going to happen?¡± Heughed and replied, ¡°After that, nothing.¡± Qiao Lian was puzzled. He exined, ¡°We have done what we needed to, which is to get them at odds with each other. Those two... one is too smart and the other too stupid. It¡¯s just a matter of time until they part ways. Then we would have achieved our goal, no?¡± Qiao Lian nodded. As it were, all they wanted was to put them in bad terms with each other and let them fight amongst themselves. But neither of them thought that the consequences would be so bitter. After their chat, they turned around. They had intended to return to the living room and continue the discussion about the wedding. But unexpectedly, upon turning around, they realized that Shen Zihao was standing there right behind them. They had no idea how long he had been standing there. He was staring at them, frowning tightly. Qiao Lian nced at Shen Liangchuan. Worried that Shen Zihao would misunderstand, she said immediately, ¡°We did n it so that Shen Xiu and Mei Feng would fight. But if Shen Xiu had just exercised some self-control, he wouldn¡¯t have been seduced.¡± Shen Zihao cast his gaze down and took a deep breath. He nodded after a moment and said, ¡°Yes, I know.¡± Then he turned and walked away. Qiao Lian looked at his figure and then threw another nce at Shen Liangchuan. The man exined with little expression on his face, ¡°Shen Xiu always treated him well, because in his eyes, he had only one son. This son is his only sessor.¡± Hence, Shen Xiu had fulfilled his duty as a father to Shen Zihao. Otherwise, Shen Zihao wouldn¡¯t have thought the world of his father in the past and misunderstood Xia Yehua for so many years. Evil people were capable of forming genuine rtionships too. Quietly, Shen Zihao walked out of the living room. He wandered into the garden at the back of the vi and strolled around on his own. Although there were streetmps around, it was still quite dim. As he strolled, he suddenly heard a gentle voiceing from behind him, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± He turned around and saw Xia Nuannuan. shing a smile at her, he asked, ¡°Why did youe out here?¡± Chapter 1247 - Mei Feng’s Ending (12)

Chapter 1247: Mei Feng¡¯s Ending (12)

Xia Nuannuan walked up to him and held his hand. ¡°You looked moody, so I came out to see how you are.¡± Shen Zihao nodded and told her what had happened. After a pause, she said, ¡°And you don¡¯t agree with what Big Brother has done?¡± Shen Zihao was silent and took a couple of steps forward. Then he said, ¡°Actually, Dad has been really good to me. I remember when he first married Mei Feng, he would chat with me after he got back from work every day. He would ask me all the time if Aunty Mei treated me well.¡± Shen Zihao looked lost now as he stared into the sky. ¡°He was afraid that Mei Feng would mistreat me, so he had surveince cameras installed around the house.¡± ¡°I remember I used to do poorly in exams when I was in grade school. The teachers wouldpare me with Big Brother and it frustrated me. When I got home, Mom would make me revise my school work alone in the study and I would cry. He would take me with him, ignoring Mom, and he would drive me to the yground to y. One time, he carried me in his arms and said, ¡®Son, so what if you¡¯re bad at studying? We have money! It¡¯s more important that you¡¯re happy. I¡¯ll send you overseas once you¡¯re in junior high school. That will make you look good, and then you cane and work in thepany with the management.¡¯¡± He said these words imitating his father¡¯s tone. After saying this, he couldn¡¯t help but burst outughing. Xia Nuannuan looked at his back and felt the loneliness of the solitary figure before her. He looked lost. He hung his head and said, ¡°Of course, I understand that what he did then was not right. Although there were issues in the way he showed his love for a child, he loved me nevertheless.¡± ¡°Nuannuan, did you know that even when I discovered that there were big ws in their characters, I kept thinking that Dad must have turned bad under Mei Feng¡¯s instigation? If it hadn¡¯t been for Mei Feng having seduced him, perhaps he¡¯d still be that caring Dad.¡± ¡°But today after I heard their conversation, I discovered that even if Mei Feng had not existed at the time, it would have been another woman.¡± Xia Nuannuan sighed again and said, ¡°Zihao, don¡¯t think about it too much.¡± The manughed immediately and continued, ¡°That¡¯s right. What¡¯s wrong with me today? Suddenly I¡¯ve gotten sentimental. Haha, ok, let¡¯s not talk about it anymore. Let¡¯s go back to the living room.¡± Xia Nuannuan nodded. ¨C In the Shen family residence. Shen Xiu paced back and forth angrily in the study. Mei Feng had had the audacity to ask for half of his assets. How could this woman be so atrocious?! She had even kidnapped Xiao Wang. He had to think of a way to rescue Xiao Wang. He took a deep breath. For sure, he would not give her the money. But he had to get Xiao Wang back! His breath quickened with anxiety. That Mei Feng, what was wrong with her? If the police wouldn¡¯t take her away for questioning, then he would have to do it himself. At this thought, he became excited at once and dashed into the bedroom next door. He threw open the door and charged right at Mei Feng, who was lying on the bed. Her eyes snapped open and at once, she saw his aggressive face. She jumped in fright and asked, ¡°What are you doing?¡± Shen Xiu immediately reached out and squeezed her neck lightly with both his hands. Then he said viciously, ¡°Tell me, where is Xiao Wang? If you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll strangle you to death.¡± Chapter 1248 - Mei Feng’s Ending (13)

Chapter 1248: Mei Feng¡¯s Ending (13)

The only source of light in the dim room was the bedside readingmp. The rest of the room was dark, but Mei Feng could clearly see the murderous look in Shen Xiu¡¯s eyes. She felt the hands around her neck tighten as he said, ¡°Are you going to speak up?¡± She felt all the tiny hairs on her back standing on end as she choked. She bit her lip and extended her hands, trying to wriggle out of his grip. But she was pinned down by Shen Xiu and she wasn¡¯t as strong as the man. She struggled with all her strength for a while but it was useless. Her chest was in extreme pain from the choking. For the first time, Mei Feng felt deathing down upon her. Her mouth fell open, but no words came. She widened her mouth like a fish out of the water gasping for air. But her vision was blurring as all her other senses sharpened. Just as she thought that she was going to die, the hands around her neck loosened their grip. Immediately, she started taking in big breaths. Now she was beginning to get scared. Scared of this man, this man who seemed to be going mad. Shen Xiu lowered his voice and asked in a vicious tone, ¡°Are you going to tell me?¡± She quickly replied, ¡°Shen Xiu, you can get imprisoned for killing someone! Don¡¯t- don¡¯t be rash.¡± Her voice was raspy, as her vocal cords had been damaged from the choking. Shen Xiuughed icily and said, ¡°How hard do you think it is for the wealthy like us to avoid thew, even if we kill someone? You know, no one would even know that you¡¯ve died.¡± Mei Feng¡¯s pupils shrank back at once. Shen Xiu continued, ¡°Where is Xiao Wang?¡± Where was Xiao Wang? How would she know?! In the past, perhaps Mei Feng could have outsmarted him but right now, she was frightened by his behavior and waspletely afraid. She quickly said, ¡°I don¡¯t know. I really don¡¯t know. It wasn¡¯t me. I didn¡¯t kidnap Xiao Wang... I have nothing to do with her..¡± Shen Xiu¡¯s eyes turned bloodshot and he shouted, ¡°Mei Feng! Do you think that I won¡¯t dare to hurt you?! Do you not believe me when I say that I will really strangle you to death?! If Xiao Wang dies, I will make sure you apany her to hell.¡± After saying this, he tightened his grip again. Mei Feng¡¯s eyes were on the verge of popping out. Shen Xiu¡¯s action earlier had given her the misperception that he had been about to kill her. But he was really going to kill her now. A sense of panic overcame her at once and she reflexively pushed him with all the strength she had. The truth was that Shen Xiu would never have the guts, otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have bumbled to this extent through most of his life. What he had done had just been a carefully timed show, put up only to frighten Mei Feng. At this point, he was just about to loosen his grip and release Mei Feng, but she had unfortunately given him a hard push. Hence, it didn¡¯t take much for Shen Xiu to tumble off the bed onto the floor, falling right on his bottom. ¡°You dare to hit me!¡± Shen Xiu hollered in anger and tried to get onto his feet to charge at Mei Feng. But his bottom was in so much pain that his back gave way, and he fell backwards uncontrobly. Then, his whole body started to tremble involuntarily. Mei Feng was stunned and suddenly realized that Shen Xiu was having an attack. These years, he had had high blood pressure. He had just gotten worked up, hence his blood pressure had risen. Now he was having a stroke! Chapter 1249 - Mei Feng’s Ending (14)

Chapter 1249: Mei Feng¡¯s Ending (14)

If someone was suffering from a stroke, immediate medication and medical treatment was be critical, otherwise the person¡¯s life would be in danger. Mei Feng jumped off the bed, ran to the medicine chest on the side and opened it. Then she retrieved his medicine and started looking for water. She got a ss and filled it with water. She was about to rush over to Shen Xiu when she suddenly halted. She looked at his trembling body on the ground and images of him strangling her suddenly shed across her mind. She froze on the spot, her pupils shrank back. At this point, Shen Xiu was looking at Mei Feng with a hand stretched out towards her. His lips were trembling but he had trouble speaking. He seemed to be mouthing the word, ¡°Medicine, medicine.¡± But Mei Feng stood there and she wasn¡¯t moving. A look of devastation appeared in Shen Xiu¡¯s eyes. After a moment, he finally saw Mei Feng moving. She walked up to where he was lying and lowered her body. Then she brought the medicine close to his mouth. He opened his mouth but, suddenly, Mei Feng lifted her arm and, with one motion, flung the medicine into the trash bin. Shen Xiu: ... The trembling man wanted to move towards the trash bin, but he realized that he wasn¡¯t able to control his own body. One side of his mouth was dropping and he could hardly see clearly. At this point, he heard Mei Feng¡¯s voice in his ear, saying, ¡°You wouldn¡¯t even agree to giving me half of your assets if we were to get a divorce. You¡¯re so petty, why don¡¯t you... die then? If you die, all your assets will be mine.¡± Shen Xiu widened his eyes upon hearing these words. His anger rose again. He was so infuriated that this anger worsened how ill he was feeling from the stroke. This fury unleashed his emotions once more. Then a curtain of darkness enveloped him... And he never woke up again. ¨C Five minutester. Mei Feng stared at him. She noticed that his chest was still and unmoving. It looked like he was dead. Slowly, she lowered to the ground and extended her hand, cing a finger under his nostrils. She felt no breath. She felt all her energy drain out of her as she dropped on the floor, sitting down with a thud. Shen Xiu was dead. Shen Xiu was dead! The man she had loved all her life was dead. Although she hadn¡¯t killed him, she had indirectly caused his death. The fury she had felt when he had been trying to kill her had vanished without a trace, along with the feelings from his death. All that was left within her now was a great void filled with loneliness. She had actually caused his death. Mei Feng clenched her fists tightly as she stared at Shen Xiu. Suddenly, she threw herself on him like a mad woman and yelled, ¡°Shen Xiu, wake up, you! Shen Xiu, wake up! Wake up!¡± As she shouted, she cried. Her loud cries caught the attention of the housekeepers and very quickly, there was a knock on the door. Then the door was opened. ¨C Shen Zihao did not sleep well all night. One would wonder if the hearts of a father and son are joined. On this night, his sleep was full of dreams. He dreamed of his childhood, when his father would y with him, carrying the boy on his back. He dreamed of his father telling him in a meaningful and heartfelt way that he was no worse than his big brother. When he woke up in the morning, he had the oddest feeling. Why had he kept having dreams about his father? He got out of bed, washed up and took a cold shower. He picked up his towel and walked out of the bathroom, toweling his hair dry. The moment he got downstairs, he saw everyone had a sombre expression on their faces, which meant that something bad had happened. Chapter 1250 - Mei Feng’s Ending (15)

Chapter 1250: Mei Feng¡¯s Ending (15)

But what had happened? Just as he was wondering this, he saw Xia Nuannuan get onto her feet and walked over to him. She held his hands and said, ¡°Dad had a strokest night and passed away.¡± His hands went limp when he heard this. The towel fell on the ground. He looked up in disbelief and stared at Xia Nuannuan. ¡°What... did you say?¡± Taking his hands tightly into hers again, Xia Nuannuan repeated, ¡°Dad passed awayst night. Zihao, don¡¯t be sad.¡± But before she could finish speaking, Zihao had shrugged off her grip and, like a mad man, dashed out of the house. He ran to the courtyard and was going to get into the car when he suddenly felt a grip on his arm. He turned around and saw it was Shen Liangchuan. His expression darkened at once as he said, ¡°Let go of me, don¡¯t stop me! Although he¡¯s not a good man, to me he¡¯s just Dad! You¡ª¡± Shen Liangchuan did not wait for him to finish before he walked to the side, got into the car and started the engine. He opened the door of the front passenger seat and then simply said to Shen Zihao, ¡°Get in.¡± Shen Zihao halted. Shen Liangchuan asked him, ¡°Do you even know which hospital he¡¯s in?¡± The man quietly got into the car. Shen Liangchuan, taking his younger brother with him, drove away from the vi. After the two men had left, Qiao Lian patted Xia Nuannuan¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Shen Liangchuan is just worried that Shen Zihao could be too distressed to drive safely.¡± Xia Nuannuan nodded. ¨C Mei Feng was crying like there was no tomorrow when Shen Zihao and Shen Liangchuan arrived at the hospital. They had only just prepared Shen Xiu¡¯s body and it was lying there. It looked like he was sleeping, his expression was peaceful. Shen Zihao stood on the spot looking at the body lying on the hospital bed. One difficult step at a time, he walked towards it. That was his father. So it wasn¡¯t for no reason that he had had those strange dreamsst night. This man¡ªthe father he found loathsome, who infuriated him¡ªwas someone he could not let go of. Shen Zihao dashed up to the bed and gripped his father¡¯s arms, calling out, ¡°Dad, wake up, I¡¯m here to see you!¡± ¡°Dad, wake up. I know I wasn¡¯t a good son. Please wake up. If only you woke up, I¡¯de home, okay?¡± ¡°Dad, open your eyes and look at me. I¡¯ll be obedient, just wake up.¡± ¡°Dad!¡± Grabbing his father¡¯s arms, Shen Zihao finally started to cry¡ªhe made no noise even though his tears fell fast. Until the doctor came in to inform them that they had to take the body to the morgue so that they could easily preserve it. Shen Zihao held onto the body still, refusing to let go. Shen Liangchuan, on the other hand, stood by the side and watched impassively. When Shen Xiu¡¯s body was taken away, the room fell silent. Shen Zihao regained hisposure gradually. At this point, Mei Feng suddenly spoke, ¡°Zihao, before your father passed away, you were the one person he was most worried about.¡± Shen Zihao looked up at her upon hearing these words. He stared at her and said, ¡°My Dad had high blood pressure, but there should be medicine at home. Why did it get so serious this time? Where were you when he got sick? Why didn¡¯t you take good care of him?¡± Mei Feng lowered her head to avoid his gaze. With a troubled expression, she said, ¡°I was too tiredst night. When I woke up in the middle of the night, I saw him on the floor. Zihao, ever since your Dad knew about your mother¡¯s wedding with Li Mao, he wasining about getting headaches, chest pains, high blood pressure. He didn¡¯t let me tell you about all of this, because he was afraid that you¡¯d be put in a difficult position.¡± Chapter 1251 - Mei Feng’s Ending (16)

Chapter 1251: Mei Feng¡¯s Ending (16)

After she said this, Mei Feng lowered her head and covered her eyes with her hands, putting on a pitiful look. Shen Zihao stared at her. If at this point this woman had really been feeling grief over his father¡¯s death, perhaps he would have had some respect for her still. But she was actually trying to sow more discord between him and his mother. What was this woman¡¯s heart made of? How could she be this despicable? He looked at her with narrowed eyes. Just as he was at a loss for words, a voice said, ¡°Why is there a handprint on your neck?¡± Mei Feng fumbled at that sudden question. She quickly lowered her head and adjusted her cor to conceal the mark, not daring to look up. Looking at the two men with a horrified expression, she said slowly after a moment, ¡°What handprint? You must be seeing things.¡± She shifted her gaze to Shen Zihao again and said, ¡°Zihao,e back to visit when you have time. Your Dad left you a number of things.¡± On this note, she turned to leave. But after taking two steps, Shen Liangchuan stopped her, ¡°Stop right there.¡± Mei Feng wanted to walk out but oddly, Shen Liangchuan¡¯smanding voice made it hard for one to disobey. She gulped nervously and slowly turned around to look at the man. Shen Liangchuan approached her one step at a time as he said, ¡°You haven¡¯t been getting along with him recently. Did you think we¡¯re not aware?¡± Mei Feng¡¯s face turned ashen at once. ¡°Although I dislike him, he is still my father. Mei Feng, let me tell you, you¡¯d better pray hard that you have nothing to do with his death or else...¡± Mei Feng shuddered in cold fear before he could even finish what he was saying. She lowered her gaze and said in great disgrace, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± Then she hurriedly left the hospital. Shen Liangchuan narrowed his eyes as he stared at her disappearing figure. After a while, he turned around to look at his brother. Shen Zihao, however, did not dare to meet his eyes and, instead, looked around to avoid his big brother¡¯s gaze. Finally, Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°Let¡¯s go home.¡± Before he could finish, Shen Zihao had already walked right past him. After thinking for a moment, he followed the man. They both came to the carpark. Shen Liangchuan walked over to open the car door, when he suddenly saw a sh from the corner of his eye. He turned his head at once and saw a fiste at him, narrowly missing his face. He frowned. Shen Zihao was ring at him and challenged him, ¡°Let¡¯s have a fight then.¡± Shen Liangchuan paused for a moment before he slipped his jacket off and threw it on the car seat. He knew Shen Xiu¡¯s death inevitably had something to do with Xiao Wang, and Shen Zihao needed to vent. He could not me Shen Liangchuan, but at the same time he couldn¡¯t forgive the fact that Shen Xiu had obviously been affected by this vengeful act on their part. The brothers stood next to the car and had barely gotten themselves into position when Shen Zihao delivered that punch. Shen Liangchuan did not dodge it but took the hit in stride. Immediately, he returned with a blow at his brother¡¯s arm. One blow after another, punches were delivered. Neither of them avoided each other. Both of them were not in the best of moods. No matter how crappy a man Shen Xiu had been, he had been their father. Neither of them wanted this sort of consequence. Until atst, they both sat on the ground with little energy left in their bodies, looking nothing like their usual impable wealthy young master selves. Chapter 1252 - Mei Feng’s Ending (17)

Chapter 1252: Mei Feng¡¯s Ending (17)

Beads of perspiration had formed on their foreheads and they were taking in big gulps of air. Shen Liangchuan threw Shen Zihao a nce and said calmly, ¡°So do you feel better now?¡± Shen Zihao lowered his head and asked after a moment of silence, ¡°Big Brother, were we wrong?¡± Shen Liangchuan cast his gaze down and replied, ¡°It wasn¡¯t us. It was me. This had nothing to do with you.¡± Shen Zihao looked up with an astonished expression. Shen Liangchuan looked at him and continued, ¡°I was the one who schemed it right from the start. What has it got to do with you?¡± Shen Zihao clenched his fists tightly. After a moment, he said, ¡°Dad was right about one thing.¡± Shen Liangchuan looked at him. The younger man said, ¡°I can¡¯t match up to you.¡± Shen Liangchuan chortled. Shen Zihao hung his head. ¡°I know Dad never really liked you and it was because you were strong. Grandad often called Dad a good-for-nothing, he said that he could not even match up to you. Once, he even said in front of Dad that he was going to let you take over the family business. Dad was extremely upset.¡± Shen Liangchuan did not say anything and listened to his brother quietly. ¡°I know Dad had a bad temper, and sometimes would get really explosive. But he treated me... very well.¡± ¡°Dad wasn¡¯t clever enough, but he actually worked very hard in the family business.¡± ¡°He kept criticizing Mom saying that she had betrayed him, and a whole lot of other things, but I have observed countless asions when he would spend a long time staring nkly at Mom¡¯s picture.¡± As Shen Zihao spoke, he felt a growing pain in his heart. ¡°He wasn¡¯t a nice guy and wasn¡¯t a good father to you, but he was good to me.¡± Shen Zihao buried his head in his knees and frowned. He continued, ¡°I tell myself all the time that Dad became like this because Mei Feng confused and misled him¡ª¡± Shen Liangchuan interrupted him at this point, ¡°Don¡¯t push all the me on that woman. If he had had a firm stand, would he have been so easily misled and confused? Would he have been seduced by a woman I sent?¡± The root of the problemy in the fact that Shen Xiu couldn¡¯t hold his ground enough. He was ignorant, petty and narrow-minded. But what was the point of saying all of these things now? He was dead and any greater hatred or desire for revenge would now have to be let go. In any case, this man was Shen Liangchuan and Shen Zihao¡¯s father and they were his flesh and blood. They felt no joy, only loss and helplessness. Shen Zihao fell silent. The parking lot was silent. Ever so often someone got out of a car, or a car drove away, avoiding the two men in their paths. They sat there still, as though they were going to sit there till the end of time. It was as though this was their way of paying theirst respects to the dead man who had been their father. After some time, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s cell phone rang. He looked down and saw that it was Qiao Lian. He picked up the call and heard her asking, ¡°Where are you guys? When will you be back?¡± He answered, ¡°Right now.¡± ¡°Ok, we¡¯ll wait for you at home. Is Shen Zihao... ok?¡± He nced at his brother and said, ¡°He¡¯s ok.¡± After he hung up and got ready to take Shen Zihao home, a man suddenly came up to them. The man stood in front of Shen Zihao and said, ¡°Master Zihao, it¡¯s really you. There¡¯s something I need to tell you.¡± This man had been Shen Xiu¡¯s chauffeur. Chapter 1253 - Mei Feng’s Ending (18)

Chapter 1253: Mei Feng¡¯s Ending (18)

Surprised, Shen Zihao asked, ¡°Why are you here?¡± Taking a quick and furtive look around, he took Shen Zihao¡¯s arm and dragged him aside, saying, ¡°Young Master Zihao, given what has happened to Sir, I¡¯m just hanging around to see what else is needed. I¡¯vee here because Madam sent me to buy dinner. But that¡¯s not the important thing, Young Master Zihao, there¡¯s something I want to tell you.¡± Shen Zihao paused and said, ¡°Go on, what is it?¡± The chauffeur quickly lowered his voice and said, ¡°Right before this happened to Sir, he and Madam had a big fight.¡± The chauffeur narrated the details of what he knew had happened between Shen Xiu and Xiao Wang, as well as the arguments with Mei Feng, ¡°The two of them were talking about a divorce and Madam wanted half of Sir¡¯s assets. Sir did not agree and, even now, we¡¯re unable to locate Xiao Wang.¡± Shen Zihao frowned and said impatiently, ¡°I know all of this.¡± Before he could finish, the chauffeur interrupted, ¡°No, Young Master Zihao, this is not the point I¡¯m trying to make. The point I¡¯m trying to make is...¡± The chauffeur looked around furtively again. He further lowered his voice and said, ¡°Last night, Sir actually didn¡¯t sleep. Before he went to bed, he asked me to deliver a document to him. When I was on my way upstairs, I saw Sir walk out of the study and into his bedroom.¡± Shen Zihao looked stunned. These words seemed to trigger some sort of realization in him. ¡°What do you mean?¡± The chauffeur sighed and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t dare continue when I saw Sir going into the bedroom. Then I heard Sir and Madam talking in the bedroom, so I went back downstairs. Later on, about half an hourter, Sir was dead.¡± Shen Zihao¡¯s pupils shrank back as he suddenly realized the implications of the chauffeur¡¯s words. Mei Feng had imed that she had been asleep and, when she woke up, Shen Xiu had already passed out on the floor, with no breathing. But right now, the chauffeur was saying that when Shen Xiu went into the bedroom, Mei Feng had been awake and they had even exchanged some words. If this was the case, it meant that Mei Feng had seen Shen Xiu having an attack yet hadn¡¯t helped him? As though finding out about a great secret, Shen Zihao retreated in disbelief. He had a shocked expression as he looked at the chauffeur before him. Finally, his fingers curled tightly into fists. He could almost be sure beyond doubt of what had happened when he put together what the chauffeur had said. Because problems had surfaced in their rtionship, Mei Feng had not saved Shen Xiu when he was having a stroke. All of these years, Dad¡¯s blood pressure had been unstable, hence there was always a supply of medicines at home. As long as the right drugs were given to the man at the right time, he would be fine. How could he have suffered a stroke all of a sudden? Clenching his fists tightly, all of his fury at once found an outlet finally. Mei Feng... Mei Feng! He pushed the chauffeur aside with one swift motion and started to walk ahead, asking at the same time, ¡°Where is she?! I want to avenge Dad! Mei Feng!! I will not let her off!¡± His expression darkened as the veins in the back of his hands swelled and raised on the surface of his skin. If he had his way, he would run her now and kill her himself. The chauffeur jumped in fright, quickly retreated and said, ¡°Young Master Zihao.¡± Shen Zihao swept the chauffeur¡¯s out of the way again and walked away with red eyes. He took another two steps and suddenly felt someone hold him back by his arm. He turned around and saw Shen Liangchuan just behind him. The man said coldly, ¡°And what do you suppose you¡¯ll do when you find her? Kill her? And then exchange your life for hers? And what will happen to Xia Nuannuan who has just gotten out of aa? And what will happen to Mom, who is finally about to find her hard-earned happiness?¡± Chapter 1254 - Mei Feng’s Ending (19)

Chapter 1254: Mei Feng¡¯s Ending (19)

The rims of Shen Zihao¡¯s eyes had reddened and, with his tightly clenched fists, he had a murderous expression on his face. But he gradually calmed down upon hearing Shen Liangchuan¡¯s words. His vision blurred as a sense of injustice overwhelmed him. ¡°What do we do then? Big Brother, what do we do now? Press charges against her! Let her apany Dad in his grave.¡± Shen Liangchuan lowered his gaze and sighed, ¡°How are you going to press charges against her for such a thing? Say that she refused to save him? Besides, do you have proof? Do you think the chauffeur¡¯s words alone will be enough?¡± Shen Zihao had no answer. Indeed, he had no proof. Disregarding the fact that he had no proof, even if he had, so what? Thew would not punish Mei Feng too heavily. He would not ept this. Looking at Shen Liangchuan, he demanded, ¡°So are we just going to let the matter rest and not pursue it more?!¡± ¡°Of course that¡¯s out of the question.¡± Shen Liangchuan lowered his gaze and said calmly, ¡°You have to remember, we can¡¯t operate with a one-track mind. If one way doesn¡¯t work, then we¡¯ll find other ways.¡± Shen Zihao looked at his brother as a stern look shed across thetter¡¯s eyes. Shen Liangchuan said with an intimidating and formidable tone, ¡°I will not let her off.¡± Shen Zihao asked him, ¡°So what are you going to do?¡± ¡°She will get none of what she wants.¡± ¨C Shen Xiu was dead, and his assets were now an issue. Although the Senior Master was still alive, ording to thew, Mei Feng was the first in line to inherit his assets. Besides, Shen Xiu had been estranged from his two sons. Hence his assets naturally had nothing to do with Shen Liangchuan and Shen Zihao. Mei Feng alone had inherited everything that belonged to Shen Xiu. The Senior Master was not willing to fight over it. After all, to the Old Master, Shen Xiu¡¯s assets amounted to peanuts. Mei Feng surveyed the Shen vi and made a mental calction of the estate that now belonged to her. She suddenly burst outughing. All of a sudden, her heart felt so light that she could fly. She had felt moody the day Shen Xiu had died. She had even been sad. But now, she realized that she had already gotten what she had always wanted. When she was younger, hadn¡¯t she chosen to be Shen Xiu¡¯s mistress for the sake of money? Now she had money. She had everything. Mei Feng was so excited she wanted to scream out loud. She made an effort to ignore that void and loneliness somewhere deep in her heart, and started tough with no inhibition, alone in the vi. As she wasughing, someone ran up to her in a panic. ¡°Madam, Madam, ourpany is in trouble!¡± Mei Feng stopped short and looked at the person, asking, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Shen Xiu was wealthy, but he had used all his cash to start up a smallpany. Under the umbre of the Shen family enterprise, the smallpany had done extremely well and, in recent times, had even gotten itself into the property market. It could be said that out of all the assets that Mei Feng had inherited, two-thirds had been invested in this smallpany. So the moment she heard news of trouble in this smallpany, she became anxious, of course. The worker said, ¡°We are having issues with ourpany¡¯s funds. We need a few hundred millions to reach the end of the month.¡± This news sent Mei Feng into a daze. She asked, ¡°Why so much money?¡± ¡°Madam, property itself is a booming business. Of course the capital investment is high! We need hundreds of millions just to sessfully bid for a piece ofnd. And after that, you still need more money for construction and everything. Now that the funding has been cut, what do we do?¡± After all, Mei Feng had worked in thepany in the past, hence she knew a little about property. They usually took a loan from a bank. So she said right away, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we look for a bank?¡± Chapter 1255 - Mei Feng’s Ending (20)

Chapter 1255: Mei Feng¡¯s Ending (20)

The worker said in a troubled tone, ¡°When Sir was around, the banks would give us a loan because of him. But the bank employees have now told me that thepany is too small and our application has not been approved.¡± Mei Feng was livid. What did they mean with too small? So when Shen Xiu was around, it wasn¡¯t too small? Wasn¡¯t this all because they no longer had any rtionship or connections? She frowned. Then the worker said softly, ¡°Madam, I also heard that someone had a hand in this so that the bank wouldn¡¯t give ourpany a loan.¡± Mei Feng paused and asked, ¡°Who?¡± The worker hung her head and said, ¡°Mr. Shen.¡± Mr. Shen? Which Mr. Shen? As soon as this question crossed her mind, Mei Feng gasped, ¡°Shen Liangchuan?¡± The worker nodded. The woman clenched her fists and bit her lip. Shen Liangchuan... Shen Liangchuan! She took a deep breath and muttered, ¡°What do we do now?¡± The worker lowered her head and said, ¡°Now we can only beg Mr. Shen. Otherwise, you could go, look for Young Master Zihao and ask him to put in a few good words for you. That would make things much easier.¡± Mei Feng looked at the worker with gritted teeth. After thinking it through, she realized that was probably the only way out now. She took another deep breath and said, ¡°Fine, let¡¯s go and look for them.¡± On the way to meeting Shen Zihao, Mei Feng felt uneasy. At the same time, she cursed at Shen Xiu under her breath. Nothing good hade out of this at all. He had managed the Shen enterprise for so many years, yet he didn¡¯t even have anypany shares. And thepany that he had set up himself waspletely invested in property. There was no cash and they still had to take a loan from the bank. If the bank didn¡¯t approve the loan, they would have to dere bankruptcy. After going through all that trouble to get her hands on the assets, she couldn¡¯t possibly go broke now. Hence even if she had to lower herself to beg, she mustn¡¯t let thepany copse. At this thought, a glint shed across her eyes. Shen Zihao was at any rate more gullible. If she made it sound logical, such as it was histe father¡¯s business, she was sure that his heart would soften. In the meantime. In the Shen vi. Xiao Wang stood between Shen Liangchuan and Shen Zihao and sighed, ¡°I really didn¡¯t expect that the situation would turn out like this, I feel terribly guilty.¡± Shen Liangchuan replied, ¡°This wasn¡¯t something within your control. Now that Shen Xiu is dead, you can stay here without fear. There¡¯s no need to stay in hiding anymore.¡± Xiao Wang nodded. Holding a check out to her, Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°This is your payment. As for what Shen Xiu has given you, it¡¯s yours.¡± Xiao Wang took the check and slipped it into her purse. Then she turned and walked out. Shen Liangchuan got onto his feet and offered her, ¡°Sister Wang, let me apany you.¡± Xiao Wang smiled and waved, saying, ¡°It¡¯s ok, you¡¯re the customer. I wouldn¡¯t want to trouble you.¡± Having said that, she walked to the doorway and opened the door. The moment she walked out, Mei Feng¡¯s car pulled up at their doorstep. She got out of the car and, just as she was thinking about how she should ask to see Shen Zihao, the door swung open and Xiao Wang appeared. Their eyes met. At once, the two of them froze on the spot. After a moment, the surprised Mei Feng eximed, ¡°What? It¡¯s you?!¡± Chapter 1256 - Mei Feng’s Ending (21)

Chapter 1256: Mei Feng¡¯s Ending (21)

Mei Feng couldn¡¯t, for a moment, believe her eyes as she stared at Xiao Wang. Stiffening her posture, she looked at the Shen Vi. She heard the housekeeper¡¯s voice calling from inside, ¡°Sister Wang, Mr. Shen has asked me to apany you.¡± Mr. Shen. Sister Wang. They seemed to know each other quite well. Mei Feng¡¯s pupils shrank back at once and, in a sh, she suddenly seemed to realize something. She stared at Xiao Wang with a startled expression and said, ¡°You- you are their¡ª¡± Xiao Wang had initially felt awkward, but seeing that Mei Feng had recognized her and figured out the truth, she nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s me.¡± She raised an eyebrow, tilted he head sneered, ¡°But Mrs. Shen, aren¡¯t you too bold? Daring to act against your own husband, tsk tsk. I should stay away from you. But I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯ll do anything to me. After all, I¡¯m working for Mr. Shen.¡± Having said this, she waved the check in Mei Feng¡¯s face and haughtily brushed past the woman as she left. As she was walking away, Mei Feng grabbed her wrist and rebuked her, ¡°How can you go around breaking up other people¡¯s marriage? Don¡¯t you have any ethics?!¡± Xiao Wang raised an eyebrow. ¡°Mrs. Shen, you seem to forget that you were someone¡¯s mistress once?¡± Mei Feng was bbergasted upon hearing this, she had noeback. She looked at Xiao Wang with a startled expression, while the other womanughed icily and strode away. Mei Feng now felt somewhat weak in her knees. Right at this point, a few people came to the door since they had heard the two women talking outside. Shen Liangchuan and Shen Zihao stood at the doorway looking at Mei Feng. When Mei Feng saw them, she was angry at once. ¡°You- you two- you two unfilial sons! You¡¯ve caused your father to die of anger!¡± Shen Liangchuan lowered his gaze and started, ¡°I think you have a very clear idea of how my father died.¡± A chill spread inside her body as she looked up in astonishment. Did they know the truth? But the next moment, she thought that it was impossible. Because when the incident happened, it had only been Shen Xiu and her, so there was no proof. Her face tensed up as she denied, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about, but...¡± With a skillful switch of topic, she looked at Shen Zihao and said, ¡°How could you do such a thing when your father gave you so much? Getting someone to break up his family... Do you have a conscience?!¡± Shen Zihao was silent for a while before he said, ¡°Well, then what were you thinking when you went all out to destroy Xia Nuannuan? Mei Feng was speechless, but she remembered what she was here for and said, ¡°Zihao, your father has died, it¡¯s not the time to be fighting between us. Thepany that your father left behind is now facing some problems.¡± Shen Zihao frowned and looked at the woman in the eye. With a frosty tone, he said, ¡°Mei Feng, stop pretending. We know the truth! You watched him die without helping him. We can¡¯t press charges against you for this, but it doesn¡¯t mean we don¡¯t have ways to punish you.¡± Mei Feng retreated a step in fright when she heard his words. They knew. They knew indeed! She clenched her fists tightly and looked at Shen Zihao. She was starting to have trouble articting, ¡°What- what do you want?¡± Shen Zihao cast his gaze down and said, ¡°Everything that you have. I will strip you off these things one at a time.¡± ¡°Mei Feng, the real estate business is just the beginning.¡± ¡°What you owe to my Mom, my Dad, Xia Nuannuan, what you owe to my dead child, I will make you pay back.¡± Chapter 1257 - Mei Feng’s Ending (22)

Chapter 1257: Mei Feng¡¯s Ending (22)

Mei Feng took a step back,pletely unnerved by Shen Zihao¡¯s deration. She looked at him with an expression of shock and disbelief. She gulped and slowly said, ¡°Zihao, you- you¡ª¡± ¡°Take her away.¡± A housekeeper appeared at Shen Zihao¡¯s instruction. ¡°This way please,¡± she ushered the stunned woman. Before Mei Feng could say another word, Shen Zihao had turned and walked back into the house, with his back to her. She opened her mouth but eventually shut it again without saying anything. She took in a deep breath and then went home to the Shen family residence. But the moment she arrived home, she saw the housekeepers filing out of the house, one at a time. Mei Feng was shocked and dashed up to them, asking, ¡°What are you people doing? Did I ask you to leave?¡± The housekeepers did not look at her. They instead walked around her and continued to leave. In a panic, Mei Feng grabbed one of them and said, ¡°What am I going to be eating tonight if all of you leave? I won¡¯t allow this!¡± ¡°There¡¯s no longer a master in the house. Are you going to keep a bunch of people here to look after an empty house?¡± A stern voice suddenly spoke. Mei Feng froze. She spun around and saw Old Master Shen walking out. He held a walking stick and was aided by someone. He stood there staring at Mei Feng sternly and with a look of despise, like she was a piece of trash. Mei Feng choked and lowered her head. She spoke, ¡°Dad, what brings you here?¡± Senior Master Shenughed derisively and said, ¡°Don¡¯t call me Dad. I¡¯ve never recognized you as my daughter-inw.¡± Mei Feng fell silent. She took a step towards him and continued, ¡°Dad, whether you recognize me or not, I¡¯m still Shen Xiu¡¯s wife. Shen Xiu just passed away a few days ago, you can¡¯t treat me this way.¡± ¡°Treat you which way?¡± The Senior Master chortled, pointed at the extensivend and continued, ¡°I built this mansion for Shen Xiu before you got married, it belongs to me. It is not his property. Now that he is dead, I am taking it back. You have any objections?¡± Stunned, Mei Feng said, ¡°But Dad, where will I stay then?¡± Senior Master Shen lowered his gaze and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± He didn¡¯t know. So he really didn¡¯t care about her? She started to panic. ¡°Dad, you can¡¯t just abandon me. I¡¯m Shen Xiu¡¯s wife!¡± Senior Master Shen sneered, ¡°Wife? Did you give him children and bring them up? Or took good care of him? When he had an attack and died, you were in the room and you heard nothing. A woman like you doesn¡¯t qualify as a wife.¡± Senior Master Shen was an elderly man. He had already greyed overnight because of Shen Xiu¡¯s demise, hence his grandsons Shen Liangchuan and Shen Zihao hadn¡¯t told him about what Mei Feng had done. But even so, Senior Master Shen was already angry with her. She stood rooted to the ground in a daze. Children, still it was about children. Ultimately, it was because she had had no children. That was why she had spent all of those years getting into Shen Zihao¡¯s good books. It was in hopes that if Shen Xiu died before she did one day, Shen Zihao would treat her kindly. But now, Shen Zihao was on bad terms with her. And if she didn¡¯t have the house, who was going to look after her when she got old? As she stood there in a daze, someone had already packed her belongings into threerge suitcases and brought them out. Senior Master Shen then lowered his head and ordered, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± At that instruction given, everyone in the vi left. Finally, even Mei Feng was dragged out of the house by the security officer. Then the main gate of the property was shut and the lock snapped with a loud ng. Chapter 1258 - Mei Feng’s Ending (23)

Chapter 1258: Mei Feng¡¯s Ending (23)

The skies gradually darkened. Mei Feng stood outside the towering metal gate staring at the locked door, still stunned and in a daze. This had been her home, but now she couldn¡¯t even step inside. She raised her hand and wanted to knock on the door, but she knew there was no one inside. This courtyard that was full of life and vitality, this house for which she had struggled so many years to fill with her presence... They were no longer hers. Why was this ending so different from what she had imagined it to be? She had thought that when Shen Xiu died, everything would be hers. It was only now she realized she was mistaken. It was only if Shen Xiu was alive that she would be able to live here in peace. Once Shen Xiu was gone, she was homeless. For the first time, she felt a deep remorse. If she hadn¡¯t just stood there and watched him die, but taken care of him and worked patiently to win back his heart, or even let him discover Xiao Wang¡¯s real identity, then he and Shen Liangchuan would have fallen outpletely. Wouldn¡¯t Shen Xiu have listened to her then? What had she been thinking back then? How could she have even thought that good times would arrive for her if he died? She felt lost and helpless as she stood there until 10 p.m. She had grown cold and hungry. It finally sank into her brain. Dragging the threerge suitcases, she walked to the main road next to the property and continued along it. The property was huge and extensive, so everyday life had its inconveniences for sure. She walked for a good half hour before she saw a public bus stop. She stood there for what seemed like an eternity, but there were no taxis in sight. Eventually, dragging the suitcases again, she got onto a public bus. It was past 10 p.m. and there were only a few people on the bus. She sat on the bus, suddenly recalling a time more than ten years ago. She had arrived in Beijing alone. She had been one among the working ss. Every day, she would take the public subway and bus. And in her ordinary and busy life, she would envy the people who lived in those vis and manors. However now... She cast her gaze down. She finally understood that wealth alone would not make one happy. But the next moment, she was consumed by a raging hatred spawning within her. If it hadn¡¯t been because of Shen Liangchuan, Shen Zihao wouldn¡¯t have fallen out with his father. If it hadn¡¯t been for Shen Liangchuan, Shen Xiu wouldn¡¯t have fallen out with her. Without Shen Liangchuan, she wouldn¡¯t be in this plight. Now she was like a vagabond, without a shelter at night. Shen Liangchuan... Shen Liangchuan! Why hadn¡¯t she just ran over him with her car back then? Instead, she had killed that Soul Fighter, or whoever. Her nails dug into the flesh of her palms as she curled her fingers tightly. The bus entered the city. Dragging the three suitcases behind her once more, she found a five-star hotel and checked in. Upon entering the room, she dropped on the huge bed and stared at the ceiling. Now she had nothing. Shen Xiu¡¯s property business was destined to go bust. And all she had in hand was less than ten million in cash. What could this money do in the sprawling Beijing? It couldn¡¯t even get her an apartment. She took a deep breath. What would she do now? What would she do? The woes of survival caused her to stay up all night. She sat up and looked through her suitcases. As she was rummaging through them, she suddenly saw an envelope with something in it. She opened it and saw the name of an eSports club: SX. Chapter 1259 - Mei Feng’s Ending (24)

Chapter 1259: Mei Feng¡¯s Ending (24)

SX? Were they Shen Xiu¡¯s initials? Puzzled, she stopped to think. Then, there was a sudden sh of realization. Now she remembered! She remembered there was one time he got hopping mad at Shen Liangchuan in the office. She had tried to console him and he had said something about what mattered to Shen Liangchuan the most, and that he couldn¡¯t take it even if it were destroyed. Shen Xiu had thought deeply at that time and in the end, he had said, ¡°The only thing that that silly cares about is eSports!¡± He had added, ¡°I¡¯ll beat him at eSports then.¡± At the time, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s CQ Team had won the top ce in the Beijing regionalpetition and they had managed to get into the nationalpetition. So this SX? Mei Feng quickly picked up her cell phone. She made a search on the inte and discovered that this SX Team was registered in Shanghai. They had already gotten into the nationalpetition. Her pupils shrank back as the hatred within her spawned the urge to take revenge. She gritted her teeth, narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists. Shen Liangchuan, didn¡¯t you want to destroy everything I have? Then let me destroy everything you have! At this thought, Mei Feng immediately booked a flight to Shanghai. The next morning, she flew to Shanghai. When she arrived at the club, she contacted the team club¡¯s management. This newly-promoted boss was unfamiliar to everyone, hence the coach wasn¡¯t too confident when he met her. But unexpectedly, she only said one thing, ¡°I want the team to win thispetition. We have to defeat CQ! Do it, no matter how.¡± The coach paused and then said, ¡°But our team has just been established. It¡¯s going to be hard to win thispetition.¡± Mei Feng narrowed her eyes and replied, ¡°Why would it be difficult? Don¡¯t you know how to get external help?! I seem to recall that country H has exceptionally good yers. Look them up.¡± The coach was stunned. ¡°Well, I do have a candidate in mind, but the general assessment of this person in country H is not very positive. Still, in terms of technical skills, he¡¯s world-ss.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t give a damn if his general assessment is negative. As long as we can win, get him on board!¡± The coach replied hesitantly, ¡°But a foreign yer from country H is going to cost, the annual wage alone is a few million.¡± A few million. Mei Feng felt a pinch. Everything put together, what she had now didn¡¯t even amount to ten million. But at the thought of Shen Liangchuan, and at the thought of Xiao Wang, she steeled her heart and decided, ¡°Hire him!¡± Even if she had to sell all of her possessions, she would take Shen Liangchuan down, she would create trouble for him. From a young age, his greatest aspiration had been to bring eSports to the world. She had put a stop to it eight years ago. And she could put a stop to it again! She would personally andpletely crush his biggest dream and aspiration. At this thought, a look of crazed ecstasy appeared on her face. ¨C In the Shen vi. The devastating plight of Mei Feng was a constion to the two Shen brothers. Their moods significantly improved. That evening, when Shen Liangchuan walked into the bedroom, he saw Qiao Lian ying a match on theputer with light music in the background. He walked up and embraced her from behind. Pushing him away immediately, Qiao Lian chided him, ¡°Hey, don¡¯t. I¡¯m ying!¡± Shen Liangchuan replied, ¡°... And the match is more important than me?¡± She nced at him andughed. Then she said, ¡°You¡¯re more important than the match!¡± The man smiled and asked, ¡°So when are we holding our wedding?¡± She tilted her head, thought for a moment and then said, ¡°Let¡¯s wait till CQ Team wins the world championship. Then we¡¯ll talk about it.¡± Shen Liangchuan: ... Chapter 1260 - Mei Feng’s Ending (25)

Chapter 1260: Mei Feng¡¯s Ending (25)

The nationalpetition was just around the corner. CQ Team had gone to Shanghai. Qiao Lian should have been there by now too, but the unexpected death of Shen Xiu had dyed her schedule. After participating in a fewpetitions now, CQ Team had demonstrated their strength and had be the dark horse of the year. The team was progressing at a vigorous pace in the nationalpetition, so Qiao Lian would watch the matches whenever she had time. She was also training hard to get herself up to the tform¡¯s standard, hence she had immersed herself in the games during this period. Upon hearing this, Shen Liangchuan took a few nces at the screen. Qiao Lian had nimbly avoided the enemy¡¯s control and spun around. With great technical skill, she yed the opponent. Her movements were light and fluid. They demonstrated both her agile maneuvering capability as well as her potential to y opponents. Shen Liangchuan narrowed his eyes as his lips turned upwards into a smile. In herst check-up, the doctor had said there was a marked improvement in her condition. It appeared that it wouldn¡¯t be a problem for her to take part in thepetition. He leaned forward to embrace her more deeply. Then he looked at the screen and said, ¡°How is the training for thepetition going?¡± She quickly farmed some of the enemy¡¯s minions. The match wasing to an end. They had invaded and broken into the opponent¡¯s jungle to win the game. At this point, Qiao Lian lightly exercised her wrist and turned to Shen Liangchuan. Once they were on the topic of thepetition, she adopted an extremely serious expression and said, ¡°There are no major issues. Our greatest threat is probably PC Team. Prince is an extremely strong yer, and Zombie Leader is young and gets easily flustered. Fortunately, CQ is in Group One and they are in Group Two. They won¡¯t have to interact for now.¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded. He studied the results of the small group matches. They had to umte points through these small group matches and then, through this ranking, the top eight teams would be picked to form the selection matches. Under the leadership of Zombie Leader, CQ Team was almost never defeated and was steadily leading Group 1. On the other hand, PC Team, under the leadership of Prince, held a steady lead in Group 2. As they were analyzing the match, Shen Liangchuan suddenly made a curious sound. Qiao Lian paused and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Look at this team called SX. Why haven¡¯t we heard of them?¡± Shen Liangchuan had been busy with Shen Xiu¡¯s funeral arrangements recently and hadn¡¯t kept up with the games. Qiao Lian exined, ¡°This is a new team. Apparently, they were only established this year and are less than three months old.¡± Shen Liangchuan frowned and said, ¡°A new team that has managed to get into the top 16 on a national level?¡± Qiao Lian replied, ¡°Isn¡¯t CQ a new team too? Other dark horses are allowed too! Besides, look, they are actually not that good. At least, they¡¯ve lost more than they¡¯ve won. Look at their points, they¡¯re already at rock bottom and the small group matches are ending. If this team loses one more match, they won¡¯t be able to make it to the top eight. And see who they¡¯re up against next.¡± At this point, she clicked on the match schedule to look. Immediately, she said, ¡°It¡¯s PC. That¡¯s unfortunate enough for them.¡± PC was a long-standing national champion and an exceptionally powerful team. Virtually every team that came up against them would be defeated. Chapter 1261 - End Game (1)

Chapter 1261: End Game (1)

It was believed that Prince¡¯s ying standards had reached world-ss. Although Qiao Lian could predict SX¡¯spletely devastating end, she did not dwell too much on it. After all, that was someone else¡¯s problem, and her own team¡¯s match was about to begin. At this thought, she looked up at Shen Liangchuan and said, ¡°I will book tomorrow¡¯s tickets. Are youing to Shanghai with me?¡± He nodded and said, ¡°Of course.¡± Qiao Lian nodded and added, ¡°Then I¡¯ll book your ticket as well. We¡¯ve been absent too many times, so this time I have to be there myself to cheer for CQ Team.¡± ¨C Qiao Lian was a determined organizer. After saying that, she booked the tickets for the both of them. The next day, the couple said goodbye to Xia Yehua, Shen Zihao and the rest, and flew off to Shanghai. Very soon, it was the day of thepetition. There was not a single empty seat amongst the audience. There was much excitement and passion in the air. When Qiao Lian walked in, she could feel the fans¡¯ support and love for the teams. Among the seated audience, there were rows of horizontal banners held up and neon sticks dancing in the air. The atmosphere was filled with a lot of excitement and anticipation. Today¡¯s small group matches would start with PC vs SX. After that, CQ would be ying. They had arrived earlier partly because they were hoping to gain a greater understanding of PC team¡¯s ying. After all, this team was their greatest threat and strongest opponent. Watching a match on the screen was very different from watching it live. Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan sat in their VIP seats. They had been waiting for a short time when a big and tall man appeared and stood next to Qiao Lian. She paused for a moment before she turned to look. She discovered it was Lu Nanze! Qiao Lian immediately stood up with surprise, her pupils shrinking back. She eximed, ¡°Second Brother! What brings you here?¡± Pointing at the yers on stage, he said, ¡°You know, I¡¯m also the boss of PC Team. Why can¡¯t Ie?¡± Qiao Lianughed at once and said, ¡°I don¡¯t mean it like that. I mean, it¡¯s a big surprise to see you here.¡± Lu Nanze cast his gaze down and smiled. He raised his hand and was about to do what he had always done in the past, tousle her hair, when suddenly another hand shot grabbed his wrist. The man looked up and saw that Shen Liangchuan had cleanly intervened. He turned the grip into a handshake and said, ¡°Mr. Lu, it¡¯s been a long time.¡± Then he inserted himself between his wife and the man, saying, ¡°Xiao Qiao, take my seat there. Let me sit here so that it¡¯s easier for me to speak with Mr. Lu.¡± Qiao Lian was stumped. It smelled like jealousy. Needless to say, someone was jealous. She nced at Lu Nanze and then shifted her gaze to Shen Liangchuan. She raised an eyebrow and immediately pushed Shen Liangchuan out of the way, firmly taking the seat between the two men. ¡°No way, if you want to speak, do it after the match. We¡¯re here to watch the match today!¡± What if a fight broke out because of them sitting next to each other? She, Qiao Lian, was not that stupid. Thinking this, she shook her head at having to worry about such things. The two men exchanged a nce and simultaneously took their seats beside Qiao Lian, like two heavenly pirs guarding and protecting the girl in the middle. The host on the stage was now giving an enthusiastically animated narration of the match. Seated in the audience, Lu Nanze suddenly asked, ¡°The host said that Prince¡¯s strength is in C position, what does that mean?¡± The man, who knew nothing about gaming, was asking this. Qiao Lian burst outughing and exined: Chapter 1262 - End Game (2)

Chapter 1262: End Game (2)

¡°In this game, you have to choose a champion to fight. So inevitably some people y a resistant strategy, some people y a losing strategy. Prince ys a losing strategy. The game is more demanding on people ying a losing strategy. It¡¯s only when the person loses enough ground that the team battles can be won.¡± A look of realization came over Lu Nanze¡¯s face and he said, ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s how it works. Then how do you y this game?¡± ¡°This is actually a game where you have to destroy the opponent¡¯s turret.¡± Shen Liangchuan: ... Shen Liangchuan watched as Qiao Lian patiently exined to the other man. As he listened to her exining in a gentle tone, he couldn¡¯t help being eaten by jealousy. How is it that you¡¯re never this sweet when you talk to me? In the background, the host endlessly talked through the opening ceremony. Suddenly, the host remarked, ¡°Today¡¯s match is a little special. In the first small group match, we have PC ying against SX. PC is a veteran fighting team, as we all know. They almost never lose a match! But... SX has finally brought in their foreign yer, who is also the top yer of country H. Everyone probably knows this yer, King.¡± Upon hearing this announcement, the crowd was triggered immediately and it created amotion. Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank back as her eyes narrowed. King. King!! She spun her head around and looked at Shen Liangchuan. She saw him looking at her too with his pupils shrank back. As they looked at each other, their expressions turned serious. They recalled a team match that they had yed in their senior high school days. A match where they had been cruelly taunted... She could even remember what King, the captain of King Team had said: ¡°Chinese pigs.¡± ¡°You call yourself the top, and these are your pathetic standards?¡± ¡°Weak chicken.¡± This had be the motivation that had pushed Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan onto the eSports path, and they had never looked back since. They had been on this journey for eight arduous years. They were eight yearste and only now they had set their path straight. But they had never thought that they would run into King again. Indeed, there was no avoiding the enemy. Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes as she listened to thementator¡¯s remarks, ¡°King was the captain of the world champion King Team. After retirement, he was invited by SX to China. I believe that the match today will be exceptionally exciting! With King on their team, SX will be transformed. Perhaps today¡¯s match will be iparable to others, one that will be more exciting than any others you¡¯ve ever watched.¡± As the host continued to narrate, Lu Nanze suddenly turned to Shen Liangchuan and said, ¡°I¡¯ve got something to talk to you about. Shall we go somewhere else?¡± Qiao Lian was bbergasted. What sort of timing was this?! What are you two guys up to? She immediately said, ¡°Let¡¯s wait till the match is over. What do you¡ª¡± ¡°Sure. Where?¡± Lu Nanze got onto his feet and headed to the exit. Shen Liangchuan followed him. By the time Qiao Lian realized what was going on, the two men had already left the event venue and were on their way to the lounge nearby. Qiao Lian turned to look at the stage. She estimated that it would take another 20 minutes before the match started. Gritting her teeth, she ran after the men. What if they started a fight and she wasn¡¯t there to intervene? She arrived at the backstage lounge and looked around. The two men were nowhere in sight. As she was about to leave, she suddenly heard voicesing from the restroom. Chapter 1263 - End Game (3)

Chapter 1263: End Game (3)

Squinting to focus, Qiao Lian realized that the voices wereing from the men¡¯s bathroom. She cleared her throat and looked around to ensure that no one wasing this way. After doing that, she moved closer, hoping to hear the conversation between Shen Liangchuan and Lu Nanze. But unexpectedly, upon moving closer, all she heard was someone speaking in the H country¡¯s native tongue. She had never learned the Hnguage, but she could tell from the tone that the person spoke arrogantly. She then realized that the two men she was looking for weren¡¯t in the restroom after all. She had almost stepped away at this thought when she heard someone say in Chinese, ¡°What do you mean? I don¡¯t understand!¡± Qiao Lian halted. That voice. She had spent some time working in Lu Nanze¡¯s office, hence she was familiar with the members of Prince¡¯s PC Team. That voice belonged to someone from PC Team¡ªa person with the nickname Bamboo. Bamboo specialized in ying support in the games and his job was to protect Prince. At a guess, Bamboo was taking a toilet break before the match started. But what was going on with the person who spoke in Hnguage? As Qiao Lian was puzzling over this, she heard the foreigner¡¯s interpreter say, ¡°Hey, noob, are you all ready to tremble in fear before me?¡± Qiao Lian: ...!! That proud and aloof tone¡ªthis guy was inly asking for trouble by talking like that. She frowned. Then she heard a furious Bamboo raise his voice, ¡°Watch your words! Who are you calling a noob? You¡¯re the noob yourself!¡± The other party started spilling a strong string of words again and the interpreter said, ¡°I think you know more than anyone else whether I¡¯m a noob. I hear that Prince from your team has been imitating me... People even say that it¡¯s possible he¡¯s surpassed me. But I know that¡¯s impossible, do you know why?¡± Bamboo shook his head. The foreigner continued, ¡°Because I have a good support.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve analyzed your team. Prince is indeed excellent in maneuvering, but he¡¯s encumbered by you! A support like you... You¡¯re just too ipetent.¡± ¡°If I were you, I¡¯d feel so embarrassed that I¡¯d leave PC on my own ord. Because you¡¯re definitely the one holding the team back.¡± The unpleasant words by the foreign yer even made Qiao Lian bristle. How could King do this?! He was ying a psychological game right before the match to make Bamboo nervous. That would impact negatively on his performance for sure. This King was too despicable and shameless. Qiao Lian took a deep breath and was going to speak up to let the people in the restroom know of her presence, but before she could, she heard Prince¡¯s voice, ¡°Bamboo, where are you? The match is starting. Have you flushed yourself down the toilet?¡± The people in the restroom gasped in surprise and yelled, ¡°Coming right away!¡± Then Bamboo ran away before Qiao Lian could say anything. After Bamboo left, Xiao Qiao, who was still standing there, saw a man with a tall andrge physique walk out of the restroom slowly. He had an expression that was extremely gloomy and wore a baseball cap with the SX team uniform. He was cool and rather good-looking. He quickened his steps, but he saw Qiao Lian as he walked out. He halted at once and said broken English, ¡°You are Xiao Qiao?¡± Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes and replied, ¡°That¡¯s right, that¡¯s me.¡± King stared at her for a moment and startedughing. Then he said, ¡°Loser.¡± Chapter 1264 - End Game (4)

Chapter 1264: End Game (4)

His speaking was stiff. But the meaning was clear. Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes at his derisive attitude. She raised an eyebrow at the rather good-looking man. He twitched his mouth andughed. There was something evil but charming in the way heughed. Qiao Lian smirked and said, ¡°Wee to China, King.¡± She extended her hand. The interpreter conveyed the message to the man. Immediately, the foreign yerughed and extended his hand. However, before his hand could make contact, Qiao Lian withdrew hers. She raised an eyebrow again and continued, ¡°... so that we have a chance to take revenge.¡± Then she stylishly turned and walked away. King stood there befuddled until the interpreter exined what she had said. Then he narrowed his gloomy eyes. ¡°CQ? This... is... a joke.¡± Heughed icily and lowered his head to look at his fingers. He looked up again, towards Qiao Lian now disappearing into the distance. There was a sh of anger and embarrassment in his eyes. ¨C Qiao Lian walked away from the men¡¯s bathroom. For a moment, she was in a conundrum between looking for Shen Liangchuan and Lu Nanze, or watching the match. After some thought, she quickly headed back to the venue. She had to warn Prince. Not that she was so kind-hearted. But rather that she didn¡¯t want to see that sort of underhanded viciousness in apetition. Their support had been insulted by King and, for sure, the guy wasn¡¯t in the best frame of mind. But before she could locate the man, she realized that all the yers had already taken their seats on stage and the match had begun. Nervously, she took her seat amongst the audience and watched the game interface intently. Prince took his usual position to y the losing strategy, so he needed his support to protect him. Usually, the coordination between them would be wless. But now, the support was obviously not going with the flow. He didn¡¯t dash forward when he should have and did not return to protect Prince when he should have. This caused Prince to lose HP very quickly. The man couldn¡¯t help but remark, ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you today, Bamboo? You¡¯re not with it!¡± These words cause Bamboo to fumble and panic even more. Unconsciously, King¡¯s words came back to him. Prince¡¯s ying standards were world-ss for sure. But he had not achieved more because of an ipetent support like himself. He hadn¡¯t done a good job as a support. He was the worst support there was and held Prince back from progressing. These thoughts surfaced in his mind all at once, causing him to lose focus and panic. His fingers were starting to tremble. Prince obviously realized that there was something not right with his support. He turned, took a quick nce at the man and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Feeling unwell? If so, don¡¯t force yourself. It¡¯s a small group match and we can afford to lose a bunch of them.¡± Those words finally calmed Bamboo down. Indeed. He had been partnering up with Prince for so many years, why should he believe the words of a foreign yer and not his own teammate? At the thought of this, he finally found his focus back and concentrated on supporting Prince. Eight minutes. A group battle broke out on the top road. Three of the opponent¡¯s champions moved in to capture Prince and Bamboo. As Prince retreated, he shouted, ¡°Bamboo,e back and protect me.¡± But before he could finish speaking, the enemy had charged up from behind and yed him. Whereas the support survived, with some HP left in him. Chapter 1265 - End Game (5)

Chapter 1265: End Game (5)

Very obviously, with his low HP, it would have been an easy task for any of the three opponents to throw a spell and kill him. But all three of them walked right past him. Bamboo felt the insult at once. Gripping his mouse tightly, he went back to the base to recharge. Then he would wait for Prince to resurrect and return to the top road. However, ten minutes. Back on the top road. Bamboo stuck by Prince¡¯s side nervously, afraid that the enemies would charge up to kill him. This time round though, the group took the opportunity of the damage done to the turret and killed Prince. And they left the support with just that bit of HP so that he survived. Prince was livid, ¡°Damn! They are doing this on purpose? Support, what¡¯s the matter with you? Charge ahead! If you had just charged ahead a little more, they would have killed you. What are you so terrified of?¡± It was alright if the support got killed a few times, the damage would have been minimal. But if Prince got killed too often, then it would be detrimental to the champion¡¯s development. Bamboo was rashly berated. In the match that followed, they were attacked again and again. Prince frowned and his expression turned stormy. Bamboo, on the other hand, felt his mind go nk. It wasn¡¯t that situations like this had never happened in the past. Because the other team knew that Prince was a formidable yer, whenever they yed against PC Team, they would aim to hinder the development of Prince¡¯s champion. But in all of those times, Prince and Bamboo had calmly discussed the game strategy with each other. This time though... Prince was flustered too. The support knew that if he had died and helped Prince survive, then he would have done his job. And if both the support and Prince died, then it merely showed they had a strong opponent and that couldn¡¯t be helped. But now, damn it! Prince got killed on every asion, the support would survive with HP left. Was there something not quite right about it?! Sparing the support¡¯s life was definitely a deliberate move by the opponent, and it was probably to cause bad feelings between Prince and his support. Hence, they were trying to be subtle about it. In addition, when Prince was yed, he got frustrated, so naturally he was not paying too much attention to the support¡¯s situation. This greatly angered Prince. After taking his anger out on his support with a few harsh words, of course Bamboo¡¯s state of mind deteriorated. His mind was now focused only on one thing. I can¡¯t. I¡¯m a dumb support. Without me, Prince can go much further. But he was too muddled to think that they were already the national champions. Bamboo was in a daze, causing him to be ying below par. In ater team battle, a wrong move he made caused Prince to lose his life. Lacking a yer in the losing strategy and unable to properly carry out their strategy, they suffered a crushing defeat. Right up till the time that their nexus got blown apart, Bamboo¡¯s mind was a mess. After the match ended, he sat there in a daze, staring at theputer. Prince, on the other hand, looked gloomily at the support and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you? Are you feeling unwell?¡± Bamboo kept silent. That made Prince even angrier and he said, ¡°Well, say something. I trusted you to look after my back, but you turned and walked away. I was stabbed by the opponent. What was that all about?¡± As a young man, his temper was rather explosive. Especially when his support had not been himself at all throughout the match. But Prince did not know how much pressure his support was facing. Prince was going to continue his tirade, when his support suddenly threw his mouse down and said, ¡°I¡¯m not ying video games anymore.¡± Prince was stunned. ¡°What did you just say?¡± Bamboo immediately started crying and said, ¡°I¡¯m no good at gaming! I don¡¯t know how to y a good game! I¡¯m stupid!¡± Chapter 1266 - End Game (6)

Chapter 1266: End Game (6)

Prince frowned immediately. Just as he was about to berate Bamboo, he suddenly heard a voice saying, ¡°Bamboo, you¡¯ve fallen right into King¡¯s evil plot.¡± Prince frowned when he heard these words. He turned around and looked at Qiao Lian, asking, ¡°What happened?¡± Qiao Lian quickly told Prince about the conversation that she had overheard at the washroom. PC Team fell silent at once. Gaming did not only test one¡¯s strategic ability, but also skills in technical maneuvering and psychological warfare. Except that this time round, King¡¯s method had been overly nasty and hical. Prince was livid and said, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say something earlier?! They are obviously targeting us!¡± Bamboo had already fallen apart. ¡°It¡¯s useless even if I had said it. I only wanted to prove that I wasn¡¯t trash, but the fact is that I yed badly. I don¡¯t know how to y a good game.¡± He felt that all the focus was on him, and that everyone was thinking what a crappy support he was. This thought went round and round inside him like crazy. Prince grabbed his hand and said, ¡°Bamboo, rx. We¡¯ve been doing this for so many years and it has always been good, hasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°But it¡¯s true, I keep holding you back.¡± Bamboo ran his hand through his hair a couple of times in frustration and said, ¡°I know that your maneuvering is world-ss. But I can¡¯t keep up with your pace. All these years, you¡¯ve adapted to me, it¡¯s my fault. I think you should find yourself another support, I¡¯m really not cut out for this.¡± As he said this, the grown man started tearing up. Prince replied angrily, ¡°Where do you think I can find another support here in thepetition venue?¡± Bamboo was stunned. He looked around with a nk expression on his face. That¡¯s right, they were actually at thepetition venue. Indeed, what was wrong with him? He felt like he had been possessed He gulped. Prince got onto his feet and patted him on his shoulder, saying, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s do this again. Don¡¯t be sad.¡± Bamboo nodded. Looking at Bamboo¡¯s situation, Qiao Lian could have already predicted the oue of today¡¯s match. She walked out and back to the seating area. On her way back, she ran into King, who was returning to the venue after a toilet break. She frowned when she saw King smiling at her. He said, ¡°Nothing is too deceitful in war.¡± Nothing is too deceitful in war. That was true. But using that sort of tactic on Bamboo and targeting him like this made Qiao Lain feel sick. Because that sort of tactic was vicious and could ruin Bamboo¡¯s eSports career. He had yed a support role for so many years. If he left at his most glorious time, for sure he would feel exceptionally devastated the day he shoulde to his senses. Qiao Lian clenched her fists tightly and took a deep breath. Without saying another word, she went back to her seat. Then she sat there, waiting for the second session to begin. When the second session started, the opponent once again targeted Prince and Bamboo. Prince cursed and swore. Adding to this was a support who was out of it. Their defeat in the second session was imminent. Staring intently at the match disyed on the big screen, Qiao Lian felt hopeless. As she contemted the situation, she suddenly caught sight of two figures. She paused and looked up. Shen Liangchuan and Lu Nanze were back! At this point, Shen Liangchuan expression was as murky as the sea. Lu Nanze, on the other hand, was smiling. However... Qiao Lian could clearly see that there was a big bruise on the corner of Lu Nanze¡¯s mouth. Obviously, the man had been hit. What had gone on between these two men?! Chapter 1267 - End Game (7)

Chapter 1267: End Game (7)

Qiao Lian opened her eyes in shock, wanting to ask what had happened. She turned her head to look at Shen Liangchuan and realized that his face was really grim. Thus, she decided to ask Lu Nanze instead. She softly asked, ¡°Did something happen? Lu Nanze¡¯s expression was too hard to read. Just as Qiao Lian was intending to continue asking, a huge hand held her head. Then her head was forcefully turned to the front and Shen Liangchuan¡¯s voice came, ¡°What happened to the support of PC Team?¡± His sentence triggered Qiao Lian¡¯s fury. As her attention was diverted, she stared at thepetition stage, feeling injustice and fury. ¡°That dude named King is so evil! Before thepetition, he told the support that Prince wasn¡¯t able to y well because he was burdening Prince. So this affected the support¡¯s feelings and until now, he hasn¡¯t been his usual self.¡± Her words made Shen Liangchuan frown. Qiao Lian added, ¡°Oh yes, do you remember that we fought against a professional gamer from H country when we were in senior high school?¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded and Qiao Lian continued, ¡°King is that guy. Just now, when he saw me, he even provoked me.¡± Qiao Lian was filled with anger from the injustice. ¡°He said that I¡¯m a loser. This guy is too proud! Didn¡¯t he realize that we lost then because they were professional yers and we were just amateurs. Also, is losing one game considered aspletely losing? He¡¯s simply going overboard.¡± Shen Liangchuan kept silent. After Qiao Lian finished speaking, she also kept silent. Her head suddenly felt really heavy. During those years, they werepletely tortured. The opponents had been really powerful and had crushed them from the start. The teamwork made them seem like one person instead of five. Not every team had the ability to do so. At least, the current CQ was unable to do so. CQ was still too young. They needed a lot more practice, more teamwork and more experience. But... Qiao Lian lowered her head and looked at her hands. She couldn¡¯t wait anymore. Not to mention her injury, professional yers were usually less than 25 years old. If they were unable to reach their peak by the age of 25, then basically the sharpness of the yer would fall. She was getting older and she couldn¡¯t afford to wait for the next season. Furthermore, she had agreed with Shen Liangchuan that they would hold their wedding after bing champions this season. She took a deep breath. It seemed like she had to join CQ¡¯s training for thepetition after tomorrow. Just as she was deep in thought, she heard the sound of the ss being shattereding from the screen. PC Team had lost once again. Qiao Lian looked at the yers. All of their faces were grave. Since entering the professionalpetition, it was the first time they were experiencing such a failure. Prince¡¯s brows were tightly furrowed. Even thementator was extremely surprised. ¡°King is like the anchor of the team. With King in SX Team, they are literally unbeatable. Prince has also finally found his equal opponent. Although PC Team ended their winning streak with today¡¯spetition, I can¡¯t deny that it was a wonderful fight.¡± However, Qiao Lian¡¯s gaze had followed the yers of PC Team. She saw Bamboo hanging his head in despair and staring emptily. He was in a daze. Actually, Bamboo¡¯s presence in PC Team had always been very weak. Chapter 1268 - End Game (8)

Chapter 1268: End Game (8)

As PC Team hadn¡¯t lost any games before, they had kept being praised all over the inte. They had never experienced anything like this. Considering the fact that Bamboo¡¯s mental strength was so weak, he might not be able to look past this matter easily. Seeing the situation, Qiao Lian took a deep breath. Shen Liangchuan patted her shoulder and said, ¡°This team consists of very young members. If they do not experience how it is like to fail, they will never be able to improve. This is the reason why despite bing the national champions, they haven¡¯t been able to enter the globalpetitions.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. After saying this, Shen Liangchuan paused before he continued, ¡°However, it is undeniable that King was extremely despicable, to use this kind of tactics whenpeting.¡± Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help lowering her head with a worried expression on her face. Shen Liangchuan continued to say, ¡°What are you worried about?¡± Qiao Lian replied, ¡°I¡¯m afraid they will use the same tactics against our team.¡± After hearing that, Shen Liangchuan became silent. After a while, he slowly said, ¡°Don¡¯t be worried, we will tackle this problem slowly.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. The nextpetition was CQ Team¡¯s group. Zombie Leader Su Penghao yed exceptionally well and helped his team win their match.. After thepetition had ended, everyone went to the clubhouse for the celebration party. As they were eating hotpot together at night, Qiao Lian suddenly said, ¡°From tomorrow onwards, I will be training together with all of you.¡± After hearing what she had said, Su Penghao was dumbfounded. He suddenly said in a surprised tone, ¡°You want topete together with us?¡± Qiao Lian nodded. Ancestor White Bones and Lonely Peerless instantly heaved a sigh of relief. Those two often missed the training matches for thepetition, since one had to go to school, while the other often had matters to attend to at home. Now that Qiao Lian was able to stand in for them, they were not only very relieved, but also extremely happy. Ancestor White Bones immediately said, ¡°Then I can be the substitute.¡± Lonely Peerless became silent for a while before he said, ¡°Actually, I should be the substitute instead, my studies are more important. Besides, my original n was to concentrate on studying this year and focus on ying well next year.¡± Qiao Lian nodded and continued to say, ¡°Then we will just settle it like this.¡± With Qiao Lian joining the team, the entire CQ Team was as if they had been injected with confidence. Everyone was exceptionally happy while eating the hotpot. But Qiao Lian looked at them and sighed. They had no idea what they were about to face. After they finished eating, they returned to the hotel where they temporarily stayed at in Shanghai. Qiao Lian was still thinking about the team even after she finished bathing. She was silent for a moment and, after a while, she said, ¡°I feel that if King wants to do something against our team, Ancestor White Bones would be the easiest way to target us. The Godfather and The Deputy Godfather only had an average performance during thepetition, he probably will not target them. And also Zombie Leader...¡± Shen Liangchuan raised his head and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about him.¡± Qiao Lian was taken aback. Shen Liangchuan immediately said, ¡°Su Yanbin and Lin Xier¡¯s son will not have weak mental strength, you can rest assured. Also, you may not know about his family background. No one would dare force him to do anything.¡± Qiao Lian was curious. ¡°What family background?¡± ¡°He has a half-sister from the same mother and his brother-inw is Si Mubei.¡± Chapter 1269 - End Game (9)

Chapter 1269: End Game (9)

Si Mubei? Qiao Lian was slightly shocked and she suddenly reacted. Since Shen Liangchuan was in charge of the whole Shen enterprise, she had some understanding of the few big families in Beijing. The Si family¡¯s Empire Corporation was really famous and Si Mubei was the corporation¡¯s CEO. If Su Penghao¡¯s brother-inw was Si Mubei, he would be a rather tough target for King to deal with. At least, Su Penghao¡¯s mental strength would be strong enough to resist being targeted. Qiao Lian felt at ease and looked at Shen Liangchuan calmly. Shen Liangchuan stuck his hand out and patted her shoulder. ¡°Ok, time to sleep. Don¡¯t think too much about all of this, it is alright as long as we have made the effort and tried our best.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. They bothy down and, since Qiao Lian was pregnant, she got sleepy really easily. When she was about to fall asleep, she suddenly widened her eyes and turned to look at Shen Liangchuan. She asked, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, what exactly did Lu Nanze tell you today? Why did you have such an expression when you returned?¡± Shen Liangchuan frowned and after a while, he slowly lowered his gaze and replied, ¡°Not much, let¡¯s sleep.¡± ¡°Is that true?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s true.¡± ¡°You cannot lie to me if you have something on your mind, alright?¡± ¡°Ok.¡± After Qiao Lian said so, she yawned and gave up asking. She knew that if both Shen Liangchuan and Lu Nanze didn¡¯t want to let her know about it, then she probably would never be able to find out. Qiao Lian sighed. Although she was curious, she still wasn¡¯t able to resist her tiredness and fell asleep. When he heard the breathing from the person beside him, Shen Liangchuan opened his eyes and suddenly sat up. He turned his head to stare at Qiao Lian dazedly. What had happened today at thepetition venue shed in his memory¡ªwhen Lu Nanze had asked him to go with him and the things he had said. ¨C He followed Lu Nanze and walked out. As he knew that Qiao Lian had rushed out behind them, Lu Nanze purposely chose a few split roads to shake her off. They reached a balcony without anyone. Then, Lu Nanze stared into the distance. Shen Liangchuan frowned when he saw Lu Nanze¡¯s state. His heart suddenly had a bad premonition. He frowned and slowly asked, ¡°What do you want from me?¡± His tone wasn¡¯t very nice, as he thought that Lu Nanze still wanted to fight with him for Qiao Lian. But little did he expect that, after saying so, he would hear Lu Nanze inly say, ¡°It¡¯s time to tell you the reason why Qiao Lian left the club back then, right?¡± Why she left the club back then. Shen Liangchuan was silent for a while. He knew that Lu Nanze was referring to when Qiao Lian had left the team club due to her injury. Shen Liangchuan nodded. Lu Nanze then spoke, ¡°Her hand injury was because I sent people to hurt her.¡± He lowered his gaze. ¡°It wanted to stop her from looking for you.¡± ¡°Did you know that she wanted to game so badly she was going mad? In the beginning, her parents were nning to send her overseas, just like my parents. They had already made a deal that I would leave with her, but she suddenly gave up all the ns and only wanted to game. I still remember that Uncle Qiao locked her up and he was really insistent. But her attitude was even stronger and she went on a hunger strike to resist it. Her hunger strike was really a hunger strike. She didn¡¯t eat or drink anything for three days. Until the end, she fainted and was so weak that she was taken to the hospital.¡± Chapter 1270 - End Game (10)

Chapter 1270: End Game (10)

When Shen Liangchuan heard this he was stunned. He knew that Qiao Lian had gone against her family to join the team and must have paid the price greatly for it. He had thought that, as long as she acted charmingly spoiled, her parents would agree to it. He would have never expected that she had had to go through so many hardships. But she had never told him any of these things. It made sense though. Considering how much her parents had loved it, it would be strange for them to approve of a normal girl like her joining the professional gaming industry. Just as he was deep in thought, Lu Nanze continued, ¡°After she woke up from the emergency resuscitation in the hospital, Qiao Lian¡¯s mother stared at her and asked if she really wanted to do it. She said yes and after that, her parents agreed to it.¡± ¡°This was because Qiao Lian had always been someone who lost her interest easily. Her parents had originally thought that she was just suddenly crazy about it but unexpectedly, she had kept insisting on the matter.¡± Shen Liangchuan cast his gaze down. He couldn¡¯t help but startughing after hearing these words. Even his voice sounded full of pride. ¡°She was an innate talent in eSports.¡± Lu Nanze did not respond and just continued his story, ¡°After that, I realized that she was unstoppable and found people to injure her hand.¡± Even though he had already known about it beforehand, the moment he heard Lu Nanze describe it so inly, as if it wasn¡¯t a huge matter, Shen Liangchuan still got exceptionally angry. He sneered and said sarcastically, ¡°Lu Nanze¡¯s love for someone really causes pain.¡± Lu Nanzeughed at himself in self-mockery. He didn¡¯t bother about Shen Liangchuan¡¯s sarcasm and said, ¡°Actually, her hand isn¡¯t injured at all.¡± His words stunned Shen Liangchuan and Shen Liangchuan turned his head to look at him. Lu Nanze then continued, ¡°At that time, her father took her to the best orthopedic surgeon. I had looked for the surgeon before them and asked him to tell her that her hand would suffer side-effects from the injury.¡± ¡°Her hand recovered and didn¡¯t have problems. That she feels like her hand is weak and trembles is all... in her head.¡± What he said made Shen Liangchuan¡¯s eyes brighten up at that instant. He knew that many professional yers actually had hand injuries. He was happy that Qiao Lian wanted to join thepetition, but he had also been worried that her hand injury would reur. Never would he have expected to hear such news at this moment. He really hated the Lu Nanze from back then. He frowned and his tone became worse. ¡°I can only thank Mr. Lu for telling us the truth!¡± After hearing his words, Lu Nanze hesitated for a while but still coughed in the end before continuing, ¡°If hearing this has already angered you this much, I¡¯m worried that you won¡¯t be able to take the things that I¡¯m going to say.¡± Shen Liangchuan was stunned. He didn¡¯t know why, but he had a sudden premonition of what Lu Nanze was going to say. He stared at Lu Nanze in disbelief and only spoke after a while. ¡°It was you... that day?¡± Lu Nanzeughed and replied, ¡°It wasn¡¯t me, it was Qiao Yiyi.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know the login id of Qiao Lian¡¯s gaming ount, but after turning herputer on, there was an auto-login function. When her hand was injured, there was a period of time she was depressed and didn¡¯t go online. So in order to stop you two from being together, I asked Qiao Yiyi to do that.¡± Chapter 1271 - End Game (11)

Chapter 1271: End Game (11)

Lu Nanze¡¯s words were thest straw that broke the camel¡¯s back,pletely infuriating Shen Liangchuan. No longer able to suppress his anger past this point, he finally unleashed it and threw a punch at the corner of the other man¡¯s mouth. ¡°You bastard!¡± Not one to usually curse and swear, Shen Liangchuan couldn¡¯t help himself in this instance. Because what Lu Nanze had done was too despicable. It had caused a rift between him and Qiao Lian that hadsted eight years. And even now, he still felt the matter was unsettling. At the time, he had left the Shen family penniless. Hence, when Qiao Lian went back on her wordter and the team club demanded 100 000, he no longer had the money. He had only been a fresh high school graduate and, without thinking, he had taken on all the pressure with Soul Fighter. That was why he had gone on the inte and into the gaming tform to look for Qiao Lian. He had hesitated at first, not quite able to decide if he should ask that money from her. But at the same time, Qiao Lian had suddenly asked him if he could return the 100 000 that she had invested to start up the team club. The reason she had given him was valid. ¡°Would you return the 100 000 I gave you? I need it for an emergency.¡± He hadn¡¯t thought too much about it, he also didn¡¯t doubt it was true. In the end, to return the money and, on top of that, needing to make more money for the breach of contract penalty, he and Soul Fighter took this task upon their own shoulders. Later on, Soul Fighter was in an ident and he was sent to the hospital. During that time, he had ns to meet up with her. When he arrived at the meeting point, he overheard her talking to her friend. It appeared she had reserved a purse that had cost a 100 000. He was infuriated at that point. In order to save up that sum of money, he and Soul Fighter had paid with their blood. But in the end? The money had been to her just a matter of buying a purse. Had she asked the 100 000 back from him just to buy a purse? He was so angry that he left in a huff, without even talking to her. Later on, even right up till this very day... Even though he and Qiao Lian had made up, even though he had gotten past his own inner demons where Soul Fighter was concerned, whenever he thought of this matter, there was a shadow over it. And now he finally understood. Qiao Lian had not been at fault. From the beginning right up till the end, she had not known that the team club had been in need of funds. From the beginning till the end, she had never known that Qiao Yiyi had used her ount tomunicate with him, to ask for the money. And even less so would she have known that all the reasons that he had for hating her were in fact never valid. He had misunderstood her. Misunderstood her for eight whole years. And for the same reason, he almost missed his second chance with her. At this point of time, he was shaken to the core. He was shaken by everything that had happened in the past. Fortunately. Fortunately, Lu Nanze had told him all of these things now. Otherwise, he would have never known that the Xiao Qiao he had hated wasn¡¯t at all the woman who he held close to his heart now. With this, thest bit of estrangement between them had vanished. At this thought, Shen Liangchuan lowered his gaze and looked at the woman lying beside him. She was sleeping quietly. In the still darkness, even her breathing was almost inaudible. Like a little kitten, she calmed his heart. He reached out and embraced her waist. Leaning his head towards her, he lightly nted a kiss on her face. Xiao Qiao, thank you for being willing toe back to me. Chapter 1272 - End Game (12)

Chapter 1272: End Game (12)

When Qiao Lian woke up the next day, she realized that Shen Liangchuan was a little different. Although he had doted on her in the past, had loved her and had cared for her, because of Soul Fighter, it used to seem like there was an invisible barrier between them. But that morning Shen Liangchuan seemed to have opened up to her entirely. She observed him as he responded at her beck and call. He spoke gently to her with his deep voice. He seemed loving and incapable of separating from her. Her heart melted. But this disy of affection... ¡°Hey, have you done something you shouldn¡¯t have?¡± Qiao Lian asked nervously. There must be a devil at work when the situation was odd. Shen Liangchuan froze in the midst of filling her bowl. He looked up at her and asked, ¡°Why did you say that?¡± Qiao Lian pointed at what he was just doing as an example. ¡°Since I woke up, you¡¯ve been treating me like a kid, helping me get dressed, carrying me to the washroom, helping me wash up. Then you massaged my back even though the baby¡¯s not even three months old and my back doesn¡¯t hurt. You even fed me, I have arms and feet. What¡¯s the matter with you? To sum up, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re feeling guilty over something you¡¯ve done, confess. Are you nning to cheat when we yter? Or have you done something that¡¯s struck your guilty conscience?¡± Shen Liangchuan: ... He coughed and said, ¡°No, I haven¡¯t.¡± She wouldn¡¯t let it go. ¡°Then what¡¯s the matter with you?¡± He insisted, ¡°Really, nothing. Can¡¯t I simply treat you well?¡± Qiao Lian smirked. ¡°Hehehe, if it isn¡¯t something you¡¯ve done, then it must be you have a favor to ask. Say it, what is it you¡¯re after?¡± Shen Liangchuan was stumped by the question. Coughing again, he looked at her and slowly said, ¡°Really, I- Ok. I do have a favor to ask.¡± Immediately, a smug expression appeared on Qiao Lian¡¯s face. A look that said, ¡°I knew it!¡± Putting on an air of magnanimity, she continued, ¡°Alright, out with it then. since you¡¯ve been trying to tter me, I¡¯ll agree to whatever you ask for.¡± His expression darkened at once. ¡°Really? Whatever I ask for?¡± She asked, ¡°... What¡¯s your wish?¡± ¡°Simple. It¡¯s...¡± He leaned over and whispered into her ear. Qiao Lian turned scarlet at once and eximed, ¡°Argh, you pervert!¡± ¡°You said you¡¯d agree to anything.¡± ¡°Not this.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°Just not!¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°...¡± Arguing over this, they fell onto the bed. After a while, there was the sound of rustling sheets and every protest that Qiao Lian made was stifled with a kiss on her lips. Since Qiao Lian had discovered she was pregnant, they had not been intimate for almost two months. For sure, Shen Liangchuan couldn¡¯t contain himself anymore. Half an hour. This was also exactly what the exhausted Qiao Lian thought. Indeed men were scary creatures, beasts turned on only by their lower bodies. That one act that would settle all disagreements... They were simply perverts. When Shen Liangchuan was finally satisfied, she waved her hand in exhaustion and sat up pouting. ¡°To think there¡¯s a match today! I could impensation from getting injured at work.¡± Narrowing his eyes, he replied, ¡°It¡¯s not as though you¡¯re ying the match today.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m training with them tomorrow!¡± Shen Liangchuan asked, ¡°Are you doing this again for me tomorrow?¡± Qiao Lian: ...!! Chapter 1273 - End Game (13)

Chapter 1273: End Game (13)

This man. He was full of nothing but dirty talk! How intolerable! She felt her face burning. She lowered her head and buried her face in her hands, trying to calm her splitting headache. That was too much. ¨C Time crawled by, and soon it was noon. They finally got out of bed and left the hotel. Fortunately the match was in the afternoon. Otherwise, they would never have made it. The match started as scheduled. CQ yed within Group One as assigned. Because all the participants were among the best in the country, the game was no stroll in the park. But eventually, they managed to win 2-1. The CQ team members whooped in joy. However PC Team, on the other hand, was listless and dispirited. The match against SX Team yesterday seemed to have crushed their support, Bamboo. In the morning¡¯s match, Bamboo bowed out of the game to rest, making way for a new recement to take over. But the new recement didn¡¯t have as much chemistry with Prince, hence it was a difficult win for them. A few times, they managed to get to the opponent¡¯s nexus, but repeatedly failed in their attacks. Qiao Lian watched the matches with a heavy heart. Because she was pregnant, she had to make more frequent trips to the restroom. During the break, she once again got up to go to the restroom. As she was about to enter thedies¡¯ toilet, she saw another scene at the men¡¯s restroom. Bamboo was standing there, looking at King with fury and saying, ¡°You did that on purpose yesterday, didn¡¯t you? I¡¯ve done nothing against you. Why are you making personal attacks on me?¡± King then uttered a string of words in his native tongue. The interpreter said, ¡°King says it¡¯s all about your mental strength. A person like you would never have made it to thepetition in country H. He says... without you, PC Team can win the match too. Didn¡¯t they just do so? Hence what he said wasn¡¯t wrong. You¡¯re an optional member of PC Team.¡± These shaming words flowed freely from King¡¯s mouth. Infuriated, Bamboo got up on his feet and pointed a finger at him, saying, ¡°You¡¯re speaking nonsense!¡± Although his hand didn¡¯t touch King, thetter took a step back and said something in Hnguage in a panicky tone. The interpreter said at once, ¡°King says that you¡¯re using physical force during thepetition and he is going to report you! You should know what the punishment is if you¡¯re caught fighting during apetition, right?¡± Bamboo was stunned and retorted, ¡°I- I did not fight. I was merely¡ª¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Fortunately King dodged in time. Otherwise, you would have hit him.¡± The interpreter spoke loudly so meanwhile, themotion had caught the attention of passersby, who had gathered to watch. Very quickly, the employees arrived and inquired about what had happened. King exaggerated and the workers frowned, saying, ¡°ording to the rules, this would call for suspension for a season. Bamboo, what¡¯s the matter with you?¡± Bamboo retreated a step and waved his hand back and forth, saying, ¡°I didn¡¯t, I didn¡¯t.¡± King shook his head and put on a helpless expression. He said in halting Chinese, ¡°You... were angry...¡± He meant that Bamboo had flown into a rage because they had targeted him in the game, so he had wanted to beat them up. Yesterday¡¯s match and Bamboo¡¯s ying... There were already angryments on the inte, and now that he was being used of using physical violence against King. Hence people found it convincing enough to believe. Qiao Lian looked at Bamboo, who was standing there like a helpless child. Chapter 1274 - End Game (14)

Chapter 1274: End Game (14)

His teammates were now focused on the match at the event venue, they couldn¡¯t be by his side at all. Qiao Lian suddenly realized that King had probably chosen this as a timely opportunity to create a scene with Bamboo here. Prince was a person with clout in Suzhou and besides, if he had partnered with Bamboo for so many years, they had to have a good rtionship. If Prince had been here, he would have surely protected Bamboo. King wanted to catch Prince off-guard, so that once the decision to suspend Bamboo was made, it would be toote for him to intervene. Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes as she looked at these people in front of her. She wanted to dash up to them to tell them that Bamboo had had no intention of hitting or fighting with King, but her words would not hold any weight now. Because King had already sent someone to retrieve the recording. Although the recording did not include audio, it showed how Bamboo had suddenly gotten agitated and taken a step towards King with his hand raised. From that angle, it did look like he had been about to make a physical attack. The workers immediately assessed that Bamboo had indeed been instigating a fight and, ordingly, reported this matter. In the meantime, the current match that Prince¡¯s team was ying in was extremely concerning. It had gone on for more than an hour, with no end in sight. Eventually one of the opponent¡¯s yers was caught making a very small misstep, so PC Team was able to win the team battle and destroy the opponents. At the same time, they took the opportunity to crush the enemy¡¯s nexus. While they were celebrating this sess, however, Prince received a notification from thepetition management. Bamboo had been suspended for a season. When the team members learnt of this, they hung their heads, downtrodden and listless at once. Of course this incurred Prince¡¯s wrath. He looked for King to dispute the matter. King did not dare to get into a direct confrontation with Prince, so he only smiled and said nothing. yers were forbidden to get into any sort of scuffles or fights during thepetition. No exceptions were made. Hence Prince didn¡¯t get anywhere with King, given this sort of reaction. Following this, SX Team won yet another match under the King¡¯s leadership. King indeed deserved the international top yer title he used to hold. As a newly formed fighting team, the coordination among the SX team members was mediocre at best, however under King¡¯s lead, they simply became quite invincible. King¡¯s maneuvering skills were extremely fluent, one could say he and Prince were on par. As expected, King clinched the Best of the Match Award. Traditionally, the winner of the Best of the Match Award would be interviewed by the media after the event. However, Qiao Lian expressed that she had no interest in listening to what this particr Best of the Match Award winner had to say. Following the members of CQ Team, Qiao Lian stood to leave. Unfortunately, the moment they got onto their feet, they were swamped by fans. Hence they were stuck and could not get out. At the same time, the host on stage started to interview King. The host asked, ¡°King, you were once awarded the international Best of the Match Award. Is there a difference between the interview then and now?¡± King¡¯s smile was extremely bashful and, because he was good looking, the smile came across authentic and warm. He replied in his native tongue and the interpreter said, ¡°King says he¡¯s very d. There¡¯s no difference.¡± The host smiled and asked the next question, ¡°Well then, King, before the match, did you think that you would win?¡± King spoke a string of words again, but this time, the interpreter was stunned. The host looked at the interpreter, and King also looked at the man with a wide smile on his face. Chapter 1275 - End Game (15)

Chapter 1275: End Game (15)

The interpreter wiped away the imaginary droplets that had formed on his forehead and hesitated. Then in a careful and measured tone, he started, ¡°King doesn¡¯t feel that he¡¯s a strong yer, but rather that the opponent was too weak. In country H, yers like them get hung and whipped.¡± This remark created a sudden uproar among the audience. Initially, the crowd had been divided in different groups. Every group had the fans of a particrpetitive team, and the fans would chase after their selected teams with much fervor, just like how Qiao Lian and her team were now surrounded by the team¡¯s fans asking for autographs and selfies. But now, everyone in the audience had fallen silent. They had turned simultaneously to look at the person on the stage. Because of the great distance between the stage and the audience, they couldn¡¯t see the faces of the people on stage. Hence, everyone was looking at the big screen. From the big screen, they could see King¡¯s innocent-looking face. He was staring ahead and had made the remark very calmly, as though it wasn¡¯t a personal attack. He looked too decent and sounded too respectful, so everyone at once looked at the interpreter with suspicion in their eyes. Their first thought was that the interpreter had made a mistake. The host was visibly stunned as well, given how derogatory the remark was. Clearing her throat, she asked again, ¡°What was that you just said?¡± King paused for a moment before saying a string of foreign words. He even covered his mouth with his hand, putting on a panic-stricken expression. The interpreter said, ¡°Did I say something wrong? I do apologize. I didn¡¯t know, it wasn¡¯t a personal attack. I just wanted to say that PC, China¡¯s championst year, is actually a little weak. Obviously there are ws in their team coordination. In country H, this wouldn¡¯t happen for sure. So that was all I meant.¡± It was amazing how the interpreter had exceptionally interpreted his words. Every sentence was a true reflection of the man¡¯s attitude at present. The host frowned and said after a moment, ¡°May I ask then, King, why did you even leave your own country toe to China?¡± King contemted the question for a moment and then answered, ¡°Because I¡¯m getting old and my hands are suffering from previous injuries, hence I had to retire in country H, so I thought ofing to China to further my career.¡± Another great truth that revealed an issue. That meant that his ying standards weren¡¯t meeting expectations in country H, and that was the reason he hade to China. The host¡¯s expression clouded over immediately and he said, ¡°King, what are your thoughts of China?¡± King smiled and said, ¡°I really like it here. The team members are obedient. In country H, my teammates were too arrogant and they didn¡¯t take my advice.¡± What the man was implying was that his teammates were subservient. The SX team members were obviously upset upon hearing this. King, on the other hand, didn¡¯t seem to realize the effect of his words and lookedpletely nonchnt and innocent. The hostughed and replied, ¡°I do feel that, King, you should learn the art of speech from the Chinese. In addition, I think you should further examine our eSports industry, you¡¯ll see that it¡¯s not as simple as you think.¡± Having said this, she looked away from the man and shifted her attention to the screen, saying, ¡°Alright, we¡¯vee to the end of the interview.¡± ¨C In the meantime, King¡¯s remarks were already spreading like wildfire on the inte. As the news went around, readers started to take sides. Chapter 1276 - End Game (16)

Chapter 1276: End Game (16)

One side felt that country H was indeed leading the eSports¡¯ industry internationally and, given that King had been their top yer, his arrogance was understandable. The other side felt that King was too proud. Those remarks could simply not be taken for real. The two sides started to argue. [Retard! If he looks down on us Chinese, then he shouldn¡¯t havee here. What does he mean by doing this?] [@userabove, you¡¯re the retard! King is only a foreign yer. Besides, he¡¯s not wrong. Just look at PC Team, they¡¯ve always been invincible but now they¡¯ve been crushed. Compared to SX Team they are pathetic, aren¡¯t they?! [I feel that everyone should think about what King of country H said. There is some truth in it. Look at how badly PC was beaten. Don¡¯t you think that the Chinese eSports industry should reflect on this?] [That¡¯s crap. Our country has also won in international championships.] [King is a fool, noments.] ... Sitting in her hotel room and reading all of thesements on the inte, Qiao Lian was so angry that her chest hurt. Suddenly, she saw someone had posted a link, along with a message that King was doing a livestream. Hence she clicked on it. Indeed, King was in the livestream and he was exining to the audience, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, I didn¡¯t mean it like that. I¡¯m not good with Chinese and I really didn¡¯t think that what I said had other meanings. I only thought to answer the questions asked by the host and that was it. If I¡¯ve caused anyone to misunderstand, I apologize.¡± Immediately, a barrage ofments appeared on thement screen: [Wow, you¡¯re forgiven.] [It¡¯s OK, King, we know you didn¡¯t mean it like that, you love us.] [Leave. Why should people like you stay in China?] Qiao Lian stared at everything that was going on in the livestream and drew in a deep breath, greatly angered. She threw her cell phone onto the coffee table and said, ¡°This King, he shouldn¡¯t be gaming, he should just be an actor. He put on such a great performance! We Chinese are too kind, letting him trick us like that.¡± Shen Liangchuan was working on hisputer. He paused when he heard her remark. He looked up and nced at her. Then he walked over and took the cell phone away from her. ¡°Since the news is making you angry, then stop looking at it. Working yourself into a rage is bad during pregnancy.¡± Qiao Lian red at Shen Liangchuan and said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you angry? This King is so arrogant! He has no regard for us!¡± Qiao Lian was livid and continued, ¡°He hasn¡¯t met our team. If he did...¡± ¡°What if he did?¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s question stumped her. Indeed, what would happen if he met their team? People who took part in professionalpetitions were mostly highly-skilled yers. At least, there wouldn¡¯t be any big issues in their maneuvering. And in SX Team now, there was a written rule that required all the yers to obey King¡¯s instructions during a match. It demandedpletepliance. As a result, the five yers behaved like they were one yer, so how could they not y well? When CQ Team was formed, all the yers they brought in were highly-skilled and expecting the same sort ofpliance from them would be almost impossible. Hence if CQ were to meet SX in a match, they would probably not win. Qiao Lian frowned. The fact was that she was anxious because she knew they wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat SX. Chapter 1277 - End Game (17)

Chapter 1277: End Game (17)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She wouldn¡¯t be this anxious if they could defeat the other team. CQ had to win. They mustn¡¯t be defeated by SX. Because her pride of being Chinese did not allow her to be defeated by him. As she was working herself into a blind panic, Shen Liangchuan walked over with hisputer and said, ¡°As the coach, you should really spend more time analyzing the recordings of their matches. King actually has a very obvious characteristic. When he reaches Level Four, he makes it a point to take the Red Monster. If at that point of time, we can ambush him...¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s voice was steady as he continued talking. His words soothed her restlessness and gradually, she calmed down. Her gaze fell on Shen Liangchuan¡¯s screen and she watched reys of each match. As she did so, hemented, ¡°Any team can be defeated as long as you figure out their weakness and aim your attacks at them. Although the team that King is leading is good, there is an obvious w. King is a top yer internationally, so his maneuvering is faster than most people¡¯s and it¡¯s hard for them to catch up. Look at this team battle, the people behind him aregging.¡± ¡°King is rather conceited and he likes to wander around alone in the jungle. But actually if you examine carefully, you¡¯ll realize that these are the few hotspots that he hovers around in the jungle. So after a while, if the team gathers to capture him here, then you can...¡± ¡°...¡± Qiao Lian studied the videos of the matches seriously and listened to Shen Liangchuan¡¯sments. Finally, she nodded and said, ¡°Even after seeing all of this, it¡¯s hard not to admit that King is indeed an excellent gamer. He deserves the reputation of being the top international yer.¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded and continued, ¡°It¡¯s not easy to defeat him. We should approach this with the right attitude, shouldn¡¯t we? Qiao Lian immediately nodded. The two of them put their heads together and spent some time discussing game strategies. During dinnertime, when Qiao Lian picked up her cell phone, she saw that another innocent party had been dragged into the drama. The host who had interviewed King earlier had suddenly be a target of these nastyments. [I think the host is a retard. King doesn¡¯t mean anything else, but she distorted his intentions and misinterpreted him, causing him to get criticized.] [Exactly, the host is so clueless. King is so humble, how could he have made such arrogant remarks? She¡¯s too critical.] ... Qiao Lian: ... Qiao Lian knew the host. Thedy had once been an eSports caster and was quite good at what she did. Furthermore, she agreed with the host¡¯s behavior. Hence Qiao Lian went to the host¡¯s Weibo and liked her page. Very soon, her actions caught the attention of a group of anti-fans. She started receiving an overwhelming number of private messages that rebuked her. Someone even remarked that she was supporting the host because she was envious of King¡¯s ying. King forwarded her Weibo with a short message: [I¡¯m sorry.] The more he did this, the more he gained the fans¡¯ sympathy. Looking at thements on the inte, Qiao Lian swore under her breath, ¡°That two-faced son of a b****!¡± Not wishing to entangle herself with those people, she tossed her cell phone aside and continued watching the match recordings. However as she was watching them, she suddenly received a call from their team¡¯s Su Penghao, who was saying, ¡°We¡¯ve lost inte connection in the hotel. We were nning to train tonight. What do we do now?¡± Chapter 1278 - End Game (18)

Chapter 1278: End Game (18)

As they had had to go to Shanghai to join thepetition, CQ Team was temporarily staying at a hotel. But there was no inte? Were they kidding her? How can you tell a bunch of professional yers that there was no inte connection? Qiao Lian immediately called the person in charge. But the person in charge in the hotel instantly apologized. ¡°The inte isn¡¯t working, we are currently looking for people to fix it.¡± ¡°Then when can you fix it?¡± ¡°Erm, we are not sure.¡± Qiao Lian was so angry she wanted to m her phone. She asked, ¡°What kind of attitude does your hotel have? Do you know that we really need inte? You¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m really sorry, really really sorry. Inte issues don¡¯t normally happen. We have already looked for many people to fix the breakdown, but we still haven¡¯t found the reason. Miss, really sorry, really really sorry.¡± Qiao Lian didn¡¯t bear to further make things tough for them, seeing how polite the staff were. But the team still had to practice. Lastly, Qiao Lian decided, ¡°There¡¯s a big inte cafe beside the hotel. Let¡¯s go and book a room for the night!¡± When she said so, the small team was stunned, but they all nodded in agreement after that. Booking a room in an inte cafe for the night was a thing that people did in university. Now their group was sitting in the inte cafe and, as they looked at the snacks and drinks they had bought, they couldn¡¯t really get used to it. Qiao Lian had booked a private room for them, so everyone tried the inte quality of the ce. Since it was an inte cafe, the inte was indeed really smooth. Thus, Su Penghao led them and started gaming and training. Watching them starting their training, Qiao Lian heaved a sigh of relief and slowly walked out. When she reached the door, she coincidentally saw that Shen Liangchuan, who had just finished working for thepany, wasing to fetch her back to the hotel. As Qiao Lian was pregnant, it wasn¡¯t advisable that she stayed up. Thus they had already agreed previously that, after finding a solution with Su Penghao, she would go home to rest. Shen Liangchuan was wearing a mask and sunsses, covering himself up really well. No one could recognize who he was. Furthermore, no one would have thought that Best Actor Shen would go to an inte cafe alone. No one bothered about them. Just when Qiao Lian was about to walk out, she suddenly heard a voice asking, ¡°Who knows how to y Lot?!¡± Qiao Lian stopped in her tracks and turned around to look in confusion. She was met with the sight of a guy in his twenties. He stood up and said, ¡°Damn it, I¡¯m so angry. A dude from country H hase to show off. He said that we Chinese wouldn¡¯t be able to beat them! Seeing how badly Team PC lost, everyone can tell the great difference in abilities. They really agree with what King said, but I refuse to submit. I have asked them topete, so the one who wins two out of three matches will be the definite winner. If we win, he has to apologize publicly and admit that we are powerful.¡± After he said so, someone spoke, ¡°What¡¯s his rank?¡± The guy took a nce and said, ¡°I saw the people he¡¯s brought were all in diamond rank. We are already at master rank, how could we not beat them?¡± ¡°Come, let¡¯s form a team!¡± They were a bunch of youngsters who were from a university next door. Thus, it wasn¡¯t strange that they got agitated and high-spirited. Qiao Lian sighed after seeing the positive energy that radiated from them. She smiled but did not bother too much. However, just after she had taken two steps forward, she heard a student say, ¡°This guy named Pad is so proud. He immediately said that we will surrender in ten minutes after starting. My ass.¡± Chapter 1279 - End Game (19)

Chapter 1279: End Game (19)

When Qiao Lian heard this name, her pupils shrank back at once. She turned around and looked at the group of studentpetitors. Then she walked up to them and said, ¡°What did you say was the name of the person who was ying against you?¡± One of them looked up. When he saw that it was a very pretty girl asking him the question, he happily replied, ¡°They¡¯re a group of yers from country H, called Pad, Aid, Pit and also there was one called...¡± When Qiao Lian heard thisbination of names, her pupils shrank. Her head snapped up immediately to look straight at Shen Liangchuan. These nicknames were too familiar. Clearly, these people were the same team from country H that they had yed against in high school. At the time, she and Shen Liangchuan had taken part in a teampetition. Their team had well-deservingly clinched the top ce. However, the runners-up weren¡¯t convinced of their loss and turned provocative. Qiao Lian¡¯s team was subject to some very nasty treatment by the team from country H, but eventually they discovered that thetter team had actually used professional yers during the match. There was a member in Qiao Lian¡¯s team who knew someone from that team, so he had inquired into that matter. Finally, the person from that team had revealed, ¡°Our team was bought over by someone in country H, so many of us are not in control of our own ounts. Many of us have left the team.¡± Hence, the few yers who had taken part in thepetition had not even been part of the original team. They were professional gamers in country H. And the yer with the handle Pad was none other than King himself. What was he trying to do? He had done nasty things to PC Team in thepetition, and he had made nasty remarks about Chinese professional teams in general. Now he was about to further glorify himself at the expense of these students? At this thought, Qiao Lian frowned and walked over to take a look. Then she realized that among the college students, there was one who happened to be a well-known eSports caster. This caster had more than a million fans who followed his livestream. If in such a livestream King led his team to crush these students, then it would just reinforce the talks of the Chinese yers being inferior to the yers of country H. Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes. Why was King trying to cause trouble everywhere?! This was simply despicable- In the meantime, these students had no clue, thinking that the people they were up against were diamond level yers from country H. They werepletely unaware of whom they were facing. Qiao Lian frowned and said immediately, ¡°You can¡¯t y this match!¡± One of the students immediately looked up when he heard this and asked, ¡°Why?¡± Qiao Lian wanted to tell them that Pad was in fact King, but who would believe her? For a moment, she fell silent. Then one of the students spoke up, ¡°I hope you¡¯re not thinking that we will lose? You underestimate us! We¡¯ve been ying Lot for many years, beating fresh diamond yers wouldn¡¯t be a problem for us.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Besides, this has to do with pride. If we bow out before even ying, it would be so embarassing.¡± ¡°Indeed. This match has to be yed, and it has to be yed beautifully for the sake of our nation!¡± ¡°Yes, to make our nation proud!¡± This group of second-year students waspletely unaware that they had walked right into the lion¡¯sir. They went ahead, driven by their passion and enthusiasm. ¡°Everyone, stay alert, the game is starting. Let¡¯s all do our best!¡± With these words, the match began. Chapter 1280 - End Game (20)

Chapter 1280: End Game (20)

There was a group of college students from a neighboring university in the inte cafe. When they heard this, they crowded around the screens at once to watch the match. The team did a warm-up and prepared to show off. Qiao Lian looked at them and sighed softly. At this point, Shen Liangchuan approached her and, in a low voice, asked her, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Qiao Lian told him what was happening. His expression darkened. After a moment, he smiled icily and stood behind the yers. He told her, ¡°They will not go all out for sure in this match. So we can watch and get an idea of how strong these yers are.¡± Sighing, Qiao Lian said, ¡°I don¡¯t think these students will be able to push the opponent to y at their true level.¡± Shen Liangchuan narrowed his eyes at those words and replied, ¡°Let¡¯s watch.¡± Qiao Lian started to speak, but then fell silent again. Shen Liangchuan asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± In a low voice, she said, ¡°Because of King¡¯s remarks, the eSports circle is now paying close attention. If country H wins this game, I fear it will affect everyone¡¯s morale.¡± Shen Liangchuan narrowed his eyes at those words. Then he cast his gaze down. Qiao Lian continued in anguish, ¡°I know that country H is indeed setting the standard in the eSports world, but I can¡¯t stand their derisive attitude towards us. ESports was only officially recognized as a sport recently. Until then, our country had never recognized it as a sport and it was misunderstood by people. It has been only a few years and we¡¯ve already developed teams that y at such a high standard. So what are these people so overly arrogant about? These young people were on fire and full of vigor, just like how they themselves had been provoked by the country H yers into starting an eSports¡¯ team club years ago, to bring glory to their own nation. As Qiao Lian said these words, the match began. She fell silent immediately and stood behind one of the yers, anxiously watching the match¡¯s progress. The group of college students clearly had from average to high-level yers, and they were adequately skilled in maneuvering. But their level was far from professional. Typically, the game would start with the yers developing their power by farming minions. Hence five of the yers went to their ownnes, and the jungler went to hunt in the jungle to develop his champion. While the mid yer was killing minions, he suddenly heard a cry, ¡°Damn!¡± Then he saw on the map that four enemies had appeared in their own jungle. And then... ¡°Freaking hell!¡± The jungler was killed, blood was spilled. Seeing that the situation was not quite right, the mid yer ran in that direction. Just as he did so, Qiao Lian shouted the order, ¡°Come back here quickly!¡± When the mid yers heard her voice, he turned around straightaway to look at Qiao Lian. In that one moment of distraction, the screen disyed something and they heard, ¡°yed.¡± It was the top yers being killed for dashing over to provide support. After he was killed, the yer immediately berated him, ¡°Midne, what are you doing? Didn¡¯t you see us? You should¡¯vee over to support us!¡± The mid yer scratched his head after being scolded and then nced at Qiao Lian, saying, ¡°Just watch the match. Do you have to makements?¡± Qiao Lian frowned. The mid yer said, ¡°Thisdy behind me was shouting for me toe back and I got a fright. Wasn¡¯t I just about to rush over?¡± Someone else who was watching the match spoke up, ¡°She was shouting for you not to go over, that was not wrong. Didn¡¯t you see that although the opponent didn¡¯t have a lot of hp, he was at Level 2? Going up against him would have only killed you.¡± Chapter 1281 - End Game (21)

Chapter 1281: End Game (21)

The top yer got angry and retorted, ¡°What do you know? Two of the opponents were really low on HP! If you had gone, it wouldn¡¯t have taken a whole lot to kill them. One life for two, it¡¯spletely worth it.¡± The other party fell silent. Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t stop herself from adding, ¡°Indeed, the two opponents were very low on HP, but you wouldn¡¯t have been able to make it to them alive from this angle. You¡¯d have been killed before you got to them.¡± ¡°That would be yourself you¡¯re talking about. If you¡¯re good at ying, how could you possibly not kill them?¡± The top yer was still fuming as he looked at the mid yer. He said, ¡°Would you stop listening to thisdy chatting in the background? This is not an ordinary match. It concerns our national pride. We can only win, we must not lose.¡± The mid yer nodded and said, ¡°Fine, fine, fine. Let¡¯s get on with it. Don¡¯t waste time talking.¡± He couldn¡¯t help throwing a nce at Qiao Lian. Even though she was a very pretty girl and he couldn¡¯t bring himself to berate her, he did hesitate for a moment before giving her a reminder, ¡°Just watch and don¡¯t speak, my fellow student. I¡¯m begging you, just don¡¯t say another word.¡± Qiao Lian: ... She fell silent. The moment they started, they lost two yers and the enemy grew stronger. They immediately looked like they were going to be crushed. So the team had no option but to cower under the turret and level up at snail¡¯s pace. Qiao Lian became anxious as she watched this. She couldn¡¯t help but sigh and look at the two yers on botne. Lot was a game in which the yers had to destroy turrets. There were three areas where the characters moved within¡ªtopne, midne and botne¡ªand then there were the wanderer and jungler positions. The botne was typically used by the support and the adc[1]. The two of them were feeling anxious. Having lost two yers, they were now in a disadvantaged position. Hence, they wanted to restore the situation through the bottomne. Suddenly seeing an opponent reveal himself, the adc immediately ordered, ¡°Support, go after him!¡± Immediately, Qiao Lian knew they were going to be done for. She hurriedly stepped forward and was going to say something when Shen Liangchuan grabbed her by her wrist. She turned around. Shen Liangchuan shook his head at her. But still Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help yelling, ¡°Don¡¯t go!¡± In that moment of hesitation, the support and the adc were caught and two yers suddenly emerged from the bushes. They immediately captured the botne yers. Both yed! Not even five minutes into the game, and the death toll was already 0-4. The student team was rather heated up as they yed, their tempers red. ¡°What¡¯s happening? How are we going to y like this? These guys are going around capturing people everywhere. What are they? Wetards?!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t get anxious. This is about destroying their turret, let¡¯s destroy it.¡± ¡°Destroy it, my foot! We¡¯d still end up a team battle. We keep getting captured. This will stop us from leveling up and we¡¯ll all be killed.¡± They are taking advantage of the fact that they have more yers and are attacking us individually. Don¡¯t worry, when we doe up against a weak single yer, we¡¯ll make aeback. Don¡¯t forget, they are all diamond yers, we¡¯re kings!¡± The rest of them calmed down at once. Indeed, the opponents were only diamond yers. So they had captured a few people, what was the big deal?! Following this, they were a lot more cautious. For a while, no one got killed. Shortly, one of the yers suddenly came up against an opponent. He anxiously shouted, ¡°Can anyone ambush him?¡± The teammates replied, ¡°No, I¡¯m up against two.¡± ¡°I¡¯m up against one!¡± ¡°Damn! Anyway, he only has half of his HP and I¡¯m full. We may finally see a breakthrough!¡± Having said that, he charged ahead. Full HP against half HP. It should have been a sure win. But the opponent was too skillful. He dodged the attack with a few moves and then... turned around and yed the student. [1] adc: Attack Damage Carry Chapter 1282 - End Game (22)

Chapter 1282: End Game (22)

¡°Shucks! What happened?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you? You had full HP and the opponent only had half of the HP, and he killed you?¡± ¡°Am I seeing things?¡± ¡°Damn it! This is inconceivable.¡± ¡°Have you not had anything to eat? You¡¯re ying such a lousy game.¡± The guy who was yed was still in a daze. He looked up nkly at the opponent¡¯s champion and said after a moment, ¡°Why do I have the nagging feeling that our opponents are not diamond yers?¡± ¡°You¡¯re getting all paranoid when you¡¯re the one at fault. Didn¡¯t you see their ranks?¡± ¡°Well then, could it be that these guys from country H are really much better than us?¡± Everyone fell silent at that remark. From the start of the game, when their team was suppressed, right up till now, none of them had really thought about this. It was obvious to the onlookers and the yers themselves that it was a very tough fight for this team. The yers could feel it themselves, without needing anyone to point it out to them. The inte cafe had fallen silent. Words were shing across the screens. It was a message from the enemy team: [Pad: Trash!] [Pad: China, masters. Country H, diamonds.] The insult was as clear as day. It provoked everyone in the inte cafe. Someone spoke, ¡°It¡¯s us who were not up to par. What has it got to do with the rest of the nation?¡± At once, the students¡¯ eyes reddened. They looked at the taunting words on the screen, suddenly feeling the weight of the load on their young shoulders. If they lost the game, everyone in the country would doubt them and me them. Qiao Lian observed that the mid yer¡¯s hand was beginning to tremble. She spoke in a steady voice, ¡°Don¡¯t panic. y, you can win.¡± The mid yer lowered his head and said after a moment, ¡°But I¡¯m not good at this.¡± Qiao Lian took in a deep breath and said slowly, ¡°You have to steady yourself, kill the minions and level up. There are opportunities to capture the opponents, you still can win. Don¡¯t panic.¡± The mid yer looked up with his bloodshot eyes and said, ¡°I know the theory too, but how am I going to continue ying? You y if you¡¯re so smart!¡± Qiao Lian: ... She looked at the mid yer and noted that he had quite fallen apart from the losing. King was too vicious. If they had just been ying a friendly match, perhaps they wouldn¡¯t be facing such great pressure. But King had insisted on ying this match publicly. Obviously they had lied, pretending to be diamond yers going against master yers. Qiao Lian stared at the screen and after a moment said, ¡°Fine. Get up, I¡¯ll y!¡± The people in the inte cafe were stunned into silence. Everyone turned simultaneously to look at her with an expression that clearly said, ¡°You must be nuts.¡± She looked back at them, the muscles around her eyes tensing up. She knew right away that they were doubting her ability. She was about to speak up when the mid yer said, ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s continue.¡± But even as he said this, his hands were shaking. He was clearly nervous. After all, they were only undergraduates and they had never been really exposed to the world. The fact was that they knew they weren¡¯t going to win even before they finished the fight. But if they lost, would they be despised by everyone? As they were contemting the situation, Shen Liangchuan stepped forward and said calmly, ¡°Let her take over.¡± Everyone fell silent once more. ¡°Stop joking around.¡± ¡°She¡¯s just a girl.¡± Although Shen Liangchuan was wearing his mask, his eyes were sharp and piercing. He looked around the room and said calmly once more, ¡°Let her take over.¡± Chapter 1283 - End Game (23)

Chapter 1283: End Game (23)

Everyone frowned. ¡°You must be kidding.¡± Shen Liangchuan continued gently, ¡°Well, do you guys think that he¡¯s in good shape to continue?¡± They turned to look at the mid yer. His arms were shaking. Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°So let her y, get out of the way.¡± Shen Liangchuan had an intimidating maism, so people were naturally awed by him. The students gulped. An unconvinced member stood up and said, ¡°Who are you and why should we get out of the way just because you say so? Why should we trust you?¡± The man frowned. ¡°Exactly. Why should we trust you?¡± ¡°You wear a mask and a baseball cap, you don¡¯t even dare show your face, who are you?! What right do you have to be saying such things here?!¡± Qiao Lian frowned when she heard these words. She stepped up and was going to say something, when Shen Liangchuan suddenly reached out to hold her back by her hand. She turned around. He paused before he raised his hand and took his cap off. She was bbergasted. She panicked and tried to stop him. ¡°Hey!¡± He was going to create a bigmotion if he revealed his identity here. This Shen Liangchuan, was he nning on getting trapped in this inte cafe? But before she could truly stop him, he had already removed his mask. Now he was standing there in the flesh, without his disguise. Qiao Lian wondered if it was her imagination. The inte cafe had been dark at first, as it had to be for gaming purposes. But the moment Shen Liangchuan removed his mask, it felt as though sunlight had flooded into the room, chasing away some of that darkness. Everyone in the inte cafe was stunned at once. They stared at him in a daze. After a moment, someone who had turned ashen in shock eximed, ¡°Best- Best Actor Shen?!¡± ¡°Oh my god!¡± ¡°Am I seeing things!?¡± ¡°My eyes are ying tricks!¡± Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help but sigh as she heard thesements. Shen Liangchuan then raised his hand in a gesture to silence them. ¡°Shhhh.¡± Everyone quietened down at once. He was the focus of all attention in the room now. He went up to the mid yer and said calmly, ¡°Get up and let her y.¡± The yer no longer protested and stood up immediately. Qiao Lian took his seat as he did so. Shen Liangchuan swept his gaze around the room impassively and said, ¡°I hope all of you can keep this to yourself.¡± Everyone shut their gaping mouths at once. Someone expressed, ¡°Best Actor Shen, don¡¯t- don¡¯t you worry, I won¡¯t say anything!¡± Everyone nodded in agreement. The man took two steps forward, went up to the botne¡¯s adc and said to him, ¡°Let me take over here.¡± The adc was a high-skilled yer, but he automatically stood up and handed it over to Shen Liangchuan, who was standing before him. By the time everyone got over their daze, Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan were already infront of theputer. Everyone watched speechlessly. Every single person in the inte cafe had gathered around now. Talking among themselves, they stood behind the yers and theputers, watching. Someone blurted out, ¡°Are we going to lose this game, having Best Actor Shen and some woman y? You¡¯re just going to let them do this?¡± The mid replied, ¡°I- I have no idea what happened either. When Best Actor Shen spoke, I went into a daze and just did as he said.¡± Chapter 1284 - End Game (24)

Chapter 1284: End Game (24)

The adc yer nodded in agreement and said, ¡°Exactly, what was wrong with me?¡± They exchanged a look and then fell silent. After a moment, one of them said, ¡°Since we are going to lose this game anyway, and we had a bad start, we¡¯ll just let them y. We¡¯ll do a proper job in the next match.¡± Everyone nodded simultaneously. Some of them talked softly among themselves. ¡°So Best Actor Shen knows how to y Lot games!¡± ¡°But didn¡¯t he hate ying video games in the past?¡± ¡°I remember that once some celebrities organized a gaming tournament, but Best Actor Shen declined participating without thinking twice.¡± ¡°So what¡¯s Best Actor Shen doing now?¡± As everyone puzzled over this, Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan were already starting their match. The opponent¡¯s mid yer and another yer were immediately after Qiao Lian. She hid under the tower and did note out. Then the enemy¡¯s yers could not wait, so they climbed over the tower in an attempt to y her. It was toote for her to retreat, so she might as well charge forward. With a series of highlyplex maneuvers and agile moves, she managed to dodge the opponent¡¯s numerous attacks. Eventually she sumbed, but in the course of it she killed an enemy. Finally! That was the first kill of the day for this team. The people watching saw how quickly her hands were moving over the keyboard. The speed of those movements was dazzling. Only a mere few seconds had passed in the game, but those hands had performed a long series of maneuvers in fact. Eventually, Qiao Lian died together with the opponent, but the people watching cheered her, ¡°Great moves!¡± She had managed to kill an opponent yer even when surrounded by enemies. For sure, these were the sort of exemry moves one would see in textbooks. Her retaliation, at the same time, finally brought a semnce of hope back to the people. However, in no time, this bit of hope was dashed. Because their two yers in the topne had been captured by four enemies, and both yers were yed. Qiao Lian: ... She looked at the gap between the two sides and sighed, saying, ¡°This match is going to be a tough game.¡± Because earlier on in the game the team had suffered too much loss, the enemies had managed to level up. Their opponents were equipped topletely crush them. The result was that now, the enemies could kill whoever they wanted. There was no way to stop them. When Shen Liangchuan heard what she said, he contemted it in silence for a moment and then said, ¡°Stay calm, give me some time to level up.¡± They were suffering badly in the top and botnes now. The adc yer on botne had no chance to level up at all. Hence at this point, Shen Liangchuan did not join the group. Qiao Lian nodded at his words. After she had recharged fully, she continued along midne. At this point, from a particr angle, she spotted four enemies among the foliage of the midne. Immediately, she narrowed her eyes and she said, ¡°There are four enemies here!¡± When the rest of the team heard this, they immediately eximed, ¡°Let¡¯s fight them!¡± Shen Liangchuan instructed the support that was protecting him, ¡°Go over and help out there.¡± But he stood there and moved slowly. The support arrived at the midne. Qiao Lian analyzed the situation. It was four against four, for sure. They wouldn¡¯t be able to win the battle. The only thing they could do now was to buy time so that Shen Liangchuan could level up. If that happened, then he would be able to cause grave damage. Hence Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes and fixed her gaze on the middlene, saying, ¡°Listen to my instructions from now.¡± The three other yers had already been convinced by her performance, hence they nodded. She started, ¡°Support, take a step forward and show your presence.¡± The support did as he was told. ¡°Come back now!¡± The support could not keep up with her instructions and immediately fell under the enemy¡¯s control. Chapter 1285 - End Game (25)

Chapter 1285: End Game (25)

¡°Everyonee back here!¡± Unfortunately, the other two yers could hardly react in time and they dashed ahead instead. Seeing this was the situation, Qiao Lian sighed. She didn¡¯t have a choice but to just grit her teeth and move along with the rest. A team battle began and they all prepared to strike. This was a fight that called for the repeated use of the Discement Spell that Qiao Lian had. She charged right into the thick of action, first causing an initial wave of damage. Just as her team members were almost out of HP, she killed one of the opponents. Then she quickly retreated from the battle. She did not return to base, but instead charged towards the enemy¡¯s jungle. She was only left with few HP. When the opponents saw this, they were tempted to y her. Hence, the four enemies that were still alive dashed towards her. Using her Discement Spell, she dodged them, roaming freely all over the enemy¡¯s territory. Behind her, people were already calling out, ¡°Come back! Come back here quickly!¡± ¡°Ahhhh, use your skill to walk through the wall and dodge!¡± ¡°Ahhhh, you¡¯ve just dodged them. Why did you go back again?!¡± Qiao Lian was like a nervous runaway child. She had deployed what seemed like the wrong skill, and the opponents had closed in the distance between them. Given this, the four opponents, who had just been about to give up chasing her, decided to capture her again. She took them on a wild goose chase around their jungle. She had managed to charge up a little of her HP, so now the opponents who had been chasing her had gotten a little tired of it. Very clearly, they looked like they were about to give up once again. At this point, Qiao Lian suddenly appeared to have developed a boost of arrogance. She charged straight at them, throwing her attacks at the enemy with the least HP. However, it appeared as though she had made an error in judgment. Not only did she not kill the opponent, but she was now left with very few HP. She continued running. And the four of them continued chasing! Finally, by the river on the topne, she was captured. With one stroke, she was yed. Qiao Lian let go of the mouse and exercised her wrist. At this point, the onlookers behindshed out at her. ¡°You obviously could get away, why did you return?!¡± ¡°Exactly, you could have escaped the very first time. If it hadn¡¯t been for your unsessful attempt at walking through the wall, you could have returned to base.¡± ¡°That was an error in judgment. You weren¡¯t as good as them and yet you went to provoke them.¡± ¡°Exactly, your teammates have fully recharged, and you could have had a team battle, but now you¡¯ve died and it¡¯s four against five once more. Sigh!¡± Everyone was berating her, but Qiao Lian did not say a word. She just waited to be resurrected. Then someone in the crowd said, ¡°Stop speaking nonsense, you people don¡¯t know anything.¡± At these words, everyone turned around simultaneously to look at the student who had initially been the mid yer. Looking at Qiao Lian with sparkling eyes, he said, ¡°That life and death chase was amazingly well yed!¡± ¡°Clearly, she could have gotten away. How could it be amazingly well yed?¡± The mid yer said, ¡°Have all of you not noticed that every time she was close to dying, she was still able to get away?¡± ¡°But in the end she still died!¡± ¡°That was because the four enemies came to ambush her. Besides, her blue bar had run out!¡± The blue bar was something that supported the technical abilities of the champion. The mid yer required a blue bar, without which the yer would not have any attacks to use. Everyone frowned. They still did not understand. The mid shook his head and continued, ¡°Look at Best Actor Shen!¡± Everyone looked in his direction nkly. That was when they realized. Qiao Lian had led the opponents on a chase for a whole minute and a half! Chapter 1286 - End Game (26)

Chapter 1286: End Game (26)

In those 90 seconds, Shen Liangchuan had devoured the botne¡¯s minions, the midne¡¯s minions and the topne¡¯s minions. Consequently, his basic equipment had undergone massive development. In other words, he could now take part in a group battle. He was the team¡¯s adc yer and, as long as he was able to level up his build, then they would have fighting power. As this thought surfaced, their team members avoided direct confrontations under the lead of Shen Liangchuan. This kept going until they were pushed right back to their nexus, but Qiao Lian was fully recharged. Five vs five. This was the final showdown. Shen Liangchuan narrowed his eyes and instructed, ¡°From now on, everyone be cautious and on the alert.¡± Then he called out, ¡°Xiao Qiao, charge!¡± With this instruction, Shen Liangchuan suddenly threw a stun spell. Without a hint of warning, Qiao Lian charged into the midst of the opponents and, in a sh, killed the opponent¡¯s adc yer. At the same time, she disappeared. In other words, she had made herself an assassin, exchanging her life for the opponent¡¯s adc yer. Without the adc, the enemies started to get confused and to retreat. And in this moment, Shen Liangchuan moved in. In a stylishly taunting formation, he charged into the enemy¡¯s troops, at once deploying his ultimate attack and madly attacking like an adc. The other teammates dashed up to protect him. Theysted up until the end, when he was left with only a little HP, but he hadpletely trashed the enemy¡¯s men. Roar. Everyone in the inte cafe gasped in surprise. Who could have imagined that the ending would turn out like this?! Shen Liangchuan¡¯s team, including himself, had three men left standing. The three of them followed down the midne and attacked the opponent¡¯s nexus before they could resurrect. They won the match! When the victory message appeared on the screen, the inte cafe was set off at once. Everyone crowded around and looked at Shen Liangchuan with stars in their eyes. ¡°Best Actor Shen, what you just did was too awesome!¡± ¡°Hahaha, this was definitely the best turn of events I¡¯ve ever seen.¡± ¡°Way awesome!¡± Amidst all thepliments, the second match began. As it did so, a message appeared on the screen: [Now we will start ying seriously.] Everyone in the inte cafe was stunned when they saw this. The enemies had been ying a very precise game, but they were saying that they hadn¡¯t been ying seriously? Then what would it be like if they yed seriously? How terrifying was it going to be? At once, the crowd fell silent. Having read that message, Qiao Lianughed icily and typed a reply: [Well then, we¡¯ll have to start being serious too.] Everyone: ...!! She stretched her hands and exercised her shoulders and wrists. She nced over at Shen Liangchuan. Then their eyes met across the seat between them, and they exchanged a smile. The second round of the match began. No matter what, the enemy had once been professional gamer. Even though he had retired for years, he was still a very strong yer. Hence the second match was extremely tough. Shen Liangchuan, who was on the botne, was repeatedly targeted. Very often, three or four men would go after him. The game had barely started, but he had already been killed twice by opponents entering the turret. However, the man kept pace and he kept ying steadily. Chapter 1287 - End Game (27)

Chapter 1287: End Game (27)

Under his influence, his teammates also calmed down and yed steadily. Although the other three team members weren¡¯t able to keep up with the maneuvering, they were taking instructions well. Shen Liangchuan directed as he yed. And even though it had been a tough game, they met with victory. When the victory sign appeared on the screen, the whole of the inte cafe was bubbling with excitement. Everyone looked at Shen Liangchuan excitedly as they cheered. Because the game was being livestreamed, though the person didn¡¯t really understand what had happened, the news that they had defeated country H spread like wildfire on the inte. [Who said that China was weak at eSports? Give yourselves a hard p!] The post became a trending topic in no time. But just as quickly, the opponent team retaliated: [Chinese master yers defeated diamond yers. What¡¯s there to be proud of? If you¡¯re so capable, see you at the national tournament. We¡¯ll show you what our master yers can do!] Qiao Lian was livid. King was shameless indeed. Promoting himself like that. She shook her head and was tempted to spill the beans about the fact that Pad was in fact King. But she knew no one would believe her. She could only shake her head and let it go. In the meantime, the inte cafe was now packed to the brim with people. Song Cheng dashed in with security officers and separated Shen Liangchuan from the students. Protecting Qiao Lian, Shen Liangchuan was about to leave when he halted his steps and turned around to look at the people in the cafe. Then he smiled and said, ¡°What happened here is a secret between us, right?¡± Everyone was stunned by those words for a moment. Someone immediately replied, ¡°Best Actor Shen, don¡¯t worry! We won¡¯t say a word of what happened today.¡± ¡°Exactly. We won¡¯t tell anyone else!¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded and said, ¡°Thanks, guys.¡± Without another word, he left with Qiao Lian. After they had gone... There was first a silence in the cafe. After a moment, a male voice spoke, ¡°My girlfriend used to be crazy about him. I was indignant and felt that he was just a pretty face. But today I¡¯ve suddenly be a fan. Oh no, what do I do now? I think I¡¯m crazy over him too!¡± ¡°It¡¯s useless to be crazy over him, Best Actor Shen no longer acts.¡± Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan did not hear all of these exmations. They had left the cafe, gotten into their van and were heading back to the hotel. Qiao Lian was silent throughout the ride. They went back up to their room upon arriving. Shen Liangchuan showered and, as he walked out of the bathroom, he saw Qiao Lian with her head lowered, looking dispirited and listless. He walked towards her and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± She sighed and started, ¡°Obviously, these yers from country H are no easy pushovers. The only reason we won today was because they didn¡¯t know who they were up against. They were right, they weren¡¯t ying seriously. By the time they realized it, we had already defeated them. But as you saw, even though they were defeated, they are very resilient.¡± Shen Liangchuan frowned as he heard this and asked, ¡°And so?¡± ¡°And so, they will surely make a serious effort during the match. And at that point, I can¡¯t be confident we¡¯ll win.¡± Frowning even more deeply now, Shen Liangchuan continued, ¡°So?¡± Staring at him intently, she suddenly replied after a short pause, ¡°So I need you, Zi Chuan.¡± Chapter 1288 - End Game (28)

Chapter 1288: End Game (28)

After saying these words, she nced at him nervously. She knew that he had avoided this game like gue after Soul Fighter¡¯s death. But this was also their dream and passion. He had never shown any interest in being a part of this. Except when she could no longer go on because of her hand. He had gone on stage to help her. However, this time... King wasing at them aggressively with his team. It was obvious from the game yesterday that King had not given his best. But even then, it had been a really tough fight for her. Without Shen Liangchuan, she could not guarantee a win for CQ. She wanted him toe on board, but at the same time she didn¡¯t want to force him. Hence, she had not said a word in all this time. But now, she wondered if he would agree. She looked at him steadily. After a moment, he suddenly got onto his feet and started to change out of his clothes. Her heart sank at once. It had always been like this. When he was unhappy, he would change and leave. He would leave her alone in the vi, staring nkly and wondering what she had done wrong. Was he unhappy now? Was he annoyed at Soul Fighter¡¯s matter again? Ultimately, could he not leave the matter behind him and just be together with her? She hung her head as these thoughts crossed her mind. She could not force him. After all, it was she who had left the club at the time, causing Soul Fighter¡¯s ident and death. So what right did she have to ask Shen Liangchuan to leave these things behind him and fight hand-in-hand with her? She bit her lip. Because she was pregnant, she was exceptionally emotional. Hence, she was exceptionally saddened by his silent rejection. Biting her lip, her eyes turned bloodshot. Then she saw Shen Liangchuan walk towards the door. She wondered if she should try and stop him, if she should have a chat with him. At this point, he spoke, ¡°Are youing?¡± Qiao Lian: ?? She looked up, turned around and stared at him in great surprise. ¡°What?¡± He looked at her teary eyes helplessly and said with some hesitation, ¡°Are you noting with me?¡± She asked, ¡°Going out for...?¡± ¡°Shopping.¡± She was stunned by his words. Shopping for what exactly? It waste, what did he want to buy? The next moment, his deep and attractive voice continued, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you need me? Don¡¯t be petty, you can at least buy me a keyboard and a mouse?¡± Qiao Lian looked up as soon as she heard these words and stared at him with an expression of disbelief. This would mean... he meant... He agreed?! She got to her feet in a sh. Shen Liangchuan was shocked by her sudden movement. He quickly walked over, embraced her and said, ¡°You¡¯re pregnant, don¡¯t make sudden forceful movements like that.¡± But the next moment, Qiao Lian had circled her arms around his waist. She buried her face in his chest and held him tightly. He lowered his gaze, looking at the top of her head. Her silky smooth hair brushed against his face, causing a ticklish sensation. He smiled faintly as he heard her say, ¡°Zi Chuan, you¡¯re the best!¡± He burst outughing helplessly. She looked up at him with a red nose, her bloodshot eyes were misty but lit up. Then she said a little shyly, ¡°Let¡¯s go, Zi Chuan. I¡¯ll buy you the best keyboard and mouse with the club¡¯s budget.¡± Chapter 1289 - End Game (29)

Chapter 1289: End Game (29)

They browsed around in the mall. Qiao Lian not only bought Shen Liangchuan a set of the equipment, but she got one for herself as well. She sweetly named their new matching items, ¡°These are the loving couple¡¯s equipment.¡± Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°... Don¡¯t you already have your own?¡± She replied, ¡°But I want to have the same as you.¡± ¡°Doing this is just misusing the club¡¯s funds.¡± Qiao Lian smiled immediately and put her arms around his, saying, ¡°Which is why I¡¯m not using the club¡¯s funds for mine. Hubby, why don¡¯t you buy them for me?¡± The shop attendant couldn¡¯t help but giggle at the couple¡¯s banter. Shen Liangchuan pulled a straight face and looked at that silly woman that was his wife. Then he reached out and tapped her nose lightly. They were such a lovey-dovey pair that any singleton seeing this would have been tortured to death. After paying for the items, they walked out of the shop. They headed down to the shopping mall¡¯s parking. When the elevator door opened, they stepped out and walked straight ahead. After taking a couple of steps, Qiao Lian suddenly halted and asked Shen Liangchuan, ¡°Did you hear that?¡± He frowned in concentration, pricking up his ears. He shook his head. Puzzled, she replied, ¡°Well that must have been my imagination.¡± They continued walking. After another couple of steps, she halted again and said, ¡°There¡¯s really that sound again!¡± Shen Liangchuan: ... The two fell silent for a moment, Shen Liangchuan finally heard the faint sound of breathing and someone gasping for breath. In the quiet and dim underground parking, it was a little unnerving. Qiao Lian unconsciously tightened her grip around his arm and shouted, ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± Silence. She looked at Shen Liangchuan, her eyes filled with fear. ¡°Shen Liangchuan, it¡¯s not a ghost, is it? Why am I getting goosebumps!?¡± Shen Liangchuan looked at her, cast his gaze down and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t used to believe in ghosts and spirits.¡± Her eyes widened at his words and she asked, ¡°And now?¡± ¡°Now I just feel that the Chinese civilization is broad and profound, fortune telling has its logic. A person¡¯s fortune can be changed.¡± ¡°What does all of that mean?¡± ¡°It means that there are indeed no ghosts in the world, but there are things that science cannot exin.¡± With that, Qiao Lian started to inch closer to Shen Liangchuan. Now she was almost leaning on himpletely. When Shen Liangchuan saw how frightened she was, he couldn¡¯t help but purse his lips and smile faintly. Then he suddenly pointed at a spot not too far away and said, ¡°Quick, look, what¡¯s that?¡± Qiao Lian looked in the direction he was pointing and, right at this point, a hand pped her on the back. She gave a sharp shriek in fright. At once, Shen Liangchuan burst outughing. Qiao Lian: ... She red at Shen Liangchuan and cried, ¡°You did that on purpose!¡± He reached out and put his arms around her shoulders, adding, ¡°You¡¯ve always been quite bold, how is it you¡¯re bothered by such things?¡± Qiao Lian was speechless. This man was simply too despicable. But his behavior oddly reminded her of the Zi Chuan she had known many years ago. When they used to y video games together, he had been like this too. He would frequently bully her and sometimes indirectly rebuke her. Whenever she yed Xiao Qiao poorly and the enemy also happened to have someone ying a Xiao Qiao, he would say on the microphone, ¡°Tsk tsk, other people¡¯s Xiao Qiao and my Xiao Qiao...¡± Even now, when she thought of the tone in which he had said this, it infuriated her. She lowered her head and giggled as she continued walking to their car with him. When they were about to get into the car, Qiao Lian suddenly halted once more. She looked at Shen Liangchuan and said, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, there¡¯s really somebody here.¡± Chapter 1290 - End Game (30)

Chapter 1290: End Game (30)

Shen Liangchuan halted. Qiao Lian prickled her ears and listened. Then they walked towards the source of the sound. When they got to a certain spot, she suddenly saw a man. He was lying in a pool of blood, gasping desperately for air. Obviously, he was about to die! Qiao Lian jumped in fright. She retreated a few steps. The underground parking was dimly lit, hence she could not see the person clearly. But she could make out vaguely that it was a man in his thirties or forties, he was dressed shabbily. His clothes were now soaked in blood. Qiao Lian patted her chest in an attempt to calm herselt. Then she quickly reached for her cell phone, saying, ¡°Hurry up and call the ambnce. Otherwise this man won¡¯t survive!¡± After saying this, she picked up her cell phone. But as she did so, a hand held her wrist tightly. She spun around and paused, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± She noticed Shen Liangchuan looking at the man lying in the pool of blood. His pupils shrank back as he said in a frighteningly icy tone, ¡°Let¡¯s mind our own business.¡± Then he took her hand and led her towards the car. Qiao Lian was bbergasted. She could not think why he had been so cold-hearted all of a sudden. He had always valued loyalty. Hence, he must have had his own reasons for doing what he had just done. However, that man was not going to hold up for much longer. She feared that if they waited another ten minutes, he wouldn¡¯t survive. Were they really going to pretend they had seen nothing and leave him to die like this? Qiao Lian opened her mouth to say something, but eventually swallowed her words, as she noticed how ugly Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression had turned. She paused and followed him in silence. He immediately started the car and drove out and away from the parking. Looking at the grim and coldly indifferent expression on his face, she hardly dared to breathe. However, after leaving the parking and driving for a bit, he suddenly pulled up by the road. Qiao Lian paused briefly until he finally spoke, ¡°After so many years, I didn¡¯t expect that he would actually be out of jail.¡± Stunned, Qiao Lian asked, ¡°You... know the guy?¡± Shen Liangchuan squinted as he nodded. He kept quiet for a long time before he started, ¡°This was the drunk driver who, at the time, came at me and killed Soul Fighter. Soul Fighter pushed me out of the way.¡± Qiao Lian was stunned when she heard this. Suddenly, she realized why he had been so cold. How could he possibly call an ambnce to help a man who had killed his friend? She bit her lip and did not dare to venture another word. She was silent for a long time before he finally spoke again, ¡°But he had a four-year-old daughter.¡± She froze immediately. She nced at him again. He said with an indifferent expression, ¡°She was four then, so she should be 13 now.¡± Qiao Lian kept silent. He too, fell silent for a while. In the end, he picked up his cell phone and dialed 911. Half an hourter, the man was taken to the hospital. Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan followed along and paid his medical bill. Two hourster, the man finally and miraculously regained consciousness. His thirteen-year-old daughter had been crying till her face was blue. Shen Liangchuan watched all of this from outside the ward, his expression detached andplex at the same time. Just as he had turned to walk away, the man suddenly called out to him, ¡°Best- Best Actor Shen. About what happened back then, I was only following someone else¡¯s instructions.¡± Chapter 1291 - End Game (31)

Chapter 1291: End Game (31)

Shen Liangchuan halted immediately when he heard these words. His pupils shrank back. ¡°What did you say?¡± The man had been beaten up badly. His eyes were turbid as he looked at Shen Liangchuan. He hung his head and said, ¡°A few years ago, my daughter fell seriously ill and I needed arge sum of money for her medical treatment. Eventually, a woman approached me and instructed me to kill you by making it look like a drunk driving ident. Then she would give me the money for my daughter¡¯s treatment.¡± ¡°I had no other way out then and was at the end of my rope. I wanted to kill myself after killing you. As long as my daughter could live, that was fine for me.¡± The man continued, crying profusely now, ¡°In the end I went to jail. All these years I¡¯ve been ming myself. Ever since I came out of jail, I have been trying to find you. Now I¡¯vee to Shanghai and life is very difficult here. Today I was beaten up badly because I had wandered into someone¡¯s territory by mistake. If it hadn¡¯t been for you, I¡¯d have died.¡± Shen Liangchuan narrowed his eyes and stared at the man, feeling quite ill after hearing those words. He took a step forward and asked, ¡°Who instructed you?¡± The man paused and said, ¡°Mei Feng.¡± ¨C Walking out of the hospital, Shen Liangchuan feltpletely disoriented. As he walked, it felt as though his feet were not touching the ground. The truth was cruel and hade so suddenly, he found it impossible to ept. For many years ago, he had hated Qiao Lian for causing Soul Fighter¡¯s death. So much so that he had held it against her for so many years. But now it appeared that the person who had caused Soul Fighter¡¯s death had been himself. He felt like aplete bastard for having hurt the person he loved most, all the while thinking that he was just doing justice¡ªwhile on the other hand, the real perpetrator was roaming around free. He clenched his fists tightly. He couldn¡¯t help feeling that the past was like a bad joke. As he stared at the man, feeling sorrowful and lost, Qiao Lian suddenly ced her hand over his. Turning around, he saw her concerned face looking back at him. She said, ¡°Zi Chuan, it doesn¡¯t matter how Soul Fighter died. What matters is how we choose to live from now. The dead are dead, but the living shouldn¡¯t live in sorrow. We should live with greater energy to face the future better.¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded after a pause upon hearing these words. However... His eyes shed sharply as he said, ¡°Mei Feng.¡± Qiao Lian knitted her brow and said, ¡°Mei Feng is simply too despicable and heartless! How old were you then, when she actually did such a cruel thing? But what do we do now? Although she incited this, it has been many years since, we don¡¯t have any proof at all.¡± Evildoers must be punished, of course, but how to deal with Mei Feng was the question. Shen Liangchuan contemted this for a moment and looked up with a frown. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure she ends up losing everything she has.¡± Qiao Lian nodded at these words. A call from Song Cheng came in as they were deep in thought. ¡°Brother Shen, we¡¯ve investigated SX Team. Indeed, it was established by thete Mr. Shen but now it belongs to Mei Feng. It seems the annual sry they are paying King should be approximately eight million.¡± Shen Liangchuan narrowed his eyes upon hearing this piece of news. An annual sry of eight million. He estimated that this could very well be about all of the cash Mei Feng had on hand. At the moment, King¡¯s reputation in China was sullied. Hence if SX didn¡¯t manage to clinch the first ce, they would be aughing stock for sure. In addition, they wouldn¡¯t get any endorsement deals and even possibly lose all their investors. That would mean the end for SX Team. When this happened, Mei Feng would lose everything. Chapter 1292 - End Game (32)

Chapter 1292: End Game (32)

Very quickly, the grand final of the national eSports tournament arrived. SX had defeated PC Team and would nowpete in the grand final. By the time the grand final match started, the seats were filled. There were even people standing along the aisle, all the way to the back of the venue. The lively atmosphere was highly charged up, boiling with excitement and anticipation. When Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan walked out of the backstage in their CQ Team uniforms, everyone in the audience was stunned. ¡°I¡¯ll be damned, do you see who that is? Why does he look so terribly familiar?¡± ¡°I must be seeing things. I¡¯m at a fake eSports event!¡± ¡°Is this eSports or a press conference?¡± ¡°Best Actor Shen is here?¡± ¡°A Best Actor? ying in a professional tournament? My eyes are ying tricks!¡± ¡°My god! Is this an entertainment game segment?¡± ¡°Ahhhh, Best Actor Shen is so dashing. So, so, so dashing!¡± Two distinct voices could be heard amongst the audience at once. The yers of the two teams met under the stage. They only moved up to the stage when the host announced the beginning of the match and started thementary. This was the first time King yed against CQ. Hence upon seeing Qiao Lian, he held out his hand and said, ¡°How do you do, Ms. Qiao?¡± She frowned as she was put in a conundrum. Shen Liangchuan stepped up. On Qiao Lian¡¯s bed, he shook King¡¯s hand and said, ¡°How do you do?¡± King: ... He nced at Shen Liangchuan and a look of surprise crossed his face. ¡°Shen?¡± He spouted a rapid string of words in hisnguage as his interpreter immediately said, ¡°Mr. Shen? What brings you here? Did their team hire you for a morale boost?¡± The team members from SX burst outughing at King¡¯s remark. King added with sarcasm, ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t a Best Actor focus on acting and instead y video games? This is such a joke.¡± ¡°Besides, this is the national tournament. Best Actor Shen, are you sure you¡¯re up to it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s still not toote to step down, otherwise it could get ugly. Oh, such a pity. I¡¯m just worried that I¡¯ll be ughtered by your fans.¡± Shen Liangchuan did not respond to his provocation and turned around indifferently, but he exchanged a look with Qiao Lian. In the meantime, on the inte, people were starting to express their doubts. Theymented that they did not understand this move by CQ. ¡°Why is Best Actor Shen ying? It¡¯s an important match, why are they letting him y?¡± ¡°Are they thinking that if they lose, no one would criticize them for his sake?¡± ¡°This is a serious match. CQ Team is not taking this event to heart!¡± ¡°Exactly, this is a sports event, it¡¯s sacred, not an entertainment!¡± At the same time, there were fans of Best Actor Shen that spoke up, ¡°Ahhhhhhh, my male idol is ying! Why is he always so dashing? But can male idol pull this off?¡± ¡°This match today has to do with the honor of the country!! Is it really advisable to be so willful?¡± The messages were so full of doubts. The host was now starting to introduce the line-up. When it came to Qiao Lian, she was introduced as CQ¡¯s Xiao Qiao. The host remarked, ¡°I¡¯m sure everyone¡¯s familiar with the name Xiao Qiao, one of the two great female gamers in the world of eSports. Besides, she has brought CQ Team a long way right up to this point. Next, let me introduce the next yer, CQ¡¯s Zi Chuan!¡± Chapter 1293 - End Game (33)

Chapter 1293: End Game (33)

CQ¡¯s Zi Chuan. Zi Chuan!! The moment this name was mentioned, the whole audience was absolutely shook. Everyone stood up at once and looked at the stage in a daze. Zi Chuan. Was he that Zi Chuan from years ago? Zi Chuan from back then had disappeared all of a sudden in his heyday. Even after so many years, whenever people saw how outstandingly Prince was performing, they would inevitably think of Zi Chuan. If Zi Chuan were still gaming, would he have led them to greatness? But up till now, the real identity of Zi Chuan had remained a mystery. And amidst everyone¡¯s guesses, they saw Shen Liangchuan walk to the stage. At once, the bustling atmosphere turned silent. Everyone turned to look at him in disbelief. After a whole five seconds of silence, the audience went wild! ¡°Oh my god! Best Actor Shen is the eSports ace Zi Chuan?!¡± ¡°This must be the most explosive piece of news of the year.¡± ¡°Ahhhhh, Xiao Qiao, Zi Chuan!! They have finally resurfaced!¡± ¡°Why am I feeling that this is a singleton¡¯s nightmare even before the match has started?¡± When the SX team members became aware of the lineup, they looked up in shock and there was an expression of disbelief on their faces when they looked in Shen Liangchuan¡¯s direction. Even King¡¯s expression suddenly changed. But the next moment, he said, ¡°Loser.¡± Many years ago, they had had a match. At the time, he had defeated Xiao Qiao and Zi Chuan, so what more now? He narrowed his eyes. The host was stunned too when she looked at Shen Liangchuan. She stared at him nkly for a moment and then looked at her yers list. Then she finally looked up and made the remark, ¡°Best- Best Actor Shen is Zi Chuan?¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded. The host finally regained herposure and said, ¡°I feel like I¡¯m in a dream! To think that a day woulde that I could stand on the stage next to my idol. Best Actor Shen... all the best!¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded. The host started to introduce the other yers. After introducing CQ Team, she moved on to introducing SX Team. King went on the stage without any reservations, before all his teammates did. The host said as an introduction, ¡°This is the captain of SX Team, also their foreign yer, King.¡± There was some sparse pping among the audience. Obviously, King had angered people with what he had said before and now they weren¡¯t very happy with his presence. King suddenly smiled and leaned over to speak into the host¡¯s microphone, saying, ¡°Xiao Qiao, Zi Chuan, we meet again.¡± The host was surprised to hear this, and she asked, ¡°Do you know each other?¡± King smiled and said a few lines, which the interpreter delivered, ¡°Many years ago, we met in an online game.¡± The host was curious at once and asked, ¡°And who won then?¡± King continued smiling as he looked at Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan and replied implicitly, ¡°Perhaps they are here to get revenge today.¡± The meaning was clear. At the time, Xiao Qiao and Zi Chuan had been defeated. The audience got immediately nervous when they heard this. Everyone looked at each other, suddenly feeling that the probability of CQ Team winning was too low. Even Prince had lost to King. It looked like SX was pretty much invincible. Could CQ really win today¡¯s match? Everyone was on edge. Chapter 1294 - End Game (34)

Chapter 1294: End Game (34)

After introducing the yers, they got ready for the match. Because the matches could take a long time, the yers were given time to relief themselves before the game started. Qiao Lian got her mouse, keyboard and other equipment, and Sheng Liangchuan¡¯s, and connected them to theputer. Zombie Leader Su Penghao sniggered as he looked at them. ¡°With Best Actor Shen directing today, I guarantee I¡¯ll be obedient.¡± Shen Liangchuan looked at him impassively and grunted in unabashed agreement. Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t stop herself fromughing. Just about this time, they heard a loud thump. Everyone turned around simultaneously and saw that The Deputy Godfather had knocked over the drinks prepared for the yers. There were five of them ying today¡ªQiao Lian, Shen Liangchuan, Su Penghao, The Godfather and The Deputy Godfather. Because The Godfather and The Deputy Godfather were brothers, they had excellent coordination between them. It was as if the two of them moved as one. At this point, The Deputy Godfather got onto his feet nervously and started to pick up the drinks that had fallen over. At once, he looked at the rest of them in a panic and gulped. He said, ¡°I- er- I¡¯m a little nerve-wracked.¡± They understood. The fact was they were even more nervous than the audience seated below. The pressure on them for this match was immense. Hence Qiao Lian didn¡¯t think too much. She only nodded and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous, just treat it like our normal training matches. Besides, everyone here has been through many matches, we¡¯re not afraid of them!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± The Godfather smiled. ¡°You¡¯re normally so bold and out of control, what¡¯s the matter with you today?¡± The Deputy Godfather managed to squeeze an agonizing smile and, at the same time, looked up and across the stage. The yers looked at each other from afar, across the stage. There was a pane of ss between so although the teams couldn¡¯t hear each other, they could see each other clearly. The moment The Deputy Godfather looked up, so did King from across the stage. He then gave The Deputy Godfather a sly smile. The Deputy Godfather¡¯s hand started to tremble immediately, dropping the drinks that he had just picked up from the floor. Five minutester, the match began. Typically in a match, each party would select the champions that they could ban the other party from using, and after that they would select the champions that they would use for the match. At once, SX Team banned the signature champions Xiao Qiao and Zhou Yu. Thementator spoke, ¡°SX¡¯s move is obviously targeting Xiao Qiao and Zi Chuan. After all, they know that these two champions are the yers¡¯ favorites, so they¡¯re best using these two champions. Also, they are known to coordinate with each other seamlessly.¡± ¡°I wonder if Zi Chuan and Xiao Qiao will be able to win the match. given that both their favorite champions have been banned.¡± As these words were spoken, both teams started to pick their champions. Battle formation was one of the most critical factors in a match. Qiao Lian, Zombie Leader and Shen Liangchuan had obviously known that the opponent would target them, hence they already had a solution in mind. Because the enemy team had banned these two particr champions, other powerful champions could be used. Qiao Lian shouted immediately, ¡°The Deputy Godfather, select Yu Ji!¡± Yu Ji was the best marksman, one without equal. Since she was avable, it was expected that everyone would fight for her. Because The Deputy Godfather¡¯s seat came first, Qiao Lian shouted this instruction. The Deputy Godfather stared at the options panel and then, for some reason, suddenly looked up. The moment he did so, his eyes met with King¡¯s from across the stage. His hand started to tremble again. Right at the final selection moment, he identally hit the wrong champion. The next thing they knew, it was King¡¯s turn to select his hero. Without hesitating, he selected Yu Ji. Chapter 1295 - End Game (35)

Chapter 1295: End Game (35)

¡°What the heck? What on earth happened?!¡± It had all happened too quickly, in a sh. The Godfather jumped onto his feet in a snap and spun around to look at The Deputy Godfather. Zombie Leader also looked up and stared at him in disbelief. Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan gave the guy a strange look as well. Because of how powerful Yu Ji was, basically the team that snagged her would have a 80 percent chance of winning. The fact that they had had the first go at selecting their battle formation had initially given them a great advantage, but now... The Deputy Godfather looked up in a panic and gulped. He said, ¡°I- I identally hit the wrong option.¡± identally hit the wrong option. Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank back upon hearing this excuse. But it was a done deal, there was no way to salvage it. Su Penghao immediately berated the guy, ¡°Of all the times, your trembling hand had to choose such a critical moment. The Deputy Godfather, can you use some intelligence! If we had known this, we¡¯d have let Ancestor White Bones y instead.¡± The Deputy Godfather shrank back and hung his head in silence. The Godfather was going to say more, but Shen Liangchuan intervened and said calmly, ¡°Enough. Let¡¯s think of what we¡¯re going to do next.¡± The champion that The Deputy Godfather had selected was worthless. Basically, it had never been used in a match and was considered a minor support¡ªand quite a bad one too. This being their first pick, their formation was already in trouble. Shen Liangchuan frowned and then said after a pause, ¡°Let¡¯s do this, we¡¯ll adjust.¡± Finally, the formation was confirmed. Su Penghao was feeling rather restless as he said, ¡°This crappy formation. How are we going to win? This support is a useless piece of trash! This game is practically 4 vs 5.¡± His nervous attitude rubbed off on The Godfather. Since they were brothers, The Godfather was quite harsh with his words, ¡°Brother, have you lost your intelligence today? Couldn¡¯t you have chosen another time to be this muddle-headed?! If we lose this match, it will be your fault.¡± The Deputy Godfather hung his head. His eyes reddened and both his hands were tensely positioned over his keyboard and mouse. He apologized in a hoarse whisper, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s my fault.¡± Seeing all of this made Qiao Lian quite edgy. SX Team was a tough team to begin with. Since they had managed to put together such a formation, this match was going to be tougher than ever. When the team members were feeling edgy and restless, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s calm voice was like the water of a clear spring, washing over their ears. ¡°Alright, everyone focus. There are endless possibilities in eSports. Who says that this support is lousy? Since it had been created, then it has its value.¡± The Deputy Godfather looked up suddenly when he heard these words. He looked at Shen Liangchuan with an expression of disbelief. Shen Liangchuan was like the anchor of the team, sitting there, stilling everyone¡¯s heart and mind. Indeed, although he had selected the wrong champion, whoe said they would lose for sure? As he contemted those words, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s spoke again, ¡°Everyone, just go all out and fight through this match. We need to win two out of three games. Even if we lose this game, we still have a chance.¡± With his steady and confident assurance, their restlessness settled down. They all fell silent and started to focus. Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan exchanged a nce just before they clicked into the game interface. At that moment, listening to that rousing music, it was as though they were taken back eight years in time. Back into those reckless days of their youth. Her lips broke into a smile as she looked at him. And in return, a faint smile from him. Chapter 1296 - End Game (36)

Chapter 1296: End Game (36)

Qiao Lian¡¯s character was mid. But their opponent King, who was a jungler, seemed to have something against her. During the whole first match, he roamed around the midne and attacked Qiao Lian twice. When the match reached minute six, the score was 0-2 and the two deaths were Qiao Lian¡¯s. At first, there was already a problem with the team formation, but when Qiao Lian was killed right after the game was started, it annoyed her. She couldn¡¯t resist criticizing him, ¡°Does this King dude live in the midne?¡± At the bottomne, Shen Liangchuan and his support were doing pretty well. Hearing her panicking tone, Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°Don¡¯t panic, there is still a possibility to win this match.¡± Qiao Lian nodded. They startedpeting seriously. King was targeting Qiao Lian in the midne, which almost made her go crazy and into a meltdown. As she had died too many times, she wasn¡¯t able to level up. This unreasonable targeting made Qiao Lian so furious she felt like mming the keyboard. However, on the opposite, Shen Liangchuan was gathering power really well. Both parties had fighting power. But thest fight was really wasted, as The Deputy Godfather had taken a wrong position and instead of being the support, he was killed instantly. King focused crazily on trying to kill Shen Liangchuan, but Qiao Lian had taken all the damage for him, allowing Shen Liangchuan to escape alive. In this team fight, the enemies had almost killed the whole team. Then they continued charging at their nexus. When the failing tune sounded, Qiao Lian still felt that her chest was restricted and ufortable. They had lost. In this round, although Qiao Lian had been targeted crazily, since Shen Liangchuan had leveled up exceptionally well, they had had a possibility of winning thest team fight at the end. But because of The Deputy Godfather... The Godfather immediately became furious, ¡°Brother, did water get into your brain today?!¡± The Deputy Godfather lowered his head and kept silent. The Godfather was so angry that he pulled up his sleeves and wanted to hit him. Qiao Lian hurriedly blocked him and looked at Shen Liangchuan. The Deputy Godfather hesitated for a while and said, ¡°Rece me with someone for the next match.¡± After he said so, he looked as if he had let out a big burden. He stared dazedly at the people in front of him, feeling pain and hesitation deep in his heart. He recalled when King had looked for him suddenly before thepetition and had shown him a video. The video showed the scene of a girl working really hard. She was a waitress in a hotel. She was carrying a box of wine alone into a private room. Her back was bent and it was clear that she was having trouble. However, she clenched her teeth and didn¡¯t say anything. That was his girlfriend, Xiao Mei. King spoke, ¡°Xiao Mei is working so hard just to be able to marry you earlier and have a family soon. How much are you even earning in this team club of yours?¡± The Deputy Godfather kept silent. Their club was new. How rich could they be? As gamers, they didn¡¯t do it for the money, but for their passion and dreams instead. He kept silent and King gave him a price, ¡°If you lose, I will give you two million. How about that?¡± Two million. The Deputy Godfather lifted his head up. He had never seen so much money in his whole life. With those two million, he would be able to buy a car and house with Xiao Mei in his hometown, and even hold a fancy wedding. Thus, he was immediately tempted by it. He had chosen that champion during the previous match on purpose. But he had been really devastated when they had actually lost the match. Chapter 1297 - End Game (37)

Chapter 1297: End Game (37)

It was because this was his dream and his team. On one side was reality, and on the other was his dream. He waspletely unable to y well due to the pain. In thest team fight, he hadn¡¯t done it on purpose. He had just recalled the terrible state Xiao Mei was in. Thus, he had gotten momentarily distracted and moved into the wrong position. But now, looking at everyone¡¯s angry gaze and the disappointment on the audience¡¯s faces, he suddenly felt like he was really too evil. He bit his lips and stood up. Lowering his head, he said, ¡°Both Lonely Peerless and Ancestor White Bones are around, let¡¯s exchange ces.¡± He wasn¡¯t worthy to be in the club. It was because his heart and intentions towards eSports were no longer pure. Qiao Lian stared at him and wanted to speak, but before she could, she heard Shen Liangchuan ask in a low voice, ¡°Are you so useless that you¡¯re giving up just after losing a game?¡± His sarcastic words shocked The Deputy Godfather and made him lift his head up. Shen Liangchuan stared at theputer screen and said, ¡°For this round, you indeed made a huge mistake, but I¡¯ll give you another chance. Do you dare to give your best as a support?¡± The Deputy Godfather¡¯s eyes reddened and he stammered, ¡°Mr. Shen, you¡ª.¡± ¡°In our club, I¡¯m just the team leader, not any Mr. Shen.¡± Shen Liangchuan stood up and said, ¡°Go to the restroom and prepare for the next match.¡± The Deputy Godfather tightened his fists, as if his morale had been strongly boosted, and nodded. If his team mates had so much trust in him, how could he be shameless enough to hesitate?! ¨C The team went to the restroom during the mid break. All five of them walked towards the backstage together. Just as they reached the backstage, they saw King with SX Team standing there. It was obvious that they were waiting for them. Qiao Lian was slightly stunned. She turned her head to take a nce of Shen Liangchuan and saw him frown. Although so, he walked forward as if nothing had happened. King smiled really pleasantly, looking as if he was harmless. However, when The Deputy Godfather saw him, it was obvious that his irises swelled and he stopped in his tracks. He anxiously took a nce at Shen Liangchuan and then nced at Qiao Lian. After that, his gaze fell on Su Penghao and the Godfather. Su Penghao and the Godfather were people who wouldn¡¯t let any matters go, no matter how small. If they found out the reason why he had caused them to lose the first match, they would definitely mock him and push him away. And that probably was what King had nned. He followed his team mates anxiously, hoping that King wouldn¡¯t say anything. He just wanted to finish the two remaining matches and win thepetition. After they returned home, he would be honest and tell them the truth. He would also ept any punishment they would give him. But not now. It was a moment where they needed full trust in one another without any doubts. The Deputy Godfather clenched his fist, followed his team mates and walked forward. When they finally stood in front of King, he didn¡¯t speak. The Deputy Godfather secretly let out a sigh of relief. However, when they were walking past them, King suddenly spoke, ¡°Hi, everyone.¡± After speaking in his broken mandarin, heughed and said, ¡°Shen, can we speak?¡± Shen Liangchuan and Qiao Lian¡¯s footsteps halted. Shen Liangchuan turned around and said, ¡°There¡¯s nothing to talk about between us.¡± After the interpreter had conveyed the message, King immediately panicked. He curved his lips, raised his finger suddenly and pointed at The Deputy Godfather. He started speaking in Hnguage. Chapter 1298 - End Game (38)

Chapter 1298: End Game (38)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The Deputy Godfather was thrown into a highly stressful and tense moment at once. His pupils shrank back. Staring straight at King, his eyes reddened. He suddenly understood. Right from the start, King had never intended to give him two million. He had used the million to tempt him, for the purpose of confusing him. And now, he was out to sow seeds of discord among their team members so that everyone would lose focus. He clenched his fists tightly and began to shake involuntarily. He hung his head. Thest thing he wanted was for someone else to tell the truth about him. He wanted toe clean by himself. He opened his mouth and started, ¡°I¡ª¡± Before he could go any further, Shen Liangchuan suddenly raised his hand to stop him. At the same time, after King had spoken and just as the interpreter was about to start, Shen Liangchuan pointed at the man and said, ¡°Shut up.¡± The interpreter was stunned. Shen Liangchuan was now looking at King. Then, he suddenly made a long and fluentment in Hnguage. That long speech sent King into a daze. His team members were stunned as well. Even Qiao Lian was stunned. Shen Liangchuan could actually speak Hnguage? On the other hand, it made sense. That would be right, since Shen Liangchuan knew eight differentnguages. How could he not know Hnguage? But what were they saying to each other? As she contemted this, King, now visibly shaken, said another long reply. Shen Liangchuan, however, gave him a sarcastic and derisive smile before he turned to the rest of the team and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± King was about to speak again, but it was toote. The words that he had wanted his interpreter to convey were almost immediately swept aside by a re from Shen Liangchuan. Just like that, the five of them walked to the restroom without giving King another chance to put another word in. Su Penghao and The Godfather were simply stumped by the episode. Although Su Penghao himself knew quite a fewnguages, he didn¡¯t know Hnguage. Hence full of curiosity now, he asked, ¡°Brother Shen, what did he just say? Why was he pointing at The Deputy Godfather?¡± The Deputy Godfather was immediately nervous. Scared out of his wits now, he looked up at Shen Liangchuan. Shen Liangchuan nced at him indifferently and said casually, ¡°He said that our support yer is a piece of trash.¡± Su Penghao was infuriated at once upon hearing this. ¡°Damn it! This person is simply too smug! This was only because The Deputy Godfather didn¡¯t have a chance to show his skills. If he did, King would be pulp by now!¡± Having said this, he looked at The Deputy Godfather and added, ¡°Make sure you give your best in the next segment! He dares to belittle our support yer. The guy¡¯s got a death wish!¡± The Godfather was hopping mad now as well and added, ¡°Exactly, brother, prime yourself and cheer up for the next segment, you hear me?¡± The Deputy Godfather was stunned and rooted to the ground, in a daze. He had seen King¡¯s expression and knew for sure that he must have said something to Shen Liangchuan. But Shen Liangchuan had covered up for him. He looked at the man with an expression of great surprise and suddenly, he was overwhelmed by the huge wave of emotions that had welled up within. The fact was that Shen Liangchuan had no obligation to cover up for him. All he needed to do was to get another yer to rece him and they would be able to continue. But that was not what he had chosen to do. He had stopped the interpreter from conveying the message, and had even retaliated with a viciouseback. Even though he had no idea what Shen Liangchuan had said exactly, he knew that the man had protected him. He curled his fingers into tightly clenched fists and nodded with determination, pledging, ¡°I will give my best for the next game!¡± Chapter 1299 - End Game (39)

Chapter 1299: End Game (39)

No one else had noticed The Deputy Godfather¡¯s shift of emotions. But Qiao Lian, as a girl, was sensitive enough to catch the issue at hand. She pursed her lips and turned towards Shen Liangchuan. She didn¡¯t know the details of what had happened, but she understood Shen Liangchuan¡¯s personality. Although in person he came across as a very cold and emotionless individual, the reality was that he had a forgiving and loyal nature. She recalled something that happened when she had just met him. There was someone on the team who yed poorly, so he often criticized him. But one time in a game, that person was yed by the enemy a few times and was taunted, ¡°What a noob, hahahaha.¡± That team member was so infuriated that she cried. Qiao Lian also had a forgiving nature so she immediately shot back, still standing in the nexus. After that, everyone else in the team joined. Only Shen Liangchuan was out there alone, clearing the jungle and quietly leveling up. At the time, Qiao Lian had thought what a quiet person he was. Besides, did he actually think the opponent was right in making those remarks? This person was really heartless and cold. But in the next ten minutes, she discovered his way of doing things. Shen Liangchuan yed the opponent who had taunted them numerous times. Eventually, after beating that person to pulp, he calmly and heroically typed out a message on his keyboard, ¡°Are we ying against bots?¡± That was a direct insult to the opponent. And it was that very same Shen Liangchuan that Qiao Lian had fallen in love with. She had stared at Shen Liangchuan¡¯s champion, moving through the field with fluid motions, with his dashing maneuvering and that air of steadiness, despite the fact that he had not been very much older than her. All these qualities of his had captivated her. As these recollections filled her mind, someone grabbed her wrist. Stunned, she looked up. It was Shen Liangchuan. She asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± He replied, ¡°So are you nning to follow us all the way?¡± Qiao Lian: ... She looked around. It was then she noticed that they were before the restroom. Since she had gotten distracted, she hadn¡¯t noticed that she had actually been about to step into the male restroom with the guys. Qiao Lian: ...!! She turned scarlet at once. Su Penghao burst outughing and said, ¡°I don¡¯t really mind if you came along.¡± In an immediate reaction to the joke, Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°I do mind.¡± Su Penghao: ... He realized suddenly whom he was making fun of and shut his mouth, falling into silence at once. Next to him, The Godfather lowered his head and sniggered. The Deputy Godfather continued to look at Shen Liangchuan with admiration in his eyes. Qiao Lian threw Su Penghao a nce and then rolled her eyes, saying, ¡°I¡¯m gone.¡± Then she quickly went the other way into the female washroom. ¨C By the time Qiao Lian was done and walked out, she saw Shen Liangchuan standing alone outside, waiting for her. Puzzled, she asked, ¡°Where are the rest?¡± ¡°They¡¯re gone.¡± ¡°Men,¡± Qiao Lian thought, ¡°they are fast!¡± She took a step forward and was about to put her arms around Shen Liangchuan, when she suddenly heard a voice behind, ¡°Xiao Qiao? Shen?¡± The couple turned around simultaneously. It was King and he was just walking out of the restroom. The interpreter was next to him. King carried an aggressive smile on his face as he looked at the two of them. After a moment, he said something which the interpreter quickly conveyed, ¡°Xiao Qiao, weren¡¯t you tortured pathetically in thest match?¡± Immediately, Qiao Lian frowned. Chapter 1300 - End Game (40)

Chapter 1300: End Game (40)

King had probably been provoked by what Shen Liangchuan had just done. Hence, he was now talking non-stop with his interpreter conveying his message closely behind, so that Shen Liangchuan couldn¡¯t get a word in. The interpreter said, ¡°Actually you¡¯re a pretty girl, do you want me to go easy on you in this segment? I have a suggestion. Spend a night with me and I¡¯ll let you off today, so that you won¡¯t suffer such an ugly defeat. How about it?¡± Qiao Lian was speechless. Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t be more disgusted. To think that this man could make such vilements with an innocent expression. She frowned. With an icy smirk, she was about to speak when King took a step forward and reached for her shoulder. At the same time, a dark silhouette quickly shed next to her and the next thing she saw was that Shen Liangchuan had grabbed King by his cor. Pushing the vile man into a retreat, Shen Liangchuan gave him a severe re. Panicking, King said some words in Hnguage. Shen Liangchuan narrowed his eyes and replied in Hnguage, in a simple sentence. Then he let go of King¡¯s cor and cast his gaze down. Turning around, he held his hand out in front of Qiao Lian. After a momentary pause, Qiao Lian immediately understood what he wanted. She quickly lowered her head and took out a napkin, holding it out to him. With a look of disdain, he wiped his hands clean and, in one stylishly elegant move, tossed the used napkin into the bin by the side. After this, he put his arm around Qiao Lian¡¯s shoulders and walked away without giving King another look. After turning the corner, Qiao Lian looked at Shen Liangchuan and said, ¡°What did King just say?¡± Shen Liangchuan cast his gaze down andughed icily. ¡°I reckon he was afraid I¡¯d hit him. So he said that if I tried using physical violence, I¡¯d lose my ce in thepetition.¡± Qiao Lian replied, ¡°What a coward! So what did you say?¡± Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°I said that if we hadn¡¯t been at the venue, I¡¯d crush his skull for sure, bastard, stay away from my woman.¡± Qiao Lian: ...!! How straightforward! Qiao Lian grinned broadly and leaned against his arm. Looking up at him, she asked, ¡°Was that all? I thought you said a lot more than that.¡± His expression darkened for a moment. Then he smiled faintly and said, ¡°Uh huh, that was all.¡± Qiao Lian believed him. However she gave a deep sigh and said, ¡°How bothersome to keep being targeted like this!¡± It was one thing being targeted ording to the enemy¡¯s n and strategy, but in thest segment, they had been targeted by King in a senseless fashion. He hadn¡¯t even farmed in the jungle, he had simply hid himself among the bushes, waiting to ambush her. It was simply perverse. Shen Liangchuan smiled again upon hearing this and said calmly, ¡°It won¡¯t happen again in this segment.¡± Curious, Qiao Lian asked, ¡°Why?¡± Shen Liangchuan did not exin. Thinking that he meant King would stop being so frivolous, Qiao Lian did not pursue further. They returned to thepetition venue and the matchmenced. The audience was now nervous given that they had lost the first segment. Their mood was considerably more high-strung than before. They were cheering and chanting their slogans even before the match began. The noise was deafening, the event was adequatelyrge. Qiao Lian took in a deep breath, knowing that this was a make-or-break match for them. If King and his team won this segment, them it would mean that they, CQ, would lose the entire tournament. Only if they won this segment, they would be able to go to the third andst match. In this segment, The Deputy Godfather made no errors and the champion pick proceeded without any issues. The second segment finally started. Qiao Lian continued to y mid, but as she was farming, she suddenly noticed that it was already four up against two on the botne. Chapter 1301 - End Game (41)

Chapter 1301: End Game (41)

King¡¯s team and their mid had gone to the bottomne. Qiao Lian¡¯s pupils shrank back at once. Were they... targeting Shen Liangchuan? She frowned. He was their adc yer. If he were to be put under severe attack, then this would be an even tougher game for them. Besides... King was supposed to be targeting her, but now why was he... She suddenly recalled that incident right before the match, when Shen Liangchuan had said something to King at length in Hnguage. Hence, it looked like there had been more to the conversation than what Shen Liangchuan had told her. She was certain that he had said something that must have agitated King. So that the pressure would all be on the bottomne and she, as a consequence, would have an easier time in the middlene. Secretly, she was touched by this gesture. Now she asked aloud, ¡°How are things in the botne?¡± Shen Liangchuan spoke calmly, ¡°Okay for now, our support is very aggressive.¡± Qiao Lian: ... After she cleared the minions, she shot a nce at The Deputy Godfather. He was putting in a serious effort in this segment and was staring intently at the screen, wide-eyed, as though doing this would enable him to see more clearly. Seeing how he looked like he was filled with boundless energy, Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help but smile. She pursed her lips, turned back to her screen and continued with the game. Although they were getting mercilessly targeted in the botne in this second segment, because The Deputy Godfather was going all out in his support role, he shouldered all the pressure. Shen Liangchuan was not captured even once throughout the game. Consequently, the topne and midne leveled up really well. When it came to the final group battle, as the support sacrificed himself to secure the positions of his teammates, the team managed to y all the opponents. Sacrificing one yer for five was an incredible end to the match indeed! CQ Team won this segment. Charged with emotions, the whole audience seated below got onto their feet at once. And Qiao Lian, looking at Shen Liangchuan¡¯s great aplishment on the screen, couldn¡¯t help but marvel in silence. Six kills and zero deaths. That was an awesome result. Then she looked at the support¡¯s statistics... They were too horribly tragic to behold. He had taken almost all the blows. As the second segment came to an end, everyone filed out for a break. They drank water, headed for the washroom. Because the second match had been brief, Qiao Lian and the team did not need to go to the restroom again. She then looked at The Deputy Godfather andmented, ¡°The support was absolutely out of this world in this segment!¡± The Deputy Godfather replied, ¡°Well, I can¡¯t be any less! Did you know what Brother Shen told me right before the match? Qiao Lian, Su Penghao and The Godfather all turned to look at him with a curious expression. Shen Liangchuan coughed softly. The Deputy Godfather thenughed and lowered his voice to say, ¡°He said that he had a bet with King, that for each death his hero suffered, he¡¯d spend one night with the guy.¡± Qiao Lian: ...!! She spun her head around to look at Shen Liangchuan. The Deputy Godfather smiled bitterly and continued, ¡°So for the sake of Brother Shen¡¯s morals, I had to go all out in this match.¡± Everyone was stumped. She leaned over to Shen Liangchuan and cleared her throat. She then said, ¡°Is that really what you told King?¡± Shen Liangchuan replied, ¡°Of course.¡± Qiao Lian: ... ¡°... not.¡± She sighed in great relief and asked, ¡°Then what exactly was it that you told him?¡± ¡°I told him that if I died even once, I would publicly admit on Weibo that he¡¯s superior to me.¡± Upon hearing these words, her eyes started stinging as she reached out for his hand instinctively. Chapter 1302 - End Game (42)

Chapter 1302: End Game (42)

Shen Liangchuan was a nationally-renowned Best Actor with tens of millions of Weibo fans. Of course King would have known this. The stake that Shen Liangchuan had ced was enormous. Because even the best yer couldn¡¯t guarantee he would sail through a game without being yed once. Besides, he was the adc yer, it was almost impossible to avoid getting killed. This not only tested his self confidence, it tested the level of his trust in his teammates. Especially the support role. In the segment they had just yed, The Deputy Godfather had made a huge aplishment. He had sacrificed his life for Shen Liangchuan four times, no less. He had to haveplete trust in The Deputy Godfather to pull off such a feat. Qiao Lian took in a deep breath as she observed her man, who was now stretching his lower backnguidly. His shoulders were broad, more than broad enough to hold up her world. No, they were more than broad enough to carry their team through everything. She bit her lip, overwhelmed by her deepening fascination with this man, who she had been observing throughout thepetition. ¨C Thus ended the second match. None of the yers from either side went to the restroom during this break, giving the reporters an opportunity to start interviewing King. A reporter shot some questions, ¡°King, what are your thoughts on thisst segment? Why did your team lose? Do you still feel that the standard of eSports in China falls behind country H?¡± Upon hearing these questions, King smiled and answered through his interpreter, ¡°Well, what happened was because Shenid a bet with me. He said that if he died even once during the game, he would admit on Weibo that he¡¯s inferior to me. This tempted me to make the wrong decision of focusing on the bottomne throughout the game. That was rather silly.¡± King had a helpless expression on his face. He continued, ¡°I know that some teams like to employ the clock tactic, but I didn¡¯t expect things to turn out this way. After all I¡¯m in the prime of youth, and I do get provoked by certain words.¡± ¡°Uh huh, but I have to admit that this was a very strong move by Shen.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure how topare China and country H, because this wouldn¡¯t have happened in country H... This segment was not exceptional in any way, it was just me losing my senses. So you know.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m going to make a serious effort in the final match. After saying all of this, he turned to the camera and put on an extremely cute expression. This expression was projected onto the big screen at the venue and seen by all the audience. At once, a silence fell right across the venue. But the reporters caught onto his implicit message. ¡°Are you saying that Best Actor Shen tricked you?¡± The man shrugged and said, ¡°There¡¯s an old Chinese saying that says nothing in war is too deceitful. So even though I lost this segment, I have to admit that I didn¡¯t have the right attitude.¡± He would only admit that he had had the wrong attitude, but would not admit that his skills hadn¡¯t been up to par. The CQ team members were infuriated at once when they heard this. Su Penghao said straightaway, ¡°Freaking hell! The unmatched shamelessness of the man! Is he saying we won by cheating? Why doesn¡¯t he look at all the underhanded means he¡¯s used so far? Prince¡¯s support yer Bamboo has now been taken out of the tournament. I heard recently that he¡¯s even been seeing a psychologist. He almostmitted suicide. King thinks that no one knows what he has done!¡± Chapter 1303 - End Game (43)

Chapter 1303: End Game (43)

Very obviously, people didn¡¯t know the inside story. Except now that King had said this, everyone would think CQ Team had to resort to underhanded means to defeat him. There was now a silence at thepetition venue, everyone was speechless. Su Penghao was livid, and The Godfather and The Deputy Godfather¡¯s expressions were as dark as the stormy skies. Qiao Lian frowned as she turned to look at Shen Liangchuan. Shen Liangchuan smiled icily and remarked, ¡°There¡¯s no hurry.¡± Flustered, Su Penghao said, ¡°I can¡¯t stand it that people have toe up with excuses for losing a game.¡± Shen Liangchuan cast his gaze down calmly and ced his fingers on the mouse. ¡°Then we will trash him till he runs out of excuses.¡± He made that assertive remark with such exceptional casualness. His steadfastness, however, calmed all his teammates down very quickly. It was in this state of mind that the final matchmenced. The fact was that in eSports, the championbination was of utmost importance. However in this segment, CQ Team had picked an obviously uniquebination of champions. The champion that they had selected for this match resulted in an obviously strong and tough formation. In other words, in this match, they weren¡¯t going to depend on strategy, but rather on the individual¡¯s maneuvering and moves. It would be a direct confrontation. This would reveal who had better ying skills. And in this third segment, Qiao Lian finally secured her signature champion, Xiao Qiao. At the same time, Shen Liangchuan secured his most frequently yed champion, Zhou Yu. Once again, Xiao Qiao and Zhou Yu stood shoulder-to-shoulder, drawing much shrieking and gasping from the crowd. Exchanging a quick nce between themselves, Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan smiled at each other. The matchmenced! The moment they hit the botne, the two teams got into a small team battle. Both Qiao Lian and the opponent¡¯s mid yer joined to help. In the 3 vs 3 team battle, Qiao Lian and her team members went for the kill. To the extent that King and his teammates, who had initially wanted to capture Shen Liangchuan, were now steadily retreating. And just as they were getting close to the protected area by their turret, Qiao Lian deployed a sh spell, dashed over and immediately killed an enemy. But at this moment, she was dangerously low on HP. Seeing that she was about to die, Shen Liangchuan dashed over and positioned himself in front of her, taking a wave of hits for her. Their exquisite coordination and chemistry immediately resulted in them killing another enemy. ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Go, CQ!¡± ¡°Come on, Xiao Qiao!¡± ¡°You go, Zi Chuan!¡± With that kill, CQ finally got into the game and started to show what they were made of. No other distractions, no underhanded tactics, it was pure, solid, fighting. The five yers were united like one, moving with a chemistry that was at once inspiring and frightening. CQ Team was like a heavenly troop, moving attack after attack, beating SX Team into a pathetic retreat. Now the capabilities of both teams was on disy for all to see. There was almost no suspense, this match was CQ Team¡¯s to win. When the victory symbol shed on the big screen, everyone in the audience got up on their feet. Staring at the victory message, they cheered, ¡°Long live China!¡± CQ Team had stamped their presence and proven their prowess through the strongest disy of their capabilities. And what a powerful p to their opponent! ¨C ording to tradition, after the match there would be an MVP, which was an interview with the best yer. Without a doubt, CQ¡¯s best yer was Shen Liangchuan. As he walked on the stage, the reporters asked, ¡°Best Actor Shen, is there anything you wish to say?¡± At once, the venue fell into a dead silence and everyone looked at him intently. Chapter 1304 - End Game (44)

Chapter 1304: End Game (44)

Shen Liangchuan was known as a high-quality celebrity, so no matter where he went he would be the focus of attention. On this very day, he had very sessfully attracted the attention of the fans at thepetition venue. Especially his daring movements and lightning speed maneuvering during the match. He shone in everyone¡¯s eyes. Everyone¡¯s eyes were now trained on the stage, looking at him extremely seriously. He said with his usual calmness, ¡°I first came into contact with eSports more than ten years ago. Currently, I¡¯m way over the optimum age for eSports. I¡¯m afraid today¡¯s match is probably myst in my eSports career.¡± All the fans present were at once crestfallen when they heard these words. It had also been like this many years ago. Zi Chuan had been like a new and rising star, and then he had vanished. Once again, he was like a night-blooming flower that was about to face daybreak. But he was right. He was too old. After the age of 25, the mental and physical reflexes of a gamer would start to decline, and if he continued taking the important positions, he would be CQ¡¯s liability. He had spent the best years of a gamer¡¯s life being an actor, he had missed out on his greatest dream and passion. However... Standing before the crowd, he continued, ¡°I remember, nine years ago, when our country didn¡¯t have professional eSports team clubs. When it was called gaming, we werepletely beaten to pulp by a certain team from country H. They provoked and taunted us, saying that we China could not defeat them.¡± The moment these words were spoken, all the fans at the event looked at King at once. They red at him with a critical eye, full of suspicion and disdain. The host said immediately, ¡°But today you¡¯ve led your team to defeat them.¡± Shen Liangchuan cast his gaze down and said, ¡°No, King is only a foreign yer. Today we merely defeated SX Team. My hope is to take this to the world out there, my wish is for our eSports to soar further and higher.¡± The host apuded. Everyone among the audience pped their hands wildly. Qiao Lian looked at her man with her head held high. Countless times in the past, she had looked at him with the same sort of admiration in her eyes. She admired him when she looked at the TV. She admired him when she saw him on those high rise buildings with huge advertising screens. And even as a reporter, she had looked at him with admiration every time they had run into each other at award ceremonies. But at the time, he had been a man of few words. Even when he was given the Best Male Lead Award for the first time and became a Best Actor, the only thing he had said when he went up on stage was an impassive, ¡°Thank you.¡± Everyone thought he was a man of few words, but what they didn¡¯t realize was that all these things weren¡¯t what mattered to him most. ESports was his dream and passion. Hence today, he spoke alot more than usual. Looking at him, her heart swelled with pride. The hostughed and continued, ¡°Best Actor Shen- No, wrong. Perhaps on the stage here, I should call you Zi Chuan. So Zi Chuan, a personal question for you, and I think this is everyone¡¯s question too. What other dreams and passions do you have now? The crowd fell silent upon hearing this question. They all looked at Shen Liangchuan Qiao Lian also looked at him intently. Like the scores of fans he had, she wanted to know what other dreams and passions he had. And right at this moment, she heard him saying unhurriedly, ¡°Xiao Qiao, please marry me.¡± Chapter 1305 - End Game (45)

Chapter 1305: End Game (45)

The camera had now zoomed into Shen Liangchuan¡¯s face, projecting it onto the central big screen. His expression was serious as he looked steadily into the lens. It was as though through it, he was looking into the eyes of the viewer. There were millions of eSports fans watching. In addition to this, there were Shen Liangchuan¡¯s own fans. Hence at this point, there was an unprecedented number of people watching the livestream match. Before the world, Shen Liangchuan had uttered the words that hade nine yearste: ¡°Xiao Qiao, please marry me.¡± The venue fell into a deafening silence. After ten seconds, cries of surprise suddenly broke out all over, people started whistling and yelling. All the eyes in the crowd seemed to be following his gaze, searching for Qiao Lian, who was standing among them in aplete daze in her CQ team uniform. Then the crowd parted automatically, opening up a path for her. A path that led to the stage, to Shen Liangchuan. Shen Liangchuan stood there on the stage, smiling, with his hand held out towards her. She stood rooted to the ground, her eyes still widened in astonishment. Time stopped at this very moment. The noise around her faded in the background, the colors had dimmed, as her focus was now trained solely on that one solitary figure on the stage. Qiao Lian¡¯s mind had gone nk, but the man on the stage was like a ma drawing her one step at a time towards him. She found herself walking to the stage, under his spell. As she took that onest step onto the tform, he reached out and took her hand tightly in his. She knew, in that moment of time, that there was no longer anything separating them. By the time she came back into her senses, the shrieks and cheers in the venue were deafening. Everyone in the audience was shouting, ¡°Say yes! Say yes!¡± Qiao Lian looked at Shen Liangchuan. He was staring back at her with his dark, piercing eyes. They were burning bright with an amazing darkness. She bit her lip and, under his deep and passionate gaze, nodded. The crowd broke out in an ecstatic cheer. Then the crowd kept demanding, ¡°A kiss!¡± ¡°Kiss!¡± ¡°Kiss!¡± They started to shout in unison. They shouted at the top of their voices. All that noise! Qiao Lian¡¯s face turned a bright scarlet as she nced back at the fans in the crowd. Wouldn¡¯t it be pure bragging to kiss under such circumstances? But the next moment, she suddenly felt a broad and tall figure take a step towards her. Then, a warm andrge hand pressed up against her back. She wanted to give a shout of rm but as she opened her mouth, a kissnded on her lips. ¡°Arghhhhhhhh!!¡± The crowd got excited andpletely charged up. Best Actor Shen had never even filmed a kissing scene. But he had kissed Qiao Lian before the world. ¨C Even after the interview, there was a buzz of excitement among the fans at the live venue. Thepetition organizer had no choice but to arrange for Shen Liangchuan and Qiao Lian to leave the venue through a special passageway. Apanied by the staff, they were led along the passageway. They hadn¡¯t gone very far when suddenly, they saw King in front of them. He was walking with his head lowered, wearing his baseball cap. However unlike them, King¡¯s posture made him look like he was a fugitive on the run. He cut a terribly sorry figure. When he heard the noise behind him, he spun around. He halted and narrowed his eyes when he realized it was them. Then he walked towards the two of them. Chapter 1306 - The Wedding (1)

Chapter 1306: The Wedding (1)

Qiao Lian had her arms around Shen Liangchuan¡¯s as they walked to the exit. When they saw King, they immediately halted. She slightly raised her chin and red at him haughtily. A look of pride that could onlye from the victor. The man frowned and gave an icy smirk. He made a lengthy remark innguage H and signaled to the interpreter to convey the message. The interpreter hesitated for a moment, looking rather troubled. Then he replied to King innguage H. King paused and looked furious at once. Then he pointed at the interpreter and talked angrily. The interpreter smirked, tossed the coat that he was carrying for King on the ground and said, ¡°I¡¯ve been sick and tired of you for a long time now. Saying nasty things about us Chinese when you¡¯re standing on Chinese soil, pushing your weight around in the club, it¡¯s downright disgusting! I¡¯m telling you, forget about my sry this month. Use it to buy yourself a flight ticket and scram! I quit!¡± He turned and walked away. King stared at the man nkly, at a loss for words. Qiao Lian burst outughing as she stood watching by the side. She had noticed that the interpreter would look terribly constipated every time he had to convey a message from King. Now, even he had lost his cool. She turned to Shen Liangchuan and said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you do him a favor and tell him what the interpreter has just said?¡± Shen Liangchuan: ... Going along with Qiao Lian¡¯s request, Shen Liangchuan conveyed what the interpreter had said. King¡¯s expression turned ugly at once. Pointing a finger at Shen Liangchuan, he spoke again. Curious, Qiao Lian asked, ¡°What did he say?¡± Shen Liangchuan exined with an indifferent expression, ¡°He said, ¡®Don¡¯t be too arrogant just because we¡¯ve won this match. There are so many high-skilled yers in country H, they will beat us to pulp in the international tournament.¡¯¡± Qiao Lian: ... With a serious expression, Qiao Lian looked at King. She said hurriedly and with confidence, ¡°We China are not inferior to any other country. ESports were developed in your country for many years, but it has started growing here recently. Just you wait, one day we will stand proudly on the podium of the international stage.¡± Shen Liangchaun nodded in agreement at these words and interpreted them for King. The man was furious. He pointed a finger at them and then walked out in a huff. After this, Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan continued along the passageway. Walking along, Qiao Lian suddenly halted and spun her head around to look at Shen Liangchuan. Shen Liangchuan: ?? She reached out and straightened the sunsses he was wearing. After staring into them for a long time, she gave a cry of rm, ¡°Oh no! I don¡¯t have any makeup on today! I must have looked really terrible standing beside you.¡± Shen Liangchuan was bbergasted. ¡°Arghhhhh, why did you have to propose today? If only you had told me earlier! I could have brought a change of clothes along. Look at this team uniform, it¡¯s terribly unttering.¡± Shen Liangchuan was speechless. ¡°Shen Liangchuan, say it, did you do this on purpose?! You knew you¡¯d look even better if I looked bad.¡± Then she picked up her cell phone in a panic and started to look for the pictures posted online. Shen Liangchuan was wearing the team uniform too, yet he looked tall, powerful and extremely dashing. Qiao Lian, on the other hand, looked like a high school student in a uniform. In addition, she had avoided makeup because of her pregnancy and that made her look very young. Looking at things... ¡°Honey,¡± Shen Liangchuan called her. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°You are the most beautiful in my eyes.¡± ¡°... Shen Liangchuan!¡± ¡°??¡± ¡°What a great liar you are!¡± Chapter 1307 - The Wedding (2)

Chapter 1307: The Wedding (2)

Shen Liangchuan had a faint smile on his face as he observed the blushing Qiao Lian, lowering her head and walking away at a quickened pace. He knew she was embarrassed. Looking down, he also quickened his pace and caught up to her. They exited through the back door, got into the van and headed back to the hotel. After ensuring that all the CQ team members were back, Qiao Lian washed up. By the time she walked out of the washroom and picked up her cell phone, she realized that it was flooding with messages. She had been mentioned and tagged countless times on Weibo, and even as she picked up the cell phone, it kept vibrating non-stop. She logged out of Weibo and sat on the bed in a daze, recalling Shen Liangchuan¡¯s proposal earlier today. The proposal had beenpletely unexpected and it had caught her off guard. Even now, she felt like it was a dream and she hadn¡¯t quite woken up from it. When Shen Liangchuan walked out of the bathroom after his shower, she was still in a daze. As he came near her, she caught a whiff of the fresh after-shower scent. She looked up immediately and noticed that he had a towel wrapped around his waist. He stood in front of her, bent over and lowered. Looking into her eyes, he asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Since he had just showered, some water drops were rolling down his face from his wet hair. They fell on his bare chest and continued their journey down, finally disappearing into the towel. Feeling the urge of that temptation, she coughed and quickly looked away. Then as though remembering something, she suddenly looked up at Shen Liangchuan. She asked, ¡°Outside the restroom today, King pointed at The Deputy Godfather and said something. What did he say?¡± Shen Liangchuan hadn¡¯t expected that question from her. He paused, wondering if he should tell her. And at this point, Qiao Lian¡¯s cell phone rang. She looked down at the screen. It was Su Penghao. His voice sounded from the other end of the line the moment she picked it up, ¡°The Deputy Godfather has gone nuts. He says he wants to tell us something and wants you toe over. And if Brother Shen can, he shoulde over too.¡± Qiao Lian nodded and replied, ¡°We¡¯ll be over right away.¡± She quickly got changed after hanging up, and left the room with Shen Liangchuan. The team was staying in the same hotel. As they walked along the corridor, Qiao Lian turned to Shen Liangchuan and asked, ¡°I¡¯m guessing you know what he wants to tell us.¡± The man was silent for a moment and said, ¡°Let¡¯s just listen to what he has to say.¡± She nodded as they arrived at Su Penghao¡¯s room. Su Penghao was staying in a suite, hence the team members were all gathered in the living area, with The Deputy Godfather standing in the centre. They saw the couple walk in. He finally took a deep breath and said, ¡°I¡¯ve asked all of you toe over because there is something I need to tell you. I can¡¯t just pretend it didn¡¯t happen, because it¡¯s eating away at my conscience.¡± ¡°Before the match today, King approached me saying that he¡¯d pay me two million if I lost the match. That was why I chose such a champion in the first segment.¡± The Godfather was immediately furious when he heard this. He jumped onto his feet and drew his posture straight, saying, ¡°Brother, what did you just say?! Say it again!¡± The Deputy Godfather hung his head and continued, ¡°I¡¯ve made a mistake. I know now I was wrong. That was why in the next two matches, I tried my best to salvage the situation. But even though we won, I¡¯m unable to get over my mistake. So I¡¯ming clean now and I will ept whatever decision the club takes.¡± Chapter 1308 - The Wedding (3)

Chapter 1308: The Wedding (3)

The people in the room fell silent when they heard these words from The Deputy Godfather. The Godfather raised a trembling finger at his brother, so angry that he couldn¡¯t speak. This wasn¡¯t something that Su Penghao could have expected. He looked at The Deputy Godfather, his expression full of disappointment, but more than that, he could note to terms with it. Ancestor White Bones stepped forward and spoke first, ¡°This is a serious matter, although you have realized your mistake. But if we just let it go like that, then what about the prestige of our team club?¡± Everyone nodded in agreement. Efforts must be rewarded, and errors should be punished. This was a principle that every organization should observe. If they didn¡¯t deal with The Deputy Godfather appropriately this time, then the team club would face management issues on the longer term. Finally, everyone¡¯s gaze shifted simultaneously to Shen Liangchuan. The man was silent for a moment, then he spoke unhurriedly, ¡°We¡¯ll impose a penalty worth three months of sry. The Deputy Godfather, do you object?¡± The Deputy Godfather¡¯s eyes lit up as he said immediately, ¡°Not at all! Not at all!¡± ¡°Uh-huh. We¡¯ve won thepetition, the prize money will be distributedter.¡± Compared to the prize money, what was three months of sry? It was only a symbolic punishment. Having said this, Shen Liangchuan lowered his voice and continued, ¡°yers switching team clubs in the country is amon thing. I don¡¯t ask that you stay with CQ Team forever, but I do have one request, that as long as you have a contract with us, you must not do anything that is unfair to CQ. Can you all do that?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded as he looked at his team of yers replying in unison. Then he lowered his gaze and continued unhurriedly, ¡°Although we¡¯ve clinched the national champion award, this is not our only target. We want to work towards the world champion award, so everyone has to train hard.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¨C After this matter had been dealt with, Qiao Lian followed Shen Liangchuan and they walked back to their room. Her eyes were intently fixed on him, even after they had returned to the room. She remembered that when King had spoken, no one except Shen Liangchuan had understood what he was saying. That was the reason why he had retorted innguage H. It was so that King would not have any reason to speak at all. Because if word about The Deputy Godfather¡¯s matter got out and started spreading among outsiders, it would indeed look bad for them. That had been Shen Liangchuan¡¯s way of protecting his teammate. Resting her chin on her knuckle, she stared at the man with a curious expression and asked, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, when King told you about what happened with The Deputy Godfather, what was your reply to him?¡± Shen Liangchuan froze momentarily upon hearing this question. Then he tilted his head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t remember.¡± Qiao Lian eximed, ¡°... How could you not remember?¡± ¡°Hurry up and tell me. I really want to know what you told him that caused him to jump in fright.¡± Shen Liangchuan frowned and said, ¡°I said shut up, or something along the lines.¡± Qiao Lian muttered, ¡°Oh.¡± Her eyes were still trained intently on him. After a while, she added, ¡°Shen Liangchuan.¡± ¡°Uh-huh?¡± ¡°Why do you trust The Deputy Godfather so much?¡± If he didn¡¯t trust the guy, he wouldn¡¯t have given him a chance to y in the next segment. If The Deputy Godfather had continued to sabotage them in the next two segments they would have lost for sure. Shen Liangchuan said in a gentle tone as she was contemting this, ¡°Because he is our teammate.¡± With her eyes fixed steadily on the man, she was shaken to the core by his answer. She looked at him in astonishment and, after a moment of silence, gave a firm nod. Chapter 1309 - The Wedding (4)

Chapter 1309: The Wedding (4)

The following day, both of them returned to Beijing. When they arrived home from the airport, they saw that there were a few people gathered at the front door. Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan exchanged a nce. As they got out of the car, Xia Yehua rushed up to them and said, ¡°My- my- my son is finally going to hold his wedding! This is great news after all the hard work you¡¯ve put in!¡± Shen Liangchuan: ... She made it sound as though Qiao Lian had taken care of him a lot. Blushing, Qiao Lian started, ¡°Mom.¡± ¡°Eh! Let me tell you. We¡¯ve decided to organize a grand wedding for you, what do you think?¡± Qiao Lian was rather overwhelmed and said, ¡°Mom, that¡¯s not really necessary. Given that we¡¯ve been married for almost a year, inviting rtives and good friends to the wedding will be good enough.¡± Xia Yehua shook her head and said, ¡°No way. You¡¯ve nned a wedding for an old woman like me, so there¡¯s no excuse for not having a grand one for yourself and Liangchuan! Besides, how many times can a woman have a wedding in her lifetime? Although this is my second one, I hope that you and Liangchuan will have only one. So there has to be a wedding, and a grand one.¡± Qiao Lian: ... Qiao Lian was about to say more, but Shen Liangchuan suddenly reached out and held her wrist, saying, ¡°Fine, Mom, I¡¯ll leave this matter in your hands then.¡± Immediately, Xia Yehua nodded and said, ¡°No problem!¡± However Shen Zihao, who was standing by the side, said, ¡°But which day do we choose? Do we have Big Brother and Sister-inw¡¯s wedding right after Mom¡¯s?¡± Everyone fell silent upon hearing this. Xia Yehua frowned and said, ¡°It¡¯s best for a family to have no more than one wedding a year. I think maybe it¡¯s best that we hold off Old Li¡¯s and my wedding till the next year. Let¡¯s have theirs this year!¡± Qiao Lian protested at once, ¡°Mom, Uncle Li has waited so many years for you, you must not dy it anymore. We¡¯re in no hurry for our wedding. Shen Liangchuan and I have been together a long time.¡± Shaking her head, Xia Yehua insisted, ¡°No way. You will have given birth next year, so you won¡¯t be in the best of health condition. Besides, you¡¯d be out of shape. Are you going to have a wedding carrying a six-month-old baby in your arma?! I can wait, but you can¡¯t.¡± Qiao Lian: ... As everyone started to interrupt with their opinion, Shen Liangchuan suddenly suggested, ¡°Why don¡¯t we have our weddings on the same day? Can¡¯t we do that?¡± Xia Yehua fell silent for a moment. Shen Zihao immediately nodded in agreement. ¡°That¡¯s right, this is a great idea. Since we¡¯re marrying off our Mom, who has looked after us for so many years, we have to make it up by bringing in a sister-inw. Otherwise we¡¯d be short of a person in the family.¡± A silence. That tone of reluctance... It was as though Xia Yehua was his precious daughter. Xia Yehua nced at Li Mao hesitantly and saw that he made no objection. Then her gaze shifted to Qiao Lian. After all, it was her wedding. Would she be willing to share the limelight with someone else? Obviously, she had underestimated the girl. Qiao Lian eximed with excitement, ¡°This is great! First, we wouldn¡¯t have to book another venue. Mom already has one! Besides, we¡¯d only need to invite the guests once and we¡¯ll get two shares of presents.¡± No one seemed to have any objections. Hence, with everyone still dizzy from the turn of events, the wedding ns were finalized. The event was to take ce in two weeks. During that time, Shen Liangchuan started to take up his role in the Shen family enterprise. On a particr day after work, when he was just getting ready to leave for home to pick up Qiao Lian for the wedding photoshoot, he suddenly got a call from the Senior Master. The Senior Master summoned him to the main home, saying that there was something he wanted to discuss. Chapter 1310 - The Wedding (5)

Chapter 1310: The Wedding (5)

Upon arrival at the old home, Shen Liangchuan found the Senior Master practicing t¡¯ai chi in the courtyard. As he had been very busytely, Shen Liangchuan had not visited the old man for a while. Now that he saw the Senior Master, he realized that his grandfather¡¯s hair had turnedpletely white. Even though the old man¡¯splexion didn¡¯t seem very much out of the ordinary, it did look like his body was weakening. Likelihood was that Shen Xiu¡¯s death had taken a big toll on him. The young man sighed. Although he had not spent a lot of time with his grandfather as he was growing up, the fact was that every time he visited the old man, he would show great fondness for him. And although the Senior Master had not intervened when Shen Xiu kicked his mother and him out of the family, it would be a lie to say that Shen Liangchuan had no affection for the man. Seeing that his grandfather was still exercising, he walked towards the coffee table by the side and picked up a tea cup. Once the old man finished his set of moves, Shen Liangchuan walked up without a word and handed him the tea. The old man paused as he looked at the tea cup. He reached out for the drink. Looking at Shen Liangchuan and pointing to the bench by the side of the courtyard, he said, ¡°Take a seat.¡± Shen Liangchuan walked over and sat down. The Senior Master sat next to him and started unhurriedly, ¡°I¡¯ve always believed that a leader needs to be cold and unemotional. When your father kicked you out, I knew but I did not intervene. The reason was firstly to allow that experience to shape you. Secondly, I felt that your father had always felt inadequate andcked confidence next to you. And I wondered if he would grow to be more responsible without you around, so I did not interfere in this matter.¡± ¡°But now that he has died, I suddenly realize I actually do care for him. Sometimes, being alive is far more important than being capable.¡± ¡°I¡¯m beginning to even wonder if I had made a mistake. I had always felt that your father had a lot of time still. I thought that once the both of you had reconciled, he¡¯d realize your capability and woulde to ept you. But sigh... life is unpredictable!¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded as he listened to the old man talking. The old man continued, ¡°In recent years, your father became increasingly ridiculous. It was all because of Mei Feng¡¯s instigation. That¡¯s why there¡¯s the saying that if one were to take a wife, then it should be a virtuous wife. Choosing a wife is extremely important.¡± Shen Liangchuan was slightly surprised by his remark. The old man continued, ¡°So have you given careful consideration to marrying this young caster?¡± Shen Liangchuan replied, ¡°Granddad, we are already married. This event is but a wedding.¡± Senior Master Shen waved his hand and continued, ¡°I don¡¯t really want to hear all that. As long as there was no wedding, a quiet divorce is always possible. My only question to you is, are you sure this woman is the one?¡± Without a moment of hesitation, the young man replied, ¡°That is right.¡± The old man snorted coldly and made a gesture. Butler Cai walked up almost immediately with a document in his hand. Pointing to the document, he told Shen Liangchuan, ¡°This is the document for the transfer of thepany shares. If you¡¯re willing to take a woman with a good family background instead, I will transfer mypany shares to you. This will give you the official capacity to make decisions. But if you insist on marrying this girl, then I will treat you like your father, you will only have the management authority before I die, and no actual shares. You can take a day to think about and weigh the two options...¡± Chapter 1311 - The Wedding (6)

Chapter 1311: The Wedding (6)

Before the old man could finish, Shen Liangchuan interrupted with a hand gesture and said, ¡°Granddad, that¡¯s not necessary, I have already thought it through.¡± Pointing at the document, he continued, ¡°From my perspective, all these things added together are not half as important as her. I am certainly marrying her.¡± The Senior Master frowned and said, ¡°And if I insist on stopping the wedding?¡± Shen Liangchuan frowned and replied, ¡°Then I can only give up my duties as the Shen family enterprise¡¯s CEO. In any case, the Shen family still has Zihao.¡± The Senior Master was bbergasted. He waved his hand. Butler Cai retreated at this signal. The Senior Master cast his gaze down and said, ¡°You get married then, I couldn¡¯t care less about it. But... I do not like the girl, so don¡¯t bring her when you visit.¡± Shen Liangchuan picked up his jacket and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I wouldn¡¯t want to put her in any difficult position.¡± Having said this, the young man walked towards the exit. After he had taken a few steps, he suddenly turned around and said, ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right, Granddad, since you do not like her, then we won¡¯t send you a wedding invitation. I think you probably won¡¯t want to witness my mother¡¯s second marriage.¡± After saying this, he walked away. The Senior Master was bbergasted. Of course he had no wish to witness that wedding. However when Shen Liangchuan had said he wasn¡¯t going to send him an invitation, that had annoyed him to no end. Frowning indignantly, the old man thought to himself, ¡°Who wants to go to your wedding?!¡± ¨C After leaving the family home, Shen Liangchuan headed to the photo studio. On the way there, he picked up a call from Qiao Lian. ¡°Where are you? Why aren¡¯t you here yet?¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s tone softened at once as he replied, ¡°I¡¯m arriving.¡± ¡°Oh, have you seen what¡¯s on the inte?¡± Shen Liangchuan asked, ¡°What?¡± ¡°Hahaha. I¡¯m not sure who dug up all the dirt on King and exposed him. So it seems that King left country H¡¯s national team not because he retired, but because he was booted out for breaking the club¡¯s regtions. That was why he came to China to develop his career. And someone found out about the match we yed in the bar, they actually figured out that Pad is King! Theymented how shameless it was for a bunch of professional yers to pick on a few students. And someone also added that King has aplicated private life, he had a few girlfriends or something. In any case, he¡¯s receiving a lot of hate now.¡± Shen Liangchuan honestly had no interest in King¡¯s plight. But since she was so obviously gleeful, he naturally indulged her. ¡°Uh-huh, and then?¡± She went on, ¡°And then because of the bad reputation he got, SX Team had to disband. Now King won¡¯t be able to get anywhere in China and it seems he has left, dejected. But he is still a celebrity gamer and even if he were to flee to another country, news has spread and he won¡¯t have an easy time.¡± Laughing, Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°Are you done?¡± ¡°I¡¯m done.¡± Qiao Lian said and continued, ¡°Oh, Shen Liangchuan, our wedding. Are we having a Chinese wedding or a Western one? You¡¯re being so secretive. What are you up to?¡± Upon hearing this, Shen Liangchuan reflexively massaged his temple with one hand. Looking straight ahead as the van drove along, a faint smile appeared on his face. He started, ¡°I¡ª¡± Before he could get past that first word, his pupils shrank back suddenly. Out of the blue, a little sedan had appeared. It headed straight at Shen Liangchuan¡¯s van and crashed right into it. Chapter 1312 - The Wedding (7)

Chapter 1312: The Wedding (7)

Shen Liangchuan¡¯s pupils shrank back as he saw the oing driver suddenly veer to the opposite direction. The car skidded and rammed into the guardrail by the side of the road. But in Beijing city traffic was slow in general, hence at this point, the ident resulted in just a graze on the front of the car. Shen Liangchuan and the driver had suffered no injuries at all. On the contrary, it was that other car that had appeared all of a sudden,ing from the opposite direction, that had been hit by another car. It had hit and knocked down an electric pole. The ident had happened too suddenly, but eventually everyone got over the initial shock. The people were now pointing at the car that was going against traffic, talking to each other. Shen Liangchuan remained in the car, as his identity made it inconvenient for him to get out. He did not want to cause chaos, hence he sat in the car coldly observing the other car¡¯s driver. It was Mei Feng. She was in the driver seat. Her car had knocked over the electric pole and the impact had thrown her forward, so her forehead had crashed into the windscreen. Now there was a big gaping wound on her forehead and it was bleeding. She got out of her car. In the sorry state that she was in, she red fiercely at Shen Liangchuan¡¯s vehicle. Shen Liangchuan looked at his chauffeur, who was in the driver seat, and said nothing more than, ¡°Call the police.¡± The chauffeur nodded immediately and dialed 911. The traffic police arrived very shortly and they tried to take Mei Feng away to deal with her. However at this point, the chauffeur got out of the car and walked towards the traffic police. He pointed at Mei Feng and said, ¡°We suspect this to be a premeditated murder attempt, so we¡¯ve made a police report.¡± Mei Feng¡¯s head snapped up when she heard this. Staring at Shen Liangchuan angrily, she said, ¡°You want to sue me? Shen Liangchuan, what right do you have to sue me?¡± The man continued to sit in his car, he did not get out. However, Mei Feng¡¯s words stunned the people who had gathered around. Everyone looked simultaneously at the van and inquired curiously: ¡°Best Actor Shen?¡± ¡°My god, is it Best Actor Shen in there?¡± ¡°Is that Best Actor Shen in the car?¡± As everyone was whispering and wondering, Mei Feng started to raise her voice and shout, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, I¡¯m your stepmother! You can¡¯t do this to me! The moment your father died, you kicked me out of the house. You unfilial son! I was with your father for more than ten years, and now you just kick me out like that? Shen Liangchuan, if you force me into a dead end, I won¡¯t let you off either.¡± Everyone was stupefied when they heard what she said. Everyone knew that Shen Liangchuan was a Best Actor, but he was also the Shen family enterprise¡¯s CEO. The people didn¡¯t know the details of what had happened and they didn¡¯t understand. But right now, it seemed like the things Mei Feng was saying would give them some juicy insights. Hence, everyone started to pay attention with a look of nosy curiosity and refused to go away. They wanted to listen to what Mei Feng had to say. At once, the situation had turned quite disadvantageous for Shen Liangchuan. It would take a bit of time before the police arrived. He couldn¡¯t get out of the car either. After all, confronting and arguing in the streets with Mei Feng wasn¡¯t something he could even bring himself to do. The chauffeur, on the other hand, was a man of few words and certainly couldn¡¯t stand up to a verbal fight with her. Just as Mei Feng was getting an upper hand in the situation, a voice suddenly rang out, ¡°Mei Feng, you¡¯re nothing but a mistress, but you have the guts to create a din here?¡± The moment these words were spoken, the crowd spun around and saw Qiao Lian walking towards them. Mei Feng¡¯s pupils shrank back as Qiao Lian walked up to her. She raised her finger at thetter and retorted fiercely, ¡°Don¡¯t you dare speak nonsense! What mistress? It¡¯s your mother who is the mistress. She was kicked out of the Shen family without a cent to her name because she was caught having an affair with Li Mao and your father discovered it.¡± Chapter 1313 - The Wedding (8)

Chapter 1313: The Wedding (8)

Those words triggered the clueless but nosy crowd at once. The people stared at them, interested, as this mysterious and puzzling situation unfolded. Qiao Lian smiled icily and said, ¡°You are funny. My mother-inw left the Shen family without taking a penny, and what then? To survive, Shen Liangchuan joined the entertainment industry. If my mother-inw had really been with Uncle Li, why would Shen Liangchuan have needed to work so hard? Conversely, the moment my mother-inw left, you couldn¡¯t even wait to move into the Shen Family residence. Don¡¯t think that people are stupid. Anyone who uses his brain will know who the mistress is!¡± Mei Feng¡¯s pupils shrank back as she turned to look at the gathering crowd. Curling her fingers tightly into fists, she retorted, ¡°There¡¯s no point dwelling on the past. I¡¯ve been married to your father for many years, what right have you got to target me like this the moment he dies?! This is too much!¡± Qiao Lian chortled. ¡°I like your thinking. Target you like this? Look at this situation, who is being targeted?!¡± She pointed at Shen Liangchuan¡¯s car and asked the woman, ¡°Who caused this collision by driving against the traffic? Who is causing trouble?¡± Mei Feng answered, ¡°If it weren¡¯t for you people forcing me to a dead end, I wouldn¡¯t be doing this!¡± Qiao Lian looked at the woman and shook her head. Turning to the crowd, she continued, ¡°I really don¡¯t know what she means by dead end. If it weren¡¯t for us forcing you? So are you saying we should have deliberately lost the game to SX Team, to show that we weren¡¯t forcing you? Should we have admitted that our Chinese professional teams are not as good as the teams from country H? The reason you established SX and employed the help of a foreign gamer was to defeat us and beat us. So what wrong have we done in winning the game?!¡± Among the crowd that had gathered, there were some who had watched the match. Besides, the recent scandals around King had spread far and wide, almost everyone knew about it. Hence when they heard that King had been scouted from country H by her, they were immediately infuriated. They turned to look at Mei Feng with great disdain in their eyes. Qiao Lian fixed her gaze on the woman as she continued, ¡°After my father-inw died, we kept our separate ways. It¡¯s you who would frequently stir trouble! People are not fools, my father-inw left a few of hispanies to you upon his death and there was a significant amount of cash too. You yourself know best where you¡¯ve spent all this money!¡± ¡°On top of this, my father-inw died of a stroke. The doctor already made clear that if he had been well taken care of and been given his medicine in time, this wouldn¡¯t have happened. And what did you do?¡± ¡°He died just next to you, but you imed you were sleeping soundly. Is your conscience clear?¡± ¡°So what right have you got to me Shen Liangchuan? What right have you got to im you¡¯re a victim and try to kill Shen Liangchuan with your car?! We will make sure to press charges today and have thew deal with you.¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s words were fair and righteous. She carried a great sense of justice as she stood there, saying these things with logic and reason. In addition to the matter concerning SX Team, the tables had now turned against Mei Feng. Everyone shifted their gaze onto the woman, staring at her with me and disdain. In this instant, the police arrived as well and took Mei Feng under their control. The woman red at Shen Liangchuan¡¯s vehicle and shouted angrily before she was taken away, ¡°Shen Liangchuan, I curse you! You will never find happiness in your life! Hahaha. You killed your friend Soul Fighter, so why should you continue to live so freely?!¡± ¡°Shen Liangchuan, even if I go to jail, I will curse you every day from my cell so that you¡¯ll feel that you¡¯re better off dead! I¡¯ll curse you till you lose sleep, I¡¯ll make sure you¡¯re continuously haunted by nightmares!¡± Chapter 1314 - The Wedding (9)

Chapter 1314: The Wedding (9)

In the wedding photo studio. As Qiao Lian changed out of her clothes, Shen Liangchuan was holding his cell phone and making a call to Song Cheng. With an icy voice he instructed, ¡°Get the bestwyer. We¡¯ll ensure that the woman never sees the light of day again.¡± ¡°Roger, Brother Shen. I¡¯m on the case so don¡¯t worry! Stop thinking about it now, get changed and make sure you get loads of beautiful pictures.¡± At these words, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression softened and he nodded. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll leave it to you then.¡± He sighed as he hung up. Just at this moment, Qiao Lian walked out of the changing room. She had changed into a white gown with a train. Her exquisite skin tone matched the dress perfectly, and her beauty would easily stun any onlooker. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s eyes lit up at once. As she was pregnant, Qiao Lian had chosen to go bare-faced without makeup. But even then, her peaceful expression made her look surreal, like a graceful immortal in her wedding gown. She nervously fussed with her gown and looked at Shen Liangchuan, asking him, ¡°Will I look too pale without makeup?¡± Staring at her, he shook his head. She smiled immediately. She walked in circles around the room, her veil floating around her. She was a picture of pure beauty. When the photographer saw the couple from outside the doorway, he was sopelled by her beauty that he picked up his camera and started to snap pictures of this scene. In the picture, the setting sun had infused the room in a warm and reddish glow. The man sat elegantly on the sofa in his ck suit, gazing at his bride before him. Obviously, he doted on her. The woman was smiling happily in her white wedding gown. The joy of that moment was a memory worth capturing. ¨C Because of her pregnancy, they did not take too many pictures. The few they took were to use during the wedding. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s intention was to take her to a seaside resort for their honeymoon, after the child had been delivered. He would arrange for another photo shoot then. Qiao Lian made no objections to this. It was dark by the time they got back to the Shen vi. Xia Yehua was waiting for them at home. The family had dinner together, after which Shen Liangchuan hustled Shen Zihao into the study upstairs, to discuss the details of the wedding event. Qiao Lian and Xia Nuannuan exchanged a look. Qiao Lian pointed upstairs and asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Xia Nuannuanughed and said, ¡°Big Brother said that he wanted to give you a special wedding, so he got quite a number of nners to work on it. But it seems he¡¯s not satisfied with their work so far, so now he¡¯s got Shen Zihao to help him with the nning.¡± A special wedding? Qiao Lian¡¯s eyes lit up and, suddenly, she found herself excitedly anticipating the event. It wasn¡¯t until 11 p.m. that Shen Liangchuan returned to his own bedroom with a sheepish look on his face. When Qiao Lian saw him, she immediately went up to him and asked, ¡°What were you guys discussing?¡± Shen Liangchuan nced at her and asked, ¡°You really want to know?¡± Qiao Lian nodded. He stretched his hand out towards her. She immediately leaned over and paid close attention. The next thing she heard him say was, ¡°It¡¯s a secret.¡± Qiao Lian: ... Shen Liangchuanughed as he got onto his feet and headed into the bathroom, much to her annoyance. Hence, after Shen Liangchuan hade out of the bathroom, he saw Qiao Lian lying alluringly on the bed. She made a provocative gesture. As Shen Liangchuan walked over, she asked teasingly, ¡°Do you want it?¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s eyes darkened at once. Then she said, ¡°You¡¯re not getting it.¡± Shen Liangchuan: ...! ¨C Very soon, the day of the wedding came. Right from early in the morning, there was a lot of hustle and bustle in the Shen vi. Chapter 1315 - The Wedding (10)

Chapter 1315: The Wedding (10)

Because Qiao Lian did not have her own apartment in Beijing, she checked into a hotel the night before the wedding. Since she had no rtives, Xia Nuannuan and Shi Nianyao apanied her at the hotel. As Qiao Lian was pregnant and Xia Nuannuan wasn¡¯t in the best of health, Shi Nianyao seemed to be the only person with a boundless reserve of energy. But still she was powerless against the incessant yawning of the other two girls, so she went to bed at 11 p.m. the night before. Early next morning, the three of them were woken up by the sound of someone knocking on the door. Shi Nianyao rolled over and buried her face in the nket. She grumpily went back to sleep. Qiao Lian opened her eyes and looked around her, but her view was blurry. Seeing how these two were, Xia Nuannuan sighed and got up to open the door. This room that Shen Liangchuan had booked for them was in fact a suite with three bedrooms, but the three of them had ended up squeezing into one bed. Upon opening the door, Xia Nuannuan was greeted by a few people in uniforms. She ushered them to the living room and then went into the bedroom, yelling, ¡°Lian Lian, hurry up and wake up. The makeup artist and stylist have arrived.¡± She looked at Shi Nianyao and said, ¡°Nianyao, wake up. You¡¯re the bridesmaid, you¡¯ve got to do your makeup too.¡± Rubbing her eyes as she sat up, Shi Nianyao gave a big yawn and replied, ¡°Ok, ok.¡± After the three of them had gotten ready, the makeup artist and stylist walked into the room. As Qiao Lian was washing her face, she heard a loud exmation outside, ¡°Woah! This is too beautiful!¡± ¡°Ahhhhhh, I want one too! It¡¯s stunning!¡± When Qiao Lian heard these words, she paused and walked out of the bathroom. She saw Shi Nianyao and Xia Nuannuan staring at the wedding gown and making a huge fuss over it. She approached them with her toothbrush still stuck in her mouth and mumbled, ¡°What about it?¡± Shi Nianyao held up the gown and turned around, saying to Qiao Lian, ¡°Lian Lian, what an unbelievably beautiful wedding gown! Who designed this?¡± Qiao Lian nced at the wedding gown and she froze. The next moment, she dashed into the bathroom and rinsed out her mouth. Then drying her hands, she walked out again. She stared at the gown. Xia Nuannuan took the gown and walked towards her, holding it up against her momentarily. She eximed, ¡°My god, such a stunning gown. Why didn¡¯t Big Brother even get you to try it on?¡± She bit her lip. Suddenly, she started to tear up. The wedding gown was beautifully designed. The train on the gown added dignity to the design, and the short front portion of the dress would show off her slender legs, making the whole look very attractive and adorable. Wasn¡¯t this... Xiao Qiao¡¯s wedding dress in the Lot game? One time, they had released a series of lovers¡¯ matching skins for Xiao Qiao and Zhou Yu, and the dress was very simr. Except that in the game, Xiao Qiao¡¯s wedding dress had been a little revealing, whereas after some redesigning, this wedding gown was perfect for both her status and her physique. Staring at the gown, she suddenly recalled that Shen Liangchuan had mentioned he was going to give her a surprise. A surprise. This must be one? She grinned as she looked at the wedding gown, wondering what other surprises were in store for her. ¡°Ms. Qiao, this is the breakfast that Mr. Shen asked us to bring to you. He¡¯d like you to finish it before you do your makeup and change into your gown. This is because the lunch banquet may start quitete, he¡¯s worried that you¡¯ll get hungry.¡± This considerate and meticulous gesture on his part drew incessant praises from Xia Nuannuan and Shi Nianyao. Chapter 1316 - The Wedding (11)

Chapter 1316: The Wedding (11)

Makeup started after breakfast. After everything was in order, Xia Nuannuan called out, ¡°They¡¯reing, they¡¯reing! I can see that the wedding car has arrived.¡± Everyone got onto their feet upon hearing this, and they shut the door excitedly. Five minutester, there was a knock on the door. Before Qiao Lian could speak, Shi Nianyao dashed up and shouted, ¡°If you want me to open the door, hand over the red packets.¡± At once, two big red envelopes appeared through the crack under the door. Shi Nianyao raised an eyebrow and tossed one red envelope to Xia Nuannuan, while stuffing the other into her own bag. Then she continued watching the door. Shen Liangchuan spoke, ¡°Xiao Qiao, open the door.¡± Qiao Lian stood up and was about to walk over to the door, when Shi Nianyao continued, ¡°If you want us to open the door, sing a song for Lian Lian to proim your love.¡± Errr. Sing? Singing wasn¡¯t something Shen Liangchuan did, not even when he had taken part in the talent show. They wondered how he would do at singing. As they were pondering, Shen Liangchuan asked, ¡°What song do you want me to sing?¡± Shi Nianyao thought for a moment and said, ¡°Sing ¡®Marry You.¡¯¡± Qiao Lian: ... Qiao Lian paused for a while. Then she heard him sing. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s voice was deep and very pleasant, but this song didn¡¯t seem very suitable for his voice range. Hence, he had to change his key. By the time he was done singing, Xia Nuannuan and Shi Nianyao wereughing so much that they couldn¡¯t straighten up. Shi Nianyao said, ¡°How unexpected that the great Best Actor isn¡¯t good at something! Hahaha.¡± Ignoring the remark, Shen Liangchuan said as though nothing had happened, ¡°Will you open the door now?¡± Resting her chin on her knuckle as if deep in thought, Shi Nianyao said, ¡°Let me think what else we want.¡± Shen Liangchuan replied immediately, ¡°How about I give you Mo Xicheng? Will that open the door now?¡± Shi Nianyao was stumped. Those words were pure poison. Immediately, she stopped making things difficult and threw open the door, saying, ¡°Best Actor Shen,e right in please!¡± Everyone was bbergasted. The annoyed Qiao Lian pointed at Shi Nianyao and said, ¡°Nianyao, you traitor, forgetting your friend the moment you see your lover. It¡¯s all about the men! You caved in just like that!¡± Shi Nianyao¡¯s gaze fell on the man in a ck suit standing behind Shen Liangchuan. He had a flower pinned on his coat pocket. The obvious Best Man bad turned beet red. She stuck her tongue out at Mo Xicheng and then turned to look at Qiao Lian, saying, ¡°Lian Lian, it¡¯s not as though you¡¯ve only just gotten to know me.¡± Qiao Lian was speechless. The moment Shen Liangchuan entered the room, he saw Qiao Lian standing there in all her beauty and radiance, grinning back at him. His eyes lit up at once. Quickly, he walked up to her. Just as he was about to sweep her up into his arms, Xia Nuannuan eximed, ¡°Big Brother, you have to look for her shoes!¡± Stunned, Shen Liangchuan asked, ¡°What do you mean look for shoes?¡± Laughing, Xia Nuannuan exined, ¡°Lian Lian doesn¡¯t have her shoes on. We hid her heels, you¡¯ve got to look for them before you can take her away.¡± The man was stumped. His eyes wandered around the room. He walked over to the side cab, opened the doors and started searching. After a while, all he managed to find was one of the heels stuffed between the crack of two sofa seats. But where was the other shoe? Mystified, he continued looking. Behind him, Shen Zihao hooted. ¡°Good grief, Big Brother, will your big task of taking a wife be thwarted by a shoe? Hahaha, the auspicious hour has arrived and you can¡¯t find a shoe.¡± Frowning now, Shen Liangchuan looked at Qiao Lian and said helplessly, ¡°Give me a hint.¡± Chapter 1317 - The Wedding (12)

Chapter 1317: The Wedding (12)

On this request, Qiao Lian looked in the direction of the hanging chandelier. Shen Liangchuan looked up and studied the chandelier. Indeed, there seemed to be a dark shadow of something among the lights. This rendered everyone speechless. What an extreme location to hide a shoe! The man quickly stood up on the sofa and retrieved the shoe. Just as he was about to take Qiao Lian away after she had slipped her shoes on, Shi Nianyao came up to them again and said, ¡°Hang on, don¡¯t be in a hurry.¡± At these words, she pretended to make an apple appear and held it before the couple. ¡°The both of you have to take a bite out of this together before we call it a done deal!¡± Shen Liangchuan: ... Qiao Lian turned scarlet at once. It seemed like a tough act, having to bite the apple right in front of so many people. Looking at Shi Nianyao, she said, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t this be something for the bridal hazing instead?¡± With a mouth twitch, Shi Nianyao retorted, ¡°Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know how difficult it¡¯s going to be for us to ess your home tonight! So this apple has to be eaten now.¡± Qiao Lian: ... Shen Liangchuan, on the other hand, could only nce at Mo Xicheng and shake his head, saying, ¡°Mo Xicheng, you and Shi Nianyao have made it really difficult for us today. Wait till the day you get married, I will repay you double.¡± Mo Xicheng: ... Shi Nianyao: ... Shi Nianyao¡¯s grip on the apple weakened and it almost fell on the floor. She looked at Mo Xicheng pleadingly. With a nk expression, the man sighed and said, ¡°Since we¡¯vee to this, let¡¯s go all the way then! Wouldn¡¯t we be at a terrible disadvantage otherwise?¡± An implicit approval. Shi Nianyao was immediately excited and startedughing. She said, ¡°Indeed, indeed. If you can¡¯tplete this task, you¡¯re not going anywhere!¡± Everyone started to nod in agreement. Having no choice, Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan could only oblige. The two of them put their hands behind their backs as Shi Nianyao held the apple up, swinging the fruit between the couple. Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan looked at each other in the eye and, the moment the apple swung to the middle, the two of them lunged forward together. Initially they had thought that like this, they would be able to secure the apple between their mouths and take a bit of it. But unexpectedly, at the critical moment, Shi Nianyao suddenly drew the apple upwards. Qiao Lian wanted to go back, but it was toote! On the other hand when Shen Liangchuan saw Qiao Lian lunging towards him, he realized that if he dodged out of the way, the situation would be quite embarrassing for Qiao Lian given that so many people were looking. Besides, looking at those luscious red lips, he had no desire to dodge anyway. So he kissed them! ¡°Woah!¡± ¡°Rawr.¡± ¡°Encore!¡± Amidst the din created by the rest, Qiao Lian frantically steadied herself to regain bnce. She shot Shi Nianyao a dirty look. Thetter stuck out her tongue at Qiao Lian and put the apple away. She said, ¡°Fine, fine. I¡¯m just teasing you guys. Now the groom may take the bride with him. Our bride is running out of patience.¡± Qiao Lian blushed again at those words. Finally at this point, Shen Liangchuan scooped Qiao Lian up into his arms and made his way down with the entourage. Once they got downstairs, they stood there staring at the cars. Someone said aloud, ¡°Traditionally, the bride should be escorted by her siblings into her car. Is there no one here from the bride¡¯s family?¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s expression darkened at this question. Qiao Yi was studying abroad. Because of bad timing, he had only taken his university entrance examination the day before. Hence, he would be only arriving tonight. So now... Chapter 1318 - The Wedding (13)

Chapter 1318: The Wedding (13)

As everyone stood there pondering this, a voice suddenly said, ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± When Qiao Lian heard the voice, she froze and spun around. She saw Lu Nanze striding towards them. Her pupils shrank at once as she asked, ¡°What are you doing here?¡± The man cast his gaze down¡ªhis eyes were glistening with an unfathomable expression. After a moment, he said, ¡°Uh huh. I¡¯m here to apany you to the wedding venue.¡± Qiao Lian: ... The man looked at Shen Liangchuan and said, ¡°I grew up together with Qiao Lian, I¡¯m like a big brother to her. So let me escort her in the bridal car today.¡± Upon hearing this, the groom nced at his bride and, after a moment, nodded and gave his agreement. With this, Lu Nanze got into the front passenger seat. At the wedding ceremony, it should have been Qiao Lian¡¯s father taking her hand and walking her down the aisle to Shen Liangchuan. Now Lu Nanze also shouldered this role. Very soon, the bridal car pulled up at the hotel. Outside the hotel, a group of reporters had already gathered. However, they had not been invited into the venue, as Shen Liangchuan had not intended to make this wedding a public affair. After getting out of their car, Shen Liangchuan and Qiao Lian posed for some pictures for the reporters outside the hotel entrance before walking into the hotel lobby. The long red carpet that paved the way on the floor added a joyous feeling to the asion. Everyone who had turned up for this asion brought with them their sincere blessings and good wishes. They were all close friends. Following the group¡¯s lead, Qiao Lian was first ushered to the lounge to rest while she waited for the ceremony to officially start. But as she was waiting in the room, she suddenly heard footsteps approaching. She frowned and looked up. Then she saw the silhouette of a tall figure at the door. Her pupils shrank back at once as she froze momentarily. ¡°Xiao Yi?¡± Qiao Yi smiled and nodded. He walked briskly into the room. He was in a suit, it made him look exceptionally tall. The young man looked at Qiao Lian and eximed, ¡°Sis, I¡¯m back!¡± She nodded but asked curiously, ¡°But didn¡¯t you say you¡¯d only arrive tonight? So how did you get here this quickly?¡± Qiao Yi scratched his head and said, ¡°Brother-inw arranged for a helicopter to take me. I headed back here immediately after my entrance exams yesterday! Sis, your wedding is a lifetime event, how could I possibly miss it?¡± He got onto his feet at this point and took out a bankbook. He held it out to Qiao Lian and said, ¡°Sis, this is my wedding gift to you.¡± Qiao Lian paused and lowered her head to look at the bankbook in her hand. She saw that it was a gift of 500 000. This sum of money may not be much to Shen Liangchuan, but when Qiao Yi had gone abroad, she had only given him 100 thousand. And to think that... She looked up at him in astonishment and asked, ¡°Where did you get this much money?¡± Smiling broadly, Qiao Yi assured her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve started a small business with a few friends. How could Ie here without a wedding gift for my sister on her wedding day? I remember Dad once said that he¡¯d prepare for you a huge dowry on the day you got married, that he¡¯d drown his inws with money to ensure they treat you well. I don¡¯t have that capability right now to drown brother-inw with money, but I do believe that one day, I¡¯ll be that unwavering support for you.¡± Qiao Lian nodded upon hearing these words. Suddenly, she was overwhelmed by emotions. As she pondered those precious words, they suddenly heard amotion outside the room. Pausing for a moment, she then got onto her feet. Shi Nianyao dashed into the room and said, ¡°Hurry,e with me. Shen Liangchuan and Lu Nanze are having an argument!¡± Chapter 1319 - The Wedding (14)

Chapter 1319: The Wedding (14)

Having an argument? Lu Nanze had gotten into an argument with Shen Liangchuan at their wedding? Qiao Lian suddenly felt nervous. Could it be that Lu Nanze had still not epted the facta and was now causing trouble again? With this thought, she stood up, hitched up her gown and walked towards the doorway. When she got to the doorway, she saw Shen Liangchuan and Lu Nanze in front, exchanging words in a low voice, apparently in some sort of disagreement. Fortunately the wedding ceremony had not started. Qiao Lian nced at the people around, lowered her head and walked briskly to the two men. As she approached, she could hear them saying: ¡°We can¡¯t ept this money,¡± that was Shen Liangchuan speaking. Lu Nanze replied, ¡°This is not for you, it¡¯s for her.¡± ¡°She¡¯s my wife, and I¡¯m saying we can¡¯t ept it so that¡¯s that.¡± Lu Nanze was unfazed. ¡°This is my wedding gift to her, what right do you have?¡± The groomughed icily. ¡°Well then, Mr. Lu, who are you to give her this wedding gift?¡± Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes. At this point, Qiao Lian had caught up with what was going on. She cleared her throat and squeezed her way through to the men. Then she said, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Lu Nanze lowered his head and said unhurriedly, ¡°I¡¯ve got you a wedding gift, Mr. Shen here is refusing to ept it. This is hrious, I¡¯ve never heard of the groom¡¯s family rejecting wedding gifts from the bride¡¯s family.¡± Qiao Lian: ... Qiao Lian tugged at Shen Liangchuan and said, ¡°It¡¯s just some money. Let¡¯s just ept it. The man doesn¡¯tck money anyway.¡± She knew Lu Nanze too well. He was as stubborn as an ox. If they didn¡¯t ept it, today¡¯s wedding event could end up being spoiled. As the thought ran through her mind, Shen Liangchuan frowned and said after a considerable pause, ¡°It¡¯s not just some money.¡± It wasn¡¯t just some? How much was that then? A few million? The fact was that even if it was a few tens of millions, it was pocket change to people like them, what more a few million. Why was Shen Liangchuan being so picky today? The problem would be resolved if he just epted it without making a fuss. She was going to speak again when Shen Liangchuan held something out to her. She nced down at it and at once she was shocked. Because it wasn¡¯t a few million dors, nor was it a few tens of millions. It was a transfer of shares document. It was written on the document that Lu Nanze would transfer ten percent of the Lu family enterprise¡¯s shares as a wedding gift to her. Ten percent! Currently, the Lu family enterprise¡¯s estimated value on the market was a few billion. In other words, ten percent would amount to a few hundred million. That was a rather hefty wedding gift to say the least. Qiao Lian frowned and turned to Lu Nanze, asking for a rification, ¡°Second Brother, what do you mean by this?¡± The man looked at her for a while and then said, ¡°You may think of it as the Lu family¡¯spensation to the Qiao family.¡± Qiao Lian lowered her head when she heard these words. There were no doubts about it, the Lu family had done wrong to the Qiao family. But these shares... She finally understood why Shen Liangchuan was declining them. If she epted the gift, from that point on, it would create an inextricable rtionship between herself and Lu Nanze. They would be the Lu family enterprise¡¯s shareholders and Lu Nanze would have countless excuses to look for her, imposing himself into their lives. But honestly... The Lu family owed her this money. The Qiao family¡¯s business at the time had been worth a few hundred million indeed. So from this perspective, these shares weren¡¯t unreasonable. So should she ept thispensation? If she did that, then it was going to be hard to draw a clean line between them in the future. She would have preferred it a whole lot more if he had simply given her a check. At once, she found herself in a conundrum. Chapter 1320 - The Wedding (15)

Chapter 1320: The Wedding (15)

Shen Liangchuan and Lu Nanze were both extremely stubborn people. If this matter didn¡¯t get sorted out, they wouldn¡¯t be able to get on with the wedding. Qiao Lian frowned and, as she was still trying to think of an out, Shen Liangchuan sighed deeply. She immediately understood that he was about topromise. After all, this was their wedding. But she didn¡¯t like that the man she loved had topromise. Hence before Shen Liangchuan could say anything, she looked at Lu Nanze and said, ¡°Fine, I will ept these shares.¡± Lu Nanze¡¯s eyes lit up. However the next moment, Qiao Lian turned and signaled Qiao Yi. Qiao Yi walked towards her. Then she held out the document to Qiao Yi and turned to Lu Nanze, saying, ¡°We, the Qiao family, ept this act of apology. The head of the Qiao family is Qiao Yi, not me. These shares belong to Qiao Yi.¡± Qiao Yi was stunned upon hearing these words and he immediately spoke, ¡°Sis...¡± But in that same moment, he suddenly understood. Given this particr situation, he had no choice but to ept it. He lowered his head and looked at the amount written on the check, casting his gaze down. In the past, before his legs had recovered, he had depended on his elder sister to earn a living for the two of them. Now that his legs had recovered, he had in the first instance given his sister 500 000 as a wedding gift, but now in turn she gave him a few hundred million. A sister like this... How could he possibly fail her? He took the check in his hand and looked up, saying, ¡°Fine, I will ept this check.¡± Having said this, Qiao Yi pocketed the check. At the same time, he told himself... Giving his sister happiness was not just about ensuring she had money. His gaze fell on the empty seat on the front row. Senior Master Shen had note to the wedding. It was a clear signal to everyone that he didn¡¯t like thismoner as his granddaughter-inw. But... that was alright. Qiao Yi cast his gaze down. From now on, he would be his sister¡¯s support. He was determined to work hard, so that his sister would be a woman with a good family background. There was a sh of determination and far-sighted wisdom in his eyes as he stood there, looking at the person before him. No one would have guessed that this young man in his twenties would one day achieve such a huge aplishment, that he would build a business empire and be a legend in the industry. When the reporters would interview him and ask him what had inspired him, his answer would be: to protect someone he loved dearly. Later on, Senior Master Shen would live with one regret for the rest of his life. He would often tell Qiao Yi that the one thing in his life that he regretted the most was not that he had had a hopeless son, and it was not that he had done nothing when Shen Liangchuan and his mother had been kicked out of the Shen Family, but that he hadn¡¯t attended Shen Liangchuan¡¯s wedding. He had missed an important moment for his excellent granddaughter-inw. Of course, these are stories that woulde muchter. Right now, Qiao Lian¡¯s remark made Lu Nanze¡¯s expression change immediately. But Qiao Lian did not look at him again. Instead, she had turned to Shen Liangchuan and asked, ¡°Is the wedding ceremony about to start?¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded. She did not speak further. She turned and headed back into her lounge. Lu Nanze stood on the spot as he stared at her figue. Then his lips turned upwards into a self-mocking smile. It was only after Qiao Lian had walked into her lounge that he took in a deep breath. Shen Liangchuan, on the other hand, lowered his gaze as he invited the man, ¡°Mr. Lu, please take your seat.¡± Everyone who had turned up was a guest, of course he was polite with them. Lu Nanze frowned as he nodded. At this same time, a quiet, shy voice sounded behind Lu Nanze, ¡°Hub- hubby.¡± Chapter 1321 - The Wedding (16)

Chapter 1321: The Wedding (16)

Lu Nanze paused upon hearing this voice. He turned around to look at the person standing behind him now. Her small face had a quiet air about it, and she looked not much more than about eighteen. She was wearing a conservative purple gown that seemed a little mature for her age. Like a child secretly trying on an adult¡¯s dress. When Lu Nanze saw it was her, he frowned as a reflex. This was Qiao Yiyi, the girl who shared the same name as the other Qiao Yiyi. She was still in college this year, and she was a bright and obedient girl albeit somewhat timid and uncertain. Even as her husband was eagerly vying for another woman¡¯s attention, she seemed rather nervous. To put it quite frankly, she was in many ways a little unpresentable. Not that Lu Nanze cared. As long as this woman was able to ensure his family line, he was fine with it. At least, this woman was clean... at least. Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes as he looked at her. Among the many Qiao Yiyi¡¯s, he had picked her at first nce. This had been because her eyes somewhat resembled Qiao Lian¡¯s. They were clear and bright. However, while such a pair of eyes were dazzling and projected hope on a spirited person like Qiao Lian, on this lifeless and dull girl they seem tock that sparkle. Lu Nanze cast his gaze down and nodded. Then he turned to nce at the lounge. He led Qiao Yiyi to their designated seats, but before they got there, he halted and pulled a pendant out of his pocket. Holding the object out to Qiao Yiyi, he said, ¡°Go to the bride¡¯s lounge and give this to her. Just tell her that it¡¯s my wedding gift.¡± Immediately, Qiao Yiyi took the pendant with both hands, in a respectful manner. She nodded. With that, she headed towards the lounge. On her way there, however, she heard a few snide remarks. ¡°Oh, look at that timid girl. She¡¯s quite ugly, isn¡¯t she?!¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t have a good figure either. I don¡¯t get it. Why did Lu Nanze even pick her?¡± ¡°Exactly. And also did you see it? Just now when Mr. Lu was trying to flirt with Ms. Qiao, she didn¡¯t even react. Do you think she¡¯s not quite in her right mind?¡± ¡°What do you know? Everybody knows that she only managed to marry Lu Nanze because her name is Qiao Yiyi. Otherwise how could she have possibly gotten a man like Mr. Lu? So what can I say, really?¡± With a word here and there, those peoplepletely ignored her presence. And even when she turned to look at them, they continued their conversation without caring. Qiao Yiyi¡¯s eyes shed for a moment as she listened to them. Without saying anything, she continued to walk ahead. At this point, a waiter who was carrying a tray with sses of red wine on it walked past her. She suddenly stretched her leg out to make the waitress trip. At once, the tray shook and the sses of wine flew away,nding directly on the group of gossipy women. In that moment, cries of rm came from their direction. The red wine had rained on them, so there were now ugly red patches on their gowns. However, Qiao Yiyi had a petite frame so she was able to nimbly squeeze her way out. The women berated the waiter. ¡°What on earth is wrong with you?¡± The waiter immediately apologized. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, I¡¯m so sorry. I felt someone trip me.¡± But when he turned around, there was no one there. Ignoring themotion behind her, she almost skipped her way to the lounge. At the door, she twitched her mouth as a reflex and knocked on the door. ¡°Come in.¡± Given the permission to enter now, Qiao Yiyi pushed open the room door and walked in. As she did so, she saw Qiao Lian and Xia Nuannuanughing, apparently over something they were talking about. Chapter 1322 - The Wedding (17)

Chapter 1322: The Wedding (17)

Qiao Yiyi stood near the doorway, looking extremely reserved. Qiao Lian paused in surprise when she saw the girl. As she was puzzling over who the girl might be, someone introduced her, ¡°This is Lu Nanze¡¯s wife, Qiao Yiyi.¡± A sudden look of realization crossed her face. She quickly got onto her feet, walked over to Qiao Yiyi and asked, ¡°Why are you here? Do you want to take a seat?¡± Qiao Yiyi stared at Qiao Lian for some time and then suddenly hung her head, saying, ¡°No, no, I- I just came to see you.¡± Qiao Lian smiled in a very friendly manner and said, ¡°You¡¯re here to see me? So now you¡¯ve seen me!¡± The girl nodded and squeezed the pendant in her hand tightly. Nodding again, she said, ¡°Yes, indeed.¡± Qiao Lian looked at her in silence and, after a while, asked, ¡°And is there something you wish to say to me?¡± Qiao Yiyi looked back at her and then shifted her gaze over to Xia Nuannuan, Shi Nianyao and the rest who were behind her. The girl said, ¡°No, I¡¯m just here to see you. I¡¯ll... go then.¡± Qiao Lian was mystified, but nodded. Qiao Yiyi slowly made her way back out. Then she turned around and looked at Qiao Lian again. Qiao Lian was still looking at her with a serious expression on her face. Qiao Yiyi smiled shyly at her and walked away. When she left the lounge, Qiao Yiyi immediately lowered her gaze and tried to hide the mixed emotions in her eyes, before she continued her way. She hadn¡¯t gone far when she suddenly heard someone in front saying, ¡°What sort of background does this Qiao Lian have? To have Mr. Lu give her such a wedding gift and to be marrying Best Actor Shen.¡± ¡°Who knows? I think she¡¯s a vixen.¡± Qiao Yiyi lowered her head and walked past these people, acting as though she had not heard a thing. Except that after she had walked some distance, she halted and turned back to look in the direction of the lounge. She clearly understood the situation. Lu Nanze was obviously the one pestering Qiao Lian to no end. What had Qiao Lian got to do with it? She looked down at the pendant in her hand. Then she turned back, clutching the object tightly in her palm. She quickened her pace as she walked back to Lu Nanze. When Lu Nanze saw that she had returned, he tried to look nonchnt as he asked, ¡°How was it?¡± Qiao Yiyi passed the pendant back to him with her head lowered. Lu Nanze was stunned and looked up. ¡°Why? She didn¡¯t ept it?¡± Qiao Yiyi nodded. He frowned and said, ¡°You can¡¯t even carry out a simple task as instructed!¡± She continued to look down without saying a word, seeming extremely inarticte. Seeing that getting mad at her or berating her wasn¡¯t going to get him anywhere, he had no option but to seethe inside. But he was also relieved, on the other hand. From the start, he had wanted an obedient wife. Hence her dullness did fit his idea. Lu Nanze lowered his head at this thought, trying to hide the difort he was feeling. The fact was he knew what he was doing was wrong. Obviously the couple had made up, so he was only making unwanted advances and creating trouble. He had even thought that if Shen Liangchuan saw this pendant, he would surely feel some unhappiness. Lu Nanze would be happy with just creating tension between the couple. But as he looked at the pendant and thought about the fact that Qiao Lian had rejected it, he suddenly regretted his actions. If only he hadn¡¯t tried to give her a gift. Now he was quite sure that Qiao Lian could see what he was up to, that she thought less of him for it. Chapter 1323 - The Wedding (18)

Chapter 1323: The Wedding (18)

In the lounge. Qiao Lian sighed as she stared at the frail disappearing figure. ¡°I just have a gut feeling that this girl isn¡¯t as dull as she appears to be. There¡¯s a sparkle and me in her eyes. She seems very lively.¡± Shi Nianyaoughed at Qiao Lian¡¯s remark and said, ¡°Exactly. Don¡¯t be fooled by this girl¡¯s outward appearance!¡± Surprised, Qiao Lian asked, ¡°What makes you say that?¡± Shi Nianyao startedughing and rted the incident that had just taken ce outside. Qiao Lian was astonished upon hearing this. ¡°So this time, Lu Nanze has gotten himself entangled with quite a character!¡± Shi Nianyao nodded. Shaking her head, Qiao Lian continued, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I don¡¯t suppose Second Brother won¡¯t have much time in the future toe looking for me, which would be a good thing in reality.¡± As they nodded in agreement, suddenly they heard a voice yelling outside, ¡°The time has arrived!¡± Immediately, the three women got onto their feet. Qiao Lian straightened her wedding gown and touched up her makeup. Once Xia Nuannuan and Shi Nianyao thought she was ready to go, she headed out of the room. Just outside the room, Qiao Yi was already waiting. When he saw Qiao Lian walking out, he held out his hand towards her at once with an elegant motion. Staring from not far away, Lu Nanze found this an annoying eyesore. Initially, he had been going to be the one holding her hand and giving her away to Shen Liangchuan, but now... Lu Nanze cast his gaze down. Qiao Yi was now holding Qiao Lian¡¯s hand, and Shi Nianyao, as the bridesmaid, walked by her side. They stepped on the red carpet and then, one step at a time, walked towards the stage. Shen Liangchuan smiled when he saw her. He walked down from the stage. The couple met in the middle of the long red carpet. Qiao Yi took his ce in front of Shen Liangchuan now. His heart, mind and soul were, in this moment, all focused on Qiao Lian. His eyes did not leave her for even one second. She was melting down by the way his eyes were fixed on her. She lowered her head shyly, as Shen Liangchuan held his hand out towards them. Qiao Yi looked at the man. After a while, he took Qiao Lian¡¯s hand and ced it into Shen Liangchuan¡¯s. Shen Liangchuan had now taken the bride¡¯s hand, but Qiao Yi did not let go. Both Shen Liangchuan and Qiao Lian were slightly surprised and turned to look at Qiao Yi. They saw that his eyes had reddened. He looked at Qiao Lian and then at Shen Liangchuan before he started, ¡°Brother-inw, today, I represent my father in handing my sister over to you.¡± Shen Liangchuan paused and nodded. Qiao Yi bit his lip and continued, ¡°My dad always said something when we were young, something which I would like to tell you today.¡± Shen Liangchuan said, ¡°Please go ahead.¡± Looking at Qiao Lian, he said, ¡°My sister is emotional and impulsive. She was spoiled by Dad from a young age, so she has a bad temper. But to everyone in the Qiao family, my sister is the most beautiful princess in the world. All of us hoped that she would always be happy and healthy. Hence, Brother-inw, from now on you will have to tolerate her tantrums, love her, cherish her, and if she has any inadequacies, don¡¯t take it up with her. You cane and talk to me... and I will represent my father in educating her.¡± As the boy spoke, his eyes turned redder. Qiao Lian was already crying. Dad Qiao had been exceptionally doting on her since childhood. As a child, she had been a mischievous kid. Yet today, she was a married woman. But her parents, who had doted on her, would never see this moment. Chapter 1324 - The Wedding (19)

Chapter 1324: The Wedding (19)

Looking at the two crying siblings, Shen Liangchuan¡¯s expression turned serious. He looked at Qiao Yi and said, ¡°I am giving you and ourte Dad my word today. All my life, I will be true to her. I will not let her down.¡± These words fell with great weight. He then turned to look at Qiao Lian. Qiao Yi nodded and took a step backward. Shen Liangchuan supported Qiao Lian by her hand as, one step at a time, they walked onto the stage. After the young couple had taken their ce on the stage, it was time for Xia Yehua to walk down the red carpet for the second time in her life. With Li Mao taking her hand, the second couple took their ce on stage. It was Shen Zihao who gave his mother away to Li Mao. The two married couples stood on the stage as the emcee hosted the asion. They had chosen touching background music to apany Xia Yehua and Li Mao¡¯s story. A photo storyline of the two of them appeared on the big screen. There was also a video. The video was a collection of well wishes from the couple¡¯s good friends. The guests apuded as they watched the video with good wishes, showing support towards the couple¡¯ste-blooming romance. Xia Yehua was moved to tears, whereas Li Mao grinned broadly, looking much like a fool rather than the sharp businessman that he normally was. Finally Xia Yehua spoke, ¡°We are both old and it¡¯s not our first wedding. The stars today are actually my son and daughter-inw. I am fortunate to be sharing this joyous asion with my daughter-inw. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s an experience most of you will have, hahaha. So now I, the old folk, will take a step back while I hand the spotlight over to them.¡± With this, she hitched up her long gown and walked down from the stage with Li Mao. Now there were only Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan on the stage. The moment Xia Yehua left the stage, Qiao Lian found herself at a loss. Seeing that Shen Liangchuan was silent, she realized this was a part of the n. She understood Xia Yehua¡¯s intentions. After the gossip news had created a storm on the inte, she now wanted a low profile wedding. She didn¡¯t wish to make the headlines again. She had even wanted to just get the marriage certificate without a wedding ceremony. She had only agreed to the joint event only after much persuasion by Qiao Lian and Xia Nuannuan. But she was so quiet about it that one would have not noticed her involvement. Of course, Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan could not force her. Hence after the older couple had gone off stage, only Qiao Lian and Shen Liangchuan were left standing there. Looking at the both of them, the emcee said, ¡°There is in fact a story behind the two of them. Everyone, please watch the big screen.¡± Qiao Lian raised her head curiously to look at the screen, wondering what sort of video Shen Liangchuan had put together. Unexpectedly, what shed on the screen was... An advertisement. It was the Lot advertisement that she had filmed. It was Xiao Qiao and Zhou Yu¡¯s advertisement! This advertisement had never been released after filming, so Qiao Lian had thought that they had canceled it. Never in her imagination would she have thought that it would make its debut broadcast here and now. After filming the advertisement, she had not seen the final product and now... The first scene was the first meeting between Xiao Qiao and Zhou Yu. This was followed by scenes of their subsequent meetings, till at the end, they were fighting back-to-back on the battlefield. Chapter 1325 - The Wedding (20)

Chapter 1325: The Wedding (20)

It was a little different from the couple¡¯s actual history, but the point was to create a certain effect in the game and to add a fairytale element to their story. Hence, this advertisement had been an exceptionally romantic production. There was the canyon scene from the game, where Xiao Qiao and Zhou Yu stood together at the edge of the cliff looking over the great expanse of river and mountains. And there was the scene where they danced together in their lovers¡¯ matching skins. Till the final scene of Xiao Qiao and Zhou Yu in their wedding outfits. Qiao Lian was stunned, as she realized that someone had superimposed real images of them onto the animated scene. The image transitions were seamless. After this scene was yed, Shen Liangchuan took a step back. Looking straight at Qiao Lian, he slowly got down on a bent knee. Like magic, he took out a bouquet of red roses. And even this bouquet was styled simrly to the one that Xiao Qiao carried for her wedding in the game! Raising the bouquet and his gaze towards her, he said, ¡°Xiao Qiao, we met and got to know each other in this game. And I hope that, like the two characters in the game, we will always rely on each other as we go through this journey. So will you please marry me?¡± Will you marry me? It was a phrase everyone was well familiar with. And it wasn¡¯t even the first time that Shen Liangchuan was proposing to Qiao Lian. Previously, after the eSports tournament had ended, he had proposed once. But this time... Qiao Lian was moved in a different way. With her head slightly tilted and looking at the man on a bent knee, she suddenly pursed her lips andughed. In an instant, her vision blurred as the memories of their past shed through her mind, scene after scene. Her persistently clueless behavior, her stubbornness, her repeated attempts to y him in the game. Eventually, she would run after him calling out Zi Chuan, Zi Chuan. Andter on, when she got better, she would take on the world together with him. Right up to the time they yed a couple¡¯s match. Shen Liangchuan had asked her, ¡°Xiao Qiao, shall we team up?¡± Then they became a couple in the game when she confessed and he epted. Finally, it had moved to real life. She remembered the first time she saw him, she had been at the lowest point in her life. She had seen him in entertainment programs, motivated by his proactive attitude towards life regardless of his situation. From then onwards, she had never looked back and had be Shen Liangchuan¡¯s loyal fan girl. One fine day, like a meat pie that had rained down and fallen right into herp, she had married her male idol. Even ifter on she had found out that the marriage was nowhere as simple and innocent as she had first thought. But after jumping through all the hoops and going around in circles, they had found themselves back at square one. At this thought, Qiao Lian buried her face in her hands as she teared up. She took in a deep breath and heard the guests below the stage chanting, ¡°Marry him, marry him!¡± She lowered her head and looked at Shen Liangchuan. After a moment, she extended her hand and epted the bouquet from him. Among all the roses in the bouquet, there was a diamond ring ced on the tallest stalk. Chapter 1326 - The Wedding (21)

Chapter 1326: The Wedding (21)

Shen Liangchuan got back onto his feet and took the diamond ring from the rose. He slipped it into her finger. In the instant their fingers intertwined, it was as though nothing would ever separate them again. ¨C The wedding ceremony came to an end, it was time for the toasts. Qiao Lian followed Xia Nuannuan and Shi Nianyao as they headed to the lounge. She had to change into her ceremonial dress to attend the toast with Shen Liangchuan. During the wedding ceremony, she had worn a wedding gown, so the ceremonial dress was a traditional Chinese wedding dress. When the luxurious traditional wedding dress was unveiled, it caused a suddenmotion in the room. ¡°It¡¯s exquisite!¡± Shi Nianyao eximed at once. She took a step forward to examine the wedding dress. ¡°It¡¯s simply breathtaking! Qiao Lian! Did Best Actor Shen have this wedding dress specially designed and tailored for you?¡± Qiao Lian smiled upon seeing the dress. It was certainly a wedding dress beyond imagination. With the help of the stylist, she put on the dress and had her hair simply re-done. Once everything was ready, they walked out of the room. At the same time, Shen Liangchuan had also gone to the room next door to change. Although he had short hair, because of his good looks, it didn¡¯t look strange at all when he wore the traditional wedding outfit. The traditional Chinese wedding outfit matched the joyous and celebratory feeling of the asion. When the two of them, in their dragon and phoenix dresses stood next to each other, they looked beautiful. Hand-in-hand, they made their toasts. After this, they took their ces at the banquet table and started their meal. Shen Liangchuan sat next to Qiao Lian. After a while, his cell phone vibrated. He looked down at the screen and then nced at Qiao Lian. Seeing that she was almost done eating and was just taking small bites of dessert now, he spoke, ¡°Xiao Qiao.¡± She looked at him questioningly. He grinned at her and extended his hand towards her, saying, ¡°Come with me.¡± Stumped for a moment, she asked, ¡°Right now?¡± He nodded. She swept her gaze over all of their friends and rtives that were around, but she suddenly felt that today belonged to her and Shen Liangchuan. So really, what did it matter that she abandoned these people and ran away with Shen Liangchuan? She was silent for a moment and then suddenly reached for his hand. Taking firm hold of her hand, he led her out of the banquet venue. On the way out, they ran into Lu Nanze. He asked, ¡°Where are you two going?¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s answer was curt, ¡°What has that got to do with you?¡± Lu Nanze: ... Without another word, Shen Liangchuan headed out with Qiao Lian in tow. Soon, Shen Zihao came up to them and said, ¡°Brother, I knew you had something nned! That¡¯s a bit much! It¡¯s Mom¡¯s wedding today too, where are you off to?¡± Shen Liangchuan patted the man on the shoulder and said, ¡°I¡¯ll leave Mom in your good hands! All the best.¡± Shen Zihao: ... Having sorted this out with Shen Zihao, Shen Liangchuan did not stop to talk to anyone else, but quickly led Qiao Lian to the parking. Still in their traditional wedding outfits, they got into their van that was already waiting for them. The car started up and sped off to the suburbs. Qiao Lian looked out of the window, noting that the vehicle was cruising further and further out. Then they reached the expressway and left Beijing behind them, as they drove into the night. Qiao Lian was stunned. They were obviously getting out of the city. Could it be that Shen Liangchuan was taking them on their honeymoon? Curiosity drove her to ask, ¡°Where exactly are we going?¡± To which he answered, ¡°You¡¯ll find out when we get there.¡± Chapter 1327 - The End

Chapter 1327: The End

Three hourster. The car pulled up at a seaside vi at Qinhuangdao. Because this was a private vi, the beach in front of it was empty. They got out of the car. Qiao Lian stared at the scenery before her and smiled at once. ¡°Did you bring me here to look at the sea?¡± Shen Liangchuanughed and replied, ¡°It¡¯s our wedding day. It¡¯s too noisy at home. We¡¯ll spend our first night as husband and wife here.¡± Qiao Lian blushed at once and said, ¡°Oh.¡± She looked into the distance, feeling the sea breeze on her face and listening to the sound of the waves crashing onto the shore. She turned back to look at Shen Liangchuan. Smiling at her, he said, ¡°I have onest gift for you.¡± She asked curiously, ¡°What is it?¡± He picked up his cell phone and held it out to her. Knitting her brow, she looked down at the screen. He continued, ¡°Go to the Lot game.¡± As instructed by him, she took out the app. He continued saying, ¡°Click on the Xiao Qiao character.¡± Pausing for a moment, she looked for the champion¡¯s icon and opened it. She took a nce at it before looking up and saying, ¡°What about it? I¡¯ve now opened¡ª¡± Before she could finish her sentence, she suddenly stopped short. ¡°Eh? Why is there an additional skin for Xiao Qiao?¡± She pressed on it again. The next moment, she waspletely stunned. Because that additional skin for Xiao Qiao was actually a red wedding dress. Ever since this Lot game had been established, everyone had wanted the couples in the game to have matching lovers¡¯ skins. Xiao Qiao and Zhou Yu were without a doubt the couple that has the most skins. And they were also the most popr champions selected by yers. Today, she discovered that the game developers had designed a set of skins for the both of them. And furthermore, the style of these skins would belong exclusively to them. They would not be put on sale or made avable to others. In other words, the game developers were using these skins tomemorate their wedding! The yers in the game had all gone wild. And so had the whole of the inte. Everyone was now expressing their wish to have this set of skins. But the game developer had gritted their teeth and did not give in to the demand. However, it had resulted in a three-day trial period given today for the certain matches, or performed certain tasks. The game developer had expressed that this set of skins had been designed specially for Xiao Qiao and Zi Chuan. Qiao Lian stared at the wedding skins, and the public announcement, and felt a sudden surge of emotions within her. This certainly had taken her by surprise! And it was terribly romantic. For a long time, she stared at the wedding dress skin. Then she walked over and embraced Shen Liangchuan from behind. A light wind blew in their direction now. Their wedding outfits were entangled. Strands of Qiao Lian¡¯s long hair also floated as they rode the wind. From afar, the view of the couple was like a Chinese ink painting. A painting that carried a sense of quietness and tranquility. Chapter 1328 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (1)

Chapter 1328: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (1)

The bride and groom had run away from their own wedding. Shen Zihao felt that this was simply inconceivable. What was supposed to have been Shen Liangchuan¡¯s responsibility had now fallen on his own shoulders. Just as Shen Zihao was busy seeing the guests out, someone ran up to him suddenly and said, ¡°Mr. Shen, your wife is feeling unwell!¡± Shen Zihao was immediately shaken when he heard this and dashed into the restroom. There he saw that Xia Nuannuan was crouching down and bending over, retching. He said anxiously, ¡°Nuannuan, what¡¯s wrong?¡± When he saw how pale Xia Nuannuan was, he supported her and said in a frightened tone, ¡°I¡¯ll call the ambnce now! We¡¯ll take you to the hospital!¡± Having said these words, he took the girl up in his arms and headed out of the building. The doctor had said that, even though Xia Nuannuan had regained consciousness, she may suffer from side effects. Could his wife be sick again? This realization caused him panic exceptionally more. But as he was running, Xia Nuannuan started yelling, ¡°Eh, stop being so rash, I¡¯m ok. Really, let me down!¡± He halted and shifted his gaze down, towards her. He saw that she had be even paler now. He hurriedly let her down. She dashed to a corner and started retching again. Shen Zihao stood next to her, feeling extremely nervous. ¡°Nuannuan, what¡¯s wrong with you exactly?¡± Xia Nuannuan waved and insisted, ¡°I¡¯m fine¡ª¡± She retched again. Shen Zihao was worried to death. ¡°Nuannuan, you¡ª¡± At a loss for a suitable reaction, Xia Nuannuan waited till the wave of nausea passed. Then she straightened up to look at his anxious yet endearingly silly face. She couldn¡¯t helpughing as she assured him, ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°Why were you throwing up then?¡± She answered, ¡°Zihao, I¡¯m possibly pregnant.¡± ¡°...¡± Shen Zihao stared at her nkly for a good ten seconds before he realized the meaning of what she had just said. With a jolt, he asked, ¡°Nuannuan, what was that you just said?¡± Without waiting for the girl to speak, he eximed, ¡°I¡¯m about to be a father?¡± Xia Nuannuan nodded. Shen Zihao was now in a daze. After a while, he jumped onto his feet. ¡°What? I¡¯m going to be a father!¡± ¡°Mom, I¡¯m going to be a father!¡± ¡°Holy smoke! Mo Xicheng, I¡¯m telling you, I¡¯m going to be a father!¡± ¡°Li Tianyu, get over here! Hurry up and prepare to give my child a red packet! And it better be a generous one.¡± ¡°Big Brother... Hey, where¡¯s my cell phone? I have to call him to tell him the good news!¡± ¡°Hahaha! What a joyous day for our family this is!¡± Everyone was at a loss for words at the great news. The people around started to smile affectionately at his childlike excitement, which appeared quite silly for a grown man. At this point, most of the guests had left. The ones who had stayed behind were close friends. After the wedding, Xia Yehua was also leaving to start her life at the Li residence. Whereas Shen Zihao was now acting like he was waiting upon an empress, holding Xia Nuannuan and looking anxious, as though every step she took may affect the unborn child. Mo Xicheng shook his head just observing the man. But even his usually mncholic expression took on a joyful undertone. Shen Liangchuan had run away, Shen Zihao had lost his senses and couldn¡¯t be trusted to do anything in this state. Hence, Mo Xicheng stepped in to y host temporarily and only got to rx once all the remaining guests had left. This was when he noticed Shi Nianyao standing there looking at him. His face lit up as he smiled at her. Chapter 1329 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (2)

Chapter 1329: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (2)

Shi Nianyao was thinking as she observed Mo Xicheng that he had been rather busy since they had gotten engaged. Initially, it had been because of his own work. Later on, it had been Shen Liangchuan¡¯s wedding. And now that had finallye to an end. She felt as if she hadn¡¯t seen him for a long time. As the best man and bridesmaid at the wedding, they had only been able to look at each other longingly from afar. Now finally, a chance to speak. She was overjoyed and looked at him for a moment, before she took a step towards him and circled her arms around her male idol. He reached out to tap her nose affectionately and asked in a low voice, ¡°Did you have enough to eat today?¡± Nodding immediately, she said, ¡°I¡¯m stuffed! I won¡¯t mistreat myself. Besides, the food today was really yummy!¡± Mo Xicheng: ... Her ever optimistic expression naturally made him smile. Just as he was about to speak, his cell phone rang. He halted and looked down at the screen. It was his mother, Yao Lili. He frowned, but picked up the call nevertheless. Yao Lili sounded somewhat cold as she asked, ¡°The wedding is over?¡± Mo Xicheng nodded and replied, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Umm... And Shi Nianyao is next to you?¡± He answered, ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Fine, I want you to bring her home today.¡± Mo Xicheng paused and asked, ¡°Mom, what¡¯s up?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t I meet her for no reason? Or is it that she¡¯s the Shi family¡¯s precious daughter, so I can¡¯t meet her? You¡¯re already engaged, is there a problem for us to meet?¡± She was making things difficult. Mo Xicheng frowned and replied, ¡°If that¡¯s your attitude, I¡¯m not bringing her home.¡± On this note, he hung up the line. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Shi Nianyao asked in a low voice as she could sense his unhappiness. He did not reply, but pursed his lips. After a while, her cell phone vibrated. She looked down at the screen and then at Mo Xicheng. ¡°Eh? Auntie has invited me to your house for a meal. She¡¯s asked me to go home with you.¡± Mo Xicheng asked, ¡°Do you feel like it?¡± Shi Nianyao thought for a while and replied, ¡°I feel that there¡¯s some sort of misunderstanding between Auntie and me. So I¡¯ll go with you. We¡¯re getting married sooner orter, so if we don¡¯t start on the right foot, it¡¯s just going to be troublesome afterwards.¡± Mo Xicheng thought about what she said and finally nodded. They got into the car and drove to Yao Lili¡¯s vi. As they were on the way, Shi Nianyao anxiously contemted what she was going to say to Yao Lili when they met. Just as she was lost in her own thoughts, she heard Mo Xicheng say, ¡°Today¡¯s wedding ceremony was deeply touching for me.¡± Shi Nianyao snapped out of her thoughts and said, ¡°What was that?¡± Staring straight ahead, he said with a deadpan expression, ¡°Shen Zihao is five years younger than me, but he¡¯s going to be a father soon.¡± Shi Nianyao ventured, ¡°... And so?¡± ¡°So when would you be ready to marry me?¡± Shi Nianyao: ... !! My idol, is that a proposal or something? But that was rather sudden, wasn¡¯t it? As she said these words in her head, Mo Xicheng continued, ¡°Uh huh, if we don¡¯t fight for our happiness, we¡¯re going to be left behind.¡± Shi Nianyao: ...!! She felt a burning sensation on her face as it turned a bright scarlet. She lowered her head. The car pulled to a stop. Then Mo Xicheng leaned towards her and asked, ¡°Nianyao, what do you think?¡± Chapter 1330 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (3)

Chapter 1330: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (3)

The traffic lights shone in the background above them. Mo Xicheng had pulled the car to a stop. Now that he was leaning towards her, it was like an invisible force was bearing down on her. She couldn¡¯t help but gulp. She looked at his handsome face with widened eyes and started to feel that the car was a little stuffy. As though there wasn¡¯t enough oxygen and she was having difficulty breathing. What was it that her idol had just said? They had to fight for their happiness, otherwise they would fall behind? Fight for their happiness... how? This thought suddenly made her recall the words he had said prior to this. Shen Zihao was going to be a father. Shen Zihao was going to be a father! So they had to fight for their happiness and have a kid? She turned even redder now. Surely, there were things they had to do to have a kid. This man... How could he look so proper and yet say such things? She bit her lip and started to move back into her seat. She looked at him and tried to put some distance between them. But the car interior was tiny, how could she possibly escape his advancement? She thought that her face was going to catch fire. She was mumbling because she was shy and nervous, and she had no idea what to say. And his face was moving closer and closer... till atst, she could feel his hot breath against her face. Her heart was pounding wildly now, she was extremely nervous. She took a deep breath and gulped, unconsciously tilting her head to the side. But she could still feel the man¡¯s hot breath on her skin. Then she heard his gentle voice call her name, ¡°Nianyao.¡± She tensed up at once and managed to utter, ¡°Huh?¡± She heard him ask, ¡°May I... kiss you?¡± Shi Nianyao: ... Why not?! Just do it. Now that he had asked a question, how was she going to answer it? If she said yes, it would make her look as though she couldn¡¯t wait. Her mom had taught her from a young age that girls had to y hard to get. But if she said no? That would just be shooting herself in the foot. As she struggled with an answer, she saw Mo Xicheng slowly lowering his head, until atst, a pair of warm and soft lips touched hers. Those lips were so gentle that they melted her heart. But the next moment, they suddenly heard the car behind honk. Shi Nianyao immediately snapped out of her daze and reached out to push Mo Xicheng away. Then she saw that the traffic light had changed and the line of cars in front of them earlier had disappeared, leaving them the only vehicle in the way of traffic. By the time both of them were fully conscious of what was happening around them, someone was already knocking on their car window. They turned around simultaneously and saw a man ring at them impatiently through the car window. Shi Nianyao: ... Mo Xicheng: ... Mo Xicheng gave an embarrassed cough and slightly wound down his car window. The moment he did so, the man standing outside fired away, ¡°Hey brother, if you have needs, you should go home to fulfill them. Or pull up at the side of the road to do it. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s inappropriate to be doing this in the middle of the road?¡± Shi Nianyao: ...!! She was simply burning up inside, wishing she could vanish into thin air. She lowered her head and buried her face in her hands. Then she slightly turned to nce at Mo Xicheng. She had thought that he would also be embarrassed, like her, or even be at a loss for words, but unexpectedly, he... Chapter 1331 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (4)

Chapter 1331: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (4)

Mo Xicheng was unexpectedly calm and indifferent, he even put on a contemtive expression. After a moment, he turned to the man outside and, before the man could make out it was Mo Xicheng, he said, ¡°Uh huh, you¡¯re right. I¡¯ll go home right now.¡± Shi Nianyao: ...!! This man... How could he hold his deadpan expression yet say these things? Did he know what he was saying? When the man standing beside the car saw that Mo Xicheng was apologetic, he didn¡¯t pursue the issue. In fact, he burst outughing and said, ¡°Way to go, brother. That¡¯s the spirit. If you really can¡¯t hold it anymore, let me give you a rmendation. There¡¯s a mall up ahead, and there¡¯s an underground parking where you can park.¡± Frowning, Mo Xicheng replied, ¡°Thank you for your good intentions.¡± The next moment, he rolled up the car window and started his car, driving straight ahead. Shi Nianyao: ... Shi Nianyao was on the verge of losing herposure. Where was her mncholic idol? How could this happen? She spun her head around and looked at him. His ears had turned red. She immediately cast her gaze down, but she couldn¡¯t help feeling gleeful that her idol was finally embarrassed. Secretly giddy with joy, she bit her lip. They did not speak for the rest of the way. The awkward atmosphere hung thickly in the air, so that the couple didn¡¯t quite know what to say to each other. Fortunately, it didn¡¯t take long for them to arrive at Yao Lili¡¯s home. As the car drove into the vipound, Mo Xicheng navigated towards Yao Lili¡¯s residence. Seeing that they were almost at their destination now, Mo Xicheng suddenly pulled up by the road. The move surprised Shi Nianyao. She turned to him and was about to ask a question when there suddenly was a sh of movement before her and, following this, a pair of hands held her face. She opened her mouth and spoke, ¡°You¡ª¡± Before she could get past the first word, the rest of her sentence was silenced by the man. She widened her eyes in astonishment, as she felt his stirring emotions in that moment. Obviously he was a little panicky, and a little frantic. How he gnawed her lips was even a little painful. She opened her mouth to speak again but, instantly, she felt something soft and slippery. At first, it had been a tentative venture, but like a sudden surge of too much of a good thing, he started to relentlessly advance with no longer the tenderness of the previous attempt. Regardless, Shi Nianyao was already drowning in the passion of that kiss. She could only feel the air in her lungs being sucked out of her, yet he wanted more. She was like a fish taken out of the water, tortured by him no matter which way she turned. Ten minutester, they finally stopped. Shi Nianyao was taking inrge gulps of air, her lips a little hurt and swollen now. A bright red shade colored her face. She felt as though all her energy had been sucked out of her body, as she leaned limply against the car seat. Her eyes were smokey as she looked steadily at Mo Xicheng. His chest was obviously heaving as he stared back at her. Suddenly, he reached out with a hand and covered her eyes. Shi Nianyao heard his hoarse and low voice say, ¡°Nianyao.¡± Her head tilted in his direction as she said , ¡°Hmmm?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t look at me that way.¡± Shi Nianyao asked between taking in gasps of air, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because when you do, it tempts me in the wrong direction.¡± Silence. Shi Nianyao bit her lip. Looking into the darkness of his palm over her eyes, she suddenly reached out to hold his hand. Then she said, ¡°Then you should just move in that wrong direction.¡± Chapter 1332 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (5)

Chapter 1332: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (5)

Those words seemed to reignite the couple. At once, they threw thest bit of logic and reason into the back of their mind. Mo Xicheng circled his arm around her shoulders and pulled her towards him, as his lips met hers again. She returned with a kiss deeper and with more fervor than before. Instantly, the fire was stoked. Mo Xicheng ced hisrge hand on her waist, and very soon it roamed upwards... until it lifted her t-shirt to explore new boundaries. Right about this time, there was a knock on the car door. Again. The couple froze at once. As if fossilized, he very slowly turned his head around. When they both realized it was Yao Lili standing right outside the car, Shi Nianyao was quite sure that she could feel cracks appearing all over her body, as she prepared to break apart and turn into dust. Ahhhhhhh. Unbeatable! She had been caught in an act of intimacy by her future mother-inw, of all people. This was surely a death warrant! Immediately, she covered her face with both her hands, feeling slightly ashamed of having lost her senses today. She felt Mo Xicheng¡¯s hand reach out and cover hers. He said, ¡°Mom.¡± Yao Lili snorted coldly and said, ¡°Why didn¡¯t youe in since you¡¯ve arrived?¡± Mo Xicheng nodded at once and said, ¡°We¡¯reing out now.¡± He gave Shi Nianyao¡¯s hand a light squeeze. She looked up and saw him returning her gaze with a gesture that told her to rx. Shi Nianyao: ... The car made its way into the vipound. With her head lowered, a deeply blushing Shi Nianyao got out of the car with Mo Xicheng. Yao Lili walked up to them. Her gaze fell on their entwined fingers. She said with an odd tone, ¡°It looks like you have a good rtionship going.¡± Shi Nianyao quickly withdrew her hand from Mo Xicheng¡¯s at those words. She gave Yao Lili the sweetest smile she could manage. No matter what, Yao Lili was Mo Xicheng¡¯s mother and her own future mother-inw. Even if Yao Lili didn¡¯t like her, or the sight of her, she didn¡¯t want to offend the woman now. Otherwise, Mo Xicheng would be the one caught in the middle. Shi Nianyao had always been very mindful of this, hence she had never put on airs or behaved ostentatiously in front of them. Her performance in this aspect seemed to have sat well with Yao Lili. Yao Lili finally pulled her lips back in a stiff smile. Then she pointed at the dining room and said, ¡°Let¡¯s eat dinner.¡± The couple nodded and followed the woman into the dining room. There were some home-cooked dishes alreadyid out on the table. They looked rather delicious, they must have been prepared by the housekeeper. The moment Shi Nianyao sat down, Yao Lili picked up a piece of pork rib with her chopsticks and ced it in the girl¡¯s bowl, saying, ¡°Nianyao, you need to eat more. Look at how skinny you are.¡± Shi Nianyao was slightly taken aback and looked up at Yao Lili with a rather astonished expression. She immediately said very sweetly, ¡°Ok, thank you, Auntie.¡± After this, she lowered her head and focused on eating without another word. For some odd reason, Yao Lili seemed to be unusually kind today, and this made Shi Nianyao shudder inside. It felt like something bad was about to happen and she found it unnerving. What was this Yao Lili up to exactly? As she was contemting the various possibilities, Yao Lili spoke, ¡°Nianyao, do you know I¡¯m not a really good mother?¡± Shi Nianyao was slightly stunned and looked up. Then she saw Yao Lili lowering her gaze as she continued, ¡°I¡¯ve always known that I was unfair with Mo Xicheng and I¡¯m not good enough to be his mother. I¡¯ve given him a big burden to bear.¡± Chapter 1333 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (6)

Chapter 1333: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (6)

Shi Nianyao thought, ¡°Now you¡¯ve realized.¡± But she could only think it, she didn¡¯t dare to say it out loud. She smiled and said, ¡°Auntie, don¡¯t worry too much, you¡¯re his mom. This is how it goes.¡± After Yao Lili heard this, she nodded and said, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m his mom. Even if I¡¯m bad to him, I¡¯m still his mom. Nianyao-ah, did you know that, when he was young, once Mo Xicheng had an exam and he did slightly better than Mo Zhi? When he came back, I used a broom to beat him up. I had told him before that he couldn¡¯t do better than Mo Zhi in exams. It¡¯s because this is what we owe the Mo Family.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just that I¡¯m a bad mother. I used a lowly affection to love his father deeply, refusing to leave. It¡¯s just that I shamelessly stayed in this house. This ruined the rtionship between his father and Li Shu. I already owe this family too much, I cannot allow Mo Xicheng to snatch Mo Zhi¡¯s limelight.¡± ¡°So at that time, I beat him a lot and I was also scared. Did you know? Mo Xicheng was only ten then, he was in the rebellious stage. If he didn¡¯t listen to me and performed a lot better than Mo Zhi, I was worried that Li Shu would deal with him. I did all of this for his sake.¡± ¡°But this child, he doesn¡¯t ept my good intentions and chose to leave the house.¡± ¡°Did you know that the moment he left, I felt that my whole life had be empty? I had no idea where to find him, I could only stay at home and cry.¡± ¡°At that time, I couldn¡¯t help but wonder whether I had done wrongly. Maybe I shouldn¡¯t have stayed in this house, maybe I shouldn¡¯t have restricted him... But I don¡¯t regret it! If I hadn¡¯t done all of this, if I had left the Mo Family then, he wouldn¡¯t have gotten the chance to receive such quality education. He wouldn¡¯t have been able to grow up in such a good environment. And he wouldn¡¯t have be a useful person now.¡± As Yao Lili mentioned this, her eyes became red. She lowered her head, rubbed her eyes and looked at Shi Nianyao, Shi Nianyao couldn¡¯t help but take a tissue and pass it to her. ¡°Auntie, dry your tears.¡± Yao Lili took it from her and, after drying her tears, she lifted her head up. She suddenly stuck her hand out and grabbed Shi Nianyao¡¯s hand. ¡°Child, I know you¡¯re a good person. You must understand my efforts, right?¡± Shi Nianyao didn¡¯t know what to reply. She really didn¡¯t want to understand her, but in this case, what was the point if she said that she didn¡¯t? She lifted her head up and looked at Mo Xicheng. She saw that Mo Xicheng was also frowning. He couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Mom, what are you saying all of this for?¡± ¡°Why am I telling her this?¡± Yao Lili immediately lifted her head up and looked at them with reddened eyes. ¡°Do you two still not understand what I meant?¡± ¡°Nianyao¡¯s status is too high. If you get married, people might target you, even if Mo Xicheng doesn¡¯t fight for the Mo family¡¯s inheritance.¡± ¡°Also, I can¡¯t ept that I stole someone¡¯s husband and my son stole someone else¡¯s wife.¡± ¡°So...¡± Yao Lili suddenly stood up and knelt in front of Shi Nianyao. ¡°Nianyao, I¡¯m pleading you, can you not be together with Mo Xicheng? Can you marry Mo Zhi instead?¡± Chapter 1334 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (7)

Chapter 1334: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (7)

Yao Lili¡¯s sudden action was making things difficult for the stunned Shi Nianyao Thus, she was really shocked when Yao Lili knelt down. She looked at Yao Lili in shock. After she came to her senses, her first action was to jump up as she said, ¡°Auntie, what are you doing? Come up quick!¡± But no matter how much she pulled her, Yao Lili refused to budge. She stared at Shi Nianyao and said, ¡°Nianyao, if you don¡¯t agree, I won¡¯t stand up. I beg you, please leave my son.¡± Shi Nianyao didn¡¯t know what to say. Shi Nianyao stared at Yao Lili, nerve-wrecked. She couldn¡¯t help gulping as she stood there, not knowing what to do. She decided to just stand on the side and didn¡¯t dare to move close to her. If other people found out that her own mother-inw had knelt before her, what would people think of her? When Shi Nianyao felt clueless as to what to do, she couldn¡¯t help but look at Mo Xicheng. She saw that Mo Xicheng¡¯s face was ashen and his gaze was on Yao Lili. After a while, he suddenly stood up and ced the chopsticks on the table softly. Then he looked at Shi Nianyao and said, ¡°Nianyao, I¡¯ll take you home.¡± Shi Nianyao didn¡¯t dare to continue eating anymore, thus she instantly nodded and picked up her jacket, wanting to walk out. But after she took two steps, Yao Lili held onto her calf. She turned around and stared at Yao Lili in a daze. Yao Lili cried while shouting, ¡°Nianyao, I¡¯m begging you! In order to show my loyalty, I have to suppress Mo Xicheng for the rest of my life. I can¡¯t break the rtionship between Mo Xicheng, me and the Mo family just for your sake.¡± Shi Nianyao didn¡¯t know what to say. Where did all of these weird thoughts of herse from? What made her think that her rtionship with the Mo Family was really good, even if Shi Nianyao wasn¡¯t there? She was sacrificing her son to achieve her objectives. Was this Yao Lili? Shi Nianyao frowned and tightened her chin. A cold voice rang in her ears, ¡°Mum, let go.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not letting go! If Shi Nianyao doesn¡¯t promise me today, I won¡¯t let her go!¡± Shi Nianyao was crying while shouting. She hugged Shi Nianyao¡¯s leg, unwilling to let go. Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes. He clenched his fists tightly. After a while, his deep voice sounded, ¡°Let go.¡± Although it was just two simple words, he made them sound as though they came from hell. Yao Lili was slightly shocked and she lifted her head to look at him. When she looked at him, she was met with his emotionless eyes. Yao Lili swallowed nervously and stared at Mo Xicheng. Mo Xicheng lowered his gaze, but didn¡¯t look at her as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t make me say it a third time.¡± Yao Lili was instantly nervous and let go of her grip. Shi Nianyao was released and immediately walked to Mo Xicheng¡¯s side quickly, as if she was a shocked rabbit. Mo Xicheng held her hand and said, ¡°I¡¯ll take you home.¡± She nodded. The two of them walked towards the door. Just as they took a couple steps, they heard Yao Lili¡¯s voice, ¡°Mo Xicheng!¡± Mo Xicheng stopped in his tracks but didn¡¯t turn around. Shi Nianyao couldn¡¯t resist looking back from the corner of her eyes. She saw Yao Lili stare at them hopelessly. ¡°Will you really not break up?¡± Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes and looked back. ¡°Yes, mom. You should just give up.¡± He started walking. But after taking a few steps, they heard a scream from Yao Lili. ¡°If- if you don¡¯t promise me, I¡¯ll go and die!¡± Chapter 1335 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (7)

Chapter 1335: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (7)

Mo Xicheng briefly halted before continuing his way, taking Shi Nianyao out. But after a few steps, they heard a shriek, ¡°Mo Xicheng, do you really want to force your mom to die? Do you still have a conscience?!¡± After saying so, she sat on the ground and started crying. ¡°Do you not think that, once you walk out of this door today, I will jump down the building?! I will not only jump down, I¡¯ll do it on livestream! I¡¯ll let all the reporters know how unfilial you are! I¡¯m your mom, how dare you treat me like this?¡± Shi Nianyao was dazed by the scene of her crying on the floor with the n of making a scene on purpose. It was her first time meeting a woman who started crying on the floor when things didn¡¯t go her way. She was lost at that moment. She swallowed and turned her head to look at Mo Xicheng. Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes and clenched his fist. ¡°Mom, do you really want to do this?¡± After Yao Lili heard his words, she lifted her head and sawpletely no emotions in his eyes. She was so shocked she trembled. She instantly understood that she had crossed Mo Xicheng¡¯s line. It was indeed wrong to look for reporters. She had probably hurt him really deeply. When things reached an extreme point, they would start moving in the opposite direction. This wasmon sense. She had gone overboard. Yao Lili pursed her lips, suddenly stood up and rushed to the third floor. Mo Xicheng frowned and unconsciously chased after her. ¡°Mom!¡± Shi Nianyao followed closely behind Mo Xicheng and saw that Yao Lili was at the balcony of the third floor. She pushed the windows open and acted as if she was going to jump down, as she said, ¡°Promise me! If you don¡¯t, I will jump down!¡± Her eyes were red as she said, ¡°I know that you have always thought that I¡¯m not a good mother, but I¡¯m doing all of this for your sake! After you marry her, even if you don¡¯t have bad intentions, people will have bad intentions against you. Now in the Mo Company, there are people who suggested getting you to work there. After you enter thepany, what do you think will happen in the future? Everyone¡¯s hearts will definitely flicker and change. We had agreed that we would keep our distance from them and not intrude in their world, so why do you still want to marry a girl from a rich family?¡± ¡°Mo Xicheng, let mom give you advice, she really doesn¡¯t suit you. If you want to quietly leave that circle, you must leave her. It¡¯s because even if you don¡¯t look for trouble, other people will look for trouble with you too.¡± After she said so, she wiped her tears and stood at the door. ¡°What I said about looking for reporters was something I said impulsively. You¡¯re my son, how can I not think for you? I¡¯m just hoping that you can find a normal person as a wife and live your whole life safely and stably, not entangled with your older brother. Not entangled with the Mo family. Son, this is because we are unfair and undeserving!¡± After hearing her words, Mo Xicheng¡¯s irises swelled and his heart suddenly sunk. He knew that everything Yao Lili said was true. He wanted to have nothing to do with that world and not fight with Mo Zhi for the inheritance. But if he dated Shi Nianyao, the shareholders would notice it. They would then request him to report to work. It would bring Mo Zhi endless trouble. He turned his head to look at Shi Nianyao. His gaze suddenly became firm. Yes, he wasn¡¯t scared. He had never ever changed whatever he set out to achieve. He just wanted to lead a safe and peaceful life with Shi Nianyao. He was not scared of anything else. No matter what difficultiesy in their way, he would try his best to conquer them. Chapter 1336 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (9)

Chapter 1336: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (9)

After he had these thoughts, Mo Xicheng lifted his head up and said, ¡°Mom, I have never thought of fighting for anything from the Mo Family. But if they are the ones who start looking for trouble with me, I won¡¯t let it pass.¡± His words made Yao Lili¡¯s pupils shrank. She clenched her fists tightly. Anyone who knew Mo Zhi¡¯s character would clearly know that Mo Zhi would force Mo Xicheng up that path. In other words, even if Mo Xicheng had never wanted to fight for anything with Mo Zhi, Mo Zhi would also force him to fight with him. She must separate these two people today. After thinking about that, Yao Lili put up a really devastated look and said, ¡°But in this case, you brothers will still be enemies over a woman. What¡¯s the point of me being alive?!¡± After she said that, she looked out of the window for a second, steeled herself and tried to jump out. Mo Xicheng¡¯s hands were really fast as he grabbed her arm and pulled her back. Yao Lili had just been through a frightening experience, she was so scared her legs were trembling. But once she thought about Mo Zhi, her motherly instincts kicked in and she immediately stood up straight. She looked at Mo Xicheng and her eyes brought determination. ¡°I don¡¯t care what you think, I said what I had to say today. If you don¡¯t break up with her, I will die in front of you!¡± After saying so, she sat on the sofa at the side. ¡°If you dare to leave, after you do so, you¡¯ll receive the news of my death.¡± She pointed at the door and said, ¡°Go, go ahead. I thought you didn¡¯t want this mother of yours anymore? You can leave now!¡± As she said so, she sat on the sofa and started sobbing. The state of Yao Lili made her look slightly more pitiful. Shi Nianyao stared at her and lifted her head once again to look at Mo Xicheng. Mo Xicheng stood there, his expression changed a few times. He was angry and also at a loss for words. Yao Lili jumping down just now had been real, it wasn¡¯t a joke. He knew that if he had left, Yao Lili would really dare to jump down. This woman had be insane for the Mo family¡¯s sake. But what choice did he have? This lunatic was his mom. Even if she was not good enough to him, he couldn¡¯t watch her jump down the building. He couldn¡¯t watch hermit suicide, right? Mo Xicheng clenched his fist and stared at her. At that moment, he was at a loss as to what to say. On one side was his biological mother, and on the other was his happiness. He didn¡¯t know which to give up. At that moment, a warm and small hand suddenly held his. Mo Xicheng was slightly stunned but when he turned around, he saw that Shi Nianyao was looking at him. Shi Nianyao used her chin to point at Yao Lili and nodded. Although she didn¡¯t express what she meant really well, Mo Xicheng had understood what she was thinking. There were things that were more urgent than others. What she meant was that he should pacify Yao Lili first. But in that case, he would have to cause Shi Nianyao to suffer injustice. A surge of gratitude suddenly emerged in Mo Xicheng¡¯s heart. On one side was his mother, who had used death to force him. On the other was a girl who was willing to temporarily swallow her miseries of being targeted for him, although she was a pampered mistress. He lowered his eyelids and, after a while, he spoke, ¡°Ok, I promise you.¡± After Yao Lili heard his words, she instantly lifted her head in surprise. She looked at Mo Xicheng in disbelief and only epted the situation after a few seconds. ¡°Are you for real?¡± Mo Xicheng¡¯s pupils darkened as he replied, ¡°Yes.¡± Yao Lili immediately became excited. ¡°Good, I know that you¡¯re my good son.¡± Mo Xicheng lowered his gaze and said, ¡°I¡¯ll take Nianyao home.¡± Chapter 1337 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (10)

Chapter 1337: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (10)

When Yao Lili heard his words, she instantly frowned. ¡°Can¡¯t Nianyao take a taxi home herself?¡± After she said so, Mo Xicheng shot her a cold gaze. She instantly shut her mouth and said, ¡°Fine, fine, then you should take her ande back quick. If there are any problems, make it clear with her and break up peacefully.¡± Shi Nianyao was speechless. Break up peacefully. Was this something they could peacefully end? She twitched her lips and followed Mo Xicheng down the steps quietly. On the way out, Yao Lili was still grabbing her hand and saying, ¡°Nianyao, it isn¡¯t that I don¡¯t like you. I really like you, but you¡¯re not suitable for Mo Xicheng. It is important that marriages are formed between families that are of the same status. Your status is too high for us to reach. Only Mo Zhi is worthy of you.¡± As she said so, Mo Xicheng stopped and looked back. Yao Lili was instantly so shocked that she didn¡¯t dare to speak. The three of them went downstairs. Then Shi Nianyao and Mo Xicheng got into the car. Yao Lili waved goodbye unwillingly. When the couple had gone far away, Yao Lili let out a relieved sigh. She stared into the distance and couldn¡¯t resist saying to herself, ¡°Nianyao is kind of too thin. Will she be able to give birth to kids for Mo Zhi after she marries him? Aish!¡± ¨C In the car. Mo Xicheng still remained silent. Shi Nianyao turned her head to look at him and, after a while, the car stopped along the road. Mo Xicheng suddenly turned his body, stuck out his slim and long arms and pulled her into his embrace. Shi Nianyao was shocked, but she didn¡¯t push him away. The two of them hugged each other tightly and after some time, Mo Xicheng spoke slowly, ¡°Nianyao, do you feel like I¡¯m very useless?¡± When Shi Nianyao heard that, she immediately sighed and said, ¡°No, can you watch her die? No matter what, she¡¯s still your mother. But I believe that one day, you¡¯ll be able to convince her.¡± Hearing her words, the heaviness in his heart was slightly relieved. He stared at Shi Nianyao and said, ¡°Then you...¡± ¡°I will wait for you.¡± Shi Nianyao¡¯s words were resolute. ¡°Actually, this matter isn¡¯t soplicated. If she doesn¡¯t agree to us being together, we cannot go through with this wedding. We can just change from dating publicly to dating in secret.¡± Seeing that she was so rational, he sighed. His big hand caressed her hand, and his other hand held onto her tightly. Then he looked ahead once again and drove her home. Shi Nianyao knew that he wasn¡¯t feeling good inside. Thus sheforted him. ¡°I¡¯m really alright. As long as I know that you have me in your heart, that¡¯s what¡¯s important. Seeing that you¡¯ve already gone against your mother for so long just for my sake, I¡¯m actually already really happy. Idol, did you know I used to like you a lot? I always silently watched you on the television, but I never thought that one day I¡¯d be dating my idol. Hehehe, I¡¯m already filled with happiness now!¡± Her happy character had made the atmosphere in the car lively once again. However, from the start till the end, Mo Xicheng didn¡¯t speak. Shi Nianyao looked at him silently, not knowing what was wrong with him. The car finally arrived below Nianyao¡¯s house. Nianyao looked at Mo Xicheng. Just as she was about to alight from the car, Mo Xicheng all of a sudden forcefully held her hand. Shi Nianyao looked back in confusion and Mo Xicheng said, ¡°Nianyao, let¡¯s go to the city hall tomorrow.¡± Chapter 1338 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (11)

Chapter 1338: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (11)

Shi Nianyao was stunned. She felt as if she understood what Mo Xicheng had said but, at the same time, she totally had no idea what he was talking about. She looked at him dazedly and after a while, she asked a really stupid question, ¡°Why- why do we have to go to the city hall?¡± Mo Xicheng was shocked and rendered speechless. He stopped for a moment and continued, ¡°To register our marriage. Will you go?¡± Shi Nianyao was at a loss for words. Shi Nianyao stared at Mo Xicheng and heard him say slowly, ¡°Nianyao, are you willing to marry me? Under these circumstances?¡± Shi Nianyao swallowed and, after a few seconds, she made a sound of understanding. Mo Xicheng stared ahead and continued, ¡°In the past, I never wanted to get married because I knew that I was living in darkness. I didn¡¯t want my other half to be with me... until I met you.¡± Mo Xicheng paused for a while. In his mncholic eyes, there were indissolubly thick emotions. ¡°I had never known that liking a person, loving a person, could make someone so worried about losing the person they love. Do you know what I was thinking as I took you home?¡± Shi Nianyao shook her head. Mo Xicheng turned his head to look at her and said, ¡°I was thinking that if there is a day where you get tired of me and my mom, and really leave me...¡± His voice was really low. That pleasing voice of his brought along an unexined sorrow. It was sad to listen to. Shi Nianyao looked at her idol. After a while, she stuck her hand out and grabbed his as she said, ¡°Mo Xicheng.¡± Mo Xicheng turned his head to look at her. Her eyes were glistening with passion and excitement¡ªthey shone and people couldn¡¯t resist getting close . She said, ¡°Ok, tomorrow at 9 a.m. at the city hall, see you there.¡± Mo Xicheng was shocked and speechless again. Mo Xicheng widened his eyes in shock and stared at her in disbelief. At first, it was just that he had felt really insecure after all that had happened with Yao Lili today, and he had said that on impulse. Never would he have thought that Shi Nianyao would agree to it and actually agree to it so decisively. Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes and stared at her. Then he stuck out his hand and pulled her into his embrace. At the same time, he quietly swore in his heart. Nianyao was the person who had walked into his life when it had been at its worst. Thus, no matter how tough the rest of his life would be, he would not let go of her hands. He would use the rest of his life to treat her well. He knew that it was very selfish of him to do so. But he also knew that if Yao Lili didn¡¯t agree to their marriage, they would really fail to be together after the people from the Shi family found out. It was better for him to take action first. He had no choice but to do so, so he could be with Nianyao in the end. After he had these thoughts, Mo Xicheng was even more sure. He looked at Shi Nianyao, nodded after a while and said, ¡°See you tomorrow.¡± Shi Nianyao then smiled and alighted from Mo Xicheng¡¯s car. She waved to him and said, ¡°Go back quick.¡± Seeing her smile, Mo Xicheng didn¡¯t really feel like leaving. He wanted to keep being with her but if he didn¡¯t leave, the people in the house could also see him through the surveince camera. So he could only leave obediently. Even after Mo Xicheng¡¯s car was out of sight, Shi Nianyao was still staring in his direction with her neck stretched and head stuck out. Just at that moment, a voice spoke behind her, ¡°He¡¯s already long gone, what are you still looking at?¡± Chapter 1339 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (12)

Chapter 1339: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (12)

Shi Nianyao was shocked. She turned her head and saw that her elder brother, Shi Tao, was standing behind her. As she recalled what she had discussed with Mo Xicheng, she was immediately stunned and asked anxiously, ¡°Brother, when you stood behind me, did you overhear my conversation?¡± Shi Xun, with his tall stature, took one step forward. The light shone down, making his shadow look longer on the ground. He reached out and flicked Shi Nianyao¡¯s forehead as he said, ¡°Is this how you speak to me? You have no manners!¡± Shi Nianyao took a deep breath and shrugged. ¡°Brother, you¡¯re bullying me again. Be careful or I¡¯ll tell Sister-inw! You still haven¡¯t told me how long you¡¯ve been standing behind me.¡± After she said so, they heard a delicate voice speak, ¡°Dad saw Uncle Mo¡¯s car stop outside the house when he was inside, so he came out to take a look. Auntie, were you ying a kissing game with Uncle Mo inside the car just now?¡± Shi Nianyao: ...!! When she saw this four to five-year-old sweet-looking little girl, Shi Nianyao couldn¡¯t resist saying angrily, ¡°Little Cherry, what nonsense are you spouting!¡± Little Cherry was her brother Shi Xun¡¯s daughter. Since young, her mother hadn¡¯t been by her side, so she was really full of weird ideas. Now that her mother was back, she seemed to feel guilty towards her and thus doted on her a lot. She had pampered her till she was out of control. When Little Cherry heard Shi Nianyao¡¯s words, she tilted her head and replied, ¡°Auntie, are you getting angry because you¡¯re ashamed?¡± ¡°Naughty girl, what do you know?!¡± Little Cherry immediately shook her head and acted as if she was an adult. ¡°Auntie, you are wrong, I know everything. It¡¯s just like my parents, who are actually awake in the morning but still don¡¯t get out of bed and out of the house. That¡¯s when they¡¯re probably creating a brother for me.¡± Shi Xun called, ¡°Cherry.¡± Little Cherry lifted her head up and asked, ¡°Yes? What¡¯s wrong dad? Did I say something wrong?¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± Little Cherry then added, ¡°... Ok, in case mama rushes out to scold me and say that I¡¯m a big mouth. She doesn¡¯t like it when I bring up the time I caught you two ying the kissing game in the study. Aish!¡± Shi Xun was stumped. Shi Nianyao¡¯s eyes shone and she grabbed Little Cherry. ¡°Little Cherry, you actually know all the gossip! Haha, how did they y the kissing game in the study room?¡± As she asked her questions, Shi Xun shot a warning gaze to Shi Nianyao. Shi Nianyao immediately stuck out her tongue at Shi Xun and heard Little Cherry answer, ¡°Mama doesn¡¯t allow me to say it. Dad told me that they were creating a brother for me.¡± Shi Nianyaoughed. ¡°Hahaha, Brother, you and Sister-inw are so rxed at home! Is Little Cherry blocking your ns? If not, you can send Little Cherry home for dad and mom to take care of her, and you and Sister-inw can do whatever you like!¡± Right after her teasing words, Little Cherry spoke, ¡°Yes, Dad, I¡¯m willing to stay at Grandma¡¯s. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t disrupt Auntie and Uncle Mo from making babies.¡± Shi Nianyao: ...!! Shi Xun was stumped. Both adults exchanged a nce and, after a while, Shi Nianyao spoke, ¡°Little Cherry, don¡¯t go around talking about making babies, ok?¡± Little Cherry asked, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because this is our family¡¯s secret!¡± Little Cherry: ¡°...¡± Little Cherry gave it a thought and thought again, before nodding and replying, ¡°Ok, I understand.¡± Chapter 1340 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (13)

Chapter 1340: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (13)

Shi Nianyao and Shi Xun exchanged a look and sighed in relief. Then they walked into the house with Little Cherry leading the way. Shi Xun asked, ¡°Why didn¡¯t hee in since he came all the way here?¡± Shi Nianyao immediately exined, ¡°My idol had to attend to something at home, so he had to leave first.¡± Shi Xun halted when he heard this and turned to look at her. ¡°Anything serious?¡± She shook her head at once and said, ¡°No, no.¡± Shi Xun continued to look at her intently and asked, ¡°Really?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the truth, nothing but the truth!¡± Shi Xun shook his head and said, ¡°Let me know if you do need help.¡± ¡°I know, Big Brother! She pushed him along as they walked into the house. However, before they had even properly entered the house, Little Cherry was already saying at the top of her voice, ¡°Grandma, Granddad, I have a secret to tell you!¡± The moment the child said this, Shi Nianyao and Shi Xun immediately exchanged a panicky nce and immediately dashed towards her. The child quickly moved herself close to Si Jingyu and Shi Jinyan and whispered something to them. Shi Xun: ...! Shi Xun immediately reached out and pulled Little Cherry back, chiding her, ¡°Didn¡¯t we agree that we¡¯re not telling anyone?¡± The child retorted, ¡°But Grandpa and Grandma are not anyone, so it¡¯s okay to tell them the secret! Don¡¯t worry, Dad, I didn¡¯t tell Grandma about you and Mom creating a little brother. I only told them about Aunt and Uncle Mo ying kiss-kiss in the car.¡± Shi Xun was stumped. As was Nianyao, who felt like she was apletely innocent victim in all of this. She threw Shi Xun a nce that was obviously full ofment and said, ¡°Big Brother, you really need to watch out with what Little Cherry says!¡± He nodded. Without looking at Shi Jinyan¡¯s reaction, Shi Nianyao quickly headed into the dining room and tried to change the topic, ¡°Dad, Mom, is dinner ready? I¡¯m starving.¡± She had barely taken two steps when Shi Jinyan started, ¡°Yao Yao, as a girl, you need to be more reserved. You¡ª¡± ¡°Oh alright, Dad, stop lecturing me. Let¡¯s eat. We¡¯ll talk after eating. I¡¯m starving!¡± Shi Jinyan: ... After dinner, however, Shi Nianyao quickly stood up and ran back upstairs to the bedroom. She left no opportunity for her father to keep talking about it. Once she was back in the bedroom, shey back in her bed quietly, staring at the ceiling. She was still in a daze from the things that had happened today. Tomorrow, at the city hall, with the household registration booklet... Then she suddenly jumped onto her feet. That¡¯s right! The household registration booklet! For sure, she would need her household registration booklet for registering her marriage tomorrow. But where had she ced her household registration booklet now? She bit her lip at this thought, curled her back and stood up. She walked to the door and quietly opened it. The skies had darkened, but through the crack of the door, she could see that the light in her elder brother¡¯s bedroom was on. Shi Nianyao walked towards the study. That was where Dad and Mom kept all their documents, and it seemed like the household registration booklet was in a drawer in the study too. She sneaked up to the room and pushed the door open. She felt like she was a thief in her own home, sneaking aroundte at night. She looked around, feeling somewhat guilty, and quickly dashed into the room. She didn¡¯t dare to turn on the lights and had to grope around in the dark for a while before she found the household registration booklet. An expression of delight shed across her face at once. She turned around quietly and sneaked back into her room. It had been an easy sess. In fact, it had gone so smoothly that it felt too good to be true. At this point, her cell phone vibrated. She picked it up and saw that it was a message from Mo Xicheng. Chapter 1341 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (14)

Chapter 1341: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (14)

[My Idol: Did you manage to find the household registration booklet?] Shi Nianyao immediately typed her gleeful reply: [Nothing¡¯s too hard for me. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve got it!] Mo Xicheng¡¯s reply came: [Yes, see you tomorrow.] She sent yet another message: [See you tomorrow.] After the brief exchange, there were a few things running through her mind. She tossed and turned in bed, unable to get to sleep. She was getting married? She was going to marry her male idol tomorrow?? And furthermore under the circumstance that the parents on both sides were unaware. The more she thought about her behavior, the more she felt that she was being rash. Furthermore, she felt somewhat frightened by what was going on. Was she getting a case of prenuptial cold feet? She bit her lip and thought for a long while. Then she picked up the phone and sent him a short message: [Are you asleep?] He replied very quickly: [No, what¡¯s up?] Shi Nianyao: [I can¡¯t sleep, I¡¯m a little nervous.] Right after she sent the message, a call from Mo Xicheng came in. She stared at his name shing on her cell phone screen and paused. Smiling, she picked up the call. His familiar voice rang out from the other end, ¡°Hey.¡± She broke into a smile immediately. In the pitch darkness of the night, lit only by the glow of her cell phone screen, that smile looked exceptionally silly but also exceptionally sweet. ¡°Hey,¡± she said and wasn¡¯t quite sure what to say after that. She hid her head under her nket shyly, almost curled up into a tight ball. Suddenly, they didn¡¯t know what to say to each other. They could hear each other¡¯s breathing at the other end of the line. Mo Xicheng finally said after a while, ¡°Yao Yao.¡± There was a silent pause before the girl suddenly realized he was calling her, so she quickly replied, ¡°Ah.¡± Then she heardughtering from the other end. It was a deep and resonant chuckle and sounded extremely attractive in the darkness. She almost went into a daze again when he said, ¡°Silly girl.¡± That affectionate tone was sweet like nothing she had ever experienced. They were only two simple words, but they felt as though she was being infused with a sudden burst of honey inside. Silly girl, She grinned broadly, but said in a fierce tone, ¡°What was that?¡± ¡°Have I ever told you something?¡± ¡°What??¡± Mo Xicheng fell silent for a moment and then said, ¡°I love you.¡± She was stunned and speechless. Her grip on the cell phone tightened as her pupils erged. She felt like she was in a dream, hearing those words under the nket. Wide-eyed and in a daze, she said, ¡°What?¡± Silence. ¡°Did you just make a confession?¡± Mo Xicheng: ... ¡°Am I dreaming?!¡± Mo Xicheng: ... ¡°Mo Xicheng!¡± ¡°Uh huh?¡± ¡°Say it again.¡± He repeated, ¡°I love you.¡± She immediately buried her face in her hands and listened to those words in deep concentration, as if afraid that someone else might hear it, and that would make it less than solely and exclusively her. She gulped and then broke out into a silly grin. ¡°Mo Xicheng.¡± ¡°Uh huh?¡± ¡°I love you too.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± She did a flip on her bed and a bicycle kick. Then Mo Xicheng asked, ¡°So will you be able to sleep now?¡± She replied, ¡°I think I¡¯m even more awake than before!¡± Mo Xicheng: ... She suggested, ¡°Are you free tonight? Do you want to keep chatting all night?¡± Chapter 1342 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (15)

Chapter 1342: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (15)

Mo Xicheng remarked, ¡°Then tomorrow we¡¯ll be two pandas turning up to register our marriage?¡± Shi Nianyao burst outughing immediately. He said helplessly, ¡°Stopughing. You¡¯re getting so excited it¡¯ll be even harder to fall asleep.¡± She shut her mouth at once. ¡°Mmmph.¡± ¡°Try to sleep early. Otherwise, you¡¯ll appear with dark circles for tomorrow¡¯s wedding photo.¡± ¡°Mmmph.¡± Mo Xicheng thought for a while and then started again, ¡°Yao Yao.¡± ¡°Uh huh?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll sing for you. Shut your eyes.¡± Shi Nianyao: ...!! That was just too much happiness in too short a time, her heart really couldn¡¯t take in much more. Already grinning from ear to ear, that smile couldn¡¯t get any wider. She stared at the cell phone. After a moment, she gave another smile and said, ¡°Ok.¡± She held the cell phone to her ear and shut her eyes. After a short silent pause, she heard Mo Xicheng¡¯s singing from the other end of the line. His singing voice was low and firm and, as she listened to it, it felt as though the world had gone quiet. Her emotions gradually calmed down. Smiling, she recalled that this song had been the one that had shot him to fame. No, actually, it had just been her personal favorite among his songs. This song had been really popr when it hit the market. However, although the song had be a hit, few people remembered that it was her who had spotted it. That was when she had started to get interested in him, and eventually discovered he was a humble man and kept a low profile. That was when she went head over heels and from then on, relentlessly paid close attention to his every move. As she recalled these memories, her fingers, that had initially been tapping along with his singing, started to slow down and then stopped. Her breathing became even and light. Mo Xicheng repeated the song three times, until he was sure everything was quiet on the other end of the line. He called out quietly, ¡°Yao Yao?¡± Silence. He smiled. Then he whispered lightly into the phone, ¡°Goodnight.¡± He hung up, ced the documents he was holding back on the desk and then left the study. He stretched his bodynguidly and went to the balcony, where he stood and looked into the distance. Shi Nianyao¡¯s voice and cheerful face were vivid in his mind. He smiled. He had never imagined that getting married could make one so happy. To the extent that he couldn¡¯t sleep at all that night. He had insomnia. ¨C By the time Shi Nianyao woke up the next day, it was 9 a.m. She jumped when she saw the time and picked up her cell phone hurriedly. She immediately saw the message: [Yao Yao, are you awake? Call me when you are.] At once, she dialed Mo Xicheng¡¯s number. The line connected very quickly. Shi Nianyao said most apologetically, ¡°Idol, I overslept. Where are you?¡± Mo Xicheng, who was standing outside the city hall, replied in a steady voice, ¡°I¡¯m still home. I¡¯m just washing up too.¡± ¡°Mmmm, great! I¡¯ll be there in a sh!¡± ¡°There¡¯s no hurry. Remember to have your breakfast. It¡¯s a full working day for the city hall.¡± ¡°Uh huh. And have you had breakfast?¡± Caught off-guard by the question, Mo Xicheng paused. His gaze fell on a breakfast stall nearby. He said, ¡°Yes I have, don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°Ok then, I¡¯ll see you at the city hall in a bit.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± After he hung up, Mo Xicheng put on his mask and sunsses and went for a stroll outside. At 10:30 a.m., he finally spotted Shi Nianyao. She got out of her car and ran towards him, saying, ¡°You must have been waiting? I was caught in a small jam.¡± He replied casually, ¡°Don¡¯t panic. It¡¯s no hurry.¡±¡± In any case, this was only the start of the rest of their lives together¡ªit was going to be for the long haul. Chapter 1343 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (16)

Chapter 1343: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (16)

Shi Nianyao was a little embarrassed as she smoothed down her hair. She cleared her throat and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go in.¡± Mo Xicheng lowered his head and looked at her, asking, ¡°Have you eaten something?¡± She coughed a little guiltily and said, ¡°Yes, I have.¡± The manughed and then, like performing a magic trick, held out a cup of soymilk towards her. He said, ¡°Drink this for now.¡± She paused and looked up at him, astonished. Actually, how could she possibly have had breakfast? She had overslept and, furthermore, although Mo Xicheng had said he was at home, she had clearly heard the food sellers touting their breakfast offers in the background. Morning traffic jams in Beijing were an unchanging reality. If it hadn¡¯t been for the fact that they had to take a photo, she would have rushed over straight away, but she had had to wash up first. Looking at the cup of soymilk in her hand, she could only feel that... Her idol was heart-meltingly considerate! She took a sip of the soymilk and walked behind Mo Xicheng, as they headed into the city hall building. At the entrance, however, the security officer stopped her and said, ¡°Miss, food is not allowed in here.¡± Shi Nianyao: ... She quickly took another two sips of the drink. Then she realized something and she turned towards Mo Xicheng. ¡°Have you had breakfast?¡± The man¡¯s eyes fell on her rosy lips, and his heart went wild as scenes of that passionate kiss fromst night yed in his mind. He gulped as he heard Shi Nianyao talking and quickly replied, ¡°No, not yet.¡± Shi Nianyao paused and asked, ¡°What do you want to eat then?¡± Very casually, his hand reached out to grab hers. In a daze, Shi Nianyao allowed her hand to be led as the man raised the cup of soy milk towards himself. He removed his mask and took a few sips from the cup. After this, he lowered his hand, acted like nothing had happened and then put his mask back on. Shi Nianyao: ... Shi Nianyao: ...!! She stared at the soy milk and suddenly let out a piercing shriek. Arghhhh! Her idol had drank from her cup. But... No, she mustn¡¯t show so much excitement. They had already kissed, what was with drinking from the same cup? She cleared her throat and, lowering her head, she continued drinking from the cup extremely calmly. After she took another sip, she suddenly realized that her idol had just drunk from it. And now she was drinking from it again. Her ears turned red at once. Then she heard his lowered voice say in an amused tone, ¡°Yao Yao, why have your ears turned red?¡± She replied, ¡°... Is that so? The weather¡¯s a bit warm perhaps.¡± He continued. ¡°Is it because drinking from the same cup is like indirectly kissing me?¡± Shi Nianyao: ...!! Indirectly!! Kissing!! How could her idol say this so casually? Her face turned as red as a baboon¡¯s butt at once. She didn¡¯t speak another word, but she nervously gulped down the soy milk in a few mouthfuls. After drinking that big cup of soy milk, she tossed it into the bin. When she looked up, Mo Xicheng had already drawn out a napkin and was reaching out to wipe her lips. The gesture was intimate yet casual, it made her heart pound wildly. Still unnerved, she heard the man saying, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡± She nodded. The couple had to take a number and then queue up in the lobby. Because a picture of them was required, they had to go and have their photograph taken together. When it was their turn, they walked into the photo studio. Chapter 1344 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (17)

Chapter 1344: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (17)

The photographer was a woman in her thirties. Perhaps she was overworked, or perhaps she was single and had to take photographs for all of these couples, but she came across as rather bad-tempered. She looked up at them sternly, first ncing at Shi Nianyao and then shifting her gaze to Mo Xicheng. She frowned and gave a scornfulugh. ¡°People are so pretentious nowadays. You¡¯re here to take a photo, what¡¯s with the mask and sunsses? Can you even see wearing those sunsses indoors?¡± Shi Nianyao lost her temper upon hearing this. Even when someone on the inte criticized her idol, she retaliated immediately. Hence at this point, she said point nk, ¡°Comrade, is there aw that doesn¡¯t permit wearing a mask and sunsses indoors?¡± The employee almost choked. Then she frowned and said, ¡°What are you here for, huh? Are you taking a photo or not? If not, then scram, don¡¯t hold up the queue. If you are, please sit over there.¡± Shi Nianyao was about to speak again when Mo Xicheng held her back by her arm. He red at the woman and said, ¡°Comrade, may I request for the door to be shut?¡± The door of the photo studio had been kept open. And this employee was actually in the way, so if she didn¡¯t move away, the door couldn¡¯t be shut. But because of Mo Xicheng¡¯s identity, he could not really remove his mask and sunsses. Not to mention that it could possibly cause chaos if the people outside saw who he was. If they got caught like this, they would appear in all the inte headlines, and wouldn¡¯t Yao Lili know about this at once? What would be the point of getting married secretly then? However, the employee immediatelyughed when she heard Mo Xicheng¡¯s words. ¡°Why? Are you too ugly or something? Why would you need to shut the door to have your picture taken? We don¡¯t do that here, everyone takes their picture with the door open.¡± Shi Nianyao immediately frowned when she heard what the woman said. ¡°We want to take the photo with the door shut, this is our right to privacy.¡± The crew worker sneered, ¡°Do I care? This is the way I do it. I¡¯ll say it again, if you want to do it, then get on with it. If not, get out. I¡¯ve never seen such troublesome people!¡± Shi Nianyao was livid. She frowned and looked out of the door. There was a group of people waiting outside to have their photos taken, and they were all looking in now. She red at the photographer and said, ¡°So you will not shut the door?¡± The woman sneered, ¡°That¡¯s right. If you¡¯re not taking the photo, then get out.¡± Shi Nianyao was so furious that she took a deep breath. She was about to speak when Mo Xicheng held her back again. Following this, he picked up his cell phone and asked, ¡°Comrade, I¡¯ll ask you one more time, are you not shutting that door for us?¡± ¡°Yup, why? Ohhhh, you want to carry tales to our boss! Let me tell you, it¡¯s no use to go around lying. Who are you trying to scare?¡± At this point, Mo Xicheng dialed a number. The line connected and he spoke, ¡°Hey, old buddy, I¡¯m here at the photo studio, are you free toe round?¡± ¡°Your worker here refuses to shut the door for us, I don¡¯t have a choice.¡± Then he hung up and red at the photographer. The woman hadn¡¯t expected him to really make that call and now was frightened into silence. But she thought about it again and felt that she had done nothing wrong. At once, she became bold again. She even sneered, ¡°If every dog and cat wants the door shut, what would happen?¡± Chapter 1345 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (18)

Chapter 1345: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (18)

After two minutes, the boss walked in. Once he entered and saw Mo Xicheng with his mask, he immediately panicked and said, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you mention that you¡¯reing beforehand? I could have arranged a special service for you. Like this, what would we do if you cause a scandal at the city hall?¡± Mo Xichengughed. ¡°I only want to get engaged lowkey. I never thought that your colleagues would be so uncooperative.¡± The boss looked at the worker and said, ¡°Nonsense! This is really nonsense!¡± The worker was stunned, she had never expected this guy would really call her boss here. She immediately spoke, ¡°Boss, I thought that no special exceptions could be made? Look at his room, it¡¯s small and it¡¯s really troublesome to open and close the door repeatedly. Also, who does he think he is? What¡¯s wrong with taking a photograph with the door open?¡± Her words made her boss so angry that he wanted tough. ¡°Who do you think he is? If he takes a photograph with the door open, he would cause a lot of problems! You might even be on the headlines!¡± After saying so, he requested her, ¡°Move the stool away and close the door. Ask him to take off his sunsses and mask for you to see.¡± As her leader had spoken, she had no choice but to follow his instructions. She could only move the stool away and close the door. Then she stared at Mo Xicheng and said, ¡°I really want to see who is so powerful.¡± After she said so, she watched Mo Xicheng take off his sunsses and mask. She was instantly stunned as she stared straight at him. After looking for a long time, she spoke with uncertainty, ¡°I- Idol Mo?!¡± ¡°Ah, I really love the television dramas you starred in.¡± After saying so, she suddenly realized where the problem was. She instantly lowered her head and said, ¡°Erm, I- I didn¡¯t know that it was you. I¡¯m sorry for what I just did.¡± In this case, didn¡¯t it mean that the city hall did their job based on the people they attended? But everyone understood the power of artists. In order not to attract a crowd and cause extra trouble for the city, they had a VIP service Mo Xicheng saw that the worker had lowered her head and didn¡¯t continue pursuing the matter. He only peacefully said, ¡°So can we take our picture now?¡± That person immediately nodded her head. ¨C After they finished taking their photograph, Shi Nianyao kept it with her. She lifted her head up and looked at Mo Xicheng, who had taken out his sunsses and mask once again. She had never thought that such a low key person like Mo Xicheng would also have his own connections. He seemed to detect her surprise and said, ¡°Actually, the Mo family is quite nice to me. Since young, I went to schools that the privileged attended and I have a lot of ssmates who are powerful people in different sectors.¡± Shi Nianyao stared at him and was surprised. She felt as if she had discovered a new side of his. Seeing the boss of the city hall¡¯s attitude towards him, she could tell that Mo Xicheng had developed decent connections in school then. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t have power, it was just that he didn¡¯t want to fight with Mo Zhi. The moment the boss hade into the picture, they had been quickly given a VIP service. After ten minutes, they had sessfully gotten their marriage certificate. Seeing the red cover of the book, Shi Nianyao still felt that the process had been unbelievably smooth. She had gotten married to Mo Xicheng just like that? She repeatedly scrutinized that marriage certificate, both the front and back of it, and then said, ¡°It¡¯s real, it¡¯s not fake.¡± Mo Xicheng was speechless. Mo Xicheng stared at her and suddenly asked, ¡°Nianyao, can you... not go home tonight?¡± Chapter 1346 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (19)

Chapter 1346: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (19)

After hearing what Mo Xicheng said, Shi Nianyao was instantly shocked. Not go home... tonight? She instantly lifted her head up and saw that Mo Xicheng was staring at her. His gaze was somewhat excited, but he was trying to look calm while looking at her. Shi Nianyao swallowed and asked, ¡°Ah?¡± Mo Xicheng immediately coughed, pinched his palm a little nervously and looked forward. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s not much, I was just thinking that today is our first day married. Erm, should I take you home?¡± Shi Nianyao¡¯s eyes were zing, giving Mo Xicheng an unexinable stress. It seemed as if he was kidnapping an underage girl. He was kind of flustered in his heart and his ears were red. It was the first time he experienced his heart beating that fast. Ever since he was young, he had been trying really hard to control himself. As someone who had never dated, he was like a young teenager at his moment. He actually wanted it really badly, but he had no idea how to express himself. He turned his head and awkwardly tried to go away. But at that moment, his wrist was suddenly held. He turned his head back and saw Shi Nianyao lower her head and delicately say, ¡°Sure.¡± Mo Xicheng paused. Sure? Sure. Was it an answer to the question he had just asked? That she would stay out tonight? After this thought, Mo Xicheng¡¯s eyes immediately brightened. Even he himself didn¡¯t realize that his lips had curved up. His whole face had lost that mncholic feeling and was currently filled with warmth. On the other hand, Shi Nianyao had blushed till she looked like an apple after replying. She lowered her head, not knowing what to say. Seeing that Mo Xicheng wasn¡¯t saying anything, she let go of her hand with embarrassment, but at that moment... Mo Xicheng instead grabbed the hand that was letting go. Shi Nianyao was slightly stunned as she lifted her head up in surprise. Then, she heard Mo Xicheng ask as if nothing had happened, ¡°What do you want to eat for lunch? Let¡¯s go and celebrate.¡± Shi Nianyao replied, ¡°Anything is fine.¡± Mo Xicheng nodded, continued holding her hand and walked forward. ¡°Let¡¯s go get the car then.¡± She nodded. As she walked, she looked at their intertwined hands. Since she was nervous, her palm was sweating. It was really wet, but they had no idea whose sweat it was. She could sense a special feeling in her palms. In that moment, they should have let go of their hands, but none of them mentioned it. Thus they walked hand in hand to Mo Xicheng¡¯s car. When they reached the side of the car, Mo Xicheng stood rooted to the spot. Shi Nianyao couldn¡¯t resist giving him a questioning gaze. Mo Xicheng sighed. ¡°What should I do?¡± Shi Nianyao was confused. ¡°I don¡¯t want to let go of your hand.¡± Shi Nianyao: ...!! His romantic words came too suddenly and they caught her off guard. She felt as if she had been dropped into a bottle of honey. It was so sweet that her heart was bubbling. She smiled while saying, ¡°Don¡¯t let go then!¡± She opened the door of the driver¡¯s seat and climbed in. She actually could have gone to the other side to enter the car but at this moment, it was as if she had lost her ability to think and did something stupid for the sake of not separating their hands. But somehow, Mo Xicheng didn¡¯t find it troublesome and messed around with her. After a while, the two of them sat on the front seats. Chapter 1347 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (20)

Chapter 1347: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (20)

Shi Nianyao¡¯s hand followed his onto the steering wheel. Then he started up the car and they drove away. She turned to stare at him, mesmerized. After a while, he finally said, ¡°Yao Yao.¡± ¡°Uh huh?¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t want us to get into an ident, you should look ahead.¡± Shi Nianyao mumbled, ¡°Oh.¡± But even then, she found her gaze drifting towards him eventually. There was only so much staring he could take before saying, ¡°Yao Yao.¡± ¡°Uh huh?¡± ¡°I want to kiss you.¡± Shi Nianyao: ...! Her face turned scarlet immediately as she quickly looked ahead, at the same time trying to withdraw her hand. Mo Xicheng was holding on tightly and wouldn¡¯t let go of it, however. Shi Nianyao: ... She cleared her throat and said in a serious tone, ¡°No, you can¡¯t do that. We have to pull over first.¡± Mo Xicheng: ... He looked ahead and, after a brief silence, suddenly said, ¡°I never felt that the restaurant was this far away.¡± Shi Nianyao turned beet red at hisment. The corners of his mouth slightly curled into a faint smile, and he seemed satisfied finally. Suddenly the car turned quiet. Feeling somewhat restless, Shi Nianyao turned on the music. Unexpectedly, the music in the CD yer was actually one of his own songs. She raised an eyebrow and said in a teasing tone, ¡°Male idol, I didn¡¯t realize you were this narcissistic, listening to your own songs.¡± Without batting an eyelid at herment, he started, ¡°Yao Yao.¡± ¡°Uh huh?¡± She thought he was going to offer an exnation, but on the contrary, he said, ¡°You ought to be calling me ¡®hubby¡¯ from now on.¡± Shi Nianyao: ...! Her eyes widened as her jaw dropped. She tried to say the word but found it terribly embarrassing to do so. The reality was that nowadays ¡°hubby¡± seemed to be amon term people used when talking about male celebrities. They would frequently say ¡°my hubby this¡± and ¡°my hubby that,¡± not to mention the fact that Mo Xicheng was a dream lover for many fans and a prince charming. There was a time when she had daydreamed about her idol being exclusively hers, but it was only now, when the moment had finally arrived, that she realized the weight the word carried. She widened her eyes and stared at him, forgetting that she had just been teasing him a moment ago. Now she was only focused on how to bring herself to call him hubby. As she was struggling with this new idea, he finally said, ¡°I¡¯m just teasing you, you¡¯re being so serious.¡± Shi Nianyao: ...!! How could she not be serious?! This was indeed her husband. In the blink of an eye, she snapped out of her dazed state. She immediately wondered why it was that she seemed to be so easily fooled by Mo Xicheng. She retaliated at once, ¡°But shouldn¡¯t you be changing the way you address me too?¡± No sooner than she had said this, the words came out with ease at the slight movement of his mouth, ¡°Wifey.¡± Wifey. Those words, in his low and resonant voice, carried with them a charisma and charm that could somehow touch her heart in an uncanny way. Causing a numbing sensation to spread throughout her body. She smiled helplessly as her face started to burn. She raised her hands and covered her cheeks with them. Ahhhhhhh... So shy. Chapter 1348 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (21)

Chapter 1348: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (21)

Seeing that the scarlet hue on her face was deepening by the second and it looked as though smoke was almost rising from it now, he immediately fell silent and stopped teasing her. But deep down inside, he couldn¡¯t help grinning. This little girl, just a bit of teasing and she turned red so easily? As he had this thought, the restaurant where he had made his booking appeared before them. He drove towards it and stopped right outside. As he was about to get out of the car, he saw Shi Nianyao looking at him nervously with widened eyes. It was a look that was all at once passionate, hopeful and restless. He paused and realized that he had said that once he stopped the car, he would kiss her. She had taken it for real again. Mo Xicheng absolutely burst outughing when he saw her nervous andfortable expression. He couldn¡¯t help himself from saying, ¡°Yao Yao.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Get out of the car. Dinner time.¡± Shi Nianyao: ... He wasn¡¯t going to kiss her?! All that nervousness for nothing. ¡°Oh.¡± Her eyes clouded over and she started to move out of her seat and get out of the car. But suddenly, she heard him call out, ¡°Yao Yao.¡± ¡°What?¡± The next moment, she was grabbed by the shoulder and pulled back into the front passenger seat. Following that, Mo Xicheng¡¯s lips pressed gently onto hers. Shi Nianyao: ... A light contact, then Mo Xicheng pulled himself back. Her heart started to race as she looked at him anxiously. The man said, ¡°There are people in line for parking space. We... have all the time in the world tonight.¡± Shi Nianyao: ...!! She instantaneously felt all the blood in her body rush to her face, as though the overloaded vessels would burst and bleed. What was she going to do? She lowered her head and got out of the car. Following the man, they entered the restaurant. At first, while still trying to get over her shyness, she did not notice anything strange about the surroundings. But after she had taken a few more steps into the restaurant, she halted. Mo Xicheng turned around. She looked at him and asked, ¡°Is the food in this restaurant particrly bad?¡± Surprised by that remark, he asked, ¡°Why do you say that?¡± ¡°Because look, it¡¯s already meal time yet there¡¯s no one in this restaurant.¡± After she had made this remark, Mo Xicheng paused and looked at her, a little stumped. Shi Nianyao: ... Then the girl realized that her remark was extremely silly. She said with astonishment, ¡°You reserved the whole ce?¡± He walked up to her and helplessly said, ¡°Uh huh, I reserved the entire restaurant. It¡¯s our first day as newly-weds and I don¡¯t want any interruptions.¡± Shi Nianyao: ... All her life, she had only seen two men reserve a whole establishment. One was her brother, when he took his wife out for a meal. The other was her father, when he took her mom out for a meal. Each time, when she asked to be taken along, or whenever she had asked them to book the whole ce for her meal with them, both men would tell her simultaneously, ¡°You¡¯ll find that man who will book a ce for you one day.¡± And now that man had appeared in her life. Shi Nianyao looked at the man and smiled immediately. She followed Mo Xicheng as they walked further into the restaurant. Then upstairs, near the window, there was aid out table. It was a small table, very cozy and intimate for the couple. He walked towards it. At once, someone served up the appetizer. ¡°Here, try some.¡± Mo Xicheng held it out to her. She took a bite and suddenly yelled, ¡°Ah!¡± Chapter 1349 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (22)

Chapter 1349: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (22)

She had bitten something hard, like a stone. She felt around it with her tongue and then paused. The shape of the object. She spat it out quickly and saw that among what she had spat out, there was a diamond ring. Shi Nianyao: ...! Startled, she looked up and saw that Mo Xicheng had stood up at the same time. He walked towards her, a step at a time. He picked up the diamond ring and wiped it with a napkin. Looking at her, he got down on one knee and held the ring up saying, ¡°Yao Yao, will you marry me?¡± Shi Nianyao: ...! In the past, she had always thought that doing things like hiding a ring among a bouquet or in food was so cliche. She had even thought that in the future, her own boyfriend would never do such a thing. But when this really happened, she had to admit that she was extremely surprised. It was too big a surprise, in fact. To the point that she felt like she was floating in the clouds. She looked down at the ring. Then shifted her gaze towards Mo Xicheng. She was greeted by the sincerity in his eyes. She bit her lip as she teared up. Even though she knew that this was so cliche, she had to admit that this way of proposing was still the most touching. She slowly held out her hand and he slipped the ring into her finger. She took a careful look at the ring and asked, ¡°When did you buy this?¡± He had only proposed the night before, when he had taken her home. And this morning they had rushed to the city hall before the shops opened. When could he have had the time to buy a ring? He answered, ¡°I bought it well in advance.¡± Well in advance? This meant that he had intended to propose all this time? She felt her face burning again. Then she broke into a broad smile. Mo Xicheng got onto his feet. Right about this time, a violinist appeared. A beautiful tune rang through the restaurant. Mo Xicheng then seemed to pull a bouquet of flowers out from thin air. He held the bouquet out to her and said, ¡°Wifey, happy wedding day.¡± Shi Nianyao was speechless. She took the flowers, feeling like she was on top of the world. Later on, she wouldn¡¯t even remember what she had had to eat, or if the food served by this restaurant was tasty. She only remembered that as she left the restaurant after eating, they had gotten into the car and driven a long way. And as she began to recover from her daze, she asked him curiously, ¡°Where are we going?¡± Mo Xicheng nced at her and answered, ¡°To the hotel.¡± She was slightly taken aback and asked, ¡°... What? To where?¡± ¡°To a holiday vi hotel in the suburbs. I¡¯ve made a reservation. We¡¯ll stay there tonight.¡± Stay there. When those words hit her, her face turned crimson. Ahhhhhhh! What were the two of them going to be doing in a hotel on their wedding night? She coughed and continued, ¡°Well, what are we doing in the afternoon?¡± ¡°We can do whatever you feel like.¡± ¡°Watch a movie?¡± ¡°Sure. There is a cinema next to the hotel.¡± ¡°And what are we having for dinner after the movie?¡± ¡°You.¡± Shi Nianyao: ...!! Chapter 1350 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (23)

Chapter 1350: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (23)

The male idol was unbelievably yful under his stuffy front. Shi Nianyao felt as though her whole body was burning up, she was terribly bashful. She cleared her throat and turned to look out of the car window at the scenery, smiling at the same time. Now she was with Mo Xicheng, they were married. It was about 4 p.m. by the time the car pulled up at the vi hotel. They parked, got out of the car and strolled around the hotel grounds. Because it was a suburban area, there weren¡¯t many people around. Furthermore, the hotel management was strict so there were even less people in the hotel grounds. Mo Xicheng removed his mask and sunsses and strolled around with Shi Nianyao. Their vi was ced in andscaped garden, and there was fake scenery around. Walking among the mountains and streams gave one the feeling of meandering around nature. Shi Nianyao looked at the fish in the stream and eximed with excitement, ¡°The water is so clear!¡± ¡°Yes, the water source in this area should be from the hot springs.¡± Immediately, her eyes lit up and she asked, ¡°Can we go to the hot springs then?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± She was just about to suggest that they should definitely do it, when she noticed that Mo Xicheng¡¯s eyes had darkened. At once, she swallowed her words. Entering the hot springs meant that she had to be in her swimsuit, of course. She couldn¡¯t help but start to imagine her idol in his swimming trunks. His firm muscles and seductive body, in addition to his perfectly handsome face. Wow! Ahhhhhhh! She felt bashful just thinking about it. But as that thought ran through her mind, Mo Xicheng was already saying, ¡°Let¡¯s go and swim in the hot springs.¡± ¡°What?¡± Shi Nianyao was taken by surprise. ¡°You¡¯re curious to see me, aren¡¯t you?¡± Shi Nianyao: ... Was he able to read her mind? How did he know what she was thinking? But the way he said it... Why did he make it sound like she was such a pervert? Her expression stiffened at once as she said, ¡°Huh, I think there¡¯s something fundamentally wrong with what you¡¯ve just said.¡± Mo Xicheng: ...?? ¡°If we went into the hotspring together, you¡¯d see me too. So it¡¯s fair and square!¡± So what Mo Xicheng had said about her taking advantage of him was untrue. However, Shi Nianyao somehow felt that between her checking out his body and him checking hers out, he would get away with a much better deal. Mo Xicheng continued, ¡°Uh uh, I¡¯ve seen you naked anyway.¡± Shi Nianyao: ...!! She remembered that time she had been filming in Hengdian and she had been showering in his hotel room during one asion, but her idol had dashed in. Ahhhhhhh! She suddenly blushed yet again. ¡°Or... could it be that you¡¯re afraid?¡± he leaned towards her and said in her ears. Shi Nianyao: ...!! Biting her lip, she said defiantly, ¡°Who¡¯s afraid? We¡¯ll go and rx a bit! Let¡¯s go!¡± They walked towards the private hotspring. They found a small room meant for two and went to the shop next door to purchase swimsuits. Becauseing to this ce had been ast-minute n, they hadn¡¯t brought anything with them. When they entered the shop, Shi Nianyao was about to walk to the women¡¯s section when Mo Xicheng suddenly reached out for her hand. She spun around and saw him grinning from ear to ear, saying, ¡°Why don¡¯t youe and help me choose?¡± Shi Nianyao: ...!! Helping her idol pick his swimming trunks?! Her eyes lit up in a sh, but at the same time she also felt embarrassed beyond belief. She gulped as her gaze fell on the rows and rows of swim trunks. Then she walked to the side and pretended to casually pick out a pair of the smallest size, holding it out to him. Chapter 1351 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (24)

Chapter 1351: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (24)

Mo Xicheng stared at the swim trunks as though clearly understanding her good intentions, so heughed helplessly. He casually handed it over to the attendant, turned back to her and asked, ¡°I¡¯ll help you choose yours now?¡± Shi Nianyao immediately gestured with her hands, like a frightened kitten. ¡°No, no, I¡¯ll do it myself!¡± Then she ran away and selected the most conservative one-piece red swimsuit. She came back quickly. As she was about to give the swimsuit to the attendant, she saw Mo Xicheng staring at it. She asked him, ¡°What are you looking at?¡± ¡°Ermmm, this size doesn¡¯t really fit you, I think.¡± She was taken aback and looked down at the swimsuit, saying, ¡°It¡¯s correct, this is a size M.¡± The man frowned and added, ¡°But I think this part doesn¡¯t quite go well with you.¡± He pointed at the area of the swimsuit that covered the chest. Shi Nianyao: ... She froze for a moment before she could react, ¡°Hey! What do you mean?!¡± Mo Xicheng immediatelyughed and said, ¡°This sort of one-piece will make you look... smaller.¡± Shi Nianyao: ...!! It was the truth. She couldn¡¯t refrain from turning the other way, to look at the bikini designs. Those sexy bikinis were simply... As she was trying to think of the word for it, Mo Xicheng said, ¡°Since wifey has chosen mine, I¡¯ll choose yours.¡± Having said this, he walked along the rack and found a red bikini. He held it up to show her. Shi Nianyao: ... Was that for swimming? It looked more like two pieces of ribbons. She grimaced and looked up. She was about to protest but now he was back and standing before her. Immediately, she swallowed her words and instead said, ¡°Fine, this is it then.¡± Mo Xicheng walked over to the attendant and handed her their selected swimwear, saying, ¡°I¡¯d like to pay for these please.¡± ¨C Once they purchased their swimwear, they walked towards the hot spring. When they got there, they went into their separate changing rooms to get changed. Mo Xicheng changed out of his clothes and into his swim trunks in the changing room. He looked into the mirror. Indeed, the trunks were quite sexy. They made his shoulders look broader, and his legs longer and more powerful. He was satisfied with what he saw in the mirror, but as he was on his way out, he suddenly turned back. Then he raised his hands to tidy up his hair. Once he felt that he looked perfect from all angles, he walked out of the changing room. In all honesty, he hadn¡¯t seen much of Nianyao¡¯s body thest time. It had just been a sh of pale skin and he hadn¡¯t gotten a clear view at all. Hence, he smiled like an infatuated teenager when the thought that he would finally get a good look urred to him. He walked out and waited outside the women¡¯s changing room for a while. Then he called out, ¡°Yao Yao, are you done?¡± ¡°Almost! Give me a second!¡± ¡°Ok.¡± He had all the patience in the world when it came to waiting for her. He leaned against the wallnguidly. As his body came into contact with the icy coldness of the wall, he had a rude shock and shuddered involuntarily. He turned to nce at the wall, thought for a moment and leaned back on it again. He probably looked more stylish in this pose. Soon, he heard footstepsing from the women¡¯s changing room. He adjusted his pose and looked at her in a calm and unruffled manner. He expected that she would look like a shy and nervous rabbit, panicky and probablypletely as red as beet. This thought alone made him chuckle uncontrobly. His Yao Yao was too shy. Chapter 1352 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (25) Chapter 1352: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (25) As he was still contemting, he saw a figure walking out slowly. He narrowed his eyes. When the figure finally made that final turn and appeared at the doorway... Mo Xicheng: ...! His pupils slightly shrank back and the corners of his mouth froze as he suddenly burst outughing. Because... Shi Nianyao was standing in front of him in a nightgown! The nightgown was really too big for her and looked like it had swallowed her entirely. Then she said smugly, ¡°It¡¯s a little cold, so I¡¯ll wear this to keep warm for a bit.¡± Her pair of graceful eyes were unrestrained as they swept up and down his body, taking a full measure of the man. Her eyes were piercing sharp, and he felt as though they were trying to see right through him. He didn¡¯t speak but smiled as he held her hand and led her to the side of the hot spring. Once they stood by the water, Mo Xicheng nced at her and asked, ¡°Are you going in with your nightgown on?¡± Again, she had a smug expression on her face as she walked to a bench on the side and sat down. She said, ¡°Of course not. I won¡¯t go in today, I¡¯ll watch you bathe instead.¡± Upon saying this, she raised one leg and crossed it over her other leg, looking at Mo Xicheng. ¡°This little girl,¡± Mo Xicheng thought, ¡°seems to be getting smarter.¡± He cast his gaze down and then said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll bathe first.¡± ¡°Uh huh, go on.¡± Slowly, he got into the hot spring. Shi Nianyao watched from the side. Water drops fell on his firm shoulders and as the droplets rolled down, they shone with light making him look especially captivating. His face was red from the heat rising out of the spring, which added to his maism. Shi Nianyao gulped unconsciously. Her male idol was dashing on screen, but in real life it was even better. At least on screen, there wasn¡¯t a scene of him bathing in a hot spring. Her eyes were fixed on him¡ªit was a burning gaze. Mo Xicheng suddenly opened his eyes as he sat in the hot spring. Raising his hand, he waved at Shi Nianyao and said, ¡°Come here.¡± ¡°No!¡± ¡°The temperature of the water is reallyfortable. Even if you don¡¯t want to get in, soak your feet.¡± At this point, she could no longer resist his suggestion. He was right. Hence, wrapped up in her nightgown, she walked to the edge of the pool and sat down, soaking her feet. The heat spread from her feet to the rest of her body in no time. She found herself rxing as the hot water opened up her pores. Shi Nianyao looked up and said, ¡°You¡¯re right, the temperature is reallyfortable. Hey, where are you?¡± Initially, he had been sitting in front of her, but now he had disappeared. All that was left was a wave of ripples. Then, that wave of ripples came towards her at high speed so that she had no time to react. Suddenly, something gripped her ankles! Following this, Mo Xicheng emerged from beneath, breaking the surface of the water, and immediately circled his arm around her waist, pulling her into the hot spring in one swift motion. The nightgown that was loosely hanging was floating around her in the water, and then it started to loosen up. By the time Shi Nianyao realized what had happened and managed to stand up in the water, the nightgown had fallen away from her and was floating on the water. She was now standing in her seductive bikini right in front of Mo Xicheng. Shi Nianyao: ...!! Ahhhhhh! She¡¯s been tricked yet again! As this realization came to her, she felt Mo Xicheng¡¯s hand press down against her lower back and, the next moment, he was holding her right against his chest. Chapter 1353 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (26)

Chapter 1353: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (26)

Shi Nianyao only saw a quick dark sh right before her chin was lifted, moving her head up. When she opened her mouth to speak, she was stopped by another pair of lips against hers. Immediately, they shared a passionate and deep kiss that left her in a daze, standing in that hot spring. As the emotions rose, Shi Nianyao unconsciously wrapped her legs around Mo Xicheng¡¯s waist. Carrying her, he leaned against the rocks by the edge of the spring. The rock was icy cold against his back, while the body against his chest was scorching hot. She could feel something hard against her lower abdomen. Her head seemed to be swelling from the passionate kiss, to the point that she thought she was going to pass out. Mo Xicheng released his grip on her. It felt as though they were teetering on a dangerous edge, as they brushed lightly against each other. Shi Nianyao started, ¡°I-¡± The moment she started speaking, she stopped short. Her voice was exceptionally gentle, seductive and somewhat coquettish, as though it would lead one right into temptation. The man¡¯s eyes narrowed as he leaned to whisper into her ears, ¡°Yao Yao.¡± She held her breath, not daring to say another word, as she began to feel something harden against her lower abdomen. A throbbing change was taking ce. She gulped and looked around for a moment before saying, ¡°Are- are you thinking of doing it?¡± It was their wedding night after all, so if he wanted it... then she was willing to give in. The moment she said those words, she could sense his pupils shrink back. His hand tightened against her back at once. She gulped. But he suddenly sighed and said, ¡°Not right now.¡± Shi Nianyao: ?? He added, ¡°Let¡¯s wait for tonight.¡± Shi Nianyao: ... She could see how unsatisfied he was and startedughing. She nodded and said, ¡°You sure you don¡¯t want it right now?¡± Mo Xicheng nodded back at her. But he regretted it the very next moment, as she grabbed his neck and started doing mischievous things to him. The close physical contact only caused him to feel as though all the blood in his body had gushed into one particr spot. He had to force himself to think of the arrangement he had made for tonight so that he had every reason now to hold himself back. He narrowed his eyes, obviously trying to keep himself under control now. After a moment, he pleaded helplessly, ¡°Yao Yao, stop fooling around now.¡± She asked, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°If this goes on, I won¡¯t be able to hold myself back anymore.¡± Shi Nianyao: ... She immediately slid away and scooped up the night gown, still floating on the water. As she moved, her body started to emerge from under the water. First her exquisite corbone, next her generous chest, then her slim waist, that was perfectly shaped. Finally, her sexy and pert bottom. Mo Xicheng¡¯s eyes darkened as he observed her lithe figure. He had to take a few deep breaths to calm the restless emotions in his chest. After a moment, he sighed. He shook his head helplessly as he got out of the pool after her. After bathing in the hot spring, they were both feeling rather hungry and headed for dinner. Mo Xicheng razed through his food, after which, he took Nianyao¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Nianyao, let¡¯s go back to our room.¡± Chapter 1354 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (27)

Chapter 1354: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (27)

Shi Nianyao: ... Shi Nianyaoughed as she saw how impatient the man was getting. She nodded and followed Mo Xicheng back to their room. Thinking of what might happen next, Shi Nianyao felt a little nervous at once. This was like the big theme of the day, they had been building up to this moment all day. All the rooms in this vi hotel were premium suites, it was an extremely luxurious amodation. The two of them walked in silence. They walked from the restaurant to the room hand-in-hand. A cold breeze brushed past and Shi Nianyao moved a little closer to Mo Xicheng to stay warm. Noticing her movement, he immediately slid his suit jacket off and draped it around her shoulders. Having had dinner, both of them had somewhat calmed down. At this moment, they were staring into the night sky. Even the weather had been good today. It had been a rare cloudless day and now the stars that filled the skies could be seen clearly. Shi Nianyao looked up at the constetions and suddenly asked, ¡°Mo Xicheng, did you know that¡¯s my favorite star?¡± He paused and lifted his gaze towards the sky. ¡°The Big Dipper?¡± ¡°Nope.¡± ¡°Venus?¡± ¡°Nope.¡± ¡°Then what is it?¡± ¡°You- Idiot.¡± Then she startedughing aloud after she had said that. She took two steps forward, turned back and looked at him, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t you know? You¡¯re the brightest star in my opinion! In the past I always felt anxious about you, about the fact that after so many years in show business, you hadn¡¯t made it big. But now I¡¯m no longer so... because as long as you¡¯re a star, you¡¯re bound to shine. And I believe that one day you¡¯ll be the most dazzling star in the sky!¡± He was stunned by her words. Looking steadily at her, heughed involuntarily. He had never thought that Shi Nianyao was in fact so full of hopes for him. The fact was that he had almost given up on himself. He had always been cautious not to stand out too much in the entertainment circle, otherwise his real identity and background could be exposed. He had been suppressed at home. Every time there was so much as a scandal, Yao Lili would either berate or hit him. So he had only hovered in that state perpetually, never getting to be a hot celebrity. He could just make some money and wouldn¡¯t starve. But now... He wanted to give the best of the world to this woman before him. He suddenly felt like he had a goal in life. Looking intently at Shi Nianyao as he pondered these thoughts, he saw that she had suddenly turned around to face him and eximed, ¡°Oh no! Is your movie Ambition debuting today?¡± He paused and then immediately nodded. It was today, which was why in a moment of impulse, he had registered their marriage yesterday. Because today was a turning point in his life. However the moment he nodded, Shi Nianyao jumped onto her feet and yelled, ¡°Ahhhhh! You¡¯re too much! Why didn¡¯t you say so earlier?! I actually forgot to buy tickets! I wanted to watch the movie, I wanted to support it.¡± Mo Xicheng replied, ¡°I can arrange it if you want to watch it.¡± ¡°No, I want to watch it at the movies!¡± Mo Xicheng protested, ¡°But tonight¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s only 7 p.m. now. We will still have time for our wedding night after we catch the movie.¡± Mo Xicheng wondered why he had even told her that the movie was premiering tonight. He turned back and took one look at their room, which had been specially prepared for the evening, and sighed. It looked like there were a few more hours to go before he could have her. Chapter 1355 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (28)

Chapter 1355: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (28)

Although this was a suburban area, there was a cinema about five kilometers away. So in his mask, sunsses and baseball cap, Mo Xicheng drove Shi Nianyao and they arrived at the cinema. They bought two tickets. As Shi Nianyao was about to enter the theatre, Mo Xicheng suddenly grabbed her hand. She turned around and saw that he was looking at a couple some distance away. They were holding popcorn and a big cup of soft drink. There were two straws sticking out of the cup and the couple had their heads lowered over the cup, drinking through the straws. He narrowed his eyes and asked, ¡°Do you want to get some snacks?¡± They just had dinner and right now, Shi Nianyao was still feeling stuffed. Hence she replied, ¡°No.¡± Mo Xicheng, however, said, ¡°I want some.¡± Surprised, Shi Nianyao asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t you have enough to eat just now?¡± He muttered, ¡°Nope.¡± ¡°Well then, go get some.¡± He nodded and walked to the queue. After he bought popcorn and a soft drink, the two of them held hands and walked into the cinema. It was dim in the room. The couple made their way to their seats and sat down. Shi Nianyao¡¯s eyes shone with excitement in the dark as she said, ¡°Ahhhhh, I can finally watch my idol¡¯s movie!¡± Mo Xicheng: ... ¡°You have no idea, you act in so few movies, so it¡¯s a rare chance to watch one.¡± Mo Xichengughed and said, ¡°Very few, that¡¯s true.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not just very few. It¡¯s pathetically few. Just when you do really well in a supporting role and have a chance to progress, you go all quiet again.¡± Shi Nianyao sighed and said, ¡°Why is it so difficult to make it big?¡± He listened quietly to herment. She continued, ¡°You know, we fans have disputes among ourselves too. When we like a particr celebrity, we hope that he makes it big, and I belong to the group of fans that has been following you around for the longest time. All of us have been vouching for you! When we finally heard you were taking a lead role, we were all so excited.¡± Mo Xicheng couldn¡¯t help shaking his head when he heard this. As they chatted quietly, the two people seated in front of them suddenly started to talk. Both of them were youngdies. Staring at the screen, one of them said, ¡°Here¡¯s something I heard. You know how initially, the male lead for this movie was Shen Liangchuan?¡± The otherdy nodded and said, ¡°Yes, why?¡± ¡°Well, it was supposed to have been Shen Liangchuan, but because Mo Xicheng did some sexual favours to the investor, they took away the role from Shen Liangchuan and gave it to Mo Xicheng.¡± ¡°Freaking hell, no way! They actually took Best Actor Shen out of the role?¡± ¡°I heard that the investor is ady and super-rich. Her family owns a huge enterprise. Look at Mo Xicheng¡¯s pretty boy face.. tsk tsk!¡± ¡°Now that you say that, I also feel that it¡¯s possible Mo Xicheng¡¯s sugar mummy is an old and ugly woman. It could be the reason why he has never done advertisements all these years. The entertainment industry is aplex thing.¡± ¡°Ah, at first I was really looking forward to this film, but when they changed the male lead, I lost interest. On the big screen, isn¡¯t this Mo Xicheng¡¯s acting a bit stiff? But anyway, I was bored today so I didn¡¯t mind watching the movie.¡± The otherdy nodded. Shi Nianyao turned to nce at Mo Xicheng after hearing this conversation. Chapter 1356 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (29)

Chapter 1356: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (29)

Mo Xicheng raised an eyebrow and then turned to stare at Shi Nianyao, asking, ¡°Old and ugly investor?¡± Shi Nianyao was hopping mad as she looked back at him. ¡°Am I old? Am I ugly?¡± The man burst outughing. She pouted angrily andined, ¡°I¡¯ve finally discovered how baseless ims can be.¡± Mo Xicheng raised an eyebrow again. Angrily, she took a sip of the soft drink and then turned to Mo Xicheng, saying in a low voice, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you something.¡± Arching his eyebrow, he said, ¡°Go on.¡± She started giggling as she said, ¡°A couple of years ago, some bored soul came up with a celebrity ranking based on face value. Best Actor Shen came in first, of course, but this person ranked youst. Right after that, thement section was flooded with remarks saying you were dashing and your acting skills were great. They started to make guesses as to why you hadn¡¯t made it big. Regarding this question alone, there were so many theories. Do you want to hear about them?¡± Mo Xicheng replied, ¡°I don¡¯t, really.¡± Looking at her cheeky face, he already knew that what she was about to say next would not be good news of any sort. So why would he be interested in it? But that spoiled look on her was hrious for Mo Xicheng. She cleared her throat once and started, ¡°But I want to tell you about it, so you have to listen whether you like it or not.¡± Mo Xicheng: ... She continued, ¡°The first thing they guessed was that you must be a rich second-generation heir of some corporation and kept a low profile because of your status. This guess was basically correct. The second theory was a little far-fetched. They said you were gay! Hahahaha!¡± Mo Xicheng: ... Shi Nianyao widened her eyes and blinked, saying, ¡°Actually, I did suspect that you might be gay. You were never in any scandals all these years, you never had a rtionship, so I thought that you were surely gay.¡± He replied, ¡°It looks like I have to work hard to correct my reputation tonight.¡± Shi Nianyao: ... She looked at his serious expression and her heart skipped a beat. That was the end of her. She and her big mouth. Now she was in trouble! Correct his reputation tonight... How else could he possibly do it? Why did this man seem so evil all the time? He was perpetually trying to trick her! Immediately, she fell silent. At this point, Mo Xicheng asked, ¡°And what about the third theory¡± Shi Nianyao quickly replied, ¡°None, I¡¯m sure there¡¯s none!¡± If she were to say more, it was almost guaranteed that she wouldn¡¯t be able to get out of bed the next morning. Mo Xicheng held out his hand and said, ¡°Good girl.¡± Shi Nianyao: ... The two of them fell silent. The two women¡¯s voices could be heard again. ¡°You may be here for a movie because you¡¯re bored, but I¡¯m here for my Chen Junjie!¡± Chen Junjie was the actor who had vied with Mo Xicheng for the leading role during filming. Not only had he not been able to suck up to Qiao Yiyi sessfully, but he had also eventually gotten Mo Xicheng¡¯s initial supporting role. ¡°Chen Junjie is so popr now!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, my Big Brother Jie is really superb. I heard that when Best Actor Shen left, Big Brother Jie was supposed to take over the lead role, and it was that gigolo who got in the way. Huh, someone who depends on selling his body and pretty looks to climb thedder... His films and acting skills surely suck! I think this movie is going to depend on Big Brother Jie to hold things together.¡± Upon hearing this, Shi Nianyao was livid. Chapter 1357 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (30)

Chapter 1357: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (30)

Chen Junjie had shot to fame as a young idol because he had acted in a melodramatic idol movie. When he was approached for this minor supporting role, the TV series he had acted in had not yet been released. Hence, this had been mostly a result of the bond he had with hispany. Later on, the TV series happened to be released at an opportune time when there were nopeting series being aired. Hence by fluke, this idol drama had caught on and be popr. Because of this, he had suddenly be the hottest young male idol of the time. Given this, having him go back to a minor support role would have been a waste of talent. However, even if this was the case, he still did not have what it would have taken to be the male lead of a huge production like Ambition. On the contrary, although Mo Xicheng had never made it big, he had undeniably withstood the test of time and held his position in show business. On top of this, he was a high-skilled actor. Hence in terms of seniority and experience in the industry, he was far ahead of Chen Junjie. So how could it be possible that Mo Xicheng had stolen Chen Junjie¡¯s role? Shi Nianyao frowned. As protective as she was of her male idol, she said aloud to the twodies in front, ¡°Hey, will the two of you mind your words? It¡¯s fine if you like Chen Junjie, but do you have to criticize my idol? Everyone has their own idols that they follow with reason and logic. There are other people in the cinema, and I¡¯m sure there are plenty of Mo Xicheng¡¯s fans. You¡ª¡± Before she could finish, one of thedies had gotten onto her feet and retorted loudly, ¡°I find your remark interesting. What has our private conversation got to do with you? Oh, I know, you must be a fan of Mo Xicheng! But I¡¯d like to ask everyone here if they know who Mo Xicheng is? I think most of us here are Chen Junjie¡¯s fans.¡± Usually, those who attended movie premieres were loyal fans. At once, someone sitting near Shi Nianyao spoke up, ¡°I¡¯m Idol Mo¡¯s fan! What¡¯s your problem with Idol Mo? Is it a crime to be low-profile? Someone with a low-profile can¡¯t take a male lead role?¡± Shi Nianyao immediately looked at the person who had spoken up and saw that it was ady about her own age. She had a round face, short hair, and a pair of extremely lively eyes. When Chen Junjie¡¯s fan heard this, she smirked and said, ¡°These days, filming¡¯s all about seniority and experience! Chen Junjie is a hot celebrity, so it¡¯s not surprising that he would get a supporting role next to Best Actor Shen. But what makes Mo Xicheng deserve this? Chen Junjie has got tens of millions of fans on Weibo, but what about your Mo Xicheng? He¡¯s a second-rate actor with a few million fans. Doesn¡¯t it say something when you¡¯ve been in show business for so many years and never got popr? Huh...¡± The girl with the round face shook in anger upon hearing these words. She said, ¡°Stop saying that. Idol Mo will be really popr, it¡¯s just a matter of time! What gives you the right to look down on him?!¡± ¡°Tsk tsk.¡± The otherdy looked back at her mockingly and said, ¡°Just a matter of time. How many years have you fans been saying this? But what¡¯s the reality? A male actor who has not made it big after seven or eight years in the industry says alot about hisck of talent! No matter how hard he works or whatever sexual favors he gives, he¡¯ll only be a second-rate celebrity at best.¡± Chapter 1358 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (31)

Chapter 1358: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (31)

When the short-haired girl heard this, she got anxious at once and said, ¡°What are you talking about? My idol is not as terrible as you make him out to be!¡± ¡°Well then, why hasn¡¯t he made it big? I¡¯d like to ask everyone in this cinema if they¡¯ve ever heard of Mo Xicheng? But everyone knows who Chen Junjie is.¡± When she said this, many of the fans in the cinema showed their agreement. ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯m here because of Big Brother Jie.¡± ¡°Exactly, who cares about Mo Xicheng?!¡± Chen Junjie was at the peak of his poprity and he had scores of fans. ¡°You- you people,¡± the short-haired girl¡¯s voice trembled in anger. ¡°Even if male idol is not so popr, he is the lead. Your Chen Junjie still had to y a supporting role.¡± Thatdy fan of Chen Junjie immediately said in response, ¡°This is a joke. So what if he¡¯s the male lead? Let me ask everyone here, how many of you are Chen Junjie¡¯s fans? Just raise your hands and we will be able to tell who is the most popr actor.¡± At once, people across the cinema started to raise their hands. At one nce, there must have been two thirds of the audience who were Chen Junjie¡¯s fans. ¡°Well, you see that? What have you got to say now? Clearly, your Mo Xicheng depends on our Chen Junjie¡¯s ability to attract the audience.¡± The short-haired girl was speechless. Mo Xicheng¡¯s fans immediately became the disadvantaged minority. Shi Nianyao felt an extreme ache in her heart when she saw this. It wasn¡¯t because of the fans, but because of Mo Xicheng. He had the looks, the acting skills, the right connections and people skills. Not to mention Shen Liangchuan, but even she could easily invest in a few movies which would catapult him to as much fame as Shen Liangchuan had. But this man had always deliberately kept a low profile. She had seen him film. He didn¡¯t have airs of superiority and disyed a serious attitude when at work. He was always the one setting the tempo during filming, to allow the weaker actors to slip into their roles more easily. He would even set aside his personal time to personally rehearse scenes with his female lead, just so that the oue would be more professional. But what right did these people have? Shi Nianyao clenched her fists tightly. The short-haired girl was now somewhat choking and her eyes were bloodshot. She said, ¡°Even if Chen Junjie is more popr, you shouldn¡¯t nder my male idol.¡± The Chen Junjie fan sneered icily, but before she could say another word, Shi Nianyao spoke, ¡°So what if he¡¯s so popr?!¡± She got up on her feet. As a fair-skinned beauty, she had an air of authority that came from being the daughter of the Shi family. Her gaze swept the cinema like she was the leader of the pack. Everyone fell silent as they lifted their head to look at her. Taking a long hard look at these Chen Junjie fans, she spoke after a pause in a steady voice that rang clearly in everyone¡¯s ears, ¡°This industry doesn¡¯tck new blood. It may be Chen Junjie today, but who was itst year? Does anyone remember? Where is he now? And the year before that? Do you remember? Every year there is a hot young idol, or even a few, but how many times have they won Best Actor awards? And who are the ones who have truly gained respect? You judge a person¡¯s standing by his poprity in that moment? Then what about Best Actor Shen? Chen Junjie has 70 million fans on Weibo, but Best Actor Shen has only more than 50 million. And would you dare say Best Actor Shen is not as popr as Chen Junjie?¡± Chapter 1359 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (32)

Chapter 1359: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (32)

After hearing her words, the ce was immediately silent. Everyone stared at her. Shi Nianyao continued speaking, ¡°As an actor, his job is to act. What¡¯s the point of all of you fighting about who¡¯s more famous and who¡¯s the one bringing in the audience? The movie is right about to y and we should first look at who¡¯s the soul of the movie before talking about the rest!¡± ¡°You can fight about who¡¯s really the star of the movie after that.¡± She sat down after saying these words dominantly. The short-haired girl beside her lifted her head up and nced at her with shining eyes. Chen Junjie¡¯s fan was stunned by Shi Nianyao. When she returned to her senses and wanted to argue back, the girl beside her held her back. Just in that moment, the lights in the cinema suddenly turned off and the soundtrack of the movie yed. It was starting! Everyone, with the thought ofparing whose idol was better, was staring at the big screen, eager to prove who was more charismatic. The intro song ended. And the movie began. The first scene was a person who was riding on a journey alone. The person was sttered with the dust on the floor The camera shot closed in from far. Then, they could see that the person on the horse was Chen Junjie. He was in period clothing, he looked really professional on the horse. Amazed sounds were heard in the cinema. The fan sitting in front of Shi Nianyao instantly turned around and looked at her arrogantly. She lowered her voice and sneered, ¡°Isn¡¯t the beginning of the movie relying on my idol to get attention? Also, who says that the acting skills of my idol aren¡¯t good? His acting is so natural!¡± After she said so, Shi Nianyao couldn¡¯t help but sneer. When they were filming this scene, Shi Nianyao had been on the filming set. Chen Junjie hadn¡¯t known how to ride a horse and the scene of him riding a horse had been taken in a car. The scene from afar had been filmed using a stunt actor. But she was toozy to exin anything. Everyone continued watching the movie. Chen Junjie rode the horse, sped through the small road and rushed into a building in the suburbs. Once he arrived, he got off the horse. At that moment, there were already a few people standing in the hallway. Seeing Chen Junjie walk over, everyone started greeting him. Chen Junjie smiled and asked, ¡°Is he not here?¡± Everyone started nodding. Someone spoke, ¡°Meng De has been gone for so many years, I might not even be able to recognize him.¡± ¡°Aish, this person. When he¡¯s around, we never have a day of peace, but honestly, when he¡¯s gone, I kind of miss him.¡± ¡°Same. He agreed that we would wait for him, but it¡¯s already been so long. Why hasn¡¯t he arrived?¡± With a few words, they introduced the male lead. Just as everyone was casually conversing, they suddenly heard an exmation. ¡°He¡¯s here!¡± Everyone looked over. They saw a person who was bending down and riding on a strong red horse, running towards them at a furious speed. While riding at a furious speed, he picked up the horsewhip and started waving it in their direction. At that moment, it was obvious who had won. The image portrayed by an artist in a movie shot was based on the camera, as well as the disposition of the person. Although Chen Junjie didn¡¯t have a good character, he looked really good on camera and that was precisely the reason why he had be famous. But stunt actors were different. His stunt actor had apletely different disposition from him. The scene where the stunt actor had been riding the horse at the start of the movie had brought along elegance. However, if one observed it carefully, you would find that the movements, though really natural, didn¡¯t bring along the unique disposition and feeling artists had in front of the camera. But at this present moment... Mo Xicheng had personally done the riding scene. Chapter 1360 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (33)

Chapter 1360: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (33)

His face could be clearly seen from afar. The camera zoomed in and continued filming. His whole face had a positive masculine feeling. It was exactly like the unrestrained Cao Cao in his younger years. The energy of a crazy youth could be felt in him. His depiction of Cao Cao was perfect. Just a scene of him riding the horse had really clearly brought out the character, directly building up his personality. Everyone present had quietened down. They quietly focused on the big screen. After one minute had passed, everyone suddenly realized something. When they had just seen Chen Junjie, they had thought that he was really eye-catching, but at that present moment, after Mo Xicheng had appeared, all of their gazes were on Mo Xicheng. They were totally unable to move their gaze away. Unknowingly, everyone had their full attention on his expressions. Just when everyone realized the issue, there was amotion in the cinema. Someone couldn¡¯t resist but softly say, ¡°Why do I feel that... Idol Mo is indeed more handsome than Chen Junjie?¡± After she said so, the ce immediately quietened down. Everyone stared at the big screen unwillingly. Before, Chen Junjie and Mo Xicheng had filmed separately. But finally, they were in the same scene. The moment both of them were in the same scene, everyone¡¯s gaze focused on them. Chen Junjie, who had originally been rather good in filming idol dramas, obviously had worse acting skills than Mo Xicheng. When everyone saw Mo Xicheng, they felt that this person was Cao Cao, they might even forget that that person was Mo Xicheng. However, when they looked at Chen Junjie, they could obviously feel that it was Chen Junjie. He was unable to put down his idol baggage from acting idol dramas. He still carried the vibes from being an arrogant boss in the movie. For television dramas, the show would appear on small screens and the negative parts would be minimized. Everyone would notice more how handsome the guy was. However now on the big screen, it was obvious that he wascking in acting skills. As everyone watched him, they felt that they were unable to focus on his character in the show. When the two of them stood together, Mo Xicheng was as if he was the real nobleman, who was rich and filled with arrogance. Meanwhile, Chen Junjie was a countryman who had suddenly be rich and he was totally eclipsed by Mo Xicheng. There was almost no need for Mo Xicheng¡¯s fans to say anything. Everyone present at the scene was speechless from watching such a movie. Shi Nianyao had obviously noticed that the two girls in front of her were somewhat speechless at that moment. She sneered and then continued staring at the big screen. She didn¡¯t even want to even shift her gaze slightly away from Mo Xicheng¡¯s face until someone pulled her sleeve. She confusedly looked back at Mo Xicheng. Mo Xicheng picked up the popcorn and put one in her mouth. Shi Nianyao opened her mouth, ate a mouthful of popcorn and continued staring at the screen, Mo Xicheng: ... The real person was right beside her, but she was still staring at the big screen, it really made his heart ache. But he was actually jealous of himself in the show, which was kind of funny. Mo Xicheng shook his head and started focusing on serving Shi Nianyao. One moment he was passing her the popcorn, the other he was cing the c next to her mouth, watching her swallow a big mouthful of it. Chapter 1361 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (34)

Chapter 1361: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (34)

Mo Xicheng¡¯s gaze fell on the red lips she had casually opened. Her lips were like opium. This reminded him of how they had tasted like today and he felt addicted. He swallowed his saliva and shifted his gaze away. Then he lifted his hands and drank a mouthful of coke, trying to suppress the agitation in his heart. The moviested two hours. After finishing the movie, Shi Nianyao¡¯s eyes were still red. The movie had depicted the first half of Cao Cao¡¯s life, until he settled down. It felt as if the hero had reached the end of his journey. The name of the movie was Ambition, but the content of the movie had been when Cao Cao had shown the most integrity in his life. It had been the failure of the imperial court that had led to his rebellion. At first, he was appointed to a camp at the north of Luoyang. The moment he was appointed, he had set rules, strictw and discipline. After that, an eunuch that the king favored went against his rules. Cao Cao had mercilessly sentenced him to death. Thus, Cao Cao offended some influential officials. After that, due to the incident, his post was lowered and he got transferred to Doncho as the magistrate. After some time, because of his cousin¡¯s husband (Chen Junjie, acting as Song Qi) being killed by an eunuch, he was affected and it resulted in him being taken away from his position. He had nothing to do in Luoyang, so he was forced to return back to his hometown and stop working. The gist of the story was to show how unjust Cao Cao¡¯s life had been, how he had fought with the corrupted officials till the end. But in the end, he still hadn¡¯t been able to stand the pressure from the imperial court and his pure dream had been destroyed. At the end of the movie, he left Luoyang. At the leaving road, he stared at the door of Luoyang and in his gaze, shed sadness and deep thought. Of course, it was also due to these incidents that a person with great ambition like him had decided to walk down that road. Mo Xicheng stood there, and the camera zoomed closer and closer. Until the end, when the camera stopped at his closed-in face His eyes brought sadness, he had already seen through the world. They also brought along a strong unwillingness to concede. This gaze of his deeply overwhelmed everyone in the theater. Everyone was staring at those eyes, deeply affected by the feelings they stirred. The movie ended and the lights in the movie theater were turned on. But the people sitting there only seemed to return to their senses after ten seconds. They then quietly stood up. The short-haired girl had already cried till she was in a really bad state. As she cried, she shouted, ¡°This is the Idol Mo that we love, this is Mo Xicheng! It¡¯s alright if you didn¡¯t know him before, but do you know him now?¡± Some of the Chen Junjie fans in the surroundings kept quiet, while some of them hesitated. In a movie, it was really obvious who was good and who was bad. But in that moment, the girl who sat in front of Shi Nianyao stood up and said, ¡°Heh, that¡¯s so funny. So what if we know him? The person we still love is Chen Junjie! Also, the people watching the movie here are Chen Junjie¡¯s fans. Even if everyone had gotten to know Mo Xicheng through this movie, he¡¯s just benefitting from the poprity of Chen Junjie.¡± The short-haired girl immediately frowned and asked, ¡°Why are you talking like this? You¡ª¡± Before she could finish speaking, the person sneered and replied, ¡°This is how I talk. How many good films did your Mo Xicheng star in? You can¡¯t deny that his acting skills have all along been decent, he is a senior actor, but so what?¡± Chapter 1362 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (35)

Chapter 1362: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (35)

¡°After so many years, he is still unable to rise to fame, he can just forget about ever doing so in his life. Even if he is the male lead this time, he will always have the role of the male supporting actor.¡± After saying this, she picked up her bag and strode out in big steps. Shi Nianyao frowned. She knew that the girl was in a shameful rage. She was upset after realizing that her idol was not as good as others. However even if so, this girl should not have harmed others. She took a deep breath, wanting to argue back, but Mo Xicheng suddenly held her wrist. Shi Nianyao turned behind in confusion and saw Mo Xicheng shaking his head. Shi Nianyao signalled a question using his eyes. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Mo Xicheng remained silent for a moment before he slowly replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s nothing much.¡± After hearing this, Shi Nianyao shut up and stood still on the spot. She stared at Mo Xicheng and looked at him for a very long time. Then she slowly sighed, relieving the sadness that was rooted deeply in her chest. She nodded at Mo Xicheng, wanting to walk out with him. As both of them walked around the cinema and were about to go outside, someone suddenly called out, ¡°Wait a minute!¡± Surprised, Shi Nianyao turned back and saw the short-haired girl running towards them. Her face was flushed as she stared at Shi Nianyao. Then she suddenlyughed, extended her hand towards Shi Nianyao and said, ¡°My username is Pu Yun, thank you for showing your support for our Mo Xicheng just now.¡± Pu Yun? Wasn¡¯t she the little manager of Mo Xicheng¡¯s fan club? The fan club had been a fan initiative, it had been established when Mo Xicheng debuted a few years ago. Since Mo Xicheng did not have a lot of fans, the few hundreds of people in the fan club were especially united. After so many years, many fans had persisted in liking him. Pu Yun was one of Mo Xicheng¡¯s crazy fans. Shi Nianyao¡¯s eyes instantly lit up. ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± Pu Yun was surprised. ¡°You know who I am?¡± Shi Nianyao was alreadyughing. ¡°I am Niannian!¡± Pu Yun suddenly came to a realization. ¡°You are Niannian! No wonder you dared to speak up for me today!¡± Shi Nianyao: ... Pu Yun took a deep breath and said, ¡°Thank you so much for today!¡± Shi Nianyao replied, ¡°It was nothing.¡± Why did it sound so strange that someone else had to thank her for speaking up for her own husband? Shi Nianyao looked at her red eyes and said, ¡°You have suffered today.¡± Pu Yun immediately shook her head and said, ¡°No, I do not feel sad, I have always felt that our idol is the one suffering from all of this.¡± When Shi Nianyao, she was slightly stunned. She turned and looked at Mo Xicheng, who was wearing sunsses and a mask, covering himself tightly. She realized that although he was wearing shades, his gaze was still in her direction. Pu Yun sighed as he said, ¡°For so many years, our idol has been considered a second-rate actor. He has acted so many times as the second lead and now that he¡¯s finally getting the chance to act as the main lead, I really think that it isn¡¯t easier.¡± Shi Nianyao nodded and said, ¡°You are right. He was always good at acting, not just famous for his looks, don¡¯t give up.¡± Who knew that once she said these words offort, Pu Yun would look up and say, ¡°Niannian, we have been supporting our idol for so many years, do you think that he can really rise up to fame?¡± Hearing this, Shi Nianyao was stunned. She could hear the loss of hope in Pu Yun¡¯s words. It wasn¡¯t surprising. Being a fan of Mo Xicheng and seeing how he was criticized must have really upset her. Chapter 1363 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (36)

Chapter 1363: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (36)

Shi Nianyao knew that at that moment, Pu Yun wasn¡¯t really doubting Mo Xicheng¡¯s ability. Instead, she was searching for somefort. Thus she slowly spoke, ¡°He will be really popr. One day, he will be the brightest star in the entertainment industry. I believe it and you believe it too, right?¡± Pu Yun was influenced by the resilience in her voice and immediately nodded. ¡°Yes, he¡¯ll be popr.¡± The two girls exchanged nces and smiled. After a while, Pu Yun spoke, ¡°After knowing each other in the group for long, I never thought that we would meet in real life. Are you free tonight? Can we go grab a coffee and chat?¡± Just as Shi Nianyao was about to nod, her arm was nudged. She then realized that her new husband was standing behind her. She immediately smiled awkwardly and coughed. ¡°Erm, I¡¯m kind of busy tonight. Can we exchange phone numbers? Since we are both in Beijing, we will have a lot of chances to meet up.¡± Pu Yun¡¯s gaze fell on Mo Xicheng and asked, ¡°Is this your boyfriend?¡± Shi Nianyao immediately panicked and looked back at Mo Xicheng. She coughed and replied, ¡°No.¡± Mo Xicheng paused and frowned. As an ufortable feeling rose up in him, he heard Shi Nianyao speak, ¡°This is my husband. We have just registered our marriage today.¡± Pu Yun was instantly surprised. She stared at Shi Nianyao and said, ¡°Congrattions to the both of you! Hope that you¡¯ll be happy for the rest of your lives.¡± Shi Nianyao nodded. ¡°What about you? Do you have a boyfriend?¡± Pu Yun had often chatted with her online, so they were well acquainted. Pu Yun immediately shook her head and said, ¡°But I¡¯m in no hurry, I¡¯m still waiting for my idol. Maybe one day the heavens will bless me and drop Idol Mo in front of me. How good will that be? Hahaha.¡± Shi Nianyao thought, ¡°If that happens one day, she would be crying.¡± She awkwardly curved the corners of her lips and looked back at Mo Xicheng. She bid goodbye to Pu Yun and said, ¡°If there¡¯s nothing much, we¡¯ll take our leave. Let¡¯s chat on another day.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± Pu Yunughed, suddenly moved beside Shi Nianyao¡¯s ear and whispered, ¡°Niannian, your boyfriend¡¯s figure really looks like Idol Mo, and he¡¯s really nice to you. During the movie today, he kept feeding you. It really made me jealous! I think that your boyfriend is better than our idol!¡± Shi Nianyao: ... Shi Nianyao¡¯s eyes immediately brightened up as she replied, ¡°Thank you, I think so too!¡± Pu Yunughed loudly and then separated from them. Shi Nianyao held Mo Xicheng¡¯s hands and they walked hand in hand to the parking lot. On the way, Shi Nianyao couldn¡¯t resist looking at Mo Xicheng. However, he kept quiet throughout. Shi Nianyao stuck out her tongue and followed him to the parking. As both of them entered the car, Mo Xicheng took off both his mask and sunsses. Just as he was taking off his mask and sunsses and was about to start the car, a person suddenly rushed in front of them. Pu Yun had suddenly appeared in front of the car. She was panting heavily, like she had something to tell Shi Nianyao. However, after seeing the situation in the car, she was instantly stunned. She widened her eyes in shock, staring in the car in disbelief. Chapter 1364 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (37)

Chapter 1364: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (37)

Shi Nianyao was shocked. She subconsciously covered Mo Xicheng¡¯s head and pushed him. He then fell into her arms. Shi Nianyao lifted her head up. Through the windscreen, she could see that Pu Yun had her eyes open wide as she stared at them... But it also looked as if she wasn¡¯t staring at them. Shi Nianyao: ... Shi Nianyao swallowed and looked outside. She saw that Pu Yun was still standing there. She lowered the window and awkwardly smiled. ¡°Pu Yun.¡± Pu Yun immediately became agitated. She suddenly rushed over and said, ¡°Niannian, I didn¡¯t know you were someone like that!¡± Shi Nianyao lowered her head guiltily and awkwardly smiled. She then said, ¡°I didn¡¯t hide it from you on purpose, I was just worried that-¡± She was worried that if the news of their marriage got spread, Yao Lili wouldmit suicide. Before she could finish speaking, Pu Yun sighed and said, ¡°I understand, I understand, you rich people all love to y like this.¡± ¡°What?¡± Shi Nianyao was confused. What did this have to do with being rich or not? The next moment, she heard Pu Yun say, ¡°Pfft, look at you, no one would¡¯ve expected that you drive such a luxurious car. You¡¯re actually a second-generation rich girl. Niannian, you¡¯re really lowkey!¡± Shi Nianyao: ...!! So the reason why she was so surprised just now hadn¡¯t been because of the person she had seen in the car, but because she had seen this car? Shi Nianyao instantly started giggling. Her expression was really awkward. It was definitely possible to see the man in the driver¡¯s seat from the outside of the car, especially when it was at such a close distance. But this girl had been so attracted by the car that she had missed the man. Shi Nianyao had no idea whether tough bitterly or be thankful for her luck. She coughed and asked, ¡°Why did you look for me?¡± Pu Yun hit her head and replied, ¡°Yes, I suddenly recalled something when I was about to leave and rushed over.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just that next month is Idol Mo¡¯s birthday. I have contacted his manager and we want to host a fan meeting in Beijing. As you¡¯re in Beijing and one of the seniors in our fan group, I wanted to ask you if you wanted to go.¡± Shi Nianyao: ... Mo Xicheng¡¯s birthday was next month? She obviously had to be there on his birthday. Shi Nianyao instantly nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go!¡± ¡°Ok, we¡¯re set!¡± Pu Yun continued, ¡°I will leave a spot for you.¡± After saying that, her gaze went past her andnded on Mo Xicheng, who was caught in her arms and was being held from lifting his head. Confused, she asked, ¡°What... is your husband doing?¡± Shi Nianyao coughed and said, ¡°He¡¯s shy and doesn¡¯t like to meet people.¡± Mo Xicheng: ... Pu Yun: ...! Pu Yun couldn¡¯t resist twitching her lips and nodding. ¡°Ok then, I¡¯ll leave.¡± Shi Nianyao waved her hand at her and bid goodbye. ¡°Ok, ok.¡± Seeing that Pu Yun had walked some distance away, Shi Nianyao heaved a sigh of relief. After that, she suddenly realized something and lowered her head. She realized that she had pressed Mo Xicheng¡¯s face against her chest in that moment of panic. Her chest! Her face immediately turned red as she hurriedly let go of Mo Xicheng. Then, her eyes sparkled as she didn¡¯t dare to speak. She stared at Mo Xicheng, coughed awkwardly and said, ¡°Erm- You-¡± Before she could finish speaking, Mo Xicheng spoke, ¡°I¡¯m shy?¡± Shi Nianyao: ...!! Chapter 1365 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (38)

Chapter 1365: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (38)

Shi Nianyao cleared her throat. ¡°I- I was just saying, let¡¯s drive back to the hotel quickly.¡± Mo Xicheng couldn¡¯t help shaking his head upon hearing this. It was already 10 p.m. by the time they drove out of the parking lot. As they were making their way to the hotel, Shi Nianyao¡¯s cell phone rang. She paused briefly and nced down at the screen. Then she muted the phone. Noticing this, Mo Xicheng threw her a nce and asked, ¡°Who was that? You act like it was an enemy?¡± She replied, ¡°My Big Brother.¡± Mo Xicheng asked her, ¡°Did you tell your family that you won¡¯t be home tonight?¡± She lowered her head guiltily and said, ¡°My parents are out of town and there¡¯s no one home, so I didn¡¯t inform anyone.¡± Mo Xicheng: ... She sighed and continued, ¡°I¡¯m sure it was that big mouth Su Penghao. How would my brother know I¡¯m not home otherwise?¡± Arching his eyebrow, he repeated, ¡°Su Penghao?¡± Shi Nianyao nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. Su Penghao¡¯s my next-door neighbor. He drops by almost everyday if he¡¯s free! Recently, he was in Shanghai for some sort ofpetition so he wasn¡¯t around. But it seems his club is on holiday now so he¡¯s been free.¡± She bit her lip and looked at her cell phone with much resentment. ¡°Pick up the call,¡± Mo Xicheng suggested. ¡°Otherwise he will get worried.¡± With this advice, she connected the line. At once, a voice at the other end spoke. Shi Xun said simply and directly, ¡°Where are you? Why aren¡¯t you home?¡± Shi Nianyao quickly exined, ¡°I¡¯m out with a friend. What¡¯s up Big Brother? What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter? It¡¯ste at night and you¡¯re a single youngdy hanging out. I want you home now. Right away. Immediately. I don¡¯t care where you are.¡± ¡°Big Brother!¡± she protested. ¡°I¡¯m not a kid. Stop worrying about me. I¡¯m with my friend and it¡¯s embarrassing when you do this!¡± There was a long pause after she said this. ¡°You must be with your boyfriend?¡± Shi Nianyao: ... She turned to nce at Mo Xicheng, coughed softly and said, ¡°Erm, Big Brother, I think maybe you and Sister-inw should have another baby, rather than spend time worrying about me. I¡¯m hanging up!¡± Then she disconnected the line. Even very judiciously, she turned off the cell phone. Mo Xicheng: ... Mo Xicheng couldn¡¯t help finding her guilt-ridden face funny. But at the same time, he felt guilty himself. He couldn¡¯t give Shi Nianyao a proper status at the moment, and on top of that, he had even put her in the situation of hiding their marriage from her family. He lowered his head and, after a while, said, ¡°Nianyao, how about I take you home?¡± ¡°What?¡± She looked at the man, clearly startled. Suddenly, she felt awful. She had hidden this from her parents and now, did Mo Xicheng also think that she was an indecent girl? She pouted and lowered her head as she mumbled, ¡°Ok.¡± He nced at her and then spun the car around, in the direction of her home. She turned away angrily and looked out of the car window, feeling the pent-up frustration inside her chest like a giant wad of cotton wool. Mo Xicheng sighed when he saw her unhappy and finally said, ¡°Nianyao, I¡¯m sorry.¡± She paused. He said unhurriedly, ¡°Let¡¯s go back to the hotel.¡± Her eyes lit up. Then she heard his deep and resonant voice say decisively: ¡°Because I don¡¯t think I can bring myself to let you go tonight ¡° Chapter 1366 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (39)

Chapter 1366: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (39)

The car spun around yet again and sped towards the hotel this time. As the car made its way back, Shi Nianyao¡¯s emotions were like raging waves. Biting her lip, she was nervous one moment, in a conundrum the next, ted one second, and then fearful at once. As she struggled to deal with these shifting emotions, they arrived back at the hotel. Mo Xicheng got out of the car and then held his hand out towards Shi Nianyao. Hisrge hand was warm as it closed around her tiny one. It made her jump a little, for it felt scorching hot somehow. Her male idol usually spoke casually but at this point, she found his words nerve-wracking. She gulped and lowered her head as she followed the man. They went past the lobby and up the elevator. Staring at the changing number in the elevator panel as it went up, Shi Nianyao¡¯s heart raced. She gulped again. It seemed that their room was the penthouse on the 18th floor, with an all-round view. Hence when the elevator came to a stop on the 18th floor, she clenched her fists nervously. Before she knew what was going on, she was lifted off the ground as the room spun around her. Then was swept up into Mo Xicheng¡¯s arms. Her arms slid around his neck nervously as she buried her head in his chest. Mo Xicheng strode towards the room. She could hear the strong beating of his heart and his unique manly scent filled her nostrils. Her breathing became unusually heavy, she was almost suffocating from the tension. The next thing she saw was a sea of red. The hotel room waspletely decked in a shade of red that was traditionally used by the Chinese for joyous asions. This shade of red oddly stirred her emotions. She had spent all day with him and now, the feeling of being married finally sank into her. She looked at her surroundings as he carried her and walked in a circle around the room once. The ¡°double happiness¡± Chinese character was pasted all over the room, and rose petals were scattered over the bed. It was breathtakingly romantic. Shi Nianyao loved what she saw. With her arms still around Mo Xicheng¡¯s neck, she heard him ask, ¡°Yao Yao, do you like this?¡± She nodded and said at once, ¡°I like it. I love it!¡± ¡°Yao Yao.¡± ¡°Uh-huh?¡± ¡°I really like you too.¡± Shi Nianyao: ... He looked at her with his shing dark eyes and said, ¡°Yao Yao, from now on, you¡¯re my wife. In the future, I¡¯ll do whatever I can to satisfy you.¡± ¡°And you can be assured, I won¡¯t hold myself back anymore.¡± Shi Nianyao paused and asked, ¡°What?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve already told people with such certainty that I¡¯ll surely be very popr. So if I don¡¯t make a name for myself in our country, wouldn¡¯t I be embarrassing you?¡± When Shi Nianyao heard this, her eyes turned moist at once. For the sake of her and his fans, Mo Xicheng had decided that it was time for him to rise from the dust. He was going to announce his presence. He was no longer willing to be that illegitimate child who could not see the light of day. She bit her lip and nodded firmly. Then, unable to resist her emotions, she looked up and locked her lips upon his. Just when Mo Xicheng was about to respond by tossing her onto the petal-strewn bed, the hotel room¡¯s phone suddenly rang. Mo Xicheng paused and reached out for the handset. The receptionist said immediately, ¡°Mr. Mo, someone is looking for Ms. Shi.¡± Surprised and puzzled, Mo Xicheng asked, ¡°Who is it?¡± Then, it sounded like someone took the handset away from the receptionist. Following this, a domineering voice spoke, ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± Chapter 1367 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (40)

Chapter 1367: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (40)

The voice on the other end of the line was cold, and it took Mo Xicheng by surprise. Following this, the man identified himself, ¡°Shi Xun.¡± Mo Xicheng: ... Mo Xicheng nced at Shi Nianyao, who was lying on the bed and staring back at him. His grip on the handset tightened and rxed a few times before he spoke, ¡°Mr. Shi, how are you?¡± ¡°Not too well. My sister has been kidnapped by someone. Instead of getting my sleep, I¡¯m here to get her. Mr. Mo, I think you know what you need to do next?¡± Mo Xicheng was silent for a moment. His expression clouded over as he nodded, ¡°Yes, I know.¡± Then he hung up and looked at Shi Nianyao. She had clearly felt the shift in his mood and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± He pursed his lips and informed her, ¡°Your big brother is here.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Shi Nianyao jumped up from the bed in fright. ¡°My Big Bro- Bro- Brother is here?! Where?!¡± That look of fear, as though a child was being caught red-handed by his parents. Mo Xicheng was oddly troubled by that look on her face. Shi Nianyao had a petite frame to begin with. Right now, with that look of panic on her face, it made him seem as though he had kidnapped an underaged girl. He straightened himself and looked at Shi Nianyao. Then he said, ¡°Downstairs.¡± Shi Nianyao: ... She was panic-stricken at once, crouching on the bed and curling her body into a ball. She looked up and stared at Mo Xicheng wide-eyed, drawing her knees into her chest. She asked, ¡°What do we do now?¡± Mo Xicheng: ... They were married. Sleeping together was a matter of course. Why did it look as though they were a cheating couple? Mo Xicheng was simply speechless. He looked at Shi Nianyao, cleared his throat and said, ¡°I¡¯ll take you downstairs.¡± Shi Nianyao: ... She turned to look at the petal-strewn bed and then shifted her gaze back to the man. She hung her head listlessly, straightened her clothes and got down from the bed. She feltpletely dejected as she put on her shoes and followed Mo Xicheng. He reached out and tousled her hair affectionately when he saw how dispirited she was. She sighed. Shaking his head, the man led Shi Nianyao out of the room. Along the way, Shi Nianyao muttered, ¡°We¡¯re done for! What will we do now?¡± ¡°You have no idea. Since I was young, my big brother has always been stricter with me than my father. He¡¯s always so stone-faced! It makes him look so serious and fierce.¡± ¡°What if he starts a fight?¡± ¡°Are you guys going to end up doing a martial arts show in the hotel lobby?¡± ¡°Oooooh! What now? What now?¡± Mo Xicheng: ... She went on and on until the elevator finally halted at the ground floor. Then all of a sudden, she stopped. Mo Xicheng noticed how the world had gone quiet. He turned around and looked at Shi Nianyao. Taking her hand in his, he assured her, ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous, I¡¯m here.¡± Shi Nianyao started, ¡°Ermmmm.¡± Mo Xicheng turned around. ¡°Why don¡¯t I sneak into the underground parking and slip away? You could pretend I¡¯m not here, then everything will be fine.¡± Mo Xicheng: ... Before the man could say a word, a voice spoke, ¡°But it¡¯s toote.¡± When Shi Nianyao heard that voice, her body stiffened. Her head snapped upwards and she saw Shi Xun in his suit, stone-faced. He walked towards the couple. Chapter 1368 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (41)

Chapter 1368: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (41)

Shi Nianyao: ... Shi Nianyao stared at Shi Xun as though she had just seen a ghost. She stood there awkwardly, not quite sure where to ce her hands. She felt like a kid who had been caught red-handed cheating with her homework. It was embarrassing, she didn¡¯t know what to say. She could only raise her hand and greet Shi Xun stiffly, ¡°Big Brother.¡± ¡°You hung up the phone on your Big Brother?¡± Shi Nianyao: ... She gave an awkward smile and walked up to him. Putting her arm around his, she said, ¡°Big Brother, I didn¡¯t expect to see you here. Why are you here?¡± Shi Xun lowered his head and looked at her asking, ¡°What do you think?¡± Having said this, he lifted his gaze and looked at Mo Xicheng. Mo Xicheng took a step forward proactively and greeted the other man, ¡°Mr. Shi.¡± Shi Xun nodded at him indifferently. Then he turned to his sister and said, ¡°You are young and don¡¯t know better, you only know how to cause trouble.¡± He was implying that Mo Xicheng wasn¡¯t young, yet he was stirring trouble like an immature man. A man like Mo Xicheng, how could he possibly miss that message? However, it was true that he had taken the man¡¯s little sister away and that was wrong to begin with. Furthermore, he couldn¡¯t possibly get into a direct argument with his brother-inw. Immediately, Mo Xicheng apologized, ¡°Big Brother, this is all my fault.¡± Shi Nianyao: ...! Shi Xun: ...! Shi Nianyao looked up at Mo Xicheng in astonishment. How had he just addressed the other man? Big Brother? Big Brother! Shi Nianyao: ...! Shi Nianyao was beginning to look at her male idol in a whole new light tonight. Although they were married and that would mean changing certain forms of address, it sounded terribly odd when her male idol addressed Shi Xun like that. Shi Xun grimaced visibly and with an icyugh, replied, ¡°Isn¡¯t it a tad too early for Mr. Mo to address me like that?¡± His tone was confrontational. It was understandable. One wouldn¡¯t be too friendly with the person who had kidnapped his sister. Shi Xun would have punched the other man if his sister looked like she had been vited. The tips of Mo Xicheng¡¯s ears turned a bright scarlet, he felt somewhat awkward though it didn¡¯t show too obviously on his face. He replied, ¡°No, it¡¯s not really too early. You are older than I am, so it¡¯s not too much to call you that. Today¡¯s¡ª¡± ¡°There is no need to exin, Mr. Mo, we¡¯re all adults and I understand what you¡¯re thinking. But where certain things are concerned, it¡¯s best to wait.¡± At this point, he was most tempted to hurl a few other insults. However, remembering that he was his future brother-inw, he knew it was necessary to allow the man to preserve some dignity, even if he didn¡¯t like him very much. Shi Nianyao: ... She quickly interrupted, ¡°Big Brother, you came at the right time, Mo Xicheng and I were just calling it a day and he was about to take me home. Since you¡¯re here, I might as well go with you. That¡¯s right, it¡¯s just on the way.¡± Mo Xicheng: ... Shi Xun: ... Shi Xun lowered his gaze to look at his sister, who was obviously trying to defend Mo Xicheng. He snorted icily and said, ¡°As for you, we¡¯ll speak when we get home.¡± Shi Nianyao: ... Seeing this was the case, Mo Xicheng took a step forward and said, ¡°Big Brother- Mr. Shi.¡± Shi Xun halted and turned around as Mo Xicheng continued, ¡°Would you mind talking to me for a second?¡± Shi Xun arched an eyebrow. After a moment of consideration, he stepped aside with Mo Xicheng. Shi Nianyao stood back as the two men walked away a small distance and spoke in low voices. She started to panic, fearing that Mo Xicheng might start an argument with Shi Xun. However unexpectedly, Shi Xun¡¯s expression became serious after a few words from Mo Xicheng. Chapter 1369 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (42)

Chapter 1369: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (42)

Shi Nianyao looked at them intently, most puzzled when she saw Shi Xun nodding and patting Mo Xicheng on the shoulders, as though he had given the man some sort of warning, to which Mo Xicheng nodded back. Then Shi Xun turned around and the two men walked back towards her. For some strange reason, Shi Xun, who had been quite ready to have a fistfight a moment ago, had now dropped his aggression, although he was still obviously angry. Shi Nianyao stepped forward instinctively and said, ¡°Big Brother.¡± Shi Xun replied, ¡°Come home with me now.¡± The girl threw a nce at Mo Xicheng. The man smiled at her without speaking, whereas Shi Xun said fiercely, ¡°Why are you looking at him?¡± She retorted, ¡°I¡¯m looking because he¡¯s handsome. What¡¯s wrong with that?¡± Shi Xun: ... Smiling, Mo Xicheng said to her, ¡°Yao Yao, why don¡¯t you go home for now with Big Brother? I¡¯ll drop by to see you tomorrow.¡± This time, Shi Xun only snorted icily at how Mo Xicheng had addressed, him but did not object. Shi Nianyao: ... Shi Nianyao was beginning to think that the two men were developing quite an amazing rtionship. She nced at Mo Xicheng again and then shifted her gaze to Shi Xun. She waved at Mo Xicheng and said, ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll leave now.¡± Mo Xicheng nodded. Before Shi Xun left, he actually threw a look at Mo Xicheng, a token farewell gesture. After seeing the siblings off, and noting that Shi Nianyao had turned back to look at him a few times, he still felt ill at ease. This was their wedding night, yet they had to be apart. However... There was an odd sparkle in Mo Xicheng¡¯s eyes. At some point, he would announce their marriage to the world and they would be able to spend their lives together. At this thought, Mo Xicheng headed back up to the room. Lying back in the room that he had so meticulously decorated himself, he turned his head to look at the scarlet sheets. He broke out in an unconscious smile. Actually, it was alright. It wasn¡¯t a real waste of their wedding night. Because the fact was this hadn¡¯t been a perfect wedding night to begin with. Their decision to get married had been made in a hurry. The span of a day... no, not really, more like an evening, had limited what he could do for her. But he could wait. He could wait till their wedding day to give her a perfect wedding night. And he would leave no room for any regrets. At this thought, he shut his eyes. Just as he did so, his cell phone rang. He turned to nce at the screen. It was Yao Lili. He frowned and narrowed his eyes as he picked up the call. Yao Lili¡¯s demanding tone came across at once, ¡°Where are you?¡¯ His pupils shrank back. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°I know you¡¯re not home. I just called there and no one answered. Are you with Shi Nianyao?¡± He frowned and answered truthfully, ¡°No.¡± ¡°No? Are you lying to me? You promised me, Mo Xicheng, that you would not be with her. I¡¯m warning you, don¡¯t lie to me! Come back at once! I won¡¯t allow you to stay out all night! Do you understand? You are toe home every night. Mo Xicheng, you promised me. Don¡¯t you forget.¡± An expression of anger and irritation shed across his face as he clenched his fists tightly and said, ¡°Mom, I¡¯m not a puppet.¡± Yao Lili was livid upon hearing this. ¡°What do you mean? I¡¯m telling you toe home, so don¡¯t talk to me about anything else. Are youing home or not?¡± Chapter 1370 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (43)

Chapter 1370: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (43)

Casting his gaze down, Mo Xicheng said with indifference, ¡°I¡¯m an adult.¡± ¡°Even if you¡¯re an adult, you¡¯re my son! Do you want to be the death of me? Huh?¡± The man sighed and said, ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡°Well, youe home right away, I¡¯m telling you. I feel pain in my chest and it hurts badly. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m getting a heart attack again. Mo Xicheng, youe home.¡± He hung his head helplessly and replied, ¡°Fine, I¡¯lle home now.¡± He drove home and when he arrived, Yao Lili was sitting on the sofa in the living room, wearing a weary expression on her face. There was no warmth in this house, it was simply cold and impersonal. Indeed, she didn¡¯t look well. Mo Xicheng frowned as he looked for the emergency pills. He found them, got a ss of water and held these out to her. Yao Lili took the medicine and then said as she looked at her son, ¡°Your father will nevere here. I¡¯ve lived alone here for so many years. To him, I¡¯m only an ornament.¡± Mo Xicheng kept silent. Suddenly, Yao Lili gripped his hand tightly and said nervously, ¡°Xicheng, don¡¯t get angry at me for nagging. I¡¯d like you to move home and stay with me, is that alright? We¡¯ve been living apart for so long, I get lonely being home alone every day.¡± ¡°Your father has his own family and his partner, he has his own children. Whereas I- I only have you.¡± He felt numb hearing these words. Because she had said them countless times over the years. But this woman was his mother, so he had to hear her out. ¨C At the hotel, Shi Nianyao had followed Shi Xun to the underground parking. Shi Nianyao was fretting over Shi Xun¡¯s sudden change in attitude towards Mo Xicheng. She looked at Shi Xun, tilting her head with curiosity, and asked, ¡°Big Brother¡ª¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± She fell silent at once. He snorted icily. It waste and traffic was smooth for Shi Xun. They arrived at Shi Xun¡¯s vi half an hourter. Shi Nianyao stared at him and coughed awkwardly. She said, ¡°Big Brother, I think it might be better for me to go home. Sister-inw and Little Cherry are asleep. It¡¯s not a good idea for me to go in now. What if I wake them? Shi Xun immediately replied, ¡°It¡¯s fine. You¡¯ll stay here.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Shi Xun gave her an impassive look and said, ¡°I won¡¯t have you turning around and running back to Mo Xicheng the moment you leave. Then I¡¯d have been running around for nothing tonight.¡± Shi Nianyao: ... She followed Shi Xun as they headed into the house. ¡°Big Brother, how did you know I was in that hotel?!¡± ¡°Have you forgotten who owns that property?¡± Shi Xun replied. She was taken aback for a moment and suddenly, a look of realization crossed her face. ¡°Is that our family¡¯s property?¡± ¡°It belongs to the Si family.¡± Shi Nianyao: ... Shi Xun halted as he turned around and remarked, ¡°I supposed you don¡¯t even know which properties our business owns? From tomorrow onwards, you¡¯lle into the office as an intern. No more hanging out and fooling around.¡± ¡°Big Brother¡ª¡± she started to protest. ¡°Get in.¡± Obediently, she walked into the house. She thought that it was going to be a sleepless night, for her naggy big brother would surely give her an earful. But to her surprise, Shi Xun threw her a nce and then said, ¡°Go to bed early.¡± Shi Nianyao: ...! What? Was the storm over? Her eyes followed Shi Xun as he made his way to the master bedroom. She was stunned. Her brother was letting her off easy today? What exactly had Mo Xicheng told her big brother? Chapter 1371 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (44)

Chapter 1371: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (44)

Shi Nianyao¡¯s curiosity was gnawing at her relentlessly as she went to the room that had been prepared for her. After the shower, she tossed and turned in bed, unable to go to sleep. She sat up, picked up her cell phone and wondered if she should call Mo Xicheng. But at this time of the night, had he fallen asleep in the hotel? It was their wedding night and both of them were in Beijing. Yet they were sleeping apart. How annoying! As she was thinking this, her cell phone vibrated. It was a message from Mo Xicheng. [Are you asleep?] She was excited at once andy on her stomach with her knees bent and feet swinging in the air. She replied: [Not yet.] The next moment, there was a call from him. Shi Nianyao picked up the call at once. ¡°Hey. Why aren¡¯t you asleep?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a little unsettled and nervous,¡± she said. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°My big brother¡¯s always been strict and impartial with me, but he¡¯s letting me off easily tonight. I feel uneasy. Do you think he¡¯ll rush into my room in the middle of the night and tie me up?¡± ¡°... No, he won¡¯t¡± Puzzled, she asked the man, ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. He won¡¯t tell your parents about what happened today.¡± ¡°But why?¡± Shi Nianyao asked. ¡°My big brother¡¯s not easily dismissed. Although he almost never says much to my parents about my business, this time I¡¯ve done something wrong.¡± Mo Xicheng assured her, ¡°I¡¯ve sorted that out with him.¡± ¡°What?¡± Shi Nianyao said. ¡°What exactly did you tell my big brother? I want to know!¡± ¡°You want to know?¡± ¡°Of course! I am desperately curious!¡± ¡°Well, call me ¡®hubby¡¯ first.¡± Shi Nianyao: ... Although he wasn¡¯t right in front of her, she still blushed at once. She gave an awkward cough and called him, ¡°Hubby.¡± She sounded like a child throwing a little tantrum, Mo Xicheng found himself melting at the sound of it. He chuckled softly immediately and asked, ¡°Have you blushed already?¡± She raised her hand to her burning face and ears, and said immediately, ¡°No, not at all! Definitely not!¡± The man nodded and said decidedly, ¡°Uh huh. But I¡¯m sure you¡¯re blushing.¡± Shi Nianyao: ... She thought for a moment and eximed, ¡°You haven¡¯t told me, what exactly did you tell my big brother?!¡± The man said, ¡°It¡¯s a secret.¡± Shi Nianyao was annoyed. ¡°Mo Xicheng! You tricked me!¡± The manughed again and said, ¡°Yao Yao, some things have to stay between two men. This is a matter between your brother and I, and I really can¡¯t tell you.¡± She flipped over onto her back with a huge unconscious grin on her face. ¡°Alright. I understand. But what are you doing now?¡± ¡°Thinking of you.¡± Shi Nianyao: ... What was going on? They kept whispering sweet nothings to each other all the time. Sheughed immediately and said, ¡°You really miss me so much?¡± ¡°I do miss you.¡± She gave an evil smile and asked teasingly, ¡°Miss what about me exactly?¡± ¡°Your face, yourughter.¡± ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°Your hands, your lips, all of you.¡± Shi Nianyao: ...!! This evil Mo Xicheng, he was teasing her back! She said fiercely at once, ¡°But I don¡¯t miss you!¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± ¡°That hurts my feelings. What are you going to do about it?¡± Shi Nianyao replied, ¡°Then you can keep being sad.¡± ¡°Yao Yao.¡± ¡°Uh-huh?¡± ¡°How could you hurt my heart? You and you alone are in it.¡± Shi Nianyao: ... Chapter 1372 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (45)

Chapter 1372: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (45)

Shi Nianyao flushed even more deeply now. She buried her head in the nket and said, ¡°Stop it! Stop it!¡± Mo Xicheng chuckled again. She snorted to show her displeasure. Mo Xicheng¡¯s voice suddenly turned serious as he said, ¡°Yao Yao.¡± Shi Nianyao paused and asked, ¡°What?¡± ¡°Happy wedding day.¡± Shi Nianyao: ... For some odd reason, she was suddenly moved. She finally understood why Mo Xicheng had so shamelessly said those things just now. He felt bad about letting her go on their wedding night and was worried that she would be unhappy. He had said those things to humor her and to make her happy. The fact was that she was happy. She was overjoyed today. Although she had stolen the household registration booklet to secretly register her marriage, she didn¡¯t feel bad about it. She stared at the ceiling for a moment and then spoke, ¡°Hubby.¡± There was a silence on the other end of the line. Then she continued, ¡°Happy wedding day.¡± ¨C It was a quiet and peaceful night. The weather was exceptionally pleasant. Standing on the balcony and looking into the distance, Mo Xicheng had a sense of tranquility and restfulness that he had never experienced before. Shi Nianyao¡¯s ¡°Hubby, happy wedding day¡± was still echoing in his ears, it reverberated in his heart. It was a cool and clear night, but his heart was warm. Shi Nianyao was the sunshine of his life. She was the motivation for him to walk out of the darkness that had shrouded most of his life till now. And he was willing to do so. He smiled. But this smile did not carry the mncholy that had usually been in all his smiles in the past. Instead, there was a lightness and openness about it. So what if everyone else in the world had taken something away from him? As long as he had Nianyao, that was more than enough. Whereas just next door, separated by a wall, Yao Lili had overheard him talking on the phone from her balcony. Although it was vague and she hadn¡¯t been able to hear every word, that doting tone and him calling her name... it couldn¡¯t be anyone else. It just meant the two of them were still entangled with each other. It wasn¡¯t at all like what Mo Xicheng had had her believe, that they had broken up. Yao Lili clenched her fists tightly, as her expression turned gloomy. This Mo Xicheng, now he even dared to brush her off by paying lip service! That good for nothing. But if Mo Xicheng didn¡¯t break up with Shi Nianyao, how was Mo Zhi going to stand a chance ande in between them? Yao Lili bit her lip. She was livid beyond words. She pressed her ear up against the wall to try and make out what was being said. Then she heard quite clearly, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll take you out for lunch at noon tomorrow.¡± Then the couple hung up and Yao Lili couldn¡¯t get back to sleep. She tossed and turned in bed all night, all the way till the next morning. She saw Mo Xicheng going out, as though there was nothing unusual going on. She called him. ¡°Where are you going?¡± He hung his head and said, ¡°Something¡¯se up at the office.¡± ¡°What¡¯se up? You¡¯re a small-time actor, why are you so busy? You are to stay home today. You¡¯re not to go anywhere.¡± Mo Xicheng¡¯s expression darkened at once when he heard this. He turned around and looked at Yao Lili. Then he said, ¡°Mom, if I don¡¯t go make some money, how are you going to have anything to spend?¡± The woman¡¯s expression changed at once. In the past, they had depended on the Mo Family. After Mo Xicheng had started to make his own fortune, they had moved out. The Mo family had only given Yao Lili the vi they stayed in now. Whatever money Yao Lili was spending now was from Mo Xicheng¡¯s work as an actor. Mo Xicheng gave almost all his earnings to his mother. Chapter 1373 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (46)

Chapter 1373: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (46)

Hence, his words carried an underlying sarcasm. Yao Lili opened her mouth to say more, but Mo Xicheng had already strode out of the house. Her fingernails dug into the flesh of her palm. Then she lowered her head and picked up her cell phone to dial a number. Very quickly, the line was connected. The voice from the other end said, ¡°Auntie Yao, what¡¯s up?¡± It was Mo Xicheng¡¯s personal assistant. Yaon Liliughed immediately and said, ¡°Xiao Chen, I wanted to ask you, what is Xicheng¡¯s schedule like for the day?¡± ¡°Oh, Auntie Yao, not much, just lunch at noon.¡± ¡°Where at? What is the private room number?¡± ¡°Royal Family Hotel. For the private room number, it¡¯s best you ask Brother Mo.¡± She immediately said, ¡°No, it¡¯s ok. I¡¯m just worried about him. Sigh, mothers will be mothers.¡± ¡°Yes, I understandpletely.¡± Yao Lili added, ¡°Don¡¯t let him know that I called you. You know, he thinks I¡¯m too nosy. But I feel ill at ease if I have no idea of his whereabouts.¡± ¡°Sure, Auntie Yao. I understand of course.¡± After she hung up, Yao Lili picked up her cell phone again. She searched the directory for Mo Zhi¡¯s number and then dialed. Mo Zhi picked up the call very quickly, although he sounded like he was sleeping. ¡°Who is it, waking me up so early and interrupting my sleep?¡± Yao Lili looked up at the sun high above. She gave an awkward cough and said, ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± Why was it that other people¡¯s children would wake up early in the morning just to n a surprise at the hotel for his girlfriend, and yet her own child had to be thiszy? She sighed deeply and said, ¡°Mo Xicheng has arranged to meet Shi Nianyao for lunch at Royal Family Hotel at noon.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Mo Zhi eximed with a piercing scream. ¡°That bastard, he dares to steal my woman?¡± ¨C Mo Xicheng had driven to the restaurant early in the morning to personally take a look at the private room. Since Shi NIanyao had married him under such circumstances, he was determined to make her happy every day during the period they had to be apart. As he was driving, his manager called. The manager started, ¡°Brother Mo, the filming crew of Ambition contacted me about having you do some publicity work for the film. I¡¯ve done as you told me and rejected the job. This is just an update, but I also wanted to find out when you might want to sign up for the next movie. I know that the earnings from this film will probablyst you the next two years, but surely you¡¯re not going to wait another two years before you take on your next job.¡± Upon hearing the slight mocking behind these words, Mo Xicheng paused for a moment and suddenly said, ¡°I¡¯ll go.¡± ¡°What? Where are you going?¡± The manager was confused. Mo Xicheng replied after another pause, ¡°To the Ambition press conference. I¡¯ll go to all the publicity activities. And I¡¯m fine with doing all sorts of advertisements. We¡¯ll take advantage of the sess of Ambition. Didn¡¯t you want all of this? Now we can do it.¡± The manager was stunned and said, ¡°I¡¯ll be damned, Brother Mo. Are you quite alright? What¡¯s gotten into you?¡± Mo Xicheng continued, ¡°Because I¡¯m going to start making money.¡± In the past, he used to think that it was good enough as long as his mother and he had enough to spend. But now, he wanted to work hard to give Shi Nianyao the better things in life. Besides, he could no longer afford to let Shi Nianyao and his fans down. Now he understood that whether he made it big or not was not something that only impacted himself. His manager got excited at once. ¡°Brother Mo, I finally live to see this day! Just you hang in there and watch great things happen!¡± Chapter 1374 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (47)

Chapter 1374: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (47)

Apart from Song Cheng, Mo Xicheng¡¯s manager had nearly been the most renowned manager in the industry. He had had under him many top-tier celebrities, and countless Best Actors and Best Actresses. Even now, there were many currently popr young artists under him. But his favorite was still Mo Xicheng. That was because among all the stars that he promoted, Mo Xicheng was one of the most diligent and hardworking. The man took his acting career like a proper full-time job. All these years, his acting skills had been improving steadily because he had no distractions. And where he was today was not too far behind Best Actor Shen. One could say that this manager was in closepetition with Song Cheng. At this point of time, Best Actor Shen had already be a prominent veteran in the entertainment circle. So his manager wanted to train a person who could match Best Actor Shen. Among all the artists he was managing now, only Mo Xicheng was promising enough. Like it or not, one had to have some talent to be an actor. Portraying beauty in front of the camera, in addition to his innate exquisite aura,ing from a wealthy family... The reason Shen Liangchuan was an exceptional person in show business was because of his noble quality bestowed by the heavens. That aura of his was not something that an ordinary person could just develop. One had to be brought up in a wealthy family in real life. When surveying all the actors in the industry, besides Shen Liangchuan, the next in line would be Mo Xicheng. But unfortunately, it was this sort of attention that caused Mo Xicheng to want to keep a low profile. After filming, even if he had nothing else to do, he wouldn¡¯t take part in the publicity events, nor would he promote himself. This was why he had never made it big. He had tried for many years to persuade Mo Xicheng, but the man had never been moved to progress any further. And now, the man had proactively volunteered to go to publicity events. The manager was seeing him in a whole new light altogether. His eyes lit up and his hand holding the cell phone trembled slightly. Because he could almost see a wildly sessful Mo Xicheng before his eyes, shining like a star. Almost immediately, the manager, An Shun, had a million ns in his head to make Mo Xicheng¡¯s poprity sky-rocket over the inte. He said, ¡°You¡¯ve justpleted the filming of Ambition. Now everyone¡¯s crazy about the on-screen couple, you and the female lead. I think if we can start a scandal¡ª¡± The female lead was also a well-known Best Actress in the circle, and coincidentally one of the artists under An Shun. It was a known strategy in the industry to pair actors up to promote them, this had been done countless times. Many unknown small-time actors were only taken notice of by the audience because they had somehow gotten involved with well-known celebrities. After all, what did the Chinese people enjoy watching the most? Gossips! As An Shun was considering this, Mo Xicheng said straight away, ¡°No, you can¡¯t do that.¡± An Shun: ... ¡°Anything but this.¡± An Shun started to protest, ¡°But¡ª¡± ¡°There¡¯s no but.¡± Mo Xicheng said after a pause, ¡°I don¡¯t like this way of doing things.¡± An Shun knew Mo Xicheng only too well, and also knew his background. He contemted it for a while and then said, ¡°Very well then, I won¡¯t force you. Let¡¯s do this, since we can¡¯t just change our style overnight, we still have to depend on our work to do the talking. Since you aren¡¯t terribly busytely, you take up advertisement jobs and I¡¯ll look out for a suitable script for you. But from now on, let¡¯s stop taking any tedious supporting roles. We¡¯ll only ept lead roles!!¡± Chapter 1375 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (48)

Chapter 1375: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (48)

As he drove along, he discussed work with An Shun, so when he pulled up at the main entrance, An Shun was still chattering excitedly about future ns. Mo Xicheng parked the car and got out. Putting on his bluetooth earbud and connecting that to his phone, he continued talking as he walked to the entrance. Upon arriving at the private room that he had booked, he instructed the waiter to make a few changes to the interior decoration, as he talked to An Shun in between. Even after An Shun had finally briefly exined all their ns, he still felt like he hadn¡¯t quite fully expressed himself. He continued, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk like this. Why don¡¯t youe over to the office? We¡¯ll talk face to face. I have many other ideas to raise your profile!¡± Mo Xicheng replied, ¡°I¡¯m busy today.¡± ¡°What are you up to?¡± To which the man said, ¡°Having fun with my girlfriend.¡± An Shun: ... The manager was stunned for a moment and then said, ¡°So all that big fuss just now was over a meal with your girlfriend? And I thought you were having a meal with very important people.¡± Mo Xicheng said, ¡°To me, she¡¯s the most important person.¡± An Shun: ... Mo Xicheng was surprised at his own words and fell silent for a moment. In the past, he had been introverted and had not used to speak his mind. He would keep everything to himself, perhaps only telling things to Shen Liangchuan once in a while. When was it that he had started to blurt out his own thoughts this easily? He stared steadily ahead, holding his cell phone. He suddenly recalled that, when he had been chatting with Shi Nianyao the night before, he had kept expressing his feelings. He had bared his heart just to make her happy. Today, he was expressing the same thoughts as though it was the most logical thing in the world. An Shun was astonished. Finally, when Mo Xicheng managed to get over this surprise, he added, ¡°Is there anything else?¡± ¡°No,¡± An Shun said. ¡°Go enjoy your date.¡± ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll hang up now.¡± Unable to contain his curiosity, An Shun asked, ¡°Why are you in such a hurry to hang up? What are you up to?¡± Mo Xicheng replied, ¡°Off to pick up my girlfriend.¡± An Shun: ...!! Mo Xicheng paused for a moment and then he heard An Shun burst outughing. He pursed his lips. An Shun was nowughing at him, saying, ¡°Brother Mo, to think that you¡¯ve actually be an obedient husband, hahahaha.¡± Mo Xicheng hung up and looked at the time. He walked towards the door and head out to pick up Shi Nianyao. Just as he stepped out, the cell phone in his pocket rang. He halted and looked at the screen. The moment the call connected, a voice spoke urgently, ¡°Hi Mr. Mo, your mother Madam Yao Lili had a heart attack and she has been sent to the hospital. Please, can youe to the hospital immediately?¡± Mo Xicheng¡¯s pupils shrank upon hearing this. Anxious at once, he asked, ¡°Sure, which hospital is this?¡± ¡°This is...¡± The person gave Mo Xicheng the name of the hospital and the man rushed out of the hotel. He got into his car and sped towards the hospital. On the way, he suddenly remembered Shi Nianyao and was about to give her a call when his cell phone rang again. He nced down. Seeing it was Yao Lili¡¯s number, he picked up the call at once. This time, a nurse spoke, ¡°Mr. Mo, your mother is feeling scared. She says she wants you on the phone, otherwise she is unable to stay calm. We need to run some tests, but she is not cooperating. In fact, she¡¯s rather distressed, would you...?¡± Chapter 1376 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (49)

Chapter 1376: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (49)

Mo Xicheng frowned and said, ¡°Give her the phone then.¡± The cell phone was given to Yao Lili. Mo Xicheng started, ¡°Mom¡ª¡± Yao Lili immediately burst out in tears. ¡°Xicheng, I- I suddenly cked out today. Do you think that I¡¯m going to die?¡± The woman sounded like she was in a panic. Obviously, she was scared. Hearing her voice, Mo Xicheng couldn¡¯t really pinpoint how he felt. But since she was his mother, he could only try tofort her. ¡°Mom, things will be fine.¡± ¡°Xicheng, they are going to do some tests, I¡¯m not sure if I can make it through the day. I have so many things to tell you. I¡¯ll go for the tests after I tell you these things. I¡¯m afraid that I may not wake up again after that.¡± Mo Xicheng tried to reassure the woman. ¡°Mom, what are you talking about? It¡¯s really going to be ok.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m scared. Xicheng, you¡¯re my only son. You can¡¯t abandon me like your father did!¡± Mo Xicheng replied, ¡°Shall I call him now?¡± Immediately, Yao Lili said, ¡°No, no. Don¡¯t trouble him. Li Shu will be unhappy if you call him.¡± Mo Xicheng was at a loss. ¡°... What do you want then?¡± ¡°Son, I¡¯m your mother. Can¡¯t I just talk with you? The man replied, ¡°Of course. Go ahead, I¡¯m listening.¡± ¨C On the other end. Shi Nianyao had woken up early in the morning and decked herself out prettily. She was now waiting for Mo Xicheng to arrive. Mo Xicheng had said he wasing to pick her up, but she knew where Royal Family Hotel was and had told him she could go on her own. After that, she had not heard back from him. She looked at the time. It was already half past ten, she was getting ready to leave the house. But just to be sure, she picked up the cell phone to call Mo Xicheng. However, when she dialed the number, the line was engaged. She hung up, thinking that since she knew the private room number, there was no need to wait for Mo Xicheng to pick up. She could go there on her own. Hence she skipped down the stairs happily. Shi Xun was sitting back on the sofa in the living room and Little Cherry was sitting next to him, doing her homework. In the kitchen, Shi Xun¡¯s wife Tian Tian was preparing a nutritious lunch for Little Cherry. It was the weekend and there was no work. Shi Nianyao greeted Shi Xun, ¡°Morning, Big Brother!¡± Then she headed towards the main door. After taking a few steps, Shi Xun stopped her to ask, ¡°Where are you off to?¡± Shi Nianyao stammered, ¡°... I- I¡¯m going to that- that-¡± ¡°No lying.¡± The girl opened her mouth to speak but before she could get in a word, Shi Xun continued, ¡°If you¡¯re going to meet a friend, then I¡¯ll give Mo Xicheng a call to invite him over and you can meet whatever friend you wish.¡± Shi Nianyao: ...! Shi Nianyao looked at the kitchen and, as though throwing a tantrum, called her sister-inw, ¡°Sister-inw, will you look at Big Brother?! You need to watch out with him! I¡¯m a grown woman and he¡¯s acting like this, not even worried that I¡¯ll end up alone.¡± When Tian Tian heard this, she walked out of the kitchen. Wearing an apron, she looked every bit the virtuous wife,pletely different from the rebel, domineering and arrogant woman that she had used to be. She threw a nce at Shi Xun and said, ¡°Just let her go.¡± Shi Xun¡¯s tone suddenly softened as he said, ¡°Little Fox, don¡¯t you know that she and Mo Xicheng¡ª¡± ¡°Why are you meddling with the young couple¡¯s business? Also, aren¡¯t you worried that the next time we have a date night, our little ancestor will interfere?¡± Chapter 1377 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (50)

Chapter 1377: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (50)

Shi Xun: ...! Tian Tian turned to look at Shi Nianyao again and nodded, ¡°You look good in this dress!¡± Shi Nianyao immediately replied sweetly, ¡°You picked this out for me, Sister-inw. It just goes to show you have good taste!¡± Tian Tian: ... After Shi Nianyao had done her share of ttering her sister-inw, she headed out. From just outside the door, she heard Shi Xun call out again, ¡°You are toe home before 9 p.m.¡± Shi Nianyao: ... Shi Nianyao turned around and protested, ¡°Big Brother¡ª¡± ¡°That¡¯s the rule. If you¡¯re not back before then, I¡¯ll call Mom and Dad.¡± She replied, ¡°Fine, fine, fine. I¡¯ll be back by then.¡± Having said this, she stuck out her tongue and turned to leave. But before she shut the front door, she said cheekily, ¡°Big Brother, I¡¯ll be home before 9 p.m. for sure, but I have all afternoon with him and whatever we do, you really won¡¯t know.¡± Bam! Herst word was quickly followed by the door mming shut. Shi Xun: ...! Tian Tian: ... Little Cherry looked up at her parents with a serious expression on her face. She quipped, ¡°Dad, Mom, this thing that Aunt says she¡¯s doing... is it what I¡¯m thinking?¡± Shi Xun said hurriedly, ¡°Of course not!¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it?¡± Tian Tian asked, ¡°What are you thinking?¡± Little Cherry replied, ¡°What else can two people spending an afternoon together do? Of course they¡ª¡± ¡°Little Cherry, where do you get such ideas? What have you seen? Be honest!¡± Shi Xun interrupted her fiercely. The child looked at him innocently and replied, ¡°Dad, no, what did I see? There¡¯s a chubby kid in our ss. He and a girl in our ss spent all afternoon together.¡± Shi Xun: ...?? ¡°Of course, ying with wooden toy blocks! Don¡¯t you know about that set of 300 wooden toy blocks and how tedious they are to line up? They couldn¡¯t get it right after spending all afternoon, but Aunt and Uncle Mo Xicheng might be smarter, they should be able to do it in an afternoon?¡± Shi Xun: ...! Tian Tian: ...!! Little Cherry waspletely unaware of their reaction. She looked down and continued with her homework, saying, ¡°Aunt and Uncle Mo are such boring people, sigh!¡± Her parents were left speechless. ¨C After leaving the vi, Shi Nianyao was intending to drive to the hotel. But as she made her way to the car, she realized that they would end up with two cars and might have to hire a valet if that happened. Hence, it would be better if she just hailed a taxi. Given this, she walked out of the vipound and gged down a taxi. She was soon on her way to the hotel. On the way, she made another call to Mo Xicheng, however, the line was still engaged. Could it be that something hade up for Mo Xicheng? Was he on a business call? She didn¡¯t think too much of it. In any case, she had now arrived at the hotel. She came to the restaurant and asked at the reception, ¡°Where¡¯s private room 188?¡± As soon as she spoke, the waitress immediately eximed in surprise, ¡°Oh, so you are the guest at Room 188?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Shi Nianyao eximed. With a look of great envy, the waitress said, ¡°Ma¡¯am, your boyfriend treats you really well! He spent a long time preparing the room, it¡¯s so romantic.¡± When Shi Nianyao heard this, her eyes lit up and she replied, ¡°That¡¯s not my boyfriend. He¡¯s my husband.¡± ¡°Woah,¡± the service staff said, ¡°Your husband looks so dashing!¡± Shi Nianyao did not think too much of it and smiled back politely. She followed as the waitress led her to the room. At the door, the waitress smiled and said to her, ¡°Your husband was very considerate and told us that he would give the dedicated service staff a break. He said he didn¡¯t want any interruptions. Ma¡¯am, pleasee in, we won¡¯t be interrupting the both of you.¡± Chapter 1378 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (51)

Chapter 1378: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (51)

Won¡¯t be interrupting? Shi Nianyao was stunned. Could it possibly be that Mo Xicheng wanted to take care of the unfinished business from their wedding night right here? She blushed immediately at that thought. Embarrassed, she lifted her hands to touch her burning cheeks. Then she coughed lightly and nodded at the waitress, saying, ¡°Ok, got it.¡± The waitress smiled in a friendly manner, nodded back at her and left. Shi Nianyao stood at the entrance of the private room and steadied her breathing before pushing the door open. She walked in. She was pleasantly greeted by the warmth andfort of the room. Royal Family Hotel was a luxurious hotel, but this private room had been decorated with flowers to bring some life into the room. Shi Nianyao looked at the coffee table that was by the door. She smiled at once when her gaze fell on therge bouquet of flowers that was on it. Then she turned around, shut the door behind her and walked into the room slowly. She saw a figure sitting on a chair with his back to her. The tablecloth on the table he was sitting at had been changed too. At the same time, the tea set that was on this table also fit the joyous atmosphere. It was obvious that someone had gone through the effort of adding these meticulous touches. Shi Nianyao pursed her lips and sat at the table. Resting her chin on a knuckle, she stared at the figure. After staring at it for a while, she suddenly realized that something wasn¡¯t quite right. She jumped to her feet and eximed, ¡°You¡¯re not Mo Xicheng!¡± The figure turned around at the sound of these words. That face... Although it resembled Mo Xicheng¡¯s features, it was very obviously Mo Zhi. Shi Nianyao was shocked. She looked at Mo Zhi in horror and furrowed her brow at once. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± The man smiled as he stood up. He had dressed up for the asion, but even that could not disguise the hint of vulgarity in his eyes. He said to Shi Nianyao, ¡°Yao Yao, why can¡¯t I be here? I¡¯m here waiting for you! Do you like this? This room, I decorated it for you.¡± She frowned with disgust and turned to sweep her eyes around the room. With an icy snort, she said to the man, ¡°Mo Zhi, is there anything else? If not I¡¯m leaving right away!¡± She turned and got ready to leave. Suddenly, Mo Zhi eximed, ¡°Yao Yao, don¡¯t you want to know about Mo Xicheng¡¯s childhood and what it was like?¡± She halted and turned around to stare at the man. Mo Zhi sighed and pointed at the chair next to the table. ¡°Take a seat.¡± Shi Nianyao thought for a moment. Mo Zhi wouldn¡¯t dare to overstep his boundaries with her in this ce. Besides, Royal Family Hotel was not just any hotel. Hence, she turned and took a seat opposite the man. Mo Zhi looked at her and held out a ss of red wine. ¡°Let¡¯s have a ss of wine first.¡± She smirked and replied, ¡°Mo Zhi, say what you need to and make it short. Don¡¯t beat around the bush. I have no time for you, I¡¯m telling you.¡± Mo Zhi looked hurt and replied, ¡°Yao Yao, why do you treat me this way? I really do like you!¡± The girl replied, ¡°The feelings are not mutual.¡± He continued, ¡°Yao Yao, you can¡¯t be like this. You have to remember that we were together first before the bastard came between us. He¡¯s the third party, you have to give me a chance.¡± Shi Nianyaoughed and said, ¡°Mo Zhi, if you have nothing else to say, I¡¯m leaving.¡± On this note, she stood up to leave. But suddenly, Mo Zhi reached out and grabbed her hand. Chapter 1379 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (52)

Chapter 1379: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (52)

Shi Nianyao frowned with disgust and tried to shake his hand off as she cried out, ¡°Let go, what do you think you¡¯re doing? Mo Zhi, do you have any idea who I am?!¡± Mo Zhi was taken aback by her reaction. He released his grip. He looked at Shi Nianyao as she drew out some napkins to clean the back of her hand. He said, ¡°I¡¯m only afraid that you¡¯ll leave. Don¡¯t go. I- I only wanted to have a chat with you.¡± Shi Nianyao snorted icily. ¡°You¡¯d better say what the hell is going on. Where¡¯s Mo Xicheng?¡± Mo Zhi smiled and said, ¡°His mother is sick and he¡¯s gone to the hospital. Since the room was already booked, isn¡¯t it good that I¡¯m here to eat with you?¡± She chortled and said, ¡°Do I look like I¡¯m so desperate for a meal?¡± He replied, ¡°Fine, fine. Let¡¯s get back on track and talk about Mo Xicheng. Don¡¯t you know how cold-blooded the man is?¡± Shi Nianyao paused and frowned. He continued, ¡°We used to go to school together. He was on very friendly terms with another guy and they would go to school, leave school and even do their homework together. As you can appreciate, I was young and hated him, the son of a mistress.¡± ¡°That hasn¡¯t changed, you still hate him now.¡± Mo Zhi choked and admitted it with a nod. ¡°Yes, yes. I hate him now too. So when we were in school, I bullied him.¡± It wasn¡¯t just bullying, for sure, it was severe bullying. He had turned everyone in ss against the boy, so that whoever was friends with Mo Xicheng and whoever talked to Mo Xicheng would cross Mo Zhi. Hence from a young age, Mo Xicheng had been a loner and had had no friends. Until the time they went to junior high school. A young man appeared, and because Mo Xicheng had once helped him, he had started following Mo Xicheng around. But thenter on... That young man got targeted. The moment he stepped into ss in the morning, a bucket of cold water had rained onto him. And on his way home at night, he would run into thugs who took all his money from him. But he would not say anything about it and would stand by Mo Xicheng to defend him. Until one day, Mo Xicheng saw it happening. Mo Zhi said, ¡°Do you know what Mo Xicheng did at that point?¡± Shi Nianyao shook her head. Mo Zhi smiled coldly and continued, ¡°He beat up all those guys who bullied that teenager. At first, I thought he was a loyal friend, but unexpectedly, he turned around and scolded the young man, saying that the guy was tras and that he was dragging him down. The young man left in a fit of anger, he even switched schools. Because of this, Mo Xicheng became the public enemy in school, everyone thought he had ulterior motives.¡± ¡°So Yao Yao, I really do suspect that he¡¯s pursuing you and wishes to get close for the sake of our families¡¯ rtionship. So don¡¯t be fooled by his innocent appearance, he is vicious inside.¡± Shi Nianyao clenched her fists tightly as her pupils shrank back. She had not imagined her male idol could have had such a lonely childhood. That exined the mncholy and cold aloofness he had. She frowned and took a deep breath. She did not wish to listen to Mo Zhi going on and on. For she knew that the reason Mo Xicheng had treated the teenager like that was because he had wanted to protect him. To others, it would just look like mere cold-heartedness. The next thing she heard was Mo Zhi saying, ¡°Yao Yao, be my girlfriend.¡± Chapter 1380 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (53)

Chapter 1380: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (53)

Shi Nianyaoughed in cold amusement at those words. She looked at Mo Zhi for a while before she said, ¡°Mo Zhi, I do wonder if you have the facts clear in your head.¡± He paused for a moment and asked, ¡°What?¡± ¡°Mo Xicheng never pursued me. It was me who went after him. I like him and that¡¯s my own business, it has nothing to do with him. As for you, there¡¯s nothing I like about you, from the tip of your hair to your toes. Between the two of you, there¡¯s noparison.¡± Mo Zhi¡¯s pupils shrank back immediately at those words and he jumped onto his feet, saying angrily, ¡°Shi Nianyao, what do you freaking mean by that?!¡± Sheughed icily and replied, ¡°Just exactly what I said. In the future, please do not use these disgusting strategies to pursue me. Let me tell you one thing, you can keep dreaming if you hope that I will develop an ounce of interest in you!¡± On this note, the girl strode out of the room. Bam! The door mmed shut as Mo Zhi froze on the spot, pale with fury. He clenched his fists tightly, angry beyond words. Shi Nianyao¡¯s words had pierced his heart mercilessly like a dagger, hitting him where it hurt most. His knuckles turned white. After a moment, he took in a deep breath. He stared at the doorway with a dark and vicious expression in his eyes. The one thing that he hated the most in his life was to bepared to that bastard. And now Shi Nianyao had not only done that, she had imed that he wasn¡¯t as good as Mo Xicheng. In what way was he not as good? What appeal did that small-time actor have? Shi Nianyao. Shi Nianyao! He was determined to win her over. Whatever it took! ¨C By the time Mo Xicheng arrived at the hospital, Yao Lili was still on the phone with him. She only hung up the phone when she saw hime in through the entrance. He saw her sitting up on the bed and walked towards her. He sighed in relief and was about to pick up the cell phone to text Shi Nianyao, when Yao Lili grabbed his hand. Then she quickly said, ¡°Xicheng, you¡¯re finally here. I was almost dead of fear. What¡¯s happening to me? Why did I ck out all of a sudden?¡± She repeated all over again what she had said on the phone. Mo Xicheng looked at her impatiently, wondering why she wasn¡¯t tired after all that talking. He couldn¡¯t help but give a long sigh and say, ¡°Mom, let them run some tests first.¡± Yao Lili looked at the time and made a mental note that by now, Mo Zhi should have met up with Shi Nianyao. Given this, she nodded. Hence, she was pushed into the equipped examination room. Left on his own outside the room, Mo Xicheng immediately picked up his cell phone and dialed Shi Nianyao¡¯s phone. The line connected almost at once. He said apologetically, ¡°Nianyao, my Mom passed out and I¡¯m at the hospital. I¡¯m afraid we may have to cancel lunch ns.¡± Shi Nianyao opened her mouth to speak upon hearing this, but she swallowed her words again when she thought that being in the hospital now, he must be anxious. If she told him about Mo Zhi at this point, it would only cause him more distress. Hence the words that came out were instead, ¡°That¡¯s ok. We¡¯ll meet again when you¡¯re done.¡± ¡°Uh huh, I¡¯ll hang up now then, Nianyao. I¡¯ll look for you this evening.¡± Shi Nianyao nodded. After they hung up, Mo Xicheng waited outside the examination room. Soon afterwards, his cell phone rang again. He nced at the screen, it was his personal assistant. He quickly picked up the call. Xiao Chen¡¯s voice immediately came through the line, ¡°Brother Mo, something¡¯s been bugging me and after thinking about it, I thought I should tell you. Auntie Yao called me today to ask about your schedule.¡± Chapter 1381 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (54)

Chapter 1381: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (54)

Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes upon hearing Xiao Chen¡¯s words. He had not realized that Yao Lili¡¯s scheming was meticulous down to that point. Had she tried to find out his schedule so she could know if he was with Shi Nianyao? His expression froze and he replied, ¡°Ok, I understand.¡± Xiao Chen nodded and asked, ¡°Brother Mo, how are things going at Royal Family Hotel?¡± Mo Xicheng frowned and replied, ¡°I¡¯m not at the hotel.¡± Xiao Chen was surprised and nodded. ¡°So where are you now?¡± ¡°Mom is in hospital, I¡¯m here with her.¡± ¡°What? Which hospital? I¡¯ll go over right away!¡± Xiao Chen said anxiously. Mo Xicheng¡¯s personal assistant was responsible for taking care of things in his daily life. Given this, it was reasonable for him to be around Mo Xicheng at all times. However Mo Xicheng¡¯s situation was exceptional because when he wasn¡¯t filming, he didn¡¯t need a personal assistant. Hence, Xiao Chen had a greater degree of freedom. When he heard that Yao Lili was sick, he knew he ought to be keeping watch at the hospital. As a public figure, there were things that were not convenient for Mo Xicheng to do for himself, hence he needed to help Mo Xicheng with these things. Mo Xicheng did not object and told him the hospital location. Xiao Xhen immediately said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be there right away.¡± Mo Xicheng sat along the corridor, waiting for Yao Lili¡¯s checkup results. Half an hourter, Xiao Chen rushed in. He asked, ¡°Brother Mo, how are things?¡± Mo Xicheng pointed at the testing room and said, ¡°They¡¯re still examining her.¡± Xiao Chen nodded and said, ¡°Brother Mo, why don¡¯t you sit back and rest? Let me see take care of it.¡± Mo Xicheng nodded and Xiao Chen then headed off. As he was walking, a call came in. He paused to pick up the phone. ¡°Hi, this is Royal Family Hotel. We¡¯ve sent today¡¯s bill via text to your cell phone, please verify it.¡± Xiao Chen replied, ¡°Sure, I understand.¡± After he hung up, he looked at his text messages. There was a minimum charge that came with using the private room in Royal Family Hotel. Since Mo Xicheng hadn¡¯t had lunch today, they would charge the minimum charge. Xiao Chen looked at the message, expecting to see a bill for the minimum charge of 2888 that cost the private room. But he had a shock when he saw the first message at the top of his mailbox. It was actually a bill from the bank. Xiao Chen was stunned. The private room had actually cost more than 20 thousand? What a rip-off this hotel was! He quickly picked up the cell phone and dialed the hotel¡¯s number. The line connected and Xiao Chen immediately asked, ¡°I¡¯d like to find out since when the minimum charge is 20 thousand?¡± ¡°Sir, I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t understand what you mean.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t understand, then why did you take 20 thousand from our ount?¡± ¡°Sir, the bill should have been sent to your phone. If you wish to make a further enquiry, I can help to verify. There was a te of beef, it was premium beef, so it¡¯s more expensive. That is 3800, then there¡¯s¡ª¡± Xiao Chen immediately interrupted, ¡°Hang on, what did you say? What premium beef? Ermmmm, I don¡¯t think we ordered any dishes?¡± ¡°Sir, are you joking? Not only was food delivered to the private room, there was even ady who turned up with the surname Shi.¡± Xiao Chen: ...!!! He turned to look at Mo Xicheng and said, ¡°Brother Mo, did- did you actually order food at the Royal Family Hotel? Why was Ms. Shi there?!¡± Chapter 1382 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (55)

Chapter 1382: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (55)

Mo Xicheng¡¯s head snapped up when he heard these words. ¡°What did you say?¡± ¡°I said that the hoteldy told me on the phone that Ms. Shi turned up at noon. But they weren¡¯t sure if something unpleasant happened in the private room, because she left very shortly afterwards and did not eat any of the food that they ordered.¡± Mo Xicheng got up on his feet at once and furrowed his brow. Pursing his lips tightly, he suddenly remembered how Shi Nianyao had sounded like she had wanted to say something and then had ended up not doing so. So had she been about to tell him something about this matter? His cell phone line had been busy all morning, he had not been able to get in touch with Shi Nianyao. So Shi Nianyao had gone to the hotel on her own, and then had entered the private room. The person in the private room then... Mo Xicheng looked at the floor expressionlessly and said after a long pause, ¡°So who was the person dining in the private room?¡± Xiao Chen reacted immediately andmunicated with the hotel worker. It didn¡¯t take long for the hotel to retrieve the pictures taken from the surveince camera. They forwarded the pictures to Xiao Chen. Mo Xicheng had worn his mask and sunsses when he had been at the hotel. The person in the picture had none of that so at one nce, they could tell who it was. It was Mo Zhi! But how had Mo Zhi ended up in the private room and even known they were having lunch there at noon? Mo Xicheng suddenly recalled what Xiao Chen had said, that Yao Lili had asked about his schedule. Then he thought about how Yao Lili had been hounding him all day, since she was hospitalized. She had insisted on talking to him so that he had no chance ofmunicating with Shi Nianyao to inform her not to wait for him, or look for him at the hotel. He clenched his fists tightly, at once understanding what had happened. Yao Lili wasn¡¯t sick at all. She was just muzzling him so that Mo Zhi could have a chance to be alone with Shi Nianyao. Once this was clear, all the pieces fell into ce. Mo Xicheng spun around as the checkup room door opened. Following this, Yao Lili was pushed out on her trolley bed. Mo Xicheng stood rooted to the ground, although Xiao Chen walked up to greet the woman. ¡°Auntie Yao, what happened to you? You were fine before and now you¡¯re suddenly hospitalized?¡± Yao Lili sighed in response and said, ¡°I¡¯m getting old, my body is breaking down! I¡¯m always feeling giddy and light-headed, and it¡¯s getting hard to walk.¡± Upon hearing these words, Xiao Chen looked up anxiously and asked the doctor, ¡°Doctor, what exactly is wrong with Auntie Yao?¡± When the attending doctor was asked this question, he looked slightly embarrassed and cleared his throat. He exined, ¡°We¡¯ve performed aplete check-up of the patient. Her blood pressure is normal and her body is functioning normally. So for now, we don¡¯t really know what¡¯s wrong. We can only conclude that it might be a migraine. She could be suffering from certain deficiencies in her body, but we can¡¯t determine that with western medicine. Alternatively, you could go to a good Chinese physician to have it looked at.¡± Xiao Chen was nervous at once and asked, ¡°How could you not find an answer?¡± Yao Lili immediately said, ¡°I¡¯m getting old. When I delivered my baby years ago, I got a cold and after that I had frequent headaches. Doctor, do you think it might be because of that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s hard for me to say either way.¡± The attending doctor had obviously been put in a difficult position. And Mo Xicheng, who had been listening to all of this on the side, was looking intently at Yao Lili as she tried very hard to find excuses for her fake illness. He looked at the woman who was pretending to be frail and unwell, and his heart suddenly grew cold. Chapter 1383 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (56)

Chapter 1383: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (56)

Mo Xicheng observed coldly the exchange between Xiao Chen and the attending doctor. Then the doctor led them to the standard ward. Before the doctor left, he said, ¡°I don¡¯t think there are any major issues in the patient¡¯s health, so she can get her discharged.¡± Yao Lili insisted, on the other hand, ¡°I have giddy spells though. I don¡¯t think I can cope with it. I want to stay for a few days to be observed.¡± The doctor could only relent, ¡°Well, sure. We¡¯ll find you a ward so that you can be kept under observation.¡± After Yao Lili was pushed into the ward, Mo Xicheng followed them. Yao Liliy back on the hospital bed, making whimpering noises to show her difort. Xiao Chen ran in and out busily, ensuring that they had everything they needed in the ward. After this, he went to settle the bill. Now, there were only Mo Xicheng and Yao Lili in the ward. Yao Lili said as she massaged her head, ¡°Xicheng, since you¡¯re not that busytely, you should stay and look after me during this period that I¡¯m hospitalized.¡± Mo Xicheng looked at Yao Lili and couldn¡¯t help but give a frosty smirk. He cast his gaze down and said after a long pause, ¡°I¡¯m doing a publicity event that thepany is organizing.¡± Yao Lili¡¯s head jerked up to look at him when she heard those words. ¡°What? What publicity event?! Don¡¯t you know that with your status, you need to keep a low profile? If you get involved in these publicity activities and people discover your identity, what then? Huh? Have you ever thought about that?¡± Mo Xicheng looked at her in cold silence. He had always felt that his mother never really liked him. But that feeling had never been as strong as today. Yao Lili did not like him one bit. She had no wish to see him doing well. Mo Xicheng stared at her andughed icily after a moment, reminding her, ¡°Wasn¡¯t it your idea that I entered show business?¡± He had studied management and finance in university. Because it had been at a renowned faculty, it wouldn¡¯t have been difficult for him to secure a decent job after he graduated. He could still remember that day clearly, he had gone home with his suitcases in tow. Yao Lili had pointed at a person next to her and had said to Mo Xicheng, ¡°This is Director XXX, he is a talent scout and wants to recruit you. He¡¯d like you to try acting.¡± Mo Xicheng was caught off guard and said, ¡°But I¡ª¡± ¡°No buts. I¡¯ve lived with the Mo Family since I was a youth and I¡¯ve gotten used to a certain lifestyle. If you look for a proper job, at most you might earn a million a year. And how many purses would that get me? Xicheng, you have to help your mother. There¡¯s nothing bad about being an actor.¡± Hence, Mo Xicheng entered show business. He was too lonely and too much of a loner who spent all his time learning and working. Hence as an actor, his skills improved rapidly. As a supporting actor in his debut movie, people were already betting on his sess. At the time, all they would have needed to do was to give things a little push, and his poprity would have sky-rocketed. He would have be the most popr young actor. But Yao Lili had suppressed him, saying, ¡°Our status is special, we can¡¯t expose ourselves too much. If you¡¯re too popr, it will invite questions about your background and identity. Are you willing to be pointed at and have people say you¡¯re the Mo family¡¯s illegitimate son? At that time, fame had not mattered to him. He had only felt that acting was quite fun and hence, he agreed. Chapter 1384 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (57)

Chapter 1384: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (57)

Yao Lili had noeback to Mo Xicheng¡¯s remark. She frowned again and said, ¡°But I did also say you must keep a low profile. Your movie has started screening and it¡¯s getting a lot of attention. If you get more exposure and Mo Zhi finds out about it, he¡¯ll think that you¡¯re trying topete with him.¡± ¡°So what? You want money but you don¡¯t let me be popr, so how am I going to earn this money?¡± Yao Lili was stumped. Choking for an answer, she frowned and said, ¡°Isn¡¯t the money that you¡¯re getting from ying supporting roles enough for the two of us to spend?¡± ¡°You mean it¡¯s enough for you alone.¡± Mo Xicheng¡¯s tone was expressionless, but the disappointment and despair he felt was unmistakable. He lowered his head and said, ¡°So that as long as you¡¯re alive, I¡¯ll have to look after you. Then for the rest of my life, I won¡¯t have to get married, have children of my own and have a life of my own, is that right?¡± Yao Lili was stunned and replied, ¡°Mo Xicheng, what do you mean by this? Are you ming me?¡± He looked at her coldly and said, ¡°All I want to tell you is that I¡¯m not your puppet.¡± Yao Lili was starting to get furious. ¡°Mo Xicheng, are you getting anxious because I don¡¯t let you date Shi Nianyao? I¡¯ll still say the same now, I have no intention of letting you get married or have children.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the point of having children? Look at me! I don¡¯t have proper status and consequently, what are you? Every time you go out, people will be pointing at your back and calling you a bastard, son of a mistress, have you ever been happy since you were a child? Since you have never been happy, why would you want a child and perpetuate this misery?¡± Mo Xicheng looked at Yao Lili, who had now started talking about her crooked philosophies again. He wanted tough sorrowfully. How had this woman ever developed the shamelessness to give such an unrestrained and brilliant performance? He retreated a step as he looked at her and said, ¡°So? Why did you scheme to push my girlfriend into Mo Zhi¡¯s embrace?¡± Yao Lili¡¯s pupils shrank back at once. ¡°What- what are you talking about? I don¡¯t understand.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t understand. Do you think I really don¡¯t know about what happened at the Royal Family Hotel today?¡± Yao Lili started to panic at once. ¡°You¡ª¡± ¡°Mom, I thought that if I kept amodating and giving in, you¡¯d be satisfied. I thought you¡¯d be happy because after all, you¡¯re my Mom. But I had never expected you¡¯d do such a thing.¡± Yao Lili but her lip. She knew that no matter how she denied it now, it was useless. So she straightened her posture and reasoned, ¡°Shi Nianyao was Mo Zhi¡¯s fianc¨¦e to begin with. Why did you interfere? Do you want to be a third party like me? Mo Xicheng, let me tell you this, I will not let such a thing happen.¡± Mo Xicheng saw that she had widened her eyes fiercely, and there was a viciousness underlying her expression. Immediately, he turned to walk away. Seeing that he was leaving, she asked, ¡°Where are you going?¡± He halted and turned back to look at her. He said clearly and deliberately, ¡°From now on, my business has got nothing to do with you.¡± ¡°I will transfer money to your ount so that you get your monthly allowance, but I hope you will stop interfering in my affairs. As for the Mo family that you¡¯re so concerned with, I can tell you that the one thing I¡¯ve hated most in my life was this unofficial surname. So now, I will go to the police station to see if I can change my surname.¡± Chapter 1385 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (58)

Chapter 1385: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (58)

After stating this, Mo Xicheng strode away. Yao Lili was so livid that she sat on the bed, heaving. Right now, apart from the anger, she was feeling an odd dread. She wondered if he had found out he was the rightful Young Master Mo and son of Li Shu, and had realized this was the reason why there had always been a gap in their rtionship. Because every time Mo Xicheng stared at her with those eyes, she felt that it was Li Shu staring at her. She hated Li Shu to the core. Because Dad Mo, Mo Hai, only had eyes for Li Shu. But she herself was just a mistake he had made when they got drunk one night. And on top of that, they had only ever been intimate that one time. She liked Mo Hai and had spent all her youth on him, in hope that she would win his attention. But day after day, year after year, Mo Hai¡¯s attention had never been hers. Now her heart was gradually growing cold. She only felt that Mo Hai owed her, and Li Shu owed her too. Hence, she wanted her own son to inherit the Mo estate. She wanted Li Shu¡¯s own flesh and blood, to make the illegitimate son that Mo Hai had loved nevertheless live in darkness forever. At this thought, Yao Lili clenched her fists tightly. Ever since he was a child, Mo Xicheng would give in to her whenever she shed a tear or two, or threw a small tantrum. She had always thought that he would treat her kindly because she was his mother. But now it looked like... her theory was falling apart. But no, she must not let things get out of hand. She had to have Mo Zhi marry Shi Nianyao sessfully because everything was subject to change. And if one day the truth shoulde to light, and Mo Zhi had a wife like Shi Nianyao, there would be a chance for him to fight Mo Xicheng for the Mo family estate. So she had to continue to work hard! ¨C Mo Xicheng walked out of the hospital building and onto the street. He looked ahead feeling a little lost. He knew that Shi Nianyao had not told him about what had happened because she hadn¡¯t wanted to upset him. Besides, since she had managed to walk away from the situation in the private room, it meant she was safe. But at this moment, he felt a deep sorrow. Since childhood, he had given in to her whenever she threw a tantrum. But the truth was that he had long been tired of this way of living. One could even say that he was tired of Yao Lili. Yao Lili did not treat him kindly, that was a fact without doubt. She always had a good excuse to do things that would hurt him. He wanted to retaliate, just like how he had once run away from home. But in the end... He had looked into Li Shu¡¯s calm and steady eyes. They were like eyes that had seen life and death. When he saw theplexity of emotions in those eyes, he had felt a tight squeeze in his heart. He couldn¡¯t bring himself to disappoint her. He knew that every time he had an argument with Yao Lili, she would use that as an excuse to look for Dad Mo. And every call that she made to him, every tear she shed, would make Li Shu ufortable. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was a misperception on his part. But he had always sensed a certain look in her eyes, a sort of disdain and sarcasm. It was as though she was saying, ¡°You people are putting on an act again? Go on, keep doing it.¡± All of a sudden, Mo Xicheng felt that he didn¡¯t want to be perceived like that by Li Shu. He was not in cahoots with Yao Lili. From now on, he no longer wanted to give Yao Lili a reason to look for Mo Hai. At least even if she did, he wouldn¡¯t be the reason. Chapter 1386 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (59)

Chapter 1386: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (59)

At this thought, Mo Xicheng lowered his head. In any case, his life was a dull one. Since it had made no difference whether he obeyed Yao Lili, he had learnt topromise. He smirked. He had thought that things would be alright if he grit his teeth and made it through a period of his life. But he could not have imagined that today, after so many years ofpromising, trying to finally find some happiness for himself was too much to expect. Who had ever seen a mother try to push her own son¡¯s girlfriend into the embrace of another man? Although he had long been disappointed by Yao Lili, what she had done now still hurt. He walked for a while and then frowned. He looked at his cell phone and saw that there were a few missed calls from Yao Lili. Frowning, he cklisted her number without thinking twice. He continued to walk along the sidewalk alone. As he walked further up, he came to a sudden stop and looked straight ahead with an expression of disbelief. There was a girl in the distance. She was in a simple white t-shirt and jeans, her hair pulled back in a high ponytail. Her back was against the sun and there was an energetic and positive aura around her. A radiant smile with shing white teeth, she was beautiful and adorable. When he saw her, Mo Xicheng smiled instinctively. The mncholy that he had been feeling just a few moments ago had entirely disappeared. He realized that he hadn¡¯t lost everything. At the very least, he had her now. He walked towards her, hisrge hands covering her tiny ones. With his low and resonant voice he asked, ¡°Why are you here?¡± She raised an eyebrow and said, ¡°I escaped home today to spend time with you, so I don¡¯t feel like going back. I thought I¡¯de and see you. Is your mom ok?¡± Mo Xicheng¡¯s pupils shrank back and after a moment, he gave a mocking smile and remarked, ¡°What could possibly be wrong with her?¡± Shi Nianyao was an intelligent girl and from his reaction, in addition to Mo Zhi¡¯s appearance at the private room, she immediately figured out what had happened. She was angry butughed in exasperation. ¡°Really, your mom- nevermind. Have you eaten?¡± Mo Xicheng shook his head. She looked around and nced at him. His mask and sunsses were firmly resting against his face. It wasn¡¯t as though they could just go to any restaurant. Looking around, she took Mo Xicheng¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Come, follow me.¡± She took him to a little garden near the hospital and then she ordered takeout. Twenty minutester, a piping hot bowl of spicy soup was delivered to them. Shi Nianyao ced the bowl of spicy soup on a stone bench and gestured to Mo Xicheng, eximing, ¡°Come over here quickly! You must be starving!¡± The aroma of the spicy soup was exceptionally tempting. At that time, there were few people in the garden. Mo Xicheng looked around and then took off his mask and sunsses. He stood there for a moment and stared at this girl, who never acted like she was better than others and didn¡¯t care about her image as the daughter of a prominent family. He walked over and crouched down next to her. She immediately took out the chopsticks that came with the food delivery and shoved them into his hands. Then she lifted the lid off the bowl of spicy soup and gulped at once, eximing, ¡°It smells amazing! Mo Xicheng, hurry and eat up while it¡¯s hot.¡± Mo Xicheng nced at her, picked up a fishball and popped it into his mouth. Chapter 1387 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (60)

Chapter 1387: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (60)

For someone who had eaten all sorts of delicacies in his life, any delicious food would be a norm to him. Besides, that sort of spicy soup was nothing like a high-quality clear soup. But right there and then, the taste of the fishball was exceptionally delicious. Especially when he saw how Shi Nianyao¡¯s eyes were sparkling, he felt all the more that the spicy soup was very tempting. As she ate, Shi Nianyao said, ¡°Do you know that I used to salivate whenever I saw people drinking spicy soup by the road? I always wanted to do it too. But my older brother and father were very strict and wouldn¡¯t let me. So whenever I was unhappy, I¡¯d take my own pocket money, run away to a spicy soup stall and order loads of spicy soup. After I drink the soup, I feel all good! Hahaha, try it. I¡¯ve always liked the spicy soup from this shop.¡± As she kept talking, Mo Xicheng lowered his head and ate with her. Very soon, they finished the bowl of spicy soup. He looked at her red luscious lips, stung by the heat of the spicy soup, and felt like he somehow hadn¡¯t had enough. But his stomach was bloated. As he contemted this odd feeling, Shi Nianyao got onto her feet and patted her stomach. She remarked, ¡°Ah, another satisfying meal!¡± Mo Xicheng: ... He quietly picked up the empty food container and threw it into the bin. Taking Shi Nianyao¡¯s hand, he said, ¡°Let¡¯s take a walk and digest the food.¡± The girl nodded. They took a slow stroll around the garden. As they strolled, Shi Nianyao started, ¡°Mo Xicheng.¡± ¡°Uh huh?¡± ¡°Actually, as long as I¡¯m with you, I feel blissful. It doesn¡¯t matter what I eat.¡± Mo Xicheng: ... Mo Xicheng turned towards her. Her face was pure and radiant under the light of the sun. She continued, ¡°Mo Xicheng, there¡¯s no need for you to decorate private rooms, because just the act of having a meal with you is a joyful thing. I don¡¯t care how or where we eat.¡± Her heart ached. It ached that her male idol would put in so much effort just to make her happy. And in the end, it had been spoilt by Mo Zhi. Her words touched him deeply and in a way that he had never been touched before. He turned suddenly and pulled her into his embrace. ¨C In the afternoon, after taking Shi Nianyao home, Mo Xicheng drove to the office. He had a discussion with his manager about future developments. He had decided that he would no longer give in to Yao Lili¡¯s requests. From now on, they would go their own ways and live their own lives. Initially, he had thought that given today¡¯s fight with Yao Lili, his life from this point would be free from her interference. But he could not have imagined that following this episode, Yao Lili wouldunch another attack. He wouldn¡¯t have thought that there would be a mother in this world who would hate her own son this much. He finally realized that Yao Lili wasn¡¯t someone who he could easilypletely dissociate from, like how he had first thought. This served to hasten the estrangement between the two of them. Because that very night, Shi Nianyao received a call from Yao Lili. Thetter sounded like she was sobbing as she said, ¡°Ms. Shi, can youe to the hospital?¡± Shi Nianyao paused and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°My grown son is not listening to his mother. He¡¯s an adult now, I can¡¯t dictate what he can or can¡¯t have. I know that I can¡¯t stop you two, but there are a few things that I wish to say privately to you in person.¡± Chapter 1388 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (61)

Chapter 1388: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (61)

Shi Nianyao frowned. ¡°Does Mo Xicheng know that you wish to see me?¡± Yao Lili halted for a moment and then started, ¡°What happened today was my fault. I arranged for you to meet with Mo Zhi. I thought that if I returned you to Mo Zhi, it would mend the rtionship between the two brothers. But I didn¡¯t think that he¡¯d be so upset after he found out about it. I know that he will not forgive me. Ms. Shi, I- I just wanted to have a chat with you.¡± Upon hearing this, Shi Nianyao was silent for a moment. She had sensed that Mo Xicheng had been in low spirits today at the hospital. She knew that it would be a lie to say that he had absolutely no affection towards his mother. No matter how unkindly she had treated him, she had given birth to him and raised him. As the old saying went, there isn¡¯t a mother who does not treat her own children well. Because a woman¡¯s heart is always tender. Yao Lili had maintained a strong point of view all along. Although Shi Nianyao did not like her, right now, when the hard woman softened all of a sudden, Shi Nianyao felt her heart softening too. It wasn¡¯t because of this vicious woman that her heart softened. Rather, her heart was softening because of Mo Xicheng. If Mo Xicheng¡¯s mother treated him kindly, then wouldn¡¯t there be another woman in this world who would be good to him? And he would be less lonely and alone. At this thought, Shi Nianyao narrowed her eyes and said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go over.¡± After Yao Lili told her the ward number, Shi Nianyao sighed and got changed to go out. First, she bent and peaked down the corridor of the second floor. She saw that the living room was quiet, there was no one. Then she tiptoed downstairs. As she walked into the living room with her pair of shoes in her hands, she took one step at a time towards the front door. She heaved a sigh of relief when she finally inched her way there. Just as she was about to open the door and leave, someone suddenly opened the door of the bedroom on the second floor. Immediately following this, Shi Xun¡¯s voice rang out, ¡°Where are you going at this hour of the night?¡± Shi Nianyao: ...! Her head snapped upwards as she eximed, ¡°Big Brother! You gave me a fright! Can you at least give a little warning the next time?!¡± Shi Xun said, ¡°Sheesh, don¡¯t you think you should be answering my question of where you¡¯re headed off to?¡± Shi Nianyao: ... She cleared her throat and lowered her head. Then she bent over to put her shoes on. Looking up at him after this, she said boldly, ¡°Mom Mo is sick and has been hospitalized, I¡¯m just going to see her.¡± Shi Xun paused for a moment and looked as though he was about to say something. But then he eventually held his tongue. He had no knowledge of the situation. How could anyone have imagined that there was such a selfish mother in this world? From Shi Xun¡¯s perspective, the rtionship between Mo Xicheng and his mother was nothing out of the ordinary. She was his mother after all. Hence at this moment, he could only ask, ¡°Really?¡± The girl replied, ¡°That¡¯s the truth, nothing but the whole truth. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can just as easily do your own investigation. Which hospital, which ward?¡± Shi Xun: ... The man thought for a while and then smiled, ¡°Your mother-inw dislikes you, so you¡¯re taking the opportunity to please her while she¡¯s sick in hospital?¡± At once, Shi Nianyao gestured with her hand. ¡°What? Why would I need to brown-nose? If someone doesn¡¯t like me, I¡¯ll just throw money at the person till they like me. She finally realized how good I am and that¡¯s why she called to say she wanted to have a chat. She even said she epted the idea of Mo Xicheng and I getting married.¡± Shi Xun snorted when he heard this and replied, ¡°Very well then, enough. Go if you wish, but get our chauffeur to send you there, and when you¡¯re done, he¡¯ll drive you back here.¡± Chapter 1389 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (62)

Chapter 1389: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (62)

Shi Nianyao: ... After all that talk, was he still worried about her meeting up with Mo Xicheng? Shi Nianyao was speechless. She looked up at her big brother and saw that he had a determined expression on his face. It didn¡¯t look negotiable. She knew at once that if she didn¡¯t let their family chauffeur drive her, Shi Xun would not let her out of the house. She had no choice but to agree, ¡°Alright, in any case it¡¯s dark and I really don¡¯t feel like driving.¡± The man nodded and called the butler so that he would arrange for the chauffeur to drive her. Shi Nianyao stood aside and watched as he made the arrangements. Putting her arms around his, she looked at him and started, ¡°Big Brother.¡± Shi Xun gave her a look that said everything: ¡°Uh huh?¡± Shi Nianyao insisted, ¡°Mo Xicheng and I are just dating like any other couple. Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re overreacting? Even if we go on a date at night, it doesn¡¯t necessarily mean that we¡¯re being intimate.¡± Shi Xun immediately replied without batting an eye, ¡°If you¡¯re meeting at such ate hour and you¡¯re being intimate, then I think I ought to be taking him to the hospital for a health check.¡± Shi Nianyao: ...!! The normally nimble and talkative Shi Nianyao found herself rendered speechless when up against Shi Xun. This was simply... Shi Nianyao pouted, raised her hand and made a stabbing gesture at him. Then she turned around and walked out. After the car carrying Shi Nianyao had driven away from the vi, Tian Tian walked out of their bedroom. Looking at Shi Xun, she couldn¡¯t help but smile and say, ¡°Yao Yao is a big girl, you should let her be.¡± Shi Xun answered, ¡°She¡¯s a big girl but to me, she¡¯s still not thinking straight. She likes someone and goes all out for him without thinking too much. What if she got hurt? If we don¡¯t manage to sort his mother out, I don¡¯t think they should be together! It¡¯s not as though you don¡¯t know how much trouble a mother-inw can create in the household.¡± Tian Tian warned him, ¡°But you have to be cautious about keeping such a short leash on her. At some point things may backfire. Who knows? One day you may receive some sort of shocking news.¡± Shi Xun said optimistically, ¡°With me watching over her and not letting Mo Xicheng have his way, what big surprises can they cause? At least, they can¡¯t possibly run off and register their marriage in secret, right?¡± On that note, he turned and went back to the bedroom. Tian Tian thought about what he said and agreed it made sense, although knowing her sister-inw well enough, it wouldn¡¯t be beyond her. At this point, of course the both of them hadpletely no idea there was more truth to this than they realized. ¨C It was already 8.30 p.m. by the time Shi Nianyao arrived at the hospital. It was dark, night had fallen. She got out of the car and instructed the chauffeur to wait at the parking lot while she went up to the ward alone. Looking into the ward from the outside, she could see that Yao Lili was alone. She was sobbing quietly, looking very lost, like a child who had done something awfully wrong and was now repentant. Shi Nianyao observed the scene for a while before she pushed open the door and walked in. When Yao Lili heard the door open, she looked up. Upon seeing Shi Nianyao, her expression lit up in pleasant surprise. Although right afterwards, there was a sh of malice. However she acted exceptionally excited and emotional as she greeted the girl, ¡°Ms. Shi you¡¯re here, please take a seat.¡± Shi Nianyao smiled at her and greeted her politely, ¡°Auntie Yao.¡± She walked to the sofa on the side and sat down, keeping a distance from the woman in case she tried any tricks. She eyed the woman cautiously. Chapter 1390 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (63)

Chapter 1390: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (63)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Yao Lili, on the other hand, leaned back on her bed and stared straight ahead, as though she was ovee by grief. She said after a brief silence, ¡°Ms. Yao, I have to apologize for the ridiculous situation I created before. It was my misjudgment.¡± ¡°All these years, I¡¯ve been selfish and never spared a thought for Xicheng. I liked his father Mo Hai so much that I refused to leave the Mo family. And I just didn¡¯t think that it would do him so much harm.¡± As she spoke, she dabbed at her tears and continued. ¡°I wanted Mo Xicheng to have a good education, so I did something shameless, not caring if that was what he wanted. I didn¡¯t let him surpass Mo Zhi academically, but I never considered his feelings in doing so. Sob, sob, I have failed as a mother.¡± As she said this, she lowered her head and started to cry. ¡°I am not targeting you, Ms. Shi. You are pretty, well brought up, with a good background, how could I possibly dislike anything about you? It¡¯s just that I didn¡¯t want the two brothers to fall out or have a disagreement over you, but that¡¯s just me being naive. I just didn¡¯t want any sort of argument at any point of time, so I never really considered his sincerity and feelings towards you. And it looks like he really likes you, so much so that he doesn¡¯t want to acknowledge his own mother anymore.¡± Shi Nianyao listened to the crying woman and sighed in her own heart. Looking at Yao Lili, she said after a pause, ¡°Auntie Yao, don¡¯t cry. We can talk things over calmly.¡± As long as she changed for the better and coulde to her senses, Shi Nianyao knew that Mo Xicheng would want to get along with her harmoniously. After all, she was the only family Mo Xicheng had. Hence Shi Nianyao sighed again. Yao Lili was crying harder now. ¡°You don¡¯t understand, you don¡¯t understand. Yao Yao, he will not forgive me. He was so determined when he left today. I panicked when I saw how he was. I know I made a mistake.¡± ¡°Yao Yao, tell me, do you think he hates me?¡± Shi Nianyao could only sigh in response. Why did people only learn to treasure something after they have lost it? She looked at Yao Lili and said, ¡°Auntie, don¡¯t worry. As long as you have a good chat with Mo Xicheng, I believe things will be fine between the two of you.¡± When Yao Lili heard this, she looked up at Shi Nianyao nkly and asked, ¡°Is that true?¡± Shi Nianyao nodded. Yao Lili then gasped briefly before she stopped crying. She dried her eyes and looked at Shi Nianyao with a guilt-ridden expression, saying, ¡°Yao Yao, could you get me a ss of water?¡± Shi Nianyao walked to the side to get a disposable cup and filled it. Then she passed this over to the woman. Yao Lili took two sips before she looked at Shi Nianyao and said, ¡°Oh, look at me. You¡¯ve been here for a while and I didn¡¯t even offer you a drink. Let me get you some water.¡± She made a move to get out of her bed. Shi Nianyao quickly said, ¡°Auntie, there¡¯s no need. Really, I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°No, no, I¡ª¡± Shi Nianyao could only say, ¡°Then let me get one myself.¡± Yao Lili nodded. Shi Nianyao walked to the side again and took another disposable cup to pour herself some water. She obligingly took two sips and sat back down onto the sofa, saying, ¡°Is there anything else, Auntie?¡± Chapter 1391 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (64)

Chapter 1391: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (64)

When Yao Lili saw that she had drunk the water, she said with a soft cough, ¡°It¡¯s nothing, I just feel a little lonely. Nianyao, will you keep mepany?¡± Shi Nianyao looked at her cell phone. Yao Lili immediately said with a hint of a plea in her tone, ¡°Just for half an hour!¡± Shi Nianyao: ... At this juncture, could she even reject the woman? She could only nod. Minutes and seconds passed. Was it because the room was too quiet? Was it because the smell of disinfectant was too strong? She started to feel unwell. She was giddy and her head was heavy. In fact, she felt sleepy. She quickly shook her head and stood up. Looking at Yao Lili, she said, ¡°Auntie, I¡¯ll go and wash my face.¡± She could barely keep her eyes open. But the moment she got onto her feet, the room spun. Everything around her became a shadowy blur. She pressed the side of her head, but it was useless. She gulped and tried to widen her eyes. Yao Lili¡¯s tearful face now seemed to be smiling as she said, ¡°Ms. Shi, I¡¯m sorry! Mo Xicheng couldn¡¯t be persuaded so I could only use this method. When all¡¯s done and toote, we¡¯ll see if your family is still in a position to reject!¡± Shi Nianyao widened her eyes in horror and started, ¡°You- you-¡± Yao Lili smirked, ¡°You can¡¯t really me me, you people would not listen and are still seeing each other behind my back. Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know it! If I can¡¯t get anywhere with Mo Xicheng, I can only try to get through like this.¡± The fury seemed to have woken Shi Nianyao up a little, as she raised her finger at Yao Lili and rebuked the woman, ¡°My brother will not let you off for what you¡¯re doing!¡± Yao Lili lowered her head at these words and replied, ¡°You¡¯re wrong on this.¡± The woman said with a smile, ¡°When Mo Zhi bes your husband, how could your brother not let him off? We¡¯ll all be a family, and the past will have to be forgiven.¡± Ignoring whatever Shi Nianyao was saying, she picked up her cell phone and dialed a number. She spoke into the phone, ¡°Mo Zhi, you cane in now!¡± Shortly afterwards, Shi Nianyao saw the ward door swing open and Mo Zhi walked in. One step at a time he walked towards Shi Nianyao until he was next to her. Then he held her steady. She wanted to push him away, but found that she didn¡¯t have the slightest ounce of strength to do so. Opening her mouth to call for help, she suddenly felt the room spun and the next moment, darkness fell over her and she lost consciousness. In between this, she only felt hopeless and in great despair. She should have nevere here, she should have never given Yao Lili the benefit of the doubt. ¨C After Shi Nianyao left the Shi Vi, Shi Xun and Tian Tian went back to their bedroom. Just as they were about to go to sleep, Shi Xun suddenly stood up. Surprised, Tian Tian asked, ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°Calling Mo Xicheng.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± she asked. ¡°What if that woman makes things difficult for Yao Yao? I have to warn him that my sister will not have to put up with anyone.¡± Tian Tian: ... ¡°You¡¯re such a protective monster brother!¡± Shi Xun halted and turned around to nce at her. He replied, ¡°I¡¯m also a wife-chasing monster.¡± Tian Tian said, ¡°Fine, fine. Hurry and make that call! I won¡¯t get jealous over your sister.¡± ¡°Ok, wifey, I wille back to bed as soon as possible.¡± Chapter 1392 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (65)

Chapter 1392: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (65)

Tian Tian: ... He sounded like she was rushing him toe home. She snorted and ignored him. Shi Xun walked out of the bedroom and into the study room while holding his phone. After that, he dialed Mo Xicheng¡¯s number. Mo Xicheng picked up the phone in no time and greeted him. ¡°Hello, Mr. Shi. How can I help you?¡± ¡°Nianyao has always been the little princess in the family, she basically has thest say.¡± Shi Xun had gone straight to the point. Mo Xicheng was stunned andughed after a while as he replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, in the future in our family, she would also be the one who has thest say.¡± ¡°You¡¯re able to appease her, but what about your mother?¡± Mo Xicheng kept silent for a moment and said, ¡°We will not stay with her.¡± ¡°So does that mean that you are still unable to reach an agreement with her? Then why did you ask her to go and meet your mother?¡± Mo Xicheng was shocked. ¡°What? Who went to meet my mother?¡± Shi Xun was instantly muddled. He frowned and asked, ¡°It wasn¡¯t you who asked Yao Yao?¡± Mo Xicheng instantly became alert. ¡°Mr. Shi, please tell me clearly.¡± Shi Xun had also suddenly realized that something seemed to be wrong. He immediately said, ¡°Just now, Yao Yao said that your mother has been hospitalized and she asked her to visit her in the hospital. Then, Yao Yao left.¡± Mo Xicheng directly replied, ¡°I¡¯ll go to the hospital now.¡± Shi Xun nodded. Although Shi Xun was worried, he didn¡¯t create a big fuss. He felt that there wouldn¡¯t be any idents. It was because Shi Nianyao had been taken by their driver and it was Mo Xicheng¡¯s mother, not some scary beast. On top of that, with Mo Xicheng going too, he was also less worried. Thus, Shi Xun turned his head and returned to his bedroom. ¨C Mo Xicheng hung up and immediately drove over to the hospital. Yao Lili was the kind of person that always had to have thest say. She had to be up to something bad if she had asked Shi Nianyao to go over now. He furrowed his brows and sped the way to the hospital, as if he was driving a race car. Even so, he was really anxious. When he arrived at the hospital, he just casually parked his car along the road and rushed into the hospital. In no time, he had arrived at Yao Lili¡¯s hospital¡¯s ward. When he pushed the door and entered, Yao Lili was eating supper. After seeing him, her eyes shed and inly spoke after a while, ¡°Why are you here?¡± Mo Xicheng looked around and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Nianyao?¡± ¡°Nianyao? What Nianyao?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think that I don¡¯t know. You called Nianyao to the hospital!¡± Yao Lili sneered and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about, when did Nianyaoe to the hospital? If you don¡¯t believe me, you can search through my ward.¡± Mo Xicheng looked around the area and, after ensuring that she wasn¡¯t around, he frowned and picked up his phone to call her. The call went through but no one picked up. He frowned and walked out. Yao Lili stood behind him and sneered. ¡°Mo Xicheng, why exactly did youe over sote at night?¡± Mo Xicheng kept silent and when he was about to leave, a man suddenly appeared at the doorstep. He was about forty or fifty years old and he knocked on the room door before asking, ¡°Hello, I¡¯m the driver of the Shi family. I took our Miss to the hospital, half an hour has passed. Where is she?¡± His sentence made Mo Xicheng turn his head back suddenly as he stared at Yao Lili forcefully. He took a step forward, his voice was filled with a fear so strong like never before, ¡°Speak, where exactly is Shi Nianyao?!¡± Chapter 1393 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (66)

Chapter 1393: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (66)

Yao Lili¡¯s pupils shrank. She stared at the driver at the door. She had never expected that Shi Nianyao would bring the Shi family¡¯s chauffeur with her. This time, she wouldn¡¯t be able to find an excuse out of it. But Yao Lili was someone who could make something nonsensical make sense. Thus she widened her eyes, looked at the both of them and said, ¡°I have said that I have no idea. Shi Nianyao didn¡¯t evene into my ward at all.¡± Mo Xicheng stared at Yao Lili with his fist tightly clenched. He waspletely filled with a deadly anger that seemed as if it hade from hell as he stared at Yao Lili. ¡°I¡¯ll give you one more chance, where is she?¡± Yao Lili shrunk back a bit, shocked by him. She was so anxious that she said, ¡°Why are you talking to me like this? I am your mother!¡¯ ¡°Then do you know who she is? She¡¯s the daughter of the Shi family. If you have no idea who the Shi family is, then let me give you a lesson. The head of the Shi family is Shi Jinyan. He started out a business from scratch and doesn¡¯t have much of a background but Nianyao¡¯s mother, Si Jingyu, is from the Empire Corporation. Her younger brother is Si Zhengting, and Si Zhengting¡¯s two sons, who are Si Jingyu¡¯s two nephews, Nianyao¡¯s two cousins, are the head of Empire Corporation and Grand Emperor respectively.¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t you always thought that the Mo family is really powerful? Let me tell you, the Mo Family is nothing in front of any of them. As long as one of the families does something, they can easily crush the Mo Family. So do you think that Nianyao is someone you can control?¡± Mo Xicheng was really very anxious. But he knew that if he wasn¡¯t able to scare Yao Lili, telling her about Shi Nianyao¡¯s identity, he had no way of finding Nianyao. He knew that Nianyao had been definitely taken away by Mo Zhi. As he couldn¡¯t get her through the phone, Nianyao might be already in their trap. Thus the fastest solution was to scare Yao Lili. After hearing his words, Yao Lili was indeed so scared she turned pale. She had never known how strong Shi Nianyao¡¯s family was. She had only known that her family was really powerful, but she hadn¡¯t known that it was to that extent. If that was indeed true, would it really be fine if Mo Zhi abused Shi Nianyao? Just as she was thinking, she saw Mo Xicheng take a step forward, pick up her phone and call Mo Zhi. ¡°Ask him now where they are and ask Mo Zhi to take Nianyao back!¡± Yao Lili swallowed and looked at Mo Xicheng. She stared at Mo Xicheng. Just as her phone was dialing, she was slightly doubtful and hesitating. It was because she had suddenly realized that if she asked Shi Nianyao toe back, Mo Xicheng would be together with her. And ording to what Mo Xicheng had said, if Shi Nianyao was indeed so powerful, Mo Xicheng would definitely fight with Mo Zhi over the assets of the Mo family in the future. Since the situation was already at this stage, and they had already offended them, why not let the die be cast? What is done is done. Just as she had thought, if Shi Nianyao was tainted by Mo Zhi, would they dare kill Mo Zhi? For the sake of the honor of the family, they might even let Shi Nianyao and Mo Zhi be together. As this thought popped up in her mind, her gaze immediately became firm. She instantly cut the call and said, ¡°I have said that Shi Nianyao didn¡¯t evene into my ward. I havepletely no idea what you¡¯re talking about. If Shi Nianyao is so powerful, why don¡¯t you ask the people in her family to look for her?¡± Chapter 1394 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (67)

Chapter 1394: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (67)

Her words made Mo Xicheng give up everyst hope he had of Yao Lili deep in his heart. He had never thought that someone would be so shameless. He stared at Yao Lili and for the first time, he felt ashamed being her son. Why did he have a mom like that? Everything that was happening was only between Mo Zhi and him, what did it have to do with Shi Nianyao? Why must she drag the innocent Nianyao into the picture? He narrowed his eyes and asked again, ¡°You sure that you don¡¯t know?¡± This gaze made Yao Lili feel terrified. In Mo Xicheng¡¯s eyes, she saw that thest strand of rtionship that linked them seemed to be damaged. She knew that Mo Xicheng would remainpletely disappointed in her from then onwards. She didn¡¯t know why, but she felt that her heart hurt. In all honesty, although she had never liked him, as she had taken care of him from a young age, and she had brought him up on her own, she still felt something for him. At this moment, their rtionship, the only connection between them, which to Mo Xicheng was the little ¡°blood rtionship¡± they had, would bepletely torn after tonight. But it was alright as long as her son Mo Zhi could be with Shi Nianyao. Then all of this would be worthwhile! Thus, Yao Lili nodded and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Mo Xicheng¡¯s gaze instantly became as cold as the ice in the arctic, making her feel cold with fear. Mo Xicheng took another nce at her, turned around and left. After leaving the ward, he knew that he had to immediately find Shi Nianyao himself and he knew that the way to find Shi Nianyao was to... check the surveince camera. He instantly rushed to look for the person in charge of the hospital and then found a professional hacker to find Mo Zhi¡¯s location through his phone. Finally, he found their location on a road. They seemed to have just left and were on the way to a hotel. Fortunately, Mo Zhi didn¡¯t want to casually be intimate with Shi Nianyao. Knowing Shi Nianyao¡¯s identity, he knew that what was most important was Shi Nianyao¡¯s attitude after he slept with her. He would need to appease Shi Nianyao and thus, he was taking her to the hotel in the outskirts that she had gone with Mo Xicheng. Seeing this situation, Mo Xicheng rushed downstairs and started his car, driving towards the outskirts without hesitation. It was the middle of the night and there weren¡¯t many cars on the road in Beijing. His car waspletely speeding. He didn¡¯t bother about any traffic lights and just rushed into the outskirts. He had to rush over, he must save Nianyao. He was the man who had to take responsibility for Nianyao. His gaze slowly became firm as he stared forward. He stepped on the gas pedal again, adding fuel and adding more fuel. The car was driving at an extremely fast speed on the road. He stared into the distance and saw a red light at a junction. He frowned and paused for a while. When he saw the red light turn green, he didn¡¯t think of anything else and directly sped forward. But at that moment, someone was also driving in his direction. Because of the few people on the road at that time, the person hadn¡¯t noticed the traffic light and sped towards Mo Xicheng¡¯s car. Mo Xicheng only saw a blinding light shining in his direction. Then he subconsciously stuck out his hand to block the light and crazily spun the steering wheel, trying to avoid that car. The other car had been moving at a very slow speed, thus after the person stepped on the emergency brake, it still stopped, although it had been really dangerous. Chapter 1395 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (68)

Chapter 1395: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (68)

However, Mo Xicheng¡¯s car had been travelling at a speed that was too fast and the car directly crashed into a wall by the road. Although Mo Xicheng had put on his seatbelt, he had still banged his head really hard into the windscreen in front. In that instant, his forehead started bleeding. Cracks also appeared on the windscreen and the front of the car was also damaged. Mo Xicheng instantly felt dizzy and everything seemed double in front of him. Just at that moment, someone knocked on the window of his car. He turned around and saw that the driver of that car was staring at him. He asked worriedly, ¡°Sir, are you ok?¡± Mo Xicheng took a nce at him and took a deep breath. He recovered his rationality and tried his best to look at the road in front of him. When his sight finally focused, he then shook his head. And after he recalled Shi Nianyao, he reversed his car without hesitation. He didn¡¯t even look at the driver that had caused the ident and drove away immediately. He left the driver standing there saying, ¡°Aish, Sir, your forehead is bleeding, you need to go to the hospital. You¡ª¡± But before he could finish speaking, his car had already sped away. In no time, the car could no longer be seen. Mo Xicheng was really very anxious. He didn¡¯t know if Nianyao would make a fuss for her innocence like other women if something really happened between Mo Zhi and her. But he knew that ording to Nianyao¡¯s character, she would definitely not give in if anything happened. He wanted Nianyao to live well and happily. He didn¡¯t want Nianyao to have any unhappiness. Thus, he was firm that it definitely could not happen. As he thought so, Mo Xicheng stepped on the elerator again and increased the speed of the car even more. Fast, fast! Originally, it would have taken about an hour for one to drive from the hospital in the city center to the outskirts, but Mo Xicheng had made it in just twenty minutes. When his car arrived at the hotel, he directly got out of the car. Just as he was about to rush forward, his legs trembled, his vision blurred and he almost fell on the ground. An employee hurriedly held onto him and said, ¡°Sir, your forehead is bleeding, are you feeling ok? Do you need us to send you to the hospital? Let us call an ambnce for you.¡± However, Mo Xicheng pushed the employee away and ran into the hotel¡¯s hall. He directly went to the reception and stared at the receptionist. ¡°Which room did Mo Zhi book?¡± The receptionist was stunned and replied, ¡°Erm, it¡¯s the customer¡¯s privace, we have no rights to tell you.¡± Mo Xicheng directly lifted his head and said, ¡°I¡¯m his younger brother, check it for me immediately.¡± His voice was icy cold and he sounded as if he wanted to kill. It stunned the receptionist immediately. She swallowed and finally saw Mo Xicheng¡¯s look under the coat of blood. She asked in surprise, ¡°You¡¯re Mr. Mo Xicheng?¡± Ambition was currently airing on cinemas, so Mo Xicheng had be known to everyone. Mo Xicheng nodded and the receptionist immediately replied, ¡°Ok, let me check for you.¡± She turned on theputer, took a few nces and said, ¡°They are on the eighth floor, room 808.¡± After hearing what she said, Mo Xicheng immediately turned around and ran forward. There were three lifts. One of them was on the top floor, as someone seemed to have just gone up, another was on its way up, and thest one had stopped at night. Mo Xicheng took a look, hastily rushed to the staircase on the side and ran up. At that moment, what hecked most was time. Chapter 1396 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (69)

Chapter 1396: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (69)

Mo Xicheng took the stairs all the way to the eighth floor. Having run all the way up, he was now perspiring profusely. As the beads of perspiration rolled onto his open wound, the pain woke him up with a new burst of energy. He had no other thoughts in his head as he looked around. Very quickly, he found room 808. He charged at it and forcefully pounded on the door. ¨C Mo Zhi carried Shi Nianyao all the way down the building and ced her in the car. Then he got into the car and drove all the way out to the suburbs. On the way, he took a few nces at the girl who had fallen into a deep sleep and evil thoughts did cross his mind. Didn¡¯t she, that pampered mistress, despise him? Maybe he should take her for the first time there and then in the car, and see if that would embarrass her when she woke up. But in the end, he gave up on the idea. Because he was afraid. He was afraid of her brother and cousins, for any one among them could easily squash him like a fly. Yao Lili¡¯s words also shed past his mind, ¡°You have to treat Shi Nianyao politely. We¡¯re not here to make an enemy, we¡¯re here to take a wife.¡± That was right, his purpose was to take a wife. Hence, it was better to go somewhere romantic. At least then when the fiery girl woke up, she wouldn¡¯t feel so sad. So the man held himself back. The minutes crept by agonizingly, but finally they arrived at the hotel. He managed to get Shi Nianyao into the room. The moment he got in, he slid her onto the bed impatiently and then stood next to the bed quietly to admire her exquisite face. He had to admit that, after having fooled around with so many small-time actresses in the entertainment circle, none of them were as pretty as Shi Nianyao. She was sleeping peacefully right now and looked exceptionally beautiful. Furthermore, he had her without her usual sharp tongue and this suited Mo Zhi¡¯s taste. He gulped. The fact was that owning a woman was nothing. But taming a woman was the challenging part. Hence, being able to tame Shi Nianyao and have her yield to him physically was to conquer her. At this thought, Mo Zhi ran his hand over her body. He realized that even though he had slept with so many women in the past, Shi Nianyao was so perfect that he almost didn¡¯t know how to start. No matter where he started, it seemed obscene. But then again, everything he had done tonight hadn¡¯t been for the purpose of sullying her? He smirked at the thought of this and reached out to touch her waist. Just as he lifted her top and was about to remove it, there was a forceful pounding on the door. Mo Zhi jumped at that sound. The wild desires that he had just been building up were suddenly interrupted, as he felt a part of him turnid at once. He turned his head towards the doorway and shouted furiously, ¡°Who¡¯s that?!¡± The next moment, he heard Mo Xicheng¡¯s deep and gloomy voice, ¡°It¡¯s me, open the door!¡± Mo Zhi jumped in fright, wondering how Mo Xicheng had managed to track him down here. He quickly turned back to look at Shi Nianyao and frowned. Of course he must not open the door now. If he did, what other chance would he ever have with the girl again? This was a ssy hotel, hence the doors were all sturdily built. If he didn¡¯t open the door, Mo Xicheng definitely would not be able to bulldoze his way in within a short time. Hence Mo Zhi did not think twice. He quickly lifted Shi Nianyao¡¯s top and reached out to remove her pants. Chapter 1397 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (70)

Chapter 1397: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (70)

Unfortunately, Shi Nianyao was wearing a pair of jeans today. Furthermore, in his state of panic, Mo Zhi fumbled for a while even to unbuckle her belt. Amidst the pulling and tugging, perhaps it somehow caused Shi Nianyao pain. She made a noise and slowly opened her eyes. Her senses urged her to struggle to clear her mind, even under her heavily-drugged condition. She froze for a moment when she saw the man before her. Then the next moment, she tried to retaliate. But because her body was heavy and limp, she found that she didn¡¯t even have the strength to speak. She tried hard to move and stretched her legs out in an attempt to kick Mo Zhi. Mo Zhi was having trouble removing her pants to begin with, but now he started to panic even more. He wanted to restrain her legs, but she used all of her strength and will to retaliate. Mo Zhi was unlike Mo Xicheng. Mo Xicheng would train in the gym, but Mo Zhi only knew how to pleasure himself with a different woman every night, hence he had been physically quite weak since a young age. In the struggle, Shi Nianyao rolled on the floor. She gritted her teeth and red fixedly at Mo Zhi, willing herself to clear her head. Mo Zhi was already panicking as the pounding on the door grew louder and more urgent. It felt as though the door would give way any time. While in the room, not to mention the mess, he hadn¡¯t even managed to undress Shi Nianyao. So if they managed to break into the room, even if he tried saying that he had gotten his way, it would be unconvincing. In his panic, Mo Zhi grabbed Shi Nianyao¡¯s hair and angrily delivered a sound p across her face, shouting, ¡°Tr*mp, you¡¯d better do as you¡¯re told!¡± The p, ironically, seemed to have done the job of waking the giddy Shi Nianyao uppletely. She raised her voice towards the door and shouted, ¡°Help!¡± Her cry for help agitated Mo Xicheng further. He pounded on the door with full force now. The door was rattling and looked as though it was giving way. Right at this moment, an employee finally rushed over. They tried to stop Mo Xicheng, saying, ¡°Sir, you can¡¯t go in.¡± Mo Xicheng was furious and shouted at them, ¡°Someone¡¯s kidnapped a girl, unlock the door right now!¡± The employee paused and replied, ¡°But we can¡¯t just open the door based on your instructions.¡± The man clenched his fists tightly and then, without another word, he snatched the card key that the employee was holding. He ced the card against the card reader. Click! The room door was unlocked. The employee tried to snatch his card back. Wordlessly, Mo Xicheng flung the card at him while he pushed open the door and entered the room. In the room. Mo Zhi had his hand tightly over Shi Nianyao¡¯s nose and mouth, trying to stifle her cries for help. Because Shi Nianyao was suffocating, her face had turned red. She was kicking out with all her might, trying to break out of Mo Zhi¡¯s grip. Her hair was in disarray and she looked like she was in dire straits. When Mo Xicheng saw this, he could no longer control his anger. He was like a furious provoked beast and hollered deeply before charging right at the other man. He grabbed Mo Zhi by the cor and hurled him on the ground. Then he ran up to Shi Nianyao and called out, ¡°Yao Yao, are you ok¡± Shi Nianyao¡¯s eyes were bloodshot from the fright but when she saw Mo Xicheng, her lips moved a little and eventually she said, ¡°I- I¡¯m ok.¡± Although she had said that, she was trembling. The angry red mark from the p was evident against her pale skin and she was in a sorry state. How could someone who looked like that be ok? Chapter 1398 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (71)

Chapter 1398: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (71)

Mo Xicheng felt as though his chest was being tightly squeezed. It was so painful that it was hard to breathe. Shi Nianyao was in such a state and yet, her first instinct had been to say she was alright so that he wouldn¡¯t be worried. Although her life had not been in any danger this time, what about the next time? He had tolerated Mo Zhi to no end and given in time after time to Yao Lili, just in exchange for some peace, but what was the result? Perhaps it was true that some things were as Yao Lili said. One had to fight for certain things in life whether one wished to or not. Mo Zhi, who was lying on the floor, picked himself up and stared at the two of them, smirking, ¡°Mo Xicheng, what brings you here? Let me tell you this. She is my fiancee! This woman is mine! If you¡¯re smart, step aside, otherwise both my parents and your mother will not let you off easily.¡± ¡°If you spare a thought for Shi Nianyao, then you will let her go! Wasn¡¯t this how you handled things in school years ago?¡± His words agitated Mo Xicheng. He lifted his head and put Shi Nianyao down. Then he walked towards Mo Zhi one step at a time. Mo Zhi was frightened and retreated a few steps, staring at Mo Xicheng and asking, ¡°What- what do you want?¡± ¡°Mo Xicheng, I¡¯m warning you, if you even harm a single hair on my body, I¡¯ll tell Dad to punish you!¡± However as soon as he had said this, he received a merciless punch from Mo Xicheng. Mo Xicheng was like an enraged bull that had been waiting to unleash all the pent-up anger from the insults and mistreatment of thest years. Especially when the image of Shi Nianyao in that sorry state shed in his mind, he was so angry he could kill someone. One punch, and then another. He hit Mo Zhi¡¯s face without holding back. ¡°Mo Xicheng, how dare you hit me?!¡± ¡°Mo Xicheng, let me go!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Mo Xicheng, stop it, stop hitting me.¡± ¡°Mo Xicheng, I admit my mistake. Let me go, sob, sob.¡± ¡°Sob, sob.¡± At the end, Mo Zhi¡¯s face was so swollen his own mother wouldn¡¯t have recognized him. His lips had swollen up like sausages and two of his teeth had been knocked out, so he spoke with a lisp. Finally, he was on the ground trembling and not able to speak another word. There wasn¡¯t a spot on his body that hadn¡¯t been beaten up. When Mo Xicheng was exhausted from beating the man up, he sat back down on the floor with a thump. He red at Mo Zhi, his eyes burning like he was out on a kill. Mo Zhi shivered at that look and opened his mouth in an attempt to plead to be let go, but no words came. Mo Xicheng turned to look at Shi Nianyao. Right now, she was probably in the best physical state among all of them. The effect of the drug had worn off and she was regaining strength. She struggled a little to get onto her feet. Then she dashed over to take a look at the bloody wound on Mo Xicheng¡¯s forehead and eximed, ¡°Mo Xicheng, are you alright?¡± The man held her hand tightly and turned to Mo Zhi. And even though there wasn¡¯t much strength left in him, he spoke clearly and with no uncertainty, ¡°Mo Zhi, I¡¯m warning you, if you dare to do anything to her ever again, I will kill you.¡± These words were spoken as though came from the depths of hell, bringing with them a murderous undertone. Mo Zhi who was still lying on the floor, shivered again. After saying this, Mo Xicheng felt darkness closing in on him. He turned towards Shi Nianyao, as though still worried about her. But unable to hold up any longer, he passed out. Chapter 1399 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (72)

Chapter 1399: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (72)

At that moment, there was a greatmotion. Mo Zhi had been beaten to pulp and could not move. Mo Xicheng, on the other hand, was slumped against Shi Nianyao¡¯s shoulder. Shi Nianyao was not in much better shape than the two men. One of the hotel employees was stunned as he stood at the doorway, looking at the situation in the room. Until Shi Nianyao shouted at them, ¡°Get the ambnce!¡± The staff immediately rushed away. ¨C Ten minutester, the ambnce arrived. The doctors carried Mo Zhi and Mo Xicheng into the vehicle and supported Shi Nianyao, as she staggered into the hospital building. There was no need to treat Shi Nianyao as the remaining effects of the drug would go away after drinking more water. Mo Xicheng¡¯s injuries, however, were more serious. He sustained head injuries and suffered a mild concussion. They would have to keep him in observation for a few days. ¨C By the time he came to, it was very early in the morning of the next day. As he opened his eyes, he felt a pain in his head and the room spun. He saw the light on the ceiling double. Frowning, he held his head as he tried to sit up. Then he heard Shi Nianyao¡¯s anxious voice, ¡°Don¡¯t move!¡± Mo Xicheng froze. Turning slightly, he saw Shi Nianyao dashing up to him and supporting him. ¡°The doctor says you¡¯ve got a mild concussion. You have to move slowly when you get up from the bed.¡± Mo Xicheng paused for a moment as he looked at her. After a night¡¯s rest, Shi Nianyao was back to normal. The bruise on her face had gone down after applying ice on it, and the angry red p mark was only vaguely visible. Grabbing her hand, Mo Xicheng asked, ¡°How are you doing?¡± It wasn¡¯t his own condition that he was worried about the moment he woke up. Rather, he was worried about her. Shi Nianyao¡¯s heart overflowed with sugary sweetness as she quickly replied, ¡°I¡¯m ok.¡± Then she furrowed his brow and looked at him, exining,v¡±You had an identst night, it was horrific. When you were sent into the hospital, the doctor took a look and said that you were risking your life. How could you be so careless about yourself?¡± She then said fearfully, ¡°If your ident had been more serious... I wouldn¡¯t know what to do.¡± Upon hearing this, Mo Xicheng took her hand and said, ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± She nodded, looked at the door and said, ¡°My big brother will being over in a bit. Just so you know, I told him on the phone earlier that I was with youst night and we had an ident. So don¡¯t say anything otherwise.¡± Mo Xicheng was stunned upon hearing these words. He stared at Shi Nianyao and understood why she had done that. There was no need for her to cover up for Mo Zhi for the sake of her reputation. Her fear, rather, was that her family would hold the Mo family ountable and Mo Xicheng would be caught in the middle. At this thought, a wave of emotions washed over him. He looked at Shi Nianyao in silence. Right at this time, there was a knock on the door. Following this, Shi Xun walked into the room with Tian Tian following behind. Shi Nianyao immediately shot Mo Xicheng a look and smiled as she addressed Shi Xun, ¡°Big Brother, you guys are early.¡± Tian Tian quickly replied, ¡°Is this considered early? If it hadn¡¯t been for me trying to hold him back, he would havee overst night. Look at the both of you, how did you get yourselves into this?¡± At this remark, Shi Nianyao immediately answered, ¡°We were just careless¡ª¡± Before she could finish her sentence, Mo Xicheng interrupted, ¡°This matter is not as Nianyao says, it was Mo Zhi.¡± Chapter 1400 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (73)

Chapter 1400: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (73)

Shi Nianyao was stunned by Mo Xicheng¡¯s words. She hadn¡¯t had a chance to finish what she was just saying. She turned around with a look of disbelief, looking at Mo Xicheng sitting up on the bed, pale from the blood loss. She was horrified by his confession. Did he not know that if her Big Brother heard the truth, he would make the Mo family his enemy? Wouldn¡¯t a normal man in a situation like this just hide the truth, and try to appease her into not telling the truth? But why was Mo Xicheng doing this? As she tried to figure out this situation, Mo Xicheng cast his gaze down and said, ¡°It was Mo Zhi. He wanted to take advantage of Yao Yao.¡± As soon as he uttered these words, Shi Nianyao told herself, ¡°Oh no.¡± Indeed in that instant, the room suddenly froze with an ominous sense that something unpleasant was about to happen. She turned and saw that her elder brother¡¯s expression had darkened. His eyes were shing with a dangerous glint. Looking at Mo Xicheng, he said after a while, ¡°Mr. Mo, I think you owe me an exnation.¡± Shi Nianyao: ... Ever since young, although her brother had interfered with her life all the time, he had also been the one who had taken the most care of her. The moment she was born, she had saved her brother¡¯s life with her cord blood. And because he was older than her by four or five years, he had always treated her very well. She remembered that when she was in school, there was a boy in ss who had loved to tug at her hair. She hadmented about this one day after she got home from school. Who would have expected that the next day, that boy in her ss woulde to ss bald. From then on, Shi Xun had earned the nickname Protective Monster Brother. She was not even as close to her parents as she was to her elder brother. Under her brother¡¯s watchful eye, the worst grievance that she had had to suffer was perhaps a few exchanges of angry words. This time, the matter had definitely crossed her big brother¡¯s limit. As Shi Nianyao contemted these things, Mo Xicheng lowered his head and said, ¡°It was my mother who tricked Nianyao into going to the hospital, then drugged her and allowed Mo Zhi to take her away. Fortunately no permanent damage has been done. But the fact is that the Mo family has done this.¡± At this point, he raised his head, looked at Shi Xun and said after a while, ¡°Mr. Shi, may I ask a favor from you?¡± Shi Xun narrowed his eyes at these words and said, ¡°You have the audacity to ask for a favor? I hope you¡¯re not going to ask me to let the Mo family off!¡± Mo Xicheng cast his gaze down impassively and said, ¡°Indeed, I would like to ask you to let Mo family off.¡± Shi Xun¡¯s expression darkened when he heard this and heughed icily. Just as he had thought, Mo Xicheng waspletely unreliable. It was bad enough that he couldn¡¯t sort out his own family affairs, but now he had even gotten Shi Nianyao into trouble. How could he possibly be reassured enough to hand his sister over to this man? Had he misjudged this man Mo Xicheng, thinking that he could be trusted? But the next moment, Mo Xicheng continued, ¡°Because I hope you can hand the job over to me and let me personally avenge Nianyao.¡± ¡°Nianyao is my girlfriend, so let me avenge the wrong they did to her. I know that your mother and Mo Zhi¡¯s mother are good friends. If you try to seek justice for her, you¡¯d be put in a difficult position too.¡± Mo Xicheng¡¯s eyes shed sharply as he looked at Shi Xun. And he requested once more, ¡°Please, let me do this.¡± Chapter 1401 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (74)

Chapter 1401: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (74)

The ward fell silent at once. Shi Nianyao looked at Shi Xun and Mo Xicheng in disbelief. Feelingpletely lost, she gave Tian Tian a helpless nce. She had not expected that Mo Xicheng would admit that he had been the cause of all this trouble, and now he had even made such a request. She could only look at him with a shocked expression. Was Mo Xicheng doing this because he was agitated by what had happened to her? But Yao Lili was his mother, could he actually ignore that fact? Shi Nianyao had grown up in a happy home and from her perspective, a mother and her child would always share a deep bond between them. She had always felt that the way Yao Lili treated Mo Xicheng was inexplicably odd. She shifted her gaze from Mo Xicheng and was now looking at Shi Xun nervously. She was afraid that her elder brother would make unkind remarks. At this point, Mo Xicheng had already decided to cut ties with Yao Lili, the Mo family and Mo Zhi. He had lost his family and only had her now. As these thoughts struck her, Shi Xun stared at Mo Xicheng with a darkened expression and said, ¡°Very well, I shall wait and see. I hope you won¡¯t disappoint me.¡± Mo Xicheng nodded. When Shi Xun noticed that the other man was decisive and did not hesitate at all, he couldn¡¯t help but develop a certain admiration for the man. Looking steadily at Mo Xicheng, he asked, ¡°How are you going to get back at them?¡± Mo Xicheng cast his gaze down. Mo Xicheng answered after a moment with a frostyugh, ¡°Haven¡¯t they always feared that I¡¯ll take away what belongs to them? Well then, I will start taking away whatever matters to them.¡± ¡°This will be my punishment for them.¡± If he always took a weak stand, then he would always be controlled by others. And today¡¯s situation would happen over and over again in the future. He could take the suffering, but he would not allow his wife, Shi Nianyao, to suffer a bit. Since this was the case, and since he had been giving way for more than twenty years, it was about time for him to step up. Shi Xun did not stay too long in the hospital. As he got ready to leave, Shi Nianyao got onto her feet and said, ¡°Big Brother, let me see you off.¡± He nced at his sister and nodded. Shi Nianyao followed her brother to the parking lot. On the way, Shi Xun asked her, ¡°Come home with us now?¡± ¡°No,¡± Shi Nianyao declined straight away. ¡°Big Brother, he¡¯s suffered a concussion and no one¡¯s there to look after him. Besides, he¡¯s fallen out with his family because of me. I can¡¯t just leave him alone now.¡± Shi Xun turned to look at her and said, ¡°Since this is the case, let¡¯s find apromise. You have toe home tonight.¡± Shi Nianyao thought about it and finally said, ¡°Ok.¡± As she looked at Shi Xun, she couldn¡¯t help but feel that she had been yed like always. The sly old fox had tricked her! He wasn¡¯t expecting her to go home with him immediately to begin with. After all, he clearly admired the man. He would have let her stay tillte anyway. She pouted unhappily as she remarked, ¡°Old Fox, Little Fox, all of you are foxes!¡± Shi Xun: ... Tian Tian: ... Shi Xun turned around and looked at Shi Nianyao sharply. Then he said indifferently, ¡°You really do like the man that much? Even if his family is so troublesome?¡± Shi Nianyao nodded. Shi Xun then added, ¡°If he needs any help whening up against his family, he can look for me.¡± Having said this, the man turned around and got into the car with Tian Tian. The car started up and drove away from the hospital. As Shi Nianyao looked at the disappearing tail lights of the car, she suddenly had an amusing thought. Did Big Brother¡¯s words mean that he had epted Mo Xicheng? Chapter 1402 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (75)

Chapter 1402: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (75)

Shi Nianyao returned to the hospital ward with this relief. The moment she entered, she saw that Mo Xicheng was trying to get off the bed. Shi Nianyao immediately panicked as she pushed the door open and rushed in front of Mo Xicheng, grabbing his arm. ¡°Why are you trying to stand up again? The doctor said that you¡¯re not allowed to move around too much as you have a concussion. You must take care, rest more and not move around. Especially not to walk around and do strong movements. Quick, quick, lie back down.¡± Mo Xicheng: ... Mo Xicheng¡¯s face was slightly flushed as he coughed, ¡°Yao Yao, I¡¯m just standing up for a while, it¡¯s alright.¡± Shi Nianyao said, ¡°No, no, I insist. I¡¯m serious. Quick, lie down.¡± Mo Xicheng replied, ¡°Yao Yao, actually, I want to use the restroom.¡± He hadn¡¯t gone to the restroom ever since he had faintedst night? He had already wanted to go when Shi Xun got there, but he had endured it and hadn¡¯t said anything. However, he really couldn¡¯t take it anymore now. Hearing Mo Xicheng¡¯s words, Shi Nianyao then realized what he wanted to do. Her face immediately reddened. She didn¡¯t dare to reject him and thus said, ¡°Erm, then I¡¯ll help you walk.¡± Mo Xicheng: ... Mo Xicheng still saw double and he felt really giddy. Even when walking, he felt that his legs were soft. Thus, he leaned on Shi Nianyao and followed her to the restroom. Shi Nianyao carefully stared at the floor and then said, ¡°Slowly, move slower. You can¡¯t move too fast or suddenly. Don¡¯t be anxious, we¡¯re getting there.¡± Mo Xicheng: ... The restroom was just in the room. Someone might think that something big had happened if they saw how Shi Nianyao was reacting. Shi Nianyao held onto Mo Xicheng and the two of them entered the small restroom. Then, Shi Nianyao supported his arm and stared at the toilet bowl with a troubled expression. She turned her head and looked at Mo Xicheng. ¡°Erm, go ahead.¡± After saying that, her face reddened. Mo Xicheng looked slightly awkward as well. He coughed and replied, ¡°Or you can go out first.¡± Shi Nianyao refused, ¡°No, what if you fall down after I let go? The doctor told me to take good care of you.¡± Mo Xicheng then said, ¡°Then now we¡ª¡± Shi Nianyao just turned her head to look at the side and said, ¡°I¡¯m not looking, you can take off your pants.¡± Mo Xicheng: ... Shi Nianyao stared in front of her. She was so anxious she had no idea where she was looking. But after a while, she didn¡¯t feel Mo Xicheng moving at all. Thus, she turned her head back and looked at Mo Xicheng in confusion. Mo Xicheng pointed in front of her and said, ¡°You were looking at the mirror.¡± Shi Nianyao was confused. ¡°Huh?¡± But after a while, she suddenly realized that on the wall was a mirror and she still could see him through the mirror. Her face immediately flushed as she quickly looked at the other direction. ¡°It¡¯s ok now! I didn¡¯t mean to peek on you just now.¡± Mo Xicheng: ... Mo Xicheng coughed again and Shi Nianyao heard the sound of him taking off his pants. And after a while more, she heard the sound of running water. That sound was so evocative that Shi Nianyao flushed even more. The restroom was small, but the atmosphere at that moment was starting to ripple. It was only a few seconds but Shi Nianyao felt as if a century had passed. Chapter 1403 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (76)

Chapter 1403: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (76)

¡°I¡¯m done.¡± Shi Nianyao turned around when she finally heard that he was done. After turning around, she realized Mo Xicheng had finished his deed and had put on his pants. She secretly let out a sigh of relief and helped him to the basin at the side. After watching him wash his hands, she then helped him back to his room. After walking out of the restroom, both of them obviously felt that the awkward atmosphere instantly disappeared. Shi Nianyao took in a deep breath and helped him onto the bed. Then she looked at Mo Xicheng and asked, ¡°Are you hungry? What do you want to eat for breakfast?¡± Mo Xicheng stared at her. Actually, Shi Nianyao didn¡¯t look too well at that moment as well. After all, she had been afraid for the whole night. At that present moment, she looked kind of tired. Mo Xicheng closed his eyes and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t feel like eating, I feel a bit nauseous.¡± It was the truth. People who suffered from a concussion would feel nauseous. Shi Nianyao asked, ¡°Then what should we do?¡± Mo Xichengy down and told her, ¡°I feel like sleeping for a while.¡± Shi Nianyao immediately nodded. ¡°You sleep well then.¡± After she covered him with sheets, she moved to walk to the side, but he grabbed her wrist. She turned her head around in surprise and saw that Mo Xicheng was staring at her. He requested, ¡°Yao Yao, sleep with me.¡± Shi Nianyao: ...!! Shi Nianyao looked at Mo Xicheng and saw that he had moved towards one side of the bed, leaving half a space for her. Shi Nianyao had stayed awake the whole night and was indeed really sleepy. After all, the drug had not fully left in her body. Thus, she thought for a while and then nodded. She walked to the other side of the bed andy down. Although they were in the hospital and it was filled with the smell of antiseptic, Mo Xicheng¡¯s unique masculine scent still wafted to her nose from time to time. That scent made her feel calm and slowly, she let down her guard. Her eyelids closed. In just about two minutes, Shi Nianyao was already sound asleep. Mo Xicheng only opened his eyes and turned to look at her after her breathing became even. Shi Nianyao looked really peaceful when she was sleeping, as if she was a sleeping beauty waiting for her prince to wake her up. Seeing her look, Mo Xicheng had the urge to lower his head and kiss her. But in the end, he still resisted the temptation. She was sleeping too soundly. He didn¡¯t even dare to move, as he was worried he would disrupt her sleep. ¨C She slept all the way to three in the afternoon. When Shi Nianyao opened her eyes, she felt that her whole body was sore. It was the side effect of the drug. She would be fine after a few days. She stretched her sides and took a nce at her phone before shutting her eyes again. But the next moment, she suddenly widened her eyes and jumped down from the bed. When she lifted her head, she was met with theughing eyes of Mo Xicheng. Mo Xicheng asked, ¡°Have you slept enough?¡± Shi Nianyao: ...! She was supposed to be taking care of a patient, but she had ended up sleeping herself. That was outrageous! She hurriedly asked, ¡°Have you eaten lunch?¡± Mo Xicheng answered without hesitation, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Grumble grumble.¡± But his stomach exposed him mercilessly. Shi Nianyao held back herughter and walked out. ¡°I¡¯ll go out, take a look and get you some food.¡± Just as Shi Nianyao walked out of the hospital ward to go outside, she suddenly saw a sh around the corner. Although it had just been a split second, Shi Nianyao had clearly seen that it was Yao Lili. But Yao Lili hadn¡¯t visited Mo Xicheng despiteing to the hospital, and she was walking to the other side... Unless she¡¯s visiting Mo Zhi?! Shi Nianyao thought of something and started following her. Chapter 1404 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (77)

Chapter 1404: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (77)

Because all three of them had been sent from the same hotel room to the hospital at the same time. So they had ended up in the same hospital. Shi Nianyao had not gone to see how Mo Zhi was doing, she had been looking after Mo Xicheng all this time. She moved forward and saw Yao Lili walking briskly with her head lowered. She was holding a lunch box in her hand. Shi Nianyao frowned and continued to tail the woman. Then she saw Yao Lili walk into a ward. She followed quietly. From the ss panel on the door, she could see the inside of the ward. Yao Lili was pouring soup out for Mo Zhi. He had a look of disdain on his face, but Yao Lili smiled as though trying to cate him. He twitched his mouth and eventually drank two sips of the soup for Yao Lili¡¯s sake. Watching this from outside, Shi Nianyao was suddenly infuriated like she had never been before. Mo Zhi had superficial wounds and the doctor had assessed that they weren¡¯t serious. But what about Mo Xicheng? He had a concussion and had had to be hospitalized. Something like a brain concussion could be very serious. But Yao Lili had not even turned up to see him sincest night¡ªnot even a call. And now that she was here, she had brought soup for Mo Zhi instead? As she witnessed this with her own eyes, Shi Nianyao could have believed that Mo Zhi was her son and Mo Xicheng was just adopted. Shi Nianyao felt her anger rise at this thought. So this was the sort of environment in which her idol had grown up. She was determined to treat him even better from now on, so that he could feel love in this world. She found herself no longer able to watch the two people in the ward and turned to leave. So you, Yao Lili, brought soup for Mo Zhi? Well then, I will bring soup to my idol too! And my soup will be a hundred times tastier than yours. In a huff, she picked up her cell phone and called a renowned hotel to order a food delivery. Hence... An hourter, all sorts of take-out lunch boxes were delivered to Mo Xicheng¡¯s ward. The man was speechless as he looked at Shi Nianyao. ¡°Yao Yao, are you starting out a pig farm?¡± Shi Nianyao: ... Earlier on, she had ced the order in a huff. But now looking at all of this food, she felt that perhaps it was a bit much. She gave an embarrassed smile and said immediately, ¡°Why don¡¯t I give some of this food to the nurses on duty?¡± Mo Xicheng: ... In the end, the nurses on duty received a sumptuous dinner treat from Shi Nianyao. ¨C In another ce, Yao Lili and Mo Zhi were in his ward. Yao Lili watched Mo Zhi take two sips of the soup before tossing the spoon on the table. She tried to persuade him, ¡°Have a little more.¡± The man shook his head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t want any more. Why are you here? Huh? Why did Mo Xicheng turn up at the hotel? Tell me, did you tell him anything?¡± Yao Lili immediately shook her head and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t, Mo Zhi, how could I possibly tell him anything?!¡± He snorted, leaned back against the bed and asked, ¡°Then what could have happened?¡± Yao Lili frowned and said, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about how he found you first. You... and Shi Nianyao, the two of you... Did you... do it?¡± The moment she asked this question, Mo Zhi gave an icyugh and said scornfully, ¡°Do it? Do what? It came to nothing in the end!¡± Chapter 1405 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (78)

Chapter 1405: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (78)

Yao Lili looked disappointed at once when she heard this. She said, ¡°You- you took Nianyao away for an hour and you didn¡¯t manage to do anything in that time?¡± Mo Xicheng frowned and said, ¡°I was on the road. I had only just arrived at the hotel when he turned up!¡± Yao Lili: ...!! She frowned. Mo Zhi shifted around ufortably and asked, ¡°Do my parents know? My father called just now and said they wereing right away. If they know about this, it will be the end of me.¡± Yao Lili frowned when she heard these words. She looked at Mo Zhi and said after a moment, ¡°How are your injuries?¡± He twitched his mouth and said, ¡°Painful. It¡¯s painful all over but my bones are fine. The doctor says I can be discharged, but I insisted I was fine. I don¡¯t want to be discharged!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. When they get here, justin! Don¡¯t say anything else.¡± Mo Zhi nodded. Yao Lili got onto her feet and said, ¡°I¡¯d better leave since they¡¯reing, in case they see me.¡± Mo Zhi immediately nodded again. She cleared her own lunch box and picked it up. Just as she was about to walk out, the door was thrown open. Li Shu burst into the room looking extremely anxious. ¡°Mo Zhi, how are you doing?¡± She suddenly halted when she spotted Yao Lili. She looked at the woman in astonishment. Mo Hai was trying to reassure Li Shu as he walked behind her, ¡°Don¡¯t be anxious, it¡¯s just superficial injuries. Which boy doesn¡¯t go through this? Don¡¯t worry!¡± At these words, he walked into the ward. When he saw Yao Lili, he was surprised and asked, ¡°Why are you here?¡± At once, the couple¡¯s eyes fell on the lunch box in her hands. Li Shu paused and asked, ¡°You... brought food for Mo Zhi?¡± Yao Lili had not expected them to turn up so soon. She had a fright when asked the question and instinctively hid the lunch box behind her back. This gesture made things look even stranger. Li Shu frowned and looked at Mo Zhi in a puzzled manner. The man sat on the bed, his eyes shing guiltily. Yao Lili reacted quickly and said at once, ¡°I- I came to see Mo Zhi, to see if he¡¯s injuries are serious.¡± She did not say anything about the lunch box. Li Shu did not wish to engage with her so she said nothing, but walked around the woman to Mo Zhi¡¯s bedside. Even though a day had passed, Mo Zhi¡¯s face was still swollen and bruised. This was also why he hadn¡¯t let the nurses apply ice on the wounds. He wanted to show Li Shu and Mo Hai the extent of what Mo Xicheng had done. Hence, even though there wasn¡¯t anything terribly wrong with him physically, his injuries still looked serious. After taking a good look at his face, Li Shu¡¯s pupils shrank back and sounded anxious as she said, ¡°What on earth did you do?¡± Needless to say, Mo Hai was even more anxious as he demanded, ¡°Who did this to you? Has Beijing now and order! Who dares to beat up my son? I won¡¯t let him off!¡± Mo Zhi, who was full of grievance, found his eyes reddening at his parents¡¯ concern. Choking up with tears, he cried, ¡°Mom, Dad, you have to seek justice for me! It was Mo Who did this!¡± Mo Hai was livid at once. ¡°Mo Xicheng? How dare he?! He has beaten you into this state?! Where is he?¡± Chapter 1406 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (79)

Chapter 1406: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (79)

He was so furious he picked up the phone and wanted to call Mo Xicheng. Mo Zhi hurriedly said, ¡°He¡¯s also in this hospital.¡± After he said so, he grabbed Li Shu¡¯s sleeve and said, ¡°Mom, it hurts so badly.¡± Li Shu looked at him, her heart aching. Even though she hadn¡¯t watched him grow up, even though he had be an unreasonable person, no matter what, why wouldn¡¯t Li Shu dote on him and pamper him when he was her son? She stared at him, ¡°Where did he hit you?¡± No matter how reasonable a mother was, looking at how badly her son was beaten up, her first reaction would definitely be to ask him that. Mo Zhi cried even harder, he pulled up his shirt and showed his bruised chest. ¡°He hit my whole body, he was determined to kill me. It hurts so badly, Dad, Mom, I¡¯m really hurting so badly. Sob sob, Mom, didn¡¯t you always tell me that even though we don¡¯t have the same mother, he¡¯s still my younger brother and I shouldn¡¯t treat him as an enemy? I listened to you and didn¡¯t hit him. I endured his beating, it really hurts. He was really ruthless!¡± The injuries he had were all caused by Mo Xicheng under extreme anger. It was a ghastly sight to behold. After hearing that, Li Shu also became angry. ¡°Why did that happen?!¡± Mo Hai spoke, ¡°I always told you that you shouldn¡¯t think too highly of others. You have always thought that Mo Xicheng was a good child! How can he be any good if he has such a mother who breaks people¡¯s families? He¡¯s bad from the inside! His fox tail is finally showing.¡± After Mo Hai spoke, the room became silent. Yao Lili, who was standing at the door, froze after hearing his words. She gripped her fist tightly. Although she knew that Mo Hai had never liked her, and that the only reason why something happened then between her and Mo Hai was because he had made a mistake while being drunk, her heart felt as if it was being pierced when she heard his words. As for Mo Zhi , he waspletely stunned. So having a mother who was a third party made the son bad from the inside? So if one day his father realized that he was the child of the third party, would he be as heartless to him as he was to Mo Xicheng now? This thought instantly rooted in his brain and bloomed. Originally, when Yao Lili had told him that she was his real mother, he hadn¡¯t been that scared. But at this moment, he felt that he was really scared. He swallowed and finally realized the truth. Since young, his father had been so nice to him, taking care of him personally, changing diapers for him and sleeping with him. All of these things hadn¡¯t been for him. It was only because he was Li Shu¡¯s son. The person his father liked wasn¡¯t him, it was ¡°Li Shu¡¯s son.¡± This fact made Mo Zhi nce harden as he stared deadly at Mo Hai. Ever since young, he hadn¡¯t been close to Li Shu. He would act as a good boy in front of Li Shu for her not to worry, but the person who had grown up with him was Mo Hai. The person who had indulged his nonsense was also Mo Hai. He had really treated Mo Hai as the person closest to him, and he hadn¡¯t even epted Yao Lili¡¯spany. He swallowed again and when he was about to speak, Yao Lili suddenly spoke, ¡°Mrs. Mo, Mr. Mo, this is all Mo Xicheng¡¯s fault. The whole situation was caused by him, I¡¯m here to apologize on his behalf.¡± Hearing these words, Li Shu¡¯s irises shrank as she said, ¡°Then you should tell me now the reason why he hit him, right?¡± Chapter 1407 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (80)

Chapter 1407: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (80)

Yao Lili choked right away at that question. She paused for a moment and threw Mo Zhi a nce. Mo Zhi opened his mouth to speak, but had no idea what to say. At this point Yao Lili spoke up, ¡°It¡¯s all because of that matter with Nianyao, sigh.¡± ¡°The child¡¯s heart is fixated on her, to the point of insanity. Mo Zhi only had a meeting with Nianyao and he got angry, as though Mo Zhi was going to steal her from him. He really likes Nianyao! Look at what he¡¯s done.¡± Upon hearing that they had fought over Shi Nianyao, Li Shu frowned. She turned to Mo Zhi and said, ¡°Is that what you end up doing?!¡± Mo Zhi opened his mouth to speak, but before he could do so, Mo Hai interrupted, ¡°Don¡¯t be upset, this whole matter is Mo Xicheng¡¯s fault! Even if he married Shi Nianyao, would that mean Mo Zhi can never see Shi Nianyao for the rest of his life? This is too much. Beating his elder brother up just because he met up with the girlfriend?!¡± Yao Lili quickly exined, ¡°Isn¡¯t it maybe because Mo Zhi and Shi Nianyao... their rtionship is a little different?¡± This exnation was like adding fuel to the already raging fire. Mo Hai burst out angrily, ¡°Different? And wouldn¡¯t he know it himself? He¡¯s stolen his elder brother¡¯s girlfriend and he has the audacity to beat up his elder brother. This is ridiculous! He¡¯ll be the death of me. Which ward is he in? I¡¯ll go look for him and get him to apologize to Mo Zhi.¡± On this note, he looked at Li Shu and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be angry, I¡¯ll get him toe over right away.¡± Li Shu frowned and thought for a bit. She thought it was best to talk face-to-face, to avoid any information being left out, so she nodded. Mo Hai followed Yao Lili as they walked out of the room. ¨C At this point, Mo Xicheng and Shi Nianyao just had lunch and were chatting. She was holding her cell phone and browsing through Weibo, saying, ¡°Ambition is doing exceedingly well! Did you know that everyone was doubting your acting skills at first? They didn¡¯t know you, but now there are videos of you all over the inte. Many people are wondering how they¡¯ve never noticed you and weren¡¯t your fan, that it was a real shame. Hahaha!¡± Seeing that she was so happy, Mo Xicheng nodded and smiled too. She continued looking at her cell phone andughing aloud. ¡°And thisment, it says, ¡®Idol Mo almost never had any scandals, he¡¯s the model celebrity.¡¯¡± As she said this, she stole nces at Mo Xicheng, attempting to cheer him up. She knew that the Mo family would not let this matter rest, given that Mo Zhi had been beaten up. It seemed likely that Mo Xicheng would have to face the wrath of the Mo family in no time. Just as this thought ran through her head, she heard footsteps outside the door. She paused, turned and then saw the door being thrown open rudely. Following this, Mo Hai and Yao Lili walked in. When Mo Xicheng saw them, he was obviously taken aback. Mo Hai totally ignored the bandage around the man¡¯s head and smirked frostily the moment he walked in. ¡°Well, so now you finally show your true colours? You dare beat up your brother, will the next person be your father?¡± Mo Xicheng frowned at these words. He did not reply but looked at Shi Nianyao. After a moment, he said, ¡°Yao Yao, why don¡¯t you go home first?¡± Shi Nianyao: ... She knew that Mo Xicheng didn¡¯t want her to be around to see him in that sorry state. Chapter 1408 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (81)

Chapter 1408: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (81)

But right now, Mo Xicheng was suffering a concussion and he couldn¡¯t even stand up steadily, if she left him alone... She turned to look at the infuriated Mo Hai and she could not help but worry. She started, ¡°I¡ª¡± ¡°Yao Yao, listen to me,¡± Mo Xicheng interrupted her. Shi Nianyao could only relent and got onto her feet. ¡°Ok then, I¡¯ll wait outside along the corridor. Call me when you¡¯re done.¡± She was worried and thought that if at least she waited outside, she could quickly take action in case Mo Hai did anything to Mo Xicheng. The man understood her intentions and, at once, felt warmth welling up in his heart. But because he really did not wish for her to witness the ugly treatment he received from the Mo family¡¯s Mo Hai, he could only let her wait outside. He knew that unless he agreed, Shi Nianyao would not leave the room. Hence he nodded. Shi Nianyao got up and was about to leave the room when suddenly Mo Hai said with a frostyugh, ¡°Why? Are you afraid to face the consequence of your act? So what if Ms. Shi is here listening? Doesn¡¯t this matter concern Ms. Shi here as well?¡± Mo Hai¡¯s intention was to let Shi Nianyao stay and see the ugly side of Mo Xicheng. As his father, he could shame Mo Xicheng thoroughly. Women loved a hero. And if she discovered how Mo Xicheng was treated in the Mo family, and how shameful he was, perhaps she would stop being so enamored with him. The fact was that he still hoped Shi Nianyao would choose to be with Mo Zhi. Like that, Mo Zhi would secure his position and status. Unfortunately, he could not be explicit about such things. When he noted that Shi Nianyao had halted, he immediately looked at Mo Xicheng and started to rebuke the man, ¡°You dishonorable son! Do you know what you¡¯ve done? Since childhood, everything you had were hand-me-downs from your elder brother! He gave them to you! You ungrateful bastard. Now that you¡¯re grown up, you steal his girlfriend, and now even beat him up?¡± The words he used were ugly, and Mo Xicheng could only feel embarrassed. And especially in front of the woman he loved, the shame was doubled. He nced at Shi Nianyao reflexively, but to his surprise, he only saw fury in her expression and not an ounce of pity towards him. In that instant he suddenly understood. They were husband and wife. Hence she had the right to know, to share his weakness and the ugly side of his life. Why had he even thought of asking her to leave the room? As he thought about this, he looked obviously distracted. On the other hand, seeing that Mo Hai was so furious, Yao Lili was afraid that Mo Xicheng would start revealing the truth. Hence she quickly added, ¡°Mo Xicheng, are you trying to send your father to his grave? Hurry up and apologize! You¡¯re father and son after all. Just apologize to your elder brother and swear that you will nevery hands on him again, and they will let you off.¡± When Mo Xicheng heard this, he finally snapped to his senses. He looked at Yao Lili impassively. It had always been like this. When he was a child, every time he had a disagreement with Mo Zhi, Yao Lili would make him apologize the same way. Was he of a lower status than Mo Zhi in his mother¡¯s heart? When Mo Hai heard Yao Lili¡¯s words, he was further angered. Chapter 1409 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (82)

Chapter 1409: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (82)

Mo Zhi shouted angrily, ¡°Sorry? Will saying sorry help Mo Zhi recover immediately? Will saying sorry take the pain away from him? Today, I will let you know what are the consequences of hitting your elder brother.¡± After saying so, he turned his head to the side. Seeing that there wasn¡¯t anything in the room, he frowned, walked to the window and took the flowers Shi Nianyao had gotten. Shi Nianyao had ordered a bouquet of flowers online in order to make the room look more lively. As there was already a vase in the room, Shi Nianyao had just ced them in it. Since the flowers had to amodate the height of the vase, the flower stem was really long. At that moment, Mo Hai directly held the branch and hit Mo Xicheng. Bam! In an instance, Mo Xicheng moved backwards and stretched his hand out. The branch hit his arm. Immediately, a red mark swelled on his arm. The amount of strength Mo Hai had used in this hit was obvious. The pain made Mo Xicheng narrow his eyes. He stared at his arm and sneered after a while. His smile was filled with sarcasm and this seemed to trigger Mo Hai, who lifted the branch and swung it towards him again. If he had been in a better state, he would have definitely been able to shun his hit. But at that moment, Mo Xicheng was suffering from a concussion and he had a blurry vision. If he kept moving, he would feel really dizzy, much less so when avoiding the branch. He furrowed his brows, knowing that he waspletely unable to shun it. He could only tighten his fist as he decided to face it. In his brain, he couldn¡¯t help but recall a moment in his childhood. ¨C Mo Zhi had found trouble with him and thrown stones at his head, calling him a bastard, a tr*mp. He hadn¡¯t reacted. After that, Mo Zhi called Yao Lili a third party, a vixen, and said that she was damn shameless. Mo Xicheng instantly raged and he turned around to stare at Mo Zhi. Mo Zhi was so shocked he took a step backwards. But there were stones under his feet, causing him to slip and fall on the ground. His hand was slightly scratched and he ran away crying loudly. Mo Xicheng didn¡¯t bother about it but after a while, he saw Mo Hai walk over angrily. He held a metal ruler and when he saw him, he just came forward to hit him without even saying anything. He was still young then, about five or six years old. He waspletely unable to run when Mo Hai held his arm. That metal ruler hit him hard repeatedly on his back. He resiliently bit his lips and absolutely didn¡¯t cry. He put up with the beating and, when Mo Hai was finally done, there were many bloody marks on his back. After that, he turned his head and looked at Yao Lili. Yao Lili came up to him and pped him. ¡°Who allowed you to push your elder brother? How can you treat your elder brother like this? He¡¯s your elder brother, do you even know why you have done wrong?¡± He was taken aback then. ¡°I- I never¡ª¡± Before he could finish speaking, another pnded on the other side of his face. ¡°How dare you lie? Lie some more!¡± Mo Xicheng stared at Yao Lili, Mo Hai and then at Mo Zhi, who was standing at the side. Mo Zhi let out an arrogant smile. Seeing that, Mo Xicheng secretly swore to himself that he would grow up quickly so that he would at least be able to resist them when he got hit. ¨C Ever since senior high school, how long had it been since he had been beaten up? He would never have expected that he would taste the feeling of getting beaten again now. Chapter 1410 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (83)

Chapter 1410: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (83)

Mo Xichengughed at himself mockingly and then lowered his head, as he awaited the pain from the branch on his back. But little did he expect that the next moment, someone would sh in between and block Mo Hai. Shi Nianyao shouted angrily, ¡°Stop it!¡± Mo Hai was about to hit him but when he saw Shi Nianyao, he hurriedly took his hand back. Shi Nianyao wasn¡¯t just an ordinary rich man¡¯s daughter. Her elder brother was Shi Xun. He was known in the industry for being crazily protective of his younger sister. Other families might not mind these small issues, but anything that happened to Shi Nianyao would always be a big matter to Shi Xun. If he had identally hit her with the branch, Shi Xun might even use all the power of the Shi family to deal with the Mo family. Actually, he didn¡¯t even have to use so much power of theirs, just a small portion of their power would cause all the businesses in Beijing to discriminate against them. Of course, Mo Hai didn¡¯t dare toy hands on Shi Nianyao. Thus, he looked at Shi Nianyao and said, ¡°Ms. Shi, please step away. I don¡¯t need an outsider to interfere with me teaching my son.¡± Shi Nianyao stared at him and said, ¡°Mo Xicheng is your son and he¡¯s already injured. He has a severe head concussion and the doctor has said that he needs to rest. How can you still hit him?!¡± Mo Hai took a nce at him and said nonchntly, ¡°It¡¯s just a minor injury, what¡¯s there to make a big fuss about? Just look at Mo Zhi, there isn¡¯t any part of his body without an injury. My surname would not be Mo if I don¡¯t teach this beast a lesson today.¡± After saying so, Mo Hai pointed at Shi Nianyao again and said, ¡°Let me repeat myself, Ms. Shi, this is my family¡¯s business, please step away.¡± Shi Nianyao stood in front of Mo Xicheng, stuck out her arms and shielded him. ¡°I will not step away. If you want to hit him, you have to hit me first!¡± Mo Hai was so angry he took a step forward. ¡°You¡ª¡± Shi Nianyao sneered as she lifted her chin and spoke arrogantly. ¡°If you dare to touch even a strand of my hair, I will tell my brother that the people of the Mo family gathered to attack me.¡± Mo Hai was bbergasted. ¡°How- how can you do this?¡± Shi Nianyao stared at him and continued, ¡°You¡¯re hitting him when you haven¡¯t even gotten the facts right. Uncle Mo, while I¡¯m still respecting you by addressing you as an uncle, can you hear me out?¡± Mo Hai instantly frowned and replied, ¡°You¡¯re still young, so I won¡¯t stoop down to your level. Step away now, I don¡¯t have to get anyone¡¯s permission to teach my son a lesson.¡± After he said so, Yao Lili suddenly grabbed Shi Nianyao¡¯s arm before she could reply. She was directly dragged to a side by Yao Lili. One was a pampered little mistress, and the other was a woman who had grown up doing menialbor and had immense strength. Shi Nianyao was instantly controlled by Yao Lili. She struggled and shouted, ¡°Let go of me!¡± Yao Lili spoke, ¡°Ms. Shi, listen to me. Let him hit him and after a few hits, he won¡¯t be as angry with Mo Xicheng anymore. I¡¯m doing this for Mo Xicheng¡¯s sake.¡± After she said so, viciousness could be seen in her gaze. When she had seen how badly Mo Zhi had been beaten up, her heart had hurt really badly for him. If she didn¡¯t teach this brat a lesson today, she would not be worthy of her surname. When Mo Hai saw that Shi Nianyao had been dragged away, he instantly took a step forward and lifted his hand. When the branch was about to hit Mo Xicheng¡¯s back, a loud stern voice came from the door. ¡°Stop!¡± Everyone turned their heads simultaneously and saw Li Shu standing there with a livid expression on her face. ¡°What are all of you doing?!¡± Chapter 1411 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (84)

Chapter 1411: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (84)

Mo Xicheng stared at Li Shu and his gaze dimmed. The same thing had happened again. Memories of his childhood filled his heart. He had been beaten up by both Mo Hai and Yao Lili. It was always Li Shu who had ended those beatings. She was like a god. She would coldly and nonchntly look at them and say, ¡°Enough, why are you taking it so seriously against a kid? No matter what he has done wrong, he¡¯s just a kid.¡± Just with one sentence of hers, Mo Hai would let him off and Yao Lili wouldn¡¯t dare to hit him. And he would then be able to recover from the beating. It was always the same. Just like this time... Li Shu walked into the room and her gaze fell on the furious Mo Hai. Nonchnce shed across her eyes as she spoke, ¡°Is there something that you can¡¯t address peacefully? Why are you creating a fuss in a hospital?!¡± Mo Hai instantly smiled obsequiously. ¡°Li Shu, you see, he has beaten up Mo Zhi so badly. Aren¡¯t I just taking revenge?¡± After he said so, Yao Lili immediately spoke, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s Mo Xicheng¡¯s fault. He deserves it.¡± Hearing these words, Li Shu frowned. She stared at the two people in front of her with slight annoyance and sneered. Then her gaze shifted to Mo Xicheng. After seeing the bandage on his head, she was slightly stunned as she subconsciously asked, ¡°Did Mo Zhi cause the injury on your head?¡± When she heard her question, Yao Lili hurriedly exined, ¡°No, he got into an ident himself. Mo Zhi is such a nice person, why would he hit people?¡± Li Shu nodded. Shi Nianyao rushed in front of Mo Xicheng the moment she was released from Yao Lili¡¯s grip. She held onto him and asked, ¡°Are you ok? Are you dizzy? Do you feel nauseous? Do you need me to call the doctor?¡± At that moment, Mo Xicheng still saw double as he stared at the people in front of him. When he heard her questions, he immediately shook his head. However after shaking his head, he felt his double vision worsen and he felt even more dizzy and nauseous. He tightened his chin, wanting to speak, but still chose not to in the end. Just at that moment, Li Shu came in front of him. Although she had always felt that this boy had been really familiar, at that instant, Li Shu was still extremely unhappy as her own son had been so badly beaten up by him. She looked at Mo Xicheng, her gaze showed her disappointment in him. She stared at Mo Xicheng and sneered. ¡°You once promised me that you wouldn¡¯t do anything that would hurt Mo Zhi.¡± Hearing this, Mo Xicheng¡¯s gaze sunk and he tried to focus his vision. He wanted to see Li Shu¡¯s reactions clearly, but after trying really hard and finally being able to see her gaze, he saw disappointment in it. He had no idea why, but his heart ached and he felt a small piercing pain. It was that gaze. Since young, he had never been scared of Mo Hai¡¯s beatings or Yao Lili¡¯s scolding. He was really scared of Li Shu¡¯s faded gaze. He had always felt that he was the most terrified when this cultured and refined woman that had the air of a schr, this woman who was the only person who had given him warmth, would be disappointed in him. Although he had already known when he chose to go against Mo Zhi that she would be disappointed in him. Just as he was thinking this, Li Shu said, ¡°Mo Xicheng, you really disappoint me.¡± After saying so, Li Shu turned around and left. Just at that moment Shi Nianyao, who had been silently fuming, said, ¡°Stop! I have something to say!¡± Chapter 1412 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (85)

Chapter 1412: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (85)

Li Shu was originally going to leave, but she turned back and looked at Shi Nianyao. Shi Nianyao was shaking with anger. She has never seen such bullies. Just as she was about to speak, after she took a step forward, Yao Lili immediately stopped her. ¡°Ms. Shi, I¡¯m begging you! My family is already very messed up. Can you please not create more trouble? The brothers have already be enemies because of you, what else do you want?¡± After Yao Lili said so, Li Shu also frowned. She red at Shi Nianyao and added, ¡°Yao Yao, since you¡¯ve chosen to be with Mo Xicheng, then you should not be seeing Mo Zhi anymore. You¡ª¡± Before she finished speaking, Shi Nianyao sneered, ¡°Oh, this is such a joke! I am afraid you do not know what is going on!¡± She took another step forward and slightly raised her chin. She stared at Mo Hai and her gaze went across Yao Lili. Seeing her flustered gaze, she smiled mockingly and turned to look at Li Shu. She didn¡¯t know why, but based on the things that had happened just now, she had a feeling. She felt that Mo Xicheng and Li Shu¡¯s rtionship wasn¡¯t actually that bad. Furthermore, when Li Shu had said, ¡°You have disappointed me,¡± she had been able to clearly feel sadnessing from Mo Xicheng. Thus, she was staring directly at Li Shu at that present moment. Mo Hai took a step forward and said, ¡°Ms. Shi, this is our family¡¯s business. It had nothing to¡ª¡± Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Shi Nianyao. She slowly said, ¡°Trying to rape the youngest daughter of the Shi family. I wonder if the Mo family is capable of taking these charges.¡± After she said so, the whole room fell into silence. Mo Hai was the first to react. He stared at Shi Nianyao in confusion. ¡°You- what are you saying? You cannote up with such a reason just to help Mo Xicheng find an excuse, you¡ª¡± Shi Nianyao sneered and she took out her medical report. The drug in her blood had not disappeared. She threw it on the ground in front of Mo Hai and said, ¡°I¡¯m speaking nonsense? Then take a look at this report! See if I¡¯m actually speaking nonsense!¡± After she said so, she looked at Li Shu again. ¡°Yao Lili, she found the excuse of her being sick and asked me to visit her in the hospital. She then added drugs into my water and asked your son toe. Luckily, Mo Xicheng reached me in time, or else... So do you all think that you still deserve a chance to be talking to us now?¡± The entire ward went silent. She suddenly felt terrified when Mo Hai opened his mouth. If the Shi family held them ountable, the consequences were unthinkable. On the other hand, Li Shu stared at Shi Nianyao in disbelief. sHE could not believe that Mo Zhi was a person like that. Although her son wasn¡¯t smart, how could he havepletely no integrity?! She stared at Shi Nianyao with a horrified expression and spoke after a while, ¡°This... is real?¡± Shi Nianyao sneered and replied, ¡°Everything I¡¯ve said, every word and sentence is definitely true. What I have gone through today, what exactly happened in the hospital and how I ended up here, I believe could be checked clearly and proven if you want to.¡± Chapter 1413 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (86)

Chapter 1413: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (86)

Li Shu stood where she was, listening to Shi Nianyao¡¯s story. She turned pale. She knew that the girl had no reason to lie. She stared at Shi Nianyao as the girl narrowed her eyes and said with a frostyugh, ¡°Do you even know why Mo Xicheng hit Mo Zhi? Because if he hadn¡¯t, then Mo Zhi wouldn¡¯t have gotten away as lightly as he has now. My elder brother has just left the hospital because Mo Xicheng convinced him that he¡¯d handle the matter. He did so that my brother would go home for now and not find trouble with the Mo family.¡± Then she shifted her gaze towards Li Shu and said, ¡°You think you¡¯re disappointed with him? I want to tell you, Auntie Li Shu, my mom grew up with you and you are best friends. Mom¡¯s always praised you and made you out to be a fair and reasonable person, she told me you¡¯re a woman of substance. But today I¡¯m thoroughly disappointed in you!¡± Li Shu froze at the words ¡°thoroughly disappointed.¡± She had never thought that the truth would turn out to be this. She looked at Shi Nianyao and suddenly clenched her fists tightly, as she turned towards Mo Xicheng. Then she saw a look of cold indifference in his expression. In the past, if there was anyone in the Mo family for whom Mo Xicheng had had any semnce of fondness, if there was anyone he hadn¡¯t seen as an enemy, it would have been her. But now her words had turned his heart cold. She stood there, in that instant feeling a great urge to say something. ¡°I- I didn¡¯t know. I-¡± But in the end, she could not continue. Could she use the reason of not having known the truth as a good enough excuse to hurt Mo Xicheng? Of course not. Li Shu was a person of great logic and clear-thinking. She fell silent, suddenly feeling that this time, whatever bit of mutual affection they had for each other would have been destroyed. Her lips quivered as she tried to speak, but no words came. At this point, Yao Lili, who had kept quiet until now, suddenly dashed forward, pointing at Mo Xicheng and berating him, ¡°Mo Xicheng, now I understand. I finally see your scheme! I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re trying to use the victim. Say it, are you trying to leverage the Mo family to cause Mo Zhi¡¯s downfall?¡± These words stunned everyone in the room as they turned to look at the woman. Yao Lili lowered her head and started to cry. ¡°I¡¯m your mother, why would I put your girlfriend into another man¡¯s bedroom? You were the one who asked me to trick Shi Nianyao into going to the hospital, so that you could have her and when that happened, you could bring forward your wedding ns. I¡¯ve done as you told me, so how did she end up in Mo Zhi¡¯s room? And furthermore, you turned up to rescue her before he had even done anything?!¡± ¡°Say it, was that your scheme? You made sure that Mo Zhi offended the Shi family so that the Shi family would help you to take revenge on Mo Zhi.¡± She had turned the whole story around with those words. Shi Nianyao stared at Yao Lili in disbelief. She could not have imagined a person could be this shameless. All of a sudden, she was dumbfounded. On the other hand, Mo Hai¡¯s eyes lit up at this possibility and he stepped forward, pointing at Mo Xicheng and rebuking the man, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure that¡¯s it! You dishonorable son. You have been a scheming person since young! Ms. Shi, don¡¯t be fooled by him.¡± Chapter 1414 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (87)

Chapter 1414: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (87)

The two of them looked like a pair of clowns in that instant. Shi Nianyao looked at them,pletely bbergasted. Because she was stumped. In light of undeniable evidence, they were still capable of saying it was something else. She couldn¡¯t think of anyone else with the same capability. Besides, the reasoning... It couldn¡¯t be more rotten. She suddenly understood. She understood why Mo Xicheng had not tried to exin the situation when Mo Hai and Yao Lili had burst into the room. And even when Li Shu hade in, Mo Xicheng hadn¡¯t bothered to exin himself. Because he was used to this, right since childhood. He was used to being misinterpreted even if he tried to exin, because in the end, he would be the scapegoat. Shi Nianyao gave an icyugh and took a step back. Mo Hai turned back and looked at Li Shu, saying, ¡°Li Shu, you have to believe us in this matter. Mo Zhi is a good boy. He¡¯s naive and simple, and surely would not do such a thing. All of this was Mo Xicheng¡¯s scheme! You, all of us, everyone has been tricked by Mo Xicheng.¡± Yao Lili nodded and added, ¡°Mo Xicheng, I¡¯m your mother, how could you use me? Also, how many times have I told you that the Mo family belongs to Mo Zhi, not you? You are the son of a mistress, what right do you have to take over the family estate?¡± Mo Hai nodded in agreement and said, ¡°That¡¯s right. You will not inherit a single cent of the Mo family¡¯s money! Don¡¯t even dream about it!¡± ¡°Also, Ms. Shi, I would advise you to stay away from such a person! He doesn¡¯t live in a good environment and he has ulterior motives. I¡¯m sure he has dark secrets! He¡¯s my son, I understand him.¡± Shi Nianyao had stopped talking. The shamelessness of these people had reached a whole new level. She would only stare steadily at Li Shu with an icy, scornful smile. Finally, Shi Nianyao said, ¡°Are all of you done?¡± Mo Hai nodded. Yao Lili lowered her head. Li Shu stared at what was happening. Shi Nianyao raised her arm, pointed at the door and said, ¡°Then I ask you to get out! We do not wee you here.¡± Mo Hai fumed at once and said, ¡°Ms. Shi, what are you talking about? I¡¯m his father.¡± Shi Nianyao replied, ¡°You acknowledge you¡¯re his father. Do you n to give him a part of the family estate?¡± Mo Hai immediately shook his head and eximed, ¡°That¡¯s not possible! This son is not even in the official household! Of course I will not acknowledge him.¡± Shi Nianyao¡¯s smile was bing increasingly sarcastic. She replied, ¡°That¡¯s right. So what right do you have to call yourself his father? If he¡¯s not in the Mo family household, he doesn¡¯t belong to the Mo family. Since he¡¯s not your son, then why is it unreasonable for me to ask you to leave?¡± ¡°You-¡± Mo Hai pointed a trembling finger at her. Yao Lili then started, ¡°I¡¯m his mother.¡± ¡°You are fit to be a mother?¡± Shi Nianyaoughed icily. In the past, she had tolerated the woman because of her status as Mo Xicheng¡¯s mother, but now she realized that this woman was simply a lunatic. She continued after a pause, ¡°You gang up against your own son with outsiders. You are about the greatest marvel of a mother I¡¯ve ever seen!¡± Having said this, she turned to Li Shu again. Her expression was now peaceful and distant, at the same time weary. ¡°Auntie Li Shu, there is only one truth, believe what you will.¡± Chapter 1415 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (88)

Chapter 1415: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (88)

Li Shu looked at them one at a time. Finally, her gaze fell on Mo Xicheng. He had not moved from his spot on the bed. His expression was cold and distant as always, perpetually giving others the feeling that nothing could ever touch him. He had seen too much in his time, Li Shu knew that only too well. This child was forever enduring silently, forever humble. Even though he had no friends, even though he was evidently a bright child but would always only score a mere 60/100 in his tests, even though... ever since he had graduated, he had not spent a single cent of the Mo family¡¯s money. She still remembered the first movie he had acted in. Yao Lili had taken his earnings to buy herself a purse. At the time, Li Shu had even been a little envious. Because she had also wanted a present from her son. But when Mo Xicheng had been working as an actor after graduation, Mo Zhi had gone on a world tour. Mo Zhi had never earned a sry. At the time, she had felt slightly disappointed. Later on, Mo Xixheng had approached her slowly and had ced a gemstone ne before her. That gemstone ne had been expensive, no cheaper than Yao Lili¡¯s handbag. When she got it, Li Shu was stunned. She watched him ce the gift before her in his usual calm and indifferent manner. Then he had bowed and said, ¡°Thank you for your care all of these years. I think I¡¯d like to move out with my mom so that we don¡¯t cause any more disruptions in your life.¡± With the first paycheck he had drawn, he bought her that gift, rented a vi elsewhere and moved out with his mother. Furthermore, after leaving, she received a bankbook from him. There were a million in the ount. He left a note: [The Mo family may have spent more than a million on me all these years, but that¡¯s all I have right now. For now, I¡¯m returning this amount.] He was adamant. He was so determined that Li Shu hade to understand how stubborn this child was. Very clearly, he was drawing a line between himself and the Mo family. After this, he acted in his second movie, then his third. Until finally, he amassed a fortune. In total, he must have given her close to 10 million. She had kept aside that money with the intention of returning all of it to him when he got married. This was also to return the affection that she had for him. So a person like him, how could he possibly do such a thing? Since young, he had kept every word he had given to her. While Li Shu was thinking of all these things, he spoke up. He looked at Li Shu and said after a while, ¡°This time, I have to apologize.¡± Those few words were simple but in an instant, Li Shu knew what he was thinking. He was not going to hold back anymore. Li Shu¡¯s pupils shrank. In that moment, even if she wanted to tell him to give way to Mo Zhi, she was unable to get these words out. On the other hand, Mo Hai was ted and said, ¡°Li Shu, look, he¡¯s apologized and admitted it!! He set Mo Zhi up. Dishonorable son, admit it! You did this because you are after the Mo family¡¯s estate.¡± Yao Lili lowered her head and said, ¡°How could you do this? The Mo family brought you up, is this how you repay them? Mo Xicheng, have you forgotten everything I¡¯ve told you since you were young?!¡± As Mo Hai was about to say more, Li Shu suddenly snapped back to the present. She stared straight ahead for the longest time before she suddenly said, ¡°Shut up, all of you!¡± Chapter 1416 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (89)

Chapter 1416: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (89)

Mo Hai immediately fell silent and looked at her in astonishment. She looked at him and turned around, saying, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Puzzled, Mo Hai replied, ¡°Li Shu, I¡¯m not done teaching this silly boy a lesson. I have to get him to apologize to Mo Zhi, you¡ª¡± Before he could finish what he was saying, Li Shu spun around and snapped at him, ¡°Do you have any idea of how much you look like a clown, yelling at everyone, right now?!¡± Her remark shut him up immediately. Obediently, he walked out after Li Shu. Yao Lili nced at Mo Xicheng and her expression darkened at once. She quickly followed the couple. Seeing that they had left the room, Shi Nianyao looked at Mo Xicheng and lowered her head. She said, ¡°I- I¡¯ll be back in a bit.¡± Following this, she walked out after them. At the corridor, Yao Lili and Mo Hai were still going on about Mo Xicheng and his scheme. Yao Lili said, ¡°Madam, I really didn¡¯t expect Mo Xicheng to do this. I really didn¡¯t know, please don¡¯t be angry. It was all Mo Xicheng¡¯s fault.¡± Mo Hai joined and said, ¡°Exactly, Li Shu. Think about it, it¡¯s really simple. Our Mo Zhi is not that sort of person. Mo Xicheng wanted to force himself on the girl so that the Shi family would have to take him as a son-inw, then put the me on Mo Zhi.¡± Before he could finish, they suddenly heard a voice behind them, ¡°Hang on.¡± They halted and turned around. They looked at Shi Nianyao walking elegantly towards them, a step at a time. Yao Lili frowned and asked, ¡°What now?¡± Mo Hai gave an icyugh too and added, ¡°What do you want? She eyed them and suddenly looked at Li Shu. ¡°Auntie Li Shu, I have a few things to say to you in private.¡± Li Shu looked at her and nodded. Shi Nianyao moved with Li Shu away from Yao Lili and Mo Hai, and walked with her to a balcony nearby. Looking straight at Shi Nianyao, she asked, ¡°What is it you wish to say?¡± The girl said after a while, ¡°I can prove that Yao Lili and Mo Hai are lying.¡± Li Shu paused. ¡°You have proof?¡± Shi Nianyao said, ¡°That¡¯s right. Yao Lili imed that Mo Xicheng tricked me into going to the hospital to get his way with me, but perhaps you don¡¯t know that he and I... we¡¯re already married.¡± Li Shu was immediately stunned and asked, ¡°What- what do you mean?¡± ¡°I mean that we have registered our marriage! So I¡¯m already his, why would Mo Xicheng ask Yao Lili to trick me?! I think you understand the people in our families. The reason we got married in secret was because we didn¡¯t want to be entangled in the Mo family¡¯s affairs, but even if he really wanted the Mo family¡¯s estate...¡± Shi Nianyao felt that she didn¡¯t have to say it explicitly. She lowered her head and continued, ¡°Lastly, I hate Mo Zhi. And I think you know why. What they say about him framing Mo Zhi and taking advantage of me... Huh, you must know that I only need to say a word to my elder brother and Mo Xicheng could have everything.¡± Li Shu had fallen silent. After Shi Nianyao made these threats, she bowed deeply to the woman and said, ¡°Auntie, I know what I¡¯ve said is disrespectful, but this is proof.¡± Without turning back, she walked away. Li Shu stood by herself on the balcony for a while topose herself. Then she walked to Mo Zhi¡¯s ward. As she entered the ward, she saw Mo Hai trying to cate the boy. The both of them turned around at once to look at Li Shu. Li Shu¡¯s gaze fell on Mo Zhi. She walked up to him. p! Chapter 1417 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (90)

Chapter 1417: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (90)

The crisp and clear p echoed around the ward. Everyone was shocked into silence. Clutching his face, Mo Zhi stared at Li Shu in disbelief. Mo Hai didn¡¯t even dare to say a word. Only Yao Lili widened her eyes in horror at the situation unfolding before her. Her eyes shed with an expression of embarrassment, as though she had been insulted. He was her son and Li Shu had given him a tight p. If she weren¡¯t bound by logic, she would have charged at that woman and given her a few scratches on her face. What right did she have to hit him? She had seriously gone overboard. Yao Lili clenched her fists tightly and couldn¡¯t help crying out, ¡°Madam, why did you hit Young Master?¡± Those words caused everyone in the room to snap out of their daze. Although the p from Li Shu in itself hadn¡¯t been painful, Mo Zhi had never felt so humiliated in his life. Clutching his face and looking at Li Shupletely stunned, he wanted toment and speak, but when he saw the expression on her face, he swallowed all of his words. Li Shu stood there austerely. There was a silent warning in her posture, no one dared to speak or oppose her¡ªno one even dared to look her in the eyes. The moment Yao Lili¡¯s words fell, Li Shu turned to look at her and said, ¡°I¡¯m disciplining my son, what has that got to do with you?¡± Her words sent everyone in the room into a stunned silence again. Not the least Mo Hai, with his widened eyes. Since Mo Hai had had this affair, Li Shu had treated him with indifference, she had been neither cold nor warm towards the man. But even though Yao Lili had been living next to their family, under the same roof with her step-child, Li Shu had never made things difficult for the mother and son. Because she understood that when a man strayed, it wasn¡¯t entirely the third party¡¯s fault. If it hadn¡¯t been for Mo Hai not being able to control himself, how would he have ended up sleeping with Yao Lili? What was the point of making things difficult for another woman? Yao Lili had never gotten married and never received any affection from Mo Hai. She had never even experienced a normal married life, that was pitiful enough. But right now, it was very clear at whom Li Shu was directing her words. Yao Lili choked at once and said after a moment, ¡°I- Madam, please don¡¯t be angry, I won¡¯t say another word.¡± Li Shu threw her a nce upon hearing these words and ignored herpletely afterwards. Instead, she shifted her attention to Mo Zhi and said after a while, ¡°I did not educate you enough in the past, but from now on, I will make every effort to correct your behavior.¡± Yao Lili was inclined to speak again, but before she could do so, Mo Hai had taken a step forward and said, ¡°Li Shu, you have misunderstood something. Our Mo Zhi is a good boy, and he has never¡ª¡± Li Shu immediately let out a frostyugh and interrupted, ¡°Mo Hai, don¡¯t think I¡¯m stupid and don¡¯t understand anything. We both know the truth!¡± She turned and looked at Mo Hai with an expression of disappointment. ¡°All these years, I failed to discipline him and you, as his father, is this how you minded him? It¡¯s no wonder he just does as he pleases. He even schemed against Shi Nianyao! Ignoring her family background, have you ever thought that her mother and I are best friends? If you had gotten your way, how would I ever be able to look at her in the eye again? And now, I don¡¯t even know how to exin this. Mo Zhi, I would have never thought that while time and again I asked Mo Xicheng to give in, you, on the other hand, were never satisfied.¡± Chapter 1418 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (91)

Chapter 1418: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (91)

She gave Mo Zhi a look of disappointment, turned around and strode out of the ward. When she walked out, Mo Hai turned back to nce at Mo Zhi and made a gesture of stabbing at the air, looking every bit resentful at the boy¡¯s failure. Then he shook his head and ran out after his wife. ¡°Li Shu, Li Shu, don¡¯t be angry. The boy¡¯s still young and we can talk things over with him. Don¡¯t be angry.¡± Mo Hai¡¯s desperate attempts to cate his wife could be heard from Mo Zhi¡¯s ward, so the boy¡¯s expression immediately changed. After being beaten up, not only did his mother not help him seek justice, but instead she pped him. And the father he had thought doted on him since he was a child did not stand by him tofort him, but instead had gone chasing after the woman. These were his parents. No, that wasn¡¯t his mother. His gaze fell on the only woman left in the room. Yao Lili stood and made sure the couple had gone away before she spun around and dashed towards Mo Zhi¡¯s bed. She embraced his head with both her hands and looked at his face, asking, ¡°My son! Is it painful? She actually hit you! Your face was just recovering and now it¡¯s swollen again, sob, sob, sob.¡± Now, the isted and helpless Mo Zhi, the Mo Zhi who had been lying in bed all day, felt double as isted and lonely. He looked at the woman before him, who was sincerely showing her emotions, thoroughly concerned about his welfare. He suddenly felt inexplicably dismal. Yao Lili had once told him that she was his real mother, while Li Shu was Mo Xicheng¡¯s mother, and that she had switched the two babies in the past. When Mo Zhi had heard this, he had felt that the story was a great joke. Butter, when Yao Lili time and again helped him unconditionally, he had secretly done a DNA test. Indeed, the report had shown a blood rtion between him and Yao Lili. Yao Lili was his real mother. This discovery had been terrifying to him. After that, he had kept making use of Yao Lili without acknowledging his discovery. He hated Yao Lili and had no affection towards her. But now, when Yao Lili was the only person left by his side, he finally realized that there was only one person in the whole wide world who would be good to him wholeheartedly and unconditionally, and it was Yao Lili. Suddenly, he reached out, embraced Yao Lili¡¯s waist and buried his head in her embrace. Then he called out quietly, ¡°Mom!¡± Yao Lili froze and, as though suddenly realizing something, quickly responded, ¡°Yes!¡± A faint smile appeared on her face as she tightened her embrace around her son¡¯s arms. ¨C Elsewhere in the hospital. Li Shu strode out of the ward and to the elevator. Mo Hai followed closely behind her, calling out to her desperately and ignoring the strange looks that the nurses and doctors were throwing at them. It was not until Li Shu was standing at the elevator, hitting its button randomly and impatiently, that Mo Hai managed to catch up to her. He looked at her from the back, thinking of what to say to cheer her up. Then he gulped and took a step forward. ¡°Xiao Shu, don¡¯t be angry anymore, you-¡± Before he could finish his words, he stopped. He saw something roll down Li Shu¡¯s cheeks and fall gently on the ground with a small ssh. Chapter 1419 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (92)

Chapter 1419: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (92)

He was stunned as he stared at the tear drop that had fallen on the ground. Then he looked at Li Shu with an expression of disbelief. Since more than twenty years ago, when she found out about his affair with Yao Lili, she had been giving him the cold shoulder. Sometimes, he had wished she would talk to him, but mostly she ignored him. They stayed together as a family under one roof, but they had lived their lives apart for more than twenty years. It had been that many years. He had worked hard to make her happy, hoping to win her back, but Li Shu was a firm and persistent person who couldn¡¯t be moved. This was the first time in more than twenty years that she had shed a tear in front of him. He gulped and stared at her, suddenly fumbling and not knowing what to do. He extended his hand and wanted to ce it on her shoulder, but suddenly remembered that in the past, whenever he had tried to make physical contact with her, she would violently reject it with a look of disdain in her eyes. Hence, even as he reached out to touch her shoulder, he did not make that final contact. He withdrew his hand carefully, as though afraid to rm her. After a long pause, he said, ¡°Li Shu, don¡¯t cry. Tell me what you want me to do so that you will stop crying. Just tell me and I¡¯ll do anything for you so that you¡¯ll stop crying. Li Shu.¡± Li Shu couldn¡¯t help turning around when she heard his tentative plea. When she looked into his aged face, for some odd reason, the normally strong and cold woman reached out and embraced her husband. Mo Hai froze. He didn¡¯t dare to move. He didn¡¯t even believe this was really happening. His arms hung by his sides stiffly as Li Shu embraced him. He could feel her restlessness. Finally, he carefully spoke and asked, ¡°Li Shu, what- what¡¯s the matter?¡± She sniffed once and then withdrew her hands. Mo Hai hurriedly searched through his pockets, but they were empty. He said, ¡°Li Shu, wait here for a moment.¡± He turned around and dashed to the front desk to ask, ¡°Excuse me, do you have some tissues?¡± The person replied, ¡°Yes, please, hold on.¡± Just as he took the tissues, he realized that Li Shu was standing by the elevator. When she was crying, he had noticed the elevator had been on its way up, so given her personality, he was quite sure she would have left by the time he returned with the tissues. When he hurried back to the elevator with the tissues in his hand, he saw that she was still standing there. Immediately, a joyful expression shed across his face. He quickly walked up to her and gave her the tissues. Then he said to her gently, ¡°Here, dry your tears.¡± There were stirred emotions and a dness in his voice that he did not realize. She looked at the tissue and, after a moment, reached out for it. She dried her eyes and remained silent for a long time. Finally, she said, ¡°Mo Hai, let¡¯s have a chat.¡± Let¡¯s have a chat. The man¡¯s eyes teared up almost immediately. He had waited for these words for more than twenty years. And he had spent the most splendid years of his life waiting for these words. He couldn¡¯t help his eyes reddening. He nodded and said, ¡°Sure, let¡¯s have a chat. Let¡¯s have a good chat. Where shall we go for a chat? Right here?¡± Li Shu shook her head and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go to the Scarlet Cafe.¡± Chapter 1420 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (93)

Chapter 1420: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (93)

Scarlet Cafe was the ce where Mo Hai and Li Shu had first confessed their love for each other. Mo Hai, in his youth, had gotten down on a bent knee to pledge his love in this cafe, andter, he had asked for her hand there. One could say that their best memories together were in this cafe of literary reputation. The cafe¡¯s interior was decorated with a ssical theme. There were all sorts of books on the shelves. This was a cafe, but also a bookstore of sorts. One could browse through the books while having a coffee here. Li Shu loved books and would often go there. She had the aura of an elegant and knowledgeable woman. Whereas Mo Hai, he was a typical businessman. He also had the symptoms of rich second-generation businessman heirs, which were a general disinterest in academia and getting a splitting headache just by seeing a book. However when he was pursuing Li Shu, he had spent three whole years holed up in this cafe keeping herpany. Mo Hai was an exemry rich second-generation heir, a yboy. Initially, Li Shu had treated him with disdain and rejected him. But eventually she was moved by his persistence, although she hadn¡¯t trusted him very much. The two of them went through many hardships before Li Shu agreed to be with him. For the sake of pursuing this woman, Mo Hai had changed himself a lot. Furthermore, when he proposed to Li Shu, he had promised not to entangle himself with other women again. One could write an epic love story about their youth romance. And it was also because of the two of them that the Scarlet had be famous throughout Beijing. The cafe was also nicknamed the Matchmaker¡¯s Cafe. Countless couples of lovers had chosen this ce to pledge their love to each other. Right now, Li Shu and Mo Hai were in this shop that they used to frequent. Mo Hai had already bought the ce and it was now part of the Mo family estate. Hence the management of this cafe had not changed a bit. It still maintained the same ssical interior that it had had twenty years ago. Li Shu ordered a coffee at the front desk and found a seat at the balcony. Next to her was her shelf and on it, a few of her favorite books. Mo Hai sat opposite her and surveyed their surroundings. It stirred his emotions deeply. All these years, he hade to this ce by himself on countless asions. He had wished he could go back in time with her but he sat there alone, making no progress. But now, Li Shu was here. Things were a little different. He had not expected that she would want to have a chat with him here. Since she had chosen this ce, could it mean that she had not forgotten their past? At this thought, Mo Hai hesitated and threw a nce at her. He couldn¡¯t help but lower his head quickly after this. With fear and trepidation, he finally spoke in an anxious tone, ¡°Li Shu, what did you want to chat about?¡± Li Shu paused for a moment and then started, ¡°I wanted to talk to you about Mo Zhi and Mo Xicheng.¡± Immediately, Mo Hai started to exin, ¡°I¡¯ve never acknowledged Mo Xicheng as my son. I only recognize Mo Zhi as my son, the son that you bore me.¡± Li Shu made a gesture to stop Mo Hai from speaking further. She continued, ¡°All these years, I have failed Mo Zhi. I only realized it today because of what has happened.¡± She lifted her gaze and looked at the man with a serious expression. She said these surprising words, ¡°Mo Hai, will you promise me one thing?¡± Mo Hai nodded immediately, ¡°I can promise you even a hundred things, not to mention one.¡± Li Shu fell silent for some time before she said, ¡°Give the Mo family¡¯s estate on to Mo Xicheng.¡± Chapter 1421 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (94)

Chapter 1421: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (94)

Her words stunned Mo Hai. He looked at her with a shocked expression and asked, ¡°What- what did you say?¡± He must have misheard. He had thought that what Li Shu would want was for him to legally sever all ties with Mo Xicheng, and to ask the mother and son to leave the Mo family. But he had not expected this request instead. Li Shu must have made a mistake. She cast her gaze down, smiled, and then continued, ¡°Mo Hai, aren¡¯t you aware of how Mo Zhi has turned out?¡± Wasn¡¯t he aware? How could he not be aware! Where Mo Zhi¡¯s real capabilities were concerned, no one was more aware than Mo Hai. As a child, whenever Mo Zhi was disciplined by his father, the boy would wail and ask for his mother so that he couldin to her. At the time, Mo Hai would inevitably feel his own heart ache. He had also been afraid that every time Li Shu came home to suchints, it would anger and frustrate her. Hence, Mo Hai would give in to the boy. After some time, the teacher informed him that Mo Zhi was unable to keep up with his school work, that the boy was not progressing and wished to stop schooling. That was when he realized he had held the boy back. But he was even more afraid of Li Shu¡¯s wrath, hence the lie... day after day, year after year, it had built up. He had always felt that no matter how much the boy didn¡¯t meet his expectations, he was still his son. If it came to the worst, he would hire a few business managers and all the boy would need to do was enjoy the fruits of other people¡¯sbor. He could get Mo Zhi to have a few children, and he could groom the grandchildren instead. Hence in a way, one could say that he had given up on the boy. But even so, he had never thought of choosing Mo Xicheng. As these thoughts formed in his head, Li Shu spoke, ¡°Give the business to Mo Xicheng, let Mo Zhi withdraw from itpletely. And in future when Mo Xicheng sessfully operates it, he surely would not leave Mo Zhi out. But if you continue to allow Mo Zhi to run the business, he will forever suspect Mo Xicheng and will continue doing things that will force Mo Xicheng to retaliate, like now. So hand the business over to Mo Xicheng.¡± She said these things calmly and unhurriedly. Then she turned to look around and continued, ¡°As for Mo Zhi, I will get the Li family to look after him. At least it will guarantee him afortable life. It¡¯s not toote if he wishes to learn anything now. And when he has mastered a skill and wishes to return, he can¡¯t. Otherwise, it¡¯s useless to ce the Mo family in his hands.¡± Li Shu¡¯s eyes reddened when she said these words. She knew she was taking away her own son¡¯s inheritance by saying these things. After Mo Xicheng took over the business, even if Mo Zhi was the Mo family¡¯s sessor, he would be living under the mercy of Mo Xicheng. Mo Xicheng was a kind and good man. But Mo Zhi had bullied him since they were children. Even if Mo Xicheng was a saint, it would be hard to not take that to heart. But she had no other option. She had seen with her own eyes the difference between the two boys, and finally acknowledged Mo Zhi¡¯s inadequacy andcking skills thanks to Shi Nianyao. She finally had to face reality. Only if Mo Xicheng took over the family business and forced Mo Zhi out of the game could they keep things in bnce between the two boys. Mo Hai looked at Li Shu steadily and asked, ¡°Is that your final decision?¡± To him, both boys were his sons. The only person that mattered to him was Li Shu. Chapter 1422 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (95)

Chapter 1422: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (95)

Li Shu paused at Mo Hai¡¯s question and after a while, nodded. Mistakes had been made. The only thing that they could do now was stop things from deteriorating. She had to make a decision at this critical moment. Otherwise when they came to a point of no return, Mo Zhi would force Mo Xicheng to the limits of sanity. She did appreciate Mo Xicheng and had an odd affection towards him. Butpared to her own son, of course Mo Zhi held more weight. She was doing all of this for Mo Zhi¡¯s sake. Allowing Mo Xicheng to lead the Mo family would also mean the Shi family would not take revenge on the Mo family. This would ensure the family¡¯s safety. And it would also mean the Shi family would let Mo Zhi off for Mo Xicheng¡¯s sake. Li Shu knew the Mo family too well. Apart from Si Jingyu, there wasn¡¯t a benevolent soul. Shi Jinyan, besides being a cunning fox, doted on his daughter to no end. Shi Xun himself was not a person one would want to offend. Although she was on good terms with Si Jingyu, the fact was that in this matter Mo Zhi was at fault. If it hadn¡¯t been for Mo Xicheng, the oue would have been disastrous. Even if she herself had gone to them to plead on behalf of her son and her best friend would let him off for her sake, she could not bring herself to approach Si Jingyu on this matter. Mo Zhi had done something too low-down, it was way too vile. This was the worst thing that anyone among them could have done, and she simply could not ept it. Hence she had to make a choice now. At this thought, Li Shu lowered her head with a determined expression. Seeing that was the case, Mo Hai said after a moment of hesitation, ¡°Ok, I understand.¡± He got onto his feet, looking at Li Shu still. He opened his mouth to say something but eventually, no words came. He wasn¡¯t sure how it was best to put it. He wanted to ask if she would go back to him if he did as she wished. But he swallowed those words as soon as they came up. For most of his life, things had been kept vague, but he knew that there was hope in maintaining things the way they were. However if certain things were said explicitly, it would destroy the life they had now. ¨C At the hospital. After feeding soup to Mo Zhi, Yao Lili looked at him and sighed. Mo Zhi asked, ¡°So now should I leave the hospital? Should I go home to try to cate her?¡± Yao Lili thought for a moment and decided, ¡°There¡¯s no need to.¡± She looked at Mo Zhi and said, ¡°It¡¯s better that you remain in hospital, because only if you¡¯re sick will her heart soften ande to see you.¡± Mo Zhi frowned and said, ¡°That may not be the case. Look at what she did today. I¡¯m already injured and yet she pped me! How is she a mother? The way she looked at me wasn¡¯t even how a mother would look at her child. It was more like looking at an enemy!¡± As soon as he had said this, Mo Zhi paused, anxiously took Yao Lili¡¯s hands and said, ¡°Say, do you think it¡¯s possible that she¡¯s found out?¡± Yao Lili immediately replied, ¡°Nonsense, this matter is between the two of us only, no one else will ever know.¡± Mo Zhi sighed in relief and continued, ¡°So today, she was just putting on an act?!¡± Yao Lili nodded. Mo Zhi snorted and continued, ¡°She¡¯s really heartless. She would abandon her own son just like that! This woman has a heart of steel.¡± Yao Lili sighed. At this point, Mo Zhi¡¯s cell phone suddenly rang. Chapter 1423 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (96)

Chapter 1423: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (96)

Mo Zhi frowned and looked at his cell phone impatiently. Then he picked up the line. A voice said, ¡°CEO Mo, I have bad news.¡± The man snorted frostily. ¡°What bad news? Huh! I¡¯m still alive and kicking. Can¡¯t you say anything good?¡± The voice choked for a moment and said, ¡°I¡¯m not referring to that, I¡¯m saying that there¡¯s bad news at work.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter at work? Can¡¯t you speak clearly?¡± The person frantically tried to exin, ¡°The Chairman has just called for a board meeting and during the board meeting, he proposed to let Mo Xicheng take over the CEO position.¡± When Mo Zhi heard this, he sat up straight immediately and looked at his cell phone in shock. ¡°What- what did you say?¡± The voice at the other end o fthe line repeated the information. Mo Zhi sprang up from the bed and cried, ¡°This is not possible!¡± The voice sighed and continued, ¡°CEO Mo, I knew you wouldn¡¯t believe it, but it¡¯s true. The board meeting has just ended. Right now someone is probably on the way to the hospital to see Mo Xicheng. I¡¯m just giving you a heads-up. It seems that the Chairman is not kidding! Also, you know Old Li and his gang, they weren¡¯t happy with you. Now that they hear Mo Xicheng is taking over, they are ecstatic. You know these people more than I do.¡± Mo Zhi was furious at once. ¡°These old ignorant fools have distorted views! They can¡¯t see who the real sessor is. I¡¯m sure Dad has made a mistake and there¡¯s some misunderstanding. I think I know, I¡¯m sure he threatened Dad into this. This is simply abominable!¡± At these words, Mo Zhi hung up the phone furiously. He started pacing back and forth in the ward. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Yao Lili asked. She could see that something serious had happened. Mo Zhi told Yao Lili what had happened. The woman was immediately stunned and said, ¡°How did this happen?¡± Mo Zhi took in a deep breath and asked, ¡°What do we do now? Do you think Dad changed his mind all of a sudden... because they have found out?¡± His words threw Yao Lili into a panic. Why else would Mo Hai suddenly change his mind? It was impossible. ¡°This is quite incredible. For so many years, Mo Hai has taken exceptional care of you because of Li Shu, so he wouldn¡¯t possibly relinquish the headship of the Mo family to someone else, unless...¡± Mo Zhi anxiously asked, ¡°Unless what?¡± ¡°Unless the person who requested was Li Shu! Otherwise, Mo Hai would ever do such a thing?¡± Mo Zhi¡¯s pupils shrank back at once. ¡°Li Shu? How- how could that be possible?¡± On this note, there was a knock on the door suddenly. The two of them turned around simultaneously and saw Li Shu standing at the doorway. She walked in as they turned to look at her. Li Shu had not expected Yao Lili to still be around. She stood at the doorway and paused. Then she furrowed her brow. Following this, she said to Yao Lili, ¡°I have things to tell Mo Zhi, please leave the room.¡± Yao Lili threw a nce at Mo Zhi and shifted her gaze to Li Shu. Then she nodded. She turned around to pack her belongings and shot Mo Zhi a look to tell him to remain calm, before she walked out of the room. The ward fell silent at once. Mo Zhi looked at Li Shu, as a sense of conflict began to grow in him. Chapter 1424 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (97)

Chapter 1424: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (97)

He lowered his head and stared at the floor. Noticing his expression, Li Shu knew straightaway that he must have found out. After talking to Mo Hai, they had gone their own ways. Mo Hai gone to the office to manage Mo Xicheng¡¯s matter. In the meantime, Li Shu had been worried that Mo Zhi would be upset and sad upon hearing the news. She knew that she had not been a good mother to Mo Zhi, hence she had volunteered to go to the hospital to break the news and counsel Mo Zhi. She wanted him to know that it didn¡¯t mean his parents were giving up on him. Rather, there were difficulties they had to consider. She sighed and sat on the sofa in the ward. She then pointed at the other seat and said to Mo Zhi, ¡°Take a seat.¡± Mo Zhi walked over and sat down. Li Shu addressed the topic without beating around the bush, ¡°I suppose you¡¯ve found out.¡± The man looked gloomy. Feeling rebellious, he did not speak. Li Shu continued, ¡°Mo Zhi,your dad and I did this for your own good¡ª¡± As soon as she said this, the seething Mo Zhi sprang on his feet, looking at her and hollering angrily, ¡°For my own good? You gave the business to Mo Xicheng for my own good? If it were for my own good, you wouldn¡¯t be doing this to me. Sometimes I wonder if you really are my mother?!¡± There was a heartrending ring to his furious tone, causing the listener a sort of heartache and sorrow. Li Shu looked at him. His face was contorted in anger. It only made her feel even more disappointed. She had not expected Mo Zhi would grow up to be like this under Mo Hai¡¯s care,pletelycking patience and education, showing this ugly side of himself even in times like this. She couldn¡¯t help but think of Mo Xicheng. Even as he got beaten by Mo Hai, he sat with a straightened spine, keeping an inexplicably magnificent bearing. There was noparison between the two of them. Even though Mo Zhi was her son, she had to make a fair assessment. She paused and spoke again, ¡°Are you done?¡± Mo Zhi was heaving with anger at this point. When he heard her words, he lifted his head and was met with an impassive expression in her eyes. Something in his head cleared. He looked back at the woman in disbelief and, after a moment, hung his head in dejection. He sat back down. There was no emotion in Li Shu¡¯s voice, only numbness, as she continued, ¡°I¡¯ve discussed it with your father and what you¡¯ve done is too serious, the Shi family will not just let it go like that. The Mo family will bear the brunt of their wrath. I don¡¯t have what it would take to plead on your behalf. This is the only way to save the Mo family and your inheritance. I¡¯ve also discussed with your father that although we are handing the future of the family to Mo Xicheng, you will always own half of thepany¡¯s stocks. It will mean you¡¯re still a major shareholder. I¡¯m here today to advise you to put some sincere effort into coborating with Mo Xicheng in the future, don¡¯t get into direct conflicts anymore.¡± ¡°You are brothers and grew up together. I watched him grow up too. I believe that he won¡¯t harm you if you don¡¯t create any trouble. Li Shu stood to her feet and concluded, ¡°I¡¯ve said what I needed to. I¡¯ll go now.¡± She took a few steps towards the door, suddenly halted and added, ¡°Don¡¯t get too close to Yao Lili.¡± Chapter 1425 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (98)

Chapter 1425: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (98)

On that note, she pushed the door open and walked out. Mo Zhi stared at her back with tightly clenched fists. Her unemotional words were like icy daggers that stabbed his heart mercilessly, making him feel like an abandoned child left behind in a hospital. He stumbled onto the sofa and stared at the door in a daze. The door swung open again. This time Yao Lili dashed in. ¨C Li Shu left the ward and walked briskly away from it. As she walked further away from Mo Zhi¡¯s room, she began to feel the heavy burden in her heart ease. But on the other hand, she was choked with emotions. She had no idea what was going on, and even less why she was feeling an exceptional abhorrence towards Mo Zhi today. But that was her own son, how could she possibly feel so disgusted by him? She had to be going mad. At this thought, Li Shu took a deep breath and tried hard to convince herself to be the bigger person, not to criticize him. She had not done her part as a mother all this time, hence her child had turned out like this. But since they were aware of it now, they had to work to fix him. She took another deep breath as she worked to suppress the moodiness she was feeling. After a moment, she started walking again. She found herself wandering into the hospital garden. The air was fresh in the garden and the weather was fine. She found a seat along the corridor and sat down. After a while, she heard a familiar voice saying, ¡°Slow down. The doctor has instructed you to take it easy with the walking, otherwise you¡¯ll feel dizzy. Slow down, Mo Xicheng, if you¡¯re disobedient I won¡¯t let you out again.¡± Upon hearing this, Li Shu turned around. Then she saw Shi Nianyao supporting Mo Xicheng as they strolled in the garden. There was a bandage around the man¡¯s head and he looked pale. He couldn¡¯t help himself from talking back at her nagging, ¡°Stop being so nervous. It¡¯s not as serious as he says. Look, I¡¯m fine, aren¡¯t I? It¡¯s just a bump. Actually, I wanted to get discharged today.¡± Shi Nianyao immediately twitched her mouth and reached out to steady him. ¡°Let¡¯s walk a bit more and take a rest on that bench there afterwards. Then you should behave and return to the ward with me.¡± Mo Xicheng was a little reluctant to return after being locked in the ward all day, but he relented, given what Shi Nianyao had said. He didn¡¯t want her to worry about him. Just as he spoke and Shi Nianyao helped him walk forward, a few men in suits walked up to them hurriedly. When they saw Mo Xicheng, they immediately looked relieved and d. They called out, ¡°Mr. Mo! So you¡¯re out here!¡± Mo Xicheng was surprised. He stared at them as they approached and held out a document to him, saying, ¡°This is the decision of thepany¡¯s board of directors. This is your appointment letter.¡± The other man in a suit was obviously awyer. He drew out a letter and said, ¡°This is an agreement for the transfer of shares drafted by your father. Read it carefully and, if you have no objections, you may sign it.¡± ¡°And this...¡± The two men took turns to exin various things as Mo Xicheng stood there in a daze. He looked at them steadily and, after a moment, he asked, ¡°Did you... get the right person?¡± Chapter 1426 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (99)

Chapter 1426: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (99)

The three men looked at each other and then burst outughing after a moment. One of them said, ¡°Mr. Mo Xicheng, you¡¯re a celebrity, how could we mistake you to be someone else? This is the decision we made at the board of directors¡¯ meeting today. To appoint you as thepany¡¯s CEO.¡± ¡°This is the transfer of shares agreement signed by your father, Mo Hai, himself. There should be no issues at all. But if you have any doubts, you can voice them.¡± ¡°This...¡± Mo Xicheng listened to what they were saying and, after a while, things began to sink in. He nced down at the documents, his expressionplex. As he pondered, he suddenly heard a voice say, ¡°Just sign them.¡± Surprised, Mo Xicheng looked up. He was astonished to see Li Shu standing there, looking at him. He frowned and nced at the documents again, suddenly seeing the light. He spoke, ¡°I suppose this is your idea?¡± Li Shu was quiet for a moment and finally nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Mo Xicheng gave a bitterugh in response. In that instant, he had to admit that he envied Mo Zhi. He had a father who shielded him and a mother who protected him. Of course he understood Li Shu¡¯s intentions. Just that he hadn¡¯t expected them to act so quickly. But that wasn¡¯t a bad thing, it had saved him a lot of trouble. Mo Xicheng lowered his gaze and looked at the documents once again. For an odd reason, a thought shed past his mind. If only Li Shu was his mother, wouldn¡¯t it be great? But as soon as that thought formed, he felt it wasughable. He quickly shook his head, tossing this idea aside. He nced at the documents again and said with a smile, ¡°A pen please.¡± Li Shu watched as Mo Xicheng signed the papers. Then he nodded at Li Shu, before turning around and heading back to his ward with Shi Nianyao. As Li Shu stood there watching them leave, she suddenly felt that all of these years, the Mo family had owed too much to this boy. She took a deep breath, still trying to deeply suppress that detest towards Mo Zhi. Following this, she walked back to Mo Zhi¡¯s ward. Realizing that her attitude with Mo Zhi earlier on had probably been too harsh, she decided to return to see how he was doing. When Li Shu arrived at his door, she saw that Yao Lili was in the ward once again. She frowned as she wondered why Yao Lili kepting back. She was puzzled and disgusted at once. Then just as she was about to enter, she heard Mo Zhi remark, ¡°What sort of mother is she? You are my mother! Blood rtions are such an oddly clever thing. Even if they don¡¯t know the truth, those two are still close like mother-and-son.¡± Li Shu was stunned and froze on the spot. Who was this person Mo Zhi was talking about? As her head spun at this thought, she saw Mo Zhi reach out to grab Yao Lili¡¯s hand and say, ¡°Mom, tell me, what should I do now? They¡¯ve given the Mo family business to Mo Xicheng, what about me? What am I?¡± Li Shu did not hear a single word of what he said then. She was stunned into a stupor. Who was Mo Zhi addressing? What was he calling Yao Lili?! Chapter 1427 - Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (100)

Chapter 1427: Nianyao and Mo Xicheng (100)

Li Shu stood outside the door in a daze as she looked into the room in disbelief. Mo Zhi was holding Yao Lili¡¯s hand and looking both half-crazed and troubled. He looked at the woman and said yet again, ¡°Mom, say something. What do I do now?¡± He was calling her Mom again, Li Shu felt her head spinning. What was wrong with this child? Why was he grabbing Yao Lili and calling her Mom? As much as she understood the meaning of each word he was saying, it seemed that when those words were strung together, they made no sense. She stood outside the door with her hand on the door handle, feeling confused while she stared at the two people in the ward. Her mind went nk, all she could see was Mo Zhi and Yao Lili. After Mo Zhi had spoken, Yao Lili patted his back gently and said, ¡°Don¡¯t panic, Mo Zhi, don¡¯t panic. Let me tell you, I¡¯ve spent so much effort, it¡¯s all so that you can inherit the Mo family business. So don¡¯t worry, I will not let Mo Xicheng do this. Don¡¯t worry, you have to keep calm. Now all you need to do is to continue lying on your sickbed, pretend to be weak. I think they are giving Mo Xicheng the shares and position to solve Shi Nianyao¡¯s matter.¡± Mo Zhi spun around and sat on the sofa. Staring at Yao Lili, he suddenly asked, ¡°Are you really my mother?¡± Yao Lili was stunned and said, ¡°Mo Zhi, what- what do you mean?¡± Mo Zhiughed icily and said, ¡°You say you¡¯re my mother, but look at what you¡¯ve done. You told me that if I slept with Shi Nianyao, once the deed was done, I¡¯d be able to get rid of Mo Xicheng. But now? How did Mo Xicheng know I was in the hotel and why did he burst in at a critical moment? Now that I think about it, after all of this, the person who has benefited most from it is still Mo Xicheng! Didn¡¯t you see? Even my Mom is being fooled by him. On the surface he looks like he is not interested in the inheritance, but he has signed the contract all the same.¡± ¡°Honestly, is all of this a lie? You are doing it for Mo Xicheng! You¡¯re actually not my mother!¡± Yao Lili started to panic and said, ¡°Mo Zhi, what a child! This was an ident and I am indeed your mother, you have to believe me! I carried you for ten months and gave birth to you, how could I not be your mother?¡± Mo Zhi stared at her. Because he had lost the Mo family shares, he was now terrified and hesitant. He was very worried about everything. He felt that things were starting to go wrong and going in a way that he hadn¡¯t intended. Shi Nianyao had clearly been Mo Xicheng¡¯s girlfriend from a poor family, so why had she turned into the pampered daughter of the Shi family all of a sudden? And this woman in front of him kept saying she was doing these things for his benefit. But in the end, the person who benefited would invariably be someone else. He pointed at Yao Lili and interrogated her, ¡°You said you¡¯re my mom, what proof do you have?!¡± Yao Lili said frantically, ¡°Mo Zhi, how could you doubt me? I¡¯m your real mother! If you don¡¯t believe me, we can take a paternity test.¡± ¡°A paternity test?¡± Mo Zhiughed and said, ¡°That would take a long time.¡± ¡°Mo Zhi, you- you- Oh, now I recall! There is a birthmark on your buttock. It was there from birth. It¡¯s a rather private area, so I don¡¯t think many people know about it.¡± Chapter 1428 - He Is My Son (1)

Chapter 1428: He Is My Son (1)

Li Shu did not pay attention to Mo Zhi¡¯s reaction, but at this point, she waspletely stunned. She stared quietly at the two people in the ward and felt as though the world around her had copsed. She was in a dream, where everything around her was surreal. She gulped, suddenly feeling a surge of anger, restlessness and fear. No, perhaps not fear. She felt like she was a joke. There had been a birthmark on Mo Zhi¡¯s buttock, this was indeed something that not many would have known. Since they were a wealthy family, they were rather superstitious. Hence when a child was born, it wasmon practice to get a fortune teller toe to the house and take a look at the child. At the time, the fortune teller had assessed that the birthmark was a bad thing. Specifically, that it would cause the loss of wealth and also suppress his fortune. Hence they did not make the existence of this birthmark public, and when he had grown a little older, they had even found someone to remove it. Mo Zhi knew about thi, but besides himself and the people involved at the time, almost no one else had knowledge of it. And now Yao Lili had clearly mentioned it. Hence even if Li Shu had wanted to believe this to be a lie, it was unconvincing. She stared at Mo Zhi. Now that Mo Zhi and Yao Lili were next to each other, she realized for the first time that Mo Zhi bore a slight resemnce to that woman. There was an unmistakable resemnce, in fact. Their side profiles looked like they were made from the same mould. In the past, when she hadn¡¯t known this, she had never made the association. Li Shu retreated a step. She gulped and widened her eyes by what was going on in the ward. But if Mo Zhi knew he was Yao Lili¡¯s son, then what about her own son? As soon as this question urred to her, she immediately thought of Mo Xicheng. Mo Xicheng. Her eyes reddened at once. Scenes of Mo Xicheng being beaten by Yao Lili suddenly shed through her mind. She had thought Yao Lili and Mo Hai¡¯s one-night stand had resulted in Mo Xicheng. Although she had never felt like making things difficult for the other woman, she couldn¡¯t having something against Yao Lili, the mistress. Of course, there had always also been that bit of loathing towards Mo Xicheng. But every time she saw the little Mo Xicheng, her heart would inexplicably soften. But... Still, on countless asions she had steeled her heart when she saw Yao Lili beating Mo Xicheng. She hadn¡¯t intervened... unless it went too far. She would asionally put a stop to things. Just like that time... She had seen that he had a fever and was so ill that he was dizzy. However, Yao Lili wasn¡¯t home and didn¡¯t care, neither did Mo Hai. She had only asked the housekeeper to send the boy to the hospital. And after that? How many times, for the sake of Mo Zhi, Mo Xicheng had had to tolerate and curb his abilities? And how many times had Mo Zhi taunted Mo Xicheng for being a bastard, for being the son of a mistress? Al ot of the time, she had chosen to turn a blind eye. At those times she had turned a blind eye, and even when she had asionally intervened and protected Mo Xicheng, she would end up berating herself for being too kind-hearted. He was the son of the mistress, why did she get involved in his business? But as these thoughts came to her, she suddenly felt like crying. Feelings of great anger surged through her. Yao Lili... Yao Lili! Chapter 1429 - He Is My Son (2)

Chapter 1429: He Is My Son (2)

She had given that woman¡¯s child a life of luxury and brought him up meticulously, but what about Mo Xicheng? She recalled the little Mo Xicheng, how he had crouched on the floor shivering. She recalled that countless eveningsing home from work, she would spot the little child carrying a basin to do hisundry. When he heard the sound of the car engine, he would run to that fence between the two courtyards and through it, he would stare intently at her. She would obviously see him, but she would pretend not to. Even during that one time... He saw her bring a toy sports car back for Mo Zhi. Mo Xicheng stood at the fence, staring at the toy sports car with his clear and dark eyes. That was when she realized that Mo Xicheng didn¡¯t have many toys. But she had chosen to ignore this. Later, Mo Zhi lost his toy sports car. He imed that Mo Xicheng had stolen it. At the time, Yao Lili had cried and wailed, saying that Mo Xicheng had stolen the toy sports car because he didn¡¯t have any toys. Subsequently, Mo Xicheng came up to them and, holding the toy sports car very carefully, he passed it to Mo Zhi. But Mo Zhi extended his arms and pushed Mo Xicheng on the ground. Mo Xicheng looked at Mo Zhi nkly. Then Mo Zhi pointed at him and yelled, ¡°You bastard! Thief!¡± Mo Xicheng immediately shook his head and said, ¡°I¡¯m not a thief, I¡¯m not a thief. I found the toy car!¡± Mo Zhi would not ept it and continued to berate the boy. Finally, Yao Lili didn¡¯t think twice and whacked her son hard on his bottom. Mo Xicheng bit his lip but did not cry. When this happened, Li Shu had thought that the child was too stubborn and she didn¡¯t like him. After this episode, she identally found the surveince footage and discovered the truth of what had happened. It was Mo Zhi who had taken the toy car to y in the garden. When he left the garden, he had left the toy car there. But Mo Xicheng had seen it and had quietly approached it. He had wiped it carefully and, with the same amount of care, had studied the car intently. He had ced it on the ground and yed with it for a few seconds. Then he had picked it up again and had wiped the wheels. He stood there holding the toy car, looking up once in a while at Mo Zhi, who was in the distance, as though waiting for him toe back for it. Holding the car, he sat in the tall grass and eventually fell asleep. When he woke up, he took the car and walked away. The instant that he handed the toy car back to Mo Zhi, he was smiling with relief. But what followed... It was through that incident that Li Shu had first felt something special for Mo Xicheng. She had suddenly found that she no longer hated or disliked him. Although after much consideration, she still did not rify things for him. These scenes from the past shed before her eyes and it only made Li Shu feel as though there was a sharp knife plunged into her heart, causing a raw pain. It was so painful her tears started to flow. The grievances this child had suffered, the child that was beaten was hers... He was her own son. The pain was so unbearable that she found herself unable to breathe. Tears blurred her vision and she could not see clearly as she stood there. She clenched her fists tightly and had the strongest urge to charge into the ward and strangle Yao Lili to death. But at this point, a nurse passed by. When she saw LIshu, she asked, ¡°Madam, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Li Shu snapped out of her daze at the sound of those words. The two people in the ward also suddenly realized there was someone at the door. Chapter 1430 - He Is My Son… (3)

Chapter 1430: He Is My Son... (3)

Yao Lili reacted first. She froze, exchanged a look with Mo Zhi and then sprang to her feet. Madam. Outside the door. She thought about the conversation she had just been having with Mo Zhi. And that madam standing outside the door could very well be Lishu. It was Lishu. No! How could it be? She quickly dashed over to the doorway. When she turned around, she saw that Mo Zhi¡¯s expression had changed, as though he had suddenly realized something. He got out of bed and walked over to her. Yao Lili had a terrified expression on her face. ¡°What do we do?¡± Mo Zhi was bristling with nasty intentions. Upon hearing this, a look of determination shed past her eyes. It had been more than twenty years since she had switched the babies. Seeing how things had moved along right up till now, they must not allow things to go awry. Hence, Yao Lili nodded. The next moment, she threw open the door. She dashed out of the ward, fully prepared to drag the woman into the room. But... All she saw was the back of a junior nurse, who was just walking away. There was no one else around. Yao Lili was stunned and called out at once, ¡°Nurse! Hang on.¡± The junior nurse turned around, looking surprised. She walked back slowly and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Yao Lili looked at her and asked, ¡°Was there someone outside the door just now?¡± The junior nurse nodded and answered, ¡°Yes, it was ady. But she came the wrong way and I asked her to leave. Don¡¯t worry.¡± This was a premium VIP ward and by right, there shouldn¡¯t be any unwarranted people around. Hence when the nurse said this, Yao Lili frowned and asked further, ¡°What did thatdy look like?¡± The junior nurse paused, tried to recall and then said, ¡°She didn¡¯t look that good.¡± Always cultured and refined, Li Shu had indeed looked malevolent in that instant, it was quite scary. But Yao Lili heaved a sigh of relief at that description. It wasn¡¯t Li Shu. Li Shu was a beautifuldy, and that was the general consensus. So if it wasn¡¯t Li Shu, it was really someone else? At this thought, Yao Lili looked straight ahead and turned around to nce at Mo Zhi. She said, ¡°I¡¯ll go over and take a look.¡± Mo Zhi nodded. Yao Lili walked in that direction to investigate. ¨C In the meantime, Li Shu had hurriedly left the ward and, once she was downstairs, she hurriedly walked to the garden. She looked nervous and stumbled along unsteadily as she walked ahead. Mo Zhi wasn¡¯t her son, Mo Xicheng was her real son. These words echoed in her ears, as though an invisible person was nagging at her. She did not know how she should react to this. Her own son wasn¡¯t a vile and nasty person. Her son was Mo Xicheng, he was the fine and excellent Mo Xicheng. She recalled a time when she had caught Mo Xicheng reading in her study. He had panicked, but she had acted as though she hadn¡¯t seen him and had walked out of the room again. Later on, when the boy saw that she wouldn¡¯t reprimand him, he became bolder. When she went into the room to read, he would also hide quietly in a spot behind the bookshelf to read. It was in these moments that they got along harmoniously. Now tears were flowing freely down her cheeks, like the waters of an unleashed dam. She couldn¡¯t see where she was going, tripped over a rock and fell forward. ¡°Watch out.¡± A familiar voice suddenly spoke. Chapter 1431 - He Is My Son (4)

Chapter 1431: He Is My Son (4)

Following this, arge hand sped around her arm to steady her. Li Shu froze and lifted her head. She saw Mo Xicheng standing in front of her. There was a bandage around his head still. He stood there now, looking rather pale, but eyeing her with an awkward expression of care and concern. She could feel the warmth of his hand around her arm through the thin material of her sleeves, and it felt like the only warmth left in the world. Her eyes filled with tears again and her vision blurred once more. She tried hard to take a good look at Mo Xicheng, but her vision was blurry. She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. Then a tissue appeared before her. She paused and lifted her head. Mo Xicheng, in his hospital gown, was looking back at her. He was thoughtfully holding out a napkin to her. Her lips moved but no words came, as though she had lost her voice. She quickly lowered her head and calmed herself down. Then she used the tissue to dry her eyes. She stared at Mo Xicheng steadily. As she did so, Mo Zhi¡¯s words came to her mind. Very quickly, her tears flowed again. At this point, she heard hasty footsteps behind her and spun around. Li Shu froze and straightened her posture. Then she heard Yao Lili¡¯s voice, ¡°Why are you two here?¡± Li Shu narrowed her eyes and felt her fingers curl tightly. She was shaken out of her emotional state. Although she had just overheard that conversation between the woman and Mo Zhi, as yet there was no proof. If Yao Lili found out that she had overheard the conversation, then both she and Mo Xicheng would be in danger. Because... Yao Lili would not let them go easy. Besides, all this time, she had not interfered with the family¡¯s affairs. Mo Zhi had also been managing the business and had his own faithful supporters. And he had money. To add to this, she couldn¡¯t possibly just take this as the whole truth based on Yao Lili and Mo Zhi¡¯s conversation alone. She could not confront Yao Lili on this matter before she had a strong basis. At this thought, Li Shu¡¯s expression calmed down at once. She looked at Mo Xicheng and gulped. Then she suddenly spoke up, ¡°I¡¯m just having a few words with Mo Xicheng here. What has it got to do with you?¡± Yao Lili paused and probed, ¡°You were talking? Were you both here together... all this time?¡± Li Shu¡¯s became guarded upon hearing these words. Li Shu¡¯s back was to Yao Lili and, in that instant, she saw a puzzled expression shed in Mo Xicheng¡¯s eyes. She immediately said, ¡°That¡¯s right, I was talking to Mo Xicheng here all this time. Why?¡± Yao Lili looked at Mo Xicheng disbelievingly and asked to confirm, ¡°You tell me, were you two talking here all this time?¡± Li Shu¡¯s heart sank. That was it. Mo Xicheng was still unaware of the situation and he would treat Yao Lili like his mother. And if he told the truth... As this thought ran through her mind, she heard Mo Xicheng reply, ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Li Shu was immediately relieved. Yao Lili threw a puzzled look at Mo Xicheng before she said, ¡°Ok.¡± Half-believing and half-doubting, she turned and went away. After the woman left, Li Shu looked at Mo Xicheng and started to say something. But she stopped. The man turned towards her and asked, ¡°Do you... have something to tell me?¡± Chapter 1432 - He Is My Son (5)

Chapter 1432: He Is My Son (5)

Do you have something to tell me? When Li Shu heard this question, she suddenly felt the urge to cry. She tried to suppress the pain she was feeling in her heart and asked after a moment, ¡°Why did you help me? Mo Xicheng paused, suddenly at a loss for an answer. For an odd reason, he thought he saw in Li Shu¡¯s eyes anticipation for his answer. He did not understand this anticipation but still he exined, ¡°I think you have your own reasons for lying, so what¡¯s the matter with you? Is there something wrong?¡± Li Shu¡¯s eyes reddened again as she stared at the young man. She had always known he was a good man, but now she realized that he really was a very good son. He was injured, yet he showed concern for her. Large tear drops formed quickly and rolled down her cheeks. Mo Xicheng was even more puzzled now as he pursed his lips and stared at her. Finally, he sighed and said, ¡°Is this because of my mom again?¡± Li Shu froze at once. The word ¡°mom¡± hit her in an odd way. It gave her a strong urge to embrace him and tell him the truth. But if she told him, would he believe it? Li Shu clenched her fists tightly. She thought of how she had given him the cold shoulder and treated him poorly. She had misunderstood him even though she had asionally helped him. Suddenly, she felt nauseatingly evil in front of this young man. She didn¡¯t deserve to be acknowledged by Mo Xicheng as his mother. Seeing that his words were making Li Shu cry so badly, he started to get nervous. His normally gloomy expression was nowced with slight panic. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Li Shu would not say anything, she merely cried. At this point, Shi Nianyao ran to them hurriedly and eximed, ¡°I just left for the restroom for a bit and told you not to wander. Why did you walk all the way here?¡± Upon hearing this, Mo Xicheng looked up and smiled at Shi Nianyao. He had only sighted Li Shu as a coincidence and, seeing that she didn¡¯t seem to be in a right state of mind, he had followed her and steadied her when she tripped. Shi Nianyao mumbled to herself and then put her hands on his arm to support him. But when she turned and saw the crying Li Shu, she was taken aback. She misunderstood the situation and quickly hid behind Mo Xicheng, whispering, ¡°What¡¯s the matter with Auntie Li Shu?¡± Mo Xicheng looked at the woman and frowned, eventually giving a sigh as he said, ¡°I do apologize this time. I can¡¯t let Mo Zhi off.¡± Li Shu was surprised by his words. She gave Mo Xicheng a puzzled look and suddenly realized what he meant. He thought that she was there to plead, to ask the Shi family to show mercy towards Mo Zhi. Her heart writhed in pain once again. This child... this child. ¡°But on the other hand,¡± she thought, ¡°wasn¡¯t that how she used to be?¡± She had even told him once, ¡°If therees a day that you be a threat to Mo Zhi, don¡¯t me me for taking drastic actions.¡± How coldly had she said those words. And how cruel they seemed now. Suddenly, Li Shu was at a loss for words. She saw Mo Xicheng nodding at her as he prepared to walk away with Shi Nianyao¡¯s help. Li Shu panicked and called out, ¡°Mo Xicheng.¡± The man halted and turned around. Li Shu looked at him and finally said, ¡°Would you... let me have a few strands of your hair?¡± Chapter 1433 - He Is My Son (6)

Chapter 1433: He Is My Son (6)

Mo Xicheng: ...?? He was puzzled. But when he saw Li Shu¡¯s expression, he asked no questions. He reached out, plucked two strands of his hair and handed them to Li Shu. That he had done this unquestioningly, Li Shu felt all the more conscience-stricken. She reached out and took the two strands of hair. Then she looked at him as though she couldn¡¯t bear to leave. This was her son. She had watched him grow up, not knowing that he was her son. She wished she could stand there looking at him forever, to make up for all those times that she had pretended she didn¡¯t see him. Her eyes reddened again, as she said hesitantly, ¡°You¡¯re still recovering from your injuries, you have to rest more. Don¡¯t stay walking around out here, understand?¡± Mo Xicheng was stunned for a moment, but there was a sh of happiness in his eyes as he nodded and said, ¡°You too.¡± Li Shu nodded. Even though she was reluctant, she had to leave. She looked at Mo Xicheng and Shi Nianyao as the two of them walked away. They were whispering sweet nothings to each other. The heartache she felt was almost unbearable. The Mo Xicheng of the past had been such a gloomy person, but now, with Shi Nianyao by his side, he had be much more optimistic and cheerful. Shi Nianyao... was a good girl. Li Shu looked away and shifted her gaze to the few strands of hair. She narrowed her eyes and hurried away. When she reached the parking lot, she instructed the chauffeur to drive her to a private investigationb. She handed Mo Xicheng¡¯s hair, together with her own, to the staff and requested, ¡°I¡¯d like to do a paternity test.¡± The person replied, ¡°Sure.¡± Li Shu asked a little impatiently, ¡°When will the test result be out?¡± The employee said, ¡°Madam, our national DNA test process isplex, so it¡¯s a little slow. We will send your samples overseas to test them, so the shortest possible time for results is a week.¡± Li Shu narrowed her eyes and replied, ¡°Money is not an issue for me, can you get it done faster?¡± Immediately, the employee became more prudent and said, ¡°Ok, we will try our best. At best, we¡¯ll take three days.¡± Li Shu nodded and said, ¡°I want to see the test results in three days.¡± ¨C By the time Li Shu got back to the Mo family home, Mo Hai had already been waiting for her for some time. Looking dejected as she entered the house, Mo Hai enthusiastically weed her home. The dining room was filled with the familiar aroma of home-cooked food. Li Shu paused and looked at theid out dining table. There were three homemade stir-fried dishes and, although all the dishes were vegetarian, it was more than adequate. These were... Mo Hai¡¯s signature dishes. Li Shu was taken by surprise. Suddenly, her mind went back to around twenty years ago, when Mo Hai had pursued her... At the time, Li Shu was an aloof person who did not like the businessman aura that Mo Hai had about him. Hence when Mo Hai began his great pursuit of this woman, she kept rejecting him. The man kept asking her, ¡°Li Shu, what do you find undesirable about me? Just let me know and I will make changes.¡± Harassed to the point that she felt cornered, she could only say, ¡°You can¡¯t cook.¡± Mo Hai: ... He was stumped at that point. Eventually when he saw that Li Shu was giving him the cold shoulder, he rubbed his nose in an embarrassed manner and said, ¡°Ok.¡± Mo Hai disappeared the following three days. Li Shu thought that, finally, she could have some peace. But unexpectedly, three dayster, Mo Hai appeared before her with an insted lunch. Handing it to her, he said, ¡°I¡¯ve learnt to make these three fine gourmet dishes. I¡¯ve brought them for you to have a taste. They are some of your favorite meals.¡± Chapter 1434 - He Is My Son (7)

Chapter 1434: He Is My Son (7)

It would have been a lie to say that Li Shu hadn¡¯t been moved at that time. He was the young master of a wealthy family who had never stepped into a kitchen all his life, but he had gone all the way out to do this for her. Now as Li Shu stared at the food on the dining table, her heart melted. It was her stubbornness, the conflict because of that affair years ago, and her continuous attempts to escape the reality of her life, that had resulted in the issues they were facing today, to the extent that they could fooled about their own child. If she had forgiven Mo Hai at the time, would Mo Zhi have turned out to be like this today? She couldn¡¯t venture a guess. She had spent so little time at home and hadn¡¯t cared much about Mo Xicheng. It seemed like everything boiled down to her. Her eyes reddened again. When Mo Hai noticed this, he got anxious and asked, ¡°Li Shu, are you ok?¡± She bit her lip and nodded. She walked to the dining table and sat down slowly. Mo Hai was ted to see her responding like that. For many years, Li Shu had refused to share a dining table with him. Now that she was sitting opposite him, did it mean that he had managed to reach her heart? He rubbed his hands together, walked over nervously and took the seat opposite hers. He picked up some food to fill her bowl and said, ¡°Here, try this.¡± Li Shu lowered her head and took a bite. Because she was feeling too moody, she could not eat more after a few bites. She ced her chopsticks down on the table and lifted her head. She noticed Mo Hai¡¯s nervous and worried expression as he looked at her intently. Her heart softened at once. She looked at Mo Hai and sighed softly after a short while. Then she continued, ¡°Mo Hai, it¡¯s been so many years, I want to hear the truth from you.¡± Like a child who had done something wrong, Mo Hai nodded. He most willingly provided the avenue for her to express her feelings and said, ¡°Ask me anything I¡¯ll answer any questions you ask. I¡¯ll tell you everything.¡± Li Shu¡¯s eyes teared up at these words. She started, ¡°At the time, did you have feelings for Yao Lili?¡± Mo Hai immediately shook his head and replied, ¡°No, I really did not. I was drunk and someone pushed her on me. And because she bore a slight resemnce to you, I- I couldn¡¯t control myself. I didn¡¯t expect that she¡¯d get pregnant from that one night. And on top of that, she didn¡¯t tell me she was pregnant. Eventually she just came to you with that big belly. Li Shu, I swear, I know that before I turned twenty, I was a casanova and it saddened you. But ever since I made that promise to spend the rest of my life with you, and right up till now, only you were in my heart.¡± After hearing him exin this anxiously, she suddenly felt relieved. Many years had passed since the incident and really, why should she still take that to heart? She lowered her head and felt the urge to tell Mo Hai something. But then she thought again that she should just wait three more days. Three dayster, if the test results were as she thought, then she would let Mo Hai know. In the absence of proof right now, given his personality, it may alert Yao Lili and Mo Zhi if she told him. She lowered her head at the thought of this and swallowed her words. Time flew by. Three days passed quickly. Early that morning, Li Shu went to the private investigationb and got the test results. The moment she opened the report and read it, she started to tear up. Chapter 1435 - He Is My Son (8)

Chapter 1435: He Is My Son (8)

It was clearly indicated in the report that she and Mo Xicheng were biologically mother and son. Biologically mother and son. She clenched her fists tightly. She couldn¡¯t wait to go to the hospital with those results. All she wanted right now was to embrace Mo Xicheng and tell him that she was his mother. Without a second thought, she quickly got into her car and drove to the hospital. After she parked in the parking lot, she went to his ward. However, when she arrived at Mo Xicheng¡¯s ward, she found that the man was gone. The nurse exined, ¡°Mr. Mo is not the usual patient after all. The doctor felt that even if he stayed, it would just be for doing checkups, so he might as well rest at home. He just needs toe here to get tested. For this reason, Mr. Mo has been discharged.¡± Li Shu paused with surprise and quickly said, ¡°You just let him go because he wanted to? This is really irresponsible of the hospital. Aren¡¯t his injuries very serious?¡± The nurse nodded, somewhat embarrassed. ¡°But if he insists on being discharged, we can¡¯t stop him.¡± Li Shu took in a deep breath and nodded. She lowered her head and looked at the thermos. Inside was some chicken soup that she had taken the pains to boil for a few hours. She had prepared it for Mo Xicheng. But now... She sighed. Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly halted and turned back to look at the nurse, asking, ¡°What about Mo Zhi?¡± The nurse informed, ¡°Mr. Mo Zhi is still in the hospital.¡± The woman nodded and slowly walked to Mo Zhi¡¯s ward with the food container. Although Mo Zhi wasn¡¯t her real son, she had raised him for many years. Even though she knew she hadn¡¯t been a good mother, she would always think of Mo Zhi when she wasn¡¯t home, wondering how he was doing. Besides, ever since she had found out about Mo Zhi and Yao Lili¡¯s rtionship, she had started to feel an internal conflict. Her feelings towards Mo Zhi now wereplex and slightly troubled. In that instant, she couldn¡¯t help herself from walking towards his ward. She took a few more steps and found herself outside Mo Zhi¡¯s ward. Through the small ss pane, she could see Yao Lili in the room taking care of Mo Zhi. Li Shu froze and, in a sh, hid herself behind the room door. She pressed an ear up against the door, trying to hear the conversation inside. The swellings on Mo Zhi¡¯s body had subsided by now. He was sitting with one leg crossed over the other, eating fruits. As he ate, he spoke to Yao Lili, ¡°Mom, look, that old woman Li Shu hasn¡¯te to visit me for a few days. Is she angry for real? Or does she suspect something?¡± Yao Lili replied as she peeled an apple for him, ¡°It¡¯s probably not that she knows something, but rather that she¡¯s just being angry at you. Let me tell you one thing. Li Shu has a strong personality and values justice. She acts really prim and proper so she likely doesn¡¯t agree with our way of doing things. But so what? Ha, she still got yed by us.¡± Mo Zhi twitched his mouth upon hearing this. ¡°Why do I get the feeling that she¡¯s not the one being yed out by us, but the other way round? If it weren¡¯t for her, how would Mo Xicheng have ended up with 20 percent of thepany shares? Mo Hai holds 40 percent and I hold the other 40 percent. He even made Mo Xicheng the CEO. No matter which way I look at it, it looks like he¡¯s taking what belongs to me.¡± Chapter 1436 - He Is My Son (9)

Chapter 1436: He Is My Son (9)

Li Shu immediately squinted when she heard this. Yao Lili continued, ¡°Ok, don¡¯t overthink it. I¡¯m telling you Mo Xicheng will not take away what belongs to you. I¡¯ll think of a way to get back your 20 percent of the shares.¡± Mo Zhi instantly perked up and asked, ¡°How will you do that?¡± Yao Lili smirked and said, ¡°I¡¯m his mother. If I asked him to return the shares to you, would he dare disobey?¡± Mo Zhiughed icily and said, ¡°If he were so obedient with you, he would not have epted the shares.¡± Yao Lili was stumped for a moment before she reassured him, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Mo Zhi, mom will settle this matter for you. Our country values filial piety. If he doesn¡¯t return it to you, I¡¯ll create a big scene, and we¡¯ll see if he gives in then.¡± Mo Zhi prodded her further. ¡°And if he doesn¡¯t?¡± Yao Lili thought for a moment and replied, ¡°I¡¯ve got it all nned. If he really doesn¡¯t return it and it reaches a point of no return, I¡¯ll go to the press and tell them how he took them from you and that will ruin his reputation. Isn¡¯t he trying to grow his career in the entertainment industry? So reputation is important to him. As his mother, if I sully his reputation... Ha, how many celebrities were doomed because of a bad reputation?¡± Mo Zhi¡¯s eyes lit up when he heard this and eximed, ¡°This is a great idea! Since he took my shares. He wishes to be Best Actor? Well, I won¡¯t let him get his way! That¡¯s what we¡¯ll do.¡± Yao Lili nced at him and said, ¡°It¡¯s easy for you to give things a little push within the entertainment circle. The n I mentioned is ast resort, we shouldn¡¯t go that way as much as we can help it. You have to know that it¡¯s a path of no return.¡± Mo Zhi twitched his mouth and nodded. At the same time, he gave her a piercing look and said, ¡°Mom, after so many years in the business, I¡¯ve got a decent group of people that support me.¡± Yao Lili was delighted to hear this and asked at once, ¡°Really?¡± Mo Zhi nodded but did not borate. Listening to this just outside the door, Li Shu¡¯s expression darkened with anger. She had not expected that Yao Lili would treat her son like that. Indeed, Mo Xicheng would be doomed if she ruined his reputation. She must not let Yao Lili do this. At this thought, Li Shu quietly stepped back from the door. She walked away from the ward and went to the parking lot. At once she picked up her cell phone. Without thinking twice, she called Mo Xicheng. The phone rang a few times before it was picked up. ¡°Hello.¡± Mo Xicheng¡¯s voice came from the other end of the line. Upon hearing his deep and low voice, Li Shu had the urge to cry again. She choked back for a while and couldn¡¯t help herself from saying, ¡°Why did you ask to get discharged? Your injuries are still healing, how are you feeling?¡± Mo Xicheng was slightly taken aback, mostly because he had not expected her to be so concerned about him all of a sudden. Hence, he paused for five seconds before he said, ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± At once, there was a silence on the line. Li Shu was not sure how to break the truth to him. And Mo Xicheng waited quietly for her to speak. After a while, Li Shu finally said, ¡°Where are you now? I¡¯lle by to look for you.¡± ¡°Is there any problem?¡± ¡°Yes, there is something I need to tell you in person.¡± Chapter 1437 - He Is My Son (10)

Chapter 1437: He Is My Son (10)

Mo Xicheng was surprised. After a moment, he told her his address and said, ¡°Come over then.¡± After hanging up, Li Shu drove towards Mo Xicheng¡¯s home. It was rush hour in Beijing and the roads were terribly jammed. There seemed to have been an ident ahead and the traffic was not moving at all. In her boredom, Li Shu turned to look around and suddenly spotted a mother and child on the sidewalk. The boy was throwing a tantrum, asking to buy a toy, and the mother wouldn¡¯t agree. In the argument, the boy sat down on the ground kicking and shouting at his mother. ¡°Mom, I don¡¯t love you anymore! I hate you the most, Mom!¡± When Li Shu saw this, she was stunned. As she stared at the crying boy, she suddenly remembered the young Mo Xicheng. She thought about how, time and again, she had told Mo Xicheng to let Mo Zhi have everything. She had often told the boy that he did not belong to the Mo family, and that the Mo family belonged to Mo Zhi. Hence, there had always been a distance between Mo Xicheng and her. She was sure that Mo Xicheng detested her. Given how much he would have hated her, like this boy on the sidewalk, would Mo Xicheng want to acknowledge her as his mother, even if she approached Mo Xicheng with the DNA test? Li Shu hesitated. As she sat there in a daze, the car behind hers honked. In a sh, she snapped back to the present and realized that the car in front of hers had moved away and she was still in the middle of the road. She quickly moved the car forward. But at the same time, a sense of fear took root somewhere deep in her heart. She suddenly felt homesick. If Mo Xicheng would not acknowledge her, what would she do then? And if Mo Xicheng hated her, what would she do? She thought about all the things she had done in the past and felt guilt-stricken. How was she going to even face the man? At this thought, she suddenly felt a gloom wash over her. Tensing her chin, she fixed her gaze on the road ahead. After a moment, she took a deep breath and took a turn. She stopped, sitting in the driver seat. Staring straight ahead, she looked terribly lost and wasn¡¯t sure what to do next. At this point, her cell phone rang. She nced at the screen. It was her sister Li Hua. Li Shu paused for a moment before she picked up the line. She heard Li Hua¡¯s voice, ¡°Where are you? Do you want to go for a facial treatment?¡± Feeling troubled and restless, Li Shu agreed and said, ¡°Ok.¡± She hung up, started the car and drove to the beauty salon where Li Hua was. Li Hua was three years older than Li Sho and was a soft-spoken woman. She understood what life had been like for her younger sister all these years. She had always advised her sister to ept the situation and move on, but Li Shu would not heed her advice. When she spotted Li Shu, she approached the woman and was about to speak when Li Shu suddenly said, ¡°Sis, life has yed such a big joke on me.¡± Li Hua paused and asked, ¡°What happened?¡± Li Shu spoke slowly, ¡°Mo Xicheng is my real son, Mo Zhi is Yao Lili¡¯s son.¡± Li Hua was immediately stunned upon hearing this. She gave Li Shu a look of disbelief and asked, ¡°What did you say?¡± Li Shu sighed deeply before repeating, ¡°I said, Mo Xicheng is my real son. This is the DNA test.¡± Having said this, she held the report out to Li Hua. Chapter 1438 - He Is My Son (11)

Chapter 1438: He Is My Son (11)

When Li Hua saw the test results, she was stunned. She gulped and looked at Li Shu in disbelief, saying, ¡°What- what happened? Was it an ident?¡± But even she felt it sounded like a ridiculous exnation after saying it out loud. ¡°How would that be possible? There was once an incident where a couple took the wrong child, so the hospital started to use irremovable tags on the babies the minute they are born. And these tags are removed only when the mother and child are discharged, so they can¡¯t make such a blunder.¡± Dejected, Li Shu sat on the sofa and told her sister the truth. As Li Hua listened to the story, her expression darkened. Bam! She eventually mmed the table and said, ¡°Yao Lili has overstepped the line!¡± She pointed at Li Shu and berated the woman, ¡°I¡¯ve always told you to keep her in check but you would say things like ¡®it wasn¡¯t a one person¡¯s mistake,¡±they were both at fault,¡±why make things difficult for another woman?¡¯ But now, see what a monster she has turned out to be! No, that¡¯s aplete insult to monsters. She¡¯s worse than a monster! They were just babies, how could she do that?¡± Then, as though she had suddenly thought of something, she sat up straight. Li Hua frowned and said, ¡°Eh, there was something that I¡¯d never really understood but now I finally do. You didn¡¯t know that because I¡¯ve never told you.¡± Li Shu paused and asked, ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Li Hua continued, ¡°Weren¡¯t you always away from home traveling when Mo Zhi was little? So I¡¯d drop by to see him sometimes. Once when I was there, I saw Yao Lili. Since I was angry with her, I wanted to teach her a lesson, but guess what I saw?¡± Li Shu was curious. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I heard her scolding Mo Xicheng. She was rebuking him, calling him a bastard and a cheap person. She was even hitting him with a ruler. At the time, Mo Xicheng was only two years old. I didn¡¯t understand why she was calling her own son a bastard. Now I finally understand.¡± Li Shu turned pale at what she heard. Looking at her sister, Li Hua hesitated and continued, ¡°And the year Mo Zhi turned one, I went to visit him one time. I saw that Mo Xicheng had not started walking at that time. Yao Lili had left him in the courtyard. It was a hot day and he was crawling. His body was wet with sweat and there were heat rashes all over his arms. But I think he was hungry so he was crying, calling out for milk. Eventually, Yao Lili came out and pped him a few times. She pushed a bottle of milk towards him in the end. But that milk, the moment Mo Xicheng took a sip, he spat it out and said it was hot. Yao Lili gave him a few more ps and forced it down his throat. He was crying as he drank. Seriously, I couldn¡¯t even stand watching it, but thinking she was a mistress, I minded my own business. Li Shu... stop- stop crying¡± How could she not cry? She had never known that her own son had lived such a pitiful life from such a young age. She sprang onto her feet. Li Hua was taken aback and asked, ¡°What are you going to do?¡± Li Shu had a determined expression on her face as she stared straight ahead. ¡°Sis, in the past I used to think that affairs like these weren¡¯t entirely the mistress¡¯ fault. I didn¡¯t want to use her.¡± ¡°And now?¡± Li Hua asked. Li Shu¡¯s eyes burned with fury as she stared straight ahead. ¡°Now, whatever pain she has caused Mo Xicheng, I will repay her ten times over.¡± Chapter 1439 - He is My Son (12)

Chapter 1439: He is My Son (12)

Hearing her words, Li Hua was also furious. ¡°Yes, this woman, how dare she treat my nephew like this? Poor Mo Xicheng. He was treated as the illegitimate child since young and when he grew up, he always stayed in the shadows. It¡¯s really so pitiful! And that Yao Lili is the most detestable, she seriously went overboard.¡± Li Shu¡¯s eyes were red as she clenched her fist tightly. These were just the things that they had usually seen, and Mo Xicheng¡¯s life was already so pitiful. There were still things that they had notpletely seen. Ever since young, her son had grown up in such an environment. Li Shu furrowed her brows and said, ¡°I want her to pay.¡± Li Hua was stunned as she replied, ¡°Li Shu, what are you nning to do? I¡¯m warning you, no matter what you do, you¡¯re not allowed to do anything illegal. I won¡¯t allow you to cause trouble! Now the most important thing is to return Mo Xicheng everything that was originally his.¡± Li Shu nodded. ¡°I know. But there¡¯s something you don¡¯t know. Mo Hai transferred 30 percent of thepany¡¯s share to Mo Zhi.¡± Li Hua was surprised. ¡°What? How is that possible?¡± Mo Zhi was still so young. Mo Hai must have been mad to transfer the shares to him. Li Shu bit her lip as she replied, ¡°The year Mo Zhi turned 25, Mo Hai gave him the shares in front of me and he promised to give him all the shares of thepany when he turned 30. He did that to set my mind at ease and to make me happy.¡± Mo Hai had indeed been very good to her. The colder she was to him, the more he tried to appease her. For the sake of changing her mind, he had done a lot of things. He knew that she minded Yao Lili and didn¡¯t like Mo Xicheng. Thus, he chased both of them away and, ever since Mo Xicheng had started earning money on his own, he had never given Mo Xicheng a single cent. Li Shu took a deep breath and said, ¡°Sister, I have decided it. I know that I¡¯m indebted to Mo Xicheng and he might not forgive me in his whole life, but I must give him everything that belongs to him, not a cent less.¡± Li Hua frowned and asked, ¡°So?¡± Li Shu looked ahead and replied, ¡°So we have to keep this secret now.¡± Li Hua was shocked. ¡°What?¡± Li Shu clenched her jaw and said, ¡°If I make this public, Mo Zhi could totally leave with 30 percent of thepany¡¯s shares, but I don¡¯t want to give him even a single cent. I need toe up with a way for him to return the shares that he has. Also...¡± Li Hua asked, ¡°Also what?¡± Li Shu sighed. ¡°In order to prevent thepany shareholders from thinking that Mo Xicheng had the right to inherit thepany, I once sent people into thepany to spread rumors that Mo Xicheng had grown up in a worse environment than Mo Zhi, and that his performance would obviously be worser that Mo Zhi¡¯s. I even spread that his birth, qualifications, and performance in school were bad. Do you know? This child was able to control his scores to achieve exactly 60/100. You know that it isn¡¯t hard to get high marks, but the difficult part was to achieve exactly 60 for all his subjects. This aside, everyone in thepany now thinks that Mo Xicheng is a bumpkin and, even if I reveal his identity now and he takes over and leads thepany, no one would be willing to obey him. There may be even people under Mo Zhi who would cause trouble. So I want Mo Xicheng to have a stable position in thepany before revealing the truth.¡± Chapter 1440 - He is My Son (13)

Chapter 1440: He is My Son (13)

After Li Hua heard that, she nodded and said, ¡°Ok, if you need my help, feel free to ask. But for now, what about you and Mo Xicheng? Are you going to be open with him? And for Mo Hai, are you going to tell him the truth?¡± Li Shu lowered her eyes. ¡°As for Mo Xicheng, I don¡¯t know how to tell him. Sister, did you know? Maybe it was because we are rted by blood, but I have watched him grow up and, although I thought that he was Yao Lili¡¯s son, I just never could hate him. Although I did say unkind words sometimes, never would I have thought that this kid was actually mine. I have witnessed his abilities and watched him grow. Now I¡¯m really happy that my son is so capable, but I really don¡¯t know how to tell him about it.¡± Li Hua sighed and said, ¡°I understand you. You have been suppressing him since young, and you made him give in to Mo Zhi. But Li Shu, it¡¯s not toote to salvage the situation.¡± Lishu nodded. Li Hua spoke again, ¡°Then do you want to drink now?¡± ¡°No, thanks.¡± Li Shu just stood up and walked out. ¡°I came here just to chat with you and now that I feel better after talking to you, I want to go take a look at Mo Xicheng. I wonder if he¡¯s getting better.¡± Li Hua nodded and replied. ¡°Ok then, you should go ahead. You should talk to that kid properly. I believe that he is a sensible kid, he will definitely understand and empathize with you.¡± Lishu lowered her eyes and nodded. ¡°I hope so too.¡± ¨C Ever since Li Shu had called saying that she wanted to visit Mo Xicheng, Mo Xicheng had been waiting at home. However, after two hours, Li Shu hadn¡¯t arrived. Mo Xicheng couldn¡¯t help lowering his head and looking at his phone. Just at that moment, the doorbell rang. He stood up, walked up to the door and opened the door personally. He had originally thought that the person standing outside would be Li Shu, but little did he know that a small and active figure would suddenly rush in. ¡°Mo Xicheng, how are you feeling today?¡± Mo Xicheng was slightly stunned. He then realized that the person in front of him was Shi Nianyao. He raised his brow and spoke, ¡°So it¡¯s you!¡± Shi Nianyao immediately stood still on the spot and looked at him. ¡°Who did you think it was then? Do you not wee me?¡± Mo Xicheng: ... Mo Xichengughed resignedly and then closed the door. He saw Shi Nianyao take out many lunch boxes from the bag in her hand. She opened them one by one and ced them on the table as she said, ¡°You need to heal up faster by drinking more pig trotter¡¯s soup. It¡¯s good to heal blood loss.¡± Mo Xicheng: ... Mo Xichengughed and touched Shi Nianyao¡¯s head before sitting down at the dinner table. When they finished the food, the doorbell rang again. Shi Nianyao hurriedly jumped up and said, ¡°I want to go and see who the person you¡¯re waiting for. Hmpf, if it¡¯s a woman, I might not forgive you!¡± She ran over and after she opened the door, she saw Li Shu. Shi Nianyao was stunned and asked, ¡°Aunt Li Shu? What brings you here?¡± Li Shu lifted the thermos in her hands and said, ¡°There¡¯s chicken soup inside, I brought it for Mo Xicheng.¡± Her sentence stunned Shi Nianyao and Mo Xicheng. Shi Nianyao made way for Lishu and she entered the house. She ced the soup on the coffee table and her gazended on Mo Xicheng¡¯s forehead. At that instant, all three of them stood there in silence. No one spoke and the room was in an awkward silence. Chapter 1441 - He is My Son (14)

Chapter 1441: He is My Son (14)

After a while, Shi Nianyao was the one who broke the silence. ¡°Aunt Li Shu, may I know what you came for?¡± Li Shu stood on the spot, only recovering after hearing her words. She stared at Mo Xicheng calmly. As she looked at thisrge and tall man, she suddenly saw instances of him at different ages. The time he was born and had a small carrot head, the time he entered junior high school and went through a depression, the time he got rebellious in senior high school... And then, the time he actually graduated with a really high degree, but had ended up being an actor. Li Shu puckered her lips and saw Mo Xicheng staring at her in confusion. She then spoke, ¡°You- Do you have something to tell me?¡± When Li Shu heard this, her eyes immediately sparkled. She looked at Mo Xicheng and then said, ¡°Do- do you me me?¡± me her? Mo Xicheng didn¡¯t understand her words, so he continued staring at her for a long time. She had called him so formally and then had suddenlye over. And it had just been to say this? Although he didn¡¯t understand why, when Mo Xicheng looked at Li Shu like that, he felt that he could see the depths of her heart through her eyes. He suddenly shook his head and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t me you.¡± Li Shu¡¯s eyes lit up as she asked, ¡°Really?¡± Mo Xichengughed. ¡°Yes.¡± Li Shu bit her lips and stared at him with all her might. She tried to tell if he was telling the truth from his expressions. Then, her heart was instantly reassured. He didn¡¯t me her. That sentence felt like the most wonderful one in the world. Li Shu¡¯s eyes slightly reddened. She instantly lowered her head and ced the chicken soup in her hands on the table. ¡°I- I have a lot to say to you today.¡± After she said that, she heard Shi Nianyao speak, ¡°You can talk. I¡¯ll go upstairs to y on myputer for a while.¡± Just as she was about to go upstairs, Li Shu stopped her and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to go.¡± Shi Nianyao stopped in her tracks and turned back to look at Mo Xicheng. Mo Xicheng pointed at the sofa and said, ¡°Ok, let¡¯s sit down first.¡± Li Shu nodded. She wanted to ask Mo Xicheng to drink the soup, but she suddenly saw the half-eaten food on the table. Thus, she decided not to ask him to drink soup and the three of them sat on the sofa. Li Shu first looked at Shi Nianyao and said, ¡°Nianyao said that you got your marriage certificate. Is this true?¡± Mo Xicheng nodded and said, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s true.¡± Li Shu lowered her lids and asked, ¡°Does the Shi family know?¡± Mo Xicheng shook his head and said, ¡°We haven¡¯t told them yet.¡± Li Shu was stunned. ¡°Why?¡± Mo Xichengughed and kept quiet. But the meaning in his words was really obvious. It was because Yao Lili didn¡¯t agree and the Mo family didn¡¯t agree. How could they get together? Li Shu furrowed her brows and said, ¡°You¡¯re from the Mo family. What do you think if I go and propose your marriage to Si Jingyu for you?¡± Mo Xicheng was stunned. ¡°You?¡± Li Shu had all along been an honest and upright person. Ever since he had decided to date Shi Nianyao, she had been the only person who hadn¡¯t disagreed. The only request she had voiced out was that she hoped Mo Xicheng wouldn¡¯t fight with Mo Zhi for the assets of the Mo family. But Mo Xicheng would have never thought that Li Shu would be willing to help him propose his marriage to the Shi family. Wasn¡¯t that something his parents should do? He turned his head and nced at Shi Nianyao. He saw surprise in the eyes of Shi Nianyao. Then, Mo Xicheng shook his head. ¡°It is alright. Thank you very much, but I can settle this issue myself. Do you have anything else to say?¡± Chapter 1442 - He is My Son (15)

Chapter 1442: He is My Son (15)

Li Shu felt a surge of sourness as she saw how courteous and cautious Mo Xicheng was. ¡°Mo Xicheng, I sincerely want to help you, I¡ª¡± Mo Xicheng shook his head and said, ¡°It¡¯s really ok. If you go and propose the marriage, Mo Zhi would resent you more.¡± Li Shu suddenly understood why. It turned out that the reason Mo Xicheng didn¡¯t want her help was not that he didn¡¯t trust her. It was because he was worried Mo Zhi would be angry with her. It was true, though. Ever since she had asked Mo Hai to give some of thepany shares to Mo Xicheng, Mo Zhi hadn¡¯t been happy with her. Even though she had then done it for Mo Zhi¡¯s sake, Mo Zhi wasn¡¯t able to understand her. Compared to the man in front of her, he had always seen through and understood everything. Li Shu took in a deep breath and said, ¡°Actually, my reason foring today is because I have something to tell you.¡± Mo Xicheng nodded and said, ¡°Please speak.¡± Li Shu lowered her head and said, ¡°Do you remember that I asked you for two strands of your hair that day?¡± Mo Xicheng was slightly confused, but he nodded his. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Mo Xicheng, do you know? I¡¯m the one that is your¡ª¡± Before she could finish saying ¡°mother,¡± the doorbell rang again. It cut off Li Shu¡¯s words immediately. Both Mo Xicheng and her turned their heads and they heard the sound of the door opening. Then they saw Yao Lili walk in. When she walked in, she frowned as she said, ¡°Mo Xicheng, where are you?¡± Her voice carried thick disgust and arrogance. However, the moment she walked in and saw the three people who were sitting in the living room, she was instantly stunned. Her gazended on Li Shu and she asked, ¡°Why are you here?¡± Li Shu hid her agitated expressions instantly and directly stood up to stare at Yao Lili. Ever since she had heard from Li Hua about how Yao Lili had bullied Mo Xicheng, who had only been one year old, she had so much resentment against Yao Lili. Thus after hearing Yao Lili¡¯s question, she immediately spoke with unfriendliness. ¡°You were already in the hospital to visit my son, why can¡¯t I be here?¡± Her reply directly put Yao Lili at a loss for words. She stared at Li Shu, opened her mouth and slowly said, ¡°Why are you here?¡± Li Shu lowered her eyelids and retorted, ¡°Do I have to report to you where I go?¡± Yao Lili was instantly shocked, she remained silent. She stared at Li Shu in disbelief. She was usually someone who was peaceful and didn¡¯t look for trouble, but why was she so fierce suddenly? Just as Yao Lili was deep in thought, she heard Li Shu speak, ¡°What did youe here for?¡± Yao Lili hade, of course, for the sake of the Mo family¡¯s shares. There was a share transfer contract in her bag. She wanted to force Mo Xicheng to transfer all the shares in his hands to Mo Zhi. After she heard Li Shu¡¯s question, she hurriedly lowered her head and took out the contract from her bag. Then she pitifully spoked to Li Shu, ¡°Madan, I know that I was the one who did you wrong. Mo Xicheng also did Mo Zhi wrong. We cannot ept the shares of the Mo family. I¡¯ll make Mo Xicheng transfer all the shares under his name to Mo Zhi.¡± After she said so, she took out the contract and passed it to Mo Xicheng. ¡°Sign it now! Mo Xicheng, do you have a conscience? You know that the Mo family has been very nice to ask. I have no ability and don¡¯t know how to earn money. All the money I used to raise you was from the Mo Family. How can you have the heart to attack Mo Zhi now? You cannot be an ungrateful person!¡± Chapter 1443 - He is My Son (16)

Chapter 1443: He is My Son (16)

After saying that, she walked in front of Madam Mo and passed him a pen. She pointed at Li Shu and said, ¡°Do you know? I have been indebted to Madam for my whole life. She¡¯s a good woman. She has always been really good to you. She¡¯s already really kind and benevolent for not kicking us out. I¡¯ve always felt indebted to her, so how can we betray her and let her down?¡± ¡°You cannot take a single cent from the Mo family.¡± After saying her resolute words, she looked at Mo Xicheng. She knew that Mo Xicheng had a special gratitude to Li Shu. Now that she was saying this to him in front of Li Shu, there was a high possibility that Mo Xicheng would not reject her. Indeed, Mo Xicheng frowned. Ever since the incident with Mo Zhi, Mo Xicheng¡¯s heart had been significantly stronger and determined. He had refused to pick up Yao Lili¡¯s call and thus, her efforts of trying to convince him had never seeded. That moment was her only chance. Yao Lili wanted to put in more effort to convince him, however, when she was about to speak, Li Shu suddenly spoke, ¡°I know that you have always felt indebted to me. You have always stooped down in my presence.¡± Her words stunned Yao Lili. Yao Lili turned her head to look at her with confusion. Li Shu¡¯s words were extremelyplex. It was as if she had spilled a bottle of seasoning. She stared at Yao Lili and wanted badly to tear her fake mask off. Her stare instantly made Yao Lili really happy. She thought that for once, Li Shu was going to work with her. That she was also going to make a lot of effort for Mo Zhi¡¯s sake. Hence, Yao Lili immediately lowered her head and her eyes reddened as she acted. ¡°Yes, Madam, I have done you wrong. I know that it has all been my fault. I shouldn¡¯t have given birth to Mo Xicheng then. If I hadn¡¯t, you¡¯d be leading such a blissful life with Mo Hai. I¡¯m in the wrong. If I could return to the past, I would definitely not repeat the same mistake.¡± After she said so, she lowered her head and covered her face as she continued, ¡°So, Mo Xicheng, you have also done Mo Zhi wrong. Your birth has negatively affected Mo Zhi¡¯s life. The more we shouldn¡¯t be taking the Mo family¡¯s shares, you¡ª¡± Before she could finish speaking, she heard Li Shu speak again, ¡°Do you really want me to forgive you?¡± After hearing her words, Yao Lili choked again. She lifted her head up with confusion. However, after seeing the red and swollen eyes of Li Shu, she stammered, ¡°I- I- Yes, Madam, can you forgive me? Is it that you will forgive me if Mo Xicheng signs the contract?¡± Li Shu tightened her chin and stared at Yao Lili. ¡°Do you really really want me to forgive you so badly?¡± Yao Lili nodded. ¡°Yes, I have always felt guilty these years. I¡¯ve always felt sorry for you, but I really love Mo Hai. As long as you¡¯re willing to forgive me, I will do anything for you! I¡ª¡± ¡°Ok.¡± Li Shu directly interrupted her words, walked to the side and took out the thermos she had brought. She opened the thermos. Everyone¡¯s gazesnded on her. They all stared at her, withpletely no idea what she was doing. They saw her open thermos and steaming hot vapor instantly floated out of it. She poured the chicken soup into a bowl and then pointed at the bowl as she said, ¡°If you can finish this bowl of chicken soup, I will forgive you.¡± Shi Nianyao: ...!! Mo Xicheng: ... Yao Lili: ...!!? Yao Lili stared at her in disbelief, confused by her words. Chapter 1444 - He Is My Son (17)

Chapter 1444: He Is My Son (17)

The three people in the room stared at Li Shu, shocked at how things had changed so quickly. Shi Nianyao stood by the side, her gaze shifting from one person to another. Suddenly, she saw the light. Li Shu was out to please her idol so that the Shi family would let Mo Zhi off easy. But her idol wasn¡¯t giving her the opportunity. So was now this her way of cating him? Otherwise, why would she forgive the woman who stole her husband on the condition that she drank chicken soup? This excuse was too obvious. On the other end, Yao Lili also felt that the situation had turned around too quickly. But she was a smart woman. After some thinking, she believed she had it figured out. Li Shu probably hoped that Mo Xicheng would help cover up what Mo Zhi had done to Shi Nianyao. That had to be why she was giving her leeway. What a useless woman! She didn¡¯t know how else to defend her child, so trying to cate others was the only thing she could do to try to save her son. Mo Zhi hadn¡¯t even seeded in taking advantage of Shi Nianyao, like he wanted to, had he? And Shi Nianyao had gotten away unscathed, hadn¡¯t she? All Li Shu needed to do was get down on her knees and plead with Si Jingyu, cry a few times. Yao Lili didn¡¯t believe for a moment that the Shi family would really be ruthless towards Mo Zhi in that case. This woman was simply infuriating. But Li Shu had said that she was going to forgive her? If Li Shu forgave her, wouldn¡¯t that mean that she could then openly be acknowledged? As she contemted this, Li Shu continued, ¡°I know your affections towards Mo Hai are sincere. It¡¯s been so many years and I haven¡¯t been able to let him go. But we are old. Now the three of us are middle-aged and don¡¯t have a lot of time left. Thinking about it, didn¡¯t men in the old days have many wives and concubines too? Drink the soup and I will forgive you. Also, I will let you move into the Mo family home. How about that?¡± Yao Lili¡¯s eyes lit up at once when she heard those words. Move into the Mo family home openly and in broad daylight! The fact was that when Mo Xicheng had been a child, they had been given a small room attached to the Mo family home. At that time, she had yearned longingly for all the luxury that decked the Mo family home. The western-style interior, the huge crystal chandelier in the living room, there was nothing in the house that didn¡¯t attract her. At that time, she had fantasized that one day, she would be able to live in that house as the wife of that household. Even thoughter on Mo Xicheng had made enough money to move them into a little vi that he had bought... Compared to the Mo family home, the difference was still too great. She could never forget the glittering lights of that crystal chandelier at night. It made the house look as though it was daytime. She could also not forget that moment she had heard the housekeepers in the Mo family home greet Madam Li Shu so respectfully. This was why she had worked so hard to position Mo Zhi as the head of the Mo family. Because once Mo Zhi became the head of this household, wouldn¡¯t she, Yao Lili, automatically be thedy of the household? What Li Shu was saying now was that, if she drank this bowl of chicken soup, then she would be able to move into the house of her dreams? She widened her eyes. Had she made this promise because of thepromise that she was hoping to reach with Mo Xicheng? Her gaze fell on the bowl of chicken soup. Without thinking twice, she walked over and picked up the bowl. Raising it to her mouth, she tilted her head back and drank a sip. The boiling hot chicken soup had been poured into a high quality thermos when it had been fresh off the stove. Even though a few hours had passed, it was still scalding hot, especially with thatyer of oil floating above the light stock. Chapter 1445 - He Is My Son (18)

Chapter 1445: He Is My Son (18)

If that soup had been for Mo Xicheng, Li Shu would have removed theyer of oil that was floating on top. But because it was for Yao Lili, she had poured it into the bowl with the rest of the soup. With the oil covering it, no steam wasn¡¯ting out of it, hence the soup looked like it had adequately cooled down. Because Yao Lili¡¯s mind was on other things, she did not think too much before she downed the liquid in a single gulp. The next moment... Her pupils widened and she opened her mouth to spit the soup out. Li Shu spoke in a gentle voice, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Is the soup not to your taste?¡± Yao Lili: ...!! She stared at Li Shu, suddenly not understanding what the woman meant. But spitting the chicken soup out didn¡¯t seem like the right thing to do. She steeled herself and swallowed the scalding soup, feeling the liquid burn her throat. Then she spoke, ¡°No, it was just a little hot.¡± ¡°Hot?¡± Li Shuughed. ¡°Why didn¡¯t I find it hot? Or is that an excuse and you actually don¡¯t want to drink it?¡± Yao Lili was stumped by Li Shu¡¯s remark. Shi Nianyao waspletely baffled as she looked at Li Shu. No one could have known the soup was hot, but just by Yao Lili¡¯s reaction, one could tell it was certainly not cold soup. If Li Shu had wanted to cate Yao Lili and was here to please her idol, she would have never made things difficult for the other woman. But right now, it appeared that Li Shu was doing exactly that. So what exactly was Li Shu driving at? As this thought came to her mind, she watched Li Shu cast her gaze down and say impassively, ¡°Drink this soup and I will allow you to move into the Mo family home. I mean what I say.¡± Tempted yet again, Yao Lili couldn¡¯t stop herself from lowering her head and looking at the chicken soup. Finally, she gritted her teeth, picked up the bowl and drank it. The heat of the soup traveled down her gut, making her feel as though she was burning inside. But she said nothing and drank it all up. After that, she ced the bowl back on the table. Li Shu stared at her and asked, ¡°Was it hot?¡± Yao Lili paused. Li Shu lowered her gaze. If a woman in her fifties could feel the pain from drinking such hot soup, then how would her young son have felt drinking that scalding milk? At this thought, she suddenly felt impatient. She pointed at the thermos and ordered, ¡°Since you look so enthusiastic, there¡¯s more there. Finish it.¡± Yao Lili: ...! Shi Nianyao: ...! Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes as he watched the situation unfold. He knew how hot the soup was, of course. Being Yao Lili¡¯s son, it would have been reasonable for him to intervene at this point. But for some odd reason, he suddenly thought of his childhood. Even though it had been so many years, he could still remember when he was a toddler, the food and drinks that Yao Lili had given him had always been scalding hot. They would burn off ayer of the skin in his mouth. Eventually, he had gotten used to it and it was no big deal. But today, Yao Lili finally got a taste of her own medicine and found out how it felt to be on the receiving end. Mo Xicheng, who had been taking a step forward, suddenly halted at this thought. He looked at Yao Lili, suddenly finding this womanughable. She wanted to move into the Mo family home? The Mo Family home belonged to Li Shu and Mo Hai, what business did she have in it? How could she be moving into the Mo family home? Hence he decided this was none of his business. Chapter 1446 - He Is My Son (19)

Chapter 1446: He Is My Son (19)

Yao Lili looked at therge pot of chicken soup and in her mind, she reyed the horror of the burning sensation from thatst mouthful. She was terrified beyond words. But lifting her head and seeing Lu Shu¡¯s upromising expression, she bit her lip at once. This woman was making things difficult, probably because she didn¡¯t want her to move in. Well, Yao Lili wasn¡¯t going to fall into that trap. At this thought, she picked up the thermos and poured the soup into the bowl. Raising the bowl to her mouth, she downed it in a big gulp. After drinking it, she felt her throat swelling painfully from the burn. But even then, she looked at Li Shu and said, ¡°Here, I¡¯ve finished the soup.¡± Li Shu looked at her with aplex expression. Finished the soup. She had only done this once and she had made it look as though it was a huge deal. Then what about Mo Xicheng, who had grown up doing this? She suddenly recalled how Yao Lili had used toin about the young Mo Xicheng. ¡°This child is a picky eater and doesn¡¯t eat much.¡± ¡°When it¡¯s time to eat, he doesn¡¯t sit quietly and instead makes a fuss. Look at how skinny he is.¡± ¡°This child is really disobedient, not half as well-behaved as Master Mo Zhi. This boy is one mischievous boy.¡± And so on. Onement after another, they were all etched clearly in Li Shu¡¯s mind. She clenched her jaw, feeling as though a knife was plunged and twisted into her heart. Her eyes reddened and she quickly lowered her head, asrge tear drops formed and rolled down her cheeks. She tried hard to curb her emotions but it was impossible. Meanwhile, Mo Xicheng and Shi Nianyao watched,pletely puzzled by this behavior and yet unsure of what to do. Only Yao Lili looked at the woman with a stunned expression. Was this woman going to go back on her word? As soon as this thought struck her, she saw Li Shu lifting her head. The woman looked at her and said, ¡°Alright, once I get home, I will send people over to help you pack. You can move in to stay in my home.¡± Yao Lili¡¯s eyes lit up immediately and was about to nod when Mo Xicheng interrupted and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need for that.¡± Yao Lili froze and snapped her head around, asking, ¡°What did you just say?¡± Mo Xicheng stepped forward, looked at Li Shu steadily and said, ¡°My mom will not move into your home.¡± Mo Hai and Li Shu were a married couple. If Yao Lili were to move in, what about Li Shu? Li Shu was the real victim here. Look at how sadly she was crying now. Lu Shu was a ssy and elegantdy, this was about the only time he had seen her crying in the presence of others. Hence, this moment had to be a rather embarrassing moment for her. For Mo Xicheng, this was like a p in his face. He had never intended to cause Li Shu any harm. He knew that his existence itself was already wrong to begin with. But why would Yao Lili agree with Mo Xicheng? She said sharply, ¡°Mo Xicheng, what are you saying? Stop speaking nonsense!¡± She looked at Li Shu and said, ¡°I¡¯m willing. I¡¯m willing to move into your home. It¡¯s not that I want to vie for Mo Hai with you. He only has you in his heart. I only wish to see him every day and I will be content. I really do love him.¡± She lowered her head after saying these words, disgustingly pretending that her love for Mo Hai was true. Mo Xicheng looked intently at her and said after a pause, ¡°Between the Mo family and I, you can only choose one.¡± Chapter 1447 - He Is My Son (20)

Chapter 1447: He Is My Son (20)

Yao Lili froze upon hearing this. She lifted her head, looking at Mo Xicheng in disbelief. She had not expected him to say this. Between the Mo family and him, she had to make a choice? Even a fool would know what the choice should be. Almost without hesitation, Yao Lili opened her mouth to say, ¡°Mo Xicheng, you¡¯re grown up now and I can no longer interfere with your life. But neither should you interfere with my happiness.¡± Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes and said, ¡°Do you mean then that in the future, we will have nothing to do with each other?¡± Yao Lili clenched her jaws tightly. Of course she knew that the moment she answered affirmatively, Mo Xicheng would disregard her from then onwards and he would be with Shi Nianyao. But was there anyone who could now stop them from being together anyway? The two of them were like one. They might even have already slept together. Hence, what did it matter if she tried to stop them or not?! Conversely, moving into the Mo family home was far more attractive to her. Hence Yao Lili nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s right. Nothing to do with each other. I will no longer interfere in your life and likewise, you won¡¯t interfere with mine.¡± Upon hearing this, Mo Xicheng fell silent. He was thoroughly disappointed with Yao Lili. He was an adult, he had his own opinions too. Yao Lili was obviously Mo Hai¡¯s mistress and Mo Hai had never felt anything for her. What exactly did she want, hankering after the man like this? Did she not realize that her behavior was really embarrassing and shameful? But at this point, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to say this out loud. He did not speak, but cast his gaze down to hide the disappointment in his eyes. Li Shu nced at Mo Xicheng, looked at Yao Lili and then looked away for a while. Then she said, ¡°Well then, you cane home with me directly.¡± Having said this, she turned and walked out. There was no hurry in revealing her rtionship with Mo Xicheng. The most pressing matter at hand was to take back all of the Mo family¡¯s assets. Yao Lili nodded vigorously at this suggestion. She followed Li Shu without thinking twice. As the two women walked away, Mo Xicheng called out, ¡°Mom.¡± Li Shu suddenly felt her heart waver, but she saw that Yao Lili had halted and turned around. Mo Xicheng made onest struggling attempt and said, ¡°Are you really not going to reconsider?¡± Yao Lili narrowed her eyes and nodded. She said, ¡°I know you have my interest at heart, but I will be truly happy there. Even if your father doesn¡¯t have me in his heart, I¡¯ll be happy so long as I get to see him every day.¡± Mo Xicheng did not understand her perspective on love, but seeing that she wasn¡¯t going to change her mind, he said, ¡°Alright.¡± With that one word, the sorrow in his heart came up against a dead end. Yao Lili hurriedly followed Li Shu as thetter walked away. After Yao Lili and Li Shu had left, Mo Xicheng sat down on the sofa, his mncholic expression carrying the disappointment he felt. Yao Lili was such a selfish woman. Did she realize that by moving into the Mo family, it would mean that if Mo Xicheng¡¯s true identity ever got found out, it would seal his reputation as an illegitimate son. If she lived elsewhere, at least they could im that they had nothing to do with the Mo family. But now... Mo Xicheng smiled bitterly. Oh well, in any case, Yao Lili had never prioritized him. So why take it so seriously now? ¨C The chauffeur drove Li Shu and Yao Lili back to the Mo family home. As the car drove through the main gate, Yao Lili¡¯s eyes lit up with a sh of ecstasy. Chapter 1448 - He Is My Son (21)

Chapter 1448: He Is My Son (21)

Yao Lili looked around and took in the familiar surroundings. A sense of anticipation was already taking roots deep in her heart. She recalled the time when Mo Xicheng had started making money and bought his own house. Then Mo Hai hade up to her and asked her to move out. The disappointment and reluctance to leave... but now, Li Shu was bringing her back here. As these thoughts came to her mind, the car pulled to a stop. Immediately, the main door swung open and Mo Hai rushed out hurriedly. Yao Lili¡¯s eyes lit up. Had Mo Hai found out she wasing back and hade out here to wee her? She quickly opened the car door. Just as she was getting out, she saw Mo Hai open the door of the backseat. He was smiling and speaking to Li Shu softly, ¡°Li Shu, you¡¯re home?¡± His tone was as gentle as one could imagine it to be. When Yao Lili heard it, she was consumed by jealousy. Biting her lip, she got out of the car on her own. She was going to greet Mo Hai, but then saw that the groveling man had turned around and followed Li Shu into the living room. As they walked, he was telling her, ¡°I¡¯ve asked the kitchen to prepare light dishes today. I know you like vegetarian food, so I¡¯ve asked them not to make anything non-vegetarian. There are a few stir-fried vegetable dishes that you like. Take a look and see if it suits your taste.¡± Li Shu did not speak, but she walked ahead like an empress. Meanwhile, Mo Hai didn¡¯t even feel the least bit embarrassed and continued to follow her. They walked into the living room. All this time, no one even turned around to speak with Yao Lili, and the woman was left standing outside. The housekeepers and bodyguards in the house threw her strange looks, making her feel like she had nowhere to hide her shame. She lowered her head and gave a light cough. SHe then lifted her chin again and walked into the living room. When she walked into the living room, she realized that Li Shu and Mo Hai had already gone to the dining room. Mo Hai was going through the menu with her, saying, ¡°Look at these vegetables, aren¡¯t they fresh? I tell you, I specially started a small vegetable area in the garden. I nted this vegetable myself!¡± Yao Lili frowned and cleared her throat. The sound caused Mo Hai to halt in surprise. He spun his head around. When he saw Yao Lili, he immediately eximed in surprise, ¡°What are you doing here?!¡± Yao Lili: ...!! Had the man not noticed her before this? That was a bit much. Yao Lili bit her lip and felt herself burning with humiliation. But she forced a smile on her face and started, ¡°Mr. Mo, I¡ª¡± Before she could say much, Mo Hai walked up to her and berated her with a frown, ¡°Why? Have you run out of pocket money again? You could have just called and I¡¯d get the secretary to send some. How many times have I told you that this home belongs to Li Shu and I? You are not allowed in here! Get out now!¡± Yao Lili bit her lip as her eyes filled with tears. She started again, ¡°Mr. Mo, I¡ª¡± ¡°What are you talking about? Don¡¯t you understand Chinese? Get out!¡± Mo Hai was really nervous now. After all the time and effort he had spent trying to make up with Li Shu, now this woman hade into their home. Was she trying to be at odds with him? If Li Shu got angry and decided to leave again, then what was he going to do? Mo Hai looked out of the dining room nervously and yelled, ¡°Butler! Where¡¯s the butler? Call for the security and take this woman away!¡± Chapter 1449 - He Is My Son (22)

Chapter 1449: He Is My Son (22)

That remark was like a sharp p to Yao Lili¡¯s face. She stood rooted to the ground, noticing the look of disdain on the man¡¯s face, as though she was gue. She was embarrassed and at the same time angry. She opened her mouth yet again to speak, but Li Shu interrupted, ¡°I asked her toe over.¡± When Mo Hai heard this, his fury and reluctance vanished immediately as he spun around anxiously to look at Li Shu and said, ¡°Li Shu, you were the one who invited her? Is there a reason for this? Why did you ask her toe over to our home?¡± That look of rejection on his face was evident. Yao Lili was livid. Li Shu, in response, only widened her eyes indifferently and said, ¡°I¡¯ve agreed to let her stay here. From now on, I will not interfere with what goes on between the both of you.¡± At this point, she looked at the food on the table and squinted. ¡°I have no appetite tonight,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m not eating. Yao Lili can be your dinnerpanion. Oh, and she likes meat. You might wish to ask the kitchen to prepare some.¡± Having said this, she got onto her feet and headed upstairs without turning back to take a second look. Mo Hai was horrified and quickly followed her, saying, ¡°Li Shu, listen to me. How could you?¡± Before he could finish what he was saying, Li Shu was already in the bedroom and mmed the door shut with a loud bang, leaving Mo Hai standing outside on the corridor. The man almost had his nose hit by the mming door. He rubbed his nose and knocked on the door cautiously, asking, ¡°Li Shu, what¡¯s the matter? Is this because you dislike her? If you dislike her I¡¯ll ask her to go home, is that alright?¡± The door flew open after he said those words. His face lit up as he tried to step into the room, however Li Shu said, ¡°Mo Hai, I¡¯ve promised Mo Xicheng to allow Yao Lili to stay here.¡± Mo Hai misunderstood her words. He had also been at a loss regarding Mo Zhi¡¯s matter. The boy had offended the Shi family and now Mo Hai was a little nervous, wondering when they woulde for their revenge. From what Li Shu was saying, did it mean that Mo Xicheng had agreed to settle the issue with the Shi family so that they would not find trouble with Mo Zhi, and as a result she had to let Yao Lili stay with them? The moment this thought struck, Mo Hai was irritated at once. He was utterly convinced that the woman downstairs was his nemesis. His chest hurt from the anger he was feeling. He had only recently managed to cate Lishu after such a long time, but now things were back at square one. As this thought ran through his mind, Li Shu said, ¡°Treat her well.¡± With another bang, the door was mmed shut again. Quickly following this, he heard her say, ¡°You can sleep in her room tonight.¡± Mo Hai: ... Anger welled up within him. What was this situation now? Was he a male prostitute, having to sleep with that woman to save his own son? In his fury, he headed downstairs. Once downstairs, he saw Yao Lili standing by the dining table. Upon seeing him, the woman smiled at him gently and said, ¡°Mr. Mo, will you have dinner?¡± She took the porridge from the housekeeper, ced it before the man and said, ¡°Hurry and eat some.¡± Mo Hai felt a surge of anger at this point. Without a word, he went up to the dining table and swept the bowl aside in a fury. The bowl flew off the table andnded on the floor with a crash, shattering into bits among the porridge. Then his hand raised and fell mercilessly across Yao Lili¡¯s cheek as he shouted, ¡°Get out!¡± Chapter 1450 - He Is My Son (23)

Chapter 1450: He Is My Son (23)

The sound of the p rang sharp and clear, everyone turned to look. Mo Hai red at Yao Lili furiously, looking as though he was going to eat her alive. Yao Lili looked at him, shocked, and clutched her face with her hands. She hadn¡¯t thought that Mo Hai would actually hit her. She gulped as she felt her cheek burn in pain. She raised her hand to her cheek. She stared at Mo Hai and asked, ¡°Why- why did you hit me?¡± Mo Hai gave her a murderous stare and said, ¡°I warned you when you left to never return again, but you¡¯ve disobeyed!¡± Yao Lili¡¯s eyes reddened and she said with much grievance, ¡°It was Madam who said I coulde home with her. She said she no longer minded and we could all stay together. I¡ª¡± ¡°So just because she said you coulde, you went ahead? You tr*mp! We don¡¯t wee you here, get out!¡± Yao Lili bit her lip as she took these devastating words in. Even though she had known that Mo Hai did not like her and had his heart set on Li Shu, it was still painful to witness with her own eyes the difference in how he treated the both of them. She frowned and lowered her head. ¡°It was Madam who allowed me toe back here. Did she agree with you telling me to leave?¡± At these words, Mo Hai suddenly understood. Indeed. It was Li Shu who had asked her toe to their home. Li Shu would surely be angry if he kicked her out. But having her around... His own difort aside, Li Shu wouldn¡¯t be happy either. Hadn¡¯t she even just declined eating dinner? Mo Hai¡¯s expression darkened at the thought of this. Then he said, ¡°Fine, stay if you wish. We¡¯ll get the butler to prepare a room.¡± After saying this, he walked over to the dining table and looked at the spread. Having lost his appetite, he went upstairs. As Yao Lili stood there, she could hear the people around whispering and pointing at her. She swallowed her anger. Taking in a deep breath, she told herself, ¡°Don¡¯t be impatient, it will be a matter of time until I have a position in the household. One day, I¡¯ll be thedy of the household.¡± ¨C Elsewhere. After Yao Lili and Li Shu left, Shi Nianyao turned to look at Mo Xicheng. She could sense how deste he was. She walked over to him and put her arms around him from behind. He lowered his head and held her hands, which were interlocked in front of his waist. He took a deep breath as Shi Nianyao said, ¡°Don¡¯t fret. I¡¯m here and I¡¯ll never leave you.¡± Mo Xicheng paused at her sensitive remark and the corners of his mouth turned upwards at once. That was right, he had known what Yao Lili was like from the start. What was there to be upset about? At this thought, he pushed all the negativity to the back of his mind. Shi Nianyao added, ¡°My idol, don¡¯t be gloomy. Tell me, what do I need to do to make you happy?¡± Mo Xicheng¡¯s eyes darkened at those words. He did not show that he had already cheered up and suppressed his smile. Then he nced at the woman out of the corner of his eye and said in a crafty and mysterious tone, ¡°Will you do anything?¡± ¡°Uh huh. If it cheers you up, I¡¯ll do anything!¡± Chapter 1451 - He Is My Son (24)

Chapter 1451: He Is My Son (24)

Mo Xicheng turned around and put his arms around her waist. Suddenly, he smiled and said, ¡°Nianyao.¡± ¡°Uh-huh?¡± ¡°Give me a kiss then.¡± Shi Nianyao: ...! She turned red at once. But his request was most innocent and did not imply anything else. Just like a normal remark. Just like a child who had met with some difficulties and stretched his arms out for a hug and a kiss. It was hard to reject and she didn¡¯t have the heart to do so either. Shi Nianyao coughed lightly and said, ¡°This¡ª¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say you¡¯d do anything?¡± Mo Xicheng said with innocence and grievance, making it impossible for Shi Nianyao to decline. Although it wasn¡¯t the first time they exchanged a kiss, asking for one so formally made the girl feel a little shy and embarrassed. Looking at Mo Xicheng with a scarlet face, she cleared her throat and agreed, ¡°Ok.¡± The man¡¯s eyes lit up and he said, ¡°Well,e on then.¡± Shi Nianyao: ... At this point, it was only the two of them in the vi. The atmosphere was suggestive and full of tenderness, causing Shi Nianyao to turn even redder. She could feel her heart pounding. She gulped and blinked as she looked at the man. Then, getting on her tip-toes, she moved closer to him. As Mo Xicheng watched her face moving closer to his, a sense of anticipation grew in his heart. As he thought of how soft her lips were and her light and pleasant scent, he felt slightly yful. But when Shi Nianyao¡¯s lips were about to make contact, she halted. Mo Xicheng: ...?? The girl removed her embrace around Mo Xicheng and took a step back. She wanted to push him away, but hisrge hand tightened around her waist so that she could not escape. Shi Nianyao could only make her best attempt to keep a distance between them. Then she said, ¡°Erm. Shut your eyes.¡± Mo Xicheng: ... The girl said cautiously without making eye contact with him, ¡°I feel shy if you stare at me like this.¡± Mo Xicheng: ... The man sighed helplessly and shook his head with a smile. He said, ¡°Ok, fine.¡± He shut his eyes. Now that he wasn¡¯t looking at her, she wasn¡¯t half as nervous. She took a deep breath and tried to approach him again. As her lips were about to make contact, something seemed toe to mind and she quickly moved away again. She raised her hands, cupped them around her mouth and exhaled, ascertaining that her breath was fresh. Then she rxed. When she looked up and was about to kiss him, she realized that the man was staring at her. Shi Nianyao: ... Ahhhhhhh. Her idol had actually caught her doing that. What now?! Mo Xicheng could barely contain hisughter when he saw her frantic expression. He had detected her scent and had nervously been anticipating that kiss from her. But in the end, he had sensed it disappearing. Hence he had opened his eyes. But when he caught her doing that, he had to control hisughter. When he saw her indignant expression and that she had reached out to move him away so that she could escape, he pushed and drew her into his tight embrace. Chapter 1452 - He Is My Son (25)

Chapter 1452: He Is My Son (25)

She could hear his strong heartbeat and his scent filled her nostrils. He must have just taken his shower because she could smell a hint of the shower gel¡¯s fragrance. It was an uplifting and very pleasant scent. Then she heard her male idol¡¯s voice saying, ¡°Don¡¯t move. Close your eyes.¡± Reflexively, she shut her eyes. The whole house seemed to have fallen silent apart from her own and Mo Xicheng¡¯s heartbeats. She felt him lowering his head and his scent closing in on, enveloping her. Just as she felt breathless, a pair of cool lips pressed against hers. She immediately stopped breathing and felt so nervous that she thought she was going to suffocate. Her hands tightened into fists, scrunching his shirt tail within them. Then Mo Xicheng pulled away... It had only been a light and tentative contact. She sighed in relief, but the next instant, a passionate kiss came down quickly. She automatically extended her arms and circled them around his neck, standing on her tip-toes to respond to the kiss. She leaned into Mo Xicheng, putting all her weight on the man. After a round of wild and passionate kissing, the two were reluctant to let go of each other still, feeling that they just couldn¡¯t get enough of it. Shi Nianyao was shocked by her desire. It was simply... too shameful. Suddenly, his hands unbuttoned her shirt and explored her sensitive bare skin. Her body stiffened. She gulped and felt the man part her lips in a passionate kiss. Then, his lips found their way up to her ears. When he spoke, his warm breath sent electric waves from her ears to her heart. She tried to maintain her sanity to decipher his words. ¡°Nianyao, can we?¡± Could they... could they what? Shi Nianyao widened her eyes in a daze, her mind went nk. She only knew that she was following her body¡¯s desire. And it wanted to get closer to him, much closer. Her legs had no more strength in them and she was leaning fully on him now. Till atst, she couldn¡¯t even remember how she had ended up on the sofa, and how her clothes had been removed. By the time she knew what was going on, she had already been kissed into a great confusion. They were finallypletely naked before each other. Her eyes widened and her vision blurred as she looked at her male idol. His skin wasn¡¯t sickly pale, but rather a golden malt. He had a well-built physique that looked deceivingly thin when clothed. But right now, she could see his defined chest and abs. He halte in thest minute and lowered his head to speak into her ears, ¡°Nianyao, are you prepared?¡± Prepared? From the time she had stolen her household registration booklet to marry him, she had been prepared. She wanted to be her idol¡¯s wife, his woman. And the moment hade for this to be reality. The only response that Shi Nianyao could give was to raise her head and kiss his lips once more. As though he had gotten an answer, Mo Xicheng was suddenly aroused. He was about to press down forcefully with his core when he was stopped instantly by a small pair of gentle hands. He paused and looked up. Shi Nianyao was looking back at him with an odd expression on her face. She said, ¡°I- I- I¡¯m having my period.¡± Chapter 1453 - He Is My Son (26)

Chapter 1453: He Is My Son (26)

Mo Xicheng: ...!! Shi Nianyao wished that there was a hole for her to disappear into. Why? Why did it have to be at this critical moment? Really, the heavens were not helping her. She only wanted to fulfill their duty as a married couple, wasn¡¯t that all? After saying those words, she quickly took a cushion from the sofa and covered her face with it. She felt terribly embarrassed. How was she ever going to face anyone ever again? Sob, sob, sob. What would her idol think? Was he going to get angry? Every time they reached a critical moment, things woulde to a grinding halt. As she fretted over this, she heard her male idol sigh softly. Shi Nianyao lifted the cushion from her face and peeked at him. He was wearing a pained and helpless expression. ¡°Nianyao,¡± he said, ¡°the next time, could you not interrupt me right at the critical moment? If you do this, our future lifelong happiness might worsen.¡± Instantly, Shi Nianyao blushed even more at that remark with a certain connotation. She couldn¡¯t bring herself to face him. Then, the body on top of her suddenly moved away. She did not dare to lift the cushion to look at him and could only lie on the sofa, curled up into a ball. Following this, she felt a hand close around her ankle and her panties were slipped through it. They were drawn upwards slowly, past her calves, and further. She was taken aback. After this, she saw Mo Xicheng put all the clothes that he had removed back on for her, one garment at a time. She sat there gingerly, like a mannequin being manipted by him. The garments that hade off quickly were now being put back on at a much reduced speed. Finally, after Shi Nianyao was fully dressed, Mo Xicheng put his own clothes back on quickly and strode out the front door. Five secondster, there was the sound of a car starting up. Shi Nianyao: ...!! She stared at the doorway in a daze. What? What was going on? Had her idol gone away because he was angry that he had not been satisfied? He had left her all alone in the vi? She was stumped. Her idol was angry? Her idol was truly angry?! She spun her head around restlessly and looked out of the window, hoping to get a clue as to where Mo Xicheng had gone, but the sound of the car engine faded away quickly. She was still in a daze. Ten minutester. She got over her shock. Her male idol was gone, what was she still doing there? Furthermore... He had not recovered from his concussion, it was crazy to just drive away like this. At this thought, she sprang up from the sofa and headed for the door. But just as she was about to step out, she was hit by a wave of throbbing pain in her abdomen. Immediately, she sat back down on the sofa. Every time this time of the month came, she would feel extremely unwell. She had been taking Chinese medicine but it hadn¡¯t worked. The doctor had said this was not umon among women, and it might get better after childbirth. But apart from that, there was nothing much they could do. Shi Nianyao bent down and massaged her belly. Trying to withstand the pain, she stood up again and attempted to leave the house once more. Suddenly, she heard the sound of a car engine. Mo Xicheng... was back? She looked up and saw that the front door swung open. Following this, Mo Xicheng strode in. He was carrying a few ck shopping bags and he came up to Shi Nianyao, holding them out to her. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what brand you normally use, but I¡¯ve bought some of each. Have a look and see which one you like.¡± Chapter 1454 - He Is My Son (27)

Chapter 1454: He Is My Son (27)

Shi Nianyao looked into the bags and saw they were filled with sanitary napkins. Always, Stayfree, and every other brand, for day use, night use, extra protection, and everything she could image. Shi Nianyao: ... She looked up at Mo Xicheng with a grimace and said, ¡°I- I- I¡¯m fine with anything really. I¡¯m not picky.¡± He had bought so many packs, how would she ever use it all up? He likely sensed what she was thinking and said, ¡°Use one for now, and leave the rest here for the future.¡± Leave the rest here for the future? Those words, oddly, warmed her heart. In the past, this vi had only had traces of Mo Xicheng¡¯s daily life and it was obvious that he didn¡¯t have many house guests. But now, she was gradually entering his life and space. In the midst of contemtion, a pair of fingers flicked her forehead. She gave out a soft cry and red fiercely at Mo Xicheng, shouting, ¡°Hey, what¡¯s the deal?!¡± The man pointed at the restroom and said, ¡°Well, aren¡¯t you going?¡± Shi Nianyao immediately snapped out of her daze and sprang up from her seat. Carrying her pack of sanitary napkins with her, she went directly to the washroom. By the time she finished, Mo Xicheng was busy in the kitchen doing something. Standing at the entrance of the restroom, Shi Nianyao could see that Mo Xicheng had an apron around his waist and was slicing up ginger and cing it into a saucepan to boil. She asked him, ¡°What are you doing?¡± She was hoping it wasn¡¯t what she was thinking. Almost immediately he replied, ¡°I¡¯m boiling some ginger sugar water for you, it¡¯s good for your health.¡± She said, ¡°But I don¡¯t like ginger. I feel like throwing up when I smell it.¡± He turned to look at her. Although she was a pampered rich girl, he had realized through the time he had spent with her that she was not the least bit a disagreeable person. At least when it came to food, she had never been picky. Now she was saying she didn¡¯t like ginger. It did seem like she would eat most food except that. He narrowed his eyes at this thought and told her, ¡°Go rx on the sofa for a bit, I¡¯ll find a way for you to eat this.¡± Find a way for her to eat this? She hesitated for a moment, but seeing that the man was so confident, she turned around and returned to the sofa to y on her cell phone. She picked up her cell phone as she nced at the kitchen where Mo Xicheng was still waiting for the water to boil. She unlocked her phone and went into Weibo. Unexpectedly, the first trending topic was ¡°Ambition¡¯s Mo Xicheng.¡± This was the first time in years that Mo Xicheng was in the top spot of trending topics. Shi Nianyao¡¯s eyes lit up at once. In recent times, Ambition had been on the big screen everywhere, propelling Mo Xicheng to poprity. Hence, both the movie and Mo Xicheng were hot topics on the inte. Mo Xicheng¡¯s Weibo had also seen an increase of millions of followers a day, it was shooting through the roof. The movie was generating all sorts of trending topics. As Shi Nianyao looked through the posts, she suddenly saw some negativements: [What¡¯s the big deal? Isn¡¯t it our Chen Junjie who got him all these views?] [Exactly, what is Mo Xicheng? If it weren¡¯t for Chen Junjie, I wouldn¡¯t have watched this movie!! Mo Xicheng¡¯s acting skills are bad to the core.] Chapter 1455 - He Is My Son (28)

Chapter 1455: He Is My Son (28)

[Is the above person blind? It¡¯s clear who has great acting skills and who has rotten acting skills. Idol Mo is definitely my no. 1!] [Sheesh, what¡¯s up with Mo Xicheng? He¡¯s been acting for so many years but never made it big. I bet that even if this movie sold well, he won¡¯t be more popr than Chen Junjie. Hasn¡¯t it been like this all along? Mo Xicheng has been in so many hot films and series, but he¡¯s still a nobody in show business.] [Exactly, that piece of trash, he stole my great Jie Jie¡¯s male lead role! He¡¯s totally not good enough to act side by side with my great Jie Jie.] ... As Shi Nianyao read this, she got angrier. Of course, there were many people on the inte who praised him, but they were grossly outnumbered by Chen Junjie¡¯s retarded fans. These people were just saying nasty things without good reason. It was dumbfounding. Chen Junjie, of course, became through these discussions the third trending topic: Mo Xicheng Chen Junjie. This showed that it was Chen Junjie who was taking advantage of Mo Xicheng for all that publicity, and all thosements could have been bots. Chen Junjie was truly disgusting. Why didn¡¯t he have the guts to do this to Shen Liangchuan, when thetter had been in this film initially? But he would do this to Mo Xicheng. Wasn¡¯t everything because Mo Xicheng was not as big a star as Shen Liangchuan? This was too much. Shi Nianyao frowned as she contemted this. Then she saw that Mo Xicheng¡¯s loyal fans had started a fight with Chen Junjie¡¯s fans. The inte became a battlefield. As Shi Nianyao had her eyes fixed on this, Mo Xicheng walked out of the kitchen. He was holding the freshly-boiled ginger sweet water. Before he had even gotten near her, the smell of the ginger filled her nostrils, causing her to grimace. She nestled herself further into the sofa, shrank back reflexively and said, ¡°I¡¯m not drinking that.¡± Mo Xicheng didn¡¯t make things difficult for her and only nodded as he sat next to her. Then the man lifted the bowl of ginger sugar water and looked at Shi Nianyao, who was at once on guard and eyeing him cautiously. He lowered his gaze and took in a mouthful. Shi Nianyao: ... After being stunned for a moment, she said, ¡°Hey, why are you drinking¡ª Mmmph!¡± Before she could finish speaking, he had silenced her by sealing his lips against hers. At once, she felt the warm ginger sweet water flowing into her mouth. There wasn¡¯t a hint of spiciness as she widened her eyes in disbelief to stare at Mo Xicheng. It was only after she had fully taken in that mouthful of ginger sugar water that Mo Xicheng let her go. Then he turned to look at the bowl on the coffee table and picked it up to take another mouthful. This time, he didn¡¯t have to persuade her. She quickly reached out to take the bowl from him and said, ¡°I¡¯ll drink it!¡± After saying this, as though afraid that he would try to feed her the water that way again, she tilted her head back and gulped down the ginger sugar water till there was none left. The warmth of the sugar water flowed into her stomach and, at once, she felt much better. Her hands and feet were cold before, but now they were warming up. She ced the bowl back on the coffee table, wiped the corners of her mouth and said, ¡°Here, I¡¯ve finished it all.¡± Mo Xichengughed and said, ¡°Uh huh, good girl.¡± Shi Nianyao: ... Mo Xicheng reached out to stroke her head gently and was about to speak when his cell phone suddenly rang. He picked up the call. At once, he heard his manager saying, ¡°Brother Mo, Ambition has hit 500 million sales, it¡¯s a box-office hit, so the filming crew is organizing a party. Would you like to go?¡± The man narrowed his eyes upon hearing this and asked in his gloomy voice, ¡°Will Chen Junjie be there?¡± Chapter 1456 - He Is My Son (29)

Chapter 1456: He Is My Son (29)

Immediately, the manager replied, ¡°Yes, he will be there.¡± Mo Xicheng lowered his gaze and turned back to nce at Shi Nianyao. He recalled how she had been gritting her teeth and looking at her cell phone when he had brought her the sugar water. Finally, he spoke, ¡°I¡¯ll be there then.¡± The manager nodded and said, ¡°Sure, but this will be your first time making an appearance at a press conference. We are thinking of creating a small surprise to generate some news, so let¡¯s not announce it.¡± Mo Xicheng nodded in agreement and replied, ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll leave it in your good hands.¡± The manager said, ¡°Alright, that¡¯s what we¡¯ll do then.¡± After he hung, Mo Xicheng turned around again to look at Shi Nianyao. She had slumped back in the sofa, feeling drowsy. Remembering she was feeling unwell today, Mo Xicheng quickly extended his arms and lifted her off the sofa. Shi Nianyao got a fright as she felt the room spin and then realized that she was being carried upstairs. She asked nervously, ¡°What are you doing?¡± Mo Xicheng: ... He halted and lowered his gaze, giving the girl a look that was at once helpless and full of grievance. ¡°What else do you think I could be doing?¡± Shi Nianyao: ... She took one look at Mo Xicheng and suddenly felt likeughing out loud. When she had first seen her idol on the big screen, he had been ying rather good roles. But since she had met him in person, she had realized that he was quite a mncholic and gloomy person. Just like the look he had on his face now. She found it so adorable that her heartpletely melted. As she lowered her head and her shoulders shook withughter, she realized she was seeing another side of her male idol. Mo Xicheng had no idea what was going through Shi Nianyao¡¯s mind as he carried her upstairs to the bedroom. After he had put her down on the bed, he picked up the nket and threw it over her. Shi Nianyaoy in bed obediently with her hands clutching the corners of the nket. Mo Xicheng paused and then reached under the nket to stroke her stomach. Unlike him, his hand was full of warmth and gave a great sense of security. Shi Nianyao was in fact not feeling exceptionally unwell, but seeing that her idol was in such a rare moment ofisance, she couldn¡¯t help but indulge in it by acting like a spoiled child. At home, she had always been dotted on. Her elder brother had doted on her, her cousin brothers had doted on her, and her parents had doted on her. But it felt different to have Mo Xicheng doting on her now. She felt an amazing joy that could not be described with words. ¨C Yao Lili moved into the Mo family home, into the room that the butler had prepared for her. Lying back on the bed of the guest room, she stared at the ceiling. In the Mo family home, even the guest room was like a small apartment. Although it was not as spacious as having a small vi to herself, it was well-equipped with whatever she needed. However, she felt bored being alone here. As she contemted this, she suddenly heard the sound of a car engineing from outside. Immediately, the butler eximed, ¡°Yong Master is home!¡± Yao Lili¡¯s eyes lit up as she sprang up from the bed and dashed to the doorway. Then she saw Mo Zhi walking into the house. Mo Zhi had asked for a discharge seeing that even pretending to be sick did nothing to soften Li Shu¡¯s heart. He walked in with his head low, but suddenly he lifted his gaze as though he had realized something. As he did that, he spotted Yao Lili standing there before him. Chapter 1457 - He Is My Son (30)

Chapter 1457: He Is My Son (30)

Mo Zhi was startled and quickly looked around. He stepped forward and grabbed Yao Lili¡¯s arm, asking, ¡°Why are you here?!¡± She was about to answer when they heard footsteps. She turned around and saw Mo Haiing downstairs. She quickly lowered her voice and whispered, ¡°Come to my room before daybreak and we¡¯ll talk.¡± The man nodded and quickly put on a hostile expression. He said, ¡°Stay away from me!¡± Then he arrogantly stepped away from her, towards Mo Hai. Mo Hai looked at the man with a frown and asked, ¡°Where have you been today?¡± Mo Zhi reported, ¡°At the office!¡± Mo Hai looked at his son and sighed deeply as he patted the man on the shoulder. ¡°Put in your best. Dad still believes in you.¡± Mo Zhi, who had been feeling neglected for a few days now, suddenly felt his eyes burn as they filled with tears. He nodded vigorously and said, ¡°Dad, I will work hard.¡± Mo Hai pointed at the dining room and said, ¡°Alright already, go and have your dinner. As long as you humble yourself enough to learn, you still have a chance of picking up the knowledge you¡¯recking. After all, you¡¯re still young. And you hold the majority of the Mo family business¡¯ shares.¡± The unsaid was obvious. He was telling Mo Zhi that he was the true heir of the Mo family fortune, and the future of the Mo family still belonged to him. Mo Zhi felt a sudden rush of excitement and brightened up immediately upon hearing what his father had said. When Yao Lili observed this, she lowered her head to hide her smile. Mo Hai thought that he loved Mo Zhi only because Mo Zhi was his beloved Li Shu¡¯s son. But the fact was, Mo Zhi was the son that he had brought up and educated himself, how could he feel nothing for the young man? Perhaps Mo Hai had not realized this himself. Hence, Mo Zhi had never really lost the game. Yao Lili smiled at this thought. Suddenly, as though having sensed something, her posture stiffened. She turned around quickly and saw Li Shu standing in the corridor. Her gaze was fixed on Yao Lili. Yao Lili¡¯s smile instantly vanished. She lowered her head, pretending she hadn¡¯t noticed the woman, and then walked up the stairs quietly. Before she could get to the guest room, she had to walk past Li Shu. She lifted her gaze and gave Li Shu a broad smile. As she was about to step into the guest room, she suddenly heard Lu Shu say, ¡°What is it like having Mo Xincheng as a son?¡± Yao Lili halted and turned around with a puzzled expression. ¡°What?¡± Li Shu pointed in the direction of the man downstairs and couldn¡¯t helpughing as she said, ¡°You know something? There is something that I¡¯m definitely not as good at as you are. Yao Lili was slightly taken aback by her words. Li Shu turned to look at her and said to her deliberately, ¡°I¡¯m not as good as you are when ites to bringing up kids.¡± She had said bringing up, not bearing. Mo Zhi had been brought up by Li Shu and Mo Hai, but he wasn¡¯t even a tenth of what Mo Xicheng was. Li Shu found itughable at this point. Suddenly, she felt grateful and wanted to thank Yao Lili. Without her, perhaps Mo Xicheng wouldn¡¯t have been the excellent young man he was today. It was ironic andughable. She smirked icily and turned to look at Yao Lili, who was staring back at her as though not understanding a word she was saying. Li Shu did not say anything else but returned to her room. After shutting the room door, all expressions vanished from Li Shu¡¯s face. She stared nkly ahead, the only image on her mind was how Mo Hai had patted Mo Zhi on the shoulder. She knew that it would be impossible for the elder Mo to have no feelings for Mo Zhi. They were father and son. But when it came to Mo Xicheng, his father would only berate or hit him. Hence, Mo Xicheng had never been close to Mo Hai. The reason that Mo Hai had been unable to extricate himself from the entanglement with Yao Lili was because of Mo Xicheng¡¯s existence. Hence, any mention of Mo Xicheng served only to evoke Mo Hai¡¯s hatred and more hatred. On one hand was the son he had brought up himself. On the other hand was the child that had rubbed him the wrong way. Would it be possible that, even if he were to be told the truth, he would not bear to let go of Mo Zhi to ept Mo Xicheng? Li Shu clenched her fists tightly at the thought of this. Suddenly, she felt that perhaps she had thought too simply of this situation. And she had thought too simply of the rtionship between Mo Hai and Mo Zhi. Although Mo Zhi wasn¡¯t her son, he was still Mo Hai¡¯s son. Furthermore, it was not as if the love that Mo Hai had towards Mo Zhi would simply disappear overnight. As she let out a troubled sigh, there was a knock on the door. Li Shu turned around and opened the door. It was Mo Hai. He hade at an apt time, for Li Shu wished to speak with him. Hence, she stepped to the side to let the man into the room. Mo Hai rubbed his hands together nervously and shed Li Shu a smile. After he entered the room, he quickly said to her, ¡°I know you¡¯ve brought Yao Lili home to cate that silly Mo Xicheng, so that Mo Zhi won¡¯t be punished. But Li Shu, there is really no need for this. Mo Xicheng is my son. He won¡¯t dare to disobey me if I insist that he sorts out the situation.¡± Li Shu felt a pain in her heart upon hearing this. Her son was silly in Mo Hai¡¯s opinion? She frowned and said, ¡°Would you watch your tone.¡± ¡°Sure, I understand. What I¡¯m saying is that you don¡¯t have to put yourself through this.¡± Mo Hai took a step forward and extended his hand towards Li Shu¡¯s arm. Li Shu immediately retreated to avoid his contact. She lowered her gaze and, after a moment, suddenly asked him, ¡°Mo Hai, do you like Mo Zhi simply because he¡¯s my son?¡± Mo Hai was stunned by her words and said almost immediately, ¡°Of course!¡± Li Shu lifted her head, looked at him with an unfathomable expression and asked again, ¡°Then right now, do you feel disappointed with Mo Zhi?¡± Mo Hai¡¯s natural assumption was that Li Shu was afraid that he would give up on Mo Zhi, hence his reply was, ¡°Li Shu, how could you say that? Mo Zhi is my son. Even if he had makes mistakes at some point, he¡¯s my son. I watched him grow up, wouldn¡¯t I know what he¡¯s like? He doesn¡¯tck intelligence really, it¡¯s just that he doesn¡¯t focus. After this, I feel that he¡¯s learnt his lesson, you know? He went to the office today. I¡¯ve just spoken with the secretary. She said that he performed impressively well in the office today. It looks like I should have exposed him to thepany business earlier on. Giving him more stress would probably made him a better person.¡± Mo Hai went on and on, talking endlessly. It was very clear from how he spoke that he had deep affection for Mo Zhi. Li Shu stared fixedly at Mo Hai with clenched fists, suddenly feeling that there was no longer a need to say what she had wanted to say. She lowered her gaze and pointed at the door, saying, ¡°You may leave now.¡± Mo Hai was stunned. Weren¡¯t they getting along just fine? Why was he suddenly asked to leave? He wanted to say more, but Li Shu only red at him icily. Chapter 1458 - He Is My Son (31)

Chapter 1458: He Is My Son (31)

Mo Hai got a shock and quickly retreated, saying, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll leave. Don¡¯t be angry, Li Shu. I¡¯ll do anything as long as you¡¯re not angry.¡± Li Shu simply found those wordsughable. She suddenly said, ¡°Well then, if I asked you to give the business to Mo Xicheng, would you do it?¡± That questionpletely stunned Mo Hai as he looked at Li Shu in disbelief. After a moment, he spoke reluctantly, ¡°Li Shu, the situation is not as bad as you think. Giving him 30 percent of the shares is painful enough. That¡¯s giving him too much advantage! Are- are you testing me? Li Shu, don¡¯t worry. I really have no affection for Mo Xicheng. To me, that child is simply a symbol of shame, but Mo Zhi is different. It¡¯s not possible for me to give the business to Mo Xicheng.¡± Even if Mo Xicheng was your own flesh and blood, would you not? Li Shu held back the words that came to her mind. She could only point at the doorway and say in a thoroughly disappointed tone, ¡°Get out then.¡± ¨C Mo Haiy on the bed. All these years, he had gotten used to sleeping alone. But today, sleep eluded him. He felt a throbbing pain in his heart as he recalled Li Shu¡¯s reaction today. When would she forgive him? He tossed and turned at this thought, unable to find rest. He picked up his cell phone and nced at it. It was already 11:50. He had to wake up early for a meeting tomorrow, yet he was unable to sleep. He sat up in bed. Yao Lili¡¯s appearance had made for an unhappy dinner and now he was a little hungry. He opened his bedroom door with the intention of going downstairs for some food. As he was about to walk out, he thought he had sensed something. Turning around, he saw a silhouette enter Yao Lili¡¯s guest room. Mo Hai¡¯s eyes shed at once. The silhouette had moved very quickly but still, he could tell it was a man. Mo Hai¡¯s eyes narrowed at once, thinking that Yao Lili had dared to openly bring a man into their home while staying with them. He also knew that Li Shu¡¯s cool attitude with him boiled down to the problem of Yao Lili. And now, if he caught Yao Lili red-handed, wouldn¡¯t he have a proper and valid reason to kick this woman out of the house? Mo Hai¡¯s eyes sparkled at this thought. He took a couple of steps and approached the door of Yao Lili¡¯s room. Staring at the door, he smirked. Inside the room. Yao Lili¡¯s eyes reddened as she grabbed the young man who hade into her room in the middle of the night. Wearing his pajamas, Mo Zhi stood there rubbing his sleepy eyes. Obviously, he was dead tired. He looked at Yao Lili half-heartedly and said, ¡°Mom, why did you ask me toe over in the middle of the night? Is there a problem? If not, I¡¯m going back to bed.¡± Yao Lili instantly grabbed him by his arms and said, ¡°What a child! Your mom hasn¡¯t seen you all day. But now it will be a lot more convenient to see you. Look at you.¡± Mo Zhi was getting a little impatient and said, ¡°So why did you ask me toe over? And why are you staying at the Mo family home now?¡± Yao Lili replied, ¡°Li Shu must be nning to cate Mo Xicheng through us so that the incident with Shi Nianyao is left alone.¡± Mo Zhi said, ¡°Isn¡¯t the prob Chapter 1459 - He is My Son (32)

Chapter 1459: He is My Son (32)

Mo Zhi¡¯s voice was kind of loud and Yao Lili was so shocked she hurriedly covered his mouth. Yao Lili looked around her and pulled Mo Zhi to the bedside. After the two of them sat down, Yao Lili spoke, ¡°I made a mistakest time, but now that I know many things, I feel that the Shi family hasn¡¯t taken action and suppressed the incident for Mo Xicheng¡¯s sake. So both Li Shu and Mo Hai are trying to get on Mo Xicheng¡¯s good side. Let me tell you, this is precisely the reason why Li Shu had to resist her disgust and allow me to enter the Mo family.¡± After Mo Zhi heard her words, he frowned and asked, ¡°What should we do now?¡± Yao Lili furrowed her brows and lowered her voice. ¡°You don¡¯t have to do anything now because Li Shu and Mo Hai have done everything for you. All that you have to do now is be a good child. Do you know? As long as Mo Hai treats you well, you¡¯ll be able to get all of the Mo family¡¯s assets. If not, I¡¯m worried that you¡¯ll have to give up all the shares you have. Also, if Mo Xicheng enters thepany, there will definitely be people who get a bad impression of you. If theparison is too obvious, it wouldn¡¯t be beneficial.¡± Yao Lili didn¡¯t realize that what she had said directly implied that Mo Zhi was inferior to Mo Xicheng. Mo Zhi frowned and snorted. Since young, he had hated it when people said that. Thus, he was so furious at that moment that he stood up. ¡°What do you mean? Do you mean that I¡¯m inferior to him? I thought that you understood me. I would have never expected that you would be the same as other people.¡± After he said so, he wanted to leave. Yao Lili panicked. She grabbed his arm and consoled him. ¡°Mo Zhi, that¡¯s not what I meant. I¡¯m your mother, why would I despise you?¡± Before she could finish speaking, she tripped and fell forward. Mo Zhi hurriedly stuck out his hand as he intended to help her. But since they were in a weird position and weren¡¯t careful, they both ended up falling onto the bed. Mo Zhi¡¯s elbow was being squashed by her and, since it was where Mo Xicheng had hit him, he cried out in pain. Yao Lili instantly panicked and grabbed his arm as she asked anxiously, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Mo Zhi lifted his arm and said, ¡°This part hurts so bad.¡± Yao Lili subconsciously flipped his pajamas open, wanting to see where he was hurting. But at this moment... The room door was suddenly opened. Yao Lili had a great shock, her body froze as she turned her head. She saw that Mo Hai had brought the butler, the security officer and a bunch of people outside the door. There was a sarcastic smile on Mo Hai¡¯s face as he stared at Yao Lili. He said, ¡°I really want to see who you are sleeping with.¡± There wasughter shining in Mo Hai¡¯s eyes. For the sake of exposing the true colors of Yao Lili, he had specially arranged the butler, the family¡¯s servants and security officers toe and see. The only way to shut Yao Lili¡¯s mouth was to show everyone how Yao Lili was like. Then, he could bring Mo Xicheng¡¯s reputation down as well. With such a skittish mom, people would definitely doubt Mo Xicheng¡¯s identity. As he thought so, Mo Hai took a step forward and grabbed Mo Zhi, who was trying his best to hide his head in the nkets. ¡°Come out now!¡± After he said so, he dragged Mo Zhi out forcefully. Chapter 1460 - He is My Son (33)

Chapter 1460: He is My Son (33)

At the beginning, when the people rushed in, Mo Zhi had wanted to stand up. But since Yao Lili was shocked and had reacted impulsively, she had pressed on his waist and caused him to directly fall on the bed. Then, after hearing Mo Hai¡¯s words, he was so shocked he hadn¡¯t dared to move. Hey t on the bed, totally stunned. Mo Hai was there to bust an illicit affair? Thinking of his current actions, position and Yao Lili¡¯s look, he really would have trouble exining the situation. It was because other people didn¡¯t know his rtionship with Yao Lili. And how would he exin what he was doing now? Him and his father¡¯s mistress having an unclear rtionship... If this spread out, he wouldn¡¯t be able to face anyone. Just as he was thinking about it, Mo Hai held his arm. He was instantly stunned. He wanted to struggle, but Mo Hai was too strong for him to be able to do so. Before waiting for him to speak, he was dragged out by Mo Hai and fell on the floor. As the crowd was trying to find out who exactly was sleeping with Yao Lili, they were all shocked to see Mo Zhi. All of them widened their eyes and stared at him in disbelief. Even Mo Hai was shocked till he was almost speechless. He stared at Mo Zhi in shock and then took a nce at Yao Lili. The things that had seemed off recently finally had an answer at that instant. No wonder Yao Lili seemed to be giving an inexplicable attention to Mo Zhi. Ever since young, whenever Mo Xicheng and Mo Xicheng had fights, Yao Lili would side with Mo Zhi. So the real reason was that they had gotten into some rtionship without his knowledge. Mo Hai had never liked Yao Lili. This woman was a source of trouble to him in his life. Thus, at that moment, he didn¡¯t feel like she was cheating on him, but he thought, ¡°How dare Yao Lili hook up his own son!¡± His anger suddenly rose. He turned his head and grabbed Yao Lili¡¯s clothes. Then he swung his hand at her face with great force. p. The sound of his p rang across the room. The painful hit stunned Yao Lili. She turned her head to look at Mo Zhi and anxiously exined, ¡°No, no, it¡¯s not what all of you are thinking. I- Mo Zhi and I, the two of us¡ª¡± Before she could finish speaking, Mo Hai shouted angrily, ¡°You and him were in the bed in such a position in the middle of the night. If it isn¡¯t what I¡¯m thinking, then tell me, what is it?¡± After he shouted that sentence, he lowered his head and kicked Mo Zhi¡¯s ass. But as he was still his precious son, he used much lesser strength. It waspletely different from hitting Yao Lili. After he kicked Mo Zhi, he still had to help Mo Zhi clean up his mess. ¡°You young brat, you¡¯ve seen so many women and yet you were seduced by such a old woman.¡± Then he turned around again. He pointed at Yao Lili and reprimanded, ¡°You¡¯re such a cunning woman. You¡¯re trying to get back from my son what you can¡¯t get from me? Let me tell you, he¡¯s still so young and you¡¯re so old. He is just ignorant but what are you?¡± ¡°You¡¯re really a sl*t! When you seduced me, I knew that you weren¡¯t a good woman, but it¡¯s also true that why would a good woman seduce others? If it hadn¡¯t been for the fact that you had Mo Xicheng, I would have definitely not taken you in. I have never expected that you¡¯d be so greedy! Now you¡¯re seducing my son?!¡± ¡°And you, Mo Zhi! You don¡¯t even find her dirty!¡± Chapter 1461 - He is My Son (34)

Chapter 1461: He is My Son (34)

Mo Hai¡¯s outburst had shocked both Mo Zhi and Yao Lili. One of them was lying on the floor and the other was sitting on the bed in shock. Both of them exchanged nces, wanting to say something but realizing that there was no way to rify it. Yao Lili would definitely not tell Mo Hai that Mo Zhi was her son now. And Mo Zhi knew that the reason why he was so liked by Mo Hai was because he was Li Shu¡¯s son. There was a really high possibility that he would be chased out of the house if his identity was exposed. Mo Zhi swallowed and he was stunned at that moment. He had no idea how to exin himself. Just at that moment, Yao Lili clenched her teeth, rushed forward and hugged Mo Hai¡¯s leg. She cried as she said, ¡°I really don¡¯t have that kind of rtionship with Mo Zhi. Nothing happened between us. I can go for a check up now. We¡¯re not like what you think, I¡ª¡± They could definitely not admit this, or else in the future if their real identities were ever exposed, everyone would recall today¡¯s incident and rumors might spread that Mo Zhi and her were having sex. In the wealthy elites, rumors could kill. But before she could finish exining herself, Mo Hai had already kicked her away. ¡°Vixen, you think that all of us are blind?!¡± Mo Hai was feeling extremely regretful. He had initially meant to catch her cheating publicly so that he would be able to ditch Yao Lili in front of everyone. Little would he have expected that he would cause trouble for himself instead. Mo Zhi was his son and his reputation was extremely important. If the word about today spread, Mo Zhi¡¯s wedding would be a big problem in the future. Rich families usually arranged their marriages, but who would marry their daughter off to a man who had had a rtionship with his father¡¯s mistress? It gave Mo Hai a huge headache and he really wanted to beat Mo Zhi up, but he couldn¡¯t bear to do it. He could only grumble in his heart that he must have owed that son of his in his previous life. Then, he proceeded to clean up his mess. He pointed at Mo Zhi and said to the butler, ¡°Young Master was seduced by her but luckily, nothing happened. Bring him down and¡ª¡± Mo Hai swept his nce across the people around him and he felt his face burn with embarrassment. Putting his pride aside, he said, ¡°If anyone dares leak what happened tonight, I will finish you! Do you understand?!¡± ¡°Yes, Sir!¡± Everyone responded. However, the butler lowered his head. In his heart, he already despised both Mo Zhi and Yao Lilipletely. He nodded, took a step forward and grabbed Mo Zhi. Mo Zhi let out a sign of relief. He turned his head and looked at Yao Lili. ¡°Dad, then she¡ª¡± Mo Hai was furious, he kicked Mo Zhi¡¯s knee and shouted, ¡°Scram!¡± Things had alreadye to this point and he still cared about this mistress Yao Lili? Did he still have brains? Mo Zhi was shocked and he hurriedly left the room alongside the butler. After Mo Zhi had left, only Mo Hai and Yao Lili were left in the room. Mo Hai¡¯s expression instantly darkened. Even though he was always meek and humble in front of Li Shu, but as someone who had fought and survived through the business industry, he was always arrogant to the outside world and even had the fierceness of a bandit. Thus at that moment, Yao Lili could only feel shock and she became increasingly uneasy. She swallowed and said, ¡°Mr. Mo, I- I really didn¡¯t seduce Mo Zhi. We were only applying medicine there, he¡¯s injured, I¡ª¡± Chapter 1462 - He is My Son (35)

Chapter 1462: He is My Son (35)

Before she could finish speaking, Mo Hai took one step forward and kicked her stomach. The kick made Yao Lili take a step backwards. She bent over and held onto her stomach, feeling as if her intestines were almost mixed together. It was so painful that cold sweat rolled down her face, which turned pale and colorless. She lifted her head and saw Mo Hai take a step forward and grab the cor of her shirt. He then shouted angrily, ¡°Yao Lili, let me tell you. You can forget about trying to get anything out of the Mo family! Mo Zhi is my son and if I catch you interacting with him again, you might not be able to see the light tomorrow.¡± His threatening words were extremely vicious and they made Yao Lili shudder, cold. She understood that if Mo Hai said it, he would definitely do it. Thus, she was so scared she took a step backwards and didn¡¯t dare to utter a word, only nodding to show her understanding. It seemed that Mo Hai was only satisfied then. He stuck out his hand and grabbed her chin to lift her head. He scanned her face a few times, sneered and walked out. As he was walking out, he wondered what exactly was good about this old woman. The reason for his mistake when young had been because of alcohol, but as for Mo Zhi now? There were so many young and beautiful women, but he didn¡¯t want them. Yet he hadid his eyes on Yao Lili? As Mo Hai thought so, he shook his head and walked out of the guest room. Li Shu, who was staying in the master bedroom, had witnessed the whole incident from the start till the end, although she hadn¡¯t left the room. At that moment, she was standing in the room and watching the situation unfold coldly through the peephole. Mo Zhi and Yao Lili were so close. Did they really think that she was a fool? She gripped her fist tightly and lowered her eyelids. Just based on the things Yao Lili had done to Mo Xicheng, she wouldn¡¯t give Mo Zhi a cent, much less the Mo family¡¯s shares. They couldn¡¯t me her for not considering the rtionship they had built as she had brought him up. ¨C Mo Xicheng hadpletely no idea of what had taken ce in the Mo family. Two dayster was Ambition¡®s party. There were many reporters invited to the event. Under the arrangement of Mo Xicheng¡¯s manager and with the biggest investor of the show, Shen Liangchuan, who wanted to help Mo Xicheng, the party had been prepared to be really grand. Before the party began, there was already an uproar about it. On the day itself, the party¡¯s location was bustling. Chen Junjie had reached the location really early. He walked around the buffet restaurant in the hotel in high spirits. All the junior actors in the area had all rushed up to him to praise him. His lips were curved and, before the party even started, he wasughing really happily as he held onto his wine ss. A junior actor in the filming crew walked over to get into his good books. ¡°Brother Jie, this party literally feels like it¡¯s being held just for you.¡± Chen Junjie instantly narrowed his eyes andughed. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t say that. Why would it be held just for me? I¡¯m only the second lead of the movie.¡± That person instantly followed the game. ¡°This movie focuses on the male leads and Mo Xicheng is the lead actor. You know his character too, he usually doesn¡¯t attend these events. So don¡¯t we have to rely on Brother Jie to take the main stage for today¡¯s party?¡± In these kinds of parties, the reporters would definitely interview the male lead. But since Mo Xicheng never turned up at such events, this interview and also the chance to appear in front of everyone would definitely belong to Chen Junjie. Chapter 1463 - He is My Son (36)

Chapter 1463: He is My Son (36)

There were many side roles in the movie and they all needed to get the recognition through someone famous. As long as Chen Junjie praised any one of them in the interview or during the promotionter, it would give the actor an opportunity to get known. Hence, all the junior actors in the filming crew were surrounding Chen Junjie and praising him. Chen Junjie was smiling humbly, but one could see the arrogance in his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s wrong of you to say that. Even if Mo Xicheng isn¡¯ting, I¡¯m also not the one who is attracting so many sales.¡± That person instantly replied, ¡°Why isn¡¯t it you? Your poprity and fame aren¡¯t things that Mo Xicheng canpare to. You must know that Mo Xicheng entered the industry six to seven years ago. He hasn¡¯t be famous after so long, what does it tell you then? It shows that other than acting, he doesn¡¯t have other abilities. On the other hand, you have be so famous just after you have entered the industry. Now that you¡¯ve been a part of such a great production, you will definitely have a smooth journey in the industry in the future. Chen Junjieughed. ¡°Don¡¯t say that, don¡¯t say that, he¡¯s still a senior actor.¡± ¡°So what if he¡¯s a senior actor? What¡¯s most important are still the sales! You made Ambition a box-office hit.¡± Chen Junjie instantly lowered his head and replied, ¡°But I¡¯m not the main lead.¡± ¡°I wonder how he managed to get the lucky chance to be the main lead. But whoever went to watch this movie has done so because of you. Besides, he has also acted in many productions and almost every one of them were a hit, but look at his poprity, there¡¯s barely nothing.¡± Chen Junjie¡¯s smile was bing increasingly arrogant. At this moment, someone came close to him and asked fawnly, ¡°Brother Jie, have you seen the interview script forter?¡± After he said so, Chen Junjie froze. He then realized that he had overlooked a fact: going through the interview script. Supposedly, the interviews would usually be prepared beforehand. But on the other hand, it made sense. The director of Ambition, Director Wang, was someone who didn¡¯t like to follow the usual routines and traditions. Thus, all his movies do not have the rule of going through the interview script, they were mostly thought on the spot. Thus, Chen Junjie¡¯s heart was instantly relieved. Mo Xicheng was definitely not going to join these gatherings and the spotlight would undoubtedly be on him tonight. As he thought so, he looked at the person who asked him the question and said, ¡°When has the cast of a movie by Director Wang gone through the interview script?¡± That person was instantly stunned and reacted quickly. ¡°Yes, right, when has the cast of a movie by Director Wang gone through the interview script? I made a mistake.¡± Chen Junjie then sneered coldy for a while. At that moment, someone came over with their phone with the intention of sucking up to Chen Junjie. He showed it to Chen Junjie and said, ¡°Brother Jie, look, your fans are so thoughtful!¡± Chen Junjie lowered his head, looked over and realized that it was his promotion sub-ount that had posted something. The post was putting Mo Xicheng down whileplimenting Chen Junjie. It said: [I really pity my Jie. Some people just don¡¯t care about anything and leave after acting. He¡¯s not even some famous and popr artist, yet he acts as he pleases and does not attend any promotional activities. On the other hand, my Jie is really the rising star of the year. He¡¯s humble and very cooperative in attending any activities. Seeing that he has be skinnier again, he must have been really busy. I¡¯ve heard that at the party tonight, it will once again be my male idol who takes the burden of the event. I just want to say, it¡¯s been hard on you.] Chapter 1464 - He is My Son (37)

Chapter 1464: He is My Son (37)

Chen Junjie saw that under that post, his fans and Mo Xicheng¡¯s fans had already started fighting. There was a fan called Pu Yun who was Mo Xicheng¡¯s veteran manager. Recently, she had been really active online and frequently argued with his fans. Thus at that moment, Pu Yun instantly rebutted after the Weibo post. [Pu Yun: If you¡¯re praising Chen Junjie, you can just praise him. It isn¡¯t that he doesn¡¯t attend promotional events, it¡¯s just that my idol has always been lowkey. Furthermore, it isn¡¯t confirmed that my idol isn¡¯t attending today¡¯s event. Please do not bring up my idol while praising yours. On top of that, attending such events can increase Chen Junjie¡¯s chances of appearing in the public. What is there to brag about? As if he was really professional.] Under thisment, Chen Junjie¡¯s fans argued back. Chen Junjie saw it and sneered. He opened his own sub-ount andmented below thisment. [So the people who aren¡¯t able to attend the event, even if they wanted to, are considered as lowkey?] Pu Yun argued back once again: [Pu Yun: What do you mean by that? Furthermore, why are you so sure that Chen Junjie will attend the party tonight? It could be so awkward if Chen Junjie fails to appear. Besides, it¡¯s just an event, why would you have to say that he¡¯s leading it? Aren¡¯t you speaking too highly of him?] Chen Junjie¡¯s face turned cold and turned his head to look at his manager. ¡°Find out who this Pu Yun is, I must deal with her.¡± His manager advised him and said, ¡°Those are just online scuffles, there¡¯s no need to bring it into real life. Also, after you attend the eventter, you will directly prove her wrong. We¡¯ll see what she has to say then.¡± Chen Junjie couldn¡¯t put away his anger at this matter. He furrowed his brows and sneered. Then, he picked up his phone and snapped a selfie. Behind him was the event venue and the picture he took made him look kind of tired. After he took the photo, he opened his Weibo and posted it. Alongside with the picture were words that said, [I feel like going home to sleep earlier tonight.] Just as he was intending to post it, his manager stopped him. ¡°What are you doing? You seem to be directly answering this Weibo post. If the main person they are interviewing isn¡¯t you tonight, it would be really awkward.¡± Chen Junjie immediatelyughed and replied, ¡°Everyone in the industry knows that Mo Xicheng never attends these types of events. And apart from me in the crew, what other male supporting actor can stand out and carry the show? So if they do not interview me tonight, who else can they interview?¡± His reply caught his manager by surprise. Chen Junjie instantly pressed SEND. After Chen Junjie posted this on Weibo, he changed to his sub-ount and continued arguing against Pu Yun. [Go and take a look at my male idol¡¯s Weibo! It is so obvious who went to the celebratory party and who didn¡¯t. Chen Junjie is tonight¡¯s main lead!] Pu Yun had nothing to retaliate. After Chen Junjie sent thatment, he just felt that he hadpletely won the argument with Pu Yun and then he tidied his tie. In the distance, an emcee had announced the start of the party. He then got ready, intending to undergo the interview. He coughed and, just when he was about to go up the stage, he heard the emcee announce, ¡°Today, we have the honor of inviting someone that none of you expected. This person hasn¡¯t really attended many publicity events ever since he entered the industry. However, he has been quietly practicing his acting skills and every movie he has acted in has be a ssic. Let us give the loudest apuse to invite Teacher Mo Xicheng!¡± Chapter 1465 - He Is My Son (38)

Chapter 1465: He Is My Son (38)

As Chen Junjie listened to the introduction, he arrogantly lifted his chin. He hadn¡¯t expected that the filming crew would make such ttering remarks about him to raise his poprity. However when thatst sentence was delivered, he was instantly stumped. He sprang onto his feet and almost said aloud, ¡°This is impossible.¡± The attainment of self-cultivation as an actor helped him to maintain his calm. Then he watched dumbstruck as Mo Xicheng walked out of the VIP lounge in his suit and leather shoes. He kept a low profile like always, but he emitted a strong aura of someone with substance. He inevitably left an indelible mark in one¡¯s memory. In a rxed posture, he walked up the stage, every movement making him look graceful and elegant. The emcee stood on the stage and immediately smiled when he saw Mo Xicheng. After introducing Mo Xicheng, he started introducing Director Wang and then the female lead. After the three of them had been introduced, the emcee smiled and said, ¡°And of course, we are very fortunate to have with us at our party tonight a mystery guest. Everyone, make a guess at whom this might be?¡± Everyone was mystified. All the male and female leads in the filming crew were present, so who else was there? Could it be the supporting male actor, the new popr young actor Chen Junjie? As the guests made their guesses, the emcee announced, ¡°Let¡¯s wee our film¡¯s investor, Teacher Shen Liangchuan!¡± When the crowd heard this, the venue started buzzing with excitement. Best Actor Shen hade to the party! He was actually here! Everyone turned simultaneously to look at the VIP lounge. The doors were thrown open, but no one appeared. The emcee was slightly taken aback and said again loudly, ¡°Let¡¯s wee our mystery guest, Teacher Shen Liangchuan!¡± A silence fell over the venue. After a moment, they saw someone walking out of the VIP lounge. The moment that tall and broad frame with great presence appeared, every pair of eyes was focused on him Mo Xicheng had an mncholic aura and a presence that was hard to ignore; but Shen Liangchuan, although his expression was stone cold, was like the sun and naturally drew attention. Expressionless, he strode forward and got onto the stage. Once on stage, he nodded at the emcee and walked over to sit next to Mo Xicheng. While the emcee continued to talk about the aplishments of the film Ambition, Mo Xicheng whispered to Shen Liangchuan, ¡°Your dyed entrance... I guess Ms. Qiao is in the VIP lounge?¡± In response to the question, Shen Liangchuan threw the man a nce and nodded with cold aloofness. Mo Xicheng couldn¡¯t help shaking his head before continuing, ¡°And you can bring yourself to leave her in there alone?¡± Shen Liangchuan replied in a whisper, ¡°So you better make the interview quick.] Mo Xicheng sniggered quietly. Shen Liangchuan threw him a few looks and said, ¡°Might I interpret your reaction as one of envy that I have a wife?¡± Mo Xicheng: ... The man turned to look at the narcissistic Shen Liangchuan and said, ¡°I have one too.¡± Shen Liangchuan: ?? Shen Liangchuan raised an eyebrow and forgot to keep his voice down, ¡°When did that happen?¡± Mo Xicheng smiled and said, ¡°Just recently. We registered.¡± Shen Liangchuan was visibly moved by this news and said, ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be damned.¡± Chapter 1466 - He Is My Son (39)

Chapter 1466: He Is My Son (39)

He had first met Mo Xicheng when he joined the show business. The two had hit it off immediately and became friends. Later on, Mo Xicheng had yed a number of supporting roles in Shen Liangchuan¡¯s movies. Shen Liangchuan was the lead and Mo Xicheng, as the supporting actor, had to tone down so as to not steal the lead¡¯s thunder. But the fact was that they were pretty much on par in terms of capabilities, and Shen Liangchuan knew that someone like Mo Xicheng had greater potential than himself to make it big, if the man really wanted to. Hence, Shen Liangchuan had always found Mo Xicheng¡¯s situation regrettable. In fact, he had shortened his holiday with Qiao Lian at the Qinhuangdao when he heard that Mo Xicheng wasing for the event. He hade back to Beijing with Qiao Lian to attend this event and support Mo Xicheng. He was looking forward with great anticipation to his friend¡¯s sess, who had been suppressing himself all along, now that the man had broken out of his shell. He looked forward to seeing the man take on lead roles and make more good films. What he hadn¡¯t expected though was to be met with even greater news. Mo Xicheng was like a man suddenly enlightened. To think that he had secretly registered his marriage with Shi Nianyao. This was a great and pleasant surprise. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s eyes lit up as he opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly, they heard movements below the stage. The two paused and turned to look. Then they realized that their conversation had been caught on camera and projected onto therge screen. And now, as Shen Liangchuan cast his gaze on therge screen, he saw his own expression of surprise. It had been recorded. At once, the crowd broke out inughter. The emcee couldn¡¯t helpughing. Looking at Shen Liangchuan and Mo Xicheng, he asked, ¡°Teacher Shen, Teacher Mo, you seemed to be having a very enjoyable conversation just now, we wonder what you were talking about.¡± Shen Liangchuan threw the emcee a look of indifference and said, ¡°Uh huh, he saw me and said that I¡¯ve be better-looking.¡± ¡°Hahahaha!¡± Shen Liangchuan said this with a straight face and it endeared him to the crowd. Even the emcee couldn¡¯t help butugh. Mo Xicheng simply looked at the stone cold Shen Liangchuan and shook his head helplessly. The emcee couldn¡¯t help probing further with a smile. ¡°So what was your answer to that? Do you feel that Teacher Mo has be better-looking too?¡± Shen Liangchuan paused for a moment and then said, ¡°I told him I¡¯m a married man.¡± At once, the crowd responded and burst out inughter. After Mo Xicheng had praised the man for getting more handsome, Shen Liangchuan had immediately exined that he was a married man¡ªhe was into women. The unspoken was up to everyone¡¯s imagination. There had once been news about Mo Xicheng and Shen Liangchuan going out forte night drinks and returning to the vi together. With this ambiguousment, the reporters among the crowd at once exchanged looks with each other. It had set off an explosive reaction. Although they knew that this conversation between the two men had been intended as a joke, the two of them sitting next to each other did soon enough make them look like a couple. In such times, when you have the fujoshi[1] who would love such a fantasy, these things became a trending topic. Even though Shen Liangchuan was joking, the reality was that it created talking points and discussion topics for Mo Xicheng. Once a person became a trending topic, he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about visibility. Of course Mo Xicheng knew Shen Liangchuan¡¯s intentions. Hence, this warmed his heart and he gave a smile. The thing that Shen Liangchuan hated the most was to be marketed, especially to be marketed under contract. But now for his sake, the man was willing to stir some gossip. Mo Xicheng cast his gaze down. [1] Women who enjoys fictional gay content Chapter 1467 - He Is My Son (40)

Chapter 1467: He Is My Son (40)

When he had been in low spirits, all his friends had been nervous for him. But now he had finally got back up and into the ring. These friends would help him unreservedly. So how could he not seed? How could he let these friends down? Mo Xicheng told himself this quietly. This time he would no longer soften. Even though he would owe Li Shu an exnation, he would not let his loved one suffer any grievance. Both Shen Liangchuan and Mo Xicheng were, after all, not people who liked to make the news. Hence, they didn¡¯t dwell on this topic and moved into the topic of the film. Director Wang talked about the content of this film candidly, about what he was trying to achieve. The crowd started to grow drowsy listening to such a philosophical conversation. Finally, when he had finished, the emcee looked at Mo Xicheng and asked, ¡°Teacher Mo, you didn¡¯t like joining these events, but this time you¡¯ve made an appearance. Why?¡± Mo Xicheng smiled when he heard this question and lifted his gaze towards the camera. This whole interview was on livestream. Right now, he could be seen by the whole nation. Chen Junjie was watching from below the stage and online, Pu Yun was also looking at him. Since Mo Xicheng had appeared, Chen Junjie had felt like he had been pped in the face multiple times. In his Weibo, there were already a number of sarcastic and mocking remarks. Right now as the emcee asked this question, everyone turned simultaneously to look at the young man. Looking straight at the screen, he said after a pause, ¡°It¡¯s because of my friends and fans. I hope that from now on, they will not be unfairly treated because of me.¡± His reply immediately caused amotion in the venue. No one had thought that he would actually make such a remark. Everyone thought that he wouldd attribute the reason to the film crew, or the film. Upon hearing this, Pu Yun, who was watching the livestream, started to cry instantly. No one could have known that she would be the most deeply touched. She had put all her heart and soul into following this celebrity. For many years, she had seen him going nowhere even though time and again, his films and series had made it big. Every single time that he had almost be popr, he would somehow fade into the background again... and she would lose hope. But eventually, she had learnt to understand and amodate the fact the celebrity she loved was different from the others. The celebrity she loved was only interested in acting. He had no other desires. She had watched him quietly until that time in the cinema, when they were made to feel inferior. Her idol had finally stood his ground, he had finally stopped suffering. ¨C The emcee did not dwell on this, but started to ask questions rted to the film. When Mo Xicheng was asked about who were the best actors in the crew, Chen Junjie¡¯s face immediately looked expectant. As the supporting actor, surely he would have a ce even though Mo Xicheng had turned up. At this point, as long as he was mentioned by Mo Xicheng or Director Wang, he would be able to get up on the stage and gain some exposure. He was sure that Mo Xicheng would call for him. If he didn¡¯t, everyone would say at once that the man was trying to suppress him. Hence, he was all ready to get up on that stage. Standing on stage, Mo Xicheng¡¯s gaze fell on the crowd when he heard the emcee¡¯s question. When he saw Chen Junjie, his lips turned up ever so slightly to form a smile. A crafty twinkle lit up his eyes. Chapter 1468 - He is My Son (41)

Chapter 1468: He is My Son (41)

Whatever Chen Junjie knew, Mo Xicheng definitely knew it better. Before going onto the stage, his manager had already told him about the problem. There was a fuss online by Chen Junjie¡¯s fans, who had all imed that Mo Xicheng had stolen Chen Junjie¡¯s position as the male lead. If Mo Xicheng chose not to take him along for the promotional events, Director Wang would actually agree with him¡ªhowever, it would prove the point that Mo Xicheng was bringing him down. All the artists in the industry knew that even if they didn¡¯t get along well, they had to pretend they got along in front of the public. His manager had said, ¡°It¡¯s never toote to take your revenge. Also, he¡¯s just young blood, you shouldn¡¯t bother picking a fight with him. He¡¯s depending on his looks, while you depend on your acting skills. Everyone can tell who will reach higher in this industry. Besides, we will have many chances to take revenge in the future. If you bother with him now, you are obviously lowering yourself. Look at the differences in your statuses. So today, you shouldn¡¯t do anything that could make the fans gossip, or the news might say you¡¯re bringing a newbie down.¡± Therefore no matter what, he had to introduce Chen Junjie, but... did Chen Junjie think that he would stand still? As Mo Xicheng thought so, he lowered his lids and said, ¡°Yes, the male supporting actor in our filming crew, Chen Junjie, performed really well. His acting skills have also improved a lot and our female supporting actor...¡± Whenever he spoke of a person, the emcee would invite the person to the stage. Thus, both Chen Junjie and the female supporting actor were on the stage. After Chen Junjie was on the stage, he immediately greeted the reporters. He looked really humble and everyone was instantlyughing cheerfully. After the emcee asked him some questions, he asked him to stand beside Mo Xicheng. Chen Junjie was smiling and he even greeted Mo Xicheng. ¡°Hello, Brother Cheng. We¡¯ve met once again.¡± He greeted him really sincerely, but he had sent a provoking gaze to Mo Xicheng. As he was facing the audience sideways, no one got to see that emotion in his gaze. Chen Junjie¡¯s attitude was really obvious: So what if you don¡¯t like me? Don¡¯t you still have to introduce me and invite me on stage? Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes and held out his hand to him- ¡°Hi.¡± After both of them briefly shook hands, Mo Xicheng turned his head to look at Shen Liangchuan and allowed him to ept questions from the reporters. Someone asked, ¡°Chen Junjie, the inte is saying that you and Teacher Mo did not get along during the filming, is this true?¡± After the reporter said so, Chen Junjie instantly smiled and his smile was really bashful. ¡°No, I¡¯m on really good terms with Teacher Mo. Teacher Mo has pretty good acting skills, we often exchange tips and act with one another. Isn¡¯t it, Teacher Mo?¡± After Mo Xicheng heard his words, he raised an eyebrow, walked two steps towards him and raised his head. The reporters hurriedly picked up their cameras and started snapping pictures of them. Mo Xicheng suddenly smiled at the camera and said, ¡°It is so if you say so.¡± His words neither agreed nor disagreed with what Chen Junjie had said. His reply was unclear. How dare Chen Junjie want to exchange acting tips with him when he was such a bad actor? He really thought too highly of himself. But no one noticed the sarcasm in his words, as he had mesmerized the audience the instant he had smiled. All the reporters were instantly stunned. Following this, they immediately continued taking pictures. Chen Junjie, who was standing on the stage, didn¡¯t understand what had happened and instantly got more arrogant after seeing how cooperative he was. Chapter 1469 - He is My Son (42)

Chapter 1469: He is My Son (42)

Next were the questions by the emcee. Chen Junjie kept trying to snatch the chance to answer the questions, so as to prove his good rtionship with Mo Xicheng and also riding on his poprity. In that interview, Chen Junjie took up almost one third of the whole interview time, using his ability to speak and wit. After the interview segment of the party was over, the official banquet started. Chen Junjie walked down the stage. He was really proud of his performance on stage. He felt that he had really been amazing. When he walked down the stage and towards the venue, Shen Liangchuan took the lead as the investor, followed by the director, then the male lead, female lead, the male supporting actor and female supporting actress. But as Mo Xicheng was pretty gentlemanly, he followed the rule ofdies first and let the female lead walk before him. Thus, Mo Xicheng was right in front of Chen Junjie as they walked off the stage. Just as Mo Xicheng was intending to walk to the venue, Chen Junjie suddenly called him, ¡°Brother Mo.¡± Mo Xicheng stopped in his tracks and turned around. He then saw Chen Junjie arrogantly take a step forward, smile and say, ¡°Brother Mo, you cannot always be this quiet. Look at the interview tonight, it waspletely just me alone speaking. Also... it¡¯s really tiring. But I have realized that Brother Mo didn¡¯t participate in such events before, so you were lost about what you were supposed to do, right? It¡¯s alright, after you attend these events a few more times, you¡¯ll be experienced.¡± The bashfulness in his words was such a joke. Mo Xicheng took a nce at him and suddenly curved his lips. He remained silent and just left. Chen Junjie didn¡¯t know why, but he saw contempt in Mo Xicheng¡¯s gaze. But contempt? He must have seen wrongly. During the interview just now, he had taken all the limelight. Mo Xicheng had to be really furious right now. This had to be the case, so he was speechless. Chen Junjie sneered and then saw his manager stride in. Chen Junjie was instantly excited as he grabbed his manager¡¯s hand and sneered, ¡°Did you see that?Mo Xicheng was just aplete block of wood. He didn¡¯t even really speak, I basically carried the whole interview. Hmpf, a person like him wants to be famous? What a joke!¡± After he finished speaking, he gave a nonchnt look. But when he turned his head, he saw that his manager was livid. Chen Junjie furrowed his brows and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Can¡¯t you just speak your mind?¡± His manager had led quite a few artists and Chen Junjie was the most famous one amongst all of them. Thus, his manager had been really tolerant with him recently. But now, his manager was furious. ¡°Speak my mind? Say what? Say that you¡¯re a clown?!¡± His look made Chen Junjie furious as well. He just pointed at his manager and scolded him, ¡°Who are you calling a clown? What do you mean?! Do you know who exactly you¡¯re talking to now?! Let me tell you, my contract is about to end. It¡¯s a good question if I still want you, don¡¯t think that you are very powerful!¡± His manager was so angry his finger was trembling. He was so angry he was speechless. After a while, he said, ¡°Go look at your own Weibo!! You¡¯re going to kill yourself one day.¡± His sentence shocked Chen Junjie. He picked up his phone with confusion and opened Weibo. Chapter 1470 - He Is My Son (43)

Chapter 1470: He Is My Son (43)

Chen Junjie went into his Weibo page and took a nce. He saw that nothing much had happened. Nothing was seemingly different, so he frowned and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Look at the filming crew¡¯s official blog.¡± Chen Junjie went into the filming crew¡¯s official blog and saw a short video of the interview they had just done today. The man had no patience to look at his own interview, so he went directly to thements section. He noticed thements were all simr, along the lines of ¡°hehe,¡± ¡°haha¡± and the likes. They seemed to be rather sarcastic. Frowning, he asked, ¡°What¡¯s this all about?¡± It all sounded quite wrong. The manager said angrily, ¡°Watch the video!¡± Chen Junjie clicked on the video. The video showed him answering all sorts of questions by the emcee. Sometimes the questions were directed at Mo Xicheng, but he intercepted him to answer. The fact was that Mo Xicheng was less articte and wouldn¡¯t normally make public appearances, so it was usual for him to speak less. On the other hand, Chen Junjie had a pretty boy image so it seemed natural for him to have more to say. If this scenario had taken ce anywhere else, everything would have looked quite natural. But given that this had happened between Chen Junjie and Mo Xicheng, and even Shen Liangchuan was present... The long shot captured all three of them sitting on stage. If one looked at Chen Junjie alone, he was a dashing man. He had an underlying pretty boy image that was all the rage at the moment, a pale and innocent-looking face. It was usually not a problem for him to be featured in interviews. But s! He had not been up against the normal stars in today¡¯s event. It wasn¡¯t by ident that Shen Liangchuan had risen to be the nation¡¯s Best Actor. With features that seemed carved by heavenly craftsmen, Chen Junjie was like a star next to the sun when he stood side by side Shen Liangchuan¡ªwith an immediate outshining brightness. The only person who could stand next to Shen Liangchuan and still hold his own was Mo Xicheng. Both of them came from wealthy families. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s childhood had been full of luxury and with that, he seemed naturally distinguished. Anyone looking at him could sense that he was like a lofty prince. Concerning Mo Xicheng, although he was an illegitimate child, thedy of the household was Li Shu and he had grown up under the care of a wealthy family, so there was an inevitable ss about him. With the two of them there, they already owned the situation. Their presence was so huge no one could miss it. Standing there between them, Chen Junjie greatly contrasted with them. Quickly answering every question from the emcee, whether directed at him or otherwise, not only had he not disyed an ounce of wit, on the contrary, he had looked like a tterer and a clown. His pupils shrank when he watched the video. Now, they had released a picture of the filming crew at the party. It was the picture of everyone on stage, taken at the end of the segment. Chen Junjie was in his branded ck suit, but because the other two men were 1.80 m high and slightly towering over Chen Junjie, in addition to their aura, this made Chen Junjie look like their little sidekick. Comments flooded in and there were even vivid descriptions of what their rtionship looked like in the picture. [Why does this feel like, if Mo Xicheng and Best Actor Shen were young masters in old times, then this whats-his-name Chen Junjie would be the little footboy following them around?] [Argghh, I usually thought Chen Junjie was OK, but standing next to these two men, he¡¯s got no ss.] Chapter 1471 - He Is My Son (44)

Chapter 1471: He Is My Son (44)

[Why haven¡¯t I noticed before that Mo Xicheng is this dashing? He doesn¡¯t even pale next to Best Actor Shen. Whereas Chen Junjie is less dashing than I had imagined. He can¡¯t hold a candle against Best Actor Shen.] [I¡¯ve just realized that Mo Xicheng is very dashing. Aaahhh! Standing next to Best Actor Shen, theypletely look like a couple.] All thements were in Mo Xicheng¡¯s favour, which felt like ps on Chen Junjie¡¯s face. The man both paled and reddened in anger. He could not have imagined that what he had just been so proud about had been but a joke to others. He clenched his fists in fury and looked at the manager, saying, ¡°They- they are too much! I¡¯m not that bad as they say. Am I?!¡± He waited for an answer from the manager. Upon hearing this, the manager sighed and said, ¡°Now you see the gap between yourself and them, so don¡¯t overestimate yourself in the future. Mo Xicheng is not just anyone. You can tell from his innate style.¡± Chen Junjie gritted his teeth and said, ¡°What¡¯s the big deal about him? He¡¯s a mere illegitimate son of a wealthy family. If he really had that, he wouldn¡¯t have been in show business for so many years and not made it big.¡± The manager gave a frostyugh and said, ¡°If you¡¯re not going to heed my advice, then I can¡¯t do more for you. But have a look in your Weibo and note the number of people who unfollowed you in the time you were on stage. Don¡¯t go thinking I¡¯m crying wolf. I¡¯m warning you, if you continue being like this, I won¡¯t be able to be your manager.¡± The manager had finally seen the truth of the situation today. Mo Xicheng¡¯s background aside, the fact that Best Actor Shen was here to lend him support was an indication of the man¡¯s promising future. But Chen Junjie, with his death wish, had charged ahead foolishly. Everything else aside, Shen Liangchuan alone could destroy the man¡¯s career in show business with almost no effort. So if he had a death wish, the manager wasn¡¯t about to get himself involved. After the manager told him this, he turned around and walked away, leaving Chen Junjie standing there alone with clenched fists. He wasn¡¯t going to give in. ¨C ¡°Woah, this picture, this is simply too dashing.¡± Qiao Lian and Shi Nianyao were huddled up in the VIP lounge, their heads bent over and touching. They were looking intently at the official website too. Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help herself from adding, ¡°My Best Actor Shen is so dashing he looks good in any photo.¡± Shi Nianyao immediately retorted, ¡°My idol is the most handsome!¡± ¡°My Best Actor Shen is the most dashing!¡± Qiao Lian protested. Shi Nianyao argued, ¡°My idol is the most dashing, actually.¡± ¡°Best Actor Shen is the most dashing.¡± ¡°My idol is the most dashing.¡± Qiao Lian opened her mouth to continue arguing when, with a wave of her hand, Shi Nianyao decided, ¡°Forget it, since you¡¯re pregnant, I¡¯m obliged to admit that both of them are dashing!¡± Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help butugh at the argument they were having. Putting her cell phone aside, Shi Nianyao asked, ¡°How many months now?¡± ¡°Three months,¡± Qiao Lian answered. ¡°So you¡¯ll give birth in six months?¡± Qiao Lian nodded with a look ofplete bliss. ¡°Yes, we¡¯re about to wee a new life to our home.¡± Shi Nianyao was envious at once and said, ¡°I¡¯m so envious. I want a child too!¡± Curiously, she asked, ¡°Are you expecting a boy or a girl? Chapter 1472 - He Is My Son (45)

Chapter 1472: He Is My Son (45)

Qiao Lian lowered her head as she looked tenderly at her abdomen. Although her pregnancy was not obvious, she could already feel the tiny life that was there. Qiao Lian used to have a rather random approach to things, but ever since she was pregnant, she had developed a certain steadiness and calmness. She had a maternal radiance about her as she said, ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± Shi Nianyao asked again, ¡°Why don¡¯t you have it checked?¡± Laughing, the woman replied, ¡°Just to keep the mystery. Because either way, I will love the child. Also, Shen Liangchuan and I have ced bets.¡± Surprised, Shi Nianyao asked, ¡°What sort of bet?¡± Biting her lip, Qiao Lian smiled tenderly. ¡°A bet on whether the child¡¯s a girl or a boy. I want a son, he wants a daughter.¡± Shi Nianyao¡¯s eyes lit up as she sneakily asked, ¡°Then if it¡¯s a boy, what will be his penalty? And if it¡¯s a girl, what will you have to do?¡± Qiao Lian blushed at this question. She couldn¡¯t help flushing upon recalling the bet they had made. Noticing her response, Shi Nianyao burst outughing and said, ¡°Hahaha, the content must be censored. You have to tell me.¡± Qiao Lian: ... ¡°It¡¯s nothing much. Oh, how old are you anyway, to be wanting a child?¡± Shi Nianyao persisted, ¡°Don¡¯t you change the subject, tell me what your stakes are.¡± Qiao Lian could only lean over and whisper something into her ears. After Shi Nianyao heard what the other woman had said, she clutched her own face and giggled uncontrobly, saying, ¡°You dirty couple!¡± Qiao Lian rolled her eyes. Since they had gotten married, their rtionship had been sweet and intimate and they had been a lot more open with each other. She gave Shi Nianyao a little shove upon seeing her reaction. ¡°You act as though you and your male idol Mo have never done this. What are you so coy about? Out with it, how are things with the two of you?¡± Shi Nianyao said in a well-behaved manner, ¡°Apart from that final act, we¡¯ve done everything else.¡± Qiao Lian said, ¡°Haven¡¯t the two of you registered your marriage? Why haven¡¯t you slept together?!¡± Shi Nianyao: ...!! ¡°Can¡¯t you speak more subtly?¡± Qiao Lian responded, ¡°What¡¯s subtlety? Is it tasty?¡± Shi Nianyao responded, ¡°Fine. So our Qiao Lian is a lot more open with her jokes nowadays.¡± Her face was burning by now and she continued, ¡°Alright, already, let¡¯s not talk about me. What have you and Best Actor Shen been up to recently?¡± Immediately, a blissful smile broke across Qiao Lian¡¯s face as she replied, ¡°The national tournament is starting soon. Both of us are discussing team strategies.¡± Shi Nianyao: ... Obviously, they had been hiding away in honeymoon bliss, yet now she came up with this excuse? She looked at Qiao Lian with disdain and rolled her eyes. Then shifted her gaze as she spotted the two men walking towards them. She immediately rested her chin on her hands and put on a devoted and dazzled expression as she said, ¡°Oh, how handsome and dashing my idol is!¡± Qiao Lian: ... Shi Nianyao stared at Mo Xicheng as he came closer with Shen Liangchuan and continued to humor them, now tilting her head to the side. At this point, her cell phone rang. She looked down at the screen. It was Pu Yun and the girl had sent a link with the message: [Sharing something good with you!] Chapter 1473 - He Is My Son (46)

Chapter 1473: He Is My Son (46)

Pu Yun¡¯s second message quickly followed: [Hurry up and look at this. Fanfictions of Shen Liangchuan and our idol being a gay couple. Everyone¡¯s making guesses at who¡¯s top and who¡¯s bottom. I love these short stories! Hahaha!] Shi Nianyao: ...!! Shi Nianyao suddenly felt a little ufortable. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Hearing Qiao Lian¡¯s voice, she decided she wasn¡¯t going to keep this difort to herself. Hence with a smile, she leaned over towards Qiao Lian and showed her the content. ¡°Look at this. Everyone¡¯s trying to guess what¡¯s going on between our husbands, and between the two men, who¡¯s the bottom party and who¡¯s the top party.¡± Qiao Lian was bbergasted. She lowered her head, held up the cell phone and read Pu Yun¡¯s messages. Upon clicking through the links, she saw imaginative stories of tortured love and romance. The stories imed that the two men had always been in love and it was for this reason that Mo Xicheng had always kept a low profile. It had been in fear that any scandals may affect Shen Liangchuan negatively. Now, Shen Liangchuan had gotten married because of Mo Xicheng¡¯s acting career. He had gotten married to stop the gossip, so that Mo Xicheng could focus on developing his career fully, having suppressed it for so many years. Nothing was holding him back from making it big now. The story had it that initially, Mo Xicheng had held back in various ways for the sake of Shen Liangchuan. Later on, he had be Shen Liangchuan¡¯s Best Man for his wedding. At the wedding, when the priest had asked if anyone had any objections... Mo Xicheng had softly said he objected. Then he had cried and sadly left the wedding. The conclusion was: ¡°So what if I got everything in the world of show business? I lost you.¡± The melodramatic stories drew an overwhelming response in thements section, with the fans both praising and crying over the stories. Shi Nianyao: ... Qiao Lian: ... These fans were amazingly imaginative. But... How could Shen Liangchuan and Mo Xicheng be a couple when both their spouses were right here? Qiao Lian and Shi Nianyao humphed and exchanged a silent look. Then Shi Nianyao rubbed her chin and said, ¡°It looks like we should separate them in the future.¡± Qiao Lian nodded in agreement and then looked in the direction of the two men. Both were beautifully handsome, the women looked at them as though they were conquerors. She suddenlyughed and said, ¡°But these fanfictions are quite interesting for a read.¡± Shi Nianyao stuck her tongue out at Qiao Lian. ¨C At the other side of the party, Shen Liangchuan and Mo Xicheng were chatting. They looked at Shi Nianyao and Qiao Lian from afar and saw that the two girls were chatting happily. Hence, they found a sofa and sat down. Looking at Mo Xicheng, Shen Liangchuan asked, ¡°How are thingstely? I hear you¡¯ve gone back to the Mo family home?¡± Mo Xicheng nodded and replied, ¡°I¡¯ve received 30 percent of the family business shares.¡± Shen Liangchuan did not question this since he didn¡¯t feel there was anything wrong with Mo Xicheng taking the shares. However, he said, ¡°Surely Mo Zhi is not going to just ept this. If you need any help, you only need to ask.¡± Mo Xicheng acknowledged this as Shen Liangchuan continued, ¡°How much do you understand of the ins and outs of the Mo family enterprise?¡± Mo Xicheng replied, ¡°Not much actually, but I know that in recent years they had been trying to establish a TV and filming chain, from film investments to movie theaters, developing these along the same line.¡± Chapter 1474 - He Is My Son (47)

Chapter 1474: He Is My Son (47)

Sitting on the sofa, there was a hint of mncholy in Mo Xicheng¡¯s eyes. But overall, he was still quite different from the lifeless person he had once been. Although he was still gloomy and distant, there was a wild ambition within¡ªan inexplicable enthusiasm. After saying those words, he continued, ¡°I¡¯ve just stepped into the business and have been given the task of managing investments. Actually, I have my eyes set on a new film.¡± Upon hearing this, Shen Liangchuan asked, ¡°What movie?¡± ¡°A sequel of Ambition.¡± Shen Liangchuan couldn¡¯t help butugh aloud. The recent film Ambition was actually rather depressing. Cao Cao was ndered and, from being a righteous person, he slowly became someone that had to adapt and fit into the society. The film being screened currently was only the prequel. The real story of Ambition would be the events that took ce after Cao Cao betrayed the dynasty. Hence, Director Wang would film a sequel for sure. Given the sess of the prequel, in addition to Mo Xicheng breaking out of his shell now, there was little doubt that he would be chosen as the male lead in the sequel. Director Wang¡¯s position and status meant that countless people in the circle would be eager to invest in him. Hence, he had nevercked money. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that Mo Xicheng was the male lead, it wouldn¡¯t have even been possible for the Mo family enterprise toe in as an investor. The moment Mo Xicheng said this, Shen Liangchuanughed and remarked, ¡°We¡¯re thinking the same.¡± Mo Xicheng raised an eyebrow and asked, ¡°You are thinking of investing as well?¡± The man nodded and said, ¡°The script for the sequel of Ambition is out. I think it was given to your manager. When I read it, I thought it was very interesting. So I can foresee that investing in this film will definitely be a profitable venture.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Mo Xicheng nodded. Shen Liangchuan continued, ¡°So let¡¯s make Director Wang happy with a few drinkster, and the matter can be easily settled.¡± Mo Xicheng nodded again. As they sat there, the two men discussed this. After the discussion, they headed over to Director Wang and, in the midst ofughter and idle chat, sealed the deal. ¨C The party came to an end quickly. Because Qiao Lian was pregnant, she and Shen Liangchuan had to leave the event before she got too tired. As the male lead, Mo Xicheng had to stay till the end. After everyone had left the party, Mo Xicheng took Shi Nianyao home. On the way, Shi Nianyao kept turning to look at Mo Xicheng. Upon realizing this, he smiled and asked, ¡°What are you looking at?¡± ¡°Looking at my handsome husband!¡± Mo Xicheng: ... Mo Xicheng shook his head. Shi Nianyao continued, ¡°Idol, I have a question for you but you have to answer this seriously.¡± Mo Xicheng agreed and said, ¡°Go ahead.¡± She looked at him intently and asked, ¡°Do you feel that Shen Liangchuan is handsome?¡± What? What sort of question was that? The man frowned and looked at Shi Nianyao provocatively. Shi Nianyao cleared her throat and then lowered her head. Mo Xicheng finally answered, ¡°Uh huh, he¡¯s alright.¡± Between men, it wasn¡¯t as though they cared about superficial appearance. Shi Nianyao looked up as though in shock. She eximed, ¡°You- you were single, without a girlfriend, for many years. Idol, did- did you really like Best Actor Shen?¡± Mo Xicheng: ...! His expression darkened as he asked her, ¡°Has your period ended?¡± She nodded nkly. He said, ¡°That¡¯s good then.¡± Shi Nianyao: ...?? ¡°Tonight, I¡¯ll make it clear to you if I actually prefer men or women.¡± Shi Nianyao: ...!! Chapter 1475 - He Is My Son (48)

Chapter 1475: He Is My Son (48)

Shi Nianyao looked at Mo Xicheng and had a fright. He looked like he was ready to devour her. She lowered her head immediately and did not speak another word. She cleared her throat and looked ahead awkwardly. This talk had got to stop. She quickly changed the topic and said, ¡°Chen Junjiepletely made himself a fool next to you and Best Actor Shen today. You have no idea, everyone on the inte is saying that Chen Junjie is a real clown.¡± Mo Xicheng raised an eyebrow and replied, ¡°Uh huh. That¡¯s why it¡¯s only people like him who may be interested in other men.¡± Shi Nianyao: ... There was no way out of this topic? She blinked and turned to Mo Xicheng. ¡°You can¡¯t me me really, I¡¯m not the only one thinking that.¡± He threw a nce at her as she quickly pointed ahead and eximed, ¡°Watch the road, stop looking at me. Look out for the cars!¡± Mo Xicheng could sense that she was nervous, hence he turned and looked ahead again. He asked her calmly, ¡°Where are we going now?¡± She blinked again and blushed at once. Then she replied, ¡°We¡¯ll- we¡¯ll just go wherever you say we should go.¡± The man threw a sidelong nce at her when he heard this. He couldn¡¯t resist teasing her, ¡°I¡¯ll take you home then, I¡¯m sure your elder brother is waiting for you.¡± Shi Nianyao: ... She had thought it was going to be a night of passion. But after all that, he was just going to take her home? She twitched her mouth and couldn¡¯t help looking down in disappointment. She had even pulled a clever little trick and told her brother that she was having her period. The implications were quite clear. Hence, her brother had rxed somewhat and allowed her to stay out for the night. But now... Mo Xicheng was certainly too disappointing! At once, she was full ofment and sighed in despair, but on the other hand, she couldn¡¯t possibly make a show of how much she was hoping to spend the night with him. She could only nod and say, ¡°Ok.¡± He nced at her and asked, ¡°So who else besides you thinks there¡¯s something going on between Shen Liangchuan and I?¡± She tightened her lips together immediately and said, ¡°I can¡¯t tell you that!¡± He looked ahead again and said, ¡°It must be Qiao Lian?¡± ¡°How did you know?¡± the girl asked. ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t,¡± the man thought. ¡°But now I do.¡± He replied, ¡°Who else would be so senseless?¡± She retorted, ¡°There are loads of senseless people on the inte. And loads of them have been writing fanfictions based on the two of you as a couple! Qiao Lian and I even read one today that was quite well-written.¡± Mo Xicheng: ... He shook his head helplessly as he drove. As they did so, Shi Nianyao began to feel that something was wrong. She turned to him with great surprise and said, ¡°This is not the way to my brother¡¯s house!¡± He couldn¡¯t resist smiling as he said, ¡°Uh huh.¡± She asked at once, ¡°Where are you taking me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to take you by force and kill you after that.¡± ¡°What ame joke,¡± the girl thought. ¡°His jokes are so corny.¡± She forced augh, turned to him awkwardly and said, ¡°Mo Xicheng.¡± ¡°Uh-huh?¡± ¡°May I tell you that your joke is not even funny?¡± ¡°... No.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± He stared ahead with a serious expression, although there was amusement in his eyes. He paused and then said, ¡°But you can tell it to me in bed.¡± Shi Nianyao: ... Chapter 1476 - He Is My Son (49)

Chapter 1476: He Is My Son (49)

Shi Nianyao waspletely dumbfounded. Why was it so impossible to respond to the way her idol talked? She cleared her throat and then continued, ¡°Ahem! Mo Xicheng, what birthday present would you like?¡± He gave her a look and replied, ¡°You really don¡¯t know what I want?¡± Shi Nianyao: ... She suddenly felt that it was impossible to have a conversation with the man today. This guy was just being silly, it was a nightmare to manage him right now. In the past, before she had had the chance to interact with him, she had always felt that he was too mncholic and gloomy. But having interacted with him now, she had discovered that the man was simply... She tried to find the right word to describe him, but nothing seemed appropriate. She couldn¡¯t call him a pervert. After all, they had gotten married. Mo Xicheng had always teased her with words but in reality, he had never done much to her. Thinking of it, the both of them had been secretly married for some time now. Apart from getting themselves registered, they had not done much in reality. Tonight... The moment she thought of what would happen at night, her eyes lit up and she couldn¡¯t help but feel the excitement. As she bit her lip and lost herself in those thoughts, her cell phone suddenly rang. She looked down at the screen. It was her mom. Picking up immediately, she had said right after, ¡°Hello.¡± She heard her mother¡¯s voice. ¡°Yao Yao, your dad and I are in Beijing. Don¡¯t stay at your brother¡¯s apartment. Come home. I¡¯ve got lots of presents for you.¡± Shi Nianyao: ... She wanted to ask if she could stay out for the night. But neglecting her parents to be with Mo Xicheng seemed too unfilial. Besides, her father would surelye and take her away. Hence, she pulled a long face. She turned and looked at Mo Xicheng. He paused for a moment and then quietly made an about-turn. Shi Nianyao: ... She hung up and looked at him. ¡°Idol, I- no, I mean they¡ª¡± Before she could finish, Mo Xicheng interrupted, ¡°Aunty and Uncle have to be attended now. We have time ahead of us. No hurry.¡± Shi Nianyao nodded immediately. The fact was that if only they could announce their rtionship, they could be together openly. Mo Xicheng took Shi Nianyao to her family home. She looked at him and asked, ¡°Would you like toe in for a bit?¡± He paused for a moment and then said, ¡°No, Aunty and Uncle haven¡¯t been here for some time and I¡¯m sure they have lots to talk about with you.¡± Shi Nianyao pondered briefly and nodded. After saying goodbye to Mo Xicheng, she lightly skipped back into the vi. Si Jingyu and Shi Jinyan were already home and unpacking. When Shi Nianyao walked in, she saw that her elder brother Shi Xun was there too, with his wife and Little Cherry. She greeted everyone and sat by the side. Shi Xun threw her a nce and then said, ¡°Dad, Mum, something happened but fortunately it didn¡¯t turn into a disaster. Still, I should tell you about it.¡± Shi Nianyao¡¯s head snapped up when she heard this. Shi Xun continued, ¡°A few nights ago Yao Lili was hospitalized. She asked to see Nianyao. Mom, Li Shu from the Mo family is your best friend. What do you think of this?¡± Chapter 1477 - He Is My Son (50)

Chapter 1477: He Is My Son (50)

Shi Xun had not taken any actions against the Mo family for a few reasons. One was because of Mo Xicheng, the other was because of Si Jingyu and Li Shu¡¯s rtionship. After all, Mo Zhi was Li Shu¡¯s son. Shi Xun wanted to hear Li Shu¡¯s opinion on the matter. Now that he had told them about this, Shi Nianyao was stunned. She had thought that the matter was water under the bridge. She would have never expected that her elder brother would bring it up again today. She looked at Shi Jinyan nervously. He gave a frosty smirk and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know how Mo Zhi got the gall to do that. He even dared hit you.¡± Thatst sentence was obviously directed at Shi Nianyao. Shi Nianyao said with a wave of her hand, ¡°No, Dad, I¡ª¡± Before she could finish, Shi Jinyan looked at Shi Xun and interrupted, ¡°And you? You just found out that your sister got attacked and did nothing?¡± Shi Xun sighed and said, ¡°That¡¯s because Mo Xicheng got entangled in this. He said that he wanted to personally take revenge for this matter.¡± ¡°And so?¡± ¡°And so to avoid the responsibility, the Mo family gave Mo Xicheng 30 percent of their family business shares. These shares are actually their way of apologizing to Nianyao.¡± There was another icy smirk from Shi Jinyan as he said, ¡°And 30 percent of their shares means a lot to you?¡± Shi Xun had expected this reaction from Shi Jinyan and could only sigh helplessly. He replied, ¡°Dad, it doesn¡¯t mean much to me, but I wasn¡¯t sure that if I had dealt with Mo Zhi, Li Shu might havee looking for Mom. So I¡¯ve waited till now, for the both of you to be back, to make a decision. I¡¯ll do whatever you say. Mo Zhi will always be there, he won¡¯t disappear either way.¡± Shi Jinyan gave an icy humph and seemed satisfied with the answer. Shi Xun then looked at Shi Nianyao and asked, ¡°Yao Yao, what do you think?¡± Upon hearing this, she immediately said, ¡°That man has a death wish, to think he even dared to scheme against me! So for sure, Mo Zhi has to be dealt with. But as to how and to what extent, we might need to discuss.¡± Shi Jinyan nodded and asked, ¡°How do we deal with him?¡± ¡°The way I see it, there¡¯s no one Mo Zhi hates more than my idol, so leave the matter to my idol. I¡¯m sure the oue will be effective. Even if the man doesn¡¯t die from the punishment, he¡¯ll be disgusted to death.¡± Everyone: ... Shi Jinyan looked at her resentfully and said, ¡°You¡¯re speaking up for that Mo Xicheng?¡± Shi Nianyao hung her head upon hearing this remark and said, ¡°It¡¯s not that, I¡ª¡± ¡°Then what is it?¡± She lifted her gaze and looked at Shi Jinyan steadily. Then she said, ¡°I trust him. And I believe that he will not let off easily someone who has almost taken advantage of me.¡± Shi Jinyan: ... Shi Nianyao continued firmly, ¡°So Mom, Dad, Big Brother, I hope you will listen to me once and leave the matter in my idol¡¯s hands. He will not let anyone who has harassed me off, please believe at least this!¡± The room fell silent after she had said this. After a while, Shi Jinyan asked, ¡°You have chosen this man?¡± Shi Nianyao nodded immediately. Shi Jinyan frowned and looked at Si Jingyu. She sighed and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go and have a chat with Li Shu tomorrow.¡± Shi Nianyao sighed in relief that this problem had finally been discussed. The family went on to chat about some other things till it waste and everyone got ready to go to bed. Shi Nianyao yawned and prepared to head upstairs when she heard Si Jingyu asked her elder brother, ¡°Shi Xun, where¡¯s our household registration booklet?¡± Chapter 1478 - He Is My Son (51)

Chapter 1478: He Is My Son (51)

When Shi Nianyao heard this, her legs nearly gave way and she almost fell. She straightened her posture at once as she looked down at them from halfway up the stairs. Shi Xun was looking at Si Jingyu with a puzzled expression and asking, ¡°Mom, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Si Jingyu replied, ¡°I have no idea where I ced our household registration booklet. I need to get a visa tomorrow and will need the household registration booklet for that.¡± Shi Xun shook his head and said, ¡°We keep separate household registration booklets, how would I know where you might have ced yours?¡± Si Jingyu was mystified. ¡°That¡¯s strange. I was quite sure I ced ours in the study. Why has it disappeared?¡± Shi Xun immediately said, ¡°Mom, you must remember wrong.¡± ¡°Not possible. I saw it there a few times.¡± Shi Xun was puzzled too now and continued, ¡°Where could it have gone?¡± Si Jingyu sighed and said, ¡°Nevermind then. Since you¡¯re not sure, I¡¯ll look for it.¡± He nodded. Upon hearing this, Shi Nianyao instantly dashed up the stairs and ran into her own bedroom. Frantically, she started to pace in circles. She had taken it to register her marriage and after that had forgotten to put it back in its original location. Now her mother had discovered it was gone and she was stuck. What was she going to do? As she was panicking, she heard a knock on her door. She almost jumped in fright. With a trembling voice, she called out, ¡°Who- who¡¯s that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s your Mom. Yao Yao, have you seen our household registration booklet?¡± Shi Nianyao: ...! Immediately, she replied, ¡°No I haven¡¯t!¡± Si Jingyu was stumped. ¡°Really? You haven¡¯t seen it at all?¡± ¡°I really haven¡¯t seen it!¡± ¡°Alright then, if you see it, let me know.¡± Shi Nianyao sighed with relief and said, ¡°Ok. Mom, you¡¯ve had a long flight and you must be tired. You should go to bed now.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± She finally rxed when she heard Si Jingyu¡¯s footsteps fade away. Patting her chest to calm herself, she sat on the bed. She had to think of a way to return the household registration booklet to its original spot without anyone noticing. After Si Jingyu finished asking around about the document, she went back into her own bedroom. Shi Jinyan was just walking out of the bathroom in his pajamas after a shower. When he saw Si Jingyu, he asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± The woman sighed and said, ¡°What do you think about what we discussed today?¡± Shi Jinyan smirked frostily and said, ¡°First, Mo Zhi called Nianyao an ugly monster and now he does this. It¡¯s too much. If it weren¡¯t for Mo Xicheng getting there in time, and foiling Mo Zhi¡¯s ns, what would be of our Yao Yao now?¡± Upon hearing this, Si Jingyu nodded. She frowned and said, ¡°Tomorrow I¡¯ll arrange to have a chat with Li Shu.¡± Shi Jinyan nodded and added, ¡°You can tell her that if she fails to educate her son, then I will do it. But if I were the one doing it, the education fees would be very costly for them.¡± Si Jingyu replied, ¡°Ok, I know.¡± ¨C The next day, at Hongkou Cafe. Li Shu was already waiting there when Si Jingyu turned up. She had already drank half her cup of coffee. Si Jingyu walked over as Li Shu stood up to greet her friend. Thetter had aplex expression on her face as she said, ¡°You¡¯re here.¡± Si Jingyu nodded and said, ¡°I think you know what Mo Zhi has done. Li Shu, since things havee to this, do you not intend to step in and do something about it? You have always been an upright person, but look at you now.¡± Chapter 1479 - He Is My Son (52)

Chapter 1479: He Is My Son (52)

Si Jingyu frowned and looked at Li Shu, who was obviously in low spirits. She said, ¡°Li Shu, over a son, is it worth it?¡± She ced both her hands on the table and looked at Li Shu with much disappointment. Among all their old friends, Li Shu had the most mettle and the best literary reputation. Her energy and enthusiasm also attracted the most suitors. But now, it was as though the woman was living half a life. What had be of Li Shu today? Although the woman hade prepared to see her, the weariness beneath her dolled-up exterior was evident. Si Jingyu clenched her fists tightly, on one hand furious over Mo Zhi, on the other hand feeling sorrowful for Li Shu. She looked at Li Shu and said sincerely and earnestly, ¡°You should have left him when he had an affair at that time. But you stayed for the child and just went on with life as it was. Since that was the case, why didn¡¯t you just focus on educating Mo Zhi?¡± Hearing these words from Si Jingyu, Li Shu had a sudden realization. Suddenly, she felt d that she had neglected Mo Zhi¡¯s home education all these years. If it had been otherwise, and should Mo Zhi had been a smarter person and had control of the Mo family, then how could her own son fight him now? At this thought, Li Shu became a little distracted. She looked at Si Jingyu and pursed her lips after a moment. Then she said, ¡°Jingyu, what if I told you that my life has been a joke all these years? What would you think?¡± Si Jingyu was slightly taken aback and suddenly felt her heart soften. She looked at how down her old friend seemed and couldn¡¯t find it within herself to make any harsher remarks. Sighing, she said, ¡°Li Shu, you are only fifty years old. You can start all over again. You really don¡¯t have to be so pessimistic.¡± Li Shu shook her head and started, ¡°You have no idea.¡± She looked ahead steadily and continued, ¡°I don¡¯t wish to interfere with Mo Zhi¡¯s affairs any longer. If you wish to seek revenge with him, please go ahead. After all, where this matter is concerned, he¡¯s gone overboard.¡± Si Jingyu was taken aback when she heard these words. She hade to see Li Shu with the intention of having a heart-to-heart chat. They weren¡¯t going to just let the matter rest. After all, everyone in the family had doted on Shi Nianyao and had treated her like a precious pearl ever since she was a baby. If they had been children and Mo Zhi had hit her, of course the parents would have not retaliated. But they were no longer children. They were adults. And having had something like this happen, they couldn¡¯t just take it lightly. Mo Zhi knew what he was doing and he had to be responsible for his own actions. He had to pay a price. But Si Jingyu was still shocked by Li Shu¡¯s response. Had she totally given up on Mo Zhi, to be saying something like this? The woman frowned, feeling like this woman was bothmentable and detestable. She couldn¡¯t help but ask again, ¡°Li Shu, you really do not care about your own son?¡± Upon hearing this, Li Shu lifted her gaze and looked steadily at Si Jingyu. Si Jingyu got onto her feet and continued, ¡°He is your son and it¡¯s your responsibility that he has turned out this way. You failed to raise him properly! You have a good background at home, so how did Mo Zhi be what he is today? And you know Mo Hai behaves like a nouveau riche. What did you think would happen if he tried to raise a child? And now you are washing your hands off this matter. Li Shu, are you fit to be a mother?!¡± Upon hearing these words, Li Shu looked up at Si Jingyu and said, ¡°Jingyu, what if I told you he is not my child?¡± Chapter 1480 - He Is My Son (53)

Chapter 1480: He Is My Son (53)

Si Jingyu was immediately stunned by Li Shu¡¯s words. She looked at the woman in disbelief and asked, ¡°What- what did you say?¡± Li Shu smiled bitterly. She bit her lip as her eyes reddened at once. She repeated, ¡°I said he¡¯s not my son. All these years, I¡¯ve been cheated by them!¡± Si Jingyu¡¯s pupils shrank back as she stared at Li Shu. She asked, ¡°What happened?¡± Li Shu was unable to hold back her tears at this point. For the next half an hour, she told Si Jingyu the ins and outs of the situation as she cried. After she was done, Si Jingyu was left staring back at her in a stunned silence. In the past, Si Jingyu had felt that losing a child was the greatest tragedy in life. But never had she expected that Li Shu¡¯s situation would be so much more sorrowful. Years ago, Shi Xun had gotten kidnapped and she had found him only six yearster. But the child had still been young and she had had the opportunity to make up for the time lost. However, Li Shu¡¯s child had been swapped. Now the child was a grown-up. In all those years, all the things she had done to the child and now... Si Jingyu was at a loss for words and did not know what to say tofort her friend. She could only sit next to the woman and reach out to gently pat her back. Li Shu cried as she spoke, ¡°It was all my fault. At the time, I had lost hope in Mo Hai but didn¡¯t want the child to be without both parents. So I put no effort in the child. If I had put my heart into watching the children grow up, I might have discovered this earlier. Jingyu, I¡¯m such a fool. How could I have been so naive to think that the third party should not be med when the man has an affair?¡± Si Jingyu sighed listening to this. Li Shu was a woman of principle. She had always tried to be fair about who was at fault. The affair between Mo Hai and Yao Lili had been a big deal when it happened. When the heavily pregnant Yao Lili hade to the Mo family with no other means of financial support, Li Shu had thought that, rather than me the third party, it was fair to say that Mo Hai had not done well. Furthermore, Yao Lili had been carrying a child and Mo Hai¡¯s mother, an olddy who had passed away five years ago, had insisted on keeping the child at the time. This had greatly saddened Li Shu as she then embarked on a life that was something of a joke among the elite and wealthy families of Beijing. While the mistress lived next door under the same roof, Li Shu lived a quiet life alone with no desires or passion, and with no interest in the secr world. This was her, a person who would not fight orpete, and in the end she had been cheated by this mistress for most of her life. The mistress had ruined most of her life and at least the better half of Mo Xicheng. Si Jingyu frowned and finally sighed again as she patted her friend¡¯s back. She said gently, ¡°Li Shu, it¡¯s still not toote now that you are aware of this.¡± Li Shu nodded and wiped her tears. Looking at Si Jingyu, she said, ¡°I know. That¡¯s why I¡¯ve had it all thought out. I want to help my child and take back everything that belongs to him.¡± She looked up at Si Jingyu steadily and continued, ¡°So Si Jingyu, I beg of you, give Mo Xicheng some time. Let him take back everything that belongs to the Mo family before you do anything to Mo Zhi, otherwise... I don¡¯t want the child to go thinking that he depended on his girlfriend¡¯s family for whatever he achieved. That child is pitiful enough and I only want to protect his pride.¡± At aplete loss for words, Si Jingyu looked back at her. Both Nianyao and Li Shu had the same plea. How could they possibly not agree? Chapter 1481 - He Is My Son (54)

Chapter 1481: He Is My Son (54)

After she parted ways with Si Jingyu, Li Shu headed home with reddened eyes. The moment she walked into the house, both Mo Hai and Mo Zhi hurriedly came up to greet her. Seeing her bloodshot eyes, Mo Hai was instantly angered and said, ¡°She made things difficult for you? Isn¡¯t she our best friend? Why can¡¯t shee to meet me? Why must she insist on meeting with you alone? Even if we, the Mo family, went broke, we will not bow to her!¡± Upon hearing these protective words, Li Shu looked up and nced at Mo Hai. She had been frustrated over the children¡¯s matter and now, as she cast her gaze on Mo Hai and noticed how his hair had grayed, she suddenly felt that the things that had mattered to her all her life, the things that she had insisted on, were now all unimportant. She smiled bitterly and shook her head. Both Mo Hai and Mo Zhi had known that she was meeting Si Jingyu today. Mo Zhi was terribly worried that the Shi family would take action against him to retaliate, hence he had been home all day. When he heard what Mo Hai had said, he nervously asked, ¡°Mom, did they say what they were going to do to me? I- I really am sorry. I¡¯m even willing to go to their house to apologize personally. Mom, what did you achieve with your conversation?¡± Li Shu threw Mo Zhi a look upon hearing this. This child had always only worried about himself, why hadn¡¯t she realized that and seen his true colors from a long time ago? She cast her gaze down and said calmly after a moment, ¡°Si Jingyu has agreed to let you off this time.¡± Mo Zhi immediately heaved a sigh of relief. Mo Hai looked at Li Shu with a pained expression. Li Shu had been doted on and protected since childhood. And because she was very well-read, she seemed haughtier than most people. But having to actually plead with her long-time best friend, how could he not feel her pain? Mo Hai quickly asked, ¡°What conditions did she give?¡± The moment he said that, Mo Zhi jumped and said, ¡°You mean there are conditions?¡± Li Shu nced at Mo Zhi impassively, then looked at Mo Hai and said, ¡°The condition is to get Mo Xicheng into the family business as soon as possible.¡± Although thepany shares and office duties had been handed over to Mo Xicheng, neither Mo Hai nor Mo Zhi had really invited him into the office. Mo Xicheng, on the other hand, was still in the midst of recovering from his concussion and, since he had had to prepare for Ambition¡®s party, he had not reported in for work. Hence, Li Shu¡¯s request seemed reasonable. Mo Zhi was not happy to hear that, of course, and said, ¡°On what grounds? If that illegitimate sones to the office to work, what will all my colleagues think of me? Isn¡¯t it good enough that he has been given shares?¡± This was certainly not the first time Mo Zhi used the term ¡°illegitimate son.¡± Every time he used that term, Li Shu would chide him for saying nasty things about others and, in the process, lowering his dignity. But right now, those same words caused her own heart to bleed in pain. She turned pale at once. Noticing this, Mo Hai quickly scolded the boy, ¡°What nonsense are you speaking? Alright, alright, let hime to the office. We¡¯ll get him toe to the office tomorrow.¡± Then he turned to Li Shu nervously and said, ¡°Li Shu, get a good rest. I¡¯ll take care of the office matters. Don¡¯t fret, don¡¯t get angry.¡± Upon hearing this, Li Shu nodded and looked at Mo Zhi again. She lowered her gaze to hide her deep intentions and slowly walked up the stairs. The moment Li Shu had gone upstairs, Mo Zhi grabbed his father¡¯s arm and cried, ¡°Dad, that bastard ising to the office, what about me then?!¡± Chapter 1482 - He Is My Son (55)

Chapter 1482: He Is My Son (55)

Upon hearing these words, Mo Hai frowned and chided Mo Zhi, ¡°What bastard? Your Mom hates it when you use vulgar words like that. Get this into your head! You are not to use this word on him at home or in the office.¡± Immediately, Mo Zhi widened his eyes and said, ¡°Dad, has he cast a spell on you? Are you really going to hand thepany over to Mo Xicheng? Dad, I¡¯m your own son, don¡¯t get yourself confused.¡± Mo Hai sighed and said, ¡°Why can¡¯t you keep your cool?! Letting hime into the office is just an act to appease the Shi family. Who said we¡¯re making him a real shareholder of the business? You have to remember that you also have your shares. You are totally capable of having a fair fight with him!¡± ¡°Why should I need to have a fair fight with him? What is he?! Besides, if I really lost the fight, then are we going to hand thepany over to him?¡± Mo Hai threw Mo Zhi a look upon hearing this remark. He said after a moment, ¡°Are you reallycking the confidence to take him on and beat him?¡± Mo Zhi instantly kept quiet. He knew that his father hated dirty deals. He could only grit his teeth and say, ¡°Of course it¡¯s not that. I¡¯m sure I can do better than him! I¡¯m only worried that he will use underhanded means.¡± Mo Hai patted him on his shoulder and said, ¡°I¡¯m watching over things in the office, so he can forget about ying dirty little tricks.¡± Mo Zhi could only nod. After this chat with Mo Hai, he went upstairs. Not long after, he grabbed his things and headed out of the house. Mo Hai asked, ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°To the office!¡± Mo Hai suddenly smiled as he watched Mo Zhi hurriedly leaving the house. In the past, Mo Zhi had been a disappointment, but now with Mo Xicheng around, he was finally feeling the heat. At this thought, Mo Hai suddenly felt that having Mo Xichenge into the office was not such a bad choice after all. ¨C The moment Mo Zhi arrived at the office, he immediately called for a meeting with a few of his confidants. He was panicking as he looked at the few of them and asked, ¡°So what ideas have you got? Mo Xicheng ising into the office tomorrow and I can¡¯t let him cause a sensation the minute he starts working here. We have to think of a way to show him who¡¯s the boss!¡± One of them spoke up, ¡°CEO Mo, ourpany is nning to establish the TV and Film City. The chairman had mentioned that it has to be an integrated project¡ªfrom investment to building movie theaters¡ªeverything had to be up to par. I¡¯m thinking, why don¡¯t we get him to talk to the film director about the investment?¡± Those words immediately infuriated Mo Zhi. He rebuked the man, ¡°What sort of stupid idea is that? He¡¯s from the entertainment industry and he¡¯s familiar with many of the film directors in the industry. Isn¡¯t asking him to look for a director to discuss the investment an easy job for him?¡± The man was not the least affected by Mo Zhi¡¯s harsh words and continued with a grin, ¡°The director that I¡¯m talking about is well-known in the industry for being stubborn. Besides, he has a special obsession that everyone in the industry knows about.¡± Mo Zhi paused for a moment and asked, ¡°What might that be?¡± ¡°He likes men, especially men like Mo Xicheng.¡± He liked men? If that were the case, wouldn¡¯t it be even easier for Mo Xicheng to strike an investment deal? Then, when Mo Zhi saw the odd expression of the man suggesting this idea, he suddenly saw the light. If Mo Xicheng was able to strike this deal, then his reputation in the industry would bepletely ruined. At this thought, Mo Zhi¡¯s eyes suddenly narrowed as he said, ¡°This is good, it¡¯s a great idea!¡± Chapter 1483 - He Is My Son (56)

Chapter 1483: He Is My Son (56)

Mo Zhi sprang up to his feet excitedly and eximed, ¡°If that director develops an interest in Mo Xicheng, and Mo Xicheng doesn¡¯t ept him and is unable to strike a sessful deal, hahaha... Or even if Mo Xicheng doesn¡¯t strike a deal after pleasing him, his reputation would still be sullied.¡± His eyes shone with delight as he continued, ¡°We¡¯ll go ahead with this n then when hees to work tomorrow.¡± ¡°Roger.¡± ¨C That same night, as Mo Xicheng was tidying up things around the house, he received a call from Mo Hai who said, ¡°Report to the office tomorrow at 9 a.m.!¡± Mo Xicheng frowned and was silent for a moment. Mo Hai immediately chided the man, ¡°I¡¯m talking to you, can you hear me?¡± Mo Xicheng pondered for a second and nodded. ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°What¡¯s up with your tone? Do you not want to?¡± Mo Xicheng pursed his lips and said, ¡°No.¡± ¡°So that means you¡¯re excited? Let me tell you, don¡¯t lose your head just because you¡¯ve been made CEO. The true young master of the Mo family is Mo Zhi. I hope you have this stuck firmly in your head forever.¡± Upon hearing these words, Mo Xicheng smirked. Since young, this had been the phrase that had been most frequently drilled into his head. Hence now, after Mo Hai said it yet again, he kept his silence. Exasperated, Mo Hai repeated, ¡°Did you hear what I said? Are you mute? Huh? What sort of attitude is this? You¡ª¡± Before he could finish, he was interrupted. He could vaguely hear Li Shu¡¯s voice in the background. Indeed, she was standing at the doorway of the study. She had heard what Mo Hai was saying. And when she had heard the phrase, ¡°The true young master of the Mo family is Mo Zhi¡±, she had felt a sharp pang in her heart. She had thrown open the study door at once and walked in. Staring at Mo Hai, she said, ¡°Can¡¯t you talk nicely?¡± Mo Hai choked on his own words at once and fell silent. Her gaze fell on his cell phone and she frowned. Mo Hai said at once, ¡°Hehe, Mo Xicheng, I¡¯ve said what I had to. Once you¡¯re in thepany, do your best and don¡¯t pull any tricks, do you understand?¡± Mo Xicheng did not speak, hence Mo Hai continued to talk to himself, ¡°As long as you understand, I¡¯m hanging up now.¡± After hanging up, he quickly looked at Li Shu and started, ¡°Li Shu, when did youe in? I didn¡¯t see you!¡± The woman red at him with a frown, then turned around to walk away. Mo Hai ran after her, hoping to have a few more words with her. But the moment she got into her bedroom, she shut the door without a moment of hesitation. Mo Hai was left standing outside. He raised his hand to knock on the door, but then eventually lowered his hand again without doing that. Li Shu stood in her bedroom thinking of the words he had said to Mo Xicheng. They must have hurt the boy again. She quickly picked up her cell phone and dialed Mo Xicheng¡¯s number. He picked up the call almost immediately. His voice sounded particrly gloomy over the phone. ¡°Hello?¡± For an odd reason, Li Shu got nervous and her heart started pounding when she heard his voice. Her palms started to dampen. As she faltered, she said, ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± ¡°I know it¡¯s you. What¡¯s the matter?¡± Li Shu paused for a moment and then said, ¡°It¡¯s your first day at work tomorrow. I just called to ask if there¡¯s anything you need.¡± Mo Xicheng gave augh and said, ¡°I know why you¡¯re calling.¡± Li Shu¡¯s heart skipped a beat. And then she heard the boy saying calmly, ¡°If Mo Zhies for me, I will not stand still.¡± Chapter 1484 - He Is My Son (57)

Chapter 1484: He Is My Son (57)

That remark made Li Shu choke back her words of care and concern. Did Mo Xicheng think that she was calling to plead on Mo Zhi¡¯s behalf? She was silent for a while and finally sighed, ¡°That wasn¡¯t what I meant.¡± Mo Xicheng said immediately, ¡°Then would it be... my Mom causing you problems again? Actually, you don¡¯t have to bother with me.¡± Li Shu: ... Li Shu was at a loss for words. She quickly said, ¡°No, it¡¯s not your mother or Mo Zhi. I only wanted to tell you, don¡¯t be nervous even though it¡¯s your first day, just do your best.¡± Mo Xicheng was surprised and went, ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I only wish you well.¡± Mo Xicheng: ... ¡°Also, be careful. Mo Zhi went to the office tonight, he might be up to something. You won¡¯t go wrong by being cautious.¡± Mo Xicheng was silent for a moment. Then he finally said, ¡°Thank you.¡± After hanging up, he stared at his cell phone for a moment. Li Shu¡¯s attitude was unusually subdued tonight and their conversation had been harmonious. He could sense her encouragement for him to do well without holding back. But was his intuition right? Why had her attitude suddenly changed? At this thought, he shook his head and cast his gaze down. Nevermind. In any case he was going to start work tomorrow. He was out to avenge Shi Nianyao. His goal was to provide a safe and stable life for his wife, so he wasn¡¯t going to back out now. ¨C Early the next morning at eight, Mo Xicheng got ready to leave the house. The moment he opened the front door, he saw Shi Nianyao with breakfast in her hand about to hit the doorbell. Their eyes met and both of them smiled at once. He stepped aside to let her into the house. She looked at him with surprise and asked, ¡°Were you going out?¡± Mo Xicheng nodded and replied, ¡°I¡¯m going to work today.¡± At once, Shi Nianyao looked down at her cell phone anxiously and said, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me yesterday? It¡¯s a littlete. Do you have time for breakfast?¡± The man looked at the fried dough sticks and soy milk she was carrying in her hand and then nced at his watch. With the rush hour jam, he would barely make it to the office if he left the house about now. If he dyed it, he could very well end up beingte. Nevertheless, he raised his gaze steadily and nodded, ¡°I have time.¡± Then he turned around and headed back into the dining room. Having arrived at his house at this hour, Shi Nianyao must have woken up at around 6:30 a.m. Since that was the case, how could he let her down? He ate his breakfast calmly as usual and stood up only after Shi Nianyao had finished her food. ¡°Alright, I have to go. I can¡¯t keep youpany today.¡± Shi Nianyao waved him off and said, ¡°Work is more important. Hurry up, off you go.¡± The man nodded and then reached out to give her head a gentle pat before he strode out. Although he had driven at a high speed, he was still five minuteste by the time he got to the office. When he stepped into the office, the people boiled over with excitement. Everyone stood at the doorway, craning their necks to catch a glimpse of him. ¡°It¡¯s really Idol Mo! My god! This is the first time I see him in real life.¡± Chapter 1485 - He Is My Son (58)

Chapter 1485: He Is My Son (58)

Mo Xicheng was the illegitimate son of Mo Hai¡ªthis was something that the people in thepany had gossiped about among themselves. But because he had never been recognized, he had never been to the office and the staff had never seen him. Even if they had seen him on the big screen, it was nothing like seeing him in person. He walked into the office with a natural poise and approached the front desk. ¡°I¡¯m here to report for work, I¡¯m Mo Xicheng.¡± The receptionist stood up excitedly and said, ¡°Sure, sure. I¡¯ll take you to the Human Resource Department for onboarding.¡± She then led Mo Xicheng to the Human Resource Department. Everyone around looked dazzled. At this point, Mo Zhi appeared behind them and stared at Mo Xicheng¡¯s disappearing figure. He narrowed his eyes viciously. He¡¯s just an illegitimate son, isn¡¯t he? Are these people blind to be so charmed by him? Ha! Just wait! At the thought of this, a smile appeared on Mo Zhi¡¯s face and he walked to the side to make a call to the Human Resource Department. ¨C Led by the receptionist, Mo Xicheng entered the Human Resource Department. Upon seeing him, the HR manager stood up at once and greeted him, ¡°CEO Mo, pleased to meet you.¡± Mo Xicheng extended his hand for a handshake. The manager walked towards him and said, ¡°CEO Mo, the former-CEO Mo called yesterday to request that we prepare you an office, but because the notification came toote, the CEO office in the penthouse is still under renovation. Given this, shall I take you to your temporary office to have a look?¡± Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes upon hearing this. This reeked of Mo Zhi¡¯s usual practice, harassing others in little ways like this. But that man was indeed too childish. Would a mere office affect his status? Mo Xicheng smirked. He didn¡¯t really care about the office. Hence he nodded. Initially anxious about this matter, the Human Resource Department immediately rxed. The manager led Mo Xicheng towards his office. It could only be called an office by name. That space was just a small area delimited by a ss panel. There were many offices like that downstairs and they were just individual work spaces upied by the managers of the various departments. Mo Zhi had arranged such a space for him to imply that even though he was a CEO, he was barely equivalent to a department manager in the office. Mo Zhi wanted it to feel like a p to Mo Xicheng¡¯s face. Mo Xicheng was expressionless as he looked at the work space. The HR manager looked at Mo Xicheng awkwardly, afraid that the man would start making things difficult for him. But unexpectedly, Mo Xicheng only took a nce and smirked at this. Noticing this, the manager immediately said, ¡°CEO Mo, CEO Mo Zhi has just called to say he is holding a management meeting and asked that youe to Meeting Room 5.¡± When he heard this, Mo Xicheng¡¯s smirk deepened. He hadn¡¯t even started to look for trouble with Mo Zhi, yet the man had alreadye around looking for it. At this thought, Mo Xicheng cast his gaze down and nodded calmly. ¡°Ok.¡± Taking the lead again, the manager took Mo Xicheng to the entrance of the meeting room. He pushed the door open and saw that it was dimly lit and most of the senior management staff were already seated. When he saw Mo Xicheng, Mo Zhi sprang to his feet and said, ¡°Mo Xicheng, aren¡¯t you a little arrogant, making everyone wait for you like this?¡± Chapter 1486 - He Is My Son (59)

Chapter 1486: He Is My Son (59)

Mo Zhi¡¯s words were really ridiculous. It was his first day at work and, besides, he had not known that there was going to be a management meeting. Wasn¡¯t this simply another one of Mo Zhi¡¯s whims and fancies? Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes, walked into the meeting room and looked at the shareholders in thepany. None of them looked familiar to him. But when he saw the ce cards that were in front of each of them, he was able to make some connections. Among these people, some of them had spoken to him on the phone, to ask him to take up the position in thepany. Right now as he looked at these people, Mo Xicheng held his posture upright. There was a noble quality in the way he held himself. He smiled and said, ¡°Dear everyone, this is a senior management meeting after all. Without a proper official status, I didn¡¯t have the authority toe in here.¡± What he meant was that he had had toplete his onboarding process before he coulde for this meeting. Of course, the onboarding process could only take ce after he reported to work. Hence, the person who had scheduled this meeting wasn¡¯t being very smart after all. When everyone realized what Mo Xicheng was getting at, they turned to look at Mo Zhi at once. Mo Xicheng frowned and then rebuked the neer, ¡°Mo Xicheng, what do you mean by that? Huh? We start work at 9 a.m., you came in five minuteste. What do you mean?¡± The look on Mo Zhi¡¯s face and Mo Xicheng¡¯s earlier remark, which though brief, held a lot of meaning, revealed a distinct difference between the two men. Everyone present felt it. In the past, when Mo Zhi had run the business, he had not behaved like this in meetings. But now a great contrast could be seen between him and Mo Xicheng. Honestly, who would be willing to work under a loud show-off like Mo Zhi? And who wouldn¡¯t want to work for someone like Mo Xicheng? Everyone was naturally inclined towards Mo Xicheng. Mo Zhi had no self-awareness and was still hollering there, ¡°Don¡¯t think that just because you¡¯re the CEO you can bete. Let me tell you, you¡¯re not taking your work seriously.¡± Immediately, Mo Xicheng spoke without even lifting his head, ¡°I¡¯m the CEO, so I can indeed bete.¡± Mo Zhi was stunned by hiseback. Mo Xicheng continued in a business-like tone, ¡°Ourpany policy states that there is no need for positions above the General Manager to keep track of their punch cards. CEO Mo, don¡¯t you know what that means? If you really don¡¯t, I can exin it to you.¡± Not having to use punch cards meant that there was no need to observe office hours. After all, positions above the General Manager often involved entertaining clients and it was reasonable for them to be out of the office. The mildly sarcastic tone adopted by Mo Xicheng was enough to infuriate Mo Zhi into speechlessness. Pointing a finger at the man, Mo Zhi said angrily, ¡°You- you-¡± Before he could speak further, someone next to him tugged at his sleeve. Mo Zhi suddenly snapped out of his agitation. He gave a cold snort and cleared his throat. Then he took a seat. Without dy, he said, ¡°Alright, everyone¡¯s here, let¡¯s begin!¡± Mo Xicheng stood there staring at Mo Zhi. He noticed that right at the top end of the table, there was only one chair. Mo Xicheng did not express any concern or displeasure as he walked up to that side of the table. He merely grabbed a chair, ced it next to Mo Zhi¡¯s and then took his time to sit down. Mo Xicheng had a very strong presence, hence when he sat down next to Mo Zhi, hepletely overpowered the man. It was visibly clear that Mo Xicheng held the leadership in the room. Chapter 1487 - He Is My Son (60)

Chapter 1487: He Is My Son (60)

Mo Zhi started by giving the current status update. ¡°Following this, I will talk about the progress of ourpany¡¯s TV and Film City project.¡± As he continued, he began to realize something didn¡¯t feel quite right. Because everyone had started to look past him, at something behind him. Frowning at once, Mo Zhi turned to look behind him. Then he saw a very calm andposed Mo Xicheng sitting behind him, watching over him as he gave the update. Instantly, it felt like Mo Xicheng was an Emperor watching over his own territory. Mo Zhi immediately fell silent. That man who was supposed to be isted now seemed arrogant and that made him feel most ufortable. He frowned and barked at the workers, ¡°ce a chair here and have CEO Mo sit here!¡± ¡°Yes.¡± A worker carried a chair over and ced it where Mo Zhi instructed. Traditionally, it was the spot where the right-hand man would sit. The attitude and meaning behind this gesture was more than clear enough. Mo Xicheng couldn¡¯t help but smirk as he observed this childish behavior from Mo Zhi. He walked over to the chair next to Mo Zhi and sat down. Finally satisfied, Mo Zhi continued with a sneer, ¡°CEO Mo Xicheng, from now on, you¡¯ll be in charge of matters rted to investments. Do you have any objections?¡± After all, Mo Zhi was still thepany¡¯s General Manager and although Mo Xicheng was CEO, it was impossible for him to take full responsibility of the wholepany. Given that Mo Zhi had not been dismissed from his post, this distribution of responsibilities was ideal. Mo Xicheng nodded. But no sooner than he had nodded, Mo Zhi started to create trouble. ¡°Mo Xicheng, I¡¯d like to ask you, why is the project I asked the Investment Department to submit today still unfinished? The TV and Film City project has started and up to now, you still haven¡¯t found a suitable script and a suitable director to invest in. Are you guys nning to sell other people¡¯s productions once the TV and Film City is up and running?!¡± What ridiculous remarks. Mo Xicheng had just joined, how could he have known anything about the Investment Department? Obviously, he was picking a fight. He narrowed his eyes and replied, ¡°I¡¯ll look into this matter in greater detail.¡± ¡°Indeed, you¡¯ve just joined and don¡¯t really know much.¡± Then Mo Zhi continued with a sudden change of tone. ¡°I do have a good project here though. Take it back to your department and discuss it.¡± Mo Xicheng frowned and saw that Mo Zhi had brought some documents. He ced them in front of him. ¡°Here¡¯s the script and some basic information about the director. From what I can tell, this would be a big production and the profits would be significant. This film is likely to be a moneymaker, so we must not miss the opportunity. Hence, Mo Xicheng, I¡¯ll hand this over to you to manage personally.¡± Was it like Mo Zhi to be so kind? Mo Xicheng reached out for the documents curiously. When he saw the name of the director, his pupils shrank back. Then immediately, he smiled frostily. So it was him! This director loved men. Basically, he had slept with the male leads of all his movies. For that reason he had a really bad reputation in the industry. But he was a talented filmmaker and every film he made ended up being a big hit. Hence, he was the investors¡¯ darling. And this was also the reason that this director was extremely difficult to deal with. To others, this might have been a big problem, but to Mo Xicheng... The man tapped his fingers on the table twice and then looked up. Did Mo Zhi think that he could ruin his reputation by doing this? That man was way too naive. Chapter 1488 - He Is My Son (61)

Chapter 1488: He Is My Son (61)

After saying these words, Mo Zhi looked at Mo Xicheng. Seeing that the man was not replying immediately, he inquired, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? You don¡¯t want to? This is thepany¡¯s project, not your own film where you can pick and choose. Or are you worried that you won¡¯t be able to handle it? If you can¡¯t handle it, speak up. After all, you¡¯ve never managed apany. If you don¡¯t know how to do it, we¡¯ll all understand.¡± One by one, the senior executives turned to look at Mo Xicheng with a probing look in their eyes. If Mo Xicheng turned out to be less capable than Mo Zhi, or even if the two were on par, they would be more willing to be directed by Mo Zhi. After all, Mo Zhi was the more fitting and proper person in terms of status within the family. If it hadn¡¯t been for the fact that Mo Zhi behaved so outrageously, these people wouldn¡¯t have pleaded with Mo Xicheng to take over the management of the business. So now all these eyes were on him, hoping that he would be able to find a reasonable excuse, or else a suitable way to decline. After all, if he had to deal with a gay director, things would get murky in the future. Imagine their CEO having to give himself for the pleasure of that director. Wouldn¡¯t that be a real joke? But to everyone¡¯s great surprise, Mo Xicheng gave Mo Zhi a look of indifference and then nodded. ¡°Fine.¡± Everyone was stunned by his response. They looked at Mo Xicheng in disbelief. Seeing that Mo Xicheng had agreed, Mo Zhi sprang to his feet with relief and said, ¡°Great. So that¡¯s all for today, let¡¯s end the meeting. And you, Mo Xicheng, we¡¯ll make an appointment for you to meet with Director Li tonight. You can have a long chat with him. And even if it¡¯s an overnight chat, we won¡¯t hold it against you. We will reimburse you the cost of the hotel room, hahaha!¡± After making this ambiguous remark with much sarcasm, Mo Zhi got up and turned to leave. Mo Xicheng frowned, disdainful of his crude remark. As he stood up to leave, a voice called out, ¡°Mo Xicheng.¡± The man turned around and noticed that among the senior executives, one of them was striding towards him. It was a dignified-looking man, probably in his fifties, and there was an air of uprightness around him. As he came up to Mo Xicheng, he said with a frown, ¡°You must not take up this case, or you should let one of your staff represent you for the discussion. You must not meet the director yourself, do you understand?¡± Mo Xicheng was surprised. He hadn¡¯t thought that someone in the office would have his interest at heart. He looked at the man with uncertainty and asked, ¡°You are?¡± ¡°My name¡¯s Gao Feng. You can call me Uncle Gao. This is a trap by Mo Zhi. Perhaps you might not know, this Director Li is a¡ª¡± Mo Xicheng interrupted him before he could finish, ¡°I am aware.¡± Gao Feng was stunned and asked, ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you decline if you¡¯re aware?¡± Mo Xicheng cast his gaze down and said, ¡°Under the circumstances, do you think I could?¡± The older man was stumped. Indeed, could the young man have rejected it? Given Mo Zhi¡¯s supercilious attitude, if Mo Xicheng had declined, he would have quickly gotten the reputation of being ipetent. But to meet Director Li for a deal... Gao Feng sighed and said, ¡°Well then, are you aware of the oue in this case?¡± Mo Xicheng nodded and said, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m aware.¡± Gao Feng replied, ¡°And yet you¡ª¡± Chapter 1489 - He Is My Son (62)

Chapter 1489: He Is My Son (62)

At this point, another voice interrupted, ¡°I say, Gao Feng, why do you care? CEO Mo wants to keep his face. It would be embarrassing for him not to secure this project. Once the project has been secured, who cares what CEO Mo did to achieve it? Isn¡¯t that so?¡± Gao Feng choked and turned around. Another man in his fifties approached them. He sneered, ¡°The youngsters nowadays.... Once they get angry, they don¡¯t care and they dare to take on any project, hehe. At the slightest provocation, they bomb someone else¡¯s building.¡± Gao Feng frowned and looked at Mo Xicheng. He spoke again, ¡°Go and decline that project now. We, the seniors, will agree. You¡ª¡± Before he could finish, Mo Xicheng stopped him and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, Uncle Gao. Thank you. I¡¯ll take the case.¡± Gao Feng¡¯s expression darkened at once as he replied, ¡°Mo Xicheng, you¡¯re aware that it¡¯s a dead end and you go ahead? You¡¯re indeed stubborn and deserve a lesson. When the timees, you¡¯ll realize how serious this is.¡± After he said this, Gao Feng walked away, washing his hands off the matter. Seeing this, the rest shook their heads and pointed their fingers at Mo Xicheng in disdain. After leaving the meeting room, Gao Feng returned to his own office. He loosened his tie in anger and sat down, calming himself down by taking a few deep breaths. Still frowning, he paused and picked up his cell phone to dial a number. The moment the line was connected, he said, ¡°Li Shu.¡± Li Shu¡¯s voice came through, ¡°Gao Feng, how was the board meeting this morning? Did Mo Zhi make things difficult for Mo Xicheng?¡± The moment Gao Feng heard her question, his anger rose. ¡°You said to watch out for him, but after all, he was brought up by that mistress and has limited awareness. Mo Zhiid a trap and he walked right into it! He wouldn¡¯t listen when I tried to advise him. This child is too stubborn.¡± Li Shu instantly sounded anxious and asked, ¡°Gao Feng, what exactly happened? Mo Xicheng is my only son. You have to help me protect him.¡± Gao Feng replied with a sigh, ¡°Li Shu, looking at him, he has got what it takes. But after all, Mo Zhi has been in the business for many years. I don¡¯t think he can stand against Mo Zhi. Sigh! This time, Mo Zhi only had to say a few things to agitate him and he fell right for it. How is such a person ever going to manage the business?¡± Li Shu spoke up, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he is not someone with no sense of propriety. He must have his own reasons for the decision.¡± ¡°What sort of logic is that? Just charging blindly like this. In the end, he¡¯ll ruin himself. Don¡¯te crying to me at that point! You should take back your child and send him overseas to gain experience for a few years.¡± ¡°If I don¡¯t keep an eye on him, with what happened today... sigh!¡± There was a certain frustration in Gap Feng¡¯s tone, as though he couldn¡¯t wait for the young man to master the skills needed. Li Shu tried to sooth the man and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be anxious, Old Gao. This is my only son, shall we just wait and see? Just wait and see, ok?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any advantage in waiting for things to unfold. After this project, it¡¯s best to let him go.¡± Chapter 1490 - He Is My Son (62)

Chapter 1490: He Is My Son (62)

Li Shu panicked when she heard his remark. She said, ¡°Old Gao, do you consider me your friend? Gao Feng paused and replied, ¡°Li Shu, that¡¯s a bit of a serious thing to say. Of course I take you as a friend.¡± Li Shu softened her tone and continued, ¡°I have only one son and he was swapped when he was a baby. I had no idea. It is already a miracle that he has grown up safely under the care of the mistress. Old Gao, please don¡¯t ce too much pressure on him, is that ok?¡± In the end, it was really more like a plea from Li Shu. Gao Feng opened his mouth and looked as though he was going to say something. Eventually, he sighed and said, ¡°Uhm, I know, I know.¡± After he had hung up, the other middle-aged man who had walked in with Gao Feng couldn¡¯t help but sigh as well. ¡°Look at what has be of this whole affair! That woman Yao Lili is scheming indeed, to actually swap babies. It¡¯s no wonder that I couldn¡¯t see a single bit of Li Shu¡¯s integrity in Mo Zhi. So it turns out he¡¯s not even her son.¡± Gao Feng nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. Mo Zhi isn¡¯t the least like Li Shu. But no matter what, Mo Xicheng was brought up by a mistress. She must have tried to ruin him as much as she could. Look at him now, he turned out to be a fool who knows nothing.¡± The other man immediately asked, ¡°So what do we do now?¡± Gao Feng said with a sigh, ¡°What do we do? What else can we do? In so many years, this is about the only favor Li Shu has ever asked, can we say no? Don¡¯t forget that when the woman was younger, she meant every word she said. For Mo Xicheng¡¯s sake, she¡¯s pleading with us. When she was just admitting defeat, I couldn¡¯t even bring myself to- Argh! What the hell. Even if this Mo Xicheng is a blockhead, we have to support him and get him up to par. We don¡¯t have a choice. It is the one and only favor Li Shu has ever asked of us.¡± The other middle-age man nodded. Gao Feng couldn¡¯t help but add, ¡°Also, even if he is a blockhead, we will just have to work that bit harder to help him watch over the business. Right, and Mo Zhi arranged for him to have a meeting with Director Li tonight. Which hotel is that at again? Go find out and then book me the private room next to theirs.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± After the meeting, Mo Xicheng walked to his own office. The Investment Department was just a name. It was a position created by Mo Zhi and Mo Xicheng had no one reporting to him in reality. They were obviously out to make things difficult for him. Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes and smirked. He turned to look at his office, then reached out to pull a chair and sat at one of the workstations outside instead. His cell phone then rang. He looked down at the screen. It was a message from Shi Nianyao. [Are things going well on your first day?] Going well? He looked up. He could sense people throwing furtive looks in his direction. They wanted to approach him, but at the same time they were afraid of offending Mo Zhi. Mo Xicheng twitched his mouth helplessly and then looked at his office¡ªan old and shabby room that had yet to be renovated. Then he lowered his head again, showing no expression as he typed out his reply: [Things are great in the office.] A response came back from Shi Nianyao shortly after he had sent his message: [¡°What time do you finish work? Should I pick you up?¡±] Mo Xicheng: [No, there¡¯s no need to. I have to entertain tonight.] Chapter 1491 - He Is My Son (64)

Chapter 1491: He Is My Son (64)

Shi Nianyao: [That busy?] After this message, another one followed closely: [But this shows that my idol is an important person in the office. Go work hard then!] When Mo Xicheng read thatst sentence, he instantly smiled. This turned his gloomy face bright and cheerful at once. He continued to stare at his cell phone for a while. Then he stood up, intending to go to the pantry to get a coffee. As he approached the pantry and was just about to step in, he heard people discussing his arrival enthusiastically in there. ¡°Ah, have you seen Male Idol Mo? He looks better in real life that on screen! In the films, sometimes he wears a beard and things like that, and doesn¡¯t look as good as in real life.¡± ¡°So what if he¡¯s good looking? He¡¯s still our Big CEO Mo¡¯s illegitimate son. And didn¡¯t you see what happened during the meeting this morning? When Senior CEO Mo spoke, he didn¡¯t even talk back.¡± ¡°Senior CEO Mo?¡± ¡°That¡¯s CEO Mo Zhi. You have to make a distinction between them. CEO Mo Zhi is older, so people refer to him as Senior CEO Mo. Mo Xicheng is Junior CEO Mo!¡± ¡°Oh, is that how it is? So in the sh of the titans today, who won and who lost?¡± ¡°Need we say more? Of course Senior CEO Mo won. You have no idea how pitiful Junior CEO Mo is. The Human Resource Department has allocated him an office that can¡¯t be used. It is getting hottertely and the air conditioner in that room is broken. Plus that room has a full-length window that faces the sun. That room is like a steamer.¡± ¡°Oh, I thought that the air conditioner in that room worked. You mean it¡¯s broken?¡± ¡°If Senior CEO Mo says it¡¯s broken, then it¡¯s broken.¡± Then someone said with an enlightened tone, ¡°Ohhhh, right...¡± As they were speaking, Mo Xicheng walked in and slowly made his way to the coffee machine, turning it on to make his own coffee. The two people who were conversing were immediately stunned when they saw Mo Xicheng and they stood rooted to the ground. They watched Mo Xicheng make his coffee and then stared at him as he took his coffee and walked out of the pantry¡ªall the while pretending that he had heard nothing. The two of them looked at each other, lowered their heads and fell silent. They quietly went back to their work stations to carry on with their work. After Mo Xicheng got his coffee, he walked back to his office. He looked in from the entrance. The door was open. As he stood at the doorway, he could feel a wave of heat washing over him. The difference in temperature between the inside of the office and the outside was distinct. He lowered his gaze for a while, then looked at the worker sitting nearby and sneered, ¡°Get me the Human Resource Manager.¡± Although that person was not a staff of Mo Xicheng¡¯s department, he got up without hesitating and quickly ran over to the Human Resource Department. After a long time, the HR manager appeared, making his way slowly towards Mo Xicheng. Standing before Mo Xicheng now, he looked at the man and asked, ¡°CEO Mo, how may I help you?¡± Noticing that Mo Xicheng was standing outside and had not entered his office, he said with a smile, ¡°Actually, you could have called me and I would havee over. Asking someone toe round looking for me is a waste of time.¡± Mo Xicheng lifted his gaze upon hearing this. He turned to nce at his office and suddenly smiled, saying, ¡°I was looking for you to discuss something.¡± Having said this, he pointed at his office and said, ¡°Come in.¡± Chapter 1492 - He Is My Son (65)

Chapter 1492: He Is My Son (65)

The HR manager hesitated for a moment and then stepped into the office. The moment he stepped in, Mo Xicheng took a step back and, with a loud bang, shut the room door. Immediately, the HR manager knocked on the door from the inside of the room and said, ¡°CEO Mo, CEO Mo, open the door. What are you doing? CEO Mo?¡± Mo Xicheng lowered his head and looked at the key that was inserted into the doorknob. He smirked and said, ¡°There is a staff hiring request on the desk. Help me take a look at it. Should we make any amendments?¡± The HR manager was stunned at once and said, ¡°Well, then open the door. I- I¡ª¡± ¡°Why should I open the door? Take a look at the request first and we¡¯ll talk about unlocking the door.¡± The HR manager sounded like he was sobbing as he said, ¡°But it¡¯s too warm in here, how am I going to¡ª¡± Before he could finish, Mo Xicheng interrupted, ¡°Well, you felt that I could work in there. Why are you, the HR manager, more important than I am, the CEO?¡± The HR manager instantly fell silent. He wiped away the beads of perspiration that had formed on his forehead. Spent, he gulped and said, ¡°Alright, alright. I- I¡¯ll take a look now.¡± Although there wasn¡¯t air conditioning in that room and the strong sun came through the windows, outside of that room, it was spacious and the air conditioning was more than adequate. As he stood there, Mo Xicheng was feeling rather cool. He was used to standing around, he often did so while filming. Hence, he didn¡¯t feel tired standing there, reading the investment case with his head lowered. After a while, the HR manager called out, ¡°CEO- CEO Mo, I¡¯m done looking through it.¡± Mo Xicheng leaned against the wall and looked at the document in his hand. Upon hearing this, he said without looking up, ¡°Hey, have you taken a good look at my request?¡± ¡°Yes- yes, I¡¯ve read it thoroughly. ¡°Tell me what¡¯s my request then?¡± ¡°This- Would you open the door first?¡± Mo Xicheng continued reading the document he was holding and said, ¡°Why should I? I think this is not a bad arrangement.¡± The HR manager: ... If by now the manager had not figured out that Mo Xicheng was out to punish him, then he was a fool. Hence, he fell silent and sat down on the sofa in the room. The office was like a sauna and he was drenched in his own perspiration. He wiped his damp forehead, realizing for the first time that although Mo Xicheng was not a man of many words, he was extremely observant. He gulped, slowly walked to the doorway and said, ¡°CEO- CEO Mo, the air conditioning in this room is broken, it¡¯s not suitable for your use. Why don¡¯t I contact the electrician immediately to fix it?¡± Upon hearing this, Mo Xicheng finally looked up and took his time in saying, ¡°No hurry. Didn¡¯t you say the office upstairs is under renovation and I¡¯ll only be here a few days? So why don¡¯t you work in here and I¡¯ll work in the hall?¡± The HR manager: ... He was a fat man and his body was naturally hard to cool, now he was already thoroughly drenched in perspiration. He was dying to get out for some cool air and didn¡¯t wish to stay in the room for a minute longer. And now Mo Xicheng wanted him to work there for a few days? He almost fainted out of fright. He could no longer tolerate it, walked over to the desk and picked up the phone to call Mo Zhi. Chapter 1493 - He Is My Son (66)

Chapter 1493: He Is My Son (66)

Mo Xicheng stood outside the room as he continued to read the document. Now he was getting a good idea of the profile and understood the investment case and its scale. He closed the document and hung on to it. At this point, he heard approaching footsteps. He raised his eyes and saw Mo Zhi walking towards him with a few men. His eyes narrowed as he stood there and stared at the approaching Mo Zhi. Mo Zhi red at Mo Xicheng and demanded, ¡°Open the door.¡± Mo Xicheng raised an eyebrow and said, ¡°And why should I? This is my office.¡± Mo Zhi sneered, ¡°The HR manager is in there. I am asking you to open the door and let him out.¡± Mo Xicheng dropped his gaze expressionlessly and replied, ¡°I¡¯m discussing work with him and I don¡¯t think that¡¯s against the rules.¡± Mo Zhi demanded again, ¡°I am asking you to open the door so open it!¡± Mo Xicheng cast his gaze down and smirked before he fished out the key and opened the door. The HR manager burst out of the room. The man removed his suit jacket, revealing the shirt he was wearing underneath. The back of the shirt waspletely soaked with perspiration. Even his fringe was dripping wet, so the temperature conditions of the room were obvious. The fat man took in big gulps of air, heaving as he used his hands to fan himself so that he could cool down. Mo Xicheng stared at him and asked, ¡°Is itfortable in there?¡± The HR manager mumbled, ¡°It¡¯s- it¡¯s alright.¡± Mo Xicheng replied, ¡°Well then, would you like to continue reading the document inside?¡± The HR manager instantly waved his hands and said, ¡°No need, no need. The air conditioning is broken. I¡¯ll get someone to fix it.¡± At those words, Mo Zhi grunted coldly and said, ¡°Mo Xicheng, you¡¯re telling me you can¡¯t even bear a bit of trouble? Huh? You¡¯re so delicate and fragile?¡± Mo Xicheng wasn¡¯t the least ruffled as he replied, ¡°Do you mean you¡¯re willing to work in here? I can let you have the space.¡± Mo Zhi: ...!! He turned to nce at the HR manager, raised his hand with fury and stabbed at the air with his finger. Without another word, he turned and left in a huff. After Mo Zhi left, Mo Xicheng looked at the HR manager impassively and said, ¡°I need a secretary. Apart from this, before the air conditioner gets fixed, you will work in my office and I will work out here. Which is quite a good arrangement. We won¡¯t get in each other¡¯s way.¡± With that remark, the HR manager instantly nodded and said, ¡°I understand, I will get you an assistant. The air conditioner will be fixed within the hour! But since you, CEO Mo, are so busy, I shall not be a bother here. I need to look for the people to get these done.¡± Putting on a magnanimous expression, Mo Xicheng nodded and said, ¡°Alright then, off you go.¡± The manager sighed with relief at once as he sped away, as though afraid that Mo Xicheng would keep him another minute. Observing this, Mo Xicheng cast his gaze down and remained stony-faced. He knew the manager wasn¡¯t an evil man, he had just been instructed by Mo Zhi. But if everyone started behaving badly under Mo Zhi¡¯s instructions, then he would not have the time to do anything else in thepany. This initial disy of his strength was important, and the HR manager was just an opportunity. Chapter 1494 - He Is My Son (67)

Chapter 1494: He Is My Son (67)

From now, anyone who wanted to make things difficult for him would have the HR manager as a reference. At this thought, Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes. Half an hourter, Mo Xicheng¡¯s personal assistant arrived. An hourter, the air conditioning unit in his office was fixed. He turned it on and opened the curtains. Light flooded into the room and, with the temperature adjustment, it became afortable space. He sat behind his desk and quietly read his documents. What had happened soon became the talk of the town. Gao Feng was quite taken aback and said, ¡°I had thought he had been easily provoked by Mo Zhi to take the investment project. I thought he was a fool. I¡¯m surprised he actually fought for his own benefits.¡± Another person remarked, ¡°But he barked up the wrong tree, didn¡¯t he? It was obviously Mo Zhi who made things difficult for him, but he took it out on the HR manager. That¡¯s mean.¡± When Gao Feng heard this, he said, ¡°You have no idea.¡± Then he walked away to the side and halted. He said after a while, ¡°This child doesn¡¯t seem to be hopeless after all. Has the private room been booked?¡± ¡°Yes, it has.¡± ¡°Great.¡± ¨C Mo Xicheng stayed in the office most of the day. Not that he had much to do, but he was also busy. Because he had taken over the business, he had to have a good assessment of the business as a whole. Hence, he got hold of thepany¡¯s recent investment information and started to analyze it. It was possible that he had inherited Mo Hai¡¯s talent in business, as when he read through the information, he easily understood what was going on. Thus he spent most of the day reading... right up till 6 p.m., the time he had arranged to meet Director Li. His new personal assistant Xiao Xu had reminded him of this frequently. ¡°CEO Mo, we¡¯re meeting Director Li in five minutes, are we not leaving yet?¡± Mo Xicheng looked up when he heard this and nced at Xiao Xu. He said, ¡°No hurry.¡± Xiao Xu lowered his head and did not dare to say another word. He stood outside Mo Xicheng¡¯s office watching the man. Had he decided not to attend since he knew it was a trap? If that were the case, should he sneakily let Senior CEO Mo know? As he contemted this, the office door suddenly flew open and Mo Xicheng walked out, saying, ¡°Let¡¯s go to the hotel.¡± Xiao Xu immediately followed the man, but at the same time he looked down at his watch. It was five minutes past appointment time. From the office, it would take half an hour to get to their dinner venue. That would mean being half an hourte? Given Director Li¡¯s personality, this would make him extremely angry. Xiao Xu couldn¡¯t be sure what Mo Xicheng was up to, so he could only follow him as they walked out of the office. The two of them drove all the way to the hotel. After he had parked the car, he took Xiao Xu along and headed to the private room that had been booked for the meeting. As he arrived at the doorstep, Mo Xicheng lifted his gaze to look at the private room number and then extended his hand. Just as he was about to knock, the door of the private room next to theirs was suddenly thrown open. Immediately, a voice said, ¡°CEO Mo, Mr. Gao Feng is waiting for you.¡± Surprised, Mo Xicheng looked up. Through the doorway, he could see Gao Feng sitting in the private room. He raised an eyebrow, looked at the person and said, ¡°I¡¯m very sorry, I¡¯ve got an appointment with Director Li and I¡¯m already half an hourte. If there are matters to discuss, then it has to wait till I¡¯m done with Director Li.¡± After saying this, he pushed open the door of his own private room. Chapter 1495 - He Is My Son (68)

Chapter 1495: He Is My Son (68)

Gao Feng had been waiting for Mo Xicheng in the private room, so he had thought that the man would at leaste in. Then he would have stopped Mo Xicheng and gone next door to talk to Director Li instead. Either that, or he would have apanied Mo Xicheng. Yet he had not expected that Mo Xicheng would not only bete for the meeting, but that he would also put on airs and ignore his offer of help. He almost exploded in anger at once. His assistant standing outside the door was stunned too and turned back to look at Gao Feng. He was at a loss for words. Did Mo Xicheng not realize that Gao Feng was trying to help him? Why had he rejected their help? The two of them in the room stared at each other, stumped. Finally, Gao Feng mmed the table top with his hand and hollered angrily, ¡°Idiot! I¡¯m not going to help him! Let him bash his head against the wall! He won¡¯t give up until he¡¯s in a dead end.¡± But after saying this, Gao Feng did not leave. On the contrary, he sat back down on the seat. Noticing this, the assistant standing at the doorway burst outughing. Hadn¡¯t he said he wasn¡¯t going to care? Since he didn¡¯t care, why was he sitting here still? Wasn¡¯t it obvious that he was worried something might happen? The assistant tried to suppress hisughter as he looked at Gao Feng and asked, ¡°Director Li would be unhappy that CEO Mo iste? It¡¯s CEO Mo¡¯s first day at work today. When I left the office, I saw that his personal assistant was getting the car ready. Why is hete?¡± Upon hearing this, Gao Feng grunted and said scornfully, ¡°He has no sense of responsibility at all, doesn¡¯t use his brain. How can such a person be Li Shu¡¯s son?¡± He took a deep breath and said, ¡°Whatever. At least I don¡¯t owe Li Shu now that I¡¯ve helped him! Go listen to what¡¯s going on. If something doesn¡¯t look good, dash in and don¡¯t let the rascal be taken advantage of! Also, keep an eye on the paparazzi and don¡¯t let them take any photos.¡± ¡°Roger.¡± After this, the assistant walked out of the private room to check on the next room. ¨C Mo Xicheng opened the private room door and walked in. He noted that Director Li was waiting for him in the dark room, his expression livid. Seeing the young man walk in, Director Li sneered, ¡°CEO Mo, you are young but you act like a big shot, don¡¯t you? You¡¯re half an hourte!¡± Mo Xicheng¡¯s assistant quickly exined, ¡°Director Li, there was a traffic jam¡ª¡± Before he could finish, Mo Xicheng cut in arrogantly, ¡°I have a busy schedule, it seems like I¡¯ve kept Director Li waiting.¡± Director Li¡¯s face ashened at Mo Xicheng¡¯s rude tone. He stared at the young man, his gaze scanning Mo Xicheng¡¯s face. Finally, with an icyugh, he pointed to the sofa seat next to himself and said with hidden intentions, ¡°Weren¡¯t we going to talk about a coboration? Please take a seat, CEO Mo.¡± Mo Xicheng lifted his gaze to look at that seat and walked over with his eyes cast down. However, he did not sit next to Director Li as the man had suggested, but took the seat opposite the older man. Director Li took a look at Mo Xicheng. The private room was dimly lit and so when Mo Xicheng had been standing at the doorway, his back had been to the light. Hence, Director Li hadn¡¯t been able to see his face clearly. Now that Mo Xicheng was sitting opposite him, he could see every detail on the young man¡¯s face. They had already heard of each other within the entertainment circle. Except that Director Li had a certain reputation and Mo Xicheng had always kept a low profile. So this was the first time that they met face-to-face. Chapter 1496 - He Is My Son (69)

Chapter 1496: He Is My Son (69)

Director Li had seen Mo Xicheng on the big screen previously, he had the sort of face and features that he liked. This was also the reason that Director Li had patiently waited for him for half an hour. Now that Mo Xicheng was sitting right opposite him, he realized that in person, this man was even more attractive. Unconsciously, the director¡¯s eyes were fixed on him. Director Li gulped as a lecherous glint shone in his eyes. Instantly, his attitude changed. He had initially been angry, thinking Mo Xicheng was uncooperative, but now all that anger had vanished. He thought of what an achievement it would be if he managed to conquer such a man. At this thought, Director Li smiled at Mo Xicheng and said, ¡°CEO Mo, I hear that you¡¯re the family¡¯s illegitimate son. You have not been favored ever, right?¡± He sighed and continued, ¡°With your bearing and looks, it¡¯s such a waste that you didn¡¯t get favored. And in show business, look at you, you¡¯ve struggled for so many years and you¡¯re finally making a bit of headway. After filming Ambition with Director Wang, I wonder if you have epted any other films? I haven¡¯t decided on the male lead for my next film, so I do wonder if you might be interested.¡± Mo Xicheng¡¯s pupils shrank back when he heard these words. He looked at Director Li and then looked away as he said, ¡°So what if I am? So what if I¡¯m not?¡± Director Li smiled boorishly and leaned forward to get closer to Mo Xicheng. Unfortunately, the sofa seats were ced quite far apart in the room. Hence, even though his buttocks were almost sliding off the seat, there was still some distance between him and the other man. Looking as though he had not fully expressed himself, he sat back into his seat and said, ¡°I¡¯m actually very interested in working together with you.¡± Mo Xicheng continued, ¡°Since you are so interested in ourpany¡¯s investment project, why don¡¯t you look at the agreement? These are the details of the coboration.¡± On this note, he held the agreement out towards Director Li. Director Li stared at Mo Xicheng for a while, then suddenly smiled and leaned back against the sofa. He did not reach out to take the agreement from Mo Xicheng, but said, ¡°CEO Mo, I think you¡¯re mistaken about something.¡± Looking at him, Mo Xicheng asked, ¡°What about?¡± ¡°I said I was very interested in working with you.¡± The meaning behind his ambiguous remark was obvious. Mo Xicheng¡¯s eyes shed with anger. To think that this was their first meeting and the man could be making such explicit requests. It was truly disgusting. He lowered his head and then tossed the agreement onto the coffee table. Reciprocating Director Li¡¯s bodynguage, Mo Xicheng also sat back against the sofa. Director Li had a big belly and leaning back, he looked extremely ostentatious and boorish. Mo Xicheng, on the other hand, exuded an air ofnguid nobility. As Director Li looked at him, his eyes grew brighter. He was enchanted by that charm Mo Xicheng had, the energy and vitality in him. He gulped and stared calmly into Mo Xicheng¡¯s face, saying, ¡°As long as you work with me, I can guarantee you fame within the next year. You will be as famous as a great Best Actor. How about it?¡± When Mo Xicheng heard this, he burst out in uncontrobleughter. Then he looked at Director Li sternly and said, ¡°Director Li, if you wish to coborate with me, you will have to look for my manager.¡± Chapter 1497 - He Is My Son (70)

Chapter 1497: He Is My Son (70)

That was a very clear sign of rejection from Mo Xicheng. Director Li¡¯s expression darkened at once. He looked at Mo Xicheng with narrowed eyes and sneered, ¡°I hear that this coboration with me is your first project with thepany. If you don¡¯t secure this project, won¡¯t the people in yourpany feel that you¡¯re ipetent?¡± Mo Xicheng lowered his gaze and replied, ¡°Director Li shouldn¡¯t worry about this.¡± Director Li frowned as he looked at Mo Xicheng. After a while he said, ¡°You¡¯re sure that you don¡¯t wish to coborate with me?¡± He stood up at this point. Since Mo Xicheng was not going toe and sit next to him, then he would go and sit next to Mo Xicheng. After taking a seat next to Mo Xicheng, he did not speak and just reached out to touch Mo Xicheng¡¯s thigh. Before he could make contact, Mo Xicheng had already grabbed his wrist. Director Li turned to look at Mo Xicheng. Thetter was looking at him with an unfathomable expression in his eyes. Director Li gulped and said, ¡°Mo Xicheng, I like men like you. If you don¡¯t like meing onto you, I¡¯ll let you take me. How about that?¡± As he said this, he moved closer to the young man. Mo Xicheng was so disgusted that he almost threw up all of his lunch. He smirked and asked, ¡°Director Li, I wonder if you remember Liu Liu?¡± Director Li froze at the mention of this name. Liu Liu had been a popr young star who had been propelled into hot poprity five years ago, when he had acted in a TV series. But after that, he had disappeared from the scene and no one knew where he had gone. Director Li squinted and coughed once, saying, ¡°I don¡¯t know. What¡¯s the matter?¡± Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes and questioned, ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± There was a murderous look in his eyes as he looked at the other man with hatred. Liu Liu and him had gone into show business at about the same time. They had been in the samepany and were as close as brothers. At the time, Mo Xicheng had been given an opportunity to act in a TV series, but because he had wished to keep a low profile, he had passed the opportunity to Liu Liu. Then Liu Liu had shot to fame. One day, Liu Liu caught Director Li¡¯s eyes and was asked to meet with Director Li to discuss a lead role in his next film. At the time, Director Li¡¯s sexual orientation had still beenrgely unknown so no one had known what he was like. Mo Xicheng had waited to hear good news from Liu Liu, but the man did not call that night. The next day, when he tried calling Liu Liu, he found that the man¡¯s cell phone had been turned off. Later on, he found the man at home. The man was in a bad state then. Director Li had set his eyes on him and tried to sleep with the man, but he hadn¡¯t agreed. Given this, Director Li had drugged him and that was how he had eventually fallen prey to him. When Mo Xicheng found out about this, he got furious. But what followed after this was even more infuriating. After Liu Liu was assaulted for the first time, he refused to yield to Director Li again. As a result, the director had taken him out of the role he had gotten and gave it to someone else. In addition, Director Li released pictures of Liu Liu and used the man of trying to seduce him. This had been a big scandal at the time. Later on, Liu Liu¡¯s parents fell ill and passed away from the stress and impact caused by this matter. Liu Liu fell into a depression, took all the money he had and left for another country to start a new life. He never reappeared in the industry. As Liu Liu¡¯s good friend, Mo Xicheng had long wanted to avenge the man. But in the past years, Mo Xicheng had always kept a low profile because of his family situation. Besides, he had never had the opportunity to meet Director Li, so he had pushed the matter to the back of his mind. But now... Chapter 1498 - He Is My Son (71)

Chapter 1498: He Is My Son (71)

Mo Xicheng stared at Director Li before him. The scenes of how his friend had been driven to despair and left the country shed before his eyes. Remembering the look of devastation in Liu Liu¡¯s eyes, he suddenly stood up and kicked Director Li in the crotch. ¨C A sharp and painful howl was heard in the room next door. Widening his eyes, Gao Feng immediately sprang onto his feet and dashed out of the room anxiously. He yelled, ¡°Hurry up! Director Li has got a significant family background, that¡¯s why all these years he got away with his atrocious acts in the industry. It wouldn¡¯t be surprising if he dared try his luck with Mo Xicheng! If he seeds, Li Shu would surely kill me. And I wouldn¡¯t know how to exin this to her!¡± The two of them dashed out of the room as Gao Feng continued to mutter to himself, ¡°Things should be fine, right? Such a loud shriek, I hope nothing serious happened.¡± They came to the door of the room next door. They knocked. The door remained shut. Director Li had locked it from the inside since he had nned to make a move on Mo Xicheng. Now Gao Feng was unable to open the door. Anxiously, he muttered, ¡°Why is it still locked?¡± Then suddenly, at this critical moment, they heard another loud cry, ¡°Argghh!¡± Ignoring everything else, Gao Feng immediately raised his leg and gave the door a mighty kick. The door burst open and Gao Feng charged in, calling out, ¡°Mo Xicheng, are you ok?¡± Barely after he had said this, he was stunned by the unbelievable scene that greeted him. Mo Xicheng was standing authoritatively over Director Li, who was rolling in pain on the floor, clutching his own crotch. Gao Feng thought he must be seeing things. He rubbed his eyes and looked again. Then he saw the expression on Mo Xicheng¡¯s face as the man red at Director Li. There was a sternness and frostiness that no one had ever seen on the man. That look made Gao Feng shudder at once. Then he gulped. Realizing that someone had entered the room, Mo Xicheng looked up impassively. When he saw Gao Feng, he was slightly taken aback. He had not expected Gao Feng to dash in and, even more unexpected, were the words of concern the older man had uttered. He frowned in confusion. There was no such thing as a free meal in this world. Gao Feng had followed him all the way here and helped him time and again. There had to be a reason behind it. He nodded at Gao Feng and took a napkin from the table to clean his own hands. After this, he nodded at Gao Feng again as he walked out of the room. After taking a few steps, he heard Director Li, who was still rolling on the ground in pain, shouting out, ¡°Mo Xicheng, you dare to hit me, I¡¯ll make sure you¡¯re ruined! That you won¡¯t be able to continue in show business! And this whatever investment project that yourpany is looking at, don¡¯t even dream about it!¡± Upon hearing this, Mo Xicheng halted and turned around. His gaze swept up and down Director Li, causing the man to get another fright. He shuddered and fell silent. Staring at him, Mo Xicheng said after a moment, ¡°So you¡¯ll deal with me just like how you dealt with Liu Liu?¡± Director Li was stunned by those words. Mo Xicheng sneered, ¡°Do you know where Liu Liu is now?¡± The man shook his head. Mo Xicheng lowered his gaze with a sorrowful expression. ¡°He took his own life, Director Li. Can¡¯t you not feel him watching over you, waiting to see the end that awaits you?¡± Chapter 1499 - He Is My Son (72)

Chapter 1499: He Is My Son (72)

Director Li felt his goosebumps rising when Mo Xicheng said this. He gulped as thetter gave another frostyugh and walked out of the room. ¨C Mo Xicheng had a gloomy expression on his face when he left the room. It was hard to restrain the anger he was feeling. Even Gao Feng, who was a veteran in the business world, was feeling the pressure that this anger was exerting. Frowning as he followed Mo Xicheng, he asked, ¡°Who is Liu Liu?¡± Mo Xicheng turned and nced at Gao Feng without answering his question. Instead, he asked, ¡°Uncle Gao, I have a question for you.¡± Gao Feng hesitated for a moment and then said, ¡°Go ahead.¡± Mo Xicheng asked, ¡°May I know why you¡¯re helping me?¡± Immediately, Gao Feng replied, ¡°Someone asked me to, so I¡¯m obligated! It¡¯s not as though I have a choice, so I hope you¡¯re not a blockhead. Look, youshed out at Director Li in a fit of anger, but did you think about how you¡¯re going to exin to Mo Zhi tomorrow that you haven¡¯t been able to secure the investment deal?¡± Since Gao Feng was so secretive and did not want to be upfront, Mo Xicheng couldn¡¯t help raising his guard. He had only just started working in thepany and did not have much understanding of the people and how things worked in the office. He had no idea whose side Gao Feng was on, but he knew that the man had been very supportive of Mo Zhi in the past. Now that Gao Feng was suddenly being so helpful with him, he was extremely cautious. Hence, he did not want to say too much. Instead, he said, ¡°I¡¯ll deal with things as theye.¡± Gao Feng was angered by the young man¡¯s words at once. He chided Mo Xicheng, ¡°How can you just leave things till then? Obviously, Mo Zhi hasid a trap for you to walk into! Don¡¯t you know what sort of person Director Li is? Now you¡¯re stuck and I¡¯d like to see how you¡¯re going to exin this to thepany. It¡¯s bad enough that you didn¡¯t secure the project, now to top it off you¡¯ve offended Director Li! Do you know that man¡¯s background? Offending him means offending half the directors in the industry. For sure Mo Zhi will give you a good scolding tomorrow. Yet you¡¯re telling me you have no idea how you¡¯re going to deal with this?¡± Gao Feng didn¡¯t look like he was pretending. Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes and nodded at Gao Feng once again, then he turned and walked away. Gao Feng turned pale with anger and said angrily to his assistant, ¡°This rotten egg! He¡¯s a worse idiot than I imagined. Does he really think he¡¯s the young master of the Mo family? Or one of those wealthy second-generation kids who can do whatever they damn please? I used to think that he was a decent humble celebrity. Who would¡¯ve thought that he¡¯d be this audacious? He thinks that Mo Hai will protect him if he gets into trouble? How could someone like that be Li Shu¡¯s son? He doesn¡¯t even measure up to Mo Zhi.¡± He said these words heaving angrily. After venting his anger, he frowned and turned to look into the private room, muttering, ¡°What do we do now? For sure we won¡¯t be able to cate Director Li. Mo Zhi is going to harp on this in tomorrow¡¯s meeting. He- We¡¯re not going to have an easy time in the office from now on.¡± His assistant sighed as well and said, ¡°Indeed.¡± He frowned and took another deep breath. ¡°Nevermind, I¡¯ll just do my best to defend him tomorrow. That¡¯s all I can do. From then on, he just has to rely on his luck. At least after this episode, I¡¯ll have fulfilled my obligations towards Li Shu.¡± He lowered his head with frustration. Chapter 1500 - He Is My Son (73)

Chapter 1500: He Is My Son (73)

After Mo Xicheng walked out of the private room, he headed home. Driving along the way, he thought of Liu Liu again. Liu Liu had been the first friend he had had after joining the show business, as he started his career. He remembered how devastated the man had been when he was forced to leave the country. He recalled the day about a yearter, when he received the call from the overseaswyer saying that thete Liu Liu had left everything to him, and the shock he had felt when he was told the man had taken his life. He lowered his gaze and wound down the car window. The wind came in. There was something in the heat of the summer wind that made one restless. He turned to look out of the car window, at the glittering lights, suddenly feeling a tinge of regret. If at the time he had been able to stand up on his own and help avenge Liu Liu, would the man have found some hope in life again, and not take such a drastic measure? Mo Xicheng choked with emotions. Soon, he arrived home. ¡°CEO Mo, we¡¯ve arrived.¡± He looked up to nce at the vi building and then nodded at his assistant. ¡°Take the car with you, pick me up for work tomorrow.¡± The assistant immediately nodded and said, ¡°Roger.¡± Mo Xicheng got out of the car and opened the front door of the vi. As he stepped in, he realized the house was brightly lit. He froze momentarily, as though remembering something suddenly. Hastening his steps, he pushed the door open and walked through the doorway. The moment the door was pushed open, a small birthday cake appeared before him. He lifted his gaze and saw Shi Nianyao holding the cake. She tilted her head and grinned at him. After he got into the house, she started singing, ¡°Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you!¡± In that heartwarming moment, the mncholy and loneliness he had felt a moment ago vanished at once. He lowered his head to look at the cake and an unconscious smile spread across his face. He asked, ¡°How did you know it¡¯s my birthday today?¡± Shi Nianyao stuck out her tongue at him. cing the cake on the coffee table, she replied, ¡°What don¡¯t I know about you? Today is your birthday on the sr calendar. I know that you have a fan-meeting event on your lunar birthday and I may not be able to celebrate it with you then. So I¡¯m celebrating with you today!¡± Mo Xicheng nodded and slid his jacket off. He went to wash his hands and, upon his return, he noticed that Shi Nianyao was looking at him with bright and sparkling eyes. She pointed at the cake and asked, ¡°Is it pretty?¡± Mo Xicheng lowered his gaze and looked at the cake. It was decorated with a border of roses and had the words ¡°Happy Birthday Mo Xicheng¡± on it. It was a normal birthday cake, but seeing the excitement and anticipation in the girl¡¯s eyes, he said, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s pretty.¡± ¡°Really?¡± she asked. Then she proudly proimed, ¡°I made this myself!¡± He was stunned and repeated, ¡°Made it yourself?¡± Shi Nianyao nodded immediately and said, ¡°Uh huh. But these modern cake recipes are really difficult to master! I tried all day and you have no idea how many I¡¯ve destroyed before I got this right. Hahaha, I think it¡¯s pretty too.¡± After saying all of that, she led Mo Xicheng to the sofa and made him sit down. Then she said, ¡°Alright, birthday boy, now you can make a wish and blow out the candles!¡± These words warmed his heart. Nodding and closing his eyes, he made a wish. With one blow, he turned off the lit candles. When he looked up again, he saw her eyes sparkling as she asked, ¡°What did you wish for?¡± Chapter 1501 - He Is My Son (74)

Chapter 1501: He Is My Son (74)

The corners of Mo Xicheng¡¯s mouth curved into a captivating smile. He hesitated and asked, ¡°You really want to know?¡± Shi Nianyao nodded immediately. Mo Xicheng gestured for her toe closer. She turned her face to the side and leaned in, ready to hear what the man had to say. Following this, Mo Xicheng leaned in as well. Just as she thought he was going to speak, she suddenly felt something damp running over her ear, a wet lick. That warmth sent an electric current that flowed from her ears through her body to the tips of her fingers and toes. She weakened at once. She spun her head around and saw Mo Xicheng smiling faintly. She blushed as she realized what Mo Xicheng had done. She coughed awkwardly and then asked, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you telling me?¡± Mo Xicheng moved closer to her. He reached out, put his arm around her waist, and then whispered lightly into her ear, ¡°If I say it aloud, it won¡¯te true.¡± Shi Nianyao: ... He continued, ¡°Did you get me a birthday present?¡± Birthday present? Shi Nianyao widened her eyes. Wasn¡¯t the birthday cake a present? But since her idol had said this, it seemed like the cake did not qualify as a present. Where was she going to find a present for her idol now?! As she contemted the question, Mo Xicheng asked, ¡°Nianyao, can you stay the night?¡± Shi Nianyao: ...!! Looking torn and awkward, she said as she nced at Mo Xicheng, ¡°Hehe, I have to be home before 10 p.m.¡± Mo Xicheng: ... He looked at the time. It was already 9 p.m. That would mean that she would have to leave by 9:30 p.m. They only had half an hour left together. Mo Xicheng suddenly felt like a deeply grieving wife. They obviously were a married couple, so why was their union proving to be so impossible?! He sighed with disappointment and continued to look at Shi Nianyao. After a moment, he suddenly said, ¡°Well then, safekeep the birthday present until you have the opportunity to give it to me.¡± Shi Nianyao: ... She burst outughing as she nodded. She pondered for a moment, then suddenly extended her hands and slipped them around his neck. She moved in and kissed him squarely. Mo Xicheng was taken aback and immediately tightened his arms around her waist, as though attempting to merge her into him. It was a kiss that was never enough. When they finally pulled away from each other to look at the time, it was already 9:30 p.m. Shi Nianyao was stunned. Had it been half an hour already? It had just been a short kiss, hadn¡¯t it? Mo Xicheng noticed her expression darkening as she looked at the time. Immediately, he picked up the cake and said, ¡°Let¡¯s try this cake baked by the little Yao Yao.¡± Her attention was redirected at once as she reached for a te and cut a slice of cake. She held out the te to him. Like a child who had aplished a task and waited to be praised, she sat there looking at him. He said, ¡°It¡¯s yummy.¡± At once, she felt like the world was perfect. After Mo Xicheng had finished the cake, she hung her head in disappointment again. He got onto his feet and reached out to take her hand. ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s get you home.¡± Now that her parents were home and watching over her like hawks, for sure they would start taking turns to call her if she went homete. Hence, she said as she stood up, ¡°Alright.¡± Chapter 1502 - He Is My Son (75)

Chapter 1502: He Is My Son (75)

As Mo Xicheng put on his jacket, Shi Nianyao lowered her head and walked dejectedly towards the door. The two of them left the house and walked to the parking lot to get Shi Nianyao¡¯s car. Mo Xicheng got into the driver seat and Shi Nianyao got into the front passenger seat. He started up the car. Shi Nianyao felt terribly reluctant. She had waited all day and had finally seeded at baking that cake. Had that all been just for half an hour with her idol? She feltpletely cheated. She didn¡¯t want to just leave like that! She turned, nced at her idol¡¯s side profile and bit her lip uncontrobly. Then she randomly said, ¡°On my birthday, my dad and mom would give me presents, and so would my big brother and his wife. How did you spend your birthdays?¡± After she said those words, she suddenly felt that her question was quite redundant. It was his birthday on the sr calendar, but he must have forgotten it, given that he had returned home sote. Then she tried to make up for how silly that first question had sounded. ¡°I think you spent yourst two birthdays with your fans. Actually, it¡¯s not too bad having your fans there to apany you every year! It¡¯s a blessing.¡± Mo Xicheng¡¯s eyes darkened at those words. He suddenly said, ¡°Actually, that¡¯s not my birthday.¡± Shi Nianyao was taken aback by what the man had said. ¡°What?¡± He turned towards her and said, ¡°The day that I spend with my fans every year is not my birthday. The month of my birth recorded in our household registration booklet and my identity card is not my actual month of birth.¡± Shi Nianyao widened her eyes in astonishment as she asked, ¡°How could that be?¡± The man smiled and said, ¡°Why not? At the time, Mo Zhi and I were born just hours apart. The family felt that it was inauspicious, so they changed my birth month to a monthter. And you know that all your personal data is based on your identity card, so I never bothered to exin all this to the fans. In any case, it doesn¡¯t matter which day I celebrate it, so I just went with what¡¯s on the papers.¡± Shi Nianyao frowned upon hearing those words and said, ¡°How could we do that? So how do you spend your actual birthday every year?¡± He replied, ¡°I don¡¯t celebrate my birthday because I don¡¯t have many friends.¡± He didn¡¯t celebrate his birthday, not because he didn¡¯t want to, but because no one celebrated it with him. She recalled that on his birthdayst year, thepany had organized a small birthday party for him. Shen Liangchuan had also turned up for it. But all of that was superficial mor, so what was the use of it? That day wasn¡¯t Mo Xicheng¡¯s birthday at all. She bit her lip and lowered her head to make a quick mental calction. Then she eximed in astonishment, ¡°I just realized that if your birthday¡¯s a monthter in your identity card, then it seems like it¡¯s really your birthday today. What a coincidence!¡± Mo Xichengughed when he heard this and agreed, ¡°Uh huh, what a coincidence.¡± She stared at the man and, oddly, felt the irony of it all. Instantly, she felt a heartache that spread throughout her body. She lowered her head and picked up her cell phone to send a message to the group chat with her parents: [Mom, Dad, I won¡¯t be home tonight.] Then she lifted her head to look at Mo Xicheng. She said, ¡°Turn the car back.¡± The man was taken aback. ¡°Huh?¡± She said, ¡°Let¡¯s go home and celebrate your birthday! Didn¡¯t you want a birthday present from me?¡± Chapter 1503 - He Is My Son (76)

Chapter 1503: He Is My Son (76)

The night scene of Beijing was slightly hazy. Under the light of the streetmps, Mo Xicheng turned to look at Shi Nianyao. He could pain and determination written all over her face. He looked away as he said, ¡°But your parents¡ª¡± ¡°Mo Xicheng.¡± ¡°Uh huh?¡± ¡°I just want to spend a happy birthday with you today. Besides, we¡¯re married. Where my parents are concerned, let¡¯s deal with it as ites?¡± Deal with it as ites. Mo Xicheng had never been a person to makest-minute decisions. But right now, looking at her and thinking that it was his own birthday today, the feeling of extreme loneliness was overwhelming. He narrowed his eyes and, for some reason, did not decline. Shi Nianyao continued, ¡°And tonight, I¡¯m your birthday present.¡± Mo Xicheng was stunned once again. As his heart beat, something erupted inside and he wordlessly made an about-turn. Then he drove Shi Nianyao towards his home again. Along the way, his face was expressionless and he did not speak a word. Shi Nianyao noticed this and, strangely, started to feel nervous. Her heart rate quickened. If she was tested right now, the doctors would probably find that her heart rate had shot through the roof. She clenched and unclenched her fists a few times. The way back to the vi was both too long and too short. Amidst the agitation they were feeling, the car pulled up at the vi they had left not so long ago. The main gate of the vi shut automatically and the car stopped in the courtyard, rather than in the garage. Shi Nianyao was going to mention that it looked like it would rain tonight, so they had better park in the garage, but before she could even utter a word, Mo Xicheng had turned around and with a swift movement of his hand, he swept her chin upwards so that her lips met his in a hot and passionate kiss. Shi Nianyao was taken by surprise but when she finally realized what was happening, she boldly embraced the man¡¯s neck at once and responded fervently to his kiss. Immersed in desire, they almost forgot where they were. By the time they pulled away from each other, they were gasping for air. There was an underlying restraint in Mo Xicheng¡¯s hoarse voice as asked, ¡°Yao Yao, have you really thought it through?¡± The girl looked serious as she nodded stubbornly. ¡°I¡¯ve thought it through.¡± His eyes darkened as he opened the driver seat door and got out of the car. He walked over to the front passenger seat and opened the door. Then he held Shi Nianyao in his arms and strode into the living room. Although this had been Shi Nianyao¡¯s suggestion, when it came to the actual deed, she suddenly shrank back and Mo Xicheng ended up being the one making all the first moves. Mo Xicheng ced her down on the sofa and just as he was about to get on top of her, Shi Nianyao panicked. She raised her hand and said, ¡°I- I want to take a shower.¡± Mo Xicheng¡¯s eyes darkened and heughed immediately, saying, ¡°A lovers¡¯ shower?¡± She turned a bright scarlet at once. He pondered it for a moment and said, ¡°Hang on for a second.¡± Then he went upstairs. She sat on the sofa, raising her head to look upstairs, unsure of what was going on. After a moment, Mo Xicheng came back downstairs. He had already changed into his pajamas and was walking briskly, as though in a great hurry. She lowered her head quickly, so shy that she dared not meet his gaze Chapter 1504 - He Is My Son (77)

Chapter 1504: He Is My Son (77)

She could hear his approaching footsteps. Then she felt his strong grip on her waist before being lifted from the sofa once more. Her body went limp, as though there was no strength left in her. She leaned into Mo Xicheng¡¯s embrace. She was so nervous about what was about to happen that she had almost forgotten to breathe. Carrying her, the man walked to the master bedroom upstairs, one step at a time. The en suite bathroom door was open, so she saw wisps of swirling steam. He lowered his head to look at her and asked, ¡°Yao Yao, shall we take a shower first?¡± She nodded even though she had not really heard what he was saying. After gently removing her clothes, he carried her to the bathtub. It was not till her skin was in contact with the hot water that she suddenly realized where she was, and that she was actually taking a bath with Mo Xicheng? Her eyes widened as she saw the man getting into the bathtub through the mist. She had a fright and fought back the urge to stand up... Because she realized that if she did, she would bepletely naked before the man. Hence, she quickly sunk herself deeper into the water. However, her foot slipped and she lost bnce. Fortunately, the man had quick reflexes and reached out to steady her so that she wouldn¡¯t fall. By the time she was fully aware, however, their bodies were already tightly entwined. With only water between them, she could feel power and beauty emanating from his body. It was intimidating but at the same time addictive and captivating. Biting her lip, she took a deep breath and reached out nervously to embrace his waist. Mo Xicheng froze at her touch but the next moment, he started kissing her lightly all over her body. ¡°Yao Yao, don¡¯t be afraid. I¡¯ll be gentle.¡± ¡°I love you, Yao Yao.¡± ¡°Yao Yao, I will always be true to you!¡± ¡°Yao Yao, I¡¯m ready.¡± His movements were gentle, entering the main act only after adequate forey. At this point, Shi Nianyao¡¯s body waspletely limp, like the water around them. His gentleness only gave her slight difort, but she didn¡¯t feel any pain. It was like a dream, everything was so unreal. When it ended, Shi Nianyao simply felt that her first time had been not even as painful as she had imagined it to be. On the contrary, towards the end, led by him, it had been like a tidal wave washing over her time and again, taking her to the peak each time, till the end, when she finally fell back into the valley. Although it had been an uneventful first time for Mo Xicheng, who had been worried that Shi Nianyao would feel in pain the next day, he initiated a second round before calling it a night. And even though it had happened only twice, Shi Nianyao fell into a deep sleep afterwards. At the end of it, she fell asleep leaning her head back against his shoulder. As he looked at her, a smile of satisfaction and contentment spread across his face. It felt like all he needed in this world was her. ¨C Meanwhile, at the Shi family home, an impending storm was brewing. Nianyao¡¯s father Shi Jinyan had been calling Shi Nianyao¡¯s cell phone, but she wasn¡¯t answering. Unable to reach her, he got onto his feel angrily and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go and look for them!¡± In any case, he had the address of that rascal Mo Xicheng. He was quite sure they would be able to track her down. Chapter 1505 - He Is My Son (78)

Chapter 1505: He Is My Son (78)

After saying this, Shi Jinyan walked to the side of the room and picked up his jacket. He strode to the front door and instructed the butler, ¡°Get the car ready.¡± ¡°Roger.¡± The butler followed his order straightaway. The man frowned, took out his cell phone and called again. Still, the voicemail just repeated, ¡°The number you have dialed is not avable at the moment.¡± In a fit of anger, he flung his cell phone onto the sofa. Heined, ¡°As a girl, she needs to protect herself. Staying out all night is too much! Nianyao was alway a good girl and never made anyone worry. It¡¯s Mo Xicheng¡¯s fault that she¡¯s now like that! This must have been his suggestion. A young man unable to restrain himself... does he think Nianyao is like any other girl out there? He thinks he can just spend the night with her as he pleases? No way! I have to bring her home!¡± At this point, he headed towards the door. He took no further than a few steps when Si Jingyu called out, ¡°Come back here.¡± Shi Jinyan halted and turned around. Si Jingyu took one step towards him and stared at him, not quite knowing how to react. She said, ¡°Going all the way there is going to take you at least an hour. They will have done whatever they wanted to do.¡± Shi Jinyan paused as he turned pale with anger. ¡°What- what do we do then?¡± At this point, he lowered his head, took out his cell phone again and said, ¡°I¡¯ll call that rascal! If he dares to touch my daughter, I¡¯ll skin him alive.¡± Si Jingyu saw the humor in this, but found it annoying anyway. Taking his hand, she said to the man calmly, ¡°What¡¯s the point of doing that? They hang out together during the day and it¡¯s not like you can watch over them every minute. Do you think they can do such things only at night? They have nothing but time during the day! Besides, Yao Yao took good care of herself, even when she was studying abroad. Now that she¡¯s back, you shouldn¡¯t expect that she will suddenly change her behavior. I¡¯m telling you, even if they are doing something, the times have changed, haven¡¯t they? What¡¯s wrong if they wish to be together? You can¡¯t impose your traditional thinking on the kids nowadays.¡± Shi Jinyan had no chance of aeback with Si Jingyu. He could only choke and say, ¡°But- but she still shoulde home for the night!¡± Si Jingyu couldn¡¯t help but lower her head and smile. She said, ¡°Well, does it all boil down to the fact that you simply can¡¯t let Yao Yao go?¡± Shi Jinyan gave a light cough at this point and squinted as he looked away. He protested, ¡°It¡¯s not that! I¡ª¡± ¡°Actually I can¡¯t bear to let her go either. I raised her myself from the time she was a baby till now, that she¡¯s an adult, and in love. She was obsessed over a celebrity and now, after all the upheavals, she¡¯s found herself the man she loves. Of course, I feel like she now belongs to someone else. But as parents, what can we do? It¡¯s a matter of time until the kids get their own families. When Shi Xun was getting married, didn¡¯t we also feel neglected?¡± ¡°Besides, if you dashed over there now and caught them red-handed, what then? Yao Yao would be embarrassed and Mo Xicheng would feel bad. Both of them would feel awkward, so what¡¯s the point? Let the young people have some space to be independent. It¡¯s a good thing.¡± Si Jingyu¡¯s words finally calmed Shi Jinyan. He pondered it for a moment, then took a deep breath and hung his head. Feeling abandoned, he said, ¡°Indeed, our precious little girl has grown up and has be someone else¡¯s.¡± Chapter 1506 - He Is My Son (79)

Chapter 1506: He Is My Son (79)

Si Jingyu walked over to stand next to him when she heard his words. She took his hand and looked at him, saying, ¡°Children are like debts. Whatever we owe our parents, we return it in the form of our own children. Isn¡¯t that how we Chinese pass from one generation to another? So don¡¯t fret about it too much. Our daughter will get married, it¡¯s just a matter of time. Now that she has found someone she loves, and who is also willing to dote on her, isn¡¯t that a good thing?¡± Shi Jinyan pondered her words. The fact was that he knew his anger had been unreasonable. But as a parent, he really could not bear to let go, and he had yet to get his head around it. Now that Si Jingyu had said these things, it made him feel like he was just throwing a tantrum. He sat down on the sofa, sighed and then said, ¡°Nevermind then, let¡¯s just leave it.¡± ¨C When the first rays of the morning sun flooded the room through the windows, Shi Nianyao¡¯s eyelids twitched slightly. She opened her tired eyes. She felt a heavy object weighing on her waist, and she wasn¡¯t able to turn around. She reached out to touch it. Then she realized it was an arm. Shi Nianyao widened her eyes and looked at her surroundings that were both familiar and strange at once. The happenings of the night before yed in her mind like a movie and she started to blush. Biting her lip, she wanted to turn her head around to look at the man next to her, but she found herself unable to move. She could only feel their entwined bodies under the nket and the warmth of the man next to her. After a while, she heard the man¡¯s deep and resonant drawl, ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡± She sighed in relief. Burying part of her face in the nket, she slowly moved her body and turned towards him. Out of shyness, she didn¡¯t quite look at him straight in the eyes, but she smiled faintly as she bit her lip. With that movement, she could feel the weakness and soreness of her legs. She did not speak. Then arge hand rested on her thigh as he asked her, ¡°Is it painful?¡± She immediately shook her head. He smiled and said, ¡°It must have been tough on youst night.¡± She reflexively buried her head deeper into the nket. Right after she did that, her head reemerged. She then looked at him and warned him sternly, ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to fart!¡± Mo Xicheng: ... Seeing how adorable she was, he couldn¡¯t help but smile. As she withdrew back into the nket, he asked again, ¡°Feeling shy?¡± ¡°Uh huh.¡± ¡°Come out here, it¡¯s too hot under the nket. You¡¯ll get sick.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Come out here quickly.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°What will it take for you toe out here?¡± ¡°Nothing. I just won¡¯t.¡± Seeing how insistent she was, he had no choice but to lift the nket and then get under it himself. Because it was summer, the nket was thin. Although it was slightly dimmer underneath, Mo Xicheng could still see quite clearly. The moment she saw him, Shi Nianyao stared at him with her widened eyes. Her cheeks were flushed crimson as shyness glistened in her eyes. She buried her face in the nket, not daring to speak or move. He reached out to put his arm around her waist and said as he held her, ¡°Don¡¯t be shy, Nianyao.¡± Still, she pulled the nket over her face tightly, refusing to emerge from the sheets. Fearing that the heat might make her sick, he thought for a moment and said suddenly, ¡°Hey, do you think your Dad might be on his way here right now?¡± Chapter 1507 - He Is My Son (80)

Chapter 1507: He Is My Son (80)

Those words caused Shi Nianyao to freeze immediately. Before he knew it, she had thrown the nket away and jumped off the bed fully naked, asking, ¡°Where are my clothes? Where are my clothes?¡± Mo Xicheng: ... Mo Xicheng slowly got out of bed, put on his pajamas and started to walk towards the door. At this point, Shi Nianyao was clutching a bathrobe, walking in circles around the room and fretting. The man walked to the wardrobe and took out a fresh set of clothes. Holding the clothes out to her, he said, ¡°Here, put these on.¡± Shi Nianyao lowered her head to look at the clothes in his hand. She reached out for them and suddenly asked, ¡°Why are there women¡¯s clothes here?¡± He did not miss the expression of jealousy on her face. She didn¡¯t want to say it aloud and had instead probed for an answer. Mo Xicheng was terribly amused. He replied primly, ¡°Indeed, why are there women¡¯s clothes here?¡± He quickly added when he saw Shi Nianyao turn around, ¡°Uh huh, it must be because I¡¯m no longer single and have a wife now. And if my wife spends the night here, I need to give her a fresh change of clothes, don¡¯t I?¡± Shi Nianyao: ... He said this in such a serious manner that it felt odd. She bit her lip and took the clothes. Holding them up against herself, she realized they were her size. She smiled and walked over to the changing room. After she had changed and washed up, she came back out. By the time Shi Nianyao was ready, she realized that Mo Xicheng was no longer upstairs. She walked out of the master bedroom and stood along the second floor corridor. She could hear soundsing from the kitchen. One step at a time, she walked down the stairs and towards the kitchen. From where she stood, she could see Mo Xicheng near the kitchen entrance. He was wearing an apron and was busy frying an egg. His movements were sharp and neat. He broke the eggs into the frying pan and after two minutes, he took them out and ced them between the slices of toasted bread. Then he cut up slices of fruits and poured out two sses of milk. He worked quickly and smoothly with fluid actions. After he was done, he walked out of the kitchen with the cooked dishes in his hands. When he saw her, he said, ¡°I¡¯m not sure what sort of breakfast you like and I don¡¯t have any rice at home. But I¡¯ll go and buy some after work tonight so that I can cook you porridge in the future.¡± Shi Nianyao nodded as her gaze fell on the breakfast that Mo Xicheng had prepared. She reached out to take the tes from him and sat down with him at the dining table. She finished her breakfast quickly and got onto her feet, saying, ¡°You need to go to work soon anyway, so I¡¯ll go home for now.¡± Mo Xicheng paused and then replied, ¡°I have a meeting this morning. Do you want to wait till noon and I take you home then?¡± Since she had stayed out all night, her father and elder brother must be going crazy. He did not want her to face the pressure alone and wanted to apany her home. Shi Nianyao immediately said with a wave of her hand, ¡°No, no, it¡¯s ok. I¡¯m fine by myself. Dad and Big Brother both dote on me and won¡¯t make things difficult for me. At worst, they¡¯ll grumble about you, but don¡¯t you worry about it.¡± Mo Xicheng: ... He got onto his feet as well when he saw Shi Nianyao standing up to leave. Very insistent about his principles, he said, ¡°I¡¯ll take you home.¡± Surprised, Shi Nianyao said, ¡°But don¡¯t you need to go to work?¡± He replied, ¡°It¡¯s ok, I can take you home first before I go to work, it¡¯s on the way.¡± Chapter 1508 - He Is My Son (81)

Chapter 1508: He Is My Son (81)

Seeing how insistent he was, Shi Nianyao knew it was no use trying to talk him out of it. She could only nod and agree. After getting ready, they left the house. Just as they approached the gate, they saw that the Shi family car had stopped right outside. When the chauffeur saw the couple, he immediately got out of the car and said, ¡°Miss, Madam has asked me toe and take you home.¡± Shi Nianyao: ... Mo Xicheng gave Shi Nianyao a nce and said at once, ¡°I will take her home.¡± The chauffeur nodded. All along the way home, he drove behind them. Through the rearview mirror, he could see that Shi Nianyao was restless and nervous. He couldn¡¯t help but tease her, ¡°Where¡¯s the bravery you hadst night when you asked me to turn the car around?¡± She lowered her head and muttered, ¡°It was because of the temptation to sleep with my idolst night, but that¡¯s not the case anymore.¡± Mo Xicheng: ... The remark stumped him instantly. He threw a few nces at her and shook his head as he continued driving. Very soon, they arrived at the Shi family home. As his car pulled to a stop in the courtyard, he could see Si Jingyu and Shi Jinyan making their way out of the living room hurriedly and then towards the cars. Shi Nianyao remained seated in the front passenger seat and took a few deep breaths before opening the car door. She immediately smiled and called out, ¡°Mom!¡± Si Jingyu shook her head at the girl at once. Mo Xicheng got out of the driver seat. He looked at the both of them, nodded and greeted them,¡±Mom, Dad.¡± Si Jingyu was speechless. And so was Shi Jinyan. The man immediately said, ¡°Don¡¯t call us that, we¡¯re not your inws yet!¡± Before he could finish, Si Jingyu tugged at his sleeve. Shi Jinyan fell silent and did not continue. Si Jingyu looked at Mo Xicheng up and down a few times, suddenly smiled and asked, ¡°Have you had breakfast?¡± Before Mo Xicheng could reply, Shi Nianyao quickly said, ¡°Yes, we did, my idol made me sandwiches and milk for breakfast.¡± Si Jingyu looked at the young man in astonishment and said, ¡°You can cook?¡± He lowered his gaze and nodded. ¡°I learnt it in my free time.¡± Looking quite satisfied, she said, ¡°It¡¯s good to learn as much as you can in life. And it¡¯s good to experience different things. But you probably have a brighter future than Nianyao. Long ago, when she was learning how to cook, she set the kitchen on fire.¡± ¡°Not that I have a brighter future, but after having gone through so much trial and error, I¡¯ve learnt to make a decent meal.¡± Si Jingyu nodded. She looked at Mo Xicheng up and down again and recalled Li Shu¡¯s words. She couldn¡¯t help but sigh. Indeed, as they say, it¡¯s all in the genes. Even though this young man had had his rightful ce swapped when he was a baby, he had inherited Li Shu¡¯s unmistakable intellectual aura. ¡°It is a real pity,¡± the woman thought, ¡°that this young man has lived such a plight.¡± Turning to Shi Nianyao, she said, ¡°Since you¡¯ve eaten, isn¡¯t it time to go to work?¡± ¡°What?¡± Shi Nianyao was confused. Had she misheard? Why weren¡¯t her parents interrogating her about what had happenedst night? She turned, gave Mo Xicheng a puzzled look and heard the young man saying, ¡°I¡¯ll go to work now.¡± Shi Nianyao was still in a daze after Mo Xicheng left. But turning around to look at her parents, she realized they didn¡¯t look like they were going to pursue the matter. She stuck her tongue out in relief and quickly ran upstairs. Chapter 1509 - He Is My Son (82)

Chapter 1509: He Is My Son (82)

It was already 9 a.m. when Mo Xicheng left the Shi family home. By the time he got to the office, it was 9:40 a.m.¡ªten minuteste again. He parked the car and headed up the building hastily. Just as he stepped into the office, his assistant immediately said, ¡°CEO Mo, you¡¯re finally here! Senior CEO Mo called a few times to hurry you to the meeting. He sounded quite annoyed.¡± Mo Xicheng paused in the midst of loosening his tie upon hearing this. Then he nodded at his assistant and said, ¡°Ok, I got it.¡± Along the way to the office, he had been contemting the expression in Si Jingyu¡¯s eyes when she had looked at him up and down. That expression had quite clearly been an acknowledgment of his position. He had hence been so happy that he hadn¡¯t thought his good mood was just about toe to an end. He picked up the teacup on his desk and took a sip. Then he prepared to go upstairs. When he stepped into the meeting room, he saw that all the senior management staff were there and he was thest one in. Mo Zhi didn¡¯t refrain from making a caustic remark, ¡°My, our CEO Mo is finally here,te! When you werete yesterday, you had the excuse that it was your first day of work. What about today then? Is it your first day of work again?¡± Mo Xicheng did not respond to the taunting remark. He merely found himself a seat and sat down as though he had heard nothing. Mo Zhi almost exploded with fury at his arrogance. He frowned and was about to say something when someone on the side gave a meaningful cough. Mo Zhi halted and turned to look. Someone leaned in and whispered in his ear, ¡°CEO Mo, it makes you look petty if you nitpick on small things. Why don¡¯t we just quickly move to the meeting agenda?¡± The agenda. Mo Zhi¡¯s mind suddenly snapped. That¡¯s right, that¡¯s right, get to the agenda. He cleared his throat and smirked as he turned towards Mo Xicheng. ¡°Mo Xicheng, you had a meeting with Director Li yesterday to discuss the coboration. You gave your word and even went personally. I¡¯d like to know how the discussion went.¡± Everyone turned simultaneously to look at Mo Xicheng. Mo Xicheng replied calmly, ¡°I¡¯m afraid this coboration is not going to happen.¡± The moment he said this, Mo Zhi instantly attacked him. ¡°Not going to happen? What do you mean not going to happen? When we called Director Li yesterday, he showed a keen interest in ourpany, but now you¡¯re telling us it¡¯s not going to happen? What¡¯s the meaning of this? What did you do with Director Li yesterday?!¡± At this point, Gao Feng sprang onto his feet to mitigate the problem. ¡°Director Li has never had a good reputation in the industry. He¡¯s a man with no moral values. If this project doesn¡¯t work, then let it be! After all, even if it would have made a profit, the fact is that his reputation is bad.¡± Mo Zhi instantly sneered at that remark, ¡°Uncle Gao, you take it too seriously. We are businessmen, not entertainers. We only look at margins, not reputation! Besides, do you know what he did to Director Li?!¡± Mo Zhi did not wait to be asked and continued, ¡°He actually gave the man a fatal kick in the crotch!¡± ¡°Woah!¡± With this remark, a smallmotion suddenly broke out in the meeting room. Mo Zhi red at Mo Xicheng furiously and hollered, ¡°Even if you did not manage to seal a deal, this meeting wasn¡¯t for you to make us an enemy. What you¡¯ve done is just great, you¡¯ve disobeyed.¡± Chapter 1510 - He Is My Son (83)

Chapter 1510: He Is My Son (83)

¡°Do you know that Director Li was sent to the hospital? The doctor said that you caused permanent damage in the area you kicked.¡± ¡°Director Li called me, yelled at me and also said that he¡¯s not going to let the Mo family off easily. Do you know Director Li¡¯s background? Now that you¡¯ve offended him, are you nning to leave the Mo family in dire straits?¡± ¡°And also, who would have thought you¡¯re so rash and careless, despite your steady and confident exterior? Who do you think you are? Did you think just because you¡¯ve stepped into thispany, it means you¡¯re a rich second-generation heir? And that you can just beat up anyone as you wish? Are you stupid or something?¡± Gao Feng couldn¡¯t bear to hear all of this berating from Mo Zhi and tried to intervene, ¡°Alright, it¡¯s history now. It¡¯s not the time to hold anyone ountable, but to think of what the next step should be.¡± Mo Zhi sneered, ¡°Next step? Director Li calls the shots for about half of the entertainment industry. Now that we¡¯ve offended him, you¡¯re asking what the next step is? How would I know? I should be asking you the same question! After what has happened, no one will want to coborate with us even if we throw money at them. Any directors or filming productions that have previously coborated with Director Li will ignore us! And in the future, even after the TV and Film City has been built, we may not even be able to get any films to the big screen.¡± ¡°Mo Xicheng, do you know what you¡¯ve done? Dad even went as far as saying you¡¯re capable and asked me to look after you, but you? You locked the HR manager in your office yesterday and created trouble all day, and today it¡¯s this crap. I think you¡¯re not serious about working here in the long term.¡± Gao Feng tried to mitigate it again. ¡°Enough, let¡¯s not talk about these things. Where Director Li is concerned, I can bring him some gifts and offer an apology personally. Where the film is concerned¡ª¡± Mo Zhi interrupted with an icy sneer, ¡°Bring him some gifts and offer an apology? Do you think this will solve the problem? Let me tell you, Director Li has said that he¡¯s found awyer to sue Mo Xicheng and ourpany.¡± Someone said immediately, ¡°This trouble was caused by Mo Xicheng alone, what has it got to do with thepany? ¡°That¡¯s right, what has it got to do with us?¡± ¡°Sigh, didn¡¯t we say we shouldn¡¯t get a person who has no experience to interfere with thepany¡¯s business? Interpersonal rtionships areplex. He¡¯s new after all and doesn¡¯t know anything.¡± ¡°We should ask Senior CEO Mo to get him out of the CEO position! ¡°Exactly. How can we allow someone like him to hold such a high position?¡± Seeing that everyone in the meeting room was interrupting with their opinions, Gao Feng quickly said, ¡°Everyone makes mistakes at one point or another. As long as we make up for it, it¡¯s good.¡± Mo Zhi could not help butugh at this remark. ¡°Make up for it? About the only other director in the industry who is on par with Director Li is Director Wang. Now that we¡¯ve offended Director Li, unless our friend here can get a deal of about the same scale, I don¡¯t see how else he can make up for it.¡± After he had made that remark, Mo Xicheng spoke, ¡°What makes you say I¡¯m incapable to get a film investment deal of about the same scale?¡± Everyone in the room turned simultaneously to look at him. Mo Zhi frowned and red at the other man. After a moment, he said, ¡°That is impossible! Among all the recent projects, Director Li¡¯s film is the biggest one.¡± The corners of Mo Xicheng¡¯s mouth curved into a frosty smirk as he said, ¡°What makes you think this is the biggest film project?¡± Chapter 1511 - He Is My Son (84)

Chapter 1511: He Is My Son (84)

Mo Zhi frowned and sneered, ¡°Well then, tell us about a bigger project! Let me tell you, although many films are looking for investors, the good films are certainly notcking investors. Don¡¯t you try to pull wool over our eyes with some small-time film.¡± All the senior management staff agreed with his remark. ¡°Exactly, it must not be a niche film, or a run-of-the-millmercial production.¡± ¡°Ultimately, our TV and Film City¡¯s first investment project has got to be an upmarket project. Otherwise, it would takes us in a bad direction for the future.¡± ¡°...¡± Everyonemented on this while Gao Feng, who was sitting among them, frowned. Someone in the group asked him in a low voice, ¡°Gao Feng, what are your thoughts?¡± The man sneered coldly. Everyone knew that recently, there had indeed been no other film better positioned than Director Li¡¯s film, from an investment perspective. This Mo Xicheng, did he think that as long as he pumped funds into a film, it would make the film appear more elegant and high-quality? Although there were many scripts avable, truly good ones were rare. Indeed, he was young and naive to think that he could secure a deal to just gloss over the matter. Gao Feng was even angrier now. The young man hadn¡¯t heeded his advice initially and had now caused so much trouble. It remained to be seen how he was going to take care of this matter. If in the end things looked like they would fall apart, he would have to step in. At that point, Li Shu would finally realize what a blockhead her son was. Given this, Gao Feng fell silent and did not speak another word. Under the stares of those around him, Mo Xicheng casually said, ¡°Director Li¡¯s film is not a suitable investment for us, but coincidentally, Director Wang is preparing to shoot a new film and I¡¯ve discussed a coboration with him. We can invest 40 percent, would you be interested?¡± Everyone: ... The meeting room fell silent in the light of this new information. Everyone turned to look at him. Director Li and Director Wang were two of the most renowned directors in the industry, although Director Li had his ws. Besides, because of behavior, he ultimately had a bad reputation, even though his films were big hits. But Director Wang was different. He was the best in the country. There were always investors looking for him, pleading to invest in his films. How had Mo Xicheng even secured a 40 percent investment?! Was that even possible? Widening their eyes, everyone looked at him with an expression of disbelief. Only Mo Zhi gulped and then asked, ¡°Director Wang? Which Director Wang? Don¡¯t try to trick us with some unknown Director Wang. Even if you were the male lead in one of Director Wang¡¯s movies, we all know he chose you only because he had to settle for the second best. Why would he give you so much of an advantage?! The way I see it, this must be another Director Wang. So be very clear, Mo Xicheng, which Director Wang are you talking about?¡± Staring straight at Mo Zhi, Mo Xicheng said confidently, ¡°Director Wang Kan.¡± With that rification, everyone was speechless. Mo Xicheng looked at everyone and then lowered his gaze. After Wang Kan¡¯s film Ambition had set a new sales record, he had reinforced his position in the industry. And Wang Kan had an annoying trait¡ªhe would only make a film once every two years. Hence for that reason, everyone had thought that he was going to step down after filming Ambition. Chapter 1512 - He Is My Son (85)

Chapter 1512: He Is My Son (85)

Only Shen Liangchuan had known that Wang Kan had the script of Ambition 2 in hand, and the script was so amazing that he was going to prepare for filming this year. After taking over the Shen family enterprise, Shen Liangchuan had been looking into all sorts of investments. Hence, he had struck a deal with Director Wang. During the premiere party, when he found out that Mo Xicheng was going back to the Mo family, he had asked him to join and had sealed a three-way deal for this massive production. So it wasn¡¯t surprising that the people in thepany weren¡¯t aware of this. Even right up till now, Wang Kan had not released any news. Mo Zhi shouted at once, ¡°Why haven¡¯t I heard that Director Wang is preparing for a new film? Don¡¯t you mislead us, this must be fake news!¡± Mo Xicheng smirked and said, ¡°And it must be fake just because you haven¡¯t heard about it?¡± Mo Zhi hollered, ¡°You¡¯re just trying to buy time. Everyone knows that Director Wang will start preparing for a new film next year. You¡¯re just saying this to buy time and to find an excuse for having offended Director Li! This must be it. Who knows what¡¯s going to happen next year?!¡± Everyone immediately concurred. ¡°That¡¯s right, Director Wang always waits two years to release a film. It¡¯s not possible that he would start filming this year.¡± ¡°What you¡¯ve said is too far-fetched. Besides, 40 percent... even if we were to give him money, would Director Wang ept it?¡± ¡°Is that 40 percent a figure in your imagination? Ourpany has just started to establish the TV and Film City, how would Director Wang possibly trust you enough to grant you 40 percent of the shares?¡± ¡°I think this so-called coboration may be fake. The young people nowadays... sigh! They make such irresponsible statements.¡± People started to make all sorts ofments. Mo Xicheng observed themotion and nced down. He had not tried to talk back and would rather let Mo Zhi continue his soliloquy simply because... Director Wang had mentioned that he was going to announce the filming of Ambition 2 at 10:30 a.m. today. Now it was 10:29 a.m. As he listened to thesements, he remained silent. He watched the time turn 10:30 a.m. He picked up his cell phone, opened Weibo and searched for Ambition¡®s official blog. The moment he clicked into the site, a newssh popped up. Ambition 2 would start filming this year. During the first few seconds the news was released, no one had discovered it yet and hadn¡¯t be a trending topic. However, after a minute, someone spotted it and suddenly it was like a bomb being set off. The news started to circte and create a wave. Seeing that news was spreading fast, Mo Xicheng looked at Mo Zhi. Since Mo Xicheng had stayed silent, Mo Zhi thought that he had guessed right and sneered, ¡°Everyone knows your status in the entertainment industry. You were given the lead role in Ambition only because Shen Liangchuan gave it up, so you had the chance. Are you on such good terms with Director Wang?! Huh, if so, you would have made it big long ago! All these years, you have gone nowhere. Don¡¯t think people don¡¯t know the reason! And don¡¯t go thinking that we will let you off just because you mention Director Wang¡¯s name. Let me tell you, this matter with Director Li is not over yet. The moment you stepped into thispany, you foiled thepany¡¯s big project. We have to punish you.¡± Chapter 1513 - He Is My Son (86)

Chapter 1513: He Is My Son (86)

At Mo Zhi¡¯s words, someone got onto his feet and added, ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s impossible that Director Wang would start filming this year. And our project can¡¯t wait till next year, we have to startunching our investments soon. You really shouldn¡¯t have used Director Wang¡¯s name to trick us and intimidate us.¡± ¡°Exactly. We haven¡¯t even started discussing how to deal with you for trashing our project and here you go, bullshitting about Director Wang. We don¡¯t even know when he¡¯ll start another film. Do you intent to keep us waiting for your first investment?¡± ¡°Do you even know what is going on with the project that we gave you to negotiate? This was going to be ourpany¡¯s first investment in a big production. It¡¯s a huge project with huge impacts. As though it¡¯s not bad enough that you beat up Director Li, now you¡¯re trying to silence us using Director Wang¡¯s name. This is simply...¡± ¡°...¡± Onement after the other came as Mo Xicheng looked up from his cell phone. He cast his gaze over the crowd and gave a frosty smile. Finally, he ced his cell phone on the table and mmed it with both hands. After the noise died down, he calmly said, ¡°It¡¯s been announced.¡± He said those words steadily but also casually, instantly quietening the stirred atmosphere. Everyone turned simultaneously to look at him, and then their gaze fell on his cell phone screen. They did not get what he meant. Until someone reached out and picked up the phone. After one nce, he put the phone back with astonishment and took out his own cell phone. He logged into Weibo and, after he saw that the news came from an official source, he was stunned to the extreme and said, ¡°This- this is actually true!¡± ¡°What¡¯s true?¡± That person held his cell phone out for the others to see. The people gasped in surprise. It was beyond their imagination that the matter could take such a big turn. Everyone turned their attention to the news on the cell phone at once. Mo Zhi was puzzled as he looked at the people¡¯s reaction and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Hurry up and look at this, CEO Mo!¡± Someone handed him the cell phone. Mo Zhi widened his eyes upon reading the content. ¡°How could this be possible?¡± At once, he narrowed his eyes. Gripping the man¡¯s cell phone tightly, he looked up and gave Mo Xicheng a hostile re. He knew that Mo Xicheng had surely done this on purpose. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have kept quiet about it the day before and only announced it today. He was sure that Mo Xicheng had allowed him to supress him so that he could retaliate when cornered. When looking at the situation now, it was indeed a beautiful counterattack. Mo Zhi clenched his fists tightly as he stared at Mo Xicheng. Then he snorted, ¡°Even if the news about Director Wang starting to film are real, so what? How would he possibly let you invest 40 percent?¡± Mo Xicheng raised an eyebrow when he heard this. He did not speak. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Mo Zhi turned around and the door swung open. The receptionist stood there looking uncertain as she spoke, ¡°CEO Mo, someone¡¯s looking for you.¡± Mo Zhi instantly waved his hand impatiently and said, ¡°Can¡¯t you see I¡¯m in a meeting? Who¡¯s looking for me without an appointment? Tell him to wait!¡± After he said those words, the receptionist looked awkward. She coughed softly and said, ¡°CEO Mo Zhi, I was referring to CEO Mo Xicheng.¡± Chapter 1514 - He Is My Son (87) Chapter 1514: He Is My Son (87) Mo Zh was instantly annoyed when he heard this. He continued his tirade, ¡°You think you can interrupt me just because someone¡¯s looking for Mo Xicheng? Do you have any manners?! Why are you interrupting the meeting for every little matter? Did that person make an appointment with Mo Xicheng?¡± The receptionist looked sullen after that chiding. She bit her lip. Mo Xicheng looked up at the junior receptionist and asked, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Who¡¯s looking for me?¡± The junior receptionist seemed to feel better after hearing those words and was about to speak when Mo Zhi fired off again, ¡°Mo Xicheng, do you f*cking know anything? We are having a meeting! A meeting!! Who the hell is looking for you? Your fan?!¡± He started rebuking the man, ¡°I know you¡¯re a small-time celebrity, but please don¡¯t bring the bad habits of the show business into the office. If we have to attend to every fan that turns up, then we would only have time to serve you. Are there no other things to do?!¡± Mo Xicheng frowned, turned to Mo Zhi and said, ¡°Can you let her finish speaking?¡± Mo Zhi snorted and continued, ¡°Finish speaking? Speaking about what? We are having a meeting! We are talking about the project and it¡¯s an important matter. We are being interrupted by a minor receptionist here. Why, CEO Mo, can I not lecture her?¡± Mo Xicheng¡¯s expression darkened at once. He red at Mo Zhi and said after a long pause, ¡°Are you saying that no matter what, the meeting cannot be interrupted? Even if it¡¯s an important matter for thepany?¡± Mo Zhi immediately snorted and replied, ¡°Of course! Meetings are not to be interrupted! Unless it¡¯s the most powerful and important person.¡± Mo Xicheng¡¯s expression froze at once. He red at the other man. He already had an idea of who might be looking for him. Because it had only been yesterday that he had gotten in touch with Director Wang¡¯s people and arranged for them toe sign the sgreement at the office. After all, they needed thepany¡¯s seal. So the people who had turned up had to be the representatives who would be signing the agreement. But seeing Mo Zhi¡¯s attitude at present, he felt he had to give the man a warning. So with a frosty smile, Mo Xicheng said, ¡°Very well then.¡± He turned to the receptionist and said to her, ¡°Please, could you take the guests to the waiting room and take good care of them? Let them know I¡¯m in a meeting and will be there shortly.¡± The receptionist started again, ¡°But they are important people, they¡ª¡± Mo Zhi interrupted her once again before she could finish, ¡°Even if the gods are here, they have to wait till I finish the meeting. Are these people greater than the gods?¡± The receptionist was close to tears, her eyes were red with anger as she replied, ¡°Of course not.¡± ¡°Very well then, let them wait!¡± The receptionist suppressed her anger and said, ¡°So these are CEO Mo Zhi¡¯s instructions?¡± Mo Zhi nodded and confirmed, ¡°That¡¯s right, my instructions!¡± The girl took a deep breath and said, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll go and tell the person, just don¡¯t me me for thister.¡± Mo Zhi waved his hand with annoyance as the receptionist turned to leave the room. After the receptionist left, the room was abuzz with people discussing again. Mo Zhi red at Mo Xicheng and questioned the man, ¡°Tell us then, when are we signing the agreement? Without a signed agreement, this is just meaningless talk.¡± Chapter 1515 - He Is My Son (88)

Chapter 1515: He Is My Son (88)

Mo Xicheng looked at Mo Zhi and was about to speak when the man fired off again. Mo Zhi did not let it go and continued berating him. Mo Xicheng stayed silent and sat there patiently, staring into the space before him. He didn¡¯t even hear what the man was saying. After twenty minutes of this, Mo Xicheng finally snapped back to the present and looked at Mo Zhi. Just at this point, Mo Zhi was saying, ¡°You are staying quiet precisely because you¡¯re guilty! I know you haven¡¯t managed to seal the deal with Director Wang. Director Wang¡¯s investment deals are the toughest to negotiate. Now you¡¯re quiet because you¡¯ve bit off more than you could chew and you¡¯ve been busted. Huh! If you¡¯re really so capable, get the agreement signed!¡± Upon these words, Mo Xicheng got onto his feet and said, ¡°If you¡¯re going to keep talking, I¡¯m afraid the agreement¡¯s off.¡± Mo Zhi paused and asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°What I mean is that you¡¯ve kept Director Wang¡¯s representative waiting for twenty minutes. Are you intending to make him wait another thirty?¡± Mo Zhi was stupefied and asked, ¡°Since when have I kept them waiting for twenty minutes¡ª¡± At this point, he suddenly seemed to have realized something with a snap of his head. He looked at Mo Xicheng in disbelief. ¡°Are you saying the person who¡¯se looking for you...¡± Mo Xicheng nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s right, the person who came looking for me is Director Wang¡¯s representative.¡± Mo Zhi immediately sprang to his feet and said, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say so earlier?¡± ¡°Did you give the chance to speak?¡± Mo Zhi gulped and said, ¡°That receptionist is too much. Such an important person and she just kept quiet?¡± Mo Xicheng continued smirking and replied, ¡°Did you give her a chance to speak?¡± Mo Zhi: ... Mo Xicheng stared at him and continued, ¡°Everyone has a certain amount of knowledge and sensibility. The receptionist must have known it was urgent since she decied to interrupt the meeting. I kept telling you to listen to what she had to say, but did you let her?¡± Mo Zhi gulped and then started, ¡°I- I was not aware, I¡ª¡± Before he could finish, there was another knock on the meeting room door. The receptionist opened the door and walked in, saying, ¡°CEO Mo, Director Wang¡¯s representative is a little annoyed, he¡¯s nning to leave.¡± Those words caused Mo Zhi to panic at once and he said, ¡°What? They can¡¯t leave! We will go over right away! Hurry up, let¡¯s go!¡± Mo Xicheng leaned back in his chairnguidly to look at Mo Zhi. He reminded the man, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that even if the gods were here, they were not to interrupt your meeting? So let¡¯s not hurry, let them go. At worst, it¡¯s just an investment project gone awry. Let¡¯s continue with the meeting.¡± Mo Zhi¡¯s face turned a bright scarlet at Mo Xicheng¡¯s caustic remark and scornful attitude. Now everyone was staring at Mo Zhi, making Mo Zhi even angrier. He frowned and said, ¡°Mo Xicheng, you¡¯ve already screwed up one project! Are you nning on screwing up another one?¡± Mo Xichengughed icily and replied, ¡°I screwed up? I was the one who secured Director Wang¡¯s project. I just wanted to go over to sign the agreement, but you were the one who would not let me go, what could I do?¡± Angrily, Mo Zhi replied, ¡°Go now then!¡± Mo Xicheng gave another icyugh and said with dripping sarcasm, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m in a mee Chapter 1516 - He Is My Son (89)

Chapter 1516: He Is My Son (89)

Right now, Mo Zhi was seriously nervous. While he knew that Mo Xicheng bore the responsibility for the original deal falling through, if Director Wang¡¯s representative left now, then it would be clear to everyone that he was the one who hadn¡¯t let the receptionist speak. He turned to look at the receptionist angrily and rebuked her, ¡°What on earth are you doing? How could you leave such an important guest in the meeting room? Hurry up, take me to him!¡± Full of grievance, the receptionist retorted, ¡°CEO Mo, it was you who wouldn¡¯t let me speak.¡± Mo Zhi: ... The man snorted and turned to look at the people in the meeting room. Then he quickly walked out. After Mo Zhi left, Mo Xicheng lowered his gaze and stood up immediately. He looked at everyone in the meeting room and then, without another word, walked out the door. For sure, the meeting had ended. Everyone started to file out of the room. Mo Xicheng had barely taken a few steps when he suddenly heard someone calling him from behind, ¡°Mo Xicheng.¡± He halted and turned around. Gao Feng was walking towards him, looking at him with a stunned expression. At once, he said, ¡°You- you have something personal against Director Li?¡± Since he could sense that Gao Feng had now taken a new perspective on things and looked concerned, Mo Xicheng contemted it carefully for a moment and then replied, ¡°Liu Liu was my friend.¡± Having said this, he nodded at the older man and continued to walk away. Gao Feng stood rooted to the ground. Liu Liu again. Who was this Liu Liu? As he stood there wondering, his assistant walked up to him and said, ¡°Mr. Gao, I¡¯ve found out about Liu Liu. The fact is this...¡± After hearing the story from his assistant, a troubled expression appeared on Gao Feng¡¯s face. He paused for a moment, then sighed deeply and mumbled, ¡°Really, one can¡¯t ignorethe power of genes.¡± The assistant asked, ¡°What was that?¡± ¡°Although Mo Xicheng was brought up by a mistress, look at his every move. Do you know that he epted the project with Director Li and prepared well just to teach the man a lesson? And he must have sealed the deal with Director Wang much earlier on. So all of this was but a part of his n. Do you not see how hard Mo Zhi has been pped in the face? The senior management staff have started to look at Mo Zhi in a different light.¡± At this point, Gao Feng eximed, ¡°This Mo Xicheng is not like a blockhead son of a mistress at all, on the contrary, he is very much like Li Shu! And looking at Mo Zhi now, he is like a clown. The son of Li Shu... he¡¯s not simple at all.¡± The assistant couldn¡¯t help but smile. ¡°No matter what, he¡¯s young after all. Oh, Director Gao, a call for you.¡± Gao Feng nodded and took the cell phone from his assistant. He smiled when he saw the caller ID. ¡°Li Shu, I have good news for you. Your son...¡± ¨C Mo Xicheng walked ahead and, as he neared the meeting room, he saw Mo Zhi smiling broadly at the guests, as though trying hard to please. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, our receptionist was ignorant and didn¡¯t inform us fully, so we¡¯ve kept you waiting. But do stay for the afternoon, I¡¯ll host you and buy lunch for everyone, is that alright?¡± The guests hesitated when they heard this and spoke up, ¡°CEO Mo, Director Wang has sent us to sign the agreement. However, it¡¯s supposed to be with Mo Xicheng. I don¡¯t think... this is right?¡± Chapter 1517 - He Is My Son (90)

Chapter 1517: He Is My Son (90)

That remark was like another vicious p to Mo Zhi¡¯s face. He turned ashen. He looked at the people with a gloomy expression and narrowed his eyes. After a moment, he said, ¡°I¡¯m the CEO of thispany, so I have a greater authority over thepany.¡± However, the other party wasn¡¯t about to buy this and looked back at Mo Zhi as they replied, ¡°We do apologize in this case. Our Director Wang will only sign this agreement with Mo Xicheng.¡± After the man had said this, he looked at Mo Xicheng. Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes slightly, surprised that Director Wang supported him to this extent. But again, if one thought about it, one would realize that Director Wang was a person who valued talent. He was on very good terms with Shen Liangchuan, not because of the man¡¯s status or position. Now he supported him and it was because he had put up a good performance on the set of Ambition. At this thought, Mo Xicheng fell silent. Then suddenly, he smiled. He saw the light. His position had been established the moment Ambition got released. Not only had he been recognized for his acting skills, but his poprity on the inte had also skyrocketed. His fans on Weibo had grown from a mere few hundreds to 20 million, and every day it was growing by the millions. Shen Liangchuan had retired from the entertainment industry and it wouldn¡¯t be possible for him to film Ambition 2. Hence, the reason that Director Wang was treating him with so much respect, and even amodating him, was probably because he hoped that Mo Xicheng could continue acting in the sequel. This was a win-win situation for both parties. Mo Xicheng lowered his head at this thought and smiled to himself. Since both Director Wang and Shen Liangchuan had given him this opportunity, then certainly, he would not give it up. At this, point he looked up at the representative and said, ¡°At the moment, I¡¯m only in charge of the investment portfolio in thepany. Hence ultimately, Mo Zhi will need to sign the agreement.¡± The representative was a smart man and understood Mo Xicheng¡¯s intentions at once. He replied immediately, ¡°Since this is the case, we can¡¯t sign the agreement then.¡± Upon hearing this, Mo Zhi¡¯s expression changed and right at this point, Gao Feng also walked towards them. He nced at Mo Zhi briefly and said, ¡°Given this, let¡¯s call the chairman and let him decide! Also, I suggest calling a plenary session.¡± ¨C An hourter. Mo Hai hurried into the meeting room. The moment he walked into the meeting room, he realized that the atmosphere was a little different from usual. The earlier investment meeting had been cut short and now another meeting was being called. Gao Feng had suggested appointing Mo Xicheng as CEO of the entire business and for Mo Zhi to take on the role of a department general manager. Needless to say, Mo Zhi would not agree to this and argued on good grounds. And those who wished to stay safe did not speak up. On one hand, they hoped for this to happen so that they could secure Director Wang¡¯s project. But on the other hand, they didn¡¯t want that to happen because it was obvious that Mo Hai favored Mo Zhi. Hence if Mo Xicheng were to step up, things would go out of control. Since when was there ever a situation where the son of a mistress inherted the family business?! As everyone discussed this matter fervently, Mo Hai frowned and threw Mo Xicheng a nce. Then he looked at Mo Zhi again and finally said, ¡°Let¡¯s do this then. We¡¯ll let both Mo Zhi and Mo Xicheng be thepany¡¯s CEO. They will be on par, but in charge of different areas of work.¡± On that note, Mo Xicheng¡¯s position was secured. Chapter 1518 - He Is My Son (91)

Chapter 1518: He Is My Son (91)

Of course, no one made any objections. Mo Zhi was about to say something, but Mo Hai shot him a look and silenced the man immediately. The meeting ended. Mo Hai looked at Mo Xicheng and said, ¡°Come into my office for a moment.¡± Having said this, he walked out of the meeting room. Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes upon hearing this. He did not need to turn around to know that the crowd behind him was talking about him. As an illegitimate son, it was normal to be disliked by the head of the family. At first, he had gad no interest in vying for the family estate with Mo Zhi. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that he had been forced into this position, he and Shi Nianyao could have been married by now and be enjoying their honeymoon. Why on earth would he care about such matters? But now, he had to stand up for himself. At this thought, he followed Mo Hai and walked out of the meeting room. After taking a few steps, he felt someone grab his wrist. He halted and turned around. It was Gao Feng and the man said to him in a low voice, ¡°Mo Xicheng, Mo Hai is a man who values rtionships. So don¡¯t go into direct conflict, show your weaker side. He is not a heartless man.¡± Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes at this piece of advice. So that was how it was. He had been stubborn since childhood, hence whenever he was beaten by Mo Hai, he would just stand there and not make a noise. Inevitably, this would make Mo Hai even angrier and the beating would be harsher. Whereas Mo Zhi was different. Before Mo Hai could even touch him, he would start crying, making Mo Hai to yell a lot but do little. He had thought that Mo Hai had no feelings for him, but he would have never expected that this was just a manifestation of Mo Hai¡¯s personality. Mo Xicheng raised an eyebrow and nodded at Gao Feng. After Mo Xicheng left, Gao Feng¡¯s assistant approached him. The assistant remarked, ¡°Director Gao, what do you make out of this whole thing?¡± Gao Feng sighed and said, ¡°Mo Xicheng is getting more perplexing by the day.¡± Puzzled, the assistant asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°When he first stepped in, he was rejected by everyone, then he quickly became the savior of thepany and now, everyone¡¯s polite towards him. The moment he stepped in, Mo Zhi tried to surpress him and, within the space of a day, he is on par with the man. Tell me, do you think this is something that an ordinary person would be capable of?¡± The assistant frowned and said, ¡°He¡¯s merely lucky that Director Wang values him.¡± Gao Feng gave a knowing smile and said, ¡°In the entertainment industry, Director Wang is about the most difficult person to deal with. Being able to gain his appreciation is no small feat. Besides...¡± The assistant asked curiously, ¡°Besides what?¡± ¡°Besides, if from the start he had used Director Wang¡¯s name, everyone would have doubted him, and they would have had to choose between the two directors. If they had chosen Director Li and had sent someone to secure the deal, then things would have been awkward where Director Wang is concerned. If I am right, he will probably be the male lead for Director Wang¡¯s next movie. So in that case, he could have been in a very awkward position with thepany, because ourpany can¡¯t possibly invest in both projects at the same time. So he made it a point to offend Director Li first, and then offered Director Wang as the only solution! This was also to force Mo Zhi into relenting.¡± The assistant waspletely stunned when he heard this. He looked at Gao Feng and gulped, ¡°Did he really n all that?¡± Gao Feng smiled but did not reply. Chapter 1519 - He Is My Son (92)

Chapter 1519: He Is My Son (92)

The assistant couldn¡¯t help but turn to look at the man following Mo Hai as they went to Mo Hai¡¯s office. Mo Xicheng¡¯s posture was tall and straight, carrying a pride that one couldn¡¯t easily miss. ¨C Mo Xicheng followed Mo Hai into the his office. He swept his gaze around the room once. Mo Hai looked at this son of his, who had grown to be taller than himself, and sighed helplessly. He didn¡¯t used to like this boy because he had caused a rift between himself and Li Shu. But he had to admit that Mo Xicheng was his son nevertheless. And even if he didn¡¯t like the boy, he had watched the kid grow up. Although he knew that Mo Xicheng had nned what had happened today, he wasn¡¯t angry at all. On the contrary, he was quite satisfied. Because among his sons, he had found one who was capable of inheriting the Mo family business. It was a good thing. But he still had to say what needed to be said. And warnings still had to be delivered. So Mo Hai pointed at the sofa opposite and said to the young man, ¡°Take a seat.¡± Mo Xicheng nodded and sat down as instructed. Mo Hai removed his jacket, thinking that any quick-witted person would surely volunteer to take over the jacket and help him hang it up. But when he turned around, he saw that Mo Xicheng was already sitting on the sofa, looking at him impassively. Mo Hai frowned, feeling slightly uneasy. He ced the jacket aside and then took the seat opposite Mo Xicheng. He started, ¡°You didn¡¯t do too poorly today.¡± Mo Xicheng nodded and replied, ¡°Thank you for thepliment.¡± Was this apliment? Mo Hai thought to himself, ¡°Wasn¡¯t it obvious that I was being sarcastic and meant that he was too scheming!?¡± But seeing how serious and prim Mo Xicheng looked, Mo Hai couldn¡¯t bring himself to say it. He suddenly choked back his anger. He cleared his throat and spoke again, ¡°Ha, smart people indeed can be frightening. But Mo Xicheng, since I handed the business over to you, can you promise me something?¡± Mo Xicheng was slightly taken aback to hear the words ¡°handed the business over to you¡±. Although he was looking at Mo Hai with an expression of indifference, he was secretly astonished. However, he still asked reflexively, ¡°What is it?¡± Mo Haii lowered his gaze and continued, ¡°50 percent of thepany shares must belong to Mo Zhi. In addition, in the future, your children are not to fight him for it.¡± Mo Xicheng fell silent upon hearing this. Noticing hisck of response, Mo Hai frowned and said, ¡°You must not be so greedy. By right, the entire Mo family estate belongs to Mo Zhi! You are allowed to work in this business and on top of that own 30 percent of the shares, so you ought to be thankful towards the Mo family! Do you know that?¡± Mo Xichengughed icily when her heard this and asked, ¡°Why did you bring me into thepany then?¡± Mo Hai choked and snorted as he said, ¡°I was forced, wasn¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Since you know it yourself, need I say more?¡± Once more, his remark stumped the older man. The meaning behind Mo Xicheng¡¯s words was clear. He had never intended to fight Mo Zhi for the family estate, but now he was forced to. For this reason, he couldn¡¯t promise that he would not continue to fight Mo Zhi, because who knew what Mo Zhi would do next? After he made his stand clear, he stood up and looked at Mo Hai, saying, ¡°I also hope that things will go smoothly in thepany. But I must say, this is not up to me, it¡¯s up to him.¡± Chapter 1520 - He Is My Son (93)

Chapter 1520: He Is My Son (93)

Having made his point, Mo Xicheng strode out and left Mo Hai sitting on the sofa by himself, deeply contemtive. Mo Xicheng¡¯s position was clear, but had it really been Mo Zhi who had started this fight? Mo Hai sat back on the sofa, trying to recall recent events. Since when had Mo Xicheng started to take an interest in the family business? Before, he had always worked quietly in the entertainment industry, earning his keep and minding his own business. To the extent that every time someone suggested that Mo Xicheng should joing the business, he had to admit that he had sent people to look for the young man and test his intentions. But Mo Xicheng had never been moved. In fact, he had declined the invitation a few times. So in reality, it had been when Mo Zhi had schemed against Shi Nianyao to take advantage of her. It had been after that failed attempt. Mo Hai narrowed his eyes. He knew it in his own heart that if one of his brothers were to scheme against Li Shu the same way, he would also disregard brotherhood. So Shi Nianyao¡¯s matter was what had sparked this retaliation. Mo Hai narrowed his eyes and sighed. He paused and picked up his desk phone to dial the HR department. After a while, the HR manager turned up at his office. Mo Hai asked, ¡°Mo Xicheng is now the CEO of thepany, why is he still using the office downstairs? Is the office upstairs not avable?¡± The HR Manager immediately lowered his voice and revealed, ¡°CEO Mo Zhi had made this arrangement.¡± The moment Mo Hai was told this, he immediately understood what had happened. With a weak wave of his hand, he told the manager, ¡°Very well, you may go. Tidy up the office upstairs as soon as possible and let CEO Mo move in.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± After the manager left, Mo Hai slumped back against the sofa and did not move. The fact was that he had been keeping a close watch on Mo Zhi¡¯s movements. Compared to Mo Xicheng¡¯ impressively dignified character, Mo Zhi was but a mere regr man. It was too petty of him to be making things difficult for Mo Xicheng over such small matters. There was just too great a gap between these two boys. Still sitting back on the sofa, the man sighed again. ¨C After leaving Mo Hai¡¯s office and taking up thepany¡¯s CEO position, the people in the office started to perceive the man in a different light. The agreement was signed with Director Wang¡¯s representative in the afternoon and thus, the TV and Film City¡¯s first major deal was sealed. After this, the HR staff went to help him move into his new office. After the previous episode with the air conditioning, this time around, no matter how much Mo Zhi tried to influence the HR manager, thetter yed dumb and refused to pull another trick. Hence, Mo Xicheng now had a decent office of his own. With this, things seemed to have fallen into ce finally. When it was time to go home, Mo Xicheng¡¯s secretary approched him and asked if he would like to be driven home. Mo Xicheng contemted it for a while and decided, ¡°No, I drove today. You may take the car, I¡¯ll drive my own. Pick me up at home- Forget it, I¡¯ll call you again tomorrow.¡± The secretary nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯ll take my leave now then, CEO Mo.¡± Mo Xicheng nodded. As the secretary was about to leave, Mo Xicheng called her, ¡°Hang on.¡± She turned around. Mo Xicheng suddenly asked, ¡°Do you know Gao Feng well?¡± Chapter 1521 - He Is My Son (94)

Chapter 1521: He Is My Son (94)

The junior secretary paused and shook her head, saying, ¡°Not very well but I know who he is. What¡¯s up?¡± Mo Xicheng hesitated and finally asked, ¡°Does he not get along with Mo Zhi?¡± There must be a reason why Gao Feng was so kind to him, and even giving him advice all the time. He had to get to the bottom of this. He had to develop some trusted allies in thepany if possible, and Gao Feng didn¡¯t seem like a bad choice. If he was someone who Mo Zhi had suppressed, then he would be the ideal person to attract to his side. But unexpectedly, the junior secretary said at once, ¡°How would that be possible? Everyone in the office knows that Gao Feng is especially protective of Senior CEO Mo. In the past, whenever people objected to CEO Mo¡¯s ideas in the meetings, Director Gao would speak up for him. He has taken care of CEO Mo meticulously ever since CEO Mo stepped into the business. Butter on, Senior CEO Mo- Anyway,ter on they grew further apart but still, Director Gao would not go against CEO Mo.¡± Mo Xicheng had not expected this answer. He paused and probed further, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because Director Gao and Senior CEO Mo¡¯s mother, Madam Li Shu, are on very good terms. We heard that they were childhood sweethearts and grew up going to the same school. Oh, and he is on very good terms with Chairman Mo Hai as well.¡± Then, the junior secretary looked around to ensure there was no one within hearing range. She quickly shut the door and walked up to Mo Xicheng to whisper, ¡°Do you remember the time Senior CEO Mo made a big blunder? Back then, the board of directors suggested bringing you in and there were some fierce debates. Someone suggested that having you around would serve to motivate Senior CEO Mo, so that he knows there ispetition and he can¡¯t just do as he likes in thepany. When Chairman Mo was hesitating and couldn¡¯t quite make up his mind, it was Director Gao who spoke up and opposed it firmly. And that was how Mo Zhi managed to maintain his position.¡± The secretary twitched her mouth and continued, ¡°Everyone knows that Gao Feng is Mo Zhi¡¯s watchdog. Hmph, in the past, before CEO Mo came into thepany, Director Gao was ok. He was fair in business and was well-regarded in thepany. But the moment Mo Zhi stepped in, he started to shield the man¡¯s shorings and sometimes even had to clean up the mess he makes. Really, I¡¯m speechless.¡± Mo Xicheng widened his eyes as he looked at the junior secretary and asked, ¡°So it¡¯s impossible that Gao Feng would object to Mo Zhi?¡± ¡°For sure he would have objections, but for the sake of Madam Li Shu, he would defend CEO Mo. That¡¯s why CEO Mo, I¡¯m telling you, I think Director Gao has been trying to suck up to you. He could be trying to mislead you so that he can get certain information from you for Senior CEO Mo¡¯s benefit.¡± Mo Xicheng could not helpughing aloud when he heard this. It looked like everyone around there had a really active imagination. But was Gao Feng... really such a person? Mo Xicheng recalled the few times that he had dealt with the man. His instinct and intuition told him it wasn¡¯t so. He waved at the junior secretary and said, ¡°Alright, you may leave now.¡± After the secretary left, he also did so and headed down the building. As he was driving out of the parking, he suddenly caught sight of Li Shu and Gao Feng ahead. They were standing there, having a conversation. Chapter 1522 - He Is My Son (95)

Chapter 1522: He Is My Son (95)

His secretary had taken the car that Mo Xicheng normally drove. Since the secretary had driven the other car the previous night, he had had to drive his sports car to take Shi Nianyao home in the morning. The sports car was too mboyant and didn¡¯t suit his low-key personality, hence after buying it, it had mostly sat unused in the garage. For this reason, no one knew this was his car. Li Shu and Gao Feng also had no idea that he was in the car. He could see that the two of them had exchanged a few words and a smile appeared on her face. Along with this, he could also hear her cheerful voice saying, ¡°Thank you for watching over him. To show my gratitude, let me buy you dinner tonight. What would you like to eat? You can pick whatever you like.¡± Gao Fengughed at once and replied, ¡°Sure, since you¡¯ve said so, I¡¯ll have to go for something expensive.¡± They both chatted andughed as they got into their car. Then the car left the parking and drove away. Mo Xicheng stood there, looking in their direction. He could tell that Gao Feng and Li Shu were on extremely good terms. So Gao Feng looking out for Mo Zhi in the office had been well within reason. But if that were the case, why had Gao Feng continually opposed Mo Zhi in the meeting earlier today, and had even agreed with raising his status to the same level as Mo Zhi? By doing this, wasn¡¯t he going against Li Shu¡¯s wishes? Or could it be that Gao Feng was kind to him only because Li Shu had requested so?! But... why would Li Shu make such a request? Mo Xicheng simply could not figure this out. He shook his head and decided to stop thinking about it. There would always be a solution to the problem. As he push these thoughts out of his head, his cell phone suddenly rang. He looked down at the screen. Seeing that it was Shi Nianyao, he immediately picked up the call. At once, Shi Nianyao asked carefully, ¡°Are- are you working yillte?¡± He replied after a short pause, ¡°No, I¡¯m leaving work now.¡± ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re workingte. Well then, it¡¯s ok.¡± Puzzled, Mo Xicheng repeated, ¡°I¡¯m not workingte. Yao Yao, what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Nothing! Work is important, of course! We can always have a meal tomorrow or the day after. You¡¯ve just joined thepany, so you need to focus on your work.¡± Upon hearing this, Mo Xicheng suddenly had a realization. Shi Nianyao¡¯s parents must have had invited him to dinner. He thought about it and felt that it was only right that he visited them today, after all, he had slept with their daughterst night. Without thinking further, he said to Shi Nianyao, ¡°Yao Yao, wait for me at home. I¡¯ll go over right away.¡± ¡°What? Aren¡¯t you workingte?¡±¡® ¡°Yao Yao...¡± ¡°Uh huh?¡± ¡°It¡¯s time for me to pay an official visit to your parents.¡± ¡°Alright, that¡¯s fine, if you have enough time.¡± On this note, he hung up. Mo Xicheng couldn¡¯t help grinning to himself as he started up the car and drove to Shi Nianyao¡¯s. After two minutes, his cell phone rang again. The moment he turned on his bluetooth earpiece, he heard Shi Nianyao¡¯s nervous voice, ¡°Hey, you must note over. If you do, they will attack you with questions. Mom and dad are not in the best of moods!¡± Mo Xicheng replied, ¡°That¡¯s ok. At some point, the ugly inw still has to meet his parents-inw.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not.¡± ¡°Alright then,e on over. And one more thing...¡± Chapter 1523 - He Is My Son (96)

Chapter 1523: He Is My Son (96)

¡°Uh huh?¡± ¡°Idol, you¡¯re not ugly at all.¡± Mo Xicheng: ... Smiling unconsciously, he said, ¡°Is there anything that your parents might like?¡± Shi Nianyao quickly said, ¡°Mom loves flowers. Lilies, roses,vender and whatnots, she likes them all. So it¡¯s good if you get her flowers.¡± ¡°And your dad?¡± ¡°Dad loves Mom.¡± Mo Xicheng: ... Shi Nianyao exined, ¡°It¡¯s true. Dad came from a poor family and he built his own empire from scratch. Later on, he married my adorable Mom. When he was younger, he experienced all sorts of hardship so he doesn¡¯t really care about small things. The one thing he loves most is Mom! So if you make her happy, then the problem¡¯s solved!¡± Mo Xicheng: ... Why did he feel, for the first time, that Shi Nianyao was just slightly unreliable? It was the first time he was visiting his inws, how could he possibly just get his mother-inw a bouquet of flowers? Hesitating for a moment, he said, ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll get a bouquet.¡± Shi Nianyao added, ¡°You really don¡¯t have to get Dad anything. He has eyes for nothing except Mom.¡± He replied, ¡°Ok, I got it.¡± After hanging up, he raised a hand to massage his temple. He drove to a florist near the office and selected a bouquet. After leaving it in the trunk, he proceeded to a supermarket nearby to buy some health products. He only returned to the car once his hands were full. When he tried cing these things in the trunk, he realized it was quite full. Still, he felt it wasn¡¯t adequate. At this point, he turned around, went back to the shops and bought more before he was satisfied and left. All this time, he wore his baseball cap and mask. As he paid for the products, the cashier could not tell who he was. Thinking he was a suspicious person, she threw him a few nces. Noticing the way she had stared at him, he could only shake his head and smile as he left the shop. He continued his way to Shi Nianyao¡¯s home. He had travelled down that road many times, but none of those times had he felt this restless and tense. Since Aunty and Uncle had invited him home, they must have epted him. But if he made a blunder in the process and displeased them, then what would he do? Especially when he had kidnapped their daughter for the whole previous night. It would be reasonable for them to be upset. The thought of having to meet them worried him and made him restless, even though he was mentally ready. What worried him the most was going all the way there only to be told in his face that he was not good enough for their daughter. If that happened, what would he do? Keep insisting or to slowly n the next step? As all sorts of thoughts were still running through his mind as the Shi family vi loomed into view. Just a moment ago the journey had seemed so long but all of a sudden, he had arrived? He gulped nervously and narrowed his eyes as he drove to the main gate. When the security officer saw him, the main gate swung open slowly. Mo Xicheng drove in. The Shi family vipound wasrge and he had to drive some way before he arrived at the house. The moment the car stopped, he saw Shi Nianyao running out of the living room, happily dashing towards him. Chapter 1524 - He Is My Son (97)

Chapter 1524: He Is My Son (97)

Mo Xicheng looked at the cheerful and nervous Shi Nianyao and a smile immediately lit his face. The restlessness that he had felt throughout the drive vanished the moment he saw her. He did admire her parents. They had brought up such an energetic and optimistic daughter, who they had to eventually give away and part with. If he had a daughter as adorable as Shi Nianyao in the future, he would have a hard time marrying her off. Hence, if Shi Jinyan treated him poorly in the meetingter, he could only take it in his stride. With this thought, Mo Xicheng turned around and started to unload all the shopping bags from the trunk. Immediately, Shi Nianyao eximed, ¡°Why did you buy all that stuff?¡± Mo Xicheng: ... He lifted his gaze and at once spotted Si Jingyu, who was standing at the front door. He smiled at her instantly and called out, ¡°Aunty.¡± Si Jingyu nodded. Because she knew the truth about Mo Xicheng, she couldn¡¯t help but look at the young man with pain and regret in her eyes. He should have been a wealthy young master, but had been swapped to live the life of an illegitimate son. Since childhood, he had been scolded, beaten and despised. And fortunately even then, apart from being a little gloomy, he had not grown up poorly¡ªsurely, the heavens had been kind to him. She sighed and waved at Mo Xicheng as she said, ¡°Mo Xicheng, you¡¯re here,e in quickly.¡± She nced at the bags he was holding and then shot a look at Shi Nianyao, who stared back at her. Immediately, the woman caught on and yed along. She turned to the living room and said loudly, ¡°That¡¯s a lot of things you bought. Why spend so much money?!¡± Mo Xicheng was a little distracted by the interaction between the two women. He had never seen a child and parent behave this way with each other. In his own home, he didn¡¯t have a very close rtionship with Yao Lili. In the past, he had attributed it to gender differences. After all, he was a son and Yao Lili was a woman, so there would be a certain gap between them. But now, he felt that they didn¡¯t even share a mother-and-son rtionship. As he contemted this, he heard Si Jingyu yelling again, ¡°Hurry up ande in!¡± That voice broke his train of thought and he snapped back to present. Looking up quickly at Si Jingyu, he smiled and nodded as he followed her into the living room. Shi Jinyan was sitting on the sofa reading the newspaper. When he heard the noise, he looked up calmly. Then he nodded at Mo Xicheng when he saw the young man and said, ¡°You¡¯re here.¡± That was his greeting. Mo Xicheng quickly took a step forward to greet the man ¡°How are you, Uncle?¡± Shi Jinyan nodded and looked at the young man with a judging eye. Mo Xicheng unconsciously straightened his back, worried that Shi Jinyan would think he wasn¡¯t quite up to par. Shi Jinyan noticed this and his gaze deepened. He was about to say something when Si Jingyu interrupted, ¡°Alright, it¡¯s been a long day at work and you must be tired. Dinner¡¯s ready, let¡¯s eat first.¡± In any case, it was considered rude to talk while eating. If he couldn¡¯t talk, then he couldn¡¯t make things difficult for Mo Xicheng. Shi Nianyao¡¯s eyes lit up at this thought and immediately said, ¡°That¡¯s right! I¡¯m starving!¡± Chapter 1525 - He Is My Son (98)

Chapter 1525: He Is My Son (98)

With that, Shi Jinyan swallowed what he had wanted to say. He nced at Shi Nianyao as though worried that she would really starve and nodded. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s eat first then.¡± Mo Xicheng followed Shi Jinyan as they walked to the dining table. Although they didn¡¯t speak very much while eating, Shi Jinyan would asionally pick up some food to ce into Si Jingyu¡¯s bowl. When Mo Xicheng saw this, he also picked up some food for Shi Nianyao. Shi Jinyan observed the young couple carefully and noticed that Mo Xicheng had picked up all of his daughter¡¯s favorite food. Satisfied with this observation, he snorted in approval. It looked like this young man did take Shi Nianyao to heart. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have known what her favorite foods were. He was also attentive enough to pick out all the food she liked among the wide selection on the table, without making a single error. Given this, Shi Jinyan cast his gaze down and made no otherments. Dinner was over in a short time. After they had finished their meal, they sat around in the living room. A housekeeper served a tter of fruits. Si Jingyu picked up an apple and held it out to Mo Xicheng, then she started to chat, ¡°How was work today?¡± Initially, Mo Xicheng had wanted to gloss over the subject, but he caught a look of deep concern in her eyes. It was a look of pure concern, untainted byplications. Suddenly, he felt a sense of safety and security that he had never felt before. He felt like a child before his own mother, showing nothing but his true self. He lowered his head and, after a while, said, ¡°It was ok. I¡¯m just a little unhappy.¡± Surprised, Si Jingyu asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Mo Xicheng spoke honestly, ¡°When I joined thepany, I plotted against Mo Zhi. Now Mo Zhi was affected negatively and I don¡¯t feel any happier. I don¡¯t know how to put it, it¡¯s like- it¡¯s like-¡± Hearing this, Si Jingyu had a sudden realization and said with a smile, ¡°You have never thought of challenging him or fighting him for anything, but now, for Nianyao¡¯s sake, you find yourself having to make the effort, is that right?¡± Mo Xicheng shook his head immediately and rified, ¡°It¡¯s not for Nianyao, it¡¯s also for myself.¡± Si Jingyu sighed in relief and replied, ¡°The fact that you can say this shows that you are discerning. If you had really said that it was all for Nianyao, I¡¯d be worried that in the time toe, you may end up ming and taking it out on Nianyao because of everyone¡¯s rejection and your friends¡¯ abandonment. But you are a good and decent child.¡± Si Jingyu spoke in a cool and calm manner, as always. She was a soft spoken woman who spoke slowly and gently, giving people a sense that she was a kind and amiable person. Her behavior, on the other hand, had the ability to draw admiration from people. When Mo Xicheng looked into her eyes, he felt there was something very maternal about her. He looked at her and nodded immediately, reassuring her. ¡°Aunty, don¡¯t worry. I will take good care of Nianyao for the rest of my life.¡± Si Jingyu smiled at once and said, ¡°Good.¡± Before she could continue, Shi Jinyan gave a loud snort, signaling that they shouldn¡¯t continue this topic and should talk about something else. Mo Xicheng was quite sure that Si Jingyu liked him. He could tell that from the expression in her eyes when she talked to him. Whereas Shi Jinyan... Well, he probably liked him too. However... They sat and talked till 9 p.m. Mo Xicheng looked at the time and got onto his feet. ¡°Uncle, Aunty, it¡¯s a littlete now. I should take my leave.¡± Chapter 1526 - He Is My Son (99)

Chapter 1526: He Is My Son (99)

Si Jingyu immediately said, ¡°Sure, it¡¯ste. Drive safe.¡± Mo Xicheng nodded and was about to speak when Shi Jinyan sprang onto his feet. He nced at Mo Xicheng through narrowed eyes and, with a smirk, he said, ¡°You¡¯re leaving just like that?¡± Mo Xicheng paused. The older man cast his gaze down to look at the things Mo Xicheng had bought and suddenly grew distant. He said, ¡°We don¡¯tck these things in our home. Take them back with you.¡± Things had been going well a moment ago, when they were chatting, but now it seemed like the man had suddenly turned hostile. Mo Xicheng couldn¡¯t help feeling that he must have done something to offend Shi Jinyan, but thetter did not say anything else apart from looking at him through narrowed eyes and that smirk. He instructed the butler, ¡°Butler, apany our guest out! And take away all these things that he brought.¡± Then without another word, he went upstairs. Mo Xicheng stood frozen on the spot, wondering what was going on. Everyone in the living room was puzzled too. Shi Nianyao approached Si Jingyu, tugged at her sleeves and asked, ¡°Mom, what¡¯s the matter with Dad?¡± Stunned herself, Si Jingyu replied, ¡°I- I really have no idea.¡± Things had been going along fine just then, why had the man suddenly turned moody the moment Mo Xicheng had said he was leaving? Even the butler was puzzled as he came up to them and said, ¡°Madam, so these bags here...¡± Si Jingyu lifted her head to nce upstairs. Shi Nianyao tugged at her mother¡¯s sleeve again and said with annoyance, ¡°Mom, he¡¯s made the effort to buy all of these things. It would be embarrassing for him to have to take it all back.¡± Si Jingyu sighed upon hearing this and nced at the presents. She smiled and said, ¡°Of course he¡¯s not taking them back. Alright, Mo Xicheng, if there¡¯s nothing else, be on your way now.¡± The young man nodded. Shi Nianyao quickly said, ¡°Let me see you off.¡± Si Jingyu threw a look at the girl and said calmly, ¡°Hurry then, let¡¯s not anger your Dad more. He¡¯s already displeased.¡± She nodded. Shi Nianyao apanied Mo Xicheng as they walked to the car in the courtyard. She quickly told him, ¡°I¡¯m not sure why Dad went all cranky today, but don¡¯t worry about it. He was quite fond of you initially though. Perhaps we said something that upset him.¡± Mo Xicheng felt somewhat disturbed hearing this. After all, this was his father-inw, an important person. He frowned and looked at Shi Nianyao. He told her, ¡°Once you¡¯ve found out why he¡¯s upset, you must tell me.¡± The girl nodded and then said reluctantly, ¡°Are you leaving just like that?¡± The normally chirpy girl stood there now, with her head lowered and looking at her feet, twisting her fingers like an upset child. His heart melted. He looked at her and couldn¡¯t stop himself from smiling. He walked up to her and took her hands. Then he looked around before he whispered, ¡°I missed you loads today.¡± Her eyes lit up at once as she raised her chin to look at him and replied, ¡°Me too.¡± Mo Xicheng continued, ¡°Did you feel sick in any way today?¡± She instantly turned a bright scarlet, like a shiny apple, at that question. Biting her lip, she said shyly, ¡°Oh, I just remembered something that I have to do. Be on your way now then.¡± Chapter 1527 - He Is My Son (100)

Chapter 1527: He Is My Son (100)

After Shi Nianyao said this, she turned around to walk into the house. However, after taking a few steps, she halted. She looked back at Mo Xicheng with much reluctance. When he saw how adorably torn she looked, he swept his gaze around and nced up the building. He noticed that the rooms were dark from looking at the windows. He thought that Shi Jinyan had to be in his bedroom on the opposite side, so he narrowed his eyes as a bold idea came to mind. He walked a few steps forward and grabbed Shi Nianyao. Then he lowered his head and lightly kissed her on the forehead. Shi Nianyao was taken by surprise. Noticing how stunned she was, he couldn¡¯t help butugh. He tousled her hair affectionately and then said, ¡°I¡¯ll leave now. I¡¯ll call you when I get home.¡± Still in a daze, she nodded as she watched Mo Xicheng turn around decisively. He started the car and drove away. It was as though he was afraid that he would turn around, grab her and take her with him because he couldn¡¯t bear to part with her. But kidnapping Shi Nianyao from her parents¡¯ house would not be a very sensible thing to do. It was just that... he really could not stop thinking about her. ¨C Upstairs, in the meantime. Si Jingyu walked into Shi Jinyan¡¯s study. The study was in the dark, lights still turned off. Shi Jinyan stood by the window, looking out. Just as Si Jingyu walked over to him, she witnessed the moment Mo Xicheng had looked around and nted that kiss on Shi Nianyao. She couldn¡¯t help chuckling. In their own frivolous youth, hadn¡¯t they been equally unrestrained, impulsive, and unable to control their own emotions? It had already been hard enough for the young couple to hold themselves back tillst night. As she was chuckling, Shi Jinyan snorted icily. Si Jingyu looked at him and said suddenly, ¡°Why are you snorting? Weren¡¯t we all young once? Look at how he can¡¯t bear to part with our Yao Yao. You can tell how much he likes her.¡± ¡°Likes her? Not necessarily so!¡± After he said this, he stormed over to the sofa by the side and sat down angrily. Si Jingyu raised an eyebrow and walked up to Shi Jinyan. She asked him, ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you today?¡± Shi Jinyan turned to her and asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡± Si Jingyu questioned him, ¡°You were fine when Mo Xicheng arrived this evening. Why did that suddenly change? Your temper is getting worse with your age. Did you even notice how ufortable you made those two feel?¡± The man¡¯s chin tensed up and he kept silent, brooding by himself. She nudged his arm and insisted. ¡°So what¡¯s the matter? Why won¡¯t you speak up? Are you unhappy with Mo Xicheng?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°What exactly?¡± Shi Jinyan coughed once and said, ¡°You really want me to tell you?¡± She replied, ¡°Of course! Of course I want you to tell me! I do like this young man and I may stay unaware if you don¡¯t tell me what¡¯s wrong with him.¡± Shi Jinyan then started, ¡°Yesterday, he already... spent the night with Yao Yao, but he didn¡¯t even bring up the subject of marriage. How could you think he¡¯s a decent man? He¡¯s so irresponsible. How could he be the right one for Yao Yao? This is simply irresponsible!¡± Si Jingyu: ...!! Si Jingyu could not stop herself fromughing aloud. She said, ¡°You¡¯re upset over such a small matter? Well, if he had brought up the topic of marriage, would you have agreed?¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± ¡°And so why should he bring it up?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the intention that matters! Of course he should have brought it up. Also, he should have brought it up officially.¡± Chapter 1528 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (1)

Chapter 1528: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (1)

Si Jingyu was at a loss for words. She could onlyugh and finally said, ¡°Alright already, let¡¯s not be picky. This was the first time he came to visit, how could it be appropriate for him to talk about marriage straight away? Besides, things like wedding dates are of course something for the parents to decide! I¡¯m only waiting for Li Shu to reconcile with him so that she can officially discuss the marriage.¡± ¡°Even if the wedding can be dyed, what about registering the marriage? He¡¯s wrong to not even have mentioned that.¡± ¡°Alright, fine, fine. He was wrong to not have mentioned it. He¡¯s just a young man, isn¡¯t he? and thinks that being engaged is good enough.¡± ¡°How is being engaged and getting married the same? Although for us, Chinese, getting married is a tradition, you know what we care about.¡± Seeing how angry Shi Jinyan was, Si Jingyu could not helpughing at him. She said, ¡°Just look at you, you¡¯re soar.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Adorable.¡± Shi Jinyan: ... At once, the man fell silent. He rubbed his chin and didn¡¯t say another word. ¨C By the time Mo Xicheng got home, it was past 10 p.m. When he opened the front door and saw the disorder in the house, he remembered that he had asked the cleaningdy not toe in today to clean the house. It was as though he didn¡¯t want to disturb and put back in order the mess that Shi Nianyao and himself had createdst night by an outsider. He would rather personally clean up the trails of their intimate encounter. At this thought, he walked into the bathroom and washed his hands. Then he returned to start tidying up. There wasn¡¯t much to clean up downstairs, except that when he had carried her upstairs, she had dropped a slipper and it had fallen at the bottom of the stairs. He walked over, picked it up and ced it on the shoe rack. Then he headed upstairs. Therge bed in the master bedroom was still in a mess. He walked over, searched through them and spotted a small earring. It had to be a diamond one, for it sparkled brightly. Then he recalled the pretty earrings that Shi Nianyao normally wore. They suited her bright and fairplexion perfectly. He smiled, carefully ced the earring in a little case by the side and smoothed out the bed sheets. After straightening the bed, he went back into the bathroom. Because of the low humidity in Beijing, the water on the bathroom floor had dried out. The water in the bathtub was still. They had not let the water out before Mo Xicheng had carried her off to the bed. Thinking of what had happenedst night, his eyes darkened and his body reacted. A man always desired for more after experiencing this sort of satiation. With some effort, he pushed these thoughts out of his mind and cleaned up the bathroom. After this, he left the bathroom and wiped his hands with a hand towel. He headed downstairs. Just as he descended the stairs, he saw his cell phone light up. He walked over and turned on the screen. There was a short message from Shi Nianyao: [What are you doing?] He picked up the device and typed without thinking: [Missing you.] She acted a lot chirpier and less shy on the cell phone. Immediately, she replied: [I¡¯m missing you too.] When he saw the message with a blushing emoticon, heughed at once. The emoticon and her usual expression, which shed through his mind, made a perfect match and he found it extremely cute and endearing. Chapter 1529 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (2)

Chapter 1529: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (2)

He lowered his gaze and typed out another message: [Missing what about me, exactly?] He sent the message. Even before he received a reply, he could immediately imagine her burrowing her head into the nket with a stunned expression on her face. That look of wanting to say something but at the same time not knowing what. It made himugh aloud instantly. Indeed, it took two full minutes before he got a reply, [Everything about you! What about you? What exactly are you thinking?] His reply: [Thinking of sleeping with you.] Shi Nianyao: ...!! In the dark, Shi Nianyao¡¯s face was only visible through the brightness of the cell phone screen. Her shocked expression was at once adorable and excited. She stared at those unabashed words on the screen and almost choked. Did her idol not know anything about being subtle?! Last night, she had fallen asleep with the pleasure of having him next to her and embracing him through the night. After experiencing that, she now no longer wanted to sleep alone. This made her miss the man more. Blushing as she stared at the cell phone screen, she immediately clutched her face and smiled to herself. She typed her reply: [Come and sleep with me then.] Mo Xicheng: ...! That evil Shi Nianyao. He wished he could reach out through the cell phone to give her a good spanking. But he knew this conversation must not continue, for it would only cause him to burn in frustration. He shook his head and changed the topic: [Have you found out why your dad was upset?] She replied quickly: [I have no idea, I can¡¯t tell if it was just a moment of crankiness.] Mo Xicheng: ... Did people talk about their fathers like that? She sent another message: [But Mom likes you alot. That was a good performance, bonus points for you.] Seeing that he had been given bonus points, he ventured to ask: [Then how many points are you giving me personally?] Biting her lip, she thought and replied: [With 100 being the highest score, you want to know the honest answer?] He typed back: [Uh huh.] Shi Nianyao paused and typed with a grin: [99. That one point is to allow you room for improvement.] Mo Xicheng smiled immediately when he read this. He thought for a while and replied: [Do you know how many points I¡¯m giving you?] [How many?] He sent the message. [60. Tops.] This was followed immediately by an outburst from her. [Why, why, why?] Her message revealed her emotions at that point and Mo Xicheng couldn¡¯t help butugh when he saw this. He slowly typed his reply. [Because a full score would be too exhausting to attain. I hope that when you¡¯re with me, you¡¯ll always be a little spoiled, a little petty, so that you¡¯ll only need to pass. Let me be the one who always strives for a full score.] Shi Nianyao was stunned to read what he had written. As she looked at the message, she knew at once what he meant. No one was perfect, but in front of her, her idol would always be willing to give his best. She now knew clearly that Mo Xicheng didn¡¯t want her to strive for a full score, he only wanted her to live freely and be herself. Her eyes reddened. Not even the sweetest words in the world could match up to these 60 points. Chapter 1530 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (3)

Chapter 1530: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (3)

It takes a lot of courage for a man to promise to a woman that he will put on a perfect performance. Making a promise like this meant that he would always treasure her and not make her feel bad. It gave her the sense that he would take care of everything at home and outside of home, and all she had to do was to live happily in the perfect world that he would create for her, obstinately giving her 60 points. Shi Nianyao bit her lip. She stared at the message and thought deeply for a long time before she typed out her reply: [My star, neither of us need to strive for perfection. If you give 50 points and I give 50 points, we will be perfect together.] Although she said it in jest, those were her true intentions. She was willing to go through difficult times with him. She was willing to be with him through thick and thin. For the two of them to spend the rest of their days together would be true perfection. Mo Xicheng cast his gaze down when he read this. He remembered what Shi Xun had told him. Since childhood, she had lived a blissful life. She had never known hardships and never experienced depression. She had been brought up like a little princess. Whereas he knew that he wasn¡¯t perfect and would not be able to give her that sort of life. But he was willing to work hard towards perfection, until the day he could be that perfect person for Shi Nianyao. ¨C The two of them sent messages back and forth until there was no answer for ten minutes after hisst message. He knew that Shi Nianyao must have fallen asleep with her cell phone in her hand. He smiled and went to take a shower. The moment he got into bed after his shower, he subconsciously reached out to touch the space next to him. Last night, this was where he had held Shi Nianyao as they fell asleep, but now she was back in her own home. He cast his gaze down. After thinking for a moment, he was determined. He had to settle the Mo family business quickly so that he could approach the Shi family to broach the topic of marriage. Once they were married, he and Nianyao would not have to separate again. He fell asleep thinking about this. The next morning, he woke up to a few messages from Shi Nianyao on his cell phone: [Arghhhh, I fell asleep with the phone in my hand!] [Urgh, Idol, are you awake? Shall I bring you breakfast?] When he saw these messages, he picked up the cell phone and called her, saying, ¡°Don¡¯te over, I¡¯m just about to go to the office.¡± She replied, ¡°Ok, what time do you finish work tonight? I¡¯ll go over and meet you for dinner.¡± He straightened his tie and walked to the door. ¡°I¡¯ll go to you after work.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± He then asked, ¡°Did you sleep wellst night?¡± As she was about to answer, another call came in for him. He paused and looked down at the screen. It was Director Wang. He told Nianyao, ¡°Hang on for a moment, I¡¯ve got to take a business call.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± Mo Xicheng switched to take Director Wang¡¯s call, ¡°Hello¡ª¡± Before he could get past the greeting, Director Wang was already eximing angrily, ¡°Mo Xicheng, what¡¯s this situation? The filming crew is ready to start working and we¡¯re just waiting for the funds toe in. Have we not agreed that you will invest 40 percent upfront to fund the filming, while Shen Liangchuan wille in with the rest of the 60 percent at ater stage, but where¡¯s the money? Why hasn¡¯t it arrived?!¡± Chapter 1531 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (4)

Chapter 1531: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (4)

After signing the agreement yesterday, Mo Xicheng had promised to transfer at least 20 percent of the funds to the filming crew¡¯s ount. He had even spoken with the finance department before leaving work, so how could it be possible that they had not received the money? Upon hearing this, Mo Xicheng was taken aback and asked after a short pause, ¡°Director Wang, are you talking about the full sum? If you¡¯re wondering about the full sum, it may take thepany a few days toplete the transaction. We agreed yesterday that 20 percent¡ª¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t received even a single cent, not to mention 20 percent! The filming crew is about to start filming. Without any funds, how do you expect us to operate? Everything is in ce and we¡¯re just waiting for the funds to begin.¡± He had not received the 20 percent? Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes and stared ahead. Frowning, he said after a while, ¡°Director Wang, give me a few minutes. I¡¯ll call the office to ask.¡± ¡°Alright then.¡± After he hung up, Mo Xicheng headed out. At the same time, he dialed the office. He got into the car and put on his bluetooth earpiece. While he waited for the call to connect, he started driving. Very quickly, the call connected. ¡°Hello, this is Mo Xicheng. Get me the finance department.¡± ¡°Sure, CEO Mo.¡± The call was directed to the finance department. The finance department manager picked up the call and greeted him respectfully, ¡°CEO Mo.¡± ¡°Hello. Yesterday I asked for part of the investment funds to be transferred to the filming crew, has it not been done?¡± The finance department manager replied immediately, ¡°I sent the order yesterday. The rest is handled by the staff, so I¡¯ll have to check with them.¡± Mo Xicheng was not happy to hear this excuse. He continued, ¡°You¡¯ve asked your staff to handle such arge sum, yet you do not keep track of it or monitor its movements?¡± The finance department Manager exined, ¡°It¡¯s precisely because it¡¯s a big sum that the transfer might take longer, this is very normal. Even if the transfer was madest night, you still have to wait a while before you see it in your bank ount.¡± Mo Xicheng gave an icy smile and asked, ¡°Are you sure the money has been transferred?¡± ¡°CEO Mo, I called the bank and they confirmed it. Of course I¡¯m sure.¡± Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes. Money transfers betweenpanies often got dyed, that was for sure. But his instinct told him that things weren¡¯t that simple. Before they signed the agreement, they had been at Director Wang¡¯s mercy and had had to practically beg him for the coboration. But after signing the agreement and the investment amount had been confirmed, the two parties¡¯ positions had switched. Yesterday, Mo Zhi had embarrassed himself in front of Director Wang¡¯s representative. It was unlikely that he would just keep quiet and allow himself to be taken advantage of. At this thought, Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes and said, ¡°Give me the bank¡¯s number, I¡¯ll call them myself.¡± This request stunned the finance department manager, almost causing him to choke at once. ¡°Erm, CEO Mo, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s a need for that.¡± Upon hearing this, Mo Xicheng¡¯s suspicion that there was something fishy going on grew. He said, ¡°Could it be that you haven¡¯t transferred the funds at all?!¡± The finance department manager said after a pause, ¡°CEO Mo, I really did call¡ª¡± ¡°Manager Liu,¡± although Mo Xicheng spoke unhurriedly and stoically, that made him feel exceptionally ufortable. The manager¡¯s surname was Liu, hence Mo Xicheng had addressed him formally, making things rather cold and distant between them. The man shuddered as Mo Xicheng continued, ¡°Did you know that the first day I came to work I locked up the HR manager in the office for a few hours?¡± Chapter 1532 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (5)

Chapter 1532: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (5)

The finance department manager gulped and stammered, ¡°C- CEO Mo¡ª¡± ¡°I know you¡¯ve been instructed by others, but if you¡¯re not going to be honest with me, then I¡¯ll have to teach you a lesson too.¡± The finance department manager fell silent for a short while. Then he finally sighed and said, ¡°Alright, CEO Mo, I¡¯ll tell you the truth then! I did make the transfer, but the bank has rejected the transaction.¡± Narrowing his eyes, Mo Xicheng asked, ¡°Why?¡± The finance department manager was silent for a while before he said, ¡°Because the investment department¡¯s ount has got no money. So you can¡¯t transfer any funds!¡± Mo Xicheng widened his eyes in horror and looked at the other man in disbelief. ¡°How could there be no funds?! Isn¡¯t that fixed capital that cannot be just moved around?¡± Why would they even expect him to strike a deal with Director Li if there were no funds? Everypany had fixed capital and circting capital. Since theirpany had recently started the TV and Film City project, having circting capital was necessary. Because that was the only way they could guarantee a source of funds when an investment opportunity came up. When Mo Xicheng asked this, the finance department manager started to hem and haw, ¡°Erm- I- I¡¯m not sure about this myself, you need to give us some time. Once we have the circting capital, we can fill this gap.¡± Mo Xicheng sneered, ¡°I checked the books before making the investment deal and I can confirm that the necessary funds were avable. Manager Liu, now you¡¯re telling me there¡¯s no funds on the ount, you must be joking?¡± Manager Liu gulped and pleaded, ¡°CEO Mo, please- please don¡¯t make things difficult for me! It¡¯s best that you ask CEO Mo Zhi. I¡¯ve told you all that I can!¡± Greatly infuriated, Mo Xicheng frowned. Director Wang was merely giving face to Shen Liangchuan by helping Mo Xicheng. But now, because of thetter, the filming crew was havingplications. Mo Xicheng cast his gaze down and hung up. He knew that Mo Zhi was behind all of this for sure. He could not believe for a moment that thepany didn¡¯t have funds. It was all very clear on the books. Furthermore, although it was a huge film they were investing in, to thepany, this was only a small part of the whole project. The key and overall project was really the establishment of the TV and Film City. How could there be no circting capital for such a significant project? Hence now, Mo Zhi must have moved the funds to make things difficult for him, and also to get back at the filming crew. Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes and dialed Mo Zhi¡¯s number. The call remained unanswered after a few rings. Mo Xicheng looked at his cell phone screen and clenched his fists. He made another call to Director Wang. ¡°Director Wang, I¡¯m very sorry. I¡¯m just on my way to the office. I will ensure that you get the funds within these few days. I¡¯m grateful for your patience and tolerance.¡± Director Wang answered, ¡°Mo Xicheng, I trust you. Our filming crew awaits the clearing of this fund.¡± ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± After he hung up, he sped the car to get to the office as quickly as possible. It was only 8:30 a.m when he got to work. He hurried to the reception and asked, ¡°Is Mo Zhi at work yet?¡± The receptionist answered, ¡°Not yet.¡± The man nodded and instructed, ¡°Get him on the phone for me once he arrives.¡± ¡°Sure, CEO Mo.¡± Mo Xicheng went to his office upstairs. He sat at his desk, burning with impatience. Chapter 1533 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (6)

Chapter 1533: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (6)

All these years, although he had acted in many films, he had not been very well-paid because he had mostly yed supporting roles, and also because he preferred keeping a low-profile. In addition, Yao Lili was a big spender and he had bought only two vis. In all, there was no more than a million in his own bank ount. In fact, he was indeed as poor as a church mouse. Hence even if he was willing to use his own money for this, he didn¡¯t have enough. Frowning, he swung his armchair around. He stared at the wall with his back to his desk, suddenly feeling sad and dreary. What had he done to himself for all those years to be living like this now? After suppressing his potential for so long, this was how things turned out for him. He hung his head. Then he looked at the time on his cell phone. It was 9 p.m. He called the reception and asked, ¡°Is Mo Zhi here yet?¡± ¡°Not yet, CEO Mo.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± He shut his eyes, willing himself to calm down and continue waiting. 9:30 a.m. He made another call. The receptionist informed, ¡°CEO Mo Zhi is not here yet, CEO Mo.¡± Mo Xicheng decided to call Mo Zhi¡¯s personal assistant instead. ¡°Is Mo Zhiing to the office today?¡± ¡°CEO Mo has nothing scheduled for today, so he will go to the office.¡± Mo Xicheng had already hung up. 10 a.m. He cast his gaze down. He couldn¡¯t help feeling the irony of the situation when he recalled how Mo Zhi had berated him on his first day of work. So it turned out that Mo Zhi had only been putting up an act ofing to work on time in thest couple days. Heughed icily and continued waiting. 11 a.m. The receptionist finally called to say, ¡°CEO Mo, I just saw Senior CEO Moing into the office.¡± She spoke nearly whispering and sounded cautious. Mo Xicheng realized that the receptionist was probably informing him secretly. He said to her, ¡°Thank you.¡± Immediately, the receptionist felt important and replied, ¡°It¡¯s ok, this is my duty. I shall not hold you up then, CEO Mo.¡± Mo Xicheng grunted an acknowledgement and hung up. He contemted the situation for a moment. Then without making a call, he got up and walked out of the office. Now that he had moved upstairs, he was working on the same floor as Mo Zhi. Hence he stood there staring at the elevator in anticipation. The lift arrived and stopped on their floor. Immediately, he saw Mo Zhi walk out of the elevator. He was dressed in a ck suit and yawning as he entered. Obviously, the man had just gotten out of bed. Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes at once. At the same time, Mo Zhi spotted him as well. He halted and stared at Mo Xicheng. They exchanged a look in silence. After a while, Mo Zhi took two steps forward and threw Mo Xicheng a look of disgust. Smoothing his hair, he said, ¡°What¡¯s up,ing here to look for me so early in the morning?¡± Mo Xicheng cast his gaze down and inquired, ¡°Let me ask you. We signed the agreement yesterday, we have to transfer the funds. Why hasn¡¯t the filming crew received the money?¡± Mo Zhi spoke, ¡°This is a question you should be asking the finance department! What has it got to do with me?¡± On this note, he tried to walk around Mo Xicheng to get into his office. Mo Xicheng ced a hand on the other man¡¯s shoulder to stop him. ¡°Mo Zhi, this is a big project for thepany. Don¡¯t be obstinate. I¡¯m telling you, the consequences of this aren¡¯t something you can bear!¡± Chapter 1534 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (7)

Chapter 1534: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (7)

Mo Zhi narrowed his eyes and smirked upon hearing those words. ¡°The wholepany is mine, what are those consequences that I can¡¯t bear? Even if thepany went bankrupt, it¡¯s my ownpany.¡± After saying these unreasonable words, he drew back his shoulder and walked around Mo Xicheng. Mo Xicheng stared at the man¡¯s back. He cast his gaze down after a while. Returning to his office and having contemted the situation, he made a call to Shen Liangchuan. The line connected almost immediately. He heard Shen Liangchuan¡¯s deep and steady voice speaking, ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°Have you got circting capital in yourpany at the moment?¡± ¡°Yes, we do.¡± ¡°Could you make an advance payment to Director Wang?¡± Without even hesitating for a moment, the man said, ¡°Sure.¡± Then after a brief moment of consideration, he added, ¡°Are you in some sort of trouble?¡± Mo Xicheng took a deep breath and told him, ¡°There is no money in thepany¡¯s ount. I think Mo Zhi has moved the funds to make things difficult for me. But it¡¯s ok, I can sort it out.¡± Shen Liangchuan acknowledged the man¡¯s words. After a moment, he added, ¡°I¡¯ve been hearing that Mo Zhi has been purchasing arge amount of stocks and shares under his personal ount.¡± Mo Xicheng was taken aback by this new information. ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Uh huh,¡± Shen Liangchuan said unhurriedly. ¡°I think the source is quite reliable. It¡¯s probably true.¡± Mo Xicheng stared into the space ahead and clenched his fists. He suddenly had a frightening thought. Could it be possible that all the circting capital in thepany had been misappropriated by Mo Zhi to buy stocks and shares under his personal name, resulting in a shortage of funds for thepany? At this thought, Mo Xicheng turned around quickly and headed to the finance department. He demanded outrightly, ¡°I want to take a look at thepany¡¯s ount books for the recent months!¡± Instantly, the finance department manager hesitated and said, ¡°Erm- erm- Does CEO Mo- I mean, CEO Mo Zhi, know about this?¡± The man¡¯s reaction further aroused Mo Xicheng¡¯s suspicions. Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes as he red at Manager Liu. He replied, ¡°So what if he knows or doesn¡¯t know?¡± Manager Liu gulped. Mo Xicheng cast his gaze down and continued, ¡°Or do you only obey orders from Chairman Mo?¡± Manager Liu was immediately silenced. He gave a nervous cough and replied, ¡°I¡¯ll get the information for you.¡± They could no longer hide what was going on. Mo Xicheng spent two full hours looking through the ount books and it became clear to him that the circting capital in thepany had indeed disappeared. He narrowed his eyes, picked up the ount books and walked out of the finance department office. He strode up to Mo Zhi¡¯s office in the penthouse. When he threw open the door, he saw Mo Zhi slumped on the table. The sleeping man was suddenly woken up by the sound of the door opening. He looked up and, seeing that it was Mo Xicheng, said disdainfully, ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Bam! Mo Xicheng mmed the ount book on the desk and demanded, ¡°Mo Zhi, where is all the circting capital of thepany?!¡± Mo Zhi squinted when he saw the ount book. After a moment, he smirked and replied, ¡°CEO Mo, you are indeed a big deal, checking my ounts the moment you step in.¡± Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes and leaned menacingly into Mo Zhi, saying, ¡°Tell me, have you misappropriated thepany funds and bought stocks and shares with the money?!¡± Chapter 1535 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (8)

Chapter 1535: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (8)

Mo Zhi sprang onto his feet and gave Mo Xicheng a warning look. ¡°You have no proof, so you¡¯d better watch what you say! How would I know where thepany funds are? If you¡¯re so capable, you can go and find out yourself. And although thepany is making investments everywhere, we are just taking from one project to fund another. Did you really think that thepany really has so much money? Most of them are loans from banks. What do you know? Talking rubbish like that!¡± With an icy snort, he turned to walk out of the office. Staring at him, Mo Xicheng said, ¡°One week. I¡¯m giving you one week. If the missing funds are not back in ce then, don¡¯t me me for taking strong measures.¡± Mo Zhi halted. He turned back to look at Mo Xicheng. He lowered his head and squinted. With another icy snort, he walked away, leaving Mo Xicheng standing alone in the office. Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes. He walked out of the office. There was no direct proof that Mo Zhi had embezzledpany funds. And even if they pursued this with the finance department, there was no way they coulde up with any proof. But as long as the act had beenmitted, then for sure there would be tracks left behind. He didn¡¯t want topletely end his rtionship with Mo Zhi, so he had threatened him instead. If the man was smart enough, he would sell the stocks and shares on hand and return the money. And if he didn¡¯t take heed, then they would have to fight. Mo Xicheng sighed deeply at this thought and hung his head. ¨C Mo Zhi walked away from Mo Xicheng and got into the elevator. The moment the elevator door shut behind him, the look of arrogance he had put up in front of Mo Xicheng disappeared. He turned pale and became nervous. Immediately, he picked up his cell phone and dialed Yao Lili¡¯s number. ¡°Mom, what¡¯s the situation with the stocks and shares that we bought?¡± The woman sighed and said, ¡°They fell for another two points.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I- I didn¡¯t know that would happen either. A few days ago, thispany¡¯s stocks were still skyrocketing and then suddenly, it stopped and fell sharply.¡± Mo Zhi said, ¡°Well if we sold it now, we¡¯d be making a big loss.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. If we sell it now, we¡¯ll lose a lot of money. The analysts are exining it to me now. Did you know that we bought it when the price peaked? At the time, it was ten dors a share and now it¡¯s dropped to six dors a share. We have to put more money into these shares.¡± Mo Zhi was taken aback and remarked, ¡°Why give them more money?¡± Yao Lili exined, ¡°We don¡¯t have a choice. We bought the stock at its peak price, but it looks like it might go back up again. If we put more money in now, we can regain our initial investment when it¡¯s around eight dors. So as long as the stock price hits eight dors, we won¡¯t make a loss. Or even if it goes back up to seven dors, we would cut our losses.¡± That was how things worked with stocks and shares. Sometimes to reduce the loss, one had to keep investing. In the end, that could be a bottomless pit. Right now, Mo Zhi furrowed his brow. Yao Lili asked, ¡°Do you think you ess more funds?¡± Mo Zhi sighed deeply and said, ¡°We¡¯re expecting a paymenting in from one of our projects in another day or two. Let me see then!¡± ¡°Uh huh, but you have to be careful not to arouse suspicion.¡± Mo Zhi nodded and replied, ¡°I know, but this morning it seemed like Mo Xicheng had discovered something, and he even said he was going to deal with me.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. If he dares, I have a way of taking care of that!¡± Chapter 1536 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (9)

Chapter 1536: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (9)

Director Wang eventually received a transfer from Shen Liangchuan, hence the matter became less of an urgency. However, Mo Xicheng was furious. He had always been aware that Mo Zhimitted all sorts of outrageous acts in thepany. As a result, there was a group of senior management staff who did not condone his behavior. But he had not realized how bad things were. Now he finally understood how unrestrained Mo Zhi was with corruption. He had siphoned off all of thepany¡¯s circting capital to make personal investments in stocks and shares, and then he had shifted the resources among existing projects as a cover-up. He knew what it was all about. The man had takenpany funds to invest and in the end, he would return the money to thepany and keep the profits from the investments. But even then, what if thepany needed funds urgently? Or what if his investment made huge losses?! Mo Xicheng frowned at the thought of this and clenched his fists tightly. He contemted it for a moment, picked up the phone and called the finance department. ¡°I saw that Team 2 has a project that¡¯s about to finish. When is paymenting in?¡± Manager Liu of the finance department replied, ¡°We¡¯re expecting it any day now.¡± Mo Xicheng nodded and instructed, ¡°Very well. When the fundse in, remember to inform me.¡± ¡°Roger.¡± ¨C Two dayster. Mo Zhi hurried to the finance department the moment he got to work. When he saw Manager Liu, he ordered, ¡°I¡¯ve got a construction team that needs to be paid their wages right away. There is also payment for some materials that we need to settle with them. Let me have the money that has juste in.¡± Would Manager Liu dare to say no to his boss? He looked at Mo Zhi as though he wanted to say something, but no words came, ¡°I¡ª¡± Mo Zhi hollered angrily at once, ¡°What now? You won¡¯t obey me anymore? Or have you shifted your loyalty to the new CEO Mo?¡± Manager Liu was in a conundrum now and said, ¡°CEO Mo, the construction project team¡¯s wages and that outstanding payment are not terribly urgent, whereas Director Wang is waiting to start work. Would you¡ª¡± Manager Liu had been working for thepany for many years. In the past, when CEO Mo acted outrageously, he had only been able to watch quietly. But now after what Mo Xicheng had done yesterday, in addition to how the two had been trying to outwit each other recently, Manager Liu suddenly felt it was time that he spoke up for what was right. The contract terms for Mo Zhi¡¯s project stated that the payment had to be fulfilled within the month. Initially, thepany¡¯s circting capital on top of the funds that hade in would have been enough to cover two projects. But now they no longer had the circting capital, hence thepany funds could only cover one project. Although Mo Zhi¡¯s project had started before Mo Xicheng¡¯s, it was only the beginning of the month. ording to the contract, they had 30 days to make the payment, so they could actually dy it till the end of the month. At that point, there would be another lot of fundsing in from a different project, and this would cover for theck of circting capital. This was why Manager Liu feltpelled to speak up and ask Mo Zhi to wait till the end of the month to make those payments. It would solve their problems. However before he could even finish what he wanted to say, Mo Zhi interrupted him angrily, ¡°Are you the boss or am I? Don¡¯t you know the name of thispany? Let me remind you, this is the Mo family business.¡± Manager Liu furrowed his brow and then said, ¡°Junior CEO Mo asked us to send the money this morning as well, I¡ª¡± At this point, Mo Zhi¡¯s cell phone rang. He lowered his head and nced at his phone screen. Then looking up again, he waved off Manger Liu and walked to the side to pick up his call. Immediately, Yao Lili spoke on the other end of the line, ¡°Mo Zhi, have you got the money? The shares have gone up to $6.50! If we had bought them two days ago, we would have recovered some of that loss. When is your moneying in exactly?! The stock market will not wait for us.¡± Chapter 1537 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (10)

Chapter 1537: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (10)

Mo Zhi frowned. As he reflected, he turned back to nce at the finance department manager and said in a low voice, ¡°I have a sum of moneying in today, but Mo Xicheng¡¯s project with Director Wang is waiting for funds as well. I¡¯m trying to talk things out with the finance department manager.¡± ¡°Talk things out?!¡± Yao Lili yelped in shock. ¡°Now you have to resort to talking things with your employees? What has Mo Xicheng done to you? How can he target you this way? Is he trying to take whatever is yours? Mo Zhi, you have to listen to your mom. I¡¯m telling you, while you¡¯re still in charge, make all the money you can. The money that we used to buy the stocks and shares belong to the both of us now! We can¡¯t tell what will happen in the future. If he really takes thepany away from you, what would we do then? We need to have an exit n.¡± Her words hit home with Mo Zhi. From the time Yao Lili had revealed to him that he was her son, and Mo Xicheng was Li Shu¡¯s son, Mo Zhi had been very troubled. He even had frequent nightmares, dreaming that when he woke up, he had be Mo Xicheng. He was despised and rebuked by everyone for being the son of a mistress, that he was an illegitimate son, and everything he had just vanished into thin air. Since childhood, he had been brought up as a second generation heir and the thing that he was most afraid of was losing everything. Hence, he had to take any opportunity he had to increase his wealth, so that even if the worst should happen in the future, he would have the means to sustain himself and continue to live afortable life. At this thought, he narrowed his eyes and said to Yao Lili, ¡°I know. Don¡¯t worry, I will get my hands on this money.¡± After he hung up and turned around again, he was filled with readiness to burn everything on his way. He looked at Manager Liu and ordered him, ¡°This is an order. In two hours, I want this money transferred to the ount I¡¯ve indicated.¡± After saying this, he turned to leave. However, after he had taken two steps, Manager Liu spoke up, ¡°But CEO Mo, Junior CEO Mo¡ª¡± Mo Zhi immediately cut the man off before he could finish what he was saying. ¡°What Junior CEO Mo?! I¡¯m telling you, he¡¯s a little bastard child, brought up by a mistress! That bastard! You areparing him to me?! Let me remind you, I¡¯m the head of thispany. Manager Liu, you¡¯d better get this clear in your head.¡± After saying this, he turned around and was ready to walk away. However the moment he turned around, he saw that Mo Xicheng was standing behind him. Mo Zhi jumped in fright. At once, he was on the alert. Specially in the light of thatst remark he had made. He gulped at once and took a step back nervously. Instantly, he tried to be the first to me, ¡°Mo Xicheng, why are you sneaking around? Huh? I¡¯m talking to the finance department manager, why are you interrupting?!¡± Mo Xicheng red at him steadily. Since childhood, he had been called a bastard child by Mo Zhi countless times so this was nothing new. Neither had he any feelings for Mo Zhi. He only felt that what Mo Zhi was doing was ridiculous. He stared at the man and said unhurriedly, ¡°We will need these funds for Director Wang¡¯s project, it¡¯s a priority. We¡¯ve signed the contract and if we don¡¯t transfer the money within the week, it will be considered a breach of contract. The penalty is serious and it¡¯s all stated clearly in the agreement.¡± Chapter 1538 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (11)

Chapter 1538: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (11)

Mo Xicheng spoke clearly and in no uncertain terms. Mo Zhi narrowed his eyes. He stared at Mo Xicheng and sneered at the man icily, ¡°You were the one who signed the contract, of course you will have to think of a way to manage it. Let me be upfront with you then. In 28 days, thepany will receive a payment. You can use it then, but now the current funds are mine.¡± ¡°And I¡¯m telling you, where Director Wang is concerned, I¡¯ve already got wind that Shen Liangchuan has transferred the money to him. So on our part, it can definitely wait till the end of the month. Aren¡¯t you on very good terms with Shen Liangchuan and Director Wang? You can always talk to Director Wang and ask for his understanding on this matter.¡± ¡°I need the funds urgently, and since you¡¯re not in urgent need, of course the priority goes to me.¡± Mo Xicheng red at the man, a smirk slowly spreading across his face. ¡°So ording to you, Director Wang signed the contract with ourpany for my sake, and now that I¡¯ve got Shen Liangchuan to tide us over, it¡¯spletely within reason that we breach the contract and I go to Director Wang to ask for some leeway?¡± Mo Zhi gave a frostyugh and said, ¡°Of course! My project hase to an end. Do you think it¡¯s reasonable to hold off payment to the workers?! If this got out, people would think that the Mo family has no money.¡± When Mo Xicheng heard this, he drew out a document and threw it down forcefully before Mo Zhi, saying, ¡°It¡¯s all clearly stated in the contract. We will pay them before the 30th. There is a paymenting in on the 28th and that will be in time for your project. The funds we have now have to be used for my project!¡± Mo Zhi replied in fury, ¡°I said I¡¯m not giving you those funds and that¡¯s final!¡± On this note, he turned to the finance department manager and instructed, ¡°You are not to give him the money, do you hear me? If you do that, you may hand in your resignation right away!¡± After threatening the man, he gave Mo Xicheng an icy smirk. Manager Liu was now extremely troubled. He looked at Mo Xicheng pleadingly. He had served the Mo family as the business¡¯ finance department manager for many years. With a recent home loan, a car loan and school fees to bear, it was indeed a bad time for him to be changing jobs. He didn¡¯t want to lose his job, hence he had to do an injustice to Mo Xicheng. He looked at Mo Xicheng and sighed with a lowered head. Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes at this situation and said, ¡°Mo Zhi, what has Manager Liu got to do with this? If you insist on making things difficult, then let¡¯s call for a meeting. Everyone can vote on who should have priority to use these funds.¡± Mo Zhi immediately choked upon hearing this. ¡°You¡ª¡± Based on the contracts, of course Mo Zhi¡¯s project didn¡¯t have0000 as much weight as Mo Xicheng¡¯s. None of the senior management staff were people who ignored their job. They all had the interest of thepany at heart, so they had never taken the affairs of thepany lightly. And it was for this same reason that Mo Zhi had not been well received in thepany initially. So if a meeting were to be called, needless to say, the money would go to Mo Xicheng. Mo Zhi squinted instantly at this thought. He quickly said, ¡°We¡¯ll do this then! Let¡¯s go and look for Dad! Let him have the say of who gets the funds.¡± As soon as he said this, he picked up the cell phone and made the call. Mo Xicheng cast his gaze down as he observed how obstinate Mo Zhi was. He knew that things hade to a point where he could only wait for Mo Hai¡¯s decision. Chapter 1539 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (12)

Chapter 1539: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (12)

An hourter. Mo Zhi and Mo Xicheng stood in Mo Hai¡¯s office in the penthouse. This office was a little different from Mo Xicheng and Mo Zhi¡¯s offices¡ªit was much bigger and elegant, a clear indication of Mo Hai¡¯s indisputable position as the chairman of thepany. He sat on his swivel armchair, looking at the two men before him. Then he looked at the two contracts on the table. He looked up at Mo Zhi with a frown and said, ¡°You may speak first.¡± Mo Zhi immediately said, ¡°Dad, look at my construction project. The project has beenpleted. If word got out that we haven¡¯t paid them, won¡¯t people think that we the Mo family have no money?¡± Mo Haiughed when he heard this. ¡°This is childish thinking. Whether we have money or otherwise doesn¡¯t hinge on whether we can straight away. It depends on whether we can pay within the agreed time frame. Don¡¯t you know how much daily interest this money will draw just sitting in the bank? Hence, it is reasonable to pay up any time within the payment period.¡± Mo Zhi turned pale at once when he heard this. He retorted, ¡°Dad, are you saying that Mo Xicheng should have priority for this money?!¡± Mo Hai shifted his gaze to Mo Xicheng. The young man lowered his gaze and said, ¡°Director Wang has called a few times to hurry me.¡± With that one remark, he made his difficult situation clear. He believed that Mo Hai would understand without him having to point it out explicitly. It only depended on whether he was willing to address it. If he was unwilling, then it was pointless to say more. Mo Xicheng hung his head waiting for Mo Hai¡¯s decision. Mo Zhi nced at Mo Xicheng and then suddenly said, ¡°Dad,e with me.¡± After those words, he walked to the lounge next to the office. Mo Hai threw Mo Zhi a nce and then looked at Mo Xicheng, who was still looking at the ground with his head lowered, as though he had not noticed the interaction between Mo Zhi and himself. Or perhaps he had noticed it, but responded only with a taunting expression. He looked at Mo Zhi again. The man was now standing in the lounge, waving at him. It was obvious he wanted to use back-door tactics. Mo Hai couldn¡¯t help seeing the contrast between his two sons. He sighed in his heart and hesitated for a few seconds. He ultimately got to his feet and walked over to the lounge to have a private conversation with Mo Zhi. Mo Xicheng was immediately left on his own in that huge office. He stood there a little distracted, as his gaze fell on the ashtray on the coffee table. It was a simple decision that anyone would be able to make without difficulty. Why was Mo Hai so troubled and hesitant? He turned to look in the direction of the lounge, the door was shut now. He couldn¡¯t help smirking icily. Those two were the real father and son. In any case, he had been treated like that all his life, overlooked and neglected. ¨C In the lounge. Mo Hai looked at his son with a deadpan expression. ¡°What is it? What have you got to say to me?¡± Mo Zhi tugged at his father¡¯s sleeve at once and started, ¡°Dad, you have to let me have the funds. I need it for something urgent!¡± Mo Hai frowned and asked, ¡°What¡¯s so urging? Huh?¡± Mo Zhi coughed lightly and said, ¡°I already promised the other party the money. If I can¡¯t give it to them, I won¡¯t be able to face my friends in the future! People will start talking and saying that I can¡¯t even hold a candle to the illegitimate son brought up by a mistress. How could I face the world like that?!¡± Mo Hai was moved by that remark. Indeed. Whether it was in terms of capabilities or interpersonal rtionships, Mo Zhi was nowhere as skilled as Mo Xicheng. Chapter 1540 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (13)

Chapter 1540: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (13)

If Mo Xicheng inherited the family estate, then what would be of Mo Zhi? If everyone found out that Mo Zhi could not hold a candle to Mo Xicheng, then wouldn¡¯t the former be aughing stock?! After Mo Zhi spoke and saw that Mo Hai was still wavering, he immediately lowered his head and sighed. ¡°I know I¡¯m not as good as Mo Xicheng, that is why you allowed Mo Xicheng to join thepany. And I know too, Dad, that you are very disappointed in me. But Dad, you have to believe me, I¡¯ve been putting in my best effort. Do you know that man, Wang Wendong, berated me?¡± Mo Hai paused and saw that Mo Zhi¡¯s eyes had reddened. He instantly asked, ¡°Berated you about what?¡± ¡°He said that I had been abandoned by you and that the bastard child Mo Xicheng has be your favorite son! And everyoneughed at me. I- I don¡¯t even feel like meeting anyone anymore.¡± Mo Zhi hung his head after saying this, looking weak and helpless. This caused Mo Hai to feel even more guilty. Since Li Shu had told him to hand the business over to Mo Xicheng, he had started to feel a deep guilt towards Mo Zhi. And now that Mo Zhi looked so wronged and grieved, Mo Hai¡¯s heart softened. He nodded and said, ¡°I know.¡± Mo Zhi¡¯s eyes lit up. Looking at him, Mo Hai shook his head. ¨C When the father and son finally emerged from the lounge, Mo Xicheng was still standing there with his head lowered in the same position, as though the private conversation in the lounge had never taken ce. Oddly, seeing Mo Xicheng¡¯s behavior made Mo Hai feel a tinge of guilt. He halted for a brief moment and continued to walk towards the man. He sat back on his swivel chair and looked at his two sons. Finally, he looked at Mo Xicheng and said, ¡°Since Shen Liangchuan has already transferred some funds to Director Wang, I think that if you have a chat with Director Wang to let him know that our funds will be dyed for a month, it should be alright.¡± Mo Xicheng¡¯s pupils shrank back when he heard this. He snapped his head up and looked at Mo Hai with an expression of disbelief. Mo Hai lowered his head and looked away, not daring to meet the young man¡¯s eyes. He coughed lightly and said, ¡°Your brother needs the funds more urgently. I think you can avoid the the problem more easily on your end. Let¡¯s do that then.¡± After saying this, he dismissed them with a wave of his hand. ¡°Alright, go back to your work.¡± It was clear in his behavior that he wanted them gone, Mo Xicheng did not even have a chance to speak. He clenched his fists tightly and stared at Mo Hai, feeling that the man couldn¡¯t be any more biased if he tried. He threw a look at Mo Hai, then spun around and walked away. Staring at the man¡¯s figure, Mo Zhi said to Mo Hai, ¡°Dad, just look at him, he¡¯s that arrogant. Oh well, it¡¯s hard to me him. Working in our family business is unworthy of his talent after all!¡± Mo Hai frowned upon hearing Mo Zhi¡¯s remarks and berated him, ¡°Stop saying negative things about others behind their backs. Have you got no work to do? If you haven¡¯t finished your work, you shouldn¡¯t be hanging around here.¡± Mo Zhi quickly walked out of the office. At the doorway, he turned around and said to Mo Hai, ¡°Dad, remember to call Manager Liu of the finance department to let him know. Huh! Did you know that ever since we have a Junior CEO Mo in thepany, people have started to ignore what I say?¡± On this note, he shut the door to Mo Hai¡¯s office. After the door had shutpletely, he straightened up his posture and twitched his mouth. He took out his cell phone excitedly to call Yao Lili. Chapter 1541 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (14)

Chapter 1541: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (14)

¡°The money is about toe in. Listen carefully. Put in all the money and then in ten days, I want you to cash it out. Regardless of whether we lose or make money, do you understand?!¡± Yao Lili instantly said, ¡°I know. Isn¡¯t my son the best? I knew you could do it for sure!¡± Looking triumphant at once, Mo Zhi said arrogantly, ¡°That¡¯s true. You have to know who you¡¯re dealing with. But where the shares are concerned, you have to hurry, you can¡¯t dy it. If by the end of the month we can¡¯t return the money, I won¡¯t be able to answer for the construction team and if the matter esctes, it¡¯s going to have a bad impact on me.¡± ¡°Ok, I got it, but don¡¯t worry too much! It¡¯s your dad. You¡¯re just taking your dad¡¯s money to do a small business, isn¡¯t that the normal thing to do? So what if you make a loss? It¡¯s your dad¡¯s money and you can spend it as you wish.¡± Mo Zhiughed and said, ¡°True, you¡¯re right. That is my money and mine alone. I can spend it as I wish! You proceed with buying the shares and just add a bit more money.¡± At this point, he suddenly froze. To prevent anyone from hearing the conversation with Yao Lili, Mo Zhi went to the balcony. He was about to step on the balcony when he unexpectedly ran into Mo Xicheng, standing just around the corner. He had a fright and stopped midway through the sentence. Yao Lili continued, ¡°Alright, I know. I will put more money. What are you doing? Why have you gone silent?¡± Mo Zhi gulped and immediately ced his hand over the phone speaker, fearing that Mo Xicheng might hear Yao Lili¡¯s voice. Then he said in a low voice, ¡°Alright, I know. I have to go.¡± On this note, he hung up. Immediately, he looked at Mo Xicheng. He smiled icily and asked, ¡°What did you hear?¡± Mo Xicheng smiled back just as coldy. ¡°Everything.¡± Mo Zhi¡¯s heart missed a beat as he tried to recall. To avoid exposing the identity of whom he had been talking to, he had not addressed the other party. Hence, Mo Xicheng couldn¡¯t have known that it was Yao Lili on the line. As long as he didn¡¯t know, then Mo Xicheng wouldn¡¯t be able to correctly guess the nature of his rtionship with Yao Lili. With this thought, he sighed in relief at once. He lifted his head to look at Mo Xicheng and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you heard but, I¡¯ll have you know that the funds are mine to use now, as Dad has agreed. So it¡¯s useless even if you intercept me here. I suggest you get back to work.¡± After he said this, he was about to walk around Mo Xicheng to leave. However after a few steps, Mo Xicheng grabbed him by his shoulder. Mo Zhi turned around. Mo Xicheng said unhurriedly, ¡°You¡¯re not using the funds to pay the workers. You¡¯re using the money to buy more shares!¡± Seeing that Mo Xicheng knew what was going on, he panicked for a moment, but calmed down quickly. He smirked and said, ¡°That¡¯s right. The money is not for the workers indeed. The contract states that the payment is due on the 30th of the month. I¡¯d be a fool to pay them now! But so what? The money¡¯s mine now!! You can¡¯t have it even if you wanted it.¡± Chapter 1542 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (15)

Chapter 1542: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (15)

Mo Zhi didn¡¯t care about causing a scene now, which made Mo Xicheng realize life was one big joke. What a great father Mo Hai was to Mo Zhi, going to the extreme for the man. But how would he feel if he were to find out that this son, who he protected with so much pain, wasn¡¯t using this money for the business, but to buy shares for himself? Mo Xichengughed icily and narrowed his eyes as he red at the other man. ¡°Don¡¯t you think I¡¯ll tell the chairman right away?¡± He had never called Mo Hai ¡°Dad¡±. It had been ¡°Mr. Mo¡± as a child and now it was ¡°Chairman¡±. Mo Zhiughed scornfully and asked, ¡°What are you going to tell him? That I didn¡¯t pay the workers? I¡¯ll tell him that I¡¯ll do it in another couple of days. You think he¡¯ll doubt me?¡± Mo Xicheng¡¯s eyes did not leave Mo Zhi. He replied, ¡°Well, there will be a time you use the money to buy those shares. Once the money is gone, I will check and if the workers have not received their pay, the truth will be out.¡± Mo Zhi squinted, his face tensed. ¡°How dare you?!¡± Mo Xichengughed and said, ¡°Watch me and see if I dare!¡± He didn¡¯t wish to say more to such a person. With that, he turned and walked away. After Mo Zhi saw that he had left, he gulped. He lowered his head, looked at his cell phone and made another call to Yao Lili. The woman asked anxiously, ¡°What happened? Did something go wrong?¡± Mo Zhi nodded and answered, ¡°Yes. An unexpected event. I just ran into Mo Xicheng.¡± Yao Lili asked anxiously, ¡°What did he say?¡± ¡°He overheard my conversation and knows that I am going to use the funds to buy shares. Once the money disappears from the ount and the workers do not receive their pay, I¡¯ll be done for.¡± He kicked the wall in anger and sneered, ¡°This Mo Xicheng is disgusting! What do I do now? He¡¯ll look into the ounts once I move the funds! I can¡¯t touch the money. F*cking annoying!¡± Yao Lili was speechless with anger to hear this. ¡°He¡¯s doing this on purpose, he¡¯s making things difficult on purpose! This f*cking child, I knew it wouldn¡¯t be so simple. Don¡¯t worry. Don¡¯t worry about him, I¡¯ll take care of him.¡± Mo Zhi¡¯s eyes lit up as he said, ¡°How are you going to resolve this?¡± ¡°Just wait and watch.¡± Upon returning to his office, Mo Xicheng took a few deep breaths to calm himself. To think that the Mo family business could be ridiculous to this extent. He gave a scornfulugh and lowered his gaze as he raised a hand to apply pressure on his temple. It was no wonder Gao Feng had said that the Mo family enterprise had hit an all-time low. With an idiot like Mo Zhi, it was a miracle that the business was still functioning. Time passed unconsciously in the office and it was now lunchtime. Mo Xicheng got to his feet and was about to head out for lunch when his cell phone rang. He looked down at the screen. It was his manager. He picked up the call and heard the man¡¯s urgent tone, ¡°Hurry, hurry up and look at the entertainment channel on TV!¡± Mo Xicheng paused as he turned on the TV and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Just as he made this question, he froze. He saw Yao Lili on the screen, with bloodshot eyes. She said to the reporters gathered in front of her, ¡°I have to admit, I¡¯m a mistress and broke up a family. My son is Mo Xicheng.¡± Chapter 1543 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (16)

Chapter 1543: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (16)

Mo Xicheng froze on the spot. He stared at the screen steadily, grasping the content disyed on the TV. He looked at the person on the screen with his eyes widened in disbelief. He clenched his fists tightly. He had not expected that Yao Lili would actually appear on TV and publicly announce her status. And on TV now, she was saying, ¡°I made a mistake in my youth and bore this child. I wasn¡¯t ready and was weak. I didn¡¯t dare to raise him alone, so I brought him back to the Mo family. It was Madam Mo who showed me generosity and allowed us to stay with them for many years.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve always been grateful to the Mo family and have never thought of meddling in the family. Besides, after that one ident, I have never been with him again.¡± ¡°I do feel guilty, I shouldn¡¯t have broken up their family.¡± After she said this, a reporter asked, ¡°Madam Yao, since you feel guilty, why didn¡¯t you take your child and leave? Or leave the child with them and leave by yourself?¡± Yao Lili¡¯s tears started flowing as she replied, ¡°I¡¯m just someone from a small vige and we are conservative. The vigers value reputation and moral integrity. Mr. Mo and I had an inappropriate rtionship, so they would talk about me behind my back if I went back to the vige and it would have embarrassed my parents. I didn¡¯t dare to go home and didn¡¯t know what to do. I wasn¡¯t educated and I¡¯m quite illiterate. As for abandoning my child with the Mo family, how would I bear to do that to my own child?¡± She lowered her head and wiped her tears with her sleeve, like a lost and innocent impoverished woman from a deste outskirt vige. Looking at the reporters, she gestured with her hand and said, ¡°I really did not intend to ruin Mr. Mo and his family. All that time, I lived next door to their house with Mo Xicheng. Otherwise, Mr. Mo and Madam Mo would not be still together today.¡± ¡°I will always remember their kindness. Especially Mrs. Mo. Although she was upset that I had interrupted their family life, eventually she saw how abiding I was. She was generous and magnanimous toward my son and I. Mo Xicheng went to the same school as the young master of the Mo family. But after graduation, Mo Xicheng went into show business.¡± Another reporter asked immediately, ¡°You mentioned that you¡¯re calling a press conference because you have something to tell us. May I know what you wish to tell us?¡± Upon hearing this question, Yao Lili slowly raised her head and looked steadily at the reporters. She bit her lip and kept quiet for a long time to create suspense. Then she suddenly buried her face in her hands. Her tears seeped through the spaces between her fingers as she cried. ¡°I- I didn¡¯t think that Mo Xicheng would fall for the luxury of show business, but he has now started to fight the young master of the Mo family for the family estate. Madam Mo is a kind soul, so thinking that because he¡¯s also the son of Mr. Mo, they gave him 30 percent share of thepany shares. But he is not satisfied, and after joining thepany, he has been making things difficult for Young Master Mo. Young Master Mo cares about his family and his brother, whereas Mo Xicheng has beenpletely blinded by wealth and power. His thinking has been clouded over by the prospects of money.¡± Chapter 1544 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated! (17)

Chapter 1544: Mo Xicheng Reinstated! (17)

After saying all of this, Yao Lili burst into tears and cried. ¡°Although I am not cultured ande from a poor family, and my hometown is a backward and tiny vige, I know what it means to return kindness with kindness. I know very well that the Mo family has been nothing but magnanimous toward us. Indeed, we shouldn¡¯t ask more from them.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve counseled him many times, but he doesn¡¯t listen. He insisted on getting involved in the family business. I haven¡¯t been able to eat or sleep well in recent times. I¡¯ve woken up from nightmares many times. I wish to look for him and to talk to him, but he thinks that I¡¯m annoying and that I don¡¯t understand him. He doesn¡¯t even pick up my calls.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t have a choice, I can only ask help from the media. I know my son has acted in TV shows. If I call out to him through this tform, he should be able to see it.¡± ¡°Son, Mo Xicheng, I only wanted to tell you, don¡¯t be greedy. We were wrong from the start. Without the Mo family, Mom would have not brought you into this world. They gave us the guarantee of survival. We can¡¯t turn into indecent human beings! Sob, sob, sob.¡± After this remark, she burst into tears again, crying non-stop. She choked and cried, so that anyone watching it felt her pain and felt sorry for her. Especially her wailing, it was quite unbearable. The reporters exchanged looks with each other, at a loss for words. Eventually, the camera panned towards the TV station¡¯s host reporter. She sighed and said, ¡°This is the main entertainment news item of the day. Mo Xicheng, who in the past never joined any publicity events, has made appearances in recent press conferences for Ambition. He has also taken up two advertising deals in this month alone. In the past, everyone wondered and asked why the low profile and the answer seems clear now. It¡¯s because Mo Xicheng is an illegitimate son. Perhaps it was because of his status that he had to hide. But now, his mother has announced it publicly. Does this mean he has really blinded by money and power? We¡¯ll be back to follow this piece of news, thank you for watching.¡± On this note, the tform started to broadcast another item. ¨C Firstly, this was tabloid journalism, and sensationalist news which talked about the wealthy always spread faster than a wildfire. Secondly, taking advantage of Mo Xicheng¡¯s poprity, the channel was shared and reposted repeatedly throughout the inte. #Mo Xicheng, illegitimate son# instantly became a trending topic on Weibo. Thements and verbal abuse immediately flooded the online tforms. Within the entertainment industry, celebrities sniggered but would notment. Of course, some people stood up and pretended to defend justice, speaking up for Mo Xicheng. Even Chen Junjie, who had been taken down by Mo Xicheng recently, took the opportunity to make ament, ¡°Never in my wildest dreams did I think that Mo Xicheng was an illegitimate son. Nevertheless, we¡¯re in modern times, he shouldn¡¯t be fighting for the family estate with the true heir. It gives me the feeling that the Mo family has raised an ungrateful son. What right does such a person have to be working in the family business? I¡¯d say, for someone like this, it¡¯s good enough that they¡¯ve brought him up. They shouldn¡¯t have given him shares.¡± Chapter 1545 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (18)

Chapter 1545: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (18)

This piece of news circted madly and drew an endless stream ofments from fans. [Damn, I didn¡¯t think you were such a rotten idol. I¡¯m speechless! I liked you for nothing. [Is this real? Is this real? Is this real? I still can¡¯t believe it.] [Although ourw does allow for an illegitimate son to inherit the family fortune, the way Mo Xicheng does it sickens me.] [I think Madam Mo was kind enough to have raised you and not care about you, but to think that you are still trying to get more. This person makes me speechless.] [That¡¯s right. This is simply too much. Mo Xicheng, get out! I will never like you again!] ... All sorts of abusivements flooded the Inte. Shi Nianyao, who at this time was at home and preparing dinner for Mo Xicheng, suddenly received a call from Qiao Lian. She picked up the call cheerfully and was even saying in jest, ¡°Lian Lian, you actually thought of me? I thought you were so busy doing the lovey-dovey thing with your Best Actor Shen that you forgot everyone else. Oh, and how has my goddaughter or godson beentely? You¡ª¡± Before she could finish what she was saying, Qiao Lian interrupted, ¡°Stop joking around, your idol is in trouble! Hurry up and look at the inte.¡± Shi Nianyao, who was keeping her eyes on the oven as she talked, immediately straightened her posture when she heard this. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± She instantly put the conversation aside and logged into Weibo. She was infuriated the moment she saw the headlines. After she understood what was going on, Shi Nianyao cursed audibly, ¡°Damn it! Is this Yao Lili stupid or something? Even if other people don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, she would know. Look at how far Mo Zhi has gone to drag my idol! And they expect my idol to continue to ept it quietly?!¡± She heaved heavily with anger. Her eyes turned bloodshot when she saw the abusivements on the inte directed at Mo Xicheng. It hurt her even more than if those words had been directed at herself. It had taken Mo Xicheng so many years and so much effort to get to where he was today. Her tears started to flow and choking, she asked, ¡°Lian Lian, what are we going to do now? My idol will be so sad!¡± Qiao Lian sighed and said, ¡°This matter is a bit serious. Firstly, Yao Lili had given indirect facts. Besides, illegitimate children and mistresses are generally frowned upon. Also, she painted it as though Mo Zhi is suffering and people like to sympathize with the disadvantaged. So this is going to be a tough one.¡± Shi Nianyao tightened her fists immediately and said, ¡°So my idol has to shoulder these rumors? Clearly, they are the ones in the wrong. Yao Lili obviously is in the wrong, why push the me on my idol?¡± Qiao Lian consoled her, ¡°Don¡¯t panic. We will think of a way together. I will talk to Shen Liangchuan to get him to think of a solution as well.¡± Shi Nianyao nodded and said, ¡°Uh huh. Now I have to rush over to see my idol, I¡¯m sure he¡¯s devastated.¡± The saddest thing wasn¡¯t being misunderstood or rebuked by others. The saddest thing was having his mother¡ªsupposedly the closest person to him in the world¡ªdo this to him. That was the most hurtful. At this thought, Shi Nianyao quickly changed her shoes and rushed to Mo Xicheng¡¯s office. She had to be by him during this time. Chapter 1546 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (19)

Chapter 1546: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (19)

When Mo Hai saw the news, he was in his car and on the way to another city for a meeting. Although he was surprised at how Yao Lili had self-awareness, he wanted to share the news with Li Shu immediately. Thus, Mo Hai just told his driver, ¡°Turn back, go home!¡± With such a scandal, Mo Xicheng would definitely lose his ce in thepany. Furthermore, Mo Xicheng might not even be able to continue filming in the entertainment industry. His whole life was literally done for and wasted. He could only keep 30 percent of the Mo family¡¯s shares and live like that for the rest of his life. Mo Zhi would no longer have pressure from Mo Xicheng. As he thought so, Mo Hai narrowed his eyes. The car returned back to the house and Mo Hai jumped down from the car. He walked to the room, filled with excitement. When he entered the living room, he asked the housekeeper, ¡°Where is Madam?¡± ¡°Watering nts in the backyard.¡± Mo Hai nodded and directly went over. He could see Li Shu cutting her flowers in the distance. He quickly rushed over and said, ¡°Li Shu, let me tell you a piece of good news!¡± Li Shu lifted her head up inly and took a nce at him before lowering her head again. ¡°Just speak.¡± Mo Xicheng instantly spoke, ¡°So Yao Lili has admitted that she was a third party in front of a group of reporters today and said that Mo Xicheng is her son. Mo Xicheng¡¯s identity as an illegitimate son had been exposed! Now everyone is criticizing Mo Xicheng! In this case, we don¡¯t have to worry about apologizing to the Shi family. Mo Xicheng will definitely not be able to stay in thepany after this scandal. It¡¯s good, we can also get rid of the marriage between Shi Nianyao and him, Mo Xicheng won¡¯t be able to marry Shi Nianyao. Then we won¡¯t have interference from the Shi family and they won¡¯t be any threat to us. Li Shu, am I right?¡± After hearing his words, Li Shu was instantly stunned. She stared at Mo Hai and her lips trembled. After a moment she asked, ¡°What did you say?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve said that Mo Xicheng¡¯s done for! He¡¯s ruined! This Yao Lili has never done many good things in her life but this time, she¡¯s finally done something good.¡± Before he could finish speaking, he heard a loud ng. Mo Hai turned his head and saw that Li Shu had dropped the watering can on the ground and the water had sshed all over it. Mo Hai was stunned. ¡°Li Shu, are you alright?¡± Was she alright? Her son had been condemned by everyone, why would she still be in the mood to water her nts here?! As she thought so, Li Shu pushed Mo Hai away and left quickly. She wanted to go to thepany and tell Mo Xicheng that she was his real mother. What they were saying on the inte wasn¡¯t right. When Li Shu arrived at the front yard, she asked the butler to prepare a car. Mo Hai chased and grabbed Li Shu. ¡°Li Shu, where are you going?¡± ¡°Thepany.¡± ¡°Thepany?¡± Mo Xicheng was stunned for a moment. ¡°Are you going to look for Mo Zhi? You can just call to tell him about the news. I told Mo Zhi not to worry some time ago. Look, hasn¡¯t Mo Xicheng killed himself this time?¡± His words made Li Shu turn suddenly and stare at him fiercely. It scared Mo Hai so much that he didn¡¯t dare to speak at all. He just looked at Li Shu and then swallowed after a while. ¡°Li Shu, you- do you have something to say to me?¡± Li Shu bit her lips and said, ¡°Don¡¯t you think that Yao Lili¡¯s too nice to Mo Zhi?!¡± Chapter 1547 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (20)

Chapter 1547: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (20)

Her words stunned Mo Hai instantly. He stared at Li Shu and suddenly thought of the incident between Yao Lili and Mo Zhi that night. He couldn¡¯t help but cough, trying to cover the matter up. ¡°How is she nice to him? She has just discovered her conscience. This is good as well, at least Mo Zhi will no longer be pressured since he will still inherit thepany in the end.¡± ¡°I will hold a big meeting in thepany to remove Mo Xicheng of all his duties now and, if possible, I will also ask for the thirty percent of shares from his hands to be returned. Li Shu, what do you think of me doing this?¡± Li Shu stared at Mo Hai and suddenly sneered after a while. ¡°Is the reason you¡¯re so nice to Mo Zhi and so ruthless towards Mo Xicheng because Mo Xicheng is the illegitimate son?¡± Mo Hai nodded. ¡°Yes, in my heart, only Mo Zhi is my son. Mo Xicheng is just like a stranger, an outsider.¡± Li Shu clenched her fist. She was so angry that she was nearly shaking. She stared at Mo Hai and said, ¡°You¡¯re so ruthless to Mo Xicheng just because he¡¯s the illegitimate son?¡± Mo Hai didn¡¯t understand why she was asking that, so he just continued nodding and replied, ¡°Yes.¡± Li Shu suddenly lowered her head andughed bitterly. ¡°Mo Hai, please remember everything you¡¯ve said today.¡± Mo Hai was stunned and suddenly realized something. Li Shu had to be worried that Mo Xicheng would steal Mo Zhi¡¯s position and wanted him to reassure her. Thus, Mo Hai spoke again, ¡°Li Shu, don¡¯t worry. I swear that I will definitely not leave thepany in the hands of an illegitimate son. He doesn¡¯t deserve to have all of that.¡± Li Shu narrowed her eyes and nodded. When the car arrived, Li Shu walked to it. Mo Hai had intended to follow her and so he did. But after Li Shu got into the car and he closed the door for her, the car suddenly drove away before he could get to the other side of the car. Mo Hai was stunned on the spot. ¨C The celebrity news channel kept ying on the television. It was talking about which celebrity had been photographed with another hottie again. But Mo Xicheng didn¡¯t absorb any of it. His gaze was fixed on the television, but it also looked as if he was staring at somewhere in the distance, through the television. He didn¡¯t know how the matter had reached this point. His mother, the person closest to him, had ndered him on the news and left him in dirty waters. He lowered his gaze and looked at his hands. Then heughed bitterly. He took a deep breath and stood up. He saw that there were a bunch of workers at the door. When they saw him look over, they immediately dispersed. Some people were still discussing softly, ¡°Why are you all running?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you see how bad CEO Mo looked?¡± ¡°He looks bad? As an illegitimate son, he¡¯s not that noble. Also, the matter haspletely blown up. Let me tell you, CEO Mo won¡¯t be in thepany for long.¡± ¡°The mother of CEO Mo, who posted the video online, looks really young. But the things she said have literally left CEO Mo with any way to retreat. What now? CEO Mo can only quit his job in thepany, but his career in the entertainment industry has also been destroyed.¡± ¡°Aish, what a pity. I¡¯d be so mad if I had such a mother.¡± ¡°Comparing CEO Mo and Mo Zhi, the only difference between them is their mothers. It¡¯s seriously- even if I feel pain and pity for CEO Mo.¡± ¡°So what if you feel pain and pity for him? This world just works like this, he¡¯s just unlucky to be the illegitimate son.¡± Chapter 1548 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (21)

Chapter 1548: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (21)

An illegitimate son. It was right. Unfortunately, he happened to be one. So did it mean illegitimate children had no rights and deserved to be treated like dirt by others? Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes and lowered his head. He clenched his fists tightly. At this point, the cell phone rang. He picked up the call. It was his manager. The man said, ¡°Brother Mo, what do we do now? This matter has blown up and it¡¯s starting a lot of discussion among the general public. Argh! Even Director Wang has called to ask what this was about.¡± Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes upon hearing this. Before he could say anything, another call came in. He looked at his screen and saw it was Director Wang. He said to his manager, ¡°It¡¯s a call from Director Wang, hang on.¡± He switched to the other line. Director Wang¡¯s voice spoke, ¡°Mo Xicheng, what is going on?¡± Mo Xicheng paused for a brief moment and said, ¡°I¡¯m indeed the illegitimate son of the Mo Family. Director Wang, I¡¯m sorry. I will get my manager to cancel the contract for Ambition 2. And I will make the necessarypensation¡ª¡± Before he could finish, Director Wangughed icily and said, ¡°What are you talking about? When did I say I wanted to break our contract?¡± Mo Xicheng was taken aback. ¡°But you¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m calling to inform you that you will join the filming crew in a month, so get the dirty business in yourpany sorted.¡± He didn¡¯t sound amiable but oddly, it made Mo Xicheng feel warm. He could help asking, ¡°Director Wang, don¡¯t you mind?¡± ¡°Mind what exactly? I¡¯m making a film and I care only about acting skills and the character. You¡¯re the best choice for the film. Why should I be influenced by the outside world and lose a key actor?¡± Mo Xicheng found himselfughing when he heard this. Director Wang grunted and continued, ¡°If you¡¯re unhappy being a dog-fart CEO, thene back to the entertainment industry. We can do as we did, make films happily, and live like a proper human being.¡± Mo Xicheng was touched by these words and he said, ¡°Alright. I understand.¡± Before they hung up, Director Wang suddenly said, ¡°Oh, right. I¡¯ve nominated you for Best Actor Award in this year¡¯s film festival. But I don¡¯t know what the oue might be.¡± ¡°Ok, thank you.¡± After he hung up, Mo Xicheng sighed in relief. At this point, the phone rang once more. It was the manager again. Mo Xicheng picked up the call to hear the man ask, ¡°Brother Mo, what now?¡± Mo Xicheng lowered his gaze and smiled icily after a moment. A sharp expression shed across his eyes as he said unhurriedly, ¡°No hurry. What we need to do is take all changes while maintaining our course. I have known all along that she would do this at some point.¡± Right from the time Yao Lili had unintentionally threatened him and said that she was going to tell the media, he had known that she would do it one day.. However, it was practically a joke that a mother would go to this extent to ensure the downfall of her own son. The manager was reassured by his steadiness and stopped panicking. He nodded and said, ¡°Alright. I think more news reports will follow. I do feel that you will need a few good people from the entertainment industry to stand behind you and put in a few words. If only Director Wang would post something on Weibo, it would solve at least half of the problem. And Best Actor Shen...¡± Mo Xicheng smiled bitterly when he heard his manager¡¯s suggestion. Chapter 1549 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (22)

Chapter 1549: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (22)

Indeed, as an illegitimate son, that was about the only thing he could do now. But how was he going to even begin to ask for everyone¡¯s help? Pausing for a moment, he said, ¡°Let¡¯s not trouble them.¡± Before he could finish, the manager eximed in surprise, ¡°Brother Mo, look, look! Hurry up and take a look at Weibo!¡± Mo Xicheng halted and activated his cell phone¡¯s hands-free function as he essed Weibo. The moment he did so, he saw messages tagging him. He clicked on them only to find that Shen Liangchuan, who hardly ever posted things, had actually left him a message: [Shen Liangchuan: Thew states that everyone is equal. Who says illegitimate children cannot be actors? I admire Mo Xicheng and I would even dare say that he is one of my best friends in the entertainment circle. Please treat your idols within reason. After all, we can¡¯t choose our birth circumstances.] That was a long message and it was obvious he hadn¡¯t written it by himself. Nevertheless, this gesture touched his heart. ¨C Somewhere else. Far away in Hainan. It was an exceptionally beautiful day with blue skies and white clouds. Qiao Lian was in the hotel as she posted this message on Weibo and returned the cell phone to Shen Liangchuan afterwards. She said, ¡°The inte has developed very rapidly and makes the pressure of public opinion even greater. Your message was too serious, it wasn¡¯t appropriate. Look at the message I wrote for you. It¡¯s gentler and more persuasive, isn¡¯t it?¡± Shen Liangchuan: ... Shen Liangchuan looked at what Qiao Lian had written. He still felt that his message ¡°only retards follow blindly others¡± was a better way to vent his anger. But it seemed like Qiao Lian¡¯s message was better at maintaining harmony. Seeing that thements he was getting were all supportive, Shen Liangchuan sighed in relief. But this Weibo post also sparked much discussion. Mistresses and illegitimate children became a trending topic. ¨C The moment Shen Liangchuan¡¯s message was posted, it was quickly reposted by the entertainment industry¡¯s insiders. Even Director Wang posted: [Director Wang: A good actor is not based on his status at birth, but his professionalism and skills. Wee on board to Ambition 2 @Mo Xicheng] At a sensitive time like this, having a Best Actor like Shen Liangchuan speak up for him and then followed by a heavyweight director like Director Wang do the same helped a lot to bring public opinion and verbal abuse under control. At least, it halved the berating that Mo Xicheng was being subject to. But even then, the situation was grave. His manager was speaking to Mo Xicheng in hands-free mode, so Mo Xicheng now could hear that his other phone was ringing in the background. Immediately, he heard his manager hollering angrily, ¡°What? What has this got to do with Mo Xicheng¡¯s identity? Why can¡¯t he be the spokesperson for a perfume? You definitely weren¡¯t this arrogant when you first came looking for us, asking us to do it!¡± ¡°Sure, we can call it off if you say so, but you have to pay the penalty for the breach of contract.¡± ¡°... What?! Nopensation? And why not? Mo Xicheng¡¯s loss of reputation? Huh, when you signed this, he had exactly the same status as he does now, have you ever heard any scandals? So don¡¯t overstep your limits.¡± ¡°Alright, go and file awsuit then. See if we¡¯llpensate you for it!¡± Bam. The manager hung up and swore, ¡°So arrogant. Brother Mo gets into a bit of trouble and they start running away. Who wants to shoot for these people anyway?¡± Chapter 1550 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (23)

Chapter 1550: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (23)

When he said this, the manager suddenly realized that his other cell phone was still on. At once, he fell silent. After he got over his initial shock, he spoke, ¡°Bro- Brother Mo.¡± Mo Xicheng lowered his gaze and said after a pause, ¡°If you get more calls like that, just agree straightaway. Arguing with them only makes you lose your position.¡± The manager choked at once and said, ¡°But they are just being too mean. I¡ª¡± ¡°If they are willing to bring things to an end amiably, just let it go. But if they get difficult and insist that wepensate, then hire awyer and we will fight our case.¡± When time came to dig his heels in, Mo Xicheng certainly wasn¡¯t the type to take a soft approach. The manager nodded and said, ¡°Sure, whatever you say!¡± Mo Xichengughed and said, ¡°Don¡¯t panic. Everything will pass.¡± The manager paused and then nodded. ¡°True. Everything will pass. Brother Mo, don¡¯t be too stressed.¡± Mo Xicheng nodded. The manager hesitated and said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you go home for now? After all, it¡¯s not safe there in the office. I¡¯ll get a few men to go over and ensure your safety.¡± The other man contemted it for a moment and said, ¡°Very well, send a few bodyguards over. In times like this, it¡¯s better for me to be home.¡± The manager nodded and assured him, ¡°I¡¯ll send someone over right away.¡± After he hung up, Mo Xicheng stayed in the office and contemted the situation for a while. Then he got onto his feet and was about to walk out of the room when he suddenly heard a familiar voice. He lifted his gaze in that direction and saw Li Shu standing at the doorway of his office. She hesitatingly called out, ¡°Mo Xicheng.¡± Mo Xicheng was taken aback and looked at her with surprise before he lowered his gaze and nodded at her. Then he continued walking away. Li Shu saw his gloomy expression and narrowed her eyes. She stared at him and sighed deeply. Then she said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, all that talk will be gone. I will make sure that you can live with your head held high!¡± Her tone was firm and confident. When Mo Xicheng heard this, he looked up, puzzled. When he looked at Li Shu standing before him, he couldn¡¯t help but notice that unusual expression on her face. He tried hard to decipher it. He sensed an anger in this woman that was not unlike his own, and in her, he saw his own tragedy and heroism. But why? He narrowed his eyes. For an odd reason, he suddenly remembered how Gao Feng had been helping him at work and the long-standing good rtionship he had with Li Shu. Could it be that Li Shu had asked Gao Feng to look after him? But even this reason was strange. But now, he would rather believe this than to believe that Li Shu would team up with Gao Feng to punish him. The muscles around his eyes tense up as he paused for a while. He asked, ¡°Why are you helping me?¡± Li Shu bit her lip as her eyes reddened. She did not take her eyes off him. She knew this was the time to tell the truth. She must not wait any longer. She had to tell him herself, tell Mo Xicheng the truth. She had to free her son from living in this darkness, so that he coulde out into the light and live with his head held up high. Chapter 1551 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (24)

Chapter 1551: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (24)

At this thought, she looked up at Mo Xicheng. ¡°Because, I¡¯m your¡ª¡± ¡°Mom!¡± Suddenly, they were interrupted by a man¡¯s voice. Li Shu did not finish what she was about to say. She narrowed her eyes and gave Mo Xicheng a meaningful nce before she turned around. Mo Zhi strode over to them and said, ¡°Mom, Dad said you were here. Why did youe here? My office is on the other side, have youe the wrong way?!¡± Li Shu stared at this familiar son, who was like a stranger at the same time. Since her youth, she had traveled extensively because she had detested Mo Hai for what he and Yao Lili had done. Even though she had wanted to be close to her own son every time she came home, she had always felt an odd distance between them. Whereas when she saw Mo Xicheng, she would be drawn to him and bepelled to care for him and help him. At that time, she had felt disgusted by herself. Because she had felt that she was probably about the only woman who would be willing to bring up the illegitimate child of her husband and his mistress. But when the two boys stood side by side, she suddenly realized that her eyes would helplessly fall on Mo Xicheng. Because it was this boy who carried the unique aura of the Li family. This was how mysteriously amazing kinship and blood ties were. Even though Mo Xicheng had be the son of the person she hated most, she was unable to ignore the closeness she felt with Mo Xicheng. She bit her lip and was about to say something when Mo Zhi spoke again, ¡°Mom,e with me. Because of what happened, ourpany¡¯s public rtions department has started to manage the situation. We¡¯ve also organized arge staff meeting. We¡¯re going to discuss in detail how to resolve this problem that Mo Xicheng has created. Mom,e with me. We need to discuss this.¡± How to resolve this? Li Shu clenched her fists tightly. Yao Lili and Mo Zhi both knew the truth, yet they kept doing those things so boldly? Immediately, Li Shu changed her mind. She decided she couldn¡¯t show her cards now because she wanted to see what Mo Zhi had up his sleeves. She would have to reveal Mo Xicheng¡¯s real identity at an appropriate time. So that Mo Xicheng would have everything that was due him and not just an empty shell. At this thought, she lowered her gaze and looked at Mo Xicheng. ¡°I¡¯ll go with him now. You... must join us for the meetingter.¡± As she walked away towards Mo Zhi¡¯s office, she turned back to look at him a few times. Mo Xicheng was baffled as he looked at the mother and son¡¯s figures disappear. A moment ago, Li Shu had obviously been saying she was his... something? Why had Li Shu had such a strange expression on her face? Mo Xicheng frowned. Right about the same time, he heard a private conversation: ¡°Poor CEO Mo, his mother did him in just like that.¡± ¡°Exactly, how can such a mother exist? Why do I feel like she¡¯s more of an enemy?¡± ¡°Indeed. For the people who don¡¯t know any better, they¡¯d think she is Senior CEO Mo¡¯s mother instead. Look, she¡¯s sacrificed her own son for Senior CEO Mo.¡± ¡°Sigh, I just don¡¯t understand it. How can such an unreliable mother exist? She carried him for nine months and gave birth to him, why doesn¡¯t she love him? What¡¯s the point of doing something like that?¡± Chapter 1552 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated! (25)

Chapter 1552: Mo Xicheng Reinstated! (25)

¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°The poor guy.¡± ¡°...¡± Mo Xicheng overheard different conversations and he was stunned. Indeed, why had Yao Lili treated him exceptionally poorly all his life? And why was Li Shu acting so strange towards him now? Oddly, a few scenes shed through his mind. Because they were unpleasant memories, he had chosen to push them to the back of his mind. But right now, the scenes yed out before his eyes clearly. Once after school, when he was five, he had seen Yao Lili on the way home. His eyes lit up, as he thought that Yao Lili hade to walk him home. Hence he moved forward but, the moment he was about to dash to his mother, he suddenly noticed that she was holding Mo Zhi¡¯s hand. Mo Zhi was struggling to break away as Yao Lili held out a small piece of cake, asking him, ¡°Mo Zhi, don¡¯t you like this sort of ice cream cake? I bought some for you. Do you like it? If you like it, then speak with me for a bit?¡± At that time, Mo Xicheng¡¯s eyes were fixed on the piece of cake. Ice cream cake was almost Mo Zhi¡¯s all-time favorite and Mo Xicheng had been fortunate enough to have tried some once. It tasted awesome, so at that point he was staring at the delicious dessert, salivating and wishing he could have some. So he kept moving forward and saw Mo Zhi taking the piece of cake from her. Then he looked at Yao Lili arrogantly and asked, ¡°Say it, what do you want from me?¡± Yao Lili looked at him and said, ¡°Say- say a few words after me. Would you do that?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Good boy! Come, say after me, Mama.¡± Mo Zhi repeated after her, ¡°Mama.¡± Mo Xicheng froze and stood rooted to the ground. He looked at the two of them with a confused expression. He didn¡¯t understand why Yao Lili would ask Mo Zhi to call her mom when she was obviously his own mother. In his confusion, he saw Yao Lili¡¯s eyes redden. Then she hugged Mo Zhi and said, ¡°Aaah.¡± Mo Zhi, however, stepped back in disdain and shoved her. She fell on the ground. Immediately, he stood over her and shouted, ¡°Tr*mp! Mistress! You¡¯re bad!¡± Seeing that Yao Lili had fallen, Mo Xicheng got worked up and rushed up to ce his arms around Yao Lili. He stared at Mo Zhi and shouted back, ¡°Don¡¯t hit my mom! Don¡¯t yell at my mom!¡± Mo Zhi was already unkind as a child. He replied, ¡°So what if I hit her and yell at her. You and your mom are my father¡¯s unwanted dogs! I can hit you as much as I want.¡± After saying these words, he turned to look at the ice cream cake and threw it on the ground. Trampling on the cake, he continued to shout, ¡°I eat this cake everyday and I¡¯m sick of it! Who wants your cake?!¡± Yao Lili got anxious at once when she heard this. She quickly asked, ¡°What do you like to eat then?¡± Mo Zhi replied, ¡°I like chocte.¡± Yao Lili nodded and said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll get some for you next time.¡± ¡°Humph, I want imported ones. I want that brand of chocte.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± Mo Zhi walked away. Mo Xicheng stood there staring nkly at the two of them. He did not understand what was going on. After that episode, he realized that Yao Lili¡¯s personal savings were running out quickly and every day, Mo Zhi would go to school with a box of chocte in his school bag. He wouldn¡¯t eat the chocte, but would bring them to school as presents for other people. Chapter 1553 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (26)

Chapter 1553: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (26)

At the time, Mo Xicheng had been a child and he hadn¡¯t understood why. He only remembered the incident and, eventually, he automatically sealed it in his memory. He also remembered a few times he had seen Yao Lili staring at Mo Zhi in a daze. Whenever Mo Zhi called Li Shu ¡°mom¡±, she would unconsciously reply, ¡°Aah...¡± Every time he saw this happening, he would call out to her, ¡°Mom.¡± She would push him aside disdainfully and rebuke him, ¡°Bastard, don¡¯t call me mom!¡± ... These scenes from the past shed through his mind one at a time. He narrowed his eyes now as he stood there. He thought again of Li Shu¡¯s unfathomable expression as she had looked at him earlier on. He thought of how she had gotetn Gao Feng to help him, and all the recent happenings. Something suddenly clicked in his mind. But he suppressed that thought forcefully. It wasn¡¯t possible. How could that be possible? It was too dramatic. There was no possibility of that. He lowered his gaze and tried to push the thought out of his mind. But it wouldn¡¯t go away. It started to move further along that direction. As he stood there in a daze, he heard Shi Nianyao¡¯s voice. ¡°Mo Xicheng!¡± Looking up, he saw her rushing towards him. The moment she reached his side, she took his hand. Still panting from trying to get to him as fast as she could, she said, ¡°Mo Xicheng, those idiots on the inte are too much! Don¡¯t read thements anymore. Come with me. Let¡¯s go home and rest.¡± Shi Nianyao looked at him with an anxious expression, as though afraid that he was badly affected by the news. But she realized that, apart from looking a little tired, he didn¡¯t seem to be reacting much. She was relieved to see that. And when Mo Xicheng saw her, he suddenly felt his spirits lift. He took her hand and led her into his office. He asked after shutting the door behind them, ¡°Why are you here?¡± Shi Nianyao studied him carefully. Seeing that he seemed to be alright, she replied, ¡°I was worried about you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m ok.¡± Mo Xicheng walked over to the side and poured her a ss of water. Holding the ss out to her, he said, ¡°Here, drink some. Your lips are dry.¡± Shi Nianyao took the ss from him and nced at him again, ¡°You¡¯re really fine?¡± Mo Xichengughed and replied, ¡°Really fine. Do you think I can be defeated by such a small matter?¡± She immediately bit her lip and added, ¡°But when I saw the news, I was totally stunned. Your mom... she¡¯s too much!¡± Lowering his gaze, he nodded. She waspelled to ask, ¡°Didn¡¯t you guys sort things out? Why did this suddenly happen? It waspletely unexpected and took me by surprise. What do we do now?¡± He reassured her, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. This matter can be solved. There are always ups and downs in the entertainment circle and we have the ability to deal with public rtions. The most logical way of dealing with this is to let it die down a little. Let the fact sink in and give people an opportunity to ept my status. And I will also hold a press conference to make a public confession and recognize it.¡± Shi Nianyao¡¯s eyes reddened when she heard this. It was easy enough for someone to say that he would face it himself squarely, but how many people could actually do that? He knew that the consequences of him facing it would be that, from that moment, this would be a dark period in his life. Chapter 1554 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (27)

Chapter 1554: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (27)

Shi Nianyao¡¯s heart ached for him when she thought about these things. She gulped and looked at the man immediately. ¡°Uh huh. Don¡¯t be afraid, I¡¯ll be by your side.¡± Mo Xicheng looked at her again and said, ¡°But it will cause you suffering.¡± Shi Nianyao was taken aback. ¡°What? What sort of suffering could I possibly face?¡± Mo Xicheng hung his head and said, ¡°If people know that you¡¯ve married an illegitimate son, won¡¯t you be aughing stock?¡± Shi Nianyao fumed when she heard this. ¡°Why would they say that?! I was the one who pursued you! Besides, who daresugh at me? I¡¯ll get my brother and father to make stew with their tongues.¡± Mo Xicheng lowered his head at seeing that haughty and arrogant look and started chuckling. She realized that he was only teasing her. Sheughed at once. At the same time, Mo Xicheng¡¯s desk phone rang. He picked up the call and heard the receptionist say, ¡°CEO Mo, Director Wang is here. He says there are some gaps in the contract and wishes to confirm them with you. I¡¯ve arranged for you to use the meeting room on the first floor. Will youe downstairs?¡± Director Wang was here? Gaps in the contract? Could it be that they had not received their funds and thus had decided toe? Without hesitating, he said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯lle right away.¡± After he hung up, he looked at Shi Nianyao and said, ¡°Wait for me here, I¡¯m going downstairs for a meeting and will be back in a bit.¡± Surprised, she asked, ¡°What sort of meeting?¡± At this point, shouldn¡¯t he avoid doing anything that would arouse suspicion? Mo Xicheng exined, ¡°There¡¯s probably some issues with the investment contract. I¡¯ll go and take a look.¡± She nodded. Mo Xicheng nced at her. He reached out for her hand, gave it a quick squeeze and walked out. Upon doing so, he narrowed his eyes at once, his rxed expression vanishing at once. If those were Director Wang¡¯s representatives looking for him, they would have called first to make an appointment for sure. Besides, if it were strictly business, they wouldn¡¯t be meeting in the room on the first floor. Hence, the person who had turned up was definitely not Director Wang. Who could it be? He frowned. Walking over to the elevator, he made his way down slowly. Upon reaching the first floor, he went directly to the meeting room. The receptionist led the way, saying, ¡°CEO Mo, the person is in Room 101 waiting for you.¡± He nodded. When they arrived at Room 101, the receptionist opened the door. Mo Xicheng turned back to nce behind him and then entered the room. It turned out that the person who had pretended to be Director Wang¡¯s representative was none other than Yao Lili. She sat behind the table, staring at the man. After he entered the room, she pointed at the door and said, ¡°Shut the door.¡± He looked at Yao Lili. His eyes rested on her for a moment before he turned around to shut the door. Then he walked to the seat opposite her. She sat there haughtily and raised her eyes towards him. ¡°Mo Xicheng, if you leave thepany at once and sign this agreement, I will personally take care of the reporters out there. What do you say? And from then, you can go your own way as Best Actor Mo and I will still continue to be the mistress. We¡¯ll have nothing to do with each other.¡± Mo Xicheng looked at the document. He realized it was an agreement for the transfer of shares. The document stated that he would transfer the 30 percent of thepany shares he owned to Mo Zhi. Chapter 1555 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (28)

Chapter 1555: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (28)

Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes and stared at that document. Complicated thoughts shed through his brain. However, those were just guesses after all. He didn¡¯t have any evidence at all, so he wasn¡¯t able to say it out loud. Seeing his silence, Yao Lili sighed. ¡°Mo Xicheng, don¡¯t me me. You know that I love your father so much that I¡¯m willing to be his mistress my whole life. Your father is really unhappy with me now that you¡¯re targeting Mo Zhi so much. You know where they put me after I¡¯m returned to the house?¡± Yao Lili¡¯s eyes reddened as she continued, ¡°They made me stay in the servant¡¯s room and made me do housework everyday. That isn¡¯t even treating me like a woman at all, they are treating me as a servant. And your father even hit me a few times and attacked me. I don¡¯t want to live a life like that, I want your father to treat me better. But your father found out that you¡¯re targeting Mo Zhi in thepany and he took it out on me. I¡¯m also to my wit¡¯s end. Aren¡¯t you the most filial one? Just sign this paper and leave thepany. I will not bother about anything between you and Shi Nianyao in the future, ok? If you want to marry her, you can go ahead, and you can continue filming your television dramas. I can also continue staying with the Mo family to protect and stay with your father. Isn¡¯t that pretty good too? I will also be nice to Shi Nianyao in the future, ok?¡± Was that ok? Before, he had had absolutely no intentions to work for the Mo family enterprise and he had just wanted to be together with Shi Nianyao. However, those people had immediately opposed his wishes. Yet now they were asking him if it was alright? If it had happened a month ago and Mo Zhi hadn¡¯t done that to Shi Nianyao, he would have still insisted that he wanted nothing to do with the Mo family. But now... Mo Xicheng lowered his head. After a while, he then said, ¡°No.¡± Yao Lili was shocked as she lifted her head up and stared at him in shock. The next moment, the weak and sobbing expression instantly disappeared from her face. She became vicious and strong. ¡°What? No?! How dare you, an illegitimate son, be fighting with the rightful son of the Mo family over their assets?! Ah? I have already announced your real identity to the public, what do you think they are talking about in the penthouse right now? They are discussing whether to remove you from your position in thepany! After all, they can¡¯t let the mistress¡¯ son be the leader of thepany. Mo Xicheng, take advantage now that I am discussing this with you peacefully and politely. Wait no, I¡¯m no longer discussing it with you, I¡¯m just giving you ast chance because of the mother-son rtionship we have had for the past years! If you agree to this, it will be good for everyone. Don¡¯t bring me to a dead end. When that happens, the person who will be stuck at the dead end will be you!¡± Her sudden change in emotions and the sudden anger made Mo Xicheng look at her quietly. It was only after Yao Lili finished scolding him that she realized that her attitude was terrible. She took a deep breath and then spoke again, ¡°I believe that you understand what I mean. You can think about this carefully. If everyone turns against each other in the end, it wouldn¡¯t end up well or look good for anyone, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± Mo Xicheng suddenly lifted his head and looked at Yao Lili. ¡°Can I ask you a question?¡± Yao Lili was shocked. ¡°Speak.¡± Mo Xicheng looked at her as he asked the question he had kept in his heart for a really long time. He slowly said, word by word, ¡°I want to ask you if you¡¯re doing this for my dad, or Mo Zhi.¡± Chapter 1556 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (29)

Chapter 1556: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (29)

This question was something Yao Lili had absolutely not expected and it stunned her momentarily. Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes and added, ¡°I¡¯m just asking, there¡¯s no special meaning.¡± She widened her eyes and got to her feet. Looking at him with a shocked expression and asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡± Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes and replied, ¡°I¡¯m just asking, there¡¯s no special meaning.¡± She gulped and went into a slight daze. Had the secret that she had kept hidden for so many years been discovered? No, that was not possible. Still shocked, she looked at Mo Xicheng and replied, ¡°Of course it¡¯s because of your father. Why would I treat Mo Zhi so well otherwise? In your father¡¯s heart, he only has one son and that¡¯s Mo Zhi. If we please Mo Zhi, we please your dad.¡± Mo Xicheng did not say anything in response. Obviously, he was not satisfied with this answer. However, he did feel that what he was thinking was too bizarre. Surely, it wasn¡¯t what he was thinking. It shouldn¡¯t be. He lowered his head andughed at himself in mockery. He looked up at Yao Lili and said unhurriedly, ¡°Mom, if it¡¯s too hard staying at the Mo family home, just move out. I have 30 percent of thepany shares. In the future, I will even inherit 30 percent of the Mo family estate. You won¡¯tck anything. How about that?¡± Immediately, Yao Lili berated him, ¡°Do you think I care about money? I¡¯ve been telling you since you were a child that money is the least of my concerns! I only want your dad. Otherwise, I would have just taken the huge sum of money they offered me to make me go away back then. Why didn¡¯t I leave?! Don¡¯t you understand my thinking?!¡± At the time, when she showed up at the Mo family home, Li Shu and Mo Hai had tried to give her arge sum of money so that she would leave. She had refused to go and also did not take any of the money. Given this, Mo Hai had believed that she did not harbor ill intentions. And Li Shu also dropped her guard, because Yao Lili hadn¡¯t appeared to be the sort of woman who was after money and status. Hence, Li Shu hadn¡¯t med her. But only Yao Lili knew that she had sneaked her son into the Mo family, so how could she possibly take the money and leave by herself? She could not just leave, she had to stay to watch over her own child. Besides, this had helped her make a good impression on Mo Hai and Li Shu. Looking back on what she had done, she was most satisfied. Her only regret was that at the time, Li Shu had seen her plight and had thought that she had no wild ambitions, that she was only a victim. Hence, the woman had suggested that Mo Xicheng went to school together with Mo Zhi. As a result, Mo Xicheng was now well-educated. Even at school, he had obviously fared better than Mo Zhi. At this thought, Yao Lili could not help but berate herself for having felt some guilt towards Mo Xicheng at that time and allowing him to receive such a good education. She lowered her gaze. As she berated herself, she looked up at Mo Xicheng and continued, ¡°So what do you think of what I¡¯ve just said?¡± Mo Xicheng got to his feet and repeated, ¡°I¡¯ve said it, it¡¯s not a good idea.¡± Then he turned around and headed out of the room. After he had taken a few steps, Yao Lili called him, ¡°Mo Xicheng!¡± Mo Xicheng turned around. Yao Lili¡¯s eyes were fixed on him as she said, ¡°Even if you don¡¯t agree, the meeting that¡¯s going on in the penthouse right now is in order to kick you out of the Mo family enterprise anyway. You¡¯ll still end up with nothing.¡± Chapter 1557 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (30)

Chapter 1557: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (30)

The meeting that was going on in the penthouse right now¡ªYao Lili had repeated this phrase a few times. Listening to her, Mo Xicheng only wanted tough. How could she know what was going on in the meeting in the penthouse? She had to be in cahoots with Mo Zhi. So right up till now, this mother of his was still trying to secure her own happiness and future at his expense? Or had Mo Hai promised her something? At this thought, Mo Xicheng suddenly felt that life was extremely sorrowful. He lifted his gaze to look at Yao Lili and asked, ¡°Have you never thought of me as your own son?¡± She paused for a moment and quickly said, ¡°Of course. And if you¡¯d only give up, I would treat you well, for sure.¡± Give up... and she would treat him well how? Would it be just like in the past, asking him for money every month and getting herself an extra-credit card under his own so that she could spend his money like there was no tomorrow? She had no idea that every cent he had made in the entertainment industry was hard-earned money. But he had never said that in front of her. Because he knew he couldn¡¯t, he didn¡¯t have the right or authority to. It was an unspoken understanding between them that if he wanted to leave the Mo family, then he would have to keep providing Yao Lili with the same sort offortable and luxurious life that she had enjoyed under the roof of the Mo family. But now he felt that this idea of his had been a big joke. And it was his passiveness that had allowed Yao Lili to be what she was like today, one step at a time. For a long time, there had been no more affection between them, only benefits. And even though time and again, he had said that he wanted to sever ties with Yao Lili, it was only now that he realized he had finally let go. From now on, whatever became of Yao Lili was none of his business. At this thought, his expression hardened with determination. He walked out decisively. After leaving the meeting room on the first floor, he stood outside and lifted his head to look at the penthouse meeting room. There had to be a heated debate going on inside now. They were probably discussing whether he should be asked to leave thepany. He gave a frostyugh and his expression turned determined. Taking in a deep breath, he walked to the elevator unhurriedly. Then he hit the button for the penthouse. When he reached the top floor, he first returned to his own office. The moment he entered, Shi Nianyao looked up anxiously and asked, ¡°Mo Xicheng, is everything ok?¡± He smiled at her. ¡°Everything¡¯s fine.¡± She bit her lip and said, ¡°I¡¯ve just realized that there¡¯s a meeting going on next door and they are talking about you. What now?¡± The corners of his lips turned upwards and he looked unusually rxed. It was as though the burden that had been resting heavily on his shoulders had suddenly vanished. It seemed like he had let go of all his load. And although he looked steady andposed like his usual self, that gloominess that had always been in his eyes had now been reced by confidence and steadfastness. This change was reflected in his tone as he said with certainty, ¡°Uh huh. Since they are talking about me, why can¡¯t I be present?¡± As soon as he said this, he picked up some documents and headed out of the office. Shi Nianyao was taken aback and asked immediately, ¡°Mo Xicheng, where are you going?¡± He turned around and replied, ¡°I¡¯m off to do what has to be done.¡± She bit down on her lip and said, ¡°You¡ª¡± Suddenly, he smiled and said to her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. This is just a one-time struggle for power. If I seed, then this will secure my position in thepany.¡± Chapter 1558 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (31)

Chapter 1558: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (31)

Shi Nianyao looked at him and asked, ¡°And if it fails?¡± If it fails? Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes and said, ¡°If it fails, I still have you don¡¯t I?¡± At once, her eyes lit up as she said, ¡°That¡¯s right, if it fails, you cane with me. I have shares from my family business, we¡¯d still be rich.¡± Heughed and nodded at her. On this note, he walked out of the office and headed towards the meeting room. As he approached the meeting room, the secretary sitting outside hurriedly got to her feet. She stammered, ¡°C- CEO Mo.¡± Mo Xicheng nodded at her and said, ¡°I¡¯m here for the meeting.¡± The junior staff was stunned. Just like that, Mo Xicheng pushed the door and walked in. In the meeting room, the people present were having a heated debate. Gao Feng was on his feet exchanging words with Mo Zhi, but halted at the sudden arrival of Mo Xicheng. The sudden silence brought about an extremely awkward atmosphere in the room. Everyone¡¯s gaze fell simultaneously on Mo Xicheng. After a while, Mo Zhi narrowed his eyes with a vicious expression. Since childhood, this man had always stolen his thunder wherever and whenever he appeared. What right did he have to do that?! At this thought, Mo Zhi immediately said, ¡°Why are you here? We¡¯re having an important board meeting and we don¡¯t wee you. Please leave.¡± Mo Xicheng lowered his gaze and replied with little emotions. His steadiness was a sharp contrast to Mo Zhi¡¯s exasperation, thus he said, ¡°I¡¯m still thepany¡¯s CEO, on the same level as you. Why can¡¯t I be at the meeting?¡± ¡°You¡ª¡± ¡°Where were you? Please continue.¡± Without waiting for Mo Zhi to finish speaking, Mo Xicheng said this in an authoritative tone as he walked to the side and pulled out a chair for himself. He ced the chair right at the front and sat down. Mo Zhi turned pale with anger and shouted, ¡°Security, who let him in? Take him away!¡± Gao Feng responded, ¡°CEO Mo, Junior CEO Mo is right. He is currently still CEO of thepany, so no matter what, he is allowed to participate in the discussion. Why aren¡¯t we allowing him to join us?¡± Mo Zhi replied, ¡°Because he is the topic of our discussion, so he has to stay away!¡± Gao Feng smirked. ¡°Well that makes you the brother of the party concerned. I guess you should stay away too!¡± Mo Zhi choked at these words. Gao Feng looked at Mo Xicheng and said, ¡°CEO Mo, before you came in, we were discussing the effects of public opinion. Right now your status is being very heavily criticized. There are even doubts as to whether you have the right to inherit the business, hence thepany is considering removing you from your position.¡± Mo Xicheng slightly squinted upon hearing his words. He looked up at everyone present in the meeting room and started, ¡°Thew allows illegitimate children to inherit the family property. I¡¯m just wondering what the discussion is about exactly. To change our country¡¯sw?¡± ¡°Pffftt!¡± Almost everyone was amused by hisment. Mo Xicheng looked at Mo Zhi. Thetter sneered, ¡°Indeed, you do have the legal right to inherit the business. An illegitimate child like you, who shouldn¡¯t even see the light of day¡ªit¡¯s good enough that you¡¯ve been given shares, but to take up the CEO position in thepany... I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re unsuitable. You are being very criticized now. If you continue to be CEO, what would be of ourpany? Hence, we¡¯ve decided to remove you from your position.¡± After these words, he stood up and continued, ¡°My good brother, I think you should go home. Just sit around and wait to pocket thepany¡¯s profits every month, that isn¡¯t too bad, is it?¡± Chapter 1559 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (32)

Chapter 1559: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (32)

Mo Zhi¡¯s words were full of sarcasm. His expression was taunting as he tried to make fun of the other man. Mo Xicheng looked back at him and replied, ¡°Has everyone agreed so quickly? To make me go home?¡± Gao Feng quickly interjected, ¡°Not yet, the meeting has only just started.¡± Mo Xicheng continued to look at Mo Zhi as he said, ¡°Well then, I suggest CEO Mo shouldn¡¯t be impatient.¡± Mo Zhi was silenced at once, as the people in the room exchanged looks and startedughing. At that moment, wasn¡¯t that just how Mo Zhi behaved? Impatient and unable to restrain himself, making himself look like aplete fool. He sprang to his feet at once and retorted, ¡°You- Who says I¡¯m impatient? I¡¯m just telling you the inevitable oue.¡± Mo Xicheng started tough at these words and replied, ¡°Since it hasn¡¯t been decided, let¡¯s get on with the discussion.¡± Raising a finger at the man, Mo Zhi said angrily, ¡°Fine, jine. If you wish to listen in, then do so.¡± He turned to the others and continued, ¡°Given current public opinion, if Mo Xicheng leads thepany, our Mo family enterprise will be aughing stock. This concerns thepany¡¯s reputation, hence, I suggest he has to be fired.¡± Gao Feng was about to speak against this proposal when suddenly Mo Xicheng said, ¡°Well then, would it be better that thepany has a bad reputation? Or that thepany interest bespromised?¡± Taken aback by his words, Gao Feng probed, ¡°What do you mean?!¡± Everyone turned to look at Mo Xicheng. The man smiled frostily as he looked at Mo Zhi. At once, Mo Zhi widened his eyes and said, ¡°Mo Xicheng, you- you¡¯d better not talk rubbish! I¡¯m warning you, don¡¯t you even think of smearing my name with no proof whatsoever!¡± Mo Xichengughed and replied, ¡°I haven¡¯t even said anything, why are you so anxious?¡± Mo Zhi gulped. Mo Xicheng looked at all the stakeholders sitting around the table and finally, his gaze fell on Li Shu, who had held her silence since the meeting had begun. He narrowed his eyes and, after some time, continued, ¡°Obviously there are no issues with thepany ounts. However, every time circting capital is involved, there always seems to be a shortfall. Has no one ever analyzed the problem?? Upon hearing this remark, everyone was stunned Gao Feng especially found it hard to believe what he was hearing. ¡°What- what do you mean?? The smirking Mo Xicheng replied, ¡°What it means is that someone¡¯s been using thepany funds to invest in his personal stocks and shares. Now that money is being held up and he can¡¯t return it. Thepany¡¯s circting capital has been used as a tool for personal benefits!¡± Gao Feng hollered angrily, ¡°Who- who dares to do this?!¡± Mo Xicheng turned to look at Mo Zhi. Everyone followed his gaze and turned their eyes to Mo Zhi. Mo Zhi kept a rigid expression and said, ¡°Mo Xicheng, don¡¯t you even think of making false usations. The discussion is about you, why are you shifting the attention to me?!¡± Mo Xichengughed and continued, ¡°Everyone is discussing whether a man of disrepute like myself would make a better leader than you. So of course, everyone had to hear the truth.¡± Mo Zhi countered in fury, ¡°I know you dislike me, but even then, you can¡¯t be making false usations like that. This is going overboard, Mo Xicheng. How dare you use me without evidence? I will hold you responsible for this!¡± ¡°Who says I have no evidence?¡± Chapter 1560 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (33)

Chapter 1560: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (33)

Mo Xicheng¡¯s words caused Mo Zhi to feel as if his heart was hanging on a string. His words also made everyone in thepany widen their eyes in shock. Mo Zhi swallowed and said, ¡°That¡¯s not possible. It¡¯s not possible that there is evidence!¡¯ Why would there be evidence if he had done everything so meticulously and carefully? But little did he expect that after he said that, Mo Xicheng would take out a financial report and throw it on the table. ¡°ording to the financial reports, there are supposed to be tens of millions in thepany¡¯s cash flow. But at the moment there isn¡¯t a single cent in thepany¡¯s ount! We might not even be able to pay our workers their sry for the next month.¡± His words causedmotion among the high-ranking staff of thepany. ¡°How is that possible?¡± ¡°Why did this even happen?¡± ¡°This is fake right? This isn¡¯t possible!¡± Mo Xicheng sneered. ¡°I am working with Director Wang on such a huge project and we have signed a contact. But the reason why I haven¡¯t transferred money to him yet is because there¡¯s no money in ourpany¡¯s ount.¡± Gao Feng instantly frowned. ¡°Why would there be no money? Didn¡¯t a huge sum juste in a few days ago?¡± Mo Xicheng sneered. ¡°The moment that huge sum entered the ount, Mo Zhi transferred it away. Mo Zhi probably has already put the money into his shares!¡± Gao Feng stood up suddenly. ¡°Why did this happen?¡± Mo Xicheng stared at everyone present and said, ¡°This is the evidence of him purchasing the shares. These are the records of the transfer. ording to him, he had taken the money to pay the wages of the workers from the project, but they didn¡¯t receive any money on their end. Is all of this not enough proof?!¡± After he said that, amotion burst in the meeting room. Li Shu suddenly stood up. She narrowed her eyes and stared at Mo Xicheng as she said, ¡°Mo Xicheng, don¡¯t nder Mo Zhi!¡± Mo Zhi returned to his senses and instantly nodded. ¡°Yes, all of this is fake. You¡¯re targeting me!¡± Li Shu nodded and continued, ¡°Yes, if you say this about Mo Zhi, we can then totally ask the police officers toe and check. There shouldn¡¯t be any problems with thepany¡¯s finances. If thepany really has no more funds, there must be someone who has stolen it. We must call the police and let them deal with the matter!¡± Mo Zhi was terrified after hearing that she wanted to call the police. Mo Zhi¡¯s face instantly turned pale. If they allowed the police to take the case, wouldn¡¯t they find out about everything? He had never been a meticulous person to begin with, so if Mo Xicheng had been able to find out, the police would also be able to. As he thought so, Mo Zhi immediately coughed, looked at Li Shu and admitted, ¡°Mom, erm- if I¡¯ve taken my own money to invest it and after one month, I return the money back, it isn¡¯t stealing, right?¡± After Li Shu heard his words, she stared at Mo Zhi in disbelief. ¡°You- you really took the funds of thepany to invest in shares?¡± Mo Zhi touched his head and said, ¡°Yes, this is my father¡¯spany, so it is also mypany. What¡¯s wrong with me taking some money for investing? Besides that, the money would be back at the end of the month.¡± Li Shu instantly looked angry as she held onto her chest and fell onto her chair. Mo Xicheng looked at her. Even though Li Shu had been speaking for Mo Zhi when she had stepped up just now, somehow he had the illusion that Li Shu was actually helping him. But how was that possible? But if it wasn¡¯t possible, how could a simple sentence from Li Shu scare Mo Zhi so much that he would tell the truth?! Chapter 1561 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (34)

Chapter 1561: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (34)

The situation in front of him was changing too rapidly and he was defenseless. Not long ago, they had been discussing whether Mo Xicheng could remain as a CEO, since his reputation had been damaged. Yet now, they were talking about Mo Zhi¡¯s stealing from thepany to invest in shares and earn money for himself. Comparing the two incidents, thetter was obviously worse. The former didn¡¯t have a choice when it came to his status, as he had been born with it, but as for thetter, Mo Zhi, everyone knew that he had been doing atrocious acts in thepany for the past few years. But if it wasn¡¯t due to something unbearable, who would be willing to allow an illegitimate son to manage thepany? Now that Mo Zhi had been behaving increasingly worse and had done such an unreasonable crime, he rendered everyone speechless for quite some time. Gao Feng just stood up and pointed at Mo Zhi while reprimanding him, ¡°You¡¯re wrong! It was never just yours. All those funds belong to thepany and not you as an individual! If you take the funds to use them for personal gain, it is viting the economic regtions of the country. If thepany sues you, you will be put in jail!¡± Mo Zhi was shocked by his words and his face turned pale. He gulped and spoke in disbelief, ¡°This- this impossible.¡± Gao Feng took a deep breath and frowned. Then he turned to his assistant and asked, ¡°Why hasn¡¯t Chairman Mo arrived? How can the board meeting of thepany be held without Chairman Mo?! Does he even know what had happened in thepany today?!¡± The assistant spoke, ¡°I have already called the chairman, he should be here soon.¡± Gao Feng nodded and his nce swept across everyone present. He spoke in his sunken voice, ¡°The current situation of thepany is that we no longer have any funds! Thepany might owe a huge sum for the breach of contract if we don¡¯t manage to send money to Director Wang by next month. And our reputation would also suffer a lot if our employees do not receive their wages in time and cause trouble.¡± Then he pointed at Mo Xicheng again. ¡°Everyone, look at him. Ever since he entered thepany, you all know and have seen what he has done. And now, between him and Mo Zhi, who do you think is more suitable as thepany¡¯s CEO?!¡± After he said so, everyone kept silent. Honestly, everyone knew deep in their hearts that Mo Xicheng was more capable and Mo Zhi was just a blockhead. They had all been tired of Mo Zhi for some time and now that someone had stepped up, they were obviously willing to follow. Seeing the expressions on everyone¡¯s faces, Mo Zhi was even more flustered. He nced at his subordinate, who he had personally invited, and that person immediately stood up. ¡°Ok, we should discuss first how to deal with the public opinion crisis! The media does not know about the problems with CEO Mo, Mo Zhi. Besides, the situation isn¡¯t even as bad as Director Gao put it. At the end of the month, after selling the shares, won¡¯t thepany still have the money? CEO Mo is still young and his asional mistakes were also to help thepany earn money. The reason why he took the funds to buy shares must have been for thepany and not for himself. Am I right, CEO Mo?¡± After Mo Zhi heard his words, he instantly nodded and said, ¡°Yes, yes, I¡¯m doing this for thepany. I would definitely give thepany all the benefits from the stocks!¡± Chapter 1562 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (35)

Chapter 1562: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (35)

After he said those words, the person speaking up for himughed and continued, ¡°Indeed, that¡¯s clear. There have been too many investment projects recently, weck some circting capital. And that was the only reason why CEO Mo allocated a portion of the circting capital to invest in stocks and shares, so that he could resolve the issue. Of course, this is a little risky, but he has good intentions. Let¡¯s not attack him, since either way, the money will be back at the end of the month. Ourpany is not a holdingpany, it¡¯s a family business and the shares are held by the Mo family. In other words, thispany belongs to the Mo family. Every senior manager knows this very well.¡± ¡°Anyway, the matter of CEO Mo transferring funds can end here. For the sake of the business¡¯ reputation, we can keep it a secret and outsiders will never know. By the end of the month, we¡¯ll close the gaps in the ounts and thepany will be back on track. But the problem with Junior CEO Mo, on the other hand, is already news. Hence if thepany is not able to give the media a proper exnation, things could escte and hinder our business.¡± This logical argument once again turned the spearhead against Mo Xicheng. The man kept silent and did not speak. Mo Zhi sprang to his feet and said, ¡°That¡¯s right, senior gentlemen, you watched me grow up and you know that I¡¯m not a bad person. I really did this for thepany and we will not lose money on these shares for sure. So don¡¯t worry, I will be able to return the money by the end of the month!¡± After saying this, he turned to his men and gave them a look. ¡°That¡¯s right, CEO Mo did this for thepany. Although it probably isn¡¯t the best way to do it, we shouldn¡¯t be turning against him for this.¡± ¡°After all, CEO Mo is still young!¡± ¡°I mean, who doesn¡¯t make mistakes in his youth? Old Gao, that thing you said about going to jail, it¡¯s probably ament too heavy. Things are not that serious.¡± ¡°...¡± Everyone took turnsmenting and they started to defend Mo Zhi. Gao Feng frowned and gave an icyugh. He said, ¡°I believe everyone here can assess for themselves whether this is serious or not. I only wish to say that CEO Mo Zhi went overboard. In the past, we chose to tolerate it when he messed up a project. But this time he stole thepany¡¯s circting capital. When paydayes around on the 25th of the month and we have no money, how are we going to pay the sries of our people?¡± Mo Zhi twitched his mouth and said, ¡°We can tell everyone that sries will be dyed for a few days. It¡¯s not like we¡¯re using the money to save lives. What¡¯s the hurry?¡± Gao Feng was speechless when he heard Mo Zhi say this. ¡°We have a few thousand workers and you think we can dy sries so casually?! Do you have any idea how many people have to pay their home loans and car loans on the same day they receive their sry? What will they do?!¡± ¡°Uncle Gao, it¡¯s just a dy of a day or two. You¡¯re making too big a deal out of this.¡± Mo Zhi spoke as though this was a matter not worthy of his attention. However, the attendees did not like hisment and their expressions changed. There was much to be said of Mo Zhi¡¯s attitude when he thought that apany¡¯s system could be changed whenever he fancied. Feeling the change of mood, Mo Zhi finally realized he had said something terribly wrong. Chapter 1563 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (36)

Chapter 1563: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (36)

After a moment of hesitation, he immediately added, ¡°I know that it was wrong of me to use thepany¡¯s circting capital to purchase shares. Since this is the case, and everyone here is a stakeholder, how about Ipensate them with a sry bonus? Wouldn¡¯t that do? If we do this, they should be satisfied, even if there was a payment dy of a few days.¡± Everyone sighed in relief when they heard this. They exchanged looks. Although Mo Zhi had crossed line with what he had done, things hade to this point and they decided to tolerate it. In any case, when Mo Hai turned up, he would surely protect Mo Zhi. They only hoped that the man would not repeat the same mistake in the future. Seeing that the people had rxed and stopped making a fuss over this matter, he sighed in relief. He shifted his gaze to Mo Xicheng and was about to speak when thetter said, ¡°Whichpany¡¯s stocks did you buy?¡± Mo Zhi paused and then sneered. ¡°Is there a need to tell you what stocks I bought?¡± ¡°Since you¡¯re using thepany¡¯s funds, then everyone has the right to know, is that not reasonable?¡± Mo Zhi choked with rage. ¡°You¡ª¡± As though understanding Mo Xicheng¡¯s intentions, Gao Feng went along and added, ¡°That¡¯s right, you¡¯ve used thepany¡¯s circting funds to purchase these shares, so aren¡¯t you going to tell us? Or is there something you¡¯re trying to hide? His words angered Mo Zhi and the young man retorted, ¡°Uncle Gao, what¡¯s wrong with you? You¡¯ve been helping this illegitimate son. Aren¡¯t you on good terms with my mom?!¡± Everyone turned to look at Gao Feng and Li Shu. The two of them were childhood friends. They had grown up together, gone to the same school and were close like siblings. Because of Mo Hai¡¯s great love for Li Shu on top of this, Gao Feng was a very favored person in thepany. In the recent past, Gao Feng had been disagreeing with Mo Zhi. It was especially obvious today at the meeting. Everyone had been curious about this and now that Mo Zhi had brought it up, they immediately turned to look at the two friends. Gao Feng nced at Li Shu and she looked up with little expression. Her gaze swept through the room full of people before she looked down again. Gao Feng closed his eyes for a moment and then said, ¡°I¡¯m just speaking from an objective viewpoint! Mo Zhi, whichpany¡¯s stocks did you buy exactly?¡± Mo Zhi bit his lip and said, ¡°I- I bought Hengdali State¡¯s shares.¡± Gao Feng nodded. Everyone knew that Hendali State¡¯s share price had risen very rapidly in the past year. All of those who had sold Hengdali State¡¯s shares had made a hefty profit. Hence, if that was what they had bought, and even if they didn¡¯t make very much, they wouldn¡¯t lose much either. However, just as this was going through his mind, he heard someone gasp sharply. Everyone turned to look at the person. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± The person said, ¡°Recently, Hengdali State¡¯s share price has been sinking. A few days ago it rose to ten dors a share and now it has fallen to eight dors.¡± Everyone started to panic when they heard this. Gao Feng immediately looked at Mo Zhi and asked, ¡°How- how much did you buy those shares for?¡± Mo Zhi had bought them at the peak but in that instant, how would he dare to tell the truth? He made a mental calction of the average price and then said, ¡°Eight dors.¡± Gao Feng sighed in relief. But at this point, Mo Zhi¡¯s cell phone rang. Chapter 1564 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (37)

Chapter 1564: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (37)

Mo Zhi frowned and nced down. He was going to disconnect the phone but when he saw who was calling, he was stunned immediately. The person calling was none other than the one who had been helping him trade those shares. Mo Zhi had told him that he should not contact him unless it was urgent. So what did that call mean now? He frowned and immediately hung up. Shortly after, the cell phone rang again. When it rang twice, Gao Feng suggested, ¡°CEO Mo, if there¡¯s something urgent, I do suggest you pick up the phone.¡± Mo Zhi nodded at everyone and answered the call. The moment he picked up, he heard a voice on the other end of the line say, ¡°CEO Mo, bad news! The share price has dropped from eight dors to four dors!¡± When Mo Zhi heard this, his mind went nk and his legs gave way. He almost copsed into a pile on the floor. ¡°What did you say? How could this be possible? Didn¡¯t it rise by two dors this morning?!¡± It had plunged to six dors two days ago and had only risen recently. He had already been worried about whether he would be able to return thepany funds. But now, how could it have suddenly fallen by this much?! He had taken hundreds of millions from thepany, hence if the shares had fallen by four dors, it would be a loss of half that amount. The numbers sent his mind reeling and his hand froze, his cell phone slipping away and falling on the ground. As the cell phone fell and touched the ground, the hands-free function was identally activated. Now, what the person on the line was saying could be heard throughout the meeting room. ¡°CEO Mo, what do we do now? It has fallen four dors, which is half of the purchasing price! Now even if we wanted to sell what we own, it would be toote because no one will want it. Such a drop is unusual! I heard from a friend, an insider, that their boss is gravely ill and would soon be sent into the intensive care ward. They thought he would not make it, so the shares have fallen. CEO Mo, theirpany thrived solely because of this legendary leader and he is the heart of their business. If he doesn¡¯t make it through, theirpany will be done for!¡± These words were heard clearly by everyone in the meeting room. Gao Feng stood up again and stared at Mo Zhi in disbelief. Anxiously, he asked the young man, ¡°How- how much of thepany¡¯s funds did you use for this?¡± Mo Zhi opened and shut his mouth, but no words came. Given that the shares had tumbled so drastically, he wouldn¡¯t be able to sell them even if he wanted to. It seemed that thepany¡¯s circting capital would be tied up to the stock market for the long term. Hence this time, they were in serious trouble. It was likely that when the end of the month came, there would be no money in sight. Without circting capital, thispany would be in imminent danger. Everyone in the meeting room could no longer contain their anger. Livid, Gao Feng started to rebuke the man, ¡°Thepany is going to be destroyed by you! Mo Zhi, you- you are simply atrocious!¡± With all fingers pointing at him now, Mo Zhi felt so pressured he could hardly breathe. His face turned ashen as he looked at everyone in the room quietly. Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes as he watched this. Chapter 1565 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (38)

Chapter 1565: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (38)

This was the effect he had been after. This was the moment he had been waiting for. He did not think that at such a time, the senior management would continue to shield Mo Zhi and insist on him being removed. At this thought, Mo Xicheng tensed up in preparation to stand up and counterattack. But right at this point, the meeting room¡¯s doors burst open and Mo Hai immediately strode in apanied by his bodyguards. He was the one who had started thepany and had built it from a small business, with just a few hundred employees, to the empire it was today. Mo Hai was like the anchor of thepany. Every time Mo Zhi got into trouble, Mo Hai would step in to manage the situation. And when everyone saw that Mo Hai had intervened, they would not pursue the matter with Mo Zhi. The moment everyone saw Mo Hai, they calmed down. This was the effect that Mo Hai had on them. The man¡¯s eyes swept across the room, falling on each person there, and eventually rested on Mo Xicheng. The expression on his face now was frosty and unfamiliar, and Mo Xicheng suddenly had a bad feeling about this. Indeed, the next moment the man said, ¡°It¡¯s just a problem with the circting capital?! Whatever Mo Zhi owes thepany, I¡¯ll use my personal assets to cover the loss incurred.¡± Everyone present fell silent upon hearing this. No one had expected Mo Hai to say this. Gao Feng widened his eyes in astonishment and pointed out, ¡°Mo Hai, we¡¯re talking about a couple hundred million. How are you going to pay it?¡± Mo Hai cast his gaze down and looked at Mo Zhi. Mo Zhi was visibly poorly impacted and looked as though he had lost all will to live. Mo Hai took a deep breath when he looked at Mo Zhi and said, ¡°We can sell the family home.¡± More than ten years ago, he had spent tens of millions to build his private residence and since then, the property prices in Beijing had soared to frightening heights. In recent years, the prices had changed in cycles. Selling the vi could indeed help cover the shortage of circting capital in thepany. Gao Feng had not expected that Mo Hai would actually take such a drastic measure. He tensed his jaw and looked at Li Shu. Mo Xicheng was also astonished by this huge gesture. The property he was talking about was the family home of the Mo family. This was an extensive vi, a huge estate that couldn¡¯t just be bought. To think that Mo Hai was now putting this on the table. How much did he love this son exactly, to be willing to sacrifice so much? Mo Xicheng felt a dull ache in his heart. So it seemed that he had to be subject to unfairness and put up with it just because he was the child of a mistress. He clenched his fists tightly and looked at everyone. Gao Feng was already sighing as he looked at Mo Hai and said, ¡°Old Mo, I hope you don¡¯t mind a word of advice from me. You can sell the vi to cover him this time, but will you have another property to sell the next time?!¡± Mo Zhi finally reacted when he heard these words and said immediately, ¡°Uncle Gao, what do you mean by that? I¡¯ve made a mistake this time, but there won¡¯t be a second time!¡± Gao Fengughed icily and replied, ¡°That¡¯s right, it would be a different type of mistake the next time.¡± ¡°You¡ª¡± Mo Zhi raised his arm and pointed a finger at Gao Feng angrily. Gao Feng lowered his head and continued, ¡°No matter what, in today¡¯s meeting, I suggest removing Mo Zhi from the CEO position and to maintain Mo Xicheng.¡± Chapter 1566 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (39) Chapter 1566: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (39) Everyone in the meeting room was stunned. Weren¡¯t they there to discuss Mo Xicheng¡¯s dismissal? But now things were moving in the opposite direction? However, this suggestion sounded good to everyone. Gao Feng said loudly and clearly, ¡°Compared to the tangible impact that Mo Zhi has created, all these intangible associations to reputation are really nothing. So what if ourpany suffers from a few negative remarks from the public? After a few years, the matter will inevitably die down. If we give Mo Xicheng a chance and let him take thepany to greater heights, then in the future no one will doubt his capability or question his status.¡± After saying these words, Gao Feng looked at Mo Hai, his gaze deep and steady. Mo Hai did not understand why Gao Feng was behaving like this. He frowned. There was no time to analyze Gao Feng¡¯s intentions now. He addressed everyone in the meeting room and said in a deep voice, ¡°Every one of us makes mistakes and at the very least, I can personally make amends for what he has done. As for Mo Xicheng...¡± He paused and nced at Mo Xicheng. The younger man narrowed his eyes and smiled scornfully. Mo Hai could not bear to confront that faint trace of sarcasm on his face and quickly turned back to look at the others. He continued, ¡°All the reporters are now aware that Mo Xicheng is an illegitimate son. If Mo Zhi is around, but not as thepany¡¯s CEO, and instead we have Mo Xicheng in that position, what would that look like to outsiders?¡± After saying this, he added, ¡°So my suggestion is to remove Mo Xicheng temporarily and let Mo Zhi be the CEO. We can put him under probation for six months.¡± The meeting room fell silent. So as not to embarrass Mo Hai, they couldn¡¯t possibly say no to giving Mo Zhi a chance. However, thinking of all the ridiculous andughable things that Mo Zhi had done, they wondered if giving him a chance for another six months would make any difference? And more importantly, could thepany potentially be able to take another hit? Everyone sank into deep contemtion. Gao Feng stood there facing Mo Hai, both digging their heels in. Looking steadily at Gao Feng, Mo Hai finally said, ¡°Old Gao, that¡¯s enough. Please sit down.¡± Gao Fengughed frostily and said, ¡°After all these years, I¡¯ve had enough! How manypanies have approached me to poach me? But I never left, even if I wasn¡¯t happy working here. For your and Li Shu¡¯s sake, I stayed. Now I¡¯ve had it! If you continue to amodate Mo Zhi, things will blow up one day. No, that¡¯s not right, things have already blown up!¡± Did the man know that the son that he was protecting was the actual illegitimate child? Mo Hai frowned and started, ¡°You¡ª¡± Gao Feng sneered, ¡°I¡¯m betting everything today. If you insist on making Mo Zhi the CEO, then I will submit my resignation.¡± Mo Hai knitted his brow tightly and said, ¡°Old Gao, you- Then what do you say we should do?! Are we saying that only your word goes in thepany? ¡°Of course mine shouldn¡¯t be the only opinion. Since we don¡¯t agree on this matter, why not let everyone vote? We¡¯ll see who has a higher vote and the one who secures the highest vote stays! Mo Hai, we¡¯re getting older and see things differently. Let¡¯s ask the people here today, how about that? Chapter 1567 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (40)

Chapter 1567: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (40)

Upon hearing Gao Feng¡¯s words, Mo Hai frowned and looked at the other man questioningly. He could not understand why he would target Mo Zhi. But suddenly, Mo Hai saw the light. Surely, Gao Feng was doing this because he wanted everyone to vote for Mo Zhi on their own ord. Mo Zhi was thepany¡¯s CEO, but after this matter, he would lose a lot of credibility. However if the people chose him themselves, then the oue would be different. At least they would be able to say that they had chosen Mo Zhi over Mo Xicheng. Given this, Mo Zhi would have a strong reason for being in thepany and holding the CEO position. This would help to avoid any embarrassments. At this thought, Mo Hai immediately nodded. However, Gao Feng was not aware of Mo Hai¡¯s thoughts. But Li Shu saw Gao Feng¡¯s intentions. It was no wonder Gao Feng had wanted her to maintain herposure and not expose the true identities of the two boys right at the start of the meeting. Because Mo Xicheng had just joined thepany and had no background. Even if he were to take over the business, it would be hard to convince the others. However if the staff voted themselves, even if Mo Xicheng only had half the votes, it would at least prove that he was capable of winning. That being the case, it would be easier for him to manage the business and people would ept him more. At this thought, Li Shu¡¯s eyes shed. She raised her head to look at Mo Hai and nodded in agreement. ¡°I agree with Gao Feng.¡± Since Li Shu had said this, Mo Hai immediately backed down and decided, ¡°Alright then, it¡¯s decided. Prepare the pen and paper! Since we¡¯ve agreed that it will be an anonymous vote, then choose as you please!¡± After he said this, he nced at Mo Zhi and said after a dyed pause, ¡°I only have this son and have ced all my efforts and attention on him. It¡¯s true that he has caused much trouble to all of youtely, but I won¡¯t give up on him. So surely, I will vote for him!¡± Having said that, he took a slip of paper and, after writing a name on it, set it aside. With a wave of his hand, a secretary walked over and got the pieces of paper ready. There were more than ten senior management staff in the room. Mo Hai believed that since he had expressed his sentiments, all of them would go along with him. And Mo Zhi himself believed that these people would without doubt vote for himself. Hence almost without a need to count, Mo Zhi would get at least half the vote. Under these circumstances, if Mo Zhi lost out to Mo Xicheng, it would be the greatest embarrassment of his life. Everyone in the room understood this and started to exchange nces. They looked down at their voting slip. After a moment, they discreetly wrote down their chosen name and handed it over to the secretary for the vote counting. Five minutester, the anonymous voting waspleted. Mo Hai nodded and said, ¡°Let¡¯s have Secretary Gao lead the administrative staff next door for the counting.¡± After he had said this, Gao Feng gave another suggestion, ¡°I suggest we do the counting here. It will be more convincing if we have everyone witness it.¡± Mo Hai thought for a moment and then said, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go with your suggestion.¡± Chapter 1568 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (41)

Chapter 1568: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (41)

Gao Feng nodded to the secretary and pointed to the side. He instructed, ¡°You may do your counting there.¡± They assigned three people to call out the names on the voting slips during the counting so that there was no cheating. Then they got someone else to draw a line for each vote received. This was how they had counted votes when choosing a ss representative in school. No one objected to this arrangement. Because there were multiple people checking, there was no faking. Hence, the secretaries started to proim the results. Mo Zhi¡¯s staff was seated on the left, the same area where the secretaries had started collecting the votes. Hence, the first 15 consecutive votes were all for Mo Zhi. ¡°Mo Zhi.¡± Another vote. Mo Zhi already had 16 votes, but Mo Xicheng still had none. Mo Zhi smirked as he looked at Mo Xicheng with a taunting expression in his eyes. Then he approached Mo Xicheng and leaned on him, saying, ¡°I say, Mo Xicheng, did you really think thepany would give you the fair treatment you¡¯re looking for?! Look at the gap in the voting numbers, how are you going to catch up to me? You don¡¯t even have a single vote yet. What if you don¡¯t even get a single vote? Are you going to cry?¡± Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes when he heard this. He had taken notice of the order by which the votes had been announced and then matched them to the seating positions. At once, he understood. The moment Mo Zhi said those words, someone called out, ¡°Mo Xicheng!¡± Finally, Mo Xicheng had one vote. Mo Zhi froze. The other man was already saying, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but it doesn¡¯t look like I¡¯ll be crying after all.¡± Mo Zhi was speechless with anger. He snorted after a moment and said, ¡°Well, that¡¯s only one vote, isn¡¯t it? How will you possibly catch up with such a big gap?!¡± Upon these words, another person eximed: ¡°Mo Xicheng!¡± Another p to his face. Mo Zhi turned angrily to re at the person reading out the name. He couldn¡¯t help himself from saying, ¡°Well, maybe people pity you and gave you two votes to save you from being pathetically embarrassed!¡± Then it continued. ¡°Mo Xicheng!¡± In an instant, the score became 16:3. Mo Zhi took a deep breath and frowned. But fortunately, the next name was: ¡°Mo Zhi.¡± He sighed in relief. But following this: ¡°Mo Xicheng.¡± ¡°Mo Xicheng.¡± ¡°Mo Zhi.¡± ¡°Mo Xicheng.¡± ¡°Mo Zhi¡± ¡°...¡± Towards the end of the counting, Mo Zhi watched helplessly as Mo Xicheng slowly caught up to him. From a gap of 16 votes, the gap had dwindled to 3, with only 5 votes remaining. Mo Zhi clenched his fist tightly, staring intently at the points. As for Mo Hai, he wore a nasty expression as well. Following that, they heard: ¡°Mo Zhi.¡± ¡°Mo Xicheng.¡± ¡°Mo Xicheng.¡± ¡°Mo Zhi.¡± ¡°Mo Xicheng.¡± After thest five votes, the people stared at the results in great surprise. Mo Xicheng and Mo Zhi were actually tied. Mo Zhi¡¯s expression turned extremely ugly. He had been in thepany for so many years and Mo Xicheng had just joined, how could they be tied?! He immediately sprang to his feet and was about to speak when Gao Feng said, ¡°This is a stalemate. Chairman, what do we do now?!¡± Instantly, Mo Hai frowned. At this point, Mo Zhi¡¯s eyes lit up and said, ¡°There¡¯s one more person who hasn¡¯t voted! My mom!¡± Chapter 1569 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (42)

Chapter 1569: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (42)

Upon Mo Zhi¡¯s remark, everyone¡¯s eyes fell on Li Shu. Mo Xicheng was also stunned. He looked at the voting numbers, his mind a nk now. He had initially thought that he would push Mo Zhi out of the game by exposing how the man had misappropriated thepany funds. But apparently, that had just been naive thinking on his part. After running thepany for so many years, Mo Zhi had built the rtionships andworks that Mo Xicheng himself didn¡¯t have. Besides, he could not have imagined that Mo Hai would actually be willing to sell the family home to repay Mo Zhi¡¯s debt to thepany. He narrowed his eyes and continued to stare at the voting results. Suddenly he thought, ¡°Actually, so what if I lose?¡± It was already a feat to havee all this way by himself. He was content. In addition, even if he lost the vote, Mo Zhi would not change. At some point, these people would think of him. However, of course, he would have to hibernate for another period of time. He wondered if Shi Nianyao would think any less of him. This thought stirredplex of emotions within him as his gaze, like everyone else¡¯s, fell on Li Shu. Oddly.... Even though knowing very well that her one vote would definitely go to Mo Zhi, there was a ray of hope in his heart. He was hopeful that Li Shu would act with fairness and justice once more and give him an opportunity. But how would that be possible? She was Mo Zhi¡¯s mother, why would she help him? He cast his gaze down at this thought. Mo Zhi was now on his feet saying, ¡°My mom¡¯s part of thepany and has a role in thepany. So she has the right to vote! I¡¯ve won the poll!! Haha, I¡¯ve won with one vote more than Mo Xicheng!¡± Gao Feng stood up and was about to speak. He had barely opened his mouth when Mo Zhi immediately retorted, ¡°Uncle Gao, surely you¡¯re not going to say that the voting doesn¡¯t count, right? Or winning by a single vote is not a victory?¡± Gao Feng choked and replied, ¡°Of course not.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine then! The way I see it, winning by one vote is a victory too. What does everyone say?¡± Having said that, Mo Zhi turned towards Mo Xicheng with viciousness in his eyes. He said to the man, ¡°Mo Xicheng, sorry! I¡¯ve won the vote. Please step down from your position and do it efficiently. Then you may leave thepany!¡± Mo Zhi was smiling boorishly as he continued, ¡°Of course, even if you leave thepany, thepany will still pay you monthly. When it¡¯s time to collect your pay, we will send you a notification.¡± ¡°So now will you please leave?¡± Upon hearing these words and seeing that smug expression on Mo Zhi¡¯s face, Mo Xicheng had a great urge to throw the content of his tea cup onto the man. But given his personality, he only lowered his gaze. He never worried about small problems. Since he had lost, then he would do it like a gentleman. At this thought, he got to his feet and nodded at everyone in the room. Then he turned around to walk towards the door. However, just as he was about to step through the door, he heard Li Shu say, ¡°Hang on.¡± He halted and turned around as Li Shu started to say, ¡°I am casting my vote for Mo Xicheng.¡± Chapter 1570 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated! (43)

Chapter 1570: Mo Xicheng Reinstated! (43)

The people in the room looked at Mo Xicheng¡¯s figure as he walked towards the door. Oddly, they couldn¡¯t help but feel as though he was a hero in an awful situation. Those who had voted for him felt a deep sense of regret and sympathized with the man. Those who had not voted for him because they had feared that Mo Zhi would get back at them for it could not help but feel a tinge of regret for not having voted for him. When they thought of Mo Xicheng leaving thepany, they felt slightly reluctant. Although Mo Xicheng had only been there a short time, they hadmunicated and connected with him in some way. They had discovered that although the man was not familiar with the business, he took his work seriously and he was exceptionally brilliant. It never took too much exining for him to catch on, whether it was finances or matters requiring emotional intelligence. For sure, he was a lot better than Mo Zhi. They liked him as a leader. So when Li Shu had spoken to Mo Xicheng, they had thought that she was going to warn him to not interfere with thepany¡¯s matters from now on, and they felt even worse for Mo Xicheng. And as much regret and sadness they had felt then, they were now equally shocked. What?! What had Li Shu just said?! Were they hearing things? ! And the next moment, Mo Zhi was shrieking, ¡°Mom! What are you talking about?!¡± Instantly, everyone in the room, including Mo Hai, was stunned. They all looked at Li Shu in astonishment. Although they had heard every word she had said, that whole sentence just did not make sense. Or was Li Shu just careless and had said the wrong name?! As everyone froze in a daze, they heard Li Shu repeate those words clearly again, ¡°I said that I am casting my vote for Mo Xicheng!¡± The confirmation came like a bomb that blew up the meeting room. Ever one in the room turned to look at Li Shu in disbelief, even Mo Hai was shocked. He walked over to Li Shu and gripped her arm, saying, ¡°Li Shu, stop fooling around. Are you joking? How could you be casting your vote for Mo Xicheng?!¡± Mo Zhi was worked up by now and added, ¡°That¡¯s right, Mom, what¡¯s wrong with you? How could you be supporting this illegitimate son? Mom, tell us, did he threaten you? Did he ckmail you?! Tell us!¡± Mo Hai looked at Li Shu and said, ¡°Li Shu, say something. Did you say the wrong name?¡± Li Shu was ignoring the two men now, as her eyes were fixed on Mo Xicheng. She could no longer hide all the regret and sorrow reflected on her expression. Mo Xicheng was her real son. And she could finally announce it. Her eyes filled with tears. She had held back and waited for this moment. Since she had found out about Mo Xicheng¡¯s real identity till now, a month had passed, but to her it had felt like years. Mo Xicheng seemed to realize that Li Shu was experiencing something unusual and raised his eyebrows in surprise to look back at her. He gulped with disbelief. After a moment, he finally spoke. He asked, ¡°Why?¡± Why? The woman¡¯s eyes reddened at once. She choked on the emotions welling up within her. Because you are my son! Chapter 1571 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (44)

Chapter 1571: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (44)

She opened her mouth but before she could get a word in, the door was thrown open. In an instant, a flood of reporters streamed into the room, creating a din. Amidst the chaos, Mo Hai put his arm around Li Shu and put her behind himself protectively. Meanwhile, the reporters¡¯ cameras shed as they asked the attendees: ¡°May we know if you are all holding a board meeting?¡± ¡°Is the matter concerning Mo Xicheng over?¡± ¡°Have you reached a conclusion?¡± ¡°Can you tell us if Mo Xicheng has been removed from his position?¡± ¡°In the Mo family, can an illegitimate son be heir to the family estate?!¡± ¡°If illegitimate children of wealthy families can inherit the family estate, are we then encouraging our younger generation¡¯s men to have more children? Or encouraging the women out there to be mistresses of men from these wealthy families?! Because their children can benefit from inheriting the family¡¯s fortune, even if they themselves weren¡¯t married.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, we want to stand against such situations!¡± ¡°...¡± The reporters fired their questions one by one, creating confusion. Mo Zhi narrowed his eyes. He was the one who had quietly allowed these reporters to go in when he had realized that there was a possibility that Mo Xicheng¡¯s votes could surpass his. He wanted to show that bunch of stubborn old men that if Mo Xicheng became the CEO, they would be facing the great pressure of public opinion. Even if Mo Xicheng¡¯s votes did outnumber his, he wanted to ensure the office would be so swamped by these reporters that there would be no way for him to carry out his duties properly. Mo Zhi narrowed his eyes as he watched the situation unfold. Gao Feng and Mo Hai were already on their feet to manage the situation. ¡°We are in the middle of a board meeting, we would like to ask the outsiders to leave the room. Our friends from the press, please leave now on your own. We don¡¯t want to have to call security.¡± But even with this warning, the reporters were like a bunch of wild dogs that had spotted a piece of meat, they would not leave. After all, it wasn¡¯t easy to get a scoop like that. Who was going to give it up?! Hence, upon hearing those words, the reporters started to corner them with questions, ¡°Mr. Mo, we¡¯d like to know what thepany¡¯s decision is? An illegitimate son can be the CEO and oust the rightful heir? Is that what you¡¯re telling us?¡± Someone saw the voting results written on the board and was surprised at once. He asked, ¡°An illegitimate son can draw the same number of votes as the rightful heir! Is this fair?¡± ¡°Mr. Mo, do you want to pass the family fortune to Mo Xicheng?¡± ¡°Mr. Mo Xicheng, are you really here topete for the family estate? If not, then why are you involved in the family business? If yes, do you think it was right of your mother to have broken up someone else¡¯s family?¡± ¡°...¡± As they fired off a barrage of questions, Mo Xicheng was forced into an embarrassing position. He looked at the group of reporters speechlessly. They had no idea what had been happening, and they had no idea how Mo Zhi had cornered him to the point that he could only retaliate to protect himself. But all these things, how was he going to tell them? He narrowed his eyes. Then suddenly, he heard Li Shu¡¯s angry shout, ¡°Since our reporter friends are here, I have something to announce.¡± Chapter 1572 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (45)

Chapter 1572: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (45)

The meeting room fell silent. Mo Hai sat there looking at Li Shu, he waspletely stunned. The Li Shu he was seeing tonight was beyond his imagination. Her actions seemed those of a stranger and he could not figure out what she was doing. The reporters quietened down and looked at her. Li Shu looked back at them and was about to say something when another person charged into the room. It was Yao Lili. The moment Yao Lili entered, she dashed up to Li Shu and dropped to her knees with a loud thump, tears streaming down her face. ¡°Madam, Madam, I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s all my fault, I failed to keep an eye on Mo Xicheng and allowed his greed to grow in a way that shouldn¡¯t be. You and Mr. Mo have been nothing but kind to us, we should not repay your kindness with such ingratitude! Madam, it¡¯s our mistake! Our mistake! Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll take Mo Xicheng away with me right now and will not allow him to step into this office ever again!¡± She wailed and cried, causing the reporters to frown. Mo Xicheng stood there, on the other hand, looking at what was going on. He shifted his gaze to Li Shu. A moment ago, the woman had called him and voted for him. He didn¡¯t really care about what was going on in the room now, he only wanted to know why. He kept silent as the reporters asked again, ¡°Mr. Mo, can you tell us the oue of your meeting? When I came in, I thought I heard Madam Li Shu saying she wanted Mo Xicheng to be in charge of the business?!¡± Impossible. Had Li Shu gone mad?! He hadn¡¯t been in time to stop Li Shu. Besides, she had made that move on her own, there was really nothing he could have done to stop her. Hence, the only thing he could do now was to go with the flow. Mo Hai immediately said, ¡°Ourpany certainly will not be in the hands of an illegitimate child! Hence the meeting oue is¡ª¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, ourpany will never be in the hands of an illegitimate child.¡± Mo Hai was interrupted by Li Shu. Mo Hai paused in surprise and, as he realized what Li Shu had just said, he immediately sighed with relief, thinking that Li Shu had finallye to her senses. Mo Zhi and Yao Lili also exhaled in relief as they exchanged a nce. But the moment they rxed, Li Shu continued unhurriedly, ¡°So I voted for Mo Xicheng. The CEO of thepany should be Mo Xicheng, not Mo Zhi.¡± Those words stunned everyone in the room yet again, including the reporters. They looked at her in disbelief. Li Shu looked at everyone with reddened eyes and started to choke with emotion. She bit her lip and said with tears streaming down her face, ¡°I, Li Shu, have an announcement to make today. And at the same time, I wish to reinstate my son.¡± ¡°More than twenty years ago, Yao Lili and I gave birth a day apart. I had always thought that Mo Zhi was my son, until recently, when I identally discovered that my son is actually Mo Xicheng!¡± As she said this, she started choking even more. Her lips quivered as her hand reached into her handbag to draw out the DNA test result papers and ced them on the table, saying, ¡°This is proof! Yao Lili, the pretentious mistress, acted as though money didn¡¯t matter to her, so she had switched the babies back then.¡± She looked at Mo Xicheng as she cried. With much effort, she spoke through her quivering lips to deliver the truth, ¡°You are my real son!¡± Chapter 1573 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (46)

Chapter 1573: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (46)

There was only aplete silence in the meeting room now. When Yao Lili heard Li Shu¡¯s words, she was so shocked that she forgot to cry and looked at the woman in a daze. She could not understand how Li Shu could know about this. Obviously, her rtionship with Mo Zhi had been a secret between just the two of them, no one else in the world knew about it. How did Li Shu know about it? How could that be possible? And Mo Zhi was even more shaken as he stared back at Li Shu. He had thought that his was a secret he could carry to his grave, even though from the moment he found out the truth from Yao Lili, the fear of being found out had never left him. But he had never imagined that the secret would be announced publicly in such a way. He looked at Li Shu,pletely shaken. He opened his mouth to speak but found that his voice was gone from the shock. ¡°That is not possible!¡± Someone said this on his behalf. He looked at Mo Hai and saw that the man¡¯s pupils had shrunk back. He took a step towards Li Shu and stared at her, saying, ¡°This is not possible, Li Shu. Don¡¯t fool around, this is a serious asion¡ª¡± Before he could finish speaking, Li Shu interrupted him, ¡°I¡¯m not joking, this is the proof. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that I overheard those two, mother and son, talking in the hospital, I¡¯m afraid we¡¯d be none the wiser for the rest of our lives! And my own son would have had to bear thebel of an illegitimate child, to beughed at, insulted and ridiculed by people around him, and never able to live a normal life for the rest of his days!¡± ¡°Mo Hai, do you know that when you betrayed me, I only found you annoying? But now I hate you! I hate Yao Lili! It¡¯s because of you that my son and I did not know each other for more than twenty years. And it¡¯s the both of you that made me what I am today. It¡¯s the two of you!¡± As she spoke, her eyes reddened. Lowering her head and biting her lip, she continued, ¡°And because of the both of you, I¡¯ve done so much wrong against my own son.¡± ¡°I cannot forgive myself, and I cannot forgive the two of you. And it¡¯s even harder for me to face Mo Xicheng.¡± Tears welled up in her eyes and rolled down her face as she felt a cutting pain in her heart. That was what saddened her the most. Even though now she knew the truth, she could not take away the pain she had caused Mo Xicheng before, or pretend that it had never happened. She knew that her son may not forgive her. And even now that she had told the truth, she could not bring herself to ask for Mo Xicheng¡¯s forgiveness. She felt a searing pain in her heart again at this thought. ¨C Mo Xicheng was in a daze. He could no longer hear the conversation that was going on in the room. He could only stare at Li Shu, stupefied, not daring to believe what she had just said. But some scenes shed through his mind like a movie. He thought of the special treatment he had received from Gao Feng, the unusual attitude she had had with Mo Zhi recently, and all the things that Yao Lili had done. There seemed to be only one reasonable exnation. But even then, he still didn¡¯t dare to believe it. His gaze fell on the DNA test report on the table. He walked over slowly and picked up the slip. When he saw what was on it, his mind went nk. In the meeting room now, Gao Feng was about the only person who maintained a semnce of cool-headedness. He broke the silence of the seemingly checkmate situation in the meeting room as he raised his deep voice, ¡°Now that the truth is out, and we know the real illegitimate son is Mo Zhi, I¡¯d suggest that he be removed from the Mo family enterprise.¡± Chapter 1574 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (47)

Chapter 1574: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (47)

A piece of earth-shattering news had now made its way to the entertainment and business world. The illegitimate child, who everyone knew had been in the Mo Family for so many years, but who no one would talk about, had turned out to be the real McCoy. Whereas that good-for-nothing Young Master had turned out to be only an illegitimate son. The news shook up the entertainment world and the industry in an instant. On the inte, all the nasty remarks initially targeted at Mo Xicheng had now quietly turned into remarks that were more along the lines of ¡°What a counterattack,¡± ¡°The truth knocked us,¡± or ¡°What an evil mistress.¡± Although Mo Xicheng had suffered great damage to his reputation because of being an illegitimate child, this piece of news gave him a huge boost of attention and sympathy points. Suddenly, his poprity sky-rocketed to a level beyond what he had ever achieved. In turn, this gave his new film, Ambition 2, additional publicity. And now in the Mo family, tension was building up. ¨C In the Mo family residence. Yao Lili knelt on the floor, her eyes bloodshot from crying. Before her, Mo Hai and Li Shu sat on the sofa with no trace of expression on their faces. There were two policemen standing by the side, getting ready to take Yao Lili away. The woman looked at Mo Hai and Mo Zhi. She said, ¡°Mo Hai, Mo Zhi, please don¡¯t treat me like this! I didn¡¯t do this on purpose. I didn¡¯t know the babies had been swapped!¡± Then, as though she suddenly remembered something, she quickly turned around to look at Li Shu and said, ¡°Madam, I really didn¡¯t do this on purpose. It¡¯s true. Madam, please don¡¯t do this!¡± Given that this case went back more than twenty years, if the Mo Family did not pursue it, Yao Lili would not get into trouble. And whether Yao Lili got arrested now was solely dependent on Li Shu¡¯s mood. But how would Li Shu let her off easily? The woman narrowed her eyes, looked at her and said, ¡°Yao Lili, there¡¯s no escape from the evil you created for yourself! I believe the one night you had with Mo Hai was an ident, but how could you-¡± She was choked by her emotions at this point and clutched her chest tightly. Although she hadn¡¯t managed to finish what she was saying, the obvious hatred in her eyes shut Yao Lili up at once. She knew that she was not going to get anything from Li Shu. She quickly turned to Mo Zhi and crept on the floor towards him. Then she put her arms around his legs crying. ¡°Mo Zhi, I-¡± She did not finish what she wanted to say, as she realized Mo Zhi was probably in the worst position. His status was now an embarrassment. She was thankful enough that the Mo family would not hold him ountable for what had happened. At this thought, Yao Lili immediately released her grip on Mo Zhi and turned to Mo Xicheng, who had since been standing on the side, watching the scene unfold. Her eyes immediately narrowed as she charged up to him, wailing. ¡°Mo Xicheng, I¡¯m your mother! Even if I¡¯m not your real mother, I brought you up. You must not be ungrateful, or you will cause the wrath of the heavens. You can¡¯t treat me like this! Say something. If only you¡¯d speak up for me, they¡¯d let me off! Mo Xicheng, even if I have made a mistake, I brought you up!¡± Mo Xicheng stared at the distraught Yao Lili. What sort of life had he been living in the past that he had failed to realize that... and even now, the person that Yao Lili protected was ultimately Mo Zhi. Chapter 1575 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (48)

Chapter 1575: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (48)

For the sake of not putting Mo Zhi in a difficult position, she would rather not beg for his help but Mo Xicheng¡¯s. Even though she knew very well that Mo Hai had treated Mo Zhi like his only son. And as for Mo Xicheng himself, although now the truth was out,pared to Mo Hai and Li Shu, he was also now in a very awkward position Mo Xicheng squinted as he looked at Yao Lili. While Li Shu, who was next to Mo Xicheng, had started to get anxious. She did not know how Mo Xicheng would choose, but if he were to plead on Yao Lili¡¯s behalf, she would not be able to agree because she hated that woman too much. There was no way she could forgive Yao Lili, or even herself. When she looked back, she had even begun developing a strong resentment to how Mo Hai had treated Mo Xicheng. She wanted to speak, but felt uncertain. She was even feeling a tinge of jealousy. Yao Lili had been with Mo Xicheng since he was a child, for sure, the man would have some affection for her. For so many years, they had relied on each other as mother and son. As she contemted this, she heard Mo Xicheng saying to Yao Lili, ¡°I¡¯m very sorry, it was Madam Mo¡¯s child that you took away, not mine.¡± The moment the remark fell, the policemen standing by the side guffawed uncontrobly. It instantly lightened up the atmosphere in the room. And Li Shu instantly looked better. She looked at Mo Xicheng with approval in her eyes. After being brought up by Yao Lili for many years, he had not turned out crooked. On the contrary, he was a very discerning young man. Whereas Mo Zhi, whom she had brought up, was now looking at her and Mo Hai with much hatred in his eyes. Obviously, his own mother had done wrong. Obviously, Mo Xicheng was the victim. Li Shu cast her gaze down at this observation. On the other hand, Mo Xicheng¡¯s remark agitated Yao Lili. She froze and looked at the young man in shock. Then she shrieked, ¡°Mo Xicheng, do you have a conscience?! For so many years I fed and educated you, but this is how you treat me? You know very well that if you say a word to your mother, Li Shu, she will let me off!¡± Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes and asked, ¡°And why should I plead with Madam Mo?¡± ¡°Madam Mo¡± again. It stung her. Mo Xicheng held something against them. Since the truth had been out, a few hours had passed, but he had yet to call her ¡°Mom.¡± As Li Shu wondered about this, Yao Lili spoke again, ¡°No matter what, the gratitude you owe to the person who brought you up is greater than to the person who brought you into this world. How could you do this? Aren¡¯t you afraid of beingbeled ungrateful?!¡± Mo Xicheng cast his gaze down and said nothing. Yao Lili wanted to go on and talk herself out of this, however Li Shu immediately got on her feet and said, ¡°Policemanrades, may I trouble you and ask you to take this woman away now? I don¡¯t wish to engage with her.¡± This would probably save Mo Xicheng from being put on the spot. The policemen nodded and said, ¡°Sure.¡± They walked to Yao Lili. She widened her eyes in immediate panic, crying. ¡°No, I don¡¯t want to go to jail! Mo Xicheng, help me! Mo Zhi, help me!¡± Yao Lili finally called out to Mo Zhi. Everyone¡¯s gaze now fell on him. When he heard his own name being called, he turned away reflexively. He fell silent and looked away, refusing to meet Yao Lili¡¯s eyes. Chapter 1576 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated! (49)

Chapter 1576: Mo Xicheng Reinstated! (49)

Yao Lili¡¯s heart froze at once when she saw his expression. All her life, she had focused herplete attention and energy on Mo Zhi. Even when she had felt very guilty facing Mo Xicheng, she had still suppressed him. But in the end? After having done so much for Mo Zhi, he gave her nothing back. On the other hand, even though she had suppressed Mo Xicheng, in the years after they had left the Mo family home, she had lived a life offort and had never had to suffer. Mo Xicheng had worked to provide her with money she could spend. In her life, she had not felt so much remorse as she did at this point. But it was toote. When the policemen held her securely by her arms and led her to the door, she could not help but turn around to nce and take in everything in the house. She asked herself if she would do the same if she could start all over again. The answer was yes. Because Mo Zhi was her son. Mo Xicheng wasn¡¯t. Every parent would treat their child like that, asking for nothing in return, but hoping the best for them. The room fell silent after the police officers had taken Yao Lili away. Mo Zhi, Mo Xicheng, Li Shu and Mo Hai each sat in one side of the room in silence, making no move to disrupt the awkwardness of the situation. Mo Zhi looked at Li Shu and Mo Hai anxiously, as though afraid that he would be abandoned¡ªit was a pain to watch. After ten minutes, Mo Hai finally spoke. He looked at Mo Zhi and asked, ¡°When did you find out about this?¡± The young man¡¯s eyes reddened at once. His voice choked slightly as he said, ¡°Dad, I- I found out about half a year ago. When I was a child, she¡¯d do strange things, but she never overstepped her boundaries. Until half a year ago, when she- she cornered me and told me about this. At first I did not believe her, but thenter I secretly ordered a DNA test. Dad, I didn¡¯t want to lose you and Mom, so I didn¡¯t speak up. I didn¡¯t do this on purpose.¡± The man started to sob. He cried like a child, so innocently that it was painful to watch. Mo Hai stared at him as he continued, ¡°So when I found the both of you in the room a few days ago, you weren¡¯t-¡± Mo Zhi choked as he said, ¡°She was only concerned that I had been beaten and was taking a look at my injuries.¡± Immediately, Mo Hai fell silent. He looked at Li Shu and tested the waters, ¡°Li Shu, look at the boy¡ª¡± Before he could finish speaking, Mo Zhi dropped to his knees with a thud. With his head lowered, he wailed. ¡°Dad, Mom, I made a mistake, I was wrong! But I¡¯ve been the Young Master of the Mo family since I was a child. I didn¡¯t know all this. And now I¡¯m told all of a sudden that Mo Xicheng is the true heir. I didn¡¯t want to lose the life that I had been living, this was why I was so foolish. I really didn¡¯t want to do this. I didn¡¯t...¡± Li Shu cast her gaze down and said, ¡°So you were recently acting exceptionally poorly to make things difficult for Mo Xicheng, and it¡¯s because you knew the truth?¡± Mo Zhi nodded and replied, ¡°I was afraid that you¡¯d find out his true identity. I was wrong, Mom, please forgive me. Please forgive me.¡± No matter what, this was the child she had raised. Her heart softened when she looked at him. ¡°No, you did nothing wrong. The person who made the mistake was me! I failed to look after my own child, what sort of mother am I?! I allowed my son to go through much trouble for so many years. Mo Zhi, put your hand on your heart and ask yourself, all these years, how have I treated you and how has Yao Lili treated Mo Xicheng?! How do I forgive you?¡± Chapter 1577 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (50)

Chapter 1577: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (50)

Mo Zhi was speechless at once. Mo Hai was silent for a moment before he suddenly said, ¡°Yao Lili and Mo Xicheng lived in the little apartment near our building for years. You can move into that space now.¡± Mo Zhi looked up at Mo Hai in disbelief when he heard that remark. Mo Hai lowered his head in silence. Narrowing his eyes, Mo Zhi said, ¡°I understand, Dad. I have to experience the hardships that Mo Xicheng has experienced since childhood. If doing this will make Mom feel better...¡± After saying this, he started to walk towards the door. But when he reached the doorway, Li Shu suddenly yelled, ¡°Hang on.¡± Mo Zhi halted and turned around with anticipation. He looked at Li Shu thinking that her heart must have softened. But unexpectedly, he was greeted with the remark, ¡°From now on, don¡¯t call me mom.¡± Mo Zhi¡¯s heart broke. He lowered his head. Then he nodded and walked out. After Mo Zhi left, Mo Xicheng got on his feet. He looked at the two people, nodded formally and said, ¡°I should go too.¡± Li Shu was stunned. She opened her mouth to speak. ¡°Mo Xicheng, you¡ª¡± He stood still and turned back to look at Li Shu. ¡°Does Madam Mo wish to say something?¡± Li Shu hesitated and looked troubled. ¡°Mo Xicheng, you... will you move home?¡± Mo Xicheng¡¯s pupils shrank back and he replied immediately, ¡°I¡¯m used to living in my own vi, so it may not be asfortable for me here.¡± Li Shu was disappointed to hear this. But she did not dare to show her emotions. She only nodded and replied, ¡°Very well then, continue to live in your own vi. I will visit when I am free.¡± Looking back at her, Mo Xicheng said after a brief pause, ¡°There¡¯s no need to do that.¡± Her heart sank at those words. An inexplicable sorrow welled up in her heart. Did Mo Xicheng me her? Was he unwilling to forgive her? Just as this thought entered her mind, she heard the young man say, ¡°I wille to see you often.¡± Her spirits suddenly lifted and her eyes lit up. A wave of warmth washed over her as her eyes started to fill with tears. Mo Xicheng smiled at her and then politely left. The whole time, he had not spoken a single word to Mo Hai. Mo Hai stared at the young man¡¯s figure till it disappeared. Then he spoke, ¡°Although he did not grow up with us by his side, he is your son nevertheless. He has the same unique temperament.¡± He heard no reply from Li Shu. He turned around and saw the woman staring at him with a distant coldness in her eyes. Mo Hai panicked at once and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Li Shu?¡± She lowered her gaze impassively and asked him, ¡°You¡¯ve relegated Mo Zhi to the servants¡¯ quarters because you don¡¯t intend to kick him out, is that right?¡± Mo Hai found himself speechless for a moment and then stammered, ¡°You¡¯ve watched the child grow up yourself, and you¡¯re aware of hisck of talent. In the office, I had to watch over him and protect him. This is why he¡¯s still safe after clowning around for so many years. If we kick him out now, how is he going to survive?¡± Upon hearing this, Li Shuughed scornfully. She continued her way up the stairs without another word. With her back to him, Mo Hai quickly followed her and kept talking, ¡°Luckily, we found out about Yao Lili¡¯s evil scheme early enough. Otherwise this would have continued and we would have ended up making a huge mistake.¡± Chapter 1578 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (51)

Chapter 1578: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (51)

¡°All¡¯s good now. Mo Xicheng has been reinstated and he will inherit thepany, of course! He is capable and will be a good business manager, so I can retire without having to worry.¡± He hoped that his intentions of entirely giving the business to Mo Xicheng would cate Li Shu. Li Shu halted suddenly and Mo Hai ran into her after the unexpected pause. The woman almost fell back. Quickly, Mo Hai reached out to steady her. She looked at the man and started, ¡°Do you really think that Yao Lili¡¯s evil scheme has failed?¡± Mo Hai paused for a moment and replied, ¡°Well, isn¡¯t the truth out now?¡± Li Shuughed scornfully and said, ¡°Mo Zhi is Yao Lili¡¯s son, but you worry about his future. And what about Mo Xicheng? In the past, when you suppressed Mo Xicheng, did you ever think about his future?¡± The remark stumped Mo Hai. He fumbled for words. It had been because of his guilt that he had painstakingly brought Mo Zhi up for Li Shu¡¯s sake. A man¡¯s affections for his son were often developed from the contact and time he spent with the child. The love that Mo Hai felt for Mo Zhi came naturally, however Mo Xicheng was like a stranger to him. Li Shu was right. He had just relegated the boy to the servants¡¯ quarter and had not spoken so far about the 20 percent of thepany shares that Mo Zhi had and ought to give to Mo Xicheng. Deep in his heart, he wanted to help Mo Zhi. Li Shu smirked at his silence and shook off his grip on her arm. She went into the bedroom. Mo Hai stood there in a daze and finally sighed deeply. He could not bring himself to give Mo Zhi the same cold treatment that he had always given Mo Xicheng. He really couldn¡¯t. He lowered his head and stood at the doorway to Li Shu¡¯s room. After some time, Li Shu¡¯s door was thrown open. When Mo Hai saw that she was holding a suitcase in her hand, he was taken aback. Then he finally reacted. ¡°Are you going on holiday? Indeed, it¡¯s a good time to rx, given that so many troubling things have happened at home. Don¡¯t worry, by the time youe back, everything at home will be sorted out.¡± The only reaction he had was a cold stare from her as she said, ¡°Mo Hai, let¡¯s get a divorce.¡± Mo Hai was stunned. Li Shu cast her gaze down and walked around him, walking to the front door with her suitcase in tow. Mo Hai reacted after a moment and grabbed her arm, asking, ¡°Li Shu, why?¡± She turned around and stared at the man. ¡°Don¡¯t you know why?¡± Mo Hai was instantly at a loss for words. Pushing her suitcase behind her, Li Shu continued her way out of the house. Mo Hai ran after her and caught her again, just before she stepped out of the front door. He said, ¡°Li Shu, I know what you mean. Don¡¯t worry, I will ask Mo Zhi to leave, alright? Please don¡¯t go, I won¡¯t agree to a divorce!¡± When Li Shu heard these words, she turned around and looked steadily at the man. Her expression was cold and her tone was icy in an unfamiliar way. ¡°And what about thepany shares?¡± Li Shu had lost all hope by now. Her only wish now was to help Mo Xicheng take back what was rightfully his. She would not soften her heart again where her enemy and her enemy¡¯s son were concerned. Because being kind with them would mean being cruel to her son. Chapter 1579 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (52)

Chapter 1579: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (52)

Mo Hai was taken aback by Li Shu¡¯s determined attitude. He looked at her and recalled the refined and cultureddy she had once been. He remembered the time more than twenty years ago, when she had obviously known that there was something going on between Yao Lili and him, yet she had epted her and her son. The Li Shu he had known back then had been a magnanimous woman. But now... He could not have imagined that Li Shu would ever turn this petty. Why would she target the shares? Li Shu saw the expression on his face and gave a scornfulugh. ¡°I suppose you¡¯re hesitating?¡± Mo Hai gasped and quickly said, ¡°Of course not! But Li Shu, you have to know that even though Mo Zhi is Yao Lili¡¯s son, he¡¯s my son after all too! Legally, illegitimate children have a right to inherit the family estate. So if Mo Zhi refuses to return the money, there is nothing I can do.¡± Li Shu found Mo Hai¡¯s remarkughable. She looked at Mo Hai and spoke unhurriedly, ¡°When you thought Mo Xicheng was Yao Lili¡¯s son, what was your opinion? You never acknowledged Mo Xicheng¡¯s status. But now that the mistress¡¯ son has turned out to be Mo Zhi, you¡¯ve changed your mind?¡± Mo Hai spluttered and tried to exin, ¡°I didn¡¯t mean it like that, I¡ª¡± Li Shu waved her hand before he could finish speaking. She interrupted him and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to say another word, I understand what you mean.¡± She looked at Mo Hai steadily and continued, ¡°But I cannot face that son, who lied to me for more than 20 years. Every time I see him, I inevitably recall Mo Xicheng, who was tortured by that woman for so many years. Think about it carefully, since Mo Xicheng was a child, Yao Lili was very harsh with him. Even living next door to them, I could see how badly she suppressed him! At the time, I felt that perhaps Yao Lili didn¡¯t want Mo Xicheng to outshine Mo Zhi, but what about now? When I think about how that woman treated Mo Xicheng in his childhood, I cannot find it within myself to forgive her! So Mo Hai, honestly, between Mo Zhi and me, you can only choose one.¡± Her strong and clear voice caused Mo Hai to gasp and choke. Taking in a deep breath, he reached out for Li Shu¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Needless to say. If I have to choose, then I choose you.¡± At this point, he turned to look at the butler and said, ¡°Tell Mo Zhi to leave the vi now. He has to move out.¡± The butler nodded immediately. Mo Hai added, ¡°And ask him when he is going to transfer his shares to Mo Xicheng.¡± The butler nodded again. Mo Hai looked as though he wanted to say something else but finally fell silent. She cast her gaze down, noting his hesitation and reluctance in silence. Then he sighed and told the butler, ¡°Go now.¡± The butler went away. Mo Hai turned around, took the suitcase from Li Shu and said, ¡°In the future, don¡¯t mention divorce casually. We¡¯ve kept our marriage after so many years. It has been so and will be so.¡± Li Shu narrowed her eyes. Although she did not speak, she did not insist on leaving, but rather followed the man as he led her back to the bedroom. As a rule, Mo Hai would not enter Li Shu¡¯s bedroom. Hence, he stood at the doorway as he watched Li Shu enter her room and shut the door behind her. He then quickly turned around and dashed downstairs, heading towards the apartment that Yao Lili and Mo Xicheng had used to live in. Chapter 1580 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (53)

Chapter 1580: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (53)

As he entered the apartment, he heard Mo Zhi shouting, ¡°Butler, this is impossible! My dad will not abandon me! You¡¯re lying. Step aside, I want to go and see my dad. My dad would not ask me to leave!¡± The butler¡¯s voice could be heard replying, ¡°Young Master Mo Zhi, this is what Sir has instructed me to do. It¡¯s no lie, so please leave quickly. If you leave of your own ord, we will give you time to pack. If you don¡¯t and we have to call security, then I¡¯m afraid you may not be able to take your belongings with you.¡± Mo Zhi¡¯s voice grew sharper now as he shrieked, ¡°Go away! You old dog! My dad would not do this, I want to ask him myself.¡± Before he could finish, Mo Hai¡¯s voice bellowed, ¡°Enough!¡± Mo Zhi fell silent. And before Mo Hai could even enter the apartment fully, the young man had already dashed out. He looked at Mo Hai with hopeful eyes and cried, ¡°Dad, Dad, I know you won¡¯t bear to ask me to leave. Dad, I¡¯m your son, how could you ask me to leave?¡± At these words, Mo Hai sighed and said, ¡°Mo Zhi, listen to me.¡± The young man stopped and looked at Mo Hai. Mo Hai exined in a sincere tone, ¡°I raised you up myself. And although you are a man, I always treated you very generously. This has caused you to be who you are today, a person without many aplishments. This is now an opportunity for you to go out there and fend for yourself. Besides, given the situation, your mother would feel ufortable if I kept you here.¡± ¡°Why would she feel ufortable? She always tolerated Mo Xicheng, but now she can¡¯t ept me? Even if I¡¯m not her own child, doesn¡¯t she even feel a little love for me after all these years?! I¡¯m an innocent victim of the situation too, Dad.¡± Mo Hai sighed when he heard these words. He turned to nce upstairs. Seeing that the curtains in Li Shu¡¯s room were drawn, he quickly reached into his pocket and drew out a credit card. He held it out to Mo Zhi and said, ¡°There¡¯s 500,000 in here. Take it and leave. In a few days, when your mom has cooled down and if you want to return, I¡¯ll put in a few words. I know this is not your fault, but your mom¡¯s in a bad mood. And if you stayed, your mom would have trouble facing Mo Xicheng. I know it¡¯s hard on you, son.¡± Mo Zhi¡¯s eyes reddened at once. He had been close to Mo Hai for so many years, he knew the man well. From the tone of his voice, he knew that there was no turn around. Hence, Mo Zhi stopped retorting and took the credit card. He said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll leave.¡± Mo Hai sighed in relief. Mo Zhi turned around and requested, ¡°But may I pack my belongings?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± The young man nodded. He went to pack a suitcase with his belongings and, as he pushed his suitcase behind him and walked to the front gate, he turned around to look at the vi in which he had grown up. An inexplicable sense of abandonment welled up within him. Along with that, he felt a growing anger. Li Shu, it is you who made me leave today. One fine day, you will beg me to return! He tried tofort himself with this thought, as a vicious expression spread across his face. He turned back and walked out. In the bedroom on the second floor, Li Shu stood by the window, quietly observing his figure. Chapter 1581 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (54)

Chapter 1581: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (54)

Mo Xicheng left the Mo family home. He was still reeling from the news as he drove home in a daze. He could have never imagined that today¡¯s board meeting would turn out like that. The car slowly pulled into the property. As he looked at the empty little house, he suddenly felt an odd loneliness. He was d to know that Yao Lili was not his mother after all. Because all his life, he had wondered if he wasn¡¯t good enough to be epted by his own mother. However, he felt no happiness. In fact, he felt exhausted. After he parked the car, he got out and walked into the house. After locking his car door with the remote control, he pushed open the front door and entered the house. Just as he did so, a silhouette suddenly charged at him. That familiar silhouette and the unique scent associated with it brightened his eyes at once. He looked up and saw Shi Nianyao dashing towards him to give him a great bear hug. That emptiness he had been feeling inside suddenly vanished. All his unhappiness disappeared as he asked, ¡°Why are you here?¡± She smiled immediately. Her smile was forever infectious, forever filled with enthusiasm and positivity. His mood was immediately lifted. Indeed, he began to wonder why he was even being so unreasonably upset. The past was the past. From now on, he would be able to hold his head up high in the presence of others, he could boldly love Shi Nianyao. Shi Nianyao would no longer beughed at because of his own status. The thought of this put him in a good mood. He extended his arms and embraced the girl. Then he spoke lightly into her ear and asked, ¡°Why did youe here?¡± Shi Nianyao looked at him and replied, ¡°I¡¯m not in a position to interfere with your family, but I feel that perhaps you might need me here now.¡± Mo Xicheng was surprised and asked, ¡°So you¡¯ve been waiting for me here?¡± She nodded. His heart warmed up. He reached out to put a few strands of her hair back in ce and asked gently, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you call?¡± She smiled again and replied, ¡°Why call? You were going to be back at some point so I just waited.¡± His eyes darkened as he said, ¡°Well, what if I hadn¡¯te home?¡± What if he had decided to stay in the Mo family home because he had found his real mother, Li Shu? Shi Nianyao pursed her lips and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d do that. And if you had, I would have just gone home! I¡¯m not stupid you know.¡± As she twitched her mouth in annoyance, Mo Xichengughed and gave her a light tap on her nose. He put his arms around her waist suddenly, drew her close and asked, ¡°In that case, tonight¡ª¡± She quickly replied, ¡°I didn¡¯t ask for permission to stay out tonight, so they¡¯re waiting for me home.¡± The answer disappointed him. Looking at Shi Nianyao, he suddenly sighed and said, ¡°Oh well, you¡¯re right. Your parents spoil you so much, you¡¯re not like me, so you would surely go home.¡± Shi Nianyao: ...! His mood had obviously changed for the better a moment ago, but now he was feeling down again? Of course, she didn¡¯t feel quite assured leaving him alone like that. So it looked like tonight... she would have to stay?! Chapter 1582 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (55)

Chapter 1582: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (55)

As Shi Nianyao contemted this, she saw that Mo Xicheng had sat down on the sofa and was staring at the coffee table, looking very lonesome and deste. She followed him and sat down next to him. Embracing his arm, she said, ¡°Auntie Li Shu is my mother¡¯s best friend. When they were young, they promised each other that they would marry their children to each other and be inws. Who¡¯d have known that this woulde true?¡± Mo Xicheng paused and turned to look at Shi Nianyao. She smiled and continued, ¡°Actually, Auntie Li Shu is a very nicedy. She has an intellectual aura that makes her unique. I remember my mom telling me that at the time, Auntie Li Shu was the best student among all of them.¡± Mo Xicheng¡¯s pursed lips began to rx as he listened to this. Shi Nianyao raised her eyebrows and coughed softly. Imitating the tone of astonishment that Si Jingyu often used, she sighed and said dramatically, ¡°But in the end, she was had by that pig-headed Mo Hai.¡± Even though at this moment Mo Xicheng was tense, he could not help but burst outughing. Seeing that he was finally rxed, she felt d. ¡°You¡¯re finallyughing. Are you feeling better now?¡± On that note, Mo Xicheng¡¯s expression turned serious again. Immediately, she was on guard again. As she contemted the situation, she saw a dark shadow close in on her. The next moment, Mo Xicheng was on top of her, his arms pressed up against the sofa, trapping and locking her in his embrace. His dark eyes shed with a burning desire for her. As though he would devour her the very next moment. Shi Nianyao gulped and stammered, ¡°Mo- Mo Xicheng, what- what are you doing?¡± Mo Xicheng lowered his head slowly till it was next to hers. He leaned in to speak into her ear. When he spoke, his hot breath brushed against her face and she felt as though the back of her neck was being lightly tickled by a feather. At the same time, it felt like an electric current had spread throughout her body. She gulped again and fixed her eyes on him. ¡°You- you¡ª¡± ¡°Nianyao, I miss you.¡± His deep voice interrupted what she was saying. She widened her eyes and looked at him in astonishment. He lowered his head to kiss her pale nape softly. It sent an electrifying shudder through her immediately. Just as she thought that her idol was going to fall down on her, she squeezed her eyes shut nervously, not daring to make a noise. But she realized that, after Mo Xicheng had moved on top of her, there was... nothing. The room grew quiet. She could clearly feel his deep and steady breathing and the pounding of his heart. It was summer now and they could feel each other¡¯s breathing through their thin clothes. She held her breath and sharpened her senses, listening quietly to the changes inside him. After a long time, he gently let out a breath. Following this, he slowly raised his head. At this point, it seemed as though he hadpletely rxed, theplex emotions in his eyes had vanished. As she broke into a smile, they suddenly heard a knock on the door. Bam! Bam! Bam! This was apanied by an exasperated voice that was shouting, ¡°Mo Xicheng, open the door!¡± Chapter 1583 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (56)

Chapter 1583: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (56)

A familiar and serious voice yelled, causing the young couple to jump up in fright. They exchanged a quick look and instantly got up from the sofa simultaneously. Shi Nianyao lowered her head guiltily and straightened her clothes. Their clothes looked wrinkled from Mo Xicheng lying on top of her. It only took one look to tell that indeed she had been about to get intimate. She was panicking now, trying hard to smoothen her clothes, but they stayed wrinkled. And at this point, that exasperated voice yelled again impatiently, ¡°I know you two are in there, open the door!¡± Shi Nianyao was on the verge of tears now. What was her father doing,ing all the way here?! Not opening the door was no longer an option. Besides, now there really was nothing going on between them, why should she feel any guilt?! As she thought this, Mo Xicheng strode across the living room towards the front door. He quickly opened it. The moment he did so, Shi Jinyan charged in. The first thing he did was walk around the room. Finally, his gaze rested on his daughter. Seeing that she was decently dressed at least, his frown rxed. But when he saw her wrinkled clothes, he narrowed his eyes again and threw an odd half-smirk at the young man. ¡°What were you two doing? Why did you take so long toe to the door?!¡± He interrogated them as though he was trying to unearth information. His eyes darted around the room, looking for evidence of some sort. Mo Xicheng: ... Shi Nianyao: ... This man was acting like a judge cross-examining them. He looked like he was going to devour them any minute. It was terrifying. Shi Nianyao twitched her mouth and then spoke, ¡°Dad, what brings you here?¡± Shi Jinyan sneered, ¡°I suspected that if I didn¡¯te here, someone would be staying out all night.¡± With a tinge of guilt, Shi Nianyao stuck out her tongue sheepishly. She grinned broadly at Shi Jinyan, trying to cate him. At this point, they heard a voice saying, ¡°That¡¯s enough. We can discuss things properly. There¡¯s no need to be hostile.¡± Shi Nianyao¡¯s eyes lit up at once when she heard the voice, and she ran to the door. Before she got there, Si Jingyu had already entered the room. It was like the arrival of a saviour to Shi Nianyao. She embraced her mother and eximed, ¡°Mom! You¡¯re here too!¡± Si Jingyu nodded and smiled at her daughter. Then she turned to Mo Xicheng and said, ¡°Such a big thing has happened. I was worried and felt I shoulde here to see for myself how you¡¯re doing.¡± Shi Nianyao added, ¡°That¡¯s right, this whole situation was so unexpected! Mom, you could have never imagined that Yao Lili was this evil. She¡ª¡± Si Jingyu interrupted her before she could finish, ¡°Nianyao, your dad¡¯s here to take you home. Why don¡¯t you leave now? I have a few things to discuss with Mo Xicheng.¡± Shi Nianyao became anxious when she heard this. She nced at Mo Xicheng and asked with great concern, ¡°Mom, what are you going to talk about?¡± Si Jingyu couldn¡¯t helpughing at her anxious daughter. She reached out to lightly pat the girl¡¯s head and replied, ¡°Of course, to interrogate him about what he¡¯s done to charm my daughter so much that you¡¯re never home!¡± Shi Nianyao immediately retorted, ¡°No, he didn¡¯t¡ª¡± As she protested, she suddenly realized Si Jingyu was just pulling her leg. Thus the woman stamped her feet sheepishly and said as she turned to leave, ¡°Mom, how could you do that?¡± Chapter 1584 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (57)

Chapter 1584: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (57)

Following this, she shyly dashed out of the door. Si Jingyuughed and said nothing, but she kept staring at the doorway expectedly. Indeed, after a few moments, Shi Nianyao¡¯s head popped around the door again. She said, ¡°Mom, please be kind with my idol. Don¡¯t make fun of him!¡± Si Jingyu: ... Mo Xicheng: ... Shi Jinyan red at his daughter. She stuck her tongue out and quickly disappeared from their view. Si Jingyu couldn¡¯t help shaking her head as she looked at Shi Jinyan. She told him, ¡°Take her out to get a coffee for me, don¡¯t get in our way.¡± At his wife¡¯s instruction, the man, who had been intimidating and aggressive with Mo Xicheng a moment ago, suddenly became like a docile giant wolfhound. He nodded at So Jingyu and walked out. Mo Xicheng observed the interaction between the couple and cast his gaze down. Since childhood, he had lived in a dysfunctional family without a father. His mother hadn¡¯t shown love for him. Hence, he had never really seen for himself what normal family life meant. But it was obvious that Si Jingyu and Shi Jinyan had a good rtionship and they had been together for a long time. And even then, Shi Jinyan took his wife¡¯s every word seriously. He wondered if it would be the same for Shi Nianyao and him in the future. He became a little distracted as he was thinking about this and only snapped out of his daze when Shi Jingyu coughed softly. He looked at her respectfully and pointed at the sofa. ¡°Auntie, please take a seat.¡± The woman smiled as she sat down. Then she looked at Mo Xicheng and started, ¡°I think you know what I want to say.¡± Mo Xicheng nodded and replied, ¡°I know, it¡¯s because of her.¡± Si Jingyu nodded and said, ¡°Yes, Li Shu and I are close friends. Also, you and Nianyao are together. Now that this has happened, as a senior, I should have a chat with you.¡± Mo Xicheng was most respectful as he said, ¡°Please speak freely.¡± Si Jingyu continued, ¡°The truth is Li Shu has known for some time now that you¡¯re her son.¡± Caught by surprise, Mo Xicheng asked, ¡°When did she find out?¡± The woman replied, ¡°When you and Mo Zhi started to fall out and were in the hospital.¡± A sudden realization dawned on him. So that was when! But why had she kept this from him till now? Why had she announced it only now? Sensing his confusion, she exined, ¡°Li Shu wanted you to have what is rightly yours. This was the reason why she did not say anything. But during this time, I believe you must have also felt that she has been guilt-ridden and regretful. She wants to be a good mother, but she doesn¡¯t feel she has the right to ask for your forgiveness. She can only watch over you from afar and wish the best for you.¡± ¡°As her closest friend, I know I cannot force you to forgive her, but I do hope that this will be a harmonious and gentle turning point for the two of you.¡± After this, Mo Xicheng lowered his head and said nothing. She asked, ¡°Mo Xicheng, I have a question for you.¡± The man nodded and asked, ¡°Yes?¡± She asked him after an unhurried pause, ¡°Do you hate Li Shu so much that you can¡¯t bring yourself to forgive her?¡± Astounded by this remark, he asked, ¡°What made you say that?¡± However following this, he seemed relieved and continued with a disappointed smile, ¡°Auntie, I think you must have misunderstood something.¡± Si Jingyu raised her eyebrows as she heard the man continue, ¡°Even though I¡¯ve always been treated as the illegitimate child, the fact is she was never unkind to me.¡± Chapter 1585 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (58)

Chapter 1585: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (58)

¡°In fact, I am grateful to her. But my status was a problem, so in the past we had little contact and didn¡¯t know each other well.¡± Si Jingyu was taken aback. ¡°So you mean you do not resent her?¡± The young man nodded and rified, ¡°I have never resented her. It¡¯s just that now I¡¯m not quite sure how to rte to her. The sudden change in our rtionship is a bit strange.¡± Si Jingyu sighed in relief and got on her feet. She looked pleased as she addressed the young man, ¡°You¡¯re a good kid with a magnanimous and positive personality. You will lead a happy life. I feel assured handing my daughter over to you.¡± Mo Xicheng nodded. They spoke for another short while before So Jingyu got up to leave. Mo Xicheng walked her to her car and saw her off. Even though he and Shi Nianyao were most reluctant to part, they didn¡¯t have a choice. ¨C The following days were busy. First, Mo Zhi had to give his assets to Mo Xicheng. Mo Xicheng was up to his neck in work. Mo Hai had not turned up at the office, perhaps because of the guilt he felt about Mo Xicheng. It started to look like he was giving the entire business to the young man. Every day at noon, a scene would repeat. Li Shu woulde into the building and go to Mo Xicheng¡¯s office carrying a lunch box that she had prepared herself. They were like close strangers. Everyone in thepany knew this was one of Madam¡¯s ways of making it up to her son, hence no one gossiped about it. Mo Xicheng was smart, capable and learned fast. Li Shu, on the other hand, was pressing Mo Hai to make Mo Zhi hang over his 20 percent of thepany¡¯s shares. And although Mo Zhi would verbally agree, he would also never sign the agreement. Until one afternoon, when Li Shu didn¡¯t go to the office to bring lunch for her son. She had the butler call Mo Xicheng to inform him she would not be there today. After being busy all morning, he finally had the chance to rx. This was when he felt something was amiss. Recently, Li Shu had been so busy thinking of ways topensate her son that everything else had been put on hold. Could something have happened to her, since she had suddenly canceled? Just as he was wondering about this, his secretary suddenly dashed in and yelled, ¡°CEO Mo, something has happened!¡± Mo Xicheng paused and his eyes clouded over. He said, ¡°Don¡¯t panic. What happened?¡± The secretary quickly took out her cell phone and held it out to the man. He looked at the screen. There was a newspaper headline: [Young Master of a certain family attempts suicide in rented apartment] It was a dramatic news report, apanied by a self-harm picture of Mo Zhi with a shed wrist. He looked dispirited and there was a thick bandage around his wrist as he was being lifted into an ambnce. The report, written with much sympathy for the victim, gave an ount of his background, putting all the me on Yao Lili and making Mo Zhi seem like an innocent victim. Although it was easy to sympathize with Mo Xicheng, he had benefited a lot from what had happened and was now the heir of the Mo family. Mo Zhi, on the other hand, had been living the life of an heir, but now had be a penniless and homeless good-for-nothing. [Must a child pay for a mother¡¯s mistake? The child is the most innocent victim behind this baby swap]. Mo Xicheng¡¯s pupils shrank when he read this. Chapter 1586 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (59)

Chapter 1586: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (59)

Some people on the inte pointed out how pointless it was to still condemn the woman. Yao Lili was already in jail and had gotten what she deserved. But what had Mo Zhi done wrong? When he used to be the young master of the Mo family, it had been natural and reasonable that he had tried to protect himself against the son of the mistress to keep his family assets. Just like now, weren¡¯t Mo Xicheng and Li Shu both pressuring Mo Zhi? Back then, at least Mo Zhi had not forced Mo Xicheng into a corner so that the only way out would be suicide. Hence, they considered the Mo family to be outrageous. As Mo Xicheng was reading these news reports, the receptionist called, ¡°CEO Mo, we¡¯ve spotted suspected paparazzi stationed outside the office building. Please be careful when you step out. Perhaps it¡¯s safer to use the back door.¡± Mo Xicheng nodded when he heard this. After he hung up, he got onto his feet and said to the secretary, ¡°Get the car ready. To the hospital.¡± ¨C Mo Zhi¡¯s suicide attempt had caused a stir. But because they found him in time, he had been taken to the hospital early enough. He had only lost a lot of blood, but he wasn¡¯t in serious danger. He was lying on the bed, his face and lips pale. He was also undergoing a blood transfusion to rece the loss. When Mo Xicheng arrived at the hospital, he saw that Mo Zhi looked as though life was no longer worth living. Mo Hai was sitting by his bed with red eyes. Li Shu stood by the window, refusing to look at him. Mo Zhi sat on the bed quietly with tears rolling down his face. Mo Xicheng saw this scene and halted. He heard Mo Hai scolding the boy, ¡°Such a grown man and you do something like this?! Huh? Why did you do something so silly! What would I do if you died?!¡± The moment he said those words, Li Shu spun her head around. At once, the man realized he had said something he shouldn¡¯t have. He gulped anxiously. But that was enough to show what he was thinking. In his mind, even though he had given thepany to Mo Xicheng, his son would always be Mo Zhi alone. Li Shu had initially softened when she saw Mo Zhi in such a state, but when Mo Hai said that, her heart toughened again at once. For her own son, for Mo Xicheng¡¯s sake, she was determined to stay strong. Then, she heard Mo Zhi sobbing. He was sobbing sorrowfully and it made the ward seem even quieter. As he sobbed, he said, ¡°Dad, I don¡¯t feel that there¡¯s any meaning in life anymore. Both you and Mom have abandoned me and I¡¯ve been like this since young, incapable and with little ability. What¡¯s the point of living?! Dad, why did you save me? I no longer want to be in this world, sob, sob, sob.¡± ¡°So you kill yourself because you¡¯re incapable?!¡± Mo Hai was livid. The boy hung his head and said, ¡°I- I have no more money either!¡± Mo Hai was taken aback and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t I give you 500 000 when you left?¡± Mo Zhi started bawling when he heard Mo Hai¡¯s words and replied, ¡°Some friends I had came looking for me andughed at me. The other day, someone took me out for a meal. He asked if I dared to go out. When I turned up, they got me drunk. When I woke up, there was no one in the private room and I was alone. Dad, do you know how much they spent that night? A million!¡± Chapter 1587 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (60)

Chapter 1587: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (60)

At this point, Mo Zhi hung his head shamefully and covered his eyes. He wailed, ¡°The club has beening after me for money these few days! I- I really am at a dead end. Dad, I know I was a rotten egg, but now I really don¡¯t want to take anything from Mo Xicheng! So why is he turning Li Tianyu against me?¡± Li Tianyu and Shen Liangchuan were on extremely good terms. His father had married Shen Liangchuan¡¯s mother. Hence, Li Tianyu and Shen Liangchuan had be inws. On the other hand, it was also a well-known fact that Shen Liangchuan and Mo Xicheng were good friends. With the mention of Li Tianyu, all arrows naturally pointed to Mo Xicheng. Standing just outside the door, Mo Xicheng raised an eyebrow. So all that crying and drama ultimately came down to this. Mo Xicheng smirked, finding the irony in this. In the past, Mo Hai had never believed that he had no interest in the family estate and would always assume that he was setting Mo Zhi up. And now that their actual status had been rified, how would he behave? There really was no need to guess or hope, it was obvious. Indeed, the moment Mo Hai heard these words, his expression turned angry and ashamed. He looked at Mo Zhi and said after a pause, ¡°Even if something like this happens, couldn¡¯t you havee and looked for me?! I¡¯m your father, how could I not care about your life?¡± At once, Mo Zhi started whimpering and sobbing loudly. Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes. Then he pushed open the door and walked into the ward. When he stepped in, he saw that Mo Zhi was bawling his eyes out while clinging on to Mo Hai¡¯s thighs. Li Shu was staring at the two men impassively. When Mo Hai noticed Mo Xicheng had entered the room, he paused. Suddenly, he felt terribly embarrassed and didn¡¯t know what to say. If one were to say that Yao Lili had never treated Mo Xicheng kindly, then Mo Hai had treated him a notch worse. As though it wasn¡¯t bad enough that he had frequently hit and scolded Mo Xicheng for the smallest things, whenever Li Shu had given him the cold shoulder, he had used to take it out on the boy. Hence, ever since Mo Xicheng¡¯s status had been revealed, Mo Hai had felt too ashamed and guilty to look at the man. And this was only the second time they met each other since. Mo Xicheng did not speak. He only looked at Mo Zhi and asked, ¡°What tricks are you up to this time?¡± Upon hearing those words, Mo Hai paused and looked at Mo Zhi questioningly. Mo Zhi¡¯s pupils shrank back. Then he started crying again without saying a word. Mo Xicheng cast his gaze down and said coldly, ¡°The matter has blown up so much that reporters are hanging around the office. As if swapping babies incident wasn¡¯t enough, now you¡¯re creating a big suicide drama. Don¡¯t you think that thepany¡¯s name has been ruined enough?¡± Mo Zhi choked on his tears and retorted, ¡°I did not- I did not think the reporters would turn up. How could I know that the reporters were watching me closely since our real identities were revealed?!¡± Mo Xicheng¡¯s lips curved into a mocking smile. He was about to say something when Mo Hai intervened. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll just let this matter rest. Mo Zhi, from now on please behave!¡± Then he turned to look at Li Shu and Mo Xicheng, saying, ¡°There are a few things I want to discuss with the two of you. Let¡¯s do that outside so that we won¡¯t disturb Mo Zhi¡¯s rest.¡± After exchanging a look, Mo Xicheng and Li Shu nodded. Chapter 1588 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (61)

Chapter 1588: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (61)

The three of them walked out of the ward. Mo Hai shut the door behind them and pointed at the balcony. Li Shu narrowed her eyes at his considerate gesture towards Mo Zhi. On the balcony. Mo Hai lit his cigarette and took a deep puff. For a moment, the three of them stood there in silence. They looked at each other till Mo Hai finished his cigarette. Neither Mo Xicheng nor Li Shu wanted to be the first to speak. Mo Hai looked at Mo Xicheng and found himself developing a trace of admiration for this young man. He was adequately steady. He coughed softly and began, ¡°Regarding Mo Zhi, I think I should hear what both your thoughts are.¡± Mo Xicheng kept silent. Li Shu, who had always been a calm person, was immediately furious. She demanded, ¡°Mo Hai, what did you mean by that?! Do you really believe what Mo Zhi has said?! You think that Mo Xicheng has asked Li Tianyu to target Mo Zhi?!¡± If Mo Hai had misunderstood Li Shu herself, she wouldn¡¯t have been this angry. But right now, it was her son who was being misunderstood and she was less tolerant. The moment she got worked up, Mo Hai became nervous and quickly said, ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I meant. Li Shu, calm down. Will you let me exin?!¡± Li Shu took a deep breath and said, ¡°Go ahead.¡± Mo Hai continued, ¡°Mo Zhi is truly incapable of survival by himself. Can I just take him home? He will live in the apartment that Yao Lili and Mo Xicheng used to live in. I will also not give him too much money in the future. Also, by doing this we can watch him closely and Mo Xicheng doesn¡¯t have to worry, isn¡¯t that right?¡± Upon hearing these words, Lishu choked with anger. She looked at Mo Hai with disappointment and gave the man a mocking smile. ¡°Do whatever you want.¡± Mo Hai¡¯s heart immediately leaped with joy, however, Li Shu continued, ¡°If he wishes to stay under our roof, sure, he just has to do what Mo Xicheng did. Show his sincerity and convince me that he has no interest in the family business, otherwise...¡± Mo Hai asked eagerly, ¡°And how should he show his sincerity?¡± Li Shu narrowed her eyes and replied, ¡°He stole all of thepany¡¯s circting capital, putting Mo Xicheng in a difficult position now. He has topensate for the loss.¡± Mo Hai widened his eyes and said, ¡°He¡¯s poor now, how is he going topensate?!¡± Li Shuughed icily and remarked, ¡°Didn¡¯t he buy shares?¡± Looking troubled, Mo Hai answered, ¡°Recently, the share price dropped to three dors. He would lose too much, two-thirds of the original price. Sigh!¡± Li Shu cast her gaze down and said with an eerie calmness, ¡°Thepany doesn¡¯t have any circting capital now and the stakeholders are not happy about it. Besides, we¡¯re nearing the end of the month now and the workers have not been paid. If they turn up protesting with their banners, I¡¯d like to see you exin the situation to the government! On top of this, Director Wang expects his funds by the end of the month. If we don¡¯t transfer that money to him, then thepany will have to bear an evenrger penalty for breach of contract. These are all the problems that need ie, go sort them out!¡± Mo Hai turned a deep scarlet as she called him to ount. He cleared his throat and then replied, ¡°I- I did say we could sell the house to get the money, didn¡¯t I?¡± The woman narrowed her eyes as her head snapped up. ¡°Sell the house? Whose house do you think you¡¯re selling? That¡¯s our joint asset as husband and wife. Have I agreed to sell the house?¡± Chapter 1589 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (62)

Chapter 1589: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (62)

Mo Hai was stunned by Li Shu¡¯s dominance. He stammered, ¡°But- but how are we going to get so much money without selling the house?¡± Li Shu continued with a scornfulugh. ¡°I do not know. I only know that whatever belongs to my son must not be touched! As to where that money is going toe from, Mo Zhi was the one who signed the contract with the construction team after all. Although Mo Xicheng was the one who signed the contract with Director Wang, when the timees and thepany doesn¡¯t have the funds, then someone has to take the responsibility. Gao Feng told me a few times that Mo Zhi was using thepany funds for personal use. This could put him in jail! If we have no other way out of this, we will have to file awsuit against him!¡± Mo Hai was stunned by Li Shu¡¯s harsh words. He looked at her with a shocked expression and said, ¡°Li Shu, Mo Zhi is my son if nothing else. You¡ª¡± ¡°But I have only one son,¡± Li Shu interrupted him with this simple remark. Mo Hai was already full of anger about Mo Zhi¡¯s matter, so now he could no longer contain his fury. He asked, ¡°So what do you want now? Bring him to a dead end?! Would it benefit anyone if he really died?! I know the both of you are angry at him, but we¡¯vee to this, we¡¯ve made him end up in the hospital, is that not enough?!¡± Li Shu widened her eyes. She was at once dumbfounded and livid. ¡°We¡¯ve made him attempt suicide? Did we force him?! That was him being foolish! Mo Hai, let me tell you this, going by thew, he¡¯s the one at fault, not Mo Xicheng or myself!¡± The argument got louder gradually. After Li Shu made this heartrending remark, Mo Hai said in response, ¡°Li Shu, there¡¯s something I¡¯ve wanted to say for a long time!¡± Narrowing her eyes, Li Shu said, ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°Li Shu, you¡¯ve changed. Approximately twenty years ago, how did you treat Mo Xicheng? Now why can¡¯t you amodate Mo Zhi, who you¡¯ve raised and watched grow up?! Even if he¡¯s not your own son, do you really not care about him?¡± At this point, all the years of effort and hard work that he had put into winning back Li Shu turned into deep-seated grievance. He looked at the woman and continued, ¡°Back then I was confused and what I did resulted in what we¡¯ve be today. But think about it. All this time, have you ever put your heart into this child? Have you ever treated him like your own child?!¡± ¡°Li Shu, in the past, you were always known for being an understanding and reasonable person. How did you be this cold-blooded?¡± Cold-blooded. Li Shu froze the moment she heard these words. She stood there, as though she had been electrocuted. Then she looked at Mo Hai in disbelief. When Mo Hai had this affair, she had taken it all in her stride. She had stifled her emotions no matter how sad and heartbroken she had felt. She had never argued with him the way they were arguing now. The both of them were flushed from the argument, yet all Li Shu could feel was how hideous a man Mo Hai was. She clenched her fists tightly as she red at him, speechless from anger. Suddenly, a strong hand reached out to bring closer her trembling body and supported her by her arm. It was like a pir of strength for her. She was taken aback. Turning her head around, she saw that Mo Xicheng was standing next to her. As she took in his tall and broad frame, her heart immediately calmed down. He was like a tonic for her heart, relieving her grief and indignation. Chapter 1590 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (63)

Chapter 1590: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (63)

Mo Xicheng¡¯s sudden gesture even stunned the exasperated Mo Hai, who did not dare to continue speaking. He could only stare speechlessly at the young man. Mo Xicheng went straight to the point and said to Mo Hai, ¡°Believe it or not, I did not ask Li Tianyu to do such a thing. As for why Mo Zhi needs to pay up and is being pressured to clear his debt, that has got nothing to do with me.¡± He spoke very calmly, much like he was discussing business with a business partner. There were no emotions, only business interest and facts. Mo Hai looked at him and then asked, ¡°And so?¡± Mo Xicheng cast his gaze down and continued, ¡°And so, it is his job to sort out the circting capital issue. Otherwise, we¡¯ll have to press charges and he could end up reuniting with his mother in jail.¡± Mo Hai choked and cried, ¡°You- Mo Xicheng, no matter what, he¡¯s your older brother- No, he¡¯s your younger brother. Can¡¯t you even give him a chance?¡± Mo Xicheng replied coldly, ¡°Fine, since you want to give him a chance, I can give him another chance.¡± Immediately, Mo Hai shot back, ¡°Go on.¡± Mo Xicheng continued, ¡°I will find a way to solve the issue of the circting capital, but he has to let go of his shares in the Mo family business, as well as all the shares he bought with thepany funds.¡± Mo Hai replied at once, ¡°For sure, the shares were bought withpany funds so they belong to thepany. As for his part of the shares in the family business...¡± Mo Xichengughed icily and said, ¡°He has only two options now. One, give back his part of the shares and I will sort out the debts¡ªwe can take it as if I¡¯m buying his shares. Two, he can keep the shares and go to jail. You make the decision for him, and if you can¡¯t, then you may discuss it with him.¡± Jail was not an option. Mo Hai said decisively, ¡°Alright, you can have all the shares!¡± Mo Xicheng nodded and did not argue with Mo Hai further. With his arm around Li Shu, supporting her, they started walking away. Mo Hai looked at them from behind and then turned around to look at Mo Zhi¡¯s ward. He stood there in a conundrum for a moment. Then he heard Mo Xicheng say to Li Shu, ¡°Mom, where are you going? Let me take you.¡± Mo Hai halted. Mom. Oddly, he suddenly felt the desire to hear Mo Xicheng call him ¡°dad.¡± However as quickly as this thought came, it left and Mo Zhi¡¯s voice interrupted the moment, ¡°Dad, Daddy.¡± Mo Hai quickly replied, ¡°Coming!¡± He went back to Mo Zhi, exining the deal. Finally, Mo Zhi was willing to sign the agreement and transfer all his shares. Taking the transfer agreement with him, Mo Hai left in a hurry. At this point, a vicious smile spread across Mo Zhi¡¯s face. He had already known that Mo Xicheng and Li Shu would not let him off that easily. For sure, they were going to take away his shares, otherwise life would be hell for them. Besides, now that he didn¡¯t have anything to his name, it would make him look even more pitiful. Given this, Mo Hai would surely not abandon him. And where the shares were concerned, they had already plunged to three dors. He had heard news that thepany was going broke. Mo Xicheng would now have to face a heavy loss and the problem of paying the construction team¡¯s wages. Exchanging the shares for these things was definitely a worthwhile exercise. Ultimately, Mo Xicheng was losing out and left at a disadvantage. Even if he had now all thepany¡¯s shares, so what? Without circting capital to save thepany, the Mo family enterprise may possibly go bankrupt. What he couldn¡¯t get for himself, he wasn¡¯t going to let Mo Xicheng have either. Chapter 1591 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (64)

Chapter 1591: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (64)

As long as Mo Xicheng was at a disadvantage, he was happy. Even if he himself had nothing! A look of hatred grew in his eyes as this thought came to him. ¨C Mo Xicheng supported the heartbroken Li Shu as they walked out of the ward. Although she had initially looked utterly disappointed and hopeless because of Mo Hai, Li Shu had been visibly shaken and touched since she had heard Mo Xicheng call her ¡°mom.¡± She was grasping Mo Xicheng¡¯s sleeves tightly and looking at him steadily, wishing he would call her one more time. At the same time, she found making such a request too embarrassing. Perhaps he had just been trying tofort her? As this thought crossed her mind, she immediately shook her head and sighed. While she struggled with this thought, someone brought Mo Xicheng¡¯s car to where they stood. Mo Xicheng walked to the backseat¡¯s door and opened it for Li Shu, saying, ¡°Get in, Mom.¡± Li Shu stood there in a daze. Ever since Mo Xicheng¡¯s identity had been announced, this was the first few times he addressed her as such. She stared at this tall young man, who had grown to be much more than a boy. She found her eyes tearing up suddenly. Even though he had recovered his rightful position, she had never dared hope that Mo Xicheng would forgive her. Treating Mo Xicheng well was only something that she could do as his mother, topensate for the motherly love that he hadcked since childhood. But now, as he addressed her as his own mother, Li Shu instantly felt an immense joy. She looked at Mo Xicheng and nodded firmly in acknowledgment. After getting into the car, Mo Xicheng walked over to the front passenger seat and entered as well. They headed towards the Mo family vi. Along the way, Mo Xicheng noticed through the rear view mirror that Li Shu looked as though she was in a daze. Probably, she was still furious about Mo Hai¡¯s misjudgment. Mo Xicheng couldn¡¯t help interrupting her, ¡°Mom.¡± Stunned, Li Shu lifted her head to look at him. He reassured her, ¡°No matter what your decision is, I will support you.¡± The woman was astonished by this remark. Since she had been a young mother, Mo Zhi would always cling to her legs and ask her, ¡°Mama are you abandoning Daddy and I?¡± ¡°Mama, other kids have their Papa and Mama to y with them. Why don¡¯t you and Papa y with me?¡± ¡°Mama, don¡¯t be unhappy. I want to be with you and Papa.¡± Hence, for Mo Zhi¡¯s sake, she had never sessfully divorced Mo Hai. At this critical point, since Mo Xicheng was in the midst of taking over the Mo family business, she had been tolerating Mo Hai. Yet what was this young man telling her? That he would support her, no matter the decision she made? She was stunned. At the same time, she finally felt a mother-son rtionship falling into ce, for this was how a son should be towards his own mother. She pursed her lips tightly as she looked at the young man and nodded. The car entered the Mo family vi. Mo Xicheng nced at the building and then turned around to look at Li Shu. He said to her, ¡°If you wish to leave this ce, I can take you away right now.¡± Li Shu¡¯s eyes reddened upon hearing those words. Yes, she wished to leave. But not now. She would leave only after Mo Xicheng had taken everything that was rightfully his. Li Shu was firm in her conviction. She turned to look at Mo Xicheng and smiled as she said, ¡°Wait here.¡± Mo Xicheng nodded and thought that Li Shu was going upstairs to pack her belongings. But to his surprise, she came downstairs again after a short while. There was a little box in her hand. She walked to Mo Xicheng and held the little box out to him. Chapter 1592 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (65)

Chapter 1592: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (65)

Mo Xicheng was surprised as he looked at the little box. Then he gave her a questioning look. Li Shu looked back at him encouragingly. He raised an eyebrow and looked down again at the box with a puzzled expression. He opened the box and saw a credit card inside. His pupils shrank back and, when he looked up again, it was with an even more puzzled expression. Li Shu said after a long pause, ¡°There¡¯s about 50 million here. It was my wedding dowry and my earnings from all these years.¡± When Mo Xicheng heard this, he was immediately anxious and tried to return the box to her. Li Shu said, ¡°Take this first to attend to the urgent matters. See if you¡¯re able to solve thepany¡¯s financial issues. I know that this money won¡¯t be enough, but it¡¯s better than nothing.¡± Mo Xicheng was stunned and asked, ¡°But what about your own future?¡± Li Shuughed instantly and replied, ¡°I¡¯m still Mo Hai¡¯s wife, are you afraid that I won¡¯t have enough money to spend? I will never agree to selling the house. The property prices in Beijing are still fluctuating a lot and thatnd is a valuable asset that is quite priceless. If we sell it now to meet urgent needs with the thought of buying itter, I¡¯m afraid we won¡¯t be able to, even if we double the price. So unless we are at a dead end, we must not sell that house. I have another property in Beijing and I¡¯ve already contacted an agent to take a look at it. I can earn 50 million with that, but the money will note in immediately.¡± Mo Xicheng looked at Li Shu intently. For the first time, he felt the love and caring of a mother. The difference between Li Shu and Yao Lili was vast, his heart was aze. He lowered his head and looked at the credit card for a moment. He said to her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Mom. I¡¯ll sort out the problems in thepany.¡± Lishu nodded. He added, ¡°I¡¯ll use this money for now and will return it to youter on.¡± Li Shu smiled and replied, ¡°I¡¯m your mother. What¡¯s mine is also yours. There¡¯s no need to return anything.¡± What¡¯s mine is also yours. In the past, Mo Xicheng had only ever heard Yao Lili say, ¡°Whatever¡¯s yours is mine.¡± He had never thought that his mother¡¯s possessions could be his too. The corners of his mouth curved up. For the first time, he smiled. Li Shu looked at him and couldn¡¯t help asking, ¡°Xicheng, I have a question to ask you.¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°Have you... ever hated me?¡± The man was taken aback for a moment and said, ¡°Of course not.¡± Li Shu was surprised by the answer. Mo Xicheng said after a long pause, ¡°Actually, when I was a child, among everyone in this house, you were the kindest to me. Although you always had a cold expression with me, I remember one time when I was hungry and sneaked into the kitchen to steal a piece of jujube cake, that you caught me in the act then. I thought I was going to be beaten, but you actually did nothing.¡± Li Shu suffered upon hearing these words. Here she was, afraid that Mo Xicheng would not forgive her, but in reality he had never resented her at all. She was overjoyed at this thought but following this, she was stunned again. In all honesty, it hadn¡¯t been that she was being kind to him, she simply had not told on him. But he had seen this as an act of kindness and had never forgotten it. It only showed how nasty Yao Lili had been with him. Li Shu¡¯s expression turned determined. They couldn¡¯t me her for being cold-hearted with Mo Zhi now, for Yao Lili had treated Mo Xicheng ten thousand times worse than this. Hence, she would not feel any guilt for being cold and heartless towards Mo Zhi. Chapter 1593 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (66)

Chapter 1593: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (66)

Mo Xicheng left the Mo family home. As he stared at the credit card, he felt very thankful. He slipped the credit card into his pocket and drove home. On the way, he took out his phone and searched for Li Tianyu¡¯s number. Upon locating the number, he dialed it. Li Tianyu picked up the call almost instantly. He sounded sleepy, ¡°Who¡¯s this? What¡¯s up?¡± Mo Xicheng spoke, ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± ¡°Who?¡± Mo Xicheng: ... ¡°Mo Xicheng.¡± ¡°What? Brother Mo?! Has the sun risen from the West today? Why are you calling me?¡± Mo Xicheng: ... Right after he had spoken, Shen Zihao¡¯s voice was heard in the background, ¡°Who¡¯s that calling you so early in the morning? It¡¯s annoying, don¡¯t you know my wife¡¯s pregnant and needs to sleep?!¡± Li Tianyu lowered his voice and said, ¡°Alright, it¡¯s my fault. I¡¯ll take the call on the balcony.¡± ¡°Tsk, such a grown-up and you haven¡¯t even moved out yet. What¡¯s the point ofing to our ce to hang out every day? I¡¯m telling you, you¡¯d better get a ce of your own soon.¡± ¡°Wherever my dad is, that¡¯s my home too!¡± Li Tianyu retorted. Mo Xicheng: ... It seemed like this had be a verymon scenario since Shen Liangchuan¡¯s mother had gotten married to Li Tianyu¡¯s father. Fortunately, they had arge vi with many rooms, so it wasn¡¯t as though the ce felt overcrowded even with all of them in it. Mo Xicheng smiled helplessly. After a brief moment, Li Tianyu said, ¡°Alright, I was just taking an afternoon nap. Brother Mo, what¡¯s up?¡± Mo Xicheng started, ¡°Did you meet Mo Zhi a few days ago?¡± ¡°Mo Zhi?¡± Li Tianyu was a little stumped. ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± Then suddenly he realized it. ¡°Oh, I recall now. A few days ago some friends threw a party. Apparently, some silly rich second-generation illegitimate son was using thest bits of his money to buy everyone a meal, so all of us turned up. That fool, Mo Zhi, was really taken for a ride. He clearly had no money but acted like a tycoon. Hehe, since that was the case, I made the best out of the opportunity and ordered a whole lot of the best dishes.¡± Mo Xicheng nodded upon hearing this. He had already known that it hadn¡¯t been as Mo Zhi said. He had only called Li Tianyu to find out the truth of what had happened. After he found out the truth, Mo Xicheng sighed in relief. When he got home, he sat on the sofa and contemted how to resolve thepany¡¯s various issues. With the shortage of funds, besides taking a bank loan, there were very few other options. Even though he knew that he only had to ask, be it Shen Liangchuan or Shi Nianyao, and they would help him unconditionally, that wasn¡¯t the way to do business. He hung his head at this thought. He had to think of other ways. As he contemted this, he picked up his cell phone and started to examine the issue with the shares. After a moment, he suddenly widened his eyes. Because... The shares that Mo Zhi had transferred him had gone up by a dor in a single day. Although they had initially dropped to three dors, it was now four dors. The increase was toorge, he found it quite unbelievable. Thatpany¡¯s share price started inting like a balloon. It didn¡¯t only grow within the day, but it skyrocketed over the next few days to its previous high of ten dors. Chapter 1594 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (67)

Chapter 1594: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (67)

This was a dramatic turn of events and shocked everyone in the Mo family business. Suddenly, everyone in thepany started to use the nickname ¡°God of Fortune¡± for Mo Xicheng. Not only did this solve thepany¡¯s financial issues, but the shares that Mo Zhi had bought even made some profits. Mo Zhi was still in the hospital when he heard this news. He was livid. He clutched his own chest tightly in an attempt to relieve the pain. It helped ever so slightly. As he lifted his head, he felt a great sense of regret for the first time for what he had chosen to do. If only he had not transferred the shares to Mo Xicheng, then right now, he would not only have 20 percent of thepany¡¯s shares, but on top of that, he would have the money from this other investment. There would have been absolutely no need for him to be in the hospital, pretending to be pitiful and trying to score sympathy points. At this thought, he felt an even sharper pain in his chest. No. He must not stay in the hospital. He had to think of a way. At this point, he saw that Mo Hai hade to visit him. He immediately grabbed the man¡¯s sleeves and cried, ¡°Dad, I want to be discharged!¡± Upon discharge, Mo Zhi was brought back to the Mo family vi. This time, Li Shu said nothing in response to Mo Hai¡¯s decision. Mo Hai had felt at first slightly guilty and had been afraid that Li Shu would disagree with him. But unexpectedly, Li Shu was acting as though she did not see Mo Zhi. Mo Hai sighed in relief when he saw this. He had thought that Li Shu was simply ignoring Mo Zhi, just like how she had ignored Yao Lili and Mo Xicheng during the years that they had lived under the same roof. But he couldn¡¯t have imagined that at this point, Li Shu had already decided to file for a divorce. His repeated mistakes had taken Li Shu past the point of being able to forgive him. ¨C Li Shu had decided to leave Mo Hai, hence she had ceased caring about anything rted to those two men. She had initially meant to wait until Mo Xicheng got a better grasp of the business and stabilized thepany before bringing up the divorce. But she hadn¡¯t expected that before she could even do anything, Mo Zhi would make his move. On one particr day, Mo Hai had gone to work. Mo Zhi¡¯s condition had improved and he could now walk outside. As Li Shu was upstairs in her room tidying her belongings, she heard a knock on the door. She paused and turned around. She saw Mo Zhi standing at the doorway, contemting if he should enter the room. Frowning, Li Shu said icily, ¡°This is not a space you can enter.¡± Mo Zhi did not leave and instead entered the room. He looked at Li Shu and sighed. ¡°Mom, do you really no longer like me? Mom.¡± Li Shu took a step back to keep a distance from the man. Mo Zhi took another step towards her and reached out to grab her wrist. He continued, ¡°Mom, even if I¡¯m not your biological son, they say that love is stronger than any bloodline. You brought me up, I will never forget the gift you gave me. I will always show filial obedience to you, you know?¡± Li Shu shook off his hand and looked at him coldly. She asked, ¡°What is it that you want from me, just say it.¡± The man sighed and continued, ¡°No matter what, I¡¯m dad¡¯s son too. I want thepany shares that were originally given to me. Mom, you should know that illegitimate children are allowed to be heirs too. Wouldn¡¯t it be good if we could live together harmoniously?¡± Chapter 1595 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (68)

Chapter 1595: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (68)

Li Shu smirked and turned to look at Mo Zhi. She said, ¡°And in the past, did you ever think of getting along with Mo Xicheng harmoniously?¡± Mo Zhi fell into a sullen silence. Li Shu cast her gaze down and continued, ¡°You didn¡¯t. So why do I need to get along with you harmoniously?¡± Mo Zhi clenched his jaws tightly upon hearing this. He said, ¡°Mom, why does our rtionship have to degenerate to this point?¡± Li Shu kept silent. Mo Zhi suddenlyughed and said, ¡°Well then, do you think Dad loves you more? Or loves me more?¡± Li Shu narrowed her eyes and lifted her head. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± The man sneered and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t mean anything. I was only asking a question.¡± Then he took a step back and walked out of the room. As Li Shu watched him leave, she frowned and felt a little uneasy. But unable to ce a finger on anything specific, she continued tidying her belongings. As she was doing this, a thought suddenly struck her. Her pupils shrank back instantly and she hurriedly walked to the safe in her room. She opened it and discovered that, indeed, a jewelry case was missing. A jewelry case. Her pupils shrank as she recalled the dowry that her mother had given her on her wedding day. It was an extremely valuable jade bangle. That jade bangle held a special meaning for her, it was also the only thing that her mother had passed on to her before she died. All these years, she had treated the bangle like a treasure and had never handed it to anyone. Apart from herself, there was only one other person who knew the code to the safe: Mo Zhi. Even Mo Hai did not know the code. Hence, Mo Zhi must have taken the bangle! At the thought of this possibility, Li Shu dashed downstairs and went straight to Mo Zhi¡¯s apartment. As she charged into the apartment, Mo Zhi was seated on the sofa, as though expecting her. She narrowed her eyes and said to him, ¡°Mo Zhi, return the bangle to me!¡± Mo Zhi raised an eyebrow and gave Li Shu a half-smile as he asked, ¡°What bangle are you talking about?¡± Li Shu heaved in anger and replied, ¡°You know what I¡¯m talking about. I¡¯m asking you, what do you want exactly?!¡± Had he stolen the bangle so that she would give him 20 percent of the Mo family business¡¯ shares like he wanted? How was that possible?! Li Shu wasn¡¯t a fool. But if it wasn¡¯t for that purpose, then what? As she asked herself this question, she caught him looking at his wardrobe. Without thinking, she ran to the wardrobe and opened it, emptying its content one piece at a time. Now Mo Zhi¡¯s clothes were strewn all over the bed, the floor and everywhere, but the bangle was nowhere to be found. Li Shu turned around. Mo Zhi was still sitting on the sofa. He was calm andposed as he looked back at her. She walked up to him and asked, ¡°Tell me, where is my bangle?!¡± In response to this, the man slowly reached into his pocket and took out a bangle. When she saw the bangle, she reached out for it. But Mo Zhi was faster. In a sh, he moved the bangle away from her. He looked up at Li Shu and said, ¡°You care about this bangle a lot? I know this was given to you by your mother and it has a special meaning for you. So you want me to return it to you?¡± Li Shu nodded immediately. Mo Zhi extended his hand and Li Shu reached out for the bangle once more. But just as she was about to touch it, Mo Zhi released it. The bangle fell on the ground with a loud thud. Chapter 1596 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated! (69)

Chapter 1596: Mo Xicheng Reinstated! (69)

Li Shu froze. She looked down at the jade bangle in disbelief. It was a fragile item. The moment it fell on the ground, it shattered. Li Shu¡¯s pupils shrank back and her head snapped up. She red at Mo Zhi fiercely. Mo Zhi smiled as he said, ¡°Now are you sad? If you¡¯re sad, then I¡¯m happy.¡± Upon hearing this, Li Shu no longer held herself back. She raised her hand. Bam! A vicious pnded across Mo Zhi¡¯s face. The force of the p threw his head to the side. He spat a mouthful of blood and looked up to nce at Li Shu. Following this, he threw himself on the ground andnded on the shattered bits. As he pressed his hands against the shattered jade, they started to bleed. His actions shocked Li Shu. At this point, Mo Zhi, who had been just a minute ago very smug and arrogant, suddenly burst into tears and cried out, ¡°Mom, why are you treating me like this?¡± Li Shu was stunned. Almost immediately, a voice came from the doorway, ¡°What is going on?¡± Li Shu¡¯s body stiffened. She turned around and saw Mo Hai walking in. Mo Hai¡¯s pupils shrank back at once when he saw the scene before him. Immediately, he dashed up to Mo Zhi and helped the man up from the ground. He noticed the blood on Mo Zhi¡¯s hands and asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Turning to Li Shu, he started, ¡°He hasn¡¯t recovered yet, you-¡± When he saw the cold expression on Li Shu¡¯s face, he stopped short and did not dare continue. He helped Li Shu to the sofa. Then he took the first aid kit and said, ¡°Come, let me help you with the shards.¡± As he was about to tend to the fragments, Mo Zhi suddenly embraced the man¡¯s waist and, ignoring everything else, he started sobbing. ¡°Dad, Dad, Dad, it wasn¡¯t me. Mom wanted me to leave and ndered me. Dad, you have to protect me. I don¡¯t wish to live anymore. What is the point of living? Mom uses me of being a thief. How am I going to face the world?¡± Mo Hai was taken aback upon hearing these words and asked, ¡°What happened?¡± Li Shu kept silent and looked at Mo Hai, suddenly feeling that everything was such a joke. Her heart grew cold. Then she looked at the two men before her. Mo Zhi was now bawling. ¡°Mom said she lost her jade bangle and came to search my apartment. When she couldn¡¯t find it, she took out this bangle and threw it on the ground. Sob, sob. Mom, this was a gift from Grandma, how could you trash it just like that? Mom, just because you want me to leave? Fine, I¡¯ll leave, I¡¯ll leave.¡± Li Shu couldn¡¯t help smirking and said to the man, ¡°Leave? Well then, go!¡± Mo Zhi paused upon hearing this. He threw a quick nce at Mo Hai, gritted his teeth and stood up to leave. He took a step and then another. And as he got to the doorway, Mo Hai hollered angrily, ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± Mo Zhi halted and turned around. He saw that Mo Hai was frowning with a troubled and hesitant expression on his face. Mo Zhi¡¯s eyes shed and he immediately pretended to faint. He copsed on the ground. Mo Hai dashed towards him without a second thought when he saw this. When he dashed past Li Shu, he identally knocked her and made her lose bnce, so she fell on the ground. In an attempt to stop the fall, her handsnded on the shards. The sharp fragments cut into her skin. Right about this time, a tall and broad silhouette suddenly appeared at the doorway. A voice asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± The obstinate Li Shu suddenly teared up when she heard Mo Xicheng¡¯s voice. Chapter 1597 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (70)

Chapter 1597: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (70)

In the beginning, Mo Xicheng hadn¡¯t nned to return home. But after recalling that Li Shu hadn¡¯t brought him lunch for the past two days, he had decided to visit her at Mo family house after work. Little would he have expected that he would encounter such a scene upon arrival. Li Shu was lying on the floor and both of her hands were pressing against the ss shards¡ª blood was flowing out from them. His pupils shrank and he hurriedly walked to Li Shu¡¯s side and held both of her hands. ¡°Mom, what happened to you?¡± Li Shu bit her lips and remained silent. Mo Xicheng instantly lifted his head up and looked at Mo Hai. Mo Hai was helping Mo Zhi, who had fainted, and when he saw the situation, his gaze fell on Li Shu¡¯s hands. He wanted to rush over to see what had happened to Li Shu, but he was also worried about Mo Zhi, who had fainted. He hurriedly turned his head and looked at Mo Zhi. He couldn¡¯t leave him on the side and not bother about him, but at the same time he couldn¡¯t leave Li Shu in the lurch either. Consequently, he was stunned on the spot, lost as to what to do. However, Mo Xicheng had already carried Li Shu, walked around Mo Hai and out of the house. Mo Hai wanted to chase him but when he took a step forward to go out, he saw that Mo Xicheng had already left quickly and entered the car outside. ¡°Mom, don¡¯t be worried. I¡¯ll take you to the hospital to clean your wound.¡± The ss shards had sunk into her hands, so she definitely needed the doctor to remove them. Li Shu didn¡¯t speak, her expression was cold and she was stern and silent. Seeing the state Li Shu was in, Mo Xicheng¡¯s heart hurt slightly. He drove Li Shu quickly to the hospital. Leaving Mo Hai, who was carrying Mo Zhi on their original spot. Only when the car was far gone, Mo Hai reacted and hurriedly shouted, ¡°Call 101!¡± The butler walked over and Mo Hai instantly gave him Mo Zhi. Then he hurriedly got in the car and drove after them. ¨C At the hospital. The nurse helped Li Shu clean her wound and after it was bandaged, she nagged, ¡°You must not touch water for at least three days, or it might get infected. Other than that, everything is fine and the shards have all been cleaned, don¡¯t worry.¡± Li Shu didn¡¯t speak, so Mo Xicheng nodded on her behalf. Then he helped Li Shu walk out. At the door, he saw Mo Hai run inside, panting. When he looked at Li Shu, he instantly panicked and asked, ¡°Li Shu, how¡¯s your hand? Is it ok?¡± Li Shu¡¯s pupils shrank and she stared at Mo Hai. After a while, she sneered but didn¡¯t speak. Mo Hai grabbed her hand and said, ¡°Let me take a look, it must not leave a scar.¡± Li Shu wanted to take her hand back, but Mo Hai didn¡¯t allow her to. As both of them were tugging, Mo Xicheng suddenly reached out and pressed Mo Hai¡¯s wrist. ¡°Let go of her.¡± Mo Hai was shocked. He lifted his head up and, when he saw Mo Xicheng, he was slightly stunned. He hadn¡¯t realized that Mo Xicheng had unknowingly grown half a head taller than him. His face, which was somehow simr to Mo Hai, was really cold and very stern. His look caused Mo Hai to release his grip unknowingly. Then he saw Mo Xicheng pull Li Shu behind him and shield her. Mo Xicheng stared at Mo Hai and said, ¡°Please move away.¡± Mo Hai was angered as he shouted, ¡°I¡¯m your father!¡± When Mo Xicheng heard these words, he lowered his eyelids and said, ¡°I thought that I only have a mother. No one can hurt her.¡± Chapter 1598 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (71)

Chapter 1598: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (71)

Hisrge frame covered Li Shu and, the moment she heard his words, her eyes instantly reddened. She stared at the broad back of Mo Xicheng. She sobbed, wanting to say something but unsure of what to say. She had never expected her children to repay her for bringing them up. But little did she expect that one day, Mo Xicheng would be shielding her, protecting her and speaking up for her. Li Shu lowered her eyes to block the tears. She tried her best to take deep breaths before she was able to stop her urge to cry. Her son had grown up and he could protect her now. As the thought emerged, she saw Mo Hai react. He instantly looked at Mo Xicheng and shouted, ¡°Move away, I have things to speak to your mother about.¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t want to talk to you.¡± ¡°You- This is between us, husband and wife, don¡¯t you know?¡± Mo Xicheng lowered his eyes and said, ¡°I only know that my mom doesn¡¯t want to talk to you.¡± Mo Hai: ... Mo Hai stared at Mo Xicheng. He wanted to be angry but he didn¡¯t know what to say. He could only look at Li Shu and ask, ¡°Li Shu, let¡¯s talk. Let¡¯s have a good conversation, ok?¡± Mo Xicheng didn¡¯t speak and instead, he turned his head to look at Li Shu. Li Shu kept silent. Just at this moment, the butler rushed into the emergency room after the supposedly unconscious Mo Zhi. Just as Mo Xicheng turned his head, from an angle that no one could notice, he saw Mo Zhi open his eyes and give him a nonchnt look. That nce was full of sarcasm and Mo Xicheng¡¯s iris instantly swelled. He suddenly looked at Li Shu and said, ¡°Mom, give me a moment.¡± Lishu nodded. Mo Xicheng then turned his head and walked to the butler and Mo Zhi. At that present moment, Mo Zhi was lying on the stretcher of the hospital. Mo Hai and the butler also had no idea what Mo Xicheng wanted to do. Everyone watched Mo Xicheng turn his head and look to the side. He suddenly saw a ss cup on the side. Then he picked up the ss cup. He waved his hand and smashed the ss cup on the stretcher. After that, he grabbed Mo Zhi¡¯s hand and pressed it violently against the ss shreds. His actions were too fast and no one in his surroundings had expected him to do that. ¡°Ah ah!¡± Mo Zhi was in such pain he could no longer put on his act. He sat up instantly and pulled his hand back. And at that moment, Mo Hai finally reacted. He took two quick steps forwards and stood in front of Mo Xicheng. ¡°Mo Xicheng, what are you doing?!¡± Mo Xicheng stared at Mo Hai and then at Mo Zhi. He then spoke, ¡°Doing what I should be doing.¡± Mo Hai froze. Mo Xicheng, on the other hand, lowered his head and patted his hands lightly. For years, he had been suppressing his real self. Every time Mo Zhi had bullied him, he would always tell himself not to lower to his standards and pick a fight. But at that moment, he was the real young master of the Mo family and the two people who were indebted to the Mo Family and Li Shu were Mo Zhi and Yao Lili. Thus, why should he still bear the anger and give in? He wanted to behave like the young master of the Mo Family. If anyone dared to harass Li Shu, he would return the favor. If anyone dared to harass Shi Nianyao, he would use all his life to fight the person. After Mo Hai heard his aggressive words, he was instantly stunned. He stared at Mo Xicheng in a daze and watched him turn his head, support Li Shu by her arm and say, ¡°Mom, let¡¯s go.¡± Chapter 1599 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (72)

Chapter 1599: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (72)

Li Shu nodded her head and followed Mo Xicheng out. Li Shu¡¯s injury wasn¡¯t severe, so she could leave the hospital after her hand was bandaged. After they left the hospital, Mo Xicheng stared at Li Shu and asked, ¡°Now, do you want to go to my ce?¡± Li Shu was taken aback as she turned her head to look at him. Mo Xicheng lowered his head and coughed. ¡°When I wake up in the morning, there isn¡¯t anyone to make breakfast for me and when I return home at night, there also isn¡¯t anyone to make dinner.¡± Although he said that, Li Shu instantly understood the reason why he wanted her to go to his ce. It was because of how Mo Hai had treated her, Mo Xicheng didn¡¯t want her to return to the Mo family. If he didn¡¯t want her to return, then she shall not. As she thought so, Li Shu nodded. Mo Xicheng drove Li Shu back to his own vi. Li Shu alighted from the car and looked at this unfamiliar ce. She felt the urge to cry. This was the house her biological son had used his own money to buy. Although it was a lot smaller than the Mo family¡¯s house, it made her feel homely and warm inside. She followed Mo Xicheng into the house. Mo Xicheng pointed at a bedroom upstairs and said, ¡°That is your room.¡± Li Shu nodded. Mo Xicheng looked at her hand and continued, ¡°Go take some rest and tell me if you need anything in the room. I ordered some things for you too. I¡¯ll make you some porridge now.¡± After he said so, he walked into the kitchen. Li Shu looked around the first floor for a while before going upstairs. As it was a small vi, there were only three rooms upstairs. One was the master bedroom with a restroom and the two others were both guest rooms. Logically, the house should be modelled so that the two other guest rooms don¡¯t have attached restrooms, but when Li Shu had walked into the room prepared for her, she was instantly stunned. She had been to this house before. Although she hadn¡¯t gone upstairs then, she could imagine how theyout had used to be. She realized that Mo Xicheng had linked the guest room with the restroom and had knocked down the walls between the two guest rooms to form arge room. The room was really big. On one side was her bed. All the items on the bed were from her favorite brands. On the other side was a bookshelf with a few books, and before the bookshelf was a study table. The whole room looked exceptionallyfortable and pleasant. Li Shu stared at the room and felt really touched. Mo Xicheng must have started preparing after he had seen that she wasn¡¯t really happy in the Mo family. So there was a room that belonged to her in this house. Li Shu¡¯s lips curved into a smile. Shey on the bed and rested for a while. After some time, someone knocked on her room door and Mo Xicheng¡¯s voice followed, ¡°Are you ready? The porridge is cooked,e eat something before you keep resting.¡± Li Shu instantly stood up, walked to the door and opened it, saying, ¡°Ok.¡± She followed Mo Xicheng downstairs to the dining room and ate the porridge. After finishing, she had meant to go upstairs but Mo Xicheng¡¯s cell phone suddenly rang. At first, Li Shu didn¡¯t think it was much, but after seeing that it was Mo Hai¡¯ number on Mo Xicheng¡¯s screen, she stopped in her tracks. Mo Xicheng ced the bowl in the kitchen, as there was a part time employee who would help him clean it tomorrow. Then he walked out, wiped his hands and walked to the phone to pick it up in no hurry. Once the call connected, Mo Hai¡¯s voice sounded from the other end of the line, ¡°Mo Xicheng, where did you hide your mother?!¡± His tone was harsh and berating. It caused Li Shu¡¯s pupils to shrink and she sneered. Chapter 1600 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (73)

Chapter 1600: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (73)

Mo Xicheng inly spoke, ¡°What does it have to do with you?¡± Seeing his expression, Li Shu couldn¡¯t resist but suddenly curve her lips. She didn¡¯t know why, but she felt obscurely delighted by how Mo Xicheng was angering someone else with such a nonchnt attitude. Mo Hai was indeed furious. ¡°What kind of bastard things are you saying? Let me tell you, your mom is my wife! She¡¯s my legal wife! ording to thew, she is the closest to me. Tell me, is your mom at your ce?! Open the door, I¡¯m outside your house!¡± After he said so, there was a honk from a car outside the vi. Mo Xicheng was slightly stunned and he looked out of the door when he reached the doorstep. He realized that there was a car outside his door and honking. Mo Xicheng thought for a while and then turned back to look at Li Shu. Li Shu said, ¡°Let him in.¡± Mo Xicheng nodded. He just hung up the phone, walked to the doorstep and opened the gates. Mo Hai then drove his car in. He parked his car outside, got out and looked at Mo Xicheng. He instantly frowned and wanted to speak. However, when he turned his head and saw Li Shu, he kept silent. He walked to Li Shu with a sunken face and said, ¡°Return home with me.¡± Li Shu raised her eyebrows. Mo Hai sighed. ¡°I understand your hatred for Yao Lili and your guilt towards Mo Xicheng. I wouldn¡¯t me you for what happened today.¡± me her? Li Shu was so furious she almostughed. She stared at Mo Hai. Even if he didn¡¯t me her for what had happened today, she would me him. She just sneered and said, ¡°Oh, so do I have to thank you then?!¡± Her sarcastic tone caused Mo Hai to break down as he shouted, ¡°Li Shu!¡± Li Shu stared at him and said, ¡°I¡¯m here, you don¡¯t have to talk so loudly.¡± Mo Hai took in a deep breath and said, ¡°I¡¯ve said before that I understand what you¡¯re doing, I really understand. I won¡¯t me you. But Mo Zhi is the most innocent one of this whole situation. Even if he has done something wrong, it¡¯s just that he was just trying to hide the truth. But now he has realized his mistake. I understand if you cannot take what he¡¯s done and release your anger on him, so can you stop creating a fuss and return home with me.¡± Li Shu lowered her gaze. A sneer and bitterugh shed through her heart. Yes, Mo Zhi was the most pitiful and innocent one. Then what about her son? What about Mo Xicheng? Did he see the injustice Mo Xicheng had had to go through?! She didn¡¯t speak, so Mo Hai tried to grab her. Mo Xicheng took a step forward and shielded Li Shu. Mo Hai couldn¡¯t take it anymore, he shouted at Mo Xicheng, ¡°What are you doing? I know you¡¯re the one who suffered the most injustice in the family, so I won¡¯t pursue what you¡¯ve done to Mo Zhi today. But Mo Xicheng, let me tell you, don¡¯t think that you can act as you please just because you have be the young master of the Mo family! I¡¯m your father and he is your younger brother. You must never do again what you did today!¡± His lecturing tone caused Mo Xicheng to frown with disgust. He wanted to speak, but when he opened his mouth, someone grabbed his arm. Mo Xicheng was shocked and when he turned his head around, he saw Li Shu take a step forward in front of him. She stared at Mo Hai and said slowly, ¡°Mo Hai, let¡¯s get a divorce.¡± Chapter 1601 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (74)

Chapter 1601: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (74)

Mo Hai was stunned on the spot. He stared at Li Shu in disbelief. He didn¡¯t understand. It was actually Li Shu who had attacked Mo Zhi. She was the one that had been too scared to return home because of that and had hidden here. It was Mo Xicheng who had deliberately hurt Mo Zhi with the ss bottle, but why did it seem like they were in the right? Besides that, why was Li Shu talking about divorce once again? How could she divorce him? Mo Hai stared at her and suddenlyughed. ¡°Li Shu, stop joking around. I won¡¯t mention what happened today again, I won¡¯t mention it, ok?¡± Li Shu stared at him coldly. Looking at Li Shu¡¯s gaze, Mo Hai started really panicking in his heart. Hepletely didn¡¯t dare to look at her. He turned his head, looked around and said, ¡°Li Shu, follow me home. The house cannot be without you. What was that piece of jewelry you liked? Heart of the Ocean? Let¡¯s purchase it, ok?¡± Li Shu¡¯s tone was still really stubborn. ¡°Mo Hai, please face my problems seriously. Let¡¯s get a divorce.¡± ¡°Li Shu, I remember that you like an online novel of some person named Prince. I have bought you the published book, Because of Love. It is arriving today.¡± Li Shu sighed resignedly. ¡°Stop changing the topic, I¡ª¡± ¡°What else do you like? I will buy it for you. Or what else do you want me to do? I will do it.¡± Li Shu kept silent for a moment before speaking again, ¡°You should just leave. I will get mywyer to contact you tomorrow.¡± Mo Hai became anxious. ¡°I will not divorce you!¡± Li Shu just spoke directly, ¡°We have already been physically separated for more than twenty years. If you don¡¯t agree, I will ask mywyer to apply for a contested divorce and it will also be approved.¡± Mo Hai was shocked. He stared at Li Shu and said, ¡°But- but why?¡± Why? Right, why? Li Shu looked at Mo Hai and she also wanted to ask him why. When they were young, they had gone through so many tests to be finally together, so why were they in such a situation now? She bit her lip. She didn¡¯t feel upset, she felt disappointed and frustrated. After more than twenty years of marriage, they were finally on their way to bing strangers. It seemed like such a joke that she hadn¡¯t divorced Mo Hai after so many years and had persisted by his side. She had used her youth and half of her life to reunite with her son. What other reason did she have not to pursue her happiness now? As she thought so, Li Shuughed. She didn¡¯t speak, she only turned around and made her way upstairs. ¡°Li Shu, don¡¯t leave, make things clear with me!¡± Mo Hai shouted and tried to grab her, but he was stopped by Mo Xicheng, who stood on his way. Mo Hai wanted to push Mo Xicheng away. ¡°Move away, I want to clear things out with her! I already said that I won¡¯t pursue her mistakes, why is she still so stubborn?! Li Shu! You have been stubborn your whole life, you¡¯re already getting old, why are you still the same?¡± But Li Shu didn¡¯t bother about him. She just went up the stairs and entered her bedroom. Mo Hai was screaming and shouting in the living room and he spoke a lot. But there was still no movement from upstairs. Mo Hai at the end looked at Mo Xicheng, who was standing at the top of the stairs, and pointed at him. Then he turned around and said, ¡°Li Shu, I will definitely not divorce you!¡± Chapter 1602 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (75)

Chapter 1602: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (75)

After Mo Hai had said that, he turned around and left in anger. On the second floor, Li Shu was standing in the bedroom. She was looking through the window, watching Mo Hai leave. She didn¡¯t know when that enthusiastic and high-spirited youth had be an uncle that disgusted others. Li Shuughed bitterly, lowered her eyes and sighed. ¨C Mo Hai drove out of the vi but he didn¡¯t leave. Instead, he stopped his car outside, turned off the engine and stared at the second floor of the vi. He stared, not understanding how things had turned into this state. Li Shu really looked like she wanted to divorce him, it didn¡¯t seem fake. She was determined to divorce him. Mo Hai lowered his head and covered his head in frustration. He wasn¡¯t a person without feelings. Since he had thought Mo Zhi to be Li Shu¡¯s son, he had been exceptionally biased towards him. He had personally watched Mo Zhi grow up, thus he had feelings for Mo Zhi that couldn¡¯t be put aside easily. He had been looking forward to Mo Zhi growing up since young and he had had high hopes for him. Now, even if Mo Zhi wasn¡¯t Li Shu¡¯s son, the feelings and the bond that had formed between them from living with each other for the past twenty years wasn¡¯t fake, it was not something that could easily be ced aside. So why did Li Shu want to force him? Must he make a clean break with Mo Zhi? She hadn¡¯t raised him, so she couldn¡¯t understand the happiness and feeling of sess from watching him grow up from a baby to an adult. As he thought so, he lowered his head and took in a deep breath. He didn¡¯t know when, but the lights on the second floor had turned off. Mo Hai then sighed and drove home. He parked the car outside, got out of it and walked towards his room listlessly. Just as he opened the door of the guest room, he saw Mo Zhi sitting on the sofa. When Mo Zhi heard the sound of the door opening, he stood up immediately and looked at Mo Zhi. Mo Hai was slightly stunned and he asked, ¡°Why haven¡¯t you gone to bed?¡± Mo Zhi instantly replied, ¡°Dad, I- I¡¯m scared.¡± Mo Hai¡¯s gazended on his hands. Both of his hands were wrapped up in bandages and they looked really pitiful. At that moment, he looked like a child who was scared to be abandoned. His look softened Mo Hai¡¯s heart. Mo Hai sighed and said, ¡°Everything is alright.¡± Mo Zhi stared at him. ¡°Dad, I know Mom hates Yao Lili, which means she hates me as well. I really learned my mistake, I¡¯m scared. I¡¯m very scared. I don¡¯t know why Mom would do something like that. She can just tell me if she hates me, you won¡¯t reject her anyway. Why is she trying to put me in trouble? Dad, will you chase me away? If I leave, I don¡¯t know what I can do and I don¡¯t know how to survive on my own.¡± As Mo Zhi spoke, he lowered his head and his eyes reddened. Seeing his look, Mo Hai patted his shoulder and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t bother you.¡± Mo Zhi nodded. Mo Hai then coaxed him. ¡°Be obedient, go and sleep.¡± After Mo Zhi heard what he had said, something shed across his eyes and he looked up. In the past, he had always stayed upstairs, but he had now been chased to the servant¡¯s room downstairs. He wondered if Mo Hai would speak up and allow him to return upstairs tonight. Li Shu wasn¡¯t home anyway and without Mo Xicheng, it was an area where everyone had to listen to Mo Hai¡¯s instructions. As he thought so, Mo Zhi stared at Mo Hai. However, he realized that Mo Hai hadpletely no intention of saying anything. Mo Zhi could only frown and walk to the room he was staying in. Chapter 1603 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (76)

Chapter 1603: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (76)

Mo Hai only went upstairs after watching him enter his room. But just as he sat down in the study, there was a knock on the door. Mo Hai frowned and looked at the time. It was already 3 a.m. in the morning, why was there still someone awake? He spoke, ¡°Come in.¡± The room door was pushed open and someone walked in. It was the housekeeper. Mo Hai was stunned. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± That young housekeeper stammered, ¡°I- I- erm- I-¡± Mo Hai lost his patience. He just stared at that young housekeeper and said, ¡°Just say what you want to and leave!¡± The young housekeeper was so frightened by Mo Hai that she was about to cry. She said, ¡°Mr. Mo, I- I just want to tell you that I saw Mo Zhi enter Madam¡¯s room today. And Madam went to look for Mo Zhi angrily. I was worried and followed Madam. I saw Mo Zhi take the bangle and crash it on the floor. Then, I saw Madam full of sadness and she pped Mo Zhi, and after that, you came.¡± She stammered through her words but Mo Hai instantly understood what she meant. He stood up from the sofa instantly and stared at the young housekeeper in shock. ¡°What- what did you say?¡± The young housekeeper replied, ¡°That was what had happened. Mo Zhi attacked Madam first, it wasn¡¯t Madam who attacked him. Sir, you misunderstood Madam!¡± Her words exploded in Mo Hai¡¯s ears as if they were a bomb. It made him stand rooted to the ground, stunned. He had misunderstood Li Shu? He had misunderstood Li Shu. How could he have misunderstood Li Shu? But if he had misunderstood Li Shu, why hadn¡¯t she exined herself at all? As long as she had wanted to exin to him, he would have definitely listened to her. The moment Mo Hai thought so, he froze suddenly. He understood why. She hadn¡¯t exined it because she waspletely disappointed in him. Hence, she had chosen not to say anything and only proposed the divorce. As for why Mo Xicheng had done that to Mo Zhi, he understood it even more since he now knew that Mo Xicheng had been taking revenge for Li Shu. Hence... The people in the wrong today hadn¡¯t been Li Shu and Mo Xicheng, it was him, Mo Hai. He hadn¡¯t believed his own wife and son and had gotten tricked by Mo Zhi. No wonder, no wonder Li Shu had looked at him in that way and asked for divorce. Li Shu was definitely not going to forgive him after he had made such a mistake. Unless... His pupils shrank and he rushed out as he said to the young housekeeper, ¡°Come out with me!¡¯ He went downstairs in anger and knocked hard on the door of the room Mo Zhi was staying in. After a while, Mo Zhi¡¯s voice was heard. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± ¡°Me! Open the door!¡± ¡°Dad?¡± Mo Zhi asked in confusion. ¡°Why are you here? I was already asleep.¡± ¡°Mo Zhi, open the door!¡± Mo Hai wished he could kick the door open. ¡°Ok, wait a moment.¡± After a while, he heard the sound of the door opening from inside. Before the door was fully opened, Mo Hai kicked it hard and walked in. Mo Zhi was half awake as he stared at Mo Hai. ¡°Dad, what¡¯s wrong? It¡¯s already sote.¡± After he said so, Mo Hai grabbed his shirt cor. ¡°Tell me, were you the one that targeted your mother, or was it your mother who had targeted you?!¡± Mo Zhi was stunned as he replied, ¡°Dad, what are you talking about? Of course¡ª¡± Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Mo Hai, ¡°Someone witnessed the dispute between both of you. Mo Zhi, do you still want to lie?!¡± Chapter 1604 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (77)

Chapter 1604: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (77)

Mo Zhi¡¯s pupils shrank back and he said, ¡°Dad, that¡¯s impossible!¡± ¡°Why is it impossible?!¡± He turned to the junior housekeeper andmanded, ¡°Speak up!¡± The junior housekeeper repeated what she had said in Mo Hai¡¯s study. Mo Zhi was furious to hear this and said, ¡°Dad, this is Mom¡¯s housekeeper, of course she would take Mom¡¯s side. How could you believe her? Maybe she¡¯s lying and plotting with Mom.¡± Mo Hai hesitated upon hearing this. He looked at Mo Zhi, almost believing what the man said. At this point, the junior housekeeper said weakly, ¡°No, I didn¡¯t- I¡ª¡± ¡°What are you talking about? Do you have proof? Just based on your words, who do you think will believe you?!¡± Mo Zhi berated her. He looked at Mo Hai and said, ¡°Dad, you have to believe me! I¡¯m your son, don¡¯t you know me well enough? This person was sent by Mom!! Otherwise, why would she be here at this hour?¡± As he said this, he nced at the junior housekeeper, suddenly realizing something. He shouted, ¡°Dad, look, it¡¯s her! Mom hired and gave this housekeeper a high sry because her family is poor. She needed arge amount of money for her brother to go to the university, so Mom separately gave her an advanced payment. She¡¯s Mom¡¯s loyal housekeeper, how can you believe her words?!¡± Mo Hai hesitated when he heard Mo Zhi¡¯s excuse. He slowly rxed his grip on Mo Zhi¡¯s hand, turned to the junior housekeeper and asked her, ¡°Whatever you saw, tell us, are there any other witnesses?¡± The junior housekeeper looked at Mo Zhi and shook her head, saying, ¡°No.¡± Mo Zhi was relieved to hear this. It was good that no one else had seen what had happened, so that he could continue insisting that it wasn¡¯t as the junior housekeeper said, so that he could continue lying and deceiving Mo Hai. He immediately pointed at the junior housekeeper and said, ¡°Dad, look, this person is a liar. I¡¯m not the sort of person she says I am. Don¡¯t you know me? Dad, you have to believe me, it was really not like she said.¡± Mo Hai began to hesitate. The junior housekeeper became anxious and said, ¡°Sir, I¡¯m telling the truth. It¡¯s true, it¡¯s true! I did¡ª¡± ¡°Shush! What position do you hold in this household? Why were you loitering outside my room? Don¡¯t you dare lie just to be loyal to your employer!¡± Mo Hai nodded in agreement and said, ¡°That¡¯s right, don¡¯t speak nonsense!¡± The junior housekeeper started to panic. ¡°I am not speaking nonsense! I have proof!¡± Mo Hai and Mo Zhi were instantly stunned. They both looked at the junior housekeeper. Her eyes reddened as she timidly took out her cell phone and said, ¡°I felt there was something wrong when it happened and didn¡¯t know what Mo Zhi was trying to do So, after Madam entered Mo Zhi¡¯s room and was out of the range of the surveince cameras, I used my phone to record what was happening.¡± Mo Zhi¡¯s eyes immediately widened in horror upon hearing this. Mo Hai, on the other hand, looked at the junior housekeeper in astonishment as she held out her cell phone with quivering hands. On the screen, the scene between Mo Zhi and Li Shu was ying. Mo Hai was stunned. He looked at Mo Zhi in disbelief. When Mo Zhi saw his ferocious stare, he gestured with his hands and retreated. ¡°Dad- Dad- it¡¯s not like what you see there. Dad¡ª¡± Before he could finish what he was saying, Mo Hai had lifted his hand. His fist came swinging down andnded squarely on Mo Zhi¡¯s face. Chapter 1605 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (78)

Chapter 1605: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (78)

Bam! Mo Hai¡¯s fist struck Mo Zhi¡¯s face, causing his head to snap to the side. Following this, he spat out a mouthful of blood, and among the bloody mess was a tooth. One could only imagine the force of Mo Hai¡¯s punch. Mo Zhi picked himself up from the ground. He looked at Mo Hai and was greeted by the man¡¯s bloodshot eyes. He was furious. He had never thought that Mo Zhi would lie to him. Then he thought of the look in Li Shu¡¯s eyes earlier on and suddenly he felt an inexplicable guilt and regret. Why on earth had he said those things to her? Li Shu must have been utterly shattered and disappointed to have suggested a divorce. Surely, the woman had lost all hope in him. Mo Hai stumbled backwards at this thought. Without another nce at Mo Zhi, he dashed out the door. He started the car and drove away, speeding towards Mo Xicheng¡¯s vi. Along the way, he was frantic and anxious, wishing he could see Li Shu immediately to tell her that he had misunderstood. He wanted to tell her it was his mistake and wanted her toe back to him. However, when he actually arrived at the vi entrance, Mo Hai mmed on the brakes and pulled the car to a hard stop by the roadside. Through the windows, he saw that Li Shu¡¯s room was dark. She must have gone to bed. He did not know if he should disturb her and, even less, whether the woman would forgive him after he had seen her and rified what he needed to. He immediately hung his head at these thoughts, feeling both nervous and in a conundrum. Suddenly, he was ovee by fear. If Li Shu refused to forgive him... For the first time, the man did not know what to do. No, this wasn¡¯t really the first time. This was the second time. The first time had been when a heavily pregnant Yao Lili had turned up at their doorstep. He had felt frantic and lost, just like now. He had been so afraid that Li Shu, who was also about to give birth, would leave him. At the time, Li Shu stayed. What about this time? Mo Hai didn¡¯t know what the answer would be. He asked himself if he had done her justice. He truly did love her. Because he loved her, he had refrained from all the flightiness and frivolousness of his youth. From being a young master yboy, he had be a man who harbored deep love and much affection for one woman. And he had ced all his focus and attention on her. He was such a man. Because of his affection for her, he had put all his efforts and energy into loving her and protecting her. He had been the same towards Mo Zhi. Since he had nurtured the boy, no matter how poorly the child behaved, he had tolerated it. But now... Mo Hai shook his head and relegated these thoughts to the back of his mind. He got out of the car and walked to the entrance. He raised his hand and was about to knock on the door, but on the other hand, he realized it waste and it would interrupt their rest. He couldn¡¯t sleep though. Could Li Shu? Could she be tossing and turning, having difficulty falling asleep, because he had misunderstood her? As these thoughts shed through his mind, he raised his hand and then dropped it again. He raised it and then dropped it again. After a few attempts, the door suddenly flew open. Mo Hai froze and quickly jumped back in fright. Through the crack between the door and the door frame, he saw Mo Xicheng. Mo Xicheng stood there staring back at him. Mo Hai frowned at once and said, ¡°I wish to see Li Shu.¡± Mo Xicheng did not answer, but kept looking at him. Finally, he walked out and stood between the man and the entrance. He asked Mo Hai, ¡°Would you like to go for a drink?¡± Chapter 1606 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (79)

Chapter 1606: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (79)

Mo Hai was taken aback. He looked up and saw Mo Xicheng standing before him, with clearly no intention of letting him in. Mo Hai was very aware that Mo Xicheng was not like Mo Zhi and would not obey him. If the man wasn¡¯t going to let him into the vi, he knew that there was no chance for him to see Li Shu tonight for sure. He took a deep breath and then nodded. Mo Xicheng did not take his own car, he instead got into Mo Hai¡¯s front passenger seat. As Mo Hai drove away, a silhouette on the window of the second floor moved. Li Shu cast her gaze down, hiding the sorrow in her eyes. Then she walked to the bed andy down. Divorce was thest thing she wanted. Certainly, all these years, Mo Hai had treated her well. But after how he had used her today and hisck of trust in her, it was all too painful and disappointing. Li Shu shut her eyes at this thought. ¨C In the bar. Mo Hai drank one shot after another. Mo Xicheng kept silent as well and only sat opposite the man, taking little sips of his wine every now and then. After a number of shots, Mo Hai suddenly lifted his head to look at Mo Xicheng. He asked, ¡°You must really hate me?¡± Mo Xicheng lifted his eyes, looked at the man impassively and replied, ¡°Where do you get hate where there is no love?¡± Mo Hai was stunned by that remark. Then heughed scornfully at himself, hung his head and said, ¡°You know, you really speak like your mother.¡± Mo Xicheng kept silent. Perhaps the man was a little drunk by now and his eyes were blurry. With reminiscence in his tone, he said, ¡°You know, when your mom was young, she was the most popr girl in school. She was not only pretty, she was a person of substance and extremely graceful. She had an exceptional character and disposition. Many guys were after her.¡± ¡°At the time I really liked her, but my schoolmates allughed at me. They said I was a stuffy bun and discouraged me from going after such a literary and refined girl. But I was like possessed, crazy over her even though she didn¡¯t think much of me.¡± ¡°You know, even at that time, your mom had a caustic tongue. With the words she used to insult me, one could write a book on remarkable quotes. Every rejection from her was like a poison arrow, it was impossible to retaliate.¡± ¡°At the time, she was spirited and energetic, full of enthusiasm. With a pen, she would write one thrilling story after another.¡± Then Mo Hai fell silent. As though he had traveled into another space in his memory and couldn¡¯t get out of it. Noticing this, Mo Xicheng waspelled to ask, ¡°What about now?¡± ¡°Now?¡± Mo Hai paused. The young man nodded and continued, ¡°That¡¯s right, what about her now? As glorious a life she had back then, she lives with the same measure of dejection now. In thest twenty years, almost thirty years, you¡¯ve used your marriage and the excuse of the child to tie her down. Has she really been happy?¡± Mo Hai was stunned. Mo Xicheng looked at him and said, ¡°Do you really know what it is to love a person?¡± Mo Hai shook his head. Mo Xicheng smirked and continued, ¡°Loving a person means simply wishing her happiness. When my mom was in her heyday, did you ever look at herughing and felt happy yourself? And what about now? You refuse to grant her a divorce, but have you seen herugh the way she did in her youth?¡± Had he seen it? Not for too many years. Mo Hai tried to recall but nothing came to mind. He could not remember thest time he had seen herughing heartily. Chapter 1607 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (80)

Chapter 1607: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (80)

The next remark from Mo Xicheng delivered a vicious stab to his heart. ¡°And you know, in love, there is a contentious saying that I¡¯d like to share with you right now.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Sometimes, letting go is a gift.¡± Mo Hai was stunned. Mo Xicheng got onto his feet. As he walked away, he said calmly, ¡°I¡¯ve called you a driver, he will take you home. I¡¯ll take my leave now.¡± The young man strode past Mo Hai and headed out of the bar. Now there was only Mo Hai left inside. He looked at the wine ss before him in a daze. Suddenly, heughed bitterly. He reached out for the bottle of wine in front of him and downed everything in a gulp. ¨C By the time the driver took Mo Hai home, it was almost daybreak. Stumbling into the living room, the man caught sight of Mo Zhi sitting on the sofa, waiting for him. He did not speak, but rather went around Mo Zhi and moved towards the master bedroom upstairs. However before he could get far, Mo Zhi grabbed his arm. The young man looked at his father and said, ¡°Dad, are you really abandoning me?¡± Because Mo Hai had knocked out his tooth, he now spoke with a slight lisp. His remark wasughable, but also heart-wrenching. Mo Hai halted and turned around. He spoke calmly without looking at Mo Zhi, ¡°How could I still keep you here?¡± Mo Zhi was shocked. Mo Hai cast his gaze on him now. He had nurtured and watched this young man grow from a small child¡ªit wasn¡¯t easy for him either. But now all those memories had been shattered. He had used to believe that even if Mo Zhi loved to scheme against others, he would never ever do it to his own father. But that had now proven wrong. Mo Zhi was no longer the innocent and pure little boy that he had watched grow up. Now he found the scheming young man constantly putting him in a difficult position with Li Shu. Mo Hai cast his gaze down at this thought. He said calmly to the man, ¡°Please move out tomorrow morning.¡± Mo Zhi was stunned. After a pause, he started, ¡°Dad, you¡¯re really abandoning me?! Dad, where do I go? Where can I move to? Dad, how could you be so heartless? Dad!!¡± Mo Zhi called out to him a few times, but Mo Hai did not speak. He only continued up the stairs. As Mo Zhi stood in the living room, looking up at the second floor, he curled his fingers tightly into fists and shook with anger. He had thought his dad loved him the most and that he could frame Li Shu. But unexpectedly, the most important person in his heart was still Li Shu. Mo Zhi took a few deep breaths at these thoughts and eventually brought his emotions under control. Then he turned around and walked out, towards his own apartment. ¨C Mo Hai entered his bedroom upstairs. Because he had drank a lot, he fell asleep surprisingly quickly. The moment hey down, exhaustionpletely overtook him and he slipped into a deep slumber. He had no idea how long he had been sleeping when he was woken up by the butler¡¯s sudden knock on the door. ¡°Sir, Sir, something¡¯s wrong! Something¡¯s wrong with Young Master Mo Zhi!¡± Mo Hai, now fully awake, looked at the door and inquired, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Has he attempted suicide again?¡± ¡°Not that.¡± Mo Hai sighed in relief and continued, ¡°Then what is it? As long as he hasn¡¯t killed himself, what¡¯s the panic about?¡± The butler started, but stopped again. Then finally he said, ¡°Hurry up ande take a look at Young Master Mo Zhi! He- he- he-¡° Chapter 1608 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (81)

Chapter 1608: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (81)

Mo Hai got to his feet impatiently. He was having a splitting headache but still, he headed for Mo Zhi¡¯s apartment. When he arrived at the door, he saw Mo Zhi hugging a pillow and sitting on the bed, mumbling inaudibly. He was staring nkly into the space ahead. When Mo Hai saw this, he frowned tightly. He looked at the butler and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± The butler sighed and replied, ¡°Young Master Mo Zhi was already like this when I woke up this morning. And he¡¯s still like this now. And when I speak to him, he ignores me. I suspect that he¡¯s... gone mental.¡± As he said this, he pointed at his own head. Mo Hai widened his eyes. His head felt like it was going to explode. He tried his best to calm himself before he walked in. As he entered the apartment, Mo Zhi lifted his eyes and nced at him. Then the young man continued to mumble and chant, ¡°Don¡¯t make me leave. This is my home, this is my home. Who am I? I¡¯m Mo Zhi, I¡¯m the young master of the Mo Family, everything in this family is mine. It¡¯s all mine, that¡¯s right, it¡¯s all mine. That Mo Xicheng is an illegitimate child, I¡¯m not, he is¡ª¡± Mo Hai frowned and shouted, ¡°Mo Zhi!¡± The young man ignored him and continued staring nkly ahead. His eyes didn¡¯t seem focused on anything in particr. Mo Hai realized this wasn¡¯t normal. He lowered his head and shouted again, ¡°Mo Zhi!¡± Mo Zhi continued to ignore him and stared nkly into space. Mo Hai was stunned and turned to look at the butler. The butler didn¡¯t dare to meet his eyes and instead lowered his head. Mo Hai hollered, ¡°Call the ambnce, quickly!¡± ¨C At the hospital. Mo Zhi was lying on the bed quietly, his eyes shut. He had fallen asleep after being injected with a stabilizer. Mo Hai was now talking to the doctor. ¡°Our initial exploration suggests that he has a significant level of depression,¡± the doctor said. ¡°This condition is normally triggered. He has been facing too much pressure recently.¡± Mo Hai was taken aback and asked, ¡°So what do we do now?¡± ¡°For now he needs the love and care of his family. Besides this, he needs to work out his emotional issues, otherwise his condition may worsen over time.¡± Mo Hai was taken aback. As he walked out of the doctor¡¯s office towards the VIP ward, he could see Mo Zhi lying there, sleeping cidly. Looking at Mo Zhi, he clenched his fists tightly. Yao Lili had already gone to jail and would be spending the rest of her life there. He was the only rtive that Mo Zhi had in the world. Hence no matter what mistake Mo Zhi had made, he was unable to abandon the boy. He found it impossible to force Mo Zhi out of the Mo family home, for making him leave the home was really no different from killing him. Mo Zhi was like his own son, so how could he bear to kill the boy?! Mo Hai tightened his fists and continued looking into the VIP ward. After a while, his cell phone rang. He looked down at the screen. It was Li Shu¡¯swyer. Mo Hai froze for a moment before he picked up the call. He heard thewyer say, ¡°Mr. Mo, Madam Li Shu has asked me to draw up the divorce documents. They¡¯re ready and I¡¯d like you to take a look. I wonder if you might be avable?¡± The divorce documents. Mo Hai¡¯s grip on the cell phone loosened and the device fell on the ground. Crack. The crisp sound of the phone hitting the ground brought the man back to the present. He looked down and bent over to pick up the phone. ¡°Mr. Mo? Mr. Mo?¡± Thewyer was calling out. Mo Hai stared ahead quietly and then shifted his gaze to the young man lying on the VIP ward. He said after a long pause, ¡°Ok, I¡¯m avable now. You can find me at the hospital.¡± Chapter 1609 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (82)

Chapter 1609: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (82)

In the lounge outside the ward. Lawyer Chen nced at Mo Zhi, turned around and took the seat beside Mo Hai. He nodded at the man and started, ¡°I¡¯m sorry this has happened to Mr. Mo Zhi.¡± Mo Hai looked back at thewyer without speaking. Lawyer Chen sighed and drew out a copy of divorce agreement from his briefcase. He handed the document to Mo Hai and said, ¡°This is Madam Li Shu¡¯s divorce agreement proposal. There are a few requests in it. Take a look and let me know if you agree.¡± Mo Hai was taken aback as he looked at the cover of the documents. It had the huge title ¡°Divorce Agreement¡± across it. Noticing this, Lawyer Chen sighed again and exined to Mo Hai, ¡°Madam Li Shu indicated that Mo Xicheng holds 30 percent of the Mo family business, in addition to the 20 percent that he got transferred from Mo Zhi. This makes 50 percent. Madam Li Shu holds 10 percent of the shares herself, so they own 60 percent in total. It appears you also own 30 percent, so her request is that in the future, that portion will be equally divided between Mo Xicheng and Mo Zhi. Madam Mo feels that this would do enough justice to Mo Zhi, given that the Mo family wasn¡¯t going to leave him a single cent in the first ce.¡± After Lawyer Chen had said this, he looked at Mo Hai. Mo Hai continued staring at the document with no reaction. Lawyer Chen called him, ¡°Mr. Mo? Mr Mo?¡± Mo Hai snapped back to the present and grunted. Thewyer paused. After a while, Mo Hai still did not speak. Thewyer asked, ¡°Mr. Mo, do you find this agreement satisfactory? If it is, we can get it signed.¡± Mo Hai said in response, ¡°I am not satisfied.¡± Lawyer Chen halted. Mo Hai ced the document down, looked at thewyer and repeated, ¡°I¡¯m most dissatisfied.¡± Lawyer Chen paused and sighed. He started again, ¡°Alright, what exactly do you find unsatisfactory? We can consider amendments.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just dissatisfied with everything.¡± Thewyer hesitated and then continued, ¡°Mr. Mo, the content of this agreement actually is in alignment with thew, it¡¯s not unreasonable. If you do not agree and we go to court, these are the minimum requirements.¡± Mo Hai nodded at this remark. Looking at the man, Lawyer Chen sighed again. He took out another divorce agreement from his briefcase. Mo Hai was stunned. Lawyer Chen held this document out to him and said, ¡°This is what Mr. Mo Xicheng instructed me to do if you disagreed. Take a look at this other agreement then.¡± Mo Hai picked up the agreement and read through it. Thewyer exined, ¡°Under this other agreement, you get to keep your 30 percent of the shares, they will have nothing to do with him or Madam Li Shu. The shares will belong to Mo Zhi in the future. In addition, you get to keep all the properties under your name. It is stated that as long as you agree to the divorce, you won¡¯t have to split the assets.¡± In other words, for the sake of a sessful divorce for Li Shu, Mo Xicheng was willing to sacrifice his right to be the head of the family. This was so that Li Shu could be free from Mo Hai, so that she could finally be happy. ¡°Mr. Mo, between these two agreements, what do you prefer?¡± Chapter 1610 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (83)

Chapter 1610: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (83)

Mo Hai stared at the two documents. They were very simr, with the exception of some changes in the details of one of them. He narrowed his eyes. After a moment, he grabbed both copies of the agreements. He looked at Lawyer Chen and said, ¡°I can sign the agreement, but I have to think about it.¡± Lawyer Chen paused upon hearing this and turned to nce at Mo Zhi in the ward. He understood. Nodding, he said, ¡°Sure, in this case, I¡¯ll be in touch again.¡± Mo Hai nodded. After thewyer left, Mo Hai lowered his gaze to look at the two agreements. He held them tightly, wishing they would burn to ashes. But he turned to nce at the young man in the VIP ward. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that Mo Zhi was ill, he would have already pushed the man aside to pursue Li Shu so that she would change her mind. But now, what right did he have to go after Li Shu with a burden like Mo Zhi in tow? One must not be greedy. Mo Zhi had already mistreated Li Shu. It was impossible to expect the woman to keep amodating him in the Mo family home without any resentment. Hence, between Li Shu and Mo Zhi, he could only choose one. But who? This didn¡¯t even seem to be a matter of choice. Inparison, Mo Zhi needed him more than Li Shu did. At least, she had Mo Xicheng. But Mo Zhi had only him. At this thought, he looked down at the divorce papers again. Then he slipped them into his own briefcase. ¨C In the afternoon when Mo Zhi awoke, there was still no improvement. Mo Zhi started to show some improvement only when Mo Hai said repetitively, ¡°I won¡¯t make you leave, you can stay in the Mo family. Mo Zhi, I won¡¯t make you leave.¡± At least, he was able to respond by grabbing Mo Hai¡¯s sleeves tightly and saying, ¡°You won¡¯t make me leave.¡± A few dayster, Mo Zhi¡¯s condition took a turn for the better. Under Mo Hai¡¯s repeated promise that he would not make Mo Zhi go away, thetter finally started to behave like a normal person. After leaving the hospital, the day he got discharged, Mo Hai brought Mo Zhi home. He did not ask Mo Zhi to stay in the servants¡¯ quarter. He instead allowed the boy to go back to the room that used to belong to him. Indeed, the moment Mo Zhi was allowed to go back to the house that he had grown up in, he immediately seemed to recover by leaps and bounds. When Mo Hai noticed this, he was relieved and nodded satisfactorily. However, he couldn¡¯t help but feel sorrow haunting him. After Mo Hai left Mo Zhi¡¯s room, that wide-eyed innocence on thetter¡¯s face disappeared instantly, giving way to a vicious glint. He narrowed his eyes. There was no way anyone was going to throw him out. This was his home! All he had had to do was to feign illness. Mo Hai¡¯s heart had softened and the next thing, he had been allowed home. Now that he had managed to reinstate his presence in the house, he was quite confident that it would just be a matter of time where the shares were concerned. He broke into a smile at this thought. The next morning, when Mo Zhi awoke, he noted that the lights in Mo Hai¡¯s study were still on. Curious, he walked into the study and saw that Mo Hai had fallen asleep at his desk with the divorce documents in front of him. He had already signed the divorce agreement. However, when he read the content and details rted to the asset distribution, his pupils shrank. It... it was impossible. Chapter 1611 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated! (84)

Chapter 1611: Mo Xicheng Reinstated! (84)

Mo Zhi widened his eyes in shock and looked at the divorce agreement with an expression of disbelief. Then he clenched his fists tightly. The divorce agreement had clearly listed the uses with the asset distribution: All shares of the Mo family business will be transferred to Mo Xicheng.All the properties owned by Mo Hai, upon his death, with the exception of a small apartment that is to be given to Mo Zhi, will be allocated to Mo Xicheng. But as long as he lives, he will remain in the Mo family home.Mo Xicheng will look after Mo Zhi till old age, giving the man a monthly allowance.... As he read, Mo Zhi got furious. It simply meant that all of the Mo family¡¯s assets would belong to Mo Xicheng, whereas he would only have a small apartment. Growing up in the Mo family, he had always thought that these things would be his one day, but now this had be but an illusion and a joke. He, Mo Zhi, would ultimately have nothing to his name. Nothing! At this thought, he gripped the divorce document tightly, his eyes boring hatefully into Mo Hai. In that instant, Mo Hai seemed to wake from his dream and frantically yelled, ¡°Li Shu!¡± Then he looked up instantly. He looked lost and confused as his gaze fell on Mo Zhi. As though realizing something, he patted his own chest. He had been dreaming. In his dream, Li Shu was walking along a road and got killed by a car, leaving him alone forever. Fortunately, it had only been a dream and not reality. Mo Hai sighed in relief. Suddenly, he came to some sort of realization and asked, ¡°Mo Zhi, why are you here?¡± Having said this, he noticed that the man was holding the divorce agreement in his hand. Mo Hai¡¯s pupils shrank back as he reached out in an attempt to snatch the document back from Mo Zhi, asking, ¡°Why are you looking at that?¡± However, Mo Zhi immediately drew his hand back, holding the document tightly in his grip. He stared at Mo Hai angrily and asked, ¡°Why? I should be asking you why! What¡¯s the meaning of this divorce agreement?¡± Mo Hai frowned and said with a deep growl, ¡°These are my assets, I distribute them as I wish. What objections should you have?¡± Mo Zhi asked him, ¡°What about me?¡± Mo Hai cast his gaze down and said, ¡°Mo Zhi, when you were Li Shu¡¯s son and he wasn¡¯t, we hadn¡¯t nned on giving him anything. And now that your positions have swapped, I¡¯m giving you an apartment, and whatever basic necessities you need, what more do you want? I¡¯ve done everything humanly possible to give you a leg up.¡± ¡°What are you talking about? You¡¯re my father, whatever¡¯s yours is mine! Why can¡¯t you give them to me rather than him?! Even if my mother isn¡¯t Li Shu, am I not your own child?!¡± Mo Hai frowned and said, ¡°You are my son. That¡¯s why I¡¯m doing this. You¡ª¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care, I¡¯m not asking for much. I¡¯m only asking for half of what you own! I want an equal share!¡± ¡°No way!¡± ¡°Why not?!¡± Mo Zhi shouted. He raised his voice further, ¡°I¡¯m your son too! How could you treat me this way? You have to give me an equal share!¡± ¡°I said no! Over my dead body! My assets will go to Mo Xicheng, that goes without saying.¡± Chapter 1612 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (85)

Chapter 1612: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (85)

Mo Zhi was taken aback by Mo Hai¡¯s furious shout. He looked at the man, speechless and in a daze. After staring at each other for a while, Mo Hai sighed. He suddenly turned around, walked to the bookshelf and opened the top drawer. His head was lowered and his back was to Mo Zhi as he started to search the drawer for something. There was a box in the drawer with a substantial sum that he had stashed away for Mo Zhi. Even if he was going to abandon this boy, and even if he was going to hand over the family business to Mo Xicheng, this was all to prevent the two boys from fighting over thepany shares. In addition, it would allow Mo Xicheng to manage the business better. But Mo Zhi was his son nevertheless, he could notpletely abandon him. Hence, he had prepared this sum of money for him. He picked up the box and was about to turn around to hand it over to Mo Zhi when he felt a pair of hands close around his neck, squeezing it with force. Feeling the force of the grip, he froze and tried to turn around. His peripheral vision caught Mo Zhi¡¯s vicious expression. That murderous look in the man¡¯s eyes stunned Mo Hai as he stood rooted to the ground in shock. Mo Zhi had gone mad, truly. How could he do this? Over his dead body. Mo Hai¡¯s words had taken root in the man¡¯s mind, spawning thoughts with that possibility. Indeed, if Mo Hai died, then as Mo Hai¡¯s son, he would have the legal right to own the man¡¯s assets. When that time shoulde, he would hire people to give him a hand. Perhaps all the assets would end up with him alone. As soon as this thought hade to him, he could no longer contain himself. The moment he looked up, he had seen Mo Hai bending over to retrieve something. Although Mo Hai had put on a little weight over the ears, he was a dashing man with a long neck. Instantly, it had tempted Mo Zhi to think that if only he gave that neck a strong, firm squeeze, it would kill the man. If Mo Hai died, the money would be his. Like a possessed person, he had taken a step forward and had locked his hands over that neck. Looking into Mo Hai¡¯s shocked expression, Mo Zhi said viciously, ¡°Die, old man! If you die, the estate will be mine! If you die, the matter will be settled! You mistreat me, you should die!¡± Along with these remarks, his grip tightened, causing Mo Hai some difficulty breathing. He reached out and tried to free himself from Mo Zhi. After all, he was quite a strong man. In addition, during all these years, Mo Zhi had led a leisure lifestyle, causing him to be physically quite weak. Hence, the moment Mo Hai¡¯s survival instinct kicked in and gave him the added strength to act, he was able to break Mo Zhi¡¯s grip and shove him aside. He looked at Mo Zhi in disbelief and said, ¡°Mo Zhi, are you mad!¡± Mo Zhi smirked as he looked back at the man and said, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m mad! I¡¯m truly a mad man! Mo Hai, if you don¡¯t give me my share today, I will kill you!¡± Having said this, he instantly turned around and shut the study door. He turned around again and looked at Mo Hai. Mo Hai saw no affection or hesitation in the man¡¯s eyes, only a murderous look. He felt as though his heart was being painfully sliced by a sharp knife. He would have never thought, not even in his wildest imagination, that this child, who he had personally nurtured, would do this to him. The man had even threatened to kill him. Chapter 1613 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (86)

Chapter 1613: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (86)

Mo Hai only felt despair and hopelessness. For Mo Zhi¡¯s sake, he had given up thest hope between Li Shu and him. Since he wasn¡¯t going to chase Mo Zhi away, he didn¡¯t have the face to look for Li Shu. But now? Mo Zhi actually wanted to kill him for the sake of money. The amount of strength he had used just now had been filled with his determination to kill him. But putting feelings aside, how could this person be so stupid!? If he killed him at home, what would happen after that? As a murderer, he still pretended to inherit his assets? It was as if he was brainless. Mo Hai was both anxious and angry. How could a son he had brought up personally be such an useless person? No wonder everyone in thepany had looked down on him. He had originally thought that Mo Zhi was still young and hadn¡¯t grown up, thus he couldn¡¯t do many things well. But now he finally understood that, even though he had studied for so many years, he had just been an idiot all this time. He was just an idiot. Theseplex emotions were swirling inside Mo Hai¡¯s body and his face was pale. Mo Zhi stared at Mo Hai and said, ¡°You, sign this divorce agreement, or else I will definitely kill you!! You¡¯re old and weaker than me.¡± That was literally the funniest joke in the world. He was just a young brat who hadn¡¯t grown up. And now he was telling the wolf in the wolf¡¯s den that he wanted to kill him? That was literally the funniest joke in the world! He stared at Mo Zhi and suddenly shook his head. Mo Zhi was shocked and at that moment, the door was pushed open by the butler. The butler rushed in with security guards and asked, ¡°Sir, what¡¯s wrong? What happened?¡± After he said so, everyone looked at Mo Zhi. Mo Zhi was stunned. He stared at the butler and then turned his head to look at Mo Hai. Mo Hai was still a distance away from Mo Zhi, thus Mo Zhi wouldn¡¯t be able toe close to him at that moment. Mo Hai pointed at a flower vase nearby and said, ¡°You¡¯ve lived in this house for so many years and you don¡¯t know that this is a security rm?!¡± Mo Zhi¡¯s pupils shrank. He looked at Mo Hai in panic and then looked at the people around him again. Then he didn¡¯t say anything, he just turned around and tried to escape. ¡°Catch this unfilial son!¡± Mo Hai shouted angrily. The butler waved and the security officer grabbed his arms. Mo Zhi struggled as if he was mad and he only became silent after realizing that there was no way for him to escape. He turned around, looked at Mo Hai and cried, ¡°Dad, I¡¯m wrong, I have realized my mistake, I really have realized it! Dad, please forgive me. Dad, I was wrong, I was just possessed. Dad, I- I have depression. I don¡¯t even know what I have done just now. Dad, I¡ª¡± Before he could finish speaking, Mo Hai couldn¡¯t help butugh sarcastically. ¡°Depression? Why are you talking like this? Weren¡¯t you speaking so well just now?¡± How could Mo Hai not have realized that Mo Zhi had been faking his illness after all of this? He was utterly disappointed in his son. How had he brought him up to be so stupid? He was even using the female method of being dramatic and acting to get what he wanted. Was he even a man? As he recalled Mo Xicheng¡¯s resilience and silence, Mo Hai suddenly realized that Mo Zhi couldn¡¯t even bepared to a finger of Mo Xicheng. And the funniest thing was he seemed blind and only had Mo Zhi in his eyes. Chapter 1614 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (87)

Chapter 1614: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (87)

Right now, Mo Hai only felt like a great joke. He narrowed his eyes and stared at Mo Zhi. At the same time, he wavered and was at a loss as to how he should manage this son of his. Even though the boy was foolish and had even tried to kill him, weren¡¯t all parents in the world forever tolerant and forgiving towards their own children? What Mo Zhi had done could easily be qualified as premeditated murder and, if he called the police, Mo Zhi would surely spend the rest of his life in jail. Although he detested Mo Zhi, and although at this point he couldn¡¯t hate the boy more, Mo Hai still did not like going to the extreme. The affection that had developed from watching the boy grow up wasn¡¯t something that he could just ignore. Hence with a wave of his hand, Mo Hai said, ¡°Take him away and lock him up in the servant¡¯s quarters. He is not toe out without my permission!¡± ¡°Yes, Sir.¡± The butler answered and then turned around to seize Mo Zhi. They then took him out by force. Instantly, he was alone now in the study. Mo Hai lowered his head and stared at the divorce document. He sat down, feeling irritable and suddenly extremely helpless. He held up the crumpled divorce document that Mo Zhi had gripped before and read the content again. At this point, his cell phone rang. He picked up the call and heard Li Shu¡¯s voice on the other end. She asked, ¡°Have you signed the divorce papers? His gaze fell on the document as he replied, ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve signed it.¡± ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll arrange for mywyer to pick it up from you.¡± ¡°No,¡± Mo Hai answered. ¡°I¡¯ll bring it over to you.¡± Li Shu replied in an icy tone, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to trouble you, I¡ª¡± ¡°Li Shu,¡± Mo Hai interrupted her, ¡°even if we¡¯re going to divorce, can¡¯t we do it calmly, sit down and discuss it? Don¡¯t tell me that you¡¯re going to avoid me forever?¡± Li Shu stopped and paused. Then she said, ¡°Ok,e over tonight then.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± Mo Hai got to his feet after hanging up. Holding the divorce document, he walked around the room once and, eventually, walked out. It was morning still, there was some time to go till the evening. Especially when Mo Zhi, who had been locked up in the servant¡¯s quarter, was shouting and yelling so much that it became exhausting to listen to. Mo Hai decided to leave the house. He got into the car and drove to Mo Xicheng¡¯s vi. He stopped the car by the road outside the vi grounds and lit a cigarette. He drew in a deep puff that irritated his throat and made him choke. He coughed violently till his face turned red. Then his eyes started to burn as well, filled with tears. But instead of crying, he forced his tears back. A fifty-year-old man crying? How embarrassing was that? As he told himself this, he calmed himself down. He turned to look at the divorce agreement on the front passenger seat, and then looked ahead again at the front door of the vi, as though he was able to see Li Shu through the shut door. Waiting there somehow brought him a sense of calmness. At this thought, the front door suddenly swung open. Following this, he saw Li Shu approaching the car. She took one graceful step at a time and oddly, he recalled a time in their youth. Chapter 1615 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (88)

Chapter 1615: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (88)

Mo Hai watched, mesmerized, as Li Shu approached the car and knocked on the window. Mo Hai snapped out of his daze and quickly wound down the window. The stench of cigarettes escaped through the opening at once, causing Li Shu to turn away and sneeze. Mo Hai turned and realized he was holding a cigarette. He immediately stubbed it out, opened the door and got out. Li Shu said, ¡°Don¡¯t shut the door. Let the air through.¡± The man halted and obediently did as he was told. Then he looked at Li Shu and asked nervously, ¡°Why- why did youe out here?¡± Li Shu: ... She looked at the man and replied, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I be the one asking this question?¡± Mo Hai was stumped for a moment and then gushed, ¡°Oh- oh. I signed the divorce agreement and brought it.¡± After he said this, he walked around the car. He opened the front passenger seat door, bent over and looked at the crumpled document. His hand halted midway before touching the papers and picking them up. He straightened up and walked to Li Shu. All of a sudden, he found himself wishing there was an endless distance between them. That way, he could walk towards her forever. But after a few seconds, he found himself right in front of her. She lowered her gaze to look at the agreement in his hands. Immediately, she extended her hand and said, ¡°Let me have it.¡± He paused and slowly looked up. Li Shu said, ¡°Thank you for this.¡± He went into a daze. Lowering his head, he looked at the document again. He lifted his gaze to look into Li Shu¡¯s face. After so many years, her features hadn¡¯t changed much. He slowly lifted his hand and gestured, ¡°It¡¯s ok, you¡¯re wee.¡± As Li Shu¡¯s hand reached over, he also lifted his arm. However, just when she was about to touch the document, he suddenly drew the papers back. He looked up and said, ¡°Li Shu, there¡¯s something I¡¯d like to say.¡± Li Shu frowned and replied, ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve rified the matter with Mo Zhi. I know I¡¯ve misunderstood. And today, Mo Zhi even tried to kill me.¡± Li Shu was stunned and quickly looked at him at once when he said this. But on the other hand, she suddenly felt silly. Since he was standing before her and telling her this, it meant he was alright. Hence, she maintained her silence and did not speak. Her firm attitude showed her determination to get a divorce. Mo Hai looked intently at her and said, ¡°I had a dreamst night.¡± ¡°I dreamt that you died in an ident and left me forever. I signed the agreement before I had this dream, but now...¡± He suddenly reached out, gripped her hand and said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to lose you.¡± On this note, he released her hand and in a sh, ripped up the divorce papers. He had changed his mind too quickly and, before Li Shu could even react, the divorce agreement was already in shreds. She was livid as she red at the man and hollered, ¡°Mo! Hai!¡± He gripped her hand again and said to her, ¡°Li Shu, please forgive me. I know it was my fault. Please give me one more chance, will you? Chapter 1616 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (89)

Chapter 1616: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (89)

Li Shu stared at him for the longest time before she smiled icily and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± She attempted to release her hand from his grip. This time she was unexpectedly quite forceful, so Mo Hai released his grip. She paused as the man continued, ¡°Li Shu, I will not sign the divorce papers. Because I¡¯m going to win you all over again. I managed to do it in my youth and now, I will start all over again.¡± ¡°Li Shu, I know that I went overboard and hurt you. But please give me another chance. You will see for yourself, I won¡¯t be misled by Mo Zhi anymore, really. From now on I won¡¯t trust him.¡± After he said these words, Mo Hai looked at Li Shu and asked, ¡°Will you give me one more chance?¡± Li Shu frowned. After a moment, she shook her head. She took a step back, cast her gaze down and said, ¡°Mo Hai, sometimes you can start all over again, but there are some wounds that cannot be fixed with just an apology. I cannot forgive you, not because you mistreated me, not because you made a blunder and trusted Mo Zhi, or because you didn¡¯t trust me. I cannot forgive you because I hate you and I me you. If it weren¡¯t for you, my son wouldn¡¯t have suffered for so many years. Do you know that every time I think about how Mo Xicheng was mistreated for twenty years, my heart aches? It¡¯s not that I¡¯m unable to forgive you. Rather, I cannot forgive myself.¡± After saying all of this, she added with a frostyugh, ¡°And you, can you make up for the twenty years that Mo Xichengcked a family? Can your apology bring back Mo Xicheng¡¯s childhood, or our acknowledgment of him?¡± Without waiting for his answer, Li Shu continued, ¡°The answer is no.¡± ¡°Hence there is no hope for us. Mo Hai, let¡¯s not be involved with each other anymore.¡± On this note, Li Shu nodded at him and turned around. With the same graceful movements, she walked back to the vi. Looking at her back, Mo Hai was overwhelmed by a sense of disappointment and abandonment. He could only feel a cutting pain inside, and it hurt so much that he found himself unable to breathe. He wanted to speak, but he held back. He got into the car and, with trembling hands, lit a cigarette. He drew in a deep puff that stung his lungs, causing him to splutter and cough violently. The coughing caused his eyes to sting and tear up. In his coughing fit, he identally hit the button that turned on the radio. A song came from the speakers immediately, it was all Li An¡¯s ¡°Love Is Over.¡± The mournful tune filled the car. Li An¡¯s mncholic voice crooned: ¡°Love is over. Time has rushed past like water, water that calmed my soul. The pain left without a trace. Although you once had shown true love, and I made promises of my steadfastness, why did you leave without a word and broke my heart to pieces?¡± Immersed in sorrow, the tears that Mo Hai had fought so hard to hold back finally poured down. The hot tears fell on the car seat. He raised his hand to his mouth and tried to muffle his sobs. He really truly did love Li Shu. Was there really no more hope of a reconciliation between the two of them? How had theye to this point? Chapter 1617 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (90)

Chapter 1617: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (90)

As he wallowed in his sorrow, his cell phone suddenly rang. He looked down at the screen and realized it was a call from home. He picked up the call. As he did so, he heard the butler¡¯s voice, ¡°Sir, bad news. Young master Mo Zhi has disappeared!¡± Mo Hai froze for a moment and asked, ¡°What do you mean disappeared?¡± ¡°We locked him in the servant¡¯s quarter but after a while, we found the windows open and he was missing.¡± Mo Hai was stunned. He came to the realization that the boy may have run away because he was worried about what he might do to him. So in his heart, no one could be trusted. At this thought, he suddenly felt a sense of loneliness engulf him. All his life, the one woman he had loved the most was Li Shu, and Mo Zhi was his most beloved son. But in the end, both had left him. Now he was alone, sitting in his car in solitude, looking at the skies above him. In this vast and boundless sea of people, he felt lost. He started up his car, spun it around and drove away. As he drove along the streets, he suddenly spotted a giant LCD screen on a building ahead. It was broadcasting an advertisement that Mo Xicheng had endorsed. It felt as though the man¡¯s gloomy eyes were looking right through him, into his heart, from the screen. He froze. Mo Xicheng. When he took a closer look, he realized that Mo Xicheng actually had his features. Even though he had grown up under Yao Lili¡¯s care, the man¡¯s inner quality and temperament weren¡¯t something Yao Lili could have fostered. This son was an excellent young man, an extremely fine young man. In fact, he was so excellent that in the past, he had feared that this boy would return to the family and fight Mo Zhi for the family estate. He had every reason to be proud of such a son. Just like how he had participated in the parents¡¯ meetings when Mo Zhi was young and had envied the parents of those students who excelled in their studies, dancing, or other areas. At that time, he would often wish that Mo Zhi would excel at something and gave him a reason to be a proud parent, even for a little while. But this thinking had obviously not been realistic. Back then, he would inevitably spot Mo Xicheng. The boy would sit at his desk in the back row, without his parents, without anyone to apany him. He would sit with a lowered head, earnestly doing his homework,pletely unaffected by what was going on around him. He thought about how Mo Xicheng would always score 60 points in his exams. He actually understood that, while it was easy to fail an exam, just as it was easy to ace it, scoring exactly 60 points consistently was quite a feat. This showed that Mo Xicheng had a good grasp of the questions asked. For someone like him, it would have never been a problem to be top of the ss every year. Even the teacher had told him this in private. But Mo Hai had never taken it to heart. He even knew that this had been an act of retaliation on Mo Xicheng¡¯s part since he hadn¡¯t let the boy fare better than Mo Zhi. Hence, scoring 60 points consistently for all subjects was just a demonstration of his pride and stubbornness. And now... He finally had to face it. If the babies had not been swapped, then the parent who would have been on stage delivering a speech and sharing the experience of bringing up a highly-achieving child would have been himself. And by now, he would have also been able to stand proudly before this LCD screen, telling everyone that Mo Xicheng was his son. Chapter 1618 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (91)

Chapter 1618: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (91)

For the first time, Mo Hai felt a deep regret. He stared at therge screen and finally shook his head. Then he continued driving home. ¨C Mo Xicheng took care of all the issues in the Mo family business. When the issues had been sorted out, thepany got back on track. Finally, he had time to start thinking about his rtionship with Shi Nianyao. Recently, every visit to the Shi Family home triggered an increasingly hostile attitude from Shi Jinyan. But right from the start, Mo Xicheng had no idea what was behind this behavior. On this particr day after work, he walked to the underground parking. He got into the car, went to buy some fruits and hurried to the Shi family home. Ding! A message came in, so he picked up his cell phone. It was from Shi Nianyao: [Don¡¯t need to hurry, take your time.] Mo Xicheng smiled unconsciously. They had arranged to watch a movie together tonight and after that, spend a romantic night out. He had been too busytely and hadn¡¯t had the time to keep herpany. It was only today, after just finishing an important meeting, that he finally had some time to breathe. Not to mention Shi Nianyao, even he was missing her exceptionally a lot. It hadn¡¯t seemed so bad when things were busy, but now when he could rx a little and set work aside in his mind, his yearning for her grew exponentially and he started to feel like he was going crazy from it. He cast his gaze down and picked up his cell phone. He recorded and sent a voice message. ¡°Yao Yao, I¡¯ll be there very soon. I miss you.¡± Then he set the cell phone aside and continued driving. After a moment, he heard another notification. Picking up the cell phone, Mo Xicheng realized that Shi Nianyao had responded with a voice message as well. When he yed it, he heard various voices in the background, as though there were a few people talking at once. ¡°Hey, no looking!¡± That was Shi Nianyao¡¯s voice. ¡°What are you talking about, why are you being so secretive?¡± There was Shi Xun¡¯s voice. ¡°Missing you? Why hasn¡¯t hee to see you for days then?¡± And that was Shi Jinyan¡¯s voice. ¡°Stop teasing her.¡± Then there was Si Jingyu¡¯s voice. Then the voices grew softer and after a while, there was only Shi Nianyao¡¯s voice. ¡°When you sent me that voice message, I yed it without thinking and everyone heard it.¡± Mo Xicheng: ... No wonder they were ridiculing him. Nevertheless, he opened WeChat and sent another voice message. ¡°Why are there so many people around today?¡± Shi Nianyao said, ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t know. My brother and sister-inw don¡¯t usuallye home, so I do wonder why they¡¯re here today. And even Little Cherry is here... Oh, are you still driving? Don¡¯t send me messages, focus on the road.¡± Her stern tone made him smile as he answered, ¡°Yes, Madam Wifey.¡± Instantly, a voice message from her came back, ¡°Arghhhh, stop embarrassing me!¡± Heughed aloud. ¨C Meanwhile, everyone saw Shi Nianyao holding the cell phone and turning red from Mo Xicheng¡¯s words, which she admittedly loved to hear. Hence, another round of teasing started. His maic voice made her blush and her heart go wild. Unable to resist it, she yed the message again. Chapter 1619 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (62)

Chapter 1619: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (62)

¡°You¡¯re still listening!¡± Tian Tian walked up behind Shi Nianyao and patted her shoulder. Shi Nianyao instantly ced her cell phone down and looked back at her with a red face. ¡°Sister-inw,¡± she greeted. Tian Tian nodded and pointed to the living room behind her. ¡°Dad is unhappy about it.¡± Shi Nianyao stuck her tongue out and said, ¡°Dad¡¯s temper is getting worse as he gets older. Why is it so weird?¡± Tian Tian couldn¡¯t helpughing. ¡°Do you really not know or are you just acting?¡± Shi Nianyao widened her eyes. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Dad just can¡¯t bear to let you go!¡± Shi Nianyao was shocked. ¡°Dad can¡¯t bear to let me go? Doesn¡¯t he wish that I¡¯m not home everyday so I don¡¯t disturb Mom and him? The reason why he sent me overseas to study then was because I had been sticking around Mom too much.¡± Tian Tian: ... Tian Tian shook her head and said, ¡°This kid... Now that your rtionship is getting more and more serious with Mo Xicheng, Dad must be feeling more and more terrible inside. Besides that, let me ask you something.¡± As she said so, Tian Tian dragged her to the side and asked softly, ¡°Why hasn¡¯t Mo Xicheng mentioned anything about marriage yet?¡± Shi Nianyao: ...!! It was because they had gotten married long ago. But now how was she supposed to say it? She thought for a while and looked at the few people in the living room hesitantly. Then, she lowered her voice and said, ¡°Sister-inw, you must help me with this!¡± Tian Tian was shocked. ¡°What? Does Mo Xicheng not want to marry you? If that¡¯s the case, I don¡¯t agree to you two being together. Let me tell you, a man who doesn¡¯t want to marry you is definitely not a good man!¡± Shi Nianyao anxiously waved her hand. ¡°It¡¯s not that, definitely not that!¡± ¡°Then what is it?¡± Shi Nianyao couldn¡¯t help grabbing her arm. ¡°I- I already married Mo Xicheng, what is there to discuss?¡± Tian Tian: ...! Tian Tian stared at Shi Nianyao in shock. She couldn¡¯t help but gulp before asking, ¡°When was that?¡± Shi Nianyao was like a poor girl who had been treated unfairly. ¡°One month ago.¡± ¡°One month!!¡± Tian Tian shouted. Then she suddenly lowered her voice, worried that she would catch the attention of the people behind her. She grabbed Shi Nianyao and walked to a corner on the side. ¡°You¡¯re saying that one month ago you- Oh, I remember it now. You went to a vi hotel with him in the countryside, and then you were dragged back home by your brother.¡± ¡°It was that fateful day!¡± Tian Tian was really speechless. ¡°Back then people still thought of him as an illegitimate son. And no one knew what his future would be like then! He was still battling with Mo Zhi and no one knew who would win the fight. How dared you marry him behind our backs?¡± Shi Nianyao replied, ¡°Yes, I just did it the moment I had the idea. I didn¡¯t give it much thought, so now...¡± ¡°So how much longer were you intending to hide this from everyone?!¡± As Shi Nianyao was speaking to Tian Tian, she was interrupted by a cold voice behind her. Shi Nianyao jumped in shock and turned her head. Then she saw Shi Xun standing behind her, his face was scarily ck and sunken. Shi Nianyao instantly jumped and moved in front of Shi Xun. Just as she was about to cover his mouth, she heard Shi Jinyan ask, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Shi Nianyao continuously shook her head to Shi Xun, but it was as if Shi Xun hadn¡¯t seen it. He turned his head and said, ¡°Dad.¡± Chapter 1620 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (93)

Chapter 1620: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (93)

Shi Nianyao was quite anxious. If Shi Jinyan found out and he got angry, what if he hit Mo Xicheng? As she was about to break into tears, Shi Xun said, ¡°She is too extroverted, I am lecturing her.¡± Shi Nianyao: ... Shi Nianyao was instantly relieved. She lifted her head up and red at Shi Xun. But Shi Xunpletely didn¡¯t bother about her. Instead he asked, ¡°Where¡¯s mom?¡± Shi Jinyan turned his head and looked at the living room. ¡°She¡¯s watching television. What are all of you doing at the balcony?¡± After he said so, he took his tea cup and walked to the water cooler to drink. Seeing that she had somewhat survived this stage, she was finally relieved. She patted her chest, looked up at Shi Xun and said, ¡°Brother, you really scared me¡ª¡± Before she could finish speaking, Shi Xun narrowed his eyes and spoke with a cold tone, ¡°This will definitely be exposed soon, don¡¯t think that you can escape it! If Dad knows that you¡¯ve married Mo Xicheng secretly behind his back, he won¡¯t do anything to you because he dotes on you so much. But you don¡¯t know what he¡¯ll do to Mo Xicheng!¡± Shi Nianyao jumped in shock and grabbed Shi Xun¡¯s arm. ¡°Brother, then what should I do?¡± ¡°What should you do? I don¡¯t know!¡± Shi Xun sneered, shook her hand off his sleeve and left. Shi Nianyao stared at his back and cried out, ¡°Brother, you must help me!¡± Only when Shi Xun had returned to his bedroom, without saying anything, Shi Nianyao turned around and heaved a deep sigh of relief. Tian Tian said, ¡°You look like you got a huge burden off your shoulders?¡± Shi Nianyao replied, ¡°Now that my brother knows, he¡¯ll definitely help me settle everything. I can finally stop worrying! I can just wait to be a pretty bride. Sister-inw, let¡¯s go to the hairdresser soon.¡± Tian Tian: ...!! ¨C But in no time, Shi Nianyao could no longerugh. She stared at the person in front of him and asked, ¡°Why?¡± Shi Xun sneered, ¡°My sister isn¡¯t someone you can easily ask out. You¡¯re not allowed to go out tonight.¡± Shi Nianyao became anxious. ¡°But it¡¯s been a few days since I saw Mo Xicheng!¡± ¡°So what? You¡¯re supposed to be reserved as a girl. I said that you¡¯re not allowed to go out after it gets dark and that¡¯s final!¡± Shi Xun spoke domineeringly. He called the butler over and said, ¡°Find a few people to watch after her. Make sure she doesn¡¯t escape.¡± Butler: ... No one ventured anotherment. At that moment, everyone in the Shi family was in the living room. They were all shocked by Shi Xun¡¯s unreasonable request. Tian Tian pulled his arm. ¡°Shi Xun, don¡¯t be like this. Nianyao and Mo Xicheng have indeed not seen each other for a few days, just let the young people go out and have fun.¡± Both of them were newly-weds, how could they not be allowed to meet? But unexpectedly, Shi Xun didn¡¯t even give face to Tian Tian. He said, ¡°No way, a girl should be reserved.¡± Tian Tian: ... She had always trusted Shi Xun. Even though he was being stubborn now, he had just realized that his sister had already been taken by another man, so Tian Tian decided to shut her mouth and understand him. Shi Xun had to be really sad. But even Si Jingyu couldn¡¯t take it any longer. ¡°Even if you don¡¯t allow her to go out, at least let him in and let the two of them meet.¡± Chapter 1621 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (94)

Chapter 1621: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (94)

However, when Shi Xun heard her words, he still insisted. ¡°Meet for what? Also, if Mo Xicheng really likes Nianyao, he will definitely be back. If he can¡¯t even take a small obstacle like this, they should just break up.¡± Shi Nianyao became angry. ¡°Brother, you¡ª¡± Before she could finish speaking, she saw Shi Xun look at her sternly. It was really obvious what he meant. If she still refuses to obey him, he would tell the truth to their parents. Shi Nianyao instantly quietened down. She lowered her head and snorted with anger. Then she suddenly turned and went upstairs. At that moment, everyone in the room got suddenly silent. After a while, Shi Jinyan coughed and said, ¡°Shi Xun, just now¡ª¡± Before he could finish, Shi Xun looked at Shi Jinyan and said, ¡°Dad, I know that you have always doted on my sister the most and have never denied her anything. But this time, you must listen to me! You must know that Nianyao used to like Mo Xicheng too much and we should control it now. If not, Nianyao will definitely be on the losing end when they are together in the future.¡± Shi Jinyan: ... ¡°Dad, you cannot give in!¡± Shi Jinyan: ... After Shi Xun said that, he spoke to the butler again. ¡°I have already told him what to do, so¡ª¡± ¡°So there¡¯s nothing else for you to do here, you can go now!¡± Si Jingyu was inviting him to leave. When Shi Xun heard this, he added, ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t mean that. I realized that ever since we moved out, after we got married, we haven¡¯t really apanied and stayed with all of you. I have discussed it with Tian Tian and we will move back home for some time.¡± Si Jingyu: ... Shi Jinyan: ... Shi Jinyan looked upstairs and recalled how sad Shi Nianyao had looked. She coughed. ¡°Erm, we don¡¯t need yourpany. We¡ª¡± ¡°We will apany you even if you don¡¯t need it. Dad, I know you¡¯re saying this for our sake, but it is our responsibility as your children,¡± Shi Xun inly said. Shi Jinyan: ... Si Jingyu said, ¡°It¡¯s actually that I don¡¯t feel well recently. All of youing back, plus the two kids, it would be too noisy, I¡ª¡± ¡°Mom, why didn¡¯t you mention that you¡¯re not feeling well earlier? If that is so, we should let the kidse back to apany you and show their respect to you more often. So that¡¯s decided.¡± After he said so, Shi Xun walked upstairs. Everyone: ... Tian Tian couldn¡¯t helpughing bitterly after Shi Xun went upstairs. Shi Jinyan asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with him?¡± Tian Tian replied, ¡°... I think that he might be unhappy because his sister is going to get married.¡± Shi Jinyan said, ¡°Not even I am unhappy. Why is he unhappy?¡± Si Jingyu nodded as well. ¡°Yes, is it really alright if we treat Mo Xicheng like this? Butler, go take a look if Mo Xicheng is still waiting outside the door.¡± The butler answered, ¡°Yes, he¡¯s still there. Madam, just now Sir asked me to not let him enter.¡± Si Jingyu: ... Si Jingyu turned her head and red at Si Jingyan. ¡°Look at you, you and your son have the same bad temper. One of you is making life difficult for Mo Xicheng, and the other one is even worse, not even allowing him toe into the house! Do you know how many days Nianyao has been excited about it? Now what should we do? Your daughter will be so sad that she won¡¯t be able to sleep tonight!!¡± Chapter 1622 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (95)

Chapter 1622: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (95)

Shi Jinyan fell silent upon hearing these words. He recalled Shi Nianyao¡¯s unhappy expression and started to reflect on the matter. Had he been a little overprotective perhaps? As he contemted it, he heard sobbinging from upstairs. ¡°Sob, sob, sob.¡± Shi Nianyao was trying to suppress her tears. Shi Jinyan immediately caved in. He got to his feet and coughed lightly. ¨C Upstairs, in the meantime. Shi Nianyao red at Shi Xun and asked, ¡°Big Brother, what¡¯s the big deal? Why are you asking me to pretend to cry?¡± Shi Xun gave a cold snort and replied, ¡°Well, do you want to go on your date tonight or not?¡± She quickly replied, ¡°Of course I want to! Big Brother, don¡¯t you even know what I¡¯m thinking? You were so stern all of a sudden and even agreed with Dad. He¡¯ll just think he¡¯s in the right!¡± Shi Xunughed and said, ¡°No, he won¡¯t. Just you watch.¡± Shi Nianyao was surprised. Then she heard footstepsing upstairs. Shi Xun threw her a look as she quickly lowered her head and pretended to cry. ¡°Big Brother, how could you do this? You¡¯re awful! I¡¯m a grown adult and I have the right to date! You can¡¯t be so overprotective!¡± Shi Xun snorted and replied, ¡°So what if I¡¯m overprotective? I¡¯m telling you, I¡¯m not letting you out of the house today!¡± Shi Nianyao: ... Shi Nianyao was about to say something in protest when Shi Jinyan coughed and interrupted. ¡°Fine, enough already. Nianyao,e out here. I¡¯m going to the supermarket to get a few things,e with me!¡± Shi Nianyao got to her feet. Shi Xun cleared his throat and insisted, ¡°Dad, we just agreed that we¡¯re not letting her out of the house.¡± Shi Jinyan red at him and replied, ¡°You¡¯re worried about her going out with me?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that.¡± Shi Xun nodded and continued, ¡°After all, you¡¯re part of the family, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll watch over her.¡± Shi Jinyan nodded and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Following this, he threw Shi Nianyao a look.. Immediately, she followed him obediently. The two of them left the house and got into the car. After they drove away and the vi was some way behind them, they saw Mo Xicheng¡¯s car in the distance. He was standing next to the car and leaning against it, looking in the vi¡¯s direction. He had a bouquet of flowers in his hand and looked as though he wasn¡¯t going anywhere until he could see his love. Shi Nianyao¡¯s eyes lit up and she turned around, saying, ¡°Dad.¡± Shi Jinyan, unable to resist her spoiled antics, finally said, ¡°Off you go now.¡± The girl gave her father a hug at once and said, ¡°Dad, among everyone at home, you¡¯re the best! I love you, Daddy.¡± She jumped out of the car and ran to Mo Xicheng. Shi Jinyan: ... Oddly, in the past, when no one had opposed their rtionship, he had harboured all sorts of negative opinions about this young man and had made all sorts of objections. Yet now he realized that he no longer felt that way. Especially when Shi Nianyao had said, ¡°Dad, among everyone at home, you¡¯re the best!¡± Even though he knew very well that Shi Nianyao was ttering him, he felt good hearing it. At this thought, that conundrum that he had been having for so long suddenly vanished. ¨C In that very same moment, Mo Hai was sorting out the share distribution. As thewyer drafted the agreement, he suddenly caught sight of something on the inte. He immediately looked up in shock at Mo Hai and said, ¡°Mr. Mo, bad news. Mr. Mo Zhi has filed awsuit against you, to fight you for part of your estate. Hence, all assets under your name have been frozen and we cannot transfer any shares.¡± Chapter 1623 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (96)

Chapter 1623: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (96)

Mo Hai froze upon hearing this and asked, ¡°What do you mean? What right has he got to ask for shares? He is now an adult. Even if he wants to inherit some shares, he could have at least waited till I¡¯m dead and have it sorted out with Mo Xicheng! He¡¯s filing awsuit now? Why?¡± Thewyer coughed softly and exined, ¡°He is filing a suit against the Mo family because he used to work in the family business and even held shares in the business. Now he is filing awsuit against the family for kicking him out without giving him a single cent, in addition to illegally cheating him out of his shares. So now the court is gathering evidence.¡± Mo Hai frowned and said, ¡°What sort of evidence is there? He owed thepany money, so he had to return his shares for coteral damages. Even if the court investigates and finds this, he won¡¯t get the money, so what¡¯s there to it?¡± Thewyer nodded and agreed, ¡°You¡¯re right, but the problem is... what will the public opinion be?¡± Mo Hai was stumped. Thewyer continued, ¡°Generally speaking, people support the disadvantaged party. When Mo Xicheng¡¯s status was revealed, there were already people criticizing the family severely. They took Mo Zhi¡¯s side and felt that he was the one suffering the most. If the matter blows up now, the pressure of the public opinion will damage thepany¡¯s reputation. So I do suggest that you settle it outside of court. cate him with some money and everything will end up well.¡± Mo Hai nodded and said, ¡°Alright, I understand.¡± After he hung up, Mo Hai dialed Mo Zhi¡¯s number. The phone rang twice before it was answered. Mo Zhi said, ¡°Hello? Dad, you¡¯ve heard the news?¡± Mo Hai replied with a gloomy face, ¡°Mo Zhi, what is it that you want?¡± Mo Zhiughed icily and said, ¡°If you¡¯re not going to give me a satisfactory response about this, I¡¯m afraid I can only leave things in the hands of our reporter friends to manage.¡± ¡°Shut your mouth!¡± Mo Hai shouted angrily. ¡°Mo Zhi, you know in your heart who is right and who is wrong! You know it in your heart too why the estate cannot go to you! I¡¯m warning you, don¡¯t force me to expose the whole truth!¡± ¡°Dad, go ahead then. Tell people how you were a fool for giving me thepany. Tell them what happened in thepany back then, so that they realize how unreliable the Mo family enterprise is.¡± Mo Hai fell silent. The most important thing where apany was concerned was its reputation, especially the Mo family enterprise. They were in the hospitality business, so if they had a bad reputation, who woulde to them? Hence sometimes, it was necessary to spend some money to suppress negative press. This was also part of thepany¡¯s investments. Finally, Mo Hai asked, ¡°What do you want? Name a price.¡± ¡°I want 30 percent of the Mo family¡¯s shares!¡± Mo Haiughed icily and replied, ¡°That is not possible.¡± Mo Zhi said, ¡°Back then I only had 20 percent and you had over 40 percent. What you¡¯re giving me now is hardly enough! If you give it to me, I will sell the 30 percent of the shares to Mo Xicheng and that would only be a matter of a few hundred million. Dad, as the son you¡¯ve protected for so many years, am I not worth a mere few hundred million?¡± Chapter 1624 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (97)

Chapter 1624: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (97)

A few hundred million? A piece of trash like him might not even be worth a few dors! Mo Hai¡¯s face turned livid with rage and he took in a few deep breaths. He then spoke with a low voice, ¡°50 million, that¡¯s it. You can stop making a fuss. If you use the money sparingly, it will be enough for the rest of your life!¡± ¡°But I will also need to get married. Dad, I will also have my own kids in the future. I think the shares are more reliable. If you aren¡¯t willing to give me 30 percent, then just return to me what I had originally.¡± ¡°Mo Zhi, just face the truth! Do you know what the charges you¡¯ve pressed against me will not even be recognized in court?¡± ¡°Of course I know, but Dad, you¡¯re the one that forced me to do it.¡± ¡°I forced you?¡± Mo Hai was a little shocked. Hadn¡¯t he been nice enough to him? He had almost killed Mo Hai and Mo Hai hadn¡¯t even called the police. What else did Mo Zhi want from him?! ¡°Dad, I have absolutely nothing now, nothing at all! Do you know I have nothing? Desperate times call for desperate measures. Let me tell you, I want to make this matter huge. After I tell everyone, I¡¯m not scared of anything, but what about all of you? Even if I get nothing in the end, I still want the Mo family¡¯s reputation to break apart. I want Mo Xicheng to be seen as someone who kicked his brother out, and Li Shu to be scolded for being irresponsible and a failure of a mother!¡± Mo Hai was angered. ¡°Mo Zhi, stop dreaming! You think that it¡¯s so easy to take us to court? You don¡¯t even have the money to fight us.¡± ¡°Who says that I don¡¯t have the money? I have my friend¡¯s help. Let me tell you, I don¡¯t need much money. Forget about the few hundred million, I just want a hundred million now. And after you¡¯ve given me the money, this issue will be settled. Ok?¡± Mo Hai was suddenly speechless at his words and didn¡¯t know how to answer him. After a while, he then said, ¡°Mo Zhi, you know that I have never denied you money. Do you know how much the apartment I gave you is worth in the market now?¡± Mo Zhi was stunned. ¡°How much?¡± ¡°That house is 200 square meters and is worth 50 million in the market. And you might not know this, but I had already prepared living expenses for you. 50 million in cash for the rest of your life!¡± When adding this up, it was one hundred billion. ¡°Dad!¡± Mo Zhi¡¯s voice instantly turned from anger to surprise. Mo Hai looked at the phone and said, ¡°You pushed away all the things I wanted to give you. And now, the things that you want, let me tell you, it¡¯s toote. Since that day you left the house, you¡¯re no longer a part of the Mo family. And as for all the assets of the Mo family, they are all Mo Xicheng¡¯s. Let me tell you, unless Mo Xicheng agrees, you¡¯re not getting a cent!¡± After he said so, he just hung up. Mo Zhi, who was at the other end of the line, had changed his expression. As he heard the sound of the call ending, he lowered his head and looked at his phone. Just as he was quietly staring there, a hand suddenly hit his shoulder. Mo Zhi instantly turned his head around and saw a man with a big stomach standing behind him. ¡°How was it, Young Master Mo? Is it settled?¡± Mo Zhi directly said, ¡°It will be ok, don¡¯t worry. As long as you give me the money to sue them, when I get the money, we¡¯ll split it half-half. How¡¯s that?¡± Chapter 1625 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (98)

Chapter 1625: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (98)

The man, Big Belly, wasughing sleazily. The breath that came from his mouth, filled with yellow teeth, was really disgusting. After he heard Mo Zhi¡¯s words, heughed. ¡°What if you lose the case?¡± Mo Zhi was stunned. ¡°How is it possible that I¡¯ll lose?¡± Big Bellyughed. ¡°There is always a chance of failing in everything you do. Tell me, why should I trust you? Why should I lend you money?¡± Mo Zhi was at a loss for words. ¡°I- I- I know I can¡¯t give you anything now, but I can.¡± Big Belly¡¯s sleazy gaze was scrutinizing Mo Zhi and at the end, he sneered and said, ¡°Young Master Mo, you are actually good-looking. No wonder your brother could be a big star. Now that I look at you, you aren¡¯t too far from your brother.¡± Mo Zhi was shocked and he instantly took a step backwards. ¡°What- what do you want to do?!¡± Big Belly immediatelyughed. ¡°What do I want to do? Obviously, I¡¯ll do what I should do. Young Master Mo, maybe you don¡¯t know that I actually don¡¯t like women. I like fresh, weak and thin boys like you. Hey, don¡¯t be shocked, I can lend the money to you with no interests, what do you think?¡± Mo Zhi instantly looked at him with a crossed expression. ¡°Disgusting! Scram!¡± He started walking to the door, but just as he reached it, he heard Big Belly speak. ¡°Young Master Mo, do you think anyone in the industry will lend you money if I say no?¡± Mo Zhi instantly stopped in his tracks and looked back in disbelief. Big Belly continuedughing sleazily. He sat on the sofa with his legs open wide as he stared at him. ¡°Come over. I can talk to you about life and about how I can lend you money.¡± Mo Zhi stood on the spot and stared at him. He knew that the only person in the industry who was willing to lend him money was Big Belly. If Big Belly didn¡¯t lend him money, no one else in the industry would be willing to do so. And he had left the Mo Family in a hurry, he hadn¡¯t taken anything with him. He didn¡¯t even know where to stay for the night. He was really broke. If he had the money, he would definitely not undergo such humiliation. He gripped his fist tightly. He felt like vomiting as he stared into Big Belly¡¯s sleazy gaze, but he couldn¡¯t vomit. Not only could he not vomit, he still had to turn his head and force himself to take steps towards Big Belly. In the past, he had yed with so many people. But only at this moment did he realize how painful it was to be yed by someone. The pain, which was spreading through his body, made him feel like his waist was about to break. At this moment, tears covered his face from humiliation. He had never been so humiliated in his life. ¨C When everything was over, Mo Zhi rushed into the washroom and started vomiting violently into the toilet bowl. He felt as if he was about to vomit the food he had eaten the previous day. Disgust was still stuck in his heart, so he grabbed the toilet bowl cover with all his might. Mo Xicheng! Li Shu!! If he couldn¡¯t get back everything he had lost, he would fight them to death. ¨C After finally watching a movie with Shi Nianyao with so much trouble, Shi Nianyao was dragged home by Shi Jinyan. That night, Mo Xicheng had to sleep alone again. The next day. When he went into thepany early in the morning, he realized that the people in thepany were acting weirdly. He frowned in confusion and someone instantly said, ¡°Mr. Mo is here!¡± Chapter 1626 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated! (99)

Chapter 1626: Mo Xicheng Reinstated! (99)

Mo Xicheng paused. Mr. Mo? Since Mo Hai had alreadypletely passed thepany to him, the staff no longer addressed him as CEO Mo but instead, Mr. Mo. However, ever since Mo Xicheng had taken over, Mo Hai had never been to thepany. Why had hee over suddenly today? Just as he was thinking, someone from the legal department rushed over. ¡°CEO Mo, this morning some people from court came over and said that they wanted to check ourpany. Look.¡± Mo Xicheng was instantly stunned when he heard this. ¡°I¡¯ll go take a look with you.¡± He found out that Mo Zhi had sued them by the time they reached the meeting room. The people from court were rather nice and reasonable. They were also very fair when checking. After asking Mo Xicheng a few questions, they let him leave. Mo Xicheng finally reached the office on the top floor. The door of the office Mo Hai had used to work in was open and an assistant was standing outside. When he saw him approaching, he called him, ¡°CEO Mo!¡± Mo Xicheng knew that Mo Hai was looking for him. But had hee here because of their legal issues? He frowned and walked to the office¡¯s door. Then he pushed the door open and walked in. Mo Hai was seated on the chair and enjoying the scenery outside through the ss window. The building of the Mo family¡¯spany was in the middle of the city. From the window, one could see the whole business street and it looked really prosperous. As he looked over the city, it felt as though he was looking at everything he had fought for and achieved, which made him feel really aplished. Mo Xicheng stood silently behind him and waited as Mo Hai quietly looked at everything before him. Some minutester, Mo Hai returned to his senses. After looking at Mo Xicheng clearly, he said, ¡°You have managed thepany really well.¡± Mo Xicheng replied inly, ¡°Thank you for yourpliment.¡± Mo Hai stared at Mo Xicheng quietly. That face, which looked a little simr to his, carried apletely different type of elegance. He had always been soft-hearted, but Mo Xicheng looked like he was decisive and sure when making decisions His character was really simr to Li Shu¡¯s. Li Shu¡¯s was extremely stubborn. After expressing her wish for a divorce, she was capable of staying in conflict with him for more than twenty years. As he thought about Li Shu, a smile appeared on Mo Hai¡¯s face. When he returned to his senses again, he realized that Mo Xicheng was still standing there without speaking, looking really stable and strong mentally. The ability he possessed made him eligible to be anypany¡¯s CEO. Mo Hai was reassured. Then he spoke, ¡°You have heard about the issue regarding Mo Zhi, right?¡± Mo Xicheng nodded. ¡°I just found out.¡± Mo Hai kept silent for a moment and continued, ¡°Today, I came for¡ª¡± Mo Xicheng interrupted him. ¡°Just say it, how much?¡± Mo Hai was stunned. He looked at Mo Xicheng in shock. He thought that he hade to ask for money on Mo Zhi¡¯s behalf? But as he recalled what he had done previously, he instantly understood what Mo Xicheng was feeling at that moment. He lowered his eyes and spoke with slight sadness. ¡°I only came to ask you whether you¡¯d give him the one hundred million he wants.¡± Mo Xicheng sneered. ¡°You don¡¯t have one hundred million to give him?¡± Chapter 1627 - Mo Xicheng Reinstated (100)

Chapter 1627: Mo Xicheng Reinstated (100)

Mo Hai was silent for a moment before exining, ¡°You should know that all my assets will be yours in case anything happens to me and someone tries to snatch the assets from you.¡± His words stunned Mo Xicheng, who stared at him in disbelief. After thinking for a moment, he said, ¡°You¡¯re saying¡ª¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I have already agreed to your mother¡¯s demand and left everything in the Mo family to you. The decision to give the hundred million to Mo Zhi is absolutely yours. He said that he will gather the reporters to ruin thepany¡¯s reputation and will also sue you in court to ask for thirty percent of thepany¡¯s shares. I¡¯m just passing my idea to you. And if there isn¡¯t anything else, I will take my leave and not interrupt your work.¡± After saying so, he really stood up and walked to the door. He then disappeared with his assistant. Mo Xicheng stared at his back and sighed deeply. Rationally, Mo Hai had to be the most affected by him and Mo Zhi fighting, but he had still made such a decision. It wasn¡¯t that he had admitted defeat or be weak. if he could spend just a hundred million to quiet Mo Zhi down and let life return to normal, it was worth it. But there was a big ¡°if.¡± If Mo Zhi hadn¡¯t touched Shi Nianyao and hadn¡¯t tried to rape her... If Mo Zhi hadn¡¯t targeted Li Shu, ndered her and injured her hand... If Mo Zhi hadn¡¯t caused so much hurt to them, he might have chosen to take a step back now. But at this moment... He would definitely not admit defeat! He lowered and narrowed his eyes. After a while, he suddenly said, ¡°Tell the public rtions department to prepare a press conference.¡± Since Mo Zhi wanted to pressure them with public opinion, he had to take the first move. The person who took the first move always had the upper hand, since people would usually believe the first thing they heard. The Mo family¡¯spany was really efficient, so they set a press conference at 5 p.m. that day. As Mo Xicheng was already a popr figure, all the big news agencies were willing to give him face and attend. When it was 5 p.m., Mo Xicheng walked out of the backstage. He stood on the podium and looked at all the bright shes. After a while, he narrowed his eyes and said, ¡°Today, I have arranged this press conference to talk about the question that everyone has been discussing online recently: whether Mo Zhi or I should be the CEO.¡± After he said so, he took two nces down. All the reporters held their breaths, waiting for him to continue. Mo Xicheng lowered his eyes and slowly spoke, ¡°There¡¯s some personal things that I haven¡¯t told the public. But now, someone is using public opinion to create a lot of trouble for me. So for the sake of protecting myself, I have decided to hold this press conference.¡± ¡°Since young, I grew up as the mistress¡¯ son, the illegitimate son. Madam Yao Lili, who is the mistress who switched the kids, wasn¡¯t really nice to me. She always told me that I couldn¡¯t surpass Mo Zhi. I had to be the stupidest kid in the family. I had to give way to Mo Zhi whenever I saw him, I must- There were a lot of musts to follow, which caused my life to be really restricted since young.¡± ¡°But I neverined about my life because I had no choice. I was the son of the mistress!¡± Chapter 1628 - Epilogue (1)

Chapter 1628: Epilogue (1)

¡°As the son of a mistress, I didn¡¯t have the right to meet the world. I didn¡¯t have the right to do anything that could make me seed. I was naturally a lesser personpared to everyone else. Since young, everyone told me that when I grew up, I wasn¡¯t allowed to take things from my elder brother. When I grew up, everything in the family would belong to my elder brother. I grew up in such an environment.¡± ¡°After that, I graduated from university and started to look ahead. Then my mother, Madam Li Shu, suggested that I did an internship in thepany but Yao Lili rejected this. Yao Lili asked me to be an actor, but I couldn¡¯t be a really famous one either. It was because if I had be famous, others would dig out my identity. I could only live in shadows forever.¡± ¡°And what about Mo Zhi? He was morous, always under the spotlight and allowed to be in the open since young. He got to experience the best traditional education and, after he graduated, he got into thepany to be a manager and then the CEO, till today.¡± ¡°You all say that Mo Zhi is the weaker party, since I am currently the Young Master of the Mo family and everything in the Mo family belongs to me now. But did you know? Since young, the person who always tried to change his fate but was hopeless and failed due to his youth is me!¡± ¡°How is Mo Zhi weak now? Is it that he¡¯s too young to support himself? Is he not qualified, or can he not find himself a good job?¡± ¡°Or is it that because I was exchanged as a baby and now inherited all of the Mo family¡¯s assets, Mo Zhi is seen as pitiful?¡± Mo Xicheng lowered his eyes. Since he had publicly admitted his weakness and plight from the past, his face was slightly pale. A reporter couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Mr. Mo, but in this case, will it affect thepany in any way? You must know that thepany has been in Mo Zhi¡¯s hands all this time. Even if he didn¡¯t achieve anything for thepany, he still made an effort and contributed to it. And now, all of you have just thrown him out and forgotten about his contributions. Isn¡¯t this unfair to him?¡± After he said that, many other reporters agreed. Mo Xicheng stared at everyone below andughed. He then confidently looked at his assistant beside him and his assistant immediately passed him a document. He lifted the document up and said, ¡°Four years ago, thepany held a ¡®517, let¡¯s eat!¡¯ discount event. All the food in the restaurants was 51.7% off. Many people in thepany were unhappy about it, but Mo Zhi even instructed that a few shops would also be 20% off. A portion of the money from this event then vanished without a trace.¡± ¡°Three years ago, thepany had a big project...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°This month, he took away all thepany¡¯s funds. In the end, he really had no choice but to take thepany shares he owned and sell them to make up for the funds he had taken. It is just that I bought the shares.¡± After Mo Xicheng said this, he continued staring at the people below and slowly said, ¡°So do you still think that I should hand thepany over to him?¡± ¡°Of course not!¡± ¡°Exactly, why should you give it to him?¡± ¡°...¡± As Mo Xicheng had told the truth, public opinion immediately sided with him. When Mo Zhi, who was at home, saw the news, he instantly stood up, his face ghastly pale from anger. He took in big gulps of air as he read thements online. He was so angry that he mmed his cell phone on the floor and shouted, ¡°Mo Xicheng, I want to kill you!¡± Chapter 1629 - Epilogue (2)

Chapter 1629: Epilogue (2)

Mo Zhi trembled with anger when he read the content of the papers. ¡°Ha, I think you have no hope in getting the shares. Why don¡¯t you just follow me in the future?¡± Big Belly really liked Mo Zhi and was now staring at the man, his lusty eyes wandering up and down his body in a way that Mo Zhi found most revolting. Mo Zhi froze and said, ¡°No way, I have to get all my money back!¡± On this note, he looked out of the window. At the same time, Big Belly suddenly put his hands on Mo Zhi¡¯s shoulders and said, ¡°Why? Do you not want to be mine?¡± Mo Zhi fell silent and hung his head. But that look said everything. In the past, he had once been the young master of the Mo Family that everyone looked up to. In the past, Big Belly had even had to humble himself before him. But now? He had be a toy for Big Belly. The thought of this made him want to puke. And yet, he could not hide how he felt. The detest in his eyes was obvious and clear for everyone to see. As he contemted this, Big Belly suddenly pinched his chin forcefully. Mo Zhi¡¯s head was forced to tilt upwards as Big Belly descended on him with a kiss. That mouthful ofrge yellow teeth made Mo Zhi reach out reflexively to shove the disgusting man away. Big Belly was taken aback and his expression immediately darkened. He raised his hand and, the next moment, a sound pnded acros Mo Zhi¡¯s face. Bam! The room froze at the sound of the sharp p. Mo Zhi looked at Big Belly in disbelief and demanded, ¡°What- what do you want?¡± Big Belly smiled icily and replied, ¡°What do I want? Let me warn you, I¡¯m giving you face! If it weren¡¯t for your fair and good looks, I wouldn¡¯t have even given you a second look. Huh, look at your health, you¡¯re pathetic! Let me just say, it¡¯s your good fortune that I like you!¡± Having said this, he raised his leg and kicked him. Mo Zhi turned around in fright, hoping to run away, but Big Belly had quickly pinned him down by his shoulders. Mo Zhi attempted to free himself from Big Belly¡¯s grip, but he had been with too many women and that had weakened his body. Hence, he didn¡¯t have an ounce of strength in him. How could Big Belly not be able to manage a person that even Mo Hai could hit? Big Belly didn¡¯t even have to struggle, yet Mo Zhi felt as though he had been pushed back by a great force andnded on the sofa. The next moment, Big Belly descended upon him. ¨C It was another devastatingly disgusting ravage of his body. Mo Zhi was now lying limp across the sofa, as though all the bones in his body had been broken. Tears welled up in his eyes from the pain. He pleaded in tears, ¡°Big Belly, I beg of you, let me go, let me go. Sob, sob. Once I get my shares, I will surely give you part of it, please?¡± Big Belly was now satiated and was happy to have a conversation. ¡°Darling, it¡¯s not that I¡¯m not letting you go, I¡¯ve only just gotten started on you. I can¡¯t bear to let you go! You have to understand that wealthy young masters like you are a rare opportunity for me. Compared to the other men, people like you are... tsk, tsk. Also, darling, you won¡¯t be able to get your shares back!¡± ¡°You told me that they were mine to begin with! How could it be that I won¡¯t be able to get them back? They¡¯re mine.¡± Mo Zhi hollered, causing Big Belly to jump in fright. He looked at Mo Zhi and replied, ¡°Then let¡¯s get mywyer to talk to you.¡± Chapter 1630 - Epilogue (3)

Chapter 1630: Epilogue (3)

Big Belly was reluctant to let Mo Zhi go and, afraid that something would happen to him, he had awyer on standby. Thewyer exined the details to Mo Zhi. ¡°The estate belongs to Mo Hai and has nothing to do with you. You said you were cheated out of your shares, but Mo Xicheng had reasons enough to justify this. In addition, at the time, you signed the agreement yourself, so it¡¯s hard to get past this. Also, you said you had the legal right to inherit Mo Hai¡¯s estate. Yes, that is true, but that inheritance will only happen upon Mo Hai¡¯s death. Now the man is alive, so you have no valid reason to ask for money from him. Besides, as far as I¡¯m aware, Mo Hai has started to transfer his assets to Mo Xicheng. In other words, even if Mo Hai dies now, it could very well be that everything will go to Mo Xicheng.¡± Mo Zhi was speechless with fury. He stared at thewyer, his hands shaking. Then after a moment, he said, ¡°Why?! I¡¯ve always been Mo Hai¡¯s favourite son. He never cared about Mo Xicheng whatsoever, why is he treating me like this?!¡± Thewyer sighed and said, ¡°I¡¯ve asked around about this. My guess is that he¡¯s doing it for Li Shu¡¯s sake. You should know how much he loves that woman.¡± Thewyer was an elderly man, hence he had gathered a lot of experience. He said, ¡°At the time, in order to conquer your mother, he did things that shocked our circle. Anything you can think of, he did, and he was finally sessful. After all these years, I¡¯m sure you can see the feelings he has for your mother. Hence he will go with whatever Li Shu says. Where this matter is concerned, rather than plead with Mo Hai, why don¡¯t you just plead with Li Shu? If she says you should get the money, Mo Hai will not say no. After all, you grew up under both their care, so Li Shu must have some feelings for you. There¡¯s only one thing you can do now. That is to cry and plead with Li Shu, ask her for the money. Cry and let her know how pitiful you are.¡± Cry in front of Li Shu? Impossible! Mo Zhi clenched his fists and narrowed his eyes. After a moment, he said, ¡°I¡¯ll try then.¡± Having said this, he lowered his head and fell silent. After thewyer left, Mo Zhi looked at Big Belly and said, ¡°I still think that there¡¯s a chance for things to take a turn. If this matter blows up, the Shi family will also look bad. Don¡¯t forget that Shi Nianyao and Mo Xicheng are engaged! Even if the Mo family doesn¡¯t care about their own reputation, would they not consider the Shi family¡¯s reputation?¡± Upon those words, Big Belly looked at him pitifully and said, ¡°Have you still not gotten it clear in your head which type of people you can least afford to offend in Beijing?¡± Mo Zhi was stumped. ¡°What?¡± Big Belly sighed and continued, ¡°There are many wealthy and powerful families and I don¡¯t have to go into details, but you ought to be very well-informed of the Shi family¡¯s background. When have they ever been afraid of anything? If the reporters in the circle know that the Shi family is implicated in this, who do you think will dare report it?! You¡¯re as smart as bait. Sigh, it¡¯s no wonder you ended up with nothing. That you were able to survive till now with your IQ level, Mo Hai must have put in every ounce of effort he had!¡± Mo Zhi started to cry upon hearing this. ¡°So what do I do now? I have nothing to my name. What do I do?!¡± Big Belly patted him on the shoulder and said, ¡°The only thing you can do now is to look for Li Shu!¡± Chapter 1631 - Epilogue (4)

Chapter 1631: Epilogue (4)

Looking for Li Shu, again. These people had no idea that the person who had been the most heartless towards him was Li Shu. He only had to think of how much she detested him to know at once that looking for her wouldn¡¯t work. But she was also his onest hope. At this thought, Mo Zhi nodded. ¨C News that Mo Xicheng had called for a press conference spread quickly through the office. But by the time Mo Hai found out, it was toote to do anything. He had rushed to the office, but as he arrived, the reporters were leaving. Mo Hai¡¯s expression turned gloomy. He told Mo Xicheng, ¡°Come with me.¡± The young man followed Mo Hai at a leisurely pace and they went to a quiet corner. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Mo Hai was furious. ¡°How could you even think of something so stupid? Shouldn¡¯t this kind of thing be suppressed?¡± Mo Xicheng said calmly, ¡°Go with the flow. I¡¯ve been in the entertainment industry for so many years. When ites to handling gossip and rumors, I think I do have more experience than you. Our family is already a trending topic, we might as welle clean and make clear who¡¯s at fault.¡± Staring at Mo Xicheng, Mo Hai was suddenly stumped. As an elderly person, he had always taken reputation seriously. When it came to thepany¡¯s reputation, he had spared no effort and resources in order to maintain it. But now that he had handed things over to Mo Xicheng... The man was using such a method,ying out the truth publicly for everyone to see and discuss. Indeed, the majority of the poption was bound to be more reasonable and logical. At this thought, he took a deep breath. Perhaps Mo Xicheng¡¯s method of handling things was more suitable after all. He sighed again and waved his hand at the young man, ¡°Alright then. I¡¯m old. Since I¡¯ve handed the business over to you, I won¡¯t get invovled. Just take care of the business.¡± Mo Xicheng nodded and said, ¡°I understand.¡± Mo Hai took another good and long look at the young man. While Mo Xicheng himself may not be too sure of the oue and impact that this management method would have on thepany, and he may be just taking things as they came, at the very least, his steadiness and air of confidence reassured thepany staff so that they wouldn¡¯t panic. No matter what happened, he would sort it out. This son of his didn¡¯t need guidance. Mo Hai wasforted by this thought and felt that he was no longer necessary. He looked at the young man intently again. Oddly, he was feeling exceptionally sentimental today. Thoughts of how he had mistreated Mo Xicheng in the past caught up with him and, finally, he felt a sense of regret. He decided that he had to find a chance to make it up to the young man, and to give him the best fatherly love in the world. At this thought, Mo Hai turned around and walked away. ¨C Upon receiving the news, Li Shu hurried over to the office. The car stopped by the street and she got out of it. She lowered her head at once when she spotted the reporters and tried to be as unnoticeable as possible. She crept into the building hoping to find Mo Xicheng, to see how he was doing. Chapter 1632 - Epilogue (5)

Chapter 1632: Epilogue (5)

Unexpectedly, as Li Shu strode towards the building, she suddenly heard someone yell at her, ¡°Mom!¡± She halted and turned around. Mo Zhi was standing not too far away, looking at her. He hadn¡¯t thought that he would run into her at the office as well. But when he saw the anxiety in her expression, he suddenly felt uneasy. He had been Li Shu¡¯s son once upon a time. At that time, Li Shu had been exceptionally stern towards him. She would never smile at him or treat him kindly. But what about now? The minute she knew that something had happened to Mo Xicheng, she had rushed over to the office. Why had she never treated him as kindly as she did to Mo Xicheng now? It was at this thought that Mo Zhi had called her reflexively. They were now standing only five meters apart. As he called her, the reporters in the area halted at once and, one by one, they turned around to look. They were all stunned to see parties of the scandal right there, so they approached them immediately, hoping to scoop thetest bit of news. ¡°May we know why Madam Mo hase to the office? Are you here to stop Mr. Mo Xicheng?¡± ¡°Mr. Mo Zhi, why are you here together with Madam Mo?¡± ¡°Madam Mo, you¡¯ve take care of Mr. Mo Zhi for so many years, don¡¯t you have any affection for him? Why are you being so cold and heartless now?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, Madam Mo, can you tell us how you feel right now?¡± As Li Shu listened to all these questions andments, she lowered her head and tried to shake off the group of reporters, walking towards the office building. But unexpectedly, as she started to stride away, Mo Zhi came to her. The man knelt in front of her and clung to her legs. This happened too quickly and took Li Shu by surprise. She looked at Mo Zhi in shock as the man lifted his head and looked back at her steadily. He said, ¡°Mom, mom, are you really going to abandon me? Yao Lili did all those evil things herself, it had nothing to do with me! Mom, although I¡¯m not your real son, what about the rtionship we shared for so many years? In my heart, you are my mother. How could you abandon me and kick me out with nothing to my name? I¡¯m my father¡¯s son too.¡± Mo Zhi cried as though he had been terribly wronged and even the people around started to feel sad just by listening to his wailing. He had once been a high-standing young master, but now he looked so dispirited. It was heartbreaking to see such a contrast. The reporters who had gathered around sighed. ¡°That¡¯s right, even if he isn¡¯t your real son, there is nothing more precious than raising someone. This also creates love and care for the child. Madam Mo, do you really feel nothing?¡± ¡°Madam Mo, can you really bear to see him like this?¡± ¡°Madam Mo, is it true that you have never given Mo Zhi any attention?¡± The questions were bing more cutting, until finally, one of them suddenly asked, ¡°Have you ever been a good mother?!¡± The moment this question was asked, everyone looked at her simultaneously. Indeed, if she had been a good mother, how couldn¡¯t she have any feelings for Mo Zhi now? Li Shu, whose expression was numb, lifted her head slowly when she heard this question. Then she looked at the reporter who had asked this question and red at him. He lowered his head and didn¡¯t dare to speak another word. Chapter 1633 - Epilogue (6)

Chapter 1633: Epilogue (6)

Li Shu had a strong presence even though she was a smalldy. Her unique aura made people afraid of being too reckless in front of her. When everyone was quite sure that Li Shu was not going to answer the question, she suddenly said, ¡°I¡¯m not a good mother.¡± Everyone was taken aback. She continued clearly and unhurriedly, ¡°Mo Xicheng grew up under my watch as well, and I was unable to treat him like my own because I thought he was the son of a mistress. And now thinking back, it pains my heart. As much as I wasn¡¯t kind to him, I regret it with equal measure.¡± ¡°The love I have given as a mother is poor andcking. I only have this much of it. After giving it all to Mo Xicheng, I have nothing left for others.¡± ¡°And I am no saint. I¡¯m a selfish person. I was like this in the past and it¡¯s the same now. I am unable to treat the child of a mistress equally. I think this would be the same for any woman.¡± At this point, she gave an icyugh and continued, ¡°So you can criticize me if you are able to do otherwise.¡± These words were sharp and unapologetic, silencing the reporters at once. Indeed. If they asked more questions, it only meant they felt they could do what she couldn¡¯t. Who among them would tolerate a cheating husband and also treat the illegitimate child as their own? Even if the child were innocent, his existence was in fact the original sin. The group remained silent as she looked scornfully at each of them in turn. Finally, her gaze fell on Mo Zhi. Even if they had had any affections for each other as mother and child, they had vanished the moment he had smashed her jade bangle. So now, there was no need to pretend any kinship existed. The reason he hade here, in front of these reporters, was to pressure her with public opinion. He thought she would cave and agree to give him some benefits. But she would not indeed. So what if she admitted her imperfections? She, Li Shu, was but an ordinary woman! And if Mo Zhi was hoping to attack Mo Xicheng through her, he could only dream about it. At this thought, she gave a frosty snort and looked away from him. She continued walking towards the building. Mo Zhi was still kneeling on the ground. He hadn¡¯t thought that Li Shu would admit it so readily and he was shocked. By the time he got over it, the woman had already walked away towards the office building. Mo Zhi clenched his fists tightly as he trembled in anger. He was infuriated. He was most reluctant to believe that things had gone this way. He was burning with anger, as though fuel had been added to the fire. All of a sudden, he felt that he had never hated Mo Xicheng and he had never hated Mo Hai. The only person he hated to the core was Li Shu! Because since childhood, she had never paid attention to him and just made Mo Hai force him to study. Despite all of his efforts, he would never gain Li Shu¡¯s approval. He was nothing in her eyes. But why? Why was he nothing and Mo Xicheng was everything? He went berserk at this thought. Unable to hold himself back any longer, he hollered, ¡°Li Shu! Go to hell!¡± Then he charged at the woman and lunged at her. Chapter 1634 - Epilogue (7)

Chapter 1634: Epilogue (7)

Mo Zhi was beside himself with fury. He realized that if he didn¡¯t manage to get the money, he would never be able to free himself from the evil clutches of Big Belly. If that were to happen, he would forever live a disgusting and appalling life. He might be better off dead! But if he was going to die, he would take a scapegoat down with him. Hence as he charged towards Li Shu, he withdrew a knife. It was the sort ofrge fruit knife that was used to cut open melons, it was sharp. The reporters with sharp eyes quickly retreated when they saw the fruit knife. At once, everyone got out of the way. Very quickly, Mo Zhi came up to Li Shu. This was in all probability the bravest thing the man had ever done in his life. He stared at his knife as it was about to pierce Li Shu¡¯s chest, as he was about to cut off herst breath, focusing all of his hatred on it. Then, darkness fell over. Shh. The knife made a dull ssh as it plunged into flesh. Everything fell silent. Mo Zhi looked at the person before him in disbelief. He had no idea when Mo Hai had ced himself in front of Lishu. But right now, the de of that knife was buried in his chest. Mo Hai stared steadily at Mo Zhi. He looked a little surprised as he lowered his head and stared at his own chest. Then he looked up again at Mo Zhi. Things had happened too quickly and too suddenly. Only when the searing pain struck, he felt his senses returning. He lowered his head and raised both his hands to clutch the knife handle. Then he heard someone behind him yelling in a shocked tone, ¡°Mo- Mo Hai?!¡± He turned around slowly and saw Li Shu, her eyes widened in horror. He noticed how, when widened like that, there were visible wrinkles in the corners of her eyes. Her skin was not as perfect as it had been in her youth. As he stared at her, scenes of their youth when he used to pursue her shed through his mind. He had promised her then that the greatest joy in his life would be to grow old with her. He had also vowed that he would never let her down. He had told her he would be by her side for the rest of their lives. But now... it was only now... That he realized he had kept none of these promises. He had lived the first half of his muddled life in a blur. Then the rest of his life, he had lived trying to make Li Shu fall for him. He had wanted her to be his wife and the mother of his children. He suddenly smiled as this thought came to him. He looked at Li Shu, then clutched his own chest. Following this, he heard the woman shriek, ¡°Mo Hai, Mo Hai! How are you feeling? Mo Hai, you have to survive this! Call the ambnce, call the ambnce! Are all you people blind?!¡± Li Shu, who always kept herposure under all circumstances, was now like a mad woman, taking her anger out at the people around. As Mo Hai looked at her, his smile broadened. Actually, things were good like that. He knew that Li Shu would never forgive him. Now that he had ultimately let his affections for her go, he would not put her in a difficult position ever again. This was the perfect ending for them. The moment this thought came to him, his legs weakened and gave way as he dropped on the ground. The blood spilled profusely from his chest. Chapter 1635 - Epilogue (8)

Chapter 1635: Epilogue (8)

Li Shu¡¯s mind went nk. She stared at the man in front of her as the deep red blood spread on the fabric, across his chest. He fell on the ground, his pupils dted. She felt a sharp pain in her chest as though it was being squeezed. She didn¡¯t know what to do, she didn¡¯t know what she should do. She knelt on the ground next to him, her hand clutching his chest, as if trying to push all that blood back in. If only that would happen. If only the blood would stop gushing out, then the man had a chance of living. She shouted a few words and tried to continue talking, but found that she was choking. Her eyes were starting to burn as tears rolled down her face. She felt like there was an invisible hand strangling her and she couldn¡¯t speak. At this point, someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around and saw Mo Xicheng, standing behind her with a grave expression. His eyes were clouded over as he looked at the body on the ground. He said steadily, ¡°Mom, here, let me.¡± The ambnce arrived very shortly and, five minutester, Mo Hai was carried onto the vehicle. Greatly concerned, Li Shu followed inside. Her gaze was fixed on Mo Hai as her tears flowed. She looked at the man and said, ¡°Mo Hai, you must not die. Wake up, open your eyes.¡± She shouted and then, burying her face in her hands, started to cry. She had thought that she no longer loved that man. She had thought she would finally be able to make a clean cut and not have anything to do with him anymore. She had thought... But that was just what she had thought right up till this moment. Now she realized that, all this time, she had been deeply suppressing her love for him. Otherwise, after so many years of traveling around alone, she would have fallen in love with another man. Her heart had not fallen out of love during their marriage. On the contrary, her heart had always been with this man. She looked at the man on the stretcher and found herself reaching for his hand, crying. ¡°Mo Hai, wake up. I¡¯m not allowing you to die, you know?! Can you hear me? Open your eyes! You owe us, mother and son, a lot of many things and you have to pay up. You can¡¯t just die like this! Mo Hai, open your eyes! Can you hear me? Mo Hai!!¡± She cried like she was a lost child, and her only wish was for the person she cared about to wake up. But that knife plunged into Mo Hai¡¯s chest looked too big and too painful. As she was crying, Mo Hai suddenly gripped her hand in response. Taken aback, she raised her head and saw that pair of eyes on Mo Hai¡¯s pale face opening slowly. She stared at him with her bloodshot eyes. The moment she saw that he hade to, she cried out, ¡°Mo Hai, you¡¯re awake! Nothing must happen to you, I¡¯m not allowing anything to happen to you, you hear me? Didn¡¯t you say it? That you¡¯d listen to me all your life, so I¡¯m telling you now, I want you alive, alive!¡± Even if they couldn¡¯t be together, she wanted him to be alive. As long as he was alive, that was enough for her. But now... Mo Hai held her hand tightly, his deep eyes staring back at her were filled with tenderness and lingering sentiments. He suddenly said, ¡°Li Shu, I¡¯m sorry.¡± Chapter 1636 - Epilogue (9)

Chapter 1636: Epilogue (9)

That apology held the weight of more than twenty years of sorrow and grief. Li Shu lost allposure and broke down in tears in the ambnce. All her life, the only regret she had had was marrying Mo Hai. Among all her suitors, Mo Hai had been the most shameless in pursuing her. At first, she would always think that he was a yboy who didn¡¯t know what love was, and that flirting with her was just a passing fad for him. But she had not expected that he would leave his frivolous lifestyle and go after her wholeheartedly for three years. In those three years, he had never rested. His effort and persistence did not go unnoticed by her. In the end, she had said yes to him. In the first half a year into their marriage, he had truly been good to her. She had even forgotten the womanizer he had used to be. But unexpectedly, into her final month of pregnancy, another woman appeared before her, heavily pregnant as well. It devastated her so much at the time that she even gave birth prematurely. Eventually... After she gave birth, this whole problem became something that she had never been able to get past. Even though it had just been a studid drunk moment on Mo Hai¡¯s part, not that he had any feelings at all for Yao Lili. But even a purely physical affair was intolerable. She knew that Mo Hai loved her and, in the process of conquering her, she had fallen in love with him too. She was a person who took promises seriously. When they got married, they promised each other that they would support each other all their lives, so this was what she wanted to do. At the time, Mo Hai had pleaded with her, hence she never divorced him But every time Mo Hai had tried to get intimate with her, she could not help thinking about the circumstances under which Mo Hai had been intimate with Yao Lili. A feeling of disgust would overwhelm her, making it impossible for her to let things go. Hence for the next twenty years, the two of them had lived in mutually tormenting each other. Although they had loved each other, his mistake caused them to live in pain for many years. She knew that their divorce now was the right step to take. To save thest bit of goodwill they had for each other. Thus, she had cold-heartedly rejected Mo Hai¡¯s plea for a reconciliation. This was the only way to release the both of them from the pain. But she had not expected that Mo Hai would go to this extent for her. She cried her eyes out. As she looked at Mo Hai through her tears, he continued, ¡°Li Shu, I said that I would be by your side for the rest of our lives, but now... I can¡¯t. I thought about it. This... is the best ending for us. You don¡¯t have to bear with me anymore and, at the same time, love me. And I... did not lose you in the end, isn¡¯t it so?¡± He didn¡¯t have to face losing her, being alone till the end, feeling the pain for the rest of his life. All that to him was a relief. They had loved each other for a lifetime, but Yao Lili and Mo Zhi¡¯s existence was like a thorn in the flesh that would never go away. Li Shu kept looking at him. As she did so, she finally buried her face in her hands and cried aloud. She didn¡¯t want Mo Hai to die. But she knew that if he lived, it would be impossible for her to be with him. Just like the man had said, if he died, she would always remember him fondly. She would let all the bad things in the past go. But... ¡°Don¡¯t die, please, I beg of you, don¡¯t die, I forgive you.¡± With those words, the knot in Mo Hai¡¯s heart finally loosened. Not long after, the equipment in the ambnce started to beep. Chapter 1637 - Epilogue (10)

Chapter 1637: Epilogue (10)

The medical team rushed up and started the emergency procedures in the ambnce. Li Shu kept staring at Mo Hai. One of the doctors knocked into her identally and she stumbled back into a corner. The doctors took no notice of her as they prepared the equipment in theirst attempt to save him. She continued to stare at Mo Hai, at the wound from the knife and the blood that was gushing out from it. She stared at the corner of his mouth, that was stained with the red blood he coughed up, and at his body, that kept shaking... until everything waspletely still. She felt as though her heart had been torn apart in a bloody mess. Clenching her fists tightly, she stared at Mo Hai¡¯s face. He had been throwing up blood and was now in a sorry state. The paleness of his face made him look a few years younger. In that vague moment, she thought that she was looking at the young Mo Hai from when he first tried to pursue her¡ªthe Mo Hai who had fought to make her fall for him as loud and powerfully as he could, as though he was afraid that the world did not know he was pursuing her. It had been his persistence that had created this tragedy. She had known from the start that they were ipatible. She was picky when it came to rtionships. But he was frivolous and flighty. Who would have thought that after all this time, they woulde to where they were today? Li Shu trembled. At this point, she felt a warm touch on her shoulder. Taken aback, she looked up. Mo Xicheng was there, looking steadily at her. Her heart was a void, so his presence put her at ease. She reached out and took his hand as tears rolled down her cheeks. ¡°Mo Xicheng, your dad...¡± Upon hearing these words, he shook his head. Then darkness descended upon her as she passed out. Mo Xicheng looked at the unconscious Li Shu and sighed. What sort of sorrow would cause her so much pain? What sort of despair would cause her to be sopletely incapable of hiding her pain? He turned to look at Mo Hai. All his life, this man had been like an enemy to him. Even though Mo Hai had eventually handed the family business over to him, their rtionship as father and son had never been fixed. Because he despised Mo Hai. He had never looked at the man as a father. But at that moment, he walked up to the man and looked at him, silently thinking, ¡°Dad, you have to wake up.¡± After this thought, an expression of respect came over his face. No matter if a man failed as a father, or failed in his business, the fact that he would shield the woman he loved from a knife attack was good enough for him to be respected. Mo Xicheng lowered his gaze and picked Li Shu up. He looked at the doctors trying to rescue Mo Hai in the narrow space of the ambnce. Soon, the vehicle arrived at the hospital. The doctors pushed the stretcher along as they dashed to the emergency room. Half an hourter. The operating theater¡¯s door swung open. A doctor walked out and shook his head at Mo Xicheng, saying, ¡°Sorry, we tried our best.¡± Upon hearing these words, Mo Xicheng, who had been quite sure that he wasn¡¯t too sad, suddenly found himself tearing up. He felt a sharp sting at the top of his nose. He nodded and then turned around. He walked to the standard wards. Li Shu was lying on the hospital bed. Her sleep was troubled. As he was worried that she would be too sad and distraught, Mo Xicheng had requested the doctor to inject her with a stabilizer. He wanted her to have a good sleep before waking up to this cruel reality. Chapter 1638 - Epilogue (11)

Chapter 1638: Epilogue (11)

However, looking at Li Shu¡¯s state, Mo Xicheng suddenly realized he had no idea how to tell her. At that moment, he heard hurried footstepsing from the corridor. He turned and saw Shi Nianyao running towards him, panting. She saw Mo Xicheng and instantly asked, ¡°I came as fast as possible once I heard the news. How¡¯s Aunty? Where¡¯s Uncle?¡± Mo Xicheng stared at her and said, ¡°He¡¯s dead.¡± Shi Nianyao was stunned on the spot by his calm words. ¨C Li Shu was lying on the hospital bed. Someone still had to arrange Mo Hai¡¯s funeral. Mo Xicheng calmly watched the medical personnel clean Mo Hai¡¯s body and put clothes on him. Then they pushed him into the mortuary. He arranged a date with the staff for taking Mo Hai to the crematorium before leaving with Shi Nianyao. As they walked, he suddenly heard some people talking behind him. ¡°Why doesn¡¯t Idol Mo look sad at all?¡± ¡°I know, right? It looks as if he¡¯s dealing with an outsider.¡± ¡°But isn¡¯t the person who died his father?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t all of you know? Idol Mo didn¡¯t have a good rtionship with his father. His father always thought that he was the son of the mistress, so he hit and scolded him his whole life.¡± ¡°But even if that¡¯s the case, he must have some feelings for his father.¡± ¡°He¡¯s such a cold person. His mother was so sad she even fainted. Aish!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bother about it. We will never understand the lives of the rich.¡± ¡°...¡± Shi Nianyao tightened her fist when she heard this. She turned around and walked towards them. When she was about to open her mouth to say something, Mo Xicheng grabbed her arm. Shi Nianyao looked back in confusion and saw Mo Xicheng shake his head to her. Shi Nianyao then suppressed the anger in her heart and walked out alongside Mo Xicheng. Li Shu would still not wake up any time soon. Thus, Mo Xicheng followed Shi Nianyao to the garden outside the hospital. Both of them sat there quietly and Shi Nianyao looked at Mo Xicheng, not saying anything. After a while, Mo Xicheng looked at Shi Nianyao and said, ¡°Actually, I¡¯m really not sad about his death.¡± Shi Nianyao halted for a moment. Mo Xicheng turned his head and looked into the distance. He was looking at the nature and nts in front of him, but he also seemed like he was looking through these nts, at something else. He pursed his lips and kept silent for a moment. Then he continued, ¡°He wasn¡¯t nice to me. Since young, he always hit and scolded me. In fact, he never treated me as his son. When he looked at me, his gaze was always full of anger. Especially every time my mom came back from abroad, he would always treat me like that. So I really don¡¯t care about him. I won¡¯t be sad, even if he has died.¡± Shi Nianyao tensed her jaw. Mo Xicheng continued. ¡°Since he passed away, then just let it be. It¡¯s also a good thing, our family can be calmer in the future.¡± Shi Nianyao still kept silent. Mo Xicheng spoke again. ¡°Nianyao, do you think that I¡¯m too cold?¡± Shi Nianyao remained silent and stared at him. Mo Xicheng moved his gaze away from the intense stare of her innocent eyes. Then he sighed. ¡°What should I do? I know that he hasn¡¯t treated me well and, after his death, I will be able to handle thepany well. So why do I actually feel a little ufortable in my heart?¡± Chapter 1639 - Epilogue (12)

Chapter 1639: Epilogue (12)

Shi Nianyao¡¯s eyes reddened at his words. She actually didn¡¯t care much about what happened Mo Hai. She hadn¡¯t thought that Mo Hai and Li Shu would end well, with Mo Hai being a man who had betrayed his wife. But her heart suffered for her idol. Mo Xicheng had to be feeling very confused and messed-up inside at that moment. Mo Hai had loved and doted on Mo Zhi the most since they were children. Mo Xicheng had tried so hard to make Mo Hai notice him, but he had never bothered about him. And now, Mo Hai had been hurt by his own son, the one he had doted on the most. Was this karma? However, from the start till the end, the person who had suffered the most was Mo Xicheng. Even though the ones at fault had gotten the punishment they deserved, nothing could pay back the suffering Mo Xicheng had gone through when he was young. It was impossible for it to disappear. As Shi Nianyao thought so, she stood up and walked to Mo Xicheng¡¯s side. She stuck out her arms and hugged him. Mo Xicheng held her hands and then continued staring in front of him. He was still in a daze. After a while, Mo Xicheng saw the police officers walk over. The police officers hade to retrieve evidence, as Mo Hai¡¯s death hadn¡¯t been natural. Since there had been many people who had personally witnessed the scene and they were all reporters, they had sensitively recorded evidence of Mo Zhi killing Mo Hai. Thus there was almost no doubt that the murderer was Mo Zhi. But at this moment, Mo Zhi had disappeared. The police had started to search for Mo Zhi throughout the whole city. ¡°May I ask if you know where Mo Zhi is? We have looked everywhere, but we can¡¯t find him,¡± the police officer asked. Mo Xicheng narrowed his eyes and said, ¡°He seemed to be with a man called Big Belly. He is a loan shark.¡± ¡°We know that too. We have already found Big Belly, but Big Belly said that Mo Zhi didn¡¯t go back. We have searched through his house and we really didn¡¯t see Mo Zhi at all.¡± Mo Xicheng was shocked. Then he suddenly recalled something and lowered his head. ¡°I know where he might be. I¡¯ll take you to him.¡± The police officers nodded. Mo Xicheng instantly stood up, nodded his head at Shi Nianyao and started walking to the hospital. The two police officers looked at each other and followed him. Mo Xicheng didn¡¯t go elsewhere, he went straight to the mortuary. Mo Hai¡¯s body had been temporarily ced there until Li Shu woke up and dealt with it. As they approached it, they already saw a person standing at the door of the mortuary. The person was peeking inside. He was tiptoeing and looking at what was happening in the mortuary. His whole body was almost leaningpletely on the door. There were still blood stains on his face and he looked really pathetic and scared. Some medical personnel walked past him and they couldn¡¯t resist taking a few nces at him. However, they stayed at a distance, since they were scared. When the police officers saw him, they instantly matched his face to the photograph they had. It was indeed Mo Zhi. The two of them exchanged a nce and prepared to take action. Then they slowly moved towards Mo Zhi and charged at him. ¡°Don¡¯t move, we are the police!¡± They rushed over and handcuffed Mo Zhi speedily. They pressed his shoulders down. Mo Zhi¡¯s body bounced up and he said, ¡°Let me see him, let me see him. Dad, dad! I really didn¡¯t mean it, Dad, why would I kill you? Dad, let me see you, let me see you!¡± ¡°Sob, sob sob, Dad, let me see you! It¡¯s me, I¡¯m Mo Zhi.¡± Chapter 1640 - Epilogue (13)

Chapter 1640: Epilogue (13)

He shouted these words, so the two police officers exchanged nces and looked back at Mo Xicheng. Mo Xicheng stared at him and suddenly lowered his head. ¡°Ok, if you want to look, we¡¯ll let you look.¡± As the rtive of the victim, the police officers had no rights to object when he allowed Mo Zhi to do so. They let go of Mo Zhi and pushed the door open. Then they brought Mo Zhi before Mo Hai. His eyes were closed, as if he had fallen asleep. It didn¡¯t look like he had died. Mo Zhi stared at Mo Hai and as he looked, he suddenly pounced to his side and said, ¡°Dad, wake up! Dad, wake up please!¡± Last time, in order to take the assets from him, he had thought about killing Mo Hai. But that had just been a moment of rashness. He had never ever thought that Mo Hai would really die. But at this moment, when Mo Hai¡¯s cold and lifeless body was in front of him, he was breaking down. He stared at the body and his irises swelled. He was going mad. ¡°Dad, Dad, open your eyes and look at me.¡± Mo Xicheng stood at the door and stared at Mo Zhi. At the end, Mo Zhi was crying intensely. He squatted down on the floor and curled into a ball. Mo Zhi had never really been a bad man. Although he had gone overboard many times due to his little evil thoughts, if one had asked him to really kill his own father, he still wouldn¡¯t have been able to do it. He knelt on the ground in guilt and waspletely unable to get up. He was dragged out by the police officers in the end. Mo Xicheng stared at his back and narrowed his eyes. After a while, he suddenly picked up his phone and called his assistant. ¡°Help me find awyer and send him to the hospital immediately.¡± The assistant obeyed. ¨C When Li Shu woke up, both Shi Nianyao and Mo Xicheng were by her side. Actually, she hadn¡¯t slept really well. In her sleep, her eyes had been constantly turning and when she woke up, she was still shouting, ¡°Mo Hai, move away!¡± Then she suddenly opened her eyes When she saw the two of them, Li Shu was still slightly stunned. After she returned to her senses, she instantly recalled what had happened before she had fainted. She instantly frowned and said, ¡°Mo Xicheng, your father, your father- he- he-¡± She could no longer finish her sentence. Mo Xicheng knew what she was going to say. He lowered his eyes, walked to Li Shu¡¯s side and said, ¡°Mom, Dad has left us.¡± Li Shu was stunned and her gaze lost focus. Mo Xicheng and Shi Nianyao exchanged nces. They bent over Li Shu as he spoke softly, ¡°Mom, Dad¡¯s body is in the mortuary. Do... you want to go and see him?¡± Li Shu was stunned. She hesitated for a while and then shook her head. She wanted the memories Mo Hai had left her with to remain when he had been the most handsome, not the cold and lifeless body lying in the mortuary. She lowered her eyes and said, ¡°Ok, I understand it. I¡¯m alright, don¡¯t worry.¡± Don¡¯t worry? Looking at her state now, how could they not worry? Mo Xicheng paused for a moment and then squatted in front of her again. ¡°Mom, the dead are dead. Dad blocked the knife for you so that you would continue living happily. You must continue living well for him, ok?¡±¡± After Li Shu heard his words, she nodded. Just at that moment, there was a knock on the door and the assistant entered together with thewyer. Chapter 1641 - Epilogue (14)

Chapter 1641: Epilogue (14)

After the assistant entered, he spoke to Mo Xicheng. ¡°Mr. Mo, I brought thewyer.¡± Mo Xicheng nodded. He turned his head and took a nce at Li Shu. Then he lowered his eyes and said, ¡°Mom, I¡ª¡± ¡°If you have anything to discuss, you can do it outside. I¡¯m fine.¡± Mo Xicheng was still worried. ¡°But¡ª¡± ¡°No buts. Don¡¯t worry, Mom is very calm. You haven¡¯t gotten married and haven¡¯t given birth to kids. Besides, I owe you so much, I would never leave you. I must live well and make up for what your father and I owe you. So child, go finish what you have to do. I will get over it, I will get over it one day.¡± Seeing how calm Li Shu was, Mo Xicheng couldn¡¯t help but sigh deeply in his heart. Never in his life had he seen Li Shu lose herposure like today. It was clear how deep her love for Mo Hai had been. He sighed and walked out of the room with Shi Nianyao. Thewyer his assistant had brought was sitting on the sofa outside. When he saw Mo Xicheng, he stood up instantly and said, ¡°Nice to meet you, Mr. Mo.¡± Mo Xicheng nodded at him and asked him to sit down. Before he could say anything, thewyer spoke, ¡°Mr. Mo, I know what happened. This matter is actually quite easy to settle. Mo Zhi killed Mo Hai in front of so many people. He will definitely be unable to escape charges for premeditated murder. He will receive an immediate death sentence and, as long as I take action, there¡¯s definitely nothing that will go wrong¡ª¡± Before he could finish speaking, Mo Xicheng interrupted him. ¡°You¡¯re wrong. I have invited you over to fight the case for Mo Zhi.¡± Everyone, thewyer, the assistant as well as Shi Nianyao, were all instantly stunned. Mo Xicheng lowered his head and said inly, ¡°I want you to be Mo Zhi¡¯swyer. Say that he killed someone due to his mental state. Although it was still a homicide, he won¡¯t have to die and the punishment will be lighter.¡± Thewyer felt ill after hearing what Mo Xicheng had said. He stared at Mo Xicheng, wondering if he had heard him wrongly. He stammered and said, ¡°Ah- this- that- there¡¯s no problem. Heh, I knew that all the rumors about Mr. Mo not having feelings were fake. Look at that, Mo Zhi has identally killed your father, but you cannot bear to watch your own younger brother get killed like that, right? In this case, even if Mo Zhi has gone mad, he still won¡¯t be able to escape punishment. The lowest punishment for him would be being jailed for life.¡± Mo Xicheng had no reaction to thewyer trying to tter him. He only nodded inly and said, ¡°I heard that Mo Zhi borrowed from Big Belly, the loan shark. What Big Belly is doing is illegal too, right?¡± Thewyer instantly nodded. ¡°It is illegal, but this matter isn¡¯t a big deal. It is just illegal management.¡± Mo Xicheng nodded. ¡°But he¡¯ll at least be given three to five years of punishment, right?¡± Thewyer was stunned, but he instantly understood. ¡°Are you helping Mr. Mo Zhi take revenge? There¡¯s no problem about this either! I can help you sue Big Belly!¡± Mo Xicheng nodded, stood up and said, ¡°Ok, just these two matters. As for the fees, you can discuss it with my secretary.¡± Thewyer and assistant walked out. Shi Nianyao stared at the two men leaving Mo Xicheng suddenly spoke, ¡°Nianyao, I¡¯m not the type of person he was speaking about¡ª¡± Shi Nianyao didn¡¯t wait for him to finish before covering his mouth. Mo Xicheng paused. Shi Nianyao looked at him with a clear gaze. ¡°I know what you mean.¡± Chapter 1642 - Epilogue (15)

Chapter 1642: Epilogue (15)

Mo Xicheng lowered his head and exined calmly, ¡°I feel that if Mo Zhi were to just die like this, we¡¯d be letting him off too easily. If he feels remorseful about killing my father, then he should live and spend his days in jail, guilt-ridden. And I¡¯m thinking that since Big Belly is so fond of him, they can meet in jail and develop their rtionship there. I want Mo Zhi to suffer all his life. He was so good to Mo Zhi, how could he be so cruel?¡± Shi Nianyao nodded. She had already thought of these things without Mo Xicheng having to mention them. However, she did not expect Mo Xicheng¡¯s next question, ¡°Are you disappointed in me?¡± She was surprised. So this was why he was feeling troubled. He was worried about showing this dark side of himself and that she would think less of him. She stopped smiling immediately and said with a serious expression, ¡°Mo Xicheng, I love you for who you are, not just certain aspects. I like everything good and bad about you. Everything.¡± ¡°Besides, don¡¯t forget my background. I¡¯m used to seeing these sorts of fights. I¡¯d be worried about my own taste in men if, on the contrary, you were like a saint and forgave Mo Zhi! We should take revenge as needed.¡± Seeing that Shi Nianyao had said this with so much conviction, he lowered his head. ¨C Li Shu was discharged from the hospital very shortly. Not a single time before she was discharged did she go to see Mo Hai in the mortuary. He was cremated a few dayster. Following the wake and funeral, Mo Zhi¡¯s trial date arrived. He was found guilty of first degree murder and given a life sentence. Big Belly, on the other hand, was found guilty of private usury and sentenced to three years in jail. The day the verdict was read, Mo Xicheng had gone to the court to listen. After the verdict was out, Mo Zhi walked past Mo Xicheng as he was being escorted by the police to be taken to the prison. Mo Zhi asked him, ¡°Why did you get me awyer?¡± Initially, ashen-faced, he had thought this case would be the end of him. But unexpectedly, this had been the oue and it had greatly surprised him. After initially thinking that the man was going to be Mo Xicheng¡¯swyer, he was further taken aback when the man had fought on his behalf. Mo Xicheng did not bother answering his questions. Mo Zhi still had plenty of imagination. ¡°This must have been Dad¡¯s request before he died.¡± His eyes reddened at once as he said, ¡°I didn¡¯t think that Dad would be so kind towards me, even right before his death. I actually killed him. It was Li Shu who should have died! It should have been her!! Not Dad! Dad died because of her, and what about her? Why is she still alive? Why should she be?!¡± Mo Xicheng widened his eyes as he red at Mo Zhi. This caused Mo Zhi to swallow the rest of his words in fright. Mo Xicheng cast his gaze down and said to the man, ¡°Don¡¯t you worry, I¡¯ll make sure you and Yao Lili have a chance to see each other in jail.¡± Before Mo Zhi could answer to this, he was escorted by the police. Then he got into the police car and they drove towards the prison. He was given his prison clothes to change into and had his hair shaved off. They took his belongings from him and he entered the building that he would never be able to leave for the rest of his life. The gate shut with a loud ng behind him, cutting him offpletely from the outside world. He walked ahead fearfully, and as he did so, he suddenly caught sight of Yao Lili, who was taking a break. At the same time, Yao Lili also spotted him. Chapter 1643 - Epilogue (16)

Chapter 1643: Epilogue (16)

Mo Zhi¡¯s eyes lit up at once. The moment Yao Lili saw him, she was stunned. Because it was break time, the prisoners were free to do whatever they wanted. Yao Lili immediately rushed towards Mo Zhi, grabbed his arm and asked, ¡°Why are you in here? What happened?¡± As the prisoners had no ess to the outside world, Yao Lili had no idea that Mo Hai was dead. Mo Zhi opened his mouth to speak but fell silent again. Yao Lili got angry at once and demanded, ¡°Was it Mo Xicheng? Did he do this to you so that he could inherit the Mo family estate? This is too much! Where¡¯s your dad? Only your dad can get you out of here now! The only person in this world you can depend on is your dad!¡± But upon saying these words, she noticed that Mo Zhi¡¯s eyes had reddened. She paused and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Crying now, the man answered, ¡°Dad- Dad has passed away.¡± Before she could finish exining, Yao Lili gasped in shock and said, ¡°Impossible! He¡¯s so young, how could he be dead? Tell me, who killed him?! Did Mo Xicheng and Li Shu both kill him so that they could inherit the Mo family estate?!¡± Mo Zhi fell silent upon hearing these words. Then he shut his eyes and answered, ¡°I killed him.¡± Yao Lili: ... The world seemed to have fallen into a dead silence. Mo Zhi opened his eyes to a shocked expression on Yao Lili¡¯s face. ¡°Are you nuts?! You killed him? Who do you think you¡¯ve killed?! That was your father, no one in the world would treat you better than he would. No matter what you¡¯ve done wrong, he was the only one who would have helped you unconditionally!¡± Greatly saddened by these words, Mo Zhi waved his hand with impatience and said, ¡°I know all these things you¡¯re saying. I didn¡¯t do it on purpose! I was going to kill Li Shu, but Dad intervened and took the blow.¡± Yao Lili was stunned upon hearing his words. ¡°What did you say? He took the blow for her? And he¡¯s dead? Huh, he usually didn¡¯t even spare me a nce, but he¡¯d take a blow for Li Shu.¡± At this thought, the woman retreated a few steps and dropped on the ground, feeling that there was no more hope in her life. She had thought she had everything nned many years ago, but now Mo Hai was dead. She had toiled for more than twenty years, but now it all came to nothing. Her son was next to her, in this prison. When she had been first locked in this ce, she had a little hope in her still, yet now she waspletely devastated. Looking at her, Mo Zhi suddenly felt annoyed. He walked around her and headed towards his cell. In the prison, the cells were normally shared. He came to the entrance of his cell. Just as he pushed the door open, he heard a familiar voice saying, ¡°Oh look, isn¡¯t that Mo Zhi?¡± Mo Zhi froze and then looked up with a snap of his head. Then he saw Big Belly sitting in the cell. There were a few others in the cell. One was massaging Big Belly¡¯s shoulders and one was cutting his nails for him. Obviously, Big Belly had found himself a fewckeys. Mo Zhi widened his eyes in horror and turned around in an attempt to run away. But suddenly, a hand fell on him and gripped his shoulder. Following this, he was yanked back into the cell. Pitiful cries could be hearding from the cell. Chapter 1644 - Epilogue (17)

Chapter 1644: Epilogue (17)

¡°So you¡¯re saying Mo Zhi is in jail together with Big Belly?¡± Si Jingyu widened her eyes as she stared at Shi Jinyan. They had been paying close attention to everything that was happening in Mo Xicheng¡¯s family and knew about everything in detail. Shi Jinyan nodded. Stunned, the woman asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t that a little cruel?¡± Shi Jinyan narrowed his eyes and replied, ¡°If it were me, I wouldn¡¯t be as kind. You need to be tough when you¡¯re dealing with someone who has been harming you since childhood, someone who would even kill his own father!¡± Si Jingyu sighed in relief when she heard this. She raised her head and exchanged a nce with Shi Nianyao, who was standing by the side. Both of them had been worried that Shi Jinyan and Shi Xun would criticize Mo Xicheng and wouldn¡¯t let Shi Nianyao stay with the man. But after hearing Shi Jinyan¡¯s assessment of him, they ceased worrying. At this thought, Si Jingyu coughed softly and looked at Shi Nianyao again, saying, ¡°But now that Mo Xicheng is done with managing his father¡¯s funeral, it seems you may have to dy your wedding ns.¡± Shi Nianyao was taken aback and asked, ¡°Why?¡± Shi Xun interrupted before Si Jingyu could speak, ¡°Because there¡¯s been a death in the family! The family is forbidden to hold a wedding within the next three years!¡± ¡°What?!¡± Shi Nianyao almost hit the roof. ¡°Three years?!¡± Her idol had told her that, once he had settled his family business, he would announce the wedding. But now they had to wait three years?! How could this have happened? She pouted and was about to protest when Shi Jinyan said, ¡°That long? Three years?¡± Shi Xun nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s right. Besides, our Nianyao is still young. She really doesn¡¯t have to get married so soon. She can get married in three years and, after that, wait three years more before she thinks about having kids. That¡¯s not bad!¡± He said this with a serious tone, but Si Jingyu frowned at once and retorted, ¡°The ideal time for a woman to have children is between the ages of 25 and 30, so what you¡¯ve said makes sense. But for these two, who are madly in love, it seems a little cruel to keep them apart.¡± ¡°What¡¯s so cruel about it? If he can¡¯t endure it, he¡¯s free to go. Our Nianyao doesn¡¯tck options! Besides, why should we wait three years for him?¡± In wealthy families, the sons and daughters generally got married at a younger age. Indeed, in three years, Nianyao would be a little over the hill. Shi Xun was somewhat grumpy as he made this point. Shi Jinyan got to his feet immediately upon hearing this and said at once, ¡°What are you talking about? It¡¯s not like we don¡¯t have a solution.¡± All three of them turned simultaneously to look at him. ¡°What solution do you have?¡± Shi Jinyan coughed lightly and said, ¡°Well, that would be... to get married within seven days of Mo Hai¡¯s death.¡± Everyone: ... Si Jingyu was not impressed to hear this. ¡°Marrying our daughter off in such a hurry is not good for Nianyao¡¯s reputation!¡± Shi Jinyan frowned as well. Shi Xun snorted icily and added, ¡°Besides, why should we look as though we¡¯re in a hurry to marry her off when his family hasn¡¯t even expressed their intentions to do so? I don¡¯t get the sense that they¡¯re in a hurry, so why should we be?¡± Shi Xun¡¯s words drew the wrath of the rest. Si Jingyu spoke up, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t say that. Li Shu and Mo Hai really cared for each other. Who¡¯d have thought¡ª¡± Just as she said these words, the butler eximed from outside, ¡°Sir, Madam, Madam Li Shu is here!¡± Chapter 1645 - Epilogue (18)

Chapter 1645: Epilogue (18)

Li Shu was here? Everyone in the room was stunned. Following this, Si Jingyu stood up hurriedly and said, ¡°Hurry up and invite her into the house!¡± The butler nodded and went to invite Li Shu in. It pained everyone to see how lonely and deste she looked when she walked in. Her eyes were bloodshot. Seeing her this way and recalling Li Shu¡¯s more glorious days made Si Jingyu sigh suddenly. Li Shu had been such an ambitious woman, and so obstinate. But now, she had be quite another person because of Mo Hai. It was unexpected. She rushed to Li Shu, took her hands and said, ¡°Li Shu, you have to take it easy. Mo Hai is gone. Surely, he wouldn¡¯t wish to see you like this.¡± Li Shu sighed as her eyes reddened. Unlike the strong person she usually was, she was now sentimental and emotional. She said, ¡°Jingyu,tely, I keep having this thought.¡± ¡°What thought?¡± Si Jingyu held the woman¡¯s hand as she led her to take a seat on the sofa. Li Shu continued, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it have been better if I had never married Mo Hai? At the time, I already knew that he wasn¡¯t someone who could bear loneliness. I already knew back then that I wouldn¡¯t be able to handle betrayal even once. So why did I even say yes to him?¡± Si Jingyu immediately sighed and said, ¡°Enough already. Don¡¯t think about it anymore.¡± Li Shu nodded, but continued feeling depressed. She said, ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s wrong with myself. I feel lonely when I¡¯m home alone. I have never felt this way, even though I lived away from Mo Hai before, because I knew he was there next to me, no matter how far I went. I could go home whenever I was tired, and I¡¯d see him around. After so many years, I realize I¡¯m emotionally dependent on him.¡± Si Jingyu understood that feeling. If Shi Jinyan were to leave her all of a sudden, she would be devastated too. Perhaps, it would be impossible to go on even. At this thought, Si Jingyu couldn¡¯t help tearing up. She held Li Shu¡¯s hands tightly and said, ¡°Say no more. From now on Mo Xicheng will be your pir! You¡¯re not alone, you have Mo Xicheng!¡± Li Shu continued to shake her head as she said, ¡°But he has to work. And the child is young still. How can I hold him back from his career? He has to film too, on top of going to work. He¡¯s been losing weight these days.¡± Hearing this gave Shi Nianyao a heartache. ¡°We have to remind him to take care of his health!¡± Li Shu nodded and said, ¡°You¡¯re a good kid.¡± She extended her hand towards Shi Nianyao. Shi Nianyao walked over to her, sat down and said, ¡°Auntie, you have to take care of your own health. Doing that will also relieve the pressure on Mo Xicheng.¡± Li Shu continued nodding with red eyes. She looked at Si Jingyu with envy and remarked, ¡°Jingyu, I really do envy you. You have your children around you watching over you. Although the beginning was tough for you, now... and it¡¯s just the opposite for me. How fortunate was I those years that Mo Hai pursued me? And how proud did I feel? But now, for the next part of my life...¡± Si Jingyu quickly patted Li Shu gently on her shoulder. Li Shu immediately said, ¡°I¡¯ll say no more, I¡¯ll say no more.¡± Chapter 1646 - Epilogue (19)

Chapter 1646: Epilogue (19)

Although she said that, she still lowered her head and sobbed. Si Jingyu looked at her and felt rather helpless. It took a great deal of pain to make a strong person like her break down to tears in front of others. As Si Jingyu was fretting over this, Li Shu lifted her head and said, ¡°Jingyu, did you know that Mo Hai had one wish before he died?¡± Surprised, Si Jingyu asked, ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°He hoped that Mo Xicheng could get married and have children as soon as possible. This was because he wanted to make up for what he thought he owed the boy after all these years. Hence, our family has decided not to follow the traditional three-year mourning period.¡± The moment she said this, and even before Si Jingyu could speak, Shi Jinyan was infuriated. ¡°Nonsense!¡± he said. ¡°Mo Xicheng is going to be part of the elite circle for the rest of his life. His background in itself already motivates criticism. By not having him observe filial piety now, aren¡¯t you just setting him up to be a joke in society?¡± Li Shu was stumped by his words. She continued crying and said, ¡°But what can I do? Mo Hai wanted him to get married as soon as possible, and I hope to fulfill hisst wish. Now, unless they get married within seven days, we¡¯ll have to wait three years. But in seven days, there is barely any time. How could I possibly organize the whole wedding? It would be unfair to Nianyao and I would feel bad about it! As it is, our Mo Xicheng is marrying someone of a higher social status, and now...¡± She buried her face in her hands and cried again. Shi Jinyan immediately said, ¡°Stop speaking nonsense. How could organizing a wedding be a problem if our two familiesbine forces?! We¡¯ll hold a wedding within seven days! Let¡¯s get going now and prepare the wedding. If there are any problems, just let us know. We can fix anything!¡± Upon hearing these words, the crying Li Shu immediately got on her feet. She quickly regained herposure and said, ¡°Brother Shi, let¡¯s do it. We don¡¯t need help for anything. The Mo family will make this wedding a sessful and grand event. We¡¯ll make sure that it¡¯s presentable! Don¡¯t you worry, we will do Nianyao justice.¡± Having said this, she turned to Si Jingyu and said, ¡°Jingyu, I¡¯ll go now then, if there¡¯s nothing else. Oh, I¡¯ve arranged for Nianyao and Mo Xicheng to take their wedding photos this afternoon. Time is a little tight, so we¡¯ll take some photos to use at the wedding. Later on, we can take more during their honeymoon and make up for it. As for the hotel venue, we may need your help, because all the big hotels in Beijing are booked half a year in advance, so it may get a little troublesome. However, I¡¯ve heard that there is a venue in the Royal Family Hotel that caters to emergency events. If you could help me contact Xiao Munan and ask him to set aside that venue for me. Also...¡± Li Shu went on and on and, finally, she went back to being the devastated damsel that she had been when she arrived. ¡°Jingyu, Brother Shi, don¡¯t worry, after marrying Mo Xicheng, Nianyao will still lead the life of a little princess. I will make sure that she doesn¡¯t suffer the slightest inconvenience!¡± Si Jingyu and Shi Jinyan would both be very stupid if by now they hadn¡¯t figured out that they had been tricked. They exchanged a look and were about to speak when Li Shu suddenly took a deep bow towards them. This was a gesture of great respect and the two of them were stunned. They looked at Li Shu as the woman sighed and said... Chapter 1647 - Epilogue (20)

Chapter 1647: Epilogue (20)

¡°Desperate times call for desperate measures. I know that you love and protect your daughter. If I hadn¡¯t done this, you would have never agreed. And we would have spent a few days trying to make things look good for our children, but we don¡¯t have time now. I really do apologize for lying, but I meant what I said today.¡± After she had said this, Li Shu looked at them steadily. Once again, she was full of manly spirit and tenacity. Looking at how she was, Si Jingyu now fell silent and did not speak further. Everyone¡¯s gaze shifted to Shi Jinyan, waiting for the head of the family to make his decision. He looked at Li Shu and pursed his lips. After a moment, he said, ¡°We don¡¯t have to worry about using the Royal Family Hotel. We¡¯ll find a better ce.¡± At once, Li Shu was moved beyond words. She nodded at Shi Jinyan with restraint and respect. She then looked ay Si Jingyu and said, ¡°Jingyu, I won¡¯t say more. I will get going now to make preparations. We¡¯ll talk more after the children¡¯s wedding.¡± Si Jingyu nodded as Li Shu turned to leave. Before walking away, she reached out for Shi Nianyao¡¯s hand and reminded the woman, ¡°Remember the wedding photoshoot is this afternoon.¡± Shi Nianyao nodded obediently and said, ¡°Yes, I will, Aunty.¡± Li Shu gave her a few nces and smiled as she walked out. Everyone in the living room was still stunned long after she had left. They were quiet for ten full minutes before Si Jingyu finally broke the silence and spoke, ¡°So we¡¯ve agreed just like that? To marry off our daughter within seven days? Aren¡¯t we being a little casual about this?¡± Shi Jinyan frowned and replied, ¡°We¡¯ve given our word, so we should abide by it. Let¡¯s not think about it anymore. We have to marry off our daughter in seven days, it¡¯s going to be busy! All of you, put everything else aside and focus your energy on Nianyao¡¯s wedding. There must be no mistakes.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Everyone replied in unison. ¨C Li Shu returned home in a hustle and, by now, Mo Xicheng had already been waiting anxiously at the door for a long time. When he saw Li Shu¡¯s car in the distance, he immediately went out to greet her. He said as she was getting out of the car, ¡°Mom¡ª¡± Before he could finish speaking, Li Shu smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s all been settled, hurry up and prepare for your wedding. We will be very busy in the next few days!¡± His eyes shone with delight when he heard this. Li Shu suddenly felt a great joy well up within her when she looked at the overjoyed Mo Xicheng. This was the first thing she had ever done for her son. In the future, there would be a second time, and then a third. She would use the rest of her life to make up for all the lost years and all that she owed Mo Xicheng. Perhaps, this was the only reason she had to continue living. ¨C The following days were as busy as they could be. Mo Xicheng announced his wedding through various channels. At once, it seemed like everyone was wailing. It was bad enough that Best Actor Shen had gotten married, and now even Mo Xicheng was taken. In the entertainment circle, it was very unlikely that people their age got married. However, even though some people could not get past it, others were most supportive. Overnight, the inte was full of different opinions and disagreements regarding Mo Xicheng¡¯s wedding. Everyone was busy except Shi Nianyao, who was quietly waiting to be the bride. On that particr day, a WeChat message notification came in. It was a message from Pu Yun which said: [¡°What do you think of our idol¡¯s wedding?¡±] Chapter 1648 - Epilogue (21)

Chapter 1648: Epilogue (21)

What did she think? She was the one he was marrying, of course she was ecstatic! But as his fan, Shi Nianyao felt that if her idol had been getting married to someone else, she would have wished him all the best even if she felt sad. As she thought about this, Pu Yun sent another message. [It¡¯s getting chaotic on the WeChat group.] Shi Nianyao paused and went into Mo Xicheng¡¯s fanbase WeChat group. She realized that a few of the older fans had started an argument. [There¡¯s nothing wrong with our idol choosing to get married. We have to show some understanding.] [Yeah, yeah, yeah. You are so understanding and we aren¡¯t. He used to belong to all of us, but now he¡¯s going to belong to just one person, aren¡¯t you even a little sad?] [Of course I¡¯m sad, but we have to respect his choice.] [...] They went back and forth. O0ne of the long-time fans, who had started liking Mo Xicheng and pursuing him at around the same time that Shi Nianyao had, suddenlymented: [To be honest, our idol was going nowhere for all these years and I never abandoned him. I even felt the injustice on his behalf sometimes. I felt sad for him and troubled that he wasn¡¯t more popr, so I worked hard to promote him in order to make people like him. But what was he doing while I was putting in all this effort for him? Now I know. It¡¯s not that he wasn¡¯t capable of being popr, but rather that he didn¡¯t want to. I suddenly feel that everything I¡¯ve done is a joke. Actually we, the long-time fans, don¡¯t mean much to him. Now he¡¯s finally regained his position and we are happy, but what about him? He doesn¡¯t focus on his acting and instead is going to get married. Can it possibly mean that he changed so much, or even got so popr all of a sudden, for the sake of his wife-to-be, and not us? I¡¯m a little disappointed and I don¡¯t think I want to stan him anymore for now. He can marry whoever he wants, or not. Likewise, we can stan whoever we want, or not. Hence, I do apologize.] After this very long message was sent, she left the group. When this happened, the group chat turned silent. This became thest message in the chat room. Pu Yun then chatted with Shi Nianyao privately. [A few of the older fans in the group have sent me private messages to say that they¡¯re leaving the fandom.] Shi Nianyao was saddened at once to hear this. They were in the group because they liked Mo Xicheng, but now the man was soon bing hers only. An inexplicable feeling came over her. She asked hesitantly, [What about you?] Pu Yun was silent for some time before she replied, [I¡¯m not sure.] Then she fell into a long silence again. Meanwhile, a few of the older fans left the WeChat group too. Shi Nianyao tossed her cell phone aside, extremely disappointed. She started to panic a little and lost focus. Was this what they called having cold feet? Or perhaps she was just affected by what had happened in the groupchat. Lying on the bed, she couldn¡¯t help reaching out for the cell phone again, to read everyone¡¯s messages. Then she realized that Pu Yun had left a message in the groupchat. Chapter 1649 - Epilogue (22)

Chapter 1649: Epilogue (22)

[We are part of this group because we like him. I believe that no matter what happens, we should support him, because we are longtime fans who have gone through this journey with him since day one. Some have objected to his marriage, others are sad. I can understand all that. But as his loyal fan, I want to say that he¡¯s had a hard life up till now. So if his wife-to-be treats him very well and makes him happy, then I wish him the best. Because our existence is only virtual, but his wife-to-be canfort and apany him in daily life. We can still continue to support him like before.] After this message was posted, there was another long silence. After a while, someone finally wrote. [Is his wife thedy in the picture from back then? Actually, she¡¯s quite pretty, they fit each other.] [That¡¯s right. The girl looks kind and gentle, but I¡¯m sure she doesn¡¯t understand our idol as much as we do. Wouldn¡¯t it have been great if she had been one of us?¡± [Exactly. Our idol is a busy man, he has no time to chat with us. We could find out about his daily life from his wife. That¡¯s a happy thought too. Pu Yun, do you think you can persuade her to join our group?] At once, someoneughed sarcastically and posted: [Stop dreaming. Our idol¡¯s wife is surely from a wealthy family, why would she make time to banter with us on WeChat? It would be impossible for her to be friends with normal people like us.] Someone retorted immediately: [So what if she¡¯s wealthy? Since she has married our idol, she will have to join us in liking him. We could make an anthology of his works to showcase how dashing he is. We should start coting his videos. What was his debut?] [He was supporting Best Actor Shen at the time. That movie was...] The group chat¡¯s members started sending messages and began to get enthusiastic. As Shi Nianyao read the content, she couldn¡¯t help but smile. After a while, she was tagged. [Pu Yun: @Nianyao, if we all gather the resources, will you create the video? You¡¯re best at doing this, so we¡¯ll leave the job to you.] Having said this, Pu Yun followed up with another private message to Shi Nianyao, which said: [Nianyao, I believe we both want to wish our idol the best. Let¡¯s make this a wedding gift for our idol. Will you help us all create this video and send it on his wedding day?] Would she? She teared up at once. Of course she would say yes, how would she say anything other than that? She smiled as she typed: [Of course!] After replying on the private chat, she posted in the group chat: [Sure, of course!] Once she agreed on this, everyone started to look for resources and then send them to Nianyao. Immediately, the vibe in the group chat took a turn for the better. Everything was harmonious and their initial reaction, which had created a negative atmosphere, had now turned quite joyous. But as they discussed this, someone suddenly asked: [How are we going to give this to our idol¡¯s wife-to-be when it¡¯s ready?] Chapter 1650 - Epilogue (23)

Chapter 1650: Epilogue (23)

The group chat exploded the moment the question was posted. [Exactly, how are we going to pass this to our idol¡¯s future wife? It¡¯s not like we have her WeChat contact. We have no way to get in touch with her.] [Pu Yun, could you contact our idol¡¯s manager to try and track down his future wife?] [If we do that, won¡¯t our idol think that we¡¯re invading his privacy?] [That¡¯s right, what if he gets upset?] Observing the discussion, Shi Nianyao couldn¡¯t helpmenting: [He won¡¯t.] Everyone responded immediately. [Why wouldn¡¯t he?] [How do you know he won¡¯t] Shi Nianyao thought for a moment and then answered: [Because I firmly believe that our idol has never given up on us. Just like even after he inherited the Mo family estate, he is still acting. So his future wife will surely get to know us.] Upon hearing this, the group chat¡¯s members went along with her. Everyone started preparing the gift. Shi Nianyao smiled as she noted the rxed atmosphere. Mo Xicheng was indeed blessed to have such an adorable fandom. ¨C Time flew by and the days passed very quickly. As the couple¡¯s wedding day approached, there was suddenly a greatmotion on the group chat. Pu Yun sent a message: [Important news!! Our idol¡¯s manager has just contacted me and said that he ns to give us ten seats at our idol¡¯s wedding! Those who are interested please sign up.] The group chat¡¯s members were greatly stirred up by the news. Those in Beijing expressed their interest¡ªand even those who weren¡¯t in Beijing expressed that they would be willing to fly there for the event. With only ten ces, the situation was very urgent. Pu Yun said: [Does everyone agree that we prioritize the top contributors of the fanclub?] Within the fanclub, it was quite obvious to everyone how much each of them contributed. As people who had put in a lot of effort for their idol, they naturally agreed, for they finally saw some benefits. Hence, Pu Yun started a list in the group chat. Shi Nianyao was relieved to see that Pu Yun was doing her best to manage the situation so that no one ended up feeling things were unfair. As she was sighing in relief, she saw Pu Yun write her name: [Nianyao.] Shi Nianyao: ... She didn¡¯t need an invitation. She didn¡¯t need an invitation to get in! As the thought struck her, she saw a private messagee in. It was one of the group members, and this particr member had contributed a lot, although she didn¡¯t stand out. She wasn¡¯t someone who talked a great deal either. She asked quite directly: [Nianyao, could you let me have your invitation?] Shi Nianyao: ... Indeed, private messaging was only just beginning. She was silent for a moment and then typed back: [I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t.] She would give up her ce, but she would do it openly without private transactions. Unexpectedly, the person replied: [Okay.] Just like that? But as Shi Nianyao was sighing in relief, she noticed that this person had blocked her. Shi Nianyao: ... She shook her head as she navigated back to the group chat to indicate that she didn¡¯t need the invitation. Pu Yun expressed her regrets and then took Shi Nianyao¡¯s name down before giving the ce to someone else. Shi Nianyao thought that the matter would end right there, but unexpectedly, a few hourster, Pu Yun suddenly contacted her and informed her: [Someone sold an invitation to another person.] Chapter 1651 - Epilogue (24)

Chapter 1651: Epilogue (24)

Shi Nianyao thought at once of the person who had sent her the private message and had almost gotten her into trouble. Her ID was something like... Yi Yi. She typed immediately: [Yi Yi?] Pu Yun answered: [That¡¯s right, it¡¯s her. She came looking for me too, to ask if I could let her have the ce but I said no. Eventually, she found someone else. I heard she spent tens of thousands to buy herself an invitation.] Shi Nianyao: ... For the sake of meeting her idol, fans were going crazy. But again, the person who had actually sold the invitation... Sigh! Oh well, it took all kinds to make a world. Shi Nianyao was feeling ufortable about this when Pu Yun sent another message: [Actually, Yi Yi did us all a great favor once.] Surprised, Shi Nianyao asked: [What?] [Do you remember when some people said Mo Xicheng was a kept man, and I suggested putting together a video or something?] [Yes.] [It was Yi Yi¡¯s idea.] Shi Nianyao was stunned. She had thought initially that Yi Yi was weird for trying to get an invitation, she had been sure she was involved in illegal business. But she hadn¡¯t expected that this person had actually helped Mo Xicheng in the past. She frowned and was curious all of a sudden. [What is Yi Yi like exactly?] Pu Yun started exining. [Actually, Yi Yi is quite nice. She doesn¡¯t say much in the group chat, but she always lends a hand when something happens. Although I¡¯m the fandom leader, honestly, all these years, she¡¯s helped me make decisions whenever something happened. Do you remember that when the older fans left the chat group, I sent a long message? Actually, it was hard for me to get past it. She was the one who changed my mind and counseled me. Just that, she¡¯s always been there to offer verbal support, but never really did anything tangible for our idol. And to be honest, I have the gut feeling that she¡¯s not really a fan of our idol, because she hasn¡¯t watched most of his films, just like a... I don¡¯t know how to put it. It¡¯s like someone above us, with a hidden identity. That was why I didn¡¯t include her among the ten ces.] Shi Nianyao understood Pu Yun¡¯s decision. Yi Yi was almost invisible among the group members. If Pu Yun had included her, it would have made the rest angry. Besides, given Yi Yi¡¯s aloof behavior, Pu Yun hadn¡¯t thought that she wanted an invitation. So it hade as a great surprise that she was willing to pay a high price to purchase it. The more Pu Yun exined, the more curious Shi Nianyao got about this person. She didn¡¯t think it was too strange to have someone who wasn¡¯t a fan among them, because in every fan group, there was bound to be a handful of people who weren¡¯t exactly loyal fans. However, she found it strange that Yi Yi would help Mo Xicheng every time help was needed. Even though Shi Nianyao was curious, she very quickly relegated this matter to the back of her mind. Because while she didn¡¯t have to do much for the wedding, she was nevertheless quite nervous. The wedding was just a day away. All night, Shi Nianyao couldn¡¯t get sleep. She was in her bedroom when her cell phone rang. She picked up the cell phone and saw it was Mo Xicheng. Quickly, she raised the phone to her ear. Then she heard his voice. ¡°Yao Yao, you¡¯re not asleep yet?¡± Shi Nianyao made an affirmative sound and said, ¡°You¡¯re awake too, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just taking ast look at tomorrow¡¯s program. Don¡¯t worry, things will go smoothly.¡± Shi Nianyao nodded and said, ¡°Yes, I know.¡± Chapter 1652 - Epilogue (25)

Chapter 1652: Epilogue (25)

In the blink of an eye, the big day arrived. At 5 a.m., as Shi Nianyao was sleeping soundly, someone pushed away her nket. Her vision was blurry as she tried to open her eyes. She heard Si Jingyu say, ¡°Hurry and wake up! The makeup artist is here, don¡¯t bete.¡± Shi Nianyao mumbled, ¡°Mom, it¡¯s only 5 am.¡± ¡°No time for nonsense. You need two hours for the makeup.¡± Shi Nianyao protested, ¡°Can¡¯t we just do simple and casual makeup?¡± ¡°Of course not! Go take a shower!¡± Si Jingyu patted the girl¡¯s shoulder decisively and pushed her to the bathroom. Soon afterwards, they heard the sound of running water. After taking her shower very quickly, she walked out of the bathroom and sat on the sofa. Then she shut her eyes in an attempt to continue sleeping. Because of her nerves the night before, she had chatted with Mo Xicheng till around 1 a.m. before going to sleep. And now she couldn¡¯t keep her eyes open. The makeup artist did not waste a moment and started to gently blow dry Shi Nianyao¡¯s hair while dabbing her face with a hot towel with the other hand. Once her hair was dry, she started applying the makeup. Before the makeup was done, Tian Tian brought her breakfast. Si Jingyu fed Shi Nianyao a few mouthfuls with a spoon. After this, she couldn¡¯t eat anymore. Two hourster, Shi Nianyao was finally awake. When she lifted her head and looked into the mirror, she was taken aback. The face looking back at her was exquisitely made up. With those perfect features, she was a real beauty to behold. Now all that was left was putting her hair up. Si Jingyu brought the wedding dress so that she could change into it, while the makeup artist made the finishing touches on her hair. By the time all of this was done, it was 9 a.m. Shi Nianyao started to get nervous. She lifted her head and looked out of the window. Mo Xicheng¡¯s escorting team had not yet arrived. She reached for her cell phone, hoping that it would distract her and make her less nervous. Unexpectedly, the moment she went on the inte, all tforms had simr headlines: #Mo_Xicheng_Wedding. Shi Nianyao coughed softly and swiftly went into WeChat instead. However on WeChat, everyone was already engaged inmenting on the wedding. The ten fans had already gathered and they were fervently sending news to the rest of the group. [We have arrived at the wedding venue. It¡¯s beautifully decorated!¡± They posted pictures and videos. Shi Nianyao started tough as she saw the decorations at the venue. While the unknown was always terrifying, fear would calm down once one saw what it was really like. Gradually, Shi Nianyao stopped being nervous. It was at this point that Mo Xicheng¡¯s escorting party turned up. Shi Nianyao got on her feet immediately and peeked out of the window joyously. As the party approached the house, she peered down at them from the window. Mo Xicheng had arge escorting party. Shen Liangchuan himself was personally apanying the groom, it was a grand affair. After spotting Shen Liangchuan, Shi Nianyao naturally wondered about where Qiao Lian was. As this thought crossed her mind, she saw the party heading upstairs. At once, Shi Nianyao bit her lip. Around this time, the room door was suddenly shut firmly. Following this, Su Penghao¡¯s voice was heard, ¡°If you don¡¯t manage to get past me, your bride won¡¯t be leaving with you today!¡± Shi Nianyao: ... What on earth was that man Su Penghao up to? With him taking the lead in creating trouble, the rest d immediately followed suit. Mo Xicheng then saw that Su Penghao had drawn ten red threads from under the door. Then he looked at Mo Xicheng and said, ¡°Among these ten treads, only one leads to Shi NIanyao. If you identify it, I¡¯ll open the door!¡± Chapter 1653 - Epilogue (26)

Chapter 1653: Epilogue (26)

Mo Xicheng: ...!! How was he supposed to find it with no clues at all? There were ten red strings, so he only had a ten percent chance. Mo Xicheng got a headache just looking at it. Fan Jie, who was behind him, couldn¡¯t help saying, ¡°Who knows if there is even anyone holding the other end of these ten red strings!¡± After he said so, Shi Nianyao, who was in the room, also couldn¡¯t help replying, ¡°I¡¯m holding one!¡± ¡°Hahahaha!¡± Everyone startedughing. Fan Jie shouted, ¡°Sister-inw, then tell us, which one are you holding?¡± Shi Nianyao¡¯s slightly anxious voice was heard. ¡°I don¡¯t know either. There¡¯s a few here that are jumbled together!¡± Everyone: ... Su Penghao looked at Mo Xicheng smugly and said, ¡°Don¡¯t think about cheating. Let me tell you, none of you will be able to cheat this time! Hmph.¡± He had liked Shi Nianyao since young. After watching her grow up, she had suddenly been snatched away by that wild man who had appeared out of nowhere. Su Penghao was unwilling to submit. He wanted to make things hard for Mo Xicheng. It would be even better if he could cause today¡¯s wedding to be canceled. How great would that be? As he thought so, Su Penghao became increasingly arrogant. Looking at Su Penghao¡¯s face, Mo Xicheng could tell what he was thinking. In the room, Shi Nianyao also got angry. ¡°Su Penghao, if you dare to dy my wedding today, you¡¯ll die under my hands during yours!¡± Her words caused everyone around to burst intoughter. Su Penghao spoke bashfully, ¡°I¡¯m waiting for you. Oh, I¡¯m sooo scared.¡± He was probably not going to get married in his life. Who was afraid? Well, that was what he thought. He thought that he wouldn¡¯t fall in love with anyone else in his whole life, but little did he know that he would fall in love with a girl not long afterwards. Furthermore, karma eventually got back at him, since Shi Nianyao did end up making his life difficult during his wedding in revenge for what he had done to Mo Xicheng. If Shi Nianyao hadn¡¯t let him off the hook then, they might have missed the event. He truly and deeply regretted his actions on his wedding day. But back to the story, at that moment, Su Penghao wasn¡¯t scared of anything at all. He stared at Mo Xicheng and said, ¡°Choose. If you can¡¯t even pass this little test, how am I supposed to let you have Shi Nianyao without any worries?¡± Mo Xicheng: ... How was he going to choose with only a ten percent chance of guessing correctly? He stared at Su Penghao and said, ¡°If I don¡¯t choose, are there other punishments?¡± In usual circumstances, if the groom wasn¡¯t able to meet the requirements, he could choose to take a punishment. Most of them either drank beer or chili water. He was going all out today. But little did they expect that Su Penghao would say, ¡°No! If you can¡¯t choose, you can just forget about getting married.¡± Everyone: ... Mo Xicheng also narrowed his eyes. In the room, Shi Nianyao shouted out again, ¡°Su Penghao, you- you- you¡ª¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t dy the wedding, I¡¯m just testing him!¡± Su Penghao said bashfully. Shi Nianyao, who was in the room, and everyone else outside became anxious. Even Shen Liangchuan stared at the ten red strings in hesitation, not knowing which to choose. This test was a hard nut to crack, it seemed impossible to pass. Choosing one out of the ten. No one could easily choose, right? Shen Liangchuan frowned and Fan Jie touched his chin, wondering about the problem. Everyone looked at Mo Xicheng simultaneously. They saw Mo Xicheng take a step forward suddenly, stare at the ten red strings and slowly reach out. Chapter 1654 - Epilogue (27)

Chapter 1654: Epilogue (27)

Mo Xicheng reached out and grabbed the ten red strings. Then he slowly said, ¡°Nianyao and I have really gone through a lot to reach this day, so I¡¯m not scared about our efforts being destroyed by this red string.¡± After saying so, he took in a deep breath, randomly chose a string and pulled hard. In the room, the red string in Shi Nianyao¡¯s hand suddenly tightened. She widened her eyes in surprise and looked at the door in shock. After that, she jumped up in agitation. ¡°You got it! You got it!¡± She was so happy. It was as if she had won 50 million in the lottery. Everyone in the room was stunned with surprise. Everyone looked at the scene in disbelief. The ten percent chance had happened for Shi Nianyao! They gulped simultaneously. Su Penghao, who was outside the door, was also extremely shocked. ¡°He really got it?¡± In the room, the person who was assisting him shouted, ¡°He really got it!¡± Su Penghao: ... Su Penghao was really speechless. It seemed like even god was helping them. He patted his forehead and said, ¡°Your luck is really crazy! I think you can buy the lottery!¡± Mo Xicheng stared at his unwilling look and said, ¡°Excuse me.¡± Su Penghao: ... Although Su Penghao wasn¡¯t very willing, he had to keep his word. Thus he turned around and opened the door for Mo Xicheng and his team to enter. Mo Xicheng was walking at the very front. He saw Shi Nianyao the moment he walked into the room. She was standing there gracefully, with a really pure aura. She was so beautiful, as if she was a fairy who had descended on earth, catching everyone¡¯s eye. Mo Xicheng¡¯s eyes wrinkled as he smiled. Si Jingyuughed as well, but as sheughed, her eyes reddened. She stared at Mo Xicheng as he walked step by step till he stood before her daughter. Then he suddenly lowered his head and carried Shi Nianyao into his arms, like a princess. Everyone around watched and cheered. Mo Xicheng carried Si Nianyao in front of Si Jingyu. He stared back at Si Jingyu and said, ¡°Mom, we¡¯ll be leaving now.¡± After he said so, he put Shi Nianyao down. The two of them stood before Si Jingyu, knelt down and bowed. Si Jingyu¡¯s tears rolled down her face uncontrobly. She stretched out her hands and looked at the couple. ¡°Good kids, good kids. Hurry and stand up.¡± But she wasn¡¯t able to stop her tears. She stared at Shi Nianyao and said, ¡°We have always spoiled Nianyao. I hope that after you¡¯ve gotten married, both of you can love each other and not fight. If she does something wrong, don¡¯t be too angry at her. Tell me and I will help you scold her.¡± After Mo Xicheng heard her words, he turned to nce at Shi Nianyao and said in a serious tone, ¡°Mom, don¡¯t worry. I swear that I will be extremely good to Nianyao for our whole life. I will not let her suffer.¡± Si Jingyu nodded. She turned around. At that moment, Shi Jinyan walked over and patted Si Jingyu¡¯s shoulder. Then he looked at Mo Xicheng and Shi Nianyao. Shi Nianyao said, ¡°Dad.¡± When he heard her calling him, the normally resilient Shi Jinyan teared up. Shi Jinyan had cried less than five times in his whole life but at that moment, he couldn¡¯t describe how he felt about letting his daughter marry. He waved his hands and, immediately after, Mo Xicheng carried Shi Nianyao up and left withrge steps. Chapter 1655 - Epilogue (28)

Chapter 1655: Epilogue (28)

The wedding car reached the venue in no time. Shi Nianyao walked out of the car and proceeded to the lounge before the wedding started. The moment she pushed the door of the lounge open, she was instantly stunned. Because... Qiao Lian was standing in the lounge and smiling while looking at her. She had to be nine months pregnant, her stomach looked scarily big. It looked as if she was about to give birth anytime soon. Shi Nianyao instantly rushed over with excitement, held Qiao Lian¡¯s hands and said, ¡°Why did youe?¡± When she had seen Shen Liangchuan but not Qiao Lian in the escorting team, she had believed that Qiao Lian couldn¡¯te because her pregnancy was in an advanced state and she was about to give birth. Hence, she was very surprised to see her here. Qiao Lian looked at her with a wide smile. ¡°I must be here, you¡¯re getting married.¡± ¡°But your belly...¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, I¡¯ll just stay away from the crowdter.¡± Qiao Lian nced up and down at her andmented, ¡°You¡¯re so pretty today!¡± Shi Nianyao stuck out her tongue at her and then said, ¡°You¡¯re really pretty too!¡± Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t help butugh. ¡°I can see you¡¯re lying. I¡¯m 30 pounds fatter than before, how could I be pretty?¡± ¡°You were too skinny before. You¡¯re at the perfect size now! You better not be so skinny after you¡¯ve given birth, ok? Look at you now, isn¡¯t it good to be busty?¡± As she said so, she touched Qiao Lian¡¯s chest. Qiao Lian instantly widened her eyes and said, ¡°Wow, you have be so daring! How dare you take advantage of me? I want revenge!¡± After she said so, she reached out to touch Shi Nianyao. Shi Nianyao wanted to shun her, but Qiao Lian instantly said, ¡°You better not move, it¡¯ll be bad if my baby is affected!¡± Her words stunned Shi Nianyao and she stood there, scared to move. When Qiao Lian saw her expression, she broke intoughter and said, ¡°Ok, ok, my bride, go sit down on the sofa.¡± Shi Nianyao listened to Qiao Lian¡¯s instructions and sat on the sofa at the side. The two of them conversed softly for a while. Meanwhile, Shi Nianyao took out her phone and saw that the WeChat group was filled with intense messages. A fan had caught a picture of her back as she entered the venue and had sent it into the group. Everyone in the group was shocked. [Her figure is so pretty!] [A perfect match. She feels really simr to our male idol!] [Ah, ah, ah, we are currently outside the lounge. We want to give her the present, but will she think that we¡¯re very rude?] After this, many other membersmented below. [Just go in, just go in! Be brave,dy! You must believe in our idol¡¯s fianc¨¦e. She can¡¯t be a person that is hard to get along with, she¡¯s gonna be his wife after all.] [Yes, go in!] [Go in, go in!] [There¡¯s still some time before the wedding starts. Go in quick!] As Shi Nianyao saw how they were acting, sheughed. Just at that moment, she received a message from Pu Yun that said: [We are right outside his fianc¨¦e¡¯s door, should we go in?] Before she could reply to her message, Pun Yun sent another one saying: [Aaaaaah, I¡¯m so nervous. How can I do it?!] Shi Nianyao looked around the room and subconsciously asked: [Are there ten of you?] Pu Yun replied: [No, nine. Yi Yi didn¡¯t meet us. There are too many people that came today and we have no idea who Yi Yi is.] Chapter 1656 - Epilogue (29)

Chapter 1656: Epilogue (29)

Shi Nianyao was just thinking that the lounge wasn¡¯t reallyrge and if ten people came in at once, they would have to squeeze. She wasn¡¯t really asking how many people were there. But she hadn¡¯t expected that Pu Yun would reply to her so seriously. Furthermore, since Yi Yi wasn¡¯t with them, Shi Nianyao suddenly recalled someone that had been in the guest list today. She was instantly stunned. She stared at her phone and hesitated for a moment. Pu Yun sent another message: [Do you think that it¡¯s not very nice of us to just barge into Mrs. Mo¡¯s lounge?] Shi Nianyao hurriedly replied: [No, you all cane in.] Pu Yun: ... Pu Yun was stunned for a moment and replied with a confused emoji, showing that she didn¡¯t understand what Shi Nianyao had said. Shi Nianyao gave it a thought and replied: [The door isn¡¯t locked,e in.] There was a moment of silence and then a scream came from outside. Pu Yun knocked on the door and said, ¡°Nianyao, are you inside? I was wondering why you didn¡¯t need an invitation, you actually have one yourself¡ª¡± Before she could finish speaking, Shi Nianyao couldn¡¯t help butugh. She grabbed her dress with both of her hands and walked to the door. Then she took a deep breath and opened it. She no longer wanted to hide from Mo Xicheng¡¯s fans that she was Mrs. Mo. She wanted to be on good terms with them. She wanted them to know that Mo Xicheng would still care about his fans, even after he had gotten married. The door opened. A few unfamiliar girls stood outside. Pu Yun was standing at the very front with her hand stretched out. After seeing her, she was stunned and in shock. She stared at Shi Nianyao in a daze and then asked, ¡°Nianyao?¡± Shi Nianyao nodded. Pu Yun¡¯s first reaction was actually surprising. ¡°You¡¯re also getting married in this hotel?!¡± Shi Nianyao was stunned speechless. She couldn¡¯t help bursting out inughter, not knowing whether tough or cry as she replied, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m also getting married in this hotel.¡± Pu Yun: ... Pu Yun stared at her in a daze. Everyone behind her was also dazed and confused. Finally, someone took a step forward and asked Shi Nianyao, ¡°Mrs.- Mrs. Mo, we- we are Idol Mo¡¯s fans, we are all loyal fans. Please don¡¯t misunderstand us, we are not here to warn you or anything, we just want to tell you that Idol Mo... is real- really very good.¡± After she said that, Pu Yun suddenly reacted. ¡°You- you are Mrs. Mo!¡± Shi Nianyao: ... Shi Nianyao didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry at Pu Yun¡¯s reaction. It was just too funny. She nced at Pu Yun and she shut her mouth. She knew that Nianyao didn¡¯t want everyone to know that she was the Nianyao in the group as it would cause a lot of unnecessary trouble. But she was so agitated she couldn¡¯t speak. Just at that moment, someone gave Shi Nianyao the CD with the videos they had created. ¡°Mrs. Mo, this is the present all the fans have created for you and Idol Mo. I hope that you can watch it when you¡¯re free. Many of the movies Idol Mo has filmed in the past were really amazing. If you want to watch them, we can rmend some.¡± Pu Yun thought, ¡°In our fan group, the person who knows Idol Mo the best is Nianyao, alright?!¡± She stood there and watched Shi Nianyao converse with the fans. She suddenly felt that thest bit of unhappiness she had deep in her heart about her idol getting married had disappeared the moment she realized that Shi Nianyao was Mrs. Mo. Chapter 1657 - Epilogue (30)

Chapter 1657: Epilogue (30)

Pu Yun had always thought that after Mo Xicheng got a wife, he would no longer be theirs. However, after she had realized that Nianyao was Mrs. Mo, it suddenly dawned on her that her Idol Mo was actually still the same. She didn¡¯t know if it was because she liked Nianyao or because she liked her male idol. But at that moment, she finally felt as if everything was going smoothly. Sheughed, really sincerely, and the knot in her heart was thoroughly untied. She stood on the side quietly and watched Shi Nianyao converse with a few fans happily. She then took a look at the time and had to say, ¡°Ok, since we managed to give her our gift, let¡¯s not disturb her anymore. The wedding is about to start, she still has to fix her makeup.¡± Everyone nodded and walked out after bidding Shi Nianyao goodbye. Pu Yun was thest one to leave. Shi Nianyao shot a nce at her and halted. After the crowd had left, Shi Nianyao stood before Pu Yun and said, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry for hiding this from you for so long.¡± Pu Yun instantlyughed. ¡°No big deal, I¡¯m happy for you.¡± Shi Nianyaoughed. Pu Yun suddenly thought of something and approached Shi Nianyao¡¯s ear. ¡°So the person, your boyfriend whose head you had buried into your chest that day in the parking lot of the cinema, was Idol Mo?¡± Shi Nianyao: ...!! Seeing her red face, Pu Yun patted her shoulder andughed. ¡°Be nicer to Idol Mo in the future!¡± Shi Nianyao nodded immediately. Pu Yun keptughing as she left. After everyone had left, Shi Nianyao sighed in relief. Qiao Lianughed behind her. ¡°How does that feel? What do you feel after feeling the love these fans have for Mo Xicheng?¡± Before Shi Nianyao could speak, Qiao Lian sighed. ¡°Congrattions on bing the wife of an idol! Now I must share with you what the wife of an idol has to go through. Basically, your husband isn¡¯t just yours, he is the nation¡¯s husband!¡± Shi Nianyao: ...!! As both of them joked around, the time came. The makeup artist entered the lounge to help Shi Nianyao fix her makeup. After everything was done, Shi Nianyao followed the crowd out. After walking for a while, she turned her head and looked at Qiao Lian with a worried expression. She said, ¡°In the beginning, I wanted your child to be our flower boy or girl, but you haven¡¯t given birth yet.¡± Qiao Lian replied, ¡°It¡¯s just that you have progressed too quickly!¡± Shi Nianyao replied, ¡°We can be inws then!¡± ¡°Our kid is quite popr. He or she has already been booked!¡± Shi Nianyao was surprised. ¡°Don¡¯t you know already? Is it a boy or a girl?¡± Qiao Lian shook her head and said, ¡°I want to see after I¡¯ve given birth.¡± Shi Nianyao nodded again and replied, ¡°Oh yes, who has booked your kid?¡± Qiao Lian sighed. ¡°Who else could it be? Lu Nanze specifically called to say that he wanted to be inws with me. But if my child is a girl, I refuse to wait for his son! God knows how long we¡¯d have to wait!¡± Shi Nianyao burst intoughter. ¡°Both of you are really... Oh yes, Lu Nanze contacted you? Isn¡¯t Best Actor Shen jealous?¡± Qiao Lian stared at Shi Nianyao resignedly and coughed softly. ¡°Lu Nanze called his phone, so I don¡¯t know if he is jealous. But I don¡¯t know why Lu Nanze can never get to me through my phone.¡± Chapter 1658 - Epilogue (31)

Chapter 1658: Epilogue (31)

¡°Pfft!¡± Shi Nianyao burst intoughter. How was it possible that he couldn¡¯t get through to her? It had to be something Best Actor Shen had done. It seemed like all men were narrow-minded. She tried to control herughter and shook her head. Qiao Lian then added, ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t talk much with Second Brother now. During all this time, we only spoke on the phone once. Ok, ok, you should quickly go out. Your wedding is about to start!¡± Shi Nianyao stuck out her tongue at Qiao Lian and walked out. Just as Shi Nianyao stepped out, she suddenly felt an intense and warm gaze directed at her. She was slightly stunned and turned her head to look. She then realized that it was Lu Nanze, who was standing not far away, and beside him was his newly wedded bride Qiao Yiyi. Qiao Yiyi¡¯s head was bent down and she stood there awkwardly, as if she barely had any sense of existence. Shi Nianyao was slightly stunned. Something shed across her mind, but just as she tried to connect her thoughts, she heard the emcee speak, ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, thank you foring from all across the country to witness the wedding of Mr. Mo Xicheng and Ms. Shi Nianyao.¡± Shi Nianyao instantly returned to her senses. She looked before her and saw that Mo Xicheng was already standing on the stage. Shi Jinyan stood beside Shi Nianyao and held her hand. After the emcee was done with his starting speech, Mo Xicheng walked along the red carpet, step by step, towards Shi Nianyao. Shi Nianyao also moved towards Mo Xicheng, held by Shi Jinyan. Suddenly, Mo Xicheng knelt down on one knee and asked, ¡°Nianyao, will you marry me?¡± The ce instantly broke into cheers and screams. Shi Nianyao smiled as she looked at Mo Xicheng and then turned her head to take a nce at Shi Jinyan. Mo Xicheng instantly said, ¡°Dad.¡± Shi Jinyan looked slightly hesitant, but he still gave Shi Nianyao¡¯s hand to Mo Xicheng. He spoke seriously, ¡°I¡¯m leaving my beloved little princess in your hands.¡± Mo Xicheng instantly swore, ¡°She will always be in my heart, I won¡¯t allow her to suffer.¡± Shi Jinyan then nodded. Mo Xicheng held Shi Nianyao¡¯s hand and they walked onto the stage together. The emcee looked at the both of them and read the oath. ¨C The guests had different thoughts of the scene unfolding in front of them. Some of them were crying from the vows they exchanged on the stage. Some of them were staring at thevish wedding gown and the decorations on site, feeling really envious. Some of them, however, were staring at a woman in the distance withplicated feelings in their eyes. And Lu Nanze was that person. Since the beginning, his bright and sharp gaze had always been on Qiao Lian. Even though Qiao Lian was donning loose clothes, he still could see herrge stomach and slightly plump body, standing beside Shen Liangchuan. Even though she was about to give birth, Qiao Lian still looked stunning. Standing beside Shen Liangchuan, they literally looked like the perfect couple. Everyone around them was really envious. Some people couldn¡¯t stop trying to tter Shen Liangchuan and congratting him on his unborn baby, while some of them just looked at Qiao Lian with a smile. The couple looked as if they were an entire world just simply by standing there. As Lu Nanze watched, his gaze deepened and he unconsciously took steps towards Qiao Lian. Qiao Yiyi, who was standing behind Lu Nanze, raised her head up upon seeing him take steps forward. When she saw the direction Lu Nanze was walking in, her gaze darkened. Chapter 1659 - Epilogue (32)

Chapter 1659: Epilogue (32)

Lu Nanze found himself in front of Qiao Lian by the time he realized what he was doing. Qiao Lian looked at him strangely and asked, ¡°Second Brother, what¡¯s the matter?¡± What was the matter? He wasn¡¯t too sure himself. He had uncontrobly gravitated towards Qiao Lian and now he was standing before her. How long had it been since they had met? Thest time he had seen her, it had been at her wedding. Although he had known that she was pregnant even then, now that she was heavily pregnant and standing before him, he still felt an unbearable pain in his heart. Although he had never taken an interest in entertainment news, these days he had been paying attention to every piece of news about Shen Liangchuan, as though he might just catch a glimpse of Qiao Lian in the photographs that were taken of the man. Unfortunately, Shen Liangchuan was very careful to preserve his privacy. Hence it was even rare to find pictures of himself, not to mention Qiao Lian¡¯s. So it really had been a solid half a year that he had not seen Qiao Lian. He stared at her, his eyes deep and mysterious. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but the only words that came were, ¡°Have you been doing welltely?¡± Qiao Lian looked a little uncertain, but before she could say a word, Shen Liangchuan had already stepped in between the both of them and interrupted, ¡°Mr. Lu, thank you for your concern for my wife. She has been well.¡± Shen Liangchuan had emphasized on the words ¡°my wife.¡± She had been married for a good half a year and was now heavily pregnant, about to give birth. Qiao Lian, at this point of her life, was probably looking her worst. But even then, someone was thinking of her? What more could Shen Liangchuan say? Lu Nanze¡¯s expression darkened upon hearing Shen Liangchuan¡¯s words. He turned to look at the man and said after a long pause, ¡°Uh huh, I know. But Qiao Lian has always been sensitive to any sort of pain. Even prickling her with a needle could bring her to tears. So being pregnant and giving birth will be tough on her, make sure to treat her well.¡± ¡°Mr. Lu¡¯s words are quite redundant. She¡¯s my wife, of course I¡¯ll treat her well. Rather than spending your time worrying about other people¡¯s wives, why don¡¯t you make better use of your time and worry about your own wife?¡± Lu Nanze¡¯s pupils shrank back as he replied, ¡°What about my wife?¡± Shen Liangchuan smiled as he looked at someone standing some distance away. He replied, ¡°Nothing. I just feel that at the moment, she might be feeling a little awkward.¡± Lu Nanze immediately spun his head around to look. Since he had approached Qiao Lian, the people around were analyzing the situation. A few of them were already pointing at Qiao Yiyi andmenting on the scene. Qiao Yiyi, on the other hand, looked as though she didn¡¯t feel anything. With her head lowered, she was as invisible as the air. Looking at her, Lu Nanze grew exasperated. He loosened his tie and threw another nce at Qiao Lian. He said, ¡°Take good care.¡± Then he turned around and walked to Qiao Yiyi. Before he could reach Qiao Yiyi, he heard a few people whispering to each other. ¡°Can¡¯t believe that even now he¡¯s thinking of someone else¡¯s wife.¡± ¡°Look at how pretty Qiao Lian is. It¡¯s no wonder someone keeps thinking of her.¡± ¡°But... the poor Madam Lu¡ª¡± ¡°Why pity her? Shecks boldness. If I were her, I would have already started a fight! Qiao Lian is heavily pregnant, for sure she¡¯d lose.¡± Chapter 1660 - Epilogue (33)

Chapter 1660: Epilogue (33)

¡°Don¡¯t you know? Qiao Yiyi is just a cover-up.¡± ¡°So what? Since they are married, they are legally husband and wife!¡± ¡°Sigh, say no more. Qiao Yiyi isn¡¯t you. Can¡¯t you see how unpresentable she is? How would she dare to¡ª¡± At once, someone interrupted, ¡°Let me just tell this. They say that the quiet dog bites the most. Qiao Yiyi looks like a proper wife, but how do you know that she isn¡¯t a vicious dog?¡± ¡°Right, right. The more one looks proper, the more they hide their viciousness inside! Look at how pregnant Qiao Lian is. I hope nothing happens to her during today¡¯s wedding.¡± ¡°Hush, say no more.¡± ¡°...¡± Lu Nanze frowned when he heard all of these remarks and sneered. Qiao Yiyi was so proper that she couldn¡¯t bring herself to fart. After the two of them had gotten married, she had been almost invisible around him. Except for those asions where he needed her to make an appearance, he had almost forgotten that this woman was at home. So how would someone like that dare to express any displeasure over Qiao Lian? Lu Nanze lowered his head at this thought. ¨C Qiao Yiyi heard all of thesements. But she kept her head down, pretending that she hadn¡¯t heard anything. However even with her head down, her eyes were darting around, observing everything around her. Furthermore, she twitched her mouth in disdain. Would she, Qiao Yiyi, even do such things? She hadn¡¯t done anything at Qiao Lian¡¯s wedding, so why would she do anything against the pregnant woman now? No way. Those people had underestimated her. As she stood there thinking, she saw Lu Nanzeing towards her. She immediately acted as though she needed to go to the toilet, turned around and walked away. Being with Lu Nanze would invite gossip, of course, but all she wanted was a safe haven to rest for a short while. At this thought, she slipped into the toilet on the side. When she entered, she noticed that there was no one inside, everyone was out there watching the wedding. Hence, Qiao Yiyi straightened her back. It was tiring to have to bend her shoulders and keep a timid posture all the time. She stretched her lower backnguidly and yawned. She went into one of the cubicles. After using the toilet, she walked out. At this point, she saw Qiao Lian approaching, with a hand holding her overgrown abdomen. Qiao Yiyi paused for a moment, immediately lowered her head and shrunk her posture with the intention of skirting around Qiao Lian. Qiao Lian halted as well when she saw the girl, as though it was an unexpected meeting. Then she smiled at the girl to greet her. Qiao Yiyi returned with a shy smile. Looking extremely bashful, she quickly lowered her head again as she prepared to walk past Qiao Lian. Only God knew how exhausted she felt right at this moment. Thatrge stomach, what if something happened to it? And if she ended up being med for it, it would be so bad. At this thought, she suddenly heard a loud gasp. Qiao Yiyi turned around immediately and saw that right there on the floor of the restroom, there was a big puddle of water. At the same time, Qiao Lian had stepped right into it. Instantly, her body tilted backwards. ¡°Speak of the devil!¡± Qiao Yiyi thought. What now? Under these circumstances, should she help?! What if Qiao Lian put the me on her?! Chapter 1661 - A New Beginning (1)

Chapter 1661: A New Beginning (1)

In a sh, that thought appeared in her mind. However, Qiao Yiyi spun around on reflex. She didn¡¯t have the time to think, because a split second of difference could cost two lives. Actually at this point, Qiao Yiyi was already at the bathroom¡¯s door and it would have been toote even for anyone else to help, even if they turned around and tried. But like a dark lightning bolt, Qiao Yiyi charged towards Qiao Lian. Qiao Lian, who had gained around 30 pounds during her pregnancy, had now a substantial weight and it was really too much for Qiao Yiyi, who was of a rather frail body, to handle. However, Qiao Yiyi carefully ced her hand on Qiao Lian¡¯s lower back to push her softly, and this was enough to steady Qiao Lian. The girl heaved a sigh of relief. It was a good thing nothing had happened to Qiao Lian. But just as this thought was crossing her mind, she heard a painful gasp. She was stunned. Turning around again, she saw that Qiao Lian had turned pale and droplets of perspiration had formed across her forehead. Both her hands were ced tightly over her belly. Qiao Yiyi¡¯s mind went nk. She hadn¡¯t fallen, had she? What was going on? Could it be that Qiao Lian was trying to frame her? So that Lu Nanze would abhor her. Could Xiao Lian be like those evil female characters in novels? Even though she was already married, she still wanted to control her ex-boyfriend?! As these thoughts ran through her mind, Qiao Lian spoke in a low voice as she tried to suppress the pain, ¡°I- I¡¯m about to give birth. Would you mind calling an ambnce, or help me get Shen Liangchuan?¡± Qiao Yiyi: ...!! What sort of luck was this? She quickly nodded and ced her hand on Qiao Lian to support her. Then she went out and started to call out for help. When they heard about themotion in the bathroom, the people outside instantly opened the door and charged in. Qiao Yiyi said in relief, ¡°Your wife¡ª¡± Before she could finish speaking, an angry voice hollered at the doorway, ¡°Qiao Yiyi, what are you doing?!¡± The girl turned around upon hearing this voice that was both strange yet familiar. It was Lu Nanze. She was stunned, as though afraid that the man would smell something fishy about the situation. She was about to withdraw the hand that was supporting Qiao Lian, when she saw Lu Nanze lunge forward ande at them in a hurry. The next moment, he was next to them with one arm around Qiao Lian and with the other arm, he forcefully swept Qiao Yiyi aside. Qiao Yiyi was caught off guard, hence the force of the push caused her to lose her bnce and she stumbled backwards. Her lower backnded hard against the basin counter, and the sharp pain caused her to double over. With that vicious knock, she fell a painful pinch in her chest. This reopened an old injury and she bent forward to throw up a mouthful of blood. Instantly, her vision darkened. By the time she had a chance to slightly recover, Lu Nanze had already carried Qiao Lian up in his arms and left. Qiao Yiyi: ...!! Qiao Yiyi doubled over again to throw up another mouthful of blood. Then, applying pressure on her lower back and curling herself up, she walked to the tap and rinsed her mouth. After this, she felt better. At around the same time, the bathroom door swung open. Shi Nianyao, whose wedding ceremony had just ended, stood at the doorway. She looked at Qiao Yiyi and suddenly said, ¡°You are Yi Yi, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¨C In the meantime, Qiao Lian, who was about to be lifted into the ambnce, finally grabbed Lu Nanze¡¯s wrist after the sharp bout of pain had passed and said, ¡°Qiao Yiyi saved me!¡± Chapter 1662 - A New Beginning (2)

Chapter 1662: A New Beginning (2)

In the bathroom. Shi Nianyao was in her tea ceremony dress and hade to the bathroom to wash her hands. Unexpectedly, she had encountered the woman in such a predicament. Qiao Yiyi quickly lowered her head after ncing at her, trying to hide the pain in her eyes. With her head down, she was that weak and mild Qiao Yiyi again. She said softly, as though frightened, ¡°I- I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± Smiling, Shi Nianyao replied, ¡°Among all the guests here, we did not send Lu Nanze an invitation. So it¡¯s strange that he turned up. I thought about it and there was only one exnation. So why are you still trying to cover it up?¡± Qiao Yiyi¡¯s pupils shrank back upon hearing this. She had not expected that Shi Nianyao and Mo Xicheng would actually be so meticulous. She had only done this to repay Lu Nanze for his help. Furthermore, she had seen how much he wanted to attend the event, but he had been reluctant to ask Mo Xicheng, who he didn¡¯t know well, for an invitation. Hence, Qiao Yiyi had found a way to do it. As for the WeChat group, she had joined through a friend. Since the group chat was muted, she had never bothered to leave it. Once in a while she would go into the chat room and, when she realized Mo Xicheng was in trouble, she would casually help Pu Yun think of solutions, since it was in her blood to fight against injustice. With her head still lowered, she twitched her mouth and looked up again at Shi Nianyao with a nk stare. ¡°I- I really don¡¯t know what you mean. We got an express delivery invitation, wasn¡¯t it from you two?¡± Shi Nianyao: ...! This girl was quite a talker. Because the invitations for the fans had been sent together at the same time, she hadn¡¯t really checked them thoroughly. Now, as long as Qiao Yiyi refused to admit it, no one could say for sure it was her. But after thinking about it, Shi Nianyao was relieved again. At least, the girl had helped Mo Xicheng in the past, so why bother with a small matter like this? After all, with such a clever wife, perhaps Lu Nanze may no longer have time to be focusing on Qiao Lian in the future. Shi Nianyao immediately smiled at the thought of this. She looked at Qiao Yiyi and nodded. ¡°Miss Yi Yi is right.¡± Qiao Yiyi had no idea if Shi Nianyao had addressed her as ¡°Yiyi¡± or ¡°Yi Yi.¡± But did it matter? She believed that Shi Nianyao was a smart woman and would not give her away. Qiao Yiyi nodded and then, with her hand still on her lower back, she turned around and left. That monster Lu Nanze! How dare he injure her? She had married him just so that she could have a safe haven. For the past half a year, they had minded their own business, living their lives, and it had been working fine. But this time around, she was not going to let that man off easily. At this thought, a sharp glint shed in Qiao Yiyi¡¯s eyes. ¨C Qiao Lian¡¯s contractions came very suddenly, so the pain had left her gnashing, frowning and unable to speak. When the pain finally passed, she immediately rified the situation as she was worried that Lu Nanze would misunderstand. He obviously was taken aback. But the next moment, a new wave of contractions began, and she cried out in pain. That cry took up all of Lu Nanze¡¯s attention at once, relegating everything else to the back of his mind. Chapter 1663 - A New Beginning (3)

Chapter 1663: A New Beginning (3)

In the hospital¡¯s delivery room. Shen Liangchuan and Lu Nanze stood outside, both nervously looking at the door. Qiao Lian¡¯s loud cries could be heard, making the two men even more nervous. Staring at the delivery room, Lu Nanze said, ¡°Is she alright? Why is she crying so pitifully?¡± For once, Shen Liangchuan didn¡¯t attack the man. He only continued to look at the delivery room. The perpetually cold and expressionless man now seemed a little nerve-wracked and restless. But his voice maintained its usual steadiness and confidence as he said, ¡°She¡¯ll be fine.¡± One couldn¡¯t be too sure if that remark was meant for Qiao Lian or himself. Lu Nanze nodded and added, ¡°That¡¯s right, she¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°Nothing will go wrong.¡± ¡°She¡¯s always been healthy and has a good medical history. I¡¯ll be damned if something goes wrong!¡± ¡°Yes, she¡¯s been eating and sleeping well for the past months. Nothing has gone wrong, so things will continue to be fine.¡± As the two men took turns speaking, they started getting stares from the people walking past. After a while, the delivery room¡¯s door swung open and a nurse walked out nervously. Before Shen Liangchuan could do anything, Lu Nanze dashed up to her. ¡°Nurse, how is she?¡± The nurse knitted her brow and was about to answer when Shen Liangchuan enquired, ¡°Is she alright?¡± Nurse: ... The nurse looked at them and noticed the two men seemed equally anxious. Confused, she asked, ¡°Out of you two, who is the mother¡¯s rtive?¡± ¡°Me!¡± ¡°Me!¡± The two men had spoken simultaneously, so the nurse appeared even more baffled now. Shen Liangchuan and Lu Nanze exchanged a look¡ªa long nce. Finally, they both felt they couldn¡¯t bother arguing right now. They turned back to the nurse. The nurse immediately asked, ¡°Who is the patient¡¯s husband?!¡± ¡°Me,¡± Shen Liangchuan quickly replied. Lu Nanze¡¯s pupils shrank back. He opened his mouth and looked as though he was about to say something. Then he fell silent again. The nurse was already looking at Shen Liangchuan and saying, ¡°Alright, Mr. Shen,e with me then. You¡¯ll need to get changed ande with me to the delivery room. She is about to deliver and will need her husband by her side to support her.¡± Without another word, Shen Liangchuan nodded and quickly followed the nurse into the delivery room. Lu Nanze stood outside watching the two of them disappear. Suddenly, he felt like a fool. Indeed, she was Shen Liangchuan¡¯s wife. Why was he trying so hard to budge in? Only Shen Liangchuan had the right to enter the delivery room. He, Lu Nanze, was nothing to Qiao Lian. Perhaps she would not even be quite willing to address him as Second Brother now. Lu Nanze hung his head in despair at the thought of this. He wanted to leave, but he was still worried about Qiao Lian. Hence he sat on the long bench and quietly waited for the oue. Just at this point, a couple was going up and down the stairs behind him, performing some sort of rehabilitation exercises. The wife had a hand on her stomach and the husband was supporting her. She panted. ¡°This is so tiring!¡± He encouraged her, ¡°The doctor has advised that you go up and down the stairs so that the uterus opens quickly. If the uterus opens quickly, there will be less pain. Honey, you have to keep going! You¡¯ve only done this twice, we have a long way to go!¡± The wife took a deep breath and said, ¡°Darling, I¡¯m only willing to have children and go through all this pain for your sake. You have to treat me even better from now on! I would never be willing to do this for any other man, no other man is worth me going through all this pain!¡± Immediately, the man said, ¡°Right, right, right. Honey, it¡¯s tough on you! I love you.¡± Chapter 1664 - A New Beginning (4)

Chapter 1664: A New Beginning (4)

The couple was only whispering each other sweet words. After saying all of this, they continued walking down the stairs. But when those words fell on Lu Nanze¡¯s ears, he was instantly stunned. He turned to look at the delivery room. Qiao Lian was in there, going through the most painful moment in her life. His heart ached for her and he felt deeply anxious, but right now, he realized that she was going through this pain willingly for Shen Liangchuan. Indeed, Qiao Lian was willing to go through the pain of childbirth for Shen Liangchuan. While he, Lu Nanze, was really nothing to her. Even though he had loved her so deeply once upon a time, Qiao Lian, to him, wasn¡¯t the right person. She wasn¡¯t that woman who would be willing to go through the pain of childbirth for him. He clenched his fists tightly as he woke up from his dream, as he came to that realization, as he took in the couple¡¯s words. What had he really been worrying about for the past six months? He had seemed madly in love, he had gone through so much pain, but to others it all looked like a joke. Was that a good thing? He lowered his head and tightened his fists. Then he looked at the delivery room. His eyes never left the room as he got on his feet slowly. The woman giving birth in this room now was someone else¡¯s wife. She was going through the pain for someone else. She had long ceased to be that young girl who always followed him around, who would try to make himugh, who would try to make him talk. She had grown up and found her own way in life. Her heart had left him long ago. Lu Nanze felt waves of pain pulsating through his heart. The pain was unbearable and he was drowning in it. Suddenly, he strode away. He had to leave the hospital. But just as he was leaving, he heard the loud cry of a newborn babying from the delivery room. From that crisp and loud cry, it was obvious that the child was healthy. Lu Nanze halted and turned around with an odd sense of anticipation. However shortly after, a doctor dashed out of the delivery room and yelled, ¡°The mother is bleeding a lot! We need blood type O! Hurry up! Take it out of the blood bank!¡± One of the nurses replied immediately, ¡°Oh no! We arecking blood type O today! We¡¯ve someone to the central blood bank, but there¡¯s a traffic jam and the blood hasn¡¯t arrived! What blood type is the patient¡¯s husband?¡± ¡°Type B, I¡¯ve just asked. What do we do now?¡± As the staff was struck by panic, Lu Nanze suddenly turned around and said, ¡°I¡¯m type O.¡± With those words, he was like a lifesaver. The nurses and doctors all turned to look at him. Lu Nanze stretched out his arm and said, ¡°Take my blood, as much you need.¡± Half an hourter, Qiao Lian¡¯s bleeding was under control. The nurses and doctors had had a fright. With modern facilities, although a haemorrhage wasn¡¯t deadly, it was still a somewhat concerning situation. Lu Nanze asked curiously, ¡°Why did she bleed so much? She¡¯s healthy, so how did that happen?¡± The nurse sighed and said, ¡°Although the mother¡¯s pregnancy was smooth, we found that in the years before she was pregnant, she had a difficult time and was a little malnourished. In addition, during the pregnancy, she suffered some distress. So although things were under controlter on, it seems that this had some impact on it.¡± Lu Nanze immediately realized something upon hearing this. It was during those years, when tragedy struck Qiao Lian¡¯s family because of his father¡¯s actions, that Qiao Lian¡¯s life got tough. Chapter 1665 - A New Beginning (5)

Chapter 1665: A New Beginning (5)

Scenes of the recent years shed through Lu Nanze¡¯s mind. He narrowed his eyes and lowered his head. He gave a bitterugh, looked at the doctor and asked, ¡°And how is her health now?¡± ¡°She¡¯s out of danger and will be fine. She¡¯ll be a little weak after the blood transfusion, but she can rest and recover for the next month.¡± Lu Nanze nodded. He was silent for a moment before he said, ¡°Could you not tell her about the transfusion?¡± The doctor paused. Without saying another word, Lu Nanze turned around and walked out of the hospital. He felt truly unnecessary there. He didn¡¯t even have the courage to take a look at the newborn now. He only hoped to leave quickly and not be affected by the happiness of this new family of three. Since Lu Nanze had given away some of his blood, he looked a little pale. When the driver found him, he was already in a rather drowsy state. As he got into the car, the driver asked, ¡°Mr. Lu, to the hotel?¡± ¡°No, home,¡± Lu Nanze said after a long pause. The driver was taken aback and asked again, as if he hadn¡¯t quite understood the instructions, ¡°Mr. Lu?¡± ¡°I said we¡¯ll go home! Didn¡¯t you hear me?¡± The driver got scared and didn¡¯t dare speak another word. He did not even dare breathe as he started the car. Soon, they were on the highway to Suzhou. Lu Nanze leaned back into the seat. Resting his head on one hand, he stared out of the window. This was Beijing. Where she had lived in hiding for a few years. This ce did not belong to him. He was silent as he endured the unease, waiting for it to go away. After about two hours, Lu Nanze looked up. At this point, he noticed that the driver had been throwing nces at him every now and then through the rear view mirror. Obviously, the man had something to say, but did not dare to do so given Lu Nanze¡¯s serious mood. Lu Nanze frowned and said, ¡°If there¡¯s something you want to say, then say it quickly!¡± The driver spoke up cautiously, ¡°Mr. Lu, you- you¡¯ve left Madam Lu behind at the restaurant.¡± Lu Nanze: ... Lu Nanze immediately recalled that, because of the situation earlier, he had followed the ambnce to the hospital in his anxiety and had then called the driver to pick him up afterwards. But now he had gone home by himself and had left Qiao Yiyi behind at the wedding venue. He massaged his forehead with impatience. Oddly, he could not remember what Qiao Yiyi looked like. He could only remember being very worried that she would harm Qiao Lian, so he had swept her aside? Given the sort of weak and soft personality that she had, she had to be crying and waiting for him to return to the wedding venue to pick her up. At this thought, he picked up his cell phone gloomily and opened up his address book. After searching it from end to end, he did not manage to locate Qiao Yiyi¡¯s contact number. Then he remembered that, ever since they got married, he and Qiao Yiyi had not spoken more than a few sentences. They didn¡¯t even have a way to contact each other, not to mention a phone number. Lu Nanze drew in a deep breath, called his assistant and said, ¡°Give Qiao Yiyi a call and ask her toe home on her own.¡± ¡°Roger,¡± said the assistant. ¨C When Qiao Yiyi got the call, she was whistling a tune and coasting along in a sports car. Her exuberant and triumphant expression was far from the timid and in front that she always put up in front of Lu Nanze. Her cell phone rang for a long time before she heard it. She turned around and connected the call. She heard the assistant¡¯s voice saying, ¡°Madam Lu, where are you now?¡± Chapter 1666 - A New Beginning (6)

Chapter 1666: A New Beginning (6)

Qiao Yiyi nced at the highway and lied through her teeth, in a timid tone that was in aplete mismatch with the look on her face, ¡°I¡¯m at the wedding venue. I- I¡¯m not sure what to do now.¡± She stuck her tongue out quickly after saying this. After pretending for so long, even she was finding this character quite disgusting. The assistant immediately said, ¡°Mr. Lu is already on the way home. Why don¡¯t you wait for a bit? I¡¯ll have someone pick you up.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... She had already expected that Lu Nanze, the dumb*ss, would probably have forgotten about her. Unless she was an idiot, why should she be still waiting at the wedding venue for him? Qiao Yiyi rolled her eyes and then said, ¡°How long are you going to take? Everyone has left. I don¡¯t want to be here alone. Sob, sob, sob.¡± The assistant hesitated. ¡°What do we do then? I¡¯ll need at least an hour before someone gets there.¡± Qiao Yiyi went silent. Then she said, ¡°In this case, I¡¯ll just grab a cab.¡± The assistant sighed in relief and replied, ¡°Alright then. Madam Lu, do you have any money with you?¡± The moment she heard this, Qiao Yiyi¡¯s eyes lit up instantly. She patted her fat and full purse, and said, ¡°No, I don¡¯t!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll transfer some to you then. Make sure you hire a reliable car to take you home.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± After she hung up, she noticed that the assistant had already transferred a sum of 10 000 to her through WeChat. She raised an eyebrow happily and tossed her cell phone on the passenger seat. Then she looked ahead. Lu Nanze had not only hit her today, he had forgotten her. She was going to get even once she got home. At this thought, she floored the elerator. ¨C When Lu Nanze got home, it was already 10 p.m. He got out of the car and headed upstairs straight away. Then he entered his study and sat quietly on the balcony. After a while, he walked back into the study, got out the bottle of Lafite that he had kept for years and started sipping the wine. Qiao Lian¡¯s painful childbirth cries echoed in his ears ceaselessly, causing him to be restless. Perhaps now was the time for him to let Qiao Lian go and start his own life afresh. But he reckoned that, for the rest of his life, he would never find another woman that he would love as much as he did Qiao Lian. As this thought crossed his mind, he raised his wine ss and took another sip. Pale from the blood donation, ruddiness instantly began to return to his cheeks after a few sses of red wine. He stood at the balcony, staring out into the distance. Soon, he started to feel a little weak. It could have been from the blood donation, or it could have been from the alcohol. He sat on the reclining chair on the balcony and leaned back. Slowly, his eyes shut. Soon, he was fast asleep. In his sleep, he had a dream. He dreamed that he and Qiao Lian were back to a time when they were young. He took her hand and asked her, ¡°Qiao Lian, will you go back in time with me?¡± Qiao Lian looked at him and leaned into his embrace. She said, ¡°Second Brother, yes, take me.¡± He couldn¡¯t resist bending over and kissing her. But the moment his lips were about to meet hers, he heard a soft sound. His eyes snapped open and he turned around sharply to look. As he did so, he saw that there was a silhouette in his study. He had no idea when it hade in, but that silhouette appeared to be looking for something. Chapter 1667 - A New Beginning (7)

Chapter 1667: A New Beginning (7)

Lu Nanze jumped up from his reclining chair and quickly shouted, ¡°Who¡¯s that?!¡± That dark silhouette froze and slowly looked up. The thief had shut off all the lights except for a night light. Under the dim light, Lu Nanze saw that this person had on a silver mask that covered the top half of the face. The only visible parts were an exquisite chin and red luscious lips. The figure was wearing a ck bodysuit and seemed like a being of the night. It was set off by itsnky and frail figure. It was obvious this was a woman. Her dark silky hair was drawn back into a ponytail that sat high on her head, making her look devilishly charming. Lu Nanze¡¯s pupils shrank back immediately as he mouthed the word, ¡°Traceless?!¡± After many years in this world, Lu Nanze had connections with some alternative sources and people of power. Some were legendary characters, like the expert thief that went by the name Traceless. She was named thus because she would never leave a trace of evidence in her missions. Police and private detectives alike had never been able to track her down because she had never left a trail behind. Traceless never really got in the way of thew destructively. She was neither an upright character, nor an evil person. She just did as she pleased, free and easy. Sometimes she stole for the thrill of it, sometimes it was just to challenge herself. Her only motivation to steal was her own will. No matter what she stole, she would only charge 10 000 dors. In addition, she followed a professional rule, one job a month. There had been attempts to entice her with high offers, but she had rejected them all. Lu Nanze had heard of her, but he had minded their own business all along. Hence, this had been their first confrontation ever. However, Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes. Although his family had once mingled with the underworld, they had stayed clean in the recent years. Especially ever since his father destroyed the Qiao Family and became second to none, they had stayed clean. So what was Traceless doing in his home and what was she here to steal? And who had hired her?! What was there worth stealing in his study?! As he asked himself these questions, he saw her break into a devilishly charming smile¡ªa curve of her luscious lips, which were left uncovered by the mask. Following this, she extended her hand. In it was the bracelet that he had wanted to give Qiao Lian at her wedding half a year ago. That was the only thing he had left to remember Qiao Lian. Instantly, Lu Nanze was anxious and he shouted, ¡°Return that to me!¡± He lunged forward at her. Lu Nanze had been trained in martial arts and had earned his ce in the underworld. In a sh, he was next to Traceless. He reached out to grab her wrist tightly and said with cold disdain, ¡°Is that all the infamous Traceless of the underworld is capable of?¡± As he said this, he reached for the bracelet in an attempt to take it back. But suddenly, Traceless¡¯ wrist softened as though there was not a single bone in it. She immediately freed her hand as her other hand flew directly at his face with two of her fingers aimed at his eyes. Lu Nanze retreated quickly to avoid the attack and, as he did so, Traceless dashed towards the window at the speed of light. The window was opened. Like an alert rabbit, she jumped on the window. Lu Nanze tried to charge at her, but it was toote. He watched helplessly as Traceless stood on the window and suddenly turned around. She raised her hands to make the gesture of a pistol. Then kissing it mockingly, she aimed the imaginary pistol at him and mouthed the word ¡°bang.¡± She jumped off the window ledge and disappeared. Chapter 1668 - A New Beginning (8)

Chapter 1668: A New Beginning (8)

Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes immediately. Traceless was exceptionally fast and hard to follow. Before jumping, she had even had the time to turn around and tease him. Besides, under the glow of the moonlight, Lu Nanze had seen that evil and arrogant smile that she had given him. As though she was mocking him! He quickly stepped on the window and looked down. This was the third floor. No matter how highly-skilled she was, there was no way she could have jumped down without getting injured. So how had she gotten away? Could she be injured now? At this thought, he immediately picked up his cell phone and instructed the guards at the door, ¡°A thief has broken in. Seal every entrance! We must find Traceless!¡± ¡°Roger!¡± His residence was in the center of the property. Even if Traceless had wings, there was no way she could escape his property in such a short time. Hence, it would be impossible for Traceless to escape him tonight. Lu Nanze¡¯s interest was piqued in a rare moment. It had been years since anyone had gotten him this interested. Furthermore, why on earth had Traceless wanted to steal that bracelet? Qiao Lian had given him that bracelet when they were young and it was quite worthless. Apart from the memories attached to it, it held no other meaning to anyone else. Hence, who could be so bored and senseless to hire Traceless to steal it? At this thought, Shen Liangchuan suddenly came to his mind. It had to be him. He had paid too much attention to Qiao Lian at the wedding, so Shen Liangchuan was jealous? To think that he had seemed magnanimous at the hospital. Who would have thought that underneath that front he was actually this petty? At this thought, he felt suffocated. He headed downstairs, prepared to hunt Traceless down himself and get his bracelet back. At the same time, this would serve to discourage Shen Liangchuan. Sending someone to his home to steal. He could keep dreaming! Lu Nanze¡¯s eyes clouded over. When he got downstairs, the butler had already heard about this and had brought a few men over. Lu Nanze asked as he unbuttoned his shirt, ¡°How did it go?¡± The butler spoke, ¡°We haven¡¯t been able to track her down yet.¡± Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes and instructed, ¡°Continue to search! She has to leave and all the entrances are sealed. She can¡¯t get out. Go through all the surveince videos, find her!¡± ¡°Roger.¡± ¡°Also, tell a few men to search the ces she could be hiding in.¡± ¡°Roger.¡± Lu Nanze sat down on the sofa in the living room after giving these instructions. He crossed one leg over the other, sitting like he had control over the whole world, as he waited for his butler to report back. The butler returned after ten minutes. Lu Nanze asked, ¡°Where¡¯s the intruder?¡± The butler¡¯s expression looked slightly odd. Lu Nanze nced at him and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± The butler replied, ¡°Sir, we looked through all the surveince cameras and did not see this person appear.¡± Lu Nanze frowned. ¡°What?¡± The butler gulped and said, ¡°There really wasn¡¯t anyone. Could it be... you were seeing things? We really did not hear anything or notice anything out of ce.¡± Lu Nanze did not lose his temper at the butler for saying that. If not even the butler could find any evidence, Traceless was really too clever. Indeed it was as rumored, she came and went without leaving a trace. But he also had much confidence in the security facilities in his home. How had this happened? Chapter 1669 - A New Beginning (9)

Chapter 1669: A New Beginning (9)

How had she gotten in and out? Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes and waved at the butler to leave. The butler retreated. Lu Nanze looked around. If Traceless hadn¡¯t left, then it was possible that she was still in the house. At this thought, he got on his feet and dashed upstairs. He went alone stealthily to the study on the third floor, without alerting anyone. He looked around the third floor, ensuring that there was nowhere for hiding, and then entered the study. He approached the drawers and opened one of them, confirming that the bracelet had indeed disappeared. He walked to the window again and looked down. The vi wasparatively higher than average, even the third floor was about four meters from the ground. How could she possibly not get hurt? It was impossible for her to jump directly on the ground. So she had to still be in the house! At this thought, he immediately became alert. His sharp gaze swept the room, ensuring that everything was in ce on the third floor, before he went to the second floor. His bedroom was on the second floor and the housekeepers would normally not go there. With a frow, he inspected every room briefly before going to the first floor. Could it be that Traceless was among his housekeepers? The possibility was very small. However, he suddenly heard a movement in the room. Spinning around, he asked, ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± Upon uttering these words, he saw a petit, frail and almost pitiful female figure step out of the shadows. It was Qiao Yiyi. She looked at Lu Nanze timidly, biting her lip, almost too frightened to hold his gaze for too long. She lowered her head and stared at her toes with awkward coyness. Lu Nanz frowned and asked, ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Qiao Yiyi quickly exined, ¡°I- I just got back. I- I wanted to go upstairs.¡± She pointed at the bedroom upstairs after she said this. Indeed, this was the way to her bedroom. Lu Nanze looked at her curiously. ¡°When did you get back?¡± Qiao Yiyi answered at once, ¡°About half an hour ago, I was eating in the kitchen.¡± After saying this, she looked down again and even cleaned her nails. There was a shiny film on it, probably grease. This Qiao Yiyi was really something, getting her fingers greasy from having a meal. Lu Nanze frowned when he thought how unpresentable she was, even when it came to her hand hygiene. He impatiently waved at her to leave and said, ¡°Go up then.¡± She nodded at once. As he stared at her timid posture, she made her way up the stairs. He frowned again. He turned to continue with his hunt for Traceless, but he spun around again suddenly, as though recalling something. ¡°Hang on!¡± he yelled. Qiao Yiyi, who was on her way up, immediately halted. With her back to the man, she narrowed her eyes and tightened her fists. She raised an eyebrow and couldn¡¯t help thinking, ¡°Have I given something away?¡± She retraced the day in her head. She didn¡¯t think she had left any loopholes, there was no way he would know her identity. She slowly turned around at this thought and looked at him. He stared at her, taking in a good measure of what he saw. She looked cautious. Just as she thought that the man had figured out who she was, he said, ¡°Are you alright?¡± She was stunned. He continued, ¡°I misunderstood what you were trying to do earlier at the wedding. I¡¯ll get the family physician toe in and take a look tomorrow.¡± Chapter 1670 - A New Beginning (10)

Chapter 1670: A New Beginning (10)

Qiao Yiyi¡¯s pupils shrank back at once and, lowering her head, she quickly said, ¡°No, no, it¡¯s ok. I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m as healthy as an ox!¡± Lu Nanze: ... She wasparing her frail figure with an ox? Was that a deliberate insult to the ox?! Lu Nanze replied with a frosty look, ¡°It¡¯s been decided. Now go back upstairs.¡± She wanted to retort, but ended up staying silent, as though remembering something. She immediately turned around and went upstairs. Before she could take another step, he called her again, ¡°Hang on!¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... She halted again, feeling thoroughly exasperated. Hang on, hang on, my ass! My time is precious, dude! But not only could she not go upstairs, she now had to keep pretending to be nervous. She turned around to look at the man, waiting for this big businessman to give instructions. Yet unexpectedly, he said, ¡°Thank you for today.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... She widened her eyes and looked at him in disbelief. She recovered from her shock after a moment and nodded at once. Turning around again, she ran upstairs. Even though she had been worried in the beginning about not being able to hold back herughter and make him suspicious, she had had to run away now from shyness. Looking at her back, the man sighed and walked away. ¨C Qiao Yiyi went upstairs and entered her bedroom. She was staying in a separate room from Lu Nanze. She removed her coat, revealing the ck bodysuit beneath. She took off the bodysuit and folded it up till it was a tiny bundle the size of her thumb. Then she stuffed it into an unnoticeable corner. Following this, shey down on the bed and raised her hand. In it was the bracelet she had stolen from Lu Nanze today. At Qiao Lian¡¯s wedding, he had asked her to give this bracelet to Qiao Lian. She had figured that this inexpensive bracelet must have been quite important to Lu Nanze. When the man had shoved her aside today, she had been determined to take revenge, that was why she had stolen it. But he... actually just thanked her? Lu Nanze was a well-known leader in the underworld and always had to have thest word. Because he was so powerful, no one dared to offend him. Yet a person like him had thanked her? Qiao Yiyi shuddered and tossed the bracelet aside. Then she tucked her hands under the back of her head and stared at the ceiling. Shortly after, her cell phone rang. She looked down and picked up the phone. She looked at the screen and frowned. After a while, she took the call and said timidly, ¡°Hello, Dad.¡± ¡°Yiyi, it¡¯s your dad calling. Why did it take you so long to answer?¡± ¡°Dad, I didn¡¯t hear the phone.¡± ¡°I¡¯m calling because I heard that Mr. Lu is back. Do you think I should visit him tomorrow?¡± The girl rolled her eyes. Ever since their wedding, her father had been hoping to visit Lu Nanze. But the man had not been staying at hometely, so there hadn¡¯t been a chance for them to meet. So now that he had heard Lu Nanze was back, was he trying toe and get welfare in person? The girl replied at once, ¡°Dad, I guess it would be fine, but Mr. Lu seems... to be in a bad mood. He met Best Actor Shen and his wife at the wedding, and he looked unhappy.¡± Chapter 1671 - Qiao Yiyi (1)

Chapter 1671: Qiao Yiyi (1)

The meaning behind her words was cleur¡ªLu Nanze was in a bad mood, so don¡¯te over. Dad Qiao understood and said, ¡°Well then, we¡¯ll see tomorrow. And, Yiyi, you have to give Mr. Lu a child as soon as possible. Only with a child will you be able to strengthen your position. You have to know that you have nothing! If it weren¡¯t for the fact that the media announced you were going to marry Qiao Yiyi, you would have never had such good luck. To Mr. Lu, you are nothing at all. You have to understand this and know what to do at the right time, do you get it?¡± She rolled her eyes. Then she said, ¡°I know, Dad. I will take good care of Mr. Lu and won¡¯t even dream of being ambitious.¡± Dad Qiao: ... Dad Qiao coughed softly and said, ¡°I don¡¯t mean that. I mean that you have to be smart about it and n. You have to understand that only if your family grows strong, he¡¯ll treat you with respect. If our family seems too poor.... No, you have to think for our family, understand?¡± Qiao Yiyi protested, ¡°But Dad, Mr. Lu has a bad temper, I wouldn¡¯t dare¡ª¡± ¡°You- you coward! Really, forget it, I can¡¯t knock sense into you. I¡¯m hanging up!¡± After he hung up, Qiao Yiyi stared at her cell phone and twitched her mouth. Then she tossed the phone aside. Indeed. She was just a recement. When Lu Nanze¡¯s father was alive, they had announced a wedding between Lu Nanze and Qiao Yiyi. But that Qiao Yiyi had been given a life sentence for homicide, so she was in jail. Left in a difficult position, Lu Nanze thought of a solution¡ªhe would marry someone with the same name and put a stop to all the rumors. Hence, that became her opportunity. At this thought, Qiao Yiyi gave a frostyugh. She cast this matter aside and went to take a shower. When she returned, she climbed back into bed and fell asleep. ¨C When she woke up, the sun was high in the sky. Qiao Yiyi... No, actually, it was that Qiao Yiyi [1.In Chinese, these names are pronounced the same, but the writing is different]. She stretched her body and went to the bathroom to wash up before heading downstairs. She made a beeline for the kitchen and found some food. She took it to the dining room. She pretended not to notice the looks of disdain that the housekeepers threw at her. After having breakfast, she looked up and stretched again. Suddenly, she noticed Lu Nanze sitting on the sofa in the living room. Qiao Yiyi: ...! Recently, Lu Nanze had not been home and she had gotten used to it. How could she have forgotten that he hade home yesterday?! Immediately, she withdrew her arms and looked at him timidly. Lu Nanze, on the other hand, had not even raised his eyes to look at her. He was staring ahead, deep in thought. He had been trying to hunt down Traceless all night without any hint of sess at all. Was Traceless really this amazing? As he contemted this, the butler walked in. ¡°Sir.¡± Lu Nanze lifted his gaze and saw that the butler was staring at him. He then did the same in Qiao Yiyi¡¯s direction. Qiao Yiyi had no idea what that look was about, so she stood there, saying nothing. The butler cleared his throat and spoke, ¡°Erm, Madam¡¯s family is here to visit. They say Madam has invited them.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ...! Chapter 1672 - Qiao Yiyi (2)

Chapter 1672: Qiao Yiyi (2)

When had she invited the Qiao family? These people were perpetually inconsiderate and fake. They were simply shameless! Anger welled up inside her and her eyes shed sharply. But those emotions quickly passed and she immediately regainedposure, behaving like her usual self once more. She kept silent. Lu Nanze lifted his head and nced at her. Following this, he said, ¡°Let theme in then.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... She stood there looking at the door. After a moment, she saw Dad Qiao with her half-brother Qiao Gang appear. The two of them stood at the door awkwardly, nodding and bowing to Lu Nanze. ¡°Mr.- Mr. Lu is here today!¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... Qiao Yiyi was speechless as she looked at these brown-nosers. Given that Lu Nanze was Dad Qiao¡¯s son-inw now, would he speak up confidently? But of course, she wouldn¡¯t say this aloud. Qiao Yiyi stood there with her head down. Lu Nanze nodded calmly and stood up. ¡°You can chat with each other then, I¡¯m going upstairs.¡± it was obvious he wasn¡¯t going to have anything to do with Dad Qiao. Dad Qiao immediately said, ¡°No, no.¡± But he didn¡¯t get past those two words before the atmosphere turned awkward and embarrassing. Dad Qiao gulped and fell silent. Lu Nanze threw Qiao Yiyi a nce and headed upstairs. After Lu Nanze had gone upstairs, the tension in the living room vanished. Dad Qiao and Qiao Gang became more rxed. Qiao Gang turned and looked around the vi, most impressed. He eximed, ¡°Wow, the Lu family is indeed something. You little b*tch, you¡¯ve indeed married into a good family!¡± Little b*tch. Qiao Yiyi narrowed her eyes and continued to stand there with her head down, keeping silent. Dad Qiao waspelled to say, ¡°Yiyi, your brother¡¯s talking to you. Why are you ignoring him? That¡¯s just rude. Do you have any education? You¡ª¡± Before he could finish, Qiao Yiyi looked up and said with innocence, as if wrongly used, ¡°Dad, wasn¡¯t educating me your job?¡± Dad Qiao choked on his words. He cleared his throat and nodded as he said, ¡°Well then, get the housekeeper to serve some water!¡± Qiao Yiyi looked at the housekeeper and requested, ¡°Big Sister, could you bring some water for everyone?¡± Since Lu Nanze was home, the housekeeper didn¡¯t want toe across as too harsh. She simply red at Qiao Yiyi and went into the kitchen. Dad Qiao immediately decided to give his daughter useful advice. ¡°When you talk to the servants, you need to be more strict. They won¡¯t respect you if you¡¯re so polite, which also means they won¡¯t respect your brother. Did you not see the way she red at your brother?!¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... He was more concerned about Qiao Gang being snubbed by the housekeeper than her. She continued looking down in obstinate silence. Dad Qiao was somewhat irate by now and said, ¡°I¡¯m talking to you, why are you ignoring me? You¡¯re so slow, it¡¯s no wonder you¡¯ve been married for half a year and still haven¡¯t gotten pregnant! Tell me, is it because Mr. Lu has not even touched you?¡± The moment these words fell, Qiao Gang could not keep himself from adding, ¡°It must be. Look at how terrified she looks all the time! It¡¯d be a miracle if Mr. Lu even felt attracted to her.¡± Upon hearing those words, Qiao Yiyi looked up and stared at Qiao Gang. Chapter 1673 - Qiao Yiyi (3)

Chapter 1673: Qiao Yiyi (3)

Qiao Gang was immediately surprised and said, ¡°What¡¯s with that look? Little b*tch. Believe me when I say I will hit you if you give me that look again!¡± Qiao Yiyi immediately lowered her head in silence. Qiao Gang said, ¡°You shameful illegitimate daughter! You dare to re at me!¡± Illegitimate daughter?! Qiao Yiyi could not help curving the corners of her mouth into a derisive smile. Her mother had been Dad Qiao¡¯s legal wife. It was only when Qiao Gang¡¯s0 mother hade into the picture that her parents had divorced. After that, she and her mother had built a life for themselves, and they had actually done rather well. If it weren¡¯t for them running into some trouble, they would never have returned to the Qiao family. Even less would they have allowed the Qiao family to arrange her marriage with Lu Nanze. At this thought, her pupils shrank back. Hence now, she had to endure this. Since she didn¡¯t know if her mother was dead or alive, nothing could happen to her right now. So Qiao Yiyi continued to look down in silence. Dad Qiao quickly stopped Qiao Gang from speaking and said, ¡°That¡¯s enough. What¡¯s this you¡¯re sayin?. Both of you carry my blood. I¡¯m telling you, you are siblings, you have to help each other, do you understand?¡± Qiao Gang snorted and muttered, ¡°Look at how retarded she is, how can she help me?¡± He said this softly, sounding a lot more subdued now. Dad Qiao ignored him and looked at Qiao Yiyi. Then he nced at the second floor furtively and asked, ¡°How many days is Mr. Lu going to be here?¡± Qiao Yiyi cast her gaze down and said, ¡°I have no idea.¡± Dad Qiao got exasperated at how things were not going his way fast enough. He stared at her and said, ¡°You¡¯re really- If I had known, I¡¯d have married your sister to him. You got such a good opportunity, but you don¡¯t know how to treasure it!¡± Except that her sister¡¯s name wasn¡¯t Qiao Yiyi. Did he think that he could just marry anyone off to him as he wished? What a joke. Qiao Yiyi ridiculed the man in her mind while she kept silent with her head lowered. Seeing how obstinate she was, Dad Qiao didn¡¯t know what else to say. At the time, he had allowed her mother to take her away because she was a daughter. Eventually, her mom hadn¡¯t been able to continue and had sent her back to the Qiao family. When she returned, Qiao Yiyi had been pitifully scrawny. Dad Qiao¡¯s current wife did not like her and didn¡¯t want her there. So when she heard that Lu Nanze was seeking a recement, she immediately volunteered the girl without a second thought. Qiao Yiyi was a weak girl, so at the time, she had stupidly and unquestioningly agreed. Hence this was how she had been married off to the Lu family. Dad Qiao was now very angry and said, ¡°Anyway, the reason why I¡¯m here today is because I¡¯m trying to arrange your brother¡¯s marriage. We are aiming at the Li family¡¯s third daughter, they are wealthy.¡± What a joke, that was a crazy demand. At best, the Qiao family was a middle-ss and modest family, but he was scheming to get a marriage with the daughter of a wealthy family. Qiao Yiyi pretended she hadn¡¯t heard it and said, ¡°Go ask for the marriage then!¡± Dad Qiao forced himself to calm down and said, ¡°They would never agree if we went, so we thought of getting Mr. Lu to do this on our behalf.¡± To get Lu Nanze to force them into it?! Qiao Yiyi said without waiting for him to finish, ¡°Why would they not agree? Doesn¡¯t their third daughter like Qiao Gang?¡± ¡°Shush!¡± Qiao Gang was livid upon hearing this and said, ¡°You little bi*ch, who did you just say she doesn¡¯t like? Do you want to get beaten?¡± As he said this, he raised his hand ready to strike Qiao Yiyi. She narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists tightly. Around the same time, she heard a voice, ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing!?¡± Chapter 1674 - Qiao Yiyi (4)

Chapter 1674: Qiao Yiyi (4)

Qiao Gang¡¯s hand froze in mid-air the moment he heard those words. He looked up in astonishment. Qiao Yiyi, who was standing in the living room, had been contemting if she should take or dodge the p. After all, this was the Lu family home. If Lu Nanze found something amiss, trying to cover it up would be troublesome. He wasn¡¯t as foolish as the Qiao family members. But it came as a surprise to her that Lu Nanze would actually intervene. She stared at him in surprise as he walked down from the second floor. He didn¡¯t look too pleased. He approached Qiao Gang and Dad Qiao, stared at them and asked, ¡°Go on and exin. What are you doing?¡± Qiao Gang immediately fell silent and did not dare to speak. Dad Qiao immediatelyughed and lightly hit Qiao Gang¡¯s head, saying, ¡°You silly son! You think this is our home? Fooling around with your sister like that. This is the Lu family home and your sister is married. It¡¯s no longer appropriate to fool around with her like when you were kids, understand?¡± The moment he said this, Qiao Yiyi retorted, ¡°Dad, I had never fooled around with my younger brother when we were kids.¡± Dad Qiao: ... Qiao Gang: ... Dad Qiao instantly gave a light cough and said, ¡°He is used to fooling around with your younger sister and he thinks he can do the same with you. Don¡¯t take it to heart.¡± Qiao Yiyi immediately lowered her head and fell silent. She was as invisible as air to them. The atmosphere in the room turned awkward suddenly. Qiao Gang did not dare to utter a word and could only stare at the ground, afraid that Lu Nanze might do something nasty to him. Dad Qiao gave an embarrassedugh and said, ¡°Your brother¡¯s just trying to show his love.¡± Lu Nanze inquired, ¡°His love? I don¡¯t think there¡¯s a need for that.¡± No one quite knew how to answer this remark. Dad Qiao could only try to push the responsibility on to her. ¡°It- it was Yiyi trying to show her love.¡± Qiao Yiyi kept her head down as she twitched her mouth. She did not speak so not to put Dad Qiao in an even more embarrassing position. Instantly, no one in the living room was saying anything. After a while, Lu Nanze finally said, ¡°Is there anything else you want?¡± Dad Qiao said, ¡°I- I was just thinking, Qiao Gang is quite old now. And- and¡ª¡± ¡°Uh huh, old enough to be getting married?¡± Dad Qiao nodded at once and said, ¡°Yes, yes.¡± Lu Nanze thought for a moment and then asked, ¡°And which family¡¯s daughter do you have in mind?¡± Immediately, Dad Qiao said, ¡°The third daughter of the Li family.¡± Lu Nanze thought again for a moment and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know her much.¡± Dad Qiao inquired again, ¡°Mr. Lu knows the Li family?¡± Lu Nanze cast his gaze down and replied, ¡°A bit.¡± ¡°Well then, do you think you could talk to them about marriage with Qiao Gang?¡± When Qiao Yiyi heard this shameless request, she was speechless. How could Dad Qiao be this shameless? How could someone make such requests like that? Unexpectedly though, the next moment Lu Nanze said, ¡°I can.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... Why was Lu Nanze acting so out of the norm today? In line with how he would normally ignore her, he wouldn¡¯t have even participated in such a conversation. She looked at the man in astonishment. Dad Qiao was ted and asked, ¡°For real?¡± ¡°Uh huh, I could mention a possible marriage with them, but what about the gift?¡± Dad Qiao was stunned and repeated, ¡°The gift?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, I know the head of the Li family and I can do you this favor. But if you don¡¯t have a gift of about tens of million, I don¡¯t think I can approach them.¡± Chapter 1675 - Qiao Yiyi (5)

Chapter 1675: Qiao Yiyi (5)

Tens of millions? Dad Qiao widened his eyes in horror and gulped. Lu Nanze asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Don¡¯t want to spend the money?¡± ¡°No, not at all! Of course not! This is the price to marry the daughter of the Li family!¡± Dad Qiao immediately agreed. Lu Nanze nodded and said, ¡°Prepare the money and once it¡¯s ready let me know. If there¡¯s nothing else today, you may go.¡± Dad Qiao almost said something, but eventually fell silent. He looked at Qiao Yiyi and signaled with his eyes that she should apany them to the door. However, she nced at her father and kept silent. Dad Qiao couldn¡¯t help but regret his daughter¡¯s obstinacy and slowness. She wasn¡¯t even capable of catching such an obvious hint. Why on earth had he even moved to marry this daughter off to Lu Nanze? She was going to be the death of him. He suppressed his anger and threw Qiao Gang a look as they simultaneously went to the door. They turned to look at the house again as they were on their way out. Qiao Yiyi maintained her silence as they walked out. After they had left, Qiao Yiyi remained where she was, contemting what to say to Lu Nanze. The man, however, turned back upstairs with no indication that he wished to speak with her. Qiao Yiyi: ... It looked like that had just been her being overly enthusiastic. She went back to her own room. After she did so, she picked up her cell phone andptop. Her fingers flew over the keyboard as she typed something. A chat window appeared. She pressed send. [Yiyi: You there?] The reply was almost instantaneous. [Number 2: Here, have always been here. What¡¯s up these days? Didn¡¯t you say you¡¯d contact me only after things have been settled?] [Yiyi: It¡¯s not safe yet. Do me a favor.] [Number 2: Go on...] [Yiyi: Check out how much money the Qiao family has at the moment?] [Number 2: I already have the information ready for you. They don¡¯t have much money saved, only the house they live in. And oh, thanks to your brother, who is quite an expert at losing your family fortune, the house doesn¡¯t have much in it either.] Not much in it? Qiao Yiyi found thisughable. Some time after Dad Qiao married her mother, his business failed. He had hoped that her mother could fund him and help him tide over the difficult period, but at the time her mother had been in trouble herself. Fearing any unwanted attention that coulde with showing one¡¯s wealth, she had had to lie and say that she didn¡¯t have any money. Believing her words, Dad Qiao had then turned to Qiao Gang¡¯s mother for help. The two hit it off and eventually ended up together. One could say that Dad Qiao had betrayed her mother for money. Her mother wouldugh bitterly whenever she talked about it. ¡°He¡¯s just an ingrate who had no future perspective. I have enough money to support ten businesses, but he abandoned me for a bit of money. But thanks to this, I saw his true colors. I could have told him my secret otherwise, and it would have been toote. He¡¯d never have been able to keep a secret!¡± Her mother had passed her skills as an expert thief to Qiao Yiyi. Her mother had an abundance of family assets and now it was all hers. Hence, Dad Qiao would never know what he had lost when he had abandoned her mother back then. Qiao Yiyi smirked at the thought of this. Hence, her father¡¯s plight today... Chapter 1676 - Qiao Yiyi (6)

Chapter 1676: Qiao Yiyi (6)

Qiao Yiyi gloated over their pathetic situation and looked forward to the entertainment this would bring. After all, Lu Nanze had now left them in a difficult question. But of course, this was not the least bit her problem. She was but a passerby in their lives. After the storm blew over, she would go back to her own world. At this thought, Qiao Yiyi decided not to think about this anymore. Herputer¡¯s rm sounded. She looked up at once and saw that a next message from Number 2 hade in: [Number 2: Yiyi, when are youing back exactly? I miss you lots!] Qiao Yiyi twitched her lips and typed on the keyboard: [Yiyi: I¡¯m waiting for news from Mom. Once she¡¯s settled her issues, I will be able to return.] [Number 2: Auntie has not been in contacttely. I hope nothing¡¯s gone wrong.] When Qiao Yiyi saw this, her heart skipped a beat. She had been worried about her mother for some time, but she hadn¡¯t wanted to say it aloud. Furthermore, there was no use in worrying, so she would rather not think about it. But now that Number 2 had said it, it was as though that pretense deep inside had been shattered. She started to fret. She thought for a moment and then turned off theputer. She sighed as she paced the room alone. After this, she picked up her cell phone and dialed a number. The call got through to a recorded message, ¡°Sorry, the number you are trying to call is not avable.¡± She frowned immediately and tossed her cell phone aside. She stared at the ceiling and wondered, ¡°Mom, where are you?¡± As this thought came to her, she suddenly heard a movement outside. She picked her ears at once and looked at the door. Then she heard the sirens of police cars. The police were here?! She got anxious at once and jumped on her feet. She stood at the doorway, observing the situation. After a while, the front door swung open. Two police officers strode in. When she saw them, Qiao Yiyi¡¯s pupils shrank back instantly. Because they were none other than her arch-enemies. These two police officers were the cream of the crop. The police had established a crime unit to specially track her down. She had fought with them in the past. There was even one time that she had been heavily injured by them. Her injuries had yet to fully recover. The fact that she had been separated from her mother and was here now was to arge extent because of their relentless pursuit. She sighed at this thought as her eyes followed them closely. Could these two be here now because they smelled something fishy? She kept observing them through the narrow slit of the door, which was slightly ajar. Lu Nanze obviously had not expected the police to turn up at his doorstep, hence he had a rather gloomy expression as he made his way down. He looked at the police officers and said, ¡°Police Officer Liang, you found some time toe all the way here? I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve done anything illegaltely.¡± Upon hearing these words, Liang Liang smirked and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Mr. Lu. This time we¡¯re not here for you. We only wish to ask you a few questions about Traceless.¡± Qiao Yiyi was immediately anxious when she heard this. Bingo! These two hade here for her. She clenched her fists nervously and looked around, trying to quickly figure out a way to escape if they discovered her identity. It would be a little difficult to put up a fight against three people. Chapter 1677 - Qiao Yiyi (7)

Chapter 1677: Qiao Yiyi (7)

Theyout of the Lu family residence shed through her mind. In thest half a year, she had done nothing but familiarized herself with the surroundings. She now knew the Lu family home like the back of her own hand. Lu Nanze had thought that his home was perfectly secured, but the fact was there were gaps. On the eastern end there was a CCTV blindspot and coincidentally, in that spot there was a hiding space big enough for a child only. It also happened that the martial arts that she practiced kept her body thin and petite, which meant that she could easily fit into and exit this spot. If they discovered her identity, she could escape from there. At this thought, Qiao Yiyi finally rxed. She continued to observe the situation downstairs. It was evident that Lu Nanze was on rather good terms with Liang Liang since they spoke to each other informally, almost rudely. They were both friends, but also enemies. Lu Nanze said to Liang Liang quite candidly, ¡°What has Traceless got to do with me?¡± Liang Liang inquired, ¡°I heard that Traceless paid your vi a visitst night.¡± Lu Nanze nodded immediately and said, ¡°You get your news quickly!¡± Liang Liang smiled and said, ¡°Not that we have a choice. We¡¯ve been trying to track her down for three whole years. Of course we¡¯re quick about these things¡± Lu Nanzeughed. ¡°So you think I have some kind of connection with Traceless?¡± ¡°Not really. It¡¯s just that when Traceless appears, she steals something. So we¡¯re here to see if we can find some clues about who sent her. If we manage to find this person, we should be able to also get some information on Traceless¡¯ whereabouts.¡± Lu Nanze raised an eyebrow. At first, he wasn¡¯t at all keen to admit that something had been stolen from him because it was simply embarrassing. But he seemed to realize something and smiled at once, saying, ¡°Oh, I had a bracelet stolen from me.¡± ¡°Bracelet? What¡¯s its value? Liang Liang took out his notepad. He was in his uniform. With his head lowered, his side profile carried firm determination. Because he spent a lot of time working outdoors, his skin had a golden tan to it, making him look even more masculine. Staring at him from upstairs, Qiao Yiyi narrowed her eyes. She lowered her gaze as her heart agitated. Biting her lip, she tried to suppress the faint stirrings in her heart and carefully listen to what they were saying. Lu Nanzeughed in an exceptionally odd manner when he heard this question. He said, ¡°The market value of that bracelet is a thousand?¡± Liang Liang¡¯s hand stopped writing as he looked up at Lu Nanze. The female police officer next to Liang Liang said immediately, ¡°Mr. Lu, I don¡¯t think your joke is funny.¡± Although thedy was in her police uniform, she spoke softly enough to melt a man¡¯s heart. But when Qiao Yiyi heard her, she snorted frostily. As she stared at thedy downstairs with clenched fists, an inexplicable pain welled up within. Lu Nanze stayed still and remarked, ¡°Police Officer Bai, what has my conversation with Police Officer Liang got to do with you? Also, I never lie. You can take it or leave it.¡± Lu Nanze had a temper. Of course he took offence at her remark. Liang Liang intervened quickly, ¡°Bai Anan, don¡¯t speak nonsense.¡± Then he looked at Lu Nanze and said with a frown, ¡°Why would someone pay 10 000 in exchange for a bracelet worth a thousand? Do you actually know who hired Traceless then?¡± Chapter 1678 - Qiao Yiyi (8)

Chapter 1678: Qiao Yiyi (8)

Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes when he heard this. With an curve of the corners of his lips, he said, ¡°That bracelet was an object that Mrs. Shen had in her youth. I think apart from Mr. Shen, no one else would be interested in it.¡± Upon hearing this, Liang Liang squinted and replied, ¡°Mr. Shen... Shen Liangchuan?¡± Lu Nanze nodded affirmatively at once. ¡°That¡¯s him.¡± Qiao Yiyi twitched her mouth when she heard this. She really had not thought that Lu Nanze would be such an idiot. It seemed this man was willing to do anything to make life hell for Shen Liangchuan. But at the same time, it was a relief for her. At least this would give Liang Liang enough reason to continue his work and leave the house. Following this, Liang Liang and Bai Anan got on their feet. ¡°Alright then, we¡¯lle to you again if we have more questions. We¡¯ll be on our way now.¡± Lu Nanze nodded and said, ¡°Alright, take care.¡± Liang Liang turned and followed Bai Anan as they walked out. Qiao Yiyi¡¯s gaze had not left the man for a moment. Then, as if he could sense he was being watched, Liang Liang halted and looked up. His piercing gaze found its way directly to the second floor. Qiao Yiyi immediately dodged out of his line of sight. Lu Nanze was staring at them so, when he saw Liang Liang looking upstairs, he followed the man¡¯s gaze and asked, ¡°What is Police Officer Liang looking at?¡± Liang Liang shook his head and said, ¡°Nothing.¡± After saying this, he suddenly asked, ¡°By the way, I heard some time ago that you got married. I haven¡¯t met Sister-inw since you didn¡¯t have a wedding. I wonder if Sister-inw¡¯s home.¡± Lu Nanze frowned and answered, ¡°She is.¡± ¡°Could I meet her then? If I ever run into her, at least I¡¯ll know who she is. Otherwise it could get embarrassing.¡± Lu Nanze smirked and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯re that close. Besides, why would you want to get to know her?¡± Liang Liang: ... Liang Liang was going to speak again when the butler interrupted, ¡°Sir, the family physician is here. Shall I take him to Madam right now?¡± That remark was immediately the perfect excuse for Liang Liang as he said, ¡°Sister-inw is unwell? Then all the more I should pay her a visit. You may consider me a stranger, but I never saw myself as such. So hurry up and have here down to meet us.¡± Lu Nanze: ... Lu Nanze threw Liang Liang a frustrated look. The truth was that he didn¡¯t care if Liang Liang met Qiao Yiyi. It was just that since their youth, they would always speak to each other slightly rudely. Given the situation hade to this, it would be unreasonable of him to continue denying Liang Liang¡¯s request. Hence, Lu Nanze could only nce upstairs and ask the butler, ¡°Go have a look at what Madam is doing. If she¡¯s not busy, she shoulde down and meet a few guests!¡± The butler nodded and said, ¡°Yes.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... Wasn¡¯t the problem getting bigger? Why was it getting soplicated again? The family physician was here and, if he were to find out about her old injuries, then wouldn¡¯t she be busted? She frowned as this thought crossed her mind. Then she heard Liang Liang ask, ¡°By the way, you saw Traceless? Fought with her?¡± Lu Nanze cast his gaze down and admitted, ¡°Yes, we fought.¡± Liang Liang kept asking, ¡°And how was she? Was she a little weak? We had a confrontation once and she was seriously injured. Given how much time has passed since, I¡¯m quite sure she still has internal injuries.¡± Chapter 1679 - Qiao Yiyi (9)

Chapter 1679: Qiao Yiyi (9)

There was an unconscious excitement in Liang Liang¡¯s tone. Next to him, Bai Anan gave him a nce and lowered her head, obviously not forting with her thoughts. Lu Nanze looked up, slightly puzzled. His eyes rested on Liang Liang briefly before ncing past him. Looking a little guilty, thetter said, ¡°I only want to know about her health. This could be a hint too, as we try to track her down.¡± Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes and then said after a moment, ¡°It was a very brief fight. I can¡¯t be sure.¡± Liang Liang lowered his head in disappointment. At this point, the doctor walked in. Lu Nanze looked up and mumbled, ¡°Isn¡¯t sheing down?¡± The butler went to Qiao Yiyi¡¯s door. She could only open it and give the butler a timid look. The butler started, ¡°Madam, Sir has asked for you downstairs.¡± Qiao Yiyi nodded. She knew she wasn¡¯t going to be able to get away from it. Otherwise, Lu Nanze and Liang Liang would both be suspicious. But how was she going to dodge the doctor¡¯s examination? Currently, most family physicians were trained in western medicine, so this one may not be able to tell that she had internal injuries. But if he examined her chest area and found out that she had a fractured rib, he may ask her to go for an X-ray. At that point, she might be exposed. No. She must not let the doctor know she was in pain. At this thought, she lowered her head. Her eyes darted around quickly as she tried to think of a solution. Downstairs, Lu Nanze and Liang Liang were sitting on the sofa. They sat opposite each other without speaking. When Qiao Yiyi went downstairs, she saw Liang Liang, who was facing her direction. She hadn¡¯t seen him for half a year. He had grown thinner and tanner. That pair of dark eyes carried some memories. Although he was smiling like he used to, she could feel that he was less cheerful. Qiao Yiyi clenched her fists tightly and looked at him. Sensing that someone wasing downstairs, Liang Liang looked up. When he saw that familiar silhouette on the stairs, he froze, thinking that he must be seeing things. His mind went nk at once, as he stared intently at the woman on the stairs. It was her? As that thought struck him, he heard Lu Nanze introducing, ¡°This is Qiao Yiyi.¡± Liang Liang got over his surprise and then realized... that face. It was not a face that he knew at all. He suddenly realized that he had gotten the wrong person and said, ¡°So this is Sister-inw?¡± Lu Nanze nodded and said to Qiao Yiyi, ¡°This is Liang Liang, we are childhood friends.¡± Qiao Yiyi nodded. Although she looked timid on the outside, inside she was going crazy. What sort of situation was this? Was Lu Nanze the kind of criminal who had be a good person? Who would have thought that a rich business man would be on such good terms with a police officer? She was there to find a safe haven, not to look for more trouble. If she had known this man and Liang Liang were on such good terms, she would never have married him. After realizing that he had gotten the wrong person, Liang Liang saw that this woman was so timid she didn¡¯t even dare raise her eyes. Noticing that she blushed in the presence of strangers, he quickly looked away. At this point, Lu Nanze pointed at the family physician and said, ¡°Alright, let the doctor take a look at you.¡± Then he exined to the doctor, ¡°I was careless and injured her lower back yesterday. Please examine her to make sure she¡¯s alright.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... Chapter 1680 - Qiao Yiyi (10)

Chapter 1680: Qiao Yiyi (10)

Careless and had injured her lower back. That was misleadingly suggestive. Liang Liang couldn¡¯t help giving Lu Nanze a teasing look. While Lu Nanze was quite nonchnt about it, Qiao Yiyi cursed silently. But she lowered her head, putting on an extremely embarrassed look. The doctor promptly stepped up and said, ¡°Madam Lu, please take a seat and allow me to examine the bones around your lower back.¡± The lower back wasn¡¯t too far from the ribs, so how could she allow him to examine her? She immediately waved her hand nervously and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, there¡¯s no need.¡± The doctor was stunned. Qiao Yiyi blushed deeply and exined, ¡°I- I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m really fine.¡± Lu Nanze turned around and said, ¡°Stop the nonsense talk. I said get it checked. Don¡¯t wait for it to get worse before seeing a doctor. Who¡¯ll be to me then?¡± Qiao Yiyi¡¯s eyes reddened as she lowered her head. She grabbed her shirt tightly and said, ¡°My- my mother said that I¡¯m not allowed to let other men look at my body.¡± When she said this, she wrinkled her face as though she was going to cry. Lu Nanze found this exceptionally annoying. What was this woman made of tears? She was too weak. He frowned, looking a little impatient, and was going to say something when Liang Liang suddenly burst out in uncontrobleughter. ¡°Mr. Lu, this wife of yours, did she time travel from the past? She is so funny!¡± Funny my ass! Qiao Yiyi tightened her fists, trying to curb her growing urge to punch the man. She kept her head down. Lu Nanze couldn¡¯t possibly force the girl to do this. His expression turned icy as he said, ¡°Well then forget it!¡± He got on his feet immediately after saying this and stormed upstairs. He didn¡¯t care a bit that he had made Qiao Yiyi look bad. She stood there staring at his disappearing figure and twitched her lips. Conscious that Liang Liang and Bai Anan were still standing behind her, she immediately lowered her head and squeezed out a tear before she turned to them, looking terrified and cowardly. Liang Liang felt it was quite inappropriate to stay and exchanged a nce with Bai Anan. He stood up and said, ¡°Let¡¯s get going.¡± Bai Anan immediately nodded. Then she reached out, grabbed his arm and said, ¡°Brother Liang, let¡¯s go.¡± Qiao Yiyi froze on the spot. Her eyes were locked on their entwined arms. Her fists tightened as difort overtook her. The past that she thought she had left behind suddenly reared its ugly head, causing her eyes to sting at once. She fought to hold back her tears. So they were indeed dating now. ¡°Madam Lu, Madam Lu?¡± Qiao Yiyi was drawn back to the present by the doctor. She turned to look at him as he asked, ¡°Are you alright?¡± Liang Liang turned around, puzzled, upon hearing this. Qiao Yiyi immediately feigned a terrified expression and asked, ¡°Is Mr. Lu angry?¡± Family physician: ... Liang Liang: ... She continued looking terrified and added on the verge of tears, ¡°What do I do now? Mr. Lu is angry. My mother did really tell me that I was not allowed to let other men touch me. I didn¡¯t do it on purpose. I- I- Sob, sob, sob.¡± Chapter 1681 - Where is Traceless? (1)

Chapter 1681: Where is Traceless? (1)

When Liang Liang saw this, he cast his gaze down. He turned around and walked out with Bai Anan. Once they were gone, Qiao Yiyi finally sighed in relief. Seeing how stunned the family physician was by what had happened, she lowered her head and went upstairs quietly. Upstairs, Lu Nanze had already gone into his study. Qiao Yiyi sneaked around and saw that he was behind his desk reading some documents. She was relieved at once. It looked like Lu Nanze was no longer pursuing the matter about Traceless. It meant closure forst night¡¯s episode. Hopefully. ¨C After Liang Liang and Bai Anan had left Lu Nanze¡¯s house and reached a quiet corner, Liang Liang shook Bai Anan off. She paused and turned back to look at him. He said, ¡°It¡¯s too warm. Let¡¯s get into the car.¡± But Bai Anan was hurt by that gesture of rejection. She clenched her fists tightly. After a moment, she took a deep breath and followed Liang Liang. The two of them walked to the car. As they did so, Bai Anan suddenly spoke, ¡°Brother Liang, you still can¡¯t forget her?¡± She did not name the person she was referring to, but both of them knew who she was talking about. Liang Liang halted. After a brief pause, he turned to Bai Anan and said, ¡°Stop speaking nonsense.¡± She gave a frostyugh and replied, ¡°How is that nonsense? Obviously you haven¡¯t forgotten her! You¡¯re my boyfriend now, how could you have someone else in your heart all the time?!¡± Liang Liang frowned and said, ¡°Bai Anan, I¡¯m doing a job, stop overthinking.¡± ¡°I¡¯m overthinking?!¡± Pointing at herself, Bai Anan said, ¡°I truly wish I were overthinking it! Your eyes when you talked about her then said everything. And when you saw Madam Lu, it was in your expression too! Let me think... Oh, that¡¯s right, Traceless and Madam Lu are alike. Both of them are petite.¡± Bai Anan suddenly paused after she said this. Liang Liang was all the more stunned. He stared at her and asked, ¡°You also thought that Madam Lu¡¯s body resembled hers?¡± But as soon as he had said this, heughed bitterly and denied it, ¡°How could it be her? She¡¯s so impressive and high-profiled. Everyone knows Madam Lu is actually the Qiao family¡¯s illegitimate daughter. That¡¯s why she has such a timid and weak personality. We are thinking too much about it.¡± ¡°So now you feel it¡¯s a pity she isn¡¯t?¡± Bai Anan raised her voice uncontrobly. Liang Liang frowned and said, ¡°Bai Anan, I¡¯m just stating things as they are!¡± ¡°Stating things as they are! Liang Liang, how could you treat me this way? You-¡± By now, her eyes had reddened. Unwilling to pacify her, Liang Liang walked to the other side of the car and opened the door. ¡°Are you getting in?¡± She felt a chill in her heart. She bit her lip, eventually stamped her foot and got into the car. Liang Liang kept silent as he started the engine. Bai Anan turned to look out of the window. The two of them kept quiet for a long time, until Liang Liang finally said, ¡°Bai Anan, give me some time.¡± Now the tears started rolling down her cheeks. Liang Liang lowered his head and said, ¡°I admit it, I just can¡¯t forget her.¡± As she sobbed and choked on her tears, she realized that the car was heading in an unexpected direction. ¡°Where are you going?¡± she asked. ¡°Beijing. To look for Shen Liangchuan and ask him a few questions.¡± Chapter 1682 - Where is Traceless? (2)

Chapter 1682: Where is Traceless? (2)

Liang Liang drove straight to Beijing. It was already 10 p.m. when they arrived. He drove directly to Shen Liangchuan¡¯s apartment. There he was informed by the butler that because Qiao Lian had just given birth, they were all at the hospital. Without stopping for a break, Liang Liang headed for the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Hospital. They were stopped by security officers at the entrance and were only let in when Liang Liang took out his police badge. He entered the VIP ward and saw Shen Liangchuan in the room, ying with the baby. The woman on the hospital bed looked quietly peaceful, although she seemed quite pale. Liang Liang waited outside for a while before he knocked on the door. Shen Liangchuan was inside taking care of both the new mother and the child. When they heard the knock, Qiao Lian opened her eyes. Shen Liangchuan was immediately angered. He turned around to look at the door and watched Liang Liang walk in. ¡°Mr. Shen, how are you? I¡¯m a police officer and this is my badge. I have a few things to verify with you, could youe out for a while?¡± Shen Liangchuan frowned and was about to explode when Qiao Lian shook her head and said, ¡°I¡¯ve slept for a long time and have got enough rest. You can talk here.¡± Shen Liangchuan knew that she was worried about him and concerned that he was in some sort of trouble. Hence, he looked directly at Liang Liang and said, ¡°Police Officer Liang,e straight to the point and ask then.¡± Liang Liang started, ¡°I wonder if Mr. Shen has ever heard of Traceless?¡± ¡°Yes, I have.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case, Mr. Shen, have you ever hired her services? Justst night, a bracelet belonging to your wife has been stolen by Traceless from Mr. Lu.¡¯s home¡± Shen Liangchuan narrowed his eyes at once. Then he chortled and replied, ¡°So Police Officer Liang, do you have any sort of evidence?¡± Liang Liang shook his head. ¡°Well then, why are you asking me these questions? Just because the bracelet used to belong to my wife?¡± Liang Liang choked. Shen Liangchuan cast his gaze down and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about and would like you to leave! You cane and look for me when you have proof!¡± Then he lowered his head and refused to say another word. Liang Liang was cornered. He could only say, ¡°Mr. Shen, please cooperate with our investigation. We¡¯re not targeting you, we only want to catch that professional thief Traceless!¡± ¡°Catching a professional thief is your job, what has it got to do with me?¡± Shen Liangchuan pointed at the front door and repeated, ¡°Could you leave immediately? In the future, if you have more questions for me, please get in touch with mywyer or secretary. You maye if I agree.¡± He did not bother to be polite. After being reprimanded, Liang Liang¡¯s expression darkened. He said, ¡°Mr. Shen, you¡¯ve offended me. Aren¡¯t you worried that I could use it against you?¡± Shen Liangchuanughed icily and repeated, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you leaving?¡± Liang Liang had no choice but to turn and walk out. After the door had shut, Shen Liangchuan snorted icily. Qiao Lian asked, ¡°Why so angry? It¡¯s just me waking up, really, no big deal.¡± Shen Liangchuan replied, ¡°There are other reasons.¡± She looked at him with a puzzled expression. He walked up to her, stroked her head and said, ¡°Traceless is actually a heroic thief.¡± ¡°Even if she¡¯s a heroic thief, she¡¯s broken thew!¡± Qiao Lian¡¯s values were unwavering. Shen Liangchuan nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. If it had been someone else, I would have surely told everything, I wouldn¡¯t have interrupted their investigation. But if it¡¯s Liang Liang... Ha.¡± Shen Liangchuan¡¯s tone was derisive. Qiao Lian was curious and inquired, ¡°Why? What¡¯s the story?¡± Chapter 1683 - Where is Traceless? (3)

Chapter 1683: Where is Traceless? (3)

¡°They hired Liang Liang specially for the crime unit that is tracking Traceless. After all these years, he¡¯s the one that knows Traceless the best. Tracelesses and goes silently, there are less than a handful of people in this world who know her true identity. But in his relentless pursuit of Traceless, he got to know her.¡± Qiao Lian was stunned and asked, ¡°Are you saying that they fell in love?¡± Shen Liangchuan nodded and replied, ¡°That¡¯s not too far from the truth. They liked each other and gradually found out that it was mutual. At some point, they met up frequently.¡± Qiao Lian frowned and asked, ¡°What happened then?¡± A police officer falling in love with a thief. What could be the result? Shen Liangchuan cast his gaze down and continued, ¡°You can see what happened. Traceless disappeared and Liang Liang has been hunting her all over the world. About what happened between them, I heard rumors, but it was just talk. The people involved never told anyone, so I can¡¯t be sure either.¡± Qiao Lian was stunned. ¡°Well then, you have no idea whose fault it was. Why are you so mean to Liang Liang?¡± Shen Liangchuan spoke with a mocking tone. ¡°I just feel that a man who can¡¯t even protect the woman he loves is a good-for-nothing. Besides, a woman like Traceless has the courage to take responsibility for her own actions. When she fell in love, she did wholeheartedly. So even if I don¡¯t know the full story, I still think Liang Liang is at fault.¡± Qiao Lian fell silent. After a moment, she took a deep breath and spoke, ¡°If you were a police officer and I were a thief, what would you do?¡± Shen Liangchuan was silent for a while before he reached out and drew her into his embrace. He said, ¡°I don¡¯t know how others prioritize responsibility and love. I¡¯m not a police officer and have never trained to be one. I¡¯m an ordinary man and nothing else is more important than you.¡± Just as he said these words, the baby started crying. Qiao Lian: ... Shen Liangchuan: ... At a loss for words, Qiao Lian finally said, ¡°Alright, alright. Your son needs to change his diapers and that¡¯s more important than your wife. Hurry!¡± ¨C Liang Liang left the hospital. Bai Anan was waiting for him in the parking lot. When she saw him, she immediately greeted him and asked, ¡°How was it? Any clues?¡± Looking gloomy, he replied, ¡°He really didn¡¯t cooperate.¡± This angered Bai Anan, who said, ¡°How could he?! I¡¯ll go and talk to him! If he doesn¡¯t cooperate, we¡¯ll find an excuse to take him back to the police station.¡± Liang Liang stopped her and said, ¡°Where do you think we are? This is Beijing. Stop your nonsense. Shen Liangchuan¡¯s family is not a regr one, we shouldn¡¯t mess with them.¡± She stamped her foot in anger and said, ¡°So what do we do now?¡± He suddenly said, ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s him.¡± Bai Anan was surprised. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°If he had wanted to hire Traceless to steal the bracelet, why didn¡¯t he do it during the wedding? You know how Traceless works. Usually when she gets a job, she does it the following day. However the day she stole it was the day that Shen Liangchuan¡¯s good friend, Mo Xicheng, was getting married. I just think that it doesn¡¯t make sense.¡± Bai Anan fell silent for a moment and then said, ¡°But if it wasn¡¯t Shen Liangchuan behind this, then who could it be?¡± Suddenly, both of their eyes lit up at once. Chapter 1684 - Where is Traceless? (4)

Chapter 1684: Where is Traceless? (4)

Bai Anan instantly said, ¡°If Shen Liangchuan didn¡¯t ask her to steal the bracelet, there could only be one person who¡¯s taken Lu Nanze¡¯s bracelet and it is Mrs. Lu. If Lu Nanze still loves Qiao Lian and can¡¯t forget her, then Mrs. Lu must definitely be unhappy. We might have been checking in the wrong direction.¡± After saying so, she lowered her head. ¡°But was Mrs. Lu really the one who hired someone to steal it? Mrs. Lu, she¡¯s so timid, would she dare to do such a thing? No matter how I think about it, it feels impossible.¡± Liang Liang¡¯s also frowned. ¡°Let¡¯s find a chance to talk to Mrs. Lu after we are back in Suzhou.¡± Bai Anan nodded in agreement and replied, ¡°Ok.¡± ¨C In the Lu family. Qiao Yiyi had stayed home the whole day. When night came, and after having dinner, she hid in her room again, searching everywhere for news of the police catching thieves. Ever since she had been separated from her mother, she had feared that she would be caught. Thus she had constantly been keeping a look out for such news. At that moment, she got a message on herptop. [Number Two: Yi Yi, do you want to ept a new task?] When she saw this, Qiao Yiyi was slightly shocked. She calcted the time and realized that she hadn¡¯t epted any new tasks for a month. As she had set the rule that she would only take one task a month, a lot of customers had been queuing up. ording to the schedule Number Two had nned for her, she had already tasks nned for almost the next two years. Even though she was currently in a bad state, for her reputation and her customer¡¯s trust, she must keep to her promise. Shezily replied: [Yi Yi: What task is it this time?] [Number Two: Coincidentally, the task this time is in Suzhou. They want you to steal a gem from the Li family.] After Qiao Yiyi heard his words, she nodded and continued: [Yi Yi: Is there a floor n of the Li Family¡¯s house?] [Number Two: I got that ready for you. I have already sent it to your email. Go and check.] [Yi Yi: Ok.] After closing the chat window, Qiao Yiyi couldn¡¯t helpughing. Didn¡¯t Qiao Gang want to marry the third daughter of the Li family? Little did she know that her mission this time would involve the Li family. She stretched and then rxed her body. She opened her email and started looking. The floor n of the Li family¡¯s house was really simple. The Li family hadn¡¯t bloomed after doing underground business for years, like the Lu family. Hence, their security system wasn¡¯t as good as the Lu family¡¯s and there were many loopholes. In no time, she thought of many ns for how to steal and also had found a lot of spots that she could escape from. In case she was being targeted, she had to think of at least five ways to escape. ¨C In the study room, Lu Nanze sat behind the study table. He was staring at the documents on the table quietly, but he hadn¡¯t flipped them in a long time. Shen Liangchuan had protected Qiao Lian really well. Even though she had given birth yesterday, the reporters hadn¡¯t announced it till now. He wondered if she had given birth to a boy or girl. He was only concerned about how Qiao Lian had been and hadn¡¯t paid attention to her child. As he thought so, he felt really dissatisfied. Shen Liangchuan was really too petty. How could he not share with him the happy news till now? In his depression, his phone rang. He lowered his head and saw that Liang Liang had called. Lu Nanze¡¯s eyes brightened and he coughed softly. Although he had immediately picked up his phone, he paused for a moment before answering the call. Chapter 1685 - Where is Traceless? (5)

Chapter 1685: Where is Traceless? (5)

When the call connected, he heard Liang Liang¡¯s voiceing from the other end of the line. ¡°We will return to Suzhou immediately. I¡¯m currently in Beijing.¡± Lu Nanze suppressed the crazy excitement in his heart and asked calmly, ¡°Any updates?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like it was Shen Liangchuan¡¯s doing, so I will no longer follow Shen Liangchuan¡¯s lead. I trust my intuition.¡± Lu Nanze nodded and replied, ¡°Yes, I also think that he isn¡¯t so bored as to do something like this.¡± ¡°Then why did you tell me that he was the one who did it?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t. When did I ever say that?¡± Liang Liang thought, ¡°Indeed, he didn¡¯t.¡± It was just that the bracelet was Mrs. Shen¡¯s. Hence, he had automatically thought that Shen Liangchuan had asked Traceless to steal it. Following this, Liang Liang got mad instantly. ¡°What is the reason you made me travel all the way to Beijing?¡± After he said so, Lu Nanze asked, ¡°Is it a boy or a girl?¡± Liang Liang was stunned. ¡°What?¡± Lu Nanze continued asking impatiently, ¡°I¡¯m asking you if it¡¯s a boy or a girl.¡± Liang Liang was silent for a while and suddenly realized what he meant. ¡°You asked me to go to Beijing just to help you see if her child was a boy or girl?!¡± Lu Nanze didn¡¯t reply to him and Liang Liang waspletely speechless. If he hadn¡¯t been on the highway, he might have rushed crazily to Lu Nanze¡¯s house and fought with him. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll tell you! It¡¯s a boy!¡± Lu Nanze understood and said, ¡°Ok, I know it.¡± Liang Liang: ... Liang Liang absolutely didn¡¯t know what to say, he waspletely speechless. He took a few deep breaths and finally suppressed his agitation. Then he said, ¡°Ok, I¡¯m hanging up.¡± The line was disconnected. The butler walked in and said, ¡°Sir, I¡¯ve found it.¡± When Lu Nanze heard his words, he instantly lifted his head up sensitively and looked at the old butler. The butler said, ¡°Traceless¡¯s next target is the gem of the Li family.¡± After hearing what the old butler had said, Lu Nanze stood up instantly and told him, ¡°Ok, start preparing. I want to go out tomorrow night.¡± The butler hesitated for a while and said, ¡°Sir, I think it¡¯s better to get bodyguards to protect you. Are you sure that you want to take action personally?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± There was a shine in Lu Nanze¡¯s eyes, akin to those of a wolf. It was rare for him to meet an opponent. He must meet her personally. ¨C On the highway. Liang Liang also received a call. ¡°Go to the Li Family¡¯s house?¡± He frowned and replied, ¡°Ok, noted.¡± After he hung up the phone, Bai Anan instantly asked, ¡°What? Are there news of Traceless?¡± She instantly continued in excitement, ¡°We must catch her this time and not allow her to escape again! You must know that it¡¯s really super hard to find news about her!¡± When he heard her words, Liang Liang¡¯s pupils shrank. He had subconsciously recalled the past. The gaze Traceless had sent at him while escaping gravely injured... That gaze was something he might not forget in his life. Unconsciously, he said, ¡°It¡¯s not.¡± Bai Anan was stunned. ¡°It¡¯s not?¡± Liang Liang nodded and replied, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s not. It¡¯s another case that has nothing to do with you.¡± Bai Anan stared at him, looking as if she was deep in thought. Then sheughed. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s alright if it¡¯s not then. You must tell me if there are news about her.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± Although Liang Liang had said that, Bai Anan had instantly clenched her fists. She could almost bepletely sure that the person he was talking about was Traceless. But even now, Liang Liang still couldn¡¯t forget her and wanted to protect her. Chapter 1686 - Where is Traceless? (6)

Chapter 1686: Where is Traceless? (6)

After the two of them got back to Suzhou and Liang Liang had taken Bai Anan home, he sped away. Noticing that he was in a hurry, Bai Anan frowned. After a moment, she took a deep breath, picked up her cell phone and dialed a number. ¡°Dad, an informant called Liang Liang today, would you know what it was about?¡± Bai Anan¡¯s father was Chief Bai, a high-ranking officer at the police station. He immediately said, ¡°Of course, it was about Traceless. Her next target is the Li family. It could happen tomorrow night so he has gone to prepare.¡± Bai Anan tightened her fists at these words. Chief Bai asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Did Liang Liang not tell you?¡± Sheughed at once and replied, ¡°Nothing. Just that I only heard it briefly. Since it¡¯s Traceless¡¯ case, then I should go tomorrow as well. Dad, will you give me a few of your best armed police?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± After they hung up, a vicious smile spread across Bai Anan¡¯s face. She snorted icily. Did you think that I wouldn¡¯t find out just because you kept it from me? Not only have I found out, I¡¯m going to ensure she doesn¡¯t escape. ¨C Qiao Yiyi, who was now in the Lu family home, had absolutely no idea that there were already people paying close attention to her identity. The corner of her eye twitched. She had a bad gut feeling about it. But once she had taken on a job, she would never decline it. Furthermore, she had been baptized with bullets and gunfire, why should she fear a small job like the Li family? She shut her eyes and ran over the facts in her head once over. The next day, she stayed home all day to analyze the situation. As the skies turned grey, darkness fell. She heard Lu Nanze take a phone call, which sounded like a business call. Then he said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯lle over right now.¡± The next thing she knew, he had driven off into the distance. Qiao Yiyi¡¯s eyes narrowed as Lu Nanze said these words. She waited for the man to leave the house. Then with a smirk, she changed into her night suit and tied her hair up into a high ponytail. She looked at herself in the mirror. In it, she saw the reflection of a petite figure. The silhouette was neat and simple, but anyone could tell that she had a great figure, with a nicely proportioned chest and pert bottom. Her body was dark and beautiful without being too suggestive. Qiao Yiyi had very in features and normally kept her head lowered. Hence, no one ever noticed her looks. But now, when she was no longer hiding that pair of sharp and piercing eyes and with her hair pulled back from her face, it was clear she actually did have rather pretty features. Without makeup on now, her solemn and calm face had a dark and mysterious charm. Her lips were luscious and plump with moisture. She looked at her own reflection in satisfaction and the corners of her lips curved upwards. She took out the silver mask and ced it over her face. At once, the woman in the mirror gave out an alluring aura and was transformed. Qiao Yiyi was satisfied with what she saw and puckered her lips to blow a kiss at her own reflection. Then she walked to the balcony, looked around to check that the coast was clear and, with a quick twist of her body, leaped from the tform. In a sh, her tiny and lithe figure melted into the darkness and disappeared into the night. Dodging almost every surveince camera in the Lu family home, Qiao Yiyi left the building behind, made a few turns and found herself in a public parking lot. Then she got into her sports car and sped off to the Li family home. Chapter 1687 - Where is Traceless? (7)

Chapter 1687: Where is Traceless? (7)

The Li family residence. At that moment, no one in the house knew that they were being closely monitored. The senior master of the Li family had the habit to, before going to bed every night, lovingly gaze at a gemstone. This precious gem was something he had acquired illegally many years ago. The stone had a red sheen that made it mesmerizing to look at. Qiao Yiyi crouched outside the window observing the senior master carefully. There was an unmistakable look of greed in his eyes as he stared at the gem stone. This old man. Qiao Yiyi lowered her eyes. This precious stone was in fact something that had been passed down for generations by the true owner¡¯s family. This meant that the owner¡¯s grandmother had passed it on to her mother, and then her mother had passed it on to her. But years ago, the owner had gotten into a bad marriage. Because the senior master of the Li family loved that gemstone, the owner¡¯s husband had taken the gemstone without her knowing and had secretly sold it off. She had tracked down the Li family and tried to buy the gemstone back from them. However, the senior master had asked for an exorbitant price that was ten times the original price. The owner had had no choice but to leave empty handed. All these years, she had never forgotten this gemstone. Through much effort, she had managed to save up the sum he had asked for. However, Senior Master Li now said that the gemstone was no longer with him since he had sold it. The owner knew that the old man was lying, but she couldn¡¯t do anything. So now, she had hired Traceless to steal this stone. Although this stone, about the size of a cat¡¯s eye, was a rare gem, it wasn¡¯t as though it was priceless. It was just that Senior Master Li knew that the owner¡¯s marriage had failed and thought she was an easy pushover. Traceless twitched her lips, thinking that it had partly been the woman¡¯s fault for being too weak and cowardly to keep her own belongings safe. She rolled her eyes. Nevermind. Why was she even judging the situation? Simply put, some woman had paid her some money to work for her. At this thought, she looked around. Very soon after, the n began. ¨C Senior Master Li was now looking at the gemstone in his hand. Over the years, he had grown to like it more and more. He had grown quite attached to it and had made it a point to hold it and look at it every night. Otherwise, he couldn¡¯t sleep. Tonight, he was feeling exceedingly sad and did not want to take his eyes off the object. It was as if that would be thest look. As he was looking at the gemstone, the lights in the room suddenly went out. Senior Master Li immediately stood up. Because it had gone dark suddenly, his vision did not adjust quickly enough and this created a blind zone before him immediately. He frowned and shouted, ¡°What¡¯s happening?!¡± Right at that moment, he felt an emptiness in his hand. He quickly called out, ¡°Someonee quickly! A thief has entered the house!¡± The butler downstairs thought he heard some movement and quickly dashed upstairs. He threw the door open and lit the room with thentern on his cell phone. All of this had happened within a short few seconds. But by the time the lights in the room came back on, the gemstone that had been in the senior master¡¯s hand was gone. The room was empty and the windows were shut. How could the gemstone have just disappeared like that?! Senior Master Li panicked and said, ¡°Hurry, hurry! Shut the vi gates and call the police! Don¡¯t let the thief run away!¡± At his order, everyone rushed out. The butler ordered the few service staff who had followed him upstairs, ¡°You, go to the main gate. You go to the back gate, and you inspect the surroundings.¡± ording to the given orders, the staff walked in various directions. And among these people, Qiao Yiyi lowered her head and briskly walked out of the room. Chapter 1688 - Where is Traceless? (8)

Chapter 1688: Where is Traceless? (8)

Qiao Yiyi had the gift of blending in with the crowd, thus being easily overlooked. Hence, hidden among the security officers and staff, she was able to walk out of the room and, after taking a turn, she walked to the side of the house. Following her escape n A, she moved towards the lowest wall surrounding the Li family home. Although there was a security device on the wall, that was a small matter for her. She tossed a line up and held onto it. Using the strength of her arm, she nimbly pulled herself up. She turned around and saw that a group in the courtyard was shouting. She found herself breaking into a mocking smile. Humans were such fools. At this thought, she turned again and jumped. Bam! Both her feet touched the ground. Just as she was about to retrieve her line, she heard a voice behind her, ¡°You turned up after all.¡± Qiao Yiyi froze at the sound of that voice. Her head spun around, an expression of disbelief on her face. In the darkness, she saw Liang Liang standing by the wall, staring at her. He stood in the shadows, hence when she had leaped down from the wall, she had not noticed Liang Liang even though she had checked. Especially because he hade here today to stop her, he was dressed in ck. It would have been impossible to spot him in the dark. She clenched her fists tightly at once and smirked, ¡°The great Police Officer Liang, it¡¯s been some time.¡± Her tone was sarcastic and distant. Liang Liang felt a dull pain in his chest. He looked at Qiao Yiyi and frowned. He started, ¡°You promised me you wouldn¡¯t steal again!¡± She tightened her fists at these words. That was right, she had promised him. But that was the past. She had thought that she could stop for the sake of this man. But in the end, she had realized that she was just being naive. This man was not worth her sacrifice at all. As her eyes started to smart, her smile grew more brilliant. ¡°Oh, I was just trying to appease you. You believed me?¡± He was infuriated by her words. ¡°Traceless! How could you treat me like this?!¡± ¡°What about you?¡± Qiao Yiyi looked at him and continued, ¡°How did you treat me then?¡± Liang Liang choked. ¡°Traceless, I had no choice. And it was you who betrayed me first, you went back on your word.¡± ¡°So it seems we had to take different paths in life. Look at you now, aren¡¯t you here to catch me? A police officer and a thief will always be enemies.¡± Liang Liang immediately tried to exin, ¡°I¡¯m not, I¡¯m not here to¡ª¡± Before he could finish, they heard footsteps and men from the special forces immediately closed in around them. Traceless¡¯ pupils shrank back as she gave the man a mocking smile. ¡°I thought Police Officer Liang was here today for old times¡¯ sake, but it looks like I was wrong. But getting so many people to catch a small time thief like me, I should feel so honored!¡± By now, Liang Liang was in a panic and tried to exin, ¡°Traceless, I didn¡¯t- It wasn¡¯t me. I¡ª¡± Bai Anan¡¯s voice interrupted before he could finish, ¡°Brother Liang, we¡¯re here! Stop her, don¡¯t let her get away!¡± As she said this, the men closed in further. Chapter 1689 - Where is Traceless? (9)

Chapter 1689: Where is Traceless? (9)

Qiao Yiyi found these words funny. She looked at the men surrounding them and knew that there was no way she could escape. She looked at Liang Liang. Her heart froze. But she had already known it, hadn¡¯t she? When he led the men to attack and injure her, she had already known that it would end up like this What was wrong with her? Instead of running at the first sight of him, she had rather stood rooted to the ground. Why had she given him time to surround her with these men? She must have been crazy and delusional to have held any hopes about this man. She smirked and tightened her fists. Liang Liang was at a loss for words by now, trying hopelessly to exin, ¡°Traceless, no- I didn¡¯t.¡± Traceless smiled at him icily. ¡°You didn¡¯t? You¡¯re standing here to stop me, so don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re not here to capture me!¡± Liang Liang choked again and felt a little exasperated. ¡°You betrayed us first!¡± He wasn¡¯t sure why he was standing there. As a police officer, his duty was to take Traceless back with him, but he wasn¡¯t sure if he could do it. He stood there, motionless. Bai Anan was most ecstatic as she closed in on them. She knew that the only way for Liang Liang to give up on Traceless was to get rid of herpletely. Only then would Liang Liang forget this person. But Traceless was too smart and for thest half a year, she had moved from ce to ce so that they could not collect any evidence. This was their first meeting after half a year. The icy wind was blowing through her hair as the fine strands danced in the air. Even though surrounded by the men, the girl was not the least bit daunted. Being a thief was obviously shameful, but this girl, on the contrary, stood tall and bold, so it was quite impossible to despise her. She was like a princess of the night. It was as though she was the one taunting them. Bai Anan was all the more agitated by this. She was the daughter of the bureau chief and she had always been secretly in love with Liang Liang. Not that it was a very well hidden secret, for everyone at the police station knew it. But Liang Liang had always been indifferent towards and, on the contrary, had given all his attention and care to this girl thief. He had even gone to the extent of suggesting aloud in front of her father that this Traceless was a messenger of justice, that if she turned herself in, they should publicly announce her case and make her a special member of the police forces. How could that be possible? If Traceless made a public appearance or turned up at the police station, then what would she be? She would be a joke. Hence, in theirst mission... Bai Anan narrowed her vicious eyes upon recalling the past. It had been a long and difficult journey, it had taken so much effort to persuade Liang Liang to be her boyfriend. She was not going to let all of this be destroyed. Hence with a wave of her hand, she said, ¡°Make sure you capture her, dead or alive!¡± At this instruction, the special forces immediately pointed their sniper guns at Traceless. Bai Anan said aloud, ¡°Traceless, you¡¯d better ce your arms down and surrender. Otherwise, I can¡¯t guarantee your safety.¡± Liang Liang¡¯s eyes narrowed at once and his head snapped up to look at Traceless anxiously. ¡°Traceless, don¡¯t do anything rash. These are men from the special forces ande from specialized units. So please don¡¯t do anything rash! You¡¯re no match for them!¡± Don¡¯t do anything rash? Qiao Yiyi found this extremely funny and pathetic at the same time. Chapter 1690 - Where is Traceless? (10)

Chapter 1690: Where is Traceless? (10)

Liang Liang was so naive and funny. If she didn¡¯t fight him, did he really think that she was willing to be caught here and then spend the rest of her life in jail? Her lips curled upwards. She looked at Liang Liang and said, ¡°From what you know, what kind of person do you think I am?¡± Liang Liang was stunned. Then his heart was lifted instantly. Qiao Yiyi spoke slowly, her voice was cold in the dark,pletely emotionless. No one would have been able to hear her sadness and loneliness in that instant. ¡°I would rather die here while fighting than give in. I have said it before, I¡¯m someone who¡¯ll never give in! For your sake, I gave in once and that will be the only time in my whole life.¡± She was a thief and the thing that she had beencking the most since young was the sense of security. But she had been willing to try to trust a police officer. It really showed how much determination she had put in then. But in the end? Whenever she recalled the consequences she had had to suffer then, her heart would hurt so badly that she couldn¡¯t breathe. Her gaze turned cold and, after saying those words, she turned and tried to run away. At that moment, Bai Anan yelled, ¡°Open fire! Quick, open fire! Kill her!¡± With her words, the men from the special forces all raised their guns and fired at Traceless. Liang Liang shouted loudly, ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to shoot! Stop shooting!¡± But hismand was of no use at all. The special forces that Bai Anan had brought would obviously not listen to his orders. He got anxious and took a step forward, almost wanting to shield her from the bullets instinctively. Just at that moment, Traceless moved really fast, as if she was a spirit, and grabbed the rope that had dropped down. Like a spirit, she jumped up and into the Li family¡¯s house. Watching her escape right in front of her eyes, Bai Anan became anxious. She quickly rushed forward and said, ¡°Go chase her! Quick! I heard the sound of a bullet hitting flesh just now, she must be injured. Go, notify the Li family and catch her.¡± Bai Anan¡¯s face was calm and not anxious at all. Half a year ago, Traceless had gotten severely injured. If it wasn¡¯t because she hadn¡¯t fully recovered, she wouldn¡¯t have let them surround her. And she was once again injured. The Li family had all of its security up and ready to fight. Since she had gone back in, she had to be caught no matter what. As Bai Anan thought so, she instantly instructed the men from the special forces, ¡°Both of you, go to the back door of the Li family¡¯s house! Both of you, go to...¡± After she had given the instructions, she heaved a sigh of relief. But after that, she felt a cold gaze on her. She turned her head and saw that Liang Liang was staring at her with a freezing look. Bai Anan choked. She gulped and then said, ¡°Brother Liang¡ª¡± ¡°Why are you here? You followed me? Or have you been tracking me?!¡± Liang Liang¡¯s voice was sunken. He shot out ice cold res that could kill at her. Bai Anan became scared by his gaze but the next moment, she braced herself and said, ¡°Brother Liang, you have misunderstood me! I just wanted to help you and this is what the police chief instructed, I cannot go against it. I know that you can¡¯t bear to arrest her. When I asked them to shoot just now, I didn¡¯t want to kill her. It¡¯s just that at this point... Brother Liang, my father knows that you definitely can¡¯t be cruel to her. He said that the matter regarding Traceless had been dragged for too long, and he wants us to settle it by today.¡± This time, she just chose to bring up her father, so Liang Liang waspletely unable to retaliate. This was because Bai Anan¡¯s father was his direct superior. Chapter 1691 - Where On Earth Are You Touching?! (1)

Chapter 1691: Where On Earth Are You Touching?! (1)

Liang Liang stared at Bai Anan, speechless at that instant. Then he turned around and looked at the floor. On the floor was a puddle of blood and it was obvious that Traceless had been hit by the gunshots. The reason why she had been able to escape was due to her agility. But if she had been shot somewhere, her movements would definitely be affected. Thus, would Traceless really get caught tonight? But ording to her mindset of dying rather than being caught, she might fight the special forces with her life on the line. As he realized this, Liang Liang instantly turned without saying anything and rushed into the Li family¡¯s house. He left Bai Anan standing on the spot alone. She stomped her legs in anger after seeing Liang Liang¡¯s attitude. ¨C Qiao Yiyi was indeed hurt. If it had been half a year ago, she would have definitely been able to escape. But in thest half a year, she had gotten hurt and hadn¡¯t recoveredpletely. A bullet had shot into her left shoulder. She pressed hard on her injured shoulder, stopping the blood from flowing out and leaving evidence. Then she moved through the Li family¡¯s house. Her first n had failed and the second was definitely not workable either. Out of all the ns she had made along the way, only the fifth n was feasible. But... she was injured. The fifth n was to jump into the water and swim out. Her shoulder was injured and she would bepletely unable to swim for a long period of time. Thus, she had to give up this n as well. As Qiao Yiyi thought so, her gaze was looking straight into the distance. She didn¡¯t feel any fear and her eyes still shone with calmness. When she picked up this career, her mother had said that although it was really amazing, thieves always had to keep their brains active because of how dangerous it was. They never knew what kind of situations they would face when carrying out their missions. Thus, she had never been really scared of death. Furthermore, even in such a situation, she still had the confidence to escape. She might not be able to beat the special forces in a battle, but in terms of escaping, there was no one better than her in the world. Hence, it was alright. Even if that didn¡¯t work, there were still many alternative solutions. She didn¡¯t know what was wrong today, or if there was someone skilled nning in the dark, but all her ns no longer worked. Even thest method of escaping through the dog hole wasn¡¯t feasible, since there was someone watching outside. Qiao Yiyi felt that today was definitely her unlucky day. She took in a deep breath and looked around before running back to the garage of the Li family. As long as she could find a car, hide and leave in it, there would definitely be no problem. Just as she was sneaking into the garage, she suddenly saw a car approaching from the entrance. Qiao Yiyi moved to the side. As she hid there and looked, she realized that the car that had driven in was really familiar. It was Lu Nanze¡¯s car. Qiao Yiyi¡¯s irises swelled. She bit her lips and silently swore, ¡°Dang it!¡± She had already thought earlier that the security and preparation of the Li family didn¡¯t seem like something they had done themselves. And she was right, it had actually been Lu Nanze! Lu Nanze had definitely heard that she wasing here today and must havee here to obstruct her. Thus, all the protective measures today were a part of Lu Nanze¡¯s n. This person was really her inevitable enemy. Chapter 1692 - Where On Earth Are You

Chapter 1692: Where On Earth Are You Touching?! (2)

Qiao Yiyi was so angry that she couldn¡¯t help cursing. Then she watched Lu Nanze¡¯s car stop on the side. The driver opened the door and they both got out. The driver asked, ¡°Mr. Lu, are you still going home tonight?¡± Lu Nanze replied inly, ¡°Yes.¡± The driver asked again, ¡°What time?¡± ¡°We will leave after I take a look at the situation.¡± ¡°Roger.¡± As both of them spoke, they walked out and away from the garage. Qiao Yiyi stared in their direction and turned to look at her own wound. She was pressing on it with a lot of force to prevent the blood from oozing out. However, the whole area was already swollen, she wouldn¡¯t be able to stop the blood for long. If she really had to wait in the dark till tomorrow, not including the fact that some things could change at night unexpectedly, her injury would definitely get infected and pus would appear. And she would definitely fail to hide her identity from the Lu family if that happened. As she thought so, Qiao Yiyi frowned and her gaze fell on Lu Nanze¡¯s car. She tightened her fists and hesitated for a second before moving over really quickly. She then searched for a metal wire and meddled with the keyhole of the car until the trunk finally opened. Immediately, Qiao Yiyi hid in the trunk. It was indeed Lu Nanze¡¯s car, even the trunk was extremely clean. And now, the only thing Qiao Yiyi could do was to continue pressing on her wound, to stop the smell of blood from spreading and raising Lu Nanze¡¯s suspicions. As long as Lu Nanze was willing to return home, she would be able to go home just by jumping out of the car. As she thought so, Qiao Yiyi couldn¡¯t help curving her lips. If everything progressed smoothly, she would sessfullyplete her task today. And Lu Nanze would definitely not think that his weak wife was Traceless. Qiao Yiyi closed her eyes and hid in the darkness quietly. She didn¡¯t know how much time passed before she finally heard footsteps outside. Senior Master Li had personally apanied Lu Nanze to the door and said, ¡°Mr. Lu, I¡¯m really sorry you had toe here personally for such a small matter.¡± Lu Nanze lowered his eyelids and kept silent. Then he looked up at Senior Master Li and said mockingly, ¡°Since your gem came from an unknown source, it¡¯s also ok if you lose it.¡± Senior Master Li was shocked and speechless. Lu Nanze lowered his eyes and continued while walking out. ¡°I¡¯m really sad that we failed to apprehend Traceless. Today was a wasted trip, but I think you should let the police look around to check.¡± Senior Master Li instantly nodded and spoke angrily, ¡°That thief is so evil! The police are also useless, they can¡¯t even catch a thief after so many years. We, themon people, are suffering too!¡± Lu Nanze broke out inughter. Senior Master Li instantly kept silent after hearing hisughter. Lu Nanze then looked at him and said, ¡°You should go back, you don¡¯t have to apany me anymore. If this gets leaked, it wouldn¡¯t be nice either. It¡¯s alright if people say that you¡¯re frivolous, but it would be bad if people say that I don¡¯t respect the old.¡± He mocked Senior Master Li for sucking up to him and walked to the car. Qiao Yiyi held her breath and stared outside. She saw the door open and the driver as well as Lu Nanze enter. Then the car drove away slowly. Chapter 1693 - Where On Earth Are You Touching?! (3)

Chapter 1693: Where On Earth Are You Touching?! (3)

As long as the car had not left the Li family¡¯s homepound, Qiao Yiyi was not going to rx. She was extremely focused and more anxious now than she had ever been. If she were to get caught this time, it would be the end of her. She narrowed her eyes at these thoughts. The Li family¡¯s vi wasn¡¯t consideredrge, hence it didn¡¯t take long before the car came to the main gate. The security officer opened the gate and the car rolled out slowly. As Qiao Yiyi was about to rx, seeing that they were close to exiting, Bai Anan suddenly yelled, ¡°Hang on!¡± Qiao Yiyi¡¯s heart was in her throat. She took a deep breath as she heard Bai Anan¡¯s footsteps approaching the trunk. Following this, the policewoman said, ¡°Mr. Lu, Traceless is extremely cunning. We are cutting off all traffic to and from the Lu family home now. I need to search your car.¡± Qiao Yiyi cursed silently at once when she heard this. Bai Anan was hell-bent on capturing her. Otherwise, how would she hgve even dared to stop Lu Nanze¡¯s car? At this thought, the driver said, ¡°Police Officer, perhaps you are not aware of whom our mister is?¡± Bai Anan immediately cast her gaze down and said, ¡°Of course I know, but it is every citizen¡¯s duty to cooperate with the police, isn¡¯t it, Mr. Lu?¡± Qiao Yiyi tightened her fists unconsciously. This was too disgusting. Bai Anan smiled and continued to exin, ¡°Tonight Traceless got injured. It seems her arm might be injured, so it isn¡¯t possible for her to have attached herself beneath the vehicle. But if she were in your car, then she could very well be hiding in the trunk. Mr. Lu, would you mind me taking a look?¡± Qiao Yiyi prayed silently at once, ¡°Please say you mind it. Please mind it. Don¡¯t let her check the trunk!¡± Unexpectedly, as this thought struck, Lu Nanze said, ¡°I don¡¯t mind.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... Has your arrogant attitude gone on holiday, Mr. Lu? The man who always has to have thest say in Suzhou, wouldn¡¯t it ruin your reputation if word got out the next day that your car has been searched by the police? She was livid. Everything had gone wrong today. But.... The next moment, her eyes shed sharply. If Bai Anan opened the trunk, then it may leave her no choice but to die taking Bai Anan to the grave with her. Hadn¡¯t Liang Liang betrayed her for Bai Anan? Well then, she would kill his lover and let him live in regret for the rest of his life. At this thought, the look in Qiao Yiyi¡¯s eyes sharpened and she drew out a steel wire from her hair. The moment Bai Anan opened the trunk, she would pierce her neck with this steel wire. She held her breath and stared intently at the trunk¡¯s door, anticipating Bai Anan. However unexpectedly, perhaps because Bai Anan knew what she was thinking, she took two steps back and said, ¡°The two of you, check the trunk.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... So Bai Anan was afraid! She smirked. It looked like she might meet her death today in that trunk. But it was ok. With a slight sweep, she rolled the gemstone stolen from Senior Master Li under the seat of the car. Even if she were to be captured by these people and had to fight till dead, they would never find this gemstone. She would havepleted thest job of her life sessfully. As she contemted this, she heard Bai Anan saying, ¡°Mr. Lu, would you mind opening the trunk?¡± Chapter 1694 - Where On Earth Are You Touching?! (4)

Chapter 1694: Where On Earth Are You Touching?! (4)

Qiao Yiyi narrowed her eyes, preparing herself for the end. Just as she was expecting the trunk¡¯s door to swing open, Lu Nanze said in his deep and resonant voice, ¡°Of course I can cooperate with the investigation and open the trunk. Please let me have a look at your search warrant.¡± Everyone: ...!! Qiao Yiyi was stunned and almost dropped the steel wire that she had been holding tightly in her palm. Could this man not speak without keeping others in such great suspense?! Bai Anan was taken aback and stammered, ¡°Mr.- Mr. Lu, I¡¯m sure you are aw-abiding citizen. It¡¯s your duty to cooperate with our investigation, you¡ª¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m aw-abiding citizen, hence I¡¯m asking for a search warrant. Is that wrong? If there is no legal requirement to search my car, why should it be searched?¡± Lu Nanze by nature was an overbearing man, who also possessed a demonic sort of charm. Immediately, Bai Anan turned red. ¡°Or does Police Officer Bai think that I, Lu Nanze, is a fool who would let the police search my car as they fancy and whenever they want? If you wish to search, please show me a search warrant. A good citizen like myself will surely cooperate!¡± Bai Anan almost puked half of her blood at that remark. Lu Nanze, why did she never use a conventional approach? Livid, she took in a deep breath, stared at the man and said, ¡°Fine, will Mr. Lu please wait for a moment?¡± After this, she walked to the side and took out her cell to call her father. At the other end of the line, Bureau Chief Bai inquired, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Bai Anan said in a low voice, ¡°Dad, could you get me a car search warrant? An electronic copy would do.¡± The police chief nodded and said, ¡°Sure, the license te number of the car that you wish to search is... ?¡± Bai Anan turned around and looked at Lu Nanze¡¯s car license te. She repeated the number to her father. Immediately, the police chief replied, ¡°Uh huh, the car search warrant is just- Hang on, this is Lu Nanze¡¯s car?!¡± Bai Anan nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Anan, are you kidding?¡± Bai Anan paused and said, ¡°Dad?¡± ¡°You dare to search Mr. Lu¡¯s car? This is nonsense! Let the man pass!¡± Bai Anan panicked and retorted, ¡°But Dad, I¡ª¡± ¡°There is no but! I¡¯m giving you an order, let the man pass, right now! Immediately! Also,e back here at once!¡± Bai Anan: ...!! Bai Anan bit her lip and continued, ¡°Dad, Traceless may be hiding in his car. Can¡¯t you just issue the search warrant?¡± ¡°Traceless is not a retard, why would she hide in the car of this Lord of Hell?! Besides, even if she were hiding in his car, you can¡¯t search it! You¡¯d make him look bad if you did so, get that clear in your head!¡± Now Bai Anan was really anxious. ¡°Dad!¡± she cried. ¡°That¡¯s all. I¡¯m telling you, even if Traceless fell into Mr. Lu¡¯s hands, that¡¯s not bad either. She wouldn¡¯t be able to escape from him!¡± Bai Anan was speechless. Still biting her lip, she hung up and turned around. The window of the back seat rolled down slowly, showing Lu Nanze¡¯s annoyed face. He turned around, looked at the police officer and asked, ¡°Police Offices Bai, do you have the search warrant?¡± Upon hearing this, she turned pale and then blushed. Chapter 1695 - Where On Earth Are You Touching?! (5)

Chapter 1695: Where On Earth Are You Touching?! (5)

Bai Anan felt most resentful and said through gritted teeth, ¡°Of course we don¡¯t need to search Mr. Lu¡¯s car. I suppose Traceless wouldn¡¯t be as bold as to dare hide in your car. Please feel free to go.¡± Lu Nanze nodded and said, ¡°I guess it¡¯s Police Officer Bai who doesn¡¯t wish to search, and not me who refused to cooperate.¡± His words infuriated Bai Anan. She suppressed her anger with every effort she could muster as she watched Lu Nanze¡¯s car drive further and further away from the Lu family vi. Furious beyond words, she stared at the disappearing car for a while before she turned around and looked at the rest. ¡°Why are all of you standing there like idiots? Continue the search! Search every corner. We must find Traceless!¡± ¨C Qiao Yiyi would never find out about the chaos taking ce in the Li family home tonight. Right now, she was lying quietly in the trunk. The enveloping darkness finally gave her some space to rx a little. In the past, she had used to think that Lu Nanze was extremely annoying and overbearing, but unexpectedly tonight, especially a moment ago... what a dashing disy of a low emotional intelligence. She couldn¡¯t help but give a mocking smile. Then she wondered if she had lost too much blood to even be thinking well of that man. Lu Nanze had done it for his own ego, that was why he hadn¡¯t let Bai Anan search his car. These were the sort of privileges that made him different frommon people. As these thoughts crossed her mind, a faint fragrance suddenly filled the car and drifted into her nostril. She paused and sniffed the air. She instantly realized what it was. Hurriedly, she tried to hold her breath, but it was toote. She felt slightly giddy and her eyelids grew heavy. Eventually, unable to resist it any longer, she shut her eyes and passed out. Before she lost consciousness, she cursed silently, ¡°Lu Nanze, you evil ass*ole!! Although Lu Nanze sat in the backseat quietly looking ahead, his ears were listening closely to what was going on in the trunk. He lowered his gaze and waited till the sound of her breathing weakened. Then he was sure that his tranquilizing drug had worked. This sort of drug only worked on injured people. Once the chemical in the fragrance got in contact with blood, it would enter the bloodstream through the wound and cause the person to lose consciousness after that. It looked like Traceless was really injured. This would be interesting. With his gaze still lowered, he suddenly said, ¡°I¡¯m not going home. Drive me to the vi in the suburbs.¡± The driver was surprised, as he did not understand what was going on. He nodded. They arrived at the vi in the suburbs. Lu Nanze got out of the car and asked the driver to go home in another car. After the driver had left, he looked around to ensure there was no one. Then he opened the trunk. When he looked in, he saw a petite female figure lying face-down. She was very thin and tiny, like a high school girl. She was curled up into a ball. The man reached into the trunk and, with a heave, lifted her out. At first, he had thought he would have to drag her out, but he now realized how light she was. He was stunned. Only a very skinny person could be so light, right? Was she even 40 kilos? He lowered his head at that thought and looked at Traceless. His gaze fell on the mask. If he could only reach out now and take the mask off, he would be able to see who the real Traceless was. Chapter 1696 - Where On Earth Are You Touching?! (6)

Chapter 1696: Where On Earth Are You Touching?! (6)

However, this thought came and went in a sh. He twitched his lips in disdain. In this world, apart from Qiao Lian, no other woman could pique his interest, unfortunately. Carrying Traceless in his arms, he went into the living room. Upon switching the lights on, he saw that she was badly injured. Her shoulder was already badly swollen. It looked like she had tried to stop the blood from flowing out, since she had applied pressure deliberately. But if the contaminated blood did not leave her body, it would block the blood stream poorly. Traceless was quite brutal towards herself! At this thought, Lu Nanze tossed her on the sofa and went to take a shower. His intention was to wait for the girl to regain consciousness, so that he could have a chat with her. However after his shower, he realized that her wound was starting to fester. If it wasn¡¯t taken care of properly at once, she could very well lose her arm the next day. The man frowned. At once, he strode over and, with a look of disdain, lifted her off the sofa. Then he carried her to the bathroom. As she had been scaling walls and rolling into cars, her ck body suit was now covered in dust and dirt. If he were to tend to the wound in this state, it could get infected very easily, so she had to be washed first. Without hesitating, he swiftly removed her thin body suit and put her under the water. Qiao Yiyi was rudely brought back to consciousness by this sudden change. Her eyes fluttered as she was covered by a warm liquid. The moment she opened her eyes slowly and focused them, she realized she was lying in a bathtub. And the water in the bathtub had turned red from her wound. Qiao Yiyi was stunned. She raised her hands to grab the sides of the bathtub and jumped on her feet. Then, as though she had suddenly realized something else, she slowly turned around. Lu Nanze was standing there, staring at her steadily. Qiao Yiyi: ... She reacted rather slowly at first. She nced at him and then lowered her head to look at herself. She realized that she was stark naked. She raised her head and looked at the man again. She looked down at her own body once more. After doing this twice, the girl, whose reaction had been slowed down by the tranquilizing drug, finally snapped out of her drowsy state. She gave a piercing scream and squatted down, crouching in the water. ¡°You pervert, what are you doing here? What do you want from me?!¡± She had been in the trunk of the car before losing consciousness and yet upon waking up, she was stark naked. One couldn¡¯t me Traceless for being too imaginative. The fact was that Lu Nanze had not even touched her once after getting married. Because of Qiao Lian, he had never touched another woman. Could it be that the beast in him had just been waiting to break out now?! The bastard... Taking advantage of her when she was injured! Wait. She... At this thought, Qiao Yiyi immediately reached up to touch her face. The mask was in ce, fortunately. As these thoughts were shing quickly through her mind, she heard Lu Nanze burst outughing. ¡°What¡¯s there to appreciate in a shriveled bean figure like yours?!¡± Qiao Yiyi: ...!! Her head snapped up as she stared at Lu Nanze with her piercing eyes. ¡°Pervert, what did you just say?!¡± The man raised an eyebrow and replied, ¡°Am I wrong? Other women have two buns, but look at you, you have two dots!¡± Qiao Yiyi: ...!!! She looked down at the spot covered by her hands. Although she was not perfectly proportioned, it wasn¡¯t as bad as Lu Nanze made it out to be. Chapter 1697 - Where On Earth Are You Touching?! (7)

Chapter 1697: Where On Earth Are You Touching?! (7)

Argh, no! What was she thinking?! Qiao Yiyi immediately snapped out of her daze. She was infuriated and, ring at him angrily, shouted, ¡°Get out!¡± Without another word, he immediately turned around and walked out. He had no desire at all to stay for a bit longer. Qiao Yiyi: ... She was a girl, no matter what, but Lu Nanze never treated her like one. Anyway, since he had left, she could escape. Hence, Qiao Yiyi looked out and saw that she was on the second floor. There was no one keeping watch outside. It would be very easy to escape. At this thought, Qiao Yiyi got on her feet. As she prepared to make her escape, she realized that... Her body suit had been ripped apart. It was impossible for her to put it back on! And in that room, there was only a bathrobe. If she ran out of this ce in a bathrobe... They were out in the suburbs, in the middle of nowhere. Where was she going to buy clothes?! Then she understood why, when she had shouted at Lu Nanze to get out, he had done so without even looking worried that she would escape. So this was the reason. Lu Nanze, he simply thought of every detail. She had to give it to him. She sat back down into the bathtub and thought hard. As she was doing so, Lu Nanze said, ¡°If you don¡¯t do something about that wound now, it¡¯s going to get infected.¡± Upon hearing those words, Qiao Yiyi turned and looked at her shoulder. Right now, it was starting to feel a little numb. So in fact, just a moment ago, Lu Nanze had been trying to clean her wound. But it could have been washed just with running water, why had he thrown her into a bathtub? Wouldn¡¯t that make an infection more likely?! Qiao Yiyi silentlyughed at his decision. Then she turned on the shower head and ced the water stream on the wound. After she was done, she stepped out of the bathtub. She picked up the bathrobe and draped it over herself. Then she looked at the doorway. From what had happened today, she was quite sure Lu Nanze had known she had been hiding in the trunk, but he had taken her with him anyway. This told her that he probably wouldn¡¯t take her to the police station either. However, why did the man want to help her? Could it be that he had already guessed her identity? Wait... If he already knew her identity, he wouldn¡¯t have left the mask on her. In addition, he wouldn¡¯t have looked so calm. Rather, he would have looked shocked. Hence, there must be a reason why Lu Nanze had rescued her. These thoughts, on the contrary, calmed Qiao Yiyi down. She took a deep breath and looked into the mirror, trying to calm down. No matter what that man was going to tell her, she should keep herposure. This was the only way she could negotiate. On this note, Qiao Yiyi opened the bathroom door and walked out. The moment she stepped out, she saw the man sitting on the sofa. He looked at her and pointed to a seat. ¡°Take a seat.¡± She stood before the sofa. He took out a first aid kit and said, ¡°Since Bai Anan has got the city under martialw, we¡¯d be walking right into the tiger¡¯sir if I took you to the hospital. So I¡¯m the only one now who can help you get that bullet out. I¡¯ve just never done anything like this and don¡¯t know much about it. Would you dare let me have a go at this?¡± Upon hearing this, Qiao Yiyi frowned and said, ¡°She really sees me a threat!¡± Lu Nanze was surprised. Even in a moment like this, she was holding her head up high and did not feel the least embarrassed. He looked at Traceless and, for the first time, felt a semnce of admiration for this girl. Holding her gaze steadily, he said, ¡°Come here.¡± She conveniently sat down on the sofa. The next moment, the man tugged at her bathrobe and uncovered her shoulder. Then, her full naked body was exposed before him. Chapter 1698 - Where On Earth Are You Touching?! (8)

Chapter 1698: Where On Earth Are You Touching?! (8)

Qiao Yiyi was stunned by what he was doing. Unconsciously, she lifted her bathrobe. She was about to move when he pressed hisrge and warm hand against the cool skin of her shoulders. The sh of the heat and coolness caused Qiao Yiyi to stiffen. She turned reflexively and said, ¡°What are you doing?¡± The man nced at her, his expression full of sarcasm. ¡°Why? What did you think I was going to do?¡± Qiao Yiyi did not answer. Lu Nanze burst intoughter and said, ¡°First, I¡¯m no good at first aid. Your wound is sorge, how am I going to help you if you keep trying to cover yourself?¡± She frowned. That was a fairment. But being in front of a man like this was rather embarrassing. Qiao Yiyi bit her lip and did not utter a word, but turned her head to the side. After this, she could only feel that hand on her wound. Intense pain came suddenly, so she instantaneously stiffened. Antiseptic was applied. He cut open the wound further with a knife and then removed the bullet with forceps. This process took in total twenty minutes. Qiao Yiyi had turned pale with pain and beads of perspiration had formed on her forehead. She clenched her fist tightly and kept her eyes shut without making a noise. Lu Nanze had been fully focused when tending to the wound, hence he only saw her expression after he had dressed her wound. He was attracted to the sharpness and resilience that she bore in her expression. He recalled the moment he had removed the bullet... not even a fully grown man would have been able to endure it. But this woman, she had actually taken it all in her stride without uttering a sound. His admiration for Traceless grew. Furthermore oddly, Traceless, stark naked and in her silver mask, had a forbidden sort of beauty. He was tempted to remove her mask and uncover her face. As soon as this idea came into his head, Lu Nanze gave a derisive smile. What was wrong with him? Just a moment ago, he had had no desire to see her face but now he was curious. He shook his head and retreated a few steps. He noted that although she looked scrawny and lighter than most people, her body was well proportioned. It wasn¡¯t as though she resembled a starving African, she just had an exceptionally skinny frame. A woman like this, was she an adult? As soon as this thought struck him, he waspelled to ask, ¡°How old are you?¡± How old? When Qiao Yiyi heard this, she widened her eyes. They shed sharply. Was he insulting her t chest again? She looked at him and smiled icily. ¡°Mr. Lu, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s nice to be so focused on other people¡¯s chests?¡± Lu Nanze: ... He had only been thinking that this girl didn¡¯t look very old, and that was why he had asked. What was she thinking? The next moment, she got on her feet and slowly put the rob back on herself. With a calm expression, she said, ¡°Alright, so you¡¯ve rescued me and tended to my wound. Now tell me, is there anything you¡¯d like me to do?¡± She said this in a very business-like manner. Lu Nanze suddenly felt stupid when he noticed that she was distancing herself. He became serious too and sat down opposite her. Looking at her, he said, ¡°Don¡¯t you think you should reward me for having rescued you?¡± Chapter 1699 - Where On Earth Are You Touching?! (9)

Chapter 1699: Where On Earth Are You Touching?! (9)

Traceless raised an eyebrow upon hearing these words. ¡°What sort of reward?¡± Lu Nanze said after a long pause, ¡°Sign a contract. How about you work for me for three years?¡± Traceless narrowed her eyes and said without hesitating, ¡°No way.¡± Lu Nanze asked, ¡°Why? Do you think your life is not worth this?¡± He was obviously saying that to provoke her. Traceless said with a derisiveughter, ¡°Mr. Lu, I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d be this childish.¡± Lu Nanze snorted. She continued to say in a business-like manner, ¡°Although my life is valuable, my art is even more so! Since Iunched my career, I¡¯ve always stolen whatever I wanted sessfully. Hence, I can promise you one job.¡± Lu Nanze: ...!! After all the effort he had put in tonight and jumping through all those hoops, the oue was the promise of one job. Lu Nanze frowned and narrowed his eyes. He stared at the girl and remarked, ¡°Don¡¯t you think this is a bit cheap of you?¡± Tracelessughed icily and said, ¡°If Mr. Lu feels that it¡¯s not worth it, you can take me to the police station now!¡± Lu Nanze replied, ¡°It would be an embarrassment for me if I took you to the police station after rescuing you from the Li family vi. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re quite confident that I won¡¯t do that.¡± Traceless said, ¡°Mr. Lu is indeed an intelligent man.¡± Lu Nanze: ... This was probably the first time he felt this humiliated in front of a woman. He frowned and suddenly turned around. After a while, he returned with a blueprint in his hand and handed it to Traceless. She blinked and raised an eyebrow at once, asking, ¡°The Liu family?¡± The Liu family was an authentic powerful force of the underworld and had been growing quickly and consistently in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang region in recent years. This had been especially so after Lu Nanze hade clean. The Liu family had taken over the lead and had now made a name for themselves, so everyone avoided them like gue. Traceless gave out a frostyugh and said, ¡°Mr. Lu is indeed generous. You know, if I stole from the Liu family, I¡¯d be a wanted person at once in the underworld.¡± Lu Nanze spoke in an authoritative tone, ¡°All you have to do is steal, and I will protect you from then.¡± Traceless: ... He? Protect her? Would she, Traceless, even need it? When had she even been afraid of all these people? She only wanted to avoid trouble, hence she had never gone into direct confrontation with them. The Liu family was powerful in the world of organized crime, hence, the head of the Liu family also valued his own life. The surveince and security system in their property was even more advanced than the Lu family¡¯s. It was going to be a tall order to steal from them. And this would even be tougher because of her injuries. Traceless lowered her head and contemted this. Lu Nanze then said, ¡°If you take this job, we will no longer owe each other. How about it?¡± She ruminated on this proposal. Then she looked up and said, ¡°Done deal!¡± Traceless hated owing anyone any favors, and this job was tough enough of a favor for saving her life. On this note, she looked up and asked, ¡°What do you want me to steal?¡± Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes and said, ¡°A stick from a 1000-year-old ginseng.¡± Traceless: ... ¡°Can¡¯t you buy this from a ginseng seller? What is so special about the Liu family¡¯s ginseng?¡± Although 1000-year-old ginseng sticks were very valuable, it wasn¡¯t as though no one could afford them. Lu Nanze exined, ¡°There are too many fake ginseng sticks floating around on the market, however, 1000-year-old ginseng sticks are rare. The Liu family¡¯s ginseng is about the only one around that I can trust.¡± Traceless: ... She lost strength. She had met people who stole precious treasures, but not someone who stole medicinal herbs. Chapter 1700 - Where On Earth Are You Touching?! (10)

Chapter 1700: Where On Earth Are You Touching?! (10)

Furthermore, she had to get through all of their security features. Every step of the way was an obstruction, and all for a stick of 1000-year-old ginseng? Was someone in the Lu family sick? Did they really need that thousand year old ginseng? What was wrong with 100-year-old ginseng?! She rolled her eyes but eventually nodded and said, ¡°Fine.¡± As a qualified thief, it was normal to ept all kinds of unreasonable requests from the client. So she took it in her stride. Regardless, the one paying a high price for her professional services was not her, but the man. As she thought this, Lu Nanze got to his feet. He continued, ¡°The date is up to you, but preferably,plete the job within ten days.¡± Qiao Yiyi continued nodding. ¡°Ok.¡± He said, ¡°You may go now.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... She looked down at the robe she was wearing and lifted her gaze to give the man a look of disbelief. What was wrong with this guy? Was he expecting her to walk out in this bathrobe? She was speechless. Qiao Yiyi grimaced and then looked up at the man. ¡°Well then, if we¡¯ve settled scores, then shouldn¡¯t we also settle ounts?¡± Lu Nanze raised an eyebrow. ¡°What?¡± Qiao Yiyi replied, ¡°You¡¯ve ripped my body suit, shouldn¡¯t youpensate me with a new one?¡± Lu Nanze was immediately stunned. He looked at her and then realized what was going on. He was a little stumped and said, ¡°But I don¡¯t have any women¡¯s clothes at home.¡± Qiao Yiyi was stumped too. ¡°So now what do we do?¡± This was a long way from the city. If they went to the city to buy some clothes and came back here, it would take at least three hours. Furthermore, Lu Nanze could not let his assistant know about this. The more people knew about Traceless, the more risky it would be. So, what were they going to do now? Qiao Yiyi looked around. Women¡¯s clothes aside, she realized that there weren¡¯t even any decorations in the house. There were only a few pieces of simple furniture. She could imagine there wasn¡¯t any food in the fridge either. Qiao Yiyi twitched her mouth. Then she saw Lu Nanze going upstairs. After a while, he returned with a few pieces of clothes in his hand. She looked at them and realized they were his shirts. She widened her eyes as he held out the shirts to her. Qiao Yiyi: ... She wanted to say something, but looking at the man, she decided that he wasn¡¯t the sort that would be meticulous enough to drive for an hour into the city to buy her some clothes. She could only ept the shirts from him helplessly, put one on, and take her ripped ck body suit from him. The man asked, ¡°The suit is in shreds. Are you going to keep it?¡± Qiao Yiyi red at him and said, ¡°Do you think I¡¯d leave it here and let you keep it as evidence?¡± The man was stumped. Then he noticed that Qiao Yiyi looked as though she had just remembered something. She took out a white towel and went into all the rooms of the house that she had been in. She quickly tidied up the rooms. In no time, they were back to their original state. Lu Nanze stared in wide-eyed amazement. This was a rare talent. It was no wonder they could never find any evidence of her presence. It looked like it was going to be a challenge trying to prove that Traceless had been there. Even the fingerprints had been wiped off. The man narrowed his eyes at her speed and meticulousness. Furthermore, Traceless was so tiny, but her skin was rmingly pale. Wearing his shirt, with hernky and straight legs exposed, it did somewhat stir his imagination. Chapter 1701 - Where On Earth Are You Touching?! (11)

Chapter 1701: Where On Earth Are You Touching?! (11)

There was a sort of sensuality in the forbidden pleasure which she represented. His throat tightened. He turned his head immediately and frowned at himself. What was wrong with him today? Around this moment, Qiao Yiyi finished with tidying up the rooms. She looked at the man and asked, ¡°May I go now?¡± Lu Nanze nodded. He walked to the door as Qiao Yiyi followed him. Then she went to the car that had brought her here. However, Lu Nanze said, ¡°We¡¯re taking this other car.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... She turned around and saw that Lu Nanze had taken a sports car out of the garage. Who was he trying to impress, driving a sports car in the middle of the night? She silentlyughed at the man but said aloud, ¡°I think it¡¯s better to take this one.¡± Brother, please, can¡¯t we just take this car? My gemstone is still in it! If she didn¡¯t take it out of the car, how was she going to give back the object andplete her job? But of course, she couldn¡¯t say this aloud. Lu Nanze did not utter another word and obstinately got into his sports car. He turned around and looked at her. Qiao Yiyi: ... Qiao Yiyi looked around and made a mental note of the ce. Nevermind, at worst she would have to return another time to retrieve the gemstone. She walked to his car and got in. Cruising along in the sports car, Lu Nanze drove away from the suburbs. He asked her suddenly, ¡°Where are you going?¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... She had thought that the man would just find a spot to dump her, but now he was asking her where she was heading? Was this really Lu Nanze? Surely, she was imagining things. But Qiao Yiyi immediately said, ¡°To the city, just anywhere.¡± Lu Nanze: ... He didn¡¯t know what was wrong with himself. But when he looked at her frail figure, he felt that she needed to be protected. Yet he had forgotten that this skinny girl was not just anyone¡ªshe was Traceless. She had a strong and resilient spirit and body. He fell silent and didn¡¯t speak another word. The two of them arrived at the city very shortly. Qiao Yiyi pointed to a spot, indicating Lu Nanze to halt there. He pulled the car to a stop and watched as Qiao Yiyi opened the door to leave. He called her as a reflex reaction, ¡°Hey.¡± She turned around and looked at him with a puzzled expression. Although she was wearing a mask, her eyes were shing like bright stars. She had a graceful bearing that made herpletely different from Qiao Lian. Lu Nanze was slightly entranced. Then he turned around to avoid her eyes. He opened his mouth, but suddenly was at a loss for words. He couldn¡¯t even figure out why he had called her in the first ce. But in an obvious misunderstanding, Traceless replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Mr. Lu, I will get you your 1000-year- old ginseng in five days.¡± He paused for a moment and nodded. ¡°Just be careful, stay safe.¡± ¡°Uh huh.¡± Qiao Yiyi nodded. Then she jumped out of the car and shut the door, again with no trace of hesitation or longing. She strode away. She was fast, almost suddenly melting into the dark night. Lu Nanze looked away from the disappearing figure. He loosened his neck-tie, suddenly feeling that perhaps, given how oddly he had been acting tonight, it was time for him to look for a woman. At this thought, he shook his head, started the car and drove home. Upon reaching the house, he went upstairs. When passed by Qiao Yiyi¡¯s bedroom, he suddenly had a strange urge and pushed the door open. He walked into the room. Chapter 1702 - Where On Earth Are You Touching?! (12)

Chapter 1702: Where On Earth Are You Touching?! (12)

He had no idea why he had walked into the room, but when he saw the empty bed and room, he was surprised. Qiao Yiyi wasn¡¯t home? Where could she be at this hour? He frowned and walked further into the room. Suddenly, he heard a movement outside the window. He turned around instantaneously. Without turning the lights on, he walked over to the window. But in the process, he tripped over the leg of a chair in the middle of the room, making a dull thud. The sound outside stopped at once. In a sh of realization, he quickened his steps towards the window. He discovered that the window was unlocked, making it easy for a thief to break in. Frowning, he looked outside the window, but below was a patch of darkness. It was difficult to make out anything. He eximed with an expression of intense focus on his face, ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± Silence. He frowned and turned around. Holding up his cell phone, he called the butler. The moment the butler picked up the call, Lu Nanze asked, ¡°When did Madam leave the house?¡± The butler sounded surprised, ¡°Madam has been in her room all this time!¡± Lu Nanze gave an icyugh and replied, ¡°In her room? Why don¡¯t I see her in her room?¡± The butler was stumped and answered, ¡°But none of us saw Madam going out.¡± Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes and demanded, ¡°You didn¡¯t see her? So she put on wings and flew away?!¡± As he was saying this, he suddenly heard a noiseing from the bathroom. Lu Nanze paused and turned around to look in that direction. He hurried over with two quick steps and threw open the bathroom door. The sight of Qiao Yiyi, standing there with a terrified expression, greeted him. Her dry, brown hair, timid expression and trembling body. Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you?¡± She stared at him, with her arms crossed around her own shoulders, as though she was an abused underaged girl. With widened eyes, she asked, ¡°What- what were you doing in my room in the middle of the night?¡± She looked guarded and this made Lu Nanze twitch his lips. What did she think he was up to?! He felt nothing looking at her body. He frowned, but then he heard the butler saying through the phone, ¡°Madam has disappeared? Would you like me to get people to look for her? I¡¯m trying to gather some people now¡ª¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need to,¡± Lu Nanze answered in a monotonous tone before he hung up. After this, he nced at her and added with a snort, ¡°Can¡¯t you be a little braver?¡± She bit her lip, continued to stare at him and said, ¡°I- I-¡± She stammered for a long time and eventually fell silent. He frowned and turned to leave. In fact, he honestly didn¡¯t want to stay a second longer than he needed to. He despised this woman. He had even started to wonder why he had picked her for a wife. He had entirely forgotten the reason for choosing her at the time, which had exactly been because she was timid and obedient. After checking that Lu Nanze had left, she rxed the hand that was on her shoulder and sighed in silent relief. That had been too risky. She had heard the man when she had been trying to climb up the window. It was fortunate that the bathroom window was not too far away, otherwise, she would surely have been busted. However after entering through the bathroom, all she had to wear was a sleeping gown that was slightly off-the-shoulder. There was a bandage on her shoulder and, if that had been visible, she would have been busted too. Chapter 1703 - Where On Earth Are You Touching?! (13)

Chapter 1703: Where On Earth Are You Touching?! (13)

Hence, she had had no option but to act frightened. She waited till the man had left and, once she was quite sure he wasn¡¯t going toe back, she dashed to her bedroom and changed into a thicker dress. The night¡¯s events had been exhausting and, on top of that, she had lost blood, so Qiao Yiyi fell asleep the moment she got into bed. In her sleep, she felt as though she had returned to the past. She was on top of a high-rise building in her ck bodysuit, looking at the unfamiliar and yet terrifying Liang Liang. She narrowed her eyes, feeling thoroughly alone and deste. The night wind whistled around her as her hair floated and danced. Although the mask hid her face, it could not hide the injuries on her body. She stared at the man and asked after a moment, ¡°Have you never liked me?¡± Her pitiful voice was lost in the wind. Liang Liang stood at a distance and could not hear what she was saying. He only stared at her angrily. She was feeling a crushing pain in her heart, it was so painful she could hardly breathe. She took a deep breath, and then saw Bai Anan charging at her with the special forces. ¡°She¡¯s there! Hurry, hurry up, and capture her!¡± Upon hearing these words, Qiao Yiyi smirked and dashed towards Bai Anan. She locked the woman¡¯s shoulder in one swift movement and raised a dagger to her neck, saying, ¡°If any of youes a step closer, I will kill her!¡± ¡± Liang Liang hollered angrily, ¡°Traceless, how can you still be so unrepentant?! Let her go!¡± Let her go. Let her go and after that, let them corner her? Qiao Yiyi gave a mocking smile and continued to stare at them. At this point, Liang Liang suddenly struck. Qiao Yiyi tried to dodge his attack but unexpectedly, Bai Anan suddenly shoved her forcefully. Ignoring her own safety, she pushed Qiao Yiyi with great strength. Qiao Yiyi lunged at Liang Liang. At the same time, Bai Anan shouted, ¡°Brother Liang, be careful!¡± With this cry, she dashed forward. Qiao Yiyi was confused by the sudden change and reached out to grab Bai Anan, attempting to hold her hostage again. However unexpectedly, Liang Liang took her wrist and gave her a hard shove. Livid, she charged forward, seeing that she only needed to extend her hand to deliver a serious blow to Liang Liang. But when the de of her dagger was on the verge of making contact with the man, she suddenly drew back. She hesitated for a fraction of a second and this gave Liang Liang the window of opportunity to turn around, extend a hand for counterbnce and raise his leg to kick her chest mercilessly. She widened her eyes in horror and stared at him in disbelief. She was lifted off the ground from the impact and flew backwards briefly. In that moment, she felt as though she was a falling leaf. Her body moved to the edge of the high-rise building. If she fell down, all of her bones would be shattered. An odd feeling of immense sorrow and fear pulsated through her, as the pain in her heart consumed her entirely. And right there and then... Bam. Qiao Yiyi fell on the floor. She jumped to her feet immediately, taking in big gasps of air, looking straight ahead with a shocked expression. She had dreamed about the past again. But this time she hadn¡¯t fallen off a tall building, but on the floor from her bed. Although the floor was soft, the crushing blow to her heart had been brutal. She took a deep breath and realized that it was daybreak. As she stood there, feeling a little lost, there was a knock on the there followed by the butler¡¯s voice. ¡°Madam, Police Officer Liang is here. He has asked to see you.¡± Chapter 1704 - Where On Earth Are You Touching?! (14)

Chapter 1704: Where On Earth Are You Touching?! (14)

Qiao Yiyi froze for a second and her heart missed a beat. Why was Liang Liang looking for her? Why was Liang Liang looking for her? She frowned and grew uneasy. Could he have discovered her identity? But that was highly unlikely. After all, it was dark at night and he couldn¡¯t have seen her. Yet she couldn¡¯t think of a reason why he woulde to look for her. Hence, she lowered her head and thought that, since he was there, then she would just make the best out of the situation. If she had no idea, the least she could do was to find out what was going on. She calmed herself down at this thought and stood up to follow the butler. When she arrived downstairs, she saw Liang Liang sitting on the sofa looking at her. Lu Nanze, on the other hand, had perhaps gone to work and was not home. At this point, there were only the two of them in the living room. The butler took Qiao Yiyi to the guest and retreated afterwards. In any case, his master didn¡¯t care about Madam too much, so the butler himself wouldn¡¯t bother either. One of the housekeepers served two cups of tea and went back to the kitchen. Qiao Yiyi put on a restrained look and slowly walked up to Liang Liang. She stammered, ¡°Police Officer Liang, how- how can I help you?¡± Liang Liang looked up and stared steadily at Qiao Yiyi with his piercing eyes. He asked, ¡°Does Madam Lu really not know why I¡¯m looking for you?¡± That tone... it was as though he was extremely certain. However, Qiao Yiyi knew this man very well. If he had evidence, he wouldn¡¯t havee looking for her. Instead, he would havee to handcuff her. Hence now, he was just trying to bust her. At this thought, she lowered her head and started, ¡°I- I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Well then, I would like to remind you that I¡¯m here because of the matter with Traceless.¡± Traceless? Qiao Yiyi¡¯s eyes shed as she tightened her fists. Because she had straightened her arms, the movement pulled her wound and she felt a wave of pain. But she looked at Liang Liang straight in his eyes and shook her head innocently, saying, ¡°I really do not know. Who is Traceless?¡± ¡°Madam Lu, you are good at pretending. While I think it may be possible that other people might not know who Traceless is, how could you not? After all...¡± He rose to his feet suddenly and stared right into her eyes. He looked as though he was certain of something. Qiao Yiyi¡¯s pupils shrank back. She was prepared, the moment he said those words, she would start to run. She even had an escape route already nned in her head. But unexpectedly, the next moment, the man said, ¡°After all, you¡¯vee into contact with her.¡± She sighed silently in relief. Hade into contact. That meant that he didn¡¯t know she was Traceless. She lowered her head immediately to calm herself down. She raised her head again and seemed to be at a loss. She replied to Liang Liang, ¡°Police Officer Liang, I really don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about. Who is Traceless?¡± He stared at the timid woman standing before him. He couldn¡¯t say she was really timid. Oddly, there was something about her that told him she wasn¡¯t as weak as she looked. But he could tell she was intelligent. Her eyes were like a rabbit¡¯s, glistening in a way that made people feel sorry for her. Liang Liang felt that he had finally met his match. After all, Traceless had stolen Lu Nanze¡¯s bracelet¡ªand the only people who had a good reason to hire Traceless to do this were Madam Lu and Shen Liangchual. Chapter 1705 - Where On Earth Are You Touching?! (15)

Chapter 1705: Where On Earth Are You Touching?! (15)

He could almost rule out Best Actor Shen, because he had already secretly investigated Best Actor Shen. The man couldn¡¯t have had any contact with Traceless. Hence now, the only person who could have had such contact with Traceless and would hire Traceless to steal such a worthless bracelet was Madam Lu. Liang Liang looked at her intensely, certain that she was the one who had done it. But unfortunately, he had no evidence and the woman standing before him looked as though she would burst into tears any time. Hence, he really did not know what to say next. He simply softened his tone. ¡°Madam Lu, I¡¯m not targeting you. I can guarantee that if you can provide me with information about Traceless, you will remain unharmed. I can also keep it from Lu Nanze, how about that?¡± The moment he said that, Qiao Yiyi looked up, her eyes timid like a rabbit¡¯s as she stared back at him and asked, ¡°Really?¡± Liang Liang: ... So Qiao Yiyi was terrified because of Lu Nanze? He spoke as though he was abducting an innocent victim, ¡°Really. As long as you tell me the truth, I will keep it from Lu Nanze, ok?¡± Qiao Yiyi bit her lip at once and then shook her head. Liang Liang was taken aback and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± She looked at him and did not say anything. He persisted. ¡°Traceless is a frequent offender and hasmitted many crimes. This person is dangerous. If you have had any sort of contact with her and she knows you, she could very well bring you trouble in the future. I¡¯m telling you, I¡¯ll help you capture her. Then she¡¯ll never try to harass you again!¡± Upon hearing these words, she felt a sharp pain in her heart, as though someone had pierced it brutally with a needle. She tightened her fists and lowered her head. All this time, in his mind, she had been nothing but a thief. A dangerous person. Ha! This was ironicallyughable. To think that she had once seen him as a ray of light in her life. She had thought that they would have a happy ending. Her expression turned cold at these thoughts. Her heart was numb with pain. ¡°Madam Lu?¡± Liang Liang¡¯s voice caused her to snap back to the present. She looked up, stared at the man and said with certainty, ¡°She is a good person!¡± She might have said that in her defense, she might have said that as an attempt to convince him. But the moment she yelled this, she feltpelled tough. A good person? How could she use those words to describe herself? She was a hated thief, a professional criminal who rendered the police helpless, a thief who walked between the world of light and the shadows. She was all that, but she wasn¡¯t a good person. From the time she had taken up her first job as a thief, she had ceased to be a good person. But now, all of this meant nothing to her. Qiao Yiyi hung her head at this thought. After a short pause, Liang Liang replied, ¡°Yes, she is a good person. So you have to tell me where she is now, because she¡¯s in danger. It¡¯s true, I¡¯m not trying to rm you. Please just tell me where she is.¡± Qiao Yiyi lifted her head and looked at him. Since he wanted to know, she didn¡¯t mind creating some obstacles for him. At this thought, she said after a long pause, ¡°Alright.¡± Liang Liang immediately grabbed her by her shoulders and asked, ¡°Where is she?¡± Chapter 1706 - Where On Earth Are You Touching?! (16)

Chapter 1706: Where On Earth Are You Touching?! (16)

Qiao Yiyi was at a loss for words when she saw how hungry he was for the information. Biting her lip, she looked at him and said after a pause, ¡°She¡¯s in Hangzhou.¡± Liang Liang was stunned. ¡°Hangzhou?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I met her online. Because I didn¡¯t have much money, I tried to- That bracelet was all that Mr. Lu cared about, he never looked at me in the eye. I just couldn¡¯t take it anymore.¡± Liang Liang looked at her as she lowered her head. His heart softened when he saw how sad she seemed. Oddly, the normally cold-hearted man had a thought as he stared at the woman. This woman standing before him had such an uncanny resemnce to Traceless. Both of them were petite. Except that Traceless always held her head up high, making her look perpetually insufferable and haughty. Whereas Qiao Yiyi was so weak and timid that one feltpelled to protect her. If only... He was merely wondering that if only... If only Traceless wasn¡¯t this headstrong, if only she was slightly gentler and a little morepromising towards him, would things have been different? When this thought struck him, he suddenly liked and felt sympathetic for Qiao Yiyi. He knew how ruthless a person Lu Nanze was. He could almost imagine how difficult and sad things were for Qiao Yiyi. He almost reached out to pat her head, but his hand froze in mid-air as he did so. He looked at the hand, surprised at his own actions. This was what he had used to do to Traceless. The moment he caught himself thinking this, he suddenly realized that he was behaving strangely today. He coughed slightly and tried tofort her, ¡°Don¡¯t be sad. No matter what, people have feelings. Give him some more time and he will realize how good you are.¡± His awkward way offorting her made her want tough out loud. Qiao Yiyi could not help but smile derisively. People have feelings? She had been with Liang Liang for over a year. But what had been the result? It was he who had pushed her into this abyss! Forcing her to leave home, so that she now had to remain under the guise of a timid woman¡ªa recement spouse for Lu Nanze. So his remark couldn¡¯t be more ironic. She nodded with an icy smile and said, ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± Liang Liang was about to say something more, he wanted to ask a few more questions about Traceless. But he looked at how clueless Qiao Yiyi seemed and decided not to persist. He even said, ¡°Where this matter is concerned, let¡¯s keep it between you and I and no one else. So do not let Lu Nanze know about it.¡± Otherwise, Lu Nanze could very well kill this timid woman. He wanted to say this. but decided that it might frighten her too much. Hence, he only threw her a nce before leaving. If Traceless were in Hangzhou, then he would need to track her down before Bai Anan did. She had already organized a special forces team to search for Traceless and, if thetter ended up in their hands, there was no doubt it would be the end of her. Liang Liang narrowed his eyes. Traceless had betrayed him, that was a fact. But even then he could not let her get hurt. If she had to go to jail to atone for her crimes, so be it, but she must not be killed by Bai Anan. That was right, he had wanted to help Traceless for this reason only. It could only be for this reason. Chapter 1707 - Where On Earth Are You Touching?! (17)

Chapter 1707: Where On Earth Are You Touching?! (17)

After Liang Liang left the house, Qiao Yiyi went back to her room and got back to bed to rest. She still felt weak from the blood loss. She had to get better within a few days. After all, by the fifth day, she had to steal that 1000-year-old ginseng. At this thought, she rested her head on her arms and stared at the ceiling. After a while, she finally fell asleep. The next time she woke up, it was because she heard a sound downstairs. She paused and heard the butler calling outside the door, ¡°Madam? Madam?¡± Qiao Yiyi paused and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± The butler said, ¡°Your father and brother are here, in the living room.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... Qiao Yiyi nodded. ¡°Alright,ing.¡± Having no choice, she got out of bed and went downstairs. When she went into the living room, she saw her father and Qiao Gang sitting on the sofa. Dad Qiao stood up when he saw Qiao Yiyi and asked her in a low voice, ¡°Mr. Lu is not home, is that right?¡± Qiao Yiyi nodded. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Dad Qiao sighed and said, ¡°We¡¯re still a little short on your brother¡¯s wedding gift to the Li family¡¯s third daughter. So we need your help to get the money.¡± Only a little short? For a 10 million cash gift? Qiao Yiyi asked, ¡°How much do you need?¡± ¡°Emmm, 8 million.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... So that was what he meant by a little short? She lowered her gaze and sighed. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of money.¡± Dad Qiao nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. That¡¯s what we would get if we sold our house, but we still need a roof over our heads, isn¡¯t it so? So, since you¡¯ve been with Mr. Lu for so long, do you think you can pay the difference for us? I¡¯m sure Mr. Lu gives you a lot of money.¡± Right after saying this, he looked at Qiao Yiyi and saw that her eyes were filled with tears. He was shocked and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Qiao Yiyi sobbed as she said, ¡°Dad, before I got married, you said Mr. Lu was a very special opportunity, a good person. But you have no idea, Mr. Lu hates me. I- I have no money. Mr. Lu has never given me a single cent.¡± After she said this, Qiao Gang sprang to his feet and said, ¡°What nonsense are you saying? As Madam Lu, any piece of jewelry you own would be worth a few million. What¡¯s the difficulty in giving me eight million? So now that you¡¯re married, you don¡¯t care about me?! You just don¡¯t want to give me the money, isn¡¯t that so?¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... Qiao Yiyi was utterly speechless. Firstly, Lu Nanze had never given her any money and that was a fact. Secondly, it was true that she herself had money, but that was her own money, why should she give it to Qiao Gang for his wedding?! Were the father and son from the Qiao family stupid or something? She couldn¡¯t help rolling her eyes at Qiao Gang. Unfortunately, Qiao Gang caught her doing this and this instantly infuriated him. He jumped to his feet and said, ¡°What was that look? What was that expression just now? Qiao Yiyi, I¡¯m warning you, don¡¯t you dare look down on me just because you¡¯ve married into high society!¡± As he said this, he walked forward. Agitated, he extended his hand and it fell onto Qiao Yiyi¡¯s injured shoulder roughly. Since Qiao Gang had done this with great force, her wound tore open. A great wave of pain washed over her and she turned pale immediately. She tilted her head to look and saw that the bandage on her shoulder had gotten damp. Her shirt was gradually soaked in dark red. Her pupils shrank back as she sprang to her feet. Right at this time, Lu Nanze¡¯s voice came from the front door, ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?!¡± Everyone turned instantaneously to see the man walking in. His gaze fell on Qiao Yiyi¡¯s shoulder. Chapter 1708 - Where On Earth Are You Touching?! (18)

Chapter 1708: Where On Earth Are You Touching?! (18)

Oh, damn. Qiao Yiyi cursed silently. She quickly looked down, trying to remain expressionless, even though the pain in her shoulder was quite unbearable. She stole a quick nce at her own shoulder. Fortunately, she was dressed in red today and, even if the blood were to seep through, it would just look like a patch of a different shade. If one wasn¡¯t paying attention, it would be hard to tell it was a blood stain. She clenched her jaw tightly. It was summer now and, on top of that, she had only managed to tend to her wound after some dy. Together with Lu Nanze¡¯s unprofessional stitching skills, the pain she was feeling from the gaping wound now was so intense she could not speak. She kept her head down and fell silent. When Qiao Gang saw Lu Nanze, he immediately withdrew his hand. Smiling sheepishly, he eximed, ¡°Mr. Lu, you¡¯re home!¡± Lu Nanze nodded. He threw the two men a few puzzled nces, but recalled how frightened Qiao Yiyi had seemed when she had found out he had gone into her room. Immediately, he kept his mouth shut. Without giving the other men another look, he went upstairs. Once he was upstairs, he threw a sidelong nce at the three of them again. He saw that Qiao Yiyi still had her head lowered, but she was pale from the nerves. It was stifling just watching her. What sort of wife had he taken for himself?! She was as timid as a mouse. Oh well, nevermind. It would be better to keep a distance from her from now on. ¨C At this point, Qiao Yiyi had turned pale from both the blood loss and the pain. She had no idea at all that Lu Nanze had already misunderstood her. The only thing on her mind right now was the blood seeping out of the wound, and the possibility of an infection if she didn¡¯t try to close it up quickly. And if that led to moreplications, then she would be in trouble. She bit her lip harshly, feeling the urgency to get rid of the two men standing before her. She was desperate to find a ce where she could close her wound in private. Seeing that Lu Nanze had walked past without acknowledging them, Qiao Gang looked at Qiao Yiyi and said after a pause, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Did you two have an argument?¡± Qiao Yiyi shook her head. Qiao Gang nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, I don¡¯t think you have the guts to argue with him. The eight million we were just talking about, are you going to lend them to us or not?¡± He spoke like he didn¡¯t care at all. If Qiao Yiyi didn¡¯t agree to give him the money, he was going to be there harassing her all day. On the other hand, her wound couldn¡¯t wait any longer. Qiao Yiyi narrowed her eyes. She had to promise them first. In any case, she was not going to give him the money, that was for sure. When dealing with dishonest people, one had to be even more dishonest with them. Given this, she nodded and looked up. With a frightened expression, she said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll- I¡¯ll help think of a solution.¡± Her words also sounded reticent. Think of a solution. But she was just the helpless Madam Lu, who was disliked by her husband, so what solution could she give them? However, Qiao Gang and Dad Qiao couldn¡¯t even conceive that this cowardly girl would ever dare to argue back and direct scornful remarks at them. Hence, the two of them nodded. Qiao Yiyi lifted her head and nced at the second floor. ¡°Well then, I- I- I won¡¯t invite you for dinner.¡± Upon hearing these words, the men rolled their eyes. Did she even have the right to invite someone to dinner in this household?! Dad Qiao understood her difficulties and nodded. He wanted to greet Lu Nanze, but the man had gone upstairs and wouldn¡¯te down. Given this, there was not much else Dad Qiao could do but leave with Qiao Gang. After they left, Qiao Yiyi sat in the living room for a short while. Chapter 1709 - Where On Earth Are You Touching?! (19)

Chapter 1709: Where On Earth Are You Touching?! (19)

She looked as though she had gotten into a problematic situation. Then she frowned, thinking deeply. Although Lu Nanze had been upstairs all this time, he had been observing the situation downstairs. When he heard Qiao Yiyi telling the men that she would help think of a solution, he had immediately burst outughing. This woman was truly cowardly to the extreme. She would even help a parent who behaved like this. Ha, that was just downright stupid andughable! He instructed the butler at once, ¡°Do not give her any money. I¡¯d like to see what sort of solution shees up with!¡± The butler nodded. He looked at Lu Nanze and seemed as though he wanted to speak, but fell silent again. Lu Nanze asked, ¡°What is it?¡± The butler started, ¡°Sir, the Qiao family are our inws after all, won¡¯t this make things awkward? Actually, it¡¯s not a bad thing to help the marriage with the Li family happen. At least that would put Madam¡¯s family in a better position and it would make you look better. After all, if her family seems too low, it would be embarrassing for you.¡± When Lu Nanze heard this, he let out a scornfulugh and said, ¡°Why would it embarrass me? A woman like that, what makes her worthy to be my wife?¡± The butler paused and realized what he meant after a moment. ¡°Sir, you meant that in the future¡ª¡± ¡°There is no future for this woman and I. So keep watch, I don¡¯t want to have anything to do with her.¡± The butler nodded and said, ¡°Roger.¡± Lu Nanze gave an icyugh and lowered his head. After a while, the butler returned and informed, ¡°Sir, Madam has gone out.¡± The man raised an eyebrow upon hearing this and replied, ¡°Alright.¡± He didn¡¯t care where she went and what she was doing. In any case, a woman like her had nothing to do with him, wasn¡¯t that right? ¨C Qiao Yiyi had pretended to be fretting over the eight million and going out to look for a solution. But no one knew that, after leaving the Lu family residence, she had quickly gone to a car park and driven away in her own sports car, spinning around the area. She was looking for a spot where she could tend to her wound privately and in peace. Liang Liang had warned that she was in danger. Hence, Bai Anan must be getting her people together to deal with her right now. It meant she could not go to any public hospital. As for private hospitals, she believed that the police were keeping a lookout as well. She recalled that one time she came to Suzhou, Number 2 had suggested buying a vi for her so that she could live morefortably. However, she had rejected this idea at the time. Because buying a vi would attract unwanted attention. So it was better to not own a house. But now, she realized that it would have been perfect to have a ce to call her own. At least, she wouldn¡¯t be so lost to the point that she didn¡¯t know where to go to tend to her wound. After all, the things she needed for this job were not things that could be found in a normal room. A normal room? Indeed, which ordinary household would have all those things? Only Lu Nanze would. Because he also had a criminal background. Lu Nanze! The vi! Qiao Yiyi¡¯s eyes lit up suddenly. There was no one staying at the vi, that would work well for her. Qiao Yiyi turned the car around and sped towards the vi. Even if she didn¡¯t have the keys, as an expert thief, she had never had any problems essing any property. Hence, it was without the slightest trace of guilt that she now sat in Lu Nanze¡¯s living room with the man¡¯s medical kit and tools in her hands. Chapter 1710 - Where On Earth Are You Touching?! (20)

Chapter 1710: Where On Earth Are You Touching?! (20)

Qiao Yiyi opened up the first-aid kit and took off her top. She walked to the mirror in the bathroom and took a look at the wound. As expected, the wound had started to fester. It was necessary to disinfect and sew it up again. She stood in front of the mirror and thought about it again. Eventually, she gritted her teeth and picked up the antiseptic solution. Lu Nanze had everything here except anesthesia, hence she had to bear with the pain. When the antiseptic came into contact with her wound, the pain was searing and unbearable. She broke out in a cold sweat and turned as pale as a sheet. She picked up a towel and bit hard on it, bearing the immense pain as she tore open the wound with a trembling hand. She disinfected it, sewed it up and covered it with a medicated ointment. After doing all of these things, Qiao Yiyi didn¡¯t have much strength left and felt as though her legs were about to give way. She looked at herself in the mirror, her vision darkening and her head spinning. She stood up and thought about resting on Lu Nanze¡¯s sofa, however after taking two steps, a dark curtain fell over her. As she passed out, she fell on the carpet beneath her feet. She was unconscious for an unknown period of time and, eventually, there was the sound of keys opening the door. The door swung open and Lu Nanze strode in. With his head lowered, he walked in and all of a sudden looked at the sofa as he seemingly noticed something. The first-aid kit had been moved. He frowned and looked around. Traceless¡¯ operations had always been perfect. Thest time he had observed her, she had covered her tracks immactely. But today, why had the room been left considerably messy? As this thought came to him, he took a few steps forward. Then he looked down again as though he had realized something. At once, he saw that a half-naked woman had fallen unconscious on the floor. The wound on her shoulder had been freshly re-stitched. The stitch line was crooked, as though she had done the stitching herself? Lu Nanze¡¯s pupils shrank back at this thought. He looked at the unconscious woman with amazement. Traceless¡¯ wound had to be managed for sure. He had taken her to the vi precisely because he had a first-aid kit here. There were no other ces that she could go to in Suzhou, so the only ce where she could continue to tend to her wound was his vi. Hence the moment he heard that Qiao Yiyi had gone out, he had driven over here. He had thought that he could intercept Traceless and help her dress her wound, but he hadn¡¯t thought that she would have done all that by herself. It looked like she had also stitched herself. The man was stunned. He stared at the figure on the floor. It was obvious she had passed out from the blood loss. For the first time, he was full of admiration for this woman. He took a few steps forward until he was next to her. He bent down to lift the woman with both his arms. She was very light. But today, he did this more gently than the night before. He carried Traceless to the bedroom and lightly ced her on the bed. Then he covered her with a nket. After this, he stepped back and looked at the woman. Who would have thought that a tiny woman with such a frail figure would do something as crazy as stitching herself up?! At this thought, he sat down on the sofa in the bedroom and quietly watched the woman on the bed. His gaze fell on the mask on her face. He wondered what sort of face that mask was hiding beneath. Chapter 1711 - She Is Actually Rather Adorable (1)

Chapter 1711: She Is Actually Rather Adorable (1)

As Lu Nanze wondered, the woman on the bed stirred. She appeared restless, with anxiety and fear, as though she was having a bad dream. ¡°Liang Liang! I hate you!¡± She suddenly cried out. When Lu Nanze heard this, he felt an odd pain in his heart. He stared at the woman on the bed. When awake, Traceless was perpetually aloof and aggressively pushy. But the Traceless at this very moment was like a jilted young girl, filled with grief. As this thought came to him, Lu Nanze got to his feet. Traceless suddenly extended her hands, iling them in the air, and cried, ¡°No! Mom! No!¡± She seemed to be trying to grab something, but catching only the air between her fingers. She became sorrowful at once, sobbing like a child. Seeing such a situation, he waspelled to step forward and take her hand. Unexpectedly, the next moment, her hand grabbed his instead as she eximed, ¡°Mom, Mom, don¡¯t leave me.¡± Lu Nanze: ... Her soft whining easily melted his heart. The normally hard-hearted man now stood there, showing no sign of objection as she held his hand. Meanwhile, Traceless began to calm down since she finally had found something to hold on to. As they held each other¡¯s hand, Lu Nanze realized that her small hand, which was tightly clutching his, although soft as if boneless, had an impressively strong grip. Not surprising really, for thieves relied on having a rapid pair of hands. And Traceless¡¯ hands were, surely, all the more valuable. As this thought struck him, he found himself looking down to carefully examine her hands. Perhaps it had to do with her training. Although her fingers were fine and slender, it was very obvious that her little finger was somewhat unique¡ªit seemed unusually long. All her fingers were long and delicately pretty. However on the surface, there were some light calluses. This set her distinctly apart from the pampered girls of rich families who had never done any household chores. Lu Nanze continued to analyze her. Although she had a frail frame, it was well proportioned. It probably wasn¡¯t gics, but rather than the training she had gone through to sharpen her reflexes. Hence naturally, her body must have stopped growing at some point. Even among women, Traceless was not tall. She was extremely petite. As Lu Nanze contemted this, Traceless took his hand and put it against her own face. Then, rubbing his hand against her masked face, she murmured, ¡°Mom, your hand, it¡¯s so cold.¡± Lu Nanze: ... Her mask sat firmly against her face. It wasn¡¯t the sort of mask that could be easily removed. Lu Nanze thought about removing it so that she could sleep morefortably. He reached out, but then he remembered what Traceless was like. If he were her, then he would probably hate to have anyone see what she looked like. On this note, the man¡ªwho had never been considerate with others in his life¡ªactually stopped in mid-air. Following this, he heard Traceless saying, ¡°Mom, I want to listen to a luby.¡± Lu Nanze: ... As a man, how could he know the sort of luby that her mother would sing to her? After saying this, Traceless restlessly curled her fingers. In her dream, she was obedient and innocent. It was hard to turn down her request. Chapter 1712 - She Is Actually Rather Adorable (2)

Chapter 1712: She Is Actually Rather Adorable (2)

Lu Nanze looked at her and sighed. Then, lightly and awkwardly, he hummed a few bars of a luby. Initially, he had thought that Traceless was asleep, but unexpectedly Traceless sighed and said, ¡°Mom, your singing is getting from bad to worse.¡± Lu Nanze: ...!! He turned pale with anger and tried to shake her hand off. But when he moved, she tightened her grip on his hand. It wasn¡¯t as though Lu Nanze wasn¡¯t able to shake her off forcefully. But he saw the freshly re-stitched wound and knew that if he were to shake her off with force, it could tear her wound open again. He could only stand there and ignore her. After a while, he realized that Traceless kept talking in her dream. He could not hear most of what she said. He knitted his brow. After a moment of contemtion, he suddenly extended his hand as though he had realized something. He ced his hand on her forehead. It was burning. He finally realized that Traceless was running a fever. Indeed, her wound was festering. How could she not run a fever? But what should he do now? He frowned and got to his feet. Then he gently moved her hand away. He went downstairs and opened a drawer. After taking some antiseptic solution and an anti-inmmatory, he went upstairs again. When he took medicine, he never needed water, he would just gulp his pills. Then he realized that Traceless was a girl, so he turned around and poured out a ss of water. With this, he went back upstairs with the medicine. When he entered the room, he saw Traceless on the floor, both arms iling in the air. She didn¡¯t seem to notice the pain, even when her hand hit the bedside table. She was crying, ¡°Mom, Mom.¡± His pupils shrank back at once. It was in their weakest moment that a person would expose their greatest fear. She kept calling out for her mother. What could have happened in the past? Almost everyone in the underground world knew that Liang Liang and Traceless had almost be a couple. Eventually, they broke up, but apart from the two people involved, no one really knew the details. But honestly... A professional thief and a police officer in a rtionship had to take a lot of guts. But even then, Liang Liang should have never given up on her. He had left her in this plight now, without anyone to rely on. Besides, Liang Liang¡¯s relentless pursuit of the professional thief now had caused him to be much despised. The people of the underground world valued rtionships. Since they had been together once upon a time, why couldn¡¯t he just let her go? After all, although Traceless was a thief, she had never done anything evil or violent. Lu Nanze frowned as this thought crossed his mind. Then he heard Traceless giving a loud cry, ¡°Liang Liang, I hate you!¡± Those words seemed to carry all her emotions in them. She must hate him to the extreme, to be shouting like that. Unconsciously, Lu Nanze felt her pain. He quickly ced the water and medicine down and rushed over to her. He grabbed her arm and said, ¡°Stop it now. Go back to sleep.¡± The moment she grabbed him, she calmed down. He lifted her from the floor and put her back in bed. As he did so, he saw that her masked face was already wet with tears. He sighed lightly and, for a moment, waspelled to remove her mask to dry her tears. But once more, his hand froze in mid-air. He narrowed his eyes. Since the girl hade wearing the mask, then her intention of hiding her face was obvious. It would be ungentlemanly of him to remove her mask then. Chapter 1713 - She Is Actually Rather Adorable (3)

Chapter 1713: She Is Actually Rather Adorable (3)

After he had put Traceless back in bed, Lu Nanze picked up the medicine and tried giving it to her. However, the girl clenched her jaws tightly and refused to take it. Finally, the man had a taste of her stubbornness. He sighed. Then he reached out to touch her forehead. It was still burning. If the temperature did note down any time soon, it was going to be a big problem. The best way to reduce her temperature now was to put her on a drip, however, the current situation did not allow it at all. He thought for a bit. Gritting his teeth, he put the medicine and the water into his own mouth. Following this, he lowered his head and kissed Traceless¡¯ lips. Although the girl struggled against it like before, he forced the liquid in. Once the liquid and medicine were forced into her mouth, he let her go. However, the next thing Traceless did was spit out the medicine in her mouth. Lu Nanze had put all his effort to give her the medicine, so he wasn¡¯t going to let it go to waste. Hence he lowered his head again and bit her lips. With great force, he introduced the liquid into her mouth again. After some time, she finally stopped struggling and downed the liquid in a gulp. The man finally rxed. He realized he was perspiring from the struggle. Sighing, he was about to move away from the girl when he suddenly felt something slippery skimming over his lips. His mind went nk, as great surprise overtook him. That gentle, slippery movement triggered something. It was like a mysterious fire being lit, now burning within him. He squinted his eyes and responded by deepening his kiss. Then he heard Traceless say, ¡°Niu Niu, go away.¡± Lu Nanze: ... He snapped back to his senses upon hearing those words. Who was Niu Niu? Was she kissing him because she thought he was Niu Niu, whoever that was? The man raised his head at once. This Traceless, she was simply... He snorted icily and picked up the cup. Then he turned and walked out. It seemed he wouldn¡¯t be able to go home today. She was running such a high fever that if he didn¡¯t watch over her, she could end up calling the police toe get her and then all of them would be in trouble. But... her luscious red lips shed through his mind again. He was feeling a little parched, so he hurriedly took a ss, poured himself some water and drank it all down in a big gulp. He went back upstairs after that. He passed by the bedroom and looked in on his way to the guest room, where he was intending rest. Traceless was unexpectedly iling her arms about again, crying loudly, ¡°Mom, Mom!¡± Did she miss her mother that much? Lu Nanze frowned. The only thing he could do was go to her and hold her hand. The moment Traceless grabbed his hand, she calmed down. Lu Nanze: ... He did a little experiment and found that when he stepped away, she would go into a state of extreme unrest; but as long as he held her hand, she would stay calm. Eventually, having no other choice, hey down beside her. Holding her hand and leaning back, his nostrils were filled with the slightly metallic stench of blooding from Traceless. But even though this was the case, his eyes gradually fell shut. After some time... Traceless threw her nket away in a sudden movement and sprang up to sit on the bed. Her vision turned from blurry to alert and cautious in a snap. Then she turned towards Lu Nanze, looking at him with a shocked expression. Chapter 1714 - She Is Actually Rather Adorable (4)

Chapter 1714: She Is Actually Rather Adorable (4)

She was most astonished to see Lu Nanze lying next to her with his eyes closed. The first thing she did was to reach out to touch her own face. The touch was cold. Obviously, it came from the mask, and obviously, Lu Nanze had made no attempts to remove it from her. Qiao Yiyi sighed in relief immediately. She took a deep breath and then heard Lu Nanze ask calmy, ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡± Her pupils shrank back immediately and she clutched her chest as she asked, ¡°What did you do to me?¡± Lu Nanze looked at her dramatic amusement, sweeping his gaze up and down her body, and said in an indifferent manner, ¡°I did what needed to be done.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... What did he mean by that? The bastard! She frowned and stared at the man with her shing eyes. Through gritted teeth she demanded, ¡°I want details!¡± The a**hole, if he had done anything to her, she was going to make him pay. Lu Nanze was somewhat astonished by her reaction and said, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you know what I did or did not do to you?¡± Qiao Yiyi was stumped. The man was even more surprised now. ¡°You haven¡¯t slept with Liang Liang?¡± Otherwise, how could she not tell from her body¡¯s response whether he had done anything to herst night? Her face turned scarlet immediately and her expression darkened. She almost shouted furiously, ¡°Who¡¯d sleep with that idiot?! We hadn¡¯t even kissed!¡± Lu Nanze: ... The man looked at Traceless and was amazed. Had their romantic affair only gotten that far? Liang Liang didn¡¯t look like the sort of man who would toe the line, how could it be possible that he had behaved so well with Qiao Yiyi? Very quickly, Lu Nanze dismissed those questions from his mind and stared at the bristling woman before him. He coughed slightly and said, ¡°It¡¯s really not as serious as you think.¡± ¡°So how serious is it?¡± He said in his sleek and wicked tone, ¡°It was only a kiss, and then after that we fell asleep.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... She raised her hand and pressed her fingers on her lips, blushing at once. It was unfortunate that her face was mostly covered by the mask and Lu Nanze could not see it. She pointed at the man angrily. That had been her first kiss. Her first kiss! And it was gone just like that? The bastard. The bastard! At this thought, she narrowed her eyes and suddenly lunged at him. Clearly, Lu Nanze had not expected such a move from her, so he reflexively raised his arms in surprise to shield himself. The next moment, he felt something press hard against his crotch. As he looked at Traceless with astonishment, she said through her gritted teeth, ¡°Lu Nanze! I¡¯m warning you, what did you do to me? Another word of nonsense from you I will ensure you don¡¯t have future generations!¡± At this distance, her hot breath brushed against his face as she spoke. It was the middle of the night, nevertheless, and the lighting was soft and suggestive. But the eyes that were staring at him were glistening like stars, they were so mesmerising he couldn¡¯t look away. His expression darkened at once and he replied in a hoarse voice, ¡°I did nothing, but if you continue looking at me like this, I can¡¯t guarantee what I¡¯ll do next.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... She turned beet red in the dark and hissed at him. Why had she never realized before that Lu Nanze was such a shameless man? Chapter 1715 - She Is Actually Rather Adorable (5)

Chapter 1715: She Is Actually Rather Adorable (5)

Qiao Yiyi stared at him angrily and the man caved under that look. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m just teasing you. You were running a high fever yesterday and I couldn¡¯t take you to the hospital to get treated, so I had to feed you an anti-inmmatory. But you wouldn¡¯t open your mouth. I didn¡¯t have a choice but to use the traditional mouth-to-mouth method.¡± The moment Qiao Yiyi heard these words an image filled her mind. That of Lu Nanze taking the medicine, puckering his lips, closing in on her... She shook her head, as if trying to shake this horrific idea to the back of her mind. Then she continued staring at Lu Nanze and asked, ¡°Was that all?¡± ¡°And then¡ª¡± ¡°You mean there¡¯s more?!¡± She eximed in shock. The man coughed slightly and said, ¡°Uh huh, and then something else happened.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... ¡°You¡¯d better tell me what¡¯s next.¡± ¡°Then you grabbed my hand and asked your mother to sing you a luby.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... ¡°And finally?¡± ¡°And finally, every time I tried to leave, you¡¯d shake your arms wildly. You shouldn¡¯t be moving like that with the wound you have, so I had to stay.¡± On this note, the man sighed and said, ¡°Unfortunately, being a good person doesn¡¯t pay off. Someone doesn¡¯t appreciate it! And to think you threatened me with my manhood...¡± Qiao Yiyi realized that she had misunderstood Lu Nanze. But that was because he had just been asking for it. She bit her lip and removed her knee from his crotch. ¡°If you had spoken nicely from the start, we would have never had toe to this, don¡¯t you agree? ¡°But I have been speaking nicely!¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... She snorted and straightened her posture. Although it was clear that Lu Nanze was just trying to take care of her, the flush in her face wouldn¡¯t go away. As she took a deep breath, the man suddenly asked, ¡°Who is Niu Niu?¡± ¡°Our family pet dog, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Lu Nanze: ...!! So she had kissed him in the middle of the night and then told him to go away because he had been mistaken for a dog? His expression darkened at once. Unfortunately, Qiao Yiyi was still looking at him in confusion. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? How do you know about Niu Niu?¡± But she immediately realized something. ¡°Did I mention Niu Niu in my dream?¡± A strange expression appeared on his face. Qiao Yiyi looked at him, puzzled, and asked, ¡°What did I say wrong? Why this look?¡± The man cleared his throat and replied, ¡°You said you loved Niu Niu the most and wanted to spend your life with him. I thought Niu Niu was your boyfriend.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... With a mocking look, he continued, ¡°So it¡¯s just a dog! Don¡¯t you have a rather unusual taste?¡± Qiao Yiyi: ...!! He continued his nagging, ¡°Men are a dime a dozen, so I do encourage you to get yourself a boyfriend, even if that might be a challenge for someone like your, and enjoy a worthwhile romance. I do believe that there will be a man who will fancy you, no matter how unlikely that may seem. Just forget about falling in love with a dog.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ...!! She had actually said that? This was all due to her tendency to speak nonsense whenever she had a fever! That was something that she had never been able to change. She gritted her teeth and red at the man. Finally, looking troubled, she asked, ¡°What else did I say?¡± ¡°Oh, lots of uniquely interesting stuff of course.¡± Chapter 1716 - She Is Actually Rather Adorable (6)

Chapter 1716: She Is Actually Rather Adorable (6)

Immediately, Qiao Yiyi asked nervously, ¡°What else did I say?¡± Lu Nanze chortled icily and taunted her, ¡°Why should I tell you?¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... The man continued, ¡°But it was quite an eye-opener.¡± The girl was even more curious now and persisted, ¡°What exactly did I say?¡± ¡°You really want to know?¡± ¡°Uh huh.¡± ¡°Steal something else for me.¡± She immediately lowered her head and said, ¡°You¡¯d better not tell me then.¡± Lu Nanze: ... Lu Nanze was amused when he noticed how she was trying hard to look calm and collected. He smiled to himself. Nodding, he said, ¡°Fine, I won¡¯t bring it up then.¡± Qiao Yiyi took a deep breath and got to her feet. She had to go. After all, if she didn¡¯t return home tonight, Lu Nanze might find out about it tomorrow. But the moment she stood up, her vision darkened and she almost lost her bnce. Quickly, she reached out for the chair nearby to stand steady. The man said hesitantly, ¡°You¡¯ve lost a lot of blood. I¡¯d suggest you stay home and rest for a few days.¡± Qiao Yiyi looked at him stubbornly and replied, ¡°I appreciate Mr. Lu¡¯s good intentions, but I do have to go. I wouldn¡¯t want to get you into trouble.¡± Lu Nanze retorted indignantly, ¡°What sort of trouble do you think I¡¯d be afraid of?¡± His arrogance and confidence stunned her. She looked at him. From what she understood of this man, he was actually a cold-hearted and merciless person, but why was he so concerned about her? At once, she waspelled to ask, ¡°Why are you being so kind?¡± That question seemed to embarrass him, as he coughed slightly and replied, ¡°I¡¯m just worried that you will fail to steal the 1000-year-old ginseng.¡± Qiao Yiyi was relieved to hear this. Indeed, besides this reason, there were no others she could think of. What had she just been thinking? As if Lu Nanze would really care about her. That would be the day the sun rose from the West! She smirked at that thought and shook her head firmly. ¡°It¡¯s ok, really. There¡¯s somewhere I can go to.¡± Somewhere, but she didn¡¯t use the word home. It showed that she didn¡¯t really have a ce to call home in Suzhou. He was going to say something, until he thought again about how proud and lofty a person Traceless was. She probably was being this stubborn because she didn¡¯t want to be thought poorly of. Hence, he decided to give her an out. He nodded and took out a key. cing it on the table, he said, ¡°This is the key to this vi. If you need to change your bandages, you are wee to use this ce, I¡¯m normally not around.¡± After saying this, he thought about how she had passed out while tending to her own wound. He pointed at the telephone on the side and said in a concerned tone, ¡°There¡¯s a phone there, you can reach me at my current home. If you need to change your dressing, feel free to call me.¡± He realized that Traceless had still not picked up the key. Hence, he raised an eyebrow questioningly. ¡°Huh?¡± Unable to contain her amusement, sheughed. When she did, he suddenly realized that she had a dimple on each corner of her lip and it was very pretty. It made one happy to just look at them. Then the girl said, ¡°Mr. Lu, there are actually no doors in this world that I cannot get past. So really, I don¡¯t need this key.¡± Chapter 1717 - She Is Actually Rather Adorable (7)

Chapter 1717: She Is Actually Rather Adorable (7)

The moment she said this, Lu Nanze realized what a foolish thing he had done. Giving Traceless a key was indeed quite a useless gesture. When this thought struck him, he also startedughing. He didn¡¯t speak further and just put the card key back into his pocket. ¡°That indeed is the case. I have just embarrassed myself.¡± Traceless said with a wave of her hand, ¡°I¡¯m fine now. Goodbye.¡± On this note, she strode to the door. Right now, it was already past 4 a.m. and the sky was brightening. She showed no desire to stay even a little longer, which made Lu Nanze suddenly feel the vastness and emptiness of the vi. He was suddenly interested in Traceless, and even more curious about her rtionship with Liang Liang. He wondered what had happened between them. He frowned at this thought. Then he got to his feet and strode out. ¨C After Qiao Yiyi left the vi and got back to her sports car, she changed out of her ck bodysuit and into a checkered dress that made her look exceptionally countrified. Then she drove back to the Lu family vi. She had not been back all night and wondered if they had been desperately looking for her. She stayed outside the building and felt troubled for a moment, wondering how it was best to enter the house. When she had gone outst night, she had left boldly and openly. If she were to return stealthily, it would be difficult to justify this to the security officers at the gate. Hence, she had to think of a good reason for not havinge homest night. As she contemted the situation, the headlights of an approaching car shone before her. She shielded her eyes and, as she turned her head, realized it was Lu Nanzeing home. She was standing outside the gate now, with her arm raised. Hence upon turning the corner, he saw the girl right before him. His pupils shrank back as he thought, ¡°Qiao Yiyi?¡± Why was she only back now? This was only a momentary thought and, as quickly as that thought came, it left. He didn¡¯t really care about her, so why would he care where she had beenst night? He drove past Qiao Yiyi, right up to the main gate. Automatically sensing and recognizing his car, the gate opened. Then the man drove straight in, as though he had not seen the girl. Qiao Yiyi: ... She was a live human being standing there, had the man not seen her? Was he blind or something? But even though she thought this, she still quickly sneaked in and slipped back into the household while the gate was wide open. When she walked into the living room, Lu Nanze was sitting on the sofa reading the magazine that had juste from the post. There was already a housekeeper preparing breakfast in the kitchen. Qiao Yiyi coughed and strode to her bedroom upstairs. However, only after she had walked a few steps, Lu Nanze asked, ¡°Where did you gost night?¡± Her footsteps halted, as if suspended in midair. She turned around. Lu Nanze did not look up from the magazine he was reading. He could not be bothered to lift his head to even give her a quick nce. Unfortunately, even if no one noticed her, she still had to act timid and weak. She lowered her head and stammered, ¡°I- I- I forgot to bring my keys. I¡ª¡± ¡°The lock has a digital facial recognition system.¡± Lu Nanze finally looked up and gave the girl a nce. Then he looked down again and said, ¡°Nevermind. Get a key from the butler. In any case, you won¡¯t be staying long, even if we do include you in the lock system.¡± Chapter 1718 - She Is Actually Rather Adorable (8)

Chapter 1718: She Is Actually Rather Adorable (8)

Qiao Yiyi quietly acknowledged what the man had said and turned around to continue her way back upstairs. A regr person couldn¡¯t have heard hisst remark but, unfortunately, she was Traceless. Her hearing was exceptionally sharp and she could even do basic lip reading. Hence, she caught every single word Lu Nanze had just said. In any case, you won¡¯t be staying long. The idiot, did he think she wouldd stay if she had a choice? Clearly, she was a tiger, a predator. But unfortunately, she had to put up with being in a zoo and having people treat her as though she was a domesticated pet now. She was sick of it and had been for some time. If Lu Nanze returned to her the freedom she so yearned for, she would be extremely grateful. Qiao Yiyi went upstairs and cleaned her wound. Then she found a rtively thick dress that would cover her shoulder and put it on. It was summer and the weather was hot, so her conservative choice of clothing made her a rather ufortable sight. Hence, when Qiao Yiyi went back downstairs and Lu Nanze noticed this, he waspelled to ask, ¡°You don¡¯t feel hot?¡± She quickly said, ¡°No no, no, it¡¯s not hot at all!¡± She said it emphatically, trying to convince him that she was indeed not feeling hot. Even if beads of perspiration had formed on her forehead. Lu Nanze: ... The man twitched his mouth. The girl had seemed normal for the past couple days and had been hardly noticeable. It had been easy to overlook her presence automatically. But today she was suddenly dressed in this ridiculous outfit. Was it because she was scared of him entering her room? It was so ironic it was funny. With her pathetic body did she really think he would be interested in her?! Lu Nanzeughed icily to himself. After he had breakfast with Qiao Yiyi, he got ready to leave the house. Just as he walked to the front door, the butler entered and announced, ¡°Madam, your brother is here.¡± Brother? Qiao Gang? She froze for a moment and then timidly looked at Lu Nanze. The man didn¡¯t even react, he behaved as though he had not heard anything. He simply walked, got into his car and drove away. It looked like he was going to work. Qiao Yiyi: ... The gemstone that she had stolen in herst assignment was still in Lu Nanze¡¯s car. She pinched herself for not having retrieved it at his vist night. She had stolen the object, but didn¡¯t have it with her and couldn¡¯t bring it to the new owner. It was a real pain in the rear! As she was contemting returning to the vi one more time tonight, she saw Qiao Gang approaching her. He nced at her momentarily and broke into a huge grin. ¡°Sister!¡± How oddly affectionate. Qiao Yiyi twitched her lips. She didn¡¯t feel like talking to him at all. Unfortunately, Qiao Gang was all smiles today. He dashed up to her and said, ¡°Sister, did you manage to get my eight million dors? Qiao Yiyi: ... Of course. Only money could make Qiao Gang look this gleeful. She turned and nced at Lu Nanze, who was on his way out now. Surely, he must have heard what Qiao Gang had said. It was obvious he didn¡¯t care at all, so she would have to sort this out by herself. But would a weak and timid woman like her be able to do anything? With a quick turn of her mind, she hung her head. She sobbed and said, ¡°But- but I don¡¯t have that much money.¡± Immediately, Qiao Gang replied, ¡°You don¡¯t, but Mr. Lu does. Have you mentioned this to Mr. Lu? What did he say? How much money has he prepared for his brother-inw?¡± Chapter 1719 - She Is Actually Rather Adorable (9)

Chapter 1719: She Is Actually Rather Adorable (9)

What a shameless question to ask! Qiao Yiyi was speechless as she stared at Qiao Gang. Just outside the door, Lu Nanze continued to act as though he could not hear this conversation. He got into his car and drove away to work.. Qiao Yiyi: ... Did this mean that Lu Nanze was showing he really didn¡¯t care? She twitched her lips and immediately lowered her head, so as to hide the mockery in her eyes. With her head lowered, she said in a weak voice, ¡°He- he did not say anything.¡± Qiao Gang knitted his brow as he stared at Qiao Yiyi. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you have asked, even if he didn¡¯t say anything? Don¡¯t you know how to? Don¡¯t you even know how to cry?¡± Qiao Yiyi looked up at once, her eyes filled to the brim with tears as though she was on the verge of breaking down. Qiao Gang extended his hand and said, ¡°Hang on, I¡¯m asking you to cry in front of Lu Nanze, not in front of me!¡± ¡°But I really have no money,¡± she continued. And even if she did, she wasn¡¯t going to give it to this bastard. Qiao Gang frowned and asked, ¡°You really have no money?¡± ¡°I really don¡¯t have any.¡± ¡°Well then, how much money do you have saved in your bank ount? When you got married, our family did give you a dowry of a million. Where is that money now?¡± A million. Oh, that sounded like a lot of money. To an ordinary person, this was indeed so, but to them, it really wasn¡¯t much at all. Still, Qiao Gang was so cheap that he even wanted her dowry!? That was just a new low as to how shameless Qiao Gang was. But did he think she was going to just give him what had been given to her? Qiao Yiyi lowered her head and replied, ¡°Doesn¡¯t Mr. Lu have the dowry already?¡± She pushed the responsibility back to Lu Nanze again. In any case, the pathetic Qiao family would never dare to approach him to ask for the money. Indeed, Qiao Gang did not dare to say anything more. He only looked at Qiao Yiyi and said, ¡°That is your dowry, how could you give it to Mr. Lu? You should have given it to me to safeguard it.¡± Oh, did he really think she was a stupid three-year-old kid? How could he even say such a thing? Qiao Yiyi did not reply and only twitched her lips. Then Qiao Gang continued, ¡°Let¡¯s go, we¡¯ll go and look for Mr. Lu now and ask for your dowry back. I need the money urgently!¡± After saying that, he extended his hand and forcefully yanked Qiao Yiyi behind him as he walked to the door. The wound on her shoulder was once again stretched and it hurt, slightly torn. She frowned as she red at the young man. Yesterday, it had been he who had exerted force on her wound. Today, again, he was using force on her. Did he really think she was a weakling? At this thought, Qiao Yiyi¡¯s pupils shrank back. She lowered her head and extended her leg to trip him. Bam! He fell heavily on his face. It was a sorry sight. Qiao Yiyi twitched her mouth wickedly before putting her frightened and timid expression back on. She retreated and eximed, ¡°Are you ok?¡± Qiao Gang turned his head around angrily and demanded, ¡°Did you just trip me?!¡± The girl put on an innocent expression. He got up and took a step forward to grab her by her dress cor. ¡°Qiao Yiyi, I¡¯m warning you, don¡¯t you for a moment think that you¡¯re invincible just because you¡¯ve married Mr. Lu and now belong in high society! You dare to y dirty little tricks on me? I¡¯m warning you, I will beat you till all your teeth fall out.¡± ¡°Who is going to beat someone up till all her teeth fall out?!¡± On this note, Liang Liang¡¯s voice sounded from just beyond the front door. Chapter 1720 - She Is Actually Rather Adorable (10)

Chapter 1720: She Is Actually Rather Adorable (10)

Qiao Yiyi froze the moment she heard Liang Liang¡¯s voice. The taunting expression in her eyes became cold and distant. She lowered her head and watched Liang Liang striding into the Lu family vi from the corner of her eye. He was frowning deeply as he stared at the two people in the living room and asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Turning to Qiao Gang, he asked, ¡°Who are you, behaving so atrociously in the Lu family residence? I won¡¯t hesitate to take you to the police station and shut you in it for a few days!¡± That remark frightened Qiao Gang and he immediately recoiled in fear. He looked at Liang Liang, who was in his police uniform, and quickly exined, ¡°I¡¯m Qiao Yiyi¡¯s younger brother, I¡¯m her brother! I- I¡¯m here to visit her! I¡¯m not behaving atrociously.¡± Liang Liang sneered and said, ¡°You didn¡¯t behave atrociously? So I misheard you? You weren¡¯t the one who said you were going to beat someone up till all her teeth fell out?¡± Qiao Gang replied, ¡°We¡¯re siblings, we were just fooling around.¡± Liang Liang smirked and said, ¡°This is the first I¡¯ve heard people fooling around like this Do you think I¡¯m stupid?¡± Qiao Gang was going to speak again when Liang Liang interrupted, ¡°Why? Aren¡¯t you leaving? Or are you waiting to get taken to the police station for a few days?¡± Upon hearing these words, Qiao Gang looked as though he had realized something. He quickly looked at Qiao Yiyi and pointed a finger at her, saying, ¡°Sister, just you wait, I¡¯lle back to look for you.¡± He turned around and left. After watching the young man almost wet his pants and run away in fear, Qiao Yiyi turned to look at Liang Liang. She knew the man considerably well. He had never liked interfering into other people¡¯s business, especially other people¡¯s family affairs. And when it came to matters that didn¡¯t involve him, he would refrain frommenting all the more. The fact that he had opened his mouth to help her was extremely puzzling. Had this man changed somehow? Or... Qiao Yiyi lowered her gaze and smiled icily. Or perhaps she had never really understood him. For the sake of capturing her, he had pretended to fall in love with her. What would be the bottomline for someone who could do something like that? She lowered her head at this thought. Liang Liang asked her, ¡°Are you hurt?¡± Qiao Yiyi shook her head. She didn¡¯t feel like talking to him. He continued, ¡°Was that really your brother?¡± She nodded. ¡°Your family is really- you¡¯re quite pitiful.¡± She kept silent. He continued talking to himself, ¡°But a person like that, you shouldn¡¯t give him any leeway. No matter what, you¡¯re now Madam Lu, so you have to behave like Madam Lu. You only need to hold your head up high and let Lu Nanze give you the support you need. Who wouldn¡¯t you be able to deal with then?¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... Since when had Liang Liang be like a naggy aunty? She looked back at the man with a nk expression, as though she was at a loss. He choked back his words upon seeing her expression, realizing that he had probably said too much. It was odd that every time he saw Madam Lu, her petite frame would inevitably remind him of Traceless¡ªhe could not stop himself from being concerned for her. Especially just now, when he had seen her getting harrassed. He had gotten so angry that he had intervened in someone else¡¯s affair. What was wrong with him? He asked himself this question silently and frowned as he tried to suppress the strange emotions he was experiencing. Then he sighed and said, ¡°I¡¯m here to look for Lu Nanze. Is he home?¡± Chapter 1721 - She Is Actually Rather Adorable (11)

Chapter 1721: She Is Actually Rather Adorable (11)

She finally opened her mouth and spoke, ¡°He¡¯s just left.¡± Just left? Liang Liang threw Qiao Yiyi a look. If Lu Nanze had just left, why hadn¡¯t he kicked Qiao Gang out before leaving? Why had he left Qiao Yiyi to handle the man?¡± Could it be that Lu Nanze did not even care about Qiao Yiyi? For some reason, Liang Liang suddenly felt deste on behalf of this woman. He nodded and said, ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll go to his office to look for him.¡± On that note, he turned away. He got in the police car and headed straight to Lu Nanze¡¯s office. He went to the front desk and enquired, ¡°What is Lu Nanze doing?¡± The staff were quite used to seeing Liang Liang around. After all, the two men were good friends. Hence, the receptionist did not stop him. She said, ¡°He¡¯s just arrived, so he¡¯s probably washing his hands. But he does have a meeting in half an hour.¡± Half an hour. That was enough. Liang Liang nodded and dashed into the office. He pushed open the door and walked in. As he did so, he heard the sound of running water in the bathroom. Following the sound, he walked over and saw that, indeed, the man was washing his hands. Obviously, he had just arrived. Lu Nanze was slightly surprised to see the man. The scene of Traceless shouting, ¡°Liang Liang, I hate you!¡± suddenly shed past his mind. What could have caused her to be this furious? Why did she hate him that much? What sort of scar had this man left in Traceless¡¯ life? Suddenly, a sense of unease grew within Lu Nanze as these questions surfaced in his mind. His tone was rather cold as he asked Liang Liang, ¡°What brings you here?¡± Liang Liang casually took a seat on the sofa and said, ¡°Where do you think Traceless has gone?¡± Lu Nanze: ... Lu Nanze did not answer. He dried his hands silently and sat behind his desk. Liang Liang frowned as he continued, ¡°Someone said she was in Hangzhou, but I looked there and there wasn¡¯t a sign of her. Besides, she did in fact appear in Suzhou the other day. Bai Anan even wounded her. I wonder how her injury is doing now? Being all alone, do you think she has a ce to heal and rest?¡± The man went on and on, to the point that Lu Nanze got slightly flighty and impetuous. What had it got to do with him whether she had somewhere to tend to her injury?! He hadpletely forgotten that Traceless was Liang Liang¡¯s ex-girlfriend. He had only focused on the fact that Traceless had a fever and seemed frightened. And he couldn¡¯t help feeling angry about it. Lu Nanze looked up and said with icy sarcasm, ¡°Why? You didn¡¯t seem so concerned about her when you two were dating. And now you¡¯re worried about your ex? Haven¡¯t you thought about who put her in this position?¡± Liang Liang fell silent after those harsh words and looked up. ¡°I¡ª¡± ¡°I? I what? Let me ask you, did you really like her?¡± Liang Liang frowned and nodded. ¡°Yes, I was sincere, but she¡ª¡± ¡°What about her? At least, right up to now, she doesn¡¯t have a boyfriend, but you have a fianc¨¦e! Liang Liang, don¡¯t me me for not being on your side, but you are really not good enough for Traceless.¡± Liang Liang: ... The man turned icy and immediately retorted, ¡°How do you know she doesn¡¯t have a boyfriend?¡± After all, it had been half a year since they had broken up. In thest half a year, he had really had no idea of how Traceless had been. If she had a boyfriend, would she still have saved her first kiss? Of course, Lu Nanze couldn¡¯t say these things aloud. Chapter 1722 - She Is Actually Rather Adorable (12)

Chapter 1722: She Is Actually Rather Adorable (12)

But that slip of his tongue in a moment of anger slightly confused Liang Liang, although he did deserve it. He was silent for a moment and then said, ¡°Well, I have my own sources.¡± Liang Liang¡¯s eyes lit up at once. He said, ¡°I came looking for you to try my luck, actually. Have you got news about where Traceless may be? Yes, in his house. But as he observed how anxious Liang Liang was, Lu Nanze simply did not want to tell the man the truth. He only lowered his gaze and said with indifference, ¡°Maybe she¡¯s dead?¡± Liang Liang was shocked by that idea. ¡°What?!¡± Lu Nanze smirked and added, ¡°After all, she was seriously injured. In this hot weather and incapable of going to a hospital, it¡¯s just a matter of time before the wound gets infected. Death wouldn¡¯t be a surprise.¡± Liang Liang froze on the spot. He thought that Lu Nanze was saying this because of some news he had gotten, hence he took it for real. Traceless was dead? That woman. That woman, who he found deplorable yet unable to let go of, dead? How could that be so? He suddenly thought of that night, when Traceless was being surrounded. The smile she had given was so full of sarcasm and mockery. Indeed. She would rather die than to put up with any sort of embarrassment and insult. Liang Liang felt as though his heart had shattered, there was a growing pain in his chest. Ashen-faced now, he sat on the sofa, fully consumed by the pain and sorrow he felt. When Lu Nanze saw him suffering like this, he silently said, ¡°Serves you right!¡± A woman like Traceless deserved someone steadier and stronger to love her. And it wouldn¡¯t be Liang Liang! This man wasn¡¯t firm and steady enough. At this thought, Lu Nanze cast his gaze down and said, ¡°I have to go to a meeting.¡± ¨C When Lu Nanze returned from the meeting, he saw that Liang Liang was still around. His eyes were bloodshot, obviously he had been crying. But would crying bring the dead back to life? Actually, if it hadn¡¯t been for him, Traceless could very well have been dead by now. Even if she would have managed to escape the Li familypound, in the heat of summer, she wouldn¡¯t have been able to treat her wound at a hospital because Bai Anan would have been watching closely. And if her wound had been left unattended, it would have gotten infected and that would have been deadly. This could have been the only possible ending. Hence, giving Liang Liang the worst case scenario did not make Lu Nanze feel the slightest bit of guilt. Furthermore, Traceless was really a hundred times more pitiful than Liang Liang. She had even had to stitch her own wound with a fever. Stitching without anesthesia, how painful was that? What was Liang Liang¡¯s heartachepared to all of this? This thought put him at an even greater ease for what he had done. He walked over and sat behind his desk, saying, ¡°If you wish to express your sorrow over this, do it at home, don¡¯t put on a sad face in my office. You¡¯re not wee here.¡± Liang Liang sat slumped against the sofa like a half-dead man. Hemented, ¡°I didn¡¯t think it would turn out like this, I never intended to harm her.¡± Lu Nanze couldn¡¯t tolerate this talk any further and sprang to his feet. He said, ¡°That¡¯s right, you never intended to harm her, but your actions did exactly that! So why would your intentions matter?!¡± Liang Liang refused to believe him. Lu Nanze continued as he pointed to the doorway with a sneer, ¡°Also, Police Officer Liang, this is not the ce for you to pour your heart out. If you need to pour out your heart, go see a psychologist. I have to get on with my work now, thank you very much.¡± Liang Liang: ... Lu Nanze was exceptionally stern today. The thing was that, when Traceless had betrayed him, Lu Nanze had boldly and confidently egged on him. ¡°It¡¯s just a woman isn¡¯t it?! There¡¯s plenty of fish in the water.¡± So why had he suddenly turned so hostile now? Chapter 1723 - She Is Actually Rather Adorable (13)

Chapter 1723: She Is Actually Rather Adorable (13)

Liang Liang was a little stunned as he stood up and left, following Lu Nanze¡¯s request. As he was on his way out, he suddenly turned, looked at the other man and said, ¡°Oh, there¡¯s something I have to tell you.¡± Lu Nanze raised an eyebrow. Liang Liang continued, ¡°Your wife is actually quite pitiful too. Since you¡¯ve married her, then you should take responsibility. It¡¯s not good to neglect her. I suggest that you¡ª¡± Before he could finish speaking, Lu Nanze interrupted the man with a sneer, ¡°Are you done? You should really get out now!¡± Liang Liang: ... He had no choice but to leave. After Liang Liang had left, Lu Nanze went to the reception and asked, ¡°Since when are people allowed toe into my office without an appointment? The receptionist was stunned. Then the man instructed, ¡°In future, this police officer needs to make an appointment first!¡± She was quite shocked. Hadn¡¯t that mone and gone as he pleased in the past? Why did he need to make an appointment now? Had the two men fought? The receptionist coughed slightly and nodded. Lu Nanze was thus cated and returned to his office. It was only after he had calmed down somewhat that he suddenly came to his senses. What was wrong with him? It seemed that when it came to Traceless, he was unable to control his own emotions. He unconsciously massaged his forehead and sighed. Suddenly, he felt an emotion deep inside that left a sour aftertaste. It felt like... jealousy. Jealousy?! He wanted tough at the thought of this. Why was he jealous? Who was he jealous about?! Lu Nanze shook his head and cast his gaze down. But all he could see in the document he was looking at was a face. A face that wore a silver mask! Those luscious red lips were so tempting they could kill. He immediately narrowed his eyes. He looked up instantly and shook his head. He must be possessed by the devil. To think that he was having a vision of Traceless. But he wondered what Traceless was doing at this moment. Where was she?! Based on what had happenedst night, her wound had obviously torn open. Could it be that something had happened during the day? She hadn¡¯t spent the night at his house either. Now that it was daytime, where was she? Could she have made another trip to the vi? As these questions ran through his mind, he found himself losing focus. He frowned and, after a moment, took a deep breath. Trying hard to suppress the impulsiveness he felt, he started working. But that day Lu Nanze was obviously feeling a sense of urgency as he read through his documents. It was as if he couldn¡¯t wait to go somewhere right after work. By 5 p.m., Lu Nanze had actually finished his work for the day and could go home if he wished. He got to his feet and headed out. The secretary asked. ¡°Mr. Lu, you¡¯re not workingte tonight?¡± The man replied, ¡°No, I¡¯m just going home.¡± Secretary: ... The workaholic Mr. Lu was actually not workingte. It was a miracle! ¨C Lu Nanze drove along the streets. Traffic wasn¡¯t too congested, but he drove slowly. He frowned. Oddly, he felt a void in his heart, as though he was missing something. He picked up his cell phone and nced at it. There were no missed calls or unread messages. He had given his cell phone number to Traceless the other day, but she had not contacted him even once. Chapter 1724 - She Is Actually Rather Adorable (14)

Chapter 1724: She Is Actually Rather Adorable (14)

Lu Nanze put away his cell phone and frowned unconsciously. Could it be that something bad had really happened to her? Jinxed because of what he had said to Liang Liang? But there weren¡¯t any news of Traceless being caught by the police. Or could it be that she had gone to his vi to change her bandages and had passed out again? The scene of Traceless on the floor unconscious when he entered the vi yesterday shed through his mind and he could not bear it any longer. He made a turn and drove to the vi instead. Yes, he just didn¡¯t want her to get hurt since she had notpleted the task of stealing the 1000-year-old ginseng. Hence, no harm muste to her now. That was all there was to it. After thinking this through, Lu Nanze felt a lot better. But when he arrived at the vi and opened the front door, a sense of great disappointment washed over him when he saw there was no one around. Traceless had note here? So where could she be? The man frowned as he walked over to the sofa and sat down. ¨C Where was Traceless? Of course, she was catching up on sleep in her own room. She had to eat and rest well so that her body could heal within the shortest time possible. Even if she wasn¡¯t going to be able to healpletely, she had to get herself back to 80 percent at least. Otherwise, how was she going to steal the ginseng from the Xu family?! However... When night time came and she had a look at her shoulder, she found that the wound had be infected again. It was necessary to change the dressing, but it didn¡¯t seem right to do it at home. She thought for a moment and finally decided to return to Lu Nanze¡¯s vi. Hence, when nighttime came, she quietly sneaked out through the window. Driving her own sports car, she pulled up at Lu Nanze¡¯s other vi. However, when she broke in through the window, she noticed something ck on the sofa. What in the world was that?! Traceless had a fright, but the next moment she heard Lu Nanze¡¯s voice saying, ¡°You¡¯re finally here.¡± Traceless: ... Traceless was immediately relieved at this point. She strode into the living room. At the same time, the man on the sofa stood up and, with a slight movement, flicked the light switch on. Light flooded the room at once. Traceless looked at him and asked, ¡°Why are you here?!¡± Immediately after this, she was curious. Logically speaking, if someone else had appeared in the vi and sat there in the dark without switching the lights on, she would have never tried to break in under such circumstances. But the moment she had heard his voice, she had actually entered the house right away without a second thought. Qiao Yiyi immediately chided herself and felt disgusted. Had she lost her basic instincts after suffering an injury? But now, when she saw that everything in the house was in order and it didn¡¯t look like the police were waiting to ambush her, she sighed in relief. Then she walked over to the sofa on the side and sat down. Lu Nanze approached her and frowned as he looked at her to ask, ¡°Has your wound opened again?¡± Qiao Yiyi nodded and replied, ¡°I guess my stitching didn¡¯t pass the test. The wound¡¯s a little itchy, so I¡¯vee to change the dressing.¡± The man nodded. She repeated her question that Lu Nanze had failed to answer, ¡°Why are you here?¡± He replied in an indifferent tone, ¡°Came to pick up something and caught you just in time.¡± Traceless: ... She didn¡¯t give his answer another thought and nodded as she got up to get the first aid kit. ¡°Well since you¡¯re here, help me with dressing the wound then.¡± On this note, she proceeded to take off her top. Chapter 1725 - She Is Actually Rather Adorable (15)

Chapter 1725: She Is Actually Rather Adorable (15)

Lu Nanze: ...! He stared at Traceless¡¯ naked shoulder in front of him. Perhaps because she was always hidden in the darkness of the night, her skin glowed in its paleness. He gulped helplessly at the sensual curves of her shoulders and corbone. He took another look. She had unreservedly taken off her top to reveal her exquisite body. As the man looked at her, he felt his ears burn. He quickly looked away. Coughing slightly, he reached for a towel on the side and draped it over her shoulder. Qiao Yiyi: ... She turned and looked at Lu Nanze with a puzzled expression. What was this guy up to? The first time he had dressed her wound, hadn¡¯t he insisted that she bore with it for he had not done this before and wasn¡¯t quite sure how to do it? So why had he covered her again this time? As she pondered this, Lu Nanze started to exin, ¡°I didn¡¯t know how to do it, but now I do. You don¡¯t have to put up with it now.¡± Qiao Yiyi didn¡¯t think too much about it and grunted an acknowledgement. The first time she had felt slightly embarrassed but this was the third time, it didn¡¯t matter anymore. In any case, when she had passed out the other day, apart from her face, the man had probably seen every other part of her body. The girl, however, did not realize the odd expression on the man¡¯s face as she sat there, quietly allowing him to dress her wound. Lu Nanze stared at the unpleasant wound, suddenly at a loss as to how he should proceed. Clearly, this hadn¡¯t been a problem two days ago, when he had been able to unblinkingly cut open her wound with a pair of tweezers, and then dug into it to retrieve the bullet lodged inside. But now, as he looked at the wound, he couldn¡¯t help thinking and wondering why he had never studied first-aid treatments. The wound, how it was cut and the stitching, was simply too horrific to look at. Traceless¡¯ body was clean and wless, but this wound would leave a scar. At this thought, he consciously became gentler in his actions. When he had finally cleaned up the wound and applied a freshyer of medicine, he took out a gauze and dressed the injury. Once this was done, he realized how tired his hand was. Qiao Yiyi had also turned quite pale. It was such arge gaping wound that it would almost be impossible to expect a scab after five days. She wasn¡¯t quite sure if she would be able to sessfullyplete her assignment in five days. She was slightly anxious, hence shepletely did not realize the changes in Lu Nanze¡¯s emotions. After she had put her clothes back on, she looked at the man and said, ¡°If I can¡¯t do it in five days, then we might have to dy it two days. You can see for yourself the state my body is in. I may not be able to recover in five days. Seven days would be a safer bet.¡± Lu Nanze nodded upon hearing this. Her cold and casual remark¡ª¡±You can see for yourself the state my body is in¡±¡ªoddly echoed in his mind and he couldn¡¯t stop his ears from blushing. ¡°Mr. Lu, are you feeling sick today?¡± Lu Nanze replied, ¡°No, not at all!¡± Traceless pointed out, ¡°Then why do your ears look so flushed?¡± Exasperated, the man replied, ¡°I¡¯m tired from dressing your wound!¡± Traceless: ... She had no idea what that sudden outburst was about, but she smiled awkwardly as she gathered her belongings. ¡°Well then Mr. Lu, if there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll be on my way now.¡± On this note, she once again jumped out of the window without even looking back once. He stared at her disappearing figue and contemted her heroic boldness and bravery. Suddenly, his heart ached. Almost unaware of his own actions, the man dashed to the window. Traceless¡¯ figure was about to disappear into the darkness. He immediately shouted out, ¡°Traceless! I have something to tell you!¡± Chapter 1726 - She Is Actually Rather Adorable (16)

Chapter 1726: She Is Actually Rather Adorable (16)

Qiao Yiyi halted, turned around at once and looked at Lu Nanze with a puzzled expression. Her eyes were clear and glistening, full of sincerity and openness. Lu Nanze¡¯s throat was dry, so the words that he had intended to say finally became, ¡°Don¡¯t get caught before youplete your assignment.¡± Qiao Yiyi gave a scornfulugh and replied, ¡°Do you think I can get captured so easily?¡± Then she turned back and continued walking into the dark night. As she did so, she suddenly raised an arm and waved at him without turning around. Her disappearing silhouette carried a sense of uninhibited freedom and unruliness. The man found it wildly attractive and couldn¡¯t help himself from breaking into a broad smile. ¨C After Traceless had left, Lu Nanze got into his car and drove home. When he entered the house, he saw Qiao Yiyi sitting there. He narrowed his eyes and kept silent as he removed his jacket and hung it up. Then he loosened his tie, washed his hands and poured himself a ss of water. He took a sip and walked to the sofa with the intention of resting for a bit. When Qiao Yiyi saw him enter the house, she had stood up and timidly walked around him to head upstairs. She had actually just gotten into the house herself and hadn¡¯t had the time to go upstairs before the man had returned. So instead, she pretended that she had been spending time downstairs. Now she only wanted to shake off Lu Nanze, go back upstairs and examine the Xu family¡¯s house map. However, while things were fine as she approached the man, the moment she walked past him, arge hand suddenly grabbed her shoulder. He eximed, ¡°Hang on!¡± Qiao Yiyi halted upon hearing his deep resonant voice andmanding tone. She turned to look at him. The man had a frown on his face as he looked at her, asking, ¡°Why is there the smell of blood on you?¡± Qiao Yiyi: ...!! Smell of blood? Oh no. The infection and medication of her wound smelled, that was to be expected. But would Lu Nanze suspect there was something fishy going on because of this? Qiao Yiyi narrowed her eyes as her mind worked quickly to figure out an answer. Lu Nanze continued his interrogation, ¡°Are you injured somewhere?¡± He had his hand on her shoulder that wasn¡¯t injured but, as he said this, he looked at her injured shoulder. For the oddest reason, he extended his hand towards it. Qiao Yiyi quickly retreated and Lu Nanze¡¯s hand froze in mid-air. Narrowing his eyes, he demanded, ¡°Tell me! What¡¯s the matter?¡± Qiao Yiyi looked up with a quick snap of her head and flushed as she started stammering. The man grew impatient and took a step forward, threatening to find out for himself. Then she burst out, ¡°I- I- It¡¯s that time of the month.¡± That time of the month? The man had to pause to think for a while before he figured out what she meant. Then he frowned at once. So it was that. But could that give off such a strong smell? That was... incredibly too disgusting. At this thought, the man impatiently waved her off. ¡°All right then, go back upstairs.¡± At once, she nodded and turned around with her head down in shame. She quickly ran upstairs. Once back in her own room, Qiao Yiyi sighed in relief. Her legs gave way and she dropped on the sofa. Fortunately, she had this excuse as a girl. Otherwise, she would have never been able to escape Lu Nanze today. Chapter 1727 - She Is Actually Rather Adorable (17)

Chapter 1727: She Is Actually Rather Adorable (17)

Qiao Yiyi returned to her room and sat on the sofa. She sighed. For some reason, she was exceptionally irritable today. She stared at theputer and found herself unable to focus. At this point, a message appeared: [Number Two: Traceless, did you get the merchandise?] Merchandise? Qiao Yiyi realized at once that he was referring to that gemstone, the one she had stolen from the Li family. She sprang to her feet. Now she remembered. That gemstone was still in Lu Nanze¡¯s car. And that car was in the Lu family¡¯s vi. Qiao Yiyi frowned and sighed deeply. She must be going nuts. She had been going to the Lu family¡¯s second vi repeatedly, why hadn¡¯t she just taken the gemstone on the way? She quickly typed out a reply: [Yiyi: I¡¯ll give it to you tomorrow.] Then she shut down herputer with a snap and quickly walked out of the room. It seemed that Lu Nanze had received a call and had disappeared. Qiao Yiyi made it look like she had gone to bed. She switched off the lights and quickly slipped out through the window. She had already been to the Lu family¡¯s second vi thrice and, by now, she could almost drive with her eyes shut. Within half an hour, she was at the Lu family¡¯s vi once again. She parked her car by the side of the building and, as a precaution, put on her mask and her ck bodysuit. Then she climbed the wall and entered the vi grounds. Once in, she made a beeline for the garage. She had taken approximately two steps when she heard a loud click. She jumped at once and turned around. She saw that the lights in the living room had been switched on. Qiao Yiyi: ...!! She had a fright but recalled immediately what Lu Nanze had told her¡ªthat only he woulde to the vi. No one else came to this ce. She also recalled that Lu Nanze had just left home. Did that mean that he hade here too?! Qiao Yiyi felt uneasy instantly. Seeing him twice a day was horrible. She had to reduce contact with this man, otherwise she would easily be at risk of him discovering that she was Qiao Yiyi. At this thought, the girl started to dash to the parking lot without any further dy. Lu Nanze had many cars. Basically, there was at least one car in each of his properties so that it would be immediately ready for his use. The car that had been used to drive them over the other time had not been taken since, so it was still in the garage. She dashed over and opened the car door. Squeezing herself into the back and feeling around on the car floor, she finally found the gemstone. She took it and, with a sense of great relief, slipped it into her pocket. Then she strode away , intending to leave the vi. But at this point, she felt something, a fluid, seeping out of her body. She froze and looked down. Then she bent over reflexively and breathed in. Oh, no! A moment ago, when Lu Nanze had been interrogating her, she had used her period as an excuse. Now her period had arrived. Her period! All she felt upset and eternally sorrowful. Why? Because ever since it had begun, her period hade abnormally. Every time it came, the flow would be very heavy. And she could just imagine what was going to happen the moment she started walking. But what was she going to do now? Chapter 1728 - She Is Actually Rather Adorable (18)

Chapter 1728:, She Is Actually Rather Adorable (18)

Qiao Yiyi froze on the spot, feeling quite ill. Why did it have to be today? Really, one couldn¡¯t say things casually. She sighed deeply, turned around again and looked at the vi. Of course, there wouldn¡¯t be menstrual pads in the house, but... perhaps there were some other types of pads around? She gritted her teeth and hesitated for a moment. Finally, she walked to the house taking light and small steps. She didn¡¯t try to scale any walls, but opened the front door and walked right in. She thought that the man would be in the living room, but unexpectedly, it was empty. She dashed into the bathroom on the first floor. Indeed. A river of blood. She stroked her forehead with exasperation. Hadn¡¯t she just lost arge amount of blood from her injury? Why was there still so much blood in her?! She sighed. After sorting things out, she stood up. She was about to wash herself when she heard Lu Nanze¡¯s voice just outside the bathroom. ¡°Uh huh, I know. I¡¯ll drop by after a shower.¡± As he said this, he entered the bathroom. Qiao Yiyi quickly pushed her pants up, she wasn¡¯t too worried. She thought that the man would probably get a fright when he saw her, and a scared look on his face was a thought that amused her. But who would have thought. When the bathroom¡¯s door was opened... oh, what greeted her! She saw Lu Nanze in all his naked glory, standing at the doorway, with his firm muscles in a light golden tan glistening under the light. He had a nicely proportioned body and even two-pack abdominals. Her gaze moved down and she saw that he was holding the cell phone. He was in the middle of a call and, when he saw Qiao Yiyi, he got a fright too. But after shrinking his pupils and stiffening of his posture, he managed to suppress his astonishment. However, Qiao Yiyi¡¯s gaze kept moving downwards, below his firm abdominals, and she shrieked immediately, ¡°Arrrrggghhhhhh!¡± Lu Nanze: ...!! The girl turned her head abruptly to the side as she raised both hands to cover her eyes. It was an assault to her sight. The pervert! Lu Nanze was taken aback by Traceless¡¯ reaction. He stared at her in astonishment and, at the same time, snapped back to his senses when she started shrieking. But he wasn¡¯t someone who panicked easily. Hence, even when the situation was somewhat distressing, he quickly stepped into the bathroom, ended his call and put the cell phone aside. Then hurriedly picked up the bath towel on the side and wrapped it around his waist. Qiao Yiyi was not calm at all. As a thief, she had been in all sorts of situations, but... seeing a fully naked man in front of her was a first. Her eyes almost started to hurt. She was simple on the verge of... a breakdown! But her tears wouldn¡¯te. After she was done shrieking, the man said in an indifferent tone, ¡°What¡¯s all that shrieking about?¡± Qiao Yiyi retorted, ¡°You pervert, why aren¡¯t you wearing anything? You¡ª¡± The man replied, ¡°I¡¯m about to take a shower, how am I going to do that with my clothes on?¡± Qiao Yiyi was dumbfounded. She had noeback. ¡°Besides, there¡¯s usually no one in the vi and my main door was tightly locked with no trace of anyone having entered. So I think it¡¯s normal that I strip before taking a shower?¡± On this note, the man paused. His tone sounded teasing as he said, ¡°So why do you act so surprised?¡± Chapter 1729 - She Is Actually Rather Adorable (19)

Chapter 1729: She Is Actually Rather Adorable (19)

Still in shock, Qiao Yiyi hadn¡¯t recovered yet. She realized that what the man said made sense and felt like an ignorant fool. She couldn¡¯t help despising herself at this thought. What had she seen of the world really?! She immediately lowered her head and snorted silently as she walked out... ...forgetting to flush the toilet. Hence before she had gone far, the man suddenly grabbed her arm. She turned around in surprise and saw anxiety on his face. ¡°Has your wound torn apart again? Why is there so much blood?¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... She grimaced. Really, she didn¡¯t feel like speaking a word. As she found herself in a conundrum, Lu Nanze quickly removed her cor and said, ¡°Let me have a look.¡± Then he swept his gaze over her shoulder. But as he looked, he realized that the dressing that he had made earlier in the day was in ce and nothing seemed to be torn. Then what was all that blood in the toilet? He gave Qiao Yiyi a confused look and asked, ¡°Where else are you injured?¡± Qiao Yiyi: ...!! Was this man in his right mind? Back in the other vi, as Madam Lu, Qiao Yiyi had told him she was on her period. The man hadn¡¯t even reacted. But now, where was this big reactioning from?! Qiao Yiyi twitched her lips and coughed lightly. The man started to feel her up all over. Unable to take this much longer, she said, ¡°I¡¯m fine!¡± ¡°Fine? If you¡¯re fine, then why all this blood?!¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... She replied through a clenched jaw, ¡°I¡¯m having my period!¡± ¡°...¡± It was as though a silence hade over the world. Lu Nanze finally shut his mouth. She threw a nce at him. For some reason, especially now that she was noticing a look of slight embarrassment on his face, she said to him, ¡°Oh, I need to borrow something.¡± Lu Nanze raised an eyebrow. ¡°What?¡± She replied, ¡°Menstrual pads.¡± Lu Nanze: ... The girl smiled to herself. Finally. A confused look on this man¡¯s face. There wasn¡¯t even a piece of women¡¯s clothes in this house, how could there be a menstrual pads? She twitched her lips again and started walking away, saying, ¡°Since there aren¡¯t any¡ª¡± Before she could finish speaking, Lu Nanze started walking away with his head lowered. He told her, ¡°Wait for me here.¡± Qiao Yiyi was stumped. She saw him run upstairs. Within a minute, he came back down. He was dressed neatly. Without another word, he walked out of the house. She heard the car engine starting up and then the car driving away, leaving the vi far behind. The girl was still standing on the same spot in a daze. What was going on? Had something happened to the man suddenly? But he had asked her to wait. So she did not leave, she sat down on the sofa. In any case, she was starting to feel the ripples of pain in her abdomen and it caused her extreme difort. She just needed to sit down, lean against something and withstand her menstrual cramps. Qiao Yiyi had been sitting there for about half an hour when suddenly the sound of a car engine approaching sounded. Then the engine stopped and she heard Lu Nanze¡¯s footsteps as he strode into the house. Puzzled, she suddenly noticed that the man was carrying a big bag in his hand. It was a big ck stic bag, so she had no idea what was in it. Chapter 1730 - She Is Actually Rather Adorable (20)

Chapter 1730: She Is Actually Rather Adorable (20)

Lu Nanze walked up to her and held out the bag to her, saying, ¡°I forgot to ask you for the brand you normally use, so I bought one of everything. Pick the one you like.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ...!! She took the bag from him with a look of surprise and peeked in. It was filled with all sorts of menstrual pads. She was utterly stunned. She looked up at him with an expression of disbelief. He coughed slightly and said, ¡°And there is some underwear in there as well. I don¡¯t know your size, so I¡¯ve bought one of every size.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... She was starting to feel that the person standing in front of her was a fake Lu Nanze. Otherwise, how could he have even done such a thing?! She grimaced and lowered her head, feelingpletely confused. She looked into the bag for a long time before she looked up at him again, as though she had just realized something. She said, ¡°Thank you.¡± Lu Nanze: ... He fell silent and the silence between them grew awkward. Lu Nanze had no idea why he had acted so crazily, as though he had lost his mind. Now that he thought about it, he realized that he was behaving no differently from an infatuated young teenager. So what if there weren¡¯t menstrual pads at home? There were many ways to solve the problem. Why had he chosen the silliest way out? At this thought, the man frowned and coughed slightly. He said as he looked at Qiao Yiyi, ¡°Ermn, I thought that if I treated you better, you¡¯d put more effort into my assignment. After all, it¡¯s a tough assignment.¡± The girl grimaced. She didn¡¯t for a moment buy that reason. But still, she did not think that his sudden kindness towards her had anything to do with any romantic intentions. Because Lu Nanze already had a woman he deeply loved! And her name was Qiao Lian. Even though she was already married, Lu Nanze couldn¡¯t forget her. He had even been depressed and drunk recently because of Qiao Lian¡¯s pregnancy and the fact that she had given birth. Unable to figure it out, she didn¡¯t think further but took the bag and entered the bathroom. She returned after she had changed out of her dirty clothes. She looked at the man and again said, ¡°Thank you! If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll be on my way.¡± As she walked towards the door, Lu Nanze called her, ¡°Hang on.¡± Qiao Yiyi halted. Lu Nanze hurried into the kitchen. Not long after, he returned carrying a ss of sweetened water and said, ¡°Here, drink this before you go.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... Something was definitely wrong with Lu Nanze today. She really wasn¡¯t used to him being so considerate. She grimaced as she took the ss from him and gulped down the drink. A wave of warmth spread from her mouth to her stomach. She sighed at the feeling offort that swept over her. Lu Nanze continued, ¡°If there¡¯s nowhere to go to, you can stay here. I¡¯m just about to leave.¡± She recalled the phone call he had had before all of this. He had mentioned that he was going somewhere after a shower. It had seemed urgent. But he had not taken his shower nor had he left yet, so now it seemed like the matter wasn¡¯t that urgent after all. But to stay here? Impossible. Chapter 1731 - He Is Actually Rather Dashing (1)

Chapter 1731: He Is Actually Rather Dashing (1)

If she stayed, wouldn¡¯t that mean letting the cat out of the bag at the Lu family¡¯s main vi? At the thought of this, Qiao Yiyi gave her usual answer, ¡°It¡¯s ok, I have somewhere to stay at.¡± Then she walked to the door. Lu Nanze: ... He would have tried to talk her around, but he knew Traceless well enough. She wasn¡¯t one to go back on her word, so if she said she wasn¡¯t staying, she wouldn¡¯t. But suddenly recalling something as Traceless neared the doorway, he asked, ¡°Why are you here, by the way?¡± With a casual wave of her hand, she said, ¡°To retrieve my merchandise.¡± Since she had the gemstone with her now, it didn¡¯t matter if she told him the truth. But as soon as she had said this, the man turned pale. He rushed towards her, but she quickly dashed into the courtyard. He panicked wildly. Darn! Why had he forgotten to tell the girl? The new owner of the item could no longer be trusted. When the person had found out that Lu Nanze had been trying to track down Traceless, this person had betrayed the girl. And this new owner must have done likewise, too, when Liang Liang had been trying to track down Traceless. Otherwise, how could both Liang Liang and himself have ended up at the Li family residence at the same time? But obviously, Traceless was none the wiser. Besides, the day set to hand in the stolen merchandise... Well, that wasn¡¯t going to happen at all now. Because the buyer had already given up on the gemstone. Hence, all of this was only a ploy by the police. He wondered about the roles Bai Anan and Liang Liang had yed in this scheme. The man became increasingly anxious as he thought about it. However, he realized that apart from being anxious, there was little else he could do. Because he had no way of contacting Traceless. It had always been Traceless who hade looking for him. Or it would be more appropriate to say that it had always been Traceless who hade to clean her wound. And now, what was he going to do?! Lu Nanze panicked. He got into his car and sped off, driving around and trying to see if he could find her to tell her this. But unfortunately, there was no sign of the girl. Not surprising. Traceless was an expert at hiding herself. The moment she was gone, there would be no sign of her left behind. The man frowned. After a moment, he gave up. He picked up his cell phone and called the butler. He instructed the man, ¡°I want you to keep a close watch over the Li family and also the buyer that Traceless was working for. I want to be the first to know of anything happening there.¡± ¡°Roger,¡± said the butler. After this call, Lu Nanze picked up the cell phone again, as another thought urred to him. He returned the call to the person who had called him earlier on. The moment the call connected, someone said in a sarcastic tone, ¡°Everyone says that you can¡¯t be moved by beautiful women, but obviously, you¡¯re having some romantic experiences. Who was the girl I overheard you having a shower with over the phone just then? It certainly didn¡¯t sound like Madam Lu!¡± Liang Liang sounded tipsy. Obviously, he had had a few drinks. Lu Nanze cast his gaze down andughed icily. ¡°You should just mind your own business and look after yourself first! Where are you?¡± Liang Liang sighed and said, ¡°I¡¯m a nobody now, and I¡¯m depressed. And you¡¯re still not here to keep mepany!¡± Lu Nanze kept silent. Liang Liang continuedughing like a fool. He sounded like he had downed another ss of something, as Lu Nanze heard the sound of gulping. Immediately, Liang Liang added, ¡°Lu Nanze, tell me honestly, is Traceless really dead?¡± When Lu Nanze heard this, his eyes narrowed. The image of Traceless leaving after getting the gemstone came back to him. He looked down and said, ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Chapter 1732 - He Is Actually Rather Dashing (2)

Chapter 1732: He Is Actually Rather Dashing (2)

The gemstone¡¯s buyer had betrayed Traceless. Hence, this person must have colluded with the police. Even though he knew that no matter what he said now, Liang Liang would find out that Traceless wasn¡¯t dead the moment the buyer got the gemstone, he waspelled to lie. Because with his affirmation, perhaps Liang Liang would no longer see the need to lure her and track her down. And in turn, this could mean a lucky escape for Traceless. Although this possibility was small, he was willing to give it a try for the sake of Traceless¡¯ safety. There was an immediate silence the moment Liang Liang heard his answer. Then he burst outughing. He hung his head and sobbed as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t think I¡¯m a loser. Clearly, I hate her, but when I heard about her death, I was beside myself with grief.¡± Lu Nanze felt nothing at all as he listened to the other man. Who else could he me if he couldn¡¯t even protect the woman he loved? Lu Nanze merely let out a sarcasticugh. He said indifferently, ¡°Uh huh, and?¡± ¡°Do you know where she¡¯s buried?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Maybe she¡¯s still alive?¡± ¡°It¡¯s possible. After all, my sources are not that reliable.¡± Liang Liang¡¯s heart sank upon hearing that sarcastic remark. Lu Nanze¡¯s sources had always been faster and more urate than the police¡¯s. There was no reason for the man to lie to him, was there? At this thought, Liang Liang downed another drink and asked, ¡°When are youing? You said you wereing here to drink with me. Didn¡¯t you say you¡¯de after your shower? Are you thinking of abandoning our brotherhood for the sake of a woman?¡± Brotherhood? He, Lu Nanze, certainly did not need such a loser as a brother. He snorted icily and replied, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go now.¡± He hung up. However, instead of driving to the bar, he drove home instead. If Liang Liang was feeling sad, then what about Traceless? Wasn¡¯t she feeling sad too? What was the point of feeling sad? Wasn¡¯t he the one who had schemed to capture Traceless in the first ce? Feeling sad now that something had happened to Traceless was just shedding crocodile tears! A person like Liang Liang, it would serve him right to die from drinking. That would save Traceless from all her heartaches. The more Lu Nanze thought about this, the angrier the man became. ¨C Qiao Yiyi got into bed after returning home. The waves of pain in her abdomen were extremely ufortable. Lying back in bed, she stared at the ceiling with her hands on her stomach. The pain was making it impossible for her to sleep. Tomorrow was the day that she had to give the gemstone to her client. In this condition, there was no way she could safely deliver the item and then make a getaway. She cast her gaze down. As she contemted her action n, she heard the sound of an approaching car, which meant that Lu Nanze must be home. She focused on the movements downstairs. After a moment, she heard his footsteps going up the stairs. Then he entered his bedroom and there was silence afterwards. She twitched her lips. What a strange man he was. He would give Traceless a ss of sweetened water, but he wouldn¡¯t do that for his own wife?! That was just... As she thought about this, she fell asleep. In the middle of the night, she was suddenly woken up by a loud knocking on the vi¡¯s main door. Bam! Bam! Bam! It woke everyone in the vi up. Chapter 1733 - He Is Actually Rather Dashing (3)

Chapter 1733: He Is Actually Rather Dashing (3)

Qiao Yiyi sat up in a daze. Then she walked out of her room and looked down. As a professional thief, she was especially sensitive to her surroundings. The noise didn¡¯t seem toe from the police, who would have surrounded her in silence. Hence, whoever it was was likely not after her. As the thought crossed her mind, Liang Liang hollered outside, ¡°Lu Nanze,e out here! You bastard! You said you were apanying me for a drink, but you stood me up! I waited till now!¡± Qiao Yiyi nced at her cell phone. It was 2 a.m. So when Lu Nanze had mentioned at the vi that he was going out to meet someone, that eventually hadn¡¯t happened?! In that case, Liang Liang berating the man wasn¡¯t unreasonable. She couldn¡¯t help having the evil thought that, if the two men were to fall out, perhaps she might have something to gain from it? At this point, Lu Nanze¡¯s bedroom door swung open. He made his way out slowly in his nightgown, looking like he had just woken up. He nced downstairs and instructed the butler, ¡°Take him to the cer, let him drink as he pleases.¡± After saying this, he turned and went back into his room. The people downstairs stood there, stumped, looking at each other. Finally, Liang Liang spoke, ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear that? Take me to the cer!¡± The man looked like the type who could hold more than a few drinks. Hence, even though he had been drinking at the bar all night, and looked as though he was quite drunk, he was in fact still sober. He lifted his head to look upstairs and then shouted, ¡°Lu Nanze, hurry up! Det dressed and apany me for a drink!¡± After saying that, he turned and staggered towards the cer. Qiao Yiyi stood outside her bedroom, observing the situation. After a while, Lu Nanze emerged all dressed and walked to the cer as well. It looked like Liang Liang was in a bad mood. Could he have had a fight with Bai Anan? She couldn¡¯t help thinking scornfully that a person like him would never be happy trying to get along with Bai Anan. It was better that they argued now. Suddenly, feeling a little gleeful, she got back into bed, closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep. ¨C A dreamless night. Early next morning, upon waking up, Qiao Yiyi heard a voice outside the door. It was Lu Nanze. ¡°I don¡¯t wish to be disturbed. Let me sleep for a while. Send Liang Liang to the guest room.¡± The butler acknowledged this. Then Lu Nanze went to his bedroom and shut the door behind him. It sounded like he was going to sleep. After a night of drinking and only then going to sleep, it was almost certain that he would be knocked out for the rest of the day. Qiao Yiyi sighed in relief. Since this was the case, she was free to roam around for a bit. Although she was injured, she still needed to move her body and exercise a little. She could rot from being kept up in the house all day. Except that, when Qiao Yiyi opened the door, she was surprised to see... Who the hell was this standing right before her door?! Liang Liang stood before her, his face flushed from the alcohol and his eyes bloodshot. At this point, his eyes were no longer bright and clear. Instead, there was something sentimental behind that look. When he saw Qiao Yiyi, tears started to roll down his face as he said, ¡°Sister-inw, she¡¯s dead.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ...!! What was that? Who was the ¡°she¡± he was referring to? Bai Anan? Was Bai Anan dead?! Otherwise, why would the man be so sad?! Chapter 1734 - He Is Actually Rather Dashing (4)

Chapter 1734: He Is Actually Rather Dashing (4)

Just as she was thinking, the butler said, ¡°Mr. Liang, the guest room is on that side. Let me take you there to rest.¡± However, Liang Liang pointed at Qiao Yiyi and said, ¡°No, I want Sister-inw to hear me out, I have many things to say.¡± He sounded aggrieved, those listening didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. The butler hesitated and replied, ¡°Mr. Liang, this doesn¡¯t make sense.¡± Before he could finish speaking, the door of Lu Nanze¡¯s room suddenly opened. He looked at Liang Liang directly and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± The butler spoke, ¡°Mr. Liang said that he wanted Madam to apany him.¡± Upon hearing this, Lu Nanze¡¯s gaze suddenlynded on Qiao Yiyi. He raised his eyebrows and asked, ¡°Are you two very close?¡± Close my ass! Qiao Yiyi wanted to shake her head immediately, but before she could do that, Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes suddenly and spoke after a while, ¡°Then you should go take care of him and apany him.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ...!! Everyone in the room was shocked again after hearing Lu Nanze¡¯s words. His good friend was drunk and teasing his wife, yet he just pushed Qiao Yiyi to him?! Qiao Yiyi herself was also stunned. What was happening? Lu Nanze looked at her again. ¡°You will apany him the whole day, make sure he doesn¡¯t leave the house.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ...!! If she wasn¡¯t allowed to leave the house either, how was she going to deliver the merchandise? Qiao Yiyi spoke, ¡°I¡ª¡± ¡°That¡¯s it,¡± Lu Nanze said, turned around and walked into his own bedroom. Qiao Yiyi: ...!! Qiao Yiyi stared at the butler with her eyes widened in shock. ¡°Butler, this- this isn¡¯t right, right?¡± The butler¡¯s face was also really bitter. Of course, he knew that it wasn¡¯t right. What did it mean for Mrs. Lu to apany Mr. Liang in the guest room for a day? But the butler was able to work around the problem and find a solution. He pointed at the living room and said, ¡°The sofa is very big. Mr. Liang can sleep on the sofa. Madam, you can apany him as though he¡¯s a guest.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... This was indeed a good solution. This butler was quite creative. Since Liang Liang had drunk too much, he would be ufortable lying on the sofa... Well, why should she care about that? It was already good enough that she hadn¡¯t put a knife through his heart. As Qiao Yiyi thought so, she smirked secretly and nodded. When she proceeded downstairs, she couldn¡¯t resist turning her head to look at Lu Nanze¡¯s bedroom door. The bedroom door was still closed and this man¡¯s intentions were so hard to guess. ¡ª¡ª Actually, it wasn¡¯t hard to guess at all. Lu Nanze had only one thought: Liang Liang must remain in the Lu family¡¯s house today. Since Traceless had to deliver the stolen gem to her customer tonight, as long as Liang Liang wasn¡¯t around, there would be a significantly lesser chance of Bai Anan trying to catch Traceless. Thus, Lu Nanze hadn¡¯t slept that night to apany Liang Liang drinking. Even though he could really tolerate alcohol and didn¡¯t usually get drunk, he was still slightly tipsy. He had trouble focusing, yet he only hoped that he couldst and stay conscious for a while longer and keep Liang Liang here. As for Liang Liang, since he had requested Qiao Yiyi to apany him, she could just do it. Lu Nanze didn¡¯t mind it at all. Later on, where he discovered the truth, he regretted it immensely. How could he have given such a bastard the chance to be alone with his wife?! But at that moment, hey on the bed, and all he could think of was how to contact Traceless and tell her not to go to the meeting tonight. Chapter 1735 - He Is Actually Rather Dashing (5)

Chapter 1735: He Is Actually Rather Dashing (5)

At the living room downstairs. Qiao Yiyi stared at Liang Liang from the sofa with boredom. Liang Liang was crying profusely. As a grown man, he might have drunk too much, since he was releasing his emotions with all his might at that moment. He was crying as he said, ¡°I really like her! I didn¡¯t want to cause her death, so why did she die?¡± Although he was crying hard, Qiao Yiyi didn¡¯t feel anything at all. When the man had behaved coldly in the past, she might have felt sad, but she had realized then that he wasn¡¯t as heartless as she had thought. She decided to just treat it as a teary moment and stared at him casually. But she was surprised when he then said, ¡°Sister-inw, tell me, how can Traceless be so heartless?!¡± Qiao Yiyi: ...!! Qiao Yiyi, who was drinking milk, almost spit the milk on him. The upset man was crying so hard, and he wasn¡¯t crying over Bai Anan, yet over her? But she was still good and alive, this man was so negative. Just as she was thinking, Liang Liang lifted his head up and grabbed her hand all of a sudden. He said, ¡°I really really like her. In my whole life, she¡¯s the only woman I¡¯ve liked. But she¡¯s super stubborn and insists on being a thief. What¡¯s so good about being a thief? She¡¯ll never get the chance to stand before everyone in broad daylight. Why is she so stubborn and unwilling to make such a small change for me? I¡¯m a police officer, what can I do?¡± After hearing his words, Qiao Yiyi was shocked and stood rooted to the ground. She stared at Liang Liang in disbelief. And then she couldn¡¯t help but sneer. She had thought all along that Liang Liang had no feelings for her, that he had just been using her, so she hadn¡¯t expected him to say that. But why was he calling her stubborn? It was him that hadn¡¯t trusted her, it was him that had never trusted her. There had never been truth between them. Just as he had said, he was a police officer, and her? She would be a thief forever. As she thought so, Qiao Yiyi couldn¡¯t help asking, ¡°So you brought your people and tried to kill her?¡± Liang Liang lifted his head up, dazed. ¡°I didn¡¯t. I never- I didn¡¯t want to kill her.¡± ¡°But you did that in the end!¡± Liang Liang was stunned. Heughed bitterly as he lowered his head. ¡°Yes, I was bad luck for her. She was badly injured and there wasn¡¯t any news from her for half a year. I had almost lost hope when I heard about her again. They told me that she was going to the Li family to steal. So I followed this tip... I couldn¡¯t have imagined that she would get injured again. I still caused her... death.¡± Qiao Yiyi felt really ufortable hearing him say the word ¡°death.¡± She was living just fine, he was jixing her. With this thought, Qiao Yiyi instantly took a deep breath and said, ¡°Who told you that she died? Maybe she¡¯s still alive.¡± ¡°Heh, Sister-inw, you don¡¯t have tofort me. It¡¯s Lu Nanze who told me, his sources are usually urate.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... urate my ass! Besides, Lu Nanze was the one who could know for certain whether Traceless was alive or not. What did he mean by telling Liang Liang she had died? Qiao Yiyi was extremely furious. She stared at Liang Liang, so angry that she was speechless. What exactly was Lu Nanze doing? She had thought that he was a good guy. Why was he spreading false news about her? Chapter 1736 - He Is Actually Rather Dashing (6)

Chapter 1736: He Is Actually Rather Dashing (6)

While Qiao Yiyi got angry, Lu Nanze, who seemed to have slept two hours, walked down the stars. He seemed to have drunk quite a lot yesterday night, he reeked really strongly of alcohol. When he approached the sofa, Lu Nanze took a nce at them. Liang Liang¡¯s eyes were closed. He had fallen asleep on the sofa. Lu Nanze instructed Qiao Yiyi. ¡°Apany him well.¡± And he left quickly. Qiao Yiyi: ...! At that moment, Qiao Yiyi was staring at Lu Nanze as though she wanted to kill him. She felt as if there was a wild cat in her heart, which had stuck out its ws to scratch her and was causing her anxiety. She couldn¡¯t keep still. Apany Liang Liang? Then how was she going to deliver the item to her client tonight? Qiao Yiyi cursed silently. She turned her head. What should she do now? If she couldn¡¯t even go out of the house, no ns would work out. Furthermore, she was in the living room. All the housekeepers in the house were staring at her. She couldn¡¯t even go to the bathroom for a long time. And unluckily, she didn¡¯t have any people to help her in Suzhou. It was such a headache. She continued staring at Liang Liang, who was lying on the bed. And just as she was stressing out about what she could do, Liang Liang¡¯s phone rang suddenly. Qiao Yiyi was stumped. Liang Liang, who seemed to hear the noise, stuck out his hand and picked up his phone. He picked up the call and ced the phone by his ear. She didn¡¯t know what the person on the other end of the line had said, but his eyes suddenly widened and he said in shock, ¡°What did you say?¡± The person on the other end said something again. Liang Liang instantly lowered his voice. ¡°She¡¯s already dead. Why is she gathering so many people?¡± His voice was too soft and Qiao Yiyi couldn¡¯t hear him at all. The person who was on the call with Liang Liang was shocked. ¡°Traceless died? I- I didn¡¯t receive any news! Bai Anan is certain that Traceless didn¡¯t die, that¡¯s why this happened. Besides, Traceless told her client that she¡¯d be delivering the gem today.¡± Liang Liang: ... Liang Liang felt as if he had fallen into a trap. His confusion disappearedpletely and he instantly woke up from all the alcohol he had consumed. He widened his eyes and stared at his phone in disbelief. After a while, he yelled, ¡°Damn it! This bastard Lu Nanze! I¡¯ming right away!¡± He hung up the phone and stood up instantly, intending to leave. However, the butler took a step forward and stopped him. ¡°Mr. Liang, you can¡¯t leave. You drank so much!¡± ¡°Let go!¡± Liang Liang howled and directly walked out. As a trained officer, Liang Liang¡¯s was undoubtedly strong. Or else, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to catch up with Traceless in the past. Thus, who in the Lu family would dare to stop him? Furthermore, Lu Nanze hadn¡¯t told his employees that Liang Liang must stay in the Lu family¡¯s house when he had left. Liang Liang barged out of the living room and directly drove away. One of the housekeepers was somewhat worried. ¡°He drank so much, do you think he will be alright?¡± Qiao Yiyi looked worried on the surface but deep inside, she was really happy. Wow! Liang Liang had left. Did that mean she could also leave?! As this thought emerged, Qiao Yiyi instantly looked at the butler and said, ¡°Sir, I- I- Mr. Lu asked me to apany Liang Liang. I- I¡¯ll go out to take a look!¡± After she said this, she lowered her head and ran out as though chasing Liang Liang. Chapter 1737 - He Is Actually Rather Dashing (7)

Chapter 1737: He Is Actually Rather Dashing (7)

Butler: ...! Why were things so strange around this household? There was a husband who wanted his wife to apany another man, and now the wife seemed to be running after this same man. This was simply... nonsense. But Liang Liang had left. As the thought struck him, he quickly picked up the cell phone and called Lu Nanze. ¡°Mr. Lu, Mr. Liang left in a hurry after receiving a call.¡± Upon hearing this, he snorted and hung up. He was now before the doorstep of Qiao Yiyi¡¯s client. She was a widow. The man that she had been previously married to had once ganged up with Senior Master Li to steal her diamond. Eventually, she had be wealthy, but even then she hadn¡¯t been able to recover the gem. It was only after her awful husband died that she had started trying to regain it. Tonight, Traceless had to go there and deliver the item she had been hired to steal. Lu Nanze sat in the car at a parking lot opposite the house. From this ce, he could clearly see what was going on in the house. He could also clearly see the undercover police standing around. Lu Nanze looked around. There were also a few sniper points. It looked like the police were hell bent on capturing Traceless. Especially since this ce was in the open, it was certainly an easier ce to capture someonepared to the Li family¡¯s vi. Lu Nanze clenched his fists tightly and silently said, ¡°Traceless, you must note, you must not show up.¡± And as he was thinking this, he suddenly saw Liang Liang¡¯s car speeding towards the house. Because Lu Nanze¡¯s parking spot was in the shadows, Liang Liang did not see him. The moment Liang Liang arrived, he immediately grabbed one of the undercover police officers and demanded, ¡°Where¡¯s Bai Anan?!¡± The police officer replied, ¡°She¡¯s giving instructions from the cafeteria in front.¡± Liang Liang nodded and went to the cafe. Bai Anan was indeed in the cafe, watching as Liang Liang strode towards her. Her eyes narrowed. Then she smiled, stood up and greeted him, ¡°Brother Liang, what brings you here?¡± Liang Liang sneered, ¡°What brings me here? Don¡¯t you know?! Bai Anan, I want to know who has asked you to carry out this mission?!¡± Bai Anan replied with a smile, ¡°Of course, this was arranged by the station.¡± Liang Liang insisted further, ¡°Then why wasn¡¯t I informed?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t this- After all, you have a history with Traceless, so we didn¡¯t want to cause suspicions.¡± ¡°To avoid causing suspicions? If it is to avoid suspicions, then why was I informed thest time? Does avoiding suspicions depend on the asion?!¡± Bai Anan was left speechless. Liang Liang continued with a frostyugh, ¡°Let me tell you, Traceless is dead! You are just wasting your efforts!¡± When Bai Anan heard this, she was taken aback. She asked, ¡°Who said that she¡¯s dead?¡± Liang Liang wasn¡¯t going to give Lu Nanze away and said instead, ¡°I heard the news from someone.¡± Bai Anan smiled icily and replied, ¡°You¡¯ve said yourself that this is second-hand news. In any case, everyone¡¯s already in ce for tonight¡¯s mission, it¡¯s toote to cancel it!¡± ¡°Also, Brother Liang, you don¡¯t know if Traceless is really dead. Perhaps it¡¯s fake news?¡± Having said this, she pointed at the building in front of them and continued, ¡°If you want to know, it¡¯s very simple. Just hang around here and see if Traceless turns up tonight! If she turns up, it means she¡¯s not dead. If she doesn¡¯t, then it shows that she¡¯s dead.¡± Chapter 1738 - He Is Actually Rather Dashing (8)

Chapter 1738: He Is Actually Rather Dashing (8)

Liang Liang paused for a moment upon hearing these words. He stared ahead in a conundrum, caught between wanting Traceless to turn up and hoping that she wouldn¡¯t. If she came, this would mean she wasn¡¯t dead. Buting here would be putting her life at risk. If she didn¡¯t turn up, it would mean that she was dead. After all, everyone in the underground world knew that Traceless meant what she said and had never failed to deliver on time. Liang Liang stood there in silence. Bai Anan clenched her fists tightly as she looked at him, as a feeling of jealousy overcame her. Even though he thought she was dead, he still could not forget her. Would she never match up to that little thief Traceless in Liang Liang¡¯s heart? Bai Anan had grown up under considerably fortunate circumstances and had never been treated like this by anyone. She drew in a deep breath and looked ahead steadily. Traceless, you¡¯d better be dead. Otherwise tonight, you will meet your end! At this thought, she turned around and waved at a sniper nearby. She gave him a signal. If Traceless appeared here, she was to be killed immediately. The street was silent. The client¡¯s door remained tightly shut. An ominous silence hung over the street, as though awaiting a great happening. Lu Nanze sat in the car, quietly hidden in the inconspicuous corner, observing the situation. At the same time, he was silently cursing the sc*umbag Liang Liang. Had he not seen the sniper points around when he arrived? What was he doing standing around in the cafe?! Why hadn¡¯t he ordered the snipers to step down? At this thought, he couldn¡¯t help but despise Liang Liang. Then he turned his attention back to the surroundings. If Traceless were to turn up, where would enter? He frowned and thought hard. At this point, everyone fell silent and the atmosphere became tense and oppressive. After some time, perhaps because it was peak hour and people were getting off work, the street was gradually filled with more pedestrians. Many of them were students who had just finished school for the day. There were also office workers who had just finished work.. But because this was an upper ss district, it wasn¡¯t as crowded. At this point, an express delivery vehicle under thepany name XX Speedpost approached at a slow speed. The driver was wearing a hat. Because it was summer, the hat had a wide brim that covered most of his face. Only his chin and a rough pair of lips could be seen. He went to the first two houses and then continued from house to house to deliver the mail. Finally, he arrived at the client¡¯s house. The delivery man got out of the vehicle and took out a parcel from the pile he had. Then he walked up to the door and knocked on it. He knocked like delivery men were told to do in their training, there was nothing amiss. Bai Anan looked at him and made a quick assessment. Then she looked at the house. The door of the client¡¯s house swung open and the butler came out. ¡°Express delivery for you.¡± The delivery man handed the express delivery parcel to the butler. The butler was puzzled and asked, ¡°Did we order anything?¡± The delivery man smiled and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know. I just deliver packages that people send. Alright, I¡¯ll be on my way, I have to keep working.¡± The butler nodded. Then the delivery man went to the next house. As before, he spent some time searching through his pile before drawing out a parcel and delivering it to thest house. Chapter 1739 - He Is Actually Rather Dashing (9)

Chapter 1739: He Is Actually Rather Dashing (9)

The delivery man looked at his vehicle and moved ahead. The person was about to leave thepound when, suddenly, a loud and piercing scream rang through the client¡¯s house. Bai Anan immediately snapped to attention and sprang to her feet. She spoke into the walkie-talkie, ¡°Hurry up! Go and see what¡¯s happening!!¡± Ever since Traceless had held her hostage, she had not dared to involve herself in the action and just gave instructions from a distance. She couldn¡¯t possibly risk her own life to fight Traceless. In case Traceless made her a scapegoat, even in herst moment before death, it wasn¡¯t worth it. But right now, Bai Anan was extremely anxious and truly wanted to go and see the situation for herself. At this point, one of the team members spoke, ¡°Team Leader Bai, it¡¯s- it¡¯s¡ª¡± ¡°What is it?!¡± ¡°That package, there was a dead rat inside! And- and in its mouth... the gemstone!¡± The gemstone in its mouth. This meant that the gemstone had been ced into the rat¡¯s mouth. Bai Anan¡¯s pupils shrank back and she turned her head around to look at Liang Liang. He was looking at the delivery man, who was about to leave thepound. His expression was shocked and confused, but there was also happiness and gratitude. She was alive. But it was also this expression that led Bai Anan to understand... That the delivery man was Traceless! ¡°Arrest that delivery man! Snipers get ready! Shoot at the delivery man!¡± Bai Anan shouted immediately. Liang Liang snapped to attention upon hearing those instructions. He turned to look at Bai Anan and asked, ¡°What did you say? Snipers?!¡± He lifted his gaze and looked around. Indeed, not far from where they were, he saw a hidden sniping point. Liang Liang was livid at once and demanded, ¡°Bai Anan, what is this?! Don¡¯t you know this is a residential area! You could hurt a civilian by doing this!¡± Bai Anan smirked and said, ¡°It¡¯s not the civilians you¡¯re worried about, it¡¯s Traceless, isn¡¯t it? Brother Liang, I¡¯m telling you now, even if she has wings, she¡¯s not going to get out of here today!¡± On this note, Bai Anan shoved Liang Liang aside, dashed out and shouted, ¡°Snipers get ready!¡± ¡°No!¡± Liang Liang followed her closely. ¨C The corners of Qiao Yiyi¡¯s mouth curved into a smile. Did they think she was a fool?! The other night, even if Lu Nanze was cunning enough to find out she was going to the Li family, how could Bai Anan and Liang Liang have known about it too? It had to be her client who had given it away. The client could no longer be trusted. But she had toe today because her ce in the world of organized crime as Traceless, the professional thief, must remain unshaken. She had to maintain her reputation as a professional thief. Hence, it was necessary to make the delivery to the client. And she didn¡¯t want to merely deliver the item, she wanted to give the client a big gift. The dead rat was a warning to the world of organized crime that she, Traceless, was not an easy pushover. Under the watchful eyes of the police, she coulde and go without a trace, and even give her client a warning. Thus, if a future client even thought of betraying her, he wouldn¡¯t just get a dead rat. Qiao Yiyi quickened her steps at this thought. As a sharp person, she soon realized that there was a sniper aiming at her. In a sh, she jumped out of the delivery vehicle and rolled on the ground. After getting on her feet, she ran away like a lightning bolt. Chapter 1740 - He Is Actually Rather Dashing (10)

Chapter 1740: He Is Actually Rather Dashing (10)

Qiao Yiyi dodged the rain of bullets from the sniper¡¯s rifles. Watching the bullets fly past her, she took cover in the crowd. As the police, of course they couldn¡¯t shoot into the crowd, hence Qiao Yiyi was safe for the moment. With her head lowered, she moved forward. Her sports car was parked near the entrance of thepound, it wouldn¡¯t take her long to get to it. Hence, a safe escape was no big deal. But just at this point... Screech! A car came to a screeching halt in front of her, almost crashing into her. Qiao Yiyi froze for a moment, wondering if this time the police had managed to react quickly. But as the thought crossed her mind, the car door swung open. She turned around, ready to take flight, when someone grabbed her arm. This was followed by a familiar voice that said, ¡°Get in!¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... She turned around in astonishment and saw Lu Nanze in the driver seat. She narrowed her eyes and got into the front passenger seat without a moment of dy. The moment she was in the seat, he started the car up and sped away. Behind them, the police finally appeared, watching helplessly as they got away. ¨C Looking at their getaway vehicle, Qiao Yiyi remarked, ¡°An ordinary Volkswagen sedan. Lu Nanze, since when do you have this car?¡± He coughed slightly at this remark and rified, ¡°It¡¯s not mine.¡± He usually drove his own vehicle over, but he had known that if he took her away in that car, he would get trouble. Hence he had to use someone else¡¯s car. She was surprised and asked, ¡°Whose is it then? You have a friend with this type of car?¡± Lu Nanze was stumped for a moment. Qiao Yiyi thought for a moment and it dawned on her. ¡°Damn, don¡¯t tell me you stole just any car parked on the street?¡± The man retorted, ¡°What do you mean stole? I¡¯m just borrowing it and will return it once I¡¯m done with it.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... Qiao Yiyi grimaced and couldn¡¯t help teasing him, ¡°Lu Nanze, I didn¡¯t think we were actually in the same profession! And I have to add, you¡¯re quite skillful at it.¡± She spoke triumphantly as she assessed the state of the vehicle. As she said this, the car took a sharp and sudden turn ahead. Lu Nanze floored the elerator on purpose, causing Qiao Yiyi to hit her head against the side. Qiao Yiyi: ... He started, ¡°Sorry, slip of my foot.¡± She stared at him and hissed, ¡°Childish!¡± Without another word, the man looked ahead and continued driving. Qiao Yiyi twitched her lips and turned to look behind them. Because the car had intervened very suddenly and had also left very suddenly and unexpectedly, even though there had been police cars surrounding the area, they had not managed to catch up. She eximed, ¡°Your driving skills are pretty impressive!¡± He continued to stare ahead and said, ¡°Uh huh. I rescued you.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ...!! She twitched her lips again. ring at him, she opened her mouth. She wanted to say that even if you hadn¡¯t saved me, I could have escaped on my own. But she decided against it and swallowed those words. It would have been too heartless to say something like this to someone who had just rescued her. But just as her heart softened, the man spoke, ¡°You owe me two favors now. How are you going to thank me?¡± She was bbergasted. Immediately, she regretted being soft-hearted. Chapter 1741 - He Is Actually Rather Dashing (11)

Chapter 1741: He Is Actually Rather Dashing (11)

Qiao Yiyi twitched her lips and turned to look out of the window, refusing to speak another word. Lu Nanze threw a sidelong nce at her and found himself smiling. He had no idea what her escape n had been, but when he saw her scornful smile then, he had been dazed. The confidence that she had carried herself with told him how certainly unnecessary his aid had been tonight. Even though she was injured, escaping from that sort ofplex trap was a small matter to her. Furthermore... She had chosen to turn up knowing that it was a trap. It was a p to Bai Anan¡¯s face and also a warning to the client, that she could hold her ground in the world of organized crime. The woman awoke multiple emotions in him. He felt a subtle urge to take her into his embrace. Those emotions came so abruptly that he could not help turning towards her. She was staring back at him with herrge eyes, full of caution. ¡°So what is it that you want me to do for you now?!¡± Lu Nanze paused. He recalled that thest time he had saved her, he had asked her to steal the 1000-year-old ginseng from the Xu family. And this time, did she think he was going to give her some other task? However, seeing how anxious she seemed, he took the opportunity to tease her. He coughed slightly and said, ¡°Ummm, let me think about it.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... She almost exploded, ¡°Argh! I, your older sister, could have gotten away without you! What is this? Now you want your older sister to do you a favor?!¡± Lu Nanze: ... Your older sister. Who had taught her to speak like that? He narrowed his eyes as he looked ahead. ¡°What¡¯s up with the attitude you have when talking to me?¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... What sort of attitude did he expect? To be treated like her client? Qiao Yiyi put on a smile instantly and said, ¡°Well then, esteemed client, may I know what you¡¯d like me to do for you?¡± Lu Nanze: ... He cleared his throat and kept looking ahead as he drove. He said, ¡°Let me take some time to think about it.¡± ¡°Alright then, as long as it doesn¡¯t harm others and doesn¡¯t involve doing something evil, or any sexual favors, I will be able to deliver as you please.¡± After punishing the client, Qiao Yiyi was in a good mood and had started to chatter. The man smiled. But just as the corners of his lips curved up, Traceless asked, ¡°But you came especially to save me? Why?¡± The man replied, ¡°... I was only passing by.¡± ¡°Uh huh, passing by in an ordinary Volkswagen sedan.¡± Lu Nanze: ... It seemed that Qiao Yiyi had seen right through the lie. He suddenly looked a little embarrassed and coughed slightly once. Then he said, ¡°Ah, I rescued you because if anything were to happen to you, you won¡¯t be able to steal that 1000-year-old ginseng for me.¡± Qiao Yiyi sighed and said, ¡°I thought that the client had feelings for me. Turns out it¡¯s all about work, what a pity.¡± The man was instantly relieved upon hearing this. However the moment he rxed, Qiao Yiyi continued, ¡°But why did you tell Liang Liang I was dead? Also, you¡¯ve spread news about me dying from a heavy injury, after being shot in the shoulder by Bai Anan!¡± Lu Nanze: ...!! Qiao Yiyi sneered, ¡°So would you, the client, like to exin this?¡± Lu Nanze: ...!! How did she even know about this? He had been very careful to do it in secret. Chapter 1742 - He Is Actually Rather Dashing (12)

Chapter 1742: He Is Actually Rather Dashing (12)

He was indeed the one who had spread the news, but how did Qiao Yiyi know it was him? Could it have been Liang Liang who had told her? That was unlikely. Lu Nanze coughed slightly. ¡°Who told you I was the one who spread the news?¡± Qiao Yiyi replied without hesitating, ¡°Liang Liang.¡± Lu Nanze: ... Lu Nanze turned to look at her, his eyes narrowing. ¡°The two of you are in contact?¡± Oddly, he suddenly felt betrayed and abandoned. Since when had the two of them started contacting each other? That wasn¡¯t right. Liang Liang had himself drunk into a stuporst night,ing straight from his home. It wasn¡¯t possible that they had contacted each otherst night. At this point, Traceless burst outughing and said, ¡°How could that be possible?!¡± Since it wasn¡¯t Liang Liang who had told her, then there was only one other possibility. That would be that she had overheard Liang Liang talking about it. How could she have overheard it? Lu Nanze thought about it and realized that all this time, Traceless had not spent the nights at his vi. Could it be that she had been following Liang Liang? That although on the surface she seemed to have left their past behind, she actually still had feelings for him?! It was likely. It would be easy for the girl to follow someone without the person realizing it. The moment this thought urred to Lu Nanze, he felt most uneasy. He frowned and turned gloomy, falling silent. When Qiao Yiyi felt his sudden change and coldness, she stopped talking and turned towards him with a puzzled expression. He had been smiling just a moment ago and now his expression had darkened, as though someone owed him a fortune. But the problem was... what had she done to offend the man? She thought about what she had just said. Clearly, he was the one who had spread the rumors about her death, so what was he getting angry about? Qiao Yiyi twitched her mouth, finding this man scary beyond words. He was too temperamental. She refused to speak another word and turned to look out of the window. After a while, Lu Nanze pulled over by the side of the road and said, ¡°You can get off now.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... What a man! Was it really appropriate for him to dump her here?! She looked down at her delivery man¡¯s disguise and twitched her lips. ¡°I¡¯ll borrow your car for a moment then.¡± Upon saying those words, she squeezed in the space between the two front seats of the car. Then came a rustling sound. Lu Nanze was stunned for a moment. He looked into the rear view mirror and realized that... She was changing in his car. Changing!!! He stared in wide-eyed amazement at her pale skin and the tip of his ears blushed deeply. ¡°You- you could have warned me!¡± Even as he said that, his eyes never left the mirror, as though it held some sort of maic power so that he couldn¡¯t look away. She lifted her gaze and nced at him through the mirror, her eyes carrying an expression ofplete innocence under her silver mask. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± The man was rendered speechless. Qiao Yiyi lowered her head and looked at herself. She quickly changed her clothes and wrapped a mask around her mouth. Then she reached out with a hand and patted Lu Nanze on the shoulder. ¡°Enough already, it¡¯s not like you¡¯ve never seen me naked! Good brother, you treat me like any other man anyway, what¡¯s there to be shy about?¡± Lu Nanze: ...!! Chapter 1743 - He Is Actually Rather Dashing (13)

Chapter 1743: He Is Actually Rather Dashing (13)

Qiao Yiyi opened the car door and stepped out. She cocked her head, waved into the rear view mirror and said, ¡°Goodbye.¡± Then she turned around and retraced the road they had driven on. He watched as she boldly stood by the road, hailed a taxi, got into it and left. He frowned gloomily. Swinging open the car door, he also stepped out of the vehicle. He was quite sure that the police had kept tracked of the car he had driven to rescue Traceless. It was possible that the whole city was on the lookout for the vehicle. To stay on the safe side, it was best to abandon the car. For this reason, Lu Nanze had kicked Traceless out. He looked around and spotted a regr restaurant. He entered the restaurant and picked up his cell phone to make a call. Soon after this, a car pulled up outside. Lu Nanze got into the car and it drove away swiftly. Now the car that had been used to rescue Traceless was right there, by the roadside. ¨C Qiao Yiyi got into the taxi, immediately removing her mask to reveal her face underneath. The taxi-driver asked, ¡°Where to?¡± Qiao Yiyi gave him an address. It was the ce where she had just been rescued. Upon arriving, she got out of the taxi and eventually found her sports car. But she didn¡¯t get into the car. Instead, she approached ady on the sidewalk who was selling fruits and asked, ¡°Aunty, what happened here?¡± ¡°Oooh, goodness gracious! Don¡¯t you know? There was a shooting. Apparently, they were trying to catch a thief. That thief was impressive, disguised as a delivery man, and she delivered... a- a dead rat to that family there.¡± Qiao Yiyi got interested and probed, ¡°And what happened after that?¡± ¡°After that? The mistress of the household was so shocked she almost pissed her pants. Now she wants to sell the house and leave the country.¡± Qiao Yiyi twitched her lips and thought, ¡°Serves you right!¡± Although her profession wasn¡¯t legal, every job had its rules. The client had broken the rules and had to be punished. Now that she had made her point, the world of organized crime would know that Traceless was not one to fool with. Qiao Yiyi stood to her feet at this point, ready to leave. Thedy continued, ¡°Oh, Miss, if you are interested, I can tell you about that professional thief.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... Thedy held up an apple to Qiao Yiyi and said, ¡°Here, it¡¯s free. I¡¯ll talk as you eat.¡± After such a tough day, Qiao Yiyi was indeed thirsty. Hence she nodded and took a big bite of the apple. Thedy said, ¡°I¡¯m telling you, they were two great partners in crime! The girl came and she did the delivery, while her husband was waiting outside. This couple¡ª¡± Before the woman could finish, Qiao Yiyi raised her hand when she heard the sentence ¡°great partners in crime.¡± ¡°Pffft!¡± She threw up the apple and started tough uncontrobly. The woman was puzzled and asked, ¡°Miss, what are youughing about? Let me tell you, I heard that this criminal couple gets along exceptionally well.¡± Qiao Yiyi could not stopughing. Partners in crime! Lu Nanze had now be the male thief? If this got to Lu Nanze¡¯s ear, surely it would drive him crazy. Chapter 1744 - He Is Actually Rather Dashing (14)

Chapter 1744: He Is Actually Rather Dashing (14)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In the meantime. Lu Nanze was back in his vi. He looked somewhat sullen, thinking that Traceless and Liang Liang were in contact. He felt choked up and couldn¡¯t be sure himself what he was feeling. Hence, when the butler noticed his gloomy expression, he did not dare to say what he had wanted to say. This did not escape Lu Nanze¡¯s eyes. He snapped at the butler, ¡°Say what you need to!¡± The butler immediately lowered his head and said, ¡°Sir, Madam has not returned since she went out with Mr. Liang.¡± Upon hearing those words, Lu Nanze unleashed his temper and shouted, ¡°It¡¯s up to her whether she wishes toe home, what has it got to do with me?¡± Butler: ... The butler fumbled to speak, not knowing where or how to start. How could that not have anything to do with you? Isn¡¯t she your wife? But of course, he couldn¡¯t say that. He hung his head. Lu Nanze snorted and continued, ¡°What¡¯s in the news today?¡± Ever since he had met Traceless, he had started to pay attention to the news. The moment he asked, the butler looked up and said, ¡°Something did happen in a well-known vipound. There was a shooting, apparently the police were after a professional thief called Traceless. It was even rumored that this Traceless works with another criminal, that they are a criminal couple.¡± Pffft. Cough! Cough! Cough! Lu Nanze spit out his tea. The man, who never lost hisposure, snapped his head up at this point to look at the butler with a shocked expression. ¡°What did you just say?¡± His expression clouded over. In the past, he, Lu Nanze, had been a man much feared by others. Now he was a well-known tycoon in the business world. He was used to being a respected man of the upper echelons of the society. This was the first time he made news as a thief. What sh*t was that about being a criminal couple? That was aplete insult to his position. As he took this situation in, he heard a voice at the door, ¡°Mr. Liang.¡± Before he could say anything else, someone had charged into the house,ing right at Lu Nanze. Liang Liang looked angry as he stood in front of Lu Nanze. He pointed a finger at the man and said, ¡°Well, what a nice friend you are!¡± With those words, he sat down on the sofa in front of Lu Nanze. ¡°Tell me, why did you lie to me, saying that Traceless was dead? Did you know I was so depressed yesterday I almost died!¡± Lu Nanze looked at the man with cold indifference and said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you still alive and kicking?¡± Liang Liang hollered, ¡°Why did you lie to me?!¡± Lu Nanze lowered his head to study his fingers and replied, ¡°There¡¯s no reason. I just felt... that you didn¡¯t have to go so far.¡± Liang Liang looked up at the man in stunned silence. Lu Nanze continued after a long pause, ¡°Even if you broke up, why did you have to push her into a corner? She¡¯s a woman, no matter what. Don¡¯t you know what everyone is saying about you?¡± Liang Liang clenched his fists tightly upon hearing those words. He looked at Lu Nanze steadily and asked, ¡°And that¡¯s what you think of me as well?¡± Lu Nanze did not try to avoid his gaze. He said, ¡°I never thought about how you should be thought of. And how you treat Traceless is none of my business either. I have no desire to know what happened between the two of you.¡± Liang Liang¡¯s anger quickly died down after Lu Nanze¡¯s bold statement. He bit his lip and hung his head. With a deep sigh, he said, ¡°Yes, something did happen between us, but I can¡¯t say what. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have gone after her so relentlessly.¡± Chapter 1745 - He Is Actually Rather Dashing (15)

Chapter 1745: He Is Actually Rather Dashing (15)

As he said so, his eyes shed with hatred. He had never been yed so badly by a woman in his whole life. He took in a deep breath and lifted his head up. He looked at Lu Nanze and said, ¡°No matter what, you shouldn¡¯t treat me like this.¡± Lu Nanze lowered his eyes and said, ¡°Yes, I will tell you the truth the next time.¡± Liang Liang: ... Liang Liang stared at Lu Nanze and suddenly said, ¡°Why are you helping her so much?¡± Lu Nanze was stunned, he lifted his head and stared at Liang Liang. Liang Liang red back at him and asked, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve fallen in love with Traceless.¡± After he said that, Lu Nanze instantly retorted, ¡°How is that possible?!¡± Liang Liang sighed again. ¡°That¡¯s true, you only interacted with her once. But I didn¡¯t expect that Traceless would be able to find a man so quickly.¡± ¡°A man?¡± Lu Nanze fell silent. Liang Liang lowered his head. ¡°Today, when we were chasing Traceless, she jumped into a man¡¯s car. Both of them worked seamlessly, as if they were one person. It didn¡¯t look as though they¡¯ve just met, they must be friends that have known each other for a long period of time. It was as if their hearts were connected.¡± Lu Nanze had at first been angry because of the thief but now, seeing how sad Liang Liang looked and after hearing this, he couldn¡¯t help but smile. Their hearts connected? Indeed, sometimes Traceless and he somehow had the same ideas. Worked together seamlessly? Of course. It was him, Lu Nanze¡ªas long as he was willing to amodate, help and work with anyone, there wouldn¡¯t be a problem. ¡°So I have reached her conclusion that he¡¯s her boyfriend.¡± Liang Liang¡¯s words cause Lu Nanze to return to reality. Boyfriend? As he recalled Traceless¡¯ proud and arrogant look, he couldn¡¯t help but sneer. How was that possible?! He wouldn¡¯t date Traceless as long as the sun rose from the east. As he thought so, he lifted his head and looked out through the window. ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Liang Liang asked. Lu Nanze: ... He then realized the childish things he had done. Lu Nanze shook his head. ¡°Nothing, what were you talking about?¡± Liang Liang replied, ¡°I said that Traceless has a new boyfriend. How can she do that to me? How did she forget about me so quickly?¡± After he said so, Lu Nanze spoke coldly, ¡°But don¡¯t you have a fianc¨¦e?¡± Liang Liang instantly replied, ¡°That¡¯s different, it¡¯s because¡ª¡± Before he could finish speaking, he swallowed his words again and then said, ¡°You¡¯re really going to kill me by angering me! Are you my brother or her friend?¡± Lu Nanze lowered his head and replied, ¡°Of course it¡¯s-¡± Her friend. When dealing with feelings between a man and woman, no matter whose fault it was, he would usually take the woman¡¯s side. It was because, if a woman was willing to show her feelings for a man, she really loves him. Even in her sleep, Traceless had been sad because of him. Wasn¡¯t that sufficient?! What else did he want? Did he want Traceless to whine and cry every day because she had lost him? Like Qiao Yiyi, who didn¡¯t dare to face anyone?! As he thought about Qiao Yiyi, he was suddenly stunned and looked at Liang Liang. Then he realized something and asked Liang Liang, ¡°Where¡¯s Qiao Yiyi?¡± Liang Liang was also stunned. ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± Lu Nanze continued, ¡°Didn¡¯t she go out with you?¡± Liang Liang replied, ¡°... I didn¡¯t see her!¡± Lu Nanze frowned instantly and cursed angrily, ¡°Damn it!¡± Chapter 1746 - He Is Actually Rather Dashing (16)

Chapter 1746: He Is Actually Rather Dashing (16)

After hearing from the fruit seller that one of her customers was so scared that he was selling his house and moving away, Qiao Yiyi left,menting her misfortune. She wasn¡¯t ruthless, she had just been sending a warning. Her customer had learned her lesson and she might spend the rest of her life in fear, that was sufficient. Thus, Qiao Yiyi drove back to the Lu family¡¯s vi. Since it was over, Liang Liang had probably gone to settle scores with Lu Nanze and, as Mrs. Lu, it was time for her to return home. She parked the race car in a parking lot near her house and then got changed in it. Instantly, she turned from the awe-inspiring Traceless to Mrs. Lu. She walked into the house with her head low. And she gave out a weak look. Just at that moment, she suddenly heard someone call her from behind, ¡°Hello, Mrs. Lu!¡± Qiao Yiyi was stunned. She turned her head and saw a middle-aged woman, who looked amiable, standing behind her. Qiao Yiyi frowned with confusion. ¡°Do I know you?¡± Since she had addressed her as Mrs. Lu, she probably didn¡¯t know that she was Traceless. Besides that, the woman looked really friendly and nice, not like a bad person. That personughed. ¡°Someone asked me to give you this.¡± After she said so, she gave Qiao Yiyi a box. Qiao Yiyi raised an eyebrow and took the box from her. She casually opened it and a fragrant smell instantly wafted over. Qiao Yiyi, in her wariness, threw the box away quickly and hurriedly took two steps backwards. She hadn¡¯t inhaled the fragranced, so she instantly looked at that middle-aged woman warily. The woman was surprised that she hadn¡¯t managed to poison her and frowned. ¡°I would have never thought that Mrs. Lu would be so skilled! But too bad, you won¡¯t have a chance to leave today. Guys, get her!¡± After she said that, some people rushed towards her instantly. Qiao Yiyi narrowed her eyes and stretched her muscles. It had been long since she had trained and, since these people wereing to attack her, she could take it as a training. But when she thought so, she heard a voice from far away. ¡°What are all of you doing?!¡± Qiao Yiy was stunned. She suddenly turned around and saw Lu Nanze walking towards her with big steps. Qiao Yiyi: ...!! If Lu Nanze was here, as a supposedly weak woman, how could she know martial arts? In her hesitation, the middle-aged woman had already rushed over and covered Qiao Yiyi¡¯s nose. Then she grabbed her and pulled her back. Qiao Yiyi: ...!! It was really easy to escape from her kidnapper. But... Lu Nanze was here and she couldn¡¯t use any of her escaping skills. This was really... As she was thinking, two thick ropes tightened around her and tied her up. She was then lifted up and thrown into a truck. That middle-aged woman stared at Lu Nanze and said, ¡°Mr. Lu, if you want to get your wife back, meet me at the old deserted car garage in the outskirts. If you don¡¯t, don¡¯t me me for what might happen to her!¡± After she said that, she turned around and drove the truck away in front of Lu Nanze. Qiao Yiyi, who had been thrown into the trunk, had both her hands tied up. As she struggled to get up and look out, the truck started moving and this resulted in her falling hard on the ground. Chapter 1747 - He Is Actually Rather Dashing (17)

Chapter 1747: He Is Actually Rather Dashing (17)

This truck could have been used to transport eggs previously, as the floor was covered with rice straw. When she lifted her head, some of the rice straw was stuck to her mouth, making her a sorry sight to behold. She spat out the rice straw and sighed. What was this situation? The Traceless who had always been able to escape the police, who had always been able to get past her enemies¡¯ security to freelye and go, had now been kidnapped by a bunch of small-time thugs. Furthermore, it was because of Lu Nanze! But... As this thought ran through her mind, the door of the truck swung open. The middle-aged woman who had kidnapped her walked in. Upon seeing Qiao Yiyi, the middle-aged woman gave an icy smirk. Qiao Yiyi paused for a moment and asked, ¡°Who are you?¡± Thedy drew in a deep breath and said, ¡°I¡¯m Qiao Yiyi¡¯s mother.¡± Qiao Yiyi was stunned. ¡°What?¡± Immediately, a vicious glint shed across the woman¡¯s eyes as she rebuked the girl, ¡°Do you know why you ended up marrying Lu Nanze? Because Lu Nanze was supposed to marry a girl by the name of Qiao Yiyi! Then he sent her to jail, with a life sentence! And I am Qiao Yiyi¡¯s mother.¡± Xu Fang¡¯s eyes started to burn and turned bloodshot when she said this. She had been around twenty years old when she married Qiao Zhiqiang. She had thought she had married into a wealthy family, but she was shocked to discover after she had gotten married that Qiao Zhiqiang was a number two at home, that he had nothing to his name. The entire Qiao family¡¯s assets belonged to Qiao Lian¡¯s father. She had not been able toe to terms with it. That was why she had more than readily assisted when, at the time, Lu Nanze¡¯s father hade to Qiao Zhiqiang for help. Later on, she had used this matter against Lu Nanze¡¯s father, making him agree to take Qiao Yiyi as his daughter-inw through her marriage with Lu Nanze. But it had been beyond her expectations that this decision would eventually leave her daughter in such a plight. A daughter serving a life sentence. She had gone to the prison to see her daughter, and the girl had been tortured beyond recognition. Lu Nanze was simply a beast! No, he was worse than a beast. That was why she had taken all of her family savings to hire a group of thugs who feared nothing to deal with Lu Nanze. If he wanted to save Qiao Yiyi, then he would have to get her husband and daughter out of jail. Xu Fang stared at Qiao Yiyi after saying this. Qiao Yiyi finally realized who this person was. She was the mother of the Qiao Yiyi who was in jail. But... Qiao Yiyi¡¯s eyes shed as she said, ¡°You yourself know how I ended up marrying Mr. Lu. Mr. Lu doesn¡¯t care about me, it¡¯s no use holding me hostage.¡± Xu Fangughed scornfully and replied, ¡°Besides you, I don¡¯t know who else I can kidnap.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... Qiao Yiyi paused and then realized the meaning behind those words. Damn! Was this woman saying that she, Qiao Yiyi, was the Lu family¡¯s weakest link? However... If it hadn¡¯t been for Lu Nanze¡¯s sudden appearance, perhaps she would have already beaten all these people and gotten home by now. She just wanted to get back to bed. She was exhausted. Qiao Yiyi cursed Lu Nanze silently at this thought and contemted the situation. Should she escape from this truck now? Or should she wait for Lu Nanze to turn up and rescue her? If she went home alone, surely Lu Nanze would interrogate her. And if he were to find out that she knew martial arts, it would expose her identity. But if she were to wait for him, would he even show up?! Chapter 1748 - He Is Actually Rather Dashing (18)

Chapter 1748: He Is Actually Rather Dashing (18)

The answer to this question... She couldn¡¯t be sure. She grimaced. Xu Fang continued, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he wille! Because you are his wife. I¡¯ve already spread the word. If he doesn¡¯te to rescue you, he¡¯ll lose his social standing.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... Hence, even if he were toe to rescue her, it would be for the sake of his reputation? Qiao Yiyi gave a scornful smile and fell silent. When Xu Fang saw that the girl remained silent, she stared at her again with a half-crazed glint in her eyes. The ugly dress Qiao Yiyi was wearing was in fact a branded dress that cost a hefty sum. And what about herself? She had spent all her savings. How was this fair? How was it fair that this Qiao Yiyi had taken her own daughter¡¯s ce to be the mistress of the Lu family? This thought fired Xu Fang up so much that she grabbed Qiao Yiyi¡¯s dress and demanded, ¡°Take this dress off right now!¡± After saying this, she pulled the girl¡¯s dress. Qiao Yiyi: ...! It was summer now. If the woman took off her dress, what would she end up looking like? Qiao Yiyi shrank back as far as she could while the woman advanced towards her aggressively. Just like that, the tussle exposed the injury on Qiao Yiyi¡¯s shoulder. The shock of seeing the wound knocked the woman back to her senses. She asked, ¡°What- what¡¯s wrong with your shoulder?¡± Upon this question and recalling the woman¡¯s half-crazed expression, Qiao Yiyi had a sudden realization. Dang! This woman was jealous. Since this was the case, to save herself from being stripped naked, Qiao Yiyi quickly hung her head and started to sob. ¡± You- you have no idea how painful it is to be married to that man. He- he loves to torture people in bed.¡± Xu Fang: ... Xu Fang looked at the girl in disbelief and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t know he had such a weird fetiche.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... Qiao Yiyi felt that perhaps she was being a little nasty by doing this, but since she had gone down this route, she had to be convincing till the end. Hence she nodded and started to sob again with her head low. Now Xu Fang¡¯s expression became somewhat sympathetic as she looked at the girl. She continued, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have thought that he was this perverse. Well, it¡¯s not surprising. A cruel man who could put the mother of his own baby in jail, a man who doesn¡¯t care about his own flesh and blood, he can¡¯t be all that great.¡± After she had expressed this, Qiao Yiyi¡¯s dress finally ceased to be a problem. She leaned against the side of the truck and stared ahead. She hesitated and wondered if Lu Nanze would turn up after all. And if he didn¡¯t ... Xu Fang suddenly turned around and said to her with an icy smirk, ¡°You¡¯d better hope that he turns up, otherwise I¡¯ll have to kill you to ruin his reputation!¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... She was in trouble because of Lu Nanze. But the woman wanted to kill her? Did Xu Fang think it was going to be an easy task? The corners of Qiao Yiyi¡¯s lips curved into a disdainful smile. Then she leaned against the truck and lowered her head. No matter what, she had to escape first. Xu Fang was a mad woman. What if she did more than she could handle? So she had to prioritize her own safety. She might as well trust a dog if she had to rely on Lu Nanze. Chapter 1749 - He Is Actually Rather Dashing (19)

Chapter 1749: He Is Actually Rather Dashing (19)

After sorting this out in her head, Qiao Yiyi started to pay close attention to Xu Fang. The woman was easy to deal with. She was just an ordinary middle-aged woman, there was no need to use her full strength. The problem was getting out of the truck without alerting the people out at the front. She thought for a bit and then smiled faintly, secretly making small movements with her hands tied behind her. Very soon, the rope that bound them came undone. She made a slight movement and in a sh, like a cheetah, lunged at Xu Fang. She gave a hard punch to Xu Fang¡¯s head, knocking the woman out in a blow. Then, faster than the speed of sound, she burst out of the back of the truck. She moved like a lightning bolt. She was so fast that the people outside didn¡¯t even realize it when she jumped off the truck and disappeared into the lush and overgrown vegetation by the roadside. The driver and copilot had no idea that she was gone. They continued driving ahead slowly. Qiao Yiyi hid in the grass for a while before she stuck her head out. Then she undid the rope around her feet and stood up. She looked around her and realized she was in some sort of remote part of the countryside. She frowned as she dusted the dirt off herself. After kidnapping her, Xu Fang had taken away her cell phone. Now that she had escaped from the truck, she didn¡¯t have a cell phone with her. All the resources she had were on her cell phone and she depended on it. Without her cell phone, she had nothing else. More than that, she didn¡¯t have a navigation device, which meant that one couldn¡¯t know the way. But fortunately, all of these were problems for an ordinary person. Qiao Yiyi wasn¡¯t an ordinary person. She lifted her head and looked up into the sky. She identified the cardinal directions¡ªNorth, South, East and West¡ªand then started to walk in the right direction. She had always been a brisk walker and, as a rough estimate, it had only been an hour since she had been kidnapped. Hence at the most, they had driven 80 kilometers. If it were really 80 kilometers, it would take a long time by foot. But... Who said she had to go home? Qiao Yiyi walked for some distance until she got to the expressway. She halted a car and managed to hitchhike a ride to Suzhou. By the time she got back to Suzhou, it had been four hours since she had been kidnapped. She thanked the person who had driven her and started to walk towards the Lu family vi. The moment she arrived at the vi, she meant to tell everyone that she hade back, alive and well. She had even thought of an excuse, to say that she had sneaked away when her kidnappers weren¡¯t looking. But... Just as she approached the Lu family vi¡¯s front door, she suddenly realized something. She had left her mother¡¯s bracelet on the truck! That wasn¡¯t an ordinary bracelet. It had a GPS function and it allowed her mother to know her whereabouts every day. Now that she had lost it, how was she going to be reunited with her mother?! The moment this thought urred to her, she immediately turned around without a second thought, headed to her car and put on her disguise as Traceless. No, she had to go back there to retrieve her bracelet. In the meantime, in the Lu family vi, Lu Nanze received a call from Xu Fang, who was now hopping mad because she had lost Qiao Yiyi. She said to him, ¡°If you want your wife Qiao Yiyi back alive, follow my instructions immediately ande to this ce.¡± Lu Nanze¡¯s expression darkened ¨´pon hearing this and he said, ¡°Ok.¡± Chapter 1750 - He Is Actually Rather Dashing (20)

Chapter 1750: He Is Actually Rather Dashing (20)

After he hung up, Lu Nanze turned around to go out. But the butler stopped him and said, ¡°Sir, you can¡¯t just go just like this! It¡¯s too dangerous. You have to call the police.¡± Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes and looked at the butler sharply. The butler insisted, ¡°In any case, you don¡¯t like Madam. So even if anything happened to her and she didn¡¯t survive, you would no longer need to divorce her, wouldn¡¯t you? Sir, if we manage this situation appropriately, we could solve all our problems. You have to think carefully about this!¡± Lu Nanze snorted frostily at this suggestion. He looked at the butler and said after a long pause, ¡°I know, I¡¯ve never been a decent man.¡± When he said this, the butler paused and sighed deep down inside. Then the man added, ¡°But I¡¯m not going to let a woman suffer for what happens to be my own business. Regardless of whether she is my wife, even if it were a stranger on the street, I wouldn¡¯t just stand by and do nothing about it.¡± The butler fell silent when he heard these words. He didn¡¯t know what else to say, but only looked at Lu Nanze and sighed deeply. ¡°Sir, just pretend that I didn¡¯t say anything then.¡± After this, he turned around and started to gather the men who would assist Lu Nanze. ¡°Sir, time is essential. We only have this small group of men to apany you. Is there anything else you might need?¡± Lu Nanze looked at the group of men indifferently and frowned. After a moment, he spoke, ¡°I don¡¯t need so many. It makes me an easy target. If they discover them, they may kill the hostage and it would be a disaster. For now, we need to ensure her safety.¡± The butler nodded immediately. After Lu Nanze had made all necessary preparations, they got ready to leave. The cars rolled through the Lu family vi¡¯s main gates as the butler stared. However, he was still feeling uneasy and hence called Liang Liang. ¡°Mr. Liang, our madam has been kidnapped and Sir is on the way to rescue her, but I¡¯m worried¡ª¡± Before he could finish, Liang Liang¡¯s furious voice sounded. ¡°With the sort of temper your Sir has, it was just a matter of time before he got himself in trouble! Serves him right, really!¡± After this though, the next thing he said was, ¡°Where is he going to?¡± The butler: ... He knew that even though Liang Liang and his boss had had an argument, he wouldn¡¯t abandon him in times of trouble. Hence he told the man, ¡°He¡¯s gone to...¡± After he hung up, Liang Liang started to gather his men at the police station. But at that moment, most of them had been called to duty. Incapable to put a team together, Liang Liang started to get anxious. ¡°I¡¯d like to apply for an armed police team to protect Lu Nanze!¡± ¡°Police Officer Liang, you may have to look for Chief Bai about this. You need his approval.¡± Upon hearing this, the man headed straight for Chief Bai¡¯s office. Meanwhile, Lu Nanze¡¯s car had already arrived in the countryside. The road in this area was quite arduous. After driving through the mountains for a long time, they finally came to the spot that Xu Fang had indicated. Lu Nanze got out of the car and looked around. The area had a thick canopy which let little light through. There were also some small huts hidden in the dim woods. They were clearly rural huts. He frowned. As he contemted the situation, he suddenly heard a sound. He sharpened his senses and turned around immediately. A loud sports car was driving in his direction. He frowned and stood right in front of the car. The car window rolled down slowly. When Lu Nanze saw the person in the car, his jaw dropped in surprise. ¡°Traceless?!¡± Chapter 1751 - He Is Actually Rather Dashing (21)

Chapter 1751: He Is Actually Rather Dashing (21)

Qiao Yiyi had not thought that she would run into Lu Nanze here. Logically speaking, shouldn¡¯t Lu Nanze not care about Madam Lu being kidnapped?! So why had hee here? She frowned. Lu Nanze had spotted her and had even called her. Qiao Yiyi knew it was impossible, given the road, to turn the car around and back out now. Hence, she could only wind down her window calmly and look at the man. She immediately smiled and remarked, ¡°What a coincidence. What are you doing here?¡± Then she turned, looked at the surrounding hills and asked, ¡°Looking for inspiration?¡± Lu Nanze: ... The man turned to nce at their surroundings and misunderstood. All this time, Traceless had chosen not to stay in his vi, yet didn¡¯t own a property in Suzhou. Besides, given her identity, staying in a hotel would have been impossible, so where exactly did she live? She had been able to appear on time to change her dressing every night. At the very least, this showed that she wasn¡¯t living very far from Suzhou. But he would have never thought that the police would have cornered her into having to live in the countryside like this. He thought that Traceless was living in this remote valley. He turned to look around again and observed that the valley made any mode of transportation difficult. A car could onlye this far and no further, hence from this point, one had to move by foot. Traceless was injured, yet she had had to endure this such arduous task. Liang Liang and Bai Anan were simply too much. How could they treat Traceless like this? A look of deep regret crossed the man¡¯s eyes as he said to Traceless, ¡°This ce seems a rather good spot for your recovery.¡± A proud woman like Traceless would rather live in the mountains than in his vi. The fact that he had discovered this left her in an embarrassing situation, hence he had given her an out so that she could maintain her pride. But right after he had said, he saw Traceless grimace. Qiao Yiyi: ... Had he lost his mind? How could this be a good ce to recover?! He was simply talking nonsense. Still grimacing, she replied with a question, ¡°What are you doing here?¡± At least, she should just pretend to show interest in his reason for being there. Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes and did not speak. However, one of his assistants said, ¡°Our Madam has been kidnapped.¡± Qiao Yiyi¡¯s pupils shrank back at those words as she looked at Lu Nanze. ¡°Your wife?¡± Oddly, the moment he heard the words ¡°your wife,¡± he felt guilty at once. Indeed, he was a man with a wife. How could he be interested in another woman? The thought of this made Lu Nanze feel quite uneasy. He was really quite remorseful. He looked at Traceless and said, ¡°Uh huh.¡± Seeing that he didn¡¯t want to talk about his wife, she refused to let the topic go. ¡°It looks like you love her a lot. Otherwise, why would you rush here with just a few of your men?¡± Lu Nanze immediately said, ¡°She was kidnapped because of me. It has nothing to do with love. I would do the same for a pet dog or pet cat that was kidnapped.¡± Qiao Yiyi¡¯s expression turned sullen at once when she heard this. Damn you. Who are you calling your pet dog or pet cat? Chapter 1752 - He Is Actually Rather Dashing (22)

Chapter 1752: He Is Actually Rather Dashing (22)

She snorted icily with a grimace, her tone a little strange now as she added, ¡°Mr. Lu certainly has a big heart, even caring for the little animals. That simply makes you... so different from normal people.¡± Lu Nanze: ... Why did it sound like she was being sarcastic? But Lu Nanze did not want to talk about Qiao Yiyi too much so he said, ¡°Actually, you can stay in my vi. It¡¯s safer there. Besides, no one would go there and it would be easy for you to clean your wound.¡± Before he could finish what he was saying, Traceless smiled frostily and said, ¡°Madam Lu has been kidnapped and her situation is uncertain now. To think that you can be here having a leisurely chat about where I should live, that¡¯s really big-hearted of Mr. Lu!¡± Lu Nanze was at once speechless. He opened his mouth, intending to exin that things between him and Qiao Yiyi weren¡¯t quite what she thought, and that there wasn¡¯t really anything going on between them. But the moment he wanted to say this, he realized that it wasn¡¯t something he could exin clearly. How could he? Tell her that he didn¡¯t really love his wife? But wouldn¡¯t it be slightly strange of him to say this aloud? Because it really had nothing to do with Traceless whether he liked or loved his wife. He struggled for a moment and finally swallowed those words. Then he coughed slightly. Traceless took two steps forward, turned around and imed, ¡°Well,e on!¡± Lu Nanze: ...?? ¡°I can¡¯t just stand here and do nothing about your kidnapped wife. Besides, I do owe you a favor, so I¡¯ll help you this time round!¡± Qiao Yiyi felt extremely guilty saying this. Since she couldn¡¯t avoid the man, then the next best thing to do was to apany him. She must locate her bracelet amidst the chaos and retrieve her GPS chip. But to Lu Nanze, this offer from Traceless made him feel like he was important to her. Otherwise, why would Traceless go out of the way to help him rescue his wife? However, Lu Nanze turned to look at the men he had brought along with him and said immediately, ¡°It¡¯s alright, we don¡¯t need you there. We have enough men.¡± There were too few of them and it would be dangerous for Traceless to go with them. Although she was highly-skilled, she was highly-skilled in escaping. When it came tobat, it was a different story. Besides, Traceless was injured. What if she ended up getting worse because of joining them? Qiao Yiyi burst out in sarcasticughter when she heard this and said, ¡°Usually people worry about not having enough men to carry out a rescue operation, but this is the first time I¡¯m hearing about someone having an issue with too many, do you think so poorly of me?¡± Damn it. If she didn¡¯t go with them, how was she going to retrieve her bracelet?! Lu Nanze, why was he such a troublesome man? Hence, after she said this, she started walking towards the mountain peak without further ado. Lu Nanze watched her from behind and was about to speak up, but he realized that anything he said would be futile now. So with a wave of his hand, he simply instructed the men, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± The group closely followed Qiao Yiyi. They followed her in an orderly manner to the mountain peak, to the spot that Xu Fang had indicated It was very windy on the mountaintop. They felt as though they were being swept off their feet. Lu Nanze threw a sidelong nce at Qiao Yiyi. Oddly enough, he worried about her frail frame being swept away by the strong wind, and had an inexplicable desire to take extra care of her. Of course, Qiao Yiyi wasn¡¯t about to be swept away by a mere gust of wind. Right now, she stood there making quick observations of their surroundings, looking for the best ce to hideter on. Chapter 1753 - He Is Actually Rather Dashing (23)

Chapter 1753: He Is Actually Rather Dashing (23)

As her mind worked to figure things out, Xu Fang and her men, having heard movements outside, suddenly appeared from within the thatched huts and charged at them. Qiao Yiyi¡¯s pupils shrank back at once. She quickly retreated and dodged behind Lu Nanze. Since he was worried about her, seeing this happen somehow gave him some sort of gratification. At least the girl knew what was good for her and took shelter. For a while, he had thought she was going to y superhero and charge ahead. At this thought, Lu Nanze focused his attention back to what was in front of him. Shielding herself behind him and his team, her gaze fell on a figure whose head was covered by a bup sack. The figure was being held down by a few men, who had positioned themselves slightly behind Xu Fang. That figure was stumbling alongside the men, who were yanking her along. The dress she wore was obviously very much like what she had been wearing yesterday, but if one were to observe closely, it wasn¡¯t the same dress. However, Lu Nanze would not have noticed what she was wearing, right? Hence, she was quite sure that Lu Nanze would not realize that the woman there was actually not Qiao Yiyi. As these thoughts ran through her mind, Xu Fang spoke, ¡°Mr. Lu, I think you know what I want. If you want me to release the hostage, get my daughter out of jail!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not possible!¡± the man spoke in amanding tone. ¡°She ran over my father with a car and killed him. Thew is already giving your family face for not having given her a death sentence!¡± ¡°Mr. Lu, how could you be so heartless? My daughter is pregnant with your child.¡± Lu Nanzeughed frostily and did not address her remark. Instead, he looked steadily at the figure behind Xu Fang and said, ¡°I believe you know and understand the reason why I married this girl. I¡¯m here now, so it doesn¡¯t matter to me what you do to her. If word gets out, I¡¯ll be used of the inability to protect her, at worst. But if you kill her, you will die with her!¡± At this remark, Lu Nanze moved back and his bodyguards took their positions in front of him, standing between him and Xu Fang¡¯s men. Lu Nanze¡¯s men looked more than ready. Xu Fang¡¯s eyes shed nervously as she looked at them. The woman who had the bup sack over her head shook her head vigorously. She made a few muffled sounds, as though there was something in her mouth. Qiao Yiyi frowned. That voice was so different from hers. But not that Lu Nanze would know the difference, since he hardly paid any attention to her? The man probably didn¡¯t even know how tall or heavy his own wife was. Qiao Yiyi twitched her mouth and snorted as that thought struck her. He was really too cold towards his own wife. At this point, Xu Fang spoke again, ¡°Mr. Lu, how could you be so heartless?!¡± Lu Nanze cast his gaze down and said, ¡°Don¡¯t you already know what sort of person I am?¡± ¡°You¡ª¡± The man looked up and said, ¡°Let her go, and I¡¯ll let this matter go. As though it never happened. How about that?¡± Xu Fang clenched her fists tightly. She knew that Lu Nanze meant whatever he said. Since he had said this, she knew that if she let this girl go, Lu Nanze would let her off the hook too. But... The person under this bup sack wasn¡¯t Madam Lu at all. So even if they released the girl, it was useless. And Lu Nanze would be even more furious to find out that he had been tricked. So she was now at a dead end. Xu Fang snapped her head up at this thought and looked at Lu Nanze steadily. ¡°I dared do this today because I¡¯m fully prepared! Since you don¡¯t care about her, I¡¯ll kill her and die too.¡± After saying this, she took out a dagger, aimed it at the girl¡¯s neck and plunged it in. Chapter 1754 - He Is Actually Rather Dashing (24)

Chapter 1754: He Is Actually Rather Dashing (24)

Qiao Yiyi didn¡¯t feel good hearing that Lu Nanze didn¡¯t care about what the woman did with her. Because if she had not been able to make her escape, then that girl would have actually been herself. She valued her own life. It made her extremely ufortable to know that Lu Nanze couldn¡¯t care less about her. She frowned and snorted icily, cursing silently what a cold-blooded and heartless person he was. When Xu Fang raised the dagger and plunged it into the girl, she felt no concern. In any case, that girl wasn¡¯t her. She was certain that Xu Fang would not go all the way. However unexpectedly, the next moment, Lu Nanze suddenly took a step forward and yelled, ¡°Stop!¡± The dagger stopped at the girl¡¯s neck. Xu Fang immediately looked up and said, ¡°You¡¯ve slept with her, I¡¯m sure there¡¯s at the very least some affection. You couldn¡¯t bear it if she died, wouldn¡¯t you?!¡± Lu Nanze frowned. Qiao Yiyi widened her eyes in surprise. Had Lu Nanze just yelled for them to stop?! So all that time, when he had looked cold and emotionless, had that all been just a fa?ade?! She was stunned. Was she wrong about this man? That was impossible. Since when had the man turned so kind?! She shook her head in disbelief. It was impossible. Lu Nanze was doing this for his own ego, for sure. Besides, whatever Lu Nanze¡¯s reason was, it had nothing to do with her. The reason she hade was to retrieve her bracelet. Hence, she started looking around, trying to locate the truck. But just as she took her eyes off the kidnapped girl, her attention was suddenly drawn back to her. She looked at the figure with the bup sack over her head once more. On the girl¡¯s wrist, she saw her very own bracelet. Qiao Yiyi: ... So Xu Fang thought that the bracelet was a gift from Lu Nanze and had specially put it on the girl to make her identity more convincing. Qiao Yiyi had not thought that Xu Fang would be so meticulous. But... that bracelet belonged to her. And even if she had all the skills in the world, she wouldn¡¯t be able to retrieve that bracelet under these people¡¯s watchful eyes. What was she going to do now? At this point, Xu Fang smiled icily and stepped away from the girl. ¡°Since Mr. Lu still cares about Madam Lu, then it¡¯s time we negotiate.¡± The woman made a gesture with her hand and, at once, two men dashed towards the kidnapped girl, each of them grabbing an arm on either side. Then they put a rope around her waist. And following this... Qiao Yiyi¡¯s pupils shrank back as she watched the men hang the girl by the rope, over the edge of the cliff. Sensing something was not quite right, the girl struggled and tried to yell. But through all this process, Xu Fang was expressionless. She merely stared at Lu Nanze and said, ¡°Mr. Lu, I do suggest you think things through carefully before making any decisions! In any case, Madam Lu is very safe hanging here.¡± At this point, the woman whipped out a pair of scissors and ced it against the rope by which the girl was being suspended. Chapter 1755 - He Is Actually Rather Dashing (25)

Chapter 1755: He Is Actually Rather Dashing (25)

At that moment, the situation was pressing. Once the rope was severed, there was no doubt that the girl would fall to her death. Qiao Yiyi narrowed her eyes and stared ahead. Xu Fang was certainly nasty in the way she did things¡ªand she didn¡¯t look like she was pretending. She wondered who the suspended girl was, to be treated so cruelly by Xu Fang. As she wondered silently, Lu Nanze spoke after a silence, ¡°What do you want in exchange for her?¡± Xu Fang sneered, ¡°You have two options. One, get my daughter out of jail!¡± ¡°That is not possible.¡± Lu Nanze was known to be a man who meant what he said and who never went back on his word. If he said that he would get Qiao Yiyi out of jail, then he would make sure that it was done. Xu Fang narrowed her eyes viciously and continued, ¡°Well then, it¡¯s the second option. If you jump off this cliff, perhaps I will consider letting her go.¡± Lu Nanze¡¯s determined attitude agitated the woman. Her daughter and husband were both in jail and she was now alone in the world. Life held no meaning for her. If Lu Nanze would not let her daughter go, then she would take the man down with her today. The thought of this agitated the woman, who acted now like a cornered beast. She snapped her head around, tightened her grip around the scissors and started slicing the ropes. Her eyes shed as though she had lost her sanity. She had no more will to live, so she would take Lu Nanze down to hell with her. Qiao Yiyi had not expected Xu Fang to get so upset by Lu Nanze¡¯s brief remarks. Her pupils shrank back as she stared. She noticed that the rope had been sliced through halfway. She was no saint, other people¡¯s safety was really not her business. But she needed to have her bracelet back. If that girl fell off the cliff, her bracelet would go down with the girl. And how was her mother ever going to find her?! At this thought, Qiao Yiyi rushed forward without a moment of hesitation. She was very fast and her speed dazzled everyone. In a sh, she was in front of Xu Fang. She reached for the scissors in the woman¡¯s hand, which she grabbed and tossed to the side. Then she grabbed the taut rope, ready to snap at any moment. At the same time, Lu Nanze moved forward. The two of them had started moving at the same time, but because Lu Nanze was not as nimble as Qiao Yiyi, he was a step behind. When he saw Qiao Yiyi grabbing the rope, he immediately took the girl with the bup sack over her head. He yanked her off the cliff edge, onto safer grounds further in. The girl panicked and, as she iled her arms and legs, her wrist hit the cliff edge. To begin with, that bracelet had alwayse undone easily, otherwise she wouldn¡¯t have dropped it in the truck. In that instant, after a hard knock, the sp came undone immediately. The bracelet loosened and slipped away, plunging into the bottom of the cliff. Qiao Yiyi¡¯s pupils shrank back as she instantly took the rope and anchored it to the side of the cliff. Then she lunged towards the edge. She reached out and caught the bracelet in her hand. Meanwhile, she hung precariously off the cliff edge. Qiao Yiyi sighed in relief. After all, a cliff like this was really nothing to her. But as she was about to pull herself up, a searing pain that started from her shoulder shot right through her. Her wrist at once went limp uncontrobly. She fell down a short distance. Damn. In a critical moment, she had forgotten about the injury on her shoulder. And it was not an insubstantial one. Chapter 1756 - He Is Actually Rather Dashing (26)

Chapter 1756: He Is Actually Rather Dashing (26)

Qiao Yiyi¡¯s pupils shrank back as she cursed at herself. How stupid was that? The injury on her shoulder was serious, there was no way she could take her entire body weight with that arm alone. Now all she could do was release the bracelet and use her other arm to grab the rope, to ensure her safety. But... The bracelet was her only way of staying in contact with her mother. She struggled. Her body weight was rapidly dragging her down. ¡°Traceless!¡± Qiao Yiyi frowned and, just as she was about to let the bracelet go, she suddenly heard someone calling her. She immediately looked up and saw that Lu Nanze had jumped down to where she was without a moment of hesitation. He slid one hand firmly around her waist and with the other hand, he clung tightly to the rope just as she was about to let go. Qiao Yiyi: ...!! ¡°Oh no!¡± she cursed under her breath. Indeed, before she could speak further, the rope snapped under the weight of two people. ¡°Sir!¡± ¡°Sir!¡± They heard Lu Nanze¡¯s bodyguards yelling anxiously on top of the cliff... while Lu Nanze and Traceless fell all the way down. Qiao Yiyi was utterly speechless. How could the rope have taken the weight of the both of them? Why on earth had this man jumped down?! Now he had taken her down with him. As she cursed and swore silently, she looked down. Fortunately, it was not a very steep cliff and there was a thick canopy at the bottom, which slowed their fall. But even then, they were getting seriously hit and knocked, which made them feel like they were about to spew their guts out. Qiao Yiyi was dizzy from the hits but right at this point, from the corner of her eye she saw a sharp branch jutting out. If either of them were to fall on it, it would pierce right through them. Her pupils shrank back as her mind raced to think of a way to avoid the branch. But now they were both in mid-air, where could they grab onto?! As she thought this, she felt a hard push. She widened her eyes in shock and looked at Lu Nanze in disbelief. She saw him shove her out of the way as he rammed right into the branch. There was a sound of flesh being pierced. Because he had pushed her out of the way, he himself had moved and fallen on the side of the branch. The branch had mercilessly pierced into his thigh instead. At once, a fountain of blood seeped out of the wound. Bam! Bam! Qiao Yiyi and Lu Nanze both fell hard on the ground. The girl rolled with the fall and it mitigated the impact. Then immediately she jumped to her feet and dashed towards Lu Nanze. As she came up to him, she saw that he was lying t on the ground with both his hands tightly squeezing his thigh. Qiao Yiyi asked at once, ¡°How are you going?¡± He replied, ¡°Think I¡¯ve torn my artery.¡± Her heart missed a beat. One could die within half an hour from blood loss in case of hurting an artery. She looked down quickly and indeed saw blood spurting from the wound. Without any dy, she looked around. Unable to spot any useful materials, she quickly tore her garments, and used the fabric to create a tourniquet around the wound and stop the blood flow. But even then, if they didn¡¯t get him treated as soon as possible, he could lose his leg. She clenched her fists tightly. But in the midst of her panic, she felt a hand closing over hers. Chapter 1757 - He Is Actually Rather Dashing (27)

Chapter 1757: He Is Actually Rather Dashing (27)

Qiao Yiyi lifted her gaze and saw Lu Nanze looking back at her. He said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it will be fine.¡± At that moment, the pain had to be excruciating for him. But his voice was as steady as ever, giving her peace. She had always been a calm person with great self-restraint, but looking at his injured leg had made her panic slightly. As she stared at him, an odd feeling started to grow within her. He was a sorry sight now. There were a few leaves in his hair. Because of the struggle, or perhaps because of the pain, his forehead was damp with perspiration. But even then, his gaze was as steady as always and it seemed to calm her down. It was only now that Qiao Yiyi realized that Lu Nanze had a straight and high nose bridge, and he had extremely beautiful features. Lu Nanze was always so aloof and lofty that people hardly noticed his looks. But now he was injured and not his usual haughty self, which also had the effect of bringing out his wickedly charming looks. The man was in fact... quite handsome! As this realization struck her, Qiao Yiyi felt her heart skip a couple beats. She immediately lowered her head and pressed on his thigh. She frowned and said after a moment, ¡°I¡¯m going to have to rip your pants open to take a look at the wound.¡± After saying this, she reached out for the fabric. However, Lu Nanze stopped her. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± She looked up and said, ¡°You¡¯ve lost so much blood, how could you be fine?!¡± Her tone was a little harsh when she said this. However, she noticed that the tips of the man¡¯s ears had turned a bright scarlet. After a moment, she realized what was going on. bbergasted, she said, ¡°Mr. Lu, in this sort of situation, there is no time for shyness!¡± Lu Nanze: ... Before the man could say anything, Qiao Yiyi had already lowered her head and was trying to remove his clothes. However, given that the pants were of good quality and furthermore, they were now drenched in blood and perspiration, it proved to be a tricky job. The girl frowned, suddenly bent over and gripped the pants¡¯ zipper between her teeth. Lu Nanze lowered his head to look. His leg was numb by now and he had lost a lot of blood, which made him feel slightly giddy. The way Traceless was bent over him, biting the fabric of his trousers, it looked a little... The picture in his head was somewhat pornographic. He blushed even deeper. With a polite cough, he turned and looked away. After a shredding sound, his trousers were torn apart. Qiao Yiyi looked at the hideous mess of a wound. The branch was still stuck in it. There was no equipment at the moment to do anything to the branch, and the injury was too serious to move the man. Now they could only wait for help. She lifted her head, looked at Lu Nanze and asked, ¡°How long do you think it will take your men to find us?¡± He was silent for a moment and then said, ¡°Half an hour.¡± She drew in a deep breath. ¡°That¡¯s some time! You will have to endure it in the meantime.¡± He nodded. Qiao Yiyi kept her eyes on his wound. It was still bleeding and the blood was flowing on the ground. Because the ground was damp, it was hard to tell how much blood he had lost. Although he looked as pale as a sheet, at the same time there was an odd ruddy color on his face. She reached out and said, ¡°Do you have a fever?¡± Her hand touched him, but his body temperature seemed normal. She was puzzled. ¡°Why is your face so red?¡± Lu Nanze: ... Chapter 1758 - He Is Actually Rather Dashing (28)

Chapter 1758: He Is Actually Rather Dashing (28)

Would she get angry if he told her that his mind was filled with erotic images?! He cleared his throat and said instead, ¡°Maybe I¡¯m just feeling warm.¡± Warm? Qiao Yiyi turned to look around them. Indeed, the forest was hot and humid. But still, it was coolpared to the normal environment. Why was he feeling so warm? Puzzled, she furrowed her brow. Time passed, minute after minute, second after second. Lu Nanze suddenly spoke, ¡°Traceless.¡± ¡°Uh huh?¡± She looked up from his wound, to nce at him for a moment. ¡°Talk to me for a bit.¡± The man¡¯s voice was weak. Her heart jumped into her throat, her head snapped up at once and she asked him, ¡°Are you feeling any difort?¡± Lu Nanze shook his head and replied, ¡°Just a little dizzy.¡± The moment she heard the word dizzy, she panicked and said anxiously, ¡°You have to stay awake! You hear me?!¡± She turned and looked at his wound again. She knew that he wanted her to talk to him so that he could maintain consciousness. If he were to pass out now, he could die losing all this blood. At once, she said, ¡°Why did you even jump? Don¡¯t you know it was very dangerous?!¡± Upon hearing this question, the man suddenlyughed and said, ¡°I couldn¡¯t help myself.¡± Qiao Yiyi froze and was stunned for a moment. She turned to look at him. ¡°What do you mean?¡± He cast his gaze down. ¡°Exactly what I said.¡± Before this, he had not understood it himself. Why was he so focused on this girl? But it had been in that split second that he had realized. After the short period he had gotten to know the girl, he found himself liking her immensely. To the extent that when she had fallen off the cliff, he had jumped after her without a second thought. There had only been one thing in his mind at that point, and it had been to rescue her. His mind had had no space for other thoughts besides that. But now, as he recalled how he had felt at that point, he suddenly understood his own heart clearly. And since he realized now that he liked the girl, then he should go after her. Exactly what he said? Qiao Yiyi paused. He couldn¡¯t help himself. Did that mean he hadn¡¯t been to stop himself from rescuing her? But why? It couldn¡¯t be that he liked her. Impossible. He only had Qiao Lian in his heart. He couldn¡¯t possibly have fallen in love with another woman so easily. Perhaps, he had other reasons for rescuing her? Even though she told herself this, she could feel her heartbeat speed up uncontrobly. At once, her face started to burn and flush. It wasn¡¯t even a confession, but she was reacting so strongly to it. She berated herself silently, before looking up and staring into the man¡¯s wickedly charming eyes. Because he had lost a lot of blood, his eyes were not as bright as they normally were, but this instead brought out the mischievousness in them. He held her gaze and suddenly asked, ¡±Traceless, will you ever love another man?¡± Qiao Yiyi flushed deeply. What was that? Was Lu Nanze trying to make a confession?! She clenched her fists as an unfamiliar wave of nervousness washed over her. She gulped and licked her parched lips. Then she quickly said, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± The man persisted, however. ¡°Well, haven¡¯t you thought of giving it a try?¡± Qiao Yiyi¡¯s pupils shrank back. She wasn¡¯t the type to dodge questions and had always liked rity. Hence, she asked point nk, ¡°With whom?¡± Chapter 1759 - He Is Actually Rather Dashing (29)

Chapter 1759: He Is Actually Rather Dashing (29)

That was the sort of person Qiao Yiyi was¡ªhonest and bold with all her emotions. Even though she was a thief and led an unstable lifestyle, she had once upon a time cast aside her fears to date a police officer. This showed that she had nock of courage. Although Liang Liang had betrayed and attacked her in the end, to the extent of physically harming her, she had not allowed herself to hate the world, she had not stopped believing in love. She had merely chosen the wrong man. If she met the right man, she didn¡¯t mind giving it another chance. Hence, Lu Nanze¡¯s teasing confession hadpelled her to ask boldly. Since there was interest, then why not give things a chance? Especially if... Lu Nanze was willing to fall down a cliff for her. She had to admit it, she was moved by that act. She narrowed her eyes and looked at the man with her clear and transparent eyes. Just as Lu Nanze was about to speak, they suddenly heard voices from afar yelling, ¡°They¡¯re there, in front!¡± Qiao Yiyi¡¯s pupils shrank back upon hearing that familiar voice. It was Liang Liang. Why was he here?! If he was here, there was no way she could stay. She looked back at Lu Nanze, her pupils narrowing. He nodded at once. With a quick turn of her body, she bounded away and disappeared into the foliage. As she dove into the thick forest, she heard a voice behind her, ¡°With me, of course!¡± She halted. She was tempted to turn around, to confirm that she had heard those words right. But at this point, Liang Liang said, ¡°Lu Nanze, we¡¯ve finally found you, you little bastard!¡± Qiao Yiyi immediately kept moving ahead, not daring to stop. She hid in the tall grass and stared as they put Lu Nanze on a stretcher. As they walked out, she followed them. She was very meticulous and cautious but still, Lu Nanze spotted her. Even though he was pale from the blood loss, his eyes were sharply focused in her direction, signaling for her to go away. She was concerned, however, and watched him right up till he had been lifted into the ambnce and then taken out of the forest. ¨C Once Lu Nanze had been ced in the ambnce, the nurses started the emergency blood transfusion and tended to his wound. He closed his eyes, feeling rather dizzy. But all along the way to the ambnce, he had been able to feel her eyes on him. Was she worried about him? The corners of his lips curved into a faint smile at this thought. Suddenly, he felt happy and optimistic. He had never felt like this with Qiao Lian. When they were young, he had only been concerned about her happiness. After they had grown up, he had done a lot in an attempt to win her heart. But this unconscious loving care that he had for Traceless was almost a reflex for him, it was somethingpletely new to him. And being cared for by someone he liked felt good indeed! He closed his eyes quietly as he held this thought. He felt drowsy and his head was getting heavy. With his eyes tightly shut now, he slipped into a deep slumber. ¡°Oh no, the patient has passed out. He¡¯s lost too much blood. Hurry, we need to give him a transfusion and maintain his blood flow to the brain!¡± The nurses were immediately alerted by the situation. Liang Liang, who had been apanying and watching over Lu Nanze, reacted at once. He frowned and stared at the unconscious man with worry and uncertainty in his eyes. Chapter 1760 - He Is Actually Rather Dashing (30)

Chapter 1760: He Is Actually Rather Dashing (30)

Liang Liang had shown up slightlyte. But it wasn¡¯t his fault. He had gone to look for Chief Bai to apply for armed police protection for Lu Nanze. But Chief Bai had insisted that no one had filed a police report, that they couldn¡¯t possibly deploy the armed police so arbitrarily. Furthermore, he had meaningfully advised the man, ¡°Liang Liang, you¡¯re not a child anymore. Have you thought about family?¡± Thought about what? What was there to think about? He looked lost for a moment as Chief Bai continued, ¡°Anan has liked you for many years. It¡¯s about time you got married. After you get married, it will be the time for me to step down as the chief of police. How about I rmend you as my sessor?¡± Liang Liang was taken aback by his words. He was with Bai Anan not because he liked her, and definitely not because he had ambitions of bing chief of police. Thest thing in his mind had been to take advantage of his rtionship with Bai Anan. But Chief Bai¡¯s words... they were an insult. Furthermore, the fact that Chief Bai would mention this just as he was assembling men to rescue Lu Nanze made it quite clear that it was a threat. He knew that in all probability, if he had agreed right then to marry Bai Anan, he would get the armed police support that he needed. But he honestly couldn¡¯t bring himself to agree. He had gotten involved with her when Traceless had held Bai Anan hostage. After this episode, Bai Anan had sustained serious injuries and developed post-traumatic stress. He had felt sorry for Bai Anan and, on top of that Bai Anan, had proposed to him. At that point, even Chief Bai had looked for him and pleaded with him to agree to Bai Anan¡¯s request, because the girl trusted only him and no one else. He had been ced in a difficult position because it was as if Bai Anan was going to die if he didn¡¯t agree. Under those difficult circumstances, he had agreed to the engagement. But that had been half a year ago. He had never really thought of marrying Bai Anan. His intention had been to break up with her eventually, after she recovered. Because he could not forget Traceless. He had to look for Traceless and ask her about what had happened at the time. He wanted to ask her why she had treated him like that. But what did Chief Bai mean by this?! Liang Liang spoke up immediately, ¡°Chief Bai, others may not know about the details of this so-called engagement between Anan and I, but surely you are aware?¡± Chief Bai smiled meaningfully and replied, ¡°Exactly. You also know that others are not aware. So if the two of you don¡¯t get married, won¡¯t Anan end up being aughing stock?¡± Liang Liang¡¯s expression clouded over immediately as he asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Liang Liang, Anan is so devoted to you. Why don¡¯t you just agree? You won¡¯t lose anything if you marry her, will you?¡± Liang Liang looked at Chief Bai steadily. He wanted to reject this openly. However, he knew that if he rejected the man, Traceless¡¯ case would go to someone else. Hence lowering his head, he could only say, ¡°Let me think about it.¡± He quickly turned around and left. He did not look for rescue men. Instead, he went to the mountain alone. That was the reason for him beingte. Of course, when he reached the mountain peak, he saw Lu Nanze jumping off the cliff with a woman. That woman... Perhaps others wouldn¡¯t know her, but those clothes and that proud demeanor, how could he not recognize her? Traceless. Why was Lu Nanze with Traceless? And why had he jumped off the cliff with her?! As these thoughts ran through his mind, his eyes, fixed on Lu Nanze, became unfathomable andplex. Lu Nanze had once lied to him, saying that Traceless had died. He remembered that Lu Nanze had said that he had treated the girl unfairly, that she despised him for it. Chapter 1761 - It Is Hard to Speak of One’s Troubles (1)

Chapter 1761: It Is Hard to Speak of One¡¯s Troubles (1)

So didn¡¯t that mean they already knew each other?! Liang Liang clenched his fists tightly as he stared at Lu Nanze. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that the man was unconscious, he would have punched him. Did he think it was funny to y with him like this?! If he knew Traceless, why hadn¡¯t he reunited them so that they could clear any misunderstanding? Doubt sat uneasily in his mind, as though a cat was wing at him inside. He couldn¡¯t wait for the man to regain consciousness. Very soon, the ambnce arrived at the hospital. Everyone waited anxiously outside the ER. Lu Nanze had lost too much blood from the wound in his thigh. The doctors looked grave as he was pushed into the operating room. Liang Liang stood outside. There was so much he wanted to say, but couldn¡¯t because Lu Nanze was on the brink of death. He drew in a deep breath and started to pace the corridor. After a while, the butler came in a hurry. Liang Liang looked at him and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± The butler sighed and said, ¡°The kidnapped woman wasn¡¯t Madam! Thedy who helped us wasted her time.¡± The mention of that savior caught Liang Liang¡¯s attention. His pupils shrank back as he turned to the butler and asked, ¡°Who exactly was that woman?¡± The butler looked at Liang Liang with uncertainty and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know, really. I¡¯ve only seen her today. Sir said something had happened, so I came to help. That girl... sigh!¡± Liang Liang frowned and asked, ¡°Why do you sigh?¡± ¡°I sigh because thatdy seems to like our Sir. Otherwise, why would shee over the moment she heard about it? And to think that she risked her safety to rescue our Madam... A heroine like this is quite something. I wonder why Sir has never mentioned her before.¡± Of course he couldn¡¯t mention her. She was Traceless. Liang Liang choked up and simply couldn¡¯te to terms with this information. He frowned deeply and lowered his head. After a moment, as though realizing something, he lifted his head to look at the butler and said, ¡°And what about your Madam?¡± The butler shook his head and said, ¡°Our Madam has gone missing. The bodyguards have been looking for her in the mountains for a long time, but they can¡¯t find her.¡± Right after he said this, they heard high heels clicking and the sharp voice of a woman. ¡°What¡¯s happened to Nanze? What have you people been doing? Is that how you look after your boss?¡± When the butler saw the woman, he hung his head immediately and greeted her, ¡°Grandaunt.¡± She was Lu Nanze¡¯s aunt, Lu Qingtian. She had always been concerned about Lu Nanze. After Lu Nanze¡¯s mother passed away, she had been one of his closest rtives, hence they had a close rtionship. Since Lu Qingtian was so anxiously asking about him, the butler had no choice but to rte everything that had happened to him. Finally, Lu Qingtian said with teary eyes, ¡°Nanze is on the brink of death and where is Qiao Yiyi? Is she alive?¡± There was much animosity in her tone. The butler nced at her and immediately lowered his head again. ¡°We are still looking for her.¡± Lu Qingtian frowned and said furiously, ¡°It¡¯s all her fault!! Why did she get involved with these outsiders? And she dragged our Nanze into the picture! If Nanze doesn¡¯t recover, then she¡¯d better be dead too.¡± Chapter 1762 - It Is Hard to Speak of One’s Troubles (2)

Chapter 1762: It Is Hard to Speak of One¡¯s Troubles (2)

Qiao Yiyi left the forest, found her sports car and removed her mask after changing. Then she changed into the dress she had been wearing when she had been caught and drove back to Suzhou city. As usual, she found a ce to park her sports car. She clearly knew that the ambnce that hade to fetch Lu Nanze would take him to the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University. She headed directly into the hospital, asked the receptionist about Lu Nanze¡¯s room and rushed to where he was. When she arrived before the operation room, Qiao Yiyi saw the butler, Liang Liang and many others standing there. She slowed down her pace and lowered her head. She acted as if she was panicking and shocked as she ran over. ¡°How- how is Mr. Lu?¡± Three people turned their heads at this question simultaneously. The butler looked at Qiao Yiyi directly and frowned. ¡°Oh my, Madam, where did youe from?¡± Qiao Yiyi pretended to be dazed and said, ¡°After- after I was kidnapped, I was thrown into a woodshed. But they didn¡¯t know that there was a dog hole in the woodshed, so I crawled out of it and then I walked to our house.¡± The butler was furious. ¡°Because of you, Sir is now in an awful situation! Do you know that for your sake, Sir- sigh!¡± When the butler was sighing, Qiao Yiyi widened her eyes and acted as if she was a shocked innocent rabbit. ¡°Then how is Mr. Lu now?¡± She was already extremely anxious. How many times had she asked?! Why was this butler not treating her question as a question?! As she had this thought, someone pushed her way over. p. Ruthlessly, a clear pnded on her face. Qiao Yiyi tightened her grip and her face bent to the side. She held the part of her face that had been pped. As she touched it, she could feel like it was already quite swollen. Her pupils shrank slightly and she instantly lowered her head. She took a deep breath. When Lu Qingtian hade to hit her, she had already sensed it. And if she had wanted to dodge it, it would have been a really easy feat. But when she had been about to dodge it, she had realized that Liang Liang was standing at the side, staring at her. She was instantly stunned. If she dodged that p, wouldn¡¯t she expose her identity to Liang Liang? As she realized this, she instantly suppressed the anger in her and took this p fully. But... The moment she touched her face and tasted the blood in her mouth, she couldn¡¯t help cursing to herself*. It¡¯s so f*cking painful!!* Not only was she hit, but Lu Qingtian had also grabbed her shoulders, which forced her to lift her head up. Lu Qingtian stared at her with sunken eyes. ¡°B*tch! It¡¯s your fault that Nanze is in this state now! Do you not know how to call back when you escape?! Because you didn¡¯t say a word, it gave others the chance to make use of you and hurt Nanze. You¡¯re really the ck sheep of our family! Let me tell you, if anything happens to Nanze, you wait and see how I¡¯ll deal with you.¡± After she said that, she took in many deep breaths. Qiao Yiyi: ...!! Her phone had been confiscated by those people. If she had really been someone weak and helpless, where would she have been able to find a phone to call? It was already really great that she had been able to return to Suzhou alive. But before Qiao Yiyi could speak, the door of the operating room opened suddenly. Lu Nanze came out. Chapter 1763 - It Is Hard to Speak of One’s Troubles (3)

Chapter 1763: It Is Hard to Speak of One¡¯s Troubles (3)

Everyone held their breaths and looked in the same direction unanimously. Lu Nanze was lying on the hospital bed, pushed out by the nurse. His face was really pale and it was clear that he had lost too much blood. His doctor walked out and looked at the people there. Lu Qingtian pushed away Qiao Yiyi, who meant to check on Lu Nanze, and rushed in front of the doctor. ¡°Doctor, how is my nephew? Will anything happen to him?!¡± The doctor turned his head to take a look at Lu Qingtian and spoke, ¡°His life is already out of danger. But since he has lost too much blood, he needs to rest well for some time.¡± Lu Qingtian became anxious. ¡°But why isn¡¯t he awake yet?¡± The doctor didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry at her words. ¡°The patient has lost too much blood, he is sleeping after fainting. He needs at least five or six hours before he can wake up.¡± Lu Qingtian then stopped worrying and spoke with red eyes, ¡°My brother only left one son. Nothing can happen to him, or else, the Lu family will have no descendants! Sigh!¡± Doctor: ... Qiao Yiyi took the chance to look at Lu Nanze. Although his face was ghastly pale, his breathing was uniform. One could tell that he was alright from a look. She instantly felt relieved. But the next moment, her gaze fell upon his leg and she softly asked, ¡°Doctor, how is his leg?¡± After the doctor heard her words, he frowned and said, ¡°I was about to talk about this. Although his life is no longer in danger, he might have to rest for about half a year for his leg. He lost too much blood and it won¡¯t be easy for him to recover. Besides that, the leg¡¯s tendon was hurt and it won¡¯t improve any time soon. So all of you have to take good care of him in the future.¡± Lu Wanqing looked as if a bomb had been dropped down from the sky. ¡°Doctor, what did you say?! My nephew¡¯s leg- his leg won¡¯t recover to what it was like before?¡± The doctor sighed. ¡°It¡¯s not that it cannot return to what it was like before, it is that he must take good care of it for it to recover. Some people can recover well and return to normal. Some people don¡¯t recover as well and walk with a limp. But all of this depends on his recovery.¡± Lu Qingtian instantly felt unwell. Even Qiao Yiyi frowned and looked at his leg in shock. Although she had imagined many dire consequences before reaching the hospital, she had never thought that this was it. If one thought about it, it was truly cruel to have a person like Lu Nanze, with such charm, end up being paralyzed on a wheelchair. As these thoughts haunted her, the nurse started pushing the bed towards the wards. She followed them hurriedly. The whole group apanied Lu Nanze to the VIP ward in grandiose. The bed went in first, followed by the doctor, the nurse and then Qiao Yiyi. But when Qiao Yiyi pushed the door open, intending to check on Lu Nanze¡¯s leg, Lu Qingtian held her wrist and pushed her out with strong force. Qiao Yiyi was shocked. She lifted her head up and found Lu Qingtian staring at her with hatred. ¡°B*tch, are still not satisfied with how much trouble you¡¯ve caused Nanze? You better stay far away! Nanze shouldn¡¯t have married you.¡± After she said so, she went into the ward. Looking at her state, the butler sighed deeply. He couldn¡¯t help also scolding Qiao Yiyi, ¡°Do you know that Sir has ended up like this for your sake? But luckily there was thatdy who saved us... Forget it, even if you got ten percent of her guts, we would have had to have done immense good in our previous lives!¡± Chapter 1764 - It Is Hard to Speak of One’s Troubles (4)

Chapter 1764: It Is Hard to Speak of One¡¯s Troubles (4)

After the butler said that, he pushed the door and entered the room. Qiao Yiyi stood outside, not knowing whether tough or cry. She had actually met Lu Qingtian before. At the start, when she had just married Lu Nanze, they hadn¡¯t held a wedding ceremony. Lu Qingtian had just rushed into the house and used an extremely picky eye to scrutinize her. In the end, she had said things like, ¡°Her butt is too small, she¡¯s kind of too skinny and short. It will affect the growth of the next generation.¡± She grimaced and thought, ¡°Are daughters-inw now meant for giving birth?¡± Besides that, the gaze Lu Qingtian used to stare at her absolutely didn¡¯t feel like it was being directed at a person. It seemed as if she was scrutinizing an object, which made her extremely ufortable. She stood outside the ward, looking at the door. She was quite experienced with outer injuries¡ªperhaps she could even treat it better than the doctors in the hospital. Thus she wanted to enter and take a look at the situation, but now... Qiao Yiyi sighed helplessly. At that moment, she heard someone speak beside her. ¡°Don¡¯t be sad, they are just really angry now.¡± Qiao Yiyi was shocked and turned her head. She found Liang Liang, but she had no idea when he hade beside her. Qiao Yiyi: ... Why did she always feel that Liang Liang treated her differently? She nodded to Liang Liang distantly. Then she took a step back and stared into the ward. Now that Lu Nanze was here, she wouldn¡¯t be able to leave. Or else, both the butler and Lu Qingtian would dislike her even more. But her face was still hurting really badly. Just at that moment, ice wrapped in a towel was handed to her. Qiao Yiyi turned her head and saw Liang Liang standing in front of her with the towel in his hand. Qiao Yiyi: ... Qiao Yiyi took the towel from him and ced it on her face. Then she thanked him. After that, Liang Liang sat beside her and asked, ¡°How did you escape?¡± Was he trying to interrogate her now? Qiao Yiyi lowered her eyes and sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t know myself either. After they kidnapped me, I was really afraid. Then they locked me in a room and left. I saw that there was a dog hole on the side, so I squeezed myself through it. Then I ran down the mountain. They threw away my phone, it¡¯s not like I didn¡¯t call home on purpose. I- I really didn¡¯t do it on purpose.¡± Qiao Yiyi made herself sound really pitiful. Liang Liang nodded and patted her shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s alright, don¡¯t worry. Lu Nanze will wake up, he won¡¯t me you.¡± Qiao Yiyi nodded. Liang Liang stared at her for a while and suddenly spoke, ¡°Do you know who that hero, that girl who saved him, that the butler was speaking about is?¡± Qiao Yiyi instantly widened her eyes, turned her head and looked at Liang Liang. ¡°Who?¡± Seeing her clueless face, Liang Liang sighed and lowered his head. ¡°That was Traceless.¡± Qiao Yiyi¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He had really found out? Just as she was thinking, Liang Liang asked, ¡°Do you know how he knows Traceless? Why did they interact? Why would Traceless appear on that mountain?¡± Qiao Yiyi continued shaking her head and replied, ¡°I have no idea! When have I been able to ask about Mr. Lu¡¯s matters?¡± Since Lu Nanze had kept her from the public, then he should have an exnation for others. This matter should just be left to Lu Nanze. Chapter 1765 - It Is Hard to Speak of One’s Troubles (45)

Chapter 1765: It Is Hard to Speak of One¡¯s Troubles (45)

Qiao Yiyi¡¯s words stunned Liang Liang, he was really speechless. In the ward, Lu Qingtian was staring outside. When she saw Liang Liang and Qiao Yiyi whispering, she frowned and asked the butler, ¡°Do they know each other very well?¡± The butler spoke insinuating something, ¡°Mr. Liang seems to have a special feeling for Madam. That day he got drunk, he insisted on Madam talking to him.¡± Lu Qingtian looked speechless. ¡°Does Nanze not care?!¡± The butlerughed bitterly. ¡°Mr. Lu knew but didn¡¯t object to it.¡± ¡°This is absolutely nonsense!¡± Lu Qingtian actually had really strict morals. ¡°No matter what, since she¡¯s married to Nanze, she¡¯ll be Nanze¡¯s for the rest of her life. She¡¯s the Madam of the Lu family. If word spreads out, it¡¯d be terrible! I know that Nanze doesn¡¯t like her, but the woman Nanze likes has already married someone else. How can he still not forget about her?¡± The butler sighed. ¡°I know, right? But I don¡¯t dare to tell Sir that. Yes, Sir seems to be unsatisfied with Madam too.¡± Lu Qingtian frowned. ¡°In a family like ours, if they divorce, it would be really bad for our reputation. Besides that, I think that other than being a little stupid, Qiao Yiyi is actually alright. After teaching her, she might be just fine.¡± The butler was stunned. ¡°Don¡¯t you hate her?¡± Lu Qingtian was also stunned. ¡°Why would I hate her?¡± The butler didn¡¯t speak. However, Lu Qingtian instantly understood it and said, ¡°That¡¯s just another matter. Tell me, if someone gets to escape, why wouldn¡¯t they call to inform their family? If she had called to inform, wouldn¡¯t Nanze be safe? But look at how stupid she is!¡± As she said so, she got angry again. But after calming down, she started staring at the door again. ¡°Looking closely at this Qiao Yiyi, she actually looks decent. Now that Nanze is injured, do you think asking her to take care of Nanze will spark some feelings between them? Also, it¡¯s not like every rtionship needs love. Even if they don¡¯t have feelings for each other, after spending a lot of time together, they will still care for each other.¡± After saying so, she coughed and walked to the door. ¨C Just as Qiao Yiyi wondered how to get away from Liang Liang and escape, the door was suddenly opened. She turned her head immediately and saw Lu Qingtian walking towards her. Qiao Yiyi stood up instantly and stared at her warily. The woman had just pped her when she hadn¡¯t been on guard. But she would no longer allow others to touch her. If Lu Qingtian still wanted to hit her, she would dodge it. As she thought so, Lu Qingtian started speaking in a weird tone, ¡°Nanze is already so sick, but here you are, bantering happily with another man. Qiao Yiyi, do you have a heart?¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... Hadn¡¯t she banned her from entering? And bantering happily? In what way were they bantering happily?! Qiao Yiyi was really speechless, but she couldn¡¯t argue at all. She lowered her head and stood rooted on the spot. Lu Qingtian mocked Qiao Yiyi, but she kept silent. Due to her silence, Lu Qingtian felt that it was meaningless. But when Liang Liang heard her words, he realized that what he was doing wasn¡¯t appropriate. Thus he took a step backwards and exined, ¡°Aunt Lu, it isn¡¯t what you think, me and her¡ª¡± Chapter 1766 - It Is Hard to Speak of One’s Troubles (6)

Chapter 1766: It Is Hard to Speak of One¡¯s Troubles (6)

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly heard a surprised voice from someone not far away, ¡°What is going on between you two? Police Officer Liang, you¡¯re too close to Mrs. Lu! Coming here, I saw how both of you were acting. If I hadn¡¯t known beforehand, I would have thought you were a couple.¡± Everyone turned their heads simultaneously and they saw a woman, who was dressed beautifully and elegantly, walking over. When her gaze fell on Lu Qingtian, one could tell the arrogance it carried. When Qiao Yiyi saw her, she immediately frowned. Who was this person? Why was she using that tone? If someone who hadn¡¯t known them beforehand heard her, they would have thought that there was something between Liang Liang and her. But all they had done was have a short conversation. But at that moment, it definitely wasn¡¯t the time for her to speak, she had to hold it in. She had thought at first that she was going to get lectured again, considering how much Lu Qingtian disliked her, but Lu Qingtian sneered and said, ¡°Oh, Zhang Minting, what¡¯s up with that look? We are just exining to Police Officer Liang what happened, why would you think that? Seriously, now if a man talks to a woman on the street, they are seeing each other? What kind of thinking do you have?¡± Zhang Minting instantly became furious. ¡°Lu Qingtian, what do you mean?¡± ¡°I just said what I meant. Zhang Minting, stop speaking bullsh*t here. You have such a disgusting attitude. Yiyi has done nothing wrong and Police Officer Liang is famous for being a good officer. Don¡¯t impose your filthy thinking on them!¡± Lu Qingtian spoke dominantly. After she said that, Qiao Yiyi lifted her head up in disbelief and looked at Lu Qingtian. Hadn¡¯t Lu Qingtian always hated her? Why was she speaking up for her now? But after thinking for a bit, Qiao Yiyi instantly understood. She was Mrs. Lu now. If bad rumours about her actually got spread, it would definitely hurt the Lu family¡¯s reputation. Hence Lu Qingtian wasn¡¯t protecting her, but the Lu Family. But even so, Qiao Yiyi appreciated her kindness. At that moment, Qiao Yiyi realized that Lu Qingtian looked like Lu Nanze. Lu Nanze was handsome, and that look of his on Lu Qingtian made her seem slightly more pleasant and slightly less girly. Lu Qingtian then looked like a tough woman. Although this tough woman had a straightforward and hot temper and did things as she pleased, she was someone really intelligent. She knew exactly when to do what. Zhang Minting wasn¡¯t able to beat Lu Qingtian¡¯s wit, so she stomped her feet angrily. ¡°You- you should stop being a busybody! You¡¯re already an old woman that left the Lu family a while ago to get married, but you keep returning to the Lu family. Tell me, is it because you know Lu Nanze doesn¡¯t have any sons? And you haveid your eyes on the Lu family¡¯s inheritance?¡± Lu Qingtian sneered. ¡°I grew up with the Lu family, what¡¯s wrong with me returning home? Zhang Minting, you should stop living in the past and use your rotten ideas to judge others. You should get to know the modern world! Besides that, what I might think is the Lu family¡¯s business. At least my surname is Lu, what about you? What does it have to do with you?¡± Zhang Minting was so angry that she couldn¡¯t speak. After a while, she stomped her foot on the floor and took a nce at the ward. ¡°I was in the hospital and I heard that Lu Nanze was injured, so I came to take a look. Hmph, I¡¯ve already called Tingting. She¡¯lle to visit Nanze in the afternoon.¡± Chapter 1767 - It Is Hard to Speak of One’s Troubles (7)

Chapter 1767: It Is Hard to Speak of One¡¯s Troubles (7)

Zhang Minting threw a hostile nce at Qiao Yiyi after she said this. Then she lowered her head and snorted immediately, ¡°We¡¯lle back in the afternoon!¡± She turned and walked away. After Zhang Minting had left, Lu Qingtian spat at her back view and hissed, ¡°So shameless! All those years ago, she shamelessly got into someone else¡¯s bed and, after scoring a legitimate status for herself, now she is making her own daughter walk down the same path. She can dream about pairing Tingting with our Lu Nanze!¡± She felt better after she had rebuked the other woman. But upon turning around and ncing at Qiao Yiyi, she was immediately reminded of Zhang Minting¡¯s daughter, Li Tingting, who had both good looks and a fine carriage. At once, she had a splitting headache. How could one even start topare Qiao Yiyi to the other girl? Lu Qingtian nced at the ward. The doctor had said that it would be another four to five hours yet before he woke up, hence... Without hesitating, she grabbed Qiao Yiyi and said, ¡°Youe with me.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... Without an inkling of what was going on, Qiao Yiyi followed Lu Qingtian as they left the hospital. Lu Qingtian took her car and drove them to the nearest mall. Upon arriving at the mall, she took Qiao Yiyi to the clothing store. The moment they entered, she immediately instructed an employee with a finger pointing at Qiao Yiyi, ¡°Find her a few suitable dresses. And do her hair.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... She started protesting, ¡°Auntie, I¡ª¡± ¡°What do you want toin about? You call yourself a woman! No wonder after half a year of marriage, Nanze still treats you coldly. I¡¯ve nevere across a woman who looks as crude as you!¡± While she was chiding Qiao Yiyi, she frowned and started picking out suitable dresses for the girl. One of the employees brought a dress over to show Lu Qingtian. The woman frowned immediately and chided her, ¡°What sort of fashion sense do you have? Can¡¯t you see that she¡¯s already petite? Are you trying to dress her up like a little girl with a cutesy dress? She¡¯s a woman! Here, I¡¯ll do this myself.¡± Lu Qingtian pushed the employee out of the way impatiently and walked around the store looking through the racks. Finally, she picked a slim whitece dress and held it out to Qiao Yiyi, saying, ¡°Try this on, it should look quite good.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... Fortunately, the dress had sleeves, otherwise the wound on her shoulder would have been exposed. But would she be able to walk wearing such a graceful dress!? As she stood there pondering, Lu Qingtian hollered angrily, ¡°Hurry up! Don¡¯t just stand there staring!¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... Qiao Yiyi wanted to tell the woman that her nephew was in hospital, to ask her if it was appropriate that she appeared dressed up like this. But when she looked at Lu Qingtian, she knew that it wasn¡¯t something she could safely say. She took the dress and headed into the changing room. When she walked out of the changing room in the dress, Lu Qingtian looked at the girl and was dazzled. Her eyes lit up and, pointing at Qiao Yiyi, she said, ¡°You need to throw out everything that¡¯s in your wardrobe.¡± Then she turned around and said to the employee, ¡°We¡¯ll take all the dresses in this same style that you have, in her size. Send them to the Lu family¡¯s vi and charge it to my ount.¡± The attendant nodded and said, ¡°Yes, Madam.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... Why did she feel all of a sudden like she was a kept woman? Qiao Yiyi grimaced as she turned to walk back to the changing room. But the woman said, ¡°Don¡¯t change, just keep the dress on! I¡¯d like to see how Tingting attempts to put you down.¡± Chapter 1768 - It Is Hard to Speak of One’s Troubles (8)

Chapter 1768: It Is Hard to Speak of One¡¯s Troubles (8)

It sounded as though Lu Qingtian was speaking through gritted teeth. Qiao Yiyi did not disobey her. Wearing her new dress, she followed Lu Qiangtian as they walked out of the shop. Both of them got into the car. Lu Qiangtian nced at the girl and ventured, ¡°I suppose you have no idea who Li Tingting is?¡± Qiao Yiyi nodded in response. Lu Qiangtian continued to stare at the girl. Qiao Yiyi did not speak. Unable to tolerate the girl any further, Lu Qiangtian continued, ¡°Why are you so slow? At this point, shouldn¡¯t you be asking who Li Tingting is?¡± Qiao Yiyi lifted her gaze and replied, ¡°Oh. So who is Li Tingting?¡± Lu Qingtian: ... Lu Qiangtian waspletely dissatisfied with the girl, so she pointed a finger at the girl¡¯s head in exasperation. ¡°You are really slow! Who is Li Tingting? She¡¯s someone who grew up with Lu Nanze, she also knows Qiao Lian too. She has liked Lu Nanze since they were young! Now that he¡¯s hospitalised, I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll turn up. I¡¯m warning you, you have to take precautions against her, do you hear me?¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... ¡°She graduated from a renowned college in America. She¡¯s got great qualities and she¡¯s pretty. She¡¯s even wellworked in our circle, she¡¯s virtually wless.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... ¡°Say something!¡± Qiao Yiyi replied, ¡°So what?¡± Instantly, Lu Qiangtian felt like she was just wasting her time. ¡°Damn! I¡¯ve said this much and your slow brain is none the wiser. I¡¯m telling you that this girl likes your husband! And she¡¯s excellent.¡± Qiao Yiyi nodded and exined, ¡°Auntie, I know what you mean. But I¡¯m saying, so what? I¡¯m the actual Madam Lu.¡± Lu Qiangtian halted and thought about it. She couldn¡¯t really argue that point. At the same time, she did feel that the remark was rather presumptuous. So what if that girl was perfect in every aspect? Qiao Yiyi was the legitimate Madam Lu, and that had nothing to do with outsiders. Lu Qiangtian turned back to nce at the girl. Her head was lowered, as though she wasn¡¯t aware of what she had just said. The woman couldn¡¯t help but wonder if the old saying was true, that fortune favors the foolish. She shook her head, pushed that thought out of her mind and took Qiao Yiyi back to the hospital. Lu Nanze had not regained consciousness by the time the two of them were back to the hospital. The butler and Liang Liang both stared at the freshly made-up Qiao Yiyi and were somewhat dumbfounded. Only Lu Qiangtian chided the girl impatiently, ¡°Your husband is sick. As his wife, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and tend to him.¡± Qiao Yiyi was stumped. Seriously, it was this same woman who hadn¡¯t let her into the ward, and now she was chiding her for standing at the doorway. So did she want her in the room, or not? Of course, Qiao Yiyi couldn¡¯t say that aloud. She followed Lu Qiangtian into the room. The moment they stepped into the room, they suddenly heard a brisk flurry of footsteps. Qiao Yiyi spun around. The door burst open and a raving beauty withrge wavy hair and of exquisite beauty immediately strode in. When she entered, her eyes were fixed on Lu Nanze as though there was no one else in the world. She dashed up to him and cried, ¡°Second Brother, what happened to you? How did you end up like this?¡± Then her eyes reddened. She looked exactly like the sort of pitiful damsel in distress that could stir men¡¯s hearts. As this thought crossed Qiao Yiyi¡¯s mind, Li Tingting snapped her head around and demanded, ¡°How did Second Brother end up like this under your care?¡± Chapter 1769 - It Is Hard to Speak of One’s Troubles (9)

Chapter 1769: It Is Hard to Speak of One¡¯s Troubles (9)

When Li Tingting lifted her gaze, she was immediately stunned into silence. Beforeing, her mother had said that Madam Lu was an ugly duckling, that she had such a small presence that one wouldn¡¯t even know she was there. Hence, she hadn¡¯t bothered to prepare. But unexpectedly, as she looked up at that face... Although she wasn¡¯t wearing makeup, it was clear that the girl had exquisite features. She had the sort of face that could easily withstand scrutiny. Seeing that Qiao Yiyi was this pretty made Li Tingting even more envious. She drew in a deep breath and said, ¡°I heard what happened. Why didn¡¯t you call home if you had managed to escape? If you had, this wouldn¡¯t have happened to Second Brother. It will be your fault if his leg suffers any side effects from this.¡± Li Tingting narrowed her eyes after she said this. She had heard that Lu Qingtian had given Qiao Yiyi a tight p because of this, so she was quite sure that even if she were to rub salt into the wound, Lu Qingtian wasn¡¯t going to defend the girl. But unexpectedly, before Qiao Yiyi could even react, Lu Qingtian spoke. Li Tingting had initially thought she would rebuke Qiao Yiyi, but instead the woman directed her remark at Li Tingting. ¡°I have to say, Tingting, is this the way you speak to your Second Sister-inw?¡± Li Tingting was stunned. ¡°Second Sister-inw?¡± Lu Qingtian nodded and continued, ¡°You¡¯re always calling Nanze your Second Brother, so isn¡¯t she your Second Sister-inw then?¡± Li Tingting almost gagged. Lu Qingtian snorted coldly. ¡°Besides, it was a good enough thing that Yiyi was able to escape by herself. She didn¡¯t have a cell phone on her at all, how could she have called Lu Nanze?¡± Li Tingting: ...!! That wasn¡¯t in the script. Why wasn¡¯t the woman ying along? At this point, they heard a slight movement. All of them turned around simultaneously and found that Lu Nanze had woken up. He opened his eyes slowly. The first person he saw was Qiao Yiyi. Qiao Yiyi had her hair up in a high ponytail and was dressed in a slim white dress. At a first nce, she looked like Traceless without a mask. The man was still in a daze. He immediately extended his hand towards her and said, ¡°You¡¯re here?¡± The familiarity and happiness in his tone took her by surprise. Qiao Yiyi was stunned for a moment. But in that moment, someone pushed her arm and she was shoved to the side. The person who had shoved her now took her ce at the front. ¡°Second Brother, I¡¯m here! How are you? You must be feeling awful.¡± Lu Nanze frowned when he saw Li Tingting and immediately withdrew his hand. But the girl forcefully took it, sighed and said, ¡°I¡¯ve called Qiao Lian to tell her about this.¡± When Lu Nanze heard this, he froze. Looking at Li Tingting, he asked, ¡°What did she say?¡± Li Tingting replied, ¡°She said that you should rest well and recuperate. She¡¯s asked me to take good care of you.¡± The man fell silent at once. So it seemed that she did care about him still. But what was the use of showing concern like this? There was so much physical distance between them. Besides, she had to stay at home after childbirth, so it wasn¡¯t possible for her to visit. At this thought, Lu Nanze lowered his gaze and fell into deep thought. Li Tingting got to her feet and said at this point, ¡°Second Brother, I know you¡¯ve always been particr about cleanliness. Why don¡¯t I get some water and help you clean up?¡± Chapter 1770 - It Is Hard to Speak of One’s Troubles (10)

Chapter 1770: It Is Hard to Speak of One¡¯s Troubles (10)

After saying that, Li Tingting got to her feet and looked at Qiao Yiyi, telling the girl, ¡°Hey you, go get some water.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... Qiao Yiyi turned to stare at Lu Nanze. He was lying back peacefully, as though he had epted Li Tingting¡¯s suggestion. Qiao Yiyi suddenly felt an odd surge of inexplicable jealousy. The bastard. He had obviously been flirting with her when they were at the foot of the cliff. But now? He was allowing some other woman to wipe his body? This was simply... inconceivable. Qiao Yiyi snorted coldly. She turned and went to fill a basin with water. Then she brought the basin to Li Tingting. She stood on the side, cursing in silence. The bastard. ¨C In fact, Lu Nanze had not actually heard what Li Tingting had said. His mind was filled with questions around Qiao Lian and how she was doing. In the process, he also realized that the mention and the thought of Qiao Lian was no longer as painful for him as it had once been. In fact, he was quite d to know she was doing well. Perhaps some feelings would never disappear, but merely fade or gradually turn into something different with time. Hence now, he no longer had that deep obsession over Qiao Lian. On the contrary, his vision was filled with images of a masked face. The corners of his mouth would inevitably curve into an unconscious smile whenever he thought of Traceless. That stubborn and cranky girl. He wondered if there was a way to tame her. But when Qiao Yiyi spotted that smile on his face, she got even more furious. He was smiling because Li Tingting was about to clean his body. The pervert. Qiao Yiyi was on the verge of exploding yet she still had to look timid. At the same time, she was feeling terribly jealous. Go ahead if you want to let another woman wipe your body! In any case, she would never do it. She snorted indignantly and stood aside, refusing to say a thing. Li Tingting took the towel, wetted it and walked to Lu Nanze¡¯s bedside. Just as she was about to start wiping him down, Lu Qingtian suddenly grabbed her wrist. Li Tingting was taken aback as Lu Qingtian smiled frostily at her and spoke,¡±Tingting, you¡¯re a big girl now. There has to be an appropriate distance between you and your Second Brother, isn¡¯t it so? Besides, wiping his body is a tiring and dirty job, it¡¯s not suitable for a preciousdy.¡± She took the towel from Li Tingting, shoved it towards Qiao Yiyi and said, ¡°Yiyi, don¡¯t just stand there frozen like a fool. Can¡¯t you see that Nanze doesn¡¯t like being dirty? He can¡¯t move now, and you are in a way the cause for all this. It¡¯s your job to take good care of him!¡± Although she had used a reprimanding tone, she quickly grabbed Qiao Yiyi and, without saying another word, shoved her right in front of the man. Li Tingting: ... Qiao Yiyi: ... Qiao Yiyi looked at the towel in her hand and then at Lu Nanze, who was still grinning like a fool. At once, she choked with rage. Damn it! She, Traceless, had been a proud woman all her life. Why should she be wiping a man¡¯s body?! She turned around and looked at Lu Qingtian. ¡°Auntie, I¡ª¡± Before she could finish speaking, Lu Qingtian interrupted her, ¡°What now? Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t know how to do it! And even if you don¡¯t, you have to learn. There will be many more asions where you¡¯ll need to look after him! I suggest you start by carefully removing his clothes.¡± Chapter 1771 - Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (1)

Chapter 1771: Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (1)

Remove his clothes? She suddenly felt slightly awkward. Grimacing, she looked at the man on the bed. Lu Nanze was quite weak at this moment and it was easy to feel sorry for him. Why take a sick man so seriously? She slightly twitched her lips at this point and inched forward. As she came up to the man, he seemed to suddenlye back to his senses. He looked at her with disdain in his eyes and asked, ¡°What do you want?¡± Qiao Yiyi replied, ¡°I have to remove your clothes.¡± ¡°Leave.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... What the hell? Do you think I¡¯m dying to do it? Besides, you didn¡¯t make such a big deal out of it when Li Tingting was the one going to remove your clothes. Did that mean that he actually had some interest in Li Tingting? Silently critical, she straightened up, looked at Lu Qingtian innocently and said, ¡°Auntie, since Mr. Lu doesn¡¯t want it, then¡ª¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t want it?¡± Lu Qingtian took a step towards him, red at him and asked, ¡°You really don¡¯t want to change into a new set of clothes?¡± Frowning, he insisted, ¡°There¡¯s no need¡ª¡± Before he could finish speaking, Lu Qingtian sighed and continued, ¡°You¡¯ve been wearing these clothes since before you went up to the mountains. The injuries and falling off a cliff aside, eventually, after you were injured, a lot of people touched you. In such hot weather, everyone¡¯s sweat is probably on your clothes. Are you sure you don¡¯t want to change out of them?¡± Lu Nanze: ...!! The thought of so many hands touching him made him feel quite sick. Frowning deeply, he struggled to sit up and said, ¡°Get out, all of you. I¡¯ll change myself.¡± Lu Qingtian said, ¡°Sure, we can go outside. But first try to move your leg.¡± Upon hearing this, Lu Nanze shifted his gaze to his thigh. He tried to move it slightly and realized only then that he could feel nothing on that leg. When they had tended to his wound in a hurry, they had cut through his clothing. Now that leg was basically naked, covered only in bandages. He paused and muttered, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter? It has been anesthetized. Also, you¡¯ve lost too much blood, it¡¯s normal that your leg isn¡¯t doing what you want it to. You¡¯re better off resting and taking it easy! How are you going to change by yourself?¡± Then she turned and looked at Li Tingting. ¡°Tingting, your Second Brother needs to change. I think you need to leave the room and wait outside for a bit. Let your Second Sister-inw change him and then after that you cane back in.¡± Li Tingting choked and said, ¡°But Auntie, Second Sister-inw won¡¯t be able to handle it alone. I can stay and¡ª¡± ¡°Silly girl, you are an unmarried girl. Why would you want to look at a man¡¯s body? Now get out, hurry! It¡¯s for your own good.¡± On that note, she grabbed Li Tingting and forcefully kicked her out of the ward. Bam! The ward door mmed shut. Instantly, there were only Qiao Yiyi and Lu Nanze left in the room. Qiao Yiyi: ... Qiao Yiyi had always been more casual in Lu Nanze¡¯s presence. Furthermore, thest time she was injured, she had seen much more of Lu Nanze than this, so now... She nced at Lu Nanze. Fine, forget it. Why make thingsplicated with a sick person? Hence, she approached the man and lifted his nket. She extended her arm and started to undo his buttons. Right then, he suddenly grabbed her by her wrist. Chapter 1772 - Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (2)

Chapter 1772: Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (2)

Qiao Yiyi paused and looked up at Lu Nanze, who said to her, ¡°I¡¯ll do it myself.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... She stepped aside, crossing her arms on her chest, and eyed him in cold elegance. Lu Nanze first removed his shirt and then attempted to remove his trousers. He unbuckled his belt and spent some effort trying to remove his clothes. However, because his other leg was numb, this became a difficult operation. He frowned and tried for a while. He didn¡¯t manage to remove it. In addition to that, the pants had already been cut during the operation. His struggle only served to tangle the clothing further, there was no chance of removing it. Furrowing his brow, Lu Nanze stubbornly persisted. Qiao Yiyi could not stand it anymore and stepped towards him. She grabbed the fabric he was holding and said, ¡°Let me help you.¡± The man tightened his grip on the piece of clothing, refusing to let go. Qiao Lian was dumbstruck by his behavior. This was the first time she saw such an adorable side to this man¡ªa stubbornness and spoiled behavior that came from god-knew-where. It tickled her immensely. Unable to stop herself from smiling in amusement, she said at once, ¡°Mr. Lu, the way you¡¯re doing this, I¡¯m afraid nothing wille out of your effort. Just let me help you.¡± Lu Nanze: ... Then man contemted it for a brief moment and finally relented. Hence he released the garment and, at once, reached for the nket to cover his own body. Including his light gray boxers. Qiao Yiyi exploded inughter inside. Hadn¡¯t he been acting so grandly when he had dressed her wound? But now he wouldn¡¯t let a woman look at his body? So it was true, men could be terribly awkward if they wanted. She lowered her head at this thought and tidied up his messy trousers. Then she tossed the piece of clothes aside. At the same time, she fished a towel out of the basin and looked at the man, asking, ¡°Mr. Lu, are you ready? Can I help you clean up now?¡± Lu Nanze: ... Lu Nanze extended his hand and said, ¡°Let me do it myself.¡± Qiao Yiyi did not insist. She passed the towel to the man. She stood aside in a calm andposed manner, enjoying the view of his body. His firm muscture glistened like warm honey under the light. It was obvious he practiced martial arts or trained in the gym frequently. He had maintained his body even after cutting ties with the world of organized crime. He had the sort of body that looked slim when dressed but muscr when stripped to his bare flesh. It made Qiao Yiyi drool. When she had dated Liang Liang, she had promised her mother that she would not remove her mask in front of him before they were properly married. Hence when they were together, the most they had ever done was hold hands. That had made it even harder for her to see Liang Liang¡¯s body. So this was the first time she was staring straight at a man like this. She continued to stare at him, mesmerized. Until Lu Nanze stared back at her and smirked. ¡°Are you done watching?¡± She replied, still in a daze, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m done¡ª¡± Before she could finish speaking, she suddenly snapped back to her senses. At once, she lowered her head and put on a panicky expression. Lu Nanze gave a frostyugh, held the towel out to her and said, ¡°Rinse this out for me.¡± Qiao Yiyi immediately took the towel from him, rinsed it a few times and returned it to him. Then she watched him trying to wipe his back, but the moment he extended his arm, it tightened the skin around his wound and it was so painful the man could hardly continue. Chapter 1773 - Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (3)

Chapter 1773: Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (3)

He fell silent for a moment and then tried again. Still couldn¡¯t do it. Finally, he shifted his gaze to Qiao Yiyi. She pursed her lips and stood there without saying anything. But deep inside, she was gleeful. So now he couldn¡¯t clean himself? A moment ago he had been acting as though she would give him the gue, so now she wasn¡¯t going to be the one to offer. She stood there, looking calm andposed, as she stared at Lu Nanze, and even ventured to suggest, ¡°Mr. Lu, your back- Just near your waist, there¡¯s a bit of dirt.¡± Lu Nanze: ... That was the hardest part for him to reach. He frowned. He hadn¡¯t intended for Qiao Yiyi to help him clean up. But after all, he wasn¡¯t attracted to her. Besides, now that he had some feelings for Traceless, how could he let another woman touch him? But strangely, when he lifted his head, he suddenly caught a sh of a sarcastic smile on Qiao Yiyi¡¯s face. The smirk was subtle and it was gone in the blink of an eye. The next moment, she was back to looking the way she always did. But he could have sworn he had seen that smirk clearly. Was the girl scorning him? That was impossible. With her timid personality... but if it hadn¡¯t been a smirk, then his eyes must have been ying tricks. He frowned and, for the first time, took a serious look at this girl, sizing her up. She was dressed differently today, which made her look less like a country bumpkin and less timid. Standing there silently, he could have been fooled into thinking she was the daughter of a wealthy family. Except that for some strange reason, her mousy and timid demeanor seemed to sit awkwardly on her. Just like... she actually had no fear of him. For instance now, even a housemaid or nurse would have said something or offered help when seeing that he had trouble wiping his own back. But Qiao Yiyi just stood there in silence, like a block of wood. Was she really that slow and couldn¡¯t think? Or was she putting up an act? Once this thought urred to him, he found himself stuck with it. He narrowed his eyes and looked at Qiao Yiyi through a squint. Then he snorted without another word. He carelessly wiped down his back and tossed the towel back at her. He had to be overthinking. He had made a thorough investigation of her background before marrying her. Although her parents were divorced, her mother had been living in another city for many years, working as a kindergarten teacher. Qiao Yiyi had always been a timid and strange person. How could a woman like her be so petty? He shook his head and wondered if he was possessed. Then hey back in bed and shut his eyes. Qiao Yiyi did nothing to help him, even though she had witnessed how poor his washing had been. She merely took the towel and basin back to the bathroom. When she returned, she saw that the man had fallen asleep. She sat on the sofa in silence. After a moment, there was a sound outside. Lu Nanze¡¯s eyeballs moved subtly, but he did not open them. Honestly, he just wanted a moment of peace and didn¡¯t feel like facing Li Tingting. He could have asked the girl to go away, but they were childhood friends. So for the sake of Qiao Lian, he didn¡¯t wish to be too harsh on the girl. Hence, why not pretend to be sleeping? Ignoring her should do the trick. Chapter 1774 - Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (4)

Chapter 1774: Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (4)

It should do the trick. But Lu Nanze had underestimated how thick-skinned a girl could be. Li Tingting came back into the room with Lu Qiangtian. Seeing that the man had his eyes closed, thetter asked Qiao Yiyi softly, ¡°Fallen asleep again?¡± Qiao Yiyi nodded. He had been silent ever since he had finished washing up a while ago, so he must have fallen asleep. Lu Qiangtian continued in a low voice, ¡°I¡¯ve asked the butler to buy some food. It¡¯s not been easy for you to take care of him.¡± The moment she said this, Li Tingting added with awkward sarcasm, ¡°If it weren¡¯t for her, Second Brother wouldn¡¯t have ended up like this. Auntie Lu, you¡¯re being too polite!¡± Lu Qiangtian frowned and said, ¡°Tingting, this is our family¡¯s business, you shouldn¡¯t meddle. And since Nanze is asleep, I suggest you leave for today.¡± Li Tingting immediately retorted, ¡°Auntie Lu, I know it isn¡¯t appropriate for me to be here, but you¡¯ve seen for yourself that you can¡¯t handle it alone. It¡¯s better that I stay to help you.¡± Lu Qingtian replied, ¡°I¡¯m fine doing this by myself, I really don¡¯t need help.¡± ¡°Well then, I still want to watch over Second Brother until he¡¯s fine. This is what I¡¯d like to do for him as a friend. Aunty, I¡¯m sure you will grant me this simple request?¡± Lu Qingtian: ... Qiao Yiyi: ... That was a real disy of how shameless the girl could get. Lu Nanze hadn¡¯t really spoken much to her, but she still insisted on staying? Qiao Yiyi grimaced and got to her feet. ¡°Aunty, I¡¯ll go and see if the food has been delivered.¡± Lu Qingtian nodded. As she walked out of the room, she heard Li Tingtingining, ¡°Second Brother is in such a state and food is all she thinks about! Does she even care?¡± Lu Qingtian snorted icily and replied, ¡°Do you expect her to look after Nanze on an empty stomach? It¡¯s at any rate better than people who just talk and do nothing.¡± Li Tingting tried to defend herself. ¡°Aunty, that wasn¡¯t what I meant. I¡ª¡± Qiao Yiyi did not hear what was said after that. She waited for a while in the corridor until she saw the butler approaching with a food box. Together with the butler, she returned to the room. Everyone¡¯s eyes were on the bag the butler was holding. Li Tingting spoke first, ¡°I¡¯m not leaving today. So is there dinner for me too?¡± Everyone: ... Seeing that there was only food for two, Qiao Yiyi said, ¡°Aunty, I can eat something else. You and Miss Li can have this food.¡± That would give her a chance to get some air. However to her surprise, Lu Qingtian got on her feet at once and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, it¡¯s better if you stay. I¡¯ll eat out. Anyway, I might get better food outside.¡± Then she stared fiercely at Qiao Yiyi and pinched the girl on the arm, giving her an eye signal that she wanted to have a chat outside. Qiao Yiyi was clueless, but followed Lu Qingtian out of the room. Outside, the woman reprimanded her, ¡°Why are you being so silly? Huh? Don¡¯t you know that Li Tingting is interested in Lu Nanze? I¡¯m warning you, you¡¯d better watch over him these few days. You can¡¯t go anywhere else! This is to prevent Li Tingting from taking any opportunities.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... Qiao Yiyi winced and nodded. Exasperated with how slow the girl was, she said, ¡°Can¡¯t you react with a little more? Talking to you is exhausting to say the least! You blockhead.¡± Chapter 1775 - Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (5)

Chapter 1775: Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (5)

Qiao Yiyi replied, ¡°Aunty, I understand.¡± Lu Qingtian: ... Why was talking to the girl just so draining? She looked at Qiao Yiyi, unconvinced. ¡°Are you sure you understand?¡± Qiao Yiyi nodded. Lu Qingtian: ... Lu Qingtian sighed again and said, ¡°I can only help you this much, the rest is up to you!¡± Then she turned around and walked away with the butler. There was no use in her watching over Li Tingting. If Lu Nanze woke up and needed to go to the toilet, as his aunt, it wasn¡¯t appropriate for her to help. Only Qiao Yiyi could look after him. That shameless little b*tch Li Tingting certainly wouldn¡¯t hesitate to offer her help. At this thought, she raised her hand to her temple in an unconscious attempt to soothe her throbbing head. Why was everyone in this family causing her so much worry? Qiao Yiyi stood there, watching the helpless Lu Qingtian walk away. She found it funny. In the past, she had thought that this aunt was rather unreliable, considering the tight p she had given her. But the woman seemed to be quite adorable. At least, she had her values right. Qiao Yiyi shook her head and returned to the ward. There was a small dining table on the side and Li Tingting had alreadyy the food out on it. The two portions of rice had been ced separately. Qiao Yiyi raised her eyebrow. She was surprised that Li Tingting would actually dine with her. Qiao Yiyi walked over and sat down. The next moment, she grimaced. The food delivered by the butler was certainly enough for them. Even as takeout, it was nutritious enough. However, there were only two portions of rice. That was why there wasn¡¯t enough for Lu Qingtian, otherwise all three of them could have had enough to share. But... All the meat dishes were on Li Tingting¡¯s side of the table, and all the vegetables were on Qiao Yiyi¡¯s side of the table. Furthermore, the food hadn¡¯t been divided ording to quantity, but size. For example, there were only two abalones. One of them now sat on top of Li Tingting¡¯s ball of rice, while the other was next to her, as though she had reserved it for herself. As if that wasn¡¯t bad enough, there was a meatball and, since the meatball was huge, there was only one. It looked like Li Tingting had no intention of sharing that with her at all. Qiao Yiyi looked at this with a frown and Li Tingting said, ¡°I like meat, so you can have the vegetables. Anyway, the meat would just be a waste on you.¡± Li Tingting was implying that she was skinny. But was it her fault that she just couldn¡¯t put on weight? Regardless, what sort of lousy excuse was this? Merely because she seemed like a timid person in the Lu family, this woman was treating her like a weakling, now brazenly and boldly making fun of her. Her eyes shed angrily as she quickly lowered her head. So she thinks I am an easy pushover? Qiao Yiyi did not say a word and just lowered her head, staring at her cell phone in silence. Bored, especially given that she was having dinner with Qiao Yiyi, Li Tingting attempted to find some entertainment by provoking the other girl. Since thetter was staring at her cell phone, she smirked and asked, ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Qiao Yiyi looked up and replied, ¡°Nothing much.¡± She seemed a little afraid. Li Tingting smiled frostily and continued, ¡°You must be reading entertainment news? People like you only use your cell phones to do things like that. I do suggest that you read a good book or two when you get the chance. For example¡ª¡± Chapter 1776 - Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (6)

Chapter 1776: Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (6)

As Li Tingting spoke, she tried to peer over Qiao Yiyi¡¯s cell phone. This made Qiao Yiyi very nervous suddenly and she immediately covered her phone, saying, ¡°No, nothing. I wasn¡¯t looking at anything important.¡± That guilty behavior sessfully piqued Li Tingting¡¯s interest. She snorted and lunged forward, demanding, ¡°What exactly are you looking at? Let me have a look too!¡± ¡°No, no, I can¡¯t.¡± Her timid tone and mousy expression immediately agitated Li Tingting into thinking that the girl waspletely hopeless. She leaned forward and insisted, ¡°Show me!¡± Qiao Yiyi covered the cell phone with her hand and stammered, ¡°No, no, I can¡¯t.¡± But she was growing weaker. It seemed like she only needed to push the girl one more time for her to cave. Li Tingting smirked and said, ¡°Oh, you can¡¯t be looking at porn, can you? Your secretive attitude tells me that you¡¯re up to something.¡± After saying this, she turned icy and shouted at Qiao Yiyi, ¡°Give it to me!¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... Lu Nanze, who was lying in bed, remained sleepless from excessive sleep after the operation. Hence, he could very clearly hear the conversation between the two women. Li Tingting was such sc*mbag, taking all the meat for herself just because she liked meat. However, it wasn¡¯t a big deal if Qiao Yiyi only ate the vegetables. Anyway, it was none of his business. He continued to lie in bed as these thoughts crossed his mind, but he did not interfere in the argument the girls were having. But what was this situation now? Did this girl not know how to retaliate against an attack? Lu Nanze despised her passive nature. He thought that the sarcastic smirk he had seen had just been his imagination. This woman was so dumb, how could she be ying tricks on him? The corners of his lips curved up in disdain, instantly feeling that his initial intention of marrying an obedient woman still served him well. At the very least, if he were to ask for a divorce, the girl wouldn¡¯t dare defy him. At this point, he heard Li Tingting hiss, unable to resist it anymore. Lu Nanze frowned. Even if he did not like this woman, he felt ufortable about his wife being criticized like this. Annoyed, he drew in a deep breath and opened his eyes to look at the two girls impatiently. He saw Li Tingting extending her arm and forcefully snatching Qiao Yiyi¡¯s cell phone from her. Smirking, she lowered her head to look at the phone and said, ¡°I, for one, am curious to see what it is you¡¯re looking at.¡± Lu Nanze frowned and, just as he opened his mouth to speak, Li Tingting¡¯s expression suddenly changed. Standing by the side, Qiao Yiyi exined in a barely-noticeable timid voice, ¡°I- I was looking at information on the food¡¯s safety. It- it¡¯s says that some rotten meat was used to produce these meatballs. A recent batch of rotten human meat was used for meatballs, distributed throughout the country. So that meatball, being so fresh and tender, could it be¡ª¡± Before she could finish, Li Tingting could not take it anymore. She immediately covered her mouth, dashed off to the washroom and started retching. After Qiao Yiyi did this, she quietly sat down and continued with her dinner. Chapter 1777 - Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (7)

Chapter 1777: Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (7)

But Lu Nanze saw her ce the meatball in her bowl and start eating it with gusto. As she ate, she even lifted her head up to nce at the bathroom. At that moment, her usually dazed eyes were gleaming with a sly shine. Then she curved her lips into a smile that was really familiar, but he couldn¡¯t put his finger on where he had seen it. That look of hers truly made her look a little sly fox. Lu Nanze¡¯s irises swelled, he was shocked. He stared at Qiao Yiyi and suddenly realized that he didn¡¯t know much about his wife. He narrowed his eyes and stared at her, halting what he had been about to do. He looked in her direction with curiosity and eyes narrowed, so she wouldn¡¯t realize that he was already awake. Qiao Yiyi would have never thought that Lu Nanze would fake being asleep. At least one hour had passed since he hadst moved. How bored must a man be for him to fake being asleep for an hour? At that moment, she was enjoying the delicious food on the table while looking at the bathroom. After a while, Li Tingting returned and when Qiao Yiyi saw her, she instantly waved to her. ¡°You¡¯re out.¡± Li Tingting: ... Li Tingting walked over and sat down. When she saw that almost all the food on the table seemed to have been finished by Qiao Yiyi, she instantly frowned and asked, ¡°How do you still have the appetite to eat it?¡± Qiao Yiyi lifted her head up in confusion. She went back to using her weak and innocent gaze. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I have the appetite?¡± Li Tingting: ... Li Tingting replied, ¡°That article just now¡ª¡± ¡°Ah, you mean that article that said there might be human meat in the meatball? I just ate one and it tastes so fresh and delicious.¡± Before she could finish speaking, Li Tingting felt disgust surge up in her again. She instantly stood up and rushed into the bathroom. Qiao Yiyi looked at her andughed. Their meal just ended like that. As Qiao Yiyi ate, she was so happy and energetic, like there wasn¡¯t anyone around. It stunned Lu Nanze. This person was truly like a little fox! He remembered today, when he hadn¡¯t been able to clean his back by himself, how Qiao Yiyi had just stood there and acted as if she saw nothing. At first, he had wondered if the mockery that had shed through Qiao Yiyi¡¯s eyes was real at all, but now that he recalled it... he realized that he had been really blind. Qiao Yiyi had quite deep thoughts and was really scheming. He had just wanted an obedient and good wife, so she had put on a show and hidden her real self. Why had she wanted to marry him? What was her motive? Lu Nanze was instantly cautious of her. The gaze that he used to stare at Qiao Yiyi was full of judgement and importance, something that he had never used to look at her with. It seemed like he would have to ask the butler to do a thorough background check. What exactly was up with her? As Lu Nanze had these thoughts, Li Tingting finally gave up eating. After the two women cleared the dining table, Li Tingting finally sat on the sofa, drained of energy. She pointed at Qiao Yiyi and said, ¡°You, go pour a cup of water for me.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... At that moment, Lu Nanze suddenly gained even more interest in Qiao Yiyi. He stared at Qiao Yiyi, wanting to know what she would do. Qiao Yiyi twitched her lips and thought, ¡°Seriously, does she think I¡¯m her maid?¡± Chapter 1778 - Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (8)

Chapter 1778: Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Yiyi lowered her eyes, her eyes shing, and nodded. She walked to the side and took a disposable cup, filling it with warm water. Qiao Yiyi looked back at Li Tingting. She twitched her mouth and reced half of the hot water in the cup with cold water. After that, she walked over and said nervously, ¡°M- Miss Li, here¡¯s some water.¡± But she then tripped over her own feet, losing bnce and falling towards Li Tingting. She instantly reached out for the coffee table beside her for support, so that she wouldn¡¯t fall too badly. However... The cup in her hands just flew ahead. Woosh. The water in the cup was sshed all over Li Tingting¡¯s face. Water instantly rolled down her face and wet Li Tingting¡¯s clothes. It was summer and, naturally, they were wearing thin clothes. In addition, Li Tingting was donned in a white shirt which, after getting wet, stuck to her body and made her look exceptionally pathetic. She stood up angrily, but as she hadn¡¯t had dinner yet, her body was slightly weak. She pointed her finger at Qiao Yiyi and said, ¡°You- you-¡± Qiao Yiyi waved her hand at once. ¡°Sorry, sorry. I didn¡¯t mean it, I am really sorry. Are you ok? I will help you clean up.¡± Lu Nanze watched the scene coldly, but sneered to himself. Qiao Yiyi was really good at acting dumb and using it as a facade to fight back. Seeing what she has just done, how could she even be considered a coward? Li Tingting had merely instructed her to pour her a ss of water, yet she had managed to retaliate like this¡ªshe was not to be belittled. However luckily, she was not vicious to the point he couldn¡¯t ept it. After all, she had reced the boiling hot water with warm water instead. As Lu Nanze thought so, he mocked her with nonchnce. This woman was maybe slightly smart. As for hiding her real self and marrying him, she might have justid her eyes on his money? Such a fake woman... it really was disgusting. Lu Nanze, who originally hadn¡¯t had any opinion about Qiao Yiyi, couldn¡¯t help beginning to dislike her. In his life, he hated liers the most. As he thought so, Lu Nanze lowered his eyes. He didn¡¯t speak and didn¡¯t continue observing as well. Regardless, what did Qiao Yiyi¡¯s personality have to do with him? They were going to get divorced sooner orter. With this thought, he lowered his eyelids, turned his head over and looked out of the window. Where was Traceless now? What was she doing? Was she worried about him? The moment he thought about it, he suddenly wasn¡¯t able to suppress it any longer. Before leaving, he had told her to try it out with him. He wondered if she had heard it. And if she had, how would she reply? As he thought about it, Lu Nanze couldn¡¯t help but feel uneasy. Traceless had been with Liang Liang. Although it hadn¡¯t been for a long time, was she capable of letting him go still? While Lu Nanze was deep in thought, someone opened the door. They all turned to look at the same time and saw Liang Liang standing by the door. ¡°Lu Nanze is awake, right? Can both of you get out then? I have some personal matters to ask him about.¡± Chapter 1779 - Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (9)

Chapter 1779: Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Even if Liang Liang hadn¡¯t entered, Li Tingting could also not stay any longer. She hadn¡¯t even eaten dinner, yet she had vomited so much. Besides that, her clothes were wet. She had to return home, change her clothes and rest. At this thought, Li Tingting pressed down the anger in her and nodded to Liang Liang. Before walking out of the door, she turned around and nced fiercely at Qiao Yiyi. Only after Li Tingting had left did Qiao Yiyi turn her head to take a nce at the two people and slowly walked out. When she was at the door, Lu Nanze suddenly narrowed his eyes. He stopped faking to be asleep and suddenly said, ¡°Qiao Yiyi.¡± Qiao Yiyi stopped in her tracks. Lu Nanze spoke again, ¡°Go home and bring some things for me.¡± That look of his... It was obvious that he wanted Qiao Yiyi to leave the hospital, in case she overheard their conversation. If Qiao Yiyi couldn¡¯t even tell that from his words, she would be really stupid. Her lips instantly curved into a nonchnt smile, her expression was still really calm. ¡°Ok, what do you want me to get?¡± ¡°Pyjamas. I¡¯m not used to the clothes from the hospital.¡± ¡°Uh huh.¡± After their exchange, Qiao Yiyi walked out. She then closed the door and obediently went downstairs. When she reached the first floor, she walked out of the hospital and found her sports car quickly. Then she quickly changed into Traceless¡¯ clothes. Suck that! She wondered what they were saying that she wasn¡¯t allowed to hear. But the more they didn¡¯t want her to hear, the more she wanted to know. Qiao Yiyiughed softly, came out of the car quickly and went into the darkness. Since his room was on the third floor, Qiao Yiyi jumped through air-conditioning units and balconies to reach his window. Then she climbed onto the window and listened, hidden. As her movements were too fast and the two men inside were immersed in their thoughts, contemting how to speak up, they didn¡¯t realize when she climbed up. The moment she reached the window sill, she heard Liang Liang ask, ¡°Was the person who fell down with you Traceless?¡± Although it was a question, his tone made it sound like a definite sentence. When Lu Nanze heard his words, he inly lifted his head and took a nce at Liang Liang. Then he said, ¡°Since you already know, why are you asking?¡± Liang Liang was agitated by his casual attitude. He instantly took a step forward and grabbed Lu Nanze. ¡°Don¡¯t speak so casually. You know that Traceless and I- If you knew about her, why didn¡¯t you tell me?!¡± Hearing his words, Lu Nanze lifted his head to look at him again and then said, ¡°What¡¯s up between you and Traceless?¡± Liang Liang: ... Liang Liang wouldn¡¯t believe for a second that Lu Nanze hadn¡¯t heard their story. However he had still shamelessly asked about it. Liang Liang felt something stuck in his heart and there was unexinable sadness. He took in a deep breath and replied, ¡°I dated Traceless.¡± Lu Nanze asked, ¡°Are both of you still dating?¡± ¡°No, we¡¯ve broken up, but¡ª¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that alright, then? I know so many people from that world, am I supposed to tell you every team I hear from each one of them? If that was the case, would I even still be alive?¡± Liang Liang: ... He actually didn¡¯t have anything to counter Lu Nanze¡¯s weird reasons. Lu Nanze¡¯s identity was indeed unique. As a person who had gone from illegal business to being an honest businessman, he had to ensure his previous friends wouldn¡¯t be worried, and that his friends in the legitimate and open industry wouldn¡¯t be afraid of him. Thus it had always been hard on him. He then heard Lu Nanze ask, ¡°So can you tell me about what exactly happened between you and Traceless?¡± Chapter 1780 - Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (10)

Chapter 1780: Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (10)

When Qiao Yiyi, who was standing at the window, heard those words, she couldn¡¯t help but sneer. Her lips curved into a mocking smile. Shey there andughed at the situation, her heart filled with sweetness. Lu Nanze had never been a busybody, he had especially no interest in Liang Liang¡¯s love life. Thus he had never asked about it before. But today he suddenly asked about it. He probably wanted to know about her past. As she thought so, Qiao Yiyi tilted her head. She couldn¡¯t help but broke into a smile. Lu Nanze was really kind of cute. But her past with Liang Liang... ¡°The things that happened between us are tooplex. I don¡¯t know how to start.¡± Liang Liang didn¡¯t want to talk about his rtionship, so he just briefly glossed over it. He didn¡¯t expect that Lu Nanze would say, ¡°You can start from the time both of you met.¡± When they met? Liang Liang was stunned. How had they met? The memories slowly shed before him. He remembered that he had been young and energetic then, when he had heard about the famous Traceless. However, no one else in the industry had been able to catch her. They couldn¡¯t even get any news about the alive Traceless. Hence, he had decided to chase her. Until he finally saw her on a stealing mission. She had a small skinny figure. It looked as if it belonged to a young girl, seventeen or eighteen years old. She might even be younger than that. If there was a first time, there would be a second. He purposely pretended to be her online customer and, after queuing for really long, he managed to contact Traceless. He still remembered the first time they conversed online. She was really distant and cold, going straight to the point. [Traceless: Steal what?] When he saw the word ¡°steal,¡± he knew that this woman was shameless. If she was able to say that word as if there was nothing wrong with it, she really had no morals. He set up a trap. He asked Traceless to go to his house and steal a jade for the price of ten thousand. Liang Liang was also from a rich family, or else he wouldn¡¯t have known Lu Nanze. The security in his house was really tight, he thought that Traceless wouldn¡¯t be able to seed in stealing from his house. Furthermore, he had put up many anti-theft systems in his house so he would be able to catch her. That night he stayed at home the whole time, waiting for her. At two in the morning, there were finally movements outside. He ran out hurriedly and, after following the movements, he realized that he had fallen into Traceless¡¯ trick to mislead him. Thus he returned quickly to the room where the jade was kept. Then he realized there was nothing on the table anymore. The jade was gone. Traceless had really been too fast, there wasn¡¯t any trace in the room. But... As an outstanding police officer, Liang Liang immediately reacted, ran to the windows and jumped down from it, chasing her. When he arrived at his doorstep, he saw a sports car drive past his house at a really high speed. He entered his own car and chased after it. As he chased her, Traceless¡¯ car went further and further away, slowly mixing into all the other cars, and it was about to disappear from Liang Liang¡¯s sight. However, he suddenly saw a child crossing the road at a red light. The child¡¯s mother was using her phone and didn¡¯t realize it at all. Chapter 1781 - Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (11)

Chapter 1781: Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (11)

In that instant, Liang Liang¡¯s heart skipped a beat He wanted to stop the car, but it was toote. He stepped on the emergency break and turned the car, but everything was happening too fast. Just at that split second, a sports car appeared and hit his. Liang Liang¡¯s car was smashed directly onto an electric pole on the side. Liang Liang was dizzy due to the collision, but he had managed to prevent hitting the kid. Liang Liang frowned and realized that the sports car that had just collided with him was Traceless¡¯. He quickly stuck his head out and saw that Traceless¡¯ car had been damaged due to the hit. She got out with the mask on her face and checked her car with a frown. Liang Liang didn¡¯t know what to think either. He somehow got out of his car and walked to the front of her car. No matter how good Traceless was, she wasn¡¯t good at everything. She hadpletely no idea how to fix a car. When she saw Liang Liang get out of his car, she looked at him with a raised brow, absolutely fearless. Liang Liang stood before Traceless and she said, ¡°Did youe to catch me?¡± Liang Liang didn¡¯t know what to say at that instant. In order not to raise any suspicions, he was donned in casual attire. Traceless shouldn¡¯t have known that he was a police officer. But Liang Liang also knew that if Traceless came, she was risking getting caught. However, when she had seen the child in danger, she had chosen to turn around. That showed that Traceless still cared about that child. He swallowed, speechless at that moment. Instead, it was the mother of the child that reacted. She grabbed the child, approached them and cried while bowing. ¡°Thank you for saving my child, thank you thank you so much.¡± Liang Liang was slightly embarrassed. It was actually because he had been driving too fast in his chase after Traceless. The traffic light had already turned yellow ahead. He should have stopped and waited for them to cross. Even though he was a police officer and had the right to disobey rules, he shouldn¡¯t have been so rash. If he had hit someone, his future would be done for. As he thought about this, he didn¡¯t know why, but he suddenly felt that Traceless wasn¡¯t that bad of a person after all. Thus he directly said to Traceless, ¡°Let me take a look at your car for you.¡± Even now, he could clearly remember the surprised expression on Traceless¡¯ face when she heard his words. Liang Liang lowered his head and realized that there was only a small problem with the car. This car had to have been modified to prevent crashes. Although the crash had been so harsh that his car had flown away, Traceless¡¯ car only had a small problem. He quickly fixed it for her and said, ¡°Just leave.¡± He thought that he couldn¡¯t owe Traceless a favor. And letting her go was repaying the favor. Traceless twitched her lips and didn¡¯t speak. Instead, she got into her car and started it. It seemed as though she would leave, but her car window was suddenly wound down. Then a piece of jade was thrown out from the car. ¡°Officer, if you want toy a trap and catch me, next time you should be more assertive and don¡¯t get so involved. If you drag your feelings into this, when will you ever be able to catch me?¡± After she said so, she started the car and moved forward as she waved at him, saying, ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to return this jade to you and make you anxious. But I¡¯m worried that you¡¯ll cry, so I¡¯ll just forgive you this time.¡± Until today, Liang Liang could still remember her bashful look. Chapter 1782 - Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (12)

Chapter 1782: Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (12)

When he heard this, he realized that Traceless must have seen through him long ago. Hence the reason she had turned up had been to show her upper hand. Back then, he had been recently appointed as team leader to the crime unit. That was the first time he crossed paths with Qiao Lian. But that first meeting left a deep impression in him. Traceless¡¯ recklessness put him in a predicament. Later on, they started crossing paths more often. There was an important case at the security bureau that required him to acquire an object. And for this, he needed an exceptionally skillful thief. Inevitably, Traceless came to his mind. If Traceless were to help them, wouldn¡¯t it imply they were recruiting her? Consequently, wouldn¡¯t that mean that all her previous crimes were forgiven? This would even mean that Traceless could finally face the world with her head held high. Hence, he kept looking for Traceless on the inte. Using his previously sessful method to contact her, he exined to her what the mission required and then ended the message on this note: [I know that I¡¯ve only met you once and you may not trust me. But I think this opportunity is important to you. I understand that there is much freedom in the world of organized crime, but do you really wish to go through life stuck behind a mask?] Perhaps it was this closing remark that moved her. She very quickly replied. [Traceless: Alright.] Liang Liang was taken aback. [So you¡¯ve agreed?] [Traceless: I agree of course. And why not? But the same rule applies. If I manage to steal this object for you, it will cost you ten thousand.] Liang Liang: [Have you misunderstood my intentions? I¡¯m saying that if you help me, I can apply for you to be on the payroll. And it means that in future-] Before he could send that message, Traceless had sent hers. [Officer, I understand your good intentions, but my mother is a thief, and my grandmother is a thief. And in my generation, I¡¯m destined to be a thief. I¡¯m willing to contribute to the country, and I don¡¯t need any reward.] At that instant, Liang Liang was stunned by her words. In his eyes, Traceless was a person who didn¡¯t care about the greater perspective. He had never expected that she had her own opinion about the country and her duties. He thought for a long time before he replied: [This matter is important, it¡¯s not suitable to discuss it over theputer. Can we meet up?] [Traceless: Sure.] When Liang Liang saw her affirmative reply, he feltpelled to ask: [Aren¡¯t you worried that I¡¯mying a trap?] Traceless¡¯ answer was bold and reckless: [Even if so, do you think I won¡¯t be able to escape?] Her arrogant words stumped him. After a brief moment, Traceless sent through another message: [Traceless: Just kidding. But I think a police officer who would let me go not to harm a child is worth trusting.] Suddenly, the man was full of cheer. So she did trust him! He smiled at once,pletely clueless as to why he was feeling so happy. Later on, they arranged to meet at a cafe. This brought them into close contact for a second time. Their feelings gradually developed through their coborations and, slowly, they became a couple. Liang Liang remembered clearly how he had confessed his feelings to Traceless and how she had epted. But within ten days of this, things between them had changed drastically. Chapter 1783 - Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (13)

Chapter 1783: Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (13)

Liang Liang stared nkly ahead as he slipped into the past, unable to snap back to reality. Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes as he looked at the man. What sort of rtionship had they had that would leave the man in this state? And for Traceless to call out his name in her sleep when she was injured? He stared at Liang Liang as he contemted these questions, suddenly feeling a surge of unfamiliar jealousy. He felt jealous that there was a part of Traceless¡¯ past that he had never been involved in, that he would never know. He frowned, knowing that he shouldn¡¯t be feeling this way. After all, when Liang Liang and Traceless were a couple, he had not met or known her. He tried hard to convince himself as he stared at Liang Liang and continued asking, ¡°Then what happened between the two of you?¡± What exactly happened? Liang Liangughed bitterly at the memory. Meanwhile Qiao Yiyi, who was on the window outside, let out a mocking smile. What had happened? She had misced her trust. How could she have been so naive to think that a thief could ever live in harmony with a police officer? She chortled and then heard Liang Liang Liang continue, ¡°Later on¡ª¡± Before he could finish, Qiao Yiyi narrowed her eyes and rapped on the window. For reasons that she couldn¡¯t quite exin, she didn¡¯t want Lu Nanze to know what had happened between Liang Liang and her. Those silly things only served to make herself look foolish. In thest half a year, she had chided herself countless times for being such a fool. But now that was history. Indeed, the two men stopped in the midst of their conversation when they heard the rapping on the window. Liang Liang immediately eximed, ¡°Who¡¯s there?!¡± Qiao Yiyi¡¯s pupils narrowed and she turned at once, nning to escape through the ground floor. Just as she jumped, the window was thrown open. At once, Liang Liang¡¯s head popped out. The moment he saw her silhouette, he reflexively shouted after her, ¡°Traceless!¡± Qiao Yiyi halted. She turned back suddenly and lifted her head to look at him. The light in the room casted a glow on him. His back was to the light, so she could not make out the expression on his face. But a sense of loneliness seemed to emanate from his solitary figure and for a moment, as she looked at him, she was filled with a sense of bitterness. But only for a moment. All of a sudden, sheughed. Those emotions belonged to the past. What was the point of feeling sad and distraught for this man now? In that split second, the weight in her heart was lifted and slid away. The sadness she had been harboring was because of her old desire to be with him. She had been hurt by the man. She just hadn¡¯t been able to get over it. How could she have fallen for his lies just like that? But now... When she realized that Liang Liang was no different from her, still holding on to their past, she suddenly felt relieved. Rtionships... If they weren¡¯t made for each other, then they shouldn¡¯t seek to be together. There was no point in forcing it. And the two of them truly didn¡¯t suit each other. So even if they hadn¡¯t broken up then, they might have possibly broken upter on. They were too different. Besides, there was that other matter that came between them. She could never bring herself to forgive him. At this thought, Qiao Yiyi turned and ran away, disappearing into the darkness. There was no hesitation, only a swift decisiveness. Chapter 1784 - Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (14)

Chapter 1784: Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (14)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Yiyi left the hospital and entered her sports car. She knew that Liang Liang would not let this opportunity go and would try to find her. Hence she set up some obstacles. After doing this, she changed her clothes and returned. ¨C Traceless had asso and was able to abseil from the third floor, but Liang Liang didn¡¯t. He could only look on in dismay and helplessness as Traceless disappeared before his eyes. Especially the onest look that she had given him before disappearing. It was a look that gave him a sense that she was leaving their past behind, and that from that point on, they would have nothing to do with each other. No. How could Traceless cut all ties with him? They had been so in love with each other once upon a time. At this thought, Liang Liang spun around and looked at Lu Nanze, saying, ¡°I¡¯m going after her.¡± He dashed out, making his way out of the building to go after the girl. The moment he got downstairs, he caught a glimpse of Traceless¡¯ silhouette. Chasing in that direction, he saw the woman getting into a car and driving away. Without dy, he also got into his car and went after her. It was only after he had driven away that Qiao Yiyi stepped out of the shadows. She smirked as she observed Liang Liang¡¯s car disappear into the distance. She lifted her head and looked upstairs. She had a sudden desire to see Lu Nanze. With this thought, she changed back into her Traceless disguise and went stealthily up to the third floor¡¯s window from outside the building. When she got there, she tapped on the window and, just as she did so, the window flew open. She saw Lu Nanze standing there before her. Her pupils shrank as she leapt into the room and grabbed the man¡¯s arm. She yelled in rm, ¡°How could you leave the bed with your leg injured like this?!¡± She chided him as she helped him back onto the bed. Lu Nanze was secretly pleased¡ªhe had never felt like this before. He smiled helplessly and replied, ¡°How would you have gotten in if I hadn¡¯t opened the window?¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... She looked at him and asked, ¡°You knew I¡¯d be back?¡± The man nodded. He continued, ¡°I knew you¡¯d be worried about me ande to see me. Traceless, this shows that you do have feelings for me, isn¡¯t that right?¡± Qiao Yiyi: ...!! It really hadn¡¯t been her intention to appear as Traceless... But she had really wanted to hear the conversation between the two men. Lu Nanze was grinning from ear to ear, lookingpletely deluded. If she told him the truth, surely it would embarrass him. She pondered it for a moment. After all, he was unwell, so she decided to let it slide. At this point, she coughed slightly and looked around. ¡°Uh huh, actually I wanted toe and see you earlier, but there were people around. Have they all left now?¡± Lu Nanze smiled and nodded. ¡°Uh huh. I¡¯ve gotten rid of her.¡± Qiao Yiyi paused and repeated, ¡°Her?¡± He nodded and continued, ¡°Qiao Yiyi. I asked her to go home and get me a change of clothes. So now there¡¯s plenty of time for you to be here.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... Qiao Yiyi grimaced and immediately asked, ¡°Do you despise your wife that much?¡± It was beyond despise. Right now, of course the man could not show any feelings for Qiao Yiyi! He was hitting on Traceless. Chapter 1785 - Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (15)

Chapter 1785: Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (15)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Regardless, he really didn¡¯t care about Qiao Yiyi. After all, it was quite despicable of her to pretend to be a weakling so that she could marry him, and then do all sorts of nasty things behind people¡¯s backs. The man looked most dissatisfied at the mention of Qiao Yiyi, as he detested her. He looked at Traceless and exined, ¡°I married Qiao Yiyi because of her name. Traceless, I hope you understand my feelings for you.¡± These things he said... Qiao Yiyi was at aplete loss for words. She pursed her lips as she thought of how the man had been treating her. She waspelled to ask, ¡°So what are you going to do with Qiao Yiyi?¡± The man pondered it for a moment in silence and started, ¡°I already thought about this when I got married. It¡¯s impossible for her and I to be together. Once our business has stabilized, I will get a divorce. We signed a prenup, so even if we were to separate, she would have no rights rights over the business.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... So Lu Nanze had had in mind right from the start to dispose of her rights after she served her purpose? The bastard. Although she was Traceless, she was also Qiao Yiyi This sc*mbag was too disrespectful with others. Qiao Yiyi¡¯s expression clouded over immediately. Lu Nanze walked towards her and said as he looked at her in the eyes, ¡°Traceless, I¡ª¡± Before he could start, the girlughed frostily and said, ¡°No matter what, Qiao Yiyi is your newly-wedded wife. I don¡¯t think we are suitable for each other. We¡¯ll talk again when you¡¯ve settled your family affairs!¡± On this note, she turned, leapt out the window and left the hospital. Lu Nanze: ... Lu Nanze looked at her figure disappearing into the darkness, stumped by the sudden hostility she had disyed towards him. That was strange. Could it be that she couldn¡¯t ept that he was hitting on her as a married man? But hadn¡¯t Traceless already known that beforeing today? The fact that she hade to visit, even when she knew, showed that she didn¡¯t mind. Lu Nanze couldn¡¯t figure out why Traceless was angry. He grimaced andy back on his bed staring out of the window, looking thoroughly confused. ¨C Qiao Yiyi, who had left in a huff, was now back in her own sports car. After she had changed her clothes, she sat in the car fuming. Lu Nanze was too despicable. How could he treat her like that? Did he know that she hadn¡¯t had a choice in marrying him? Did he think he was so desirable that all the women would throw themselves at him? Ha! The detest was certainly mutual. Qiao Yiyi sat there twitching her lips, feeling angry for a while. Finally, she sighed. Actually, she was the one who didn¡¯t make sense. The Qiao Yiyi that Lu Nanze knew wasn¡¯t even herself. That was just a puppet who appeared to be weak, timid and dull. Lu Nanze liked her real self, and that was something to be happy about. She sighed, started the car and then drove to the Lu family vi. She had to go back to the house to pick up some clothes, otherwise she would have some exining to do. By the time she got his clothes, drove back to the hospital and walked into his room, Li Tingting had already returned. Chapter 1786 - Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (16)

Chapter 1786: Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (16)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Yiyi paused when she saw Li Tingting sitting by Lu Nanze¡¯s bed. Obviously, Li Tingting had changed her clothes. Although she still looked pale, she was chatting with Lu Nanze. The man had initially been rather distracted, and even slightly impatient. But when he heard the sound of someone entering, he turned to look. He instantly looked even more exasperated than before. He wrinkled his brow and raised his voice, saying, ¡°Why did you take such a long time?¡± A long time? The girl almost rolled her eyes. She had driven a sports car. If she had done it in normal circumstances, surely it would have taken even longer. Was Lu Nanze trying to find ways to criticize her? Although she had these thoughts, she continued looking very passive and agreeable. ¡°I- I¡¯m sorry. This is a hospital, so it was hard to get a taxi.¡± Hard to get a taxi? If she had said this before, Lu Nanze would have never wondered about the meaning behind these words. But ever since he had realized that Qiao Yiyiy was not as simple as she looked, he couldn¡¯t help pondering the underlying meaning behind every word she said. Shockingly, things that were seemingly innocent started to take a new meaning. He suddenly realized that many times in the past, Qiao Yiyi had subtly mocked him. Just like what she had said now was so obvious. As Madam Lu, your wife, you don¡¯t even bother calling a driver to send me home and get your clothes. Lu Nanze was immediately filled with disgust. Perhaps it was because he had grown up with Qiao Lian, but he had always hated having to guess what a woman was thinking. Qiao Lian was the sort of upfront person who would call a spade a spade, and Traceless was the same. But Qiao Yiyi... she would y with her words, trying to be subtly sarcastic. That was just annoying. He then remembered that Traceless was angry because of Qiao Yiyi, she was the reason why she had left in a huff. This made Lu Nanze even angrier. He smirked and asked, ¡°What sort of clothes did you bring for me?¡± Qiao Yiyi lowered her head and rolled her eyes. Making her go home to get his clothes had just been an excuse, so this had to be just another casual remark. She held out the bag of clothes to him. Lu Nanze took a nce at what was in the bag and then frowned. He chided her, ¡°Did you bring these for a begger?!¡± Qiao Yiyi: ...!! She looked inside the bag. The set of pajamas that she had carelessly taken from his wardrobe was an old set. However, she had seen the man wearing these around the house. She looked up at him instantly as Lu Nanze reprimanded her, ¡°You have no taste at all. I really can¡¯t imagine how you were brought up in the Qiao family.¡± When Li Tingting heard this, she immediately added, ¡°Exactly. Qiao Yiyi, you were an illegitimate child, you weren¡¯t raised with love. But now you are Madam Lu, so the way you hold yourself should match Second Brother¡¯s status, for you¡¯re part of his image. Look at the clothes you¡¯ve brought, what are these?¡± Then she twitched her lips and continued, ¡°Uncouth people will never look presentable. Even if you¡¯ve married into high society, that hasn¡¯t made you a ssy person. You really have to work hard to improve your standing, or you¡¯ll just be an embarrassment to Second Brother.¡± She said that in a tone that didn¡¯t sit well with Qiao Yiyi at all. Qiao Yiyi¡¯s pupils shrank back and she looked up at the other girl. Then she shifted her gaze to Lu Nanze. If Lu Nanze had said this, it would just be a husband chiding his wife. But since Li Tingting was the one doing it, that was just an indirect insult to Lu Nanze and a blow to his ego. Surely the man would not ignore this, right? Chapter 1787 - Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (17)

Chapter 1787: Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (17)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Yiyi was clearly aware and knew very well the ways of the wealthy and powerful families. That was why she was so sure that Lu Nanze wouldn¡¯t just let this slide. But unexpectedly, Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes and yed along with Li Tingting, saying, ¡°That¡¯s true, what Tingting says makes sense.¡± Qiao Yiyi widened her eyes in disbelief when she heard this. Had Lu Nanze gone stupid? How could he even say that? This was too much. She was infuriated beyond words. At this point, Lu Qingtian¡¯s voice sounded from the doorway. ¡°Nanze, what is that you¡¯re saying?¡± As soon as she spoke, she appeared and walked into the room. She then said, ¡°Nanze, I¡¯m warning you, no matter who Yiyi was before, she is now Madam Lu. In public, she is part of your image. How can you be saying things like that in front of outsiders? Don¡¯t you know anything? Huh?!¡± Lu Nanze immediately cast his gaze down and smirked, ¡°Auntie. Tingting is not an outsider.¡± Li Tingting had felt suppressed the moment Li Qingtian had entered the room, but now, thanks to what Lu Nanze had said, she swelled with arrogance again. In the past, Second Brother had given her some attention, but he had never said something like ¡°Tingting is not an outsider.¡± Now Second Brother had confirmed this, thoroughly warming her heart. Her eyes lit up at once as she tilted her chin. Then she said slowly and gently, ¡°Auntie, Second Brother is right, please don¡¯t treat me like an outsider! I grew up together with Second Brother, please treat me as part of the family.¡± Lu Qingtian: ... Lu Qingtian gave Lu Nanze a vicious re and said, ¡°Tingting belongs to the LifFamily and is a grown up youngdy, not a child like before. So it¡¯s best for a man and ady to keep some distance between them.¡± Li Tingting frowned and started, ¡°I¡ª¡± ¡°Tingting is still a child in my eyes.¡± Lu Nanze tried once again to keep harmony. Lu Qingtian was dumbfounded for a moment and said, ¡°Lu Nanze, has something gone wrong in your head?¡± Hadn¡¯t he disliked Li Tingting? What was wrong with him today? Lu Qingtian couldn¡¯t figure it out and snorted coldly. Finally, she said, ¡°Alright, you get some good rest. It¡¯ste!¡± Lu Nanze nodded. Li Tingting threw a nce at Lu Nanze and made a move to return to her seat by his bed. But before she could sit down, Lu Qingtian said, ¡°Tingting,e over here. Leave the caretaker¡¯s job to Qiao Yiyi. After all, she is Lu Nanze¡¯s wife. You and I can sleep outside.¡± He was staying in a suite ward with guest beds outside the patient¡¯s room. People with Lu Nanze¡¯s power got treated differently, whether they stayed in a hotel or a hospital. After getting kicked out by Lu Qingtian, Li Tingting turned back wistfully and gave Qiao Yiyi a long and resentful look. Finally she said, ¡°Qiao Yiyi, you have to take good care of Second Brother. If you need anything in the middle of the night, shout for me.¡± Then she reluctantly left the room, being led firmly by Lu Qingtian. The moment the two women walked out, Lu Qingtian shut the door behind her. Qiao Yiyi turned to nce at Lu Nanze and saw that he was lying in bed with his eyes shut. It looked like he was intentionally ignoring her. Tsk. Who cares about him? Qiao Yiyi twitched her lips and walked to the side. Just as she was about to get into her own bed, Lu Nanze asked, ¡°Why did you marry me?¡± Chapter 1788 - Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (18)

Chapter 1788: Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (18)

Qiao Yiyi halted and turned around. Only a nightlight remained on, so the room was dim. At that moment, Lu Nanze¡¯s back was to her as hey in bed. She couldn¡¯t see his expression. It was hard to tell if there were any emotions involved in this question, what he meant, or what his intent was. In the few seconds she took to ponder the question, the man grunted impatiently. She snapped back to her senses and replied in astonishment, ¡°What?¡± Lu Nanze asked again impatiently, ¡°Why did you marry me?¡± Qiao Yiyi began to curse and swear silently. Damn it. You think I wanted to do this? Everything had been in order to dodge Liang Liang¡¯s relentless pursuit. Because of Bai Anan¡¯s connection with the police chief, she had substantial resources to turn the world inside out to find her. So how could she possibly not try to find a safe ce? Lu Nanze was powerful, hence she had targeted him. But of course, she couldn¡¯t tell him that. She lowered her head and coughed slightly. Then she answered, ¡°Because... my family wanted me to marry you, so I did.¡± Lu Nanze chortled and said, ¡°Do you think I will actually believe that?¡± A smart and entric woman like her¡ªa woman who could force Li Tingting to throw up her food¡ªwould obey her family so readily? If she hadn¡¯t wanted to do it, she would have thought of all sorts of ways to resist the arrangement. But she hadn¡¯t. Hence, she must have had some reason to marry him. Perhaps it was a desire for afortable and luxurious life, perhaps it was for the money. As he pondered the possibilities, he heard the girl pause and sigh softly. Surprised, he tilted his head and turned to look at her. Her head was lowered, as she thought hard about how to give the man a satisfactory answer. It was obvious that if she couldn¡¯t give him a reasonable answer, he wasn¡¯t going to let it go. Besides, his attitude towards Li Tingting had changed. He now seemed to have suddenly taken sides with the other girl, clearly in order to upset and torture Qiao Yiyi. But prior to this, hadn¡¯t Lu Nanze treated her like she was invisible anyway? So what was this situation now? However, this was besides the point and could be sorted outter. Now the most urgent task at hand was to give him a reasonable answer. Apart from family reasons, what other reasons could a woman have for marrying a man? As she contemted this, she suddenly saw light and sighed in relief quietly. She turned around, looked at Lu Nanze with sincerity in her eyes and said with earnestness, ¡°Because I like you.¡± Lu Nanze: ... She paused as her mind raced to find a reason to support her answer. ¡°Many years ago, perhaps you don¡¯t even remember anymore... At the time, my mother and father were still together. When they finally got a divorce, life became tough for Mom. One time, I got bullied, but you helped me, and I still remembered you.¡± Lu Nanze: ... The more Qiao Yiyi spun this story, the more she got into the swing of it. She continued, ¡°I- I still remembered you. Half a year ago, when you needed to find someone with the name Qiao Yiyi, Dad suggested this to me. At first I didn¡¯t agree, I felt that I was doing fine and surviving on my own, why would I want to go home? But when I saw that the person seeking marriage was you, I went home.¡± Chapter 1789 - Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (19)

Chapter 1789: Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (19)

The more Qiao Yiyi got carried away by the story, the more convincing she became and it all seemed authentic. Lu Nanze frowned. When he had hung out with Qiao Lian in his youth, he had done many ridiculous things, like helping others. But these were things from his youth and he certainly could not recall if he had ever helped Qiao Yiyi. But seeing her sincere expression and hearing her genuinely affectionate tone, he waspelled to ask, ¡°When was this and where did it happen?¡± Qiao Yiyi paused and looked up, as though she didn¡¯t understand his question. The man persisted, impatiently repeating, ¡°I¡¯m asking you when and where it was that I helped you.¡± Given this girl¡¯sck of integrity, Lu Nanze decided that if she couldn¡¯t recall this information, then he would get the butler to investigate. He didn¡¯t want to keep a vicious and ill-intentioned woman by his side. After saying this, he stared at the girl. Qiao Yiyi sighed and started, ¡°Ten years ago. I can¡¯t remember the details. It was in a smallne next to Digao High School. Next to thene, there was a shop that sold bean curd jelly. You fought with the thug and broke a few chairs in the shop.¡± The moment he heard this, Lu Nanze suddenly remembered. This had actually happened. At the time, he had been on his way to school with Qiao Lian. As they passed by that ce, they had seen a few thugs bullying a young girl. Of course, Qiao Lian couldn¡¯t stand it and had wanted to interfere. Lu Nanze had stopped her and gone to them instead. He hadn¡¯t wanted Qiao Lian to get her hands dirty. Because of that fight, he had beente for his mid-term examination. His teacher had even called his parents, andter his father had given him a good beating After this, the owner of the shop had turned up at his home demandingpensation. Since there had been many consequences, he still remembered the incident. It was as she had said. Nevertheless... Lu Nanze still felt a little uneasy. The girl had married him because she liked him. Furthermore, she had made such a sincere confession. Although there was never ack of girls who were interested in him, because he had a strange and violent temperament, the girls would inevitably get frightened before they could even speak up. Even someone like Li Tingting would just try to get close to him and that was about all they did. She had never spoken a word to confess. Hence right now, this was literally the first confession he had gotten in his life. It was simply... It was such an odd feeling and he had no idea how to manage it. Hey back down in bed and refused to look at her. Then Qiao Yiyi said, ¡°Mr. Lu, do you know what the greatest fortune in my life has been?¡± On the one hand, Lu Nanze didn¡¯t really want to know. But his curiosity got the better of him and he picked his ears. Qiao Yiyi continued, ¡°My greatest fortune is to be called Qiao Yiyi. My father abandoned my mother and I never really liked him at all. But I am grateful to him for giving me this name.¡± Strangely, this almost-nauseating confession, spoken so lyrically in her low voice in the darkness of the room, came across rather seductive. The man felt his ears burning uncontrobly. He frowned and snorted, saying, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you sleeping yet when it¡¯s thiste? Your incessant talking is keeping me up!¡± Chapter 1790 - Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (20)

Chapter 1790: Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (20)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Yiyi: ... She had just begun to get into the role, the amorous words just flowing out of her in an endless stream. It was easy to be generous with lies. But she wasn¡¯t done, there was still more that she wanted to say, so why had the man stopped her suddenly? Really. Now she had to swallow all the unspoken words and they had nowhere to go, causing a congestion in her chest that was most ufortable. She took a deep breath in an attempt to ease this feeling, and then got into bed. This should have done the trick. After all, the story that she had just rted was a true story. Except that the girl who was bullied hadn¡¯t been her. She had just happened to have been having breakfast at that bean curd stall when she had witnessed the incident. Since Lu Nanze had a very angr profile, she still remembered him. In addition, when Lu Nanze hadter on reached a high position in the world of organized crime, she had seen his picture and recalled that incident years ago. Now was an opportune time to bring up this incident, for Lu Nanze would surely not suspect anything fishy. Furthermore, how romantic was the idea that he had saved her and now she was repaying him with her life? In hindsight, she felt that this was good enough to make an incredible romance novel. Qiao Yiyi broke into a smile at this thought. Shey t on the bed. Too much had happened today and she was a little exhausted. However, she was not used to having someone else in the room, especially in a hospital at night, it was too quiet. She could even hear the man breathing. It wasn¡¯t that the man breathed loudly at all, but it was magnified too many times in the darkness of this room. She found herself breathing in that same rhythm. But... she still couldn¡¯t get to sleep. She turned. Then she heard the man turning too. But because his leg was injured, his attempt at turning seemed to fail. She listened with her eyes closed, pretending to be asleep. After a while, she heard him call her softly, ¡°Hey.¡± Qiao Yiyi did not move. Lu Nanze frowned and spoke again, ¡°Are you asleep?¡± She stayed very still. The man snorted and said, ¡°Stop pretending.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... She knew she couldn¡¯t continue to pretend. She could only turn to look at him and say, ¡°Mr. Lu, is there anything you need? I- I am feeling a little embarrassed after telling you my feelings.¡± Lu Nanze: ... The man frowned, once again dumbfounded by her words. Qiao Yiyi discovered something. He was normally domineering. However, since he never got involved in emotional matters, no one had ever been this direct and deeply affectionate in confessing their feelings to him. Hence every time she spoke about such things, he would bepletely disoriented. This man was really quite adorable. Qiao Yiyi grinned in the dark. The next moment, she heard the man demand, ¡°Help me go to the toilet!¡± Qiao Yiyi: ...!! The girl replied, ¡°Can¡¯t you do it yourself?¡± ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°But- but we don¡¯t have the same gender.¡± ¡°You¡¯re my wife.¡± ¡°We¡¯re a fake couple.¡± ¡°You said you like me.¡± Lu Nanze¡¯s tone changed as he snorted frostily and said, ¡°Since you like me to the extent that you would repay me with your life, then why do you have so much to object to when I¡¯m just asking for help to get to the toilet?!¡± Qiao Yiyi: ...!! Chapter 1791 - Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (21)

Chapter 1791: Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (21)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She didn¡¯t have a retort for that. Qiao Yiyi suddenly felt like she had shot herself in the foot. She opened and shut her mouth like a goldfish, instantly speechless. But she could only suppress her dissatisfaction and stand up. She walked over to Lu Nanze. The man didn¡¯t really want Qiao Yiyi to help him go to the toilet. Because of Traceless, he now had no feelings for anyone else. But his dder was bursting and it was bing too difficult to bear. Furthermore... After getting out of bed to open the window for Traceless, the pain in his wound had intensified. He had injured a major artery and should not even be moving around. To relieve his dder, the only way was to lie in bed and empty it with someone¡¯s help. Unfortunately, this person was Qiao Yiyi. How could he possibly get her to help him with such a task? Hence, he could only ask her to take him to the toilet. However, what was that look of displease on her face, as though he was poisonous? Hadn¡¯t she said liked him? Yet she was unwilling to help him to the toilet?! Lu Nanze was livid. The more she tried to avoid it, the more he insisted that she did it. He wasn¡¯t giving her a choice. It was now a situation where Lu Nanze really did not wish for Qiao Yiyi to look after him; and the girl, on the other hand, had no desire to do so either. As she helped and supported Lu Nanze towards the toilet, she pondered what sort of excuse she could use. After all, watching a man relieve himself was a first for her. Lu Nanze, on the other hand, was pondering what reason he could give to push the girl away. Letting her watch him relieve himself was a first for him. Each of them with their own thoughts, they arrived at the bethroom and entered it. The man stood next to the urinal and coughed slightly. Qiao Yiyi did the same. She started, ¡°Mr- Mr. Lu, would you like me to remove your clothes¡± Lu Nanze: ... He replied, ¡°No, I¡¯ll do it myself.¡± But... He was wearing a set of baggy pajamas. There was a bandage around his thigh, so the pajama trousers clung around it, making them difficult to remove. Lu Nanze: ... Qiao Yiyi: ... Qiao Yiyi stared for some time as the man struggled with it and failed to make progress. Finally, the girl could not stand to watch it any longer and said, ¡°Mr. Lu, let me help you.¡± Lu Nanze: ...!! He stubbornly said, ¡°No, there¡¯s no need.¡± As she watched him, she couldn¡¯t help adding teasingly, ¡°It¡¯s okay, Mr. Lu. I like you and I¡¯m willing to do these things for you.¡± The man blushed and said, ¡°No, it¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Mr. Lu, you don¡¯t have to be this shy. I¡¯m just helping you to remove your pants, it¡¯s not like I¡¯ll do anything else.¡± ¡°No need.¡± ¡°Mr. Lu, do you despise me?¡± Lu Nanze turned and threw Qiao Yiyi a nce. She hung her head and put on a sad expression. Lu Nanze: ... Lu Nanze snorted icily and said again, ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± On that note, he forcefully removed his pants and said in amanding tone to the girl, ¡°What are you looking at?!¡± There was exasperation in his tone. Qiao Yiyi suddenly realized that unconsciously, her eyes had wandered to where they shouldn¡¯t have. She quickly turned away and, at the same time, tried to hold Lu Nanze so that he wouldn¡¯t fall. At once, she heard the sound of water dropping. The man had been holding the pressure in his dder for more than an hour until he finally found relief. Right in this moment, he suddenly heard the girl say, ¡°Mr. Lu.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Chapter 1792 - Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (22)

Chapter 1792: Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (22)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Be- be careful not to get your pee on my shoes.¡± Lu Nanze: ... ¡°Shut up!¡± the man said. ¡°Ok.¡± When he was finally done, the man gave her a dirty look and said, ¡°I¡¯m done.¡± Qiao Yiyi nodded and, when she turned around, saw that he was trying to get dressed. When he spotted her turning around, he jumped in fright and barked, ¡°What are you staring at?¡± She replied, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you were done?¡± Lu Nanze: ... He pulled his pants up hastily and then reached out to ce a hand on Qiao Yiyi so that she could help him get back to bed. But the moment he reached for her, the girl dodged him. He shot a puzzled look at her and she said, ¡°Mr. Lu, you haven¡¯t washed your hands.¡± Lu Nanze: ...!! Now his expression was darker than the stormy skies. He almost shouted at her, ¡°How am I to wash my hand if you don¡¯t help me?!¡± After all, the urinal was some distance away from the wash basin. The b*tch, how dare she? Qiao Yiyi turned to look at the wash basin and grimaced. Then she looked at the man¡¯s hand. She couldn¡¯t get out of her mind what he had just been doing with that hand. But Lu Nanze was right. If she didn¡¯t help him over to the wash basin, how was he going to wash his hands? She pondered it for a moment before she extended her hand and, in a most disgusted manner, gingerly took the man¡¯s wrist between her thumb and index finger, saying, ¡°Come along then.¡± Lu Nanze: ...!! What the hell was that look on her face? Lu Nanze seethed with anger. But he could only go along with it. When they got to the wash basin, the man couldn¡¯t refrain himself from ying a mischievous trick. As he withdrew his hand, he brushed it against the back of her hand. She froze immediately. Then she lowered her head and stared at the back of her hand with an expression of disbelief. That look on her face as she choked filled Lu Nanze with satisfaction, and he smirked triumphantly. She looked like a bristling cat, as she stood there at aplete loss as to what to do with that hand. While he started to casually wash his hand, she also turned on the tap of the other basin at full st, frantically soaping and rinsing her hands. Lu Nanze: ... Lu Nanze¡¯s expression darkened even further. Was his hand full of germs? How dare this woman act so contemptuous? To think she had even said she liked him. He snorted and noticed Qiao Yiyi throw him a nce before she continued vigorously washing her hands. He couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Did you lie about liking me?¡± Qiao Yiyi halted. She turned to him immediately, blinking her spirited andrge eyes, and said, ¡°Mr. Lu, have you ever liked a girl?¡± Lu Nanze nodded. ¡°If you like a girl, does it mean that you also wouldn¡¯t mind her poop?¡± Lu Nanze: ...!! Qiao Yiyi sighed and continued, ¡°Just like mothers love their babies and like changing their diapers, does it mean they don¡¯t have to wash their hands after changing their diapers?¡± Lu Nanze: ... He realized that Qiao Yiyi, her sharp tongue, made her very simr to Traceless. He was dumbfounded by the girl¡¯s reasoning. When she was done washing her own hands, she held his arm and said, ¡°So liking you and minding you are two separate matters, isn¡¯t it so?¡± Chapter 1793 - Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (23)

Chapter 1793: Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (23)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Yiyi said this boldly and then, supporting Lu Nanze, they walked back into the room. After she made sure that the man had gotten back into bed and wasying down, she walked to her own bed, got in, shut her eyes and went back to sleep. Lu Nanze had been exhausted before this but, because of needing the toilet, he had been kept awake. And now, even though he had relieved himself, he was still unable to sleep. Because Qiao Yiyi¡¯s face kept shing through his mind. She had yed a trick on Li Tingting, pretending to be weak. She had also confessed her deep feelings for him and even just then, he had seen those little gestures that showed her disgust towards him. Although clearly knowing that he was in love with Traceless, Lu Nanze now couldn¡¯t help being attracted to Qiao Yiyi. In the past, she had been invisible to him, like thin air. He had never taken notice of her and couldn¡¯t even remember what she looked like, how tall she was, how fat. But he suddenly realized that Qiao Yiyi was taking shape in his mind. There was something special about her that attracted him. The man turned and looked at the girl who was sleeping close by. He frowned. In the dark, he couldn¡¯t see her clearly, but he could sense that she was asleep. Her light, shallow breathing was oddly reassuring. He found that his ill feelings towards her had vanished and realized his growing interest in her, in the confession she had just made. What a strange feeling. He frowned. He certainly had never been a man who could get easily swayed by women but tonight, he was being swayed by two women. What a tragedy! At this thought, the man shut his eyes tightly, preventing himself from thinking further about this. On this same night, he had a dream. In his dream, Traceless was standing before him, her head held high and saying as she looked at him, ¡°Lu Nanze, do you really like me?¡± The man nodded and replied, ¡°Yes, I really do like you.¡± ¡°Well then, divorce your wife. I, Traceless, will never be a mistress!¡± He nodded resolutely. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll get a divorce!¡± But turning around, he saw Qiao Yiyi crying her heart out as she looked at him. She said, ¡°Mr. Lu, how could you treat me like this when I like you so much? I like you, you can¡¯t divorce me.¡± Lu Nanze: ... The man coughed slightly and started, ¡°But I like Traceless.¡± Qiao Yiyi looked up instantly and said, ¡°You like girls like Traceless? I can be like her too!¡± Hence, she put on a mask and lifted her chin, immediately transforming into Traceless. Lu Nanze was shocked and started, ¡°You- you-¡± Behind him, Traceless asked, ¡°Lu Nanze, what¡¯s up with you?¡± He turned around, now facing the other Traceless who said, ¡°Lu Nanze, you can¡¯t divorce me.¡± And then... He woke up with a start. His forehead was drenched. It was the middle of the night. He then realized that the anesthesia in his leg had worn off and was in great pain. He frowned and tried to move. Then he sighed heavily. What a strange dream. Seriously. But he did like Traceless, so he had to keep a distance from Qiao Yiyi. At this thought, he turned to look at Qiao Yiyi and saw that she was sleeping soundly. Lu Nanze: ... He yelled, ¡°Qiao Yiyi!¡± She woke up with a jump. ¡°What?¡± Chapter 1794 - Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (24)

Chapter 1794: Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (24)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lu Nanze looked at her and frowned. He said, ¡°Get me some water.¡± It was only then that Qiao Yiyi sat up and realized his situation. He seemed to be in great pain and his forehead was damp with perspiration. Her gaze fell on his leg and she understood at once what was happening. She sighed and stood up to pour him a ss of water. Then she sat by his bed. ¡°Is it hurting badly?¡± She lifted the nket to examine his wound. However, the man clutched his leg and immediately said, ¡°No, it¡¯s not.¡± He drank the water and returned the ss to Qiao Yiyi, lying back down immediately afterwards. Anesthesia couldn¡¯t be administered too frequently, this wasmon knowledge. Hence for now, he could only endure the throbbing pain and wait for it to subside. Seeing how much pain Lu Nanze was in, Qiao Yiyi frowned. In fact, there was a type of acupressure massage that could relieve pain, and it was also a skill that had been passed down through generations in her family. If she could massage him, the pain could be significantly reduced. Hence, Qiao Yiyi looked at him and suggested, ¡°Mr. Lu, please let me have a look at your wound.¡± Lu Nanze gripped the nket tightly and insisted frostily, ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± Qiao Yiyi choked. ¡°I¡¯ll just take a quick look, I¡¯ll help you massage it.¡± The pain made Lu Nanze more agitated, and adding to this there was the dream he had just had, and how things had turned out with Traceless. He became rather angry and snapped, ¡°There¡¯s no need!¡± He sat up and stared at Qiao Yiyi. ¡°Since I can¡¯t sleep, there¡¯s a matter that I¡¯d like to discuss with you.¡± Taken aback, Qiao Yiyi asked, ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get a divorce.¡± Qiao Lian widened her eyes in astonishment. Although she had married him to escape Liang Liang, he was the one who had confessed his feelings to Traceless. Even though she knew he was seeking a divorce to cate Traceless, this made her feel extremely uneasy. What did he take her for? Was she at his beck and call? A pet? Besides, before her mother could locate her, she had to stay in this marriage and temporarily ensure her safety. On top of this, Qiao Yiyi felt rather indignant. She thought angrily, ¡°You wish for a divorce? I¡¯m not going to agree then.¡± Hence she put on a tearful expression and said to the man, ¡°Mr- Mr. Lu, have I not been up to your standards? Or have I not met your expectations in some ways? I- I-¡± She lowered her head. Lu Nanze smiled icily and replied, ¡°There¡¯s someone else that I like.¡± Having said that and finding her sobbing somewhat unbearable, he quicklyy back down in bed and concluded, ¡°So it¡¯s useless, no matter how well you treat me.¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... Someone else he liked. Was it Traceless? Caught in this situation, Qiao Yiyi wasn¡¯t quite sure if it was something to celebrate or mourn over. She grimaced, but immediately lowered her head and acknowledged his words with an ¡°oh.¡± Then she looked up and said, ¡°Mr. Lu, I will not agree to a divorce. I will work hard to make you like me!¡± She said this rather petntly, then returned to her bed and got back under the covers. Lu Nanze, on the other hand, was slightly rmed to hear this. He shut his eyes as hey in bed, feeling the agony the wound was causing him. After some time, he suddenly heard Qiao Yiyi sit up. Chapter 1795 - Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (25)

Chapter 1795: Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (25)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lu Nanze frowned and looked in her direction from the corner of his eye. His eyes glinted and he tried to see what she was up to. It was the middle of the night and, instead of sleeping, she had sat up in bed. Furthermore, he could feel her eyes on him. This woman... Of course, Lu Nanze was notpletely careless around her. When she walked towards him, he clenched his fists tightly, ready for whatever mighte. But unexpectedly, after Qiao Yiyi approached his bedside, she merely stood there in silence. The man tried his best to even his breathing so that he would look like he was asleep. After two minutes, the girl suddenly pushed his nket away to reveal the wounded leg. Lu Nanze: ... He was about to react when he suddenly felt her smalls warm hands on his leg. Her hands were gentle but strong, resting firmly near his wound. He frowned, trying to suppress his anger. Her hands firmly pressured his leg and started to move slowly. She was using a little more strength than needed and that caused him some pain, but the amazing thing was that the pain in his wound started to ease. He frowned again but did not move. After shepleted the massage, he felt that the pain no longer was so intense that he couldn¡¯t fall asleep. His eyelids grew heavy and he shut his eyes. His leg still hurt. The girl continued massaging him. He did not say another word. As the massage went on, the man gradually fell asleep. The next morning when he awoke, Lu Nanze realized that his body was in a rxed state. Even the wound didn¡¯t hurt too badly. He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling for a moment before slowly moving his leg. As he did so, he felt there was something heavy resting on it. It was then that he spun his head around and saw that Qiao Yiyi had fallen asleep, slumped on his bed. He was taken aback. He had no idea how long she had massaged him after he had fallen asleep. But to have finally fallen asleep like she had, she must have done it for three or four hours, right? It was no wonder she had fallen asleep with exhaustion. He frowned and meant to wake her up. But as he looked down, he found himself staring right into her face. He froze immediately. He had never paid attention to her looks before, so he had never thought much of her features. She had rather in looks that weren¡¯t eye-catching. But right now, at a short distance, he suddenly realized how exquisite her features were. He almost couldn¡¯t take his eyes off her. Her skin was clean and pale, glowing like white porcin. Her face was only about the size of his palm, extremely small. Her body was like a teenager¡¯s. As he studied her, he suddenly even started to wonder if he should get the butler to investigate her real age. Was she really 22? As these thoughts ran through his mind, he didn¡¯t realize that his gaze on Qiao Yiyi had started to soften. After all, any man would find it almost impossible to treat a girl like this meanly. At this point, there was a sudden knock on the door. Almost immediately, Li Tingting entered the room and eximed loudly, ¡°Second Brother, you¡¯re awake!¡± Chapter 1796 - Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (26)

Chapter 1796: Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (26)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Her voice was really loud. It was so loud that it shook Qiao Yiyi awake. When Li Tingting saw her body tremble and the look in her widened eyes, he subconsciously lifted his head and shot Li Tingting a nce. His nce shocked Li Tingting and the words she had been about to say were stuck in her throat. But after a while, her gazended on Qiao Yiyi again since Lu Nanze wasn¡¯t speaking at all. She instantly became furious at the sight of Qiao Yiyi lying by Lu Nanze¡¯s bedside. ¡°Qiao Yiyi, what are you doing? Second Brother¡¯s leg was injured, and you take care of him like this? Your hand is pressing his leg! You- Are you trying to hurt Second Brother on purpose?¡± Qiao Yiyi: ... If you don¡¯t know about it, don¡¯t spout nonsense, ok? She twitched her lips and moved her stiff arm. Then she stood up. Li Tingting had already arrived in front of her. ¡°Qiao Yiyi, I¡¯m talking to you. How can you be so rude?¡± After she said so, Qiao Yiyi turned her head and looked at Li Tingting. She acted weak and said, ¡°Miss Li, I didn¡¯t do it on purpose.¡± She was actually a sly fox, but she liked to act weak and used it to win the battle. Lu Nanze looked at Qiao Yiyi coldly. Although yesterday night he had been really angry when he had found out that she had been acting differently from how she really was, at the moment, he didn¡¯t know why but he found her kind of cute. Yes. Cute. Although Qiao Yiyi was filled with foolish ideas, she was obedient. With these two special feelings mixed together, Lu Nanze felt weird inside. He decided to keep quiet and stare at her. After Li Tingting heard Qiao Yiyi¡¯s words, she was about to say something but Qiao Yiyi directly said, ¡°Miss Li, did you not brush your teeth this morning?¡± Li Tingting was stunned. Qiao Yiyi lowered her head and covered her nose. Li Tingting instantly understood something. She also hurriedly covered her mouth and said, ¡°I- I¡¯ll go brush my teeth now.¡± Then she rushed into the bathroom. After she went it, Li Tingting blew air out through her mouth and smelt it herself. She didn¡¯t have bad breath. Things like these didn¡¯t happen in prestigious families like theirs, as they had good routines and meal habits. But Qiao Yiyi didn¡¯t look like someone who would lie, so she should just clean it then. Hence, Li Tingting took out her breath freshener and sprayed it into her mouth a few times. After freshening up, she walked out of the washroom. Just as she walked out, she saw that Qiao Yiyi had already sat on the chair and was about to start eating her breakfast. Li Tingting walked over with a frown and asked, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you ask me to join you for breakfast?¡± Qiao Yiyi instantly replied, ¡°I- I was super hungry, sorry. Miss Li,e quick, there are your favorite meatballs.¡± She picked up a meatball and put it in front of her. ¡°Isn¡¯t this your favorite food?¡± Li Tingting: ... She suddenly recalled the article she had seen yesterday. That disgusting feeling suddenly rose within her, causing her to rush into the bathroom again and start vomiting. Qiao Yiyi smirked as the woman rushed into the bathroom. As she turned her head, she realized that Lu Nanze was looking at her. She hurriedly lowered her head and acted pitiful. ¡°Mr. Lu, what do you think is wrong with Miss Li? Why is her stomach so bad? Aish.¡± Lu Nanze: ...!! Chapter 1797 - Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (27)

Chapter 1797: Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (27)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After Qiao Yiyi said that, she lowered her head and continued eating. Her mouth was very small and thus ate really slowly. Although so, she just kept eating continuously. Lu Nanze watched her finish a breakfast meant for two. Everything went into her stomach and only a bowl of porridge was left for Li Tingting. Lu Nanze¡¯s gaze shifted to her t stomach again. After eating so much, where did all the food go? When Li Tingting walked out of the bathroom, she no longer had any energy to argue with Qiao Yiyi about breakfast. All she had done yesterday evening was vomit. And all she had done today was vomit too. All this vomiting had resulted in her feeling weak now. She sat on the sofa weakly and only regained a little energy after finishing the bowl of porridge. Then she lifted her head once again. Qiao Yiyi had already sat by the hospital bed and was preparing food for Lu Nanze. Watching the scene, Li Tingting was filled with envy. She directly took a step forward and said, ¡°Let me feed Second Brother.¡± The moment Qiao Yiyi heard her words, she took a nce at Lu Nanze, finished preparing his breakfast and moved aside. Li Tingting took a step forward and picked up the porridge and spoon. Just as she was about to feed him, he said, ¡°My leg is injured but I¡¯m not handicapped. I don¡¯t need you to feed me.¡± Li Tingting: ... Li Tingting watched Lu Nanze finish his breakfast with a grieving expression. ¡°Second Brother, after I got off work yesterday, I came over to apany you. Let me apany you for a walk today.¡± Lu Nanze replied, ¡°It¡¯s alright. I have Qiao Yiyi to take care of me and that¡¯s sufficient. You still have to go to work, I don¡¯t wanna bother you.¡± Li Tingting panicked. ¡°How is this bothering me? If Ipare Second Brother and work, obviously Second Brother is the more important one. I can¡¯t work in peace if you¡¯re injured!¡± Even Qiao Yiyi couldn¡¯t take her worried look anymore. She blinked and said, ¡°But Mr. Lu is just injured, not like he¡¯s about to die. Miss Li, why are you so worried?¡± Lu Nanze: ...! Li Tingting: ...! Both of them were speechless. How could Qiao Yiyi be so straightforward? Lu Nanze looked at Li Tingting again and said, ¡°Ok, since I asked you to leave, you should leave quickly.¡± Since he had already made it so clear, there was no way Li Tingting could stay. She took a nce at Qiao Yiyi unwillingly and then said, ¡°Second Brother, I¡¯lle and see you after work.¡± Then she left unwillingly. When Li Tingting finally left the hospital ward, Qiao Yiyi heaved a sigh of relief. Although Li Tingting wasn¡¯t causing her any trouble, she would choose not to have her if she could. If she could make her life morefortable, she would. As she thought so, Qiao Yiyi¡¯s brows rxed. The hospital ward¡¯s door was then suddenly pushed open. Liang Liang stepped in in his winter clothes and directly went to Lu Nanze. He grabbed his shoulders and demanded, ¡°Lu Nanze, tell me, where exactly is Traceless?¡± He had chased Traceless for the whole night and, although the sky had already brightened, he still couldn¡¯t find any traces of her. She really hadn¡¯t left any traces behind. Liang Liang was livid, he was breaking down. Chapter 1798 - Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (28)

Chapter 1798: Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (28)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Liang Liang really liked Traceless. He had never liked someone so much in his life. And after what had happened, he had been forced to make a decision. But following Lu Nanze¡¯s incident, especially after he had seen Lu Nanze and Traceless fall off the cliff together, how Lu Nanze had helped Traceless escape, how much chemistry they had, and also the look Traceless had given him before leavingst night. The nce she had given him had meant she was letting him go. It told Liang Liang that Traceless had really gotten over him and that she didn¡¯t like him anymore. But how could have this happened? He had been missing Traceless for a good half a year and now, how could Traceless let it go whenever she wanted it? He had to find Traceless and rify this matter with her personally. He stared at Lu Nanze and, before the man could speak, he said again, ¡°Lu Nanze, I just want to find Traceless and rify some matters with her. You don¡¯t have to deceive me, I know that you know where she is. I promise you that I won¡¯t bring the police to catch her, ok?¡± Lu Nanze¡¯s face sunk. He stared at Liang Liang and replied, ¡°I¡¯m not Traceless, I cannot promise you something like that.¡± His heart suddenly felt sour. Allow Traceless to meet Liang Liang. And then? He knew both Traceless and Liang Liang, he was familiar with them. Since they had reached this point, there must be a misunderstanding. Allowing them to meet would mean allowing them to clear the misunderstanding between them. Would they get together again and ditch him? As this thought shed through Lu Nanze¡¯s brain, he was sure that he must not let them meet. The moment Liang Liang heard his reply, he lowered his head in disappointment. He said dejectedly, ¡°I just want to exin it clearly to her. Ask her why she betrayed me back then. Can you help me ask her and pass a message to her?¡± Lu Nanze narrowed his eyes and lifted his head up. ¡°What message?¡± Liang Liang opened his mouth and said, ¡°Traceless, half a year has already passed since that happened. If you¡¯re still willing to give me a little trust, thene, meet me and rify everything with me.¡± Lu Nanze clenched his fist and lowered his head to hide the sh of fluster in his eyes. The he nodded and replied, ¡°If I see her, I will pass the message for you.¡± Liang Liang stared at Lu Nanze and nodded. ¡°Yes, Lu Nanze, we have been brothers since young, you have never done anything to let me down. I know that you will help me to pass the message.¡± After he said that, he turned his head and walked out. Since he hadn¡¯t slept at all that night in an attempt to catch Traceless, he was so tired he looked really pessimistic and depressed. Thus as he left, he stuck out his hand to wave at Lu Nanze in a trance and said, ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting for your good news. You can arrange the time and location.¡± Then he walked out of the ward and left. Qiao Yiyi stared at Liang Liang¡¯s figure and his words shed across her brain. ¡°I just want to ask why she betrayed me back then.¡± Betray him? The person who had betrayed the other party was him, wasn¡¯t it? But- Qiao Yiyi narrowed her eyes and suddenly tightened her fist. In the past, whenever she saw Liang Liang, she would get really angry. She had never actually seriously thought about it, but what Liang Liang had said today... He meant that she had betrayed him? But he was the one who had gone back on his words. What exactly had happened? Chapter 1799 - Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (29)

Chapter 1799: Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (29)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qiao Yiyi frowned. Since she had had more contact with Liang Liang recently, whenever she saw him now, she was no longer as sad or emotional. She could even take on a logical perspective about him Hence, what had happened at the time? She suddenly felt the urge to have a proper face-to-face chat with the man, at least, to sort out and rify the misunderstandings from back then. At the very least, even if they had broken up, to give it proper closure. She, Traceless, had always been clear when it came to love and hate. She had never liked blurred lines, hence she had to meet with him. Furthermore, if she left the nning of this meeting to Lu Nanze, she wouldn¡¯t have to worry about Liang Liang bringing along his men to ambush her. At this thought, Qiao Yiyi looked at Lu Nanze. The man, however, narrowed his eyes. It was hard to tell what he was thinking. Perhaps he was thinking of how he could get in touch with her? At this thought, she lowered her gaze. It seemed like Traceless would have to make another appearance tonight. ¨C All day, as Lu Nanze quietly rested, Qiao Yiyi remained silently by his side. Since she had helped alleviate his pain with that acupressure massage, he didn¡¯t try to make things awkward for her. All things considered, they spent a harmonious day together and now night was approaching. Qiao Yiyi had been pondering, trying to think of a reason to leave so that Traceless could return. At this point, her cell phone suddenly rang. She lowered her head and saw that the call was from Qiao Gang. She instantly frowned. Her first reaction was to ignore the call. But just as she was about to hang up, she suddenly had an idea. Wasn¡¯t this the perfect opportunity for her to leave the hospital? Hence, Qiao Yiyi reached for her cell phone and picked up. Qiao Gang¡¯s voice sounded at the other end of the line. ¡°Qiao Yiyi, I hear that Mr. Lu was injured. We¡¯re just outside the hospital, may wee in to visit him?¡± Qiao Yiyi lowered her gaze upon hearing this and said, ¡°Ok, wait for me. I¡¯ll go over right now.¡± Qiao Gang nodded as he continued, ¡°Sure, we¡¯re at the hospital entrance.¡± Before he could finish, Qiao Yiyi had disconnected the call. After hanging up, she looked up and turned towards Lu Nanze. She said, ¡°Mr. Lu, something¡¯s- something¡¯se up and my brother¡¯s looking for me. I have to go out for a bit. Do you need help to go to the bathroom? I- I won¡¯t take long.¡± Lu Nanze lifted his head to throw her a nce and finally said, ¡°Hmph, you may go.¡± That snort, what did he mean by that? However, Lu Nanze had finally agreed and Qiao Yiyi was immediately relieved. She strode out of the room confidently. Once she got downstairs, she spotted Qiao Gang holding a fruit basket. He stood there by the hospital entrance waiting for her. Qiao Yiyi walked briskly to him. Qiao Gang immediately said in a tone that was obviously trying to please, ¡°Look, may I go visit Mr. Lu for a short while? After all, this is a rare opportunity.¡± In other words, it wasn¡¯t everyday that Mr. Lu got injured. Qiao Yiyi smirked inside. This person Qiao Gang, what a sc*m he was, never missing the tiniest opportunity. But it wasn¡¯t as though Lu Nanze was the easiest person to approach. Chapter 1800 - Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (30)

Chapter 1800: Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (30)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Casting her gaze down, Qiao Yiyi sighed and said, ¡°Uh huh, indeed you should visit him. Mr. Lu has been in a very bad mood ever since he got hurt.¡± She bit her lip at this point and looked extremely nervous. ¡°Brother, you- you should counsel him.¡± She looked as though she was talking about a ferocious tiger when she mentioned Lu Nanze¡¯s name and averted her gaze. Qiao Gang was no stranger to Lu Nanze¡¯s temper. When he heard Qiao Yiyi¡¯sment, his boldness immediately shrank. He smiled awkwardly, handed the fruit basket over to Qiao Yiyi, and said, ¡°Well then, Sister, help me pass this to Mr. Lu. I suddenly remembered that I have some work to do.¡± He turned and walked away at top speed. Qiao Yiyi looked at his figure as he walked away. Her lips inevitably curved into a sarcastic smile. How scary was this man Lu Nanze, making people avoid him like he was a serpent? She twitched her mouth and looked down at the fruit basket. She extended her hand and then tossed the basket into the trash bin by the side. She pped her hands briefly, turned and walked out, towards the sports car parked nearby. After changing into her Traceless¡¯ get up, she put on her mask and reappeared in Lu Nanze¡¯s room in a sh. Lu Nanze also seemed to be very conscious of the fact that there was no one else around now, hence he had been staring at the window expectantly. Indeed, after a while, he saw a hint of a movement. The next moment, Traceless opened the window and slid in. After being in a gloomy mood all day, he suddenly brightened up with Traceless¡¯ arrival. He had known it. If Traceless were toe and visit him, she would surely pick the right moment, when there was no one else in the ward. Her appearance meant that, at the very least, she was keeping watch on the situation in the ward. Otherwise, how would she have appeared the moment Qiao Yiyi was gone? He looked at her, observing her high ponytail, and felt his mood improving all at once. His lips immediately curved into a smile and he said, ¡°You¡¯re here.¡± Traceless had forgotten about the unhappy situation that had taken ce the day before and nodded in response. She walked over and looked at him for a moment before saying a standard greeting, ¡°How are you doing?¡± He felt warm and fuzzy inside as he answered, ¡°Not bad.¡± She left it as that and then continued, ¡°Hmm. Do you have anything to tell me?¡± Lu Nanze quickly said, ¡°Of course. Qiao Yiyi and I are only married on paper, I hope it doesn¡¯t bother you. I understand you may feel it¡¯s unfair right now, but don¡¯t worry, I will settle things with her.¡± Traceless: ...!! She hadn¡¯t even been thinking about this, but the matter regarding Liang Liang. Why was he talking about other things? Traceless grimaced, nodded, and then probed again, ¡°Anything else?¡± Anything else? What else was there? Lu Nanze pondered for a moment and started, ¡°I- Oh, we didn¡¯t talk about this. I wanted to ask you if you might consider dating me. You must have thought about this for thest two days, is there an answer?¡± Traceless: ...!! This man. Why wouldn¡¯t he mention Liang Liang? And she also couldn¡¯t admit that she knew Liang Liang was looking for her. After all, when Liang Liang had said this, there had only been the three of them in the room. If she recognized that she knew Liang Liang was looking for her, wouldn¡¯t she be letting the cat out of the bag? She grimaced and immediately tried to remind him. ¡°Liang Liang went after mest night.¡± Chapter 1801 - Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (31)

Chapter 1801: Did They Think She Was a Weakling? (31)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Lu Nanze heard Traceless mention Liang Liang¡¯s name, he choked up. He couldn¡¯t exin the feeling, he just didn¡¯t want to talk about that man. Hence he only said a faint ¡°oh¡± and immediately went on to ask, ¡°So have you thought about it?¡± Traceless: ...! What did this guy mean? Was he unwilling to help her meet up with Liang Liang? As she wondered about this, Lu Nanze continued, ¡°I think we make a good couple, really.¡± Traceless: ... This man, how had he suddenly be so shameless? The fact was that Lu Nanze had be more astute. The night before, he had almost been unable to handle Qiao Yiyi¡¯s very direct and passionate confession. Today, he had started to wonder about his change in attitude towards her. At the very least, whilst he had felt annoyed just looking at the girl the previous day, he didn¡¯t feel that way at all as he now looked at her quietly sitting in a corner, as though she didn¡¯t exist. He thought that if he made a passionate confession to Traceless, she might also start to feel more positive towards him. At the thought of this, sweet words flowed freely from his lips, ¡°Traceless, the first time I set eyes on you, I felt that you were different from everyone else. At the time, I didn¡¯t think that I¡¯d fall in love with you one day. I was just deeply impressed. After that, I realized that although on the surface you are stubborn and arrogant, you have a passionate heart. Then I was attracted to you.¡± The tips of Lu Nanze¡¯s ears turned bright red as he said these things. Traceless, on the other hand, felt rather embarrassed by the speech. Why was there a strange simrity between his sweet talk and the things she had said yesterday? This guy, could he be copying her? It simply couldn¡¯t be more pretentious. Had she really put on such an act in front of Lu Nanze yesterday? It was no wonder he had bought it. Traceless drew her lips back for a moment in a grimace as she reminded him of the more serious business. ¡°I saw that Liang Liang came looking for you yesterday. What did he say?¡± Liang Liang. Liang Liang again. Was that all Traceless could say? Lu Nanze didn¡¯t feel good about it and grunted faintly. Then he said simply, ¡°Not much.¡± He immediately pointed at the sofa by the side and asked, ¡°Do you want to sit down for a bit? That idiot Qiao Yiyi has gone to see her brother and I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll be back soon.¡± Traceless: ...! Bastard, who are you calling an idiot?! This was intolerable. She winced and forcefully suppressed her anger. Noticing that Traceless had gone quiet, Lu Nanze asked again, ¡°Where did you stayst night?¡± Traceless gave a frostyugh, looked at him and said, ¡°Since you¡¯re so intelligent, you should know without me saying.¡± Lu Nanze: ...!! Why did it sound like this was a response directed at his earlier remark about that idiot? What was wrong with Traceless today? It wasn¡¯t as if he was calling her an idiot. Lu Nanze struggled for a bit and lifted his gaze. Traceless stood there looking back at him. ¡°Haven¡¯t you got anything else to tell me?¡± What else was there to say? Wasn¡¯t this confession enough?! Lu Nanze looked somewhat at a loss, as he stared at her, dumbfounded. Traceless: ... So he really didn¡¯t n to help her and Liang Liang get in touch. This man, how could he act like this? It was just really petty! Traceless frowned and turned around to leave. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!